'One Layout, Four Cards' Glitter Pot Class Cards

Sadly, Saturday was my last day running classes at the Glitter Pot.  I ran an all day 'One Layout, Four Cards' class.  What a great day, we managed to enjoy ourselves and not get TOO sad!

This is the layout I used - I based it on a birthday card I received from Carol, a friend from card group.  Carol said it's a familiar design she uses in her patchwork and quilting and told me the recommended sizing is a background square of 5", an 'on the point' square forming the diamond measuring 3 1/2" and the foreground square measures 3" .  Based on those measurements I made each card base 5 1/4" square.  

This first card uses a Marianne Design 'Typewriter' stamps and dies set.  I don't know why but I found this typewriter irresistible and I love that there's a slot in the die cut so you can feed the sheet of paper through the slot - a sweet little design feature!  I kept things fairly simple with just three colours, some inked edges and silver Candi Dot embellishments.  I popped up the plain blue square and the typewriter.  This makes a good masculine card I think.

Usually for my layout classes I try to make rectangular and square cards using the same sketch to show how layouts can be versatile.  This layout definitely works best with squares so I kept to all square cards this time.  I still wanted to change things up a little though and I decided to make one of the cards on the class an easel card.  I dry embossed the pink panel with an embossing folder and scuffed the embossing with sandpaper before gluing it to the blue square panel.  The stamp I used (Woodware 'Happy Tiles') isn't suitable for a square card if used 'as is' as it's a long rectangular stamp.  I stamped the image onto watercolour paper using VersaFine Onyx Black ink, sprinkled on clear embossing powder and heat embossed the image.  I then coloured and cut out just three elements from the stamped image and arranged them on the foreground square.  You've got to love versatility in crafty items!  I coloured the images with Distress Inks and a water brush and popped each element up.  The sentiment panel is popped up and acts as the stop for the easel.  I cut out two black squares with a punch and cut each square in half to form the corner accents.  Pretty pink punched butterflies completed the card. 

This layout is great for using with patterned paper and I loved this cheery Doodlebug design when I saw it with the flowers on one side and the yellow dotty pattern on the reverse.  I used the flowery side for the diamond shape and die cut three flowers using the yellow dotty side.  I kept the points on the diamond shape but softened the other two squares by rounding each corner with a punch.  I inked the edge of each petal with Wild Honey Distress Ink, shaped each flower and stacked them together.  I popped up the green square, die cut a white flourish, glued it in place and added the flower.  I punched several red circles, stacked them together, glued them on top of a larger green circle and added Glossy Accents to the top red circle.  I punched two 1/4" red circles to go on opposite sides of the green square and added a gem to each circle.  

For the last card I decided to change things up again and I made an ivory  gatefold card plus I reversed the order of the layout elements, opting for a diamond, square and another diamond. I've gone for a fave combo of bright pink, green and black.  I love the bold, vibrant, contempo vibe going on here - a very sassy little number!  I stacked three different sized die cut flowers together and glued that in place over the leaves.  Before popping up the green square I added the three strips of narrow ribbon.  I cut a sliver of green CS, threaded that through the button holes (I can very, very, rarely leave buttons naked!) and adhered the button to the flower centre with a glue dot.  I finished off the card with a sprinkling of gems.

Hmmmm, it's not just the layout that all four cards have in common - look at all those dots!  I honestly didn't realise I'd chosen dots for every card until I got out the supplies and started creating - so a 'Going Dotty With Ruth' day as well as a 'One Layout, Four Cards' class!  I know some of my class regulars would say 'no change there then!'

Supplies for typewriter card:
Stamps: Marianne Designs 'Typewriter' stamps & dies combo set
CS: Glitter Pot thick & medium white CS, black CS, Bazzill Bling 'Black Tie', silver mirri CS
Patterned paper: Bo Bunny 'Ocean' Double Dot
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & London Fog
Tools: Marianne Designs 'Typewriter' die & stamps combo set, sponge daubers
Embellishments & accessories: Craftwork Cards Regal Silver Candi Dots, 3D foam tape & pads 

Supplies for easel card:
Stamps: Woodware 'Happy Tiles'
CS: Glitter Pot thick white CS, black CS, Tumbled Glass & Worn Lipstick Tim Holtz Distressed CS
Patterned paper: Simple Stories Color Vibe 'Peacock'
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Gathered Twigs, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers & Worn Lipstick Distress Inks
Tools: X Cut Foliage Pattern embossing folder, Woodware Regular 'Butterfly 2' punch, Woodware Big 'Square' punch, water brush
Embellishments & accessories: ultrafine sandpaper, 3D foam tape 

Supplies for yellow flower card:
Stamps: none
CS: Glitter Pot thick & medium white CS, Bazzill Dotted Swiss 'Phoenix' & 'Irish Eyes'
Patterned paper: Doodlebug Sunkissed 'Pretty Petunias'
Ink: Tim Holtz Wild Honey Distress Ink
Tools: Spellbinders Shapeabilities 'Flower Play' die set, MFT Die-Namics 'Fancy Flourish' die, circle punches, X Cut corner rounder punch, sponge dauber, flower shaper & moulding mat
Embellishments & accessories: Ranger Glossy Accents, PaperMania silver stones, 3D foam tape

Supplies for pink flower gatefold card:
Stamps: none
CS: Glitter Pot Natural Ivory CS, black CS, Bazzill 'Limeade', Core'dinations 'Amazon'
Patterned paper: Core'dinations Core Basics 'Dark Pink Large Dot'
Ink: none
Tools: Spellbinders Shapeabilities 'Flower Play' die set, flower shaper & moulding mat
Embellishments & accessories: narrow black satin ribbon, black button, PaperMania silver stones, 3D foam tape, glue dot 

One Layout, Four Cards Glitter Pot Class Cards

On Saturday I ran a second 'One Layout, Four Cards' class at the Glitter Pot.  I was so embarrassed at the start as I'd left a plastic folder containing the class cards and other bits and pieces at home!  My sweet friend Wendy drove me home to get it and we were back in the classroom in about ten minutes.  I think that was a valuable experience, I'm willing to bet I won't ever forget class cards again!  I opted for a very simple layout but as a card sketch is just a starting point there are plenty of opportunities for some creative adapting!

This first card follows the sketch layout faithfully, with six square tiles of patterned paper arranged on a 7" x 5" card base.  Such an easy and quick card to make - and a great way to use up patterned paper scraps from the stash!  I inked the edges of each square with Festive Berries Distress Ink, glued all the squares flat apart from the 'hello' square which I popped up.  I die cut and shaped two red flowers, added silver Candi dots and popped both flowers up.  I added some tiny silver pearls to the flowers on the 'hello' square to complete the card.

For this next card I switched to an A6 landscape orientated card and swapped two of the squares in the layout for a rectangle.  What I really like about designing for these 'One Layout, Four Cards' classes is that I can make the cards look so different even though I'm using the same sketch layout.  For this card I chose a white on white design.  I think dimension and mixing textures and finishes is a good way to go when it comes to white on white cards.  I made the card base from matt white card but used Bazzill Bling 'Diamond' CS for the panels, the pearly sheen gives such a lovely contrast.  The embossed squares add all important texture and I added some ribbon and pearls for interest and extra contrast. I used two embossing folders for the square panels, left the rectangle plain but embossed the solid butterfly shape.  Originally I glued the rectangle panel and embossed squares flat to the card but that looked - well, flat!  Popping up those panels made a big difference!  I glued the butterfly body flat to the panel but placed 3D foam pads under the wings, leaving the backing paper on to make sure the wings stay popped up.

For this card, rather than staying with squares I switched to hexagons.  I cut a rectangular panel of white CS and applied Wild Honey and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks to the panel with Smoothie ink blending sponges.  I stamped the Woodware 'Grasses Background' image onto the panel and then cut out six hexagons using a Nestie die.  I punched a flower out from each shape and popped all the hexagons up.  I highlighted some of the stamping with a glossy black Gelly Roll Glaze pen and placed gems in each flower centre to finish.   

Here's a closer look at some glossy highlighting.

