Eclipse Card - Welcome to Our Block

It seems like folks are either coming or going from our neighborhood.  Last week I showed you a Farewell Eclipse card made for a neighbor and friend who was leaving our community and this week I'd like to share a "welcome" card I made for a new couple who are moving in this weekend.  

I designed this template a couple of years ago when I earned a Hostess stamp set from Stampin' Up! called In To The City.  I fell in love with this set because it has so many bits and pieces that designing a card or creating a story book page is so much fun.  

This retired Hostess Set called In To the City is photopolymer and has so many pieces it's incredible for creating scenes.  The first and second generation stamps make the images easy to colour.  Love it! 

Here's the original card I made:

This card starts with a base measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4".  I've cut two pieces of Old Olive card stock for the 1st layer on the front and on the inside of the card.  They measure 5 1/4" x 4".  For the next outside and inside layers I cut two pieces of Crumb Cake card stock measuring 5" x 3 3/4".  

I stamped my design on the card and coloured it and then laid out the alphabet dies from my EK Success Alphabet dies set to spell HOME.   Once the letters were cut out they were popped up on Dimensionals and then placed back into the negative cut spaces and attached to the card.  The little banner was cut from a scrap of Old Olive and the "Welcome To Our Block" sentiment was stamped in Versa Mark ink and embossed with White Embossing Powder. 

For the inside of the card I stamped some additional houses and greenery and stamped the sentiment "so glad you're hear" in momento black ink.  

Although I may change up the houses I stamp this has pretty much become my template for designing "welcome to your new home" cards.  Now that the Coming Home stamp set from Stampin' Up! has arrived I'll probably change up my housing styles using that set.   

Here's the card's I made today.  

I always like to make duplicates while I have the inks, stamps and card stock out.

As you can see in these photos, I changed up the alphabet lettering arrangement a little bit for each card.  This was simply exploring different styles and not for any particular design issue.  I really like using these broad and bold alphabet letters because they stand out so well on the card front.  

My pledge for 2020 has been to purge and use up retired card stock and accessories from my stash, so I used the retired More Mustard for the sandwich layer and sentiment, and the card base was cut from Real Rust card stock.  

For this particular card template I generally choose a neutral card stock such as Natural Ivory, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake or Very Vanilla for my stamped layers.  Sometimes I pre-stamp several image layer scenes and when I have nothing better to do or want to do something relaxing I pull them out and just colour in the images. I usually don't cut out the alphabet letters until I'm ready to finish the card.  It's always nice to have extras on hand for when you don't have time to do something from scratch.    

I coloured all the houses and trees with Stampin' Blends.  When you stamp on craft or Crumb Cake card stock the colours are a little murkier than they would be on Very Vanilla or Whisper White neutrals.  I like that look, as it makes the cards look a little more rustic.  The blends I used for the newer cards are Pool Party, Old Olive, Mango Melody, Gray Granite, Crumb Cake and Cinnamon Cider.  Although you can't see it well in these photos, I did randomly splatter some black Momento ink on the images.  If you look at the original card they show up better.

Well that's my post for today.  Happy November everyone and happy stamping!  With the weather turning colder and more rain in the forecast, I anticipate I'll be stamping more so I'm happy I have a hobby like this to occupy my time.  

How about you?  I'd love to receive your feedback on these cards and whether you have repeat cards you like to make ahead.  

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

Penny Hanuszak Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator 

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WWC #163 - Penny's "All About Christmas" Challenge

I find at this time of year there's always lots of appointments, paperwork, spring cleaning and other tasks that take over my life and settling into a routine after a vacation absence doesn't always leave much time for doing the things I love to do.  With a long list of "must do's" it was a little hard to focus on this week's All About Christmas Challenge for Watercooler Wednesday, which I'm hosting, but focus I did and I came up with a card that I'm very pleased to share with you.   

The Watercooler Wednesday WWC163 Linsky is open until 5:00pm Mountain Time on Monday April 2nd, 2018.  If you're looking to get a head start on your Christmas cards, challenges like this are a perfect way to get them done.  I hope you'll join in with your own creation, and also check out the beautiful cards created by our very talented Design Team.  

Inspiration:
My inspiration for this weeks card came from one I made in a class held by Cheryl LeFore, using the Good Tidings stamp set and featuring the Eclipse Technique.  I thought it would be fun to make one using the Merry Patterns stamp set.  Here's the Original Card: 

Here's My Card: 

I love how the Eclipse stamping and lettering merge and give the front of this card so much dimension.   

The inside of the card is special because the stamped panel is designed to hold a gift card.  

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Merry Patterns(R), Hearts Come Home #145416
Ink: Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green
Card Stock: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green and Very Vanilla
Accessories: Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, EK Success Alphabet (1 1/4" dies), Foam Strips, Basic Rhinestones, 1" Circle Punch, Tom Bow Glue

How It's Made: 
1.  Cut an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Cherry Cobbler for the base and score it at  4 1/4".

2.  Cut two 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" pieces of Garden Green for the first layer on the card front and inside.

3.  Cut a 5 1/4"" x 4" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock for the stamped layer.  Using Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green inks randomly stamp a pattern using the deer and branch images from Merry Patterns.

4.  Place the stamped piece on the big shot platform and place the "N" "O" "E" and "L" die cuts in the center of the design.  The letters should be close together, almost touching, and in a straight line. Run through the big shot and remove the letters.  Adhere the stampled panel to the Garden Green layer.

5.  Using a scrap of Garden Green card stock cut a second set of letters and adhere them to the backs of the patterned letters.  Attach Foam Adhesive Strips to the backs of the letters.

6.  Before removing the backings on the foam strips temporarily place the letters into the negative image slots left on the patterned paper when the dies were cut out. Adhere the center of the "O" carefully realigning it through the center of the foam mounted "O" to the negative space.

7.  Once the "O" center is in place, remove the adhesive backings and carefully place the letters in the negative spaces pressing down to adhere.

8.  Finish off the front of the lettering with some randomly placed Basic Rhinestones.

9.  Cut a 1 1/2" x 4"  and a 5 1/8" x 4" piece of Very Vanilla for the inside card panels.

10.  Stamp the sentiment "Wishing You a Beautiful.........." from the Hearts Come Home stamp set in Cherry Cobbler. Stamp a couple of boughs in Garden Green to the bottom right hand side of this panel.  Adhere to the Garden Green layer.

10.  For the gift card holder, stamp the boughs and deer images on the 1 1/4" x 4" piece of Very Vanilla and then cut a half circle from the center right with  the 1" circle punch.  Add adhesive to the back side on the top, bottom and left hand side and adhere to the larger panel.  

It may look like a lot of work, but really this is a very straight forward card to make and it's got a really "wow" look to it.  If you haven't tried out the Eclipse Technique yet I urge you to experiment with it.  You're going to find that it's fun and I'm sure you'll have fun with it.  Don't worry if you don't have any alphabet dies, just try the same technique with any punched shape or die cut.  Experimentations the key! 

Thanks for visiting my site.  I hope you'll let me know what you think of this card.  I love receiving comments on my work.  If you haven't already checked out the other Design Team entries here's a link to the WWC163 challenge.  I hope you'll drop by again.  In the meantime.....

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot 

WWC#159 - Marsha's "All About Christmas" Challenge

Hi Stampers.  Thanks for dropping by for the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge which is being hosted by Marsha and is "All About Christmas".  It's never too early to get working on your cards for next season and to that end, Marsha is challenging you to build your Christmas stash by making a card and posting it on this site.

Once you've made a card just snap a picture of it, post it on your blog, Facebook or other Social Media site, and then add your link to our LINKSKY at the bottom of our challenge page. The WWC158 Challenge is open until 5:00pm Mountain Time Monday March 5th, 2018.

Here's My Card:

My project for this week involves a very simple fun fold technique that creates an amazing WOW card.  This card is called a Bridge Fold and it's one of those cards that can be dressed up or down and used for any occasion.  Here's mine:

Supplies:

Card Stock: Whisper White 
DSP:  Merry Little Christmas (R Holiday2017)
Specialty Paper:  Silver Foil 

Accessories:  Paper Trimmer, Big Shot, Silver Foil Christmas Stickers from Simply Creative. Home Town Greetings Edgelit Dies, Dimensionals, Foam Tape,
Detail Scissors.

Details:

The Bridge Fold card makes for a terrific WOW card and can be made with many variations. The bridge piece can be made wider, it can be decorated, it can even be made with a window sheet so it's transparent and there are also different sizes of cards. 

Whatever style you choose, the Bridge Fold is simple to make and very impressive to look at. And, last but not least, the best part of all is that you can make two cards from one sheet of 8 ½” x 11” cardstock. It folds flat and can be sent in a standard A2 envelope. Gotta love that!

 

1. Cut base card stock to 8” x 4 ¼” and score at 1 ¼”, 2 ½” 5 ½” and 6 ¾”.

2. Cut four 1” x 4” pieces of card stock for mats.  I used Silver Foil. adhere to the two sides of the card base.

3. Cut four 3/4" x 3 3/4" strips of DSP and adhere to Silver Foil Mat.

4. Cut a 2 3/4" x 4" Silver Foil Mat for center of card and adhere.

5. Cut a 2 1/2" x 3 3/4" piece of DSP and adhere to the Silver Foil Mat. Note: If you just intend to stamp a sentiment or write a note sub out the DSP for Whisper White card stock or colour of your choice, and do stamping or writing before attaching the bridge.

For the inside panel I cut out images from the Home Town Greetings die cut set.  The church and house were attached to the backing with glue after silver foil inserts were added to the back of each of the buildings.  there are two rows of buildings and the second or outer one was mounted with Foam Tape. I used store bought silver stars and sentiments from Simply Creative and attached them with Tear N tape. 

6. For the bridge cut a 5 ½” x 1 1/4"” strip of Silver Foil Card Stock and a 1" x 5 1/4" strip of DSP adhere together.

For my bridge I cut out a wintery scene with the Home Town Greeting dies and positioned it over the DSP after attaching silver foil to the backs of each of the houses.  

7. To mount the bridge strip to the card base fold the left hand side of the card so that the outer flap is facing outwards.  Measure up from the bottom of the card for whatever placement you want and then adhere the strip only to the front left panel.

8.  Open up and lay the center and right side panels face up and attach the right side of the bridge strip to the last panel on the right. Note: The bridge panel is only attached to the far left and far right panels. Because this is the way the card will open and shut, I used Tear N' Tape to secure.

9.  The back of the card has ample room for writing a message.  Personally I would layer a Basic Black and Whisper White  panel using the same dimensions as in #5 and attach it to the back. This panel would be my sentiment and my message or I could make a slot to attach a gift card.   Like I said the possibilities are many.

Back view of the card showing ample room for adding a sentiment or a pocket to hold a gift card.  See my note above about adding mats.

And that's all there is to it folks. This is a fun card and there are lots of examples on Pinterest and You Tube. I hope that you enjoyed my Christmas Bridge Card and will leave me a comment about it. Let me know if you've ever made one and if so how did your dimensions very from mine. Were they the same or larger.

If you came straight here and haven't taken the time to see the other Watercooler Wednesday Design Team members creations just click here to go to the challenge.  All the rules for using the Linsky are on that page too.

Before I go I also want to share the sad news that Judy Markowitz has left our design team because of family health issues.   I personally am going to really miss Judy's originality and creativity, but hope that she'll still join in on the challenges when she gets a chance.  

In Judy's place, we are welcoming Tenia Nelson to our group of Watercooler Artists.  Tenia hails from Denver, Colorado and we've been wowed by her edgy and eye-catching creations in previous challenges.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

WWC157 - Heidi's "All About Occasions" Challenge

Hi stampers Happy Valentines Day!  Welcome to this week's Watercooler Wednesday challenge #WWC157.  Heidi Weaver is our host and our theme this week is "All About Occasions".    

We hope you'll join us  by linking up your special "Occasions" project by 5:00pm Mountain Time, Monday February 19th, 2018 to our Linsky.  Who knows, you might be our next Watercooler Rockstar.

Here's My Project:

Today I want to share my Thank You Note Clutch Purse project.  This cute little clutch purse and accompanying note cards could be made for just about any "Occasion" you can think of.  Mine was made as a gift for a sweet gal friend for Valentine's Day. 

The clutch is made from a single 12 x 12 sheet of double-sided designer series paper.  No special skills or tools are needed to make this clutch, other than the ability to fold the square of paper into the clutch design.  Mine was made with retired paper stock because I'm still trying to use up what's in my stash.

The clutch holds four note cards and envelopes inside, and has a magnetic clasp to keep it closed.  Here is a link to an original tutorial and video by Dee Slater on Split Coast Stampers that clearly shows how to make this special little gift card clutch purse.   

Supplies:

Stamp Sets: Amazing You and One Big Meaning

Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Old Olive and Soft Suede

Card Stock: Ivory Fleck (R), and Soft Suede

DSP:  Stampin Up (R) - from my stash and Ivory Envelope Paper
Accessories: Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, So Succulent and Stylish Stems Thinlets (R), Stitched Shapes 2" Circle Thinlets, 2 Small Magnets Watermelon Wonder Grosgrain Ribbon, Faceted Gems, Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue, Sticky Strip.

Note Cards:

I made my own note cards, but I've seen some beautiful sets completed with the Stampin' Up! premade note cards and envelopes that are in the Annual Catalogue.  Great value here as you get 20 note cards in Whisper White or Very Vanilla card stocks with matching envelopes and the card stock is a little thicker on the note cards so make for perfect backings.

1.  Base is 7" x 5" scored at 3 1/2"

2.  1st layer - 3 1/4" x 4 3/4" Ivory Fleck card stock.  Before adhering to the note card front stamp the floral image from Amazing you in Watermelon Wonder and Old Olive.  Stamp the sentiment "A Little Thanks" from One Big Meaning in Soft Suede ink just below the floral image. Add a Faceted Gem to the flower center.

3.  2nd layer - 3 1/4" x 3/4" strip of DSP adhere below the sentiment.

4.  3rd layer - 1 1/2" x 3 1/4" strip of DSP flip so reverse side is showing.

5.  Cut a strip of ribbon and attach over the seam created by 2nd and 3rd layer and glue ribbon ends to the back of Ivory Fleck layer.  Tie a small bow in the front with another piece of ribbon and trim ends. 

6.  For the inside of the note card cut a 3 1/4" x 4 3/4"piece of Ivory Fleck card stock and adhere.  It could be stamped with another floral image but I chose to leave my black for messaging. 

7.  Two cards and envelopes fit into each of the panels on the inside of the clutch.  They tuck in rather neatly and will  stay in place.

The Clutch:

I made the clutch following the instructions in Dee Slater's video.  I changed up the way the flaps hold shut though.  I attached two small magnets under the flaps with glue dots.  I started on one side positioning the magnet underneath the flap then flipped the clutch over and let the magnet attach itself and then added the glue dot and pressed the flap down.  These are really secure and hold the clutch shut.  You could also do a belly band or tie ribbon around the clutch if you're looking for alternate methods to close it.  

The Flower Embellishment:

I created the floral embellishment with bits and pieces of cardstock I had on hand and two of my favourite die sets - So Succulent and Stylish Stems, both retired.  

I always like to ink around the edges of my flower and leaf pieces as it seems to add more depth.  For this arrangement I layered the four flower pieces together with glue dots, and attached the assembled flower to a 2" stitched circle piece that I cut from Soft Suede card stock.  Next I added the leaves with glue dots.  The circular piece was attached to the flap with sticky strip.  A few random rhinestones were added to the flap on either side of the flower.  

And that's all there is to creating this note holder.  It's a fun and very quick to assemble project and I thoroughly enjoyed making it.  So much so, that I'm  planning to do a class on how to make these, for Mother's Day so if you're in my area and interested let me know.  

I hope you enjoyed this project as well as the ones created by the rest of the Watercooler Wednesday Design Team this week.  I'd love to hear what you think of it so leave me a comment before you go.  Your feedback is really helpful.  

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #150 - Heidi's Masculine Anything Goes - Two Week Challenge

Hi stampers!  Christmas is just around the corner and I don't know about you, but I'm way behind this year with my card making and Christmas preparations.   I've been thrown off schedule with all the events happening where I live and company, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world.  Life happens!  

With that in mind, this week's Watercooler Wednesday challenge is going to span two weeks instead of our regular one week, to accommodate everyone's busy schedule and Christmas week.   I think everyone will give a round of applause to our Administrators for arranging that.  I know I will.  

Remember this Linky doesn't close until Monday, January 1st, 2018 at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, so you've got plenty of time to get crafting.   All you need to do is follow a few simple rules and link up your post to our blog using the Linky.  Check out the details on Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog's home page. Hope you'll join us.

Here's My Card:

 

This week I'm adding to my Masculine birthday stash and have chosen a country western theme for those male friends and relatives who are "a little bit country". 

Supplies:
Stamp Set:  Country Living, Basic Butterfly and Cupcakes Clear Stamps, Howdy from Artful Impressions
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
DSP and Specialty Papers:  Coffee Break DSP, Gold Foil 
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake and Momento Tuxedo Black, H2O Twinkles
in brown shades
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Circle Dies, Sponge Daubers,Stamp-a-ma-jig, Tom Bow Adhesive, Dimensionals, Aqua Painter.

When I began making this card I couldn't decide whether I wanted to showcase the boots or the guitar from the Country Living stamp set but after a few trial runs, I wound up doing a bit of both. 
 

Country Living Stamp Set

The Details:
The card base is an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Crumb Cake card stock that was scored and folded at 4 1/4".  I added an Early Espresso layer that measured 5 1/4" x 4 followed by a 5 1/7" x 3 7/8" piece of the coffee ring paper from the Coffee Break Designer Series paper pack. 

I added three more layers to the card front  a gold foil, an Early Espresso and a Whisper White.  When I was trying to decide how to feature the guitars, I began stamping using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the guitars end to end on a larger sheet of Whisper White card stock.  I stamped the guitars in Early Espresso and coloured them with a wash of Crumb Cake and the H20's.  

I had a small Artistic Impressions stamp that said "howdy" that I thought would lend to the country feel and I stamped it randomly between the guitars with Early Espresso ink.  

I splattered Crumb Cake and Early Espresso inks over this panel to give it a weathered look.  When I finished stamping I cut this panel to 3" x 4 1/2" and adhered it to a piece of Early Espresso that measured 3 1/8" x 4 5/8".  This panel was attached to a 3 2/8" x 4 6/8" Gold Foil panel with Dimensionals.  The Gold Foil panel was glued to the center of the DSP panel. 

Love those boots.  I started out by stamping the boots with Momento Tuxedo Black ink on a piece of Whisper White card stock and then I applied a wash of Crumb Cake ink with my Aqua Painter.  I layered on Early Espresso and some of my H2O inks in various shades of brown to finish off the design.  In real life the boots look pretty leathery which was the look I was going for.  The boots were added to the front layer with Dimensionals.

I stamped the "Happy Birthday" sentiment from my Cupcake Clear Stamps set on a piece of Whisper White card stock and cut it out with a 1 1/4" circle punch. I sponged the edges of the circle with Early Espresso.   I cut additional circles from Early Espresso and Gold Foil and layered the sentiment to them.  The Dots are from my stash and I can't remember the Manufacturer.  

The inside of the card features the "Happy Birthday" sentiment from the Basic Butterfly stamp set, some more of the Coffee Break paper and a spare guitar that was left over from my earlier efforts.  After I took the pictures of the inside of the card I actually added a 1/4" x 5" strip of Early Espresso to cover the meet lines between the DSP and the White card stock.  It was an afterthought but worked well.

Well that's it for today's post.  Just a simple card, but I know it will make one of our friends very happy. How about you, do you struggle with themes for your masculine cards?  Do your like the country theme in this card?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and my card.

If you haven't already done so don't forget to drop by and check out the awesome masculine cards contributed by the rest of the design team.  They're pretty stunning and inspiring.  Just click here to return to the Watercooler Wednesday WWC150 Challenge.  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot