Fun waterfall card

 Today I'm sharing the measurements for the card I made during my Facebook live on Monday just gone. The card is made using the oh so versatile Christmas Tags and More mix and match 6"x 6" pattern paper pack. The pack not only contains gorgeous festive papers, in a traditional colour palette, it also contains 4 sheets of die cut images!

With 32 sheets , 8 each of 4 double-sided patterns as well as 4 sheets, 2 each of 2 designs of die cuts there is just so much you can create with this pack!

The card created in my Live at 5 was a waterfall card.  So today I'm sharing both the metric and US measurements. 

The card starts with a card base measuring 10.5cm x 29.7cm scored at 14.85cm ( 4¼" x 11" scored at 5½")

The mechanism is made using a strip of cardstock 5cm x 23cm scored at 5cm, 7cm, 9cm and 11cm. ( 2" x  9" scored at 2" , 2¾", 3½" and 4¼".)

You'll also need 4 cardstock squares 5cm x 5cm. (2" x 2") As well as a stopper strip measuring 2cm x 10cm (¾" x 4")

To see how this goes together please watch the video below.

Here's the card made during the Facebook live 

And here's a landscape version of the card I've made.

Christmas Traditions fun fold card

 Once a month I host a free craft-a-long event.  This event takes place on the last Sunday of the month via zoom. We create two cards together using our own supplies. The card I'm sharing today is one of the cards we made at the last event. Made using products from the Traditions of Christmas suite collection this fun card was inspired by Heidi Collins. 

The suite is a wonderful selection of stamps, dies, pattern papers , embellishments and a 3d embossing folder all in a beautiful palette of reds and greens with luxurious hints of gold.

I don't have a name for this fun card but it is surprisingly easy to make... always a bonus don't you agree 😜.

The card folds flat for posting and has lot's of surfaces to decorate. So plenty of area to be creative with.

The card starts with a card base measuring 10.5cm x 29.7cm scored at 14.85cm. This is part A.

You're going to also need a piece of cardstock measuring 10.5cm x 21cm scored at 6.25cm and 12.5cm. This is part B. These 2 pieces become your card base.

Next it's time to get creative with your paper! 

Cut 2 pieces of pattern paper measuring 14.4cm x 10cm,  on for the front and one for the inside of part A.  The papers are going to be adhered with the card in a landscape orientation. Top Tip if using directional paper make sure you cut it in the right orientation . Adhere them to card base part A. 

Next take part B and fold the first scoreline as a mountain and the second as valley. This will then fold together to create an "S" shaped piece with the  long panel at the top. Reinforce the folds using a bone folder. 

Keeping the piece concertina folded in the "S" shape adhere the folded part B to the front of Part A.  Only apply adhesive to the back of the largest panel. This allows the 2 smaller panels to fold outwards. 

Next take a piece of cardstock measuring 10.5cm x 8.97 and adhere to the front folded panel of Part B. ( this piece of cardstock is what is left from the piece of A4 cardstock you start with if you follow the cutting guide below 😉)

The measurements for those in North America are Part A 4¼" x 11" scored at 5½". Part B are 4¼" x 8½" scored at 2½" and 5". The extra piece of cardstock is 3½" x 4¼" . The layout should be as above from 1 sheet if letter size cardstock .

Now go to town decorating the rest of your card!

I used the gorgeous images in the papers to add a floral touch to the inside of the front . The sentiment is from the Traditional Labels set . I used a piece of gold foil to add a little glamour.

And for the inside of Part A I used the Branching Out dies to die cut out a gold foil panel and a white panel to write my personal message onto. I also stamped a sentiment from the Traditional Labels stamps which are a part of the suite collection. 

The sentiment on the very front of the card is also from the Traditional Labels stamps.  It was then die cut using one of the coordinating dies. As I wanted to add a layer of gold foil behind it it I also die cut the lable in gold. Then I carefully fussy cut the stamped part following the embossed edges to make it into 2 parts. After adhering these 2 pieces in place onto the gold lable I used 3d foam to adhere it to the front of Part B and let the gorgeous papers do all the work!

Snowy Delights Christmas card

 Snowflakes and crisp cool colours sure do make you think of the festive season ❄️☃️! And today's inspiration is made using just such themes! Made using the fantastic Snowy Delights bundle and a colour palette of turquoise,  lilac, white and silver it's sure to bring that crisp winter feel.

The Snowy Delights bundle consists of stamps, dies and masks! And boy are they fun! I particularly focused on the masks for this card. They're such  great tools to create with. The masks are a set of 4 that layer together in lots of ways. Don't be afraid to mix it up when using them!

The colours I've used for today's samples are called costal cabana and petunia pop. I've added touches of silver by using silver embossing powder. 

Embossing powder is such a great addition to your stash.  The joy of watching the powder turn to enamel is just magical every time you do it! Heat embossing is a wonderful technique that is a staple for every crafters arsenal of tequniques. 

Want to see how this card is made? Then watch the video below where I make the card in real time from scratch.

Which colour way do you prefer? 

Sweet Halloween scrapbook pages

 On Saturday just gone it was my regular monthly memory keeping class. This fun morning of crafting is always full of laughter and chatting 😄.  Inspired by this and the demonstrator event I attended last week I thought I'd share a couple of fun scrapbook pages.  The pages are from the Sweet Halloween scrapbook workshop kit. 

These scrapbook workshop kits come in a variety of styles and cover lots of themes.  They contain everything you need to complete 3 double page 12 x 12 layouts and there's always extras left over 😃.

The kits contain clear cutting guides and layout instructions, sticker sheets, die cuts as well as beautiful pattern papers. 

Often the kits have coordinating  stamps as well as coordinating with products from suite collections too! 

Top tips when working with these workshop kits is to read the instructions twice!  Then when following the cutting guides place everything into piles for each of the pages. Another tip check out the back of the die cuts they're also numbered for which layout they go too 😉.

Another thing the I find really helpful in these kits are the photo place holders! I like to make the pages then add the photos and journalling later. I have to say these are super cute pages and will be filled with pictures of my grandson after Halloween. 

Want to see more scrapbook workshop kits? Then why not pop over to my online shop Here

Traditional Wreath 3d embossing folder 2 for 1 Christmas cards

 Have you ever wanted to create one card but ended up with something completely different?  Well that's the tale for today's inspiration!  Ir all starts with the beautiful Traditional Wreath 3d embossing folder. I was so eager to see how it embossed I grabbed a handy piece of basic white cardstock and embossed this beauty.

It's a beautifully detailed folder that is perfect for larger cards, especially square ones, as its 15.2cm x 15.2cm ( 6" x 6") . 

Inspired by the embossed piece of cardstock my mind went to .. "oh a white on white Christmas card!" Now white on white is always a bit tricky for me but I know that adding texture is a great way to make it work. But I didn't want the card to be big nore square so what to do ? Well cut it in half of course 😁 

And this is how I ended up making  2 cards from 1 embossed panel! 😝

I kept the white ones white idea in the for front of my mind and decided to fussy cut one of the halves out. This would then enable me to add extra hight with 3d foam and another layers to the card. With the arc shape on the table and a cardbase to hand I decided to create a little appature online with the inner edge of the Wreath along the edge of the cardbase.

So I took a circle die roughly the same size as the inner edge of the Wreath and die cut not only the card front but another layer of white cardstock. This would allow me to sandwich a piece of acetate between them to make sure the card front was stable.

I then used my trimmer to add some some score lines to the top white mat for added interest. I also did that to the inside mat for continuity. 

Now it didn't turn out quite white on white because a beautiful red bow that was lounging on my table just caught my eye. And it felt right to add it.. along with some of the traditional sparkling sequins in red too 🫣 so much for white on white 🤣

So then it was a question of what to do with the other half of the Wreath.

This time I decided to add a splash of colour to the card. I chose to use a light turquoise called pool party. The colour was inspired by one of the pattern papers in the Traditions of Christmas suite. 

Whilst the predominant colours are red, green, very dark blue/green, and pink there's also a scattering of the gorgeous soft pool party. All this and gold! What's not to like!

But for the second card in this 2-4-1 combo all I used was one of the beautiful bouquets on the paper on the bottom far left in the picture above. Fortunately this beautiful bouquet also coordinates with one of the dies in the Christmas Greenery die set so no fussy cutting this time 😉

I die cut the bouquet with the blue flowers but unfortunately it had a red bow . So all I did was die cut another bow portion from a scrap of paper that had a blue bow. Then trimmed the bow edge and adhered it on top of the red one!

 

The card came together so quickly with the 2 main elements on hand! 2 strips of gold foil and a mat of pool party cardstock and voilà card number 2 was made.

A sprinkle of the gorgeous traditional sparkling sequins in gold just added to  this elegant card.

But have you noticed? There's something missing with both these cards 🫣 I just didn't know where to place a sentiment on either 😱.

So should I leave them and add the sentiment inside? Where would you put the sentiment if you think there should be one on the front? Please let me know in the comments I've got no idea 🤔

Traditional Labels Traditional Christmas cards

 Big question today... red or green? When it comes to traditional Christmas colours I think red and white but this year I've seen loads of lovely green and white and now I just can't decide! So with that conundrum in my mind I created 2 cards identical except for the colour and I'm asking what you think 🤔!  I took the Traditional Labels stamps and some paper scraps and die cut some foliage using the Christmas Greenery dies and kept the design very monochromatic. 

The Traditional Labels stamps offer a great selection of sentiments perfect for the festive season for cards, memory keeping and tags.

And the Christmas Greenery dies are perfect for all kinds of projects. 

So for the first card I went a shade of green called old olive. Once I had all the green pieces cut and ready to go I used my ink and a blending brush to add colour and depth around all the cut edges. This tone on tone technique is such an easy way to add impact to any project especially when using a monochromatic colour palette.

I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and  used a white mat to make the projects have a fresh feel to them.

I repeated the process with the red version of the design. The paper scraps are from the beautiful Traditions of Christmas papers. 

The sparkle of the traditional sparkling sequins combined with the white neutral matte dots add just the right finishing touches ✨️ 

So what do you think 🤔 team red? Or team green? I still can't decide 😝

Beautiful Blues kit memory keeping alternative

 I was determined to use every last piece from the fantastic Beautiful Blues kit and I did it! The final pieces from the kit that I had left to play with were a beautiful intricate die cut panel, a gorgeous Floral die cut, some embellishments and the scraps from cut up envelopes. There was also the stamps, ink spot, and the acrylic block of course.

Because I wanted to use the kit to create memory keeping projects I decided to decorate a simple white frame from my stash.

Decorating frames is a great way to use up bits and bobs from other projects. It's a fun way to repurpose old frames and give them a fresh new lease of life too! It doesn’t have to be difficult just create an attractive inset and add a little something something to the frame.  You can then add a photo.  It's a great way to make something really unique for you to keep or gift. 

 You can see the other projects I created here for the mini album and the video below for the 12 x 12 double page layout.

I've had lots of fun using the Beautiful Blues kit and hope that you will look at card kits with fresh eyes.

Beautiful Blues kit mini album

 Today's inspiration is a little different it's not a card but it's created using the Beautiful Blues kit from Stampin' Up! This stunning kit contains everything you need to make 9 beautiful cards.

And  when I say it contains everything I mean everything!  Cards and envelopes, die cuts, embellishments, stamps, ink spots, acrylic block and adhesives! The lot!

It's a  wow on so many levels 😀. Perfect for all abilities, new and seasoned crafters, those who want a quick card, crafting on the go, a way to get over the dreaded crafters slump and loss of mojo... the list goes on! 

Now I know some people might find kits stifling, they want to step out side the box and let their creativity fly... But I'm here to say kits can be the base for some amazing flights of crafty fun! Just look at today's inspiration! 

Using the contents of this kit, and a few other basic supply's, I have created a double page 12 x 12 scrapbook layout, ( you can see it here) ,have enough left to decorate a photo frame ( watch out for more about that later this week) and this amazing mini album! Proving that even scrapbooking enthusiasts shouldn't dismiss a card kit!

And here is today's inspiration.  I created a fun mini album using just cards and envelopes from the kit.

Here is the video of how I made the mini album. It comes together so easily and takes very little time to do!

Rather than bore you with lots of pictures I made a little walk through video to show how I decorated this little fun mini album. You can watch it here

I do hope this has inspired you to maybe grab a kit and make something beautiful with it 😊

Traditions of Christmas fun fold Christmas card

 Do you ever find yourself in the predicament of having beautiful pattern papers but not knowing what to do with them? Me too! And this paper is one such paper! Called Traditions of Christmas this stunning floral Christmas paper in rich colours of reds, greens and gold has gorgeous splashes of blues and pinks that take it to the next level 😍

Well last week for one of my regular online classes we used these gorgeous papers so I had to cut into them 😱 and boy was it hard! But I persevered and created inspiration for the class attendees to encourage them to use this beautiful paper. Once I got started I couldn't stop creating with this beautiful paper so I have another project to share with you all today!

The papers are part of the larger Traditions of Christmas suite collection.  This collection includes 2 stamp sets and coordinating dies, ribbon, embellishments and a 3d embossing folder. For today's inspiration I've used one of the stamps and coordinating dies called Traditional Labels.  The stamps have lots of ways to combine parts to create your own sentiment as well as the usual ones.

The dies are such useful shapes and sizes that will be great for all year round crafting! 

So let's get into the card I'm sharing with you today!  I'm calling this fun fold a stepped concertina card. It probably has a better name but I don't have it 😝 but if you do please leave a comment and let me know your suggestions! 

The card starts with a piece of cardstock measuring 14.85cm x 28.5cm scored at 3cm, 6cm, 12cm and 18cm.  ( 4½" x 11" scored at 1", 2", 3¾", and 5½")

Then mark down 4cm (1½") at the 6cm (2") scoreline. Then mark 2cm (¾") down at the 18cm (5½) scoreline. Now cut down these scorelines to the marks and across to the left-hand side and remove these piece as shown below. This creates the stepped look to the card.

And here it is looking from above . You can see how the concertina folds are folded.

Decorate as desired but don't panic if you're thinking where shall I write my message 🤔 Turn the card over and decorate with a white panel and voilà a lovely space to write that heartfelt message of Christmas cheer.

I have also utilised the edge images from the paper to fussy cut out a corner decoration waste not want not after all 😉

The florals are all fussy cut from the pattern paper on this card but of course you can decorate as you wish after all it's your card!

Just have fun 😀

Thoughtful Journey see-through element Christmas card

 Last weekend I shared a fun see-through crad and this week on my Facebook live I recreated the card but changed it from an autumnal one to a wintery Christmas one. For this version I've used the fabulous Thoughtful Journey  pattern papers and the colour palette of lilac and navy. 

The other products used are the stunning Peaceful Garden glimmer paper with its gorgeous no-shed finish. The dies are from the amazing Snowy Delight dies and the oh so versatile Branching Out dies. 

The sentiment is from the gorgeous Snowflake Kisses stamps

If you'd like to see how the card is created then please watch this video 😀