Letterpressed Three Layer Card and Problem Solved

I have a confession to make – I don’t like to stamp anymore at least not large background stamps. Even with a stamp positioner, it is just too difficult to get a good image. But I do find “stamping” with press plates so much easier than regular stamping. There is one major problem though- the cost of the 100% Cotton Cardstock.Today I am sharing a solution for that problem: CutCardStock sells their Savoy 100% Cotton Card Stock for less than a third of other cotton cardstocks! And it creates beautiful letterpress images as you can see on this card I created:

On the CutCardStock blog here, I have posted a detailed tutorial on how I made this card. Each layer has beautiful leafy letterpressed images created with Altenew's Modern Leaf Background Press Plate and Stencil Set in my Spellbinders BetterPress System. Here is a picture of the template I used to create this three layer card:

The three layers show the letterpress beauty with no ink or "embossed" as on this layer, and with simple inking and the addition of stenciled color. Here are pictures of the three layers and inside sentiments:

The "kindness matters" die is from Ellen Hutson, the stitched foilage dies are from Kat Scrappiness and the Thank You die is from Karen Burniston.

I hope this card inspires you to give this three layered card template and letterpress technique a try now that we know there is a solution to high priced 100% cotton cardstock. Then join me in sending some handmade joy out into our world!

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Playful Pop-ups With New Karen Burniston Dies

4 arms that move? Are you kidding me? I have been a huge fan of Karen Burniston's interactive dies for years but the new Playful Pop-Up Die Set in the newest release is amazing! It will pop up and move 4 different elements when the card is opened! The set includes ladybugs so my first card features them. The front of this card also shows the new Greeting Labels, Bug Borders and Bug Greetings. But just look at what happens when the card is opened:

My favorite of the new Playful Add-ons is the Monster set. I will play soon with the cat and dog add-ons and share when I can. The still pictures do not show the amazing movement of the Playful Pop Ups so I filmed a reel showing it. If you are a subscriber and cannot see the video, visit my blog itself or my Instagram or Facebook page to see this mini video:

Did you catch a sneak peak of a pop up card I may teach (or something similar) in an upcoming class at Harts n Scraps? I do not blog cards here before I teach them but I did put it in the video to show something else that can pop up. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Trinity Stamps Alphabet Soup

I am on a mission to design with all the new supplies purchased this year that haven't been touched yet. I couldn't resist this Alphabet Soup die set from Trinity Stamps. I made a shaker card with all the tiny letters it cuts out as well as noodles and some carrots. The soup in the spoon was created with two sided tape on the oval and then I added clear embossing powder to give the spoonful of soup texture. Here is a look at the inside of the card with a sentiment and another spoonful of soup:

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Coffee or Tea Lover? A Perfect Blend Either Way!

I know both coffee lovers and tea lovers and I bet you do too. The new December Stitching Die of the Month from Spellbinders is called A Perfect Blend and is perfect for both! In my new video here, I share several cards I made with this fun set of dies. The two cups come together to form a heart so I thought they would be perfect on gatefold cards and show several ways to make them in the video. Here is a look at this card when it is opened:

In the video, I show step by step how to make this card for a tea lover like my daughter:

As I show, the stitching only takes a minute or two but adds so much to the cup images. But if you are too busy to stitch them, all the dies can be used without stitching as well. The front focal image is on a belly band and when it is taken off, here is the inside of the card with two floating pop up squares:

The "love you" is part of the Spellbinders die set and the bottom image represents the gift card from Magic Hour Tea my daughter will receive via email. 

If you like this stitching die set, you have until December 27th to sign up for the monthly stitching die of the month club. But if you can't commit to a monthly club right now, it may be available on the Spellbinders website after January 10th if not sold out.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

CASED Card with Altenew Bundle

I am on a mission to design with everything I have purchased this year but not played with yet. I had to buy the beautiful Blooming Freesia stamp, die and stencil set from Altenew but hadn't designed with it yet. I admit- this card was CASED from the brilliant Jennifer McGuire - the fun fold and design are pretty much the same as she did in her video and blogpost here. I pinned it two years ago and meant to try the fun fold but didn't until now. Thanks to Jennifer for her inspiration! 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Eclipse Slimline

I have been on the lookout for scenery papers where there are two or more of the same image in the pack so I can make eclipse cards with my slatted dies from CraftAddictionUK. The only ones a local store had were slimline from Divinity Designs. I cut two slatted rectangles and made this pretty card with a gorgeous mountain scene. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

New Fun Folds with Brutus Monroe Washi Strips

I have been playing with new fun folds and also new products I have recently received. The washi tape strips from Brutus Monroe intrigued me and these cards are made with those. My favorites were the foilable ones like the butterfly strips above. Brutus Monroe also sells templates to place the washi tape strips on. This new fun fold (to me) is a quadruple z-fold card.

I love reading and so do many friends and members of my family so I couldn't resist the washi tape strips that looked like old books. I attached the washi strips to several templates and then embossed and inked them to make this card that opens up and out after the belly band is removed.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen