Holiday Home Christmas - A Cased Christmas Card

When you come across a card that makes you just stop in your tracks and suck in your breath, do you try to re-create it? That's precisely what happened to me when I stumbled on a card by Carol King. I just had to drop everything and make my own version.

I found this card originally created by Pam Stoner of Florida and then cased by Carol King of Perth Australia on Carol's blog, King's on Paddington.  

Carol wrote an excellent tutorial on how to add all the details to this card, so, I won't go into any great dialogue here other than to say, this card is truly amazing.  I followed Carol's tutorial and came up with 35 cards of my own which I happily sent out to customers and friends for this Christmas. I've also shown other stampers how to re-create this beauty.  

Here's Pam Stoner's original card:
 

Original card created by Pam Stoner and posted on her blog Pam's Paper Playhouse

Here's Carol King of Kings on Paddington version:

Carol changed up her version of Pam's card and created a wonderful tutorial which you can find on her blog by clicking on the link above. 

Here's My Version of both cards, done my way:

Supplies:
Stamp Set:  Holiday Home with Coordinating Framelits, Lovely as a Tree and Gorgeous Grunge
Card Stock:  Real Red, Night of Navy and Whisper White 
Ink:   Night of Navy, Soft Sky, Marina Mist, Always Artichoke, Whisper White, Real Red and Smokey Slate
Accessories:  Sponge Daubers, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Oval Framelits, Post it Note sheets for masking, White Embossing Powder, Dazzling Details, Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Trimmer, Dimensionals and adhesive. 

Here's Some Variations of My Version:

I love all the dimension in these cards.  The trees looked like they were were real!

If you received one of my card's these cards from me this Christmas I'd love to hear from you.  Leave me a comment after this post.

Merry Christmas and Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

"Moving" Box Card

Don't let the title of this post fool or confuse you.  The card I'm about to show you is one I made for my dear friend Gwen who recently moved.  

I wanted to make her something special for the occasion, and since Box Cards  always seem to pack so much "wow factor" I decided to make one to congratulate her on her decision to move and to send best wishes along with her. 

As I looked through my stamps I immediately thought that "Holiday Home" would be the perfect stamp set to use, and I think you'll agree when you see the full card that it worked perfectly. 

Here's My Card:  

Supplies:
Stamp Set:  Holiday Home stamp set and coordinating Framelits, Sincere Salutations and Gorgeous Grunge, miscellaneous stamp for scrollwork on ovals.
Card Stock:  Early Espresso, Whisper White and Crumb Cake 
Ink:  Early Espresso, Whisper White, Crumb Cake 
DSP:  Champagne Glimmer Paper, Trim the Tree Paper Pack
Accessories:  Oval Framelits, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (Star), Window Sheets, Trimmer, Big Shot. Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Basic Rhinestones, Neutral and Subtle Markers

How It's Made: 
Box:
1.  Cut an 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" piece of Early Espresso for card base (box).  Score this piece at 2 3/4" (with the 5 1/2" side on top).
2.  Turn card stock so the 8 1/2" piece is on top and using your Stampin' Up! Trimmer, score to the middle line (the 2 3/4" mark) then cut the rest of the way down.  Score as follows:

• Score at 2" then cut
• Score at 4" then cut
• Score at 6" then cut
• Score at 8" then cut 

Note: There will be a 1/2 inch tab on the end after the final score.  Cut off to the score line and then on an angle on bottom portion of tab.  This tab is what holds the box together.  See picture below.

This picture shows the card base on the bottom and the insert on the top. The bottom of the card base is solid.  Also you can see how the tab on the end is cut in this picture. Note: The ends of the insert piece should be facing in different directions, not as shown above.  Oops!  My mistake.

Insert:
Cut a piece of 2 3/4" x 8" piece of  Early Espresso card stock and score it at:  1/2", 2 1/2", 3", 5", 5 1/2" and 71/2".  Fold  on score lines with mountains and valleys into a "Z" shape with a flare (the ends of the Z should be going the opposite way.  This piece will fit into your box when it's assembled and is the foundation for your elements to be attached to. 

Here you can see the "Z" fold shape.  I add sticky strip to the ends and then carefully fit it into the box making sure the rows are going side-to-side, not end to end. 

Card Stock and DSP Layers:
1.   For the last panel of the card base cut the following:  one piece from Crumb Cake card stock measuring 1 7/8 x 5 3/8" and one piece from Whisper White card stock measuring 1 3/4 x 5 1/4"

2.  For the outside bottom panels cut 3 pieces of Crumb Cake to measure 1 7/8" x 2 5/8".  Cut three pieces of the Early Espresso Designer Series Paper with tree design measuring 1 3/4" x 2 1/2".

3.  For the upper panels cut 4 pieces of Crumb Cake card stock to measure 
1 7/8" x 2 5/8" and four pieces of Crumb Cake Designer Series Paper measuring 1 3/4" x 2 1/2"

 

Bottom and back panels for the outside of the box card.

 

Top Panels for the inside of the card. 

 Start assembling the outside of the card first by adhering the crumb cake panels starting with the largest one on the left hand side beside the tab. Note:  before I glued my card stock and DSP panels down, I lightly sponged the edges with Early Espresso ink and crumb cake.  I also stamped the house, lamp and sentiment on the long strip of Whisper White card stock before adhering it to the back Crumb Cake panel.  

Repeat with the Crumb Cake and DSP Panels for the inside top of the card. 

Note:  I stamped the dots splash from Gorgeous Grunge in Whisper White ink on the Crumb Cake DSP to add some additional snowflakes before adhering it to the top panels.

Once all the panels are adhered to the card base assemble the box by adding sticky strip to the tab and then folding the card over onto itself to ensure it seals properly. 

In this picture you can see the sticky strip on the end tab.  I used two pieces to make sure it sealed the box tightly. 

In this picture you can see the card folded over on itself.  The sticky strip is on the left of the stamping.  Make sure you burnish the seam to ensure it is stuck down securely. 

Fold three of the front flaps down before placing the insert inside the box.  The back panel remains stationary.

Decorate the fronts of the side panels with sentiments and elements of your choice.  For mine I stamped images of the houses from Holiday Homes and coloured them with markers (Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and So Saffron) and the sentiments "Good Luck" and "happy new home".  I also added some Champagne Glimmer paper stars that I punched out with the Itty Bitty accents star punch and some basic rhinestones for some added glam.  I cut out a tag with the 

For the front sentiment I cut two nesting ovals with the Ovals Collection Framelits using Whisper White Card stock and Early Espresso.  I stamped "Good Luck" from the Sincere Salutations stamp set and some flourishes in Crumb Cake with another stamp.  I added a small Champagne Glimmer Paper Star and a bow from Crumb Cake Seam Binding. 

Put sticky strip on sides of the insert and shape into a "Z" fold and then place inside the box opening.  The panels will go left to right and should be spaced about 1/2" a part.  You may have to do a little adjusting before burnishing the sides to make sure they are stuck down. 

For the elements for the inside of the box, I stamped the three different house images from Holiday Home on Early Espresso and Crumb Cake cardstock with Whisper White ink and cut them out with the thinlets. 

The house images were mounted using 1/2 by 3" strips of window sheet material.  I used glue dots to make sure the images were secured both to the window strip and to the insert base.  You have to fiddle with these elements once you have them mounted on the window strips to get the fit you're most comfortable with.  I also added some gold stars and a sentiment. 

Note:  Make sure when you add the elements to the center that you open and shut the card to ensure that the elements aren't sticking out beyond the card frame.  If they are the card might not shut properly or fit in a standard card envelope.

I didn't like the look of the unadorned Early Espresso top panels when the card was closed, so I stamped three more houses and cut some additional Crumb Cake and DSP panels and added them.  I think they made the card look so finished.  Here they a below:

I stamped two houses on Crumb Cake and one on Early Espresso card stock with Whisper White ink.

I like the look of the two DSP panels with the house mounted on the top half.  It seems to complete the card. 

