Snowy Scene Season's Greetings Stepper Card - 52 {C}CT Aug PAP Challenge

As there is a 5th week in August we are having a Pick a Previous challenge at 52 {C}CT.  Sarah has asked us to pick a previous sketch AND a previous colour combo - great fun! 

 

I chose sketch #2 and combo #1 for my card.

When looking at the sketch I decided I would make a stepper card using the layout.  I started off by making a stepper card which fits into a 6" square envelope.  I cut a 5 3/4" square card base and then cut a separate piece of CS that I cut, scored and glued to the card base to form the stepper card.  Here's a side view of the card so you can see what I mean.

I stamped the image, fussy cut it and applied colourless glitter to the snowy ground.  Once that had dried I popped up the image onto a black die cut label shape and I added red mat pieces just at the top and bottom.  I added the patterned paper layer to the back panel, added the red ribbon strip and added the sentiment strip to the card front.  I coloured the small holly berries on the image with a red marker and placed red gems on the larger berries.  I stacked punched white snowflakes together and completed the front with a sprinkling of more red gems.  

 

Here's a close up of the image panel so you can see the glitter.  I like that there is sparkle but no colour.

I decorated the back of the card, adding red Stickles to the holly berries.

As stepper cards tend to be bulky I've used an expandable envelope.  I'd already prepared the circle element to go onto the envelope flap - after punching out the circle I added the colourless glitter.  When I got the envelope out I saw that the expandable envelopes don't have a diamond flap, they only have a narrow flap.  So I added a strip of patterned paper to the front of the envelope and popped the circle up over that!

I really enjoyed making this card, it was great to choose a sketch and a colour combo to work with.  I love this layout and the black and white with just a splash of red is a wonderful combo.   I hope you'll join us this week at 52 {C}CT for our Pick a Previous challenge and I hope you enjoy the process as much as I did!  

This is going into a separate "special Christmas cards" stash box.   For the last two years, by November I've had a large stash of Christmas cards made up thanks to 52 {C}CT.  However, I still found myself making special cards for family and close friends well into December.  This year I'm determined to have my special cards made in good time too!   

Supplies:
Stamps:  Woodware 'Winter Wonderland' clear stamp, SU! 'Curly Cute' set,  holly from PaperMania Home for Christmas (Baubles) cling Urban Stamps set, Stampendous 'Merry Everything'
CS: IndigoBlu white Perfect Stamping Card, SU! Basic Black, Real Red & Whisper White
Patterned paper:  SU! Night & Day DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Real Red
Tools:  SU! Labels Framelits die, Simply Scored, 1 3/4" & 2" circle punches
Embellishments & accessories:  SU! Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Tim Holtz Clear Rock Candy Stickles Dry Glitter, Christmas Red Stickles, PaperMania red gems, SU! Dimensionals

 

Gold Pearl Embossed Hearts With Love Card

This is the Wedding Anniversary card I've made for my hubby Owen. It's fair to say things did not go smoothly and I made quite a lot of mess LOL!

I knew I wanted to add Perfect Pearls to an embossed CS piece.  I've done this in the past by inking inside the folder with VersaFine ink before embossing and then adding the Perfect Pearls powder.   However, I wondered if it would work if I inked inside the folder with VersaMark ink.  I gave that a try and it wasn't successful, there wasn't enough ink for the powder to stick to.  So I washed and dried my folder and thought while the brayer had VersaMark ink on it already I'd emboss another piece of CS and try brayering over the top of the raised embossing with VersaMark.  When I started brushing the gold Perfect Pearls powder over the top I could see it was a success!  Using VersaMark on your brayer leaves it very sticky - I washed it in warm soapy water and rinsed it off fairly quickly but it was still very sticky afterwards so I washed it again.  I stamped the 'With Love' in VersaMark onto Cherry Cobbler CS, brushed on more Perfect Pearls gold powder and punched out the heart.  After the pearlising I saw I'd ended up with gold pearly powder all over my craft mat and desk so when I'd finished brushing I took everything off my desk and cleaned up.

I made a Cherry Cobbler 5 1/4" card base and cut my pearly embossed panel to size and decided to add some Cherry Cobbler ribbon.  I remembered I had some metal ribbon sliders in my stash so I fished one of those out - hmmm, it was a gunmetally colour, not really suitable to go with my gold pearly look!  So I tried changing the colour of the slider by pressing it into the VersaMark pad and applying gold embossing powder.  Nope, not at all successful, my gold powder seems to have gone very dark and manky and I ended up with a horrible blobby mess.  After I'd thrown the blobby mess in the bin I accidentally turned on my heat tool and blew embossing powder all over my newly cleaned desk - ack!  So everything had to come off the desk again and a second clean up had to take place!

Really, the thing to do was give up and have a relaxing cup of tea!  However, I needed to get the card finished and photographed before Owen came home so I really needed to crack on!  So I carried on and completed the card without further incident - thank goodness!  I just taped the ends of the ribbon behind the embossed panel before gluing it to the card front.  I punched more hearts and accented the red one with a small Champagne Glimmer Paper heart and a row of rhinestone jewels.  Both of the large hearts are popped up. 

Here's the inside and envelope where I kept everything simple by doing just a bit of stamping and punching!   I stamped the 'Happy' onto the white panel, punched out a heart from Cherry Cobbler CS and then cut the CS with a 2 1/2" circle punch.  I layered the heart cut out circle over the 'Happy', stamped the 'Anniversary' and added three small Champagne Glimmer Paper hearts.  More punched hearts went on the envelope flap.  Phew, all done and in good time, now I can get the kettle on!

Supplies:
Stamps:  'With Love' from SU! 'Field Flowers' set, 'Happy' & 'Anniversary' from SU! Memorable Moments set
CS: SU! Cherry Cobbler, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Whisper White, IndigoBlu white Perfect Stamping Card
Ink: VersaMark, SU! Cherry Cobbler
Tools: Cuttlebug 'Acanthus' embossing folder, SU! 'Full Heart', 'Heart to Heart'  & 2 1/2" circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: Perfect Pearls 'Perfect Gold' powder, applicator brushes, SU! Cherry Cobbler scallop edged grosgrain ribbon, SU! Rhinestone Jewels, Dimensionals

 

Vellum Flowers Just For You Card - Inkspirational Aug Sketch Challenge (#35)

It's time for our monthly sketch challenge at Inkspirational and here's the fab layout we'd like you to work with.

 

For my colour scheme I've gone for summery, fondant pastels with a bracing dash of Espresso  to cut through the sweetness!  I stamped three flowers onto vellum, heat embossed with white powder and coloured the flowers from behind using markers.   After punching out the flowers I attached them to the circles with rhinestone brads.  The Pool Party card base measures 5 3/4" square and I added texture to the white panel with a diamond patterned Texturz plate. I layered the white panel onto an Early Espresso mat,  added the strip of Pool Party ruffled ribbon and glued the layers to the card front.  I stamped and matted the sentiment circle, popped all four circles up and added the three coloured pearls to complete the card front.

  

I cut a white panel for inside the card, added a sentiment oval and some stamped flowers.  I placed a flower circle on the envelope flap too.  

I really hope you'll play along with us at Inkspirational this week and make cards using this great sketch, I'd love to pop by your blogs to see what you've made!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Flower Shop', 'Precious Butterflies' & 'Blooming with Kindness' sets
CS: SU! Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Blushing Bride, Early Espresso & Whisper White
Ink:   VersaMark, SU! Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Blushing Bride & Early Espresso
Tools: SU! Pansy & 1 3/4" circle punches, Woodware 2" circle punch,  Sizzix Diamonds Texturz Plate, Petite Oval Nestabilities dies, paper piercer
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Pool Party ruffled ribbon, rhinestone brads, pearls, Dimensionals

 

Snowman Let It Snow Card - 52 {C}CT Aug Embellishment Challenge

It's time for our August embellishment challenge at 52 {C}CT and our hostess Sarah has chosen canvas for this challenge.

I knew I didn't have any actual canvas but thanks to my sweet friend Lesley loaning me her SU! Canvas background stamp I was able to go faux!  Thank you very much Lesley!  I made a 5 3/4" square Crumb Cake card base and adhered a square of patterned paper layered onto an Early Espresso mat.  I stamped the snowman onto Very Vanilla CS with Early Espresso ink and then stamped the Canvas background over the top with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  I die cut the circle and sponged the edges with Antique Linen ink.  I die cut Early Espresso and Champagne Glimmer Paper circle mat layers, popped a couple of the layers up and added some punched snowflakes.  I completed the card front by adding large and small punched photo corners. 

Here's a closer view of my faux canvas.

I cut a Very Vanilla panel for inside the card, stamped the Canvas stamp, added patterned paper and glimmer paper strips at the bottom and sponged the edges.  I stamped the sentiment (one of my faves!) and added three punched snowflakes.

Here's the back of the envelope with a popped up stamped and die cut snowflake on circle layers.

Do check out the fab cards made by the other DT members and then please play along with us this week at 52 {C}CT, I'd love to come and see your Christmas canvas creations!

Supplies:
Stamps: Inkadinkado 'Holiday Sentiments' clear set, SU! 'Canvas' background stamp, Stampendous 'Snow Brackets' stamp, SU! 'Festive Flurry' set
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Champagne Glimmer Paper
Patterned paper:  SU! Candlelight DSP
Ink: SU! Early Espresso, Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink
Tools: Circle Nestabilities dies, Fiskars snowflake punch, SU! Photo Corners punch, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals

Floral Thinking Of You Card

My friends Angela and Janet came over for a card making afternoon a while ago and this is the card I designed for them both to make.  They must have enjoyed it, they made sure to book another afternoon with me before they went home!

The card base was made with Old Olive CS and measures 5 1/4" square.  I started off with some tone on tone stamping using Old Olive ink on the Old Olive card base to get a background.  I stamped and die cut the floral images, and die cut Labels One Nestie shapes from Very Vanilla and Rich Razzleberry CS.  I stamped the Crackleglaze background onto the vanilla label with Crumb Cake ink stamped off once first.  I stamped the sentiment and edged the vanilla label with Crumb Cake ink using a sponge dauber.  The large flower and one of the smaller ones were popped up and I finished off the card front by applying dots of Magenta Stickles to the flowers.

Here's a close up so you can see the fab Crackleglaze stamped background better.

Here's the inside and the envelope.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts/Sizzix 'Floral' stamp & die combo set, Hero Arts 'Paper Art' background stamp, IndigoBlu Crackleglaze background stamp
CS: SU! Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette & Very Vanilla
Ink: SU! Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry & Crumb Cake
Tools: Labels One Nestabilities dies, dies from Hero Arts/Sizzix 'Floral' stamp & die combo set, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: Magenta Stickles, SU! Dimensionals

 

Doily & Flower Especially For You Card - Inkspirational Aug CASE Challenge #34

This week we have a CASE challenge for you at Inkspirational.  We want to see your CASEd versions of a soft and pretty card made by Marina, one of our Inkspirational DT members.

 

I started off by making a 4 3/4" square Crumb Cake card base and I die cut the doily from white CS and the layer.from So Saffron CS.  I stamped the sentiment onto the doily, stamped the flower onto Saffron CS, punched it out, stamped the leaves onto Crumb Cake CS and fussy cut those out.  I popped up the white doily plus the flower and leaves and I added yellow pearls to the doily.

I cut a Whisper White panel for inside the card, added a strip of So Saffron patterned paper and drew a line with an Early Espresso marker.  I made a matching 5" square envelope with an 8" x 8" square of the patterned paper, using the Simply Scored and Diagonal Plate and scoring all four sides at 3 5/8".   I stamped a label on the front of the envelope and popped up a stamped and punched Crumb Cake flower.

I hope you'll join us this week for our Inkspirational CASE challenge, I'd love to come and see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps:  SU! 'Flower Shop' & 'Gently Falling' sets,  SU! 'Basic Label', sentiment from Woodware 'Going to Seed' clear set
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, So Saffron & Whisper White
Patterned paper:  SU! Sweet Pea DSP
Ink:  SU! Early Espresso
Tools:  Cheery Lynn French Pastry doily die & matching French Pastry angel wing die,  SU! Pansy punch, SU! Simply Scored & Diagonal Plate
Embellishments & accessories: yellow pearls, SU! Dimensionals

 

Damask & Roses Happy Birthday Card - HOC August Sketch Challenge - Classic & Elegant

Throughout August at House of Cards we have a sketch for you to work with - what a wonderful sketch it is too!  At HOC we have either a colour or sketch challenge that runs for the whole month - but we feature four different card styles, one per week, throughout the month.  This week the challenge is for Classic & Elegant cards made with the sketch.

I've already made a Cute & Fun card using this great sketch just as it is but I rotated the sketch for my Classic & Elegant card.  I love damask patterns and they always suggest elegance to me so my starting point for this card was the yellow patterned paper.  I love the colours used on the 'Eastern Elegance' suite pages in the new SU! catalogue - which is a surprise as I've never been a real fan of yellow or grey!  They're lovely with the Coastal Cabana though so I happily added those colours into the mix.  I made a Smoky Slate side opening A6 card base and layered the yellow paper onto a Coastal Cabana mat.  So, the layout and colours were sorted, now it was time to select elegant stamps.  Well, roses are always elegant so I reached for my Stippled Blossoms set, various ink pads and my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig to get busy two-step stamping.  

I stamped the large rose solid flower in So Saffron ink (stamped off once) and the outline was stamped in Crushed Curry ink.  I stamped the solid leaves in Pear Pizzazz ink (stamped off once) and the outlines in Old Olive ink.  The small solid flowers were stamped in Coastal Cabana ink (stamped off once) and the outlines in full strength Coastal Cabana ink.  I die cut Whisper White and Smoky Slate circles, fussy cut the flowers and leaves and popped them up.  I added flower shaped buttons to the Coastal Cabana strip, stamped and die cut the sentiment label and popped that up also.  I then added some yellow gems to complete the card front.

I cut a Whisper White panel for inside the card, stamped a sentiment and added more flowers and leaves.  I covered the envelope flap with the gorgeous patterned paper to finish off.

I hope you'll join in with us at House of Cards this week, the sketch is a real goodie and I'd love to come and see your Classic & Elegant cards! Everyone is welcome at our House!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Stippled Blossoms' set, Woodware 'Happy Birthday' clear stamp, Penny Black 'Lovely Day'
CS: SU! Smoky Slate, Coastal Cabana & Whisper White
Patterned paper:  My Mind's Eye Howdy Doody 'Happy' paper
Ink: SU! So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive & Coastal Cabana
Tools: Circle Nestabilities dies, Spellbinder's Labels Trio die, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! So Saffron buttons, PaperMania yellow gems, SU! Dimensionals

Holly Wreath Merry Christmas Card - 52 {C}CT Aug Theme Challenge

We have a theme challenge at 52 {C}CT this week and Sarah has chosen a lovely theme for us - holly.

 

I own a few Christmas stamps that have holly on them but it was the holly wreath stamp that leapt out at me when I went rummaging in my stash.   I stamped the wreath in VersaFine Spanish Moss ink onto watercolour paper and coloured the image with inks and a wet paintbrush.  I did some masking and Stamp-a-ma-jigging to get the sentiment placement just right.  I layered onto a Cherry Cobbler mat, wrapped some Old Olive ribbon around the panel and added a red sparkly brad.  I glued a panel of gold glimmer paper to the Old Olive 5 3/4" square card base and popped up the image panel at a jaunty angle.

I wanted to add sparkle to the berries but I didn't want to cover each berry completely with glitter, I just wanted a touch of sparkle.  Rather than applying the glitter glue direct from the bottle, I squeezed some glitter glue onto my Stamp-a-ma-jig sheet and used a fine paintbrush to add the glitter to the berries.   I washed my Stamp-a-ma-jig sheet and paintbrush fairly quickly after finishing!

I cut a Very Vanilla panel for inside the card and added gold glimmer and red strips.  I used a clear Stampendous stamp set called 'Christmas Wishes' for the inside.  As well as sentiments the set contains beautiful, delicate holly images and  I used two to accent the sentiment.  For the envelope flap, I stamped the bow in VersaFine Crimson Red ink onto watercolour paper and coloured with ink and a wet paintbrush.

I do hope you'll play along with our 52 {C}CT holly challenge this week - you really do need to be adding those festive cards to the stash now!  I look forward to visiting your blogs to see what you've made!

Supplies:
Stamps: Woodware 'Holly Wreath' clear stamp, 'Merry Christmas' from SU! 'Owl Occasions' set, Stampendous 'Christmas Wishes' clear set
CS: SU! Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler & Very Vanilla, Gold Glimmer Paper
Ink: VersaFine Spanish Moss & Crimson Red, SU! Cherry Cobbler & Old Olive
Tools: Paper piercing tool, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Old Olive ribbon, Dovecraft red glitter brad, SU! Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, 3D foam tape

 

Acanthus Embossed For You Card

On a recent visit to my local craft shop, the Glitter Pot, I saw a couple of beautiful cards on display that had been made with the Cuttlebug Anna Griffin design 'Acanthus' embossing folder set.  It was love at first sight, what a gorgeous folder!  There's a 5" x 7" folder plus a border folder in the set.  I got the last one off the shelf, I would have been SO disappointed if it had been out of stock, I was desperate to get my mitts on it LOL!

I couldn't wait to use it and I embossed a square of thick white CS, layered it onto an Old Olive mat, added some Old Olive ribbon and and glued the mat to the front of a 5 1/4" square white card base.  I die cut the Pair of Ferns and tucked those behind the popped up 'For You' label from the SU! Apothecary Art set.  I stamped the image first in Olive ink and stamped again in Calypso Coral ink, cut the circle out with a 1" circle punch and popped it up.  I punched three Calypso Coral flowers, shaped them and added olive green crystals to the centres.

I used the main folder again to emboss a strip of Old Olive CS for inside the card and I finished off with a narrow Calypso Coral CS strip.

I used the border folder in the set and embossed a strip of Old Olive CS for the front of the envelope.  I stamped, punched and popped up the name label.   The name of our House of Cards UK/European giveaway winner was written inside the label - Vicky.  I sent this card to Vicky in Germany along with her giveaway goodies and I really hope she enjoys her happy mail!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Apothecary Art' & 'Four Frames' sets
CS: IndigoBlu white Perfect Stamping Card, SU! Old Olive & Calypso Coral
Ink: SU! Old Olive & Calypso Coral
Tools: Cuttlebug 'Acanthus' embossing folder set, Cheery Lynn 'Pair of Ferns' dies, SU! Labels Collection Framelits die, SU! 1" circle, Boho Blossoms & Decorative Label punches, embossing stylus & moulding mat
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, olive green Swarovski crystals, SU! Dimensionals

 

Mosaic Madness Quartet Of Cards

My friend Jan got the Mosaic Madness stamps, punch and embossing folder and then found she was a bit stumped as to what to make with them - she hadn't even mounted the stamps.  I browsed Pinterest and collected a few images for her to look at and said that if if she lent me the goodies for a few days I'd make a few cards for her.   I got to play with new goodies and Jan gets ideas as to what she can do with her goodies, I think that's a win win situation!

This first card is based on this one made by Kate Martin.  Jan loved it immediately and asked if I'd definitely make that one.  It's such a pretty card, I was very happy to oblige!  Kate used Soft Sky for her card but I used Pool Party instead and added a tad of Smoky Slate.

Here's the inside and envelope.

 

Card two is based on this one made by Rach W.  How clever to use the mosaic patterns to make a Christmas tree!  I've added some seasonal sparkle by using SU! red and champagne Glimmer Papers.  The sentiment label and some of the mosaic shapes are popped up.  The pot was made with a Woodware punch. The card base is Real Red and I used Pear Pizzazz, Gumball Green and Garden Green inks.

Here's the inside and the envelope.  The sentiment is a Penny Black stamp and I thought the 'J' was a great place to hang a mosaic shape as a bauble!  The string stamp is from the retired SU! Hung Up on the Holidays set.

The third card is based on this one made by Julia Carmichael.  I loved this fabby design and CASEd it very closely! I changed the sentiment and substituted Smoky Slate for the Pear Pizzazz that Julia used.  The Coastal Cabana panel and all the mosaic shapes are popped up.  Julia stamped her tiny images before punching them out with the Itty Bitty four petal flower punch - I opted just to punch CS flowers. 

Here's the inside and envelope.

The fourth and last card was based on this one made by Julie Davison.  I just loved the fun flower made with the mosaic shapes and the bright colours!  I started with the striped Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP and I chose Marina Mist, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz and Daffodil Delight as my colours.  It's all very well making cards for other folks using their stuff, but for goodness sake, I've got new uninked stamp sets of my own needing my attention LOL!  I snuck in a leaf stamp from my newly acquired Gently Falling set.  I stamped the outline leaf in Old Olive ink onto Pear Pizzazz CS and fussy cut three leaves to go behind the flower.  I chose to use a Builder Brad centre rather than a button which Julie used.  I also added three Itty Bitty flowers to the main panel.

 

Here's the  inside and the envelope.  The sentiment is a Penny Black stamp I've had for ages, one of my faves for putting inside a birthday card!

I've been pinning cards that I thought Jan might like to make with stamp sets that she owns but that I don't have - Daydream Medallions is one of those sets.  Jan came over to have a crafty play this afternoon and after perusing Pinterest for a while she chose to CASE this lovely card made by Claire Daly.  Jan used a Memory Box Tiny Bow Cherry Cobbler die cut instead of ribbon to top her ornament.  Jan also opted to use  champagne Glimmer Paper rather than silver.

I'm happy to say she loved the Mosaic Madness cards I'd made!  She took them home with her along with her Mosaic Madness supplies and I'm looking forward to seeing what she makes!