Hello Maja Design fans and friends!  Nancy Hanttula here with you again.  Today, I would like to show you just how versatile the Maja Design paper collections truly are.  I have created 4 different cards…all very distinctly different….but all from the very same paper collection, Vintage Spring Basics.

I will show you each finished card first, and then I will share all the little details and “love” that I put into each and every one.  So, without further ado, here is the first card. I fondly refer to it as “The Cupcake.”

And the 2nd card, I call “Butterflies.”

The 3rd card, I refer to as “Groove Thang.”

and finally, the last card, I call “Blessings.”

As you can see, every card has a very different style (I do like to change things up.)

For “The Cupcake” card, my inspiration was a card that I saw while perusing a magazine at Hobby Lobby in one of the magazines.  I didn’t make note of the magazine, but I did make note of the card maker (Sherry Wright)….I was enthralled by how she used buttons to make the frosting of her cupcake and had to dive into my vast stash of buttons to create my own cupcake masterpiece.

To create the little flag, I simply cut a banner out of the back-side print of the 7th of May, dampened the paper and wrapped it/glued it around a toothpick.  I hand-printed the lettering in brown ink.

I also did a bit of dimensional stenciling using some Liquitex modeling paste mixed with pink acrylic paint and added some stars to the corners.

I then added a light touch of background stamping and touch of acrylic paint here and there, some doodling and shading around the cupcake base, and some hand-sewn border stitching along the edges.  I topped off the piece with a strip of brown pom-pom trim.

For the “Butterflies” card, I started out by using the paper 9th of April.  I then added some dimensional stenciling (again with some Liquitex modeling paste and a stencil by The Crafter’s Workshop of the harlequin pattern.)

I then stamped the harlequin pattern with the Stampabilities stamp, “Faded Text.”

I did the same basic modeling paste stencil technique with the heart, using one of my stencils from my stash.  I mixed the modeling paste with a darker purple acrylic paint.

I cut out all of the little butterflies from the 6th of May paper, and adhered them with glue.  I wanted them to look like they were flying up off the card.

The 3rd card, “Groove Thang” was created using a wax crayon resist technique.  I bought the wax crayon from my local art supply store.  It applies completely clear.  I drew on a scribbled background pattern onto the backside print of 8th of March paper, then sprayed on “Cheshire Cat Cherry” spray mist from Lindy’s Stamp gang.  The wax completely resists the mist.

I then used a fun Dina Wakely silhouette stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop……I used a combination of Black archival ink from Ranger and Black India ink from a Faber-Castell pen (both of which the wax also resists.)

The star strip was a piece of scrap that I had used from another project to punch out some stars.  I doodled around the stars using various widths of my black pens.

I added some dimensional stenciled stars using the same stencil that I used in my cupcake card.

The number ephemera strips are actually pieces of tags that my husbands dry-cleaning comes home with….I make him save them for me.  I love collecting ephemera for my projects…especially things with numbers on them.

I added a bit of stitching here and there

and considered the card finished.  I wrote on the outside of the card…” never too old to shake your groove thang…happy birthday” – I thought it was appropriate for the fun silhouette that made me think of dancing.

And the last card, “Blessings” was put together rather easily.  I photographed the steps so that you could see how easy a card can come together.  AND, I don’t know about you, but because my friends and family know that I am a crafter, especially a paper crafter, they tend to expect a hand-made card, so, with that in mind, here is how easily it can be done.

#1  I put down my base layer and inked the edges.  I decided to add some polka-dots using a gelato and a stencil.

#2  I hand tore a layer, inked the edges and glued it down.

#3  I layered on a piece of ribbon.

#4  I cut out another layer and glued it down.

#5  I chose some pretty red Petaloo flowers, arranged them how I wanted them, then glued them down.

#6  I chose a flourish rub-on and applied it to the center.

#7  I needed a little extra something in the top right corner, so I tore another little strip of paper and added another little Petaloo flower.

#8 Above you can see how I hand-stitched a pretty red border to match the flowers around the edges of the card.

#9  And then finally, I added a rub-on sentiment,  and voila, another finished card to have on hand to give to a friend or family member.

Vintage Spring Basics papers used for:  “The Cupcake” – 1st of March (bs); 5th of May; 6th of April; 7th of May (bs)  Other supplies:  Ingvild/Prima chalk ink “Coltsfoot Stemens”; Kaisercraft dot stamp; Zutter Distrezz-it-all; Aleene’s tacky glue; Fiskars apron border punch; Polymark dimensional paint; Sharpie ultra fine point marker in brown; Prima clear buttons; Liquitex modeling paste; buttons, ribbon, star stencil, & toothpick from my stash.

Vintage Spring Basics papers used for:  “Butterflies” – 9th of April; 10th of April (border strip); 11th of April; & 6th of May.  Other supplies:  Ingvild/Prima chalk in “Worn Jeans”; Martha Stewart floral deep edge border punch; The Crafter’s Workshop harlequin stencil; FolkArt acrylic paint in Warm White; Dermacoat acrylic paint in purple; Stampabilites “Faded Text” stamp; Liquitex modeling paste, & heart stencil from my stash.

Vintage Spring Basics papers used for:  “Groove Thang” – 8th of March (bs); 1st of March (bs); Stampabilites “Faded Text” stamp; Jaylynn embroidery floss; wax crayon; numbered ephemera (from my husband’s dry-cleaning); Permaball permanent black pen, fine point Faber-castell black pen; heart stencil, Liquitex modeling paste; Dermacoat purple acrylic paint; Black Archival Ranger ink; & Dina Wakely silhouette stencil “Emily/Polly” from The Crafter’s Workshop.

Vintage Spring Basics papers used for: “Blessings” – 1st of March; 7th of April (front and back); Days to Remember; ribbon from my stash; Petaloo flowers; flourish rub-on from K & Co.; saying rub-on from Kaisercraft; gelato from Faber-Castell; polka-dot stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop; Aleene’s tacky glue; Ingvild/Prima chalk ink Black Coal; hot glue & Jaylynn red embroidery floss.

Thanks for looking my friends!  I hope I have shown how versatile these gorgeous papers can be….and I hope that you get the chance to create something amazing today!