Grace and Blessings

Inspiration

Here's another fall-themed card. I made the background using chalks - they are so easy to use for backgrounds because they blend so easily, and for fall the soft colors are just perfect. And, a touch of glitter is always fun - this card uses "embossing glitter" which lets you add glitter in a very precise amount and location.

Ingredients

Note: Finished card size is 5" x 7"

Paper

Early Espresso (SU!)	7" x 10", score at 5", and 4" x 6", and small scraps
Kraft (SU!)	4 3/4" x 6 3/4"
Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K)	4" x 6"

Inks

Early Espresso (SU!)

Soft Suede (SU!)

Versamark (Tsukineko)

Stamps

HCPC 3434 Book Frame 2 PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)

HCPC 3433 Book Frame 1 PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)

HCPC 3332 Oak Leaf Background PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)

HCPC 3330 Elegant Autumn Swirl PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)

Accessories

Labels 4 Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Labels 7 Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Labels 10 Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Big Shot Pro (Sizzix)

Chalk (Koss)

Prong pick-up tool (Excel)

Cotton pom-poms

Versamark pen (Tsukineko)

Embossing glitter (PK Glitz)

Heat gun

Stamp-a-ma-Jig

Scissors

Zip-Dry glue

ATG (Scotch)

Scor-Pal

Rotary Trimmer (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD

Cut brown card stock to 7" x 10", score at 5", and fold.

MAT

Cut kraft card stock to 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" (I used kraft, but since you are covering it completely with color you could use white or ivory). Stamp the oak leaf backgroun in brown ink - you'll have to stamp twice to cover the mat. Use the chalk applicator to apply yellow/orange/rust/brown colors to create an autumn background.

BOOK

Stamp the book image on brown card stock using brown ink, and cut it out using the largest Label 7 die. Stamp the book on ivory paper using brown ink and cut out the pages part of book image. Using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to position it, stamp the music in lighter brown ink across the pages. Mount the pages on the brown book die cut.

LEAF SWIRL

Stamp the swirl on the upper part of the mat in Versamark ink, and heat emboss with embossing glitter - I used "Honeycomb" color. Now stamp the swirl in Versamark ink onto the book - just let the bottom portion of the swirl be on the upper part of the book. Heat emboss with the same glitter powder.Mount the book onto the mat, lining up the swirls so that it looks like a single image. Stamp the swirl in Versamark onto dark brown paper, and heat emboss with the same glitter powder. Cut out the leaves, and glue the leaves onto the matching leaves on the mat and book. Mount the mat/book onto the front of the card.

SENTIMENT

Cut/emboss a Label 4 die using dark brown card stock. Use the Versamark pen to ink the edge of the die cut, then heat emboss with the glitter powder. Stamp the sentiment on ivory paper. Cut the sentiment out with the small Label 10 die. Mount the sentiment onto the brown Label 4 die cut, and mount on the lower right corner of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving - Early!

Inspiration

I LOVE the fall season! And it finally feels like fall here in Texas - we had a front move through that's given us 70-degree days and 45-degree nights. Just heavenly! So the fall weather has me thinking about Thanksgiving, and the Classic Christmas Collection from Heartfelt Creations has images that will combine with images for any season, so I used the Book Frame 1 stamp combined with stamps from the Autumn Splendor Collection to create a Thanksgiving-themed card.

AND, be sure to hop over to the the Heartfelt Creations blog to see who the lucky winner of the Class Christmas release, as well as all the beautiful design team creations I have 4 cards on the HC blog this week, so I'll be posting on my blog a card each day through Saturday this week. Here's the first one.

Ingredients

Note: Finished card size is 5" x 6 1/4"

Paper

Basic Black (SU!)	7" x 11"; scored at 5", and 3" x 3"
Soft Suede (SU!)	4" x 6"
Nightfall DSP (Memory Box)	4" x 6"
Parchment ivory (Marco's)	4" x 6"
Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K)	5 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Inks

Versamark (Tsukineko)

Cherry Cobbler (SU!)

More Mustard (SU!)

Tangerine Tango (SU!)

Soft Suede (SU!)

Stamps

HCPC 3433 Book Frame 1 PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)

HCPC 3328 Swirly Autumn Leaves PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)

HCPC 3334 Open Falling Leaves PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)

HCPC 3333 Bold Falling Leaves PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)

Accessories

HCD 707: Falling Leaves Die (Heartfelt Creations)

Labels 7 Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Big Shot Pro (Sizzix)

Gold embossing powder

Heat Gun

Crystal laquer (SU!)

Sponges

COPIC marker (Imagination International)

Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Wired-edge ribbon (Michaels)

Bow-Easy

3-D Foam Squares (3L)

Craft knife (EK Success)

Scissors

Zip-Dry glue

ATG (Scotch)

Scor-Pal

Rotary Trimmer (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD

Cut a piece of black card stock measuring 6 1/4" x 10", score at 5", and fold. Cut a piece of patterned paper measuring 4" x 6" and mount on the face of the cardabout 1/4" below the fold.

BOOK

Stamp the book image on brown card stock using brown ink, and cut it out using the largest Label 7 die. Stamp the book on parchment or ivory paper using Versamark ink and heat emboss with gold embossing powder. Cut out the pages part of the embossed book image. Using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to position it, stamp the sentiment in brown ink across the pages. Bend the pages slightly, and put a foam square under each side to keep the curve, and mount the pages on the brown book die cut. Mount the book on front of the card.

LEAVES

Stamp the leaf image on ivory card stock using Versamark and heat emboss with gold embossing powder. Stamp one of each matching leaf on ivory card stock using Versamark and heat emboss with gold embossing powder. Using a craft knife and scissors, carefully cut out the entire image. Cut out the individual leaves using the matching dies. Using sponges, color the leaves with fall colors - use multiple colors to blend leaves. Color the berries on the full image with a R59 COPIC marker. Cover the berries with clear crystal laquer and let it dry. Mount the full image using foam squares at the bottom of the book. Add the individual leaves using foam squares on top of the matching leaves. Tie a bow, and mount it below the leaves.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gatefold #2 – Rotated Sketch

 

Inspiration

As I mentioned in my last post (November 17), I have been playing with the Gatefold card design quite a bit. This is my second design using the technique. The November 17 post gives you detailed instructions for scoring and folding your card to make this type of card.

For this card, I used another SCS sketch challenge (#304) to get started - I just turned it into a portrait orientation:

I used a set of stamps from Rubber Stamp Tapestry to create the floral border around the front oval.  These sets include 4 or 5 “peg” stamps that are used as components to create a larger picture – in this case, borders for the cover, inside, and matching envelope.  A really fun, easy way to create a beautiful effect!

 

Ingredients

Paper

Note: finished card size is 4 1/4” x 5 1/2”

Always Artichoke (SU!)	4 1/4” x 11, score at 2 1/8” AND at 6 3/8”
Chocolate Chip (SU!)	a) 2 5/8” x 4 7/8” b) 1 5/8” x 4 c) 3” x 4” d) 4” x 5 1/4”
Cherry Cobbler (SU!)	1 1/2” x 3 7/8”
Autumn Traditions (SU!)	2 1/2” x 4 3/4”
Stamper’s Select White (Paper Trey)	3” x 4”
Whisper White (SU!)	3 3/4” x 5”
A2 Envelope	4 3/8” x 5 3/4”

Ink

Rich Cocoa (Memento), Mellow Moss (SU!), Almost Artichoke (SU!), Cherry Cobbler (SU!), More Mustard (SU!) 

Stamps

Oak Leaf Background (Heartfelt Creations), Autumn Blessings (JustRite Stampers), Pretty in Pink (Rubber Stamp Tapestry), Happy Birthday 10 (Stampabilities)

Accessories

COPIC Markers: YR31, R37, R39, R89, E31, E33, E37, W30, BG72, G94, G99; Classic Oval and Classic Scallop Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); Scor-Pal; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight blade (Fiskars)

Instructions

Base Card

Score and fold the green paper to create a Gatefold card.  Stamp the leaf background in the matching green ink on the closed card.

Image

Stamp the apple image on the white card stock, and color with COPIC markers. I used the following:

• Apples: YR31, R37, R39
• Berries: R89
• Bucket: E31, E33, E37, W30, BG72
• Leaves: G94, G99

Cut the image out using the plain Classic Oval Nestabilities die – run it through only once – no need to emboss since you will stamp a border around the oval.

Use the peg stamps to create your border – leaves in lighter green, flowers in red and yellow, and tendrils in darker green.

Cut and emboss a scalloped oval from the brown paper using the scalloped Classic Oval Nestabilities Die.  Mount the white image oval on the scalloped oval.

Assembly

Mount the patterned yellow paper panel on a brown panel, and the red panel on another brown panel. Then attach the red stack to the yellow stack.  Adhere the color stack to the left panel of the base card. 

Then adhere the image panel across the middle of the card.

Final Notes

Inside / Envelope

Use the peg stamps to create a mound of flowers in the lower left corner of the white cardstock, and stamp the greeting in red near the top center.

Create another fun matching border of flowers across the bottom of the envelope.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving – Early!

Inspiration

I’ll be posting cards from my craft weekend for the next few posts – here’s a Thanksgiving card I created.  I wanted to try out my new Heartfelt Creations stamps and Copic markers.  I’m working on new ways to photograph the cards, too.

Ingredients

Paper

Note: finished card size is 8 1/2” x 5 1/2”

Pumpkin Pie (SU!): 8 1/2” x 11, score @ 5 1/2”; Crushed Curry (SU!): 5 1/4” x 5 1/4”; Always Artichoke (SU!): 5 1/8” x 5 1/8”; Stamper’s Select White Cardstock (Paper Trey): 5” x 5”

Ink

Rich Cocoa (Memento); Soft Suede (SU!)

Stamps

Rustic Autumn Wheel (Heartfelt Creations); Sentiment from Bold Falling Leaves (Heartfelt Creations)

Accessories

COPIC Markers: Y17, Y38, YR15, YR07, YG93, E11, E18, E31, E33, E37, C5, C7; Sponge; Ribbon (Hobby Lobby); Acrylic Block; Stamp-A-Ma-Jig; SU! Marker: Soft Suede; Post-It Note; Sticky Tape (PK Glitz); Scor-Pal; Fiskars trimmer with deckle blade; Scissors; Baby wipes

Instructions

Paper

This is an EASY card – the only cutting to do is to cut the squares of yellow, green, and white using the deckle blade.  The edges are distressed with the suede ink and a sponge.

Image

I stamped the image using the cocoa ink on the white square, and colored it with   COPIC markers:

• Pumpkins: Y17, YR15, YR07, E11, E18
• Grass: Y38, YG93
• Fence: E31, E33, E37
• Wheel: C5, C7

Sentiment

The sentiment is stamped on the base card using the suede ink, and the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig for positioning.  The trick here is that the stamp is one line, and I wanted it on 2 lines. To split the image:

Stamp the image on the clear position sheet, then thoroughly clean the stamp using a baby wipe
Use the marker to color just the word “Happy”
Using the clear position sheet and the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, place the Happy where you want it on the card, and stamp the first word.
Now color the word “Thanksgiving”, position the sheet on the card. Use a Post-It note to cover where the word “Happy” would have stamped – just in case the stamp is not as clean or dry as it needs to be – you don’t want a “ghost” of Happy stamping there!
Stamp the Thanksgiving sentiment, and you have a 2-line sentiment from a 1-line stamp!

Assembly

Mount the green square on the left of the card, and add the yellow on the green.  Tie the ribbon around the card BEFORE mounting the image panel.  I used the sticky tape to hold the ribbon in place.

Mount the image on the yellow square over the ribbon.

I’d love to get your feedback as I work on improving my blog – leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by!