Chevron Fun!

Happy Wednesday again!

Well .... we didn't end up making it to the park today after all.  I *popped* downstairs around 8:45 am to whip up some quick and easy Thank You cards for my club girls' bags.  Ya.  I came back up at 12:56 pm *lol*.  I had PLANNED to go out, really I did!  ... of course by 12:56 it had completely clouded over and was starting to spit rain.  Oh well!  That gave me time to photograph my cards ... oh ... nope ... the battery on my camera died ... had to recharge it ... yep - that's how the day ends up being around here - a whoooole lotta nuthin; *lol* ... good thing it's summer break and we have no particular place to be!

I had a LOT of fun making these little cards.  They COULD be quick and easy ... but apparently I wasn't in the Q&E *zone* this morning.  Oh I started OFF with quick and easy ... and ended up with lots of layers doo-dads and embelishments.  BUT! .... the great thing about THAT is I now have FOUR cards to share ... each one slightly more "stepped-up" than the previous one.  It just goes to show that you don't HAVE to own every gadget, ink color and embellishment in the catalogues ... but it can be a LOTTA fun if you do :)

So!  Here is my first attempt - it is truly quick and easy:

Ta da!  See?  I CAN do quick and easy ... I just generally choose not too :)

Let's disect it, shall we?  OK.  I started off with the Note Card & Envelopes that were in the last catalogue and are now retired.  Little did I know they simply revamped them ... and they ARE available in the new catalogue (good thing I stocked up and bought 7 packages, huh?).  This is one item I just HAVE to have in my craft stash at all times for card making emergencies like today.  I needed to whip up 20 thank you cards and didn't want to spend time and energy cutting paper.  Note cards and envelopes to the rescue!  You get 20 bases and envelopes per pack ... for only $7.50!  Check them out on page 162 of the main catalogue and then let me know how many packs you want (see what I did there?  I made a "call to action" ... a statement leading customers to act ... apparently I will now make a million dollars by using such a statement - woo hoo!  That's business school stuff they taught me way back when ... *note to self:  let Dad know that all that education didn't go to waste ... ) 

Focus, Tam.  OK ... breathe out ... Note Cards and envelopes.  Got it.  Colors!  The colors I used were Coastal Cabana and Strawberry Slush ... two of the 2013-2015 In Color colors ... Did you know you can get the full pack of In Color papers and ink pads for only $36.95??  Yep.  True story.  Essentially by buying all the ink pads you get the assorted 8 1/2" x 11" card stock for free!  Who doesn't like free??  And you KNOW you want all of the yummy new colors, right?  So ... when you e-mail me with your order for your note cards and envelopes make sure you also mention to add the Cardstock & Pad kit o page 141 of the catty (see what I did there again?  Sneaky yes?  OK - perhaps not very subtle ... I'll work on it!)

Now!  I can hear you from hear "TAMARA!  How on EARTH did you get that GORGEOUS Chevron pattern along the side?"  Well!  Let me tell you.  I purchased the new Chevron Border Punch on page 23 of the Holiday Mini catalogue (on-line August 1st) for the low low price of $29.95 and punched it out!  Now I know ... $29.95 is about the same price of a nice shoes on sale.  I agree!  ... and I held off on buying this little beauty for a whole month before I caved.  Let me tell you.  You should just cave right away on August 1st and get it.  It's fantastic!  ... and it won't give you blisters on your feet!  Now!  The punch itself only has THREE chevrons ... but those who are very observant will notice that my card has FOUR punched out.  Shall I share a tip on how to do that?  OK.  I know it's not rocket science but there ARE some new stampers in blog-world who may not know how ... AND I DID find out a little something about this punch in particular.  So here we go.

First off - the Coastal Cabana layer is cut to 4 3/4" x 2 1/2".  In order for me to get the chevrons high enough to leave room for the Thank You sentiment I lined the card stock up with the edge of the punch *window* like this:

Then you punch.  In order to get the fourth chevron you simply move the card stock over so that the *teeth* are re-punching two of the chevrons and the third *tooth* is punching a new chevron ... like this:

Then you punch.  One thing I DID notice about this punch is that you DO have to be careful when lining the teeth up.  It LOOKS like things are lined up but they may not be.  It's not fidly but you just have to make sure the paper is as far down as it can go.  This is what the teeth look like before I pushed it down just a little bit further:

It's not a huge deal but it will make your chevrons a little *scoo-whiff* if you aren't careful.

For the sentiment I stamped Thank You from Sassy Salutations, page 39 of the main catty - $21.95 clear; $28.95 wood - in Strawberry Slush.  Yummy!  I then punched it out with the Extra Large Oval punch (page 182 - $22.95).  I punched another oval in Strawberry slush and taped them together, then popped the whole thing up on a dimensional.  I punched out a Strawberry SLush Chevron and used my 2-way glue pen to attach it.  A rhinestone finished it off.  Wa-low!  A quick and easy card.  Of course I couldn't stop there.  I wanted to step it up a bit.  So I did ... ready?

The only change here is a 1" x 4 1/2" strip of Strawberry Slush DSP ... from the paper pack.  I love how it cooredinates with the punch - little teeny tiny chevrons.  Woo hoo!  ... but I had the need to step it up some more ... so ...

The change here is a small strip of whisper white measuring 1/4" x 4 1/4".  Yay for my new Stampin' Trimmer!  It is WAY too hard to get such a thin strip using my old monster cutter - the trimmer makes it quick and easy (page 176 of the catty - $41.95.  A MUST HAVE tool!  I also added a second rhinestone to the top chevron and a strip of 3 beside the 1/4" whisper white strip.  Ta da!  a not-quite-as-quic-and-easy-card but not crazy over-the-top either!.  Since this card is only 5" x 3 1/2" in size I thought I'd see what it looked like mounted on a standard card base, sized 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" inches ... aaaaaand ....

So which one is your favorite?  I can't decide!  Seeing them all side-by side I actually think I prefer the first two, leaning towards the second one as my favorite:

So there you have it ... four options for the same card.  This is a great card to showcase at a party.  Novice stampers can stick with the first version while more *seasoned* stampers can step it up and play with more paper and embellishments. 

Looks like the clouds have lifted so I think we'll have a bite to eat and head out to the park after all.  Until next time ... have a stampy night!


Tam