Whimsical Wishes

Inspiration

I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving weekend – filled with family and friends, and many blessings.  Mine was a whirlwind!  A road trip to Branson, MO, to celebrate the holiday with my dear cousins. BTW, Andy Williams still does an AWESOME Christmas show!

Here’s a simple Christmas card – right out of the Card Maker’s Sketch Book – Christmas Celebration.

Ingredients

Paper

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

Baroque Burgundy (SU!)	4 1/4” x 11, score at 5 1/2”
Forest Foliage (CTMH)	a) 2 7/8” x 5 1/4” b) 2” x 2”
Kraft (SU!)	a) 2 3/4” x 5 1/8” b) 2” x 2”
Stamper’s Select White (Paper Trey)	3” x 4”

Ink

Rich Cocoa (Memento); Forest Foliage (CTMH)'; Baroque Burgundy (SU!)

Stamps

Forest Friendzy (Cornish Heritage Farms)

Accessories

COPIC Markers: E0000,E000,E00,E02,E41,E43,E44,G24,G28,R02,R20,R59, W00,W1; Markers: Baroque Burgundy (SU!); Easy Stitch Stencil (Paper Pizazz); Curvy Label Punch (SU!); Curly Label Movers & Shapers (SU!); Cuttlebug (Provo Craft); Dazzling Dots Star Stickers (Stampendous); Gems (Paper Studio); Dress It Up Holiday Buttons (Jesse James Beads); Burgundy Ribbon (Ribbon Warehouse); Liquid Applique (Marvy); Heat Gun; Scor-Pal; Foam Tape; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight blade (Fiskars); Scissors; Post-It Notes 

Instructions

Image

ELF - Stamp the image in brown on the white cardstock. Color with COPICs.  Here’s the colors I used:

• Hat: G24, G28
• Boots: E41, E43, E44
• Suit: R59
• Face: E0000, E000, E00, E02, R02, R20
• Beard: W00, W1

Trim the image closely, and finish by apply Liquid Applique on the fur trim of the hat, and heat it using the heat gun (just until it puffs up a little).  Glue a sparkly button at the tip of the hat.

TREES – Stamp the tree on a Post-It note, and trim it to use as a mask.  Stamp the left-most tree in green on the Kraft cardstock panel.  Put your mask on the stamped tree, then stamp another tree overlapping the first.  Add a star sticker at the top of each tree, and some gems on the tree.  Finish by adding a border with the burgundy pen, using a simple stitch pattern.

GREETING – Stamp the greeting in burgundy on the small scrap of Kraft paper, then punch it out using the curly label punch.  Run the small scrap of green paper through the Cuttlebug using the Movers & Shapers label die.

Assembly

Put together the tree image first:

• Mount the tree image on the green cardstock panel.
• Add a ribbon across the trunks of the trees.
• Mount the greeting near the top of the tree image.
• Adhere the entire stack to the front of the burgundy card base.

Mount the elf image using foam tape on the bottom right of the card.

Final Notes

Inside / Envelope

I cut a solid green panel (4” x 5 1/4”), stamped my sentiment on a smaller white panel (3 3/4” x 5”) and layered them on the inside.

Thanks for stopping by.

Christmas Candles

Inspiration

Here’s another Christmas card design - I love the images from Heartfelt Creations! They are so good for working with the COPIC markers - lots of opportunity for shading and detail work.

Ingredients

Paper

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

Garden Green (SU!): 4 1/4” x 11, score @ 5 1/2”; Real Red (SU!): 4 3/8” x 3 7/8”; Stamper’s Select White Cardstock (Paper Trey): 4 1/4” x 3 3/4” and 4 1/2” x 2”

Ink

Tuxedo Black (Memento); Garden Green (SU!)

Stamps

Poinsettia And Candles (Heartfelt Creations)

Accessories

COPIC Markers: Y0000, Y000, Y02, Y38, R20, R22, R27, R89, BG0000, 0, G21, G24, G29; SPICA Markers: Clear, Red; Holly Shapeabilities die (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provo Craft); Sponge; Ribbon (Ellen Hutson); Bow-Easy; Scor-Pal; Glue dots; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight blade (Fiskars); Scissors

Instructions

Image

Stamp the image using the black on the larger white square, and color it with COPIC markers: 

• Candles: BG0000, 0
• Flames: Y0000, Y000, Y02, Clear SPICA
• Leaves: G21, G24, G29
• Berries: R89
• Poinsettias: R20, R22, R27, Y38

Trim

Create the holly berry trim using the Spellbinders holly die and the smaller white panel. Run it through the Cuttlebug twice - once to cut, and once to emboss. Before you remove the paper from the die, use a small sponge to sponge the green ink onto the leaves. Color the berries with the red SPICA pen.

Assembly

Mount the stamped image on the red panel, then onto the base card on the left. Add the holly die cut in the area to the right of the image.

Tie a small bow in red ribbon, and mount it above the holly die cut using a glue dot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Home

Inspiration
I am headed to a house-warming party for a coworker this evening, and had this card in my head all week.  I’ve had the birdhouse image for years, and always seem to pull it out when I need a house- or home-themed card. 

I used the house-warming theme to let me play with some new toys – the Spellbinders Kaleidoscope Pendant and Classic Frame dies, and the brand new iTop Brad Maker tool from Imaginisce.  (Now, all the blogs say the iTop won’t be available until September 1, but I found it at Michael’s just this week!)  I’ve put a list of links at the bottom of the post so you can find more info on all of items used in the card.

This is a card that has quite a few steps and techniques all combined into a single card, but so much fun to create and share – I can’t wait to deliver it in person!

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Stampin’ Up!: Bashful Blue, Gable Green, Barely Banana (textured), Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper. Papertrey Ink:  Stamper’s Select White

STAMPS: Stamps Happen, Inc.: English Cottage Birdhouse

INK: Stampin’ Up!: Bashful Blue, Gable Green, Barely Banana

ACCESSORIES: Spellbinders dies: Classic Frames, Labels 4, Kaleidoscope Pendant; Provo Craft: Cuttlebug; Imaginisce: iTop Brad Maker, 16mm Brad Daddies, Small Topper Punch; Other items: Corner punch (SU!); COPIC markers; Yellow Souffle pen (Sakura); Barely Banana ribbon (SU!); Bow-Easy; Sponges; Scor-Pal; Foam tape; Glue dots; Xyron 5” sticker maker; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight blade (Fiskars), Scissors

Instructions

This card is easier if you get all the cutting done first, then build the layered image, create your bow, then assemble of the card.

CUT THESE ITEMS:

1. Blue card stock, 9 1/2” x 6 1/4”, score in the middle at 4 3/4”.
2. Green card stock using the Classic Frame die - cut and emboss. Before removing the paper from the die, sponge green ink over the stencil to highlight embossed areas.
3. Run a small piece of green card stock through the sticker maker, then cut and emboss the paper with the small corner die from Kaleidoscope Pendant set - cut and emboss. Before removing the paper from the die, sponge green ink over the stencil to highlight the embossed areas. You’ll need to do this 4 times – one for each corner.
4. Designer paper using the Classic Frame die - cut and emboss. Save the frame for another card sometime – this card uses the inside rectangle.
5. Yellow card stock using the largest Label 4 die - cut and emboss. Sponge yellow ink around the outside of the label.
6. Stamp the birdhouse on white paper, then use the second-largest Label 4 die to cut and emboss.  Some of the image will be cut off the sides – that’s ok!  We’re doing layers – you’ll never miss it.  Sponge blue ink around the outside of the label.

BUILDING THE IMAGE:

The image is made of 3 layers: the first is the embossed label, the second is the birdhouse without the post, and the final layer is in 3 pieces: the roof, the bird, and the fence.  Get ready with your best scissors for detailed cutting!

1. Color the image on the embossed label.  Since we will be building layers, you don’t have to color everything – color what will show (the post), and about a 1/2” around the edge of the rest of the image.
2. Stamp the birdhouse two more times on white paper.
3. Color one image completely, except for the bottom post, using COPICs. Trim it closely.
4. Color the additional layer pieces (roof, bird, fence).  Hint: use the Souffle pen for the flower centers – just another way to create dimension.  Trim each one individually (it’s pretty tedious, but just keep remembering you end up with a really nice card).
5. Mount the layers exactly on top of each other using the foam tape.

CREATE THE BOW:

1. Tie a bow in yellow ribbon, using the Bow-Easy tool.
2. Use the Small Topper Punch to punch a blue designer paper topper for the brad, then make a 16mm brad using the iTop tool.
3. Use a paper piercer tool to punch a hole through the center of the bow, and put your new matching brad through the center of the bow.

 ASSEMBLE THE CARD:

1. Use the corner punch to trim the corners of the blue base card.
2. Peel the backs off the green corner die cuts, and mount one in each corner.
3. Mount the designer blue paper in the center of the card using adhesive.
4. Using foam tape, mount the green frame over the designer blue paper.
5. Using foam tape, mount the layered image label on the yellow label, then mount the whole set on the right side of the green frame.
6. Mount the bow in the upper left corner – I used foam tape in the center, and a glue dot on each ribbon loop.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

LINKS:

Spellbinders dies	Bow-Easy
Provo Craft Cuttlebug	Scor-Pal
Imaginisce iTop Brad Maker	Xyron sticker maker
COPIC markers	Scotch ATG 714
Sakura pens	Fiskars rotary trimmer

Stitched Background

Inspiration
Here’s another summery card.  The idea for the background came from a Paper Crafts inspiration book called 40 Techniques for Card Making.  I changed the method for getting the nice straight stripes (explained below), as well as the image and the trim.

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Wild Wasabi (SU!), Whisper White(SU!)

STAMPS: Flower (Anita’s); Mini Messages (SU!)

INK: Only Orange (SU!), Pixie Pink (SU!), Basic Black (SU!)

ACCESSORIES: SU! Markers (Only Orange, Pixie Pink); Wild Wasabi striped ribbon (SU!); Sponge; Bow-Easy; Scor-Pal; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight (Fiskars); Silhouette digital die cutter (QuicKutz); Sewing machine

Instructions

BASE CARD: Cut a green card measuring 4 1/4” x 11”, and score it in half at 5 1/2”.

BACKGROUND LAYER: Cut a rectangle of the white paper, measuring 4” x 5 1/4”.

The book suggests using strips of masking tape laid in a diagonal pattern on the white card to create the lattice work.   I had lots of trouble trying to get the lines straight, and the tape laid out evenly.  I kept thinking I needed a stencil, but I didn’t have anything on hand that would create such perfect lines.

Then it dawned on me that I had the perfect tool to create a stencil – the Silhouette!  I used a pattern of squares cut in a piece of cardstock to cut out the stencil for the background.  Then I laid the stencil over the white cardstock, and used a makeup sponge in a circular motion to apply the orange ink.

After getting the amount of orange I liked, I added flowers in Pixie Pink, using the small flower from the Mini Messages stamp set.

Afterwards, I used white thread and a fairly loose stitch to put the stitches down the center of each white stripe.

IMAGE: The image is simply the large flower stamped on white cardstock in black ink and colored with the markers.  The white square is a 1 1/2” square, mounted on a green square measuring 1 5/8" x 1 5/8”.

FINAL ASSEMBLY:  Add a piece of green striped ribbon to the lattice patterned piece, and tie a bow to be mounted on the left of the ribbon stripe.  Mount the patterned piece on the front of the green card.  Add the image to the right of the bow, and you’re all done!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Copper Tree

I recently saw a technique demonstrated on Scrapbook Memories TV using a Dreamweaver stencil and embossing paste. Then she used glue and metal leaf to create a beautiful card. I had to try the technique! It's kind of messy, but produces a beautiful result. Here are the steps for the embossing and leafing: 1. Tape the tree stencil onto the dark colored card stock. Tape out all of the edges with removable tape to keep the paste from smearing onto the edges of the paper. Now spread the embossing paste onto the stencil. You spread it on thickly, and scrape away the extra with a flat blade. Put it back in the jar - you can keep using it over and over. 2. In approximately 45-60 minutes, the paste will be dry. Reposition the clean stencil back on the pasted design and use a glue pad to apply glue to the exposed image. 3. Lay the metal leafing gently on top of the gold pasted tree design and tap it on with your finger. 4. Burnish the leafing with a stencil brush and don’t be afraid to brush hard, because this process will remove all the little ragged edges of the excess leafing around the embossed edges. Catch the excess pieces and save them in a container - these can be used again. The webpage for the TV show is great, by the way! Every project on every show is fully explained: http://www.scrapbookmemoriestv.com/projects/800/812_4.html. Here is my ingredient list:

Cardstock : Base: Night of Navy (SU!) 8 ½” x 5 ½” - scored at 4 ¼”; Mat layer: Metallic Copper paper (Wausau) - 4" x 5 ¼”; Image layer: Night of Navy (SU!) trimmed 4¾” x 5" Accessories : Dreamweaver stencil; Dreamweaver metallic copper embossing paste; paste applicator; The Essential Glue Pad (Tsukineko); metal leaf; stencil brush Thanks for stopping by!