Happy Happy Birthday - Treasure Box

This is the first time I've made a small Treasure Box card in its original size, but I didn't really have a choice - the balloon goes to the edges on three sides.

I had to draw in the details of the dog myself, but I'm not crazy about it, and I blame that on the diecut - where are the front paws?I suppose I could have made some myself, but really - it's just a small gift enclosure card, who is studying the dog to see how many legs he has?

Well, besides you guys, of course...

I like the holographic shreds and the vellum piece on this card.

One in a Melon

I've seen this sentiment on stamps lately, so I wasn't too surprised to find it in my Treasure Box kit.

It's a pretty straightforward card, except that it uses something I've never used on cards before - holographic shreds.  I'm not convinced that they really elevate this card all that much, but it was fun to play with it.  The buttons as seeds was a fun touch, too.

Treasure box Whale

I'm sure I mentioned this before, but in a Treasure Box kit, you get the diecut papers, the embellishments, and the background paper.  The penwork is usually just outlining, but when I saw this card, I realized I was going to have to draw in earnest.

Fortunately, when you have the shape defined by the diecut, and a really good photo of the finished product, drawing is not as hard as you might think.  It's also very satisfying to look at this card and realize just how much I really did to make it.  It's just so much more satisfying than stamping!

I'm just going to say that if you plan on doing penwork and using a crimping tool, you should do the penwork first.  It is really hard after the paper is crimped.

Too many elements for one card

When I looked at the sample image for the next card in my Treasure Box kit, I was a little overwhelmed.  Sure, it was a big card, over 6 inches square, but it had a lighthouse and a submarine and a trawler and undersea coral and clouds and waves and it was just too much stuff going on all at once for one card.  I addition, I thought the embellishments on the lighthouse (ribbon stripes and buttons for rocks) made it stand apart from the other elements, so I divided up the diecuts and embellishments and made two cards instead.

The bottom part of the lighthouse card I left open for a sentiment.  the waves were cut with a scallop die, and the cloud die was mine also.  Everything else came from Treasure Box.  I really love their kits, even more because I can change them up and make them my way, and still feel like I got the full value of the kit.

Sublime card

I thought that the little submarine in the Treasure Box kit was just too cute!

I love the idea of using buttons for portholes.  I finally used embossing folders instead of the crimper for texture, and I think it adds a lot.

Treasure Box - July Kit

I must be feeling more comfortable with the Treasure Box style, because when I opened the July Kit, my first thought was that the card designs were adorable, and my second thought was how to change them to make them my own.  Case in point, the following two cards:

I liked the design so much I had to make the card twice.  The top card was made with trims and paper from the kit and I added my own diecut sentiment (Tim Holtz) and buttons, and the second card was my paper but the trim, buttons, and sentiment were from the kit.  The funny thing is that this was one of the least interesting card designs in the kit, and I felt compelled to make two of it!  wait until you see the others!

Ripple Art card

I was poking through a selection of coloring books and sketch books at the store yesterday, when I saw a book on Ripple Art coloring.  Apparently, the idea is to surround the various images on the page with concentric lines until all the white space is filled.  I would have immediately dismissed this as a stupid idea except that when I was in high school, that is exactly how I doodled - concentric lines filling all the empty space on the page.  Who would have thought it would become a trend?

I don't need a coloring book when I have stamps, do I?

I decided to carry through the school supply concept by coloring in colors that were similar to highlighter pens.  It was fun to do, and very different from any other card I've made, I think.  The stamps are from the basket case stamp set by Amuse Studio.