Crafty Meraki ... Meraki Hugs Release

Hello!  Today is the day the Design Team can start to share our projects made with the January release at Crafty Meraki ... and the release is called Meraki Hugs. It's such a fun release and I have to say I have really been enjoying the stamps and dies. I have TWO Slimline cards to share with you today, and the first one is a card for the Chinese New Year.

Check out that cool Slimline die, with the three semi circles called 'View From My Window'. This die was designed by Candice Fisher, who is also on the Crafty Meraki Design Team and there are piercing marks on either side of the cutline of those semi circles. I love features like that! I saved the red fallaway pieces to use on another project another day. 

First I cut the View From My Window die from red card stock, and then cut a slightly smaller red panel to add to the back. I used a single layer of foam tape to create a shaker window behind the centre opening after clear embossing the symbol where it would show above the gold sequins. Then I adhered the backing piece to the View From My Window panel. The finished shaker piece was 3.5 x 8.5" and would have fit perfectly on a standard Slimline sized card but I decided to make my card base just a little larger so I would have that white border showing all the way around.

The stamps I used are from the new 'Year of the Ox' stamp set and let me tell you this is one large stamp set. Be sure to check out what the rest of the DT has come up with using this set - I am amazed by the talented ladies on this team!!!  I gold heat embossed the lanterns & cat image then fussy cut them out. The Happy New Year was gold embossed on a white card stock strip with fishtailed ends.

If you follow me you know I like to decorate the inside of my cards, so I did that using more images from the Year of the Ox stamp set. While it's hard to see in the photos ... I stamped the lanterns in red dye ink then did some highlights with a Wink of Stella pen. That bled the ink a little in those areas, which I liked, as well as added some lovely shimmer.

One more pic of the finished card before we move on to my bright and cheerful second card. I had found these gold pearl business envelopes in my stash this summer when I was reorganizing my craft room and I love how well one worked with this card!

When I opened my Design Team package, I actually squealed when I saw this Love Slimline Tag die set. This is another one designed by Candice Fisher and you will be seeing me use it a LOT. Never mind I had decided I wanted to make more TAGS in the New Year, this one is sized to work on a Slimline card!!  Be still my heart.

Check out the rainbow colours too (something else you will be seeing a lot of from me in the coming months). One afternoon in December I went into my craft room and started cutting 1/2" wide strips from scraps in the scrap bin. I have lots left over for other projects too!

The LOVE cuts as a single piece, which makes it very versatile. I wasn't sure how I wanted to use it though, so first I die cut the LOVE from the rainbow striped tag. I die cut a second tag from black card stock and backed the rainbow striped one with the black one. The LOVE shaped window was OK but not the look I was going for. I added foam tape to the back of the rainbow LOVE that was cut away from the tag and popped that up into the LOVE shaped opening ... Elipse Technique style. I liked that much better and stopped for the evening. 

The next morning I looked at the tag and still felt like it needed something. I cut the LOVE again from black card stock and splattered it with diluted distress oxide ink. I added that on top of the popped up one and then I was happy. There are additional word dies that come with the Love Slimline Tag so I cut the '& Hugs' from more of the white ink spattered card stock (which I did for the white card background panel too) and adhered that in the centre. The whole thing was added to a black card base with a strip of spattered black card stock and pretty rainbow sequins for some sparkle and shine.

Finally, here is a peek at the inside. The stamped sentiment and hearts come from another set being released today - Valentine. (OMGoodness, such an adorable stamp set!)

I added a pair of strips cut from my rainbow coloured card stock strip piece but matted them with black card stock to really help them pop. Using a blending brush and a light touch, I also added some yellow and orange ink to the very centre of the white panel to brighten up the sentiment.

I hope you enjoyed my first cards with this fantastic new release. While I'm not due for another Crafty Meraki Design Team project until next Monday, I will have an additional one for you later in the week because I was having so much fun with the items we are releasing this week! Next Monday we will be sharing the next part of the Meraki Hugs release.

"Crafty Meraki is a tribe of women who are all creators but more importantly, love helping others in any way we can! 

Meraki (may-rah-kee) a verb, or adverb, a Modern Greek word, derived from the Turkish “Merak” (Labor of love, to do something with pleasure), is applied to tasks, usually, creative or artistic tasks, but can be applied to any task at all. Meraki means to do something with passion, with absolute devotion, with undivided attention.

Crafty Meraki was born out of a vision to help creators do what they love doing the most- to create!"

Supplies:

Chinese New Year Slimline Card
View from my Window Slimline Die - Crafty Meraki
Year of the Ox - Crafty Meraki
Card stock - stash
Clear embossing powder
Gold embossing powder
Acetate
Wink of Stella
Gold foil card stock
Gold Fever Confetti - Studio Katia
Card size - 3-3/4 x 8-3/4", fits in a #10 Business Envelope

Love & Hugs Slimline Card
Love Slimline Tag Die - Crafty Meraki
Valentine - Crafty Meraki
Various card stock strips
Distress Oxide Inks for spatters on black card stock
Water Brush
Black Sparkle Ribbon - Stampin' Up
Wink of Stella
Crystal Rainbow Fusion confetti - Studio Katia
Copic Markers
Card size - 3.5 x 8.5", fits in a #9 or #10 Business Envelope

Thanks for stopping by today