Faux Rice Paper Technique For Gorgeous Christmas Cards!

The answer to this question and shown in my new video is EIGHT! The translucent Faux Rice Paper I show how to make in a couple different ways makes easy and unique cards. I chose a dinner napkin with three layers and all three layers are used to make beautiful cards. 

I make a card almost identical to this one in the new video step by step. As you can see in the picture below, the "Happy Holidays" is on the inside and can be seen through the translucent paper created with this fun technique.

The Double Dotted squares and rectangles used on many of the cards I show were created with sets from Crealies that I love. Here is another card similar to one I show how to make in the video:

Usually coffee is added to the glue mixture creating a vintage look, but dye reinkers can also be added to create any color you might want. I chose to make this faux rice paper red and added glass glitter before it dried for a pretty shiny look. The layered deer on the front is an Easy 3D Topper from Hearty Crafts and the sentiment dies are from Stampendous.

The faux rice paper created with this technique is somewhat transparent so I used a piece with some glitter on it to create this shaker card. The snowflakes in the shaker are from Kat Scrappiness and I added shaker beads too which move really well in shakers. The sentiment die is a new one from Crealies and the frame was created with a pretty die from Penny Black.

Here is another card I created with the 3rd layer of the napkin for a pretty vintage wrinkled look over white cardstock. It was decorated with rub-ons from 49 and Market so even though the paper created was wrinkled and had some glitter on it, rub-ons do work. 

I share many more holiday cards and ways to use this technique in different ways in the new video, so be sure to check it out here.

Fabulous Folded Flip-Flap Cards From Paper Wishes For My Grandsons!

I have a subscription to the monthly Fabulous Folded Cards and late last month I received the Flip-Flap Card Die Set that does this:

Isn't that fun?! (If you get this blogpost by email subscription, for some reason those don't show my videos like this one showing the action when opened, so go to the actual blogpost to see it. And THANKS for subscribing!) And the cards are so easy to make that I made one for each grandson. Here is what Nate is getting inside of his: 

The popsicle die and stamps are from Impression Obsession. We love to make s'mores at our son's lake house, so I made this card for my other grandson:

The Smiley S'more die is from Lawn Fawn and the perfect sentiments are once again from Impression Obsession (IO). 

Even though this was last month's subscription box die set, you can choose to buy any of the very reasonably priced Fabulous Folded Cards die sets anytime even without a subscription. I save 10% and get a surprise in the mail each month so I am happy to subscribe. 

Single, Double Column, Surprise Pop Up and Square Triple Pillar Cards With New Crealies Dies

I am loving all the new butterfly dies in the August release at Crealies, but the die set I had the most fun with (and featured in my new video here.) was appropriately called A Lot of Pillar Cardz. My title lists all the cards I am posting today from the new video. This card also features the gorgeous Varia layered Swallowtail Butterfly die set.

This is the square triple easel I show how to make step by step in the new video. Another of the new dies in the August release is the Beth Frame Diamond Inlay Set which reminds me of a quilt when layered up like this.

How about a double column pillar card? All of these cards are so easy to make with the A Lot Of Pillar Cards die set, and I used more dies and stencils from Crealies to decorate this card. Each of these pillar cards stand up for display and lay flat to mail. My last card is for a coffee lover and has a fun pop up surprise inside the card:

I used the double pillar to hold a Starbucks gift card and two candles for the birthday girl. (I was inspired by a card by Sam of Mixed Up Crafts to add the candles this way.) I added a layered Happy Birthday die and an Oval with Wonky Stitched Lines to write my message on. 

I had great fun creating cards with the new A Lot of Pillar Cards die set as well as the others from Crealies for my new video, and hope my cards inspire you to give some of the ideas and products a try.

Tonic Studios Designer's Choice Safety Deposit Box Pop Up Treat Boxes

Oh my- I just received my new Tonic Studios Designer's Choice Safety Deposit Box pop up treat box and look at what these boxes do:

Isn't that fun?! (If you get this blogpost by email subscription, for some reason those don't show my videos like this one showing the action when opened, so go to the actual blogpost to see it. And THANKS for subscribing!) 

I made this one to fill with candy for my grandson, and here is a look at what pops up inside:

This Dancin' Ghost above and the Dancin' Gnome below are both new dies from Spellbinders, and the legs swing back and forth to dance- too cute! Here are some more views of the Christmas version:

The gnomie sentiment stamp on the front of the Christmas version is from Picket Fence and the little gnome is from Karen Burniston. The spooky Happy Halloween die is an older one from Tonic Studios.

