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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Sympathy in Three Squares

 This week's Less Is More challenge is simply to use 3 squares.  You HAVE to click over to this challenge to see all of the participants.  This is only a three week old blog, yet they get 100s of participants, and you will be amazed at how fun, unique and creative all of the cards are!

Then, I looked at today's SplitCoast Stampers Featured Stamper gallery.  Corie has created great cards - and many, many of her cards use three squares!!

So I definitely knew what I was doing this morning!  And, I continue to work on sympathy cards for our church so all three are sympathy.

First, is my original card for the Less Is More challenge:


The embossed square is from a Cuttlebug four-pack.  There were many of these four packs in their very first release but they have become increasingly difficult to find.  If you can find them - they make great CAS cards.  There are fancy squares, cute squares, fancy circles, cute circles, themed postage stamps - and many others.

There is a trick to using these smaller Cuttlebug folders, or for that matter, border embossing folders.  If you have tried, you know that you often get a line on your paper at the edge of the folder - it's very unattractive.  Both edges of the folder can leave that line, but the edge of the folder that is the last part through the Cuttlebug is by far the worst.  So...place your folder, roll into the Cuttlebug just until the folder disappears into the roller and then back it back out.  Do NOT go all the way through.  9 times out of 10 you will get a nice embossed image WITHOUT the annoying edge-of-folder lines.

Edited to Add: Chrissie, from the Less Is More challenge, e-mailed me with another great idea for using small Cuttlebug folders.  She said she makes a stack of cardstock that is the same depth as the "B" plate of your cuttlebug and is slightly smaller than the embossing folder.  I tried it right away and it works very well.  Here are the steps:

Place your small folder on the paper.

For my Cuttlebug, a perfect stack is
11 squares of Stampin' Up cardstock
with tape between each one. 
The squares are 1 3/4" square to fit
within the edges of the folder.

Do NOT top with the regular
"B" plate - just keep your finger
pressed on it as you roll it
into your Cuttlebug.
Now I'm going to pull out all of my border embossing folders and make stacks for them.  Just 11 rectangle cuts of cardstock sized to fit inside the edges of the border.  Isn't this great??  Thanks to Chrissie!



Here are the cards that I CASEd from the featured stamper:


Corie's original card was a bright and cheerful birthday card
that I will definitely be CASeing EXACTLY!

Corie's original card uses bright and cheerful
paper and no stamps at all!

Gray and Vanilla Squares:
  • Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Heartfelt Sentiments and mini cross
  • Ink: Stampin' Up Basic Gray
  • Paper: Stampin' Up Basic Gray, Very Vanilla
  • Accessories: Stampin' Up Antique Brads, Cuttlebug Formal Squares 4-pack (I see them online at http://www.joann.com/ and at my favorite embossing folder site, http://www.cropstop.com/.)
  • Challenges: Less Is More
Parisian Breeze Butterflies:
  • Stamps: Papertrey Ink Simple Little Things (an anniversary set - so not available, sorry!)
  • Ink: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip
  • Paper: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Parisian Breeze dsp
  • Accessories: Martha Stewart butterfly punch, misc corner punch
  • Challenges: SplitCoast Featured Stamper
Guava and Chocolate Sympathy:
  • Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Heartfelt Sentiments
  • Ink: Stampin' Up Chocolate
  • Paper: Stampin' Up Chocolate, Guava, K&Co Classic K Bailey dsp
  • Accessories: misc pearls colored with copic, SU Old Olive satin, Antique brads
  • Challenges:  SplitCoast Featured Stamper

35 comments:

  1. Kim,
    All of these cards are totally stunning. The first one is superb. You have avoided emboss lines at the edges of the small folders too as far as I can see. Very carefully done.
    Thank you so much for joining us again with these fabulous creations.
    See you next time.
    Chrissie
    "Less is More"

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  2. These are all stunning cards. I love the first one, its so elegant and really well embossed. Love Sheila (Cyprus)

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  3. Lovely cards Kim and all so different! The first card is absolutely stunning! x

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  4. Wow the first card is stunning and elegant. I like all three but the first is my fave

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  5. Love your cards, thanks for the tip with embossing folders. The sympathy card is so stylish.

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  6. total gorgeous cards :) love the embossing :)

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  7. Kim your first card is absolutely stunning I love it! the other 2 are fabulous too
    Thank you so much for sharing with us. Hope you will continue to join in with our rapidly growing community
    mandi
    "Less is More"

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  8. Beautiful cards, thank you for the tip with the cuttlebug xx

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  9. Kim - I think your sympathy card is just so elegant and beautiful. The embossed square are stunning! And I think the other cards are fab too!

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  10. Love the card Kim it's just fabulous! thanks for the cuttlebug folder tip too, you learn so much by blog hopping lol :O) Viv xx

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  11. It's fab and very elegant and understated - just perfect for a sympathy card

    Kathyk

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  12. Kim your sympathy card is so elegant and thank you for the tips with the cuttlebug. Zoë x

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  13. Oh my!! I had to laugh when I came over here to visit your blog today! We picked the exact same card to CASE for SCS's Featured Stamper! LOL! That card immediately caught my eye too! :) Love what you did with it!
    I love the embossed square card! Perfection!!

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  14. Oh, Kim! LOVE these three...but the first is my favorite! So elegant!! I'm definitely gonna try that trick with the stacks. I always get that line too!

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  15. Wonderful cards the first one is Stunning and my favourite xx Jan

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  16. Stunning is the only word for the first card, the others are just beautiful too.

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  17. YOur cards are stunning I especially love the first one....

    Anne

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  18. All of your cards are awesome but the first one is absolute perfection.
    Lynne xxx

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  19. All 3 cards are beautiful. The sympathy card is so elegant. Thanks for the cuttlebug tip. I used some of my cuttlebug border embossing folders for this first time this past weekend. And it seemed like something was going to break when I used my 2 B plates.

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  20. Great cards Kim, but I have to say the first one stands out a mile. I love how you've just embossed the squares - I have some of these and hardly ever use them - a very clean, beautiful card.

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  21. Your cards are beautiful. The challenge card is tastefully made for such an occassion. x

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  22. Beautiful white card - sympahty cards can be difficult but this is just lovely and just right. great that you learnt so much too- isn't that exciting. I jumped up and down when I discovered my stacks worked too! I could emboss the world!

    Sarah
    http://blueboxbabe.blogspot.com/2011/03/monday-monochrome-moods.html

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  23. Fabulous cards, especially the first one - so elegant

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  24. wow these cards are fantastic and thankyou for the tip with the embossing folders will have to try that one

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  25. Kim, that was a great tip to add those stacks of cardstock with the smaller embossing folders. I tried it last night and it worked perfectly!!! Yay!! No more ugly crease marks where I don't want them! :) WooHoo!

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  26. Lovely cards and your first one is perfect for the sentiment. Thanks for sharing the tip too and with the photo's. Makes it so clear. x

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  27. Thanks so much for sharing the 11 CS stack tip. The pictures and captions were helpful!

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  28. All of these cards are beautiful, but the first is my favourite, stunningly done. Jo x

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  29. What a fantastic challenge! I soooo wish I had the time to play! Your sample is stunning Kim ... and I love the CASEd one too! Hugs xxaxx

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  30. Kim, I have emailed your badge for the showCASing of this card several times and each time it has bounced back. I've looked at your email address on your blog and it has a semi-colon at the end, I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but I have sent it again and can only hope that it does reach you this time.
    Thanks for the additional mention on this posting!
    Chrissie

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  31. These cards are all so great. I use a different method that I call "soft embossing and that is to use the soft rubber "plate" with a little bit of cardboard shim instead of a hard plate like B on top. I make the shim so there is just a slight resistance as it goes through the machine. This has worked perfectly for me. Sometimes the shim isn't even necessary. Again, wonderful cards and techniques. Thank you.

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  32. If you replace the bottom plate with 2 rubber mats like the ones for spellbinders you will not get the line either.

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  33. I have several of these sets, but I've never used them. Now I can hardly wait to try them out. Thank you for the tips. Your card is lovely and elegant.

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  34. I did this and a piece of paper got caught up into my roller. I cannot get it out:(

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