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Grace’s Garden Double Easel Fold Card

May 8, 2020

I created this Grace’s Garden Double Easel Fold Card as part of my April Showers Bring May Flower Cards Exchange. Swapping cards is so much fun, and my recent theme was flower cards!

As promised, I am sharing the card recipe today along with a list of items I used to create my Grace’s Garden Double Easel Fold Card. There are also pictures of assembly and great tips, so read on for more.

Double Easel Fold Card Recipe

Thick Whisper White CS Base: 4 1/4 x 11″, score at 5 1/2″

Sahara Sand Easel CS: 4 x 10 1/4″, score at 2 /1/2″ and 5″

Balmy Blue CS: 3 7/8 x 5 1/8″, 2 3/8 x 3 7/8″

Whisper White CS: 3 3/4 x 5″, 2 1/4 x 3 3/4″

Whisper White CS: 2 3/4 x 4 1/4″ for gate die, 1 1/4 x 2″ for sentiment

Smoky Slate Scrap: for cat die

Whisper White Scraps: for flower sprays (2) and punch

Balmy Blue DSP (Subtles): 3 7/8 x 2 3/8″

Additional Supplies Needed

Grace’s Garden Stamp Set (and clear blocks for stamping)

Garden Gateway Dies (and die cutting machine)

Inks: Memento Black, Balmy Blue, Soft Sea Foam, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate

Assorted Stampin’ Blends for coloring

Sponge Roller or sponges

Score Tool

Classic Label Punch

Adhesive

Assembling Grace’s Garden Double Easel Fold Card

The Bases

The card base is important for this card, as it holds a great amount of weight. I used the Thick Whisper White Card Stock, as it has the ability to hold up under pressure. This is a tent fold, so be sure to cut your sheet of cardstock in half portrait style instead of landscape style.

When I use the thick cardstock, I like to fold it in half after I score it using my Paper Trimmer. This helps break up the strong fibers that are holding the paper together. I am always careful to use the scoring blade (lighter gray) rather than the cutting blade (darker gray, blending in at the top). This score is done at 5 1/2″. I follow up with my bone folder to get a crisp crease.

Another great tool to score your cardstock with is the Simply Scored Scoring Tool. I like that the peg markers are movable, and you can easily position them on the exact spacing you need to score. This is the Sahara Sand CS, scored at 2 1/2″ and 5″, landscape mode. My picture also indicates the folds needed here: peaked up first, followed by valley second.

A word of caution when using the score tool, the stylus included has 2 tips, one smaller and one larger. Use the small tip on thicker paper and the large tip on thinner paper (like DSP). Just think in terms of opposites attract to remember this.

It is also best to go slow and steady along the grooves! If your stylus jumps the track and leaves dents in the wrong places, flip your paper over and use the stylus head to smooth out the wrinkle from the back.

Double Easel To Card Base

After the scoring and folding was completed, I put the double easel cardstock onto my card base. This is done easiest by folding the easel up and adhering glue or tape (the strongest you have!) to the 5 1/4″ area. Next, center it on your card base.

Double Easel Fold Card, closed front — When attached to the front of the card base, and in the closed position, your card will look like this (minus the clear acrylic block to hold it in place for a quick photo!).

Double Easel Fold Card, easel open position — When your double easel fold card is adhered together and in the open position, it will look like this.

Flowers From Grace’s Garden

Now that the major assembly is done, it is time to decorate the card. I began with the front tented section, as this is what is noticed first on the card, and requires the most work.

I used Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and stamped flowers from the Grace’s Garden Stamp Set on the 2 1/4 x 3 3/4″ white cs.

Stamping Grace's Garden Flowers in Memento Black Ink

Next, I colored them in using my Stampin’ Blends in a variety of light spring flower colors.

Coloring Grace's Garden Flowers with Stampin' Blends

After that, I used Soft Sea Foam Ink and Balmy Blue Ink with my Sponge Roller to fill in the green grass and blue sky. This was done lightly, right over my stamped and colored flowers, no masking required.

Sponge Roller with Soft Sea Foam and Balmy Blue Ink — When using the Sponge Roller, I start off my cardstock and work my way in. The first bit of ink off the roller may be dark. It is easy to add more color, impossible to take it away.

The Elements of Grace’s Garden

The coordinating dies for Grace’s Garden Stamp Set, Garden Gateway, offer a variety of fences, flowers and critters. This adds up to scenic fun for assembling the Grace’s Garden Double Easel Fold Card.

For the 2 flower sprigs that climb the arched garden gate, I stamped on scrap white cs using Memento Ink. Following a die cut in my Big Shot, I used the Stampin’ Blends to color my flowers, then rolled some Balmy Blue ink over the remaining white outlines.

My garden is home to a small gray cat. I stamped the cat image in Basic Gray Ink on a scrap of Smoky Gray CS.

Next, I die cut my kitty and sponged the edges to soften them, using Smoky Gray Ink. By using the same ink color as the cardstock, I eliminate the harsh transition to the darker gray outline.

Sponging the cat die cut with Smoky Gray Ink

The arched garden gate is easily the sweetest die in the set. It looks divine in white. I wanted my sentiment to imitate a hanging sign from the top of the trellis, so I used the Classic Label Punch and white cs to make a faux “board” topper. After stamping the sentiment on the 1 1/4 x 2″ white cs, I sponged it with Balmy Blue Ink for consistency.

The Many Layers Of Grace’s Garden

I adhered the floral stamped and sponged white cs to the 2 3/8 x 3 7/8″ Balmy Blue CS. When I attached the gate, I added it toward the left side, centering it between my stamped flowers.

Next, I glued on my 2 flower sprays to artfully climb along the sides of the gate. This was followed by the little cat, peering into the garden. Lastly, I placed small amounts of glue to the upper trellis and placed my punched “board” in position. I adhered the sentiment and admired my work.

Lower Layer of Grace's Garden Double Easel Fold Card — This assembly is now ready to go on the card. I centered it on the bottom layer of the double easel fold partition.

The really hard work has been done! When I stamped the 3 3/4 x 5″ white cs with additional flowers, I repeated my steps of coloring and sponging.

Back Layer of Grace's Garden Double Easel Fold Card — This beautifully stamped, colored and sponged piece gets layered with the 3 7/8 x 5 1/8″ Balmy Blue CS, then adhered to the card.

Putting it all together is easy. I adhered each layer in position. For the fold that is barely noticeable, I added a piece of Balmy Blue DSP from the Subtles Collection. I chose the checkered pattern for its sweetness. This paper in coordinating color blends beautifully into the card as a needed continuity.

The adhered layers of Grace's Garden Double Easel Fold Card

Flowers and Friendship Are Sweet

Grace’s Garden Double Easel Fold Card is so wonderful, it doesn’t even need additional embellishments. I left the inside blank, so the recipient of this card in the April Showers Bring May Flower Cards Exchange can do whatever she wants with it. Lucky her for participating!

This card was not difficult to make, but it gives the appearance of great time and effort. If you haven’t tried this fun fold card yet, please do so. You will be amazed with your end results. If you need any stamping supplies, like the Grace’s Garden Stamp Set or coordinating dies, Garden Gateway, stop by my online store, https://juliemakson@stampinup.net.

Be sure to follow me, and be in the know for my next card exchange, Fall For Cards, coming in September. More details will follow.

Country Road In Crumb Cake

May 4, 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 last week’s Monday Card, click here.

Today’s Monday Card features the stamp set, Country Road. We are using 5 out of the 6 stamps in this set to make our card. This stamp set is soon retiring, so if you want to purchase it, time is of the essence. To view more retiring products, click here.

Country Road Stamp Set, item # 151356 — Country Road Stamp Set, item #151356

As with all our Monday Cards, we are using minimal supplies with minimal efforts to get fabulous results. So with one stamp set, Country Road, two ink pads, Early Espresso and Poppy Parade, and two colors of cardstock, Crumb Cake and Poppy Parade, we will get to work!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Crumb Cake CS: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, score at 4 1/4″ for card base.

Crumb Cake CS: 2 x 4″, 2 3/4 x 3 1/2″, 2 1/4 x 3″

Scrap of Crumb Cake CS: for wagon wheel and hole punch

Poppy Parade CS: 2 1/2 x 3 1/4″, 3 1/4 x 4″, scrap for star

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 bonefolder 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 great background pattern technique can be used with any stamp sets you own.

I suggest stamping on scrap paper, as you will be stamping off the edge of your cardstock. Starting with the Poppy Parade 3 1/4 x 4″ CS and Poppy Parade Ink, I stamped the grass image from the Country Road Stamp Set 3-4 times across. It is okay to overlap slightly for this tone on tone look.

Next, I stamped with the phrase stamp, “nothing’s better than…” from the Country Road Stamp Set. Here I used the Crumb Cake CS 2 x 4″ piece and Early Espresso Ink. I did not overlap this stamp, but created a random pattern. I think it looks like newspaper clippings haphazardly assembled.

