love note

I am a huge fan of handmade valentines.
 There is something so absolutely wonderful about a token of love that has been created with care, for someone special. Handmade love notes seem to be few and far between these days. Today I am sharing "love note," a piece I created with Valentines Day in mind.   

I started with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Arch Top House Silhouettes. These chipboard pieces are so nice and sturdy. This set could be used to create three individual pieces or used in multiples, as a pair or even a trio.
 I used all three to create my piece.

Once I had an idea in mind, I looked through my stash of paper in search of something that would lend itself to being a good base to build upon. I then coated one side of the chipboard piece with collage medium and placed my paper onto the shape, centering the design. I used a brayer to make sure there were no air bubbles and that the paper was completely flat. I repeated this process for each of the three panels. After allowing the glue to dry completely, I turned the pieces over onto a cutting mat and used my Exacto knife to trim the paper around the edge of the chipboard shape.

Next, I completed this same process for the back side of each panel using a coordinating paper. I inked the edges of the pieces and inner areas of the paper with Distress Ink in brushed corduroy. 

I knew that I wanted the pieces to be "hinged" at the two interior seams when the pieces were situated side by side. Contemplating a few ideas for how I would accomplish this, I settled on using wire.

I first marked the location of each hole. Using a dremel, I drilled four holes onto each panel edge. Be sure to use a cutting mat or board beneath the piece that you are drilling through so that you don't ruin your tabletop. These holes aligned with four holes along the edge of the adjacent panel. I threaded a piece of soft wire through the holes to create an "x" at two locations along each seam.

Now it was time to add all the special details. Using the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Words & Phrases 1, I carefully removed the word "Love." I covered it with embossing ink and coated it with Ranger embossing powder in pink. Using a heat gun, I melted the embossing powder.  I repeated this step three times, giving the word a faux enameled finish. This set of Words & Phrases contains two sheets of different sentiments, and can be used in so many different ways.  

I cut a piece of pink parchment paper and using black soot archival ink, I stamped an image from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Nature set and allowed it to dry. I distressed the edges, inked with worn lipstick and brushed corduroy distress ink, and then spritzed with a bit of water and rumpled the paper to give it a tattered look.  

I die cut some roses out of coordinating paper using Tim Holtz Sizzix tiny tattered florals dies. These were inked along the edges and rolled into shape, then glued and set aside. I colored a Tim Holtz idea-ology paper doll with distress ink, Copic marker and distress crayons. Everything was arranged on the panels and manipulated until I was pleased with the layout. I like to play around with the embellishments before gluing everything down. That way I can make adjustments and decide if it needs additional pieces without disrupting everything.

 When I examined the piece, I decided that I wanted to increase interest by adding a few more elements and removing some others. On the first panel, I added an idea-ology sticker from the clippings collection. The sticker was inked around the edges and then layered onto a piece of chipboard that had been inked with worn lipstick distress ink. Using a charm from my stash, I cut a circle of coordinating paper inked around the edges and added the "love" rub-on to the middle. I used a mini hex-head fastener as an "attacher" and glued this onto the face of the panel. I also added a charred gold heart and a couple mini heart cutouts leftover from a different project.

 On the central panel, I decided to add a larger heart to give added height. Using the Tim Holtz Sizzix mini love struck die, I cut a heart out of thin chipboard.  I inked directly onto the chipboard with Distress Ink in worn lipstick. I then embossed around the edges with Emerald Creek charred gold embossing powder. I brushed a small amount of Ranger alcohol ink in gold onto an idea-ology pen nib and then adhered it on the heart to give the impression of an arrow. When the piece was dry, I adhered it to the top of the middle panel with a quick dry multi-purpose glue. I also added some mini hearts that I inked around the edges with brushed corduroy distress ink.

The third panel only needed a few hearts to tie it in with the other panels. I heat embossed a small and a medium heart with charred gold, and combined them with a few mini hearts.  

 Once I was satisfied with the layout, I glued everything into place and allowed it to dry.

Wishing you a love-filled February and beyond, and hoping that this inspires you to create a love note for someone special.

 ~Ann

I am entering this in:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: love is in the air 

Frilly and Funky: all you need is love

A Vintage Journey February Challenge: Melt It

fancy fold "frosty" holiday card

Hi everyone, I am excited to share a super fun, fancy fold card that I have made for the upcoming holiday. Recently, I was inspired by a blog post by Einat Kessler. The post contained two interesting cards, but this fancy folded "squash card" caught my attention. I immediately envisioned using the new Tim Holtz Christmas paper stash, paper dolls, and ephemera, along with a few of my favorite dies to create my own holiday card. It's really simple to make and provides a lot of planes to embellish and use a bunch of fabulous ephemera from your stash.

I began by gathering all my supplies: 8 1/2" square of double sided yardstick for a "base", (5) 4" squares of coordinating decorative paper, bone folder, adhesive, distress inks, dies and/or stamps, ephemera to suit the occasion, embellishments, and ribbon or cord for closure.

The first step involves folding the base cardstock into quadrants and then unfolding and creating a diagonal fold across the entire base piece. Einat's video shows the process for this very clearly. You can view this at http://einatkessler.com/12-cards-of-christmas-2017-fancy-fold-cards. You can also click the link below:

https://youtu.be/G2XIBNMxqDA

Once all the folds have been creased with a bone folder, the two quadrants with diagonal folds press into the middle as the card folds into a 4 1/4" square.

Cut two of the 4" decorative paper squares into triangles by way of a diagonal. These will be adhered to the triangular faces on the inside of the card. I inked the edges of the decorative papers and adhered one of the full squares to the card front. The remaining squares and triangles were used on the inside of the card. It was easiest for me to work on the interior of the card while it was flat on my work surface. The planes of the card are readily identified by the crease marks. I chose to use different (coordinating) papers on the triangular spaces to create some visual interest; however, these could all be covered in the same patterned paper. You can make the card as simple or complicated as you wish.

 For the bottom square on the inside of the card, I die cut a circle out of the center of one of the remaining decorative squares with Tim Holtz stitched circles die by Sizzix (662229) and then used the same circle and the next smaller circle die to cut a circular frame from a scrap piece of my "base" cardstock. This gives a finished look to the cutout. I then adhered my coordinating paper under the hole to create a spot for my sentiment. 

Now it was time to get creative! I love the look of this holiday plaid and I felt that it paired perfectly with the new Tim Holtz Retro Merry Christmas die by Sizzix (662420) I die cut the word Christmas from metallic Kraft core in silver and also from a scrap of my "base" color so that I could layer the two cuts to create a shadow.  I die cut the MERRY from another scrap of my red "base" and cut into a rectangle.  This piece was then adhered over a small piece of heavystock lightly inked with iced spruce distress oxide to coordinate with the plaid. I placed the layered pieces onto the front panel and adhered them with multi-medium matte, then allowed to dry.

 Opening the card to the flat position, I began to place different pieces of ephemera onto the planes of the card until I found a desired layout. I wanted my card to have a "frosty" feel to it, so I selected images that added to that effect. During this process, I kept in mind that the card needed to fold into itself in order to close. I wanted some of my pieces to cross from one triangle to the one beneath it. In order for this to function, the ephemera can only be adhered to the topmost triangle, and simply overhang the bottom, leaving it free to "move" as the card folds into itself.

  In the uppermost quadrant, I used an idea-ology holiday flashcard and silver snowflake die cuts made using Tim Holtz Sizzix paper snowflakes, mini dies (661599) with metallic kraft core. Once the snowflakes were cut, I roughly sanded them and rubbed with black soot distress ink. Along the top edge of the panel I created a line of icicles with glossy accents and while it was wet I sprinkled distress glitter in clear rock candy on top. I allowed this to completely dry before moving onto the next area. 

I wanted to use a coordinating paper for the triangular areas of the card to add interest. I created my own coordinating paper by layering a printed vellum over a very light blue cardstock. I cut my piece to fit the space and inked around the edge with black soot distress ink. I chose a saying from the idea-ology occasions small talk stickers, and added a few more of the snowflake cutouts with the holiday ephemera pieces, making sure that the December 25 was only adhered to the upper portion (not the plaid). 

I was determined to use one of the Tim Holtz holiday paper dolls on my card. The lower corner seemed like the perfect spot. First, I inked the edges of the Christmas Snow ephemera piece and adhered it to the upper triangle (in this corner, that was the plaid triangle). I then inked around the edges of the paper doll, splattered him with picket fence distress paint and added a touch of grit paste to his shoulders, folded arm, shoes and the top of his hat. Once dry, the snowy gent was adhered to the uppermost triangular portion as well. To complete this corner, I added a few more die cut, sanded and inked snowflakes. 

The last quadrant of this fancy fold card was reserved for the sentiment. I had created the circular area to locate this carved snowman stamp by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous. This stamp was from the Simon Says Stamp Stamptember 2017 release. I love this set because it had a selection of images from a number of the Tim Holtz Christmas release sets, all on one sheet. The carved snowman settled right into the center of the circle. In order to get a perfect image that was dark enough to stand out from the star pattern of the vellum, I used my TH Tonic stamping platform. I added a few more snowflakes and then used glossy accents and distress glitter to create the icicles like in the first quadrant. I thought this would create a balance on the interior, and give it a little added icy sparkle. I let this dry completely overnight.

The next morning, when I was sure that everything was absolutely dry, I folded the card into itself. The picture above shows how the pieces that were adhered to the triangles layer onto each other as the card closes. In order to keep my card closed for mailing, I used a piece of stretchy silver cord and wrapped it around like you would a package. I tied the cord and attached a couple pieces of idea-ology embellishments. The snowflake charm was heat embossed with holographic embossing powder by Ranger. The typed token was edged with this embossing powder as well. This closure can be easily slipped on and off the card. 

  

I hope you will try to create one of these "fancy fold" cards, they are so much fun! I can see myself using this format for a lot of different occasions.  I will be entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp  Monday Challenge "Icy".

Thank you so much for stopping by, I know the holiday season can get very busy and I truly appreciate you taking time out of your day. 

Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays!

Ann