Monday, November 17, 2025

FRIENDLY FOLIAGE Birthday

This week I am featuring a new November Online Exclusive Bundle called Friendly Foliage.  What attracted me to it was that it was a little different than all the other "foliage" stamps and dies that I have.

This foliage in a frame is one stamp, but then it can be die cut with one or two dies.  One of the coordinating dies cuts the outside perimeter of the frame and the foliage that extends beyond the frame.  A second die cuts the inside of the frame and all the spaces between the foliage.


For this card, I decided to use only the die that cuts inside of the frame.  This leaves a window where you can see through the foliage.  I thought that was cool!  It also allows you to have a wider frame around the image.

For my card when you look through the window you see a background that I created with the Shaving Cream Technique.  I just love this technique because it creates such unique patterns.  No two are ever the same.

If you have not tried this technique you can watch this video to see how it is done.

Yes, it can be a little messy, but it is so much fun -- and it is shaving cream, so it cleans up easily with soap and water.

Here is a closer look at the shaving cream scene behind my foliage.


I used fall colors for my "all white" card.  For the Shaving Cream Technique I used Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie & Crushed Curry ink refills.  The foliage is stamped with Cajun Craze.

I kept the inside of the card very simple.  I embossed the left edge with the Beautiful Pattern Embossing Folder (also a November Online Exclusive) which I used on the card front and then added a couple of narrow little scraps of the Technique Sheet to the right of the embossing.

Be sure to come back later this week to see the other ways to use this Friendly Foliage bundle.

Use this link to download a tutorial with all the details for today's card.

A list of the products used is shown below:


Product List

Friday, November 14, 2025

FESTIVE SNOWMAN

I saved my favorite card this week to last.  There is something about these adorable Festive Friends characters that just make me smile every time I use them!


Today I using the tearing technique with the Two-Tone Cardstock.  I've used the "tearing" technique on and off over the years, but it was usually associated with a "vintage" or "grunge" style of card.  And since I don't often make cards in that style, I tend not to use this technique much.

When you tear Two-Tone cardstock it gives you a white edge which I like--not at all vintage.    In fact, I really like the torn appearance for snow drifts like these.


I used Cloud Cover two-tone cardstock and alternated using the dark and the light sides.

Depending on the direction you tear the cardstock you will get the white edge on either the dark or the light side.  So, pay attention to the direction you tear.  When you tear it, the back side of one piece will have the white edge and the front edge of the other piece will have the white edge.   For my snow, I just flipped one of them over and used both pieces.

Before creating the "snow", I used a Blending Brush and Secret Sea ink for the sky.  I envisioned a dark night sky with a full moon.  However, I initially forgot to mask the moon.  So, I placed a 1" circle mask over the inked area and added more ink.   I kept it lighter near the moon and darker farther away, creating a clear outline.  The result was unexpectedly pleasing -- a fortunate crafting mistake.

The small trees on the horizon line and the large trees on the left were die cut with dies from Light & Wonder Dies.

The little snowman from Festive Friends Stamp Set was given a bright, multi-colored hat with Stampin' Blends and his scarf was colored with one of the colors in the hat.  

The sentiment is from Festive Friends and was die cut with the Traditional Label Die.  Did I say how much I love the Traditional Labels Dies?  They are SO VERSATILE with many different shapes and sizes.


To provide a base of snow for my snowman on the inside of the card I added a couple of leftover torn strips from the card front.  The sentiment is from the Jolly Holly stamp set.  This is another stamp set that has received a LOT of use this season -- this greeting in particular.  I like that it is tall and narrow in shape and the sentiment sounds like me.

Use this link to download a tutorial with all the details of today's card.

A list of the products I used is shown below.

Product List

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

A THANKSGIVING FUN FOLD

It has been a long time since I made a Double Z fun fold.  It had been so long that I couldn't remember the dimensions for cutting and scoring the two card bases, so I had to try to find one of my old tutorials.

That's when I realized how long it had actually been.  I finally found one, and it was from 2023!  I used to make this fun fold all the time because it is very easy but looks complicated.

It is also a great way to show off a Designer Series Paper (DSP) Collection because there are so many different panels that you can use several different designs on the same card.  This card today uses four different patterns from the gorgeous Gathering Together DSP.

My challenge (to myself) this week was to use Two-Tone Cardstock, and I thought this Double Z Fun Fold would be a good way to use both sides and show off the two shades.

The large Double Z card base is made with the dark side of Pecan Pie two-tone, and the small Double Z card base is made with the light side of Pecan Pie two-tone.  


All stamped images and greetings on today's card are from the Amber Autumn Bundle.  These leaves are so much fun to color.  I'll admit that my version of these oak leaves don't look much like my neighbor's oak leaves that now cover my grass.  Those are pretty much just a solid brown.  If I'd colored mine with solid Pecan Pie, that is about what the ones on the grass look like, but who wants solid brown leaves on a card?  Not me, so I gave them a little "unrealistic" colors.

I chose colors from the DSP, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, and a tiny touch of Old Olive Stampin' Blends to color my leaves.  Since we do not have Crushed Curry Stampin' Blends, I substituted Daffodil Delight.

If you would like to make a Double Z Fun Fold, use this link to download a tutorial with all the cutting & scoring dimensions.

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

Product List