Finally Back To Normal - Well Almost

I cannot believe how long it has been since I have blogged.  I had these thank you cards to make to send to the sponsors of the charity my husband is president of and boy did they take a while to finish.  On top of that I also was making thank you cards for my daughter's friend who just got married.  I don't know if it was just me being slow at doing them or maybe they really were that intricate.  Oh well.  All I know is they are finished now and I can once again relax a bit and blog more often.

I am still keeping my nephew Jackson 3 days a week.  He is so much fun!  He is 14 months now and walking a bit.  He prefers to have you assist him with walking but he'll get more independent in time.  My hubby is still battling his sinus issues and we will find out if the medicine he is on is working at all on Thursday.  I sure hope it is.  He has been ill for almost 3 months.  He needs a break and so do I!

Today I thought I would share with you the birthday card I made for my hubby this year.  I used a sticker set as the main focus points on the card but did a fancy fold for it called a tri-shutter.  Let me show it and get us going.

 

My hubby is a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan so I went with that theme for this ear.  This is a view from the front of the card.  I used Pumpkin Pie card stock for this one and added layers of Basic Black and Whisper White to the panels.  I ran the white through my big shot using the spider web impression folder and lightly brushed the web with black ink to make it pop.

 

This is a look from the top down.  You can see how the card bends.  I love the fact that you can see all of it when it is standing up.

 

This gives you a view of all the panels.  I used the small heart punch for two of the panels as well as for with Sally.  The cupcake punch allowed me to create cute cupcakes for two panels.  I stuck with the black and white theme for these but added Pool Party card stock dots to the cupcakes as well as for the candle.  Believe it or not, this color matched the tone used on the Sally sticker for her skin.  The letters were cut out using the retired decorative strip called Billboard and my big shot.  I used runner adhesive and a two way glue pen to all all the embellishments.  The bats were part of the sticker set.

 

This photo allows you to see how the card looks when folded flat.  It fits in a regular A2 envelope and is easy to mail.  The recipient will be in for a surprise when they unfold it and see all the work you have put into it.  

I know I have made this type of card before and believe I have put the how to instructions up also.  Check my June 14, 2013 birthday card post.  They should be in it.  However if you cannot locate them, please let me know and I will do a tutorial on how to make the base card.  

I cannot tell you how good it feels to be visiting with all of you again.  I have really missed this.  Thanks for your patience and understanding.  I look forward to sitting down and crafting again soon.  While I may not get back to posting every day (I run short of time on my Jackson days) I will try my best to post 2 to 3 times a week.  

Thanks for stopping by to visit me today.  See you again soon!!!

It's Birthday Card Day - Finally!!!!

We have once again made it to Friday.  I can not believe the week is already gone.  I am looking forward to craft time this weekend and playing with a few ideas that are running around in my head.  Some days all the ideas overwhelm me but I am hoping I will sort through them this weekend and be able to focus on just a few a them. 

Today as promised I am going to share the card I made for my daughter with you.  Now you may think this is a strange card to make for a girl because it is based on a super hero.  However, my daughter and her boyfriend are both into toy collecting and comics and they go see all the super hero movies that come out about characters they like.  For me, this was a natural one to make.  A couple of weeks ago I made a super hero card using owls.  I focused on the Hulk, Batman, Superman, and Spiderman.  When I showed it to my daughter, she said "Mom, you should have made Ironman too".  Now I know she was referring to an owl Ironman but I thought I would take it a step further and make an Ironman.  I had no idea how hard this was going to be, and I will be the first to tell you that it probably needs more work and could look better.  So without further ado, I will share this card with you.

 

Well what do you think?  Be honest.  It took a lot of trial and error for me to even get him to look like this.  This card is a fancy fold card called a Tri-fold Shutter card.  I will explain how to make it a little bit later.  For now we will focus on the man himself.

 

The color scheme for Ironman himself is Real Red and Brushed Gold.  Basically the entire body of this hero uses oval punches.  I used the wide oval for the body and the chest plate.  The plate is trimmed and repunched on one side with the large oval.  I used the large oval on the arms and the center of the body.  The arms are trimmed down a bit.  The current small oval was used for the neck and head area.  The retired small oval was used as part of the center of the body.  The hands come from the boho blossom punch.  There are scrap pieces of gold that I used to make the gold patches on the arms and at the neck area.  The center triangle is a piece of Shimmer Silver card stock that I cut and it is sponged with Tempting Turquoise ink.  The lines were drawn on using the Real Red marker.  For eyes, I used small scraps of the silver and outlined them with black marker. 

 

Again for the legs, I used the large ovals.  The gold thighs are large ovals that I have trimmed down and scrap pieces of gold.  This is one area I would like to work on to improve.  The feet are the wide heart from the heart to heart punch.  Again I trimmed pieces to achieve the look I wanted and added lines with the red marker.  The finished Ironman was attached to the card using dimensionals.  I do apologize for the hair in the photo.  I did not realize it was there until I sat down to do the blog.   Of course I do not have the card anymore so I could not take another photo for you.  Oh well.  

I also realize the instructions for him are fairly cryptic.  I think I made him too difficult and need to figure out how to simplify him.  I will work on that and if I am successful, I will certainly share it with you.  Now on to the card.

 

Here you can see the card lying "flat" on the counter.  This was a card that once it was all put together, I actually weighted it down so it would collapse and fit in the envelope.  To start this card, you will need a 5 1/2" x 12" piece of card stock.  You will need to score it from top to bottom at 2", 4", 8" and 10".  Then you will turn it lengthwise.  You will measure 1 1/2" from each side and mark it on the 2" score line and the 10" score line.  Using a ruler to help you, take your craft knife an cut from the 2" to the 10" line.  This is what creates the panels for you to fold.  I did add Basic Black and Brushed Gold layers to each panel.  I measure the panels one by one and then cut my card stock.  Panels are added with runner adhesive.  

I added a label to the center panel using the labels framelits.  I cut one in black and the next size down out of white.  I ran the white one through the big shot using the fancy fan impression folder.  I layered these together and attached them to the panel using runner adhesive.   I cut out the numbers with the retired billboard decorative strip and the big shot.  I cut them out of black and champagne shimmer.  The ones on the center panel are layered together with the two way glue pen and attached to the panel using dimensionals.  All other numbers are attached using the two way glue pen.  

The greeting on the back panel is a DeNami stamp.  The top center comes from the Create A Cupcake stamp set and the bottom center is from the retired Word Play stamp set.  The side panel greeting is from Express Yourself.  All of these were stamped originally in VersaMark ink and then heat embossed using black embossing powder.  I added rhinestones all over the card for glitz.

 

This is the card when it is standing up.  As you can see it gets a lot of dimension.  I like the way you can decorate it and it will just look cool instead of too busy.  

 

This is the top view of the card.  You can really see all the open panels and how the tri-fold works.  I love this card.  It is really fairly easy to make and the finished look is amazing!!!!!

So now you have seen the infamous card.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as my daughter.  I will be back on Monday to share another card with all of you.  Until then I wish you all a wonderful weekend.  Stay cool and be safe.  See you next week and thanks for visiting today!

Another Easel Card For A Boy

Happy Monday to you all!!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a happy St. Patrick's Day.  I seemed to have a busy weekend.  It always seems to be busier than I expect but at least it was fun.   I did take a few minutes to craft something for you.

I had one more of my Tempting Turquoise easel cards left and I decided to complete it.  I did not decorate this one as much as some of the other ones but it is still cute. 

 

This is a photo of the card flatten to go into the envelope.  As you can see it is the oval easel card I made last week on the tutorial.  I did not want any of these to go to waste so I decided to use them.  

