Sparkly Christmas Tags and Bonus Project! - Guest Designer Judi Kauffman

 

My friend Judi Kauffman designed some sparkly and super simple tags with two dies from my newest release, the flourished reindeer (from the Flourished Christmas Minis) and small size Merry Christmas.

Judi picked light blue and white (White and Light Blue Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz and Velvet Adhesive Sheets), colors that evoke winter, but the combination is yours to choose. And you can design your tags with other dies as well!

Only three steps:

One.

Die cut motif or sentiment from adhesive-backed Velvet sheets.

Two.

Die cut Dashing Rectangles from Shimmer Sheetz* (smallest two for the reindeer and smallest three for Merry Christmas).

Three.

Layer as shown, using clear double sided adhesive tape to secure the Rectangles, and finish by punching a hole for the eighth-inch ribbon.

Flourished Christmas Minis

Merry Christmas Small

*A metal adaptor plate is required for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van de Burgt's YouTube tutorial if you are new to this technique.

Tip: Shimmer Sheetz is non-porous, so pick a pen formulated for writing on glass or plastic to add names and date to the back of the tag.


A big thanks to Judi for sharing with us!

This wraps up our "official" celebration of the new Christmas release from Elizabeth Craft Designs!  I'd like to send a HUGE thanks to the Quietfire Design Team for their creations and the extra projects they've added to their personal website.

We're wrapping up our giveaway!

To be eligible to win, leave a comment on each blog post on the Quietfire Creations Blog from September 28th through to Friday, October 5th, 2018.  We'll randomly choose three winners and send out one of the new dies to each winner!  You have until tomorrow, Sunday October 7th, 2018 at midnight to leave your comments and then we'll randomly choose winners!  Winners will be announced late Tuesday!

Good luck!!

Merry Christmas with Flourished Reindeer

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with two Christmas cards featuring reindeer from the Flourished Christmas mini set and the small Merry Christmas die.  You might have seen that these beautiful dies were just released - just in time for Christmas card production!  

To celebrate the new release, we're having a week long celebration and a giveaway! 

To be eligible to win, leave a comment on each blog post on the Quietfire Creations Blog from September 28th through to Friday, October 5th, 2018.  We'll randomly choose three winners and send out one of the new dies to each winner!

The flourished reindeer from the Christmas mini set stole my heart, so I cut a small herd out of gold metallic cardstock and combined them with the Merry Christmas die to create a couple of cards.  The shimmery shiny background of these cards are embossed mylar Shimmer Sheetz from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  They make an absolutely stunning backdrop for the die cuts.  Still photography cannot accurately give the shimmery reflection justice but anybody receiving one of these cards for Christmas should be impressed.  :-).

This card is actually a bifold card - I scored a 10" wide piece of white cardstock at 2 1/2 and 7 1//2", and then folded those sections inward.  The stitched oval die is only attached on one side and the card is kept closed with a bit of tied ribbon.  When I ran the reindeer die through my die cutting machine, I flipped the gold metallic cardstock upside down on the second run so that I would have a reindeer facing the opposite direction.

Since I had extra reindeer, I made another quick card, this time cutting a stitched circle out of the embossed Mylar sheet before adhering my reindeer and die cut Merry Christmas.

  

Good luck in the contest and thanks for stopping by, Connie

Butterfly Flourishes: She Flies With Brave Wings

By Judi Kauffman for Quietfire Design

My friend Jane is nearing the end of her chemo and radiation treatments for breast cancer and I wanted to make her a little sign to hang in her kitchen to remind her how strong and brave she’s been! Suzanne Cannon’s Butterfly Flourishes die set captured what I wanted to express – it’s airy and upbeat.

I found some washi tape in my stash printed with the words ‘She Flies With Brave Wings’ that was just perfect with the die cuts. Since the tape has likely been discontinued there are several ways to get the same look: Computer-generate a sentiment and print onto vellum; use clear double sided adhesive tape on the back of the vellum. Hand-stamp or hand-letter the words onto ribbon, cardstock, vellum, or solid color washi tape.

Instructions:

1. Choose a color palette that pleases your eye and suits the occasion. Needed: Three Shimmer Sheetz colors and a coordinating piece of patterned paper. Shown: Background rectangle – Amethyst Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz; Small butterfly flourish and one large butterfly – Pink Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz; Second large butterfly – Light Blue Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz; Patterned paper – origami paper with cherry blossoms.

2. Back a 3” x 4” piece of origami paper or other heavy weight patterned paper with double sided adhesive sheet. Use the large flourish die from the Butterfly Flourishes set to die cut the origami paper.

3. Cut two 3.5” x 4.75” pieces of Shimmer Sheetz and put a piece of double sided adhesive sheet between them. Using the 4.25” x 3” die from the Dashing Rectangles set, cut the rectangle. Use a sanding block and very little hand pressure to lightly sand the front of the rectangle on the diagonal and again on the diagonal in the opposite direction. Dash lines are de-bossed on the front. Refer to the photo below.

4. Die cut the small butterfly flourish and one large butterfly from Pink Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz. Die cut the large butterfly a second time from Light Blue Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz. Bend wings upward on all three.

Reminder: A metal adaptor plate or Big Shot machine with Precision Base Plate is REQUIRED for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van de Burgt’s YouTube tutorial if you are new to this technique. (Place Shimmer Sheetz on metal plate, place die on top of SS with cutting side facing DOWN, then complete the machine’s cutting ‘sandwich’ as usual. Fun the piece through the machine twice before removing it from the die for best results.)

5. Arrange and adhere the large flourish, small butterfly flourish, and two butterflies (light blue on top) as shown. Use non-stick scissors to cut small snippets from Tombow Xtreme Adhesive Tabs to secure the small butterfly flourish and two large ones.

6. Add three-eighth-inch strip with sentiment across the bottom of the rectangle, just above the dashes.

7. Using an awl or piercing tool, pierce two holes at the top left and right, .75” from the sides and .25” from the top edge. Create a hanging loop with silk cord, metallic braid, or narrow ribbon, fed through the holes from the front and knotted at the back on both sides.

Supplies:

Butterfly Flourishes  Quietfire | ECD

Dashing Rectangles

Shimmer Sheetz in 3 colors of choice

Clear double sided adhesive tape

Tombow Xtreme Adhesive Tabs

Non-stick scissors

Origami paper to coordinate with Shimmer Sheetz

Awl or piercing tool

Sentiment strip (washi tape or other)

Silk cord, metallic braid or narrow ribbon And I found some washi tape printed with the words ‘She Flies With Brave Wings’ that was just perfect with the die cuts.

Noel and Naughty List Cards with Embossed Shimmer Sheetz

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a couple of quick Christmas cards.  I had some shipping tags laying around, and some dies and Christmas stamps designed by Suzanne Cannon and some Elizabeth Craft Designs shimmer sheetz, and one thing led to another......  These cards are very simple, but the design is versatile.  You can use different stamps and dies on the tag and make a whole pile of different cards.  Shimmer sheetz are iridescent Mylar sheets and they become extra beautiful when dry embossed with an embossing folder and a manual die cutting machine.  A piece of shimmery Mylar and a few sequins make the cards look very shiny and festive.

Here's the metal Noel cutting die I used:

And the stamp is from the clear acrylic Merry Christmas collection shown here.  This is such a large versatile set.

Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas!!  See you next year, Connie

Supplies Used:  Elizabeth Craft Designs stamps, metal die, shimmer sheetz, Stampin Up! embossing folder, Big Shot, patterned paper, washi tape and corner punch, May Arts ribbon, Dollarama sequins, Beacon 3 in 1 adhesive.

Baby It's Cold Outside with Oxide Inks

It's Wanda here today hoping you are doing well.  I have a cold card to share with you that uses stamps from the new Merry Christmas collection of Clear Stamps.  

On a piece of 4" x 5 1/4" white cardstock make lines of Distress Oxide Ink Wilted Violet by rubbing the edge of the pad directly onto the cardstock.  We are not tring to fill the paper.

Add more lines with Distress Oxide Salty Ocean trying to work mostly between the violet lines but also allowing some overlap.   

Dry the ink while also dripping water using the Distress Sprayer.

 

Fine Feathered Friends

By Judi Kauffman for Quietfire Design

 

Thanks for inviting me back as today’s guest designer, Suzanne! It’s always a treat to be here on the Quietfire Design blog.

 

My projects celebrate friendship. In each case, the sentiment expressed on the front can be continued with a handwritten note inside. And in each case, it would be easy to customize the card by switching to a different sentiment. 

‘Together’ can lead to memories of a road trip or send anniversary greetings to a couple or one’s own spouse.  ‘Because’ can say ‘…you matter,’ ‘…you always listen,’ or ‘…you make me laugh!’ 

I used die cut Shimmer Sheetz feathers, a diamond-pattern rectangle, and a color palette reminiscent of the desert to give the cards a Southwest feel.

 

Here’s the how-to:

1. Die cut ‘Together’ and ‘Because’ from mustard yellow cardstock backed with double-sided adhesive sheet.

 2. Make a rusty red cardstock 5” x 8.5” side-fold card base for the vertical ‘Together’ card. Make a 5” x 8” top-fold card base for the horizontal ‘Because’ card. 

3. Die cut the Diamond Background twice from pale blue cardstock backed with double-sided adhesive sheet. Poke all of the small pieces out of the holes in one of the background rectangles and set aside the pieces. (Some will be used in step 9, keep the rest for other projects). Leave all of the pieces in place for the other rectangle and center it on the top-fold card base. 

4. Alter 5.25” x 4” and 2” x 3” pieces of white cardstock with Color Burst pigments and a bit of water. Air dry or speed the drying with a heat tool.  

5. Back the open rectangle from step 3 with the larger piece of altered cardstock from step 4. (Trim away a sliver on all sides to ensure that it doesn’t peek out around the edges.)  

6. Mat the smaller piece of altered cardstock from step 4 with slightly darker blue cardstock, leaving a sixteenth-inch border.

Reminder: A metal adaptor plate or Big Shot machine with Precision Base Plate is REQUIRED for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van de Burgt’s YouTube tutorial if you are new to this technique.

 

 

 

7. Die cut six Shimmer Sheetz feathers for the ‘Because’ card (two Light Blue Iridescent, two Fire Opal Gemstone, two Black Iridescent, using all 3 dies in the set and mixing the colors among the dies).

8. Die cut one Light Blue Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz feather for the ‘Together’ card. Carefully cut toward the shaft of the feather at an angle from both sides to create a more realistic, detailed feather as shown in the photo below.

 

9. Complete the cards per the project photos at the start of this post. Use foam tape under the rectangle at the center of the ‘Because’ card to add dimension and provide a space to overlap and tuck the shafts of the feathers. Accent both cards with some of the adhesive-backed leftover pieces from step 3.

 

SUPPLIES

A Way With Words –

‘Together’    Quietfire || ECD

‘Because’    Quietfire || ECD

Els van de Burgt Studio – Diamond Background die

Joset Designs – Feathers die set (3 dies)

Shimmer Sheetz in Fire Opal Gemstone, Black Iridescent, Light Blue Iridescent

Cardstock in mustard yellow, rusty red, pale blue, medium blue

Double-sided adhesive sheet

Foam tape

Fine point scissors

Always and Forever - New Dies!

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with two shimmery cards featuring Always and Forever, two of the new dies released by Elizabeth Craft Designs and designed by Quietfire Design.  You can use them separately as I did here, or put them together with an ampersand or add hearts from the Calligraphic Elements 2 dies.

These were very simple to make but I love the way they turned out.  I started by dabbing Izink ink through an Elizabeth Craft Designs stencil to make the 'patterned' paper.  You could use any ink but I love the shimmer and the colour of the Izink pigment ink.

Then, I dry embossed Shimmer Sheetz with an embossing folder to give the sheetz some pattern and texture.  I used sheetz from the Sampler Packs - they were just the right size and gave me a huge variety of colours from which to choose.

The final step was to add the sentiments and ribbon.  The new Always and Forever dies are perfect for wedding, anniversary and Valentine's cards and layouts.  I added hearts from the new Calligraphic Elements 2 - this set also has a couple of ampersands perfect for using with Always & Forever.

Supplies Used:  Core'dinations cardstock, Elizabeth Craft Designs stencil, dies and shimmer sheetz, Big Shot die cutting machine, Clearsnap Izink ink, tulle from fabric store, Close to my Heart embossing folders, Beacon adhesive.

You are my Sunshine

Hello!!  It's Wanda here today and I'm so glad you've stopped by!!!  

My project today uses one of the stamps from the Always Be My Friend set of 3, You are my Sunshine.   

Going from the bottom up, I have a layer of orange cardstock, then a layer of pink with the edges distressed, a white layer and then a layer of Shimmer Sheetz.  I used a little bit of alcohol ink on the shimmer sheetz, embossed it and then sanded the high spots lightly.  You are my Sunshine is stamped with Archival Ink jet black and then die cut with a stitched oval die.  The flowers are created using the Susan's Garden Notes Cosmos die set.  I die cut 2 stands from white cardstock, glued them together, embossed it doing half at a time as it is wider then the folder, inked the edges and folded.  

Supply List -

Always Be My Friend, set of 3 Rubber Stamp Set

Cardstock - White, Pink, Orange, Yellow

Distress Inks - Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed (Ranger)

Alcohol Inks - Shell Pink, Pink Sherbet, Lemonade (Ranger)

Archival Ink - Jet Black (Ranger)

Shimmer Sheetz - White Iridescent (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Stitched Ovals die set (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Susan's Garden Notes Cosmos die set (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Susan's Garden Tools and Mats (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Sea Glass Embossing Folder (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Card Stand/Easel die (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Mothers Hold Their Children's Hands - Calligraphic Love Bits - ECD Love

Hello!!  It's Wanda here today.  I can't believe how quickly this year is flying by.  It's almost May!!!  How did that happen!  With Mother's Day a short 1 1/2 weeks away (in the US) some of you might be needing card ideas and so I've used a wonderful Quietfire Mother-themed stamp.  You can find this and others under the topic, Mother... Here.  If, like me, your mother has passed away, this card easily translates to any theme such as Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary... etc. 

I love this leafy branch die, have used it several times and sometimes keep the negative such as the one used on this card that is watercolor paper.  I put some Distress Ink on my craft sheet, sprayed on some water and then dipped the paper in the color.  Since I only had the negative, I needed to cut a branch and did that from white cardstock so I could offset it from the negative piece.  The purple layer is dry embossed with a folder.  "Love" is cut from Shimmer Sheetz.  The heart (Calligraphic Love Bits stamp set) is stamped with purple ink and I've brushed Wink of Stella (Gl. Clear) over the purple ink.  The quote is stamped with Jet Black.  A pretty simple card with a big punch I think.  

Supply List --

Mothers hold their children's hands - Quietfire Design

Calligraphic Love Bits - Quietfire Design

Love - Metal Cutting Die - Quietfire Design or Elizabeth Craft Designs (ECD)

Leafy Branch - Metal Cutting Die - ECD

Shimmer Sheets - a piece from the Gemstone Sampler Pack - ECD

Embossing Folder - Daisy Blast (Sizzix)

Archival Ink - Jet Black, Deep Purple (Ranger)

Distress Inks (Ranger)

Cardstock - White, Purple

Watercolor Paper

Pierced Shimmer Sheetz Thank You Card

by Judi Kauffman

 

Suzanne Cannon posted a project on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog featuring hand-embossed Shimmer Sheetz surrounding a die cut. She used a stylus tool to draw de-bossed lines and doodle patterns around the sentiment. I thought it would be fun to take that concept in another direction.

For my project, I used a piercing tool in addition to a stylus and did most of the work on the BACK of the Shimmer Sheetz. Pierced holes form a raised dotted pattern on the front. The stylus, in turn, creates de-bossed dots that help to flatten the Shimmer Sheetz around the word ‘Thanks’ since piercing will distort the Mylar and cause it to curve. This is not a problem with the butterflies so there is no stylus work on those.

Change the color combination to suit your taste, and if you don’t have alcohol inks on hand to alter Shimmer Sheetz for the butterflies, skip that step.

Instructions:

1. Die cut the word ‘Thanks’ from Shimmer Sheetz or heavy cardstock that has Clear Double Sided Adhesive on the FRONT side. Adhere the word to the back of a piece of Pink Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz (or whatever color you’ve selected).

 

 

2. Place the piece on a soft mouse pad or piercing pad and use a piercing tool to create a dotted outline around the word as shown in the photo above. Pierce larger holes in some of the areas, smaller and more closely spaced holes in other areas for variety and interest as shown in the photo below.
 

 3. With the piece facing up, use a craft knife to scrape lines on the inside of each letter (lines will be white, the core color of the Shimmer Sheetz). Use a stylus tool to create randomly spaced de-bossed dots all around the word as shown in the photo below. Cut a rectangle measuring 4.25” x 2.5”, back with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet; mat to Perfect Pink Soft Finish Cardstock, leaving an eighth-inch border.

 

 
 

4. Alter a piece of Pink Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz with alcohol inks (Optional). Put black outline butterfly peel-offs on the BACK and selectively pierce around and inside the outlines. No need to pierce all of the pattern lines. Pull away and discard the butterfly peel-offs.

 

 

5. Turn the Shimmer Sheetz right side up and use fine pointed scissors to hand cut around the butterflies. Bend wings upward as shown below.

 

 

6. Emboss a 5.25” x 4.75” piece of Light Pink Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz with the butterfly folder. Lightly sand to tone down the sparkle and bring out the white core color.

7. Cut a 5.75” x 12” piece of Rosebud Soft Finish Cardstock. Score at 6”, fold in half for card base (fold at left side).

8. Assemble the card front as follows: Embossed Shimmer Sheetz rectangle, centered left to right, a quarter-inch down from top edge; greeting (foam tape beneath rectangle for added dimension); butterflies (secured with small slivers of Tombow Power Adhesive Tabs, ideal for holding Shimmer Sheetz to Shimmer Sheetz).

 

Supplies:

 

Quietfire Design A Way With Words –

Thanks die  Quietfire site | Elizabeth Craft Designs site

 

Elizabeth Craft Designs –

Shimmer Sheetz in Pink and Light Pink Iridescent

0412 Butterflies peel-offs in Black
Soft Finish Cardstock in Perfect Pink and Rosebud
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet and Tape
KB101 Butterflies embossing folder

 

Other –

Tombow Power Adhesive Tabs

Foam tape
Piercing tool
Ball stylus
Fine pointed scissors
Piercing pad or soft mouse pad
Craft knife
Sanding block

Celebrate!

Hello, Connie Nichol here with a scrapbook layout featuring two Quietfire A Way with Words dies manufactured by Elizabeth Craft Designs.   I am slowly scanning and scrapbooking 35 mm slides from my childhood.  My parents did not take a lot of photos when I was growing up and always used slide film, and these days, who sits down with a slide projector to look at a picture?  So, it is a bit of a process to turn these slides into digital and hard copies, but well worth it.

The Celebrate die is perfect for a birthday page title and the flourish and exclamation point from the Calligraphic Elements 1 add that extra emphasis.

The background paper is a old piece of kraft Stampin Up paper from my stash.  I dressed it up a bit by repeatedly stamping Happy Birthday from the Quietfire Happy Birthday Plain and Simple stamp set. (The musical note background is very subtle, and if you want the exact same look, you could stamp the musical notes stamp included in the Quietfire Crows stamp set  using clear embossing ink).

All the square page embellishments are Shimmer Sheetz from Elizabeth Craft Designs that have been dry embossed with two different Elizabeth Craft Designs embossing folders.  I just love the beautiful colours and shimmeriness (is that word?) that they add to the page.  I cut some of the leftover pieces into little triangles to make a banner.  Then I added a few birthday candles I had purchased from the dollar store.  Done!  Have a great day and be sure to scrapbook the pictures from your childhood.

Supplies:  Quietfire Design stamps, Elizabeth Craft Designs A Way with Words metal cutting dies, green and pink iridescent shimmer sheetz and Swirly Curves and Trendy Tiles 1 embossing folders, Clearsnap ink, Stampin Up patterned paper, twine, candles.