Sometimes you need an extra special or “WOW” card, and you don’t feel like making it from scratch. (If you do feel like making it from scratch, may I suggest the Clever Cards Online Class ?! You’ll get five different WOW card designs!) Here’s an easy pop up birthday card made using Stampin’ Up!’s Balloon Adventures set and Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits Dies. They’re available together in a discounted bundle…which I recommend because I love easy coordination (and who doesn’t like saving a bit of money?!). Real Red, Island Indigo and Crushed Curry combine to make a bright, fun card that’s sure to impress.
The interior pop up portion is made using a die! You score your cardstock, align the die along the score line and run it through your Big Shot. Fold along the score lines and you’re ready to complete your card! (I told you it was an easy pop up birthday card!) I like to use Tear & Tape to adhere the pop up insert securely in place (just don’t adhere the middle, otherwise the pop up won’t work!). Originally, I had stamped “Happy Birthday” directly onto the banner, but truth be told, I messed it up….so I cut another banner from a scrap of Crushed Curry Cardstock, restamped the sentiment and adhered it over top of the messed up one. It looks good either way. Well, maybe not with a messed up sentiment, but with a white banner rather than a yellow one. I added two additional die cut balloons that were adhered in place on the pop up portion, and the middle balloon is simply stamped in Real Red. The set is photopolymer, so you can re-stamp the balloon image on top again if you need more ink coverage – sometimes the score line doesn’t take the ink very well. (ask me how I know this…).
This card does take a little longer than a non-3D or non-moving part card might take to construct, but it’s just more steps, not that much more difficulty, really! A bit more time to construct a still quite easy pop up birthday card, thanks to coordinating stamps and dies, but the smile on the recipient’s face is sure to be worth it in the end! This is the kind of card that can be a gift in itself. We actually tackled this card in Stampers Club and the March Card Class! I liked this card so much I included it in both classes! If you’re needing an outing during the day or evening, consider joining us next time! See the YamStamps Events Page for upcoming events, or contact me to register for the April Card Class or to find out more about Stampers Club. Hope to see you in class soon!
Do you prefer Glimmer Paper or Glitter? While I love glitter, I don’t always love the mess it leaves – which is why I really love Stampin’ Up!’s Glimmer Paper. It’s an easy way to add all the glitter and shine with less fuss and mess.
This project showcases an easy way to use Glimmer Paper. Glimmer Paper is perfect for adding shine to your paper crafting with less mess than loose glitter. While you will still likely find some stray glitter here & there after you use it, it’s not nearly as invasive! The paper is a little heavier than regular cardstock and has a slightly waxy backing on it, so I like to use Tear & Tape to adhere it in place. If you’re more patient than me, you may choose to use the Multipurpose Liquid Glue. I’m more of a get it done and get going type of crafter, not to mention somewhat messy, so dry adhesives tend to work better in my crafting corner.
This fun card features two of the second release Sale-a-Bration products. Reverse Words has two negative image words, and the 12 pack of 6″ x 6″ Glimmer Paper is perfect for cardmaking or scrapbook page accents. Some other samples were seen in this post. I used the sample from the Second Release Sale-a-Bration flyer as a jumping off point for this card. If you’re attending one of my events this week, you’ll get a chance to make this card as well! The image is stamped in Bermuda Bay, and then strips of the Glimmer Paper are woven at the edge of the card as an accent. Not only is this an easy way to use glimmer paper, it’s an easy way to build up your card stash! You could make a stack of these cards with different main images for a variety of occasions.
The Sale-a-Bration Glimmer Paper comes in a package of 12 sheets of 6″ x 6″ in 3 colours – Bermuda Bay, Mint Macaron and Sweet Sugarplum, and is available as a free choice with each $60 product order until March 31. Stampin’ Up! also offers packages of two 12″ x 12″ sheets in Dazzling Diamonds, Real Red, Blushing Bride, Gold, and Silver. With so many options, and so many easy ways to use Glimmer Paper, there’s no excuse not to add a little glitter to your projects! If you need to build up your supply of shiny objects, head to the YamStamps Online Stampin’ Up! Canada store to stock up!
So what’s your preference – glimmer paper or glitter?(HINT – I’m going to be randomly rewarding people for “class participation”….aka commenting on the YamStamps Blog Posts….).
Happy Sale-a-Bration Second Release Day! Stampin’ Up! has some new freebies for you until the end of March with each $60 merchandise order! You can download the flyer here. My personal favourites are seen in the samples above from the flyer. I love the Reverse Words stamp set (item 143316 wood or 143319 clear), and of course, the Glimmer Paper (item 143831)! You get 12 sheets – 4 of 3 different colours, in 6″ x 6″ sheets. Bermuda Bay, Mint Macaron and Sweet Sugarplum – they coordinate with a number of suites (coordinating products) from the Occasions Catalogue (Cupcakes & Carousels, Falling in Love and Succulent Garden) – but for me, they also scream “SPRING” and “EASTER”.
Don’t you agree? I need to build up my stash of these…and I’m sure they’re going to be very popular! Don’t forget that Sale-a-Bration only runs until March 31st, so now is the time to grab your freebies while you can. Purchase the starter kit (more info here), and on top of everything ($165 product of your choice for $135, business supplies and a Paper Pumpkin kit) – you get an additional TWO stamp sets of your choice for free! Just FYI…when you go to the YamStamps Online Stampin’ Up! Canada store, did you know that you can select “Stamps” and the format of your choice (wood mount, clear mount or photopolymer), and then sort by “> price” ? That way….you can get the most bang for your buck!!
So far, the most popular item during Sale-a-Bration has been the “Hey Chick” set (item 143328 wood or 143331 clear). I used that for my Year of The Rooster card…I kind of cheated I think, and turned a chicken into a rooster by adding the little red “beard”. (Can you tell I don’t own chickens? Unlike some of my friends who proudly show off their egg hauls!). The original Sale-a-Bration catalogue is here.
There is still some space in the March Monthly Card Class if you want to get out to do some crafting and grab a free Sale-a-Bration item with your $60 product order (that’s multi-tasking that I can handle!). Please contact me to register, or if you have any questions. Otherwise – see you in class soon!
I love Stampin’ Up! Canada’s Lift Me Up stamp set & the coordinating Up & Away Thinlits Dies for easy handmade cards! The set is available in clear mount or wood mount, as well as a clear mount bundle or wood mount bundle with the dies at a discounted price. Hot air balloons are great images for all purpose cards, masculine cards, and all age ranges. The coordination of the stamp set and die always makes it easy to produce great images for the cardfront. I particularly love the irregular long cloud and the intricate hot air balloon dies in this set. For this card, the background is simply sponged with Marina Mist ink, and then the die cut balloons and clouds are adhered in place. During Sale-a-Bration (until March 31) there’s a coordinating Designer Series Paper availble for free with each $60 merchandise order as well – lots of coordinating images to go with the hot air balloon theme! (talk about making handmade cards even easier!). I did use this bundle and the Carried Away free Designer Series Paper (item 143608) for one of the projects in the Clever Cards Online Class. I couldn’t resist! When you spend a bit more time on the construction of the card itself, anything you can do to make the rest faster is always good, in my books.
It’s Family Day weekend in Ontario, so I hope that you are able to enjoy some time with your family – whether they be relations by genetics or by choice! I have a teenaged boy at home, so here’s hoping we get a few moments together at some point or another….LOL. It’s unusually warm out there too, which was a nice change when I was out for my early morning run today – not quite as many layer required (and not as much mental convincing to get out the door, to be truthful too!).
In any case, I’m also going to take advantage of a little extra down time to get caught up on some handmade cards! I’m owing a few thank you for your order cards….so if you’ve placed an order with me in the last while, you can definitely count on some “happy mail” in the next while. If you are needing to build up your stash of cards on hand, and are close to Burlington ON, join the Monthly Card Class – next one is Wednesday, March 1 at 1pm or 7pm. Cost is $20 and includes all supplies required to create 4 different cards using a variety of supplies and techniques Registration and payment required in advance. Can’t make that time? Get a group of friends together, and I’ll come to you! (well, within driving distance of Burlington…LOL). Not local to Burlington? Grab an Online Class and do some crafting when you have the time! No excuses not to get a little crafty soon!
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope that you are able to spend time with those you love, and/or spend time doing something you love! My gift to you is a video of Valentine’s Day crafts! I thought I’d share one of the videos from my appearance on Halton Insider last week. I was fortunate to be invited to TV Cogeco to film some segments to air! I managed to load a few of the appearances on the YamStamps YouTube channel, so you can catch them there, but I thought I’d share one here on the YamStamps blog as well. (If you can’t see the video below, click on the link to go to YouTube to see them).
In this segment, I show a couple of really quick and easy paper crafting decorations you can make – fun for adults or children! You don’t need fancy equipment to make these decorations (though it does make it more fun…haha). You could whip up a few of these right now and still have lots of time to enjoy them!
So you’ll need something to cut the paper with, something to attach the paper with (tape, stapler) and something to hang the decoration – ribbon, string, twine….. You could make them fancier by using different papers, by decorating the papers – stamp on them, colour them, draw on them, emboss them…. I love that you can totally customise these Valentine’s Day crafts to your taste!
(Warning, shameless plug coming up) The same concept goes for the projects in the Clever Cards Online Class! You will learn the concepts of how to make some tricky looking cards (which actually aren’t all that tricky to make once you know how!) and then you can decorate them to your personal taste (or the taste of the recipient) once you have the basics. You may be able to pick up that I tend to go for the more clean and simple look, but you can definitely make more complex and complicated looks if that’s what you’re going for!
Thanks again for reading the YamStamps blog. I feel quite lucky that I am able to spend time doing something I love, and being able to share it with others! Happy Valentine’s Day! Now go make some “love”ly cards and decorations!
Have you seen Stampin’ Up!’s Falling In Love Designer Series Paper? This is a gorgeous set of papers, double sided, with lots of bokeh effects and images. It’s hard to pick which side to use! (Good thing there’s duplicates!). They make a great background for a simple card.
This is a version of the card that I showed on Cogeco’s Halton Insider the other day. I realize that you have to be within the Cogeco Halton viewing area to catch the show (6pm, repeated the next day at 630). I am working on a way to get the recordings into a format I can share! The other night I actually did a facebook live video on the YamStamps page where I showed my TV screen!! (The recording is posted if you wanted to check it out). Much like at Christmas time, we recorded 5 segments in a row, featuring different projects, that will be aired during the shows this week.
Essentially, you heat emboss the graphic and word of your choice from the Love Sparkles set (available in clear or wood mount) with Gold Embossing Powder. I did an extra thin border for the matting piece in Soft Sky (rather than using a traditional 1/4″ larger piece of cardstock, I did 1/8″ larger), and then wrapped it with some of the gorgeous Metallic Woven Ribbon in Gold. You can get the ribbon for free with a $60 product order until the end of March for Sale-a-Bration! (Download the Sale-a-Bration catalogue here and the upcoming new releases here!). This makes a clean, simple and elegant card – perfect for Valentine’s Day, wedding, anniversary or “just because” kind of card!
I am putting the finishing touches on the Clever Cards Online Class and it will be open for registration in the next couple of days. It’s a great class (if I say so myself LOL) that will break down the construction of a few “fancy folds” type cards that you will be able to decorate for the occasions when you want to give a card that will really WOW the recipient! I’ll post the official release here on the YamStamps Blog so please be sure to come back to the site!
