Scalloped and Stitched Valentine Card

Happy Super Bowl Groundhog Day!  I imagine that many of you are busy today with parties and other festivities for the big game.   I am writing this late at night so I don't know yet if the Groundhog saw his shadow.  I hope he didn't - I think a lot of us would like an early spring!

I wanted to show you the finished card that I made from the test cut of the card in the video (click HERE to see the post with the video).  You can see how nice and even the score line is - no annoying little slits.

However, this is just a plain card so I added some more pieces and layers to the card.  I even did some "stitching" with a white pen.

I looked around on the Artiste cartridge and found this shape (the shift of Accent 4 on page 62) and I realized that it was another wide scallop and probably similar enough in size to be manipulated into a layer for the card.

I cut a couple of these shapes and added a heart to the center.  It is a little tricky to get the heart cut out in the proper position and after I cut the first topper (on the bottom) I decided that it should have a larger heart opening so I set up another cut in the Cricut Craft Room software.  (I will do another video to show you how I did this - I think it will be easier to see it than to read all of the steps that were needed).

The topper has two extra scallops that have to be trimmed off.  First, I added adhesive and centered the heart cutouts.

Here is the view from the back of the card with the extra scallops extending beyond the edges of the card.

A small trimmer easily cleaned up the edges.  You do have to be extra careful on the folded edge of the card when you trim away the extra scallop.

After trimming the card looked like this.  The next step was to add a liner inside the card to provide a place to write a message and show a contrasting heart in the center.

I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4 1/4 x 3 1/2 inches and punched the two long edges of the cardstock with a border punch. 

The small scallops in this Martha Stewart punch (scallop three dot edge punch - part of a punch around the page set) were a nice companion to the large scallops on the card.

You could use any punch you like.  If I had thought it all through ahead of time, I might have mad a second layer for the inside of the card using the shape I used for the topper.

The card still looked pretty plain so I started to add some white pen stitching around the scallops.

Then I added more stitching at the top and bottom and along the inner heart shape.  It still looked a bit plain so I decided to cut an even smaller red heart to pop in the center of the card front.

I went back to the computer and set up a column of hearts to cut from the remaining edge.  If you plan carefully, you can create new design elements with the leftovers from your primary cuts.

I was able to trim the heart strip to 1 1/2 inches wide.

This "planned leftover" will work nicely on the front of a larger card.

With the small heart now appearing in the opening, I just needed to add "I" and "you" to make the sentiment "I heart you."

I had the three CTMH cartridges on my desk so I checked ArtBooking next and found just what I needed on the shift key of the title button on page 59.

The finishing touch was to add white stitching to the words inside the card.  I decided to leave the heart plain.

This is certainly not an elaborate card, but it is fresh and pretty and I had fun making it.  I hope you like it.

Have a wonderful crafty day - I hope your team wins!

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Love You Card - for your Valentine

I have always liked the crisp look of white and one other color - my favorites are blue & white and red & white.  These combinations seem both old-fashioned and fresh at the same time.  Red and white are perfect for Valentine's Day.

CTMH Cloud Nine cardmaking kit - click HERE for details

Close to my Heart has a special offer for January - if you spend $35 you can purchase the Cloud Nine cardmaking kit for just $15 (it has a retail value of $46).  My friend Joy is a CTMH consultant (her website is HERE) and she sent me a cardmaking kit to try out. The colors are not ones that I would usually choose but I think they are bright and cheery.

The Cloud Nine kit includes this stamp set and while I am not 100% sure about the mustache at the top, I think the other four stamps will be very useful.  I particularly like the heart shaped stamp and decided to make a card that looked nothing like the one in the kit for a valentine.

This stamp set coordinates with the CTMH Artiste Cricut cartridge (one of the best cartridges ever!) and the size and page number of the coordinating cut are printed right on the clear stamp sheet.  This heart is on page 66.

A word of caution - the clear stamp sheet says to cut the heart at 2 inches.  I did that and discovered that I should have chosen "real dial size" to get a cut that is the proper size.  The first cut is on the right of this photo.  It is sized to fit on the "I (Heart) you" sentiment in proportional sizing so you need to use real dial size to get a cut you can stamp on.

I sometimes have trouble stamping directly on the cut shape but I discovered a couple of helpful things to do.  One is to be sure to have a contrasting paper color behind the shape that you are stamping.  The other is to use the thin foam sheet that comes in the stamp sets and sit the shape on the foam before you stamp.  This helps to hold the shape straight and also cushions the stamp to help make insure that the ink all transfers properly.

There was not a shadow shape for this heart so I decided to just try using cuts 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch larger.  I actually prefer the effect of the irregular border at these sizes over a normal shadow shape - I think it looks more interesting.  You could try to alter the shape to be a more even shadow by using the Gypsy or CraftRoom software if you want a perfectly even shadow.

I tried a few different variations and finally settled on this triple layer for the heart, the white heart stamped in red at 2 inches, a red layer at 2 1/4 inches and another white heart cut at 2 1/2 inches.

Here are the pieces for this card.  The card base is 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 folded to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches.  The white layer is cut at 5 3/8 x 4 1/8 inches and the red gingham is cut at 5 1/4 x 4 inches.  I just wanted a narrow line of white to define the edge of the card.  The ribbons with the zig zag design were from a grab bag I purchased in a sale - I think they were from Stampin Up.

The tiny gingham paper is from this 6 x 6 paper pad -Children at Play by Sarahjane Studios for Making Memories.

I used 1/8 inch ScorTape to adhere the ribbon to the front of the card.  I find this to be the best for ribbon - it holds very securely and doesn't buckle the paper.

 I wrapped the ends of the ribbon around to the back of the white layer - the ScorTape holds them down neatly.

Since this ribbon was rather thick, I used 1/4 inch ScorTape around the edges of the card to secure it to the card base.  I ran it right over the ribbon ends that were turned to the back.

Here is the card base with layers and ribbon - ready for the heart to be added.

I wanted the heart to be raised up on the card front.  To make sure my foam dots would not interfere with the ribbon, I put the shape on the ribbons upside down and added dots so they would hit the paper areas and not the ribbons.

Here is the finished card.  I'll have a few tips about the inside and alternative ides for the heart stamp in another post.  I think this looks so sweet but it is not overly frilly as some Valentines can be.

Be sure to check out Joy's blog Obsessed with Scrapbooking HERE for lots of great ideas.  Her Close to My Heart website is HERE.

Have you started making valentine cards yet?  Do you make a lot of them or just a few?  I have some designed in the Cameo software that I hope to cut out today - even if I am not snowed in!  

I hope you are safe and warm if you are in the path of the Winter storm Janus.  The worst of the big storm just missed us - we have a few inches of new snow but just south of here they had about 10 inches of the white stuff.

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About those buttons...

It's good to be home after so many travels - unfortunately, I often seem to catch a cold  when I am trying to get back into my normal routine.  My crafting time was somewhat abridged yesterday when I started sneezing and realized that I needed to fight off an impending cold.

I do want to tell you how I made the chipboard buttons and show you some other variations that I was able to make before the sniffles descended upon me.

I cut the button shapes from chipboard using the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  The button shapes are found on page 46 of the booklet (on the letter Y page).  I like the way this cartridge is organized - it is much easier to find the right key since the main images are the alphabet letters.  I used a regular blade with the pressure at high, the blade set at 6 and multi-cut of 2.

There is a coordinating stamp set called Buttons, Bits And Bobs that is not part of the Artiste bundle but can be purchased separately (B1408, $9.95).  When a stamp set coordinates with one of the exclusive cartridges, the stamps are labeled with the cartridge name and the page where the coordinating cuts can be found.  The size to cut each shape is also printed right on the stamp storage sheet which makes it easy to pull everything together.

I decided to try some variations of the buttons.  This time I cut them from very heavy watercolor paper.  I tried both Distress ink and Archival ink in various colors.

It is a little tricky to line up the stamp perfectly on the 1 1/4 inch cuts.  There should be an even outline but it takes practice and a steady hand to make it perfect.  I decided to use the 1 1/4 inch stamp on some one inch cuts.  This eliminates the issue of uneven borders but it is a different look (I like it).  These chevrons are cute and trendy.  You could also get a two tone effect by stamping on heavy colored cardstock or gluing two cuts together if you want a thicker button.  On one of these samples, I stamped the little floral design in the center using a slightly darker color.

I definitely prefer the look of the overall edge to edge stamp on the smaller size with this pattern.  The slightly smaller size also seems more useful for a card.

I like all of the possibilities with these two stamps.  I tried several sizes using both the circles and the rounded squares.  The holes on the smaller stamp don't quite line up perfectly but they are very close and twine or ribbon threaded through the buttons will hide the area nicely. 

I hope to be feeling better today (I am drinking lots of Airborne to try to nip this cold in the bud!).  I want to try a few more variations with the cuts and stamps and finish putting together some of my partly finished projects.  I have some appointments today so I'll just have to see how everything goes...

If you are interested in the Artiste or Art Philosophy cartridge bundles, they are available only through a Close to My Heart representative.  My friend Melanie Brown would be happy to help you if you don't have a local consultant.  Her website is HERE.  She is offering a special this month - everyone who places an order on her website in October will be eligible for a chance to win a brand new Expression 2 machine - see the details on her blog HERE.

one more note...

The image I shared at the top of yesterday's post was a digital page that I made using my StoryBook Creator 4.0 software.  I used the Reminisce Autumn Digital Additions for the papers and the turkey embellishment.  The "Give Thanks" word art is from the Recipe Book Digital Kit  (also available in Universal format HERE).  I haven't tried to cut the word art - it has some very thin pieces and I hadn't really thought of trying until several of you asked if it was something that I had cut on the Cameo.  I may try an experiment and I'll let you know if it works!

Have a wonderful day and stay healthy - colds are not fun!

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Elegant Thank You Card

Happy Monday - I hope you had a  great weekend! 

If you have a Tuesday Morning store near you, there is a great deal on cardstock and paper right now.  They have packages of 25 pieces for just $1.99.  For cardstock, you can always use more (am I right?) and if 25 pieces of the same patterned paper seems like too much, you can go together with a friend and split the packs.  My neighbor and I had a good time choosing our favorites last week and then we divided them up at home.  Sometimes we found 26 sheets in a package so it came out exactly even, otherwise we just alternated which person got the 13th sheet.

We were able to get some of this beautiful metallic shimmer cardstock in a heavy cover weight.  It's a wonderful buy at about 8 cents a sheet!  We also found some lovely floral designed paper from India - 12 sheets for $0.99.

I enjoy working with papers that shimmer and shine - they seem special and elegant.  I decided to put these two papers together for a card.  I thought they'd make a pretty thank you card.  The "Thank You" sentiment and the doily are both from the Cricut Artiste cartridge.

I added the layer of black to give a bit of an edge to the decorative paper so it would stand out against the shimmer cardstock.  I started with a slightly larger layer and then noticed that one edge was a little thicker, so I trimmed it.  Once I started trimming I ended up in a "bangs cutting" situation where I kept taking off a little to even things up!  I ended up with a very thin line of black - but it is enough to serve the purpose of framing the special paper.

I cut the doily shape from black Core'dinations gemstone cardstock.  This is actually a sort of dark gray color because of the shine.  When I put it on top of the card, I didn't think there was enough contrast so I simply flipped the shape over.

The back side is a strong black with a bit of a shine.  I used the Gypsy to size the cuts for my A2 card.  I also transformed the medallion shape from a circle to an oval to fit the card properly.  The medallion is "accent 1" on the very first key (#1).  I resized it to 3.6 inches high and 5 inches wide (which is an actual width of 4.82 inches).  The "Thank You" is on page 65 of the handbook - the shift of accent 1 on the letter B key.  The height is 2.5 inches which makes the width 3.74 (or an actual width of 3.65 inches).

Gypsy Tip  In case you aren't aware of this, the Gypsy will give you the accurate height of a shape but the width is always a bit off - take a look at the box around an object and you'll see the the lines touch top and bottom but not side to side.  If you want to make something an exact width, you need to tap the True Size button (the one with an "a" with lines above and below it) to see the exact measurement.

I used some foam circles to raise up the medallion with the Thank You.  There is some really pretty word art on this cartridge and I have a few other projects in mind that will use some more of the welded phrases.

It is difficult to capture the shine and the elegant look of the finished card in a photo.  I took a couple of photos at different angles and with different lighting to try to make it easier to see.

There is a great deal for the month of September on the Artiste cartridge.  The Artiste bundle (cartridge, three stamp sets and three sets of chipboard shapes) costs $99.  Because it is National Stamping Month, there is a special double set of stamps that you can buy for just $5 when you spend over $35.   You can also purchase the Stamp of the Month set for $5 because you are spending over $50.  This means you will end up with six stamp sets, the three chipboard sheets and the cartridge for $109 plus tax and shipping (a savings of $78.54).

You can only buy this bundle through a Close to My Heart consultant.  My friend Melanie Brown (of Courtney Lane Designs and Everyday Cricut) would be happy to help you with any questions.  Melanie sent me this cartridge to review and I give it two thumbs up! You can find Melanie's CTMH website HERE.  The special offer of the extra double stamp set for $5 is good only until September 30th.

I am getting closer to finding clear horizontal surfaces in my craftroom.  In another few days I may be brave enough to share some progress photos (first I have to find a place to put all of the paper and other goodies I bought last week!).

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