Happy Spring!

Hi all, it's Christi here with another spring card. Since moving I have found {and am STILL finding!} a bunch of craft and card making items that I'd forgotten all about.  Some of it needs new homes and some of it needs to be used! I found this package of white flowers I had gotten from the Dollar Tree ages ago and that is how this card started!

What I Used to Make my Card:
5" x 7" white card base
DCWV 180 Floral Fair Cardstock Stack {available but not on the DCWV site}
Tutti Rose Frame Die, #TUTTI-178
Tutti Birdies Trio, #TUTTI-102
Distress Oxide Inks in Peeled Paint, Tumbled Glass, Tattered Rose and Brushed Corduroy
Lawn Fawn Tree Before 'n Afters Stamp Set, #LF2018
Picket Fence Studio Blending Brushes, 6 pack
White Flowers from Dollar Tree {any small white flowers will work}
Die-Namics Stitched Fishtail Banners

The Dies I Used

Products I Used

As I said, finding these flowers inspired me to actually USE them, so I started going through my dies and found the two from Tutti Designs that sing spring to me.  Instead of deciding which one to use, I decided to use both; I like how the Birdies Trio fits in the Rose Frame.  Next came the paper I was going to use; I had previously looked through my patterned paper and pulled out a few sheets I liked.  Luckily, in the same paper pad, there was a yellow shade of paper that matched my chosen design wonderfully.  I started the card by cutting the frame out of my previously picked paper, then the birds out of the matching yellow.  One thing to remember when using dies from across the

Detail Close Up

pond, they may not fit our standard card sizes, so I moved to a 5" x 7" card base and centered the frame and birds and glued them to the base.  I colored the flowers with the Distress Oxide Inks {I love the fact that you can make these inks as dark or as light as you want to; I inked the flowers with a small blending brush until the color matched the patterned paper!}, then cleaned off the center gems so they'd sparkle. Lastly, I finished off the card with the sentiment that I had stamped onto white card, using the Brushed Corduroy ink,  and then cut with a stitched fishtail banner.  

These colors are outside of my comfort zone, I typically struggle with pastel colors! This year I am trying to step out of my comfort zone and experiment with making projects that include colors, techniques, and subjects I am not comfortable with {I am actually going to USE the items I've purchased to make a light up card!} and I would love it if you'd join me on this journey!  Thanks SO much :)

Fondly,

Christi

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Sending Wishes. . . with Dies R Us!

 Happy Wednesday! I am thrilled to be back on the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog Design Team; I rarely buy a stamp set unless I can get the matching dies and I love that Dies R Us carries so many different brands of product. Spring is FINALLY here in Colorado, sort of.  We have been having 80 degree days, and then 60 degree days - still, it isn't rain or snow, so I'm a happy girl :) If you are a regular reader you know I am in love with Lawn Fawn and I pretty much buy every new thing they come out with {I'm happy, wallet is NOT happy!} because I just have to have it! Here is a new spring card I made with some of their products :) 

What I Used to Make my Card
White Card Base
Lawn Fawn Dandy Day stamps, #LF2217
Lawn Fawn Dandy Day dies, #LF2218
Lawn Fawn Spiffy Speckles Petite Paper Pad, #LF1868
Lawn Fawn Stitched Windy Backdrop, #LF1425
Lawn Fawn Grassy Border die, #LF613
Lawn Fawn Fancy Wavy Banners, #LF1923
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 17, #S5-025
Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Glue
White Card {for frame}
Clear Wink of Stella 
Watercolor Paper
Zig Clean Color Brush Markers

You can see the sparkle a bit in this photo

I stamped, colored and cut all of the components, ran a pretty piece of Spiffy Speckles through the die machine using the windy backdrop {if you look close, the mice seem to be speckled too; before I cut them out I had used a bleach clean up product on my desk and got the speckled mice, not on purpose, but a fun accident. Kind of different!} I framed the background with white card cut out using Labels 17 and before I glued it down, I pieced the scene together.  I went over all the dandelions with clear sparkles to give the card a bit of pizazz, you can't really see it in the pictures but it's there.  I glued all the pieces onto the background, added the banner with the sentiment and I was done.  This was such fun card to make and I love that the flowers are included with the set as coloring grey {hmmmm, rainbow mice? Sounds like a plan to me! Oh! How about some pastel mice to help usher in spring!?!} mice all day can get really boring!

I hope you enjoyed my mini tutorial {truthfully, I run out of ways to word them and honestly, who is going to read this that needs a how to? But it is my way of blogging, so you are stuck with it! I like to blog like you & I are having a conversation so that's what I do!} and you are getting some signs of spring in your neck of the woods.  I appreciate you guys so much and your comments give me the push I sometimes need to continue with my hobby.  Please continue to be careful as the world slowly begins to open back up! Fondly, Christi 

 Don't forget to come join in the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog. There's a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive a gift voucher prize to
the Dies R Us Store.  

   For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

 click below for:

STORE

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Pivot Pop Card

Hi everyone!  Monica from HeartcraftPaper here and I'm so glad you could make it back to visit the blog.  Today I have a wonderful spring inspired card.  The image that gave me the idea for this card is Lena, Floral Wreath, which can be found at the sister store Didi Crafts.  I loved all the flowers in her hair and felt that roses would be my theme. 

It was such a lovely image, but delicate and small so I wanted it to really pop!  Literally!    I wanted a rose, something to make it interactive and a statement piece.  So I found three dies that would set my image apart.

Supplies:

Lena, Floral Wreath 

 Dies: Rose

Memory Box: Fine Cut Leaves

Lawn Fawn: Pivot Pop-up Dies

Lawn Fawn: Stitched Speech Bubble Frames Dies 

Lawn Fawn: Scalloped Rectangle Stackables

A2 Card Base

Anna Griffin Rose Medley Paper Pack

Distress Ink: Vintage Photo

Black Cardstock

Fuchsia Cardstock

Green Cardstock

Liquid Glue

Zig 2 Way Glue Pen

Scissors

Double Sided Tape

Pencil

 Let's Get Crafty!

Color Theme:  Reds, Fuchsia, Green & Black

Start with your coloring.  

Skin: E0000, E00, E02, E11, E93

Lips: R32

Flowers: YR18, R14, R29, YG63

Dress: C2, C4, C6, C8, C10

Trim/Boots: R14, R37

Start building up your card. 

You  will need to die cut your flowers first.  Use the Cheapo Die: Rose, as well as black and fuchsia cardstock for this.  First die cut the rose outline out in black (7x's).  Then place the  die cutting side down on the fuchsia cardstock and trace all around.

Now that you have your guide for the rose all penciled in adhere the black outline inside of the tracing.  You will then cut all along the outside of the black outline.  I would have used a quilting technique, but this particular dies has lines that do not fully close the image. 

With the roses done, cut out your leaves.  I did two for each flower, so a total of 14. 

Let's begin working on the sentiment.  For this cut out a 1/2" strip of white cardstock.  I stamped out my sentiment using individual wood block letter stamps I had found for $1.   I stamped out, "A Note To Say..."  and made a fishtail banner at the and.   I then crumpled up the banner some and used Vintage Photo Distress Ink to give the paper more of an aged and distressed look.

Now you will begin to assemble the background to the cover.  I chose a wonderful rose pattern that really fit my concept.  Using Lawn Fawn's Scalloped Rectangle Stackable Dies I die cut black cardstock (4 x 5 1/4") and the floral print (3 9/16 x  4 3/4").  Next adhere the floral print to the black background using double sided foam tape and set aside for later.

For the sentiment I decided on a speech bubble because the stamped image gave me that feel of a young lady raising her hand and waving and saying, "Hi!"  I began by die cutting out the speech bubble in white cardstock and the "hi" in black.  Then embossed the speech bubble with a polkadot pattern.  Using a glue pen adhere the sentiment to the bubble.

Now your ready to die cut the pivot pop-up mechanism.  I used craft card for the base (1) and a beautiful foil polkadot paper (2) that i feel works well with florals. 

You will fold away from you in a mountain fold. Next you will fold the diagonals away from you (valley fold).  This will create a frog like image. 

The cut has a hole at the center that allows you to align the fold of the cut along the fold of the card.  I maintained in placed and folded down one side to add glue onto the triangular section and repeated it by folding upwards on the other side. 

Using double sided tape add to both pieces along the little tab.  alight the tabs so that one is at the top and the other at the bottom and attache.  Once attached you will fold in the middle away from you and the two sides towards you.

Align the pop-up base in the center by using the hole in the mechanism as a guide.  Then fold in the sides to reveal the two  tabs you will apply glue away from the fold.  Allow to dry.

While the glue is drying on the inside you can work to apply your card background on the front using liquid glue or if you prefer, double sided tape.

Using one of the flowers created earlier you will adhere a set of leaves to it along the right side. 

This is how it should appear once complete.

Adhere the rose by using foam tape on the back.  Make sure to use enough to add support across the whole back of the rose. 

Now we need to add the sentiment.  I used foam tape on the back of the sentiment and glue on a portion that was placed over the rose, to attach.  I adorned using a larger pearl dot. 

Almost done!  All that needs to be done now is the arrange and glue down the decorations inside.  I fussy cut my image first. 

I arranged my items before gluing down.  This way I have an idea as to where I want everything to go. 

Now it's time to start gluing down my items.  I avoided setting any items over the folded sections and I opened and closed the card to make sure I arranged the flowers in a way that it would not peek out over the edge of the card when closed.  I also added some flowers to the background so that the inside looks like one big bouquet.   

  In the end this is what it will look like, both open and closed.

Thank you all for visiting the blog and we hope to see you back again!

XOXO - Monica

Don't forget to come join in the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog. There's a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive a gift voucher prize to the Dies R Us Store.  

 For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

click below for:

STORE

CHALLENGE BLOG

FACEBOOK

INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE