Saturday, July 6, 2019

Interactive Card Series #2: Center Fold Display Card


The outside front panel has fussy-cut flowers, along
with leaves on the side of the greeting banner.
I really like the waterfall of clear gems in two sizes.
Hi Everyone!  How is your summer going?   
Here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, we are hot and humid -- very typical weather for us in this part of the country for this time of year.  What's unusual is that we have already had our FOURTH official "heat wave" and we're not even done with the first week of July. A heat wave is when the temperatures cross 90 degrees for four or more consecutive days. 
And while my 55+ community (VFP - Villas at Five Ponds) has beautiful pools (indoors and outdoors) and a hot tub/spa, they are rendered unusable when Mother Nature sends her natural fireworks -- thunderstorms -- overhead.  So the best thing to do is stay inside with the central air conditioning, and craft, right?

The inside view of my Center Fold Display Card. There's a sentiment mini-card
on the left inside panel, with room for your greeting and signature.
 I'm getting my mojo back slowly but surely.  It was cramped a bit due to some major spine surgery I had in the beginning of May.  The worst part about recovery is that the nerve endings for my thighs were on fire, making sitting and crafting impossible. Thankfully, that passed after a couple of weeks. The best part about recovery is that I remember very little of the pain in the hospital or the first ten days afterwards, thanks to my surgeon's belief in pain management.  

OK, that's me ... what about you?  Have you been getting to those layouts waiting to be done, or the cards needing to be mailed?  August is my heavy-hitting birthday month. I used to spend a boatload of money in August at the Hallmark Store, but now I try my best to make the cards I need, especially for those "cardworthy" friends and family -- you know, the ones who won't think it's weird or cheap to receive a handmade card.

First up, I unwrapped some brand new Stampin' Up! Designer Paper called "Magnolia Lane" and made this "Center Fold Display Card."  I saw a similar card in this design made by another Stampin' Up consultant, and created my own template for it.  Here it is:


If you are a Cricut user, you may want to access the file I created for this template. The base of the card is 12" long, so you'll have to turn the base lengthwise and cut it using a longer (24") mat, at least for that part. I think the base comes up that way when you go to cut it on your Cricut Explore or Maker.

I know that not all of my readers are Cricut users, or may have other electronic machines. So here are some easy cut instructions with measurements that you should be able to adapt or to create your own cutting files:
Please remember me if you'd like to purchase some "Magnolia Lane" paper from Stampin' Up! The paper truly is beautiful, and at just $11.50 for 12 sheets of double-sided designer paper, that's less than $1.00 per sheet!!    I still haven't figured out how to be sure that the link to the product links to ME as your SU Demonstrator, so when you search for a Demo, please indicate that you'd like product credit to go to ELLEN JARVIS in WARMINSTER, PA.  Here is the link to the paper itself: 


I'd appreciate your support of my endeavor with Stampin' Up! very much. Those who have known me for a while know the story of how I came to be with Stampin' Up!, and how I am building my business from scratch ...again.

Enjoy your summer!  And watch out for new posts as I try to reinvigorate my blog. It's been a long time coming!!  

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

CardMonkey's Interactive Card Series #1: Card with Folded Well

In an effort to make my blog FUN again, I'm unveiling a new "Interactive Card Series".  I've been making cards that are far from the standard single-fold card ... I just love pop-ups, cards with movement, etc.   To me, these are cards where your recipients or customers can never say, "Oh, I've seen something just like that at the Dollar Store."  (UGH!!!)

So let's take a look at my Card with Folded Well.  Below is the video I posted on Facebook Live to unveil this card. The "well" in the card can hold just about anything that is flat and fits -- a note inside, a package of seeds, sequins, a gift card, you name it!


Here is the Card Map for this card:


One of the things that I am working on doing for my readers is making a Cricut cut file for my Interactive Cards.  To use this file, you'll need to be using Cricut Design Space, with an Explore or Maker.  This file will automatically cut and score the design shown above, reducing the time spent on making this card down really significantly. Here is the LINK (click here).

You can decorate each of the panels (left and right) if you'd like, and not have an element to hold this "well" shut.  You could also put a "belly band" around the card to hold it shut.  OR, you can put a piece of decorated cardstock (4.25"w x 5.5"h) glued onto the top, with a "zipper" in the middle (as shown in the video), or with ribbons holding it shut, etc.  Let your creative wings fly! 

Here is the card cover I designed for one of the cards I show in the video:

For the sunflowers, I found a single sunflower in Cricut Design Space, and welded two other sunflowers in a "vine."  I also altered a tag shape to include a shadow; the sentiment is stamped. The bumblebee is cut from a Cricut DS shape; a favorite part of the bee would be her wings -- I backed them in Vellum and painted them with Wink of Stella gold.  It has a zip die in the center from Technique Tuesday. 

For the inside, I stamped some sunflowers into the upper left corner of a card, and glued some stripes to match the front's tag. And the gift included in the well is a package of sunflower seeds. I made this for one of my dear friends who is facing some surgery this week. 
I'd love to see any cards you've made like this -- please find me on Facebook (click that link) or send an e-mail to cardmonkey@comcast.net.  

For supplies (including that pretty yellow print paper, above), please come over and shop with me at Stampin' Up!  Click the SU words there for a link to my shop site, or visit: cardmonkey.stampinup.net.

THANKS!

Friday, January 4, 2019

New Year, New Me ... Come along for the ride!

Oh, Friends ...

There is so much to catch up on that I barely know where to start.  So rather than go back to the beginning of my crafty-goodness time, let me start with today:  I am now an Independent Designer for Stampin' Up!, one of the world's greatest and oldest companies for papercrafting and stamping.

It's a brand new world for me, and I'm looking forward to SU's beautiful approach to paper design, colors and omg lovely stamps!  

If you need particulars, I'd be happy to share them with you privately, but for now, let me just say that after 7 years or so with a competitor (Close To My Heart), CTMH Corporate interpreted their rules in a way that caused me to have to make an untenable choice. If I wanted to teach my cardmaking classes freely, I could not be a CTMH Consultant, and I was terminated in October 2018.  

Now it's time to brush off that pain and start anew. Has anyone seen where I put my mojo???!

So for now, let me just say you'll see some straightening up of this blog as I try to reinvigorate this way of communication, and to show you new cards, fun styles, and blossoming creativity.

I'm waiting for my new Stampin' Up! kit to arrive, so in the meantime, I'll post some cards I've made as I come across them. Enjoy life, my friends.... It is much too short to do otherwise.
                                         ~Ellen