Hi there Artlets! It’s Suzanne here today with an exciting new addition to your creative tool chest! I’ve created four new designs to inspire you during Christmas creating. Each of these is perfect on its own or may be combined with any number of the A Way With Words dies, clear stamps and/or stencils.
‘Tis the Season to build a Snowman! Hi, its Selma Stevenson today. It is always fun to build a snowman and dress him up. You can stay warm and build cute snowmen to create birthday or holiday cards using the Stylish Snowman die set.
Poinsettia flowers always create such beautiful Christmas cards. Hi, this is Selma Stevenson. Today I have designed a card with flowers using Susan’s Garden Notes Poinsettia and Garden Notes Small Poinsettia dies. You don’t see real poinsettia like this, but they are pretty on a card! Here is how the card was created.
Yogi here with a decorative home decor item for your festive table or mantel. I usually just make cards during this time of year, but thought I’d make something a little out of my norm… BIG GRIN.
I LOVE the Els van de Burgt Studio Poinsettia, Holly Leaves and Berry Branch and Suzanne Cannon, A Way With Words dies. I reach for them continuously.
Safety first: This project is for waxed battery-operated candles only, not the wick and wax variety.
Instructions:
2. (Note – I’m using a layer of copy paper to protect my tissue paper.)
The sandwich: with the cut edge of your die facing up (Merry Christmas), copy paper, tissue paper – painted side down (facing the die) and the rest of your machine’s cutting surfaces. PS I ALWAYS use a metal adapter plate to help with cutting, but also to keep my acrylic plates pristine… run thru machine.
Remove from die, while still layered, remove negative pieces, then carefully separate the tissue from the copy paper.
3. Create a cradle to hold your candle steady using a piece of copy paper with the ends rolled toward the center, then just place your candle within the cradle.
I use Ranger’s “Heat It” tool because it produces less ‘wind’ than many heat tools and my tissue paper doesn’t blow away…
Position the tissue paper word and while holding it down, start heating a small area of the candle. You will start to get a glossy wet look. Stop heating and use the metal spatula, gently press the tissue into the melted wax. It will cool rapidly so you need to work quickly.
Once this first section is adhered with the wax, the rest goes real easy. Do small areas at a time until all adhered.
4. Cut at least a 4″ circle from heavy box type cardboard (or chipboard (at least an 1″ larger than your pillar candle (3″)). Die cut with your machine. It will not cut through, but will give you a good guiding cut line to continue the cut with your x-acto knife.
Paint the surface and edges with the gold paint.
5. Die cut your various Shimmer Sheetz elements. Two large solid base Poinsettia pieces from red metallic, two pink Iris filigree pieces, 3 green holly leaves, 2 bronze metallic berry branches.
6. Place the filigree onto the solid poinsettia base matching the petal shapes and while holding both together, fold down 2 of the petals above the center dots. Shimmer Sheetz holds the folds nicely. The side view should look like a right angle. Place a drop of hot glue onto the dot area of the solid base the size of a pea, then press the filigree piece down. The glue will seep through the little holes and create a nice bond.
Place a line of hot glue about an inch long, along the outer edge of the circle and press the poinsettia down to adhere.
NOTE: For the best fit, leave at least a 1/8″ gap between the candle and the Shimer Sheetz elements when holder is finished.
Repeat with 2nd poinsettia.
Place a drop of glue in the center of poinsettia and carefully press the large half pearl down.
Cut the berry branch into 2 smaller pieces. Put a drop of hot glue on the end of the berry branch pieces, working one piece at a time place a branch on each end. Be careful – the glue slightly softens the branch but when cooled the branch will be stiff again.
Put drops of Liquid Pearls “White Opal” onto the berries.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
Els van de Burgt Studio – Poinsettia (1067)
Els van de Burgt Studio – Holly Leaves and Berry (926)
Els van de Burgt Studio – Berry Branch (758)
A Way With Words, Merry Christmas (1056)
Shimmer Sheetz – Iris Sampler (SS 0227)
Shimmer Sheetz – Metallic Sampler (SS 0231)
Shimmer Sheetz – Bronze Metallic (SS 0215)
Other:
Waxed battery-operated pillar candle (at least 3″ diameter)
Tissue paper
Gold metallic acrylic paint
Die cutting machine
Ranger Heat It tool (low-temp heat tool)
Metal spatula
Scrap cardboard or chipboard
Hot glue gun
Liquid Pearls (White Opal)
Large half pearl gems
Howdy!
Debra here today with something a little different. We’ve had a lot of Christmas in July ideas so how about Halloween in July!! I absolutely love the Candle die and while working on a Christmas card my son suggested the candle would make a great Halloween candle too. I loved the idea! Today’s card uses the same sketch I used in a Christmas version of the card. If you have a great sketch to start with you can alter it to almost any occasion by simply changing the color scheme and papers.
Instructions:
1. Fold a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 piece of white cardstock in half to form a standard A2 size card. Cut a piece of pattern paper to 4 x 5 1/4 and die cut the largest oval from the Accordion Oval Card die in the center of the paper. Cut a piece of green cardstock to 3 3/4 x 5 and adhere to the center of the card base.
2. Die cut a candle from Black Shimmer Sheetz, the candle drips and flames from white cardstock covered with double sided adhesive, the pine branches from black cardstock, and green poinsettias from the Candle die set. Die cut orange and purple holly leaves from the Holly die.
3. Peel the liner off the candle drip and flame die cuts. Glitter the drip and middle flame with Orange Silk Microfine Glitter. Polish with your finger to set the glitter in the adhesive and bring up the shine. Repeat the same process with Warm Silk Microfine Glitter on the small and large flame.
4. Using black ink, ink the edges of the pattern piece, holly leaves, poinsettias. Ink a little heavier on the top of the oval to suggest the soot from the burning candle. Assemble the candle by adhering the glittered drips to the top of the candle. Color the large flame with Copic V17 and the small flame with Y17. Adhere them together. Add black Glitter Dots to the centers of the flowers.
5. Adhere the pattern oval frame to the center of the card over the green cardstock using pop dots or foam adhesive. Add candle and flames on pop dots to the center of the oval. Arrange and adhere the holly leaves, alternating colors, along the bottom of the oval.
6. Die cut only the word Greetings from the Season’s Greeting die in white cardstock. Adhere curved as shown. Add a little “soot” black ink to the bottom of Greetings. Add the flowers on pop dots and the black pine branches. Add Glitter Dots to the top branches to complete.
Happy Halloween!
Here are both cards side by side so you can compare. Which do you like best?
I hope you enjoyed making this project with me. This same sketch and die sets could easily be used for a birthday card, sympathy or gratitude card. The possibilities are endless!
Elizabeth Craft Designs supplies used:
945 Season’s Greetings
926 Holly Leaves & Berries
919 Candle
772 Accordion Oval Card
613 Orange Silk Microfine Glitter
640 Warm Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter
Double Sided Adhesive
7018 Glitter Dots Assorted Colors- Black
Other Supplies:
Pattern Paper- Graphic 45
Cardstock- Bazzill
Black Ink
Pop Dots/Foam Adhesive
