On my Facebook Live video last week I showed how to make a slightly stepped-up version of a Gatefold card, which is one of the easiest fun fold cards there are.  You can see the video on my Facebook Page or on my YouTube Channel.

​Here are the 2 cards:

Really a simple concept for a fun fold card - instead of scoring the card base in half, score ¼ of the way from each end to make the gate fold that meets in the middle.  So for a metric card base (21 cm x 14.9 cm) score at 5.25 cm from each end on the long side.  The SU! Simply Scored Scoring Tool Metric Scoring Plate even has that as a dedicated mark.  For an Imperial card base (8.5 in x 5.5 in) score at 2 ⅛" from each end on the long side.  Again, the Simply Scored Tool makes it fast and easy. 

Then you need 3 panels of cardstock and 3 panels of Designer Series Paper.  Metric:  10.5 cm x 4.9 cm cardstock, 10 cm x 4.4 cm DSP.  Imperial: 4.25" x 1.75" cardstock, 4" x 1.5" DSP.

Glue the DSP to the cardstock panels, then glue the top and bottom panels to one side of the gatefold.  Glue the centre cardstock panel to the opposite gatefold.  Add your image and sentiment, being sure it's only attached to the centre panel.

​Here's everything I used to make these 2 cards:

This is the final card from my September Monthly Card Class.  It's CASE'd from a card Kylie Bertucci (my SU! upline) sent to another member of her team.  

We used Beautiful Friendship, which is one of the DistINKtive stamp stamp sets.  It's made by a patented process that etches a lot of dimension into the images to create multi-faceted impressions with just one stamp and ink colour.  Previously we would need to use 2 or more stamps to get the different tones in each flower.

These are the colours used:  Blackberry Bliss (ink and cardstock), Night of Navy, Seaside Spray, and Purple Posy (ink (full strength & stamped off) and cardstock).  

Here's another card we made at my Monthly Card Class in September.  I CASE'd the idea from Sue Vine, but changed it up a little bit.

The simplicity of this card lets the detail of the Come Sail Away Designer Series Paper really show. I like the canvas texture printed on it.

The sentiment is from the Well Said stamp set, and is stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white, then cut out with one of the Stitched Rectangles Dies.  

Have you seen the Feels Like Frost Suite (HC pp. 40-42)?  Especially the Designer Series Paper?  Ohhh, so pretty!  One side features photos of frosty foliage, the other has silver foiled designs.  Here's a card we made with it in my September Monthly Card Class.

Even just ¼ of the 6"x6" sheet (that's 1 ½" wide) makes a nice impact on a card.  The card base and sentiment panel are Purple Posy, and the mats and sentiment ink are Highland Heather.  I used the Stitched Rectangles Dies for the sentiment and its mat...but cut down the mat just a titch:

I'm looking forward to playing more with this suite!

Another card we made in the September Monthly Card Class.  This one I CASE'd from one made by my friend and fellow Melbourne SU! demo, Ruth Sollberger (edit:  Ruth just let me know she CASE'd it from Melissa Davies).  I saw it when a recipient posted it to the Random Act of Kindness Card Group on Facebook.  

I chose to use Mint Macaron as the green in my card because I have a bit of now-retired Mint Macaron Glimmer Paper in my stash.  The circle stamp is from Swirly Frames, and the rest of the images are from Daisy Lane.  We also used the Leaf Punch.

If you love to receive cards in the mail, and like to think that your cards are going to people who appreciate them consider joining the Random Act of Kindness Card Group.  There is no obligation to participate ever, but signing up and sending at least one card is so fun.  There are members from all around the world, and you can choose where you send.  There is also no guarantee that you'll receive a card, but I've been the happy recipient of at least one card each month I've signed up to participate.  Why don't you give it a go?

Here's one of the cards we made at September's Monthly Card class.  I CASE'd it from Sheryl Walker when I saw it on a post in the Random Act of Kindness Card Facebook Group.

Super-cute layout, but look at what it does:

So. Much. Fun!

​We made our own "wobbles", which are little springs mounted on paper discs and sandwiched between the image and card.  Here's a link to an excellent video tutorial on how to make them.  

The woodgrain panel was made by smearing Versamark ink on one side of the Pinewood Planks embossing Folder and running Cherry Cobbler cardstock through.  Then we heat embossed it with White Stampin' Emboss Powder.

​Here's what we used to make this card:

Here are the projects I made on my Facebook Live video this week.  You can catch the replay on Facebook or YouTube.

Earlier this week I watched a video by Barry, who is half of Mitosu Crafts, a pair of English guys who are SU! demonstrators.  It was a demonstration of using Versamark with the decorative masks (stencils) and then heat embossing them.  While I was watching I wondered about also trying it with the new Delicata metallic inks.  So I decided to try them side-by-side in my FB Live.

​Here are the resulting cards:

These 2 are heat embossed.  The one on the right had the Versamark daubed on directly from the ink pad through the mask, then covered in embossing powder and heat set.  This is the "positive" image from the mask.  The one on the left is the "negative" image, made by pressing the Versamark-covered mask onto the cardstock by running them through the Big Shot, then heat embossing. Unfortunately the mask shifted during this process and the images is blurred, but I still think it's a nice effect.

Positive image (yes, I went back afterwards and got those un-melted spots of EP!)

Negative image.

And these 2 are the Delicata Gold Glitz ink.  The one on the right is the positive image panel I made by sponging the ink over the mask after the video was finished, the left is the negative image made by running the well-inked mask through the Big Shot on some cardstock.

I found that daubing with the sponge worked well.  If you watched the video you saw that I got a blotchy, goopy mess when I tried to press the pad to the cardstock the way I did with the Versamark (L).  You can see the contrast in the pic on the right.

Positive image made by sponging Delicata ink on the mask.

Negative image made by running mask daubed with Delicata ink pad through the Big Shot.

​Which is your favourite result?

Whew!  Here's the last card from my play with Pigment Sprinkles earlier this month:

I had played with making a couple of watercolour-washed panels that I thought I'd use  for backgrounds.  I spritzed 2 pieces of Watercolor Paper with water, then took an Aqua Painter and brushed one with Melon Mambo Pigment Sprinkles and one with Granny Apple Green.  Then I added some Copper Shimmer Paint to them.

I wasn't happy with the results for a background, but after I'd let them sit for a few days I decided to try using some punches on them, and am very pleased with the resulting card.  The sentiment from Beautiful Friendship is stamped in Flirty Flamingo, which is also the colour of the card base.

I hope you've enjoyed the array of techniques I've shown you for the Pigment Sprinkles, and have inspired you to play with them yourself!

Today's cards show another way of using the Pigment Sprinkles with the Decorative Masks and Embossing Paste.

I was so fast that it didn't land squarely, but I took care of that with a Stitched Rectangles Die.

I layered this panel onto Basic Black Glimmer Paper and a Melon Mambo card base, and added a sentiment using the Well Written Dies.  Can you see the bit of shimmer that carried over from the Shimmery Embossing Paste residue?

Here's yet another technique for using Stampin' Up!'s Pigment Sprinkles...

Black-On-Black:  I attended a paper crafting expo in Melbourne a few weeks before my class, and took a mini-class on this technique.  We used pearlised watercolour paints to colour images that had been heat-embossed with black embossing powder on black cardstock (we also did a watercolour wash with those shimmery paints for the background):

 I was pretty determined to find a way to re-create this effect with Stampin' Up! products, and I think I got it pretty close:

The image I chose is one of the butterflies from Butterfly Gala.  I added a base layer of Frost White Shimmer Paint in each of the sections.  Then I put a small sprinkle of each colour I wanted to use onto a paper plate or acrylic block and used my brush to swirl in some of the Shimmer Paint.  I painted these onto the base coat and had a nice, colourful butterfly!  If I decide to do more of these I will invest in better quality, very fine watercolour brushes to make a better job.

Here's what I used to do this technique: