Nov 24, 2014

Cheery Bear Christmas Card



Ingredients:

White card and envelope, Value Pack
4” x 4” Cranberry Cardstock
2 5/8” x 3” Whisper Cardstock
2 3/4” x 3 1/8” Black Cardstock
Scrap White Daisy cardstock (for stamping bear and sentiment)
4” x 1.5” strip of Snowhaven B&T Paper (Striped side for strip at the bottom)
4” strip of Silver Shimmer Trim
October Stamp of the Month, Home for the Holidays
Holiday Tags Stamp Set
Cranberry Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Glacier Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Damask Embossing Folder
Clear Sparkles
Thin 3-D Foam Tape
3L E-Z Dots Adhesive

Instructions:

Stamp the bear from the Oct Stamp of the Month, Home for the Holidays twice in Cranberry 
Ink and once in Glacier Ink.

Cut around the outside of one of the Cranberry stamped images.  Leave a small white 
border.

Cut the red scarf from the second Cranberry stamped image.

Cut around the inside square white frame on the Glacier stamped image.

Use Thin 3-D Foam Tape to layer all three parts together as shown in the picture above.

Mount the layered bear image onto the Whisper and then the Black Cardstock.

Stamp the frame from the Holiday Tags Stamp Set in Cranberry and the sentiment in Black.  
Cut around the outside leaving a small white border.

Emboss the Cranberry Cardstock using the Damask Embossing Folder.

Adhere the Embossed Cardstock and strip of Snowhaven Paper to the card base.

Add the Silver Shimmer Trim and stamped images to complete the card.



Crafty wishes,
Denise :)

Rolled Paper Christmas Tree

This is such a cute and creative card idea! The tree is made by rolling decorative paper around a pencil into thin cylinders and adhering them to the front of the card.  Have fun making and decorating this unique rolled paper Christmas tree.

Ingredients:
White card and envelope, Value Pack
1” inch wide strips of Snowhaven B&T Paper cut to different lengths- 3 ¾”, 3 ½”, 3 ¼” 3”, 2 ¾”,  2 ½”, 2 ¼ ”,  2”, 1 ¾ , 1 ½”, 1 ¼”, 1” and ¾” (you will need just about 3 strips of 1” x 12” strips to cut this many pieces)
4” x 5 1/4” Cranberry Cardstock
2” x 6” piece of Cranberry Cardstock for cutting out the bow and star
3 7/8” x 5 1/8” White Cardstock
Cricut Art Philosophy Collection
Cricut Artiste Collection
Stripe Embossing Folder
Silver Sequins
Micro Glue Dots
Glue Dots
Pencil (for rolling the paper around)

Instructions:

Cut the bow using the Artiste Cricut Cartridge (p. 55, Accent 2, .75”, size) from the small 
piece of Cranberry Cardstock.

Cut the star using the Art Philosophy Cartridge (p. 49, <star4>, 1”) from the same piece of 
Cranberry Cardstock (flip it over so you have room to cut).

Emboss the White Cardstock.

Adhere the Embossed White Cardstock to the Cranberry Cardstock and then onto the card 
base.

Prepare each of the rolls of paper by putting a row of Micro Glue dots on the edge of the 
inside of the paper length.  Then with the inside facing upwards and the side with the Micro 
Glue Dots at the far side, start rolling the paper until it gets to the end and the Micro Glue 
Dots have adhered it closed.  Press firmly on the join while the pencil is still inside to make 
sure it is adhered securely.  Slide the pencil out.

Repeat the above process until all the strips of paper have been rolled.

Adhere the rolls of paper to the front of the card (Embossed White Cardstock) with Glue Dots 
by placing them in size order and close together so there are no gaps between the rolls.  

Make sure the joins are at the bottom.

Adhere the star to the top of the tree using Glue Dots.

Fold, then adhere the bow onto the bottom right of the rolled paper tree using Glue Dots.

Adhere the Silver Sequin to the Middle of the bow.



Until next time.

Crafty wishes,
Denise :)

Nov 10, 2014

Layer-upon-Layer with the November SotM



I just love this layered-style of card.  It looks so impressive, but it really is so very quick and easy to create!

The idea is to layer and stamp the white pieces of cardstock (I used the tiniest amount of 3L E-Z Dots Adhesive to hold them in place while stamping)- you can have two, three or more layers- and then mount them on coordinating cardstock to create the look below.  I then added the sentiment as another layer on top to finish this card.

I have used a variety of colours from the Whimsy Colour Family to create this card.  It really is all about Whimsy for me at the moment.  I just love the freshness of the colours and they coordinate so beautifully with each other.  And lets face it, they are just the perfect colours to use with the November Stamp of the Month, It's the Little Things!



This card is created using the following ingredients:

November Stamp of the Month, It's the Little Things
White Card and Envelope, from the Value Pack
3/4" x 2 1/2" White Daisy Cardstock
2" x 3 1/4" White Daisy Cardstock
3 3/4" x 5" White Daisy Cardstock
1" x 2 7/8" Thistle Cardstock
2 1/4" x 3 1/2" Thistle Cardstock
4" x 5 1/4" Thistle Cardstock
Thistle Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Canary Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Pixie Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Sorbet Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Sweet Leaf Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Thin 3-D Foam Tape
3L E-Z Dots Adhesive

I hope you have fun making this card.  I taught it at my workshop on Saturday and it was a huge hit with everyone!

Please drop by again and soon to see what else I have been creating in The Crafty Shed.

Crafty wishes,
Denise :)




Nov 1, 2014

It's the Little Things: CTMH November Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop


Hello and welcome aboard our CTMH November Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Patricia Manhire's Creative Corner, then you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post. 

Today I would like to share with you a special little project which features the November Stamp of the Month, ‘It’s the Little Things’ which is available exclusively throughout November 2014 for $27, or for just $5 when you spend $75. This stamp set is the latest of 12 glorious, exclusive Stamp of the Month stamp sets featured in our brand new CTMH 2014- 2015 Annual Inspirations Idea Book!




Spring has well and truly sprung in our part of the world.  The Jacaranda trees are in full bloom, peppering the streets and footpaths with their lavender coloured petals, also reminding us that that exams are quickly approaching and it’s almost the end of the school year and!  I just love this time of year!  If I had to pick my favourite season, it would absolutely be spring.  I love the regrowth after winter and the blossoming of spring flowers! 

So you can imagine how utterly in love I am with the November Stamp of the Month, ‘It’s the Little Things with its gorgeous selection of flowers and leaves.  The perfect set of stamps to honour spring!

I’ve called my little project ‘A Whimsy Bouquet in Spring’ and to create it I have used a variety of the flowers and a sentiment from the November Stamp of the Month.



The first thing I did was to stamp multiple stamps in each of the following Whimsy colours- Thistle, Crystal Blue, Glacier, Canary, Sorbet and Pixie onto White Daisy Cardstock so I would have a selection to work with.  I then cut all of the stamped images out while I watched my favourite TV shows!   Of course the cutting is made all the easier and more precise with the use of my CTMH Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors!



Once I had an assortment of stamped and cut images, it was time to set to work!

Step 1: I created my own template for the base of the card (I'll refer to this in later steps as the "pot").  I started with a 2 3/4” x 12” strip of cardstock, marked out a pot shape approximately in the middle of the strip using my VersaMat to get accurate measurements at the top (3 1/2" wide) and bottom (2" wide) and then carefully cut along those lines. 


Step 2: I discovered that if I flipped the strips from either side of the “pot” shape upside down they created the perfect template for creating the back of the pot.  I wanted to make a holder for the card I was creating, so this template had to wrap around the back and be able to be adhered together to create a little "pocket".




Step 3: I used a couple of pieces of sticky tape to adhere the sides of the template to the pot shape and trimmed the sides down to the measurements shown below.



Step 4: I used the completed template to trace around onto one of the Glacier papers from the Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment because I absolutely loved the design on the front of the paper and I am madly in love with all things Glacier right now!  



Step 5: I carefully cut around the outline using my CTMH Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors.



Step 6: I then scored and folded the paper to create the pot shape and adhered the flaps together securely at the back creating a pocket in which to eventually slide my card.  I used 3L E-Z Dots Adhesive for this.  (NB. I did not adhere the bottom of the pot as the design I created for the card prevented it from sliding out the bottom).



Step 7: I cut a 3/4” x 3 5/8” strip of the Glacier paper, this time featuring the glossy side by adhering the patterned side down to create the “rim” of the pot using 3L E-Z Dots Adhesive.



Step 8: I created the template for the card itself by folding in the flaps of the template and tracing around the pot shape once, right way up and then flipping it upside down and tracing around it again (see picture below) onto White Daisy Cardstock.  I then carefully cut inside the line so it was slightly smaller than the template. 



Step 9: I tested that the card slid nicely into my pot and sat snuggly within it before trimming 1/2” off the top of the card so it would fit inside a standard envelope from our White Value Pack.



Step 10: I started building up some flowers for my card using the pre-stamped and pre-cut images, playing with them until I had colour combinations that I was happy with.  I adhered the layers of the flowers on top of each other with Thin 3-D Foam Tape to create subtle layering and dimension.



Step 11: I built up my bouquet of flowers while the card was sitting inside the pot.  I arranged the flowers and adhered them to the white card using 3-D Foam Tape, covering all of the white card that was above the rim of the pot. (NB. I was really careful not to accidentally stick the flowers to the pot as this would prevent the card from sliding in and out).




Step 12: I completed the card by adding the sentiment, ‘Just for you’ stamped in Cocoa ink on a 2 3/4” x 3/4” strip of White Daisy Cardstock which I dove-tailed at one end and then mounted it on a 3” x 1” strip of Crystal Blue Fundamentals Paper.  

I added a final finishing touch by adorning the flowers with bling including Clear Sparkles, Pink Glitter Gems, Flamingo Dots and Silver Sequins.




Ingredients used to create this project:

November Stamp of the Month, ‘It’s the Little Things’
Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment
White Daisy Cardstock
Thistle Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Glacier Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Canary Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Sorbet Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Pixie Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Sparkles- Clear Assortment
Pink Glitter Gems
Flamingo Dots
Sequins- Silver Assortment
3L E-Z Dots Adhesive
Thin 3-D Foam Tape

3-D Foam Tape

The November Stamp of the Month, ‘It’s the Little Things’ is only available until 30 November 2014 from your CTMH Consultant.  



Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my latest card project.  I'm really interested to hear what you think about it, so I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop on our Australasian Blog Hop, Loretta's Creating Memories 

Do come and visit me again soon as I have lots of ideas to share with you this month!  


Here's a little look at what's coming up


Happy crafting,
Denise :)