Find ideas, instructions and materials used to make a variety of paper-craft projects using Stampin' Up! products. As an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator in New Zealand I love to share my passion for creating things with paper including cards, boxes, gifts and decorations. I find that making things is a fun and relaxing past-time which relieves stress and gives me a purpose to be active every day. If you have any questions or want to learn more about Stampin' Up! feel free to contact me.
Ever since I got the Days To Remember photopolymer stamp set from Stampin' Up! I've been wanting to make a perpetual calendar. However I haven't had time to come up with my own idea and then I saw a fabulous sliding card designed by fellow demonstrator, Jessica Lewis. I changed her design to fit the A4 cardstock I was working with and used a different colour scheme and designer series paper (DSP) to make my perpetual calendar.
I used the image and dies from Nature's Harvest for January.
While making the card I had an idea to make it even more fun to use. I added a couple magnets to the left side of the slider so I could change out the image. I then stamped, coloured and cut out a dozen images on basic white cardstock. I put two magnets on the back of each image before covering them with some cardstock so they could be placed on the left of the slider each month.
I also stamped out the extra little images from the Days to Remember stamp set -- flower, star and heart -- cut them out of basic white cardstock and then put a little bit of Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue behind each, leaving the glue to dry. This made the glue tacky so the pieces could be repositionable. I put a piece of window sheet behind the opening so that I could put the extra pieces over any numbers not needed for the month I was viewing, like February.
February brings valentine's from the bear in the Count On Me stamp set.
March is my birthday month so I got a balloon from the Hey Birthday Chick stamp set!
I had a lot of fun searching through new and old stamp sets to find pictures I wanted for each month.
April is autumn here in New Zealand so a tree from Beauty of Friendship is perfect this month.
Celebrate Mother's Day in May with a bouquet of flowers from the Blessings of Home stamp set.
June is a chilly winter month here in New Zealand so I used a snow covered tree from the Cabin Dies.
Mid-winter means dreaming of far away places in July with the Sailing Home lighthouse.
August welcomes spring with Flowering Tulips coming through the cold ground.
Celebrate Father's Day in September here in New Zealand with a tie from Handsomely Suited.
October brings thoughts of upcoming summer holidays using the Tulip Fields Bundle.
Count On Me stamps return with a summery kangaroo for the month of November.
A little black kitty from the Sweet Little Stockings set reminds me that Christmas is coming.
Here in New Zealand our seasons and holidays are different than the rest of the world, so I chose a variety of animals, flowers and buildings for my calendar.
I also created a pocket inside with matching Heart & Home DSP so that I can easily store all my images.
I hope you like my card/calendar and if you'd like to make your own have a look at Jessica's video for instructions. Just make the few changes I mentioned above if you'd like yours to have interchangeable images like mine.
I've seen lots of videos of magic colour slider cards online and I have been wanting to try this technique for a long time. I finally found a stamp set that lends itself to this technique; the Dressed To Impress Photopolymer Stamp Set. The solid outline images are perfect for colouring in which is why I used them for my cards.
I modified the way I made my cards from those I'd seen online so that they aren't too bulky. Most videos I watched used dimensionals to pop up the front so that the window sheet slid more easily. Also the videos I watched didn't make cards, per se, they only made the fronts which did not open however you could write your message on the back.
After a long night's thinking -- which is why I don't get much sleep -- I came up with an idea to use designer series paper on the front to hold the sliding mechanism. I also didn't like that the space was left blank after pulling the window sheet up to reveal the coloured image, so I decided to stamped on the rest of the window sheet which turned it into a hidden message!
I created my first card with the lipstick image and the sentiment that fits it perfectly -- Be As Bold As Your Lipstick! I chose a colour combination to match the Stampin' Blends I used for the lipstick: Rich Razzleberry, Lovely Lipstick and Smoky Slate. I used the layering ovals for the cutout and to make a frame in Lovely Lipstick. I also used white embossing powder for the sentiment on the front of the card and the little arrow on the pull tab. The inside of the card has a sentiment from the Stitched All Around Cling-Mount Stamp Set.
Once I completed my first card I had lots of ideas to do more cards so I decided to create a video showing how to make one. My second card used the shoe stamp and the matching Best Dressed DSP. This time I chose Granny Apple Green, Lovely Lipstick and Purple Posy for my colours which match some of the colours in the DSP.
The video (below) shows how to make the card and mentions the dimensions however I had to make a few adjustments since this was a landscape card which I hadn't tried to make before. In the video I explain how to figure out measurements for different sized apertures.
Here are the measurements I used for both cards:
*** Standard A6 card size base = 14.8 cm x 21 cm scored at 10.5 cm (5-3/4" x 4-1/8")
*** Whisper White cardstock (two pieces -- inside and front) = 14.3 cm x 10 cm (5-5/8" x 4")
*** Designer Series Paper = 14.3 cm x 10 cm (5-5/8" x 4")
*** Whisper White cardstock for insert = 14 cm x 8 cm (5-1/2" x 3-1/8")
*** Window Sheet for insert = 14 cm x 8 cm (5-1/2" x 3-1/8")
*** Scrap piece of cardstock for the sentiment on the front, the aperture frame, and the pull tab.
You can see a list of the products used under the description on my YouTube video.
After making this video I realised I didn't have to stamp the second image on the window sheet since I could have just cut it out of the white cardstock and glued it to the window sheet instead because you won't be seeing the bottom of the white insert.
I now have another idea for making a different magic colour slider card which will use less window sheet so . . . watch this space!
