Cakes and Trees

I love blogging - where else can you bundle together something as random as cakes and trees and it still make sense!   Today I have two completely different cards to share - one fun interactive birthday cake card and one Christmas card inspired by trees and forest theifs!

It's the first time I've used the Interactive Birthday Cake die set from MFT but it won't be the last - it is such a fun set to make pretty quick and easy birthday cards with lots of impact!  It looks really complex but it really isn't.  I just used two shades of card and cut the layers and icing and decorated the bottom layer with some fun enamel dots.

To create the inner layer you  just use the little channel die that comes in the kit to cut a channel in your base layer and sandwich a slider (or spinner would work too) element between your cake and pull tab which also comes in the kit. 

Stick that layer onto your base card (I just used some old dp that matched the colours in the cake to make it more fun) using foam tape (ensuring your tab can still run freely) and then the recipient can pull the tab to reveal the hidden message from the corresponding Twice the Wishes stamp set which has great birthday themed stamps that work with lots of other images too.   My top tip for the sentiments is to curve them slightly to match the shape of the cake.   The bottom layer of the cake needs to be secured over the inner layer with just a very thin strip of foam tape down either end when the inner layer is in the "bottom" position.   I added a few candles (also in the die kit) to cover the channel and make it more festive.

I also really wanted to play with the new tree die from Avery Elle this week.  I was really excited by this set but I think it's hard to see what it "does" when you just see the raw die.

Basically with two branch sides and one straight side, you can create a wide variety of trees in whatever width suits your project :-)  It also includes some fun elements like knot holes in two sizes for critters to live in, a carved heart for valentines projects, a little bird house and some different shaped leaves.  It's a really versatile set for the price.

In my project I had the idea of the animals wanting to trim up the forest for Christmas so I created one chunky tree from kraft card stamped with Whimsical Woodgrain back ground stamp and used one of the knot holes to create a home for the chipmunk to hide his string of lights in.  The cardinal is busy tying a bow on the branch to hang his stolen ornament and I just couldn't resist adding the new beaver from Wood You by Avery Elle as I just adore him and I thought he just looked really happy and pleased with the decorations!  For the sentiment I went back to an old favourite from Wplus9 - Festive Greetings which is just back in stock.  The critters and ornaments are from Joy to the Woods.

NEWS FROM THE STORE

• We will have some Wplus9 restocks in store shortly.
• We have a few new Echo Park paper collection sets expected this week.
• Our Lawn Fawn restock is STILL in transit - it got held up in US customs for two days and is now currently on hold in Leipzig, Germany.  We hope it will be here early this week but we are powerless to do anything about it.
• We have the new release from Altenew in transit along with restocks on ALL the inks including the new full sized packs of the new pink/teal and brown sets.  We have some restocks too but not everything was available at the time of our order.
• The new release from Newton's Nook is also in transit so should be with us in time for release.
• We will also be placing an order for the new release from Winnie and Walter but as we didn't find out about it until late last week, it won't be here for release day.
• We have more Perfectly Penned from Concord and 9th in transit too but as we just got that set, it isn't coming the fastest way so may take a couple of weeks to reach us.
• We are also ironing out the final issues with our gift vouchers so hope to have those online by the end of the month, it is quite complex as we have to fit in around 2 different development teams time schedules so things keep slipping (we've been working on them for months!) but I have expressed the desperate need to have them in time for Christmas.  Unlike our previous vouchers, these are no longer handmade cards, you will get an automated email response including a printable voucher you can either email on to the recipient or print off and put in your own card.  As the store has grown I just don't have the time to make them by hand anymore - sorry.  The bonus now though, as a digital download, they are postage free and you will get them within 15 minutes of purchase ;-)  Watch this space for news of their arrival.

The C Word

Is it too early to mention the C word?  I guess with some of the big brands already having their seasonal collections out it probably isn't now we're back to months with an R in them....

So today I have a quick Christmas card which would be easy to batch produce if you're short on time but still want to give handmade cards.

I have a thing for embossing folders - they seem to be a little out of favour of late, but I think that is because some of the cheaper ones that came on the market don't give a good impression so I was thrilled when I tried out the new range from Echo Park - this pine boughs one is SO crisp and makes a really effective background on the Noble Fir card stock.   To keep the rest of the card CAS I wanted just a simple sentiment and single focal point and the Retro Ornaments from Avery Elle are perfectly paired with the Merriest sentiments.  I coloured the ornament with copics and wink of stella pens in black and red for that retro 1970s feeling (I still have my Mum's set of baubles from this period in pink and blue!)   I stamped the sentiment onto gold pearl paper and mounted that onto red card for contrast.

NEWS FROM THE STORE

We have a family funeral tomorrow so packing and shipping orders will be a little slower than normal for a couple of days whilst we play catch up.  This may also impact how quickly I manage to get new arrivals sorted and onto the website - I work as fast as I can and for as long as I can but even I need a few hours sleep each night!

We are expecting deliveries from the following brands this week:

• Hero Arts
• Lil' Inker Designs
• Waffle Flower
• Reverse Confetti
• Avery Elle
• Lawn Fawn

We are waiting for the following to ship but there is a chance we could get them later this week or early next

• Concord and 9th
• Stamping Bella

Cats, Dogs and Vikings

Good morning - I have a few cards today using Avery Elle products, some new and one older one that we've been waiting ages to get back into stock.

For the first one, I had to ink up the stunning new cat from the Dear Santa and with that look on her face I wanted to have her do something naughty to match the sentiment so I used the lights from Retro Ornaments and wrapped them around the dog from Happy Howl-idays.  To do this I stamped it on rough paper to get the shapes I wanted and then started again on card stock with the lights first which I coloured and covered with glossy accents before stamping the dog.  This is a form of masking as you can wipe the ink off the lights when you stamp the dog over the top.   For the background I used the fabulous new Falling Snow die on white card and placed it on one of their new Silver Fox base cards.   Avery Elle have discontinued their mixed colour card packs so all we have left are all we will have.  Silver Fox was their most popular colour request and is a lovely soft grey (NB it does not have a silver sheen)

Then, as with the real life version, I wanted to show that a cat is not just for Christmas so I used it to make an anytime card too.

I used the Avery Elle Burst die direct onto my card with a rubber mat so it just embossed the lines and didn't cut the edges.  I stamped the cat twice and on the second removed the ink from the eyes before stamping so I could just draw in the eyes without eyelashes to make a boy cat and for him I just trimmed off the bow after colouring.   The sentiment is from MFT's new and super useful Essential Sentiments.


For my last card I used the Viking which has been oos at Avery Elle for ages so I am thrilled I can use him again now we have him back as he's just wonderful!   I have an article in this month's Simply Cards and Papercraft all about creating scenes using the End of the Rainbow die from MFT and here I have one more use for it - a viking longboat!

To create the scene I stamped the Viking, coloured him with copics and fussy cut him out.  The rainbow was cut from Kraft card stock and I blended a little darker ink on the bottom.  The sea was created from two layers of patterned paper (scraps from my stash but any blue would do) and I cut the wave using MFT's Stitched Cloud Edges die.   The sentiment is another from Essential Sentiments.

NEWS FROM THE STORE

• Tomorrow sees the great new release from Mama Elephant and we have it already so it will be live in the morning.
• The order I made to Altenew in July has FINALLY shipped so we hope to have it early this week.
• Lawn Fawn have now confirmed that their release date will be 25th August.  We haven't had confirmation yet that our order has shipped but we normally manage to get it just in time to release when they do.
• We are still waiting on Hero Arts to reach the UK distributor - we'll let you know when it arrives.

Catch you later.

Tara