Technique Tuesday - Pop up cards

Today I'm going to share a card I made for Mother's Day last week. It is a free standing pop up card and really easy to make!

You can find an amazing tutorial HERE. It is the one I used to make this card. I did make the tag portion wider than it is in the tutorial to fit my images.

The main little hugging bird image is a From the Heart Stamp called Apple Blossom Birds. The leafy background stamps are from Stampin' Up hostess set called Bloom with Hope. (Bloom with Hope is retiring as of June 2 so order while supplies last!)

The pattern on the base I hand stamped using Unity Stamp Co. Bitty Backgrounds and Stampin Up Stamp-a-ma-jig to line the stamp up.

This is what the card looks like closed and ready to be put in an envelope and shipped. I do not have a picture of it but I put a piece of white card stock on the back of the tag to write a little message to my Mom before putting the card together.

Hope you enjoy this one. I think I'll make a ton of Christmas and birthday cards like this soon. This is an easy and quick technique once you get the hang of it.

Challenges:
Loves Rubberstamping #151 Add sentiment

Showcase Friday

Every Friday I'm going to try and showcase my favorite products and companies. Some of these companies I discovered from other paper crafters that I follow so perhaps I can help others discover these amazing products and companies!

Today's showcase is from Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin kits. Paper Pumpkin is a kit that comes once a month with everything you need to make a variety of projects. Each month is themed and will come with stamps, ink and paper. You can sign up for Paper Pumpkin subscriptions for a single month or for the whole year!

When I signed up to be a Stampin' Up demonstrator in February I received a free Paper Pumpkin kit. I had opened it to see what was inside but I had not really messed with it until today, and I have to say this kit is genius! Sometimes you may not have a lot of time to create cards or you may be new to paper crafting and want a fairly inexpensive way to get into the craft. Paper Pumpkin is the answer to those problems. You can even get this kit to create with your kids or grandchildren when you are looking for a rainy/snow day activity.

This is what I received in my Demo Paper Pumpkin Kit:

The kit came with everything needed to make four A2 sized cards and two 3x3 cards that are masculine Father's day and Birthday themed. It even came with envelopes and instructions on how to make one of each size card!

This is a picture of the cards using the instructions from the kit.

All the colors included in the kit coordinate really well and in the instructions there is a list of Stampin' Up colors that will coordinate with the kit if you wanted to add even more layers or embellishments to the cards. Everything inside comes pre-cut and scored. You only need to stamp, adhere and done!

Here are the others cards I made with the kit using only the items in the kit but using different layouts.

In a short time I made all these cards and I'm left with beautiful cards ready for my brother-in-laws for Father's day and two small birthday cards. Also I now have a tiny Stampin' Up ink pad in a color I didn't have yet and some new sentiment stamps to add to my stash.

I hope you enjoyed these cards and take a look at Paper Pumpkin kits.

1-Month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription - 137858

Price: $19.95

3-Month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription - 137859

Price: $59.85

6-Month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription - 137860

Price: $113.70

12-Month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription - 137861

Price: $215.40

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Twisted Thursday - Zombie Love

Today is Twisted Thursday and as promised I will explain more about my Thursday theme.

One day my brother came to me and made the comment that I am always making really cute and girly cards, but I'm one of those that isn't a cutesy person. I'm a rocker chic. I love the color black, red and pink oh and can't forget a dark purple. I almost all my clothes has some skull or dark imagery on it. So he suggested I make what he wanted to call F*** you cards. Normally you send cards to people you love and care for so why not make cards for people you don't like.

I love my brother and I of course will not make those type of cards, even though the thought amuses me. Instead, I thought I'd make what I call Twisted cards. These cards will have zombies and monsters and other dark gothy type images and themes.

So now for my first Twisted Thursday card.

The image I used is called Newly Dead by Rick St. Dennis. I absolutely LOVE Rick's digital images! They range from dark and gothic to cute and adorable. There is something for everyone in his line of digital stamps.

I colored the image with my Spectrum Noir markers and tried to give them a dirty, old coloring and of course with a hint of rotting green. The die cut was cut using my Silhouette, and I sponged over the dark red card stock with Black Soot distress ink and then again with Colorbox bronze metallic to give it a slight shimmer. I should really invest in pearl spritz. I was going to use Glossy effects but I have no patience on waiting for it to dry especially on a large die cut like this one.

I understand this type of card isn't for everyone, but I had a ton of fun making this card. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it.

Wonderful Wednesday - Mother's Day Card

Today is Wonderful Wednesday, mostly because I can't think of something better to call today. Lol! Wednesdays will be dedicated mostly to cards that are cheerful, holidays, and uplifting. These projects can range from something inspirational for someone who is unwell to simply something very bright and filled with happiness.

Today's card is a Mother's Day card. I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't follow my blog (I don't think she knows how to) so it should be pretty safe to post the card I'm going to bring to her this weekend.

The image is the free stamp of the month offered by From the Heart Stamps this month called Apple Blossom Birds. I used my Silhouette to size the digi stamp and then print I think 8-10 copies of the image on a single sheet of card stock so that I could color them and then paper piece them to give the image a more 3D and layered look.

I used my Spectrum Noir markers to color the image and then used a random sentiment from my stash. The patterned paper is also from my stash. Card stock used is Stampin' Up Strawberry Slush (retiring soon) and Blackberry Bliss.

Don't forget to show all the mothers out there how much you appreciate them for without them we wouldn't exist nor be the people we are today.

Happy Early Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there.

Challenges to enter:
From the Heart Stamp #108 Sketch and twist (layers) used
Loves Rubberstamping #150 Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown #243 Flowers for her (apple blossoms)
Pile It On #67 - Mother's day or for a Lady

Technique Tuesday - Faux Patina

Starting today I'm going to do my best to bring you new techniques every Tuesday. I'm always on the look out for new techniques when it comes to paper crafting. This week I'm show casing Faux Patina technique. I absolutely love this technique because it gives your paper project, in this case a card, the look of an antique frame!

This is the project I created this week.

 I used the digital stamp The Bride from The Paper Shelter. I colored the image using my Spectrum Noir markers.

You can see the tutorial on the Faux Patina technique that I originally learned it from HERE.

Now I didn't have the colors she used in her tutorial but instead I used Stampin' Up Baked Brown Sugar, Tempting Turquoise, and Old Olive. I also used Ranger Distressed ink, Frayed Burlap.

To start with I rubbed Baked Brown Sugar onto my embossing folder and then ran it through my Big Shot.

Then I sponged Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive over the surface being a little sporadic with where I sponged. I continued to go over it until I felt I had the coloring I wanted.

Then I sponged Frayed Burlap over the cardstock to darken it and give it a more antiqued look.

Now this is where I lack in patience. You can either wait for it to dry or do as I did and give it a good blast with your heat gun. I then rubbed my Embossing Buddy over the entire surface to attempt to make sure it was dry. With my Versamark stamp pad, I rubbed it light over the surface in random areas and then embossed it with Gold Metallic embossing powder to give it a little more of a metal look.

The pictures aren't the best due to my LED lamp I use on my crafting station, but I hope you enjoyed today's technique and would love to see your creations if you choose to try this technique. Simply leave a comment with a link to your creation.

Challenges I'd wish to enter:
ABC Challenge - I is for Inspire us
Sister Act #104
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Anything goes
Pile It On #67 - For a Lady

Manly Monday

Welcome to Manly Monday! Every Monday I strive to create a new card/project for the men or boys in our lives.

Here is this weeks creation:

The stamp set I used was Moon Lake from Stampin' Up. I used my Spectrum Noir markers to color the stamped image and to create the water along with some distress inks. I also used a combination of Stampin' up inks to create the sky.

For the sentiment I first stamped Hardwood background from Stampin' Up on craft card stock and then heat embossed the sentiment over top. I used a few brown and orange brown distress inks and sponged them over the cardstock and just wiped any excess on the embossing. I then took my scissors and Tim Holtz distressing tool to give the edges a rough look.

Also the cardstock I used is a retiring color from Stampin' Up and the paper behind the stamped image panel is a scrapbook patterned paper I got out of my stash.

I hope you enjoyed Manly Monday! Don't forget to create those masculine cards for Father's Day which is just right around the corner. #handmadeoverstorebought

Challenges I'd like to enter:
Simon Says Stamp Wed- Anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #371 Use a sentiment
Inspiration Destination #31 Anything goes
Sister Act #104 Anything goes
Crafts 4 Eternity #224 Inspired by Nature

Time to get organized and motivated!

One of the reason I don't have a post ever day or a new card to share is because sometimes I'm not motivated to create. Or sometimes I'm just running around all day trying to cram everything in at once.

Well no more. I bought a planner from Plum Paper Designs at the beginning of the year to get myself organized and I had yet to do just that. So starting Monday I have my week all planned out so that I can share new cards with you everyday (Mon-Fri), perhaps some new techniques, and share some of my favorite stamp companies with you. Also I will hopefully be able to do all this and get my regular house work done also. That is if I have planned it all out to where I'm not over whelmed.

To keep myself motivated and excited to create, I've decided to go with my Manly Monday idea and assign a theme for everyday. This way when I go to create for that day, I'm not just perusing my favorite challenges for ideas, I already have a general idea of what theme of card I want to create for that day.

This is my current themes (subject to change as I or you give me new theme ideas):

Manly Monday -- These cards/projects will be themed for men in our lives. Creating a feminine card is always easy for us, it's creating something more masculine that I find to be a challenge sometimes.

Technique Tuesday -- I strive to make myself try out new techniques whether it is a new card fold, coloring medium, or a new texture technique. On Tuesdays I'm going to make it a point to either try a new technique or share some of my favorite techniques with you.

Wonderful Wednesday -- For those that work Wednesday is that dreaded day that reminds you that you are only halfway through the work week and still have a few more days to go. So to brighten your day I will be trying to create cards that are bright, colorful, and uplifting. This can range from just a bright feminine card, get well cards, or even inspirational projects.

Twisted Thursday -- My brother came to me one day and told me that he found it odd that I create so many "cutesy" cards. He found this baffling because I'm more of a rocker/grungy type of person. So he came up with the idea of doing cards that were a little darker or twisted. I'll explain more and give you a visual explanation on my first Twisted Thursday next week.

Showcase Friday - I always list where I purchased my stamps or other products used on each card in my posts along with links to the site and even the listing for the particular stamp. On Fridays I'll make that project all about one of my favorite brands or companies. I will like to say that none of these companies have paid me, asked me, or given me incentive to do this. I just want to share my favorites with you and maybe you'll be excited by their images/products as much as I was.

So let me know what you think of these themes and if there are any themes you think should be added, or any requests for certain days.

Thank you for following. I love reading all of your comments on my projects, it keeps me motivated to continue to create and share with you.