The Centre Swing Fold Card

Special fold cards are a lot of fun to create.  There are so many styles, so many ways to make each style your own, and there are so many ways to make simple changes to create a slightly different fold altogether.  I love special fold cards!  Lately they've been on my mind quite a bit since I joined several swaps specifically for special fold cards and so I've been "playing" with a number of options, deciding which type of fold I wish to submit to the Swaps.

This particular card is called the Centre Swing Fold.  The reason for the name becomes obvious as one opens the card and the centre begins to swing around until, when the card is fully open, one can see the back of the centre and the message inside  the card.  Sounds like fun?  It is!

This series of shots shows the centre "swing" in its various positions.  In the final image you can see the back of the centre and the space for the sender's message.  I love the way the card changes in each position.  There are continual surprises.

This is definitely a contender for one of the card styles that I'll be submitting to a Swap.

Waxed Paper...Who Knew It Could Be So Much Fun?

It's funny how some things lodge in your brain, percolate for a while, and then are ready to be used.  Somewhere in the many topics that I read through, someone mentioned a waxed paper resist technique.  I remember that it combined embossing folders, stamping, ironing (yes, with a real iron) and sponging colours onto the cardstock.  Today was a miserable, grey, rainy day.  What better time, I thought, to try out something new just for fun?

I decided to use the Whisper White cardstock since it is so nice and glossy and takes a stamped image beautifully.  On that I used Basic Black ink to stamp the grass from the "Inspired By Nature" stamp set as well as a butterfly from the Hostess set "Precious Butterflies".  I let that dry while I went to work on a piece of waxed paper cut slightly larger than an embossing folder.  I finally decided to use the Elegant Bouquet folder twice, that is I embossed the waxed paper once and then turned the paper so that I could emboss the other, empty, half since the folder actually just embosses half the paper along a diagonal.

Then I carefully placed the waxed paper on top of the stamped Whisper White cardstock, placed a scot towel on top of that, and ironed it until I was pretty sure the wax had been transferred to the cardstock.  I remembered my safety rule and unplugged the iron and then proceeded to use a sponge to colour the stamped cardstock.  This part will remind most people of the emboss-resist technique.

My choice was to make the image seem to be silhouetted against a sunrise.  I sponged So Saffron over about 3/4 of the cardstock, leaving the top 1/4 free of colour.  Then I proceeded to blend in some Calypso Coral and, at the bottom 1/4, added in some Primrose Petals to deepen the colour.  With another sponge I used the Marina Mist lightly across the untouched top 1/4.  I love the way everything blended together so nicely.

Then, with a dry, clean sponge, I went carefully over the entire image to get rid of any residual ink...that really brought out the details of the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder.

I used Basic Gray cardstock for my card's base colour and then added a layer of Basic Black to frame the stamped cardstock.  I love the way the Basic Black makes the silhouette "pop".

This was so much fun to do.  I can think of a dozen other cards I want to make this way.  You should try it, too.

A Great Place to Start...

Sometimes you find a card or something else created in paper and just want to make it.  Then, as you begin making it, you realize that it's a great place to start...but you have some ideas of your own.

I came across a wonderful graduation card on Debbie Henderson's blog: Debbie's Designs.  It has some stamping but is primarily what would be called a "punch-art" card, using some of Stampin' Up's terrific punches.  I absolutely love the Owl Builder Punch!  It is one of the most versatile punches in the Stampin' Up catalogue.  I've made owls (of course) in many, many forms.  I've also made penguins, tulips, bats...the list goes on.  Like I said, it's an extremely versatile punch.

This card is absolutely perfect for any graduate.  With a few changes it can be made for someone graduating kindergarten, elementary school, high school and even college.  The one I've made would be great for either a high school- or a college- graduate.

It's hard to believe that this card begins with a 7.5" x 7.5" square of black cardstock.  Then you simply score along each side at 1 7/8" and cut out the squares formed at each corner.

Use the corner punch on each of the eight corners.  Then you cut out a 3.5" x 3.5" square of Whisper White cardstock.  I sponged Marina Mist clouds over the white and then used the Basic Gray to stamp the globe and compass from the Open Sea stamp set as well as the key from the Established Elegance stamp set.  I used the {G} from the Occasions Alphabet set and, after stamping it with the Basic Black, used the 1" round punch on the {G} and the 3/4" round punch on the "the sky is the limit".  You could also use Congratulations or Celebrate, but with the sponged sky, I felt that this stamp was appropriate.

The owl was lots of fun to make.  I used Basic Gray cardstock for the body (Owl Builder Punch) and for the wings (three scallops from the 1 3/4" round scallop punch).  Then I gave him a vest (also from the Owl Builder Punch) from the Basic Grey Designer Specialty Paper.  The feet and beak were punched from So Saffron cardstock (feet and heart from Owl Builder Punch) and the eyes were punched from Whisper White and Basic Black (also Owl Builder Punch).  The grad cap was freehanded from Basic Black cardstock and you can just make out the tiny dark brad in the centre.

I just love the way the owl seems to be flying high!

On the reverse side of the black cardstock, in the centre of the square, I used tombo glue to adhere a black 3/4" circle over a piece of baker's twine and then attached a banner stamped with Congratulations from the new Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and cut out with the Bitty Banners Framelits.

Doesn't that just finish it off perfectly?  And it looks so tidy and square because you can fold the "flaps" that you made originally by scoring the sides and cutting off the corner squares.  They fold alternately as if you were closing a box and leave you with a perfect 4" square card.

Can't you just see the possibilities?

Join the May Blog Hop!

This is my first time ever in participating in a Blog Hop.  Wouldn't you know that I'd get too sick to get onto my computer for a few days and miss posting my link in time.  Hopefully everything will link the way it should now that I'm able to get around a bit.  Hate the flu!!!

If you've come to my Blog, you'll just have left Rosa Ivelisse Vazquez's blog.

The project that I'm showing is the "Card Size Mini Album".  First shown in the "Paper Celebration 2012 Edition" of ink4u...this is my take on it.

I've kept the colours very muted, using neutrals, so that the sepia pictures which I've put into the little album would be showcased.

Looking at it from the front you would think it was simply a card...and it fits into a medium sized envelope easily.  Then you open it and it becomes a mini-album.

From the back it looks so long and large, but it really does fold down into a small card-size.

My final picture shows it from a higher angle.

If you've enjoyed seeing this project on my Blog, then I invite you to continue the blog hop by going to Alison Plummer's blog next.

If you would like to know more about INK4U then check out Madeline's blog for all the details.

Madeline Morcelo Ink4u the Studio [founder CEO]

  1. Vimar Serrano--VS Paper Creations  [designer]

  2.  Katherine Elliot--News from the CRAFT-a-TORIUM [designer]

  3.  Diane Ouellette--My Stampin' Blog by Diane Ouellette [designer]

  4.  Rosa Ivelisse Vazquez--Scrappin Pleasure [designer]

  5.  Heidi Weaver (me)--Stampin' Along With Heidi [member]

  6.  Alison Plummer--Crafty Alison in Lyon [member]

  7.  Marisol Gutierrez--A Touch of Sol [former designer]

  8.  Jayne Stenstrom--Jayne Stamps [member]

  9.  Lisa Eisner--Crafting With Princess Lisa [member]

10.  Yvonne Walker--Yvonne's Creative Corner [member]

Making a Shutter Card

There have been quite a few posts of what I call a shutter card (reminds me of a window shutter) but I have no idea who the originator of the card actually might have been.  Once I saw it, I had to try to figure it out.  I love puzzles and especially 3-D puzzles and knew I would be able to figure out the cut lines and fold lines.

The first one I tried was with 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and although I made it work, I wasn't happy with the way my fold lines did not line up over each other.  It didn't actually make the card look bad, but I knew there had to be a better way.  That better way was using 12 x 12 cardstock.  Cutting a piece to measure 5 1/2 x 12 made all the difference.  After all, it is easy to divide 12 by three and that is very necessary for the making and folding of this card.

To begin then, start with a piece of 5 1/2" x 12" cardstock (I used textured but plain works equally well).  Then cut two lines as shown in the following picture:

Once these lines are cut, use your Simply Scored to score lines  as shown in the following picture:

It is important that the scoring lines are followed exactly.

