handmade cards

Make It Mine With Daisy Garden

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Daisy Garden

You may have missed the Daisy Garden stamp on your first, second and maybe even third time through Stampin’ Up!’s Annual Catalog. It’s a hidden gem on page 106. The colored samples on the page are what catch your eye and the image of the stamp is on the smaller size.

Daisy Garden is a single large stamp. It’s perfect for backgrounds but also works well as a focal point. Once I finally noticed it I knew I needed it on my stamp shelf. Who doesn’t like daisies? (wink, wink!)

When looking for a card to make with the fun Daisy Garden stamp I came across this striking black and white card. It’s simplicity caught my eye. There I go again with the simple cards. My tastes must be changing. Anyway, I liked this card so much I decided to Make It Mine.

The first thing I had to do was add another layer to the card. You know me and my layers. Then I decided it needed a little color so I added the layer of Bumblebee cardstock and colored the centers of the flowers with my Bumblebee Stampin’ Write Marker. Next was adding the Bumblebee Gingham Ribbon.

As you can see from the photo of my card I didn’t stop there. I liked the card but it looked a little flat. I had seen another card online where the creator had stamped the daisies a second time, cut out three of them and popped them on to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals. So that’s what I did and it made the card just right! It gave the card a little dimension.

What you can’t see from the phot is that I also added a little Wink of Stella Glitter Brush to the centers of the flowers. Such a fun and summery card! I love the way it turned out!

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Dutch Door Fun Fold Card

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What the heck is a Dutch Door and how can you make it into a fun fold card?

Dutch Door

In the first photo above you can see what a Dutch Door is. It’s one of those doors where the top and bottom of the door open separately. The second photo is the adorable card I’m sharing with you today.

I know, you’re looking at the photos thinking that the card doesn’t look anything like the Dutch Door. It looks like a regular card.

That’s what is so fun about this design. Check out the photo on the left. You can now see that only the bottom of this card opens! Sneaky, right?

The top section of the front of the card base is trimmed away. The focal point is then adhered to the bottom section of the card front so when it’s closed it looks like a normal card.

I lined up the short edge of the card front at the 2 3/4″ mark on my paper trimmer and cut down to the fold. Then I lined up the fold of the card on the cutting line and cut down to the edge of the paper. Easy Peasy. All that was left to do was decorate!

The adorable Penguin Place stamp set from the new Mini Catalog and the coordinating Penguin Playmates Designer Series Paper from the Sale-a-bration Brochure were the perfect choices for this card. Cheerful and fun!

The two pieces of designer paper as well as the Basic White insert for the card all measure 4″ x 2 1/2″. When adhering the focal point to the card base just remember to put your adhesive (I used Stampin’ Dimensionals) on the lower portion of the card.

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Card Sketch: Summer Sunflowers

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How about some sweet sunflowers for today’s Card Sketch? I saw this card sketch and had to try and figure out what type of image to put in the two circles. After scouring my stamp shelf I decided on these small sunflowers. As you can tell though, I couldn’t stick to just two. You know….that rule of three….things are more eye catching/pleasing in three or odd numbers.

Once I decided on the images to use this sketch came together quite easily. Of course I had to add a few extra layers but that seems to be par for the course! The sunflowers are from the Celebrate Sunflowers stamp set. I colored them with my Stampin’ Blends markers. Coloring isn’t my favorite thing to do but it’s SO easy with Stampin’ Up!’s Stampin’ Blends markers. The sentiment is from the Tasteful Touches stamp set. I needed something large to fill the space.

I heat embossed all of the stamped images on my card. I like to do this when I used the Stampin’ Blend Markers. It makes it easier to stay in the lines (Ha!) and is especially nice when using the lighter colors. Just my preference but give it a try sometime.

If you haven’t tried playing with card sketches be sure to give it a try. It’s fun! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Make It Mine Monday: Flowers of Friendship

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The Flowers of Friendship stamp set can be found in Stampin’ Up!’s current Annual Catalog.  I wasn’t going to purchase this set but finally gave in.  Once I saw this card by Tracy Bradley I was glad I did.  Tracy’s card is clean and fresh.  I like the red and white with just that little pop of green.  The sentiment is from one of my new favorite stamp sets, Biggest Wish, which I first shared with you last week.  Tracy also used the new Pretty Flowers Embossing Folder.

