MASCULINE WOOD TEXTURES

Some cardmakers find creating cards with a masculine feel a difficult task to accomplish. If that is a problem that you have, there is a product in the new Stampin' Up! catalog that may make make that problem simply fade away. Check out the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack on page 187.

With four each of 12 different double-sided designs, you are sure to find one that is exactly right for your masculine-flavored card.

 In my card below, doesn't my background look exactly like rustic wood paneling? Even though the wood design I selected does have more of a rustic feel, some of the papers have the look of fine woodworking that are simply delectable and beg to be stroked, only to discover that it's not really wood at all -- it's PAPER!.

 The classic set Lovely As A Tree (page 137) is the perfect complement to the wood panels.

Embossing the tree adds to the elegance, but doesn't take away from the masculinity of the card.

To further the wood concept of the card, I used the Woodland embossing folder (page 211) for the narrow Soft Suede edges of it.

While the die I used to cut the retired sentiment is no longer available, there are many other combinations of die and stamp that would work equally well.

 If you like the look of this card, I invite you to try your hand at one of your own. Check below for the materials list as well as the tutorial for this particular card. As always, feel free to change up any of the components to make it uniquely your own. But, this is meant to serve as a sample.

SUPPLIES:

Lovely As A Tree stamp set

Retired greeting

Soft Suede cardstock

Basic Black cardstock

Very Vanilla cardstock

Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack

VersaMark ink

Big Shot

Stitched Shapes Framelits (page 214)

Woodland Embossing Folder

Heat Tool

Black Embossing Powder

Embossing Buddy

Black Dots (I used those that I made myself from Enamel Accents)

Striped Ribbon (this particular ribbon is 1 1/4" wide)

Stampin' Dimensionals

DIRECTIONS:

Fold a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of Soft Suede cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Run a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of Soft Suede cardstock through the Big Shot inside the Woodland Embossing Folder.

Wrap a piece of 1 1/4" wide striped ribbon around the side edges of the embossed piece about an inch or so from the bottom, taping the edges on the back. Glue this piece to the card base.

Rub a 3" square piece of Very Vanilla cardstock well with the Embossing Buddy. Stamp the tree in VersaMark ink. At the Heat Station, cover the stamped image with black embossing powder, tipping excess powder back into its container. Heat to emboss. 

Die cut the embossed tree with the 2 1/2" Stitched Shapes (circle) Framelit.

Rub a scrap of Soft Suede cardstock well with the Embossing Buddy. Stamp sentiment with VersaMark ink. Repeat the embossing process with black embossing powder. Cut out with the appropriate die.

Space evenly onto a 3 1/4" x 4 3/4" piece of black cardstock four 1" x 3" pieces of the woodgrain DSP. Glue the circle flat onto this, while using a few Stampin' Dimensionals to attach the sentiment.

Add three black dots to the right below the sentiment.

Adhere this piece to a 3 3/4" x 4 3/4" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.

Attach this to the card base with Stampin' Dimensionals at each corner and one in the center.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Share with us whether you find creating masculine cards a problem or not. What little tricks can you share that you use to alleviate the problem?

Woodgrain

Smiles.

CHEERIEST BIRTHDAY BOUQUET EVER

In the new catalog, that went live June 1, there is the greatest stamp set on page 92. 

It is Beautiful Bouquet, and it consists of 37 (THIRTY-SEVEN!) stamps! 

Look at the precious bouquet you can make 

using the stamps along with the matching dies on page 93!

Besides the components to create a plethora of flowers,

 there are 15 very useful sentiments in the set.

I'd ordered and received both the stamps and the dies a few weeks ago. 

With my dad dying so recently, I have been struggling with my creativity. 

I told myself that I didn't actually have to make anything. 

Merely put ink to stamp, then to paper. 

Just do SOMEthing.

Well, one thing led to another, and soon I was in the process of making a card! 

I had put the oval with the flowers together when I decided to call it quits for the night.

The next day I gazed upon the cute flowery oval, and wondered how to proceed from there. 

It's funny, but when I'd been making my Easter cards a couple months ago, I made several backgrounds that consisted of the circles from the Playful Backgrounds set on page 150 embossed in white. Then, using the embossing on Whisper White cardstock as a resist, I sponged Melon Mambo over the top.

While the backgrounds looked cute, they were not the look I was hoping to achieve for my Easter cards. So, the stack sat unused -- and so forlorn! While I was scouting out something I could use as a background for my card-that-originally-wasn't-going-to-be-a-card-but-was-turning-into-one, my eyes landed on this pile of cuteness.

Yay! It was perfection for the flower-y oval I had created!

Aren't those flowers just the cutest when they are die cut and popped up with Dimensionals?

To carry the Melon Mambo a bit further, I added a bow in that color to the stems of the bouquet.

I mounted the polka dot background atop a piece of Crushed Curry cardstock 

that measured 4" x 5 1/4", then onto a Whisper White card base.

Some dimension -- not a lot -- but just the right amount, I think.

Finally, you are probably wondering why I named this blog post the way I did since nothing on the card says "Birthday". Well, tomorrow is a milestone birthday for me, and I'm feeling a little down about the number, so I am considering this a cheery birthday card from me to me. There! I feel so much cheerier now!

Cheery

Smiles.

CUTE AS A . . . BUTTON BOXES!

When it comes to treat boxes, there is a LOT of cleverness out there! Why couldn't I be the one to come up with one of these cuties??!? 

Recently, in need of an idea for a little box, I was fortunate to come across examples of one that would be perfect for my requirements. And it uses the Envelope Punch Board, one of my favorite go-to tools. The wonderful creator of this box is Julie DiMatteo, a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator who lives in Georgia. Her enticing blog can be found at thepaperpixie.com, if you'd like to pay her a visit.

In her tutorial, Julie noted that the boxes were the perfect size 

in which to nestle a single Ferrero Rocher.

 In creating my boxes, I made use of some beautiful retired 

Designer Series Paper, buttons, and cardstock. 

They are just so crispy and adorable!

 If you'd like to try your hand on these little gems, you can find Julie's informative tutorial HERE.

A big shout-out and thank you to Julie for sharing your tutorial for those of us who are lacking in the cleverness needed to come up with these cute little boxes on our own!

Thankful

Smiles.

CELEBRATE AMERICA

What is more Americana than a quilt? 

And how better to celebrate the birthday of our nation than with a paper quilt made from patriotic colors?

Easy enough to duplicate just from looking at the photo, this quilt pattern can be somewhat tricky to get to look good. I'd made one a few days ago, and to my utter dismay, all of the squares were not square. I felt just devastated.

I really wanted to make this card, but I wanted my quilt squares to be actual squares, and I couldn't figure out how to remedy that situation. I thought I had been excruciatingly careful in my first attempt.

Since I was using my 1" square punch for the quilt pieces, I decided to measure out and mark lightly with a pencil nine 1" squares. And when I put my quilt pieces in place, I was careful to use the parameters of the penciled squares as guidelines. This worked wonderfully. So, if you decide to make a paper quilt like this one, I would strongly recommend taking a few minutes to carefully measure out 1" squares. Just a little "learning from experience" I could pass on to you.

Once I had the "quilt" put together, I ran the whole piece through my Big Shot inside the starry embossing folder. Thus the whole quilt had more of a patriotic feel (with the stars) as well as seeming to have a bit more quilting.

For the sentiment, I colored every other letter of a stamp from a past Paper Pumpkin kit in Real Red and Island Indigo Stampin' Write Markers, huffed on it, and stamped it out. The cute squiggles on the side were part of the stamp, and I loved the way they added just a little more of a festive feeling. I added a couple of my homemade enamel dots above the squiggles.

The flagged sentiment was laid atop some washi tape strips. The bottom blue against the white cardstock was perfect. However, when I layered the thinner strip of red dotted washi on top of the blue, it became much too obscured (dark). To remedy that situation, I added the washi to a thin strip of Whisper White cardstock to make it stand out just like the blue against the white. Perfect solution.

Once I deemed the card finished, however, it just felt like something was missing. What could it be?

This is a "quilted" card, right? What would add a more finished/realistic touch to it? Yes! Stitches! So I proceeded to draw in stitching lines with an Island Indigo Stampin' Write Marker.

OK. Now the "quilt" looked finished. But the sentiment still needed something. So I added the stitches to the edges of the sentiment piece.

And my card was finished! Yay!

A few days early, I know, but . . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!

Quilted

Smiles.

MY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING DAY

This weekend, my baby is getting married. 

Her wedding colors are gray and navy. 

So, obviously I had to create her card in that color combo.

For the "gray" portion of the card, I used a softly textured metallic paper 

that goes by the cool name "Gun Metal". 

Which, by the way, is appropriate for my Sarah, 

who is an Army veteran having served in Afghanistan. 

To add to the already soft texture of the paper, I also embossed the background piece inside an embossing folder of flower to complement the flowered look of the diecut heart.

I die cut the larger flowers with the die that accompanies the heart die. 

Alas! and Alack! I have unfortunately lost the tiny flower that is also in the set. 

So, in order to make the smaller navy flowers to adhere to the heart, 

I utilized an old retired Stampin' Up! punch. 

Do you remember the punch with the row of three identical flowers? Yes! That's the one I used.

I added a handful of Basic Rhinestones to the centers of some of the flowers:

The rhinestones on the card stand for the moments of bling and fun 

that I hope will enter their life together as husband and wife.

Happy Wedding,

Balti and Sarah!

Wedding

Smiles.