Hanukkah Card Duo

Today I'm sharing a pair of Hanukkah cards I made for our grandkids. I couldn't resist the new (6x6") patterned paper pad by Catherine Pooler because it's so different from the 12 x 12" papers I've been using for the past few years. The layout is loosely based on the August 2023 Sheetload of cards, which has become my new go-to sketch.

The images were stamped in Catherine Pooler ink and I added some sparkle with a Wink of Stella Pen.

Both cards have Happy Hanukkah stamped inside and I added a couple of angled patterned paper scraps to add a little colour inside.

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November - 46 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used with

Supplies:

Patterned paper - 6 x 6", Eight Nights - Catherine Pooler

Catherine Pooler Inks

Nested Hexagon dies - Pinkfresh Studios

Stamps - Happy Hanukkah, Honey Bee Stamps

Wink of Stella

Gold glitter dot stickers - Ecstasy Crafts

Boot-iful Birthday Card

This card just makes me happy. I had this 'Boot-iful' embossing folder/die on my Wish List pretty much since it first came out, and I finally bought it earlier this month. There were also a set of layering stencils that I debated about, but finally added them to my cart at the same time. I LOVE them and I'm so glad I got the stencils as well. This is the first card I've made with the set, a birthday card for my Mother-In-Law.

I ended up cutting a letter sized sheet of white cardstock into four (A2 sized) panels, and did the stencilling on all four panels to save cleaning off the stencils after just one inking. So I actually have three more of these ready to go! After the stencilling was done I used the coordinating die to cut three of the boot/floral images but I left one as an A2 sized panel. Then I placed the stencilled, die cut piece carefully into the embossing folder and ran I through. I ooooooohed. I ahhhhhhed. I was happy. I repeated with the other pieces, and put those away for another day.

For this card I embossed a Kraft panel with a brick embossing folder that I've had for years, and I rubbed my finger into Catherine Pooler's new Champagne ink pad (pigment ink) and over some of the raised areas of the brick panel. I love the soft sheen it gave those bricks! I also added a little on the orange blooms, then a die cut butterfly from gold mirror cardstock.

Here is a look at the inside. The butterfly was die cut from a scrap of pink patterned paper and rubbed with gold Lunar Paste before adding it inside.

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 44 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used.

Supplies:

Boot-iful Embossing Folder and Die - Lisa Horton

Boot-iful Layering Stencils - Lisa Horton

Catherine Pooler Inks

Bricked embossing folder - Tim Holtz

Blending brushes - Taylored Expressions

Small blending brushes

Gold mirror cardstock scrap

Little Etched Butterflies - Paper Rose

Catherine Pooler Champagne Ink***

Special sentiments - Penny Black

Gold Lunar Paste (on inside butterfly)

Anniversary Card

Today's card was made to coordinate with the Anniversary Gift Card Holder I shared yesterday. I started with a card & envelope from Stampin' Up that has these gold brush marks which are really pretty. I love that the envelopes also have the touches of gold.

Since the cards are printed front and back, I cut one apart to give me two panels and die cut them with a stitched rectangle.  For the front panel I also embossed it with a textured embossing folder. The scribble heart and love dies are ones I've had for years and are long retired - but I still love and use them.

The sentiment inside is a two part stamp from Verve, again - long retired. Verve isn't even around anymore but I still have a great collection of their images. I always loved their stuff and would have bought more if I lived in the US where shipping costs are reasonable. 😊

One more look ...

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 43 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used 

Supplies:

Gold foiled A2 card base & envelope - Brushed Gold Cards, Stampin' Up

Stitched rectangle dies - Pink & Main Set #2

Blue foiled cardstock - Damask, Hunky Dory

Heart & Love dies - Sunshine Wishes, Stampin' Up

Gold foiled cardstock

Embossing folder - Tasteful Textile, Stampin' Up

Wishing you - Verve

Wishing You stamps - Verve

Blending Brushes - Taylored Expressions

Catherine Pooler inks

Glitter Dots - Ecstasy Crafts 

Gift Card Holders (& Tutorial)

After many years of making the same type of Gift Card Holders (see that tutorial HERE) I decided to change it up and even managed a video tutorial!  There are lots of this type of Gift Card Holders out there, but I didn't like how deep the pocket was for a lot of them. That is why I came up with my own measurements and wanted to share. These will fit in a standard A2 envelope.

The first pair uses double sided patterned paper. One has a large snowflake on the front and the other is a 3 x 4" red foil cut apart.

Below you can see the pockets on the left side where you would add the gift card.

This next pair was done with one having a cardstock base and the other from patterned paper. This patterned paper wasn't nearly as sturdy as the first pair so I added a printed panel inside to help with that.

The pockets and sentiments are revealed when you open the holders.

This one was quick and easy and just features pretty patterned paper along with a die cut oval on the front.

Finally, one made with gold foiled patterned paper that I inked with blending sponges and dye inks. The card I made to go with this Gift Card Holder will be up on my blog tomorrow. 😊

Gift Card Holder by Karen Aicken

Base is 10.25 x 4.25"

Score at 2 and 4.75". Be mindful of paper direction! 

Turn it and look at where the score lines will be before scoring

Patterned paper - One at 5.25 x 4" (this goes on the inside right)

One panel at 2.5 x 4"  (this is for the front left)

  One at 1.75 x 4"  (this is to cover the pocket)

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 42 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used 

Supplies:

Snowflake Gift Card Holder:

Patterned paper - Peaceful Prints, Stampin' Up (old)

Double Stitched Circle dies - Divinity Designs

Large Snowflake die - Impress (old)

Corner Rounder

Project Life Journal Card & Banner Sentiment

Giftable Greetings - MFT Stamps

Peel off Snowflakes - Ecstasy Crafts

Masculine Gift Card Holders:

Patterned paper - unknown

Stitched Ovals - MFT Stamps

Treat Yourself & dies - Pigment Craft Co

Catherine Pooler Inks

Blending Brushes - Taylored Expressions

Gorgeous Grunge - Stampin' Up

Labels Crosshatch - Karen Burniston

Trucking Along & punch - Stampin' Up

Simple Winter Gift Card Holder

Patterned paper - Frosted Forest & Falling Flakes - Hunkydory

Giftable Greetings - MFT Stamps

Braided Oval die - Pinkfresh Studios

Gold Foiled Gift Card Holders

Patterned paper - Holiday Bash, Recollections (old)

Inverted Scallop Circles - Pinkfresh Studios

Short Rectangles Crosshatch - Karen Burniston

Word Set 12 Anniversary - Karen Burniston

Narrow gold tape - Amazon

Mirrored hearts - Kat Scrappiness

Gold foil cardstock

Blending brushes - Taylored Expressions

60th Anniversary Card and Gift Card Holder

It's Fun Fold Friday here on my blog and today I'm sharing a card and gift card holder that a family member asked if I could make for them. I was happy to do so ... and since the couple celebrating their 60th Anniversary love to spend time in the Muskoka's this is what I came up with.

I used several different dies by Karen Burniston, including the Label Charm Pop Up for the card. The scenic paper was a good match but since it was a special occasion I also wanted some sparkle & shine. That came from the rainbow holographic cardstock.

I have had the Pop Up Gift Card Holder for several years and I still get a lot of use out of it. This time I turned it so the gift card slides in from the bottom and their personal message would be revealed when the gift card was removed. 

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 36 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used with a few affiliate links included.

Supplies:

5 x 7" card and envelope

Label Charm Pop Up - Karen Burniston

Rectangle and Labels Crosshatch - Karen Burniston

Mini Alpha & Numbers - Karen Burniston

Numbers - Karen Burniston

Word Set 8 Celebrate - Karen Burniston

Word Set 12 Anniversary - Karen Burniston

Word Set 17 Congrats - Karen Burniston

Rectangle Crosshatch - Karen Burniston

Cheers - Karen Burniston

Corner rounder punch

Adirondack chair die - Colourful Seasons, Stampin' UP

Flat gem stickers - Dazzles

Patterned paper - Scenic View - Reminisce

Rainbow Holographic cardstock - Hunkydory

Forest Trees - Echo Park

Pop Up Gift Card Holder - Lynda Kanase, Sizzix (old)

Two Mini Slim Trifold Cards for Christmas

Today's cards are for my monthly series "12 Months of Christmas". I'm happy with them now, but they gave me all kinds of grief when I was making them. First, they started out to be pull cards - where you open the front then pull the inside panels to the right to open the card fully. Things just would not work out, so finally I adhered panels together and decided to make them trifold cards instead. I crossed my fingers, because if this didn't work I was tossing them. 😜

These two sheets were the last of the patterned paper in the package! Well, that's not true ... there were a couple of other ones that I didn't really like and I finally decided that there was no reason for me to look at them every year then put the package back on the shelf. Into recycling with the 'ugly' prints and ... done!

I added peel off stickers and die cut deer, as well as stamped sentiments. When you open the cards you see this snowflake and sentiment.

After you open that panel you see the inside sentiment and that is where we will sign our names.

The snowflake paper is nice and sparkly but the pattern was pretty big and I hadn't found a way to use it before this year.

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 34 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used 

Supplies:

Patterned paper - Winter Wonderland, Recollections (old & the last of it!)

White pearl cardstock

Deer - Grassy Grove dies, Stampin' Up

Snowflake Peel Off Stickers - Ecstasy Crafts

Rainbow Holographic cardstock - Hunkydory

Snowflake dies - Elizabeth Craft Designs (old)

Narrow gold tape - Amazon .ca

Gold mirror cardstock - Hunkydory

Circle dies - Hero Arts

Glitter Dots - Ecstasy Crafty

Seasons Greetings Peel Off's - Elizabeth Craft Designs

Catherine Pooler inks

Sentiments - Perfectly Plaid, Stampin' Up

Scallop Stitched Nesting Circles - Tutti Designs

Stepped Up Sheetload Cards

Alicia at 'Call Me Crafty Al' releases a new Sheetload of Cards (Sketch and Cutting Guide) on the 1st of each month, and you can pretty much bet that on the 1st I'm in my craft room cutting down papers. This month was no exception, and as usual I finished my panels and had them ready to attach to card bases. 

At that point I had the idea to step up the cards AND do a video tutorial for them. Which was all well and good, but when I was finished the video was over 45 minutes long. After an additional 90+ minutes of editing I wasn't even half finished so I threw in the towel. I just don't have the time or energy to spend over 3 hours editing a video, then another hour to preview the video and get it uploaded, as well as getting the blog post written. So ... no tutorial ... although I haven't deleted the video in case I end up having lots of free time between now and Christmas. 😂

I added narrow gold foil tape to my panels for some holiday shine, and instead of a vellum circle element I used the 3 x 3" cut aparts that were in the paper pad. So in addition to the four sheets of 6 x 6" paper that the Sheetload called for, I used up an additional two with the cut aparts AND additional sheets for the layers and insides. Yeah!

The easiest way to step up the inside of your cards is simply to add a printed paper panel. That is what I did for the first two, adding a smaller white panel to the inside with a stamped sentiment.

For the next two cards I added the panels to white card bases but did a simple box pop up inside. The 3 x 4" cut aparts were also in the paper pad so I got to use them up as well. I do have video tutorials on creating simple box pop ups and HERE is one of them. The pop up box measured 5 x 1", scored .5,  2.5  and 3".

Of course I had to make a pair of Z Fold cards - my favourite type of fun fold. I haven't done them with such a large front element before but I was happy with how they turned out.

The final two cards are Faux Step cards. Again, I wouldn't normally use such a large element as it doesn't leave much room to add other elements onto the 'steps' but they still turned out cute. They also stand beautifully for display!

 

With all the dilly dallying around with the video, I'm quite late sharing my November Sheetload cards ... but at least I'm getting them shared in the same month! 

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 32 Cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used 

Supplies:

November Sheetload of Cards, Call Me Crafty Al

6x6" patterned paper & cut aparts - Jingle All The Way, Echo Park

Narrow gold tape

Sentiment - Joy to You, Stampin' Up

Catherine Pooler Inks

Snowflake peel offs & Glitter dots - Ecstasy Crafts

Trio of Birthday Cards

Today I'm sharing a trio of birthday cards that I discovered in my 'In Progress" bin. Well, the patterned paper panels were in there, all cut to size. I pulled the papers out, decided on the layout that I must have been imagining when I did the cutting (years ago) then added some narrow gold tape for shine.

Cutting Karen Burniston's Happy Birthday & shadow dies from both gold mirror cardstock and white, I completed the card fronts. I also finished off a sheet of Peel Off stickers from my stash, with the gold party hats. These catch the light and show up better in real life than in the pics.

Here is a peek at the inside and all three cards were donated to my Mom's old nursing home.

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 24 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used. 

Supplies:

Patterned paper - old, from my stash

Narrow gold tape - Amazon .ca

Happy Birthday and Happy Birthday Shadow dies - Karen Burniston

Peel Off Stickers - old, from my stash

Inside sentiment - BD Wishing, Colorado Craft Co

Bees & Gnome Card

I really enjoy creating with a card kit and haven't purchased one in quite a while. Early this month I treated myself to this Bee Happy Cardmaking Kit by Paper Rose and today I'm sharing a I made with it. It's a cute kit, with a 6x6" pad of patterned paper, package of 'punch out' ephemera, a sheet of sentiments (Happy Birthday & Thank You) and some nice heavyweight card bases. I pulled out the card bases to use on different projects as that freed me up to create my cards in whatever size I wanted to. This one is a 7 x 5" card, which fits in a standard A7 envelope.

Of course I never show cards in the same order I make them, so while this is the first one I'm sharing it's not the first one I made. I actually pulled in a very old sheet of slightly patterned paper by Basic Grey to use with this card. I also used a stamp set (Waffle Flower), a gold foiled bee sticker (inside) and Glitter Dots for extra sparkle. It doesn't show up well in the photos, but the gnome's nose is raised and shiny because I added Nuvo Glaze to it. I left it to dry overnight before I did any more on the card, as I'm terrible at thinking it's dry enough and getting a fingerprint in it. Ha.

Here is a look at the inside, and the large area on the right is where I will write my message. 

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 21 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used with a few affiliate links included.

Supplies:

Bee Happy Cardmaking Kit - Paper Rose

5 x 7" card blank and envelope

Gold narrow tape - Amazon

Cream patterned paper - Basic Grey

Stickles

Nuvo Glaze

Fluttering By Sentiments - Waffle Flower

Glitter Dots - Ecstasy Crafts

Gold foil bee sticker - Amazon .ca

Mini Slimline for Thanksgiving

For our Thanksgiving cards this year, I made an effort to use up some bits and pieces from my craft room. This leaf panel with the gold leaves was one I'd been hanging onto because it was just to pretty to toss but it was the wrong size for an A2 card. Back then people weren't making Mini Slimline cards, so I pulled out a couple of Mini Slimline dies and this is the card I came up with. This is also my last Thanksgiving card until next season!

I cut the gold leaf panel with a fancy edge die then matted it with a gold mottled foiled cardstock. The sentiment was stamped on a white fishtail banner and matted with brown, and I added a few gold glitter dots for even more sparkle. But it seemed to need something, so I cut stitched leaves from scraps of gold mirror cardstock and added a little twine bow. Done!

Inside I made a simple box pop up and decorated the white panel with Washi Tape (which is also on the envelope) and a single gold stitched leaf.  The sentiments used are ones that I have had for many years (from Reverse Confetti) & they came with the label dies. I pull out the set every year to use on my cards. 😊

I didn't to a tutorial for making a simple box pop up, because I already have several on YouTube. Here are links to a couple of you are curious:

Slimline Pop Up Tutorial (but the technique and measurements work for A2 cards as well)

Quick and Easy Pop Up Tutorial (from 2 years ago but I use it all the time)

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 20 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used .

Supplies:

Gold leaf panel cut from an 8-1/2 x 11" sheet by Club Scrap, old

Glitter Ombre Mirri Card - Hunkydory

Gold Glitter Dots - Ecstasy Crafts

Mini Slimline Stitched Rope dies - Kat Scrappiness

Washi tape - Amazon

Give Thanks and dies - Reverse Confetti

Stitched Leaves - Lawn Fawn

Twine

Catherine Pooler Inks

Pet Sympathy Card

Welcome to Fun Fold Friday here on my blog.  I had to make another pet sympathy card for friends who had to say goodbye to their fur baby. It had come as a surprise to me, and I was feeling pretty down while making the card - so it's fairly simple on the front. I used a printed panel from The Little Book of Muddy Paws that I have been using so much this year, a simple grey mat, mirrored hearts and a stamped sentiment.

Inside I used Karen Burniston's Heart Collage Pop Up which creates a flurry of hearts when you open the card. A heart border and paw print outline, as well as a stamped sentiment finished off the card. 

Having been asked how many cards I make I thought it would be fun to keep track this year. Many of my posts include more than a single card or project and below is my tally. 

Card Tally for 2023
January - 53 cards
February - 56 cards

March - 55 cards

April - 32 cards

May - 43 cards

June - 34 cards

July - 56 cards

August - 106 cards

September - 61 cards

October - 51 cards & 5 Tags

November so far - 19 cards

I decided to cancel the subscription that provided linked thumbnails to what products I used on my cards. It was costing me out of pocket each month, so I’m back to listing what I used with a few affiliate links included.

Supplies:

5 x 7" Card Blank & Envelope 

Little Book of Muddy Paws - Hunkydory

Heart Collage Pop Up - Karen Burniston

Small blending brushes - I-crafter

Catherine Pooler Inks

Shimmer Spray

Short Rectangles Crosshatch - Karen Burniston

Best Friend (Poodle stamp) - Waffle Flower

Pawfect Sentiments - Waffle Flower

Ornate border dies - Scrapbook .com

Paw Print - Puppy Paws, Whimsy Stamps

Nuvo Glaze