Fun fold Friday Hand-Penned Suite

 Wow this week has gone by sooo fast!! I've loved playing with all the products in the Hand-Penned Suite. But for my last project of the week I had to use the beautiful dies that coordinate to the suite called Penned Flower dies. They not only cut out the stamped images but there are also some delicate floral one which really caught my eye.

For the  fun fold for today I've gone super simple. Take a sheet of cardstock and divide it into 3. So for a UK that would be a standard A4 , 21cm x 29.7cm, scored at 9.9cm in from each end of the long side. You are then going to fold the right hand panel in to cover the center panel. Top tip trim a millimetre or two from the right hand edge so that as you fold it in it lies fractionally to the right of the scoreline . Now fold the left hand panel over and reinforce all the score lines and you card base is complete.

I decided to decorate 3 layers of my project using just white card and the gorgeous delicate dies. I cut out lots of die cuts in white card . 

My card layers were cut to be fractionally smaller than the panels of the card bases. I started by covering 1 entire mat with multiple die cuts of the large floral die.  I love the effect white on white gives and with this die it reminded me of beautiful lace fabric.

For the second panel I stamped a sentiment in a light grey colour on a strip of cardstock.  I then added a scalloped edge to the banner. Then I arraged some of the die cut flowers and leaves behind the sentiment strip and adhered it to the centre of the panel.

The final panel has the white floral die cuts placed top and bottom. Then the sentiment is stamped onto a strip of card that I wrapped around the panel in the middle of the panel and secured on the back.

I placed the final panel on the front of the card base with a length of white ribbon placed behind it. I use the ribbon to act as the closure for the card.

I placed the first fully covered panel on the uppermost right hand side of the card base .

Next I decided to add a few subtle splashes of colour. I achived this by incorporating both stamped and coloured images and pattern paper. 

On the inside left panel I trimmed 2 strips of complimentary paper and adhered them to the outside edge.  I the stamped, coloure and die cut ot one of the large floral images from the Hand-Penned bundle 

I repeated the idea with the paper and floral images on the inside of the right hand panel of the card base. 

The second white panel is placed on the center panel of the card base. It is flanked on either side by the pops of colour.which lead the eye to the center.

I have really enjoyed this week and hope that I have inspired you to craft in some way, shape or form.

If you've like the products I've  used and live in the Uk we'd  love to be your Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.  You can purchase all the products used through our shop Here.

If you're interested in joining our creative community by becoming a demonstrator yourself and experiencing all that our wonderful Larger Than Life Stampers community has to offer please leave us a comment or click to Join

Next week please join me to see what inspiration Gill will be sharing with us. 

Have a great weekend, stay safe and have fun.

Cary xx

Throwback Thursday Hand-Penned Petals

 Do you ever stop and think why don't I do that anymore 🤔 well that's just what happened when I finished today's project. I had stamped the beautiful floral image from the Hand-Penned Petals  all over a piece of white cardstock and then sat there and thought how to colour it in 🤔 

I love using my alcohol markers and I'm very partial to using my water painter and inks. But for some reason on this occasion I found my blender pen and watercolour pencils. Now the blender pen I'm talking about isn't one for use with alcohol markers. It is a set of 3 pens found in the Stampin' Up!  Annual catalogue here that turn your waterbased ink pads into marker pens. 

The other great way to use the blender pens is with watercolour pencils.  You have a great deal of control over how the colour spreads as there is very little liquid. You can also increase the intensity of thw colour by layering it up . 

It also allows you to blend the colours out to a really smooth finish.

Now I am happy for there to be white spaces in and around my stamped images but the blender pen and watercolour pencil technique is great for people who like things to be perfect and just so 😉

Once I'd finished a happy 20 minutes of colouring in I was ready to use the piece on a card. I decided that I wanted to incorporate a frame into my project so used some dies ro create one in white card to reflect the card base and to keep it light and airy. 

I like the scalloped edges of the frame and used a die to create a scalloped sentiments strip. I adhered the sentiment down flat to the background and popped the frame up on 3D foam to give the piece some depth.

I then decorated the inside of the card. I stamped the same floral image all around the inside of the card in black ink. I then took a die cut stitched rectangle and placed it ontop.

All in all I enjoyed going back to using tools and techniques that I haven't used in a very long time. Maybe we should all take a little time to go back to some of those tools and techniques we used yesteryear 😉

Watercolour Wednesday Hand-Penned Petals

 Watercolour techniques don't have to be complicated. They can be for beginners and today's background is perfect for beginners! All you need is a water painter , ink and cardstock  perfect for #simplestamping.  I was inspired to create the stripped pattern by the reverse of one of the Hand-Penned pattern papers. 

The simple stripes are easily made using a waterpainter and either ink refils or ink smudged onto an acrylic block or silicon mat.  Then just go for it!! They don't have to be perfect!!! Some of mine are thicker than others, some are light some dark but hey it's handmade!!

Next I stamped one of the floral images from the  Hand-Penned Petals. I coloured it with the water painter and more inks. Stamped a sentiment then used a stitched rectangle die and cut it out. 

 

Next I decorated an insert for the inside of my card with a few more watercolour stripes and a watercoloured image.

The card came together very quickly and once place on a gorgeous dark green, called Evening Evergreen, coloured card base it was ready for the final embellishments . A small ribbon bow and a few of the gorgeous gems and I was happy.

Tips tricks and techniques Tuesday Hand-Penned suite

 Papercrafters find inspiration for techniques from all sorts of places and other crafts. And today I'm sharing a technique which is based on a quilting on. The technique is called a twisted ribbon border . Instead of fabric I've chosen to use some of the beautiful pattern paper that is part of the Hand-Penned Suite. Called Hand-Penned it is such a pretty floral pattern paper in gorgeous fresh colours.

The twisted ribbon border is created using a base of card stock the measures 14cm x 4cm. These measurements can be adjusted to fit your project once the principal is understood. Mark along the long side top and bottom in pencil at 2cm intervals as per the picture below.

Next you need 2cm strips of paper . For the tutorial I've used 2 colours of cardstock. For my card I chose one of the pretty pattern paper which as it's double sided I could use both sides secure in the knowledge that they will coordinate perfectly 😉 

I started placing my strips that will end up appearing to be in back of the panel. I started at the right hand side placing my stip diagonally with the top left corner of the stip sitting flush to the top right corner of the card. The bottom left corner is lined up to the second mark in from the right. I used liquid glue to adhere the strips to allow a little wiggle room.

The second strip follows the first with the left hand sides lining up with the marks at an angle as per the photo below.

Continue till the strip is covered as per the photo below. I always leave my strips over hanging so that I don’t have to worry about them being too short 🙃 

Now take the piece of paper that will appear to be at the front of the twist and starting  from the opposite end. Take the top left corner of the strip and place it to the top left corner of the base. The strip is placed diagonally with the bottom left corner placed to the bottom left corner of the strip already in place. The picture below shows it far clearer than I have explained I'm sure 😉

Continue to place the strips until its completed . And looks like the photos below.

Next trim off the over hanging pieces to neaten and complete the panel. I always trim from behind as I find it easier to follow the line of the base card.

Now that  I had the technique worked out I set out to play with the pretty Hand-Penned papers. I chose coloured cardstock to coordinate in purple, yellow and white. I the created layers to fit my split front card base.

The card base was created from a piece cardstock measuring 14.85cm x 21cm , scored at 10.5cm. I then cut a strip measuring 5cm x 14.85cm off one side. This became my split front card base. 

The front panel is decorated with layers. On the top purple layer I stamped in the same colour ink to give a tone on tone effect. I then used an embossing folder to give the panel texture.

I decorated the narrow front panel using a punched panel and a stamped image from the Hand-Penned Petals stamp set which I coloured with my alcohol markers from Stampin Up.  

I then die cut the image. I also die cut the outline 3 further times in white cardstock.  I adhered the 3 pieces together and the stuck the stamped image ontop. My reason for doing this was to create an embellishment that helped add depth to my project, gave strength to the stamped image as it over hanges the edge of the panel and hid the back of the alcohol coloured piece.  I stamped and fussy cut out a sentiment and placed it nestled amongst the stems of the flowers. A few of the Genial Gems from the suite and the front was completed. 

Now for the inside. I placed my twisted ribbon border panel on to the right hand side  of the white panel that filled the whole of the inside portion of the card. I added a narrow strip of yellow card along the left hand edge to mimic the layers of the main panel. 

I the stamped and coloured a portion of the same image as the front. I then fussy cut it out and adhered it to the left hand bottom corner of the inside of the card. 

I think this card came together really well. The colour pallette is both clean and spring like. Whilst the pattern paper may be busy it doesn't overwhelm the card.

I think this Twisted Ribbon Border technique is a great one to have in your arsenal to use up those narrow strips of patterned paper. I hope you like my project as much as I do and will give this fun technique a go. 

Make it simple Monday Hand-Penned Petals

 This week I'm going to be sharing projects featuring a stamp set from the new Stampin' Up! Annual catalogue ( if you live in the UK and would like to have a copy sent to you just ask in the comments and we'll get one too you) The stamps are called Hand-Penned Petals. They are a part of a suite Hand-Penned which consists of a stamp set, coordinating dies, pattern paper and some gems available Here 

For today's #simplestamping projects I have used the infill stamps to create a pattern paper effect. I use 2 ink colours a bright pink and green. To give the effect of different colours I stamped onto scrap paper then reactivated the ink on the stamp by breathing on it. I then stamped the image and it has a lighter shade of the same colour.

I also used some sticky notes to mask of area's of the card . This creates a blank area to add interest on a simple card.  It is a super easy technique that is a great one for beginners. 

Fun Fold Friday - Butterfly Brilliance

Hello. For my last card this week I have of course made a folded card. Not just a fun fold but a box fold or Diorama (I think that's how it's spelled). This isn't my fold it's one that I saw on another site made by Julie DiMateo. It is her template that I am using today.  I have made box cards before and thoroughly enjoyed making them but it was quite a long time ago now I think of it! I am obviously using Butterfly Brilliance Stamp for this project with Whisper White and Calypso Coral card stock for the box to deliver or post it in. 

For more information on the stamp set or any other products, please click HERE and it will take you to our shop. It will open up in a new page so that you don't lose your place here.

I started with a 21.5 cm squared piece of White card and scored it all around at 1.3 cm, 2.6 cm, 3.9 cm and 5.2cm. Julie uses Imperial measurements so follow her instructions if you prefer to as they are include here too. Once you have scored all 4 lines on each of the 4 sides you will need to score on opposite sides down to the 2nd horizontal line @ 6.4 cm and 15.2 cm. For Imperial measurements, you will need to follow the cutting instructions on the chart. Basically trim off the greyed out areas on each of the corners in Julie's diagram. Trim a little notch on each of the corners that will be folded to join the corners together. Then fold and burnish all of the score lines, tape or wet glue the little tabs and feed them into the hollow ends. Decorate as you wish. I chose the large Swallowtail butterfly from the set in the end. It was too hard to decide! 

I stamped the whole set of 6 butterflies using my Stamparatus. I have arthritus and cannot hold the very large blocks in my hands so I find the Stamparatus the most fantastic tool ever! Once stamped, I die cut them all out using the single die, oh that is so very clever! Then using Blends alcohol marker pens, I coloured several of them in and decided which one I wanted to use.

I took some DSP (double sided paper or in Stampin'  Up! terms, Designer Series Paper. It is exactly both in fact) and cut a square 11.5 cm squared then cut out or gutted the centre at 1.1 cm all around. That gave me a perfect frame to add to the front of my box. The piece from the inside was trimmed down a little to fit into the centre of the box. The rest is purely decoration. I finished the front by adding a vellum butterfly too. 

Julie has added a kick stand to hers, I added a card base. I cut a piece of card 23 cm by 11.5 cm and scored along the long edge at 11.5 cm. A mat in Calypso Coral of 10.8 cm squared, a message and another small butterfly to complete. It stands really well with the card base too.

Here are Julie's instructions in inches

Below is the measurements for the box and lid that I made to hold it. The box is 16 cm squared and scored at 2cm on each of the 4 sides. I made little notches in the corners to join them together so make the notches and tabs as shown..

The lid is similar to the box only 0.5 cm bigger at 16.5 cm. Again score at 2 cm on all 4 corners and make the notches and tabs as shown.

Below is the completed box. I will add a gift tag when I get around to sending it.

Thank you so much for joining me this week, please stop by next week to see Cary's creations. 

Until then, please stay safe, keep well and Carry On Crafting. 

xxxxx Gill xxxxx

 

Throwback Thuresday - Butterfly Brilliance

Hello, today I've taken myself way back to about 6 years ago. I decided to make a gift for my friend Lynn who had practically everything she wanted? It was of course a box of cards for her to give to her friends and family. She was always asking for cards throughout the year so I decided that this would help her. She was so delighted with them that she asked me to make more sets every few months! I haven't made them for a while as she passed away on my birthday a few years ago. On a happier note, I know that she would be chuffed that I made these in her memory especially as she loves butterflies and would love this Butterfly Brilliance set too. For more information on the stamp set and other products, please click HERE it will open up a new page so that you don't lose your place here.

So today I have made a collection of 5 cards with envelopes and I know who I will be sending these to too! I have another friend Judie who has been asking me so often to make custom cards for her. This set will be going in the post to her over the weekend along with the other group of cards that I have almost completed for her. They will arrive in a clear Acetate card box which I added some butterfly paper and a message.

I made the designs very simple and similar to each other but using a different coloured mat. For this I stamped the set of 6 butterflies using my Stamparatus stamping tool. It takes the large stamp and inks up so well. If I didn't put enough pressure on one part, I just close the lid again and press over the missing image. It's very clever. Following on from the stamping, I then took the piece of card, added the large die and cut all 6 of the butterflies out in one hit! That is so brilliant!

 

 

All 5 cards 

 

 

Here is a picture of the complete set in the Acetate box ready to go.

   

     

Daffodil Delight

   

Soft Sea Foam

Flirty Flamingo

Balmy Blue

 

 

Gray Granite