Fitting Florets Z fold Christmas card

 The Fitting Florets bundle and coordinating DSP can be used to create elegant cards/projects for the Holiday season.  A couple of days ago I created a birthday card using the same bundle; today its a Christmas card.  This bundle is an early release from the January mini catalogue.

To create the Z fold card, a piece of 81/2 by 5 1/2" piece of Soft succulent card stock was scored at 2 1/8 and 4 1/4" .  The card is folded in half at the 4 1/4" score line and then folded back on itself to create the Z fold.

Fitting Florets DSP ( 4 by 5 1/4") is added to the inside and then two pieces of the same pattern on the front two sections (2 by 4 ")

Two of the frames were die cut using Basic White card stock.  The outer half of the larger one was added on the first front section over the fold. On the center portion was stamped the sentiment (Framed & Festive stamp set) using Evening Evergreen ink and then it was added to the inside of the already attached frame. Because this doesn't fit into the frame perfectly, a second frame was die cut and added to the inside.

Two stems were die cut in basic White; two leaves in Soft Succulent.  All were added to the outside of the adhered frames.  A bow made using the polka dot ribbon was added in the middle of the frame..

The center of the second die cut frame was added to the inside center to allow for saying.

To finish the card, three Soft Succulent matte Decorative dots were added to the card front.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Framed & Festive, Framed Florets

Inks:  Black Memento, Evening Evergreen

Papers:  Basic White, Soft Succulent, Fitting Florets DSP

Accessories:  Framed Florets Dies, Polka dot ribbon,

Below is another sample using this new bundle. This time the card is to celebrate a  birthday.

Just For You Using the Quite Curvy Bundle

 The Curvy Stamp set and coordinating dies have certainly been a challenge for me because it is new and different.

However, I think I am getting my mojo back with regards to this stamp set,  and am using the dies to not "flatten" the curve but to use the curve.

This card could be a Valentine's Day card, or an Easter card, or a whatever card.

The 5 1/2 by 10 1/2"  card base of Thick Whisper White card stock is scored at 2 1/8" and 4 1/4".  It is folded in half and the top half is folded back on itself to form a Z fold card.

On the front is added a piece of Blushing Bride card stock 1 7/8" by 5 1/4" layered with the beautiful Love You Always Specialty DSP. This one sided, shiny foil paper comes in colours of Blushing Bride, Rococco Rose and Sahara Sand.  I almost hated to cut a piece of this for my card, but I took a deep breath, closed my eyes (well partially) and cut a piece measuring 1 3/4 by 5" in the Rococco Rose colour - and adhered it to the Blushing Bride cardstock on the front panel.

On the inside I first added a 4 by 5 1/4" of Blushing Bride card stock.  Then I took a piece of Whisper White card stock with the same measurements and die cut one of the long ends with the Curvy Edgelet die (floral pattern).  This I adhered to the Blushing Bride layer as shown below.

For the focal image, I used the Stitched Oval dies to die cut a larger (3 1/4 by 2 5/8") oval in Blushing Bride and a smaller one (2 3/4 by 2") in Whisper White. These two I adhered together.

On a separate piece of Whisper White I stamped 2 of the floral images and 2 of the birds using Black Memento ink.  I coloured the flowers with Stampin' Blends (Rococco Rose and Granny Apple Green) and the birds with Rococco Rose and Crumb Cake. All were die cut with the Curvy dies.

Before adhering them to the layered ovals, the sentiment was stamped in the center using Blushing Bride ink.  One of the floral strips was adhered to the top and the other on the bottom of the ovals.  The two birds were added at the top of the oval perching just on the edge.

Only part of the oval image piece (about 1 1/4") was adhered to the front panel. 

To finish the card, some Dazzling diamonds was added to the flowers and some champagne rhinestones were added randomly on the ovals and on the inside.

Supplies Used:

Stamp: Quite Curvy

Inks:  Black Memento, Blushing Bride, Stampin' Blends - both light and dark (Rococco Rose, Crumb Cake, Granny Apple Green)

Papers:  Thick Whisper White, Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Love You Always DSP

Accessories:  Curvy Dies, Stitched Oval dies, Champagne rhinestones, Dazzling Diamonds

Season of Thanks - a sneak peak Autumn card

Yes, it still is summer, but the days are getting shorter and the nights cooler.  There is definitely a feel of autumn in the air.  So today I pulled out on"e of the new stamp sets in the holiday catalogue and made a few cards.  It did feel rather strange to be working with fall colours and thinking about Thanksgiving, but sometimes one has to work ahead.

This Z fold card is made using the "Gather Together" stamp set and coordinating "Come Together DSP".  It is similar to a card I saw on Pinterest.

The card base is a 5 1/2 by 11" piece of  Pretty Peacock card stock, scored at 5 1/2  and 8" and folded to form a Z fold card.

The 2 front panels are layered first with Whisper White card stock and then Come Together DSP.

On a separate piece of  Whisper White card stock, 4 large and  1 smaller pair of pumpkins were stamped using Pretty Peacock ink.  After die cutting them using the Gathering Leaves Dies, only half of each pumpkins was added along the front fold line. Another larger and the small pumpkin pair were stamped on the inside of the card.

The sentiment, stamped in Pretty Peacock ink, was die cut with a layering oval die, and matted with a slightly larger scallop oval die.  After adhering the two together it was adhered to the card front using dimensionals.  Two of the harvest grasses were stamped, fussy cut and adhered to the front below the sentiment and a bow made with the braided linen thread was adhered to the stem top.

A sentiment is stamped on the inside and to finish the card, three Pretty peacock rhinestones were added.

Supplies Used:
Stamp:  Gathering Together
Inks:  Pretty Peacock
Papers:  Pretty Peacock, Whisper White, Come Together DSP
Accessories:  Layering Oval Framelits, Gathering Leaves Dies, Braided Linen Thread, Pretty Peacock rhinestones, Dimensionals.

Cats in a Crate

I miss my two cats.  I had them for almost 17 years and their loss still hurts.  So working with the Nine Lives Stamp set and coordinating Cat Punch today was bittersweet.

I designed a Z-fold card with a wooden crate in the middle, and in the crate are several cats.

A 4 1/4 by 11 piece of Thick Whisper White card stock was scored at 5 1/2 and again 8.  It was folded in a mountain fold at the 8" score and a Valley fold at the 5 1/2" fold folding a Z-fold.

Snuggled in the fold in the center is a wooden crate.  Two pieces of the crate were die cut using the Wood Crate framelit die  and the  Wood  Grain DSP.  Prior to its construction, the bottom was trimmed off. This allows the crate to fold flat during mailing. In addition two inserts were adhered inside the crate allowing the cats to be adhered to these strips. Some embellishments were added to the crate front. It is attached to the card at both the end piece and one of the long pieces.

The stamparatus was used to stamp cats of different colours and colour combinations, and the cat punch punched them out.  Four cats were placed in the crate; two on the front.

Each of the panels is layered with Basic Black card stock, followed by Botanical Butterfly Gala DSP. On the front the Whisper White art piece die cut with the stitched rectangle framelit is matted with Grapefruit Grove foil paper and then added to the checkerboard pattern DSP.  On the Whisper White piece the word "meow" is stamped randomly a number of times.  Two cats are adhered side by side, with the multicoloured cat adhered with dimensionals. A red bow is attached to its tail, and a butterfly punched from the Botanical Butterfly Gala DSP was added at the top right.

Part of the sentiment is at the front of the card; the entire sentiment is on the back portion.  The Whisper White piece is matted with the foil paper and below the sentiment is a foil rooster.

Supplies Used:
Stamp:  Nine Lives
Inks:  Black Memento, Smoky Slate,  Early Espresso, Basic Black marker
Papers:  Thick Whisper White, Whisper White, Basic Black, Botanical Butterfly Gala DSP, Wood Grain DSP, Grapefruit Grove Foil
Accessories:  Cat Punch, Duet Butterfly Punch, Wood Crate Framelits, Stitched Rectangle Framelits, Dimensionals

Gears Happy Birthday - SUO Challenge # 215

The challenge this month at SUO Challenges is "birthdays", a timely challenge for me because I have a lot of birthdays in the next two months.  There were 3 family members celebrating birthdays on the same day!

Cards for guys have always been a challenge, but with the new "Geared Up Garage" with the coordinating framelits plus DSP this task is much easier.

The colours for this card were easy to pick.  I  selected the DSP I first, and chose my colour palette from that.  Not only did I choose my colour palette, but I was also able to use the coordinate framelets to die cut images directly from the DSP.  I did that for all the cog gears and the gas can  The cars were also obtained directly from the DSP, only I fussy cut them, although I realized later  that I could have used the framelits. Alternately I could have stamped the images and then die cut them.

This Tranquil Tide Z Fold card base is 5 1/2 by 11" scored at 5 1/2 and again at 8".  The 1 1/4" by 11" band is also scored the same.

Each of the sections is layered with Very Vanilla and then one of 3 patterns of the DSP.  The band is also layered with Very Vanilla and then mainly gray DSP which was embossed with the Maps etc Embossing folder.

All cardstock, DSP, die cut and punched images were sponged with Basic Gray ink.  This was the most labour intensive part of this card.

The birthday sentiment is from "Better Together".  It is stamped in Tranquil Tide ink and then punched using the Everyday Labels punch.

One of the cars was adhered to the band; the second on the back portion of the car. The die cut cog wheels were placed on different locations and a car key metal element is added by each car.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Geared Up Garage, Better Together

Inks:  Tranquil Tide, Basic Gray

Papers:  Tranquil Tide. Very Vanilla, Geared Garage DSP

Accessories:  Maps etc Embossing Folder, Classic Garage Metal Elements, Gear Garage Framelits, Everyday Label Punch

Remarkable You Z Fold Card - Favourite Florals for SUO Challenge #197

Today I am featuring another stamp set, ink colour, embellishments and ribbon that is retiring the end of May.  I am also submitting this card for the SUO challenge (Favorite Florals)

I'm a flower gal, so the Remarkable You stamp set (a set of 2 stamps) was right up my alley and the years that I have had the stamp set I have used it often to make cards for many occasions. The Water Lily featured in this card is probably one of my favourite flowers.

Along with this stamp set,  the Always Artichoke ink pad, card stock, and designer paper are also retiring.

Using the Stamparatus, I stamped 3 floral images using Black Memento ink and coloured them with Watercolor Pencils, blending the colours with a blender pen.  After fussy cutting them I placed them in an Always Artichoke frame die cut using 2 sizes of the Stitched Square Framelits and lined with Calypso Coral card stock. After the flowers were arranged in the square, I added some wooden shapes from the March Paper Pumpkin kit, some small rhinestones in the center of each flower and some Clear Wink of Stella on the Petals. A bow of retiring 1/4" white Organza ribbon was tied around the floral base.

This frame was added to an Always Artichoke frame folded into a Z fold card.  The front and inside was layered with Whisper White and then Always Artichoke DSP. The sentiment strip is stamped with Always Artichoke ink.

On the inside I die cut a Whisper White square the same size as the outside frame and positioned it so that is not seen when the card is closed.

The embellishments added to the card (probably more than I normally would put on a card) are all retiring - the Regal Enamel Shapes, and the White Perfect Accents

Retiring Items on this card:

Stamps:  Remarkably You (2 stamps)

Ink:  Always Artichoke

Papers:  Always Artichoke, Always Artichoke DSP

Embellishments:  Regal Enamel shapes, White Perfect Accents, 1/4" white organza ribbon

Supplies Used:

Stamp:  Remarkably You

Inks:  Black Memento, Always Artichoke, Watercolor Pencils

Papers:  Always Artichoke, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Always Artichoke DSP

Accessories:  Wooden shapes from March Paper Pumpkin, Rhinestones, Regal Enamel Shapes, White Perfect Accents, 1/4" White Organza ribbon, Clear Wink of Stella, Blender Pen, Stitched Square Framelits, Stamparatus.

If you still wish these items you can still order them by contacting me or ordering them through my on-line store (see side bar)

Z-fold Santa's Suit meets Santa's Sleigh at Sweet Home

Sounds like a lot of stamp sets used in this card right?  Yes, but they all have a common theme - Santa.

I was in a bit of a quandary as to how to best use the Santa's Suit Bundle.  I first made a set of cute tags (will post later), and then got the idea to made a Z-fold box card incorporating the other stamp sets.

Here's the result:

The card below is closed. I put 2 bands on the card - one at the top and one at the bottom.  My plan was to suspend Santa's clothes from the upper band, but that did not work out.  The upper band, however, gave Santa some privacy while he was selecting his suit.

A die cut house from Sweet Home is featured on the front of the card.

The middle part of the card is a box.  There are 2 inserts in it and I have attached 2 pieces of Window sheets to which Santa and his clothes are attached.  Behind him are two trees die cut from Santa's Sleigh.  Both trees have texture paste applied to them to mimic snow.

Looks like a private dressing room doesn't it?

The base card is Tranquil Tide, layered with Whisper White and Naturally Eclectic DSP 

Supplies:

Stamp:  Santa's Suit

Inks:  Black Memento, Stampin' Blendabilities, SU markers (Real Red, Basic Black)

Papers:  Tranquil Tide, Whisper White, Naturally Eclectic DSP, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Retired DSP (house)

Accessories:  Santa Builder Framelits, Home Sweet Home Thinlets, Santa's Sleigh Framelits, Texture Paste, Dazzling Diamonds, Window Sheets, glue dots, 

(Hot) Pig in the City...

This card was inspired by a TV commercial.  Yes, you read correctly ..a TV commercial!
I was casually watching a TV program when a commercial came on advertising "Hot Pig....in the City"

So, an idea was born.

The idea did not quite materialize as I visualized it in my mind,but I'm happy with the result. I used the hostess stamp set "In the Neighborhood" with "This Little Piggy"

Thick whisper white card stock was used to create a Z fold card

On the front I constructed a fence using the Wood Crate die and Crate DSP. This was placed on "On Theory DSP".  One of the Little Piggys was colored, cut out and placed in front of the fence.  At his feet are strips of the same  In Theory DSP torn in strips, sponged with Old Olive, and ruffled to mimic grass.  The sentiment was computer generated.

On the middle panel are 2 more pigs, also colored and cut out.  They are making their way to the city, which is reflected on the back panel.

The images from the City are colored with watercolor pencils.

On the l" strip I place some Old Olive card stock embossed with the petal burst embossing folder.
Did you notice that the word "neighbourhood" in this stamp set has both the American and Canadian spelling?

Supplies Used:
Stamps: This Little Piggy, In the Neighborhood
Inks:  Black Memento, Powder Pink, Basic Gray, Old Olive, Watercolor Pencils, Marina Mist
Papers:  Thick Whisper White, In Theory DSP, Old Olive, Whisper White, Crate DSP
Accessories:  Classic Label punch, Wood Crate framelit, Wink of Stella, dimensionals.

Z-Fold Pop Up Balloon Birthday Friends - another catalogue sneak peak

Yesterday I made a pop up card in a box using the Birthday Delivery stamp set and its coordinating framelits and DSP.

Today I used the same products to make a Z-fold pop up balloon birthday card. These cards will be on display at the Open House on June10.

The basic Z-fold card is Old Olive card stock.  DSP matted with Whisper White cardstock mats the front and middle panels.  The back panel has images stamped with Old Olive ink.

The stamped greeting on the front is die cut using the stitched oval framelit.  The character was fussy cut and the  balloons die cut directly from the DSP.

On the 1" strip I added more characters. presents and cake, all cut from the DSP.  Attached to the inside of this 1" piece are strips of window sheets to which are attached balloons, presents, etc.  This constitutes the pop up portion of the card

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Birthday Delivery
Inks:  Black Memento, Old Olive
Papers: Old Olive, Whisper White, Good Friends DSP
Accessories: Good Friends framelits, Window sheets, dimensionals, glue dots.