Hello to all my crafting friends! Have you ever tried to use Christmas paper to make a birthday card?
Today I’m sharing a custom birthday card I made using Stampin’ Up!’s new Christmas Designer Series Paper called Sweet Stockings. It might seem strange at first to use Christmas paper for a birthday card, but if you read on you’ll understand exactly why I used this DSP.
I made this birthday card for my very special friend and “crafting partner in crime”, Jenny, who has has an utterly adorable labrador/golden retriever called Nigel. As soon as I saw this labrador/golden retriever paper in the Sweet Stockings DSP from the July – December 2021 Mini catalogues I knew I had to use it for Jen’s birthday card, even though it is Christmas paper. This labrador/golden retriever looks so much like Nige!
Jen has the most beautiful vintage caravan called Sylvia that we craft in together, so I wanted to make a caravan birthday card for her. I searched for caravan templates on Pinterest, printed one out and used it to make cut a card in the shape of a caravan. Of course, this caravan had to have a labrador/golden retriever looking out the window!
The card fold is at the top of the card – I adjusted the size of the caravan template on my computer to fit the width of a piece of A4 Pool Party cardstock, traced the outline of the van onto the card stock and scored across the the card stock at the top of the caravan. I folded at the scoreline and then cut out the caravan shape through both layers of card stock, making sure to leave a fold at the top.
The door, windows and wheel are hand cut and die cut from silver foil and Basic Black cardstock, with the curtains and the stripe down the side of the caravan made using another pattern from the Sweet Stockings DSP.
The curtain tie back bows are a stamp and die from the All For Baby bundle. I used a blending brush to add dimension around the edge of the caravan and a Matte Black dot made the perfect door handle!
I hand cut the inside card layer in Basic White and shaded some more Pool Party Ink around the edge. Both the dog in the window on the front of the card and the dog inside the card were fussy cut from the Sweet Stockings DSP, as were the fairy lights for the inside of the caravan. The sentiments are both from the Art Gallery stamp set.
I also handmade a matching envelope using the same Sweet Stockings DSP I used for the curtains on the front of the card.
Even though I can’t see Jenny in person ATM, being able to post a special handmade card to her was a great way of letting her know that I was thinking of her on her special day and missing her so much!
Thanks for visiting my blog today. I’ll be back next tomorrow with some more Heart of Christmas inspiration and our weekly AWH Colour Creations Showcase on Wednesday, when we will be sharing projects made using Coastal Cabana.
When you shop online in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store don’t forget to use my monthly Host Code (if your order is between $50 – $250) and I will send you a thank you gift the following month. If your order is over $250 don’t use the host code because you will qualify for your own stamping rewards.
My August Host Code is AHQUWNVQ and it is valid until midnight August 31.
In the meantime, wherever you are in the world, stay safe, stay calm … and keep on crafting xxx
Welcome to week 11 of our 2021-22 Colour Creations blog hop! Tonight we are showcasing Cinnamon Cider, one of 2020-22 In Colours.
I’ve gone a bit berserk with the “Feels Like Home” stamp set today, making not one but four different cards. This stamp set is a free SALE-a-bration stamp set and I wanted to show four different ways of using it, including a “non colouring” option for crafters who don’t feel confident or don’t enjoy colouring.
This beautiful stamp set does all the hard work for you, making you look like an artist. Let me show you how.
Card 1 Watercolor Card
Water colouring is easy with the right tools. Stamp with Stayzon Ink onto either watercolor paper or Shimmery white paper. Either use your inkpad lids or acrylic blocks to pick up ink from the ink pad and then paint the ink onto the image with the finest tipped Water Painter.
I still need a lot of practice with water colouring, but the great thing about water colouring is that there really are no mistakes – at least that’s what I tell myself, ha ha!
The Stitched With Whimsy dies show up really well on this watercolour paper and after embossing the paper with the largest die in this set, I held the die down on the paper and tore the paper around the edge of the metal die to add a lot of texture to the card.
The free SALE-a-bration Beautifully Penned DSP is a lovely neutral black and white, so it is perfect for making a handmade envelope to match a colourful card front like this one.
Card 2 Stampin’ Blends
I’m a lot more confident colouring an image with the Stampin’ Blends – don’t forget to stamp in Tuxedo Black Memento ink when using any alcohol marker, such as Stampin’ Blends. I also experimented a bit more with my colour combinations on this card, using light Gray Granite and Pale Papaya for the brick wall around the Cinnamon Cider door. I quite like this colour combination!
The second largest Stitched With Whimsy die perfectly framed the image and I deliberately didn’t add a sentiment so I could use this card for a variety of purposes.
Card 3 Monochromatic note card
Only colouring in with one colour (the light Cinnamon Cider Stampin’ Blend) on the image stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink really showcases Cinnamon Cider and makes for a fast, easy and effective colouring technique.
Cardstock layers die cut with the stitched rectangle dies in Basic Black and Cinnamon Cider keep a restrained monochromatic colour scheme. I’ve adhered another strip of the free SALE-a-bration Beautifully Penned DSP to the back flap of a notecard envelope to coordinate.
Card 4 Simple Stamping
Okay, yes I did quickly run this card through the sewing machine, but apart from that, it is just Cinnamon Cider stamped onto Basic White cardstock – this image is so lovely I don’t think it really needs anything else. I love the sepia effect Cinnamon Cider gives to this card! I had a bit of fun tearing the Basic White paper and curling the edges with my paper snips – such a simple way to instantly add texture and interest.
I hope my cards have inspired you to give this stamp set a go, even if you don’t feel confident with colouring! Which one do you prefer?
Now it’s time to hop on over to our next participant, Claire Daly. I can’t wait to see what she’s made this week!
If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the the full list of participants below:
This week I’ve used a sentiment stamp set from the new July-December 2021 Mini Catalogue that could be easily overlooked, but I was lucky enough to win from my upline Claire, the Well Defined stamp set.
I’m not sure why I hadn’t used this stamp set before as I love dictionary definitions. In fact, I’ve just finished reading an amazing novel called “The Dictionary of Lost Words”, based on the true story of the women who were involved in the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. It’s a part of history I had never heard of before, beautifully told in one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Although these stamps have been created to look like an official dictionary entry, I’m not sure they would have been included in either the official Oxford Dictionary or even in the Dictionary of Lost Words!
I’ve got plenty of ideas for cards to make with each of the dictionary definitions, however I’ve just used the “holiday” definition stamp today because I wanted to pair it with the Sweets & Treats stamp set for a fun, festive and food-themed card.
Stampin’ Blends in light and dark Old Olive, Real Red and Soft Suede give my card a traditional Christmas colour scheme, with scribbles of the light Crumb Cake Stampin’ Blend to anchor the images.
The sentiment is stamped in Soft Suede before being mounted onto the chopping board die from the Cookin’ Dies. I love how this little die embosses the card stock at the same time as it cuts out the shape of the chopping board.
I stamped two extra the holly sprigs from the plum pudding image and fussy cut them out to add a little more festive cheer. Red Rhinestone jewels are the perfect fit for the little holly berries and add a touch of bling to the card.
I must admit, although I adore the plum pudding stamp, I actually hate plum pudding, Christmas cake or any desserts that include dried fruit. I would, however, happily eat the cupcakes, toffee apples and definitely the cherry pie!
I had a lot of fun making this card – I hope it puts a smile on your face too!
Now it’s time to hop on over to our next participant, the incredible talented Michele Taylor. I wait to see what Michele shares with us today!
If at any time you find a broken link please head to the blog of this week’s Host of the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop, Tina Gillespie, as she has the full list of links for everyone who is participating.
You can purchase any of the products I’ve used tonight here.
Thanks for visiting my site. I’ll be back with another card on Wednesday.
In the meantime, wherever you are in the world, stay safe, stay calm … and keep on crafting xxx
Hello to all my crafting friends! Do you enjoy being challenged with your crafting? I certainly do!
Today I’m sharing my entry for the inaugural “G’day Fri’yay’ Card Making Challenges” group, who are hosting fortnightly Card Making Challenge with Aussie Themes.
The theme for this challenge is koalas, however, although I don’t have a current Stampin’ Up! set with a koala imageI wasn’t going to let that stop me from entering.
So how did I create my koala? It was a combination of dies, punches and an embossing folder. Let’s just call it “die and punch art” and be done with it!
To make the tree I embossed some of the In Good Taste DSP with the Bark 3D embossing folder and used the long, curved Basic Border dies to create the shape of the trunk.
Evening Evergreen and Soft Succulent cardstock die cut with Forever Flourishing dies make for pretty realistic eucalypt leaves, don’t you agree? I hope the koala agrees because he doesn’t eat anything else!
I cannot believe how easy it was to make the little koala from Smoky Slate cardstock with the Pansy Dies! These Pansy dies emboss and cut at the same time, making my little koala even more realistic!
The feet of the new Penguin Builder Punch were punched in Blushing Bride for the inside of the ears.
The curve in the stem of one of the Pansy dies was die cut in Basic Black cardstock for the mouth and the nose was made by trimming a punched piece of Basic Black cardstock with the Symmetrical Stems Border Punch.
Two Matte Black Dots worked perfectly for the eyes!
I hope my “die and punch art” koala inspires you too to take a fresh look at your crafting supplies too and find new and creative ways of using them!
Thanks for visiting my blog today. I’ll be back next Monday with Heart of christmas inspiration and our weekly AWH Colour Creations Showcase – we are creating projects with Cinnamon Cider this week.
When you shop online in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store don’t forget to use my monthly Host Code (if your order is between $50 – $250) and I will send you a thank you gift the following month. If your order is over $250 don’t use the host code because you will qualify for your own stamping rewards.
My August Host Code is AHQUWNVQ and it is valid until midnight August 31.
In the meantime, wherever you are in the world, stay safe, stay calm … and keep on crafting xxx
Welcome to week 10 of our 2021-22 Colour Creations blog hop! Tonight we are showcasing Cherry Cobbler, from the regals collection.
I normally use Cherry Cobbler to make Christmas cards, however, as I’m already making a Christmas card every Monday for our Heart of Christmas blog hop I decided to make a non-Christmas project instead that uses the Sweet Strawberry bundle and the stunning Cherry Cobbler & Gold 1/2″ (1.3 cm) Ribbon.
Have you seen the the Scalloped Kraft Treat Boxes in the Annual Catalogue? They are covered in tiny gold foil dots and they are perfect size for packaging up a selection of 3×3 inch notecards. They also coordinate so well with the Cherry Cobbler & Gold 1/2″ (1.3 cm) Ribbon.
The Sweet Strawberry stamp set was the perfect stamp set to be coloured in with my light and dark Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Blends. I’ve also used light and dark Old Olive Stampin’ Blends for the leaves.
There’s a lovely selection of sentiments in this stamp set and I’ve used a different one on each notecard.
Here’s a closer look at each note card. For the first two notecards I added a layer of Cherry Cobbler Cardstock behind the stamped layer and I stamped directly onto the top card stock layer.
The coordinating Strawberry Builder punch punched out the strawberry, the large and small leaf and the strawberry flower that I’ve used for these notecards below – the large flower I fussy cut with my paper snips. Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels add a tiny touch of bling.
These Stampin’ Up! square envelopes come in a pack of 40 and are designed to fit 3″ x 3″ (7.6 x 7.6 cm) notecards. To coordinate with envelopes with my Cherry Cobbler notecards I’ve simply glued a strip of the Peaceful Prints FREE Sale-a-bration Designer Series Paper to the envelope flaps and trimmed the DSP with paper snips to fit the curve of the envelope flaps.
Although this DSP has Christmas designs on one side, the other sides are all background patterns you can also use on non-Christmas cards, like I have done here, using the Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black check pattern to decorate the envelope flaps.
The final touch for my gift box of Cherry Cobbler notecards is to tie it up with the new Cherry Cobbler & Gold 1/2″ (1.3 cm) Ribbon.
Now it’s time to hop on over to our next participant, Rachel Palmieri. I can’t wait to see what she’s made this week!
If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the the full list of participants below:
