Winnie & Walter - Bigger and Bolder

Hi all! “Sit back, relax, and strap it down," to quote White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson. We’re going to be seeing some really amazing stamp AND die sets from Winnie & Walter this week!

I have to admit, much as I’d like to be the one who sends “thinking of you” and “congratulations” cards, I’m really mostly a birthday card sender. Maybe once I get more organized and on top of things I’ll do more than the basics, but that’s where I’m at right now. You can imagine how excited I was to see the new Big, Bold and Party stamp set from Winnie & Walter. It’s a giant sized set of stamps with a ton of different words to pick from so you can make your own customized birthday greetings (among other things)! Just what I needed!! 

 

Here's the first card I made with the set. I used Laura Bassen’s smooshing technique to create a background with distress inks (smoosh ink on acrylic block, drop water on it, smoosh onto paper, repeat if necessary). “Party” is embossed in silver sparkle. The remaining sentiment is from this new Big, Bold and Party set, except for "with" and "me" (switched the letters and turned into "em") from the  Big, Bold and Happy.

The candy container is from another set coming later this week.

Next is a word art card. And it’s masculine!! If birthday cards are hard to come by in my house, then masculine birthday cards are the rarest of them all! This was made for my dear God child. He’ll be turning 14 this year. I was excited to use the candles (keep an eye out for those later this week) as Roman numerals to represent the person's age. Again, love that customization to make a card extra special for the recipient.

Do you see a problem though?
 

Apparently, I cannot count roman numerals.
 

I will need to keep this card until 2020 when he turns 19!

 
Hahaha! Here’s the shine on this card. I kept all the embossing metallic since I'm making a masculine card. Although, I think this design would translate easily to a fun card for a teen girl with a change of colors and patterns. The “shine” and “bright” are both from the Big, Bold and Fun set.

Not only is the Big, Bold and Party stamp set exciting, but there are also coordinating DIES!! Eeek! So much goodness.
 

Also, don’t forget about the 1^st Birthday festivities going on at the Winnie & Walter blog. The stakes are really high … FREE STAMPS FOR A YEAR for the grand prize. Plus tons of other prizes. Seriously, how can you not get excited about that?!? There are many different challenges to play in.

 
I have really been impressed at the entries to my In Rotation challenge. Flowers, wreaths, graphic designs, even a Ferris wheel have been created! Check them out when you get a chance, or better yet, JOIN them!!

See ya tomorrow with some more good stuff!

-Kelly

Functional Friday Bonus Material - Combine with a Technique

Hi folks! Are you ready for another Heart Border die idea? I've got a post on the Top Dog Dies blog combining this die with a paper folding technique to create a unique rosette.

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

An Unintended Set of Valentines

I don't make a lot of one-layer cards, but every once in awhile one comes out. 

 

  
Or in this case, four come out. I usually stamp my card on a quartered sheet of copy paper first to see how it will look and then be able to make any spacing/coloring/size adjustments. Sometimes it happens where my initial design on the copy paper turns out better than the actual card, like in this case. It was frustrating to not get the grouping of hearts the way they originally looked. So I made another. And another. And another. Before long, I had a set of Valentines! Luckily they were quick to make.

I used the heart from CAS-ual Fridays 3 in a Row and stamped conversation heart sayings from the same set. 'Nuff said.

These cards are over at the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog today.

Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

Functional Friday - A Base for Another Die

Hi all! Time for another Functional Friday installment. In case you missed the post, I'm featuring one die from Top Dog Dies each month, and each Friday I'm sharing a different way to use the die. My hope is that even if you don't own that exact die, the ideas will translate to similar dies you do own.

This technique uses one die as a base for another die. To maximize this effect, the die you pick for the base should have a very dense pattern.

First I cut the Heart Border Die,

and used that to die cut the Dotted Border Tag.

The result is a very holey tag! I call this the "swiss cheese look". Perfect for layering, since everything below it will show through. You can add other dies, embellishments, sequins, etc. to the top of it.

Here it is as an actual tag on a present.

This time, I didn't pair it with another tag, I just left it so you can see through the holes to the present underneath. I love how it looks in person ... it's a different way to make your gift stand out.

Here's the same tag and ribbon on a kraft card base. Only the top of the tag is adhered, so you can really show off the holes on the bottom.

Well, so far we've seen the Heart Border Die used as a home for a stitched heart, as a background, and as a base for another die. Next Friday we'll look at a different way to use this die!

Thanks again for visiting Functional Friday! 

-Kelly

Top Dog Dies: New Release

Hi folks! I've got four different cards to share with you today, in honor of a new release of dies at Top Dog Dies. First up is the cute Elephant Die Set, which also comes with the balloons. For small dies like the balloons it's often easier for me to cut them all out of white paper and then use Copics to color the different pieces. The dotted scallop border on the bottom is also an exclusive die set ... the Dotted Borders Die Set. 

Love this little elephant! I used the die to cut a piece of chipboard to layer behind and lift him off the card. The silver embroidery floss from the balloons is wrapped around his trunk and held down with glossy accents.

Here's card #2 with the elephant die, only this time they're with the mama elephant too. There's one little pink water colored guy who stands out from the crowd, and extends a wish. 

Here's a peek at the inside too. 

 

I've always wanted something to use with my "support you" stamp, and the Corset Die is perfect for that sentiment. Since this die has many detailed cuts, I used the metal adapter plate and the pieces came out so easily. This card is for my dear girlfriend who's having surgery next month. The heart is from the Diaper Card Finishers set. 

Here's a peek at the inside ... full of love!

Finally, one of my favorite die sets in this release is the Top Dog Dies Feathers Die set. Everything came together pretty well on this card, from the pink and gold stars, to the wrapped feathers, to the nicely generic sentiment, to the washi tape wrapped around the bottom. I don't have a ton of washi tape rolls, but I hardly ever use them on anything except envelopes. Trying to force myself to use them on cards more!

There are three sizes of feathers in the set, and they all have long stems so you can easily wrap them together. Here you can see the dotted veining detail in the leaves, and how well the die cut through the pink felt. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

-Kelly

Functional Friday - Versatile Background

Hi all! Thanks so much for your positive response to the new series I introduced last week ... Functional Fridays. I'm really excited about it! In case you missed the post, I'm featuring one die from Top Dog Dies each month, and each Friday I'm sharing a different way to use the die. My hope is that even if you don't own that exact die, the ideas will translate to similar dies you do own.

This month's featured die is the Heart Border Die. The detail is amazing with hundreds of tiny hearts ... no way I would attempt that on the Silhouette, and I'd venture to say it's impossible with an exacto knife. To take advantage of the detail in a subtle way, I set about to use it as a background.



I cut one strip in the same color as my card base to make the heart shapes less apparent. We're just looking for texture here. Then I tore the border in thirds, making sure to remove all the straight edges. Not too much thought next, I just gathered the three pieces in the center of the card and adhered them down. I used the penguin from Winnie & Walter as the focal point and ended up with ...



... a card that has a little something extra than a penguin standing on a sentiment (which isn't a bad look either, I'm just happy to find ways to make it a little different than some of my other cards.) I think you could get this look with any tiny, densely patterned die.

  

The edges on top are adhered to the card base. I left the edges on the bottom a little loose. While not necessary, I also like that if someone notices that the holes are tiny hearts, it goes with the sentiment's love theme.

Here's the inside of the card. One more thing to point out ... just because it's a heart die doesn't mean that it has to be for Valentine's day. There's not a hint of red or pink on this card and it doesn't look out of place.

Well, so far we've seen the Heart Border Die used as a home for a stitched heart, and as a background. I've got another idea for next week that I can't wait to show you : ) Thanks again for visiting Functional Friday!

- Kelly

Cure for the Monday Blues with Winnie & Walter

Hi folks! I'm very excited about this post, as it involves one of my favorite stamp companies (Winnie & Walter) and one of my favorite blogging friends (Taheerah). This month Winnie & Walter is sponsoring all of Taheerah's Cure for the Monday Blues Challenges with an awesome $30 gift card for the winner each week!

As usual, Taheerah has selected a super-inspiring photo for your crafting delight:

So much to love in this photo ... the charcoal circle, gold dots around the edge, golden pine cone, white base, all great elements together.

I had to incorporate them ALL into my card! (Please do excuse my night time photography, as I really wanted to fit this post in before traveling to CHA.) The base of the card uses a mix of w&w Creative Screenings and freestyle droppings of Heidi Swapp color mist. The pine cones from w&w Winter Wonderland are embossed in gold and fussy cut, with a hole-punched circle of glitter paper on top. The vintage seam binding doesn't really relate to the inspiration photo, but I like the additional interest it adds. Being white like the card base, it doesn't take up too much visual space.




I did feel a sense of delight that the theme of the "Eat Drink And Be Merry" sentiment (w&w Eat Drink Gingerbread Man) ties in with the charcoal dinner plate from the inspiration photo : ) The secondary sentiment is from Bubble Talk.

A final element pulled from the inspiration photo is hidden inside. Not sure if you noticed, but there is a leopard pattern in the lower right hand corner of the photo. Perhaps a chair? That translated to a zebra print on the inside of my card. This is one of my favorite things about playing in challenges. It never would have occurred to me to use that paper were it not for this challenge. In fact I've had the paper for years and it's never been touched. Now I couldn't imagine the card without the zebra inside. A little sassy, I think!

Anyway, I sure hope you get a chance to play along with Taheerah's challenge this week. Remember, Winnie & Walter is sponsoring all of the challenges this month, so if this week doesn't work out for you, be sure to come back later.

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly