Merlot Baubles Flourish Christmas Card

I'm tending to use mainly Stampin' Up! products these days for my projects which is made easier due to the fact I can no longer be tempted by visits to local craft stores.  The Glitter Pot in Burgess Hill where there were always so many tempting goodies closed down several years ago now which is very sad but probably better in terms of managing the size of my stash!  On an ongoing basis I'm trying to whittle down my crafting stash as, of course, I have more stuff than I need or can use! 

There are some products that I just can't let go of and the IndigoBlu 'Baubles Flourish' stamp is one of them.  I also keep lots of SU! products after they've been retired as I have real difficulty letting my favourites leave my craft room! It's all very well keeping them but they do need to be used and that's a struggle too.  So having decided to keep the 'Baubles Flourish' stamp I felt I should at least make a card with it!

Here's the card and envelope together.

I opted for a simple design but that allows the gorgeous image to shine.  I used SU! Merry Merlot and Whisper White as my colour combo.  This beautiful stamp is large and I find it so much easier to stamp with using my SU! Stamparatus stamp positioning tool.  I don't have to wrestle with a large acrylic block and if the image doesn't stamp perfectly (which can happen with larger images) I can stamp again to achieve a perfect image.  The 'Merry Christmas' sentiment from the SU! 'Perfectly Plaid' set was the ideal choice I thought as the swirly design goes well with the flourish.  I placed tiny silver nailheads on the baubles as a finishing touch.

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope flap.  The 'sending you a flurry of warm Christmas wishes' is one of my most favourite sentiments ever and the snowflakes included in the stamp image gave me the perfect opportunity to use it on this card!

I've been trying to make multiples of Christmas cards this year and I'm thinking I may need to make more of this design.  Hmmm, let's wait and see if that thought turns into reality!

Supplies:
Stamps: IndigoBlu 'Baubles Flourish', SU! 'Perfectly Plaid' & 'Flurry of Wishes' sets
CS: SU! Merry Merlot & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Merry Merlot
Tools: SU! Stamparatus, SU! circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: tiny silver nailheads 
Ruth

Golden Honey Bee Gift Tags

Wilko are currently selling gold metallic plant pot hangers in the shape of a bee and I bought one for a pot in our front garden a while ago.  On Friday we had a socially distanced get together with friends in our back garden and it was so lovely to see them in person after so many weeks of lockdown!  I decided to give my friends a bee pot hanger as a little 'just because' gift.

Here's my bee pot hanger in place.

I wrapped each bee pot hanger in tissue paper, placed them in cello bags and made gift tags for the bags.

Here's a closer look at a gift tag attached to a cello bag.  I used polka dotted tulle ribbon and gold sequin trim.

Here's a closer look at the front and back of my gift tags.  I used gorgeous gold foiled patterned paper from the SU! 'Golden Honey' DSP pack - I cut a panel of the paper to decorate the scalloped rectangle tag and I also die cut bees from the paper.  I die cut the honeycomb using gold foil sheet and I popped that up.  I stamped the sentiment in Mango Melody ink which is a lovely honey colour.

My friends were delighted with their little gifts I'm very happy to say!

Supplies:

Stamps: SU! 'Fancy Phrases' set
CS: SU! Whisper White & Gold Foil Sheet
Patterned paper: SU! 'Golden Honey' DSP pack
Ink: SU! Mango Melody
Tools: SU! 'Detailed Bee' & 'Stitched So Sweetly' die sets, Crop-A-Dile
Embellishments & accessories: SU! white polka dot tulle ribbon, gold sequin trim, Dimensionals
Ruth

Snowflake Merry Christmas Cards - Set Of Ten

Recently I've made an effort to make multiples of Christmas cards and I've surpassed myself by making ten of this design!  I found a stash of SU! white velvet paper that I bought last year and so I thought I'd actually use some of it - together with some patterned paper I've been hoarding.  It feels good to use stuff!

Now that I've made multiples of some card designs I'm in the groove with organising myself and preparing everything before I move onto assembling the cards.  For this card I die cut all the snowflakes first, next I worked on the sentiment die cuts and then I cut the card bases, white CS pieces and the patterned paper strips.

Here are my ten cards and envelopes all together.  Snowflakes are a favourite motif of mine for Christmas cards and it made me happy to see a pile of snowflake cards all made ready to go in my Christmas cards box!

Here's just one card.  The snowflake patterned paper is from the SU! 'Season of Cheer' DSP pack which came out in 2015 - oh my word, I have been hoarding it for a while!  I'm sure I have some older patterned papers in my rather extensive paper stash!  The card bases are made with Night of Navy CS and all stamping was done with Night of Navy ink.  The large and small white snowflake die cuts were cut from white velvet paper so they are delightfully fuzzy!  The sentiment labels are all popped up on Dimensionals.

Here's how I decorated the insides of the cards and the envelope flaps.  I punched 1/4" circles of Night of Navy CS to go in the centre of the snowflakes on the envelopes.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Flurry of Wishes' set
CS: SU! Night of Navy & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Season of Cheer' DSP
Ink: SU! Night of Navy
Tools: SU! 'Snowfall' die set, SU! 1/4" circle punch, Spellbinders 'Labels Trio' die set
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Dimensionals
Ruth

Lighthouse Birthday Wishes Card

Dena Rekow from the Creativity Cave is running a 2020 New Catalogue Kickoff Party and I'm taking part.  It's lots of fun and there's loads of fabulous inspiration!  Dena has issued a summer water card challenge for those of us taking part in the New Catalogue Kickoff Party.

I reached for the SU! 'High Tide' set and made a lighthouse sea scene card.  I stamped the lighthouse with stamped off once and full strength Real Red ink.  I used stamped off once and full strength Seaside Spray ink for the sea and I applied Balmy Blue ink with an oval make up brush for the sky.  After I'd stamped the scene and was attempting to mat and layer I didn't like the spacing around my stamped panel and it didn't look balanced.  I used a Stitched Rectangle die to cut out the stamped panel, cut it into three pieces and then layered those pieces onto a mat of Real Red CS.  The balance was much better!  I stamped the sentiment and mounted the red panel onto the front of a Crumb Cake A6 sized card base.

Here's the inside of the card with a stamped sentiment and a mini stamped and sponged scene.

Here's the envelope with a stamped and sponged scene circle element made with 1 3/4" and 2" circle punches.

Here's my card and envelope together and I'm quite pleased how this turned out!  It would work as a card for a male which is great!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'High Tide' & 'Fancy Phrases' sets
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Real Red & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Balmy Blue, Granny Apple Green, Night of Navy, Real Red, Sahara Sand & Seaside Spray
Tools: SU! 'Stitched Rectangle' die set, SU! 1 3/4" & 2" circle punches, oval make up brushes
Ruth

Tree Merry Christmas Front Flap Cards - Set Of Six

I've seen a few front flap cards about recently and I thought I'd have a go as I'm partial to a fancy fold card that's easy to make!  Basically, you have one panel of A6 sized CS as a base and then you adhere a mini card to the base.  It makes a fun change from a normal card and it's a great way to use the patterned paper I have!  I sat down and made one entire card and then made another five cards in an assembly line fashion.

Here are my six cards all together.  I used SU! 'Wrapped in Plaid' patterned paper and I chose a different pattern for each card.  The trees are actually punched from one of the papers in the pack.  I used the SU! 'Stitched So Sweetly' die set to cut out the fancy labels.  For the sentiment I used my old trusty Spellbinders 'Labels Trio' die set.

I made three cards with Shaded Spruce card bases.

I made three cards with Cherry Cobbler card bases.

Here's card 1.  The trees and the sentiment labels are popped up on Dimensionals.  I topped each tree with a punched gold foil star and added three gold sequins.  These accents pick up on the gold foiling in the patterned papers.

Card 2.

Card 3.

Card 4.

Card 5.

Card 6.

Here you can see how the card opens.  I used CS measuring 2 3/4" x 8 1/4" scored in half to make the mini cards.   

Here's a closer look at the panel inside.  That's a lovely sentiment and I absolutely adore that mini pine cone image!

I stamped Shaded Spruce plaid trees, cut them out with the 'Pine Tree' punch and glued a tree to each envelope flap.

Finally, here's a card with a matching envelope.  

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Perfectly Plaid' & 'Dashing Deer' sets
CS: SU! Cherry Cobbler, Shaded Spruce & Whisper White, Gold Foil Sheet
Patterned paper: SU! 'Wrapped in Plaid' 6" x 6" DSP pack
Ink: SU! Cherry Cobbler & Shaded Spruce
Tools: SU! 'Pine Tree' punch, 'Stitched So Sweetly' die set, Spellbinders 'Labels Trio' die set, X Cut star punch
Embellishments & accessories: gold sequins, SU! Dimensionals
Ruth

Santa Coat Ho Ho Ho Buckle Card

My lovely friend Lesley and I were on the phone chatting about what we were going to be creating in our craft rooms that day.  We got talking about buckle cards and Lesley suggested making a Christmas version with a Santa belt.  I thought that was a great idea and I just had to give it a go!

Here's my card and envelope together.

 

Here's the card.  I've used SU! Real Red and Basic Black CS together with Whisper White and some Gold Foil Sheet for the square buckle.  I used two square dies to cut out a frame to make the gold foil buckle.  I die cut several black buttons and stacked them together to give the buttons some dimension.  I threaded very thin strips of Real Red CS through the buttonholes which is a nice finishing detail I think.  Lesley suggested a further finishing detail - some holes for the belt.  As I'd already glued the black CS piece in place I added three red die cut dots to give the illusion of holes in the belt.  Next time I'll try cutting holes before gluing the belt piece in place!

 

Here's the card opened out fully.

 

Here's the card front open. The rounded end of the belt will slide through the slot to form the buckle closure.  I used my old, retired SU! 'Word Window' punch to create the slot.  The belt measures 1 1/2" wide and slides nicely through the 'Word Window' slot.

Here's a closer look at the panel inside.

 

Here's the front of the envelope.  I wanted to keep to a Santa theme when it came to decorating the envelope so I chose a Santa sleigh image and wording which comes from the 'Night Before Christmas' story.  I die cut a stitched rectangle and glued that onto a die cut flagged banner.  

Many thanks to Lesley for the wonderful idea, I really enjoyed making this card!  I was originally inspired to make buckle cards due to Cindy Brumbaugh's fab video tutorial which can be found here on YouTube.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Perfectly Plaid', 'Christmas Gleaming' & 'Greatest Part of Christmas' sets
CS: SU! Real Red, Basic Black & Whisper White, Gold Foil Sheet
Ink: SU! Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: SU! 'Layering Squares' & 'Stitched Rectangles' die sets, 'Word Window' punch, circle punch, MFT 'Fishtail Flags' Stax die set, button die from MFT 'Blueprints 18' die set
Ruth

Gift Set Of Six Bees Birthday Cards

Recently I saw these great bee cards made by Kelly Acheson and I was inspired to CASE Kelly's design.  I liked the idea of making multiples and I ended up making a set of six cards as a gift.  I had a lovely time in my craft room, I had the radio on and was singing along as I was creating!  I made one entire card first and then cut all the CS and paper and finally die cut and stamped all the images I needed for the other five cards.  I put the cards together by working in an assembly line fashion.

Here's the six cards and envelopes.  I rarely make multiples of cards but I so enjoy seeing a set of cards together when I do.  I definitely want to get in the habit of making more than one of a design when it comes to Christmas cards.

I used two different patterned papers and made three of each design.  I stamped the hives in Daffodil Delight ink, the bees in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and I coloured the stripes using a Dark Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends marker. The ribbon is retired Daffodil Delight stitched ribbon.  The hives are popped up on Dimensionals and the bee wings are shimmered by way of some Wink of Stella.  I finished off each card front by adding three gold foil die cut honeycomb shapes.

Here's how I decorated the inside of each card. 

Here are the envelopes - I used two different patterned papers and made three of each.

Here are the cards and envelopes in a cello bag tied up with ribbon and a tag.

Here's a closer look at the tag.  I die cut a 'Stitched Rectangle' shape from Basic Black CS and punched a hole for the ribbon.  I die cut a gold foil honeycomb shape and removed a few hexagons for interest.  I popped the hive up on Dimensionals and popped both bees up too.

Not only did Kelly inspire me with her card design she also shared a fabulous tip about stamping and die cutting multiple images using the SU! Stamparatus.  Kelly's video is HERE and the Stamparatus tip happens around the 6 minutes 40 seconds mark on the video if you'd like to fast forward just to the tip.  Kelly also has a separate video where she fully demonstrates the technique HERE.

It really is a fabulous tip and it helped to make creating this set of cards quick, easy and frustration free!  I don't know how many times I've stamped images and then when I've die cut the die has moved and I've had  to start again.  It's so frustrating - especially if you're stamping multiples - and especially if you've already cleaned your stamp and you've got to ink it up and clean it again!  I was so impressed with this tip I ended up die cutting a shed load of hives and bees and I still have my stamps in place on one of my Stamparatus plates.  Every now and then I'm going to ink the stamps up and stamp some shapes and then I'll have pieces all ready to go when I want to create another bee card.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Honey Bee', 'Sending You Thoughts' & 'Birthday Blooms' sets
CS: SU! Daffodil Delight, Basic Black & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Golden Honey' DSP
Ink: SU! Daffodil Delight, Memento Tuxedo Black, Dark Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends marker
Tools: SU! 'Detailed Bee' & 'Stitched Rectangle' die sets, circle punch, Crop-A-Dile
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Daffodil Delight stitched ribbon, Wink of Stella pen, cellophane bag, Dimensionals
Ruth

Ornaments Merry Christmas Buckle Card

I'm enjoying making buckle cards and I thought it was about time to make a Christmas themed one.  I'm really wanting to do much better this year in having Christmas cards made in plenty of time.  My efforts in recent years have been woeful and it's so much better not to have to stress in November about how many more Christmas cards you need to make!  I was inspired to make buckle cards after seeing this wonderful video tutorial by Cindy Brumbaugh.

I started off by choosing patterned papers from the SU! 'Brightly Gleaming' specialty DSP pack and I selected ink and CS colours based on the colours in the papers.  I've used Pretty Peacock, Night of Navy, Very Vanilla and copper.  Here's the card and envelope together.

Here's just the card.  I embossed a strip of Copper Foil Sheet with the 'Hammered Metal' 3D embossing folder to add texture and shine to the belt.  I used strips of the copper foil as strings for the popped up ornaments.  I added three copper Star Designer Elements to complete the card front.

Here's the card opened out.  I corner rounded the ends of the belt to make it easier to feed the belt through the slot to form the buckle closure.

Here's a closer look at the inside panel.

Here's the Very Vanilla envelope with the flap decorated with patterned paper.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Christmas Gleaming' set
CS: SU! Night of Navy, Pretty Peacock & Very Vanilla, Copper Foil Sheet 
Patterned paper: SU! 'Brightly Gleaming' specialty DSP
Ink: SU! Night of Navy & Pretty Peacock
Tools: SU! 'Gleaming Ornaments' punch pack, 'Hammered Metal' 3D embossing folder, Spellbinders 'Labels Trio' die set, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
Embellishments & accessories: SU! copper Star Designer Elements, Dimensionals
Ruth

Bloom Circles Little Smile Card

Dena Rekow from the Creativity Cave has issued a card challenge for members of her 2020 New Catalogue Kickoff Party Facebook group.  The challenge is to create a card based on the graphic shown below.

When I looked at the graphic I saw the colours, stripes and the letter Os in the words really popped out at me.  My colour combo is Basic Grey, Mango Melody, Coastal Cabana, Melon Mambo and white.  I'm not sure I would have put these colours together without the challenge prompt but my card has quite a bold and graphic look I think and I'm happy with the end result!  

I used the SU! 'Layering Circles' die set to cut out the circles.  I stamped the flowers (from the SU! 'Thoughtful Blooms' set) and sentiment in VersaMark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.   I was conscious that if I didn't line things up carefully any wonkiness or spacing issues would be really noticeable with this design so I used my T square ruler to help with placement.  I cut out the blooms with the SU! 'Small Bloom' punch, shaped them a bit and glued them in place.  I added a punched 1/4" CS circle to the centre of each bloom.  I cut the sentiment (from the 'Fancy Phrases' set) into three strips and glued those down to complete the card front.

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope decorated with colourful blooms.  I enjoyed this challenge and it's great fun to see everyone else's interpretation!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Thoughtful Blooms' & 'Fancy Phrases' sets
CS: SU! Basic Gray, Mango Melody, Coastal Cabana, Melon Mambo & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Mango Melody, Coastal Cabana & Melon Mambo, VersaMark
Tools: SU! 'Layering Circles' die set, 'Small Bloom' punch, 1/4" circle punch, heat tool
Embellishments & accessories: SU! white embossing powder 
Ruth

Purple Poppies Birthday Buckle Card

Having recently made a poppies themed thank you buckle card I thought it would be fun to make a birthday version for my friend Jan.  I was inspired to try making buckle cards after watching Cindy Brumbaugh's fab video tutorial.

I know poppies are usually red but I used patterned paper that was more purple than red and my colour combo was Rich Razzleberry, Purple Posy, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive along with black and white.  On my previous poppy buckle card I only used the die cut poppies and leaves but this time I added some die cut bud elements.  Here's the card on display.

 

This view shows the slot and belt.  The belt feeds through the slot to form the buckle and that's how the card closes.

 

It can be a tad fiddly to feed the belt through the slot.  From now on whenever I make a buckle card I'll round the corners of the belt as that helps.

 

This view shows the card open.

 

Here's a closer look at the panel inside the card.  I embellished with silver sequins.

 

Here's the card and envelope together.

 

I also added a pretty die cut name label to the front of the envelope to make it just a bit more special! 

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Peaceful Moments' set
CS: SU! Purple Posy, Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Basic Black & Whisper White
Patterned paper: 'Peaceful Poppies' DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: SU! 'Poppy Moments', 'Layering Circles' & 'Stiched So Sweetly' die sets, Spellbinders 'Labels Trio' die set, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
Embellishments & accessories: silver sequins, SU! Dimensionals
Ruth