For the 4th Post of Christmas, Snowflakes!

 

Not that I'm hoping for snow quite yet, but...I always feel like Snowflakes are a cheerful way to say Happy Holidays.  Every year, I hope for snow, but we're rarely lucky enough.  However, I know that many people celebrate the Winter Holiday season without any cold or snow at all.  Maybe one day I'll do a card with sun and sand...now there's an idea!  Wherever you are celebrating this year, I hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season!  Here's how I made this card:

The Snowflake Splendor Suite in the August - December 2020 Mini Catalog (pp. 36-38) is great for adding a lot of sparkle to your Holiday projects.  I let the colors of the suite drive my design.  The card base is Balmy Blue, and I built from there.  Pacific Point cardstock is next followed by a piece of the Snowflake Splendor Designer Series Paper.  Next came a small piece of Balmy Blue cardstock and then a piece of Whisper White stamped with snowflakes from the Snowflake Wishes stamp set (p.38).  They're stamped in Pool Party, Balmy Blue, Pacific Point and Highland Heather.  I love that the suite makes use of non-traditional colors (like the Heather).   What a fresh look.  The sentiment is also from the Snowflake Wishes stamp set and is stamped in Pacific Point.

Now for the accents.   I die cut 3 snowflake for this card using the So Many Snowflakes dies (p. 38).  One out of Pool Party cardstock, one out of Pacific Point cardstock, and the third out of the Balmy Blue Glimmer Paper (p. 37).  One final addition was a Blue Adhesive-Backed Gem (p. 37, as well).  Enjoy the sparkle!

 

Trees for the 3rd Post of Christmas.

 

Here's a classic Christmas Tree for the 3rd Auction Card.  For this card, I'm using up retired product and featuring some new things, as well.  Those Gold Foil-Edged Cards (with Envelopes) are leftovers from last year's catalog.  In the interest of using things up, I decided they would be perfect to accent this card.  

The Shaded Spruce cardstock panel is embossed using the Evergreen Forest 3D Embossing Folder found in the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog on p. 35.  I used a strip of the 'Tis the Season 6x6 Designer Series Paper to add some warmth.  It reminds me a of a really cozy blanket my parents had when I was a kid.   The tree is from the Winter Woods stamp set (AC p. 61) and is cut with the matching tree die from the In the Woods Dies (p. 181.)  I added some of the Wonderful Gems (p. 31, MC) as decorations and a Gold Foil star cut with the Stitched Stars Dies (AC, p. 183).  

The "It's the Most Wonderful Time.." sentiment is from the Wrapped in Christmas stamp set.  It's fitting because the Andy Williams version of that song is a favorite of my husband's.  It fits nicely in one of the Ornate Frames Dies (p.182) and is stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink.  I added a Gold Foil swirl also cut with the Stitched Stars Dies.  The final piece of this card is again from the Tasteful Labels Dies (p.179) and is cut from Cherry Cobbler cardstock.

One more Auction card to go, so stay tuned.  Thanks for visiting today.

 

The 2nd Post of Christmas...

... brings Poinsettias.  This is the second Auction Card and it uses products from the Poinsettia Place Suite found on pp 14-16 in the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog.  The Poinsettia Dies cut out the flowers and leaves really well and so a beautiful flower goes together really quickly.  This particular flower I stamped the petals from the Poinsettia Petals Stamp Set (p. 16) in Real Red ink on Real Red cardstock.  The leaves are stamped in Garden Green ink on Garden Green cardstock.  I placed three Gold Glitter Enamel Dots (p. 157, Annual Catalog) in the flower's center.  

I used a square of Poinsettia Place Designer Series Paper right behind the flower.  I like the elegance of the pattern.  Underneath it to the right, I attached a strip of flocked cardstock from the Plush Poinsettia Specialty Paper.  I used it here as just an accent.  However, the papers in this pack also feature leaves, flowers and berries some of which coordinate with Dies.  You can also color the flocking by sponging it with ink.  I have a card that features this technique for another post, so stay tuned!  

The banner is stamped in Real Red Ink.  It's also from Poinsettia Petals Stamp Set. 

