Thanks for inviting me back as today’s guest designer. Spring is officially here, bringing the cherry blossoms to my hometown, Washington, DC, and giving me the color combination for my projects.
Though they grow throughout the city, including my neighborhood, the most famous cherry trees, given to the United States by the Japanese many years ago, surround a serene pool called the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial. Hence, the water-inspired blues and greens in the printed papers I chose. And there are hundreds of sunny yellow daffodils nearby, a legacy of Lady Bird Johnson, so I used yellow and yellow/orange markers along with the pastels to zip things up a bit. And what luck! I found a piece of printed ephemera with daffodils to use for one of my cards, and some ribbon with tiny pink blossoms to use for both of them.
Instructions:
1. Place Dragonfly Ladies Peel-offs (Shown: Silver) onto smooth white cardstock and color inside the lines, using alcohol-based markers in a palette of soft, pastel colors. Options: Choose Gold Peel-offs instead of Silver. Use the color-on-glitter technique if you want more sparkle.
2. Color outside the lines, all the way around the Ladies, using a coordinating pastel color. Cut around the Ladies, leaving a narrow border of the added color. This “halo” of color makes it so easy to cut around what would otherwise be very complicated shapes!
3. Emboss Shimmer Sheetz with the Lots of Dots folder, and lightly sand the de-bossed side. (Dots will be below the surface, not a raised texture.) Cut a wavy rectangle that will cover most of the top rectangle on the card front, as shown in Light Pink Iridescent, or for only a small portion of the card front, as shown in White Iridescent.
4. Assemble each card on a 5 x 7 Kraft brown card base, folded at the left side. Use the layouts shown in the photo, or arrange the elements as you prefer. Use foam squares for dimension under the ladies and between the layers of patterned paper. Use double-sided adhesive tape to hold the flat layers. (The larger rectangle measures 4.5 x 6.75, the smaller one measures 4.25 x 6.) Optional: Lightly distress the edges of the smaller rectangle on the card front with Espresso Ink.
5. Tip: The ribbon band with flat bow acts as a ground line so the Dragonfly Ladies appear to be standing. The band wraps to the back on the smaller patterned paper rectangle (the one that is popped on foam squares).
6. Add the small rectangular piece of paper ephemera, positioned at an angle beneath the Dragonfly Lady’s wing before popping the Lady in place. Accent the card fronts with Glitter Dots in some of the de-bossed dots. Add a trio of small Glitter Flowers (optional).
Other –
12 x 12 Studio Collection and 6 x 6 Watercolored Memories Collection Papers, and Watercolored Memories Ephemera Sheet – Ken Oliver Crafts
Floral pattern ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon)
ColorMates Smooth & Silky Cardstock
80# White (WorldWin Papers)
Foam squares; 5 x 7 Kraft brown cards with envelopes
ProMarkers in assorted pastel colors – Letraset
Cuttlebug or other machine compatible with embossing folders
Optional: Dye ink in Espresso and ink applicator tool or sponge dauber
It’s Debra today. I’m so excited about the NEW Elizabeth Craft Designs spring release!! I’m in love with every one of the new dies but this adorable little Owl captured my heart first thing. I knew I had to make a card with him. Isn’t he cute!!?
Here’s how I made this card:
1. Fold a 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ piece of white cardstock in half to form a standard A2 size card base. Ink the center with brown ink.
2. With the Bark Embossing Folder, emboss a piece of dark brown cardstock. Die cut an oval about 1 inch from the bottom, centered, with the largest decorator oval from the Accordion Oval Card die.
3. Die cut the remaining pieces: 2 branches in dark brown, 2 branches in green for the leaves, 3 Leafy Branches in green, 1 Owl base in tan, 1 Owl overlay in brown, 1 Owl overlay in pattern paper, feet and beak in yellow, eyes in white, 1 heart in pattern paper – all as shown below.
4. Assemble the Owl using the pattern paper as accents. The Owl die is so versatile because of all the interchangeable parts. The possibilities for cuteness are endless!
Here is a close-up below:
5. Assemble the rest of the card:
Adhere embossed piece on dimensional foam adhesive to card front.
Add Gold Border from Borders & Corners Peel-Off to outer edges.
Clip off leaves from green branches and add to brown branches then adhere to card front at bottom of oval.
Add Owl on foam adhesive.
Add Leafy Branches to top left corner.
Stamp sentiment on white circle.
Add pattern heart (from the Accordion Oval Card die) and adhere to card front to complete.
Note – with the leftover pieces from the Owl die cuts, you can create another adorable Owl to use on a different project.
The Owl and Leafy Branch dies will be available for purchase at the end of April.
Thanks for stopping by today. Stay tuned for more inspiration featuring our new spring release dies – our team is amazing!
Hi! It’s Candy Spiegel. Today, I am showing you an interesting way to display some of your favorite beach memories. Although, by using a different paper collection, you could use it to frame any vacation, birthday or event photos. On this project, I stuck to just a few die sets but still created a fabulous project.
1. Cut 2 pieces of teal cardstock and 2 pieces of polka dot paper 4-1/4″ x 6-3/4″. Cut another piece of teal cardstock, this time 4-1/4″ x 8-5/8″ and a piece of striped paper the same size. Place the tag top die from Tags & More 8 – Lattice at the top of one of the pieces and run it through your die cutting machine to create the tag shape. Repeat this process for all other pieces.
2. Use the decorative overlay die from Tags & More 8 – Lattice to die cut the Lattice pattern at the top of the tags, only on the 3 patterned tags (the 2 polka dot tags and the striped tag). Adhere the patterned tags to the teal tags. Ink the edges.
3. Tie ribbon to the top of each tag.
4. Cut out designs from paper, ink edges and adhere as shown. Use Tags & More 8 – Lattice die to cut two strips from teal cardstock and adhere near the bottom of the tag as shown above. Tie twine around the bottom.
5. Cut out “Beach” design from paper. Ink and adhere sides and bottom only to create a pocket. Tuck postcards and photos inside. Use corner die from Tags & More 8 – Lattice to cut corners from pattern paper and adhere.
6. Staple fishnet to top of tag. Add punch-out circle and tag. Add twine to tag.
7. Cut out hinges from Bronze Shimmer Sheetz using the Metal Adaptor Plate. Score and adhere with brads to tags to connect them together.
8. Use brads to secure On the Boardwalk and tuck photos behind it. Add tag from punch-outs and tie twine onto it.
9. Cut corners in teal cardstock from Tags & More 8 – Lattice and adhere.
Hi, this is Angela Beavers and today I would like to share two fun and fabulous scrapbook pages made with Elizabeth Craft Designs Dies. My friend, Nicole, created the pages which were inspired by her three little boys. Let me share with you how she created them.
1. Nicole used 12 x 12 design paper as a base for displaying the six pockets. She die cut six Tags & More 8 – Lattice from different design papers. After folding each one down about 3/4 of an inch, she accented the holes with different cardstock colors and shapes. She then used Transparent Double-Sided Tape on three sides to attach them to the 12 x 12 paper.
2. Her next step was to die cut tags from 6 different cardstock colors and embellish each one with hole accents and twine. She then decorated each tag with photos. On one tag, she used the alpha letters to spell “bubble fun” and die cut circles from Shimmer Sheetz to create the bubbles.
3. The second page is a collage of seven different tag styles. Nicole used an assortment of tag dies and design papers to create the tags hanging from the clothes line.
4. She attached the jute with brads and hardware hinges at the top of the page.
5. After decorating each tag with hole accents, stickers & photos, she attached them to the jute with pear pins. The tags are held in place with foam dots.
This is a fun and easy projects which can be used for many occasions and page styles. I hope you give this project a try!
Hi, it’s Karen Burniston with the April Pop it Ups Designer Challenge. Each month I challenge my Designer Challenge team to use Pop it Ups dies for a specific theme. This month I invited each of the ten team members to invite one of their blogger friends to join the challenge. The ten guests each picked out an Accordion Album die and it was up to each pair if they wanted to coordinate their projects or do something completely different. You’re in for some amazing inspiration and are sure to find new blogs to bookmark as you peruse the work of the talented team and guest designers.
I just returned from the Collins Rep Group Spring Retailer Training Event in Boston where I launched a mini Farm Collection that will be shipping to stores at the end of April. I thought they would be perfect for my Accordion. I used the new Barn, Hay There, Brownie the Cow and Farm Greetings Clear Stamps.
Here is the video tutorial:
When the album is closed you can see Brownie peeking through the upper window. Slide open the barn doors and you see a haystack.
One of the techniques in the video shows how to create a debossed frame for an Accordion Album using Frame Edges. For my project I used the Katie Flourish Frame Edges.
Elizabeth Craft Designs Supplies:
1021 Barn Pop Stand (shipping end of April, 2015)
1025 Hay There Pop Stand (shipping end of April, 2015)
1022 Brownie the Cow (shipping end of April, 2015)
CS001 Farm Greetings Clear Stamps (shipping end of April, 2015)
Echo Park Patterned Paper – Jack & Jill Cute as a Button (woodgrain) and Pink/Brown
Brown ink and blending tool
Twine, colored pencils
Time to send you on a journey to 20 blogs to see amazing inspiration from the Designer Challenge team and 10 distinguished guests. In all cases you can click on the designer’s name to travel to their blog post for more information about techniques and supplies used. Have fun!
Helen Cryer is the queen of patterned paper and her creation for this month’s challenge is no exception. Check out these bright fun colors and the clever way she adapted Honey the Bear into a sock monkey! I love this project!
Rita Edwards is Helen’s guest. “I was so pleased that Rita agreed to be my guest for this challenge! We ‘met’ each other when we were both on the Elizabeth Craft Design DT, and I love all her work – she colours exquisitely, and the details on her cards are just beautiful!” writes Helen. I agree! Check out this Rectangle Accordion by Rita:
Shelly Hickox can create one heck of a tunnel card using a technique with the Accordion albums. She has a link to her tutorial for this effect on her blog post. This month she incorporated the new Barn die into her scene. Love it!
Lisa Hoel is Shelly’s guest this month. Lisa also converted the Rectangle Accordion into a tunnel card, but vertical for her “under the sea” creation. So clever! Writes Shelly; “When we were asked to invite a blogging friend to join in the Accordion die challenge, I knew immediately that I would choose Lisa Hoel. I’ve been a longtime admirer of Lisa’s and love the way she uses Karen’s dies. Her unique vision is a breath of fresh air – I knew she’d wow us and she definitely has!”
I must say that when I saw Caz Counsell‘s creation for this month’s challenge I squealed with delight. Caz modified Dutch the Fox and Honey the Bear so they would be sleeping! What a clever idea and such a sweet card. She used the Circle Accordion.
Caz invited her friend Suzy Q to join the challenge and Suzy made this WOW! mixed Oval/Rectangle accordion. Says Caz; “This for me was a “No Brainer”. I chose my friend Suzie Q who I work with at Crafts U Love. Suzie makes lovely cards but unfortunately has suffered from lack of time and lack of mojo, I hoped in that choosing Suzie she might find her mojo and believe me she has!!” I agree!
Fran Sabad styled Brownie the Cow so sweetly for this 3-page Rectangle Accordion also featuring the new Farm Greetings Clear Stamps. The yellow and brown color scheme is fabulous!
Vicki O’Dell is Fran’s guest this month. Says Fran; “I met Vicki online and she is one of the most creative and upbeat people I know! She is all about DIY and gets involved in almost every craft out there!” Vicki chose the Circle Accordion and created a clever 3-page card with two connected pages and a third free-flowing. I love the serene feel.
Donna Wright made an adorable baby album using the Star Accordion and matching Star Buddies peel-off stickers. She also incorporated the Star Fancy Frame Edges on her second page. What a sweet project!
Sandy Diller is Donna’s guest and they both used the Star Accordion. Donna describes Sandy as “wonderfully talented” and I couldn’t agree more! Sandy not only flipped the pages to give the star a different look, but attached a clear spiral shooting through the album to suspend her floating stars. This is brilliant!
Frances Byrne shows off the new Cheepers the Chicken and Farm Greetings Clear Stamps on this fun 3-page Rectangle Accordion with Katie Star Frame Edges. I just love the colors and styling of this congratulatory album.
Maryann Einam joined the challenge as Frances’ guest. Maryann makes the coolest cards and this time used the Rectangle Accordion for a 4-page homage to shoes. Great sentiments, colors and imagery! Frances writes, “I chose my friend Maryann to be my guest for this month’s challenge as I know how much she loves Karen’s dies. We get together each month and enable each other when we go shopping out our favourite craft store.”
Kelly Booth made this superhero birthday card using the Star Accordion. Kelly has the greatest way with color and this Star Accordion project is no exception! She used the Star Fancy Frame Edges to make it a bright fun explosion of stars. It’s super!
Alice Wertz is Kelly’s guest. Writes Kelly, “I love the way Alice’s coloring brings things to life and she has been a friend of mine for many years.” Alice colored some adorable pups to use on her Star Accordion. She used the striped frame edges from the Star Fancy set. Absolutely fabulous!
Raquel Mason made this wonderful mixed Accordion to show off the new farm collection. She used all three new Characters and the Farm Greetings Clear stamps, plus Props1 and Props2. Love these party animals!
Debra Hensley was invited to the challenge by Raquel. “I like Debra’s work because she has a great eye for the little details. There’s always something extra or interesting on her cards,” says Raquel. Debra made this wonderful Star Accordion featuring the Star Buddies Peel-off stickers and the Palm Tree & Pail die. The glitter is so sparkly and I love the balloons!
Alicia, Raquel’s 12-year-old neighbor, also participated in the challenge as Raquel’s guest. She did a great job with the Star Accordion making this birthday album. Says Raquel, “I enjoy crafting with Alicia because she’s so eager to learn and loves glitter just as much as I do!”
Summer Hills-Painter made this hilarious anniversary card featuring a “Hogs and Kisses” theme with Virgil the Pig (And Virgilina!) on the Fancy Accordion album. The color scheme is perfect! Summer’s guest had something come up and was unable to participate.
Karen Aicken made an absolutely brilliant 4-page beachy Rectangle Accordion featuring Buster the Dog and the beach dies. She made the beer bottles using the Props2 Party Blower die. Brilliant!
Jackie Smith was Karen’s guest for the challenge. “I always looked forward to Jackie’s posts on the ECD Blog, as she has amazing way with texture and layers on her cards.” says Karen. Jackie made this amazing 4-page Rectangle Accordion with a Paris theme. All the layers are so intriguing! Love it.
Hopefully you’ve found plenty of inspiration this month and found some new designers to follow as well.
Join us May 13, 2015 for the next Designer Challenge, which is titled BARNS! BARNS! BARNS! The team will be using the new Barn die in a variety of clever ways.
Hi there! It’s Marsha here again! Today I have not one, not two, but three cards to share with you!
You must have gathered by now that I love all things inky and painty and one of my favourite tools to use is the Gelli Plate. I can mono print for hours on end, it’s that much fun!
I even created a video so you can watch my process and to show you how you can use die-cut stencils and masks with the Gelli Plate.
But first let me show you the cards I made. Each card features a quarter of one of my mono prints:
Here’s how I created them:
1. Use your dies to create a couple of stencils out of plain white cardstock. Featured here are the Bunch of Flowers 1 and the Flower Set 2. Cut out some extra flowers too.
2. Create a couple of mono prints. I couldn’t tell you how I did mine if I tried, but you can watch the video to get a pretty good idea:
A couple of tips:
Start with just two or three colours.
Make sure each print is dry before you print on the same paper again.
Keep a sheet of paper next to the Gelli Plate to roll off any excess wet paint that’s left on your brayer.
Other than that: just have fun!
3. Cut a print into quarters and use each quarter as a background for your card. Adhere each background on a pre-cut card.
4. Use the gelli printed flower masks to embellish the card. You can embellish the card even further with peel-off stickers, pens and markers, machine stitches or a couple of die-cuts.
I hope you try using your dies to create stencils and masks for mono printing! You can pull prints in any colour you want, so you’ll always have just the right colours for your cards, scrapbook pages and other projects!
Hello! Mary here with a colorful greeting card featuring Susan Tierney Cockburn’s lilies. The subtle flower-embossed velvet background makes a soft backdrop to the 3D flowers.
Making the Card
1. Cut pink cardstock 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ and fold in half to form a 5-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ card base.
2. Cut pink velvet 3-3/4″ x 5-1/4″. Emboss with Bouquet embossing folder. Die cut embossed velvet squares from Garden Patch – 1-1/2-inch & Mini Roses. Also cut black cardstock frame.
3. Adhere black frame only to center of card front. Peel off backing and adhere each velvet embossed square in the same locations as they were cut, but in the black frame.
4. Die cut the following from Garden Notes – Lily: two stems from green cardstock, one set of leaves from green cardstock, and two sets of all the petals from red cardstock. Color and shape as in the video below.
5. Adhere flowers to front of card as shown. I cut off the leaves and across the center of one stem to re-arrange them where I wanted. Adhere bow as shown.
6. Cut four copies of Hello in pink cardstock. Cut one copy in red. Line up and adhere pink copies together to make a thick Hello. Optional: shade red copy. Adhere red copy to top of stack. Adhere Hello to front of card as shown.
It’s Frances Byrne here today. This time around I decided to use the one of the grids from Susan’s Garden Patch range of dies to create a scene you might see looking out of a window.
Here is how I created my card:
1. To create the card base –
Cut a piece of green cardstock 5-7/8″ x 11-6/8″. Score along the long side at 5-7/8″ so you have a top folded card 5-7/8″ square.
Cut a piece of brown cardstock 5-11/16″ square.
Cut a piece of designer paper 5-1/2″ square.
Layer the designer paper onto the brown cardstock and then onto the top folded card. Set aside.
2. Cut a piece of cream cardstock 3-3/8″ x 5″. Apply light blue ink to the inside of the Clouds Embossing Folder and place the cream cardstock inside and emboss. Color the bottom part of the cream cardstock with a green Copic marker.
3. Using the CountryScapes – The Woods 1 die set, die cut the following:
(1) each of the tree and branches from kraft cardstock
(6) leaves from green cardstock
4. Add detail to the tree trunk and branches using a brown Copic marker. Adhere the tree to the left side of the cream piece of cardstock and then adhere the leaves all over the tree.
5. Using the CountryScapes – Backyard 1 die set, die cut the following:
(4) each tall grass from green cardstock
(1) watering can from orange cardstock
6. Add shading to the grass & watering can using Copic markers.
7. Die cut the large grid from the Garden Patch – 1-1/2 inch & Mini Petals die four times from brown cardstock and adhere the grids on top of each other to give height. Adhere the grid over the top of the tree scene trimming off any branches or leaves hanging over the card.
8. Attach “window” scene to the right side of base card as per photo above.
9. To finish off the front of the card, adhere a green button which has been threaded with hemp cord to the top left corner of the card.
The inside of the card:
10. Cut the following:
brown cardstock 5-11/16″ square
cream cardstock 5-1/2″ square
11. Layer the cream cardstock to the brown cardstock and adhere to the inside of the card.
12. Using five of the 1-1/2″ brown squares which are left over from die cutting the brown grids in step 5, adhere them to the inside of the card as per photo above.
13. Stamp sentiment “The Best Things in Life” in the center of the square of cream cardstock using black ink.
Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed my tutorial.
It’s Jackeline Rojas here. I am excited to be a guest designer on the Elizabeth Craft Designs Blog. The project that I designed for today will show the versatility of the Tags & More dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs. Let’s get started.
1. Cut two 4 1/4” x 8” tags from light green cardstock using the tag shape die from Tags & More 7 – Vine.
2. Cut a 12” x 3” piece of dark green cardstock and die cut both ends using the decorative tag top die from Tags & More 8 – Lattice. Create score lines as shown in the picture below.
3. Lightly ink the edges of the two light green tags using Forest Moss Distress Ink.
4. From pattern paper, cut two small flowers using Victorian Flower Set 1 and two from Crystal Flower Set 1.
5. Using dark green cardstock, cut out an oval shape using the Accordion Oval Card Die.
6. Apply Transparent Double-Sided Tape to white cardstock. Transfer the outline of Jackie’s Dolls in Oval peel-off to the adhesive side and, using the glitter coloring technique, add Warm Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter to peel-off and color. Watch Els demonstrate this technique HERE.
7. Apply a piece of Transparent Double-Sided Tape to white cardstock large enough to die cut 4 leaves from Curvy Leaves. Remove release sheet and cover leaves with Forest Green Silk Microfine Glitter. Polish and brush off excess glitter.
8. Die cut Happy Birthday from White Velvet Adhesive Sheet.
9. With all of the pieces prepared, assemble the box.
This is how your box would look.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and this helps you to find inspiration for your next project.
Cardstock – dark green, light green, white
Yellow and brown pattern paper
Ranger Forest Moss Distress Ink
Copic Markers: E29-E19-G99-YG95-Y38-Y15-R02
Brown ribbon
Hello my crafty friends! It’s Raquel Mason here today. I’d like to show you how you can quickly put a masculine card together using Shimmer Sheetz and Peel-Off Stickers. By using peel-offs, the beauty of the Shimmer Sheetz shows through without the need to color. Let me show you how I made this card.
1. Cut tan cardstock at 5.5″ x 8.5″ and score at 4.25″ for a standard A2 size base card.
2. Cut white cardstock at 4″ x 5.25″. Adhere to card base.
3. Cut Light Blue Metallic Shimmer Sheetz at 3.75″ x 5″. Emboss with Clouds Embossing Folder. Sand to reveal the clear core around the embossed clouds. Adhere to white cardstock.
4. Cut Red Metallic Shimmer Sheetz large enough to fit lighthouse peel-off. Alter using alcohol inks and a felt applicator. Apply peel-off sticker and cut out image using Fine Pointed Scissors.
5. Cut White Iris Shimmer Sheetz large enough to fit seagull. Apply peel-off sticker and cut out image.
6. Die cut the pieces shown below:
(2) Hardware 1 – Hinges from Gold Metallic Shimmer Sheetz inked with black StazOn.
(8) Jewelry 1 – Sea Glass shapes from cork and ink if desired.
7. Adhere pieces to card using photo for placement. Apply Glitter Dots in the holes of the Hardware Hinges. Tip: stagger the cork Sea Glass shapes to resemble rocks. Use foam tape for dimension behind the lighthouse and seagull.
8. Use Transfer Sheet to apply the negative image of the lighthouse. See a video tutorial HERE on using transfer sheets.
9. Apply Happy Birthday peel-off to the top center of card.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and feel inspired to try it out yourself. Happy Crafting!
