Calming Camellia Twisted Easel Card

 

Twisted Easel fun fold card featuring Calming Camellia stamp and Summer Shadows dies

Calming Camellia has now officially been added to my list of all-time favourite stamp sets!  This distinktive stamp is perfect just as is and also looks beautiful with the addition of a little simple colouring.  It's also perfect for multiple occasions or purposes.

For this card, I stamped with Evening Evergreen ink onto Whisper White card and then enhanced it a little with some Stampin' Blend alcohol markers.

The Twisted Easel is such a simple, versatile and effective fun fold!  I cut the base and several layers from Evening Evergreen cardstock, adding layers of Blushing Bride and Simply Marbleous Designer Series Paper (that I got free in Sale-A-Bration).

The base card measures 5 3/4" square (cut the cardstock to 5 3/4" x 11 1/2" and score the long side at 5 3/4".  Score a diagonal from the top right corner to bottom left corner of the card front) and I cut the layer that adheres to the lower section of the base card a little smaller at 5 1/2" square so did not apply adhesive all the way to the edge of the base card.

Diagram for Twisted Easel base card

The flowers and foliage that decorate the corner of the inside of the card were created with the Summer Shadows dies.  The centre flower is popped up on a Dimensional to form a prop to hold open the easel.

Thank you for visiting.

Until next time!

Stephanie

Grassy Grove Calamity

 

Grassy Gove Bundle paired with Mountain Air stamp set & Harvest Dies

The greatest joys that Stampin' Up has brought me are the wonderful and supportive people that I have met - mostly in a virtual way.   We have celebrated successes, inspired each other and in the bleaker times their messages have brought love, comfort and the knowledge that I'm not alone.  And then something really magical happens and a bond forged in mutual interests and creativity develops into a warm friendship that goes way beyond card-making. 

This card was inspired by my friend RaeDeen and I really wish I'd done a better job!!

My dislike of wastage is well-documented but the embarrassing step by step photos below (which I share as a cautionary tale!) are testament to the fact that a certain amount of planning is beneficial.  My lack of planning, and poor choice of left over bits of card to use, created unnecessary challenges that kept me problem-solving each step of the way!

'Til next time
Stephanie

I hereby invite you to have some fun at my expense!

It started out OK with some sponging, white craft ink and the Mountain Air stamp

Having spent a few minutes kicking myself, I decided to rescue the piece rather than waste the card
so I proceeded to stipple the tree canopy with ink and colour the trunks with Stampin' Blends

For my next blooper!  Clearly this was not the best piece of card to have used!  A few more bruises added to my shins, another decision to not waste the card and another rescue mission required!

The ovals covered the problems at the lower extremity but that left a couple of problems to fix to the left of the card.  The Harvest dies seemed to offer the possibility of building a foreground tree with similar branches and canopy.

The "canopy" was looking a bit like a mess of green meringues so I tried to add some shading to bring it together a bit more.  I reckon I could have done a better job but at this point my problem-solving brain cells had rolled onto their backs with their legs in the air!

Crane of Good Fortune

Crane of Fortune Bundle

I was immediately drawn to this distinktive stamp set in the Mini Catalogue January to June 2022.  But, there is something about the drawing that bugs me a bit - so today I added a bit of shading to the lower part of the wing and I think it helped a bit.  

I had experimented with clear embossing the crane onto black cardstock and decided that it didn't really work (I'm going to try it on Basic Gray though!).  As you might know, I hate to waste anything, so that unfortunate crane now forms a shadow behind the star of the card.

If you're wondering about that label: I used a die from the now retired (sorry!) Vine Design Bundle and trimmed it to the size I wanted.

'Til next time

Stephanie

In The Moment by the window

 

In the moment stamp set

Oh dear, it's been a while, hasn't it!

I'm not going to make excuses - I've just been taking care of myself by removing the pressure to create, photograph and blog.  I've just returned to my craft room and am having fun with some new bits and pieces.

This is one of the images from the In The Moment stamp set.  

I stamped the image, masked it (yes, it was a little bit fiddly to cut out the window panes but not as bad as I had expected) and then stamped the trees from the Winter Woods stamp set.  I sponged the trees and sky before I removed the mask.  

Then I coloured the image with Stampin' Blends alcohol markers.

NOTE:
When I was making the mask - I extended the window panes.  Once I removed the mask, I simply extended the lines with a fine black pen.

I cut the little scene out with one of the Layering Square dies and sponged around the edges with some Smoky Slate ink.

Bye for now - I'll pop in from time to time when I feel up to tackling technology and feel I have something worthwhile to share.

See you then!

Stephanie
The Crafty Thinker

True Love valentine card

Why are flowers always considered to be feminine?  I made this Valentine card for my husband - he likes flowers too!

True Love Valentine Card for my true love

As soon as I looked at the Mini Catalogue, the True Love Designer Series Paper went straight to the top of my wish list!  I LOVE the elegant black and white designs and the vesatility!  One side has beautiful floral images that can be coloured, if you wish, with your favourite medium.  The other side has gorgeous and multi-functional geometric designs - suitable for any gender and any occasion - which can also be enhanced with the addition of colour if desired.

