Tag Archives: scrapbookers paradise

13 Vintage Elegant Christmas Cards with Kaisercraft Turtle Dove

I have a treat for you today! Do you know that I taught four Christmas card classes last month? Hosting all those classes means I got to make lots of Christmas cards, and today I’m going to share a whole bunch of them with you.

It’s also challenge day at Scrapbooker’s Paradise, and the theme this week is for the birds. And since I bought this paper line because of the beautiful cardinal on one sheet, that’s the first card I’m sharing.

The line is Kaisercraft’s Turtle Dove and it’s a plethora of vintage elegance that was so fun to work with. For my cardinal card, I cut my paper so the cardinal took centre stage, and then die cut a label from Spellbinder’s Fancy Tags 2. This is my current favourite die set, though I really want to get the other two Fancy Tags sets that are available from Scrapbooker’s Paradise!

Many of the other cards were made the same way. Before I started making cards with this line, I cut out all the background sheets that I thought were pretty enough to “star” on the card front. Since my cards are 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ I cut the backgrounds to 4″ x 5 1/4″ which gives me a pretty white border on each card.

This one included a sentiment, so to embellish it, all I needed to do was heat emboss a few accents with gold. Isn’t it stunning for a one layer card?

Another flat card – simply stamped, edges inked, and sparkles added.

Another one of my favourites uses a sticker as a focal point. I love how the stamped sentiment looks like it belongs on the paper, and that bow is seam binding that I dyed using Olive ink.

More fun with stickers. This large poinsettia stole the show, so it only needed a simple background.

This is the same paper line, but has a much more contemporary feel. It’s always fun to see if you can get different “looks” like this. I edged the sentiment card in gold with my gold leafing pen.

This large sentiment stamp was a new purchase for me this year and it’s the star of every card it bedecks. I stamped it in red and then added glitter glue. The border strip and holly are stickers.

This card reminds me of my husband’s grandma. She loves to add glitter glue “snow” to her Christmas cards, and so I think this card will have to go to her. The dies are Labels 1 & Labels 1 Scalloped by Spellbinders. And tiny jingle bells! I should have used these more in my cards because I love them.

Another flat card. This one doesn’t wow me, but when you are halfway through an idea that isn’t working, and find a way to salvage it, it counts as a success, even if it isn’t fantastic.

More dyed seam binding, and a wreath idea I found on Pinterest. My nine year old daughter loved this idea, and made her own wreath card after she saw mine!

This one is a scrappy card – I used several die cuts and strips of paper to create the card. I love rearranging everything until I have it just where I want it!

And my final card – one more bird for the Scrapbooker’s Paradise challenge today. More die cuts and a Tim Holtz stamp set. I cut a little slit in the bird’s nest so I could tuck the cardinal in a little bit. And the sentiment is coloured with my wonderful Copic glitter pens. If you don’t at least have the clear glitter pen, you are missing out on some amazing sparkle opportunities!

Now flutter on over to the Scrapbooker’s Paradise blog and see what the rest of the team has created in the avian department. Thanks for stopping by to look at my Christmas cards today!

Rock Star Card

It’s a masculine challenge today at Scrapbooker’s Paradise! Doesn’t creating a masculine project feel like a creative challenge? I always enjoy going a grungy and creating something a little more edgy than my usual feminine style. It’s fun!

The trick is starting with great products. I will always love the Awesome collection from Simple Stories as one of my favourite masculine paper lines, and I’m having a hard time not hoarding the paper and stickers from that collection. In addition to the stickers, I used alcohol inks to add splatters that dried quickly and didn’t slow down creation of this card. It’s literally a five minute card!

I hope you’ll play along with the challenge this week! Check out the Scrapbooker’s Paradise blog for the details and the rest of the design team’s masculine projects. And have a great weekend!

PPC94: Growing Up layout with Indie Chick and Prima

Some of my favourite colours are included in the Scrapbooker’s Paradise PPC#94 colour challenge this week, and yet I had a hard time working with them. I’ve been making Christmas cards and projects for the past while and it felt strange to switch gears from green, red and gold and work with such soft, light colours.

I know a Christmas card done in these colours could be fun as well, in fact, I think I have one. (rummaging in files…)

Aha! So I could totally have taken it easy this week and just used this older card that I’ve never posted as my challenge project, but you get to enjoy a double feature, because I did make a layout as well.

We have just a tiny garden patch. It looks larger than it is, and so I’m always disappointed by our small harvest. But it’s good for us to be outdoors, learning to grow things, and we enjoyed our potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers (all six!) and strawberries this year. And my raspberries always produce well.

The kids were a lot of help this year and loved to be out watering and picking. Weeding, not so much.

I used pretty paper from My Mind’s Eye Indie Chick collections. The 6″x6″ pads go a long way for me and the colours are perfect for this challenge. And the stamps are so pretty – they are from Prima.

I love how with stamps you can create a huge variety of colour schemes, moods and designs. Definitely my favourite way to add interest to a project, and something I try to include in all of my classes.

Well, that’s it for me! Check out what the rest of the design team has done, join in the challenge and win some great prizes, and don’t forget to shop online or in-store at Scrapbooker’s Paradise. They have frequent sales and today it’s a Black Friday sale!

PPC92: Letter to Santa Christmas Card

Hi! I have paintings I want to share, and I like to save Saturday posts for crafting with kids, but today is the day I participate with Scrapbooker’s Paradise in their weekly paper crafting challenge, and it’s another great sketch challenge.

I find sketches to be great jumping-off points for my own designs. I like it when they are not too full of details, that way I can add my own!

I used a mini envelope die for my inspiration for this card, adding a “letter to Santa” sticker and some mini candy canes that I had left over from a brief foray into gnome making. (I’ve made nearly every craft at least once. Except macrame.)

The paper is from Crate Paper‘s “Peppermint” collection which is an older line but I love the red paired with pink and aqua. For a similar colour scheme from this year’s Christmas paper line up, I’d recommend Pink Paislee’s City Sidewalks. I just ordered some and am eagerly waiting for it; it’s not only pink & red, but vintage inspired so it’s a perfect storm of irresistibleness to me! And it’s going to sell fast so order yours while you have the chance!

I’ll be using City Sidewalks in my November 29th Christmas card class, so if you are in the Dawson Creek area and want to join the class, email me and I’ll hook you up!

Now hie yourself over to Scrapbooker’s Paradise and check out the way the rest of the design team interpreted the sketch, and enter yourself to win a great prize package! And have a wonderful weekend!

Eleven Great Tips for Using Spellbinders Thin Metal Dies

When it comes to paper crafting, I have two passions. One is for stamping, which I have been doing for over half my life, since I started when I was seventeen years old!

My other paper crafting passion is for my Spellbinders dies. I have over thirty different sets, and a weakness for every new release. They just keep getting better, and I just never seem to have enough! I just got a set of the Resplendent Rectangles dies, and they are beautiful! I knew they would make a lovely anniversary card for this week’s Playing in Paradise challenge at Scrapbooker’s Paradise.

I had to use the word “forever” even though that may sound more wedding than anniversary. I am so thankful for a husband who meant “forever” when we spoke our wedding vows, and he knows I have the same commitment to him. I wish that kind of love for every married couple.

About the card: There are four different yet complementary die cut shapes on this card, all from the Resplendent Rectangles set. I die cut each one from white cardstock, and then inked and misted them to get the colours I desired. Sometimes that is just easier than trying to find the right colour of cardstock for a project, which usually has me pulling out my hair.

The stamped image is another new treat – a pretty pile of poppies and bells from Cosmo Cricket’s Art Angel stamp set. I stamped it in black ink and then coloured it with Copic markers. I’m no Copic expert, but even part time Copic artists like me can get a lovely effect with a few markers and a blender pen. I layered some Copic Spica glitter pen as well – Spica pens add a fairytale fine shimmer that is so addicting! I much prefer Spica to chunky, gunky glitter glue.

A few things I’ve learned about die cutting using Spellbinders dies:

  1. You can use Spellbinders dies with all manual die cutting machines. When I started using Spellbinders, I could confidently cut with them after watching a YouTube video that outlined how to “sandwich” my cardstock and dies for my specific machine.
  2. After die cutting, use a rubber mat between cardstock and cutting plate, and run your sandwich through again. This optional second embosses (or debosses) the textured part of the die and I nearly always choose this step since it adds such a classy, finished look. It’s a look you don’t get with digital die cutting machines.
  3. After die cutting and embossing, you can use the die as a stencil to ink the areas of the die cut not covered by the die, or mist with ink, or brush with paint. This can add subtle or dramatic colour to your die cut image.
  4. Spellbinders dies come in coordinating sets. I especially love the Nestabilities because they come in graduated sizes. It’s fun to die cut several sizes and layer together to give the look of matting. I also love to layer a circle die with a scalloped circle die, for example – they have been designed to fit together well.
  5. Spellbinders also offers embossing plates. I love to ink these before embossing to get a letterpress look on my cardstock. The cardstock can be die cut before or after inking and embossing.
  6. Don’t be afraid to cut, fold or otherwise manipulate your die cut image. Intricate designs can be twined with other shapes to create entirely new looks. Becca Feeken of Amazing Paper Grace is a master of this technique. Spellbinders also has a line of Cut – Fold – Tuck dies that are actually made to emphasize this ability.
  7. Use wax paper between your die and cardstock when cutting out intricate designs. This will help the cardstock detach from the die a little more easily. It still can take time and patience to carefully remove very detailed designs from the die without tearing.
  8. If a die doesn’t cut all the way through on the first time, rotate it and move to a different position on the cutting plate, and run it through again. Older cutting plates especially can hinder a clean cut on the first pass.
  9. Store your Spellbinders dies on a magnetic sheet inside a DVD or CD case after opening. So far this is the best organization tip I’ve seen for storing thin metal dies.
  10. Spellbinders frequently pairs up with stamp manufacturers to create dies that coordinate with a variety of stamp designs. This stamp & die pairing is a match made in heaven for someone like me! My all time favourite stamp & die union is the Blossom Stackers dies and stamp set (there are three projects using these stamps & dies in my Best of 2011 post!).

So, that’s ten things you may not have known about my favourite dies, and ten reasons you should try them! Reason #11 is that Scrapbooker’s Paradise has a sale on right now – 20% off AND free shipping until November 7, 2012 – it’s the perfect time to stack up some Spellbinders!

And of course this is also challenge day on the Scrapbooker’s Paradise blog – the impetus for the anniversary card I’ve shared above. Why not create your own anniversary project, and link up to win? Have a great weekend!

PPC90: Pirate Ship Cake & 6th Birthday

I’m posting with Scrapbooker’s Paradise today, and when I saw Nina’s prompt, I knew I was sunk.

I have hundreds, maybe thousands of stamps, but I have nothing nautical. We live in a landlocked region so it’s never been a priority. But pass on a challenge? I don’t think so!

Instead of channelling boats and seascapes, I went with the classic nautical colours of navy, white and red. I do love the classics! And I made this a quickie layout – scrapbook pages don’t have to take forever. I think I have a total of fifteen minutes invested in this page and it’s sweet, clean and effective.

My wonderful Silhouette SD has been down for a couple weeks. I accidentally cracked the little plastic blade holder and it wasn’t cutting right. Boy, was I glad to get it working today! I use it a lot and would love to buy a Cameo since I could really use a 12″ wide cutting area instead of the 8.5″ of the SD model. Anyhow, I tested out the repair (crazy glue to the rescue) and cut the title of my layout using a font called Doctor Soos Bold from dafont.com.

I love a white gel pen for adding faux stitching. My favourite is the Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen. It glides smoothly and the ink is quite opaque.

Faux stitching is easy and adds a crisp touch!

I used papers from October Afternoon. I love their playful and clean retro style. I easily framed my photos with small, short strips of patterned paper. This is a great way to stretch a favourite paper since it uses so little but still packs an impact.

When my boy saw I was working on a layout about him, he was delighted (I believe his exact words were “Awesome!”) and insisted that I include that bicycle boy chipboard sticker into the layout. And it’s his layout, after all, so I did!

Sail on over to the Scrapbooker’s Paradise blog and check out Nina’s challenge, and then please consider linking up and participating! We’d love to have you!

 

PPC89: A Manger Scene Christmas Card

Friday. What a whirlwind this week has been! And tomorrow I’m off to a nearby town to teach a full day of papercrafting classes. I’m hoping it doesn’t snow while I’m driving through the mountains.

My class schedule for November is full, full, full! I have two Christmas card classes filled up, a picture frame class, kids’ classes and more. It’s the Christmas rush and I love it. My studio is so full of supplies right now for the different classes that I need to keep teaching just to clean the room out a little.

I love making Christmas cards and usually make at least 50 every year. And I like to make them all different. No duplicates. While red and green are classic Christmas colours, I love trying some non-traditional colours and the aqua and browns in this card evoke calmness and peace, which suits the stamped image, I think.

I went a little loose with Merlie’s colour challenge for Scrapbooker’s Paradise, though a pop of brighter blue in the form of a button or brad would work on this card too. I love the way this colour combination suits nearly every season and I use aqua and brown in my projects all the time.

Won’t you check out the Scrapbooker’s Paradise blog today and play along with this colour challenge? As usual, you could win some great prizes!

PPC#88: Awesome Me & You layout

Today, I’m posting on the Scrapbooker’s Paradise blog. I share a few tips on how I achieve a balanced layout and tell you how you could win some great scrap supplies. Check it out here.

And I’m a little giddy – found out yesterday that four of five projects I submitted to a recent publication call were accepted! That’s just such a compliment.

PPC#87: Christmas Card using Handmade Holiday

This is the first Christmas card I’ve made this year. And I’m going to have to get a hustle on, cause my Christmas card kits are in and I need to design some cards to share in my annual Christmas card class! You can sign up for my newsletter at right if you want to hear the details when I’ve got my class schedule & costs firmed up.

To get my mojo going, I used Allison’s sketch for our Playing in Paradise Challenge this week on the Scrapbooker’s Paradise blog. It was easy to translate her sketch into a Christmas card and I love how this first card turned out.

For my class this year I just had to use Simple Stories Handmade Holiday 6×6 paper pad. I also added one of their larger tag sheets which has 12 different 3″ x 4″ designs on the sheet. We’ll get twelve different cards out of that one sheet! The stamps are from Kaisercrafts Turtledove collection. I love the paper in that collection, too!

Scrapbooker’s Paradise has a ton of new Christmas themed paper, stamps and more – grab it before it’s gone! I pre-ordered product for my classes and still didn’t get quite as many as I wanted of some items.

Do you make your Christmas cards? I encourage you to try it, even if you just make a few to give to your nearest and dearest. It’s a good way to slow down and savour the Christmas season.