When you like an original card so much how do you change it up to make it your own?  I actually started with the embossing folder and used the side that Tracy didn’t use.  I love the fact that you can get two different looks when using an embossing folder.

The next thing I changed on Tracy’s card was to add a layer behind the scalloped rectangle.  Now the focal point really pops.  Did you notice that instead of adhering the scallop rectangle to the red rectangle and popping that up I adhered the red rectangle directly to the card front and popped up the scallop rectangle.  When I di it this way I feel it really makes that focal point pop. 

I only made two other small changes.  I added another leaf so that there would be an odd number and I stamped the sentiment in black instead of red.  I was going back and forth between black and red for the sentiment but black finally won out.

How would you have changed Tracy’s card? Leave a comment and let me know or better yet share a picture of your Make It Mine!

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Fun Fold: Panel Card

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Panel Card Fun Fold

This Fun Fold card is so fun and easy!  Four score marks, gorgeous designer paper and some coordinating pieces of paper for the layers.  I used Stampin’ Up!’s absolutely stunning Peaceful Place Specialty Designer Series Paper that you will be able to find on page 37 of the new (Holiday) Mini Catalog.  The only colors in this package of papers are Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Basic Black and Silver.  Amazing!  You will definitely want to check out this paper.

For the card base of this fun fold card you start with a piece of cardstock that is 8 ½” x 5 ½”.  Score along the long side at 1 7/8”, 3”, 5 ½” and 6 5/8”.  When folding along the score lines the two outside score marks will be valley folds and the two inside score marks will be mountain folds.  When folded closed, the card measures 5 ½” x 4”.

The sheet of designer paper that I chose for this card has large snow-covered trees on the bottom portion and silver snowflakes falling from the sky on the top portion.  I used the top portion for my two outside panels and cut them 5 1/8” x 1 ½”.  Then I used one of the smaller trees and cut a panel that is 5 1/8” x 2 1/8”.  I cut the silver foil layers 5 ¼” x 1 5/8” (2x) and 5 ¼” x 2 ¼”.

I did add a piece of Basic White cardstock to the back of the large panel so I could add a sentiment.  Since I didn’t have the coordinating Peaceful Cabin stamp set (which is on my wish list!) yet I had to search my stash for a sentiment that would fit.  Most of the sentiments in the Peaceful Cabin stamp set should fit perfectly.  I guess I’m going to put that on my August shopping list so I can recreate this card!

After looking at the Peaceful Place Suite in the new Mini Catalog it dawned on me that I could maybe “close” my card with a belly band of the gorgeous White Glittered Organdy Ribbon.  Of course, as I was grabbing it off my ribbon shelf I noticed the Black Glittered Organdy Ribbon.  Oh, dear. Decisions, decisions!  Since I couldn’t decide, I cut a 20” piece of each of the ribbons and made two belly bands.  Now I need your help?  If you were going to recreate this card which ribbon would you use for your belly band?  White or Black?  Please let me a comment below and help me make this decision!  Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Card Sketch: Blocked Christmas

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Card Sketch: Blocked Christmas

This week’s Card Sketch features designer paper again.  I wanted to get one last plug in for Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper Sale before it ends next Monday. So here’s my plug:  don’t forget about the sale!  Ha!  If you’re interested in getting 15% off of 9 of Stampin’ Up!’s fabulous designer series papers be sure to click here and check it out.

Now that that’s out of the way let’s get back to today’s card sketch!  I thought about trying this sketch with one of the papers that’s on sale but decided to try it with one of the brand new papers that you will be able to find in the Sale-a-bration Brochure next week.  This package of paper is called Peaceful Prints and is 12” X 12”.   There are lots of fun patterns in the package and it coordinates with the Peaceful Deer Bundle from the upcoming (Holiday) Mini Catalog!  Love that coordination!  😊

I did pretty well with this week’s sketch.  I only added one teeny tiny layer behind the designer paper to make it pop as well as adding the sentiment (from the Banner Year stamp set) to the small strip of paper.

When I work with papers that butt up against each other and need to be straight like on this sketch I like to start with a piece of cardstock the same size as my finished designer paper design will be.  On this card I started with a piece of Basic Black cardstock that was 3” x 4 ¼”.   I then cut two strips of designer paper that were 4 ¼” x 1 ½”.  I cut 1 ¼” off of each strip for the small section.  Then I adhered my papers to the Basic Black card stock piece. 

The layer of Basic White cardstock that I added is 4 3/8” x 3 1/8”.  Just enough of a border to make the designer paper pop.  The strip of Basic Black cardstock is 3 5/8” x 3/8”.  I heat embossed the sentiment with White Embossing Powder since it was on the black cardstock.  The sentiment strip is popped up with Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals.

This Card Sketch is a great design to highlight those gorgeous papers you have in your craft room.  You’ll just want to remember to stick with smaller patterns.  Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Make It Mine: Make It Simple!

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Those of you who have followed me for a while know that simple and Cindy don’t usually go together.  I’m all about layers with ribbon.  Despite the fact that I don’t do simple there was something about this card by Sue Vine that caught my attention.  I loved it and knew I wanted to share it with you.  What better way to share it than change it up, right?

Well, if you look close at the two cards you will see that I didn’t change a whole lot about Sue’s card.  I did change the color of the card base as well as the color of one of the inks.  Sue used a white card base and I used a Bermuda Bay card base.  The only other thing I changed was the color of the lighter ink.  The original card has Coastal Cabana as the light ink and I used Pool Party.  The only reason I switched this color up was that my Coastal Cabana was stamping too dark and if I stamped it off first it stamped too light.  Pool Party to the rescue!  😊

Biggest Wish

Sue and I both used the Biggest Wish stamp set.  It’s really a fun set to use.  There are only five different words in the set but they all come in both a block font and a script font.  It makes it fun to combine them as you can see on our cards.

I do have to admit that I was itching to emboss the front of card but I resisted.  Keep it simple!  Simple stamping is difficult for me but I do need to try it more.  The results can be stunning.

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Fun Fold: Tri-Fold Card

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Check out this fun birthday card that my friend Tena made for me.  It’s an easy tri-fold card decorated with the Sweet Symmetry Designer Series Paper and the coordinating In Symmetry stamp set.  And it’s PINK! Yes, I still love my pink!  😊

The base of this card is quick and easy.  Start with a piece of cardstock that is 5 ½” x 11”.  Score along the long edge at 3 ¾” and 8”.  This makes it so that a little of the folded in right panel shows and is especially pretty when decorated with a coordinating piece of designer paper.

Tena layered her two piece of designer paper on to Flirty Flamingo cardstock to make it pop.  She did have to fussy-cut all of the flowers and greenery though.  Thanks Tena for putting so much time and effort into this lovely card!  Not only did Tena make a lovely card for me but she also decorated the envelope with the same designer series paper!

Do you love designer paper as much as I do?  Don’t forget that Stampin’ Up! has 9 different packages of designer paper on sale this month.  Don’t miss out!  There’s only a few weeks left of the sale!   Check out what’s on sale right here! 

Make It Mine: Beauty of the Earth

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Stampin’ Up! makes such beautiful paper that sometimes you just need to make it the focal point of your card.   The first card that I’m sharing here is the card that inspired me.  Simple, yet elegant.  I received this card in a swap and unfortunately there was no name on it so I don’t know who to credit.

The piece of designer paper used on this card is from the Beauty of the Earth package.  It is beautiful and layering it on Night of Navy cardstock makes it pop.  Those of you who have been around me for a while know that I have a hard time with “simple”.  I usually have to add layers and embellishments to my cards.  However it was the simplicity of this card that caught my eye and I knew I had to give it a try.

Beauty of the Earth Sympathy Card

If you look closely at my version of the card you will notice that this time I actually used one less layer!  What? I know, it’s pretty different for me.  I tried layering my version like the original but I felt that by just layering the designer paper and popping it up on the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals kept the focus on the designer paper better.

On the original card the sentiment is stamped directly on to the Merry Merlot cardstock with Night of Navy ink.  I felt this was a little hard to read.  I didn’t want to stamp my sentiment on a label because I thought that that would fight with my designer paper focal point.  I thought I’d just try a strip of Basic White cardstock and tuck it under the focal point.  Guess what?  I LOVE it!  What do you think?  I am definitely going to have to try this little trick again.  It’s just enough to add a little something-something to the front of the card but not enough to detract from the focal point. 

Do you love designer paper as much as I do?  Don’t forget that Stampin’ Up! has 9 different packages of designer paper on sale this month.  Don’t miss out!  Check out what’s on sale right here! 

