Hot Air Balloon Square Step Panel Birthday Card

It was Owen's birthday on Sunday and for his card I took the opportunity of trying another version of  a step panel card.  After recently making an A6 sized step panel card I wanted to make a larger, square version - this card measures 5 1/2" square.

To make this sized card, cut CS to 10 1/4" x 5 1/2" and score at 5 1/2", 6 5/8", 8 5/8" and 9 3/4".  For the front panel cut CS to 5 5/8" x 4" and score at 4" and 5 1/8".

This style of card is perfect for showcasing patterned papers.  I love the different papers in the SU! 'Carried Away' DSP pack which match the 'Lift Me Up' stamp set and 'Up and Away' Thinlits dies so I knew exactly what I wanted to use for Owen's card!   I used the Dapper Denim ombre paper from the 'Color Theory' DSP stack to die cut the solid portions of the hot air balloon.  I cut the detailed balloon twice, once in Whisper White CS and again in Night of Navy CS and glued the navy shape on top of the white shape just slightly offset for a bit of dimension.  I embellished the balloon with small silver metal domed dots.  I mounted the balloon on an action wobble spring which adds a fun touch to the card.  To complete the card front I stamped and punched the sentiment circle and popped it up.

Here's another view from a different angle.  This card didn't want to stand up as well as the A6 sized card so I made a sleeve using Night of Navy CS and I slid that inside the 'box' at the bottom of the card which helped.

A message panel was adhered on the back of the card.

I made an envelope using the envelope punch board and a different design of 'Carried Away' DSP.  I popped up a name label to finish.  I'm very pleased to say that Owen loved the card!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Best Yet' set, Clearly Besotted 'Happy Birthday' set
CS: SU! Night of Navy , Watermelon Wonder & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Carried Away' DSP
Ink: SU! Night of Navy & Watermelon Wonder
Tools: SU! 'Up and Away' Thinlits & 'Stitched Shapes' Framelits die sets, envelope punch board, Sizzix 'Card, Fancy Frame Flip-Its #2' Framelits die set 
Embellishments & accessories: small silver metal domed dots, SU! Dimensionals
Ruth

July 2017 Card Group Projects

Last Thursday we got together for our July card group meeting and we all had a great afternoon despite feeling like we were melting in the sultry heat!  I made three cards for the ladies to make - I even included a card this month that would be a good masculine card - but, unsuprisingly, butterflies and flowers feature on the other two cards!

I thought the ladies would enjoy making something similar to this card I made previously.  I've tweaked the design slightly but kept to the same colour scheme.  I applied Broken China and Peeled Paint Distress Inks to Whisper White thick CS using ink duster brushes.  I stamped the water drops image twice and added a highlight of watered down white acrylic paint to each water drop using a very fine paintbrush.  I applied the same Distress Ink colours to a piece of SU! Shimmery White CS and then cut a solid butterfly shape - I love the subtle shimmer! - and a black fancy outline butterfly shape using dies from the SU! 'Move Me' Thinlits die set.  I love the shape of this butterfly, it's so pretty!  I popped up the sentiment oval and added a faceted gem to the butterfly to finish the front.

Some simple stamping decorates the inside of the card and the envelope.

For card two I used the fab new SU! 'Pinewood Planks' Dynamic embossing folder to create a wooden background panel.  I embossed a piece of Crumb Cake CS, lightly brayered Soft Suede ink over the top, edged the panel with Soft Suede ink using a sponge dauber and layered the panel onto a mat of Early Espresso CS.  I glued the entire layer to the front of my Very Vanilla A6 sized card base - made using the new Very Vanilla thick CS, I love that we have Vanilla as well as Whisper White thick CS now!  I stamped the oak tree in Soft Suede ink, used a blender pen to colour the trunk by just drawing the colour in from the stamped image.  I applied Old Olive ink, dabbing gently with a sponge dauber, to colour the tree canopy and the ground.  I glued the flagged sentiment banner in place before adhering my matted and layered tree panel.  I've used a square Stitched Shapes Framelits die as well as two plain square dies from the Layering Squares Framelits die set - they work so well together!  

Here's the inside and the envelope.  I stamped the oak leaves in Old Olive ink and the sentiment in Early Espresso ink.

Card three was CASEd from a step panel card design I came across on Pinterest.  The card is made using two pieces of CS that are adhered together and the card folds flat to go inside an envelope.  Jenny very kindly shared the  measurements for the card that fits inside a C6 envelope on her blog post so I used those measurements to create my version of a step panel card.  A fancy fold card that's easy to make and folds flat to go inside a normal sized envelope - gotta love that!  I made my card with SU! Fresh Fig CS and used the SU! 'Oh So Eclectic' stamp set and matching 'Naturally Eclectic' DSP.  I stamped the leaves in full strength Lemon Lime Twist ink, used stamped off once Peekaboo Peach ink for the solid flowers and full strength Night of Navy ink for the detailed flowers.  I coloured the centres of the flowers with Peekaboo Peach ink applied with a blender pen and popped them up.

Here's an angled side on view.

Here's a straight side on view.

Here's the back panel of the card and the envelope.

Supplies for butterfly card:
Stamps: Inkylicious 'Water/Rain Drops' set, SU! 'Flourishing Phrases' set, Inkadinkado 'Nostalgia' set
CS: SU! Basic Black & Whisper White thick, SU! Shimmery White
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Broken China & Peeled Paint Distress Inks
Tools:Go Kreate 'Frame Pointy #1' die set, SU! 'Move Me' Thinlits die set, Petite Oval Nestabilities dies, Inkylicious ink duster brushes
Embellishments & accessories: SU! clear faceted gem, watered down white acrylic paint

Supplies for tree card:
Stamps: SU! 'Lovely as a Tree' & 'Wetlands' sets, Hero Arts sentiment set
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Old Olive & Very Vanilla thick
Ink: SU! Early Espresso, Old Olive & Soft Suede
Tools: SU! 'Pinewood Planks' dynamic embossing folder, 'Layering Squares' & 'Stitched Shapes' Framelits die sets,  MFT 'Fishtail Flags' Stax die, brayer, sponge daubers
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals

Supplies for floral step panel card:
Stamps: SU! 'Oh So Eclectic' & 'Blooms & Wishes' sets
CS: SU! Fresh Fig & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Naturally Eclectic' DSP
Ink: SU! Lemon Lime Twist, Night of Navy & Peekaboo Peach
Tools: SU! 'Eclectic Layers' Thinlits die set, 'Simply Scored', blender pen
Embellishments & accessories: SU! rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Tea Bag Sachet Gift Box - Holds 4 Tea Bag Sachets

A couple of months ago one of my card group ladies, Margaret, brought along to group a tea bag gift box she'd purchased and she wondered if we could make one at card group.  I asked to borrow it and said I'd have a go at making one myself first.  I didn't have time to have a go before last month's card group meeting and I didn't want to leave it for another month so I made sure I made a box before our July meeting!  I took it along and the ladies loved it so we'll be making one at next month's card group meeting.

Here are a few photos of the box Margaret bought.

Pieces of concertina folded acetate hold the tea bag sachets in place.

The back of the box.

The box is held closed by self adhesive hook and loop dots.

Here's a side view of the open box.  There are 4 Twinings fruit infusions tea bag sachets inside.

I measured the box and score lines, jotted the details down and got creating.  The box is made using one sheet of A4 (or US Letter size) CS and is very easy to make.  A few cuts, a few scores, adhering pieces together and this neat little package is all done!  I prefer to work in inches as I can see the imperial increments better than I can see metric millimeters!  However, I wanted to include measurements for a metric version of the box here on my blog as well.  So choose whichever you prefer from the two sets of measurements below.     

MEASUREMENTS IMPERIAL:

1. Cut CS to 10 1/2" x 3 1/4" (for the box) and score this piece at 3 1/2", 4 1/2", 8" & 9".
2. Cut 2 pieces of CS to 7" x 2 1/2" (for the concertina sides) and score these pieces at 1/2", 1 1/4" 2", 2 3/4", 3 1/2" 4 1/4", 5", 5 3/4" & 6 1/2".

MEASUREMENTS METRIC:

1. Cut CS to 27 x 8.3 cms (for the box) and score this piece at 9, 11.5, 20.5 & 22.5 cms.
2. Cut 2 pieces of CS to 19 x 6 cms (for the concertina sides) and score these pieces at 1.5, 3.5, 5.5, 7.5, 9.5, 11.5, 13.5, 15.5 & 17.5 cms.

ONCE YOU'VE CUT & SCORED, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW:

1. Cut patterned paper panels/stamped panels to fit the front, back, top and front flap sections of the box and adhere in place.
2. Tie ribbon round the front of the box if desired.  
3. Concertina fold the two side pieces and adhere these to the box.  I found it easier to do one side at a time.  I applied strong adhesive tape to the back tab of one piece and adhered that, then I applied tape to the back tab of the other side and adhered that.  Then I applied tape to both of the front tabs and carefully lined up the top of the front panel of the box with the score line at the top of the back of the box before pressing down to adhere.
4. Embellish the front flap as desired and apply self adhesive hook and loop (Velcro) dots to keep the box closed.  Magnets would work too.  

I started off by choosing some pretty floral paper from the SU! 'Delightful Daisy' DSP pack and I chose my Calypso Coral, Night of Navy and Pool Party colour combo from the DSP.  I made the box and concertina sides from Calypso Coral CS.

Margaret's purchased box had acetate concertina sides but I find CS much easier to score than acetate so I stuck with CS for the concertina side pieces.

Pieces of the pretty floral paper decorate the back and top of the box as well as the front of the box.

The self adhesive hook and loop dots came from Wilko and they hold the box closed beautifully.

Here's the box filled, ready to be closed and presented.  I'm chuffed how this project turned out and now I know the boxes are easy to make I'll be making more for sure!   

Here are the tea bag sachets that are inside.  They are from a box of 20 Twinings Fruits Selection - currently available from Tesco at half price!  

I'm attending a Slimming World group and each week I take something along to go in the Slimmer of the Week basket.  I made another box using different patterned papers and colours and placed the same selection of fruit flavoured tea bags inside.  So this box is what I popped into the basket this week.  

I placed an online order at Twinings for a box of their Classics Selection 'cos I know not everyone enjoys fruit teas and some people would prefer to receive proper 'normal' tea!  I quite like different teas and because I'm following Slimming World I've tried more varieties recently.  A current fave is the Cherry Bakewell green tea.  When I visited the Twinings website I was tickled to discover their Pick and Mix option where you can buy individual tea bags - what a great way to try something new without having to buy a whole box of a flavour you might not enjoy!  I chose a few different individual flavour tea bags (including Nutty Chocolate flavour Assam) and my Twinings package arrived today so I'm looking forward to tasting the different teas!  

Supplies for the coral box:
Stamps: SU! 'Label Me Pretty' & 'Birthday Blooms' sets
CS: SU! Calypso Coral & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Delightful Daisy' DSP
Ink: SU! Calypso Coral & Night of Navy
Tools: SU! Simply Scored, SU! 'Pretty Label' punch
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Pool Party ruched ribbon, SU! Dimensionals, gold sequins, self adhesive hook and loop dots

Supplies for the plum box:
Stamps: SU! 'Label Me Pretty' & 'Birthday Blooms' sets
CS: SU! Sweet Sugarplum & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Succulent Garden' DSP
Ink: SU! Sweet Sugarplum & Sahara Sand
Tools: SU! Simply Scored, SU! 'Pretty Label' & 'Bitty Butterfly' punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Mint Macaron ribbon, rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Fluttering Butterfly Thanks Card

The SU! 'You Move Me' bundle became a 'must have' item for me after I saw it used during an OnStage presentation video.  It's so unusual, such a clever design and just fascinating to see the wings of the butterfly and hummingbird flutter!  SU! have a 'You Move Me' Bundle video on YouTube if you'd like to check that out.  The first project that Brandy shows in the video also uses the 'Mini Treat Bag' Thinlits die set and I loved how that made a great pocket for the card to slip into, so, of course, I had to add that to my order too!

My box of new SU! goodies arrived just as I was heading out the door to go to a meeting at work.  As soon as I returned home I unpacked the box, sorted out my customer orders and then hotfooted it to my craft room to play with the 'You Move Me' bundle and the 'Mini Treat Bag' dies.  I knew I wanted to make a thank you card using some of the new In Colors and this is what I came up with.

Here is the card and the Mini Treat Bag 'pocket'.  I die cut a partial circle from the pocket and added a pull tab circle element to the card so that the card would be easy for the recipient to pull out.

Here's a closer look at the pull tab - how sweet is that stamped and die cut butterfly?!

This is the back of the card where I chose to write my message.

What a fab, fun project - and I'm happy to say it was well received!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'You Move Me'  set
CS: SU! Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist, & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Fresh Florals' DSP
Ink: SU! Tranquil Tide
Tools: SU! 'Move Me' & 'Mini Treat Bag' Thinlits dies, Nestabilities circle die, circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Berry Burst Finely Woven Ribbon, rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Marbled Background & Floral Sprig Happy Birthday Card - #mixitupmonday

Helen has chosen a fab colour combo for this week's Mix It Up Monday challenge.  I do love brights and black together!

When I went to my craft room to create a card I knew I'd have to use my new SU! 'Marbled' background stamp as I've been wanting to ink it up for a while.  So this card started with the Tempting Turquoise tone on tone panel and the design progressed from there.  I made a 5 3/4" square card base using Whisper White thick CS.  I've used the SU! 'Number of Years' set for the main image panel - I love the pretty floral images!  I popped up the stamped and die cut 'Birthday' banner.  I used the smallest 'Layering Squares' die to cut two squares, one from Berry Burst CS and one from Lemon Lime Twist CS, I cut the two squares in half and adhered the triangle shapes to the image panel.  To finish the front I sprinkled on a few rhinestone jewels.

More pretty floral stamping decorates the inside of the card and the envelope flap.  Creating this card allowed me some lovely, much needed, crafty 'me time' which I enjoyed immensely!  

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Marbled' background stamp, SU! 'Number of Years' & 'Birthday Blossoms' sets
CS: SU! Tempting Turquoise, Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist, Basic Black & Whisper White (regular & thick)
Ink: SU! Tempting Turquoise, Berry Burst & Lemon Lime Twist, VersaFine Onyx Black
Tools: SU! 'Large Number' & 'Layering Squares'  Framelits die sets
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Berry Burst Finely Woven Ribbon, Rhinestone Jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Floral Congrats Card

Here is a card I made for someone who has just been promoted - and the someone loves pink so I took the opportunity to use the new 'Powder Pink' In Color!  I paired the Powder Pink with Night of Navy for a strong contrast.  I was very happy to get to use the gorgeous 'Congrats' sentiment from the SU! 'Double Take' set, I love the shadow effect!  I shaped the flowers and popped them up.  I added three teeny tiny Night of Navy punched butterflies and sprinkled on some rhinestone jewels to complete the card front.

Here's the inside of the card.

I made an envelope with some Powder Pink paper from the 'Fresh Florals' DSP stack and popped up a die cut name label.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Flower Shop', 'Petite Petals' & 'Double Take' sets, magazine freebie 'Sincere Sentiments' set
CS: SU! Powder Pink, Night of Navy & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Fresh Florals' DSP stack
Ink: SU! Powder Pink & Night of Navy
Tools: SU! 'Pansy' & 'Petite Petals' punches, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Envelope Punch Board, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Memory Box 'Bistro Label' & 'Chadwick Label' dies
Embellishments & accessories: SU! rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals
Ruth

Upsy Daisy For You Card

The new SU! daisy products I got recently reminded me that I had an old, long retired SU! stamp set called 'Upsy Daisy' in my stash.  I got it ages ago from ebay, hadn't used it and I'd made a mental note to get inky with it soon.  I was in desperate need of some crafty therapy after a particularly trying day so I retreated to my craft room and made a nice, easy card using my long neglected daisy stamp.  I used a simple layout, a simple colour combo of Old Olive and Daffodil Delight and just enjoyed creating.

I stamped the row of daisies twice in Old Olive ink - once full strength and then again without re-inking.  I trimmed my white panel to size, added the panel and the patterned paper to a mat layer of Daffodil Delight CS, added the ribbon and glued the whole panel to the front of an A6 sized Old Olive card base.  I stamped the sentiment and added three Daffodil Delight Candy Dots to finish the front.

I really love the yellow and green large daisy paper in the 'Delightful Daisy' DSP pack but thought the pattern was too large and overpowering to be used on the card front.  Instead, I opted to use it to decorate the envelope flap and after trimming off the excess triangular pieces of paper I wondered if I could use one of the pieces to decorate the inside of the card.  I had a bit of a play and decided to go for it!  Here's the inside and envelope.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Upsy Daisy' & 'Blooms & Wishes' sets
CS: SU! Old Olive, Daffodil Delight & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Delightful Daisy' DSP
Ink: SU! Old Olive
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Daffodil Delight ribbon, Daffodil Delight Candy Dots
Ruth