Telescoping snowman card

Back in August when I made my first telescoping card for a challenge, I saw that a few other stampers had taken the idea and made adorable snowmen cards. I finally had a chance to make one myself.

This is the snowman fully open.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Best Yet
Card stock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Standard Circles Large Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 1" square punch, Word Window punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, 1/4" circle punch, Small Heart punch, white brads, Dazzling Details

I used three of the circle dies from the Standard Circles Large Nestabilities: the largest, the third largest and the third smallest. I attached the circles together with small white brads.

I punched small black circles for the eyes, mouth and buttons and cut an orange triangle for the nose. For the hat, I punched a black 1" square and a Word Window shape. I added a small strip of red to one side of the black square and then glued the square onto the Word Window so it overlapped just a little. I freehand cut two twig arms and added a punched heart in one of his hands. For a little sparkle, I covered the nose, heart and hatband with Dazzling Details. I really wanted him to have a scarf, but I wasn't sure how to add one without affecting the ability to turn the circles.

I used the bottom circle of the snowman for a stamped greeting and a space to write a message. To "close" the card, you just twist the circles together:

This is the snowman with the bottom circle
twisted up.

Here is the snowman card closed.

The snowman card will fit in a standard A2 size envelope when it's closed (here is a picture so you can see it). I think I might also try gluing the bottom circle of the snowman to another piece of card stock so it's a little sturdier. Maybe a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of blue with a torn border of white at the bottom to look like a snowbank. Then I could add some sparkly snowflakes, too.

This was a fun card to make, and I think it was easier than it looks. I'm definitely going to make more of these for my Christmas cards this year!

Birthdays in blue and brown

Sometimes when I sit down to make cards I already have an idea of what kind of card I want to make or what I want it to look like (although often the finished product is nothing like what I imagined at the beginning). Other times I start out with a certain product, such as a stamp set, color combo or specific accessory, and build a card around that.

For the cards I'm sharing today, I started out with a pack of four fabric tags in shades of blues and browns (another one of those supplies that I've had for years). I selected some coordinating colors and made four birthday cards with the tags. Here are the first two cards:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Plane & Simple
Card stock: Bordering Blue, Buckaroo Blue, Whisper White, textured brown (source unknown)
Ink: Bordering Blue, Buckaroo Blue, Soft Suede
Accessories: Fabric tags (Making Memories), 2-1/2" circle punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, 5/16" neutrals brads, blue brad (source unknown), Dots & Designs rub-ons, mat pack, paper piercer, Dimensionals, Simply Scored tool

I thought the Plane & Simple set worked well with this color combo, so I used it to create a couple of masculine birthday cards. I tried a new (for me) technique on the left card. I have this stamp set in clear-mount style, so I put both the stamps I used on the background (goggles and compass) together on the clear block and stamped the card. With both stamps on the block, it was twice as fast!

I struggled a little bit with the card on the right. I decided to add the rub-on dots to the tag for a pop of color and pattern. I've used rub-ons on ribbon before, and you do have to use a little more pressure when rubbing because the surface isn't smooth like paper, but they still work just fine. Well, I discovered that these tags weren't quite so easy. I think it took me about twenty minutes of very firm rubbing in every possible direction to transfer the dots onto the tag. Sheesh. My arm was sore by the time I was done. I think it looks nice, but I don't know that I'd try it again.

Here are the other two cards I made with the fabric tags:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Vintage Labels, Turtle & Co.
Card stock: Buckaroo Blue, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, textured brown (source unknown)
Ink: Bordering Blue, Buckaroo Blue, Soft Suede
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Stripes embossing folder, Fabric tags (Making Memories), French Blue grosgrain ribbon, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, Large Oval punch, Scallop Edge Border punch, corner rounder, Blender Pen, Chit Chat rub-ons, Dimensionals

I used embossing folders to add texture to both of these cards -- a quick and easy way to make a background. For the top card, I thought the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder worked well with the floral pattern on the tag. I like the feminine feel of this card even though it uses a traditionally masculine color combo.

For the bottom card, I went with an embossed stripe background. Combined with a simple scalloped edge and white rub-on greeting, it gives this card a clean, classic feel -- not too fussy, but definitely not boring.

Thanks for stopping by!

A 'novel' idea

I am going to write a novel. Really. I'm sure it won't be a good novel. It probably won't be an interesting novel. It might even be an oh-my-god-I-can't-read-any-more-of-this-crap novel. But I'm going to write one. In a month.

Pennants, polka dots and petals

It's fun -- and pretty gratifying -- when you have an idea that actually works out the way you imagine it. The last die I bought from Stampin' Up!^® for my Big Shot was called Perfect Pennants. It has two scalloped circles (which I love for layering with circle punches) and three triangle shapes for making pennants and banners.

I've made a couple of banners as make-and-take projects at Stampin' Up! events, and they're very cute. But I'm not really likely to make many banners on my own, so I wanted another way to use the triangle shapes. That's when I had the idea to combine them to make diamond patterns. Here are two cards I made with this idea yesterday.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Regal Rose card stock, Au Chocolat DSP
Accessories: Perfect Pennants die, Boho Blossoms punch, pink and brown suede flowers (unknown), neutrals 5/16" brads, mat pack, paper piercer

For this card I cut four of the medium-sized triangle out of a piece of Au Chocolat DSP. I lined them up point to point and glued them on the front of the card. They fit almost perfectly; I just had to trim them a little bit. I used the piercing grid in the mat pack to pierce lines of holes in the Regal Rose card stock. I layered the two suede flowers with a flower from the Boho Blossoms punch and a Very Vanilla brad and glued them in the middle of the card.

 

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Regal Rose card stock, Very Vanilla card stock, Au Chocolat DSP
Accessories: Perfect Pennants die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Boho Blossoms punch, pink and brown suede flowers (unknown), neutrals 5/16" brads, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch 

To make this card I first embossed the card front with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. Then I cut two of the largest triangles from the Perfect Pennants die out of the Au Chocolat DSP. I turned the triangles point to point, overlapped the points until the dot pattern on both pieces was lined up and glued the triangles together. I also trimmed off the end of the point that was on top so it didn't show from behind the flowers.

I punched two strips of Very Vanilla card stock with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch and then cut the strips in half lengthwise. I glued the half strips behind the triangles so just a little bit of the scallops was visible. Then I adhered everything to the card, trimming the ends of the triangles so they lined up with the sides of the card. I finished the card with the layered suede flowers, punched flower and Very Vanilla brad.

I really like the look of these cards, and I can't wait to try this technique with other colors and patterns. Thanks for stopping by!

World card-making day 2011

Today is world card-making day -- yippee! Probably the perfect "holiday" for me. Happily, I didn't have any plans today, so I dedicated the day to making cards. Here are the results of my hard work this morning and afternoon:

Honestly, I had hoped to have more than nine cards made, but the top row of cards took me a lot longer than I thought they would. I used a pack of fabric tags from Making Memories that I've had for years, and I had to match the colors on the tags with ink and card stock and then figure out how I actually wanted to use the tags in the layouts. I wouldn't have expected that to be such a challenge, but I guess today it was. I'll share more pictures and details about some of these cards next week.

All of these cards are going in my next stash to send to Operation Write Home. That puts me over twenty cards, so I'll probably sort what I have into categories (thinking of you, birthday, etc.) and see if there are any categories that need a few more cards. I should be able to send them off in the next week or two!

If I have any energy left later this evening, I might try to make a few more cards. (At the moment I have to take a break so I can eat dinner and watch the season finale of Doctor Who.) I do want to try making a snowman Christmas card with the telescoping card technique. And I have more Halloween cards to make, too. A card-maker's work is never done ...

Whether you made any cards or not, I hope you enjoyed your day. Maybe next year I'll plan a stamp-a-stack or even just a bring-you-own-supplies-and-make-some-cards event to celebrate world card-making day.