A Bohemian Chic Paper Weave!

 About four times a year, Splitcoaststampers hosts a Virtual Stamp Night challenge, which starts a month earlier than the official challenge date with three mini challenges.  When the official event happens, it starts on a Friday evening with four challenges, each on the hour, starting at 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The second day starts at 1:00 p.m. and goes under 11:00 p.m., also with a challenge each hour.  My first goal was to at least get the mini challenge completed and at least six the next two days.  I was being realistic that I'd probably not get all challenges done in the time limit allotted for uploading the the gallery.  My fondest wish is that someday, maybe I'll actually complete all challenge and get them uploaded on time!

Well, this year, so far, I'm really random.  I may finish the minis, but I'm diving right into one of the later challenges, which I didn't really see myself completing, because I thought the challenge would be difficult to design a card for. But while browsing a few of the possible inspiration photos, I ran across one that really sparked my interest and reminded me of a collection of papers I recently bought, which motivated me to get started.  I also check for other challenges that might help me in my design, but I will have to add them later because of the short timeline to make and upload cards!

Take a peak at my completed card, which uses the bedroom color scheme and floral idea found in the paper:

Ingredients: Stampin' Up: Cardstocks--Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Basic White, Gold Foil. Patterned Paper--Symbols of Fortune DSP. Stamps-- Here's A Card (sentiment). Ink--Soft Succulent. Embellishments--Brushed Butterflies. Technique--Layered Strip Weaving. Other: Copics--Butterfly colors...R09 (orange), G29 (green), Y38 (Golden Yellow). Chatterbox inside verse. Size--4-3/4" x 6."

Easter's Symbol of Salvation!

Moving on to my second Easter card that I found in my "TO DO" box: a previously finished card from a 2018 class card. When I got home from class, I separated the layers with my trusty spatula (OLD Cricut spatula), because I knew I wanted to elaborate on the card when I had time and I didn't want the glue tape to set. The pieces ended up stashed in my "Need to Finish...TO DO Stash" box and promptly forgotten! The original card's design credit goes to Dar Peterson, one of my two SU demonstrator duos.

      

I got out all the pieces and my photo of the original to see if I could remember what I wanted to do different. My changes do not really change the original design look too much, but adds a bit more sparkle and elegance, I think, with more Gold Foil added. I enlarged the card to a 4-3/4" x 6" card from an A2 by making a larger new white card base, adjusting the Blackberry Bliss larger (I used the original for an inside card layer), and cut and inserted a Gold Foil layer before adding the top white embossed card front layer. I also added a Gold Foil scalloped oval below the multi-color stitched dsp layer.

I was really please with the foil additions as it dressed up this lovely card even a bit more by adding more eye-catching metallic sparkle that coordinates with the gold filigree cross.  Now, here's the rub!  I forgot to take a photo of my remodel before popping it in the post for mailing! 

All I got to say is...woe is me, sigh! I bid you to use your imagination to envision how those changes looked as this is a photo of the original design! Take a peek below at it and my inside design and stamped verse:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up: Cardstock--Blackberry Bliss, Basic White, Gold Foil. Pattern--Painted with Love Specialty dsp (2018 Occasions).  Stamps--You're Inspiring (sentiment); Easter Promise (inside verse). Dies--Cross of Hope Framelits (2018 Occasions/ 2018-19 AC); Stitched Shapes Dies (oval). Petal Burst EF (2018 AC). Other: Brilliance Chalk ink--Gingerbread. Ribbon scrap.

Birthday Wishes for a Friend!

I still had some more papers and elements from the Made to Bloom card kit that needed using.  I put my thinking cap on to design another alternative design of my own using the green patterned paper provided. 

 
Since I needed a birthday card for a friend I decided this would be the theme.  I added a Blackberry Bliss card base and a gold foil mat layer beneath the green pattern.  I used the gold foil edged scallop banner and applied the flowers similar to the card design provided, but with added layering and sparkly center gems.  I fussy-cut and inked-edge distressed the flowers, layered them, dressed them up with acrylic glitter glaze centers and a Goosebump Gem colored to simulate Blackberry Bliss with Copic markers.  At the base of the scalloped banner, I  stamped the "Birthday Wishes" sentiment onto a scalloped die cut matted with a larger gold foil scalloped die-cut to change the finishing edge of the banner and its look.

Take a look at my friend's finished birthday card, inside and out...I think she will enjoy it!  It is a good way to keep in touch as we have not been able to socialize since Covid started.

Ingredients:  Cardstock--Blackberry Bliss, Gold Foil. Kit--Made to Bloom Kit (2019 Occ.). Stamps--Fancy Phrases. Dies--SU Layering Oval Framelits. Sargent Acrylic Glitter Glaze. Queen & Co.--Twinkle Goosebump Gems (Copic colored). ColorBox Chestnut Roan Ink Edge Distressing. EK punch--Victorian Corner. Chatterbox computer verse. Size: 4-3/4x6-inches.

October Birthday with Paper Pumpkin--March 2021--Here's to You Alternative #1!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up Products--  Cardstock/ Papers: Old Olive, Pretty Peacock, Basic White, Copper Foil, Paper Pumpkin March 2021 - Here's to You--envelope inserts used as dsp.  Stamps: Itty Bitty Birthdays.  Dies:  Layering Circles Framelits (circles/ scallops).  Ink: Pretty Peacock, Early Espresso.   Embossing Folder: Coastal Weave 3D.   Other--  Trim: Maya Arts Hemp Twine.  Punch: EK Medium Scallop Corners.  Chatterbox verse (computer).  Size: 4-3/4x6-1/4-inches.

THE CARD STORY WITH CONSTRUCTION NOTES!

I have many October birthdays and time has marched along at quite a steady pace, so I must get started before I'm late!  My plan is to make a series of Alternative Paper Pumpkin cards, based on the March 2021 kit, Here's To You.  Early on when I subscribed to Paper Pumpkin, my purpose and focus was to get myself back into my craft room by challenging myself to make alternative designs rather than those provided in the kit instructions. 

Though I was not enamored with this kit when it first came, it grew on me as ideas began to percolate.  I was gifted refill kit, which would help with those ideas.  I've fussy-cutting parts of kits in the past to add layering and depth and I've loved the look it gave.  I realized that with kits, what was missing for me was that depth which many kits to not give because flat pictures that are many times part of kit designs.  

I decided that this particular kit's mountain-sunrise scene could make a nice masculine card, but without the Petal Pink edging!  Ugh!  As I wrestled with design thoughts, I pulled cardstocks of the prescribed companion colors.  I really loved the greens, blues, and blue-greens with both scenes provided in the kit.  I also found Copper foil looked absolute marvelous with these color combinations and the kit elements.  I would definitely include them all!  Here is what I did:

1.  Use two mountain-sunrise scenes to accomplish the layering I used.  On both mountain-sunrise scenes, I chopped off the Petal Pink cardstock surrounding the scenes in order to work with just the scenes alone.

2.  On one scene, I fussy-cut and removed the sunrise from the mountains, preserving the mountains and below as the top layer of scene.  I ink distressed and sponged these mountains lightly with Pretty Peacock near the top and edges only.  This brought more color, shadowing, and depth, plus when I used to offset layering for the mountains, it would give the whole scene more texture, depth, and definition.  We'll call these "#2 mountains" when referring to them below.

3.  With the second trimmed mountain-sunrise scene, stamped a set of birds from the kit stamp set with Early Espresso ink.  Let dry!!  Using a sponging brush, add a little color to the edge of the mountains with the Pretty Peacock ink.  (This can be difficult on a flat surface.)  Let dry!! 

4.  Now, it is time to glue your "#2 mountains" onto this new scene by positioning the "#2 mountains" about 1/16" below the ones on the newly sponged scene.  Whoa is me, and then I made a mistake!  When trying to glue the mountain layering, I accidentally ink-smudged the sun!  I had to use a new bottom scene, and once again, position my mountain layering.  Be sure to let all inks dry before working with the piece.

5.  Die-cut the double layer scene, created in #4 above, with a 2-7/8" circle die making sure to position the die so the sunrise and rays are preserved at the top.  Remember it is thicker than one piece of cardstock so you may have to work with your die-cutting sandwich if you cannot just use your regular 2 cutting plates.

6.  Take one of the evergreen tree die-cuts provided in the kit and fussy-cut off the three trees removing them from their land base.  Sponge Pretty Peacock ink onto the tree edges and surfaces (again for texture and depth).  Let the ink dry.

7.  Glue the trees to the left of the sunrise circle and trimmed their bottoms to fit the circle curve.  With Early Espresso ink, stamp a set birds flying near the mountains using the kit's stamp set. 

8.   Die-cut a 3-1/16" scalloped circle from copper foil to use as a border layer underneath.  Attached the copper scalloped circle underneath.  I was stoked with the results!  I really loved the look the foil gave!

9.  For your cardstock layers, cut an Old Olive card base, plus Pretty Peacock and Copper Foil pieces for added background layers.  My card base is 4-3/4 x 6-inches.  The other two layers are cut according to the amount of edge you want to shown between each layer.

10. For your patterned paper (dsp) card front layer, my card uses the kit's multi-colored rectangles envelope inserts.  

11. Next, cut a 1-1/4-inch wide Pretty Peacock band (length will be determined by your card front horizontal width).  Emboss with the Coastal Weave 3D embossing folder.  Adhere it to the card front dsp (see card picture for positioning). 

12. String three strands of hemp twine across Coastal Weave approximately 1/4-inch apart (see card picture for positioning).  Tie in the middle with a piece of twine to create the criss-cross configuration and then add more tied twine to make a thick knot for visual appeal. 

13.  Adhere all your layers on top of each other in this order:  layer 1 = Old Olive card base; layer 2 = Pretty Peacock; layer 3 = Copper foil; layer 4 = Dsp card front.

14.  With Pretty Peacock ink, stamp sentiment; let dry!  Add to a Pretty Peacock under layer. 

15. Finish the card by positioning and popping up the mountain-sunrise circle and the layered sentiment.  

 

I was super enthusiastic about my son's finished card made from a kit that I was originally super unenthusiastic about when I first received it in the mail!!  My son was super pleased with his card, but I wasn't super pleased that it ended up a little late!

Just an FYI, below is the kit's design version, using what I call the sunrise-mountain scene:

Christmas Dove Brings An Olive Branch!

This is another Christmas card for my 2021 stash!  I do love this Stampin' Up dove stamp and die set that I used, which I'm surprised wasn't carried over into the annual catalog.  

I wanted to use vellum for the dove, which I underlaid with Tempting Turquoise and added silvery wreath. I thought a night sky would be pretty, and I found a pretty piece of dsp with deep to mid-range blue tones.  To complete the look of my night sky, I embossed the dsp with the SU Winter Snow embossing folder and then sprinkle/ splattered it with white acrylic paint.  It was just the look I wanted.  

I used a silver heat-embossed sentiment on vellum with the Tempting Turquoise as an underlay mat as I did with the dove.  I modified this die-cut mat, cutting it down narrower to fit the width I wanted.  Take a look below at the finished card:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Night of Navy, Tempting Turquoise (ret.), Silver Foil, Translucent Vellum.  Stamps/ Dies--Dove of Hope/ Detailed Dove dies; Wreath Builder dies, Ornate Frames dies (sentiment underlay/ modified).  Ink:  Shaded Spruce (sponged Shimmer cardstock).  Embossing Powder--Silver.  Embossing Folder--Winter Snow (SU-2020 Holiday).  Other:   Paper--Recollections Bold Brushstrokes 12x12 paper pad; DCWV Shimmer cardstock--white.  Folk Art--White acrylic paint.  Size--4-3/4 x 6-inches. 

A Delicate Ornament Merry Christmas! (Totally Lovin' Christmas #9)

This will be Card #9 from the Thayer Totally Lovin' Christmas event early in the Fall.  I have to admit that I did a little doctoring on this one.  I wanted my ornament to be as though it were hanging from the tree, so I added a narrow silver ribbon to the top, plus I raised my ornament up toward the top of the card considerably, because I very much wanted to add a sentiment under my ornament.  Because of the sentiment that I wanted to use, I decided I needed my card to be larger so that all of the elements would all fit much better.  

Because I decided to make all of these changes, I need to re-emboss top white layer under the ornament.  I was stoked because, though I did not currently have the embossing folder needed, I had already ordered it and knew that it was on its way.  I prepared all the elements I could, and then put the pieces aside until the embossing folder arrived.   I was sad to see that it was the smaller A2 size folder and not the new 6-inch size that Stampin' Up is currently offering their folder in.  This required me to emboss once, and then change the location of the folder on the paper by re-positioning and matching it very carefully and ultimately, making a second pass through the Big Shot.  It did leave a bit of a mark where the new and old embossing met, but it was well hidden by the sentiment layers.

I took my silver foil layer and adhered my newly prepared embossed layer and popped this unit up onto the pre-prepared white and red layers.  I added my prepared ornament and sentiment and voila, it was done.  I was very please with my new version of this card, and I thank Liz Thayer for the original design to use as a jump-start to my card.  I am going to attached my card and then the original so perhaps you can better understand my ramblings!

Recipe:  All Stampin' Up products.  Cardstock--Whisper White, Real Red, Silver Foil, Red Foil, Silver Glimmer. Stamps: Greetings of the Season.  Ink:  Real Red.  Embossing folder: Elegant Dots.  Framelit dies:  Delicate Ornaments.  Silver Cording.  Iced Irridescent Rhinestone.  Size: 5-1/2-inch square.