Versatility is important I think when creating with sketch layouts.  I always like to see if the design works with both rectangular and square shaped cards.  It has to be said that this particular layout definitely lends itself to rectangular cards!  However, just one simple addition - a strip down the side  of the card - and the layout works on a square card.  

This time I switched from squares to circles and added stamped and shaped flowers.  We have so many primroses in both our front and back gardens this year so they inspired me to make my flowers yellow.  I used a new fave stamp set, 'Blossom', a clear set from Leane Creatief which makes easy work of two step stamping flowers. I used it on my last Glitter Pot class too, I love it!  I covered a 5 1/4" square white card base with yellow paper, layered a kraft dotty paper panel onto a brown CS mat and glued that to the card front.  The reverse side of the kraft dotty paper is the colourful, pretty flower lattice design and I glued a matted strip of that to the side of the card.  I stamped the solid flowers in Memento Dandelion ink, stamped the dotty outlines in Rich Cocoa ink, fussy cut the flowers and popped them up onto 1 1/2" white punched circles.  I stamped the sentiment onto white card, cut it out with the circle punch and popped that up.  I added a brown gem to each flower centre to finish.

Thank you SO much to all the ladies that came along, it truly means a lot to me that you're supporting me and enjoying the 'One Layout, Four Cards' classes.

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps: none
CS: Glitter Pot Thick White Card, Core'dinations 'Cardinal'
Patterned paper: Pebbles Garden Party - 'Petunia' & 'Poppy', Simple Stories Colour Vibe Lights - 'Mint'
Ink: Tim Holtz Festive Berries Distress Ink
Tools: Nellie's Shape Dies 'Flower 2' set, DEET & moulding mat, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: Craftwork Cards Regal Silver Card Candi, silver pearls, 3D foam tape & pads

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps: none 
CS: Glitter Pot Thick White Card, Bazzill Bling 'Diamond'
Ink: none
Tools: Cuttlebug 'Birds & Swirls' embossing folder, Crafts Too 'Lattice' & 'Garden Flowers' embossing folders, Memory Box 'Isabella Butterfly' die
Embellishments & accessories: white stripe organza ribbon, large & small pearls, 3D foam tape & pads 

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps: Woodware 'Grasses Background'
CS: Glitter Pot Thick & Medium White Card & Black Card
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Wild Honey & Picked Raspberry Distress Inks, Black Gelly Roll Glaze Pen
Tools: Hexagon Nestabilities die, Smoothies ink blending sponges, Woodware Regular Flower punch
Embellishments & accessories: clear gems, 3D foam pads

Supplies for card 4:
Stamps: Leane Creatief 'Blossom' clear set, sentiment from Hobby Art 'Anna's Collection Just For You' clear set
CS: Glitter Pot Thick White Card, Core'dinations 'Chocolate Mocha'
Patterned paper: Bo Bunny 'Mellow Yellow' Double Dot paper, Doodlebug 'Hello Sunshine - Garden Trellis'
Ink: Memento Dandelion & Rich Cocoa
Tools: Woodware 1 1/2" circle punch, flower shaping tool & moulding mat
Embellishments & accessories: PaperMania Bronze gems, 3D foam pads 

'One Layout, Four Cards' Glitter Pot Class Cards

On Saturday I ran a 'One Layout, Four Cards' class at the Glitter Pot - I had a great day with a lovely bunch of ladies!  I very often hear card makers say they struggle to come up with ideas, that sometimes when they sit down to create nothing comes to mind.  I find sketch layouts a wonderful way to kickstart the mojo and a fab jumping off point so I felt that would be a good idea for a class.

I designed a layout and then made four different cards using the layout but altering the design each time by rotating the sketch and using different shapes.  I also changed things up a bit by making each card in a different style.  You don't have to slavishly copy a layout, just keep to the main elements and have fun experimenting with rotating and flipping, using different shapes and moving elements around.

Here's the layout:

Here are the four cards all together.

In the morning the class made the owl card and the flower trio card.  Here's the owl card closed.

