Carrie's Custom Cards: July 2023

Saturday, July 29, 2023

Radiance Stencils 360 Get Well Card

For my final card for Penguin Palace's July challenge, I played with my new Radiance stencil on my Stencils 360 platform. I turned the stencil at 45 degree angles for this design and used the colors in the July challenge. I love how this stencil turned out! The different colors and all the dots and patterns are so cool! I think this one will be great for flames when done in yellow, orange, and red colors. If you're not familiar with PP's Stencils 360 platform, check out this link: Stencils 360°™ - Penguin Palace (ppstamps.com)

I trimmed the stenciled image down to fit a light blue 5X7 card base and adhered it in portrait orientation. I added a blue flat-backed pearl to the center of the design for a little dimension and then created a get well soon sentiment in my Silhouette Design Studio software and did a print and cut of it. I adhered some teal washi tape to the bottom right of the card. Then I added a purple layer behind the sentiment and added a few more flat-backed pearls to the sentiment panel and adhered it to the washi tape. The Radiance stencil is big enough to be cut into several smaller panels for A2 cards, so I'm planning to try that and a few different rotation angles with this gorgeous stencil.

Challenges I'm entering:

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (5/5; ends 8/2/23)

ppstampschallenge.blog:

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (6/6; ends 8/11/23)

Crafting Happiness Challenges: ATG ends 7/31/23)

TIME OUT Challenges: There's a sign that says "Make and Create" in this graphic, and that's what I did with this card! I took out my Stencils 360 platform and had a great time playing with my new Penguin Palace stencils making and creating lots of cards this weekend! It was so much fun! (1/5; ends 8/2/23) C5

No more challenges

Gerbera Daisies Stencil Cards

I'm back with another set of cards using Penguin Palace's new Gerbera Daisies stencil. The first card is a 5X7 card, and the stenciled flowers just needed to be trimmed down a little to fit the blue card base in landscape orientation. For the second card, I cut the panel with the stenciled flowers in half and trimmed it to fit an A2 card in portrait orientation. I stenciled the daisies and leaves with the colors from PP's July Challenge colors. If you're not familiar with Penguin Palace's Stencils 360 platform, check out this link: Stencils 360°™ - Penguin Palace (ppstamps.com)

The stenciled flowers and leaves are the star of the show for these cards, so I just added a couple sentiments from PP's You Lift Me Up digital stamp set: "Sending loads of joy" and "You lift me up." I colored the sentiment strips with an Ohuhu light purple alcohol ink marker. For the 5X7 card, I also added 3 flower sequins for embellishments. For the A2 card, I felt that it was better with a more CAS style. Again, the stenciled flowers are so pretty on their own that they don't need much else.

5X7 card:

A2 card:

Challenges I'm entering:

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges********** (pammiesinkypinkieschallenges.blogspot.com): ATG (3/3; ends 7/31/23)

ppstampschallenge.blog:

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focal point (3/6; ends 8/15/23)

As You Like It Challenge: Gingham or Florals? I prefer florals as I don't use gingham much and really love the variety of florals and the beauty of them, especially for feminine cards (and I make feminine cards much more often than masculine ones) (1/3; ends 8/9/23)

Play in the Puddles Card

I've been having a blast playing with my new stencils from Penguin Palace this weekend! For this card, I stenciled the Diamonds Geo Stencils 360 stencil using the Penguin Palace July challenge colors and then fussy cut the stenciled shape and adhered it to a light blue 5X7 card base. Then I used PP's digital stamp set "Puddles of Fun" for the puddle, sentiment, and boy in his cute raingear. I sized them up and did a print and cut of them using my Silhouette Cameo 4. Then I colored them with Ohuhu Honolulu alcohol markers. I added 3 glass raindrops from my stash to complete this quick and easy card. If you are interested in my information about PP's Stencils 360 platform and how it works, check this out: Stencils 360°™ - Penguin Palace (ppstamps.com)

ppstampschallenge.blog:

Inspiration Station (inspirationstationchallenge.blogspot.com): The graphic shows water, and my card also has water: raindrops and a puddle

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (5/5 for the week; 10/10 for the challenge)

Allsorts challenge blog: Anything but a square (1/3; ends 8/10/23)

CD Sunday Plus Challenge (cdsundaychallenge.blogspot.com): ATG with something from a CD, USB, or digital download. I used a digi stamp and sentiment from Penguin Palace's Puddles of Fun set (1/3; ends 8/6/23)

Rain or Shine Card

Here's my final card using the panel I stenciled with Penguin Palace's Sacred Lotus stencil in the Stencils 360 platform. I was able to create 3 card backgrounds from one stenciled 8 1/2 by 11 sheet.

The sentiment, puddle, and adorable girl with the umbrella are all from Penguin Palace's Puddles of Fun digital stamp set. This set is free if you purchase the VIP pass for the upcoming Card Maker's Success Summit. Thanks, Sharon! I sized up all the digital elements and did a print and cut of them using my Silhouette Cameo 4. I colored them with Ohuhu Honolulu alcohol markers and layered the sentiment onto a piece of purple card stock. Then I popped up the girl and her umbrella with foam tape. I added some pretty pearls to the sentiment panel and then added some glass rain drops from my stash.

Challenges I'm entering:

ppstampschallenge.blog:

Inspiration Station (inspirationstationchallenge.blogspot.com): The graphic shows water, and my card also has water: raindrops and a puddle (5/8; ends at the end of the month)

Allsorts challenge blog: Anything but a square (2/3; ends 8/10/23)

Sacred Lotus Stenciled Card

I'm back with another card featuring Penguin Palace's Puddles of Fun digital stamp set and PP's Sacred Lotus Stencils 360 stencil set.

The background for this card was cut from a larger panel where I stenciled the Sacred Lotus set using the colors in PP's challenge for this month. I then sized up the puddle, boy in his raincoat, and sentiment label and then did a print and cut of them using my Silhouette Cameo 4. I colored them using my Ohuhu Honolulu alcohol markers. I adhered the puddle directly to the card panel and then added the sentiment label and the boy using foam tape. I also added glass raindrop accents from my stash.

I'm having so much fun with my new stencils! I think they make such cool backgrounds, and using the Stencils 360 platform makes them so easy to create!

Challenges I'm entering:

ppstampschallenge.blog:

Inspiration Station (inspirationstationchallenge.blogspot.com): The graphic shows water, and my card also has water: raindrops and a puddle (6/8; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (4/5; ends 8/2/23)

Allsorts challenge blog: Anything but a square (3/3; ends 8/10/23)

Make A Splash Card

Have you heard of the Card Makers Success Summit coming up August 10-13? I registered for it and bought the VIP package this time around, and included in the VIP package was this adorable Penguin Palace digital stamp set called "Puddles of Fun." I thought it was a great set to use for the color scheme in the PP Challenge this month. It's blues and purples, and that goes great with the rainy theme of the set.

I stenciled Penguin Palace's Stencils 360 Sacred Lotus stencil onto an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of white card stock and then cut the panel into several pieces to use as backgrounds for 3 different cards.

I adhered the panel to a purple A2 card base and then did a print and cut of the digi and sentiment using my Silhouette Cameo 4. I colored the girl, the sentiment strip, and the puddle using my Ohuhu Honolulu alcohol markers. I put the sentiment on a strip of washi tape in a fun pattern, glued down the puddle and then popped the girl up using foam tape. I added some glass raindrops from my stash (I've had them for YEARS and was so excited to use them!). I love that the Sacred Lotus stencil makes a big enough design to be used on several A2 cards.

Challenges I'm entering:

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges********** (pammiesinkypinkieschallenges.blogspot.com): ATG (2/3; ends 7/31/23) C10

ppstampschallenge.blog:

Inspiration Station (inspirationstationchallenge.blogspot.com): The graphic shows water, and my card also has water: raindrops and a puddle (7/8; ends at the end of the month)

Peacock Accent Stencil Card

I recently ordered Penguin Palace's Stencils 360 Summer Release bundle, and this gorgeous Peacock Accent stencil was included. I used the stencil at 60 degree turns (check out this page if you're not familiar with the Stencils 360 platform and how it works: Stencils 360°™ - Penguin Palace (ppstamps.com)) for the pattern I wanted here. I used the 5 colors from the challenge graphic over at Penguin Palace's challenge blog for this card, but the possibilities with this stencil are endless between the color options and the different rotations I could use with the Stencils 360 platform. I'm so glad I invested in the Stencils 360 platform back in late February! I find I'm doing much more stenciling now and am having fun experimenting with different degrees of rotation with my stencils.

A close up of the detailed stenciled area:

ppstampschallenge.blog: Challenge winner 9/1/23

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (5/6; ends 8/11/23)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (4/5 for the week; 9/10 for the challenge)

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges********** (pammiesinkypinkieschallenges.blogspot.com): ATG (1/3; ends 7/30/23) Honorary Mention 7/30/23

You Kanga-Rule Card

Have you ever seen a purple kangaroo before? I'm following a color challenge over at Penguin Palace's challenge blog, and so I thought, why not? This little kangaroo and her joey are darling, and I wanted to use them in the challenge, so I made the mama dark purple and the joey light purple so I could include them in this card for the challenge. They came from Penguin Palace's Adventure in Australia digital stamp set. I love that the joey is holding a beach ball! That's perfect for this month's challenge over at Inspiration Station where the challenge graphic includes a beach ball. I sized up the mama kangaroo and joey as well as the sentiment from the set and did a print and cut using my Silhouette Cameo 4. Then I colored the digi with my Ohuhu Honolulu alcohol markers and also colored the sentiment label with the same light purple I used on the joey. I added them with foam tape to a card panel I had stenciled using the Penguin Palace Aster Charm Stencils 360 stencil. If you've never heard of the Stencils 360 platform and stencils, I highly recommend taking a look here: Stencils 360°™ - Penguin Palace (ppstamps.com).

The asters in this stencil kind of remind me of fireworks. I think if I left the leaves off them, I could easily do them in red and blue on a white background for a 4th of July card.

ppstampschallenge.blog: Photo/color challenge:

Art Impressions Blog: V is for Vacation Challenge #356 Week 2 (artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.com): Vacation (I'd love to go to Australia on vacation!) (1/2; ends 8/3/23)

Inspiration Station (inspirationstationchallenge.blogspot.com): Photo prompt: My card includes a beach ball like the inspiration photo 😀

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (4/6; ends 8/11/23)

No more challenges

Friday, July 28, 2023

Sending Blessings Fun-Fold Cards

This week's set of cards for the shut-ins I send happy mail to features a fun fold using instructions from Connie Stewart's YouTube channel. I follow several SU! demonstrators for fun fold ideas, and Connie is one of them. She just called this a 5-minute fun fold card, so I don't have a special name for the card design, but it's basically a z-fold card with a panel that is scored and glued down on the left side of the card (like a library fold card). Here's a link to her video if you'd like to learn how to make the card base: (1) Want A Refreshing Craft? Make These Two 5 Minute Fun Fold Cards - YouTube

I had some lovely floral paper from SU! in my stash, and I decided it was time to use it rather than "saving" it for something special. My shut-ins ARE special, and I love it when I can make them something lovely to brighten their day. So after choosing the design paper, I then chose some coordinating card stock for the base of the card and set to work following Connie's instructions on how to create the card.

For embellishments, I added some butterfly die cuts from SU!'s retired Butterfly Brilliance set and used Hero Arts' Blessings stamp and cut set for the "sending blessings" sentiment. I stamped the word "sending" and then die cut the word "blessings" out of adhesive-backed foam.

For the back of the card, I used scraps from the pieces I had cut for the rest of the card and then did a print and cut of Psalm 90:14: "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." The word art for the verse came from a file I purchased in the Silhouette Design Store. I decorated the backs of the cards with some foliage I had stamped and die cut using SU!'s retired Forever Fern and Splendid Thoughts sets.

Challenges I'm entering:

Anything Goes with a Fun Fold for Creative Creases #62 (secretstamper.com): ATG with a fun fold (ends 8/4/23) Debbie, thanks so much for the Butterfly Brilliance and Forever Fern sets!

Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero: July 2023 Challenge | Hero Arts: Here Comes the Sun. I used "Blessings" stamp and cut set for the sentiment on the front of the card (ends 8/6/23)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (4/6; ends 8/11/23)

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (3/5; ends 8/1/23)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (3/5 for the week and 8/10 for the challenge; ends 8/1/23)

Paper Dragonfly Creative Challenges: Anything Flies (3/5; ends 7/28/23)

Butterfly Challenge (butterflyspotchallenge.blogspot.com): Flowers with butterflies (unlimited entries; ends 8/14/23)

Patriotic Mini Albums

My grandson was born on the 4th of July 2022, and for his birthday party, my son and DIL held a 4th of July themed party at a local park. They rented the pavilion and decorated everything in red, white, and blue. It was so fun! I took some photos during the party that I will upload to my digital photo frame as well as the digital photo frames I got for my mom and dad (yes, they each have their own even though they live in the same house😂! My dad keeps his by his computer and my mom keeps hers on the counter where she reads the paper and does the crossword puzzle every day), but I also wanted to print some of the photos to make a couple mini albums for my DIL's mom and grandma. Both have significant health issues they are dealing with, and I thought an album of their favorite 1-year-old in the whole universe would be something they'd love.

I started with some 4th of July themed card stock from my stash. I then decided on a cut file to use with my Silhouette Cameo 4 to create this mini album. I liked how this one had so many fun features. I'm a fun fold enthusiast, so I loved the way this mini album has some little pull out places for extra photos.

After cutting all the card stock using my Cameo, I set to work deciding on which pictures to include. This was tough since my grandson is so cute in all of them! (I know I'm biased, but when you look at the pictures, you'll know what I mean! When he smiles, it's the very best sight I've seen!) After going through them a few times, I narrowed it down a bit and then set to work figuring out the sizing. That was probably the hardest part of the project as some of the photos had to be cut on an angle to fit the panels of the pull-out part of the card. Eventually I had everything sized up and then printed all the photos and used my SU! paper trimmer to cut them all down to size. Then I got out all my 4th of July and birthday stickers and took a look at all the elements on the back of one of the card stocks I used that had 4th of July sentiments so I could set about decorating the albums. I added all sorts of banners, stars, sentiment strips, etc. to decorate the pages, keeping the 2 albums similar. There were a few differences between them, and I used different card stock for the bases, but they are roughly the same in terms of the pictures I used and most of the embellishments.

Front of the albums: