Granite State Stamper

Happy Halloween "Peek-a-Boo" Card Tutorial

***  I want to thank Dawn Griffith for creating her awesome video tutorial showcasing the Peek-a-Boo Card!!  ***

This is one of my favorite cards to make and I am so glad that this tutorial inspired her.  This tutorial was originally posted on "My Stamping Closet" blog.


Supplies for this card

Cardstock :   
Gable Green : 5½"” x 11"”, scored at 3½"” and 7"”
Gable Green : 6 1/8"” x 5½"”, scored at 4¼"”
Basic Black : (2) 2½"” x 2½"”
Lovely Lilac : (2) 2¼"” x 2¼"

Ink :    Green Galore, Black StazOn

Stamps :    Cheesecloth, Booglie Eyes, Halloween Backgrounds, All Year Cheer II

Accessories : Basic Black Marker, Watercolor Crayons, Deckle Scissors, Aquapainter, Black Organdy Ribbon, Bone Folder, Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Mono Multi liquid glue

 

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1.)  First you need to score each of your Gable Green pieces.  The 5½" x 11"  needs to be scored at 3½" and 11".  The 6 1/8" x 5½" needs to be scored at 4¼" (this will create your 5½" x 4¼" card front).

2.) Fold each piece so they look like this (the long piece should look like a backwards Z with the larger fold towards the back).

3.) Punch a square hole through the smaller two layers of the long piece. Fold them together and push the punch down from the top as far as you can and then center it between the the folds.

4.)  Next line up the RIGHT edges of the front fold and the B fold. Punch a square hole through the front lining it up with the square hole in the B fold. Your two pieces should look like the ones above.

5.)  Decorate the front layer and the C layer keeping any saying at least ¾" from the bottom of the square punches.

 

6.) Using the Stamp-a-ma-jig, stamp the image that you want to see when the card is closed through the square hole while the larger piece of Gable Green in folded up. The image will be stamped on the Back fold of the card.

7.)  Glue the B fold to the back of the front piece (apply glue or mono to the B fold only).

8.) At this point your card should look like the card above. NOTE : When your card is closed you may see the edge of the A fold through the front window. If this happens, trim enough of the A fold so you don't see it. I use the square punch to trim this piece (you can see the image for step 13).

 

9.) Open the card and and the A fold will now be showing through the square punch. Using the Stamp-a-ma-jig, stamp a saying on the A fold.

 

10.) Tack the Lovely Lilac and the Basic Black squares together using a small bit of mono in the center. You can line them up centered or at an angle as I have. Next, (I saw this tip on a blog and can't for the life of me find it now ~ thank you whoever you are!!) using a pen or pencil, draw lines on the back of the squares from corner to corner creating an X. Use this X to center the piece in the square punch and viola!! You have a perfectly centered hole. Too cool huh?

11.) I used deckle scissors to trim the edges of the frames and then glued them together. Then adhere one set to the front of the card and the other set to the C layer of the card.


 
12.)   Using your Watercolor Crayons, color the images.
13.) The last step is to apply a line of adhesive or mono right next to the fold on the back layer. This will keep your card together and not allow the back layer to open up.

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I hope that these directions are clear. If you have any questions just ask!

Using SAB Rub Ons with . . .

. . . this weeks Color Combination Challenge on Splitcoast.

Even as a SU! Demonstrator, Sale-a-bration (SAB) is an exciting time of year.  I love to get stamps for free and the addition of the new rub ons this year is amazing.

If you can't tell, I love them.  They are so easy to apply and you get 4 different colors in each pack.  So far I have only used the Whisper White and Basic Black but I have projects in mind for the Old Olive and Chocolate Chip ones.

I've been trying to get back into participating in the weekly challenges posted on Splitcoast, the Color Combo Challenges are so much fun and they really push me out of my comfort zone. 

This weeks challenge was to use Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery and Pumpkin Pie.  I added Basic Black and Shimmery White as the neutrals and was surprised at how quickly this card came together.  The Orchid Opulence layer is stamped using large flower image from the SAB set  Friendship Bloom with Orchid Opulence Classic Ink.  The Certainly Celery layer is covered with various size flower images from the Love & Happiness SAB rub ons.  It looks like designer paper!  The main image is stamped with Jet Black StazOn and colored using my Aquapainter and Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  

I wanted to add ribbon to finish it off but only had solid colors and wanted to incorporate more so I used my Marvelous Markers to color on a length of Whisper White Taffeta and  really like how it turned out.  I think that it would have stood out a little more if I had colored the edges Pumpkin Pie and the dots with Certainly Celery but all in all I am happy with it.

You can see the ribbon better in this close up picture.  The colors blended a bit and didn't stay quite as crisp as I wanted but I was really surprised at how well the markers worked on the ribbon.  This is a quick and easy way to color small quantities of ribbon for your individual projects.

How have you been using the new rub ons?  Don't you  just love them?

Have a wonderful weekend and make time for stamping!

~Michelle

Have you tried . . .

. . . the Stampin' Up! textured cardstock?  If not you must!  I love how it adds depth to your cards with out having to create a "background".

This card is a great example of this happening.  With so much of the Rose Red cardstock showing it looked a little plain without the texturedness of it (isn't that a great word? - I just made it up. lol)

The image is stamped on Shimmery cardstock and colored with the Watercolor Wonder Crayons and then matted onto a piece of So Saffron.  I created the scalloped border on top using my corner rounder with out the guard on it.

The card base is Garden Green and the "for you" is from the Love & Happiness SAB Rub Ons.  I remember using them when I was little but forgot how fun and easy they are.  They have turned out to be my favorite Sale-a-bration freebie.  You'll be seeing them often in the next few weeks.

I hope this card inspires you!  Let me know if you've used the rub ons and how you like them!

Have a great day and keep stamping!

~ Michelle

Using bleach when stamping . . .

. . . can be kind of nerve racking at first because you're not quite sure what color will be emerging but after a bit it is so much fun!

Can you believe that this card started out with Only Orange as the main color?  I used the large flower image from Friendship Blooms and embossed it onto the Only Orange cardstock using Winter White EP and then colored in the outer edge of each petal with bleach.  The results was a perfect match of So Saffron.

I wasn't sure where to go with these two colors so I used them as my starting point at the SU! Color Combos website (Just a side note : this SU! Color Combination generating site is such a great resource - the next time you use it think about donating a little to help keep it going) and ended up adding Always Artichoke and River Rock to complete the card .

The So Saffron paper at the top and the strip in the middle are from Le Jardin Designer Series Paper and I love that they matched the card perfectly.

 

***  Edited to Add : Suzi,  the paper that is under the green DP is actually the reverse side of it.  It has stripes on it and I cut it wide enough to get the two Always Artichoke stripes and then layered the green side on it to cover all of the other stripes.  HTH ~ if you have any more question please ask.

I hope you enjoy this card!

Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

Embrace Life Card Directions . . .

. . . with a mini tutorial of Faux Silk

Supplies:

Base Card : Pale Plum (8-1/2” x 5-1/2”)
2nd layer : Perfect Plum (2-3/4” x 4-3/4”)
3rd layer : Barely Banana (2-1/2” x 4-1/2”)
4th layer : Pale Plum (2-3/8” x 4-3/8”)
5th layer : White Tissue Paper (approximately 3” x 5”)
6th layer : Perfect Plum (Scallop Circle Punch)
7th layer : Barely Banana (1-3/8” Circle Punch)
8th layer : Pale Plum (1-1/4” Circle Punch)

Stamps : Embrace Life

Inks : Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Black StazOn®

Accessories : White Tissue Paper, Dimensionals, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8” Circle Punch, 1-1/4” Circle Punch, Glue Stick, Mellow Moss Marker, Barely Banana Marker, Pale Plum Marker

Step 1.)  Randomly stamp the flower image onto the tissue paper using the Jet Black StazOn.   (I am using the Basic Gray paper only to make it easier to see the tissue paper.)

Step 2.)  Color in the images using the markers.

Step 3.)  Crumple up the tissue paper into a tight ball.

Step 4.)  Carefully uncrumple the tissue paper making sure not to tear it.  It doesn’t have to be totally flat, a few creases and wrinkles will give it more silk like appearance.

Step 5.)  Apply the glue stick to the entire piece of cardstock that you will be adhering your tissue paper to.  In this case it is the 4th layer from the supply list [Pale Plum (2-3/8” x 4-3/8”)].

Step 6.)  Press the tissue paper firmly into the glue making sure that entire layer is attached.  Try to get most of the wrinkles out but don’t rub too hard or you might rip the tissue paper.  You need to make sure the corners are stuck down so apply more glue stick if needed.

Step 7.)  Trim away the excess tissue paper using the edge of the cardstock as your guide.  This is what it should look like when it is fully attached to the Pale Plum layer.

Step 8.)  Using the adhesive of your choice, finish assembling the card.  On the finished card you can see that I have stamped the flower image randomly onto the front of the base layer with Pale Plum Ink and have used the "Embrace Life" stamp to create the scalloped layer.

If you would like more detailed directions, you can sign up for my Project of the Month Newsletter.  A tutorial with more photos will be sent out on Wednesday, February 6th.

Have a wonderful day and keep stamping!

~ Michelle

Join the Sale-A-Bration!

Each year Stampin' Up! offers us the opportunity to earn ** FREE ** limited edition stamp sets.  This year there are 5 stamp sets and 1 set of rub ons for you to choose from.  To see them you can click >>HERE<<.

Here's how it works :

Customers : for each $50 (before tax and shipping) in Stampin' Up! merchandise you buy, you are able to chose one of the Sale-A-Bration stamps sets for FREE.  So, spend $50 and you receive one FREE set, spend $100 and you receive two FREE sets, spend $150 and you receive three FREE sets, etc.  There's no limit!

Hostesses : When you host a workshop with at least $300 in sales (before tax and shipping) you will receive one FREE set in addition to your hostess benefits.

New Demonstrators : Sign up to be a Demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration and not only will you receive a BONUS stamp set valued at up to $47.95 you will also receive an additional 20% off the price of the Demonstrator Starter Kit!!  That over $350 worth of Stampin' Up! merchandise and supplies for only $159.  That's huge!  Click >>HERE<< to see what is included.

If you have any questions or would like to join my team please email me at michelle@granitestatestamper.com or call me at (603) 528-1612.

Have a wonderful evening and happy stamping!

~ Michelle