Hello stampers! Happy Monday to you. I am sure feeling the love over here in the Netherlands. It would appear that I may have to start blogging about more than one card at a time. I still have two to feature and then two more arrived in the mail on Saturday. What a wonderful problem to have!
A Card from Shelley Merkin
Not only is Shelley’s card lovely, there is also a heartwarming story inside. Sometimes as stampers we would like more sayings for the inside of our cards but I always tell my people that the best thing you can put inside a card is your own writing. I am a huge proponent of writing more than just your name and a quick sentiment inside your card. Make it personal!! That will add so much more meaning and value to your beautiful hand made card. Your recipient will definitely feel the love!
Shelley shared about her responsibilities caring for elderly parents with declining health and also commisserated with me about living further away from her own parents than she would like. It is hard to not be able to spend as much time with your loved ones as you would like, especially when they need more care and attention. What really shone through with this card is how we can touch each other’s lives without even knowing it and that social media and the internet can truly be a powerful tool for connection and blessings.
Shelley used a technique called triple layer stamping for her card and if I remember correctly the stamp set used is one from saleabration last year. It is a DistINKtive stamp which I just love. I will do a video this week showing that technique. Shelley lives in Lawrenceburg, Indiana in the United States.
Karen Silvester’s Card
Karen chose to use the beautiful stamp set Nature’s Beauty since it is a stamp set that is being used to raise money for mental health awareness around the world. Her card is soft and pretty in balmy blue and whisper white. I love the touch of glitter. It really is amazing what a simple little extra will do for a card! Karen comes from Chaplin, Saskatchewan. Some day Gerard and I want to do a cross Canada tour in a camper, then I can see Saskatchewan and maybe even meet Karen. I really would love to meet all of you in person!
Thanks So Much
I am so enjoying sharing the cards that I am receiving. Tomorrow I will share two more. I just realized that tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and I am hosting a party and I will be busy making oliebollen, so there will be NO Facebook live video this week. Well, there might be an unscheduled one but not the regular weekly one. I know you understand and that you will most likely also be busy with festivities. Thanks for joining me today, I hope you have a super day!!
If you want to join in on the happy mail contest, my mailing address here is Jackie Bultje c/o Gerard van der Sar Bloemenlaan 6 2691 JC s’Gravenzande The Netherlands I will be here until January 29.,
Hello stampers. A few weeks ago I came across a super cute fancy fold card that I like to call a criss cross fancy fold. That card was made to look like either a basket full of apples or pumpkins and was made by Whispers in Ink. I had none of the supplies with me here in Holland to make that card so I decided to improvise. The important thing is that this is wonderful fancy fold, now called criss cross AND it is really easy to make.
The Card
I made this criss cross card for my Facebook live and the original was in Dutch to honour the country that I am visiting. I made a second one using some English stamps. Here they are.
Here is the inside of the card. I used the stamparatus and the silicone mat to make a reversible rabbit; it’s such fun to have him looking the other way!
The framelit from Feels Like Frost was used for the sentiment and I used it twice to cut it down to the right size.
If you want to see how this fold was made you can see it in my Facebook live video here. Here is the Dutch card.
The Measurements
The card base is 4 1/4″by 11″. You score it from corner to corner diagonally and then fold along the long score line. While it is still folded you measure to 5 7/8″ and score again. Fold in half along that score line and then you have your card. That is why I call this fold criss cross! Take a piece of patterned paper also cut to 4 1/4″ by 11″ and also scored it from corner to corner diagonally. Cut along the score lines and you will get all the odd shapes. If you trim the shapes down on two sides by about an 1/8″ then they will fit on the various panels. If this is not clear, then the best option is to watch the Facebook live. You can also check out the link that I shared at the top of the page to the original card that caught my eye. Whispers in Ink also has a video!
How to Shop
Just in case you didn’t know, you can shop with me online if you live in Canada. Simply click on the images below and you will land in my online store. If you have never shopped online with me before then you need to create an account. You only need to do this once, after that you can simply log into your account whenever you need anything. If you are ordering less than $200 I would appreciate it if you use the current host code. If your order is $200 or more then you qualify for host rewards and please no NOT use a host code. I made a video to show you how to create an online account, you can see it here.
The current host code is UWHQR3YM. When everyone uses the host code then host benefits don’t go to waste. I use these host benefits to keep my operating costs down and I pass these savings on to you. I am hoping that with more regular blogging and with a regularly scheduled Facebook live video that more people will be exposed to my business and will then also order online from me. That is why I need help from my tribe! Every time you share something I post whether from pinning my creations to Pinterest or sharing things on Facebook, it all helps to grow my business. The challenge is to keep my business thriving even when I spend time in Holland deepening my relationship with Gerard and figuring out my life!
Hello stampers. Yesterday I did a Facebook live showing how to do reversible deer in two different ways. Unfortunately I have a really bad cold so I am going to do a simple blog post. I don’t have the energy to show you step by step photos for the reversible deer but I will share the link for the Facebook live in case you missed it. In this video I show you how to make three different cards using the deer from Nature’s Beauty with two cool folds as well. I will blog about all three cards this week but for today I am just going to talk about the reversible deer.
Reversing the Deer using the Stamparatus
The most common way of creating a reverse image is done with our fabulous too, the Stamparatus. Place the silicone mat in the stamparatus, right into the corner. Position your stamp where you want it to go on the silicone mat. Make sure you have a piece of card stock ready that is cut so that it will be big enough to cover the area of the stamparatus where the stamp is. Ink up your stamp and stamp it directly on the silicone mat. Be careful not to ink it up too much or your image will be blurry. Lift the stamparatus plate, place your card stock in the corner and lay it carefully over the stamped image. Put the magnet on it and then stamp the image again. You can ink up your image again if you plan to use both sides of the image. Take a look at what you have created! You will see that you have a mirror image on both sides which you can now either fussy cut or use a die if there is a coordinating one. There is no die for the deer from Nature’s Beauty but it is very easy to fussy cut.
Reversible Deer with Vellum
It was totally by accident that I discovered the easiest way to create a reverse image deer. For one of my cards I needed a vellum deer. When I turned the deer over to adhere it to my card I noticed that you could see the image just as well on the other side! How awesome is that? No muss, no fuss, that is my kind of “technique”! Another bonus to doing it that way is that you get two different shades of deer, just like in real life. A good tip is to sponge liquid glue like Tombow just on the legs and body of the deer. This gives the deer a little more “movement”. The deer will look like they are inquisitive and inclining their heads towards you a little bit. Trust me, it really does look like that! When you have vellum deer it won’t work to use dimensionals since you will see them through the vellum.
The Card
I got the idea for this card from Rachel Tessman. She loves the Feels Like Frost paper as much as I do and she wanted to use it in such a way that you can see the full six inches of it. I tweaked it a bit by changing the measurements to use even more of the paper and I added a vellum deer because that is what I have been wanting to do for a while with this paper.
I have to say that I love Rachel Tessman’s idea of using the framelit from Feels Like Frost and deconstructing it to use the elements to pop behind the front of this card. It is a good idea to think outside the box and use this paper not only for Christmas cards. I have limited supplies with me in Holland so I used the framelit from the Most Wonderful Time product medley for the words. The sentiment came from Toile Christmas.
The Measurements
The early espresso card is a regular size, 8 1/2″ by 5 1/2″ with just one extra score line at 1 1/2″ as well as the regular score line in the middle at 4 1/4″. The patterned paper is trimmed to 5 3/8″ and then cut in strips of 2 3/4″, 1 1/4″, and 2″. At the far right you add a strip of white card stock 2″x 5 3/8″. The optical illusion is that when the card is folded into a z-fold style (the first part is folded back towards you) then you adhere the patterned paper just on one side so that it extends past the cardstock. Clear as mud? Watch my Facebook live video here and it will all make sense.
I thought I would end this blog post with the picture of the reversible deer card that I made during the Facebook live video yesterday. This card has no cabin and the puddle is also darker. There were a lot of positive comments on this card so here it is!
We will make the Feels Like Frost card with the vellum deer at my class on October 17 and 19, you can read more about it here. If you purchase the Feels Like Frost suite you will make 8 free cards, if you purchase the bundle you will make four free cards. I know it is going to be an epic class with amazing cards and lots of fun.
Thanks so much for joining me today. I have not accomplished nearly as much today as I had hoped but I am very thankful that I could at least share this blog post with you. Happy stamping!
Hello stampers. I absolutely love stamp sets that allow me to play. Snow Front and Nature’s Beauty are perfect for that. Nature’s Beauty has some great images in it and I really wanted to make some great cards so that you would all want to buy it. Why you ask? Well of course I want you to want ALL the stamp sets in the catalog, but this one has a special place in my heart. Nature’s Beauty is a stamp set that has been especially created to raise money for mental health organizations. Four dollars from each set will be donated to different mental health organizations in each country so that the money raised in each country remains there. Thank you Stampin’Up! Nature’s Beauty is a lovely stamp set with beautifully drawn animals: a deer, a rabbit, a fox as well as several different groupings of trees and grass. It will be great for many different occasions and just because.
Snow Front
When I was ready to make my third card using Nature’s Beauty I knew that I wanted to create a scene for the deer. I also knew that I wanted two deer facing each other. That means that I needed to use a really cool but simple technique involving the stamparatus and the silicone mat. I will share this technique during my Facebook live next Tuesday. Having only limited supplies on hand forces me to be a little bit more creative. Snow front has so many different stamps that allow you limitless possibilities for winter scene making. Time was of the essence and this card was actually very quick and easy to make, it came together on the first try!!
You can see that I used only three colours: soft suede, mossy meadow and seaside spray. The seaside spray is very subtle, it is found in the small patch of ice at the feet of the deer. It also ties in with the patterned paper in the background that comes from Come to Gather.
The deer on the right is the one that was reverse stamped using the silicone mat. This technique gives the stamped image a totally different look which may cause you to think that it is an entirely different stamp! I would love to spend a romantic evening in that cabin by the woods watching these deer? I hear the nightly rate is good, so you might want to stay there too!
Nature’s Beauty
This stamp set has only image stamps in it but it will coordinate with any of the sentiments from our other stamp sets. I also think it works very well for blank cards. Sometimes the only words you need are the heartfelt letter you write on the inside of the card. They are priceless. I would encourage you to use this stamp set to send random acts of kindness cards. Cards that can be sent for no reason at all but to send happy mail. If we all did that more often the world would be a better place. Mental illness would decline and that is the purpose of this stamp set! I hope you all get on board and buy the set. In fact I believe so strongly in this that EVERYONE who orders this set from my online store will get a card from me in the mail using this set. The only catch is that you must use the current host code: ZQKK7SAB.
Remember, four dollars from every set sold will be donated to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada. That is a significant contribution and I am excited to see how much money we will raise. It would be amazing if we could keep tabs on how many cards are sent using this stamp set! Together we can make a difference, one small step at a time, one stamp set at a time, one card at a time.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to tune in to the Facebook live on Tuesday at 9am EST or 3pm European summer time. I will be making this card and two others using Nature’s Beauty.
Hello stampers did you know that Stampin’ Up! is raising money for mental health with a brand new stamp set? The stamp set is called Nature’s Beauty. Four dollars from every stamp sold is donated to mental health organizations. I find it so fitting that Stampin’Up! is doing this awesome thing. We all know that the joy of stamping is great for mental health; it is such a stress reliever. On the other side, it is such a mental health boost to receive a beautiful hand made card. This is a beautiful stamp set with animals and trees that are perfect for colouring. I want to show you what I have done with this set.
The Cards
The first card was made because I wanted to showcase these stamp sets for my Christmas Bingo event on Friday. At this event we play lots of Bingo and everyone wins a prize of product from the new holiday catalog. We also make four simple projects using holiday catalog products. There are a lot of people at this fun event so the projects have to be simple. I decided that a monochromatic card would be perfect. The colours are also emotionally soothing, very appropriate for a mental health awareness campaign! Here is my first card:
Here is the second card, and lastly be sure to watch the video to see how the last card was created and why. I hope you fall in love with this stamp set and help raise money for mental health awareness.
The Video
Thanks so much for joining me today, I am especially proud of working together with such a great company that is always looking for ways to help out. Mental health is a huge issue these days and card making is a great way to make a difference in so many ways. Have a super day!