Here's the cute and fun style owl card open on display - I used the layout 'as is' but added a fun twist by turning the card into a kickstand card.  This layout is perfect for a kickstand card!  I cut a 5 3/4" square of white CS and then formed the kickstand by scoring an A4 length strip of white CS in half and gluing the back of the strip to the back of the square base.  I covered the front of the white strip with green CS and then added a strip of brown Core'dinations CS that had been embossed with a feathers embossing folder and scuffed with sandpaper.  The owl was paper pieced.  I added punched white circles and bronze gems to the eyes but a few ladies on the class used googly eyes - to great effect!  The feathers under the sentiment were embossed, scuffed and fussy cut.

Here's the flower trio Happy Birthday card.  I chose the colour combo from some of the colours in the pretty butterfly paper.  With this card I flipped the layout upside down and used a clean and classic style.  More fussy cutting with the stamped flowers here!

In the afternoon the class made the kraft flower card and the stars card.  The flower card is in the shabby, distressed style and I rotated the layout to a landscape orientation.  The shabby bloom was made by stacking six die cut flowers which had been spritzed with water and scrunched up.  I fixed the layers together with a brad and covered the brad with a large pearl.  The strip of dotty paper was distressed with an edge distressing tool and I inked the edges of the lavender flower shape and the brown circle with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I also applied some of the ink to the dotty grosgrain ribbon.  One of the ladies on the class inked around the whole card front with Walnut Stain ink and I thought that looked fab so I quickly inked my card too - but this photo was taken before the class so shows the uninked card!  Thank you Janet M!

Lastly is this clean and simple stars card.  It's totally flat so great for posting - but there's a stylish touch to the card with a cut out aperture.  Here's the card closed.

Here's the card open.  The large die cut silver star was glued to the card front and then a smaller star die was placed over the centre and a star aperture cut out.

Here's what the card looks like on the inside.  The sentiment circle is glued behind the star aperture.

I hope I demonstrated to the ladies that a sketch layout is a valuable resource - especially if  you're having a creative block or you need to create a card in a hurry.  A printout of the layout was given to everyone on the class for them to use in the future.  I am running another 'One Layout, Four Cards' class in April with a brand new layout and set of cards.  I'd love for this class idea to really take off so that I can create a 'Layout Library' - let's wait and see!

Supplies for owl card:
Stamps: Woodware 'What a Hoot'
CS: Glitter Pot thick white CS, Core'dinations CS in 'Crushed Olive' & 'French Roast'
Patterned paper: Doodlebug Hello Sunshine 'Garden Trellis'
Ink: VersaMark, Gathered Twigs Distress Ink, Burnt Orange ProMarker (for colouring beak)
Tools: Crafts Too 'Feathers' 7" x 5" embossing folder, 1/4" circle punch, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: green and brown pencils (for colouring branch and leaves), Papermania Bronze gems, sandpaper

Supplies for flower trio card:
Stamps: Woodware 'Flower Head Selection' & 'Happy Birthday' sets
CS: Glitter Pot Thick White CS, Glitter Pot black CS, Bazzill 'Watermelon', 'Petalsoft', 'Lagoon' & 'Jetstream'
Patterned paper: Pebbles 'Garden Party - Daffodil'
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black
Tools: Woodware Inverted Corner Rounder & Regular Flower punches
Embellishments & accessories: PaperMania clear & black gems, 3D foam pads

Supplies for shabby bloom card:
Stamps: none
CS: PaperMania Kraftstax A4 card, Bazzill 'Heidi' 
Patterned paper: Bo Bunny 'Plum' Double Dot. Echo Park 'Bundle of Joy - Green/Brown'
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Jet Black StazOn, SU! Pool Party, Ranger Tim Holtz Evergreen Bough & Salty Ocean Distress Inks
Tools: Sizzix 'Flowers' Framelits die set, circle Nestabilities die, Tim Holtz Paper Distresser,  1/4" circle punch, paper piercer, spritzer bottle, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: Woodware Lavender dotty grosgrain ribbon, brad, adhesive pearls

Supplies for stars card:
Stamps: Personal Impressions 'Everyday Words - Happy Birthday' set
CS: Glitter Pot Medium White CS, Bazzill Swiss Dot 'Pepper', silver glitter card
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black
Tools: Spellbinder's Stars Nestabilities dies, circle Nestabilities die