Autumn Gorgeous Leaves Card and Gratitude Box Invite

 

Welcome to the Creative Card-iology Team October Blog Hop - we are so glad you've joined us!  You can hop along with us by clicking on the links to my teammates’ blogs toward the bottom of this post.  We always appreciate your thoughts, so please leave a comment and let us know you've stopped by. 

What is your favorite season of the year – Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter?  Mine is Autumn for so many reasons!  I love the colors of the leaves and the crispness of the cooler air after a hot summer.  I have lots of fond memories of time with family and friends around bonfires, hayrides and hikes during this season.  

We are celebrating Autumn with our blog hop projects this month, and I have a simple stamping card and an invitation for you.

If you’re looking for an easy, cost-effective card making solution, you’ll want to check out the Notecards and Envelopes.  These come in a pack of 20 note cards (perfect for card bases) and envelopes and are available in Basic White and Very Vanilla.   You can stamp directly on the notecard itself or add more color and dimension with layers of cardstock and embellishments.

My simple stamping card features the Gorgeous Leaves and Free as a Bird stamp sets.  I inked up my leaf stamp set with Merry Merlot ink and stamped it first in the center of a 4 ¼” x 2 ¾” Basic White layer, and then immediately stamping again to each side of the center stamp (without inking up again).  I then stamped my sentiment from the Free as a Bird collection of stamps in Cinnamon Cider ink in the lower right corner. 

I then adhered my stamped layer to a piece of Merry Merlot cardstock measuring 4-3/8” x 2-7/8”, and then onto a Cinnamon Cider layer measuring 4-1/2” x 3”.  These matted layers were then adhered to the front of my notecard.  I finished off my envelope by stamping leaves and textures with more stamps from the Gorgeous Leaves set. 

The Notecards and Envelopes fit perfectly in the Mini Paper Pumpkin Boxes, and a collection of hand-stamped cards and envelopes in a decorated box make a great gift!

So that’s my simple stamping card – now for the invitation!  I was very inspired by the August Paper Pumpkin Hope Box kit, which was a collection of supplies to make cards and to decorate the Paper Pumpkin box to keep or gift to someone else.  The idea was to fill it with items that would inspire hope and joy.   I loved that idea so much that I’ve been continuing to make “hope” boxes with the Mini Paper Pumpkin boxes, and I’d like to invite you to join me in making and sharing inspiring boxes with others on a monthly basis.   Each box will include a mini journal/album, 5 note cards and envelopes, and a cards with scripture to reflect on related to the theme.  If you’d like more information on this monthly box kit, click here.    

Thanks for hopping along with us today!  Don't forget to let me know you were here by leaving a comment and check out my teammates' blogs by clicking on the links below!

Diana's Blog

Jessica's Blog

If you'd like to check out the products used for my project, you can click on the links below or stop by my online shop here.  I'd love to connect with you through my newsletter and share inspiration, updates on what's happening with Stampin' Up! and information on any scheduled classes.  Just click here to fill out the form to opt in to my newsletter and receive a free tutorial as well!

Product List

153365

$21.00

149468

$22.00

153114

$7.50

147112

$7.50

153078

$8.75

146979

$8.75

131527

$7.00

152813

$8.00

152392

$25.00

Farewell Sale-A-Bration

It's time for the Creative Card-iology Blog Hop again!  We are so glad you've joined us for our September salute to Sale-A-Bration!  There are only a few more days to earn get the Free Sale-A-Bration products with purchases of $50 or $100.  Our goal this month is to share just a little idea of what you can create with these limited edition products.  We hope you enjoy hopping along with us this month as we say farewell to this season’s Sale-A-Bration.

I chose the Feels Like Home stamp set for my project this month.  This set evokes a lot of fond memories from my younger years and special times with family.  I love all the detail in the stamped image and the also the scripty font used for the sentiments.  The sentiments included in this set offer options for various occasions, making it a set I can reach for over and over again.   If you love to color, this set is for you as the image is great for coloring with Stampin’ Blends or water coloring with pencils or ink.  I haven’t yet tried embossing with this set, but just the thought of trying it makes me want to set this blog aside and reach for my Versamark, embossing powder and heat tool just to see what happens!

I’d already created a card pairing this set with the Layering Diorama Dies, so for this blog I decided to try a framed picture this time using the same die collection.  I also wanted to create that sense of long ago days with a blending brush, Crumb Cake cardstock and Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Early Espresso ink.  

I had a dollar store frame that I thought would work pretty well, so I measured and found I needed a 6 ½” x 6 ½” Crumb Cake cardstock base.  I cut 2 pieces of Crumb Cake cardstock, one measuring 5 ¼” x 5 ¼” and the second measuring 4 ⁷/₈” x 4 ⁷/₈” to cut frames using the Layering Diorama Dies, and 2 pieces measuring 4” x 5 ¼” to stamp the image on with Crumb Cake ink. 

Using Stampin’ Blends, I colored the door, the stone wall, and the sidewalk of one stamped image, and the bicycle, plants and tree on the second stamped image.   You can see my choices of Blends in the product list below.  After coloring, I cut out the bicycle, hanging plant and tree with planters from the second piece.  I chose two dies from the Layering Diorama Dies that framed the stamped image well to create a frame from each of the squares.

To create the antique look on my frames, I first dabbed my blending brush onto my Crumb Cake ink pad and then brushed the ink on my cardstock frame working from the outside edge in toward the center with circular motion, and then along the die cut frame edge out a bit.  I then did the same thing with Soft Suede ink, this time keeping closer to the edges and not working my brush as far into the center.   I followed the same procedure with the smaller square frame, but kept the coloring on this frame a lot lighter.  Because I also wanted to highlight the dimension, I distressed just the outer edge of this second frame with Early Espresso ink using a sponge dauber.

I cut three pieces of the ¼” Early Espresso Faux Suede Trim to embellish two corners of my smaller frame and add a bow to the top right corner.  Once I had this trim adhered, I was ready to piece it all together. 

I placed Dimensionals around the open area of the larger frame and adhered my stamped image with the colored door to the back of the frame.  I then placed foam adhesive strips around the outer edge of this layered piece to attach it to the base.   Dimensionals were also placed on the back of the cut out bicycle, tree and hanging planter, which were then adhered over the same images on the first stamped piece.  I then adhered the smaller square frame to the other layers, centering this frame on the larger framed piece.  I added metallic pearls to the bicycle wheels and on the top left corner of the framed image. 

To complete my picture, I stamped my sentiment “Your friendship feels like home to me” onto a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock in Early Espresso ink and punched it out with the Label Me Fancy Punch.  I also punched a label from Early Espresso cardstock, cut this label in half and adhered half to the top back of my punched sentiment and half to the bottom creating a framed matted sentiment that I adhered to the bottom right corner of my picture.

There are a lot of people I would claim as friends, but I think there are fewer that fit this sentiment – friends that feel like home, friends that know who you are and love you because of and in spite of who you are.  Friends you feel comfortable with.  As I thought about what qualities and experiences make that kind of friendship, my thoughts turned inward a bit asking myself if I’m that type of friend, and how can I continue to grow in being that kind of friend.  I’m grateful for how those friendships have impacted my life!

Don't forget to check out the current mini catalog and Sale-A-Bration products when you visit my online store.  To check out the products used for today’s blog project, you can click on the links below. 

There're still a few days left to take advantage of all that Sale-A-Bration has to offer.  Along with the exlusive free products with purchase, Sale-A-Bration brings great hosting benefits and also a great join special - $125 in product for just $99 plus a free bundle from the July-December 2021 Mini Catalog.  If you’d like to hear more about this awesome opportunity to share your love of stamping, you can click here: Tell me more!, comment below or reach out to me through email at kimskeepsakecreations@gmail.com. 

I'd love to connect with you through my newsletter and share inspiration, updates on what's happening with Stampin' Up! and information on any scheduled classes.  Just click here to fill out the form to opt in to my newsletter and receive a free tutorial as well!

Thanks for hopping along with us today!  Don’t forget to check out my teammates’ blogs by following the links below!

Diana’s Blog

Jessica's Blog

Product List

156607

$0.00

120953

$8.75

147116

$7.50

147114

$7.50

147115

$7.50

155565

$29.00

151297

$18.00

153611

$12.00

133773

$5.00

152472

$6.50

146282

$7.00

154878

$9.00

154881

$9.00

154882

$9.00

154885

$9.00

154886

$9.00

154888

$9.00

154892

$9.00

154899

$9.00

154903

$9.00

154906

$9.00

154904

$9.00

141825

$8.00

103683

$5.25

104430

$4.00

149699

$12.00

138995

$7.00

152392

$25.00

146276

$49.00

149653

$120.00

147042

$8.00

It's Time to SALE-A-Brate again!

Welcome to the Creative Card-iology Team August Blog Hop - we are so glad you've joined us!  After you are finished here at my blog, I hope you'll check out my teammate's projects as well.  You can hop along with us by clicking on the links to their blogs toward the bottom of this post.  We always appreciate your feedback, so please let us know you've stopped by and leave a comment.

Our theme this month is Sale-A-Bration!  I know, I know - it’s not winter!  But Stampin’ Up! scheduled a second Sale-A-Bration this year, and it continues through the end of September.  There are some awesome stamp sets, papers and dies that you can get free with $50 or $100 purchases. 

This month’s project inspiration came from a card I saw as I was scrolling Pinterest.  I don’t remember who created the project, although I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a Stampin’ Up! stamp used.  I’m not sure I could even find the card again!  I’m horrible at taking note of where I saw something, so I apologize to the creator of the card for not being able to give credit.  I was just very drawn to the combination of embossing and coloring on navy cardstock.  I’ve spent several nights since I saw the card trying out various embossing powders, cardstock colors and different colored pencils to color with.

When I first saw the card while scrolling, I thought the simple elegance of the card would be very suited to a sympathy card I needed to make for a co-worker.  And the Delicate Dahlias stamp set (free with $100 purchase) might be the perfect set to use for my card.

 I often find it hard to convey to someone who has experienced such a devastating loss how sorry I am for what they are going through, but I hope that I can share a little bit of my heart through creating a card.  

I stayed with the initial combination I saw of gold embossing powder and blue colored pencils on Night of Navy Cardstock.  I prepared my Night of Navy card base by cutting a sheet of cardstock in half to measure 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" and then scoring at 4-1/4.  I created a gold frame from a piece of gold foil cardstock using 2 rectangle dies from the Stitched Rectangles collection, the inside rectangle die being 2 sizes smaller than the larger one leaving me about 1/4" frame all the way around.  Doing that left me enough room for my stamped and embossed layer to have something to be adhered to and allowed me to have a stitched rectangle shape that I can use on another project and not cover up all of the beautiful gold foil!

I cut a piece of navy cardstock about 4” x 5-1/4" and trimmed as needed to leave about 1/8" of the gold foil frame showing when the layer would be adhered to the frame.  I then stamped my floral images and sentiment onto the layer with Versamark ink, applied gold embossing powder from the Metallics Emboss Powders collection and used my heat tool to make the magic happen!  I like using the Stamparatus when stamping in Versamark ink so that I can stamp a second time if my first impression wasn’t clear enough.

I then colored in my images with Balmy Blue, Pacific Point, Night of Navy and Coastal Cabana watercolor pencils.  After coloring the images, I adhered my stamped layer to the gold foil frame, and then adhered that to my card front.

I decided to be a little non-traditional and emboss my stamped sentiment and a floral image on the inside of the navy cardbase as well.  I used stamps from the Quiet Meadow stamp set for the inside of my card.  I also cut a piece of Navy cardstock to fit the flap of my envelope and stamped, embossed and colored floral images from the Quiet Meadow and Delicate Dahlias stamp sets on the flap.  Of course, using the navy cardstock meant I needed a pen that would show up on the dark background.  A gold metallic gel pen did the job splendidly! 

I hope you enjoyed this project!  The metallic embossing powders give such an elegant impression and work beautifully for so many projects.  Can you imagine it for wedding invitations or a set of thank you or encouragement cards to gift someone along with a metallic pen for writing a note?  What other projects would you create with this technique?

There’s a new mini catalog available now with gorgeous fall, holiday and winter stamp sets, tools and papers, and you can check out the new products when you visit my online store.  To check out the products used for today’s blog project, you can click on the links below. 

This second Sale-A-Bration brings with it great hosting benefits and also a great join special - $125 in product for just $99 plus a free bundle from the July-December 2021 Mini Catalog.  If you’d like to hear more about this awesome opportunity to share your love of stamping, you can click here: Tell me more!, comment below or reach out to me through email at kimskeepsakecreations@gmail.com. 

I'd love to connect with you through my newsletter and share inspiration, updates on what's happening with Stampin' Up! and information on any scheduled classes.  Just click here to fill out the form to opt in to my newsletter and receive a free tutorial as well!

Thanks for hopping with us today!  Don’t forget to follow the links below to visit my teammates’s blogs! 

Diana's Blog

Jessica's Blog

Product List

Delicate Dahlias Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[156601]

$0.00

Quiet Meadow Bundle (English)

[155847]

$53.00

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[100867]

$8.75

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

$5.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$9.50

Metallics Embossing Powders

[155555]

$18.00

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)

[129053]

$30.00

Stamparatus

[146276]

$49.00

Stitched Rectangles Dies

[151820]

$35.00

Watercolor Pencils

[141709]

$16.00

Watercolor Pencils Assortment 2

[149014]

$12.50

Basic White Medium Envelopes

[159236]

$7.50

Simply Shammy

[147042]

$8.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$120.00

Fine-Tip Glue Pen

[138309]

$7.00

Tear & Tape Adhesive

[138995]

$7.00

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$5.25

Add All to Cart