Spring Cards for Friends and Family

Vicki here again today with a spring card for friends or family members.  Most of my family lives in the midwest and so during this time of year, waiting for spring to arrive, they often feel like Spring will never come.  I like to send a spring card to remind them that the wait won't be much longer.

For today's card, I used the Perched Bird Die with some of the new Cottage Meadow Paper Pad.  I like these bright cheery colors that make me think of Spring, but I seem to especially like the corner designs.  They are double-sided papers, so the reverse design is the full sheet rather than a corner.  That's night in case you want to have a fuller pattern.  I think I have mentioned before that these papers remind me of some of the Annie Rifle designs for Rifle Paper Company.  I love her art, so I really like these papers.

For the die cuts, I cut four white dies and glued 3 of them, one on top of the other, for that stacked look.  For the 4th die, I used some sponge dauber to add color selectively and snipping off the branch, added just that part to the stacked dies.

On the white cardbase, I die cut the largest Matinee Rectangle Layers from Light Blue Cardstock (Gina K Designs Sea Glass) and then the second to the largest Matinee Rectangle from the Cottage Meadows Patterned Paper corner design.  If you tack the die all the way in the corner with a little bit of Delicate Surface Tape, it's very easy to get the placement in the right spot.

In the first two photos especially, you can see that I put some shimmer pen on just the bird.  I had to do another angle for you here so that you can see the shimmer on the bird.

Eastern Bluebird

Blue Jay

The Eastern Bluebird is the Official State Bird of Missouri, where I was born, and I love the pretty little bright-blue birds with their rosy tummies.  I didn't actually look for any images until after I completed this card and realized I should have used a more russet color, but you get the idea.  There are three species of Bluebirds here in the US, but the Eastern & Western Bluebirds have the rosy tummy area.  The Mountain Bluebird is pretty much all blue.  It's super easy to google for images if you are trying for coloring of a certain species, I was just going by memory to do mine.   The Bluebird is not to be confused with the Blue Jay, which are also beautiful birds, but they are also quite aggressive.  I remember as a little girl,  a baby blue jay falling out of the nest in my Great Grandmother's front yard in Missouri.  My Nana leaned over to pick up and put the baby bird back in the nest, and the Mama Jay attacked her, pecking at her head.  Think "Mama Bear Mode".  Needless to say, Nana never touched a baby bird again.  At that time we didn't have Wikipedia to tell us what the behavior of the different birds is, so she didn't know.  She was just trying to be helpful.  Clearly, this was an incident not forgotten by either of us. Wiki says that Blue Jays are very noisy and aggressive birds so I'd agree. I hope you enjoy my sweet little Bluebird card today! 

Supplies

94438 Matinee Rectangle Layers craft die

94244 Perched Bird craft die

PP1003 Cottage Meadow 6x6 pack

Spring Is In The Air

Hello there! Vicki here today with a fun spring card for you.  Here in North Texas, we've had a few really nice spring days, but most of them seem to come with freezing cold winds which kind of shoots the whole Spring Day down the tubes.  I don't know about you, but I am so ready for spring to come and stay!  My Day Lily foliage is already pretty high, but we definitely haven't had warm enough weather to get them really going good and consistent.

For today's card, I wanted to use a few of the new products from the most recent release along with some favorites from last year.

Starting with a panel of Cougar Digital White Cardstock and misting it with a fine mist of water on the front and back sides, I ran it through my die cutting machine with an embossing sandwich using the Memory Box Chrysthanemum 3D Embossing Folder.  The water helps the paper to stretch enough to get a really good impression.  I did this late in the evening so I let that dry overnight and then using my ink blending brushes, I added ink blending to the entire panel in Berry Sorbet and Summer Sunrise Inks.  Then I misted it with Tattered Angels Spray in Iridescent Gold.  I set that aside and let it dry as well.

I cut a 4.25 x 5.5-inch panel of the light peach color of the Delicate Pastels Glitter Paper Pad as a mat to go behind the ink blended panel.  Next, I cut several of the Side Butterfly Circles as I wasn't sure which way or if I wanted to color it.  In the end, I liked it in plain white while I wanted to really make the butterfly stand out.

I tried some ink blending with little sponge daubers, adding Fairy Sugar to individual petals on the flowers.  In the end, I chose to keep the circle part plain white and to add a gold outline for the butterfly with some scrap orange card stock for the back layer.  Then I added some of the Goldfinch Fairy Sugar on top of all that. 

I used foam tape behind the circle by cutting a piece about 4 inches long, and then cutting a skinny strip (1/16th inch or so) two times from the half-inch width of the foam tape.  This makes it skinny enough to place it in the circle shape by going slowly, all the way around.

I have a tendency to change my mind mid-card, so I've learned to roll with the punches and go with my flow.  That's probably one of the reasons that I haven't tried to do video yet, but it's on my list of things to do by the end of this year.  I hope you enjoy this quick and easy card today and that it will warm your heart to think about Spring things for a few minutes.

Supplies

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

94232 Side Butterfly Circle craft die

EF1001 Chrysanthemum Field

94392 Hello Banner Script craft die

30086 Rectangle Basics Set

Poppy Stamps Adriana Easel Pop Up Card Die

Hello friends and visitors.  I am going to try to do a quick post for you today, just because!  I have been so sick for three weeks and today is my first day of feeling almost normal.  I still have just a bit of a cough, but the rest of me is feeling pretty dang good!  My MS Treatments have helped already which is so encouraging. 

I absolutely fell in love with this die when Dave Brethauer did a video of this over on the Memory Box YouTube Channel last weekend.  Click on that hyperlink to follow it to their Channel.   I'm on the Memory Box Design Team but Dave included this die in a recent purchase I made from Poppy Stamps. I was so excited to get it because it is simply genius and makes creating an easel card so super easy - no measuring involved.  The score lines are engineered into the die. I also love how it has all the elements built into the die set for easy assembly of Easel Cards so that the recipient can display it.    

My first card uses some of the new Memory Box Glitter Papers from the Delicate Pastels Glitter Pad along with some gold foiled cardstock and two different shades of Pink Cardstock - Hibiscus Burst and Pale Peony from Papertrey Ink.  The die itself comes on a Magnet Sheet to keep all the elements together. If you are very careful you can get both the bottom of the card and the top of the card from a single sheet of 8.5 x 11-inch cardstock using your Gemini Full Size Die Cutting Machine.  A sheet of 12 x 12 is easy peasy by cutting it in half.  I used my Cuttlebug with the extended cutting pads and Cutting a 4.35-inch by 11-inch for4 the card base and then the leftovers for the card top.  You may need to move it up and down the piece to find where it fits the best.  In this instance, because there are many layers and I have a lot of 12 x 12 Cardstock left from my scrapbooking days, I think you could go with a lighter weight cardstock.  I have not tried that, but I don't think you'd have any problem using a lighter weight for the top and bottom.

The decorative layer could be used in many ways and I tried to show you a few more here that are different than what Dave showed in his video. I would definitely say to use a very gentle touch and heavier cardstock for this particular layer as the little branches tear off very easily.  Also, use a traditional die cutting machine vs the electric ones for this layer if you have one.  I found that this piece tore just cutting it in the electric machine, even when I made the sandwich less tight.  I personally, still use my hand-crank machine more often than my electric machine. In the instance where my decorative layer got torn up, I used an oval die to cut the center and heat emboss my sentiment onto.

I made a couple of variations of this card, switching up the colors and papers.  The left hand is done in Blueprint Shimmer Cardstock with Silver Cardstock, the Green is some watercolor I did on a piece of #140 Canson Watercolor Paper with some Fairway Green Shimmer Cardstock and the Pnks as I mentioned above.  Each of these cards has the interior layer cut from Glitter Cardstock from Memory Box.

I used a couple of different Memory Box Dies to add to the little labels that let you pop it up.  The Blue Card has little silver birds from the Birds & Blossoms Die (#94243) and the butterfly is the one that I keep on my desk all of the time.  I used it on the pink and the green cards.

I wanted to challenge myself to use this die in a more masculine way, so I chose Curious Skin Black Cardstock, which is totally matte. It never gets shiny and it feels so unusual.  It's a great paper to use for anything black.  I also used the little birds from Bird & Blossoms again. for the little inside tag again.  I forgot the foam tape here, which helps to give a little height to what is holding the easel part in place for display.  So it still worked, but it would have worked better had I remembered the foam tape.

 I wanted to provide you with this side view so you can see how the easel stays up.  I have so many other combinations I want to try.  I'm waiting on an order from Poppy Stamps for some other sentiments. These cards use Poppy Stamps Butterfly Greetings and Blooming Greetings.

I cannot wait to see how many other designs Dave comes up with for this easel card die design.  I can see Holly and Berries with Mistletoe at Christmas, and many other things that I think I'll have to start making a list of them!

Last but not least is a card that I made for my daughter to give to her best friend that is getting married in a few weeks.  I don't think she has time to visit my blog, so I am going to post it here rather than in my IG feed.

I used an Iceberg Metallic Cardstock which is close to a periwinkle color with a white front panel, and a  Violet Satin Shimmer Cardstock for the interior panel.  I remembered the Foam Tape this time around.

