Merry Monday - Tidings of Christmas Round Up

A quick round up of the 4 cards shared over the past week in my series of Focus on Using 6x6 Papers... featuring Tidings of Christmas along with the Merriest Moments stamps for some Christmas makes...

Have to admit that this mini series has proven a very popular class....

So wait there's more! Be sure to return tomorrow for more on a "paper focus series"... 

Thursday Tidings of Christmas #2 - Multi Layer Card - with some tips...

Another in my series of Focus on Using 6x6 Papers... featuring Tidings of Christmas along with the Merriest Moments stamps for some Christmas makes...

This card is a great way to use the scraps left from another card....

But before I start... remember that today  is the last day you can order with the Sale A Bration promotion offers available to you.... In brief... a free gift for every £45 ordered... a free stamp set (In  Your Words) for orders over £275... AND wow! A free extra bundle when joining (see pg 19) our Stampin Up! family ...

Bit of a back story with this card... as it is a re-worked or CASEd version of a card I made 8 years ago for a Male Card series using Dapper Dad and Parkers Patterns... and that has been sitting on my "re-make me as I'm great" pile ever since... So now I have... though I changed the sizes of the top mat and papers to suit my leftovers from a card I will share soon!

And I couldn't resist decorating the inside with another of my paper scraps...

And a few tips for you....

(1) Reduce the amount of ribbon/thread you use when you are just going to cover it up... hopefully the picture says 1000 words....

(2) Feel free to "gut" the centre of your paper square... again hopefully the picture says 1000 words... I went round lining up and cutting at 3cm on all 4 sides... so I now have a smaller square of paper to use on another card...

(3) The poinsettia is a small flower layered (using a 3d foam Stampin Dimensionals pad) over a larger flower!

(4) The poinsettia leaves are from the large poinsettia flower inked up in the green! (Evening Evergreen in this instance) Perfect finish!

14.8cm Square Card Blank Cheery Cobbler

Paper 14.3cm Square mat (Gut centre out at 3cm all round  - or not!)

Striped Paper 14.8 x 3.8cm. 

Cherry Cobbler mat 10.3cm Square with White 5.3cm Square panel plus 4 paper panels 7.5 x 2cm.

Thursday Thanks featuring... Beautiful Friendship

Yes another Beautiful Friendship  and Ornate Thanks card for you.... as I had to try a completely different colour scheme for a yellow loving friend...

Which reminds me of my first colour range when I became a papercrafter nearly 20 years ago!! Which was yellows, greens and cream... bet no-one guessed that one!! 

It is funny how colours affect us... yellow used to my favourite colour... but I wouldn't have thanked you for a yellow car! 

And I didn't even wear a lot of yellow... though I did have an amazing dress nicknamed the "Gin and Tonic dress"... which yes you guessed it ... had a very large lemon on the front... though I didn't realise that the pips were rather large holes... as I wondered why all the blokes were staring!! Gosh that takes me back about 35 years!!

But I digress... back to today's card... Balmy Blue hydrangeas, Bumblebee roses, Mossy Meadow sprays and Mossy Meadow and Pear Pizzazz leaves... rest of details as per this card shared earlier in the week... 

And favourite colour ranges today... mmm.. Black or Navy with white or cream... with a pop of a bright (or neutral!) colour...Though I don't get to use much black and white in my cardmaking anymore... not many of my class ladies that like it!

Oh and Pretty Peacock of course! Stand out favourite for now! With a splash of many a blue or green to wash it all down... This is probably the range you would best guess at!

Tuesday Trio - Beautiful Friendship

Love love love this Beautiful Friendship trio... 

The first being pretty much a complete CASE of this card by the very talented Austrian demonstrator,  Michaela Windhager at Papier Vampir... 

Whose card actually inspired me enough to finally buy the stamp set... as I was indeed very late to the "Beautiful Friendship lovers party!"  Always a liker... but this is the card that finally got to me! 

I just changed the colour combination... to Balmy Blue, Highland Heather, Rich Razzleberry, Mossy Meadow and Pear Pizzazz...

And I dropped the polka dot ribbon... I tried it... but (and it must just be me!) either I don't get the wrap right... or the angle right... but either way I make such a feature look rubbish! Though I still appreciate it on others' cards! 

And please ignore my boo boo!! ie the Mossy Meadow spray to the bottom right hand side!

And then I carried on with slightly different colour combinations ... Flirty Flamingo hydrangeas in this second one... and less or more stamping...

Oh and again I added the extra layered up parts onto the front... which made an even bigger difference on these cards...

And off to make some more... as this is officially still my favourite Beautiful Friendship layout! Thank you Michaela... still really loving your card!

Also used Stitched Rectangles dies and Ornate Thanks stamps...

Simple On Sunday - Beautiful Friendship #2

As I admitted on Friday... I liked that layout so much that I had to quickly CASE myself and create another for another friend...

So here is Jill's thank you card... all in her favourite pinks and purples... 

I do love it when you can tailor make cards so easily! 

Though I do have to laugh at myself as I was so intent on getting my post out that day... that I have since found the 2 stamped and handcut small Flirty Flamingo roses here that I "forgot" to pop onto the card! Sorry Jill!!

And for anyone that can't quite work out the flower and leaf placement with the banner in the way!! Here you go... the "under layout"... 

Recipe

A6 Card Blank Flirty Flamingo

Thin Whisper White 10 cm x 14.3cm

Thin Whisper White 10 cm x 2.5cm ( 1")

So Many Stitched Stars in my Eyes #2

Ok... so the So Many Stars stamps and Stitched Stars dies are officially my favourite Bundle in the Autumn Winter Catalogue... and being honest with you... I wasn't even going to buy them!!!

But as they are so great for all year round use...  and can be used for virtually every occasion... it did seem rather daft not to get them!!!

And I am SO glad I did... This is like a bumper set of dies and stamps... there are so many... and there is so much that you can do with them!!

So the world is your oyster as they say... (or should that read galaxy or cosmos or something!)

So I have a few starry shares over the next few weeks for you... as once I started I couldn't stop!

Colour combination a combination of everyone's favourite colour in these parts (Pretty Peacock) and colours that weren't already out for classes... as I had to squeeze all my star stamps in just one stamping station! So Gray Granite, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana and Pool Party came to the rescue...

Though I hope to squeeze in some time for some more with other colour combinations now that this weeks classes are out of the way!!

But just keeping it simple for now... this card being a CASE of a CASE of a CASE of a card that I made over 15 years ago (probably with Caroline or Jayne or Debbie) when I first started card making! And one that has never left my mind!! In fact I think the first variant of this was my first hand-made christmas card that I sent out to everyone all those years ago...

But it had to be done... as that stitched aperture for the star is just ... gorgeous!

The "glitter bauble" being just a punched silver glimmer 1" circle popped behind the aperture... Simples!

And if you want more ideas along these lines... just Google (or search on Pinterest) "christmas star card" ... and you will see lots more....

Simple Feels Like Frost Shaker Cards for Sunday...

Gosh... I have finished my Autumn Winter catalogue Sunday Suite series... So whilst I think about what to post on Sundays instead... here are a couple of  simple (but stunning and special) Feels Like Frost shaker cards for you...

Created by Barbara again... as she is definitely on a roll.. Just beautiful!

And a design that will be CASEd by yours truly if I have any of those beautiful pieces of paper left after I run all my christmas classes this year!!  Though I have to admit that I have a lot of ideas with those 2 paper patterns!! Well you know me... I DO SO like a wintery scene!

Again thank you so much for sharing Barbara...

SU! Products used

Papers - Feels Like Frost

Stamps & Dies - Frosted Foliage

Something Special for Saturday - Feels like Frost Gap & Scrap cards

So I shared my Feels Like Frost Gap & Scrap cards with the tutorial here a few weeks ago...

You know the one ... the card I like to call Gap card (for simplicity and cos it rhymes with Scrap!) but it also gets called Peekaboo Card, Split Panel card, Floating card, Floating Die Cut Frame card, Floating Frame card... and another new name I saw in the last week that I now can't remember...

And my lovely demonstrator friend and team-mate Barbara got busy and made a few of her own... and is still making more as I type!

But I had to quickly pop on and share these... aren't they just stunning ... and so arm... in the reds!  Really special... And I would never have thought of that... Love it when our creative CASE-ing circle brings such beautiful results....

Thank you so much for sharing with me (us) Barbara... And I can't wait to see your other colour combinations!!

Want to make some of your own... as you kinda get to make 2 cards at a time... then just click here to find out how...

SU! Products used

Papers - Feels Like Frost

Stamps & Dies - Frosted Foliage

Gold Embossed Good Morning Magnolia & Magnolia Blooms

So this is the gold embossed card that inspired the white embossed card shared here earlier... 

And this card was inspired by many a one I have spotted around the internet... though I think the first one I saw was this one by the lovely Linda Dalke... who has a video tutorial for you there too... 

Though of course what I remembered was a white matted version... so then I searched for that and couldn't find it... so I guess that part was just in my head after all...

But simply... Crumb Cake mat temporarily stuck to an A6 Crumb Cake card blank...  gold embossed magnolias... 

Coloured in with Whisper White craft ink... using my trusty Aqua Painter... and then left to dry...

Then Petal Pink ink applied using Sponge Daubers... and then small mat stuck onto white mat... and onto card blank...

And an admittance... I don't even have Good Morning Magnolia... but I do have Magnolia Blooms... so this was my prototype... 

And then I borrowed the lovely Jill's Good Morning Magnolia when she was here... and quickly re-made the card

Remember that these 2 magnolia stamp sets work really well together... as not only are the greetings in the same script... but the magnolias co-ordinate with each other as they bring in different sizes... 

I personally like to use the largest magnolias in each of the sets on cards like these... but more on that another day...

And here are the 3 cards together... 

Picture Perfect Party candles

Pick a piece of Picture Perfect Party candle paper... and look at the project samples as shown on page 4 in the Spring Summer (Occasions) catalogue (as image below)

Cut the paper to a size not quite intended to CASE said sample!!! Oops!

So add a couple of mats in Lemon Lime Twist and Bermuda Bay...

Add a small piece of 1/8" Bermuda Bay Sale A Bration ribbon to replace the Fringed Ribbon in the sample (which is unfortunately not available)... but this 1/8" ribbon can be yours for free with a £45 order as it is a Sale Bration promotional item...

And here you have it... a bright and cheerful simple birthday card to get in the post in a flash...

And here are the other fabulous Picture Perfect Party projects made by the Stampin Up concept team...

Using the bright and photo-realistic Picture Perfect Papers ....

And lovely Picture Perfect Birthday stamps...

Falling in Love with So Detailed dies

Simple little card with a beautiful So Detailed wrap ... 

Die cut... wrap edges round sides of card to form tabs around the back...  stick a piece of same size Very Vanilla cardstock onto the tabs at the back to hold it all in place...

Recognisable!? Well, I CASED this Make & Take made at the Stampin' Up! On Stage event back in November...

Funny how a difference in paper  makes me SO much more happy!

Stampin Up products used

Falling in Love papers

So Detailed dies

So in Love stamps

Falling in Love embellishments

1/4" Satin Ribbon

Gold Thread

Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock

Inks - Pool Party, Sahara Sand