Heart's Delight Cards: Hand crafted

Showing posts with label Hand crafted. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Embellishment Opportunities

If you've been a card maker for any length of time, no doubt you've heard the expression, "There are no mistakes, only opportunities for embellishment." Well, in my haste to get the last of the Christmas cards finished, I had not one, but TWO opportunities on the same set of cards. Needless to say, some choice words were muttered under my breath.

So, here, in all their glory, are the "opportunities." The first one was when I was getting ready to stamp the greeting and dropped the stamp on the upper right corner of the image panel. I didn't take a picture of that one, but this was the result, after I fixed it:

Since the greeting was higher than I originally intended it, there was a lot of white space below it, which called for sequins to balance it out. More embellishments, right?

When the second opportunity presented itself (accompanied by more choice words), I figured this would be a great time to show you that all is not lost if you make a mistake, so I did take a photo. Most of the those "oopsies" can be fixed! On this one, I had finished watercoloring all the poinsettias, and was getting ready to run them through Mr. Big with the largest stitched rectangle die, when I saw this:

Grumble, grumble..... I have no idea where the green smudge came from, since my hands were completely free of any green ink! Now red was another story entirely; I looked like I needed stitches, haha. Since I really wanted to get the cards mailed Tuesday, and had just EXACTLY the right number of cards, I wasn't inclined to start over! Here is the result:

And you know what? I kind of really like the added banners! Note: This stamp set (Joyful Christmas) is retired, but Reason for the Season would be a good substitute. And bonus - it's in the annual catalog along with the DSP, so you can get an early start on next year's cards!

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Monday, December 12, 2016

So Very Much, SAB Sneak Peek

I am so very much enamored of this stamp set called So Very Much, not coincidentally! It's one of the 2017 Sale-A-Bration freebies that will be available starting January 4th. I just love the large script, and pairing it with the Falling In Love DSP made for a quick, yet beautiful thank you card. By the way, the hand held stapler is being discontinued (darn it) and is only available while supplies last.

I'm in the big rush to get my Christmas cards finished and mailed...only 20 more to make. So I'm not posting the "How To" today. Figure it out for yourself, LOL!

Product List

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Falling In Love Designer Series Paper

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon

Mint Macaron 3/8" (1 Cm) Sheer Linen Ribbon

Handheld Stapler

Stampin' Dimensionals

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Lift Me Up Sneak Peek

Since I'm coming up on the big birthday month soon, I thought I'd better get stocked up! This is the other card we made yesterday using the Lift Me Up bundle. Night of Navy was certainly the featured color yesterday with that bundle! I had thought about using Real Red for a patriotic looking card, but somehow the Watermelon Wonder seemed like a more interesting match. What do you think?

Here's the "How To"
Small balloon: Scrap of Whisper White
Image/greeting panel: 3-3/4" x 5"
Mat: Night of Navy 3-7/8" x 5-1/8"
Mat: Watermelon Wonder 4-1/8" x 5-3/8"
Card base: Whisper White Thick 5-1/2" X 8-1/2" scored & folded at 4-1/4"

Stamp small balloon and die cut with the Up & Away Thinlits die.
Die cut largest Up & Away balloon from center of Night of Navy mat. (Don't worry - hole will be covered!)
Die cut corresponding balloon pieces from center of Watermelon Wonder mat.
Stamp greeting, clouds, and one small balloon on Whisper White cardstock. Adhere to Night of Navy mat. (See? Hole covered!)
Adhere both to Watermelon Wonder mat. (Voila - other holes covered!)
Adhere all to card base.
Glue balloon pieces to back of balloon making sure seams are covered by front of balloon.
Adhere both balloons to card with dimensionals.

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Friday, December 9, 2016

Best Bird Birthday

I had this little bird left over from when I made the easel calendars and needed to make a quick birthday card for a stamping friend. My Box o' Useful Bits sure comes in handy sometimes! The So Saffron stitched circle was languishing in there, too, which made the perfect background for the little guy. All I had to do was stamp the mesh background on it, then add the branch and bird. (His eye is a medium pearl, colored with a black Sharpie.)

Her favorite color is mauve, and I think Sweet Sugarplum comes pretty close, so I used it for the card base and added some Sweet Sugarplum ribbon from the Glitter Ribbon Combo Pack. By the way, that ribbon pack is discounted 40% right now, and the Fancy Frost DSP I used for the background is 20% off. But everything is "while supplies last", so don't wait too long before deciding you need it!

Here's the "How To"
Bird & branch: Shimmery White 3" x 4-1/4"
Circle: So Saffron 3-1/4" x 3-1/4"
Greeting: Whisper White 1" x 5-1/4"
Background: Fancy Frost DSP 4" x 5-1/4"
Card base: Sweet Sugarplum 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" scored & folded at 4-1/4"

Stamp bird and branch on Shimmery White cardstock with Basic Black Archival ink. Let dry thoroughly, then color using Blender Pens. Die cut with Birds & Blooms dies.
Die cut So Saffron with largest Stitched Shapes circle, then stamp mesh using So Saffron ink.
Stamp greeting on Whisper White strip, toward the right side.
Adhere Sweet Sugarplum ribbon to Fancy Frost DSP 3/8" from bottom, wrapping ends around back. Adhere greeting strip over ribbon, leaving some showing underneath.
Adhere DSP to card base, then circle to DSP (overlapping greeting strip a bit). Add branch using liquid glue. Perch the bird on the branch. I used Stampin' Dimensionals behind his head and back, and liquid glue to hold his feet to the branch.

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