Guy Birthday in Silver & Wood

This card was made as a Design Team card for Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #392, whose optional theme is "Metallic Madness". 

I took the metallic theme to heart with this one with three layers of metallic papers and/or embellishments. The card base is a 9 1/2" x 4 3/4" piece of Stampin' Up! (SU) Early Espresso cardstock, folded in half. The layer that forms the mat for the SU "Wood Textures" pattern paper is a heavy silver cardstock from Recollections (Michaels). [A tip on saving this more expensive cardstock is to cut a square out of the middle of the silver layer smaller than the wood pattern piece so you can use it on other projects.]

Since metallic cardstock is often hard to get things to adhere to it, I used double-sided Scor Tape to attach the wooden pattern paper to it. The smaller silver mat behind the sentiment layer was die cut using SU "Stitched Shapes" dies.

The sentiment is from the 1992 SU stamp set called "More Great Greetings". It is stamped using SU Early Espresso ink onto SU Crumb Cake cardstock. before I glued it to the silver die cut mat, I adhered s square of chipboard to the back so the panel would sit slightly higher. Using chipboard instead of foam strips helps keep the small panel from being crushed or wrinkled during mailing.

The sentiment panel was decorated with screw brads that I cut the 'tails" of, then glued to the panel with Mini Glue Dots. The panel was also embellished with a tiny screwdriver that was die cut from silver and SU Island Indigo cardstock. It was glued on with Tombow.

I think this will make a good masculine birthday card for one of my brothers. I am rating the difficulty level as a "2" out of a possible "5".

Stamps: SU More Great Greetings

Paper: SU Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Wood Textures DSP, Island Indigo, Recollections Silver, chipboard

Paper Size: 4 3/4"x 4 3/4"

Ink: SU Early Espresso

Accessories: SU Stitched Shape Dies, Recollection Brads, Unbranded Tool Dies, Scor Tape, Tombow Multi Liquid Glue, Mini Glue Dots

Techniques: Die Cutting

Warm Wishes - With Mittens!

Incredibly (for me), this gorgeous card was made for four card challenges:

Retro Rubber Challenge Blog #102  that required the use of a stamp older than 1 year - the sentiment is from the 1993 Stampin' Up "Great Greetings, and the mittens are from the 1999 SU "Holiday Sampler" sets. The challenge also required that the card be black & white.

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Color My Heart Color Dare #326  that required the use of black and white with an optional splash of another color.

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Double Trouble #19  which required the use of their "Warm & Cozy" theme and to also participate in this week's partner "Creative With Stamps".

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Creative With Stamps #34  which required the use of mittens on the card.

To create a card that met all these challenges' requirements, I used a Stampin' Up! (SU) "Cable Knit" dynamic embossing folder (creates extra deep impressions) to emboss the main panel of SU Whisper White cardstock.

This panel was glued to the A2 card base of SU Basic Black cardstock with Tombow.

The sentiment panel was created by stamping the "Warmest Wishes" stamp from the 1993 SU "Great Greetings" set using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The sentiment was die cut using a square die from SU "Stiched Shapes" Framelits dies. I created the black mat by die cutting the next size larger square in the die set. The white panel was mounted on the black mat using adhesive foam strips to raise it up for added interest. The assembled matted sentiment was attached to the embossed panel using Score Tape since I wanted to make sure it stuck, and it would only touch the top of the raised parts of the panel.

Of course I needed mittens for the "warm & "cozy", and "mittens" themes, so I stamped them using the mitten stamp from the 1999 SU "Christmas Sampler" set using Versafine Black Onyx ink on SU Whisper White cardstock. The two mittens were fussy cut with paper snips. I hung them from the edge of the sentiment panel using SU White Bakers Twine. The bow was attached with a rolled up Mini Glue Dot, and the mittens were attached with adhesive foam strips.

This card is appropriate for any winter card, or Christmas card.

The trickiest part in making this card was to make sure the square die was arranged as a diamond with the sentiment centered. I am rating the difficulty of this card as a "2" out of a possible "5".

It's Your Big Day Down on the Farm

This card was made for Always Fresh Challenge #93 which required a "Down on the Farm" themed card. I was inspired by Bronwyn Eastley's Double-Z-Fold card on Pinterest. Mine differs in that I created a "barn plank" background by cutting 1/2" strips from one of the lighter sheets in Stampin' Up! (SU) Designer Series Paper (DSP) 6"x6" stack. I added adhesive to the planks using my Xyron Label Maker. to ensure good coverage. I used a Recollections "Brown Wood Plank" scrapbook paper for the fence. I carefully cut 11" strips of planks out of the paper, then glued them to SU Kraft cardstock on both sides so the fence would look realistic regardless of your viewing angle. The fence posts were created similarly, but I cut them in half to make them thinner than the planks. A great tutorial for Double-Z Fold cards by Sage Kimble can be found at: http://stampingmadly.com/2017/01/17/...gonfly-dreams/. The three chickens from the SU "Hey, Chick" were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and cut out and colored with about eight different SU Stampin' Write Markers. The two fence boards were attached to the card using Score Tape to ensure they didn't loosen with repeated openings and closings. The sentiment was stamped with SU Cherry Cobbler ink onto SU Whisper White cardstock that had an SU Early Espresso Banner stamped on it. They were aligned using my MISTI to ensure the sentiment was centered. I hand cut the Kraft mat from SU Kraft cardstock. The label was attached to the side of the "barn" using adhesive foam strips. I added two braces inside the fenced area to which I mounted one of the chickens, and a couple "bushes" I stamped onto SU Whisper White cardstock using SU Wild Wasabi ink. The two bushes were cut out using my Brother ScanNCut with no border. I am rating the difficulty level at "3" because of the careful steps needed to create the double-high fence and posts. The rest is pretty straight forward. Stamps: SU Hey Chick, Birthday Banners Paper: SU Kraft, Wood Textures DSP Stack, Whisper White, Recollections Brown Wood Plank Scrapbook Paper Paper Size: A7 Ink: SU Early Espresso, Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Cherry Cobbler, SU Wild Wasabi, Various SU Write'n Markers Accessories: Xyron Label Maker, Tombow Multi Liquid Glue, Paper Snips, Paper Trimmer, Score Tape, SU Bunch of Banners Framelits Dies, Brother ScanNCut2 Techniques: Z-Fold Card

WWC204 - Gail's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

This card was made as a Design Team card for Gail's great masculine Waterooler Wednesday Challenge #204. I as looking for a masculine themed Valentine's Day card to give my husband next month. We both love to travel, so I chose a map-themed paper from DCWV's Maps, Text, & Ledgers Stack for the main panel, and then a page from the same paper stack that is covered in foreign cancelled stamps to punch hearts from.

The card base is Stampin' Up! (SU) Cherry Cobbler cardstock. The map patterned paper is matted with SU Kraft cardstock.

The hearts were from three different sources, an un-branded slanted heart punch, the heart from the SU "Circle Card Thinlits Dies" set, and a larger heart from Spellbinder's Nestabilities "Classic Hearts" die set. Because I wanted the two larger hearts to be raised off the card surface, I used the same dies as the hearts to cut kids fun foam hearts, then glued the punched pattern hearts onto the top of the foam hearts. You can see in the photo foreground a side view of one of the hearts I had left over. I left the slanted punched heart flat without a foam backing.

The red/blue/ivory ribbon was glued onto the matted front panel, and wrapped around the back. It was one of several trims in a pack by the company MSPCI I found at Michaels in their "bargain bins". I chose this trim because it has a vintage postal look to it, which fit with my card's theme.

The two foam-backed hearts were attached to the card front using super strong red double-sided tape. the slanted heart was simply glued to the card front.

The final step was to stamp the word "love" using SU Night of Navy ink to play off the one stamp and blue stripes in the trim. I offset it to balance the placement of the hearts on the card front.

I am rating the difficulty level of this card as a "1" because there aren't that many steps, and each one is pretty easy to do.

Hope he love his Valentine's card, romantic and recalling our many trips together, yet not frilly or fussy.

Stamps: SU Wonderful Words

Paper: SU Cherry Cobbler, Kraft, DCWV Maps Text & Ledgers Stack

Paper Size: S2

Ink: SU Night of Navy

Accessories: Fun Foam, MSPCI Summer Trim, Slanted Heart Punch, SU Circle Card Thinlits Dies, Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Hearts, Tombow Multi Liquid Glue, Red Double-Sided Tape

Techniques: Die Cut

Blow Out Those Candles!

This was made as a Design Team card for Try Stampin' on Tuesday Mix It Up Challenge #391 in which we are to make a card based on a sketch, and use mixed fonts. The fonts I chose are sans serif capitals, and upper/lower case script.

I started by selecting the banner from Stampin' Up! (SU) "Birthday Banners" set as the rectangular element. I stamped the banner using SU Calypso Coral ink, then the sentiments (from the same stamp set) in SU Old Olive ink. I die cut the banner out using it's matching die from the SU "Bunch of Banners" framelits dies. I used my MISTI to stamp the sentiments and cake multiple times for a dark image.

The card base is SU Whisper White Thick cardstock. The main panel is SU Calypso Coral, with the diagonal banner (from the sketch) cut from SU Old Olive cardstock. The layers were glued using Tombow Multi Liquid Glue.

The little birthday cake was stamped onto SU Calypso Coral cardstock using SU Old Olive ink. I then fussy cut the cake and candles using very small paper snips. The "flames" are tiny flowers punched out of Recollections Gold Glitter cardstock. They were attached with Tombow to the top of each candle.

I mounted the banner and the cake using adhesive foam strips (the candle flames are pretty small, so I cut a Mini Glue Dot in half and rolled it into a ball behind each flame).

The card came together rather quickly, with only the hand cutting of the cake a challenge. Because of this, I am rating the difficulty of the card as a "2" out of a possible "5". If you skip the cake, or use an image that is die cut, the difficulty drops to a "1".

Stamps: SU Birthday Banners, Endless Birthday Wishes

Paper: SU Whisper White Thick Cardstock, Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Recollections Gold Glitter Paper

Paper Size: A2

Ink: SU Calypso Coral, Old Olive

Accessories: SU Bunch of Banners Framelits Dies, Paper Snips, Adhesive Foam Strips, Mini Glue Dots, Unbranded Flowers Punch, MISTI

Techniques: Die Cutting, Fussy Cutting

Time to Start 2019 Christmas Cards

This card was made by combining the elements of three great card challenges!!!

The brand new Joy of Sets Tic Tac Toe #001 challenge in which I chose the bottom left to top right diagonal row: ribbon - circle - die cutting.  The "circles" for this challenge were the two large rhinestone embellishments in the upper right corner.

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Thank Goodness It's Friday Challenge #193 which required use of the colors Stampin' Up! (SU) Melon Mambo, Lemon Lime Twist, and Smoky Slate or Silver.

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52 Christmas Card Throwdown Sketch Challenge #1-19.

When I saw the sketch, right away I knew I wanted to add the "sentiment" by using the white-on-white technique of die cutting the "Merry Christmas" words in white, then mounting them on the white card background. Adhering diecut words is always a challenge, but I used My Xyron with a permanent adhesive cartridge, then rubbed off the excess glue white the words were still on their wax paper backing using my finger. This cut down considerably the number of "glue gobs" I had to remove once the words were mounted. I also used a T-square to ensure alignment across the backgound panel.

I mounted the white panel onto the SU Lemon Lime Twist background panel using Tombow Multi Liquid Glue, then wrapped the entire panel with ruffled ribbon I had purchased from Michaels because it was on sale and SO close to SU's Melon Mambo color. I used an SU tape runner to attach the ribbons.

The star was created by using the SU "Stars" thinlits dies, once on the SU Lemon Lime Twist cardstock, and the smaller one on Recollections shiny silver cardstock. The stars were adhered together using adhesive foam strips, then mounted using foam strips as well for extra depth and interest.

The two SU rhinestones were placed in the upper right per the sketch challenge as well as the "circle" part of the #JOSTTT001 diagonal row challenge.

The completed front panel was glued to a 10"x 5" SU Whisper White Thick cardstock card base that had been folded in half. I used Tombow glue.

I like the subtle look of the white-on-white sentiment for the background, but it is tough getting it aligned and all the excess glue on the background removed. I am rating the difficulty level for this card as a "3" out of a possible "5" specifically because of this technique. I had tried doing it with Tombow glue, but that was an incredible mess for such fine detail gluing.

This is my first Christmas card of 2019. I try and make at least a couple each month so I don't have to rush once the holiday season approaches.

Paper: SU Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Lemon Lime Twist, Recollections Silver

Paper Size: 5" SQ

Accessories: SU Stars Framelits Dies, SU Jewels Basic Rhinestone, Sizzix Seasons Greetings Thinlits Dies, Spellbinders Circles Dies, Michaels Ruffled Ribbon, Tombow Multi Liquid Glue, Xyron Adhesive, SU Tape Runner, Adhesive Foam Strips

Techniques: Die Cutting, White on White

WWC203 - Karen's "All About Occasions" Challenge

This card was made as a Design Team card for WWC203 - Karen's "All About Occasions" Challenge. I wanted something that says "Wow!" for my brother and his fiance's upcoming wedding. I had never made a lever card, which really makes a statement when it's opened, so chose that as my technique. I selected the gorgeous papers from Stampin' Up! (SU) "Sweet Soiree" designer series paper to "bump it up a notch". The floral spray was fussy cut from one of the papers in this set, and the silver dotted Calypso Coral silver dotted paper was another design paper in the set. I paid particular attention to orienting my dotted paper so the heavier clustering of dots was always at the bottom of the strips. To make this card you need a single sheet of 8.5"x 11" cardstock. In this case I wanted it to contrast with the pattern papers, so chose SU "Rich Razzleberry". For a step-by-step tutorial on how to do the cuts to create the window and the lever feature, please visit: https://www.splitcoaststampers.com/r...als/levercard/ It has an excellent video tutorial as well! Be sure and use super tough double-sided tape like Score Tape or the red double-sided tape. The person who you send this card to will want to open and close it several times, so you need to make sure it can hold up with all the movement. There is an inside panel that is perfect for a vertical die-cut sentiment like "Congratulations". It isn't visible in the photo, but faces the white panel in the back where I plan to hand write a personal message. While this card is beautiful, it comes at the price of VERY careful measurements and EXACT cutting. I am rating the difficulty level as "5" out of a possible "5" because of this. Paper: SU Rich Razzleberry, Sweet Soiree DSP, Whisper White Paper Size: A2 Accessories: Fiskars Paper Trimmer, Paper Snips, Tombow Multi Glue, Mini Glue Dots, Bone Folder, Score Tape Techniques: Lever Card