"Create With Kathe" For Thursday 12th March 2015

I always like to do a mini display each week for my ladies, showing the past weeks Class, the projects I made made during the week, along with the projects for that day.

It always looks so bright and welcoming  …

This week we had lots fun making a Mini Album, featuring the Envelope Punch Board and a cute gift card holder ...

Project 1 Mini Album

This is a mini version of the Album I made on Friday, and features the Stampin' Up! stamp sets "Kinda Eclectic", "Painted Petals" and "Perfect Pennants".

"Altered Butterfly Album"

Eight mini envelopes, that started out being 6"x6" are made with the Envelope Punch Board.

The base card for the cover is Soft Sky, which has been stamped in Soft Sky with the leaves from the "Kinda Eclectic" stamp set.

The Watercolour Paper is washed with Aqua Painters and Soft Sky ink, then the the blooms are stamped in Strawberry Slush, with Pear Pizzazz for the stems, and little Pearl Basic Jewels have been added to the centre of the blooms.

Once the Watercolour Paper has dried, the sentiment "Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful" is stamped in Lost Lagoon.  

The Watercolour Paper is then framed with ribbon, before being adhered to the cover.

The cover, back cover, and envelopes are then bound using the Zutter Bind-It-All.

The finishing touches are the ribbons which are tied to the spiral binding, and of course the gorgeous butterflies in Soft Sky and Lost Lagoon cardstock, which have been cut using the "Butterflies" Thinlits.

A third butterfly in Vellum has been punched using the "Elegant Butterfly" Punch.

The little flower has been coloured using Lost Lagoon ink.

Wah-Lah ... "Mini Album" done!

Project 2 "Gift Card Holder"

This card is very economical to make, as it uses 1/2 sheet of Soft Suede cardstock and 1/2 a sheet of Naturals White cardstock, along with a scrap of Designer Series Paper.

Cut 2x Soft Suede and 2x Naturals White cardstock using the "Top Note" Bigz Die.

Trim the faux stitch line off of both of the Natural White cardstock Top Note's.

Featuring the stamp set "An Open Heart", stamp the branch and bird in Memento Tuxedo Black. Colour in using Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils, and blend with Aqua Painters.

The sentiments "Live with an open heart." and "Thank You" are stamped in Lost Lagoon, as this matches back with the "All Abloom" Designer Series Paper Stack.

Layer and adhere the cardstock over the Soft Suede Top Note's.

A small heart {from the "Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack"} is punched out of both of the front cover layers, as this gives very cute negative detail.

Both of the birds are stamped again, this time in Versamark, and Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder is then heat set with the Heat Tool.

Pearl Basic Jewels have been added to the centre of the berries.

An Antique Brad is threaded with Venetian Crochet Trim, and is attached to the card, as this gives the card the swing effect.

A pocket is added to the inside piece of Soft Suede cardstock, by cutting another Top Note in DSP, but you only need approximately a 1/4 of the Top Note, so this too is very economical.   The faux stitch line is cut off, then the panel is adhered, so as to form a pocket for a gift card.

The finishing touch is on the reverse of the card, when a smudge of Pear Pizzazz ink has been washed under the feet of the bird to ground it, and a small heart added, in the same DSP colour/pattern.

Wah-lah ... "Gift Card Holder" done!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by, and if you would like to make a Stampin’ Up! purchase online, please head on over  to my Stampin’ Up! website.

Happy craftin’,

Kathe.

Recipe Ingredient List

Stamp Sets : “An Open Heart", "Kinda Eclectic", "Painted Petals", "Perfect Pennants"

Ink Pads : Memento Tuxedo Black, Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky, Strawberry Slush

Cardstock :  Naturals White, Soft Sky, Soft Suede, Watercolour Paper, "All Abloom" Designer Series Paper Stack, Designer Series Paper, Vellum

Framelits : “Butterflies", "Top Note" Bigz

Punches : Elegant Butterfly, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack

Xtras : Antique Brads, Aqua Painters, Pearl Basic Jewels, Seam Binding Ribbon in Soft Sky, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stampin’ Emboss Powder in Clear, Venetian Crochet Trim

Special Tools : Big Shot, Envelope Punch Board, Heat Tool, Stampin’ Scrub and Stampin’ Cleaner, Stampin Trimmer, Zutter Bind-It-All

“Card Of With Jen” For Thursday 19th February 2015

So excited that Jen and I were able to sneak in another “Card Off” Challenge.

This Challenge was for a “Top Note Swing Gift Card Holder” ...

By Kathe Oldham

By Jen Hassloch

To check out my other Gift Card Holder ideas, please click here 

For my “Top Note Swing Gift Card Holder”, I chose a card-base of Soft Suede, which I cut two of, with the “Top Note” die.

Next I cut a third “Top Note”, this time in Naturals White, trimming off where the faux stitch line is.

Finally I cut a fourth “Top Note”, but only approx ¼ of the length is needed, as this forms the pocket for the Gift Card. I chose a lovely piece of cardstock from the “All Abloom” Designer Series Paper Stack, and again the faux stitch line was cut off.

For the stamping, I chose the gorgeous “An Open Heart” stamp set.

The sentiment “Love with an open heart.” is stamped in Island Indigo {which matches back with the “All Abloom” Designer Series Paper Stack}.

The branch and bird are stamped with the Momento Ink Pad in Tuxedo Black, as this gives a nice crisp finish.

The branch, berries and bird are all coloured with Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils, and blended with the Aqua Painters.

Small Pearls {from the Pearl Basic Jewels} have been placed on the berries.

The Heart Punch from the “Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack” has been used to create a small “negative detail” heart on the lower right corner, This allows for the “All Abloom” Designer Series Paper Stack to show through.

I have added Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder to the bird, and heat set with the Heat Tool. This gives the bird a glossy effect and another dimension.

To make the card “swing”, an Antique Brad has been fastened along with some Venetian Crochet Trim.

Wah-lah … “Top Note Swing Gift Card Holder” done!

For Jen’s “Top Note Swing Gift Card Holder”, the card base is Crumb Cake, which has been stamped with the “En Francais” stamp in Soft Suede, the two “Top Note’s” have also been sponged with Soft Suede.

Jen has added a gorgeous “Something Borrowed” Embellishment to the centre of the flower, which has been punched with the “Fun Flower” and “Five Petal Flower” Punches,

Some Burlap has been cut down to size, and layered with the sentiment “Hello Sunshine”, which is from the “Crazy About You” stamp set.

Jen has created a window with the “Decorative Label” Punch, and placed some patterned cardstock behind the window.

Jen has used the same patterned cardstock from Kaisercraft for the pocket, which will hold the gift card. The faux stitch line has been fussy cut off of the pocket.

To make the card “swing”, an Antique Brad has been fastened along with some Natural 5/8” Chevron Ribbon.

The finishing touch on the “swing” is the small bow which is made with off cuts from the Burlap.

The peace-de-la-resistance is the small Pearl {from the Pearl Basic Jewels} on the lower right hand corner which anchors the project nicely.

Cool beans … “Top Note Swing Gift Card Holder” done!

AND the verdict … it’s a draw!

Recipe Ingredient List

Stamp Sets : “An Open Heart”, “Crazy About You”, “En Francais”

Ink : Early Espresso, Island Indigo, Momento Ink Pad in Tuxedo Black, Soft Suede

Cardstock : “All Abloom” Designer Series Paper Stack, Crumb Cake, Naturals White, Soft Suede,

Dies : Top Note

Punches : Decorative Label, Five Petal Flower, Fun Flower, small Heart from the “Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack”

Ribbon : Venetian Crochet Trim, Natural 5/8” Chevron Ribbon

Xtras : Antique Brads, Aqua Painters, Pearl Basic Jewels, "Something Borrowed" Embellishments, Stampin’ Emboss Powder in Clear

Special Tools : Big Shot, Heat Tool, Stampin’ Trimmer

Other : Burlap, Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils, Kaisercraft Pad