More Holiday House

Holiday House #1: Here's a Christmas house - made using dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs Holiday House.  It took me most of the day to make it (which I suspect is why I like to have things made ahead rather than doing it as I make a card/scrapbook page).  The original die was designed to make the center section.  I chose to cut extras of the middle piece around the door to add on either side of the house to make it bigger. 

I inked various parts of the house to create some texture.  Then I colored the door frame, heart, and lights with red.  I colored the light strings and window frames with silver Sharpie, backing the windows with pieces colored with light yellow to effect light coming through them.  I covered the door frame, heart, and eaves with a clear glitter sheet and fussy cut around it.  I thought the Dazzles leaves worked great to form some small bushes & a Christmas tree in the window. Wreath is suede paper - as is the greenery in the window boxes.  Little red Dazzles complete those.  

Holiday House #2:  

This one was much more basic, as you can see.  I used the clear sticker on eaves, windows, and heart.  It's surprising, but all purple (except the roof/gingerbread) was colored with the same marker - just depended whether or not it was going over top of the clear glitter sticker.    Looking at these, I realize that both need door handles.  I probably won't come back to show the updated photo, but I will go and fix that.

2024 August Swaps

Swap card (above): "Tropical" is the theme for this month's swap card.  I decided to use Spellbinders Coastal Escape View die set from their Windows with a View collection.  These are such pretty dies with such a variety and were used to cut all the die cuts on the card front and the inside.  The white shell was a sticker from my stash, the sentiment was Hunkydory.  The background was from a wallpaper sample book.  I thought it gave the look of the inside of a ship's cabin looking out at the sea. I used Distress and Distress Oxide inks to color the die cuts and the background.  I also used a coordinating stencil called Background Scapes to try to create the look of waves in the water - though I must admit it DOES make better clouds than waves. :)

Inside:

It's a bit hard to tell from the picture, but the inside "portal" was cut from copper mirri.  The background was done the same as for the card front, and the coral, sea weed, and fish were from the same die cut set.  The inside sentiment was from one of my Crafter's Companion Compendium stamp sets - the page called Celebrate.

Materials Swap - Book related:

Here's the kit I created:

This was a challenging one for me!  It was supposed to be book related and it took me longer than I thought it should have to come up with a good idea for that.  Since characters from a book were an option, I decided to go with a nativity scene.  I sent a die cut nativity scene (Holy Night from Divinity Designs) and die cut greeting (Moonstone's A Christmas Miracle).  To that I added a card blank, white card stock, silver card stock, dark blue patterned paper, and a silver-edged white ribbon.

And here's what I made with it:

It's a bit hard to see in the picture because of reflected light off the silver.  I started by matting the blue with silver and gluing it to the card front so there was a bit of white around it.  Then I cut a hole in the center and glued the cut-out piece to the inside of the card.  I bordered the hole with silver and white frmaes, then cut the nativity piece apart, leaving the stable scene intact.  Next, I used a circle die to round the bottom to fit inside the hole.  I finished by adding the remaining figures as you see, a ribbon bow, and the sentiment (which says "A Christmas Miracle").

Inside:

I cut a silver circular frame that was larger than the hole so there would be no chance of seeing it from the outside.  I then used ink to cover the white between the blue circle and the silver frame.  After gluing the nativity scene in place, the only other thing was to add a strip of the blue at the bottom for a border.

Here's the kit my partner created:

It's a sheet from the HD Pop a Topper set called Ladies Choice and a few papers from her stash that coordinate with it. And here's what I made:

 

I had quite a challenge figuring out how I wanted to lay out this card.   I finally decided on the above with the sentiment on foam tape.

Inside:

As you can see, I went with more of the same for the inside.

Digi-Swap:

This card started with the three patterns and focal that I printed from a digital download.  I started by fussy cutting the bird focal and gluing it to a white mat.  I then added it to a blue dotted mat.  My background was the blue check - with a smaller yellow serving as a larger mat for the focal & sentiment.  I added a sneaky little kitty face & paws (Stampendous Pop-Up Kitties) - kitty on wobble spring, paws on foam tape.  The greeting is fuzzy alphabet stickers.

Inside:

As you can see, I used scraps to create a border on the inside.  The embellishment is from Sassy's LLC and says "A little birdy told me you weren't feeling well . . . so I ate it."

Flower Patch Pots

Today's cards come from a card making kit I was gifted - called Flower Patch Pots - made by Katy Sue Designs.  It came with 8 sets - 4 designs, two of each.  I shared with my Mom, so will only be making four.  The kit is designed to make shaped cards that look like a flower pot. 

Card #1: You can see the first one in the picture above.  The flowers are actually designed to be layered up papier tole style, but I find I prefer to glue them in such a way as to make a fuller looking set of flowers.  That is how I have flowers that seemingly cascade down the pot.  The center top pulls out of the flower pot pocket giving you a place to write your message (and showing you how I added the "cascading" flowers:

This card also has a stand on the back for display purposes.

When I get concept cards like these, I find that I seldom want to make them the way they were designed.  I usually make the first as directed to see what I think of it, then move on to do my own thing for the rest.   With this one, I may come back and re-do it as I have done for the rest of them!

Card #2:                                                                            

I decided I would much rather use these flower pots as focals on 5 x 7 cards.  After creating the pot base as directed, I decided I didn't care for the color of the pot, so cut a piece of orange gingham paper to cover it.  I used a piece of burnt orange card stock for the background - bordered by copper Jewel Border Dazzles from HOTP.  I took a scrap of this copper material and added it to the bottom edge of the pot's upper edge, fussy cutting to match.  Then I added a green ribbon around the whole & tied a bow before gluing it down.  Toward the top of the insert, I glued flowers and greeting from the kit (see picture below).  I also added a few roses by the bow and toward the bottom of the pot.

The flowers still pull out of the pot with a space for a private message (or maybe a gift card?), but the card also opens up:

I used scraps from the front to make a border for the inside of the card.

Card #3:

I created card #3 in a similar manner.  This time I used a strip of green patterned paper for the background - bordered by two narrow strips of yellow gingham - both papers from my stash.  I added a narrow white border sticker to create demarcation between the two.  After creating the pot as normal, I added the yellow border strip (that came in the kit) toward the bottom of the pot.  I also added a white border sticker along the lower edge of the pot's upper edge.  Flowers were arranged to create a much fuller bouquet.  The single flowers I used toward the bottom of the pot didn't have leaves, so I added some from my stash.

Inside:

Again I used scraps to make a border on the inside - then fussy cut flowers from the illustrations to decorate it.  The next picture shows the card front with the flowers pulled out of the pot.

Card #4:

This time I used a purple embossed glimmer paper for the background, along with a doily mat - inked with silver ink.  Embossed silver borders decorate the pot & form a border at the top.  The lip of the pot also has a couple of layers of ribbon, with a touch of that same ribbon peeking out from the sentiment (from the kit).  I used a silver sharpie to color over the gold edges of the sentiment so it coordinated better with the rest.

Card #1 RE-MAKE:

I DID decide to go back and modify the original flower pot to create a card similar to the others.  A marbled light pink forms the background with a piece of white doily at the bottom.  I added a couple of "fallen blossoms" to the lower left corner to cover a spot where the doily got messed up!  Then I needed to balance it with something in the upper right corner.  I used gold Jewel Dazzles covered with punched pieces from a lavender flower for that. I was fortunate to have those additional flowers available - an extra flower sheet had been included in my kit - probably stuck together because they were so thin.  Finally, I covered the original sentiment with another one - this time in pink - using foam tape for dimension.

KCC#10

I got a "new to me" set of Christmas 6 x 6 papers with coordinating card stock and die cuts from HOTP.  I wanted to use them for a KCC, but was tired of KCC15 and decided to go back to one I downloaded but never made up - KCC10.  Here's a picture of all 15 cards:

Next up is a closer look at each.

Card #1:

This first card started with a background panel with little embellishment in the lower left corner.  As you can see, I matted this multiple times - first dark blue, then white, then light blue, then the white card base.  I added some baker's twine, knotting it on the right side.  Above this, I layered a couple of the die cuts.  Lastly, I added some Dazzles holly backed with white card stock that I colored green - then added small red Dazzles "berries".

Card #2:

This one started with a wide patterned paper strip.  I matted this with dark blue then glued it to the light blue background.  I inked the edges of the background and glued it to the white card blank.  I added stickers to either side of the patterned paper matted strip and corner stickers to the upper left and lower right.  The focal is one of the coordinating die cuts - matted with white.

Card #3:

This time I have a patterned paper strip that forms a wide border along with a couple of narrow yellow strips - all glued to a light blue mat.  I glued this to the dark blue background before gluing it to the card blank.  I matted the other piece of patterned paper on yellow (after I die cut the sentiment from a portion that wouldn't show). I added a die cut piece to the upper left corner of the focal rectangle - to which I also added the sentiment.  Finally, I glued 3 little yellow dots to the upper right corner, and 3 corner stickers to portions of the patterned papers, before adding the gold thread bow.

Card #4:

Once again I used a blue mat to support the two pieces of patterned paper - using the lower one to mat the sentiment die cut.  I matted the focal die cut on blue, then yellow, then white.  I added a couple of yellow dots to which I added Jewel dazzles.  The final step was to add some embossed stickers - two in the upper corners, and then some border stickers around the sentiment.

Card #5:

This time I used a dark green for a background.  I embossed some lighter green panels with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots folder - then inked with a darker green ink before narrowly matting them on white.  For the center focal panel, I inked the edges before narrowly matting on white.  Then I matted the greeting die cut narrowly on white before adding with foam tape.  Finally, I added 3 die cut pine cones (die from a set I got in a card making magazine - set called Have a Holly Jolly Christmas) and a red bow from baker's twine as you see above.

Card #6:

Again I used the Swiss dots embossing folder for the background - this time inking it with a reddish color to coordinate with the rest of the card.  I DID modify this layout some to incorporate the sentiment I choose & let the paper do the work.  As you can see, I chose to mat my elements with both the reddish color and white. I also added a baker's twine bow from my stash.

Card #7:

This one is more or less a mirror image of the sketch - because otherwise the patterned paper would have been upside down.  After folding back the patterned paper and adding a couple of die cuts from the set, I added a little metal bow from my stash - and added Stickles for the center of it.

Card #8:

This time I embossed the green background (Ornaments Hung A2 embossing folder from Darice) - then colored the raised areas with a Gold Sharpie to create the look you see here.  Focal is a die cut from the set, matted in gold using a die from Spellbinders Scalloped Labels One.  I added a bit of baker's twine to form a bow.

Card #9:

I found this one a bit challenging given the color of the pieces.  I chose to use a mustard yellow card stock for the background.  I embossed it using a Fun Stamper's Journey embossing folder called Brocade.  I then inked the raised areas in a bit of a red color.  The tag is a die cut that matches the set.  Red Jewel Dazzles complete the card front.

Card #10:

Here I've joined 3 different papers together as per the sketch - except that I rotated it 90 degrees to form a landscape card.  The bow is die cut from glitter card stock (Spellbinders Build-a-Wreath die set) and the flowers beside the bow are die cut using Spellbinders die set called Holiday Blooms).

 

Card #11:

I turned this sketch horizontally and added my own elements on top of the background.  The white between panels of the background is a Dazzles border sticker - as is the border at the top and the Jewel Dazzles in the bottom right corner.  The focal & greetings are cutouts from this paper set.

Card #12:

This one has red border stickers between the panels, Jewel Dazzles in the upper left and lower right corners.  It also has die cut bow and greenery from Spellbinders cutting die set called Build-a-Wreath.

Card #13:

This probably would have looked better with some white border stickers, but I didn't think of it in time.  The focal greeting is one of the coordinating die cuts, finished off with baker's twine from my stash.

Card #14:

For this one, I used a stencil (The Crafter's Workshop Solace) with a light touch of red ink on the blank card front before adding the elements from the sketch.  As you can see, I matted them in red to match the red borders on the focal die cuts I layered up.  A baker's twine bow finished this card.

 

Card #15:

For this final card, I discarded the two small strips that were designed to go in a couple corners around the focal, and instead used baker's twine on each corner.  Other than that, the card follows the sketch, with wide mats of red for the elements and a narrow red mat for the background.

KCC #15 plus - from 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" mat stack

Today I'm starting another set of KCC15 cards using turquoise/green/black papers from an old DCWV mat stack called All Dressed Up.  

I chose to make a 16th card using a full panel from an extra DCWV page (see above).  I added a sentiment (Sassy's LLC) that was matted on a green glitzy paper - framed with some dazzles borders.  I added a bird cut out from my stash (which I matted on black) - and some black flowers attached to a green branch formed from the vein of a die cut leaf.

Here's a picture of all 15 KCC cards:

KCC15 #1:

As you can see, after gluing the triangles in place, I used black strips to border each.  I then took another piece of the turquoise print and cut the focal piece - which I matted on white and black.  I added Jewel Dazzles - and a diamond shaped innie from Jewel Border Dazzles.  A Sassy's LLC strip sentiment, matted on black, completed the card.

KCC15 #2:

 

For this one, because I was using 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 paper, I didn't have enough to cut 4 strips that were 1" wide.  I DID, however, have enough to cut 3 and then cut two 1/2" wide strips - so that's what I did!  Then it was a quick card to make.  I used a light aqua colored card base, matted the strips on a piece of black, and glued it in place.  Then, I matted a Sassy's LLC greeting on aqua and then black (the black was die cut with a Spellbinders die from the Splendid Circles set.  A piece of ribbon tied with a loose knot completed the card.

KCC15 #3:

After cutting white, aqua, and black mats with dies (Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Oval, Kat Scrappiness Double Stitched Ovals), I added an assembled die cut car (Spellbinders Gnome Drive Holiday). The sentiment is one my Mom created with her stamp/die set.  I used a fine-line black pen over top of the letters & inked the edges before adding it to the card front.

KCC15 #4:

Again I used a light aqua card blank.  I added a black ribbon between the two patterned papers before I matted it on black and glued it in place.  I added a matted Sassy's LLC greeting & some balloons created from Spellbinders Up in the Air View set of cutting dies.  For the silver one, I colored it with silver Sharpie marker & silver glittered embossing powder.

KCC15 #5:

This time I used a glittery teal card blank.  I think it made a beautiful backdrop for this card.  If I had been smart, I'd have inked the edges of the circles in black, but I didn't think of it until too late.  Anyway, the flowers are die cut from Spellbinders set Be Bold Blooms.  The sentiment is from Sassy's LLC with edge inked with distress ink.

KCC15 #6:

This was a pretty straightforward following of the sketch.  After matting the background with black and gluing it in place, I inked the edges of the circle mat before adding it and the white circle.  I added the 3 pink flowers (Spellbinders Garden Builder dies).  The sentiment is one that was stamped & die cut from a set of my Mom's.  I wanted a black ribbon bow, but didn't have narrow ribbon in that color, so took a silver one & colored it with a black Sharpie before making the bow.

KCC15 #7:

Again, I pretty well followed the sketch, but this time I started with a turquoise glittered card blank.  The green mat was from my stash (scallop at bottom was cut using my Fiskar's cutter).  As you can see, I matted everything with black.  The sentiment is one of Sassy's, which I colored with distress oxide ink.  Again I wanted a black bow so decided to cut one from paper since I didn't have the appropriate ribbon.  I finished it off with teal Jewel Dazzles.

KCC15 #8:

Because of the colors in this one, I reversed the order of the large flags from the sketch, so the teal would be at the bottom. As you can see, I started with a silver glitter card base and inked the edges of the flags.  The circle was cut with a die from Kat Scrapiness Double Stitched Circles.  The tree was created using dies from Spellbinders Backyard Haven.  Unfortunately, after I got it glued to the card I realized that I really needed to change the colors of the leaves - and didn't do as good a job as I would have liked with that, but thankfully it's not that noticeable IRL. The sentiment is another of Sassy's - which I matted in black.  The last thing I did was to add white Jewel Dazzles to the small upper flag - along with a black line sticker.

KCC15 #9:

This time I chose to use Dazzles to decorate this card.  The card base is silver glitter.  The black mats & flag is glimmer paper.  The sentiment is Sassy's and the rest are black Dazzles bordered with silver and backed with white card stock.

KCC15 #10:

Such a simple card, but I like it quite well.  The two patterned pieces are laid out as per the sketch.  I added a light blue mat and used the same light blue and a ribbon as border.  I added some White Thin Line Dazzles on the edges, then matted the Sassy's sentiment with two die cut mats (both Spellbinders: blue is from Splendid Circles, white is from Teardrop Circles).

KCC15 #11:

Here I added a light blue background & mat for download sentiment from Debbi Moore.  I simply finished it with teal Jewel Dazzles.

KCC15 #12:

This time, my search through my stash uncovered this gem encrusted kitty which I decided would make a good focal for this card.  As you can see, I used a white card blank and matted my papers with light blue.  The sentiment is one that was stamped and die cut from a sentiment set my Mother has.

KCC15 #13:

This card and the next are great sketches for using several patterned papers together - both cards follow the sketches fairly closely.  For this card, I used a teal glitter card blank and white mats.  The sentiment was a stamp/die of my Mom's.  The kite was from my stash.  The green of the kite was a little too yellow, but a touch of distress oxide ink fixed that.

KCC15 #14:

I thought this Sassy's sentiment was perfect for this layout.  I may add a strip sentiment on the strip below when I know who my recipient will be.  As you can see, I used light blue mats - embossing the main one with Cuttlebug's Dotted Swiss.  The mat for the sentiment was punched from a paper that had alcohol inks added.

KCC15 #15:

I must admit that this last sketch isn't my favorite.  This time I made it as a dress with lacy collar.  I used Dazzles stickers for the "buttons", neckline, and necklace.