Slatted Dies- To Eclipse or Not?

Have you seen the new slatted dies out of the UK? They are perfect for eclipse cards but for so much more than that too. I played and designed a bunch of cards for my newest video here. I layered three sizes of the Slatted Stars for this CAS card using cardstock and colors from a Club Scrap kit I own. 

The Slatted Hearts die set from Craft Addictions UK has both vertical and horizontal options so I layered the two before attaching to a card created with a Pinpoint Burst Plate from Memory Box and gold Stardream Metallic Cardstock from CutCardStock. 

But as I show in the new video, my favorite way to use these slatted dies is still with the eclipse technique. I made two cards in the video and one was a triple butterfly easel eclipse card shown here:

Isn't that pretty? And not hard to make as I show here in the video. The copper cardstock is a new favorite from CutCardStock called Stardream Metallic.

I also tried an eclipsed shaker card and it was a success. However the sand and tiny stars that shake do not show up real well in a still photo so you might want to watch the video to see how easy and fun this card was to make:

I will share more cards from the video later in the week here on my blog.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Christmas in July Clear Views Class Cards

We had great fun in the Christmas in July classes I taught at Harts n Scraps recently. All of the cards feature Clear Views Transparencies by Jill Lemke that I teach with every other month and are sold very reasonably at the store. The first card is a tri-fold and you can see the puppy through the window. The second card is perfect to recreate for a larger Christmas list and we put old Christmas music behind the transparency. The third card was a class favorite because they learned how to make a pop up present perfect for a gift card or small gift without the use of an expensive die set. And on the last one we added ink through a stencil on glitter paper before adding the ornament and the transparency. 

The students went home with four cards for an early start for their stash of holiday cards and lots of ideas.

Cardmaking Joy and Hugs, Karen 

Creek Bank Creations Life and Look Cards

All this week I am featuring Creek Bank Creations interactive dies on my blog. Today's cards are made with their Lift and Look Card Base die set. We did a make and take in their booth at Novi MI and of course I could not resist. The layered die set and the pretty paper is also from Creek Bank Creations. The picture is a Clear Views transparency from Jill Lemke (which I teach with every other month at Harts N Scraps.) But just look at what happens when the card is opened:

The picture and stamped sentiment pulls up as the card is opened.

The layered "You" and tweed paper are from Creek Bank Creations too. The foiled image is from Deco Foil foiled with rainbow foil.

I attached a gift card to the pop up so it slides up to surprise the recipient. All the awesome dies and products from Creek Bank Creations that I featured this week are available on their website if you aren't at a stamp show like where I found mine. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

New Waffle Flower Magic and My First Short

I had time this week to play with some new Waffle Flower Open Books dies and stencils but no time for a full length video. So I decided to make my first Short for YouTube and other social media. You can see it here. In the short, I show how I created this card for my grandson with the Waffle Flower Open Book Die set as well as the Dragon Castle Stencil Duo and Open Book Sentiments stamp set. 

In the newest release at Waffle Flower I couldn't resist the Open Book Poinsettia stencil set. The Open Book dies and stencils had been on my wish list for awhile so I purchased them all and made these cards. The die has two handwriting impressions I used on the inside of the pages on this card:

Got just a minute to see how easy these dies and stencils are to create an open book look? Watch the short here.

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Creek Bank Creations Tunnel Cards

Another favorite die set I purchased in the Creek Bank Creations booth at the Novi MI show was the Free Standing Tunnel Card die set along with all the pretty dies to decorate it. I have tried to make tunnel cards in the past without dies but did not have much success. After watching the videos at Creek Bank Creations I made several very easily. 

Here is a horizontal version I made with their Village Edges dies. I put this one onto an A2 card base so I can write a message inside. 

There is a stitched oval tunnel add on at Creek Bank Creations I also could not resist and I love how this card turned out!

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Creek Bank Creations Spiral Pop Up Cards For Any Season

This week I am sharing all the cards I made after shopping in the Creek Bank Creations booth at Novi MI. This card front is lovely with the pretty paper from Creek Bank but just look what happens when the card is opened:

My favorite of all the dies I bought from Creek Bank Creations is the Spiral Pop Up Die which creates an acetate spiral where we can attach small die cut or punched pieces. In this card I attached pretty flowers and made a feminine birthday card for a special friend. 

I used inspiration from the Creek Bank Creations samples in their booth for this card I made with their Mini Fall Die Set and Circle Stamp Autumn Greetings. I remember making similar spiral cards years ago but using acetate is new to me. 

Here is a Christmas card I made with more inspiration found in the Creek Bank Creations videos. Julie made a starry night sky and I gave it my own twist with embossing powder on two sided tape paper heated with a heat gun for texture and then added some stars to that. 

The cardinal was created with a stencil and die set from Creek Bank Creations. The frame is from Penny Black and the sentiment from Sue Wilson. But as usual with these cards, the inside is the best part: 

I added punched snowflakes to my acetate spiral that pops up as the card is opened. That is hard to show with still pictures, so here is a mini video showing these cards:

(If for any reason you can't see this mini video if you subscribe, simply go to my blog or Instagam to watch it there.) 

Be sure to check back all week for more Creek Bank Creations cards with their amazing dies!

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

Crealies Slimline Postage Collage Frame Dies Horizontal and Vertical

I love how Annelies of Crealies names her Postage Frame die sets after members of our design team. The newest one is called Nicole and is a Slimline Postage Frame Die Set that I used in both of my cards today. I also show step by step how to make this card in my new video:

As you know, there are many Christmas in July sales and events. I use it as an incentive to get some of my Christmas cards done early avoiding the rush at the end of the year. I made this slimline card a horizontal easel card and decorated it with the new Mini Christmas Partzz die set. Three of the stitched shapes were raised with the layering stitched dies. I used the new Banner Tags for the sentiments.

 

I love how with these Crealies Postage Frame dies you can choose to parts or all of the shapes for great dimension and also how the pattern flows from the background through the raised images. I made this card a vertical slimline thank you card. On both the cards I share in the new video, I created the card front with the new Slimline Postage Frame die. It is slightly larger than the slimline card base I created so the edges have the fun postage edge. Here is another view of this card:

 

It was so easy to create these dimensional slimline cards with the new Crealies dies you can find here on their website.  And you can see how fun and easy they are to create with in my new video here. 

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen