Technique Tuesday #1: Shaker Shadow Box Card Tutorial

Hello!  Welcome to the inaugural edition of Technique Tuesday!  Every few weeks, on a Tuesday, I intend to share with you a new technique.  (DISCLAIMER: the technique is new to me and this blog, it may have actually been invented by someone else, and in all cases, I will attempt to give credit where it is due, if possible).  So check back once in awhile to see new technique I'm playing with.

This week, I started with the Shadow Box Tutorial I found on SplitCoastStampers.com and then modified it a bit to add the shaker feature.  Scroll down past the next picture to get my step-by-step tutorial.

(1) Pick a theme. I chose birthday, which drove my color and decoration decisions.

(2) Gather supplies:
a. Cardstock (I used Melon Mambo, Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White)

b. window sheets

c. strong strips of adhesive (I used now-retired sticky strip, but any strong strip adhesive will work)

d. filler (i.e. sequins, beads, confetti, punched pieces - I used stars punched from cardstock using a Stampin' Up!'s Confetti Stars punch)

e. a scoring tool/system (I used a score board and bone folder)

f. a paper trimmer

g. nesting* dies and die cutting machine (nesting only necessary if you wish to have a border around your opening) - you could also use punches.  The shape doesn't have to be oval, either - it could be a heart or star, or something else that fits your theme.  I used some retired SU! Oval Framelits.

h. stamps (I used Balloon Celebration, which is available bundled with the balloon punch I used)

i. ink (I used Basic Black, Dapper Denim, Melon Mambo, Emerald Envy, Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie).

j. embellishments (I used stamped and punched balloons from the Balloon Celebration bundle)

(3) To make a card similar to mine:
a. cut 2 pieces of cardstock, each 4.25”x5.5”. These will be the back and front. On my example, these are the Melon Mambo pieces. Score them at ½” and 1” on both ends. The scores should run parallel to the shorter dimension. Choose one of these to be the front, and use your die to make a hole centered in the middle section of it. If you want to stamp on front or back pieces, I would recommend doing it while it is still flat. Once you are happy, you can fold the front. Starting on one end, fold at the first score mark in one direction and at the other score mark in the opposite direction. Then do the other end so that it is symmetrical. Repeat on the back piece. Set them aside.

b. cut one piece of cardstock to 3.5”x4.25” and use a die to cut a hole centered in it. This die should be smaller than the one use on the front so that you can see it through the hole on the front piece. Do your beost to center it, but if it’s slightly off, you can trim a small amount from each edge to align it better. This will create a layer similar to the orange rim on my example. Set this aside.

c. Next, cut two pieces of window sheets to measure 3.5”x4.25”. Line the entire perimeter of one window sheet with adhesive. Sprinkle your filling on. Then, carefully aligning it, place the second window sheet on top so that the edges line up perfectly with the first window sheet. Press edges tightly to secure adhesive, sealing in the filling.

d. Now we will assemble the front panel of the card. Adhere the window sheet/filler packet to the back of the front panel (the melon mambo piece in my example). Next adhere the window rim (the orange piece in my example) to behind the window sheet packet, making sure that the border it forms through the window is even. If you need to trim a bit off the edges of the orange piece in order to get it to be centered with in the Mambo window, you may. Just leave yourself enough room for adhesive. Set this assembly aside.

e. Cut 1 piece of cardstock to be 3.5” x 4.25”. This will be the inside part that you can see through the window. On my example, it’s the white panel with the banners on it. Go ahead and decorate this. It is helpful if you hold the front window over it to see where you need to decorate. Adhere it the middle panel of the back.

f. Adhere the front and back by running strips of adhesive down the outermost flap of each end of the front and back. Carefully and an put them together.

g. Decorate the front with die cuts, punched shapes, embellishments, stickers, ribbon, etc.

h. if you want a place to sign it, you can sign the back as is, or you can decorate the back and then sign on the decoration. You could also put a little pocket back there to hold a folded check, money or gift card.

If you try this, give me a shout out in the comments - I'd love to see what you did and hear your feedback!  Happy Stampin'!!!

Nautical Inspirations - DSC#077

As soon as I saw this week's challenge, I knew that I wanted to use it pretty literally. I love the color scheme and I had been looking for an excuse to use my "By the Tide" stamp set again.  I decided on Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake and Whisper White which is pretty similar to the color scheme in the photo and feels so fresh and clean to me.  I also decided to keep with the nautical theme because I'm itching for summery beaches & also because it is a pretty universal theme.

Whenever possible, I like to decorate the inside of my cards, too, as an added touch and happy surprise to the recipient.

The products I used are cardstock in Whisper White, Midnight Muse, and Crumb Cake, as well as ink in Midnight Muse and Crumb Cake.  I embellished it with the 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Midnight Muse (#126847).  The images came from the "By the Tide" stamp set (clear #129120, wood #131910) and the sentiments came from the "Express Yourself" stamp set (clear #130339, wood #130336), which you can earn for free with a qualifying order.

To order these, and any other current Stampin' Up! products, visit my STORE!

To see another card inspired by this challenge, come back tomorrow!

To see what my fellow demonstrators did with this challenge, click on these links:

Sharon Bennett

Miriam Castanho Bollinger

Robyn Rasset
Cindy Techlin
Jan Carlson
Dawn Olchefske



Color Challenge: cQc #177

 

Please over over the image and then click the "P" if you would like to pin it to Pinterest. 

