Nuts About You Joy Fold Card

I have had so much fun with the Nuts About You hostess set.  It's just so cute.  This card is a joy fold card turned on it's side.  The grass is what keeps the first flap closed, and I love how it looks cute and is functional all at the same time!

I'm keeping it short and sweet today...I hope you'll forgive my brevity.  I'm hoping to get back into a more regular posting routine now that school is starting and (hopefully) life will settle down a bit.  Does that make any sense at all?  Isn't summer supposed to be a time to relax before the hectic school year?  Apparently that's not the case for my life!

Supplies

Stamps:  Nuts About You
Ink:  Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, and Basic Gray
Paper:  Garden Green, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, and Soft Suede card stock, Gingham Garden DSP
Accessories:  Big Shot, Fringe Scissors, Linen Thread, 3/4" Circle Punch

Nuts About You Shadow Box Card

So I'm totally in love with the new hostess set, Nuts About You.  I almost never get hostess sets anymore, but this one was way too adorable to pass up.  I love the cute animals, the funky tree, and all the fun ways you can use the stamps together. 

Tips & Tricks

• I've posted about shadow box cards before, (here and here), so check out those posts for directions and to see some other example of this easy-peasy card.

• It's kind of hard to tell in a picture, but I cut the tree out by hand and then popped it up a bit using Stampin' Dimensionals.  It adds more interest when the image isn't flat on the card...you'll have to trust me on this one, since you don't have the card in your hand!

• The grass in front was made with my handy-dandy fringe scissors, and layered on the front piece of the card.  I highly recommend using sticky strip for this part.  It just makes life so much easier than snail or glue would, although both of those option would work.

• I think my favorite part of this card is the little "you & me" in a heart that looks like it's carved on the tree.  I'm pretty good at eye-balling things to line them up, but even I had trouble with this one.  It's most definitely a job for the Stamp-a-ma-jig!

Supplies
Stamps:  Nuts About You
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Smokely Slate, Basic Gray, Early Espresso, and Cherry Cobbler
Paper:  Naturals White, Crumb Cake, and Garden Green card stock
Accessories:  Big Shot, Ovals Collection Framelits, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Fringe Scissors, Sponge, Stamp-a-ma-jig, and Paper Snips

Stampin' Up! Nuts About You

When I saw the new catalog, I absolutely fell in love with this adorable hostess set, Nuts About You.  It's so cute, and I can think of so many people that I'll make cards for with this set.  The tree is kind of funky and super-cute, as you can see in the picture.  This card shows a little 'possum hanging from one of the branches.  It's the only 'possum I've ever seen that's actually cute!

Tips & Tricks

• Get our your paper snips, because this set doesn't have matching Framelits.  You'll need to do some fussy cutting if you want the tree to be cut out like this one.  With so many Framelits to choose from these days, it's easy to forget how we used to have to cut out everything! 

• I stamped the tree on Naturals White card stock, and as you can see, it gives kind of a mottled look.  This is partly due to the fact that I used markers to color directly onto the rubber, and that tends to add to this look.  But it's also part to how porous this particular card stock is.  If you'd like a smoother, crisper image, stamp on Whisper White card stock.  I'll put an example of that up later on this week.

• I popped the tree up using Stampin' Dimensionals...it makes it easier to hang the 'possum by his tail! 

Supplies

Stamps:  Nuts About You, Woodgrain (retired)
Ink:  Garden Green and Soft Suede Stampin' Around Markers, Early Espresso and Soft Suede ink pads
Paper:  Soft Suede and Naturals White card stock
Accessories:  Paper Snips, Stampin' Dimensionals