For this card, I coloured one of the posies with my Stampin' Blends alcohol makers and fussy cut it.  

The layer beneath the flowers is a leftover piece from this card, made with a mask, glue and Gilded Leafing.  I used it because it was on the desk but could just as easily have used another pattern from the paper pack (and it would probably have looked better!).

The other decorative layers are more pieces from the True Love paper pack, combined with Real Red and Basic Black cardstock.

The greeting, from Forever Blossoms, was stamped with Real Red ink and cut out with one of the Tasteful Labels dies.

Thank you for visiting
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - All available for purchase from my online store

True Love Designer Series Paper

$20.00

Tasteful Labels Dies

$54.00

Forever Blossoms Cling Stamp Set (English)

$40.00

Real Red A4 Card Stock

$15.25

Basic Black 12" X 12" Card Stock

$12.25

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends

$15.50

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

$15.50

Enjoy The Moment with Gold

Enjoy The Moment - masculine card with a hint of Gilded Leafing

I made this card to use up a test piece that I had done on a scrap piece of cardstock when I was experimenting with Gilded Leafing for this card.

I cut out my image with a Stitched Nested Labels die, extending the size of the die cut to fit the image (see below for instructions - scroll down) and used the same method to cut some So Saffron card with the next size up in the die set.

I cut a piece of Early Espresso card and stamped it with Whisper White Craft Ink, then layered it onto my So Saffron base card.

I stamped some more of the images with Early Espresso ink onto So Saffron card and added a bit of shading with Crumb Cake Stampin' Blend alcohol markers.  I fussy cut these and adhered them to the card front.

I stamped the greeting with Multipurpose Liquid Glue and applied Gilded Leafing before cutting out with one of the Tasteful Labels Dies.  I made a mat for this by cutting a rectangle of So Saffron card just a bit bigger, adhering the label and then snipping the ends of the So Saffron piece to match the banner shape.

Thank you for visiting
'Til next time
Stephanie

How to adjust die cut size - In this case, I want to enlarge the length of the cut

Enlarging size of die cut Fig. 1

1.  Position the die as usual but only place the top  cutting plate over the first part of the die to be cut (see Fig.1).  Run through your cut/emboss machine.

2.  Remove top plate and die.  The result will be a partial cut (see Fig.2)

Enlarging size of die cut Fig. 2

3.  Turn the piece 180 degrees on your bottom cutting plate.  Position the die as required, wiggling the die until you feel that the blade has slipped into the existing cuts.  Secure with washi tape.  Place top cutting plate over just the first part, as in step 1 (See Fig. 3) and run through your cut/emboss machine.

Enlarging die cut Fig. 3

When you remove the piece from the die cutting machine, you will have extended the die cut (see Fig.4)

Enlarging die cut Fig. 4

To reduce the size of a die cut, the process is very similar - simply adjust the 2nd placement of the die accordingly.

Product List - All available for purchase from my online store

Enjoy The Moment Cling Stamp Set

$40.00

Gilded Leafing Embellishment

$15.75

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

$7.00

Tasteful Labels Dies

$54.00

Stitched Nested Labels Dies

$61.00

Early Espresso A4 Card Stock

$15.25

So Saffron A4 Card Stock

$15.25

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill

$16.50

Gilded Dandelion Wishes & Leftovers

A pair of cards featuring Dandelion Wishes stamp set, Basic Pattern Masks, glue and Gilded Leafing

I stamped the Dandelion Wishes image with Multipurpose Liquid Glue before adding Gilded Leafing (see instructions here) and I'm really pleased with the results!

I also took the opportunity to use up some leftover scraps of gilded masked backgrounds.

The decorative panel to the right is a leftover piece of Gilded Leafing applied to glue sponged
through a decorative mask/stencil

I decided to include the rough edges where my sponged glue went over the mask.  

To achieve the very straight horizontal line of gilding on the card below, I applied a piece of Tear & Tape double-sided adhesive tape to adhere the Gilded Leafing.

The ribbon-like straight line of gilding is achieved with double-sided adhesive and Gilded Leafing

The final card includes a gilded butterfly (same glue stamping method).

The butter was also stamped with liquid glue to adhere the Gilded Leafing before cutting out with the coordinating punch

If you look carefully, you'll see that these dandelions were part of the large "stash" that I stamped and gilded a few weeks ago.  When the glue and gilding flakes are out - I like to make the most of it!

I like to make a lot of gilded images while the glue and Gilded Leafing are out

 Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - all available for purchase from my online store

Dandelion Wishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$35.00

Basic Pattern Decorative Masks

$10.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

$7.00

Gilded Leafing Embellishment

$15.75

Stamping Sponges

$7.00

Silicone Craft Sheet

$10.00

Tear & Tape Adhesive

$11.50