Easter is one of the most joyous holiday seasons of the year that is often overshadowed, if not overlooked, by our noisy world. It’s a time full of courage, hope, and promise for those with faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In preparation for this commemorative time, we are highlighting two meaningful stamp sets from our January–March catalog along with a few beautiful cards and a scrapbook page we made using them!
The first stamp set we’re looking at is called God Is Love and it is also offered with a coordinating set of Thin Cuts. Thin Cuts are metal dies that are used for cutting shapes out of paper when paired with a die-cutting machine.
The words and designs shown in black represent what you can stamp with our clear polymer stamps and the other shapes you see above are what can be cut with the Thin Cuts.
Using the God Is Love dies paired with a few simple techniques, this lovely scripture card came together with so much ease! One of the first things you might notice is that we didn’t use a lot of patterned paper. We only used one, to be exact, and very little of it at that. The intention was to focus on and not distract from the scripture message that takes up two thirds of the card’s front. The message was stamped in Wisteria ink, a color very similar to the Periwinkle cardstock on which it was stamped, creating a warm, almost tone-on-tone effect. The sentiment is resting on a bar of Ballerina cardstock. The bar below the sentiment is visually important because it creates a place for our eyes to rest after reading this passage, which is longer than typical for a card front. Finally, the card is embellished with gold accents and beautiful die-cut flowers, so that we have something pretty to look at as our eyes rest.
For added dimension, the edges of the layered petal pieces of the center flower were sponged with Ballerina ink, creating the illusion that the flower is at the forefront, when in reality it was attached in the same way, and without any foam tape, as was the second flower.
The God Is Love stamp and Thin Cuts set also comes in especially handy when you’re ready to scrapbook those meaningful religious themed memories!
Just like in the card, this layout was kept free of too many distracting patterns to really focus on the message and feeling behind the day these memories were made. It is still full of beautiful techniques, like the sponging of color in the background that ties the elements in the foreground together, leading the eye from one part of the layout to the next.
In this case, the flower petals were die cut from two different cardstock colors, White Daisy and Ballerina, adding to the flow and visual guide created by the ethereal Wisteria ink in the background. Our eyes begin at the top right, are guided left through the photos, matted on restful solid cardstock colors, and then the journaling, continuing to and stopping at the beautifully decorated cross on the bottom right of the page.
We chose to color the floral designs on the cross with alcohol markers, but color pencils or watercolor paint would be just as beautiful!
As a bonus note, the colors we chose for this card and layout may seem thematic for Easter, but if you’re also familiar with color theory, you will see that this card is made up of double complementary colors. (If you aren’t familiar with color theory, or would like to learn more, revisit a few of our past posts, here: For the Love of Color: A New Color Wheel!)
This next stamp set we absolutely love for Easter and for any time you may need to provide a friend with uplifting, faith filled comfort, is the I Am the Way stamp set.
We got bolder with this next card and used a good amount of patterned paper and a dark (Sapphire) cardstock. To ensure the stamped scripture wouldn’t get lost in our paper choices, we made it literally stand out by heat embossing it in gold! To heat emboss, you must use a clear ink that is designed for embossing, like VersaMark™ ink, and dust it with an embossing powder (we used Princess Gold). Once you clear off any powder that is not stuck to the embossing ink, you set the image with a heat tool that will literally melt the powder into the ink. The result is a stamped image that raises off the page!
Less of a technique, but perhaps a trick that we carry up our sleeves, are the acrylic stars that we used to embellish this card. These little golden stars started out white and were colored with the Liquid Gold metallic paint markers. We offer white acrylic stars, and other shapes, in our catalog for the express reason that white acrylic is easy to color and therefore match to the needs of your projects!
The taller, “I am the way…” scripture from this set is sized to fit on the front of the trendy slimline-style cards.
Our talented Creative Arts Manager, Karen Pedersen, shows how to recreate this amazing background in the video below!
Picture your favorite Christmas memories.We’re betting that the majority of these memories are centered around people you love and cherish! This holiday season, we want to help you make some new memories, not just for yourself, but for your friends and loved ones as well! Since gift giving constitutes a large part of many holiday preparations, today, we’re going to show you how to make your mark and show your love in a personal way beyond the things beneath the wrapping paper, boxes, and ribbons.
For a more personal touch on each gift, we recommend creating unique gift tags! A gift tag is one of the first things every gift recipient will notice when they receive their presents, and a hand-made one is just the ticket to add a little bit of extra love to the gifts you give this Christmas. With our From Me to You special, it’s easier than ever to create the personalized gift tags of your dreams, and today, we’re going to get into the ins and outs of how to design and craft a wide range of tags for every holiday gift-giving occasion!
The From Me to You gift tag offering is built upon a foundation of 12 individual stamps, each expressing their own unique sentiment. These stamps range in theme from a general festive motif and religious overtones, to cozy vibes and more playful options! These stamps are all designed to coordinate with the All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts; all you have to do to create your tags is cut out your preferred shape with the All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts dies, stamp your selected sentiment onto the cut tag, and voila! The tag is done, and ready to attach to a wrapped Christmas present, holiday neighborhood treat, or even a white elephant gift! No matter how they are used, the gift tags you create with the From Me to You stamp sets are sure to be a hit and will make any gift you give this holiday season more personal and memorable!
Because the From Me to You stamp sets are all designed to coordinate with the All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts, it’s a simple matter to select the sentiment and shape combination for your tags. The All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts set includes 11 dies in various shapes and sizes, ranging from ⅝” to 3½”.
This selection of die-cuts offers a wealth of possibility and potential when it comes to the types of tags you can create, and every one makes a gorgeous addition to your holiday offerings for friends and family! (While we worked exclusively with the All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts in the artwork on display today, we have additional sets of gift tags and accessories to create them, including the Tags & Tabs Thin Cuts, and the My Acrylix® Just for You stamp set. For more tag-making fun, be sure to check out these dies and stamps!) Now, back to our fabulous From Me to You stamp sets!
Because the From Me to You stamp sets range over a few different themes, we’ve organized them into 4 different groups to reflect the following themes—jolly, funny, festive, and joyful! Our jolly bundle includes options for a cozy vibe, to more of a sweet tooth sentiment, and cheery wishes.
The funny assortment features a variety of light-hearted jabs, the perfect way to gently tease your friends or family members and bring a smile to their faces!
For anyone looking to convey a more classic Christmas sentiment, the festive collection is the way to go, with options for a little Christmas magic, celebratory merriment, and reminders of how personal your loved ones are to you.
Looking for a way to bring a more spiritual touch to your gift tags? Then the joyful bundle of stamps is for you! This handful of stamps includes phrases like “O Holy Night” and “For Unto Us a Child is Born” to serve as reminders of the foundation of this beautiful and beloved holiday.
All the tags featured in today’s post have the common theme of being created with the All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts and From Me to You stamps, but many include their own unique design elements to really set them apart from other, more simple options. One of our absolute favorites is the inclusion of heat embossed details, as you can see in the examples below.
Heat embossing is an amazing art technique that adds dimension and even shine to your stamped images by applying embossing powder over the top of your stamped image and then melting the powder using a heat tool. Learn more about this technique in this video.
Another stunning detail we love in these tags is the inclusion of multiple layers. By simply cutting a few coordinating tag pieces out of different colors of cardstock and layering them together, these tags deliver a much more polished end result. Notice how the silver glitter paper shapes add to the layered look of this tag–feel free to mix in non-tag shapes cut from other Thin Cuts dies or even with your Cricut or other cutting machine to elevate the look of any tag!
Looking forsome simple, yet powerful embellishment? Never count out the impact that a few Clear Sparkles can have! In this example, we’ve colored ours in with a Dark Red TriBlend™ Marker and used them to adorn the interior of the stamped floral shapes. They are the perfect fit!
This inclusion provides a color contrast, but also helps to break up the matte surface of the main tag with a little shine! For other tags, we’ve also turned to ShimmerTrims and White Gel Pens to add subtle detailing to our creations, and it’s evident that even the smallest of embellishments can have a big impact!
However you decorate your tags, and whatever gifts you attach them to, the From Me to You stamps, along with the All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts, are guaranteed to provide you with everything you need to start creating your own one-of-a-kind gift tags for your holiday gifts this year and for many years to come!
Of the tags featured in today’s post, which was your favorite, and whose gift would you attach it to? Leave a comment below and tell us all about it!
With Easter right around the corner, it’s time for some of our favorite springtime traditions! From egg decoration and hunts to leaving out a basket for the bunny and spending treasured time with family and friends, it’s a perfect time to get crafting and preserve those delightful memories when they come along.
Today, we’ve got some fantastic Easter-themed cards and a two-page 8½” x 11″ scrapbook layout to help you get your creative wheels turning as you think of ways to spread your Easter joy and commemorate your sweet experiences during this beautiful time of year. Let’s dive in!
For all our card makers out there, it’s a prime time to make gorgeous cards for the dear ones in your life. Our selection of adorable stamp + Thin Cuts designed specifically for your Easter crafting needs ranges from celebratory religious sentiments to fun bunnies, eggs, flowers, and birds.
The Easter season can also be an ideal time to express your love for those around you with a heartfelt scrapbook layout. To maximize both your time and stories, consider creating 8½” x 11″ pages to record your special Easter memories. Creating a smaller layout like this one can be a great way to ensure that your stories are told without cutting into time spent with loved ones.
As you can see here, a layout doesn’t have to be intricate or over the top to provide a memorable backdrop for your favorite photos and stories. layout requires relatively few steps when it comes to cutting, stamping, and embellishing.
For instance, the border and background pattern seen here can be created in minutes with just a few pen strokes and some quick tone-on-tone stamping. These elements come together to create a finished look while saving you time and effort.
Looking for something a bit more challenging to stretch your creative abilities? Consider creating a fun title accent like this one, using a sponge dauber and a few of your favorite ink pads to selectively apply color to your stamp, resulting in a multi–hued single stamp image! You can then add more color and shading as desired using watercolor pencils.
With a wealth of creative possibilities available for Easter crafts, we hope you’ll find these tips and techniques helpful as you celebrate this wonderful time of year!
What Easter traditions do you celebrate, and how would you scrapbook them? Leave a comment below to let us know!
