'Tis the Season

I love all the cute village dies & when I saw this tri-fold slim-line card using a Hero Art's die I knew it had to be one of my Christmas cards this year.  I watched the video by Ilina who made it look so easy.  After making a prototype, I did make a few changes. 

I used Hero Arts Tri-Fold Edge Village Fancy Die Set & Stampendous Tis the Season Stamp Set.  This stamp set is one of my favorites for Christmas sentiments.

In Ilina's video, she cuts white cardstock: 3 @ 4" x 8 1/2" for the card front & 2 @ 3 1/2" x 8 1/2" for the base.  I substituted 1 @ 3 1/2" x 8 1/2" white with SU Night of Navy for the base.  This eliminated one piece of cardstock & a lot of inking since I made quite of few cards.

These will be the tallest & middle panels of the tri-fold.  Looking at the back of the 4" cardstock on the right, you can see how I positioned the village die & on the left you can see the results.

These will be the mid-size & right panels of the tri-fold.  Looking at the back of the 4" cardstock on the right, you can see how I positioned the village die & on the left you can see the results.

These will be the shortest & left panels of the tri-fold.  Looking at the back of the 4" cardstock on the right, you can see how I positioned the village die & on the left you can see the results.

The 4" die cut for the tallest & middle panels had 1/2" cut off the left side so they are 3 1/2" wide.

The 4" die cuts for the mid-size & right panels have a 1/2" tab on the right side.  This tab will be used to attach it to right side of the tallest/middle panel.  To make the tab, I used a trimmer to make a cut down just past the house & 1/2" from the right side.  I removed this small section by cutting the cardstock at an angle to meet the trimmer cut just below the house.

The 4" die cuts for the shortest & left panels have a 1/2" tab on the left side.  This tab will be used to attach it to the left side of the tallest/middle panel.  To make the tab, I used a trimmer to make a cut down just past the house & 1/2" from the left side.  I removed this small section by cutting the cardstock at an angle to meet the trimmer cut just below the house.

Using my Scor-Buddy, I lined up the cut I had made on the right of the panel & scored it to finish making the 1/2" right tab.  After folding & burnishing the tab, the panel will be 3 1/2".

In Ilina's video, she scores first then cuts out the section at the top.  I wasn't getting a good cut on the score line.  Doing it this way it was easier for me to line up with a groove in the Scor-Buddy without measuring.

I repeated the steps above except I lined up the cut I had made on the left of the panel & scored it to finish making the 1/2" left tab.  After folding & burnishing the tab, the panel will be 3 1/2" also.

I forgot to take photos of the next couple of steps:

I lined up the tops of the 3 panels to get the spacing.  All the panels are different lengths so I held them together with the navy base to see how much to cut off the bottom.  After marking the white panels at the bottom of the navy base, I continued to hold the 3 panels together & placed them in my Cutterpillar to trim off the bottom.  For the remaining 18 of each panel, I measured from the top of a flat roof to the bottom & cut them to match.

The sentiments need to be stamped before putting the panels together starting with the front panel.  After positioning the stamp in my Misti I stamped all the front panels in SU Night of Navy.  I then stamped the middle & bottom sentiments after lining them up so they had the same spacing from the bottom of the panels.

To put the panels together, I placed 1/2" Scor-tape on the back of each tab of the top & middle panels.  I lined up the middle panel with the bottom panel then adhered them together on the right side.  With the middle panel closed, I then lined up the top panel & adhered to the bottom panels on the left.   

The SU Night of Navy base was stamped with Stampscapes Cloud Space in SU Night of Navy then lightly spattered it with diluted white paint.

I used double sided tape to adhere the front tri-fold panel to the SU Night of Navy base.

Here's the finished card with bling for a star.

TFL!

Disappearing Birthday!

This card was really fun to make!  In a SCS Weekly Inkling, I saw a tutorial for the Disappearing Nine Patch Card by Betty Traciak.  It came at the right time because I needed a couple of birthday cards for my friends, Lisa & Renee, who is a quilter.

I didn't take any photos as I was doing the card but Betty's video is awesome.  I used SU Raspberry Ripple & Very Vanilla cardstock, SU Birthday Basics DSP & CTMH Stitched Circles Embossing Folder.  The sentiment is an Elizabeth Craft peel off sticker.  

A little fun fact...this was Lisa's card & her birthday is on the 6th.  I was able to punch it out of the DSP & place it in the upper left corner!

TFL!!

Never Ending Birthday Wishes

I saw this technique on Splitcoaststampers called Never-Ending Card by Lynn Mercurio.  I thought it sounded interesting & I needed a cool birthday card for Tina, who is an amazing card maker.  The first one I made didn't turn out so I had to watch the video frame by frame to figure out where I went wrong making my folds.  You really need to watch Lynn's video to see this card in action.  Not sure I'd make a 100 of them but I glad I mastered the technique!

I used SU Baja Breeze (I think) as the base & a couple of different coordinating SU DSPs.  The "Wishing You" is from Wplus9's Sending Hoping Wishing Die Set.  The letters of this die cut are not separate so once I adhered them to the card, I snipped them apart so they would move when the card folded.

Before die cutting all the sentiments, I ran pieces of cardstock through my Xyron Sticker Maker. 

This is the 2nd fold & the die cuts are from Tim Holtz Alphanumeric 1" Tall Dies.

This is the 3rd fold using Tim Holtz Celebration Words Script.  Boy, I sure didn't get that one on straight!

On the 4th fold, I added 2 panels in SU Very Vanilla.  I stamped the sentiment from Paper Tray Ink's Quilter's Sampler Sentiments in Versafine Black & the needle is stamped in silver.

I had to give a demo on how to work the card but it was a hit with Tina & the others in our stamping group.  Wish I would have made a video turning it to the different panels.

TFL!

You look Marvelous!

I made 2 window cards, one for a friend & the other for my "sister" (SIL) who are having birthdays in August.      

Dimensions:

Baja Breeze base cut 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"; scored at 4 1/4"
Whisper White base cut 8" x 5 1/4"; scored 4" & 6" 
Hand Drawn DSP cut 5 1/4" x 4" & 1 3/4" x 4"

                                                                 

The largest DSP was adhered to the front of the Baja Breeze base.  The frame was made by cutting a 3 1/8" scallop circle from Bajaj Breeze then cutting 2 1/4" circle from the center.  The frame was used to determine the position of the window then it was was cut from the front panel using the same circle die.  The frame was adhered to the front panel.  

Next the Whisper White base was folded & adhered to the inside of the Baja Breeze base.  It doesn't show in the photo but the Baja Breeze has a reveal on all sides of the white.  The inside circle was made with the same circle & scallop dies as the frame.  After the sentiment was stamped, the circle was lined up using the window as a guide. Only the right side of the sentiment circle was adhered to the fold of the white.

The reverse side of the smaller DSP was adhered to the white panel as shown.  The inside image & sentiments was stamped so wasn't seen until the card was fully opened.

The sequins was added for a little bling.

This is one of my favorite stamp sets & I probably over use it but I had to showcase Wanda!  There are 2 more images & several snarky sentiments.  This has long since retired & there are other sets but I've never been lucky enough to find one at a reasonable price.

Anyway enough whining, this card was fun to make & really didn't take long.  TFL!!

Supplies: Stamps-Words by Wanda; Dies-Spellbinders Large Standard Circles & Classic Scalloped Circles Large; Cardstock-SU Whisper White & Baja Breeze; DSP-SU Hand Drawn; Inks-SU Baja Breeze & Momento Black; Markers-SU Baja Breeze, Copics R24, R29, YG61, YG63, YR01, E50, E41, RV10; Embellishments-SU Sequins.

Open If You Dare!

This is not only a Halloween card but a birthday card too.  My friend, Mary Ann has an October birthday & she loves everything Halloween.  I  recently saw a similar card but unfortunately I can't find it again to give credit for my inspiration.

The white card front was cut 5 1/4 X 4 from SU Thick Whisper White then inked with Tim Holtz's Crackling Campfire, Spiced Marmalade & Fossilized Amber Distress Ink.

Using Tim Holtz's Stamp Platform, the spooky house from his Haunted House stamp set was stamped in his Archival Black Soot Ink.  It was also distressed with a little Pumice Stone Distress Ink.

Tim's Tangled Twigs was cut from his Kraft-Core Nostalgic Brown Cardstock. Once cut, it was gently sanded.

The ghost is vellum, cut with Tim Holtz Village Graveyard Die.

The ghost was then inked on the back with Tim's Pumice Stone Distress Ink. 

The card front & Tangled Twigs die cut were sprayed with Tim's Brushed Pewter Mica Spray. 

To complete the project the ghost was woven into & adhered to the Tangled Twigs die cut.  It was then adhered to the card front leaving a narrow reveal & added to the SU Basic Black card base.

The final detail was "open if you dare" from Tim's Regions Beyond Stamp Set.  It was stamped on white cardstock, hand cut, inked with Pumice Stone Distress Ink & popped up.  

Hope you like my creation & thanks for looking! 

Merry Musical Christmas

Just love CAS cards!  This was my shoebox project for an event I attended. 

Before die cutting "Merry Christmas", I ran the cardstock through my Xyron so it would have an adhesive back.

After stamping & die cutting the holly, I colored the ribbon with gold Wink of Stella & added red Stickles over the berries.

Unfortunately the SU music DSP is discontinued but you could make it by masking & using a background music stamp.




This was a fun easy card to make!  Thanks for looking!


Supplies:  Neenah Premium 110 lb Extra Heavy Cardstock, SU Cherry Cobbler & Garden Green Cardstock, SU Merry Music Sampler DSP, Tim Holtz Alterations Retro Merry Christmas Die, Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Tattered Christmas Stamp Set Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Christmas Dies, Gold Wink of Stella, Ranger Christmas Red Stickles, Xyron Create-a-Sticker Max

Flowers for Your Birthday

I made these birthday cards using Tim Holtz Alcohol Lift-Ink Technique for the Giggler's August birthday girls, Judy & Robin.  Lots of fun & its like a BOGO sale!!

How I did it:

Following Tim's instructions, I started by creating a background on Ranger White Alcohol Ink Yupo Cardstock with Aquamarine, Dandelion & Bottle alcohol inks.  Using my Tim Holtz Stamp Platform, I stamped Hero Arts Everything Flower stamp using the alcohol lift-ink onto the background.  To transfer the ink, I immediately stamped the  image onto a  piece of Neenah Premium 110 lb extra heavy cardstock.  I then went back to the original background to blot & dab the image off.  The "happy birthday" was cut from thin foam from the Dollar Tree using Tim Holtz Alterations Celebration Word Script then run through my Xyron sticker maker.  I liked being able to bend the "birthday" into an arch.  I thought the green sentiment needed something to stand out so I brushed it with Clear Zig Wink of Stella.  To finish them off, I added a few pieces of Neat & Tangled Sequin with Ranger Glossy Accents.  It was then mounted on another piece of white cardstock and SU! Tempting Turquoise. 

What worked best for me:

I've practiced this technique several times & since you need to work quickly having a design plan helps.  I like using medium to dark colors because the lighter colors looked washed out on the white Yupo.  I was also impatient so I ended up with a few smears & rubbed to much ink off because I didn't listen to Tim...make sure the alcohol ink is dry before stamping; most important is to blot the ink off until it's no longer shiny before you start to dab or rub & always have a clean spot on your paper towel.

I can see this being a technique I'll use over & over again!  TFL!

Butterfly Sympathy

This was my shoebox project for a recent Splitcoaststampers get together in Ilion, NY.  I got the idea from a card I saw on Pinterest by Patsy Collins.  The layout is the same but I used a different stencil, colors, & I stamped a flower instead of using a die cut.  I thought it was a very pretty card & decided on using a sympathy sentiment & verse instead of making a birthday card.  The photo doesn't do it justice either!

To make the background, I used a little trick I saw Jennifer McGuire do by putting Glad Press 'n Seal around a small bread board with the sticky side up.  This will keep the cardstock in place without having to hold it or use adhesive.

The SU Whisper White background was done by blending Cracked Pistachio in the center of Tim Holtz's Latticework Stencil then adding Antique Linen, around the outside of the cracked pistachio & a little in the middle.

Next using my Misti, I stamped a flower from Tim Holtz Wildflowers using Peeled Paint & Dried Marigold Markers & a sentiment from SU Love & Sympathy set with a VersaFine Onyx Black Mini Ink Pad.

The dots are from SU Gorgeous Grunge & randomly stamped in Antique Linen.

I decided to use one of the butterflies from Tim Holtz's Mini Detailed Butterfly Dies cut in SU Whisper White with SU Vellum underneath.  I added a Zva Mini Taupe Pearl on the butterfly.

It was a quick & easy card...hope you give it a try.  TFL!

Flowers in Bloom

This project was for a swap at a recent Splitcoaststampers event in Ilion, NY.  The swap was a "No Sentiment" card front which I thought would be easy but it IS difficult not to use a sentiment!

The flowers from Sweet n Sassy Flowers in Bloom stamp set (& there's a matching die!) are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on SU Whisper White.  It was colored with Copic markers (R85, R83, B21, B97, G94, G99 & E25) & brushed with Clear Wink of Stella. Once the image was cut in thirds & matted, they were adhered to a 5 X 3 3/4 piece of SU Whisper White that had been embossed using TH Bricked EF. The black jute & tiny black jewels were added as accents then adhered to the 5 1/4 X 4 SU Basic Black card front.  It's already to be added to a cardbase of choice!

TFL!

Love You!

I designed this Valentine Day's card for The Craft Shack's Card Club.  I just love this paper from Maja Design & even though it's from a Christmas paper pack it's perfect for Valentine's Day!

I placed 2 pieces of Maja Design I Wish 12-x-12 DSP on SU Real Red CS then added it to the Neenah Premium 110lb Extra Heavy Card stock base.  The strip of red CS was embossed with a Dots EF; I die cut a  Elizabeth Craft Jewels 1 Die in white.  I trimmed it to fit then added Starform Red Dot Stickers for a little bling.  The LittleB Heart Dies not only cut but embosses too.  The small white heart is popped up.  The words are from Tim Holtz Celebration Script Words & I went over them with clear Wink of Stella.

Hope you liked my simple Valentine's Day Card!  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Birthday Quilt

This birthday card was for one of the Giggler's, Renee'.  She loves to quilt & works in a quilt shop so how could I not make her a quilt card?

I started with a SU Very Vanilla mat embossed using We R Memory Keepers Quilted Embossing Folder then adhered it to the SU Marina Mist card base  The Papertrey Ink Quilters Sampler Stamp Set squares are individual stamps so I positioned them on my Misti so I could re-stamp if necessary.  They were inked with SU Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi & Regal Rose markers, lightly spritzed with water & stamped on watercolor paper.  Once the quilt squares were matted, I popped it up with thin dimensionals.  I used Impression Obsession Birthday Top Edgers Die for the sentiment...I love these cute dies (& they're perfect for the pop-up box cards)!  After matting the die cut, it was popped up with thin dimensionals too. 

I love doing quilt cards & hope you enjoyed my project!  TFL!

Forty!

My baby boy turned 40 a few days ago & believe it or not he was excited.  I saw this card by Fizzi-jayne makes on Pinterest & was inspired to make one for him.

I started by printing the sentiment from Word & cutting the CS to 5 X 3 3/4.  Each number was cut twice, offset, glued together, then popped up.  Once the sheet of Scrabble letters was printed, I roughly cut them out, glued them to chipboard then trimmed them off.  I also lightly sanded & inked the edges before adding them to the card front using thin dimensionals.

It was a fun little birthday card to make!  TFL!

Cardstock:  SU Basic Black, Pacific Point & Whisper White

Die:  Sweet 'n Sassy Numbers Die

Misc:  printable scrabble letters. chipboard, liquid glue, thin dimensionals, sanding grip, frayed burlap

Snowy Christmas

I wanted to keep my project for the Christmas Card Swap at our SCS event simple because I had to make 18 but in the end I couldn't do it.

I started by stamping the sentiment from Tim Holtz's Retro Christmas in VersaMark then heat embossed it using Ranger Gold EP.

The Memory Box Snowflake Ornament & Memory Box Frostyville Border were cut from shimmer paper that I had in my stash.  I did run the paper for the ornament through my Xyron machine before I die cut it.  The back of the ornament is cut from a Tim Holtz Gold Deco Sheet using a Memory Box Classic Ornament Die.  After putting the ornament together I ran my brayer over it to make sure it was adhered good.  Then I used a sliver of the deco sheet to "hang" it on the SU Night of Navy card base.

The Frostyville Border was added using a glue pen then trimmed off.  I used a few tiny snowflakes from the trimmings as accent pieces.

If I do say so myself, I think this is a very pretty card & has just enough sparkle for the holiday season.  TFL!

Winter Cottage

My friends & I hosted our 2nd SCS event today.  This is my shoebox project which needed to take 5 - 10 minutes to complete.  I made 2 completed cards then 16 kits so each person completed my card during the event.

The cardstock used was SU Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler & 2 layers of Whisper White.  I used a very pretty stamp by Altenew called Winter Cottage with my Mini Misti so there would be no guessing where to stamp the image.  For a reference point, I lightly stamped the image on the 1st piece of white CS before die cutting with the next to largest snowflake die from SU's Festive Flurry Thinlit Set.  Once it was cut, I used the Sizzix Snowflake EF to embossed the snowflakes.  To stamp the 2nd piece of CS, I inked the entire image with a SU Crumb Cake ink pad.  Since the image is small I didn't try to wipe off the trees before inking them with the SU Mossy Meadow marker.  Once the image was stamped, I re-inked the stamp with markers to touch up the image where it didn't stamp well.  To pop up the snowflake layer, I used a lot of white 3d foam squares around the outside edges & cut edge of the snowflake.  "Joy" from SU's Wonderful Wreath Thinlit set was added using a glue pen.  I brushed Clear Wink of Stella over the snowy roof & ground for a little sparkle.   Really a pretty easy card with a classic look!  TFL!!

Celebrate with Flowers

For the August technique class at The Craft Shack I wanted to do something different & found a tutorial on SCS by Mary Dimercurio Prasad called Faux Glass Flowers.  I was a little nervous at first (or afraid I'd burn my fingers) but thought I'd give it a try.  I made flowers but I also saw a few samples with butterflies in the SCS gallery & I think dragonflies would be pretty too.

I followed Mary's tutorial by using Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals Die but instead of plastic packaging I used a sheet of Clear Scraps Acrylic  which is a little heavier.  I made several flowers using cranberry & sunshine yellow alcohol ink on two of them and purple twilight & sunshine yellow (sparingly) on the other two.  I also used a small  amount of pearl mixative & a little blending solution to move the colors around.  To get the effect I wanted I went over it a few times adding a few more drops of ink each time.  Once dried I stamped half of them with a dot background & the other half with a script background in StazOn black ink.  I used a sponge dauber to add a little StazOn to the edges.  Once dry, I held the flowers with tweezers & doing 1 or 2 petals at a time, held them in front of my heat tool until I could see the petal start to move.  I pulled it away & gently curled it until it was where I wanted it.  CAUTION - do not get your fingers in front of the heat gun or you will burn them!  If you don't like how they look you can re-heat & shape again.  To finish the flowers off, I placed a drop or 2 of sunshine yellow ink directly on the pearl brad & clear gem then placed them in the center of the flowers.  I layered the larger flowers by adding the brad using a hole reamer & added the gems using a couple of glue dots on the smaller flowers.

To finish the card, I used my Misti to stamp "celebrate" from Tim Holtz's Handwritten Sentiments in black Memento.  Then I masked the word with a piece of torn copy paper & again using my Misti stamped SU Brushstrokes in peeled paint & lightly sponged the edges in the same ink.  The leaves are die cut from Tim Holtz's Garden Greens in SU Old Olive & sponged with peeled paint.  I then placed the leaves & small flower on the SU Elegant Eggplant base.

Fun technique but definitely a card that you would hand deliver.  It would also be neat in a shadow box, a jewelry project or even a little girl's headband!

TFL!!