Tent fold easel card with Come Sail Away Suite

I was inspired to make this card by Karen from Donemark Papercrafts but wanted to change it to fit inside a standard C6 envelope. I also simplified the easel mechanism.

So please do follow Karen’s instructions but if you want to make the smaller version for a C6 envelope, it is as simple as cutting a square of cardstock which is no longer than your envelope. So I used a 14.8cm x 14.8cm square of cardstock, scored into quarters.

For the easel mechanism, I cut an 8cm x 2cm cardstock strip and scored at 2cm and 4cm.This is where you need to score (dotted lines) and fold (solid line) your main piece:

You can make this card any size you like, just score the square in quarters, as shown in the diagram. To make it fit in your envelope, just make sure the square is no longer than your envelope - for a C6 card (which is just over 16.2cm long), I used a 14.8cm square. I could have made it bigger but this way I could get two from a sheet of A4 cardstock. 

The key fold is the centre vertical – make this crisp to ensure the card stands up nicely, with the two base squares overlapping. 

As with any easel card, weight is the key to making it sit properly. If the decorated section isn’t heavy enough, it will float mid-air. 

Finally, your easel needs something to rest against, which is why the greeting panel is popped up. This creates a step to stop the decorated panel from sliding forwards.

Beautiful Friendship in subtle shades

 

As regular readers will know, I don’t get on with floral stamps but something drew me to Beautiful Friendship and think it's going to turn out to be a favourite. This card is a vague copy of the card on page 123 of the catalogue... but I made so many changes in the end that you probably wouldn't notice.
  

To get a border around the Pretty Label Punch, punch twice from a piece of coloured cardstock and stagger them behind the Whisper White. You won't see the join!

Free as a Bird thank you card in Petal Pink

This is my version of a beautiful card by New Zealand demonstrator Jan Clothier. I decided to use the new Scalloped Note Cards and envelopes, as they have been sitting unopened for a few weeks now. 

The Petal Pink notecard goes really well with this Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper to give you an overall serene and subtle card - yes you have come to the right place!

If you cut out the stamped leaves and then cut them up into groups of one, two or three leaves, you can get more variety for a more natural look. 

Seaside Notions shell collection

I’ve always had a bit of a thing for seaside stamps. Way back before I was a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator, I organised my various stamps into shoeboxes and had one whole box dedicated to seaside themes.

Naturally, I couldn't resist the new Seaside Notions stamp set – it was the first item on my order on 4th June! I love how it goes so well with the new In Colors (I’ve used Terracotta Tile and Seaside Spray) and the weeds die from Smooth Sailing dies set.

Can you spot the dotted background? To create this, I wrapped a piece of bubble wrap around a clear block and used it as a stamp. Household items such as this can give you some really cool and unique background effects to supplement your stamp collection.

You Always Deliver thank you cards

You Always Deliver was one of the first stamp sets on my wish list because it's so much fun! I appreciate that you may think it’s aimed largely at the Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator but I think there’s a lot of mileage to be had from it for everyone else, too.

These are the cards I made for my customers this month, to go with their orders.

I used the Delightful Tag Topper punch to make these fun decorative elements. Punch once from a piece of cardstock cut to 5cm (2") wide, then angle it carefully to show the scalloped detail but not the punched hole.

Beautiful Friendship with the new In Colors

I don't know why I’m not so keen on flower stamps. I love flowers in real life and I love receiving cards with flowers on. But floral stamp sets generally leave me pretty cold.

And then came Beautiful Friendship with one magical ingredient: a hydrangea stamp. I love hydrangeas... both in bloom and when they've gone past the first flush of youth to become faded and papery.

But still, I struggle with flower sets so began my travels with this stamp set by taking inspiration from the catalogue. That's what it's there for, after all!

Naturally, once I got started I went quite off-piste, but I think you can still see the resemblance.

Although hydrangeas come in many colours, Seaside Spray is the perfect place to start as it has that beautiful faded quality you're looking for.

If you position your main Whisper White layer carefully, you get a fun "dotted" border from the gingham checked Designer Series Paper in the new In Color packs.

Smooth Sailing Dies - the lighthouse that nearly got away

I found the Come Sail Away Suite so inspiring because it appealed to my love of all things nautical and I could see watercoloured backgrounds coming into play, too.

