Danny's Cards Blog

There are few cards I love making more than Washi cards. One: ease of making. Washi cards are so easy to make. Even when you do the most intricate of designs, Washi cards are easy to make and a card can be done in as little as 10 minutes. Second: they always look unique. There's so many ways to approach Washi cards. You can alternate strips, use all different kinds, layer and crisscross etc. And if you're like me, you have more Washi tape than you know what to do with. This week I used Washi tape for two different challenges. Let's take a look. Over on Scrapping4Fun Challenges , they had a simple task: Gladly! This is a simple design with an assortment of different brands of Washi tape. For my second challenge, I was inspired by Just Us Girls Challenge blog. The task was wholly unique as they celebrate their 600th challenge! I used the same ideas as the card above but embellished it with 6 pumpkin stickers. What you can't see here is the way these pumpkin stickers come...

Over on the Festive Friday Papercraft Challenge Blog , they're aware that April 2nd marks World Autism Day. To mark the occasion, they came up with an inspiration list to help us think about that day: I ended up making two cards based on the inspo list. A while back, I found a set of Autism Awareness washi tape. I had yet to use it, and I couldn't think of a more apropos time to use it. I implemented a technique that I never did before with washi tape. I ended up making a square of washi tape and then used a die cut on the washi tape so that the image cut out as if it was a patterned paper. Usually when I'm using washi tape and a die cut, it's used solely for a mirror effect. This gave a depth to the card that I was really happy with. Here you can see the jigsaws, rainbow, and bright colors in full order. Here was the first result: I used 3D dot adhesives to give the heart a little dimension. Here you can see it from a different angle: I then did the same thing with a f...

I'm gearing up for Valentine's Day this week. Over the weekend, I spent time with some new stamps and got to coloring. After some ho-hum attempts the prior week, I was ready to make some Valentine's cards with a little style. When I'm really stumped with what to do with a variety pieces, nothing helps more than a couple of Sketch Challenges. The first challenge comes courtesy of Sweet Sketch Wednesday . The Sketch was as follows: And here was my product. I used Washi Tape and rhinestones at the bottom, which really gave this card the flair it needed. Over on The Paper Players , their sketch challenge also gave me heaps of inspiration.  The L shape around the border gave me some pause. But with a little Washi Tape, I came up with just the right solution. Unfortunately, I didn't check the date on the third contest I was entering, so I missed the deadline. Nevertheless, I would have submitted this card to Just Add Ink . Here was the sketch: And here was my submission: ...

This week's card idea comes courtesy of AAA Birthday who specializes in Birthday Card Challenges. This week's challenge is a game challenge (my favorite kind of challenges). This is what the tic tac toe board looks like this week: I just recently purchased a plethora of washi tape and stamps from Wonton in a Million . I went for the center vertical row: embossing, washi and window.   Here's my end result: I used the washi tape at a slant. The heart emboss folder came from Park Lane . I used 3D adhesive dots to make sure the heart window showed proper dimension. And because I had my washi tape out, I decided to make a few more cards. Here were some of the other results. Here was another window and embossed card.  And here's a window card sans embossing. Finally, I just used the washi tape and stamps to make a fourth card. I absolutely love this washi tape, and currently, you might find some of this washi tape at Michaels on clearance! Related posts: My Favorite Things #...

So many times people ask me what are the most essential tools for card makers. Often times these are people who are eyeing Cricuts or similar such devices. And I agree, these are fantastic devices (and how I got into crafting in the first place). But they're not the be all end all. So outside of glue and good card stock, what are the five items every crafter needs? 1. A Guillotine I couldn't live without my paper guillotine. Early on when using my Cricut, I needed to cut card bases. Your standard A2 card design measures 8.5in x 5.5in. If you're using a Cricut, this requires its own sheet. Once you obtain a guillotine, one sheet of 8.5in x 11in can make two card bases. Additionally, card fronts and inserts have never been easier. For speed and efficiency, everyone should have a guillotine in their arsenal. I have a Fiskars Guillotine. For the price (around $30 MSRP) it does the job; I would say after a couple years of consistent use, it's starting to run it...

I struggled with a new design this week. I had numerous failed attempts with an embossing and flower card that I'm working on, so far this week's project, I wanted to make sure I could make something I could execute easily. Papercraft Essentials #163 has this fantastic bee die cut with a number of stamps. While I've created a number of a washi cards in the past, I've never made washi tape go from the top to the bottom of the card. What You'll Need: Black Cardstock Yellow Cardstock Black Washi Tape 3D Adhesive Poppers Die Cut and Stamp from Paper Essentials. This week is super straight forward. Start with your usual A2 size card (8.5" x 4.25") and a yellow cut out (5.1" x 3.8"). From here, you have options. You can place the washi tape on the yellow cardstock vertical or at a diagonal. I'm partial to the diagonal design. With any of the excess washi tape, simply fold it on the back side. From there, it's as simple...