More Merriest Moments Cards

Hi all!  Here I go again.  I just couldn't help myself!  Making yesterday's card was so much fun.  I got to thinking that I really needed to make a Christmas version of the idea, because it really is a Christmas stamp set.  So after that, I went back downstairs and tried a red and green version.  Loved it so much I tried another version.  That one is in blues, grays, and silvers.  Oh, my goodness!  That's it!  I have to stop making this card layout for now.  This style of card has become absolutely addicting!  I made my self stop at the two versions, but I still have visions of maybe one or two more color combos.  Maybe rich and dark color combo, and maybe a more whimsical non-traditional color combo.  We'll see if I come up with anything else that I just have to share with you!

Here's the first Christmas card.  Because the sentiment is so long, I had to flip the card on it's side.  But the basic idea and layout are the same.  Let's start...

Card base is Old Olive cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  The first layer is Real Red cut at 5 1/4" x 4".  The Basic White stamped layer is cut at 5 1/8" x 3 7/8".

For stamping, I started out the same way with a pencil line lightly drawn across the middle of the card.  Again, the evergreen branches were stamped first with Old Olive ink.  This time I spread them out further and only stamped 3 (and a half-ish) on the top and bottom of the pencil line.  The color for the leafy branch was Pear Pizzazz ink.  It's close in color, but there is enough difference to show.  This time the speckles are stamped in Crumb Cake ink.

The sentiment is on a 1 1/8" x 4" strip of Basic White cardstock.  It's stamped with the Old Olive ink pad.  This is layered onto a Real Red cardstock strip that is 1 3/8"  x 4".  Behind this is a layer of the Be Dazzling Paper from the previous Sale-a-bration.  Come on ladies.  I know you all have some left and you're tucking in a little bit here and a little bit there.  This paper is so pretty that sometimes it only takes a small bit to make a big impact.  Oh yes, I used Mini Glue Dots to attach this behind the Real Red cardstock.  I wanted to make sure it stuck!  Then I used Dimensionals to attach it to the card front.

I wanted to add something a little different on this card, so 2 small holly leaves from the Merriest Moments set were stamped in Old Olive and die-cut with the matching dies.  The Sequins for Everything pack has these lovely bright red sequins that were perfect for the holly berries.  Both the holly leaves and the sequins are attached with Mini Glue Dots.  Ok, one down, on the the next.

Ok, you've already got all the dimensions for the card because it's the same as the red version.  This time around I'll just give you the color changes instead.

Card base - Night of Navy

1st Layer  - Smoky Slate

2nd Layer - Basic White

Inks used on this card are Night of Navy, Shaded Spruce, and Smoky Slate.  It was all set up the same way and stamped in the same order.

The small holly leaves were stamped with Shaded Spruce.  The holly berries are from the same Sequins for Everything pack.  They were in the silver and gold section.  The silver ones are all flat and almost look like a mirror.  Love those Sequins!

Tip:  If you have a Take-A-Pick Tool, make sure you use it with the sequins.  They are so static-y  that they want to stick to everything - including your fingers.  It's a joke trying to get them off your fingers, work table, and everything else!  But they're so pretty, they really are worth it!

Ok, that's it for today.  Honestly, I need to look at something else besides the Merriest Moments stamp set.  Not sure what I'll move on to next.  It's a surprise - to me too!

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Hope you give this card layout a try soon.  You'll be amazed how easy it is to use.  And it always comes out looking so pretty.  So this is a fabulous layout for making multiple cards for Christmas and any other time you need lots of pretty cards quick.

Happy stamping and happy Saturday too!

Sharon

  

CASE-ing a Gorgeous Idea

 Hi there!  Hope you're having a great day today.  Can't believe another week has just flown away.  I need  things to slow down a little so I can catch up.  Do you ever feel that way?  Here it is halfway through October and we just put out our Halloween decorations.  We'll have to turn right around and take them down again in another two weeks.  And that means autumn is in full swing, so that's what we'll be focusing on today.  A few days ago (or maybe more!) I chanced on a lovely card idea by Jacque Williams in New Zealand.  It just got the wheels cranking in my brain.  Here's the link to her card.  Loved her cards and the colors were fabulous, but I was envisioning something more in tune with fall.  So here's how I CASEed (Copy And Share Everything) her card...

Isn't this a pretty card and the layout is a great, easy, go-to layout to work with.  I stayed with the same stamp sets she used, the Merriest Moments Bundle for the greenery, and the Heartwarming Hugs for the sentiment.  I just love how these colors make such a warm and friendly card with ease.  Here's how it's made...

I started out with a card base of Old Olive.  This is cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  First layer is Mango Melody cut at 5 1/4" x 4".  In case you haven't noticed, this color is turning out to be my favorite fall color this year.  The next layer is Very Vanilla cut at 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" so there is only a small amount of the Mango Melody actually showing when the card is put together.

To make the section of stamped area, I measured down about 2" from the top on both sides, then drew a light pencil line as a base for the images.  The evergreen branches actually overlap the line a bit when stamping.  I used Old Olive ink, and stamped about 3-4 branches on each side of the line to start.  Then I switched to the leafy branch and the Mango Melody ink to stamp these in between the evergreen branches.  These are shorter than the evergreen, so they were not overlapped on the pencil line.  After this come the speckles.  I thought I'd use Crumb Cake ink for these, but changed my mind and went with Coastal Cabana ink instead.  This just brightens up the whole look.

The next part to make was the sentiment banner going across the card.  The Very Vanilla strip is  cut to 1 1/8" x 3 7/8".  The sentiment from Heartwarming Hugs stamp set was stamped across the center with Early Espresso ink.  It was layered onto a 1 1/4" x 4" strip of Mango Melody cardstock.  As a gorgeous accent, a strip of Gold Foil Paper was cut at 1 1/2" x 4".  This just took the card up a notch in elegance.  After these were all layered together using Multi Purpose Liquid Glue, they were layered onto the card front centered over the pencil line we started with.  It was popped up with Dimensionals for a little extra attitude.

The inside of the card was layered up the same with Mango Melody and Very Vanilla cardstocks.  I added a few of the evergreen branches and sprinkle of the Coastal Cabana speckles to tie it all together.   At the very end, I added a few of the gold Gilded Gems to dress it up to impress.  I hope you like my autumnal take on Jacque's lovely card.  It's amazing how different a card design can look by just changing the colors.  Give it a try and see what kind of card treasure you can make!

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Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to see what I've been up to lately.  I love to share my card ideas with you, so thank you for doing your part in looking at them!  We have sunshine and wonderful weather back again that I'm thoroughly enjoying.  In fact, the colors on my card remind me of just exactly what I'm seeing outside.  Take time to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather, maybe by picking out some pumpkins or getting some cider and doughnuts.  Hmmm...  I need to find me an apple orchard around here.

Blessings and cinnamon-y hugs,

Sharon

Quick But Cute DSP Layout

 Hey there!  We're back to lots of rainy and gray weather this week.  It kind of gets me in a little funk and I have trouble getting motivated.  But with today's post, I think I've got an easy card idea for you that you'll love and use over and over.  As long as you have some designer paper that has two ides that coordinate, you're in business.  Of course I guess you could use two different sheets of paper if you didn't have one that worked for you.  Actually, the sky's the limit as you'll soon see...

Here are the first two examples.  Let me give you a run down on the dimensions needed for all of these cards, then I'll give a quick summary of what was used for each card.  For these first cards, I used an 11" x 4 1/4" piece of cardstock that was scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half to make top fold cards.  It could easily be a side fold if you preferred.

The white layer is cut at 3 3/4" x 5", and the dsp is cut at 4 3/4" x 3 1/2".  The only hard part of this card is making sure when you make your angled cuts, you need to keep the piece of dsp together and cut absolutely corner to corner.  Be very precise or the pieces won't fit together nicely when put together again.  Next you take the side pieces, turn them so the backside shows, and switch sides of the card to put them on.  When cutting the dsp for this type of card, keep an eye on whether either side of the paper has a directional print so when it's cut it lays correctly.  If you look at these two cards, you can see the one on the left definitely needs to go a certain direction.  The one on the right is optional.

Major tips:  I found it's better to lay out your dsp on the white layer so you are sure of your design.  

I used Multi Purpose Liquid Glue so the dsp can be sort of slid into position if it's a little off kilter.

Start with the top triangle and be very precise with the layout and attaching.  Then go to the sides and lastly the bottom triangle.  Ok, you've got the basics, let's move on to materials used.

This card has a base of Garden Green.  The Peaceful Prints Designer Paper that was a freebie during Sale-a-bration was used on this one.  I know many of you have that dsp and think these prints are perfect for this style of card.  Both of these prints are on the same piece of paper.  The sentiment is stamped on a piece of Basic White cardstock punched from the Label Me Lovely Punch.  The sentiment is from the Merriest Moments stamp set and was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The trees are multiple stampings from the Peaceful Deer set and were stamped with Garden Green ink.  This was attached with Dimensionals over a large bow made from the Simply Elegant Trim in silver.  A few clear Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added for bling.

There are several differences on this card.  First the cardstock used is Mossy Meadow, and the dsp is the lovely Heartwarming Hugs Designer Series Paper in the July-Dec Mini Catalog.  It's a great traditional red and green for all those Christmas purists.  These prints are both on the same piece of paper.  The same Label Me Lovely Punch was used on this card, but a 2nd piece was punched from Real Red cardstock.  This was split in half and layered behind the white after stamping.   The sentiment is also from the Merriest Moments stamp set and was stamped using Mossy Meadow ink.  This was all layered over another large bow from the Simply Elegant Trim, but this time in gold.  This card hasn't gotten any bling treatment yet.  I kind of like the nice, clean look of it the way it is.

Now to move on beyond Christmas with this idea...

Even though this is the exact same idea, it now looks so pretty and feminine.  The cardstock used is Blushing Bride and I used the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper from the Annual Catalog.  This is again the same sheet of paper for both prints.  I just love how they look on this card!  The label was die-cut using the Ornate Frames Dies.  The stamp set for the words is from the Sale-a-bration set In Your Words.  It was stamped with Gray Granite ink.  Some retired Seaside Spray ribbon was tucked underneath the sentiment.  And a sprinkle of 2021-2023 In Color Rhinestones were added for extra bling.  So pretty!

The last two cards were made because a friend had some Gilded Autumn DSP left over and wanted to showcase this pretty paper on her class projects.   These cards were so much fun to make because I had always thought the Beautiful Autumn stamp set and the Gilded Autumn DSP were fabulous.  So if you have any of this left, you might want to make a couple of these!  On this version, two different pieces of  dsp were used and the opposite side of the speckled paper was used on the next card.   The card base is Early Espresso, then a layer of Very Vanilla.  The same punch as the original cards was again used for these two.  The acorns ad leaves are from the Beautiful Autumn set and had coordinating punches.  Several Gilded Gems were added for some bold bling.

This is the last and it really shows off the Gilded Autumn DSP.  The sentiment is from the Peaceful Moments stamp set and is stamped with Cajun Craze ink.  The acorns were stamped with Cajun Craze and Crumb Cake - both were off-stamped first.  The leaves were a mix of Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, and Mint Macaron,  some off-stamped and some not.  This one also has a strip of Pool Party cardstock across the center with a snippet of Cherry Cobbler/Gold Ribbon added on.  Surprisingly it blended very nicely with the Cajun Craze on the card.  Again the bold Gilded Gems were added.

Just one more picture to share.  This has none of the center focal point on yet so you can see how the paper gets layered onto the Basic White or Very Vanilla layer.  If you have a problem in the center, that gets covered over.  Make sure the outside edges look good along with showing the under layer along the large X.  Whew! Ok, that's it for today.  I'm sure you've been bombarded with enough for one day and are ready to go on to something else.    *grin*  Hope I covered everything concerning this layout.  If not, please get it touch.  I'd love to hear from you.

Remember that the current host code is listed in the top right corner.  I'll be happy to help you if you have any questions.  Hope you're ready for some fall weather.  I hear it's coming soon.  Take care...

Many hugs,

Sharon

 

Angled Tri-Fold Christmas Card

 Hi there!  Wow, I can hardly believe this is the very last day of September.  The days and weeks just seem to be slipping by faster and faster as I age (gracefully I hope!).  That means today is the last day to get your order in during Sale-a-bration.  There's still a few hours left as I'm writing this.

Stamping wise, I'm back to playing around with Christmas cards.  I tried a new fun fold card idea and really liked it, so I made another one for one of my sisters as a pick-me-up card.  It's always nice to let family and friends know that they really are appreciated and not just taken for granted.  So first I'll share the Christmas card and tack on the other one at the end.  Here we go...

