Zoo Review..

Zoo Review is one of my "go to" sets for masculine cards.  With this card, I wanted to work with some of Stampin' Up!'s new Washi Tape.  Originally I wasn't thrilled with washi tape but after making this card, I realized it can make some really cool backgrounds and accents.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Zoo Review, Bring on the Cake
Inks:           Black StazOn, Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar, Basic Gray
Paper:        Whisper White, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Calypso Coral
Other:        7/16" Trim, 1" Circle punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" Scallop Circle punch,
                   Chevron punch, Epic Day Washi Tape, Argyle Embossing Folder, Old Olive Marker, AquaPainter

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

It's Happy Hour!!!

Here is a card that we made back in March at a workshop using the Happy Hour stamp set which is still available for purchase.  Some of the colors and papers are retired but substituting is easy with this card.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Happy Hour, Bring on the Cake
Inks:           Bashful Blue (retired) Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Garden Green
Paper:        Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Regals Pattern Pack (retired pattern)
Other:        Real Red & Garden Green Markers, Rhinestones, Brights Buttons (retired shapes),
                   Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine (retired), Finishing Touches Edgelits

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Special Fold Card...

Here is a special fold card that we made back in March at a workshop.  Some of the items are retired but I am sure you can find papers, stamps and inks to substitute.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Bloomin' Marvelous (2013 SAB), Swirls & Curls Verses (retired)
Inks:            Baja Breeze (retired), Primrose Petals, Lucky Limeade (retired)
Paper:        Whisper White, Baja Breeze (retired), Lucky Limeade (retired), Everyday Enchantment DSP (2012 SAB)
Other:        1 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Large Butterfly Punch, Small Butterfly Punch, Petite Curly
                    Label Punch, Itty Bitty Punch (flower), Pearls

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Technique Tuesday - Triple Heart Easel Card

Today's technique comes from a card that I made for the Special Folds Swap at Convention.  I first saw it on a website with a pattern that you printed out and cut the hearts out.  I immediately thought that I could do this using Stampin' Up!'s Heart framelits and they worked perfectly!  This card is also a great one for the Big Shot Magnetic Platorm which should be available again shortly.  It works so well to hold the framelits in place as you cut the hearts.

 Let's get started.  Here's what you will need.  I have put everything down to finish the card.

• Hearts Framelits
• 2 Pieces of Pink Pirouette cardstock
• 1 Piece of Raspberry Ripple cardstock
• Raspberry Ripple Classic Ink & sponge
• Embossing Folder(s) - I used Petals-A-Plenty, Chevron & Beautiful Baroque
• Multipurpose Liquid Glue (not shown)

To finish the card as shown below, you will also need:

• Hearts A Flutter Stamp Set and Framelits
• That's the Ticket Stamp Set
• Ticket Duo Punch
• Express Yourself Stamp Set
• Rhinestones

 For ease in figuring out which hearts to use, I am numbering them beginning with the smallest being (1) and the largest scalloped heart as (6).

 Cut one piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock at 5 1/2" x 11".  From the scrap of that piece, cut the 2"x4" piece.
From the second piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock, cut at 4"x8 1/2".

 

  Using the scrap pieces, cut Hearts (2) and (4) from the smaller piece and Scalloped Heart (6) from the larger scrap.

 Using the Raspberry Ripple cardstock, cut out one of each of Hearts (1), (3) and (5).

 Take the 5 1/2"x11" piece and fold it in half to create a 5 1/2" square.  Place Heart (6) on the cardstock with the folded line at the top with the top three scallops over the edge so you retain the folds on each side.

 Fold the 2"x4" piece and the 4"x 8 1/2" piece in half and cut using Hearts (2) and (4)  leaving a bit of the fold at the top as you did with the Scalloped Heart (6).

 Here is what you will end up with - Hearts (2), (4) and (6) singly and also folded in Pink Pirouette and Hearts (1), (3) and (5) in Raspberry Ripple.

 Run the three Raspberry Ripple hearts through the various embossing folders.  I used Petals-A-Plenty on the smallest, the Chevron on the middle one and Beautiful Baroque on the largest.

Line up the largest heart with the fold line at 2 1/2" and SCORE.

 Line up the fold mark at 1 1/2" and SCORE on the middle heart.

