Angels Among Us!

I'm back with another new stamp set and another fun fold!  This one starts with a 5.5 x 12 inch piece of card stock and some simple scoring.  When folded it kind of looks like a simple pocket card with a belly band...

but when it is opened you can see that there is a little more to it. Don't be intimidated though...it really is not hard to do.  It's called either a Miura or mirror fold card.  

Here is a closer look at the belly band which wraps around the card to hold the folds and tag in place.  The ovals attach only to the band so it can easily be removed.  Isn't this angel absolutely gorgeous?!    

So gorgeous, and it's easy to color and die cut!  

The tag is not attached to the card at all.  It simply nestles in place because of the shape of the folds.  

I smile every time I look at this set because the angel reminds me of a pair of wooden angels that my Mom painted for us years ago.  She mod-podged fabric onto the wood and then painted portions of the pattern over the fabric...they are absolutely gorgeous with beautiful colors and swirls of gold.   

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Angels Among Us Bundle
• Carta Bella A Wonderful Christmas 6 x 6
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals SM
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals LG
• Tim Holtz Tag Collection Sizzix Thinlets
• Tim Holtz Holiday Greens Mini Sizzix Thinlets
• Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Marker
• May Arts Faux Linen Ribbon Sampler - 27 yards
• Copic markers

Be sure to visit Stamp Simply to find out more about a new weekly feature, Wild Wednesdays!  

 

Wintry Country Church Center Step Card

I can hardly read this passage of scripture without singing "How lovely is Your dwelling place..." although this darling country church also makes me wanna sing "Church in the Wildwood!" Never in my life (lived almost entirely within a few miles of Interstate 10) have I attended church in such a lovely snowy setting, but I really enjoyed playing with these new stamps and dies from Stamp Simply!  

I followed Beate's tutorial on SCS except that I made the side strips a little wider and the center panel a little narrower than her measurements.  The center panel of the card has a mat of silver card stock.  The sentiment and church were stamped directly onto a rectangle of card stock, the country church colored with Copic markers.  The surrounding sky was masked/sponged with pale blue ink, the cloud die-cut from silver card stock.

I cut extra strips the same width as those narrow side panels and used our new tree line dies to cut them to varying lengths.  After sponging the trees with pale blue ink and dabbing them onto a Delicata Silvery Shimmer ink pad, I glued three strips one on top of the other and then glued that to the side panels of the step card, then repeated the same process for the inside.  I used more die cut trees and the slope die to add accents to the bottom of the card.  It really added a lot of depth and dimension, giving the impression of snowdrifts and tree-lined mountainsides.     

The inside includes a beautiful sentiment and a silver cross cut using our gorgeous cross dies.

This is one of those shimmery, ethereal cards that the camera simply cannot accurately capture.  So much prettier in person than the photographs show.

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Church Bundle Quad
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Silver 6 ct
• May Arts 1" Sheer - 100 Yard May Arts 1"
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Crosses
• Delicata Silvery Shimmer Ink
• pearls
• Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Marker
• Copic markers

Trio of Tags

Hello friends!  I'm back with a trio of tags using new stamps from Stamp Simply.  That swirly music stamp and Studio Light's Sending Joy designer paper prints inspired the idea of a "Let's Go Caroling" invitation, and the rest flowed from there.  All were made assembly-line style using Tim Holtz Tag Collection dies, so they were super fast and easy, and honestly, can you ever have too many tags at Christmas time?    

The first tag is a soft monochromatic country church snowscape with a star-sprinkled sky.  I can't even read that tiny tag at the top without singing the song in my head!  It brings back thoughts of the church from my childhood, and of my parents and others who were so influential to my faith.     

This particular paper design is the one that inspired the trio.  With the addition of those lovely music stamps it is the perfect "Let's Go Caroling" invitation, but I suppose it could also be "Let's Go Purchase & Decorate the Tree," or "Deck the Halls with Me" since holiday music is always such an important part of those things.        

Here's the third tag with a beautiful scripture passage about encouraging each other and singing praises to God with gratitude in our hearts.  

All three of the tags have sentiments under-stamped with grey ink that was over-stamped with silver.  Choosing different colors/styles of card stock, ink and ribbon can really change the flavor and personality (casual, elegant, etc) of each tag.    

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Worship & Praise
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - My Church
• Studio Light Sending Joy 6 x 6
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Silver 6 ct
• Tim Holtz Tag Collection Sizzix Thinlets
• Delicata Silvery Shimmer Ink under stamped with Memento Gray Flannel

Ribbon options

• May Arts 5/8" Twill - 30 Yard Spool - Sage
• May Arts Faux Linen Ribbon Sampler - 27 yards
• Christmas Seam Binding Sampler

New Stamps: The Lord's Prayer

We are celebrating a new release at Stamp Simply and sharing cards made with some beautiful new sets.  Today I'm sharing a card made with the new bundle, The Lord's Prayer.  

The Lord's Prayer series includes two stamp sets (The Lord's Prayer and Pray Without Ceasing) along with two sets of steel dies.  

I stamped the praying hands with Memento Ink and colored them with Copic Markers, adding a swipe of clear Wink of Stella glitter marker to the fingernails.  The cuffs portion was stamped again onto coordinating designer paper and fussy-cut.     

I wanted the card to display the entire prayer, and after browsing Pinterest found a tutorial for this triple easel card which was easy and worked perfectly.  One of our beautiful cross die cuts fits alongside as a  lovely accent.  

A side view shows the construction of the card which stands for display but collapses to fold flat to fit into a square envelope.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Pray Without Ceasing Stamp Die Bundle
• Carta Bella Gather at Home 6 x 6
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Crosses
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Marker
• pearls
• Copic markers

Visit the Stamp Simply blog and store to see more stamps and cards from the new release, which is available individually or in a wide variety of bundled options.

Time to be Grateful

Hello friends!

It has been a bit chaotic in our household in recent weeks.  A while back we had a slab leak which was repaired early on, but the damaged wood floor was another story.  Finally last week the floor guys came to remove the warped wood and deliver replacement wood which has to acclimate for a while before they return to install it.  That meant lots of furniture moving and living with things out of place, crowded and in the way, or inaccessible for a while.  Suffice it to say that with all of that going on, I needed a little attitude adjustment!  And it's not even over yet!  We don't know yet when they'll be back to finish!  

So that is what inspired this card made for someone who might need a reminder as I did!  A gentle nudge to take the time to be grateful and to find the beauty in every day, because it is right there before our eyes if we shift our perspective and take the time to see.

I've noticed lots of pumpkin patches popping up in and around town, and while they're filled to the brim with the usual orange pumpkins, there are also a few of the pale white-green ones that are sometimes a little "warty."  I find them quite lovely and a bit fascinating, warts and all!  Since these papers have a pop of that pretty, soft teal color, I decided to color one of my pumpkins in that hue.   That soft color really makes the adjacent orange really pop! 

While the outside of the card uses stamps from the Fall/Winter Seasonal Wreaths set, the sentiment on the inside is from the Spring/Summer version.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Seasonal Wreaths Full Bundle QUAD
• Carta Bella Welcome Autumn 6x6
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• May Arts 5/8" Twill - 30 Yard Spool - Orange
• Kaisercraft Self-Adhesive Round Rhinestones - Split Pea
• Copic markers
• Copic multiliner