Once the lines have been scored on the paper, they are folded as shown in the following picture.

Make sure the lines are well creased with your bone folder to ensure that the card opens and closes easily.  The folded cardstock should look like this:

I've posted it at this angle to show the alternating "hills" and "valleys".

There are an infinite number of ways the card can be decorated.  Once you have tried one, you'll probably wish to experiment and make it your own.  The following is the way I chose to decorate the card with Designer Series Paper.

I've specified the size and numbers of pieces you will require if you wish to copy my design.  The center piece of cardstock (shown in Soft Suede) is the piece I stamped with my Sentiment.  This should be done before pasting the piece onto the card, of course.  Other embellishments such as butterflies, hearts, pearls, etc. can be added as desired.

This is the way my finished card turned out:

For this card I used complimenting pieces of Sale-a-bration Designer Series Paper.  The blue cardstock in the center really brings out the matching blue in the DSP.  I chose to put butterflies on my card using a combination of cardstock and DSP and the wonderful Embosslit Die "Beautiful Wings" as well as my other favourite die "Beautiful Butterflies".

I hope you'll have as much fun making this card as I did.  The terrific thing is that even though it looks so large, it folds easily to fit into a normal medium sized envelope.

April Showers?

You know that old saying: April showers bring May flowers.  So has anyone heard a saying about April snow? What does that predict for our coming May?  Here in central Alberta it appears that anything goes.

April has been a busy month.  I've had to get used to the weather here after two glorious weeks in the Caribbean.  *sigh*  I've also had to play "catch up" with my Stampin' Up.  One of the things that has taken a big hit is my Blog.  Even my best laid plans to write to my Blog several times weekly have gone "a'glae" to paraphrase Robbie Burns.

I had an impromptu card-making table at a charity All-Day Scrapbooking Crop.  I designed an elegant vintage card in three choices of colours using "Hello Doily" heat embossed with silver.  I was happily surprised with the enthusiasm making the card generated.  One of the tools which I gave a "starring role" was the Cutter Kit (#106958) and the card-makers loved it so much that within the first six customers, I had sold three kits.  Here is the Pacific Point version of the card.  I also offered a Marina Mist version as well as a Basic Black version.

 In the above shown card I used a medium and a small clear rhinestone brad.  In the following cards I used the basic rhinestones and the basic pearls respectively.

Since I gave people a choice, I was curious as to which of the colours would be the top "seller".  In the final tally, the Basic Black won by a two-card margin.  Only one of the Marina Mist was made.  Next time I do something like this I will throw a warm-coloured card into the mix to see what sort of response it gets.

April----change is in the wind.

I can't help but think about the wind at the moment since there is quite the storm outside.  Winter is attempting to regain sovereignty over Spring and right now, appears to be winning.  There is actually white stuff (don't call it by name, it might stay) accumulating on the ground.  This is just wrong!  There are buds in the trees, after all, and I'm just so very ready for the promise of Spring flowers.

But besides the weather, there is another "wind" blowing through, making changes.  That "wind" is going to affect my stock of stamps and papers.  All too soon we will see the published "retirement list" and the sad "goodbyes" will begin. There are some stamp sets that I intend to keep whether they are considered retired or not.  They're simply beautiful and express my feelings either in words or in graphics and as a result will remain as part of my private stock.

On the heels of the retirement list, the sneak peeks at the new catalogue will begin and we will discover with what they are replacing some of our old favourites.  I can already foresee beginning a long wish list.  These times are both frightening and exciting.

I have a lot of new cards to post on this blog.  I can't believe I've fallen so far behind.  Of course making the cards that I'll be sending off for my "Masculine Card Swap" has taken up a lot of time.  The Card Camp which I'm holding on Sunday, April 15th (making 8 different cards using different techniques) has also been very demanding of my time since I've not only had to create those 8 cards but also had to cut the components for each card in preparation for the participants.

Being busy sure makes the time pass quickly!