Fun Fold: Interlocking Gatefold Card

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Interlocking Gatefold Card
Interlocking Gatefold Card

Can you believe that I found another type of gatefold card?  There are SO many and they’re SO fun!  This fun fold isn’t too difficult, especially since I used the Stitched Rectangles Dies to make my interlocking pieces.  What’s really fun about this fun fold is that you can use any kind of shape(s) to make your interlocking pieces!

The base of my card is the usual for a gatefold card. 5 ½” x 8 ½”.  Score in from each short side at 2 1/8” and make sure the sides meet in the middle of the card base when you fold both sides in towards the center.

The frame of my card is made from Stampin’ Up!’s gorgeous Beauty of the Earth Designer Series Paper.  (Yes, this is one of the patterns that is on sale this month!).  To give my frame a little extra support I adhered a piece of the designer paper to a piece of Basic White cardstock before die cutting.  To make the frame I chose two different sized rectangles.  I first die cut the inside of the frame with the rectangle that is the 5th largest (outside measures about 2 3/8” x 3 ¾”).  Then I centered the 3rd largest frame (outside measure about 3 1/8” x 4 ½”) around the opening I had created.  When you go to adhere the frame to the card remember that you only want to adhere the left side of the frame to the left flap on the front of the card.

The solid Basic White piece that interlocks with the frame was also die cut from the 3rd largest rectangle of the Stitched Rectangle Dies.  The stitched design I added to this piece of Basic White cardstock is a border piece from the Stitched Leaves Dies.  I die cut the leaf using the same die set.  It is die-cut from another piece of designer paper from the Beauty of the Earth package.  I love gorgeous paper!

When I adhered the right side of the Basic White piece of cardstock to the right flap of the card base I had the card closed so that I could make sure that it fit perfectly inside of the die-cut frame.  Then I added the die-cut leaf and decorated with a piece of linen thread.  Done!  Oh…in the last picture did you notice that I added a little strip of designer paper to the piece of cardstock on the inside of the card?  Don’t forget to decorate the inside!

Interlocking Gatefold Card

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Card Sketch: Make It Simple!

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This card sketch couldn’t have been any easier.  Four pieces of designer paper that are 1 3/8” wide by 4 ¼” tall.  That’s it!  The hardest part of using this sketch was finding just the right combination of designer paper!  

The sketch didn’t call for a sentiment but I thought my card needed a little something more on the front. This sentiment is from the Lovely You stamp set and the label that my sentiment is on was punched with the Lovely Labels Pick A Punch.  So easy!  I did have to color the pearls with my Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Blend Marker so they would match the paper.  That’s just me being picky though.  😊

I used Stampin’ Up!’s Sweet Symmetry package of Designer Series Paper on my card.  Such fun patterns!  And yes, this package of paper is one of the one’s that is on sale this month for 15% off!  Be sure to check out the pdf of all of the patterns on sale here or view them directly in my online store here.

I’d love to see what you do with this sketch!  Leave a comment with your card or send me a photo!  Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Make It Mine: Party Puffins Birthday

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July is birthday month!  Yep, I’m having another birthday and we’re going to celebrate.  I’m going to share a birthday card with you that I made my own but first I want to share something I’m going to do for you! 

Send me a handmade birthday card this month and your name will be entered in a drawing.  The first person’s name that I draw will get to choose a current Stampin’ Up! stamp set (valued at $30 or less).  The second person’s name that I draw will get to choose a kit from Stampin’ Up!’s new Kit Collection!  How fun!  Birthday cards can be mailed to me at:

Cindy Russell 1640 Mountain Maple Ave. Highlands Ranch,  CO  80129

Let’s get to our cards today!

Here’s a birthday card that I received in a swap.  These Party Puffins are SO cute!  This stamp set makes the best birthday cards!  Thank you Kim for the inspiration with your card.  I stayed pretty true to Kim’s card design just changing up the color scheme and the arrangement of the layers.  I also left off the ribbon and moved the sentiment to the inside of the card.

Kim and I both used the Pattern Party package of designer paper that is only available for hosts with Stampin’ Rewards.  It’s one of my favorite papers in the new catalog! One of my favorite things about this package of paper is that one side is bright colors while the second side is black and white. So versatile!

Is it weird to admit that the little fish on the inside of the card is my favorite part of the card? Ha! Too cute!

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Fun Fold: Origami Window Fold

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On Tuesday in my newsletter I shared a gorgeous origami frame with you that another talented demonstrator made.  As I was searching around the web trying to find out how to make it (I’m still searching), I came across this fun and easy Origami Window Fold.  The card itself isn’t a fun fold but you use this Origami Window Fold as the focal point of the card.

When you first look at this fold it’s a bit intimidating but once you have the measurements it’s quite easy.  Start with a square piece of designer paper that is 4 ¼” x 4 ¼”.  As with most origami folds you want the two sides of your paper to coordinate.  I tried starting with a couple of squares that were a bit smaller but I couldn’t get the other measurements to quite work out.  I’ll let you know if I get that figured out.

Lay your square of paper diagonally on the Simply Scored scoring board with the top and bottom points lined up on the 3” mark.  Now score along the 1” and the 1 ½” marks.  Turn the paper 90 degrees and repeat.  Continue until you have four sets of score marks.

If you don’t have a Simply Scored to make your score lines and want to use your Paper Trimmer you line things up a bit differently.  You still start by placing the paper diagonally on the Paper Trimmer.  You will line up the top and bottom points at the 2” mark and score.  Then slide the points over to line up on the 1 ½” mark and score.   Turn paper and repeat three more times.  Fold along the inside marks toward the center and them fold the other score marks to the outside.

Fold along the inside score marks towards the center of the paper.  They should all meet in the center.  Then fold the other score marks back towards the outside.

To complete the fold and give it a little dimension you want to add a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals to the inside of each side of the frame.  See the photo to the left to see where I placed them.

The Origami Window Fold is done.  Now it’s time to decorate.  I chose to mount my Origami Window Fold on another piece of cardstock (3 ¼” x 3 ¼”)  before adhering it to the card.  I also lined the inside of my frame with a coordinating piece of designer paper (2 7/8” x 2 7/8”) to make my flower pop.  If I hadn’t, the inside of my frame would have been the gingham checked print like the folded out flaps. 

This was a fun and easy fold to make that adds a lot of “wow” to my card.  Give it a try.  I think you’ll like the results!  Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Card Sketch: Summer Daisy

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Do you think of summer when you see daisies?  I know I do.  And you can’t beat a yellow, white and black color combination.  Oh, wait a minute….yes you can….PINK, white and black.  Ha!

Whatever color you like to pair with black and white, this simple card sketch is for you.  Three strips of designer paper, a sentiment and the focal point.  That’s it! I really like the simplicity of this sketch. Clean and simple.

Did you notice that I kept pretty darn close to the sketch with this card.  The only “extras” I added were the Matte Black Dots.  That’s pretty good for me!

Fun Fold: Acordion Fold

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Accordion Fun Fold
Accordion Fun Fold

This fun fold card is both gorgeous and easy.  The key is to get all of your score lines straight so that everything lines up.  I’ve seen this Accordian Fun Fold card around but had never tried it.  When I saw Stampin’ Up!’s package of Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper I knew I found the perfect paper for this card.

The base of this card is made from half a sheet of 12” x 12” designer series paper.  As you can see from the photo, you can see both sides of the paper at the same time so when you choose your paper for your card you want to make sure that both sides coordinate.  I made this card for a swap I participated in and I have to tell you, I was able to use all six patterns of this paper to make this card!  You don’t always see that in the paper packages.

You are going to start with a 5 ½” x 12” piece of designer paper.  Score the paper at 1 ½”, 4 ½” and 6 ¾”.  That’s it!  The 1 ½” and the 6 ¾” score marks will be valley folds and the 4 ½” score mark will be a mountain fold.  Once you’ve creased the score marks your card base is done!  All’s that’s left is to decorate your card.   If you’re using Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper decorating is easy.  There is usually a stamp set or bundle that coordinate with the paper.  That’s what I did on my card.  I used the Hand-Penned Petals and Penned Flowering Dies for the focal point on my card.  Easy Peasy!

Dimensions for Card:

Designer Paper:  5 ½” x 12” scored at 1 ½”, 4 ½” and 6 ¾”

Colored cardstock:  5” x 3 ¾”, 4 3/8” x 3 1/8”

White cardstock:  4 ¾” x 3 ½”, 4 1/8” x 2 7/8”

This was a fun and easy card to make. I hope you try it! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!