Priceless Butterflies

I made this card for the featured stamper challenge a few week's ago, but for some reason, I never got it posted. I wasn't totally thrilled with the end result, so maybe that's why! Anyway, I chose to CASE this card by Stephanie Hargis. I loved the layout and playful feel of Stephanie's original card.

I kept the same layout but substituted the butterflies from Priceless for the Verve stamps Stephanie used on the original. I also changed the colors and type of ribbon I used. I kept my sentiment in the circle punches and used one from Papertrey's Mixed Messages set.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Priceless, Mixed Messages (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
DSP: Berry Bliss
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Ribbon
Tools: 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Corner Rounder

Pocket Card Gift Card Holder

I've seen several different variations on gift card holders, so here is another one to add to the mix. I was trying to decide on a project for an upcoming workshop, and this is what popped into my head. I thought it would be nice to have a holiday card that had separate places for a note and a gift card.

The card is a 12x5 1/2" piece of Rose Red cardstock scored at 4" and 8". The panels were then folded in to basically make a tri-fold card. I folded the edge of the inner panel into a triangle, adhered it to the card, and added a piece of Rose Red Prints DSP onto the triangle. To make the gift card holder, I punched the Word Window in the center of the cardstock, pushed all the way in from the bottom. I then slid it over to the right and punched again and to the left and punched again - this makes the window almost the whole width of the panel. After punching, I added sticky strip to the left edge and bottom of that panel and adhered them to the inside of the card making a pocket. This creates a place for the note inside of the pocket and the gift card in the opening created by the Word Window punch.

For the front of the card, I combined ideas I got from a couple of different cards on SCS. I thought this was a really fun Merry & Bright card by JanTink, so I used the same colors and DSP that she did. I also liked the windows that markie's mom used on this card, so I incorporated that idea into my card as well.

For the top of the card, I used a piece of Bashful Blue cardstock stamped with the swirl from Priceless. Before adhering to the card, I punched a 1 1/2" circle in it. I added a 1 1/4" circle that had been stamped with the snowman from Merry & Bright inside the opening. The middle section is a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I used the Word Window punch on this piece and created an opening from the sentiment from Merry & Bright. I also added a piece of Bashful Blue taffeta threaded through the opening. The striped DSP is from Cutie Pie.

Recipe:
Stamps: Merry & Bright, Priceless
Paper: Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Cutie Pie DSP, Rose Red Prints DSP
Ink: Bashful Blue, Basic Black
Accessories: Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon, Vintage Brads
Punches: 1 1/2" Circle, 1 1/4" Circle, Word Window, Tab

Priceless 2,5,7,10 Box

As I've mentioned before, there is a different challenge on splitcoaststampers just about every day. I tend to do the color and sketch challenges, but I check out the others from time to time as well. The Technique Lover's Challenge this week was to create a 2,5,7,10 box. If you're not familiar with them, they are adorable little boxes/bags that are perfect to hold a small gift, treat, or party favor.

I made one of these boxes for a workshop last week, so it fit perfectly with the challenge. I won't go into detail of how I created the box since there is a great tutorial available, but I will share the stamps, ink, etc. that I used.

I started with an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of Whisper White cardstock and stamped the large swirl from Priceless in Purely Pomegranate ink. I added a few of the small flowers to fill in any gaps. For the focal image on the front, I stamped the butterfly from Priceless also in Purely Pomegranate. I then inked the butterfly again, this time in Groovy Guava and rock-and-rolled it in Purely Pomegranate. I stamped it on a scrap of Whisper White, cut out the body, and adhered just the middle to give it some dimension. I also added the smaller swirl from Priceless in 2nd generation Purely Pomegranate for the butterfly trail and the Wish defintion from Define Your Life in Basic Black. Finally, I added the For You from Happy Everything as a tag on the side and matted it all on Purely Pomegranate.

Once I assembled the box, I scalloped the lid with my corner rounder, sponged the edges, and added Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon.

These are such cute boxes/bags. The girls at the workshop loved them.

Recipe:
Stamps: Priceless, Define Your Life, Happy Everything
Cardstock: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, Basic Black
Other: Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Ribbon

Christmas Cards

I normally have my Christmas cards at least halfway done by this point in the year, but I had such a hard time deciding what I wanted to do this year. I went back and forth a dozen times on which set I wanted to use. I got Snowflake Spot in my demo Starter Kit, but I also loved the Season of Joy and Merry & Bright sets from the Holiday mini. Anyway, I got the idea one day to combine Snowflake Spot with the swirl from Priceless and these are the cards I came up with. I am really happy with the result, and they haven't been too time consuming so far to put together.

Both cards use Blue Bayou as the card base. The River Rock piece on each is stamped with the swirl from Priceless in Whisper White and Merry Christmas in Blue Bayou from Holidays & Wishes. The snowflake images are from Snowflake Spot. The one on the left is the larger snowflake in the set and is stamped in Blue Bayou on Whisper White. This one was done with the Cracked Glass technique, but I don't plan to do that on all of them - just maybe a select few! The snowflake panel on the right was stamped with Blue Bayou, 2nd generation Blue Bayou, and Basic Black and then cut into sections. Both panels are layered on Basic Black.

Recipe:
Stamps: Snowflake Spot, Priceless, Holidays & Wishes
Cardstock: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Blue Bayou, Whisper White
Other: Basic Black Grosgrain, Blue Bayou Double-Stitched Ribbon
Techniques: Cracked Glass

Sketch Challenge - Christmas Card

I've really enjoyed doing the challenges on splitcoaststampers lately, so I decided I'd like to try to do at least a couple a week. It's definitely helping me stay out of a rut and try some new things. Today was another sketch challenge. Here's the layout and my interpretation.

I've been working on my Christmas cards, so I had those colors and stamp sets on my mind and decided to use them for this sketch as well. Hey - it gets me that much closer to having a stack of cards to send out come December!

For this card, and my other Christmas card layouts, I used a Blue Bayou card base. This one is stamped with linen on the base. The main panel is River Rock, stamped with the swirl from the Priceless set in Whisper White, and layered on Basic Black. The smaller focal image is stamped with the middle snowflake from Snowflake Spot in Blue Bayou, covered with Glassy Glaze for the Cracked Glass technique, and again, layered on Basic Black. The image was then layered over 2 lengths of Basic Black grosgrain.

Finally, I added the Merry Christmas sentiment from Holidays & Wishes.

Recipe:

Stamps: Priceless, Snowflake Spot, Holidays & Wishes

Cardstock: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Blue Bayou, Whisper White

Other: Basic Black Grosgrain, Vintage Brads

Technique: Cracked Glass

I should have a couple of samples of my Christmas cards to post soon. I'm doing about 80 cards this year, so I'm working on them assembly line style. I decided to do 2 layouts this year so I wouldn't get bored with just one (and my DH and I couldn't decide which one we liked better).

ETA: If you've never tried the Cracked Glass technique, here's a great tutorial.

Weekend Sketch Challenge

One of the blogs I like to visit on a regular basis is Fresh & Fun by Beate Johns. She has a great style, and I love to see how she uses Stampin' Up! sets and designer paper in such creative ways. She also has a weekend sketch challenge with some fun layouts. I've followed the sketches for a few weeks now, but this is the first one I've actually been able to complete. My card is based on her sketch challenge #14.

I used my three newest sets for this card - Priceless, Define Your Life, and It's All Good. For the focal image, I used the butterfly stamp from Priceless, stamped it first in Groovy Guava, and then rock-and-rolled it in Purely Pomegranate. After stamping all of the butterflies, I randomly stamped the small Priceless swirl stamp in Groovy Guava, stamped off once for a lighter tone. The Delightful stamp from It's All Good was stamped in Purely Pomegranate, punched out with the 1 1/4 in circle punch and layered on a Pomegranate Scallop. Finally, I added the Delight definition from Define Your Life and the small row of dots, also from Define Your Life.

The photo corner was an afterthought. I don't have the new photo corner punch yet from Stampin' Up!, so I still have to create them the "old-fashioned" way. I cut a small square of cardstock and then cut it in half diagonally. I then took the 2 triangles, laid them on top of each other, cut off the "pointy" section, and arranged them into a photo corner. I almost always add a brad to my photo corners - they just seem naked without one.

Recipe:
Stamps: Priceless, Define Your Life, It's All Good
Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black
Other: Black Gingham Ribbon, Black Brad, 1 1/4 in Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch

ETA: I realized this morning (8/14) that my focal image is upside down! I don't think it matters a whole lot, but I intended the majority of the butterflies to be facing upwards. Oh well - I still like the card! (And I hope you do too!)

More Priceless!

I think Priceless has become my favorite set from the new catalog. It's been fairly easy to create some quick cards using the swirl as a background and then adding one of the other stamps from the set as an accent. I do think I need to get the coordinating wheel though. It would make creating the backgrounds much quicker.


Here are a few cards I made last night. The first is a quick 3x3 card I did as a "warm up". I hadn't given my DH any "love notes" lately, so this one fit the bill. It's pretty self-explanatory, so I'll just provide the recipe below.

Recipe:
Stamps: Priceless, Define Your Life
Cardstock: Basic Black, Rose Red, Rose Red Prints DSP
Ink: Rose Red, Basic Black
Other: Black Gingham Ribbon, Scallop Punch, 1 1/2 in Cirlce Punch


This next one is my favorite of the three. I love this color combination - Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, and Whisper White. I also love how the swirl looks in white on the black cardstock. When I was creating these cards, I really wished I had some of the double-stitched Pomegranate ribbon, but I bet you can guess what will be on my next order.

For this card, I randomly stamped the swirl in Whisper White craft ink on Basic Black cardstock. I attached black grosgrain ribbon across the Pomegranate strip, and then added the heart and scallop circle. The you definition is from Define Your Life of course. This will probably end up being another card for hubby. Our anniversary was in June and Valentine's Day is still quite a ways away, so maybe it'll be a "just because" card. I like to put cards or notes in his lunch, and I think he likes receiving them (at least he says he does!).

Recipe:
Stamps: Priceless, Define Your Life
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Whisper White (craft), Purely Pomegranate
Other: Black grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Punch, 1 1/2 in Circle Punch


This final card ended up being a little different than what I usually do. I've seen lots of panel cards lately, so I wanted to try one. I still can't quite decide what I think of it, but I think it's good to break out of the mold every once in awhile.

It uses the same basic recipe as the one above, with the exception of Define Your Life and the circle and scallop circle punches.

Priceless Joy Fold

This is my first "Joy Fold" card. Well - I should say my first completed Joy Fold card. I've started several others, but I could never seem to get them to work out the way I envisioned - either color combination or placement of the stamped items. Anyway, I'm finally happy with this one.

I used Basic Black as my base and layered the Certainly Celery over it. The celery pieces were stamped with the swirl from Priceless. I had the coordinating wheel on my order but took it off at the last minute. Oh well - the swirl works fine for now.

The main panel has the flower from Priceless stamped in Purely Pomegranate and Pretty in Pink. I added the Because definition from Define Your Life and For You from Happy Everything. The flower in the lower left is on dimensionals on three sides so you can slip the front flap underneath to keep the card closed.

Recipe:
Stamps: Priceless, Define Your Life, Happy Everything
Cardstock: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black
Other: Black Brads

Priceless Gift Box

My aunt asked me to make a set of cards for her, so this is the gift box and one of the cards in the set. All of the cards are different, and I included 4 friendship/all occasion, 4 birthday, 3 thank you, and 1 anniversary. Most of the other cards have already been uploaded here or in my gallery at Splitcoast, so I didn't include them all.

The gift box was made from a pattern I found on Splitcoast (I printed off the directions, so I'll have to do a search again later to find the link and give proper credit). It was designed to hold 20 cards, so there is a little extra room with the 12 I'm giving her. With the ribbon and other embellishments on my cards though, I probably wouldn't want to include more than about 15 so they wouldn't be squished.

The top of the gift box and card were created with the Priceless set, another new one from the catalog. I haven't gotten the matching wheel yet, so I created the background by stamping the large swirl randomly all over the page. I filled in small gaps with the little flower that is included in the set. I stamped both sides of the paper so the inside of the lid would be pretty as well. To finish it off, I stamped the butterfly and punched it with a 1 1/2 inch circle punch and layered it on the scallop circle.

The thank you card uses the same background as the gift box lid. The butterfly was punched directly with the scallop, and the thank you sentiment is from Fancy Flexible Phrases (I was really bummed when this one didn't make it to the big catty - oh well, I still love using it for personal cards).

Recipe:
Stamps: Priceless, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Other: 1 1/2 in circle punch, scallop punch