By Jeanette Horner
Hello, Jeanette Horner here, sharing a card made for a dear friend of mine. She will celebrate her birthday on the first day of March. Happy Birthday, Kay! I hope you will enjoy this card as much as I did creating it. Spring is just around the corner. I can almost smell the flowers, can’t you?
Let’s go!
Hi Y’all, Robyn here of RainbowWeaves , excited to be guest designing for the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog, sharing with you the new A Way With Words die set designed by Suzanne Cannon of Quietfire Design,. It celebrates my love for Artist Trading Cards (ATCs).
The 2 ½ x 3 ½ size limit sparks my creative imagination and can simply highlight a beautiful sentiment or focal image. They are also a great way to use up small stash scraps.
ATCs are only gifted or traded, never sold, fostering artistic and cultural exchange and world peace.
The New Year is a wonderful time to party, so why not give a tiny piece of art as an invitation. There is plenty of room to write all the particulars on the back.
I bet you can’t make just one! And it doesn’t take long if you want to make a bunch.
Instructions
I couldn’t make just one! These are embossed with embossing folders.
Word ‘Faith’ was die cut from Velvet Adhesive Sheet and embellished with some peel-off stickers.
Use a rubber mallet instead of the usual machine to selectively emboss.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs
Other
Hello and Merry Christmas!!!
It’s Wanda here and I hope you are having a wonderful day! Unexpectedly (and we are thrilled) our daughter has made it home for Christmas and our youngest son is here today. We celebrated last night with our oldest son who got married this year.
It seems fitting to share a Christmas project on Christmas Day. I’ve made a card but this design could easily translate to a small canvas or home décor project. The card itself could even be framed.
How I created the card:
1) Cut 2 pieces of Soft Finish Cardstock – One 5 ½” x 8 ½” and fold it in half for the base card – One 4” x 5 ¼” to layer and ink this piece with both Distress Inks, focusing Cracked Pistachio in the upper left corner and Festive Berries around all the other edges. Attach layer to card.
2) Tear music from an old (rescued, damaged) hymnal, paint with Picket Fence Distress Paint, dry; paint again and dry. This mutes the writing and sends it to the background.
3) Emboss music paper, ink with Cracked Pistachio going darker in the upper left corner, flick with Festive Berries Ink in the lighter areas and blot off. Attach music paper to card.
4) Die cut 3 sets of the poinsettia leaves (complete flowers and extra leaves) plus 3 more large extra leaves from Soft Finish Cardstock. Ink edges of one complete flower and 3 large extra leaves with Cracked Pistachio. Ink edges of two complete flowers and all other extra leaves with Festive Berries. Shape leaves from the back using shaping mat and tools. Attach three complete flowers together with small brad. Spray assembled complete flowers and extra leaves with Perfect Pearls Mist; dry.
5) Attach flower to card and glue in extra leaves with gel medium.
6) Cut Love and Exclamation Point from Shimmer Sheetz backed with Clear Double Sided Adhesive. Reminder: a Metal Adapter Plate must be used to cut Shimmer Sheetz. Els has a video regarding this HERE. Attach pieces to card as shown.
7) Color gumdrop with Sunshine Yellow Alcohol Ink. When dry glue to poinsettia with gel medium.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
1154 A Way With Words, Calligraphic Elements 1
1090 Garden Notes – Poinsettia
100lb Soft Finish Cardstock, White
Other:
Music Page from old Hymnal
Distress Inks – Cracked Pistachio, Festive Berries
Distress Paint – Picket Fence
Distress Spray Stain – Festive Berries
Idea-ology Gumdrops
Ranger Alcohol Ink – Sunshine Yellow
Perfect Pearls Mist – Perfect Pearl
Golden Heavy Gel Medium, matte
Hi, it’s Karen Burniston with the November 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 the theme is Video Techniques. The team was challenged to use any of my Pop it Ups technique videos to put their own spin on a new version of that card. I think you’ll find that the cards they created are amazing and you’ll find new inspiration to try the video techniques using their fun adaptations.
For my card and video I decided to teach a new technique for mixing the smaller Accordion pages with the larger Accordion pages. Mixed Accordions are very popular with the team, and we’ve seen amazing small/small and large/large mixed albums. With a simple modification of height, plus the addition of two hand-cut “chunky” tabs, it’s also possible (and beautiful!) to make small/large combinations.
Here is the video tutorial for this project.
Here’s how the album looks when folded up. Because the pages are different widths, you’ll actually see parts of the Rectangle page peeking through the area around the star. I really like the way this looks – so many layers!
Here’s a top view:
For the bead garland, I used a clear flexible bead string with red, silver and clear beads. I die cut four snowflakes from the All Seasons Tree die set from white cardstock with double-sided adhesive on it. I added a small pearl to the center of each snowflake and then dumped the same embossing powder from the stars and trees over the snowflakes and heated. Next, I pierced a hole in each snowflake to add a jump ring and then hung them from the bead string. To attach to the stars I wove the end of the bead string through the pierced hole from the front of the star, slid a crimp bead onto the string from the back and crimped it close to the star to trap the end.
The finished card, when folded up, measures just under 5″ x 5.5″, meaning it will fit in an A7 envelope for mailing. However, with the beads being so chunky, this one is a better candidate for a bubble mailer.
Ready to make your own? Here’s what you’ll need, and to help you out, here are the details of a fabulous offer, good only through tomorrow. To coincide with the November Designer Challenge, every purchase made over $40 of Karen Burniston’s Pop It Ups will receive a FREE $10 Gift Card. You will receive your Gift Card with your order in the mail and your Gift Card can be used on the Elizabeth Craft Designs website. This offer only applies to purchases made on our website between Tuesday 17th November and Thursday 19th November.
Elizabeth Craft Designs Supplies
Other Supplies
Let’s see how the amazing Designer Challenge Team interpreted this assignment. As you scroll through their cards below, take note of the links. The VIDEO TECHNIQUE is linked, which will open the video from my YouTube channel in a new window. For information, supplies, instructions, more photos, etc. about the specific cards, click on the designer’s name to open a new window with their blog post.
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Doublehigh Katie Label Pivot Card – This technique makes use of paper folding to allow the Katie Label Pivot Card to die cut twice as tall.
Caz Counsell used this technique to create more height for Whiskers the Cat and Buster the Dog. The colors are fabulous and I particularly like her edge strips using the Butterflies Embossing Folder.
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Double Katie Label Pivot Card – This is a different technique than the Doublehigh technique above. This time the Pivot card doubles horizontally, creating a 4-panel card that resembles an Accordion card.
Karen Aicken made this amazing western themed Double Katie card and combined phrases from several Clear Stamp sets. I just love the way she built her scene throughout the piece and the black pen detailing really creates an impact.
Caz Counsell also used the Double Katie Label technique for this cheerful birthday card. She used bright colors, Lucky the Rabbit and the Lucky Birthday Clear Stamps. Caz has such an eye for soft colors. I like how this card coordinates with her earlier card above.
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Double Evergreen Pivot Card – This is the same technique as with the Katie Label above, but using the Evergreen Pivot Card die set.
Helen Cryer outdid herself with this stunning version of the Double Evergreen Pivot Card. I just love her choice of patterned papers and how she added the dimensional element to the trees.
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Explosion Birthday Pop-up Card – This is one of my most popular videos, combining hand-folded explosion sides to a pop-up card.
Frances Byrne created a Christmas version of the explosion card and swapped out the pop-up die for the Lucy Label. She also used the Christmas Trees Pop Stand, Merry Christmas and Outdoor Edges and the results are definitely festive!
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Grungy Gears Background – fun with gears, foil, paint and more!
Sandy Diller started with the general idea of the background but expanded with more items and a different paint color for this fabulous Spiral Circle Pull Card featuring the Clock & Gears and Lucky the Rabbit.
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Pivot Accordion – another really popular video, this one teaches how to cut the Evergreen Pivot Card into the Fancy Accordion die.
Kelly Booth put her own spin on this technique with an amazing unusual and beautiful color scheme. She used the Fancy Seasons Frame Edges, Outdoor Edges and Holiday House as well.
Shelly Hickox also used the Pivot Accordion technique to make this gorgeous woodland Christmas card. She used the Barn instead of the Holiday House and embellished with the Western Edges, Merry Christmas and banners from the Lots of Pops.
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Spiral Circle Pull Card with Clear Spiral – the video shows how to use the Spiral Circle Pull Card die with a clear spiral to make things fly.
Summer Hills-Painter adapted the card to use the new Lucky the Rabbit die plus lots of balloons on a clear spiral. She used the “swirlydo” die from the Rectangle Pull Card as balloon strings. The balloons themselves come included with the Spiral Circle Pull Card die. She also used the new Lucky Birthday clear stamps. 
Fran Sabad also used this video for inspiration, making this fun Jolly the Mouse Christmas card. She used the Spiral Circle Pull Card, Clock & Gears die, Merry & Bright Clear Stamps, Props 5 and Jolly. Instead of a clear spiral she used patterned paper. Candy canes flying on the spiral – how fun!
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Seamless Pivot Backing Cards – this video shows three different methods for cutting seamless backing cards for Pivot Cards.
Raquel Mason used the outside border technique on this fabulous Evergreen Pivot Card. She took advantage of the stencil features on the decorator tree dies to add glittered decor and used the Merry Christmas script die on the card’s front. So festive!
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Triple Pivot Card – This video teaches you how to cut a Pivot Card die into the fold of the card, away from the fold to create a triple.
Frances Byrne used the Triple Pivot technique with the House Pivot Card to create the floating fence between two houses. She then decorated with the Holiday House die and decorator dies from the Evergreen Pivot Card. The Merry & Bright Clear Stamps create the perfect greeting.
Sandy Diller also used the Triple Pivot Card technique for her card, using the Tags Pivot Card. An adaptation that Sandy made was to slide the die even further from the fold, creating more of a Quadruple Pivot Card, which she accordion-folded as a cascading inner pop-up element. The colors and styling are just perfect for her Thanksgiving theme.
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Confetti Stream Accordion Card – this video shows how to cut a stream into the pages of the Gift Card Accordion and fill it with confetti for a fun shaker card.
Fran Sabad used Whiskers the Cat for her confetti accordion. She chose bright patterned papers to tie in all the colors of the sequin confetti. As Fran says on her blog; “You just can’t help shaking this card!”
VIDEO TECHNIQUE: Rocky Doffs his Cap – this video shows a fun technique using the Rectangle Pull card and altering a Character die to have articulated limbs that allow the spinner die to create great movement.
Raquel Mason made a brilliant version of this technique using the Rectangle Pull Card, Sleigh, Chilly the Penguin, Props 5 and Merry & Bright Clear Stamps. On her blog is a video of the card opening and closing – well worth the click!
CARD TECHNIQUE: Shelly Hickox’s Accordion-turned-Tunnel Card – Shelly Hickox has been transforming Accordion dies into tunnel cards with an easy little notching technique in the centers of the pages. She’s made several versions, including a Tea Card and a Winter Wonderland Card.
Karen Aicken really wanted to try Shelly’s tunnel card idea for her second challenge card and since I make the rules for the challenge, I can change the rules for the challenge! Ha ha. Here’s Karen’s fun card, featuring a lot of Pop it Ups dies, including the Gift Card Accordion, Fence & Christmas Trees Pop Stands, Characters Virgil, Snowball, Brownie and Cheepers, Props 1 and 2.
I say this every month, but I’ll say it again – the Designer Challenge Team is INCREDIBLE! Not only are these ladies talented, but they’re so nice and supportive to each other. They are my very best friends.
Hey Facebook users – there is a new Elizabeth Craft Designs Family group where you can share your own projects using ECD products. Crafters have joined from all over the world and are posting amazing inspiring projects. You can also participate in regular contests and giveaways, so join the family today!
As for Designer Challenges, we’ll end our second Pop it Ups year with a theme that hits close to home (literally!). Join us December 16th for a challenge called “Home for the Holidays.” The team will be interpreting the phrase using Pop it Ups dies.
Happy Crafting!
Hello dear friends, It’s Bianca Petroschi.
A card of encouragement offered at the appropriate time can do much for someone who is in a difficult time of their life. Do not hesitate to encourage the loved ones, even with a simple greeting card! Today I created a green card because it symbolizes hope, life and inner peace. I hope you will like it!
1. Create a card base from green shade cardstock, top-folded, measuring 15 cm/ 12 cm.
2. Cut a piece of plaid cardstock, top-folded, measuring 14 cm/11cm.
3. Place the Lorna Label PopUp die in the middle of the plaid cardstock, guided on top of the folded line and die cut. Adhere this piece inside the card base.
