Mix It Up Monday: Botanical Blooms bundle One-Sheet wonder

It’s Mix It Up Monday again and time for another colour combination from my In Color charts.

I bet you thought I’d done a runner, didn’t you? Apologies for the long absence, I’ve been a little busy with Christmas which, coupled with the husband and I still feeling quite under the weather, has meant stamping and blogging has been put on the backburner. 

But I hope you had a good Christmas and, if in the UK, are enjoying the extended break. 

I’ve just had a fun session playing with new products with the intention of creating one card for Mix It Up Monday… which rapidly turned into four projects! That’s because this stamp set, Botanical Blooms, lends itself perfectly to the one-sheet wonder technique and, once I got started, I realised (to my surprise) just how much I liked this particular colour combination. 

For the uninitiated, a one-sheet wonder is where you stamp randomly all over a sheet of cardstock, then cut it up to make multiple projects. You’ll find lots of one-sheet wonder ideas on the web but I’m sure you can also make up your own, just as I did for these projects.

I began by cutting down the cardstock to 11in x 6in and creating a gift bag using the Gift Bag Punch Board, which is rapidly becoming my new favourite toy. Instead of punching the holes in the top to tie it closed, I punched two “half-holes” in the sides, to act as notches for some jute twine. 

I finished off by embellishing with some of the gorgeous flowers you can create using the co-ordinating Botanical Builder Framelits Dies.  No more fussy-cutting - yay!

Now to use the leftover pieces… and I soon rustled up the simple project, shown next to the bag, based on the sample in the Sale-a-Bration brochure. 

Next came this clean and simple Thank You card. Well, it’s clean now but it was never simple as I had a bit of an accident when I creased my lovely white cardstock with a very dirty bone folder. So, instead of a lovely white card base, I ended up cutting it down and mounting it onto a Mint Macaron one instead… and covering up some stray ink smudges with not-so-random flowers. 

Finally I made this Blushing Bride number with my largest piece of stamped cardstock and a simple greeting. I even have a piece of stamped cardstock left over but I ran out of steam so will have to save that for another day. Hope you like the projects and are inspire to create your own one-sheet wonder! 

Gift Bag Punch Board [135862] £18.00	Botanical Blooms Photopolymer Bundle [140819] £46.75	Botanicals For You Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141237] £0.00	Deco Labels Framelits Die [130102] £22.00	One Big Meaning Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139420] £17.00
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock [138344] £6.50	Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock [138341] £6.50	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride [131287] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock [140490] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25
Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] £6.00	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323] £6.00	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad [126986] £6.00	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad [131172] £6.00	White 1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Jute Ribbon [137904] £8.25
Pearl Basic Jewels Embellishments [119247] £4.50	Home For Christmas Enamel Dots [140536] £3.75

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Home for Christmas gift box

Yep, it’s me again and, as you may have guessed, I’m cramming… trying to get all my Christmassy posts done before The Big Day on Friday!

This one was hastily thrown together yesterday morning as we needed a nicely packaged gift in a hurry.  Talk about cheating! The gift tag was already made, from Monica’s retreat (they were supposed to be hanging ornaments, but I liked them better as gift tags) and the box was created with the Gift Box Punch Board. 

To make this box, I used 12”x12” paper and the largest measurement on the board. However, after messing up my first effort, I realised that there is an error on the board - not sure if this is on everybody’s metric measurements but tells you to score the diagonal at XL when actually it should be L. If this means nothing to you, ignore it and just get on with your life. But if it rings any sort of a bell, please do check and let me know. 

As the box contains a batch of Rocky Road, not noted for its lightweight nature, I strengthened the box inside with Real Red cardstock, adding a layer of chipboard underneath the bottom piece for extra rigidity. 

To finish off, I really was running out of time – and festive supplies – so I simply tied a bow around the top. 

Talking of The Big Day, guess who has their own show on Radio Derby on Christmas Day? Who else could it be? My Mum and her friend, Jean, have been given two whole hours to themselves – they’re even listed in the Christmas Radio Times! Mum’s being very cagey about the show’s content, and I honestly can’t imagine what to expect so we’ll just have to wait and see. 

tams# 5105

Product List

Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper [139592] £10.00	Cozy Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139779] £17.00	Circles Collection Framelits Die [130911] £24.00	Vanilla Coaster Board [129392] £5.50
Gold Glimmer Paper [133719] £4.50	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [126949] £6.00	White 1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Jute Ribbon [137904] £8.25

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Tutorial: Bendy card, watercolour salt background, box with Gift Bag Punch Board

No Mix It Up Monday this week I’m afraid – just not had time to create one, what with one thing and another. But it gives me a chance to treat you to a festive tutorial, featuring a very fun technique!

This project was the topic of a class I held at the beginning of the month and it’s based on one I did on a retreat with Yorkshire demonstrator Monica Gale. I CASEd the card completely, but created my own box to hold it. 

Here are the instructions I gave the ladies in the class. I have to confess that things didn’t run smoothly and I ended up standing over people in pairs while they created the box using the Gift Bag Punch Board and I shouted at them! To be fair, it was their first time using the board. But I still think this is my favourite punch board of the three currently available. 

Bendy card

(Tutorial by Monica Gale)

1. Ink the large acrylic block half with Island Indigo and half with Night of Navy ink. 
2. Spritz well with water then lay your watercolour paper on top. 
3. Sprinkle the wet paper with salt and set aside to dry. 

Create the bendy scene

(NB: It’s important to carry out these steps in order)

You will need three strips of white card measuring:

1. 14.5cm x 5.5cm
2. 13.5cm x 5.5cm 
3. 12.5cm x 5.5cm

1. Make score lines at 1cm from each end in on all three pieces.
2. Lay all three pieces on the Big Shot plate and cut the scenes out using the Sleigh Ride Framelits. 
3. Cut a layer of Whisper White card measuring 9.5cm x 14cm. 
4. When the watercolour paper is dry, gently brush away the salt to reveal your unique background.
5. Cut down to 8.5cm x 13cm and attach to the white piece. 
6. Splash some watered-down Tombow adhesive across the background and sprinkle with glitter.
7. Take your die-cut strips and “draw” a line of adhesive along the edges of each landscape, then sprinkle with glitter. 
8. Attach the strips - the narrowest one goes at the back, with the widest one at the front - adding glue on the small score lines you made and attach to the white and starry sky layer. 
9. Once you have added all three, attach to the card base, ensuring you have an even border all around.
10. Finish with Snowflake Elements, with a rhinestone on the top one, and some silver cording on the bottom one. 

Make the basic box

(Tutorial by Helen Read)

1. Choose between Island Indigo or Night of Navy for your box; you will need 1.5 sheets of your chosen colour. 
2. Cut the A5 piece down to 13.5cm x 18.5cm and set aside for now.
3. Cut the full sheet down to 23.2cm x 18.5cm. Take this larger piece and push the long edge up beyond the Horizontal Line of the board. 
4. Position the left edge at the Start Line and punch.
5. Without moving the cardstock, score along the Horizontal Line (you won’t be able to score far). Also score vertically at Side 2.
6. Move this Side 2 score line to the Start Line and punch. Score along the Horizontal Line, too. 
7. Position the right edge of the cardstock at S and punch. 
8. Without moving the cardstock, score along the Horizontal Line. Also score vertically at Side 2.
9. Move this Side 2 score line to the Start Line and punch. Score along the Horizontal Line, too. 
10. You have one remaining line to score - this will line up with the punch mark. Position this punch mar at Side 2 and score. 
11. Trim triangles from the narrowest “flap” edge.
12. Take the second, smaller, piece of cardstock and push the short edge up beyond the Horizontal Line of the board. 
13. Position the left edge at the Start Line and punch.
14. Without moving the cardstock, score along the Horizontal Line. Do not score anything else in this position. 
15. Position the right edge of the cardstock at L. Score along the Horizontal Line. 
16. Without moving the cardstock, score a vertical line at position S.
17. Move this S score line to the Start Line and punch. 
18. Trim triangles from the narrowest “flap” edge.
19. Do not assemble until you have cut the oval aperture in the smallest piece!

Make the lid

1. Take your remaining piece of Night of Navy/Island Indigo cardstock and cut down to 10.3cm x 16cm. 
2. Score at 2.4cm on all four sides and make your box lid. 

Decorate the box

NB: It’s important to do this in the order shown

1. Take the smaller box piece and, using the oval die with the red washi on it, cut an aperture in it. Position it towards the bottom (the end with the flaps) so that the lid won’t obscure it. 
2. Using the same oval die and the one slightly larger, cut a frame from Glimmer Paper. You can do this in one go.
3. Using the Softly Falling embossing folder, emboss the box front, leaving the bottom flap outside the embossing folder. 
4. Cut a piece of Window Sheet to fit behind the aperture and attach - it won’t be seen, so don’t worry too much about seeing the adhesive. 
5. Fix the Glimmer Paper frame on the front. 
6. Assemble the box and decorate.

Gift Bag Punch Board [135862] £18.00	Jingle All The Way Clear-Mount Bundle [140862] £26.25	To You & Yours Too Photopolymer Stamp Set [139819] £14.00	Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [139672] £7.75
Island Indigo A4 Card Stock [124390] £6.50	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock [106577] £6.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £7.25	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper [135315] £4.50
Watercolor Paper [122959] £4.50	Window Sheets Base Material [114323] £4.50	Snowflake Elements [139638] £5.50	Silver Cording Trim [139620] £4.50
Gold Cording Trim [139618] £4.50	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246] £4.50	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751] £4.50	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad [126986] £6.00
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [126970] £6.00	Stampin' Spritzer [126185] £2.75	Clear Block F [118483] £15.50

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com