Recycled Cards - Fussy Cutting & Decoupage

I love the cards people send to me. I have them on the bookcase to look at for a while (actually months) then I take them down, but it seems such a shame to put them in the recycling bin.  So I've started recycling them to turn them into new cards.  I put the results on my FB feed and a group I'm in (Stamping Enablers, it's a great group, go join them!) and people seemed quite interested in how I go about doing it. So here's a post about what I do and how.

This is today's output - 6 cards using a calendar from erm probably this decade lol. Anyway, can't remember why but there's 12 different birds, with duplicates, 4 or 5 repeats of the same bird.

No idea why this is sideways, I edited it but it refuses to turn in the blog. Sorry neck craning time!

365 Cards - Day 15 - Super Sketchy Sunday

This catchup sketch is erm, well, honoured more in the breach than the observance.... But it's got the main elements in the right place, more or less. Anyway, used up some more of those fussy cut elements from the Basic Grey June Bug Aggie sheet.

365 Cards - Day 305 - Quarters

Tricky challenge this, to quarter your card and have, one in each quarter, a punched shape, a floral embellishment, a stamped sentiment and a rhinestone. Which I didn't quite manage, as I've only got one punch (snowflake) and no rhinestones. So mine is 3 pearly bits, fussy cut dragonfly (instead of punch) then the floral embellishment and stamped sentiment instead. It's not cheating if there's no alternative chortle!

365 Cards - Day 306 - Digging Deep

Today's challenge is to use something that's been in your stash for ages, but you like too much to use. Which is these fussy cut-outs from the Basic Grey June Bug Aggie sheet.

365 Cards - Day 304 - Sounds Great

Today's challenge (and it is actually today, I'm doing well this week) is a rather, well, garish yellow & red CD cover.

So I picked up the yellow, red and white and abandoned everything else...

The backing paper is some of that yellow sugar paper that I'd self decorated back in the summer using green, orange & clear wax crayons/ candle & paint - if you're wondering where the green & orange is, I've used the reverse side as I rather like the two tones of yellow where the paint soaked through the unwaxed bits.

The dog & speechbubble is from a Basic Grey card sheet - June Bug Aggie 1814, which is full of very cute dogs, bones & bubbles etc. I bought about 6 sheets and spent a happy evening fussy cutting them all out of one sheet back in the summer. Although with it being card my fingers were a bit sore afterwards...

365 Cards - Day 4 - Ad Inspired

Ok, so I'm slightly embarrassed about this set of catchups.... but on the other hand, today's catchup session does mean that I've actually finished all the cards from Week 1 of the 365 Cards Challenge blog. Yes, yes, I'd fallen behind that early on! I think the only week I actually did 7 cards in a row was in the Days 40-odd. Anyway this is for the challenge that showed a party table decorated in orange, black & white. I cut into a 12" square paper (no idea who the manufacturer is) then fussy cut the grey out and glued the whole thing onto some orange card. Which promptly buckled badly. So, looking on the bright side, it has a whole fairground theme (you know the mirrors that make you a funny shape) going on as well as the actual challenge. I'm hoping if I squash it between some books it'll go flat....

365 Cards Day 245 It's a matter of Inches

Today's challenge (and for once it is actually today!) was to use an 'inchie' on your card. What's an 'inchie'? Well it's a one inch square 'topper' that you make in advance (or in my case as you are going along), which you then use on a card. And being only one inch square, there's an awful lot of card left over! I used a 4"x5" card and there's still a lot of empty space...

Cardstock is that Dutch company's 50cm x 70cm card from Puffin Crafts (you're seeing a lot of it as I bought full sheets and also offcuts from when they'd cut it down to A4 (it's not a standard size). The stamped image is from Inkadinkado's 98852 Spring is Here set (strangely of 'inchies' but I didn't feel like using any of the one inch stamps, just this little one. Ink is VersaColor Indigo, Fresh Green and White. Sentiment is a Hero Arts F4090 Quill Smile.

I embossed the fussy cut birds, using fine embossing powder, but it all went a bit pearshaped and not very embossed at all... Still, it means the uneven coverage on the sentiment fits the slightly distressed appearance chortle.

365 Cards Day 224 Perspective

This is catchup - making a set of 6 notelets from paper I don't much like and have limited amounts of (see Day 238) This challenge was to use layering and fussy cutting to give a perspective. The two layers are the red & brown mounts then the little flower in the left corner is fussy cut and popped onto a foam block (very small one).

This probably counts as a rebel DT Gloria card - not quite what was intended chortle