Warm Wishes

Hi everyone!  Today, at the Card A Day Blog, we are featuring cards for Thanksgiving.  I've been wanting to make a card using a quilt design, so that's what I have for you.  I do have quite a collection of quilting books, but I just searched for a design online. The pieced design is a very common and well-loved star pattern.  My card doesn't have quite the contrast that I would put in an actual quilt, but I'm fairly pleased with the way it turned out.

I used a 4" base of scrap on which to do my piecing.  The pieces are 1" squares, except for the center square, which is 1 3/8".  I used various scraps for my piecing, including a scrap of glitter paper to add just a little sparkle to the quilt.  I inked the edges of all the pieces before assembling.  The centerpiece is a 1" dimensional sticker which says "Happy Thanksgiving."

When it came to mounting the quilted piece, I decided on the rich yellow to set it off.  Before affixing to the card base I added the vertical strip for some extra interest.  Then I finished it off with some white 'stitching'.  Gotta have stichin' on a quilt, ya know!

I found a nice patterned piece to brighten up the inside of the card, much like fabric one would use for a quilt back.  I added some of the 'quilt' squares, and stamped a sentiment.  Here's a closer look:

That's it for my Thanksgiving quilt.  This card was really fairly easy to pull together.  I used four papers (because of the size of the scraps I was using), but you could use as few as two colors for the block design.  So, what are you waiting for?  Do a search for quilt block designs, pick one out, and make a pretty quilt-style card for your next occasion!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Here are some details:

     Papers:  K and Company, Stampin' Up, DCWV
     Inks:  Memento 'Desert Sand' and 'Potter's Clay'
     Sticker:  Recollections
     Stamp:  Inkadinkado 'Harvest Inchie Bundle'
     Misc:  Inkssentials white opaque pen, Scotch ATG and Quick-Drying Tacky Glue. foam tape

'Til next time...

Big HUGS!!
CHRISTINE

Vrolijk Kersfeest!

"Christmas Around the World" is the theme this week over at the CARD A DAY BLOG, and I wonder if you can guess, by the title of my post, just where in the world is being highlighted by my card.  Well, it's really quite simple.  I haven't made an iris fold design in quite awhile, so I wanted to make my card using iris folding.  I didn't remember where iris folding had its origins, and decided to do a little research before starting my project.  It turns out that the technique of iris folding began in the 1700s in Holland, so that gave me my inspiration country.

The Dutch celebrate Christmas in much the same way as we do in the U.S., but they have separate celebration days for gift-giving and for the religious ceremonies and church-going.  Here is a brief description from Love to Know--Christmas:


"In the Netherlands, holiday traditions include Sinterklaas Avond, the midwinter hoornblaazen, and special celebrations on Christmas Day.

Sinterklaas Avond

Sinterklaas Avond - St. Nicholas Eve - is celebrated annually on December 5 and is considered the eve of Santa Claus's birthday. On this eve, Sinterklaas journeys to the homes of every child in the Netherlands and leaves small gifts and treats for them to enjoy. Sinterklaas is the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus, but he looks quite different from the jolly man depicted in western culture. Sinterklaas is tall and slender, and he wears dark red robes and a hat similar to a bishop's attire. In many traditional images, he is elderly and has a long white beard.
Sinterklaas Avond celebrations actually begin several weeks before December 5, often as early as mid-November. Sinterklass is believed to live in Spain, and he arrives with great fanfare on a steamship at the start of the holiday season. Amsterdam and other port cities generally hold great celebrations to herald his arrival, including parades, ringing church bells, and children's parties.

Sinterklaas is accompanied by his assistant Black Peter (Zwarte Piet), who is dressed in 16th century Spanish attire to symbolize Spain's dominance over the Netherlands during that era. But Black Peter's face is covered with soot and he rides a mule, a stark contrast to the more joyous colors of Sinterklaas's red robes and white horse. It is Black Peter who goes down each home's chimney to leave gifts for the children, though in some legends he is also said to punish disobedient children.
Just as children in western cultures leave cookies for Santa Claus and may leave a treat for his reindeer, children in the Netherlands leave their shoes filled with hay, carrots, and sugar for Sinterklaas's horse. In the morning, the horse treats have been replaced with gifts for the children.

Midwinter Hoornblazen

Rural eastern areas of the country celebrate different Christmas traditions in the Netherlands. In addition to Sinterklaas Avond celebrations, this area is well known for the midwinter hoornblazen, or midwinter horn blowing. Handmade horns - three- or four-foot horns carved from birch or elder saplings - are blown over wells to announce Advent and herald the birth of Christ. The low tone produced from these horns resonating over the wells can be heard for several miles, and it is not unusual for several farms to seemingly call to one another with their horns. In some areas these horns may be blown each day of Advent, or they may be reserved for the first or last days of the spiritual celebration.

Christmas Day

December 25 is still a holiday in the Netherlands, but since most gift-giving is done on Sinterklaas Avond, this later part of the holiday season is generally more spiritual and involves more church services, concerts, and recitals showcasing religious material. This day is a time for family gatherings and delicious meals, including special breakfasts and formal dinners.

Christmas decorations in the Netherlands include rustic Christmas décor such as pine and holly boughs, simple lights, and candles. Many homes do have Christmas trees, and they may be decorated with all types of lights and ornaments or they may be simpler than western holiday decorations. Themed trees are especially popular. Another popular decoration is poinsettias (kerststers), which are often used as centerpieces, accents, and other holiday décor."


Well, now you know almost everything about Christmas in Holland (The Netherlands).  Since their tradition includes Christmas trees, I decided that my iris fold design would be in the form of a tree.  So without further delay, here is my card:

 

For anyone not familiar with the iris folding technique; it starts with a pattern (usually numbered) which indicates the placement of folded bits of paper to form a design.  The design has been cut from a piece of card, and the folded bits are taped or glued to the back of the design.  The "iris" appears when the card is turned to the front.  Here is a photo of my pattern and the cut design: 



When I was looking for my iris pattern among my Christmas supplies, I came upon a single card kit packet that I had gotten at a trade show or maybe in a class.  So I decided to use the kit as my base, and I pulled papers to coordinate.

I used three scraps to cut the strips for the iris design.  The piece of ribbon came in the kit, so I tied the small bow for the top of the tree, and used a scrap of the ribbon for the iris center.

The faux photo corners were cut from another piece from the kit (green) and bits from one of the papers used for the strips, and layered.  The sentiment came from a sticker pack.

Then the inside needed some color.  I used another of the scraps from the tree as a mat, stamped and embossed the greeting on a piece of white card and layered them.

Now, if you haven't already guessed the translation of my title, of course it's "Merry Christmas."  I don't personally know anyone who speaks Dutch, so I elected to use English on my card. 

Here are the supplies I can tell you about:
     Paper:  design scraps from Recollections
     Sticker:  Dazzles from Hot Off the Press
     Stamp:  Gina K Designs "Very Merry Christmas" set by Theresa Momber
     Embossing Ink and Powder:  Versamark ink, Stampendous "Detail Gold"

I used therm-o-web Sticky Dots to affix the bow and foam tape to adhere the centerpiece to the card front.

Thanks so much, as always, for visiting with me today.  I hope you've enjoyed your brief visit to Holland to learn just a bit about their Christmas traditions!

So 'til next time.....

Big HUGS!!
CHRISTINE

Christmas Joy - Fold

Happy Monday!! (Or whatever day it is that you're seeing this.) I'm here with you today with my second Christmas card of the year.  This week at the Card A Day Blog we are using the inspiration of "Christmas and Animals."  I decided to use another fancy fold for my card, known as a 'joy-fold.'  I couldn't find anything to explain where the name originated, but it's a nice design.  There are lots of videos on YouTube showing how to make this style of card.  So I won't go into too much detail, but I think my photos will show you how easy this design is to make.  Then you can check out some of the videos for variations.

I wanted my card to fit the standard A2 sized envelope.  In this case I started with a card base cut at 5 1/2" x 6 1/4."  My paper was from a card stack with die cut edges and printed on both sides.  This was important because both sides of the paper will show.  The 5 1/2" measurement would be the height of my card.  I scored at 2" from the die cut edge to make the card width 4 1/4."  Okay, here is a photo:

 

 I needed a second piece of card stock, and used a plain off-white on which I stamped a swirl background.  This piece was cut at 4 3/4" high x 6 1/2" wide and scored at 3 1/4" along the width.  Next I prepared the animals and the tree.  I stamped the three animals on the same off-white card, and cut them out by hand.  Then I used my Cuttlebug to die cut the tree using the design card.  I used a fine point glue pen to affix the tree and added some sparkle with a glitter pen. You can see the glitter in some of the photos, especially if you click on them to enlarge.

 

 

The tree was added to the front of the smaller card, and a piece of the design card was layered on the inside.  I also stamped the sentiment on the inside before affixing the two card pieces together.

 

 

Before assembling the card I inked the edges of both pieces and rounded the corners of the smaller piece to coordinate with the die cut edge.  You can see the way the two pieces are layered in the next two pictures.  The fold of the base is to the left, while the fold of the liner with the greeting is to the right.

 

 

 

When the card is closed the left flap is closed first, with the right side closing over the left.  The card is held in the closed position by the sweet little owl who stands guard by the tree.  The owl is affixed with two layers of foam tape.  The bunny and the deer on the inside are affixed with a single layer of the foam tape.

 I hope you've enjoyed my card today.  Here is a final photo and then your details:

 

 

Supplies:

          Papers:  K & Company "Glad Tidings" by Susan Winget, Stampin' Up "Very Vanilla"

          Inks:  Ranger Distress Inks in "Antique Linen," "Vintage Photo" and "Pumice Stone"

          Stamps:  Inkadinkadoo "Sketchy Flourishes" and "Warm Holiday Wishes," Stampin' Up "Forest Friends" and WaltzingMouse Stamps "Complements of the Season"

          Die:  Memory Box "Snowflake Tree"

          Misc:  Zig 2-Way Glue fine point, Scotch ATG, Sakura "Clear Star" glitter pen, Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper

 

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to visit.  I hope you have a wonderful week!!

 

'Til next time.....

 

Big HUGS!!

CHRISTINE

Mash-Up for Christmas

Well, it's that time again.....starting those Christmas and other cards for the season.  I'm up on the Card A Day Blog today, and we're starting our Christmas card inspirations.  Of course, we don't stop with Christmas.  We include pretty much all the holidays of the season.  So be sure to visit regularly if you're looking for ideas for your cards.

I called my card a "mash-up" because that's really what it is.  I pulled together an assortment of scraps and bits of ribbon and extra pieces from earlier projects to make this one.  It's not the card I thought I was going to make, but I'll do that one another day.  For now, here is today's card:

I was inspired to make this card while I was straightening up some of my supplies, and my eyes stopped on some rosettes that were still laying about instead of being put away a long time ago.  So I chose the rosette that I wanted along with a topper snowflake and paired it with a strip leftover from cutting all the rosettes.  The rosette and snowflake had already been coated with gold glitter spray which helped me decide the rest of my color scheme.

I tore a page out of an old book that I use for projects, crumpled it, stamped it with snowflakes that I embossed with gold powder and rubbed on some metallic gold paste to bring out the distressing.  I used the same gold paste on a piece of textured packing paper, and layered both pieces on the card base.

I layered two pieces of ribbon with the patterned paper scrap.  Then added that piece to the card after affixing the hand made paper sentiment strip.  I also added two leftover bits of the gold ribbon as embellishment to the rosette.

I needed to bring some of the design to the inside, so I used another piece of the torn-out book page, crumpled it and stamped and embossed some of the snowflakes as well as the greeting.

The last step was rounding just one corner of my card.  And that's it!  As I said, I had lots of fun putting this one together.  Sometimes it's good just to let go and play.  You just never know what you might come up with.

Supplies:
     Stamps:  Stampin 'Up "Snow Swirled" and "A Christmas Carol" sets; WaltzingMouse Stamps "Complements of the Season" set
     Inks:  Versamark and Craf-T Products Metallic Rub-Ons "Gold"
     Embossing Powder:  Stampendous "Detail Gold"
     Extras:  Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue, Scotch ATG, Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper

Thank you so very much for visiting today.  Your visits make me happy, and I welcome and appreciate your comments as well.  Feel free to leave questions in the comment section. too.

'Til next time.....

Big HUGS!
CHRISTINE