Heart of Christmas - Penguin Playmates

Hi there

Welcome to Heart of Christmas for 2021. Each week (until mid-December), the talented ladies from the Art with Heart team will  bring you inspiration for your holiday craft projects. I hope you have been enjoying the fabulous projects that the team has created over the last 6 weeks.

I've had some fun with the Penguin Playmates Designer Series Paper, that is FREE with a qualifying $90AUD order during Sale-a-bration. We are already half way through the first month of Sale-a-bration, so don't leave it too long to secure your favourite items.

This is a great card fold to use up your patterned paper, as it requires a 6" x 12" piece. It works best if your designs are not directional (which mine is) and both designs are of a smaller scale with a nice contrast. The Double Z Fold is easy to create, but still has that bit of 'wow'. I've used one of the smaller scale animal prints with the Fresh Freesia background and the Soft Sea Foam trees on the reverse. 

When you remove the belly band, the sides fold out and you see the reverse side of the patterned paper.  The triangles that are cut from the top corners are placed at the bottom for contrast. However, because my design is directional I would have ended up with upside down penguins and polar bears, so I used some of the Fresh Freesia starry design from another sheet which is the same as the background. I added a narrow strip of the striped design along the edge for some pop.

For the belly band, I have used 2 of the nesting dies from the Hippo & Friends Dies. The large one is adhered flat to the belly band so I could add the striped design across it. The greeting is from the Holly Jolly Wishes stamp set, stamped with Misty Moonlight ink and popped up. The cute penguin was fussy cut from a sheet of the Penguin Playmates DSP and popped up on the side of the label. I finished with a trio of 2021-23 In Color Jewels.

For the writing panel, I have a Basic White stitched rectangle, that I double cut to get the length I wanted. I added the fussy cut penguin and polar bear at the bottom and the sweet little bird sits in the open triangle at the top. This is a fun card to make and you can embellish as much or as little as you like, as the patterned paper does the heavy lifting.

This is a fabulous paper pack and if you're not into the cute critters, you only need to turn to the reverse sides for versatile, coordinating small prints and stripes that would work for almost any occasion.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Holly Jolly Wishes
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Fresh Freesia, Penguin Playmates DSP
Ink	Misty Moonlight
Accessories	2021-23 In Color Jewels
Tools	Hippo & Friends Dies, Stitched Rectangles Dies, die cutting machine, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue

 

Now it's time to hop along to see what the very talented Kate has created for you this week.

If at any time you find a broken link and the next blog doesn’t come up, please click on the link for our host of the  Heart of Christmas Blog Hop, Sharon Davern, and she will have the list of all who are participating.

Thanks for visiting today!

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Fancy Fold Masculine Card with By The Dock

Hi there

I hope you are staying safe and well. I've been very busy for the last few weeks with prepping and running my Zoom classes and life in general.  Another month has gone and we are now in the second half of the year. As 2020 hasn't been the best of years for humanity, it might be good to get it over and done and start afresh!

I just want to mention firstly, that we have the Stampin' Up! BONUS DAYS promotion during July (actually 1 July - 3 August, 2020).  In Australia, that means you will receive a $9 coupon for each $90 you spend. There is no limit to how many coupons you can earn, so if you've been holding off on ordering from the new 2021 Annual Catalogue, then July is a great time to get more bang for your buck! Not only that, we have the Holiday Mini Catalogue (now called the August-December Mini Catalogue) starting in August (yes, a month earlier than previously!) so you can redeem your coupons on the fabulous new holiday products. My customers will be receiving their complimentary copy of the August-December Mini Catalogue in the next few weeks, but you can request one, by leaving your details on my Free Catalogues page.

Now onto the card I'm sharing today. I'm using the By The Dock stamp set and coordinating Dockside Dies for my Centre Step Easel card. This bundle is perfect for masculine cards or anyone into the outdoors, boating or those who just love water scenery. There is something so calming about looking out into a body of water, don't you think, especially when it is surrounded by a lovely landscape. It would also be great for a milestone birthday or retirement occasion.

I have used Seaside Spray card stock for the card base and the Night of Navy plaid design from the retired Country Club Designer Series Paper for the side borders on the front and for the fold out easel panel. I added a strip of Old Olive card stock across the easel panel and popped up the birthday greeting from the By the Dock stamp set, that I stamped in Night of Navy ink and cropped with the Stitched Rectangle Dies. 

The centre background panel has the ground image from the By The Dock stamp set at the base and above that I have coloured the sand, water and sky with Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. I added some ripples in stamped off Night of Navy ink after I finished colouring.  You could also use ink pads and daubers or other ink blending tools to create the background. The dock was popped up on the left slightly overhanging the edge and the boat adhered flat with the bow rising from the water. I overlaid the bottom edge with the fabulous bullrushes die cut from the Friendly Sihouettes Dies. To finish I popped up the cute frog on the dock and added a couple of seagulls flying overhead.  The card has lots of dimension and texture and I love that it folds up and fits into a standard sized envelope. 

I've added a writing panel on the reverse, stamping the ground image again at the bottom in a different way and adding the fussy cut boat to the left and off the edge. It's great to have a masculine card ready in my stash, but I think I know the perfect person for it!

 

Project Details
Stamps	By the Dock
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Seaside Spray, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Crumb Cake,Country Club DSP (retired)
Ink	Early Espresso, Night of Navy, Soft Suede
Accessories	Gold Metallic Pearls
Tools	Dockside Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Stampin' Blends (Granny Apple Green, Old Olive, Gray Granite, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Seaside Spray, Petal Pink, So Saffron, Soft Sea Foam, Balmy Blue, Smoky Slate, Soft Suede)

 

Thanks for visiting me today!

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95th Birthday Celebration

Hi there

Firstly, I hope you are all safe and well. We are facing challenging times with restrictions on our normal activities. There is no better time to de-stress and get creative with the extra time you maybe having at home.  Get everyone involved in the fun of being creative!

I'm back from a week visiting family in Western Australia. We had a special milestone birthday to celebrate with my  lovely mother-in-law Betty turning 95. Isn't that a great achievement and she is so amazing; still living independently; driving and playing for her church service every week. She has an amazing capacity for doing complex puzzles, Sudoku, jigsaws and word games on the computer. We got her an iMac for her 75th birthday and has progressed through several Windows PCs and more recently a new laptop last Christmas so she can enjoy it sitting in her arm chair. She is a real inspiration.

We celebrated this milestone with a little event, where she invited her friends to join her for lunch on a cruise down the Swan River. I made some invitations, keeping it very simple, using the lovely Noble Peacock Specialty Designer Paper on a black card base.  She loves the teal shades, so I chose the Pretty Peacock design.

This is a standard sized (metric) card using the gate fold and I've added a belly band to keep it closed.  The embellishment is a circle with the popped up numbers in Silver Glimmer using the retired Large Numbers Dies. The black mini dimensionals were fabulous for it.

The invitation insert was created with my computer and I printed it on Whisper White card stock, feeding it through the rear slot.

Of course, I had to make a special card to recognise this milestone as well. Music has been a huge part of her life; as a music specialist in education and working with community choirs and more recently with her church. I took inspiration from the card created by Dawn Olchefske , using her Music From The Heart stamp set. Betty has a baby grand piano in her lounge room, so I wanted to create  a design that looked very similiar to her piano. 

The card base uses Black Foil sheet to give that gorgeous glossy look and the keys use retired Glossy White card stock. I created a template for the top of the piano using various dies and then hand cut it from Black Foil as I didn't want any marks from die cutting. This is an easel card, with a shallower angle as the curve of the piano on the right is a lot deeper.  I tied some retired Stitched Satin Ribbon in Real Red around the top of the piano, finishing with a bow.  The sheet music embellishment, which is the actual music for the 'Happy Birthday To You' tune was created with my computer and printed on Whisper White card stock. I added a scalloped circle in Black Foil and the numbers in Gold Glimmer using the retired Little Numbers Dies.

To keep the top of the piano in position when the card is open, I used a set of small neodymium magnets. One magnet is attached to the tab on the underside of the piano top and the other is on the reverse side of the card. When the card is removed from the envelope, the magnets pop together to create the easel. 

Being an easel card, the top of the piano folds down over the keys and fits into a 14cm (5 1/2") square envelope. I stamped the piano image from the Music From My Heart stamp set in the bottom corner of the envelope and coloured the heart with Stampin' Blends. This photo shows the lovely glossiness of the Black Foil and it adds a real 'wow' to the card. 

The writing panel is on the reverse side and I have added a Real Red mat and these layers cover the second magnet. I have used more of the images from the Music From My Heart stamp set to decorate the bottom edge.

Finally, here is picture of the birthday girl, cutting her cake.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Music From My Heart
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Real Red, Black Foil, Glossy White (retired), Gold Glimmer
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Basic Gray
Accessories	Real Red Stitched Satin Ribbon (retired)
Tools	Big Numbers Dies (retired), Little Numbers Dies (retired), Layering Circles Dies, Layering Ovals Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends (Real Red)

 

If you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I would love to help you out.  Place an order with me for $50 or more using the current month's Host Code (shown in the side bar on the right) and you will receive the March IDEAS Tutorial Bundle for FREE (normally $10). It contains 55 pages of craft projects featuring Fun & Fancy Fold Cards.  I will email you the PDF file within 24 hours of your order being confirmed.  With an order of $90 or more, you can earn a FREE Sale-a-bration product. 

Thanks for visiting me today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

Cute 3D Card with Little Ladybug

Hi there

I have a bright, fun and super cute card to share, that will brighten up your day.  I was inspired by the card made by Libby Fens and I had to make one of my own (she has kindly included all the dimensions in her blog post). This is one of the easiest 3D fancy fold cards that you could make and it packs such a punch. The Sale-a-bration Host stamp set Little Ladybug is perfect for it. This stamp set is free with a party or personal order over $500, so if you've been keeping your powder dry up to now (wow, you must have strong will power, lol) you still have 3 weeks to take advantage of the Sale-a-bration promotion and earn this cute stamp set. Alternatively, get a few friends together and host an online workshop to pool your orders.

I've changed up the colours with a Balmy Blue base as I thought it worked well with the red ladybirds (we call them ladybirds in Australia) and bright yellow flowers. To add more interest, I have dry embossed the 3 pieces of the base with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder. If you want to emboss your base, I recommend that you dry emboss the pieces first and then score them. The card is sitting on the envelope in the photo and I've stamped the flying ladybird in the bottom corner.

You can see the embossing better in this close-up. The ladybirds were coloured with Dark Real Red; Light and Dark Gray Granite for the chest; Light Petal Pink for the face, arms and legs and a tiny amount of Dark Petal Pink for blush on the cheeks. The flowers are coloured in Daffodil Delight; the stems and leaves with Granny Apple Green and centres in Light Soft Suede. I've cropped the images with the coordinating Ladybugs Dies that can be purchased for $50AUD. There are dies for all of the images, (apart from the row of tiny ladybirds), plus there are some extras as well. The greeting is also from the Little Ladybug stamp set and I've cropped it with the stitched label die from the All Dressed Up Dies.

If you were wondering where you write your greeting, then here it is. Because of the fold in the centre, I have created a panel on each side to give plenty of room to write and it also adds body to the base, making it more robust. I've used one of the Stitched Rectangle Dies which was conveniently the perfect size and stamped the cute row of ladybirds at the bottom. The panels have a mat of Granny Apple Green.

The card folds flat and fits easily into a normal C6 envelope. 

You can't help but smile when you look at those sweet ladybirds!

 

Project Details
Stamps	Little Ladybug
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Balmy Blue, Granny Apple Green
Ink	Memento Express Truffle
Accessories	2mm Rhinestone (not SU)
Tools	Ladybugs Dies, All Dressed Up Dies, Subtle 3D EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow glue, Stampin' Blends (Real Red, Gray Granite, Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Petal Pink)

 

If you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I would love to help you out.  Place an order with me for $50 or more using the current month's Host Code (shown in the side bar on the right) and you will receive the March IDEAS Fun & Fancy Folds Tutorial Bundle for FREE (normally $10). It contains 55 pages of crafty inspiration and 12 projects that move, spin, wobble, pop-up, pop-out, slide out and shake!  I will email you the PDF file within 24 hours of your order being confirmed.  Don't forget, with an order of $90 or more, you can earn a FREE Sale-a-bration product too. 

Thanks for visiting me today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

IDEAS Blog Hop - Fun & Fancy Fold Cards

Hi there

I'm back with the IDEAS (International Demos Exciting Artistic Stampin') team this month to share more fabulous projects. We are a group of international demonstrators who create a Tutorial Bundle each month to give you, our customers and readers a heap of inspiration for your crafting.

If you've come from looking at Caroline's fabulous never-ending card, then welcome! If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today!  You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the IDEAS Team by clicking on the NEXT button at the bottom of the post. 

This month it's all about fun and fancy fold cards. This bundle contains 12 fabulous projects and 55 pages of crafty inspiration for cards that move, spin, wobble, pop-up, pop-out, slide out and shake! You can get a peek of the projects in the collage photo above.

Fun and fancy fold cards are fabulous for special occasions, milestone birthdays,  or when you want to ‘wow’ your recipient. I’ve created a fun spinner card using the Honey Bee Bundle of products from the January - June 2020 Mini Catalogue and the coordinating gold foil accented Golden Honey Specialty Designer Paper from the 2020 Sale-a-bration promotion. There is an extra ‘wow’ on the inside with a fold out insert. The finished card is 5 1/4” (13.3cm) square and fits into a 5 1/2” (14cm) envelope.  Spinner cards are really fun and very addictive; you won't be able to put it down!  The tutorial contains detailed instructions, photos and tips so you can make your own spinner cards.

There are 12 different fun and fancy fold cards in this bundle; you won't be disappointed!

Would you like a copy of the instructions for these projects for your personal use, or even to use in your classes? 

There are 3 ways you can get the March 2020 Tutorial Bundle.

1.  Place an order with me for $50 or more using the current month's Host Code (shown in the side bar on the right) and you will receive the tutorial bundle for FREE. I will email you the PDF file within 24 hours of your order being confirmed.  With an order of $90 or more, you can earn a FREE Sale-a-bration product.

2. You can purchase the tutorial with Instant Download through my Etsy store by clicking here. You can pay with a credit card or PayPal and you DO NOT need to sign up to Etsy to make a purchase. Check out as a guest if you are not a member.

3.  Join my team and you will get this bundle of tutorials FREE every month to use for your personal crafting or for classes. You can see all the details over on the Join My Team page. 

Once you have received the tutorials, please remember not to share or distribute the printed or electronic copies of these bundles. We have worked hard to provide these exclusive projects for your use. If you know someone that would like to purchase the bundle, please direct them to me to obtain their copy. Thanks for your support.

Now it's time to hop over to Pia's Blog to see her super cute project.

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store