card tutorial

“Puzzle Card” tutorial

| readyinkgo

No, your friend doesn’t have to put it together- you do! This is a great way to STRETCH your pretty paper if you want to make a bunch of cards. That’s one of the reasons I used it for a recent class! I saw a similar card online, and decided to make my own. I’m sorry I can’t credit the maker- I can’t find the link.

You could use more than one designer series paper, but I chose one, with three coordinating colors of cardstock. Cut each piece to 4×5.5 inches, and clip the stack of 4 sheets together securely on all 4 sides. I used a guillotine paper cutter- you know, the kind your teacher used to use at school- to handle the thickness. I then cut the whole stacked packet into 2 (in the photo above this cut would have given the grey corner piece). Set that piece aside, and cut the remaining larger piece into 2 (this cut gave me the blue triangle piece). Set that aside, and cut the remaining piece into 2. You will end up with all 4 pieces of paper, cut into 4 similar shapes. Here’s where the puzzle comes in: Start with one stack of a shape, and remove the clip. Place each of the four pieces separately in front of you. Repeat with the other 3 shapes, adding a different color to each of the four piles. Now you should have 4 piles of 4 different colored pieces. They will have the same shapes, but in different color combinations. I used a piece of copy paper to glue down the pieces to recreate the rectangle shape, making sure the seams came tightly together. Then I cut the edges off, using a stitched rectangle die slightly smaller than my puzzle, about 3.75x 5 inches, but you could just trim it up with your paper trimmer. I ran each piece through an embossing folder, then attached it to a piece of white cardstock cut to 4 x 5.25. inches. I wrapped white twine around twice and tied a bow, stamped my greeting on a piece of white cardstock and cut that with a scalloped rectangle die, and attached that over the bow with dimensional foam. I diecut the little trees from glitter paper, glued one to the card to sit behind the greeting, and the other I popped up with dimensional foam so the trunk would sit atop the greeting. Glue the whole card front to a (5.5 x 8.5 inch) piece of cardstock folded in half, and you have your card. Repeat three times!!! I think it makes a really cute card, and of course it doesn’t have to be a Christmas card- let your imagination run wild. If you decide to give it a try, send me a picture; I’d love to see other peoples’ ideas. If you want to purchase cardmaking supplies, hit Visit My Site above. Thanks for your support, and happy stamping!

Michelle

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Simple Valentine’s Day Cards

| readyinkgo

Hello!

I hope you are well and holding up through the continued pandemic emergency. I can’t say it isn’t wearing on me, but I am trying to stay positive. One of the things I decided to do was make some Valentine’s Day cards for my grandkids. I wanted a fun, simple card that could be made in multiples without too much work. This is what I came up with:

I started with a card base of 11.5 inches by 4.25 inches, folded- some in Blushing Bride (pink) and others in Pool Party (blue). Inside, Happy Valentine’s Day was stamped (Meant to Be stamp set). Then I cut the printed paper from the Snail Mail designer series paper to 4 by 5.25 inches, and adhered that to the base with Tombow Multipurpose Glue. I cut two hearts for each card, one in blue and one white with a die from the Stitched to be Mine diecut set, stamped “for you” (from the So Sentimental stamp set, because it was tiny) in Real Red on each white heart, and adhered a resin heart on each of those. The blue hearts were glued directly on the card, choosing a spot that wouldn’t interfere too much with the snail designs. Then I adhered the white hearts, slightly offset, with foam dimensional tape. It took so little time to put them all together. What do you think?

I hope you are inspired to make some Valentine’s Day cards, whether for your sweetie, kids, grandkids, or the sweet neighbor next door. It’s always a good day to spread a little sunshine, and let people know that they are important to you!

Happy stamping!

Michelle

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HO, HO, HURRICANE?

| readyinkgo

Well Hurricane Eta is off the west coast of Florida right now, huffing and puffing at us, headed north (be safe, everyone!). What am I doing? In the middle of the blowing winds, rain, tornado watches, flood warnings, and who knows what else, I’m making Christmas cards! There’s a first time for everything!