My Brain is A-Whirl

Well, March is nearly over!  Does that sound a bit dramatic considering that it's only March 9th today?  As far as workable days left for me, March is, actually, nearly over.

On Sunday (March 11th) my husband and I are taking our vacation and so two weeks will be subtracted from my March in the way of workshops and card parties.  Believe me, I wouldn't give up the two weeks of lounging on the white sand and soaking up the rays, but another part of my brain is going: "but Sale-a-bration is going to be over!"  I'll have one last card party during Sale-a-bration on March 31st since I have a Card Camp booked for that day and that's it for March.

Of course anyone wanting to take advantage of Sale-a-bration can still order directly from my Demonstrator's website by simply "clicking" on the shopping cart in the right column of this blog.  The same extras apply to online orders: buy $60 of supplies and you automatically qualify for a free gift of any one item from the Sale-a-bration booklet.  Actually you would get an additional free gift for each $60 you spend in your order PLUS, if your order adds up to $200 you get an additional $35 hostess bonus to spend.  Good stuff!  Free is always a terrific price, isn't it?

For those of you attending the March 31st Card Camp, I've already begun preparing the cards we'll make.  Maybe I'll even get some inspiration from those great beach colours, too.  Okay...maybe now I'm gloating. ;)

Keep busy during my absence.  Surprise me with your creations when I get back.

Embossing: Do It YOUR Way!

I think embossing folders can really add style to a card.  The trouble is, you can't always find an embossing folder that has exactly what you might have in mind.  I had been wishing for a butterfly embossing folder for quite some time.  I love butterflies on cards.  You may have noticed that as you've looked through some of my projects.

Lately there have been a number of stampers adding their own "embossing" to cards and I thought, why shouldn't I try that?  So I did!  The trick is to make an "embossing folder" out of punched out shapes.

 I own quite a number of butterfly dies as well as a butterfly punch, so there were a lot of butterflies at my disposal.  I knew that if I was going to make my own "embossing folder" I would have to make butterflies out of an extremely hard cardboard.  Anything slightly soft would wind up giving an extremely soft impression when rolled through the Big Shot.  I found an extremely stiff, very compressed piece of cardboard that is perhaps half again as thick as a piece of Stampin' Up cardstock.  I knew the Bigz dies could manage the material without problems but one of my favourite butterfly dies, the Beautiful Wings folder, would probably split apart attempting it.

Well, I cut a couple of butterflies using the Beautiful Butterflies die and another using the Butterfly Punch.  But I wanted some of the sizes and shapes from the Beautiful Wings folder as well and managed that by cutting two sets from cardstock and then gluing the matching cardstock pieces together.  That brought them up to approximately the density of the other butterfly shapes.

I had a spare cutting pad and used the Dotto to keep the butterfly shapes in place on that.

Having put together my "embossing folder", I decided to try it out on a piece of Very Vanilla.  My sandwich was as follows:  Multipurpose platform on Tab 1, my "embossing folder" with the butterflies facing upwards, the Very Vanilla cardstock, a standard Texturz silicone rubber mat, a standard cutting pad.  Then I rolled it through the Big Shot and checked the results.

I loved it!  The butterfly shapes were very visible.  The best embossing was done with the super-dense cardboard shapes but the double-cardstock embossing wasn't bad, either, just a little softer.  Overall, I was very happy with the results.

I used a butterfly stamp from the Butterfly Prints to add Marina Mist to the one butterfly shape cut with the Butterfly Punch.  I added a butterfly made with the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die and embossed with the Flower Garden embossing folder.  Then I added the sentiment from the Butterfly Prints set, stamped in Marina Mist ink.

A bit of shading around the edge of the Labels Collection shape with Marina Mist ink and a sponge, a bit of "bling" in the way of those wonderful Pearls, and the card is complete.  The embossed butterflies make a perfect addition to the stamped and 3-D butterflies.

So now you, too, can make an "embossing folder" from any shape you can imagine.  Isn't that fun?

Home Sweet Home!

