January Stamping Project--Happy Birthday and Thank You

It was a slight blessing to come down with a nasty cold after Christmas, but still not a fun way to start the new year! Sometimes all you need is ink, stamps and cardstock to make some fun cards. As you can imagine, I wasn't feeling very ambitious while sick, but I also wanted to try out the new stamps I ordered, Thanking You and Simple Birthday.

These two giant stamps fill a quarter-fold card nicely and if you make 5x7" cards, you'll have lots more room for layering! I used two of the new Sale-A-Bration freebies, Corner in Bloom and purple adhesive backed sequins, to stamp a border around the cards in Pretty in Pink ink. Materials

• 8.5x11" Pretty In Pink cardstock
• Pretty in Pink ink
• Petunia Pop ink
• Copper ink (for dots)
• Purple adhesive backed sequins

 

It’s Here—Time to Sale-A-Brate with Stampin’ Up!

It's time for a new mini catalogue, which also means it's time for Sale-A-Bration, where you can earn extras with qualifying Stampin' Up! orders.

Contact me for a printed catalogue shop with me online. Stay tuned as I'll have some new cards to share featuring my favourite Sale-A-Bration freebie :-)

 
But wait, there's more! There's also a new scrapbooking brochure with loads of co-ordinated sets too!

 

Sunday Sketch--Happy Birthday Card Swap

I'm really excited about this sketch. It's my first swap in a long time. Sometimes Stampin' Up! teams or crafting groups hold a swap and they're so fun--and sometimes challenging! Sometimes there's a theme and sometimes there's not.

The theme for this card swap was birthday with the only requirement that products from the 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue were used. My swaps are in the mail, so stay tuned for the cards I made and the ones I received 🙂

Stay tuned...

 

Flashback Friday--Dove of Hope Bundle

If you're like me, you have baggies of unfinished ideas or extras that never quite made it into a finished project. I started writing about these projects because, as we enter a new year, there's still value to them. Or, also "late for this year, early for next", as I like to say!

I don't even remember cranking out all the die cuts from SU's Dove of Hope Bundle, a unique set where the dies didn't completely match the stamps. All it took was a little Tombow, a little Wink of Stella and an afternoon to assemble them and a couple made it onto cards. Because of the Canada Post strike, I didn't make a full set of cards, but I think with some festive ribbon, the doves would make great ornaments too!

To complete the card, I cracked open a package of last year's O Holy Night DSP. Using up DSP will be another topic for another time, but I used one of the starry sheets with lots of sponging! It's hard to tell in the photo, but I sponged Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight and even a little Orchid Oasis ink around the edges. The effect toned done the whiteness of the stars and yes--you can sponge ink on dark papers for a vignette effect.

Until next time...

 

Let It Snow Christmas Card with Reindeer Fun

I'm always a little secretive with my Christmas cards because it's so hard to keep things a secret on social media. We just all want to share so bad and smartphones are super good at making it easy!

Now that the Canada Post strike is over, I just don't feel like sending out my Christmas cards, aw! Here's one that was waiting in the wings using Reindeer Fun and a Memories and More card from last year or the year before. Memories and More cards are so handy when you need a right-sized background...or foreground! You can't go wrong with having some holiday themed ones on hand for a quick card.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

 

Flashback Friday--Spring Birthday Accordion Fun Fold Card

Here's the big reveal from my last post, Sunday Sketch--Spring Birthday. Never ever have I made a card like this before, and you can see why it was six months late :-D

This amazing fun fold card is an accordion fold card. You can make accordion fun fold cards with or without the interlocking middle panel and windows. A quick Google will give you lots of inspiration.

This card was so amazing I made a video of it as it was hard to photograph.

Some more photos--click for full-size:

It's a little difficult to give exact instructions as the card was received, but I can give some general guidelines. I enjoyed the design and assembly challenge immensely. With this card, remember you are designing a front, four middle panels, the accordion and potentially the backside. Although I stamped the inside accordion, you'll see many stampers use scrap DSP instead. Go with whatever makes it special--the windows don't need to be a rectangle either!

• Take time to make a model card from scrap cardstock to work out the measurements. As I used one of the Ornate dies for the window frame, I had to make the cut out slightly smaller.
• The card is still 4.25x5.5" when folded. I used a 12x12" Very Vanilla sheet to cut a regular base and then I made another base with the left side 0.5" longer so I could attach them together to make one long accordion.
• The inside accordion is 2" tall and originally had six panels--but I realized four would work.
• Use a quality adhesives like tear tape or Tombow to keep the card together ;-D

Seriously, I felt like I used every stamp in the stash! I ended up taking group photos of the stamp sets so I would remember :-D Current ones are linked:

• Butterfly Brilliance
• Dragonfly Garden
• Enduring Beauty
• Everyday Details
• Grassy Grove
• Honeybee Home
• Nature's Beauty
• Nested Friends
• Quiet Meadow
• Textured Essentials
• Thoughtful Expressions

Other details:

• Petal Pink cardstock
• Very Vanilla 12x12" cardstock
• Flight & Airy DSP
• Early Espresso ink

Would I make another accordion fun fold card again? You bet!! I loved all the different elements and space to work with, plus they have so much potential and possibility! One could easily make a mini scrapbook or gift book for someone or create a seasonal display too.

 

Sunday Sketch--Spring Birthday

LOL this is a belated sketch for a belated birthday card--look for a post about this very special and complex card. You'll see why it was six months late :-) The complexity of this card required the inside to be designed, which was actually quite easy. The front, however, remained quite elusive and it was the last part of the card to be finished.

Stay tuned...