Love is in the Air!

Designed by Sharon M. Reinhart for Paper Pastimes 2020

Would love to see you come out and join me in this fun class! It’s being held at Paper Pastimes in Calgary on Saturday February 1st. We will be exploring a variety of techniques including die-cut inlay, origami butterfly fold, manipulating die-cuts to get more mileage from them, methods of adhering delicate die-cuts, and more. Reserve your space by calling Paper Pastimes at 403-255-8731.

Valentine Inspiration!

Stopping by with some Valentine inspiration! This wreath was die-cut from some packaging material saved when my cabinets were shipped to me, thrilled with how easily it die cut and the finished results. I believe this die is an Elizabeth Crafts Design, not totally positive, but unfortunately I do not see it on their site and I do not have the original packaging. I know there are many die templates on the market that would work beautifully! For those of you that do not have a wreath die, try building your own by building it with a variety of leaf shapes. Draw a circle with pencil on your card front and just start adding die-cut or punched leaves. The hearts have been cut from gold and red card stocks and are a Penny Black die set. The word love has also been die-cut from gold card-stock. Use a word die for this or individual die-cut letters or even painted wood or chipboard letters would work great! A little die-cut or ribbon bow is a nice finishing accent! Hope you are inspired to create!

Holiday Vignettes

Projects designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

Stopping by with a couple more projects showcased at the Scrapbook Carnival. These projects have been made using the grand snow globe and the grand cabinet die templates from Spellbinders.  Both of these die sets are extremely versatile. A few add on templates have been used, for the project on the left the poinsettia die has been used and the project on the right also makes use of some snowflake dies as well as the petite double bow. Hope you have been inspired to create!
Creatively yours,
Sharon

Christmas Tag

Project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart 

Just wanted to share a quick post of another creative sample shared at the Scrapbook Carnival which showcases the versatility of the Grand Snow Globe die template from Spellbinders. The greetings circle was die cut from gold mirror card-stock and then a solid circle cut from a folded pearl card by placing the circle die just slightly beyond the fold. Another option is to cut two circles and score the bottom circle across a small portion at the top prior to adhering to the the front circle. The poinsettia has been created using the cinch and go poinsettia template. A wispy bow made with some beautiful thread from Wonderfil completes this tag. Hope you are inspired to create and keep watching for more samples shared with the public at this wonderful event!

Christmas Creativity

Projects designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

Had two great creative days teaching make and takes for Spellbinder’s at the Scrapbook Carnival this past weekend! We were using die templates from the recent launch of the grand holiday cabinet and grand snow globe along with coordinating layering dies and other wonderful sets. Over the next few posts I will be sharing some of the samples I made with you in case you were unable to come out and be a part of this creative event put on by Creative Scrapbooker Magazine magazine and Creative Festival West. The first two being shared are the actual make and takes, the merry and bright was created using the inner motif from the grand holiday cabinet, swallowtail tags and the cinch and go poinsettia. The ivory tag was created using the Santa layering set, petit double bow, swallowtail tag set and the ho, ho, ho die d-lites set. Just a quick note, I was compensated to teach and design the make and takes but I have not been compensated for my posts, but also would like to ensure you that if I make a recommendation, that is my own honest personal opinion.
Hope you enjoy these projects!

Tickets go on sale for Edmonton August 1st, and Calgary August 2, hope to see you there! I will be doing a make and take for Spellbinders at the Calgary show, be sure to stop by! 
For more info visit www.creativescrapbooker.ca

Ten Minute Card

 Card project designed by Sharon M Reinhart 2019

Stopping by with a quick post and a quick card. Still using some leftover supplies, I encourage you to take a look through your paper stash! For this card the printed paper did all the work, just create some layers with coordinating card stock, add a bit of ribbon and some adhesive rhinestones and you are good! I was inspired by Taylored Expressions simple strips - sentiments and dies, of which I do not own yet, soon, on order! So, to recreate, I just typed a sentiment on my computer and printed onto card stock then sponged some chalk olive ink on. While I was doing this sentiment I did print others out and will customize their colour as I use them.
Hope you are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Using What You Have Card

Project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

I found these leftovers from a previously published project. Always loved the paper but alas the line has gone to its discontinued junk yard. Stop, don't throw it away! It may not be able to be used for published projects but it can still be transformed into a delightful card! I am sure there are some wonderful paper scraps in your inventory that could be utilised. I encourage you to go on a paper scrap treasure hunt and let the paper itself be your inspiration and let it guide you as to what you will add to it.

