Floral Floating Front Birthday Greetings Card

Whilst at my local craft shop, the Glitter Pot,  a few weeks ago I saw an interesting 3D card on display so I snapped a couple of pics and made a few notes 'cos I knew I wanted to have a go at making one.  I've since discovered that this style of card is called a 'Floating Front Card' and Joanne Wardle's original designs were featured in the April 2011 issue of the UK Craft Stamper magazine.   Joanne's blog can be found HERE.  It's a fab design - there's the wow 3D aspect but the card folds flat to go in an envelope plus it's so easy to make - that ticks all the boxes for me!

It's my friend Wendy's birthday today and I decided to make a pretty, floral, floating front card for her - and it had to feature pink as that's her fave colour!  I made the card base from SU! Pink Pirouette CS and the patterned paper is from the Bazzill 'Vintage Lace' 6" x 6" paper pack.  I stamped and die cut the flowers and leaves using the gorgeous SU! 'Flower Patch' stamp set and matching 'Flower Fair' Framelits dies.  I used Pretty in Pink and Strawberry Slush inks for the flowers and Pistachio Pudding and Wild Wasabi inks for the leaves.  I added some Wild Wasabi stitched ribbon tied in a bow and used a sparkly embellishment to decorate the centre of the flower.  Here's a photo of the card on display.

Here's a view from the top. 

Here's a look at the front panel with the sentiment label and two butterflies.

In order to make the focal point element float on the front of the card you need to attach what I'm calling 'butterfly hinges' to the front of the card and then the element is attached to the front of the hinges.  The hinges are easily made by punching out two 1" circles, folding them in half and attaching them to the card front.  I got carried away making this card and attached my flowers and leaves before I remembered that I'd wanted to take a photo of the butterfly hinges!  So I started work on another floating front card and here's a photo showing the butterfly hinges in place.

Here's a side view of the card where you can see the element attached to the hinge.

At the back of the card you make a closure by adding a punched circle and cutting a slit for the circle to slide into.  I used a 1 1/4" circle.

Here's a photo of the back of the card when closed.

This photo shows the card folded flat ready to pop into the envelope.  The card measures 5 3/4" square.

I made an envelope for a 6" x 6" card using the SU! Envelope Punch Board and a piece of Rose Red Designer Prints DSP which has been hoarded in my stash for a very long time!  I wanted to try a different type of closure for an envelope and I was inspired by an envelope that Margaret, one of my craft group ladies, showed to me and said I could keep.  Margaret had received some theatre tickets as a birthday gift and they were presented in an envelope which was held closed by a bamboo skewer threaded through punched holes.

I punched four holes in my envelope and added CS washers (front and back) to add strength.

I snipped off a bit from a bamboo skewer but it took a bit of work to thread it through as it's rigid and I'd punched fairly small holes (1/4").  I decided I could use ribbon as a closure instead so I snipped a length of Wild Wasabi ribbon, threaded it through the holes and tied a bow.  Actually, the ribbon is a much more attractive option than a bamboo skewer!

Phew, a very picture heavy post!  I contacted Joanne and asked her if it would be OK for me to produce a tutorial for putting together a floating front card.  Joanne very graciously gave her permission and I've added a PDF tutorial to my Tutorials page if you'd like to check that out and make one of these fabulous cards yourself.  Many thanks to Joanne!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Flower Patch', 'Kinda Eclectic' & 'Wetlands' sets, Hero Arts 'Yummy Treats' clear set
CS: SU! Pink Pirouette & Whisper White
Patterned paper: Bazzill 'Vintage Lace' 6" x 6" pad, SU! Rose Red Designer Prints DSP
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink, Strawberry Slush, Pistachio Pudding & Wild Wasabi
Tools: SU! 'Flower Fair' & 'Apothecary Accents' Framelits dies, SU! 'Bitty Butterfly', 1 1/4", 1", 1/2" & 1/4" circle punches, SU! Simply Scored & Envelope Punch Board
Embellishments & accessories: Creative Expressions 'Crystal Sparklers' embellishment, SU! Wild Wasabi stitched ribbon, rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals

Suspended Snowflake Spinner Card - 52 CCT Sept Stash Challenge

The lovely Asha, our September challenge hostess, has a fabulous stash challenge for us this week at 52 {C}CT - Diamonds & Pearls.  Well, I had a blast making my card for this challenge!  My 'diamonds' are SU! Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper and rhinestone jewels and for the pearls I used pearl jewels plus white with a hint of silver pearl CS. 

 

First off I made a 5 3/4" square Night of Navy card base and  I die cut the circle burst from a square of gorgeous Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper.  The Memory Box 'Large Circle Burst' die has been on my want list for a long while and I gave into the temptation very recently!  I was delighted to find that one of my favourite SU! 'Festive Flurry' snowflake stamps was the perfect size for the circle aperture and I stamped the snowflake onto the pearl CS in Night of Navy ink.  I knew the ink wouldn't dry on the coated pearl CS so I heat embossed the image with clear powder.  Then I had a light bulb moment - it occurred to me I could use the holes of the die to suspend the snowflake within the aperture.  I cut the circle burst from the front of the navy card base and glued the Dazzling Diamonds panel over the top.  I stamped and heat embossed another snowflake, die cut the two shapes, threaded silver thread through two holes, tied a knot and glued the two snowflakes back to back on either side of the thread.  Not only is the snowflake suspended within the aperture but if you twist the thread a few times before placing the card in an envelope the snowflake will spin when the recipient opens the card!  I haven't made a spinner card in a while so it was fun playing with that for a few moments - I really should get out more LOL!

Here's the card when it's closed ready to slip inside the envelope.  I added pearl and rhinestone jewels on the outer circle of holes, placed Night of Navy die cut corners and added punched pearly snowflakes.  One thing about this circle burst die is you get lots of dots left over from die cutting so I placed a larger sparkly dot on each snowflake centre followed by a teeny tiny rhinestone.  

Here's the card open showing the suspended snowflake.

 

Here's the card fully open.  Talk about precision placement - I had to get the Night of Navy and white circles in exactly the right position because I wanted the white circle to show behind the snowflake - but with the sentiment hidden - and the navy showing behind the two rows of dots.  Easily done thanks to Collall photo glue (AKA snotty glue!) which gives you time to wiggle your pieces into place before the glue dries! 

Stamped snowflakes and a die cut name label on the front of the envelope completed the card.

Do please join us this week, have fun making a card and link it up at our 52 {C}CT Diamonds & Pearls stash challenge - it will be great to add another Christmas card to your stash!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Festive Flurry' set, Stampendous 'Small Merry Christmas', PSX 'Snowflake Medley', IndigoBlu 'Snowflake Lace'
CS: SU! Night of Navy & Whisper White, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, white with a hint of silver Centura Pearl CS
Ink: SU! Night of Navy
Tools: Memory Box 'Large Circle Burst' die, SU! 'Festive Flurry' Framelits die set, MFT 'Photo Corners' Die-Namics die set,  X Cut snowflake punch, circle Nestabilities dies, label dies from Sizzix 'Card, Fancy Frame Flip-Its #2' Framelits die set, heat tool
Embellishments & accessories: clear embossing powder, SU! rhinestone & pearl jewels, PaperMania teeny tiny gems 

 

On The Edge Snowflakes Peace On Earth Card

Jan and Wendy are coming over on Saturday morning to make a couple of Christmas cards.  As it's Wendy's birthday over the weekend, I'm making an iced lime and coconut sponge cake - with home made lime curd in the middle.  I'm drooling just thinking about it!  Our local craft shop, the Glitter Pot, is having a Christmas demo weekend so we'll be paying a visit there later and there could well be a spot of shopping done!  A day of crafting, chatting, chuckling and cake - that sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday to me!

So, onto the card.  I cut 1" off the side of the Island Indigo A6 sized card base and embossed the white panel with the SU! Northern Flurry folder after stamping the sentiment.  The SU! 'Festive Flurry' stamp set is one of my all time favourites, I can't see it ever leaving my stash!  I stamped, die cut and fussy cut the snowflake layers, added a rhinestone to each centre and popped the flakes up along the edge of the card.

Inside there's a white panel with a stamped sentiment and strips of Smoky Slate CS and Silver Glimmer paper.  A snowflake on the envelope finished off the card.  Jan and Wendy will also be making THIS CARD I made back in May.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Festive Flurry' & 'Greetings of the Season' sets, Penny Black 'Beautiful Season'
CS: SU! Island Indigo, Smoky Slate & Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: SU! Island Indigo, Smoky Slate, Bermuda Bay & Pool Party
Tools: SU! 'Festive Flurry' Framelits dies, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals

Gold Stencilled Flower Just For You Card - Fab Friday 50 Challenge

Whilst browsing Pinterest a few days ago I came across this beautiful gold and white card made by Amanda Mertz and that led me to the Fab Friday 50 challenge.  Hmmm, I've made silver and white cards but I don't think I've ever made a card using only gold and white - I don't know why and I decided I had to rectify that situation!  I just happened to have a brand new bottle of gold shimmer paint so this was a nudge for me to open that and use it with a flower stencil.

 

Firstly, I taped the stencil to a piece of Whisper White CS, squeezed some paint onto a ceramic tile and used a sponge dauber to apply the paint.  The stencil is long and narrow and I thought my large  panel looked too stark with just the stencilled image on it so I stamped a few background stamps over the panel in gold Encore pigment ink.  I tried various sizes and shapes of cards to put my long narrow panel on and wasn't satisfied with any of them!  So I chopped the panel down to a smaller size and opted to use a 5 1/4" square card - much happier with that!  Rather than matting the panel onto a layer I edged the panel with gold paint and popped it up on the card front after adding torn Brushed Gold CS.  I popped up the stamped and punched sentiment oval and added gold nailheads to the flower panel. 

The stencil is called 'Meadow Flower' and it seems to me a stylised version of an agapanthus so I stamped an agapanthus image inside the card and on the envelope flap in gold Encore pigment ink to complete the card. 

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'French Script' background stamp, IndigoBlu 'Crackleglaze' background stamp, postmark from PaperMania All Aboard 'Air Mail' set, SU! 'Oval All' set, Stampendous 'Agapanthus Thank You' clear set
CS: PaperMania white square card blank, SU! Whisper White & Brushed Gold CS
Ink: Encore gold pigment ink
Tools: Imagination Crafts 'Meadow Flower' panel stencil, SU! plain & scalloped oval punches, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: Cosmic Shimmer 'Antique Gold' shimmer paint, gold nailheads, ceramic tile, SU! Dimensionals

 

Dangly Ornament Merry Christmas Card - Merry Monday Challenge #126

A second post from me today because I'm playing along with the Merry Monday #126 challenge where the sentiment must be the star of your Christmas card. A perfect opportunity for me to use my Hero Arts 'Big Merry Christmas' stamp again - I bought it ages ago in a sale and I've only used it once!  I don't recall making a Christmas card before where the sentiment is the star of the show so a perfect opportunity to try something new too!

 

My starting point was to dry emboss white CS with a snowflakes folder and adhere that to the front of a 5 1/4" square white card base.  I stamped the sentiment in silver ink onto Rose Red CS and heat embossed it with silver powder.  I stamped and fussy cut the ornament and added an eyelet so I could dangle the ornament from the sentiment with thread.  I went very old school setting my eyelet, choosing to use my hole punch, hammer and setting tool rather than the Crop-A-Dile - I'd forgotten how satisfying bashing with a hammer can be LOL!  I pierced two holes by the letter 'E' and attached the ornament, tying the silver thread in a knot behind the pierced holes and I then added a bow tied with silver cord.  I layered the Rose Red CS strip onto a sparkly silver CS mat, popped that up on the card front and added some rhinestones to the dangly ornament.

More stamping on the inside of the card and on the front of the envelope finished off the card.

EDITED TO ADD: I'm chuffed to bits that I got an Honourable Mention for this card! 

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts 'Big Merry Christmas' stamp, PaperMania Home For Christmas 'Baubles' set, Hero Arts 'Holiday Cheer' clear set
CS: PaperMania square white card blank, SU! Rose Red & Whisper White, SU! Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Encore silver pigment ink, SU! Rose Red & Smoky Slate
Tools: Cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder, hole punch, hammer & eyelet setter, heat tool, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: silver embossing powder, silver eyelet, silver thread, silver cord, SU! rhinestone jewels, 3D foam tape

 

Nordic Dove Season's Greetings Card - 52 {C}CT Sept Theme Challenge

Asha has chosen a marvellous theme for us as our challenge this week at 52 {C}CT - Nordic Christmas.  Nordic made me immediately think of Sarah Lund's jumpers (from the TV series 'The Killing'), we love Scandi noir crime thrillers in our house!

 

So what exactly is a Nordic or Scandinavian Christmas?  Here are Asha's wonderful guidelines:

Simply put, it's rustic, minimalist, cool, cozy, calm and peaceful. That means Natural and Neutral tones such as wood, black, white, kraft, silver, wheat. The most popular accent colour is Red.  Green or Blue are alternative complimentary colours but avoid using all three unless you have lots of neutral colours and  space to maintain the uncluttered feel. Repeat patterns are another common feature. It's all about light and purity. For texture, opt for natural material such as wood, straw accessories, tree branches, pine cones, linen.

The Look: Homespun, Handmade, Nothing Manufactured. Simple elegance is the motto but not necessarily extreme CAS. Keep your designs light, fresh and not overly embellished - that's it!

I've opted for a red, white and kraft colour combo and used the Woodware 'Nordic Dove & Branch' stamp set.   Cheery red and white gingham, that's always homely and cosy to me so I definitely wanted to include that!  I stamped the dove in Real Red ink, layered the white panel onto a Crumb Cake mat, added ribbon strips at two corners and added a bow.  My friend Wendy ordered some SU! Nordic Designer Buttons and she very kindly gave me one each of the buttons and the red and white one just HAD to go on my card somewhere!  I threaded the button with some linen thread, attached it to a punched Crumb Cake 3/4" circle and placed it on the dove.  After stamping and cutting out the sentiment strip I stamped and punched the heart circle element which I then popped up.

Another red stitched heart was stamped inside the card along with a sentiment stamped in Crumb Cake ink.

I punched just a portion of the stamped dove image with a circle punch - the portion made me think of a snowflake - although I know a snowflake really only has six 'arms'!  Anyway, I matted the circle onto a larger Crumb Cake punched circle and placed it on the envelope flap - and I really liked how that looked!  

Please do check out the natty Nordic designs from the rest of the DT - including a wow make from Peg, a guest designer.  Then go off and make a cosy Christmas creation yourself and link it up on our 52 {C}CT challenge post here - and have fun!

Supplies:
Stamps: Woodware 'Nordic Dove & Branch' set, heart from PaperMania Home for Christmas 'Baubles' cling set, Hero Arts 'Holiday Cheer' clear set
CS: SU! Real Red, Crumb Cake & Whisper White 
Ink: SU! Real Red & Crumb Cake
Tools: various sized circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: red & white gingham ribbon, SU! Nordic Designer Button, linen thread,  Dimensionals

Two Inky Scene Just For You Cards - Brayer Vs. Ink Duster Brushes

Angela and Janet came round this afternoon to make a card and they'd asked if they could have another go at making a scene card using a brayer and torn paper.  Since discovering ink duster brushes I use those in preference to a brayer to make inky scenes and backgrounds.  Personally, I am SO much happier with the results I get using the brushes.  I decided I'd make a card with the brayer first and then make the same card again but using ink duster brushes.  I demoed both methods to the ladies and let them compare the two cards and decide on which method they wanted to use.  They both chose the ink duster brush method.

So here's the brayered card first.  I used a 1 1/2" punched circle for the moon mask and applied Soft Sky ink to the Whisper White CS square with the brayer.  Once I was happy with the ink coverage I removed the moon mask and used a piece of torn paper as a mask to add some hills at the bottom of the panel.  I started at the bottom and brayered Island Indigo ink, followed by Faded Jeans ink and lastly Marina Mist ink, moving the torn paper mask up a bit each time and holding it in place while brayering.  I stamped the silhouette images in black ink, inked the edges of the panel with Island Indigo ink using a sponge dauber and layered the panel onto a black CS mat.  I cut 2" off from the side of a 5 1/4" white square card base, drew a line with a black marker, stamped the sentiment and glued the scene panel to the card.

 

Here's the card showing the back as well as the cut off panel.

I decorated the inside and the envelope by stamping the Delicate Vines image a few times and added a bit of colour using inks and sponge daubers.

For the second card I switched from the brayer to ink duster brushes.  I tried using a duster brush with an SU! ink pad but it didn't work for me, I think the consistency of the SU! firm foam pads aren't ideal for picking up ink with a duster brush.  Therefore, when using ink duster brushes I'll stick to using Memento and Distress Inks. I dusted Memento Summer Sky ink lightly over the panel  first, then applied the moon mask, dusted on more Summer Sky ink, then Bahama Blue ink, followed by Faded Jeans ink and a bit of Chipped Sapphire ink.  At the time I bought my ink duster brushes I also bought the mountain and valley plastic stencil mask from Inkylicious and I used that on this card instead of torn paper.  The stencil is fab - it's double edged with valleys on one side and mountains on the other, you can flip it over to vary the mountain and valley shapes, it's made of durable plastic and is easy to clean (I just rinse it under the tap after I've finished).  I started at the bottom and applied Memento Teal Zeal ink, for the next lot of hills I used Faded Jeans ink and I also used Faded Jeans ink for the third lot of hills but I used less ink and a lighter touch when dusting.  Again I stamped the silhouette images in black ink but I edged the panel for this card with Chipped Sapphire ink.

For inside and the envelope I stamped the Delicate Vines image again but this time I added colour using the ink duster brushes and Bahama Blue and Faded Jeans inks followed by Chipped Sapphire ink applied with a sponge dauber.

Here's both cards side by side, the brayered card is on the left and the brushed card on the right.  I can see why the ladies chose the ink duster brush method.

There are some superb videos showing how to use ink duster brushes, Deby from Inkylicious has produced a video which can be found HERE showcasing her gorgeous scenes made with the starter kit.  Sally Holmes has made three videos demonstrating her use of the ink duster brushes and her scenes are breathtakingly beautiful!  Sally's YouTube video tutorials can be found HERE and Sally's blog can be found HERE.  I found the videos extremely helpful and I'm more confident about using the brushes now - I'm miles away from Deby's and Sally's standards and I can't get that clouds effect that Sally does!  However, I'm happy enough with the results I'm getting and I love that I can get more of a graded colour using the brushes, I don't get that look when I use a brayer, my brayered panels are much more flat.  Personally, I'll carry on using the duster brushes if I want to create a scene or background but my brayer will get an outing if I want to ink an embossing folder, add colour to a dry embossed panel or ink up a large background stamp! 

Supplies for brayered card:
Stamps: Inkylicious 'Picture Perfect' set & 'Delicate Vines' stamp, WaltzingMouse 'Say It With Style' set
CS: PaperMania square white card blank, SU! Basic Black & Whisper White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Soft Sky, Marina Mist & Island Indigo, SU! Basic Black marker
Tools: brayer, 1 1/2" circle punch, sponge daubers, torn paper mask


Supplies for brushed card:
Stamps: Inkylicious 'Picture Perfect' set & 'Delicate Vines' stamp, WaltzingMouse 'Say It With Style' set
CS: PaperMania square White card blank, SU! Basic Black & Whisper White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Sky, Bahama Blue & Teal Zeal, Ranger Tim Holtz Faded Jeans & Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks
Tools: Inkylicious ink duster brushes & valley/mountain stencil mask, 1 1/2" circle punch, sponge dauber