Fall Series - Card #3 - Wreath of Leaves

This card was fun to make, a little time consuming, but definitely not hard. I made a cardstock ring as a base to glue my leaves onto (pictures below) and then just started layering them on until I had the wreath full. I used the “Small Stitched Leaves” from Lawn Fawn (love these dies! - link below) using various scraps of fall colored cardstock. If you form the wreath using the ring as a backing, you then have a separate wreath you can add to the card and pop it up using dimensionals, which gives it a more 3-D effect. The bow is tied with a double strand of linen thread.

I used the new “Into the Woods” DSP from Stampin’ Up, sponged it with Mossy Meadow ink, and then layered it onto Old Olive and Mossy Meadow cardstock for a finished 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inch card. Layers were each cut ¼ inch smaller – Old Olive at 4 x 5-1/4 and DSP 3-3/4 x 5. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched with the Word Window Punch, sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink, and then layered on a Small Oval Punch and then onto a Scalloped Oval Punch in the same Old Olive and Mossy Meadow colors. I really like these two colors together! Supply list follows along with pictures of how to make the ring base for the wreath.

Pictures of how to punch ring base for wreath:

Punch a 2 inch circle

Around that hole punch again with the 2-1/2 inch circle punch

You are left with a ring for the base of the wreath. 

Supply List:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

The "Small Stitched Leaves" dies are from Lawn Fawn.

I hope you enjoy making this card for fall! I have a lot of birthdays this fall, so this may turn into a birthday card instead of a Thanksgiving card, but either way I think it will work! Thanks for stopping by! 

Holiday Catalog - Handmade for the Holidays

If you haven't received a copy of the Holiday Catalog and would like a PDF, here is a link to download one from my Stampin' Up store! If you have any questions about anything, please just let me know! Enjoy browsing! Download PDF of Holiday Catalog here.

Fall Series - Card #2 - Non-traditional Fall Colors

I was looking through a fall issue of a home magazine the other day and they featured a turquoise painted pumpkin. I absolutely loved it so had to recreate it in card form! Here is my version. I used Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Basic Black and Very Vanilla Cardstock from Stampin’ Up, along with the same colors of inks. I added some die cut  leaves from Lawn Fawn and a greeting from Endless Thanks (Stampin’ Up). Card is embossed with a leaf pattern folder by the Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby). Who says fall cards have to be “traditional” fall colors!

Supply List:

Bermuda Bay Cardstock – Stampin’ Up

Calypso Coral Cardstock – Stampin’ Up

Momento Tuxedo Black Ink

Bermuda Bay marker

Calypso Coral marker

Oval punches – scallop oval and large oval

Paper Studio embossing folder

Pumpkins stamped using Fall Whimsy (2006) – one of my favorite stamp sets!

Leaves cut using Lawn Fawn “Small Stitched Leaves” dies

Fall Series - Card #1 - Pumpkin

Today I'm starting my Fall Series of cards. Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year so I couldn't wait to get started on some fall cards! Here is the first card in the series. This isn't a new concept, but if you haven't seen it done before, here are a few photos and instructions:

Start with a 5 x 10 inch piece of cardstock and fold in half to leave a 5 x 5 inch card. Burnish the crease well with a bone folder. Place a 4-1/2 inch size round die on top of the card, leaving the top part exposed as in the photo. Run it through your Big Shot or Cuttlebug. You will be left with a round card that opens from the top. Next I ran the part of the card that will be the front through the Cuttlebug or Big Shot using any leaf or fall themed embossing folder. (Mine was a Sissix but I have had it for awhile and don't know the name.) Cut an approximate 1/4 inch slit in the top fold of the card large enough to insert a piece of burlap or other ribbon through the slot to form the stem of the pumpkin and glue down.

On the inside of card I added two smaller circles in a lighter colored cardstock. The one on the bottom is for your greeting, and I found that adding one to the top helps stabilize the card so it will stand properly for display purposes.

On the front of the card, I just added some punched out and inked leaves and a small acorn cut from my Cricut (Create a Critter, p.32). (Leaf punch is a Recollections punch from Michael's). Add a button and linen thread to the bottom of the stem and stamp and attach a greeting of your choice! Hope you give it a try! Thanks for stopping by again this week!

Additional Notes: I also have been using some Lawn Fawn dies called "Small Stitched Leaves" that is a great set and has a small leaf very similar to the one I used on this card. I will be featuring these leaves on my next two cards in the series. Click here for website. Also, Stampin' Up has a very cute acorn punch in the new Holiday Catalog. I cut the acorn on my Cricut at 2 inches and the top at 1-1/4 inches and ended up with about a 1-1/2 inch acorn.

UPDATE: The embossing folder I used is called "Christmas Elegance" by Rachael Bright (Sissix). Here is the link at Amazon. It comes in a 2-pack. I have used the other folder on pumpkins too. They are definitely not just Christmas folders!

Coffee Cup Card

Coffee Cup Card Using "Thanks a Latte"

I LOVE my morning coffee and I love coffee decor for my kitchen. It only seemed natural then that I make a coffee themed card! I used the coffee/teacup stamp from the July "Thanks a Latte" Paper Pumpkin Kit. The card measures 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 in Early Espresso from Stampin' Up. It is layered with white and then a layer of Early Espresso DSP. The cup is stamped in Early Espresso. I colored in the handle and then stamped another cup on the designer paper (not Stampin' Up, just a scrap I had), and I cut it out and then pieced the cup portion on top of the stamped image. I added some small brown flowers and tiny rhinestones.

The center piece is layered in Early Espresso, white and then a turquoise blue DSP (Colorbok Photo Mats stack purchased from Walmart). I rounded the corners with a corner punch and then wrapped the entire piece with linen thread before adhering to the card base. I also added a larger punched flower and rhinestone to the left side. The birthday greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is layered using the Word Window Punch and the retired Modern Label Punch. Now, go have a cup of coffee!! I am!

Flower Medallion Punch to Make Poinsettias

I used the flower medallion punch from Stampin' Up to make these "poinsettias" on my first Christmas cards of the season. I had to try some prototypes early. I always change my mind on what I want to make by the time the season actually gets here, but wanted to try this idea of using the flower medallion punch. The flower on the left was stamped in Real Red on white cardstock, punched, and layered on a stamped  Garden Green and punched flower for the leaves. I clustered some small yellow flowers in the center. The flower on the right was stamped and punched in layers on Real Red cardstock with green as the bottom layer for the leaves. I used gold glitter paper to punch a small circle for the center.

Cardstock is Garden Green and Real Red with Real Red DSP from the Brights Collection for the card on the left and Real Red and Old Olive DSP for the card on the right. Left card has ribbon as the accent and card on the right has an embossed strip of white cardstock. Greetings are both from SU - Endless Wishes (2014) and Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Give it a try and see which version you like better. I love this diagonal striped DSP! I think it gives the cards a modern look, but still using traditional green and red colors. Both cards are standard 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches, with layers each cut 1/4 inch smaller.

Paper Pumpkin Stamp Storage

Paper Pumpkin Stamp Storage

I have been in a quandary for a long time about how to store my Paper Pumpkin stamps. I didn't like the boxes all stacked up and would lose track of them. Out of mind, out of sight kind of thing. I also tried the clear stamp cases, but when you only have a few stamps in each set, it's kind of a waste of space, and I didn't like combining the stamps from different kits into one plastic case. I recently saw a video where Jennifer McGuire put her clear stamps in cellophane sleeves, added white cardstock inserts, and then labeled the stamp sets. I decided to adapt this idea to my Perpetual Calendar Box in an earlier post. This is the result. I made the box the same way, just increased the depth to 2-1/2 inches to accommodate more stamp sets. (You could make the box a little narrower but I just left it the same as the Perpetual Calendar box.)
BOX DIMENSIONS FOR THIS BOX:
2 PIECES OF CARDSTOCK - ONE IS 11 X 7 INCHES AND ONE IS 7 X 6 INCHES.
ON THE 11 X 7 PIECE, SCORE ON 11 INCH SIDE AT 1/2, 3, 8 AND 10-1/2 INCHES
ON THE 7 X 6 PIECE, SCORE ON 7 INCH SIDE AT 1/2 AND 3 INCHES, TURN 90 DEGREES AND SCORE ON 6 INCH SIDE AT 1/2 AND 5-1/2 INCHES.
REST OF CONSTRUCTION OF BOX IS THE SAME AS PERPETUAL CALENDAR BOX IN POST BELOW.

Right now I have enough room in the box that I can add a few cards leftover from the kits. I used 4x6 cellophane bags and all the stamps fit in this size. although one was kind of a tight fit. So far I'm finding this is a great way to grab a stamp set and make a really quick card! It fits on my workbench and they are not out of sight. I took some of the Paper Pumpkin advertising from the kits and decorated my box with them. The colors I used were Tempting Turquoise and Calypso Coral.

If you've been wondering how to store your Paper Pumpkin stamps, maybe this would work for you too!

Minion Birthday Cards

While “Minion” cards are certainly not new, I have been seeing some on Pinterest and wanted to make a few of my own. They are so much fun to make and turn out really cute. I just love their little faces! I’ve included a picture of the products and punches I used to create my Minions, along with directions below. The sentiment is from Endless Birthday Wishes #140273. The written instructions are for the one-eyed Minion.  My Minion with the goggles (two-eyes) was my first one and I thought was a little “chubby” so I changed the dimensions for the one-eyed Minion.  Have fun creating your own Minions! Idea - I made a sentiment on my computer for the inside of card that said: "Hope your day is just like you - "one in a minion!"

Instructions:

Card base is 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches

Basic Black layer is 4 x 5-1/4 inches

Daffodil Delight layer is 3-3/4 x 5 inches

Blue layer (Paper Studio) is 3-1/2 x 4-3/4 inches (embossed with SU Decorate Dots embossing folder)

Punches:

2 inch circle punch

1 inch circle punch

½ inch circle punch

¼ inch circle punch

7/8 inch scallop punch

Word Window punch

Minion Pieces:

·        1-7/8 x 2-1/2 inch yellow piece – Stick each end into your 2-inch circle punch from the inside and cut rounded ends.

·        1-1/2 x 1-1/4 inch blue piece for overalls, plus two ¼ inch wide strips for straps (cut longer than needed, attach to front bib of overalls, and fold extra around to back),  ½ inch square for pocket. Add faux stitching on overalls with a white gel pen. I added a tiny 4-petal flower to overalls pocket. After blue piece is attached to yellow minion, trim to match the bottom of yellow piece.

·        2-1/2 x 5/8 inch strip for goggles strap (fold extra around to back)

·        Eyes: 1 inch circle in gray, ½ inch circle in white, ¼ inch circle in black.

·        Arms and feet:  Arms are created with the word window punch. I created the hands and feet by cutting out of scallops punched with the 7/8 scallop punch.

·        Add small thin black strips for hair. 

Envelope Card or Mini-Album

This fun project is made from a 6 x 9 inch clasp envelope! You just fold it in half, cut off the closed end, and decorate with pieces of coordinating patterned paper. It's a great way to use up scraps! The possibilities are endless. You could add gift cards, photos, note cards, or use it as a receipt holder in your purse! I got the idea from "roxyfur" on You Tube (Dollar Tree Envelope to Adorable Card Holder). Mine, however, is a little bit different. 

Here are the written instructions for my version:

Envelope Card

Supplies Needed:

1 6 x 9 inch Kraft clasp-close envelope

4 pieces designer paper cut 4-3/8 x 6 inches (for panels)

2 pieces designer paper cut 2 x 5-7/8ths inches (for inside pockets)

1 piece of designer paper cut at 1-1/2 x 6 inches (for outside flap)

1 piece designer paper cut at 1-3/8 x 6 inches (for inside flap)

1 piece of designer paper cut at 2-1/2 x 6 inches (for inside pocket)

Various width 6 inch strips (for decoration)

Instructions:

1.    Cut 1/8^th inch off the closed end of the clasp envelope.

2.    Fold down the flap on top but do not close shut.

3.    Fold envelope in half making a 4-1/2 x 6 inch “wallet.”

4.    Attach the 4 panel pieces to the inside and outside of wallet. This is a good way to use coordinating papers, mix and match.  Tip: When attaching the inside top piece be sure you don’t glue it too close to the top and glue the opening shut. There is a slight taper of the envelope here, but rather than cut the paper to fit, just don’t glue it too close to the top.

5.    Using a 1-1/4 circle punch or similar cut a half circle in the tops of both inside pockets. (This will make it easier to access the pockets.)
6.    Attach the 2 inch x 5-7/8^th inch strips to the inside of each pocket. (If you don’t mind the kraft envelope showing you can skip this step.)

7.    Attach the 2-1/2 x 6 inch piece of paper to the inside right pocket in the center, making sure to only adhere the edges. This will make an additional small pocket on the inside of the wallet.

8.    Attach the flap pieces to the flap of the envelope on each side. Rather than cutting the strips to match the taper of the flap, just glue each side on and then use a corner rounder to round the corners. Punch a hole in the center of the flap, adding hole reinforcers if desired, and string ribbon through the hole to tie the wallet closed. (Alternatively you could use Velcro or magnets.)

9.    Decorate the outside of your envelope/wallet anyway you desire. Add coordinating strips of cardstock, stamped images, etc. 

More Pictures:

Perpetual Birthday Calendar and Box

NOTE: The stamp set referred to in this post has been retired by Stampin' Up and is no longer available. You may be able to still find it on Ebay. However, I updated this post with a new perpetual calendar and storage box with preprinted monthly pages that you can decorate any way you wish. This is the link to the new post: Updated Perpetual Calendar                                          

Stampin' Up sells a great Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set and kit. However, I thought this box would work better in my situation. I created the box and used the Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set on p. 12 of the 2015-2016 Catalog (#137167) to stamp and decorate each month’s insert. I added 1 inch punched out circles to the top of each sheet as dividers so I can add a card or two behind each month’s insert. All I have left to do is add the names and birthdays! Instructions for the box are below. I also have a PDF available for the calendar inserts that you can just print, cut and stamp.

The stamps are also great for backgrounds on cards and scrapbook pages! It is one of my favorite sets! Here are links to the stamp set and the Stampin' Up Perpetual Calendar Kit:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Box Instructions: (Finished Box is 5x7 inches, 1-1/2 inches deep)
You need to cut two pieces to make the box to hold the perpetual birthday calendar sheets.
1. One piece 9 x 7 inches.
2. One piece 6 x 6.5 inches.
Scoring and Assembly (See photos that follow):
1. On the 9 x 7 inch piece, with the 9 inch side across the top of your scoreboard, score at 0.5, 2, 7 and 8.5 inches. Cut diagonal pieces off each side of the top. I put the ruler on 0 for the right middle score line and placed the ruler at 3 inches on the second score line in a downward direction, marked and cut. Use the cut-off piece to guide your cutting the diagonal piece off the other side so they will match.
2. On the 6 x 6.5 inch piece, with the 6.5 inch side at the top, score at 0.5 and 2 inches. With the 6 inch piece across the top and the score lines on top, score at 0.5 and 5.5 inches. Cut out the pieces as shown in the diagram, leaving a sort of T-shape.
3. With the half inch score line at the top of the second piece, attach it to the first piece, lining up the score lines. This makes one long piece. Then fold in the side tabs of the second piece and attach to the first piece to form the sides of the box.
4. Bring up the front section and attach it to the long side tabs, forming your completed box. I used Tombow mono-multi to give me some wiggle room, but you can use sticky strip or other double-sided tape of your choice.
5. Cut DSP to fit the front and sides of box and add ribbon or other decoration to your box.

Piece #1 - 9 x 7 inches. Cut top corners as shown. 

Piece #2 - 6 x 6-1/2 inches - Cut pieces off at score lines as shown. 

Attach the two pieces together

Fold on score lines to form box. 

Bring up front and attach as shown

Card Inserts: (finished size 4-1/2 x 7 inches)
Print numbered sheets with lines on your computer, then cut to size and stamp. I have a PDF available at my Etsy Shop. See link to my shop on the right.

Whether you go with the kit from Stampin' Up or my version, I think you'll find a perpetual birthday calendar is a great thing to have! You don't have to remember to transfer birthdays from one year's calendar to the next. You always have the dates when you need them and it's easy to add new ones! Enjoy creating and thanks for visiting!

Denim "Jeans" Card

I have another idea for a guy’s card. I recently watched a video by Melanie Muenchinger on how to do a denim technique. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=quick+denim+technique+direct+to+paper&FORM=VIRE2#view=detail&mid=98DBD9BB081C4DD89D8798DBD9BB081C4DD89D87. I thought I would take it a step further and make a card that actually looked like a pair of jeans! I did find, however, that the newer Stampin’ Up ink pads don’t work. You need the older type pads. All you do is take any blue ink pad and drag it down across some white cardstock until you get the shade you want. I used Pacific Point. I layered the pieces so I would have functional pockets to put the money in.

Here are the instructions:

I would recommend doing the denim technique on a full sheet of white cardstock and then cutting the pieces as shown in the photo. I left it white to show the dimensions. You will need the following pieces for the “jeans:”

4 x 5-1/4” piece for layer 1

4 x 4-1/2” piece for layer 2

4 x ½” for waistband

3-1/2 x ½” for zipper flap

¾” x ½” for tab to attach button to (I actually had a jeans snap in my button bin so I used that.)

For the pockets, use a 2-inch circle punch and cut a small semi-circle piece from each side of the 4 x 4-1/2 inch piece (layer 2).

After the pieces are all cut, make faux stitch marks on all the pieces.

Attach the waistband with dimensionals to the top of layer 1.

Attach layer 2 with the pockets to layer 1 with dimensionals, making sure you don’t obstruct the pockets so you can insert the cash.

Attach the zipper flap without dimensionals to layer 2.

Attach the small tab to the waistband without dimensionals and attach your button.

Attach small silver punched circles to the edges of the pockets to resemble grommets or use small silver brads.

I then attached the finished “Jeans” to a piece of black cardstock cut at 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 and then attached that to the actual card. (Cut white cardstock at 5-3/4 x 9 and score at 4-1/2). Finished card size is 4-1/2 x 5-3/4 inches. If you don’t want to layer the jeans, you can attach it directly to your card and have a card that is an actual A2 size or 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches.

Stamp and attach the greeting of your choice, fold the cash and insert in pockets. Done!

Note: I think this would also make a cute gal’s card by using rhinestones, etc. and bling up the jeans!

"Cool" Summer Cards

Here are a couple cards I made with a summer theme. The popsicle card was actually “cased” from a shirt my granddaughter was wearing the other day. It was so darn cute I had to try to recreate it. I hand cut the popsicle. The popsicle stick is from the word window punch, and the remaining face pieces are either punched or cut from various Cricut cartridges. Unfortunately the background paper is retired, but you could use any cute ice cream themed paper.  It was a really fun card to make. I can’t wait to see if she likes it!

The second watermelon card is certainly not original. I have seen watermelon cards all over Pinterest, but I had to make one for myself. Everything used to make this card is current product from Stampin’ Up. I used watermelon wonder, cool cucumber and daffodil delight colors. The watermelon is super easy, just punch some circles, cut them in half, and layer together. The “seeds” are hearts cut in half and reshaped a little bit. The sentiment  is part of a stamp from the “You’re So Sweet” stamp set from Stampin’ Up! (p. 57 of the new catalog)

Hope you are having a fun summer! Enjoy!

June Paper Pumpkin Kit

June's Paper Pumpkin Kit had two different cards you could make. In the first picture, the card on the left is made according to the instructions. The card on the right is a card I made using the supplies included, plus some scraps of Bermuda Bay DSP from the Brights DSP stack. The bottom card is a version of the second card from the kit. Sometimes just seeing what's in the kit inspires you to create something else. If not, you can always make it like the instructions show you and you end up with some very cute projects. The kit this month makes 8 cards of 2 different designs along with 8 envelopes and liners. EVERYTHING is included, stamps, cardstock, embellishments, ink spot(s) and most of the time even adhesive! When you order your first kit they even include a clear stamp block!

There are many ways to try Paper Pumpkin. You can purchase a one month subscription for $19.95, 3 months, 6 months or a year. You can cancel at any time or skip a month by notifying them by the 10th of the month before the kits are sent out. It's a simple click of a button on the website, no questions asked! If you would like to give Paper Pumpkin kits a try, the links are below. I think you'll be impressed by the quality of the kits. You always have leftovers to use for other projects and who doesn't like a pleasant surprise in the mail every month?! It's almost time for the July kits to be mailed out. I'm excited!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Happy 4th!

Very simple to make 4th of July card! It's a basic 4 x 5-1/2 card using Whisper White Cardstock, layered with the Real Red diagonal stripe DSP from the new Brights Collection Designer Series Paper Stack. I used Night of Navy for the corner piece cut at 2 x 2-1/2 and added punched out stars in whisper white. I used the scrap strip from punching out the stars to make the banner and inlaid Real Red cardstock stars on top. The "Happy" is from the Crazy About You stamp set and I cut the "TH" from the Birthday stamp. I used an old retired number 4 stamp. You can use whatever you have on hand. I stamped a tiny red star and cut the entire sentiment out with the new 1-1/2 inch circle punch and added a Night of Navy circle behind it cut with the 1-3/4-inch circle punch. HAPPY 4TH of JULY!!