Welcome to our monthly Casually Crafting Blog Hop! The theme for our hop this month is – Holiday Dreams and you can’t get more dreamy than a beautiful Seaside view and today I’m going to show you three easy frame card techniques to really make an impact.

So who are we? We are a group of Stampin’ Up demonstrators who just love to stamp when ever we can. We particularly love the type of cards that are simple and easy to make with just a few products. So would ideally suit beginner and casual crafter’s. However occasionally we will add a wow project that would suit a more avid crafter. We will be sharing our ideas on the 3rd Friday of each month and you can hop around the group and gather loads of inspiration. So grab yourself a cup of your favourite beverage, sit back & enjoy the hop!

Today’s blog hop is all about Holiday Dreams. Now for me that means grabbing my camera and taking lots of photos or relaxing with a cocktail and a book at the beach.

So I just had to pick the stunning Seaside View Stamp set for my cards. I wanted to combine it with my love of photography so decided to show you three different ways to frame the beautiful imagery in the stamp set.

Holiday Dreams – Simple Polaroid Card Frame techniques

For my first card I wanted to make a simple Polaroid style frame in sepia tones that is so easy to create.

I masked off a square on a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock measuring 8.0 cm by 10.5 cm and gently sponged Cinnamon Cider Ink to create a super simple frame. I then stamped the image in the same ink and coloured the image using the coordinating Cinnamon Cider Blends combo. The highlights are created using our lovely Chalk Marker.

Add the simple sentiment in Early Espresso and then mounted it on an Embossed piece of coordinating Early Espresso Card stock. The whole topper was then added to a card base of Cinnamon Cider Card stock.

To finish I added a piece of seam binding ribbon which I coloured in the blends. I think it really fits the bill

Holiday Dreams – Stepped Up Faux Frame Techniques

My next card is another simple card, but this time I used a simple Faux frame to give the illusion of a window frame.

This time I used a piece of Early Espresso Card stock to create an A6 base and added a piece of Cinnamon Cider measuring 10.0 cm by 14.3 cm, which I first sponged with some coordinating Ink and embossed using the Pinewood Planks 3D folder. I think it makes it look rather like the inside of a beach hut.

Next I took a piece of Very Vanilla Card stock (measuring 7.0 cm by 9.0 cm), stamped the image in Stazon.

I then used our watercolour pencils and a Wink of Stella to colour in the image. The shimmer doesn’t really show up in the photo, but trust me the whole image just glimmers like a tropical paradise.

To create the faux frame I took a piece of Sahara Sand card Stock measuring 8.0 cm by 10.0 cm and cut it diagonally from one corner to the other. I sponged on some more Cinnamon Cider Ink to accentuate the cut then attached the image to the top right hand side.

Its amazing how this technique looks 3D, but every layer in this card is glued down flat. A great optical illusion that is so easy to create.

To finish I added some Early Espresso Faux suede ribbon. A faux double up LOL!

Holiday Dreams – Wow 3D Frame Techniques

For my final card I wanted to pull out all the stops so I made a 3D frame to sit on top of a 14.5 cm by 14.5 cm square card made from Early Espresso Card again.

Once again I stamped the image in Stazon onto a 9 cm by 9 cm piece of Very Vanilla Card stock. This time I water coloured the image using the pencils with our NEW Water painters. this option gives a more vibrant colour, but of course is not as sparkly.

I added the word Relax using my go to Playful Alphabet dies, picking out the colours on the cushion. By using the dies with the NEW foam adhesive sheets, then you have perfectly matching dimensionals, and no fiddling about trying to cut piece to fit each letter. A great time saver.

Voila!

I had great fun making these projects and I would love to know which one is your favourite? So please do leave me a comment.

If you would like to know more about any of these projects please do get in contact and I would be happy to help you

You may have arrive from Hilary’s blog or started here, but do go hop onto the next blog which is the uber talented Barry. Just click on the photo and it will take you straight there.

and the rest of the blog roll

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Stamping Hugs

Sara