Halloween Cards I Received

Two too cute cards I received from email buddies =)

Happy Halloween =)

Yukon - and Faux Wood Frame technique

Still using up scraps to make cards to donate to Operation Write Home. Here are a couple of cards I made using the retired stamp set from Stampin' Up!, Yukon.

Naturals White card stock, Going Gray and Basic Gray classic inks

were used to create the "wood" frame

Naturals White card stock, Creamy Caramel, Crumb Cake and

Early Espresso inks

were used to create this "wood frame"

And here is how I made the faux wood frame with mitered corners around the stamped images:


Start with four strips of card stock, a bit longer than each side of the frame you want to make. Each strip must be the same width. My strips were  3/4" wide by 8" long to make a 4"x6" frame.

Lightly rub ink over the card stock (I used an old scrap of white naturals) directly from the ink pad to the card stock. For this sample I chose Creamy Caramel ink first. I laid the strip down on scratch paper then lightly drug the ink pad across it. Lift up the card stock strip to ink the edges. I added a little bit of Crumb Cake classic ink and finished it off by speckling on a bit of Early Espresso ink with a stamp from the Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp set . You can also sponge on inks and lightly gouge the card stock with blunt tipped scissors to "distress" it more (gouging done to this sample   http://craftysahmiam.blogspot.com/2010/07/peaches-and-cream-pie-and-project.html ) .

Once you have each of the strips inked the way you'd like, lay them out to make the frame. Normally I will do this technique on a pre-made frame card. If I do not have one, I make a base frame to start. It should be the size you want the finished frame to be, this sample is 4" x 6".

Lay two of the strips down, one horizontally and one vertically with their ends overlapping each other. You can use a dab of adhesive to hold them in place while cutting. If you do this, be sure to put only a tiny bit of glue on the lower corner point of the bottom piece so it is attached to the underside of the top piece. This way, when you trim them, the glued portion will be cut off and no glue will be on the portion that will be showing on your finished frame. DO NOT adhere them to the base frame.. Lift up the two pieces and carefully cut with scissors while you are holding them together . You may find it easier to use a hobby blade along a straight edge with them laid on a cutting mat. However you choose to cut them, you want to cut through both layers at the same time, making a straight cut diagonally across the corner. Do this to each corner. Try not to mix them up once you have them cut because they can be cut differently enough that when you match them up, you don't get a good seam.

Adhere each of the strips, matching up the mitered corners, to the frame base.

Attach your finished piece of stamp art (or photograph) behind the opening in the frame.
If you'd like a more finished look to the inside of the card, cut another piece of card stock the same size as the entire front of the card then glue it over the back side (inside of the card front) of the attached piece of art. You could also carefully glue along three sides, leaving one side open so the recipient can remove the photo/art if they'd like - so long as you have not glued it in place !

(You can see on this sample that one of the strips was just a hair wider than the other)

If you'd like, go back in with a marker to add "nails" in the corners. You may also like the look of actual staples, or drawn lines, across the seam.



This is far more work than using a wood grain background stamp and then cutting the frame out of one piece of card stock and drawing in the mitered corners, but I prefer the look.


Here is a project I made the same way quite some time ago and entered into a contest. I started with Creamy Caramel card stock and used Creamy Caramel ink - I think that it really looks wood like !
http://craftysahmiam.blogspot.com/2010/07/peaches-and-cream-pie-and-project.html

Thanks for looking =)

Classic Pickups - assorted cards

This card opens in the center.

You can see how I stamped the frame around the images in the previous post,

Classic Convertibles - assorted cards.

This is a 5x7 card.

Another one of my favorite stamp sets from Stampin' Up!, Classic Pickups. It is retired. I also used the retired background stamp (another favorite!), Highways and Byways.
I made several of these cards to donate to Operation Write Home .

Thanks for looking =)

Classic Convertibles cards and stamped miter corner frame technique

These cards are being donated to Operation Write Home.

I've always loved this Classic Convertibles stamp set from Stampin' Up!

It's a shame they haven't made any others like it.

I really hoped they would come out with more classic vehicles in this style.

I was really happy with the way the "faux black and white photograph" cards I made turned out,

I had to make several more !

Below are the steps to how I made the stamped frame around the image

on the above cards

using the retired Tire Tracks Stampin' Around wheel

from Stampin' Up!:

Use repositionable sticky notes or repositionable adhesive and scrap paper. 

Lay the scrap paper diagonally across the corner of the frame, 

lining up with the outer and inner corners.

Press in place. 

Stamp across the frame, starting on one piece of paper and ending on the other.

Carefully remove the scrap paper.

Make sure the ink is dry before adhering the sticky paper to the next section.

Once you are ready to lay the sticky paper over the stamped portions,

you may want to leave just a sliver of stamped image showing. 

I have found that this works better for me to get a better "miter" look in the finished

stamped frame. When you stamp onto a piece of scrap paper mask,  

it leaves a slight "gap" along that edge. By moving the mask just a tiny bit to show a sliver

of already stamped card stock, the edges seem to meet better - for me at least. 

Do this for all four sides and 

you will have a stamped "mitered corner" frame.

Closeup below:

Thanks for looking =) 

Halloween Cards Pt 2

Image was colored with colored pencils, background water colored with classic ink, sentiment is heat embossed with white embossing powder.

 Green Stickles glitter on the bubbles in the pot

 Purple Stickles glitter on the embossed spiderweb background (Fiskars texture plate)
The black and white ribbon was colored with a marker to make it orange and black.

Cuttlebug embossing folder "Boo To You" on the outside that I brayered, not very well, with Only Orange ink.  Pop up pumpkins inside. 

All stamp images are retired from Stampin' Up!
Card stock and inks are from Stampin' Up!
Polka dot and striped ribbon were bought from jkmribbon a few years ago.

Thanks for looking =)

Halloween Cards Pt 1

Side Step card instructions can be found here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/sidestepcard/

I used colored pencils to color the images.

The Happy Fright Night piece was lightly water colored using ink from my Classic ink pads.

The bat was heat embossed with black embossing powder, watercolored with classic ink pad ink. I cut out one image that was stamped and colored on Whisper White card stock then adhered it to the full image that was stamped and colored on water color paper.

The moon was masked. I punched out a circle from scrap paper, placed it over the Whisper White card stock then lightly sponged Basic Gray ink over it. Remove the punched circle to reveal a white moon, stamp the bat images over it. Both pumpkins were stamped and cut out then layered on top of the sponged piece. One of the pumpkins has dimensionals (pop dots) under it.

The rubber stamp images are all retired from Stampin' Up!
Card stock and inks are from Stampin' Up!
Cuttlebug embossing folder and Fiskars texture plate, spider web design.

Thanks for looking =)

Football Shaped Card

I made this football shaped card for a nephews birthday. It was all freehand drawn and cut.
I used a Fiskars texture plate, Leather, to create the embossing.
The stitching is made with tiny little strips of Whisper White card stock from Stampin' Up! cut and glued on.
The white stripes at each end are cut and embossed text weight paper.
The football is made from Soft Suede card stock, Stampin' Up!
I used a stylus to hand draw, emboss the "seams" a the top and bottom of the football. I then used a Crumb Cake marker from Stampin' Up! to follow the lines, darkening them up a bit.
All of the work to the football was done on it's own piece that I then glued to another folded card and cut in the shape of a football.
It is small, it fits in a standard A2 size envelope.



Here is the (lopsided!) pattern I drew and used. I have no idea how to make a really nice one on the computer - surely someone out there has a nice, true to size pattern to follow. I didn't take the time to try to find one so I made my own.

Cut along the solid lines, use a stylus on the dashed lines to create seams (or cut out each piece separately to create real seams).

I cut out this shape for the card front, then made another with it slightly off of the edge of a folded card base. I adhered the decorated football to the folded card base.

Thanks for looking =)

Another Card Set

Here is another set of cards to donate to Operation Write Home.

I made used a set of "postcards" with matching envelopes as a base. I adhered the postcards as a decorative background to a 5x7 card base then added stamped images. Most images are retired from Stampin' Up!. The ENJOY and THANK YOU are clear stamps from Heidi Swapp. The colors are out there for me !

First time I've used this robot set

Thanks for looking =)

Card Set - On The Farm

All of these cards are being donated to Operation Write Home.


The images I used are from an old retired set from Stampin' Up!, On The Farm. The images were prestamped and given to me years ago for use with the 4H group I had at the time. We didn't use all of the images, I saved them for "one day". Yesterday was the day - I made them into cards to donate ! I am making almost all of the cards blank so they can be used for nearly anything, but there are a couple I added sayings to that I made using Snap Stamps.

Just "chicken" in                          "Herd" the good news

I love "ewe"                        "hogs" and kisses

Thanks for looking =)