Glowing Rose Die Cut Card

Glowing Rose card by Jeanean Brown

Supplies: 

• white card stock cut to 4" x 5 1/4"
• cardstock for card (choose your color!) cut to 4 1/4" x 11" and fold in half 
• creating a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card
• black glossy card stock (for die cutting)
• Little B nested labels die cuts
• Little B sentiments die cuts
• Little B blossoms die cuts
• Die cut machine- like Big Shot or Evolution Advanced.
• Distress Ink pad in choice of color (this will be the 'glow' of your flower) 
• foam blending pod (or make-up sponge)
• xyron sticker maker (or liquid glue with fine tip applicator)
• dimensional foam tape or pop dots

Directions:   

1. Die cut the piercing only label die cut from the Little B die cut nested set of labels- set on white card stock where you want (tip- use washi tape or painters tape to secure in place while you die cut) This will make the pierced frame in your white card stock.  Set aside.   (All Little B dies are sold with a magnetic organizer! You can see exactly what you have, it's labeled on the spine so you can store them on a shelf like a book! Everything stays in place until you need it. 

 2. Die cut the Hello sentiment from the Little B die cut sentiments set- black glossy card stock . Set aside. Look at the other fun options in this die cut set...

3. Die cut the leaf, and the nested rose from the Little B die cut set. (note- you will need both the inside of the rose die and the outside of the rose die- place them on your mat so the inside is nested inside the outside die before cutting black glossy card stock.) On the inside of each Little B die cut package is a line drawing of each die cut- and each of these is labeled with it's measurement! So handy!






















4.) Now use foam blending pod and distress ink pad of your choice. Pick up color with foam and apply in circular motion onto white card stock that you've previously die cut the pieced label frame to. Apply to center area of pierced frame- slightly larger area then the black rose die cut.
The Darice foam ink pods come in a clear case- you get 24pc. You can use both sides- essentially use each side for each color of ink- thats 48 colors! WOW. These are really dense foam pods so they are easy to control and last a long time.

5.) After you have colored your 'glow' spot run your black glossy card stock die cuts through the sticker maker by Xyron. (You can use a fine tip liquid glue if you don't have a sticker maker)

Then apply the die cuts to your card. 

Finally add dimensional foam squares to back of white panel and attach to your folded card. 

Watering Can Card by Becca Glos

Supplies List:

5"x 7" Cream Card
Bo Bunny - Double Dot Paper; Mellow Yellow, and Hot Pink
Darice - Clouds Embossing Folder #1217-53
Darice - Tim Holtz Kraft-Core Metallic Collection pack #GX-1960-01, bronze sheet
Darice - Bakers Twine Pink/white
Impression Obsession - Watering Can die #DIE155-A
Ranger Stickles - Diamond
Echo Park Jack and Jill Collection; Jill Floral, Dress Pattern and Cute as a Button Papers
Marvy Uchida - 2" Scalloped Cirlce Punch
Martha Stewart - Medium Frond Punch #M283047
Sticky Thumb Tape Runner
3M Foam Tape

Directions:

Cut Mellow Yellow paper to 3 3/4" wide x 4" and emboss with cloud folder, attach to top of card (centered and 5/8" from top) with tape runner

Cut Cute as a Button (woodgrain side) paper to sizes 4" x 1/2" and 4" x 1 1/2", cut the sides of larger piece at a slight angle to resemble a planter
    
Attach to bottom of card (centered and 5/8" from bottom). Tie bow around smaller piece with bakers twine (approx 12"). Adhere on top of larger piece with foam tape

Punch 1 - 2" scalloped circle with Hot Pink paper and cut in half (need only 1 half, adhere above planter in the center

Punch 1 - 2" scalloped circle with Jill Floral paper, cut in half, adhere on top of both sides of hot pink circle so the hot pink is peeking through

Punch 3 fronds with Dress Pattern paper and adhere, tucking behind scalloped pieces. Die cut watering can with Tim Holtz metallic bronze paper

Adhere to top right corner of yellow paper at an angle. Add "drops" of water with stickles to look like water coming out of the watering can

Kaisercraft Sandy Toes Cards by Craft Warehouse Guest Designer Michelle Price

 In the world of card making there is one type of card that is hard to get just right. You might think you  have it nailed, but then just at the last minute before gluing, you start to doubt yourself and you end up starting over from scratch. Many a card maker has been there, with the daunting task of the teenage boy card ahead of you.

Luckily I got my hands on the Kaisercraft Sandy Toes collection and after much thought and care, I have created the perfect teenage boy cards. It was actually rather easy, given the cool colors and beachy theme of this collection.

My card opens like a book with a small spine, and inside is a shaker card window. It’s a fun twist to put the shaker on the inside rather than the front. The result is a card that looks special but doesn’t take a lot of time to create. I’ve put together a shaker card tutorial for you, so let’s get started.

To begin, cut your card base to 8 ¼” x 5 ½”. Create a ¼” spine on your card by scoring at 4” in from either side on the long edge. Fold along the score lines and create your card.

Cut another piece of patterned paper to 4” x 5 ½”. Use a punch, metal die, or electronic die cutting machine to cut any shape you’d like out of this inside piece. In my example I used a scalloped circle. This creates your shaker window.

Cut a piece of acrylic to fit around the window. Place glue on the backside of your window, close to the cut out shape. Lay the acrylic onto the glue and adhere the acrylic to the card piece.

Using foam dimensional tape, place tape around the shaped window. This part won’t be seen so it doesn’t have to be pretty, but make sure the seams where your tape meets have no gaps. You don’t want your shaker pieces to fly out when you shake it. Leave the tape backing on as you fill your shaker window.

Pour glitter, sand, beads, sequins, or whatever you would like into the shaker window being careful to not get any outside of the edges of the foam tape box you’ve created. I used white glitter, Teresa Collins sequins and some of the die cut shells from the Kaisercraft Sandy Toes Collectables pack. 

Once your window is filled, it’s time to enclose your shaker window. You will leave the filled shaker window face up and place the card base onto the adhesive. Peel off the foam tape backing and lay the card base onto the sticky part of the foam. Figuring out which side of the card to lay onto the adhesive is tricky, so make sure you double check before adhering.

Now you can decorate the front of your card and add stickers from the Kaisercraft Sandy Toes collection to the inside of the card as well. I also added some twine elements to the front of my cards. You can hop to my blog Bits & Pieces Paper Lab for tips on using twine on your projects.

Have fun creating your own version of these cards and be sure and check out this fun Kaisercraft Collection at Craft Warehouse.

- Michelle Price

Hero Arts Christmas Cards by Design Team Member Kim Ross

Hi everyone!  Kim Ross here with a very important reminder:  It's the middle of November and, if you haven't done so already, now is the time to get those Christmas cards started.  Christmas is little more than five weeks away and you still need time to sign, address, and mail all your cards.  And if they're heading out to international or APO/FPO addresses, they need to be sent even sooner.

I created a few sparkly and speedy cards with the new Hero Arts rubber stamps and dies from their Handmade for Christmas Collection, using some of my very favorite products from Craft Warehouse.

First up, is Holly Jolly Christmas.  I started with a tan panel attached to a dark brown card. The sentiment was stamped with Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad in Walnut Stain onto Paper Accents Toffee cardstock.  The holly was stamped with Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink on Paper Accents Leaf Green cardstock.  Then I very carefully cut out two of the leaves and attached them, slightly overlapping, onto the card.

My favorite thing about this stamp set is the versatility.  Yes, it's technically holly for Christmastime.  But use your imagination.  These leaves can be separated and used for any time of year.  They can be red, orange and brown in the fall or a big, bold green in the summer.


Now it's time for a little bling on the card.  The Triveni Craft red 4mm gems are a great choice, especially when you're making multiples.  These are a great deal at only $2.99 for a whopping 560 gems!  These are easy to use in a row, as these come already attached to one another in rows.  However, it's also very easy to snip then apart and use them individually.

Speaking of bling, we see this versatile embellishment again on my next card, Merry & Bright.  This card also features the Hero Arts Holly Jolly stamp set.  I stamped the holly and the sentiment all at one time with the Tsukineko VersaMark watermark pad and then embossed it with American Crafts Zing! clear embossing powder.  The Triveni Craft gems made great berries in little groups of three.   I then mounted the Paper Accents Leaf Green cardstock panel onto a card made from the Doodlebug Design holly-patterned cardstock from their adorable "Santa Express" collection.

And one last sparkly card for today, Winter Sparkle.  No gems this time for sparkle.  This card uses American Crafts Zing! embossing powder in Silver Metallic Finish and Ranger Stickles glitter glue in Star Dust.  The very precise Stickles applicator tip is perfect for small sparkly accents like the ones added to each snowflake on the Doodlebug Design patterned cardstock from the Frosty Friends 6x6 Paper Pad.  The sentiment and ornament are from the Hero Arts Winter Sparkle set and the matching ornament die is from the Hero Arts Ornaments Die-Cuts set.

Before we part, I wanted to leave you with some time-saving tips:

    - Use your heat tool to dry ink.  It's faster than air-drying and reduces the chance of smears.
   -  When using a coordinating die to cut out a stamped image, stamp the image first and make sure the ink is dry.  Then use small pieces of washi tape to place the die onto the image.  Run through your Big Shot or other die-cut machine.  The washi tape peels right off of the leftover paper and die, and doesn't leave a mark!
    - If your gem embellishments (bling) are packaged in a row but you only want single gems, cut or separate the gem before picking it up with your fingers or tweezers.  Failing to separate it will result in the adhesive remaining on the plastic sheet and not on your gem.
   -  Especially when making multiples of a project, intricate cutting can get tedious (see card #1).  The coordinating die is a great investment.
    - Don't feel like you have to make all your Christmas cards alone.  Create an assembly line and allow the kids to help out on parts that are age-appropriate.   If the kids are too busy playing outside, enlist a few friends and enjoy hot chocolate (carefully!) while you craft.

I wish the happiest and craftiest of holidays to you!

Craft Warehouse Design Team Member Kim Ross

Welcome back to our Designer Spotlight where we feature a local Northwest artist and Craft Warehouse Design Team Member! This week we have our local cardmaker and stamper, Kim Ross! We love seeing Kim online on our Facebook and Instagram feeds joining in on the fun! That's where I first "met" her! Read on to see what inspires her to create!

How long have you been crafting?

When I was in middle school, I decorated letters to pen pals with rubber stamps and scented inks my parents purchased at our local Hallmark store.

I was reintroduced to stamping in 2002, and it truly saved my sanity.  My new husband had fallen ill with heart and kidney troubles, so I left my corporate career to stay home and care for him.  A friend of mine was thumbing through a rubber stamp catalog, looking to stamp things like "Bring a Friend" on her direct sales catalogs.  I asked to look through it, too, and I was hooked!  I went to a stamping party later that month and I just couldn't get enough.  (I still can't.)  It was the perfect quiet hobby (sans the eyelet setters and heat tool, of course!) for me to take up during my many hours at home.

A dozen years later, I can't imagine my life without stamping.  I've grown so close to so many of the papercrafters in my area and online -- they really are my best friends!

What inspires you to be creative?

My inspiration comes from everywhere!  Some days it's from a color or an online challenge.  Other days, it's a tree I see out my window or a song I can't get out of my head.  I do my best to be mindful throughout the day and keep my eyes & mind open to possibilities.

What Craft Warehouse products do you love to use?

My very favorite Craft Warehouse product is the Big Shot.  I love the versatility.  It can cut any company's dies so easily with the Multipurpose Platform.  It cuts paper beautifully, but I've also used it to cut plastic, magnet, fabric, felt, suede, cardboard, needlepoint canvas, and rubber.  The embossing folders can be used to emboss other materials, too.  Without question, my Big Shot is the best crafting investment I've ever made.

Doodlebug coordinating papers and embellishments are adorable!  As a cardmaker, I really appreciate the smaller patterns their papers typically feature.  Their designs and colors are so cute and cheerful!  It's impossible to be in a bad mood while working on a Doodlebug project.

The 3M ATG adhesive roller is something I have come to depend on every time I craft.  At first, I thought the investment in the gun itself was pretty expensive, but I soon learned that I am saving money in the long run because the tape rolls are so generously long and the tape is so sticky.  A little bit goes a very long way.  It's so nice that my projects don't fall apart even after a bumpy ride through the mail.

How can you encourage others reading this column?

The best thing about crafting is that there really aren't any rules.  Create what you like, how you like, and enjoy the process while you're doing it.

I used to worry about making mistakes, but a mistake doesn't have to be permanent.  I can add a flower or a button to cover an error, or flip the paper over and start again.  "Every mistake is an opportunity for embellishment," is something I say to myself often.  Remember that the recipient isn't judging your project against the idea you had in your head... she doesn't know how it was 'supposed' to look.  After stamping for a dozen years, I don't think any of my projects have ever come out exactly like I intended. They'll be our little secret!

Join Kim tomorrow as she shares the perfect Christmas cards, just in time for the holiday season! In the meantime, you can visit her on her blog, Instagram, and Facebook!  

Lawn Fawn Snow Day Holiday Cards

Hi Crafters! Amber here and I'm so excited to be designing for Craft Warehouse! I have three very different Christmas cards to share with you today. I got to play with items from Lawn Fawn's Snow Day collection. This line is just way too cute! First up is this layered patterned paper card.

  

I love layering patterns like this and working with paper kits makes it easy because I know all the papers coordinate. I grabbed three different papers and cut some panels to layer on my card base. My card is a standard A2 (4.25"x5.5") so I cut the panels at 3.75"x5", 3.5"x4.75", and 3.25"x4.5". Now if you have some perfectionist tendencies then by all means line these up and make them completely concentric and perfectly centered! I, on the other hand, like them a little wonky and askew. For the sentiment I cut down one of the tags from this sheet and inked the edges with Distress Ink in Pine Needles (it matches that dark green paper perfectly!) I thought it needed another punch of color so I stuck in that red and white paper strip along the edge. Then just finished it off with a piece of flair from the same kit.

My next card is a little more classic.

I loved this Merry and Bright image from this sheet so I made it the star of the card. I centered it on a white panel, tied a bow around it using this fun Snowflake ribbon from Darice and adhered it to a black card base so it would all pop. To finish it off I added this row of gems from Triveni Craft. These things are so easy to use. They already have adhesive and they are in rows (already lined up!) so I just needed to cut the length I needed and stick it down.

And my last card might just be my favorite. I plan to mass produce a few to mail out. These are perfect for mailing since they are so flat (no flair or bows to hike up the postage!)

I used a panel of watercolor paper cut down to 5.25"x4". Using the Snow Day stamps from Lawn Fawn and clear Versamark ink I stamped the sentiment and both snowflakes on the panel. Then I heat-embossed it using Zing Clear embossing powder. I hope you can see it in this photo. 

 

Next I made my faux watercolor palette. I used Tim Holtz® Distress Ink in Peeled Paint and Pine Needles. You will need either a craft mat or an acrylic stamp block (just something smooth) to smear some ink on. I placed white cardstock under my acrylic block just so you could see it better.

Then using a Niji waterbrush (these things are great by the way, get one immediately! The water is IN the brush. You don't need a cup. A cup that will inevitably be spilled all over your craft table and ruin something. You'll thank me! They are also great for traveling or art journaling on the go.) pick up some of the ink and begin brushing the lighter color on the top half of the panel. Then brush the darker color on the bottom. Overlap the two colors in the middle to blend. If your inner perfectionist is screaming for straight lines then feel free to mask off a rectangle with some washi tape before you paint to make her happy.

Now you have this wonderful watercolor resist. Your friends and family will be so impressed and won't know how easy it was to do!

I decided to attach this with foam tape to a black card base for some contrast. It would also look great on a coordinating green card as well.

If you still haven't seen enough of this Snow Day collection, stop by my blog for even more card ideas from this kit. Thank you to Craft Warehouse for having me!

Craft Warehouse Design Team Member Amber Sheaves

Welcome local card maker Amber Sheaves! We invited her to join our design team because of her fun approach to card making! Our customers love a good card tutorial and Amber doesn't disappoint! Her blog is filled with inspiration for the next time you want to sit down and create! Read about how Amber started crafting... 

 

I started paper-crafting about 6 years ago when I was planning my son’s birthday party and wanted to customize some party invitations. I wandered the aisles of the craft store aimlessly trying to formulate a plan and not having a clue what I was doing! I bought my first stamp set and card blanks for those invitations. Now hundreds of stamps and several pounds of cardstock later and I’ve finally figured out what I’m doing! While I love to scrapbook all my kids’ events and our family memories, I think I found my niche in card-making as it was fun, artistic, and quick to do (essential with 3 little boys running around). Plus, since we move a lot I have friends all over the country that I mail cards to and keep in touch with.

Some of my favorite products from Craft Warehouse are the WeRMemory Keepers Albums Made Easy sets. These make scrapbooking (both traditional and pocket-style) a breeze! Everything in the set is so coordinated and trendy. Plus, the cards are the perfect size to throw on the front of a card too! I’ve even used them to make a banner for my craft room. And my other favorite items would be anything from the Tim Holtz line. I just love all his stuff and his style!

 

Join us tomorrow as Amber shares three holiday cards including a simple and easy photo step out so that you can create the same card from home! In the meantime visit her on her blog, Google +, and Pinterest!

Craft Warehouse Design Team Member Michelle Philippi

Local Northwest paper artist Michelle Philippi has always been a part of the Craft Warehouse "social media" scene. We love her enthusiasm on Instagram, her obsession with Mod Podge, and her love for our store! Here is what she says inspires her as a crafter...

How long have you been crafting?

I got in to papercrafting about 5 years ago.  I had a friend in Canada who had a blog and would post her cards and I thought “I can do that!”  So I dove in head first.  My early cards were not great.  It took me a while to figure out my personal style, but when I did, I felt so good, and happy creating cards, and then moving on to tags and other fun papercrafted things.

What inspires you to be creative?

Getting crafty is like therapy for me.  It’s my own personal time.  I’m a working mom, with a husband and 2 littles, and there’s always so much going on.  But when I have that quiet time when the kids are outside playing, I love sitting at my craft table and making special things for birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions.

 

What Craft Warehouse products do you love to use?

I get my liquid adhesive – Tombow Mono Multi (the green and white bottle) at Craft Warehouse (can’t live without it – LOL), and My Mind’s Eye papers and embellishments.  This is what I go there for often.  But somehow, when I leave, I have more than one bag?  LOL!  I often pick up things for kids crafting – like wooden or foam shapes.  I’m starting to get more in to mixed media and I only have ever had a white and a cream craft paint on my craft table but today actually I’m heading down to Craft Warehouse to get some of those Americana Décor chalk paints.  The ad said they have 29 colors; say what?!
 
How can you encourage others reading this column?

You know, Hazel & Ruby have a great tagline:  live handmade.  That really speaks to me.  Whether you can fruits and put fabric on top of the jar and tie it off with some jute, or you sew and make fun coin purses, or you’re a painter and you make beautiful canvases, living and giving handmade is so so so special.  We are so busy these days and I think taking that time and thought to give something extra special and personal to someone is a beautiful thing.  And giving handmade doesn’t have to cost a million dollars, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time – and that’s sort of how I roll....fast and cheap – ha ha.

Come on back and join Michelle as she shows off Authentique Paper's Three Christmases in One paper pad exclusive to Craft Warehouse stores only at noon today! In the meantime, visit her on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and her blog to find more inspiration!