 

The card was themed to be for a boy.  That is one of the main reasons I did not over embellish it.  I used a stamp set called Dinoroar from Stampin' Up!  I love this set.  I wanted to do the stain glass technique on this so the dinosaurs are stamped onto acetate using StazOn Black Ink.  I then selected my glitter colors and using a liquid glue that dries clear, I added the glitter to the dinosaurs starting with my darkest color and working towards the lightest one.  I then took a piece of Whisper White card stock and used the second largest oval from the oval collection of framelits to cut an oval out.  I then used the same oval framelit on a piece of Basic Black card stock.  This time I placed the oval on it and then placed the third largest one inside of it so it would cut out a ring.  I used a little chalk on the white oval to add a hint of blue and stamped the word "roar" on it with Pacific Point ink.  I then attached the acetate to the black ring with runner adhesive and attached that to the white oval with the same runner adhesive.  The completed oval was attached to the card with runner adhesive.  

 

The greeting for the inside is also from the Dinoroar stamp set.  I stamped it in Pacific Point ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I cut it out using one of the framelits from the Apothecary framelits set.  Now I knew the framelit I was cutting it out with was a little too big so I trimmed it down.  I then sponged the edges with the Pacific Point ink.  I attached it to the inside of the card using dimensionals so that I would hold the easel up when the card is opened.

 

Finally here is the card all set up.  These dinosaurs just make me smile.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing these cards and I hope I have not bored you with them.  I shall be back tomorrow with another card to share with you all so please come back by to see me.  Thanks for dropping in today!!

New Punch Art Character

Hi everyone.  I hope your Thursday is off to a great start.  I am happy to say my hubby survived his live burn the other night and I am sure he had a great time participating with the students.  He came home smelling like a fire and I must say as the wife of a fire fighter, I really like the smell.  I guess that's a good thing because it happens quite often. 

No one was more disappointed when the Hostess factory shut down than my hubby.  He absolutely loved Twinkies.  Now I did not go crazy like some who raided the shelves in stores buying all they could before supplies ran out.  We had a box at home at the time and when it was gone, well it was gone.  I am happy to say that we have discovered another treat similar to this that he seems to like just as much but there are some things about Twinkies that you just cannot replace.  What does this have to do with my blog?  Everything.  My punch art character for today was inspired by these sweet treats.  Let's see if you know him.

 

So do you know who he is?  If you guessed Twinkie the Kid you would be right.  Now I will show you my inspiration for him in just a minute.  I used the oval easel card that I made yesterday during the turtorial.  I am not going to go over how to make it again since it would be easier for you to read the tutorial.  I added a layer of Whisper White with the 2nd largest oval from the oval framelits set.  I did some paper piercing along the edges of it just for decoration and add a few Daffodil Delight circles punched out with the circle from the itty bitty punch pack.  I attached these with liquid glue.  The edges were sponged with Tempting Turquoise ink and then attached to the card with runner adhesive.  I added some turquoise Stickles glitter glue dot to the scallops along the edge.  

 

 

To add some decoration to the stand portion of my card, I used a retired stamp set called Fresh Fillers and stamped the swirls onto the base of the card using Tempting Turquoise ink.  Next I used the same ink to stamp my greeting.  I used a stamp set available only until the end of this month called Pretty Petites.  It is from the Sale-a-bration collection.  It is punched out using a punch also from this collection called the small curly label.  I layered this piece using runner adhesive onto a Daffodil Delight curly label punch and added some yellow Stickles glitter glue dots to this.  I attached the finished greeting to the card using runner adhesive.  Since I did not raise this up with a dimensional I knew I would need to add something to right above it with a little depth to it.  I chose a button.  It is attached with glue dots.

 

Here is the inspiration for my Twinkie the Kid character.  It is a container designed to hold a twinkie that my hubby had on his collection shelf.  He took it down to clean and I just knew I wanted to make him.  I am sure you can see why.  His shapes are fairly common and can easily be replicated using punches. Ready to learn how?  Let's go.

 

The colors of card stock I used when making him are Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black and the retired Creamy Caramel.  For his body, I used the 3rd largest oval from the framelits oval collection.  I trimmed off the sides to give him the right shape and then I was ready to go.  I think I will show you to bottom half of him and then list the punches I used to make him.

 

I attached all the pieces of him together with my 2 way glue pen and attached the finished one to my card using dimensionals.  Here is a list of the punches used to create him:

Body - framelits oval collection for the big shot; trim down to get right shape

Hat - wide oval for the base and a 1 1/4" circle for the top and band;  I cut the swoop in the brim; for the top I punched the circle for the hat and a half circle for the band; attach the band first and then attach it to the back of the base; cut the swoops in the top

Eyes - word window; I punched one out and then reinserted each end again and repunched to get the oval for them; the black of the eyes was added using a fine tip black marker; I also shaded the edges with the marker

Mouth - large oval punch; cut it down to the size you like; once attached, I drew on the edges the black with my marker and added the sides and nose with it too

Bandana - I used the pennant punch for this; I punched out 2 and cut them down to fit on him; the hearts are from the owl builder punch; I attached them prior to cutting these down

Arms/Legs - word window; I punched this along the edge of the card stock since they needed to be thinner that the entire window; insert the card stock only about half way to achieve this

Hands - boho blossom punch; use the scallop flower and trim them down

Boots - retired heart to heart punch; I used the wide heart from this for the main part of the boot; cut off one round for the top and then trim the other one to get the boot look; the heels of the boots are made using the smallest heart from this punch; you only need one; cut it in half and trim the round end flat

I had so much fun making this guy.  I sure hope you like him.  Now I just need to figure out what I want to make for tomorrow.  Maybe I should go look at the shelves with out collections on them.  Who knows - I might get inspired again.  Thanks for stopping by today and I will see you all tomorrow.

More Easter Bunnies

Hi everyone and happy Monday!!!  Well we did get rain on Friday and at times it was heavy rain but no snow or hail at my house.  We spent a few lovely days in the upper 60's and now we are moving up.  By tomorrow, we are going to be in the mid 80's.  I even saw one report that had us in the low 90's by the end of the week!!  I am so not ready for that.  Reaching the 90's now usually means we are in for a hot hot summer.  Not fun!!  With Easter just around the corner, I pray we can have a little bit lower temperatures for all those Easter egg hunts and family gathering.

Speaking of Easter, today's card is another one themed for that special day.  I used one of the new individual stamps that you can purchase until the end of this month.  It only comes as a clear mount stamp but I love those!!  I also decided to do a shape card today so let me show you the card.  Oh there is also a special trick for this one!!

 

My card for today is oval in shape.  I guess I was thinking about eggs when I made it.  To achieve this, I used the framelits Oval Collection.  The largest oval in the set is scallop and looks wonderful as a card.  I used Pretty in Pink card stock for the base.  I started by cutting this to be 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I placed the framelit on the folded line of the card leaving a little of the folder edge uncut in order to hold the card together.  Now I know if you are looking at the photo, you cannot see the edge of the card which is intact at the top.  The reason you cannot see it is because I cut a single oval out of Pretty in Pink with the scallop oval framelit to layer on top.  While I could attach it to the entire front, I did not.  You will see why in a bit.  The edges of it are sponged with Pretty in Pink ink.

For layer 1, I used Bashful Blue card stock and cut the second largest oval framelit out.  I ran this through the big shot using the Fancy Fan impression folder and brushed the edges with matching ink on a sponge.  I attached it the the pink with runner adhesive.  Layer 2 is a piece of Certainly Celery card stock cut with the third largest oval from the framelits collection.  Once it was cut, it too went through the big shot using the Vine Street impression folder.  The edges were brushed with matching ink and it was attached to the blue with runner adhesive.

 

The name of this stamp is Ears To You.  I thought it was one of the cutest stamps I had ever seen.  It is hard to see the texture look of each rabbit but they all have a different design on them.  In order to have each rabbit be its own color, I used my Stampin' Up! markers.  The colors are Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, and Certainly Celery.  I used the end that looks like a paint brush.  I took my time covering each image and word.  I gave a little huff on it of warm air to remoisturize it and stamped it onto Whisper White card stock.  I then took the fourth largest oval and cut the image out.  I brushed to edges of the oval with my sponges and all three colors of ink.  I attached this to the green with the same runner adhesive.  

 

This is the special feature of this card - it is a fancy fold card called an easel card.  I like using this technique with oddly shaped card that will not stand up on their own.  To make the easel, I took the base card and opened it up.  On the front flap, I measured and found the half way point.  I made a score line across the card for this  and bent the piece inward.  I then used runner adhesive to attach the single pink oval to this bottom half, carefully lining up the scallops to match.  I wanted a little more design and added the pearls to every other scallop on the edge.  Now I need to make it stand up.

 

To do that, I took out my Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and stamped my greeting with Certainly Celery ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I punched this out using my retired small oval punch.  The edges are brushed using a sponge and the celery ink.  I then punched a scallop oval out of Bashful Blue card stock and brushed the edges with the blue ink.  I wanted to add the paper piecing look to this which is why I needed the greeting punched with the retired small oval.  You can use the large oval punch for the greeting piece if you want.  You will just not be able to do the piercing since it will be covered up by it.  To guide my piercing, I used my piercing pad and the Essential Paper Piercing Pack to do this.  There is a template in this pack that lines up perfectly with the scallop oval.  It makes piercing the holes so easy.  I then added the greeting to the scallop using runner adhesive and added a little pink bunny brad I bought at a local craft store to the greeting.  I placed 2 dimensionals onto the back of this.  I pushed the top piece up to where I wanted it to be to stand and attached the greeting piece right in front of it.  This will fold flat for the envelop but is easy for the receiver to stand up once opened.

I think I will do a step by step tutorial on how to make this easel so that you can see in photos what I have described using words.  I want to be sure you can make this if you would like to so I will post that tutorial tomorrow for you.  

Be sure to stop by and see me again.  I appreciate your visits and look forward to seeing you again.  Thanks for stopping by today!!!

Working for Charity

Welcome to Friday everyone!!  Well it has been quite a week.  Our niece's C-section was cancelled on Wednesday but they induced her yesterday.  We will have a baby soon!!!  Although I want to share the card I made for her with you, I do want to wait until I give it to her first.  Now I worked hard to get the card ready because (1) I thought the baby would be here sooner and (2) I knew what I needed to work on the rest of the week and it was not any holiday or regular cards.

A few weeks ago, the charity my husband is president of gave a banquet.  There were lots of sponsors for this event who donated items to be raffled off to raise money.  My husband wanted to send them thank you cards and need me to make around 40.  In case you do not remember from past posts, I make all the cards for his charity needs so of course this task would be mine.  Let me show you the card.

This is a side step card.  I made a Halloween themed one recently.  I used left over dsp from past packs I have bought to be the paper for this one.  I chose to do a step so that when someone receives the card, it can be easily displayed and remind them that their efforts are appreciated greatly.  Now I am not going to bore you with how to make this one since it is for the charity.  If you want to learn to make the step cards, you can go back through my past posts or click here and you will be taken to the splitcoaststampers tutorial on this one.  Well as of the time I sat down to write this post, I was not finished yet.

This is what my craft table still looks like.  I am close to finishing but still have to get all the pieces put together.  It should not take much longer so I am hoping to finish soon.

Needless to say, while I have the baby card to share I do not have another one.  Hopefully when you get here on Tuesday, I will be sharing the baby card with you and have completed all the cards for the charity. 

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.  Be safe and have fun!  Remember since Monday is a holiday, I will not be posting.  I shall return Tuesday and look forward to seeing all of you then.  Thanks for dropping by today!

Pop Up Fun

Happy Monday to you all!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  It always seems to go by so quickly.  I never seem to get everything done that I want to.  Does that ever happen to you?  If not, you are one lucky person.  

Part of my weekend was spent crafting my heart away.  I decided I wanted to work with some fancy folds again since I was going to be making a bunch of Thank You cards for my husband's charity at work.  When I designed these for them, I made them to be a side step card so that it could be displayed easily by the recipient.  I enjoy working with different folds.  They always pose a challenge while I wrap my mind around exactly how to fold it but when I get it done, I am always pleased.

Today's card is a fancy fold.  It is not one I have made before and shown here on my blog so hopefully you will enjoy it.  Let me start by showing you the card front and then we will get to the special part of it.

