Cottage Card Kit Creations...

This post is very photo heavy so I'll try to keep the chit chat short.  I recently had these Cottage Card Kits in my shop.  I promised to show you lots of tips and tricks so here we go.  Here's what the kit looks like. If you missed ordering a kit but want to play along, just grab some items from your stash.  Items like the mini floral Instagrams, tags, clothespins, doilies and sacks are available as individual items in my shop.  

Envelope Liners...

It's very easy to create an envelope line for any size envelope. Simply trace the envelope flap onto the liner material using a pencil. Here I used the vintage book page from the kit.  

 Trim with scissors and insert the liner piece into the envelope.  Scoot the liner down enough to have the lickable adhesive still showing.  Use a few strips of adhesive under the top portion.  Pretty.

Embellished paper clips...

Here I used the strip of eyelet lace and a torn strip of the vintage fabric to fancy up the clips from the kit.  I used about 3" piece and looped it through the paper clips.  I secured the little flags with my Tiny Tim stapler.  

Very cute to slip onto cards, tags, sacks and more.  

Creating your own spray mists...

It's very simple to create your own spray mists.  Instead of using ink refill droppers, did you know you can use acrylic paints too for a more opaque look?  Simply fill a small spray bottle with water and drop in acrylic paints.  I used a pink and a yellow to get just the pink tone I was after.  Shake the bottle and spray onto scrap paper until the mist appears. 

 You can use your new mist with stencils like I did on the sack with a Pink Paislee stencil.  Or you can unscrew the lid and flick paint splatters like I did on the tag, coin envelope and grid paper.  Customized colors using supplies you might already having sitting around...awesome.

Painting with Gesso...

Gesso, one of my new favorite things. Here I put a small dab of Gesso in a dish.  I added a few drops of water to make the Gesso a bit watery so I could paint with it.  

 You'll see these used on my finished projects but here are some samples of the Gesso painting.  On the yellow card I smudged on the Gesso with my finger to get a white washed look.  I painted o the polka dots with a small pointy brush.  I even sprinkled in some glitter before the circles dried to create a shimmery look.  On the small Instagram from the kit, I painted around the edges.  For the dimensional paper flower, I painted the petal tips for a shabby look.  On the book paper, I flicked some Gesso paint to create splatters.  

 Finally on the square of corrugated cardboard I cut from a box, I swiped some of the Gesso over the ridges.  Then I loaded my brush again and ran the tip of the brush over the top of the square.  I tilted the cardboard so that the paint would run down and dry in long drips.  I'll use this under a mini Instagram later.

Creating layers on your projects...

This is a hard one for some folks so I'll share what I do.  I picked a card base that I wanted to use and then I set it aside.  From the kit I picked a few more elements to layer.  I cut a piece of fabric from the larger piece.  

Then what I do is layer the pieces in my hands, not on the card base.  I start picking up the largest items then finish with the smallest items.  It's very natural to work with the layers and shift them around while in your hands instead of laying them on the base of the project (the yellow card).  

 Let's see another example.  Here I'm doing another card but I set the card base to the side.

 I gathered up the layering elements starting with the biggest item, the paper doily.  Next came the book paper, then the coin envelope then the mini Instagram.

 Here's yet another example for a gift sack I want to create.  You can see the layering elements I want to use in the little pile below.

 Gather up the largest item first which is the piece of vintage book print.  I like to use book print when layering because you can tear it easily to whatever size you want and it's thinner then cardstock or patterned paper.  You can find a batch of vintage book paper in my shop here.  I continue to pick up the next bigger item until I have all the pieces layered in my hand.

 Once I have all the layers the way I want them to look I lay them down on a flat surface.  Then I use tiny dabs of adhesive to attach each layer to the next.  You don't need a lot of adhesive, just enough to join the layers together without sliding around.

Then I find that stitching the layers together is a great way to keep all the pieces securely in place.  I like to leave the thread ends hanging also instead of trimming them short. 

 Now it's time to attach the layered piece onto your project whether it's a card, a notebook, a sack, a tag, etc.  The last finishing touch is to add a little dimensional piece.  From the kit I used the yellow flower and a small tag that I typed on.  The flat layers create interest on your project then the finishing touches add the wow factor.  This style of layering lends itself very nicely with found vintage items, tags, photos, fabric.....a great way to use up those little tidbits and scraps of patterned paper in your stash.

 Okay, wanna see the finished projects?  Here we go...

Here's a sweet notecard with a misted gift sack.

 I love the cottage, vintage feel of the Cottage Card Kit.  The floral elements combined with the office supply items like the shipping tag and index card are just my style.

 Here's another card with lots of layers, including the vintage fabric and typed vellum sentiments.  I love how the envelope coordinates now that it has the book pager liner.

Don't think you can mix and match florals?  I love how it looks, especially when the prints are vintage looking.  

 Another card which has the splattered coin envelope and fabric paper clip.  

 The quirky little patterns work well together because they are the same color value and are repeated in the mini Instagram photo.

 Here's the card that I painted with Gesso paint.  The dimensional flower makes it hard to fit into an envelope so I'm using a Kraft sack for packaging.

 You can see the glittery Gesso circles here.  I love that the Gesso paint just adds one more subtle layer to my card.  See how the layers are kind of ruffled and held in place by stitching?  I love this whimsical and light look by leaving the layers rather loose. Just lay off the adhesive a little.

One last project, a pretty gift sack with soft, vintage layers.  

I used my homemade spray mist on the sack, using the nozzle to flick on splatters of paint.  The neutral colors of the book paper, tags, doily and cardboard create a nice background for the colorful photo.  The yellow paper flower helps the yellow in the photo pop out.  

There ya have it.  Lots and lots of tips and tricks that you can try out with your Cottage Card Kit....or your own supplies if you didn't grab a kit.  I hope you enjoyed today's post.  I'd love to hear about what you might try out on your projects.  :)

Coming soon to the shop...
I have a special delivery coming later this week to create a new kit for the shop. If you like the mixed media look, this one might be for you.  If you've been wanting to add a more artistic flair to your creations, this kit might be for you.  If you've always wanted to try out some art journaling, this kit might be for you.  I can't wait to share it with you!!