Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge - Week 97

Yes, it's Wednesday. Again. But really... how can I be expected to get this card made, photo'd, and blogged in one day? Maybe if I didn't have a 3.5 year old and 3 month old in the house. In all honesty, I think we're lucky I get this card up as 'early' as I do, lol! So this week's challenge was a bit less out of the box for me, though I would definitely not have come up with this design myself!
I decided to use the retired Unfrogettable stamp set for this card. I need to make more cards for Belly Laughs and this was a nice simple design so I though, why not? Here's what I came up with... simple but sweet, I think.


My card recipe for this 'hoppy' card includes:

Stamp Set: Unfrogettable (retired)
Card stock: Wild Wasabi (retired), Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP (retired)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Basic Black, VersaMark
Accessories: Wide Oval Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Watercolor Wondercrayons - Earth Elements, Aqua Painter, Sizzix Big Shot, Scalloped Circles #2 Die, Button Latte, Linen Thread, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon

That's it for this Mon... er Wednesday! Keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge - Week 96

This week's sketch challenge was definitely outside the box for me. I never would have thought to create a background with three equal strips of DSP.


When I saw this week's sketch design, I thought it would make a wonderful wedding shower card. My friend asked me to make a couple of cards for her, including a shower, so I used the challenge as my basis for this card. I think it turned out beautifully and I hope the bride-to-be loves it!


The card recipe for this card includes
Stamp Sets: She's All That (retired), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze Regular and Textured (retired), Berry Bliss DSP (retired), Confetti White
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Big Shot, Scalloped Circle Die #2, Heat Tool, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Designer Label Punch, Flower Fusion Too, Chocolate Chip Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

3D Pop-Up Card Tutorial

I had so much positive feedback on the 3D pop-up card that I made for my Father-in-Law. However, everyone was rather disappointed that I didn't include a tutorial for this type of card. So last week I sat down, made this pop-up card, and made sure to document every step! This is my first tutorial, so hopefully it all makes sense! Any feedback is appreciated :) Have fun making your own pop-up card and be sure to show me the final result! Or join me at my 3D Birthday card class on Sunday September 13th to make 2 3D Pop-Up Cards and 2 Shadow Box Cards. Contact me for more details!

Step 1

Cut an 8-1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock to 8-1/2" x 8-1/2". I like to use textured cardstock, with the textured side facing 'out' so that you can see the texture when the card is folded up.


Step 2

Score your cardstock at 4-1/4" on each side, so you'll have your cardstock scored into four quadrants. You'll also need to score on quadrant in half diagonally. To do this, place your cardstock diagonally onto your Scor-Pal or paper cutter making sure that both corners are on the score line. Hold cardstock in place carefully and score the one quadrant diagonally - this is where the card will 'fold in'.



Step 3

Once all the scoring has been done, orient your cardstock with the diagonal score line in the top right quadrant. Then, cut the score line between the two bottom quadrants as shown.


Step 4

Fold your cardstock along all the score lines with a bone folder to ensure crisp folds. Once all the folds have been made, bring the bottom right quadrant over to the left and adhere to the bottom left quadrant and adhere with a strong adhesive (such as Stampin' Up!'s Sticky Strip). Your card will now stand up and you're ready to create your scene.


Step 5

Create your scene in the card. I used the Razzleberry Lemonade DSP to enhance the backgrounds of this card. I also used SU!'s Sticky Strip to adhere all pop-up elements to make sure that they stayed firmly on the card as these cards are often manipulated a lot ;)

You may be wondering how to create the 'pop-up' elements on the card. Cut a piece of cardstock, 1/4" or 1/2" depending on the width of your pop-up element, and fold into a square or rectangle. Adhere one side to your element, one side to your card (with Sticky Strip) as shown below. Make sure to take into account the folding of the card when including your pop out elements. Don't place them right on the bottom of the card as they'll be crushed during folding. Before adhering them, be sure to check that the card folds properly with the element in place.


Since the card will always tend to 'pop-up', I like to make a belly band to hold the whole thing together. This is easy to do. Use a 1-1/2" x 8-1/2" piece of cardstock, scored at 2" and 6-1/2". You'll be left with a 1/4" gap at the front of the belly band. This is easily hidden with a decorative elements, such as the flower on scalloped circle on my card.


The card recipe for this card includes:
Stamp Sets: Sock Monkey, Pun Fun, Family Phrases
Cardstock: Melon Mambo (textured and regular), Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Confetti White, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Write, Soft Suede Stampin' Write, Dusty Durango Stampin' Write, Crushed Curry Stampin' Write, Melon Mambo Stampin' Write, VersaMarker
Accessories: Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Stampin' Dimensionals, Tombo Mono Adhesive, Chunky Glitter Essentials, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Sticky Strip

That's it for today. Keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

July Stamper's Group Projects

As I mentioned in this post, one focus in our demo magazine was 3D cards. So for our stamper's group this month I decided to try out another type of 3D card - a shadow box card. The idea behind this card is simple, create a shadow box with cardstock and place your scene inside, message on the outside. The trick is to make your scene 3D as well, using dimensionals, etc., to give the shadow box elements depth. I also wanted to showcase the new In Colors so our shadow box was made of Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede and Melon Mambo textured cardstock.

The great thing about this shadow box is that it fits into a standard A2 card envelope! It is constructed with two pieces of 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cardstock, each scored at 1/2" and 1" on both ends (cardstock in landscape orientation). The front and back pieces of the cardstock are adhered together using Sticky Strip - just to make sure that the shadow box stays together if it's manipulated a lot by admirers - which it most certainly will! :)

The card recipe for this Forest Friends shadow box card is:

Stamp Sets: Forest Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock:Soft Suede Textured, Rich Razzleberry Textured, Melon Mambo Textured, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Basic Grey, Old Olive
Accessories: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Modern Label Punch, Slit Punch, Crushed Curry 1/2" Grosgrain Ribbon, Soft Subtles Buttons (retired), Vintage Brads, Linen Thread, Paper Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Stampin Dimensionals, Sticky Strip

Our second card involved lots of brayering and two resist techniques: wax resist and emboss resist. We used the new Animal Stories stamp set and made a jungle-themed birthday card. I especially love the look of wax resist, which involves taking crumpled wax paper and ironing it on glossy cardstock (make sure to use a cloth between your iron and the wax paper so that you don't ruin your iron!). Then brayer over the cardstock with a dark color - we used Chocolate Chip - and wipe off excess ink with a tissue or paper towel. The ink will only adhere to the areas where there is no wax creating a safari looking effect.

For emboss resist, the image is embossed in white on Whisper White cardstock. Then ink is brayered over the cardstock and the embossed image 'resists' being ink, causing it to stand out from a colored background. Much more so than if it was simply embossed on coloured cardstock. We used Crushed Curry only, but you can use more than one color to create neat color gradient effects. The ink doesn't adhere to the embossed image and causes it to pop out. On this image we also sponged chocolate chip around the edges to help the giraffe stand out.

The card recipe for this emboss resist card is:

Stamp Sets: Animal Stories, Family Phrases
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Whisper White, Glossy White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry, VersaMark
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Sponge Daubers, Heat Tool, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Brayer, 1" Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Wax Paper, Iron

Enjoy and keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge - Week 95

Okay, so I know it's Tuesday. But I did make this card on Monday, just didn't get a chance to post it 'til today. Life with two kids sometimes gets in the way of blogging :p Who would've thought? LOL!

It's my second week doing these sketch challenges and I love it! It forces me to think outside 'my' box and use DSP and embellishments in ways I'm not used to. For example, I would've never thought to place elements on my card on an angle like in this week's sketch. Or I wouldn't usually use DSP for my background for fear of making my card too 'busy'. But, I'm quite pleased with what I came up with and although it's busier than what I'm used to, I also think it 'simple' enough to be pretty.

So here's what I came up with, using the retired Sweet Always DSP and 'Merci' stamp set for inspiration.

The card recipe for my Mojo Monday Week 95 Sketch Challenge is:
Stamp Set: Merci (retired)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Pixie Pink, Whisper White, Sweet Always DSP (retired)
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Big Shot, Simple Flower Embosslit, Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads, 1/16" Hole Punch, 1" Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Ribbon, 1/4" Pretty in Pink Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Perfect Plum Stampin' Write, Pretty in Pink Stampin' Write, Summer Sun Stampin' Write, Basic Black Stampin' Write

The other thing I love about these sketch challenges is that I have carte blanche to use retired SU! products. Of course I can use them in all my creations, but I much prefer to use current products so that my customers can recreate them if they want. There's nothing worse than a customer falling in love with something and having to tell them it's not available!

I hope you enjoy this week's sketch challenge, it gives you some inspiration as well and keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!