hot foil

Love You Shake-Shake-Shaker Card with New Simon Says Stamp!

January 6, 2025

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! Happy New Year to you! While I still have my Christmas decorations up (a combination of not having time to take them down and not really wanting to be without the glow of the Christmas lights just yet!), the cardmaking world is moving on from the holidays to all things Valentine’s Day and even some spring! Simon Says Stamp had a new release go live on December 19, called the To Love release, which celebrates all things love and romance! I took a break from my holiday crafting to work with pinks, reds, and hearts, and I can’t wait to share all of the projects that I created with you. I am starting things off with this in-your-face-magenta shaker card, so let’s get started with the details!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I absolutely love the foil transfer cards from Simon Says Stamp. They create the quickest, most fabulous backgrounds lickety split, and the new Falling In Love Foil Transfer Cards feature the loveliest whimsical heart designs! I used my Minc machine with some gorgeous magenta toner transfer foil to foil this whimsical heart background, then used blending brushes to blend Pawsitively Saturated Ink Trio 6-Bubblegum, Sweets, Taffy inks in a dark-to-light ombré. I trimmed down the finished panel slightly, then used some leftover stamp packaging to create a flat shaker pocket, adding strips of super sticky Tear-rific Tape to the back to create my flat shaker pocket. I filled the pocket with Candy Hearts Sequins and mounted it in the center of a full sized A2 panel of coordinating magenta cardstock, creating a thin hot pink frame around the edges of my shaker card front.

For the greeting, I die cut the detail layer of the Swoopy Love You sentiment die set from some coordinating hot pink glitter cardstock, then die cut the shadow layer from some Simon Says Stamp vellum. I used tiny dots of liquid adhesive behind the solid die cuts to the adhere the layered sentiment die cut at an angle to the bottom of my shaker card front.

After adhering the sentiment, I decided to embellish the card front with a visual cascade of hearts, so I die cut a couple of sizes of Nested Round Hearts from some more of the same magenta cardstock used for the card base. I used a blending brush to blend some more hot pink ink around the edges of the hearts, then popped them up on the card front using some thin foam adhesive squares!

Well, that’s all for today’s project. Those foil transfer cards really make quick work of your card, creating such beautiful and detailed backgrounds and focal points for you with minimal effort. Some sequins and a glittery sentiment to finish everything off made this card come together super quickly. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Snowflake Shaker Card with New Simon Says Stamp DieCember Goodies + FREE Gift With Purchase!

December 2, 2024

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am back with another project featuring some of the fabulous goodies from the new Simon Says Stamp DieCember release. I love a good shaker card; there’s something so festive and just plain fun about receiving a card that is filled with fantastic shaker bits and sequins. A shaker card always puts a smile on the recipient’s face, right? So it only makes sense to send Christmas Cheer with a super fun shaker card created with some creative die cutting and sparkling sequins. Let’s get started with the details!

I absolutely adore cover plates; they create such an enormous impact with one piece of cardstock and one pass through your die cutting machine. The new Starburst Plate is so beautifully intricate that I wanted to stretch that easily-created die cut even further by creating a die cut window with the negative space and a second card with the positive space! (More about that in a future post.) I began my project today by die cutting an A2 panel of white cardstock using the Starburst Plate, then placing the one of the Nested Domed Arches in the center of the die cut and running it through my die cutting machine again. I made sure to reserve the patterned, arched die cut for a future project, and backed the remaining negative piece with an A2 piece of acetate, creating a large, plain window to start my shaker card! I added an appropriately-sized Nested Domed Arches Frame die cut, cut from some Simon Says Stamp Silver Glitter Cardstock, creating a border around my window opening.

After creating my background, I used the previously-released Frosty snowman die with some colored cardstock to create the focal point for my project. The finished Frosty fits perfectly inside my arched window! I used the Simon Says Stamp 3D Foam Adhesive Strips around the edges of the back of my shaker front, then filled the entire shaker with some gorgeous and fun wintry sequins, adding a few plain red sequins to coordinate with the cheerful red scarf, mittens, and hat on my Frosty. I sealed up the shaker with a panel of plain white cardstock. I love how the sparkling sequins peek through the snowflake windows from the Starburst Plate die cut!!

For the greeting, I used my Minc Machine with Picket Fence Studios Red Flake foil to make the Reverse Holiday Greetings set look super shiny and festive. I trimmed the strip down and tucked it beneath my snowman with some more thin foam adhesive. Tucking the sentiment right beneath Frosty helps to ground him a bit so that he’s not floating in midair in my window!

Well, that’s all for my project today. Simon Says Stamp DieCember celebration is in full swing, and to make things even more special and fun, Simon Says Stamp is offering an exclusive freebie: Be of Good Cheer die set

You can receive this adorable Be of Good Cheer die set set from Tim Holtz with any $25 Tim Holtz purchase! Click HERE to check out all of the goodies eligible for the promotion!

I created a fairly quick tag using the sweet Santa die from Be of Good Cheer:

Some white embossed snowflakes on a cheerful red tag created the perfect backdrop for my happy Santa!

I added a few Peppermint Pawsitively Dazzling Gems, a cherry red bow, and a jingle bell to make things extra special.

Well, that’s all for me today. This fantastic freebie (valued at $16.99!) is only available while supplies last, so don’t wait! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and Happy DieCember!

New Pastel Inks from Simon Says Stamp!

November 26, 2024

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am back with some more inspiration using several different items from the beautiful new Festive Fun release from Simon Says Stamp. The new release included lots of beautiful goodies, including gorgeous new Pastel Pigment Inks that create the softest, most beautifully blended pastel colors. I have a quartet of projects to share with you today using the inks and their coordinating Pawsitively Dazzling Gems along with some other goodies from the Festive Fun release, so let’s get started with the details!

I love creating coordinating card sets that work together as a group but also are each just a little unique, and these gorgeous new Pastel Pigment Inks were perfect for some light mass production! I don’t normally think of pastels for holiday cards, but combining these lovely inks with their coordinating Pastel Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and some wintry imagery made for beautifully unique and festive cards!

*Note: I do have dedicated blending brushes specifically for these pigment inks. I would not recommend mixing the dye and pigment inks on the same brush, as the different formulations for the opaque pigment inks and translucent dye inks don’t play nicely together on the brushes*

When mass producing, I like to keep the basic layout very similar, but switch up some of the products used. I paired the Pastel Blue ink and Pastel Pink ink with the new Shimmer Lattice Embossing Folder, first blending the panels of 3.75″ x 5″ white cardstock with Pastel Blue and Pastel Pink inks, then running those blended panels through my die cutting machine with the Shimmer Lattice Embossing Folder. Doing the ink blending first keep the details from the embossing consistent throughout, whereas ink blending after embossing would enhance the details in the blended areas.

After I had finished ink blending and embossing each panel, I splattered some glittering handmade watercolors on each panel to add extra festiveness and sparkle. I mounted each panel on an A2 card base, then added a white glitter Heartfelt Snowflake die cut to the center of each card with some tiny pieces of foam adhesive. I also used my Minc machine to addsilver toner foil to the Holiday Greetings Sentiment Cards. After I had added the sentiment strips over the center of each glittering snowflake, I used the coordinating Bubblegum and Dusk Pawsitively Dazzling Gems at the tips of each snowflake spire. So sparkly and wintry, even with the somewhat springy colors!

For my second set, I paired the same technique with the new Pastel Yellow and Pastel Green inks and the Splendid Snowflakes Embossing Folder, blending first and then running the panels through my die cutting machine with the embossing folder and splattering each panel with more shimmering iridescent glitter watercolors.

I again centered the white glitter Heartfelt Snowflake die cut, layering the silver foiled Holiday Greetings Sentiment Card sentiment strip over the center of each snowflake. Finally, I added even more shimmer with the coordinating Butter Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and Sprout Pawsitively Dazzling Gems. My color-coordinated-loving-heart goes wild for these matching gems and inks!!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! These new inks blend like a dream and will work for so many different seasons and subjects… I can’t wait to play with them even more. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Modern Christmas Cards with Simon Says Stamp!

October 19, 2024

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! For today’s projects, I took a bit of a departure from my more typical holiday projects to use some really modern imagery and color palettes with new items from the Simon Says Stamp Sweet Wishes release from earlier this month. One of my favorite things about working with a new release is that it pushes me outside of my typical comfort zone; I tend to gravitate towards classic, feminine imagery and color palettes as a general rule, but sometimes it’s fun to try something new and stretch my creative legs a bit. The new Stylized Tree die inspired me to create two different cards using a very vivid and unique holiday color palette. Let’s get started with the details!

*I have linked all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I have really been enjoying unusual holiday ombré color palettes lately, and while I always have lots of room for red and green in my creative conscious, I find myself reaching for unique colors to make these cards stand out amongst the more expected holiday projects. For both of my cards today, I used Aegean, Dusk, Pansy, and Cranberry Pawsitively Saturated Inks to create a vibrant and unique color scheme.

To begin my first card, I heat embossed the new Sparkle Strands clear background stamp onto an A2 panel of white cardstock using Iridescent Blue embossing powder. I then used blending brushes to blend Pawsitively Saturated Inks in shades of Aegean, Dusk, Pansy, and Cranberry to create a unique muted partial rainbow. The Cranberry and Aegean inks at the top and bottom really reinforce the holiday theme while the Dusk and Pansy in the middle help keep things super interesting! After I had finished blending, I trimmed 1/2″ from the long edges of the blended panel and tucked some Crimson glitter cardstock on either side to create a full size A2 card front.

After I had created the background, I die cut the new Stylized Tree die from some white mirror cardstock, as well as the ornaments from some scraps of glitter cardstock that I had lying on my desk. (There’s a reason I save my scraps!!) I also hot foiled a sentiment from the previously released Sentiment Strips Horizontal Winter which I added some beautiful teal shine to using Caribbean Cheerfoil and my Minc machine. I popped up the sentiment with some foam adhesive squares, then added a few Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems to the tree to add even more shine and texture. Finally, I added a delicate bow to the top of the tree created using Vivant Bordeaux thin ribbon.

For my second card, I wanted to use the same vibrant colors while creating a more simplistic and definitely modern feel that worked beautifully with the Stylized Tree die cut. I used residual ink left on my ink brushes from the previous card to blend a Christmas tree “glow” on my white card front. Using the residual ink without reloading my brushes helps to keep the colors muted and definitely conveys the idea of glowing Christmas lights! After blending, I splattered the background with some sparkling handmade glitter watercolors and set it aside to dry.

After I had created my background, I die cut the Stylized Tree from the center of an A2 panel of teal mirror cardstock. I trimmed my blended, splattered panel down 1/4″ on all sides and mounted it in the center of the teal mirror panel, leaving a shining border around the edges of the card. I adhered the die cut tree to the blended area using liquid adhesive to create a flat and easily mailed surface. I die cut the new Merry Christmas die from some more Crimson glitter cardstock, backing the glitter detail layer with a vellum shadow layer and popping the entire piece up with some very thin strips of foam adhesive. I added a few Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems “ornaments” and another bow created from Vivant Bordeaux thin ribbon to finish the project off!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. I so enjoy trying new styles and color palettes; how perfect would these cards be for a masculine recipient? No frills, just some sparkle and a bow, which I think are fairly unavoidable during the holidays. I have lots more inspiration to share, so be sure to come back soon! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Altenew October 2024 Release

October 4, 2024

My friends at Altenew have a new release, and it’s a stunner, filled with gorgeous, Better Press plates, magnificent die designs, cardstocks, inks, and so much more! You can check out the full release HERE. We are hopping along today to share tons of inspiration with you using these marvelous new products. You should have arrived here from Agnieszka, and your next stop is Jaycee. You can also start the hop over on the Altenew Blog! I have a trio of projects using several of the new products, so let’s get started with the details!

*I have linked all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I am unabashedly in holiday cardmaking mode right now, and so I have used some of the wonderful new cardstocks with a few of somewhat older products to create some intense, vibrant holiday cards, as well as some of the new dies and Press Plates to create a monochromatic autumnal card. So much color saturation and vibrancy in these cards!

For my first project, I used the recently released Regal Wreath Press Plate set to create this incredibly festive and shiny hot foiled card. While this press plate set is meant to be used with the registration guides to create multi-layered letterpress cards, I decided to hot foil each of the layers separately onto Evergreen and Ruby Red cardstock using the new Berry Red, Emerald Green, and Kelly Green mirror foil rolls. Press plates hot foil absolutely beautifully, with nearly perfect results every single time, and the new Crafty Necessities cardstocks are so very smooth, making them a perfect canvas for hot foiling!

After hot foiling each individual layer with different colors of foil, I used very sharp scissors to fussy cut the flowers and extra holly leaves, which I then layered on the larger hot foiled wreath panel using foam adhesive. I also hot foiled a greeting from the Regal Wreath set, using Berry Mirror Hot Foil on Evergreen cardstock, creating a classic red-and-green sentiment, which I also fussy cut. I trimmed the hot foiled panel down 1/8″ on each side, then matted it in the center of some glittery red cardstock. I added some ruby gems to the centers of my flowers and topped everything off with a pretty bow! What’s a wreath without a bow, right?

For my second project, I elected to do some vibrant red color drenching to create a monochromatic holiday card using the new Geometric Essentials: Circles Press Plate as a hot foil plate to “ground” my vibrant red anemones. A friend of mine had such incredibly brilliant red anemones with black centers as her flowers for her Christmas wedding long ago, and that image of those gorgeous red anemones has stuck with me since! I thought a shiny red foil circle would be the perfect grounding backdrop for some red anemones, so I began this project by hot foiling the new Geometric Essentials: Circles Press Plate onto some Velvet cardstock using the Berry Red foil. The shiny, candy apple red foil shows up so nicely on the vibrant, deep red cardstock even though the colors are so similar. That shiny texture adds so much interest to the background!

To adorn my shiny circle ground, I die cut several blooms from the Craft-A-Flower: Japanese Anemone set from Jet Black, Evergreen, and Ruby Red cardstock. I used small blending brushes to blend Redwood and Evergreen Fresh Dye Ink on the flowers and foliage before assembling with liquid adhesive. I arranged the die cuts in a bouquet around my foiled circle, tucking a hot foiled sentiment and bow amongst the flowers. Finally, I finished everything off with another vibrant red bow. I am loving the additional texture that bows add to finished cards lately!

For my final card, I used the absolutely gorgeous new Zero Waste Autumn Leaves die with some dramatic, deep maroon solid and glitter cardstock. I started by creating another circular letter press image to “ground” my foliage die cuts by pressing the new Geometric Essentials: Circles Press Plate onto some white letterpress cardstock with Redwood Fresh Dye Ink. I love that the Fresh Dye Inks are compatible with the press plates… makes everything so much more versatile! I also pressed the new One Go Solid Sentiments Strips Press Plate + die set with the same Redwood ink, then used the coordinating die to die cut the sentiment strips. I love the simplicity of this process: press once, die cut once, and you have a bunch of sentiments ready for a rainy day!

I die cut the fabulous new Zero Waste Autumn Leaves die set from both Grapevine cardstock and Rhodolite cardstock from the Pink Brilliance Glitter cardstock set. I adhered the sentiment strip to the letterpress background with some foam adhesive, then arranged the foliage die cuts around the sentiment in a swag, mixing the solid colored cardstock with the glittery cardstock fairly evenly to create a fairly even mixture. Finally, I finished the project off with a few shimmering gems for added sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $100 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a $50 gift certificate to 4 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by October 10th for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on October 12th, 2024.
The winner of the $100 gift certificate will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew blog.

Here’s the full hop list in case you get lost:

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!