A Sketch & A Card

Today, I thought I'd try something a little bit different. We begin with a sketch that (hopefully) shows the folding card project I experimented with. I should warn you that is hand-drawn and not necessarily to scale, but I think it gives you the general idea as well as the key measurements. Of late, cards that include this type of stair-step folding seem to be all the rage. I think this one lends itself to a holiday card very nicely.



Your base cardstock should measure 5 1/2" x 8 1/2". I chose to use a piece of Bazzill textured cardstock. The "trickiest" part of this card is a vertical cut that you must make from the 1" mark to the 6 3/8" mark. Where you decide to make the cut is entirely your option. Where you put the cut will determine the length of your stairstep folds. I made mine at 2" in from the left side of the cardstock. You can either use a craft knife and a straight edge or your paper trimmer to make the cut. Once you have made the cut, the rest of the card basically becomes an exercise in paper folding.

You want to use a scoring tool (in my case the Scor-Pal) and score from the right side of your cardstock up to the cut line you made. You should score your paper at 1", 2", 3 1/8", and 6 3/8". Notice here, that your first and last score (1" & 6 3/8") should meet the beginning and end of your cut mark. There is one final score to make, but it is slightly different in execution than the others. This score mark will go all the way across the entire width of your cardstock at 4 1/4". This is also the midline of your cardstock (and your folded card). Once you play with you scored paper a bit, you'll see the natural way it fan folds to create the stairstepped effect. After you've folded and creased your paper, the fun begins as your canvas is now ready for your imagination.

For my project, I used a piece of DCWV decorative paper measured to fit the front of my folded card in a complimentary shade of blue. For my cut-out decorative piece, I used my Cricut Expression and the new Limited Edition cartridge "When It's Cold Outsided 2009-2010". The large snowflake and the shadow were cut at 4". The snowmen came from the snowman snowflake. I merely trimmed them out of the snowflake with scissors and used adhesive to put them in the row in front of the giant snowflake. I liked the idea of the snowmen doing a secret unseen dance out in the snow in front of a giant snowflake (like their altar if you will). I added a Stampin' Up! rub on and sentiment to finish the card.

This card type is lovely in that it creates its own stand and would look lovely displayed on a mantle or other decorative holiday display.

Sneak Peek!: Crushed Curry & Soft Suede

On July 1, 2009, the new 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! catalog goes into effect. There are so many wonderful new stamp sets and products in store for all of us. I know my wish list is bursting at the seams (and unfortunately, I'm sure I will buy it all...lol).

One of the exciting unveilings is the addition of six new colors to the In Colors line. The new colors are: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, and Dusty Durango. These colors will be available in Stampin' Pads, ink refills, cardstock, ribbon, and other products. I've had these products for a while now and I have to say they are a beautiful palette of colors and they integrate wonderfully with the regular Stampin' Up! color spectrum.

However, from the outset, I have to admit that there are two colors that I have fallen ABSOLUTELY head-over-heels for. They are so made for one another and I think they are going to become Stampin' Up! classics: Crushed Curry and Soft Suede.

Today, I've decided to give you a slight sneak peak into the color duo with a card project. I'm also highlighting one of the new stamp set releases that will be in the new catalog entitled "Circle Circus". This project is quick and easy, but I think it illustrates the endless possibilities of two of my new favorite colors.

The card will be a standard A2 size. The mat is cut from Stampin' Up! Whisper White cardstock at 4" x 5". The cardstock base is Soft Suede cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2". This card utilizes two stamps from the upcoming "Circle Circus":,as well as inks in Crushed Curry and Soft Suede.


Circle Circus, (10) stamps


2009-2010 In Colors Crushed Curry and Soft Suede

To begin the card, I cut a mat of Stampin' Up! Whisper White cardstock at 4" x 5". Using one of the stamps from "Circle Circus" and the Crushed Curry Stampin' Pad, I randomly stamped the image on mat cardstock.



Using the same image, I used the Soft Suede Stampin' Pad for contrast and visual interest. Don't be too concerned with careful placement of the image. Many times overlapping the image or stamping off the cardstock creates really beautiful accents that draw the eye. Randomness in a good thing.



After looking at my mat for a few minutes, I decided I needed a little "more". So, I went back to "Circle Circus" and picked out one of the smallest images to fill in some of the blank space. Of course, the danger is always that you make your card too busy. So, you just have to practice and learn to train your eye. Sometimes, it doesn't work out so well...and it's back to the drawing board. In this instance, I think it was a good call.




When I was happy with my card mat, the question turned to which color to use for my card base. In truth, I think either new In Color Crushed Curry or Soft Suede would have worked. But, I was drawn to the Soft Suede.



I cut the 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock in half, which creates two A2 card sizes at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2". Using my Scor-Pal (a MUST-HAVE tool in any crafter's arsenal), I scored the cardstock at 4 1/4".



Now that I was ready to assemble my card, I thought it needed one final touch: ribbon. While the new In Colors line comes in a matching polka dot ribbon, I thought that the dots would fight too much with the circle patterns of the stamping. I saw a piece of Stampin' Up 5/8" grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip and thought it would be the perfect addition.



However, during assembly with my trusty ATG714 adhesive gun, I changed my mine (always a crafter's prerogative). I thought the 5/8" ribbon was a tad too wide and switched it to the 3/8" Stampin' Up! grosgrain ribbon (in Chocolate Chip) instead. Here's the final card and a close-up detail.




Remember, the new In Colors and stamp sets will be available on July 1st. You can order through my website (link on the sidebar) or your preferred Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. I, for one, am impatiently awaiting to place my order! Whatever you do today, take some time out to work on a project. It's good for your soul! Keep smiling...and Keep Crafting!

It's Easy Being Green...

A quick card project to share with you and a cardstock recommendation! I recently placed an order with Papertrey Ink to try some of their products. Needless to say, I'm now awaiting my third large order to arrive. On top of having some wonderfully creative and exquisitely packaged acrylic stamp sets, Papertrey Ink has a full line of solid color and artistic print cardstocks. Today's card project utilizes two of their Perfect Match Papertrey Color Collection cardstocks: Ripe Avocado and Spring Moss. You can purchase a 50 sheet 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock sampler collection (#CS2008) for $10.00 on their website and I highly recommend you try them out. It's a very nicely saturated and heavy cardstock with a fine tooth to it.

For this card, I used a standard A2 base of Papertrey Ripe Avocado. The card was cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and scored on my Scor-Pal at 4 1/4". The mat is Papertrey Spring Moss cut at 5 1/4" x 4". The stamped image and sentiment are from the Stampin' Up! set "Upsy Daisy" (#111710). They were stamped using a Stampin' Pad in Handsome Hunter (#105215). The ribbon is Stampin' Up! 5/8" striped grosgrain in Kiwi Kiss (#111372, which compliments perfectly with the Papertrey cardstocks). The mat was attached using my ATG714 adhesive gun. Finally, I used a Copic Atyou Spica marker in Melon for accent. (The envelope is an A2 size in Kraft from Stampin' Up!)

Going green and good friends are a good thing! Have a great day and Keep Crafting!

Card Spotlight: Air Male

It's interesting to note that many paper crafters have a hard time when it comes to designing and constructing projects for a male recipient. I think it's safe to say that many of the leaders in the crafting industry cater to a mainly female clientele. As such, many of the designers collections are specifically created with that demographic in mind.

Of course, there are male crafters out there (obviously). It stands to reason that the larger the market share (customer demand), the more companies start to offer alternative lines and color palettes. I am very pleased with some of the new product lines being introduced for Fall/Winter 2008 and beyond.

I think the largest stumbling block some crafters face is the idea of avoiding certain colors (pink, pastels, etc.) and themes (florals, intricate patterns,etc.) when planning a male-oriented project. As a male crafter (and perhaps because of my own personal aesthetics), I do not have a problem receiving cards and projects made with florals or bright colors. However, right or wrong, there is a concern that a project be "masculine" enough. I hope such narrow thinking one day becomes the exception instead of the rule.

Oops, I guess that's enought of that rant...at least for a while. What brought the subject up for me was that I recently set out to make cards for a few of my friends that definitely skew toward the "manly men" end of the spectrum, lol. I thought I would share one of the cards I created in this card spotlight.

An interesting thing about this project is that it was all inspired by a piece of scrap paper from a DCWV paper stack: High School. The inspiration was this bit of design left over from another project. (I'm generally not very good about saving or using scraps, so this was a breakthrough for me.)



When I saw this flourish pattern, I was immediately drawn to the theme of flight and birds (wings) specifically. With that thought in mind, I hit my supplies and rounded up a few things.

For this project, you will need:

--one sheet of white cardstock cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
--one strip of textured cardstock cut to 5 1/2" x 2 1/8"
--one strip of decorative paper cut to 5 1/2" x 1 3/8"
--Tsukineko VersaMagic Chalk Ink Pad (Jumbo Java)
--Marvy Stippling Brush
--rubber or clear acrylic stamps
--Sakura Metallic Gel Pen
--adhesive (Xyron 510)
--Scor-Pal (or other scoring tool)

To begin, I took the white cardstock piece and scored it at 4 1/4" to create the card fold.



I chose to work in a brown palette for this card. For visual and color interest, I used a VersaMagic chalk ink pad and a stippling brush to create a textured background on the white cardstock.



Using the Jumbo Java chalk ink, I inked my stippling brush directly on the ink pad surface and pounced both the front and back sides of the card. After the initial application of ink in a circular motion, I used a few diagonal sweeps of the brush on the card face to muss the stippling effect slightly. I also inked all of the card edges using the VersaMagic pad.



Once you've achieved the desire color depth and texture on your card, allow the chalk ink to set before proceeding to adhere your decorative elements to the card. For my card, I chose a piece of textured Bazzill cardstock in Chocolate as the base mat for my decorative strip. As mentioned, the decorative strip for this project was a scrap from a DCWV High School paper stack.



This textured cardstock was trimmed to 5 1/2" x 2 1/8" and the edges were inked with the VersaMagic pad. Then it was run through a Xyron 510 and attached to the card face. The decorative paper was trimmed to 5 1/2" x 1 3/8", inked, run through the Xyron and centered on top of the textured cardstock.

To go with my theme of flight and wings, I used two stamps to finish the look of my card. The first was a rubber stamp (SeeD's) for the greeting that said "Air Mail". The second was a clear acrylic stamp (Autumn Leaves) from Rhonna Farrar's "Gypsy 2" collection of a bird in mid-flight. I used the same color chalk ink and stamped the greeting in the bottom right-hand corner and strategically placed the bird in the center of my decorative paper strip.



I like the symbolism on this card. The freedom of flight expressed by the bird juxtaposed with the wink-and-a-nod "Air Mail" greeting made me smile. I also think the bird picks up on the free-flowing airiness of the swirls from the flourish design.

As a final touch, I took a Sakura metallic gel pen in Galaxy Bronze and put in a few accent lines along the borders of the paper strips to add a bit more definition and visual interest. All-in-all, it was a fun and relatively creative project to put together.



Create--and keep crafting!

Card Spotlight: Bear Hug

I wanted to use a gatefold design for a card--but I wanted to do something "different". My difference turned out to be adding an embroidered applique to the gatefold design.

For this project, the materials list is:

--Bazzill textured cardstock (one 12" x 12" sheet in Burnt Orange)
--embroidered applique
--decorative paper
--white cardstock
--Tsukineko Dew Drop Ink in Pearlescent Orchid
--Tsukineko VersaMagic Chalk Ink in Jumbo Java
--Colorbox Queue Ink in Black
--adhesive

For the gatefold card, I trimmed a piece of 12" x 12" Bazzill cardstock down to a 6" x 8" piece.



Using my Scor-Pal, I scored the cardstock at 2" and 6" to create the two flaps that will make up the gatefold card.




I made the teddy bear embroidery applique using my Brother E-100 Applique Station. After the bear was complete, I used an iron-on adhesive backing so that the threads would not unravel.



As the bear is going to be the focal point of the card--as well as serving as the opening/closing tab, I decided to use a piece of the same colored cardstock to make a backing mat for the applique. This serves two purposes: (1) It keeps any of the unsightly backing threads and stitches from being exposed; and (2) It adds another layer of stiffness and durability to the card closure. I simply traced around the embroidered applique shape with a pencil to create a mat backing. Then that outline is cut out with a pair of scissors. I then ran the applique through my Xyron 510 to apply a layer of adhesive to the back and adhered it to cardstock mat.




I used a set of alphabet stamps called "Ransom" to stamp the greeting on the front of my cardface. I used an overstamping technique. First, taking a Tsukineko Dew Drop ink in Pearlescent Orchid and stamping the greeting with the gatefolds held closed. Then I went back in with a slight off-set on the same stamp block and used some Colorbox black ink to re-stamp my greeting. I used my ATG714 to apply adhesive to half of the back of the embroidered applique cardstock backing and adhered it to the left side of the gatefold centering the bear at the center line of where the two gatefolds meet.




To complete the inner card, I used a piece of decorative paper from the DCWV Once Upon A Time Mat Stack, trimmed slightly smaller than the 4" x 6" card middle. I inked the edges of the paper with some Tsukineko VersaMagic Chalk Ink in Jumbo Java. Then I took a piece of smooth white cardstock and inked the edges with the same chalk ink. I used my ATG714 to adhere both papers to my card base.




I really like the combination of an embroidered element with cardmaking. It adds visual and textural interest. Don't be afraid to explore adding other craft elements (e.g., embroidery, needlepoint, tatting, mosaics, woodcrafts, etc.) to your cards.

Create--and keep crafting!

Waterfall Card Tutorial

I've been wanting to try and make a waterfall card for a while now. However, I was honestly intimidated to try. Something about the engineering involved sort of frightened me. Now that I've done it, I have to say that it is much easier than it might look at first glance. If you haven't tried one, I hope this tutorial will help you to give it a go.

Supplies you will need for this project:

--cardstock (two complimentary colors)
--decorative paper
--eyelets
--adhesive
--eyelet setter
--paper trimmer
--stamps
--ink pad
--scoring tool
--colored pencils

First, you will need a base cardstock that your card will be built upon. I chose to use Bazzill corduroy textured cardstock in Raven. The base card should be trimmed to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". You then need to cut a mat for your base out of a decorative paper. I chose to use DCWV Once Upon A Time Mat Stack for my decorative paper and trimmed it to 4" x 5 1/4".



The next few cuts will form the backbone of the waterfall mechanism for your card. You will need to choose a solid cardstock that coordinates with your mat and base colors. I chose Bazzill criss-cross textured cardstock in a Burnt Orange. The following pieces need to be cut from this cardstock:

--waterfall slider bar at 2" x 9"
--mat squares for your stamped image: you will need four (4) of them at 2" square



The final set of cuts are for your stamped images and for the keeper bar that will be attached to the front of your card. You will want to use white cardstock for your stamped images (I chose Bazzill again in the color Snow). The keeper bar should be cut from the same cardstock as your base color (in my case the raven).

--stamped image squares: you will need four (4) of them at 1 7/8" square
--keeper bar at 3/4" x 4"



We'll begin the card construction by creating the scores in our waterfall slider bar (the card's backbone). Take your strip of cardstock (2" x 9") and grab your scoring tool. I use the Scor-Pal.



You'll want to make four score lines at the following intervals: 2", 2 3/4", 3 1/2" and 4 1/4". The folding is a simple back-and-forth accordian fold.




Set your slider bar to the side and take your card base and decorative paper and adhere them to one another. I used my Xyron 510 to run the decorative paper through and smooth on to the cardstock (TIP: A couple of passes with a bone folder works wonderfully to assure that you have no trapped air pockets between your mat and decorative paper).



Next you'll want to position your holding bar on top of your card face approximately 1" from the bottom of the card. We will be using eyelets to attach this piece to your card. You will need your preferred eyelet setter. In my case, I used my Crop-A-Dile and a couple of 3/16" copper-colored eyelets.





Next, we'll take the 1 7/8" white cardstock squares and adhere them to the 2" colored cardstock squares. Again, I just ran my white cardstock through the Xyron 510.



At this point some people would advise to begin stamping your images. However, I think it works best to wait until the card is fully constructed to stamp your images. The main reason for this is to make sure your images are positioned properly on your squares and they are "covered" by the waterfall square above it. If you stamp now, there's a chance your images will not align properly.

It's time to adhere your stamping squares to the scored and folded waterfall strip. For this job, you'll need to use an adhesive runner or your favorite glue. I used my ATG 714. Each square will need to be adhered just below the score lines on your waterfall strip. Place a strip of adhesive on one side of your first square and adhere it just below the fold of the first score line on your waterfall strip.



You will continue to repeat this process, attaching one square just below the crease of your next score line until all four squares are adhered to your strip.





The rest of your colored cardstock will now fold right behind your stamping squares.



We are now ready to attach the waterfall slider bar to your base card. First, you'll want to slide the folded portion of your slider bar behind the keeper bar. Once it's behind your bar, I used three strips from my ATG gun to put on top of the keeper bar. You'll want to use the width of your slider bar as a guide for how far to spread your adhesive. You do not want to apply too much adhesive or it will show through the sides of your waterfall panels.



You will pull the strip with your stamping squares down until the edge of the bottom stamping square is aligned with the bottome of the holder bar. When aligned just press down to adhere the stamp square to the top of the keeper bar. Believe it or not, this is the only place your waterfall mechanism is adhered to your card. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it works wonderfully.



Here's a side view of what your waterfall mechanism should look like:



Now, all that's left to do is the fun part. Pick out the stamps you want to use and embellish to your heart's content. I decided to make an early Halloween holiday card. I used some of the new Studio G stamps with a Tsukineko Brilliance ink pad in Coffee Bean. After my images dried, I used my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to give each image a bit of shading. I stamped the "Happy Halloween!" greeting (another Studio G stamp) with Tsukineko Brilliance in Black Graphite.







Now all that's left to do is put a ribbon pull on the end of your waterfall strip if you'd like. I chose not to on this particular card. You can also cut a half circle (or other notch) out of the card base for ease of pulling the strip. But, I think it works just fine without it. Again, the design possibilities are endless.

I'll bet you'll spend hours minutes watching the card flip back and forth.

Have fun exploring the waterfall card!