Fa La La Bear

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am continuing sharing my cards I created using the dies from Spellbinders 12 Days of Stitchmas Advent Calendar. For this card I ended up using dies from three different days. The cute bear is from Day 6; the "Fa La La" from Day 7 and I also used the Christmas Tree from Day 3 on the inside.

For this card I created a Centre Step Card using an older die set from my stash. I also have a video tutorial on my YouTube channel showing how easy these are to make if you don't have dies.

I used the Snowflake Shimmer Betterpress plate to create the snowy background. This was white foiled onto blue cardstock and then I added darker inks to the top portion of the panels.

The sign post is from the North Pole Sentiments die set. As you can see, I did stitch the bears tummy and scarf.

I die cut the letters to spell "FA LA LA" from red and green cardstock and added them to the bottom to the card. I didn't stitch these.

For the inside of the card, I added the Christmas tree from Day 3 to the lower right hand side of the card. I also added a stamped sentiment from my stash.

Triple Panel Box Card

Hi Crafty Friends,

Welcome to my blog. Today I have another Christmas card to share with you. This card is a Triple Panel Box Card and you will find a tutorial for it on Sam Calcott's Mixed Up Craft YouTube Channel here.

To decorate my card I pulled out the Christmas Cracker die set from Spellbinders. I love Christmas Crackers and have been making my own for nearly 50 years, so of course I had to get this set.

I die cut the crackers from green, red and gold cardstock as I wanted traditional Christmas colours for this particular card.

This card has extra panels attached to the left and right side of it panels to give it an interesting look.

A look at the right hand side, so you can see those extra panels a little easier.

The card folds flat, so it will fit inside a 5 x 7 envelope.

And finally the back of the card. I added white panels, one for the sentiment and the other to add a personal message.

The sentiment and cracker images are from Hero Arts A Little Nuts stamp set.

Fa La La La La

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing a pop up themed Christmas card I created recently. This card was inspired by a card I made a number of years ago, but with completely different products.

The carol singing snowmen & the door are all from Spellbinders, wouldn’t it be fun having Carol singing snowmen at your front door1 It definitely won’t happen here as it’s summer at Christmas time for me1

For the brick background of my card, I used an old MFT Stamps Brick stencil, using Antique Linen & Rusty Hinge Distress Oxide inks for colouring.

The greenery at the top of the card is an old die from Memory Box, a very well used die from my stash.  The snowy border at the bottom is also from the same company. I used white glitter Cardstock for the base of the card.

To create the pop up, I used Karen Burniston’s Lorna Label Pop-up die set, this gives a nice high support for the door. I did need to trim off the sides of the label, so they didn’t peek out the sides.

To finish off the inside I added the two lamps and a sentiment.

For the front of the card I used Spellbinders Snowball Shimmer Betterpress Plate to white glimmer a piece of dark blue cardstock. I added snowy hills at the bottom.

I added one snowman and a lamp and finished off by adding the Fa La La La La sentiment also included with The Snow Notes die set. 

Other Supplies: 

Carol Singers Die Set - Tonic Studios

Pine Needle Border - Memory Box

Open House Side Panel - Spellbinders

Open House Stair Sentiments - Spellbinders

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Yeah ok … so it’s not beginning to look like Christmas just yet! It’s still seven months away, we can all keep breathing haha. 

I finally got my hands on a few Christmas themed die sets I have been after from last year, so I decided to pull one out to play. This one is the Festive Friends die set which was Spellbinders October 2024 Small Die of the month, I recently came on sale on the Spellbinders web site, so I grabbed one.

For my card I created a Centre Step Card which I turned into a Centre Step Easel Card, I used an old Cheery Lynn Designs die set, which has long been retired. I have linked to a couple of others, the Divinity Designs one is exactly the same, but I like the insert for the inside on the one I used. 

To add the panel to turn my card into an Easel Card, I cut a piece of Cardstock that was 5 1/2 inches x 6 inches and then scored along the 6 inch side at 1/2 inch, I then used the 1/2 inch tab to attach to the back of the card.

I went a little crazy with the penguins, making seven all up, I assembled two upside down, so that they were facing the opposite way, so they weren’t all the same.

I used glitter cardstock to create the snowy hill at the bottom of the card, the base is also glitter.

The sentiment is one from Mama Elephant, which I have used for the stopper of the card. I layered the sentiment using Spellbinders Essential Stylish Ovals.

For the polar bears jumper, after die cutting the piece, I used an embossing folder to add texture, rubbing white ink over the raised areas.

The card folds flat and will fit in a 6 inch square envelope.

Here is a look at the inside of my card and the easel base, 

The Merriest Christmas is a Spellbinders Betterpress plate which I stamped using black ink. 

70th Birthday Wishes

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

As you can see, I have yet another 70th Birthday card to share with you. This will be my last one for a while LOL! 

Happy Birthday - to me!!! Yes today is my birthday and I am 70!!!!

For my card today I created a Triple Tier Slider Card using the Made To Surprise by Sam Calcott's Triple Tier Slider Card die set. This card fits in a 5 x 7 envelope, when the card is completely closed.

To decorate my card, I used Spellbinders Bougie Birthday die set. I love this die set which contains the large cake, various icings and macroons as well as a few other things to help decorate the cake. I die cut the cake from ombre glitter cardstock in a tan color and then decorated it using chocolate ganache, macaroons etc.

I die cut the macaroons in rainbow colours to add to the top of the cake and the lower right hand side.

I added the Birthday Wishes sentiment in silver cardstock, which is from Papertrey Ink.

When you pull the tab at the top of the card, it reveals a second layer, which extends the bunting seen on the lower tier.

Pulling the tab one more time,  reveals the third layer which has the number "70th" on it.

I created a stand to add to the back of the card, this helps the card stand upright so it can be displayed and also gives a place to add a sentiment. 

To create the stand I cut a piece of white cardstock that measured 4 inches by 11 3/4 inches. I then scored along the long side at 4 1/2; 9; 10 & 11. To fold start with the 4 1/2 inch score and mountain fold, mountain fold, valley fold; mountain fold. Adhere the two ends together and attach to the back of the card.

Dragonfly Diamond Flip Fold Card

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I have another card I created using some of the products from Spellbinders January 2025 Club Kits. This time around I have made a Fancy Fold Card, this style of card is called a Diamond Flip Fold Card. My card is the 5inch x 7 inch version of the card and you can find a tutorial for it here.

I just love this dragonfly die from the Small Die of the Month Soaring Dragonfly die set. I. die cut the wings from black and three different colours of glitter card and then paper pieced them together. I selected the colours of the wings to go with the patterned paper I was using on my card.  The "Hello" sentiment is also included in the die set.

I used the January 2025 3D Embossing Folder of the month ... Stylized Lattice to add some texture to the front diamond shaped panel the dragonfly is attached to.

The "Hope Your Day Takes Flight" sentiment is from the January 2025 Betterpress of the Month - Take Flight set. There is a similar sentiment in the stamp set, but I preferred this one for the size etc.

When you open the card, the diamond panel on the front "flips" so it can be seen in the opened position. 

I added another sentiment to the right hand side of the inside of the card. This time I did use the January 2025 Clear Stamp of the Month - Nature's Dance.

December 2024 Karen Burniston Designer Challenge

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Welcome to our December Karen Burniston Designer Challenge.

Check out Karen Burniston's blog on Wednesday (US Time) when you will be able to see what all the designers created for the challenge this month, plus Karen will have an amazing video tutorial to share with us all.

Our challenge theme this month is ... "HAPPY NEW YEAR" - make a card that celebrates the new year. This can be a "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" card or just New Year. You can also stretch the theme to be a celebration of resolutions or manifesting something positive to arrive in 2025, etc.

It's been quite a few months since I have been able to participate in a Designer Challenge, but I have been able to find a little time to make some cards recently so I wanted to get one made for this challenge.

As you can see I opted for a New Year card rather than one that combined Christmas & New Year. I also wanted to play with a few of the new dies which were released in October.

For this card I used the Postage Pop-up and the Fireworks dies from the October release. As you can see I created a double postage pop up.

I created a 5 x 7 card, adding dark patterned paper to the inside panel. I then die cut fireworks using various colours of glittered cardstock. Before adding the fireworks to the background, I added the two pop up mechanisms so that i could figure out where the best places to add the fireworks.

I die cut the two of the postage frames from white cardstock and layered them onto a square panel of blue cardstock. I used the smaller dies included in the Postage Pop-up die set to die cut the inner panels of the postage frame from the same patterned paper I used on the background. I added fireworks to each of these panels, trimmed off the excess before adhering to the postage frames.

I used the "Welcome" and the "Numbers" die sets to create the Welcome 2025 to the left hand postage frame. I used the Happy New Year die set to add the sentiment to the right hand postage frame.

I kept the front of the card fairly simple as the focus is on the inside. I added the Celebrate to the centre of the card which has been die cut from silver glitter cardstock.

I die cut 4 of the smaller fireworks from coloured glitter and arranged them around the sentiment. I then added the 2025 to the centre of each of the fireworks.

Birthday Wishes

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

My card today is a Birthday themed Mini Slimline Pop-up card that I created recently.

My Mini Slimline card measures 3 1/2 inches x 6 inches. I used Mini Slimline dies from Divinity Designs to cut the card base and the layers.

To decorate my card I used Waffle Flower Crafts new Stacking Box die and the coordinating stencil set. I die cut the box lids from white glitter cardstock and the bows from holographic card.

For the background of my card I used Made To Surprise's Ditsy Embossing Folder.

For the sentiment I used Honey Bee Stamps Birthday Wishes stamp/die set embossing both sentiments using silver embossing powder.

Finally I added some matte silver pearls randomly around the card.

For the inside of my card I created a pop-up card using Waffle Flower Crafts Inside Pop-up Stacks die set. I again used the coordinating stencil to decorate the layers and the Stacking Box die set to add the white glitter lids and holographic bows to each of the presents.

I added a birthday sentiment to the top right hand corner.

Finally I added a strip of holographic card to each side edge of the card.

You Are Tu-tu Cute

 
Hi Crafty Friends,

Apparently today is World Puppetry Day, so I have created a puppet themed card to share with you today.

Last year I purchased the Made To Surprise by Sam Calcott's It's Only A Puppet Collection, most of these have a Christmas theme to them, but one of the puppets you can create is a fairy (although I think it is more a ballerina). So I pulled out that die to create my card today.

As you can tell by looking at the two photos above when you pull the tab at the top of the card, the ballerina puppet's legs and arms moving up and down.

As you can see I created an Easel Card to create my ballerina puppet birthday card. I used floral patterned paper from Simply Made Crafts, for my background panel. This panel was die cut using the 6 x 6 Card Base Mechanism die set, which cuts the card to the size needed for a 6 x 6 card, complete with the holes and slots of the puppet to operate. I ended up cutting my panel down slightly after adding the puppet as I didn't need it quite that big.

For the ballerina/puppet, I added the tutu using ombre glitter card in pinks. I stamped the "pull" to the pull tab using one of the stamps from Sam's Push Me Pull Me stamp set.

I looked through my stash for some dance themed sentiments and found a stamp set from Waffle Flower that had a couple I thought suited the ballerina. The stamp set is an older from called Tu-tu Cute. I white embossed the sentiment onto pink cardstock and trimmed it down to size. The sentiment was one line, but as it didn't fit into the space I cut it into two.

I also added the "11" layering it to circle dies which I adhered to the upper right hand corner of the card.

For the stopper on the base of the card which helps hold the card upright, I used the bow border from the 6 x 6 Excellent Edges die set. I die cut the bow from dark pink cardstock and the layer from light pink. I white embossed a birthday sentiment to the back section of this border before adhering to the base of my card with foam tape.

The sentiment is from MFT Stamps Bitty Birthday Sentiments stamp set.

I added a panel to the back of the card, this is a place to add another sentiment which is also from the Waffle Flower stamp set along with the ballet shoes. This panel is also a good place to write a personal message.

 

The card will fold flat to be placed in an envelope. My finished card measures approximately 5 1/2 inches square, but with the bump at the top of the card due to the pull tab it will fit into a 6 inch square envelope easily.

Other Supplies:

Tu-tu Cute Stamp set - Waffle Flower (discontinued)