FM209 -- Celebrating Dad

Our challenge for the Friday Mashup this week gave me a lot of ideas but, for some reason, I just couldn't seem to settle for any of them.  Each time I thought I knew what I would create, I wound up changing my mind.  By the third time I had succeeded in becoming very frustrated.  I love doing the mashup!  I enjoy coming up with the two-part creation.  So I just left it alone and let my subconscious work its wonders.  Sometimes that's the only way to go.

Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Night of Navy/Celebrations

I have to say, my subconscious does an awesome job behind the scenes.  Instead of spatters, I turned to stars.  I also had fun with my soon-to-be-retired Word Bubbles framelits.  Actually that's the whole key to the card I made:  I had fun.  The celebration which I chose was Father's Day, the day on which Dad is the star.  

Besides the Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Night of Navy cardstocks and inks, I also used Whisper White and Naturals White.  Besides the Word Bubbles framelits, I also used the Stars Framelits and the Little Letters thinlets.  I cut the letters out twice:  once from inside the Word Bubble and once from a scrap of Crushed Curry cardstock.  I wanted the letters to be inlaid.  Then I had one of those crazy ideas and discarded the Crushed Curry "O" and, instead, carefully cut out an oval in the same size.  Carefully hand-cutting a moustache shape, bow-tie and circle from Night of Navy, I used the pieces to transform the hand-cut oval into a face.  The finishing touch was one of the hats from the Guy Greetings stamp set.  

My background is a multitude of Crushed Curry stars inked onto my layer of Naturals White using a sponge dauber and the Stars mask.  To those I added several Night of Navy stars as well as Bermuda Bay stars.  If you look carefully, you'll see an additional tiny Crushed Curry star on each Word Buffle as well as a tiny Basic Jewel Pearl along the brim of the hat.

It's a fun card which should make the Dad in your life smile.  I know my Dad would smile if he were still with us.

I hope you'll join us this week at the Friday Mashup and show us your version of the mashup challenge.

PCCCS144 --- An Open Heart

I had fun with this week's sketch for the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.  It gave me an excuse to use that great feather from the wonderful Lovely Amazing You stamp set.   And, of course, it also gave me a chance to use more of that beautiful Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper.

I began with a base of Naturals White cardstock.  I'll really miss this paper a lot once it's fully retired!  Yes, we'll have heavy-weight Whisper White to use but the natural speckles in this paper give it a lot of character and make it a joy to use.  Since I planned to use the very realistic wren image from the An Open Heart stamp set,  I chose Early Espresso and Soft Sky as my layers.  First I sponged clouds over the Soft Sky using my Craft White ink.  It took a while to dry but I love the subtle results.

For my image I went to town on the layers.  I began with Early Espresso, then a layer of Naturals White, then Wild Wasabi and finally the Whisper White onto which I stamped my images.  I used two of the Window Frames Collection framelits and hand trimmed the rest.

Instead of using a splatter in the background, I turned to the old, retired Up, Up & Away stamp set and stamped the tiny flying birds instead.  They worked well on my "cloudy" Soft Sky.  My sentiment was stamped onto the longer feather from the Four Feathers stamp set.  The little hearts?  Just three chosen from the ones cut from a piece of Strawberry Slush using the Confetti Hearts punch.

I hope you'll join us this week for the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

I've also added my card to the Just Add Ink Challenge.

FM208 -- Happy Mother's Day!

One of the great things about the Friday Mashup is that it's never just one challenge.  This one, for example, calls for a Mother's Day card.  You can stop there and simply make a Mother's Day card and enter it into the challenge.  But then there's the "mashup".  They offer a little extra challenge that you can add into your card and "mash" it up.  I always like to mash it up!

To mash it up, use a recyled/upcycled item

I had a few things in mind for my recycled/upcycled item.  One was a toilet paper roll.  I went so far as to die cut it and stitch around it with thick Baker's twine before I realized that it simply wasn't what I wanted.  By that time my fingers were sore, but I persevered.  Then I thought I would use some butterflies die-cut from dryer sheets but I didn't really like them on the card that I had, by this time, created.  Finally I thought of pop cans.  A friend had told me a while back that she frequently used her Bigz dies to cut flattened aluminium pop cans.  This seemed like a good time to try it out for myself.

Following her suggestions, I cut a pop can apart and then put a piece through my Big Shot in an old embossing folder.  I wan't ready to sacrifice a current folder in case the metal somehow ruined its ability to emboss in the future.  It worked, by the way, and the folder appears to be capable of  continued embossing.  Good to know!  Then I took the retired Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die and cut a small butterfly from the embossed metal.  That worked, too.  And it looked just perfect for the card.  Believe me, I was grinning from ear to ear by this time.

My card base is Naturals White onto which I layered a piece of Rose Red after first using the Spring Flowers embossing folder on it.  Then I used my oval framelits to first cut a piece of Blackberry Bliss and then a piece of the Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper.   My sentiment is from the retired Wonderful Mother stamp set, cut out using the Word Bubbles framelits.  I glued a Pacific Point backing onto it and cut a border closely around the word bubble.  For my aluminium butterfly I hand cut a Basic Black body complete with skinny antennae.  Glue dots attached it perfectly to the lower portion of my oval.

For more cards in this challenge, check out the Friday Mashup Challenge.  You'll be glad you did.

I've also entered this card in the Addictred to Stamps and More challenge.

PCCCS143 --- Woo Hoo!

It's time for another Paper Craft Crew Challenge.  Are you ready for the new sketch?

I've been wanting to use my retiring stamps and products this month because, well, they're retiring.  I'll be moving onto all the new and wonderful stamps and products in the brand new Annual Catalogue soon enough.  Right now it's time to bid my "friends" farewell.

This card uses a whole lot of favourites that are retiring.  The Naturals White, Crisp Cantaloupe, 2012-2015 In-Colors Designer Series Stack, Gold Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper, the Sketched Birthday stamp set and the Just Sayin' stamp set and Word Bubble framelits.  I'll miss them all.

I hope you'll check out the rest of the cards created by the Design Team at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

WCC23 --- Marsha's Mother's Day Inspiration Challenge

Mother's Day is right around the corner.  Everywhere I look, I see floral arrangements on sale ALREADY.  Yes, it's coming up very soon but come on, any arrangement bought now isn't going to look too wonderful by May 10th.  Well, unless you happen to make the special Mom in your life a floral arrangement on paper.  That's where Marsha's inspiration photo comes in.  It's a photo of an absolutely gorgeous floral arrangement.

Aren't the flowers stunning?  I love the colours and the variety.  Just seeing the photo made me begin considering which stamp sets I could use to get a similar effect.  Immediately the Build a Bouquet set from the Occasions catalogue came to mind.  Of course the tulips from the Love is Kindness set, also from the Occasions catalogue, would be the perfect compliment.  

I did a lot of fussy-cutting for this card.  The larger flowers from the Build a Bouquet set were easy because I stamped them directly onto the Whisper White cardstock using Daffodil Delight ink and Crisp Cantaloupe ink.  I also stamped splatters all over the cardstock using the Gorgeous Grunge set and some Smoky Slate ink.  The sentiment, from Crazy About You stamp set and the Project Life Remember This stamp set is simple but that's what the card needs with all the fancy florals.

On another piece of Whisper White I stamped the tulips and then proceeded to fussy-cut them out as well as additional tulips which I had stamped and, of course an additional "newspaper" wrap which I had also stamped.  All in all, a lot of pieces which, once I had used my Stampin' Markers to colour everything, I attached to the centre of the stamped flowers using Tombo glue, dimensionals and glue dots.  

A few pearls set in the unstamped corners diagonally across from each other and my card is done.

For more cards using Marsha's inspirational photo, check out the Watercooler Challenge.

I've also entered my card into the SUO Mother's Day challenge.

FM207 -- Guess what! I'm a Guest Designer at the Friday Mashup!

Exciting news!  I'm a Guest Designer for the Friday Mashup for the month of May.  I was bowled over when Holly Endress contacted me to ask if I could be available.  Of course I could!  I just hope that my efforts keep up with the rest of the talented Design Team.

This week's challenge is so much fun and so appropriate.  We've just had the Stampin' Up! retiring products list come out and, of course, many of my favourites are on that list.  The challenge is for a sketch and, if you wish, to use a retiring, retired or forgotten set or image.  This is the sketch:

As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew which stamp set I wanted to use.  Zoo Review retired last year, but those images were beautifully drawn and I miss them.  I thought the giraffe would be the perfect stamp for my card.

To go along with the patterns of the giraffe's pelt, I chose the retired (and much missed) Core'dinations Early Espresso cardstock and used the Decorative Dots embossing folder on it.  With a bit of sanding, both the colours and pattern echoed the giraffe's colours and pattern.  

I decided to layer the stones image from the Adventure Bound Designer Series Paper Stack on top of the embossed layer for some added visual texture.  For my giraffe, I first stamped the image on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.  Then I stamped the same image on a plain piece of note paper and cut it out so that I could mask my stamped image.  With the mask in place, I stamped a background with the retiring Handcarved stamp.  I've always thought that background stamp had a "feel" of Africa.  

To finish I added some Sahara Sand Candy Dots as well as some stars from the Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers embellishments.  An arrow cut with the retiring What's Up? punch and a small bow tied with the Baked Brown Sugar Thick Baker's Twine, and my card was done.

I hope you'll come over to the Friday Mashup to see all the wonderful cards presented by the Design Team or link up your own card showing some products you will miss.

PCCCS142 --- Enjoy the ride!

There are a number of stamp sets and tools which are retiring from the Stampin' Up! catalogue which I will miss a great deal.  This time of the year, with the retiring list out already, I feel a real need to use my old friends again before they are finally gone.

This is the sketch for this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge:

I don't always use the same shape in my creations as are used in the challenge sketches but, since the Starburst framelits are retiring, this time I was anxious to use the dies for my card.  

I decided to use a couple of the retiring 2013-15 In-Colors as well:  Coastal Cabana and Baked Brown Sugar.  They're two of my favourite colours from that set and they also compliment each other beautifully.  I also used some Pistachio Pudding to colour in the grass in the background using my Aqua Painter.  The sky, of course, is done with Coastal Cabana ink.

The background also includes Lovely as a Tree which, thankfully, stays current.  The image in my circle, however, from the Today and Everyday stamp set, is retiring.

I hope you'll join us this week for the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

And, of course, I had to enter my card into the "make your mark" challenge at the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge blog.

Lovely Amazing EARTH

I couldn't let Earth Day go by without a special card.  Thanks to the gorgeous image of our Earth from The Open Sea stamp set and the mask from the Hooray It's Your Day Simply Created kit, it came together quickly.

Doesn't the sentiment from the Lovely Amazing You stamp set go beautifully with the Little Letters Thinlits?

I've entered my card in the Addicted to Stamps and More "Anything Goes" challenge.

I've also entered my card in the rainbow challenge at the Time Out Challenges.

And finally, I've entered my card in the Make My Monday Challenge  for Earth Day.

PCCCS141 --- Hats off

I know Mother's Day comes before Father's Day but the Paper Craft Crew Challenge this week made me think of those cute hats in the Guy Greetings stamp set.

As soon as I thought of them, I could imagine the whole card.  The strip along the bottom of the sketch would be perfect, I thought, using the Adventure Bound Designer Paper stack.  Each hat could be in one of those squares surrounded by another square cut with the Postage Stamp punch.  It just came together in my head and on my crafting table.  I love it when that happens, don't you?

I used Basic Black for my base and then took the colours from the Designer Paper strip:  Basic Grey, Cajun Craze and Whisper White.  The little "bow tie" cut with the Bow Builder punch is perfect beside the DAD cut into the Designer Paper using the Little Letters Thinlits, isn't it?

I hope you'll join us and link up your own version of the sketch for the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

I've also entered this card in the Male Room Challenge.

WCC22 -- Heidi's Combination Challenge

Welcome to my combination challenge.  What does that mean?  It means that the project for this challenge will have a watercolour background with a silhouette in the foreground.

I had such fun with this challenge.  For my background I used watercolour paper and, using my Stampin' Spritzer, sprayed it generously with plain water.  Then, using my aqua-painter and ink pads, I went to work doing a "patch-work" of colours.  I kept the colours subtle.  That's something one can easily manage with watercolours:  keeping them subtle or making a very colourful, bold statement.  I love the way the colours blend into each other where they meet, too.  While you can exert some control on the results, there are always some unknowns with watercolouring this way.  That's what makes it exciting.

For my silhouette, I used the Serene Silhouettes stamp set.  The images have such realism and are wonderful against a watercolour background.  For my sentiment, I turned to the Blooming With Kindness stamp set and used my Hexagon punch.   A little vellum butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set, stamped in black, and some black Candy Dots and the card was done.

I hope you'll join us for the Watercooler Challenge and link up your own creation for us to enjoy.

I've also entered my card in the Paper Players Challenge.

The Wacky Watercooler April (Fools) Blog Hop

If you've been joining us for our monthly blog hops, you'll probably be wondering why there are water bottles at the sides of the banner instead of those old-fashioned water-coolers.  Well, this is April and even though it's no longer the official April Fool's Day, we're improvising and having our own version.  One of our projects has to be something that isn't what it seems.  I'm as much in the dark about everyone else's projects as you are and am dying to see what everyone's special project might be.  This should be a very entertaining blog hop.

Our Blog Hops run in a circular manner.  What this means is that no matter where you begin, as you go from one participant to the next, you will inevitably wind up at the point where you began.  I hope you'll find time to check out all our Blogs.

If you've been moving forward in the Blog Hop, you'll have joined me after visiting the very talented Marsha Reed's Blog.  Marsha is extremely creative and is on the design team of several Challenges.  I'm sure you loved her projects today.

* * * * * * * * * * 

My first project is a birthday card which I created for my brother-in-law.  It's very convenient having his birthday just when I needed an idea for another project.  Masculine birthday cards are such fun to create, especially when you have the Adventure Bound Designer Paper Stack.  For a guy who is very outdoors-y and loves wildlife, there are some wonderful paper design choices in that stack.

I love the way the quail looks, don't you?  It's from the Walk in the Wild stamp set.

* * * * * * * * * * 

My next card is for Mother's Day.  I hadn't used the Corner Garden background stamp yet and this seemed like the perfect Occasion.  I used a combination of stamp pads, Stampin' Markers and Blender Pens to colour the beautiful blooms.  

The card really didn't need anything more than the sentiment from the Sweet Laughter stamp set.

* * * * * * * * * * 

Finally, my third project is the surprise which isn't what it seems to be.  For this project I decided to make a Secret Door card.  I haven't made one of these cards since 2013 so it was definitely time to pull out my template and see what I could create.

The Secret Door card looks just like a simple gate fold card with a girdle around it.  

Even the inside doesn't hint at the difference.

But then you take the card, push the corner folds towards each other to meet at the back, and split the centre.  

The secret "door" opens and reveals messages that have been hidden from view.

Don't you just love it?  Who wouldn't want a wedding card like this?  The Something Borrowed Designer Series Paper is perfect, isn't it?  I had such fun making this card.  Yes, it's fussy and time-consuming, but when you've finished the card you forget all the fuss and bother.  

I think the added lace and embellishments on the girdle make it look just like a wedding garter.  

* * * * * * * * * * 

Well, that's it for my projects.  I hope you enjoyed them as much as I've enjoyed creating them.  If you get a moment, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of them.

Your next stop will be with another very talented and creative member of our group, Jackie Susnik.  I'm sure you'll be amazed with her wonderful projects.

PCCCS140 -- You Rock

I bought the You Rock stamp set and put it aside.  Today I finally used it and had such fun that I wonder why it took me so long.  The rocking chair allows for a lot of interpretation.  It could easily be used for a retirement card, a get well card, a birthday card or, as I've used it, simply as a card for a friend I admire.  Who wouldn't like to be told that they "rock"?

I am so happy that Stampin' Up! is offering the Sale-a-bration Designer Paper, Irresistibly Yours until the end of April if one orders the Butterflies Thinlits bundle.  I know several of my customers loved this paper as well and were waiting to buy the Butterflies Thinlits bundle during Sale-a-bration.  With the bundles becoming available again this week, at least they will not feel as if they "lost out".

I used the stars design and sponged it liberally with Daffodil Delight ink.  My card actually uses only three colours:  Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy and White.  Sometimes less is more.  I've interpreted the sketch for this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge loosely, using the rocking chair in place of the
circle.

I had fun repeating the star motif by using the Lucky Stars embossing folder on the Daffodil Delight banner and by adding a Night of Navy star cut using the Itty Bitty Accents punch.  In the centre of the Night of Navy star, I glued a Daffodil Delight star cut with the Confetti Stars punch and then topped it with one of the small stars from the Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy stickers.

The hardest part of the card?  Fussy-cutting out the rocking chair, of course.  But it sure looks good raised on Dimensionals, doesn't it?  

I've also entered my card into the {PIN}spirational "anything goes" challenge.  

PCCCS#139 --- Birthday Greetings

Sometimes it's fun to use frills, flowers and butterflies.  That's just what I did for this challenge.  I love how beautifully the doily frames the blossoms. The butterflies, which I kept to the same subtle pallette, and the pearls add just the right touch of class.  It's always fun when you enjoy the sketch:

I chose to use primarily neutrals.  Even my touches of colour are very subtle.  My neutrals are Naturals Ivory, Early Espresso, Baked Brown Sugar and Very Vanilla.  I also added a piece of the Baked Brown Sugar pattern from the 2013-15 In-Colors Designer Series Stack.  And, of course, I added the doily.

For more interest, I used the Spring Flowers embossing folder on the Baked Brown Sugar cardstock.  There are other "behind-the-scenes" touches that you notice as you examine the card.  I cut two pieces of Early Espresso with my Circles Collection framelits, one larger and one smaller.  The larger circle frames the doily and the smaller circle frames the Very Vanilla piece on which I stamped the floral branch from the Indescribable Gift stamp set.  After colouring the image using a combination of Stampin' Markers, Blender Pens and ink pads, I cut it out using the Starburst framelits.  You can just see the Early Espresso peeking through the zig-zags.

I stamped the small butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set onto vellum using StazOn black ink and then coloured them from the back using my Stampin' Markers.  The sentiment is from one of my favourite stamp sets, the Petite Pairs.  With the feminine, vintage look of the card, it just seemed to be begging to be finished off with some Pearls.  And so I did just that.

I hope you'll join us at the Paper Craft Crew Challenge to see what the remaining members of the Design Team created.

I've also entered this card in the Just Add Ink Inspiration Photo challenge.

WCC21 -- Susan's Colour Challenge

It's time for Susan's Colour Challenge, and what a wonderful set of colours we have!  Since this is the Easter weekend, isn't it wonderful that the colours wound up being perfect for the occasion?

I had just about decided to use the dancing Easter bunny again but then decided to use the Sweet Laughter stamp set instead.  Luckily the background I had created worked perfectly either way.  Thank goodness for small mercies, right?

In describing my background, I would have to say it began one way and then "grow'd like Topsy"---to quote Harriet Beecher Stowe.  It really did grow without apparent design or divine intervention.  That said, I like the final results.  I'm going to try to explain how I got there.

I began with a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" piece of Whisper White.  Before I began stamping, I stamped my lacy image from the Petal Potpourri stamp set onto typing paper a couple of times.  I fussy-cut the images even though I do own the matching punch.  I needed to have the images as close to the stamped size as possible since they would be the masks that allowed me to stamp over close-by images without  leaving a margin.  For my stamping I used Sahara Sand, Pool Party and So Saffron.

Once I was finished stamping my background, I knew I wanted something a bit more but wasn't quite sure what.  So I put the stamped portion aside and waited for inspiration.  That happened while I was in the kitchen cooking and so I turned off the burners and went back to my card.  I had though I might sponge some Pool Party around the perimeter of the stamped Whisper White but instead I followed my inspiration and used the striped Pool Party Washi tape from the Beach House package.  I used the tape along the perimenter and then made a "grid" by adding two lines of tape cutting up the 5 1/8" length and then added one line of tape, cutting the 3 7/8" length in two.

That left me lots of room to add my Calypso Coral On Film die-cut and all the rest of the embellishments.

That's also about the time I decided not to use the bunny but, instead, turned to the Sweet Laughter stamp set.  I love those two potted flowers and used the nice, bright Bermuda Bay for their petals.  I also used a Bermuda Bay matte for the sentiment to add a bit more of the colour to my card.

As the base for my card, I used the Sahara Sand and then added a layer of Calypso Coral before adding the stamped and decorated Whisper White layer.  I love the colours in this challenge and must say, I would use them again.  They really compliment each other beautifully.  Thanks, Susan.

I hope you'll join us for this week's Watercooler Challenge and link up your card for us to see.

I've also entered my card in the Just Add Ink photo challenge.

SSC98 --- Picture Perfect

I'm a real camera nut.  Ask anyone that knows me.  Of course they'll exaggerate about how many cameras I own (but not by that much).  Given my love affair with cameras, I had to get the Snapshot stamp.  The camera even looks like several that I own.

The Sunday Stamps Challenge is having a Design Team call as well as their regular challenge.  I love that it calls for single layer stamping.  It's fun and more challenging than cutting out all sorts of layers and embellishments.  For mine, I used the Snapshot stamp.  I also used the wonderful Stars Decorative Mask.

When you look at someone taking a photo, you can see the image of what they're taking reflected in the lens.  I wanted to have the same effect for my card and so made sure that I didn't stamp the large black area in the lens by covering it up with a mask cut with my 3/4" circle punch.  I just put that right onto the stamp after I inked it up and the area was left clean and ready for the image I wanted to have "reflected".  For that I used the wild-looking chicken in the middle of the From the Herd stamp.  Luckily I have the stamp in Photopolymer and so by simply inking up the chicken I could see where to stamp it to have it centred in the lens.  Great, huh?

I added the sentiment in Coastal Cabana using the Project Life Remember This stamp set.  After colouring my camera and chicken, I used the Stars Decorative Mask and carefully sponged some So Saffron around the camera and sentiment.  As an added little touch, I cut a 3/4" piece of Window Sheet and glued that carefully over the chicken to make it look like a glass lens.

Check out the rest of the entries at the Sunday Stamps Challenge.

PCCCS138 --- Happy Easter!

That little bunny from the Happy Easter Bunny stamp set makes me think of Snoopy (of the old Peanuts comic strip) and his happy dance.  Take away the bunny ears and tail and you have good old Snoopy.  He makes me smile, which is a wonderful way to begin making a card.

The sketch for this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge was simply perfect for what I had in mind for that bunny.

I used a number of punches and framelits for this card.  The left side has Blushing Bride cardstock cut with the beautiful Striped Scallop thinlit.  The centre of the card has more Blushing Bride cut with the On Film framelit.  Then I've used the Small Oval punch for a couple of the Easter eggs and the little flower punch from the Itty Bitty Accents punch bundle for the flowers at the top right.  The bunny, however, was carefully fussy-cut right down to his thin little whiskers.

I've kept the colours to Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Coastal Cabana.  The background of Irresistibly Yours Designer Paper was lightly sponged with Pistachio Pudding and the bunny, of course, has a mixture of neutrals to make him look like a bunny.  All this is layered on top of a base of Naturals White.

I had such fun making this card.  Honestly, the bunny had me smiling throughout.  That doesn't happen with every card.

I've also entered this card in the Addicted to Stamps and More for their Holiday challenge.

And I couldn't resist entering the Photo Challenge at the Around the World Stampin' Up Challenge.

A Surprise Inside! SUO 119 -- Fun Folds

Many of you commented that you would like the measurement for a card that I showcased on my most recent Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop post.  At the time I had not yet re-designed the card for our usual 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" format.  The card which I presented for the hop was very oversized and, unless you make your own envelopes or wish to use a 5" x 7" envelope, the card simply was too large.  And so, over the weekend, I fiddled around with the original measurements used by the originator of the design, Desire Fourie.  Happily, the smaller design still packs the same "WOW" factor and so, today, I will share the measurements and the template.

My main colours for this card are Smoky Slate, Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Wild Wasabi.  There are also traces of other colours due to the colourful design I used from the Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper.

The base, in whatever colour you choose, will be the "normal" 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" cardstock scored down the centre at 4 1/4".  For the front whatever you choose to do does not affect the remainder of the design of the card.  You probably want to think of a theme.

For the inside, which is what the whole template and instructions are all about, cut a piece of cardstock to 8 1/4" x 5 1/4".  Score at 4 1/8".  Next, follow the template which I show below:

This template should be a large enough file to print out.  The remaining images in this post are reduced files.  To recap, along the long side, cut 7/8" from the edge from 7/8" until 7 3/8" on each side.

Then, along the short side, down the centre.  Each line is a score-line as follows:  7/8", 1 5/8", 4 1/8", 6 5/8", 7 3/8".  Do not extend the score-lines into the skinny areas above and below the cut-line. Along the skinny piece above and below that centre, score as follows:  2 5/8", 4 1/8",  5 5/8".

Yes, there are a lot of measurements in  the eighths, but in order to make the design work in the 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card format, it was necessary.

The template also shows you the mountains and valleys that you will fold.

Once you've decorated the inside piece to your satisfaction, you can adhere it to the base card.  This photo will show you where to put the glue/snail/tape (your choice) in order to make the design work:

It's a bit fussy but the reaction of the recipient is well worth it.  Have fun!

The front of my card.

                                                   The inside of my card.

I've decided to enter my special fold card into the SUO Challenge since they are asking for fun fold cards.

PCCCS137 --- Masculine Birthday

It's time for another Paper Craft Crew Challenge sketch and this week's has something for everyone.  It could easily work for a very frilly, feminine card or, as I've chosen to do, a really good masculine card.  I love it when a sketch is versatile, don't you?

The first thing I thought of when I saw the partial circle peeking out from underneath was a doily.  But, I thought, that's what is going to cross everyone's mind.  So I pulled out a bunch of stamp sets, thought about the main rectangle and what I would like in it and knew it would have to be Wetlands, particularly that wonderful sketched Canada Goose image.  Choosing my image put all my other choices in place.  My card would be browns, greens, a bit of blue and, if I could figure out how to use it, burlap.

For my base cardstock, I chose Naturals White.  I love the slightly speckled look of that paper.  I followed that with a layer of Soft Suede which I had embossed using my Woodgrain embossing folder after first stamping it with an image from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and White Craft ink.  The next rectangle was a layer of Early Espresso topped with a layer of retired Designer Paper.  Then I stamped my image onto Whisper White, coloured it using my ink pads and Aqua Painter and then attached it to a matte of Mossy Meadow.  

The sentiment is on Early Espresso, heat embossed with White Embossing powder using the Endless Birthday stamp set.  Three little Soft Suede Candy Dots and some Linen Twine finish up the card.

Oh, yes, I did add burlap.  See the semi-circle fringe under the rectangles?  That's the Stampin' Up! Burlap Ribbon.  Of course I pulled all the woven burlap yarn apart, mounted it on a semi-circle of sticky tape with most of it hanging free.  I clipped off any ragged ends and voila!  I got to use the burlap and still stay with the sketch.  

For more interpretations of this week's sketch, check out the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

I've also entered my card in the Addicted to Stamps and More "make your mark" challenge.