This is my second inspiration post of the day both for my Crafts U Love, and I have another Christmas card with a design suitable for mass making .
Using the largest thin frames of the Julie Hickey Frame & Banner set I die-cut a piece of black and a piece of white cardstock. For this card I used the black frame and the "inside" of the die-cut white card. Like my previous design, the leftover can be used for another card in reverse colours, avoiding waste and saving time!
From the Boughs of Holly Wreath I die-cut and embossed the bow and die-cut the small wreath.
You can add the date and sentiment with either dies, stamps or stickers and, if you are addicted to Nuvo Drops as I now am, as many drops as you wish or have time for.... The holly berries holes in the die-cut wreath are crying out for Nuvo drops, I think!
Supplies:
Tonic Studios Essentials Die Set - Boughs of Holly Wreath
Studio Light A6 Paper Pad - No.119
Julie Hickey Designs Layers, Frames & Banners Die Set - Rectangle
Tonic Studios Nuvo Stone Drops - Gold Rush
Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select 'Design Team' in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!
There you have it, a simple fairly quick and easy to mass produce design, with a very classic feel. If you missed my first post you will find it here.
Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenges.
I know it's still a bit early... but all the new craft stash is in the shops now and as I am less interested in Halloween, I wanted to carry on the x-mas production! In fact this is the first of 2 posts published today both on the Christmas theme!
I created this design to satisfy the following objectives:
- few supplies
- low wast
- easy
- quick to make in batches
I used a green and a red 6"x6" piece of cardstock, plus some white glitter card and the dies sets shown.
To cut the large wreath, I used the actual wreath die and the "inside" edge die.
Cutting the inside allows to keep to one layer and saves the green inside to make another card in the reverse colours. There is barely any waste, apart from the confetti from the wreath which goes straight to the bin without contributing to the ever growing scrap mountain.
The greeting is cut from the thick-ish glitter card but I still managed a clean cut with 2 passes in the die-cutting machine.
Using the same design but with other colour combinations you can quickly build up a stash of cards, all unique!
For example:
- Associate Gold and white with either Green, Red or Black for traditional Christmas
- Silver and white with Blue or Lavender for a contemporary look
- or Kraft, white and red for a rustic vibe
Of course you can add any number of finishing items, but as I had the rather loud Green and Red combo it was a case of less was definitely more… so I limited the embellishments to a bow which I die-cut (same set as the wreath) from the glitter and red card.
Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select 'Design Team' in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!
Don't forget I have a second X-mas design coming up very soon.
Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenge.
This time I stamped the image on glossy paper and added inks with Distress foam to create a sky and snowy hills background using masks cut from paper.
After the first stamping with Memento black, with the stamp still on the Stamping platform, I cleaned it and inked some of the falling snow with a Versamark embossing pen and stamped over the black impression. I then embossed with White Glitter EP.
I used 2 papers from the Studio Light PPSL19 pad to decorate the front of my card base and cut a label using Julie Hickey Designs Layers, Frames & Banners Die Set with both white and red cardstock using the inside of one and the outside of the other. I added Nuvo Drops on all the pierced holes of the scalloped label frame and, since I had it at hand, I couldn't resist adding some on the brownish dots of the paper.
Do have a look at the other stamps Studio Light have released for this Christmas, they are just as great as the Deer, you can find them here.
Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select 'Design Team' in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!
Too soon for Christmas? Hmmm… I like doing some Christmas crafting closer to the date to enjoy the general festive feeling, but, if you plan to make elaborate cards, the earlier you start the better. Because, making cards under time constraints feels less like fun and more like work!
Today's inspiration post for Crafts U Love is such a card: it's an interactive card, made with the Square Spinner die, and has 3 decorated sides.
You will notice that the card is oriented in portrait mode and although I have not seen any like that online there is no reason why it shouldn't be done. The interactive part pops out below rather than on the right side when the card is opened but otherwise it works in the same way.
For the mechanism I will send you to Karen Burniston herself and this video.
Steps:
1. First work on the front panel of the card.
- If you want papers on the inside, start by sticking them in place, then die cut the opening with your chosen shape die.
- Die-cut the opening from the paper to place on the outside of the front panel and stick down.
- add any flat decoration at this stage to the front cover
2. Decorate the inside back panel with the desired papers.
3. Die-cut, prepare and stick down the Square Spinner mechanism (refer to Karen's video)
4. Place the focal image and the spinning element on the mechanism
5. Add any dimensional details to the front now.
I wanted to my card to be slightly larger than A6 which did make things a little bit more difficult as a whole sheet of paper didn't cover my card entirely, however this pushed me to come up with a more creative design.
The papers I used are from the Studio Light PPSL19 pad, which has a festive feel but a fresh contemporary black, white and gold colours scheme.
The deer image is from the Studio light essential Stamp set No.391 stamped with Versafine for that solid silhouette look. I picked out some of the falling snow with the Nuvo Drops latest incarnation, the stone texture, in gold.
I also used it on the front to add a heart and pearls. As you see the finish when dry is rather matte and grainy too, like a mix of paint and fine sand. This thicker texture requires a bigger nozzle and for that reason it would be difficult to write with the Stone Drops unless you used big letters.
And in action as demonstrated by my not so glamorous but helpful assistant:
Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select 'Design Team' in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!
I will be back for another Christmas creation at the end of the month, I hope you will come back to check it out.
I love making my own backgrounds (saves me actually using up those lovely papers in my stash!) and I wanted to try Distress Oxides with Tim Holtz resist spray so I created a masterboard.
First I applied Distress Oxides with a brayer on a piece of white paper.
Then I sprayed some of the resist on top and let that to dry before applying more Distress Oxides.
Another spray of resist….
And a final layer of Distress Oxides to finish, this time adding some of the darker Walnut ink.
The resist spray creates lots of dots in varying sizes which resist water based inks and dry to a shiny finish . The shine is not apparent in the enclosed photo but trust me it is glossy.
[Warning: the Resist spray is extremely sticky, it cannot be removed not even from your craft mat, so spray in a cardboard box or protect your work area with newspaper]
My focal point is the postcard image from the Woodware set I had already stamped (see my previous project here) and some die-cut flowers from a Tim Holtz set.
I used Nuvo Drops to colour the flowers and add a little something to the sentiment banner.
Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select 'Design Team' in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!
***
The resist technique I used for the background is fun and easy and I'm convinced it would look fabulous as a night sky or aurora borealis! Perfect for Christmas... no it's not too early for use crafters!
Thanks for coming by, I am entering the challenges.
The mix of rectangular dies allow for 4 different sizes mats and 2 thin frames. By mixing those together on different colours of cardstock the possibilities are endless (well not in a mathematical sense but...)
The smaller dies can be used for sentiments and 3 of them are perfect for thin sentiments which is something that was missing from my arsenal. Of course, they also match well with Julie Hickey Designs Everyday Sentiments
And finally, above all, the one feature that I have been waiting for since I started die-cutting... the dies sizes are proportional to our A6 cards (14.8 by 10.5cms) rather than the US standard card size (5"1/2 by 4"1/4 ). So now I can matt and layer using any standard paper and card...
Nuff said let's get on with the today's tutorial:
1. Using the largest (scalloped) die I first die-cut a panel and using the 3rd die down in size cut the middle out, creating a frame.
2. To make it easy for myself I then embossed it from the back with the second size down die (the largest of the thin frames).
3. I used the same die to cut out a frame with another colour of cardstock.
4. I finished my frame by sticking the thin frame in the channel I created in step 2.
With the left overs I also got a second frame thrown in!
For the background behind the frame, I made my own patterned paper using stamps and 2 colours of Nuvo Drops as paint.
Slightly unorthodox I know, but I wanted to see if it worked and also making sure that colours matched...
To do this I spread a bit of product in a thin layer on my craft mat with a silicone tool then tapped the stamp lightly on the paint.
The Nuvo Drops I used are from the Vintage range and have a matt finish to them after drying. The stamp set is one of the many Vintage motifs sets released th year by Woodware and you know I like my Vintage...
Using the same stamp set I stamped the postcard and butterfly several times (I only needed one of each for this project but this will save me time in the long run)
I chose vellum for the butterfly which can be coloured both from the front and the back for a deeper colour.
Putting it all together on a blue card base with a banner die-cut, stamped and embossed with a sentiment and finished with Bonnie Blue Nuvo Drops at the corners of the frame and on the small heart of the banner. I did consider adding a dot to each pierced hole of the scalloped frame but I didn't fancy my chances of getting them all the same size and in the right place too!
Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select 'Design Team' in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!
Come by at the end of the month for another inspiration post for Crafts U Love.
In the meantime... keep cool and carry on crafting!
Today is our second inspiration day of the month at Crafts U Love! And I have carried on playing with the Go Press hot foil system and one of their recent Cut, Foil & Emboss Nesting Die Set. Go back to read my first post for a tutorial on the product.
This time I used the classic black and gold combination and wow... isn't that striking? Especially against the bright colours of the flowers!!!
I used an old technique to create my card, the name of which escapes me (if you know please tell me in the comment section as it has been driving me mad) to create my design.
I didn't have a lot of time to test other materials but I did managed foiling on leather and this is a fabulous way to create small gifts.
I made a double sided label to add on a key ring (think memory sticks too) with 2 thin pieces of leather, sandwiching a piece of card for added strength. Mine were off-cuts from another project but you can find nice unblemished leather in 12x12 sheets in the Crafts U Love shop.
1. Cut, emboss and foil the top shape
2. Die cut a motif or initials from the foiled shape.
3. Foil the initials
4. Repeat for the other side and die cut a piece of card with the same die.
5. Glue the leather shapes to the card shape and add the initials. (If you haven't foiled the initials you can reverse the colours and place the red initials in the blue shape and vice versa for more interest)
6. It should now look something like this…
The blue leather was much more textured than the red so the foiling has a distressed look about it, but hey we crafters love a bit of distress, don't we?
To finish set an eyelet and place on your chosen key ring.
Below photos of the front and back.
Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select 'Design Team' in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!
Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the challenges.
Foil started its comeback last year but this year there are even more new products for us to use to foil in varied ways and methods. This month I have been playing with the Go Press hot foil system and one of their recent Cut, Foil & Emboss Nesting Die Set.
As we approach "Wedding season" I felt a classic, clean design with a limited colour palette of white-red and gold would be the perfect choice to showcase foiling.
As there isn't a lot of documentation out there, I will start by explaining what these are.
First, like standard nesting die sets, these will also die-cut a shape.
You can also letter press by adding ink to the die(s) :
But, combined with the Go Press machine, they will also emboss the edges and add foiled detail in one pass of the die-cutting machine.
Onto technique... this is a case of do what I say and not what I did!
Successful foiling is dependant on both temperature and pressure, if just one is slightly off, it will not be perfect and you will be frustrated (ahem!!!)
The process is simple but PRECISE, when the instructions tell you to heat up the machine with the die for 1 minute, 1 minute is required, not less.
A slight difference in the shims added to the sandwich will affect the result from perfect to...not so follow the instructions and adapt your shims if necessary (and take a note of what worked for next time!)
Note: all die-cutting sandwiches described relate to my Sizzix Big Shot Plus
Without the addition of the metal shim it is possible to foil the shape of the die without die-cutting into the card and this is what I did for the largest mat:
1. Die directly on the Go Press mat (no metal shim)
2. Place foil silver side up on the die
3. Place the cardstock on top
4. Place cardstock shim(s) on top and close the lid. For my machine I needed 2 pieces of fairly thick cardstock.
5. The embossed and foiled shape but not die-cut
For my next layer, I die-cut the shape and foiled at the same time, and added the metal shim directly on the machine before the die and used only one cardstock shim instead of 2. One of the reason to always put a shim when foiling is to avoid foiling the transparent cover if the foil piece is larger than the cardstock being foiled.
My focal point is a bunch of flowers die-cut with the Tim Holtz Wildflowers stems and my sentiment is from the Everyday sentiments set by Julie Hickey.
A closer look at that beautifully foiled shape
I don't know if from your side of the screen, you get the excitement I got out of my first foray into hot foils, but I can tell you I am looking forward to test more techniques and materials! When I come back at the end of the month for my 2nd inspiration post I should have some wonderful things to show you....
Should you purchase any of the products I have used on this card, select 'Design Team' in the 'where have you seen us' drop down so we know we have inspired you!
Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the Allsorts and SSS Monday challenge.
I am entering the SSS Wednesday challenges.
