Card - Challenge - Santa's Reindeer

I made this card for the Holly Jolly Christmas Card Challenge this week which is Santa's Reindeers. 
I used the Stampin Up - Dasher stamped in Chocolate Chip on cream card stock.  I die cut it with the Spellbinder Deckled Rectangles nestabilities.  I layered it onto the next size rectangle in Real Red.  To keep with the Christmas theme I found a piece of  Anna Griffin flourish DP which I layered onto a matching piece of card stock.  I added 2 pieces of Real Red 1/4" gross grain ribbon with a piece of Chocolate Chip 1/4" twill tape between them.  I cut the ends at an angle.  The ribbon ends are tucked behind the DP.  I added a MS snowflake punchie in the same cream card stock held in place with a chocolate brown brad. Really happy with this one!

Card - Challenge - Sketch - 2nd card

I had pulled several pieces of designer paper for my earlier card and decided to make another.  This time portrait orientation. Weekly Christmas Card Challenges.
I don't know the name of the Stampin Up! DSP I used here. It has Copyright 2006 on it. If any one can help please leave me a comment.
I started with an Always Artichoke card and layered a piece of Real Red on to it leaving a border.  I placed 3 pieces of the unknown DSP evenly spaced on the Real Red.  I needed a tall element for the focal image. I just received my hostess "Eventful Year CD" so I browsed it in hopes of finding something Christmasy.  I found this eyelet oval frame so I removed the flourishes and changed the colors to Very Vanilla and Always Artichoke.  I added a greeting in the centre in Real Red and color printed on Very Vanilla.  I added a layer of Always Artichoke under it.  I placed a bit of Real Red 1/4" gross grain to the top of the tag and adhered it to the card with 3D foam tape. Really happy with the card.

Card - Challenge - Sketch

I made this card for the Sketch Challenge at Weekly Christmas Card Challenge. I started with an ivory card. I layered the red/ivory swirly DP onto dark green card stock which I trimmed leaving a small border. I layered 3 of these elements across the card front.  I cut the label in dark green with one of the Apothecary framelits.  I color printed the greeting and trimmed it to the red border. Once trimmed I rubbed the edges with the Real Red ink pad. The greeting is raised with 3D foam tape onto the label die cut which is adhered to the card front with ivory brads.

Card - Challenge - Monochromatic Christmas

I made this card for the challenge at Holly Jolly Christmas Challenges - Monochromatic.  I started in my stash of scraps and chose several pieces of designer paper in the turquoise/teal color family.  I found a thin piece of deep dusty teal paper to which I glued my strips of DP paper.  I ran this piece through the Big Shot with the Cuttlebug 5x7 Winter Snowflake embossing folder.  This helps to keep all the layers stuck together. This was glued to a turquoise card.  I cut a snowflake in the deep dusty teal paper with the Cricut and the Winter Lace cartridge.  I cut a smaller snowflake from off white card stock with the Sizzix medium die.  I found a brad which matched the large snowflake perfectly to hold these 2 in place.  I punched a SU Modern Label from the deep dusty teal paper and layered a SU Word Window punchie from the same off white card stock stamped with the greeting in Taken with Teal. The greeting was applied to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Photo - Alberta Legislature 100th Anniversary

The Alberta Legislature Building was all light up tonight when I drove by so I had to stop to snap a few shots.  The Alberta Legislature is celebrating 100th anniversary on September 3, 2012.  The Party under the Dome is September 2nd.  I didn't think to bring my tripod so I will have to take another trip to take more shots.  Here's one from tonight!

Card - Teal - Congratulations

I made this card for friends who have moved into a new home!  I chose to follow the sketch for Come and Get It Challenges.
I chose a dark teal card which I laid landscape.  I cut a piece of designer paper in a crackle design in a teal color.  I cut the paper 5.25" wide then used my CM circle cutter to cut the curve.  I added a piece of polka dot paper to cover the other part of the card front.  I placed several small teal/turquoise Prima paper flowers along the curve.  Started with the dark one in the center then evenly spaced the others along the edge.  All held in place with tiny blue brads.  I color printed the greeting and cut it out with on of the SU Apothecary Framelits.  I am loving these framelits!  I had offset the greeting to allow space for another small flower.

Card - Thank Yous - Stampin Up Party

These are the cards I made for the ladies who placed orders at my Stampin Up Book Party last week.
I started with Bazzil Great Lakes card stock. I layered a bright green  card stock layer which a smudged the edges with Not Quite Navy ink pad.  I found Lime Twist Designer Paper by Karen Foster which combined those 2 colors.  I stamped my greeting with the SU! Sincere Salutations Thank You in navy. I put the Triple Treat Flower in navy on the DP square.  I stamped the second layer on the bright green in Kiwi Kiss ink and punched out with SU Five Petal punch. This was raised with 3D foam. Then the centre in navy on the card color punched with the 1/2 circle punch.

Card - HB - Blue Damask

I made this card with SU! Beau Chateau Designer Paper.  I used a Marina Mist card onto which I layered a piece of damask in Marina Mist and Very Vanilla.  I placed a piece of Marina Mist taffeta ribbon along the length of the damask piece and taped the end to the back. Then, this piece was adhered to the card front. I cut the color printed greeting with the smaller of nested QuicKutz oval die and the deep blue green card stock was cut the larger oval die. This was mounted over the ribbon with 3D foam tape. I then tied a short piece of ribbon above the greeting.

Card - Color Challenge

I made this card for Crazy for Cards - Color Challenge.  I started with a yellow card, I added a navy blue background layer embossed with Cuttlebug Polka Dots embossing folder.  I cut a pink label cut with a Apothecary Framelit.  I cut a white rectangle with a QuicKutz die.  I stamped the greeting from the SU! Sincere Salutations in navy and rubbed the edges with the ink pad.  I mounted the greeting with 3D foam tape.  I used 2 navy brads to hold the label in place. I punched the one edge of the green strip with the SU! Eyelet border punch.  I slipped the green strip under the pink label and aligned it with the left edge of the label.

How To: Storing Thin Dies

Now that we have a few sets of thin dies, the question becomes how to store them so they don't get bent and damaged and yet are easily accessible.  In my opinion magnet sheet is the answer.  I have presented a couple of ways to store them.  Keeping the really nice envelope from Stampin Up! or using CD cases.

1) Original Pkge - If you are going to keep the SU envelope I propose just adding a piece of cardstock the same size as the original cardboard.  Apply the exact same size sheet of adhesive magnet and voila your framelits are easy to get to, protected, labeled and can be organized.  For those thin dies sold in clam shell cases likely you will need to go to plan 2.

2) CD Cases - You must find the old style (thick) CD jewel cases.  Can still be found in thrift stores and some dollar stores. Carefully remove the black inserts which hold the CD.  Cut to size and apply adhesive magnet sheet to both sides of the case.  Now the thin dies will adhere well but will be easy to access.  With a label maker I placed identification information on the outside of the case.  Now I store them in regular CD storage rack. I can quickly see which ones are sitting there.  My niece gave me some of these for Christmas ready to go.  It was such a nice idea.  Thanks.
How are you storing your thin dies?  Leave me a comment.

Card - Double Die - Thank You

I made this card for a lady who helped with the window renovations that took place this summer.

I started with the idea "Can I cut my script thanks inside the largest of the Apothecary Framelits?" I can!  This was so cool. Check this post for How To.

 I started with the green card stock for the framelit and cut the thanks within it.  I placed a piece of dark DP behind the words so that it would pop. It takes care to apply glue carefully on the back of the die cut to ensure all the shapes are held down properly.  I placed these elements on a rust piece of card stock. Then onto a black card.  I added a couple of five petal punchies in black and gold which are held in place with a coordinating snap. I curled up the petals on the gold one but putting it into the scanner sort of flattened it!  I stamped only the "so much" from the Sincere Salutations in Kiwi Kiss.

How To: Cut one Thin Die inside another

I wanted to cut my MemoryBox Script Thanks die inside my SU Apothecary die. I thought since they are both thin dies that should work.
Pic 1 - I place the thanks first and aligned it using the lines on the all purpose platform. I used some double sided squares to hold the dies in place.  I laid the Apothecary Frame die over it, aligned it and held it in place with a sticky.  I was not concerned about the stickies because if they caught the card stock they would be on the piece I was not keeping.

Pic 2 - I ran it through the machine and I got the thanks cut out of the frame like I wanted.  When you look at the die cut you see that the hole for the A and the K are still in the die.  I collected these so  I could put them back into the work when I used it on a card.

Pic 3 - The final die cut ready to go!

Card - Challenge - Sketch

I made this card for Holly Jolly's Sketch Christmas Challenge.
I selected a deep blue/green card which matched one of the colors in the DP.  The paper is from Harmonie - Ornaments - Noel from Canada!  I cut the DP into 2 rectangular pieces and glued them leaving a strip of card stock color visible in the centre.  I cut a SB nestabilities Scallop Circle from deep red color.  I designed the greeting using the 2 prominent colors and added a snowflake. It was color printed then cut with the corresponding SB Smooth Circle nestabilities. I added a deep red ribbon through a slit in the fold and then tied a knot on the right hand side.  I added a Sizzix Sizzlet Snowflake on the left hand side held in place with a blue/green mini brad.  

Card - Challenge - Apothecary Framelit

I created this card for a sketch challenge on Clean & Simple Cards FTL203 using the Apothecary Accents Framelits.  Aren't they great?
I wanted to give the card to some guys who worked on renovations at my house so I chose SU Well Worn DP which I printed from the His & Hers DVD.  I placed it on an Early Espresso card.  I cut the Framelit accent in blue trying to match as close as I could the color in the DP. I printed the greeting on Very Vanilla and cut it with SB Oval Nestabilties.  I adhered the accent die cut onto the DP and tack it down then placed burnt orange eyelets on either end. I used my Crop-a-Dile to put them in place.  I found some twine which I wrapped through the eyelets a couple of times and knotted it on the right hand side.  The greeting I splattered with walnut ink and rubbed the edges as well.  I mounted it over the Framelit die cut with 3D foam tape to leave space for the twine.

