COMMISSION# 4

This is the first order I got outside Metro Manila (well, outside Luzon). I was excited to make the cards. I love it that I get to challenge myself with every one of the orders I receive. I can try various techniques to achieve the card that was wanted. For this particular order, I got to use the spatter paint technique which was awesome (I still have to remove the stray paints that went to my desk though).

As you can see in the image above, the cards are for Valentine's. Though it's late and too early for Valentine's Day, the customer still wanted to give the cards to a special person. This reminds me of the many times I was late in making and giving cards to my friends. Ha ha. Usually, a year or so would pass before I could hand the cards to them. I was rather busy and exhausted in the last three years that I couldn't even meet up with friends. Oh well. That was that.

CARD# HPJ-2014-40: Love

The card measures 4.5" x 5.75".

The first card in the batch is green-themed as was requested. I used a paper from the Graphic 45 French Collection and a bit from All About Scrapbooking. [Pardon, but I cannot really remember the name of the pack. The company doesn't usually post their products individually online and I already got rid of the packaging a long while ago.]

You know how fond I am of foam tapes. I added two layers of them on each card stock for dimension and one layer for the embellishments. I had these rub-on stickers from an online purchase before and thought they're perfect for the project. I transferred two hearts on a board paper and coated the images with crackle paint. I was supposed to put the epoxy stickers inside the hearts, but it didn't look the thing. I decided to just use the stickers on the inside panel.

I made the other embellishments as well like the charm that was hanging from the ribbon. I adhered a sticker onto a die cut which I made using a Spellbinders die and inserted a jump ring on one of the holes to attach the chain. I used another jump ring to fasten it onto the ribbon. I then affixed a brad on top of the knot with a glue dot. I placed light green crystals on the left side of the card as a finishing touch.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Ivory board paper, Graphic 45 French Country Collection, All About Scrapbooking, Rouge de garance Nymphéas, Prima Marketing Tea and Silk Collection Ryoanji, Papemelroti sticker sheet, rub-on sticker, epoxy stickers, self-adhesive crystals, brad, jump rings, metal chain, ribbon, Ranger Distress Crackle Paint Rock Candy, Spellbinders Nestabilities Splendid Circles, Cuttlebug Machine V2

CARD# HPJ-2014-41: My Universe

The card measures 6" x 4.5".

And here is the second card--planet-themed. Wow. I think this is the first time that I made something like this. I mean something about the cosmos or planets or something related to science. It was quite refreshing. This order gave me the opportunity to get my creative juices working pronto which led me to use one of so many long-used and loved techniques--spatter paint technique. I haven't done this in years. I had fun doing it. It had been raining almost everyday for the past few weeks and the sky was almost always overcast. Crafting indoors on a bad weather is great, but I couldn't not think about the destruction it has wrought to various places in the country. The typhoon season here has started.

Now back to the card. I used a black board paper 'speckled with elegant pearly inclusions' which was great for the theme. The glitters on the paper were like the fine little stars in outer space. Cute. I spattered silver and gold poster colors and yellow ochre acrylic paint on the front of the card. I cut the planets I printed and adhered them on the card stock with foam tape. I adhered a couple of small crystals all over and affixed a black tag with the sentiment written on it. I just love this card. The sentiment was so cute! People who receive such cards with this kind of sentiment are oh so lucky. I don't think I would ever get one. [sigh]

Inside the card, I added a slightly distressed patterned paper and left it blank for the message.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Malmero Perlé Black Board Paper,  Scrapworks Spellbound Last Words, computerized image, self'adhesive crystals, Uni-ball Signo Broad White Pigment Ink Pen, Reeves Artists' Poster Colour Silver and Gold, Pebeo Studio Acrylic Colour Yellow Ochre, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Framed Tags One, Cuttlebug Machine V2

CARD# HPJ-2014-42: Valentine's Day

The card measures 4.25" x 5.5".

For the third card, there was no required theme. I was to decide what to make and I came up with wood grain. I know I have two sheets of it on my Carta Bella Sew Lovely paper pad. Well, at first I thought what was needed was something 'really' masculine. Originally, there were just the die cut with the handwritten sentiment, the stitches, crystals and the rubber foam heart. Gah. I still had a hangover from my previous order. The customer preferred simple cuts rather than the ornate frame I first used. And so I thought it was the same with this one. There I was gravely mistaken. The customer herself asked to add flowers or ribbon or any other embellishments to add more color to the card. I was taken aback. I didn't quite expect this. But it was very welcome. It is great to communicate with the customer and learn what was wanted, what needs to be done, what needs to be adjusted and what not. This way, as the creator, I would be able to understand the need and make something that would more or less resemble it. I basically want people to be happy. If what I made brought even a little joy to them, I would feel ten times much more glad. I am learning a lot of things from my interactions with different people. I hope to receive more orders soon.

As I mentioned earlier, the original design was rather minimalist. I needed to throw in something else to add more color. At first, I played around with different paper flowers until I found what I was looking for. I thought that attaching a few pearls would make the new layout more lively. I also considered placing a small paper doily behind the label before taking a photo and showing it to the customer for 'evaluation'. She liked it so I proceeded in adhering them onto the card.

It didn't quite feel that it was complete until I tied a length of baker's twine on the label. And that was that.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: White board paper, kraft paper, Carta Bella Sew Lovely Collection Woodgrain, paper doily, paper flowers, rubber foam, baker's twine, pearls, crystals, black pen, needle and thread, Cheery Lynn Designs Fanciful Flourish Small, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Thirty-Five, Cuttlebug Machine V2

I wrapped the cards carefully with glassine paper, tied it with burlap twine and swathed it with several layers of bubble wrap for protection. I was afraid it wouldn't get picked up as I scheduled because of the rain, but fortunately it did get picked up--with the kuyas in their raincoats--and the package was received in good condition today, Tuesday, somewhere in Cebu City. Yay! 

CARD# HPJ-2014-39: A Proper Vintage Gentleman

This is the third commission I did recently. What was needed was a masculine card with cars for the theme and the base would be a tri shutter.

I am starting to believe tri shutter card is the growing favorite of the people who ask for my cards. Though they are a little tedious and exacting to make, they are pretty after all the decorating is finished. So many things can be done on the panels and one can change how the card would be folded to show whichever panels are preferred. This most recent tri shutter card that I made is longer than all the other that I have created. When closed, it measures approximately 6.6" x 4.5". It could still fit inside one of my acetate boxes. Heh.

 I placed a pocket at the back of the main panel to hold the extra sheets for the messages.

I didn't have much left from the set of loose 12" x 12" Graphic 45 papercrafting paper that I bought last month since I already utilized them in my previous vintage masculine cards, but there was enough left for this particular project. The part that was left had the car on it which was perfect. I cut them up and adhered them onto the panels layered with kraft paper and black board paper. Pity the image did not reach up to the topmost panels. There was a few millimeters of black, but I remedied it by cutting a side of the patterned paper and placing the strips on those extra black spaces.

I printed some sentiments and placed them on the inner panels along with one of the images I was asked to include. I was told to add something related to basketball at the top of the photo. The space was a bit small so I thought I'll just add a silhouette and some printed out words. I didn't hear anything after that. I don't know if they have seen the revision, but I did what I could.
The image above is what the card looks like lying flat.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Ivory, red and black board paper, kraft paper, Graphic 45 A Proper Gentleman Collection, Papemelroti stationery, computerized images and sentiments, pearls, ColorBox Cat's Eye Queue Pigment Ink Chestnut, Caronia Nail Polish Copper Rock Frosted 

SET# 6: AN ASSORTMENT OF THINGS

I played around with the papers of the Graphic 45 Typography and French Country 8" x 8" paper pads and came up with this assortment of things. First off is a simple red card.

CARD# HPJ-2014-33: Numbers

This is a simple and cute card great for a friend or loved one's special day.  I added a number '28' on it since it is my favorite number, but this could be customized to reflect the recipient's age. How cool is that.

I added foam tapes behind the numbers for dimension. You know how I love 3D.

I wrote the sentiment myself. I can't get enough of my new white pen. It is just awesome. I wish there is a finer-pointed one though for writing other notes and stuff.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Ivory and black board paper, Graphic 45 Typography Collection Inscribe, We R Memory Keepers Precious Metals Collection, Uni-ball Signo Broad White, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Framed Tags One, Cuttlebug V2 Machine

CARD# HPJ-2014-34: Birthday

This is another simple birthday card in the batch. I stamped a birthday sentiment on a die cut using a clear stamp from Inkadinkado and inked the inner part with a ColorBox pigment ink pad.

I wound a length of burlap twine at the bottom and embellished it with a button. 

I covered the parts where the patterned papers meet with strips of self-adhesive lace. This accentuates the patterned paper and the main image.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Ivory and black board paper, Graphic 45 Typography Collection Inscribe, Graphic 45 French Country Collection Grandeur and Montage, self-adhesive lace, burlap twine, button, Inkadinkado Clear Stamps Mini Birthday Words, Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black, ColorBox Cat's Eye Queue Pigment Ink Black and Dune, black pen, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Thirty-Five and Captivating Squares, Cuttlebug Machine V2

CARD# HPJ-2014-35: Celebrate 2

This next card is my favorite in the bunch. I used the more subtle papers in the French Country Collection. The image pops out by itself since it is already framed in black and a darker color design from the collection.

I only used one die cut on this card and it was for the sentiment. I cut pieces of patterned paper and layered them accordingly.

With the awesome white pen, I wrote the sentiment 'Celebrate' on the die cut tag and cut the other end of the tag. I added pearls painted with my Copper nail polish on the corners of the image.

Alas I only have one border punch so Arch Lattice it is for this card. (I hope to have some more of them in the future.) I inked the tips with the same ink pad I used with the patterned papers and the card base.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Ivory and black board paper, Graphic 45 French Collection Abundance, Provance, A La Carte and Promenade, ColorBox Cat's Eye Queue Pigment Ink Dune, Uni-ball Signo Broad White, Caronia Nail Polish Copper Rock Frosted, self-adhesive pearls, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Framed Tags One, Martha Stewart Punch Edge Arch Lattice, Cuttlebug Machine V2

CARD# HPJ-2014-36: Bonne Chance

A simple 'Good Luck' card for a friend or family.

I did not use much embellishment on this card. I just used black crystals and black patterned paper from the same collection to accentuate the main image.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Ivory and black board paper, kraft paper, Graphic 45 French Country Collection Grandeur, Montage and A La Carte, self-adhesive crystals, ColorBox Cat's Eye Queue Pigment Ink Dune, Martha Stewart Punch Edge Arch Lattice

CARD# HPJ-2014-37: Typography

This could be a just because or saying hello card. You can basically use it for whatever occasion you want. It is 'Typography' so anything goes. Just put your message on the blank space inside the card and give or send it to the recipient.

The main image is cut out from one of the patterned papers in the collection and layered onto a die cut.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Ivory and black board paper, Graphic 45 French Country Collection Rendezvous, Graphic 45 Typography Collection Inspire, Typography and Journey, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Card Creator A2 Valiant Honor, Cuttlebug Machine V2

CARD# HPJ-2014-38: Make A Wish

Here is another pretty birthday card from the French Country Collection.

I penned the sentiment on a die cut and adhered it on top of the main image.

I cut the two ends of a die cut tag to make the embellishments. I inked the edges with a gold ink pad and added pearls to complete them.

I tied a thin silk ribbon as an accent.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Ivory board paper, Graphic 45 French Country Collection Grandeur, Abundance and A La Carte, silk ribbon, self-adhesive pearls, Tsukineko Brilliance Dew Drop Ink Pad Galaxy Gold, ColorBox Cat's Eye Queue Pigment Ink Dune, Uni-ball Signo Broad White, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Framed Tags One, Cuttlebug Machine V2

And that is the last one in the set. So how was it? I hope you find at least one to your liking. I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment (or two). Thank you for stopping by and have a marvelous day.