Candles, Candles, Candles

December 6, 2015

By Judi Kauffman

Thank you for inviting me to be today’s guest designer. I thought it would be fun to make cards with candles, and as always I wanted to play with unexpected colors and a lot of patterned elements – the candles themselves, along with background papers.

To me, candles always conjure up some kind of celebration, twinkling lights and good times. It was fun to decide which of Elizabeth Craft Designs’ candles to use for my projects. There are several options including dies and peel-offs. I chose Candles Peel-offs 2545 for my three cards because of all of the stripes and dots. I made a card for our goddaughter’s husband’s 40^thbirthday, one for their children for Chanukah, and one for a neighbor for Christmas.

There are a dozen candles on each sheet of Peel-Off Stickers, and of course with dies there is no limit to the number you can make.

Design Strategies and Instructions:

Place candle peel-offs on smooth white cardstock; color with markers. Use fine point scissors to cut out the candles, taking special care around the flame and wick. Candle peel-offs come in black, gold, and silver – pick the color appropriate to the project. Option: Add a Glitter Dot peel-off to the base of each flame. (As shown, Orange/Silver dots used on birthday and Chanukah cards.)

For the birthday card and Christmas card, die cut a large greeting from Shimmer Sheetz. Options: Lightly sand the Shimmer Sheetz before cutting, cut the greeting a second time from Adhesive Velvet in a darker color to use as a drop shadow as shown on the birthday card. A Metal Adaptor Plate is required for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van de Burgt’s video’s HERE and HERE if you are new to this technique.

For the birthday card cut Shimmer Sheetz and Velvet Adhesive numbers for the age of the recipient. Option: Add Glitter Dots Peel-Off Stickers to the numbers. (As shown, use the same Orange/Silver dots as on the candles.)

To complete the Chanukah card: Use the glittering technique and alcohol markers with a Ribbon Swirls Peel-Off Stickers strip. Choose colors that coordinate with the candles. Review Els van de Burgt’s video HERE if you are new to this technique. Cut the glittered strip into 3 pieces: 6 3/8”, 1”, and 5/8”. Use Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to secure these pieces to Blue Velvet Adhesive sheet, leaving a 1/8” border on all sides of the first two pieces and a 1/8” border only on the long sides of the 5/8” piece. Center the menorah on a 4 1/4” x 7” piece of striped scrapbook paper in colors that coordinate with markers used to color the candles. Center the striped rectangle on a glittered cardstock top-fold card base, folded size – 5” x 7 3/4”.

To complete the Christmas card: Color two holly berry/leaf clusters and one bow from the Christmas Ornaments 2 peel-off sheet. Cut around them, separating the berry trios from the pairs of leaves. Position the Red Iridescent die cut Shimmer Sheetz Merry Christmas on a 3 1/4” x 4 3/4″ piece of red cardstock. Use small pieces of Power Adhesive Tabs to hold the words in place. Tip: Cut Power Tabs with non-stick scissors. Mat to a piece of red glittered cardstock, leaving a 1/4” border on all sides. Center red rectangle on a top-fold card base made from diagonally striped paper, folded size – 5” x 7”. Add the holly, berries, and candles, positioned as shown in the project photo. Note: The berries are above the greeting, the leaves are tucked partially behind it.

To complete the flat* birthday card: Center a 3” x 4” piece of glittered cardstock on a 4 3/4” x 5 1/2” piece of striped paper. Add a double border to the striped rectangle, leaving a scant 1/8” border on the darker color and a generous 1/8” border on the lighter color (the bottom layer). Arrange and adhere the die cut greeting and shadow, the numbers and shadow, and four candles, as shown in the project photo. *Flat cards are meant to be displayed on a Card Stand/Easel or hung on the wall. Use a side-fold card base instead if you prefer.

Supplies:

Elizabeth Craft Designs –

2545 Candles Peel-Off Stickers (Black and Gold)

1271 Ribbon Swirls Peel-Off Stickers (Gold)

2536 Christmas Ornaments 2 Peel-Off Stickers (Black for Holly, Berries & Bow)

7018 Glitter Dots Peel-Off Stickers (Orange/Silver)

1054 Happy Birthday

1056 Merry Christmas

SS0226 Red Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz

SS0109 Orange Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz

803 Metal Adaptor Plate (required for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz)

407 Blue Velvet Adhesive Sheet