Thursday, December 7, 2023

A Light to My Path


Hello everyone!  Thanks for visiting my blog on this important, memorable and sacred day.  It's the 82nd anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor (always makes me think of my dad who served in the USNavy during WWII although not in Hawaii), and it is also the beginning of Hanukkah.  The lighting of the first candle of Hanukkah will be this evening.

I am honored to have several Jewish friends in one of the knitting/spinning groups that I attend; we met Tuesday morning and I was able to hand deliver this card with a hug instead of a signature so that my friend has the option to either keep it or "pay it forward."  


This star fold is the perfect fancy fold for a Hanukkah card, forming the shape of the star of David.  This sentiment is from one of the stamp sets in our Lighthouse series, laid against a backdrop of blue, white, silver and gold.  The variegated silk, sheer metallic ribbons, fragile silver "greenery" and pearls make this a lovely, elegant card.


Here's what the card looks like when it is opened.  Take care when attaching the circular focal point that you adhere it only to one of the front panels.  It doesn't really matter which one, so long as the card can still be pulled open!  


The sentiments inside are a combination of die cut and stamped elements.


Here's a closer look..."from our house to yours."  


I'm including the various resources I came across in the making of this card...seeing things repetitively from different perspectives helps me understand how to do it better, so I'm sharing them all with you!
 
Larger version (the one I followed; similar process to the smaller one below but scored with a score tool at 5 1/4 and 7)

Make an easy envelope for a 6 inch card (but the above card is closer to 6.5 so the envie measurements had to be tweaked a little and it was still a tight squeeze!)

Smaller version (video shows the process well, although of course the measurements are different than above; the big advantage to smaller is that it doesn't require a 12 x 12 sheet)

Star fold cards on Pinterest

Another resource in metric that has more of a "formula" with a ratio to make the card in other sizes

And a little bit about the colors of Hanukkah and why I chose blue, white, silver and gold for today's card.

Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate!  Praying for Israel!  ðŸ’™  

Supplies:

Stamp Simply


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Thursday, November 30, 2023

Candlelight Card

 

Hello again!  I'm here with another easy "fancy fold" card that can be displayed with a battery-operated tea light for an even more special effect!  It's a little something extra that takes a card to a whole new level.


Here's what it looks like opened for display.  


You'll need one 4.25 x 11 inch sheet of card stock to make this fold, plus another 4.25 x 7 inch piece.  Both are scored at 1.5 and 5.5 inches.  Die cut the window opening of the smaller piece before adhering it to the card to form the special fold.   


Here's a closer look at the ornament, hanging from die-cut "branches" with a couple of bead strands as a  "garland."  

You might notice that the bow at the bottom of the card front forms the top of the box portion when the card is opened.  The front of my card is actually upside down when the card is opened.  If your display will be visible from both sides you might consider flipping the elements on the card front so that both sides will be right-side-up when it is opened.  (Hopefully that all makes sense!)      


Supplies:
Remember this week's Wild Wednesday!


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Thursday, November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving! Let the Countdown to Christmas Begin!

 


Welcome to all of you, and Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!  I am so thankful for my husband, our son, our extended families, wonderful friends (including all of you!), for our comfortable home, delicious food on the table, and yes, I'm thankful for my beloved hobbies!  Thanksgiving Day gratitude extends from our home to yours!    

Today's project is a fun one that started with a few pieces of thin chipboard, the kind that comes as a backing for 12 x 12 card stock. Depending on how you want to use it, this could be either a calendar or a countdown.  I used several pieces of 12 x 12 card stock to cover a couple of 11.25 x 5 inch pieces of the chipboard, and then added a folding bottom to hold it all together.  


Here's what it looks like from the side.  


I chose a combination of designer papers that harmonize with the colors in our home, and for the most part they work well with the colors of the various decorative cards for each of the holidays.  I used Tim Holtz dies for both sizes of rectangles and for the numbers, and lots of Stamp Simply stamps for the colorful embellishments.  

There's a beautiful Fall leaf for Fall/Thanksgiving...  


...a traditional tree for Christmas Day...

...a patriotic star for the Fourth of July, and I'm only just getting started!  If you take a look through our stamp sets you'll find images and dies for celebrating most of the major holidays, birthdays, special occasions, each of the seasons and so much more.  It will be so much fun to personalize the assortment of cards for events that happen for each month of the year. 

I did not add the months to my calendar/countdown, but it would be easy to make an additional set of cards numbered 1 through 12, or to stamp, print or handwrite the names of the months to hang from one or more of the rings if you'd like to include them. 

One thing I also plan to do is to purchase smaller binder rings.  These large ones were in my stash so I am using them until I can find smaller ones.  So far I have not been able to find them locally, but I received word last night where I might find some, so I'll have more to say on that later maybe!  

Supplies:

Stamp Simply Store


When December arrives I'll be starting a couple of Advent daily spins (using spindles and wheels), and I'll be flipping the dates on my little calendar to help me keep track as I open each little package of surprise/mystery fluff!  On Christmas Day I'll start a 12 Days spin that will carry me through to Epiphany.


I love that quiet week between Christmas and New Year's and will enjoy the stillness of that post-holiday hush, but for now I'm looking forward to the hustle and bustle of the season!

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy the holiday season!  May you and yours be blessed!  

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Thursday, November 16, 2023

Peace on Earth


Hi friends!  I'm back with another combination of old and new stamp sets.  For some reason I have been drawn to these colors and this particular designer paper print, maybe because it is so peaceful, because it has been so chaotic in our house for the last several weeks.  (Finally the wood floor repair is finished and things are slowly returning to normal!)  



I absolutely adore our new angel stamp set!  When looking through my other sets I noticed that the swirls in the star from this older set seemed to go well with the swirls on the angel's dress, so I thought I'd combine the two, especially since the scriptures work so perfectly for a "Silent Night" scene.  


The star and the angel were both stamped with Memento grey ink, colored with a combination of Copic marker warm greys and cool blue-greens which softly harmonize with the colors of the designer paper.  I added a few strokes of clear Wink of Stella to add some sparkle but that is really difficult to capture on camera.


Once again I used Beate's side step card tutorial for the layout.  I am forever revisiting her tutorials on SCS.  


For the inside I used another paper print from the same designer paper pad.  Inside and out, the sentiments were stamped directly onto the designer paper.  I'm grateful for a stamp positioner so that I can stamp layer upon layer of ink to get really even coverage.  

Supplies:
Before you go, here's this week's Wild Wednesday special!

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Thursday, November 9, 2023

Angels' Glad Tidings


Hi y'all!   Well, it's that time of year again!  Time to make hand-stamped holiday cards!  Actually, it is a good idea to make a few along the way all through the year, but if you haven't done that, now is the time or you could end up on a really tight timeline!  This last quarter of the year always seems to get really busy and time flies by!


My cards for today were inspired by some designer paper and a Tim Holtz greenery die cut that I used a couple of weeks ago.  I had cut and colored two and had the spare still on my desk.  It seemed to go really well with this designer paper printed tag (you'll see what I mean as you keep scrolling), so I grabbed some of our stamps (old and new!) to add to it.


I started out with this combination of sentiments and swirls from our older Christmas JOY set and the new Worship & Praise.  I love the look of the sentiment in black ink layered over top of the silver swirl.


I paper-pieced the angel for the inside, adding the JOY sentiment to the lower left corner.  

This version fits nicely into a standard envelope and is flat for mailing.  


Then I decided that I should try the same design in landscape format rather than portrait, thinking the angel would look so pretty on the front.  This paper pad is convenient for that since it includes two of each of the printed tags sheets.  Not exactly "assembly line" but it does save time to do a second card of a similar design rather than designing completely from scratch.  In this case, since the angel's dress is fussy-cut it is a little detailed for "assembly line" production anyway, but would be perfect if you have a few special folks on your mailing list.  

I probably could have made this second card into a standard sized/regular envelope card as well, but decided that the angel showed up so much better when mounted onto a tag.  I always love tags but to me they seem especially appropriate to use on Christmas cards.  I can just imagine this card topping a gift simply wrapped in shiny, plain white paper (ha! freezer paper anyone?!) with a big blue bow!  


So here's that extra sprig of greenery that I mentioned earlier.  Isn't it a nice match for this paper?!  I love how all of these elements from different sources work so well together.

Supplies:
Remember also to check out our weekly Wild Wednesday specials on the Stamp Simply blog.  Here's this week's!



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Thursday, November 2, 2023

With Heartfelt Sympathy

 


Many believe that the sighting of a cardinal is a sign that those we've lost will live forever as long as we keep their memory alive in our hearts.  In the midst of intense grief, the brightly colored visual reminder brings the comfort of knowing that we will be reunited some day.    

Our beautiful God Will Take Care of You bundle is a lovely choice for many occasions; when paired with a few other sentiments or dies it is also a wonderful choice for a sympathy card.  


This beautiful barn-wood print designer paper makes a perfect backdrop for a masculine card.  I stamped a portion of the sentiment directly onto the designer paper and added a die-cut swirly "sympathy" sentiment alongside.  


Here's the inside, with the country church and a passage from Second Corinthians.  This verse will hopefully bring comfort to the family of one whose spirit has been released from the struggles of their earthly body, especially if their loved one suffered from a lingering illness or painful injury.   


Sadly I have needed several sympathy cards in recent weeks, and I'm so thankful that stamped images and sentiments are here to help express words and feelings that are difficult to convey.  There is so much love poured into the creation of a hand-made card, and I truly believe that from the moment the envelope is opened, the recipient can feel that love and compassion come rushing forth.

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Thursday, October 26, 2023

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:

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



 

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Thursday, October 19, 2023

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:
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Wednesday, October 18, 2023

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:
Ribbon options
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