Unfortunately, my first attempt to create lovely, rich watercoloured backgrounds didn't go to plan and all I ended up with were rejects. A few days later, however, and I was idly fiddling with a template left behind after die-cutting yet another lighthouse when I fortuitously placed it over one of my watercoloured rejects. Suddenly a new card idea was born!

I stamped my greeting then embossed the white cardstock using the Subtle Embossing Folder, then added a couple of extra elements to complete my card. And, as is so often the case, it's turned out to be one of my favourite Come Sail Away projects so far. 

Keep your rejects as you never know how you will be able to use them in the future. I keep all my in my UFO (unfinished objects) box.

Free as a Bird become blue tits

The beauty of the Free As a Bird stamp set is that you can turn those little birdies into any type of bird you like. Well, within reason, I suppose; I don't think chicken, puffin or emu would work too brilliantly, for example.

However, I soon had to accept my colouring capabilities. I've just about managed a set of blue tits here but my chaffinches turned out not to be fit for public consumption so my plans for a row of long-tailed tits – which do actually huddle together like this – have been shelved for now. 

I should mention that I CASEd this project from the talented Brian King.

Stamping onto watercolour paper makes colouring a dream, whether you use blender pens, Aquapainter or paintbrush, as you won’t get the pilling that can happen when the surface of normal cardstock lifts. Here I’ve used Watercolour Pencils and blender pens. 

Sailing Home slider card

I'm not normally one for “clever” cards – you know, fancy folds or moving elements – but these yachts are just crying out to be made into a slider card. Pull on the wheel and the yacht sails downstream like this...

These yachts also go beautifully with the Waterfront stamp set; an old favourite that has plenty of mileage left in it yet. I love that, no matter what you do with Waterfront, thanks to its washy effects, it always looks fab.

The rope die from the Smooth Sailing Dies is the perfect size to create an aperture to house the simple slider mechanism. Just make sure you pop up the top layer on Stampin’ Dimensionals to allow the yacht to slide easily. 

Bird Ballad Suite catalogue CASE

Long-timers will remember that the Stampin' Up!® Annual Catalogue used to be called the “Idea Book & Catalogue” and, despite the name change, it remains a valuable source of ideas.

If I'm stuck, I often turn to the catalogue for inspiration; most of the time my project turns out completely different, I just need something to start me off.

This time, however, I deliberately set out to CASE the catalogue. CASE means “Copy And Share Everything” and I fancied having a go at the card showcased on page 90. I think my card is a different size - and I know I used a different bird, cut out from the Bird Ballad DSP. Why did I use a different bird? For those who know me, that will be obvious; the one used in the catalogue is from right in the middle of the sheet! There was no way I was cutting right into the middle of a sheet of brand new DSP. Would you?

If you don't have exactly the same products as used in a catalogue project, simply adapt to your own supplies. I didn't have the All Wired Up background stamp used on the catalogue card, so embossed my cardstock using the Subtle 3D embossing folder instead. 

Sailing Home nautical duo

One reason you're mainly seeing nautical projects on the blog at the moment is that, until last week, Sailing Home was the only new stamp set I had from the upcoming catalogue.

The other reason is that I just love nautical projects. Any seaside projects, in fact, so there's another stamp set – Seaside Notions – that I can't wait to get my hands on, too.

I've made the Come Sail Away Suite the theme of this month's classes, starting with Cuppa & Card, where the ladies made these two simple projects. I know the boat card doesn't look so simple but I did cut all the die-cut pieces in advance to speed things up. Any leftover will get used with the WI craft group later in the month.

Use the long narrow stamps from Waterfront to create a quick and easy water effect to go with your sailing yachts.

New catalogue goes live!

It’s here!

Please click here to view the brand new catalogue

 

 

Free As A Bird Delightful Tag pouches

Today is the very last day you can order from the 2018-2019 Annual Catalogue, so please don't leave it right up to the deadline (10.50pm in the UK).

To be honest, I'm all about looking forward now, not back... so have another new stamp set to show you. It's just a glimpse, mind as the lovely birds from this Free As A Bird stamp set just didn't want to stay put on this project. No matter where I put them, they didn't look right, so I stuck with just the flowers.

I've also used the Delightful Tag Topper punch and the frame die from the new Smooth Sailing Dies set.

The new Delightful Tag Topper punch can be used to make all the same cool 3D items as the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, giving you loads of possibilities.