Snowman Thank You Cards ... Using Wrapping Paper!

Christmas is over and now it's time to send out those Thank You's! Here are the ones I created this year using.......wrapping paper! I got the idea from a video I saw on You Tube by Nina-Marie Trapani for Simon Says Stamp ( link here). Hers are precious and a little more elaborate, but I loved the idea of using wrapping paper, so these are the cards I created.

First you need to glue a piece of the wrapping paper with the image you want onto some plain cardstock. I used a glue stick. Then I ran that piece through my Sissix Big Shot using the Stitched Shapes Framelit dies from Stampin' Up. I then cut another larger circle using the next size up in the Stitched Shape Framelits and glued one on top of the other.

The stamps I used are from a snowman set by Maymay Made It. I added a strip of Stampin' Up washi tape from the Pop of Pink collection.

I made 6 cards and it took me about an hour, but I was getting faster as I went along. These are pretty simple and a good way to use up some of that cute wrapping paper you have left!

Quick Christmas Cards Using Store Bought Tags

If you need some quick and easy Christmas cards, here is an idea for you. I found these cute tags at Walmart, really too cute to use only for tags, so I decided to turn them into Christmas cards! The top two are the simplest. I embossed the white card base and then added the tags. I did add a cut-out sentiment to the candy cane card, but I decided to let the stocking speak for itself.


The bottom two cards are a little more work, but not much. I added the Santa tag to a white card base, stamped a greeting, and added that piece above the Santa tag. To hide the hole in the tag, I added a bow.


The black deer on the deer card is really the reason I bought this set of tags. I just loved them! I used a black card base, then layered a piece of white cardstock and then a black and white checkered patterned paper on top of that. I added the deer and a sentiment and the card was done!


These were so fast and easy I just had to share with you. My color scheme for my tree and presents this year was black, red and white, so these worked out perfectly! Try this idea with whatever tags you may have.

Christmas Truck Cards

I was inspired to make these truck cards by the cute bags and decorations I have seen this year featuring trucks! They are so cute that I thought I would try to recreate them in card form. The only truck cut I had was in the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge. It is the red truck in the card on the right. I wanted a more vintage looking truck, so after cutting out the green truck, I cut away part of the truck bed to shorten it. I added fenders, etc. to both. It was a fun process!

This card is the one using the original cut from Everyday Paper Dolls Cartridge, p. 71, cut at 2" in real dial size. The card base is 5-1/2 x 4-1/4 in Garden Green, top folding. The patterned paper is from an American Crafts paper stack called All Wrapped Up. I cut the truck 3x to get the red, silver and black layers. The truck is cut from Cherry Cobbler cardstock. To make the fenders, I punched out 1 inch circles and cut them in half. I inked the edges of the truck and fenders in Cherry Cobbler.

The trees are from the Paper Doll Dress-Up cartridge, p. 73, cut at 1-3/4 and 2" in Garden Green, inking the edges in white (left tree) and Garden Green (right tree). The gifts were hand cut from a piece of patterened paper in the same American Crafts paper stack. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes by Stampin' Up.

The white snow bank is made using dies from Lawn Fawn called Stitched Hillside Borders.

The card base for this card is the same, also in Garden Green, with DSP from the Warmth & Cheer stack by Stampin' Up. The truck is cut from the same Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge, p. 71, cut at 1-3/4" real dial size, except I cut away part of the truck bed to make a shorter, more vintage looking truck. I again cut the truck 3x, in green, black and silver, to make the various parts of the truck. I just trimmed down the pieces to fit on the truck. I again added the fenders cut from a 1 inch circle, cut in half, and inked the edges of the truck and the fenders.

The tree is cut in Garden Green from the Everyday Paper Doll Dress-Up cartridge, inking around the edges in white. I cut some more gifts from the American Crafts paper stack. The greeting is from the Candy Cane Lane stamp set. I just used the top part of the stamp. I cut it out using the Stitched Shapes dies from Stampin' Up. The snow bank is from the Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders dies. 

These were a little time consuming, but I like the way they turned out. Sometimes it's worth the extra time!

Reindeer Card and Gift Box/Bag

This week's projects include a card and gift box. The reindeer on the card is made with punches and die cuts, and you can create the reindeer box/bag with a piece of 8x11 inch cardstock, some circle punches, and some branch cuts from your Cricut or dies.

The card is 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches, top folding, in crumb cake (or kraft cardstock). The stitched white layer is 4 x 5-1/4" created with the Bundle of Stitched Shapes die by Lawn Fawn.  The patterned paper is from the Candy Cane Lane DSP by Stampin' Up, cut at 3-3/4 x 5". I put the paper on upside down to resemble reindeer noses instead of gum drops.

The oval layers are from a set of dies. Red oval is 3-1/2 x 2-7/8" and white oval is 2-7/8 x 2-1/4". The banners are cut with the Banners and Bows Thinlets by Sissix and the greeting is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set by Stampin' Up. I curved the photopolymer stamp when placing it on the block and then stamped it onto the banner.

The reindeer is made as follows:
Head - small oval punch from Stampin' Up (1-3/4 x 7/8")
Antlers - branches from Cricut Create a Critter 2 cartridge, p. 57, cut at 3-3/4" (or you could use the Tree Builder Punch from Stampin' Up. They will just be a little smaller.)
Ears - 1/2 inch circle punch, cutting circle in half
Eyes - 1/4" circle punch x 2
Nose - Gum drop stamp by Stampin' Up, cut out. Mine is from an old stamp set, but there is also one in the Candy Cane Christmas stamp set.
Bow Tie - Sissix Thinlets Banners and Bows by Rachael Bright or hand tie a ribbon bow.

The reindeer box is a simple construction using a piece of 8 x 11 heavyweight cardstock. On the 11 inch side, score at 4-1/2 and 6-1/2 inches. On the 8 inch side, score at 2 inches and 6 inches. Fold and cut on the score lines to create your box.

I decorated the face using circle punches (1/2 inch for eyes and 1 inch for nose). The antlers are branch cuts from p. 40 of the Cricut Straight from the Nest cartridge, but you could use any branch cuts you may have.The ears are a 1-1/4 inch circle cut in half. I added a 1/2 inch strip of red cardstock around the bottom to create a collar. I created the buckle by punching out a 1/4 inch square in silver paper with a punch, and then hand cut around it to create a buckle. I glued some little silver jingle bells to the collar. (Note: I inked around the edges of the box and the ears in the same Early Espresso color as the box to give it a little "life.")

I didn't add a handle to my bag, but you could if you want to, either attaching a 1-1/2 inch wide strip of cardstock, or a strip of ribbon. I just liked the bag look with the tissue paper coming out the top.

The stamped peppermint candies are from the Candy Cane Christmas stamp set by Stampin' Up and the greeting is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set, also by Stampin' Up.

Gingerbread Man Card, Treat Bag, Tag and Box

I think this is my favorite Christmas project! I love the Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up so much that I had to create as many projects as I could using it! (Note: I'm not a demonstrator.)

First I made the card. The card base is 4-1/2 x 5-1/2 in red cardstock, top folding. I added a layer of brown which is die cut using the Simon Says Stamp Bundle of Stitched Shapes. I added another piece of DSP from the collection, and another brown layer. I added white stitching by hand on this piece using a white gel pen. I then added the ginerbread man paper layered on top of a white piece of cardstock, for a total of 6 layers! I usually don't add this many layers, but I kind of went crazy with this one!

I cut the gingerbread man using the Cricut Stretch Your Imagination cartridge, p. 55, cut at 3 inches. I cut the gingerbread man in crumb cake cardstock and then the silhouette piece in white. I added some punched out circles for the buttons and his smile, added a small red bow (cut from the Create a Critter cartridge, p. 36), and he comes to life! I wanted it to look like he was "running" off the card. The greeting is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set by Stampin' Up!

Then I created the treat bag:

The treat bag is 5-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches and open on both sides so you can slide in a cellophane bag. If you are worried about it coming out, you can add some adhesive to the bag before sliding it in. The bag is created with a 5-3/4  x 12 inch piece of brown cardstock. On the 12 inch long side, score at 5-3/4 and 6-1/4 inches. This gives your treat bag a 1/2 inch bottom.

For the topper, cut a piece of patterned paper at 5 x 5-3/4 inches and fold in half. Adhere the topper to both sides of the brown cardstock with glue or adhesive tape, front and back. Punch a couple of holes in the top and thread through some red ribbon for the handle.

The front of the box is embellished with several layered squares using the Stitched Shapes Framelits from Stampin' Up. I added a stamped candy cane stripe (Candy Cane Lane Christmas stamp set, Stampin' Up) and a die cut star from the same SSS Bundle of Stitched Shapes. The greeting is from the same stamp set.

I cut another gingerbread man in crumb cake cardstock, this time at 3-1/2 inches, and again added the white silhouette piece, buttons, red cheeks, bow tie, and a hand-cut candy cane (stamped with same stamp set) to go in his hand. I hand cut a 3/4 inch wide banner to go across the bottom of the patterned paper piece.

Here is a side view of the treat bag. The items you put in your cellophane bag need to be on the thin side. I used a row of 4 snack size Hershey bars. You could use hot cocoa packets, a large cookie, note cards, etc.

Side View of Bag

Then came the tags and a box to hold them. The tags were cut using the Cricut Plantin SchoolBook cartridge, p. 78, but there are a lot of different tag options on other Cricut cartridges or Silhouette. I cut the red tag at 4-1/2 inches (not the width of the tag, but the length) and layered the white tag on top of the red one. I cut the white tag at 4-1/4 inches. I added some DSP from the Candy Cane Lane set and cut another gingerbread man from the same Cricut cartridge at 3-1/2 inches, this time in dark brown. I also cut the shadow in white to add behind him, and made white hand stitching marks with a white gel pen. I cut some thin red strips to add to his arms and legs, red "buttons", dots for his smile, and a bow tie. I again cut out a candy cane for him to hold. The greeting is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set, stamped on a banner cut in white. I added red ribbon to the top and tied it with some red and white baker's twine.

The cute little box is not my creation. It is by Dawn's Stamping Thoughts. She made it as a box to hold small note cards, so that is another idea for you! Click here to see her video. The tags I made also fit perfectly inside the box! I added the same ginerbread man to the front of the box as on the tags.

I hope you found something in this post you would like to recreate for your Christmas gift giving. I will be back next week with more projects! I may run out of posting time before Christmas, so I think I'm going to have to pick and choose, or post more than once a week. Happy Christmas crafting!

"Thankful" Card

This "thankful" card for Thanksgiving relies mainly on the patterned paper. I added some die cut fall leaves, stamped a tree image, added my greeting, and layered it on a coordinating colored circle to pop it up. The finished card is 4-1/4 x 5-1/2, top folding. All products are Stampin' Up except the dies used to cut the leaves, which are from Lawn Fawn.

The card base is Old Olive, the next layer is Hello Honey, and the top layer is Stampin' Up's fall DSP from last year called Into the Woods. The tree is stamped with the Sprinkles of Life stamp set from Stampin' Up, and the greeting is from the Endless Thanks stamp set. I added a copper leaf using a Recollections leaf punch. The tree is stamped onto a 2 inch white circle, and then layered on top of a 2-1/2 inch Mossy Meadow circle. I inked the edges of the Hello Honey layer, the patterned paper layer, the white circle, as well as the leaves. The leaves are cut from Small Stitched Leaves dies by Lawn Fawn. To make the shape a little different, I rounded the bottom edges of the card and layers using my Crop-a-Dile.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Snowman Cards - Happy Holidays

After I made the snow fox card last week, I decided I needed to make some snowman cards! These are special because I used the very first stamp set I ever purchased! I purchased this stamp set in 2001, along with some red, green and white cardstock, and made my very first Christmas cards. I have made them every year since!

This card is made with Stampin' Up cardstock in Cucumber Crush and Whisper White. After stamping and coloring the snowman, I cut it out using Stampin' Up's new Stitched Shapes Framelet Dies (which by the way I LOVE!). I used the largest oval die. The snow bank was created using Lawn Fawn's Stitched Hillside Borders dies. I cut the trees out using a triangle punch from some envelope paper in the same Cucumber Crush, adding brown tree trunks cut from brown cardstock. The stamped "Happy Holidays" is from the same Stampin' Up Frosty stamp set from 2001.

I wanted to make one more snowman card, so this time I used some patterned paper from a Paper Studio Christmas pack called A Very Merry Christmas, and I used the same dies. I did add another white layer behind the patterned paper in white using the rectangle die from Simon Says Stamp Bundle of Stitched Shapes. I hand cut some trees from the patterned paper and attached them to the snow banks. The card base is black.

While new stamp sets are great, sometimes it's fun to go back to the old ones! This is a stamp set I will never let go, not just because it is very sentimental for me, but because I still love it!

Snow Fox - Let it Snow!

Snow Fox

Last week I told you how much I LOVE foxes and shared a fox card and gift box. In keeping with that theme, this week I am sharing a Snow Fox Christmas Card. I really love how this turned out!

The card is a standard A2 sized card (4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches), top folding. Card base is white. I layered another white piece on top cut from the Simon Says Stamp Bundle of Stitched Shapes. It measures 4 x 5-1/4 inches. The next layer is from the Foxy Friends DSP by Stampin' Up, cut at 3-3/4 x 5 inches. I lightly inked the edges with Smoky Slate ink.

The snow layers are cut from Stitched Hillside Borders by Simon Says Stamp. They are layered together and cut to the width of the top layer, which is 3-3/4 inches.

The little fox is from the Cricut Create a Critter cartridge, p. 63, cut at 2-1/4 inches. The layers are cut in white and smoky slate. The Santa hat is from the Cricut Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge on p. 72, cut at 2-3/4 inches.  I cut the hat twice, once in white and again in red, and then cut and layered the two pieces together. The heart is from a Martha Stewart heart punch.  The greeting is an old Stampin' Up stamp from 2004, but you could use any greeting. I know there is a "Let it Snow" stamp in a current Stampin' Up set too.

This card was so much fun to create! This may be one of those cards that's hard to let go!

Little Fox Gift Box and Fox Card

If you have seen all the cute fox stamps and papers out now, you will know what inspired this gift box and card. Foxes are so popular. I was in a department store recently and saw a box made in this fashion and decided I just had to try to recreate it! The face is a flap that lifts up. The finished box is 5 inches wide, 1-1/2 inches deep, and 4 inches tall. It is large enough for some candy, a small gift, small note cards, or even a gift card! The card shown does not fit inside the box, although you could easily make a smaller version that would.

The card is a standard 5-1/2 x 4-1/4 inch, top folding card, and is not meant to go inside the box. I used A Little Foxy DSP from Stampin' Up and cut the fox from the Create a Critter cartridge at 2 inches. The card base is smoky slate, the circles behind the fox are calypso coral and soft sky, and the fox is also in calypso coral and white. The greetings on both the box and the card are from And Many More" by Stampin' Up.

If you would like directions on the box, I took pictures of all the steps and have written directions below.

Start with a piece of cardstock cut at 8 x 11-1/2 inches. I used smoky slate (gray), but I have also used kraft and both work well. Score the 8 inch side at 1-1/2" and 6-1/2". Score the 11 inch side at 4", 5-1/2", 9-1/2", and 9-3/4". The top will be the side with the score lines close together. Trim off the top corners as shown, and cut the score lines in the middle as shown. Then add a strong adhesive, score tape, tear and tape, etc. to the pieces as shown below.

Bring the top half of the box down to attach to the inside flaps on each side, then bring the bottom up and attach the sides.  It will look like the picture above. Don't worry about the short flap remaining on top. This is the base for the fold-over face pieces. Pinch in the sides of the box as shown and pin to make it easier to attach the flap pieces.

Cut two flap pieces for the face using the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge, p. 25, cut at 5 inches on the book setting, in white and orange.  You could also use some other die you may have.

With the points facing to the left on your score board, score the orange piece at 1-1/2" and 1-3/4". Score the white piece at 2-3/4" and 3". Leave the white piece at 5 inches and cut the orange piece down to 4 inches. Fold along the score lines and crease with a bone folder. These need to be crisp folds.

Next, attach the white flap to the flap on the box, matching up the score lines on the box. It works best if you use liquid glue and attach the piece to the box while holding the box upright and laying the flap on top of the box.  Glue only the top flap on the box and the bottom of the white flap. Do not glue the small area in between the thin score lines. Then working in the same manner, glue the orange flap on top of the white one. This forms the top of the fox's head.

For the body on the front of the box, I used punches and dies. I punched out ovals for the haunches using a 1-3/4" x 7/8" oval punch, a 1/2 inch circle for the nose, and cut a 1/2 inch circle in half for the eyes. I cut the body from an oval die measuring 2-3/4 x 3-1/2", and fashioned a tail from the space left after cutting the oval. I also hand cut the tip of the tail in white. Cut the pieces and assemble as shown.

I attached a small flat magnet under the nose and onto the body. I covered the magnet on the body with a 1/2 inch circle. I added a little "blush" with some light pink ink on a sponge dauber.

For the ears, cut two triangles in orange, and two smaller ones in white, glue together, and attach behind the top of the head with glue or glue dots.

If you want to embellish it further, add a greeting and bow!

I hope you enjoyed this week's project. Let me know if the directions aren't clear enough and I will be more than happy to clarify them! Happy crafting!

Spider Web Halloween Card

Spider Web Halloween Card

As promised last week, here is one more Halloween card, this time a simpler one to make. I used a spider web embossing folder from the Paper Studio, used a Cricut cut for the spider web, stamped a spider, layering it and attaching it to the center of the web, and attached a simple greeting! Done!

There are several spider web cuts on various Cricut cartridges, including Close to My Heart Artbooking, p. 54; Paper Dolls Dressup, p. 30, Wild Card, p. 37, Create a Critter2, p. 53, and Happy Hauntings, p. 102. Just pick your favorite. I cut the web in half and attached it to the card only in the middle. Helpful Hint: If you don't already know about it, there is a great website to search for different cuts without having to search through your cartridges to find them. It is http://www.mycutsearch.com/ 

The card is a top folding 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inch card. The spider is a retired stamp from Stampin' Up, but there are a lot of cute spider stamps out there. I stamped it on a white 1-3/8" circle, layering it on top of an orange 1-1/2" circle, and then onto a black 1-3/4" scallop circle. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes by Stampin' Up. The card base is Pumpkin Pie, also from Stampin' Up.

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Night Owl Halloween Card

Night Owl Halloween Card

Whooo doesn't love an owl? I know I do. This cute little owl is made with the Create a Critter2 Cricut cartridge, p. 57, cut at 3-1/2 inches. I cut the the layers in various Halloween colored papers and put it all together to create this multi-colored owl for Halloween.

The witch's hat is is cut at 3-1/2 inches also. I cut a white shadow piece, slightly offsetting it behind the owl, to create the shadow. I used Wink of Stella on the hat so it would stand out from the black background better.

The branch is also on p. 57 and is cut on the accessory setting at 4 inches. I also cut one in white to offset below the black brand to create the shadow.

The papers used for the owl are just scraps from my stash, but the card itself is made with Stampin' Up products. The base is 4-1/4 x 5-1/2, top folding, using Pumpkin Pie cardstock. The white layer is cut at 4 x 5-1/4. and the black, orange and white patterned paper is from the Halloween Night DSP, cut at 3-7/8 x 5-1/8. The greeting is also from Stampin' Up, a retired stamp from the Delightful Dozen stamp set. I used a small oval punch and a scalloped oval punch layered together. The little bat is a sticker from Hobby Lobby. The bow is made with Recollections orange, black and white baker's twine from Michaels. I added two black sequins to the eyes and I also scattered some orange sequins around the card to finish it.

I will have one more Halloween card next week, a little simpler, so if you like to keep things simple, then come back for that one!

Halloween Black Cat Treat Bag and Freaky Friends Treat Holders

Do you need treat bags or cute little treat holders for classroom treats or for trick-or-treaters? Here are some I made. The bag above is a 4-1/2 x 7-3/4 flat brown bag you can get at Hobby Lobby. Cuts for the black cat body are made with 2 pumpkin cuts from Create a Critter2 cartridge, p. 54, cut on the shadow setting, at 3" and 2-1/2". The hat is from the same CAC2 cartridge on p. 53, cut at 3 inches. The hat band is cut in orange, also at 3 inches. I added Wink of Stella to both the hat and the band to make it stand out a little from the black cat. I also added dimensionals behind the hat.

How to Put the Cat Together:
Trim off the top stem and leaves of the pumpkins and save two of the leaves for the ears of the cat. Attach behind the smaller pumpkin. Attach the smaller pumpkin with ears (the head) slightly offset to the right onto the larger pumpkin (the cat body).

I punched out a 2 inch circle in black, cutting off the edges (not quite cutting the circle in half), for the cat's haunches, and another 2 inch circle in orange, trimming off just the rim to use for the cat's collar. I did the same thing for the cat's tail, cutting it from a black 2 inch circle.

The eyes are 1/2 inch circles in white, cut in half, and the pupils are 1/4 inch circles, adding a dot of white ink to the centers. The purple glasses are from Everyday Paper Dolls, p. 37. I added Wink of Stella to give them some pizzaz! The mouth is a 1/2 inch orange circle cut in half. Whiskers are thin strips of white cardstock. The nose is a small heart punch. I tied a bow with some orange and black baker's twine and attached it to the collar.

The flags attached at the upper lefthand corner are hand cut from Stampin' Up's Halloween Night Designer Series Paper. I added a punched out 2 inch orange circle behind the flags. The Halloween greeting is from Delightful Dozen, a retired Stampin' Up set, punched with a retired label punch.

These bags will hold full size candy bars like Kit Kats, etc.

If you want a simpler and smaller treat holder, here are some I made using directions from Julie Davison, Stampin' Up Demonstrator. She has a video on You-Tube. Click here to see her video.

These are made with a 2 x 9 inch piece of cardstock, scored at 4" and 5", and the ends are scalloped using the Scallop Tag Topper punch from Stampin' Up. The black band that holds it together is cut at 1-1/2 x 6-1/2 inches and is scored at 2", 3", 5" and 6", Secure the band with tear and tape and insert over the top of your scored and folded large tag piece. I used a little bit of glue to hold the back of the band onto the tag to give it more stability.

I used the retired Freaky Friends stamp set from Stampin' Up in various colors, punched them out with whatever circle punch fit around the image, and then punched out a larger circle to add behind it, using various scraps of patterned paper. I then attached the circles to the front of the holders using dimensionals. I added some little sparkly bats I got at Hobby Lobby and tied the tops with some black and white baker's twine. These little treat holders will hold the individually wrapped fun size candies or candy bars.I think they would make cute treats for co-workers too! If you would like to see a photo of all these treat holders lined up, they are featured on my Facebook cover page. Come by and visit sometime!

Fall Apple Tree Card

This week's post is a fall apple tree card. You can't think of fall without thinking of apples! This is a top-folding 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 card in Crumb Cake, layered with Real Red and Olive Green, all Stampin' Up colors. The Olive Green layer is embossed using the Cuttlebug Divine Swirls embossing folder. The swirls represent the fall wind.

I cut the tree in brown from the Create a Critter2 cartridge, p. 57, at 3-3/4 inches. The apples and leaves are punched with the Tree Builder punch by Stampin' Up, stamped with the Sprinkles of Life stamp set, hand colored and inked. The bushel basket is also from the Sprinkles of Life stamp set. I just cut it down a little bit to be more proportionate to the tree and inked the edges. I popped up the tree and the bushel basket with dimensional dots. The greeting is from the Endless Thanks stamp set from Stampin' Up and is punched out with the small oval punch and then layered onto a scallop punch in red.

The weather has finally turned cooler and I can think more about fall and all the good things that come with it! Have a good week and I'll be back next week to start my Halloween  projects!

Products Used:
Cuttlebug Divine Swirls Embossing Folder
Cricut Create a Critter2 cartridge
Stampin' Up Tree Builder Punch
Stampin' Up Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set
Stampin' Up Endless Thanks Stamp Set
Stampin' Up Cardstock in Crumb Cake, Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White
Stampin' Up inks in Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Real Red

Fall Coffee Card

Today's card is a celebration of National Coffee Day yesterday and National Cardmaking Day tomorrow, the best of both worlds! This card also represents the name of my blog, "Stampin' Cafe by Lana"! I love coffee and cardmaking and the two just go together!

This card is a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inch, top folding card. The base is in Early Espresso and the orange layer is Pumpkin Pie, both from Stampin' Up. The background is stamped with retired Stampin' Up pumpkin and leaf stamps, but you could use anything you have that is fall themed. I chose pumpkins because my favorite fall drink is a pumpkin latte!

The cup is cut in Early Espresso using the Love You a Latte Cricut cartridge, <Cafecup2> at 5 inches. I cut a 1-1/4 inch wide strip of a patterned paper and wrapped it around the cup, securing it in the back with adhesive. The round "caffeine addict" stamp and the "Coffee is always a good idea" stamps come from Sugar Pea Designs.

I plan to enjoy a pumpkin latte this weekend! I'll be back next week with another fall themed card. Thanks for taking the time to visit today.

Super Hero Cards "P.J. Masks"

"Cat Boy" Super Hero Card

"Gecko" Super Hero Card

"Owl Girl" Super Hero Card

My granddaughter is a BIG fan of P.J. Masks! While these cards are not exact duplicates of the Catboy, Gekko and Owlette characters, they are close enough that my granddaguther was excited about them! They were all made using the Paper Dolls Dress Up Cricut cartridge, plus I also used the Create a Critter cartridge for Cat Boy and Owl Girl's heads. All card bases are the same, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches, top folding.

I will try to give you as much detailed direction as I can so you can recreate these characters. There is a lot of piecing and trimming involved, but with a little time and patience, you can make these cute little characters for a P.J. Masks fan in your life! If you would rather purchase a PDF of these directions, I have separate digital PDF files for each character/card at a nominal cost at my Etsy Shop - Stampin' Cafe by Lana. This makes it easier for you to download it instantly and not have to contact me and wait for a response.

Cat Boy/Catboy Super Hero:
1.  Cut a Paper Doll body from ivory cardstock, at 4 inches, p. 29, Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.
2.  Cut the Superboy costume at 4 inches, p. 56
3.  Cut mask, boots, belt and emblem at 4 inches, p. 56 (cuts are proportionate to doll size)
4.  Cut gloves at 4 inches, p. 57
5.  Cut head from Create a Critter cartridge, cat2 on p. 38, at 1-3/4 inches.. Trim as needed to fit head of paper doll.
6.  The light blue accent pieces on head, sleeves and boots will need to be hand cut. You can cut the boots out again in the contrasting color and cut off the boot tips to make the contrasting boot tips.
7.  Cut a tail using a 2 inch circle punch and attach to back of doll.
8.  To make eyes, punch 2 circles with a 1/4 inch circle punch. I used one of the inside cut-outs from the mask to make the eyeballs, cut in half, and made black dots with a marker for the pupils.
9.  Nose is a 1/4 inch circle punch.
10. Cut out background building at 4 inches, p. 56. Trim to fit the card. Add yellow pieces behind window openings for lights.
11. I used a star embossing folder from Stampin Up to emboss the card base.
12. Black strip was added at the bottom to resemble a street.
13. Greeting is from a retired Stampin' Up Sale-a-Bration stamp set called "Hello."

Gecko/Gekko Super Hero:
1.  For this one I cut the paper doll body out of green cardstock at 4 inches, p. 29
2.  Cut the costume at 4 inches, p. 56.
3.  Cut mask on p. 56, once in green and once in white.
4.  Cut boots and V-neck for costume, p. 57. Cut the V-neck twice in a lighter color green. The second cut will be for the head piece.
5.  Hand cut knee patches and toe pieces, or cut boots out a second time in the lighter green and rim off the toe portion.
6.  For the face, punch out a 1-3/4 inch circle, cut in half. Nose is a 1/4 inch circle punch.
7.  For the eyes, take the white cut-out pieces from the white mask and insert those into the green mask for the eyes. Take the green cut-outs from the green mask, cut in half, and add to the white pieces for eyeballs. Use a black marker to make dots for pupils.
8.  Use what is left of the building you cut out previously for this card, adding black behind the windows, or use yellow for lights.
9.  The green geometric paper used on the card is envelope paper from Stampin' Up in Emerald Green. I also used Emerald Green for the character.
10. Greeting is from a retired Stampin' Up set called "Itty Bitty Banners."

Owl Girl/Owlette Super Hero:
1.  For this one I did NOT cut out a paper doll body. I cut the Supergirl costume at 4 inches, p. 57.
2,  Cut owl on p. 25 of Create a Critter cartridge at 2-1/2 inches. Trim to form more pointed ears and round the bottom to form the head.
3.  Add a 1-3/8 inch circle, cut in half, to form the face. Add a 1/4 inch punched out circle for the nose.
4.  Add a 1-3/8" circle in the same pink color behind head/ears to form rest of head.
5.  Cut mask and emblem, p. 56. Cut mask a second time in white.
6.  Punch out a flower in a coordinating pink color of a different shade (I used Rose Red for the body and Melon Mambo for the wings) to form the wings. Cut in half, trim as needed, and attach to back of body and behind arms.
7.  Attach mask to face, Insert white cut-outs from white mask to make eyes. Use one of the cut-out pieces from the pink eye mask, cut in half, to form the eyeballs. Use a black marker to make the pupils.
8.  Punch out a small white heart to attach to the emblem on her chest.
9.  Fold legs back to resemble a flying motion.
10. Cut buildings on p. 56 at 2-1/2 inches and trim to fit card front. Attach white pieces behind windows if desired.
11. The heart paper is Pop of Pink DSP by Stampin' Up.
12. Greeting is from the Hello stamp set, a retired SAB set from Stampin' Up.
13. I added a piece of the same pink color (Melon Mambo) to the bottom of the card below the buildings and the greeting, and attached small pink punched out hearts to the upper righthand corner.

Well, there you have it. I realize this is a long post, but I hope I have enough detail for you to make your own super hero characters. There was a lot of trial and error involved, so if I can save you some of the error, that is a good thing!

Have a good week. I will be back next week with a new fall card for you!