My First 12 x 12 Sampler

I like firsts!  It's so exciting to do something for the first time.  I'm always so afraid to take the first step, but once I actually get geared up and start the fear suddenly disappears and the endorphins kick in and the thrill of discovery and creativity takes over.  What a thrill!

My project today is a Christmas sampler and it's a "first".  Although I've often admired and drooled over the samplers that I see other card makers display, I've never made one myself.  So when a friend asked me to create something special for his partner for Christmas morning (actually the "largest card" I could make), it was a no-brainer.  I suggested a Christmas Sampler with a card and he agreed.  And, I'm so happy he did!  What an enabler!

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Merry Mice, Candy Cane Lane, Christmas Cactus, miscellaneous snowflake and let it snow stamps
Card Stock: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Candy Cane Lane DSP, Chip Board, Watercolour Paper, Dazzling Diamonds and Red Glimmer Papers
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Real Red, Pacific Blue, Old Olive, Flirty Flamingo, Tip Top Taupe, Delightful Dijon, Pear Pizazz,
Accessories: Paper Trimmer, Detail Scissors for fussy cutting, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue, Tear N' Tape, Aqua Painter, Circle Framelits, Banner Framelits

Dimensions:
Since I only had a few hours to pull this together and didn't have a lot of supplies on hand I basically began hauling out my Christmas stamps and designer paper to see what I would put together. Ideas started to flow and  creativity started to kick in once i began fussy cutting images, water colouring and gluing.  Here's how it took shape:
1.  Base layer:  I started working with a 12 x 12 piece of White Chip Board from the Candy Cane Lane DSP package, turning the side without writing to the top. 
2.  Second layer:  11 1/2" x 11 1/2" piece of diagonally striped DSP.
3.  Third Layer:  11" x 11" piece of Crumb Cake and white DSP.
4.  Small Squares:  3" x 3" Early Espresso layered with 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" card stock or DSP.
5.  Two Large Rectangles:  3" x 6 1/2" layered with 2 3/4 " x 6 1/4" Crumb Cake and 2 1/2" x 6" Whisper White layers 

The Other Side:
Unfortunately I didn't have time to take a picture of the reverse side of this sampler, but  I did cover the chipboard with another designer series paper from the Candy Cane Lane collection.  It was the one with the Candy Cane hearts.  

I created an actual Christmas card that could be signed and I attached it to the center back of the sampler with Tear N' Tape.

The card base is an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Real Red card stock, layered with a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White and then a piece of Watercolour paper cut to 5" x 3 3/4".  The Christmas Cactus is an old Whipper Snapper stamp I've had for years, and was appropriate for this gift.  Of course the cute little mousie is from Merry Mice.  

Well that's it for today's project.  I hope you've enjoyed this share and it inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and create something you wouldn't normally try. The recipient of this card was thrilled and plans to frame this little "piece of art". 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this sampler and any questions you might have about it's assembly.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

WWC99-Marsha's Clean and Simple (CAS) Make It With Hearts Challenge

Wednesday has rolled around again and it's time for the last WWC99 Watercooler Wednesday challenge  of the year since this challenge will run from December 21st through to January 2nd, 2017.  This Clean and Simple (CAS) challenge is being hosted by Marsha and it's all about "hearts". 

Just so you know the Watercooler Design Team Artists decided to lower our expectations for our CAS challenges so all you need to do is enter an uncluttered card with lots of open space and minimal layers and embellishments and you can play along.  We hope you will join in the challenge! 

 

Here's My CAS Card:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Merry Mice, Bear Hugs, and Love Sparkles*
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Delightful Dijon, Basic Black Archival Ink, Flirty Flamingo and Smokey Slate
Card Stock:  Cherry Cobbler, Cansun 90lb Watercolor Paper
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Bear Hugs Thinlets, Aqua Painter, Baby wipes, Scissors, Dimensionals, Tom Bow glue, Tear and Tape.

The Merry Mice stamp set is from the Holiday Occasions catalogue and will retire January 2nd, 2017.  It's currently on sale in the Year End Extravaganza.  Product #42154

The cluster of hearts behind the little mouse is supposed to be a balloon bouquet. The "love you" heart is from the Bear Hugs stamp set and is cut out with the Bear Hugs Thinlet heart die. 

I bet you're wondering where that fancy double-outlined heart came from aren't you? Well, I got it for free when I attended Stampin' Up!s OnStage Presentation in Vancouver.  It's from a delightful new stamp set called "Love Sparkles" and will be available in the new Occasions catalogue, just in time for Valentine's Day.

Bear Hugs Stamp Set #39546 in the Annual Catalogue

Assembly:

1.  The Cherry Cobbler card base was cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4". 

2.  I cut three pieces of Watercolor Paper, for the layers.  The first layer measured 4" x 5 1/4" and the second layer measured 3 3/4" x 5". The final layer which measured 4" x 5 1/4" was for the inside of the card. 

3.  I stamped the mouse image from Merry Mice with Black Archival ink on the second layer of watercooler paper. Note:  After inking up the image and before stamping, I wiped the ink off the stocking hat and piece of scarf that poked out below the mouse's arm because I didn't want them to show up on the finished card.  I just used a baby wipe to take the ink off. 

4.  I stamped a second image of the mouse on a scrap of watercolor paper and again wiped away the hat and scarf portions of the image before stamping.  I fussy cut away the bottom portion of the mouse, and the hat leaving his face, upper body and arms in tact.  And, I cut away the portion of the book top between the mouse's hands so I could insert the little red heart. This portion of the mouse was coloured the same as the base and it was mounted with dimensionals after the stamping on the base layer was finished.

 

I fussy cut out a second image of the to portion of the mouse so I could layer it on top of the original layer.  This is just a sample so it isn't cut very neatly.... it's just to give you the concept.

5.  I painted the mouse image with Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Flirty Flamingo, Early Espresso and Delightful Dijon inks, using a fine tipped aqua painter. I repeated this colouring on the portion of the mouse that would be layered later on.

6.  Because I'd eliminated the stocking hat from the second mouse image I needed to replace it with something else.  To do this, I stamped a reindeer head from the Cookie Cutter Christmas set and cut off the portion between the horns to make a little cap.  I coloured this with Delightful Dijon and then added it with a piece of dimensional to the top of the mouse's head to form a cap.  

I just wanted the portion of the deer head that is coloured in yellow.  I drew a line along the bottom of that image with a Basic Black marker and cut it out.  This became the cap on the mouse, all the rest of the . 

7.  I stamped the mouse image on a Post-It-Note and fussy cut this out for a mask.  I applied the mask over the mouse and stamped the heart images.  I also stamped masks for the hearts so I could layer them.  They were all stamped in Cherry Cobbler Ink.

Masks stamped on Post-It-Notes.

8.  Once the inks had dried I attached the upper portion of the mouse with dimensionals. I punched out a little red heart using the punch from the retired Itty Bitty Punch Accents set and attached it between the mouse's hands with a piece of dimensional.  I used an aqua painter and Smokey Slate ink to outline the mouse image and give some depth to the background.  Some of the Cherry Cobbler ink ran a bit so I just lightened and blended it into the background.

Note: After I made the above card, I thought I should have used flowers instead of the heart, so I had to try out that look. Voila here's what that version looked like.

The floral bouquet in this sample is from the Bear Hugs stamp set. 

9.  The layers were glued together with Tom Bow Glue and then attached to the card base with Tear and Tape.  The inside of the card was finished with the remaining Watercolor paper layer. 

Well that's it for this year! I hope you've enjoyed this card along with others I've contributed to the Watercooler Wednesday Challenges and that you'll continue to follow and contribute your cards to this site.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this card and my little tutorial explaining how it was assembled.

I also hope you'll visit the other Watercooler Wednesday Design team sites and leave them some comments too.   It's so inspiring for us.   

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

WWC98 - Kath's Color Challenge

Whew!  This week just flew by and once again it's time for the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  This week it's hosted by Kath and she's chosen a very festive colour challenge.  The colours you need to use in your card are:  Early Espresso, Silver, Gold and Whisper White. 

Here's My Card:  
I'm not sure which was more challenging, trying to decide what I would create for this week's challenge or taking the pictures of it.  

I still had a bunch of Christmas cards to make so I decided to work with two of my favourite stamp sets this season and a technique called "3 layer stamping" to design this  fun and festive card.  Oh and just so you know, I did use all the colours in the challenge.  It's extremely difficult to see that the Reindeer are Gold Embossed, but trust me they are. One of the reasons for this is that the Silver Foil reflects so much light that it made it difficult to photograph and you're going to have to wait until the end of this post to discover the other reason.  You'll be surprised!

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Cookie Cutter Christmas #142043, Merry Mice #142145
Ink:  Early Espresso, Versa Mark, Smokey Slate
Card Stock:  Early Espresso, Whisper White, Silver Foil and Gold Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Heat Gun, Gold Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Bunch of Banners Framelit Dies #141488, Cookie Cutter Punch, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue and Basic Rhinestones

Assembly:
1.  Cut the Early Espresso card stock to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and score at 4 1/4".

2.  Cut the following layers of Silver Foil card stock: 5 1/4" x 4", 4 1/2" x 3 1/4" and 3 1/2" x 2 1/4".
Note:  I always cut out the centers of fancy foils or glimmer paper, because they are two precious to waste, and also because it reduces the amount of weight for mailing.  This is what my foil layers look like after they are cut.  I have a set of rectangular dies that I use to cut out the centers, but you could do this with a paper trimmer.  The lighting is very poor but trust me these layers are silver. 

3.  Cut the following layers of Whisper White card stock:  5" x 3 3/4", 4 1/4" x 3", 3 1/4" x 2".  Cut a 3" by 2" piece to stamp an extra reindeer image. Cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece for the inside of the card.

4.  Working with the Whisper White layers place them one on top of the other and center each layer.  I hold them in place with a dab of re-positioning glue on the back side of the two smaller layers.

5.  Now the fun part.  Once I had the layers properly aligned, I randomly stamped the reindeer head from the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set with Versa Mark ink.  Make sure your ink is juicy. When you stamp the image you are stamping right over the layers.  Apply Gold Embossing Powder shake off and heat set the images. 

Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp Set #142043

6.  Stamp the star image from Merry Mice in Smokey Slate ink, randomly across the layers. 
 

Merry Mice #142145

7.  Stamp the reindeer head on the 3" x 2" piece of Whisper White with the Versa Mark Ink, add the Gold Embossing Powder and heat set.  Cut out the image with the Cookie Cutter Punch.
 

Cookie Cutter Punch #40396  Note:  This punch will soon be out of stock. 

8.  Punch out two bows using the Cookie Cutter Punch from Gold Glimmer Paper and attach it to the middle of the punched out reindeer's head.  Add a basic rhinestone to the center.  Set this piece aside.  Note: the second bow is for the inside of the card.

9. Starting with the smallest Whisper White layer, glue it to the smallest Silver Foil layer, then repeat with the next sized layers and finally glue the group of layers to the Early Espresso card base.  Make sure you are lining up your images (antlers, ears etc.) so they join one area to the next.

10.  Adhere the punched out reindeer head to the center of the card using dimensionals.  

10.  Stamp the sentiment "It's Time To Deck The Halls" from the Merry Mice stamp set in Early Espresso ink on a scrap of Whisper White and cut out with the Bunch of Banner Framelit Dies and Big Shot machine.  Adhere with dimensionals.  Add two basic rhinestones on the end of this banner and scatter some extra rhinestones randomly on the card front. 

11.  For the inside of the card cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White card and stamp the sentiment "Wishing You a Festive Season" from Merry Mice and the reindeer head in Early Espresso ink.  Stamp some stars in Smokey Slate.  Add the Gold Glimmer bow to the reindeer's head and add a basic rhinestone.

Stamping on inside of the card.

Okay, if you've been waiting to find out what the second reason is that the Gold Embossing doesn't show up in the pictures, read on.  Today I learned the hard way while I was in the process of embossing the images that my Gold Embossing Powder which I've had for some time, had gone bad.  What does that mean?  Well, although the powder heat set, the silica had lost it's oomph or it's ability to turn the powder into a shiny gold surface and it remained flat and dull on the surface.  Bummer!  From now on I'll be testing my Embossing Powders  before using them.  What about you?  Have you ever had this happen to you?

I hope you enjoyed this card today and my short tutorial.  Layered cards are one of those neat techniques that you can always rely on  to give a simple wow to your cards.  I hope you'll leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this card.  And, don't forget to check out what the other Watercooler Wednesday Design Team artists have created for this week's challenge. 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Token's Stamping Spot

WWC96 - Gail Allen's Special Fold Challenge

Welcome to Watercooler Wednesday's latest challenge #WWC96.  Our awesome designer Gail Allen is hostess this week and she's chosen to feature a Special Fold Challenge. Not only do we have a great challenge but we are doubly blessed because we have the very talented Bronwyn Eastley from Australia joining us as our Guest Designer.  How exciting is that? 

Over the years I've created many cards using special folds, and I'm always excited to find and try something new to add to my repertoire.  The special fold I've chosen for this challenge is called an "Envelope Fold Card".  I ran across a tutorial on Split Coast Stampers by Melissa Banbury, several weeks ago and I was hooked. 

Although this may look like a difficult card, it's deceiving.  In fact, it was quick and easy to assemble with just a few instructions.  The most difficult part of making this card was deciding what to put on the inside.

Here's my card:  

This first picture shows just the outside of the card and you can see it looks like an envelope.  That cute little mouse from Merry Mice stamp set is guarding the  magic that happens when you open the card. 

And, here's the inside.  I've chosen to combine elements from Merry Mice, Candy Cane Lane DSP,  and the Candy Cane Lane stamp set to create a fun 3 dimensional Christmas scene. 

There's lots going on in this card, and I know it's difficult to see, however, I'll be showing you pictures from every angle so you can see all the details.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Candy Cane Lane, Merry Mice
Card Stock:  Early Expresso, Real Red, Tip Top Taupe and Watercolour Paper 
Designer Series Paper:  Candy Cane Lane
Dies: Thoughtful Branches Framelits (Retired)
Ink:  Early Espresso, Black Archival Ink, Real Red, Flirty Flamingo, Pacific Point, Emerald Envy, Pear Pizzazz, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe, Daffodil Delight, Lost Lagoon and a Red Sharpie Alcohol Ink Marker.
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Simply Scored, Aqua painter, Thoughtful Branches and Window Frame dies, Precision Scissors for fussy cutting, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip and Tom Bow Glue.  

Assembly:
1.  Envelope Card Base:  The card base is a 6" x 10 18" piece of Early Espresso card stock scored at 2", 2 18" and 6 1/8".

2.  Inside Panels:  You can leave the back of the card plain or choose to add  DSP.  I cut two pieces of DSP measuring 3 3/4" x 5 3/4" and glued them to the back panels. Note: Leave a little space so you fold the card the DSP doesn't interfere or become too bulky to fold naturally. 

3. Window Panel:  The window pane layer is a 6" x 8" piece of Real Red card stock. Score this piece a 3/8" on both of the 6" sides. Next measure 1/2" from the top and bottom of the 8" side and a 1/2" in from the two 3/8" fold lines. Note: I used my score blade and just marked all the cutting sides and then inserted the panel in my trimmer and cut away the center rectangle. 

Add sticky strips to the inside edges of this frame and attach the frame to the 
2 1/8" score line on the left hand side and the edge of the card on the right.  Make sure the top and bottom center parts of the frame bend towards the center of the card.  

Before attaching the above window panel I cut and adhered strips of DSP to the sides and top of the frame.  They measured approximately 1/2" x 6".  I adhered them and trimmed off excess paper. 

4.  Inside Front Panel:  Cut a  piece of Real Red card stock to measure 1 3/4" x 5 3/4" for the inside front panel, and a 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of DSP.  Adhere to the inside front panel.  

5.  Outside Flap:  Cut a 2 1/8" x 3" piece of Early Espresso, a 2 x 2 7/8" piece of coordinating DSP and a 1 3/4" x 2 3/4" piece of Watercolor paper for the image of the Mouse.  Glue all pieces together.  I added glue to the bottom of this flap and attached it to the middle of the outside bottom panel.  I attached  two dimensionals to the top part and then removed some of the stickiness so the panel would hold the envelope portion together when closed.  You could also just make a belly band to ensure the card stays shut.  

Once I had the card and frame assembled, I began adding images of the Merry Mice.  All of the mice were stamped in Black Archival ink on the Watercolor paper and then I fussy cut them out.  I used a variety of colours and painted them with an aqua painter.  I attached the fat little mouse with the star on it's tail to the inside right edge of the card and them glued each of the three mice with gifts and lights to the bottom edge with mini glue dots.  

I also cut out a row of houses from the Candy Cane Lane DSP>  I left the bottom of the strip flat and just fussy cut around each of the houses on the top edge of the strip. Then I attached the two outside edges of this panel with sticky strip to the back of the card and bent the center of the strip so it would fold inwards when the card was closed. When the card is open the houses stand out from the back of the card adding another layer of dimension.  

I used the tree framelit from the retired Thoughtful Branches Framelit set to cut out two trees. I cut one from Tip Top Taupe and the other from Early Espresso card stock. These trees were layered together in an offset manner and adhered to the back right hand side of the card. Eight small gumdrops were cut from the designer paper and attached to the branches with small pieces of dimensionals.  Basic Rhinestones were added to the center of each to add a bit of bling. 

For the right side of the card I used a Window Frame die cut in Real Red to frame a piece of Whisper White card stock that was stamped with the "Wishing You a Sweet Season" sentiment from Candy Cane Christmas and some gumdrops.    

 

So that's my special Envelope Fold card. Once again a big thank you to Melissa Banbury for her inspiration. I'm very happy with the way my card turned out and will be sending it to a very special person in my life.  I know she will totally appreciate the work I put into this card.  I hope you enjoyed it too and would love to have your feedback.  

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Design Team's creations and our Special Guest Designer, Brownyn Eastley - they're simply awesome and very inspiring.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Token's Stampin Spot