Whenever I have the time, I like to make cards for people - friends, family, professors - for any occasion that could possibly warrant a card. All I hope for is that they like it as much as I like making it!

Safe Travels - May 2014

Base - blank card, blank parchment card

Belize - cardstock paper & scrapbooking paper

Fish - scrapbooking punch-out shapes

Fedora - cardstock paper

Lettering - scrapbooking punch-out shapes, gold metallic marker

Outlines- gold metallic marker
Calligraphy - PIGMA Calligrapher felt-tip marker
Words (interior) - fineliner
Envelope - parchment envelope & gold certificate seal

So this card was quite an adventure. At first the base was just the parchment card (see top-right image). It had a helicopter as well as the cut-out of Belize and the fish, but when it was time to do the lettering, the only calligraphy pen I had was a super cheap one that bled and fuzzed everywhere. The card became unusable, but I managed to salvage the cut-outs and transfer them (with the additional layer of parchment underneath) to the blue card. Then I decided to continue using the scrapbooking pack I had and added the letter embellishments on to the blue card. I also got rid of the helicopter because it looked super childish and it didn't fit in with the other elements.

Then it was time to do the interior. Luckily, one of my three PIGMA markers still worked (and it was the right width too, thank goodness) so I used that to ink in the main message and added the extra words in with fineliner. The thing about calligraphy is, it's a) hard to write consistently for a long period of time, especially with felt-tip markers, and b) is hard to read/fit on to the page. 

The envelope was initially the blue one that was paired with the base, but after consideration I used the parchment envelope instead because it fit the theme of the card more and because the blue envelope had enough wax on it to render the felt-tip ineffective. The gold seal was left over from a certificate pack I bought last year as part of a club event hosted for middle school students, so I added that as the finishing touch.

I only wish the lettering on the front was better; if only I had a gold metallic calligraphy marker instead of a fineliner, then it would have been perfect.

This card easily took a huge chunk of time, as with any card that involves calligraphy. However, this one took the most time (apart from the poinsettia card) solely because I had to scrap the parchment base idea, and because I spent a lot of time looking for a calligraphy pen that works.

Mother's Day Card - May 2014

Base - blank parchment card

Green background - cardstock paper

Floral background - scrapbooking paper

Tree branch & birds - cardstock paper

Lettering - scrapbooking punch-out shapes, Sharpie fineliner

Embellishments - scrapbooking stickers

I made this once I realized I wouldn't be able to make it home for Mother's Day this year, the first one in memory that I've missed. Inside is an apologetic note about not being home.

Birthday Card - May 2013

Base - cardstock paper, ornamental stationery paper

Circles - paint samples

Lettering (cover) - silver metallic marker

Lettering (interior)- Gold and green calligraphy dip ink, brown calligraphy cartridge pen

One of my favourite calligraphy projects. I made this for a fencing teammate who was leaving us for U of T because his research supervisor is re-locating. I decided on the day of the fencing get-together of the year that I would make this.

The gold/green effect in the letterings was an accident -- I used a cartridge calligraphy pen to dip into the gold ink, but there was leftover green ink within the nib, causing this blending effect.

The cover didn't measure up to my standards; the inside was more or less perfect and the front looks like a 10-year-old made it. I didn't plan what the card would look like on the outside -- opposite of what I do with the rest of my cards.

Poinsettia Card - December 2012

Base - cardstock paper

Poinsettia leaves & petals - foil scrapbooking paper reinforced with cardstock paper

Poinsettia centre - cardstock paper, gold calligraphy ink, gold metallic marker

I made two of the exact same cards - one went to a friend while the other was for my family. They took a very long time. I printed out a template for poinsettia petals and leaves, stenciled them on the scrapbooking paper, glued it to cardstock for reinforcement, and cut them out individually. The scissors I had were not sharp and the handle was a little too small, making progress slow and painful. One of my favourite cards because colours worked out so well + the foil designs on the scrapbook paper highlight the poinsettia perfectly.

Birthday Card - November 2012

Base - cardstock paper

Button - corrugated cardboard, Sharpie

Pocket watch - cardstock paper, gold metallic marker, Sharpie

Collar & Hankerchief - cardstock paper

Embellishments - fineliner

Made for a friend who watches ABC's Suits. The message inside the card "You got Litt up!" is one of the characters' catchphrases. The collar is 3D - it flips up.

Birthday Card - August 2012

Base - cardstock paper

Edges - scrapbooking paper

Rabbit - cardstock paper

Lettering - silver metallic marker

Made for my cousin, who was turning 24. He was born in the year of the rabbit.

Birthday Card - July 2012

Base - blank card

Lettering & Embellishments - silver&gold metallic markers, Sharpie

This card was extremely simple - marker on a blank card. I printed out a treble cleff vector, cut out out and traced it over.

Birthday Card - July 2012

Base - cardstock paper

Squares - cardstock paper

Embellishments - foil scrapbooking paper

Lettering - gold&silver metallic marker, Sharpie fineliner

Family of Cards - May & June 2012

Con-graduations

Base - cardstock paper

Stripes - cardstock paper

Graduation cap & tassles - cardstock paper

Lettering - Sharpie fineliner

Outline - silver metallic marker

Glue stick and hot glue gun

Made for my brother for his elementary school graduation. I am extremely proud of this pun.

The edges of the stripes and graduation cap are peeling off due to lack of glue & the glue stick being dry.

Father's Day Card

Base - cardstock paper

Background - teal scrapbooking paper

Tie - cardstock paper 

Lettering - silver metallic marker

Glue stick and hot glue gun

Tie and collar are 3D. The card turned out smaller than planned but still good.

Mother's Day Card - May 2012

Base - blank card

M - foil scrapbooking paper

Lettering - silver metallic marker

Glue stick and hot glue gun

This was made on the same day as the Thank-You card.

Thank You Card - May 2012

Base - blank card
Outside flap - foil scrapbooking paper
Lettering - Sharpie
Glue stick and hot glue gun

This was the first card I had made in a long time. I tried experimenting with an X-acto knife instead of using scissors, but the cuts, while straighter, were not clean enough. Because the card base was glossy, using a calligraphy marker or pen was impossible; I had to use a Sharpie instead and the result wasn't quite what I was aiming for.