I really like the look of this fold, just a little different to give it some extra interest.  This idea was found on a you tube video from Stamp with Lorraine.  You start with a piece of cardstock 5 1/2" x 11".  This is scored at 3 3/8" and 7 5/8".  I used Mossy Meadow for this card.  When the card is flat on the table, mark 1 1/2" down from the top on each side edge.  Using your trimmer, cut from the score line down to that mark on each side.  Lay flat again and mark 1" in on each side of the bottom.   Then cut from the angled point on the side you just made to the mark you made along the bottom edge.  Hopefully the next picture will give you a good idea of the cutting areas.

Next up is cutting the DSP for the front flaps.  Start with 2 pieces of 5 1/4" x 3 1/4" designer paper.  I used Heartwarming Hugs on this one.  You can choose to use both sides the same on the DSP like this card, or one of each side like I did on the 2nd card.  Either way looks great.

Can you get a good look for cutting the cardstock sides here?  Remember, 1 1/2" down from the top on the side edges.  And 1" in from the side on the bottom edge.  This gives you that lovely angled edge along the front overlap.

Back to the DSP cutting.   The directions I worked with said to also mark down 1 1/2" on the side like the top and cut to the edge like before.  And then mark in 1" on the bottom and cut to the point like before.  This actually didn't give me quite the right size, so I did a little trimming to make it fit like I wanted.  Sorry I can't give you exact dimensions, it was just a tiny sliver here and there.  When cutting the DSP, pay attention to which side you're doing your measuring and cutting so you get the print side up that you want.  More on that later...

The inside layer is Basic White cut at 5 1/4" x 4" and stamped with a Christmas sentiment in Mossy Meadow ink.  This was attached inside with adhesive.

The front focal piece is a belly-band with a Christmas sentiment and a stocking.  Basic White cardstock is die-cut with the largest label from the Tasteful Labels Dies.  This doesn't have stitching lines in it, so I used a Real Red marker to draw in the stitches.  The sentiment is from the Merriest Moments stamp set, and was stamped using Mossy Meadow ink.  This was stamped off to the side to leave room for the stocking.

The stocking is from the Tidings & Trimmings Bundle.  It was stamped with Real Red ink.  Before die-cutting, it was colored with both Real Red Light and Old Olive Light Stampin' Blends.  This was popped up on the label with Dimensionals.

The belly-band is a 1" x 9" piece of Real Red cardstock.  It's scored on one end at 2 1/4" and folded over.  Slip this around the card and fold the other end over to meet and overlap in the middle.  Use heavy adhesive to attach the ends together.  The sentiment label is attached to the belly-band with adhesive, making sure you cover over the overlap.  I added 3 of the 2021-2023 In Color Jewels in the Evening Evergreen color.  Just love the iridescent shine these jewels give!  Now fold your card closed, slip on the belly-band, and your card is finished and ready to go in the mail.  Oh yeah, don't forget to sign it first!  *grin*

I said I had another card with this fun fold to share with you.  Do you remember the Lovely Lily Pad stamp set with the artistic Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper that coordinated with it?  Well, it's purple, so I chose to make this for my sis who adores anything purple.  Hope she likes this.  

If you look closely, you'll see a few changes on this card.  First off, I didn't make the 2nd angled cut from the bottom edge of the card overlap.  I just left them straight this time around.  Also I mentioned to pay attention to which side of the DSP you're cutting?  As you can see, my overlap is on the other side this time so I can show off the pretty print.  Of course, it really could be folded the other way, and maybe she'd like it better that way because there's more purple showing.  hmmm...  

This time I used the Stitched So Sweetly label dies for the focal point.  Shake things up a bit and try other label dies or punches that would fit nicely.  There's no right or wrong way here.  Just play around with what you have and see what you come up with.  

That's it for today's post.  Hope you're inspired to try this fun fold.  It really makes up into a pretty card.  Just a quick reminder about the host codes showing up on the right top corner on my blog page.  If you're getting this in an email, you won't have the current code.  You'll have to check in on the actual blog to see what the current code is.   Thanks for taking the time to visit.  Love hearing from you!  You are what keeps me inspired to try new things, so in turn I can share them with you!

Happy creating and stamping,

Sharon