I used Stampin’ Up!’s Counting Sheep stamp set and coordinating Sheep Dies to make this fun balloon birthdaycard – a non-sheep based project!
Balloon Birthday Card
The Counting Sheep stamp set and the Sheep Dies are both Level One Sale-a-Bration items – so you can pick one of them with a $60CAD product order (before shipping/taxes) – so if you wanted both of these items and didn’t want to wait, a $120CAD product order would entitle you to two Level one items – so you could get both (plus enough supplies to make a whole bunch of these cards!).
My favourite feature on this balloon birthday card is the balloons (hence the title of this post!). I die cut them (the Sheep Dies include a balloon die) from the 2021-2023 In Color Shimmer Vellum. I think that the translucent shimmer makes for some realistic type balloons – and I made sure to overlap the balloons to show off the their translucency. I used the Adhesive Sheets on the back of the Vellum (and there is definitely a back and front to this vellum) so that when the balloons are adhered in place, you really can’t see any evidence of the adhesive at all. Love it!
Sale-a-Bration runs until September 30, 2021, but Stampin’ Up! have advised us that certain items will not be guaranteed until the end of the period – the Sheep Dies are one of them – so if you have your eye set on them, or want to create your own Balloon Birthday Card, you’ll want to be sure that they are one of your first Sale-a-Bration picks…and save some of your others for your later orders. Online shopping shortcut is https://yamstamps.com/shop for 24/7 shopping in Canada (Canadian addresses only, due to Stampin’ Up! regulations). If you would like assistance placing your order or want to pay by etransfer, you can always message me. Happy Sale-a-Bration!
Here’s an easy fun fold card – though I’m not sure what the true qualifications are for a card to be a fun fold, other than “not the typical card fold”….so since it’s a little vague, I’ve decided that this design qualifies.
Easy Fun Fold Card – Hinged Woodgrain
This card features a mini card that opens traditionally, and it’s attached onto a backing card. It features the woodgrain designs from the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper, which is part of the Designer Series Paper Sale that runs until August 2nd – you can grab it for 15% off while the sale is on!
The dies that cut the “hinges” and the sentiment piece are from the Stitched So Sweetly Dies. I had some scrap pieces of Copper Foil Sheets with the Adhesive Sheets on the back, so after die cutting the “hinge” pieces, it was simply a matter of removing the adhesive backing and sticking them in place. I ran the rounded end of my Bone Folder along the fold of the card to make a marking in the foil hinge, and so that the mini card would open a little more easily. If you’ve been following YamStamps or have attended a class with me, you’ll know that I cut the backing piece for the sentiment from the bottom layer of Designer Series Paper – because the hole gets hidden by the mini card! This easy fun fold card is also a frugal card…
Easy Fun Fold Card – Open
The mini card itself is a 3″ x 8″ piece of Very Vanilla cardstock folded in half. The front of the mini card is covered by a piece of the lighter woodgrain Designer Series Paper – and it goes across the whole surface, rather than leaving a border, because I liked the effect better. I did still leave a bit of a border between the darker woodgrain paper and the Early Espresso cardstock.
A reminder that the Designer Series Paper sale runs until August 2 – select Designer Series Papers are 15% off. You can place an online order from anywhere in Canada in the YamStamps Online Stampin’ Up! Canada store – shortcut is yamstamps.com/shop, or you can email me for assistance placing an order.
Mini Catalogue cover
I’ve had the new Mini Catalogue and Sale-a-Bration catalogue mailed out to current customers, so they should be arriving soon, if they haven’t already! (I’m hand delivering the local ones). If you need a copy of the catalogue and don’t have a current Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, please feel free to contact me to make arrangements to get one! If you’ve already received your copy, you may notice that it’s called the “July-December Mini Catalogue” HOWEVER it will be active on the same start date as Sale-a-Bration – August 3rd. Stampin’ Up! made the decision a few months ago to push back the official start date of the Mini Catalogue to compensate for some shipping delays that were beyond their control, and despite their planning. We are all continuing to navigate our changing situations as best we can, right?! You can be sure that there will be links for the digital versions of the catalogues available through the YamStamps Site, as well as the newsletter that will be released that day as well.
This simple thanks card is made a little less simple looking by adding a fancy fold and belly band – but I promise it’s easy! (Truly, do you expect anything else if you have been here before? haha!). This fun pattern was recently shared by Arlene Luscombe, an “Eh” Team member (my demonstrator group) in a recent online group get together.
Simple Thanks Card
This easy fancy fold is created by folding the edges of the front and back of the card to create extra “layers”. The Basic White Cardstock was cut to 5.5″ x 11″, scored at 1.75″, 5.5″ and 9.75″ then the centre score line was folded in the opposite direction of the two end score lines. A single sheet of 6″ x 6″ 2021-2023 In Color Designer Series Paper makes the coordination of the designs (and colour) simple. One design was used on the cardfront and back flap, and the flip side was used on the centre flap. Since the sheet was Fresh Freesia, that was the cardstock & ink used on the label and the belly band. The sentiment is from the Hand-Penned Petals stamp set on the Tasteful Labels Dies.
simple thanks card – fancy fold close up
My “lazy crafter” (trademark pending LOL) technique for the belly band – the band is 11″ long and the join is in the front, underneath the label. I usually place the end of the cardstock strip centred on the front of the card and then just fold the band around the card, making sure the flaps are aligned, and then adhere them together, using the label to hide the seam. I don’t fold the band too tightly around the card so that it’s not too difficult to remove. I typically find if I try to score the folds into the belly band, I mess it up somehow and it doesn’t fit properly!
We did this simple thank you card in Stampers Club last month, and I’m busy finishing prep for the June card packages so that they’re set for pickup/mailing! If you’d like to join us in club, send me a message! New members can start at any month for their 6 month membership – but it’s easiest if I have a week or two notice so that I can get your class items prepped for you! We meet the third Monday of each month, so now’s the time to join us for June!
This layered die cut card is a great way to add a bit of dimension to your cards – and of course, because it’s here on the YamStamps blog, you know it’s an easy method! Featuring some products from the 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue.
Layered Die Cut Card
So – I liked the Hand Penned suite products, but in all honesty – I was resisting, and they actually weren’t on my “have to buy” list…until one of my Demonstrator team members, Arlene, shared some beautiful projects she’d made with it during one of our online team get togethers. I pretty much had it on my next order going in LOL!! (so for those of you who say that -I- enabled you in your crafty purchases, know that I am not immune!)
For this card, I added some adhesive sheets to the back of some Copper Foil Sheet strips before die cutting with the outline die from the Penned Flower Dies. I also die cut the same die from the centre of the backing piece of Evening Evergreen cardstock. (One of my favourite thrifty card making tricks!) The hole in the cardstock was covered by the piece of Hand Penned Designer Series Paper, and then I added additional strips of the other new 2021-2023 In Colo(u)r cardstocks.
close up detail layered die cut card
Having the adhesive on the back of the Copper Foil Sheet made it easy for me to adhere it onto the Evening Evergreen die cut – but I slightly offset the die cuts so it showed off the bottom layer and gave a bit more dimensional effect. I suppose I could have put some adhesive sheet on the back of the cardstock layer as well, but I didn’t…so I just used small dots of Multipurpose Liquid Glue on the back of the die cut. One tip I picked up recently was to let the liquid adhesive dry just a bit before setting the layer down so it doesn’t “ooze” out all over the place. Handy tip for a messy crafter like myself!
If you’re in Canada, I hope that you enjoyed your first long weekend of the summer(ish) season! We had our barbeque dinner on our back deck – after clearing so much pollen from our table and chairs – crazy! I saw a comment somewhere about people having to say “Pollen, not the plague!” whenever they sneeze or cough these days. True!!
This is a quick and easy mini fancy fold card disguised as a standard sized card! By adding a mini card on a 4.25″ x 5.5″ piece of cardstock, it fits into Stampin’ Up!’s Medium Sized Envelope for mailing, and doesn’t get lost on a gift.
This card is a single piece of Pool Party Cardstock cut to 4.25″ x 5.5″, and then I die cut the centre of the Designer Series Paper with one of the Stitched Rectangles. The Z folded Pale Papaya Cardstock covers the hole in the centre, and then the die cut piece fits on the front of that mini fancy fold card. The sentiment is another Stitched Rectangle on a Tasteful Label Die Cut. The sentiment and flower images are from the Free As A Bird Stamp Set.
I didn’t add any bulky embellishments to this card because I didn’t want to make it too thick for easy mailing – but you could easily add some ribbon or bling to further fancy it up!
We had fun making this easy mini fancy fold card together in Stampers Club the other evening. Our Zoom gatherings are usually filled with chatter and laughter, often with everyone laughing at me because I’ve messed up something when showing the construction of the card – I will often (unintentionally) demonstrate “What NOT to do when making this card”! While virtual card classes have their learning curve, some of the definite positives are the quick commute time for all and the quick class time – since I die cut and prep everything ahead of time for everyone! If you’re interested in joining us, new members can start their 6 months in club at any time – our next get together will be in June, so if you’d like to join us, please contact me! As we will still be virtual for a while, as long as you are located within Canada and can access the internet, you’ll be able to join us! I will most likely continue to offer an online version of club even once we can safely gather in groups again, because it’s nice to have options.
Thanks for stopping by the YamStamps site! Leave a comment and let me know what kind of projects you might like to see here in future!
Here’s another quick and easy fancy fold card – without a lot of layers or fuss! I think the only tricky thing about this one was fitting the cardstock in my paper trimmer…
Quick and Easy Fancy Fold Card
If you can cut it well enough on the diagonal, you could actually get two of these cards from one sheet of cardstock. This card features the retiring (and sale priced!) Peony Garden Designer Series Paper – which will be available until May 3 unless supply runs out before then. The sentiment is from the Lovely You stamp set and is on the sold out retired Layering Ovals Dies. Reminder: yamstamps.com/shop is the shortcut to the online Stampin’ Up! Canada store to grab Annual Catalogue retiring products by May 3rd!
Quick and Easy Fancy Fold Card
This quick and easy fancy fold card has two diagonal flaps that open up to reveal the inside of the card. Essentially, you score a sheet of cardstock into quarters (score in half lengthwise and crosswise) then cut on the diagonal from corner to corner. That’s it! The Designer Series Paper is cut on the diagonal as well to fit onto the flaps. I used two pieces of 4″ x 5.25″ paper so that I could have two patterns showing on the front. I think these patterns would work well for a Mother’s Day card too! It folds to a regular sized card that fits into Stampin’ Up!’s medium envelopes so it’s also an easy way to send a special greeting to someone in the mail.
Are you looking forward to the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue? There’s also some sweet specials coming our way in May – I’ll be sure to post more info on May 4th when everything is “live”, so please come back to visit YamStamps.com!
