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Beyond The Basics, Christmas Crafts, Fancy Fold Friday · October 15, 2020

How To Add Jingle Bells to Angel Wings Christmas Card

The Angel Wings Christmas card I’m showing you today is surrounded by nostalgia. The darling saying comes from the 1946 movie ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. My MIL introduced me to this film Christmas of ’96 when I visited my future husbands home in West Scotland. Twenty four years later it is a family Christmas tradition that we watch this film as part of our Advent activities.

Double Z-Fold Angel Wings Christmas Card

I went with a double Z Fold on a base of Shaded Spruce and placed an embossed and stamped Z-Fold of Whisper White on it.

Whisper White Layers

Cut a piece of Whisper White 25 cm x 10 cm and another at 8 cm x 8 cm. Score at 14.2 cm and 19.7 cm. Burnish by mountain folding the first score line and valley folding the second score line.

Stamp sentiment from Yuletide Pasture in versamark. Sprinkle over silver embossing powder and heat emboss. Punch a Timeless Label from sticky note paper and cover the sentiment. Stamp bells in Shaded Spruce and Real Red.

Stamp the Angel Wings sentiment in the centre of the 8 cm x 8 cm square of Whisper White in Shaded Spruce. Colour the bells with Smokey Slate Blends.

Angel Wings Christmas Card Front

The card front began with a 14.8 cm x 10.5 cm Shaded Spruce base. Then I adhered a 14.2 cm x 10 cm piece of Plaid Tidings patterned paper.

I cut a 20 cm length of Shaded Spruce and wrapped it around the middle of the card, adhering the ribbon ends behind the card front. Next, I cut a 20 cm and 10 cm length of Metallic Mesh ribbon. I adhered the end of the 20 cm piece to the left side of the card front, behind the front card and over the top of the Shaded Spruce ribbon. I repeated this on the right side with the 10 cm piece.

Securing the Jingle Bells

Next I threaded the Jingle Bells onto the 20 cm length and knotted both Metallic Mesh ends together, pulling it tight so the bells lie on the card front, as shown in the picture. When I was happy with the bell placement I tied the Metallic Mesh ribbon into a simple bow.

Cut Shaded Spruce 9 cm x 9 cm. Adhere 8.5 cm x 8.5 cm Real Red to the 9 cm x 9 cm Shaded Spruce square. Then adhere the stamped Whisper White square. Using dimensionals adhere to the card front aligning to the left of the Jingle Bells.

Shaded Spruce Card Stock

Cut Shaded Spruce card stock 29 cm x 10.5 cm. Score 7.3 cm and 14.8 cm. Burnish by mountain folding the 14.8 cm score line. Then Valley fold 7.3 cm score line. Adhere the Whisper White Z-fold.

Card Assembly

The picture below shows how to adhere the 25 cm piece of Whisper White to 29 cm Shaded Spruce. First adhere front panel of Whisper White card stock to 7.3 cm section of Shaded Spruce card stock, leaving an even border top, bottom and left side. Then adhere last panel of Whisper White card stock to the larger back panel of Shaded Spruce, leaving an even border at the top, bottom and right side.

Finally, adhere the card front to the front panel of Whisper White.

Thank you for stopping by today. I am excited to explore different ways we can use our craft stash. It is my mission that every stamp set purchased never sits unused on a shelf! That’s what it means to be ‘eager to stamp’! Finding the time and using the product {smile}

Amie

To order any of these products, visit my Stampin’ Up Online Store.

Product List

$28.00	$37.00	$15.25	$15.25
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$6.00	$50.00	$14.00	$15.50

Beyond The Basics, Fancy Fold Friday, Technique & Tutorial Tuesday, Thank You Crafts · October 12, 2020

Fun Fold Thank You – Playing with the Z Fold

Welcome! I’m showing you my Fun Fold Thank You card that I’ll be sending out to my Stampin’ Up!® customers that purchased from me this month.

Thank you for joining our us for our Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrator Monthly Team Blog Hop! We are so happy that you could join us today for this blog hop of ideas and creative inspiration. We are a group of Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrators from around the world that are taking part in training that is helping us to build a successful Stampin’ Up!® business and reach some goals we have set. We really appreciate your support.

You may be starting here or have come from another blog – either way you can find the link list at the bottom of this post so that you can see every blog post and idea today.

Regular readers will know how much I LOVE this bundle! It never fails to be my go-to set when I need a card in a hurry. This Fun Fold Thank You card comes together very quickly but packs a whole bunch of WOW!

I went with a basic Z Fold on a base of Pool Party and placed a stamped mat of Whisper White on it. Then I wrapped a long piece of Pool Party sheer ribbon around the middle of the card and tied into into a bow to the right of the fold. When I was happy with the bow placement I adhered the ribbon on the folded card front.

After that I adhered the die cut sunflower over the top of the ribbon, leaving half the sunflower centre hanging of the edge. I kept the centre attached and adhered some sequins from the Woven Threads packet.

To complete the card I stamped the sentiment with Versamark onto black card stock. Sprinkled white embossing powder over it and heat embossed. Next I fussy cut the “bunch” saying from the main sentiment and set to the side while I fussy cut the rest of the sentiment. Finally I mounted the “THANKS A” with dimensionals onto the card front and adhered the “bunch” saying below (no dimensionals).

Fun Fold Thank You Baby Wipe Stamping Technique

Have you tried the Baby Wipe Technique? As a lover of colour, it’s one of my favourite techniques!

The colours I decided to go with were Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana and Granny Apple Green.

Using an empty stamp case I layered a clean baby wipe on the base. I then chose my reinker colours. I decided Coastal Cabana would be the sunflower centre and Pool party would dominate the top and bottom areas of the stamped image. Drops of Bermuda Bay and Granny Green Apple were given the left and right sides respectively. After watching the spread of colour I sprinkled some more drops of Pool Party to ‘fill-in’ some of the gaps.

I was sparing on the dominate Bermuda Bay and Granny Apple Green, but looking at my card I think a bit more Granny Apple Green could have worked.

Fun Fold Thank You card using baby wipe technique

When I was happy with the spread of the ink (i.e. no more gaps), I pressed the large sunflower image into the baby wipe. Just press. Don’t lift and repress like you would on an ink pad. After giving the stamp a good press down onto the baby wipe, lift and check that you are happy with the ink distribution.

On my first go I realised the ink area needed to be wider to fit the large stamp. So I added more drops of ink from the reinkers. I cleaned the stamp and pressed down into the baby wipe.

Lift. Check. Stamp. {smile}

Thank you for stopping by today. I am excited to explore ways you can save time and organise your card making supplies so that busy card makers like you can make more cards, more often. That’s what it means to be ‘eager to stamp’!

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Christmas Crafts, Fancy Fold Friday, Technique & Tutorial Tuesday, WOW Cards · October 8, 2020

Christmas Kit Kat Box You Can Make Yourself!

This Christmas Kit Kat Box is just one of 12 creations that will be on offer for the Made By Mamas Halloween Festival (October 30 – November 1) and the Made By Mamas Christmas Festival (November 29 – ). I love being a part of these festivals as it gives me an opportunity to showcase my passion for paper craft!

Over the years I’ve always gone the extra mile with school Christmas treats and end of year teacher gifts. I am absolutely delighted to offer this goodness to my customers. These school holidays have been a haze of planning, stamping and paper folding; plus a camping trip and entertaining the kids!

This Christmas Kit Kat Box is an idea from Pinky’s World Stampin’ Projects. I have changed the measurements to suit the 45g Kit Kat chocolate bar sold here in Australia. I have followed the cuts she makes and the slider button directions from her 18 minute YouTube tutorial.

Christmas Kit Kat Box Measurements Needed

Designer Series Paper – 12.5 cm x 26.5 cm
Score long side – 5 cm, 6.3 cm, 16 cm, 17.3 cm
Score short side – 1.3 cm, 2.5 cm, 10 cm, 11.5 cm

Christmas Kit Kat Box Directions

Note: If your designer series paper has a directional pattern, work with the bottom of the pattern coming towards you.

After cutting and scoring your designer series paper, cut off the box top sides, leaving the wide centre flap.

Turn your designer series paper and cut the sides off to the first score line.

Cut a square from the side score lines, creating a tab.

Taper the top corner of the box sides.

Corner punch the box lid flap.

On the box front place a light pencil mark at 3.7 cm and again along the first score line of the box front. Draw a light pencil mark from point to point. Using the classic label punch, centre it and punch out the slider rail. Keep the label punch out.

Use the 1.5″ circle punch to punch a partial circle from the top of the box front.

Make up the box around a Kit Kat (do not adhere). Position the top flap over the box bottom and slider area. Insert the kept classic label punch in the slider area and over the top flap. Temporarily adhere to the top flap, remove the Kit Kat, open out the box and punch with the classic label.

Christmas Kit Kat Box Slider Button

Stamp the bauble image from Ornamental Envelope stamp set twice. Cut the images out using the coordinating die.

I chose the largest bauble to make my button slider. The second largest bauble would work just as easily.

Adhere a Stampin’ Dimensional to the centre of the bauble. Insert into the slider from the back and adhere the second bauble to the revealed dimensional.

Apply glue or tape to the side flaps and adhere the Christmas Kit Kat Box together.

Decorate the front of your Christmas Kit Kat Box with left over baubles mounted on dimensionals and rhinestones.

The Kit Kat Box with slider button is a great Christmas treat. They come together effortlessly and are very easy to make multiples of! You can get two of these out of one 30 cm x 30 cm sheet of designer series paper.

Supplies Used

Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper
Stampin’ Trimmer
Classic Label Punch
Corner Punch
1 1/2″ Circle Punch
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Ornamental Envelopes Bundle (Stamp Set & dies)
Liquid glue

To order any of these products, visit my Stampin’ Up Online Store.

To purchase a Made4You Christmas Kit Kat Box visit my Online Card Store.

Amie

Beyond The Basics, Halloween Crafts, Thinking of You & Get Well Crafts · September 18, 2020

Five Alternative Halloween Paper Cards

Stretch Magic In This Night patterned paper beyond the 31st October with five alternative Halloween paper cards!

There are so many gorgeous Halloween cards on Pinterest using Magic In This Night designer series paper, I wish there was someone I could make a few for. But, alas Halloween cards isn’t really a thing in Australia. I buy one Halloween paper pack every year to make a couple of fun projects for my own kids and the kids in my classroom. There’s always paper left over and it has become my mission to discover alternative ways to use it up.

Did you see the gorgeous floral patterns on Magic In This Night Designer Series Paper?

Floral Alternative Halloween Paper Cards

Stunning isn’t it! So many people have commented that they hadn’t spotted these gorgeous sheets. In the card below I have showcased the gorgeous small floral black and white patterned paper by cutting a whole sheet into 14.8 cm x 10.5 cm pieces and mounting onto Whisper White card bases. Die cut a strip of whisper white with the Stitched Lace dies and adhere to the centre. Colour a small sunflower from the Celebrate Sunflowers stamp set with Pretty Peacock and Mossy Meadow. Then layered onto a black Stitched Shapes circle with gold thread and die cut leaves. The “happy birthday” sentiment cames from A Wish For Everything stamp set.

The next card showcases the larger black and white floral patterned paper. I cut a whole sheet of patterned paper into 10 cm x 10 cm pieces and mounted them onto Blackberry Bliss 10 cm x 14.5 cm card. A strip of Blackberry Bliss Regal Designer Series Paper adds interest to this first layer. Edge a Cajun Craze strip with a die cut border from the Halloween Magic Dies, layered with Blackberry Bliss and then topped with a stamped and coloured focal image on Whisper White. The sentiment “happy birthday” sits below this main piece to the right. I’ve then adhered the entire ‘topper’ piece to a Cajun Craze card base.

Banner Alternative Halloween Paper Cards

I love banner cards (and bunting too!) and the next two cards showcase the gorgeous coloured floral patterned paper and the subtle Pretty Peacock patterned paper using a central banner. Layer stamped and coloured images from the Jar of Flowers stamp over a gold foil border cut from the Halloween Magic Dies and another banner stamped with a sentiment. Tussel gold thread behind the jar and flowers.

The final card takes one of the more Halloween style papers, combines it with lace and images from Grace’s Garden to create a birthday card. Add extra interest by cutting several images from vellum and then layer using dimensionals.

What’s Happening

Where did this school term go? I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe how time is flying by! It seems like yesterday I was starting off our very first FULL term for 2020 (thank you very much COVID-19) and now I am looking forward to relaxing for the next two weeks, where I don’t have to rush around getting the kids out of bed and to school (including myself). I am looking forward to the ‘downtime’ as I didn’t get as much of what I wanted accomplished. I haven’t managed to blog as much as I had hoped, which is why my blog postings have been pretty sparse over the last few months. A big success, however, has been posting daily over on the Eager To Stamp Facebook Fan Page. I owe that to an excellent blogging tip called ‘batching’. I have come to the realisation that I am going to have to earmark an evening for writing blog posts and STICK to it. I wonder if batching could work for blog posts too?

My October calendar is all organised {smile} and I am currently working on a few projects, followed by the project pictures, hopefully a tutorial video and of course your exclusive Newsletter tutorial (you’ll love it!). Let’s see if I can give myself a huge push to the end of the year. October begins my absolute favourite time of the year so it would be great to share the fun with you all {smile}

Amie

Beyond The Basics, Crafts For The Boys, Thinking of You & Get Well Crafts · August 17, 2020

Whale Done Emboss Resist

Stampin’ Up! comes up with some of the funkiest names for colours and stamp sets every year. I love it! Whale Done is a great play on words and includes great sentiments to congratulate someone on their achievements, but in this post I’m going to show you how to use the Whale Done stamp set with the emboss resist technique to create a unique Father’s Day card for that special guy that loves the sea.

No fancy fold used on this card but the card front could be used on a tunnel card…hmmm…that’s got me thinking {smile}. As always it has been designed to fit into a standard sized envelope.

Whale Done Emboss Resist The papers in the Whale of a Time suite are BEAUTIFUL! I mean they are really stunning and we could be forgiven for NEVER chopping into them {smile} but what happens when we do or when they’re no longer available?

Solution? Make your own patterned papers! In this card you will create an embossed patterned paper layer that will overlay the dry embossed Seabed 3D in Pacific Blue card stock, layered on a Pacific Blue card base. This card uses the technique emboss resist with the Whale Done stamp set, clear embossing powder and sponged with Soft Sea Foam and Balmy Blue inks. The fish from the Whale Done stamp set are used cleverly with the emboss resist technique also. The seahorse image from Seaside Notions is embossed in white and the emboss resist technique used again with Pretty Peacock. Finally, the sentiment is white embossed onto Balmy Blue card stock and cut into segments.

Emboss Resist Whale Done card instructions

Pacific Blue card stock 14.5 cm x 21 cm
Pacific Blue card stock 13.5 cm x 9.5 cm, embossed with Seabed 3D embossing folder
Whisper White card stock 11.5 cm x 7.5 cm
Whisper white scrap paper
Balmy Blue scrap paper

Score Pacific Blue card stock landscape at 10.5 cm. Creating a portrait card base.

Glue embossed Pacific Blue card stock to front of card.

Using the stamparatus and the coral image from Whale Done, alternate stamping between Coastal Cabana and Versamark, before moving the stamp to the next location on the card stock. Repeat several times, stamping image leaving space for Highland Heather coral.

Repeat above step using Highland Heather.

Sprinkle with clear embossing powder and use heat gun to set.

Whale Done Emboss Resist

Emboss resist technique

Sponge Soft Sea Foam over the entire embossed piece. Sponge Balmy Blue just over the coral images.

Stamp fish in various colours (see list above) over the embossed piece.

Whale Done Emboss Resist Glue to card front at a slight angle closer to the top of the embossed layer.

On a piece of scrap Whisper White, stamp the seahorse from Seaside Notions in Versamark, sprinkle with white embossing powder and use heat gun to set.

Sponge Pretty Peacock over seahorse and fussy cut.

Whale Done Emboss Resist Glue seahorse to card front.

The sentiment

Stamp sentiment from A Good Man stamp set onto Balmy Blue card stock with Versamark. Sprinkle with white embossing powder and use heat gun to set.

Using an X-ACTO cutting knife and a metal ruler, cut the words in segments.

Using mini-dimensionals adhere the sentiment to the card front.

Whale Done Emboss Resist

Whale Done Emboss Resist Card Supplies

Card Stock

Pacific Blue
Whisper White
Balmy Blue

Colouring Tools

Versamark
Clear embossing powder
White embossing powder
Ink pad colours: Coastal Cabana & Highland Heather (coral); Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Bumblebee & Blackberry Bliss (fish).

Stamp Sets

Whale Done
Seaside Notions
A Good Man

Tools

Stamparatus
Embossing Buddy
Heat Gun
Sponges
Paper snips

Adhesive

Multipurpose liquid glue
Mini-dimensionals

All supplies are available in my Stampin’ Up! shop.

I’ve made my first YouTube video showing you how to make this card! Check it out here!

Amie

Beyond The Basics, Birthday Crafts, Crafts For The Boys, Fancy Fold Friday, Thinking of You & Get Well Crafts · July 29, 2020

Stitched Stars Double Z Fold Card

I always try to do a new fancy fold for Eager To Stamp subscribers and this week I gave the Double Z Fold card a go. As August is the month of male birthdays in the Eager To Stamp household and Father’s Day follows closely behind at the beginning of September it made sense to make it masculine. This stitched stars double z fold card is a really easy card to make. As always I created the sizing so the card will fit into a standard sized envelope.

I have used the Plaid Tidings Cherry Cobbler plaid pattern layered onto black card stock on a Cherry Cobbler card base. Celebrate Sunflowers provided the right sentiment on the front, embossed in white. Whilst the stitched stars dies adorn the front in Just Jade, Pumpkin Pie and Mango Melody. A couple of sequins sprinkled here and there finish the card off.

Stitched Stars Double Z Fold Card Instructions

Cherry Cobbler card stock 29 cm x 10.5 cm
Black card stock 25 cm x 10 cm
Plaid Tidings patterned paper 13.8 cm x 9.5 cm
Plaid Tidings 5 cm x 9.5 cm
Whisper White 5 cm x 9.5 cm
Just Jade, Pumpkin Pie and Mango Melody to cut stitched stars from

Score Cherry Cobbler card stock at 7.3 cm & 14.8 cm. Mountain fold first score line. Valley fold second score line.Score Black card stock at 14.2 cm & 19.7 cm. Mountain fold first score line. Valley fold second score line.Adhere patterned paper and whisper white to Black card stock.

Stitched Stars Double Z Card Fold

Apply glue to the Cherry Cobbler card stock to prevent excess gluing! Adhere front panel of Black card stock to 7.3 cm section of Cherry Cobbler card stock, leaving an even border top, bottom and left side.Apply glue to the Black card stock to avoid over gluing! Adhere last panel of Black card stock to the larger back panel of Cherry Cobbler, leaving an even border at the top, bottom and right side.

Eager To Stamp Tip: Try this instruction out before applying glue and it will make sense when you commit to gluing!Emboss Mango Melody with Tasteful Textile embossing folder. Adhere detailed Pumpkin Pie star to Pumpkin Pie star base.Adhere Just Jade starry swirl to card front. Layer the stars and pop a few sequins on. Emboss with white embossing powder your sentiment onto Black card stock. Cut into seperate words and adhere to card front.I also popped a few Just Jade stars on an inside panel.