I love the Decor Elements, Home Sweet Home, in the Sale-a-bration booklet.  The fact that it comes in an assortment of colours is the icing on the cake.  I chose one in Chocolate Chip in the first order for which I qualified for Sale-a-bration and decided to display it in a frame with some of the Neutrals Collection DSP behind it, arranged as if it was quilted.  I added a couple of  scalloped circles cut from the Sale-a-bration Everyday Enchantment DSP with my Scallop Circle Punch and added some Soft Suede cardstock for good measure.  The finished product is really quite nice.

Tomorrow I'm attending the local Optimist Club's big all-day scrapbooking crop (just as a participant) and I've donated a similar framed Home Sweet Home as a fundraiser.  This time I've made it with the white version of the Home Sweet Home but I've backed it with the much darker Chocolate Chip DSP and Chocolate Chip cardstock.  As it happens, the same Sale-a-bration Everyday Enchantment DSP looks great with this version as well and so I'm using it cut with the Scallop Circle Punch once again.  The finished product is very similar but at the same time, is quite different.  I wound up having to buy a slightly larger frame this time around and so had to redraft my measurements, but I'm liking the results.  What do you think?

Since the frame is larger than the one I first used, the lettering seemed too crowded in the centre, so I cut apart the Home Sweet Home into three strips and placed them slightly further apart than they are actually designed to be.  I think the Chocolate Chip gives it a totally different look as does the white of the Decor Element.  I had to sponge some Chocolate Chip ink onto the Everyday Enchantment DSP scalloped circles to make them fit into the colour theme better.

Elegance in Black, White, Grey and Pearls.

I had so many emails and positive reactions to my Card Gift Case as well as questions about other possible colours for it and the cards within it.  Of course the only limit to that is one's imagination (and the cardstock and Designer Series Paper on hand) but it did start my creative juices flowing again.

This time, rather than using the romantic blossoms and those wonderful deep reds and blues in the Twitterpated DSP that I used last time, I began thinking along the lines of simple elegance.  Well, what could be more elegant than using Black, Grey, White and pearls?  It's like designing a card or case to go with that all-too-important little black dress every woman wants.  Right now I'm leaning towards the simple black and white design in the Twitterpated DSP and designed two cards using it to see how that might go.

For the first one I used the Sale-a-bration stamp set, Fresh Vintage and kept simply within the black and white within the Twitterpated DSP and added a bit of Basic Grey cardstock as well.  I absolutely loved its simplicity:

With the addition of three tiny pearl accents, this card was complete.

My second one was identical except that I used the Elements of Style stamp set instead.  That little stylized hummingbird and a piece of the large flower stamp filled the framlits Labels Collection die perfectly and gave the card a completely different look.  As before, I added tiny pearls, one as the hummingbirds's eye and the other one on the "postage stamp" flower again.

I'm still incubating the third card, trying to decide whether it will simply highlight another stamp set or mix up the colour elements a bit.  For the Card Gift Case, however, I'm pretty sure I will continue with the Twitterpated white and black DSP...but we'll see.

How do you like the series so far?

Creating a Gift

Whether it's for the hostess or a special gift for a friend or relative, this Card Gift Case is sure to be appreciated.  I love making 3-D projects and so possible projects are forever incubating in my busy brain.  Yesterday I suddenly had a "vision" of a cute Card Gift Case and, of course, I had to try to make it a reality.

I had bought the Twitterpated DSP when it was first introduced but hadn't used much of it in any projects.  The darker flower pattern, with the Basic Grey as a background, had been left untouched.  This time I decided to use it, not only as the main focal point, but also to decide the colours of cardstock which I would use in the project.

It was easy enough to choose the colours listed for the DSP.  The Riding Hood Red cardstock was a perfect match as were the Basic Grey cardstock and the Blushing Bride cardstock.  When it came to the suggested Baja Breeze, I came to a standstill.  The dye colour in my DSP was in no way related to the Baja Breeze.  Actually the only cardstock that didn't "fight" with the blue in the DSP was the Marina Mist, and so I went with that choice.  Every light source (and even my camera) confirmed that this was the right match.

I had decided to use 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cards and the matching envelopes (5 3/4" x 4 3/8") in this project therefore I knew that the Card Gift Case had to be larger than the envelopes in order to fit everything easily.  I also knew that I had to allow some space in each pocket as well.  The following template allowed for easy closing of the Gift Card Case as well as easy insertion of the cards and the envelopes.

The broken lines on the template denote scoring lines.

I used the Marina Mist for the 6" x 9 1/4" cardstock and then cut another piece the same size in the Twitterpated DSP.  I scored both as shown in the template.  Because I find nothing sticks better than the Sticky Tape, I used that along the sides and also in the centre between the fold lines.  Lining the two up was one of the most challenging portions of this project.  Once the Sticky Tape sticks, it won't let go so be very careful doing this step.

I chose to do one pocket on the inside in Marina Mist cardstock and the other pocket in the Twitterpated DSP.  Really, it's anyone's choice here, as is the addition of the scalloped edge.  You can see where the pocket has two scored lines along three edges.  This is necessary in order to give sufficient depth to the pockets so that cards or envelopes can fit inside without ripping the pocket or bulging out.  Again, I used Sticky Tape along the 1/4" fold so that the pockets would be permanent and not give during the insertion of the cards or envelopes.

The rest...the "bling" and the decorations are up to the individual.  I can see where this would have a totally different personality if it had been done in, for example, the Well Worn DSP or another DSP.  I love the old-fashioned "feel" that this Twitterpated DSP gives my project, but I can see myself doing it again in totally different paper.

I chose to do the cards using the same Twitterpated DSP, having each card's main cardstock in a different colour within the Twitterpated DSP.  Therefore one card has Basic Grey as its main background colour:

 
Another card has Riding Hood Red as its main background colour:

And the last card has the Marina Mist as its main background colour:

Even with the added layers and "bling", the cards fit easily into the Card Gift case and it closed nicely.  To make sure it stayed shut, a person could add a ribbon at the centre bottom front and back and tie it closed with a pretty bow or even put a velcro spot or magnet on the inside centre of the pockets to keep it closed.

I left mine without any "closure" since it stays nice and flat and shut without help.

I hope you'll enjoy making your own version of this Card Gift Case.  Blessings to all. :)

Be Mine, Valentine

Valentine's is the day for hearts, hearts and more hearts.  You can't go into a store without seeing a heart somewhere.  Naturally that has been a favourite theme for cards and projects lately, too.

I fell in love with some of the wonderful 3-D Hearts that have been posted by stampers and crafters lately.  I'm one of those people who figures, "if they can do it, so can I!"  Without a pattern or looking at any tutorials, I began working on my own version, using those terrific framelits dies: Hearts Collection.  Believe me, these dies make the whole process a lot easier.  This is what I came up with.

I've shown the box from three different angles.  I love the roses, too, and figured out how to make those when someone mentioned that you can make them by using a scalloped circle, cutting a spiral, and then rolling it into a rosebud.  The leaves are done with a crimper and then snipped.  I had a lot of positive feedback on this project.

Time for Tea?

I do love my coffee when I first get up in the morning.  There's nothing like a jolt of caffeine to wash away the cobwebs left in my head and prepare me for the rest of the day.

But I do love tea!  Green Tea and Peppermint are my current teas of choice.  Naturally when "The Tea Shoppe" stamp set was released, it appealed to the tea-lover in me.  For a change, instead of using one of the delightful cup stamps in the set, I decided to use the "white peony" oval stamp.

First I cut a 6" x 12" piece of textured River Rock cardstock with my Fancy Favor Bigz XL die...love the way the score lines are automatically added when you use that die!  Then I used the oval Designer Frame embossing folder in the centre of one of the unscored panels.  Of course I used the pink Sticky Strip to glue the bottoms and sides of the Fancy Favor together...I didn't want the goodies inside to fall out due to failed adhesive.

Then I used the large Oval Punch for Calypso Coral which fit perfectly into the embossed oval frame.  I used the "white peony" stamp with Old Olive ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and cut that out with the "Scalloped Oval" punch and coloured the leaves in with my Lucky Limeade Stampin' Write marker.  Then I used the dimensionals to mount that onto the Calypso Coral.  I went a bit crazy with the flowers, using that wonderful Boho Blossoms punch on two DSPs (Neutrals collection River Rock and In-Color 2011-2013 Calypso Coral) as well as Whisper White cardstock.  For the centres of some flowers, I added a flower punched with the flower shape of the Itty Bitty Shapes punches.  The leaves were punched with my trusty and well-loved Bird Builder punch using Lucky Limeade cardstock and the butterflies were punched with that wonderful embosslit die: Beautiful Wings.