Card - Challenge - Texture/White on White

I made this card to meet a couple of challenges. Texture at Sparkles and White on White at Crazy 4 Cards.

I started with a white card.  I added a piece of pearl card stock trimmed to leave a small border and embossed with the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes folder.  I cut the TH Distressed Doily on a folded piece of paper.  I placed the fold right on the edge so that I got a mirror image which turns out to be a really nice oval shape.  I ran a deep burgundy ribbon through the oval die cut and taped the ends to the inside of the card. I cut an oval in the pearl card stock with a QuicKutz oval die. I stamped the greeting with a small clear stamp in Purely Pomegranate and ran the edge on the die pad to highlight the edge against the mostly white background. The greeting was mounted with 3D foam tape.  Happy with this one!

Card - SU! Book Party

When I saw the new Stampin Up! Christmas Catalog I decided that I just had to have a party.  With the renovations I decided on a Book Party. Susan was our demo!
Someone had requested a demo on the Big Shot.  We covered Framelits, Sizzlets, Embossing Folders, and Bigz dies.  Then we made this card.  The Designer Paper is from the 2011 Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin Kit. The Ornament Keepsake stamp was stamped in Old Olive on white then cut out with the matching Framelit.  I embossed the bottom half of my Cherry Cobbler card with the Finial Press (on left ) & Petals a Plenty (right) embossing folder which is similar to the pattern in the ornament.  I wrapped the end of the Cherry Cobbler Satin Waffle ribbon between the DP and the card.  I covered the other end with a strip of Early Expresso to cover the join of embossing and DP. We used a small adhesive dot to adhere the small gold cord bow to the ornament then mounted it to the card front with 3D Dimensionals. It was a good time!

Card - Custom 50th HB

I created this custom card for a friend.  She showed me a card as a sample which I have used as inspiration.
I started with a black card.  I layered a piece of copper card stock trimmed to leave a small border. I decided that with the custom elements I needed to incorporate I would use vellum and print those elements. I created a double frame over which I placed 2 flourishes from Free Vector.  I placed the mixed font greeting within the frame.  The 50 was cut with the Cricut with the Base Camp cartridge.  I used a dry adhesive runner to glue them to vellum.  I placed the vellum over the copper layer and applied a little bit of dry adhesive under the flower. I punched the flowers with the SU! Five Petal punch in black and copper.  I punched a matching small one in black then held them in place with a tiny copper brad.  I added 4 tiny black brads on the 4 corners of the frame. She gave me the sentiment to include on the insert and I included a white envelope.

Card - Challenge - Garden

I created this card for the challenge on my card group.  The theme was Inspired by the Garden.  I chose a stamp I've had for a while.  The SU! Triple Treat Flower.  I stamped the flower in Purely Pomegranate, then Always Artichoke then More Mustard on white card stock.  I punched the green one with the SU! Five Petal Punch and the mustard one with the half in circle punch. I cut the purple one with a SB Nestabilities circle die.  I found a piece of More Mustard textured which I trimmed to leave a nice border on the Always Artichoke card.  The green and mustard are mounted with 3D foam tape.  I stamped the birthday greeting with Sincere Salutations in Always Artichoke. I added a stem with a sharpie marker in a color which matched pretty closely since I did not have a marker in Always Artichoke.

Card - Exchange - Clown Fish Scallop

I made a couple of these for my card exchange group.  I had a couple of these left over from card kits so I decide to use them as they are sitting on my work space.
I used Green Galore for the card and stamped it Basic Black with one of my SU! Itty Bitty Backgrounds.  I cut the fish with a round SB Nestabilities then cut the orange with the corresponding scallop circle. I mounted the scallop circle onto the card with 3D foam tape.  I cut the greeting with QuicKutz oval then stamped the greeting with a clear stamp.  I mounted the oval greeting with 2 brads. I added a bit of orange ribbon in the second hole to create a bit of a fin effect to go with the fish theme.

Christmas Card Challenge - Aug - Accent Tags

My blog Christmas Card Challenge this month is Accent Tags.  I had decided I wanted the tags to be the central greeting for the card.  I checked my Christmas paper 12x12 tray and found one sheet of Designer Paper I thought I could work with.  I found Kraft card stock matched the tree branches. Check. I created my own tags.  I designed them in my graphics package and added red letters on them.  Then I started wondering how I could have them fit in.  I did a bit research and found I could add a custom image to my pattern fill.  So I acquired a bit of the DP with the scanner and filled my tags with it.  I gave them dark brown borders. I added a short piece of red gross grain ribbon to the top held in place with a black brad (did not have dark brown ones). I trimmed the ends in points.  These were printed on the color printer then hand cut one at a time.  I rubbed the white cut edges with a dark brown ink pad. That made them look better. I cut a 3x5.5" strip of DP and glued it across the landscape card. I found some card stock in red to match the berries in the DP.  I placed a 1.25" strip of that over the DP.  I mounted the greeting tags to the card front mounted with 3D foam tape.  Very happy with these ones.  1 sheet of 12x12 allowed me 8 cards.