Poppystamps and Card Maker Blog Hop: Happy Fall

Welcome to the Poppystamps and Card Maker Blog Hop!

I am super excited to be part of a an amazing group of talented ladies to bring you this blog hop.  If you are hopping along you should have reached me from Lezlye Lauterbach's blog.

My favorite season is Autumn and there is much you can do with it as a theme.  One of my favorite things to do is to reflect and give thanks.  Therefore, my offering for you today is a card themed around thankfulness.

This card is a standard A2 cardstock in a dark brown.  I layered a leafy patterned paper and then a harvest golden color of card stock.  Then I created an Autumn sunset with distressed inks on top of white cardstock.

I used Poppystamps Viva Tree Die [901] to create the tree and leaves.  I die cut the tree several times in a harvest orange, gold, green and dark brown to get extra leaves.  From there I cut of the leaves and attached them to the tree on the card.

Next I cut out a Poppystamps Woodland Fawn Die [1014] in a light brown followed by the Poppystamps Woodland Fawn Die [945].  I cut off part of the scarf that comes with [945] to create a shorter scarf for the baby fawn.

Finally, I stamped the Danke greeting on a cream cardstock and layers each size of the Classic Ribbons Die [1005].  After assembling the greeting, I trimmed off a little of the squared off end to shorten.  Then I attached it to the card with a small green bow on a paperclip.

To finish the card, I added a cream cardstock inside with Poppystamps' So Much Cling Stamp [CS308B] greeting stamped.  It may be a little difficult to see but I hand-colored the leaves, stem and greeting with markers of different colors to continue the multi-colored theme inside the card.

I hope you have enjoyed the card and are inspired to incorporate Autumn backgrounds and themes into your card-making endeavors.

Before you go, there is a contest with a great prize to be won courtesy of Poppystamps!  The prize is both the 1084 Leaf Silhouette, 1031 Thank You Background die.  To be entered you must leave a comment on each blog you visit as no one knows which blog the winner will be selected from.

You have until 26 September 2014 to leave a comment.  Poppystamps will be selecting the winner(s) from comments and announcing it the Poppystamps Blog.  Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment (and/or subscribing to my blog).

Your next stop is on the hop is Theresa Momber's blog.  If you would like to start at the beginning of the hop, please visit the Poppystamps Blog or the CardMaker Blog.

Welcome Fall with Heated Copper

08/31/2014

Welcome Fall

Hello everyone.  Hard to believe it is the last day of August.  Where has the summer gone?

In my area, there is an annual Apple Festival and the yummy cider brings thoughts of Fall to my mind and to my post for your today.  I used a heated copper technique thanks to a friend who had some spare copper roll.

I wanted to showcase how Poppystamps dies can be used to cut thin (.003) copper sheeting so I used three different dies and ended up with my main card and two additional variations.  I hope you enjoy!

I cut an A2 card as a top fold.  Next I cut a smaller darker brown rectangle and ran through an embossing folder to create the wood-grain texture before moving onto heating the copper.  

In order to heat copper, you must have a heat proof surface.  I used an old half-sheet baking pan flipped over.  I  used a mini-torch (think Creme Brulee kitchen torch) as my heat source.  After it cooled, I carefully cut it with a paper trimmer.  The edges can be sharp so be careful not to get cut. It is a good idea to heat the copper outside if using a butane mini torch. 

I had a few missteps in running the dies through.  The frame around the leaves is very delicate and stuck to my cutting plates. Then I thought to add a piece of cardstock below the copper, then the copper and then the [1064] Maple Leaf Poppystamps die.  I ran through my Big Shot a couple times in order to be assured a clean cut as the copper is thicker than cardstock.  Problem solved!  It didn't stick to the cutting plates.  You can simply (but carefully) peel back the cardstock and you have the copper ready to adhere to your card.

Your could use foam adhesives to give some height or glue circles or hot glue.  I used a combination of glue dots and foam adhesive squares to adhere to the card.  Inside, not shown, I simply put a vanilla color of cardstock and stamped [CS308B] Thank You So Much greeting from Poppystamps.

My second example with heated copper is a Christmas card using [1056] Viviro Ornament and [CS307B] Holidays Sparkle Cling Stamp with [1005] Classic Ribbons Die.

The last example uses a the [1028] Delaney Butterfly Poppystamps Die against a plain black background.  This card is quite flexible and can be used for a thank you, sympathy or even to say hello.  

This will be one of my last posts as part of the Poppystamps Design Team.  I will be stepping down in September.  I want to thank Poppystamps for the wonderful opportunity to be part of their Design Team for the last 12 months.  I have made a lot of friends among the talented ladies on the team and hope that I have inspired some of you to get crafting with Poppystamps.  I appreciate each of you taking the time to stop by the Poppystamps blog and view my creations. 

Have a wonderful Autumn and Holiday season.

Viviro Ornament	[CS307B] Holidays Sparkle	[1005] DIES- Classic Ribbons	Maple Leaf
Delaney Butterfly

Spooky Fireplace

07/05/2014

Spooky Fireplace

Welcome to Poppystamps Blog Blitz!

I hope everyone [in the USA] had a great 4th of July celebration.  While most of the country was thinking of traditional American summer food, I was thinking toward cool temps and Halloween.

This card leverages some wonderful new dies from Poppystamps latest release.  The first of which is the Classic Brick Fireplace.  This versatile die can be used for a Christmas Fireplace awaiting Santa or, in this case, a spooky fireplace awaiting a cauldron of wicked potions.

I love the new Spider Web Border die.  I placed it on the top of the card and trimmed the rightmost edge off.  This was perfect to put in the corner of the fireplace.  

Next,  I ran the Fireplace logs die through in a dark brown color for the logs.  Then I built the fire by running the Warm and Cozy fire through red, orange and yellow cardstock.  I stacked several layers of the flames to provide a big fire.  

Then I cut two cats and placed them on top of the mantel.  To spice it up a little bit, I added rhinestones in the center of the webs and as a collar on one of the cats.  I only had clear rhinestones so I used an orange marker and colored them to make it more along the color theme of Halloween.

I finished the card by using Boo from the Scary Background die.  I hope you enjoy this card and find a couple of Poppystamps dies from the new release that will make your Halloween extra spooky!

Supplies:

Classic Brick Fireplace [1041]

Spider Web Border [1085]

Scary Background [1078]

Warm and Cozy Fire [1070]

Fireplace Logs [1072]

Sitting Cat [860]

Walking Cat [859]

Adhesives [glue pen, foam adhesives]

Embellishments [rhinestones]

Markers

Scissors

Cardstock

06/29/2014

With Best Wishes

My card for you today could be used for a variety of occasions including birthdays, to express thanks or, in the case of this card, I used a sticker sentiment to express best wishes.

I used the Tulip Fanfare and ran it through with a few colors for pink and purple tulips. I also cut the tulips to layer into the window box.  I used one of the shapes that are leftover from the Meso Background to add interest on the wall inside the window.

Supplies:

Poppystamps Dies - Dianna Border [1029]

Poppystamps Dies - Classic Ribbons [1005]

Poppystamps Dies - Tulip Fanfare [1018]

Poppystamps Dies - Baby Kittens [982]

Poppystamps Dies - Meso Background [999]

Poppystamps Dies - Verano Lamp [891]

Poppystamps Dies - Aston Side Table [897]

Poppystamps Dies - Grand Flower Box [821]

Poppystamps Dies - Grand Madison Window [815]

Greeting, Cardstock, Adhesive

[1005] DIES- Classic Ribbons	[1029] DIES- Dianna Border	[999] DIES- Meso Background	[1018] DIES- Tulip Fanfare
[982] DIES- Baby Kittens	[891] DIES- Small Verano Lamp	[897] DIES- Aston Side Table	[821] DIES- Grand Flower Box
[815] DIES- Grand Madison Window

InLinkz.com

03/14/2014

Poppies for Mother

Welcome to the first day of the Poppystamps Blog Blitz!  I am excited to kick-off the 14-day event with a fab new die, Arched Poppies, from the new release which also begins today!!  

I love the way Poppystamps dies fit in with any card style you want to make.  It can be fancy, embellished or, in this case a simple Mother's Day card.

I used the Arched Poppies die and ran it through the die cut machine a few times in both gold foil and white cardstock.  Adding small strips of color to the rear of the white cardstock provides color inside the poppies when the foil is overlaid on it.  And it is a great way to use small scraps of paper left over from other cards.

I used stickers for my greeting on the front and inside of the card. 

To add some additional color, I took inspiration from Easter eggs and used a bunch of spring colors and speckled the paper with a color spritzer and markers.

The white card base and greeting were attached with foam squares to give some dimension while the Arched Poppies were attached with a glue pen.

.

Supplies:

Poppystamps Arched Poppies Die [1019]

Cardstock

Markers

Adhesives [foam adhesive, glue or tape runner, glue pen]

Ink Spritzer

I hope you liked my card and I know you will love ALL the new release dies as much as I do.  So don't forget to check out Poppystamps blog for your daily inspiration!

Blog Blitz for Poppystamps Valentine Release

Kittens!

Happy Saturday to all! I am super excited about the new Poppystamps release. I love animals and it is full of them. For this card, I chose to play with the kittens. What else is more happy and loving and playful than a boatload (or card-load) of kittens?

Supplies used for this card:

982 - Baby Kittens Die by Poppystamps

985 - Heart Lattice Background Die by Poppystamps

990 - Happy Birthday Background Die by Poppystamps

Red and white adhesive heart embellishments

Cardstock, adhesive (I used a glue pen but any adhesive would likely work well too).

The heart lattice was a great background on which the baby kittens play.  I enjoy using the pieces that fall away from the background dies as well so I chose to use the Happy on the front of the card and have kittens playing around on the letters (that is why I didn't place them purr-fectly across) as kittens are prone to knock things over (at least mine did a few times).  Then I used the script birthday on the inside.  

This card could easily be a Valentine's Card as well.  Simply handwrite or cut-out from our sentiment for the inside.

 

I hope you are enjoying our blog blitz and we inspire you to get creative with the new Poppystamps dies.  Valentines Day is just around the corner and then Easter so don't wait...create!

Want an extra incentive to visit the Poppystamps blog?  Well, how about the chance to win a free die just for leaving a comment on the Poppystamps blog post.  Comments left on this blogpost (while appreciated) are not entries. You must go to the Poppystamps blog and leave a comment on the Blog Blitz posts dated 1/6/14 through 1/19/14.  You have until 1/24/2014 to leave a comment (on the Poppystamps blog post or posts of your choice).  The winners will be posted on 1/27/2014 on the Poppystamps blog.

[982] DIES- Baby Kittens

[985] DIES- Heart Lattice Background

[990] DIES- Happy Birthday Background

InLinkz.com

PoppyStamps Design Team - Blog Hop: Holiday Tags, packaging, and more

Treats are not just for Santa

Small gifts are a nice way to show someone special how much you care, and a hand crafted tag makes any gift extra special!  Our blog hop showcases tags and/or packaging and sometimes even a recipe perfect for gift giving.

If you are following along the blog hop you should have reached me from my dear friend Jeanne Jachna.  

I recently purchased some scrumptious truffles from a local chocolate shop, The Chocolate Fetish in Asheville, NC, for a small gift.  I wanted a way to make it a bit more personal thus I decided to create my own packaging.  

Supplies you will need:

Cardstock 

Poppystamps Die - Peppermint Twist [964]

Poppystamps Cling Stamp - Holidays Sparkle
[CS307B]

Double sided adhesive tape
Brilliance Ink
Scissors
Ruler

For my packing, I placed my truffles side by side and measured to determine how long and wide it needed to be.  I used a ruler to draw a rectangle and then outlined the sides and drew flaps.  It helps to use a scoring tool and score on each fold line.  Then cut out the box's bottom.  To finish, use double sided tape on the flaps and fold to create the bottom.

Next, trace around the bottom of the box, and add a little extra space (as a buffer) so that the top will fit over the bottom.  Again draw the sides and flaps and score. Once the top is cut (and before assembly) cut the swirl decoration across the top.

I love to use Poppystamps dies in many different ways.  I am always thinking of how can I use this or that as a component in another project.  I certainly like to make my money stretch and the Peppermint Twist die is one of these versatile dies.  It is a two-piece die and you can create candies without the swirl and add embellishments with just the base or you can use the swirls separately (as I did here) or use them together and make peppermints!

Once the swirls were cut, I randomly stamped only the snowflake from the Cling Stamp - Holidays Sparkle across the top and the sides of the lid. The photo below shows a lidded treat box with the three truffles peeking through the swirls.

If you don't want to do the calculations yourself, you can find many tutorials from Splitcoast Stampers or on YouTube to help fit the packaging to your contents.

View into the box from the top

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget we have hidden prizes!  Refill your coffee, tea, or cocoa and hop on over to the blog of a super creative lady and fellow design team member, Lezlye Lauterbach.

One random commenter from 3 of the following blogs will be chosen to win a Poppystamps die of their choice.  So while you are hopping, remember to leave a comment!

Yvonne Dunlop

Chunyuan Wu

Diane Barney

Ira Huberts

Jean Manis

Jeanne Jachna

Kimberly Coleman

Lezlye Lauterbach

Mary McMillan

Michele Henderson

Patty Tanuz

Rudlis / Irena Kowalczyk

Sherry Eckblad

Sherry Hester

Remember: You have until December 8 to leave a comment - winners will be posted on Poppystamps Blog on December 9.

[964] DIES- Peppermint Twist

[CS307B] Holidays Sparkle

InLinkz.com