Christmas Friends

 Yesterday was my regular card and a cuppa event . This is a relaxed time to craft and chat with other crafters and enjoy a cuppa in a local cafe. As well as a cuppa you can make a card. There are 2 cards to choose from and here is one of the cards made using the cute Christmas Friends stamp set.

 The pretty pink colour makes for a very sweet card. The use of a non Christmas pattern paper  shows that you don't always need to  save that pretty paper in your stash! 

The simple z fold is an easy fold that allows you to create a wow card with ease. All you need do is fold the front panel back on it's self. 

Placing the circles one in front of the other gives a fun twist to where to write your message. Hidden when closed and open when on display.

Christmas Friends

 Monochromatic colour palettes are a great style to use all year round.  What is a monochromatic colour palette? Well for me it's using the same colour plus white. For example black and white. But it can also be interpreted a little more loosely.  You can use shades of the same colour such as light, mid tone and dark either alone or with a neutral colour such as white or cream. Today's inspiration using the cute skating moose from the Christmas Friends is using more of the loose interpretation. 

All that is going through my head is an old Elvis song 🎵 can you guess what it is?....It's a blue, blue Christmas... 🤣 now if you know me then you know you don't want me to sing it! But if you've never heard it have a look here 

Ok enough singing let's get back to the card 😁. The fold is an easy one that gives you plenty of opportunities for using your stash of pattern papers. Start with a standard card base and remove a portion of the top of the front. Then decorate to your hearts content. 

The moose is stamped the die cut out using the coordinating Christmas Friends dies. A little paper piecing for his scarf to coordinate with the pattern papers used helps to tie everything together. 

The tag shape on the front is replicated on the inside as a fun place to write your message.

Do you like monochromatic colour palettes? Has today's card inspired you to have a go? Let me know in the comments what colour you would use for a monochromatic colour palette 😀

Christmas Friends

 Another card using the oh so cute Christmas Friends characters.  This time in not so traditional colours 😉 Turquoise,  hot pink and lime.... They really pop against the white of the cardstock !

If you don't like colouring then this style of card is perfect for you! all you need to do is stamp in versamark and heat emboss using white embossing powder on to the cardstock colour of choice and voila images with colour!

the texture in the background if from another form of embossing this time using an embossing folder.  The folder used is called Forever plaid and is very versatile. 

Would you use bright, bold colours for your Christmas cards? 

Christmas Friends

 Now the stamp set that today's inspiration is using is just so cute! Called Christmas Friends it has 4 characters just looking for some Christmas fun!

Aren't they just adorable 😍 and perfect for today's clean and simple style of card!

The circle of stripy pattern paper was sitting on my desk waiting to be used from another project. Well actually it was from my live at 5 on Monday just gone 😉 you can go check it out on my YouTube channel Cary@2BGCrafting. Whilst you're there if you'd like and subscribe I'd be very grateful 🩷

Any way back to the card...  the white on white look is super clean and simple especially when it's made using simple shapes. The small circles are made using a hole punch and a ½" circle punch and scraps of white cardstock. 

The white circles,  the red stripy circle of paper and the sentiment circle all bring a cohesive feel to the card. The chubby bear even has a circular feel to him 🤣

Halloween spells

 For the final time using the amazing Halloween Spells pattern papers and sticker sheets let me introduce you to Frankie the cutest little monster of them all! Inspired by the sentiment on the sticker sheet he is super easy to create!

All you need is cardstock,  scissors, a corner rounder, a black marker pen and googly eyes 👀.  Start with a green rectangle of cardstock and a smaller piece of black cardstock.  The black needs to be the same width as the green but shallower. Cut a zig zag edge along one of the sides that is the same width as the green cardstock.  Adhere the black to the green and round the top corners.

Now give Frankie his cheeky features with the marker pen . Next adhere his eyes. If you don't have googly eyes then small black circles with slightly larger white ones adhered together will work too.

The gorgeous stripy pattern paper works so well with the solid blocks of colour from Frankie and the sentiment don't you agree?

For the non-halloween version of the Frankie card I have used the same layout but rotated it 90°. Now in a landscape orientation but still keeping the larger rectangular blocks. The background paper is actually the reverse of the stripy one! Isn't double sided paper great!

I used the stripy paper for the rectangular focal piece. By stamping and then colouring the beautiful single flower from the Simply Zinnia bundle in the same colours of the paper it brings it all together.

Using the corner rounder on the paper and sentiment strip also makes it look cohesive.

Both cards are quick and easy to achieve but which do you prefer?  Cute Frankie? Or pretty Zinnias? 

Halloween Spells

 Today's halloween card is a very simple fun fold that is just great for showing off  those gorgeous pattern papers in your stash! The Halloween Spells papers and stickers are great for such easy folds! 

Take a top folding C6 card base and cut a 4cm x 15.85cm  strip off the front. Next cut mats for the inside and the outside. This layout is in a landscape orientation. Take the large halloween sticker and mount it onto a mat of cardstock.  Positioning it at an angle and then adding more of the sentiments stickers. The fun bat stickers on the sheet come in various sizes and are a such fun 🦇.

This particular pattern paper is not only a gorgeous bold shade of green but it has a great bubble and sparkle pattern! 

With this pattern in mind the Simply Sparkling dies and sadly sold out stamps sprang to mind.

These fun dies have bubbles as well as the fizzy pop can which work so well with the buzzing papers 🍾.

Rotate the layout of the halloween version to a portrait orientation to create the non-halloween version. 

Which version do you prefer 🤔? 

Halloween Spells

 

More Spooky fun with the Halloween Spells pattern paper and sticker sheet. Today's card is an easy split front card .

 It starts with a standard card base then cut 2 strips off . On a standard A6 card base that means cut two 4.85cm x 3.5cm strips off the card front. Next cut a piece of pattern paper into 3 strips 14.4cm x 3cm each.  Adhere the paper onto the 2 strips and the narrow strip still attached to the card base. 

Carefully adhere the center panel to the inside of the cardbase. Next take a large sentiment from the sticker sheet and adhere it to a piece of cardstock the same colour as the cardbase. Now fussy cut the sticker out leaving a small border around it. This sentiment is what is going to anchor the bottom strip to the top piece.

You can't see it in the photos but I added some sparkle to bats from the sticker sheet using the ever so sparkley clear wink of  stella pen. In real life they really catch the light and shine.

For the non-halloween version I rotated the layout from landscape to portrait. I also used a die cut sentiment from the Wanted to say dies to act as the anchor. 

On the sticker sheet there are some black stars. I added glimmer with the clear wink of stella pen to some and added them to the inside of the card.

 

A fun lay out that works well both landscape and portrait. Decorated with some bright and funky pattern paper. All in all 2 great cards 😀