MEANDERING MEADOWS DOUBLE GATEFOLD (WITH CARDSTOCK SIZE AND SCORING MEASUREMENTS)

 

Gatefold cards are nothing new for card-makers, and we've probably all made quite a few of them.  They're just so fun . . . to make and receive.  The card that I'm sharing today features the lovely "Meandering Meadows" designer paper, white and Night of Navy cardstock, and a band of pretty daisies.  Below is what the card looks like with the band removed:

And below is a better photo of the band with daisies:

I used a bone folder to slightly curve the petals and then layered two of the punched daisies together.  The center of the flowers was brushed with Wink of Stella.

The inside panels of the card were also decorated with designer paper, and a vellum panel was added to the center section so that a message could be written there.

Isn't the designer paper so pretty?!?!  I thought about placing a smaller piece of white cardstock (before deciding on the vellum) to the center section, but I really didn't want to interrupt the scenery that was going on.  After taking the photos for this post, I decided that the paper strip along the top of the vellum looked a bit plain, so I added some die-cut clouds.  Looks much better, huh?

In case you'd like to make a double gatefold card like this one . . . begin with a 5-1/2" x 12" piece of cardstock.  Score it at 1-3/4", 3-7/8", 8-1/8", and 10-1/4".  Or, if you want to just remember the first two measurements, you can score at 1-3/4" and 3-7/8", flip the cardstock and score again at 1-3/4" and 3-7/8".  

Have a stampin' good day!

PIECED BIRD CARD

 

When I first saw the "Full of Life" designer paper, I thought that it would make a pretty pieced bird, similar to what I posted HERE.  Right off the bat, I'll be the first to admit that I totally forgot to emboss the bird, which would have given it a more quilted appearance.  The making of this bird was somewhat of a fail because I ended up having to cut it out of the background cardstock because I had folded the cardstock rather than mark center lines with a pencil.  

Even though I didn't get it all quite right, I wasn't going to let this colorful little guy go to waste.  Isn't this such a cheery card?!?!  I decided to not add a sentiment because I didn't want the card to be bound for one particular occasion/event, and I'm sure whoever receives it will be glad to have it.

I love the look of the Dotted Circle embossing on the white cardstock, which was cut with one of the "Stitched So Sweetly" (retired) dies.  

The finishing touch was the silver trim wrapped around the card front and tied in a bow.  I'm sure this won't be my last pieced bird design because I very much enjoy putting the pieces in place to form a bird.  I just hope that I get things right for the next one.  Ha!  This little guy will just be an example of how a couple of oversights can still yield a pretty creation.

Have a stampin' good day!

QUILTY WOVEN STAR CARD

 

Today's project features the Perennial Lavender designer paper, which is so gorgeous!  I've made a few of these woven star designs, but it appears that I forgot to photograph them.  I actually thought that I had already shared one on my blog, but I can't seem to find where I did.

The woven star is a pretty focal point, isn't it?  It would look less busy without all of the gingham squares and triangles around the star points, but I'm pretty sure the sample that I had seen had the square corners--but not the center triangles on all four sides.  Maybe I went a little crazy with the gingham.

My paper strips were 1/2" wide and were adhered from corner to corner and extended the edge of the cardstock.  After placing and weaving the strips in over/under fashion, all of the paper hanging over the edge of the white cardstock were trimmed away.  Placing the gingham squares in the four corners is what gives the star its points.  Of course, embossing the panel makes it less apparent that there was a lot of piecing going on.

In the above photo, you can see how I decorated the inside of the card.  

Funny thing happened while I was making this card.  Actually, what happened wasn't funny AT ALL.  I had what I thought was a neat idea for the inside of the card.  The only thing that I had left to do was grab two circle punches for the "big hugs" sentiment.  I turned my chair toward my side desk and bent down to the bottom drawer to retrieve the punches and . . . oh %$#*&@!!!!!!  The most excruciating pain in my lower back caused me to come up out of the chair and try to move in any way to make it stop.  I saw the proverbial stars and thought I might pass out. I slowly made my way out of my craft room, barely able to walk.  Having never felt anything like that before, I really didn't know what to do.  I made my way to my bed and laid down very carefully.  I was kind of frozen however I had landed because I could NOT scoot myself in any way that required the use of my lower back.  For a couple of days, that point between sitting and standing was the part of moving that I dreaded terribly.  Even picking up my feet to walk was painful.  An electric heating pad, ibuprofen, Tylenol, and a walking cane were my best friends for several days.  As I laid in bed, I kept thinking about the sentiment for the inside of this card and that I had been excited to see how it was going to look, but it was a week or so before I felt brave enough to reach for the punch.  That's the funny part.  I guess you could say that I've never taken as long to complete a card OR been apprehensive about reaching for my tools.  I might should have kept this card, but I eventually dropped it in the mail to a stamping acquaintance who I felt could really use it as she puts one foot in front of the other through grief.  I never heard that she received the card--NOT that I expect to hear from people that I send cards to--but I wonder if (after everything that happened while creating the card) it ended up lost, misdelivered, or perhaps I had the wrong address for the recipient.  Maybe it blessed whoever received it.

Have a stampin' good day!

"MAGNOLIA MOOD" . . . AGAIN

 

I was just about ready to clean the "Magnolia Mood" stamps when I saw a pretty card created by Linda Cullen.  She had used a Pebbled Path card base and, since I have decided that this color is fast becoming one of my new favorites, I felt the need to make one more card before cleaning the stamps. This was a super fast card to make because the die-cut magnolia focal point was laying on my desk--just ready to land on a card.

Do you sometimes sit back and look at a card you just made and think, "Oh, my goodness!  It's soooo pretty!"?  I'm going to assume that it's a natural reaction.  I LOVE this card!  It's such a simple design and quick to make, but it's got elegance.  

I gave just a little color to the center of the large magnolia with a water brush and Pebbled Path ink.

As you can see in the above two photos, I stamped the inside panel with Pebbled Path ink.  I think I stamped off three times before stamping on the white cardstock so the images would be really light.  

On the bottom of the card front, I used a strip of wood-look paper from the "Country Woods" collection.  

That's it for today.  My next blog post will feature something other than "Magnolia Mood".  I think it might be a quilty card.  We'll see.

Have a stampin' good day!

"MAGNOLIA MOOD" + "KEEPING TABS"

 

Did you know that Stampin' Up! stamp and die bundles have been discounted by 10% this month?  That's right . . . and the 10% discount ends after June 30th, so check your wishlist (and check it again!) to see if now is the right time to make your selections.  During this sale, I purchased "Magnolia Mood" and "Keeping Tabs".  The first card that I'm sharing features both bundles.  My cardstock colors are Pebbled Path, Crushed Curry and, of course, white.  While there are many colors that coordinate nicely with Pebbled Path, I think any shade of yellow makes for a nice pair.  

Doesn't the Eyelet 3D embossing look so pretty on this card?  Besides the sparkly gems, I think the gingham ribbon (retired) adds quite a lot to this card, lending just the right amount of color.  The stamped and die-cut images were colored with alcohol markers, leaving the magnolia petals and blooms uncolored.

My first time using the "Keeping Tabs" stamp set and die was on this card, and I am in love . . . even though my lovely tab got adhered a bit crooked.  I urge you to take a closer look at this bundle because it has three tab designs and lots of sentiments/words to personalize them for your project.  To cut the stamped tabs, there is a choice of punch or die.  Each time I reach for a punch, I straight up appreciate how handy it is to grab a punch and go; however, I made an economical decision to purchase the die this time, thinking that I can die-cut a lot of tabs to keep in the stamp case ready to use.  

One thing that I want to point out about this card . . . since I wanted the top of the tab to extend past the top of the card, the height was trimmed to 3.75".  This was perfect!

Up next is, for the most part, a copy of a Stampin' Up! "Magnolia Mood" sample that I just loved (see below):

Isn't it gorgeous???  While trying to figure out what to cut, what to stamp, and what/how to color, I realized that the card has so much more going on than one might imagine at first glance.  A lot.  Obviously, my rendition isn't an exact copy, but I was so very pleased.

Some of my die cut shapes were strategically placed, but I decided to not overthink the entire process.

It's hard to tell from the photos, but the birthday sentiment was embossed with silver embossing powder on Lost Lagoon cardstock.  I used Lost Lagoon ink to stamp the images on the white cardstock, but I stamped off first so the images would be lighter and subtle.

You can't tell from the first photo, but the above photo shows the texture and dimension on this card.  The silver twine was doubled in length and tied in a bow, and then I used a bone folder to enhance its natural ability to curl, which is what I love the most about silver trim.  Any time that it is offered by Stampin' Up!, I purchase a few spools.  It's so easy to work with and is especially easy to tie in a bow when the length is doubled.

Of course, a white cardstock panel needed to be adhered to the inside of the Lost Lagoon card base, and I thought it could use some stamping.  Apologies for the blah photo.  Let's finish with a better photo:

Be sure to shop the stamp and die bundles while they're on sale!

COLORFUL ASSORTMENT OF TIES FOR FATHER'S DAY

What kind of card do you make for a classy gentleman who still wears a suit and tie to church on Sunday?  You make a colorful assortment of ties, of course!  Choosing the right designer paper for the ties was so much fun!

As I laid out the selection of die-cut ties, I wasn't sure how many I would use or what other design elements would be needed.  I really had no idea what the card would look like other than the fact that it would have some ties.  Seeing them all laid out made me realize that (if I used most of the ties that I had cut) my card would be full of color and wouldn't actually need much of anything else.  After arranging them, I just loved how they looked!  

See the hanger?  At some point, I had considered cutting some smaller ties and have them hanging (as if in a closet), but I liked the larger ties best.  I still wasn't ready to give up on using the hanger, so it got to hold the "classy kind of guy" sign.

My daddy really enjoyed this card, and that's all that really matters.

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Have a stampin' good day!

"TEXTURED FLORAL" BIRTHDAY CARD

 

Saturday is my mother's birthday.  Today I'm sharing the card that I made for her, and it features Stampin' Up!'s "Textured Floral" bundle which happens to be oh, so gorgeous!  This is one of those product bundles that makes it nearly impossible to end up with something less than pleasing.  Seriously!

I knew I wanted to use the stamped die-cuts to create a wreath but, after playing around with placement and trying to be careful to not move anything that looked perfect (before gluing them in place), I realized that it was actually going to be just fine wherever I placed the pieces or however they landed.  What's not to LOVE about that?!?!

My ink colors are Old Olive, Melon Mambo, Pebbled Path, and Berry Burst.  The embossing folder that I used is Distressed Tile 3D.  I'd just like to interject that there's no such thing as having too many embossing folders and yet, if you only have one or two, you're going to be just fine because the truth of the card-making matter is that any embossed texture truly elevates your project and adds depth, dimension, and texture.

As you can see in the above photo, this card is lush with texture!  The only Stampin' Dimensional that I used was on the right end of the sentiment which, by the way, was cut with a Stitched So Sweetly (retired) die.

Cardstock colors are white and Soft Sea Foam.  I really liked this card and was proud to send it to my mother, and she seemed to love it! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTHER!!!!

"FLUFFIEST FRIENDS" THANK YOU

 

If you like adorable fluffy animals that are so fun and easy to color, then you would really enjoy Stampin' Up!'s "Fluffiest Friends" stamp set and coordinating dies.  The animals in this set are so very sweet!  I needed a thank you card recently and chose this chunky cat for the focal point.  After the cat was colored, I looked for a coordinating piece of designer paper and found one from the (retired) Garden Impressions collection.

As you can see from the above photo, circle dies were used to cut a window in the front of the card and then frame it with coordinating cardstock.  The die-cut fluffy cat was placed on the inside of the card--through the die-cut circle window--using Stampin' Dimensionals.  The sentiment is from "Sweetly Scripted", which is turning out to be a very handy and useful stamp set.  When my first embossed attempt didn't show up on the card, I stamped the sentiment again onto a scrap of white cardstock, which was heat-embossed with gold and then trimmed to fit across the bottom front of the card.

Hopefully, you can see a bit of shimmer on the purple flower, which was brushed with Wink of Stella.  After the cat was adhered to the inside of the card, I decided to use a marker to add the polka dots. In the photo below, you can see how the card looked on display:

I really liked how the circle of dots framed the fluffy cat when the card was open.  Of course, I had to take care when writing my message, but there was actually plenty of space to do so.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!  Have a stampin' good day!

 

"MUSICAL JAMBOREE" BIRTHDAY CARD

 

My great-nephew had a birthday last month.  Since I had not yet played with the new "Musical Jamboree" stamp set, I decided to use the images from it for Campbell's birthday card.  I'm not sure if that was a good decision for him, but I really enjoyed working with and coloring these fun animals.  Don't they look happy to be sharing their musical ability?  The images were colored with alcohol markers, and the birthday sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s "Sweetly Scripted" stamp set.

In the above photo, you can see that I used a book binding fold for the card.  This is such an easy and fun design and gives cards a little something different.  

What does every card need?  An envelope that gives a hint to what's inside:

I haven't heard from Campbell, but I hope the card at least made him smile.  I hope it made you smile, too.

Have a stampin' good day!

ASSORTED BLANK NOTE CARDS

My mother enjoys sending cards (love that!), and I enjoy providing them for her. She prefers blank cards without sentiments, so I created an assortment for her for Mother's Day.  Today I'm sharing them with you! 

The above card features Stampin' Up!'s brand new stamp set--"Attention Shoppers"--and Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder.  This fun stamp set has coordinating dies.  The shapes were first cut, then stamped, and then colored with alcohol markers.  As you can see in the photo below, I added a few sequins for a little dash of oomph.

The card below features Stampin' Up!'s new Eyelet 3D embossing folder.  The die-cut butterfly and jewel-colored heart were items that I had leftover from other projects.

In the photo below, you can see the shimmer on the heart that was added with Wink of Stella.

The card below was quite an eclectic mix of images, but I think they work well together with a clean and simple design.  And I love the colors!

There wasn't any stamping on the next two cards.  I put to use some card bases from a kit, a couple of die-cut rectangles, and pieces of fabric (with lovely torn edges) that feature lovely image transfers--basically, image rub-ons.  

Of course, I had to add some sequins that show up better in the photo below.

The last card features flowers that were colored with alcohol markers, the Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder, and sequins.

There were other cards included in the set that I've previously shared on my blog.  Overall, it was a really nice assortment of cards, and they were well-received.  

TIP:  When you're busy creating and change directions along the way, be sure to keep the components that you've already worked on.  You never know when you'll dig through the "rejects/unused" items and find that they are perfect for something else.

Have a stampin' good day!