Christmas, Holidays 2019

Christmas is Coming! Oh no Iโ€™m Not Ready!!!

September is coming to a close very soon and you may be starting to panic if you donโ€™t have enough or any Christmas cards made yet. Iโ€™ve been there so I know the feeling. Much as we try to keep to schedule and timelines sometimes life gets in the way.

Well Iโ€™m here to help. Beginning my Christmas card series today and hopefully will give you lots of ideas for cards. I rarely mass produce cards for Christmas (unless I run out of time) but some of the cards I will be making can be easily mass produced. I will do my best to give you as many options as possible.

Non Traditional Christmas Card

Going to kick this off with this cute card featuring fish from the Lawn Fawn Christmas Fishes Clear Stampset. While this card is a little involved (lots of coloring), the results are worth the effort. For this one I wanted to try not to use 100% traditional Christmas colors since this stampset is not your traditional Christmas one. Fish with santa hats and an underwater Christmas tree?!? What a brilliant idea! And as always Lawn Fawn sea creatures are super cute. Ok, I digress…

I started by cutting down a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4-1/4″, another piece to 4 x 5-1/4″, and lastly I cut a piece to 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″ using the largest of the Lawn Fawn SMALL STITCHED RECTANGLE STACKABLES and Lawn Fawn LARGE STITCHED RECTANGLE STACKABLES, creating a 1/4-inch stitched border.

Using my MISTI, I stamped all the images onto the 4 x 5-1/4″ white panel. Originally I was going to make this card flat but in the end I decided to pop things up. So I stamped all the images as well as additional presents, a fish and the tree and plants onto Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I also stamped 2 additional images of the fish tank and 1 of the tree onto Super Sticky Post-It Notes to use as a mask. I fussycut the masks out and placed them on my card. Time to get inky…

I taped off the bottom portion of my panel with some 2-inch Post-It Tape. Using Distress Oxide Inks in Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry (in that order from the bottom) I created a gradient. Distress Oxides are awesome because you don’t have to blend them super well to get a smooth transition in color. I sprayed some water droplets using my Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer by Ranger. Then I splattered some pearlescent acrylic paint onto the panel using Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Pearl Acrylic Craft Paint. Once that was dry, I removed the Post-It Tape from the bottom and placed it just above the edge of the background. Using Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs, I inked up the bottom of the card.

Once the ink was all dry, I colored all the images using COPIC markers and diecut them using the coordinating dies. I added some highlights to the images with Uni-Ball White Signo Broad Point Gel Pen. I added Stampin’ Dimensionals to pop up the images in the front. Then I stamped the greeting onto Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and fussycut it out.

I glued the top panel to the card base and then added the white stitched border with some Simon Says Stamp Foam Tape. I added the sentiment strip to the card with Foam Tape as well. To finish off the front of the card, I added some Nuvo Drops in Morning Dew to the water bubbles.

I kept the inside of the card very simple and just stamped another sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and some water bubbles.

Lastly, I stamped the little crab and some water bubbles onto a white envelope with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink .

Dimensions

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Thanks for reading this post and I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to start making Christmas cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Halloween, Halloween

Halloween Cards Day #3

Happy Friday friends! Coming to you today with a fun and easy Halloween card featuring the Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs and Everything but the Broom by Catherine Pooler Designs Stamp Sets. I love, love, love these two stampsets! The whole Halloween collection which was released last year is great fun but these two stampsets are my fave! If you don’t like to color images this is the card for you! Let’s get started…

I began with a card base made from Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock, measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4 1/4″ and a piece cut to 4 x 5-1/4″. Using the Spider Web Background Stamp by Catherine Pooler Designs and my MISTI, I stamped spider web with Versamark Clear Emboss Ink and heat embossed with Wow Neutral Ultra Shimmer Embossing Glitter. Then with the Stampin’ Up! Layering Circles Dies, I diecut three 1″ circles windows out of the card panel and a 2-1/8″ circle from Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ for the sentiment.

I added some Foam Tape to the back of the panel and adhered the three words behind each window, then adhered it to the card base. For the three words that go inside the windows I just cut them into squares before adhering them.

Next I did some stamping. I stamped the sentiment from Everything but the Broom by Catherine Pooler Designs Stamp Set in Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs and three tiny words from the Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs onto scraps of Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock, using Versamark Clear Emboss Ink and heat embossed with Wow white embossing powder. I also stamped the little spider from Everything but the Broom by Catherine Pooler Designs Stamp Set 2x onto Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ and the witch hat onto a piece of purple pattern paper the Queen & Co Halloween Hooplah 6 x 6 mat Stack with Ranger Archival Ink – Jet Black. I colored the band on the witch hat with two purple COPIC markers to give it some interest and diecut all three images with their coordinating dies.

I adhered the sentiment circle and the hat with some Stampin’ Dimensionals to the card as well as the spider. I added some White Cotton Embroidery Floss (which I’ve had in my stash for ages BTW) for the spider’s string. I finished it off with some Nuvo Crystal Drops in Violet Galaxy and Ripened Pumpkin.

For the inside of the card I cut a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 4 x 5-1/4″and stamped the spiderweb with Spider Web Background Stamp by Catherine Pooler Designs and some Stampin’ Up! Smoky Slate Ink. I stamped a HAPPY HALLOWEEN sentiment from Everything but the Broom by Catherine Pooler Designs with Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs over the spiderweb and adhered the second spider I stamped and added a “string” above it with my Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen: Black, 0.7 millimeters.

Dimensions

Thanks for reading this post and I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to go make some Halloween cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Halloween, Halloween

Halloween Cards Day #2

Hello friends. Today’s card features some adorable crafty little squirrels from Lawn Fawn’s Pick of the Patch Stampset. This stamp set can be for both Fall and Halloween but it can also be used in combination with other cute Lawn Fawn stamps to create other occasion cards. It also pairs well with the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel Die and Pick of the Patch Reveal Wheel Add-ons.

While this card looks very time consuming, it really isn’t. The most time consuming part was the coloring. I started by diecutting the tree using the Lawn Fawn Landscape Leafy Tree Backdrop from some Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock. Then starting with a piece of Old Olive Cardstock measuring approximately 3 x 4-1/4″, I diecut the grass using the Lawn Fawn Simple Grassy Hillsides Dies. Next I cut out a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″. I used Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans Distress Oxide Inks to create a night sky. I started with Seedless Preserves, then blended Chipped Sapphire above that and Faded Jeans above that. Once all was blended, i added some Black Soot Distress Ink at the very top portion, over the blues to darken it up a bit.

While the inks dried, I stamped the all the pumpkins, the squirrels and the carving tools and added faces to the pumpkins from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I will be coloring these with Copics later. I set those aside to dry and added some Peeled Paint Distress Ink to the bottom 2/3 of the grassy hillside.

The back panel was dry by this point so I added some stars from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Versamark Clear Emboss Ink and Wow White Embossing Powder. I made sure to prep the surface with an Anti-Static Powder before embossing the area. Lastly I added some splashes with white acrylic paint (any white acrylic paint will do).

It was time to color. I like to do this usually while watching some videos on my Ipad. Just relax and color. Sometimes when I don’t feel inspired to create, I will stamp out images from stampsets I may have sitting on my desk waiting to be used and just sit and color them while watching TV.

I used Copic Markers to color everything (all the colors are listed at the end of this post. I diecut those images out with the coordinating dies. I also added some highlights with my Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen.

I stamped the sentiment from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs onto a scrap of cut a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″. I made sure it was at least 5-1/2″ wide. Then cut it down to 5/8 x 5-1/2″. I find it easier to start with a larger piece of paper than needed because even using my MISTI I can’t seem to center it correctly all the time. LOL. Anyone else have this problem???

Ok, it’s time to assemble this card. I adhered the grassy hillside to the tree backdrop panel first. Trimmed off any excess cardstock and added some Foam Tape behind all of the grass and tree backdrop. I left the top of the grass without Foam Tape so I can tuck some pumpkins behind it. I aligned the sky panel behind the tree backdrop and stuck those together. I laid out my images where I wanted and adhered them onto the panel, tucking two pumpkins behind the grass, one in front of it but all adhered flat. I then adhered the carved pumpkin towards the bottom and popped up the squirrels and carving tools with some Stampin Up! Dimensionals.

At this point I was looking at my card and decided I needed to add some leaves because the grass had too much dead space so I used Eucalyptus Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs and stamped the leaf from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset all over the grass.

I adhered the sentiment strip to the top 1/3 of the card over the tree. I added this completed panel to a card base created from Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock and measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4-1/4″. Last but not least, I added some Nuvo Glitter Drops in White Blizzard to the sky to add some sparkle and Nuvo Crystal Drops in Bottle Green on each side of the sentiment strip.

I generally don’t like to leave the inside of my cards (especially holiday cards) empty inside so I stamped the HAPPY HALLOWEEN sentiment from the stampset in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and the pumpkins in Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs and Memento Tuxedo Black Ink onto a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″, cut to 4 x 5-1/4″.


Dimensions


Copic Colors Used

  • Pumpkins: YR04, YR12 and YR27 ; Stems: YG13 and YG25; Guts: Y13 and YR04
  • Squirrels: W1, W5 and W7; Cheeks: R20
  • Pumpkin scooper: YG13 and G94
  • Knife handle: BV11 and BV17; Knife blade: C00 and C3

Supplies

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Thanks for reading this very long post and I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to make some Halloween cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Halloween, Halloween

Halloween Cards Day #1

Halloween is just 7 weeks away but whoโ€™s counting?!? Umm. Me! I love Halloween even if I donโ€™t get to dressed up anymore. Itโ€™s still sooo much fun!!!!

So Iโ€™m kicking off my Halloween series with an easy card. Black cardstock, stamps, embossing powder and some colored pencils is all you really need. So grab your favorite Halloween stamps and let’s begin!

I started with a panel of Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock cut to 5 1/2 x 4 1/4″. When your whole image is going to be heat embossed, it’s a good idea to start with a piece of paper/cardstock that is slightly larger than you will need. This gives room for errors. God knows I need it! LOL.

I pulled out one my new favorite Halloween stampsets, the Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs then using my MISTI, I laid out the stamps I needed and mapped out my scene.

I prepped the surface with an anti-static bag (especially important on dark cardstocks) and stamped the house, the tree, one bat and the moon first, using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. Next, I reapplied some more anti-static powder and stamped and heat embossed the second bat and the fence which I had to stamp 3-4 times to get a continuous fence. Then stamped and white heat embossed the sentiment onto a scrap of Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock. Before I diecut this panel out, I added some white dots with my Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point White Gel Pen to the sky. This can also be done with paint splatters. I just wasn’t in the mood for the mess that day.

Once all the stamping was done, I diecut the panel using the largest die from Lawn Fawn’s Small Stitched Rectangle Dies which measures 3-3/4 x 5″.

Time to color the house… You can certainty leave it uncolored but I wanted it to stand out and I was curious to see how my Prismacolor Pencils looked on the black cardstock.

I used two greens for the roof and door, two purples for the house, two greys for the porch floor, a yellow for the window shutters and a yellow orange for the inside of the window, and finally two reddish browns for the wood boards. Prismacolor Pencils have a rich pigment so they show up on dark cardstock nicely. Then I fussycut the sentiment and adhered it using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I diecut a panel of some very old Halloween pattern paper from my stash using the largest die from Lawn Fawn’s Large Stitched Rectangles which measures to 5-1/2 x 4-1/4″. I distressed it a bit using Ranger Black Soot Distress Ink. Then adhered the black panel onto it and that to a card base (Simon Says Stamp Blue Violet 100lb Cardstock) measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4 1/4″.

Lastly I finished off the card with some Nuvo Glitter Drops in White Blizzard. But I couldn’t leave the inside empty so cut a panel of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ and adhered a piece of the same Halloween pattern paper, measuring 3/4 x 5-1/4″ to the bottom edge, which I also distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink.

But I didn’t stop there. I was having too much fun with this card so I used the fence stamps from Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs and white heat embossed it along the bottom edge of a black Euroflap Envelope.

Dimensions

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to start making your Halloween cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Summer, Thank Yous

Quick Cards Using only Pattern Paper and Sentiment Stamps

Hello friends. I would like to talk to you all about pattern paper and cardstock today. Most of us have a ton of it, some of us use it and some of us hoard it (Guilty as charged. LOL) Sometimes we have pattern papers that have images on them but no coordinating stamps (either you didn’t purchase them or the manufacturer didn’t create a coordinating stampset). These two paper packs from Brutus Monroe were part of their June release. Very fruity and summery but there is no coordinating stamps. I have several fruity stamp sets that will work with this paper but I know that many other people may not.

So I decided to challenge myself to make cards with just the paper and some sentiments from my stash. Since itโ€™s still summer I decided to use fruity paper. Fruit is a delicious summer treat!

The first card I made was using the Brutus Monroe Fresh Melon Paper Pad. I grabbed my LAYERING CIRCLES DIES by Stampin’ Up! and cut out a 3″ circle from the green melon stripe pattern. Next I cut a 2 1/4″ and a 2″ circle from Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″. I took the 2″ one and inked it with Rockin Red Ink by Catherine Pooler, inking from the center out so the outer edges are lighter. I sprayed some water on it and patted it dry to remove it.

Thanks a Melon

I let that dry for a few minutes and then adhered all the circles together layering from the smallest to largest. I cut that piece in half and cut slices out of the other half. I drew some seeds on each piece with my Faber-Castell BLACK ESSENTIAL PITT Artist Pens and some highlights with my Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point Gel Pen – White.

Ok, time to work on the background. I chose 4 pattern papers from the pack, cut one to 1/2 x 2-1/4″, one to 2 x 3-1/4″, one to 2 x 3-7/16″ and the last one to 2 x 2″. I adhered them on the white card base as per the below sketch. If you want a gap between your rectangles cut them down to 1/16th smaller on each side. I added a strip of the thicker width Pin Stripe Peel-Off Stickers – Apple Green by Love From Lizi vertically in the center, then the narrowest width strips to the outer edges and in between the panels horizontally.

Thanks A Melon Card Sketch

I masked off the “BUSHEL” part of the THANKS A BUSHEL from Lawn Fawn Thanks a Bushel Stamps and stamped “Thanks A” with Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD Watermark and heat embossed with WOW Embossing Powder OPAQUE BRIGHT WHITE SUPER FINE onto a piece of Stampin’ Up! Real Red Cardstock. I then cut that down to a strip measuring 1/2 x 2-1/4. I also stamped the word “MELON” using Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Pad by Stampin’ Up! and the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamp Set onto Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock. I fussycut those out leaving a white border around each letter.

Thanks a Melon

I laid out my sentiments and watermelon pieces onto my card to figure out placement. Once I was happy with it, I adhered all the pieces down, popping up one watermelon slice with Stampin’ Dimensionals by Stampin’ Up! . To finish this card, i added some Tonic Nuvo Drops in BOTTLE GREEN.

I had so much fun playing with these papers from Brutus Monroe that I decided to make another card.

The second card came together quickly. I started with a white card base measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″, scoring it at 4 1/2″. This was made from Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″. Next, I cut some of the pattern paper down to 4 x 5-1/4″ and cut that down diagonally as per the below sketch. I did the same thing to a second pattern paper (green one) and adhered that behind the top layer, offsetting it a bit to create a border. I added a strip of the thinner width Love From Lizi Pin Stripe Peel-Off Stickers in Gold Glitter between the two pattern papers and adhered them to my card base, leaving a 1/8 border around the edge.

Thanks Card Sketch

For the sentiment, I kept thing simple. I used the Large Thanks Die from Honey Bee Stamps and diecut the word 3 times from Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# BLACK Cardstock. I layered those 3 together and adhered them, creating a nice thick 3D sentiment. I adhered those to the card in the center of the white space. I felt like something was missing though. I took another pattern paper that had small lemons, limes and oranges (maybe grapefruit? not sure) and using a 1/2 punch I cut 3 of them out and adhered them on my page. That completed the front of this card! Like I said, this one was a quick one.

But just because I hate an empty card inside, I adhered some of the same pattern paper I used on the front diagonally to the inside bottom right corner. And now its complete!

Thanks_Card Inside
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Thanks for stopping by and I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to start making your thank you cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Christmas, Christmas

Christmas in July

Hello friends. Another Monday is upon us and July is almost over. I don’t know when the whole Christmas in July phenomenon started but I look forward to it every year now. The Hallmark Channel shows Christmas movies all month long, which I just love; those cheesy Christmas movies are the best! There are crafty sales and giveaways and crafters share cute Holiday cards and crafts. What could be better? It’s also a great time to get a jump start on your holiday cards. Before we know it will be December and time to send out cards!

And since I love a good Christmas card just as much as the next gal, I had to join in the fun before July was over. I kept things simple with this card. First I cut a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ and scored it at 4 1/4″ for my card base. Next I cut a piece of Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100lb Lipstick Red to 4 x 5 1/4″, grabbed my Stampers Anonymous – Tim Holtz – Holiday Script Stencil and some Therm O Web TRANSFER GEL iCraft Deco Foil and began the foiling process. It’s super easy but requires patience and drying time.

I taped the red cardstock to my work surface using some Post-it Tape and then taped in place the stencil where I wanted it. Since this stencil is narrower than the cardstock panel, if you want to cover the whole background you will have to do these steps twice. I did not have to do this however since I will be covering the left side. I used a palette knife to spread the deco foil transfer gel over the stencil, making sure to spread it evenly and thinly. You don’t want a thick uneven layer or the foil will not stick correctly. I set that aside to dry (it took a couple of hours) and took cut a piece of Stampin’ Up! Old Olive Cardstock to 1 1/8 x 5 1/4″ and ran it through my diecut machine using the Darice Diagonal Stripe Embossing Folder.

Still waiting for the first half of the deco foil gel to dry, I proceeded to diecut my snowflakes. I cut 3 snowflakes using the Delicate Snowflake Die by Catherine Pooler Designs from Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ and adhered them together to create a dimensional snowflake.

Several hours later…

The transfer gel will look shiny once it is dried. I placed a piece of the Therm O Web Gina K Designs RADIANT RED Fancy Foils Deco Foil over the red panel, sandwiched it inside a folded piece of parchment paper and ran it through my laminator (make sure it is good and hot). It comes out so pretty! I took the embossed piece of Stampin’ Up! Old Olive Cardstock and adhered it to the left side of the red foiled panel, added a strip of the wider Pin Stripe Peel-Off Stickers – Gold Mirror Moondust from Love From Lizi and then adhered that all to my card base, leaving a 1/8″ border all around the card.

Time to add the snowflake. I adhered that 3D white snowflake roughly in the center of the card, added some Tonic PALE GOLD Nuvo Crystal Drops to the center of the snowflake, the top and bottom of the card panel. And the card is finished! Oh wait! we need a sentiment!

I added the “Merry & Bright” sentiment from Peaceful Flakes Stamp Set by Catherine Pooler Designs to the inside of the card using my Old Olive Classic Stampin’ Pad by Stampin’ Up! as well as a large snowflake from Peaceful Flakes Stamp Set by Catherine Pooler Designs in Real Red Classic Stampin’ Pad | Stampin’ Up! to the bottom right corner. Ok now this card I complete!!!!

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to start making your Christmas/Holiday cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Card kits, Encouragement, Just Because, Thank Yous

5 Cards 1 Kit (Simon Says Stamps July 2019 Card Kit)

Hello friends. I finally got to play with this adorable bee-themed card kit from Simon Says Stamps. It’s the July Card Kit called Bee Yourself. Lots of fun products to play with and I just adore the stampset. Unfortunately the kit is no longer available but I will link all the available individual products. I almost strictly used only the card kit contents. I did bring in a few of my own products and I will link those below as well.

Card Kit Supplies

When I first saw the reveal video for this kit, I fell for the paper pad from Honeybee Stamps immediately. I knew I had to use the aqua watercolor pattern first. I kept it simple. I wanted to see if I could foil using a stamp and the glue pad and a stamp (didnโ€™t have transfer gel. I do NOW though ๐Ÿ™‚ ).

For the first card, I cut out the aqua watercolor pattern piece to 4 x 5 1/4โ€ and glued it onto an A2 sized white card base (Simon Says Stamp White 120# cardstock). I then used the Glue Sponge like an ink pad with a stamp and then placed the Rainbow Shattered Glass Foil Transfer Sheet on top of the area and ran it through my laminator. It didn’t come out even but I decided to make it work. I added some strips of two other pattern papers from the Honey Bee The Bee’s Knees exclusive 6 x 6 paper pad.

I had previously stamped, colored and fussycut several bees from the Simon Says Stamp Bee Yourself 6 x 8 clear stamp set. I laid out my stamps on my card then using Ranger Black Archival Jet I stamped the bee trail and then using Versamark clear embossing ink I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it with Wow white embossing powder. I colored the โ€œBEEโ€ with a yellow and white Prismacolor Pencils, and adhered my bee and added some of the sequins from the Black and Yellow custom sequin pack.

I stamped the bee and trail again on the inside of the card and added a second smaller sentiment.


The second card came together very quickly. I cut a piece of the yellow hexagon paper from the Honey Bee The Bee’s Knees exclusive 6 x 6 paper pad to 4 x 5 1/4โ€ and adhered it to an A2 sized black card base (Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock). Next I used some of the rainbow foil on the preprinted foilable cards and fussycut out the flower and sentiment.

I diecut a few hexagons from Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock using the Simon Says Stamp Small Hexagon Cluster wafer thin die and a few from some black glitter paper. I added the black hexagon cluster to the card and then inlayed 3 glitter hexagons back into the clusters. I added a black mat behind the sentiment. Then I adhered the flower onto the right side of the card and the sentiment toward the bottom. I adhered the little bees and added some sequins to finish off the card.


For my next card I wanted to use the foil as if I didnโ€™t have a laminating machine. I diecut a piece of Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock with the Honeybee Stamps Hexagon Coverplate Top Die. I cut a piece of the Rainbow Foil and adhered it to the back of the black panel and adhered that into an A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Seaglass cardstock). I wanted to keep this one very simple so the sparkly background could be the star. I cut a strip of Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock to about 1 1/4 x 4โ€ and heat embossed the BEE yourself sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Bee Yourself 6 x 8 clear stamp set in Wow white embossing powder. I adhered that to the card front, added the bees and some sequins and the card is done. Or is it? Nope because I couldnโ€™t stop there.

I stamped the โ€œbee-utifulโ€ sentiment and a little bee with Ranger Black Archival Jet Black on the inside of the card. And now this card is done!

3 cards done, 2 to go…


Another paper that I really like for this collection was the black and white wonky (technical term :)) striped one. Another thing I wanted to use was the foilable cards. And the rainbow one of course calls for rainbow foil (duh). I only foiled the rainbow itself and the little bees so that they would stand out. I fussycut around the images and words, leaving a white border around them. I chose the yellow polka dotted pattern paper from the paper pad as my background. I cut a piece to 3 1/4 x 5 1/2โ€. I adhered a strip of the black and white wonky stripe paper onto and A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Sunshine cardstock), leaving a 1/4 inch on each side, and adhered the yellow polka dot one in the center over that piece. I added some thin Love From Lizi Pin Stripe Black Glitter Peel Offs to separate the patterns a bit. I love the peel offs from Love From Lizi! They add interest to your card with little effort and she sells soooo many colors (glitter, metallic, transparent). Super fun.

I adhered the images down onto the card and added some sequins from the included pack. To finish off the inside I cut a piece of Simon Says Stamp White 120# cardstock to 4 x 5 1/4โ€ and adhered inside the card. I added a 1 x 5 1/4โ€ strip of the yellow polka dotted paper and a 1/2 x 5 1/4โ€ strip of the black and white wonky striped paper to the right side of that panel. And stamped the โ€œJUST bee-causeโ€ sentiment in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black. And this completes card #4.


While I was making these cards, I had a thought…how cute would the bees look on a tag??? So I got out my trusty tag die from Tim Holtz (Sizzix Framelit Dies – Tag Collection by Tim Holtz) and diecut 2 tags using the second to largest die from Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock. I chose two pattern papers for my backgrounds, the light wood grain and the black and aqua hexagons, diecut 2 of each of those and glued them onto the front and back of the tag. Then I got to distressing.

For this first tag, I used Ranger Distress Ink – Tumbled Glass, Ranger Distress Ink – Walnut Stain, Ranger Distress Ink – Antique Linen, and Ranger Distress Ink – Black Soot. I kept layering them and drying in between til I got the desired color. Once everything dried, I added 4 pieces of the Simon Says Stamp Small Hexagon Cluster wafer thin die. Then I heat embossed a sentiment using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. I stamped a bee trail in black with in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black and added a bee which I had colored using COPIC markers and fussycut. Lastly I fussycut some blue flowers from the white pattern paper that featured them, applied some distress ink around edges and adhered those in place. I then added white splatters with some acrylic paint. To finish off the tag I added some Lawn Fawn Trimmings Lemon Single Cord and Nuvo Drops in Ivory Seashell.


For this second tag I used Ranger Distress Ink – Tumbled Glass, Ranger Distress Ink – Mustard Seed, Ranger Distress Ink – Walnut Stain, and Ranger Distress Ink – Black Soot. I then used some scraps of the pattern paper and adhered them diagonally to the bottom right of the tag, and added some distress ink to tone them down. I added some Love From Lizi Pin Stripe Black Glitter Peel Offs, stamped some hexagons in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black and heat embossed a sentiment using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. I colored the โ€˜BEEโ€™ with Prismacolor Pencils, added some Lawn Fawn Aquamarine Single Cord and the tag is done.

I donโ€™t want to leave this tag just as is though. I thought it might look cute as a card instead. So I cut a piece of the yellow hexagon paper to 1-1/4 x 5 1/2โ€ and a piece of the yellow polka dot paper to -1 x 5 1/2โ€ and adhere it to the.back of the hexagon paper and adhered both to an A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock).

I adhered the tag to the card base on a slight angle, placing it over the edges. I trimmed off the excess and proceeded to diecut some more hexagon clusters with black cardstock and adhered them to the card. I added one on the black paper so it looks like itโ€™s embossed. I added three little bees and some sequins to complete this card.

Supplies

Card Kit Includes:


Other Supplies Used:


Hope youโ€™ve enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading to the end; I know it was a long one. I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to make some adorable bee cards of your own. Whether you have the kit or not you can make these cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Cards, Encouragement, Just Because, Thank Yous

5 Cards 1 Kit (Simon Says Stamps July Card Kit)

Hello friends. I finally got to play with this adorable bee-themed card kit from Simon Says Stamps. It’s the July Card Kit called Bee Yourself. Lots of fun products to play with and I just adore the stampset. Unfortunately the kit is no longer available but I will link all the available individual products. I almost strictly used only the card kit contents. I did bring in a few of my own products and I will link those below as well.

Card Kit Supplies

When I first saw the reveal video for this kit, I fell for the paper pad from Honeybee Stamps immediately. I knew I had to use the aqua watercolor pattern first. I kept it simple. I wanted to see if I could foil using a stamp and the glue pad and a stamp (didnโ€™t have transfer gel. I do NOW though ๐Ÿ™‚ ).

For the first card, I cut out the aqua watercolor pattern piece to 4 x 5 1/4โ€ and glued it onto an A2 sized white card base (Simon Says Stamp White 120# cardstock). I then used the Glue Sponge like an ink pad with a stamp and then placed the Rainbow Shattered Glass Foil Transfer Sheet on top of the area and ran it through my laminator. It didn’t come out even but I decided to make it work. I added some strips of two other pattern papers from the Honey Bee The Bee’s Knees exclusive 6 x 6 paper pad.

I had previously stamped, colored and fussycut several bees from the Simon Says Stamp Bee Yourself 6 x 8 clear stamp set. I laid out my stamps on my card then using Ranger Black Archival Jet I stamped the bee trail and then using Versamark clear embossing ink I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it with Wow white embossing powder. I colored the โ€œBEEโ€ with a yellow and white Prismacolor Pencils, and adhered my bee and added some of the sequins from the Black and Yellow custom sequin pack.

I stamped the bee and trail again on the inside of the card and added a second smaller sentiment.

The second card came together very quickly. I cut a piece of the yellow hexagon paper from the Honey Bee The Bee’s Knees exclusive 6 x 6 paper pad to 4 x 5 1/4โ€ and adhered it to an A2 sized black card base (Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock). Next I used some of the rainbow foil on the preprinted foilable cards and fussycut out the flower and sentiment.

I diecut a few hexagons from Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock using the Simon Says Stamp Small Hexagon Cluster wafer thin die and a few from some black glitter paper. I added the black hexagon cluster to the card and then inlayed 3 glitter hexagons back into the clusters. I added a black mat behind the sentiment. Then I adhered the flower onto the right side of the card and the sentiment toward the bottom. I adhered the little bees and added some sequins to finish off the card.

For my next card I wanted to use the foil as if I didnโ€™t have a laminating machine. I diecut a piece of Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock with the Honeybee Stamps Hexagon Coverplate Top Die. I cut a piece of the Rainbow Foil and adhered it to the back of the black panel and adhered that into an A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Seaglass cardstock). I wanted to keep this one very simple so the sparkly background could be the star. I cut a strip of Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock to about 1 1/4 x 4โ€ and heat embossed the BEE yourself sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Bee Yourself 6 x 8 clear stamp set in Wow white embossing powder. I adhered that to the card front, added the bees and some sequins and the card is done. Or is it? Nope because I couldnโ€™t stop there. I stamped the โ€œbee-utifulโ€ sentiment and a little bee with Ranger Black Archival Jet Black on the inside of the card. And now this card is done!

3 cards done, 2 to go…

Another paper that I really like for this collection was the black and white wonky (technical term :)) striped one. Another thing I wanted to use was the foilable cards. And the rainbow one of course calls for rainbow foil (duh). I only foiled the rainbow itself and the little bees so that they would stand out. I fussycut around the images and words, leaving a white border around them. I chose the yellow polka dotted pattern paper from the paper pad as my background. I cut a piece to 3 1/4 x 5 1/2โ€. I adhered a strip of the black and white wonky stripe paper onto and A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Sunshine cardstock), leaving a 1/4 inch on each side, and adhered the yellow polka dot one in the center over that piece. I added some thin Love From Lizi Pin Stripe Black Glitter Peel Offs to separate the patterns a bit. I love the peel offs from Love From Lizi! They add interest to your card with little effort and she sells soooo many colors (glitter, metallic, transparent). Super fun.

Anyways back to my card…

I adhered the images down onto the card and added some sequins from the included pack. To finish off the inside I cut a piece of Simon Says Stamp White 120# cardstock to 4 x 5 1/4โ€ and adhered inside the card. I added a 1 x 5 1/4โ€ strip of the yellow polka dotted paper and a 1/2 x 5 1/4โ€ strip of the black and white wonky striped paper to the right side of that panel. And stamped the โ€œJUST bee-causeโ€ sentiment in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black. And this completes card #4.

While I was making these cards, I had a thought…how cute would the bees look on a tag??? So I got out my trusty tag die from Tim Holtz (Sizzix Framelit Dies – Tag Collection by Tim Holtz) and diecut 2 tags using the second to largest die from Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock. I chose two pattern papers for my backgrounds, the light wood grain and the black and aqua hexagons, diecut 2 of each of those and glued them onto the front and back of the tag. Then I got to distressing.

For this first tag, I used Ranger Distress Ink – Tumbled Glass, Ranger Distress Ink – Walnut Stain, Ranger Distress Ink – Antique Linen, and Ranger Distress Ink – Black Soot. I kept layering them and drying in between til I got the desired color. Once everything dried, I added 4 pieces of the Simon Says Stamp Small Hexagon Cluster wafer thin die. Then I heat embossed a sentiment using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. I stamped a bee trail in black with in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black and added a bee which I had colored using COPIC markers and fussycut. Lastly I fussycut some blue flowers from the white pattern paper that featured them, applied some distress ink around edges and adhered those in place. I then added white splatters with some acrylic paint. To finish off the tag I added some Lawn Fawn Trimmings Lemon Single Cord and Nuvo Drops in Ivory Seashell.

For this second tag I used Ranger Distress Ink – Tumbled Glass, Ranger Distress Ink – Mustard Seed, Ranger Distress Ink – Walnut Stain, and Ranger Distress Ink – Black Soot. I then used some scraps of the pattern paper and adhered them diagonally to the bottom right of the tag, and added some distress ink to tone them down. I added some Love From Lizi Pin Stripe Black Glitter Peel Offs, stamped some hexagons in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black and heat embossed a sentiment using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. I colored the โ€˜BEEโ€™ with Prismacolor Pencils, added some Lawn Fawn Aquamarine Single Cord and the tag is done.

I donโ€™t want to leave this tag just as is though. I thought it might look cute as a card instead. So I cut a piece of the yellow hexagon paper to 1-1/4 x 5 1/2โ€ and a piece of the yellow polka dot paper to -1 x 5 1/2โ€ and adhere it to the.back of the hexagon paper and adhered both to an A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock).

I adhered the tag to the card base on a slight angle, placing it over the edges.i trimmed off the excess and proceeded to diecut some more hexagon clusters with black cardstock and adhered them to the card. I added one on the black. paper so it looks like itโ€™s embossed. I added three little bees and some sequins to complete this card.

Supplies

Card Kit Includes:


Other Supplies Used:


Hope youโ€™ve enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading to the end; I know it was a long one. I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to make some adorable bee cards of your own. Whether you have the kit or not you can make these cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Celebrations, Fall, Just Because

Donut Cards

Happy Monday everyone! Coming to you today with some fun and delicious cards. I love coffee and donuts but since I am trying to be good (yeah, right!) and not eat too much sugar, I will make them into cards instead.

This die from Honey Bee Stamps really makes them super quick and easy to make. There are also so many ways to embellish this cute donut card. It can be for birthdays, holidays, seasons, or just because.

All the cards bases were created using Lawn Fawn Paper Bag 8. 1/2 x 11โ€ Cardstock along with the Honey Bee Stamps Donut Card Die. On this first card I used Lawn Fawn Guava 8 1/2 x 11โ€ Cardstock and the Honey Bee Stamps Donut Card Die to create the frosting and added a layer of orange Queen & Co Rainbow Glitter Fun Foam to highlight the sprinkles. In retrospect I shouldโ€™ve made the sprinkles 3D, but oh well.

I diecut the sentiment from Neenah Solar White 8 1/2 x 11โ€ 110lb Cardstock using the Honey Bee Stamps Donut Worry Dies for the inside and the outside of the card. I used Stampinโ€™ Up! Vellum for the sentiment shadow. I glued all of it with Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue.

The second card uses SU! Highland Heather 8 1/2 x 11 Cardstock for the frosting and a layer of light pink Queen & Co Rainbow Glitter Fun Foam to highlight the sprinkles.

I diecut the word โ€˜Sweetโ€™ from Neenah Solar White 8 1/2 x 11โ€ 110lb Cardstock using the Catherine Pooler Celebrate Friends Stamp of Approval Collection Sweet Die. I then ink blended Catherine Pooler Itโ€™s A Girl ink to create an ombrรฉ effect on the word. I glued that down onto a scrap of Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2 x 11 Early Espresso 8 1/2 x 11โ€ cardstock and fussycut around it to create a shadow. I stamped the word โ€˜Youโ€™reโ€™ from Stampinโ€™ Up!โ€™s Cool Treats (retired) with Versamark clear embossing ink onto a piece of Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2 x 11 Early Espresso 8 1/2 x 11โ€ cardstock and heat embossed it with Wow white embossing powder. I adhered those two pieces to the front of the card with Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue.

On the inside I diecut out a donut shape using the Honey Bee Stamps Donut Card Die circle die from Neenah Solar White 8 1/2 x 11โ€ 110lb Cardstock and stamped a sentiment from Stampinโ€™ Up!โ€™s Cool Treats (retired) in Catherine Pooler Designs Over Coffee Ink and glued the piece inside the card.

For the last card I had to make it a Fall card, not only because I love Fall but also because I love pumpkin spiced everything and donuts are no exception. Canโ€™t wait for Fall people!

Anyways I used SU! Pumpkin Pie 8 1/2 x 11 Cardstock for the yummy orange frosting and layered purple Queen & Co Rainbow Glitter Fun Foam (ok itโ€™s a little bit more Halloween than Fall but thatโ€™s ok โ€˜cuz I live Halloween too).

For the sentiment, I stamped part of it using the Honey Bee Stamps Happy Fall Yโ€™all stampset, Versamark clear embossing ink and heat embossed it with Wow white embossing powder onto a piece of Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2 x 11 Early Espresso 8 1/2 x 11โ€ cardstock. Then diecut the โ€˜Fallโ€™ word from Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2 x 11 Early Espresso 8 1/2 x 11โ€ cardstock with the Fall die from the same stampset.

To make the word appear to float over the donut hole, I used a strip of Stampinโ€™ Up! Vellum and adheredit over the hole. I used the circle die in the Donut Card dieset to trim the sides. I then adhered the rest of the sentiment pieces above and below. I used Nuvo Crystal Drops in Violet Galaxy to add some embellishment.

Lastly I stamped a sentiment from the Queen & Co Happy Harvest Kit with Catherine Pooler Designs Over Coffee Ink and this card is complete.

Before I go I just want to say that if you want to make these cards and you donโ€™t have all the supplies I used and donโ€™t want to purchase them, just look through your stash of stamps, dies, and papers and make them your own. Itโ€™s fun to play with different looks. The possibilities are really endless. Have FUN with it!!!

Dimensions

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to give the Honey Bee Donut Card Die a try and make some donut cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Birthdays, Celebrations

Today is Your Day

Hello friends. This card features stamps from Catherine Pooler Designs. These stamps are from the Celebrate Friends Stamp of Approval Collection but are also sold separately. I wanted to make a cheerful, fun but gender neutral card. This can be for a birthday or other celebration. This card is available for sale in my Etsy shop if you prefer not to make it yourself.

Ok letโ€™s make this card. First I cut a piece of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2โ€ for the card base and scored it at 4 1/4โ€, another piece to 4 x 5 1/4โ€ for the back panel and a third to 1 1/8 x 5 1/2โ€ for the vertical strip. Time to do some stamping.

I stamped the back panel first using the mod circles from Catherine Pooler Designs Punctuated Party Stamp Set and Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue Ink and Catherine Pooler Garden Party Ink. Next I stamped the mod streamers from the same stampset using Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue Ink and Catherine Pooler Over Coffee Ink. I stamped 3 next to each other. Then I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of with Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock using Catherine Pooler Over Coffee Ink and the Catherine Pooler Designs Punctuated Party Stamp Set. I quickly (gotta be quick or the ink will dry) sprinkled some WOW Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it using my heat gun.

I diecut the sentiment with the Simon Says Stamp STITCHED SQUARES Wafer Dies. Then I fussycut the streamers out. Time to start putting this card together. I adhered the back panel to the card base and then I went to adhere the streamers to that and realized it was not going to hold up against the background. So I cut out a piece of Stampinโ€™ Up! Vellum to 4 x 5 1/4โ€ and adhered it on top of the card panel. Now I can adhere the streamer strip over that. I added the sentiment piece with some 3M foam tape to the card.

Something is missing but what… Itโ€™s not festive enough. Whatโ€™s a birthday car without cake and a party hat?!? So I stamped the cake from Catherine Pooler Designs WooHoo Stamp Set in Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue Ink and the party hat in Catherine Pooler Garden Party Ink and Catherine Pooler Over Coffee Ink and diecut them with their coordinating dies. I added some Stampin’ Dimensionals to each image and added it to the card. Finished it off with some Tonic Nuvo Jewel Drops in Key Lime and Sea Breeze and I added some shimmer to the cake with my Spectrum Noir Clear Overlay Sparkle Brush Pen. All supplies and dimensions listed below.

Dimensions

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope Iโ€™ve inspired you to make some birthday cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.