DogGone Delightful Stampin'

12 Weeks of Christmas ~ Peaceful Cabin Backwards Overlay Accordion Fold

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

Wow!  We just finished 3 days of OnStage @ Home for Demonstrators (OnStage is the official term for our Convention) - this is our second year being virtual due to the pandemic!!  It's sad not to get to see fellow Demonstrators face-to-face; and yet this was as much fun as ever!!  I ALWAYS walk away from OnStage re-energized, inspired, and ready to rock-n-roll with you!!

I will tell you that I have seen the new 2022 January - June Mini Catalog (AND Sale-a-Bration) -- Oh My!!  You are absolutely going to LOVE everything!!  I know I do; I'm in so much trouble!!  LOL

 

But for now . . .  LOL

I promised you we'd get caught back up with our 12 Weeks of Christmas, and so here we are!
This week, for our Virtual Coffee & a Card class, I led the crafters through a convention Accordion Fold card, which turned out sooooo pretty!

Today, I want to share with you what I'm calling the "backwards overlay" Accordion Fold - which I've done with the Peaceful Cabin Bundle, once again coordinated with the Designer Series Papers, in soft gray tones.  I adore how this turned out.  Let's take a closer look!!

 

Design Colorology . . . 

 

Basic White

Basic Gray

Silver Foil

Smoky Slate

 

 

Let's first walk through measurements for this card - they're a little bit different than the conventional Accordion Fold - and then I'll walk you through the design

Card base - 5-1/2" x 11" - score on the 11" side @ 1-3/4", 5-1/2", and 9-3/4"

Fold on your score lines so that the "accordion-style flaps" overlap "backwards" on the card front.

You can see in the picture above in the folded state, that the two flaps fold backwards one on top of the other, over the main front card panel.

Watch your score line bumps - you can flip the card base over and back, so that you can get your bumps scored properly to fold to the "inside" when you are scoring.

Now let's take a look at the card when it's open!

I have a surprise for you on this one . . .  I decorated BOTH sides of this Fun-Fold - not something we always do.  You're gonna love it!

This is what I consider to be the "front" of this card.

You can see when it's open that I used one of the beautiful pine tree/snow scenery images from the Peaceful Place Designer Series Paper, trimmed just so it would fit the way I wanted - that's a different version of "fussy cutting" (LOL), a term we use in quilting when we cut so we get a specific part of the fabric we want to showcase.  This piece of DSP is framed in Silver Foil; whereas everything else is framed in Basic Gray cardstock.

The opposite panel is a stamped panel.

Here I stamped the cabin image in Basic Gray; and the sentiment.

Then I added the "falling snowflakes" image using Smoky Slate stamped off.

It's a soft gentle scene and perfect for the message that the sentiment gives.

The opposite side of this Fun-Fold card looks like this.

One the right-hand main panel, is another piece of designer series paper - carefully "fussy cut" to again get just the part I wanted to showcase.

Then the left panel is the stamped panel this time.

This panel is stamped with the trio of trees from the stamp set, also in Basic Gray.

Then I snagged this sentiment from the Christmas to Remember stamp set; and finished by stamping the falling snowflakes images again in Smoky Slate.

I wanted to leave enough room at the top for a handwritten message if so desired.

 

You want to finish by creating a Belly Band for your card which will keep it secured when it's not open.

Cut your main card stock 1-1/4" x 11"; and then the DSP overlay 1" x 11" to create your belly band for this card.

I center and adhere the DSP to the cardstock; wrap it around the card, then loosen it slightly before adhering the belly band together on the back side to make sure it will slide easily on and off the finished card.  I then wrap a piece of ribbon around the belly band and tie and adhere securely in place.

And then I have some fun decorating it.  I cut 3 of the trees from the Cabin Dies out of Silver Foil; and then layered them behind and on top of a Wonderful Snowflake which is popped with a dimensional, and finished off with a large Basic Rhinestone Jewel.

And then you can see how I finished off the card with scattered Basic Rhinestone Jewels to add some glimmer.