4. Cut a big label from the same die set in green cardstock. Stamp Susan’s Seeds of Thought -Planted in Faith sentiment and distress edges using black ink. Adhere label on the inside of the card on top of the pop up.
5. Cut, color and shape cardstock using Susan’s Garden CountryScapes – Backyard 1 & 2, Susan’s PanPastels, and Tool Set. Play with it. I assure you that will be a lot of fun!
* Add some Clouds on top, cropped with scissors, from a white embossed cardstock.
* Add a sidewalk on base using Pebbles die.
6. On the front of the card, adhere a piece of plaid cardstock measuring 14cm/11 cm.
7. Cut, embellish and attach the cute Wheelbarrow.
8. Cut, color and shape cardstock to create the beautiful Susan’s Garden- GARDEN NOTES – Sunflower. Place it over the Wheelbarrow.
9. From the Lorna Label PopUp die set, cut the small label in beige cardstock. Distress edges with black ink and adhere on top left corner. Adhere a green label on top making the colors contrast.
10. Die cut the word Create from brown cardstock and adhere on top.
It’s a lot of work and a lot of fun to create this card but it is worth it to encourage our loved ones!
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
1010 CountryScapes – Backyard 2
988 COUNTRY SCAPES – Backyard 1
30116 Susan’s Garden PanPastel Flower Coloring Kit 2 (7 pcs.)
30115 Susan’s Garden PanPastel Flower Coloring Kit 1 (10 colors)
808 Susan’s Garden 4pcs. All metal Tool Set in Luxury Case
Other:
300gr GSM Cardstock:green,yellow,brown,beige,red,white,plaid
Black Dye ink pad
TH Distress ink pad ( black soot)
Happy Wednesday and Happy July! It’s Karen Burniston here with a different type of Wednesday post. As the Pop it Ups collection grows larger, it may be a little overwhelming to understand all the different mechanisms and how they are different. Today I’ll explain it all!
It’s a good ol’ fashioned Pop it Ups Category Breakdown! (cheer! applause! fireworks!) For each different category of die I have a visual reference of the available choices in that category plus any coordinating dies/folders shown below the die. (Pssst – want to make yourself a catalog/wish list? Got a printer?)
Pivot cards were designed to be a quick and easy interactive card. A fun feature of Pivot Cards is that the same decoration on the front of the card then pivots inside as the card is opened. This provides double-duty decoration, saving time and materials. Pivot Cards work by lining up the alignment nubs on the die over the fold of any size card, anywhere along the fold. This allows for complete customization of card size, shape and pivot card placement. There are currently six available styles of Pivot Cards.
767 Butterfly Pivot Card
768 Katie Label Pivot Card
775 Heart Pivot Card
902 House Pivot Card
912 Evergreen Pivot Card
973 Tags Pivot Card
Introduction to Pivot Cards
Seamless Pivot Card Backing Cards
Double Heart Pivot Card
Double Katie Label Pivot Card
Double Evergreen Pivot Card
Triple Pivot Card Technique
House Pivot Card
Doublehigh Katie Label Pivot Card
Karen Burniston’s Pivot Cards Pinterest Board
Karen Burniston’s Blog: Pivot Card Posts
Pull cards are Z-fold flip or swing cards with a few extra features. They have tuck slots to keep the card closed to avoid an accidental reveal. They also have alignment nubs and the ability to cut the mechanism anywhere along the fold of any size card. They also have an optional pop-up element – the Circle comes with a spiral pop-up die and the Rectangle comes with a spinner pop-up die. Pull Cards differ from Pivot Cards because in this case, the item flips over when the card is opened, so you have front/back decorations. There are currently two available styles of Pull Cards.
916 Spiral Circle Pull Card
974 Rectangle Pull Card
Spiral Circle Pull Card
Introduction to Spiral Circle Pull Card (slide to 7:30)
Introduction to Rectangle Pull Card (slide to 6:43)
Rectangle Pull Card – Buster Plays Dead
Rectangle Pull Card – Rocky Doffs his Cap
Karen Burniston’s Pull Cards Pinterest Board
Karen Burniston’s Blog: Pull Card Posts
Whereas Pivot and Pull Cards are immediately identifiable as interactive cards from the front of the card, the General Pop-ups are the traditional pop-ups where the recipient has no idea that something will happen until they open the card. These are the traditional “magic trick” cards, since they offer the most surprise to the recipient. All of the dies in this category have alignment nubs allowing them to be placed anywhere along the fold of any size card. They are viewed best when the card is open to 90 degrees. There are currently six available styles of General Pop-up Cards.
778 Lots of Pops
779 Lucy Label Pop-up
780 Garden Bench Pop-up
915 Lorna Label Pop-up
947 Happy Birthday Pop-up
975 Adirondack Chair Pop-up
Introduction to General Pop-ups
Garden Bench
Double Lorna Mummy Card
Explosion Birthday Pop-up Card
Adirondack Chair
Karen Burniston’s General Pop-up Cards Pinterest Board
Karen Burniston’s Blog: Lucy Label Posts, Lots of Pops Posts, Garden Bench Posts, Happy Birthday Posts, Lorna Label Posts, Beach Collection Posts
Pop Stands are another type of General Pop-up card, but whereas the General Pop-ups are viewed in cards at 90 degrees, Pop Stands are viewed in cards that open all the way flat to 180 degrees. Another feature of Pop Stands is that the main item (tower, tub, barn, hay) is independent of the pop stand mechanism so it can be used on its own for flat cards, layouts, place cards, 3D items, etc. A Pop Stand die comes included with each design, and when lined up over the fold of any size card, anywhere along the fold, will cut tabs to fit the decorative item and turn it into a pop-up. There are currently four available styles of Pop Stand Cards.
978 Eiffel Tower Pop Stand
980 Bathtub Pop Stand
1021 Barn Pop Stand
1025 Hay There Pop Stand
Introduction to Pop Stands (slide to 1:30)
Eiffel Tower
Barn Pop Stand with Floating Floor
Karen Burniston’s Pop Stands Pinterest Board
Karen Burniston’s Blog: Pop Stand Posts
Accordion albums are a special category of Pop it Ups dies because they do not have alignment nubs and you do not line them up over the fold of a card. Rather, you use the Accordion die to cut a single page of your card/album and there is an integrated tab system to connect as many pages together as you desire. This makes the Accordions very versatile, as the same die can be used for a quick 2-page card or a 20-page masterpiece. In addition, each Accordion comes with decorator dies included, so right out of the package you’ll have what you need to start making incredible interactive cards and albums to impress and delight your friends and family. There are currently seven available styles of Accordions and more styles in the works.
Add-on dies (separate purchase) that are sized to coordinate with the Accordions (but can also be used on their own to make flat frames) are the Frame Edges. Frame Edges work by cutting four of each piece (square/circle designs) or two of each long/short piece (rectangle designs) and lining them up around the perimeter of the Accordion for fun decorations. Each Frame Edge packaging lists which Accordions it fits. The easiest way to adhere Frame Edges is by using ECD Double-sided adhesive on the back of the paper/cardstock before die cutting, so that the frame edges can be applied like stickers.
769 Circle Accordion
770 Square w/Circle Frame Edges
771 Fancy Label Accordion
971 Star Accordion
774 Fancy Frame Edges
907 Fancy Seasons Frame Edges
976 Star Fancy Frame Edges
772 Oval Accordion
776 Oval Dots Frame Edges
777 Oval Flourish Frame Edges
906 Oval Clouds Frame Edges
903 Katie Label Accordion
972 Rectangle Accordion
905 Katie Holly Frame Edges
913 Katie Stars Frame Edges
977 Katie Flourish Frame Edges
904 Ring Accordion
950 Ring Frame Edges 1
Introduction to Accordions
How to add Clear Pages to Pop it Ups Accordions
Pivot Accordion Technique
How to turn Portait Accordions into Landscape Accordions
Stacked Accordions
Barn Accordion Card
Karen Burniston’s Accordion Albums Pinterest Board
Karen Burniston’s Blog: Accordion Posts
The Characters all feature similar construction, with a shadow layer and a detail layer, and then accessory dies, like eyes, tails, etc. Using ECD double-sided adhesive on the back of the paper or cardstock before die cutting makes assembly of the Characters very quick and easy. A signature look to the Characters are their big cartoon eyes, but they are also easy to style with other eyes for a completely different look. There are currently eleven available styles of Characters and four Props styles.
908 Chilly the Penguin
909 Hoppy the Frog
910 Poppy the Owl
946 Dutch the Fox
948 Honey the Bear
983 Whiskers the Cat
984 Buster the Dog
985 Rocky the Crab
1022 Brownie the Cow
1023 Cheepers the Chicken
1024 Virgil the Pig
911 Props 1
949 Props 2
986 Props 3
982 Props 4
Introduction to Characters
Honey the Bear as a Panda
Honey & Dutch as Woodland Animals
Karen Burniston’s Characters Pinterest Board
Karen Burniston’s Blog: Character Dies
Edge dies are decorative dies that cut just the edge of the item so the height is customizable by the user. It also allows for easy decorative-edges cards. There are currently four available styles of Edge Dies.
782 Agatha Edges
914 Outdoor Edges
979 Paris Edges
981 Beach Edges
Accessory dies are flat designs meant to complement the interactive cards and/or be used independently. There are currently five available styles of Accessory dies and five available styles of Embossing Folders.
773 Butterfly Accessory Dies
917 Clock and Gears
918 Holiday House
781 All Seasons Tree
987 Palm Tree and Pail
KB101 Butterflies
KB102 Trendy Tiles 1
KB103 Trendy Tiles 2
KB104 Damask
KB105 Clouds
In Spring 2015 I released my first set of Clear Stamps – the Farm Greetings Clear Stamps – meant to coordinate with the Farm collection as well as fit some of the other interactive dies. Look for more clear stamps coming soon!
So there you have it! The entire Pop it Ups Collection broken down by category with a ton of video and inspiration links. Speaking of inspiration links, I post cards daily on the Karen Burniston, Designer Facebook Page.
Happy Crafting!
Hello crafty friends, it’s Summer Hills-Painter here.
Today I want to share with you one of my favorite techniques, a peek-a-boo z-fold pivot card. One of the things that I love about Pop It Ups dies is that you are not limited by your card size and design. Let me show you how I made my card.
Instructions:
1. Cut a piece of white cardstock at 5.5 x 8.75 score at 4.25 and 8.5. Place Heart Pivot die on the 4.25 score line and run through your die cutting machine.
2. Cut a piece of acetate 4.25 x 5.5. Attach double sided adhesive and leave the backing on. Run through run through your die cutting machine using the Damask embossing folder.
3. Adhere your decorator pieces to the inside of the card with the card remaining flat.
4. Adhere the embossed acetate to the .25 inch tab of scored cardstock.
5. Attach a strip of ribbon to cover the visible tab of cardstock.
Your card is now complete and is a standard A2 size card when folded up.
Happy Crafting,
Summer
SUPPLIES:
Elizabeth Craft Designs Supplies –
Other Supplies –
White Cardstock
Acetate
Ribbon
Lavender Vellum
Hello my crafty friends! It’s Raquel Mason here today. Usually I use markers to color on peel-offs, but today I wanted to show a different way to add color to peel-offs by using multiple colors of Silk Microfine Glitter. Let me show you how I made this card.
1. For the base & background:
2. Shimmer Sheetz:
3. The tag:
4. Butterflies (as shown in the photo below):
5. Cut out glittered images.
6. Adhere Happy Birthday Peel-off to bottom right corner of tag on the card front.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and feel inspired to try it out yourself.
Happy Crafting,
Raquel
SUPPLIES:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
SS0229 Yellow Metallic Shimmer Sheetz
502 Transparent Double Sided Tape Sheet
KB101 Butterflies embossing folder
636 Yellow Silk Microfine Glitter
624 Bluebell Silk Microfine Glitter
616 Peony Pink Silk Microfine Glitter
Other:
Peacock Feathers, Black Soot, Picked Raspberry Distress Ink – Ranger
Teal Blue and Jet Black StazOn solvent ink – Tsukineko
Cardstock – white, pink, blue, yellow, vanilla
Non-stick scissors
Black permanent marker
ribbon
By Judi Kauffman
It’s such fun having a pair of earrings to go with any outfit. Being able to make them in a matter of minutes is even more fun!
The basic instructions for alcohol ink-altering, die cutting, embossing and sanding Shimmer Sheetz are already available in previous blog projects and on the Elizabeth Craft Designs YouTube channel. Review as needed.
Here is how to make the Double-Embossed Droplet Earrings I whipped up yesterday to wear last night:
1. Use an ink applicator tool to randomly apply alcohol ink in purple and espresso and Metallic Mixatives in Gold to a piece of Amethyst Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz. Allow some of the original color of the Shimmer Sheetz to remain visible.
2. Adhere a Transparent Double-Sided Adhesive flat sheet between the ink-altered Shimmer Sheetz and a second piece of Amethyst Shimmer Sheetz.
3. Use the large rounded keystone die shape from the Jewelry Dies 2 – Droplets die set to cut a pair of shapes. (Reminder: when die cutting Shimmer Sheetz, you MUST use the metal adaptor plate inside your machine’s standard cutting sandwich as follows – Metal adaptor plate, Shimmer Sheetz with altered side facing up, die template with cutting side facing down.)
TIP: I always alter at least a half-sheet of Shimmer Sheetz (5” x 6”), sometimes a whole 5” x 12” sheet, so I can cut a LOT of shapes. Even if I only want to make one pair of earrings NOW it gives me plenty for a matching necklace, more earrings, or other projects later.
4. Working one shape at a time, carefully position the die cut and ink-altered shapes inside the Sea Glass embossing folder so that both will have precisely the same pattern. Make sure that the altered side is facing DOWN so the lines are raised and the pattern is de-bossed. (If you don’t care if the earrings aren’t a perfect match, position the shapes at random and de-boss both at once.)
5. Lightly sand the raised lines in the pattern and the edges of each shape. This will reveal some of the silver color that is the core of the Shimmer Sheetz. It tones down the shine and makes the earrings look more like metal!
6. If you like the earring shown to the left in the photo above, stop now and add a post back and synthetic suede to complete the earrings. If you like the earring shown to the right in the photo above, proceed to step 7 before completing the earrings. However: Follow step 8 if you want double-embossing as shown in the photo below.
7. Add Transparent Glitter Dots to both earrings.
8. Emboss a second time as follows: Working one shape at a time, carefully position the shapes inside the Sea Glass folder so that both will have precisely the same pattern. This time, make sure that the altered side is facing UP so the pattern is raised, not de-bossed as in step 4.
9. Add post back and synthetic suede to complete the earrings.
Options:
*Switch to a different embossing folder.
*Emboss or de-boss once rather than twice. (Recommended for more ornate patterns.)
*Skip the sanding block.
*Skip the alcohol inks.
*Change to a different color palette by choosing other inks and/or Shimmer Sheetz.
*Keep in mind when choosing Shimmer Sheetz colors: Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz colors have a silver core, revealed when sanded, while Iridescent colors have a white core and Metallics have a transparent core.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
E125 Sea Glass Embossing Folder
SS 0216 Shimmer Sheetz in Amethyst Gemstone (or color of choice)
Transparent Double Sided Adhesive flat sheets
Other:
Alcohol inks (colors of choice) and Metallic Mixatives (Gold)
ink applicator tool
Fine grit sanding block
Synthetic suede (Black or other color of choice)
Pair of post-back jewelry findings
Hi! It’s Candy! Today I am sharing a card that was inspired by the tile in the bathroom of a banquet facility. Yes – I loved it so much, I took my camera into the bathroom to photograph it. Then I used Shimmer Sheetz and an embossing folder to re-create the look.
1. Cut black cardstock 4.25″ x 11″. Score at 5.5″ and fold.
2. Cut paper 4″ x 5.25″ and adhere to card base. Cut black cardstock 2.25″ x 4.25″. (The paper I used is in the supply list but feel free to use a different color). Adhere to card front approximately 5/8″ below the top.
3. Cut five pieces of Shimmer Sheetz 2″ x 1″and emboss as shown below.
4. Coat with clear, glass-like adhesive. Dry overnight.
5. Use Transparent Double-Sided Adhesive to adhere to card as shown. Trim off edges.
6. Die cut Daisy, assemble and adhere.
7. Die cut Hello from Shimmer Sheetz using the metal adaptor plate and adhere to the black cardstock. Tip: Apply Double-Sided Adhesive to the back of the Shimmer Sheetz first before die cutting.
Where do you look for inspiration?
SUPPLIES:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
SS 0106 Purple Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz
506 Transparent Double Sided Tape 6mm
803 Cuttlebug and Big Shot Metal Adaptor Plate
Other:
Cardstock in black, yellow, purple, green
Paper: We R Memory Keepers Indian Summer
Glue Pen
Glastique (Glossy Accents, Diamond Glaze, 3D Crystal Lacquer would work as well)
