Tag: embossing folder

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and a great 2023!

Hi everyone! Happy New Year wishes! Sending you love and good vibes on this first day of 2023! Can you believe it?! Another year just flew by!! I have high hopes for 2023 and I hope we all have a wonderful year ahead. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your love and support in 2022. I am so grateful for all of you and your kindness and encouragement. This is my happy place, and you guys are a big part of it. Always a kind word and a little note to keep me going. I love sharing my joy of creativity with you and I'm hoping we can do some fun things in 2023. I don't know what's going to happen but I'm optimistic! Let's do this!!

I have a fun and sparkly new year's card to share with you today! I used a simple color palette of gold, white and kraft to make this one! Oh, and lots of stars! The finished card is an A2 card base. I layered woodgrain for a bit of texture, then a white embossed layer, and then all the good stuff. I used products old and new from my stash….

I started by die cutting lots of stars from vellum, gold paper and kraft paper. Then I embossed my white layer with a stars embossing folder. I splattered on some gold metallic paint over the white layer and let that dry.

I die cut the numbers from kraft cardstock…. And I die cut those pretty words from gold cardstock!

I mixed and matched all the paper stars until I had a layout that I liked, then I attached them to the card with foam squares to pop them up a little bit. For the finaly touches, some white paint, white enamel dots, gold sequins and mirrored stars… I just kept adding things!

I do really love the vellum and gold together – super classy! Reminds me of champagne and a party!

Again, Happy Happy Happy New Year! My hope is for a new year full of love and peace and joy and faith!! Have a wonderful week. I don't really do new year resolutions but I've been thinking about a lot of things, especially coming out of the pandemic, and making plans to be more intentional with my time and to nurture my friendships more. What are you pondering as we enter the new year? I would love to know. Lots of love, and see you soon! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's card (Affiliate Links Used)

January 1, 2023
9-11 Remembrance Card – Home of the BRAVE

Hi everyone…. I decided to do a second blog post for today…. I made this card this morning and really wanted to share it on this day of remembrance of 9/11. It's truly a day of reflection and prayer for me and my household. I was moved this morning to create on the spot – something I love to do. I spent the morning thinking about 9/11 and our country and her people. I prayed and thought back to that fateful day….and made this card in quiet. I miss the days when I used to craft what I was feeling. Nowadays it seems like most of my crafting is scheduled and planned! Today's card is from my heart.

I will briefly share my 9/11 story. Everyone remembers where they were that morning… I was at home, getting ready for work and watching the Today show in our bedroom. (It was 6am in California). Even though everything started happening in New York, I got ready and went to the office. It was weird, we all showed up for work. I don't think we knew what else to do. My co-workers and I spent most of the day watching TV at the office in the hallway in between the cubicles. I worked in a big insurance office with about 100 employees. Not one single phone was ringing… It was so quiet. There were a lot of tears and shocked disbelief. We sat there stunned until we all finally went home and tried to process what happened.

The personal side of the story is that we were due to be married in three weeks – back East in Cape Cod. In 2001, we had been dating for 8 and a half years…and we had finally planned our wedding!…. Now we were wondering should we go? Can we go? Are we allowed to fly? Will anything be open? Is it appropriate? We prayed and prayed and decided to go ahead as planned. But we had to wait and see if there would be flights… Remember for a couple of weeks there were zero planes in the air. I distinctly remember thinking – wow, what a reminder of how short life is, and that I'd better live to the fullest while I can. Each day truly a gift. (Our wedding was just us, the photographer and the minister, so it was easy to still go) We got married on the beach at the Chatham Bars Inn – gazebo (I know some of you know where that is!)

So here's the remarkable thing, and something my husband and I talk about all the time. We flew 3000 miles where we knew no one, to get married. We traveled around New York (Adirondacks), Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New England, and the Cape and Islands….for two and a half weeks. Every single person was KIND to us. Helpful, welcoming, lovely, sweet, and AMERICAN. People thanked us for traveling (because no one was). People helped us find our way around (no iphones yet). People gave us upgraded rooms because it was our honeymoon. I'm getting the chills writing this. We were in Boston for a few days. Every boat in the harbor had an American Flag flying. Every building had the flag out front. The post office in Salem MA had like 75 flags in front. Everywhere there was a sense of patriotism and love for our beautiful country. Compassion for others. Kindness towards strangers. I will never ever ever forget what that felt like. America at her best, after the worst thing imaginable… Something to think about here in 2020. I literally cannot believe that was almost twenty years ago. Wow.

