Tag: paper crafts

January Mini Catalog

A Note to Lift You

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I love a good play on words. And Stampin’ Up! never fails to deliver on them in their sentiments. I find that a good pun always makes me smile or even chuckle. And who doesn’t need a little bit of that in their life?!

Today’s card is all about the pun in the Hot Air Balloon set. We get started with a base of Lost Lagoon cardstock. The background panel consists of a mat of Lost Lagoon shimmer paper and a sheet of the Lighter Than Air designer series paper. Our focal images are diecut from another sheet of Lighter Than Air using the Hot Air Balloon dies. I added a few detail die strips to a few balloons and each balloon got a treatment of coordinating Rainbow Dots to really punch things up (see what I did there? *snicker*). The balloon baskets are a combination of Calypso Coral and Crumb Cake cardstock. I added dimensionals and a vellum cloud for a bit of realism to our scene. The sentiment from the Hot Air Balloon set is stamped on white cardstock and then cut with trimmers to resemble a banner. The sequins and ribbon add a bit of sparkle and help the eye move diagonally across the card design.

Sail in tomorrow to see what card is taking flight!

Products used in today’s design:
Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Pretty Peacock, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Lost Lagoon shimmer, Lighter Than Air DSP
Hot Air Balloon stamps
Silver & white sheer ribbon
Rainbow dots
Neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Botanicals

Jungle of Thanks

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As a plant lover, I’m always thrilled to see what new botanical-inspired designs make it into new Stampin’ Up! releases. I cannot recall a single release where there hasn’t been at least one stamp set, punch, set of dies, or designer series paper that hasn’t had a stunning flower or plant image. And today, I’m giving you a SNEAK PEEK at a stamp from the NEW catalog that releases in May.

Today’s card design features the NEW Leaf Collection background stamp. We get started with a base of Shaded Spruce cardstock. Using the largest Perennial Postage die, I cut the white glimmer mat that sits behind the Leaf Collection panel. I stamped tone-on-tone with a super saturated layer of ink. The toucan is from the Sale-a-Bration Jungle Pals stamp set, along with the lovely hibiscus flowers which were diecut using the coordinating Jungle Pals dies. The flower centers are Berry Burst iridescent discs. The shimmery leaves are diecut from Old Olive glimmer paper using the Thoughtful Expressions dies. The sentiment panel is diecut from white cardstock using the Thoughtful Expressions dies and then I stamped the sentiment from the Perennial Postage stamp set. I added a strip of the Granny Apple Green ribbon duo trim behind the sentiment panel and a few iridescent discs on opposing corners of the sentiment panel. I really liked the contrast of the yellow-green elements against the darker green background.

The NEW Leaf Collection background stamp is large enough to cover a quarter-panel of cardstock. This background image is very versatile and can be used well beyond merely making a one-step background. When I designed today’s card, I did not have a block large enough to hold the entire stamp. I have since ordered the F Block, which easily accommodates the full image of this lovely background stamp (and any of the others offered by SU!), to make capturing the full stamped image much easier on future projects.

I have a bonus card to share later today, so I hope you’ll pop back by!

Products used on this card:
Shaded Spruce, Basic White cardstock
Glimmer paper, shimmer paper DSP
Jungle Pals bundle (retired SAB)
Perennial Postage, Leaf Collection (Coming Soon!) stamps
Thoughtful Expressions, Perennial Postage dies
Stampin’ Blends (Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie, Calypso Coral)
Iridescent discs
Ribbon duo
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Botanicals · Clean and Simple

Simple Thoughts of You

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One of the things that I really love about crafting is the variety of projects that you can create. From the simplest to the most advanced designs, each one is beautiful in its own way and never fails to deliver a smile to its recipient. This week, we’ve been exploring designs using a number of different botanical products from Stampin’ Up!

Today’s card design is borrowed from a fellow demonstrator over at Stampaholic. She made a series of cards that spanned from easiest to advanced using the Planted Paradise stamps and this same soft color palette. I love the combination of earth tones with the botanical images. For my card, I swapped out a few elements and added a few too. And that’s the beauty of finding inspiration for your designs — they don’t have to be exact, but they certainly can be.

The base of this card is Early Espresso cardstock. The Calypso Coral strip of designer paper in the middle is from the Sale-a-Bration paper pack called Softly Stippled. I added a strip of the natural wavy trim to the center. The image panel is diecut from white cardstock using the Everyday Details dies. The clay pot is stamped upside down to more resemble a vase and then each of the twigs is stamped to come out the top. The sentiment from the Botanical Layers stamp set is stamped on Crumb Cake and then diecut using the Thoughtful Expressions dies. A small bow of linen thread is added to the top of the vase to dress it up and add a layer of the natural brown that ties together with the wavy trim and sentiment panel to complete a visual triangle. I added fine shimmer gems to finish things off.

This card design can easily be simplified or dressed up. And that’s what makes the layout on for the inspiration folder. It comes together beautifully and quickly and is lovely whether it is simple or more ornate.

Next week, we’re going to go flying. I hope you’ll come along as we take to the skies!

Products used in this card:
Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Basic White cardstock
Softly Stippled DSP (retired SAB)
Planted Paradise, Botanical Layers stamps
Everyday Details, Thoughtful Expressions dies
Natural wavy trim, linen thread
Fine shimmer gems (retired)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Botanicals · Clean and Simple

Garden Prayers

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Ever since I can remember, I’ve had an interest in plants and insects. I’d like to think that I got that from my grandparents, who both loved to garden and my grandfather was a beekeeper. As the seasons change, I love going to the local nursery and buying new seasonal annuals. I love the challenge of finding plants that will do well despite the scorching summer heat. And I definitely have my favorites. Right now, I’m enjoying the new spring plantings and the lovely pops of color they bring to the barely-green landscapes. So naturally, I love crafting products that incorporate flowers and plants.

This week, we’re looking at some of the current products that Stampin’ Up! offers that feature plants of all sorts. Today’s card pairs stamps and an embossing folder.

We start with a base of Moody Mauve for this design. For this soft color palette, I embossed white cardstock with the Elegant Eucalyptus embossing folder and then matted the entire panel with Pool Party. I stamped the focal image separately using the Planted Paradise and Botanical Layers stamp sets. I cut them out with paper snips and then mounted to the embossed base with dimensionals. The sentiment from the So Sincere set is stamped on white cardstock and diecut using the Thoughtful Expressions dies. I added some Pool Party fine sparkle gems to finish things off.

Tomorrow I’ll be showing you a sneak peek of a brand new background stamp. Hope you’ll come check it out!

Products used in today’s design:
Moody Mauve, Pool Party, Basic White cardstock
Botanical Layers, Planted Paradise, So Sincere stamps
Thoughtful Expressions dies
Fine sparkle gems (retired)
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Botanicals · Clean and Simple

Pots of Joy

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This week, we’re exploring card designs that use botanical images. I love stamp sets that include flowers and greenery but then sometimes find myself stuck for ideas on how to use them. We’re so fortunate to have so many different inspiration forums, and in cases where I’m fresh out of ideas, that’s precisely where I turn.

Today’s card design was inspired by a Stampin’ Up! Artisan design. The inspiration card used the lovely argyle detail die from Everyday Details — a die that I have had a really hard time finding a use for — and the lovely Planted Paradise stamp set.

This card design is a built on a base of white cardstock. The focal image panel sits atop a Blueberry Bushel panel where each long edge has been diecut using the argyle die from Everyday Details. A strip of white cardstock serves as the focal image base in the center. The pots and greenery are stamped on separate sheet of white cardstock and then cut with paper snips before being mounted with dimensionals. The sentiment panel consists of the Heartfelt Hellos sentiment that is punched with the coordinating Heartfelt Hexagon punch. I also added an additional layer of dimensionals to the sentiment panel to ensure that it stood above the supporting images. I added Blooming Pearls on the pots and near the sentiment for added detail and to draw the eye across the focal panel.

Yesterday, I mentioned the TIP for stamping crisp images when your photopolymer stamps tend to pool ink and stamp blotchy images. When you’re going for a more vintagey feel, I would definitely allow the ink to pool on the stamps. But if you’re going for a clean look, you’ll definitely want to use that layer of Versamark first before applying your selected colored ink. Today, I elected to use both types of stamped images on my card design so that you could see the difference. Can you spot which stamped elements look more vintage than crisp?

