Nutz about Stamping

See how to create a diagonal optical illusion layer on your cards

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is a fun one:

I love the layout but the diagonal sentiment kind of stumped me. So I decided to create an optical illusion strip on the front of my card and use two of the same sizes of layers above and below the strip. It wasn't until after I finished my card that I noticed that the top layer is a little bit narrower. But no matter. 

What makes this card look tricky is the diagonal strip because it makes the striped paper on the map below it look like it was cut diagonal. But not necessarily! If your sentiment strip is wide enough you can angle the strip when attaching it to the card so it looks like the striped paper is cut on the diagonal. Pretty fun optical illusion huh! 

For the bottom part of my card I actually used Christmas paper! (HA) the Tidings of Christmas pack is really designed for your Christmas cards but the patterns in the pack can also be used for other occasions my birthday card below! 

I love that this paper uses two of the new In Colors: Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen so I used those colors for the stems, phrase and narrow strip on my card front. 

And of course I just had to use my Meadow dies for the flowers! The dies come bundle with the quiet Meadow stamp set or you can purchase them separately. Your choice. 

Psst: Did you know that if you click the product photos above you will link over to my online store? Easy peasy! 

Here's my challenge card.

As I walked away from my table top photo box it crossed my mind that 3 small pearls might be a nice touch so I added these to my card and took a second photo.

Which do you like best? With pearls or without? 

If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here to hop on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. And why not give this map a try? You just may love the optical illusion sentiment strip that you will create! 

Here's how to take a card map challenge and make it your own

As much as I love flowers, this week's card map challenge was not what I was hoping for. To be clear, I do love card map challenges. But I am not really into stamping flowers right now so the card map image was more of an effort challenge rather than a design challenge.  

 

Until I noticed that the center flower image is really a sentiment. Or it could be a sentiment on a stamped or die-cut flower. So I dismissed that idea and chose to create a phrase in the middle rather than a flower. And since I am loving the upcoming Beautifully Penned paper (coming soon!), I chose a pattern for the background. 

And to be different I die-cut two leaves from the Pierced Blooms dies: 

I can't remember my stamping life before purchasing the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine. The best investment ever! 

Especially when you can die-cut an entire phrase (Floral Gallery dies):

So I put all these elements together and created my challenge card for the week. 

Now it's your turn. Have a look at the supplies you have on hand and see what you can create for this week's challenge. If you want to see what the other crew members created, click here to head to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

What's this? Beautiful coordinating paper? You are definitely going to want this pack.

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is the perfect way to use up some of the designer paper you have lying around. 

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to use up my left over paper but I will confess that on my card today I opened a brand new pack of paper that you can earn for FREE in August or September. 

The Beautifully Penned paper is part of Stampin' Up!s second Sale-a-bration event this year. Yes you read that correctly. Stampin' Up! is now having TWO Sale-a-Brations per year, beginning in 2021. So you have the chance to earn free products like I did. 

What's really cool about this fab paper is that it is a perfect match with the Hand Penned bundle:

How clever is that! With a $50 order (or 60 Euros in Europe), you can earn a pack of paper that perfectly matches your Perfectly Penned bundle!

If you have placed an order through me in the past six months, you were on my mailing list. Watch your mailbox for these two catalogs, arriving any day now. (Tip: the Hand Penned paper is in the Sale-a-Bration catalog)

Want to see my card? 

 

I used two pieces of the Beautifully Penned paper, and the phrase and flower from the Art Gallery stamp set. This card was super easy to make so why not give it a try - or try something different using the card map challenge. 

If you want to see what the other design crew members created using this map, click here to hop on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. We'd love for you to share what you created - use the upload button to add your sample, using what you have on hand of course. 

This card map challenge helps you look at your supplies in a new way

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is simple. And simple is good at times. I think this map helps you look at your supplies in a new way.

 

You have two rectangles, one circle and some kind of shape in the middle. So dive into your craft room and see what you can come up with - perhaps supplies you have not used in a while? 

Here's what I chose to use the following for my card.

Simply Elegant designer series paper

Tasteful Touches stamp set:

To make a coordinating bottom layer I used a solid color: Basic Gray. But it looked too plain so I used Versamark and stamp an image randomly over this layer. This is the perfect way to add a little pizzaz to a plain layer. 

Add a bit of shiny ribbon, three silver petals and a die cut phase and you end up with this pretty card: 

If you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew members created for this week's challenge, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. And if you give our challenge a try, we invite you to enter your card over there for everyone to see! 

 

What kind of card would represent summer nights?

This week's Paper Craft Crew challenge card is a challenge indeed. A real stumper for me. 

I see the flowers on the image above but still wasn't completely inspired by what I own. Until I saw the sunset and thought that would be a good starting point and hopefully the rest will fall into place. 

So I pulled out my Blending Brushes to help me create color on my card base. 

I have used my blending brushes before to create a sunset feel so decided to try that idea again. This time, though, I used Pumpkin Pie at the top of my Bumblebee card base and then Cinnamon Cider at the bottom. I really like how it turned out!

Still stumped until I remembered, sadly, that I wanted to make a sympathy card for someone special. So I looked for a phrase next and saw the Color & Contour stamp set:

Yes, it comes as a bundle and I did buy the set and dies for other project ideas. But there is a two-part phrase in this set that expressed what I wanted to say to my special friend who will be getting my card. 

After I stamped this phrase onto the front of my card, inspiration finally hit! I would use my Meadow dies for the card elements, keeping my card simple but pretty. 

Yes another bundle and well worth it. But you can also buy the dies and stamp sets separately - you don't save $$ doing it that way but you need to do what works best for you and your budget.

I used one of the dies and one of the butterflies and my card is complete! What do you think? I would love a comment under this blog post if you have the time. 

Do you think my card now represents Summer Nights? I think so Let me know if you want more ideas for using your Blending Brushes - and I am happy to supply them in the coming weeks. 

Why not give this idea a try using what you have on hand? If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's card map challenge, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

Can you guess what products I used for this card map challenge?

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge helped me to create a gorgeous friendship card!

I bet you can easily guess what I used for today's challenge! Yes, my Pierced Blooms dies because I am completely smitten with them: 

This pack is perfect for creating die cut flowers in several sizes, complete with stitching details, plus the leaves and centres to go with them. Try them on handmade cards, scrapbook pages, and other paper crafts.

For my challenge card I decided to use the same colors as I did for a recent Pierced Blooms fun fold card showing a fun fold card with a lovely surprise inside. This video received some rave reviews and so I decided to use the same flowers and color combo for this week's challenge. 

As you can see on the map above, the card is to use a phrase as well. I decided not to stamp a phrase on my flower, instead I put it right beside. I chose the 'hello' stamp from my Best Year stamp set. This set has such great value as you can use it all year long. 

Here's my challenge card: 

I hope you will give either my card a try or create something completely different using the supplies you have on hand. If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here! 

 

This card map challenge will help you use up leftover designer paper

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge will help you use up all those leftover pieces to designer paper that you have tucked away. 

This is such a simple layout idea and you can go wild with possibilities. As Father's Day is coming up next weekend I decided to create a masculine card idea using my Best Year stamp set:

This is the perfect set for so many different occasions so you get such good value from this purchase (tip: click on the image above to order it at my online store). You can stamp the phrases and die cut them out or use them to create a simple layer as I did below.

I also chose to sue some left over pieces of the Simply Elegant designer paper. An unusual choice you may be thinking! And I agree but I love to challenge my thinking when crafting and I think with the Basic Gray card base these particular paper designs just work. 

What I did struggle with was that single strip across the front of the card map. It looks like it is supposed to be a contrasting strip and I tried to see what might work. In the end I went with a strip of one of the larger patterns and am very happy with how it looks. 

The crowning touch, in my humble opinion are the 6 Gold Metallic Pearls. I seldom use the gold pearls on my cards but they were a perfect match on my card!

Here's my card. Although the photo makes the phrase look unnoticeable, in reality it really stands out.  

Now it's your turn. Why not challenge yourself and see what you can create using this week's card map challenge? If you want to see what the other crew members created for this week's challenge, click here. Happy designing! 

Here's a fantastic way to challenge your card making creativity

Do you struggle with card designs? Have you ever taken time to create a card and sat there completely stumped, not sure where to begin and what to use? Yes, I have been there too!

I have a fantastic way to challenge your creativity when card making: card map challenges! It took me years to realize that there are all sorts of card challenges out there that would help me overcome my creativity blocks. Once I started using card maps, card making became a breeze! 

I love card map challenges so much that I joined the Paper Craft Crew as one of their design crew members, committing to participate in their card map challenges every week. Here's the link to their site if you want to have a look around. 

To give you an idea of what a card map looks like, here's this week's Paper Craft Crew card map:

The idea is this: you look at the layout and then have a look at what you already own. Use the map to guide you in creating a card. As you can see in this particular challenge, there are three layers attached to the card base, each one is supposed to be unique. You are also to add a phrase on top of, or on, one of the layers. 

You decide on the colors, whether or not you want to use designer paper, and what kind of sentiment you will use (think what's coming in your life: birthday, graduation, Father's Day, etc). You also decide on the card base color. You can also change the layout from horizontal to vertical = the map is just a map, to guide you but as with any map, how you reach the final destination is up to you. Google does that too: gives you several different options to reach your destination and card map challenges do the same thing! 

Beyond making those decisions, the fun is adding embellishments (ribbon, gems, jewels, pearls, brads, etc) to complete your card. 

Other than Paper Craft Crew challenges, which are weekly, there are other sites that also offer weekly card challenges. Many are layout challenges like the one above; some sites also include color challenges, tic-tac-toe challenges, coloring tool challenges, and so on. 

Here are some of the other sites I often check out when I need card design inspiration:

• Global Design Project
• The Paper Players
• SUO Challenges
• Freshly Made Sketches

But: there are many other sites you can find if you ask The Google! If you want to see what I created using the card map challenge above, come on back tomorrow. My card is designed and my post is ready to share! 

If you love metallic then this is the card challenge for you

I think this week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is super fun - because of the unusual elements that have to be present on your card:

I am not much of a metallic person but I did purchase the Simply Elegant paper and went immediately to my stash to find a pattern that I loved. Once I did the rest of my card came together quite nicely. 

First let's look at Simply Elegant: 

Lovely right? And it has copper, gold and silver foiling. Plus, it has Basic Black and Very Vanilla, so with one pack of paper I can check of three of the challenge items. 

And then I got completely stuck. I had no idea what element I wanted to put on my card. I tried three different stamp set images, each embossed with Copper embossing powder. But none of them looked very good. In the end, I decided to go simple and simply add a phrase from the Tasteful Touches stamp set. I have used this set a lot lately: 

Here's my challenge card - I love how it turned out and feel that adding the Pale Papaya butterfly from the Meadow dies (part of the Quiet Meadow bundle):

made a nice final touch. Is it 'pop' of color? Not sure but it works for me!

Here's another angle:

Now it's your turn! Give our card map challenge a try and see what you can create using what you have on hand. If you want to see what the other design crew members created this week, click here. 

See the masculine set that will inspire all your new adventures

Whether you're sailing home or going off to new adventures, the images and sentiments in the Sailing Home stamp set will inspire you on your journey. And it is what I chose for today's card map challenge: 

This challenge was super inspiring for me. I decided to pull out some of my old products and use them with the Sailing Home stamp set and Smooth Sailing dies which are still available for purchase:

I think this combo is perfect for masculine cards and with Father's Day coming up soon, I decided to make a masculine card idea to share with you. 

What makes this card so striking is the background layer, which came from the retired Memories & More card kit that was released the same year as the Sailing Home set and dies. I have always wanted to try this overlay and wow, I am so happy I did! Note: the striped layer also came from the same card kit. 

Here's my Sailing Home Father's Day card:

Want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew members created for this week's challenge? Click here! We hope you will give this map a try and see what you can create using what you have on hand. 

 

Try this beautiful freehand watercoloring modern look on your next card

I love cards with layers. And this week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge has so many possibilities:

The rectangle layers are easy to create using your Paper Trimmer and the oval in middle can be anything you want: a square, a circle, an oval or even an image or phrase. That is the beauty of a card map - you can use it as a guide and use what you have on hand. 

I decided right away that I wanted to use a new bundle that arrived a couple of weeks ago. It is called Color & Contour:

Get creatively colorful with the Color & Contour stamp set! The open-line floral art and abstract filler stamps allows for a range of coloring techniques. Try freehand watercoloring for a modern look, or use ink and sponge daubers on the filler stamps to create an ombre floral effect. The scalloped edge borders in this set range in size, allowing you to decorate a card front or create scalloped labels for your sentiments. (Click on the bundle photo above to order it at my online store!)

I earned this bundle for free and to be honest, the main reason I ordered it is because I love the scalloped dies and the stamp set phrases. But now that I have stamped the flowers in this set I can see how fun it will be to use in the coming year! Sometimes you just have to take a chance and let your creativity take over. And that matching ribbon. YUM-O! So pretty, right! 

I also decided to use one of the new 2021-23 In Colors for my card. It is the first time I tried crafting with Pale Papaya and I can already see that I am in trouble (smiles). I love this soft peach-y color! 

Here's my card:

Now it is your turn: give our card map challenge a try! If you want to see what the other design crew members created using this week's challenge, click here. 

 

Strips, stripes or something else? What would you choose for this fun challenge?

That's the million dollar question for this week's challenge - hehe.

I decided to choose strips using some of the new In Colors:

Pale Papaya

Fresh Fresia

Soft Succulent

I think these three colors go beautifully together and love how they stand out of my card map card. I kept it simple in layout and featured the Quiet Meadow stamp set for the flower and phrase:

Here's my card: 

Sweet and simple, right? Now it's your turn - try this week's card map challenge and see what you will create - stripes? Strips? or something stamped? 

If you want to see what the other design crew members created using this week's challenge, click here. 

See how to take a plain card layout and make it fabulous

I am absolutely crazy about the new Quiet Meadow stamp set and dies. It's all I want to craft with lately!

 

So when I saw this week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge, I immediately reached for....yes....Quiet Meadow!

But this card map is quite plain so I also grabbed my Blending Brushes, ink, Stampin' Blends and Tasteful Touches stamp set and went to town. 

Here's my card! 

And now it's your turn! Try our card map challenge and see what you can create - using a simple layout or going to town like I did.

Note: my online store has been refreshed with all those yummy new Annual Catalog products - click here to head over for a look! 

If you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew design team members created for this challenge, click here to head on over to that site. 

Try this fun tic tac toe challenge for your next card design

I think tic tac toe boards are so much fun to use for card map challenges. So of course I was delighted to see this week's Paper Craft Crew post: 

Sometimes I mull and fret over which row or column to choose. But this week I didn't hesitate. After glancing over the board I chose: Ribbon, Punch and Floral. 

I chose my Daisy punch - both a flower AND a punch (feeling pretty proud of that brainwave). 

I know that I wanted to use Bumblebee for my card base - because it matches my Bumblebee Gingham Ribbon. I am so excited that this ribbon is NOT retiring - yay!

And then I decided to use a sheet of the Dandy Garden designer paper - this is such a fun, colorful pack of paper.

I love the designs and colors and picked a coordinating design for my card. If you love this paper too - remember that it is retiring so you want to order it this week! (Click on the paper photo to head over to my online store)

Here's my card map challenge card: 

If you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew design team members made for this week's challenge, click here. We hope you will join in the fun!

What to do when you are faced with a complicated card map challenge

This week's card map challenge presented a, well, challenge for me (ha)! I don't have any curvy dies and that put me into a bit of a panic. 

Until I realized - this is just a map. I dug around into my crafting stash until I found a few products that I wanted to use. Remember the Paper Blooms designer paper from this year's Sale-a-bration? Yes, I found a left-over piece and decided to use it up. 

I used both sides of my chosen design and realized that it would perfectly match my Pierced Blooms dies! Bonus! 

I chose a phrase for an occasion that is coming up and ..... here's my card:

Yes, I let go of the curvy strip. If you don't have it, stop worrying about it - my new motto! I hope you will give this card map a try the next time you craft. And if you want to see what the other Paper Craft Crew design team members created, click here to head on over to that site. 

When you think of the outdoors what color combinations come to mind?

This week's Paper Craft Crew challenge is wide open for your crafting delight.

What comes to mind when you think of outdoor colors? For my card I looked right away at my stash of designer paper and found a pack that is definitely all about the outdoors:

The Fine Art Floral paper pack is retiring soon and I am going miss those beautiful patterns and designs, how about you? 

Once I found a pattern in this pack that I wanted to use, I then used the coordinating Art Gallery bundle to create my image and phrase - so easy!

The Art Gallery stamp set and matching dies are not retiring! But.....they will no longer be sold as a bundle in the next Annual Catalog so if you want to purchase them at a 10% discount, click on the photo above to head to my online store. 

Once I chose my paper and stamp set bundle the rest was easy! I let the paper colors be my guide and create this challenge card: 

If you want to see that the other design crew members created this this week's challenge, click here to hop on over to the Paper Craft Crew site.