HD Animal Kingdom - Born to Stand Out

Today's set of cards comes from Hunkydory's Animal Kingdom Kit - the set called Born to Stand Out. Here's a picture of the set.

As you can see, there are two sheets of AS (Adoreable Scoreable printed card stock) and one sheet of die cuts.  I'm calling the AS - Flamingo AS and Peacock AS.  And here's a picture of all but the first one (the first one got sent out before I finished the set):

So, I got a total of 6 cards from this set - had a little AS left over, so I put it with the matching Whopper Toppers that I have.

Card #1: 

As you can see, I made it as an aperture card.  It was pretty quick & easy - hardest part was cutting the aperture (and that wasn't bad since I could just trace the shape with a pencil).  I cut it out of the AS (adorable scoreable card stock that came in the set) first - a bit larger than I wanted the opening since I knew the frame would cover it.  Then I cut it out of the card front itself.  Next I glued the AS and frame in place (trimming the card front a little where it showed.)  I put adhesive on the focal, closed the card & slipped the focal through the aperture so it would be placed correctly.  Then I added the die cut sentiment from the set to complete the card.  Here's a view of it when closed:

Card #2:

This second card is also an aperture card - this time a tri-fold. When closed it looks like you see it in the picture above.  I used 4 die cuts from the set for this card - the focal, 2 frames, and the sentiment - and you can see all of them from the front - though not all are ON the front.  

I created the card base from a single sheet of letter-sized card stock - laid horizontally on my score board, I scored at 3 3/4" and 7 1/2".  

For this front panel, I cut a piece of plaid patterned paper (old HOTP) 3 1/2" x 8 1/4" and glued it to the card front - making sure there was plenty of glue where I intended to cut out the aperture.  After gluing the background panel in place, I decided where I wanted to cut the aperture - cutting it just slightly bigger than the opening in the frame (I used my set of nesting circle dies from Lifestyle for all of these circle cuts).  After cutting through the card front, I added my frame (from the set) around the hole.  

For the sentiment I used a circular piece cut from the next panel and inked the edges - then placed it towards the bottom & added the sentiment piece on top.  That still looked a little plain, so I added some gold leaf die cuts to mimic those in the focal.  (Cutting dies are from Card Making Magic's A5 Card & Box set of dies.)

Inside #1:

As we open the first flap, we see the above.  This time the background paper is something I printed from a freebie download - once again cut a bit smaller than the panel itself.  I cut a larger circle out of it than I did of the card base, so I would create the look of a white mat around the framed focal.  After adding the gold frame, I added a sentiment I printed on my computer.

Inside #3:

This time I just cut through the background paper - not the entire card (once again cutting the background paper smaller than the panel itself to create a white border.  Again I cut the hole in the background paper a bit larger than the focal so it would like like a white mat around it.  After gluing the paper & focal in place, I added another printed sentiment.

Card #3:

This card is a Z-fold card.  The beautiful card front is cut from the peacock AS.  I inked a stamped sentiment and added it to the card front.

Opened:

When it's opened, you see that both outside panels are cut from the peacock AS, but the inside panel is cut from patterned paper from my stash - an old HOTP print.  I printed a sentiment for the inside, and inked it before adding it to the middle panel as you see here.

Card #4:

I had printed a freebie download that I thought would work for the background of this card, but the color wasn't right.  So, I added ink until I was happy with it.  As you can see, I matted the focal in it's frame using white card stock from my stash.  I also cut the word "thanks" from the white card stock using a HOTP die.  Three round embellishments adorn the upper right corner.

Inside:

Another printed sentiment - again inked - and a scrap of the inked piece used on the front complete the inside of this card.

Card #5:

Here I cut a panel from the Flamingo AS to form the main part of the card front.  I added a border strip which I stole from the coordinating Whopper Topper.  I inked a sentiment from my stash - and matted it with white before adding it here.

Inside:

A strip of the AS forms a border while another printed sentiment (that I inked) completes the inside.

Card #6:

The final card in this set is an interactive gate fold.  I used panels cut from the peacock AS for the background and then simply assembled the die cuts - making sure they each were only adhered to half of the card front.

Inside:

A panel of old HOTP paper forms the backdrop for the inside.  I added a couple pieces of white card stock - one for a border at the top from which the remaining die cuts hang, and one for a message that I'll write to the recipient (when I figure out who that is!) :D

This really was a beautiful set, and I have some pretty cards to prove it.  They also are more varied in structure than I sometimes manage, so I'm quite pleased with them.

Some Digi Thank You Cards

Today I'm making some Thank You cards - and I need to get them made quickly.  I had some digi paper (freebie downloads that I printed) on my desk and decided to use it to make some quick cards.

Card #1:

This first card was SO quick & easy!  I started with the background digi print - printed to size for my card.  I matted it with black and had my card mostly done - just needed a sentiment.  I went looking through my stash and found a die cut "thanks" on cream colored card stock.  I added some ink, matted it with black, and added it to my card - front's done.

Inside:

A simple stamp from CCC's (Crafter's Companion Compendium) Thank You set, and the inside was done.

Card #2:

Moving right along, I saw this patterned paper - printed digi paper that was leftover from another card I made.  I cut it to size for the card front.  Cut a couple of banner strips in pink & purple, found a circle on my desk (the green fern - leftover from a previous card), cut a larger white circle, and put it all together to form the base for my focal & sentiment.  The focal itself was pieces of flowers & leaves that were left over from a previously used card kit (original card is first one in this post).

Inside:

Scraps from the card front form borders top & bottom - and a stamped image (again from the CCC Thank You set) completes the inside.

HD Christmas Classics 2021 - Goodwill to All

Today I have 5 cards from a 2021 Hunkydory kit called Christmas Classics - the set called Goodwill to All.  Here's a picture of the set I started with:

As you can see, it consists of two AS sheets (adoreable scoreable printed card stock) and one sheet of die cuts.  The AS sheet on the left I refer to as the "blue" one, and the one on the right as the "red" one. It was interesting to note that the die cut sheet was quite a bit flimsier than the the 2016 one I used yesterday!  I wonder if that's a change they've made across the board, or just for this kit.  I'll have to take note and see!  I didn't add much to this kit to complete my cards - a bit of white paper/card stock, a bit of gold card stock, and some sentiments from a Hunkydory Little Book of Essential Christmas Sentiments (LB).

Here are the 5 cards that I made:

 Now for a closer look at each:

Card #1:

First up is an interactive gate fold card. I cut part of the blue AS to create background panels for the card front - after scoring and folding the card base as a gate fold card.  Then I simply glued the frame to the left side (only) and the focal to the right side (only).  Quick & easy!

Inside:

Here I took part of the border from the blue AS, fussy cut the green part off, and added it as a border at the top of the card.  Then I added a couple of stamped verses.  Both stamps come from Divinity Designs - the first from the set called Great Joy stamp/die duo, and the 2nd from their Christmas Card Scriptures set.

Card #2:

Next up is a really quick & easy card.  The background is from the red AS.  I backed one of the die cut frames with white & turned it on point - then added a die cut focal.  The sentiment is from the LB of sentiments.

Inside:

Once again I used a border piece from the blue AS - again fussy cutting the green off (this time from the top).  The sentiment is stamped from the CCC (Crafter's Companion Compendium) Believe in the Magic stamp set.

Card #3:

You probably recognize the background piece of blue AS by now - this time with the border intact.  I matted the focal & sentiment on white before adding as you can see in the picture.

Inside:

This time the border piece on the inside does not have the green removed.  The stamped greeting is again from CCC's Believe in the Magic stamp set.

Card #4:

I think this may be my favorite of the cards from this set.  As you can probably figure out, the background came from the red AS sheet, but this time I overlaid it with a gold die cut lattice piece (Circles 3x8 by Cutting Edge).  That dresses it up SO much!  Then I just added two of the die cut pieces - one of which had a greeting already on it.

Inside:

Inside I used a piece of the leftover red AS & pieces from a cut-apart die cut frame to form borders top & bottom.  The sentiment is again stamped with a stamp from CCC's Believe in the Magic.

Card #5:

This card front looks pretty elaborate, but it was really quite simple. The main part of it is cut from the red AS sheet - including the focal.  I added a piece of cut-apart frame to the top to better fit the card base (same die cut frame as used on the inside of the previous card).  Then I simply added a die cut sentiment toward the bottom and it was DONE!

Inside:

Inside I simply have a border piece and a stamped sentiment.  This one is from an un-named & no brand name set I call simply Christmas Word Stamps. 

And there you have it.  Five cards from a pretty HD set.

HD Christmas Classics 2016 - O Holy Night

Today I have 6 cards made from the 2016 Hunkydory kit called Christmas Classics - the set called O Holy Night. 

Here are the materials in that kit (to which I added a bit of red, gold, and white card stocks from my stash):

As you can see, there's one sheet of die cuts, and two sheets of AS (adoreable scoreable printed card stock) - not enough focals to create 6 cards.  I used coordinating LB (little book) pages for the rest.

Here's a picture of the 6 cards:

And now a closer look at each - all printed materials are from the kit unless otherwise indicated.  Note that several have die cut "music notes" added - these are cut from gold using Music Panels dies from Paper Discovery.

Card #1:

This first uses a portion of the blue AS.  In order to have the border top and bottom, I had to slice a piece out between the two borders & tape it back together before gluing the background in place.  I saved that leftover piece for the inside.  Then, I matted the greeting & focal in white and added the focal with foam tape for dimension.  The last touch was adding a few music notes (see note above).

Inside:

For the inside, I sliced the leftover piece in half lengthwise & matted them on scraps of gold to form borders top & bottom.  The sentiment is stamped using a stamp from CCC (Crafter's Companion Compendium) Believe in the Magic.

Card #2:

Next up is a card made using a piece of the other AS for a background - this time matted with red before added to the card.  I decided the focal stood out better when matted on white.  I added that and the greeting with foam tape.  I also added a few music notes.

Inside:

Inside I used two pieces cut from the border strip to form borders top & bottom.  As you can see, I matted them with red.  The stamped greeting is again from CCC Believe in the Magic.

Card #3:

Next up is another card made using a piece of the blue AS.  This time I matted the whole thing with gold.  Next I trimmed a LB page to fit and glued it in place.  Finally, I simply added a couple of die cut greetings from a HD Essential Book of Christmas Sentiments and called it good.

Inside:

Inside is simply another stamped message - again from CCC Believe in the Magic.

Card #4:

This card again used a piece of the yellow AS for a background, but I added red mat & red strips before adding a trimmed down LB page.  A sentiment from the set was matted in red before being added to the upper left corner.  A few music notes complete the card front.

Inside:

Here I combined the last piece of yellow AS (except what was used as background/focal for the next card), a piece of red, and a couple of die cuts from the set (oval one matted on red) with a gold die cut I had in my stash (Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight) to create a focal on the inside of the card.

Card #5:

This card is mostly the picture part of the yellow AS.  I cut it apart and lengthened it by adding the remaining piece of border - then matted all on gold.  A few music notes & treble clef (from same die set) complete the outside.

Inside:

I thought this piece would make a great bookmark, so added it to the inside with low tack tape so it could easily be removed for that purpose.

Card #6:

This last card uses the remaining piece of blue AS - matted with gold.  Then I added a die cut gold mat & die cut gold LB page for the focal (Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Nine).  The sentiment looked too plain, so I matted it with gold also.

Inside:

Inside I added a portion of a second LB page and a die cut in red (Creative Expressions Joy to the World).