North Pole Delivery Mallow Poles

A few posts ago I shared one of my favourite Christmas makes, which was a Snowman topped mallow pole. I showed a few alternatives using Ice Creams, Rabbits and the super cute reindeer (I am still in love with the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamps and punch, I think it will be in my craft room forever!) Todays project is another mallow pole idea, but using a sentiment rather than an image.

I have created lots of different versions using sentiments and punches. I love that you can choose your own colours and utilise previous stamp sets and punches.

I have used Gorgeous Grape and Mint Macron in these examples with Perfectly Plaid and also the Rectangular postage punch. I have also used the Holiday Rhinestones, these are one of my go to embellishments along with the metallic pearls. I love that they go with lots of different colours on lots of different items.

The video below shows how easy it is to make a mallow pole topper!

I love that they work in lots of different colours, not just the traditional Christmas colours and can be tailored to the recipient. My favourite colour at the moment is Misty Moonlight. What is your favourite colour?

Simple Adult Birthday Card

What a week! This week I have been struggling, a combination of failing to pace myself and being in a flare up has seriously reduced my crafting time. However I needed an emergency birthday card and decided to play with colours and see if I could make an adult birthday card with the Sweet Ice Cream Stamp set.

When I first saw the set, I thought that it was perfect for a children’s card and loved the sentiment. I was a bit worried that it wasn’t suitable for an adult, but I think the sentiment and then the bubbles/sprinkles, look good on an adult/ grown up card.

Measurements:

My Metric

10.5 cm x 14.5 cm (10.5 by 29cm scored at 14.5cm)

Inside White Panel - 10cm x 14cm

Metric

10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (10.5 by full length scored at 14.8cm)

Inside White Panel - 10cm x 14.3cm

Imperial

4." x 5.75" (4” by full length scored at 5.75”)

Inside White Panel - 3.75” x 5.5”

For the stepped up card I have added a layer which is the height of the card 14.5cm (or 14.8cm/ 5.75”) by 8cm (8cm/3.25”.)

The video below shows how to make, this super simple card. You could use any colour card base and different colours. I love that it works with Very Vanilla and Whisper White (it will work with Basic White as well).

I hope to get back in to the craft room soon. What have you been playing with?

CASED blended Pinecones

I have been watching You tube again, whilst trying to conserve my spoons (I feel like someone stole them all again… ) one of my favourite videos is by Justine Hovey about not copying cards but using them as inspiration. You can find the video here

I have used this inspiration before for one of last years Christmas Cards using the gorgeous Peace and Joy stamps and dies (they are still in my craft room, I loved those dies, so perfect for Christmas.) I actually used Gorgeous Grape on my last card, this time I thought I would be more traditional.

I was struggling to create a card with the pine cones, when I use a stamp set, I try to use every stamp in the set on at least one card. Some stamps are easier than others, I usually use Pinterest, but there are limited ideas most examples use designer series paper and the punch. I therefore thought of this card, as the ink blending added interest to the pine cones. My original test cards were in Poppy Parade (one of my favourite Christmassy reds, for a bright Santa-esque look) and Night of Navy which is one of my favourite Stampin’ Up! colours.

Measurements

My Metric

10.5 cm x 14.5 cm (10.5 by 29cm scored at 14.5cm)

Inside White Panel - 10cm x 14cm

Outside gold Panel – 9.5cm x 13.5cm

Outside layer – 9cm x 13cm

Metric

10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (10.5 by full length scored at 14.8cm)

Inside White Panel - 10cm x 14.3cm

Outside gold Panel – 9.5cm x 13.8cm

Outside layer – 9cm x 13cm

Imperial

4." x 5.75" (4” by full length scored at 5.75”)

Inside White Panel - 4” x 5.5”

Outside gold  - 3.75” x 5.25

Outside layer – 3.5 x 5”

My original cards were a bit round as I was being a bit specific with the placing, I am not sure that it works, my Shaded Spruce card was more random. I was trying to avoid the circular placement of the pine cones.

You could use this idea for snowflakes from Snowman Seasons or most other Christmas stamp set. I think I like the Night of Navy and Silver the best. Which is your favourite?

Simple Stencil Birthday Card

I have been playing with my blending brushes, I think I may be slightly addicted. I love that each card, even if you use the same colours comes out slightly different, perfect for making cards with similar items but with different appearance.

Using stencils is a super easy way of creating blended cards quickly and easily. This card is a step up from my previous examples of ink blended backgrounds, but only adds one extra crafty item. I have been playing with the Misty Moonlight, Fresh Freesia and Polished Pink. I then used copper embossing powder. Originally I tried to use clear embossing powder, but it didn’t work (you couldn’t see the sentiment.) The picture below shows the combination, it is becoming one of my favourites.

Measurements

My Metric

10.5 cm x 14.5 cm (10.5 by 29cm scored at 14.5cm)

Inside White Panel - 10cm x 14cm

Blended Panel – quarter of A4 cut down to 8.5cm x 14.5cm

Coloured Panel – 9cm x 14.5cm

Metric

10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (10.5 by full length scored at 14.8cm)

Inside White Panel - 10cm x 14.3cm

Blended Panel – quarter of A4 cut down to 8.5cm x 14.8cm

Coloured Panel – 9cm x 14.8cm

Imperial

4." x 5.5" (4” by full length scored at 5.5”)

Inside White Panel - 3.75” x 5.25”

Blended Panel – quarter of A4 cut down to 3.25 x 5.5”

Coloured panel – 3.5” x 5.5”

The video below shows how I made the card, all my examples use the same colours but the colours are added different ways (in circular motions, stripes, random colour placing etc.)

I love these cards, I may need to create more cards using different colours. What is your favourite colour combination?

How I prepare my co-ordinating dies

Although in my last post I stated that I prefer clean and simple cards, to overly complicated ones, I adore punches. But I must confess that I have a number of dies. I mainly use layering dies, however, I have a number of stamp sets that have co-ordinating dies. I feel I don’t use them enough, so have challenged myself to use them more. To inspire myself and check they are all present and working, I complete a number of actions.

I first check that all the dies are present and correct and that they are the dies I am expecting ( I am not aware that a different die set has appeared in an envelope but it is good to check). I then take a picture, some people scan or photocopy the dies to show their position or alternatively they draw round the dies to show where they go.

I then carefully remove the dies, from the backing sheet as the double sided tape used is very sticky. I usually add a piece of magnetic sheeting to the card to add the dies to. The magnetic sheet I used in the video below came from Pink Frog Crafts. I then count to ensure that I still have all the dies (some little dies can disappear, I have a magnetic wand to find the pesky things.)

I had already stamped the Hand-Penned Petals stamps in Basic Gray, I then use my die cutting machine to die cut the items, I used my Mini Stampin’ Cut and Emboss, which I call Dinky. I cut each die cut for the co-ordinating stamps and then each die in Basic Black. For layering dies, I use Basic Black for the base and then Basic Gray for the layers. I add all the die cuts to pieces of Basic white.

I love having the inspiration for card sketches in a format that I can take it with me. The inspiration could be kept in a stamp case or a notebook.