Diagonal-Lock Fun-Fold Card

November 4, 2024November 4, 2024Leave a comment

Fans of fun-fold cards, you’ll love the simplicity of this idea, which I call a Diagonal-Lock card, because of the way the front of the card locks into the back of the card. Don’t miss the video tutorial in this post!

For this first version, I paired a muted piece of the Sweet Days of Autumn Designer Series Paper pattern that I could write a message on for the INSIDE of the card, while using the fun forest friends on the front of the card. The leaves and sentiment adorning the front are from the Changing Leaves bundle.

The recipient will “unlock” the card to open and this is what the inside looks like:

Basic card instructions:

Start with an 11″ x 4.25″ card, scored in half at 5.5″.
Adhere a 5.5″ x 4.25″ piece of Designer Series Paper to the front AND inside of the card.
Make a small mark in the center of the front and BACK of the card (at 3.5″ for this A2 card size).
Cut diagonally from opposite corners of the open card in to the mark.

The next version for any holiday celebration (this would be a sweet December birthday card) has a 5.25″ x 4″ Designer Series Paper layer for the front, and a diagonally cut HALF piece for the inside, which leaves a mat around the card which frames it nicely. This time I used my beloved More Than Autumn bundle with the Take A Bow patterned paper:

By using half a sheet on the inside, there is still room to write, even when the pattern is bold. PLUS, you can use the other half for a second card:

Grab a sheet of card stock and paper trimmer to craft along with this video tutorial to make a template for this card to keep in your “fun-fold” file:

Finally, since the Nests of Winter paper was sitting on my table, I used the Winterly Tree Top Dies to die cut the bird duo and fussy cut the small bird to craft this version:

Click any link to order supplies and create cards of your own!

I love hearing from you~ scroll to top to leave me a comment.

Don’t forget a Paper Trimmer, which also makes a wonderful gift for a teacher, a budding crafter or a student:

Fall Bird Card for a color challenge, Winterly Tree Tops by Stampin' Up!

Flowers & Feathers

October 3, 2024Leave a comment

Another sleepless night as I dreamed of creating this card 🥱 … trying to decide if creativity is a blessing or a curse!

The idea came from the #tgifc492 Inspiration challenge:

Think of it like a mashup of two songs, but two stamp sets: Enduring Beauty for the flowers and Winterly Tree Tops for the birds.

I wanted to give it a fall vibe, so picked a palette of Pecan Pie, Very Vanilla, Peach Pie, and Mossy Meadow (almost sounds like a recipe!). With a lot of layers and texture, it feels vintage and the sprinkle of three Drusy Embellishments adds a bit of glittery elegance.

TRIVIA TIME: “DRUSY” is an adjective that means “covered in minute crystals” and can describe the inside of a rock cavity that is lined with tiny crystals. These embellishments are truly gorgeous, but not easily mailable, as they do make the card quite bumpy. It needs a padded envelope if you are mailing it!

Peek inside the card:

Winterly Tree Tops is a part of the larger Nests of Winter Suite and features the beautiful birds. You may be interested in the coordinating craft kit called Nests of Christmas that is part of our crafting subscription service (Paper Pumpkin). It’s only available if you subscribe by October 10th, and if you use promo code HOLIDAY40 as a first-time subscriber, you’ll get your first kit at 40% off!

Now that the card is finished and shared with you, I’m looking forward to a nap!

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Hey Pumpkin card, Stampin' Up! Warms My Heart

Warms My Heart- Choose Your Own Adventure

September 30, 2024Leave a comment

A stamp set that covers multiple seasons and occasions is a good investment, and when it’s as cute as the Warms My Heart images & sentiments, there are so many stories to tell with it!

Do you remember the “Choose Your Own Adventure” book series? That’s what we did today during my Monday LIVE video on my Facebook Page & YouTube! I let those who were watching in real time CHOOSE the season, the background, the colors and the label shape for the card we created, and THIS is the result:

If you want to watch us make this card, here’s the video, and if you want to see some alternate options, keep reading:

This style of card would be just as cute with Designer Series Paper for the background, and created for Christmas!

With both of these cards (and the next) I colored the stamped images with Watercolor Pencils and blended them together with Wink of Stella, which is every crafters FAVORITE tool for adding a wash of SHIMMER & SHINE. However, it’s very difficult to capture in a photo! This one is as close as I could get: The texture you can see is really specks of sparkle!

Another option, still keeping it simple with the sentiment on a banner, but without the need to fussy cut (there are no coordinating dies for this set, FYI):

Just so we’ve used every piece of this set, here’s an autumn apple-picking version, in portrait:

When you purchase both the Warms My Heart stamp set and EITHER the Sketched Plaid background stamp – OR – the Forever Plaid 3-D Embossing Folder (back in stock the week of October 7th) during October 2024, I’ll email you a tutorial for another set of cards – one more for each season!

“Creating ART is an act of HOPE”

– Cody Spendlove (as explained in the video)

Supplies for the Choose Your Own Adventure “Hey, Pumpkin!” card:

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Additional supplies used on alternate cards:

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Build Creative Muscles – Get 40% Off!

September 23, 2024Leave a comment

When I taught piano lessons, I’d tell my students “Practice trumps talent when talent doesn’t practice”. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not creative,” believe me when I say CREATIVITY CAN BE LEARNED!!

The easiest way to become more artistic is to have a starting point. Paper Pumpkin – a monthly craft box kit subscription – gives you a place to practice. Let me show you how:

On the left is a card created as designed for the September Paper Pumpkin Kit (“Autumn Abundance”). It took me less than 5 minutes to make it, following the instructions in the box. I thought the colors were so pretty, I chose to use the same palette on another card. Using Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry and Night of Navy ink pads, I followed a sketch from the Stampin’ Up! Sept-Dec Mini Catalog (pg. 16) to make the second card. It was simply stamped on Very Vanilla card stock and used the Labeled with Love punch to make the trio of panels.

Each quarter, there is a coordinating die set available to add-on to the kits, so I used the same sketch & colors to create a second version with the die-cut leaves using the dies for last quarter. They are sold out, but you CAN order the Merry Tags & More Dies (which coordinate with the Oct-Dec 2024 kits) while supplies last.

Next, this Thank You card in the kit (left) had a beautiful base. What if you needed a small gift package?

Make it into a box, of course! I’m teaching you how to make all these alternate projects in today’s video, so watch here for instructions:

Also included in the kit this month was this third card project- it was a 4″ x 4″ Autumn card, then I looked at the window and it made me think of a shaker card:

The snail and leaves shake around inside!

The kit is terrific to get your creative juices flowing, and making the projects as intended, you will learn the basics of paper crafting. You can always make different projects with the supplies you have in the box, and I send an EXCLUSIVE email each month to my Paper Pumpkin subscribers with ways to use the stamp set and ink spot after the kit is complete!

HERE’S THE DEAL:

Try a Paper Pumpkin craft kit subscription with 40% off your first month (new subscribers only)! Use promo code HOLIDAY40 when you subscribe HERE by October 10, 2024!

You are peeking at the “Nest of Christmas” October Kit, which coordinates with the Nests of Winter Suite in the Sept-Dec Mini catalog, and you could try it at a discount! This kit will make 10 Christmas Cards.

While the September Autumn Abundance kit isn’t available as a full kit, the refill IS available in my store (limited supplies available) and you could use other stamps and ink pads you already have to make it. You must be a current Paper Pumpkin subscriber to order refills or add-ons, so sign up and then start shopping the extras, using the same email you subscribed with.

Stack, Cut, Shuffle, STAMP

August 12, 2024Leave a comment

So many marvelous Designer Series Papers, so little time? This technique for cutting a stack of patterned paper will have you making multiple cards at ONE TIME!

Begin by selecting 4 patterns of Designer Series Paper- I suggest using a maximum of two busy or bold patterns and add a subtle design and a tiny or monochromatic print, in 4 different colors (or different shades of the same hue). This will give you the CONTRAST you need when piecing them back together.

You can adhere the shuffled pieces edge-to-edge (as on the card, left) or leave a small space between them, giving a window-pane look (card on right). You may find that a design on the BACK of your paper works well, so go ahead and flip it over, if needed.

I used the Unbounded Beauty 12″ x 12″ pack- it’s part of the Designer Series Paper SALE this month, August 2024 and showcases the 2024-2026 In Colors, which are lovely together. With the few scraps left over, I added a piece to the inside layer and to the flap of my envelope.

Grab your patterned paper and follow along with me here, as you practice your cardmaking:

If you paper is directional, you’ll need to decide if you are creating PORTRAIT cards (tall) or LANDSCAPE cards (wide) **before** you cut your paper, and make sure it’s oriented the correct way.

The Unbounded Beauty cards were landscape, but I also needed some sympathy cards, and the blues in the Countryside Inn Designer Series Paper (also 15% off in August) seemed fitting. These are portrait versions of the Stack, Cut, Shuffle technique:

Inside the cards:

I’ll list supplies for both versions, starting with the Unbounded Beauty demonstrated in the how-to video:

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Supplies for the Countryside Inn Comfort card are below.

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Hybrid Embossing Folder How-To

July 15, 2024July 15, 20244 Comments

Curious about how a “Hybrid Embossing Folder” works? Allow me to demonstrate how-to using the new Online Exclusive Changing Leaves bundle.

The embossing folder creates amazingly detailed leaves which are beautiful both embossed (raised) and debossed (recessed). Here is a “raised” example in Granny Apple Green using the embossed design for a background on a card:

Flip the embossed paper over and paint into the recessed images using water painters and ink refills -OR- water painters with Metallic Enamel Effects for shine:

Simply stamping the images and die cutting them to use on your projects is also an option. Watch for the tip to lining up all three leaf images in the correct spot, making them easier to die cut at the beginning of this video, in which I also demonstrate all the techniques I’m sharing:

I used my stamped/die cut leaves on a floating frame card:

Finally – and this is the HYBRID VERSION – the dies snap into the embossing folder! All you have to do is add your paper, run it through the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine, and out come die-cut, embossed accents! This is a bonus project that shows the detail:

I borrowed the sentiment from another Online Exclusive stamp set called Comforting Thoughts for an occasion when there are just no words to express what you are feeling for someone’s heartache.

Try dragging your ink pad across the top of an embossed/cut leaf to bring out the details (or use a brayer rolled in ink), like the Pretty Peacock leaf on the card:

The Changing Leaves bundle is $54 (US) so it qualifies for a $5 BONUS DAYS coupon when you purchase it during July 2024. Collect coupons July 3-31st, then redeem them during August!

Simply Zinnia, Simple Fun-Fold Thanks Card

June 24, 2024Leave a comment

Bright colored flowers shout “I LOVE YOU” as well as “THANK YOU” and “YOU’RE THE BEST!” Zinnias lead the garden in bold flower-power during the summer, so a color-blocked card that stands to display seemed like the one to craft today:

The Simply Zinnia stamp & die bundle is an Online Exclusive that you can NOT miss! For my demonstration, I used Versamark ink to stamp the zinnia image on both the Berry Burst and Coastal Cabana card stock pieces that fit on the card base.

However, the Zinnia bundle IS part of a larger Flowering Zinnia SUITE of products, which includes the Zinnia 3-D Embossing folder…so I also did a version of this card using it to make a “touchable” raised background.

This is how they stand:

There is a HELPFUL TIP for layering the petal dies in today’s video tutorial, which will save you time in assembly. Remember, you can click on the gear in the bottom right of the video and change the speed to make any tutorial play faster, if you are an impatient crafter like me!

Just a few more days to collect the Stamp + Die bundles you love, or the Cut & Emboss machines, for an ADDITIONAL 10% off.

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New at SU! A Lemony Sketch

June 19, 2024June 20, 20241 Comment

You’re here to see how Stampin’ Up! card sketches from the 2024-2025 catalog (pg 22) can improve your cardmaking skills, and our International #NewAtSU design team is taking the assignment seriously!

This is the sketch I chose:

Here is how it inspired me:

You’ll notice that I didn’t use 3 panels, but allowed my banner to visually divide the lemon Designer Series Paper. That’s the thing about a sketch = it’s there to give you a place to start, then run in whichever direction your heart takes you!

Try mixing up products, too! I thought the Mediterannean Blooms lemon paper would make a fabulous backdrop for the image from the Filled with Happiness set, and it did. That Navy & Yellow combination is summery and sweet.

I cut both the navy banner and the lemon oval in half to stretch across the card and give room for the Congratulations sentiment. This would be a unique baby congrats card, or a wedding celebration! It’s just generic enough to fit any occasion.

Once you’ve left me a comment and have filled your cup with creative juice (and your cart with supplies), move along to see how all the other stampers used these wonderful sketches, then TRY ONE YOURSELF.

June 2024 New at SU! Blog Hop: Catalog Sketch Inspiration – Visit them all!

1.Merrick Makings (AUS) – Secret Sketches of SU!

2.Creative Juice by Loni (US) – A Lemony Sketch, Congrats

3.I Heart Cards 2 (US)- Catalog Sketch with Country Woods Collection

4.Stamping Flair (AU) – Flower Cart Stamp Set

5.Furry Cat Designs (UK) – Sketched Butterflies Sketch

6.Nature’s INKspirations (US) – A Sketch Inspired Thoughtful Journey

7.scraphexe (DE) – Sketch Layers of beauty | Liebenswerte Lagen

8.Stampinxime (DE) – Tune In – Geburtstagskarte nach S

9.Tricia’s Stamping Creations (USA) – Latte Love

10.247 Inkspiration (US) – Happy Little Things

11.De Kijkkast (NL) – Veggies and a sketch!

12.Joni in the Spotlight Stamping (USA)-New at SU-Catalog Sketch with La

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Filled With Happiness Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

$20.00

Mediterranean Blooms 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

$12.50

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.00

Modern Oval Punch

$23.00

Stylish Shapes Dies

$30.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

$11.25

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$11.50

Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$11.50

Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

$11.00

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

$11.00

Baker's Twine Three Color Pack

$8.00

Stampin' Seal

$8.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.25

Boho Blue Limited Edition Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

$63.00

Did you know the Boho Blue Mini Cut & Emboss Machine is less expensive than the white mini machine, with the same performance? AND all the machines are 10% off through June 30th – don’t miss it!

Anticipating Autumn

June 14, 2024July 3, 2024Leave a comment

By nature, I enjoy the season I’m currently living in. However, I can affirmatively claim that FALL is my favorite!

The new “Changing Leaves” bundle was sitting on my craft desk (freshly upacked from a pre-order for new Online Exclusives coming July 2nd) when I saw the TGIF Sketch Challenge – so here we are:

The simplicity of this sketch allows the details of the stamped image and the hybrid embossing folder to take center stage:

These are the colors I chose for my card:

Clever crafters may be asking, “Does Stampin’ Up! have Mossy Meadow ribbon? Or Blackberry Bliss jute twine?” and the answer is NO! But you CAN color the Basic Beige ribbon with the dark Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Blend Marker and the Moody Mauve jute trim with the Blackberry Bliss Stampin’ Blend Marker! Because the blends markers are alcohol-based, it doesn’t take long for the trims to dry before adding them to your paper creations.

Being able to order new products EARLY is one of the perks of being a demonstrator! Don’t suffer from FOMO…you can join my Sprinkled Ink team of demonstrators whenever you are ready.

POST UPDATED JULY 3, 2024: Changing Leaves Bundle NOW AVAILABLE!

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Pop-Out Book-Binding Card

June 3, 2024Leave a comment

Remember the SQUASH CARD we made last week? We’re using the SAME fold, just starting smaller, and putting it inside a book-binding card for a POP-ular fun-fold for your favorite POP this Father’s Day (or ANY OCCASION)!

At first glance, this looks like a normal book-binding card. But wait until you open it up!

Watch this tutorial and give this a try, and you’ll be chopping all your Designer Series Paper to 6″ square to make more!

The silver foil pop top and bottom really make it look like an aluminum can:

The Simply Sparkling stamp set and dies are just a taste of many incredible products only found in my online store, so while you are adding them to your cart, check out the other Online Exclusives.

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