Category Archives: cards made with minimal stamping

Midnight Masquerade Birthday Shaker Card

Graphic 45 Sneak Peeks Day 9: Midnight Masquerade Birthday Shaker Card

Hello again, G 45’ers! It’s Day 9 of Sneak Peeks over at the fabulous Graphic 45 Blog. Today they are featuring the fanciful, mysterious and oh so fun Midnight Masquerade collection. This collection is filled with whimsy, vibrant colors and a real playful vibe. I took one look and thought, “Why not make a shaker card?” And that’s how this Midnight Masquerade Birthday Shaker card came into being.

See what I mean? It’s perfect for Mardi Gras parties, prom parties, and shaker cards, of course!

The making of a shaker card

I’ve only made a few shaker cards, but I found a wonderful new product that makes quick work of the process. It’s call Kool Tac Double Sided Clear Foam. In the past, I’ve sewn my shaker cards together, which is not so easy. But using this foam with clear acetate sheets makes quick work of the job.

First I cut my 4×6 focal image from the designer paper. Next I ran the clear foam tape all around the perimeter. Then I filled the cavity with beads, sequins and glitter. Peel off the top layer of the tape and place your cut acetate sheet over top, being careful to line up all the edges. Burnish with a bone folder and voila! You’re done!

Each image is featured twice in the paper collection, which allows you to frame the shaker portion of the card. I used my ruler and craft knife to carefully cut the frame away from the inside image. Then I used glossy accents to secure it to the top of the shaker. (Glossy accents works well on non-porous surfaces like acetate.) Since the feet were printed into the frame, I fussy cut some flowers to cover them up. I also added more fussy cut flowers to the sides. It really only took a few minutes and it looks so great, don’t you think?

What could possibly be more fun than a shaker card? Well, how about a shaker/easel card? Yeah, I think so, too! This time I used a flower/bow cluster as the stopper. I also mounted a fussy cut postage stamp that is propped up on dimensionals just for fun.

Take a Look Inside

What a glorious riot of color! It makes me feel like I’m at Mardi Gras in New Orleans!

Remember the frame we cut from the second image? I went back and fussy cut the dancing lady from the inner portion and placed her above my flower cluster. It’s hard to tell here, but she’s propped up with foam dimensionals. I also added another fussy cut stamp on either side.

Once again, when decorating the top of an easel card, make sure you don’t let your paper cover the break. I hand wrote this simple sentiment on one of the journal cards from the collection.

So, what do you think of Midnight Masquerade? To be honest with you, I was not at all sure about this collection when I opened my box. I rarely work with such bright colors. But almost as soon as I started working with it, I fell in love with it. It has such a fun, playful vibe and it’s so warm and cheery. I ended up making more samples with this collection than any other. Funny, isn’t it?

To see more of this collection, pop on over to the Graphic 45 blog today. And be sure to leave a comment as they are giving away a lovely prize package. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this Midnight Masquerade Easel Card in the comment section below.

Sneak peeks are the BEST!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Portrait of a Lady Easel Card: Graphic 45 Sneak Peeks Day 6

Graphic 45 Sneak Peeks: Portrait of a Lady Easel Card

Hello G45’ers! Have you been following along with the Graphic 45 Sneak Peeks? I’m so excited about all these new collections. I’ve been busy behind the scenes creating loads of samples for CHA/Creativation and I finally get to share this Portrait of a Lady Easel Card with you today. Hooray!

I tell you no lie: When I pulled Portrait of a Lady from my design team box, I literally gasped. It is one of the most beautiful paper collections I have ever seen.

Details and Tips

I die cut a doily from white cardstock, topped it with a die cut panel from the sentiment page and then wreathed it with trim from my stash. Don’t you just love this sentiment?

The neat thing about an easel card is that it will close flat for mailing. This is what it looks like closed. I kept this design very simple and clean so that the beautiful papers and images could really shine.

To add layers of design to a card, use Staples tags! The lovely shaped edge lends elegance and interest with very little work. I just cut a strip of designer paper here, tucked my tags behind the focal image, trimmed the edges with lace and popped on some beautiful cream Petaloo flowers. So simple, yet so elegant!

For my custom dyed ribbon, I worked Tattered Rose Distress Ink through cream seam binding. It’s a perfect color match and ties a beautiful shabby bow. I love the way an easel card stands all on its own.

A Peek Inside

Here’s a peek at the inside. Because an easel card has to be able to “break” in the middle of the top half, you have to decorate the inside a little differently. Simply cut your panel of paper as you normally would, then cut it in half. Glue one half above the break, and the other below. This way the pattern matches, and the card will still function as designed.

To create the “stopper” for the easel, I layered several patterns of designer paper and matted with cardstock. The stopper needs to sit a little bit high so that the edge of the card front will catch there and stay open. I mounted the “Believe in Yourself” sentiment on waste chipboard for that purpose.

Want to see more?

So, what do you think of Portrait of a Lady? Is it your cup of tea? It certainly is mine! This Portrait of a Lady Easel card is just one of the samples I’ve made with the collection. I’ll be sharing more in days to come.

If you’d like to see more of Portrait of a Lady, it’s being featured on the Graphic 45 BLOG today. Be sure to pop over and take a look at all the elements in this glorious collection. And be sure to leave a comment, as they are giving away a lovely prize package!

I just love sneak peeks!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Peek-A Boo Baby Boy Shortie Tag Album

Tammy Tutterow Designs Baby Boy Shortie Tag Album

Hello, Friends! Sometimes when an idea comes into your head, you have to drop everything and create. I woke up with the design for this Baby Boy Shortie Tag Album in my head, then spent a few delightful hours in my studio bringing it to life. What fun!

Snips, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails Baby Boy Shortie Tag Album

All together now….”awwwwwww!” This is one of those projects I wish you could hold in your hands because it is so stinkin’ tiny and cute, cute, cute! I used Tammy Tutterow’s amazing Shortie Tag Album Die with Kaisercraft Peek-a-Boo boy papers to put this together. (You’ll find product links and a supply list below the post.)

Making this shortie tag album is loads of fun. I simply die cut 3 tags from white cardstock. The Shortie Tag Album Die comes with 6 decorative edge dies, so I ran each tag through my Spellbinder Platinum machine a second time to add the fancy edge. Each tag is about 3″ wide by about 4.5″ tall. The finished album is the perfect size for a brag book.

I used Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress Inks to color the edges of my tags, then spritzed with water. Next I lightly sponged each edge with Vintage Photo Ink to create a border effect. While I was at it, I cut the designer papers to measure 2 7/8″ x 3 1/2″ and inked all those edges as well. The shortie tag album comes with a handy little reinforcement tab die that I added to each die cut tag.

That cutie pie little boy image is mounted to a wool felt flower that I die cut with Tammy’s Floweret Posies Die. I sponged the edges lightly with Tumbled Glass ink to add a sweet textural element to the cover.

A Light Bulb Moment!

One of the things I love about working with Tammy’s dies is their versatility. As I was laying out all the components for this little brag book, a light bulb went off in my brain. I realized I could use the book pages from Tammy’s Mini Tag Book die to create itty bitty folios throughout the tag album. Eureka! I love when that happens. See that little white clothespin? It’s holding the folio on the cover shut.

A Peek Inside

How fun is this? An interactive front cover that opens to hold itty bitty (2.75″ square) photos of baby. It’s a little hard to see in the photo, but if you look at that blue flower shaped button on the right, you’ll see that it is stitched to a little felt tab that I die cut with Tammy’s Shortie Tabs dies. I love the soft texture this adds to a baby project.

The tags are joined together with a ribbon wrapped O ring and the album flips open top to bottom. I was careful to glue just the bottom edge of the ephemera so that photos could be inserted behind. The bottom page holds another mini folio. I just love how tiny everything is!

This folio opens book style. The border piece is glued just on the ends so that photos can be tucked behind.

The final page contains two more mini folios. I might add that pictures can also be mounted onto the tags themselves. There are lots of options in the design, which I totally love.

This would be such a sweet baby shower gift or new baby gift. And wouldn’t every proud Nana want to show off her darling grandson in an album like this?

Sweet Baby Boy Companion Card

Because I already had everything out on my desk, and because I was having such fun playing, I went ahead and made a companion card for the Baby Boy Shortie Tag Album. I have to confess. that white wool felt flower just makes my heart happy. It’s made with the same Floweret Posies Die that I mounted the album focal image on. Each pass through the die cutting machine gives you 3 graduated flower layers. I stitched them together here and then added a baby blue button. To me, this soft layered flower makes the whole design pop.

Inside the card, I added a photo mount behind a pretty belly band.

The pocket on the bottom holds a little photo folder and a lovely ephemera card.

Oh, I do so love sweet little baby boy projects! I hope I shared some useful ideas for these fabulous dies that you can use in your own creative time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Product Links

Tammy Tutterow Dies by Spellbinders
Paper
- Kaisercraft Peek-a-Boo Boy Collection
- Peek-a-Boo Die Cut Ephemera
- 3 Sheets 8.5 White Cardstock (two for tag album, one for card)
- MFT Sno Cone Heavyweight Cardstock
Ribbon
- Fancy Pants Baby Boy trims (retired)
- Blue Bird Gingham Ribbon
- Topaz Blue Delicate Stitched Satin
- Mixed Blue Confetti Dots Ribbon
Novelty Buttons are either Jesse James or Dress it Up
Buttons from my stash

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More Merry Christmas Cards

More Merry Christmas Cards with Polly’s Paper Studio Goodies

Hello, Friends! How are you coming along with your Christmas card/gift list? Little by little I’m getting it all done…or as done as it is going to be! LOL I have a couple more Merry Christmas Cards to share with you here today. This time, I’ve used gorgeous vintage and retro tags from Polly’s Paper Studio. You are going to love these sweet images.

Christmas Joy Hanger Card Look at the precious faces on this darling wood grain tag. If that doesn’t make you feel like smiling, then you need a dose of christmas punch! I downloaded the tag from Polly’s Paper Studio Etsy Shop and printed it onto matte photo paper. It took hardly any time at all to layer it up with cute papers from MME Joyous Christmas, Black Plaid Ribbon from RRR, and Petaloo Burlap Poinsettias.

I designed this with a hanger so that I could dress up a bottle of holiday cheer. It looks fabulous on a wine bottle, or even a bottle of really good olive oil. As a bonus, you can hang it on a door knob or even on a Christmas tree.

Christmas Angel Gift Card Holder

Next I created a gift card holder using the Black Plaid Vintage Christmas Tags digital download. I fell in love with this sweet angel face.

A mini file folder is a great spot to tuck in festive Christmas goodies!

I added another tag from the download along with a little chocolate treat and a candy cane. This is such a fun way to present a gift card, don’t you think?

I know you’re as busy as I am, so I won’t take up any more of your time. I just thought I’d share in case your Christmas mojo needed a boost!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Birthdays, Holidays & Special Days 2017 Planner

Note: If you are looking for the RRR Blog Hop, Click HERE.

Birthdays, Holidays & Special Days 2017 Planner with Graphic 45

Hello, Friends! This is the time of year when we all start thinking about organizing our lives and getting ready for the New Year. I was in the middle of sorting out my Graphic 45 paper collections when I had a “lightbulb moment” and the idea for this Birthdays, Holidays & Special Days 2017 Planner was conceived.

My thought was this: Wouldn’t it be great to use up all these scraps and make a whole year’s worth of cards? And then what if I bound them into an album with a pocket page to hold dates and addresses? And that little voice in my head said, “Yes, Yes! Do it!” So I did.

Like so many ideas, this turned out to be bigger than I realized. BUT….I just kept plugging away at it and after a solid week of work, I had this lovely album, places to keep addresses and 24…COUNT ‘EM!….handmade cards. As an added bonus, I cleared out tons of scraps and made room for more paper. That’s a win/win for sure!

I affectionately call this my “big Mama” because it is huge. The covers measure 8.5″ square and the binding is 5.5″ wide. There are 12 double pocket pages inside, one for each month of the year.

Dates, Addresses and Cards at my fingertips

This Birthdays, Holidays & Special Days 2017 planner is a real mash up of Graphic 45 goodies. I created the cover with Architecture & Alphabet DIY papers. The large size of these papers makes them ideal for this sort of project. Time to Celebrate decorates the front and inside covers.

Each month of the year is represented with a pocket for dates and addresses and a second pocket that contains 2 greeting cards themed to that month.

I am not going to lie to you: this took a lot of time to make. BUT, I have an album that can be used over and over again. I just have to make new cards to fill the card pocket. And, it will be very nice to have my addresses and special dates right at my fingertips in these handy pockets. The cut apart pages from Time to Flourish and A Place in Time make the job much easier.

These are the January cards. I have hoarded bits and pieces of both Place in Time and Time to Flourish ever since they were released. It felt wonderful to put them to good use on these simple, easy to mail cards.

Birthdays, Holidays & Special Days 2017 Planner YouTube Video Tour

To help you get a feel for the flow and design of this album, I prepared a YouTube video tour.

I hope I’ve inspired you today to get into your gorgeous Graphic 45 papers, use up your scraps and make something beautiful with them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Products Used

Architecture & Alphabets DIY Paper G45
Time to Flourish
- 12×12 and 8×8 paper pads
- chipboard
- banners
- pockets and tags
- stickers
- calendar papers both 12×12 and 8×8
- ephemera cards
A Place in Time (original release)
- 12×12 papers
- 12×12 calendar pages
- chipboard
Time to Celebrate
- 8×8 pad
- 12×12 cut apart pages
Children’s Hour
- 12×12 calendar pages
Staples Door Plates (2) Door Knob and Ornate key
Graphic 45 Washi Tape
Scor-Pal or other Scoring tool
Scor-Tape or other strong adhesive to create the binding
Medium weight chipboard
Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive or the adhesive of your choice
plain cardstock in assorted colors from my scrap drawer
assorted ribbons, buttons and brads