I like to use foam tape on the front end of the butterfly and glue to hold down the back end.  My glue of choice is Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  For this card, since it is for a special occasion, I used Aurora Borealis Swarovski Crystals in the 12 and 16 sizes.

One of the really cool things is that this card still fits in a standard A2 Envelope.  If I were mailing this card, I would probably use a padded mailer or a "flat" mailer.  Since my daughter is the Matron of Honor, I happen to know she'll be delivering it in person.  I hope you enjoy today's blog post, just for fun!  I'll be back on Thursday and Friday with posts for Memory Box!

If you would like to get the Adriana Pop Up Easel Card Die Set, you can find it here:  Adriana Pop Up Easel Card Die Set.

Have a great day all!

Keeping Christmas February 2020 Edition

Hello and welcome to this month's edition of Keeping Christmas!  Each month my teammates and I bring you a day of Christmas to inspire you and give you ideas to jump-start your holiday making for this year so that by doing a few projects each month, you'll have a nice collection when it's time to send cards and gifts come December of this year.  Here's the line up for today's Blog Hop!

Kelly Lunceford (Creator)

Vicki Finger

Claire Broadwater

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Nancy Guse

Marybeth Lopez

Nancy Penir

Carol Hintermeier

Today, my project combines a few favorites for some fun and sparkly Holiday Gift Tags.  For the base of the tags, I used Papertrey Ink's Basic Bookmark #3, by cutting two from Gold Leaf Cardstock and gluing them back to back so that both the front and the back both have a nice finish to it.  You could use these on Wine, Sparkling Juice, Baked Goods or even on gifts.  The Gold Leaf Cardstock is a shimmer cardstock although it is hard to tell in these photos and it looks as if I might have used Kraft Cardstock. 

Next, I die-cut and assembled the Simon Says Stamp Holly and Berries Tag that I die cut and assembled from Glitter Cardstock.  I love glitter at any time of year, but especially at Christmas.

For the Sentiments, I wanted to use a color of embossing powder that really popped and so I chose to use WOW! Bright White Opaque Embossing Powder.  Gold would have not really been visible and black just felt wrong so I opted for the white and I'm really happy with that choice. The sentiments came from The Greetery's Speed Tagging Details Stamp Set. I stamped the sentiments and heat embossed them before assembling the tags to the bookmarks.  I used a little bit of glue around just the hole in the Holly Tags for placement so that it didn't move and cover up my sentiments.

Once that part was done, I assembled the pieces together and added the red ribbon and gold string. This allows you to use the gold string to tie around a bottle or just use some adhesive if you want to put it on a regular package or maybe some baked goods.

Don't forget to stop by the other ladies' blogs for some more inspiration.  I know they will each have beautiful inspiration for you!

Memory Box Spring 2020 Blog Blitz + Giveaway

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog!  I took a short vacation at the beginning of the month, but now I'm back and have several new projects to share with you today.  Memory Box has just released its Spring 2020 Collection and there are lots of fun new things in this collection of products, including Patterned Paper, Glitter Cardstock, Stencils, Washi Tapes, Glitter Glue (called Fairy Sugar), and some new 3D Embossing Folders.

I was having a hard time deciding what to feature first so I have a few projects for you today!  I also have a chance to win a giveaway for you as thanks for stopping by and seeing my projects.  One commenter will receive a free Arched Happy Easter Die # 94446 from Memory Box!  

We also have Glitter Cardstock 6 x 6 Pads in Pastels and Brights!  The paler colors are called Delicate Pastels and the brights are called Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad.  I'm sure you know I had to have the one with the word "Twinkling" in the name.  

There are also some new Washi Tapes in wide and narrow widths.  The one I'm featuring here is the Watercolor Forest Greenery Wide Washi Tape.  It's similar in style to the Watercolor Woodland Washi Tape from our 2019 Winter Collection.  I thought it would be fun to combine with some little bunnies, Spring florals, and Fairy Sugar Glitter Glue.  

I added the wide Washi Tape to a piece of white cardstock and then die cut it with the Matinee Rectangle Layers in the largest size.  Then using a little finger dauber, I added some color to the Magnolia Circle Frame and the Pretty Blossom Stem.  Next, I added some Fairy Sugar to the leaves and blooms.  

Once that was dry, I added some pearls to the center of the blooms and some inking to the outside edges of the Little Bunny Trio.  I added a black dot with a tiny white highlight for the eye on each little bunny.  Once I attached the Matinee Rectangle, I added some additional Fairy Sugar in Iris and Strawberry Ice to the berries in the washi tape for texture and bling.  

My next card also uses the Matinee Rectangle Layers.  I die cut the 2nd from largest one from white cardstock covered with the Washi Tape and the largest was cut from some pale pink cardstock.  This helps the soft colors in the washi tape to really pop and accent my die cuts.  I used Fairy Sugar in Strawberry Ice, Iris and Berry Mist.  I also used the "Hello" Banner Script die from last month's release to make a simple spring card.  

For my next card,  I used one of the Cottage Meadow Patterned Papers.  Each of these designs has a full floral pattern on one side of the paper and a corner design on the other side of the paper.  These designs remind me very much of something Annie Rifle might create for Rifle Paper Company. I really love having a choice of using the full sheet of print or the corner design.  

For my card, I chose to use a corner design that I thought would fit well with my die choices.  I chose the Cherry Blossom Frame along with the Arched Happy Easter, and the Flitter Side Butterfly.   

This card is sweet and simple, and to me, it instantly evokes the feeling of spring.  The top layer of all the die cuts are made from the new Watercolor Paper and I colored it with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers in Sugared Almond Pink and Green Shadow.  

I added Fairy Sugar Glitter Glue in Iris to the flower centers on the patterned paper and added some gems to the center of the flowers on the die-cut.  

This card features several new Easter Egg dies with some of the new Glittered Cardstock.   Aren't Filagree Easter Eggs just so pretty and elegant?  They remind me of Fabergé Eggs. If you don't know what those are, here's a search on Pinterest to see some fabulous examples.  If you're interested in more of the history of the House of Fabergé, you can find information here on Wikipedia.  

I used Rectangle Basics Die in the largest size to cut the green glittered background.  I added some of the Birchpress Design Shimmer Burst Washi Tape to colored cardstock.  I also cut 1 each of the Genoese, Emmaline and Lacework Eggs from Gold Foiled Cardstock that had Couture Creations Double Sided Adhesive on the backside. 

Next, I ran the colored, washi-taped cardstock through with my die cutting machine with an embossing sandwich to get the impression of the egg which makes fussy cutting around it very easy.  You could also do Die Cut In-lay if you like that style.  That would have taken a lot more time than what I felt I had available today so that I can show you as many of the new products as I can.  

The Gilded Washi Tape, the Gold Foiled Cardstock and the glitter cardstock all work together to make a fun and sparkly card for Easter.  

By dry embossing the eggs onto the cardstock, it gives the look of inlay without the time it would take to do that and also provides the outline for the egg shape for quick and easy fussy cutting of a simple shape.  

I had to sneak one more card in here at the very end that features one of the new stencils, Leafy Jumble.  I was planning to foil it, but I couldn't find my jar of Deco Foil Transfer Gel (until the card was finished, of course), so I ended up using Ink Blending to add the pattern to the cardstock in Turquoise Sea and Tranquil Teal.   

I first added some Pixie Spray to the back of the stencil and let that dry for a few minutes.  This allows the repositionable adhesive to "set" so that you can use it over and over without having to add more. It also holds your stencil in place without moving so that your pattern stays clean and crisp.  

Once that was done, I used the Basic Rectangles to cut a mat layer, a glitter layer and then a top layer for my card from the ink blended piece.  I die cut the Side Butterfly Circle from white cardstock 3 times and glued the layers together. I cut the interior part of the butterfly from cardstock scraps and the outlines of the butterflies from Gold Foiled Cardstock. I also cut the Flitter Side Butterfly using the same papers so that I could have two butterflies facing each other.  Once I had those adhered, I added Spectrum Noir Shimmer Pen to the insides of the wings for that touch of sparkle that I love.

There are many more new products available at Memory Box and it's other companies, Poppy Stamps and Birch Press Design.   Be sure to stop over at the Memory Box Blog, Outside the Box, and take a look at all of the new items that were just released.  I'll have a couple more projects for you next week.  Don't forget to leave a comment here on my blog for your chance to win the Arched Happy Easter Die.  

Supplies

30086 Rectangle Basics Set

94232 Side Butterfly Circle craft die

94430 Genoese Egg craft die

94425 Emmaline Egg craft die

94428 Lacework Egg craft die

94438 Matinee Rectangle Layers craft die

94422 Pretty Blossom Stem craft die

94410 Magnolia Circle Frame craft die

94446 Arched Happy Easter craft die

94455 Little Bunny Trio craft die

94427 Cherry Blossom Frame craft die

94002 Flitter Side Butterfly craft die

99900 Drifting Side Butterfly craft die

88613 Leafy Jumble Stencil

94232 Side Butterfly Circle craft die

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

PP1003 Cottage Meadow 6x6 pack

PP1004 Cottage Stripes and Dots 6x6 pack

PP1006 Springtime Bouquet 6x6 pack

PP1007 Springtime Bouquet Stripes and Dots

WT500 Watercolor Forest Greenery Wide Washi Tape