christmas (fun fold) in july

christmas (fun fold) in july

It’s Christmas in July – and here is a Double Flap fun fold card featuring the adorable Woodland Wishes stamp set.

I love coloring – as a child I had loads of coloring books and I continued to love it as an adult – our Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers and so fun to color with – whether just straight coloring between the lines or fancier blending and shading – they can do it all! I made this card for this month’s Christmas and Holiday Demonstrator’s swap and I colored in all the animals in this set and had so much fun doing all the coloring for these cards!

Measurements:
BASE: Poppy Parade CS: 4 1/4″ x 11″, 2 3/4″ x
5 1/2″, large scrap for circle die, 3/4″ x 5 1/4″
Crumb Cake CS: 2 3/4″ x 5 1/2″
DSP: 2″ x 5 1/4″
Basic White CS: 2 1/2″ x 5 1/4″, 4″ x 5 1/4″, scrap
for circle die, 1/2″ x 4″, scraps for animal
stamps

Score the base card at 5 1/2″ and fold. Cut 2 3/4″ off the left side of the fold line.
Stamp the Woodland Wishes “animal” Christmas Tree in Hybrid Black ink and cut to 2 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ if not already that size.
Score the 2 3/4″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Crumb Cake CS at 1/4″.

Cut a piece of DSP to 2 1/2″ x 5″.

Adhere the DSP to the large panel.

Adhere the 1/4″ tab to the center back of the short side of the 4″ x 5 1/4″ Basic White piece.

Put Stampin’ Seal around the back of the 4″ x 5 1/4″ layer including the 1/4″ tab.

Adhere the DSP to the Crumb Cake cardstock if not done already.
Adhere the Basic White layer to the inside panel of the card base.
Stamp the inside sentiment in Poppy Parade ink and the little hedgehog image in Crumb Cake ink to the left side of the sentiment on the 4″ x 5 1/4″ Basic White layer.
Stamp the outside sentiment in Hybrid Black ink on the Basic White strip.

Adhere to the Poppy Parade strip and cut into banner edges on either side.

Die cut a large circle from the Spotlight on Nature dies in Poppy Parade CS and then next one down in Basic White CS.

Splatter the Basic White circle with a Water Painter and the Poppy Parade ink.

Adhere the Basic White circle to the Poppy Parade circle and then adhere the strip sentiment to the circles.

Color the animals on the Christmas tree image with your choice of Stampin’ Blends.

I colored the cardinal and the Christmas bulbs in Real Red, Pecan Pie for the bear, Smoky Slate for the squirrel, Crumb Cake for the doves in light and reindeer in dark, fox in Cajun Craze, owl and stars in Golden Glow, greenery in Granny Apple Green and asterick in Balmy Blue.

Adhere the tree image to the outside panel of the card base.
Flip the Crumb Cake flap over the Poppy Parade flap.
Adhere the sentiment circle dies to the Crumb Cake flap.
I colored and fussy cut one bear, one fox and one deer for around the outside flap and sentiment circles.

Adhere these animals around the sentiment.

Adhere some Natural Matte Dots to the finished card and you have a great Christmas fun fold.

Now it’s your turn to make a Christmas card to celebrate Christmas in July or to start planning the cards and supplies you are going to need for this Fall to start making your Christmas cards to send to all those special people.

Now it’s your turn to create some Christmas artwork of your very own – one stamp at a time!

Happy Stampin’
Natalie

words of beauty card

words of beauty card

This mornings card features the Brushed with Beauty Suite Collection of products combined with the All In a Row embossing folder.

Measurements:
BASE: Basic White CS: 4 1/4″ x 11″
scored at 5 1/2″, 4″ x 5 1/4″, scraps for dies
Poppy Parade CS: 2 1/4″ x 3 3/4″

Emboss the layer with the All In a Row embossing folder.
With a Blending Brush create a diagonal colored line across the embossed layer.
Die cut the Basic White scraps with the “because” from the Words of Beauty dies and the flowers from the Petals of Beauty dies. Stamp the “I think you’re amazing” in Memento Black ink in the lower right-hand corner of the Poppy Parade scrap die cut with the Textured Notes die.

Adhere the embossed layer to the card base.

Pop up the Poppy Parade die cut.

Adhere the word “because” above the stamped sentiment. Blend a portion of the petal die. Pop up the petal to the left of the stamped sentiment.

Adhere the holographic resin dots to the card.

This simple card is an easy one and the sentiment is one that would brighten anyone’s day! Now go and create some artwork of your very own – one stamp at a time!

Happy Stampin’
Natalie

more color mondays – pretty peacock, melon mambo and poppy parade

more color mondays – pretty peacock, melon mambo and poppy parade

Today’s More Color Mondays color challenge features Pretty Peacock, Melon mambo and Poppy Parade.

There are a couple of fun techniques to this card and a SNEAK PEAK of the Boardwalk Fun Bundle.

Measurements:
BASE: Melon Mambo CS: 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
scored at 4 1/4″
Poppy Parade CS: 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″, scraps for dies
Basic White CS: (2) 4″ x 5 1/4″
Pretty Peacock CS: scraps for dies
Melon mambo CS: scrap for dies

Adhere the Poppy Parade CS to the Melon Mambo CS base.
Color the bottom of one of the Basic White CS layers with a blending brush with Pretty Peacock ink.
Using another blending brush color the top of the Basic White layer with the Melon Mambo ink.
Color the top of the Basic White layer with a blending brush and Poppy Parade ink.
Spray the glass surface with water and pat the Basic White layer over the water covered glass and mix the watercolor onto the blended color surface.
Dry the layer with a heat tool.

Using the edge of a Versamark ink pad, swipe in lines over the top of the layer and concentrated in a small squiggle down at the bottom.

Sprinkle gold embossing powder over the versamark ink.

Heat with a heat tool until embossing powder melts.
Adhere the watercolored layer onto the card base.
Stamp Happy Birthday in Pretty Peacock ink on the second Basic White layer.

Color over the Basic White layer with the Melon Mambo and Poppy Parade blending brushes.

Die a small palm tree from the Boardwalk Fun die set from Pretty Peacock cardstock. Adhere the palm tree die to the right of the stamped sentiment.

Adhere the layer to the inside of the card.

Die cut the ferris wheel and the taller palm tree in Pretty Peacock CS.

Adhere to the middle of the colored layer on the card front. Pop up the ferris wheel on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Die cut the ferris wheel carts in Poppy Parade and Melon Mambo cardstock.

Adhere the carts onto the ferris wheel in alternating colors.

Die cut the ticket die in Melon Mambo cardstock.

Stamp the Enjoy the Ride in Melon Mambo ink onto the ticket die.

Pop up the ticket onto the card front on the lower left hand corner at the base of the Ferris Wheel dies.

I love the way this background turned out – try this watercolor and heat embossing technique.

Now go and create some artwork of your very own – one stamp at a time.

Happy Stampin’
Natalie

Reminder this card is a SNEAK PEAK of an upcoming stamp bundle – the photo links for the sneak peak items will not be included below until they are available.

photopolymer tricks

photopolymer tricks

Did you hear the announcement?
Stampin’ Up! will be transitioning to photopolymer stamps for our entire line!

We will be discontinuing our signature red rubber stamp line for several reasons.

Cling Stamps (Red Rubber)
We’ve decided to discontinue our cling stamp line due to key raw materials becoming increasingly difficult to source, with some no longer being manufactured at all. We will continue to offer a wide range of photopolymer stamps to support various artistic styles and techniques.

Other product line updates:

Stampin’ Write Markers
We have also decided to discontinue Stampin’ Write Markers. With the growing popularity of Stampin’ Blends, we’ve seen a steady decline in sales of Stampin’ Write Markers. One of the primary techniques unique to Stampin’ Write Markers is coloring directly on cling stamps—a technique that will become less relevant as we transition away from cling.

New and Improved Stamp and Die Packaging
As part of our transition away from cling stamps, we’re excited to introduce updated packaging for stamps and dies! Because photopolymer stamps are thinner, we’re able to offer sleeker, slimmer packaging that saves space. Both stamps and dies will now come in the same size and style of packaging, making it easier than ever to store bundles and coordinating products together. The new packaging is similar to our current die packaging—durable, clear plastic envelopes—but with an exciting improvement: Die packaging will now feature printed artwork for quick and easy identification! Stamp packaging will continue to display artwork as well.

One of the exciting things about photopolymer stamps is their ease of use – being clear it is easy to see where and what you are stamping as well as line up the image in relationship to other images already on the paper!

Because these stamps are flexible you can manipulate their shape to a certain degree. Today’s project uses this tip and trick – I am using the Everyday Arches stamp set which already has a natural curve to the stamp image but I wanted to use it in conjunction with the Sunshine Vibes rainbow dies!

Here is the original shape of the stamp – I am using the “you are simply fantastic” sentiment.

Measurements:
BASE: Poppy Parade CS: 4 1/4″ x 11″
scored at 5 1/2″, scrap for rainbow die
Calypso Coral CS: 4″ x 5 1/4″, scrap for die
Basic white CS: 3″ x 4″ for the rainbow base die
Crushed Curry CS: scrap for rainbow die
Pumpkin Pie CS: scrap for rainbow die

Manipulate the photopolymer stamp into the shape desired and place on the acrylic block.
Place the largest rainbow strip on the white base for a guide and then stamp the sentiment in Poppy Parade ink to match the card base.

Adhere the rainbow strips to the Basic White CS rainbow base.

Emboss the Calypso Coral layer in the Stampin’ Cut and Emboss machine with the So Swirly embossing folder using the BASE plate #1, and (2) cutting plates #3 as this is a regular width embossing folder.
Tie a 1/4″ white ribbon knot on the lower third of the embossed layer.
Adhere the embossed layer to the card base.
Pop up the rainbow focal point onto Stampin’ Dimensionals and adhere above the ribbon on the embossed layer.
I used the white Starburst Sequin to finish off this fun card that showcases just one of the cool things you can do with photopolymer stamps!

Try you hand at bending and stamping a photopolymer stamp into a different shape and go create some artwork of your very own – one stamp at a time!

Happy Stampin’
Natalie