Custom Handmade Christmas Cards

I love papercrafts and that is why being an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator is a perfect fit for me. I really enjoy making cards and other handicrafts and love to show my creations to other people. That is how I got a custom Christmas card order from my daughter's boss. Last year I was showing her a Christmas card I had just made and she asked if I could make 20 of them for her to give to her customers. That was my first custom order!

So this year I created a couple 'sample' cards using the So Many Stars bundle especially for my daughter's boss. I showed her the two cards a few weeks ago and she chose to order the design on the right with the swirls.

I used my computer to print her company's name on whisper white cardstock which I cut to size for the inside of each card. I then went about making 20 of these Christmas cards using balmy blue cardstock, silver foil, silver glimmer paper, silvery shimmer delicata metallic ink for the background stars and silver embossing powder for the sentiment.

I love the Stitched Stars dies because they look beautiful in glimmer paper and the stitching even makes plain paper look more elegant. I used the little stars which cut out of the swirl die as accents on the front of the card as well as one on the back of the envelope, which I stamped in balmy blue ink with the speckled stars from the So Many Stars photopolymer stamp set.

I don't have much family here in New Zealand and the cost of postage to send cards to my relatives in the USA is very expensive so I don't send many Christmas cards, however I am still able to satisfy my desire to make handmade Christmas cards by doing custom orders.

So if you live in New Zealand and would like some handmade cards just let me know. Or better yet, I can teach you how to make your own cards at one of my classes! Just have a look at my website for my contact details and upcoming classes.

#KeepCalmAndCraft #ComputerAndCraftDesigns #StampinUp #creativetherapy #StayHome #PaperCraftIdeas #ChristmasCard #HandmadeCard #SoManyStars 

World Card Making Day is Coming!

Saturday, October 5th is World Card Making Day and I decided to offer a Free Christmas Card Making Class here in my home. I've been advertising all over Facebook and other internet sites so I am hopeful that there will be a few people coming to make cards. Today I've been busy making lots of Christmas cards as samples for the class.

I will be using the Night Before Christmas Memories & More cards and envelopes in the class because it is very easy to put together a few elements to make a card quickly. However, since I didn't know what the final cards would look like I decided to spread all my supplies out on my dining table.

I grabbed some retired DSP, threads, stamps and embellishments to bling up the cards as well. Even though it looked like a card shop had thrown up all over my table, it was an organised mess!

My original plan was to create four sample cards for the attendees to choose from but once I started combining my supplies together I created 10 cards and I could have kept going! I even got out last year's Poppy Parade coloured cards and envelopes which worked well with some of the images in the Night Before Christmas card pack. I was trying to create simple cards in case those attending were new to papercrafts, but I couldn't help but add embellishments and die cuts.

So I ended up with 5 samples of beginner cards and 5 samples of more complicated cards. I will let those who show up have a choice of which one they would like to make or they can just create their own card from the supplies I will have on the table -- once I clean up my mess! 😅

I could spend days playing with this set by fussy cutting and punching out all sorts of shapes from the cards since the colours coordinate so well and with just a few extra elements I would have 50 Christmas cards. But I didn't want to make things too difficult since I want to get people interested in card making and not scare them away! I will do some more 'messing' about with the cards that are left over after Saturday to make more Christmas cards for my markets and future classes because for me . . . everyday is Card Making Day! 💟


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Daisy Punch Meets Rooted In Nature Wood Stamp

During a recent class I was teaching, I explained how I punch out images on a sheet of scrap paper so I can easily see which punches I have and how the shapes will fit over a sentiment before stamping it. I hold the 'negative' punched image over the stamp to see if it will fit the shape. This also helps me figure out if the punch will fit a piece of cardstock I want to use, thus saving me time and paper.

While I was demonstrating how to do this I was using a scrap of paper on which I had punched out daisies the night before and I suddenly had an 'aha!' moment. The large daisy fits perfectly over the large wooden ring image from the Rooted in Nature stamp set. So I grabbed one of the ink pads we were using in class and soon I had a textured daisy.

When I was trying to remove the cardstock from the punch, I wondered if I could make more petals by punching out the remaining stamped cardstock. I then had a complete daisy and lots of petals in the same textured colour. I did it again using Cajun Craze ink and began putting my new flower design together. I stuck the two complete daisies on each other and then glued each petal to the centre overlapping the other colour.

Then I went looking for cardstock and DSP to use to make a card with my new flower. That's usually how I create (unless I am CASEing someone else's awesome designs) -- I play around with stamps and dies or punches and then try to use them in a project. I don't always match up colours precisely as I don't think about what coloured cardstock I have before I make the embellishments, plus I'm not thinking of the final design when I'm playing with my stamps and dies. I guess I'm doing things backwards, but it's more fun and challenging that way!

I knew I had a lot of Mint Macaron cardstock so I started with that colour and discovered that the Mosaic Mood Specialty Designer Series Paper used it as well as Cajun Craze, which was one of my flower colours. I then chose Very Vanilla cardstock for the base and central layer because that was in the DSP as well. From there I used my leaf punch and the Painted Harvest stamp set to make two-toned leaves to match the other DSP colours. The Stamparatus allowed me to line up the two-step stamp easily to make the leaves very quickly. I used a 1/2" circle punch to make a Daffodil Delight coloured circle piece which I shaped to fit the centre of my flower. I used Stampin' Write pens in the colours of the flower for the sentiment and pretty soon I was finished with my card.

So now I can't wait to go through all my stamps to see which will fit my daisy punches to create more unique flowers or maybe I can find new textures for my cat and dog punches!












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Emboss Resist Technique with a Twist!

I have tried the emboss resist technique many times in the past and there are lots of videos online to show how to do it. For those of you who don't know what it is . . . you heat emboss an image using white or clear embossing powder on to white card stock and then rub ink all over the paper so that the image 'resists' the ink. It looks like a magic trick when the image suddenly appears! I remember doing this as a kid with waxed crayons and paint to make 'secret messages' appear on paper.


Recently I tried a little twist to this technique which I have seen a few times online. There is one extra step to achieve this effect. Before embossing I coloured the glossy paper with a few different inks to go with the image I wanted to use. For the leaf card I chose regal autunm colours and for the daisy card I used bright summery colours.

I decided to try two different ways of colouring the glossy card. For the leaves I put a few drops of reinkers (Calypso Coral, So Saffron, and Pear Pizzazz) on the cardstock and then used my heat tool to dry the ink while moving it around the paper. This gave me more colours when the ink mixed on the page which resembled the colour of autumn leaves.

For the daisy card I used sponge daubers to rub three different inks (Lovely Lipstick, Grapefruit Grove, and Pineapple Punch) in various areas on the paper. I started with the darkest colour and them moved up to the lighter colours because I could always add more of the darker colour if I needed. I rubbed the lightest colour (Pineapple Punch) all over the top of the other two to blend any hard lines.

After waiting for the inked pieces of glossy cardstock to dry, I rubbed the cardstock with the Embossing Buddy to prevent any embossing powder from sticking where I didn't want it to go. I then used Versamark ink to stamp my images from the Daisy Lane and Rooted in Nature stamp sets all over the paper before sprinkling clear embossing powder over those images and heat embossing them. This protected the coloured background under the stamped images for my next step.

To make the embossed images more visible, I inked over the entire cardstock with a darker colour. This can be done with a sponge or just pressing the ink pad all over the card stock. After it was all inked up I then took a dry cloth and rubbed the ink off the top of the embossed images just like the traditional emboss resist technique. Then the coloured background showed through the clear embossed images, giving me multi-coloured daisies and leaves!

Once I had finished the emboss resist technique I then had to do something with the pages I had made. This took the longest time as I wasn't happy with the dark green background or the placement of the daisies. I did love how the leaves turned out but I needed to find accessories to create a card for that page.

I then concentrated on the easiest part of the cards, the inside! I stamped a flower on Pineapple Punch cardstock for the inside of the daisy card and then tried to replicate the mixed leaf colours for my autumn card. I used another technique to stamp a different leaf image from the Rooted in Nature set. Using Stampin' Write Markers I coloured different parts of the stamp and then sprayed a little water on it with the Stampin' Spritzer. This made the ink merge and when I stamped the leaf it had a watercolour look to it which matched the embossed leaves on the front of the card.

For my other card, I cut circles out of Grapefruit Grove cardstock to let the daisies show through and I fussy-cut one out of the embossed page to create a bit of dimension. I have since ordered the matching daisy punches so I won't have to fussy-cut daisies again! It's not the best card I've made but I was able to use a lot of images from the Daisy Lane set.

I always learn something new every time I create a papercraft project and this time it was that I should decide on my background colour carefully when doing this technique as you cannot change it once you put the ink down. However I was so excited to try it that I just jumped right in without thinking of what the finished card would be . . . lesson learned!

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Stampin' Spots Come To The Rescue!

I was creating some cards with my Stamparatus for a customer order and the coloured ink pads I needed to use were very 'juicy' which is a common problem with new pads and sometimes due to humidity.

I tried to make the card a few times with light pressure and scraping the ink to one side of the pad, but I still got too much ink on the photopolymer stamp and thus smeared the image. The only other solution I knew of was to scrape off the excess ink or dab the ink pad onto paper which I don't like to do as it wastes the ink.

Then I remembered I had some Stampin' Spots which are perfect for use on the Stamparatus as you don't get ink all over the plates when you ink up your stamps. Fortunately I had some un-inked Stampin' Spots so I dabbed them on top of the 'juicy' parts on my ink pads. This served two purposes -- it removed the excess ink from the pad and created an inked Stampin' Spot which was perfect for use with the Stamparatus.

In the end I was able to create several identical cards quickly and easily, plus I removed some of the excess ink from my full-size pads. This was definitely a win-win!

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Apron Gift Boxes with Mini TicTacs

These adorable little boxes were made using the Apron Of Love stamp set and matching dies. The moment I saw this set I thought of creating a container with it. It was so easy to make as I just die cut two sides of the apron from designer series paper and then attached them together with a little piece of cardstock between the two aprons.

The only stamping I did on this craft was the sentiment on the apron pocket and the tiny card I made to go into the little pocket. I love this set as it has so many parts to make wonderful cards and crafts for any occasion -- Mother's Day, Father's Day, friends, thank you, etc.

I put mini TicTacs in them as gifts for my customers last year and I made some more with chocolates and hand sanitisers in them to sell at my craft markets. You could make the container bigger for other items, like a Tombow glue bottle, soap, lollies or anything you want!

 

Of course you can use this set for cards, scrapbooking or even home decor. The possibilities are endless and you can see a few of these ideas on my website and on Pinterest.

Unfortunately this set is going to retire on June 3rd, so if you'd like to make this project you will need to buy the Apron of Love set soon. If you are in New Zealand you can contact me to order or look online to find a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in your country to order from.

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Quick and Easy Crafting with Kits

Sometimes I lose my crafting mojo and even though I can find lots of beautiful things to create online, when I sit down at my table I feel overwhelmed. That is when a kit comes to the rescue!

Much like going to a class, a kit provides you with everything you need to make several projects. The only thing missing is the teacher and classmates, but sometimes I just want to be alone and do my crafting in the comfort of my pajamas. I certainly can't do that at a class! 😉

When I became an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator over 2 years ago I bought a couple kits from the current catalogue. I followed the instructions and made all the cards exactly as shown in the pictures. This quickly gave me a large quantity of cards to offer for sale at the craft markets I started attending and I didn't have to invest a lot of money in full products to make things.

Cards from 2017-18 All-Inclusive Kits

Now that I am a 'seasoned' demonstrator I still use kits for a variety of reasons. Even though Stampin' Up! offers a multitude of coordinating products and has a beautiful catalogue with hundreds of fabulous project ideas sometimes I just need something quick and easy to do. That is why the kits come in different styles, depending on what the crafter wants and needs -- all-inclusive kits, project kits and limited-time kits.

Different kits from the 2018-19 catalogues

I love kits because of the versatility of the products they have which allows me to make cards quickly or I use the items to create other projects. Using a kit is a great way to try different things without having to purchase a full set of products. With a kit you can use different embellishments, such as twine, vellum, glitter paper, foil paper, pearls, ribbons, dsp and dimensionals. Some kits also have different shapes and sizes of cards and envelopes as well as different cardstock colours. The other great thing is you get to play with cutout shapes without having a die cutting machine or a punch.

Another wonderful benefit of using kits is you get exclusive products which usually cannot be purchased separately. Each kit comes with an ink spot, cards, envelopes and embellishments created just for that kit. So purchasing several kits with different ink colours will allow you to collect a supply of ink without having to invest in the full-size ink pads. I personally prefer using ink spots with the Stamparatus as it creates less mess on the plates. The spots are also easier to travel with.

The 'All-Inclusive' kits come with everything you need to make the cards -- stamps, ink, cards, envelopes, embellishments and dimensionals. These kits are great for 'on the go' crafting as you have everything you need except for scissors, Tombow multipurpose liquid glue or Tear & Tape adhesive. The supplies usually come in a sturdy box for easy storage or you can use the box as gift packaging when you complete your kit. The kits usually come with matching envelopes so you are ready to post the cards once you are done. When you complete an 'all-inclusive' kit you then have stamps and an ink spot to use for other projects which is why these kits cost a bit more than other kits.

Made To Bloom all-inclusive card kit #148537 $57 NZD

Lots of Happy all-inclusive card kit #146388 $74 NZD

Soft Sayings all-inclusive card kit #145466 $74 NZD

The 'Project' kits do not come with stamps as the stamp set is sold separately. So you can use any stamp set you have to complete the cards in this type of kit or you can purchase the recommended stamp set to make them as shown in the instructions. The benefit of having the stamp set separate from the kit is that you can purchase more than one kit if you wish to make a lot of cards and you won't end up with duplicate stamps. Sometimes these kits include an exclusive item, such as the clear storage box in the 'Incredible Like You' project kit. You will need to use your own scissors, adhesive, inks and stamps to complete the cards in a project kit, however that is reflected in the lower price.

Incredible Like You project kit #148552 $57 NZD
Matching Incredible Like You stamp set #148708 $36 NZD

Occasionally Stampin' Up! comes out with limited-time offers and on May 15th there will be an exclusive kit offered here in New Zealand. In the USA and Canada, crafters can subscribe to a stamping kit from Paper Pumpkin which has exclusive Stampin' Up! products in it each month. However for one time only, we will be able to get a kit from Paper Pumpkin which is called the 'Hugs From Shelli' kit and it will include an exclusive stamp set not available anywhere else, one Classic Stampin’ Spot®, paper and crafting materials to create 12 cards (3 cards of 4 unique designs), 12 coordinating envelopes, adhesives and embellishments for all 12 cards in a decorated storage box.

This kit was created with the help of Shelli Gardner, co-founder of Stampin' Up! It will only cost $44 NZD and is available for a limited time, so if you'd like one of these kits please let me know asap as when they sell out they will be gone forever. The Paper Pumpkin kits are always a surprise so I can't show you what will be in it as I don't know, however I was lucky enough to get to make one of the exclusive cards when I attended OnStage last month and I even got to keep the photopolymer stamps!

Hugs from Shelli Paper Pumpkin kit #152032 $44 NZD

When I am pressed for time, I sometimes use a kit for one of my classes so I don't have to prep all the different elements for the cards. Kits are also wonderful if you need a lot of a similar cards made quickly, such as birthday or thank you cards. Sometimes just making a few cards from a kit can get my mojo going so I can then get back into my creative groove!

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