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C.A.S.E. This Card

June 18, 2020

What Does C.A.S.E Mean?

If you are a card maker, you have probably C.A.S.E’d a card or two, maybe without even knowing it! The initials stand for “Copy And Share Everything”. It is the “copy cat” of copying.

All card makers enjoy looking at each other’s work. I have spent many hours on Pinterest myself. If you have a particular stamp set or theme and need ideas on using it, there are plenty out there!

How To C.A.S.E.

C.A.S.E.-ing is simple. First, find a card you love. Next, re-create it, just like it is pictured. I find great card samples in the Stampin’ Up! catalog, on Pinterest or on someone’s FaceBook page or blog.

It is highly encouraged to C.A.S.E.. Many card artists who design cards are flattered when someone “copies” their work. It is a sign of a great card if other card makers want to make it too.

The “Do Not” of C.A.S.E.-Ing

The number one “do not” when C.A.S.E-ing a card is to claim that you are the original designer of the card. While C.A.S.E-ing is encouraged, it is also recommended that you give credit to the person who created it.

Cards and card designs are not copyrighted. It really can be difficult to track down the original source, especially if a particular card has been C.A.S.E’d over and over. If you are not sure where the design originated, give credit from the last known source.

Copy And Slightly Edit

The initials C.A.S.E. can also be construed as “Copy And Slightly Edit” as well. This analogy is also very common. How many times have you looked at a card design and thought to yourself, “I would change this or that”?

When you slightly edit, you are taking the original design and changing a thing or two. Perhaps you are rearranging the lay-out just a bit. Maybe you are adding something extra in. The changes for a slight edit are minimal, and the original design is evident.

Fine Lines

There can be a fine line between slightly editing and making your own design with forethought in mind of a previous card you have seen. It is up to you to decide if you should claim the card as your own design, or say you were “inspired by” the original card creator.

There are a lot of cards out in the world. A lot. And even if you are creating your own designs, chances are that someone, somewhere, has a similar card as well, without any C.A.S.E-ing happening. After all, great minds really do think alike!

My C.A.S.E’d Cards

Even though I prefer to create my own designs (I share my own card recipes with every Monday’s Are Hard Stamping, Shouldn’t Be Cards, and pass on project information in my monthly newsletter) I also C.A.S.E. cards from time to time.

Why does someone who has the creativity to design cards C.A.S.E. them? The answer is two-fold:

TIME

It can take a lot of time to come up with an original idea. When I design a card, I can spend hours on just one! I play with parts and pieces and colors, setting aside things that don’t work and trying more ideas. If I am commissioned to make a card for someone, I am typically pressed for a timely delivery.

DESIGNER BLOCK

Ever heard of writer’s block? Card design can get blocked too. Sometimes I need lay-out inspiration, or visuals on how certain stamps were used by others. There are times when I want the quick answer on how intricate parts assemble, without having to figure it out on my own.

Card CASE 1

Julie Makson, The Maine Stamper, Images Stampin’ Up!

This card was cased from Jeanie Stark. I made quite a few changes, but loved her original design.

Card CASE 2

When looking for inspiration for a 90th birthday card, I found it in Sandy Mathis’ card. Again, I changed many things, but the overall design is similar.

What Will You C.A.S.E.?

There is no shame is C.A.S.E-ing. Often times, using other card ideas as starting points for creativity is best. Your card may inspire someone else!

Card making and clothes shopping have this in common: You see something on the rack at the store (or a card on Pinterest) and you take it home (or go to your craft room) and add different accessories or clothing pieces (or different embellishments or card making supplies) and create your own look. You may be inspired by what you see, and make it your own!

So, shop and C.A.S.E. away! If you need stamping supplies, my online store is always open, https://juliemakson.stampinup.net/. Be sure to follow my blog for easy Monday card recipes, and sign up for my email to get additional tutorials. I also love to inspire you!