I just attended an online Stampin’Up! convention- so fun- and was inspired by all of the great demonstrations there to do a simple card, then dress it up a bit. Here is my attempt:

The card on the left couldn’t be simpler. I used a piece of 5 and 1/2 by 8 and 1/2 inch thick cardstock, folded in half for the base, and cut a piece of blue (Misty Moonlight) cardstock to 5 and 1/2 by 4 and 1/4 inches. I also cut a piece of blue cardstock to 4 by 1 and 1/4 inches, and a piece of white to 4 by 1 inches. To maximize my 12 x 12 inch “pretty paper”, I cut it like this:

First, I decided whether I wanted my pieces in portrait or landscape mode, since the pattern runs one way. I chose portrait, so I cut three 1/2 inch strips off the bottom. These reverse to a nice small print, and will be used to make banners for other cards. You are left with a large piece that measures 12 by 10 and 1/2 inches. This was cut in have from the short side, making two 12 by 5 and 1/4 pieces, and then each of these was cut into three pieces measuring 4 inches by 5 and 1/4. This is the perfect size for the front of an A2 card, leaving a small border all around.

For this card, I needed one inkpad (Real Red), and one stamp. This one is from the Tag Buffet set. I stamped the greeting on the white paper, and glued that to the small blue piece. After adhering the pretty paper to the large blue piece with margins as shown, I glued the greeting where I thought it covered the least important part of the picture, and was done. The next card requires a cutting and embossing machine, an embossing folder, and cutting dies. It had the same basic pieces, but I embossed the pretty paper with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder (it’s hard to see in the photo, but adds a nice touch). I used the Wreath Builder dies for the wreaths and poinsettias, layered them as shown, and popped them up on dimensional foam dots to attach them to the card after it was assembled.

I did cut two small pieces of yellow (Bumblebee) to back the poinsettias, and added three enamel dots to the greeting. What do you think? As always, thanks for dropping by. I love sharing my cards with you!

Happy stamping,

Michelle

P.S. If you love cardmaking or scrapbooking, and are thinking about how you could share that with others, contact me. I can tell you what I do, as well as the advantages of joining my team!

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Product List
Tag Buffet Photopolymer Stamp Set
[153612]
$18.00
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
[147084]
$7.50
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock
[140272]
$8.25
Misty Moonlight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
[153081]
$8.75
Trimming The Town Designer Series Paper
[153491]
$11.50
Multipurpose Liquid Glue
[110755]
$4.00
Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder
[152718]
$9.00
Wreath Builder Dies
[152722]
$38.00
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals
[144108]
$4.00
2020–2022 In Color Enamel Dots
[152480]
$8.00

It’s a bit busy around here…

| readyinkgo

Hi, and thanks for stopping by. This will be a quick post, as my grandson was discharged yesterday after 9 days in the hospital, 6 of those in ICU. Needless to say, I haven’t been home enough to make cards or post blogs, but I made one last week for a class that you might like. (Glad to say he’s doing well!)

I started with a thick white cardstock base, folded to 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 inches, and covered the front completely with a piece of Pretty Peacock card.  I cut a piece of Pool Party to 5 1/2 by 4 inches, and used one of the Ornate Borders dies for the lacy edge. Then I cut a piece of Mint Macaron to 5 1/2 by 3 1/4 inches, and embossed that with the Ornate Flowers embossing folder.

I glued the embossed card on the diecut piece, leaving a border top and bottom, and knotted a length of Pool Party sheer ribbon around both. This was then glued to the card, leaving another border top and bottom.

Detail of the border.

The beautiful sentiment is from the So Sentimental stamp set, and was stamped in Pretty Peacock and diecut with a oval from the Stitched Shapes die set. The little butterfly was from the Butterfly Beauty die set, which might just be my favorite of all time! I did cut out a white backing for the Butterfly, as I wanted it to hang over the edge a bit.

There you have it! If this inspires you to make a card, please share it in the comments. To shop for products, click the Visit My Site button above, or if you’d like information about joining my team, contact me. I hope you’ll stop by again!

Stamp happy!

Michelle

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Sometimes you just need a “girly” card…

| readyinkgo

You know, because the person you’re sending it to really likes bling, or it’s for someone who needs it, or it’s for your sweetie. Most of my cards are less “frou-frou” than this one, but I wanted to use this die set (Ornate Borders) in a different way than I have previously.

I think that heart is adorable!

I started with a thick cardstock base, folded to 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches. I then used the edge die in my cut and emboss machine, cutting to about 1/4 inch from the edge. I glued a one inch wide piece of pink cardstock under the cutout portion, right to the cut edge. I cut 3 strips of 6 inch gold foil, each 1/4 inch wide, and I glued one of those strips to the inside of the card so that when the card is closed, the foil extends from the edge of the pink cardstock to the edge of the card back. The excess foil on the ends is just snipped off with scissors.

