Introducing Amazing Paper Grace - A Charming Christmas | Blog Hop

Tis the season to be jolly!  Even though it is only August, Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye.  I'm sure you are already listing out all the cards and gifts you're gonna make, right?  This year Becca of Amazing Paper Grace has designed a Christmas Collection - A Charming Christmas - for Spellbinders and we have a hop today to show you all the goodies and things we've made.  You can see the entire collection -----> HERE.

About A Charming Christmas Collection
Sweet little charms are so fun to play with, they can be dangled off of gifts, dangled off of cards and used in 3D Projects - they are just like the icing on the cake.  You will see that the "holiday" part of most of the sets in this collection have a Charm to personalize them - they are sized the same so you can mix and match them through your projects!  Here's the big deal: Outside of the charms and embellishments you add to make these dies Christmas, separately they can be used all year-round!! Yep, we're all budget shoppers too and want to get the most use out of a die!

Join us as each Creative Team member shares their creations with two dies from the collection.  Don't forget, each of us will be giving away an Amazing Paper Grace die pulled from the comments - one from each blog. The prize details are at the bottom of my post.  So, without further ado let me talk about the dies I get to introduce:

My Projects Today:

First up is Cinch and Go Poinsettia  

I get so excited when new flower dies come out, as they are my favourite thing to work with. These poinsettia dies come as a set of 4 different sizes. In the close up photo, notice the embossed details. I added extra shape and body by applying a stylus to the back, and then layering them two at a time. 

Second up is Charming Tag Pocket 

This is an interesting set. There are 7 different pieces which gives you a multitude of combinations and options, which is always a great idea in a die set. 

Availability:

These dies are available right now on the Spellbinders website -----> HERE

Prizes:

In the meantime, be sure you leave a comment on this post and every Creative Team Members post for a chance to win an Amazing Paper Grace Die from any previous collection (A Charming Christmas not included).

There are six dies that are being given away.  One name will be randomly picked from comments left on each of our six blogs on the Introducing Amazing Paper Grace - A Charming Christmas Collection post between August 15 and August 19, 2018, at midnight US Central Time.  We encourage all of our international friends to participate!  The randomly selected names will be announced on the Amazing Paper Grace Blog on August 20th.  (All giveaways for this hop are managed by and the responsibility of Amazing Paper Grace).

Up for grabs is an Amazing Paper Grace die of your choice from the Vintage Elegance Collection, the Graceful Borders Collection, the Venise Lace Collection, the Chantilly Lace Collection, the 3d Vignettes Collection or the Romancing the Swirl Collection.  

There will be a total of six dies and a winner can win once among all six blogs.  If your name is selected, simply claim it within 2 weeks of the announcement by sending your address through the form under the Contact Tab on the Amazing Paper Grace Blog.  There won't be a reply back but if you leave your choice, we'll get it, I promise.  Next thing you know, the die will show up at your door.   The dies will be mailed out from Amazing Paper Grace.

Click on the links to each member to help us get merry with the Charming Christmas Collection:

Visit Joanna  -  joannakrog.blogspot.com
Visit Teresa   -  victorianpaperqueen.blogspot.com
Visit Melissa  - keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com
Visit Judy       - judyhayesdesign.blogspot.com
Visit Alicia      - leishasblog.blogspot.com
Visit Becca     - amazingpapergrace.com

Thanks so much for joining into the fun with A Charming Christmas.
Leave a comment - tell us, how many Christmas Cards you plan to make this season !!

Today I am sharing with you a mini book that I have made to remember our recent trip away.  I started with the Gyspy Soul Laser Cuts Bracket Edged Stagger album. This has a really nice collection of fancy edges.

I covered each of the pages with some nautical themed background pages. A tip for doing these easily, is to trace each page of the album onto the back of the patterned paper and cut it out first, then adhere. Another trick to get the edges nice is to gently sand them down once the glue has dried.

I love the use of jute on nautical themed projects as it gives the impression of ropes.

Next, I took the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Doodle Frame- rectangle and separated it into its 4 layers. I used silver gilding wax on the base layer, the outer frame was left natural and the inner frame was also dressed in silver wax. For the main upper layer, I coated it in regular fine sand, to really emphasise the ocean theme of my book.

A word of caution though. If adding a photo to the cover, use a copy, not an original, as I can't be sure of the long term effect of the sand on the photo.

 I didn't do too much to the inside of the mini album, as I want to have space to add photos once we sort through all 1700 of them. I used the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Beach Shape Set-small as my embellishments along with some tags from the paper collection I used. I left the Beach Set pieces in their natural form as I like the effect of the raw brown chipboard as a feature. The implied texture works in really well with a beach theme.

Supplies used:

Beach set -small

Doodle frame- rectangle

Bracket Edged stagger mini album

Cruising with Mickey and Ruby Rock-It.

We just got back from a wonderful two week trip to Disney World and the Caribbean on a Disney Cruise. I found this cute Disney sailor dress for Amelie at a Disney outlet store, and made Mickey shorts for the boys. We had the opportunity on board the ship to get professional photos of everyone. I'm very glad to have this sweet picture of my three babies. 

The Coastal collection from Ruby Rock-it was a perfect match for this picture. The achor pattern on the paper adds to the theme of the picture beautifully. I tore and rolled the background paper to give a hint of waves, and found a cuute little anchor sticker on the Kraftastic stickers.  The silver glitter works so well with the blue papers, and I luckily had enough silver glitter slphabet stickers to create my title. 

I added the jute to further add to the nautical theme, and a glitter Mickey head to finish off the page. 

Supplies:

Bella! Coastal papers

Kraftastic alphabet stickers

Kraftastic stickers

Crafters choice luxury cardstock

Silver pearls with Amazing Paper Grace

Becca Feeken's die designs from her new Romancing the Swirl from Amazing Paper Grace for Spellbinders continue to inspire me this week. I have never really been that much into metallic cardstock on my cards, but working with Becca has totally changed my mind. It's a little hard to photograph, but I have die cut the Swirl Background pice from silver mirror card and it  not onl;y cut incredibly well, but looks so pretty against the pale pink of my card base. 

This Swirl Background die is so delicate and pretty, that it really doesn't need much added to it to make an elegant card that anyone would be happy to receive. I simply added some pearls to the border and my flower centres, a few flowers and that was it.  Somwtimes less really is best. 

See Becca's Amazing Paper Grace blog for more inspiration.

Shiny elegance with Amazing Paper Grace

Today I have another new card created with one of Becca Feeken's die designs from her new Romancing the Swirl from Amazing Paper Grace for Spellbinders.  I have mixed things up a bit today and combined elements from three different die sets from the collection to create this sparkly piece. 

I started with some Hemstitch Squares in both gold and white. Just a note, the outer edge of the white was the same size as the inner edge of the gold, but I wanted the purple background paper to show through, so once die cut, I trimmed a little extra from the white to open up the gap. 

I adhered the gold frame with foam dots to give dimension, and then recessed the white frame flat against the background.

Next, I die cut a Trefoil Crest frame and layered it over the top of the squares.

Finally, I added an accent from the Ringlet Round set in gold. I love how much of a statement this makes in gold, and the pearl brad in the centre brings it all together perfectly. 

See Becca's Amazing Paper Grace blog for more inspiration.

Today I have another new card created with one of Becca Feeken's die designs from her new Romancing the Swirl from Amazing Paper Grace for Spellbinders. Out of all of her beautiful designs, this may not be the most fancy or eye catching, but it is definitely one you will want in your collection. It is the perfect accompianmnet to many of her other dies. The Hemstitch Circles adds a sophisticated element to your card design and its geometric design would be great for masculine projects too. 

 I have combined this with the label die from the Giving Occassions die and stamp set. This delicate design balances out the hemstitch circles beautifully. 

 

To add an extra hint of elegance, I lined the large circle with gold cardstock to blend in with the tiny gold border

See Becca's Amazing Paper Grace blog for more inspiration.

Trefoil Crest from Amazing Paper Grace

Here I am again with another card created with another one of Becca Feeken's gorgeous die designs. Romancing the Swirl from Amazing Paper Grace for Spellbinders is a phenomenal collection.  I have combined this with the label die from the Giving Occassions die and stamp set. I love how Becca's dies from different collections work so beautifully together. I also love how the white on gold look together. Just that little touch of gold makes this a really elegant card.

This die set is called Trefoil Crest and although it comes in the two sizes, I used just the larger one this time. I cut it from gold mirror card which adds a special touch. The Giving Occasions label was then cut from white cardstock and mounted to the card first with foam dots. I then added the gold Trefoil Crest over the top and arranged it with some of the design behind the label, and the side sections over the top as if it is holding it in place. 

See Becca's Amazing Paper Grace blog for more inspiration.

Another take on the Ringlet Die

Last week I shared this card using the Ringlet Round die from the Romancing the Swirl collection by Becca Feeken of Amazing Paper Grace for Spellbinders.

This week I wanted to use the same die, but in a different way. For the first card, I die cut the piece and adhered it to the front of the card.  I also tilted inon the side. 

This week however, I die directly into my card base. Being an intricate die, I die cut the patterned paper and the card base separately and then matched them, creating a beautiful delicate window effect.  To do this I simply left off the outer and inner border dies. 

I just love how versatile these dies are. There are so many elements to the die set so that you achieve many different designs. Who doesn't love value like that. 

Be sure to check out more stunning samples from the rest of the design team as well. They blow me away every week witht heir amazing creations. I'm so luck to be in such great company,

Today I have a bit of a background story to tell about how I came up with my design, as people oftern comment "I don't know how you come up with this stuff". Well now you'll know. I'll also give you some desgn tips along the way on how to create a balanced design that is pleasing to the eye.

Sometimes it's a bit funny how ideas for designing come to you. Today I have a card for you where I wanted to try something a little unusual. I've picked up this Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Deco Lattice Panel 1  a few times knowing I wanted to do something special with it, but the idea didn't really come until today. I have some pretty, new 6x6 papers I wanted to use, so I knew I would make a square card today, but when I laid the chipboard over the to pull together a design, it wasn't the right dimension. It was too wide for the card, so I played with it to make it fit, and in the process ended up with this sweet curved lattice garden effect.

Deco Lattice Panel 1

From there I knew I wanted it to look like a vine trellis you might see in a garden where the plants grow in and out of the framework. You can see this idea on my card, where I have adhered my flowers not only on top of the chipboard piece, but also tucked in behind.

In my designs, I tend to create one main cluster and have a smaller supporting cluster for a balanced design.  Even though I have used a large flower on both my clusters, by tucking the top one under the lattice, it gives the effect of a smaller cluster and the eye stays focused on the main cluster on the bottom left of the card.  Notice how the clusters are constructed quite tightly, and each one is anchored to the chipboard frame. This coaxes the eye to travel around the frame to give a cohesive look to the project. Hopefully this is making some kind of sense to you and will help you to create your next design.

To dress my lattice piece, I began by coating the piece in white paint. I almost always do this. next, I sprayed a bunch of different paint sprays until I got the effect I wanted. I was looking for a green to tie in with the garden motif, but didn't want it to be over the top, so I added in some shades of grey and silver. I always dry with a heat tool between 1-2 layers so as to maintain the integrity of the colors and not end up with a muddly mixed mess.

Next I added some Metallic Melts embossing powder in random spots for a little added texture and shine.

Once the piece was adhered in place with the nice concave shape, I just added sentiment pieces and lots of flowers. I also added some tiny buttterflies from the paper pack, and some ribbon and mesh for texture.

I hope this little explanation of my process is helpful  you or at least interesting. Let me know how you come up with your ideas.

Supplies:

Deco Lattice Panel 1

Romancing the Swirl with Becca Feeken

I am back this week with another card created with another one of Becca Feeken's incredible die designs. Romancing the Swirl from Amazing Paper Grace for Spellbinders is a phenomenal collection. In fact they make pulling together cards like this so easy that I almost feel like a cheat as a designer. You can literally do anything with this die and it will look amazing. 

This particular die is called Ringlet Round and comes in 4 pieces, giving you lots of options. You can leave the outer ring off for a cut in effect. The inner ring also allows you to keep the centre intact or remove it as a window piece as I have done.

To make this card a little different, I have die cut the piece with all four dies included. To adhere the die to the front of the card, I applied just a little adhesive under the four corners, and tilted the piece 90 degrees from what you see in the packaging to create mroe of a diamond shape. I then adhered those corners while pushing in from each side creating a domed effect.

The centre accent was adhered directly to the card front and looks recessed compared to the frame. 

A small sentiment tag and large bow off to the side aloows the die cut to take the focus on the card. It's incredible how a technically minimalist card can look so flawlessly elegant. It's a special kind of design magic that Becca has.

See Becca's Amazing Paper Grace blog for more inspiration.