Birds of a Feather Center Step Card (and a few more scenic cards)

Posted in Cards, Creative Folds, Father's Day, Other, Thank You Cards by lisababitz

Birds of a Feather Center Step Card (and a few more scenic cards)

Over the years, I have purchased quite a few 12″ x 12″ paper pads and packs. Usually, I buy them for a sheet or two that I need for a particular project, and then the rest of it gets filed away and forgotten about. I recently pulled a bunch of them out and found some great pieces that made nice card panels.

The above 5″ x 7″ center step card was made with paper called “Birds of a Feather” by 7 Gypsies. The printed panels were matted on Gina K Faded Brick card stock and a heavy weight ivory card base. I love the pattern and rich colors on this paper!

To create the greeting, I used the “Thank You 2” die by Cheery Lynn Designs and black card stock. The background paper was so busy which made it difficult to see the die cut by itself so I created a banner for behind it from Gina K Faded Brick card stock and ink, a leaf stamp from the Stampers Anonymous “Falling Leaves” set by Tim Holtz, and the Banner Triple Punch from Stampin’ Up. (As you can probably tell from a few of my recent posts, I am loving the “texture” created when you stamp a tone-on-tone image randomly to cover the card stock panel!)

Here is the template for a 5×7 inch center step card:

I had several sheets of this paper so I made a few more without a greeting so they would be suitable for a variety of occasions and ready to go as needed.

Here are a few more step cards I came up with using paper from a pad called “Lake Life Is Best” by Paper House. (The Father’s Day stamp is from a set called “Father’s Day Innies & Outies” by My Sentiments Exactly.)

These cards practically make themselves; the scenic paper does all the work! I kind of feel like I’m cheating, but I have SO MUCH paper like this (with a large pattern or scene), and using it on this step card design is a great way to put it to good use. And you can add as much or as little to the scene; I think it always looks “finished” and awesome.

Thanks for checking out my card projects!

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31Mar2017

Basket of Easter Eggs

Posted in Cards, Easter, Holiday Cards by lisababitz

Basket of Easter Eggs

(inside: Have an egg-cellent Easter!)

I found this AMAZING tutorial (great idea and easy to follow) by Lyssa Zwolanek to make a basket weave background and CASED the basket and liner she created.

I was so excited to try this technique that I didn’t give much thought to the size of the basket I created. As a result, I ended up with a 6×6 inch card that required a handmade envelope, a card base that needed to be pieced together from two heavy weight panels since my 12×12 inch paper was too flimsy, and a trip to the post office due to the square shape. But I LOVE the way the basket came out, so it was all worth it!

For the basket, I used Gina K Kraft card stock, the Stampin’ Up/Sizzix Brick Wall embossing folder, the Stampin’ Up Woodgrain background stamp, Stampin’ Up Early Espresso and Soft Suede ink, and water.

To attach my handle, I used a Recollections brad (# 10290115). I rounded corners with a Fiskars small corner rounder. The pleated liner was made with strips of Paper Pizazz/Hot Off the Press “Garden Scattered Flowers” patterned paper (HOTP 20163) and my score board.

I used Gina K Grass Green card stock and a Fiskars continuous border punch for the grass. The eggs were cut with one of the dies from the Spellbinders Classic Ovals – Large set (S4-110) from patterned paper/card stock I had on hand (Basicgrey Plumeria/Moonstone and June Bug/Kaleidoscope card stock, Recollections Green Pinstripes paper, and My Mind’s Eye Memorable “I’m With…” Together card stock).

I used The Paper Studio Antique Brocade, Basicgrey Plumeria/Moonstone, and Core’dinations Bright White paper and card stock for the background panels.

I was really having a hard time finding Easter stamps suitable for the insides of cards. I have a bunch of “Happy Easter” stamps and a few verses that I’ve already used on past cards. The sentiment I ended up using is from the “Easter Chick” stamp set by Inky Antics – a little corny, I know, but it went well with the eggs on the front. I will need to start looking earlier for next year’s cards!

Thanks for checking out my card post!

27Mar2017

Double Sided Step Card for Easter

Posted in Cards, Creative Folds, Easter, Holiday Cards by lisababitz

Double Sided Step Card for Easter

Here is another card which features the “Avant-Garden” stamp set by Stampin’ Up. It was a free set with a $50 purchase (and retired after March 31, 2017). The flowers were stamped with Gina K Lemon Drop, Jelly Bean Green, and Warm Cocoa ink. Card stock is Gina K Lemon Drop, gray from the Recollections Neutrals pack, and white. I embossed the tiny white panel with one of the folders from the Sizzix Textured Impressions “Flourish, Dots & Ribbons” set.

I got the measurements and instructions for this type of step card HERE on Sabrina Radeck’s blog. I was inspired by her color combination as well!

Thanks for checking out my card post!

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24Mar2017

Brushstroke Valentine

Posted in Cards, Holiday Cards, Valentine's Day by lisababitz

Brushstroke Valentine

(inside: Happy Valentin’e Day)

Did you ever see a card sample online and immediately realized that you just HAD to have the stamp used on it? I had seen this heart stamp (from the “Stamp Your Story – Brush” set by Hero Arts) on several cards last year when I was looking for Valentine’s Day card ideas.

I searched high and low and could not find the stamp set anywhere. I finally gave up my search and came up with a different idea. This year, I started looking at ideas again, and this same heart image popped up in my search! I resumed my search for the stamp and eventually learned (from customer service at Hero Arts) that the stamp set had been discontinued and was extremely hard to find. Just as I was about to give up… again…, a listing popped up deep into my Google search from a person in Ireland selling her used set, on a site I had never heard of before. (It looked like it had been posted just a few days before I was ready to stop looking.) Right place at the right time, I guess! I am not quite sure what it is about this stamp that I love so much, but I am sooooo happy I found it! 🙂

I repeatedly stamped the hearts with Gina K Bubblegum ink on white card stock. The greeting was cut from Gina K bubblegum card stock using the Fiskars Teresa Collins Love Punch. I cut several of these die cuts and glued them together for added dimension. The white panel was crimped using my Marvy Uchida Corru-Gator Paper Crimper.

Thanks for checking out my card project!

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27Jan2017

Quilled Flowers in Vase

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards, Get Well/Sympathy, Mother's Day, Other, Thank You Cards by lisababitz

Quilled Flowers in Vase

(inside: May your birthday be filled with love, laughter and everything that makes you HAPPY)

I made this 5×7 card for a birthday, although with no greeting added to the front, this design could be used for a variety of occasions.

I thought I’d try the circle shaping tool from the Border Buddy set by Quilled Creations for this project. I started with 4 inch strips for the petals. The purple petals were made by wrapping the strips around the smallest step, and after the circle coils were removed from the tool, I pinched each one flat and then gently pushed on the ends to create the opening in the centers. The white petals were made with the second step and were barely pushed in on the sides to create ovals. The swirly stems and leaves were hand coiled with a basic slotted quilling tool. The loose yellow coils were made with the Quill Ease motorized quilling tool (which I talked about HERE).

The vase was made with the Spellbinders Shapeabilities Filigree Vase D-Lites Dies. Because the quilled flowers are 3mm thick and needed to be tucked behind the vase, I made a few quilled coils using the same size strips to put behind the vase to raise it up to the level of the flowers. It was like using foam squares but perfectly sized for this project.

The oval frame was cut with one of the Grand Ovals dies by Spellbinders and embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder.

The pre-cut paper strips were from a pack by Quilled Creations. The card stock used for the vase, card base and frame was Gina K Pure Pure White and Sweet Mango. The sentiment on the inside was from the “Happy Birthday to You” set by Gina K Designs.

Over at Die Cut Divas, the challenge this month is to make your project sentiment free. Dies and/or embossing folders must also be used.

The challenge over at The Paper Players is “Clean and Simple: flowers” where we are to use a flower on a CAS design.

Thanks for checking out my card project!

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