Are you looking for a way to make beautiful cards but are short on time? The ephemera packs by Stampin’ Up! are the perfect answer! The images and sentiments are beautifully detailed and make it a snap to create beautiful cards, especially if you’re short on time.
Today, we’re pairing the Joyful ephemera packs with a few extra elements to create this beautiful holiday card.
We get started with a green Gold Dipped card base. Our focal panel base is a piece of gold mercury vellum that has been diecut with the Spotlight on Nature dies. We then layer our drums and greenery from the Joyful Images ephemera pack on our focal panel using varying heights of dimensionals and then hang our sentiment from the Joyful Sayings pack above. For a pop of seasonal color, we add a twist of Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon behind our panel and red iridescent discs around.
Tomorrow, we’ll be pairing our ephemera with a sketch. I hope you’ll tune in for another installment in the Sketchy Fridays series!
Products used in today’s card: Gold Dipped cards & envelopes Joyful Images ephemera Joyful Sayings ephemera Gold mercury vellum Spotlight on Nature dies Cherry Cobbler & Gold satin ribbon Iridescent discs Dimensionals Adhesives
This week, we’re exploring all of the ways we can use the new Joyful ephemera packs in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog. The ephemera packs provide both images and sentiments for super quick and simple cards. You can use the ephemera all on its own or dress up your card designs with additional elements.
Today, our clean and simple design includes one simple additional diecut piece that really packs a lot of design punch and completely transforms the look of this card.
We get started with a blue Gold Dipped card base. Our focal image panel base is a circle cut from white glimmer specialty paper using the Spotlight on Nature dies, and then we layer the set of skates and a blue bow from the Joyful Images ephemera pack on top using dimensionals. We break up our sentiment above and below the image panel and adhere both directly to our card base. A few snowflakes finish things off with an additional gold twinkle in the center of our design.
Beautiful cards do not have to take a lot of time. And when you’re short on time, I highly recommend giving the Stampin’ Up! ephemera packs a try!
Products used in today’s card: Gold Dipped card & envelope Joyful Images ephemera Joyful Sayings ephemera White glimmer paper Spotlight on Nature dies Snowflake assortment Dimensionals Adhesives
This week, we’re taking a closer look at the new Joyful ephemera packs available in the current Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog. Although ephemera packs have been available for some time, I’ve been hesitant to purchase them because I didn’t think I would like working with them. But let me tell you, these are a lifesaver if you’re wanting to create a card but are crunched for time!
We’re going to be using the Joyful ephemera packs this week in a number of different ways. You can use ephemera all on its own to create beautiful cards, just like I did yesterday with the Christmas mantle design. Or you can add additional elements to dress up your designs and add a bit more complexity, like we’re doing with today’s card.
This card begins with a green Gold Dipped card base. We’re using the reinker watercoloring technique I first introduced to you on Saturday to create a sheet of custom paper to cut our tree from using the Merriest Trees dies. Each of the tree layers is separated by dimensionals on the bottom edge to give it a more realistic look, and the bottom layer of the tree is adhered directly to the card front. Our bear and packages from the Joyful Images ephemera pack sit directly in front of the tree. The packages are adhered to the card front and the bear is adhered with dimensionals to have it appear to be oriented in front of our packages. I added a gold star to the top of the tree for a festive finish. The sentiment from the Joyful Sayings ephemera pack is adhered directly to the top layer of our tree. A few drusy embellishments add some sparkle and draw our eye across our card design.
Would you like to learn how to create your own watercolor paper and see this card come together from start to finish? Check out today’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays to watch the magic happen!
Products used in today’s card: Gold dipped card & envelope Joyful Images ephemera Joyful Sayings ephemera Watercolor paper Water painter Pretty Peacock, Old Olive ink Merriest Trees dies Drusy embellishments Dimensionals Adhesives
We’ve made it to another bright and shiny new week, friends! I hope you all enjoyed a restful weekend. Although we had places to be all weekend, all in all I would call it a relatively low-key weekend. It’s nice to have the opportunity to rest and recharge.
Today we begin a brand new series of card designs. And this week, we’re still in the Christmas spirit as we take a closer look at all that the new holiday ephemera packs to have to offer, particularly when you’re looking for gorgeous cards on the go! Today we get started with a festive mantle.
Our card base is the Real Red Gold Dipped card base. We use a combination of the Joyful Images and Joyful Sayings ephemera packs to build our mantle scene. We use the red rectangle as our mantle and then decorate with stockings, of course, and then add some larger ornaments and a bell. Our elements are layered with dimensionals to give many different depths in our scene. The sentiment is hung above our hearth as the perfect focal point. A few drusy embellishments add a little sparkle.
Tomorrow’s clean and simple holiday card design features another look at the watercoloring technique I shared last week. I hope you’ll pop in and check it out.
Products used in today’s card: Gold Dipped cards & envelopes Joyful Images ephemera Joyful Saying ephemera Drusy embellishments Dimensionals
We’ve made our way to another weekend and halfway through the month of September already! This week, we’ve been All About Christmas and have been exploring a whole selection of Stampin’ Up! holiday products. Today, we’re revisiting a set of products that carried over from last year’s holiday release. And it’s no wonder because the Merriest Trees set and the Winter Meadow paper pack both offer so many ways to create beautiful cards and not just holiday designs!
Today, we’re pairing up the Merriest Trees dies with one of my all-time favorite fun folds — the Center Step fun fold. I also gave a new coloring technique a try to make my own patterned paper for the trees. So let’s take a closer look at how this fun fold comes together.
We get started with a base of Pretty Peacock cardstock. A sheet of the Winter Meadow designer series paper serves as our backdrop for the center focal panel. Our pair of trees start with a custom coloring technique using Pretty Peacock and Old Olive ink. (Tune in on my YouTube channel on Tuesday for a full tutorial during the next episode of Terrific Tuesdays!) I also splatter some white craft ink to give the look of snowflakes falling in front of the branches. Using all of the various sizes of trees in the Merriest Trees die set, I cut out tree panels and then selected ones to layer to create each tree. Dimensionals on the bottom fringes of the branches help give a little dimension and the look of the stacked branches. Each tree is then decorated with garland and stars cut from textured gold specialty paper. The trees are adhered to the bottom of the center fold portion of the card base with dimensionals. Our sentiment consists of a mat of gold foil cut with the banner die from the Peaceful Season die set. The sentiment from Merriest Trees is heat embossed in gold on white cardstock and then diecut using the Peaceful Season dies. It’s adhered to the top of the center panel with dimensionals. I tucked a few bunnies by the trees for a little added interest and then scattered snowflakes in the background.
Next week we’re going to be exploring the new Christmas ephemera. I hope you’ll tag along!
Products used in today’s card: Pretty Peacock, Basic White cardstock Watercolor paper, Winter Meadow, gold foil, textured gold DSP Merriest Trees stamps & dies Peaceful Season, Grove dies Gold embossing powder Pretty Peacock, Old Olive reinker Snowflakes, rhinestone jewels Dimensionals Adhesives
Welcome to Friday, everyone! This week, we’ve been All About Christmas and have been taking a tour through all of the fun holiday products that Stampin’ Up! offers.
Today is another installment of Sketchy Fridays, where each week we’ll be using a card sketch to design our featured card. Right now, we’re working through a full series of designs using the card sketches found on page 22 of the current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.
This week’s card is based on Sketch #17 and features the snowman from the Filled With Cheer stamp set and the fun Take a Bow designer series paper in the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog.
We get started with a base of Real Red cardstock. I chose a sheet of the new Take a Bow designer series paper for the strip elements in the sketch and used both sides of one sheet of paper. I felt like the focal panel needed to be more than simple strips of patterned paper and this is where I chose to add two additional layers to bring everything together. I used some of the red Festive glimmer paper as the mat immediately behind our paper strips, and this mat is cut using the Perennial Postage die. And then to help the whole focal panel pop against our card base, I added a mat of white cardstock that has been diecut with the Deckled Rectangle die and then embossed using the Snowflake Sky embossing folder. Our focal panel is stamped with the snowman from the Filled With Cheer stamp set and then diecut with the Perennial Postage dies so that we’re just capturing the snowman and Christmas tree. The snowman is colored with Stampin’ Blends. Red and white baker’s twine is twisted around the bottom of our panel to tie everything together (no pun intended). The top-right edge of our panel is lightly sponged with Real Red ink to create a nice backdrop for our separate sentiment panel. The sentiment from Greetings of the Season is stamped in red on white cardstock and then diecut with the circle die from Changing Leaves and then adhered over our sponged focal panel corner. The focal panel is adhered to the backdrop with dimensionals. A few peppermints and rhinestones finish things off and help draw the eye across and to the more important elements on our card.
I love sketches because they give me a great place to get started. Sometimes I stick to a sketch just as it is. And other times, like today, I venture just a tiny bit outside the lines. I really love the simplicity of today’s sketch, but as I started working with it in conjunction with all of the elements in today’s card design, I felt like we needed a few extra layers to be sure everything works together but also, and more importantly, to ensure that all of the elements really pop.
Tomorrow we’re revisiting a few old favorites as we make our way through the enchanted Christmas forest. I hope you’ll pop by and check it out!