Tonic Studios USA is coming out with more and more dies like these Designer's Choices, so keep an eye out for more designs and videos too! 

I am entering the Christmas box in the Christmas challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday. 

Lot's and Lots Of Pillar Cardz with Video and Big Announcement!

Today I am so excited to announce I am going to be part of the Crealies design team, and I am  sharing my first video and cards today here and on their blog! I have been a huge fan of  the unique and innovative dies at Crealies for quite some time now and will be creating a new video each month for them. 

The August release at Crealies is full of many unique dies and gorgeous butterflies, but the die set that intrigued me the most was the set called A Lot of Pillar Cards. For the new video here, I created single, triple, double column, surprise pop up, square and easel pillar cards.  This pink triple pillar birthday card with the Varia Swallowtail butterfly is one of my favorites. To see how easy it is to use the A Lot of Pillar Cards die set to make a triple pillar card, be sure to watch the video. Here is another view of this triple pillar card:

Another fun idea to try with the A Lot Of Pillars die set is to make an easel card like this one with the large Swallowtail Butterfly die: 

I did a partial die cut of the large Swallowtail butterfly to create the easel which is held up by two pillars and decorated with more butterflies from the Set of Three Butterflies #6. Of course all the dies used in these cards are linked below. And if you would like to see how to make an easel card just like this one step by step, watch last week's video here.

You can see many more cards made with these dies from the August release in the new video out today. I hope all my cards encourage you to give these ideas and products a try. 

Crealies Dies/Stansen:

Cardzz dies no. 31, A lot of Pillar Cards

Cardzz dies no. 34, Swallowtail butterfly

Varia dies no. 04, Swallowtail butterfly

Crea-Nest-Lies XXL dies no. 133, Ovals with 2 meandering stitching line

Wordzz dies with shadow no. 01, EN: happy birthday

Text Die no. 104 Happy Birthday

Text Die no. 11 Hello friend

Set of 3 dies no. 44, Butterflies 6

Duo Dies no. 44, Butterflies 6

    

More Butterfly Cards and Giveaway Reminder

I just purchased the 3 in 1 Butterfly Garden die set from Gemini and Crafter's Companion and this card from my new butterfly video shows how to make a lovely card simply by cutting and layering! The die is large and this is a 5 x 7 card but my next card shows it can be used on an A2 sized card as well:

The background is embossed pink mirror card from Paper Wishes. Here is a card I made with a 3D slimline embossing folder from Nellie's Choice and made even more lovely by adding embossed butterflies:

This card is so much prettier IRL or in the video where you can see the 3D texture and color better! I simply brushed on yellow and green inks before layering on a green slimline card. The sentiment die is from Sue Wilson and Creative Expressions. 

My last two cards feature the Butterfly Heart Create A Card die set from Gemini and Crafter's Companion. The die alone is so pretty all I needed to do was die cut it out of a card front, add some of the embossed butterflies from the same die set and add a sentiment strip. 

**Check out the new video here and leave a comment as detailed for a chance to win a prize package worth about $100 celebrating my 5 year anniversary of being on YouTube!**

Butterflies, Butterflies and More Butterflies And An Anniversary Giveaway!

Who doesn't love butterflies! And as an admitted die cut addict, I have a very hard time resisting buying butterfly dies! In the August release at Crealies there were a bunch of gorgeous butterfly dies and I just had to get them! This the card I made step by step in my newest video here:

I showed how to make the gorgeous translucent faux rice paper that is the top layer of the large Swallowtail Butterfly in my video last week in case you missed it. This is an easel card with partial die cutting and pillars holding the layered butterfly up. Here is a view from the side:

"A Lot of Pillar Cards" is the name of the die I used to create the double pillar on the bottom of this card and in next week's video, I am showing lots and lots of ways to make pillar cards with this new die from Crealies. Here are two more cards I share in the new video made with this gorgeous large Swallowtail die set and more faux rice paper:

The Swallowtail die can be used to make a stand alone card and on the front of a card as well. The second card also features the Varia Swallowtail die from Crealies as the top layer. 

**I have so much fun creating cards and sharing them here on my blog and on YouTube that time just flies! I just passed my Five Year Anniversary on YouTube and am celebrating with a giveaway of dies, stamps and other crafty goodies valued at around $100 to a lucky commenter on the new video here who leaves a qualifying comment before August 29, 2022! Here is a picture of what you could win:

Wow, right? The comment has to be on this video and you must watch the video to learn the requirements to have a chance to win. Good luck!

In the new video are also many more butterfly cards made with new dies from many companies, so be sure to watch and comment for a chance to win. 

I am entering the second card in the Summertime Blues challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday.