I have been making this style of baby card for years and I was originally inspired by a tutorial from Lauren Meader with punches. I can't find the tutorial any longer and I now use my spellbinders circle dies (so much easier to get through both layers than with punches) so I thought I would create a video on how to make this card. I have used it for shower invites, banners, and just about anything baby related. It's super cute and fairly easy to do. I forgot to take a picture of the inside but I used the "twinkle, twinkle" set from unity, it is the perfect sentiment for a baby card and lately with my family I have needed a lot of them. The middle "baby" stamp came from a Unity grab bag that I won on FWF and its from one the the kit of the month sets but I can't remember which one.
Card
Bottom "Snaps"
Closeup of middle
Here is the tutorial, if you have any questions please use the contact me gadget on my blog and I will be happy to try and help the best I can.
Supplies used: Unity Stamps Twinkle Twinkle, KOTM, DCVW Baby Boy Stack, Spellbinders circles large and small, and large scallop circles
Where does the time go? I can't believe that Christmas is almost here, but at least I am almost done my shopping. I actually hate the crowded malls so I try to start early, but with the kids getting older I am running out of places to hide things. One of the last things I get are gift cards for the kids teachers, etc. but while I know they are appreciated they just are not as fun for me to give. That is why I like to make these gift card holders to put them in. This way I can add that personal touch that I feel is sometimes missing from a gift card. I stamped a sentiment on the inside but still left room to write a personalized message for the recipient.
Front
Inside
Closeup of the Front
I also made a video showing how to make it.
Supplies used: Spellbinders lacey circles, Spellbinder Floral Doily Accents, Create a Flake 1, Unity Stamps, Ribbon, Distress Ink, CTMH White Daisy, DCWV Patterned Paper
I am excited to finally share my latest mini album I made. I made a similar one as a Christmas gift and I had so much fun I decided to make another. I was never one for making mini albums but I love this style of album because it holds 4x6 pictures which makes it perfect for gift giving. Its very interactive with a pocket on each page with a photo tag/mat, mini file folder, or matchbook mini inside. On the outside pockets are additional photo mats with the tabs sticking out.
One of my favorite parts was making the letters, I love the new fonts from Spellbinders and because they cut chipboard you can make dimensional titles with them. I have a tutorial here, I used the 1" Miracle tape from Viva Las Vegas Stamps. It's great for making mini albums and comes in so many sizes at a reasonable price.
Sometimes it can be hard to photograph albums like this and show all the different elements so I made a quick video showing the album here:
Cover
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3 (lift up flap is on the left side)
Page 4
Page 5 (lift up flap is on the left side)
Page 6
Supplies used: Spellbinders Timeless Heritage, Font One Upper Case, Lacy Circles, Creative Page Tabs, Floral Flourishes, Radiant Rectangles, Classic Petal Border, The Twinery Cappuccino Twine, MME Lost and Found 1&2 Paper, DCWV Metallic Cardstock, Unity Stamps Hearty Barely, Viva Las Vegas Stamps Miracle Tape, Lace, and Ribbon
Our May theme for the Crop Chocolate DT was switcheroo. I was on the Cards/Layout team and I decided to make a chipboard shadow box. I had a lot of fun making this and my daughter has it proudly displayed in her room. This is definetely something different for me but I love how it turned out.
Supplies used: EP Be Mine, Spellbinders Lacey Squares, Washi Tape, Acetate
Our the DT theme for this month was nature inspired, and I knew right away what I wanted to do. I first saw flowers made with the dictionary a long time ago but I didn't have one and I didn't want to buy one just to cut up when I knew I had another book made of the same type of paper. I am an accountant (not a tax accountant) and I have a few out dated copies of The Income Tax Act and they were perfect for this kind of flower. I used Hearty Barely stamps from Unity Stamp Co. They are so cute and just perfect for little note cards for my daughter. She loves getting them in her lunch and in fact when she saw me making the flowers she asked if I could use them on cards for her and then picked out the stamps (little imp).
Step 1 Cut 8-10 scallop circles, I folded my paper and cut 4 at once
Step 2
Ink the circles
Step 3 Spray with water or glimmer type mist
Step 4 Scrunch the circles as small as they can get
Step 5 When the circles are dry flatten them out and stack neatly on top of each other, put a brad in the centre
Step 6 Starting with the first layer pull it up around the brad and repeat for the other layers, once they are all done you can pull them apart and "fluff" the flower, after I was done I inked the edges but this is optional
This project is a layout I created for the Fur Baby Love theme at Crop Chocolate. I was "inspired" when I saw my daughter looking at a card she had created for her cat (he passed away a few months ago), I was working a few feet away from her and she said in a small quiet voice "oh Sammy, if only you knew how much I missed you". It took everything I had not to cry myself and I waited for her to finish with her private moment and we had a good talk. I wanted to hug her right away but I could tell she thought she was alone and I wanted to give her some privacy.
This was such a tough layout to do and the journalling was the hardest, I really need to redo it to make it neater but I get so teary that I keep putting it off. She was so heart broken and as a parent it was one of the hardest things I have ever dealt with (there is no making it better).
Doing the layout and journalling really helped her and I am glad I did it. Looking at the pictures its hard not to feel a bit sorry for the cat but they were very close. He always slept with her in her bed and tolerated her "love" when she was younger. It was months before she stopped missing him at bed time, he was always there when she woke up. He was such a patient cat and he is missed very much by everyone but especially by my daughter.
Here is a tutorial for the pleated heart
Step 1. Cut a piece of paper 1 3/4" x 6" and draw a shape similar to the picture (just free hand it), this will be your template
Step 2. Cut out the shape
Step 3. Take a 1 3/4" x 12" piece of paper and fold in half, trace the template on to this paper, make sure the fold is lined up on the dip part (see picture)
Step 4. Cut out the shape and unfold
Step 5: Take the paper and score it every 1/4"
Step 6. Attach the ends together then push the shape together and glue it to a heart shape as the base
I posted the easel card that I put in this pizza box and then I realized I never posted the actual pizza box and tutorial to go with it. I made this box to hold my easel card, they are the perfect size. I also created an iGram to go with it, follow this link if you want to learn how to make one. THey are called pizza style boxes but they are much too small for pizza, but they are the perfect size for easel cards
When I saw the the theme was Ice I thought of iridescent paper and bling, two of my favorite things. I have always love the look of chipboard but the only drawback of the Cameo is that it can't cut chipboard, plus it's hit and miss on the acid free content. I decided to layer four of the same die cut to achieve the dimension of chipboard and this way I know the end result is acid free.
Step 1: Modify and size your shape as necessary and then cut four times, in my case I merged the design twice and then copied it four times. The more layers you add the more dimension you will get but if your design is very intricate and detailed it gets harder to match each layer.
Step 2: Carefully remove the design from the mat and line up how you will use them, if your paper has a good and bad side make sure you have the right side up
Step 3: Apply a re-positionable spray adhesive, use a spray for a light even coverage and re-positionable will give you some flexibility when matching the layers before setting permanently. Note because spray adhesive tends to splatter do this outside or in an empty box.
Step 4: Carefully match the layers up and press down, repeat for all layers. Note the more intricate and delicate the design the more difficult this will be. I sometimes use 5 layers but this design was intricate and it was getting difficult to keep everything together so I used four.
Step 5: Embellish as desired and attach to your project (I added some bling with the I-roc)
Core'dinations is having a DT call for a card maker and since I love their products so much I decided to try out. One of my favorite things about their cardstock is the different color core. You can do so many things with it but my favorite is to emboss and then sand it. It is very heavy and makes a great base cardstock as well, so don't think you have to do anything besides use it. Here are my three cards
Whitewash Card
For my first card I chose this beautiful Whitewash cardstock, I love this paper and wish I could get it locally. Unfortunately I can only get it from the US and I have only been able to get a bit, but now that they have 6x6 pads I will be able to get it shipped in. I really love working with the Whitewash, it is so soft and elegant.
Supplies used:
Victoria CB Folder
Spellbinders Flying Beauties
Core'dinations Whitewash
Core'dinations Cardstock (teal)
Core'dinations Pearl Cardstock
Pearls
Faux Criss Cross Card
In the DT post, Core'dinations specifically mentioned that they were looking for people to create cards using A2 card bases. Even though I don't have Core'dinations card bases I challenged myself to start with an A2 card base. For this card I made a faux Criss Cross card from an A2 base. I used regular Core'dinations cardstock for the card pocket, some Black Magic for the belly band, and some Whitewash for the cupcake embelishment
Supplies used:
Core'dinations Cardstock (White, Teal)
Core'dinations Whitewash
Core'dinations Blackmagic
Spellbinders Big Scallop Circles
Spellbinders Lacey Ovals
Martha Stewart Swirling Lace Punch
Flower Card
I made a flower card for my final card, because I wanted to show a tutorial on the flower. I made a video for Crop Chocolate but I never made a step by step tutorial so I thought I would combine them together. I love making these flowers, and they are very versatile. I have used them on boxes, cards, scrapbook pages, and even altered items.
Here is the video tutorial I made for the flower, it was my first time doing a video and I remember having to do it over three times. Thankfully I later learned how to edit them, I don't think I would have ever done another.
Step 1:
Cut three flowers of the same shape but in different sizes (I used Spellbinders Blossom 2)
Step 2:
Emboss the flowers (I used CB folder Victoria)
Step 3:
Sand the embossing (this brings out the core color of the Core'dinations)
Step 4:
Cut the flowers between the petals, about a 1/2" for the larger flowers a bit less for the smaller ones
Step 5:
Curl the petals of the flowers up, you can use a bone folder, something round or just your fingers
Step 6:
Glue each layer together, try to offset the points of the petals between layers. Add an embellishment to the center you can use a button, brad, or another flower.
Supplies used:
Core'dinations Cardstock (white, light and dark purple)
This is a bittersweet project for me, its my last project for the Crop Chocolate Design Team. They decided to give a new group of ladies a chance to showcase their talent and to go with a new team for the next term. I am excited for the new team but sad to leave, but the new group of ladies is very talented so I am excited to see what they come up with. I don't know what this card is called but I call it a flap card and it uses a magnet to hold the top flap in place. The tutorial for this card is how to create the lace flower I used.
Step 1-Take a 12" piece of lace and thread a 1/8" ribbon
through the top holes
Step 2-Loosely thread the bottom row
Step 3-Pull the thread tight and this will form a circle
Step 4-Sew the edges rough together, this will be on the back and won't
be seen
Step 5-Add a embellishment to the centre, I used a brad and button
