It Takes a Village (Jen Carter)

It Takes a Village

by Jen Carter


Hey everyone!  I have been excited to share this card with you.  I love house/building dies and stamps.  So you can imagine how excited I was when Frantic Stamper released a whole series of dies (and a stamp set to coordinate) that are houses, buildings, businesses, landscape items, dies for the sky, etc!  

This is the first card that I put together using these products.  One of the things that I really like about these dies is that you can go with just a silhouette type look where you choose not to add any details or you can paper piece to your heart's desire (like I did with the church and minimally with the other buildings).



I wasn't sure when I started how many buildings I'd use in the scene, so I first cut my hills using the Stitched Scene Builder Edgers die set and placed it on my card front where I wanted them to be.

*Tip:  I only put adhesive on the bottom part of each hill so that I could tuck in the buildings where I wanted. This allowed me to move them around without "committing" myself to a placement until the very end.

The buildings I used for this card are the Village Candy Shoppe, Church, Firehouse, and Book Shoppe.



Here you can see how I have a little dimension on the buildings.  Don't you just love that teeny tiny bike (from the Village Wheels set), airplane (from the Village Sky set) and that little lamp post (from the Village Park & Traffic set)!?

To create the clouds, I inked up the back of the cloud stamp with white pigment ink from the coordinating On the Village Road stamp set,  stamped it on my card front, then used a white eraser to even out the ink and make it look more fluffy.  Then, I cleaned the stamp, turned the stamp over to the "intended" side, and stamped the details on top.  It really softened the clouds & added some dimension to them.

Another thing to notice is that on the yellow building, the Candy Shoppe, you can lift up that little rectangle piece at the top and make it 3D.  I chose not to do that on this card but I will use that fun detail on other cards and projects!

There are SO many fun dies in this set, many of which I was not able to fit on this card!  I hope you'll check out the Village dies andOn the Village Road clear stamp set from Frantic Stamper!

Thanks for stopping by today!

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*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

FRA-Die-09543	FRA-Die-09541	FRA-Die-09540	FRA-Die-09545
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Layered Posies Tutorial (Ann Greenspan)

Layered Posies Tutorial by Ann Greenspan

I have a brother and SIL who were married in a yellow barn in Pennsylvania so when I saw this yellow wood paper, I knew I had to use it on a birthday card for her.

I used the Stitched Scene Builder Edgers die to cut the top layer.  The nice thing about this die is that when you cut the paper with it, you actually have the stitching on both sides of the cut line, so you end up with two useful pieces of paper afterward.  I used both pieces on the second card in the photo above, just separated them a little to show the yellow paper behind them.

The Happy Birthday stamp works great with the Stitched Scene Builder Edgers in that it is curved almost perfectly with the curve on one of the dies in the set.  You can also manually change the curve to the stamp since it's a clear acrylic stamp and bendable.

To make the flowers on the cards, I cut various sizes of the Large, Medium and Small Layering Posies.  I inked around the edges first with a dark ink to give them some definition, then used a stylus and mat to shape them.  I started with the good side of the paper facing down and rolled a stylus around the very edges of the petals.



Then I flipped over the petals and rolled a large stylus right around the middle of the petals on the good side of the paper.



This is what the petals all look like afterward:



One way to give them even more dimension is to use small pieces of foam tape in between each layer when assembling the flower:



This is the final product:


Once your flowers are done, you are ready to cut the card stock to fit your card.  Position the Stitched Scene Builder Edger die of your choice (they come in a set of 4) on the paper where you want it.  Remember to leave room for your sentiment and flower.



When you are done you will have two pieces of paper that can be used together on one card or make two cards:



Here are photos of the individual cards that I made, changing each up a bit for a different look:

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*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

FRA-Die-09555	FRA-Die-09556	FRA-Die-09557	FRA-Die-09403
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Nautical-Number One! (Michelle Leone, Guest Designer)

Nautical-Number One!

by Michelle Leone



I may be just a bit obsessed with the Boating International Icons dies. This adorable little sailboat is perfect for masculine/unisex cards or projects.... Father's Day, Birthdays, Congrats, Thanks, etc.! I have also incorporated the oh-so-versatile Elementals #1 die, which provides the perfect frame within a frame.
I just may have gotten a bit carried away with this nautical theme and have lots more to share with you!

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*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

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Elegant Lady's Shoe (Rozy Smith)

"Elegant Lady's Shoe"

by Rozy Smith


Start with a 12x12 sheet of paper, cut into two equal pieces making a matching insert for the inside of the card. Adhere both sides together.

Die cut Fancy Frames #1 from coordinating papers.

Die cut Lady's Shoe from DCWV silver foil.

Die cut second Lady's Shoe from coordinating paper, inlay the center piece into the silver shoe, adhere.

Use the floral sprig from both die cuts, overlay paper sprig with silver sprig, offset for dimension.

Create small flowers using the Petite Layering Posies die.

Offset the frame, attach to card front. Attach the Lady's Shoe to the frame, decorate with the flowers.

Add flowers to the floral sprig and adhere to the bottom left of the frame.

Using fabric Washi Tape, layer two coordinating patterns on the left side of the card.

Apply bow to the upper left.

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*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

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Lady's Shoe (Rachelle Green)

Lady's Shoe

by Rachelle Green

I'm sure you don't know this about me but I absolutely love fashion. I have sewn 99% of my own clothing for years. Of course I have to have the perfect shoes to complement my fashions. When I saw this new die it left me breathless with thoughts of the kinds of cards I could make for my fashion conscious friends! 

I started by cutting my inner mat of white cardstock and the  3 1/4" x 4 1/2" Stitched Rectangle Panel from the Elementals #1 Basic set. Then using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, I stamped the sentiment using the Girl Time Clear Stamp Set.Using both black and red cardstock I cut the new Lady's Shoe die. I removed the middle cut and the insides of the rear flowers from the black image. Next I cut the rear flowers apart from the main red image carefully, leaving the cutouts intact, and glued them under the outline left under the black cutouts. I then cut the lower part of the red shoe away removing about 1/4" away from the heel height. I offset this piece by about 1/16" lower and forward of the black shoe outline and glued them together. Finally I added glue to the entire black shoe outline and the red insert and positioned it above the sentiment. I dug through my stash for the design paper and the bling and added to a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" base and voila!

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*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

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Sending a smile... (Jeni Allen)

Sending a smile...

by Jeni Allen



I really love this USA Map die! I was thinking of a couple different sentiments I had that would make a fun little something to add to this fun die. I love shaker cards...so I had to figure out how to get this fun die in on the shaker action!! I used the negative space and added a transparency to the back. I cut some foam tape so that the whole country had an outline and would keep the shaker treats safe! I cut my scallop frame, then stamped my sentiment and piled my sequins right over the top of the sentiment. I then placed my window portion of the card over the top and it was easy to get it centered and just where I wanted, with out spilling all of my pretty sequins!! I mounted that onto a card base and there you have it!

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*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

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Closing the Guest Designer Call

Thank you to all of you who submitted your names and work for consideration for guest designer positions on the Frantic Stamper Design Team. This call is now closed.

After a lot of consideration we have chosen the following artists to join us

Marilyn Scheller
Karen Letchworth
Tracey McNeely
Lori McAree
Allana Moses
Karen Oliver
Becky Carafa
Monica Edwards

We can't tell you how excited we are to be having these gals design for us in the coming months. We think you will love their work as much as we do. We just know they are going to showcase our dies and stamps in all sorts of fun and creative ways!

If you applied for a slot, but were not selected this time, please don't be disheartened. We had particular needs we were trying to meet, and we felt these people best fit those. Keep honing your art, and perhaps when we have our next call you may be among those selected.

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Two Design Team Announcements

We would like to thank America Kuhn for her wonderful projects and camaraderie over the past four months, and for staying on that extra month to help us out when we needed it. We loved having her guest design for us, and hope that she will come back again sometime in the future.

Please share your thanks for America's work in the comments below.

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We also would like to welcome our newest guest, Michelle Leone.




Here is a little about Michelle in her own words.

Hello! My name is Michelle Leone and I'm so excited to be joining the Frantic Stamper Design Team for the next few months as a guest!

Just a bit about myself.......I am married (for almost 30 years now!), am the mother of three amazing young adults (ages 24, 23, and 20), and live in the Rochester, NY/Finger Lakes area. I enjoy estate sales, public markets, food, wine, cooking, baking, and Mackenzie-Childs.

Although I have tried my hand at many crafty things - sewing, smocking, quilting, calligraphy, letterpress,cross stitch, knitting, crocheting, etc., stamping/card making has been my hobby of choice for the last 15 years or so. In addition, I began blogging about four years ago (http://prettyperiwinkle.blogspot.com), just so I could be a part of my favorite challenges! I am currently on the CAS(E) this Sketch DT (my very first!), which inspires me to stretch my creative boundaries and has provided the opportunity to work with some amazingly talented women.
Some of my favorite things about cardmaking: LOVE my dies, CAS cards with lots of white space (and maybe a little something "extra"), vibrant colors, and best of all, getting to meet lots of online crafty friends!

Please make Michelle feel welcomed!

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Hello (Jen Carter)

Hello

by Jen Carter


Hey everyone!! Today I am sharing a quick & easy card made using several Frantic Stamper dies.

I used three different papers for this card, stacking one on top of another while still allowing them to peek through for visual interest. I chose the bold black & white word paper instead of a sentiment. After adhering the papers, I die cut the USA Map from Frantic Stamper.  I have wanted a USA die for a long time, but I wanted one with details and one that was one die and not separate pieces.  This one was perfect!  I love how it looks die cut! I really like how each state is outlined!  How unique is that for a USA die!After cutting, I popped it up on with dimensionals.




I added a speech bubble from the coordinatingMap Icons die set and then placed a cut out heart from Kitchen Dress A2 Card Maker die set on top adhered with dimensionals.  To finish the card off & add another pop of color I tied green twine around the bottom.

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day!

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*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

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Miss You (Jeni Allen)

Miss You
by Jeni Allen

When I first laid eyes on this awesome USA Map die, I fell in love!! I live far away from all of my family--we live all across the country!! I had this card in my head for a few weeks, and am happy that it is finally made with paper!! I kept this extremely CAS, I used foam adhesive to give some dimension. I simply added a couple of tiny gold hearts and stamped that sweet little "miss you." This card has already found it's way to the mailbox...yay for happy mail!!

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*** Materials for this project available at www.franticstamper.com.

FRA-Die-09517

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