The finished back of the card.  the house was stamped on the Whisper White panel in Early Espresso ink and then I stamped a second house, cut it out and coloured it and mounted it over the first one with dimensionals. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and my card.  I'm going to leave you with pictures of two more "birthday" box cards I made this fall - one was for a neighbor's birthday and the other for a  good friend 's October 31st Halloween birthday.  What fun! Enjoy and leave me a comment if you like these. 

I had a lot of fun making this card.  The balloons came together so quickly and the DSP worked well to pull the card together.

 

 

I used a miss-mash of Stampin' Up and other products to create this card.  You may recognize some of the stamp sets and dsp.  Enjoy!

 

Happy Stampin!
Penny Tokens

Ornamental Pines Christmas Card

Today I'd like to share one of the cards I made for friends and neighbors during this holiday season.  It's made with the Ornamental Pine stamp set and I think you're going to love it as much as I do.

Here's My Card Inside and Out:

 

Supplies:

Stamp Set:    Ornament Pines #

Classic Ink:   Early Espresso, Old Olive 

Card Stock:   Old Olive, Whisper White, Early Espresso

Accessories: Early Espresso Twine Cord, Dazzling Details Glitter, White Gel Pen, Adhesive, 

How It's Made:

1. Cut an 11" x 4 1/4" piece of  Old Olive Card Stock and score at 5 1/2" for the card base.

2. Cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Early Espresso for 1st layer.  See picture for how I make the most of my card stock that is layered and not visible. 

 

I used a thinlet from the Labels Collection to remove the center part of the card stock that will be layered; in this case from the Early Espresso card stock.  I'll be able use that piece in another project and as another bonus I've lightened the weight of the card a bit by taking away this piece.  You can see the Early Espresso layer on the card base in the final sample above. 

3.   Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock measuring 5 x 3 3/4" for the final layer and cut an additional piece measuring 5" x 3 3/4" for the inside of the card.

4.  For the front layer stamp the pine branch from the Ornamental Pine set in the bottom left hand corner of the Whisper White layer in Old Olive ink.  Stamp it twice more in the upper right hand corner, overlapping the branch. I started with the largest image and then moved back to the corner for the second image.

5.  Ink up the pine cone image with Early Espresso ink and stamp it twice in the upper right hand corner of the card face.  I used the downward branch as a guide for laying the pine cone in and making it look connected to the branch. 

I coloured the white pieces on the pine cones with my white gel pen.  The moment you do this the pine cones just pop, almost like 3-D.  I also added Dazzling Diamonds for the smallest amount of sparkle on the snow areas I coloured. 

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6.  Stamp the "Christmas Wishes" from the Ornamental Pine Stamp set below the pine branch. The original card I was CASing (see below) had a banner that was layered with Old Olive card stock across the front of the card, however I chose to stamp directly to the card face.  

Before layering this layer onto the card face I wrapped two lengths of Twine Cord Early Espresso around the white card stock tied it in a knot and then tied a single loop bow.  Tip:  To ensure the cord doesn't swivel around on your card fix it permanently to the back of the card stock with a small piece of scotch tape right over the middle of the cord.  Burnish it down so it doesn't cause a bulge on the front of the card, and voila problem solved. 

Here is the original card I cased showing the added sentiment banner and only one layer of butcher's cord ribbon.  This was one of the samples that Cheryl Lefore displayed for her Christmas stamp-a-stack.  I chose not to add the banner and instead stamped directly to the card face, and double-wound my cord.  

7.  For the inside of the card I stamped the pine bough on the bottom left hand corner of the card in Old Olive ink.  The sentiment, which I think is absolutely beautiful and so meaningful for Christmas is stamped in Early Espresso Ink.  Tip:  To make sure the sentiment is centered I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig 
and every card was exactly the same.  Also when adding ink to your stamps with the new pads don't squish the stamp image down on the ink pad, just tap it.  Rule of thumb, tap, tap, tap and then look at the image to make sure it's fully covered then stamp. 

I hope you liked this brief tutorial on how to make this card.  I'll try to post some additional cards using this set over the coming days. After using this beautiful stamp set I can say with assurity that Ornamental Pines is going to be one of my favourite Christmas stamps of all time.

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens