Have a Great Day

First I want to congratulate Geri (Geri's Cards).  She joined us in our weekly challenges at Joan's Gardens and was randomly selected yesterday for the $100 gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens.  What a great way to end the year.  CONGRATULATIONS GERI.

Also I want to announce the winner from the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog hop.  Becky Spinks won the  $25 gift certificate from Heartfelt Creations.   CONGRATULATIONS BECKY.

I have had a fabulous year designing for Joan and hopefully have given you some creative ideas for using all the great products you can purchase from Joan's Gardens.  Joan is constantly on the lookout for the newest products out on the market to help us create cards and projects we will all be very proud of.  Today I want to show you how to use one of the new Memory Box dies to create a very pretty, dimensional flower embellishment. I love creating my cards using embossing folders and a variety of dies. Below is a "mini" tutorial on how I created this card.

This is a 5.5"x6" card.  The right side is embossed using the Sizzix "Ornate Frames" (656989) embossing folder.  The left side was embossed using the Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" embossing folder.   

On the left side of the card I created the dimensional flower by using the Memory Box "Primula Blooms Die" (98149). Above I am showing you the envelope the die comes in  plus a yellow and a green die cut from this die.   This is such a fun die to work with.   You could just use this cut flat,  but it creates such a beautiful flower when you use the tools from the "Flower Tool Kit" to shape both the leaves and the flower pieces.  When you shape the flower pieces it sure brings them to "life"!

Here is a close up of the flower I created with this die.  The yellow flower was assembled over the green flower.  To cover the green on the die cut I actually cut out two yellow pieces.  The yellow flowers, attached to the stems,  were cut off and glued over the flowers on the green die cut to create a yellow base for the dimensional flower.  The individual die cut flowers were sponged with "Mustard Seed" Distress ink.  Each of the petals were shaped using tools from the Flower Tool Kit.  In the center of the large flower I used the smallest green piece, from the green die cut,  for the stamen.  Doesn't this die create a pretty little flower!   

 The bird cage is the Poppy Stamps "Carousel Bird Cage" (800) and the bird is the Memory Box "Perched Reed Bird" (98160).  I think that is the cutest little bird.

To color the bird I sponged on Tea Dye and Mustard Seed Distress Inks.  A marker was used to color the bill and add his eye.  It doesn't show up well in the photo, but I used a regular pencil to lightly draw in his wings then sponged over it again to blend it all together.  Blue chalk was sponged behind the cage.

For additional greenery behind the flower and behind the bird cage, I die cut the Poppy Stamps "Meadow Leaf" (806) and "Gentle Leaf" (807) using light green card stock.

 Under the green silk bow, I added the Memory Box "Woven Circle" (98114).

I love working with all these dies.  The die cut always pops right out of the die so they are very easy to use.  If you would like to create this card, you can order all these products from Joan's Gardens.

I want to wish  you all a very Happy New Year.  We plan to spend a quiet evening at home and I know we won't be able to stay awake to bring in the new year.  Enjoy your weekend.

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Feminine Window Card

Yesterday I showed you how I designed a masculine card using one of the new window dies you can now order from Joan's Gardens, and today I have used the same die to create a feminine card with the same window.  This is a 5.5" square card.  I started off by placing the front of the card, along with another piece of card stock the same size, down on the cutting mat of the die cut machine.  They were taped so they would not move.  Next I taped the Joy Stamps "Grand Madison Window" (815) down on the left side and ran it through my Grand Calibur.  The reason I added an extra piece of card stock is because I wanted to emboss the front panel and did not want that embossing to show through on the inside of the card.  This also lined the two windows up perfectly.  The embossing folder I used was the Cuttlebug "Victoria" embossing folder.  One of the die cut windows was placed in the "hole" of the embossed panel and taped in place, on the back side, so it would stay there.  The second die cut window was attached over it with dimensional tape to give the window some dimension.  

I wanted to use a pretty new stamp Joan sent me called "Words Like Flowers" (4181K) by Penny Black to show through the die cut window.  It is such a pretty stamp.  I stamped the Penny Black image on  a larger piece of card stock than my card.  The reason I did that was so I could place the stamped design under the window and place it just the way I wanted it to show through the window.  It was trimmed down then to fit inside the card.  The flowers and leaves on the stamped image were colored using Copic markers.  Here is a picture of the inside of the card.

Now back to the front of the card -  I wanted to try and duplicate the flowers in the stamped image.  I used the new Cheery Lynn "Miniature Rose" (B152); "Medium Rose" (B154); and "Large Rose" (B155) dies for the flowers.  I don't know if you have all three of these dies but they are so perfect for creating different size flowers.  You can use just a few layers or up to 6 layers that are cut from just one die.  You also get the leaves that go under the flower in these dies.  They are super easy to put together to create an open type flower like I created here, or you can create beautiful roses with them too.  To duplicate the stamens in the die cut flowers like the ones in the stamped image, I used the small "Sparkle" punch, also available from Joan's Gardens.  The beautiful leaves were die cut using the Poppy Stamps "Meadow Leaf" (806) and "Gentle Leaf (807) dies.  These dies cut really are easy to use because they all just pop right out of the die.  

I know these window dies are really popular right now and I hope I have given you a few ideas to help you create your cards.  Using dies to create your cards is such a fun way to add texture and give your cards that "wow" factor. I really love using them by themselves or in combination with stamped images.

As I have said before, you can get all the products I use from Joan's Gardens.  Shipping will begin again on January 2nd but Joan is still taking orders over this holiday break.  By the way, don't forget to mark your calendars for the big sale next Wednesday at Joan's Gardens.  You can go to her blog to read all the details.

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Masculine Happy Birthday

Today I needed to make a masculine birthday card and thought the new Poppy Stamps "Grand Madison Window" die (815) Joan's Gardens now has in stock, would be the perfect place to start.  Two pieces of design paper were layered on a 5.5 x 6" white card.  I used a scenic stamp from Heartfelt Creations but you could use any outdoors scenic stamp to get this cool effect.  It was colored using colored pencils and oms.  The window was die cut using vanilla card stock and sponged with several colors of light brown Distress Inks.  The window was attached over the scene with dimensional strips.  In the upper left corner I die cut the Memory Box "Woven Circle" (98114) using vanilla card stock and sponged it also with Distress Inks.  The sentiment in the center of this circle is from the JustRite "Birthday Sentiments stamp set.  A Tim  Holtz embellishment and a few brads were added to complete the card.  

You can purchase the dies I used on this card from Joan's Gardens.  She has them in stock right now.  Have you been over to see all the new Poppy Stamps dies Joan just posted?  One of them is a window box  die to go under this great window.  While you are there, also check out that cute "Wildflower Patch" die!   You can place your  pre-order now for any of these dies. Remember, you will not be charged until they are shipped to you.    

I want to thank all of you that have sent me birthday wishes today.  It has been so fun hearing from all of you.

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Heartfelt Creations Alumni Design Team Blog Hop

Can you believe that in just a few more days we will begin a new year! I have loved working with all the Heartfelt Creations new stamp collections and dies that have come out this year. It is time for the last blog hop of the year for the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Design Team.   If you came from Olga's blog, you started at the beginning.  Be sure to leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.  

The Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies I used today are:  Carnation Florals 2 Precut Set (HCPC 3438); matching Spellbinder "Carnation Creation Shapeabilities";  Layered Elegant Swirl Die (HCD 716); Bella Rose Die (HCD 712).  I decided to design a very feminine birthday card today.  My base card is 5x7".  The beautiful "Layered Elegant Swirl Die" was die cut using white card stock and layered over a pink background.  The frame below was created by embossing a piece of white card using the Cuttlebug "Love Language" embossing folder. A frame was die cut using the Cheery Lynn Sweetheart Frame and it was layered over the embossed background.  

A variety of flowers were stamped using the Heartfelt Creations "Carnation Florals" stamp set and they were cut out with the matching dies.  They were stamped using VersaMark ink and white embossed.  A light pink ink was used to add color to the flowers. A punch was used to create the stamens in all the flowers. The pretty Bella Rose Die was used to die cut the green leaves and flourish.  The leaves were sponged prior to taking them out of the die.  The flourish was attached inside the frame then the flowers were glued around it. Two die cut butterflies (Cheery Lynn Mini Butterflies), were added.  The sentiment is from JustRite.  Martha Stewart punched branches and a few Kaiser Craft white pearls were added to complete the card.  The punched border behind the card was created using the Martha Stewart "Double Arches" punch.

The next stop on this blog hop is Carla. Be sure to go over to see her beautiful card.  

One lucky person will win a $25 gift certificate to Heartfelt Creations.  All you have to do is leave a comment on each blog in this hop before midnight Friday, Dec 30th.  A random winner will be chosen from all these comments.  The winner will be posted on Dec 31 by noon.

As you know, all products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Winter Collage

 

Today I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. It has been such a fun year sharing my work with you and knowing I provide some inspiration to help you with ideas for creating your cards. It has been a fabulous year working with all the variety of exciting products that we can get from Joan's Gardens.   My card above is created with a few more new products, that can be pre-ordered from Joan.   The stamp on the right is the Memory Box "Winter Collage" (G1830).  Isn't it a beautiful stamp.  The embossed folder used in the background is the Marianne Design (DS0907).  It was cut out at an angle, after embossing, so it could be layered, and would show under the elements I wanted to add to the card. .  The poinsettia is a stamp from Memory Box, "Poinsettia Bloom" (G1788) and the small flowers are also a Memory Box stamp "Sakura" (2518).  The pretty holly flourish used is the Cheery Lynn "Holly Flourish" (B148).  There is a small piece of a Martha Stewart "Gothic Arches" border along the top of the Winter Collage.   The images were colored using Prisma pencils and OMS.  To complete the card a few beads were added to the flower centers and Kaiser Craft pearls added.

You can order all the products I use from Joan's Gardens.  I want to remind you that you can place your orders with Joan through the holidays,  but shipping will not resume until January 2. 

Merry Christmas.

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Carousel Bird Cage

Every once in a while I create a card that I totally love and this happens to be one of them. I love all the dies you can purchase from Joan's Gardens.  The birdcage is one of the new Poppy Stamps dies that she now has. It is called "Carousel Bird Cage" (800) and I know you will love it. The cute bird is the Memory Box "Perched Reed Bird (98160) and the pretty flourish above the bird cage is the Memory Box "Fauntleroy Crest" (98222).   All these dies go together so well.  The Cheery Lynn "Tropical Flourish" (B127) is on the left side of the cage and the flowers were created with the new Cheery Lynn "Cuties 2" (B150) and "Miniature Rose" (B152) dies.  I love how easy it is to create beautiful flowers with these Cheery Lynn dies.

The design paper is from the Basic Grey "Sweet Threads" paper pad.  The top two-thirds of it was embossed using the Sizzix "Ornate Swirls" (657138) embossing folder.  Doesn't that make a beautiful background for the bird cage!   All the pieces were die cut and attached to the card using liquid glue.  The bird was colored by using sponge daubers.  Kaiser Craft Pearls were added to the birdcage and in the center of the white flowers.  The sentiment is from the JustRite "Birthday Sentiments" stamp set. 

All the products used on this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.  She is taking pre-orders for the Carousel Bird Cage and the Fauntleroy Crest. You will not be charged for pre-ordered products until they are shipped to you.

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Joan's Final Weekly Challenge for this Year

This will be the final challenge for 2011 at Joan's Gardens and she has made it an easy one - make a quick Christmas card.  I know it looks like I did a lot on my card but really it went together very fast.  The reason it was simple is because I went through a box I tossed extra die cuts that I did not use for one reason or another. Do you do that?    I pulled out a few die cuts and just started gluing them to my card.  I had the punched Martha Stewart background but did have to emboss the white piece behind the scene with the Cuttlebug "Swiss Dot" embossing folder.  Then all the other pieces were just attached either with pop dots or glue.  Glitter was added to the snowflake, and top border and a little on the church scene, the sleigh, and reindeer.  Polar White Flower Soft was glued along the bottom.  

I hope you will go over and enter a card in Joan's Weekly Challenge this week.  It always makes us happy to see all your work.  You can see Joan's beautiful card and  read all the details about this challenge at Joan's Gardens.  This will be the last week for a chance to win a prize and be entered into the drawing for the $100 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens.  She will be drawing that lucky name after this challenge is over.  I'll be looking forward to seeing your quick and easy Christmas card -- lets see if we can beat the number of entries we had last week.   

All the Cheery Lynn and Marianne Design dies I used on this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens

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Friends are the Flowers in the Garden of Life

I have been very busy getting ready for the holidays and have all my Christmas cards completed now, so decided to play in my "flower shop" today and create a colorful floral card.  You know how much I love all the Cheery Lynn dies and I have created this floral arrangement using the following dies:  Background doily is the CL "Large Sunflower Doily" (DL181); Flowers were created with the following CL dies:  "Judy's Blooms" (C184) for the large blue flowers; "Cuties 1" (B149); "Cuties 2" (B150); "Cuties 3" (B151); and "Miniature Rose" (B152) for the small flowers; CL "Victorian Romance Flourish" (DL151); and "Tropical Flourish" (B127).  

The beautiful "Large Sunflower Doily" was die cut using white card stock.  I wanted it off to the side so trimmed a little of the left side and bottom, then attached it to the design paper.  Two of the blue "Judy's Blooms" flowers were stamped with a small "dotted Swiss" stamp using a darker blue ink.  I decided not to stamp on the petals of the third flower just for "interest" (to be a little different).  I love working with all the Cheery Lynn "Cuties" flowers and the pretty little "Miniature Roses".  I mixed and matched some of the layers in the little flowers by gluing different die cuts together to get different looks.  So fun to play with these dies and see what you can come up with.  I like these little flower strips because you can use the entire strip to create one flower, or for many of mine today, I cut them in half, or even in thirds to create smaller flowers.    All the flowers were arranged on the doily and the Victorian Romance Flourish and the Tropical Flourish, was cut apart and tucked in under the arrangement.   The sentiment, I think, goes perfect with this arrangement and is from the JustRite "Joyful Hearts" stamp set.  A few pearls were added to complete the card. 

All these products used on my card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. 

 There is a challenge over at the Cheery Lynn Blog this week, and the challenge is to enter a card using at least one Cheery Lynn Flower Die.  I know lots of you have these dies and should go over and check out this challenge.  You never know, you might end up winning the weekly prize.

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Winter Scene Plus a Tag

 Today I have created another Christmas card using Memory Box Dies from Joan's Gardens.  I did use one stamp for the background in this scene.  Here are the products I used for this card:  Memory Box "Tree Silhouette" stamp; "Winterland Tree (98168); "Country House" (98165); Wrought Iron Fence" (98164); "Puffy Clouds" (98172); "Deer Trio" (98166); "Bubble Joy" (98190); Amira Flourish" (98183); Sizzix "Small Easel" ( 657187).

I started out by white embossing the Tree Silhouette  in the background on the left side.  I does not show up a lot in the photo.  The background was sponged with blue Distress Ink.  By stamping the trees in the background it gave this scene some depth.  Everything was die cut using white card stock.  The Country House was die cut and backed with a piece of light yellow card stock for light in the windows.  The pretty Wrought Iron Fence was die cut twice so it would fit across the front of the card. I really like the small size of this pretty fence.   I get questions about how to get these die cuts out of the dies.  If they don't just fall out after die cutting them, I hit them on the edge of the table and they usually fall right out.  These dies are very sturdy.  I have never had a problem getting the die cuts out of the dies.  The Winterland Tree was die cut and then backed with a piece of light green card stock.  I used scissors to cut around the outside edge.  The Deer Trio was die cut and only two of them used on the front of the card.  I saved the other one for the inside.  The Puffy Clouds were die cut and only two of the three were used.  The snowflakes were in my stash of snowflakes - most coming form the Martha Stewart snowflake border punches.  A bow was added to complete the front.

 On the inside I used another really pretty Memory Box die.  This one is called the "Bubble Joy".  You place it on your card where you want the sentiment die cut, and it die cuts little holes in the shape of the sentiment. I glued a piece of blue card stock behind the die cut so the sentiment would show up well. I love this look!   I couldn't resist using another new Memory Box die called "Amira Flourish".  It is just as pretty as the La Rue Flourish I have used in the past.  I glued it to the top portion of the inside of the card.  To complete the bottom of the inside, I attached the other deer from the "Deer Trio".

 Joan sent me a die I am really, really excited about.  This is the Sizzix "Small Easel".  How cool is this!   So many times I create a card that I would like to display or even better, there are cards I receive from my friends that I would love to display in my craft room.  This die cuts that little easel that you can attach easily with your Pro Glider Adhesive and it folds down perfectly flat for mailing.  I attached this easel to the back of the card I made today.  It was so simple to do.  I know I will use this die cut a lot.  And the great thing is that it will work with your Cuttlebug, Big Shot or Vegabond.

ONE MORE PROJECT:

 I still need tags for packages and I used a Sizzix die to create these cute stocking tags.

 The Sizzix die is the "Stocking" die (657369).  This die comes with an embossing folder which makes it quick and easy to create this tag.  I wanted a tag that would open, so I placed a piece of folded card stock just below the cutting line along the top,  and ran it through the die cutting machine.  I then die cut a red stocking and another white stocking.  Each of these pieces were put in the embossing folder then cut apart and glued to the front of the stocking  tag I die cut. The "Merry' was traced with a Glue Pen and sprinkled with green glitter.  A slot punch was used to make a hole so I could attach a ribbon.

 On the inside of the tag I used some JustRite stamps for the pine branch and sentiment.  The "To and From"  were stamped on the bottom.

Here is a picture of the Sizzix Stocking die (657369).  Now I need to get busy and get all my tags completed!

All the products I used in these two projects can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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A Joyful Christmas

Today I have created another pop up card using the Sizzix Scallop Circle 3_D Pop-Up Die.  This die actually has two pop up tabs but today I am using only one of them.  It is nice you are able to have dies that are versatile. Before I explain how I created the inside of this card, I best show you the front first.   

This is a 6" x 5.5" card.  I used one of the small embossing folders from the Sizzix "Ornament with Branch"  (657261) embossing folder set, up in the left corner.  The beautiful tree is die cut using the Memory Box "Flowering Christmas Tree" (98195).  In the center of the flowers, on the tree, I inserted a light lavender rhinestone.  There are also rhinestones in the embossed ornament.  The sentiment is from the JustRite "Christmas Trimmings" stamp set and it was gold embossed.  To complete the front, a silk bow was added.

For the inside of the card I cut a piece of lighter purple card stock 1/8" smaller.  The top portion of this piece was embossed with the Sizzix "Ornate Swirls (657138) embossing folder.  My card is wider than the embossing folder so I had to place the top of the card in the folder twice to get complete coverage.  You can't tell where where the edge of the embossing is done.  The Three Wisemen and the top sentiment are from the Tim  Holtz "Joyful Song" (CMS119) stamp set.  Aren't they gorgeous!  The sentiment was silver embossed and die cut using the Spellbinders "Labels Twenty-One" dies.  This is the largest die in the set.  In order to get the shiny silver border, I laid the Labels Twenty-One die down on a piece of shiny silver card stock and traced around the outside of the label with a pencil, then cut it out with scissors.  This is an easy way to cut a perfect, slightly larger, border.  The Wisemen were stamped using VersaMark Ink on  purple card stock and clear embossed.  I love the way that turned out.  I cut around the outside edges of this  image, leaving the bottom straight so it would fit well on top of the pop-up piece. 

Nest the Sizzix Scallop Circle 3-D Popup was die cut.  I folded all seams on this popup except the long narrow one.  I wanted that one to stay flat.  Using my Glue Glider "Perma Tac", I added adhesive all around the back of the popup and centered it in the center of the card, on the seam, and closed the card, pressing down to attach it.  The Wisemen image was attached to the wide popup tag with Perma Tac adhesive also.  In order to decorate the bottom portion of the inside of the card, I stamp another sentiment from The JustRite "Nature's Nested Sentiments" using VersaMark ink and silver embossed it.  The sentiment reads "May You be Blessed this Holiday Season".  It was die cut using the Marianne Design (LR0117) die.  It is easiest if you emboss the sentiment first, then you can tape the die over it, making sure the sentiment is centered, then run it through the die cutting machine.  Along the bottom edge I added one of the Cheery Lynn "Lace Light Deco" die cut borders.  I had those rhinestone snowflakes in my "stash" and added them to the top of the card to finish it off.  

This is a beautiful Tim Holtz stamp set.  I know the 12 Days of Christmas sale at Joan's Gardens is over but if you order this stamp set and tell her I sent you, you can still get this set at the sale price of $16.50.  Here is the link to the stamp set so you can see all the stamps in this set.  It is the second set pictured.

Here is a side view of this pop-up card.  

How are you coming on all your Christmas cards?  Are you about finished with them.  I still have a few more to complete but every day I get closer to having them all completed.  As you know, all the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Don't forget to go over and check out the weekly challenge at Joan's Gardens.  You can submit any new Christmas card you create.  The winner this week will receive a Marianne Design die PLUS be entered in the $100 gift certificate drawing that will be soon.  Wouldn't you love to have your name in that drawing for a change to win that $100 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens!!!! 

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Gold Poinsettia

 

Do you ever have a day when you have an idea in your head but it just doesn't work on out paper.  Well that was the kind of day I had with this card.  I wasn't sure I should post it, but in case I don't get another one made today, thought I'd go ahead and post it.

I started off by double embossing the background.  The left side is embossed with the Sizzix "Winter Botanicals (657261) and the right side embossed using only a small portion of the Sizzix "Winter Words" (65738) embossing folder.  I really like these two embossing folders used side by side.   I had a piece of gold colored vellum and thought it would make a beautiful poinsettia.  I used VersaMark ink to stamp the Penny Black "Christmas Pride" poinsettia and embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  This embossing powder has glitter in it.  The poinsettia was stamped three times and cut out so I could layer it.  I usually like to spritz vellum flowers to give them some dimension, but this particular vellum really wanted to curl up tight and I don't feel like I got a very well shaped flower. First time that has happened to me -- the vellum didn't come from Joan's Gardens, maybe that is why it didn't work as well, hee hee. For fillers behind the flower I used Cheery Lynn "Pine Branches" (B146) and Cheery Lynn Holly Flourish" (B148); also pieces from the Sizzix "Festive Greenery" die.  The center of the flower has some small beads added.  To complete the card I added a silk bow. 

All the products in "bold" can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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Christmas Pop Up Thank You Card

Today I wanted to create another card with the Poppystamps "Small Madison Window" (816).  I think there are going to be so many fun things to do with this die. My card is 5.5" x 6".  I used two pieces of design paper from the KaiserCraft "December 25th paper pad.  The background for the window was cut from a piece of white card stock, with the next to largest, Spellbinders "Label Twenty-Two" and I used the same die to cut a piece of design paper from the Kaiser Craft paper pad to layer on top of it.  Next I traced around the outside that same Spellbinders die, using white card stock, to create a mat for the die cut label.  I traced around the die again for a second mat.  Both mats were cut out with scissors.  The window die was also die cut using white card stock.  All the white pieces were sponged with Distress Inks. 

I used the Penny Black "Enjoy Life" stamp set which includes these cute little birds.  The holly is die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Holly Flourish" (B148).  This is such a great die to use with your Christmas cards because the holly is small and fits really well around either flowers or other images.  I die cut the flourish several times and cut it apart to fit in and around the birds.  The corners are from Spellbinders "Lace Doily Accents".  The berries were added with some really old red "Crystal Lacquer".  

Now I need to tell you what I did with the second Label Twenty-Two I cut out with scissors.  I used it for the inside of  this window image. 

As I told you, this is a thank you card.  I used that second image to die cut the  Memory Box "Pop Up Thanks".  This is a small pop up and works really great on the inside of the card.  This picture shows the top lifted up so you can see the "Pop Up Thanks".  A small piece of the Cheery Lynn Holly Flourish was added.  You can see I also used Distress Ink to sponge around the edges of the inside of the card. 

As you know, you can purchase all the products I use from Joan's Gardens.   I hope you enjoyed seeing another way to use this Poppystamps Small Madison Window Die and the Memory Box Pop Up Thanks..

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Snow Globe

 

Have you seen the new Memory Box Snow Globe dies at Joan's Gardens?   She also has matching stamps with dies for the scenes inside the globes.  I used the "Grand Snow Globe" (98228) for this card because I wanted to use the Memory Box "Tree Silhouette" stamp (E1302) for the background scene for the bear.  The bear I used is the Memory Box "Holiday Spirit Bear" (C1818) and die cut him with the matching die "Holiday Spirit Bear" (98248).  Below I am going to show you how to use these dies.  I started by stamping the "Tree Silhouette" image on white card stock then placed the "Grand Snow Globe" die over it, including the trees I wanted in the scene - the stamp was a little larger than the globe.  The base of the snow globe was die cut using dark brown card stock.  To create snow on my background I used VersaMark Ink to cover the scene then embossed using an embossing powder that has glitter in it.

It is really easy to use the Memory Box dies with matching stamps.  First you need to create a template with the die.  Use a small piece of card stock and die cut the image.  Do not tape it down on the card stock.  Notice the two holes beside the die cut image.  These are going to help you line the die cut over the stamped image.

 

Next you need to stamp the image that matches the die cut on a small piece of card stock.

 

Now you need to place the template you cut over the stamped image, centering the image in the opening.  Now take a pencil and color in those two small holes beside the image.

 

Now you want to place the die over the stamped image and line up the two holes over those pencil marks you just made.  This will line the die up perfectly over your stamped image then tape it in place.

Run the taped die through your die cutting machine.  You can see how perfect the image was cut out.  How easy is that!!

After die cutting the bear you can color his hat and scarf.  I added some dimensional tape behind the base of the snow globe and lined it up below the globe.  The bear was also attached with dimensional tape.  The bear was covered with white flocking.

The large bear is the Memory Box "Wesley Bear" (D1832).  He also has a matching die "Wesley Bear" (98234) you would use just like the other bear. His scarf was also colored and flock added to the bear.  The pretty flourish up in the corner is the Memory Box "Snowflake Corner" (98238).  I used two different design papers and added a border along the vertical piece.  I used the Spellbinder "Snowflake" border and just used the very edge on both sides.  The border along the bottom of the card is the Cheery Lynn "Border Carnivale" (DL129).  A few extra punched snowflakes were added  to complete the card.

There are a lot of different things you can do with these Memory Box Snow Globes.  They do come in different sizes and there are stamps available to create other types of scenes.  If you are interested in ordering some of these stamps and dies, be sure to contact Joan, at Joan's Gardens.  You will see the Memory Box stamps and dies listed in her store.

Be sure to check out the last day of Joan's Gardens 12 Days of Christmas Sale.  Today she has different size "grab bags" at 50% off.  

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Window Scene

 

I love playing with new things!   I received this window die, Poppystamps "Small Madison Window" (816) from Joan's Gardens yesterday and was excited to see what I could design with it.  My card is 5.5" x 6".  I started out by embossing the Tim Holtz Sizzix  "Tall Pines" on the left side of vanilla card stock then placed the card stock into the Tim Holtz "Bricked" embossing folder and created a wall on the right side for my window.  I used a small piece of card stock that would fit behind the window and embossed the tops of the "Tall Pines" on that piece so the trees would show behind the window.  The trees were sponged using Forest Moss Distress Ink then the background sponged using Weathered Wood Distress Ink.  I wanted to create a snowy appearance on the trees and used another new product I received from Joan's Gardens called "Mister Huey's Calico White Color Mist".  The Distress Inks lighten when sprinkled with anything wet, and this Color Mist created a snowy effect.  It doesn't show up that well in the photo above, but does look like it is snowing on the trees.  Another great product!  I forgot to tell you that I used a piece of "Eclipse Masking Tape" along the bricked wall so I wouldn't get color on it while sponging. 

Next I wanted to create a pretty arrangement on the window.  I used the new Cheery Lynn "Miniature Rose" die (B152) to create the small red flowers.  I watched the video at Joan's Gardens and followed the instructions for creating these flowers.  They were very easy to make.  The white flower was die cut using the Marianne Design LR0121) dies.  They were die cut using white card stock, embossed before taking out of the die then I used a red marker to create the red dots.  A small punched sun (Punch Bunch) was placed in the center of this flower.  Behind the flower I die cut some more new leaves I just received from Joan's Gardens.  These are the Poppystamps "Gentle Leaf" (807).  She also has another very pretty leaf called "Meadow Leaf (806) that I know you will want in your collection.  For additional filler, I die cut one of the Marianne Design (LR0192) leaves in a darker green and placed it on top of the Poppystamps leaves.  The flowers were attached with glue then some Martha Stewart branches were tucked in for additional filler.  My arrangement needed a little more red, so I die cut two of the Memory Box "Crisp Bows" (98197) and clipped off the long part of the bow and tucked them in behind the white flower.  I wanted to add a sentiment.  I used one of the sentiments from the JustRite "Deck The Halls" stamp set on white card stock and trimmed it down to create a package.  Another red Memory Box "Crisp Bow" was added to the package. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing my first idea on how to use the pretty window die from Memory Box.  Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your weekend.

If you haven't checked it out yet, don't miss the items in the Joan's Gardens 12 Days of Christmas Sale today.  Each day she has lots of great products we all love to use.  I'm sure you know, but the wonderful thing about shopping at Joan's Gardens is that she only charges exactly what it costs for postage.

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