The finished product was filled with teabags and given to one of my dear friends...a total success.

Sharing Ideas...Creating Inspiration

I've visited countless Blogsites and Websites and have marvelled at some of the great cards or projects others have created.  Normally I don't copy from these samples I've seen, but sometimes I do get inspired and do it "my way".  I'm sure there are people who have looked at the few samples I've managed to post so far and have either copied or become inspired by them to do them "their way".  It's humbling to realize that if even ONE person uses a small part of an idea or design that I made and then that person has sent that card to another person, and that person has smiled.....I had a tiny part in that, and isn't that wonderful!  It's a way of reaching out and touching others that just wasn't possible once upon a time.

I believe that we as "creative people" are given a gift, that, when shared, can have an impact on another person in a way we may never know.  Let's not hide our bushels...but share them and watch them grow and "nurture" others.  

Prize-Winning Card! So, so, so happy!

I haven't been stamping very long...less than a year, in fact.  I love it and find it gives me the artistic, creative release that I crave.  The LNS challenge during the Super Bowl was my opportunity to test my card-making abilities against those of others.  I knew I had made a nice card.  My husband and son-in-law even liked it and they're tough to impress.  So I decided to submit it thinking that at least I was participating rather than hanging back and observing like I too often do.

My card can only be described as a masculine-type.   I used a stamp set that I saw in a card once and fell in love with...but couldn't find in the current catalogue.  When I was looking through the actual stamps listed on the Stampin' Up site, however, I found it and was ecstatic when I was finally able to order it.  It's called "The Open Sea" and includes five stamps:  a boat in full sail, an anchor, a compass, a globe, and a large block of what I assume if the ship's log in old script.

For my card, "I Miss You", I used all but the anchor.  I had just received an order of glossy white paper which I decided was perfect for what I envisioned for the card.

The actual stamp is just the boat, no background, and a bit of water directly around the bottom of the boat.  Everything else I had to fill in.  I had tried a cloud technique on a number of cards and decided to do that for this card and I had an idea of what could be done for the water but it meant having to stamp the boat first, stamping it again on another piece of cardstock, and then cutting the second image as close as possible to the stamp lines so that it would exactly match the boat and allow me to bring the clouds and sea up to the stamped image but not onto it.

It went better than expected.  I had virtually no touch up and was thrilled with the look of the clouds.  The water was still my big challenge.  For that I tried a sponge technique that I plan to submit to the LNS Technique Share.  I doubt it would have worked with "normal" cardstock.  The glossy white surface doesn't absorb the ink quickly and allows movement and blending.  And that is the key to this technique.

So there we have it...another milestone.  There is a prize of stamps...for which I am truly grateful...but my biggest prize is already here:  I won First Place!

Taking a break from Valentine's

I love Valentine's and all the great cards you can make for the occasion: funny cards, sweet cards, downright mushy cards and everything in between.  But sometimes you need a break and today I decided to do anything but Valentine's Day cards.  Looking at all the stamp sets that I've bought and haven't gotten around to using, I realized that today would be the day I would use at least two of the sets...if not more.  The first one I chose was "Heaven Sent".  A perfect title under the circumstances.

I decided to make a tri-fold 4" x 4" card by taking a 4" x 12" piece of Very Vanilla textured cardstock and scoring it at 4" and then again at 8".  Then I chose one of the cheeriest of the Sale-a-bration DS papers and cut a 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" piece, centering it onto the front of the card.  I used the third from the smallest framelits Labels Collection die to cut a window in the centre of the front of the card.  I set the cut out label aside to use later.

Then I cut a piece of Pool Party cardstock to match the blue in the SAB paper and used the Snail glue to attack it to the back of the front of the card.  Using the second from the smallest of the framelits Labels Collection die and lining it up from the front, I cut a window in the cardstock, effectively making a double-framed window in the front.