The Jewels on the different panels "fool the eye" and are perfect when you open up the card in its entirety!

 

This is a VERY special card that you could create for that special someone!  It would even make a great "gift" this year - instead of buying something from the store!!

 

All of these products can be purchased in my Online Store -- be sure to snag the Peaceful Place Suite if you haven't yet (don't panic if the "suite bundle" is on Backorder; only the sequins are out of stock right now; you can still order the stamp/die bundle, paper, ribbon and embossing folder separately!!). 

Or stock up on those papers (DSP, Foil, White Velvet), embossing folder, or ribbon, if you're running low!!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

Not in the Blog Hop - Christmas Season to Remember Gift Card Holder Square Card

Good Morning Fellow Stampers ~~

Time to play today -- it's Pals Blog Hop Day; and we're "Not In the Pals Blog Hop" - LOL  Doing our own thing, and bucking the establishment, that's what I call it!!  LOL

Nevertheless, today's Blog Hop theme was Home for the Holidays, and you'll find, I'm sure, lots of wonderful holiday designs and ideas if you pop over and follow today's Blog Hop.  I'd start with Mary Fish if you want to check out what the rest of the Pals are doing.

In the meantime, I'm bringing you my fun project today to help you prepare for the upcoming Holiday Season.  Lately, for some reason, I've been enamored with gift card holder-style cards.  I've been doing them a lot for our virtual Coffee & a Card classes.  They can be a lot of fun!  And I think they have an incredibly useful purpose in creating a lovely way to present a gift card to the recipient.

 

This "fun-fold" card is an irregular size - so you would have to create a special envelope for it.  The finished size of this card is 6" x 5-1/2".

But it is perfect for presenting that gift card ~~  I really love how this turned out.

I picked up on this idea from a French demonstrator (thru Pinterest); but that provides some difficulties in that everything is in a foreign language (I don't speak French - LOL), and measurements are European and in metrics.  What is a standard size card for Europe, is NOT the case for the US.

So I had to sit down and basically start from scratch.  There was a fair amount of "testing" before I got to where I wanted to be for this card today.

Here are the final measurements for your use in creating this card design:

Main card base - 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"; score on the long side @ 2-1/2"
Smaller card base - 8-1/2" x 4-1/4"; score on the long side @ 4-1/4"
Mat cardstock sizes/measurements (this card uses Real Red):  
5-7/8" x 5-3/8" panel
2-1/8" x 5-3/8" strip (inside flap for gift card pocket)
2-3/8" x 5-3/8" (front of gift card flap)
4-1/8" x 4-1/8" x 3 - inset smaller card base (front, and inside both panels)

Designer Series Paper sizes/measurements (we are using the smaller scattered holly images from the Painted Christmas DSP for this project):
5-3/4" x 5-1/4" panel

2" x 5 3/4" strip (overlay for inside flap of gift card pocket)
2-1/4" x 5-3/4" (front of gift card flap)
4" x 4" x 2 (for front of smaller card base, and inside) - flip to a different design for the inside - see below)

 

Now let me walk you through this card a little more . . .

I cut the back main card base from Thick Basic Cardstock, 8-1/2" x 5-1/2".  I scored at 2-1/2" on the long edge to create the "flap" that will eventually hold the gift card.

Then I cut what is the actual "card" itself (the one where you are going to write your Christmas message to the recipient), at 8-1/2" x 4-1/4", and then scored at 4-1/4" on the long edge.  This creates the "card" that will be glued to the "background" and overlap the flap to give that cool "fun-fold" look.

Each panel then has a piece of cardstock mat (this one in Real Red) - see measurements above; and an overlay of DSP.  I really love this smaller scattered holly berries and pine branch images from the Painted Christmas DSP collection.

Hint:  Try this paper on Soft Succulent cardstock (and with the Soft Succulent Open Weave ribbon) to change up the colorway and have a totally different feel and look to the combination.

Then I played with the Christmas Season bundle to create the focal point -- so much fun!

