Pandas.....

WOW! Where has the summer gone???

Just wanted to share a few of my panda cards with you today and touch base with everyone! The new catalog has been a big success and the Holiday, which goes live tomorrow will do the same, I am sure.

Now onto the creations......

Colored on the back of pre-printed vellum, before adding wet glue to attach to the card. Didn't work the greatest, but guess that is how we learn. The next time I added the glue to the cardstock and then layered the vellum on top. That works better as the vellum curled and the glue dried to quickly the other way.

Here is the inside. This is a fun fold. It is a double gate fold, then add a full size card front to the left side of the fold.

Here is another one:

This was a Sale-a-bration set, but I still have so much fun with it. Doesn't hurt that several of my friends are Panda fans!

 

And this is the inside. I really had fun making this shadow card!!! Think I will making a lot more of these with so many stamps available!

Well, hope you had a safe and wonderful Labor Day weekend. Continue with a great week and thanks so much for stopping by!!

Love What You Do Pinwheel

I saw this idea on a YouTube by Stamp with Joy. It has been a long time since I have done this technique and thoroughly enjoyed revisiting it.

The card base is Whisper White, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, scored at 4 1/4

The mat is Mint Macaron (I know it looks blue, but it really is Mint!) 4 x 5 1/4

The image piece is Whisper White, 3 3/4 x 5

For the pinwheel, you need a piece of double sided DSP ( I used the Share What You Love), 2 x 4
Cut in half, then fourths, or 8 pieces of 1x1 pieces from scraps. Decide which sides you want to present.

Cut a piece of the background (mine IS mint macaron) 3x3. Place the first square diagonally with the point in the middle of the top, gluing down only the right side of the triangle. Take the next piece and glue it down on the first triangle, placing one point at the bottom tip of the first one and lining it up so that the top left point is in line with the top point of the previous one. Continue around until the last one. When gluing the last one into place, lift up the unglued portion of the first one and position it underneath. Now you can add a spot of glue to the first piece and secure.

Carefully cut around the pinwheel, leaving a bit of a border.

Using one of the new pearlized doilies, ink it up with the mint macaron to give it just a hint of color. ( I actually used a white doily, covered it with my retired Luminere, let it dry, then inked.) Place this toward the top center, using spots of glue on the thicker parts of the doily.

Place dimensionals on the pinwheel and place it in the center of the doily.

The strip underneath is a 3 5/8 x 1 1/8 mint macaron to mat a piece of matching DSP, 3 1/2 x 1

The stamping is also in Mint Macaron with a piece from the Hold on to Hope set. The sentiment is from Flourishing Flourishes. ( I just placed tape over the part I didn't want, inked it up, PULL OFF THE TAPE, and stamp.)

I then colored the pearls with my Stampin Blends, starting with Old Olive and topping with Bermuda Bay. This created a close match to the Mint Macaron. I also added a Rich Razzleberry pearl from one of my Paper Pumpkin Kits to the center of the pinwheel.

I hope you give this one a try. It really is a fun card to create and a great way to clean up those smaller scraps.

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!!

Non bleached card

I have always liked the looks of the bleached cards, but it just wasn't something I enjoyed creating. I recently saw this technique with Craft White ink, that I thought resembled the bleached look, and actually liked it better. So I had to give it a try and share the results.

Using one of my favorite colors, Flirty Flamingo, I created a base, 4 1/4 x 11, scored at 5 1/2, to create a top fold card.

The next layer is Whisper White, 4 1/8 x 5 3/8

And the image layer, Flirty Flamingo, 4 x 5 1/4

Using an open lined image and Versamark, stamp the images. I used the retired Birthday Blooms. Emboss with white embossing powder.

Add a drop of Craft White ink onto a clear block or what ever pallet you prefer and grab your aqua painter. Being careful not to use too much water, color in the images. I needed to "dry off" my brush several times and also colored over twice to get the depth of color that I wanted. Let this dry, blotting with paper towel to absorb any extra liquid. After it dried, I added a watercolor wash with Pear Pizzaz to the leaves, just to add a bit of contrast.

The sentiment is white embossed from Flourishing Phrases with a bow attached above with a glue dot.

Very pretty effect, I think, and hope that you do also. Give it a try, so easy and fairly quick. The drying can be sped up by using the Heat Tool.

Have a great day, and thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Peek a Boo Best Birds

This great idea came from Lou Kitzelman. I love the Best Birds bundle and am so glad it is staying with us for another year. Here is my version on Lou's masterpiece:

I used retiring Soft Sky cardstock, 2pcs 4 5/8" x 5 1/2", scored at 3/8" on the longer side. (I do wish that I had added the 3/8" on to the short side, so that it opened on the side like Lou's.) You will also need 2 pcs of Whisper White, 4" x 5 1/4" for the cover and inside.

So where ever you want the fold to be, add 3/8". Crease the score with a crisp fold. Add Tear and Tape to both strips.

Using the aqua painter and retiring Marina Mist ink, I brushed across each of the white pieces for a watercolor effect. Then cut your favorite shape out of one of the Whisper White pieces. Position over the card base and cut a smaller version from the card base. Attach the other piece to the back card base. Stamp your sentiment onto the inside piece, through the window making sure it leaves room for the bird to peak through. The Stamparatus works GREAT for this!

Cut the acetate to the size of your card, (mine is 4 14 x 5 1/2.) and attach between the card base pieces onto the taped strips, lining up the edges for the card fold.

Using the Best Birds stamp set, color two branches, six flowers and opposite facing birds with Watercolor Pencils. I then brush over with an aqua painter to smooth out the pencil lines. Using the outline framelits, cut each item out.

With wet glue position the left facing bird on the acetate, so that it is visible through the cover window

Add the images and sentiment to the cover, sign the back and you are ready to send it to a lucky recipient!

Want to see Lou's version and instructions? Just click HERE

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Stamparatus Case

It has been a long time since I have done much sewing, and even longer since I created a pattern. But I wanted a case for my Stamparatus, to protect and keep it all together. Here is what I created:

It even has a pocket on the inside for the extra plate and some of my templates that I use on it.

I am not the greatest at writing out the directions for someone else, but thought I would share what I did. If you do much sewing, I think you can decipher it. LOL

Inside and Outside of bag: (Cover)
Cut two pieces of fabric, 22"x 11"
(Pay attention to pattern direction, if needed)

Inside Pocket
Cut fabric at 9 ½" x 18"

Fuse fleece Pellon, 22" x 11" to line the outside piece.
Fuse fleece Pellon, 9 ½"x 9" to one end of the pocket piece.
NOTE: you could actually use quilted fabric, in which case, you would only need a single cover size and half of the pocket.)

Fold the pocket in half and sew coordinating large fold binding across the end raw edge.
(This will be the top of the pocket.)

Position the inside fabric to the outside fused fabric.
Sew the binding along the bottom of the cover piece. (This end will be the front of your case.)
Position the top of the pocket ½" up from the bottom of the cover.
Sew it in place down the two raw sides (twice to reinforce).

Fold the cover up over the pocket.
(The extra will be the closing flap)
(Round the corners of the flap, if desired)
Sew binding around the three raw edges.
(Back Stitch at the top where the front and back join to reinforce)

Add Velcro for closure.

If you have any questions, just let me know.

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!!

Statement of My Heart easel

This card idea came from Jo Weedon. Someone shared her creation on Pinterest and I loved it. I couldn't find the original, so will include my measurements, which may or may not be the same, but I think they worked just fine. What do you think?

Again, I don't usually make replicas, but I am using cardstock that will only be available until May 31. So it was just as easy to cut out two at once.

The card base is Rose Red, 4 1/4 x 11, scored at 2 3/4 and 5 1/2. Crease both score lines to create the base of the easel. Cut another piece of Rose Red at 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and glue to the bottom section below the 2 3/4" score line. This will create a flat card(left image) that can be displayed as an easel(right image).

Mount a 4 x 5 1/4 piece of Pink Pirouette to the top of the card. Stamp the Statement Of The Heart on a Whisper White, 2 1/4 x 3 1/4, mounted on a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 rose red. ( NOTE: This is a free stamp that is exclusive to the Gotta Have It All, Love What You Do Bundle, only available through May 31!!!) Attach this to the top of the pink mat. Stamp and color the image from Crafting Forever (not retiring!!!!). I used the Stamping Blends. (wait until you see all of the new colors!!) Cut out the image and attach to the bottom corner with dimensionals.

On the inside glue a 4 x 1, then a 4 x 1 1/2, and a 4 x 2 1/2, spaced approx. 1/8" apart. Stamp the sentiment on Whisper White, mounted on Rose Red. Attach to the inside panel corner with dimensionals. This will be the stopper so the easel card will stay up.

I hope that you enjoyed this and thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Thank you, sneak peek and retired easel

I don't usually do multiples of cards. I just don't like to, and I think I get a bit messy when I do, but when I saw the samples from Laura Fiorelli-Allen on Pinterest, I thought they would make great Thank you cards. And I had literally run out, so a quick way to add to my non-existing stock.

The DSP will be available on June 1 and is called Garden Impressions. Plus it is in my favorite size, 6x6!! I just went through the different designs and decided which ones I liked for the top, then again to the bottom pieces, sometimes it was just the reverse side and sometimes not.

The card is the standard 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, scored at 4 1/4. I chose colors that coordinated with the DSP. I LOVE that SU lists the colors on the package! The DSP pieces are all cut at 4" x 2 1/2".

The ribbon and sentiment are all retired items. I have quite a bit of ribbon and just never seem to use it, so this worked great. The sentiment is from Vintage Postcard and punched out with the 2" punch, mounted on the 2 3/8" scallop punched piece.

Attach the ribbon across the seam created by the two DSP. Loop a 9" piece behind the sentiment and attach with dimensionals. That is it!!!

This is a great design whether you need a quick thank you or any occasion, just change out the sentiment.



Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!