Using Very Vanilla cardstock, I stamped the little boy collecting Easter eggs with Early Espresso ink and then cut the image out with the same die I used for the window in the Pool Party cardstock.  I coloured the image using Watercolour Pencils and a Blending Pen.  The colours match the SAB paper perfectly, which I love!  I used Pool Party ink and a sponge to shade around the label and then used Snail glue to centre it onto the next page through the front of the card.  It worked perfectly and the boy is as visible from the front of the card as he is on the next page.  Under that label, I glued a "Happy Easter" sentiment which  was stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock with Pool Party ink and cut with the Word Label Punch and then shaded the edges with the same ink.

You can just see the three pages of the card in this picture.  On the last page I used the set aside Label from the front of the card which showed off the SAB paper.  I glued that onto the page and then stamped the long sentiment from the set onto Very Vanilla cardstock and cut it out with the Modern Label Punch, shaded the edges with Pool Party ink to match the sentiment, and glued  that down onto the SAB label.

It's cheery, it's colourful, and best of all...it's not a Valentine. :)

The "How-To's" of Hemp

I've used the Baker's Twine to loop around the centre of a punched out butterfly to give it the illusion of a body and antennae but it's a bit droopy.  I've also been eyeing the Hemp Twine in the catalogue because I thought I could use a sponge and ink on it to make it any colour I wanted and it looked as if it would have more body.  Well, I was right.  It definitely has more body!  Compared to the Baker's Twine, it stands at attention and waits for a command. ;)

I decided to try it on a card just to see what it was like using it.  I wasn't using butterflies but it's not like that's the only way to use twine, after all.  In this case I thought it might make a unique border but it didn't have enough presence.  One strand was simply too thin to make it as a border.  So I cut three strands and proceeded to braid the strands loosely.  The result was exactly the right finishing touch for my card.  I'm going to use the Hemp Twine a lot in the future!

I love the way the braided hemp surrounds the Very Vanilla.  I stamped the VV first with my large Net Stamp using Crumb Cake ink, then I used my large Scallop Circle Punch to cut a medallion of that beautiful Everyday Enchantment DSP (I'll miss it when Sale-a-bration is over) and used my 2 1/2" Circle Punch for the Soft Suede backing.  All in all I'm very happy with the results.

Prize When We Reach 50 Members - JOIN TODAY!

To make things interesting, when this Blog reaches 50 members,  I am going to draw among the 50 names and send a beautiful one-of-a kind hand-made card as well as 5 yards of assorted ribbon to the lucky winner.  Become a member today!

Out of My Comfort Range

Doesn't everyone have favourite colours?  I know I sure do.  And even though I have a lot of wonderful Stampin Up colours, I find that some are getting close to running out and some of my packages are barely beyond being opened.

Rich Razzleberry is one of those colours.  I liked it well enough to order a package when I was initially bringing in all my supplies but then I discovered that it's not a colour I gravitate towards.  So I decided to challenge myself.  The challenge was to find at least three colours or Designer papers that I never seemed to touch and design a card.  I came up with the Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, and the Well Worn DSP.  That was the easy part: finding the paper.  So I began playing around with the paper.  I cut the Rich Razzleberry into the standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card size and began scoring diagonal lines on what would be the front of the card.  I scored a lot of lines!

When I looked through the Well Worn DSP and found some paper that had Basic Black and Old Olive in a vintage print on dirty white, I knew that it would be the "key" to the design.  And I was right!

The Old Olive strip that I was using along the one side just appeared so plain but with the busy pattern of the DSP and the diagonal scoring on the Rich Razzleberry, I was reluctant to add any more embossing.  So I used the "spatter" in the French Foliage stamp set with Olive Green ink to dress up the cardstock.  The wonderful Labels Collection of framelits worked perfectly to cut the centre shapes.  Finally adding the dotted black scalloped ribbon (without the dots showing) and the Beautiful Wings cut from the elegant Brushed Silver cardstock finished up the card.

Sometimes it's worth challenging yourself!  Have you tried a colour-challenge lately?