Products used in today’s card: Real Red, Basic White cardstock Take a Bow, Festive glimmer DSP Filled With Cheer, Greetings of the Season stamps Stampin’ Blends Snowflake Sky embossing folder Perennial Postage, Deckled Rectangles, Changing Leaves dies Red & white twine Peppermints Rhinestones Dimensionals Adhesives
Do you ever include a gift with a Christmas card? Do you ever find yourself looking for cute and/or creative ways to include the gift? Today, we’re looking at a fun way to include a gift card with this year’s Christmas card to friends or relatives. This card is literally a gift that keeps giving!
For our special gift card, we’re pairing some of the beautiful new patterned paper packs with the dies from the Season of Elegance Suite included in the new Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog. So let’s take a closer look at how this all comes together.
We get started with a base of Real Red cardstock. Our focal gift panel also starts with a base of Real Red that is cut down to leave enough room at the top for our decorative gift card insert. Using the smaller square from the Peaceful Season dies, we cut squares from two sheets of the Season of Elegance paper and one sheet of the Season of Green & Gold paper pack. I alternated the red and cream-colored rows and tried to ensure the center squares lined up so that the Cherry Cobbler & Gold ribbon element ran cleanly from top to bottom. Our sentiment from the Trucking Along stamp set is stamped tone-on-tone on Real Red cardstock and then diecut using the Peaceful Season die, which is matted with the larger rectangle banner from the same die set. The sentiment panel is adhered at the bottom of our package focal panel using dimensionals. I added Drusy embellishments to the panel for added sparkle and to ensure the eye moves to the sentiment. We adhere our full focal panel to the card front using foam strips on three sides to create a pocket behind the panel.
Our gift card holder is a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock that is diecut with the largest tag in the Greetings of the Season die set. We create the bow for the top by cutting Garden Green Festive glimmer paper with the Peaceful Evergreens dies. The bow is assembled with glue dots and then adhered to the top of our tag with dimensionals. You can lightly hold a gift card in place by placing a few glue dots on the back and then placing it on the tag. Tuck it into the pocket and you have an instant gift in more ways than one!
I really love how this turned out and can’t wait to use this design this year. It’s always fun to be able to present a gift card in a fun and creative way and with a lengthier note.
Tune in tomorrow for a new Sketchy Fridays card design and see what our snowman is getting up to!
Products used in today’s card: Real Red, Very Vanilla cardstock Season of Elegance, Season of Green & Gold, Festive glimmer DSP Trucking Along stamps Peaceful Season, Peaceful Evergreens, Greetings of the Season dies Cherry Cobbler & gold metallic ribbon Drusy embellishments Foam strips Dimensionals Adhesives
We’re already halfway through this week and halfway through our All About Christmas week. I really love making holiday cards, so I’m having a great time working with all of the wonderful holiday products that Stampin’ Up! currently has to offer.
Today, we’re combining a little new with some old as take a drive to the tree farm in the woods to pick our Christmas tree. Do you like having a real tree or do you prefer artificial Christmas trees? I love real trees but unfortunately have allergies that prevent me from having real trees inside. Today’s card pairs the famous Trucking Along bundle with the Peaceful Evergreen set. Let’s take a closer look.
We get started with a base of Poppy Parade cardstock. I loved the contrast that this color provides with the Real Red in the other card elements. Our focal panel base consists of a piece of white cardstock that has been embossed using the Snowflake Sky embossing folder and the candy cane striped sheet of patterned paper from the Take a Box paper pack. To add a little definition to the snowy sky and create a definitive sky in our panel, I used my sponge dauber to add a little Misty Moonlight to the top of the embossed panel. Our grove of evergreens is created using the Peaceful Evergreens stamps and dies. I stamped two different sizes of evergreens on Mossy Meadow and then diecut them using the coordinating dies. They’re adhered to our focal panel using dimensionals. Our truck is stamped in black on Real Red cardstock using the Trucking Along stamp set and then punched with the coordinating punch. The tree in the truck bed is stamped tone-on-tone on Garden Green cardstock and then cut out with paper snips. The truck is adhered on extra dimensionals in front of our evergreens. Our sentiment from Filled With Cheer is stamped in Real Red on white cardstock and then diecut using the Peaceful Season banner die. I cut a second banner from Real Red to mat the sentiment panel and help it stand out. It’s adhered to the top of our focal panel, just like that welcome banner at the tree farm. A few adhesive peppermints on either side of the sentiment finish things of nicely.
The next time I make this card, I think I will stamp the truck on white cardstock instead. While I like the richness of the red we get by stamping the truck tone-on-tone, I like the background of our punched image blending in more to our snowy background. Try it out and see what you think!
Tomorrow we’re getting a look at a cool technique for creating a gift card and holiday card in one. Hope you’ll pop in and check it out!
Products used in today’s card: Poppy Parade, Real Red, Mossy Meadow, Garden Green, Basic White cardstock Take a Bow DSP Filled With Cheer stamps Trucking Along stamps & punch Peaceful Evergreens stamps & dies Peaceful Season dies Snowflake Sky embossing folder Real Red & white peppermints Dimensionals Adhesives
Welcome to Monday, crafty friends! I hope you all enjoyed a nice weekend. Here in North Texas we’re beginning to enjoy the first of a string of very fall-like temperatures in the mornings and it’s been glorious!
This week starts a new design series and we’re All About Christmas! I know it’s hard to want to think about the holidays when we’re not even officially into fall yet. But as you know, beautiful Christmas cards don’t just make themselves! *wink* Today’s card features the Golden Greenery stamps and dies, as well as several of the new patterned paper packs that just launched in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog.
So let’s get a closer look at today’s card. We get started with a base of Mossy Meadow cardstock. Our focal panel base consists of two coordinating gold foil patterns — the foiled greenery patterned paper from the Season of Green & Gold paper pack and the Old Olive pattern from the Season of Elegance paper pack. I love how the gold foiling in each sheet plays off each other so well to give a cohesive sheen to the background. To create the layers of greenery, I began by stamping two different greenery patterns from the Golden Greenery stamp set onto Soft Sea Foam cardstock. These greenery bunches come together in two steps, and I used a combination of Shaded Spruce and Pool Party to create the stems of leaves. Each one is then diecut with the coordinating Golden Greenery dies. I also cut coordinating stems of the same varieties from shimmer papers using the detailed dies in the set. I chose a mixture of greens to cut the evergreen fronds. All of the stems are then layered up with dimensionals to give a variety of height to the bunch. The sentiment is broken into two parts for a little added drama. The Merry panel is diecut from white using the Peaceful Season dies and Merry is then stamped in Real Red in the center. A twist of Cherry Cobbler & Gold metallic ribbon is adhered behind the panel. Christmas is diecut from Real Red glimmer paper using the Peaceful Season die and then placed to overlap the sentiment panel and greenery. A few red iridescent discs add a pop of sparkle across the card front.
The style of this card would be what my grandmother would have referred to as “plop decorating.” You literally just plop things where they look good. And this card certainly made me smile as I plopped greenery and thought of her!
I hope you’ll pop in tomorrow as we take a little sleigh ride.
Products used in today’s card: Mossy Meadow, Soft Sea Foam, Garden Green, Shaded Spruce, Basic White cardstock Season of Elegance, Season of Green & Gold, Basic White shimmer, Festive shimmer DSP Golden Greenery stamps & dies Greetings of the Season stamps Peaceful Season dies Cherry Cobbler & Gold metallic ribbon Iridescent discs Dimensionals Adhesives
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a ball digging into my box of Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini catalog preorder goodies and sharing sneak peeks with you. One of the many perks of being a demonstrator is having the opportunity to order new items early, and I love being able to share my excitement about new products with you.
Today, we’re getting a look at a new embossing folder called Painted Trees, which is part of the larger suite that we worked with yesterday. This embossing folder is on the larger side, which is perfect for anyone who prefers making larger-sized cards. For today’s card, I kept things really simple. Let’s take a look.
We get started with a card base of Basic White cardstock. While cut to a standard size, I did orient the score line at the top of the portrait orientation. The base of our front panel is a sheet of the new Take a Bow designer paper. For our focal panel, we start with a quarter panel of Pool Party cardstock, which is cut down so that a narrow border of our base shows on all sides. I then machine embossed this panel using the Painted Trees embossing folder. I oriented the tallest tree so that it would be in the center of my panel, which gives just partial images of the smaller trees on either side. Using my sponge daubers, I went over the embossed portions with Mossy Meadow and Old Olive inks to bring out the details of each tree. I then sponged around the trees with Pool Party ink to give more depth and variation to the sky in the background. I used my water painter to flick diluted white craft ink on the panel to give the look of fluffy falling snow. Our sentiment panel is diecut from Garden Green cardstock using the Peaceful Season dies and then the sentiment from Peaceful Season is heat embossed in white. The word Christmas is diecut from white glimmer paper using the Peaceful Season die. I thread the silver & white sheer ribbon through the ends of the sentiment panel and tied a bow on one end to affix it to the card front. A few adhesive snowflakes finish things off.
I just love this embossing folder and can think of so many other sets that could be paired with it to create some really beautiful scenes. But this design is super simple and easy to replicate and is definitely going into my rotation of Christmas cards this year!
Next week, we’re going to look at our designer papers a little differently. I hope you’ll tag along as we turn patterns that may seem seasonal into designs for all occasions.
Products used in today’s card: Basic White, Pool Party, Garden Green cardstock White glimmer, Take a Bow (coming soon!) DSP Peaceful Season stamps & dies (coming soon!) Painted Trees embossing folder (coming soon!) White embossing powder Silver & white sheer ribbon White snowflakes Dimensionals Adhesives
Song Sparrow Papercrafts 