A Handmade Graduation Card in a Z- Fold Card Style

Hello and welcome!

It's Saturday again and that means a new theme at Allsorts challenge! Mervi is hosting and she would like to see "Any Celebration but Birthday". Hope you'll play along with us. 

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

This was the perfect challenge at the perfect time for me as my son is graduating from Highschool. He told me a few years ago that he prefers receiving my handmade cards more than a store bought one, so I definitely wanted to make one. And for a special occasion such as this one I decided to make a "fun fold" card.

The inspiration for this card came from one of our Allsorts entrants from a challenge last year. You can see it here. I did use different images and colors, but the main idea came from that card. She had used a SVG file, but I searched for card fold in a similar style (I don't own an electronic cutter) and found a Z-Fold tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. 

I had this idea of using an eagle in flight image but had no stamp, so google came to the rescue and I found this gorgeous eagle coloring page which I sized down and printed on Neenah 80lb card stock. Colored with Copic markers and fussy cut using my Cutterbee scissors. 

This is how the card looks when closed. 

I used an old script type background stamp from Whimsy Stamps (no longer available) with white craft ink (options) on the black card stock. The stars are all die cuts.

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The brushed gold paper was part of a Hero Arts stamp kit. The graduation cap is by Stampin Up, another oldie. A wire which I had in my small jewelry making stash was used to make it stand up. 

Sentiments were typed up on the computer and printed out. "Embrace your Journey" came from Tim Holtz' Quotations sticker set. 

I feel like there is too much going on for my personal normal card style, but I do like to occasionally step out of my comfort zone.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Recent Posts You May Have Missed:

• Follow by Email Function: News Update
• Allsorts 12th Birthday Celebration Challenge
• Jazzy Cats and Yellow Polka Dots

I'm sharing with these challenges: 

Color Throwdown

Creative Creases - Fun Fold // C.R.A.F.T. - Shaped Card // Creative Knockouts - For the Boys (C8) // Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes // Krafty Chicks - All Occasions // Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes // Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes // Path of Positivity - Anything Positive // Stamps & Fun = Creativity - Congratulations // International Art & Soul - Graduation 

Allsorts 12th Birthday Celebration Challenge with Lots of Prizes and Happy, Bright and Sunny Colors

Hello and welcome! It's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge. It's a special week this week as we are celebrating Allsorts' 12th Birthday, how wonderful is that!! And we are also introducing two new design team members, Lolo and Lorraine, both long time crafters and bloggers so you may already be familiar with their wonderful work and you can take a look at their first Allsorts DT creations in todays Allsorts blog post! 

For our 12th birthday we are giving away 12 prizes this week so there will be 12 lucky winners but you do have to join in our challenge in order to be entered into the drawing. Our theme this week is "Happy, Bright and Sunny Colors". And remember you may enter up to 3 times for more chances to win!

You can take a look at the prizes below, the first photo (Heartfelt Creations lot) is the grand prize, and the goodies in the second photo will be divided into 11 additional prizes, all coming from this wonderful group of sponsors: Craft Stash, Chloes Cards, Tattered Lace, Crafting.co.uk, Sizzix and Bee Crafty.

 

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

I decided to use yellow and green for my bright, happy and sunny card, these colors always make me happy, and I chose a pretty rose stamp from Penny Black's set All Abloom.

Distress inks were used to make the background,  I used a technique referred to "Splash Watercolor", I've mentioned it before here, but if you've missed those posts, then you can take a peek at Loll's super short video and see how this is done. 

This background was actually done a while ago but haven't used it then, so I don't remember the exact inks, probably Mustard Stain and the green looks a lot like Mowed Lawn and then some sort of a darker yellow?

Related Products (Roses):

So after discovering the background in the box, I decided to make it a floral card keeping the flower yellow as well following an inspiration photo from the The Card Concept , and I chose this rose from the Penny Black set All Abloom. It was stamped directly on this background using Versafine Onyx ink, then stamped again on a separate piece of Bristol Vellum paper, colored with Zig Clean Color markers and I cut out just the blossoms to adhere to the card with foam tape. The butterfly is also part of the same stamp set by Penny Black.

Next I used a chicken wire stencil by TCW and Mustard Stain ink to add some more interest to the card and once again I used my Stampin Up French Script (long retired) randomly as well. For the script I used Twisted Citron Distress ink. 

Related Products (Stencils):

The black faux stitching was done with a retired set by Whimsy Stamps and the sentiment is from Penny Black's set Sprinkles and Smiles, both stamped using Versafine Onyx ink. 

To finish off the card I added some parrot green jute twine (I had purchased it from May Arts but it's no longer listed on their site, some colors are available via Amazon unfortunately not this shade of green but you may like this alternative) to the card and adhered to a heavy weight white card base. 

You may also like:

• Allsorts 492: Pretty Papers 
• Love, Hearts and Flowers for Penny Black and More 
• A Lovely Garden Scene for Allsorts Challenge

Linking up here:

Inspiration Photo:

The Card Concept - Garden Pleasures (Inspired by the yellow flowers, my card style this time is Freestyle Collage)

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Use PB stamps // Stamping Sensations - Blooming Beautiful // We Love Chocolate Baroque Challenge - Bright Sunny Colors //  

Colour Crazy Challenge - Coloring // Aud Sentiments Challenge - For the Girls // Cardz 4 Galz - Things with Wings // Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes // Ike's World - Butterflies // Addicted to Stamps and More - Stencils // Crafty Gals Corner - For the Ladies // The Paper Funday - Flowers // 

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:

Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life

"Jazzy Cats" and Yellow Polka Dots - Handmade Card

Hello and welcome! 

It's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge, this week we're making it very easy and it's simply "Anything Goes" so hope you'll play along with us for your chance to win a wonderful prize from WOWVOW. 

