Thursday, December 18, 2014

IO Challenge- Last Minute Gifts

I don't know about you, but I often need a last minute gift, and when I do, I need something QUICK.  What could be quicker than a gift card?  For my project today, I wanted to show you what it looks like when you use the IO Gift Card Envelope DIE192-XX.  You could use it for any ocassion.  All you have to do is change the paper and accessories you use.

I also wanted to show you the Snowflake Cutout Dies DIE241-Z.  If you remember, these dies cut into the paper.  Here is a close up of the snowflake die:

I cut out the gift card envelope and taped the snowflake into place with low tac tape

When I ran it through the machine, I was left with a snowflake cutout.  This is so much easier to deal with then gluing all those small snowflake parts!

If you want a REALLY easy project, leave the envelope as is and let the gift card itself show through the hole to "color" your die cut.

I decided to take it a step further and added some double stick tape behind the open hole:

Then I sprinkled my snowflake with glitter for extra sparkle and added a white pearl:


Need more last minute inspiration?  Check out the other designers:
 

Thursday, December 4, 2014

IO Challenge- Clean and Simple Holiday Cards

 
If you follow my blog, then you know I LOVE clean and simple cards- especially for the holidays.  If you are making a lot of cards, you really need to tone down the number of elements you have on your card.

For today's card, I am sharing a card from my 10 in 10 holiday card class.  Here is the info:

Paper:
Bright green notecard
Brown cardstock- 5” x 4”
Ranger watercolor paper- 4 ¾” x 3 ¾”
White cardstock for inside of card- 5” x 3”

Stamps:
Impression Obsession Picture Frame Advent Tree K9476
Impression Obsession Oh Christmas Tree E9474 (stamped on inside)

Ink:
My Favorite Things Hybrid ink Licorice
Hero Arts Hero Hues Grass

Other Materials:
Waterbrush
Cup of water
Peerless watercolor paints
Heatgun

Instructions:

  • ·         Stamp tree onto watercolor paper with black ink
  • ·         Allow to dry or heat with a heatgun
  •        Color each square with various green watercolor paints  (hint- wet each square first so that the paint will blend better)
  • ·         Stamp saying on the inside of the card
  
Need more holiday inspiration?  Check out the other designers:





Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Memory Box/Poppystamps Blog Hop



Greetings everyone!  Today I am participating in a blog hop between the Memory Box and Poppystamps designers.  I use a lot of products from both companies in my classes, and it is a lot of fun to mix the two for a project.

The theme of the hop is "Holiday Gift Tags and Treats," and I wanted to mix the Cute Cottage and Frosted Roof and Ledges from Poppystamps with some candy dies from Memory box.  To embellish my gingerbread house, I used the Goodie Gumdrops Die and the Tiny Candy Canes die.  I cut the candycanes out of white paper and then drew lines onto them with a red pen.  I worked on a method for making the gumdrops more realistic that we did in one of my classes.  Here is a close up of the gumdrops:


To make the gumdrops, I cut them out of white paper, colored them with an assortment of Copic markers, added some liquid glue from Art Glitter (dries clear), and dipped the gumdrops into Tim Holtz Rock Candy dry glitter.  That glitter is really chunky, and I thought it looked the most like sugar on the finished gumdrops.  I could have cut the gumdrops out of different colors of paper, but that would have taken longer.

As an inexpensive holiday gift, I tied a big red ribbon around a bunch of candy canes and then attached my gingerbread tag:



Of course, if you didn't want a tag, you could also turn the gingerbread house into a card:


Now it is time to continue your journey on the hop.  Here are a list of today's designers:

Memory Box- Donna Sledzik
Laura Fulcher (you are here)
Yoonsun Hur  

Be sure to leave comments on each of the designers' posts.  You will have a chance to win a prize from Birch Press Design. You can leave comments through December 10th.  The winner will be posted on the Memory Box blog on December 15th.

Dave Brethauer, the owner and creator of Memory Box and Poppystamps, has a new venture called Birch Press Design that features letterpress, laser cut, and printed card designs, as well as beautiful products for your home.  The Day 2 blog hop prize is a Tea Towel of your choice.

For a second chance to win – like Birch Press Design on Facebook, and share the post about the hop.  One person who does both will win a prize from Birch Press Design.    

The next person on the hop list is Michele Henderson 

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Impression Obsession/ Cardmaker Holiday Blog Hop

 
Welcome to the CardMaker and Impression Obsession Blog Hop!

Today the CardMaker Designers and the Impression Obsession Designers will be showing you some wonderful holiday projects featuring stamps from Impression Obsession!

Make sure and comment on each of the blogs in the hop!

TWO winners will be randomly chosen to win a $25 Impression Obsession Gift Certificate! You have until Thursday December 4th at Midnight CT to enter. The winner will be chosen and announced on the Impression Obsession Blog on December 5th

For my card, I used the new Holly Cake image (E16044) and colored it with a mix of Peerless watercolor paint and Prismacolor pencils..  I added the Have a Sweet Holiday sentiment (B7654) and finished it off by adding the Cover a Card Holly (CC053) to my background.  It is hard to tell from the picture, but I added a few red rhinestones and Stickles to the top of the cake for extra sparkle.

Don't forget to hop on over to the other blogs!
 
Laura Fulcher (you are here)
 




Thursday, November 20, 2014

IO Challenge-Holiday Wishes


I told my last class that I always like to make at least one design of card for the holidays that can be given to anyone.  Most of my cards are Christmas cards, but it never hurts to have a few "Seasons Greetings" cards as well.

This card also uses shadow stamping, which is a technique that doesn't seem to get used as much anymore.  I like to make my own shadow stamps using the materials you use to carve your own stamps.


Stamps:
Impression Obsession Winter Wishes A3589 or from clear set CL304 All I want for Christmas
Impression Obsession Medium Snowflake E6266

Inks:
Adirondack Lights Cool Peri
Distress Ink Stormy Sky

Other Materials:
Carving Block
Rhinestones
Foam tape

Instructions
·         Cut carving block to make desired size of shadow stamp
·         Ink solid block with light purple ink and stamp onto white cardstock
·         Overstamp solid background with snowflakes in Stormy Sky ink
·         Stamp saying onto small white cardstock with Stormy Sky ink
·         Layer the pieces of the card
·         Pop up saying with foam tape
·         Add rhinestones to card

Need more holiday inspiration?  Check out the other designers:
Anna Wight
Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Ellen Taylor
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Karen Amidon
Kittie Caracciolo
Laura Fulcher