Progressing...

I'm still working on my shadow box Thanksgiving cards.  This has been a slow process for this old woman.  I'm at the stage of gluing punched leaves to the inside of the shadowbox background.

Teaser - cards in progress

I'm working on Thanksgiving cards and it's taking a while.  Here's some of card parts in progress.

 This first part is the watercolor background in progress.  The second photo show the coarse salt that is sprinkled over the wet watercolor background.

These are some of the shadow box portions in progress.  The second photo shows the card folded on score lines and a finished watercolor background showing through the opening.  You can see the spots created after the coarse salt is removed from the dry watercolor paper.  It will show better if you click on image to enlarge it.

Birthday shadow box card

I recently purchased some new Memory Box dies with butterflies.  I felt they were perfect for shadow box cards.  The die on the inside worked very well.  However, I was surprised to learn that the butterflies on the front of the card  cut out separately from the background.  This made it possible to color the butterflies.  I dabbed them with Encore bronze metallic ink.  After all this work, I stamped the sentiment with Versamark ink and added embossing powder.  Unfortunately, it clumped in areas, making it difficult to read.  The sentiment says, "Sending you birthday wishes on the gossamer wings of a butterfly".  Since this card is for a very dear friend, I didn't start over.  She will understand.  The inside sentiment is a sticker, so I wouldn't mess it up further.

I made a watercolor background for the inside of the shadow box.  I used pearlescent watercolors for this, which a adds a shimmer that goes well with the shiny Bazzill cardstock that I used for the card.

Inside tunnel card for man

After my failure to create an Inside tunnel card I decided I had to try again to see if I could really do it.  This one is for a man who loves his dogs.

Front of card

Inside of tunnel card

Back of card

Forgive my finger in the photo.  I had to hold the card open to get the tunnel effect to show.  These are fun to make, but you may need to watch Jennifer McGuire's video several times to understand all the steps.  Good luck!

Anniversary card

I needed to make an anniversary card for a special family member.  I wanted to do something special for this wonderful couple.  I thought I would make an Inside tunnel card.  I really tried, but couldn't make it look good, so I reverted to the first step of making and inside shadow box card.  I hope to still try the tunnel card, but not this time.

 

This special couple live in Colorado and enjoy a mountain cabin where the wildflowers bloom and the moose graze in their yard.

Can you stand one more shadow box card?

While I'm still learning about making the inside shadow box card, I made one more.  The die I used on the inside of this one is a bit too big and goes right up to the edges.  This made the details difficult because they are right on the fold.

 

The background of the shadow box panel is make with watercolors on watercolor paper, then I stamped the silhouette flowers onto the background.  The butterfly inside is glued to the background.

Before I move on, I'd like to share the card sketch that I created, using Jennifer McGuire's measurements.  This makes it easier for me to remember where to cut and fold each time.

Masculine inside shadow box card

I had to change my images to create an inside shadow box card for a man.

front of card

inside of card (shadow box)

More inside shadow box cards

I bought some new dies and decided to use them in inside shadow box cards.  Inspiration and instructions for these cards came from Jennifer McGuire's blog.  I got the measurements from her video.

front of card

inside of card (shadow box)

front of card

inside of card (shadow box)

 These cards are time consuming, but fun to make.  Precise measurements and good quality cardstock make the cards work better.  Some of the open dies cuts, such as dragonflies, are made with 2 layers glued together to make them more sturdy.

Metamorphosis

This is a collage of photos I took many years ago, when I raised black swallowtail butterflies to take photos of the stages.  I then released the adult butterflies.

Interruptions

I was enjoying creating a special birthday card for a relative, when I got sad news and had to stop what I was doing and create a sympathy card for and old friend who lost her husband of 58 years.

This background was made by smooshing watercolor paper into watered down Distress Inks on acetate.  I kept adding more ink and water, repeating the process several times to create some depth.  I cut the sentiment with a die and made 4 layers, gluing them atop each other.    I cut a layer from the craft cardstock that I used for the sentiment and adhered them to a white card base.

Now, back to the birthday card I was working on.

This card began with a soft watercolor background.  I placed a lattice die cut (from a Hero Arts die) over the watercolor.  The flower die cut (from a Simon Says Die) did not show up over the lattice, so I used an oval die to cut out the center.  I use 2 oval dies (from Hero Arts infinity ovals) to make a frame to cover the cut edges around the flowers.  I added some gems to the lattice and some stickers to surround the other edge of card.  The sentiment is a metallic sticker, colored with a Sharpie pen.