Monday, November 9, 2026

THE CHRISTMAS BANDSTAND CREW

This week I am featuring the adorable Christmas Crew Bundle.  This might be my favorite product in the September - December Catalog.  These little guys are so cute.  You just can't help but smile.

Today's card gives you a peak of all three of the Christmas Crew members.  You only see the heads of the Reindeer and the Bear, but with their full stamps they are also holding signs to send their message.

This view of the card gives you a better understanding of the Bandstand Fun Fold.  Isn't it fun?  It's a great card to send to someone who loves to display their cards.  This card stands on its own beautifully and is very 3D!

Here's a closer view of each of the crew!  The small die cut trees around each one of them are quickly made with a die from the bundle.  The die cuts two trees at once -- the larger one to the left of the snowman and the smaller one to his right.

I also used a larger one behind the Reindeer and the second smaller one to the left of the bear.

The Reindeer, Bear and their trees are adhered to the back of the bottom band of the Bandstand card.


Since there is no place to sign the card on the "inside", I used the back of the center panel to create a place for my personalized message.  This sentiment is from an old favorite retired Christmas Greeting set, Hope & Peace.

Use this link to download a tutorial for the card.  I created a video for a Bandstand Fun Fold back in 2025.  It obviously isn't for this specific card, but it may be helpful to better understand my step-by-step directions on the tutorial.  Enjoy!


A list of the products I used for this card is shown below.  Click on any image to learn more or to make a purchase.


Product List

Thursday, November 5, 2026

PAINTED COLLAGE ECLIPSE CARD

Today I am using the Painted Collage Designer Series Paper (DSP) to create my very first Eclipse card.  I became aware of this technique in the last couple of months and finally got around to trying it.

The Eclipse Technique creates a dimensional floating 3D effect on a card front.  You can do this in a variety of ways, but for today's card I chose to make my balloon the "eclipse" portion of the card.


The balloon was die cut with a Balloon Festoon die from a piece of the Painted Collage Designer Series Paper (DSP) and then cut into strips.  The strips were reassembled to a Basic White die cut alternating between adhering a strip directly to the Basic White balloon and adhering one with dimensionals.

Before cutting the strips I adhered the DSP balloon to a Basic White balloon die cut backing to provide some stiffness for the strips that were being popped up with dimensionals.

This video will better explain the process.

Once the Eclipse balloon was created, the rest of the card was kept simple to keep the focus on the balloon.

For all the cutting details and step-by-step directions use this link to download a tutorial that can be used in conjunction with the video to create your own version of an eclipse card.

Don't limit yourself to using a die cut element.  You can also die cut large letters in your card front.  Elevate the letters above the surrounding cardstock or DSP to create your focal point.   You can also use a beautiful piece of DSP and cut it into strips and then reassemble using the eclipse technique.

HINT:  When using DSP, I recommend using a piece of cardstock as a backing to provide more rigidity when popping up DSP strips with dimensionals.

For the inside of the card I simply die cut a smaller balloon from the same DSP and added a little strip of the DSP along the bottom.  Super simple, but it continues the "balloon theme" to the inside of the card.

If you don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would love to be your demonstrator.  Ordering is quick and easy using the product list below. 

Click on any image to learn more about that specific product or to make a purchase.

Product List

Monday, November 2, 2026

ARCHED NOTES OF COLLAGE

This week I am highlighting products from the Painted Collage Suite from Stampin' Up!  This unique suite is a brand-new November Online Exclusive that will become available tomorrow, November 3, 2026.  

If you love creating cards in the collage style, then this is a great suite for you.  If you love collage style cards but struggle creating them (like me), then this suite is also a great suite for you.

The Painted Collage Designer Series Paper (DSP) is what I would describe as Contemporary Collage.  The designs are abstract and geometric.  The color combinations are unique but so pretty.   The DSP is what first caught my eye, but because I love seeing the collage style, but struggle creating it, I also purchased the Notes of Collage bundle from the suite.  The stamp set and dies include some beautiful images that will work great for all types of cards.

For today's card I decided to combine the suite with the Everyday Arches Dies.  A layer of the Painted Collage DSP was added to the front of the Lost Lagoon card base to create a soft background before adding the arched focal point. 


Several of the stamps and dies from the Notes of Collage Bundle were used to create the design on the arch.  Colors used were Lost Lagoon, Secret Sea and Golden Glow.  For all the details, download a FREE TUTORIAL to recreate the card with your favorite colors.


For the inside of the card I stamped the "frilly" leaf image with Golden Glow ink and then added a strip of the DSP across the bottom.

A list of the products used is shown below.  Today the Painted Collage products are only available to demonstrators, so I've listed those items separately.  November Online Exclusives will be available to everyone tomorrow, November 3, 2026.
  • Painted Collage Suite                                    Item #169775
  • Painted Collage Designer Series Paper        Item #169761
  • Notes of Collage Bundle                                Item #169769
There are also dditional products included in the Painted Collage Suite that I did not use. So, I've only listed the items that I used.

Product List