 Line up the fold at 3/4" and SCORE on the smallest heart.

 Sponge the edges of the Pink Pirouette hearts on the insides and the fronts of all pieces.

 Fold each along score line

 Place liquid glue on each of the folded hearts ONLY BELOW THE SCORE LINES.

 Place the single layer hearts on top of the folded ones as shown.  Glue the corresponding Raspberry Ripple pieces to the front of each of the hearts.

 Place glue on the back of the middle heart and place on the INSIDE of the largest heart with approximately 1/2" showing on the sides near the point of the heart.

 Place glue on the back of the smallest heart and place on the INSIDE of the middle heart with approximately 1/4" showing on the sides near the point of the heart.

 Place a large rhinestone near the point of the heart on the inside.

 

Here is the card closed with the finishing touches.  The heart from Hearts A Flutter was stamped and cut out using the coordinating framelit.  The "love you" comes from the Express Yourself stamp set and a rhinestone is added.

Here's the card all opened up.  The groove created by the opening at the top of the smallest heart and the middle heart create a place for the middle and largest heart points to sit down into.  The middle heart was decorates using the That's the Ticket stamp set and the Ticket Duo punch and the smallest was decorated with another rhinestone.

Definitely a WOW card!!!!

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Punch Art Card Swap at Stampin' Up! Convention

My final organized swap was a Punch Art Card swap.  Here we actually made a full card with punch art.  I came across this little ladybug on Pinterest but it was holding a glitter heart.  I decided to give her a bunch of flowers instead which worked perfectly with the "Just for You" sentiment.  I mean really, who wouldn't love to receive a bunch of flowers from this adorable little ladybug????

Finally, what do you call a male Ladybug?  A Manbug????  Hummmm.......
Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Paper:       Wisteria Wonder, Basic Black, Summer Starfruit, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red, Daffodil Delight,
                   Primrose Petals, Pool Party, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry
Inks:           Pool Party, Basic Black, Wisteria Wonder
Stamps:      Label Love, Daydreams Wheel
Punches:     Artisan Label, Small Oval, Large Oval, Extra Large Oval, Owl Builder, Itty Bitty Shapes,
                    1/2" Circle, 3/4" Circle, 1-3/4" Circle
Folders:      Fancy Fan
Other:   Chevron Ribbon, Signo Gel Pen, Glue Pen & Lots of Patience!

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

6 x 6 Punch Art Instructions Swap at Stampin' Up! Convention

I also signed up for a swap where you made a 6x6 card showing how to put together some punch art.  I chose to do the fire hydrant.  I think it is so cute!

Here's what you will need to make a fire hydrant:
Stamps:       None
Inks:            Basic Black (sponged edges)
Paper:         Real Red
Punches:     1" Circle, 1 1/4" Circle, Word Window, XL Oval, 1 3/8" Circle, Butterfly, 1 3/4" Circle,
                     2 3/8" Scallop Circle
Other:    Stripes Embossing Folder


Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Fancy Folds Swap at Stampin' Up! Convention

Here is another card that I swapped at the Fancy Folds swap.  I signed up for three different groups so I received 30 different types of cards - pretty cool!  Remember my blog post about working on a bunch of items for my nephew's wedding?  Well, working on all of that inspired this card.  It is a three tier pull card (instructions on making these are under my Specialty Cards tab).  I love how it looks like a wedding cake and is in my nephew's wedding colors!

 Here is the card fully opened.

Here is the card closed.  While the card can be pushed down all the way so it appears as a square, in this case I did not want to close it over the pearls and run the risk of them coming off during the pulling process.
Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Paper:       Pool Party, Whisper White
Inks:           Pool Party
Stamps:      Label Love
Punches:     Artisan Label, 3/16" Corner, Ticket Duo Builder
Folders:      Stripes, Modern Mosaic, Fancy Fan
Framelits:  Floral Frames Collection
Other:   Creped Filter Paper, Delicate Details Lace Tape, Brad, Pearls

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Fancy Folds Swap at Stampin' Up! Convention

Here is the Cascading card that I made for a Fancy Folds swap that I did at convention.  This is the second year that I have done this swap and it is one of my favorites and, more importantly, gives me ideas and inspiration to share with you!

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Paper:       Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Quatrefancy DSP
Inks:          Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Strawberry Slush, Pumpkin Pie
Stamps:    Mosaic Madness, Label Love
Punches:  Mosaic, Artisan Label, 1/2" Circle, Itty Bitty Shapes
Other:      Rhinestones

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Cascading Card....

Hi Everyone!  Back again with a special fold card on Technique Tuesday.  I first saw this card on the front cover of a recent issue of CardMaker magazine.  A customer tried to make one and called me with the challenge to make it since she had trouble with it.  Here's my instructions to make this card which are a bit different than those you can find in the magazine.  Here's what you will need to make this card:

• 12x12 cardstock
• Cutter with cutting and scoring blades OR Cutter and Simply Scored
• Scissors
• Ruler & Pencil
• Patience!

On the left side of your paper, measure up 2 1/2" and mark with a pencil.

 On the right side of your paper, measure up 5 1/2" and mark with a pencil.

 Using your cutter, line up your two marks and cut the paper.  Repeat again to cut a duplicate.  Take your cut piece and line it up on top of the other piece along the angled edge.  You will see that you can mark it and cut a straight line to make the second piece exactly the same - leaving you with a scrap measuring 12"x4".

 On the 2 1/2" end, measure up 1 1/4" from the bottom and make a pencil mark.

 On the 5 1/2" end, measure up 2 3/4" from the bottom and make a pencil mark.

 Using a ruler, draw a light pencil line between the two marks.

 Repeat on the other piece so you end up with two opposing pieces.

 From this point on, designate a LEFT PIECE and a RIGHT PIECE.  Follow all of the directions for LEFT PIECE first and then come back to this point and follow the directions for the RIGHT PIECE.  Keep the 12" straight bottom edge of your paper along the edge of your Cutter or Simply Scored for all cuts or scores.

LEFT PIECE:  Score in at 4" and 8".

RIGHT PIECE:   Score, score in at 4" and 8".

 

LEFT PIECE:  Measuring from the 2 1/2" end, place your cardstock at 2" and cut from the pencil mark UP to the top.

 

RIGHT PIECE:  Measuring from the 2 1/2" end, place your cardstock at 2" and cut from the pencil mark DOWN to the bottom.

 

LEFT PIECE:  Flip the cardstock so you are measuring from the 5 1/2" end.  Place your cardstock at 2" and cut from the pencil mark UP to the top.

 

RIGHT PIECE:  Flip the cardstock so you are measuring from the 5 1/2" end.  Place your cardstock at 2" and cut from the pencil mark DOWN to the bottom.

 



 LEFT SIDE:  Place your piece at the 6" measure mark.  Cut from the pencil mark DOWN to the bottom.  This will be OPPOSITE of your two other cuts.  Basically, it will be Up, Down, Up for your cuts.

RIGHT SIDE:  Place your piece at the 6" measure mark.  Cut from the pencil mark UP to the top.  This will be the OPPOSITE of our two other cuts.  This one will be Down, Up, Down for the cuts.

 

 At this point, I recommend you erase your pencil lines although they are still in my pictures.  This is an easier point to do it.  Take your pieces and fold along score lines as shown above.

 To assemble, start from the back (highest point) and slide the RIGHT PIECE down through the LEFT PIECE'S top cut.  Then slide the LEFT PIECE down through the RIGHT PIECE'S cut.  Finally slide the RIGHT PIECE down through the LEFT PIECE'S top cut.  You will not be able to slide them all the way until the entire card is assembled.

 Now, decorate however you wish!  In this example, we stamped Whisper White cardstock using the Stippled Blossoms stamp set.  Come back tomorrow for another sample of this type of card.

A helpful hint for matting this card:  Cut two Whisper White pieces the same size as your card pieces.  This gives you the exact angle that you want along the top.  Starting from the shorter end of the White piece, trim off 1/8", then measure over 1 3/4" and cut.  Next measure 1/4" and trim that off.  Measure and cut at 1 3/4" again.  Repeat the 1/4" cut and the 1 3/4" cut until you get all four pieces cut.  Finally, trim 1/8"  off the bottom of each - do NOT do this before you make your four pieces - your angles may get off.

Wow!  Told you that you needed patience!!!  Let me know how you do making one of these.  Once you have made one, they are pretty easy to do.  And yes, my first one was not something I would want to show you!

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Stippled Blossoms
Inks:          Summer Starfruit, Island Indigo & Lucky Limeade (retired)
Paper:      Whisper White, Island Indigo & Quatrefancy DSP
Other:        Satin Ribbon, Creped Filter Paper, Floral Frames framelits, Little Leaves framelit,
                    Swirl die (retired), Modern Label punch,  Reinkers to dye flowers.

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Stampin' Up! Convention Floor Swap...

Here is the final floor swap card that I did - and my favorite.  I only made a few of these and I swapped these with friends I knew from past conventions.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Papillion Potpourri, Happy Day
Inks:           Pistachio Pudding, Island Indigo
Paper:       Very Vanilla, Island Indigo, Venetian Romance DSP
Other:        Large Butterfly Punch, Small Butterfly Punch

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Stampin' Up! Convention Floor Swap...

Here is another popular swap card - I think these went first.  It is very similar to the other one with butterflies but only has three butterflies and a different patterned strip.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Express Yourself
Inks:            Island Indigo
Paper:         Very Vanilla, Pistachio Pudding, Island Indigo, Venetian Romance DSP
Other:         Small Butterfly Punch, Large Butterfly Punch, Modern Label Punch, Mini Brads

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Stampin' Up! Convention Floor Swap...

Here is another card that I made using the Venetian Romance designer papers and the Lovely Romance stamp set.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Lovely Romance
Inks:           Tangerine Tango, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede
Paper:        Tangerine Tango, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Venetian Romance DSP
Other:        Neutrals Candy Dots, Scalloped Border Punch, Sponge

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Stampin' Up! Convention Floor Swap...

When I was getting ready to do my floor swaps for convention, I decided to use the Venetian Romance designer paper for the background.  Using 10 of the 12 sheets, I was able to make 60 swap cards!  I started by cutting 1 1/2"" off one end so the paper measured 12"x10 1/2".  the paper into three 4" strips.  I then cut 12" side into three 4" pieces.  Finally I cut those in half at 5 1/4".  Perfect for matting on a quarter sheet of paper.  The leftover 1 1/2" piece was used for the smaller strips on the cards.  Here's one of the more popular swaps that I had.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Papillion Potpourri, Express Yourself
Inks:           Island Indigo
Paper:        Pistachio Pudding, Island Indigo, Venetian Romance DSP
Other:        Large Butterfly Punch, Small Butterfly Punch, Modern Label Punch, Mini Brads

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Faux Silk/Tissue Paper Technique....

Hi Everyone!  It is Tuesday and I am back with another technique for you.  This technique has been around for quite a while but is still fun to do.  Here's what you will need for the technique:

• Tissue Paper
• Black StazOn Ink
• Markers in Desired Colors
• Glue Stick
• Brayer (optional)
• Whisper White or Light Color Cardstock
• Fine Line Image Stamp Set

 Using Black StazOn ink, stamp all over the tissue paper.

 Your tissue paper will look like this.  Turn it over.

 Color the backside of the tissue paper using your markers - I used Pretty in Pink for the flowers.

 For the leaves, I used Old Olive.  Your tissue will look like this from the front side when you are done coloring.

 Now, the fun part!  Crunch it up into a tiny ball in your hand.

 Next, carefully open it back up but not completely.  Make sure you don't tear the tissue but also don't open it so much that you stretch out all of the wrinkling.

 Using a glue stick, cover the entire piece of Whisper White or light colored cardstock.  (I used Bashful Blue - retired.)

 Place your tissue paper onto your glued cardstock, making sure that you do not smooth out the wrinkles before it gets placed down onto the cardstock.

 Press around the entire piece so you get a complete seal on the tissue.  You will find that areas crinkle in order to absorb the loose tissue.  You may also use a brayer for this step.

 Here is what it looks like with a Whisper White cardstock as opposed to the Bashful Blue that I used in the card.  It gives it a very different look so experiment!

 Here's the final card we made.  On this card, you can see a two-tone look to the flowers in the faux silk technique.  That was done by coloring with two colors of markers.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Stippled Blossoms & Papaya Collage
Inks:          Black StazOn, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Old Olive & Lucky Limeade (retired)
Paper:       Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Whisper White & Bashful Blue (retired)
Other:        Scallop Ribbon (retired), Subtles Brads (retired)

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams