Thank you seems like it’s not a big enough word for those who have sacrificed everything for us, but they deserve our thanks and our gratitude. May blessings and peace rest on you today and especially on the families who have given all so we may be free.
As a Christian, this not only makes me think of lost soldiers, but also of my precious Jesus – who gave all so we could have eternal life! If you don’t know him, please take some time to talk to him and repent and ask him to be your savior. You will never regret it!
BTW: DaySpring is having a sale! Customers can take $20 off any order of $60 or more and receive free shipping sitewide with code MEMORIAL. This sale is valid through Tuesday, May 31st. There are banners and text links available in the affiliate networks now. Check out the sale and direct your audience to https://www.dayspring.com/memorial-day-sale
My card for today is in the style known as clean and simple. There is a lot of “white-space”. This term can be confusing. It doesn’t mean there is a lot of the color white (although in my card for today, that is the case). It simply means a large area without any pictures or prints. It’s basically the background. Here are some examples:
I truly love this style. It lends itself to pretty or elegant cards. In my opinion, there are a few things you should keep in mind when doing the clean and simple style:
The white space doesn’t have to be white.
The focus should be the shining star. Everything else should support it, but not detract from it.
The background should be cohesive, but it doesn’t have to be bland. In my card, I chose to use a background die to imprint a leaf design. It doesn’t detract from the main focus of the card however. No fancy, bold, bright patterns or designs here!
Use elements to guide your viewer’s eye to where you want them to go. On my card I used the tiny, colorful flowers to create a triangle that causes the viewer’s eye to go from the butterfly to the sentiment to the inside of the card.
Enjoy the video below to see a demonstration of the card being made:
Affiliate Links These links are FREE for you to use and I will receive a small portion of any purchases you make using Amazon and Share a Sale links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Link to subscribe to the SCT Sampler: https://scrapbookandcards.com/sct-sampler/ (I’m not an affiliate with SCT. I just subscribe to the sampler with my own money).
Nicapa Standard Grip Cutting Mat (12×12 inch,3 Mats): https://amzn.to/30C3i26 (I cut these into 4 pieces and use them in my stamping platform…linked above)
Today, I’m going to be unboxing the SCT Sampler. This is a monthly subscription from Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine which brings you a sampling of the products from two different papercrafting/scrapbooking brands. This month, the two brands are Pinkfresh Studios with their Happy Heart collection and American Crafts with their Sweet Rush collection by Vicki Boutin.. Since it is a sampling, you will get a random selection of the products, so the items each person receives will not be exactly the same. However, you can get a general idea of the product in case you want to purchase more from the collections. Furthermore, you will receive codes for discounts for papercrafting supplies!
I’m new to this subscription this year, but it’s been around for a while. They have other kits you can subscribe to as well.
The video below not only shows the unboxing, but also shows the process I go through to pair the different pieces from the collections together for future projects. While editing the video, I was inspired with even more ideas by just watching my own process.
Key takeaway: When you get new products, take some time to go through them and generate ideas. Then, put it down for a time (length of time is up to you) so you can come back to it with fresh eyes and generate even more ideas!
Please enjoy the video of the unboxing below and the links to the products below that.
Affiliate Links These links are FREE for you to use and I will receive a small portion of any purchases you make using Amazon and Share a Sale links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Link to subscribe to the SCT Sampler: https://scrapbookandcards.com/sct-sampler/ (I’m not an affiliate with SCT. I just subscribe to the sampler with my own money).
I’m making a beautiful, elegant notecard today with the help of the Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Machine. The machine requires the use of a die cutting machine as well, which is sold separately.
Don’t be intimidated by the Glimmer machine. This is the first time I used it, and I had great success after an initial two or three practice runs. Some things to keep in mind:
Use the proper foil. Regular foil will not work. You need the kind designed for this machine.
Place your paper down on a surface.
Place your Glimmer plate where you want it, face down. Use a small piece of low tack tape only on the tips of the top of the place create a kind of a hinge and hold it in place.
Cut your foil to the proper size using scissors or the Spellbinders Quick Trimmer.
Slide your foil under the Glimmer plate and on top of the paper with the pretty, shiny side up.
I find the best results happen if I flip this “sandwich” upside down before I place it on the Glimmer machine.
When the ready indicator light lights up solid, you can place the thin shim and then the spacer pad on top and remove it to run it through your die cutting machine.
The foil plates I used for this project are the Spellbinders Stitched Alphabet Notecard Sentiments (with the words: “Be Bold” and “a note from me to you.”) and the Diamond Floral Frame. In addition, the Stitched Alphabet die in the letter z was used. In case you weren’t aware, you can foil with most metal wafer thin dies (0.8 mm thick), not just glimmer plates!
In case you didn’t also know, you can use the glimmer plates and foil machine to foil on fabric, ribbon, and leather in addition to cardstock and watercolor paper.
Affiliate Links These links are FREE for you to use and I will receive a small portion of any purchases you make using Amazon and Share a Sale links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Today’s cards are similar to the last card in that the same dies were used to create the card. I always love it when you can get a two for one! In order to accomplish this, I am going to use the negative space created when cutting with the dies instead of the actual die cut letter.
You will need:
Spellbinders’ Stitched Alphabet Dies in the letters: l, o, v, e
Flower dies-I used dies from the Spellbinders Card Kit of the Month-April 2021 called, “Sincerely Yours”
White cardstock 65lb to 80lb for the front panel
White cardstock 110lb for the card base
Spring color cardstock: I chose a light purple and bright green as well as a dark pink and purple
Mirrored Gold Cardstock for the leaves and left/right border lines
Black dye ink
Spellbinders stamp set “Let’s Celebrate Sentiments” STP-102
How to make it:
Create the top-folding A2 sized card base
cut an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of 110lb white cardstock in half lengthwise at 4.25 inches (you should have two long pieces of cardstock that measure 4.25″ across and 8.5″ long)
rotate the long piece of cardstock and score at 5.5″
fold it so that the “bump” is on the inside of the card.
Cut the front panel
cut an piece of white cardstock to 3.5″ x 5.5″
align the letter dies on the cardstock to spell “love”
by placing the l and o on the top line and the v and e on the bottom line (center the letters)
Save the cut out letters for another project. You will only use the cardstock panel for this project. Save the inserts for the letter o and e because we will glue them into the letters later.
Cut the light purple cardstock to 4″ by 5.5″. This will be adhered tot he back of your card panel out of which you just cut the letters.
Cut the dark purple cardstock to 4.25″ by 5.5″. This will be your background.
Cut the flowers from the dark purple, light purple, dark pink, light pink cardstocks.
Cut the leaves from the gold mirrored cardstock and the bright green cardstock.
Cut two strips of gold mirrored cardstock with a paper trimmer to 1/8th of an inch x 5.5 inches.
Assemble your card:
adhere the dark purple (or bright green) to the card base
adhere the light purple to the back of the “love” panel
adhere the inserts into the letters o and e ( I used a heart sticker for the center of the o)
adhere the flowers onto the card being sure to trim them so they don’t overlap the letters
adhere the leaves behind the flowers
for the green card, adhere the two strips of gold mirrored cardstock to both sides of the white “love” panel
Stamp your greeting using black ink
Please enjoy the video below:
Affiliate Links These links are FREE for you to use and I will receive a small portion of any purchases you make using Amazon and Share a Sale links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This lovely card was a lot of fun to make…and that surprised me because I don’t normally enjoy sewing. However, the stitched alphabet dies from Spellbinders made it super simple and easy. What’s nice about these dies is there are several choices on how you can use them. If you don’t want to sew, you don’t have too…just let the color of the background shine through! You can use them with material as well to create a keepsake ornament instead of a card or to monogram something for someone.
The first step in making this card is to gather all your supplies:
die cutting machine ( I used the Spellbinders Platinum 6 machine)
stitched alphabet dies
8.5″ x 11″ blue and light yellow/cream colored cardstock to make the letters
mirrored gold cardstock for the phone and flowers
110lb cardstock (I used Neenah solar white)
thread or embossing floss If you choose to sew the letters
an embroidery needle, which has a blunt tip so it it will not pierce your skin or the paper
adhesive (I used a liquid adhesive)
Stamping platform or acrylic blocks
Spellbinders’ “Sentiments for You” clear stamps or any greeting stamps you want to use
Black dye ink to stamp your greeting
Spellbinders flower dies from the April 2021 Card Kit of the Month called, “Sincerely Yours”
Spellbinders phone dies from the September 2021 Card Kit of the Month called, “Together is the Best”
To make the cardbase, trim your 110lb cardstock from 11″ to 8.25″. Then, rotate it and trim from 8.5″ to 8.25″. Then, score it at 4 1/8th inch.
Cut the blue and yellow/cream cardstock in half at the 5.5″ inch mark so you have two pieces that measure 8.5″ by 5.5″.
Use one of the pieces of the blue cardstock to cut out the background letter and the phone.
Use one of the pieces of the yellow/cream cardstock to cut out the main letters.
Use the mirrored gold cardstock to cut out the phone cord and the end caps for the phone.
Cut a length of 20″ of embossing floss and thread your embossing needle.
Stitch the letters. Then, adhere them to the blue backgrounds. To stich them, start by threading your embroidery needle and leave about two inches of thread on one side.
Then, coming up from the back, bring your needle through the center hole.
Be sure to leave some excess thread on the back. I hold it with my finger while sewing, but you could tape it down.
Once it’s through the center hole, go through the top hole on the outside ring.
Come back through the center hole.
Go through the next available top hole on the outside ring. Repeat these steps until all stitching is complete.
Tie off the string by using your needle to go under one of the stictches on the back side and then going through the loop before you pull it taunt. You can do this twice to make sure it’s secure. Then, cut the string.
Do this for all your letters. Then, set them aside so you can assemble the card.
Trim the second piece of yellow cardstock to 8″ by 3.75″. Adhere it to the cardbase.
Use a stamping platform to stamp the greeting on the card. I placed the letters on the card without glue so I could be sure to place the greeting in the proper spot. I moved them out of the way once the greeting stamp as in place.
Adhere the letters, phone, and flowers to the card.
Please enjoy the video:
Affiliate Links These links are FREE for you to use and I will receive a small portion of any purchases you make using Amazon and Share a Sale links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Key takeaway: When you get new products, take some time to go through them and generate ideas. Then, put it down for a time (length of time is up to you) so you can come back to it with fresh eyes and generate even more ideas!
Greetingstar 