Hi, crafty friends. I have a different kind of card to share today, featuring this King for the Day image from Mo Manning.
It’s a circle card!!! I received an order for a birthday card for a huuuge Liverpool fan. I don’t have a lot of red patterned paper, but came up with the idea to create a circle card to mimic the shape of a football.
I colored the image to somewhat match the Liverpool team colors. Their uniforms are solid red, but I felt like I needed something besides just red, so I gave the guy a white T shirt with a couple of logos on it in proper team colors. I fussy cut the image and rummaged through my patterned paper looking for red and/or football themed papers. I found some football themed scraps and some neutral papers from Papirdesign, as well as some red scraps from P13. I used a stitched circle die set from My Favorite Things to create my card base and also to give the patterned paper scraps the rounded shape on the edge with that nice faux stitch border. I glued some pieces directly to the card base, adding layers of cardstock on the back of others for dimension and interest.
I used the In Stitches Alpha uppercase die set from My Favorite Things to die cut the recipient’s name a few times from white cardstock, adding a layer of red patterned paper from Waffle Flower on top to include more red on the card. I was told the birthday “boy” likes beer, so I added a couple of bottle caps, flipping one of them upside down so I could add his age inside. I used the Alfabet 3 die set from Scrapmagasinet to die cut the numbers, added them to a 1” circle and covered it with Glossy Accents for some shine.
On the inside I printed the lyrics for You’ll Never Walk Alone in red ink and added a couple of circular elements, including a football I fussy cut from patterned paper from Papirdesign. The right side has plenty of space to write a personal message.
On the back of the card I added a few more strips of patterned paper and stamped a sentiment from the Til mannen stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Wild Cherry ink from My Favorite Things.
I didn’t have an envelope to fit this very dimensional 5 1/2” circle card, so I created one from patterned paper from Papirdesign. The paper is covered with footballs on one side with a few specks of red here and there (how perfect is that?), and football pitches on the back.
Fairly simple color combination for this one.
I recently made a full shaker card with another image from Rachelle with lots of balloons. That card was all in warm tones, so I thought I’d use cool tones for this one. I did add a few orange balloons, though, I think orange is a fun color to use with teal and green. I used a die from the Stitched Mini Slimline STAX set from My Favorite Things to turn my colored piece into the perfect rectangle to fit a mini slimline card. I stamped a sentiment from the Birthday messages stamp set from Mama Elephant using Prickly Pear ink from My Favorite Things and put the panel aside while I worked on the rest of my card.
I ran a piece of Sour Apple cardstock from My Favorite Things through my die cutting machine with a Geometric embossing folder from WRMK, and adhered it to a mini slimline card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, leaving a white frame on the outside. I used foam tape to mount my colored and die cut piece in the center of the card.
I wanted another element and used the Cloud 1 & 2 die set from Papertrey Ink to die cut a couple of clouds from vellum. I mounted the clouds on 1 mm foam square to give them a little bit of lift, making sure to put the foam squares in strategic spots so I could cover them with enamel dots in matching colors (green and orange dots from Papirdesign, teal dots from the Cool Summer Night pack of enamel dots from Altenew).
Simple, yet fun color palette for this image.
I had so much fun creating this card. I originally colored everything on one panel, but then decided to put the bunnies on action wobbles. I fussy cut the bunnies leaving a thin white border, fussy cut the eggs right up to the black lines and printed the grass and flowers at the bottom on a separate panel.
I used the Stitched Mini Slimline STAX die set from My Favorite Things to create the perfect panel for a mini slimline card with the faux stitch edge I like so much on my cards. I used the Slimline Cloud Edges stencil, also from MFT, with some Blue Yonder ink (again: MFT) to create the clouds in the background.
Onto a piece of Berry Sorbet cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things. I cut it down to a strip and added a few more layers of cardstock behind it for stability and dimension.
I used 1 mm foam squares behind the eggs and put an action wobbler behind each bunny. I only have the big action wobbles, but I was able to cut them down to fit behind these cute guys. I decided not to add any embellishments to the card, there’s enough going on with the eggs and the wobbling bunnies, I thought.
Simple color palette perfect for spring on this one.
This bunny is the Clover Bunny from the newly released 
Once my image was colored, I decided to turn this into a very simple card by adding a frame around it and not much else. Using Fire Coral cardstock from My Favorite Things along with the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 2 Set and the Selfie Square die, both of these also from MFT, I created my frame.
I used the Circular Lace Stencil from Simon Says Stamp with Fire Coral ink from MFT onto the Fire Coral cardstock for a little bit of subtle interest to the background.
Next to the bunny, I stamped a sentiment from the Scripty Bday stamp set from Mama Elephant using Fire Coral ink once again. I love it when everything matches on a card.
I added foam tape behind my frame and adhered it all to a top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I added a bit of clear Wink of Stella to my “flower”, but decided not to add any embellishments. Super simple, right?
The color palette is even super simple. I rarely use as few colors as this.
I colored the scene in using my Copics, before using Iceberg ink from Altenew with the Slimline Cloud Edges stencil from My Favorite Things to create soft clouds in the background. I then sacrificed one of my stamp storage pockets from Avery Elle, using about half of it for this card to create the pocket for the colored panel to slip into. I know there are full shaker covers on the market, but I don’t have any, and the storage pocket was easy enough to alter.
I filled my shaker pocket with sequins and gems from the Candy Corn mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. This is a great Halloween mix with clear, yellow and orange sequins, as well as some little gems and even acetate ghosts. I loooove the ghosts, but of course I removed them from the part of the mix I used for this birthday card.
I die cut the word Gratulerer twice from white cardstock and once from Pure Poppy cardstock from Papertrey Ink using the Gratulerer 8 die from Papirdesign, stacked them and used liquid glue to add the die cut to the front of the window.
I stamped a sub sentiment from the Go’klem stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto a separate piece of Pure Poppy cardstock using VersaMark. I heat embossed it using super fine detail embossing powder from Ranger in white, cut the sub sentiment down to a strip and added a couple of additional cardstock layers behind it, before adhering it to the front of the shaker using score tape.
Simple, but fun color palette for this one.
I printed the dragon on a piece of X-Press It blending card and colored him with my Copics, before using the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 die set from My Favorite Things. I covered my card base with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ piece of patterned paper from Kaisercraft (Charmed from the Key to my Heart collection) to match the green. I cut the panel with the dragon at funky angles at the top and left side to create a convex quadrilateral that I mounted on foam tape in the top left corner of the card.
Using a scrap of patterned paper from the Fremtidsdrømmer collection from Papirdesign, I die cut Gratulerer using the Gratulerer med dagen 3 die set, also from Papirdesign. I die cut an additional 3 layers of white cardstock to glue behind it, but decided that even that wasn’t enough dimension, so I cut tiny slivers of clear foam tape from Rabbit Hole Designs to add to the back of the letters. That did the trick, and it looks like the die cut is floating. I stamped a sub sentiment from the A06 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto another piece of the same patterned paper using Jalapeño Popper ink from My Favorite Things, cut it down to a strip, added a couple of white cardstock strips behind it and more of the clear foam tape to make it float, before finishing off the card with a few enamel dots from the Pocketful of Sunshine pack from Altenew.
Fairly simple color palette, but I went through too many teal colors before I decided on the right one for the straws and the sprinkles.
The stamp actually comes with all the candles in a row, but for this design I wanted to shake things up a bit. I colored my candles in a bit of a rainbow order and used a lot of candles (I printed the whole row of candles three times). After they were all colored came the fun part: fussy cutting.
I don’t normally mind fussy cutting, I find it relaxing, but these candles are tiny and there are plenty of them, so it took a while. Well worth it, though. I prefer cutting right against the black lines of the image when I fussy cut, and that’s what I did here, for everything but the wick of the candle, which has a bit of white showing on either side.
Using clear foam tape, I mounted each of the candles onto a panel I created from Soft Stone cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I then mounted that panel onto my card base, which I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock, also from PTI. I love the cardstock from Papertrey Ink, it’s my favorite!
Using the Happy Birthday die from My Favorite Things, I die cut the words three times from True Black cardstock from Papertrey Ink and the shadow twice from 40 lb vellum from Bazzill. I stacked the black cardstock and covered my layered die cut with VersaMark ink, then sprinkling on Super fine detail black embossing powder from Ranger and heat set. I don’t usually use black embossing powder, it tends to create a mess, but to create shiny die cuts like this, it works great. I repeated the embossing process a couple more times to make it extra shiny and glossy and even.
Before die cutting the vellum, I put a piece of adhesive sheet on the back of one, so I’d be able to glue them together without any adhesive showing. The trick with adhesive and vellum is to have an even layer on the back, whether it’s liquid glue or another type of adhesive. Of course you can add your adhesive in strategic places behind the vellum or put embellishments on top, but I didn’t want to have to think about that for this card, and doubling up the vellum makes it a little less transparent and it stands out more against the colorful candles behind it. I actually didn’t put any embellishments on this, I thought there was enough going on with all the candles and dimension already there.
Lots of colors for this. Three colors in most of the combos, some use four. Yes, I go overboard, I’m aware 😉
I colored and fussy cut 
For the background I used the largest die in the Stitched Traditional Tag STAX die set from My Favorite Things and die cut two of these from Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things, before gluing them back to back. On the back I simply stamped a To/From stamp and on the front, I used the Falling Snow stencil from Simon Says Stamp along with some paste for a subtle snowy effect in the background.
I used quite a few colors for the fur on the squirrel, but the rest of the colors are pretty basic.
This image is sooo sweet, I just had to create a card using it. There’s also a butterfly in the image, which I erased before printing, I just wanted the bunny with the kite for this card. I created a very simple grassy hill below her feet and used the Rolling Clouds stencil from My Favorite Things along with Eastern Sky ink from Altenew to create the clouds behind her.
From Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I die cut three white frames using a die from the Madison Avenue die set from Mama Elephant and stacked them for a dimensional look. I adhered my colored piece to the back of the frame, before adhering everything to a card base I created from Poppin’ Pink cardstock from My Favorite Things. I white heat embossed a sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto a separate piece of pink cardstock and used a 1″ circle punch from EK Success to create a quick circle from it. I popped it up on clear foam tape near the top right of the card, and decided not to add any embellishments to this.
Not a lot of colors for this one, though I probably went overboard with the yellows.
I actually created two cards this time. No Copic coloring on these, which is rare for me. I bought the Wreaths and Mulled Wine stamp set from Ciao Bella last year, but didn’t have time to use it. Get Cracking to the rescue. I took one of the wreaths in the stamp set, stamped it in VersaMark ink onto watercolor paper (I used Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot pressed paper for this) and created two similar, yet different cards.
For this blue one I used Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder from JudiKins for my heat embossing. I used Prussian Blue paint from my Mijello Mission Gold watercolor set and watered it down quite a bit to get the light blue I was after. I used a 3/4″ flat brush across the surface, and the heat embossing resisted the watercolor I put on top. I love the edges of watercolor, so I just walked away and let this air dry, I didn’t want to mess with it.
Using a more concentrated paint of the the same color, I did a flat wash on a scrap piece of watercolor paper that was big enough for me to die cut. I used the Merry Script die from Mama Elephant and die cut three layers of white and one layer from my painted blue piece and stacked them for dimension. I also white heat embossed part of a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Holiday stamp set from My Favorite Things and nestled that in below the merry using some clear foam tape.
I could fiddle with placement of embellishments all day long. Color, size, I wanted everything to be just right, and wound up using a combination of the Igloo mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards (pearls and iridescent sparkle sequins), the Crystal Collection – Glass mix, also from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards (clear jewels), and a few blue diamonds from Kort & Godt to fill in the rest.
I used a die from Waffle Flower to create a rectangle from the watercolored piece and mounted in on foam tape on a card base I created from Spring Rain cardstock from Papertrey Ink. It’s no secret that I love blue for Christmas cards, and I thought this soft background with the wreath and the embellishments was a nice combo.
For my second card I used the same wreath stamp that I stamped in VersaMark ink. This time I embossed it in silver, painted the background with Van Dyke Green (also watered down quite a bit) and flipped the panel upside down to have the snowflake in the bottom right “corner” of the wreath instead of the top left.
I used the same Waffle Flower die to create my rectangle from the watercolor piece and was a little unsure of what to do for a card base. I didn’t have any green cardstocks that matched my watercoloring, and I didn’t feel like pulling my paints back out to create a green wash that I could use (although that would have been pretty). I rummaged through my silver cardstocks, but none of them matched the silver heat embossing very well, so I wound up creating my own using the same silver embossing powder that I used for the wreath. I squished my VersaMark pad onto the edges of a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ piece of white cardstock, sprinkled on the embossing powder and repeated the process until the embossing was even and covered everything. I adhered my embossed panel onto a white top fold card base and mounted my watercolor cardstock on top using foam tape.
Using the Hjerte 3 die set from Papirdesign, I die cut the words God jul three times and stacked them for a dimensional look. I made sure to cut the top layer from the watercolor paper I’d already used so that the whites would match. I adhered my die cut words to the center of the wreath using liquid glue.
To finish off the card I added Kort & Godt diamonds in three different sizes in clusters around the wreath. They act as little berries and add a little bit of sparkle and shine.
I made quite a few green Christmas cards last year. It’s a color that’s growing on me, and this Van Dyke Green from Mijello is the most perfect green ever.
I had so much fun creating these cards. They’re very different from what I usually create, that might be part of the reason why. The simplicity of this design makes it easy to mass produce, too, if that’s your jam. Break out your embossing powders, different colors of paint and go to town.
Papirmølla 