As a side note, next week Allsorts is celebrating 12 years of challenges, there is some info about that at the end of this post, along with some DT search info for Allsorts challenge, so do scroll down to the end of the post to find out more!

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

For this week's card I decided to use one of the cute stamps from Penny Black's "Jazzy Cats" along with the stencil Circle Explosion by TCW. 

Circle Explosion 6"x6" by TCW // Penny Black Jazzy Cats

I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo ink on Neenah 80lb card stock then colored with a mix of Copic markers. I stamped the image a second time on a post-it note, fussy cut and placed over the colored image to use as a mask. 

Next I stenciled the dots onto the background using distress inks Squeezed Lemonade and Wild Honey with an ink blending tool. 

The black sequins were part of a Monthly Hero kit, the February 2019 kit to be exact.

Before adhering the card front to the base, I ran it through my big shot machine using one of the "Wonky Stitches" dies. The card base is from Michael's, their 110lb heavy weight card stock by Recollections.

Below is a closeup, unfortunately it's a little blurry...

The sentiment is part of this cute cat set, it's been stamped using Versamark ink and then heat embossed using detail white embossing powder. I glued the sentiment onto the card but also used a stapler on the side and put some yellow ribbon through it.  

Next week, May 22nd Allsorts is turning 12 and we're celebrating by giving away 12 wonderful prizes, so do mark your calendars and we'd love for you to share our logo on your blogs too to help us spread the word! There will be a main prize which is the Heartfelt lot, and then the other products in the logo below will be divided into 11 prizes for a total of 12.

Next week we will also be introducing 2 new design team members and we are still looking to add one more DT member! To be considered, all you have to do is join our "anything goes" challenge this week and mark your entry with DT behind your name when linking up your project. Since we are a blogging challenge, you do need to have a blog in order to be considered. 

Note: We are a weekly challenge and some weeks can be very busy. As a DT you will be expected to create something for each weeks challenge using your own products, comment on entries of the numbers allotted to you and write a challenge and winners post approximately every ten weeks.

Thanks so much for visiting!!

Recent posts you may have missed:

• A Lavinia Stamps Monochromatic Scene
• What I Wore Walking in Indianapolis and Some Pictures
• Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - Blooming Beautiful

I'm linking up here:

Themes:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge  - use PB stamps opt. CAS // Just Add Ink  - Just Add "G" (Gray Cats) // Fab n Funky - Embellish it (sequins and ribbon used) // House That Stamps Built - Sew Special // Simon Says Stamp - Stencil It // The Paper Funday  - Anything Goes // Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes // A Place To Start - Anything Goes // Path of Positivity - Anything Goes w/Twist "your own Environment" (my environment include 2 cats but sadly no piano!!) // Use Your Stuff - Stencils // 

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:

Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life

A Lavinia Stamps Monochromatic Fairy Scene

Hello and welcome! It's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge. This week it's Lynn's turn to host and she wants to see a "Landscape or Scene". We're having a wonderful stamp set to give away this week by Rare Earth so why not join us for a chance to win!

I love Lavinia stamps and have collected quite a few of them but unfortunately I seem to be neglecting them. However, they were my first choice for today's challenge and I created a monochromatic scene. 

Although I usually struggle when I begin with these types of cards (which is the reason why I don't make them more often) they are usually quite easy once I get going. I think my problem is overthinking, something I really need to work on. And maybe watching a few Lavinia Stamps videos on YouTube would help too!!

On this card I used the Lavinia Fairy Josie along with the Lavinia stamps Moon Pods, Fern Leaf and Creeping Vine.

I started out with some torn printer paper and a circle die cut used as masks, then simply inked up the areas with the masks in place using Victorian Velvet Distress ink. After removing the masks I stamped the beautiful fairy and the sentiment (from the Penny Black set Happy Wishes - also on Amazon) using Versafine Onyx ink. I do need to use a stamp platform when stamping Lavinia (or any other solid stamps) as I never get a full impression the first time. 

To add to the scene I selected a few botanical stamps from my Lavinia stamp box (all linked above), all stamped using the same ink. If you look closely you may also notice my Stampin Up French Script on parts of the background.

Exact sentiment set used:

Finally, to complete the card I thought it needed something else black in the top left corner to tie it all together, so I stamped the tiny hearts from the Penny Black set Posted with Love and at the same time used the postage and cancellation mark from the same Penny Black set in that corner. Before adhering to a white card base I ran my Victorian Velvet ink pad along the edges to darken them just a little bit. 

Thanks so much for visiting!!

Please note this post may include some affilate links meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links, but as always at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting this blog.

Recent posts you may have missed:

• What I Wore Walking in Indianapolis and Some Pictures
• Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday: May Challenge - Blooming Beautiful
• Spring Greeting Card with Magnolia Blossom and Distress Inks

I'm linking up here:

Themes:

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes this week // Krafty Chicks - Stamp Act // Stinkin' Inkers - Girls just Wanna have Fun // Simon Says Stamp - Feminine // 

Always Anything Goes and Link Parties:

Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // The Corrosive Challenges // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge * // Crafts Galore Encore // DL.Art Linky Challenge // Love to Craft // QKR Stampede // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // 

Dare to Share //   Inspire Me Monday // Hello Monday // Random-osity Good, Random, Fun // You're The Star Blog Hop Link Party @Stonecottage Adventures // Anything Goes with Your Hosts @ My Random Musings // Jenerally Informed The Happy Now // Shelbee on the Edge Spread the Kindness //  Effortlessly Sophisticated // Wonderful Wednesday // Welcome Wednesdays // Classy Flamingos // Thursday Favorite Things // Little Things Thursday // Encouraging Heart and Home @ Slices of Life // Link-up On The Edge