Make an easy and elegant decorative beaded element to dress up your next card or project!
Have you seen the Effervescent Elements in Stampin’ Up! Canada’s 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue? They’re one of my favourite new products! I used them to create a beautiful decorative beaded element for a recent card design.
Effervescent Elements
Word of warning, though. If you’re going to use these, you’ll want to work with them inside a box lid or something that will contain them – because they TRAVEL. I used the tray from the new Embossing Kit (available starting tomorrow in the Stampin’ Up! July-December 2022 Mini Catalogue).
I used them to create a beautiful decorative beaded element on a card that I designed featuring new product from the July-August Sale-a-Bration catalogue (starting tomorrow too!).
The card was for a recent Demonstrator-only card swap. I feature some of the cards I receive in these swaps on the Sunday Swap Feature on the YamStamps Facebook Page and on the Sunday Swap Page here on the YamStamps site. Here’s the card I made – featuring the Wonderful World Designer Series Paper that is part of the bundle that you can select for free with a $120 product purchase during July and August Sale-a-Bration.
I used an adhesive sheet to cover the Designer Series Paper, and then after cutting to the size I wanted, I removed the liner and added the beads onto the sticky surface. I liked using the patterned paper underneath because I think it adds extra dimension to the beaded piece – plus if I happen to lose any beads, it still looks pretty and the gap isn’t overly obvious because of the underlying pattern.
decorative beaded element close up
I tend to like shiny things but I also dislike any crafting that’s too messy (glitter being the prime suspect here) – so the Effervescent Elements beads are okay in my books – as long as I use them in my powder tray or a box lid. Even if they run away a bit, I can pick them up and put them back into the container without too much of a fight.
Die cuts and Designer Series Paper make for a serene summer beach card!
Summer Beach Card
Stampin’ Up! Canada has some great products that make for easy crafting – which is perfect for this time of year. I used items from the Texture Chic Suite (also available in French) to create this summer beach card!
Summer is definitely the time for some easy crafting. Paper crafting is great because you can travel with the supplies (OK, not all your supplies, but you can pick out a few key ones). If you wanted to make multiples of this summer beach card, you could do your prep ahead of time and then just assemble wherever you are. Another option – Stampin’ Up! Kits Collection is a great way to have some portable crafting supplies that you can take with you to the cottage, camping or just to the backyard! We are in the last few days of the Buy One, Get One at 50% off kits collection sale, so it’s a great time to stock up on kits – great for having on hand for rainy days, travel, or for gifts for crafty (or even the not so crafty) friends!
I hope that you are able to spend some time this long weekend enjoying the weather. As for me, this summer beach card may be as close as I’m getting to water in the next while….I would usually be enjoying some time poolside, but we have to replace our pool liner (discovered when the winter cover came off)…so we are waiting for our new liner (and the people who can install it). *sigh*
It’s that time of year – make sure you have a Congratulations Card in your stash!
As we approach the end of June, it’s the time for graduations – so we made this congratulations card in Stampers Club this month. Of course, there’s many reasons to send a congratulations card, but I guess I am thinking of grads, since my son just finished his university degree! We just attended his convocation at Western earlier this week, and so happy that we were able to be there in person. I was thinking that he got a little lucky with the timing (weird to say that, I know), but honestly – he was able to have a “normal” first year; the pandemic started in his second year so things changed part way through and into third year, and fourth year they were able to resume a lot of their in person classes and groups, including an in person convocation ceremony.
(one of the many photos taken the other day…)
So here’s the card (right, you’re here for the crafting LOL). Featuring some new catalogue product, including something that I need to reorder already…
Congratulations Card
I absolutely love the Distressed Gold Specialty Paper! (So much so that I have to put it on my next order going in because I’m down to scraps). Even though it’s in the background, it still stands out because of the design of the card. The foreground paper is from the Sun Prints Designer Series Paper, and it’s die cut with the Split Card Textures Dies. I die cut a Tailor Made Tag from the bottom right corner of the Distressed Gold Paper (because it’s hidden behind the DSP) before using Multipurpose Liquid Glue to tack the the Gold Paper and DSP together. I die cut the tag reinforcement from a scrap of the Sun Prints Paper. The sentiment is from the Art Gallery stamp set, and is stamped in Starry Sky ink.
I am drawn to the shiny objects LOL, so the Distressed Gold Paper was an easy pick for this card design, and I also love the Sun Prints Papers….plus the Sun Prints include a bit of a purple tone, and Western’s main school colour is purple!
one more photo of the grad for good measure…
Stampin’ Up! does have some other stamp sets that include the word Congratulations (including A Grand Kid, Peaceful Moments, Celebrate Sunflowers, the new Breaking News and more…) so there’s lots of options for your Congratulations Card – whether it be for a graduation, promotion, wedding, baby or whatever life event you’d like to celebrate! (For me, right now, I think it’s “You made it to today, yay you!). Shortcut to shopping is yamstamps.com/shop or you can send me a message if you’d like assistance placing an order or would like to pay by etransfer and have the order shipped directly to you.
I’m always Chasing Rainbows! Combining some retiring and some new product on a simple, sparkly card
I thought this was such a pretty card – I love the rainbow theme!
Chasing Rainbows Card
It’s a super simple design but I wanted the sparkly rainbow arcs to stand out on my Chasing Rainbows Card. The Brilliant Rainbow Dies are from the January-June 2022 Mini Catalogue, and they’re retiring at the end of this month (or if they sell out before then). (That’s the “old” on this card). They’re part of the Last Chance Sale – and they’re 50% off!! Such a deal! If you want to get the coordinating Rainbow of Happiness stamp set, which is also retiring, you’ll want to purchase these separately – it’s the best deal because of the sale. Bundles typically offer a 10% discount on regular catalogue prices and are usually the more cost effective way of buying coordinating products – but it’s actually more expense than the separate items right now!
The arcs themselves are the 2022-2024 In Color Glimmer 6″ x 6″ Papers (well, 4/5 of them – since this rainbow only has 4 arcs). That’s the “new” on this card! Since this was one of our Stampers Club cards, I was able to cut a bunch of arcs at the same time and then everyone got one arc of each colour. So, yes, not always in ROYGBV order. (Though my sample is…LOL). Sample shows Sweet Sorbet, Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide and Orchid Opulence.
I guess the something “blue” if we are going with that theme is the background – it’s the new In Colour Starry Sky. I positioned the rainbow die with the cutting edge off the side of the cardstock so that it left an open end at the edge. I liked that it looks like we are seeing this half of the rainbow, and not literally half a rainbow.
close up to show the glimmer of the Chasing Rainbows Card!
I love the ombre effect on this glimmer paper….and I love that the glitter doesn’t come off all over the place. I love shiny stuff, but I tend to be a bit of a messy crafter, and so I need all the help I can get to try to contain the chaos and mess. I have actually started to use Liquid Glue a little more often these days – often because it’s right there, and I do like the ability to move things around a bit before they’re totally adhered in place. I still end up with glue on my fingers though LOL.
Shortcut to shop is https://yamstamps.com/shop – be sure to check out the Last Chance Sale and grab these dies to make chasing rainbows even easier! Remember that retiring product is available until 30 June or until supply is exhausted. Don’t miss out!
This eye catching angled fun fold card is easy to make!
angled fun fold card – slightly open angle
Another in my quest for eye catching, “different” card designs that aren’t overly tricky to make – the angled fun fold card! This is like a “gatefold card”, where the two ends of the card are folded towards the centre. In this case, the flaps overlap, and you just trim the top and front edge at an angle (and it’s the same on both sides) to create this look.
For this angled fun fold card, start with a 5.5″ x 11″ piece of cardstock. Score at 3-3/8″ and 7-5/8″ to create the gatefold design. Mark 1″ down from the top on the front/long edge of each flap, and 1″ in from the edge along the bottom/short edge of each flap. Cut from the top of the score line to the first mark, and then cut from the first mark to the mark along the bottom of the flap to create the angle. That’s it!
I used the Heart & Home Designer Series Paper from the January-June 2022 Mini Catalogue (retiring soon and on sale right now!). I cut two pieces from the same paper to 3-1/4″ x 5-1/4″. I stacked the papers so that the designs that I wanted to show on the front of the card were facing each other on the inside, then I cut them the same way that I cut the edge of the card – from the corner, to 1″ along the long edge, and then from that spot to 1″ in along the bottom edge.
angled fun fold card (closed flat)
To finish off the card, I added some circles from the Stylish Shapes Dies – my new “go to” dies. The sentiment is from Honeybee Home, which is part of the Heart & Home Suite with the Heart & Home Designer Series Paper.
This was another of the Stampers Club Cards in May. We’re getting set for another session of Stampers Club this month and looking forward to welcoming new members starting in June. The good thing about virtual Stampers Club is that when people can’t make the live Zoom meeting, it’s recorded and uploaded to a members only site. I know that many members actually prefer to go through the card construction with the recording and use the “live” time to watch and chat with other members. You can find more information about Stampers Club on the YamStamps Events Page.
Another option, if you want a “one off” for card classes, is to check out my online classes. They are all “stand alone” classes – so you can purchase whatever one suits your crafting needs. Once you’ve purchased a class, you’ll have lifetime access – so you can definitely take your time going through the step-by-step videos!
In the meantime – give this angled fun fold card a try! It’s a great design to have in your crafting repertoire!
This easy Hello There Floral Card is perfect for brightening someone’s day
Hello There Floral Card
I love the new Stylish Shapes Dies that are in the Stampin’ Up! Canada 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue, and we used them to create a fun frame effect on this Hello There Floral Card that we made in Stampers Club in May.
Frugal Friday Tip….the frame and main image are the reverse sides of the same piece of Designer Series Paper! I die cut the largest square with the lattice design up. I then flipped that square over so the floral side was up, and then die cut the next smaller square. The die has a stitched edge on it, so I wanted the main stitched area to be the “right way” (indented) on the floral piece. It’s reverse on the inner edge of the lattice patterned frame, but I don’t mind that as much. This paper is the Design a Daydream Designer Series Paper – and it’s a huge package of 48 sheets which you can only select with your Stampin’ Rewards. You earn Stampin’ Rewards when you place a single order with product of $200 or more – this could be a workshop order where many people place orders at one time (like for my Stampers Club), a single person order, or in my case, a single Demonstrator order…LOL.
Hello There Floral Card Closeup
I thought I’d tie in the stitched theme on my Hello There floral card by using the Stitched Greenery Die on the background. This is one of my favourite dies because it adds texture and interest but doesn’t take away from the main focal element! I stamped the sentiment from the Nature’s Prints stamp set on a small square and then adhered it at the same angle with some Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it some lift.
If you’d like to join our Stampers Club, our next get together will be Monday 13 June. We continue to meet virtually at this time via Zoom. The one good thing about meeting by Zoom is that we can record the sessions and members have ongoing access to the recordings in our Members Only site. The other good thing is that if you don’t live close to Burlington Ontario, you can still join, since all I have to do is mail your class packet to you, and you can join us virtually too! Contact me if you’d like to join us for a 6 month membership. You can get more information on the YamStamps event page, or you can message me if you have any questions.We’d love to have you join us!
