Nutz about Stamping

Feeling crafty? Let me help with a design challenge

This week's the Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is pretty easy and fun and I hope it helps you feel crafty. 

It sure did for me! I started off by choosing the paper strip and from that strip I chose my main card colors. The paper strip comes from the Plaid Tidings paper pack:

 

I absolutely LOVE this pack of papers because the colors are, in my mind, more masculine. Some plaids are even perfect for Halloween and Christmas. 

• Cherry Cobbler
• Melon Mambo
• Blackberry Bliss
• Shaded Spruce
• Pretty Peacock
• Bumblebee
• Pumpkin Pie

I chose Bumblebee and Rich Razzleberry as my main card colors. But then I was a bit stumped by which stamp set to use. After digging around in my crafting closet I spotted the Coming Home bundle and thought it might be kind of fun to use one of the houses on my card. 

It was fun making this card. I colored the house using my Stampin' Blends and then at the last moment, I added the 'congrats' phrase. 

Here's my Coming Home card - do you see the background stamp? Do you know what stamp set it is from? It is also from the Coming Home stamp set - but was designed to be 'smoke' coming from the chimney. 

Now it is your turn. Try the card map challenge for the wee using what you have on hand. If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this challenge, click here. 

who would you case for this card challenge?

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is super fun - and challenging, lol. 

Fun, right? But where to begin and what to make. I had a fun time cruising through previous card map challenges on the Paper Craft Crew site and considered what I wanted to CASE. And then I spotted this card:

I love the Trimming the Town product suite as I am sure you know. I have used it so many times in the past few weeks and every time I use it I get such a happy feeling.

So I decided to CASE the above card but make it my own by using a different piece of paper and a house combo from one of the paper designs. I think it is so much fun that one design in the Trimming the Town paper can be die-cut! 

Below is my card. I took one phrase from the Trimming the Town paper and cut it into three pieces, rather than use three different phrase strips. I layered two of the die-cut houses and adhered them together to add a bit of dimension to my house. I also die-cut two trees and adhered them to my card. 

Now it is your turn: CASE a card that you love and see what you can create as a result. 

How to send healing hugs to someone special

There are times when I breathe a sigh of relief when I see my weekly Paper Craft Crew card map challenge. And this week was one of those times. The map below is perfect for a beginning card maker but don't be fooled. You can also take the map and add sophisticated elements to take it to another level. 

I decided to start with the polka dot and build my card around this element. The polka dots could be something that I stamped, it could be a paper layer or it could even be a layer that I dry or heat embossed. 

I chose a strip of the Playing with Patterns paper - one that has polka dots on it. 

I let the colors in this strip of paper guide the colors for my card: Crushed Curry, Purple Posy and Whisper White. 

I decided that the smallest layer on my card would be a phrase. Digging through my stash for a vertical phrase, I spotted the lovely Healing Hugs stamp set. I stamped the phrase and then die-cut it out using the Stitched Nested Labels dies. This will make the phrase really stand out. 

I almost had the card ready to assemble and then at the last moment I decided to emboss the Crushed Curry layer using my Subtle 3D embossing folder. 

Here's my card:

Now it's your turn. Try this week's card map challenge and decide whether you will keep it simple or go all out. Whichever your choice, I am sure you will love what you create too! 

If you want to see what the other crew members created for this challenge, click here. 

There are so many ways to think triangles

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge features, once again, triangles! Hmmm. I created my own triangles using my paper cutter last week but this week I wanted to try something a bit differently. 

For this week's challenge I looked at all my stamp sets to see what might spring to mind for the triangles layers on the map:

I didn't see anything on my first pass through but then the second time I saw the Coming Home bundle:

Do you see what I see?  I noticed that not only do the trees are the set made of triangles, the houses are triangles too! There are so many ways to think triangles. 

My decision was made. I decided to use two houses and layer one on top of the other. Sort of like the card map photo but not really and that's ok. The trees could be the second triangle. 

Do you know where I got the houses from? Check out the Trimming the Town designer paper, or watch my most recent YouTube video. 

The rest of my card was trying to figure out layers. I chose to match the colors in the Trimming the Town house: Early Espresso, Pool Party and Old Olive. 

Once I had the layer sizes I decided to emboss each layer using two embossing folders. The phrase I chose from the Best Year stamp set. 

If you like my card idea below - change the phrase to suit the occasion you need. 

Here's my card:

And now it's your turn: what would you create using triangles the next time you craft? Give our map a try and if you want to see what the other crew members created using the same map, click here. 

Have you ever created a pretty card with triangles?

I think this is the first time that the Paper Craft Crew card map challenge has used triangles as the main image - how fun!

 

The trick for me was to find a phrase that would fit on the bigger triangle because somehow that's what this map 'spoke' to me. 

I decided on the "just saying hello" phrase from the Tasteful Touches stamp set.

Tasteful Touches Cling Stamp Set
$23.00

 

 

 

 

 

I love this set - it has an unusual font for its phrases and some unusual image combinations too. I can see so many options with the images. 

I also decided early on that I would use the Forever Greenery paper as a background layer. I chose a pattern that I haven't used yet - it just seemed to work for the layout this week. 

Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper
$11.50

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the colors in this paper pack in case you want to have a perfect match. Tip: I often order paper packs at the same time as I order designer paper. That way I am good to craft when everything arrives - no mismatches for me!

• Garden Green
• Just Jade
• Pear Pizzazz
• Pretty Peacock
• Shaded Spruce
• Soft Sea FoamI

Although Stampin' Up! now has a pack of triangles dies, I don't own them (yet, ha!). So I had to cut triangles using my paper cutter - not difficult but it is a bit difficult I chose Soft Sea Foam as my base and for the banner strip and Garden Green for the ink and smaller triangle image. For a final touch of sparkle, I added three Whale of a Time sequins. 

My card is very simple, to be honest. But it is still striking, don't you think?

Why don't you try this week's challenge. Triangles are fun so give them a try soon. If you want to see what the other crew members created this week, click here to head over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

Which three did I choose for this challenge?

It's time for another fun Paper Craft Crew challenge and this week is it a tic tac toe! Can you figure out which three I chose for this challenge? 

 

I recently earned the Sending Sunshine stamp set for free (yay!) and have been wanting to use it. Here's what Stampin' Up! writes about this set: Inhale, exhale, then share the tranquility of the summer-themed Sending Sunshine set with someone you love. Create visual depth by stamping the large water image in the lightest color of ink. Then stamp the smaller water image in a darker color.

I love the cards I see online and it is outside my comfort zone. Although I love making cards I struggle with artistic scenes so I chose this set for this week's challenge to stretch a bit artistically speaking. 

Sending Sunshine Photopolymer Stamp Set
$17.00

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to create my scene on a die-cut shape as it lessened the amount of white I would have to cover and add an interesting visual detail to the card. I chose the Stitched Nested Labels dies:

Stitched Nested Labels Dies
$35.00

 

 

Also quite unusual for me, I die-cut my Whisper White shape first and then did my stamped and sponged scene. I then embossed my Pool Party card base for added interest. 

I have to confess: I LOVE my card! 

 

Rather than tell you which row/column I chose, can you figure out which three I chose for this challenge?

Are you going to give our challenge a try? Which row/column would you choose? If you want to see what the other crew members made for this week's challenge, click here. 

See that simple can also be beautiful

This week's Paper Craft Crew challenge is a testament that simple can also be beautiful or even elegant:

 

You may have seen that I have been using my Beautiful World bundle a lot in the past couple of weeks and again I turned to this fab bundle for today's challenge:

Beautiful World Bundle
$48.50

 

 

 

 

 

There is a stamp in this set that I have not used yet so I decided to try it on my Cinnamon Cider card base. I wanted the image to be more subtle so stamped 'off' onto a scrap piece of grid paper before stampin 'on' the card base. That way the image would be noticeable but not compete with the phrase on the card. 

I love the Rectangle Stitched dies and thought it would be fun to layer two of them to frame the phrase. 

Next was to consider what to use for the 'flower' and the 'banner' on the card map. I decided that rather than a flower I would use the quill and ink. Love it! And for the banner I used one of the banner stickers in Beautiful World Memories & More card pack. I chose to put my banner sticker behind the phrase instead of on top - I prefer the subtle look this time. 

World Of Good Memories & More Card Pack
$11.00

 

 

 

 

 

When thinking about card map challenges, consider combining products from a suite like I did for my Beautiful World card below:

If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here. And why not try the map yourself and share your creation over on the Paper Craft Crew site? We'd love to see what you made too. 

See how to combine products to create an amazing card

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge looks simple and is simple....

...but I ddin't want simple this week. I wanted a card that had lots of details to create my own unique design. So I decided to combine the following products:

Forever Fern bundle + Beautiful World bundle:

Forever Fern Bundle (English)
$54.00

Beautiful World Bundle (English)
$48.50

I also used my Rectangles Stitched dies to create a frame around my phrase. Can you see the little swirl behind the branch? 

I did have a stress moment when I realized that I didn't have matching ribbon. But then I remembered that i had the Whisper White Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon and that I can color the ribbon to match the Pretty Peacock card base. I love it! 

Here's my card:

I am so happy with all the laters. You may not be able to see it in my photo but I used the Old World Paper 3D embossing folder on the Pretty Peacock layer. Another eye-catching touch for this amazing card. 

If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this week's challenge, click here. And we invite you to take our card map challenge and join in as well! 

Try this bright and colorful card challenge idea

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is really wide open and I am guessing you will have lots of fun giving it a try:

 

It's kind of funny but I am not much of a flower person when it comes to crafting. I do love fresh flowers and I love to walk in the woods and see wild flowers growing and of course I love, love, love Keukenhof in the spring. But I don't own a lot of flower stamp sets. 

I do own the Timeless Tulips stamp set and so thought I would create a clean and simple card idea for this week's challenge. 

Timeless Tulips Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)
$18.00

 

I really like playing around with color combinations and so for this card I chose one of my faves (for this year): Gorgeous Grape and Poppy Parade. As the tulip and leaf images are rather large I needed a phrase that would fit near the top. 

I didn't really have a theme in mind but when I saw one particular phrase in the Forever Fern stamp set, I knew I had a winner:

One final note: I chose some new embellishments to finish off my card. They are clear so don't complete with my flower colors and I love how they look on this card. When the new catalog goes live later today, have a look for the Flowers for Every Season Gems. You can download a free copy of the catalog by clicking the cover image on the right side of my blog. 

Here's my card:

Do you want to see what the other design crew members created for this challenge? Click here to head over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

What would you choose for this simple card map challenge?

Today's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is quite the puzzle! (pun intended) 

I enjoyed choosing what I would use and my card was inspired by one of my crafting friends. Because of the pandemic I have been careful to not hold classes right now but as the weeks go on I have decided that one friend at the far end of my crafting table would work. Yes, I disinfect all my tools before they are used and after my friend leaves I clean everything again. 

This past week my friend decided to use a sheet of Perennial Essence designer paper to make a card. I really liked her idea so used it as my jumping off point for today's challenge. 

I love the patterns and colors in the Perennial Essence pack:

Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper
$8.05

 

 

 

There are so many possibilities for matching with solid colors:

• Balmy Blue
• Blackberry Bliss
• Blueberry Bushel
• Calypso Coral
• Crushed Curry
• Flirty Flamingo
• Mossy Meadow
• Old Olive
• Petal Pink
• So Saffron

For my card I chose Blueberry Bushel as it is retiring on 2 June and I have quite a few sheets left. I stamped my Under My Umbrella phrase on the same design paper, created matching solid layers for the banner strips and then, for fun, I decided to punch a balloon shape from the same paper and pop it up on my card front. 

Have you see the Balloon Bouquet punch?

Balloon Bouquet Punch
$18.00

 

 

It's so fun to use with designer paper as well as plain card stock and stamped images. 

Here's my card!

If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this challenge, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. I also have many blog posts using other card map challenges so why not have a look through each of the past few weeks to see if another map catches your eye? 

How to rock a card and save tons of time

Yes, it's that time again - a Paper Craft Crew card map challenge! I love card maps because I am always happy with what I create and I also love saving tons of design time. 

For me, the most challenging part of making a card is the time it takes to figure out a layout. Well not with card maps. The layout is figured out for us and all we have to do is create. 

This week I started with choosing my paper - the daffodils are coming up, the sun is shining and spring is on its way (soon I hope!) so I decided on a piece of Best Dressed designer series paper. 

Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
$11.50

 

 

 

The sheet of paper I chose then helped me decide on the card base color and layer colors - I selected some of the colors in the paper design: Daffodil Delight, Purple Posy, Blackberry Bliss and Mint Macaron. 

For the leaves, I used my leaf punch and I decided to stamp a Daffodil Delight flower from the Perennial Birthday stamp set because I thought it matched the flowers in the paper. The flower I punched out as well and then it was time to figure out the square layers. I thought that I would stamp a phrase instead of an image as I didn't want to visually compete with the patterned paper. And as I feel that I will be using a lot of 'get well soon' in the near future I used the phrase in the Healing Hugs stamp set. 

Perennial Birthday Cling-Mount Stamp Set
$22.00

Healing Hugs Cling-Mount Stamp Set
$21.00

 

Here's my card - I am so pleased with how it turned out:

Here's a side view of my card:

If you want to see what the other crew members made for today's card map challenge, click here to head on over to the Paper Craft Crew site. 

 

Which 3 would you choose in this creative challenge?

Today's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is a fun one - it's a Tic Tac Toe challenge!

I love these kinds of challenges because they are not as straightforward as they seem. I usually sit and ponder for a bit, then find a coupe of squares that work but one that doesn't. Sometimes they are not even in the same row or column. Is that the same for you too? 

I ended up deciding on the middle row: Floral, Favorite Color, Thank You card. Although I have to admit that Daffodil Delight is not my favorite color but it is for this week!

I also decided right off to use up some of my Golden Honey designer paper - I love this paper to bits! Then the matching Honey Bee stamp set and my card fell together really quickly. 

 

Honey Bee Bundle
$41.25

 

 

I am showing you a photo of the Honey Bee bundle because if you want to buy the set, get the framelits too. You won't regret it! (My fave is the honey comb die!)

Here's my card!

Why not give this tic tac toe challenge a try? It's a fun way to challenge your creativity and to use up some of your supplies!

How confident are you to use bold patterns?

This week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge is so much fun. The big decision I had to make was whether to use plain or patterned paper on the card base as that is usually my starting point. 

 

Let me ask you: how confident are you to use bold patterns? I am not very confident at all but I will confess that I do love the Tropical Oasis paper:

Tropical Oasis Designer Series Paper
$11.50

 

 

 

 

You can add a pop of paradise to your crafting with lush foliage and tropical images. This fun paper pack includes retro tropical images including palm trees, flowers, fruit, flamingos, and vintage surf woody wagons, making it ideal for scrapbook pages and travel scrapbooks. Cut paper down for card fronts, paper elements, or tags.

Or maybe it's the colors: Balmy Blue, Basic Black, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Grapefruit Grove, Mango Melody, Mint Macaron, Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Pretty Peacock, Real Red, Seaside Spray, Shaded Spruce, So Saffron, Soft Suede, Terracotta Tile

Actually I love the entire product suite!

Tropical Oasis Suite Bundle (English)
$116.00

 

 

 

 

I chose a super fun pattern and coordinating colors for my card. I also used the Coastal Weave embossing folder for the Mango Melody strip across the card front. I decided on a phrase from the Waterfront stamp set - I think it is appropriate time for a phrase like this. Perhaps this card could be sent to a first responder?

Waterfront Photopolymer Stamp Set
$17.00

 

 

 

 

Here's my card:

One note here: I didn't stamp the phrase in the center of the Whisper White layer. Solution = put the embellishment on the opposite side so nobody notices (shh, don't tell!). And here's a side view so that you can see that I used a left-over strip of the Tropical Oasis paper inside. 

If you want to see what the other design crew members created for today's card map challenge, click here. Why not join the fun and use this map the next time you craft? 

Hope is the power that makes all things possible

I love this phrase from the Power of Hope stamp set and I also think it the especially appropriate for what the world is experience today.

Power Of Hope Bundle
$0.00

 

 

I chose this phrase as part of my design for this week's Paper Craft Crew card map challenge and used my Rectangles Stitched dies to frame it:

To create my card I started with choosing the paper and colors that caught my eye as I dug through my stash. I love the Lily Impressions designer series paper and found a pattern that I thought would work well. 

Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper
$0.00

 

 

 

Then I let the design dictate the rest of the design:

• A strip of Coastal Cabana
• 5 From My Heart Faceted Gems (151154)

And then I encountered a bit of a slow down. I didn't know what to use for the flower embellishment. After digging back through my stash I spotted my Colorful Seasons stamp set and Seasonal Layers dies.

Colorful Seasons Photopolymer Stamp Set
$27.00

Seasonal Layers Dies
$33.00

 

Taa-Daa! My card is complete and ready to share with you.

If you want to see what the other design crew members created for this challenge, click here. 

There are so many options with this week's challenge

It's time for another card map challenge!

There are so many options with this week's challenge - which row/column will you try? For me it wasn't an instant decision, but when I saw 'masculine' I decided to give that a try because I haven't made many masculine cards in the past few months. 

But when you see my card below you will actually see that it works with the top row as well. So you can decide which row my card best fits and here is my decision path (such a business word huh!):

First I chose the paper, from the Tropical Oasis paper pack:

Tropical Oasis Designer Series Paper
$11.50

 

 

 

From the colors in the paper I chose Pretty Peacock as my card base and a layer of Crumb Cake on top, and then a Tropical Oasis layer.

When looking in the Mini Catalog for my matching color choices, I spotted the Coastal Weave 3D embossing folder and wanted to use it for a 'belt' across the front of my card. I love the detail of the embossed layer - subtle but still textured. 

Next, I needed a phrase, so chose the Sale-a-Bration Sending You Thoughts stamp set. I decided my card would be a birthday card.

Sending You Thoughts Cling Stamp Set (English)
$0.00

 

 

 

 

The final touch is also from the Sale-a-Bration catalog - the Metallic Baker's Twine and Sequins pack. I haven't used the sequins at all since I got them - yikes! 

Metallic Baker’S Twine & Sequins Combo Pack
$0.00

 

 

 

Here's my card for this week's challenge:

And now it is my turn to challenge YOU! Give our card map challenge and try and see what you come up with. If you want to see what the other crew members created, click here.