I then cut another piece of pink cardstock 5 1/2 x 2 1/4 inches, and embossed it with the Ornate Floral embossing folder. This was adhered to the card front, with the other two gold strips alongside. Finally, as I was trying to decide what sentiment I wanted to stamp, I spied the sweet heart with the LOVE cutout in another die set (Wreath Builder) that was sitting on my desk. When I had used that set the other day, I didn’t even notice it!!! I diecut it and adhered it with dimensional foam.

I thought it was perfect. These cards aren’t for everyone, but sometimes, you just need some bling.

Thanks for stopping by again! You can follow this blog, or find me on Instagram or Pinterest. If you want to browse for cardmaking/scrapbooking supplies, click the Visit My Site button above. If you think you might want to buy a Stampin’ Up! starter kit and join my team, contact me! There is a special going on in September that is an especially good deal, and sharing what you love with others is a really, really great thing.

Happy stamping!

Michelle

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From Halloween to Christmas!!!

| readyinkgo

A friend asked if I could make some Christmas tags, so these are my first of the season. I like using punches for tags, because they’re so quick to make. The tree punch used here is retired, but SU has a really cute tree punch in the current catalog, the Pine Tree punch.

I cut white thick cardstock into 4.25 x 2 inch pieces, used the Delightful Tag Topper punch for the scalloped end. I glued a 2×2 inch piece of designer paper to the other end, and rounded those corners with the Detailed Trio punch. I cut thin strips of Glimmer Paper and green cardstock, ran a thin bead of glue along the top of the designer paper, and glued them down, trimming excess from the sides with scissors. I punch the tree from Glimmer Paper and popped it up with dimensional foam. I stamped a sentiment on a thin strip of white, and cut a cardstock mat slightly wider. After gluing that and trimming it, I folded a piece of ribbon in half, pushed the folded edge through the hole from front to back, and drew the cut ends up through the loop.

Tags make nice gifts for coworkers with a roll of coordinating wrapping paper. Give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by. If you need supplies, click the Visit My Site button.

Happy stamping!

Michelle

Cards for beginning cardmakers

| readyinkgo

Hello! Last time I talked about using designer papers to make quick cards, but as I was doing that, I thought that it is also a good way for beginning cardmakers to make pretty cards with few tools and stamps. The new year Stampin’ Up! catalog year starts June 4th, and while we have a great selection of new papers to look forward to using, those from the current catalog will not continue.

I wanted to make some more cards that leaned heavily on the designer paper, and only used a sentiment stamp. For this card, I used the Bird Ballad designer paper.

This card was made with two pieces of a reversible designer paper, adhered to white cardstock with a thin margin. Tip: the ribbon was actually two pieces, about 5 and 6 inches. The shorter was knotted around the longer, which was adhered to the back of the white card. The sentiment was stamped on coordinating cardstock, trimmed with scissors and glued down.

For this card, I cut a piece of the reversible designer paper into 4 by 5.25 inches, then cut that into two pieces that were 2 by 2 and 7/8 inches, and two that were 2 by 2 and 3/8 inches. I adhered the pieces with glue, starting with the pieces on the left, trying to keep margins even. I finished it with some coordinating ribbon and a sentiment which was punched with a 2-inch circle, and backed by card punched with the Starburst punch- I’m sad that it’s also being discontinued- I love this punch! The sentiment “stack” was raised with foam dimensional dots.

The next card used the paper from the Dressed to Impress suite. So girly!

This time I didn’t leave any margins- I cut all strips 5.5 inches wide, the floral strips are 1 inch and 1.25 inches, and the green is 2 inches high. They were butted against one another, and the sentiment is on white cardstock that was cut with a die, but could easily have been trimmed to a rectangle. I was tempted to add some other embellishments, but I resisted! The sentiment (stamped in the gorgeous Lovely Lipstick color, which is being retired) was again raised with dimensional dots. It isn’t necessary if you don’t have them, but gives a nice dimension to the card.

I hope you enjoy the cards, and as always, if you need supplies or want to browse, click the button above to visit my store. As mentioned, the designer papers some ink colors (the five 2018-2020 InColors), the Starburst punch, and many other items will be discontinued as of June 3rd, and are offered now while supplies last, so if you’ve had your eye on something, don’t wait. I had to stock up on a couple of my favorites! Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping,

Michelle

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