One of the card ministry volunteers is celebrating her 80th birthday. That calls for a celebration and a special card!

This one was inspired by Susan Wong over at the Crafty Carrot and Rachel Tessman with Stamp Your Art Out. The featured stamp set this month at the Crafty Carrot is Friends are Like Seashells. Yesterday Rachel participated in the Sand & Sea All Star Blog Hop. She posted a great video with instructions for recreating a simpler version of her million dollar card from Shelli and Sara using the Sand & Sea Suite. Susan’s live introduced a spinner card using the Layering Circles Dies in Misty Moonlight and Polished Pink from the same suite.

After watching two great videos I got started on this one last night and finished it this morning. There are so many great details that make this card an over the top WOW! The colors are compliments of Susan/Expressions in Ink DSP and the design/measurements are from Rachel/Shelli/Sara.

The Friends are Like Seashells stamp set and dies carried over to the new catalog but the Sand and Sea Designer Paper retires June 30 or until supplies are depleted. If it’s a favorite or on your wish list don’t wait, you might be disappointed.

The colors for the designer paper are Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mambo, Sahara Sand, Seaside Spray and So Saffron. The patterns are lovely and could be used year round and with a variety of other stamp sets.

I’ve been learning to use the Gilded Leafing and wanted to include it in the details of my special card. It was added to the shell on the cover, the edge of the medallion on the front denoting her milestone birthday, the card’s back edge and the starfish on the message panel. It’s so elegant and takes any ordinary card to the next level for sure! The card is wrapped in Fine Art Ribbon for a little more added sparkle and is retiring at the end of June. The “80” is from Memorable Moments, a Stampin’ Up set that retired several years ago. It’s a favorite for special occasions so I’ve kept it in my inventory.

I’ve added the Expressions in Ink Specialty Designer Paper to the Sand & Sea DSP. It was on my work surface and fit right in with the color combo and the gold leafing. It was the only sheet in the Impressions pack I hadn’t cut into.

All of the images and greetings are from the Friends are Like Seashells stamp set. I’ve also used the Seaside Seashells dies and the Seashells 3D Embossing Folder. When the Pearlescent Specialty Paper is used in place of Basic White it brings the shells to life. Doesn’t the embossed die cut image just pop on the Basic White background? For an added WOW I stamped the greetings and applied Clear Embossing Powder to each for an added sheen. This is really easy to achieve when stamping with the Stamparatus.

The adjacent panel to the message area was decorated with stamped embossed shells. Before stamping, I first die cut the image, and then stamped the shells in the corresponding areas. The stamps are photopolymer so lining up the images is easy peasy. Last step, run the die cut stamped image through the 3D embossing folder. I can’t get over how real they look, just breathtaking.

My embellishments throughout are the Gilded Gems. They were a perfect choice to complete the gold theme throughout the card.

I hope my special volunteer is as excited about the card as I’ve been creating it. Sometimes it’s hard to part with our over the top creations, but I’m sure this one will become one treasured card that will be enjoyed for years to come. I hope my share today inspires you to create an over the top card for a special someone in your life! We have the capacity to make a difference in the life of another, just get started, and you’d be surprised what you are capable of doing.

If you are in need of supplies and live in the United States

I’d love to be your Stampin’ Up demonstrator!

You can order your supplies from my online store here. Looking forward to connecting with you soon.

Happy stamping,

Dacia Smith

Another Expressions in Ink Suite card for the holiday weekend. Happy Memorial Day! A great big shout out to all those who served in the military to keep our country/world at peace. It’s a sacrifice not only made by the loved one but the family as well. Both of my fathers served in the military during their lifetimes. I’m so thankful I still have them in my life!

I’m still working with the same sheets from the Expressions in Ink Specialty Designer Paper, it’s remarkable just how many cards you can create with a few sheets of paper. I made several of these with different greetings to send out to customers and friends.

This beauty began with a Just Jade card base of 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″, scored at 2 3/4″ and 5 1/2″, on the landscape side. Folded it in half first, and then the front panel back to the left. I decorated the front flap with a 4 1/8″ x 2 5/8″ piece of Just Jade card stock and the inside base with a 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″ piece. Both were run through the Stamp and Cut Emboss Machine using the Painted Textures 3D Embossing Folder. Next, I cut an Evening Evergreen base of 3 1/4″ x 10″, scored at 4 1/2″ and 7 1/4″ on the landscape side. It was folded in half and the backside was folded back to the right. The front was decorated with a 3″ x 4 1/4″ piece of Expressions in Ink Specialty Designer Paper, the middle 3″ x 2 1/2″ designer paper and the inside a 3″ x 2 1/2″ piece of Basic White card stock. The two bases were then attached to each other using Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive. When attaching them together the 3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″ side of the Evening Evergreen base is attached to the front flap only of the Just Jade Base with a 1/2″ margin at the top, bottom and left side. The reverse side of the Evening Evergreen inside greeting flap only is attached to the inside greeting area of the Just Jade card base 1/2″ from the top, bottom and right side.

The front greeting was stamped in Evening Evergreen and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder for a real WOW! The greeting is from the stamp set Elegantly Said. The flower is from Artistically Inked and stamped in Magenta Madness and Just Jade with the blossom attached to a die cut tag from the Tailor Made Tags Dies with Dimensionals. The center of the blossom was stamped in Versamark and dusted with Heat and Stick Powder. After heating with the Heat Tool, Gilded Leafing was applied. The color matches the gold foil in the paper perfectly. Coordination is Stampin’ Up’s strong suit! The inside greeting area is decorated with the smaller blossom stamped in Magenta Madness and Just Jade with the blossom on Dimensionals.

I’m having a great time playing around with different fun folds this weekend. I’ve got one more for tomorrow, so come back for a little more inspiration. Hope you’ll consider giving this one a try. Please tag me when you post your creation. If you’d like to purchase supplies to recreate this one please shop with me in my online store. I’d love to be your Stampin’ Up demonstrator.

Have fun and happy stamping!

Dacia Smith

As promised, here are the directions for yesterday’s post. To create the gift box follow the steps below:

Begin with a 4 5/8″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Whisper White card stock and score at 3/4″on all four sides. Notch scored lines as shown in photo. Add multipurpose liquid adhesive to tabs and attach to the longest side on the inside of the box bottom.

2. Cut two pieces of Whisper White card stock 5/8″ x 3 7/8″ and two pieces 5/8″ x 3″. Emboss each with the Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder. Apply each to the outside sides of the box bottom with multipurpose liquid adhesive.

3. Cut a 4 3/16″ x 5 1/16″ piece of Soft Suede card stock and score at 1/2″ on all four sides. Notch scored lines as shown in photo above. Apply multipurpose liquid glue to the tabs and attach to the longest side of the inside of the box top.

4. Cut two pieces of Soft Suede card stock 3/8″ x 3 1/16″ and two pieces 3/8″ x 3 15/16″. Emboss each with the Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder. Apply each to the outside sides of the box top using multipurpose liquid adhesive.

5. Cut one piece of Whisper White card stock 3 1/16″ x 3 15/16″. Stamp in Soft Suede using the Birch Background stamp. Roughen edges with a pair of paper snips and curl up top left and bottom right corner. Attach to the top of the box with multipurpose liquid adhesive.

6. Die cut one each of the three largest poinsettia petal layers using Blushing Bride card stock. Make sure to tape the scored insert to the die before cutting to achieve the scored lines on each petal. Gently curl up each side of the petals and sponge the edges with Whisper White ink. Attach petal layers together with a dimensional between each layer. Apply a beaded pearl to the center using a mini glue dot.

7. Die cut three small leaves with Mint Macaron and three berry sprigs with Silver Metallic from the Poinsettia Dies. Cut one leaf stem from the Forever Flourishing Dies in Crumb Cake. Stamp two berry stems in Soft Suede on Whisper White scrap and die cut with corresponding die from the Poinsettia dies.

8. Arrange and attach foliage to the top of the box as shown in photo with multipurpose liquid adhesive. Attach the Mint Macaron leaves to the back side of the poinsettia blossom using mini glue dots. Arrange one at the top and two at the bottom. Attach blossom to the box top using a dimensional.

I cut a piece of cotton quilt batting 3 1/8″ x 4″ to line the inside of the box. You could also use foam or cotton. Attach to the center of the box bottom with a small circle of multipurpose liquid adhesive.

I teach Chrismon classes in addition to Paper Pumpkin and Paper Crafting Classes. The Lacy Cross bead kit and instruction sheet are $10.00 if interested. Send a message to ddebona14@aol.com and I can forward you the details. Already have the wire and beads, no problem, here is the instruction sheet to put yours together.

Thanks for checking back and hope your upcoming holidays are filled with many hand crafted treats, gifts and special packaging.

Happy stamping,

Dacia Smith