Tri-Shutter Card

I needed to make a thank you card for my SIL. She tackled a tedious sewing project for me several weeks ago. She did a beautiful job and I wanted to show her my appreciation for taking it on. She is a fantastic seamstress and quilter.
This is my first Tri-Shutter card. I actually expected to mess it up, so I grabbed some retired Riding Hood Red Textured cardstock as my card base. Well, I didn't mess it up, so then I needed some DSP. All the DSP I have is retired, so I went with the Riding Hood Red prints pack. I have to use this stuff up anyway! So the cardstock, dsp, ink and ribbon are all retired Riding Hood Red, except the Whisper White cardstock. The stamps are all current and include: Three Little Words and Framed With Love. I also used the Boho Blossoms punch, a red fire rhinestone brad and dimensionals.

Card opened up:

View from the top:

Card pulled all the way flat:

This card fits in a standard A2 sized envelope. It is quite bulky though, so I will have to take it to the post office to mail it with extra postage and hand cancelling. It took me 3 days to make this card! Of course, I wasn't working on it constantly, but there is ALOT of cutting if you take the time to mat all the DSP panels. I'm glad I finally made one of these cards. Wait till you see my next post.......I took pictures of the aftermath of making this card, and I'm gong to be brave and show them to you! LOL Just trying to keep it real after all.

Had to do another one!

So by now you all know my favorite stamp from the new catalog is the Medallion background stamp. And by chance, it's also the TOP selling stamp from the catalog! So, I guess I'm in good company!

This card is a total and complete CASE from a card that I saw on the Late Night Stampers Pre-Convevntion Shoe Box Swap. When I first saw it, I loved it. I printed out a picture of the card and immediately went to work in my stamp room. I have to tell you, I have never made a card so quickly from one I've seen online before! I only wish I knew who the originator of this card was, so I could give her credit. It was fun for me to figure out which inks and colors of cardstock were used since no supply list was given. I did change up the orientation of the image panel, as well as the sentiment. I am pretty confident I matched the colors correctly. Along with the Medallion stamp, this card also used the Sanded Background stamp, another one of my favorites. And this is the first time I've used my Friends 24-7 stamp set, which I love almost as much as the Medallion......well ok, just as much! My favorite image in that set is the Damask....it's so pretty. It's stamped in the 2nd generation to the left of the bird image. Another first for me on this card is, I used my Aqua Painter to add a color wash to the bird. I have always preferred using the Blender Pen for watercoloring, but I am quickly becoming a fan of the Aqua Painter!! I don't own the Color Spritzer tool, so I used some very thinned out ink and dipped an old toothbrush in it and flicked it onto the cardstock. It was fun to do, but boy talk about inky fingers after! The sentiment comes from the Short and Sweet set.

I had so much fun creating this card......now the question is, do I keep it, or part with it? Decisions, decisions!

Medallion for a Friend

I have a dear friend that means the world to me. Her name is Johanna, and I couldn't love her more if we shared the same blood. Sometimes, I think it is true, that you do pick your family. Johanna is certainly family to me. We have been friends for almost 20 years! She's been so great to me during my recovery from the back surgery. She calls me just to say hello, she brings me food......stuff she knows I love that no one else thinks to bring :) She is always there to lend an ear and give a hug. So I wanted to make her a little something, just to let her know how much she means to me. I think she is one of the last few people on this planet that actually hand writes letters. She doesn't email, or tweet, or blog. I would consider a handwritten note from her to be a precious gift. So with that in mind, I made up the box of note cards for her. There are 4 note cards, matching envelopes and envelope seals. I tied them all up with a pretty black gingham ribbon. I used Crushed Curry for the bottom of the box, and Rose Red for the top. I stamped the En Francais background stamp on the Rose Red layer, then a mat of Basic Black and then the Medallion stamped with Versamark ink on Confetti White cardstock. Then I used my Stampin Pastels and a sponge dauber and added the color to the medallion. This is called the Popping Pastels technique. It was really fun to do! I added a clear rhinestone brad from the Pretties kit to all the Medallion centers. A little discovery I found while doing the pastels technique, is that More Mustard chalk looks exactly like Crushed Curry ink.

This is the outside of the box. It's really soft and feminine looking.

Here is one of the note cards I did in Crushed Curry



And this is the inside of the card.

This is one of the Rose Red note cards.

And the inside again.


These are the envelope seals I made. I stamped the Medallion stamp and punched out the center part with my Scallop Circle Punch. Then I used the letter "J" from the Lovely Letters alphabet set. I typically don't buy alphabet sets, but this one was a must have for me, I love it!

I ran them through my Zyron to add adhesive to the back. All Johanna needs to do is peel off the paper covering and stick them on the envelopes.

This is the whole set in the box, tied with the ribbon. I easily could have put at least 2 more cards and envelopes in there.

And last, but not least, these are the envelopes. I just stamped a corner of the Medallion on them with Rose Red and Crushed Curry inks.


I hope Johanna loves the cards, I know she will. She is the Mom to 4 grown boys. So I also want to make her some more masculine type cards. Her boys would certainly have a giggle or two if they got these in the mail!

I'll have another Medallion card soon. I cased one I saw from the Late Night Stampers shoe box swap at Convention the other day. It's a rare thing for me to see a card online and then go immediately and make it myself. I just thought it was so pretty! That will be coming up soon, I promise! I'd love to hear what you think about my Medallion Note Card set.