Polar Bears

Hi, Janja is here to share a new Christmas card with you.
I just can't resist to these cute polar bears.

CottageCutz dies: Polar Bears w/ Birch Trees, Stitched Square Set
card blank: 5.3 x 5.3" (13,5 x 13,5 cm), folded
white cardstock : 4.7 x 4.7" (12 x 12 cm)
patterned paper: 4.5 x 4.5" (11,5 x 11,5 cm)
white cardstock
colored ink pads
glue, double-sided adhesive tape, self-adhesive pads

Cut all the pieces out of white cardstock. Color them with colored ink pads.

Prepare a square of white cardstock. Die-cut a square into a white cardstock to get the frame. Use the second largest die of the set.
Emboss the frame with an embossing folder. I used a snowfall embossing folder.

Paste birch trees to the back of the frame and attach polar bears with self-adhesive pads.

Trim a patterned paper for a background.
Paste the background onto the back of the frame. Attach everything to the card front to finish.

Finally, I would like to invite you to visit the online store where both parts of Christmas dies are available.

Have a nice day.

Janja

Polar Bear Hugs & Kisses

Hello Scrapping Cottage friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with us today. It's Mary Marsh here bringing you the Monday edition of the Blog. 

We have the new release of Christmas Part 2 in the online store and they are all in stock and available for delivery. There are 34 new designs in this release. 

This release has something for everyone. So if you prefer a more religious tone to your cards- we have you covered. If you like a more whimsical design featuring Santa, reindeer, gnomes, moose or even a hot chocolate theme you will find some really cute dies. The DT will begin showing card samples using these dies shortly.

I actually do a combo of religious and whimsical for my Christmas cards. Today, for your viewing pleasure, I am going whimsical with the new Polar Bear w/Birch Trees die. It's from the Christmas Part 1 release. 

I started my card as I so often do with a sketch and my card colors in mind. This one would work perfectly to show some designer paper, a bit of embossing and ribbon. The card colors are from this weeks color challenge on Splitcoaststampers. The colors are berry burst, lemon-lime twist and balmy blue. They were made for the bear hats and the background sky. 

berry burst, lemon-lime twist, balmy blue

I cut the bear hats and scarves in the challenge colors. The birch trees are cut in a light gray cardstock. 

For the rectangle elements I dry embossed the designer paper with a birch tree folder.

The card background is dry embossed with a snowfall folder.

I placed my die cut birch trees on top of the dry embossed trees. I thought the background just added interest. 

I made this into a winter birthday card. My hubby's birthday is December 28th and I will give this to him. 

That's it for me for this post. I hope I have given you a bit of inspiration for a way to use this die. I will be back on Saturday with another card from these new Christmas dies.

die I used to create card:

  

Christmas Bears

Hi!

It's Anja here. I have an adorable card for you today. This new polar bear die is the cutest and I this it will be one of my mostly used this holiday season.

For this card I used:
- Cottage Cutz dies (Polar Bear w/Birch Trees, Circle Set),
- Distress Inks,
- white card base (15x10,5 cm),
- white card stock for die cuts and background (14,5x10 cm),
- black pen,
- silver stars and glitter,
- laminating foil,
- laminator,
- black pigment ink,
- sentiment stamp,
- acrylic block,
- adhesive foam pads,
- double sided adhesive tape,
- paper glue.

First I cut and colored the bear and birch trees.

Next I used the laminator. I sprinkled stars and glitter between two sheets of laminating foil and put it through the laminator. I saw this technique on Jennifer's blog and it really gives you a nice effect.

Then I colored the sky directly on the card base.

I cut a piece of paper from white card stock for the background. Then I cut a circle out of it.

I used blue ink around the edges and glued birch trees on the back of the circle.

Then I stamped the sentiment on the front.

And when I had all the pieces I assembled the card together. I used double sided adhesive tape to glue the foil. And then I used adhesive foam pads to glue the background on the card base. And my card was done.

This is all from me for today. You have another Christmas release waiting for you in the store :)

Have a nice Sunday and see you again in a week.

Anja Z.


Cottage Cutz dies I used for this card:

Santa & The Red Nose Reindeer

Hello Scrapping Cottage friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with us today. It's Mary Marsh here bringing you the Saturday edition of the Blog. 

We have the new release of Christmas Part 2 in the online store and they are all in stock and available for delivery. There are 34 new designs in this release. 

This release has something for everyone. So if you prefer a more religious tone to your cards- we have you covered. If you like a more whimsical design featuring Santa, reindeer, gnomes, moose or even a hot chocolate theme you will find some really cute dies. The DT will begin showing card samples using these dies shortly.

I actually do a combo of religious and whimsical for my Christmas cards. Today, for your viewing pleasure, I am going whimsical with the new Santa & Reindeer w/Sleigh. It's from the Christmas Part 1 release. So let's get started with some details on how I created my card.

Step 1: I started the card with a layout this week. I had this sketch saved on Pinterest and thought it would work well to showcase Santa, some designer paper and ribbon. I like using ribbon on my Christmas cards. I think it adds a nice touch. 

I changed the dimensions on my card panels from what they are using in this sketch. I needed a larger oval die to accommodate the Santa image so I made all the panels larger. 

Red Card Base: 5 3/4" x 4 1/2"

Coastal Cabana Layer: 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"

Designer Paper Layer: 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" 

For the oval, I used the 2nd  largest stitched oval die. It's approximately 4" x 3 1/8". I embossed it with a snowfall embossing folder.
  

Next, I cut the images in a variety of cardstocks. 

Step 2: I am ready to start card assembly. I attached Santa to the white oval embossed piece with a combination of double sided tape and Ranger multi medium matte. 

My designer paper is attached to the cardstock layer with double sided tape. 

For the center long panel, I used a red ruched ribbon. I attached the ribbon with glue dots. 

Next up I added the oval image panel to the designer layer panel.I did use dimensional adhesive on the oval to lift it slightly off the ribbon.  I scattered a few red enamel dots for added interest.

I wanted a sentiment on the front of the card but I didn't want to stamp directly on the cardstock. So I decided to use this Merry Christmas sentiment from an older CottageCutz die. It's the Merry Christmas w/Deer Family.

I added the image panel to the card base and that completed my card.

I hope I have given you a bit of inspiration for a way to use this new die. I know it's been a popular one in this release. 

I will be posting a card on Monday using another of the dies from the Part 1 release.

Dies I used to create card:

Do You Believe in the Magic?

Happy Friday!  It's Jeanne sharing a card with you today.  Clean and simple cards are probably my favorite style.  I love cards that have an elegant and clean look.  This one has that look and is fairly simple to create.

I started with mixed media paper - it is heavy than cardstock and can withstand watercoloring, but it is not as heavy as watercolor paper.   I die cut the Believe in the Magic die and ran it back and forth through my die cutting machine a couple of times.  This ensured that the pieces cut nicely with the heavier paper.

You can see here that I did need to use my pokey tool to get some of the smaller pieces out of the die cut.  But it did cut very cleanly.

Next I taped a 6 x 4.75 inch piece of the mixed media paper to my watercolor board.  I use a masonite board.  This keeps the paper fairly straight and flat while I water color.

I placed my die cuts on top roughly where I intended to place them on the final card and then used the green washi tape to indicate the outside edges of the image.  This will be my "guide" when creating the background wash.

I used two blue inks, two blue green inks and lots of water when creating this wash.  I tried to keep somewhat within my taped boundaries.  Between colors I used my heat tool set on low to both move the wash and dry it.

When finished, I trimmed the panel to 5.5 x 4.25 inches and adhered it to an A2 card base.  I glued my die cut images on top.

As a final touch I added a few acrylic "drops" using Crystal Effects to glue them down.

A word of caution about cards like this - no two come out alike.  I find them fun to make and the next one I create is usually my favorite.  They are quick and look very elegant.  This is a great way to loosen up your artwork/card making.  (But if you're the type where each card has to be EXACTLY like the one before it - you may only want to make one of these!  LOL!)

Dies:

Be sure to visit the online store where there is a NEW release of Christmas Dies - Part 2.  They are on sale for a limited time.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a fun and creative weekend!