November Fancy Fold Swap Card

This month's swap card needed to be a "fancy fold" (anything other than a regular card) with a winter scene.  I decided to make it as a "Dual Side Step" card.  Previously I made this as a 4.5" x 6" card with 1 1/2" sides.  This time I made it as a 4.5" x 7" with 2" sides.  I wanted it to be sturdy, so cut it from a sheet of Adoreable Scoreable (Hunkydory printed card stock).  The basic steps for making the card are below:

Card Base: 

• Cut card stock to 7" x 9".
• Placing it vertically in front of you.  Starting 1" from the bottom edge and ending 2" from the top edge, measure in 2" from one side and cut your card stock.  Repeat for other side, making sure the 1" and 2" un-cut portions match the previous slice.
  
• Turn your card horizontally with the 1" mark on your left.  Now you'll be scoring vertical lines between your two cut lines from the previous steps.  Measuring from the left edge, score these at 1", 2", 3 1/2", 5" & 7".
• On the outside 2" sections, score at 4 1/2".
  
• Fold along the center score lines starting from the left: mountain, valley, mountain, valley, mountain.  Fold the outside edges in a mountain fold at the card center.  Now your card is ready to decorate.

Decorating:

• I started with a Little Book page from the Hunkydory LB of Winter Time, gluing it to a piece of card stock to increase stability.
• Next, I cut the houses/fireworks section away from the people - trimming it to 3" wide & gluing to a piece of snowy paper from my stash.  I glued this in place on the last step.
• Then I fussy cut the 3 groups of people.  After gluing another piece of the snowy paper to the middle step, I added the groups of people - two to the middle step and one to the back step (using foam tape behind their heads for added dimension.
• Then I made borders from ribbon and added to either side, before adding the foiled greeting (Gemini's All the Happiness foiling stamp)

HD Christmas Classics - Christmas is Coming

 

Today's cards & tag were all made using the HD (Hunkydory) kit called Christmas Classics - the set called Christmas is Coming (along with stuff from my stash).

Here's what the original set looked like:

 

As you can see, there is a sheet of die cuts and two sheets of AS (Adorable Scoreable printed card stock).  And here's a pic of the six cards and tag that I made:

 

 

And now for a closer look at each.

Card #1:

The first two cards are slimline cards.  For this first one, I cut a panel from the AS - and then some extra border to add at the top.  This meant that I needed to trim top & bottom just a smidge so it would fit on the card base leaving a narrow border all around.  I added the focal with foam tape, and added a strip of red velvet flowered ribbon & a narrow strip of green suede paper to increase the bottom border.  I found a tag in one of my HD Essential Book of Christmas Sentiments, added some red ribbon to it, and glued it in place as you see in the picture (part of it was on foam tape so it fit with the raised focal).

Inside:

Inside, I added a narrow AS border - like I had on the front (but without the added ribbon/suede at the bottom.  As you can see, I added a tag (from the set) and called the inside complete.

Card #2:

Next up is a piece from the other AS.  I matted this on gold card stock & added a die cut sentiment (Moonstone Winter Wonderland Minis)- also from the gold.

Inside:

I found some coordinating blue paper in my stash & used it with some more of the gold to make a narrow border, then stamped the greeting using one of my stamps from my Christmas Sentiments (no brand name) stamps.

Card #3:

This card was really simple.  Starting with a cream colored 5 x 7 card blank, I cut narrow panels from the AS and glued them in place on as you can see.   I added the focal with foam tape, and used a Dazzles sticker for the greeting.

Inside:

After finding a green strip in my stash that would work for a border, I stamped a message inside the card.  Unfortunately, my first attempt stamped the message as if it were a landscape card!  Whoops!  I found another piece of cream colored card stock, stamped a message on it (Inky Antics Christmas Friends), glued a gold frame around it, and added it to the card over the incorrectly stamped message.  I was concerned you might still be able to see hints of the mistake through the card stock, so added a few stamped snowflakes (from Simply Made Contemporary Christmas stamp set)  to prevent that. :)

Card #4:

I found this set harder to work with than expected.  I had cut a piece of the AS to use as a card base, but the green on the focal pieces did NOT match the green of the AS!  While I was trying to figure out what to do about that, my Mom was working beside me using a set that had poinsettias.  She suggested I use one of her poinsettia pieces for the focal.  It worked great!  Thanks Mom!  As you can see, I matted them on a piece of gold card stock - after die cutting it using a die from Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles Two.  A tag from the set completed the card front.

Inside:

Green and gold scraps form a border on the inside.  A stamped message - using a stamp from CCC's (Crafter's Companion Compendium) Believe in the Magic - completes the inside.

Card #5:

I really like the way this card turned out.  I started with a piece of the lovely golden AS.  To this, I added a dark green grosgrain ribbon and a narrow cream colored one with gold edges.  I wanted to back the focal on a fancy gold die cut mat (Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles Two), but it was too wide - so I sliced a piece out of the middle and melded it back together.  I added a green mat that I had die cut with Spellbinders 5 x 7 Elegant Labels Four) to the card front before adding the gold matted focal with foam tape.  Finally, I added some poinsettia Dazzles stickers to the border, and a sentiment in the upper right corner (from a HD Essential Book of Christmas Sentiments).

Inside:

As you can see, I create a border using a green strip from my stash and a narrow piece of the golden AS.  To this, I added some more poinsettia Dazzles stickers (same as on the card front, though they don't show up as well in this picture for some reason).  Finally, I stamped a sentiment - one of Mom's stamps - and called this one done.

Card #6:

By this time, I had only one focal left - and it was a small one.  I also only had a small piece of AS.  So, I put them together to make this A2 sized card.  As you can see, I used the AS for a border at the bottom.  Then I added a die cut green mat (Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight), a gold die cut mat (Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Eight), and then the focal (with foam tape).  I added the "North Pole" sentiment from the set and a "It's Christmas" sentiment (from HD sentiment book) to complete the card front.

Inside:

Once again I use a couple of scraps for a border - and a stamped greeting from my no-name Christmas Sentiment Stamps.

Tag:

I had several die cut greetings left that I didn't figure I'd ever use on a card, so I put them together along with a scrap of AS border, and made this tag.  It opens up for writing to/from.

A Quick Digi Paper Christmas Card

 

Today I have a quick Christmas card made with a set of free digital papers that I printed up.  I didn't think to take a picture of the materials before starting the card, but here's a picture of the leftovers:

And now, here's a closer look at the card.

Card Front:

I found some card stock in my stash that was nearly a perfect match for the borders on the greeting/focal pieces.  I used it to mat the small print that I used as a background for this card.  I added a couple fussy cut gingerbread men and star with foam tape - cut from the larger print paper.

Inside:

Inside I used more of the small print and plain colored card stock to form borders, and finished the inside by stamping a greeting using some matching distress ink.  The stamps were from Crafter's Companion Compendium sheet called Believe in the Magic.

After posting a picture, I realized that tiny red Jewel Dazzles would be perfect for the buttons on the gingerbread men.  I ended up adding them - along with some green ones for the poinsettia centers.  You can see the finished product at the top of this post.

Last of BeNeLux Pages

Today I have the last eleven pages of my BeNeLux album.  It feels SO good to have the 88 pages of this book finished!

Pages 1 & 2:

The background paper is a HOTP color block pattern.  The color block part of it was useless for this layout, but the color worked well so I used it anyway.  I printed up a several copies of a small windmill drawing to form some embellishments.  Below is a close up of each page:

Page #1:

I used vellum to create a pocket behind the page to hold a brochure about Kinderdijk - and a circle punch to cut the finger access.

Page #2:

Page #3:

Another HOTP patterned paper forms the backdrop for this Amsterdam page.  The title was a purchased 3-D sticker.

Page #4:

Pages 5 & 6:

The green background here was from a Mat Stack (DCWV), and the brick paper was from my stash.

Here I used a "handmade" paper purchased from Costco many years ago.  The title and journaling block was inked with some Distress Ink and matted on black card stock.  Two different types of washi tape complete the page.  And now, for the close ups:

Page #5:

Again, I used vellum to create a pocket behind the page to hold the map/brochure of the palace.

Page #6:

Page #7:

I'm not sure who made the water patterned background paper used on this and the next page.  The tulip shaped picture/embellishment was a purchased post card.

Page #8:

As you can see, this page is simply the water background paper and printed photos/title/journaling.

Page #9:

The background paper for this layout is a special London paper purchased at a scrapbook store. As you can see, I matted the photos, text, and map with black.  The title was printed on white photo paper and then inked with Distress inks.

Page #10:

The silver and black background paper is "handmade" paper I purchased from Costco years ago.  The silver is actual stitching on the paper.  I again used distress ink on the title/journaling block.

Page #11:

Again, I'm not sure who made the background paper used for this page.  I used distress inks on all of my printed pieces (photos, map, text).  Then I matted most pieces on brown card stock.

YAY! That's all for this scrapbook!

More of Holland

Today I have eight more pages from our visit to Holland.  All pictures, titles, and journaling on the following pages were printed from my computer.  This dual page layout is from our trip to visit the Royal Delft Pottery works - pages 1 & 2 of this post.  Next up is a closer look.

Page #1:

As I looked for papers to use with these pages, I remembered the blue and white Adoreable Scoreable sheets (Hunkydory's printed card stock) I had in my stash.  I thought this pattern reflected the Royal Delft designs well.

Page #2:

Pages #3 & 4:

The background papers used for this layout came from some Dollar Store pages purchased many years ago.  It always feels good to use up some of these older papers.  I decided the papers were a bit too busy, so added a yellow strip of card stock in the center to tone it down a bit.

Page #3:

Page #4:

Page #5:

This page has an old HOTP paper as the background.  I've added vellum pockets behind the page to hold a couple of brochures - with small half-circles for thumb holes to pull them out.

Page #6:

This background page is from my stash.  The blue is glimmer paper from an old Sara's Papers booklet from HOTP.

Page #7:

Here I simply have two colors of card stock from my stash - a turquoise background and a yellow strip.

Page #8:

I had a multi-colored Lego paper in my stash from which I cut strips to decorate the page.  A piece of a yellow Lego paper forms a mat for the journaling.

First Day in Holland - Part 2

In addition to all the windmills, Zaanse Schans had several museums.  These pages cover the rest of our time in the Zaanse Schans region.  

Page #1 (above): The background paper seemed quite appropriate as it was an old HOTP sheet with clock faces all over it.  I also added some transparency clock faces with brads & "hands" from my stash.

Page #2: 

Next up is the Weaver's House - showing what living and weaving was like in the 17th century.  The background is a dual-sided piece of card stock that I sliced in half and flipped so each half showed one side of the card stock.  As you can see, I created a punched white lacy border to run along where they joined.  The blue has information about living conditions, while the black relates to the weaving process.

Pull-Tab Pocket:

This page has a pocket behind it where you can pull out a sheet with more information about life & work in the weaver's house.

Page 3:

Here, in addition to adding the wood-like paper as a mat for the pictures, I used a picture of a sign for the title/journaling, and some misc mini metal tools from my stash for embellishments.

Page 4:

This is another gate fold page. I simply sliced the background paper in half to make the two pieces.  I also added some Scrapbooking Dazzles (from HOTP) that seemed appropriate embellishments for the bakery museum.

Pages 5 & 6 (inside the gate fold):

Close-up of center:

All work for this page was done on the computer - printing pictures as the grids of pictures you see here - and printing the title & journaling pieces.  Gluing all to a plain black background worked well.

Outside Panels:

The left-hand page was created using half a sheet of patterned paper from my stash.  As you can see, I matted the photos on a glossy brown paper (Shine Design paper from HOTP).  The right-hand page used half a small plaid background paper in colors that coordinated.  Embellishments are from my stash.

Pages 7 & 8:

Close up of Page 7:

You may notice that this page uses the remaining half sheet from the previous page.  In this case, I used a paper trimmer to cut a fancy edge - putting the narrow cut off piece along the right side.  The title is an enlargement of the signage on the picture of the museum itself.

Close up of Page 8:

As on page 2, I cut this page on the diagonal and added a white punched lace strip.  This time, the diagonal was not corner to corner, and the two pieces are NOT from the same paper.