DSP Day - Note cards gift

A set of note cards is an always appreciated hostess or holiday gift.  Personalizing them with initials makes the cards extra special.  Since I was using a dark cardstock, I lined the inside of the cards with a light designer paper - one of those thin papers from a paper pad.  I also lined the envelopes from the same type of paper in a small polka dot pattern.

A little designer paper went a long way used in strips on the card.  The initials are also stamped on DSP using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to guide placement.

Thanks for visiting today.  This will probably be the end of weekly DSP Day posts.  I use designer paper on almost my cards anyway so I don't think I'll highlight in a once a week post.  I do plan to continue TIPsy Tuesday and do some more videos.  So stay tuned...  Thanks


Ingredients:  Stamps:  Baroque Motifs, Lovely Letters by Stampin' Up!
Ink:  Dark Brown by Colorbox, Versamark
Cardstock:  Early Espresso by SU!
DSP:  Nook and Pantry 6" paper pad by Basic Grey

DSP Day - Favorite Paper

Of all the pretty papers in Stampin' Up!'s Candy Cane Christmas paper pack, these trees in the background of the card above were my favorite. No big surprise.  I love leaves and trees and these in lovely Baja are just extra special.  Yet how to use the paper on a card and still show of the pattern was a problem for me.  When browsing galleries over the last couple of weeks, I saw a card that had a snowflake in one corner and some other embellishments on top of the snowflake (unfortunately I can't remember where I saw this - I promise I'm going to get better at noting my random browsing).  I don't remember the background of the card at all yet I knew that layered snowflake idea was perfect for this wintery tree paper.

To make the most of the designer paper background, I

• kept all the other elements stacked in one corner.
• used a semi-opaque organza ribbon.
• cut the snowflake on the Cricut using a built-in image in SCAL, accented with diamond stickles (an idea from Kwernerdesign.com)
• edged the designer paper with a light coat of white paint for emphasis and softening.

White paint worked better than white craft ink in this case.  The craft ink just wasn't showing up.

This card is perfect for today here in the NC foothills as we are having some snowy trees of our own.  It is supposed to be mostly flurries with maybe an inch of snow this afternoon.  Yet this morning, it is already snowing pretty hard.  A good day to stay home and catch up.  I've started a new on-line class on blogging and scrapbooking and am very excited about the projects.  More later...

Ingredients:  DSP:  Candy Cane Christmas

Cardstock:  Baja Breeze

Paint:  White by Anita's

Diamond Stickles and Glossy Accents by Ranger

Organza ribbon from Hobby Lobby

DSP Day - No Stamping Card

Here's an all Designer Paper card using the Candy Cane Christmas designer paper from Stampin' Up!  I fell in love with this paper and got the matching stamp set and the buttons, too.  I've had some issues though using all three together as the elements don't seem to be in proportion.  The stamps are small designs, the papers kind of medium to large and the buttons seem really huge.  Since I need to make myself about 15 more cards I'll be tackling this problem in the coming days.

In the meantime, this card just uses the paper with the trees cut and and some color added with markers.  I also went over a few of the dots with Ranger's Glossy Accents.  The star is SU! chipboard colored with Crushed Curry ink and more Glossy Accents.  Even the sentiment is cut out of the paper and gone over with a Zig marker which has a thinner line than SU! markers.

Coloring, cutting and punching are just other ways of using our pretty designer papers.

I just filmed a new video for another Christmas card yesterday.  Hope to have it up and posted no later than Monday.  Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  DSP:  Candy Cane Christmas by SU!
Cardstock:  Baja Breeze, Choc Chip
various markers
Ribbon:  Offray

DSP Day - Cover Sheet Bookmark

It seems like reading goes in spells for me.  I've always got books check out.  Sometimes I'm powering through them and sometimes I can take forever to get through one book.  Lately, I've covered quite a bit of ground so it seemed like time for a new bookmark.  Hopefully, I'll get my Shelfari list (below) up to date soon and blog about some of my favorite reads.  But tonight I've got to get this post up and get off to bed soon.  I'm helping a friend move tomorrow.

For the main part of this bookmark, I used a section of the paper pack's cover sheet.  I had already used this element before on a card and just loved it.   A smaller version was found on the cover sheet.

I then backed it with papers from the rest of the collection.  A very simple bookmark that can remind me to count my blessings.  Appropriate for November!

Thank to you for stopping by!

Ingredients:  DSP:  Material Girl by Cosmo Cricket
Ribbon:  So Saffron by Stampin' Up!
Brad:  Marrakesh by Basic Grey

DSP Day - Negative Circle Image

Lately, I've really been working my circle cutters.  In this case, it is the negative image that forms a frame for the stamped elements.

Here's the sketch:

Project notes:

• The large flower is stamped in Versamark and colored with pastels working from the center out.  You often have to go quite a bit deeper in pastel shades to get what you are looking for.  The outside edge is actually Bravo Burgandy.
• For the first version I of this card I stamped, I reached for Colorbox chalk inks for the background flowers since these were from acrylic stamps.  But not for these acrylics.  Stampin' Up! Classic actually worked best.  I've now labeled this stamp set so I know what ink to use with it.

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Petal Pizzazz,  On Your Birthday for greeting by Stampin' Up!  Deco Flower Paper Studio

Ink:  Versamark, Chocolate Chip

Cardstock:  Summer Sunrise by PTI

DSP:  Delight by Fancy Pants

Button:  Basic Grey

DSP Day - Strips

More and more designer paper packs are coming with a sheet of borders.  These strips of pattern in varying sizes are great for scrapbook borders. For cardmakers, we can cut them up and use them all kinds of ways.  One of the most straight forward is to create a card of strips.  I've mixed in strips from this paper from Stampin' Up! with some stamped images and another designer paper in the series.  Stitching lines are added for interest.

The row of stamped snowflakes is made with one of the techinques from Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking series at Two Peas in a Bucket.  The technique is to apply acrylic paint to a stamp and then sponge away part of it leaving a streaked appearance to the paint when stamping. 

The cool colors and theme of this card match the weather here in NC today.  As the weatherman said last night, it is more like January than November.  Brrr! 

I'm off to stamp club this morning.  Joining friends to make cards will no doubt warm up this cold day.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Cute Christmas and Suitable for Framing by Stampin' Up!
Ink:  Staz-on black and various markers
Cardstock:  Blushing Bride
DSP:  Candy Cane Christmas by Stampin' Up!

DSP Day - 4 Circles Card

I didn't do a sketch for this week's card.  I made 4 of these and they have already been mailed off with my last Operation Write Home box.  Most of the cards were Christmas and the deadline for mailing was fast approaching. Anway, I didn't measure the circles and other paper, but I think the outer circles are 1 3/4" and the inner ones are about 1 3/8".  I cut the larger circles on the Cricut and the stamped ones with my Creative Memories cutting tool after stamping.  The inner circles are mounted slightly off center.

The greeting is stamped on some left over strips of chipboard.  I cut them in half with my Stampin' Up! craft and rubber scissors. These are perfect for cutting through chipboard.  And the Crop-a-dile makes easy work or punching holes.

The edge of the large piece of printed designer paper is distressed with Vintage Photo Ink to help it blend in with both the cardstock background and the other designer papers.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ingredients by Stampin' Up!:  Stamps:  Trendy Trees
Ink:  Dusty Durango, More Mustard, Sage Shadow, Groovy Guava, Choc Chip; (distressing ink Vintage Photo by Ranger)
Cardstock: More Mustard, Whisper White
DSP: Autumn Vine
Thread by DMC

DSP Day - DSP Background and Foreground in 1

Don't you just hate to cover up so much of your pretty designer paper with other card layers?  Well, cut it out!  That is, cut out the some of the design being covered up and use it somewhere else on the card.

Here's an example using the Candy Cane Christmas paper from Stampin' Up! These little trees are just perfect to cut out and use separately.  Yet the rest of the paper's smaller elements are very pretty too.

I cut this out carefully starting in the middle of the paper.  Then I colored in parts of the tree since it was just a line drawing.  Often you can use the cut out element without further embellishment.

The only thing to be careful of is to use good cardstock behind the are you have cut out.  You don't want a 'hole' to shine through if someone handles your card with light shining behind it.  Otherwise, no one will be the wiser of your frugality.

Thanks for visitng today!  Hope you'll find lots of creative ways to use those pretty papers.

Ingredients all by Stampin' UP! except ink:  Stamps:  A Cute Christmas

Ink:  Staz-on black, Real Red

Cardstock:  Garden Green, Real Red, Whisper White

DSP:  Candy Cane Christmas

DSP Day - Designer Paper on the Inside

Consider using some of your pretty designer paper on the inside of your cards too.  You can often stamp and write on tone-on-tone or light backgrounds.  The designer paper  on the inside of this card shows through the stamped transparency layer so you get a pretty view open or closed.

Project Notes: 

• The card is cut on the Cricut with SCAL software.
• The transparency film is stamped with Bordering Blue craft ink and then embossed using clear powder. It gives a pretty texture and a light bit of color.  Keep the heat gun moving when embossing transparency film and always guard your fingers.  I used ink jet printer film.
• Whisper White craft ink is sponged around the edges of the cutout to accent the inside further.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Serene Snowflakes by SU!; greeting by Inkadinkado
Ink:  Bordering Blue and Whisper White craft by SU!; Not Quite Navy classic ink for greeting
DSP:  Candy Cane Christmas by SU!
Cardstock:  Not Quite Navy
Ribbon:  Fabric store.

DSP Day - That 70's Craft

Help me out here.  There was a craft in the 70's where you cut up printed images and layered the images on top of one another putting a coat of varnish on them as you went.  You created a type of 3D picture with them.  I just can't remember what it was called.

Whatever... it was the inspiration for the card above.  I just cut out flowers from additional DSP to layer on the main DSP.  In some cases I created more than one additonal layer.  Brushing on Crystal Effects from Stampin' Up! created the gloss.   Some layers have dimensionals between them and others have glue dots depending on the amount of pop I wanted.

Just another way to use your designer paper and be retro about it, too.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Ingredients:  Stamp:  Upsy Daisy by SU!
Ink and Cardstock:  Chocolate Chip
DSP:  Sweet Pea by SU!
Brads:  Marrakesh by Basic Grey

DSP Day - Little Strips

Before Creative Memories went to a true 12x12 inch scrapbook size, I always had little strips of designer paper left over from cutting 1/2" off one side of the background paper. Now I get them from all kinds of projects especially when I use 6" or 8" square paper pads.  Those sizes just don't fit quite right for standard cards and there are leftovers.

I was truly down to the little strips on a few of these papers and I'm glad they found a home on this kitty card.  Adding circular cardstock for the stamped image balances all those lines.

Here's the sketch:

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Cats by Inkadinkado

Ink:  Amber Clay and Dark Brown Fluid Chalk ink by Colorbox

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Naturals White and Baja Breeze by SU!

DSP:   by Basic Grey; Delight by Fancy Pants

Brads:  Oriental Trading and Stampin' Up!

DSP Day - Tucan Paper

Here's a fun and very fast card using Stampin' Up!'s Sweet Pea paper pack from last spring.  You could substitute any fun pattern paper for the Tucan and then use two narrow strips on the bottom to compliment the main paper. 

Project Notes:

• I didn't want a mat for the Tucan paper but it was not quite heavy enough to be adhered with dimensionals on its own. I backed it with white cardstock cut slightly smaller so it doesn't show but adds weight.
• The ribbon is just folded over and the buton glued on for a slightly different look.
• Corner rounding on several pieces adds a lot of interest with very little time and no additional materials.

I'm sorry I didn't get a sketch made of this one but it is pretty straight forward.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Mailbox greetings by PTI
Cardstock and ink:  Chocolate Chip by SU!
DSP:  Sweet Pea by SU!
Ribbon:  So Saffron by SU!
Button:  Oriental Trading

DSP Day - Simple Style for Bold Print

A general design rule for large, high contrast prints - keep it simple!  So here is this week's Designer Series Paper card using a very bold print from Basic Grey. 

Here's the sketch:

Project Notes:

• The solid strip is stamped with a backgound stamp to give dimension.  The edge is torn but you could also do a scallop or other decorative order.
• Cut the vellum longer than the card and wrap the ends around the back and attach on the backside.  Then you don't have to fuss with keeping adhesive from showing on the front.
• The flower is cut from the same DSP.  The leaf is a sticker from the paper collection.

Very simple, very fast card. 

Have a great weekend.  We are planning to go to a family wedding and I hope to get in some more scrapbooking.  I owe my stepdaughter some pages for Dillon's school album.  And maybe I'll get in a walk because it is supposed to be blessedly cooler at last!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Spring Blossums from Inkadinkado for greeting; Sanded by SU! for background
Ink:  Pacific Point
Cardstock:  Pacific Point, Naturals White
DSP:  Marrakech by Basic Grey

DSP Day - Cricut Assisted Card

This week's Designer Paper card uses paper, die cuts and stickers from a single collection from Crate Paper.  I started by using the Cricut to cut a leaf layout from the Storybook cartridge and went from there.  Since this one relies heavily on a specific cartridge I did not do a sketch.  Use a die cut, Cricut or Silhouette cut image as a starting point and build from there.  You can get a very rich look using all designer papers.

Project Notes:

• Detailed images often cut better from a good quality designer paper than cardstock.
• One of these flowers is a die cut, the other is trimmed by hand from matching paper in the collection.
• I decided on the ribbon after glueing most of the cut image down so I just used a strip of ribbon on one side woven around some of the unglued branches.  Another die cut and a brad anchor it in place.

Thanks for visiting today. Hope the rest of your weekend is great.

Ingredients:  DSP, stickers, die cut:  Mia collection from Crate Paper
Brad: Oriental Trading.
Ribbon:  Chocolate Chip Taffeta from Stampin' Up!

DSP Day - Happy Autumn

For today's designer paper card, choose a stamp set that would work well in a large circle.  I selected Season of Friendship from Stampin' Up!  These fall papers were released with this set a couple of years ago.  I've always wanted to use this large leaf print paper.  Putting it on opposite side of the card from the large stamped tree balances the image and keeps the paper from being overwhelming.

Here's the sketch.

Project Notes:

• This trifold card is made from a piece of kraft cardstock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2".  It is scored at 2 1/4" on one each side.  To keep from having a gap where the edges meet in the middle, the narrow rust DSP overhangs the edge about a quarter to a half inch.
• I cut the full circle and stamped the tree image.  I did not trim off the right right side of the circle until after it and the larger circle mat were attached to the card.
• I cut a slit in the side to run the ribbon through the right side of the card only.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Season of Frienship from SU!; Mailbox Greetings from PTI
Ink:  Really Rust, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock:  Crumb Cake (kraft), Whisper White
DSP:  Autumn Vine
Ribbon:  So Saffron grosgrain
Button:  Basic Gray

DSP Day - Bright Birthday

I love Designer Paper!  This is probably no surprise from my projects.  Even when I start a project thinking I'll only use cardstock, like yesterday's Favorite Dress layout, I cave.  I just can't resist buying beautiful pattern paper and adding it to my projects.  Since I can't resist the purchases, I'd better be using the paper! 

As I'm doing more and more cards with Designer Series Paper (DSP), I've decided to make these cards a regular feature of my blog.  A completed card, a sketch, and some project notes will be featured one day per week.  I'm not sure which day but for this week it is Saturday.

The card above uses some of my paper stash - a discontinued designer paper from Stampin' Up!  Often I buy DSP for scrapbooking projects and then use the remains for cards. This paper was originally used for last summer's pages about the kids visit to our house.  The bright colors are perfect for my son-in-law's birthday. 

Project Notes: 

• The DSP creates the background for this card.  Stripes and polka dots are incredibly versatile.  The stripe directed the color choices for the stamped elements - orange, green, Brilliant Blue and light blue.
• The tiny stripe at the bottom was a last minute addition to balance the card.  A little DSP can go a long way in adding a touch of color where it is needed.
• There was a large stripe paper in this collection.  I cut the tag and the strip of orange at the bottom from these large pattern stripes.
• This particular paper had coordinating ribbon and since I still have a lot of paper, I conserved ribbon by trimming rather than wrapping the ends.  The ribbon is attached with stamples.   A pleat and brad in the middle adds interest and is a change from bows - a little more masculine too.
• My Only Orange ink is dry so I stamped in Versamark and embossed to get a similar effect.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I'll plan on another DSP day late next week - Friday or Saturday.  Feedback is always appreciated.

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Circles and Dots by Inkadinkado; Plenty of Paisley by Paper Studio
Ink: Garden Green, Brilliant Blue, Versamark
Cardstock:  Bashful Blue
DSP and ribbon:  Jersey Shore by SU!