If you feel inclined – I would love to hear your 9/11 story in the comments. I think it's important to remember this day and to share our experiences to bring us closer together as Americans. XO

Okay, for my card… I have a couple of plastic bins in my craft room filled with patriotic stamps, dies, papers, stickers, etc. I reached for those bins and grabbed some of my very favorite Americana themed supplies from Taylored Expressions. I have lots and lots of old and new supplies from TE, so some of these things are no longer available. (CLICK HERE to see the patriotic section of TE). The finished card is an A2 kraft card base.

I embossed the stars embossing folder onto kraft cardstock for my top layer. I used vellum and white heat embossed that GORGEOUS sentiment! It's big and bold and the perfect saying for today. Next I stamped the USA map and die cut it with the matching die. I thought the map would fit on the card under the sentiment, but I was wrong! LOL. So I ended up tucking the map underneath the vellum – then I wrapped the vellum around the top layer. I actually love how this looks!

After I embossed the stars, I used a sponge dauber and white pigment ink and inked over the stars to make them show up better. Then I squinched the paper and folded the corners using my fingers – to make it look aged. I also inked the edges with Distress ink. I added some Doodlebug Stars shapes. Finally, I used my brand new Metallic Water Colors and splashed some gold over the entire card. On the background of the card base you can see that I stamped some larger stars.

Sending you blessings, love and kindness on this day of remembrance. I hope you had a good day. XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below for the supplies for this patriotic card.

September 11, 2020
Watercolor Wildflower Garden!

Hellooooo creative friends! What's new?? I have a really neat project to share today. I've been anxious to post it, but had to get some other things out of the way first, and had to take and edit lots of pictures too! So today's finally the day to show you something I really love! This was what I call an 'all day' project in the studio. I love those! I put on some music, get out tons of supplies, and just slowly create, figuring it out as I go along! Sometimes I envision the card first in my mind and make it. Other times, I just start making something and see what happens. That was the case with today's card. I sat down to watercolor these beautiful wildflower dies… One project was born, and then ultimately turned into a card, with lots of other layers and things! Happy August!

I have one entire Raskog cart in my studio that is all Tim Holtz supplies. All my dies, and embossing folders, and papers and stamps. So when I want to make something vintage-y, I just roll my cart over to the table. Love that. So, here is my watercolor wildflower garden card!

The finished card is kraft, A2 sized. Of course, those flowers are bursting over the top, so I'll need an A7 envelope for this one. No worries there! I layered another layer of kraft, which is embossed, on top of the card base. I needed a neutral base for all the color! I made the pocket using the We R Memory Keepers Pocket Punch Board. There are stencils and twine and a butterfly too. I'll walk through my process with the next photos.

In this picture you can see that after I embossed the kraft layer, I splattered it with white paint. I also wrapped it with twine before I attached it to the card base. The pocket was stenciled before it was folded. I added a bit of Tim Holtz Design Tape and then a pretty metal butterly. The sentiment was stamped with a Tim Holtz Stamp Set also. (Supplies are all listed at the bottom of my post).

These are all the flowers before I made them into a card! They were all water colored using Distress Inks! SOOOOO pretty! My husband thought they were real! Ha.

These are the dies that I used for the flowers. I die cut all the pieces from watercolor paper to stand up to water and ink!

I die cut out lots and lots of pieces so I could have options and try out different color combos.

Here they are drying on my table! I use distress inks smashed onto a palette and then use a water brush to pick up the color. Tip: Let one color dry before using a second color so they don't completely blend together. A quick blast from your heat tool will do the trick.

I cut the right size paper and constructed the pretty pocket using my new We R Memory Keepers Pocket Punch Board! It was SO easy to make!!! I'll be using this tool a lot!! I used cream cardstock to make the pocket. Literally it took three minutes. Done!

I stenciled the front of the pocket using distress ink and a dauber.

After I stenciled the pocket, I edged it all around with brown distress ink. I affixed one of the flower/leaf branches onto the front also. Then layered the butterfly on top. I used a tiny bit of white paint on my finger and went over the butterfly.

I arranged the flowers together separately and then stapled them together. Then I tucked the entire bunch into the pocket and glued it in with clear glue. I cut a few stems shorter to make a bouquet! I totally love how this came together!

When I first made the flowers, I put them into an old vintage mason jar I had in my stash and took some pictures out in the front yard. This is where my husband said 'where did you get those flowers?' and I said 'I made them!' to which he replied 'of course, I should have known!' LOL. He's been around a while. Ha. (Actually he was with me when I bought my very first rubber stamp in 1994!!!)

Okay! That was a lot of pictures! I hope you enjoyed learning about this project and how I made it. Also, I hope you have a wonderful day!! Get out and create!! CLICK HERE for the supply list for today, or CLICK the graphic below. (Affiliate links used). I will be back soon with another project to share. Thanks for coming by today. XOXO

August 1, 2019
Fun with the Stampin’ Up 2018 Holiday Catalog!

Hi friends! I have something fun to share today. And I also have some stories too! Today I'm featuring three cards I made using supplies, stamps, dies, and papers from the new Holiday 2018 Stampin' Up Catalog. Boy, Stampin' Up hit it out of the park with this catalog. I'm going to say it's the best one ever. I wanted everything! Yikes. My love affair with Stampin' Up goes back to 1994! Yes, almost 25 years ago! I still very vividly remember my first SU party! It was at my boss's house! LOL. His wife was really into it and she got us hooked. Back then, the SU catalog had stamps from tons of different stamping companies: Hero Arts, All Night Media, PSX, etc. etc. So you placed your order… Then Stampin' Up got all those items together from all those different companies and sent the big order to your hostess. The she had to bag everything for everyone. Whew. Oh yeah, and this all took about SIX WEEKS!!! Boy how times have changed! Now you place your order online and it's at your house practically the next day. Dang! I have so many wonderful memories, and so many stamp sets. A couple of years ago when I was doing the major purge of my studio I (sadly) threw out 20 years' worth of Stampin' Up catalogs. They were like old friends. Anyhoo I'm getting pretty far down memory lane – time to come back! LOL.

My good friend Wendy is an AWESOME Stampin' Up Demonstrator! Always in the top 100 of all demonstrators! She is a total boss. I love her and I'm so happy she lives close enough that we can hang out. You guys have seen me post photos from her amazing retreats. This post is done in support from one girl boss to another. I really wanted to feature some products from Stampin' Up and maybe get you all connected with her. Please go by her wonderful, and newly revamped website to say hi and leave some love. I helped her do the photographs for her site. Yay! She is cool and talented and generous. I would be super happy if you would shop with her. At the bottom of my post is some info on a giveaway she's doing for you with an order. Thank you for supporting me – and my friends.

Okay, first project is a winter wonderland, vintage, cabin, plaid, creation! OH MAN. This stamp and die combo was the first thing that caught my eye in the new catty. It's called Alpine Adventure. LOVE. I combined the stamps and dies with the gorgeous plaid paper and then went to town layering. The finished card is a 5.25 x 5.25 inch square. (Sometimes you need more room, amiright?)

This card started with a kraft card base in a big square. Then I used the beautiful Tin Tile Embossing Folder and embossed it with cream cardstock. I used Antique Linen Distress Ink and a sponge to go over the embossing to add more visual interest and shadows. I love this look. Next I die cut the sled and the snowshoes and the snowflakes out of red, cream and kraft cardstock. Then I stamped and die cut that cute little wreath and bow! I used Copic Opaque White ink to add snow splatters to the pieces, and I inked the edges of everything with more distress ink.

I wrapped a strip of that beautiful plaid paper around the embossed panel and attached it to the card base. I stamped the sentiment in brown ink onto cream cardstock. I hand cut it out in a banner using some small scissors. I added pearls to the centers of the snowflakes.

Here is a close up of the embossing folder. I swear that thing weighs like ten pounds! It's super think and fancy. Look at that impression!! I first thought I was going to use Kraft for this part but then changed my mind and used the cream paper.

I wanted the red sled to stand out more from the background so I die cut a second sled from cream cardstock and offset it just slightly. Gives it a pop!

Next up is a happy snowman full of Winter Cheer! He's skating by to say helloooooo! I used the Spirited Snowmen stamp set for this next card. I colored him with Copic Markers and added some gem accents for a bit of snowy sparkle. I really like the sketch illustration style of this set. The stamps are all really sweet. I started with a white A2 card base and layered light blue paper and a bit of striped paper from my stash. I stamped the snowman onto white paper and then die cut a circle around it. I added some snowflakes in a light blue ink around him and on the sentiment oval.

I used the pretty new burlap trim for this card to add visual interest down the center and break up all those stripes. I stamped and hand cut out the holly leaves to add around the circle.

And lastly I made an elegant Fall card using the new Falling For Leaves stamps and dies bundle. This is going to be a Thanksgiving card. I went with a very simple color palette to show off those pretty leaves dies. I love the black, gold and vellum together. This is an A2 card base in cream instead of bright white.

These intricate leaves cut like a dream and all the pieces fell right out. I did use my metal shim in my Big Shot and it was perfect. The background is another embossing folder from Stampin' Up that I've had for a while. I stamped the sentiment in rich black ink. This is the perfect sentiment for lots of Autumn occasions…

Here's a side view so you can see that pretty embossing. I added a few sequins from my giant sequin stash – in a matte gold finish.

Thank you for coming by today! I hope you enjoyed my take on these great supplies from Stampin' Up! Please go over to Wendy's Blog and look around at her great content and hopefully shop too! CLICK HERE to go to Luvin Stampin! Wendy is very kind and generous to me – so let's be generous to her!

October 18, 2018
Poinsettias in August? Yes!

Hello crafty pals! What's up with you? Happy August! Yes, I said August! Yikes. I was out doing errands yesterday and stopped in at Michael's and it was FULL ON HALLOWEEN already! I am so not ready for that. Lots of cool stuff, though! I got what I needed and ran out of there in holiday denial. NO….I will not process Halloween yet!

I'm still in Summer crafting mode! The project I'm sharing with you today shows you a way to use your craft stash in a totally different mode. I took the beautiful Poinsettia Swirls Dies (Sizzix by Brenda Walton) and made tropical flowers out of them! Something about the shape of the flowers made me think…. "Hmmm, I bet I could make this look kind of cool with some pretty bright colors." I'm always looking for new ways to use what I already have. This is the perfect example of that – Poinsettias in August! What do you have in your craft room that you can put a different spin on?

Here's my bright and sunshiney card for today….

The papers I used are from the Lawn Fawn Let's Polka paper set. I used the 12 x 12 version for a bigger scale on my patterned dots. First I cut out all of my die cut pieces from the Poinsettia Swirls Die Set. Then I embossed a sheet of white paper using the Chateau Damask and Veranda embossing folder set.

In this photo you can see the beautiful pattern of the embossing. I gently edged all my cut out pieces with some Corduroy Distress Ink and a sponge. Even on bright colors, just the tiniest bit of brown gives contrast and makes the edges stand out. I also inked around the white layer.

When I assembled the flowers, I put foam tape between the layers and then gently rounded the petals upwards to give dimension off the page. I added pretty enamel dots as accents.

I added the Thinking of You sentiment, stamped in Corduroy ink, so that this card could be for any purpose.

I hope I've sparked your imagination today, and maybe got you to think outside the box a little bit! Enjoy your craft supplies and get crafty! Hope your day is awesome! XOXO

August 4, 2015
Mittens and Reindeers! Oh My!

Hi There my friends! I'm getting caught up here on the blog after an awesome Thanksgiving weekend! Are you having a great time? I hope so!! Back to work tomorrow though…Ugh. It was a nice four days off. I'm here today to share the cards I made for the Taylored Expressions Blog this month. CLICK HERE to go to the TE blog and check out everything!! This month my projects were all about winter! I made two very cheery and happy Christmas cards and didn't want to miss the chance to share them here too.

First up is a warm and cozy mitten card made with my absolute favorite new item from the last TE release. It's called the Sweater Weather cutting plate….Isn't it beautiful? I die cut it from cream paper and layered it onto a kraft card base.

Then it's alllll about that yummy felt! Taylored Expressions makes the best felt in the business in my opinion. SO many gorgeous colors and it cuts like an absolute dream. You really should try some! Here I cut a few different colors to make my little mittens… Then I tied them together with a twine bow.

A sweet sentiment on a clean and simple oval completes the card – so cheerful, right?

Next up I'm gonna POW you with some color! LOTS of color! LOL. This card was inspired by the beautiful paper pad called Frosty Friends – from Doodlebug! Teal and purple for winter – um, yes please!! I couldn't resist using my Woodland Winter creatures with this paper…

First I made them a snowglobe and embossed it with the Snowfall Embossing folder! I gently inked the edges in light blue ink. Then I had fun coloring with my markers!! I love matching my Copics to the patterned paper – I really think this makes the whole project… I will hold the paper up to my Copic chart and then I can pick just the right shade.

These Doodlebug enamel dots get me every time! I'm pretty sure I've mentioned my obsession before… These winter ones are SPARKLY!!!! Are you kidding me!!!

Okay, friends, that's what I have for you today! Tell me something good as we get started in December tomorrow… What are you up to?? XOXO

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November 30, 2014
Layered Butterfly card – so fabulous and fun!

Hey friends! Are you having a great weekend?! I am spending today getting caught up on things! Yesterday, to my delight, I got to hang out with my fellow craft blogger and friend Audrey Pettit (HER BLOG HERE)! She is visiting from back east and we had a great time walking and shopping in Berkeley. We met online through our blogs and she is just the bestest. How nice to make friends from all over the world – one of the best parts of being in this awesome, crafty, bloggy circle of friends….

I CANNOT wait to share this card with you today!! I used another one of my CHA 'must haves' to craft a pretty butterfly creation. Have you seen the new Tim Holtz Layered Bee, Dragonfly and Butterfly dies with the matching texture fades? OMG. FABULOUSNESS! Again, these are something I have been stalking, I mean waiting for, ever since January!! Finally got this gorgeous butterfly die in my hot little hands and I didn't waste any time getting inky!

The coolest part about these new dies is that they have a matching embossing folder! YUM. You cut the die out first and then put the cut-out shape into the embossing folder/texture fade! It puts in the gorgeous embossed details. I took lots of pictures to show you. I got the Bee one too…

Here is my finished card:

Here is a good side shot to show you the lovely embossed parts of the butterfly. In the background is a compass embossing folder that I distressed a bit with some Antique Linen ink and some splashes of water.

My butterfly was cut from watercolor paper. You guys know I do that a lot….so the paper will stand up to everything I do to it. For the color, I used some new Prima Mists in an aqua and a gold. Then I used three different shades of Distress Glitter…cuz you know…MORE IS MORE. After all was said and done, I used my fingers to gently curve the wings upward before they were completely dry.

Here's a close up of the background layer piece…

Glittery goodness! And some gems for good measure. I also dyed-to-match some pretty Tim Holtz ribbon using a few shades of blues and greens…

For the metal piece, I coated the entire thing with Broken China Distress Paint and let it dry. Then I went back with some sandpaper and sanded off the top part, so that only the letters will show up blue. I thought this was a nice sentiment for this pretty butterfly.

Whenever I make something with all these paints, and glitters, and inks it makes me so happy! I love the entire process of choosing each color and each element, and then layering them all, and making it come to life. I think if you gave this die to 100 different crafters, we would all make something totally unique and wonderful, and that too makes me happy. Have a blessed and creative day my friends! XO

SUPPLIES:

July 20, 2014