Shaker Card Magic!

Are you one to think making shaker cards is hard or you need a bunch of special things to make them? Well, you're wrong! I learned at an event I attended in the summer that you actually don't need much at all... and I'm here to share the secret with you!

All you need are the edges from your Dimensionals (pop dots) and some Window Sheets. Want to reuse/recycle and save some more money?? Use the extra acetate sheet Stampin' Up! gives you when you buy Photopolymer stamps. ;)

Start by cutting slits along the side of your Dimensional edges. Make sure not to cut all the way through. This will help to make them easy to bend around your window.

After you've punched or die cut your opening, glue the window sheet down and then start sticking your cut Dimensional border around. It doesn't have to be perfectly around your shape, but you want to make sure your shaker pieces can't escape.

Before you affix it to your card base, lay your confetti pieces down and put a few more Dimensionals on the card layer so everything is raised, not just the area around your cut out.

Sometimes the confetti pieces get stuck, so just give your card a few good shakes and all should be good, but just like that, your card is done! Isn't it easy?!

Give it a try with various punches or Framelits/Dies and see all the fun things you can come up with.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Just Married Punch Art

Over the weekend I was looking for some inspiration and I turned to my sketchbook. In it, I found a quick sketch I did of something similar below, likely, the idea originated from a card I received (or saw in a store). I thought it was perfect for some punch art!

The punch art was simple:

Circle Punches - 1/2", 1" and 2-1/2"
3/4" Square Punch
Bow Builder Punch
Balloon Framelits (the tiny bow)

Once I had all the pieces glued, I added a tiny jewel to the bow for a little bling. The sentiment was easily done with the Alphabet Rotary Stamp. I love that the rotary includes a little heart! I really wanted to just glue my little punch art car on the card base, but wasn't quite satisfied with it. Adding the Silver Metallic Thread gave it that extra umph. 

On the inside, I added a few punched flowers with some more bling in the centre.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Minecraft Reveal

The other day I posted the "how to" on making this Minecraft card that was inspired by Stamping T and today I'm posting the final card. I really love the way it turned out!

I wrote in my last post that I wasn't quite sure how I was going to finish the card off... well, I decided to keep the remainder of the grid exposed at the bottom and stamp the sentiment in StazOn (the stamp set is long retired). I then mounted my grid piece on some Basic Black and then on a Tempting Turquoise card base. I wrapped some Basic Black Baker's Twine around to finish off the look.

I kept the inside super simple, just adding a few tiny 1/4" squares for some interest and texture.

Here's a closer look at some of the details. Like I said in the last post, I really love how it turned out and the effect created with the squares, but I don't think I'll make another with such tiny ones again. ;)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Minecraft Custom Request

I wrote a post last week about a custom request and here's another one that challenged me! I was asked to create a Minecraft card for a customer and I really had no clue as to what this was, but that wasn't going to stop me from creating something. I turned to Pinterest, of course and was inspired by Stamping T in Australia. Here is a step-by-step on how I put this (tedious) card together.

I started out by raiding my scrap bin and pulling out different shades of green, plus black and then cut them into 1/4" strips and then 1/4" squares. My Stampin' Trimmer was my best friend for this project!

I happened to have some sticky note pages that looked like grid paper, so I trimmed that down so it would fit on my card front (4" x 5-1/4"). You could use any grid paper, but I found it convenient that my page stayed in place as I was gluing all the little pieces on.

Next I marked out where I wanted certain things to go. I knew I wanted the image to be square, but wasn't entirely sure what I was going to put at the bottom yet.

This AMAZING Fine Tip Glue Pen (in the Holiday Catalogue) made this project more manageable.

After gluing down the black areas, I just randomly started gluing the remaining green squares. I started with just one shade of green and then moved on to the next.

I really loved seeing all the different shades together and I might do another project like it, but with bigger squares! ;) This was VERY time consuming...

Towards the end, I wasn't as concerned about having the same shades close together. It still looked good. I think from start to finish, this card took me around 2-1/2 hours! It's really crazy when you think about it, but it was worth it when my customer was thrilled with the result. I think they also thought I was a little crazy!

Come back tomorrow to see the final result!

Until then, stay crafty!
Steph

Paper Pumpkin Pieces

Since we're heading into the weekend, here's a quickie project for you! I created a quick and easy note card using pieces from past Paper Pumpkin kits. I love the kits for that very reason. ;)

The stamp set and note card are actually out of the annual catalogue, but the rest of the pieces are from past kits. The lovely gold-foiled bow card stock was from last months kit (August 2015) - I cut a card base in half so that it would layer nicely on the front of this card. The flowers were also punched from scraps from that same kit using the flower from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack.

The stamp set is a versatile one and I highly recommend it! It's called Endless Birthday Wishes. I both love the font and the sentiments you can create with it.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend and get some crafting time in.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Final Notice

I love when customers contact me to create custom work. I get to think outside the box and create something that I normally would not create. Recently, I was asked to create this custom card and I LOVE how it turned out!

The customer wanted a card for a friend that she works with at a collection agency. I had full creative control, but she was very specific on the sentiment.

The first thing that came to mind was something with numbers and then terms like "overdue" and "final notice". The Typeset Specialty DSP had some perfect papers just for this project! I also used the Little Numbers Thinlits - they're the perfect size for card fronts.

I went with a black and red theme to symbolize the positive and negative balances of monetary transactions and the Alphabet Rotary Stamp was my best friend on this project! Not only does the font look like that of a typewriter, but it also allowed me to stamp the text requested by the customer.

On the inside, I used more Typeset DSP and text. If you have a custom request, I'd love to do it for you. I've had some interesting requests over the years and there is nothing that I haven't been able to tackle yet! I'm up for the challenge...

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

X-Ray Dinosaurs

Sorry for missing you all week. Unlike some, I do not love the hotter and humid weather as it brings on migraines! I've been a mess this week, but thankfully some rain last night brought some relief today.

I'm showcasing the No Bones About It stamp set again (since I haven't felt up to playing with new holiday products). I spotted a few x-ray designs on Pinterest featuring one dino and a square highlight of its bones. I thought it would be fun to change up the shape and feature three different dinosaurs. Check it out:

I used my 1" Circle Punch to punch out my x-ray image that I stamped in Craft White Ink on Basic Black card stock. I popped those up on top of the dinosaur images I stamped on some Whisper White in Delightful Dijon, Cucumber Crush and Bermuda Bay. I layered that piece on a Thick Whisper White card base.

On the inside, I stamped a few leaves in Cucumber Crush because you know me, I can't leave the inside of a card blank. :)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph