CCEE2222 World Oceans Day

Lynn's challenge for the CCEE Stampers this week is based on the fact that yesterday was World Oceans Day.  She asked us to celebrate the oceans of the world with a nautical-themed project of our choice.  Winds, waves, boats, birds:  anything related to oceans will do. 

I recently watched a youtube video that Julie Creek (of Creek Bank Creations) did in which she made a stand-up mermaid card.  Although I didn't have many of the items she used on her card, I was able to recreate a similar one using supplies I had in my craft room.  The only Creek Bank Creations item I had was the ocean edges die.  My mermaids are from Paper Nest Dolls; the fish are from LDRS, the sentiment is from Mama Elephant, and the seaweed & coral are dies from CottageCutz.  Everything did come together quite well.

As you can see from the next photo, it is a 3-dimentional stand-up card.

Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog for more ocean fun.

Scor-Pal "More Than One Score" Challenge

It's time for the Scor-Pal "More than One Score" challenge again.  As Easter is this month, I thought an Easter card would be appropriate.    I haven't made an easel card in quite a while, so I thought that would be fun.   In addition to the two scores required for the card base, I also scored the crease lines on the ribbon.  

The bow and the Easter eggs are from Cottage Cutz, and the border die across the top is from Karen Burniston . . . 

. . . as is the Happy Easter sentiment inside.

CCEE2149 - Family Traditions

Lynn continues as CCEE Stampers hostess this week.  She said, "If your family is like mine, there are certain family traditions that show up at each of your Christmas celebrations together.  I would love for the CCEE Stampers' cards to represent a favorite or an unusual Christmas tradition shared by the members of your family each year."

Like many crafters, I have gone through the gamut of various different crafts.  One of my hobbies for a long time was ceramics.  I think every ceramic hobbyist I know made a Nativity set, and I am no exception.  This set took me several Christmases to complete, and it is a part of my Christmas every year.

Several years ago I was part of the CottageCutz design team.  One Christmas I chose several Nativity die sets with which to create.  I have made several different cards using some or all of the three sets.  My card today uses all three.

I'm anxious to see Lynn's card today because of something she said about her family tradition in her challenge to us:  "I am betting that mine might just be the wackiest!!"  Check out the CCEE Stampers blog to see what it is.

C4C610 - Die Cuts Only

This week's Crazy4Challenges challenge is one after my own heart -- create a card that is created using dies only, no stamps.  If you must, you can use a stamp for the sentiment; but bonus points if you use dies.  Bonus points for me!

My card for this challenge is a  Christmas slimline, using various dies from Pink & Main, Honey Bee Stamps, and CottageCutz.

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog for lots of die-cut fun!

CCEE2109 - Old Stuff Day

 Frances starts her month as hostess for the CCEE Stampers with a good challenge.  She says:  "Apparently the 2nd of March was Old Stuff Day.  For our challenge this week, let's combine something older (stamps, dies, etc.) with something newish."  Whenever I have to use "something old," I always go back to the very first Stampin' Up stamp set I ever bought -- Fishy Friends.  My "something newish" is not a brand-new set (it's from 2018), but it's new to me and the first time it's seen ink.

This mermaid from Hero Arts is my newish item.  It is popped up on a CottageCutz rock attached to a Karen Burniston Mini Pop-Up die, surrounded by waves from KB Tropical Scene.

Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog to see how the rest of the team handled this old/new challenge.

C4C553 - Sketch Challenge

This week's Crazy4Challenges challenge is a sketch.

I decided to make a Christmas card this week.  No stamping, just a couple of die cuts and some patterned paper.  Easy-peasy!

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog to see how the rest of the team handled this layout.

C4C550 - Retro

Tracy gave the Crazy4Challenges team a real challenge this week -- at least it was for me.    She said, "Get your Retro on!  Make a card in a 'Retro' theme.  Interpret "Retro' any way you like!"  I wasn't exactly sure what the difference between "retro" and "vintage" is, so I googled it.  I pulled up some images which were labeled "retro" to get an idea of where to go.  I actually found a photo, which I have sort of copied for my card.  I hope this works!   The skyline die is from Sizzix, and the letters are from a CottageCutz die called (interestingly enough) Retro Alphabet.   I made my own stencil for the "moon" and colored the sky with two shades of Distress Oxide inks.

Check out the Crazy4Challenges blog to see how the rest of the team handled this interesting challenge.

Karen Burniston's Purse Pop-Up

Another one of the new dies from Karen Burniston is the Purse Pop-Up.

I've made several cards using this fun die -- one as a purse and the other as a suitcase.  But I think the one that was the most fun to make was the doctor's bag for a get-well card.    I computer-generated the sentiment on the front and added a couple of Karen Burniston's Get Well Charms.

But the inside is where the fun comes in.  I used black cardstock to make my doctor's bag and added several of the Get Well Charms as well as some die cuts made from a couple of CottageCutz dies.

Sandy Diller, another design team member made the purse into a tool box.  I wonder how many other variations of the purse we can invent?

Scor-Pal "More Than One Score" - Masculine/Father's Day

The theme for June's Scor-Pal "More Than One Score" challenge is Masculine or Father's Day.    My late husband was a model railroad enthusiast, so I've got a train card for you today.  It's a bridge card, which is rather similar to a gatefold card in that it folds from both sides.  The difference is the "bridge," which spans the space between the two sides.

Following a tutorial I found on Splitcoaststampers, I made my card and used a thin strip of clear acetate and glued down my train tracks on it before I attached it to either side of the card.   The train and tracks are part of the Karen Burniston Train Pivot Panels die set; however, I did not use the pop-up mechanism.  The sun and clouds are from Karen Burniston's Tropical Scene set.  The Father's Day sentiment is from Cottage Cutz.

When closed, this card will fit into a standard A2 envelope.

Be sure to check out the Scor-Pal blog for some more masculine cards.

CCEE2019 - Fiesta!

Kelly is the hostess for the CCEE Stampers in May.  She started off the month by telling us that Tuesday was Cinco de Mayo.   She said, "Let's continue the celebration with anything fiesta!  The word fiesta, the colors (red, green, yellow), pinatas, sombreros, etc.  Feel free to simply create a celebration card."

I pulled out the Karen Burniston Rockin' Rectangle die and the llama die from Cottage Cutz to make my card.  I like the look of this type of card using a piece of heavyweight acetate for the front.  You get a peek at what's on the inside.

And you can see the festive banner across the top, starting on the outside and continuing onto the inside.  This was made using another Karen Burniston die -- one of the Border Blends. What's a fiesta without a sombrero?  So I added one to the cross piece.

Be sure to check out the CCEE Stampers blog for some more festive cards.

Have a BEE-Youtiful Day

We are all supposed to be staying inside our homes to reduce the spread of this horrible coronavirus.  I have been using that time to play with some new (and old) stamps and dies.  I recently purchased a series of bee stamps from Honey Bee Stamps and used it on my card for today -- along with one of my favorite Karen Burniston die sets, the Photo Collage Pop-Up.

The front of my card uses part of a Beehive Card die along with a set of stencils.  There are four stencils in the set, but I used just two of them on my bee hive.  I love the way you can cut the opening to see the little Cottage Cutz bees on the inside.

The inside is where the fun happens.

Aren't those Honey Bee bees adorable.  I love the fact that the faces are on separate stamps, so that you can change the expression as you want.

Here's a little video showing how the collage mechanism works.

I've made many cards using the Photo Collage, and I have a feeling that I will be making many cards with those cute bees!

CCEE1920 Pizza Party Day

Frances continues this week as hostess for the CCEE Stampers.  She tells us that tomorrow (May 17th) is Pizza Party Day, so for our challenge this week she asks us to create a card that features pizza or some other food item on it.

Unfortunately, I have not one pizza stamp in my craft room.  So I pulled out some CottageCutz breakfast dies to make a fun waterfall card, using the Karen Burniston Frame Pull Pop-Up die.

And on the back is the sentiment.

Check out some more food fun on the CCEE Stampers blog.

CCEE1914 - Read a Road Map Day

Lynn starts her month as hostess for the CCEE Stampers by telling us that tomorrow is Read a Road Map Day and asks us to create a card which incorporates a map or has a travel theme.  My card actually does both of those things.  I love using maps as background paper for a card.   I also used a cool off-road vehicle to travel the wide-open spaces of this country!

Be sure to travel over to the CCEE Stampers blog for some more inspiration.

Scor-Pal "More Than One Score" Challenge

I'm the hostess for the March "More Than One Score" challenge on the Scor-Pal blog.  This month's theme is Soft and Subtle -- think pastels/babies, etc.  I am part of a weekly challenge team (CCEE Stampers), and recently one of the challenges was a Lever Card.  I had never made one before; so I checked out the tutorial the hostess provided and, after one discarded effort, I made one.  How fun was this!  I had seen dies which make this type of card, but I had never tried it using a scoring board and stylus.  So today I'll show you how I made the card which appeared on the Scor-Pal blog on the first of March.

To start my card, I cut two pieces of blue cardstock 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  One piece is scored at 4 1/4".  This will be the outside of the card.  On the side that would be the front, I cut a window 1" from each of the four sides.

Score the other piece of cardstock at 4 1/4" and 6 3/8".  Go in 2 1/8" from the left side and make a 1" scoreline down from the top and up from the bottom.

To make the lever on the inside panel that will go through the "window" on the front of the card, go in 1" from the left side and cut a slit that starts at the 1" mark and goes down to 1" from the bottom.  Then cut from the slit (top and bottom) over to the 1" score lines.

When folded, this is what that panel will look like.  Folds are valley/mountain/valley.

Apply adhesive to the back side of the inner panel and glue to the inside of the outer panel.  I have found that liquid glue works best for this.  It allows a little bit of time for you to line up the panels perfectly.  The "lever" should fit nicely in the window.  If it's a too-tight fit, you can trim just a bit off the top and bottom of the "lever."

You can now decorate the card as you like.  I cut a piece of patterned paper 4" x 5 1/4" and cut out the center 7/8" in on all four sides.

I then cut four pieces of patterned paper for the inside -- 3 strips 1 7/8" x 5 1/4" and one piece 3 1/8" x 5 1/4".

The two right-hand strips can be glued into the card at this point.  The other two pieces need to be fitted around the "window" and "lever," as follows:

On the remaining narrow strip, cut in 1" from the right side, 7/8" from the top and 7/8" from the bottom; then make a vertical cut between those two cuts.  Glue this to the left panel of the inside of the card.

On the fourth strip of patterned paper, cut in 1 1/8" from the left side, 7/8" from the top and bottom.  Cut down from the top and up from the bottom to cut off the excess.  This piece will cover the "lever" section of the card.

After adhering all four pieces of patterned paper, your card should look like this.

I then die-cut all the accessory pieces to be placed on my card, as well as some circles and a "congrats" for the front.

After completed, here again is my lever card.

Scor-Pal February Challenge -- Anything Goes

The Scor-Pal Challenge team is back to work again after our little holiday in January.  The challenge for February is "Anything Goes."  I took the opportunity to use a brand-new stamp set from Kindred Stamps that I just love -- Size Doesn't Matter.  If you are familiar with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, you will recognize my small characters.

I made a fun card using my Scor-Pal -- a Z Box Fold card.  If you've never made one, it's pretty easy.  Here is a link to a tutorial for you to reference if you give it a try.  The person who wrote the tutorial used a different type scoring tool, but I used my 12" x 12" Scor-Pal for the scoring.

The breakfast items for both first and second breakfast were made with several dies from CottageCutz.

Pop on over to the Scor-Pal blog and check out what the rest of the team made for this challenge.  And, by the way, the Scor-Pal team is having a Design Team Call.  If you think you'd like to be part of our team, make a card and post it on the blog.

Thank You So Much!

Here it is -- the last day of 2018!  Before I share my card with you, I must tell you that this is my last card for the CottageCutz design team.  I have so enjoyed these last several years on this team and working with some very talented people.  My card today is two-fold.  First, of course, it is my weekly post; but secondly (and maybe most importantly) is to say thank you to Joanne and Mary for their support.  And now, my card!

After Christmas we all have a need for Thank You cards, and that's what I have for you today.  I used a really cute CottageCutz die -- Hugging Penguins.

I started my card by cutting the die pieces from white cardstock.

Using the packaging for inspiration, I colored the pieces with my Copic markers and constructed the penguins.

I then cut the pieces for my card base:

White - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half
Red - using the largest die in the Cross-Stitched Rectangle Set
Cream - using the 2nd largest die in the Cross-Stitched Rectangle Set

After shading a line for placement of the die-cuts on the cream panel, I constructed my card base.  This shaded line will "anchor" the penguins.

I cut the "thank you" sentiment from a scrap of adhesive-backed black cardstock.

I then added the die-cuts to my card, and it was finished.

CottageCutz dies used on my card are:

Once again, thanks to everyone with whom I have worked during my tenure on this remarkable design team!