Christmas Kittens Flip Card

I really, really liked the Art Impressions stamp and die sets.  The kittens are so cute and Christmasy in their winter sweaters.  I was also fascinated by the way the card opened to reveal the rest of the message and the backs of the kittens. How clever is that!  The instructions for the card were on the packaging but either the Ai instructions were misinterpreted by me or they gave the wrong measurements.  In any case, I had to a resize the card to make it work.  To fill in the unbalanced spaces, I added some do-dads from my Xmas stash.  Oh yes, to add to the Christmas sweater look, I ran the Whimsy embossing plate over the striped card stock. The texture is super cool...it looks and feels like something knitted.

The flip side of the card with the kitten backs turned out fine and they really look like they are holding up the sign.  I know that I will make use of the kitten stamps again because I can see all kinds of possibilities for them even without the die cut flip part.  Although this card did not turn out as I had hoped, it still was interesting to work on it and I have lots of new ideas for cards.  Isn't that what creative crafting is all about?  So what are you making today? 

Holiday Cards with an Old Japanese Print Look

When I saw these two Hero Arts Bold Print stamps, I was immediately drawn to them because they reminded me of old Japanese block prints. With that in mind, I experimented with colors, inks and stamping techniques and came up with these three cards. The looks are really limitless.  Mostly, I used Ranger Distress Oxide inks, Memento Permanent Inks, and flicked on silver Liquitex ink. The words on this card are actually readable but the glare on the sparkly silver embossing powder distorts the letters when photographed. It says, 'Have a magical holiday season.'

This card with Nuvo platinum embossed words is more subdued like the old style Japanese prints.

For this one I used a strip printed with the words to cover up the 'too bright' white heat embossed words.  Nothing gets wasted in my craft room!  Even the 'less than perfect' stamped papers get turned into tags or small cards. Keep holiday crafting and repurpose/recycle everything!

 

Pumpkin Spice Gift Card Holders

Here are the front and backs of two gift card holders I made for two coffee loving friends.  I used an Art Impressions die to cut out the cups and all their parts.  I think the take out cup gift card holder was supposed to be attached to a greeting card because the set only included dies for front parts.

It wasn't hard to use the dies to cut parts for the back of the card holder.  For the bands, I just wrapped  strips of coordinating card stock around each cup and glued them in the back covering the seam with a fussy cut character.  

The Whimsy stamp set called the creatures pandas, but I don't think they look like panda bears at all. They are cute though so I colored them like tail-less lemurs? grey gophers? or maybe they are a hybrid of animals in my fantasy brain. LOL!  

For some texture and color I glued on some fake candy sprinkles to the doughnut using Bo Bunny pearlescent white paint which comes in a tube with a small tip.  

I  die cut two cup lids to go over the white die cut inside card and glued them on either side of the card.  This card has room for writing a message and two slits for holding the gift card (to a coffee shop, of course).  Two die cut sides glued together to form the cup, snuggly hold the card.  The Ai stamp set has several stamps and dies to create card holders for other occasions.  I like the realistic list check-off stamps and medallion dies.

I know that I'll make good use of The Ai set because I like giving gift cards...easy and useable for coffee loving friends. Next time I think I'll try just attaching it to a card...maybe for Valentine's Day....gotta plan ahead right?

 

Autumn Card - 'Change Can Be Beautiful'

When I first spied the Hero Arts branch frame die, I loved it!  I didn't know what I would create with it but I wanted to accent the graceful lines. I decided that simply using the die to cut foil card stock DCWV (copper) would have the effect I desired.  By layering the die cut piece over a leaf print card stock, I was able to achieve a pleasing floating leaves illusion.  Hero Arts also had a stamp set of fall sayings from which I chose my favorite and heat embossed it with Hero Arts bronze embossing powder. 

I had a boo-boo on the inside of the card so I covered it up with extra card stock and some HA die cut pieces. Saved!  I hope this simple card encourages you to try the gorgeous Hero Arts autumnal designed products. Celebrate the season of change, gathering and giving!

 

                                     

I had a good crafting day because I got to play with some new Hero Arts stamps and dies AND the tag that I created actually looked almost exactly like the one in my mind's eye. Yay me!  I started by cutting a large tag using a die from the Infinity tag set.  Although it is barely visible, I added a small hole embellishment by cutting a scrap of gold paper with the die that comes with the tag set.  I think this little touch really gives the appearance of a metal eyelet.  The Hero Arts layering color stamp set makes coloring the chipmunk and acorn a snap especially if you use a Misti tool to align the parts. Also the matching chipmunk die saved me lots of time so I could easily make multiple tags.  

This close-up photo shows what I really love about the stamped coloration which sort of looks like old fashion printed book illustrations.  Also, you can see the detail of the Fancy die cut Hero Arts leaf which was cut from some hand dyed and gold speckled paper that I had in my scrap pile.  (I think I chose the right leaf...acorns become oak trees right?)  Finally, I had fun choosing just the right fancy yarn that would give the tag a woodsy, natural look. I hope this post inspires you to create your own autumnal tags and cards. Happy Fall Y'all!

 

Boo! Quick Halloween Skeleton Postcard

This year I had a very slow start to holiday crafting due to personal trips and shipment delays.  However, I just HAD to make one last-minute spooky card before going on to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This postcard was inspired by the Nebula Designer slimline paper from Whimsy Stamps. Although I think these papers were for outer space cards, to me they seemed spooky.  It was really simple to stamp the 'BOO' (old Hero Arts) and heat emboss with neon yellow green Moxy powder.  The TAJ skeleton stamp was used around the words and heat embossed with Hero Arts white pearl powder. I had imagined that the color would be more whitish but silvery white is okay...perhaps I needed to shake the jar of powder a little more.  Anyway, I am pleased with the way this postcard turned out.  Did you know that you can make and send postcards in a multitude of sizes for very little postage?  I think the slimline size and shape make it ideal for a quick, different way to send a greeting.  Let's bring back the use of postcards!  Happy Halloween!

 

While searching for some decorative white, silver and gold papers for a wedding card, I accidentally came across a Japanese sample card which I used as a template to make this card.  It was a really simple design so I was able to trace the original card and fold up this rather elegant copy to which I added a sticker from my ancient sticker stash.

When opened, the card looks like this. The foil looks orangey because of the reflection of the camera flash.

When the front flap is further opened, it reveals a space for writing a message. I glued on some lightly lined vellum paper because the surface of the crinkled card is too lumpy for handwriting.

Because Japanese cards are generally sized differently from American ones, I had to create my own custom envelope. I chose gold vellum paper and I think it makes the card look very classy....perfect for a wedding card.

Here is what the original sample card looked like when I found it in a bag of paper scraps sold in a Japanese paper store for 200 yen.  I am usually happy as a pack rat with whatever I discover in the mystery paper packs, but finding this sample was a bonus.  For this first card I simply traced around the sample, marked the folds and presto the card was done!

For future cards I think I will make a card stock template to make tracing easier.  Also I will look through some of my origami folding books to see if I can find measurements for making this card easier to construct.  I do believe that there is a simpler way to construct this card.  I will work on this idea after the holiday season.  I think that this basic card will make lovely, easy birthday, sympathy, etc. cards using printed and solid origami paper.  Okay, still time for one more Halloooweeen project!