‘Invincible Summer’ Cards: By the Batch Method - Judi Kauffman, Guest Designer

 

Thank you for inviting me back as today’s Guest Designer! I want to share a card project that was sparked by my friend Toni’s request for cards to send out through her church’s Card Ministry.

 

 

I wanted to be able to send her at least two dozen and I thought it would be a good idea to design something that could be made with my favorite method: By the Batch. Once upon a time I wrote a book with that title. It’s been discontinued but copies are still floating around on eBay and Amazon. {Amazon.ca | Amazon.com}

 

The gist of it is this – Make lots of one-of-a-kind cards in a series using the same supplies for all of them. I don’t enjoy producing assembly-line duplicates and I find that with this method the more cards I make the more I want to make because I keep getting new ideas as I go along. I love lining them up while the inks dry – ‘show and tell’ with only me as the audience! And it’s kind of like doubling or tripling the recipe when baking cookies: There’s a bountiful outcome and only one mess to clean up!

I selected the beautiful and inspiring quote from Albert Camus that Suzanne Cannon turned into an equally beautiful calligraphic stamp. The stamp is called ‘In the Midst of Winter’ but I have dubbed these cards ‘Invincible Summer’ because that’s the part of the quote that warms my heart most. Suzanne’s new Crackle Background stamp fit nicely with the direction I wanted to take.

 

   

Crackle Background

In the Midst of Winter

 

 

I mixed in two of her new 4 Seasons dies for one of the cards to show what can be done with some Shimmer Sheetz and a few extra minutes of your time!

 

 

Do you have some corner edger scissors or corner punches tucked away in your tool box? If so, put them to use for the triple-layer background cards. Just a few seconds more and an extra half-sheet of cardstock for this option.

 

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS

If you are an experienced card maker, look through the photo gallery (scroll below), head straight to the supply list and skip the instructions. Create your own versions of the card, customize as you choose.

If you are a beginner, follow the steps below. And remember, even if you are new to card making you can still customize the project to suit your needs! Choose different inks, different quotes and background stamps. Change to tent-fold cards or card bases made from purchased patterned cardstock. It’s all in your hands. Trust your eye. The worst thing that can happen is you waste a piece of cardstock now and then.  

(The instructions are long, but I didn’t want to miss a single detail that a beginner might need!)

1. Lightly sponge several pieces of white cardstock with teal ink. With the same ink, stamp the Camus quote many times. Be sure to leave about an inch and a half between the impressions! 



 

2. Make a batch of A2 size (4.5” x 5.5”) side-fold card bases from the same white cardstock. Leave some of these white. Smudge the others with teal and yellow inks, using a different sponge for each color. Refer to the photos. Allow the colors to overlap here and there. Use circular motions as well as long strokes. Create rays that radiate like the sun. Also, use teal ink to randomly and imprecisely over-stamp with Crackle Background. TIP: Apply uneven hand pressure and do not re-ink every time you use the crackle pattern stamp. Second and third ‘ghost’ impressions add a terrific element of surprise and a softer layer of color.

 

3. For triple-layer background cards: Smudge a few extra pieces of white cardstock, stamp some with crackle pattern. Trim rectangles so they will fit on card front when layered, cut corners with decorative scissors or use corner punches. Center two contrasting rectangles onto card base.

 

4. Back pieces of Turquoise Gemstone and Yellow Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet and die cut the word Winter from Turquoise and the word Summer from Yellow. Reminder: You MUST use a metal adaptor plate or the Sizzix Big Shot with Precision Base Plate to die cut Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van de Burgt’s video tutorial HERE if you are new to this technique. Go straight to step 7 to complete the card that uses Shimmer Sheetz words.

 

5. Tear the stamped quotes around all four edges, or leave a 90-degree angle corner at the top as shown on two of the samples. Smudge a bit of yellow ink over the words Invincible Summer to give the feel of sunshine. Attach a quote to each of the card fronts. TIP: To create a white edge, tear the cardstock toward you. To create a blue edge, tear the cardstock away from you.

 

6. Accent with simple embellishments: Glitter Dots in Gold or Turquoise, or a mix of the two; or add dimensional dots or brads. Refer to the photos for ideas on where to place them.

 

7. To complete Card 1 with die cut Shimmer Sheetz ‘Winter’ and ‘Summer’: Choose a card base that has teal ink toward the top, yellow ink toward the bottom, and yellow ink around the outside edges. Cut apart the lines within the quote and glue them in place as follows – ‘In the midst of’ above the word Winter, followed by the three lines that say ‘I found there was,’ and ‘within me, an’ and ‘invincible’ (allowing the flourish at the end of the word Winter to overlap right after the comma on the first of these three lines. Then add the word Summer and the ‘Camus’ attribution (allowing the flourish below Summer to overlap the cardstock with Camus’ name).

 

 

Card 1 Design Strategies to Notice:

The first strip and the last strip are both ½” high, while the three strips at the center are much thinner. The top strip is taller by necessity because of the flourish above the ‘d’ but the final strip with only the word ‘Camus’ on it is taller so that the card has some visual ‘weight’ toward the bottom! This is intentional, not something random. My goal was to keep the eye moving through the words. And the line spacing is uneven by intention. That also helps the eye keep moving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CARD GALLERY (click on the image to see it enlarged)

  

 

 

 

 

  



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

SUPPLY LIST

 

Quietfire Design –

In the Midst of Winter stamp #5998

Crackle Background stamp #5718

A Way With Words 4 Seasons die set  Quietfire Site | Elizabeth Craft Designs Site

 

Elizabeth Craft Designs –

Shimmer Sheetz in Turquoise Gemstone

Shimmer Sheetz in Yellow Iridescent

Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet

Glitter Dots Peel-offs in Turquoise/Silver and Gold/Silver