Let's get on with this one. This one begins with an ivory card stock base A2, side fold. The scraps of paper are the bird print and the bright pink. The bright pink is a piece that had been die-cut into a tag so I decided to keep it that way and place horizontally on the card base as a layering piece. Next is the printed panel which has been layered to the right side of the card leaving about a quarter inch margin at right. The final pieces to bringing this card to life is the addition of the punched and/or die-cut flowers, butterflies and leaves; depending on what tools you have. The flower centers have been accented with adhesive gems and the butterfly bodies have been accented with Stickles glitter glue. A die-cut greeting from mirror gold card stock along with a stamped greeting convey the message of the card. I love combining simple stamped greetings with die-cut ones. The final accent piece is a piece of ivory satin ribbon tied into a knot and adhered on top of the pink tag.
I hope you have been inspired to create! Check back as I have one more scrap of this paper to turn into a beautiful card -- from rags to riches, it's kind of like a card Cinderella story that I am in presently!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Creative Scraps!

Card Project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

I am still on a mission to make use of my larger scraps rather than banish them to a lonely bin. I like to have some basic card bases cut, scored, folded and ready to go. This card begins with a white A2 side fold base (5-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches scored at 4-1/4 and then folded in half, to create a top fold A2 begin with a 4-1/4 x 11 inch piece then score at 5-1/2 and fold). 

The printed paper used here has been most likely discontinued for some time. That being said I encourage you to use what YOU have and to look through your scraps and grab a piece of printed paper that has a repetitive pattern and use my design somewhat like a card sketch. Layer a 3-3/4 x 5 inch panel to the card front. Now choose a colour from your printed paper and cut a 3 x1 inch piece from a solid colour card stock. Layer horizontally across card front. Next layer a 3-3/4 x 1 inch piece of the printed card stock to a slightly larger piece of card stock that is the same colour as your card front. Stamp and die-cut a sentiment and adhere to the card front on top of the vertical panel. I love the stitched framelits from Stampin' Up for greetings and sentiments. To finish, either die-cut some small flowers or use pre-made flowers. Adhere three flowers to the solid colour panel and one next to the sentiment. Add a few die-cut or punched leaves and adhesive rhinestones and this one is good to go!
Hope you like it and are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Same supplies - different card!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

Well I was on a mission to go through my supplies and organize. My mission ended quickly once I found all of the leftover kits from previous card classes and make and takes! I was still on a mission, but more of a creative one rather than a cleaning one! The mission if I accepted was to take these card kits and without adding more supplies switch the card design up! I gladly accepted this mission and thought I would share the results with you.

The original card was basically the card on the left but without the extra aqua card base. The tea bag fold was a basic triangle tea bag fold using squares of Recollections paper and the white base was pressure embossed and then dots of craft paint were added as an accent using the end of a paint brush using a dip-dot method. You can also use a stylus for this as well. Just dip the instrument into the craft paint and then dot onto your cardstock. The craft paint was also used to color the layered square of cardstock underneath the die-cut square simply using a sponge.

The first switch up (on the left) was to trim the panel to fit the aqua card base. This was another find in my inventory, pre-made note cards that had a beautiful silver embossed double frame on the front. The first switch up entailed using only a single silver frame. The second change on this card was to add a bit of Stickles glitter glue to the silver brad and random paint dots.

The second switch up (card on the right) was made into a side-fold portrait card. The fold made use of a progression fold, starting with a basic triangle fold and then folding the top left and right points under to the center to create this beautifully textured square design in the center. If you are interested in tea bag folding and looking for more progressions you may wish to check out my Fabulous Paper Folds online class or DVD, I share the basics and then a multitude of progressions! To change this design a little further I trimmed the white panel a little smaller to make use of the double silver frame on the pre-made card base. The other switch up was to use two more squares of the printed paper that was used for the tea bag fold as a layering element underneath the die-cut square.

So if you have left-over kits or bits and pieces from previous creations, challenge yourself to make something new using the same supplies. Hope you are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Birthday Inspiration!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart

Stopping by with this quick and simple but cute card! It can't get much easier! The panel is from a sheet of cardstock that has these panels printed multiple times, it is from Scrapbook Customs, Her Birthday Words/plaid #38793A.The flowers and foliage on the panel inspired me to add some die cut flowers using the Elizabeth Crafts Design Bunch of Flowers 2 #729 set, along with Cheery Lynn Designs Mini Fanciful Flourish B117S. The base card is a 5-inch white cardstock side fold followed by a layer of Bazzill pink tutu pink cardstock and the printed panel was layered to a slightly larger piece of black cardstock. I also cut an additional piece of the birthday wishes sentiment and adhered on top of the panel using foam mounting tape for added dimension. Add a couple of adhesive rhinestones to the flowers and this one is good to go!
Hope you like it and are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Bit of Spring!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart March 2019

Stopping by with a cute card that offers a feeling of Spring and would be perfect for a variety of occasions from birthday, Mother's Day, new baby, Easter, and thinking of you.

I feel like there is a bit of a trend happening right now which combines stamped words with die-cut script words. I love the look! It is easy to accomplish as well. For this card the effect was created with a stamp set from Stampin' Up. I chose the sentiment "sent with love". Simply place a post it note or painters tape over the area that you do not wish to have stamped. In this case I masked off the word "love". Next ink up the stamp, remove the post it note or painters tape and stamp the sentiment onto white cardstock. Next, die-cut the word "love" from pink cardstock, this particular one is from a Recollections set but there are many die-cut word sets available through a variety of manufacturers. Add the die-cut word below the stamped greeting. It's that simple!

If you don't have a lot of word stamps try using a label maker or perhaps computer generate the words and print them onto cardstock. Further options would be to use sticker words or cut words from old books.

Now onto the actual card. This card is an A2 side fold card. A beautiful scalloped edge window has been created using the Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle die set from Lawn Fawn. Cut the window in the top portion of a white panel of cardstock and layer to a pink cardstock panel that is slightly larger. Adhere to the card front.

Die-cut a flower using white cardstock and the Elizabeth Craft Designs Victorian Flower Overlay Set 1. Wrap metallic thread around your fingers and sandwich it between the die-cut flower and the pink layer on the card front. Next die-cut the flower center and adhere using foam mounting tape. To dress up this delightful flower apply adhesive glitter dots. I use my piercing tool to lift the adhesive dots from the backing sheet and to place them on my image. Glitter dots are available in a variety of colors and add the perfect amount of bling without the bulk!

To further embellish the card front, die-cut a little bow using the Elizabeth Craft Designs Lollypop, set or alternatively tie a bow with narrow ribbon or twine. Add a glitter dot to the center and adhere to the card front. Punch the sentiment out using an oval punch or die, a Fiskars punch was used here. Punch an additional oval from pink cardstock, cut in half and adhere to the back of the sentiment piece at left and right sides to create a layering effect. Adhere to the card front using foam mounting tape.

I realize that I have used several products from Elizabeth Craft Designs; the flower, lollypop (bow) and the glitter dots. No, I do not work for this company I simply enjoy using their products. Please know I will always give you my honest opinions regardless.

This card is simple to make and offers beautiful results! I hope you have been inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Valentine Inspiration!

Just a quick post to offer up some Valentine card making inspiration and to say Happy Valentine's Day to all!
This card is mainly comprised of Stampin' Up supplies in particular their designer paper and the Be Mine die set. The love word at the bottom is a Recollections die however I know there are many word die templates out there, I am sure you will have one that works perfectly. I would like to give a shout out to my Stampin' Up demonstrator and friend Jennifer Reynard - a very talented lady herself, thanks for always hooking me up with some wonderful supplies!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Countdown to Valentine's Day!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart February 2019

Stopping by with another sweet Valentine! This is another sweet and simple Valentine card. This card is a white side-fold A2 base. For those of you who may be new to card making, an A2 size card is 4-1/4 x 5 1/2 inches in its folded form. That being said it can be made by beginning with an 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 inch piece of cardstock and scoring and folding in half at 4-1/4, of it can be a gate-fold with an opening in the center scoring at 2-1/8 from each side. An A2 card may also be made beginning with a 4-1/4 x 11 inch piece of cardstock and scoring at 5-1/2 inches and folding in half. They can all be made as a side fold or a top fold although the most effective gate folds in order to still display are side folds.

Onwards with this particular card. The printed paper layer base is a Recollection paper that has been trimmed slightly leaving just a small border of plain white. The sizes I typically use for this type of layering is either 5-1/4 x 4 or 5 x 3-3/4 inches. Next is a layer of coral cardstock followed by a narrow strip of the word "love". This narrow strip is cut from a Canvas Corp paper. I love to create notched ribbon ends and find the quickest and most efficient method is to use either my hexagon or square punches, utilizing a corner area within the punch. Okay, folks, pull out your retro card making supplies that have been banished to the back of the cupboard! In order to create the black decorative edge strip I have used my mini scalloped edge scissors from Fiskars! I still love them! I begin with a larger width than required which results in two useable decorative strips once the cut is completed.

Die-cut or punch a couple of heart shapes. This particular heart is an older one from Stampin' Up that cuts and creates the Swiss dot effect at the same time.  A plain heart works equally as well, it can always be embossed with an embossing folder. Or if you do not have the tools in order to emboss, try stamping a texture on the hearts, or adding score lines to create an embossed design. Where there is a will there is a way! Wrap thread (this beautiful thread is from Wonderfil) a few times around fingers and secure with tape and then sandwich in between the two hearts. One heart has been adhered with double-sided tape and the other with foam mounting tape.

Die cut, punch or stamp "LOVE" and "YOU" and adhere to the heart shapes. These particular words are from a Sizzix set by Stephanie Barnard, #560025. This sweet Valentine is good to go! Hope you have been inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Heartstrings Valentine!

Card project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart February 2019

Hi everyone! Stopping by with a simple yet striking Valentine card suitable for either a guy or gal!

This card is made with a side-fold A2 size (begin with 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches and score and fold in half) white shimmer cardstock base. A 2-inch x 5-1/2 inch piece of "love" cardstock from Canvas Corp has been layered onto two red scalloped strips at each side. The beautiful scalloped edge has been created with a Lawn Fawn die set called Stitched Scalloped Borders. An alternative would be any scalloped border die or punch, punched circles layered on top of each other or scalloped-edge scissors.

The next layer is created with 3 thread wrapped cardstock hearts. These particular hearts have been die-cut using a Spellbinders Scalloped-edge Nestablilities die template. The thread is a beautiful cream/gold thread from Wonderfil. I find it best to work from the spool while completing thread wrapped pieces. First tape the end of the thread to the back of the heart shape close to the top. My first wrap begins through the first valley to the right of center on the top of the heart and continues along through the first valley to the left at the bottom of the heart. Continue wrapping in an anti-clockwise manner until complete, trimming thread from spool and adhering to the back with tape.

The center heart has been adhered with foam mounting tape allowing further dimension and the top and bottom hearts are adhered with double sided tape. A gold heart, punched using a Fiskars punch adorns the center heart followed by three mini adhesive black rhinestones.

The finish on this card is a die-cut heart from the printed paper using a die from Penny Black that has 5 decorative hearts and 1 plain heart in the set and is called All My Hearts #51-180. Layered on top of this is a gold die-cut word "LOVE" which has been created with a Sizzix set by Stephanie Barnard #560025.

I like to add a bit of the décor to the inside of the card, so I just simply added a strip of red cardstock followed by a stamped greeting punched out with a circle punch. There are so many ways of carrying the design from the front to the inside, just add some of the same colors or images that have been used on the front. It is amazing how just a strip of cardstock and a little element such as a punched heart or greeting finishes the inside! Hope you like this card and are inspired to create!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Recycled Gift Bag

Gift bag repurposing project by Sharon M. Reinhart January 2019



Stopping by with a cute recycling project. I have a collection of little gift bags that are too cute to send to the recycling bin and with Valentine's Day being the next special occasion, I thought why not re-purpose these cute bags. The original bag is white with black printing and cording handles and rose pink colored ribbon.

I chose to trim the rose pink ribbon away and utilize it for something else, it wasn't quite the right pink to go with the printed paper I had selected. The next step is to measure the width of the bag and also the height of the printed area on the bag. Remember to do everything times two so that you can decorate both sides of the bag. Next cut your papers to your measurements and layer. I love the cardstock from Canvas Corp, it is simply a 12 inch piece of cardstock with a black base that has the word love printed in white with a pretty script font throughout the paper. I have chosen to cut two narrow strips to accent the top and bottom of the printed pink and white paper. This also co-ordinates with the black cording that came on the bag. Next I cut different heart shapes and layered them on top adding a second heart to the center one and also at the top of the bag where the rose pink ribbon was trimmed away. Voila! a quick but cute project that I am sure will be used for some treat giving this Valentine's! Hope you are inspired to create!
Creatively yours,
Sharon

Valentine Boxed Set

Card projects designed by Sharon M. Reinhart 2019

 Stopping by with a quick post today. A couple posts ago I shared a decorated repurposed gift card holder box and suggested that you stay tuned to see what I will use it for. Well I decided to make a gift set of Valentine's! The folded size of these are 3.25x4.25, however just measure the box that you are using to determine the size of your Valentine note cards. Then pull out your Valentine themed supplies and start creating. I used many of the same supplies that had been used on the box front, but the Valentine notes can be different from the box front if you choose. This would be a nice little hostess gift or if you sell your handmade creations at fairs it would be a great little ensemble. Keep in mind that they could be created for any reason or season not just Valentine's! I could see them used for Christmas and Easter tags and even Thinking of You note cards.

Hope you are inspired to create!

Creatively Yours,

Sharon

Love Letters!

Project designed by Sharon M. Reinhart January 2019

Back with more Valentine inspiration! This valentine makes use of stamps, die templates and an embossing folder to create some wonderful layers. The embossing folder is a Recollections product, the swirl border is from Dee's Distinctively border #3 and the balance of the layers -- hearts, mini envelope and insert is from Stampin Up's Love Notes Framelits set #142752. The stamp unfortunately is an older stamp from My Sentiments Exactly, so it could be difficult to find, but there is always a way to recreate the effect, look for some tips below!       

Start with an 8-1/2 x 11 inch piece of white cardstock, score at 4-1/4 and fold in half creating a portrait style side fold card. Next emboss the card front using the embossing folder and a die-cutting/embossing system.

Now onto creating the layers, layer a 2 x 5-1/2 piece of red cardstock to card front at right side. I did add some black distressing or edging to the panel prior to adhering to the card front. Next stamp the image and die-cut each letter out using a circle template, (Spellbinder's circles small Nestabilities) edge each circle with black ink. Layer the letters onto the red panel overlapping slightly. On the left side I actually began this by creating the envelope with love letters embellishment, instead of layering the one little heart onto the red heart I wove it through the slats and secured at the back. The first piece adhered on this side of the card was the little envelope embellishment made up of various elements from the die set and layered together collage style. Again, add some distressing/edging to the mini envelope. This is a wonderful way to make your own embellishments for cards, tags, gift bags, favors, etc. Gather all of the elements you wish to use and start layering together, don't forget to vary the adhesive used. For this embellishment I used foam mounting tape to add dimension with the white heart on the envelope and to adhere the woven heart on top of the envelope flap. Next die-cut a swirl border, adhere to card front right next to the mini envelope embellishment, trim excess and repeat at opposite end. The final touch is to add a few little black rhinestones to the white heart on the mini envelope.

I know that we don't always have the same supplies and some unfortunately may not be available to you. So look at your supplies and see what you can use to replicate. For example the stamp, just stamp some script onto white cardstock followed by an alphabet letter or use book print paper and stamp letters onto that or for further dimension layer chipboard letters on top instead of stamped letters. For the swirl border, try some delicate leaves or branches at each end. This is just a start to what you could use to re-create this design. Make it your own with your own supplies and have fun doing it!

I hope you have been inspired to create! Until next time ...
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Valentine's Inspirations!

Todays post is a little Valentine Inspiration and a bit of a challenge to you as well. I love to look for different surfaces and blank forms to become my canvas so to speak. Well the inspiration here is the little gift card box on the left, of which was on clearance at Superstore after the holidays at drastically reduced prices. I thought they were beautiful to begin with but of course I have to create my handmade touches. There were a variety of designs and colors, but this one caught my eye for Valentine's. I can see many uses for this little box besides using it as a gift card holder. Perhaps a gift of handmade tags or mini note cards. The first step was to transform the outside of the box.

I began by removing any traces of Christmas, which was easily accomplished without damaging the box. Try using a piece of dental floss and wiggling it under the embellishments or sometimes a little bit of heat with a heat tool is enough.

My next step was pulling out Valentine theme supplies.  One of my most favorite heart die template sets is one from Cheery Lynn Designs, which is DL128 Two of Hearts. I die cut the largest heart out of gold mirror cardstock. It was going to need a layer underneath so I chose another die template from Cheery Lynn, this particular die template is the Mini Fanciful Flourish B117S, so I die-cut two of these from white glossy cardstock and layered them under the gold heart. It needed just something else in the middle of the gold heart, nothing too large or elaborate. I chose this stitched heart from a Lawn Fawn set the Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle windows set which has a tiny stitched heart in the set. This was also die-cut from glossy white cardstock. The last die-cut to use was a sentiment that would fit beautifully in the bottom right corner. One simple word "LOVE" was all that it needed. This die is from a Sizzix set by Stephanie Barnard #560025. I also die-cut the word from glossy white cardstock.

Yes, I am all about handmade, but sometimes it just makes sense to start off with something pre-made and add to it, especially if it makes dollar cents too! So don't be afraid to use pre-made items, note cards etc. and add to it in order to make it your own. I have also done this same thing with printed cards that are just begging for more dimension and design! I hope you are inspired to create and like the transformation and stay tuned to see what I end up designing for the inside of this box!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon

Time to Celebrate 2019!

Designed by Sharon M. Reinhart December 2018

Happy New Year to each of you! I hope that 2019 will be a great year for all and that we will be able to feed our creative souls throughout the year! Just a quick little post today, its about using what you have when you do not have a theme specific design. I wanted to create a card for the New Year and didn't have stamps that were specific to New Years. Can you believe it? I know I can't either, although maybe its more about my organization or lack of organization right now. Anyway I pulled out some background stamps from the Stampin' Up Gorgeous Grunge set and a clock and sentiment stamp from a Technique Tuesday set.

The background was created with the horizontal lines stamped in red ink, splatter in black ink and once dry I also heat embossed a second set of splatter with silver embossing powder. An additional clock was created and also heat embossed with silver and then die-cut using a Spellbinder's circle die template. The hands of the clock have been stamped with red ink and a mini silver brad attached to the center.  The sentiment, perfect for New Year's or any celebration was stamped with red ink and then layered onto red cardstock followed by the beautiful glitter paper. A little secret here, I didn't have any silver glitter paper but I did have this beautiful gift bag and cut it apart to create my glitter layer -- another way to recycle! I truly hope you are inspired to create! Until next time, All the Best to You and Yours!
Creatively Yours,
Sharon