Woolly Mammoth Hug Card

Hello again everyone, I'm guest designing for Gerda Steiner Designs again today and I've got another mammoth card to share with you. 

Supplies Used: Gerda Steiner Designs "Big Guy" stamp set GSD845, and "Woolly Big Love" GSD846. Vellum, Copic markers, Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Sprinkles in Snow Storm, Momenta letter dies and Cosmic Shimmer Luna Paste in Moonlight Pearl ( just on the mountain tops), Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud ink in Clear Day.

My card measures 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" and I started off by colouring in the mammoths with a combination of Copic markers and finished off with pencil crayons to create a woolly look.  I fussy cut them out, being careful to also cut around their horns. Next, I stamped a line of mountains across the upper portion of my card and coloured them in with Copic markers.  I'm sorry I don't remember which markers I used, but it was a combination of Blue Violets and Cool Greys.  Then I coloured in the sky by blending a little of the Clear Day ink with a sponge applicator, and leaving some white areas for clouds. I added a few streaks to the ice at the bottom of the card with Copic markers in Blue Green shades, just to give a hint of colour to the ice.  I then covered the ice portion of the card with a piece of heavyweight vellum, folding the edges over to the back of the card front and adhering them with double sided adhesive tape to the back of the card front. I applied a little glue on the front along the bottom edge of the mountains and sprinkled on the embossing sprinkles.  These are large chunks of embossing powder, and need to be heated from beneath or they will just blow away.  But they give a fun, snowy texture to the card.  After heat setting them, I added the small shadow mammoth in the background.  I die cut the hug letters and coloured them in with Copic markers, again using the Blue Green shades as I wanted them to look icy.  I attached them to each of the mammoths, and then glued the mammoths to the card front.  I added a little more glue and embossing sprinkles on the ice and around their feet and heat set them.  The sentiment was combined from both stamp sets, and I clear heat embossed it.  Finally, I added some of the Luna Paste to the tops of the mountains.

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

Woolly Mammoth Birthday Card

Hello everyone, I'm so happy to be guest designing for Gerda Steiner Designs latest collection!  This is such a fun collection, full of big, funny, woolly mammoths!  I've got a full size box card for you today and here's a look at it...

Supplies Used:  Gerda Steiner Designs "Big Guy" GSD845, and "Woolly Big Love" GSD846. Background paper inside - Craft Consortium "In the Forest"; Lawn Fawn - Stitched Hillside Border dies

This card measures 4 3/4" wide by 5" tall, and is 2 1/4" deep when opened.  It will fold down flat and fit into an A7 (5 1/4" x 7 1/4") envelope, and there's lots of room to write a message on the back.   I didn't make a video for this particular card because I have done several of those previously, and I will link to those videos down below in case you're interested in giving this a try.  

For this card, I started by using my copic markers to colour in the mammoths, and then used pencil crayons to add some furry lines.  I used a black glaze pen to add in the eyes, and then fussy cut the mammoths out. 

For the box card, I used Distress Inks on the outside and blended from green to a light blue sky, leaving a few areas  blank in the sky to look like clouds. The center round opening was cut out using a 4" circle die, and all this is explained in the video.  The inside background is one of the papers from the "In the Forest" collection and just seemed well suited to the mammoths.  I cut some hilly grassy sections for the cross pieces from some Distress Ink blended cardstock, and added some flowers to those.  I die cut some white clouds and then stamped and heat embossed the sentiment which came from the "Big Guy" stamp set.  For a full explanation of how to put together this box card (and it's very easy to do!), please head over to watch the video.  

Here are links to two videos I've previously created showing you how to make these full size box cards, and I hope you'll come join me to see how it's done.  

PLEASE CLICK HERE for Sandy Paws Box Card

PLEASE CLICK HERE for Bee Happy Gnome Box Card

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

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!

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!

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! 

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!

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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!

Thanks A Melon

Hello again and welcome back!  Today I've got a summery thank you card which features the Melon Friends from Gerda Steiner Designs.

I started by stamping these two images from the set and and colouring them with Copic markers.  After fussy cutting them out, I mounted them on foam tape.  

I used a patterned paper for the card front that I've had in my stash for a loooong time. The square frame is from Poppy Stamps Double Stitch Square Frames die set, and I die cut it three times and glued these together.  

I did a little ink blending on the center of one of the die cut frames, using Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud ink in Clear Day.  That ink is perfect if you have trouble with getting smooth ink blends.  It may not look like it when you put it on, but as it dries, it smooths out so you don't see any splotchy areas.  

To assemble the card, I glued the white square frame into position, and then glued in the ink blended center. Then I popped the images into place.

For the sentiment, I stamped and clear heat embossed onto white cardstock, the "Thanks a" portion of the sentiment, while masking off the "melon". Then I masked off the "Thanks a" portion and used Distress Oxide inks in Mowed Lawn and Rustic Wilderness to stamp the 'melon' portion before clear heat embossing it also.  Finally, I mounted the sentiment on foam tape and adhered it just below the square frame.

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

Happy Mail

Hello and welcome back!  Today I've got a quick and easy happy mail card that is perfect for sending off to family or friends as a little Hello, thinking of you type of card.  

 

I used the Puppy Mail stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs and used Copic markers to colour in the two images that I used. I used a semicircular die to cut out the front cutout.  I don't have the details on the die I used as I didn't keep the packaging (it may have been from Craftin Desert Divas but they are no longer around), but any circular or semicircular die would work.  I then embossed the front with the Dappled Dots (EFPP-015) embossing folder from Creative Expressions.  I coloured the opened background on the card base with some Distress Oxide in Mowed Lawn and the sky with Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud ink in Clear Day.  I mounted the embossed card front on a layer of foam and attached it in place with glue. I then glued the images into the opening.  Finally, I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment onto white cardstock and cut it out.  I edged it with a little of the Clear Day ink before gluing it in place.

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

Chin Up Picture Changer Card

Hello again, I've got a picture changer card for you today.  Do you remember those? I've used a new stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs called "What's Up" and had it change with one of the images in the All Cats stamp set.  Here's my card ...

The little bird perched on the front of the card is also from the What's Up stamp set.  I coloured all the images with Copic markers, before using the Lawn Fawn Magic Picture Die to cut them out.  After assembling the picture changer according to the instructions, I created the front coverplate by stencilling onto white cardstock using the Little Swirls stencil from Paper Rose Studio, and using Distress Oxide inks in Peacock Feathers, Salvaged Patina and Shaded Violet. 

For the background, I ink blended with Distress Oxide Mowed Lawn, and Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud ink in Clear Day.  I added in some trees that were diecut from green cardstock using the Alpine Trees die from Memory Box.  The flowers were leftovers from another card and are cut from the Spellbinders Petitie Floral Potpourri die set. Once the background was done, I mounted the picture changer on a double layer of foam and attached it to the background.  It's lots of fun changing the picture!

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

Pigeons Acetate Bendy Card with *Video*

Hello everyone! I’ve got a fun new card fold idea for you today, using the adorable “Pigeons” stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs. This is a 5” x 7” card that folds flat, but pops out to create a 3D card when it comes out of the envelope. There’s room on the back of the card to write a message and to decorate if you want. I have to give a shoutout to Sam Calcott of Mixed Up Craft who I first saw make this style of card.  I've got a link in the video description to her video which is well worth seeing.  Here’s a look at my card.

Back of the card

Bottom view of the card showing dimension

I’ve made a video for you to show how this card was made. There are no special dies required, and it’s really not a difficult card to make. But it does have lots of dimension and a little bit of movement of the pigeons. So 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 fun, creative day! 

Garden Critters Thank You Card

Hello and welcome back.  I’ve got a thank you card to share today that combines the Garden Critters and Happy Bee-day stamp sets from Gerda Steiner Designs.

I used Copic markers to colour in all the poppies and the caterpillar, and then fussy cut them out.  The extra leaves are from the HoneyBee Stamps "Lovely Layers Coneflower" die set and I cut them from green cardstock and added some Distress Oxide Rustic Wilderness and Mowed Lawn to them.  The white circular die is from PinkFresh Studio and is the "Stitched Scallop Circle" die set, and I chose to use both the inside and outside die cuts.  I stacked about four of these die cuts together to create some dimension. The sentiment is from the Garden Critters stamp set and I heat embossed it with clear embossing powder (please try not to notice that I didn't cut it quite straight! It drives me crazy 😬).

For the background, I used some Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud ink in Lemon Meringue, Baked Peach and Lush Pink and just ink blended them over the card front. Then I sprinkled on some Pixie Sparkles in Pumpkin Patch and misted with water.  There's a lot of sparkle in real life from these, but it doesn't show up in the picture. 

Finally, to put it all together, I glued down the leaves where I wanted them to go, but left the upper edges free to be curled up slightly.  Then I glued the white circle die cuts down in place, before adding in the poppies.  I mounted the caterpillar on foam tape and positioned him at the bottom of the circle.  I also mounted the sentiment on foam tape and adhered it below the image.

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

Pigeon Trouble

Hello and welcome back!  Today I’ve got a card featuring a new stamp set by Gerda Steiner Designs called “Pigeons”.  There are five pigeons in this set, and you just know they all have fun, expressive faces!   Here’s a look at the card I made. 

I coloured in the pigeons with Copic markers (N6, N4, N2, N1, N0).  To add the interference sparkle to their necks, I used some Cosmic Shimmer Opal Crush Polish in Golden Blackberry.  It doesn’t show up very well in the picture, but there really is a nice sparkle and hints of purple and green on their necks. 

For the background, I used some Distress Oxide Ink in Tea Dye and Mowed Lawn to create the foreground on my card front. I added in some grass and pebbles with Copic markers. I used Colour Cloud Ink in Clear Day to freestyle add a sky and some clouds.  The trees (Memory Box - Alpine Trees) were inked up with Distress Oxide Ink in Rustic Wilderness. 

I stamped and clear heat embossed the sentiments which are in the stamp set.  The pigeon on the left was glued in place. I mounted the two pigeons on the right on foam tape and positioned them on the card front. Finally, for the pigeon droppings, I added some Cosmic Shimmer Fluffy Stuff and heat set it. Once it was dry, I added a little N4 Copic marker to it. Don’t you just love the expressions on those pigeons?!

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

You've Got Happy Mail!

Hello and welcome back.  I've got a card today that features the Owl My Love and Happy Fall stamp sets from Gerda Steiner Designs, because who doesn't love happy mail?!  Here's a picture of my card.

I used Copic markers to colour in all the images and then fussy cut them out.  I die cut 4 of the wooden frames from a Hero Arts die called Wood Frame.  I used some Distress Ink in Vintage Photo to ink blend on the top frame, and then glued the layers together.

From the inside section of one of the frames, I inked up a grassy green colour, spritzed it with water and blotted up some of the ink with a paper towel.  Once it was dry, I freestyle cut a grassy hill.  

On the card front, I stamped and clear heat embossed the sentiment (which is from the Owl My Love set) below where the frame would sit. Next, I masked off the area outside where the frame would go, and used a cloud stencil (Cloud Edger  from Colorful Life Designs) to create the sky.  I then glued the frame around the inked area.  And finally, I adhered the images with glue and foam tape as needed.  I love that squirrel that is jumping for joy!

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

Rockin’ Birthday Card

Hello again and welcome! There’s a new release at Gerda Steiner Designs and I’ve chosen the You Rock stamp set to use on my card today. This is such a fun set to use for those younger people in our lives … oh, who am I kidding? It’s good for those older people too! So here’s the card I came up with. 

It’s almost a one layer card too!  I popped the snail in the front up on foam tape, so I think that means it doesn’t qualify as a true one layer card.  I created the background by stencilling on my card front. I used the  MFT Grassy Edges stencil and some Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide ink for the grassy section.  I created a little hill for the main rock to sit on as well.  For the sky, I used the Cloud Edger stencil from A Colorful Life Designs and some Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud ink in the Clear Day shade.  

I used my Copic markers to colour in the images, and have listed them below if you’re interested.  After fussy cutting everything out, I added some Glossy Accents to the sunglasses.  I positioned all the characters on the front to determine my layout and where I wanted the music symbols to go.  I then stamped on and clear heat embossed, the music symbols ( I did add some more music symbols from the Carol Kittens stamp set).  Finally, I glued the characters down and popped the front snail up on foam tape before adhering him down.  On the inside, I stamped the sentiment “Hope Your Birthday Rocks”.  So another quick and easy card! Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you are having a great day! 

Copic Markers used:

Rocks - W2, W3, W4, W5

Snails - BV23, BV34, V20

Mouse - C3, C2, C1, C0, R00

Guitar - R39, R29, R35

Monster Love Valentines Card

Hello and welcome! There’s a new release at Gerda Steiner Designs and I couldn’t decide which stamp set to play with for this post. In the end, I decided that since it was coming up to Valentines Day, I would go with the “Be Mine Monster” stamp set because who could say no to this cute little guy? 

I used copic markers to colour him in (listed below). I then stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in black, onto the heart. I added some Glossy Accents onto his teeth and eyes, and then fussy cut him out. 

For the background, I used the “Conversation Hearts” embossing folder from Taylored Expressions to emboss the card front. Using a small circular brush, I added in some Distress Oxide ink to the hearts in Spun Sugar, Tumbled Glass, Shaded Lilac, and Squeezed Lemonade.  Finally, I popped the monster up on foam tape and placed him on the card front in the lower right corner. Just a super quick and easy card to make. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you’re having a great day! 

Copic markers used:

BV02, 04, 13, 23

RV17, 06, 04, 02

V15, B02

Heart - RV29, 25, 23

A Nutcracker Christmas

Hello and welcome back! I’ve got a Christmas card to share today that was made with a new stamp set from Gerda Steiner Designs called “The Nutcracker”. Those dancing mice are just so sweet and the look on the Nutcracker is priceless! 

I started by creating the background.  On yellow cardstock, I used the Captivating Mandala stencil from My Favourite Things and blended on some Distress Oxide ink in Worn Lipstick and Dried Marigold. I added a layer of vellum over top of this as I felt the stencilling was too distracting behind the images and the vellum softened it a little bit.  

I die cut a frame from white cardstock 4 times and glued 3 of these together to add some height. On the last diecut, I added some Tonic Moonstone Glimmer paste for a bit of shine, before gluing it to the other frames. 

I added in a few leaves and poinsettias that came from a Hero Arts “Stocking Bouquet” stamp set and placed these onto the frame. 

I used copic markers (listed below) to colour the little mice and Nutcracker images. I used a gold metallic marker to add in the gold elements on the Nutcracker and the crowns on the mice. I arranged the images onto the background and put the sentiment up on foam tape as well as the mice in pink and green. Those mice are just so cute! 

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

Copic markers used: 

Nutcracker - R39, R29, R35, R20, R00, N8, N6, N4, E000, E00, C2, C1, C0

Mice - N2, N1, N0, R20, R00

Yellow dress - Y19, Y08, Y02

Green dress - G00, BG32, BG11

Pink dress - R85, R83, R81

Namasleigh Christmas Card with *Video*

Hello and welcome back! I’ve got a fun Christmas card today that features a brand new Gerda Steiner Designs stamp set called Namasleigh.  I love the idea of the reindeer and Santa getting ready for their big day by doing some yoga together, and even the birds and snowman got in on it!  To fit all these images in (because I had to include all the reindeer), I’ve made a double zig zag card. When the card is folded down, it measures 5” x 4 1/4”. But when it’s opened up, it’s over 16” wide! So there’s lots of room to fit all those images. 

Front of the card when closed with an acetate belly band. 

The inside of the card when opened. 

I’ve made a video for you to see how this card was made.  If you are interested in seeing it, PLEASE CLICK HERE.  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you’re having a great day! 

Squirrels and Gourds Birthday Card

Hello again! I have another interactive card today that uses the Lawn Fawn Swish ‘N Pop pull tab die and I’ve paired it with the new “Gourds” and the “Happy Fall” stamp sets from Gerda Steiner Designs.  The gourds just make me smile and the squirrels are so cute, so I hope you don’t mind me doing a similar card again.  Here’s a look at the card before pulling the pull tab and after pulling it  

I really wanted the squirrel on the log to disappear as if he was scared by the talking gourds and then reappear hanging upside down in the tree, but I just couldn’t figure out how to make that happen.  So instead, the second squirrel appears from the tree. 

I coloured all the images in with copic markers and cut them out. The trunk of the tree is from an Elizabeth Craft die set just called “Tree”. The leaf canopy was made by adding some Pixie Sparkles (in Copper Splash and Red Oxide) from Cosmic Shimmer, to a piece of white cardstock, and lightly spritzing with water to activate the powder. After it was dry, I added a little Distress Oxide ink in Mustard Seed to get a deeper yellow colour. I freestyle cut out the leafy shape. 

The grass was made by ink blending with Distress Oxide inks in Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint and then I die cut it with a grassy border that is in the same Tree die set used for the tree. For the sky background, I used the Cloud Edger stencil from A Colorful Life Designs and some Colour Cloud ink in Clear Day from Cosmic Shimmer. 

My card is actually a 5 x 7” card, so to use the Swish ‘N Pop die, I had to extend the pull tab by doing some partial die cutting on the pull tab. I also modified the assembly in order to make the hanging squirrel appear from the left. Here’s how that looks:

Basically, I’ve reversed which hole the pull tab is attached to, in order to make it swing up from the left. I’ve added double layers of foam tape along the bottom, and wherever else I could to anchor the grassy border without interfering with the mechanism. Once I had the mechanism in place and adjusted to allow the second squirrel to hang down, I attached the grassy border and then the tree and remaining images. 

I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment on a speech strip and adhered it above the gourds. I also stamped the inside sentiment which is from the Gourds stamp set. And then of course, I had to play with the card and watch the second squirrel come out! 

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