First Communion card

I often have a hard time creating cards for religious occasions, such as baptisms and confirmations, because I don't have many stamp sets with religious images. But when I needed to make a First Communion card for my cousin's daughter a few weeks ago, I knew right away what I wanted to make.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Strokes of Wisdom (Raisin Boat)
Card stock: Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White
Ink: Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Lattice die, Frost White Shimmer Paint, pearls, sponge daubers, Dimensionals

I wanted to have a rainbow on the background, so I used one of the "swoosh" images from the Strokes of Wisdom stamp set (from Raisin Boat). I stamped the image in five different colors on Whisper White card stock, lining up the images to create the look of a rainbow.

To make the cross, I cut a piece of Whisper White card stock with the Lattice die and then trimmed it down to get the cross shape. (I didn't come up with this idea, but I love the result.)

I wanted the cross to stand out a little, so I used a sponge dauber to apply Frost White Shimmer Paint. It has a pretty, subtle shimmer in person. I also applied shimmer paint along the edge of another piece of Whisper White card stock to layer behind the focal panel.

To adhere the cross to the card I cut Dimensionals into tiny pieces that fit behind the cross. The final touch was a pearl in the center of the cross.

The "Celebrate" sentiment (also from the Strokes of Wisdom set) wasn't necessarily my first choice; I was looking for something more along the lines of  "God bless you." But I liked the calligraphy-style font, and the sentiment fit perfectly across the whole focal panel, so I decided to go with it. Besides, a First Communion, at least in our family, is always followed by a party with gifts and cake, so it clearly is a time to celebrate.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit

During the past few months life has gotten in the way of fun stuff like crafting, so I haven't been able to post on my blog as often as I would have liked. And my sister and I just found out last weekend that we need to find a new place to live by the end of May, so it doesn't look like it's going to get much better in the next couple of months. (I'm especially bummed because I went to the premier of the new Stampin' Up! catalog last night, and I won't even be able to preorder any new goodies. Well I could, but I'd just have to pack them up as soon as I got them. Boo.) I do have one more card to share after today's post, but that's all I have at this point. I'm hoping I'll be able to make a card or two in between packing up boxes, but just know that I'm still around and probably wishing I were stamping!

Anyway, on with the show. I've had the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit from Stampin' Up! sitting on one of my craft shelves, taunting me, for weeks. I finally had a chance to sit down and make the cards, and it was really fun. The kit comes with a three-piece greeting stamp set, a clear block, twenty printed kraft note cards and envelopes, Basic Gray ink, card stock stickers, clips, Whisper White Baker's twine and Dimensionals -- everything you need to sit down and whip up twenty cute cards. I wanted to add a little something to my cards -- including a little bling -- so I also used some additional supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Yippee-Skippee!, Just Sayin'
Card stock:  Whisper White, Very Vanilla (for layers inside the cards)
Ink: Calypso Coral pad and marker, Baked Brown Sugar marker, Basic Gray marker
Accessories: Small heart punch, Bitty Banner punch, Merry Minis punch pack, gold sequin trim, Calypso Coral baker's twine, gold baker's twine, Glue Dots, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Embossing Buddy

Altogether I used ten different sentiments: the three that came in the kit and seven others. I made two cards using each greeting, and no two cards are exactly alike. I think I'm going to divide the cards into two sets, so each set has one card with each greeting. And I might just keep one of the sets for myself.

The card kit also comes with a color instruction sheet that illustrates each of the card layouts Stampin' Up! designed. I used the instructions as a starting point for several of my cards, so I could get ideas for how to layer the different elements.

I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig tool to help stamp the greetings straight. Another useful tool was the Embossing Buddy, which I used to lightly dust the back of the stickers that I adhered to the card with Dimensionals.

I used Calypso Coral, Baked Brown Sugar and Basic Gray markers to apply ink to the greeting stamps so I could have multicolored sentiments.

After finishing all the cards, I still had two partial sheets of stickers and the white baker's twine left (since I used different twine). And about one-third of the sheet of Dimensionals, which surprised me since I go through Dimensionals like they're water. That's plenty of supplies to make several more cards using my own card bases - hip hip hooray!

Thanks for stopping by!

Decorated gift box

For Easter I gave my grandma a big box of birthday cards -- forty-five of them, to be exact, plus five blank cards. Once I had all the cards made, I had to decide how to package them. I found a box that was just the right size -- about 8" wide and long and 6" deep -- but there were two little problems: it didn't have a cover, and it was a boring white box. Luckily those are pretty minor problems for a paper crafter.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Petal Patch Designer Series Paper (DSP), Certainly Celery textured 12" x 12" card stock
Accessories: 1-1/4" Certainly Celery striped grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, large pearls, 1/2" Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal), Simply Scored tool

Here is how the box started. I forgot to take pictures while I was adding the DSP, but it was a pretty easy process. You need three 6" x 12" pieces of matching DSP; an all-over random print is a good choice so the seams from the overlapping pieces won't be so noticeable. Apply a strong adhesive, such as Scor-Tape, to the back of the DSP and/or along the top and bottom edges of the box, and then carefully adhere the paper. Tip: Pull the backing off the adhesive a little bit at a time as you are moving around the box to help reduce the chance that something will get stuck in the wrong place.

Now for the cover. Here is a brief tutorial that explains how I made mine:

Step 1: Determine the size of the cover and score the card stock.

My box was about 7-7/8" square, so I wanted the cover to be 8" square so it would fit over the box. So on my 12" x 12" card stock, I scored along each side 2" in from the edge.

Step 2: In each corner there will be a square formed by the intersecting score lines. On each of these squares, cut along one of the score lines just to the point where it meets the other score line, making a tab. I usually make the cuts so two are on one side of the card stock and the other two are on the opposite side.

Step 3: Fold the card stock along the score lines. Apply adhesive to each of the tabs, fold them in and attach them behind the adjoining flap.

Step 4: If needed, trim along the bottom edge of cover so all the sides are even. (I had a tab or two that weren't lined up perfectly after I adhered them, so just I trimmed off the extra card stock.)

Step 5: Embellish the cover as desired.

I adhered a piece 1-1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon along the middle of the cover. I used three more pieces of ribbon in different lengths to make three loops. I flattened each loop in the middle and adhered them together from largest to smallest. Then I added a button with a pearl in the center to the top loop. After I was done I decided I wanted to have a little touch of brown on the cover, so I made two small tabs with Chocolate Chip satin ribbon and tucked them between two of the other ribbon loops.

Thanks for stopping by!

A few more Easter cards

I didn't make too many Easter cards this year, just enough for a few family members and friends. (And of course, I put them in the mail earlier this week with messages along the lines of "I hope you're enjoying our warmer weather" and "Spring is finally here!" And then our temperature promptly dropped below freezing and we had an April snowstorm. Figures.) I shared my Easter basket card earlier this week (April 14, 2014), so today I want to share the other cards I designed.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Everybunny, Easter Blossoms
Card stock: Really Rust, Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Really Rust
Accessories: Watercolor pencils, Blender Pen, Scallop Edge Border punch, corner rounder, cream organdy ribbon (unknown), Dimensionals

The starting point for this card was the focal image. I stamped the image with Tuxedo Black ink, colored it with watercolor pencils and used a Blender Pen to soften the pencil lines.

From there I chose the coordinating card stock colors: Really Rust for the card base and an accent of Kiwi Kiss. I know they aren't your traditional Easter or spring colors, and I was a little leery about the combo, but they grew on me.

To finish the card, I stamped a sentiment in the middle of the card and a border of mushrooms along the bottom of the card and then added a ribbon and bow.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Everybunny
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Crumb Cake
Accessories: Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, corner rounder, slot punch, pearls, Dimensionals

I love the adorable bunnies in the Everybunny stamp set; I just wish I could do them justice with better coloring skills. I used the same method for the focal image as the previous card: stamp, color with watercolor pencils, apply Blender Pen. To add the ribbon I punched a slot in the right side of the focal layer and pulled one end of the ribbon through the slot. A few simple pearls are the finishing touch.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Easter Blossoms
Card stock: Pale Plum, Very Vanilla
Ink: Pale Plum, Soft Suede
Accessories: Deco Labels Framelits dies, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, pearls, Dimensionals, sponge

These two images -- the flowering branch and the little girl silhouette -- are my two favorite from the Easter Blossoms set. And together they make an adorable and quick card.

I stamped the branch four times on the Pale Plum card base and the silhouette on Very Vanilla card stock. I die cut the focal image and sponged the edges with Pal Plum ink. I used Dimensionals to adhere the focal image over the ribbon, added a few pearls (including one on the focal image) and stamped the sentiment.

I hope you have a very "hoppy" Easter. Thanks for stopping by!

A tisket, a tasket

A-tisket, a-tasket / A green and yellow basket ... Okay, the basket on my card isn't green and yellow, but that little poem runs through my head whenever I look at this card:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Chocolate Bunny, Easter Blossoms
Card stock: Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral
Ink: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Baja Breeze 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Square Lattice embossing folder, Ovals Collection Framelits dies, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Dimensionals

To make the basket, I embossed a piece of Crumb Cake card stock with the Square Lattice embossing folder and then rounded the two bottom corners. I adhered a strip of plain card stock along the top of the basket, wrapped a piece of ribbon around it and tied a bow.

To make the handle I used two consecutive sizes of the Ovals Collection Framelits dies to create an oval frame. I cut the frame in half and adhered the ends to the back of the basket.

You can't have an Easter basket without some treats, right? So to fill the basket I stamped and cut out a chocolate bunny and several eggs.

Come back later this week to see a few more Easter cards. Thanks for stopping by!