This is partially a 2-step stamp set (for example the pine cones are done in two steps); and partially one of our wonderful Dist-INK-tive stamp sets - giving your that varied texture in the stamping that creates realism!!  I LOVE it!!

I stamped 2 pine cones, with Crumb Cake ink for the main cone, and Soft Suede on one and Cinnamon Cider on the other for the 2nd "step" of detail stamping.

Pine boughs are done in Evening Evergreen; and the berries in Real Red.

The Basic White background and all the pieces are cut using the Seasonal Labels Dies set.  Fan-TAB-ulous!!

If you haven't gotten this set yet . . .  It is a MUST HAVE!!

The sentiment is from the coordinating stamp set - Christmas to Remember - and I love when they do these "block-style" sentiments.  They are so easy to stamp and fussy cut!

The entire finished panel is popped on the front of the "small" card base.  And I finished it all off with some lovely red Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Here is a look at the card when it is opened up.

Here you can see that I flipped the Designer Paper, and used the design on the back side for the inside of the smaller card base.  I love how this looks! 

And here's a closer look at the smaller flap itself on the main card base where the gift card goes.

You can see that I used the curved end of the Label Me Lovely Punch to create a notch for each "in and out" of the gift card. 

One other note - I wrapped this panel right at the score line with a piece of Real Red 3/8" Sheer Ribbon, tied in a bow on the front before gluing down this "pocket".  I wanted the edge of the ribbon to get tucked nicely underneath that pocket and not cause any issues for the in and out of the gift card.

 

So there you have it!!  A fun card to hold those gift cards this season!  Hope you enjoy!!

We'll be back soon with more fun!  Stay tuned!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

 

 

 

Terrific Tuesdays ~ SU! Promotional Reminders and 12 Weeks of Christmas Catch Up!

Hello Fellow Stampers ~~

Oh My!  Where does the time go!!  "Yikes" is all I can say!  There are never enough hours in the day no matter how I try to work it out!  So we missed our 12 Weeks of Christmas "catch up" again last week; so we'll do our best this week to get there.  And that means I also missed sharing with you yesterday!  I hope you won't mind when I have to let a day slide here and there due to other responsibilities.

So without further ado, let's catch up on what's coming/happening at Stampin' Up!, and get on with today's 12 Weeks of Christmas catch up design!!

 

NOVEMBER PAPER PUMPKIN - GIFTS GALORE!!

You only have until 11:59 MT tomorrow (November 10th) to sign up/re-sign up for the November Paper Pumpkin kit!!  You don't want to miss out on this adorable gift box kit.

Celebrate your friends and family in a holly jolly way with bright and festive colors, classic Christmas sentiments, and remarkably sized packaging. The Gifts Galore Paper Pumpkin Kit offers a merry gift-wrapping solution for your Christmas gifting needs that would make Santa jealous.

Sign Up today by either clicking on the image above or HERE!!  Sign up for this box ends at midnight November 10th!!

START WITH SAVINGS "JOIN" PROMOTION!!

This is the perfect time to Join Stampin' Up! and the Doggone Delightful Paper Pups, with the Start with Savings promotion!

This is a "steal of a deal" - a completely custom (products of your choosing) $125 value Starter Kit for only $75.

November 4th - 30th ONLY!!

So many perks, and no drawbacks .  .  .

-  Everyday discounts (minimum of 20%)

-  Early access to new products

-  Exclusive access to events

-  Opportunity to earn additional income and other rewards if you want!!  (No Obligation)

 

JOIN TODAY! 

Purchase the starter kit through me and instantly become a member of the Paper Pups Pals. You’ll have access to private Facebook groups, receive newsletters, and will be able to engage with a community of other stampers.

Questions about joining? Email me at [email protected]

If you are ready to join NOW, CLICK HERE

SEASONAL SALE (formerly known as the Online Extravaganza) - COMING SOON!!

Have you heard the news? The rumours are true!

The Seasonal Sale 3-Days Only ~~ November 16th - 18th.

Between 16 and 18 November, you can stock up and save 10% on cardstock, 15% on ink pads, and 20% on dies.

Flip through the 2021–2022 Annual Catalog to find your favorites and prepare for another year of well-stocked crafting!!

**Note: The discount applies to products featured in the 2021–2022 Annual Catalog only.  Products from the July–December 2021 Mini Catalog are not included.

 

How many of my fellow stampers have taken a close look at the VERY special bundle on page 43 of your Holiday Mini Catalo?!?

Oh My!

Not only is the stamp set wonderful with simple easy to use images and fabulous sentiments; but the coordinating Die Set and Hybrid Embossing Folder is I N C R E D I B L E!!!

I've finally gotten my hands around this one ~~  and I'm in love!

Let's take a little closer look at today's card design!

This may look difficult, but it is not!

Cut your card base at 8-1/2" x 5-1/2", score @ 4-1/4". - Fold to the top on this one; it's a horizontal orientation.

Next cut a piece of Basic White cardstock, using the largest rectangle in the Stitched Rectangle Dies; then cut a piece of Soft Succulent cardstock at 5-1/4" x 3-7/8" and layer the Basic White rectangle cut over it.  This will give you just a "smidge" of some color peeking out around the edge and give that "break" between the card base and background when you attach it. At the same time, it allows a nice wide white edge which gives the illusion of "space."  I wrapped the layers with a piece of Evening Evergreen 3/8" Open Weave Ribbon before attaching it to the card base front.

 

The gorgeous die cuts come from the Merriest Frames Dies - I cut one layer from the Soft Succulent Shimmer Vellum; and a second from the Evening Evergreen Shimmer Vellum, and then just ever so slightly offset the Evening Evergreen underneath the Soft Succulent before attaching to the card front.  It gave extra shading and depth to the coloring; and the Shimmer Vellum is just absolutely gorgeous.

I will tell you that the Vellum cut out beautifully; and with this bundle, you then align and run that finished die cut paper through the special Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder to get all that embossed detail.  I had no issues with this Vellum holding up to either the die cutting or embossing folder.  Give it a try!!!  It's simple and easy, and look at the WOW factor!

Next, I stamped the fabulous poinsettias in Cherry Cobbler, and the leaves in Evening Evergreen.  I layered the pieces together using glue dots; and then attached them to opposite corners of my stamped sentiment, which was stamped in Evening Evergreen on Basic White cardstock, and cut with the coordinating die in the Merriest Frames Dies.  You can see that the die is aligned to allow your sentiment to fit perfectly inside the die cut frame itself.  I popped that in the center with dimensionals, by the way - and then attached my pretty flower sprays.

Those flowers are finished off in the centers with Matte Decorative Dots - the perfect color for my flowers.  I also very carefully added Clear Wink of Stella on my petals. 

Note:  Clear Wink of Stella tends to "run/bleed" our darker reds and pinks - especially Cherry Cobbler.  So keep a light touch, use only the very tip of the brush, and be careful!!!

Finally, I added an Evening Evergreen bow and called it complete!!

 

Like I said, this is not a difficult card at all!!

Pull together those fabulous pieces and parts, and you have a beautiful elegant card for the holidays!!

A GREAT stash builder as you get reach for the season ahead!

 

Tomorrow is "Not In the Pals Blog Hop" Day!!  And I have something fun planned ~~  see you then!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

12 Weeks of Christmas ~ Peaceful Cabin Christmas

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

Well, my goodness!!  LOL  I let this past end of week/weekend/first of week just absolutely get away on me.  I kept saying to myself - "I gotta finish up that card and get on the blog" -- but you can see it didn't happen!!  LOL  Sometimes life just gets in the way !!  Too many things on my list, not enough hours in the day!!

But . . .  I always say, better late than never; and considering the week I had with work last week, I'm amazed I kept up as well as I did overall!!  This week is MUCH quieter and I'm getting back in the rhythm of my list of things to do.  So please bear with me today, as I do several blog posts to get us caught with our schedule.  I don't want to put everything into one; it's too overwhelming and doesn't really work.

Some of you may wonder what I do when I'm not creating paper craft.   And some of you already know that I'm a quilter and sewer; and my newest obsession is embroidery.  I am "in love" with my Pfaff 4.5 and all the wonderful things I can create!  That being said, I thought I'd share the "big" project that I've been working on since June 2020 (my Pandemic project I call it!).  It's basically what we call a "block of the month" project (although some months of this project were more than one block).  And now over this past month I've been working to pull those blocks together into a completed quilt top.  I have some work to do yet - including a number of outer borders; but things are finally starting to come together, and I always love it when you see the fruition of so much work!

 

    

 This fun quilt is called Stitcher's Garden.  It is intended to walk you through all the different stitches on your machine, the different techniques and machine feet, and kind of just walk you through a Pfaff sewing machine's capabilities.  I have had so much fun just learning and using things I had not used before.  You can be sewing for the more than 20 years that I have been, and still learn so much!!

This quilt is a little different than standard quilt tops, in that it comes together in "columns" rather than rows".

So you are looking at the 3 columns here.  I'm almost ready to pull them together -- I still have to sash on a final block in Column 3 and Column 1 and that will require some careful measuring to make sure I put in the right size sashing to match the center column length.  Once that is done, I can put sashing between each column and pull it all together.   There are approximately 4 outer borders that have to be worked once the main blocks are together;  I intend to set this aside until after Christmas . . . we'll see!!  LOL

I have too many other large projects to tackle over the next 45 days, so we'll see how things go!!

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into my "other life." -- LOL

 

For now, let's catch up last week's installment of our 12 Weeks of Christmas here at DDS Studios.

I finally pulled out the Peaceful Cabin bundle last week.  I've been wanting to play with this set for awhile.

I ended up spending a couple of hours just cutting out all the dies in this bundle, because they are so different, and you really have to see what each does and how they align with the stamp set.

Once I figured out how each die works, I was just like "WOW!"  I LOVE this set!

You HAVE to get this if you haven't yet.

What you see here is not only the dies that cut the "wavy hills", but also how they cut around the cabin, the trees, the cute little running fox; and then additional des that add details into the trees if you don't want to stamp trees; additional details to the cabin, if you don't stamp the cabin, etc.

It's just such a fabulous set!!  Kudos to whomever designed this one!!

So I decided a couple of things for this first design with this bundle.

First, I chose the fabulous silver foiled paper from the Peaceful Place Specialty Paper; and in this case the falling snowflakes pattern as my backdrop.  This drove me to staying with a Black/Gray/White color theme which I just fell in love with.

It makes it feel like a night scene with a bright moon shining down on a beautiful quiet snow scene I think.

The second thing I decided was to go with the "Thank You" sentiment for this card, rather than an overt Christmas sentiment.

But, obviously, you can create whatever you would want with this design -- it is sooo versatile!  I see a great masculine birthday card with this set!!

 

This card base is Basic Gray, cut 4-1/4" x 11", scored @ 5-1/2".

I have a layer of Basic Black in the background; and then I cut a piece of one of the new Silver Foils using the largest scallop rectangle in the Scalloped Contours Dies.

Then I laid in my piece of Designer Series Paper which measures 3-1/4" x 4-5/8".

I then played with the stamps themselves for a little bit, and decided that the right thing was 2 pieces of Basic White cardstock cut 4" x 3-1/2" so that I could stamp the trees on one; and then the cabin on the other (in Memento Tuxedo Black), and then die cut them, so I could layer the lovely scene on the front of the card.

I wrapped the Basic white layers with the Black & White Twine from the Playful Pets Trim Combo Pack before using dimensionals to pop it on the front the card.

I finished things off with some cute little fences; and lots of Wink of Stella on the roof and trees, etc.

I had considered adding some little rhinestones to the centers of the snowflakes across the background; but the card is so pretty the way it is.  Who knows, maybe I'll add them later!!  LOL

I love the Silver/Gray/Black tones of this card - it feels so peaceful to me!!

 

Well, I hope this feels inspiring to you.  If you have not picked up this set yet, it's a "Must Have" in my book!!

Head over to my Online Store and snag it for your craft room.  I'll be showcasing this one more I'm sure!!

 

We'll be back in a little bit with some important Promotional News from Stampin' Up! ~~  So Stay Tuned!!

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .

 

 

 

Wednesday Spotlight - Pretty Pumpkins

Hello Fellow Stampers ~

Yeah!!!  It's Hump Day!!  Thankfully this is an "off-Friday" week for me from work; and I'm gonna need it after the week I've had going here!!  My "real job" has been unbelievably stressful and chaotic this week.  I need a Real Vacation is what I need!!!  LOL

 

We finished up our Coffee & a Card virtual class series today that focused on the Pretty Pumpkins Bundle!!  We have been having so much fun!!  Have you thought about signing up and joining us?? - It's easy!!  Check out all the details for our next Coffee & a Card Virtual Class series HERE.

 

So having wound up our current bundle focus class today, I wanted to bring it forward to the blog, and create a really special design to share with everyone!

This design is the culmination of a number of pieces of inspiration I have seen online, and I sat down to take all the parts I love and meld them into one beautiful card!

This design centers around three basic colors - Cajun Craze, Basic Gray and Very Vanilla - which I played off of with Black and Rose Gold woven in.

The card base is Cajun Craze, cut 4-1/2" x 11", scored @ 5-1/2".

I then snuck in a piece of Rose Gold Metallic specialty for a hint of glimmer around the outside edge.

Then I cut a 3-7/8" x 5-1/8" piece of the gray/vanilla scattered leaves image paper from the Simply Elegant Specialty DSP collection, and matted it against a piece of 4" x 5-1/4" Basic Gray Cardstock.  That layered panel was wrapped with a piece of 1/4" Black & White Gingham Ribbon before being adhered to the Rose Gold panel and attached to the card front.  I then tied a bow near the base of that centered ribbon to give me a point to work off of for the rest of the design.

 

Then, to make sure I got things line up just the way I wanted, I actually cut a 5-1/8" x 3-7/8" piece of Basic Gray cardstock; die cut the one end with the scallop in the Scalloped Contours Dies.  Then I set the piece so I could "eyeball" where I wanted it to sit above the tied bow, measured, and ended up cutting 1-1/4" off the opposite end - then adhered it to the panel (sliding it underneath the wrapped ribbon so it would look like it was part of the initial layering). - I love how this turned out, allowing a nice piece of the designer paper to show, without overwhelming the overall design.

 

Then I added a "square" layer to the upper portion of the card - 3-3/4" x 3-3/4" Cajun Craze cardstock; then a panel of Very Vanilla cardstock measuring 3-5/8" x 3-5/8" which I then embossed with the Timber 3D Embossing Folder, sponged lightly with Smoky Slate ink, before popping it with dimensionals in place over the previous layers.

I then cut 3 tags using the Tailor Made Tags Dies, alternating the 3 sizes using Cajun Craze, and Basic Gray.  The top tag is stamped with this simple sentiment from the Sparkle of the Season stamp set, in Versamark, embossed with Gold Emboss Powder.

The tall pumpkin is cut from Black Glitter Specialty Paper; and the smaller pumpkin cut from Rose Gold Specialty paper.

The bottom spray of leaves/flowers, is colored with Smoky Slate and Cajun Craze Stampin' Blends, and popped in place.

 

I really love how this card turned out.  I love the rich colors; and how different this feels.  Instead of the typical autumnal colors, it feels fresh to me!

However, I wish I had used Basic Gray for the leaves on the pumpkins instead of Soft Succulent -- what do you think ??

I hope you are feeling inspired after today's creative sharing!  And ready to snag these gorgeous stamp sets.

 

I Love to hear from you.  Leave your questions or comments below!!

Hugs, . . .