Friday, January 31, 2014

Lovely Trees

This card is using the same technique with watercolor that I used here. Hope you don't mind that I'm doing the same thing with a different stamp set.





Materials needed:
Lovely As a Tree stamp set (#115026)
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370)
Elegant Eggplant card stock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
Old Olive card stock 3 1/4 x 4 1/2"
Watercolor paper 3 1/4 x 4 1/4"
Polka Dot Parade scrap
Early Espresso ink
Candy Dot Brad Bases (#132293)
Candy Dots Subtles (#130933)
Aqua Painter (#103954)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Modern Label punch (#119849)
Midnight Muse ink or marker
Always Artichoke ink or marker

1. Watercolor the background on white watercolor paper or white card stock. I started with a larger paper than listed above but then cut it down to 3 1/4 x 4 1/4".
2. Choose the trees from the Lovey As a Tree stamp set. Ink the stamp with Early Espresso ink. Stamp the image directly onto the dry watercolored background.
3. Stamp a greeting from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set in Early Espresso ink on white card stock. Punch it out with the Word Window punch.
4. Punch out a piece of Old Olive Polka Dot Parade with the Modern Label punch. Adhere the greeting on top of the Label punch. Place it in the center bottom of the"grassy" area on the watercolor paper.
5. Layer the watercolor paper on top of the Old Olive card stock and adhere that on top of the Elegant Eggplant card stock.
6. Punch holes at each end of the greeting label. Add Candy Dot Brad bases and a colored Candy Dot.
7. Adhere the card front to a card base and add your note or message to the inside.
Have fun doing the same technique in different ways!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

I'm "Turtle" Sorry

As many birthday cards as I send out, you wouldn't think that I would miss anyone's birthday. Well, I did! I missed the birthdays of 2 ladies in my TOPS group. Their birthdays were the 21st & 22nd and I missed them both! Here is my belated birthday card for them.

I was having fun trying to decide how I wanted to do these turtles so I did one with glitter(bottom) and the other with embossed powder(top). You can decide which you like the best.

Materials needed: (Whoa! That's a lot of materials!)
Summer Smooches patterned paper (#125409) 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
Old Olive card stock
Wild Wasabi card stock
White card stock
Cricut Expression electronic cutting machine
Walk in My Garden cartridge
Printed Petals stamp set (#120444)
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370)
On Your Birthday stamp set (#111664, retired)
Wild Wasabi embossing powder (#123224)
Dazzling Diamonds glitter (#102023)
Heat & Stick powder (#100625)
Heat gun
Versa Mark ink
Strawberry Slush ink
Primrose Petals ink
Flower Brads
Mini Brads (#119738)
Blossom punch (#125603)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430)
hole punch

1. Cut out the turtle found in the Walk in My Garden cartridge with the Circut machine. Cut the body out of Old Olive card stock and the shell (shift) out of Wild Wasabi card stock.
2. Rub the shell with Versa Mark ink before you adhere it to the turtle body. If you are embossing, sprinkle with embossing powder over a sheet of paper or a tray. Shake off the excess powder and return it to the bottle. Heat with the heat gun. If you are using glitter, sprinkle with Heat & Stick powder. Then heat. Sprinkle with glitter and then heat set the glitter.
3. Adhere the shell on top of the body. Place a brad through the eye hole.  Place Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the turtle. (I did the 2 turtles facing different directions. All you have to do is pay attention to which shell fits on the turtle.)
4. Stamp a flower from the Printed Petals stamp set on white card stock with Strawberry Slush ink. Stamp a small flower from the set with Primrose Petals ink. Use the Blossom punch to punch out the large flower. Hand cut the small flower.
5. Place the smaller flower in the center of the larger flower. Use a hole punch to punch a hole in both flowers at the same time. Add a flower brad through the center of the flower. Adhere this to the patterned paper on one side.
6.  Place the turtle with his nose/face on the flower. Press the dimensionals down.
7. Stamp a greeting from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set on white card stock with Primrose Petals ink. Punch it out with the Word Window punch. Using a small amount of adhesive on the back, place the greeting near the top center of the card. Punch holes on each side and add brads.
8. Adhere the card front to the card base. On the inside you can add some extra flowers from the Printed Petals set. I used the strip of flower that is there across the bottom of the inside. Use a greeting stamped with Primrose Petals ink. The one I used was a "belated birthday" greeting.
While this card is great for a late birthday card, it would be a great card for just saying hello to a friend.


