Truly Grateful

Last week I made a card for a special friend. I decided to use the set Truly Grateful. I really love this set and think it is very versatile. The acorn and wheat sheaths are probably limited to fall but the text, log end and chevron design can be used anytime of year. Since I was sending this card in November, fall colors fit right in.  The twist is that it is a birthday card! This person has had some life challenges in the last year. My family and I really are truly grateful for his friendship and for all the lessons we have learned from him about dealing with these challenges. Truly Grateful just seemed like the perfect sentiment for him and his birthday!  Here is the card.

For this card I used the birch paper ribbon included in the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created kit (133463) for one of the background layers but you could also use the Frostwood Lodge DPS Digital Download (125609). That paper includes a birch bark pattern which you can print it out and use on your cards! I have found that the best paper to print on for creating DSP is Hammermill Color Copy Digital Cover.  

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set: Truly Grateful Clear Mount (131733)
Cardstock and DSP: Sahara Sand (121043); Chocolate Chip (102128); Whisper White (100730); Epic Day This and That DSP (130814); Soho Subway DSP (130140)
Ink: Crumb Cake (126975); Chocolate Chip (126979); 2012-2013 In Color Markers (126856); Subtles Markers (131263)
Tools: Woodgrain Embossing Folder (127821); Ovals Collection Framelits (129381)
Accessories: Naturals Designer Buttons (127554); Linen Thread (104199)

To order click on the ordering tab above just under the header. You can email me privately with any of your papercrafting questions or ask them in a comment below!

BIG Holiday Sale! (plus some thoughts on quick inexpensive holiday cards!)

Stampin' Up has announced it's annual Holiday Sale which is taking place now through Monday, December 2, 2013. There are over 50 unique items from both the Annual catalog and the Holiday catalog with some items 40% and 50% off. The items include stamps, cardstock, DSP, punches, Framelits, ribbon, embellishments plus digital items at really great prices! A large number of the items are perfect for your holiday papercrafting! My sale flyer can be viewed, printed or downloaded by clicking on Holiday Sale on the right of this page. 

If you would like to make some holiday cards, tags or decorating items but have not yet bought your supplies NOW is the time!! You can choose from six individual stamps plus three sets. One of the sets contains a great collection of eight sentiments, perfect for the inside of cards.  Then you can add silver and gold ink pads, silver glimmer paper, Silver and Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Vintage Faceted buttons, and Gumball Green ribbon. From the Clearance Rack you can receive Cherry Cobbler Scalloped ribbon and Coor'dinations cardstock in Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green or Early Expresso. All of these are great color choices for the Holidays! If you need still more (don't forget envelopes!) you can supplement your supplies from the Annual and Holiday Catalogs.  You can view these catalogs on the right side of this page. You will be totally ready!

I decided to show your how easy it would be to make a very simple card using supplies from the Holiday Sale. Since I have not yet received my new sale supplies, I pulled together some of the sale items that I already had on hand. Here is my card.

This card uses the Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies which are now 25% off and Silver Glimmer paper which is 30% off (I realize in this photo it looks like champagne glimmer paper, which would also look great, but is not on sale!).  These few items plus some cardstock can be the basis of many great cards and tags. If this card interests you but you don't have a die- cutting machine the Annual Catalog has an ornament punch. It is not on sale but it could be used as a substitute for the ornament dies and the coordinating stamps are included in the sale. One way to quickly step-up this card is to emboss your cardstock with an embossing folder before you cut out the ornaments. I did not do that since there is not an embossing folder included in the sale. Almost any embossing folder would work and there is one on the Clearance Rack - Lacy Brocade that would be absolutely perfect for ornaments!

Now for my card I did cheat a little. Stampin' Up! has a new product called card bases. They are standard card sized pieces of cardstock, precut and pre-scored. They are available in several great holiday colors including Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, and Old Olive. They are not on sale but if you are in a hurry or feel you are paper cutting challenged, they are a perfect answer to creating cards in a shorter time. Here is a great Stampin' Up blog post discussing card bases. Otherwise, if you would like to stick to sale items, you can get the Coor'dinations cardstock from the Clearance Rack at over 50% off. In addition to being used with embossing folders and sanding to expose the core of a different color, Coor'dinations can be used as regular textured cardstock, perfect for cards. Here is a link to the Clearance Rack where you can find it and other great deals on supplies for holiday packaging, cards and decor.  Between the Holiday Sale and the Clearance Rack there are lots of opportunities for great holiday cards!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock: Old Olive cardbases (135809); Cherry Cobbler cardstock (119685); Old Olive cardstock (100702); Silver Glimmer Paper (124005)

Tools: Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies (127816)

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you plan your cards and tags.  To order click on the ordering tab above just under the header. You can email me privately with any questions or ask them in a comment below!

97

Recently a very special man I know celebrated his 97th birthday.  In recent years I noticed that as each birthday arrived he became more and more proud of his age! That started me to thinking about making him a card with his age on it just like you see on cards for kids.  When I came across these vintage metal numerals at a flea market I thought they were exactly what I needed for his card. Next I looked for Designer Series Paper to use with the numerals and this Birthday Basics DSP with all the numerals all over it seemed perfect!  The great thing about using DSP on a card is that your color combinations are already pulled together for you. It makes it all so easy!  While this collection of DSP is great for birthdays for all ages, at least one side of each piece can be used for any occasion, making it completely versatile. I then created a mat for the numerals using one of the Chalk Talk Framelits and then cut a second piece out of Brushed Silver cardstock to use as an outline on each end of the mat.

I bought my numerals last summer before the Holiday catalog came out but the Morning Post Numbers clear mount stamp set (131841) in the current Holiday Catalog would also work great on this card or on a similar card for kids or adults alike!


Supplies Used:

Cardstock and DSP: Summer Starfruit (126839); Brushed Silver (126839); Very Vanilla (101650); Birthday Basics (130145)

Tools: Chalk Talk Framelits Dies (129983)

Accessories: Summer Starfruit Ribbon (126846); Silver Mini Brads (122941)


Please email me any questions or ask them in a comment below!