Vintage Paris Card

I was looking through my old cards and came across a few of my favourite ones that I never got a chance to share. So I thought I’d share them here today.

I am exceedingly fond of vintage cards and scrapbooking ideas and there’s no one who does this better than Tim Holtz. So using his stamp set “I see Paris” by Stampers Anonymous, I created a set of cards as gifts for my friends. I’m sad to say that I actually don’t have a physical copy of any of the cards I make because I give them away to friends for birthdays and gifts. But I feel that creativity should be shared and not hoarded for oneself. So when I think about how happy my friend will be to receive a card from me, it really inspires me to create for them.

So here is a card I made for my friend who have always wanted to visit Paris but never got the chance to. So to encourage and motivate them to realize their dreams, I gave them this card:

I embossed a piece of black cardstock with Tim Holtz’s splatter embossing folder…I couldn’t find the name of this one, I don’t remember it and I couldn’t find it when I searched for it. But on the sizzix website, they have a new texture fade splatter set. That one will likely work too. But if you find out the name, please let me know!

I went over the raised parts with a brush dipped in gold acrylic paint.

I was really into mixed media back in the day.

Using my Silhouette Cameo, I cut out a shape of the Eiffel Tower and embossed it using one of Tim Holtz’s grid emobssing folders and then I went over the raised parts with gold acrylic paint. 

To give the Carte Postale (post card) a vintage look, I tore the corners and distressed with a combination of vintage photo and walnut stain. I then brushed the top with a layer of clear crackle paint so that when it dried, it would have that lovely vintage cracked look.

To finish everything off, I embellished the card with flower punch outs and I used like blue pearls in the centre to accent.

So I hope you enjoyed looking at this project as much as I enjoyed making it.

Until next time!

Romantic Vintage Valentine’s Card with Textured Embossing

With valentine’s day just around the corner, I wanted to share my most recent card creation with you all. I bought some gesso a while ago and I hadn’t really had a good chance to use it so I decided to use it in this card.

I’ve titled this card Romantic Fairytale Dream, doesn’t it look like a fairytale from a little girl’s dream? When I was much younger, I used to dream about what it would be like to be a fairy tale princess, to rule over all the land, protect my people and save prince charming. Yes, I know it’s typically the other way around, but I had a lot of strong females as my role models growing up. Us girls can take care of ourselves, and then some.

I started out with a 5 x 4.5 inch white sheet cardstock which I embossed using a sizzix embossing folder. Unfortunately I forgot the name of the folder but it has diamonds with vintage damasks within each diamond.
To make the damask image really pop, I sprayed a sponge with glimmer mist and gently rubbed the sponge across the surface so that it only stains the raised parts of the embossed image.

 

To mask the border because I felt it looked a little strange that it was just empty space, I used gesso, or otherwise known as embossing paste, all around the edge and merging partly into the embossed image. Using my fingertips I dabbed with an up and down motion to give the paste some texture. Embossing paste typically takes a few hours to dry completely depending on how much was used. If it’s a really thick layer, I’d wait until overnight which I did in this case. It wasn’t a particularly thick layer but it I just wanted to be sure.

I proceeded to make my centrepiece now that the background was complete. Using a piece of pink vellum, I cut out a circular shape with rounded border using a Spellbinders die. I then used a carriage stamp to stamp and emboss the vellum with Versamark and champagne coloured embossing powder.

*note: Vellum is really delicate and it’s really easy to over heat and warp the vellum. Don’t put the heat tool too close to the vellum and switch from heating the front to the back frequently.

Using my Crop-a-Dile, I applied eyelets to the top and bottom of the vellum and threaded pink ribbon to attach the vellum circle to the card. I made a bow with the flapping ends of the ribbon at the top of the eyelet.

Using a Tim Holtz crown stamp, I stamped using gold ink on kraft cardstock. I fussy cut out the crown and applied it to the edge of the fancy embossed carriage.

I then stamped a rounded rectangle with the words “Dream” and applied that to the corner of the vellum circle using 3D foam dots. Then I used gesso to go over the edges of the sentiment piece. Finally using Liquid Pearls in Platinum I made little droplets on every other circle in the border. Then I let everything dry overnight.

So there you have it, a fancy vintage valentine’s card. Reminds me of a fairy tale of princes and princesses riding in pumpkin carriages, being carried to their magical destiny.  

 

So there you have it! I hope you’ve enjoyed this card as much as I’ve enjoyed making it. Hope that this Valentine’s day, you can spend it with someone you love, whether that be your beautiful self or with someone who’s dear and special to your heart.

XOXO~

Kitty Cat Silhouette Christmas Card

I’ve been meaning to upload a few last minute christmas cards that you could whip up really quickly. If you’re anything like me, you’ll likely be trying to pump these out the night before you meet your loved ones and friends so burning the midnight oil well into the night isn’t ideal. But not to worry this next card is so simple to complete, it is literally just choosing a design, some pasting work, add a little bling and you’re done!

For this project I used my silhouette studio with the following design from the design studio: Cats on stack of presents.

I cut it out on shimmery black cardstock to give it some vibrancy for the holiday season. Likewise my scalloped border was punched out using the same shimmery cardstock.

Then I selected a festive background from my stash of Christmas papers and applied the cat silhouette on top and scalloped border on the back. I then wrapped the piece in pink baker’s twine.

Afterwards, I stamped merry christmas with one of my hero arts christmas stamps using clear versamark and heat embossed with fine silver powder. I adhered this sentiment on a back piece of silver cardstock and then used foam dots to apply the sentiment on top of the baker’s twine.

Finally, I applied the whole piece to a 4.5×5 inch cream card using double sided tape.

This card was so simple and easy to make using my Silhouette Cameo and quite frankly a lot of fun since I love cats. I had a great time being able to incorporate some of my favorite pets in a craft project.

But if you don’t like cats or you don’t have this particular sihouette cut out on hand, essentially any silhouette shape can work with a patterned background. Then a sentiment placed on top using foam dots to make it more 3D.

Have fun making this card, it’s great as a last minute card creation!

Scary Halloween Invite beckons my ghoulish presence

My BFF, Alice, who’s also an avid scrapper, sent me this gorgeous scary invitation to a halloween party. I was so pleased and amazed at the detail and work she put into it that I just had to showcase it here and show everyone else.

She picked up all the supplies from Michaels. Using a stamp with diamonds she made the background of the envelope and then embossed it. The invitation itself was stamped with different colours and then also embossed.

She even made a few red paint splatters on the front of the envelope to make it look like someone’s blood spilled on it while she was busy working away. Very creepy indeed…I love it!

Calendar Style Birthday Card

I made this card for my BFF a few months back for her birthday but just got around to uploading it. Sorry for being MIA for a while, my studies have been so super busy! I went away to present my research at a conference and although it was probably one of the best experiences of my life, it also left me very little free time for a while.

But I’m back in the game and super excited to share with you all my most recent creations, starting with the least recent haha!

I really wanted to showcase when my BFF’s birthday was which is the 29th of December so I printed out, stained and distressed a calendar that I found online.

I used some glimmer mist in Rouge and Cork using my technique on how to prevent paper from wrinkling after soaking it in wet media and letting it dry. You can find that tutorial here.

Once it dried, I stamped some swirls using Versamark and transparent embossing powder. You can see the glimmer mist underneath of it that way.

Then I just finished up the card by adding a gemstone over the top of the 29th of December because that’s the date of her birthday. And then I just embellished with a flower (I don’t remember what it’s called, an accordion flower? Somebody help!) I cut out with my Silhouette Cameo, but you can also use a Tim Holtz die to do that.

I mounted the calendar onto another piece of cardstock which I punched with a Martha Stewart doily punch just on one edge and then distressed the edges with Vintage Photo. 

Finally I mounted everything onto a card with a pretty pink background I dug out from my scraps stash from DCWV Garden Tea Party Stack.

Share your comments below!

Merry Christmas Ornaments Card

This week I present one of my favourite Christmas cards, which is a great way to use up some chunks of scrap printed papers from other projects as you only need bits and pieces of prints. I recycle this style of card pretty much every year because it’s just so versatile and helps to creatively recycle pretty bits of papers.

I cut the card front out of green metallic cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo by just cutting out circles of different sizes. This can also be achieved if you have movers and shapers die from Sizzix or a circle cutter from EK success or Martha Stewart.

I used a Martha Stewart punch to punch out white sparkly snowflakes out of a white metallic paper by Recollections.

And all the papers I used are from the Recollections Sugar Plums paper pad which I purchase from Michaels last year and created a cute Christmas mini album. I adhered medium silver gems onto the centre of the snowflakes.

One of the papers was this quilted pattern, I glued these tiny silver gems on the crosses of the paper. I bought these silver embellies from the Michael’s 1.50 rack. Wish I’d bought more hahaha! They’re so versatile!

Finally, I stamped “Noel” on the last ornament and embossed it in silver. This is a Studio G stamp which I purchased on sale for a dollar at Michaels last year. Then I tied a sparkly green ribbon on top. I wanted to tie a silver one, but I realized that I don’t have silver ribbon haha!

Then to finish everything off, I used a silver sharpie and just embellished the tops and bottoms of the ornaments and drew curly string so that it looks like it’s being hung from a tree. I guess taught string would have been more realistic but I’m not good at drawing straight lines hahaha!

So that’s it, so simple and versatile. You can do just about anything with the ornaments and use any variety of papers. Be creative and have fun with it!

You know those little strips of patterned paper that we often just toss away? Save them! Next up is a holiday card that highlights the use of scrap strips of pretty patterned paper. Look forward to it!

Thanks so much for enjoying this card and please “LIKE” my Facebook page in the upper right hand corner if you enjoyed this card and support my blog!

Christmas Card Tutorial: Peace Love Joy

Today’s tutorial brings in elements of Christmas that really represent the holiday season. Everyone looks forward to reuniting with families and celebrating together, whether for religious reasons or simply to celebrate bring together over lots of turkey and pumpkin pie~ mmm yumm!

But sometimes these things are obscured by the glitz, the glam and bright lights. Which are beautiful but I wanted to look a little deeper past the surface at the joy, peace and love that give Christmas real meaning.

Thus I created this card which features a translucent centre piece with underlying embossing underneath.

So for this card, you’ll need the following materials:

1. One 4 x 5.5 inch card in white

2. One sheet of coloured vellum 4.5 x 5.5 inches

3. Crop-a-dile or other hole punch

4. Holiday sentiment stamp

5. Versamark stamp pad

6. Heat tool

7. Champagne embossing powder

8. EK success embossing white powder to avoid nonspecific embossing powder from sticking to the paper (optional)

9. Champagne or gold ribbon 22 inches

10. Christmas-themed embossing folder, I’m using a pointsetta-themed embossing folder. I liked the pattern.

11. Die-cutting machine, I’m using a sizzix big shot

12. Quick-dry glue, I’m using Tombow mono-multi glue

13. Spellbinders Nestabilities in Romantic Rectangles, largest die in the set

Instructions:

1. Emboss the front of the card but only emboss the card 3/4 of the way from the bottom up.

2. Cut the vellum with the Spellbinders die so that it is 5 and 1/8 x 4 inches. This is much shorter than size of the actual die but i needed it to be shorter because otherwise it won’t fit the card! I can post a tutorial on how to do this if anyone needs it.

3. Use the EK success powder tool and run brush all over the front of the vellum to deposit powder to prevent loose embossing powder from sticking to non-stamped regions of the vellum.

4. Ink up the stamp with Versamark embossing stamp pad and stamp the centre of the vellum. Immediately sprinkle champagne embossing powder over the the stamped area and shake off the excess. Use the heat tool to melt the embossing powder.

5. Put drops of wet glue such as Tombow Mono Multi Glue on the back of the vellum on areas where there was stamping/embossing. This is so that when you glue it down to the front of the card, you won’t be able to see the drops of glue since the vellum is see-through. Then glue the vellum to the front centre of the card.

6. Punch 2 holes, 3/4 inch from the top and bottom of the card and half an inch from the left fold of the card. Run the ribbon through the back of the card and through the 2 holes so that the two ends of the ribbon come out through the front. Tie a bow along running from top to bottom of the card. Dab a small dot of glue under the ribbon so that the ribbon doesn’t flop around.

And that’s it! A very simple and easy card that can be whipped together in a half an hour!

Any questions? Post a comment below! And don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for more ideas and inspiration (link on the top right hand corner).

Sparkly Layered Snowflake Card

This week’s card tutorial brings a fusion of sparkly elegance and vintage chic. I really wanted to do something with layered snowflakes because they are just so lovely layered up with different shapes and sizes. My Silhouette Cameo came in so handy for this because I could pick and choose a variety of different snowflake shapes, resize them however I want to and bam! A layered snowflake haha!

I’ve been taking advantage of my scraps of white and mint cardstock to make my snow flakes.

This snowflake card has 2 different types of embossing, the card background with a sizzix embossing folder and heat embossing for the “Merry Christmas” tag.

The supplies are as follows:

1. One 4.25 x 5 inch card in white with envelope

2. 3x snowflakes of varying sizes cut from scrap white and mint green cardstock. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut mine which I purchased from the Silhouette store and edited the size and shapes to suit my needs. If you need help with this step, please don’t hesitate to contact me for details. Also, you can always download a few snowflakes and print them on cardstock, then cut them by hand. But if you don’t have a cameo, I highly suggest you add that to your wishlist. Honestly the best machine I’ve ever owned! And hope to own again and again and again!

4. Stamp pads: VersaMark embossing stamp pad and a silver metallic stamp pad

5. Stickles in Star Dust

6. Ultrafine Gold Crystal Glitter

7. “Merry Christmas” stamp and acrylic block if needed

8. Snowflake stamp

9. Make-up sponge

10. Die-cut machine christmas themed embossing folder, I’m using the Sizzix Swirls Ribbons and Snowflakes

11. Ranger Sticky embossing powder

12. Heat Tool

13. Bejewelled brad

14. Hole punch

15. Quick-dry wet glue

16. Foam dots

Instructions

1. Cut a 9.5 x 5 inch card out of white cardstock. Score it down the centre at 4.25 inches. Then place the front flap of the card in the embossing folder, fold the back half around the back of the embossing folder and then run it through your die-cut machine.

2. Take the make-up sponge and ink up the sponge with the silver metallic stamp pad. Gently rub the sponge across the raised embossed front surface of the card. This gives the the front of the card a silvery and wintery sheen and also makes the embossing really pop!

3. Cut out the 3 snowflakes of different sizes. Use a different shade of cardstock for the middle snowflake, like a mint green or baby blue. Decide how you are going to layer the snowflakes on the card. Punch a hole through the centre of each snowflake.

4. Take the snowflake that is going to be the top-most layer. Use the versamark stamp pad and ink the entire surface of the card. Generously sprinkle the Ranger sticky embossing powder over it. Gently tap off the excess. Use the heat tool to heat the powder and then immediately sprinkle white glitter over it. I used Crystal Glitter in Gold which is really just a white colour. Tap the back gently to release loose glitter. I accidentally overheated my sticky embossing powder and it left a burned reddish colour. I tried to cover it with the gltter but it still showed through…which is fine because the reddish colour adds to the vintage effect so it actually worked out for the best!

5. Take the middle layer snowflake and place it on a piece of scrap paper. Ink up the snowflake stamp with silver metallic ink and stamp it randomly over the front of the snowflake. The design won’t show up really well but it looks really cool and shimmery with the silver stamping. Don’t worry about being neat or using the same consistency of colour. Sloppy stamping will actually enhance the vintage effect.

6. Use Ranger stickles, put dots of glitter glue all over the snowflake. Set the snowflake aside to dry for at least 15 mins. You can blast it with your heat tool after the first 5 mins if you want to speed up the drying process. But it won’t look as lovely as letting it dry naturally.

7. Cut a half inch-wide strip of scrap blue cardstock in green. Cut the length to the length of your “Merry Christmas” expression stamp plus an extra half inch. Stamp the Merry Christmas expression with versamark on the little blue tag and sprinkle silver embossing powder over it. Then melt the powder with the heat tool. Snip the corners of the tag with a “V” shape. See picture below if this doesn’t make sense. Punch a hole in the opposite end of the tag.

Layer the green tag and snowflakes as follows starting with the top-most snowflake: top glittered snowflake, blue tag, middle green snowflake, bottom-most white snowflake. Take the top layer snowflake, blue tag and the middle snowflake and glue them together with dots of wet glue making sure to match the punched holes. Then put foam dots on the back of the middle green snowflake, avoiding the punched hole, and then adhere that to the bottom-most snowflake making sure to match the punched holes of the snowflakes.

8. Use the wet glue and adhere the layered snowflake to the embossed white card halfway down the card and to the left towards the folded edge. And then you’re done! Easy peasy!

And that’s it, a great way to use white and green scraps from other Christmas projects, or if you’re like me and can’t bear to part with scraps, then perhaps scraps from last year lol!

Hopefully you have as much fun making this card as I have and I would love to see your layered snowflake cards as well!!!

As always, if you liked this tutorial, please like my facebook page located on the top right hand side of this page.

Up next week, I’ve been meaning to do something with ribbons so look forward to a ribbon card project!

 

Bubbly Snowman Card

Today’s tutorial will be on how to make a fast and easy snowman Christmas card. If you’re pressed for time or need to pump out 15 of these in one night, this is the card for you! All of my stamps, embossing folders and papers can be replaced with anything you might have at home so you don’t need exactly the same ones to make a fun and spirited card!
I love to watch Kristina Werner tutorials on Youtube and this card was definitely inspired by her creative style. Hop over to her youtube channel to check out some of her techniques and tutorials as well!

What you’ll need:

1. card and envelope – 4 x 5 1/2 inches

2. printed Christmas cardstock in green and red – preferably with gittery designs
These are cut in the following dimensions:
Red: one rectangle of 3 x 2 1/2, and one strip of 1/2 x 4 inches, with rounded corners
Green: one banner of 1 1/2 x 4 inches

3. An embossing folder, preferably with a simple design like bubbles

4. Snowman stamp – I’m using the Imaginisce Snag ’em #003367
and acrylic stamp block if needed

5. One cream cardstock rectangle of 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches with rounded corners for stamping the snowman image

6. Foam dots

7. ATG gun

8. Green or red stickles

9. Corner rounder punch

10. Versamark stamp pad

11. Silver detail embossing powder – recollections

12. Heat tool

13. Silver marker

14. Rhinestones in red, green or silver

Instructions:

1. Take the folded card and putting only front flap of the card in the embossing folder and wrapping the back of the card around the back of the embossing folder, run the sandwich through your die-cutting machine.

2. Take the small cream cardstock rectangle of 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches and stamp the snowman image using versamark or your favorite embossing stamp pad. Generously sprinkle silver embossing powder over the stamped image over a large piece of scrap paper. Optional, before stamping, use a sachet of baby powder and cornstarch, or the EK success powder brush tool and generously dab powder over the front of the cardstock to prevent flyaway embossing powder. This helps to build a very sharp embossed image since embossing powder tends to stick to the cardstock in non-stamped areas. I always forget this step haha but you should do it because it’s good for you!
Using a prewarmed heat tool, hold the cardstock with tweezers (to avoid burning fingers!) and blast the image with the heat tool to melt the embossing powder. Set aside to cool for a few seconds.

3. Using green stickles, fill in areas of the stamped image where you feel it needs a little extra bling! I selected the snowman’s scarf and the little bird’s hat. Set aside to dry at least 30 min. Then using a tape runner, mount this stamped image on to the red printed cardstock rectangle to make a red frame.
Optional – apply 2-3 rhinestones in a line but apply them so that they’re asymmetrically distributed. Asymmetry will make the card look unique and stand out.

4. While your stickles are drying, assemble the embellishments for your card. Using your tape runner, tape the small red strip to the large green strip of paper (as shown) above.

5. Apply all the different pieces to your embossed card. Start with the Green and red banner, place it about 1/3 of the way from the bottom using your tape runner on the back of the banner. Do not attempt to run your tape runner across the embossed front of the card as it will deflate your embossed image. Then using foam adhesives, mount the image of the embossed and stickled snowman to give the card an extra level of dimension. Using your corner rounder, round the corners of the card. Finally, pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

And that’s it! Thanks for tuning in this week for this fast and easy Christmas card tutorial! I will try to post a new tutorial once a week and since we’re fast approaching the holiday season, I’ll be focusing on Christmas card tutorials! Many of my scrapbooking friends have already finished or are nearly finished their Christmas cards this year so for those of you who haven’t started, my tutorials will make holiday card making a breeze.

Please be sure to SHARE your creations and comment below if you have any questions 🙂