Tag Archives: Throwback Thursday

Spellbinders Gnome Drive Card Tutorial

Spellbinders-Gnome Drive-Hearts for You-Photoplay Serendipity-Kathy Clement-Kathy by Design

Spellbinders Gnome Drive Card Tutorial with Photoplay Serendipity

Hello, Friends!  This adorable birthday card is made with Spellbinders Gnome Drive dies.  It’s part of the August release and it is so much fun to work with.  I’ve paired it up with vibrant Serendipity papers from Photoplay.  This gnome in her snazzy pink convertible looks ready to party!

There are 6 die sets and one sentiment stamp set in this fun release.  Our birthday party gnome is made with both the Holiday and Hearts for You set.  I also got the Spring set which features St. Patrick’s Day and Easter dies, but I’ll share those later when we are closer to the holiday.

If you are only going to get one die from this set, I  highly recommend that you get Gnome Drive Holiday.  That’s because it is the only set that comes with the car and the gnome body.  The other sets are what I call “add on” dies.

Tips for Working with Tiny Dies

Do you ever struggle when working with a die that has a lot of little pieces and layers?  I have a few helpful tips to make the job easier.

  • First, place your dies on a magnetic sheet so that  you don’t lose any of the itty bitty pieces.  It’s no fun digging through the trash can looking for that tiny gnome nose or steering wheel, let me tell you!
  • Save money by using magnetic furnace vent sheets instead of manufacturer magnetic die sheets.  Cut them to the size you need and you’ll save a ton of cash so you can buy more dies!
  • Die cut each piece from 110# cardstock (you can use scraps) before you die cut from patterned paper.  Then use the 110# cardstock as a base for the pattered paper.  It’s so much easier to handle small pieces this way.
  • Keep a small bowl or box at your side and place each die cut piece in it so they don’t get lost.
  • Finally, place each die back on the magnetic sheet after it has been cut.
A Peek Inside

Finish this cheery card with an inside pocket and gift card wallet.  You will learn how to make the wallet in the video tutorial for this card.

Gnome Drive Holiday Card

Here’s our happy little gnome getting ready for Christmas.  I don’t know what it is about gnomes, but they always make me chuckle!  I added googly eyes for even more fun.  Graphic 45 Twas the Night Before Christmas papers work perfectly with the Picot Petite Circle and glittery Christmas paper. Of course, I had to add some rusty jingle bells to the bow.

This simple card “recipe” works for any season or theme.  The same holds true for the gnomes.  Just change the papers, and they become gnomes for all seasons.

Throwback Thursday Gnome Drive Birthday Card Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to join me as I put the pieces of the Happy Birthday Gnome card together, please enjoy this video tutorial.

 

You can find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks for stopping by, friends!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Summer Sunflowers Tea Party in a Box Tutorial

Graphic 45-Time To Flourish-Tea Party in a Box-Tutorial-Kathy Clement-Kathy by Design

Summer Sunflowers Tea Party in a Box Tutorial with Graphic 45 August Time to Flourish

Hello, Friends!  For this week’s Throwback Thursday I have this Summer Sunflowers Tea Party in a Box Tutorial to share with you.  Last week we made our August Time to Flourish Banner with Graphic 45 Time to Flourish.  I had a few bits of the paper left over, and thought you might enjoy making another one of my “scrappy” cards.   It’s always fun to use up those last few bits and bobs of a favorite paper, right?

Rustic Sunflowers

Since the August papers feature sunflowers, I decided to make my own with my Heartfelt Creations Rustic Sunflower stamps, dies and shaping mold.  Here’s the process that I followed to make them:

  • First, swipe Fossilized Amber, Scattered Straw and Wild Honey Distress ink across a non-stick craft sheet.
  • Next, spritz the ink with a mister bottle until small beads of color form.
  • Now, swipe, tap and pat both sides of an 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet of Elizabeth Craft Designs Soft White Cardstock through the ink until both sides are covered.
  • If you have blank spots, fill in with Fossilized Amber ink applied with a blending tool.
  • Then dry both sides of the paper thoroughly with a heat gun, or leave to dry for several hours.
  • Stamp the Rustic Sunflowers onto the dried paper using Rusty Hinge Distress Oxide Ink.
  • Next, die cut using the Heartfelt Creations Matching Dies.
  • Then stamp the leaves on scraps of green cardstock and die cut.
  • Shape the flower petals and leaves with the Rustic Sunflower mold following the manufacturer’s directions.
  • Layer the sunflower petals together, staggering the leaves and securing with adhesive.
  • Then cup the center of each flower with a stylus.
  • Fill the flower center with hot glue and let it set up.  Then place a thin layer of Dries Clear Adhesive over the hot glue and sprinkle with Prills. (Espresso Yourself, Power Outage, Copper Penny and Gilt Trip.)
  • Spray the flower petals with mica spray to add a soft sheen.
A Peek Inside

I really had to get creative on the inside of this card, and even had to dip into my stash of July TTF papers.  But we made it work!

Create a sweet tea sachet/gift card wallet with the 4×4 image from the paper collection.  I also topped a blank piece of my cream cardstock with a sunflower to dress up a blank notecard.

Create a shadow border inside the tea wallet with Annette Green’s Lacy Borders dies from Elizabeth Craft.

Summer Sunflowers Tea Party in a Box Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to see how to create the Tea Party in a Box base an, cover art and inside design, please enjoy this tutorial on my YouTube channel.

That’s the very end of my August Time to Flourish papers.  But what a way to go!

You can find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks for joining me!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Time to Flourish August Banner of the Month Tutorial

Graphic 45-Time to Flourish-August Banner-Reneabouquets-Kathy Clement-Kathy by Design

Graphic 45 Time to Flourish August Banner of the Month Tutorial

Hello, Friends!  Well, here we are near the end of July, so it’s time to share our G45 Time to Flourish August Banner of the Month Tutorial.  The August papers in this collection have always been my very favorite.  Sunflowers  and shades of aqua mimic a summer garden under a blue sky.

If you are new to this year-long series, you can find the January-July banner tutorials HERE.

This month’s banner has 7 pennants, so it’s fairly long.  You’ll find a sweet little ATC tag pennant at each end.

I decided to mix and match pennant shapes because I like the visual contrast.  Three of the pennants are made with Eileen Hull’s Sizzix Stitchlets House/Pocket Dies.

Then I decided to add a couple of Kraft Regular Tags because I love the dome shape, and the opportunity to add cute charms to the banner.

The pennants are stitched onto thick grosgrain ribbon topped with burlap striped ribbon.

Gorgeous butterflies from Reneabouquets look so real, and add wonderful detail to the design.

Vintage buttons from my stash are threaded with yellow to keep with the aqua/yellow color palette.

Of course, no banner is complete with out a floral bow cluster and a bit of twine, don’t  you agree?

August Banner of the Month Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to see how I put this banner together, I hope you’ll enjoy the video tutorial on YouTube.

 

You can find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Honey and Bee Trifold Card Folio Tutorial

Honey and Bee Trifold Card Folio Tutorial with Elizabeth Craft Designs and Reneabouquets

Hello, Friends!  For today’s Throwback Thursday post I’ve prepared a sweet Honey and Bee Trifold Card Folio Tutorial.  Buzzing Bees, Boho style blossoms and a lovely beehive make this the perfect summertime project.  I dug out my Elizabeth Craft Designs “Everythings Blooming” dies and some Reneabouquets goodies to my crafty adventure.  A good time was  had by all.

Playful Flowers

These cheery sunflowers are made with the Everythings Blooming Playful Flowers die.  Cut the base flower and ink it up with Mustard Seed and Scattered Straw Distress Ink.  Then cut the looped flower and ink it up with Fossilized Amber Distress Ink.  I used the “smoosh, spritz and dip” method to color both layers.  Here’s how that process works:

  • First, smoosh the ink pad onto a non-stick craft sheet. You can do both colors at the same time.
  • Next, spritz the ink with water until beads formed.
  • Now, dip the layers into the inky puddles to pick up all that luscious color.
  • Then heat dry or leave to dry overnight.  When dry, ink the edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  You can even very lightly pounce the used blender tool over the surface oof the flower layers to create shadows.
  • Next, place a foam tab between the two layers.
  • Finish with a vintage button center.
Beehive and Stemmed Flowers

Create layers on your card with the Postage Stamp and Lace Borders Dies.  I like to layer the borders with two complementary colors of cardstock to create a shadow effect.

Color the stemmed flowers by rubbing the ink pad directly onto the die cut.  The same technique works really well for the honeycomb die.  Then spritz lightly with water to soften the finish.  Scatter mustard seeds from the kitchen around to add some extra texture.  The fun thing about mustard seeds is that they look a lot like bee pollen, so that works really well with the card design.

Creating the Folio Base

This is such an easy base to build.  Here’s the how-to:

  • First, cut (2) 8 1/2″ x 5″ panels of heavy pink cardstock.  Score one panel at 7″ and 7 1/8″.  You will have a flap on one end.
  • Place adhesive on the scored flap, then overlap the second panel and press to join.
  • Score a 1/2″ flap on a scrap of your green cardstock and adhere to the right hand side of your folio base.  The flap will be covered up by designer paper.

That’s it!  So easy!

A Peek Inside

You can see the added flap in this photo.  Turn it into a pocket, dress it up with another border piece, ephemera and stickers, then add a packet of wildflower seeds and a honey stick .  The left hand panel is jut a cute collage page with a little tuck spot for tags and ephemera.

Fancy Pants-Honey and Bee-Reneabouquets-Elizabeth Craft Designs-Everythings Blooming, Kathy Clement-Kathy by Design

Add more Stemmed Flowers behind the flap, and a tiny pocket for tea.  You can see that I layered scraps of my designer paper on the right.  This is one of my favorite ways to use up those small paper scraps.  The Large Doily serves as a frame for my mini collage made with more ephemera and stickers.

Honey and Bee Trifold Card Folio Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to see the process of how I layered up the cover of this card folio, I hope you’ll enjoy this video tutorial on my YouTube channel.

 

Did I share some tips and ideas you can use in your next crafty adventure?  I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.

You’ll find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks for stopping by, friends!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Beach Vibes Mixed Media Bird House

Photoplay Beach Vibes-Spellbinders Build a Summer Birdhouse-Kathy Clement-Kathy by Design-Photo 01

Photoplay Beach Vibes Mixed Media Bird House Card Tutorial with Spellbinders Dies

Hello, Friends!  Today’s Beach Vibes Mixed Media Bird House Card Tutorial is definitely not for the birds!  It’s a super cute, happy and beachy card made from scraps, so it’s perfect for our Throwback Thursday tutorial this week.

We’re working with a few scraps (and I do mean a few!) of Photoplay Paper’s darling Beach Vibes paper collection.  I had no real focal image left, so I had to create a focal image using Spellbinder’s Build a Summer Bird House dies.  If I were a bird, I would definitely take up residence in this adorable lighthouse shaped bird house.  How about you?

Paper Waves, Fussy Cut Beach Huts and Mixed Media Details

Torn paper edges are a great way to mimic the shoreline on a beach themed card.  The tutorial will show you how I layered these torn bits of designer paper to achieve that effect.  Then, fussy cut beach houses from scraps of designer paper and tuck them between the layers to add depth and dimension to your card design.  Age your beachy birdhouse with ink, dry brushed ivory paint, and tapped on bits of blue paint.  Here’s how I created my lighthouse:

  • First, die cut the light house birdhouse from heavy kraft paper.
  • Die cut again from copper metallic paper, then blue woodgrain from the paper collection.
  • Carefully trim the copper roof from one die cut, and the blue roof from the other.
  • Adhere the blue lighthouse layer over the kraft.
  • Then back the copper with thin foam tabs and adhere.
  • Back the light area with vellum paper and trim around it.
  • Cut the light from silver foil and adhere behind the “glass”.
  • Adhere a gem in the center of the light.
  • Cut the posts from kraft cardstock and treat with brushed on ink and paints.  Back with foam tape and adhere.
A Peek Inside

When we create the card base, I’ll show  you how easy it is to score in a pocket.  Then we will create a little gift card wallet and journal card together.

Little touches like this turn a simple card into a gift.

Beach Vibes Mixed Media Bird House Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to see me create this card base and watch the way I created the layers on the card front, I hope you’ll enjoy this video tutorial on my YouTube channel.

 

I hope I shared some tips, tricks and ideas that you can use in your next craft adventure.  You’ll find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

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