Elizabeth Craft Designs General Shimmer Sheetz
Shimmer Sheetz Sunday: Card Stand/Easels
November 5, 2017
Hi everyone!
The Die Cut and Coloring Design Teams are back today with another fun Designer Challenge to share with you.
This time around our challenge is Gift Giving – There are many times throughout the year when we need to give a gift to someone …. Birthdays, Christmas, Teacher Thank You’s etc. Create something for today’s challenge that could be given as a gift, either completely handmade, or something purchased and then decorated to give it that special touch.
If you haven’t heard, Elizabeth Craft Designs has just released new products from Krista Schneider; Elizabeth Craft Designs and new licensed designer Becky Seddon. You can find all these on the Elizabeth Craft Designs online store. The ModaScrap stamps/dies two of our design team have used will also be available soon.
For our Challenge today we are giving away a $20 Gift Card to use on the Elizabeth Craft Designs website to 3 winners.
To enter, simply leave a comment on this blog post below and answer this question: What are some homemade and crafty gifts you have created over the years?
We will select 3 lucky winners in a random drawing.
The winners will be announced on Friday, August 18th, here on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog.
Now let’s take a look at the wonderful creations our talented Design Team have created for the Challenge this month. For more information about the cards, click on the designer’s name under each card to be taken to the designer’s blog post and will open up in a new window.
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Elizabeth Craft Designs General Els van de Burgt Studio Soft Finish Cardstock Videos
Box of Pansies
April 12, 2017
Hello out there my crafty friends. It is Christine here from Susan’s Garden Design Team. Today I am posting a card I made featuring Susan’s Garden Notes Pansy die along with her Garden Notes Ivy Vine. The color of the pansies comes from a photo I saw on Facebook last year that I fell in love with and the wooden box is because I love rustic, primitive things.
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Elizabeth Craft Designs General Els van de Burgt Studio ModaScrap Soft Finish Cardstock
Sewing with Die Cuts – Spring Flowers Card
April 2, 2017
by Joan Frantzen
Hi it’s Joan Frantzen here as a Guest Designer. I recently discovered that wafer-thin dies work beautifully to cleanly cut single layers of fabric, eliminating the need to fussy cut the shapes. Before cutting, fuse iron-on adhesive to the back of the fabric and voila — instant appliqués! Machine stitching adds texture, and hand-stitched or glued embellishments bring your work to a whole new level. If you enjoy sewing, these little gems allow you to practice your free-motion stitching on achievable works of art that are quick and fun to make. Frame the piece with cardstock in coordinating colors, and include an easel for display. You’ll brighten someone’s day.
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Circle Butterfly Card
By Els van de Burgt
This card is all about playing with circles! I combined Fitted Frames, Stitched Circles and Fitted Circles for the layers and mixed in Through the Lens Wood and Metal Series patterned cardstock. The finished card is flat and measure 5.25”. To display it, I die cut an Easel/Card Stand from 100lb White Soft Finish Cardstock, covered with Clear Double Sided Adhesive on the front so I could glitter it to match the sparkle of the butterfly.
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Hi everyone,
It’s Frances here with today’s project. St. Patrick’s Day is less than two weeks away, so I thought I might be fun to create something with this theme this time. My project today can be either a card or a decoration, whichever you wish. As you can see, my project features Jinks the Monkey and the new Fitted Frames 4 – Curvy Ovals, both of which are lots of fun to create with.
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Recipe for 2-Sided Mixed Media Tags
October 18, 2015
By Judi Kauffman
My favorite recipes have very few ingredients; for example, graham cracker brownies (crushed grahams, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips). The same is true for craft projects, so when I decided to write a recipe for 2-sided mixed media tags I kept it simple: Two dies (952 Tags & More 2 – Deco, 711 Ladybugs), two surfaces (cardstock and Shimmer Sheetz), plus assorted leftovers, or what I like to call “table scraps” (the bits and pieces that accumulate at the side of my work table).
As you can see from the photos above and the ones that follow, both sides of my tag are symmetrical with something large, centered to anchor the composition. There are also small elements to move the eye and relieve the formality. (Symmetry can be quite stiff unless diagonals are introduced.)
All of the Tags & More die sets in the series have a mix of decorator pieces as well as a basic shape, so you can choose a different one if Deco is not your style.
- For a 2-sided tag, start with two pieces of cardstock (or one each of scrapbook paper and solid color cardstock). Sandwich with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet in between and die cut the basic tag in whatever length you want. As shown, the tag is 3.25” x 6”. Then die cut the decorative overlay at the top of the tag.
- Back the Shimmer Sheetz or patterned paper you’ve selected for corners and reinforcements with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet prior to cutting. Die cut 2 matching reinforcements for the top of the tag (front and back), and two pairs of decorative corners (a pair for each side). Reminder: The Metal Adaptor Plate is required for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van de Burgt’s YouTube video if you have not tried this technique. Tip: Choose lightly sanded or alcohol ink-altered Shimmer Sheetz for the reinforcements and corners. It adds extra sparkle and durability.
- Die cut a ladybug from metallic red and standard black cardstock. Alternatively, die cut a butterfly, dragonfly, flower, or whatever suits your tag.
- Add the reinforcements and decorative corners to both sides of the tag. Optional: Distress the cardstock corners and solid color side of the tag with black ink before adding corners and reinforcements.
- Arrange and adhere the collage elements on one side of the tag. Combine the ladybug with a mix of torn stamped or pre-printed paper, a canceled postage stamp, purchased stickers, Shimmer Sheetz scraps. Use the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to “frame” the collage with small silver staples, used as linear elements.
- Arrange and adhere the collage elements on the other side of the tag.
- Optional: Display the tag on a Card Stand/Easel so it can be turned over to show both sides. (Optional easel made with 1071 Card Stand/Easel die from Els van de Burgt Studio.)
Design Detour: Things to Notice
*Per Step 5, there are two staples set vertically at each side; there are two staples set horizontally as well, one just below the ladybug and one about an inch above the postage stamp. It is this orientation of the staples that turns them into a frame instead of turning up as randomly-added embellishments.
*Save a lot of canceled postage stamps. They are wonderful little works of art. This one, from Norway, echoed both the colors (red and black) and the shapes (circles) in the ladybug. This repetition of color and shapes is intentional, not accidental, and why it is so much fun to find bits and pieces to combine in a collage!
*I arranged the diagonal elements so that your eye will move around instead of getting stuck in the middle of the collage. There is a diagonal pull between the bright red ladybug and the purchased Happy Birthday sticker on the front side of the tag, and how your attention is pulled from the white on the birds in the drawing to the white dimensional embellishments (butterfly and bird) on the back side.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs –
952 Tags & More 2 – Deco or other Tags & More set
1071 Card Stand/Easel (optional)
Shimmer Sheetz in color(s) of choice
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet
Other – Collage elements including canceled stamp, stamped paper, pre-printed sticker, scrapbook paper, small drawing, dimensional flat-backed butterfly and bird; Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher (idea-ology); 3/8” grosgrain ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon); Black dye ink pad; Sanding block (Optional: To sand the hole reinforcements); Alcohol inks (Optional: To alter Shimmer Sheetz for reinforcements and decorative corners)
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By Judi Kauffman
The Els van de Burgt Studio Card Stand/Easel die is right up there on my must-have go-to list with Glitter Dots Peel-offs! I knew it would be a perfect way to display cards, postcards, photos, and such, but my imaginative friend Darla had so many other ideas; one of them – a Pen Stand. Brilliant! (Thank you, D.)
By making the Pen Stand with Shimmer Sheetz on the front and heavy cardstock on the back it is super sturdy as well as elegant, with the look of expensive metal. And I discovered that by embossing the sides but not the center portion of the Stand it has an extra level of strength and stability. The un-embossed area becomes a strong vertical spine, just like a person with good posture!
I knew in advance which pen it would hold so I chose a muted palette in keeping with an heirloom vintage silver pen, but your Pen Stand can be brighter, shinier – whatever you want.
Customize the project to suit the writing instrument, the décor, your taste or the taste of the recipient. Alter the Shimmer Sheetz with alcohol inks, or skip that step and just emboss and sand it; any allover pattern embossing folder will work.
Imagine a White Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz Pen Stand next to the guest book at a wedding; a Turquoise Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz Pen Stand with a chunky marker as a colorful statement next to a family message board. With a Pen Stand the pen is right where you expect it to be, unless you have a cat with other ideas…
Instructions:
1. Alter a 5” x 6.25” piece of Black Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz with alcohol inks in dark colors plus gold metallic. (Option: Skip the alcohol inks.) Back the rectangle with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet.
2. Die cut one Stand from the Shimmer Sheetz and a second from a piece of coordinating solid color cardstock. (Always use the Metal Adaptor Plate when die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van de Burgt’s YouTube tutorial if you are new to this technique.)
3. Remove the release sheet from the back of the Shimmer Sheetz to expose the adhesive. Carefully line up the two pieces to make a 2-layer Stand.
4. Working one side at a time and making sure that the bumps of the clouds are oriented toward the TOP of the Stand, emboss the left and then the right side. Leave the center .25” of the Stand un-embossed. (Tip: Fold Stand along the scoring line at the center. Use the fold to align the Stand in the embossing folder. This will automatically leave an un-embossed spine.)
5. Lightly sand the Shimmer Sheetz to tone down the Stand. For a shinier Stand, omit this step.
6. Carefully and firmly fold the Stand along the scoring line so it is at a right angle. Rest the pen across the Stand and enjoy it!
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs –
1071 Card Stand/Easel die
KB105 Clouds embossing folder
SS 0101 Black Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz (5” x 6.25”) or color of choice
803 Metal Adaptor Plate
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet (5” x 6.25” piece)
Other – Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks and Gold Metallic Mixative, Ink Applicator Tool (Ranger Industries, Inc.); Sanding block; Solid color cardstock to coordinate with Shimmer Sheetz; Die cutting/embossing machine (Big Shot, Cuttlebug, or other); An interesting pen!
