MOTHERS DAY CARD I CARE FREE TWIST ON 'SURPRISE INSIDE'

hello everyone and welcome back.

this post is so exciting for me to share because i love to take what i learn, and then share it with you so that are inspired to learn too.

and speaking of learning, everything i learned in this post came from this incredible online class called 'surprise inside'.

it is a class heidi swapp designed and that is available now.  in it you will learn all of the steps to create this amazing interactive card.

i loved using the care free line to bring this card to life with what i learned from the class.  it turned out so pretty and i love that this content can be recreated over and over again with any and every kind of paper line/theme you can imagine.  it is endless!

i think now having taken this class what i loved about it most is the knowledge that you will learn to then take and adapt to future projects or cards.  i learned so many amazing tips and it really brought me back to how fabulous and fun it is to get creative with paper.

i know i will be repeating a lot of these techniques in future projects and i am really excited about that.  this class is such an awesome investment because once you learn the foundations of this card you can repeat and re create over and over again.

with mothers day fast approaching, i think this card is an amazing and unique gift idea that any mother would be sure to fall in love with and be amazed by.  if you are looking for something unique and that certainly has 'wow factor' this class would be the one.  i cannot emphasize strongly enough how much i loved taking this class and how much i learned.  the best part is how it resulted in the absolute cutest and neatest card i have ever made.

shall we go inside?

let's go!

this is one of the first pockets, which again you will learn all about in the class.  i loved and adored using the care free collection to pull this entire card together.  so many beautiful elements.  and the patterns and mood again is gorgeous for mothers day.

i loved customizing this card with stamping.  these care free alphas are awesome to play with and make the cutest sentiments.

and then once we lift up this fun banner pennant flap you will find another layer of surprise.

a fun tag card hidden with another sentiment and message.

but the fun does not end there.

next is the cutest match book openable, with another mini envelope housing the final touch, message and surprise.

ugh. this class really is the cutest. and how fun is this to gift for mothers day? pair with a gift card, cute plant or some coffee and bath salts and i can assure you it will go down as one of the most memorable hand made cards ever received!

i absolutely loved taking this online class and i know you will too.  so much to learn, so easy and captivating.  you will walk away wanting to make this card over and over again. 

this truly makes the most beautiful mothers day card, i hope you will bless someone in your life with this hand made beauty.

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STORYLINE CHAPTERS I SPRING INSPIRED CARDS

here we are!

the beginning of the end. the end of winter that is. haha.

man alive, i cannot be happier that it is march and i will continue to shout it from the rooftops!  time to leave the darkness that is old man winter behind.  he was crazy this year.

so in celebration of this, i just had to create some "just because" cards that give me all the vibes of spring, and sun and warmth and just what spring truly feels like to me.  the storyline chapters paper pad helped me to create all of these cards, with a few of the extra storyline chapters goodies of course... and i just adore them all!  hello spring, i celebrate you!

the 12 x 12 paper pad is so wonderful because it has so many different papers that lend themselves to beautiful stand out cards.

the gold foiled 12x12 butterfly paper is amazing not only alone, but when you fussy cut out the elements they create such beautiful opportunities to create a dimensional 3D card with nothing but a little adhesive and machine stitching.  pairing it with a sticker from the coordinating sticker sheet made this card ready for sending, and took literal minutes to create.

i love this rainbow paper but to "soften it" a bit i simply layered a basic piece of vellum i had on hand over top.  a few additional stickers from the paper pad and another card ready to go.  simple, yet so pretty with all those pastel colours.  i love the vellum touch to this card.  i highly recommend layering vellum on. your projects if you have never attempted.  it is the perfect way to soften bolder papers when you are looking for something more subtle and soft.

this card is probably one of my most favourites, as the layered banner truly encompasses the vibe of a celebration.  who does not love a banner at the best of times??  this one was so fun to create because i simply used the SLC journaling spots to stitch this on to the cover with some additional SLC washi.  i used these heidi swapp stamps to add a basic sentiment in 3 different color of inks and again...another one ready to go!  this is another fun technique to try out and i love when i can use my supply stash in multiple ways.

everything i used to create these cards can be found at joann stores and joann online.  it really took basic minimal supplies to create these card looks and i know i only scratched the creative surface.  be sure to snag this 12x12 paper pad, it is one of my favourites for paper crafting and i know you will absolutely fall in love too.

be sure to check out all the heidi swapp storyline chapters products, they are the best!

