Tag: Elizabeth Craft Designs

Make your own Designer paper with stencils.

This week I wanted to use some die sets I bought back in November at the Scrapbook Expo and hadn’t used yet!  I know you’re thinking “For the love of God girl, it’s almost the 4th of July!”  Well, I’ve been busy with holiday, birthday and specific commissioned cards.  I must say, I’ve really developed a love for everything Susan Tierney Cockburn for Elizabeth Craft Designs.  I’m crazy for her “Country Scapes” collection.   The die set I’ve been anxious to use is 1078 – CountryScapes – Backyard 3 – Apple Orchard pictured below:

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I also think it’s about time I sang the praises of stencils!  If I’m making a card with an outdoor scene for the front or inside of a card, I pull out two things first.  Susan’s Cloud and Grass stencil.  I use it so much I don’t why I even put it away.  And the other is my PanPastels.

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I used to look for designer paper of the sky and others for grass.  Sometimes you want the “cute” look rather than a realistic look and that’s what I think designer paper is great for.  But, if you’re trying to create a realistic look, this stencil is not only your best bet financially but you can get a pretty authentic look.  I haven’t used it yet for a sunset but I will soon or try to!  Susan has a tutorial on YouTube demonstrating this stencil.

The Steps:

  1.  Cut a piece of white cardstock to measure 5.5″ x 5.3/8″.  Using the above stencil create your sky and grass using PanPastels.

2.  Cut and prepare all the pieces that will create the components of your scene and glue to the stenciled cardstock.  I used these die sets for this scene.

From Elizabeth Craft Designs:

                              1078 – CountryScapes – Backyard 3 – Apple Orchard

1127 – CountryScapes Backyard 5 – Wash Day (quilt)

1131 – CountryScapes Garden Edges Daffodil

1133 – CountryScapes Garden Edges Tulip

1084 – CountryScapes – New England Stone Wall & Gate (little fence)

Additional die sets used:

From Frantic Stamper Inc.:

FRA-DIE-09921 Flying Gulls

FRA-DIE-09822 Gardening Pots (set of 4 dies)

3.  Cut a piece of blue cardstock 5.3/4″ x 5.5/8″.  Adhere the scene piece to this blue layer.

4.  Cut a piece of white cardstock 6″ x 12″ and score at 6″ on the long side.  Fold in half and adhere the completed step 3 to the front of you folded card.  My card’s fold is at the top but you could have a book open card as well.

That’s it.   Thank you so much for the taking a look.  I love comments and answer any questions personally.

 

This is my first entry on Art Impressions weekly challenge #175

Art Impressions Blog Challenge 175

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I’m branching out and trying to enter more challenges this year.  I have found that they are a great way to challenge yourself.  I work as a hairdresser for an upscale retirement community and have spent the last couple of weeks making birthday cards for the residents to give to one of their neighbors for their birthday.  I have collected a lot of Art Impression stamps especially in the groups they call “Golden Oldies” and “Girlfriends“.  This particular stamp is one I have had for many years.  I think it was the first one I bought.  It’s called “Fred and Millie Q1244“.  I just love this sweet scene of these two sitting on a bench.  We have a bench just like this one where I work and have often seen one or two of our residents sitting on it.  We’re in California, in the Bay Area, and we don’t see snow but it does get chilly.

This is how I made the card

Of course, I first stamped the image and then colored it with Copic Markers.  Since the couple are on a bench I knew I wanted the card to look as if the view was looking at them through a window.   The base of the card measures 5.5″ x 7″ and is white cardstock.  I made a double frame by using three Spellbinders Nested rectangles from their set called “Card Creater“.  It has eight dies in the set.  I use this set a lot.  I simply nested a smaller die inside of a larger die so that it created a frame when it was cut.  Then I repeated the same process for another frame.  I glued the smaller frame to the larger one so that it sort of looked like window molding.  I felt that my scene needed a winter tree so I used the “All Seasons Tree” by Karen Burniston for Elizabeth Craft Designs and didn’t add any leaves or flowers dies that come with this die set but I did use the die as a stencil to make the black lines on the tree.2016-01-18 17.33.272016-01-18 17.33.43

I used a gray cardstock to cut the tree.  I then positioned the tree inside the double frame where I liked it in my little scene and cut off some branches to fit.  Once I had my scene completed I felt it needed drapes to look more like a window instead of just a matted picture.  Luckily, I found a brown cardstock and a printed designer paper that worked together in my stash.  I cut a piece of the dotted designer paper 5″ x 12″ and then just scored it in quarter inch increments all across the 12″ piece of cut paper.  When you score the paper you need to flip the paper over at every other score so that you are able to pleat it easily.  I then cut two pieces of pleated paper the size I needed for my curtains.  My finished 2 pleated panels measure 5″ x 1″each.  The sentiment tag was made by first in Word on my computer and then cut with the smallest rectangle die in the same Spellbinder set.  Thanks for taking a look.

  • Materials List
  • White cardstock
  • Brown cardstock – Recollections Spice Market
  • Brown dotted designer paper – DCWV The Timeless Texure Stack
  • Spellbinders Cardmaker dies
  • All Seasons Tree – Elizabeth Craft Designs
  • Copic Markers:  B21, 23, 24  BG10,11,13,72 E00,30,71,74 RV10,25 Y8,13,15 N0
  • Art Impressions wood mounted stamp Fred and Millie

 

 

 

Needed to make a special card for my sisters big birthday.

The front of my sister's birthday card
The front of my sister’s birthday card
Inside of my sisters birthday card
Inside of my sisters birthday card

This year my youngest sister is turning the big 60!  That’s a tough one, or at least it was for me.  So today I thought I would share this project.  I knew I wanted it to be a pop-up card.  I had an idea, but sometimes what’s in your head doesn’t always work out.  I usually start to make the inside first and when finished and happy with it, then I decide what I want to say on the front of the card and how I want it to look.

I like to start making the components first.  Once I know what images I want to use then I start pulling cardstock. I use a combination of my Silhouette Cameo cutting machine and steel dies. It took me a long time and a lot of money to find the products that are my favorites. As I said in the “Hello world” entry, my first cards were from a kit that included the pre-scored A2 card, insert with the sentiment printed, embellishments, beads and jewels, pre-tied satin ribbon bows etc.  Although they included a page of pictures of how you could put together the cards, this kit also allowed you to put them together any way you wanted to.

One day I was watching something on YouTube and the next video was a demonstration by a woman stamping an image and then creating a card.  I was so intrigued by her demo I started by stamps and boxes of cards and envelopes.  During her demo she mentioned that she always uses Gina K Designs white card on to stamp with.  I hopped over to the Gina K Designs website and discovered there is a whole world of card making that I never knew even existed.  I have used only Gina K Designs 80lb and 120lb paper for stamping ever since.  You can buy cheaper cardstock but nothing I’ve ever tried works as well.  In my experience with her cardstock, no matter what you’re using for medium to color with or even to color wash, this paper holds up.  It’s no savings if you have to redo your project because of bleeding or peeling.  If you’re new to making cards you should check her out.  She has kits with cardstock, ink, embellishments and everything you need to make beautiful cards to go with her featured stamp set.  You can also buy all those products separately, but what’s really great is the ink pads, cardstock, embellishments all match exactly.  Her stamps are beautiful and very classy.  She also has a YouTube station called “StampTV” for great inspiration and tutorials.

Back to my sister’s card.  I used the Elizabeth Craft Designs “Lots of Pops” pop-up die.  I find that I use this die more than any other pop-up die.  It does what it’s name suggests.  It has a lot of pop out opportunities to create a little scene.  The designer for the Pop-up product at this website are designed by Karen Burniston.  My first encounter with this amazing women was quite by accident.  I had commented on an Elizabeth Craft Die that I had recently bought on one of the social networks.  I was having trouble with it not cutting correctly.  At the time, I didn’t know Karen was the designer.  She commented back to me that my experience was very unusual and that I should contact Elizabeth Craft Designs http://www.elizabethcraftdesigns.com and see what they think.  Long story short, you wouldn’t believe the level of customer service this company provides.  They really get it and are vested in their customers happiness.  A few years later I have to say that the talented Karen Burniston has been my all time guru for card making.  Well, at least with my love affair with pop-up cards.  Check her and Elizabeth Craft Designs on her blog “I’m not left handed”.  Of course, to see her genius, you can find ECD and Karen on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and I’m sure others.

Products used in “My sister’s birthday card”

Elizabeth Craft Designs:  Lots of Pop die, Bathtub Pop die

All other images were created with my Silhouette Cameo

Colored cardstock: Recollections

Printed cardstock: Core’dinations

Front card die: Spellbinders nestabilities “Beaded Squares”

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