I saw the current color challenge over at the ColourQ blog, and immediately thought the colors would be great for a masculine card or for Christmas cards.  I opted for a Christmas card so that I would have a head start on them for this year (and also because I was to lazy to go find my more masculine sets)! 

I also received my most recent order from Stampin' Up! this past week and instead of putting things away immediately, I have decided to challenge myself to use each item at least once before putting it away.  Too often, things get put away and then I don't use them quickly.  So, those items were the Scallop Circle die, the 3-1/2" circle die, the Pool Party Embossing Powder, the Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon and the Pool Party Baker's Twine.  All in all, a successful challenge, I think!

So now on to the details...to create this card, you'll need:

Ink: Always Artichoke for the pine branches.  I also broke the rules a bit, and used a tinge of Basic Gray (marker) for the tops of the ornaments and for the sentiment because I didn't have a Cherry Cobbler or Kraft Marker and I thought going with Always Artichoke would make for too much green in that "corner" of the circle. I also didn't have anything in Always Artichoke, so I substituted Old Olive.  I used our Illuminate pad to stamp the snowflakes on the Pool Party and Always Artichoke squares in the background.  And if you plan to emboss like I did, you'll need some Versamark ink.

Cardstock: all five colors from the challenge: Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Kraft/Crumb Cake, Whisper White, and Always Artichoke (I used Old Olive).

Stamps: a Christmas sentiment (I used a portion of a stamp from the For the Birds set), pine branches (I used the pine bough from Watercolor Winter), snowflakes or other background stamps for the faint background on the Pool Party and Always Artichoke squares (I used Snowflake Soiree), ornament stamps (I used Ornament Keepsakes).

Other: Big Shot machine, Holiday Ornaments Framelits, ribbon and bakers twine (I used Pool Party Baker's Twine and Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, and some retired narrow ribbon in Old Olive), Scallop Circle Die, 3-1/2" circle die, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, and Pool Party Embossing Powder, an Embossing Heat Tool and Smooch to paint over the branches for a snowy look.

This picture isn't the greatest - I was having a hard time with glare from the embossing powder - but it does show you the highlights from the embossing powder and smooch.  It also shows you two different ways you can layout your ornaments.

Hints:

• I used Smooch on the branches for a subtle snowy shimmer.  You could also use a Versamark marker and Iridiscent Ice for a blingier effect.
• I used a marker to color just the "Merry Christmas" part of the For the Birds stamp.
• I stamped snowflakes on the Pool Party and Old Olive squares to add sublte interest.  You could use any stamps that works for backgrounds.  You could also use Versamark or Pool Party and Old Olive ink for a more dramatic effect.  Or you could emboss them with any number of our Textured Impressions Embossing Folders.
• The Pool Party ornament is embossed with Pool Party Embossing Powder; the Cherry Cobbler ornament was stamped with Versamark, then Cherry Cobbler ink, then I used Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder on it.
• You can get directions for an Easel Card here.
• The layout of this card inspired my layout.
• You might have also noticed that my card is larger than the standard 4.25"x5.5" card.  I did that to accomodate the Scallop Circle Die, which is almost 5" in diameter.  Luckily, I have some old envelopes in my stash that will accomodate them, so I designed them with those envelopes in mind.  My envelopes are roughly 5"x7".  So my card is 5"x5" when closed.  So for the easel directions, I cut one square of Crumb Cake to 5"x5", and I cut the other piece to 5"x10" then scored at the 5" and 2.5" marks.
• When you decorate the bottom of the base, make sure you add enough layers/thickness that it can hold up the card when it's open.
• Don't forget to decorate the inside for an added surprise!  I will stamp a sentiment or write a note next December when I get ready to mail it.

Occasions Mini Catalog - Full of Life, Sweet Pea

Can I just say how much I LOVE the Occasions mini catalog. Everything in there is just so inspiring. This is a card I did for a swap I'm in, using the easel technique. I first learned about this style of card on Splitcoast Stampers, you can find the tutorial here: easel tutorial. My card was very much inspired by fellow stamper Tessa. The main components of this card are the Sweet Pea designer series paper and felt embellishments and the Full of Life stamp set. I get a lot of mileage out of that stamp set because the greetings encompass so many different occasions. I love how they are a mixture of fonts, too!

Please click HERE to order 24/7!!!

Supplies used on these cards:

Cardstock (both cards): Whisper White (#100730 for 8.5"x11"' #106529 for 12"x12"), So Saffron (#107088 for 12"x12" or #105118 for 8.5"x11"), Kraft (#102125 for 8.5"x11"; #107070 for 12"x12"); Chocolate Chip (#102128 for 8.5"x11" or #107102 for 12"x12"

Adhesives (both cards): Snail Adhesive - #104332 (refills #104331); Sticky Strip (works really well on the felt) - #104294

Ink: Chocolate Chip classic (#100908)

Tools: Scallop Edge Punch (#112091); Ticket Corner Punch (#107214)

Stamp Set: Full of Life (#111500)

Patterned Paper: Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper (#117161)

Other: Sweet Pea Stitched Felt Embellishments (#117266)

Happy Stamping, friends!