Shaker cards are crowd pleasers but they can be tricky to put together. The project I’m sharing with you today is an easy alternative to traditional shaker cards.
Any little or big monsters in your life would love to receive today’s card! The interactive Halloween card project I’m sharing today features pumpkins, cats, bats and a cute little witches hat. Plus it uses all the traditional holiday colors; Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Crushed Curry and Gorgeous Grape.
A black cat is the official mascot of Halloween but I chose Pumpkin Pie ink to stamp my snarky, fat cat so he would stand out more against the black background of the card.
Cutting/Scoring Guide
Thick Basic White = 8-1/2” x 5-1/2” scored at 4-1/4”
Designer Series Paper = two pieces 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” each (choose two coordinating patterns)
Basic White = 4-1/4” x 5-1/2”, 4” x 4”, 3” x 3”, ½” x 4-1/4”
If you like playing with lots of techniques when making a card, this one is for you! This autumn themed card uses non-traditional colors, has dry embossing, ink blending, die-cutting, distressing and splatters!
I’m late sending a birthday card to a special someone and the inside sentiment I chose for today’s card is coming to my rescue! The sentiment comes from the In Your Words stamp set from Stampin’ Up!
Sure, you can count sheep when trying to sleep, but the lambs in the Counting Sheep Stamp Set want to party! These fun, frolicking farm animals are ready for birthday parties and other festive occasions. Of course, you can also pair these darling sheep with greetings of your choice to use them for any occasion. They are ready to jump right onto your projects!
Create a fabulous farm life scene with the images in the Sheep Dies. Choose from a selection of sheep, then add a fence (even though there’s no way to contain this much fun). Complete the scene with party supplies so you’re ready to celebrate! Use these dies on any project you want to turn into a party.
Sale-A-Bration
The Counting Sheep Cling Stamp Set and coordinating Sheep Dies are part of the Sale-A-Bration promotion. For every $50 and $100 you spend, you’ll earn an exclusive Sale-A-Bration item for free! Depending on the amount you spend, you’ll be able to mix ‘n’ match the Sale-A-Bration items you earn. The Counting Sheep Cling Stamp Set is FREE with a $50 purchase and the coordinating Sheep Dies are also FREE during Sale-a-Bration with a $50 purchase. Here is my first creation using these fun new products.
Although I’m a dog lover and the critters highlighted in this product suite are the cutest, that is not why I purchased this suite. It was the sweet stocking images that attracted me.
Here is the card I demonstrated during today’s Coffee & a Card Facebook Live using the products in the Sweet Stockings Suite.
Today was the first day of school for my four grandchildren. Two were excited for the new year and two were a bit sad that summer had come to an end. I’m one of those people that looks forward to and enjoys back-to-school season. When the back-to-school bell rings it’s time to start creating pretty Autumn cards.
Nothing says Autumn like pumpkins so I chose the Pretty Pumpkins Bundle from Stampin’ Up! for today’s card. The new Harvest Meadow Designer Series Paper paired perfectly with the bundle. All the pretty pumpkin images to stamp and coordinating dies in this bundle are perfect for all my fall paper crafting projects.
It was a refreshing change to use the deeper, regal colors Autumn reminds of of. For today’s project I used Cajun Craze and Bumblebee cardstocks and inks. And, because I did not stamp a sentiment onto the card front, I decided to make the card insert a little fancy by using a Scalloped Contours die-cut.
My mom has had some health problems and I’ve been acting as her care giver for the last few weeks. It’s a new dynamic for me and I’m having to rearrange my routines and schedule to meet her needs. Because my focus has been on her I’ve been having trouble finding my crafting mojo lately.
Whenever I’m at a stall creativity-wise I sometimes find it helpful to use sketches to get back on track. Sketches are like blueprints for card making. You can grab a pad and pencil to make your own sketch or find lots of them by googling “card making sketches”.
A sketch gives you a plan and once you have a plan you can start building your card. Here’s a sketch I came up with this morning to use during my Make-it-Monday Facebook Live.
As you can see, the sketch has all the card basics planned out for me. By looking at the sketch I already know I want to find some coordinating card stock and Designer Series Paper. I also know I’m going to add a die-cut and a sentiment tag to the card front. From here I can choose the different elements.
How Sketches Work in Real Life
Here’s a card I created using the above sketch. I always like to add a little texture to a project so I embossed the card front with the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder. I then adhered two corodinating strips of Heartwarming Hugs Designer Series Paper onto the card front. Next, I decided to use a die-cut for the 2.25″ x 3″ layer on the sketch and chose a die from the Scalloped Contours Dies to cut a stitched, scalloped rectangle. See how I improvised there?
A card sketch can be copied exactly or you may want to alter it. You will notice I took creative liberty and replaced the circle element from the sketch with a die-cut poinsettia I cut from Red Velvet Paper using dies from the Poinsettia Dies. Finally I heat embossed “warm wishes” onto the sentiment tag using a stamp from the Poinsettia Petals stamp set .
Video Tutorial
Sometimes looking at a pile of paper crafting products can stymie our creative efforts. I hope you can see how helpful a sketch can be as a jumping off point. Sketch out your plan first then elect the elements and finally, execute the plan!
Is there anything better than a sweet, juicy peach? I am a peach lover so when I saw the You’re a Peach Suite in the Stampin’ Up! catalog I grabbed it. Just look at all those lush colors in that Designer Series Paper!
To begin with, the You’re a Peach Designer Series Paper is probably my favorite paper in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. And furthermore I was feeling fancy today and wanted to create a special card to go with my mood. My first thought was a fun-fold card and after doing some research I decided on a pocket card. I love how my card turned out.
One of the rules I set for myself when creating a card is that it should have at least one embellishment or some kind of trim on it. I rarely break that rule and in this case I wrapped a length of the luxurious Open Weave Ribbon in Pale Papaya around the pocket. Secondly, I added a sentiment tag to the front of the pocket using a die from the Stitched So Sweetly Dies. And thirdly, because I was in such a fancy mood, I embellished the tag with die-cuts and paper flowers. All those layers really give this card an elegant feel.
Finally, for the pocket card insert, I layered pieces of Pear Pizzazz, Pale Papaya and Basic White card stock. By leaving the top of the insert bare there is plenty of room to add a stamped sentiment or a handwritten note later.
As a card maker I look forward to any reason to send a handmade card to someone. Holidays are of course the best time to send a card. Remembering family and friends with some happy mail is the perfect way to stay in touch. Who wouldn’t love to receive this card in the mail?
The idea for a red, white and blue ice cream cone was my inspiration for this card. It’s not so far fetched to have a scoop of cherry, vanilla and blueberry ice cream is it? The Sweet Ice Cream Bundle by Stampin’ Up! was perfect for my card.
I shared this Sailing Home Pop-Up Diorama card during this week’s Coffee & a Card Facebook Live and really stumbled through it. My listeners were so kind to stay with me until the end and I hope they were happy with the results.
Paper Cutting/Scoring Guide
Card Front = 8″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Bermuda Bay card stock scored at 4-1/4″ on the 8″ side. Fold on score line.
Card Insert = 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Bermuda Bay card stock scored at 1/2″, 4-1/4″, & 4-3/4″.
Middle Layer = 4-3/16″ x 5-7/16″ piece of Pool Party card stock scored at 1/4″ on both ends of 4-3/16″ sides.
Stamped Layer = 2-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Pool Party, 2″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White card stock.
Sentiment Tag = 3-1/4″ x 2-1/4″ piece of Pool Party card stock, 3-1/4″ x 2-1/4″ piece of Basic White card stock.
Additional Card stock for Die-cuts = scraps of Whisper White, Sahara Sand and Soft Suede card stock.
It’s important to have the card stock measurements and score lines accurate to create this 3-D pop-up card but look at the result!
Did you notice the wavy water in the background? Watch my video tutorial to see how I was able to create the look of waves with just a scrap of card stock, ink and a blending brush. I mentioned that I had a little trouble assembling this card but edited all the goof-ups out of the video. The replay is a little choppy but it will explain correctly how to make this card.
Now that I’ve worked out all the kinks and know what I’m doing, I can’t wait to make more of these types of cards. I hope this encourages you to create your own diorama pop-up cards!
It’s been a week this week and it’s only Wednesday. I’ve been tired and just haven’t felt myself. The weather has been pretty dreary and my allergies have been a bummer. The worst of it is that my creative mojo has taken the week off. How do you get your mojo back? I just start making things and they are usually CASED from other creators.
CASEing is to copy and share everything. Today I copied a card featured in the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. I did not have the Designer Series Paper the Stampin’ Up! concept artist used in the catalog sample so I substituted the Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper when making my card.
Paper Cutting/Scoring Guide
Card Base = 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Soft Sea Foam card stock scored at 4-1/4″ on the 8-1/2″ side.
Pansy Petals DSP = 4″ x 5-1/4″
Embossed Layer = 2-3/4″ x 4-3/4″
Shelf Die-Cut = scrap of Crumb Cake card stock
Stamped Images = 5-1/2″ x 3″ piece of Basic White card stock
Sentiment Tag = 1/2″ x 3″ piece of Soft Succulent card stock
Fun-fold cards are as enjoyable to make as they are to receive. During today’s Make-it-Monday Facebook Live I made a fun-fold votive candle greeting card using the Hand Penned Petals Bundle from Stampin’ Up!
The actual mechanics of this fun-fold card are simple and don’t require any special tools. You will want an open die or punch to use on the center panels. This will allow the flicker from the battery operated tea-light candle to show thru. I used the lovely outline die from the Penned Flower Dies worked well for my card.
I decided to leave the inside of the card free of sentiments so as not to distract from the candle flickering behind the vellum.
Sometimes I can’t help myself and for the front of the card I got a little fancy. There are lots of layers, a sentiment tag, scalloped edge and a stamped die-cut. The colors used for this card were pulled from the Hand Penned Designer Series Paper. Color coordination is the main reason I love and use Stampin’ Up! products exclusively.
Paper Cutting & Scoring Guide
Card Base = 4-1/4″ x 11″ piece of Misty Moonlight cardstock scored at 5-1/2″
Fun-Fold Card Insert = 4-1/4″ x 11″ piece of Misty Moonlight cardstock scroed at 2-3/4″, 5-1/2″, and 8-1/4″ on the 11″ side
Hand Penned DSP for Insert = two pieces 2-1/2″ x 4″ each
Vellum = two pieces 2-1/2″ x 4″
Flower Outline Die -cut = two pieces 2-1/2″ x 3-1/4″
Hand Penned DSP for card front = one pattern 1-3/8″ x 5-1/2″, one pattern 4-3/4″ x 3″
I recently ran across a new paper crafting technique shown by fellow Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator Cary Buckham. The technique, called twisted ribbon, is actually a quilting technique. I love how the technique does appear to be a zig-zag of folded ribbon.
To make the panel for my card, I used a pencil to mark every half-inch on a 5″ x 2″ piece of Pale Papaya card stock.
Next, I lined up 1″ x 3″ strips of Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper at a diagonal onto the Pale Papaya panel using the pencil marks as guides and adhered them to the card stock.
Then I adhered the next layer of 1″ x 3″ strips of Designer Series Paper to the panel lining them up at a diagonal in the opposite direction.
Watch the replay of this week’s Coffee & a Card to watch exactly how to achieve the twisted ribbon technique.
Paper Cutting Guide
Card Base = 5-1/2″ x 6-3/4″ piece of Calypso Coral cardstock scored at 2-1/2″ on the 6-3/4″ side
Card Insert = 5-1/4″ x 4″ piece of Basic White cardstock
Embossed Panel = 2-1/4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Pale Papaya cardstock
Sentiment Tag = 4″ x 3″ piece of Basic White cardstock
“Ribbon Panel” = 5″ x 2″ piece of Pale Papaya cardstock
Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper = twelve 1/2″ x 3″ strips
I have some requests to demonstrate the Baby Wipe Technique on a card and today is the day. The baby wipe technique is easy enough for anyone to do but it will require a few extra supplies. One obvious supply needed is baby wipes and fragrance free wipes work best.
Step #1
Choose your stamp set. Images with solid backgrounds are going to show-off the baby wipe technique the best but are not necessary. I chose the Sweet Ice Cream stamp set by Stampin’ Up! for today’s project.
The popsicle images worked beautifully with the baby wipe technique. I stamped the two-step popsicles onto a piece of Basic White cardstock to create a background for my card.
Step #2
Look at those variations of pink colors on the stamped images! I’m thinking I need a fruit bar right about now. To achieve this look, I folded a baby wipe in half and then in half again. I set it on an acrylic block then added several drops of Melon Mambo, Flirty Flamingo, and Petal Pink Stampin’ Ink Refils onto the folded baby wipe.
Looks like quite a mess doesn’t it? The inked baby wipe is a stamp pad for my project. You can watch the video replay of my Make-it-Monday Facebook Live to see how this technique works.
Watercolor is one of my favorite mediums. It’s soft and fluid with no sharp edges – kinda like coloring outside the lines. I am no watercolor artist by any means but used the technique to create two cards during today’s Coffee & a Card Facebook Live.
On this second card I used ink and a Water Painter. Once dry, the florals were die-cut out using the Penned Flowers Dies then adhered them to the card front.
Watch the video replay to see how easy these two watercolor techniques are.
