Penguin Birthday Shaker Card

Hello everyone, I hope you had a good Christmas holiday! I've got a shaker birthday card for you today with some happy, little penguins.

I've used the Penguin Cake - 4x6 Clear Stamp - GSD799, to create the cake and penguins.  I masked the two front penguins after stamping them on some Neenah Solar Crest card, and then stamped the cake and the middle penguin afterwards.  I used Copic markers to colour everything in, and then attached the image to the front of an A2 sized card.  I added some Distress Oxide Shaded Lilac ink around the outside of the penguins in a circular shape.

The paper for the card front is from the Grunge Light collection by Craft Consortium, and I cut out a circle that was big enough to allow the penguins to show through.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set, and I just used Versamark ink and white embossing powder and heat set it.  On the back of the card front,  I placed double sided adhesive tape around the opening, removed the backing paper, and then attached a piece of acetate that was big enough to cover the opening.  Next, I placed two layers of foam tape all around the opening and over the rest of the back of the card front.  I added some shaker bits over the penguins, before removing the backing of the foam tape and adhering the card front to the base. 

I used the Memory Box Bubble Circles die to cut the rings out from white cardstock - I cut two of these.  I actually cut the circles from scraps of inked up card I already had, but I think it would be even easier to just use markers or pencil crayons to colour in the circles.  I added Stickles Glitter Glue over top of the circles and let it dry before attaching the rings to the card front with glue.  And then all that's left, is to give the card a good shake!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Butterfly Delight

 Hello and welcome back.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are ready for a little butterfly sunshine!

Supplies Used:  Butterfly Trellis 6x6" Stencil 26497, Little Etched Butterflies Metal Cutting Die 25609, Celebrate Layered Metal Cutting Die 17454.  Other supplies: Distress Oxide inks in Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Salvaged Patina, Prize Ribbon, Wilted Violet.  Gold mirror cardstock, thin acetate strips (from old packaging),  Ranger Foundry Wax in Gilded, and Perfect Pearls in Pearl.

To create the background, I used some Pixie Spray to the back of my stencil to hold it down in place on my card front, but you could also tape it in place.  I applied the Distress Oxide inks in the order listed above, and moving downwards in a diagonal pattern.  I used small finger brushes to apply the ink as there are a lot of colours and the area to cover was small.  I went back over the colours with the previous colour to get a good blend.  Before removing the stencil, I spritzed a mixture of the Perfect Pearls and water over the surface to give a little soft shine.  I removed the stencil and after admiring that magical effect that happens with stencilling, I attached the card front to the card base. 

I die cut the little butterflies twice - once from white cardstock and once from the gold mirror cardstock. I applied the Foundry Wax to the white butterflies, using either a toothpick for the smaller dots, or a fine tipped paintbrush for the larger areas.  I then heat set these with my heat gun to bring out the shine of the wax. 

Next, I glued the gold butterflies down over the areas where the stencil had left the butterfly impression. I folded the wings on the white butterflies upwards to either side of the butterfly body, and glued the bodies down to the matching gold one on the card.  I cut a very thin strip of acetate, about 1/4" wide and 5" long and added  a thin strip of double sided adhesive to one side.  I then cut this strip into 1/2" long pieces by 1/4" wide.  I folded each of these little pieces in half, with the adhesive strip being on the outside of the fold, and just pinched them into place. I then removed the backing off the adhesive strip and placed it so the pointy V is up against the center of the body and the tabs attach to the wings.  Here's a picture to help make it a little clearer.

What the acetate does is it keeps the wings open and raised, but will also fold flat to be put into the envelope.  It's a brilliant idea from Jennifer McGuire and I've used it a few times now when I want to get some extra dimension on my cards.

I die cut the Celebrate die three times from white cardstock and once from the gold mirror cardstock and glued these together to get some dimension.  Finally, I glued the stacked Celebrate sentiment to the bottom of the card.

Thank you for joining me again, and I hope that's given you some inspiration today.

Gnome Mini Flip Slider Card

 Hello and welcome back.  I've been playing with the Bee Happy gnomes from Paper Rose Studio and have made a mini flip slider or waterfall card to share with you today.

Supplies Used: Bee Happy 12x12 Paper Collection 27706, Birthday Layered Metal Cutting Die 18297, Celebrate Layered Metal Cutting Die 17454.

This is a very easy card to make and there is absolutely no colouring required.  I've made another video for you as it is so much easier to explain this way.  I hope you will give it a try because there really is something magical and fun about pulling on that flip slider mechanism and watching the gnomes change.

To watch the video, PLEASE CLICK HERE.  Thank you for joining me today and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Full Size Gnome Box Card

Hello and welcome back!  I've got a fun, full size box card to share with you today.  I was so excited to be able to use the Bee Happy collection from Paper Rose Studio for this one, and it has been a really nice change from making Christmas cards.

 

Supplies Used: Bee Happy 12x12 Paper Collection 27706, Bee Happy Die Cuts 27703, Sunflower Border Metal Cutting Die 26362.  Other supplies: Copic markers for the sunflower border and Perfect Pearls in Pearl.

I know this may look like a difficult card, but it's actually quite easy to do.  I've made a video for you showing how it was made, and I've got my template for the box card in the video so you can create your own.  It folds down fairly flat into an A7 envelope (5 1/4" x 7 1/4").

If you would like to see the video, PLEASE CLICK HERE.  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you're having a great day.
 

Christmas Wreath Card

Hello and welcome back!  I've got another Christmas card today, and it's probably my last for the year.

 

 

Supplies Used:  Little Foliage 1 Metal Cutting Die 21099, Berry Border Metal Cutting Die 23473, Poinsettia Flowers Metal Die Set 18351, Hand Stitching Coverplate Metal Cutting Die 26020, Merry Christmas Script Clear Stamp 27301. Other supplies - Cosmic Shimmer Ultra Sparkle Paste in Golden Sand and Frosty Sparkle, Cosmic Shimmer Gilded Touch in Warm Gold, gold mirror cardstock, gold beads,  white acrylic paint, Kuretake Starry Colors Paint, Glossy Accents.

I made this card a little bigger to accommodate the wreath, so it ended up being 5" x 6".  I used the Hand Stitching coverplate die on the card front, and extended the die cutting over the entire surface which was easy to do.  I mounted the gold mirror cardstock behind this and attached the background to my card base.  

I die cut the foliage dies from both green and white cardstock and spattered them with gold paint and some white acrylic paint. I also applied some of the Ultra Sparkle paste over the white leaves and set everything aside to dry.  Once they were dry, I added some more of the Gilded Touch wax to the green leaves. 

I die cut the berry border die twice and coloured in the berries with Copic markers.  I added Glossy Accents to the berries and then let this dry.  Then I fussy cut out individual branches of berries to tuck into the wreath. 

I cut the poinsettia from red cardstock several times, and once with the small outline die from gold mirror cardstock. I layered these together, shaping the petals for dimension and using some foam tape between layers.  Then I added some of the Gilded Touch wax to the tips.  I used glue to add the gold beads to the center of the poinsettia. 

I stamped and white heat embossed the sentiment onto some red cardstock, and then fussy cut it out.

Finally, I assembled the wreath onto the card front, tucking in berries where I could. The poinsettia was added at the bottom, and the sentiment to the inside of the wreath.  Finally, I added a little of the Ultra Sparkle Frosty Sparkle paste to the tips of the leaves and berries, and just a little on the poinsettia. 

Thank you for joining me today and I hope I've given you some inspiration!

Santa's Sleigh Card

Hello again and welcome!  I think I'm on a roll with making my Christmas cards, so I hope you're not too tired of seeing them!  Here's a look at today's card.

Products used:  Nature Stroll 3 Die Cuts 27898, Crisp Christmas A5 12pc Sentiment Sheets 19772, Sleigh Metal Cutting Die 20610, Holly 6x6" Stencil 19721, Nature Stroll Festive 12x12 Paper Collection 27433 (Note - I only used the red and white strip from the bottom of one of the 12 x 12" papers from this collection, so if you have something similar, it would probably work).  Other supplies - Cosmic Shimner Luna Paste in Moonlight Pearl, silver cardstock, foil for the sentiment.

I started by creating the background first.  I used the Luna Paste through the Holly stencil, spreading as even a layer as I could, and then set it aside to dry.  

I die cut the sleigh twice from white cardstock, and once from green (this green was actually a scrap piece from the Nature Stroll Festive 12 x 12" papers). I glued one of the white die cut sleighs to the back of the green one for extra support.  I cut the runners and snowflakes from the silver mirror cardstock, and I also cut the runners again from white cardstock and glued it to the silver one.  I used glue to adhere the snowflakes to the sleigh, and then glued the sleigh runners in place.

The diecuts were easily removed from the card backing and I trimmed the tags where needed.  What a quick and simple way to make a great card! I just collected an assortment of flowers that filled the sleigh and arranged them in the sleigh.  I used a little glue to hold them in place and then glued the extra sleigh to the back of all the flowers. The red and white strip border was cut from one of the 12 x 12" paper borders.

I foiled the sentiment in my laminator with some DecoFoil in silver, and trimmed it down.

To assemble the card, I glued the now dry stencilled card front to my card base.  The red and white strip was adhered with glue on the left hand edge. I attached the sleigh and then finally, placed the sentiment underneath it, on foam tape.  

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you're having a happy, creative day!

Feline Christmas Card

Hello everyone!  I've got a Christmas card to share today using the new "Furry and Bright" stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs.

 

I stamped the Furry and Bright cat image first onto Neenah Solar Crest 80# cardstock and then masked the two lights that are on the right side. Then I positioned and stamped the cat from the "All Cats" stamp set (also from Gerda Steiner Designs) just to the right of the first cat.  I used Copic markers to colour them in and then fussy cut them out, and mounted them on double sided foam tape.  The sentiment was stamped and clear heat embossed onto white cardstock, and after trimming the sentiment down, I cut the tail ends at an angle.  I also mounted the sentiment onto foam tape. 

The background was created with the Detail Bohemian Plate die from Simon Says Stamp. After die cutting it out, I adhered it with glue to the card base.  I then positioned the cats and sentiment on the card, and finally, added a few sequin stars (from a dollar store mix), and also some Glossy Accents on the lights.  I'm pretty sure those cats look like my husband and I every year when we go to put up the lights!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a great day!

Christmas Wall Hanging

Hello and welcome back!  I've got such a fun project for you today and I'm really excited to share it with you.  I've turned some very inexpensive dollar store canvases into a Christmas wall hanging.  The canvases I used are 5" x 7" and there are three of them.  But this project could easily be adapted to bigger canvases as I used the 12" x 12" Nature Stroll Festive papers from Paper Rose Studio.  Here's a look at my wall hanging.

Top Panel

Middle Panel

Bottom Panel

I've used lots of different Paper Rose Studio dies on these panels, but look through your stash to see what you already have that could be used. Here's a list of all the supplies I used and I have a link to a video down below that shows how I made this.

Supplies: Nature Stroll Festive 12x12 Paper Collection 27433,  Christmas Poinsettia Flourish Metal Die Set 18312 , Aussie Christmas - Gum Leaves & Holly Circle Metal Cutting Die 27397, Poinsettia Flowers Metal Die Set 18351, Three Candle Circle Metal Cutting Die 26026, Pinecone Border Metal Cutting Die 26083, Merry Christmas Script Clear Stamp 27301.  Other products: Cosmic Shimmer Luna Paste in Moonlight Pearl, Prills flower centres, silver and pearl beads, Glossy Accents.

Here's a link to the video - PLEASE CLICK HERE.  Thank you for stopping by and I hope I've given you some inspiration today.

 

 

 

 

Dancing Reindeer Card

 

 

 

Hello again, I've got an interactive card today inspired by the amazing Jennifer McGuire.  Hopefully, you can see it it action in the short video above. 

Paper Rose supplies used:  Starry Night 6x6" Stencil 19802, Jumping Reindeer Metal Cutting Die 17817, Merry Christmas Chunky Metal Die Set 19511. Other supplies:  Acetate, alcohol inks, beads, gold mirror cardstock, DecoFoil Metallix gel in Champagne, holographic glitter.

This card actually started from my stash of backgrounds that I keep in a box.  I had created the alcohol inked background, but wasn't sure what to do with it.  I added the Metallix gel over the Starry Night stencil to the inked background, and before I removed the stencil, I sprinkled on some of the holographic glitter. Then I removed the stencil and washed it.  Once the background had dried, I trimmed it down to be a 4 1/2" square. The glitter added a slight grainy texture to the card front, and since I wanted to try making the reindeer swing following Jennifer McGuire's instructions (here's a link to her video for pendulum cards), I decided to add an acetate cover.  I cut a piece of acetate that was 5 x 5" and scored it on all four edges 1/4" in from the outside edge.  Using a bone folder, I creased each of the fold lines, folding the edges under.  I attached the acetate to the back of the alcohol inked card with double sided adhesive tape.

Next, I cut the reindeer die twice from white cardstock and once from the gold mirror cardstock, and glued them together.  I also cut the outline reindeer die from a navy cardstock.  I glued the gold reindeer onto the outline die cut. 

To create the pendulum mechanism, I cut a piece of acetate that was approximately 2" long and 1/2" wide, and used a piece of double sided tape to attach a penny to the bottom end.  The penny gives the acetate weight and allows it to swing.  I decided where I wanted the reindeer to be positioned on the card front and marked where the center of his head would be on the acetate square.  I used my smallest circle die, about 3/4", and die cut over this mark.  I placed a small circle of doubled up foam tape at the top of the acetate pendulum and aligned the square front over this so the foam tape came through the die cut opening.  On the front, I removed the backing from the circle of foam tape and placed the head of the reindeer over the foam tape, securing it in place.  Then I added doubled up foam tape all around the back edges, making sure the pendulum could swing freely. 

Back of the pendulum piece

Next,  I created a card base that measured 6 1/4" x 4 3/4".  I attached a piece of gold mirror cardstock to the front.  The sentiment was cut from white cardstock twice and once more from the gold cardstock and adhered together.  I cut the outline from the same navy cardstock and glued the sentiment onto this.  I positioned the sentiment at the bottom of the card front and glued it in place.  Next I removed the backing from the double sided foam on my reindeer piece, and positioned this on the card front.  To stop the pendulum from swinging as I positioned it, I had temporarily taped the reindeer in place on the front with low tack tape.  Finally, I added some beads to the reindeer and had a play with it.  It really is fun to watch him swing back and forth!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you're having a great day!

 

Penguins’ Birthday Cake

Hello and welcome back. I’ve got a birthday card today created from a brand new stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs. It’s the new Penguin Cake stamp set and it’s absolutely adorable! 

Aren’t those penguins just the sweetest?! I wanted some of the penguins and the cake to extend off the top of my card, so I cut my card base down to be 5 1/2” wide by 3 3/4” tall. I then used some cloud dies to create layers of clouds. I ink blended the tops of these in rainbow colours using Distress Oxide inks (I used Picked Raspberry, Saltwater Taffy, Ripe Persimmon, Carved Pumpkin, Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Prize Ribbon and Seedless Preserves).  I stamped and clear embossed the sentiment on the bottom layer of clouds. Next, I layered the clouds up on the card front and tucked the cake and penguins in between layers. It’s really hard to see in the picture, but I used a tacky glue on the hats, and when it had dried, I used a little laminating foil to “colour” in the hats. The foil I used is DecoFoil Rainbow Shattered Glass and it’s got lots of different colours in it. I die cut some candles from white cardstock and also put those between the clouds to add some interest. Finally, I added a few gemstones for even more interest. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’re having a great day! 

Satin Ribbon Embossed Background

 

Hello again, and welcome!  Have you ever tried using ribbon for your card background?  I've used some satin ribbon today for this card and it gives the card a soft, satiny finish in real life.  The photograph doesn't really do it justice.  

Paper Rose supplies used: Spring Floral Frame Metal Cutting Die 21054, Christmas Fir Tree Large Metal Cutting Die 20589, Stitched Rectangles Metal Cutting Die 16575, Crisp Christmas A5 12pc Sentiment Sheets 19772.  Other supplies, Distress Oxide ink in Worn Lipstick, acetate strip, pearl beads, satin ribbon, double sided adhesive (I used Die Cut'N Bond). 

To create the background, I placed the double sided adhesive over an A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2 ") sized card front, covering it completely.  After removing the backing paper,  I placed a strip of ribbon down the center of this card front, and then placed strips down the sides of the center ribbon until the entire card front was covered.  I used a bone folder to gently press the ribbon down so it adhered well to the card front.  I applied a little of the Worn Lipstick with a brush to just around the edges to darken them slightly and then rubbed the excess off with a soft cloth.  Next, I positioned this card front inside the Spring Floral Frame die and ran it through my die cutting machine with the rubber mat and embossing plate to emboss it.  You don't want to die cut this!

Using the largest and third largest dies in the Stitched Rectangles die set, I created a frame by taping the two dies evenly inside each other.  I cut this frame from white cardstock twice. 

I cut a card base from white cardstock that was the size of the frame.  I glued the satin ribbon card front to the card base, trimming it to fit.  I glued one of the white frames over this.  Next, I die cut from white cardstock, three of the Christmas Fir Trees and glued them together.  I chose to leave them white, but you could add a glitter paste or cut them from glitter cardstock.  I glued the tree to the center of the satin card front and added some pearls to it.  

Then I used double sided tape to adhere a 3/8" wide x 3 3/4" piece of acetate to the back of the remaining frame, placing it near the bottom, where the base of the tree would be.  This strip allowed me to place the sentiment off the tree and to add a few more pearls. Once the strip was in place,  I added two layers of narrow foam tape to the back of the frame, and then positioned it over the frame that was already in place.  Once the second frame was in position, I added the sentiment to the acetate strip and a few more pearls.  The ribbon really does give this card a very different look.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you're having a great day!

 

Butterflies and Poppies Bay Window Fold Card

Hello everyone, I've got another fun fold card for you today.  This one is called a Bay Window Fold and I'm sure you can see why.  There are no specialty dies required for this one but it has a great 3D effect.

Back of the card

Paper Rose supplies used: Butterfly Bliss 6 x 6' Paper Collection25108, Rainbow Poppies 6 x 6" Paper Collection 25600, Little Etched Butterflies 25609, Poppy Field Border Metal Cutting Die 18640, Stitched Rectangles Metal Cutting Die 16575 (I used the third largest rectangle), Happy Birthday Chunky Script Stamp Set 24640.  
Other Supplies: Ranger Alcohol ink in Cranberry, Gumball, Lemonade, Limeade, and Denim.  Copic markers in BG93, YR15, R02, E97, Y15, Y11, RV17, RV25, RV21 for the poppy border. 

This is a really simple card fold to make and while I've used the butterflies and poppies, you could easily use whatever you have in your supplies to make it.  I think it would be fun with some acetate over the window to really make it look like a bay window.  It could also be a scenery card if you have stamps and dies for that. Or Christmas florals ... so many options!  :)

I've made a video for you to show how I created this card.  If you want more directions, please CLICK HERE.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you're having a happy, creative day

Pigeon Toast Wedding Card

Hello everyone, I was totally inspired by Jennifer McGuire’s recent video on making simple pendulum cards. It was sheer genius and the minute I saw it, I thought about using her technique with Gerda Steiner's pigeons. If you haven’t seen Jennifer’s video, here’s a link to it - Cards with Simple Movement.

Now, I know this is not your typical wedding card, but it is a fun one!

To make this card, I used a 5 x 5" card base and also cut a card front from white cardstock that was the same size, as well as one from the background paper which is from the Belle Fleur collection by Craft Consortium.  I wanted the background to look a little like wedding card material! I adhered the white card front and the wedding paper together.  I also die cut a circle from white cardstock and one that was slightly larger from silver holographic cardstock.  The Bubble Circle is from Memory Box, and I cut three of these from white cardstock and one from the holographic cardstock.  These were glued together with the holographic one on top. I glued the silver and white circles to the card front in the upper third of the card, and then glued the Bubble Circle around it.

I stamped the pigeon which is from the A Toast to You stamp set by Gerda Steiner Designs, onto Neenah Solar Crest 80# cardstock twice.  On the second image, I only stamped the lower half of the pigeon, below the piece of toast, and just masked off the toast with a piece of Post It paper.  I used Copic markers to colour in the pigeon (N4, N2, N1, N0, E34, E53 and E30), and then fussy cut them out.  For the head image, I only coloured to the end of the toast and only cut this part out.  On the bottom portion of the pigeon, I slightly extended the lines of the body before colouring, and then cut this slight extension out with the rest of the lower half.

To create the pendulum mechanism, I cut a small strip of packaging acetate (about 2" x 1/2" wide), and rounded the top edge with my scissors.  I attached a penny to the bottom of the acetate with double sided tape. I positioned the pigeon pieces where I wanted them to go on the circle, and marked with a pencil just behind the center of the head.  Using a large paper punch, I punched a hole here, cutting through all the layers of the card front.  I also cut a circle of doubled up foam tape, using a regular paper punch which was slightly smaller than the hole I had made on the card front. I attached this piece of foam tape to the top of the acetate pendulum, and from the back of the card, pushed the foam tape through the hole I had made, to the front of the card.  I attached the pigeons' head over top of this foam circle, securing the pendulum to the card.  I then glued the lower half of the pigeon in position under the toast. The pendulum can swing quite wildly if you don't minimize its movement, so I figured out how far I wanted it to swing and put strips of doubled up foam tape on the back of the card to stop it swinging too far. Finally, I placed doubled up strips of foam tape all around the edges of the card, being careful to not interfere with the movement of the pendulum.  To attach the card front to the base, I used low tack tape on the front of the card to keep the pigeon in position, and then removed the backing paper from the foam tape and adhered it to the card base.

I created the sentiment on my computer and printed it out.  I've got a new laser printer, so although it doesn't show in the photo, I did foil the sentiment in my laminator with silver foil.  I matted that onto a strip of the holographic cardstock and attached that below the pigeon.  Finally, I added a few silver pearls because, well, it is a wedding card after all! 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you'll give this technique a try as it is a lot of fun!

See-Through Christmas Tree Card

Hello everyone, I'm so glad you stopped by.  I've got a Christmas card again to share with you today, and I must say I can never get these done early enough!

Supplies Used:  Christmas Fir Tree Large Metal Cutting Die 20589,  Poinsettia - Silver Foil 6x6 Paper Collection 27277, Crisp Christmas A5 12pc Sentiment Sheets 19772, holographic silver cardstock, gemstones, acetate (4.25" x 5.5").

I started this card by die cutting the tree out of white cardstock three times, and once from holographic silver cardstock.  I was very careful with the silver one and one of the white ones, to not loose the inset pieces, so I placed Glad Press 'N Seal onto the back of the diecut to keep all those little bits in place. The triple layers of the tree helps to give support to the acetate and keeps the card front from bending.  

I glued two of the white trees together, and then glued this onto a scrap piece of acetate.  The acetate gave me something to inlay the diecut pieces onto, but won't show up in the final card.  I trimmed this acetate so it didn't extend past the outside edges of the tree.  Then I used a fine tipped glue to inlay the white diecut pieces.  I only inlaid the non-circle pieces, as I knew I was going to put the gemstones in where the circles were.  The purpose of inlaying these white pieces was to make sure the holographic ones would show up better and not be lost in the depths of the tree.  I know that seems like an extra step, but I do think it was worth it and it really didn't take too long to do.  So the next step was to inlay the holographic pieces over the white inlaid ones. Then I glued the gemstones in place.  I also have a holographic tree now to use on another card. 

I used a top folding A2 sized card base (4.25 x 5.5"), and trimmed the front down to be 1.5" (or 4mm).  I also cut two strips from the Poinsettia silver foil cardstock, to be 4.25" x 1.5" ( 11 mm x 4 mm).  I also cut one of these strips from white cardstock.

On the card front, I used my tape gun to adhere the 4.25 x 5.5" piece of acetate over the remaining top front.  I found this easiest to do by lining up the bottom edge of the acetate with the bottom edge of the card base and then easing the acetate down onto the upper edge of the card.  

Next, I adhered the white strip of cardstock to the inside bottom edge of the acetate. I used my tape gun to apply adhesive over the white cardstock, then I lined it up flush with the bottom edge of the card base, and carefully lowered the acetate over it so it was all flush with the edges of the card base.  Finally, I adhered the silver foiled paper over the acetate, again using my tape runner.  Finally, I cut little strips of the metallic silver cardstock and glued them in place along the edges of the silver foiled cardstock.  I mounted the sentiment onto some more metallic silver cardstock.  To finish the card, I glued the tree onto the card front and added the sentiment above.  On the inside of the card front, I glued the third white cardstock tree shape over top of the front tree to give a clean finish.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you're having a very creative day!

Snowflake Christmas Cards

Hello again, I've got not one but two cards to share with you today, and they're both Christmas cards.  Here's a look at the first one:

Supplies Used:  Paper Rose Studio Large Christmas Snowflake Layered Die 17727, Paper Rose Studio Stitching Snowflake Set 26350, Paper Rose Studio Merry Christmas Script Clear Stamp 27301.  Other supplies: Ranger Alcohol inks - Cool Peri, Tranquil Pearl, Patina; Pinata Pearl alcohol ink; Nuvo Glacier Paste in Winter White, Cosmic Shimmer Ultra Sparkle Paste in Frosty Sparkle, beads, metallic foiled cardstock.

I thought that it would be easier to explain to you how I made this card in a video, so I hope you'll come check it out.  Although I made this one with snowflakes, it could easily be adapted for any occasion, and for Christmas, I think a wreath of poinsettias, gifts, or Christmas greenery would all be fun.  So just check your stash to see what you already have.  To watch the video, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

 

 

This is the second card, and I'm sure you can see how easy it was to create as I just used some leftovers from the wreath card above.  I adhered the alcohol inked acetate onto some white cardstock and then matted that with the silver foil cardstock, and repeated the matting a second time.  The snowflake is from the Large Christmas Snowflake die set, and I cut an outline layer from a light blue vellum.  The sentiment was embossed with white embossing powder.  It's a much more classic style of Christmas card.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you're having a great day!

Scary Birthday Card

Hello crafty friends, I've got a fun birthday card today for someone with an October or fall birthday. It's an interactive card as the ghosts are all on swing mechanisms and move when the card is shaken.