Monday, January 27, 2014

Punchy Valentine

I know it's still a while until Valentine's Day but it will be here before you know it. Can you believe that January 2014 is almost over? Ok, here's the card.
I don't usually do my designs/cards right onto the card base but I did on this one.

Materials needed:
Hearts a Flutter stamp set (#129252)
White Cardstock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2"
Real Red card stock about 3 x 4 1/4"
Blushing Bride pink card stock about 2 x 4 1/2"
Gingham Garden Washi tape (#129252)
Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch (#119275)
Chevron Border punch (#132154)
My Way punch (#110709, retired)
Xyron 150 (little x)

1. Fold and score the white card stock at 4 1/4."
2. Stamp your choice of hearts at the top of the folded card stock.
3. Place a strip of washi tape about 1/8" below the hearts. If you wish you can continue the washi tape on around the edge of the card to the inside.
 I just did mine to the inside fold but you could go all the way across, if you want. I plan on stamping a greeting on the other side.
4. With the pink card stock and the Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, punch to ribbon strips. Adhere one about 1/8" below the washi tape.
5. With the red card stock and the Chevron Border punch, punch out a red chevron border. Cut the card stock so that the chevron is about 1 3/8" wide. Adhere it about 1/8" below the first scalloped border.
6. Adhere the second scalloped border about 1/8" below the red chevron.
7. Punch the red card stock with the My Way punch or another arrows punch. Adhere the arrows below the scalloped border as shown on the card.
****The simplest way to do this is to do all the punching first. All of these will fit through the Xyron little x to put adhesive on the back of each piece. After you have the adhesive on all the pieces, simply pull them off the Xyron strip and place them on the card in order.

Have fun with this simple card. I think you could use a lot of different types of punches to make a card like this one. My inspiration for this card came from the Spring 2014 issue of CardMaker magazine, p. 49.


Friday, January 24, 2014

Thank you, Man

I needed to make 12 thank you cards for some men at our church who helped us at our special ladies event. I always find it difficult to make cards for men so I thought metal and speed might be good for them!
Materials needed:
Need for Speed stamp set (#122717)
Chalk Talk stamp set (#130634)
Polka Dot Parade patterned paper (#126902) 4 x 5 1/4"
Elegant Eggplant card stock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
So Saffron card stock
Hung Up Cute Clips (#129389)
Brads (since I needed brads for 12 cards, I used a variety)
Crop-a-dile hole punch
Certainly Celery ribbon (#109050)
Extra large Oval punch (#119859)
Baked Brown Sugar ink

1. Stamp your greeting from Chalk Talk stamp set on So Saffron card stock with Baked Brown Sugar ink. Punch it out with the Extra Large Oval punch.
2. Stamp the 4-wheeler on So Saffron card stock with Baked Brown Sugar ink. Cut it out to be about 2 x 2 3/4." Adhere the greeting on the top left side and the 4-wheeler on the bottom right side of the Polka Dot Parade paper.
3. Adhere a strip of Certainly Celery ribbon about 6" long across the middle of the Polka Dot Parade paper, wrapping the ends around to the back. Leave about 1" in the center of the ribbon without adhesive so that you will be able to slide the clip  on. Choose the clip you want to use and slide it on the ribbon.
4. Punch a hole on each side of the ribbon (left and right sides) with a Crop-a-dile punch. I used the Crop-a-dile because it is often very hard to punch a hole through the ribbon with a regular hole punch. Insert a brad in each hole. Bend the brads at the back.
5. Adhere the Polka Dot Parade paper to the Elegant Eggplant card stock, allowing an edge of about 1/8" to show around the edges of the patterned paper.
6. Adhere the card front to a card base and write your note of thanks in the inside.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Just for You card

I had been wanting to do something like this for a little while, so I finally just did it. I really like the watercolor look and I tried several different ways. I was not successful trying to use my watercolor crayons for this so after I did the background, I just did the image with my markers. I'll keep trying with my watercolor crayons & see if I can improve.

Materials needed:
Just Believe stamp set (#120453)
Aqua painter (#102954) or watercolor brush and water
Wild Wasabi card stock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" plus a small piece of scrap
White card stock 4 x 5 1/4" plus extra
Everyday Enchantment Organdy ribbon Lucky Limeade (#126060, retired)
Modern Label punch (#119857)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Markers or ink pads:
  Canjun Craze marker
  Old Olive marker
  Wild Wasabi marker
  Always Artichoke marker
  Marina Mist, either
Stampin' Dimenionals (#104430)

1. Do the watercolor background on white card stock first. Give it a few minutes to dry.
To do this, you can either mash an ink pad against the lid/top to put ink on the inside of the top(this works really well with the newer raised pads)

 or rub a marker on to the plastic top or another plastic surface. 


 Then use the aqua painter brush or a wet watercolor brush to swish a bit of water onto the ink.

 Pick ink up with the brush and smear or swish it onto the white cardstock.

 I did the top with Marina Mist, the middle with always Artichoke and the bottom with Wild Wasabi.
It's not necessary to totally cover the card stock with the color. You can also let the 2 shades of green to blend together on the card stock. You can also do this on watercolor paper, if you prefer.
2. Rub the image from the Just Believe stamp set with the markers. I used Canjun Craze for the flower portions, Always Artichoke for the stems and grasses and Old Olive for the leaves. After the stamp is colored, huff on it to reactivate the ink, then stamp on white card stock.
3. Cut out the image around the outsides of the colored leaves and flowers. Place Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the cut out image. Adhere it to the left side of the painted card stock.
4. I wanted a delicate looking ribbon and I still had some of this organdy left from a couple years ago. Tie a bow in the ribbon. Then cut the length to cover the card, about 10".  Adhere the ribbon on the right side of the card front with adhesive or glue dots.
5. Stamp the greeting from the Just Believe stamp set on white card stock. Punch it out with the Word Window punch. Punch the Modern Label punch out of Wild Wasabi card stock. Adhere the white onto the Wild Wasabi. Adhere both on the top right of the card front, overlapping the ribbon.
6. Adhere the white card stock on to the Wild Wasibi card stock and have the edges showing around it. Adhere the whole card front onto a card base and add your message to the inside.

***Just a tip: You always want to buy items that you can get lots of use out of. I have found the one stamp set that I use over and over again is the Teeny Tiny Wishes (#128748) and the Word Window punch and the Modern Label punch. Every one of the greetings in the Teeny Tiny Wishes set will fit in the Word Window punch, as well as, greetings in many other sets. The Modern Label punch just adds a nice touch to help the greeting stand out.


Monday, January 20, 2014

Garden Party

I know that there is snow on the ground in many parts of the country but, IMO, that's a great time to pick up someone's spirit's with a bunch of flowers! Putting them on a card is a great way to send flowers.

Materials needed:
Patterned Pack II patterned paper (#114325) 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
Wild Wasabi card stock scrap
White card stock
Flower Shop stamp set (#130942)
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370)
Wild Wasabi embossing powder (#123224)
Melon Mambo embossing powder (#123223)
Ranger Gold embossing powder
Raspberry Ripple ink
Wild Wasabi ink
Versa Mark pad (#102283)
Stampin Dimenionals (#104430)
Blossom punch (#125603)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Modern Label punch (#119849)

1. Stamp 5 flower images on white card stock with Versa Mark ink. I did this 1 or 2 at a time. Sprinkle embossing powder on as desired and then heat with your heat tool.
2. Stamp 4 flower images on white card stock with Raspberry Ripple ink, Melon Mambo ink and Wild Wasabi ink. 
3. I just love punches that match up with a stamp set! Use the Blossom punch to punch out the flower images that you embossed and that you stamped.
4. Adhere the stamped images on to the patterned paper. Place Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the embossed images. Place them on the patterned paper overlapping the stamped images. Leave about a 2-3" space empty on the bottom center of the card.
5. Stamp the "thinking of you" greeting from Teeny tiny Wishes stamp set on white card stock with Versa Mark ink. Sprinkle Wild Wisabi embossing powder on the stamped image. Set with the heat tool.
6. Punch out the greeting with the Word Window punch. Punch out a Modern Label from the Wild Wasabi card stock. Adhere them together. Place stampin' dimensionals on the back and adhere it to the bottom center of the card.
7. Adhere the card front to a card base and add a greeting or hand written message to the inside.
Now send this card to someone to brighten their day a bit!

Friday, January 17, 2014

With Sympathy

I always find it hard to choose colors for a sympathy card. While I was satisfied with the colors for my element, I tried several different colors for the background piece before I was happy with it. I tried Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Whisper White and even black. I didn't want the card to look to morose but I didn't want it overly cheerful either. I decided that the So Saffron gave my card a more of a positive look without looking sunny (like other yellows might).

Materials needed:
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370)
Serene Silhouettes stamp set (#127324)
So Saffron card stock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
Very Vanilla card stock 2 1/4 x 3 3/4"
Smoky Slate card stock 2 1/2 x 4"
Basic Gray card stock 2 3/4 x 4 1/4"
Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impression embossing folder (#117335)
Early Espresso ink
1/2" So Saffron Grosgrain Striped ribbon (#113699)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Modern Label punch (#119849)
3/16" Corner punch (#119871)

1. Cut all your card stock to the sizes listed. Use the corner punch to round the corner on all of them except the So Saffron.
2. Place the So Saffron card stock in the Polka Dots embossing folder and run it through your Big Shot machine.
3. Place adhesive on the back of a 7" piece of ribbon. Adhere it to the right side of the card, vertically.
4. Stamp the tree image from Serene Silhouettes stamp set in Early Espresso ink on to the Very Vanilla card stock.
5. Adhere the Smoky Slate on top of the Basic Gray. Adhere the stamped Very Vanilla on top of the Smoky slate. Adhere these layers on the left handed center of the So Saffron.
6. Stamp the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set with Early Espresso on Smoky Slate card stock. Punch the greeting out using the Word Window punch. Punch out a Modern Label from Basic Gray card stock. Adhere the greeting on to the Modern Label punch.
7. Adhere the greeting punches on the top right side, overlapping the layered image and the ribbon.
8. Adhere this to a card base and add a greeting to the inside. Even though SU! has retired the God's Blessings stamp set (#114972), I still find it to be a set that has great sayings for many occasions. The one that I think goes well with a sympathy card is "May God's love heal your sorrow, and may His peace replace your heartache with warm and loving memories."

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Poppies Spotlight

Materials needed:
 Pleasant Poppies stamp set (#129499)
Simply Sketched hostess set (#129672)
Marina Mist card stock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
White card stock
Raspberry Ripple ink
Canjun Craze marker
Old Olive marker
3/8" Satin Stitched ribbon Raspberry Ripple (#126846)
1 3/4" Circle punch (#119850)
Large Oval punch (#119855)
Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430)

1. Lay the poppy stamp upside down. Use the brush end of the Old Olive marker and the Cajun Craze marker to color the stems and flowers.
2. After finished coloring the stamp, give it a good "huff" of breath to reactivate the ink. Stamp the image on Marina Mist card stock. For a stamp this size, I recommend standing up to give good pressure as you press the stamp down. Re-ink the stamp. Stamp a second poppy image on white card stock. You can either stamp the entire image again or just the top half of the image.
3. Use the 1 3/4" circle punch to punch out a portion of the flowers from the white card stock. Place Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the circle. Line the flowers up with the ones on the Marina Mist card stock. Press this down to show your spotlight.
4. Adhere a strip of Raspberry Ripple across the bottom section of the card, about 1 1/2" from the bottom.
5. Stamp the "birthday wishes" from the Simply Sketched set in Raspberry Ripple ink on white card stock.
6. Punch out the greeting with the large oval punch. Add dimensionals to the back and place it on the right hand side of the ribbon.
7. Adhere the card front to a card base and add a greeting on the inside of the card.

Monday, January 13, 2014

God's Art Work



It's cold in my part of the world today, in the low 30's. I know for some that's just barely cool but for me here in Central Texas, that's a lot colder than I like! It was in the low 20's last night. So anyway, I'm feeling cold so I've given you this cold card. No matter what I think of the weather, it's still part of God's creations so I'll praise Him even when I don't like the temperature.

Materials needed:
Marina Mist card stock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
white card stock
Zoo Review stamp set (#122197)
Trust God stamp set (#126702)
Early Espresso ink
Early Espresso marker
Island Indigo ink
Versa Mark ink pad
Stampin' Emboss Powder clear (#109130)
Heat tool (#129053)
Large Oval punch (#119855)
Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430)

1. Stamp the polar bear image with Early Espresso ink on white card stock. Rub Versa Mark ink on top of the image. Sprinkle the embossing powder on top of the ink and heat until the powder melts.

Just to show you the difference in using clear embossing powder and just to stamp it on white card stock, I've got a picture to show you.
The bear at the top is just stamped in Early Espresso ink. The bear on the bottom has been embossed. The embossed image has more shine and the ink seems to pop out better.
2. Cut the bear around the outside of the image.
3.  Stamp the saying from the Trust God stamp set in Island Indigo ink on white card stock. Punch it out using the large oval punch. Rub the edges of the punched out image across the Island Indigo ink pad. IMO, this helps it to pop better.
4. Using your Early Espresso marker, draw some lines on the Marina Mist card stock to look like ice.. Place Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the bear image and place it on the "ice."
5. Place dimensionals on the back of the saying and place it on the top left side.
6. Adhere this to a card base and you have a card that you could send to anyone who is one of God's special works of art.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Truck Card

Hey, here's a card any man would love! I think that most men can relate to old trucks, at least, the ones that I know. I know, some like new Corvettes & Mustangs better but still, there's something about an old truck that appeals to a man.
Materials needed:

International Bazaar patterned paper (#126920) 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
White card stock
Papaya Collage stamp set (#126612)
Countryside stamp set (#120495)
3/8" Satin Stitched Gumball Green ribbon (#126848)
Watercolor pencils (#101879)
Blender pen (#102845)
Wild Wasabi ink
StazOn Black ink

1. Stamp the frame from Papaya Collage stamp set in Wild Wasabi ink on white card stock. Cut it out around the outside lines.
2. Use a blue and a green watercolor pencil and a blender pen to color in sky and grass on the background of the inside frame.

3. Stamp the truck from the Countryside stamp set in StayOn Black ink on white card stock. Color the truck, apples, etc, including sky and grass with the watercolor pencils of your choice. Use the blender pen to blend the colors in. 
4. Cut out the around the truck, cutting close to the front and back edges of the truck image. This barely fits so you have to cut close to the front fender and the back tailgate. Place it on the stamped frame to check for fit. Trim as needed.
5. Place Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the truck image and place it in the center of the frame. Adhere the frame to the top center of the patterned paper.
6. Cut a piece of Gumball Green ribbon about 9" long. Tie a knot in the center. Add adhesive to the back and press on to the bottom section of the patterned paper. Wrap the ends around to the back.
7. Adhere the card front to a card base and add your sentiment to the inside. This would be a great card to send to a man for most any occasion.

***SU! no longer carries the Watercolor Pencils but you can find similar sets at many craft stores. This is still one of my favorite mediums to use in coloring my images. I haven't used them as much this past year because SU! is no longer carrying them but that's not going to stop me from enjoying a fun medium. I would encourage you to try different coloring mediums to see what you like the best. Which one do I like the best? Hard to say because I like them all!
 


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Birthday with a Flourish

Materials needed:
Best of Birthdays stamp set (#132929)
Elements of Style stamp set (#120045)
Old Olive card stock 4 1/4x 5 1/2"
White card stock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2"
Be of Good Cheer patterned paper (#126896)
Old Olive ink
Framelits Labels dies (#125598)
Brights collection buttons (#119747)
Regals Candy Dots (#130932)
Extra Large Oval punch (#119859)
Glue Dots (#103683)
embroidery floss

1. Build a sandwich using the Be of Good Cheer patterned paper and a medium framelits label die. Run this through your Big Shot machine.
2. Stamp your greeting from Best of Birthdays with Old Olive ink on to white card stock. Use the Extra large Oval punch to punch this out.
3. Using the flourish stamp from the Elements of Style set and Old Olive ink, stamp directly onto the Old Olive card stock. Stamp it near the top left. You might want to lay the Good Cheer label on the card stock to see correct positioning. After you determine positioning, remove the good cheer piece and stamp.
4. Place adhesive on the back of the Good Cheer label and press it in the center of the Old Olive card stock, slightly overlapping the flourish. Adhere the birthday oval in the center of the Good Cheer label.
5. Thread embroidery floss through the holes in the button. Add glue dots to the back and press it on the bottom right side of the card stock.
6. Add 3 red Candy Dots to the top right of the card stock.
7. Adhere your card front to your card base for a cute card.

I don't like to use "naked" envelopes! I love to stamp on my envelopes, etc. The envelope for this card, I used a strip of washi tape from the Seasons of Style set (#132155).
You notice the "25" that I've written on the top right corner of my envie? After I address the cards, I put the date of the birthday where the stamp will go. I keep my prepared cards for the month in a basket on an end table in my living room with a book of stamps. I arrange the envies in date order so I can see if I need to mail a card with just a glance. A few days before the birthday arrives, I place a stamp over the number and put it in the mailbox. I usually send 10-20 cards a month so this helps me stay organized.


Monday, January 6, 2014

Another Stenciled Tree card

So here is another card using the stencil for the tree background.

This time I used ink to stencil on the tree background. the other elements are from left over papers from other projects. Even though I am no longer a SU! Demonstrator, I still have tons of SU! products in my craft room. I love SU! I just can't afford to be a demo at this time. Anyway, when you see item numbers listed, you can assume that those are Stampin' Up! products. Many of them are from the current catalog but I do have items I will be using that are not listed in current catalogs at this time.

Materials needed:
GCD Studios paper pack  I used leftover bits and pieces from a pack that I bought at Big Lots years ago
                         1 piece 1 x 4 1/4"      2 pieces 1/4 x 4 1/4"
Ocher Vellum 2 1/2 x 4 1/4"
White card stock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2"
6 x 6 stencil from the Crafters Workshop
Subtles Candy Dots (#130933)
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#128748)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Modern Label punch (#119849)
Baked Brown Sugar ink
Sponge Dauber (#102892) 

1. Fold your white card stock in half at 4 1/4." Position the stencil over the card front. You might want to tape the stencil down as it is difficult to hold it in the Baked Brown Sugar ink pad. Holding the stencil in place, daub ink directly onto the stencil and card stock. Continue until the tree is completely inked.

2. Place adhesive down the center of the piece of vellum. Press the vellum onto the tree about 3/4" from the bottom. Depending on the adhesive you use, you will probably be able to see the adhesive through the vellum. That is one of the draw backs for using vellum paper.
3. Adhere the 1" wide piece of patterned paper across the center of the vellum and over the adhesive that may be showing. Adhere a 1/4" piece of patterned paper to each side of the 1" strip, top and bottom. You will no longer have any adhesive showing through.
4. The gcd studio paper that I used is double sided so I flipped a piece over and punched our a Modern Label punch. This will be a perfect color match for the card and other pieces of patterned paper. Stamp a greeting from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set in Baked Brown Sugar ink. Punch it out with the Word Window punch. Adhere it to the top of the Modern Label punch. Adhere this to the center, right side of the 1" strip of patterned paper.
5. Add 3 Candy Dots to the left side of the patterned paper as shown on the card. 

I absolutely love the Candy Dots from SU! I love using brads but I don't like the brad backs to show through on the inside of the card. I often bend the brads back on the card stock before I adhere the card front to the card base. With a card like this one that is made directly on the card base, the Candy Dots work perfect for the brad look. SU! has brads available that the Candy Dots will fit on and I have used those but it is not necessary to use them. The Candy Dots work great with out the brads!




 

Friday, January 3, 2014

A Little Bird Pop up card

So you don't see the little bird until you open up the card!
On the inside you can see the little birdie's open mouth with a message inside! I think this is just too cute!

Materials needed:
Regarding Dahlias stamp set (#130327)
White card stock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2"
Birds of a Feather patterned paper (#126899) 5 1/2 x 8 3/4"
Bermuda Bay ink
Tangerine Tango marker
Wiggly eyes from your craft or dept. store
Sycamore Street 1/4" Island Indigo ribbon (#130812)
Glue dots (#103683)
Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430)
Decorative Label punch (#120907)
Sponge Dauber (#102892)
scissors
pencil
art gum eraser

Ok, so I learned the hard way that you should do all the decorative elements first, before you make the pop up element! You'll find it much easier that way.

1. Using Bermuda Bay ink, stamp the dahlia and the "hello you" greeting on white card stock. With scissors, cut out the dahlia around the outside edges of the image. Using the Decorative Label punch, line up the greeting on the inside of the punch and punch out. 
2. Fold the decorative label greeting in half. Unfold.  Rub a sponge dauber on the Bermuda Bay ink and ink the edges of the decorative label greeting. Lay aside.
3. Lay the inside of the white folded card stock up. Use the dahlia stamp and stamp portions of 3 flowers on the bottom of the inside of the card.
4. Cut a piece of ribbon about 12" long. Lay the patterned paper with the front side up. Put adhesive on the back of the ribbon. Lay it across the patterned paper about 1" from the bottom. Fold the edges around to the back of the patterned paper. Next, get the dahlia that you stamped earlier. Add dimensionals to the back of it and then place it on the front right hand side of the card.

 Fold the white card stock and the patterned paper in half. Lay the decorated front part of the card to the side.
5. Mark your folded white card stock at about 3" from the top. Draw a line 2" long in pencil. Mine is in ink so that it will show up better in the picture.

Cut on the 2" line that you drew. Use the art gum eraser to erase your pencil marks.
6. Fold from the cut line at an angle to make a triangle on the top portion. Use your bone folder to press it down for a solid fold.
Now, make a smaller angled fold to the bottom section so it will look like the picture.
Fold these back and forth a few times so that they will fold easier.
7.  With the white card stock closed with the angled folds on the outside, lay this on top of the inside of the patterned paper, lined up with the edges. Lightly draw pencil lines to show where the mouth will be.

Adhere the decorative label greeting to the inside of the drawing. Erase the pencil lines.


8. Using one finger, push these folds to the inside where you have already stamped dahlias.

  

9. Decorate your bird face. I put glue dots on the back of 2 wiggly eyes and placed on the upper part. I used my Tangerine Tango marker to make the orange mouth/beak. I did that by lightly sketching a small triangle on the top and bottom parts. When I was satisfied with those, I used the brush end of the marker to fill it in with color. The wiggly eyes do make this card a little thick. If you prefer not to have the thickness, you might want to just draw eyes on the face.

10. Place adhesive on the inside of the patterned paper on 3 sides as shown in the picture. Do NOT put adhesive on the inside folded part. It will not open right if you do.

11. Do one side at a time. Place the white card stock inside the patterned paper and carefully line up the edges. Press in place. Then, add adhesive to the other side and stick the card stock to the patterned paper.

12. You can add an additional greeting or note to the inside if you wish. There is plenty of room to write or stamp on the inside. Since I send so many birthday cards, I stamped a birthday greeting on the inside. It would be cute for many different occasions. This would be great to send to a child but adults will get a kick out of it too.


Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Tri-fold Popped Balloons

I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year and you've gotten a great start to 2014. I pray that it will be a wondrous year for everyone.  Here in Texas we all make sure that we eat our black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck. You get one day of good luck for each pea you eat, or at least, that's what everyone tells me. I've never been too crazy about black-eyed peas so I usually don't eat too many of them. It hasn't seemed to effect me one way or the other as far as my luck goes! I just look at Jeremiah 29:11 and know that God already has everything planned for me so I don't depend on luck! I do hope that you all have a glorious 2014!


Ok, here is a little more complicated card but I know you can do it. It is using the same pop-up technique that I used to use with my second graders. We would make 2 or 3 pop up books each year to help increase learning about different topics. So, if my second graders could do it, I know that you can too.
This is the card laying flat.
Here it is standing up. You can see the balloons "flying" in the sky.
(***I am no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator which means that I can use anything that I want on my blog. Previously, I could not name any brand item other than SU! in my blog. I will continue to give you the SU! item numbers when appropiate. I will also try to give you other brand info on the items that I use. It is not unusual, when I dig into my paper stash, that I will have papers that have been with me a while and I may not know where it actually came from.)

Materials needed:
Best of Birthdays stamp set (#132929)
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#
Patterned Pack II patterned paper (#114325)
Other patterned paper (I think this is a Doodle Bug design that I used here.)
Coastal Cabana card stock
white card stock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2"
1/2" Circle punch (#119869)
1" Circle punch  (#119868)
Modern Label punch (#119849)
Stampin' Trimmer with scoring blade (#126889)
Rose Red marker
Primrose Petals ink
embroidery floss

1. Cut 2 pieces of patterned paper to measure 3 x 5 1/2". Cut one piece for the front of card to measure 3 1/4 x 5 1/2". Lay aside.
2. Use the trimmer with a scoring blade to score the white card stock 3" from each end. Fold on the score lines so that it opens as a tri-fold card.

3. Turn your folded white card stock so that you are working on the outside of the second fold. Measure and mark with a pencil from the top at 1", 1 1/2", 1 3/4", and 2 1/4". Cut on the first 2 measurements 1/2" into the card, cutting both folds. Cut on the 3rd & 4th measurements 1/4" into the card, cutting both folds.
4. Fold the cut tabs back and forth 2 or 3 times.
5. Using a finger, poke the folds to the inside of the card.

 The top tab fold will stick out 1/2" and the bottom one will stick out 1/4".
6. Cut 2 Coastal Cabana card stock pieces to measure 1/2" x 2". Place a small amount of adhesive on the top side of the tabs. Lay and press the Coastal Cabana card stock pieces onto the tabs.
7. Turn the patterned paper that you will use for this part onto the back side. Measure and cut out the pieces of paper to match the tabs.
Lay the paper to fit on this section of the card. Then add adhesive to it to stick to the card.
8. Cut two 1" circles and three 1/2" circles from patterned paper.Cut 5 pieces of floss 2 to 3" each for balloon strings. Add adhesive to the back of a circle. Fold the floss so that 1/4 to 1/2" of floss hangs down and stick it to the adhesive on the back of the circle. Adhere two of the 1" circles to the front (1/2") tab and 3 of the 1/2" circles to the back (1/4") tab. Allow the floss to hang loose. Using the smaller circles on the bottom tab will give it the look of being farther away.

9. Adhere the other 3" piece of patterned paper on the back of the card to cover up the cut out tab sections. Not only will this look better, I will give the tabs more strength.
10. Adhere the 3 1/4" piece of patterned paper to the front of the card, lining the right edge up with the fold. This makes your card look a little wider and more balanced. Punch two 1" circles and one 1/2" circle to use for balloons on the front of the card. If one of the balloons on the tabs is sticking out, you can place a balloon on the front overlapping the inside balloon. Do some pen work to give the balloons dimension and to make the "strings" on the balloons on the front of the card.
11. Stamp the "celebrate" greeting from Best of Birthdays stamp set with Primrose Petals ink on Coastal Cabana card stock. Punch it out with the Modern Label punch. Adhere it to the front of the card with about 1/4" overlapping the front edge.
12. Stamp a slice of birthday cake from Best of Birthdays and a greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Primrose Petals ink on the inside, center section of the card.
This card will fit in a standard invitation sized envelope. Have fun and let the balloons fly to wish your friends a happy birthday in the new year.