Kodomo Snow Garden Card

Here is a sample that I had in one of my e-newsletters. Someone asked me for the instructions to make the card, so here they are. I can't take credit for making the card. It's from the company that makes the stamp design: Kodomo, Inc.

Here are the supplies that you'll need:

White cardstock

Gold Origami paper
Black Cardstock

Red Cardstock

Black Pigment Ink Pad

Gold Ink Pad

Clear Embossing Powder

3938-100 Snow Garden Rubber Stamp

3938-024 Winter flower Rubber Stamp Set (for the word stamped in gold)

To make the Japanese-style window:

1. Draw lines on 2 pieces of 4-3/4" x 1-1/2" Black Cardstock to make 1/4" graph paper

2. Cut 1/2" squares off from these graph papers but leave 1/4" around and between

the squares

3. Stamp the Snow Garden image on 5-1/4" x 4-3/4" white cardstock in the center using a

black pigment ink pad and emboss with clear powder

4. Color the embossed design as desired

5. Put Gold Origami paper on both sides of the stamped & colored card. This part cannot be seen in the picture, so it is optional since it looks nice without it.

6. Put black graph papers on both sides of the stamped & colored card showing the gold paper a little bit.

7. Put a piece of 5-1/4" x 3/8" black cardstock on the lower side of card and put a piece of 5-1/4" x 1/4" black cardstock on the upper side.

8. Stamp word from the Winter Flower Rubber Stamp Set on a 1-1/4" x 1" white cardstock using the gold ink pad and layer it onto the red cardstock . Place it at the upper left of the card.

That's it! If you want to buy the Kodomo rubber stamps, you can find them in my online store at www.injoystamps.com.

Penny Black Painter's Vase Card

Here's a quick and simple card that looks very elegant. Stamps used are from Penny Black Rubber Stamps.

1. Color 3859H Corner Piece with a Tombow Yellow Gold (#26) marker. Huff on it and then stamp on the top left and repeat for the bottom left. Repeat as you stamp in the middle of the right side twice.

2. Color the Painter's Vase stamp with markers. I used Pale Yellow (#62), Persimmon (#835), Port Red (#757), Avocado (#98) and Dark Jade (#177). Before stamping, mist the stamp gently with water. It helps to hold the stamp about 6-8 inches away and mist at an angle, not directly on the stamp (otherwise it will smear your colors).

3. Add stickles glitter glue to accent the flower and any other part of the card that you want to highlight.

4. Mount on cardstock as pictured. The vase was mounted on a piece of gold paper and then on top of a yellow Hanko Tsumugi cardstock and then finally on a red Hanko Tsumugi card.

To find the products to make this card, visit my web site at www.injoystamps.com

Paper Bargello

Here is a fun technique that looks like it took you a long time to do, but didn't! It's called Paper Bargello. I will try to show you step by step how it's done.

1. You need to decide on the size of the pattern that you want to make. You might want it to cover the entire background of your card or just a piece of it. Cut out a piece of paper to the desired size.

2. Cut out a piece of double-sided adhesive to cover the entire piece of paper. Double-sided adhesive sheets are the easiest, but you could also use double-sided tape that you can lay side-by-side on your paper.

3. Cut your choice of papers (they could be plain or patterned, or a mix of both) into 1/4" strips. I have found that using a paper trimmer works well, but you may prefer using a craft knife and ruler.

4. One by one, lay the papers carefully onto the double-sided adhesive, one strip at a time. Continue with the same pattern (in this case, it's red, gold, black, white). See picture below.



















5. Once your entire piece is covered, cut the paper into 1/4" strips so that you cut across all of the strips that you just placed down (see picture below).



















6. Cut out a 2nd sheet of paper that's the same size as the first piece that you cut out and cover it with double-sided adhesive.

7. Lay down your first strip onto the paper, flush with the corner. Next, lay down the next strip, but not at the top. Put it one square below the previous one but right next to the previous strip. See the picture below. My paper is red, so all of the strips are being placed onto the red cardstock. Continue with each strip so that each strip is placed one square below the previous one, as pictured. You'll know you're doing it right if the squares make a diagonal pattern.






















8. In order to fill the extra spaces, you need to cut off the extra piece at the bottom and put it at the top. In the picture below, if you look in the 2nd column from the left, there is one extra square. You need to cut it out and put it at the top of the 2nd column, on top of the white square. In the 3rd column from the left, you have an extra gold and black square. Cut off the strip where you see the green line and then put the piece at the top of the column, to fill in the space, and to fill in the pattern.




















9. When it's done, it should look like this. You can use this as a background piece for a card.





















Here is a beautiful card that was made by J. Schlueter using origami paper and accented with a tea bag fold and mizuhiki cords!






















Here is a sample that I made using Hanko Tsumugi cardstock (this is some of my my most favorite cardstock!). If you want to buy this cardstock, you can find it in my online store at www.injoystamps.com. I sell them in sampler packs (called Hanko Cardstock Sampler).