Stay tuned for another Card post soon!  Happy Crafting.

The 12 Posts of Christmas...

The First Post of Christmas...Dove of Peace.  

For the next few posts I'm going to post different card ideas geared for the Christmas and Winter Holidays.  As many of you remember, I usually donate Christmas Cards to a Church Auction every year.   So the first 4 cards will be the ones I donated this year.  This first one uses the Dove of Hope Bundle from the August-December Mini Catalog (p. 13 ).  I really like the dove images and I think they pair well with the two globes from the World Map Dies in the Annual Catalog on page 174.  

When I looked to design this card, I knew I wanted to use the star paper from the Brightly Gleaming Designer Series Paper pack.  I like that it has copper accents.  One of the other colors in the palette of this collection of papers is Pretty Peacock, so I thought it paired well as a background.  The background needed some texture, so I used the Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder (AC p.184) 

 I cut the globes out of Copper Foil Sheets (AC p.153) and attached them with a bit of adhesive.  The Dove was next.  I stamped it in Momento Tuxedo Black Ink, cut it out with the matching die and attached it with pop dots. If you don't want the pop dots to show, consider using the Black Stampin' Dimensionals (p. 162)

 The Olive Branch is die cut from Mossy Meadow cardstock.

 Lastly, I stamped Peace on in Pretty Peacock ink and die cut using the Tasteful Labels Dies (p. 179).  These Labels are really useful for sentiments of many sizes.   

Enjoy the card and may your season be Peaceful!

Time for the Spooky Post

 

With October zipping along, I thought it was time for a Spooky Halloween post.  Most of us don't really know what Halloween will look like this year, but we can still make a few treats in fun packaging.  I chose the Magic in The Night Suite of products from the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog for my Halloween projects this year.  It's found on pages 52-54, if you're looking for it.  These treats use the large label from the Halloween Magic Dies to create an open-topped treat holder that just fits a cute chocolate bat treat.  Here are the steps to make it and a couple of additional Treat Packaging ideas.  

  First I cut a label out of Blackberry Bliss Paper.

Next I scored it equal distance from each end.  

 Folding up each end creates a space to insert your treat.  This could be done using any Die Cut label or shape.  Oh, the ideas and possibilities! 

Then you can decorate the front of your treat.   I used dies from the Halloween Magic Dies.  The Bats are actually cut from the Magic in This Night Designer Series Paper.  The die was created to match the Bats on one of the sheets of paper, as well as a stamp from the Hallows Night Magic stamp set.  It cuts out 2 bats at once (aka. Time Saver!)   I also used the fun Metallic Mesh Ribbon to close off the top of the treat.  And there you have the treat ready to give! 

 

Here are two more treats I made using the same stamp set and dies.  I hope you find some Magic in your crafting space to create some fun treats this month.  Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Halloween!

The Plaids of Fall

 

Shorter days, cooler nights, the crisp air and flannel shirts.  I always knew it was Fall when my Dad would put on a plaid flannel shirt to work out in the garden.  The final harvests of the season were starting and, as the leaves fell, he'd rake and shred them for the compost pile.  He liked to putter around in the garden.  So, when I saw the Plaid Tidings 6x6 Designer Series Paper in the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog (MC p. 57)  I was reminded of my Dad and decided I needed to make some Fall themed cards with the Plaids. 

While Dad doesn't do a lot of garden puttering these days, he does still walk a mile a day.  And soon the flannel shirts will come out and he'll wear them.  Here are some of the fall colors in the Plaid Tidings pack of paper.  The other patterns in the pack are more winter-holiday related, so look out for another post using them in a different way.  In the meantime, enjoy these fall themed cards.  I used the Gathered Together Bundle (MC p. 47) on each of the cards.  The large leaves are stamped in Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze, Mango Melody.  The pumpkins on the second card are stamped in Pumpkin Pie ink.  I also used the Brushed Metallic Cardstock (MC p. 45) for die cutting leaves and frames on the cards.   On the first card, the sentiment is stamped in Cajun Craze and die cut with the Ornate Frames Dies (AC p. 182) and then layered on another of the frames cut with the Brushed Metallic Cardstock.  The gems on the card are the Gilded Gems (AC p. 157).  

This card uses the pumpkins from the same set.   I used the Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush (AC p.147) to add some color and sparkle to them. The labels are cut from Bumblebee and Whisper White Card Stocks using the Celebration Labels Dies found on page 58 of the Mini Catalog.  The metallic ribbon is from the Ribbon Combo pack found on p. 45.  Again, I added a leaf cut from the Brushed Metallic Paper. 

Lastly, I made a slightly quirky Fall Card again with the stamped and die-cut leaves from Gathered Together.  This time the sentiment is from the A Wish for Everything stamp set (AC p. 14).  I used the die cut letters in Cajun Craze, Mango Melody and Rich Razzleberry.  They're from the Playful Alphabet Dies (AC p. 178) which have multiples of some letters so you don't have to roll things through your die cut machine so many times! 

I hope your fall is starting out to be a good one!  When in doubt, reach for plaids.  

Returning after a long break...to Snowflakes!

After a long break, I have decided that the easiest way to share my fascination with all things Paper is to return to the Blog.  Paper Curiosities is back and hopefully will inspire all of you to create.  My goal is to post once per week in as much detail as possible.  Thank you for visiting.  

For my first post back, I decided to highlight the new Snow Flake Splendor Suite on pages 36-38 of the Stampin' Up!Ⓡ August-December 2020 Mini Catalog.  Since we are entering the season to craft for giving, I created a gift box filled with notecards.  The box itself is one of the Mini Paper Pumpkin boxes found in the 2020-2021 Annual Catalog (p. 152.) The boxes are sized to fit Note Cards and Envelopes (AC p.153), but they are also food safe, so you could choose to put some goodies in them, as well.  

The boxes come like this:

They're white and so you can decorate them as you choose.  I colored my box with a sponge and Balmy Blue ink to stick with the color palette of the suit.

The great thing about these boxes is they go together without any adhesive.  And for those of you who are wondering how they compare to the boxes that the monthly Paper Pumpkin kits are in, here is a snapshot of the two next to each other:

Back to the project at hand

After sponging the box, I decided that I would decorate it with a "belly band."  This would make the box easy to open and close.  I cut a piece of the Snowflake Splendor Designer Series Paper to 3.5" x 12".  The 12" length wraps around the box with enough overlap that you can tape it together securely.  I then decorated the top using one of the Celebration Labels (MC, p 58), but any label would work here.  I stamped on the label using the Snowflake Wishes stamp set in Pacific Point and Highland Heather inks.  I also used the So Many Snowflakes Dies to cut snowflakes out of Highland Heather, and Pacific Point card stock and also the lovely Balmy Blue Glimmer Paper (MC p. 37).  I assembled the band while it was on the box and then slid it off so I could fill it with the cards.

For the Cards, I started with 5 of the Note Cards and Envelopes (as mentioned earlier).  These are 5" x 3.5" and can be used to attach to a gift or sent in the mail for a quick note.  They come in a package of 20, so you could fill 4 boxes with one package.  

I decided that the cards should match the decorations on the box, so I started by sponging the fronts of the cards in Balmy Blue.

Next, I used some more of the Designer Series paper that I used on the belly band (a 3" square for easy cutting) and matted it with a 3.25" square of Pacific Point) and attached it to the front of the card.  I added snowflakes similar to the ones on the belly band and stamped a sentiment in Pacific Point on each card.  I decided to make each on different.  Here is one of the cards close up. 

 I put a Blue Adhesive-backed Gem (MC, p.37) in the middle of the layered snowflakes.  A bit of bling just for fun.

Here are all the cards finished.

Don't forget the Envelopes!

All that's left is to stack them together and place them in the box.

The five cards and envelopes fit perfectly even with the bling on the front.  Now it's time to put on the belly band and we're ready to gift it to someone special this season.  

Once again, thanks for visiting and reading through.  I hope you found the project inspirational.

Until next time, craft well!