The Cutting Cafe Bendi - Bendy Card

 

It's Design Team project time at The Cutting Cafe Blog. It's a free week for the DT and I decided to use Regina's new Bendi-Bendy card template for my project. Have you heard of Bendy cards? I hadn't, until Regina sent the file out to the Team. I fell in love with it immediately. It's always fun to find new ways to make a standard A2 size card. This card folds flat for mailing but becomes three dimensional when assembled. I also used several other Cutting Cafe files to decorate my Bendy card. The Christmas Tree with Presents Shaped card, the Christmas Tree Trio Shaped card, and Christmas Card Banners. I started this card by using the SVG Bendy Card file and my Cricut Explore Air to cut it wirelessly. (Something else I'm in love with, my new Cricut Explore Air). After I had the base of the card and the mats cut, I took the large mat on the back (tallest) section of the card and ran it through my printer to get the colored star banner on it. I was so glad I thought about doing this because I think it's perfect behind the trees. On the middle section of the card I used the medium size tree from the Christmas Tree Trio shaped cards. I printed it, fussy cut it, then ran it through my Cuttlebug with a Darice Dots embossing folder and added some doodling with my white gel pen around some of the dots. On the front panel of the card I used the smallest Christmas tree from the Christmas Tree Trio shaped card and ran it through the Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder and added more doodling with my white gel pen. Next I printed the presents from the Christmas Tree with Presents shaped card on kraft cardstock and red cardstock. I assembled the presents and bows, inking the edges of the presents and adding some white gel pen accents on the bows and spread them around the tree. You're definitely going to want to get this Bendy card file for yourself. I promise you're going to love it as much as I do. Don't forget to stop by The Cutting Cafe Blog to see the rest of the inspiring designs from the TEAM. This is my last post of the year. I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful holiday season and blessings for the New Year. I appreciate you all and thank you for visiting my blog. I'm looking forward to the New Year and bringing you more inspiration.

Cardz TV Stamps Merry Everything Tags

I'm so excited to share my fun tags with you today. I whipped these up using my brand new FUSE tool for my Cardz TV Gallery post today.  I purchased it a couple months ago from Amazon with a gift card my daughter gave me for my birthday. With Christmas only ten days away it was the perfect time to make these shaker tags that I've been wanting to try. I started with a piece of 4.25 x 5.5 inch Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor cardstock and cut it in half. On one I did a quick color wash of Festive Berries Distress ink and on the other I used Cracked Pistachio Distress ink.  While they dried I prepared my die cuts and heat embossed my sentiments. The Merry die cut came from My Creative Time. I cut one in red and the other from shiny gold cardstock. Then I die cut the deer (also from My Creative Time). Next I stamped the EVERYTHING sentiment on fish tail banners. One was stamped with Versamark ink and sprinkled with WOW Gold Glitter embossing powder, the other with Versafine Onyx Black ink and sprinkled with Ranger Fine Embossing powder in Clear then I heated them up with my heat gun. I colored my Santa image from Pink & Main Jolly Holidays stamp set. I will be entering this tag in the Pink & Main Challenge #4 for Christmas.

  

 
Now it was time to bring out the FUSE tool. I have to tell you that it took a bit of practice to get the lines fused properly. My first try was not the best and I threw it away, but the next came out fine after I got the hang of placing the tool correctly in the slit on the ruler that comes with it. I fused three sides of each tag and then filled the pouches with lots of bits and bobs. Some sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, microbeads and iridescent stars from Martha Stewart and a few miscellaneous sequins I found in my stash including stars and snowflakes. After filling the two pouches I fused the tags shut on the top and added eyelets to each one. On the gold tag I added Lawn Fawn Gold Sparkle Cord and on the Santa tag I added red and white twine. To complete the tags I added the die cuts, stamped image and sentiment banners to the front. You can find the Merry Everything Stamp set HERE.

Paper Sweeties December Release-The Twelve Days of Christmas

This month's release at Paper Sweeties is going to be a twelve day celebration with each Design Team Member taking a day to show you four different projects. You are going to want to join us each day to see some amazing and incredible design projects using this month's release products. Here is the the list showing each Design Team member's day:

December 2nd:  Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

December 3rd:  Maria Patrick

December 4th:  Nancy Penir

December 5th:  Kathy Schweinfurth

December 6th:  Mackie Robertson

December 7th:  Jill Norwood

December 8th:  Michelle Bala

December 9th:  Michele Henderson

December 10th:  Larissa Heskett

December 11th:  Jeri Thomas

December 12th:  Angel Johns

December 13th:  Mynnette Kitchen

Paper Sweeties December Release

So glad you're joining me today for the Paper Sweeties Twelve Days of Christmas Designers' Blog Hop. I have lots to show today so sit back and relax with a beverage of choice as I show you my projects made with the newest Paper Sweeties stamp and dies. First I'll show you pictures of the new sets and I'll follow them up with four projects showing different ways to use each set. If you missed any of the Teams previous projects I have the list at the end of my post. This month's release features the Merry and Bright Stamps and Sweet Cuts along with the Sugar and Spice Stamps and Sweet Cuts as pictured below.

Merry and Bright Sweet Cuts

Merry and Bright Stamps

Sugar and Spice Stamps

For my first project I'm showcasing some fun tags using the Sugar and Spice sets.

I started these tags by cutting the Gingerbread Sweet Cuts from kraft color corrugated cardstock and plain white cardstock and glued them together for a little more stability. Next I inked over the top of the corrugated layer with Versamark ink and sprinkled them with WOW Opaque Bright White embossing powder then heated them up with my heat gun. While they were still hot I added some clear glitter. To embellish the tags I added Paper Sweeties Baker's twine in Strawberry and Paper Sweeties Mistletoe sequins. Then I stamped the sentiment on the back from the Paper Sweeties Ho Ho Ho Bundle.

My next projects are two cards using the Christmas Tree Tag Sweet Cuts. I made a fancy version and a homespun version. You can see how just changing up the paper I used gave them two completely different looks. First I have a homespun look to the first tree card. I used papers from last year's Recollections Holly Day Wishes 6x6 paper stack and cut each piece for the tree from a patterned paper. I added the tree scalloped trim in red, the star in beige and finished it off with a few Paper Sweeties sequins.

For the fancy card I used another Recollections paper pad. This one is produced this year and it's called Winter Frost. Love, love, love these papers with the pretty aqua blue, crisp white and touches of silver foil. I cut the background from foiled pattern paper as well as the tree. For the scalloped trimming on this tree I cut it from white cardstock and then used the coordinating stamp to heat emboss with WOW Platinum Sparkle Embossing Glitter. I also used the same glittery embossing powder on the tree's star. The sentiment is stamped on a fish tail cut banner using the same embossing powder and I went around the edges of the banner with Versamark ink and sparkled them up, too. Interestingly, the ornaments on the tree were die cut using the bulb die cut from the set. This paper stack had a pretty snowflake patterned paper and the flakes were the exact size of the bulb die. Perfect! Sometimes the paper can do all the work for you.

Next I have two gingerbread ornaments made from die cut felt. I used a blanket stitch to attach two layers of felt and before stitching them closed I added a couple cotton balls for stuffing. Then I glued on the facial features and rick rack trim, added a bow tie on the gentleman and a bow on the ladies head. I also gave her a little skirt simply made by using a gathering stitch on a piece of red gingham ribbon.

For my last project of the day I have a home decor project made with a shadow box from Target's dollar bin. I used both New Release sets to put my little scene together, along with the older Paper Sweeties Ho Ho Ho Bundle for the Ginger kids, and the older Snow Time Bundle for the presents under the tree. This time I stamped the gingerbread features with Versamark ink and heat embossed them. Mom got a hair bow and a skirt of red gingham ribbon. I made all of the elements by stacking five layers of each die cut and glueing them together to give them more dimension. I made the sentiment plaque using the die cut from the Paper Sweeties Tree of Life Bundle. It's actually the die cut for the ground in that set, but I always like to look for ways to use my die cuts in a different way. To finish off my shadow box decor piece I added a big red burlap bow to the top.

I hope I've given you some great ideas for ways to use the new release Sugar and Spice Bundle and the Merry and Bright Bundle. Thanks so much for sharing your time with me today. I wish you all a blessed holiday season.

Here's is the blog hop list in case you've missed any of the Twelve Day hop.

December 2nd:  Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

December 3rd:  Maria Patrick

December 4th:  Nancy Penir

December 5th:  Kathy Schweinfurth

December 6th:  Mackie Robertson

December 7th:  Jill Norwood

December 8th:  Michelle Bala

December 9th:  Michele Henderson

December 10th:  Larissa Heskett

December 11th:  Jeri Thomas

December 12th:  Angel Johns

December 13th:  Mynnette Kitchen

Merry and Bright - Paper Sweeties	Merry and Bright Sweet Cuts - Paper Sweeties	Sugar and Spice Sweet Cuts - Paper Sweeties	Sugar and Spice - Paper Sweeties	Mistletoe Sequin Mix - Paper Sweeties
Snow Time - Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties	Ho Ho Ho - Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties	Snow Time Sweet Cuts Dies - Paper Sweeties	Ho Ho Ho Sweet Cuts Dies - Paper Sweeties
Tree of Life Stamp Set--Paper Sweeties	Strawberry Bakers Twine - Paper Sweeties	Tuti Fruiti Sequins - Paper Sweeties

The Cutting Cafe Treat Cup Ornament

Hello my crafty friends! Are you all counting down to Christmas Day? I know I am. I've been working on small gifts to give to friends and neighbors using the Christmas Treat Cup set from The Cutting Cafe. This set is this week's DT assignment for The Cutting Cafe Design Team. You don't want to miss seeing the fabulous creations everyone made. So check them out at The Cutting Cafe Blog. For my project I used the Ornament Treat Cup and the SVG file to cut it on my Cricut Explore Air. After assembling the pieces I filled it with peppermint candy and added a simple bow and gold cording to hang on a Christmas tree. I kept mine pretty simple because I am mass producing them, but you could add more embellishments if you wanted like greenery or jingle bells. Thanks for stopping by and make sure you head over to The Cutting Cafe Blog for more inspiration using the Treat Cups.

Paper Sweeties December 2015 Inspiration Challenge

Woo Hoo!!! The day is finally here, my first official post as part of the Design Team Family at Paper Sweeties. My project today is for the December 2015 Inspiration Challenge using the photo below. This post is also part of the Inspiration Blog Hop. You should have arrived here from Emily's blog.

I made a gift card holder. Hubby and I send out lots of gift cards for the holidays to our family because we are all in different states. To make my circular base to put my JOY word on I used the snow globe from the Snow Time Bundle. I did a little creative die cutting to make it look like a Christmas ornament. I used the trunk die from the Christmas Tree in the new Christmas Tree Tag Die set (Releasing today) to cut a gold ornament hanger for the top of the bulb using gold cardstock. I trimmed the snow globe base to fit under the gold cardstock. Next I added the letters to the upside down altered snow globe. I cut them from yellow/gold cardstock, added some Distress Paint in Antique Linen and then embossed them with a woodgrain embossing folder. Finally, I embellished with a couple pieces of greenery, added a pretty gold bow and a couple jingle bells. I heat embossed the sentiment from the Snow Time Bundle with gold embossing powder. Now I know you'll want to check out the rest of the DT projects so here is the list to hop along. Your next stop is Jill's blog.

Angel Johns 
Annette Witherspoon

Cheryl Lea

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

 Emily Frasier
Jeri Thomas - You are HERE

Jill Norwood

Julie Tucker-Wolek

Kathy Schweinfurth

Larissa Heskett

Mackie Robertson

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala
Michele Henderson 
Mynnette Kitchen

Nancy Penir

December Guest Designer:  Tracey Kelly

Now before you leave I want to share a sneak peek for my Design Post for the Paper Sweeties December Release-The Twelve Days of Christmas. Make sure you start your December off right with inspiration from the Paper Sweeties Design Team showcasing the December Release available in the Paper Sweeties Shop NOW starring an adorable new Gingerbread Man stamp and die set called Sugar and Spice and an awesome Christmas Tree stamp and die set called Merry and Bright. The first day will be December 2nd and will feature projects from Paper Sweeties Owner Debbie. You will find her goodies on the Paper Sweeties Blog. My design post will be on December 11th and here is my sneak peek.

Pink & Main November Thanks Challenge

I finally managed to find a few minutes to get this card posted. It's for the Pink & Main Challenge #3. I used the Pink & Main Turkey Day Stamp set. I made him by paper piecing using a bunch of scraps from my stash. Love how he turned out. I framed him and added the sentiment underneath with a little brown twine bow tied for embellishment. 

Cardz TV Stamps Keep Calm and Jingle On

I'm totally in shock that it is the Christmas season. I can't really say it was a sneak up on me thing, but I'm definitely not the least bit ready. I've found it hard to think Christmas since we moved to Florida. It's just not the same in the warm and sunny climate. So today I'm sharing my Cardz TV Gallery project with you. I love how this card came out. I knew as soon as I saw the Cardz TV Naughty or Nice stamp set that I wanted to use this saying in my embroidery hoop die. It came from Neat & Tangled. I wanted to use some stitching lines around the edge of the circlular hoop so I took a stamp block, put the die on top of it and then formed the stitching lines stamp, from the Cardz TV Basic Borders stamp set, around the inside edge. I stamped it once and then partially inked it to fill in the rest of the circle.

To embellish the hoop I added a couple die cut holly leaves, berries and a cut little bow. Thanks for stopping by today.

The Cutting Cafe With Gratitude

This week at The Cutting Cafe Blog the Design Team is showcasing projects made from the With Gratitude Printable Stamp Set. This set includes 75 images from backgrounds to sentiments. I used The 3.5 inch printable stamp to make my project. We will be spending the Thanksgiving Holiday with a large group of friends at our retirement community. Every year, because we are all away from family wintering in Florida, our group of friends has a big potluck supper. I thought it would be fun to print a bunch of these so that each person could have one then ask them each to write something they are grateful for. I made each one like a card so they open up. After printing them I cut the circles out with a scalloped circle die. Then I attached them to a plain scalloped circle scored a 1/2" at the top. To the front of each circle I added a watercolor leaf, a hemp bow and a few sequins. I know you'll want to stop by The Cutting Cafe Blog and see what the rest of the Design Team has done with this awesome printable stamp set. Thanks for coming by today and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday if you celebrate Thanksgiving.

Share Handmade Kindess Week #2 Community

Here's a card for the Share Handmade Kindess Week #2 Challenge for Community going on over at Jennifer McGuires blog. I chose to create a card to thank our local police officers. Lately, it seems they don't get enough credit for the job they do. This is a really simple card with red stamped brushstrokes to resemble the stripes on the American flag. A small area in the corner stamped navy blue with silver glitter stars completes the look. I added a die cut label with a sentiment from Cardz TV Stamps. 

Paper Sweeties 25 Days of Christmas Tags

My post today is dual purpose. First my, oh so happy, announcement. I am now part of the wonderful Design Team family for Paper Sweeties. I'm so enamored of the Paper Sweeties products from Owner/Designer/Illustrator Debbie Marcinkiewicz. The stamps and dies are high quality and made in the U.S.A. They also have a fabulous price point and are on trend. If you haven't checked out this line of creative stamps and dies, you can find them HERE.

Secondly, post today is part of a wonderful Christmas tag exhibition over on Facebook called the 25 Days of Christmas Tags by Tracey Mehak McNeely from In My Creative Opinion. This is a fabulous way to see lots of designs by Design Team members of many craft industry companies. I know you'll want to check out all the amazing inspiration.

For my tag project I made a set of tags using the Paper Sweeties Snow Time Bundle and the Paper Sweeties Ho Ho Ho Bundle. I started by cutting my base for the tags from the snow globe in the Snow Time stamp and die set. I wanted my tags to have a little stability to them so I cut two globes for each tag from heavy weight card stock then glued them together. Next I stamped, colored (with Copics) and die cut my images for each tag. The Christmas tree, snowman and present are from the Snow Time set. The Gingerbread, tree with lights, candle and bird with sentiment are from the Ho Ho Ho set. Then I stamped the sentiment (A Gift For You) onto kraft cardstock and added them to the bottom of the snow globe. To finish the tags off I punched a small hole at the top of each tag and added some red and white twine.

Cardz TV Stamps Gallery

I don't often need an anniversary card, but today I have one using the Cardz TV Stamps Garden Greetings and the (all too fabulous) Let's Face It stamp sets. I love all of Mary's funny punnie stamps. Sure to put a smile on anyone's face. This card literally took less than ten minutes to put together. In an effort to have some ready made elements on hand to speed up the cardmaking process, I sat down one day and cut a bunch of stitched rectangles for card fronts, labels to place die cuts or other elements on and some of my newer die images. So all I had to do was grab the pieces, add the little stamped faces, choose a sentiment and I was done. The cute little pear dies came from Paper Sweeties, a new to me company that I recently discovered at a stamp convention. All the other die cuts are from My Creative Time.

The Cutting Cafe Stocking Box

For this week's Cutting Cafe DT assignment I have an adorable Stocking Box to share with you from The Cutting Cafe. I'm going to be using these to hold place settings of silverware and a napkin for my Christmas buffet. The Stocking Box Template and Cutting File features two stocking boxes in small and large sizes and comes in PDF, WPC and SVG formats.  I'm showcasing the smaller box today and I've also used the Christmas Mini Words File for the sentiment on my tag. The dimensions of the box that is sandwiched between two stocking pieces measures 5.25" high and 1.75" wide. After cutting and assembling all the pieces of the stockings for each side of the box I embellished the front with snowflakes cut from red glitter paper and vellum that I attached together in the center along with my tag using a gem brad from Echo Park. I added a little pompom fringe and a nice wired red bow.

I hope you'll stop by The Cutting Cafe Blog this week (on Nov. 7) to see the rest of the DT projects. We were allowed to use any files we wanted so you're going to see all kinds of projects for great inspiration. Thanks for stopping by.

Paper Sweeties Inspiration Challenge #37 November

I love the colors of Fall for this month's Inspiration Challenge at Paper Sweeties. For my challenge card I used the Tree of Life Bundle (stamps and dies) and the Tree of Life Add-on Spring set. I started my card with a kraft cardstock base then added a piece of fun foam under a white mat of woodgrain texture cardstock from Ellen Hutson. Next I die cut all the elements for my card using the inspiration photo for my colors-the beautiful green became the hill for the brown tree trunk to sit on. I added orange leaves to the tree and around the base of the tree. Using Versa Mark ink I stamped the sentiment on a piece of brown cardstock and heat embossed with Wow White embossing powder. For a finishing touch I added a simple hemp bow. The sentiment came from the Paper Sweeties Wagon Stamp set. Here is the November Challenge photo inspiration if you would like to join in the challenge. You can upload your project at the Paper Sweeties Blog HERE.

Cardz TV Gallery Fall Fun Cards

Hello Crafty Friends. So glad you stopped by today. I'm showcasing some Fall themed cards with two different sentiments from the Cardz TV Stamp set Fall Fun. I wanted to practice some inking on these leaves so I used watercolor paper to get a good blend. I used Distress Inks and you can see what colors I used in the photos below. After I inked the leaves I added some of the new Distress Glaze to set the ink and make it waterproof. The leaves were cut with metal dies from My Creative Time as well as the oval and label that I stamped my sentiments on.

Fired Brick and Barn Door

Scattered Straw and Fossilized Amber

Spiced Marmalade and Rusty Hinge

Crushed Olive and Peeled Paint