die cuts - Right as Rain

Fun Stampers Journey November Bloom Box – Cup of Tea

Hello! Today, I am delighted to share four cards created with the November Bloom Box from Fun Stampers Journey.

The November Bloom Box includes four pre-designed and kitted cards – the Cup of Tea stamp set, card bases, patterned paper, solid cardstock, ribbon, embellishments, and a step-by-step instruction booklet. (There is a Cup of Tea coordinating die set available for purchase.) All you need to add are a few inks and adhesives. The box has something for everyone – from new cardmakers to seasoned pros. The recipes provided for the cards can be followed exactly or changed up.

On my first card, I followed the “recipe” in the step-by-step instruction booklet (with just a few tweaks).

I stamped the tea pot in black ink on Whip Cream cardstock. I used the Cup of Tea die set to cut the tea pot.
I stamped the tea cups in Watermelon ink on Whip Cream cardstock and cut them with the corresponding die.
I stamped the mint leaf stamp in Cool Pool ink on the Cool Pool cardstock to create a tone-on-tone background. (The booklet called for teal ink to match the card base.)
I stamped the sentiment on the Bubble Gum scallop.
I followed the directions for assembly.

I particularly liked the fun way in which the tea cups hang on the shelf. The shelf and the small brads were provided in the kit. I liked this idea so much I purchased the Window View Die Set separately, which is the set that was used to cut the shelf. This is a fun design that could easily be varied!

On my next card, I again followed the instruction booklet’s design with a few simplifications.

I created the card base by scoring the back scallop and adhering the cardstock above the scored line to the card front.
I stamped the tea pot and cups on Whip Cream cardstock and used the Cup of Tea die set to cut them. I stamped the saucers, spoon, and tea bag and fussy cut them.
I added a small amount of watercolor to the tea pot and cups (the booklet’s instructions called for more watercoloring, but I decided I wanted a cleaner look).
I stamped the sentiment on the Bubble Gum stitched circle and added a Deco Strip across the circle.
I followed the directions for assembly.

There were a lot of fun details on this card including the addition of the Deco Strip and the Sweet Candy Drops (both provided in the box). I tend to forget about details like these, and I know I will be incorporating these into future projects.

For the next card, I changed the orientation shown in the booklet and made a few simplifications.

I liked the shelf idea of the first card and replicated it on this card by cutting Black Licorice card stock with one of the dies in the Window View Die Set. The mini clothes pin and twine was another fun touch which I have never tried before.

For my final card, I made a few simplifications from the instruction booklet.

I used fewer saucers in the stack than the design in the booklet. The booklet shows how to create a slit in the cups in order to stack them. I stamped the background Whip Cream cardstock with just two of the smaller stamps in the Cup of Tea set in black ink (the booklet example used more of the set’s small stamps and in a variety of ink colors). I substituted the pink ribbon in the kit for a strip of Watermelon Fusion cardstock, and used black and white twine rather than the ribbon.

Parting thoughts about the kit:

There is a lot of value to the designs shown in the kit. The designs easily lend themselves to modification; I am already thinking of ways in which I can change things up a bit.
The kit introduced me to color combinations I might not have otherwise used.
A new cardmaker would be able to use the kit to create interesting cards that are anything but beginner in their looks. They could then decide to make future supply purchases based on what they particularly liked about the various designs such as circle dies, scallop dies, scallop edgers, and so forth.
In my own cardmaking, I plan to more often stamp a background with small stamps and add more jewels/drops/sequins for textural interest.

Supplies:

Spellbinders Fun Stampers Journey Holiday Tag

Hello! Today I am sharing a holiday tag combining products from Spellbinders and Fun Stampers Journey. Let’s take a look.

I heat-embossed the FSJ Vintage Notes Stamp on Black Licorice cardstock with gold embossing powder.
I cut the background with the Shortie Tags die.
I heat-embossed the Charming Tag Sentiment with gold embossing powder on Whip Cream cardstock and cut it with a rectangle in the Matting Basics B set. I adhered the sentiment to the bottom of the tag.
I cut the ornaments in the Charming Boughs set from Whip Cream cardstock, the ornament tops from Brush Gold cardstock, and two ornament fronts from Cranberry Bliss and one from Noble Fir.
I assembled the ornaments with liquid adhesive.
I added gold twine to the ornaments and to the top of the tag. I adhered the ornaments to the tag with foam adhesive.

Supplies:

Hello Bluebird – Die-Cut Wreath

Hello! I am back with a second project using the Hello Bluebird Holly and Pine Die. (You can see the first card I created with this die set here.) On this CAS holiday card, I created a wreath with the pine boughs in the set, to which I added some freshly fallen snow. This card features some of my favorite things – die-cuts, heat-embossing, and a stamped background.

I stamped the card background with the TE Buffalo Plaid Background stamp in Love Letter ink.
I heat-embossed one of my favorite sentiments (from the now-retired Hero Arts Operation Write Home Winter Wishes set) on to white cardstock which I cut with a circle die.
I die-cut the pine boughs from Lawn Fawn Noble Fir cardstock and heat-embossed them with Hero Arts White Puff embossing powder.
I arranged the boughs around the die-cut circle. I then used the Press ‘N’ Seal method to lift off the boughs and adhered them to the sentiment circle with Nuvo glue.
I cut the bow from TE Foil Cardstock.
I cut the holly berries from Candy Apple cardstock and the pine cones from Lawn Fawn Chocolate Bar (one side of this cardstock has a subtle texture).

Supplies:

Spellbinders December Card Kit – Winter Wishes

Hello! Today, I am sharing cards created with the Spellbinders December 2018 Card Kit. This kit is jam-packed with dies, stamps, embellishments, patterned paper, cardstock, card bases, and envelopes. Use the kit to create Christmas cards, as well as, cards for the New Year and early winter months. The color palette is fantastic and the patterned papers coordinate beautifully!

First up, let’s look at the cards I created with the polar bear die contained in the set.

To begin, I die-cut and embossed the bear using white cardstock included in the kit.
I die-cut the scarf from copper foil included with the kit.
I heat-embossed snow from the kit’s stamp set with white embossing powder on black cardstock contained in the kit, which I then cut with a Spellbinders circle die.
I combined the copper foil and two of the kit’s patterned papers for the card background.
I heat-embossed a sentiment from the kit’s stamp set with copper embossing powder, and cut it with a Spellbinders circle die.

For my next card, I combined a die-cut sentiment with the polar bear.

I die-cut and embossed the bear using cardstock included in the kit (this bear is cut from a cream colored cardstock so that it will stand out on the card base, which is white).
I die-cut the scarf from light-blue cardstock included in the kit.
I die-cut the sentiment from copper foil. I also die-cut the sentiment from white cardstock, and adhered the two layers together to create additional depth.
I die-cut the snowflakes from the same cardstock as the scarf.
I ran a strip of the included glitter washi tape along the bottom of the card base to create a ground.

I also created two cards using just the Card Kit Extras. These took only a few minutes to make!

On my final card, I combined die-cut flowers and greenery, die-cut snowflakes, and a sentiment created with the set’s alpha letters. To spotlight the die-cut flowers and foliage, I cut light-gray patterned paper with a Spellbinders circle die, and again from vellum in the next size larger.

You can find more information about this kit on the Spellbinders blog.

Supplies:

Hello Bluebird Die-cut Holiday Card

Hello! Today I am sharing a CAS holiday card created with the Hello Bluebird Holly and Pine Die set. I originally thought of putting together a card in which I artfully arranged the pieces, but instead, I arranged the pieces behind a gift box.

Using the Holly and Pine Die set, I cut the bow from red glitter paper, the greenery from solid green paper (included in a patterned paper pad), and the pinecones from solid brown cardstock. I created the wrapped paper box and the card background with patterned paper. I cut the Avery Elle sentiment (retired) with a Tim Holtz/Sizzix tag die and added it to the glitter bow with cross-stitch floss.

This card allowed me the opportunity to use up some of my enormous pile of patterned paper!