I've used the "Ghosts" stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs for this one.  My card is 5 1/2 " x 5 1/2" square, so slightly bigger than normal.  I started by creating the background.  I used Cosmic Shimmer Pixie Sparkles Powder in Wild Plum, Pumpkin Patch and Cut Grass.  These are those fun shimmer powders that you sprinkle on, mist with water and wait to see what happens.  It's a lot like alcohol inks - no two pieces turn out the same.  Once I had the colour that I wanted, I set it aside to dry.

I used some Copic markers in BV23, CO and C1 to colour in the ghosts, and then fussy cut them out.  The cemetary is from a "Graveyard" die set from Creative Expressions and I cut it from black cardstock.  I also cut a few clouds from white cardstock as they were needed to hide the swing mechanisms.  Once the background was dry, I glued the cemetary in place, and white heat embossed the sentiment which is from the Ghost stamp set. 

The swing mechanisms are easy to make and no special dies are required.  I used a piece of packaging acetate from a die set.  Using a regular paper punch, I punched a hole near the top left corner of the acetate.  I then cut a strip of the acetate just slightly wider than the hole, and just rounded the outside top edges around the hole.  The picture may help explain this better.

  

I then doubled up some foam tape, and used the same hole punch to punch out a piece of the tape. This foam tape fits inside the circle on the acetate, so if it feels too tight, you can use the paper punch to slightly enlarge the hole.  The acetate needs to be able to swing freely.  Next, I decided where I wanted my ghosts to go on the card front, and placed the acetate strips there.  I removed the backing paper from the circle pieces of foam tape, and placed them inside the acetate circles.  Then I used double sided tape to adhere the ghosts where I wanted them to go on the acetate strips, and trimmed the long side of the strips so they didn't stick out from behind the ghost.  If you want your ghosts to have a lot of movement, you can attach a penny to the back of the ghost which gives it more weight (I used regular cellophane tape to attach mine).  To prevent the strips from falling off the card, I attached the clouds over the foam circles and added a little more doubled up foam tape above the swing mechanisms to help support the clouds.  You want to be careful where you put the foam tape as you don't want to impede the acetate from swinging.  That being said, if the ghosts swing too much, you may want to put a little piece of doubled foam tape under the cloud to block some of the movement. Just play around with it until you have them moving the way you want them to.  It's not hard, I promise you, but it is a lot of fun.  

 

Before attaching the card front, I stamped the inside sentiment and added the extra two ghosts.  Finally, I glued the card front to the base and then played with the swinging ghosts.  I hope you'll give this a try as it's a lot of fun!  Thank you so much for stopping by. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flourish Wedding Card

Hello and welcome back!  I've got a wedding card to share with you today and it's a really sparkly one!  Much better in real life, but hopefully, you can see some of the sparkle.

Supplies Used: Paper Rose Products - Flourish Circle Metal Cutting Die 26917, Lydia's Blooms Stamp Set 25852, Juliet's Blooms Stamp Set 25840, Little Swirls 6x6" Stencil 19724, Black & White A5 12pc Sentiment Sheets 19023.  Other Supplies - Cosmic Shimmer Ultra Sparkle Paste in Frosty Sparkle, Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud ink in Lush Pink and Lemon Meringue, Prills for flower centres.  (Copic Markers used: Red Flowers - RV25, RV23, RV21 Yellow Flowers - Y38, Y19, Y 23, Leaves G46, G43, YG01).

I started this card by working on the background as it needed to dry before assembly.  I applied the Lemon Meringue ink, starting from the bottom of the card front with a heavier application, and blending to a lighter layer towards the top. Next, I placed the stencil over top and blended on the Lush Pink ink, again blending with a heavier layer towards the bottom and lighter at the top.  I cleaned off the stencil and reapplied it in the same position.  I then spread on the Ultra Sparkle paste over the entire card front, and then immediately removed the stencil and cleaned it off.  This paste is very aptly named because it really sparkles and I love moving this card in the light to see all that sparkle.

While the card front was drying, I used the Copic markers listed above to colour in the stamped images, and then fussy cut them out. I had yellow Prills for the flower centres, but used some Copic marker refill in a small piece of aluminum foil I had shaped into a pouch, to re-colour the Prills. I used BV08 and E79 to colour the Prills. Once these were dry, I applied some glue to the flower centres and added the Prills.

Next, I evenly spaced the Flourish circle dies (there are two) within each other and taped them down. Here's a little tip - I use Scotch Wall Safe tape for all my die cutting as it's the perfect tackiness and never tears my paper, yet holds up to repeated die cutting.  I then cut these circles out of white cardstock four times.  On two of the inside die cuts, I carefully cut out the flourish and glued these together.  I glued the other two complete inside circles together also.  For the outer circles, I glued three of these together for extra dimension.

To assemble the card, I adhered the now dry card front to my card base.  I figured out the arrangement I wanted, and then glued the cut-out flourish in place.  Then I glued the outer and inner flourishes down, before adding the flowers and leaves.  I added some double sided foam to the flowers to help them stay level with the frame.  Finally, I cut out the sentiment from the Black and White Sentiment  sheet and added glue to the outer edges before placing it over the circle.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you're having a happy, creative day!

Paper Pieced Christmas Card

 

Supplies Used:  Paper Piece Rectangle Metal Cutting Die 21441, Christmas Stocking Metal Die Set 19508, Crisp Christmas A5 12pc Sentiment Sheets 19772, Stampendous Jewelled Gold Embossing Powder, Cosmic Shimmer Ultra Sparkle Paste in Frosty Sparkle, Nuvo Shimmer Pen, Copic Markers

Hello again everyone, I'm bringing you a little Christmas today!  I die cut the Paper Piece Rectangle die from white cardstock and carefully placed a piece of Glad Press 'N Seal on the backs of the diecut pieces to hold them in place while I coloured them.  I used Copic markers, all from the reds series, to colour them in.  Then I randomly applied the Ultra Sparkle Paste or Shimmer pen to a few of the sections and let them dry. 

I saved the white outline frame piece that was diecut with all the inset pieces, and positioned that on the card front with removable tape, making sure it was centered. Then I inset and glued all the coloured pieces into the frame, which was quite simple since the Press 'N Seal had held them all in place. Once they were in place, I removed the outline piece that had been temporarily positioned.  You could of course, glue it in place too, but I wanted the no frame look for this card.

I used an oval shape to trace around the sentiment and then fussy cut it out.  I went around the edges with a VersaMark ink pad, just lightly leaving a little ink.  I sprinkled on the Jewelled Gold embossing powder and heat set it.  I used a VersaMark pen to put some ink on the stocking die cut and sprinkled on the same embossing powder, which I also heat set. I used a gold brad to attach the stocking to the sentiment. I cut two more layers of cardstock to place behind the sentiment to add some dimension.  Then I glued it in place on the card.  Finally, I added a few gold pearls to the stocking.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a happy, creative day!

Rainbow Poppies Hello Card

Supplies Used: Little Etched Butterflies Metal Cutting Die 25609,  Little Foliage 1 Metal Cutting Die 21099, Banner Trio Metal Cutting Die 25921,  Rainbow Poppies 6x6 Paper Collection 25600,  Hello Layered Metal Cutting Die 18252, Cosmic Shimmer Pixie Sparkle Powders in Flirty Sky, Heavenly Hues, Blue Wish Teal Marine, Gilded Plum, Fuchsia Rose and Sandstorm.

Hello and welcome back! I started this card by colouring some watercolour cardstock with the Pixie Sparkle powders.  These powders react with water and you can get different looks depending on how much water you add.  I tended to use quite a bit of water to make the colours blend.  I used the three tags that are in the die set, and tried to co-ordinate them with the colours on the patterned paper.  On the first tag, I used the Flirty Sky and Heavenly Hues powders.  The second tag has Blue Wish and Teal Marine powders, and the third has Gilded Plum and Fuchsia Rose.  I also saved some extra coloured cardstock for the butterflies.  I coloured the cardstock first and let it dry before diecutting out the tag shapes.

I also diecut two each of the butterflies from the same cardstock, so they could have some dimension.  The yellow butterfly was done on the watercolour cardstock using the Sandstorm powder.  To help give the wings more dimension, I used Jennifer McGuire's idea of cutting a piece of acetate (approximately 1/2" wide by 3" long), and creasing it down the middle on the long edge. I then put a strip of 1/8" double sided tape along each long edge.  Then I cut crosswise pieces that fit on the wings on each side of the body. I attached these strips to the bottom butterfly so that the creased edge ran along the side of the body.  Then I applied a thin bead of glue along the body and antennae, removed the backing paper from the acetate and attached the second butterfly on top.  The acetate ensures that while the butterflies lie flat in the envelope, they pop up for that extra dimension when out of the envelope.  It's hard to explain but please see the somewhat out of focus pictures ( my camera didn't want to take close-ups!).

1/2" wide strip of acetate folded in half with double sided tape along the edges.

Two thin acetate strips applied along the body with creased edge against the body.

Second butterfly glued along the body and attached to the acetate.

For the Hello sentiment, I die cut it three times from white cardstock, and layered these together with glue to create a chipboard-like sentiment.  I used Distress Oxide inks (Salvaged Patina, Shaded Lilac, Kitsch Flamingo, and Mustard Seed) to colour in the top layer.  Once the ink was dry, I clear heat embossed it about three times to get a very glossy look. 

To assemble my card, I cut a piece of the Rainbow Poppies paper to fit on my card front.  I staggered the three tags along the top edge and trimmed them down with scissors once I had them arranged in place. I die cut from white cardstock, one each of the three foliage dies and glued these onto the tags along with the butterflies.  Finally, I glued the sentiment in place just above the poppies.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you’re having a wonderful day! 

You Got This!

Hi everyone, I've got an encouragement card for you today.  I've used the Happy Fall stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs for this one and it has a very summery feel to it.

The images are all from the Happy Fall stamp set, and I've coloured them with Copic markers before fussy cutting them out.  

I used the "So Many Squares Panel" die from Your Next Stamp for the overlay.  It actually cuts a grid of twelve squares, but I cut a few of them out with scissors to allow my pictures and sentiment to fit. 

I ink blended the background using my now favourite summer colour combination of Distress Oxide Mowed Lawn and Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud ink in Clear Day.  I masked off the outside area of the card before ink blending.

I stamped and clear heat embossed the sentiment so it would fit in one of the openings of the overlay diecut.  Then I attached the kite with the string to the back of the overlay before gluing it into place on the card front.  Finally, I popped the little squirrels up on double sided foam tape before attaching them in place.  I love how happy those squirrels are!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a happy, creative day!

Floral Happy Birthday Card

 

Supplies Used:  Hayley's Bouquet Clear Stamp 25240, Spring Floral Frame Metal Cutting Die 21054, Sketchy 6x6 Paper Collection 25252, Big Sentiments 1.0 A5 12pc Sentiment Sheets 22336, copic markers, yellow Prills (flower center), Minc Reactive Foil in Mint.

Hello everyone and welcome back!  For today's card, I started by stamping the floral image onto some Neenah 80# Classic Crest cardstock in Solar White, using a Copic marker friendly black ink (I used Gina K Amalgam ink).  I coloured the image in and then added some yellow Prills to the centre of the purple flower.  The Prills just add a great 3D effect, but you could also use Copic markers and some Glossy Accents to get a similar effect.  Once it was dry, I fussy cut the image out.

I cut the Spring Floral Frame three times from white cardstock and glued them together for dimension.  My card is 5.5" x 6" because I didn't want to cut too much off that beautiful Sketchy paper.  But that allows the floral image and the sentiment to hang off the side of the background diecut. So after adhering the trimmed down piece of Sketchy paper to my card front, I glued the layered background die over the center.  

I lightly traced an oval shape around the black version of the sentiment and fussy cut it out.  I foiled the sentiment with the Mint foil in my laminator, running it through two or three times before peeling off the foil.  I'm not really sure if that helps to run it through so many times, but it makes me feel better! :-)

Finally, I glued the sentiment to the background diecut on the card front, and popped the edges up on foam tape.  I then glued the floral image over the background diecut, and also put some foam tape under the edges that extended past the diecut.

I hope I've given you a little inspiration today, and thank you for stopping by!

Trevor and Friends Card

Paper Rose Studio Supplies Used:  Trevor and Friends Stamp Set, Triple Banner Metal Die, Super Day Sentiments Clear Stamp, and the Big Bloom Stencil.  Other Supplies Used:  Copic markers; Distress Oxide inks in Lucky Clover, Twisted Citron, and Evergreen Bough; Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste, and Ranger Glossy Accents.

 

Hello and welcome back everyone!  I've got a friendship card to share with you today that features the adorable Trevor and Friends stamp from Paper Rose Studio. I wanted some interest on the background, and since I didn't have any patterned paper with polka dots, I decided to create my own.  The Big Bloom stencil was perfect for this.  Using only the spotted background part of the stencil, I used finger daubers to dab on the Distress Oxide ink in a random pattern over the card front.  I just kept rotating the stencil until I had covered the entire card front.  I used the same inks to randomly cover one of the Triple Banner die cut as well (I actually cut three of these to stack up).  Once the ink on the banner die cut was dry, I applied a layer of the Moonstone Glimmer Paste over it and let that dry.

I used Copic markers to colour in the stamped image, and added some Glossy Accents to the coffee cup to add some gloss. Finally, I fussy cut around the bunny's nose on the left side of the image as I wanted to pop the two outside bunnies heads up on foam tape to add a little dimension.  It's hard to see that dimension in the photo, but it is there in real life.

Next, I stamped the Super Day sentiments onto the banner die cutouts.  I used my stamp positioner for this, and slightly shaped the stamps to follow along the wave of the diecuts.  I clear heat embossed the sentiments.  Then I glued the three banner diecuts together with the coloured one on top. 

To assemble the card, I glued the stamped and coloured image at the top and used foam tape behind the bunnies' heads on the left and right. Then I glued the stacked Banner die cuts beneath the image.  Finally, I glued the sentiment pieces in place and glued the card front down to the card base.  That's such a sweet image and I could see it being used for so many occasions!

Butterfly Garden Box

 

 

Paper Rose Studio Products:
Sketchy 6 x 6” Paper Collection 25252, Butterfly Card Creator Die 25117, Little Foliage 1 Die 21099, Alana Flower Die 21078, Butterfly Bliss 6 x 6” Paper Collection 25108, Celebrate Layered Die 17454

Other Supplies:
Alcohol inks, acetate strips, Prills for flower centers,  scrap cardstock in various colours or inks

Hello and thanks for stopping by!  I’ve got a mini slimline box card to share with you today.  I’ve made a previous video on how to make these without needing any special dies and I’m going to link to that video as it’s the easiest way to explain how to make this box card.  The link to the video is HERE. 

I used the Sketchy papers to create the back, sides and front of the card, but I reinforced them by gluing them to 80# white cardstock before assembling the box.

The flowers and leaves in the box were die cut from scraps of inked or painted cardstock I already had in my stash.  The small butterflies were cut from one of the Butterfly Bliss pieces of cardstock and then mounted on strips of acetate.  The large butterflies were die cut from white cardstock.  I used the Butterfly Card Creator dies for these, and just fussy cut the butterflies out where they attach to the border.  The die actually leaves a slight mark where the wings of the butterfly would be and I just traced around that.  I then used pieces of alcohol inked acetate to mount behind the wings and I fussy cut around the white borders of the wings to trim the acetate.  I also attached a piece of white cardstock behind the inked acetate so the colours of the wings would show up better.  If you had alcohol inked Yupo paper, you could just use that and skip this step.

I die cut the sentiment three times and glued them together for extra dimension.

To fill the box, I mounted all the flowers, leaves and butterflies on acetate strips from scrap packaging.  I then arranged them inside the box using double sided tape.  Finally, I attached the sentiment to the bottom front.  The finished box makes me think of a flower garden with lots of butterflies!