I chose to do a Halloween theme for this one.  One of the main reasons I love making Halloween cards is the color scheme I work with.  I started this one with a base card of Gumball Green.  This really has become one of my favorite colors.  I cut it to be 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I next cut a strip of Basic Black to measure 1 1/2" x 5 1/2".  I cut a piece of a Halloween ribbon and adhered it to the strip using a runner adhesive.  I then cut a smaller piece of the ribbon and made a small knot.  It is adhered to the other ribbon using a glue dot.  I then adhered the strip across the middle of the front of the card using runner adhesive.  To complete the background look, I added dots above and below the black strip.  I did this using VersaMark ink and the eraser end of a pencil.  

I used a new stamp from the holiday catalog called Frightening Feline.  This one caught my eye the first time I went through the catalog and I knew I had to order it.  I stamped it onto a piece of Whisper White measuring 2 5/8" x 3" using Elegant Eggplant ink and sponged the edges with the ink also.  This is layered onto a 2 7/8" x 3 1/4" piece of Gumball Green.  The green is then layered on piece of Basic Black measuring 3 1/8" x 3 1/2".  Finally, the black is layered onto a piece of Elegant Eggplant card stock cut at 3 3/8" x 3 3/4".  All of these layers are adhered together using runner adhesive.  The final piece is attached to the card using glue dots.  I could have used dimensionals but decided to go with glue dots this time.  Now let's get to the exciting part.

The inside of the card is a pop up.  This is a look from the front.  

Here's a look from the top down.  

To begin this, I chose to use a piece of dsp that came in a paper pack I bought years ago.  I cut it as well as a piece of Basic Black to measure 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I lined the inside flap of the card with the bats and the lower half with the black.  Your stage will attach to this.  Now I could try to describe how to make this but instead I will send you to the Splitcoaststampers and let you read all the directions and watch a video on how to make this by Kim Score.  Click here to get all directions.

I sprayed my stage with champagne shimmer spray to add a little sparkle.  For the decorations, I wanted to keep them simple.  I started by making 2 ghosts with Whisper White and Basic Black card stock and my handy owl builder punch.  I sponged the edges of them with Basic Gray ink and added black glitter to the eyes that were attached with liquid glue.  The pumpkins were made using Pumpkin Pie card stock and the small oval punch.  You need 3 ovals for each.  The edges of these are sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink.  I added orange glitter glue to the pumpkins once they were put together using liquid glue.  I took a scrap of Soft Suede and ran it through the big shot using the Woodgrain impression folder and cut small pieces to make the stems of the pumpkins.  I then used Garden Green card stock and the bird builder punch to get the leaves for them. The stem and leaf were attached with the liquid glue also. Last is the gravestone.  It was punched using the large tag punch and Basic Gray card stock.  I sponged the edges with matching ink and wrote the RIP on with black marker.  All of these inside pieces are adhered to the pop up sticks using dimensionals.  

For the greeting I decided to use a retired stamp set called Tableau of Terror.  I stamped this onto Whisper White card stock using VersaMark ink.  I then heat embossed it using black embossing powder.  I cut it out free hand which explains the funky shape.  The edges were sponged using Elegant Eggplant ink.  It was attached to the top of the stage with runner adhesive.

Well that is all for today.  I hope you week gets off to a great start.  Hop on over the Splitcoaststampers and learn how to make this one.  It is easier than you think.  I will be back tomorrow with another share.  Until then, thanks for stopping by!!

Halloween is Visiting Again

On Wednesday, I took my husband to the craft store to see all the Halloween decorations that have come out this year.  Of course, we did not leave the store empty handed.  While we did not purchase anything big to bring home we did buy some cute little ornament decorations for a tree.  We found this crazy Halloween tree that is much like a Christmas tree a few years ago.  It has black branches, orange lights and a skull with green eyes for the base.  Since then we have been collecting little things to decorate it with.  This year we were lucky enough to find some really cute items to add to the collection for it.

I must say that I am glad to have reached Friday.  I am really having an off week and just need it to end now.  Our daughter who lives at home has been gone most of the week on vacation and I miss her a lot.  My other daughter has been working hard and does not seem to have a lot of extra time to visit.  I guess that whole empty nest syndrome as they call it is setting in for me.  It's funny.  I thought I would get by without ever experiencing it but it made its way here this week.  There have been a couple of other things that happened too that set off my depression severely.  I hate it when that happens.  It really is not fun to feel sad all the time.

By now I am sure you are bored with me complaining so let's move on to the card of the day.  I wanted to share with you another version of a step card.  This time the step is in the center instead of on the side.  I chose to do the Halloween theme again because I was in that mood especially after going to the craft store.  As with the other cards, I will link you to a website to get all the instructions and a video tutorial for this one. This time I will be sending you to Dawn Griffith's site directly.  She is the one I learned to make this from and I know you will enjoy her video.  Let's get started.

As you can see, this card has the same number of steps as the other.  They are just moved to the center.  I chose to use a base of Elegant Eggplant for this one cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".  The panels on the right and left of the steps were made using Basic Black card stock.  They measure 3/4" x 4".  The center back panel insert was made using first Gumball Green card stock cut at 3 1/4" x 3 3/4".  I then added a layer of Basic Black measuring 3 1/8" x 3 5/8".  For the final layer I used Whisper White cut at 3" x 3 1/2".  The center step had a piece of Gumball Green measuring 1" x 2".  All pieces of panels as well as the panels thenselves were attached using runner adhesive.  

On each of the side panels, I stamped a spider hanging down that is from the retired stamp set Eat Drink & Be Scary.  I stamped him in VersaMark ink and heat embossed him using clear embossing powder.  I also added a ghost to each side made using Whisper White and Basic Black card stock.  I punched the ghost and eyes out using the owl builder punch.  The ghost is the owl body minus the feet turned upside down.  I added black glitter the the eyes using a glue pen and then attached them to the ghost with the glue pen.  The completed ghosts are attached to the card with runner adhesive.  To fill in the space between the spider and ghost, I added some purple glitter glue dots.

For my greeting, I used my Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  I stamped the saying using VersaMark ink onto Whisper White and heat embossed it using a Halloween embossing powder.  I punched this out with my word window and layered it onto a Pumpkin Pie modern label using runner adhesive.  I added a black pearl to each side for added drama and attached the entire piece to the card using runner adhesive.  I added purple glitter glue dots across the bottom for sparkle.

The center panel has 2 bats on it.  I punched these with the retired bat punch out of Basic Black card stock. Using a glue pen, I added black glitter to them and attached them to the green with runner adhesive.  

Finally, to decorate the back panel, I started once again with the retired stamp set Eat Drink & Be Scary.  I stamped the witch's hat using VersaMark ink onto the Whisper White card stock.  I then heat embossed it using the Halloween embossing powder.  I wanted to add a couple of pumpkins at the bottom.  I made using using Pumpkin Pie card stock and my small oval punch.  You punch 3 ovals and layer them together using runner adhseive.  Next I took a scrap piece of Soft Suede and added a stem to each and then using Garden Greed card stock I punched a branch out from the bird builder punch and used a leaf for each pumpkin's stem. These were attached to the pumpkin using my glue pen and the completed pumpkins were attached to the card using my runner adhesive.   I added orange glitter glue dots to the pumpkins and the area surrounding the hat.  

Here is the link to get you to Dawn's site to learn out to cut the card to fold this way:  http://dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/dawns_stampin_studio/2010/04/awash-with-flowers-step-card-2-.html

Again it is not a hard card to make.  It just takes patience and practice.  

Well I am hoping for a quite weekend myself.  I hope you all get to do whatever it is you need to do to take care of you.  I will be back on Monday with another card to share.  Please come by to see what I come up with next.  Thanks for dropping in today and have a wonderful weekend.

Oh Christmas Tree

Welcome to Thursday everyone.  I hope your week is going well.  Mine has been a busy one with lots of errands but I am hoping that starting today, I will just be home for a while.  I am always happy when I have a chance to work in my craft room and today should be that day.  My husband has homework to work on so I will have lots of time.

Today's card is another fancy fold card.  Once again, I will share with you my card and provide the website you can get a complete tutorial on how to make this one.  There is even a video.  As a bonus, this one is made by one of my favorite stampers in the world, Dawn Griffith.  She is a fantastic and creative person.  I have learned a lot from her.  Ready to get started?  Let's go!

Here is the card I made.  This fold is called a Shadow Box.  For this one, I started with a base of Garden Green.  The difference between a regular card and this one is you need 2 pieces of the green, both measuring 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  You can see the score lines in the photo which indicate where the folds are.  This one is another one that does flatten like in the photo so you can mail it to someone.  I know it is hard to see inside but I used a piece of Real Red card stock cut at 3 1/4" x 4 ".  I ran it through my big shot using the Snow Burst impression folder.  I adhered it to the bottom piece of green using runner adhesive.  Next I took a piece of Whisper White cut at 2 1/2" x 3 5/8".  I stamped my tree using the Star Tree stamp from SU! using VersaMark ink and heat embossed it using a red tinsel embossing powder.  I took the retired stamp set called Christmas Punch and used the snowflake stamp to stamp 2 large snowflakes, one on each side of the tree.  These were stamped with VersaMark ink and heat embossed using an embossing powder called winter wonderland.  I also stamped the smaller snowflakes on a piece of white card stock and heat embossed them too.  They were punched out using the boho blossom punch and set them aside for use later.  I took the top piece of green card stock and used my 3" circle die for the big shot to cut the circle in the center of the card.  I then stamped the greeting using the retired stamp set called Four the Holidays using VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with the red tinsel powder.  I cut the greeting out and set it aside.  The tree was attached to the red with runner adhesive.  I had done my score lines at 1/2" and 1" on each side prior to beginning the decorating and accordion folded them also.  To connect the top piece of card to the bottom I used sticky strip.  Once it was attached I added the greeting and small snowflakes to the front using runner adhesive.  

Once the card is completed it is ready to stand up.  Here is a view from the top down so you can see how the shadow box looks when opened up and standing.  I added depth to your card.  

Last but not least, here is a view of the card standing up from the front.  You can get the overall idea of the folds of this one by looking at the photo.  Here is the link to go to for all instructions and a video: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/shadow_box_card/ 

It is a very easy card.  I will probably make another one for next week for you to see.  I hope you will give this fold a try.  You will love the outcome of the card.  

I am so glad you stopped by to visit today.  Please come back tomorrow for another Halloween card.  I will look forward to seeing you all then!  Have a great day and happy stamping!!

Christmas Pop Up

Happy Wednesday everyone.  Today's post is going to seem extremely short to you.  I chose to do another fancy fold card today called a Free Standing Pop Up Card.  I will show you the card standing, as it's being folded and completely folded to go in an envelope.  I will link you to the tutorial where you will receive all instructions as well as a video on how to make this one.  So let's get started.

For this card, I chose to use Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White card stock.  On my base, I stamped an image using a wheel called Santa's Lineup.  This one is retired.  I stamped it in VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  You can used any stamp you would like to decorate the base.  You just want to do it prior to building the card.  

For my main attraction, I went with the Christmas Deer stamp.  I stamped him in Early Espresso ink and glittered his antlers with gold glitter.  I added glitter glue dots to the area surrounding my deer.  You will need to be sure this is completely dry before trying to lower the card.  

In this photo, I wanted to show you how the card looks as it is being folded flat.  The deer will disappear down the center and all those score lines that you folder will enable this to happen.  Pretty cool huh?

Finally we see the flattened card.  Okay so it's not perfectly flat but you know what I mean.  This will fit in your standard envelopes you get for regular 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cards.  You can mail this one easily.  You may need to include instructions on how to set it up, but the recipient will love it.  

Here is the link to get you to the instructions:  http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/freestandingpopupcard/

I know the fancy folds can be intimidating when you first look at them but give them a try.  You might be surprised at how easy they are to construct.  

I will be back again tomorrow with another fancy fold for you.  Until then have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping in to see me!!!