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BUTTERFLY CARDS I DCWV LOVE & GROW

spring vibes are completely taking over my craft room recently and i could not be happier about it!

i am SO over winter, it feels like it has been going on for years...

i am so thankful for crafting as it is truly my escape and happy place whenever life feels to be too much! so if you are here looking for some creative ideas and inspiration, especially spring related...then this post is for you!

i absolutely fell in love with this paper stack from DCWV called love and grow.  you can find this paper stack right now at joann stores and joann online.  i love the soft spring colors, the beautiful butterflies and florals.  the quality of this pattern paper is superb and it even comes with an array of patterns that are gold foiled.  trust me, it is beautiful!

there are so many pretty paper designs in this pad that feature butterflies, i thought it would be nice to just continue on the butterfly theme and create some empowering and thoughtful cards.

 

i created additional butterflies out of some of my favourite patterns from the stack with my silhouette cameo and a paige evans butterfly cut file.  i love that this paper is double sided so it made it super easy to create all of my coordinated butterflies by just alternating the cut files one on top of the other. i then sewed them down the middle using my sewing machine and some silver thread.

it was also fun to experiment with varied butterfly sizes.  it really is neat how you can achieve so many different card styles using the same cut file, just with different papers and in different sizes.  there truly is no limit to creativity.

i also had fun incorporating one of my favourite pieces from the heidi swapp boutique aisle (also available now at joann and joann online) are the heidi swapp minc flakes, in silver and gold.  

when you use the foil flakes with the minc glue pen, you are able to easily add foiled touches to your projects.  i love how the edges of the cards i made are accented with the gold and silver shine.  simply apply the pen to your desired areas that you want foiled and then using your fingers rub the flakes onto the glued area.  shake off the excess and voila! beautiful details of foil.

i cannot wait to surprise some special people in my life with these cards!

i hope you enjoyed this inside peek into one of my latest projects.  i had so much fun creating these cards and using the beautiful love and grow paper pad from DCWV.

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WINTER WONDERLAND I HOLIDAY CARD MAKING

so whose up for a little holiday inspiration?!

i know i know....it is STILL august!

but.....nothing like getting a few ideas to feel a bit ahead of the game now... am i right?! i mean the whole christmas in july thing...well let's just pretend this is that! ha!

after all, when there is a brand new heidi swapp christmas collection release...it cannot be kept quiet.  it is always just too good!
say hello to winter wonderland!

that being said, i have whipped up a few cards that i really wanted to share.
some fun, easy and inspiring ideas to maybe get your creative juices flowing for the holiday season ahead.

and what is even better is that these cards are SUPER simple to make.

to begin with, they are all cards i created from the boxed card set.

yes! this box comes with 40 cards AND envelopes ready to be customized however you would like.

they come in all the gorgeous patterns found in the winter wonderland collection so there really is something for everyone.

here are just a few of my favourites!

i just love the holiday tradition with a twist of trend.

so...let's get started and i will share with you 3 simple 'hacks' i used to customize my cards and give them just a bit of "wow factor".

first up is this fun 'fa-la-la' card.

to begin i used my paper trimmer to trim about an inch off the side.  i then covered up the white inside part of the card with this super cute washi.

the front i layered a sticker with a die cut wreath and vellum ephemera.

i love that this collection comes with a coordinating stamp/die set.  this wreath die is probably my most favourite and will probably find itself on a ton of my holiday projects for 2019.

next up is this fun interactive 'pocket card'.  fun to hold a message, photo or gift card!

to create this card i took a card from the box set.

i applied adhesive to the right hand side and across the bottom edge only.  the idea here is to secure the opened edges to form a pocket or pouch.

next, use a circle punch to create a half circle notch.

embellish with winter wonderland ephemera as desired.

for the inside card i simply trimmed another card from the set to my desired size and then added another ephemera piece on top.  slide it into your pocket and you are done!  this is probably one of my most favourite hacks and i will be making a ton of these interactive pocket pouch cards. they just turned out so cute!

last but not least is this trip-fold card with a window.  i used 2 cards to make this one card by simply adhering two cards together and then adding in another piece of card and/or pattern paper in the middle.

this card has ample room and space and i love how interactive it is for the receiver.

 here is how i created my circle window in my card:

i used the we r memory keepers circle spin and trim tool.

it is a very easy tool to use to make circles of all sizes.
simply place your card into the trimmer and specify the size of circle you want cut with the small plastic blade piece.  you will slip it into the corresponding notch.

then hold the large white knob and in a circular motion spin it around the board.

voila! the most perfectly trimmed circle!

to be honest i am not a 'card maker' at heart, but i really enjoy playing with collections and techniques that are not too difficult to try out but yet yield awesome results in the end.  this was really fun for me to create and try out some ideas i never had before.  

i hope you are inspired and in the mood to get your holiday craft on!

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