We have come to the last day of 2015 and I look back fondly on my creative endeavors during the year! I wish you all a Happy New Year and look forward to having you visit my blog in 2016!
January–Bokeh Technique and Sneak Peek From 2015 Occasions Catalog
February–My Least Favorite Card To Create
March–Projects From Stamping Group
April–Remnants of Easter
May–Corner Garden Blues
June–2015 Catalog Launch
July–New Floor and Grateful For You
August–Best Thoughts Joy Fold Card
September–Pretty in Pink Poinsettia
October
This was a busy month for me and I didn't get to post AT ALL :( Hopefully, 2016 will allow me to post every single month!
November–Color Burst Christmas and Wonderful Wonderland
December–Tag Exchange and December Stamp Class
I hope you have enjoyed this review of my most popular posts from 2015. I look forward to your comments in 2016!
Thursday, December 31, 2015
My Most Popular Posts of 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
A Wonderland Silent Night
I was hesitant about posting yet another card using the stamp set, Wonderland, but each morning when I open my email, it seems that I see yet another demonstrator using the stamp so I know that I am not alone in my love for it!
Today I had earmarked for preparing for my stamp class on Friday. However, an email about Cyber Monday caught my eye and I ended up doing both some online and offline Christmas shopping this morning!
When I returned home, however, I was driven to create this card that I had envisioned yesterday.
I really wanted to use some of the Winter Wonderland Designer Vellum Stack and it made me think that a Centre Step Card might be a way to combine it with Wonderland.
To begin with, I had to learn how to make this style of card. I consulted both a tutorial from Splitcoast Stampers and one by Marie Shaughnessy.
Because I wanted to show off more of the vellum on the side panels, I modified the basic measurements so that I started with a Basic Black card stock panel 7.5 x 11" in size and made my side panels 2" wide.
Using a sheet of vellum from the Winter Wonderland Designer Vellum Stack that contained gold sprigs of pine and pine cones (LOVE the vellum in this stack!), I cut mattes for each side panel as well as the little bits that are somewhat hidden in the fold.
I used Multi Medium Matte to adhere the panels, carefully applying glue under the gold bits. This choice was a conscious decision as I knew that stray glue of the glossy variety would easily catch the eye but a matte finish adhesive would not.This worked well, however, it is important to put both panels on so that the pattern faces the same direction! (Ask me how I know this!)
I then stamped the Wonderland stamp with Versamark on a Basic Black card stock matte. I heat embossed with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder and then used a Versamark Marker on the edges of the matte so they could also be heat embossed. I adhered this panel to the centre section using Dimensionals.
Because the vellum sheets are only 6" in size, I could not use it for the bottom step of the card as it was 7.5" wide. I could have cut two pieces and placed them side by side, carefully lining up the patterns and hiding the join with something but this would have meant sacrificing two sheets of the vellum and I want to use it for another project in the future!
Instead of adhering some other sort of matte, I decided to tie a bow with the Gold Glitter ribbon to provide a glitzy bottom border to the card. To make the bow-making easier, I used Sticky Strip to attach a length of ribbon to the step of the card and then created a separate bow which I adhered on top of the ribbon using glue dots.
For the sentiment, I stamped on a strip of vellum with Versamark and heat embossed with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder. I used the Triple Banner Punch to flag one end and then applied Basic Black Archival ink to the edges of the strip using a sponge dauber.
Though I searched through various Stampin Up embellishments, none of them was quite right and though I considered the little Snowflake Elements, I thought they would be too thick looking–I wanted something more delicate looking to accent the sentiment.
In the end, I die cut a snowflake, using the new Take A Bough Dies from Concord & 9th, from Thick Whisper White card stock. I heat embossed it with gold and then added a little bit more sparkle by using the 2-Way Glue Pen with some Gold Stampin' Glitter. I also added a rhinestone to the centre of the snowflake. (I will post when I use the Take A Bough dies to create a Christmas Tree–looking forward to putting one together after cutting out all the required pieces!)
I used glue dots to attach the sentiment to the card front and then hid the glue by using more glue dots to attach the snowflake.
Check out these other posts where I feature the stamp set, Wonderland:
Color Burst Christmas and Wonderful Wonderland
Wonderland: My Go-To Stamp
Glints of Gold With Wonderland
Woodland and Wonderland: Together And Doing Fine!
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Woodland and Wonderland: Together And Doing Fine!
Today I want to share with you the second card that I started while crafting at Charlene's last Friday.
I am madly in love with both Wonderland and the Woodland folder! Ever since I first saw Pinterest posts on the two, I have been dying to experiment with them.
Whereas the Wonderland trees can be stamped in every color of the rainbow and look nice, the cards created with the Woodland embossing folder seem to be, for the most part, done with traditional birch colors of white and a little gray or taupe added for interest, but they are nonetheless fabulous!
When you marry these two products in the same card, how could it not be anything but stunning?
My card is a CASE of the card by Billie Moan:
I started by cutting a piece of the Thick Whisper White card stock (love how elegantly this embosses!) 4.25 x 5.75" in size. I absolutely love how the new embossing folders are 6" in size, giving you lots of possibilities to use them in larger cards!
Next, I took the Woodland embossing folder and laid it open on my craft mat. I took my Tip Top Taupe and swiped the stamp pad across the side marked Sizzix, down near the bottom of the folder. I then used Lost Lagoon to swipe the upper part of the folder.
I inked up Wonderland using Mossy Meadow and stamped it right on the folder, and repeated this process right across the folder, being sure to clean my stamp between inkings.Placing my card stock on the un-inked side of the folder, I carefully closed it and ran it through my Big Shot. Beautiful results!
I used a sponge dauber to ink the edges of the embossed panel with Tip Top Taupe and then used my Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker to outline the marks on the trees. Wow! That technique alone gives a whole lot of punch to these trees and it really only takes a few minutes to accomplish, using the brush end of the marker.
The finished piece was adhered to a Mossy Meadow matte using Fast Fuse Adhesive and then I wrapped a length of Blackberry Bliss ribbon around the bottom of the panel, securing it at the back with tape.
I stamped the sentiment from the soon to be retiring Festive Fireplace Stamp Set on Whisper White card stock using Blackberry Bliss ink. I die cut the sentiment using the Chalk Talk Framelits.
Mossy Meadow ink added definition to the edges of the tag and it was adhered on top of the ribbon using Dimensionals. Two rhinestones gave it a little extra sparkle. The finished matte was then mounted on a 6.5 x 5" Blackberry Bliss card base using Dimensionals.
For the inside, I stamped the tops of the Wonderland trees in Mossy Meadow along the bottom of a piece of the now retired Naturals White card stock. I finished by inking the edges of the matte using Mossy Meadow and adhered it using Fast Fuse Adhesive.
Have you tried either the Wonderland Stamp Set or the Woodland Embossing Folder yet? Don't miss out on purchasing these two great products! Order yours TODAY! For a full list of both retiring and sale products, click here.
To see my other uses of Wonderland and Woodland, click the links below:
Wonderland: My Go-To Stamp
Color Burst Christmas and Wonderful Wonderland
Glints Of Gold With Wonderland
Who's Hiding In The Woods?
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Glints of Gold With Wonderland
Last Friday, I had the pleasure of visiting my friend, Charlene, and working in her new craft room!
Wow! What a change from the bare basement in which she used to work to a sophisticated, secret hideaway tucked behind the wall-to-wall bookcase in her new rec room area!
Her new area is bright, functional, and welcoming! She has a large work table in the middle, designed to sit four, with storage on one end, as well as additional space to set up tables if she hosts a large group of stampers.
Counters with white cupboards above and drawers below are along one wall, giving her plenty of work and storage space for her Big Shot and Paper Trimmer and other tools.
The white contrasts beautifully with the Lucky Limeade wall color–it looks amazing! Though it is still a work in progress, her craft room is definitely a wonderful space in which to work! I would have posted pictures but her craft area and rec room are to be featured in an upcoming magazine issue so I do not want to spoil the surprise!
While at Charlene's, I was able to work on two different cards and start some coloring with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. Of course, as is often the case when you travel somewhere to craft, you can't totally complete a project because the sentiment stamps or the embellishments with which you came are not the ones you need! However, I made a good start and was able to finish my two cards when I returned home. I have one of those cards to show you today.
To my dismay, Wonderland is on the Retiring Products List from the Holiday Catalog :( I love working with this stamp and have seen many lovely renditions of the stamp. Be sure you order yours before it disappears!
I wanted to use the stamp with Night of Navy but I thought it would look very nice paired with Soft Suede. I cut my card base from Soft Suede to make a 5 x 7" card.
I had previously stamped on Vellum card stock using Versamark and heat embossed the trees using Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder.
The Oval Framelits Collection were used to cut an oval from a 4.25 x 5.5" matte of Night of Navy and then I placed the vellum behind it and taped it in place. Because I liked the look of the Night of Navy through the vellum, rather than the Soft Suede, I cut a second Night of Navy matte and adhered it behind the vellum.
Wrapping two lengths of the 3/8" White Glitter ribbon around the bottom of the matte, I then covered the seam between the two pieces using a length of the Gold Sequin Trim.
I chose one of the wooden Snowflake Elements and covered it with glue using the 2-Way Glue Pen. I sprinkled on a coating of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and set it aside to dry.
The matte was adhered to the card base using Dimensionals and then I used the Fine Tip Glue Pen to attach a few loose gold sequins to the top of the matte.
Once the snowflake was dry, I used the Fine Tip Glue Pen again to adhere a large gold sequin to the centre of the flake and then placed a rhinestone in its centre for a little added sparkle.
I adhered some glue dots on top of the Gold Sequin Trim and then bundled some Gold Metallic Thread and secured it to the glue dots. I used more glue dots to attach the snowflake on top of the thread.
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| Close up detail of the embellishment cluster. |
For the inside of the card, I used a matte of the now retired Naturals White card stock. Using Night of Navy, I stamped the trees to the bottom right of the card and also added the sentiment from the same set. The matte was adhered to the card using Fast Fuse Adhesive.
To finish the card, I used the Fine Tip Glue Pen to add tiny drops of glue to the trees and then added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to give them a subtle hint of sparkle!
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Wonderland: My Go-To Stamp
Even though you may have purchased several stamps from the Holiday Catalog, do you find yourself constantly reaching for the same stamp again and again? I do!
Lately, my favourite stamp is Wonderland. I just love this stamp! Is it just a coincidence that wonderful and Wonderland have the letters W-O-N-D-E-R in common? It's obvious that it is not only me that thinks this stamp is wonderful—just look at the many cards using it on Pinterest! It's a stamp that can be stamped in any color, on any card stock, be stamped off and be embossed in any way you cam dream of to use it. In short, it's magical!
Today, I knew I wanted to showcase these trees in white against the richness of Cherry Cobbler.
Rather than simply heat emboss the trees in white, I decided to create a custom embossing powder mix by combining equal parts of White Stampin' Emboss Powder and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.
After stamping the trees with Versamark on Cherry Cobbler card stock, I heat embossed using my new concoction. I was so pleased with the result! I loved the rich contrast between the white and the Cherry Cobbler, and the added sparkle from the Dazzling Diamonds was sweet!
I decided to push the contrast even more by framing the trees with a die cut window frame in a piece of Whisper White Thick card stock. I used one of the Window Frame Collection Framelits to cut an opening in the matte. I used one size larger framelits to cut the trees.
I inked the edges of the matte with Cherry Cobbler and then taped the trees behind the white matte. I taped a length of the Cherry Cobbler linen ribbon around the bottom of the matte and then tied a short lie ever of the ribbon in a knot in the middle of the ribbon. I then adhered the matte to a card base of Whisper White Thick card stock.
For the sentiment, I used Noel from the Happy Scenes stamp set. I stamped it in Cherry Cobbler on a strip of Vellum card stock and heat embossed it using Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder. I used the Triple Banner Punch to flag both ends.
To complete the card, I used glue dots to fasten the sentiment across the window and then covered the glue dots with Cherry Cobbler Candy Dots.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Color Burst Christmas and Wonderful Wonderland
Wow! We had a crazy, jam-packed stamping class on Friday night! Sixteen ladies in attendance and stamping–it got a little warm in the room with so many bodies present but we persevered to create some spectacular cards!
I had been wanting to give my group the chance to try working with the Color Bursts and I knew that our last class before Christmas would be busy with our tag exchange so I went ahead with my plan on Friday.
As this was their first chance to play with the Color Bursts, I decided to keep things simple.
I demonstrated how to achieve both smooth and more distressed looking effects using just two colors of Color Bursts. I had hoped that they would be able to experiment and make two background panels but because they were having so much fun playing, most only got to make one.
After their Color Burst background panel was completed and dry, they trimmed up the panels to make a 4 x 5.25" matte and inked the edges. It was then adhered to a Thick Whisper White card base.They had previously chosen a color of card stock that would coordinate with the Color Bursts they were using. From this card stock they used the Festive Flower Punch to punch small petals (8), double petals (2) and the 3/4" Circle Punch to punch a circle to use for a poinsettia embellishment. They also punched three small petals and two centres from either gold or silver Glimmer Paper.
They folded each petal in half lengthwise to give it some dimension and then inked the edges of each using either Basic Black Archival or Early Espresso ink. They used glue guns to assemble the poinsettias and then adhered them to their Color Burst panels using Dimensionals.
They stamped a sentiment from the Happy Scenes stamp set on a strip of Whisper White and inked the edges with either Basic Black Archival or Early Espresso. One end was flagged and then the sentiment was adhered to the card front. A few sequins were added for some extra sparkle!
The second card that we made was cased entirely from the lovely card designed by LeeAnn Greff. LeeAnn has a video tutorial on her blog that shows how to construct this card.We started by brayering the lovely sky using both Island Indigo and Rich Razzleberry inks. We then used Basic Black Archival ink to stamp two clumps of trees using the Wonderland stamp set. A strip of Whisper White as stamped with the sentiment from the same stamp set. The strip was then ripped to simulate the edge of a snowbank and then adhered to the bottom of the inked background.
The completed panel was mounted on a Whisper White matte which in turn was mounted on a Rich Razzleberry card base using Dimensionals.
A white gel pen was used to create stars and add snow to the tree branches. Once dry, a Two-Way Glue Pen was used over these spots and Dazzling Diamonds added. The glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds were also added to the edge of the snowbank.
A Whisper White matte was stamped with the trees for the inside of the card.Such a lovely result and fun techniques used to create the card. Thank you LeeAnn for designing this wonderful card!
I hope you will get a chance to try the Color Bursts, creating a Poinsettia and brayering to create the beautiful Wonderland card!
