American Crafts

I’m Here For You

February 19, 2013 by Nancy Nally 4 Comments

Two things were key to achieving the look of designer Annette Allen’s card today: paper piecing and foam adhesive.

Using foam adhesive behind several of her elements – some of the banners and the block that holds the focal point graphic – gives the front of this card movement and depth, instead of it being boring and flat. It also keeps some of the busier patterns a little separated visually, making them easier on the eyes.

Stamps are perfect for making quick and easy paper pieced images like Annette did here. Simply stamp the image on each of the papers that you want to piece with, cut out the pieces like a puzzle, and assemble them! For this image, Annette pieced the clothing and umbrella, and then finished by coloring the skin and shoes. As she said, “The paper did all the work!”

Supplies | Pattern Paper: Echo Park (Everyday Eclectic 6×6 pad). Stamps: Lil’inker Designs (Rain Boy by Sugar Kissed Cottage). Markers: Copic Sketch (E39, E000, E00, E0000, R83 and R81). Baker’s Twine: Timeless Twine (Kraft Brown). Adhesive: Scotch (ATG), American Crafts (foam).

Designer: Annette Allen

Annette started card making in 1997, when a neighbor invited her to a Stampin’ Up! party while she was living in Germany. She has since started a blog and taken part in many design teams. Annette has been published in Paper Crafts Magazine, Designed To Color, Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Magazine and Papercraft Inspirations. To learn more about Annette, visit her blog, My Clever Creations.

Filed Under: Card Annex, Play Tagged With: American Crafts, Annette Allen, Copic, Echo Park, Lil'inker, Scotch, Timeless Twine

Holy Cow! Get Well Soon!

February 16, 2013 by Nancy Nally 1 Comment

This get well card will bring a smile to the recipient’s face! Designer Susie Moore used a digital stamp to pair an appropriate (and cheery!) cow with the sentiment “holy cow! get well soon!” She even added a bit of glitter (in the form of Stickles) to the angelic cow’s wings when she colored the image!

The blocks of patterned paper on the background is very simple but looks anything but plain with the bold patterns. What really makes this card is the die cut mat around the circular image block. That extra detail makes the focal point stand out from the patterned background more and enhances the fun design of the card.

Supplies | Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned Paper: Pebbles. Image: Bugaboo Stamps. Washi Tape: Michaels Stores. Dies: Spellbinders. Glitter Glue: Ranger Stickles. Markers: Copic.

Designer: Susie Moore

Susie Cannon Moore is married to her soulmate Randall, and between them they have five grown children – four boys and one girl – and five wonderful grandchildren. They live in a small country town called Maypearl, Texas. Susie has been paper crafting all her life, but started scrapbooking seriously in 1998. She has been published in Paper Crafts and Just Steampunk, and also have been on HGTVʼ’s Crafterʼ’s Coast to Coast. Susie loves to scrapbook her family, and do mini books (mostly as gifts). Card making is also a passion she has embraced for years. As a computer nerd, she especially enjoys using digis. In May of 2011, Susie, who has been a dieaholic from the early Sizzix days, started a website devoted to crafting with dies. You can visit her website at The Dies Have It.

Filed Under: Card Annex, Play Tagged With: American Crafts, Bugaboo Digi Stamps, Copic, Pebbles, Ranger, Recollections by Michaels, Spellbinders, Susie Moore

More Than a Thousand Words

February 12, 2013 by Britt Bass Leave a Comment

Sometimes there are no words. Whether it be love, loss, or just a note, some cards convey a message even without a sentiment. This card is clearly an “I Love You” card but, because I’ve used so many familiar icons for Valentines and love (hearts, arrows, etc.) a sentiment is not necessary.

[Editor's Note: Britt used a lot of circles in this card - but can you find the visual triangle that she made in the middle of it?]

Supplies | Cardstock: DCWV (pink), American Crafts (red). Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants Designs (chevron, glitter, corrugated). Stamp: Jillibean Soup for Hampton Art (arrow). Ink: Clearsnap (Fireberry), Ranger Tim Holtz Distress (Antique Linen). Buttons: Forever In Time. Twine: Hemptique. Die Cutting: Silhouette Cameo (hearts), Spellbinders (circles).

Designer: Britt Bass

Britt Bass has been papercrafting since the age of ten when she was given her first scrapbook for Christmas, 1995. Her love of cardmaking is only a few years old, but she has taken to the craft with passion and enthusiasm. She loves many different styles and is particularly partial to tools of every shape, size, and function. She currently serves as a design team member for DCWV, Hampton Art, Craftwork Cards (USA), and Heartstring Designs and her work can be seen in the pages of several issues of Designed to Color. Britt is a crafty social media junky with active, craft dedicated pages on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. If you want to see more of Britt’s work, she posts card inspiration and design team projects on her blog, Pink Paper Crowns.

Filed Under: Card Annex, Play Tagged With: American Crafts, Britt Bass, Clearsnap, DCWV, Fancy Pants Designs, Forever in Time, Hampton Art, Hemptique, Jillibean Soup, Ranger, Silhouette, Spellbinders, Tim Holtz

4U

February 11, 2013 by Nancy Nally Leave a Comment

Have you ever considered using a layout as inspiration for a card? Designer Yana Smakula’s card was inspired by this layout by Kelly Goree!

This quick and easy card features a wonderful die set from Spellbinders and Becky Fleck called Say What?.

By adhering the speech bubbles using different heights – 1mm and 2mm foam dots – of dimensional adhesive, as well as leaving some flat, it created more depth and interest on the card.

Supplies | Cardstock: Dovecraft (Premium White). Patterned Paper: Echo Park (So Happy Together 6×6 pad). Die Cutting Machine: Spellbinders (Grand Calibur). Dies: Spellbinders (Say What?). Pearls: Hero Arts (Light Green). Alphabets: American Crafts Thickers (Rockabye White, Amy Tangerine Foam Journal White). Adhesive: Dovecraft. Corner Rounder: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

Designer: Yana Smakula

Yana Smakula is a newlywed from Ukraine (which is in southeastern Europe) with no kids but two black cats. She loves to travel across the world and meet new people, discover new cultures and just explore. So far together with her new husband she’s been to a few places in Europe (Poland, Check Republic and UK), Africa (Egypt, Tunisia and Israel), Asia (China and Sri Lanka) and USA. Their next dream destination is Madagascar, because they hear the nature there is simply breathtaking! Yana fell in love with the U.S. while living here (in Las Vegas, NV) as a high school foreign exchange student when she was a teen. She enjoys scrapbooking, mostly about her travels. Her other passion is cardmaking – she enjoys trying new products and techniques, experimenting and creating in different styles. She’s also very much into stamping (although she didn’t realize it until she took a close look at her cards and noticed almost all of them use stamps!). To learn more about Yana, visit her website.

Filed Under: Card Annex, Play Tagged With: American Crafts, Amy Tangerine, Dovecraft, Echo Park, Hero Arts, Spellbinders, We R Memory Keepers, Yana Smakula

Special Friend

January 25, 2013 by Nancy Nally 25 Comments

Designer Annette Allen’s attention to detail on this card shows how much she values the recipient of this special greeting! Everywhere that you look, she’s added a little extra step to this design that makes it extra fabulous!

The lovely border around the card was created with baker’s twine and an opaque pen. The white in both items ties them together very nicely but they don’t look repetitive since the textures are so different.

Detail is also key to making the turtle figure look finished and engaging. Stamping the stamp again on patterned paper and paper piecing the shell on top of the first turtle stamp made the shell stand out and look coordinated with the background as well. Putting Stickles on the turtle’s toenails really turns up the cute factor as well!

Finally, Annette’s liberal use of foam adhesive really makes this card work. First she used it to set the sentiment block apart from the background. Then she created a 2nd small layer of depth by using foam adhesive when adhering the patterned paper shell on the turtle. It looks more real, and also gives visual interest to the piece.

Supplies | Cardstock: Neenah (white, desert storm). Paper: American Crafts Dear Lizzy (Neapolitan 6×6). Stamps: Paper Smooches (Party Posse, Sentiment Sampler). Ink: Tsukineko Memento (Tuxedo Black). Twine: Timeless Twine (Olive Green). Glitter Glue: Ranger Stickles (Cotton Candy). Pen: Kuretake Zig Opaque Writer (Arctic White). Adhesives: Martha Stewart Crafts (All Purpose Gel), Scotch (ATG), American Crafts (foam adhesive).