Easel Card With A 'Mirror'

The inspiration for this card was a regular two-fold card from DoCrafts.com created by Acorns (link below). There was no detail on how it was made aside from the description, ‘die cut butterfly on acetate’.  I was intrigued by the mirror effect and took a closer look. The next thing I knew I was cutting away. Coincidentally, I happen to have seen the exact same butterfly design which is a free file  from Dream Scrapbooks (link below) which is actually on a SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) format which I was able to trace in Studio.

http://www.docrafts.com/project/Mothers-Day/p3299100/tDetails

http://createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/2011/03/spring-butterfly-free-scal-cut-file.html

The trick for the mirror effect is using acetate and gluing the 2 cuts of butterfly at the body part placing the acetate in between.  The butterfly at the bottom gives an illusion of a reflection of the butterfly on top.

From a two-fold card, my design progressed into an easel card to display the mirror effect of the butterfly more prominently.  It was quite tricky how to display an unobstructed view of the back of the ‘mirror’ and still be able to create the easel. You’ll see in the photos the strategy that eventually hit my brain. With the Silhouette, everything is just possible!

Here is a tutorial on the easel card: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/easelcard/

The butterfly used on top was cut on a cream card stock and sprayed with glimmer mist.  I was able to replicate the rust color of the card stock that I used on the base of the card by mixing orange, brown and black. Manually embossing with a stylus has become a favourite technique which I applied to the butterfly on top, the sentiments and the vine. The butterfly used at the bottom was cut on the rust card stock.

The only files on the card that I can share are the butterfly design and the rosette flower.  Everything else on the card are all Silhouette designs. The base of the shaped card is a tag design called ‘Tag Nesting 

Set Of Two’  which I ungrouped and used the mat layer.  I created the ‘For You’ sentiment but welded it to a Silhouette swirl design.

My next card will be a fun card using another different card design and technique. I already created the template for it so that means another free file.  Watch out for it!

Mother's Day Card

So happy! Finally, I was able to complete my Mother’s Day cards for my most special family and friends.  All cards were mailed last April 14, so hopefully they will get to the USA before the 8^th of May.

Needless to say, it is just heavenly to have a template for the recessed window card otherwise I wouldn't be making multiple cards with this card design. The first recessed window cards that I made last year were done manually. So tedious! Sometimes, I wonder, too, where I get all my patience and perseverance, LOL! And the perfectionist me, sometimes I get so mad at myself. But then, I wouldn't have it any other way which makes me appreciate my beloved Silhouette machine all the more :). And with the release of the Studio, Ms. Perfectionist is on a roll and has been doing the happy dance after every cut and newly created designs. What a joy! Thank you, thank you, thank you, my dear Silhouette!  

                                                                              

Something new on this card is the flower design, lily. I saw the flower making videos by Paper Blossoms  a while back and I went crazy looking for the tools used on the video, the Paper Blossoms  tool set.  It has been out of stock and not even the manufacturer, McGill Inc.,  has it in stock. They said it won’t be available till about the end of this month. I was very fortunate to chance on it at Custom Quilling.  The lily flower was my very first project using the tool set. They work like magic in shaping the flowers . You should see the hydrangeas, they look so real. I just found the tiny styro foam balls (one inch) used on the video so this will the next flower I’ll be making.

Paper Blossoms video tutorial on the lily flower:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdK69UZKtlA

Another new technique I applied on the card is embossing manually on the cut design using the small tips of the stylus set. It doesn’t look promising as you’re doing the embossing but when you put the un-embossesd cutout  and the embossed cutout side by side, the embossed cutout looks great. It does have a stunning effect. It adds a new dimension on the design. For me,  it’s the next best thing since we are not able to emboss with the Silhouette machine.

You can request for the flower template on your comment.

Graduation Cap Card

I was looking for some ideas for a graduation card for my niece who is graduating from college today (it's now the 15th here) and it was a love at first sight when I saw this card at Splitcoast Stampers website. I actually contacted  Rose Castillo who made the card. She is so nice and shared with me some details of her graduation cap. The top of her cap is a basic 2 fold card and the bottom part is a box where she inserted cash for her gift which has an opening at the bottom of the box. The box was made from the petal cone die by Big Shot. You'll find her graduation cap gift box on her blog (bottom of the page, post dated February 11, 2011): 

http://stampwithrose.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-02-26T08%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=10

I made my own version and I made the whole cap into a folded card. I whacked my brain figuring out how I can make the box to fold flatly like a regular card with the top (card part) attached securely to the base. At first I tried to use a cone design from my library similar to the Bog Shot petal cone die. I made various different cuts from it but it was either too pointed or too flat. I also tried using the Chinese take out box but it wasn't angled enough. I ended up creating a design of my own and I was very happy with the result. I happen to have a very similar tassel in gold color which I thought about the minute I saw Rose's cap. I originally wanted to use a black button to hold the cord of the tassel to replicate a real graduation cap but I had a tough time gluing it with the cord 

underneath then to the top of the card. I found a metal gold button which worked perfectly. I also figured out where to insert the cash gift by putting a small envelope inside the card.. I used a design I bought from Silhouette. So perfect!

Having created my own design for the card, this means I can share the file with anyone interested in making the card. Yeheey, another free template for my followers :). All you have to do is request for the file on your comment below. PLEASE do not forget to leave your e-mail address on your comment.

Recessed Window Card

My concept for my Mother's Day card this year is a framed card making a very meaningful quote about a mother as the focal point of the card. I thought of the recessed window cards that I made last year. But then I don't really have much time as I'll be sending most of the cards that I'll be making to relatives and friends in the US and snail mail will take at least 3 weeks! And while I'm in the mood for making templates, why not make a recessed window card template. Wow, that  was so much easier and faster than I expected. It took me only a few minutes to create the template. Silhouette Studio, I love, love, love, love, love you so much!!!!!! I can't get over how truly amazing the Studio is. It took me longer figuring out how I made my recessed window cards last year than creating the template.

Well, this is another treat to my fellow crafters, yeheey, another FREE template (^_~). Just indicate on your comment below your request for the template. Please don't forget to leave your e-mail address.

NOTES on the template: Just like the stepper card template, I used a 6" x 12" card stock so the base of the card is "No Cut" as I maximized the full size of the card stock. This time though, I didn't bother positioning the card stock correctly on the carrier sheet (mat) as I was more concerned in laying out all the pieces strategically for you to see them at a glance. I also put some notes corresponding to the piece or cut. The notes are already indicated as 'No Cut' and they won't be printed as well so no need to worry about them when doing the cuts. If you wish to set them aside, simply ungroup the image. VERY IMPORTANT: If you wish to resize the scale of the card, don't forget to GROUP all the pieces together so everything will be resized accordingly. And don't forget to change the cut style of the base of the card from No Cut to Cut (red square icon on the menu).

Here is a tutorial by Lyn Mercurio from Splitcoast Stampers for your guide: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/recessedwindow/

You'll appreciate the template even more as you'll see the many tedious steps that you no longer need to do. 

Enjoy viewing recessed window cards: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?si=recessed+window+card&cat=&x=22&y=5

All the details of my cards are designs that I bought from the Silhouette online store so I cannot share these files. I used print and cut for the sentiments.

abstract_leaf_cluster_C00549_19210

1_piece_ornate_oval_vine_frame_C00526_19210

Flower_1022

outlined_flowers-set_of_3_C00164_24282

flower_1230

Wedding Card

I've been wanting to make an all white card and the opportunity arose when I created this wedding card for a friend. I was still practicing on my aluminum blade holder when I made this card and I challenged myself to use an intricate design and came up with this card using a design from the Silhouette online store called 'card with filigree frame'. I was so pleased with the efficiency of the aluminum blade holder. The blade cut the filigree perfectly!

I have another friend who got married and I just used the same design and used a different color, a very nice sage green and dressed it up with silk flowers and pearls.

Design from the Silhouette online store: card_with_filigree_frame_C20090817011453_19210