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!

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

Floral Cards and criminal behaviour . . . .

When I sit down to create a card, whether it's for a class or for personal use, I always gravitate towards my floral stamp sets.  You might think this is logical since I am a female but in my non-stamping life (NSL) florals are really not my thing. 

I was never one of those little girls who didn't like to get dirty and just loved to dress up.  You would be more likely to find me at the top of a tree reading a book (yes at the same time) than **should this be then or than?** you would playing house or picking flowers or any of that  stuff.

Well, I did pick flowers sometimes, but only Lady Slippers.  I don't know if it is really true or not, but I was told that it was against the law to pick them so I took it upon myself to pick every one that I saw.  Then I would be panicky for the next day or so just waiting for the local police to come and get me.  (You can see what kind of child I was huh?)  BTW, I have reformed from this behavior so the Lady Slippers in and around the Lakes Region area of NH are once again safe!

So I just don't know where my absolute love of floral cards come from but here is my latest.

I created this using the Faux Silk technique and absolutely love how it turned out.  It is so soft and purpley (something else I don't really like in my NSL) and the faux silk area is so soft and faux silky that it is hard to believe it is just tissue paper.

The base of the card is Pale Plum with Perfect Plum and Barely Banana layers on it and the flower images were colored in using my Pale Plum, Barely Banana and Mellow Moss markers.

If you would like to see step by step photo instructions on how to create this card just sign up for my email address and make sure to check the box to receive my "Project of the Month" email and then leave a comment letting me know you'd like to receive the one for this card.

Have a great day and happy stamping!!
~Michelle