Friday, November 29, 2013

Dangling Snowflake

Wow. I am feeling very prolific these days. After such a long dry spell, I am posting my little hear out  ;)

This is another creation I came across online at Splitcoaststampers and had to try. As always, I put my own spin on things.


Start with a white tri-fold 5x7" card (from The Paper Cut). Cut a x7" piece of blue sparkle c/s (Bazzil) and attach to front panel of card. Center the second smallest die from Spellbinders Grand Ovals on the front panel and cut through both layers.

Create the paper bow using glitter paper (Recollections). You can purchase a die from SU that will do the job, but of course, I do not have it so I improvised by hand. It is built from 6 separate pieces put together with glue dots.

Using the stamp set Festive Flurry from SU, stamp and emboss as follows;
 - with the smallest stamp on white c/s and white Incredible ink, emboss with white sparkle EP. (Comotion)
 - with the next stamp on the blue Bazzil c/s and blue Incredible ink, emboss with Rain Forest EP. (Stampamania)

Now use the coordinating SU snowflake dies, cut the two embossed items, as well as two of the second largest die from the silver sparkle c/s. Also die cut the word Merry from the silver c/s with the SU die from the expressions set.


Cut a 4" piece of narrow silver ribbon (SU), fold in half, and secure the ends sandwiched between the two silver snowflakes, then glue them together, back to back. Adhere the two embossed snowflakes on the silver one. Attach the ribbon to the front,top of the oval opening, then attach the paper bow. Glue Merry on the bottom with Dries Clear glue.


Cut 2 pieces of white dazzle c/s (Bazzil) 5x7". Attach one to the front of the inner flap of the card. Trim to fit so the card will still close. With the largest snowflake stamp and the same blue ink as above, stamp and emboss. Trim the second piece of white c/s to fit the inside of the card. Stamp snowflakes randomly around the edge of this piece with the white ink, emboss with white sparkle EP. Stamp 'Merry Little Christmas' (SU) with the blue ink and emboss with the blue EP.

This is not a card you would want to mass produce, but the results made me very happy.

I hope all my American friends had a great Thanksgiving yesterday.






Golden Christmas

Today's card is for my grand son who  deserves some 'special' too. He has been slaving away at university, and I plan to mail this to him along with some hot chocolate mix and marshmallows to enjoy while he is studying for his exams.


I wanted to create something festive and yet a bit more steam lined and masculine. I hope this one hits the mark.

The pine cone stamp is from Judikins. Stamp twice with Versamark on ivory glitter c/s (Recollections) that is cut 4 1/2 x 6 1/2". Then, beginning with the lightest colour, apply glitter EP carefully to select areas of the image, removing excess before moving on to the next colour. This is a combination of Judikins Egyptian gold, and Desert wind & Ocean breeze from Stampamania. Heat set the EP. I tried a couple of photos to capture a bit of the glitter. It is quite subtle and did not show up well.

Then after you make a big gaff trying to stamp the greeting, improvise a plaque to cover it. ;)   Stamp Merry Christmas (Justrite Grand Christmas Sentiments) with versamark and repeat the EP process; here I only used two colours. This is done on a scrap of the ivory c/s. Die cut with a die from the Apothecary accents framelit die set by SU. Cut a second die cut from the gold foil c/s (Recollections) with a die from the Resplendent Rectangles die set by Spellbinders. Attach the greeting to the gold die cut.








Cut a mat from the gold foil c/s that is 4 3/4 x 6 3/4". Layer this and the pine cone piece on an ivory card base. Attach the greeting plaque using foam squares. Stamp the pine cone inside with Brilliance gold ink, and add a stamped or hand written greeting.



I am thrilled with the results and will be using this technique more often. Heaven knows, I have lots of EP to experiment with! This was a fun and easy technique and I hope you will give it a try too.



Wednesday, November 27, 2013

A 'Special' Card

So a story is in order. On the way south, we stopped in Calgary for brunch with our son and grand daughter. Rayne and I were chatting about crafts and I mentioned I had all my cards made except for a few special ones and she asked, very coyly, if the card for her was one of those specials cards. Well of course, but now the pressure is on to make sure it is really special.

Actually, it was great fun making this one. What little 8 year old doesn't love bling - so bling it is.


Stamp the Angel stamp (The Artful Stamper) on white c/s with Ancient Page black ink. Paint the image using an aqua pen and Gelatos. Then apply gold Stickles to the wings and dress. Add liguid pearls to the berrys. and set aside to dry.

Make a card that is 5 3/4" square from bright green c/s. cut a square hold in the front the same dimensions as the angel image. Cut a square of red c/s that is 5 1/2" square. Center this piece on the inside front of the card base and trace the opening from the green onto the red. Then cut the opening in the red 1/8th " larger on all four sides.

Cut a piece of white copy paper 5 1/2" by 11" and fold in half. Stamp the background image ( Judikins Bead Curtain) on the left inside of the copy paper with red ink, then add the sentiment (Merry Little Christmas from Stampin'Up) with the Ancient Page ink. Attach it to the right inside of the card, making sure the center folds match up.  Center the dry angel image in the paper inside on the front left side so that it shows through the opening. Attach it to the paper. Then I choose to attach the paper to the front inside of the card. Personal choice as you can also leave it unattached.

A little personal ramble here. I was thrilled when I saw that SU had released the Merry Little Christmas stamp. It is my all time favorite song of the season  and always brings a tear to my eye.  I can not look at the words without starting to sing in my head.

Stamp the Judikins background stamp with Versamark and apply white EP. Heat emboss. Then dab gold Stickles randomly to the dots in the pattern. Set aside to dry. Stamp the sentiment (from the Joyful Christmas set by SU) with the black ink onto white c/s and die cut with a die from the Apothecary die set from SU. Attach five holly leaves die cut from the green c/s using a Memory box die. Add red holly berries with the Liquid Pearls and gold trim with the Stickles. Set aside to dry.

Attach the red card stock to the front of the card, then add a bow made from white satin ribbon and a gold pearl brad (American Crafts Elements) placed strategically to cover the smudge on the angel image. (I used glue dots for this.)

Finally, attach the sentiment element to the front using foam squares.

This one took a bit of time but was worth it, given the recipient!! My Little Angel is worth it all.

That is it for today. I hope you enjoyed this one.


Monday, November 25, 2013

More Velvet

Yes, today I am working again with the same HOTP burgundy velvet paper. I really do like this paper for Christmas cards. It makes for such a soft warm finish and reminds me of my favorite  velvet Christmas dresses when I was growing up in the 50's and early 60's. What can I say.

It comes in lots of colours too, and I plan to do some posts using some of the other colours. I did pick up a few sheets when it was on sale at Joann's.

This cards is a CASE of a card that appears on the HFC website. I loved it the minute I saw it, and knew I would get around to making it sooner or later.



There are, of course, a few deviations to allow for the supplies I had on hand, beginning with the background paper. I did not have the same b/g stamp to create the collage effect, so I grabbed a bunch of different Christmas greetings from various sets, inked them up with Brilliance pearlescent poppy ink, stamped them off once for a more subtle effect and stamped them randomly on a piece of paper from HFC's  Frosty Blanket collection. I also added the same ink randomly to Justrite's b/g stamp, Christmas Holly Stripes, and stamped it on the same collage piece. Use Brilliance platinum beige ink and sponge the edges.

Stamp the Christmas poinsettia on ivory c/s with ink, then cut out the second and third largest blooms with the matching Sun Kissed Fleur die. Sponge them with Brilliance poppy and beige inks, shape them and put them together with a gold pearl brad (Elements  - American Crafts). Stamp the branch from the Holly Berry stamp set using Ancient Page black ink, and cut it out using the Ornamental Add On die. All of these stamps and dies are from HFC. Sponge on Brilliance poppy and VersaMagic Pesto inks.

Cut the velvet paper with the Spellbinders Scallop borders die and attach to the collage piece.

Stamp the middle two circle sentiments from the Christmas Circle Sentiments stamp set (HFC) using the Brilliance poppy ink, sponge the edges with Brilliance beige, then fussy cut them out. Layer the smaller one on the collage side of the front panel. Add the holly branch with glue, then the poinsettia on that with a large glue dot.  Finally attach the remaining circle sentiment to the velvet side of the panel, slipping it under the edge of the blossom. Now attach the panel to a card base and finish the inside.

I had already signed this card and had it in an envelope, ready to mail when I remembered I wanted to take pictures, so I am not showing the inside off this time.

I recommend checking out the HFC site for some fabulous ideas. If you find them too elaborate for your tastes, you can always simplify, but it is a great starting place

I hope by now you all have a good start on your Christmas cards. I am finished except for a few individual ones I want to make for family. I even made some cards for my husband to use in his business, as well as a dozen for my neighbour.

Tomorrow I will show you a card I made for some one very special. See you then.






Friday, November 22, 2013

A Heartfelt Christmas Part Last

In this last post, I have four cards to show.



This first card was probably the fussiest one I made and again I used both of the identical panels in the paper pack.  From panel one, I carefully cut out the ornament using a utility blade. From the second panel, I cut out the inner square, reserving the outer part for the inside of the card.

First I attached the back panel to a 5x6 1/2" card base (Recollections Signature c/s champagne). Then I layered the inner square and the ornament using foam squares. I used Diamond Glaze to cover the ornament to give it a glassy look. When it dried, I applied a second coat.












On the inside, I attached the greeting and two extra element cut from panel two, as mentioned above.







The next two cards were done in an identical manor although the panels used were different. So I will just cover them both in one description. I cut a met for the panel from HOTP's velvet paper. Then I cut two sizes of poinsettia from the middle of the velvet mat using Spellbinder's Nested Poinsettias die.





















The printed HFC panel was layered over the velvet mat, and then adhered it all to a card base (the same as used in the card above). I used glue dots to attach the poinsettia, and a 3rd glue dot to attach the golden gemstones to the center of the poinsettia.




I finished to cards with a sentiment panel inside and a decorative strip from the paper pack.                           



I have one more card to show in this series, though as I said, it is not the last one I made.                             

I made a couple of major changes to this card because I wanted to lighten up the overall appearance. You    can see the finished card compared to the original panel in this photo.                                                                
  
With a utility blade, I carefully removed the snowman square from the center of the card. Then I die cut a       mat from some shimmery blue Bazzil cs using Spellbinder`s Decorative labels one die. Because I did not       want to background to show through the lacy holes of this diecut, I hand cut a backing from white                 cardstock and adhered it behind the blue diecut, then attached the snowman to the top of that. This               effectively hides the black frame on the original panel.                                                                                   



I trimmed the out black frame from the back panel, then created a 5 3é4`mat       from the blue Bazzil cs.  Now I layered everything together and attached it all to a white card base.  The final step was to add some diamond Stickles for a snowy       effect. An inside was added and the card was  done.                                                    

I hope you have enjoyed this series of cards, and that, if you feel you are too rushed to make your own            cards this Christmas, this inspires you to rethink that. you can make some beautiful cards with very little              effort, and they can be cards that can go through the mail with out extra postage.                                            

Have a great day, and get your fingers inky.


     


                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                 




           

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

A Heartfelt Christmas Part Two

Welcome back. In today's post I am showing more of the HFC cards as promised.

Today's cards all have the theme of the First Christmas. The design panels, as is the case with most of the designs, are actually available as stamps as well, so if you find you really like any particular panel, you can check the website for the rubber stamp to match.

The first two cards use the same picture but in different sizes and layouts. The larger one is a landscape layout and I chose to cut the center rectangle out and mat it with HOTP's beautiful burgundy velvet paper. I used the same paper to mat the main part of the panel and then I layered it all on a 5x6 1/2" card base made from the Recollections Signature c/s in champagne. 

I added a small sentiment rectangle with foam squares and glued on a small rhinestone. The final step was some diamond Stickles on the star.

A beautiful sentiment on the inside finished it off perfectly.

I tried hard to catch to beauty of the velvet paper in the photograph but it just came out very dark. It is really lovely IRL.





The second manger scene is smaller and portrait oriented. I used a very simple treatment of mounting the whole panel on the Recollections Signature c/s A2 card base (shimmery silver), and adding the sentiment with foam squares.

















The same star treatment was used on this card as well, and the inside greeting was added. Hmmm- it would seem some of these pictures were take at a bit of an angel. I must work on that!!!








The final card for today is the shepherds scene - a square panel. I did not want to mat anything on this one but did want to pop up the center square, so I opted to use both panels that are provided in the paper pack.

I cut the inner rectangle from one panel, carefully preserving the outer part of the panel for the inside of the card. Then I mounted it on the second identical panel with foam squares. 

The card base, from a smooth ivory c/s, is 5 3/4" square. The familiar star treatment was applied.








The inside is the outer rectangle of the panel mentioned above, and a sentiment is adhered in the open center area. 








That is about it. You can see why these cards go together so quickly.  See you again tomorrow with my final post of these cards, though far from the last of the collection I made.




Tuesday, November 19, 2013

A Heartfelt Christmas Part One

Despite the best of intentions, I was not able to get back as soon as I had wanted. A house full of company will do that!

I was playing with Heartfelt Creations' printed paper pack, 'Christmas Card Collection' and this is some of what I came up with. I was able to make 8 different cards in 2 hours. You can make over 72 cards with one pack of paper and some card bases.

I will show you a few of them over the next few posts.


This first one is, I think, my favorite result. I used the SB classic oval die to cut the oval center from the printed panel. Then I cut a die one size larger from Recollections gold foil c/s to mat the sentiment.

From the same gold c/s, I cut a square and matted the panel. Then I layered it all on a 5 3/4" square card base made from Recollections Signature c/s in champagne. I love how the gold makes everything pop.

Inside sentiments are also provided in the paper pack. This really makes card making quick and easy if you are in a rush.













I made a second card using the same panel (you get two of each in every package). but kept it a little more simple. This time I made the ivory card base 5" square and attached the panel unaltered. Then I adhered 4 beautiful gemstones from my stash using Dries Clear glue, one to each corner.








The last step was to add the inner sentiment, and voila - done. Easy Peasy.









For today's final card, I made the base from a patterned panel also in the package. There are four 6x6 panels on each page and I used two of them without cutting down the center line.


The tree image panel is layered on this base and then a small greeting panel is attached to the bottom right corner. So far, pretty quick and easy.

Then, using Dries Clear glue, I created the snow with shell white glitter.

Inside is another sentiment panel. Again, so fast and simple but with wonderful results.




Keep tuned for more of these cards.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Technical difficulties

Well, that was interesting for a tech-challenged person such as myself. Since I last posted, I got a new phone; accounts and passwords were lost in the shuffle. Between that, a different computer, and travel, it has taken me a long time to figure out how to access my blog again. I do often wish I was more competent with these machines. I am proud to say that I figured it out on my own and did not have to go to my computer tech/son again. Even the most patient person has limits!


So here is my latest creation. In between attempts to get back on-stream, I decided to try another Friday challenge (#109) at JustRite Stampers. It is a WOW or White on White challenge. I always love WOW cards - they are just so pure and elegant.

To me white on white is either wedding or Christmas, and since there is no wedding in my immediate plans, I opted for the latter.

I started with Bazzil's Diamond cardstock, and embossed it with a Spellbinder two-sided M-bossibility folder, Holiday Magic.

Spellbinder's Layered Poinsettia die was used to create the blossom. While the c/s was still in the die, I dabbed the exposed areas on the front with white pigment ink, then popped the diecuts out and sprinkled a diamond white embossing powder on and heat set it. The swirl behind the poinsettia is die cut using Heartfelt Creations' Bella Rose die.

The largest die from SB's Resplendant Rectangles was used for the mat layer, and JustRite's Vintage Label Three die for the front piece. Before die cutting the front piece, I stamped and embossed the frame from JustRite's Christmas labels 22 using the white/crystal EP. Then I added the sentiment from the same stamp set using a silver EP.

All the elements were put together using a combination of foam squares and glue dots. I added a white satin bow with a beautiful silver and crystal embellishment from Stampin'Up. The crystal center in the poinsettia is from my stash (unknown origin).

That is it. I will be back soon with tales of my latest stint in the HFC booth at the Mesa Rubber Stamp show, and some new cards. I have not been idle in the blog-down time!