What is a Cloche?

 A cloche is a little dome that you put over something.  In the fall SU catalog, there are 2 new cloche sets to chose from.  They both use the same dome and cut out.  This set, called Classic Cloche, has a house stamp and some cute birds.  Even though the birds on my cards are not inside of the dome, I still like this look.  I copied the idea for these cards from Kerry Timms.  

Look how sweet the birds are sitting on a little branch!  I used the new sponge brush on the dome to shade it in and the flowers are from the Hand Penned stamp set.  

 This is pretty much the same card, only with a Soft Succulent background.  I love how these cards came out.  

Next up is this cards using the "book fold" at the side.  Here I featured the houses from the stamp set.  Then I tucked a little bird in the corner.  The roofs of the houses have Wink of Stella on them to give them a bit of a sparkle.  I cut out some little trees from the die cuts to finish the scene.  

Here is a sample of how to use the Cloche set for a Christmas card.  I put the little houses under the dome and added some snowflakes and sequins for a winter shaker card.  The paper is Beautifully Penned from the summer Sale-a-Bration selections.  I got this idea from Cheri's Cards.

Which one do you like the best?  It's nice to be able to use your stamp sets through many seasons, don't you think?

Washi Tape Cards

Occasionally, one of my creative friends, Cindy, comes over to create with me.  One day she had stopped over at Michaels and picked up some pretty washi tape.  We decided to make cards using it.  We picked out some blue cardstock to match the washi tape colors and then cut out a heart shape with heart framelits using the Big Shot.

We added washi tape to the card in strips and then tucked that under the heart shape.  The decorative borders on the cards are just washi tape strips.

We even cut out butterflies from the washi tape to use as embellishments.

This card has some acetate under the heart cut-out and some beads and other confetti enclosed in the window to make it a shaker card.

And lastly, we just put washi tape in strips to make this card.  What fun cards we made.  And the best part - making crafts with my friend.  :)

Taking a Stroll Down Candy Cane Lane

This week I offered a stamping class featuring fun designer paper named Candy Cane Lane.  Doesn't the name of the paper just get you in the mood for making some holiday projects?  It features Chocolate Chip (dark brown), Crumb Cake (tan) and Cherry Cobbler red paper.  I had so much fun using these three colors and coming up with the cards and this cute little box.

The box is make using the Baker 's Box thinlits.  It went together very quickly and easily (no matter what the ladies who come to my class say!).   I decorated it with a house cut out from the paper and some stamped designs that I also cut out and added.  Although you can't see it in the photo, I added some Wink of Stella glitter to the snow on the top of the houses on all of the projects.

This card is a dimensional shaker card.  It has two layers on the front with a window and some "snow" inside that you can shake around the little house.  The house is a cut out from the designer paper.  I didn't have a square cut out framelit, so I used this shape that came from the pillow box thinlet set.  I actually think that I like this better because the shape adds some interest to the card.

This next card is pretty simple to make.  I embossed the white paper using the Softly Falling embossing folder.  This adds just a simple design to the background that then added some cut outs from the designer paper.  I copied the idea from Sandy Moll on Pinterest.  Okay, all of the ladies in my class grumbled about cutting out the pieces, but don't they look cute on this card?  After the card was assembled, they all liked how it turned out.  :)

My favorite card of the night was this cute card turning the little gingerbread house into a birdhouse!  I got the idea on Pinterest from Amanda Bates .  I love how she added some birds from the Thoughtful Branches stamp set.  I think that makes it so much cuter!

Which one of the projects do you like the best?  Majority vote from the class was for the shaker card.  But I am voting for the birdhouse card.  :)

Using Washi Tape

I just love the new washi tape from Stampin Up.  At first I didn't know how I would use it in my crafting projects, but after a few minutes of being on Pinterest and seeing all of the ideas, that problem was solved!

This card is a shaker card, meaning it is three-dimensional and has a window with some glitter in it that you can shake.  I copied the idea from by Linda Gutierrez.  She had a couple of sweet cards made with the washi tape.

In my stamp camp we also made an assortment of Chip Clips made from clothes pins and a cute little container filled with candy with the washi tape.  I used the Gingham Garden designer paper for these projects.  They were a lot of fun to make!

 I watched a video that a demonstrator from Stampin Up had made with these projects.  They were designed by Diane Dimich.

I am definitely going to make more projects with washi tape!  Try it, it's so easy!  What have you made with it?