Washi Paper Cards and a Never Ending Birthday Card

I'm back to report on what I did last weekend, which was to increase my stock of cards in my shop.  I have had the Japanese washi paper for quite awhile now and have made several bookmarks with it, but had never done any cards until I did this one for my BFF Kendra's birthday card.  I love washi paper- it is so detailed and intricate, with such vivid colors!  I decided to make some cards with the stock that I have, since the washi bookmarks are not real big sellers.  Turns out I had way more washi paper than I remembered buying!  I had 8 different designs, so I made a set of two with each.

I really had a lot of fun putting these together.  The designs are pretty simple: card base with a coordinating layer on top of that, and the washi paper framed in gold, with horizontal gold ribbon on the lower quarter.  I wanted to keep the design pretty uncomplicated and let the beauty of these gorgeous papers speak for themselves and have the spotlight.  They all have a little bit of metallic gold running through them, and that is why I framed each one in gold and have the accent ribbon, to bring that out.  The cards are blank inside, with either white or off-white liners, depending on the colors in the cards.  I love them and think they are gorgeous!  (I might be just a little biased, though.)  I did list these in my shop, and sadly they are not getting much attention.  As of today, a few of them had one view each.  :(  It could be that I have overpriced them...I did see cheaper sets in other shops, but honestly I think my designs are much more put together than the other ones I saw.  Besides, washi paper is NOT cheap- $2 for one 8.5x11 sheet,  not to mention all the ATG adhesive I went through for all these layers!  I will give it some time, since right now the rush is on for Valentine's Day cards.

Speaking of which, my Valentine cards that I posted previously are getting plenty of views, and have been featured in several treasuries as well- but still no sales.  I would sure like to sell at least one, just so I know that my stuff is worthy!

This was the other project I took on over the weekend, a never ending birthday card for one of my daughters friends, who is having a birthday party coming up this weekend.  She's into all the cute tween fashions, and every time I see her she is wearing a funky headband or bow or scrunchie or something, and seems to favor animal prints and bright colors.

This last picture is an envelope that I made for the card, since I have not been able to find envelopes in the dimensions I need for these 6x6 never ending cards.  They are not too difficult to make, and I kind of like the fact that I can make them to match the cards.  For the ones I have listed in my shop, I made plain white or off-white envelopes, but for this one, which is not going in the mail, I got a little more creative.  I hope she likes it!

Next I need to work on the lollipop flowers that my daughter and I are doing for her Valentines for her class.  We have all the stuff we need to make them but have barely gotten started, and it's already the first of February!  I've also got some other ideas floating around in my head for new products, so I'm hoping that sometime in the near future I can start working on those.  Sigh..so much to do and so little time!