Tasteful Touches In Cherry Cobbler

June 15, 2020

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Monday’s are hard, but in this cardmaking series, I will show you that stamping shouldn’t be. In fact, it’s quite easy. And with minimal supplies and minimal efforts, you can get fabulous results! To see another Monday style card, click here.

Today’s Monday Card features the stamp set, Tasteful Touches. This is a new stamp set in the 2020-2021 Annual Catalog from Stampin’ Up!. The stamp set is composed of 9 cling (red rubber) stamps.

Tasteful Touches Stamp Set, Item #152562

You can purchase the Tasteful Touches Bundle, which includes the Tasteful Labels Dies, and save 10%. However, since we are using minimal supplies, this Monday Card only uses the stamp set.

This Monday card is made with one stamp set, Tasteful Touches, two ink pads, Cherry Cobbler and Blushing Bride, and two colors of cardstock, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White. Please follow along!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Whisper White CS: 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″, score at 4-1/4″ for card base.

Whisper White CS: 3-3/4 x 5″, 2-1/2 x 2-1/2″, 1 x 3-1/2″, (3) of 1/2 x 5″

Cherry Cobbler CS: 4 x 5-1/4″, 2-3/4 x 2-3/4″, 1-1/4 x 3-3/4″

Stamp And Assemble

This Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be Card starts out with the typical “fold in half” and score with your bone folder to get a great crisp card base. Let’s not break tradition.

However, my TIP to you is to score once, invert the fold and score again. Your inner crease is now as crisp as the outer one. This makes for a professional looking card base!

Create Your Own Designer Series Paper

With the minimal supplies used in this card, we are not adding designer series paper to it. We are making our own! This is a great way to put all the stamps in your stamp set to good use.

I suggest stamping on scrap paper, as this technique has you stamping off the edge of your cardstock. Starting at the bottom left of the 3-1/2 x 5″ Whisper White CS, stamp the leaf sprig from the Tasteful Touches Stamp Set in Cherry Cobbler Ink, up toward the top. I was able to get 3 full images and a partial along the edge.

Tasteful Touches stamp. leaf sprig and Cherry Cobbler Ink

This is the perfect time to stamp the same leaves in Cherry Cobbler along one of the 1/2 x 5″ Whisper White strips of paper. This is also a wonderful use of those tiny strips of paper leftover from larger cuts!

More stamping in Cherry Cobler with leaf sprig from Tasteful Touches Stamp Set

Lastly, I stamped the floral background pattern from the Tasteful Touches Stamp Set in Blushing Bride on the remaining two strips of 1/2 x 5″ white cs. I placed the two strips side by side, to stamp them at the same time. You could stamp them one at a time if you prefer. It helps to hold one end of the paper down as you stamp.

Stamping a background image from Tasteful Touches Stamp Set in Blushing Bride

Floral Details

The focus of this great Monday card is the flower stamp from the Tasteful Touches Stamp Set. It really looks great in any color, but here we continue to use Cherry Cobbler Ink. I stamped it in the center of the 2-1/2 x 2-1/2″ Whisper White CS.

Flower Stamp from Tasteful Touches Stamp Set and Cherry Cobbler Ink

Next, to add additional interest, I stamped the flower background image along the top and bottom of the white cs. To create a lighter image, I stamped off after inking up with Blushing Bride, then used the second and third generation ink. The darker and lighter stamping matches in opposite corners.

Second and third generation stamping using the Tasteful Touches background flower stamp

So Sentimental

The last bit of stamping for the card front is the sentiment. I chose the stamp phrase “the good things in life are better with you” from the Tasteful Touches Stamp Set. I stamped this in the middle of the 1 x 3-1/2″ Whisper White CS, using Cherry Cobbler Ink.

Easy Assembly Required

Now that the stamping is done, it is time to assemble the card. The layers for this card go together very easily. I started by adhering the larger leaf sprig stamped cardstock to the Cherry Cobbler CS, sized 4 x 5-1/4″. Then, I placed this on my card base.

Next, I added the 3 strips of 1/2 x 5″ stamped pieces. I began with the Cherry Cobbler leaf sprig stamped piece, and centered that, leaving room to add the Blushing Bride stamped pieces on either side. I also made sure to leave a small edge of white showing on the outer edge.

The last two stamped pieces each have a Cherry Cobbler mat to be adhered to. I attached them together before adding them to the card front.

Adding Cherry Cobbler CS mats to stamped images from the Tasteful Touches Stamp Set

For the final step in creating the card front, I added the sentiment toward the bottom, leaving a half-inch of background stamping showing; after that, I added the flower piece, again leaving a half-inch of background stamping showing, this time from the top.

The Insider Job

This card is absolutely beautiful on the outside, lets make it pretty on the inside as well. I like to mimic some of the outer stamping into a corner of the inside card. This way the card has continuity and there is still lots of room to add your own sentiment or written thoughts.

Inside card stamping used Tasteful Touches Stamp Set

Here, I stamped the large flower in Cherry Cobbler Ink in the bottom corner of the inside. Next, I stamped the floral background image in Blushing Bride on either side. I only stamped half of the image (2 rows, instead of 4).

Colorful Combinations

This card went together so fast and easy, it inspired me to create more of the same, using different color combinations. The first example uses the same stamping colors as above, but I used Blushing Bride CS instead of Cherry Cobbler.

My next example features the blues, Night of Navy and Seaside Spray to be exact. Same card recipe, different ink and cardstock.

For the next example, I turned to purple, Rich Razzleberry and Purple Posy. Because the Tasteful Touches Stamp Set is cling (red rubber), I was able to use my Purple Posy Stampin’ Write Marker to ink the stamp with for the lighter tones here.

Tasteful Touches Card in Rich Razzleberry

My last card example uses greens, Garden Green and Soft Sea Foam. This great card recipe made every card in any color combo quick to create.

Get Inspired

I always get inspired by color when I create a new card. Having a stamp set like Tasteful Touches made this creation easy to complete as well.

I hope you enjoyed making this easy card on a hard Monday with me. My video tutorial can be found on my FaceBook page, as well as my YouTube channel. If you need any supplies for this card, please feel free to visit my online store, https://www.juliemakson.stampinup.net, at any time. See you next Monday for another installment of:

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be!

Flowers For Every Season

June 10, 2020 2 Comments

Memories & More Card Pack

June Mystery Host Thank You Cards

I appreciate everyone who places an order of Stampin’ Up! merchandise thru me. And to show my gratitude, I send out a homemade card to my customers every time they order.

I needed to make a batch of cards to thank all who placed an order with me during my June Mystery Host Party, and I turned to the new In Colors and the Flowers For Every Season Memories & More Card Pack.

I try to make multi-purpose cards, useful for any occasion. Because I leave the inside blank and unsigned, the card I send is perfect for my customer to pass along to someone else. Unless they keep it for themselves!

Mass Production, Craft Room Style

When I need to make a lot of cards, I look for some shortcuts. This makes the overall process quicker and easier. And there is nothing easier than a pack of Memories & More Cards, like the Flowers For Every Season variety I used for the cards shown here.

Stampin’ Up!’s Memories & More Card Packs tie into their like-color families for simple mixing and matching, no guesswork required. The cards are double sided, so there are lots of options in design. Each Memories & More Card Pack has a mix of sizes in 3 x 4″ and 4 x 6″.

I find the 3 x 4″ size perfect for card fronts, and the 4 x 6″ is quickly cut in half to make two 3 x 4″ pieces! In fact, this is what I did when creating my batch of thank you cards.

Flowers For Every Season Memories & More Cards — When using Memories & More Cards, there is less paper trimming needed versus a regular paper stack. The 3 x 4″ pieces are ready to be instantly added to any project!

Mini Embossing Folder For Big Impact

I love to add an embossed design to my cards. Creating texture is visually appealing to the eye, and impacts the card with a rich and valuable factor. There are times when I use more than one kind of embossing folder on a single card.

The new 2020-2021 Annual Stampin’ Up! Catalog debuted some “mini” embossing folders. These folders are sold as a pack of two different designs, in a smaller size of 3-3/8 x 6-1/4″ each. They will work in your standard die-cutting machine as well.

I worked with the Greenery Embossing Folders, choosing the leafy variety option, peeking from top and bottom. Instead of embossing directly on my card front, I used a piece of Whisper White CS, 3 x 5-1/4″ in size. I really enjoy creating layers!

A Little Stamping

There was not a whole lot of stamping required for these thank you cards, but the stamped images played a part just the same.

From the Forever Fern Stamp Set, I used the berry sprig. This stamp set is one of Stampin’ Up!’s DistINKtive stamp sets. The stamps ink and image with great shading to create depth and dimension. These are great stamps for beginners, because they stamp so beautifully every time without effort.

For the sentiment stamp, I picked “for you” from the Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set. My version is the wood-block mount stamp; if ordering this stamp set today, it will come in red rubber cling mount only. This small sentiment fit perfectly in the smallest stitched circle from the Tasteful Labels Dies.

Forever Fern Stamp Set and Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set

A Lot Of Die-Cutting

Both of my stamped images required die cutting, and I used the Forever Flourishing Dies along with the Tasteful Labels Dies to get the job done.

Besides the stamped images, I also die cut plain cardstock, using a cohesive color blending scheme for each card. I spent some time with ink and paper color choices to perfect my outcome.

I was able to die cut all four pieces needed for each card, with one pass thru my Big Shot machine. Time saver! I also developed a habit of making specific piles of paper scraps, dies and die cuts. No dies were lost in the making of these cards by ending up in the wrong pile!

Piles of dies, paper scraps and die cuts.

In Color Ribbons

I love buying ribbon, but I don’t use it often. With that in mind, I am determined to use it more on my projects. I have noticed others use it folded and tucked behind a sentiment, so I have mimicked that design for my cards. Each card features @7″ of ribbon.

The new 2020-2022 In Colors, which are showcased here along with Terra Cotta Tile, a 2019-2021 In Color, each have a ribbon to their name. By using the In Color Ribbon, the In Color Cardstock (as a layer behind the Memories & More Card) as well as the Flowers For Every Season Memories & More Card Pack that features the new In Colors, I have great continuity.

2020-2022 In Color Ribbons, plus Terra Cotta Tile — Ribbons in the In Colors: Terra Cotta Tile, Misty Moonlight, Magenta Madness, Just Jade, Bumblebee, and Cinnamon Cider.

Putting It All Together

These thank you cards for my customers went together quite fast, once I had all the pieces in order. It really was simple layering, and I kept everything flat for mailing purposes. Tombow Multi-Purpose Liquid Adhesive is my glue of choice, for its durability in adhesion.

I made 2 of each color, knowing that some of my recipients are partial to certain colors. It is fun for me to create with a specific person in mind, even when making the same design over and over.

I have a hard time looking at this great collection of cards and picking my favorite color combo. Here is a close up of each one, maybe you can decide which one you like best!

Cinnamon Cider

Bumblebee

Just Jade

Magenta Madness

Misty Moonlight

Terra Cotta Tile

Elegant Card, Ecstatic Thanks!

I am very hopeful that all who placed a Stampin’ Up! order with me during my June Mystery Host Party will enjoy the card I send to them.

Remember, I will send a card to everyone who places an order with me, so be sure to stop by my online store, https://juliemakson.stampinup.net, to place your order and get on my card list! Now is a great time to shop for so many new items in the just-released catalog, some of which I used on the cards made here.

Loving the new In Colors shown with my cards, but looking for a way to budget the purchase of all 2020-2022 In Color related items? Be sure to check out my Online In Color Club, starting July 2020. Sign up today!