Shaped Cut and Emboss Folders post # 3 - Christmas themed and a tutorial

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope that by this stage you are all stuffed and sitting with a box of chocolates or your favorite tipple!

This post is long overdue and while some of you might be fed up with making Christmas cards, I know some of you start in the New Year and make them bit by bit, something I like to do and never got around to this year.

So I hope you like this little card... add a flame-less battery tealight between the front and back and it looks very festive!

Start off by making a card blank using the Cut and Emboss Moulins Frame

To achieve this, score and fold a piece of blue pearlescent card stock in half and place the fold inside the top cut line of the die, thereby retaining the fold and not cutting out the top most part of the die. In order to cut through both sheets of card, you may need to run through your machine more than once.

this is the result:

Next, run one sheet of blue card with blue side facing the right way this time, and use the centre cut out to emboss a Christmas greeting with white embossing powder and versamark ink.

(( The remaining frame will be used for the front. ))

Next emboss a piece of thin acetate with a dotty folder, Crafters Companion Snowfall Drift is a good choice as the dots vary in frequency, I cant find it in the CC store but check other shops online or use something similar.

Next run the piece of acetate through the cut and emboss folder (this helps mould the acetate to the same shape and =makes it easier for adhering, and neater too).

adhere the acetate to the top part of the frame

Next, cut another blue frame and adhere this and the sentiment part to the base, which helps hold the inner cut outs to the frame and makes a card blank - you will probably need to trim the top part of the frame down otherwise the card wont close..

add some snowflakes and organza ribbon and you're done!

So simple and so delicate. would be great in other colours too, gold, ivory, matt silver, lilac, pale pink etc or in black with silver or gold gilding wax..... imagine!

Will be back with some new border embossing folder ideas, so not finished with posts for the New Year just yet!

Gemini FoilPress post all about the browns

It's been a busy weekend catching up with friends and a trip to the NEC Creative Crafts show, hence I didn't get a chance to post till this evening, and I will share two Foiled cards this evening.

The first could double for a masculine card and / or Christmas, the stag's head is so regal and I love the design.

I used the following products:

Stag Head Foil Stamp Die

 Flourishing Swirls 1 Foil Stamp Die

Special Friend Foil Stamp Die - sentiment

Gold Foil

tartan card from Stash (craft creations brand i think)

Lots of photos again so you can see the foiling on this one

The foiling acts as a 'resist' as well I notice, which is hand since after I foiled the stags head I inked with water based distress inks around the perimeter of the circle die cut and it gave a superb effect.

Doesn't that shiny golden foiling look fabulous?!

The foiling even works on textured card (payperbox card I purchased at the Crafters Companion shop in Evesham)

Inside of card decorated and layered with a big banner.

My next card is also along the 'browns' theme, and a card meant for a loved one's birthday.

For this card I used the following supplies:

GEMINI FOIL PRESS  HSN BUNDLE – Heart

Swirling Heart & Corner Foil Stamp and Cut Die,

Elegant Motifs Foil Stamp Die,

Sentiments & Accents Foil Stamp Die

Gold Foil

Gold foiling on ivory ribbon is so elegant, timeless almost.

Love the way the sun catches the foiling.

And the inside of the card - I put the two word sentiments together to make the message 'Happy Birthday, Beautiful'. Great to give to your loved one :)

That's all for this evening, I have a couple more to show and I am working on some others at the moment.  Cant get enough of all the shiny stuff LOL, the best thing since glitter 😄

C is for ...............Christmas

Hi everyone am back with some photos of the card I promised, and it's no secret I love Christmas! I was given these gorgeous Anna Marie Designs papers last year and I love them, great for inking, embossing, glittering etc as very good quality.

This is a scheduled post, so hope it works okay, as I completed the card before I have carpal tunnel surgery..

So onto the products I used (forgive me for not adding the box photo yet as I need to finish decorating that with ribbon when I regain sufficient strength).

Anna Marie Designs:

12x6 inch box

12x6 inch card blank

Christmas jingle 8'' paper pad (6x6 would work as well)

stamens

ceramic effect white adhesive paint

From stash

Brown card

ivory satin ribbon

bakers twine

red paper

spellbinders poinsettia dies

Marianne D ivy dies

no name poinsettia embossing folder (magazine freebie?)

glitter

distress inks

memento inks

Firstly, I used the wood effect paper and brown card and cut to size to fit card blank (paper pad only 8x8 but design is clever so you can cut and add to make longer piece.

then embossed corners and distressed using scissors or distress tool

then inked using brushed corduroy distress ink

Next I added the ceramic effect, and whilst still wet added some glitter. 

Next time I will use a different ink or paint since the distress ink being water based, mixed and tinted the ceramic effect a little, which resulted in a slightly aged look and not the white I really wanted but still nice..  the difference you can see where the ink wasn't applied further into the centre of the paper..

next step is to make flowers.. yay!!

die cut, ink and crumple leaves and petals...

for green bits i used green pages from pad and for red I used backing paper from stash.

inks for green - memento bamboo leaves + cottage ivy

inks for red - memento rhubarb stalk

notice the difference below between inked and uninked..

  

adhere your flowers layer by layer, shaping and then insert stamens through centre

Note - i inked white stamen threads with bamboo green memento ink.

die cut a couple of ivy sprays and ink the veins with memento cocoa brown while die cuts are still in the die

Dip a few berries in ceramic effect and then glitter pot - this stuff is a two way wonder, adhesive and white stiff in one tub!!

now the fun after the preparation...

apologies for photo below but it was getting late and I was too excited to stop!!

 I was playing around with layout and chose a simple scroll / flag combination..

to assemble:

adhere the embossed inked glittered paper pad pieces to brown card,

wrap satin ribbon around                                                                

adhere the scrumpled (that's my new word BTW!) scroll / flag

adhere green raffia, then satin ribbon bow, then bakers twine

adhere the ivy leaves                                                        

adhere the flowers                                                     

 and finally the berries                                         

some more photos for you..

added some more white to tips of leaves too..

the paper sheet with let it snow text was a good sentiment rather than a stamped one, and the whole pad mixes well so decided to use that..

finished card..

That's all for today, will be another couple of weeks before I'm back as i have another couple of weeks until stitches are out.  

House Mouse Christmas

This is the last post from me for the year, with a favourite character, those pesky little mice LOL! I have a soft spot for these illustrations because they are so cute and have so much expression.

Oops a wonky photo ...hic.... I must have had a bit of Baileys when I photographed this one..mmm a little merry.....

Glamour dust and dimensional glue for the 'icing' on the gingerbread house, and coloured with polychromos pencil crayons.

the easel is held up by a tag, onto which I adhered a mini wooden rolling pin - this card was for a lady who was always baking ;)

and the inside.... 

Happy New Year to all my blog readers. I hope that 2015 is truly a good year for everyone and brings you all health and happiness.

 I will be back next week with a variety of cards I didn't get the chance to post this month so pop back for more.

Penny Black Hedgehogs Christmas

Almost there, one more card to post after this one.  So I tried mirror stamping with this one and it worked well but it was fiddly.  The wreath was fiddly too, but happy with it after I added the pearls and ribbon.

So it's official, I am addicted to die cutting. Saying that, I still love colouring and decoupage so I guess I will continue to mix the two until another bright idea comes along LOL!

For those crafters who have known me for a while, you guys know how long I have had this stamp, and how often it makes an appearance..... so no surprise then that this little hedgehog appeared again this year!

The wreath was made with inspiration from KittieKraft and using circle dies, Martha Stewart pine branch punch and Martha Stewart leaf punch, glue and STACKS of patience.. 

The centre of the card - I didn't add pearls as this makes the front of the card bend and distort - wonder if we can get small card candi somewhere?????????? there's an idea!

Baby's First Christmas - Memory Box stocking die

Well I loved making these cards, especially after purchasing that little stocking die, it is so cute. The die has a stocking shape (die cut in pink in the picture) and the top bit cut in white glitter card.  The bit that doesn't come with the die is the white toe piece, which I cut using a small spellbinder oval and part of the memory box die, where the toe part would be.

The border behind the stocking is also memory box, the snowflakes from Marianne D, the holly leaves are cut from a Cheery Lynn Holly Flourish die and the labels / ovals from Spellbinders.

Lots of photos in this post, as I did a girly pink and a blue boy version.

The light isn't great in some of these photos, in part because I was trying to get things done and photographed them on a dull day :(

That teeny tiny holly piece is so sweet when inked with memento green inks and a dauber and finished off with red pearl 'berries'.