So Very Much, Thank You Card, 2017 Sale A Bration Catalog

This was a fun card and a very wonderful find while surfing the intenet.  I wanted to make one last "Thank You" card using the "So Very Much" set.  It's retiring at the end of the month and I'm going to miss it.  

The original card was made by Clare at Clare Daly Creates.  As usual I did change it a little.  It's not often I copy a card exactly and it's mostly because I don't have the same elements to make the card as the original designer used.  And there are times I think something could be changed to please my eye more.  In this case it was because I didn't have the ribbon or the flower punch.  Or was it a die? Now that I think about it, it was a die from "Botanical Builders" and I have it!! Oh well, this is what I ended up with and I like it.

The base of the card is a folded half sheet of Sahara Sand cardstock.  I hardly use that color at all. In fact the package that mine is in is so old, it said there's 40 sheets in the pack. Way back when you got more pieces per pack for some of the neutral colors.  I should try to use it more with this decorative paper.  It will retire and I will still have paper left (as usual!!!).  

I stamped the "Thank You" on Whisper White cardstock using VersaMark and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.  I trimmed the piece to 3-3/8" x 4".  I cut a piece of Sweet Sugarplum cardstock 3-3/4" x 4" for the layer under it.  

The decorative paper is from the "Falling in Love" 12" x 12" pack found in the 2017 Occasions catalog. (I want to make some wedding or anniversary cards using this paper).  I cut that decorative paper 4" x 5-1/4".  I taped it in place on top of the Sahara Sand card base.  Then I added the word layers.

Next I cut a doily in half.  These are the new doilies from the 2017 Occasions catalog. You use both pieces on the card.  The white side is behind and the vanilla side is on top.  Move them over slightly so you can see that there's two halves. I taped them together and then taped them onto the card. I didn't have the gold and white ribbon from the 2017 Sale a Bration catalog, so I used some Sweet Sugarplum Ruched ribbon from the regular catalog.  It worked just fine.  I punched out a flower and set it in the palm of my hand.  I took the end of an ink pen and pressed the center of the flower into my hand to get the flower to bend and cup.  I set it in place using a glue dot.  And I added a pearl to the center.

I added a 4-1/2" piece of folded ribbon to the top of the doilies.  Then I stamped the words, the ones here came from the "So Very Much" set.  I punched it out with the "Classic Label" punch.  I added Dimensionals to each end and set it in place over the folded ribbon.  And that was it.  It's a very easy and beautiful card to make!  And I do like how it turned out.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Avant-Garden, Birthday Card, Mattify/Distressed Butterfly Technique

Here's a quick, fun and easy technique to try. I've seen it called "Mattify" and I've seen it called "Distressed Foil". Either one works for me! Though with the title of my post, you can see I went with "Mattify".  I just thought it sounded more fun. "Distressed" kind of has a darker feeling to it, kind of like depressed.  Where "Mattify" sounds fun and intriguing!

So to do this technique, you will need some sandpaper or sanding block.  Mine was 150 grit.  You don't want it to coarse or it will dig into the foil paper and ruin it.  I took my sandpaper and gently went back and forth four to five times. Then I turned the paper and repeated that.  The back and forth was nice but when I went up and down I liked the effect much better.  Either way is okay, it's all in what you are looking for.

To make the card, I used a folded half-sheet of Whisper White cardstock for the base.  I took a piece of "Blooms & Bliss" Decorative Series Paper (DSP) and cut it 1-7/8" x 4-1/2".  I took a scrap piece of Island Indigo cardstock and cut it 2" x 4-5/8".  I taped the two together and then taped them in place on the front of the card.

Next I punched the butterflies out and set them in place with Dimensionals.  I added three tiny pearls down the center of each one.

I stamped the words from the "Avant-Garden" set and die cut them out with the oval thinlits.  Then I die cut an oval scallop using Island Indigo cardstock.  I taped the words to the scalloped oval and I set them in place with Dimensionals.  And that was it!!  Super easy, quick and a fun new technique!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Avant-Garden, Mother's Day Card, 2017 Sale a Bration

I know it's a little early for a Mother's Day card, but I thought I would make one anyway.  I am pinched for time lately and I am planning ahead. 

This was a fun card to make and where I put the "happy mother's day" words, you can add birthday, thinking of you or even a valentine's day sentiment. 

For this card I used a folded half-sheet of Crumb Cake cardstock.  I also used Crumb Cake cardstock for the layers.

I took a piece of the "Falling in Love" Decorative Series Paper (DSP) and cut the end that had the least hearts to use for the background layer.  That background layer measured 4" x 5-1/4".  Be sure to have the hearts going the right direction before you cut the DSP.  

Next I took the bottom part of the DSP with all the hearts and cut one 1-3/8" x 3-3/4" and the other was cut 1-3/8" x 3-1/8".  I cut the Crumb Cake layers 1-5/8" x 4" and 1-5/8" x 3-3/8".  I taped those layers together and then taped them to the front of the card on top of the DSP background layer.

I took a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and cut it 3-1/4" x 1-1/4".  I cut the Crumb Cake layer 3-1/2" x 1-1/2".  

I stamped the top part of the flower leaving a little over 1/4" at the top.  Then I stamped another flower on a scrap piece of Very Vanilla cardstock. I used Blushing Bride ink for the flowers.  Then I stamped the stem and leaves using Pear Pizzazz.  I stamped the center of the flower using Soft Suede ink.  Actually, I did that right after I stamped the flowers to give it a chance to dry before I had to fussy cut it out.  Once the flower was cut out, I added some Dimensionals behind it and set it in place on top of the other stamped flower.  I did turn it a little to give the flower the look of being a more full flower.  I thought it looked kind of blah, so I took my "Wink of Stella" pen and colored over the flower.  It didn't show up in the photo but trust me, it did make a big difference.  "Wink of Stella" is a nice way to add a little sparkle to your work without making it look like a glittered after thought. Once I was done with that, I added Dimensionals to the back and set it in place on top of the heart panels.

The words are from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set.  I hope they don't retire it, it covers every holiday and yearly event.  Though I don't think St. Patrick's Day is in there, but then again, I never send out cards for that day anyway!!! LOL  I stamped the words using Soft Suede ink and I used the Classic Label punch to punch them out.  I set them in place using Dimensionals. 

This was a fun card to make.  I was back in my element. I have always LOVED to make cards with lots of layers.  But I know not everyone likes to do that so many times I will keep the layers down to a minimum.  

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Avant-Garden, Get Well Card, 2017 Occasions Catalog

Well, it doesn't get much simpler than this!!!  What a fun and quick card to make.

I took a half sheet of Whisper White cardstock and folded it in half.  Then I made score lines starting at 3/8" away from the center fold line and I made a total of 5 that were 1/4" apart.  

I stamped the flower using Daffodil Delight. I also stamped it again but turned it a little and I did not ink it up again.  I stamped the center using Soft Suede ink and the stem and leaves were stamped using Pear Pizzazz ink.  

The words are from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set and I stamped them using Soft Suede ink.  And that was it.  

Just a note here.  When you are stamping words close to a true edge (the bottom edge of the card in this case) you really need to make sure you get it as straight as you can.  Further up on the card it wouldn't have been so noticeable that it was crooked.  But it is what it is, a handmade card!!!

I LOVE this layout.  I want to see if I have other flower images to play with!!! I may be trying this again!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

So Very Much, Flower Shop, Thank You Card, 2017 Sale-a-Bration

Here's another card I found while surfing the web.  I wanted to find something to make using the "So Very Much" set.  I wanted to make a few more cards with it before it retired at the end of the month.  

I changed the flower and the decorative paper on here, plus I changed the background layer. I do love white on white but this card needed a touch of color since the decorative paper was so light in color.  You can see the original card here.  

The base is a folded half-sheet of Blushing Bride.  Next I took a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Whisper White and stamped the "Thank You" with VersaMark and heat embossed it in gold.  Then I cut off 3/4" from the bottom and an angled cut along the "you".  I just eyed the bottom of the "Y" and the swirl on the end of the "u" and cut.  You don't need to be perfect here.  It kind of matters how far you have that opening on the left side.  You need to find an object  that will cover both slices.  I

used a flower from the "Flower Shop" set.  I have a feeling that set is going to retire in June.  I will miss that set. I've had a lot of fun with it.  And if it stays, you will see more cards in the future made using it!!!

I took another piece of white cardstock cut 4" x 5-1/4" and I taped a piece of decorative paper cut the same size to it.  Then I took Dimensionals and set the top and bottom panels in place.  I added a Dimensional to the center of the flower and set it in place on the left side.  The original card had a couple of other flowers added to the right of the large flower but I thought the image on the paper took care of that for me.  I was happy with how it looked.    And that was it.  Another quick card.

I do want to note that I did use 4" x 5-1/4" piece of decorative paper (mine was from the Blossoms & Bliss pack), I was going to use a scrap piece but the Dimensionals allowed you to see under it and the scrap piece looked ugly, so I went with a larger piece.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

February 2017 Paper Pumpkin Kit Alternative Card

Today I thought I would play with February's Paper Pumpkin  Kit since I found an fun and cute alternative card made using it.  I found it on Pinterest.  You can see the original card here. I didn't care for the invitation layout in the kit, I don't do party invites, so I was on the lookout for some other cards to make with the kit.  I did make a couple a while back. You can see one of them by clicking here.  And the other by clicking here.  I like the second one more than the first.  And of the three this would be my second favorite!

This was fun, quick and easy to make.  The flame was already die cut, I just had to punch it out.  

So to start the card out I took a half sheet of Night of Navy.  I cut it on the short side at 4-1/4" and then folded it in half.  I usually score mine.  Paper has a grain and if you fold against the grain, the edge is not always sharp.  So I just score it and I'm sure of a nice fold.

Next I cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock 4-1/4" x 2-1/4" and I stamped the words and the hash mark image onto it.  The words were stamped using Night of Navy ink and the hash mark image was stamped using Flirty Flamingo.  I set it in place on the card base.  The bottom of the word piece is 3/4" from the bottom of the card, if that helps you with placement.  Or you can just eye it.

Then I cut the invitation holder.  I cut it 3-1/4" x 1-1/2".  I glued the flame to the top and I also used a little Scotch tape on it to hold it while I worked in it.  I didn't want to use a glue dot to attach it, I don't think they hold all that well with glitter papers.  I just left the tape on the back, no one was going to see it.  

Next, I tied a piece of Baker's Twine around it.  I didn't have the thick twine that was used in the original card, but like I said before, I'm trying to make do with what I have.  It still looks cute!

I added Dimensionals to the back and set it in place on top of the word panel.  The bottom of the candle is about 1/4" from the bottom of the card.  You can center it with your eye on the word panel as well. And that's it!  Super simple and a great use of the Paper Pumpkin pieces left in the box!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Detailed Dragonfly, Dragonfly Dreams, Dutch Door Card Technique

Today I'm going to share with you a card I got at one of Terri's Tuesday Technique Nights.  This card was made by Tanya.  She's a fun lady and a great stamper.

It's a very fun and easy technique. You can see how to do it by clicking here.  Plus you get to see another card made using that same technique. 

The "Falling in Love" Designer Series Paper was used on the front panel.  It was cut 2" x 5-1/4". The dragonflies were die cut from Sweet Sugarplum cardstock.  One of my favorite colors lately!!!

The inside of the card, on the upper part was stamped with the dots image that comes with the "Dragonfly Dreams" set.  They were stamped using Sweet Sugarplum ink.  I do not know where the words came from. I looked through the 2017 Occasions catalog, but I didn't find them in there.  But there are lots of birthday greetings in the Occasions catalog and in the regular catalog that will work. You probably have one you like to use a lot, I know I do!  Oh and on each side of the "happy" are pearls.  It's a very fun and easy technique to do.  Give it a try!

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Balloon Adventures Card Winner

And the winner of the drawing for this card is Gloria AND Christi.  I had some left over from the card swap and since there were only two entrants I thought both of then deserved to win!!!

What next?  Email me with your snail mail address and I will send the card out to you.  You can locate my email address to the right sidebar where it reads: "Got a Question".  It's the second item down on the sidebar.

Thank you both for playing along!
Wanda

So Detailed, Rose Wonder, Wedding Card, 2017 Sale a Brations and Occasions Catalog

How I ended up at Just Judy Designs, I don't know.  I think it was through a link from another link from a blog I was looking at from a link I was on from another blog!  Doesn't matter, what matters is, I was there and I found this fun card (sort of) there.  I say "sort of" because I changed a few little things on it.  You can see Judy's card here.  

I used the new "Glimmer Paper" Assortment Pack from the Sale a Brations book.  It's one of the new items they added half way through the sale.  I've seen a few cards made using it and I had to copy them. Though I can't find them now but I did find this one.  It's such a pretty wedding card. I changed the decorative paper strip and I didn't add a bow, I added a twist of ribbon.  Oh and my ribbon is a different color from Judy's.  I think the color of my cardstock may be different too.

For my card I used a folded half sheet of Sweet Sugarplum cardstock.  Then I cut a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock.  I added a 1-1/2" x 5-1/4" piece of decorative paper.  Mine is from the "Falling in Love" 12" x 12" pack.  I taped it to the left side of the Whisper White cardstock, but I did NOT tape all the edges. I only taped half way across the top and bottom and all of the left side. I left the right side open because the flower piece has a tab that I slipped under the decorative paper.  I used my favorite gluing method to get the glue to the back of the lacy flowers.  I take a piece of waxed paper a bit larger than the piece that needs gluing.  Then I pour some white glue onto the waxed paper. I fold the paper in half and take my bone folder and smooth out the glue.  I make sure it's covered enough so when I set my piece on top of it, it's all covered.  Once my piece is sitting on top of the glue, I take another piece of waxed paper and set it on top.  I press the piece into the glue.  I remove the top piece of waxed paper and toss it. Then I take the piece and slightly peel it back and grab an edge and remove it from the waxed paper.  I set it in place on my cardstock and I press it down so it sticks.

Next I took my ribbon and taped the edges to the back of the card.  I took a 5" piece and made a loop. I taped the loop with snail tape so it stayed together and I set it aside.  

I took a 1-1/4" piece of Vellum cardstock and cut it 4-1/4" long.  Then I took a piece of Whisper White cardstock (scrap pieces work well here) and I cut it 1" x 2-5/8". I stamped the "Wedding Wishes" from the "Rose Wonder" set on it using Soft Suede ink.  Then I taped that piece to the vellum. But before I taped it, I slid the vellum under the ribbon and checked out how far the edge was from the Whisper White piece.  You don't want the word piece all the way to the end.  Give it some room. Once I taped the words in place, I added tape to the back of the Vellum and set it in place under the ribbon. I did add a glue dot to the ribbon, above the word piece.  The gap was too much to leave alone.  

And finally I added that twisted piece of ribbon.  I taped the back with snail, only in the middle and I slid it under the long ribbon.  I didn't add tape or a glue dot to the top of the ribbon but now that I look at my card, I am going to add it once I'm done posting this.  The twisted ribbon makes it pop up a bit more than I like.  

I REALLY like how this card turned out.  I knew I was going to like it a lot, so I made two of them! One to use and one to keep or sell.  It was a fun card to make too. I LOVE this new glitter paper.  I hope that Stampin' Up! comes up with some other new glitter paper colors in the June catalog.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Avant-Garden, Birthday Card, 2017 Sale-a-Bration

I'm looking at this card and thinking how fun this would be to make a set of these in different colors and maybe for different occasions other than just birthday.  Though a pack of just birthday cards would be fine too.  I know I have more than 4 friends and relatives that have birthday!! LOL

I found this card on Pinterest.  You can see the original one here. It was done in a green color.  I didn't spend much time looking at the color to determine what green it was.  I didn't want to make a green card, I wanted something in the orange family. I was going to use Pumpkin Pie but I decided to go with Calypso Coral.  I liked both but when I looked at the stash of cardstock, I had more Calypso Coral than  I did Pumpkin Pie.

The base of the card is a folded half sheet of Whisper White cardstock.  I cut another piece of Whisper White to 5-1/2" x 2-1/4".  I cut a piece of Calypso Coral 5-1/2" x 2-1/2".  And that was it for paper cutting.

Next I stamped the flower using Calypso Coral ink.  Then I stamped the words using black Memento ink.  I set it aside and worked on the base part of the card. 

I took the Calypso Coral layer piece and set it on top of the base of the card and set it where I want it to be.  Then I moved it over to the left about a half an inch and drew a light pencil line from top to bottom.  It doesn't have to be a straight line.  Just make it light so it won't show through the back. That way you won't have to erase it.  I took the dotted image from the set and stamped over the line. I did stamp on the line but mostly to the right of the line.  It doesn't really matter, since the line will be hidden by the layer.  I stamped the dots and then stamped again without inking.  There's a nice mix of light and dark stamping, going from light to dark (left to right).  And that was it.  Super easy.  See why it would be fun to make a pack of card using this layout? And doing them in different colors too!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Stylized Birthday, Avant-Garden, 2017 Sale-a-Bration, Birthday Card

I just had to play with this fun "Avant-Garden" set again.  I am going to be sorry to see it retire at the end of the month. I just love the "Stylized Birthday" stamp.  It takes up a lot of real estate so you don't have to do a whole lot to a card. Where the flowers are I could have used decorative paper and had a nice effect as well.  

For this card I used Sweet Sugarplum cardstock and ink. Whisper White cardstock, Pear Pizzazz ink and Soft Suede ink.

I stamped the birthday greetings on first using Pear Pizzazz ink.  Then I stamped the flowers.  Some I stamped again without inking up the image again. I used Sweet Sugarplum on the flowers. Then I stamped the center of the flowers using Soft Suede and on the lighter flowers I didn't ink up the image again.  I did the same for the leaves and stems but I used Pear Pizzazz ink on them.  I just randomly stamped the leaves where I thought they should be and tried to make the lighter leaves by the lighter flowers, for the most part.  

This was a very fun and super quick card to make.  I wish Stampin' Up! would make a "Happy Mother's Day" as big as the "Happy Birthday" and with the same font.  It's so pretty!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Balloon Adventure, Birthday Card, Stamping Technique, 2017 Occasions Catalog

Here is my card for the swap I am going to be participating in tonight at Terri's Technique Tuesday.  The front of the card is on the right and the inside of the card is on the left.  Click on the photo for a closer view.  

The technique used here is called "Floating Pop-up".  For this card you need to cut 3 pieces for layering the front, inside cover and inside bottom.  You need to cover the inside front because you have to hide part of the Window Sheet.  Perhaps not so much hide it as keeping it held in place to get the effect of it floating or popping up.  

The package for my pop up is just cut decorative paper.  But I had to use 2 pieces together because the Window Sheet piece needs to go inside.  That Window Sheet was cut 1/2" wide and 3" long.  Scoring one end at 1/2".  That's the part that gets taped under the inside cover piece.  You need to stamp and decorate all of those pieces before you assemble the card.  

It was fun to make and I'm excited to see what cards I get in exchange!!  I will share them with you!

The instructions I have for this technique is to cut the card base 4-1/4" x 11".  Score at 5-1/2" and fold.  I already mentioned the Window Sheet above. And you decide what you want for the pop up part and make two so you can tape them back to back with the window sheet between it. Making two also helps it be not so flimsy too.  For mine, I did trim my Window Sheet down by a half inch because it was too long and just made the package flop over.  

It was a fun card to make.  I made an extra one so I will be offering one up for grabs in a drawing of those who leave a comment.  I'm not groping for comments. So just saying "pick me" will be just fine. I will do a random drawing on Sunday March 24, 2017.  

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

So Very Much, Thank You Card, 2017 Sale-a-Bration

Here's another fun card I found while surfing the net.  You can see the original card here.  I did not add the texture to the top part or the rhinestones.  I kept it more plain and simple looking.  

This was a very easy card to make. It seems that the larger the words are on a card, the less you have to do to it!  I'm going to miss this big "Thank You" from the "So Very Much" Sale-a-Bration set.  I will be selling it in my web store sometime next month.  Probably after the 15th (tax time!!! UGH!).  

To make this card I took a folded half sheet of Sweet Sugarplum cardstock.  I took a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock and stamped the "Thank you" at the top part using Sweet Sugarplum ink.  Then I took a 4" x 1-1/2" piece of the "Blooms & Bliss" decorative paper.  Actually, mine was a scrap. It's always nice when you can use up those scraps.  I sponged the edges with Sweet Sugarplum ink.  I taped it to the white cardstock and then tied a Sweet Sugarplum ribbon around it.  I taped it on to the front of the card base and that was it.  Super simple and such a sweet looking card!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

So Very Much, Delicate Details, Thank you Card, 2017 Sale-a-Bration

Because it was so pretty, that's why!! LOL  I found this fun card on Pinterest and I just HAD to make it.  You can see the original card here.  I only omitted the "so very much" words. Other than that, it's exactly the same.

I thought it looked like a pretty simple card to make.  Well, it takes a good eye to get the lines straight.  The lines on the bottom are really straight, it just looks a bit off because the card angle and it being open on that side.  I cheated and drew a light pencil line where I wanted the most solid part of that image to be.  I measured both sides and when I went to stamp I stamped on top of the pencil lines on each side.  Couldn't go wrong doing it that way.  Repeat for the other 3.  

The base of this card is a folded half sheet of Real Red cardstock.  The "Thank you" was stamped using Real Red ink.  I did stamp the words first so I knew where the lace images had to be put and how much space I had to work with. 

The lace images are stamped using Real Red on the larger one and Pink Pirouette on the thinner one.  And that's it.  Super simple and so elegant looking and such a short post today!! LOL

Thank you so much for visiting today,

Wanda