BRAIDS FOR CHRISTMAS

Last week on Learning with Friends I shared the Technique on how to make this Braid Fun Fold.  The fun fold is what provides the interest to today's Christmas card featuring the Regal Reindeer Bundle.

I mainly purchased this bundle because of these 3 trees.  I was searching for a pine tree/Christmas tree in my stash of current stamp sets and discovered that I didn't really have any!  But after playing with the Reindeer and other critters on Monday, I've really been having fun with those!

However, since I mainly purchased the bundle for the trees, I thought it was time to use them, and they, along with the little girl, fit perfectly on this fun fold.  

The braided fold of the card is the eye catcher, so I wanted to keep the rest of the card relatively simple and it doesn't get much easier than stamping and die cutting with coordinating dies.

The Braid looks more difficult than it is.  But also, some things are easier to show how to do than to explain in words, so I hope the video is helpful.  If you missed Learning with Friends last week, you can always watch this replay on my YouTube Channel.

The background for the trees is Very Vanilla cardstock.  I tore a couple of strips at the bottom to add some "snow drifts".  After adhering them to the Very Vanilla, I used the Snowflake Sky 3D embossing folder to give it lots of texture.  I had only glued down the bottom edges of the  snow drifts, so after embossing it I used my finger nail to lift and rough up the edges.

 

The little girls is stamped with Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Stampin' Blends.  For all the details you can download a copy of the tutorial found at this link.

I found some retired metallic star embellishments in my stash, so I added two of them to the top of two of the trees.  The little girl is holding the 3rd one and ready to put it on the remaining tree.

To finish the inside, I added a strip of the same Meandering Meadows Designer Series Paper (DSP) that I used for the trees to the bottom of the Very Vanilla cardstock.  The sentiment is from Regal Reindeer stamp set.  

You can also see that a piece of the same DSP was used to cover the envelop flap.  No Naked envelopes!

A list of Products used is shown below.  For more information on any items, just click on the image and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! store where you can see more details or purchase.

Product List

Regal Reindeer Bundle (English)

[159728]

Double Oval Punch

[154242]

Pretty Peacock 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[150880]

Meandering Meadows 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[162735]

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[101650]

Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad

[150083]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Gray Granite Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154886]

Melon Mambo Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[153112]

Pretty Peacock Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154895]

Snowflake Sky 3 D Embossing Folder

[162026]

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

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STAINED MOSAIC FLORA FUN FOLD

For my last card today, I have one more Two-Tone Flora card.  This card is a simple Fun Fold with a partial front flap and also uses the Stained Mosaic Technique.  As I indicated yesterday that card was a bonus card because I had a brainstorm that turned out better than I thought it would.

I was working on the front focal point for this card and one of the other Stained Mosaic cards when I had the brainstorm to use designer series paper (DSP).  Wouldn't the front of this card be pretty DSP?

This is probably one of the brightest and cheeriest cards I have made in a long time.  The Daffodil Delight and Gorgeous Grape flowers are just so happy, aren't they?  When I mounted them to the Daffodil Delight, I couldn't help but smile.

To make the Stained Mosaic portion of this card, you need to create a "mosaic" stamp using leftovers of the rubber that our cling stamps come in.  All you need to do is save those rubber pieces that outline the stamps until you collect enough to cut them up and make a mosaic stamp that will look something like this.  I used an acrylic block, but you could also use a wood block.  You just need something to adhere the little rubber pieces to.

You will then ink that stamp with VersaMark and stamp over your Focal Image and heat emboss with clear embossing powder.  Next, take a sponge dauber (or tool of your choice) to add dark ink to the non-embossed spaces between the rubber.  For this card I used Black Memento ink to darken my spaces, but I also experimented with other colors on other cards. 

 Watch the video replay to see more examples.

When you have the spaces colored to your liking, wipe the embossed area with a clean paper towel. 

If needed, use a very slightly damp paper towel to clean the embossed areas, but be careful that it is only minimally damp.  If it is too wet, it can damage the non-embossed line areas of the cardstock.

To finish my card front I stamped the Thank You sentiment from Go to Greetings, and then stamped a couple of the tiny flowers on the punched scalloped oval.  I added a bit of sparkle to the flower centers with Rhinestones Basic Jewels.

I used the same flower cluster used on the sentiment to add a little decoration to the inside of the card.

If you would like a FREE TUTORIAL for today's card with all the cutting and scoring dimensions, use this link to download a copy.

A list of the products I used is shown below.  You can click on any image to get more information about that product.

I hope you have enjoyed the Two-Tone Flora cards this week and that today's bright and cheery card made you smile.  If you enjoyed the cards, will you leave me a note in the comments?  I'd love to hear from you!  

Product List

Two Tone Flora Bundle (English) [160414]	Go To Greetings Cling Stamp Set (English) [158763]	Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [119683]	Gorgeous Grape 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146987]
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad [147099]	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [147094]	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad [147087]
Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad [147095]	Rhinestone Basic Jewels [144220]	Stripes & Splatters 3 D Embossing Folders [157980]	Double Oval Punch [154242]
Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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RELAXING BY THE BAY

Today I used a few more of the products from the By the Bay Suite Collection.

The By the Bay Specialty Designer Series Paper that is part of this Suite of products has so many beautiful patterns that it was difficult to choose which ones to use.  I chose three different designs and each of these is a Specialty Paper -- meaning that it has some type of special effect on the design.

The two circles both have gold foiling as part of the design and the background paper has a somewhat iridescent effect mixed in with the watercolor design.  This paper reminded me of water glistening in the sunlight.  The colors are so soft and pretty, and it makes me think of sitting in the sand on a beach someplace.

Our Sandpiper friend has joined us again today, and I think he is thinking about the school of fish swimming behind him.

The grass reeds were die cut from Mint Macaron cardstock with dies from the Seaside Bay Dies.  The pretty Bashful Blue Ombre Ribbon is also part of this Suite.  This ribbon is so easy to work with.  It is a nice medium width but is not stiff or heavy, so it is extremely easy to tie into bows or simple double knots like I did for this card.

The sentiment is from the Seaside Bay stamp set, and since it never hurts to have a few sympathy cards on hand, I decided that the soft and calming colors in this card worked well for a sympathy card.  The sentiment and it's scalloped oval mat were both punch with the Double Oval Punch.

The inside sentiment is from the retired stamp set called Thoughts and Prayers.  This is another of those stamp sets that I will probably always hang on to as the sentiments are some of my long-time, go-to favorites.

A strip of the same designer series paper that I used for the background on the front of the card was added to the bottom edge on the inside.  You can also see that I used it again on the envelope flap which is peeking out from behind the card.

If you would like a tutorial for today's card, please use this link to download a free copy.

A list of current products used on the card is shown below.

Product List

Seaside Bay Bundle (English) [160445]	Layering Circles Dies [151770]	Double Oval Punch [154242]	Balmy Blue 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146982]
Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100867]	Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138337]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	By The Bay 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [160434]
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [147110]	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad [147105]	Balmy Blue/White 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Variegated Ribbon [160448]	Fine Sparkle Adhesive Backed Gems [159967]
Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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