Products used in today’s design:
Blueberry Bushel, Basic White cardstock
Planted Paradise, Heartfelt Hellos stamps
Heartfelt Hexagon bundle
Blooming pearls
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Terrific Tuesdays

Tiled Winter Wishes

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This week, we’re looking at all of the wonderful projects that we can make when we combine the Heartfelt Hexagon bundle and more masculine color palettes. Today’s card is a monochromatic design and I’m in love with how it turned out!

I’ve recently seen quite a few card designs that use this tiled layout with the Heartfelt Hexagon bundle, and I just knew I had to give it a try. I’ve seen it with designer paper, embossed cardstock, and all sorts of variations in between. I have a new pack of shimmer paper that I wanted to break open, and that’s where this design got started.

The base of this card is a sheet of Lost Lagoon cardstock. After cutting the card base, I halved the remaining portion to use in creating the hexagon pattern on the card front. I stamped the more decorative hexagon frame from the Heartfelt Hexagon set and the sentiment from the Magical Meadow set using Pretty Peacock ink to give a bit more contrast. The remainder of the panel was embossed with the Winter Snow embossing folder and then punched with the hexagon punch. I cut a strip of the Lost Lagoon shimmer paper and punched a few hexagons from that, as well. Because they’re just adding a little sparkle to the design, only a few will be needed.

To build the tiled background, I began by placing the sentiment panel first. To give it more prominence, I added dimensionals and then adhered into place on the card front. I filled in the sentiment row with embossed hexagons and then worked my way down and then up the card design from there. I laid out everything before adhering to get the placement just right. When cutting the portions that hang over the edges, be sure to retain those scraps as they’re used to fill in smaller gaps along the edges across the design.

While I’m not a huge fan of fussy cutting, this card came together quickly and easily with the scraps which meant no scraps leftover!

Would you like to see the projects featured in this week’s Terrific Tuesdays episode? Hop on over to my YouTube channel and check it out by clicking on the link below:

Products used in today’s design:
Lost Lagoon, soft shimmer cardstock
Heartfelt Hexagon stamps and punch
Winter Snow embossing folder (retired)
Magical Meadow stamps
Fine sparkle gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Terrific Tuesdays

Thankful Curtain Fold

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Stampin’ Up! has so many wonderful holiday designer series paper packs to choose from, and each one offers a whole world of possibility for card designs. On this week’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays, we’ve walked through several ways to make beautiful holiday thank you cards. And today, I want to show you another fun way to show off your stunning DSPs.

Today’s card features a new-to-me fun fold called a curtain fold. At first glance, it looks a little complicated, but it’s a very straight forward set of folds that make a beautiful pleated paper pattern as the focal point. I chose a sheet of Mossy Meadow as the base for this card and a sheet of Joyful designer series paper is the mat for the focal point. I used a sheet of A Walk in the Forest for the pleated fold portion. The sentiment is diecut from white cardstock using the Nested Essentials dies. The sentiment from the So Sincere stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock. A banner diecut from Distressed Gold cardstock is diecut using the banner die from the Nested Essentials die set. This card is finished off with a gold & very vanilla ribbon bow and a few sequins.

I love how the look of the card changes as you switch up the designer papers that you pair together. There are just so many possibilities. The first thing that pops to mind for me are wedding cards, but really this fold will be great for so many different occasions! Check out these two variations:

You can see all of the other fun fold designs that we made together in this week’s Terrific Tuesdays video by clicking below for the full video.

Tune in tomorrow for another fun fold you can create using Stampin’ Up! holiday designer series papers.

Products used in today’s featured design:
Mossy Meadow, Basic White, Distressed Gold cardstock
Joyful, A Walk in the Forest DSP
Very Vanilla & Gold satin-edged ribbon
Neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Terrific Tuesdays

Wonderful Winter

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Have you seen this week’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays? We’re focusing on holiday thank you card designs using several of the wonderful designer series paper packs offered by Stampin’ Up! I really love the suite of holiday papers offered this year and will be sad to see so many of them go in a few weeks, which is all the more reason to put them to good use as we send our thanks or maybe even some belated holiday hellos.

Today’s card features a twist on a simple diagonal fun fold and doubles as a one sheet wonder to boot. This horizontal design is built on a Basic White cardstock base, and the front panel of the card is halved on the diagonal. A single sheet of Winter Meadow designer series paper will cover all of the required areas in this design, and I selected the Winter Meadow blue evergreen paper pattern with the grey haze on the reverse side. One panel of the DSP is cut just short of standard size to allow for a narrow border around the card edge. This panel is halved on the diagonal with half of the sheet adhered to the front card panel and the other portion adhered to the inside card base on the portion that is exposed when the card is closed. I chose to use the grey hazy side of the paper for these portions.

Next, we work with the fold-over panel by cutting a sheet of white cardstock and scoring in the center. A piece of Misty Moonlight cardstock covers the front of the smaller white notecard and serves as the mat for the blue tree pattern of the Winter Meadow DSP. The patterned sheet is divided into equal sections and narrowly separated to create a grout effect. Use ribbon to make a band around the panel. You can layer ribbons to create different effects, like I did here to create a sparkly border on either side of the Misty Moonlight trim. The sentiment is cut from white cardstock using the Nested Essentials die and the sentiment is stamped in Misty Moonlight using the Zany Zoo stamps. A few white sequins provide a little extra sparkle and draw the eye diagonally across the design. This is such a fun and easy fun fold and can easily be adapted to any patterned paper.

You can see all of the other fun designs that we made together in this week’s Terrific Tuesdays video by clicking below for the full video.

Tune in the rest of the week to see more projects you can create using Stampin’ Up! holiday designer series papers.

Products used in today’s design:
Basic White, Misty Moonlight cardstock
Winter Meadow DSP
Zany Zoo stamps
Nested Essentials dies
Silver & white sheer ribbon
Misty Moonlight cotton trim
Neutrals sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Terrific Tuesdays

Sprig of Kindness

susanfoxbowenLeave a comment

This week’s episode of Terrific Tuesdays features holiday thank you card designs using several of the wonderful designer series paper packs offered by Stampin’ Up! These papers allow for so much creativity and variety in design, and we’ll be exploring more designs together throughout the week.

Today’s card uses an easy-to-miss sheet of paper in the Winter Meadow paper pack. At first glance, the sheet of grey haze is unimpressive, but it’s a terrific neutral with the interest of a varied pattern that affords you lots of design choices. Here, it serves as a backdrop that allows the focal elements of the card to pop. We start with a base of Crumb Cake cardstock. The lovely grey hazy sheet of DSP is matted by a sheet of Shaded Spruce, which helps draw the eye to the focal elements which are set atop in the same color. The sentiment from the So Sincere stamp set is stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white atop the banner cut from Shaded Spruce. The sentiment is adhered directly to the grey backdrop to allow the hand-tied sprigs of mistletoe to be the only three-dimensional elements on the focal panel. The mistletoe is diecut from Shaded Spruce using the Magical Meadow dies. The berries are dots of Frosted Lace Stickles, and the whole bunch is held together with a white iridescent ribbon.

I love the simplicity of the design and how lovely the green elements look against the hazy grey backdrop. What do you think about the combination?

You can see all of the other fun designs that we made together in this week’s Terrific Tuesdays video by clicking below for the full video.

Tune in the rest of the week to see more projects you can create using Stampin’ Up! holiday designer series papers.

Products used in today’s design:
Crumb Cake, Shaded Spruce cardstock
Winter Meadow DSP
So Sincere stamps
Iridescent ribbon
White embossing powder
Frosted Lace Stickles
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Christmas

Better Together

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I just love finding great design shortcuts, don’t you? Stampin’ Up!’s Memories and More product line is just one way that I’ve found to make quick work of adorable handmade cards. I finished up our Christmas cards over the weekend and was able to make a boatload of cards in no time flat using the Beary Christmas Memories and More products.

Today’s card begins with the red card base from the Memories and More cards and envelopes pack. The adorable present background is a notecard from the Memories and More card pack. I chose coordinating package stickers from the sticker sheet included in the card pack and popped them up with dimensionals. I nestled each package next to its coordinating counterpart on the notecard background and just love the effect. The sentiment is yet another sticker from the sticker sheet. I used gold cord to draw the eye to the sentiment since it’s a smaller element than I would have ordinarily chosen. A few glitter sequins in opposing corners really allow the eye to make the diagonal movement over the card design.

I’m looking forward to trying some of the other Memories and More products when I need to create a bunch of cards in short order.

Products used:
Beary Christmas Memory and More cards and envelopes
Beary Christmas Memory and More card pack
Gold cord
Glitter sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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