Fancy Fold with Happy Birthday To You

Hi there

The Happy Birthday To You stamp set from the 2020 Sale-a-bration brochure is one of my favourite picks in this year's promotion. Plus, the coordinating dies are now available and that makes it super easy to get maximum value from this set. You can choose the Happy Birthday To You stamp set for FREE with a qualifying order of $90 or more. The coordinating Birthday Dies are available for purchase for $47.00.

The dies crop the entire cake for you, but even better, there is a die that crops JUST the 3 flowers. This makes it so easy to use the lovely flowers on lots of other projects too. The foliage elements are small and dainty and there is a cake stand if you want something with a bit more presence.

I have combined this stamp set with the Trophy Fancy Fold for the card I'm sharing with you today. I've used the lovely colour combo of Night of Navy and Seaside Spray for a soft and elegant look.

You can see that the art panel sits about the base, giving it the look of a trophy. This makes for a great card for the recipient to display and looks extra special. The good news is that the card folds up and goes into a standard envelope (metric C6 or imperial). I used the instructions in this Youtube video from Cindy Brumbaugh and then adapted it to suit. The birthday greeting from the Happy Birthday To You set is the perfect size  and I heat embossed it on the side of the base before it was constructed.

I started by dry embossing a piece of Seaside Spray card stock with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder and using the largest of the scalloped and stitched rectangle dies from the Stitched So Sweetly set to create the art panel.  At the same time I cut a piece of Thick Whisper White with the same die for the writing panel on the reverse.

I stamped the cake image in Basic Gray ink for a softer look and cropped it with the coordinating die after colouring the cake stand in Light Smoky Slate. The cake is adhered flat to the Seaside Spray panel with Tombow glue as it needs to slide through the base when it folds up, so you don't want anything to catch.

I stamped the image again and cropped just the 3 flowers this time, using Stampin' Blends Alcohol markers in Seaside Spray, Granny Apple Green and Daffodil Delight to colour them. I snipped the top flower from the trio and adhered the 2 side flowers flat with Tombow glue for the reasons explained above. It still adds some depth to the image, that you wouldn't get if you just coloured the flowers directly on the cake. I popped up the single flower over the cake image, adding a couple of the leaf sprays I die cut from Old Olive card stock for some contrast.  You can see in the photo below, how the art panel slides through base to fold flat. The top flower sits above the base, so isn't a problem being popped up.

The art panel and writing panel are sandwiched between a panel of cardstock attached to the base, which allows it to slide up and down to fold flat (this will make sense when you look at the Youtube video). I stamped and cropped the flowers again, colouring the the top flower, which I adhered flat on the bottom corner.  To write on the panel you just fold the base flat. 

This is a fun fancy fold to try and I think it would be especially good for a masculine card; I'll add that to the list!

 

Project Details
Stamps	Happy Birthday To You
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Night of Navy, Seaside Spray, Old Olive
Ink	Versamark, Basic Gray
Accessories	Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon
Tools	Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Birthday Dies, Subtle 3D EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow glue, White EP, Heat gun, Stampin' Blends (Smoky Slate, Seaside Spray, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green)

 

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 February IDEAS Tutorial Bundle for FREE (normally $10). It contains 65 pages of craft projects using 2020 Sale-a-bration products.  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!

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Painted Poppies Fancy Fold

Hi there

I've had a busy couple of weeks, but happy that things are calming down again for a little while at least.

One of my favourite products from the January - June 2020 Mini Catalogue has been the Painted Poppies Bundle and the coordinating Peaceful Poppies Designer Paper from the Peaceful Poppies Suite of products  

When we talk about poppy flowers, the red poppy probably springs to mind first as it has been strongly associated with Remembrance Day since 1918. However, poppies come in lots of other colours including yellow, orange, white, pink and purple and probably others too. Did you know that the purple poppy is used to remember the animal victims of war? 

The Painted Poppies stamp set gives you the option of line images to colour in your favourite medium or a shaded stamp to fill the large images. Plus you have some foliage options, a sweet field of poppies and a single elegant poppy image. The coordinating Painted Labels Dies crop the larger and smaller single flowers and leaf and you also get 3 label dies and a sweet scalloped border as well.

The Peaceful Poppies Designer Series Paper is bright and bold with lots of  floral designs on one side and simpler coordinating designs on the reverse. This makes it so easy to mix and match for your projects.  The first design in the photo above is a border of orange and purple poppies (the colours are more vibrant in real life as you will see below). You can cut this sheet in half at 6" (15.2cm) and use the panel to make fabulous quick cards. You don't need much more than a greeting.  This is such a lovely panel and I wanted to make the most of a 6" x 6" piece, so I came up with this custom-sized Bridge Fold card.

I have used Blackberry Bliss for the card base and the coordinating spotted designer paper for the bridge. The birthday greeting is from the Peaceful Moments stamp set, another of the products from the Peaceful Poppies Suite and I've heat embossed it in white on Blackberry Bliss card stock and cropped it with the new Stitched So Sweetly Dies. I added 3 of the little gold flower sequins from the Peaceful Poppies Sequins.

For the embellishment, I've coloured the 2 larger poppy flowers with Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends markers and cropped them with the coordinating dies.  The leaves are coloured in Granny Apple Green to complement the bright green at the bottom of the panel. Did you notice the leaf on the left? There is only one leaf stamp and it curves downwards to the right. I wanted a leaf that turns downward to the left, so I created a mirror image. To achieve this, stamp your leaf  first onto a Silicone Mat and then carefully press a panel of Whisper White onto the image. If you set this up in a Stamparatus, you can stamp again on the card stock, so you can still crop the image with the die. You end up with a leaf image on both sides, so you can use one side to die cut the image and the reverse to colour your leaf that goes towards the left. This is a useful technique to have in your crafty bag of tricks. I added a little bit of extra foliage, die cut from Gold Foil using the Birthday Dies from Sale-a-bration Coordination that will be available on 4 February.

The panel for your message is on the reverse. I have a Granny Apple Green mat and I've stamped the upper portion of the field of poppies at the bottom. They are coloured with a Light Blackberry Bliss Stampin' Blends marker. 

The card folds flat for posting, but is oversize. However, I think it's worth it to make the most of this lovely panel of designer paper and it makes such a 'wow' card for the lucky recipient.  

When you purchase the Painted Poppies Bundle from me, you will receive my Painted Poppies Tutorial for FREE.  This detailed 10+ page tutorial with photos includes instructions for 4 card designs (including the Bridge Card above), each with decorated inserts and envelopes and my coordinating stamp case project shown below.  The Painted Poppies Bundle is AUD$90.75, so you will also earn a FREE Level 1 Sale-a-bration product with this purchase.  

You can purchase the Painted Poppies Bundle now, through my Online Store, or contact me  to place an order.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Painted Poppies, Peaceful Moments
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, Granny Apple Green, Gold Foil, Peaceful Poppies DSP
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Accessories	Peaceful Poppies Sequins
Tools	Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Painted Labels Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends, White EP, Heat gun

 

Don't forget, if you would like to receive your own copy of the new January - June 2020 Mini Catalogue, then leave your details over on my Free Catalogues page. 

Thanks for visiting me today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
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Heart of Christmas - Week 9

Hi there

Welcome to Week 9 of Heart of Christmas with the Art with Heart Stampin' Up! team.  

This week I've got an Interlocking Gatefold card for you, using the products from the Brightly Gleaming Suite.

I started with a Very Vanilla card base; cut an A4 sheet in half  on the long side. To make it simpler, trim the long edge from 21cm to 20.8. This makes the centre panel 10.4cm and each of the side panels 5.2cm. I've used the navy and copper star design from the Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Paper for the side panels with a mat of Copper Foil.

For the centrepiece you need to cut an oval frame (or rectangular or square, depending on your embellishment). Cut another oval with the smaller of the two dies you used to create the frame, for the centre. My frame is in Copper Foil and because it is quite fragile, I adhered another oval frame in Very Vanilla to the reverse and it also makes it look neater, too. The oval frame is positioned in the centre of the closed card and the left side only is adhered to the left side panel of the card. The oval is positioned into the frame and then adhered to the right side panel only.

I used the centre from the Very Vanilla frame and dry embossed it with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder. The bauble from the Christmas Gleaming stamp set was heat embossed in copper and cropped with the coordinating punch. I added a Copper Foil hanger and bow and popped it up on the  centre oval. I stamped the greeting in Night of Navy ink and then trimmed it right on the edge and went around it with a Night of Navy marker to cover the vanilla core.

For the inside I have a Copper Foil mat for my writing panel (although it looks quite gold in this photo, with the light shining from above). I added a strip of the designer paper at the bottom and part of the foliage swag from the Christmas Layers Dies at the top. I used the smaller of the bauble punches to create the hanging bauble from designer paper, which I've attached under the foliage.

Finally, here is the card partly open, so you can see how it works. My husband calls this an intelligence test card, because you have to work out how to open it. I might be sending this card to a crafty friend, lol.

All of the new products from the Holiday Catalogue are now available in my Online Store.  If you don't have your own copy of the new Holiday Catalogue yet, then head to my 'Free Catalogues' page (tab at the top of the page) to register your details and I'll pop one in the post for  you.

Project Details
Stamps	Christmas Gleaming
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Copper Foil, Christmas Gleaming Specialty DSP
Ink	Versamark, Night of Navy
Accessories	Tea Room Ribbon Combo (retired)
Tools	Layering Ovals Dies, Subtle 3D EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue, Gleaming Ornaments Punch Pack, Copper EP, Heat gun

 

Don't forget to check out the inspiring projects from the other ladies participating tonight; head over to Claire's Blog for the links.

Thanks for visiting today!

Creativity is Calling...

Hi there

Creativity is Calling!

The new 2019-20 Annual Catalogue is now LIVE.  There is so much in this catalogue to inspire and get the creative juices flowing.  It can all be a bit overwhelming, so if you're a beginner crafter, then there is now a new brochure to help you get started with this fabulous hobby. I would love to send you one, so please get in touch.

If you don't have your own copy of the 2019-20 Annual Catalogue yet, then I would be very happy to pop one in the post for you. Go to my Free Catalogues page and fill out your details.

 

One of my very favourite product suites from the new catalogue is Magnolia Lane. This is such a fabulous suite of coordinating products with the gorgeous stamp set, coordinating dies, designer paper, embossing folder and embellishments. So today I'm sharing a fancy fold card that I have CASE-ed from Susan Levasseur, that showcases the classic and timeless Magnolia image from the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set. It is a Diamond Easel fold card, which gives  a really big  'wow', yet is relatively simple to create. I have followed Susan's instructions, but made a few changes; colouring my Magnolia with Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. 

The card base is a 6" x 12"piece of Whisper White that is scored at 3" and 6"and then the diamond points are cut on each end. The rest is about decorating and embellishing the basic fold. I have used Soft Suede to matt the sweet Petal Pink print from the Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper pack that forms the background for the Magnolia image. The plain Petal Pink sections have been embossed with the Tin Tile 3D Embossing Folder.

The card folds flat for posting and requires an oversize envelope. The large Magnolia image was coloured with Light Petal Pink Stampin Blends to give a very soft effect and the leaves were coloured with Old Olive. Although you can't see in the photo, I went over the flower with the Wink of Stella pen for some sparkle.

The diamond is held upright by the 3D Magnolia flower that is created with the coordinating Magnolia Memory Dies. I've used Shimmery White card stock and added  some subtle colour around the edges of the petals with a sponge dauber and Petal Pink ink. The petals were gently moulded with the bone folder to add depth and then offset. Two layers of yellow stamens and a Clear Faceted Gem finish the centre of the flower. You can see the writing panel in the centre where I have stamped and coloured the small Magnolia image.

I was surprised to find that Magnolias come in a variety of colours, so I'm looking forward to colouring many more. 

Project Details
Stamps	Good Morning Magnolia
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Soft Suede, Petal Pink, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Shimmery White, Magnolia Lane DSP
Ink	Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Petal Pink
Accessories	Rhinestones, Clear Faceted Gem
Tools	Magnolia Memory Dies, Layering Ovals Dies, Tin Tile 3D EF, Big Shot, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends (Petal Pink, Old Olive)

 

I hope you like my project and thanks for visiting today!

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CASE-ing the Catty - Favourite Big Shot Project

Hi there

This week is our second last week of CASE-ing the current catalogues, so the CTC Crew are CASE-ing their favourite Big Shot project.

This will be my last post for a while as I am going into hospital tomorrow for left total knee replacement surgery. I had the right knee done 18 months ago, so I'm hoping for the same excellent result. It will be a few weeks before I will be able to comfortably sit at my craft desk again, but I'll be back to CASE the new 2019-20 Annual Catalogue as soon as I can. It will also be fabulous to have 2 good knees again!

If you've come from looking at the lovely project on Kelly's blog, 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 CTC Crew by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post. 

I was flicking through the Annual Catalogue and this lovely group of projects jumped out at me. I love the bright colours in the Broadway Bound Designer Series Paper and although late to the party, I finally succumbed to the Broadway Birthday Bundle a few months ago. The Broadway Birthday stamp set and coordinating Broadway Lights Dies have carried over into the new 2019-20 Annual Catalogue, but you will need to purchase the bundle before 4 June, if you want to take advantage of the 10% discount. 

My inspiration for this fun fold card comes from the designer paper and the elements in the Broadway Lights Dies that have been used in the sample projects in the photo. 

I saw a few concertina style folds on Pinterest, but I've created my own version which is the normal height of 14.8cm for a metric portrait card and the full length of an A4 sheet of card stock.  I just fiddled with a prototype in copy paper until I got the proportions of the folds to something I was happy with. The finished width when closed is 11.4cm, so you do need a slightly larger envelope. 

The 'hooray' is stamped in Lovely Lipstick ink and I've stamped the dots over the top with Versamark ink and then heat embossed in white. The frame was die cut from Black Foil and I used it as a template to cut out the 'hooray ' and another in Black card stock and sandwiched them all together with the Lovely Lipstick 1/8" Grosgrain to make a neat and robust embellishment and closure for the card. The balloon was die cut from the Sale-a-bration Lovely Lipstick Foil and I adhered a black embossed 'stick for the balloon to each side of the 'hooray' sign to keep it rigid. I finished with 3mm rhinestones all around the frame as you can never have too much sparkle!

 

For the inside I have stamped 'make a' in black ink and the 'WISH' in Lovely Lipstick. I stamped the dots over the top again in Versamark and heat embossed in white.  The diamond pattern on the bottom of the writing panel was created using one of the extra dies in the Broadway Lights set and then I filled in the diamonds with a set cut from a scrap of Lovely Lipstick. 

Fancy fold cards are always fun to make and add a bit of 'wow' for the recipient. 

Project Details
Stamps	Broadway Birthday
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Lovely Lipstick, Lemon Lime Twist, Broadway Bound Specialty DSP, Black Foil, Lovely Lipstick Foil (Sale-a-bration)
Ink	Lovely Lipstick, Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Lovely Lipstick 1/8" Grosgrain
Tools	Broadway Lights Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow Liquid Glue, Dimensionals, White & Black EP, Heat Gun

 

There is still time to get a FREE 2019-20 Annual Catalogue delivered to your door. Place an order with me by 3 June and the fabulous new Annual Catalogue will be winging its way to your door. Take advantage of the Last Chance List to get retiring products on your wish list.

Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see what Monique has to inspire you this week. 

We would love you to join us with your CASE this week, using our Facebook group. Click on this link or the image below to go there. The first time you will need to click on the 'Join Group' button at the top. Once you have been added to the group, you can go ahead and post your creation and you do not need to have a blog. 

I hope you've enjoyed my project inspired by a card layout and thanks for visiting me today!

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