Both pieces of the newly created background stamped cardstock are ready to be layered on the card front. There is room to keep a gap between the Crumb Cake on the bottom and the Poppy Parade on the top.

Adding background cardstock to card front

Card Focal Point

The focal point of this card is the horse weathervane from the Country Road Stamp Set. I stamped it on the Crumb Cake 2 1/4 x 3″ piece using Early Espresso Ink. This stamp is a tight fit for this paper, so I focused on centering the horse.

Immediately after stamping my weathervane, I folded my cardstock in a crumpling manner. Since my ink was still slightly “wet”, this smeared in a good way.

Next, I held some of the creased folds upward and used my Early Espresso Ink Pad to apply splotches of additional ink. This creates a great “weathered” weathervane. It will be uniquely different each time!

Horse Weathervane Stamp from Country Road Stamp Set

This weathervane is now ready to be layered on our card front. I used the Crumb Cake 2 1/2 x 3 1/4″ piece as the bottom layer. Next, I added the Poppy Parade 2 3/4 x 3 1/2″ piece in the middle. Lastly, I adhered the weathered weathervane as the top layer.

When I placed this layering piece on my cardfront, I was sure to add it to the left and keep a balance between the top and bottom stamped background images. I needed to have room to add my wagon wheel next.

Let’s Get Fussy

For the next portion of stamping, I used scraps, Early Espresso Ink and my Paper Snips. That’s right, time to fussy cut. In my video, I noted that a 1 3/4″ circle punch would make quick work of the wagon wheel from the Country Road Stamp Set. (That would make your Monday even easier.)

Wagon Wheel and Star Stamp from Country Road Stamp Set

After fussy cutting my wheel and star, I adhered them together. The star fits nicely in the center of the wagon wheel. For additional color and interest, I used my office hole punch and a scrap of Crumb Cake CS. The tiny circle is the perfect accompaniment to the star’s center.

Do It Yourself Lift Kit

My Monday Cards are uniquely simple, using minimal supplies. I did not mention Dimensionals in the ingredient list. You will not need them. You can make your own. Here’s how:

When adding an element to your card front that already has some layering on it, the top piece may need a lift (somewhere) to help it sit nicely. I simply count how many layers “up” I need to go to make my piece flush. Then I trim some like-color cardstock in the required number of layers.

After I adhere my home-made dimensionals to the back of my card element, I use adhesive to add it to the card front. With the extra lift where it is needed, the wagon wheel sits flush and does not wobble. No one wants a wobbly wagon wheel!

The Insider Job

Your card is beautiful on the outside, now lets make it pretty inside too! 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.

Here, I used the same technique from the stamping of the grass to add that inside interest. I stamped once in the bottom corner, using Poppy Parade Ink, then immediately stamped again, overlapping the first image.

Step It Up

More is more. If you like to add more, there is always the option to do so. For my stepped up version of the Country Road Stamp Set Card, I chose to add a copper element from Designer Elements to my wagon wheel center. These elements come in gold and silver, additionally.

The Kraft Rope Trim melds seamlessly with our horse and Country Road theme, but sadly is not a current Stampin’ Up! Product. When you add elements to your cards, make them unique with whatever product you happen to have on hand.

Country Road Enjoyment

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!

Inspiring Iris In Highland Heather

April 27, 2020

Monday’s Are Hard, Stamping Shouldn’t Be

Monday’s are hard, but in this card making 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 last week’s Monday Card Tutorial, click here.

Today’s Monday Card features the stamp set, Inspiring Iris. This great stamp set is made up of 16 photopolymer stamps, with 3 different kinds of flowers. That’s right…not just iris.

Inspiring Iris has two-step stamping capability. Two-step stamping involves stamping an outer image, and them stamping the filler, or inner, image(s) separately. It is a fast and easy way to add instant color, but this does not limit us to using it as intended, and soon you will see why!

So with just one stamp set, Inspiring Iris, two colors of ink, Memento Tuxedo Black and Gorgeous Grape, and two colors of cardstock, Highland Heather and Whisper White, we are creating an easy Monday card. Let’s put this one together!

A Monday Card

The Card Recipe

Highland Heather CS: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, score at 4 1/4″ for card base.

Highland Heather CS: 1 1/2 x 5 1/4″, 2 1/4 x 3″

Whisper White CS: 4 x 5 1/4″ (inside)

Whisper White CS: 2 x 5 1/4″, 2 x 2 3/4″, 3/4 x 1 7/8″

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!

Highland Heather cardbase, bone folder scoring

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 great background pattern can be used with any stamp sets you own, and every Monday I am showing you how to incorporate this technique into your projects.

For our Inspiring Iris card, we are stamping backgrounds, times 3! Once in black ink, and twice in purple, one with lighter images and one with darker images from the same purple ink pad.

Background #1

Starting with the card base you just folded and scored so nicely, stamp the ‘mystery flower’ (rose? begonia? peony?) leaf filler using Gorgeous Grape Ink that is stamped off. By stamping off (releasing ink) and using the second generation ink, you will get a lighter stamped image. I was able to get 5-6 images in the center of my card base from top to bottom, inverting the stamp orientation each time to vary the look.

Background #2

On the 1 1/2 x 5 1/4″ Highland Heather CS, stamp the carnation leaf filler (this one resembles a tulip silhouette on a stem) using Gorgeous Grape ink. This time, do not stamp off, use the fully inked stamp to create a darker image in a random pattern. I like to have my flowers peeking inward.

Stamp from Inspiring Iris and Gorgeous Grape Ink

Background #3

Our last background technique involves the 2 x 5 1/4″ Whisper White CS and Memento Black Ink. To get my lines as straight as possible, I took advantage of my grid paper (you could use graph paper or make your own grid if need be).

You can use a post-it note to hold the white cardstock in place, or washi tape. If using washi, be sure to remove some of the “stick” first to avoid tears on your paper during its removal. Simply dab the sticky side of the tape on your clothes to lesson the stick factor.

I carefully lined up the background stamp that resembles circles with diamonds in the middle, and starting from the bottom, worked my way up. On my card, I tried to stamp a full circle each time on the same edge of my paper to make a uniform design. Grid lines keep the tendency on the straight and narrow side.

Floral Details

The theme of our card is Inspiring Iris, so let’s stamp the iris! First, take the iris outline stamp and use Memento Black Ink on the 2 x 2 3/4″ Whisper White Cardstock. Leave a little blank room at the top, and stamp the lower leaves off the bottom of your cardstock. Don’t crowd your iris, give them room to grow!

Inspiring Iris stamps with Memento Black Ink

While my Memento ink was out, I stamped the sentiment for this card on the 3/4 x 1 7/8″ Whisper White Cardstock. It is easier for me to line up my saying on a small paper. Somehow using larger pieces just leaves room for larger errors, plus do-over’s don’t waste valuable cardstock when minimal scraps are used.

Next, we color our flower. Using the iris flower filler stamp and Gorgeous Grape Ink, stamp over the black flower outline. This stamp is designed to give you high and low color saturation, so it appears that you worked ‘extra hard’ to create this look, without the ‘extra hard’ work.

Lastly, it is time to stamp the leaves. Normally one would use green to create realistic leaves, but this card with minimal supplies gives us the option to use purple or black ink. So purple it is. I created the leaves in a lighter purple by stamping off the Gorgeous Grape Ink first. As well, this creates a variation in color from the flower and leaves.

Iris flower stamping from Inspiring Iris Stamp Set

Finishing Touches

I like to assemble my layers before I add them to the card front. For this card, adhere together the white cardstock stamped with black circles and the purple cardstock stamped with purple flowers. Place this assembly to the far left of your card front. You should be able to see the stamping we did on the middle of the card base peeking out.

Next, adhere the stamped iris on white cardstock to the 2 1/4 x 3″ Highland Heather CS. This layer will overlap the first, longer layer on your card front, and become the focal point of the card.

For the final step on the card front, add your sentiment. There should be room toward the bottom right for it to fit perfectly. This is helped by the longer layers positioned previously to the far left, and the sentiment piece being as tiny as possible.

The Insider Job

Here, I used the same technique from the stamping of the iris image to add that inside interest. I stamped the iris lower on the inside corner, with the flowers just over the bottom of my cardstock. I also added the fun circle background stamp in black to create edging on two sides.

Step It Up!

Any card can have more! If you have ribbon or bling lying around, it would look fantastic with the beautiful Inspiring Iris card. I chose to add some Stampin’ Up Tri-Color Ribbon, item #149708, as it constitutes 2 out of 3 colors used in this card today: Gorgeous Grape and Highland Heather.

Keeping with our purple and white theme, I added a bow using the Whisper White Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon, item #151326. And pearls and purple were meant to be together, so onto the card they went!

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://juliemakson.stampinup.net, at any time. See you next Monday for another installment of:

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