Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

As I mentioned yesterday, I followed Cindy’s fabulous tutorial to make the Jewish Star Card that I showed you yesterday. I learned some things along the way, so I wanted to put together a tutorial for others to enjoy as well. You can use either thin card stock or patterned paper. (I recommend Stampin’ Up Designer Series Paper.) For this tutorial, I will be using card stock. Here is my finished card:

Supplies needed:

• Card Stock or Designer Series Paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Paper Cutter
• Scoring Tool (such as Stampin’ Up’s Simply Scored)

Start with a piece of card stock or Designer Series Paper that is 10” x 8 3/4”.  Mark the top of the paper at the halfway point of 5”.

Using your ruler, draw a 10”  line from each of the bottom corners to the midpoint that you marked.

Cut along those lines, and you should now have an equilateral triangle that is 10” on every side.

Place one of the sides flat against the left edge of your Simply Scored (or other scoring tool). Score each point at 4 3/8” and 5 7/8”. Rotate the card stock to score all three sides.

Fold the corner in towards the center on the score line closest to the middle, then back out on the score line closest to the tip.

Repeat on all three sides.

Cross fold the outsides, over and under, tucking them in and alternating, all of the way around. Now you have your finished star!

For a more finished look to your Jewish Star Card, you may wish to line the inside.

• For one layer, create a 5” Equilateral Triangle. Start with a 5” x 4 3/8” piece of cardstock, mark the midpoint at 2 1/2” and follow the same steps above.
• For a second layer, create a 4 1/2” Equilateral Triangle. Start with a 4 1/2” x 4” piece of cardstock, mark the midpoint at 2 1/4” and follow the same steps above.

After creating these once, I made templates of all of the triangles that I used, to make the creation of multiple cards easier.

Again, here is the outside of the card:

And here it is opened up:

Stamps: Shalom
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze
Paper: Baja Breeze Textured Cardstock, Not Quite Navy Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock
Other: Simply Scored, 2 3/8” Scallop Circle Punch, 2 1/2” Circle Punch

Would you like a PDF version of this tutorial? You can download it for free here. I also make my tutorials available for Kindle or Nook.

Thank you to everyone who visited my blog over the weekend! as I promised during the hop, I have a combo tutorial for you today — how to enlarge your Matchbox AND how to create an easel for it as well. First of all, you need Stampin’ Up’s Matchbox Bigz XL Die. (If you don’t already have this, read to the end for a special offer.) This is what the final project looks like:

The to create the regular matchbox bottom, you need a piece of cardstock that is approximately 6″ x 5″. This creates an adorable box that is unfortunately about an inch to short to hold a gift card. To compensate for this we are going to start with a piece of card stock that is just a bit larger than 7″ x 5″. Fold this in half so that your folded piece is now 3 1/2″ x 5″. Place this on the Matchbox die so that the folded edge is towards the middle of the die, and the two open sides are just at the edge of the cutting line. (Thank you to Carmen for the original tutorial on this.)

Run this through your Big Shot as usual. When you take it out, unfold the piece that you cut. It should look like this:

Fold on all of the score lines, and put it together just as you would a regular Matchbox. As you can see your final project is slightly larger than a regular Matchbox, and can now hold a gift card!

The next step is to create a cover and the easel. For the cover you want to start with a piece of cardstock that is 6 1/2″ x 3 3/4″. Score this on the long side at 3/4″,  2 7/8″, 3 5/8″, and 5 3/4″. (Have I mention recently how much I love my Simply Scored? Love it!!)

Next you need to create a base for the easel mechanism. Start with a piece of cardstock that is 2 1/8″ x 4 3/4″. Score it on the long side at 1 7/8″ and 3 3/4″.

Now fold under the piece that is 1 7/8″ and glue it to the underside of the cover. Next fold up the bottom part, so it is touching the top. (Is this too confusing? Do I need a video?)

Create your focal point image and attach it to a mat that is 2 1/8″ x 3 3/4″. The top of this mat is then glued on to the folded up part of the easel mechanism. (Are you still with me here?)

Now fold the cover on its score lines and fold into a sleeve for the matchbox. For the final step, attach something to the cover that will catch the end of the easel and prop it up. Here I used a little cut out coffee cup on a Stampin’ Dimensional.

I hope this tutorial was helpful. I welcome your questions and comments!

Oh, right, the special offer! From now through October 31st, I am offering free shipping on any order that includes the Matchbox Bigz XL die. Send me an email for complete details. And don’t forget! If you join my team of Craft Therapists before the end of October, you can get either a FREE Big shot or $100 worth of the Stampin’ Up products of your choice. Click here for more details.

Have you been wondering about Stampin’ Up’s triple layer punches? They are really cool concept — three punches in one!  Triple Layer Punches incorporate three punched images in one great body style—presenting you with numerous layering and designing options. Watch this helpful training video to triple your know-how about these innovative punches!

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The most important thing I have found when using these punches is that they must be used flat on the table, not punched in the air. You can see the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch and the Doily Triple Layer Punch in the Online Store.

The polished stone technique is another one that I waited a really long time to try, thinking it would be harder than it was. I’m happy to report that is another fun and easy way to add the Wow factor to your paper crafting!

Supplies needed:

• Cotton balls
• Rubbing alcohol
• Classic reinkers (2 or 3)
• Glossy white card stock

First, wet your cotton ball thoroughly with the alcohol. Then add two or three drops of each of the colors to the reinker directly on to the cotton ball. Here I used Rose Red and Pretty in Pink.

Begin dabbing your cotton ball around the glossy white card stock. Try not to dab in the same place, as you do not want the colors to look too muddy or blend too much.

When your card stock is completely covered, let it dry for a few minutes.

Now you are ready to finish your card!

There are variations on this technique which include either a metallic reinker or shimmer paint. You can add drops of these to the glossy white card stock before you start dabbing with the inked up cotton ball. If you use one of these, you may need to heat set your project, or use an acrylic sealer.

Have fun with this technique, and let me know what you create!

Ever hit a wall when you are trying to come up with a card design? I know I do! I was cleaning out all of my old swap cards, getting ready for the new catalog which starts TOMORROW (!!) and I was thinking that while they use stamps and paper that are no longer available, the basic layout and design of the cards are still good. Heck, most of them are great! So I started using My Digital Studio to sketch them out. As I worked on it (for hours) I realized that other people might be interested in this too! So I put all of the sketches together in a handy dandy PDF. It is 27 pages long, and contains 51 sketches, because there is an extra one on the title page. If you are interested in purchasing the PDF, it is $5. All you have to do is click the PayPal “Buy Now” button and I’ll send the PDF out to you as soon as I get your email.

Let this book of sketches spark your inspiration! Containing 50 sketches, plus a bonus one on the title page, it is sure to get your creative juices flowing. The sketches are clean, elegant, and easy to read. All are done in shades of gray, so as not to influence your color choices. Please let me know if you have any questions.

The Baby Wipe Technique is one of my favorites — it is super easy to do, and yields fantastic results! Your results are limited only by the colors of reinkers that you have.

Supplies needed:

• Stamp that has a solid image (as opposed to a line art image that can be colored in)
• Classic Reinkers in at least two colors
• A clean, fresh baby wipe
• A tray or plate to put the baby wipe on

Fold your baby wipe into quarters and place it on the tray.

Add several drops of each of the colors of reinker to the baby. You are basically creating your own ink pad. I used Daffodil Delight and Real Red to create the same look as the gummy worms that I wanted to use on the card.

Use this newly created ink pad to ink up your stamp, then stamp on your card stock. If you use colors that are very different, like I did with yellow and red, you may want to clean off your stamp each time before inking it up.

After you finish creating your piece, finish your card as usual. Below is my completed project.

Stamps: Bugs & Kisses
Ink: Real Red, Daffodil Delight
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: 1 3/4″ Circle Punch, Large Tag Punch, Extra-Large Tag Punch, Sweet Treat Cup, Real Red 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon

Remember, this adorable Bugs & Kisses stamp set will be discontinued after June 30th, as will ALL of the 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon.

I’d love to see your creations with this technique! Be sure to leave me a comment if you make something!

As I promised you during this past weekend’s blog hop, I have two tutorials for you this week! I am posting the first one today, which is called Sparkly Stained Glass.

Supplies needed:

• Stamp that has a line art image (as opposed to a solid image)
• StazOn Ink
• Acetate or Stampin’ Up window sheets
• Crystal Effects Adhesive
• Glitter in several colors

The first thing you want to do is to trim your acetate to the correct size for your stamp, and then stamp your image on it with the StazOn ink. I love StazOn because not only is it waterproof, but it will stamp on slick surfaces like acetate and glass.

Next, flip your piece of acetate over. We will be working on the back side of the piece. This may or may not matter, depending on your image, but you do want to decide which will be the back, and which will be the front. Chose which part of the image you want to fill with colored glitter first, then put Crystal Effects over that part only. I decided to do the two bottom wings of the dragon fly first.

Generously sprinkle your glitter over the Crystal Effects, and shake the excess off. I used the Fine Stampin’ Glitter from Stampin’ Up. Love it!

Now, repeat the same steps with each of your sections. I only you used two different colors, but there’s no reason you couldn’t use a dozen!

Now comes the hardest part. Letting it dry. It needs to be completely dry before you move on. I have a hard time waiting, so I let mine sit over night. That way I knew it would be ready when I was! I used a small corner of a damp paper towel to gently wipe off the excess glitter that still remained after I shook it. Then I flipped it over on to the piece I was matting it on. The glitter is now sandwiched between the acetate and the card stock.

The tricky part is decided how to adhere the acetate to the card stock mat, since all the adhesives would show there. There are a variety of ways to hide them, but I decided to just use four brads to attach the two pieces together.

After this was complete, I finished up the rest of my card. Here is the final product:

Stamps: Bugs & Kisses
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Bashful Blue
Paper: Bashful Blue, Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack
Other: Window Sheet, Crystal Effects, Fine Cosmo Stampin’ Glitter, Subtles Brads

It looks so much better in real life! I do have to tell you that while there will still be Stampin’ Glitter in the new catalog, this pack of Fine Cosmo Stampin’ Glitter is already sold out, and the Bugs & Kisses stamp set will be discontinued after June 30th.

I’d love to see your creations with this technique! Be sure to leave me a comment if you make something!

Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed the Stampin’ Addicts Summer Mini Catalog Blog Hop this past weekend! I feel so honored to be part of such an amazing group of women! And now I have a wish list a mile long… I featured the three new Builder Wheels available in the Summer Mini Catalog, which I used to create the fun border on the scrapbook page below.

As I promised before, I have a photo tutorial for you on how to make the beveled corners on the scrapbook page shown above. This can be done with any of the Stampin’ Around wheels. I recommend using an ink cartridge in your wheel if you are going to wheeling more than 6″.

The first thing that you want to do is to partially mask the corners of your scrapbook page. You can use any type of removable adhesive. I used Dotto on the back of these squares of white paper. You want to place them at an angle, so they bisect the middle of the corner diagonally to the middle of your scrapbook page. You only want to mask off two corners at a time.

Next, roll your wheel completely across the top of the page where the masks are. You want to start on a mask and end on a mask to ensure complete coverage.

When you remove your masks, you can begin to see how the corners are going to look beveled.

Rotate the page, and place the masks on what is now the top of the page. For the side that you have already rolled on with the wheel, carefully line up the edge of the mask along the the inked edge of your scrapbook page.

Roll straight across as you did before. When you remove the masks, your two corners should meet nicely.

Continue to rotate the page, place the masks as before, then roll on the remaining two sides. After you have completed the fourth side, you should have a scrapbook page with beautifully beveled corners!

Have fun and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed the blog hop this past weekend. I know I did! And I have a ton of new techniques to try! As promised, here is the tutorial video. It’s actually the second one that we filmed. The first one, Eve filmed and Jack the Great Dane kept sticking his nose into it! I’ll include a link to that one at the bottom of this post.

Didn’t Eve do a great job? She’s such a fabulous helper! Here is the card she made afterward. She used the butterfly punch on the piece that she decorated.

Ink: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight
Paper: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Glossy White
Other: Butterfly Punch, Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon

As promised, you can see the blooper video here.

Whoo-hoo, it’s Friday! And as a special treat, I have three videos for you today. Stampin’ Up created these videos, which show you some of the great products available for FREE during Sale-a-Bration. Yes, free!

My Digital Studio:

Bliss:

Sweet Summer:

If you are reading this in your email, you may need to go to my actual blogto see the videos. If you would like to subscribe and receive this in your email, click here.