Video - Foiled Fun Fold Cards with Brutus Monroe and Therm O Web!

In my newest video, I am sharing how to make this fabulous foiled pull up accordion card with foils and Designer Toner Sheets from a new collaboration by Brutus Monroe and Therm O Web. My favorite of the new Designer Toner Sheets in this awesome collection is the Marble and I made this fun fold card with those Designer Toner Sheets, (both clear and white) and the red Sunrise Brutus Monroe foil and another version with the blue Dry Brush foil:

The pull up accordion or lantern card folds flat to mail and then the recipient pulls on the cord to reveal 4 sides of birthday wishes and gorgeous foiled pieces. It is difficult to photograph when open, so I suggest you watch the video here to see many ways to use the new Brutus Monroe/Therm O Web products and a step by step tutorial on how to make this fabulous fun fold. Here are a few more pictures of the two cards from different angles: 

In the video, I may not have been clear about one of the steps to make this pull up accordion card. After scoring the 8 x 11 inch piece of cardstock at the 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 inch lines, turn the piece and cut into two inch strips. Those strips are folded accordion style with the first and last fold being mountain folds. 

I also used alphabet dies from Karen Burniston, stitched rounded square dies from My Favorite Things, birthday stamps from Suzanne Cannon for Elizabeth Crafts and balloon dies from Avery Elle to make my pull up accordion birthday cards.

I  am also announcing the winner of my huge anniversary prize package in this video, so if you left a comment, be sure to watch and see if you won.  

I am also giving away two huge prizes exclusively on Instagram so be sure to click one or both of the pictures on the right side of the blog before 8/18/18 at midnight to go to the posts and learn how you can win there!

Thanks for watching, subscribing, following on Instagram and sharing and thanks, too, for helping me #share the joy of creativity!

Punches and/or Die Cuts 4 Kids at Send a Smile 4 Kids

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is: Punches and/or Die Cuts 4 Kids! Create and link any card appropriate for a child with atleast one die cut or punch and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have two very generous sponsors for this challenge: Little Blue Button Stamps is giving their winner a $10 gift certificate! And the winner from Repeat Impressions will receive a $15 gift certificate! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

On the front of my card I printed and paper pieced a sweet digi from Little Blue Button Stamps called Panda with Balloons. I cut out the card front with a stitched rectangle die from Lil' Inker. Most of the die cut fun on my card happens when it is opened:

I popped a bunch of balloons up with the Lots of Pops die from Karen Burniston. The balloons were cut with dies from Avery Elle and various polka dotted scraps. The sentiment and Awesome die are from Studio Calico. I think any child would love this interactive pop up awesome surprise when they open the card.

Another Thanksgiving Blessing!

Guess who is turning one on Thanksgiving? I've shared some pictures of my darling grandson Evan here during this last year, but here a couple recent pictures so you can see how much he has grown:

All dressed up for the chilly weather and at his first Cubs game with Daddy. I wasn't able to see him this week, so I sent a special card I made. We celebrated earlier with him and the whole family, and will see them soon for Christmas.

I die cut a couple sweet elephants with a die from Tonic Studios and added a die cut balloon (Avery Elle) with the birthday number from Tonic. The real fun happens when the card is opened: 

I have seen many versions of this four panel pop up card on Pinterest and blogs and I have tried a few. The easiest way I have found so far to achieve this four fold pop-up is to use the Karen Burniston Twist Circle Pop-Up die (from Elizabeth Craft Designs) as was shown in this video. I die cut Evan's name with dies from Tonic Studios and added a Happy Birthday wish cut out with a Memory Box die. Here is a couple more looks to see how the pop up element opens: 

Happy Birthday Cards for Young Children

I received a special request for birthday cards for very young children and these are the first two I created. I started with some favorite dies from Tonic Studios called Rococo Rubber Ducky and Rocking Horse. I added a fun "Happy Birthday" from Memory Box. The insides of both cards were created with the same interactive pop-up that I think young children (and their parents) would love: 

I die cut the Twist Circle Pop-up from Karen Burniston for Elizabeth Crafts and added some balloons from Avery Elle die cut in colorful scraps of designer paper. I added a "Celebrate" Miniature Moments sentiment from Tonic Studios to the inside of the card. Here are a couple more views of the pop-up center: 

This die from Karen Burniston is so easy to use and can be used in many different ways to add surprise pop-ups to the center of our cards. I will be sharing more cards using it very soon on my blog.

Stamp Camp Sneak Peak Screen Divider Card

Today I am sharing one more sneak peak at the cards I designed for our stamp camp coming up on May 16th. If you are local and want more information, email me via the contact feature on the side of the blog. This card is a screen divider card that was cut to 12 x 8 1/2" and scored at 3,6, and 9 inch lines. Each panel was decorated with a special birthday girl in mind. First I punched the top border with an ek success punch and the bottom legs with a SU punch. The front is a Prima Doll stamp with a pretty paper pieced dress. The second panel has die cut balloons from Avery Elle and embossed birthday wishes from Embossalicious. The third panel features a beautiful die from Tonic Studios and the last one says Happy Birthday with a die from DieVersions.

This is how the card looks standing up from the top. I like that the receiver of this card can stand it up and display it if they wish.

I am entering this card in the Birthday challenges at Aud Sentiments and Creative Knockouts.

Spring Stamp Camp Announcement and Another Sneak Peak of a Stamp Camp Card!

SPRING STAMP CAMP

with Dies, Stencils, Punches and Specialty Paper

Designed and Hosted by Karen Hasheck 

and Jane Luxem

SATURDAY, MAY 16 – 10 am to 1 pm

DC Everest Sr. High School – Room 121

COST $25

includes supplies, snacks, beverages

and DOOR PRIZES

Deadline to register is May 10.  Reservations and pre-payment are required.  Space is limited so reserve your spot now by emailing Karen at khasheck@gmail.com or calling 

715-359-5788.

  Mail your check to:

Karen Hasheck

5507 Hickory St.

Schofield WI 54476

If you are new to stamping, let us know when you register.

There will be no sales or promotions.

Please bring a class kit which includes adhesive, scissors, mounting tape/pop dots.

We may add a second session during the week if needed so let us know if this date does not work for you. 

Sten-tangled Birthday Card

I recently discovered a fun technique that is an easy version of zentangle. Instead of free hand doodling like in zentangle, sten-tangle used stencils for a similar but easier version. I tried it on this card with an open plastic butterfly stencil and then filled in the butterflies using different small pattern stencils. Some were brass stencils from Dreamweaver and some were inexpensive plastic stencils. For fun color, I used gel pens for the sten-tangle outline and doodling. I stamped a swoosh in three colors of ink and my favorite new "happy birthday". Both stamps are from a set by Avery Elle.

I am entering this card in the "Happy Birthday" challenge at Raisin Boat and the Anything Goes challenge at Brown Sugar Challenge.

Die Cuts and Stencils- My Addictions

OK- I admit it- I am totally addicted to die cuts and stencils- just can't get enough and I am not even going to try to get over the addiction. Too much fun to play with them! The flower and the border are new die cuts from Memory Box. The background was created with a Tim Holtz stencil attached to cream colored cardstock. Then I applied Versamark through the openings in the stencil,  and heat embossed clear embossing powder after removing the stencil. I applied Adirondack re-inker colors with a water brush and let dry. Then I removed the embossing powder with an iron for this very cool background look. The sentiment is from my new favorite set of words from Avery Elle. I rounded the corners to complete the card.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes (with a die cut) challenge at Die Cut Divas and the challenge at Our Daily Bread to use stencils or sponging.

Embossed Ribbon Card for Challenge

The challenge for next month's stamp club was to make a card using this blue ribbon - recycled from a lanyard. I decided to feature it as the focal piece, folded for four loops and topped with a couple wooden flower embellishments. I started with a black card base and a white piece where I stamped the encouraging sentiment from Avery Elle. Then I die cut a fancy circle by Spellbinders and ran them through the Big Shot embossing them twice. I did the x's first, then the dots for a unique embossed look. I added a couple black candies to complete the card.

I am entering this card in the embossing challenge at Simon Says Stamp and the Anything Goes challenge at Crafty Ribbons.

Cutting Edge Stencil Review and Giveaway!

I was recently contacted by Cutting Edge Stencils and asked to do a review of their card stencils and a giveaway for my readers, and after taking a look at their website, I was thrilled to say yes! I love to make cards with plastic stencils and happy to find another stencil company with more stencil choices for us card makers and scrappers.

**Would you like to win a $20 Cutting Edge Stencil gift certificate and free shipping on the stencils you choose if you win? Of course you would! All you need to do is visit the Cutting Edge website, pick our your favorite stencil and leave a comment on this blog post with the name of your favorite stencil and your email address so you can be contacted if you win. (You can write it out like khasheck at gmail dot com to avoid spammers.) For a second chance to win, Follow Cutting Edge Stencils on Facebook, and for a third chance to win, subscribe to their blog here.  Please leave an extra comment if you have chosen to follow them on Facebook or subscribe to their blog and you will receive extra chances to be the big winner. You have until Sunday, July 13th at noon CST to enter this giveaway. The winner will be announced on my blog Monday, July 14th when I post some more cards I made with Cutting Edge Stencils.**

EDITED TO ADD: You have all been so kind with your lovely comments, I have decided to add a second prize! A second randomly drawn winner from the comments will be drawn and he or she will win a set of 4 rubber grip Crafter's Choice Stencil Brushes and a beautiful butterfly stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils of course. All I ask is that you leave any comment and be a follower of my blog.

I used Cutting Edge Stencil's Birch Forest Card Stencil for the first card I am sharing today. The first thing I noticed when I opened the stencil package was how sturdy and flexible the stencil was, and that is was larger than most of the other card stencils I own. The card size design is 6 x 8 inches and the stencil itself is 9 x 11 inches. The bigger size can be an advantage if you are making a larger card (see below) and it makes it easy to tape it down outside of the cardstock piece you are stenciling. However, it was too large to emboss in my Big Shot machine and I even had to cut it down somewhat to run it through my Grand Calibur. If you visit the Cutting Edge Stencil website, you will see they have a long history of making high quality stencils for walls and decorating homes, and that quality is obvious in their card stencils too. The ones I received are sturdier and more flexible than others sold by companies just now getting into the stencil market.

I also received a package of Crafter's Choice stencil brushes with rubber grips. I usually don't use stencil brushes on my cards, but when a fuller softer brush and a sponge did not give me the dark look I wanted in between the kraft colored birch trees, I tried the largest stencil brush in the package and it worked beautifully. It was so easy to hold on the rubber grip. I used Ranger Archival black ink and that was a mistake, as the brush and the stencil did not come clean when I washed them after use. I am sure with a regular dye ink, it would have been fine. But the brush and the stencil can be used for any color next time, they just has a black edge now. Ranger's Archival black ink is my favorite as it is a true dark black and it is on my desk all the time, but it is much more permanent than other dye inks, so another black dye ink would be better to use for the stencil and brush.

I cut Memory Box's Serene Bird in grey, wet embossed Repeat Impression's bamboo in clear embossing powder, and attached with mounting tape to raise. I stamped Avery Elle's Hello and added a pearl to complete the card.

I have been wanting to get one (or more) of the lovely Prima doll stamps by Julie Nutting and recently I purchased "Kate" on line. When I opened the package, I realized just how big these Prima doll stamps are - Kate is 7 1/2 inches tall. Way to big for any standard size card, and if I used a standard size 6 x 6 stencil for a background, it would not be big enough. So the larger size of the Aladdin stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils was a real advantage for this card. You can also choose a page size stencil if you want it even bigger, like for scrapbooking. I prefer mine a little smaller usually for card making, and so am hoping Cutting Edge Stencils might add a third size like 6 x 6 with smaller image details too. But the ones I received worked great for the backgrounds I created.

I started with a business size cream colored card 8 1/4" tall by 8" wide and folded it in half. I attached a paint strip down the long way on the card and sponged Tea Dye Distress Ink on with the Tim Holtz distress sponging tool using the Aladdin stencil. I was going for an ombre look on the paint chip part. I stamped "Kate" on cream paper, paper pieced her hair, dress and shoes and attached her to the card. I stamped the Heidi Swapp "shine" to complete the card.

I have one more card to share today. I mentioned the stencils I received were too big to do one of my favorite techniques with stencils- emboss with my No More Shims thick embossing pad and then sponge while the stencil is still attached. However, Cutting Edge Stencils sent me a bonus smaller hummingbird stencil with my order, and so I was able to easily make this CAS fun card. I picked a subtle floral cardstock, attached the stencil and ran it through the Big Shot with my No More Shims thick embossing pad. The image is raised with nice dimension. Then I sponged the bird with Starry Skies Distress Ink (Ranger) and Tim Holtz's distress sponging tool. I cut the piece and attached at an angle on an A2 sized card base. I stamped the Soar (from CTMH) on vellum and attached at an angle too.

I do recommend you check out the stencils on the Cutting Edge Stencil website for card making, scrapbooking and also for any decorating you might want to do in your home. I am hoping they expand their card size choices and will be shopping there myself. Please stop back next Monday to see if you won the giveaway and to see some more cards I made with these great stencils.

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Scribble and Scrap.

Celebrate Red, White and Blue!

I am in the mood for red. white and blue this week and have made a few 4th of July cards to share on the blog and then save for my kids at SAS4Kids next summer. I recently got a really cool set of stamps from Avery Elle and there were several fun swooshes in the set. One was the longer stripe I used for the red stripes on this square card. The SU star was stamped blue ink on blue paper and cut out. I scored the lines and popped up the center with pop dots. The "Celebrate" stamp is from Raisin Boat.

I am entering this card in the Sentimental Sundays Summer challenge (with a sentiment) and the Celebrate challenge at Cupcakes Inspiration (celebrating the 4th of July and fireworks.)