FIVE Brand New Cards to Celebrate a New Occasions Catalog

The 2014 Occasions Catalog is LIVE today – woo hoo!  That means no more sneak peeks at products you can’t buy until Jan 3 – now, I’m showing you products you can buy today.  Does it get any better than that?!?  To celebrate the kickoff of the Occasions Catalog, I’m sharing a great project that involves a brand new stamp set and five cards in varying colors and slighly varying layouts.  You’re going to love this project.  Before I share, though, let’s take a moment to “oooh” and “aaah” over the new catalog:

occasions catalog small picture

Isn’t she a beauty?  I love to mail a copy of new catalogs to any of my customers.  If you don’t have a demonstrator and don’t have a copy of the book, please email me at [email protected].  I would love to be your demonstrator and send you your very own copy.

Today’s project

Today’s project is a 5-card and envelope gift set.  With the 2013-2015 In Colors and the brand new Just Sayin’ Bundle, I created a collection of easy-to-make cards that you can gift to a special friend.  I love to make cards, and I love to give cards as a gift, so this project just makes sense for me.  Here are the five cards:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Alternating colors and layouts.  Did you notice that each of the cards contains two of the In Colors and that the layouts on each were switched up a little?  I didn’t want each card to be the same, so I alternated the placement of the ribbon on each of the sides.  I used each of the five colors once as a base and once as an accent.  This allows each color to really shine in this collection of five cards.
  • Card measurements.  Each card base measures 7″ x 3-1/2″ and is scored at 3-1/2″ to yield a 3-1/2″ square card.  The cardstock border measures 3″ x 3-1/4″, while the Designer Series Paper Stack piece measures 2-7/8″ x 3-1/8″.  This leaves just enough room for the ribbon to shine.
  • Envelopes.  Because the cards are such an odd size (just you wait to see why I chose a 3-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ card!), I used my Envelope Punch Board to make the envelopes – didn’t see that one coming, did you?  To make an envelope for a 3-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ card, you need a 6″ x 6″ piece of paper.  Perfect!  I am able to get four envelopes with just one sheet of the DSP Paper Stack.  Score!

So, why did I choose to make my cards 3-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ (instead of the typical 3″ x 3″)?  One of my goals when I set out to make this little collection was to use the Decorative Window Gift Boxes that were introduced in the 2013 Holiday Catalog and are carried over to the 2014 Occasions Catalog.  Five cards and five envelopes fit perfectly inside the box with a peek-a-boo window to give the giftee a little peek at what’s inside.  Yipee!

20140102-185802.jpg

And here’s what they all look like together:

Stamp sets:  Just Sayin’  Papers:  Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White, 2013-2015 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack  Inks:  Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe  Accessories:  Word Bubbles Framelits Dies, Decorative Window Gift Boxes, 3/8″ Ruffle Stretch Trim (Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe), Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

CLICK HERE to order Stampin’ Up! products 24/7.

Follow Me on Pinterest button

28 Comments

  1. Sweet cards! Love all the colors and coordinating envelopes!

  2. How cute are these cards ! They are colorful and the gathered ribbon adds dimension without over powering their size . Plus you kept it simple with two colors only but,the dsp adds the visual interest . What a great gift for some lucky person !!

  3. I also like giving cards sets to people. A very practical and useful gift. Never thought about using the window gift boxes, very clever idea. Such a adorable set of cards. Love them! I see that Atlanta in a tad of the chilly side this morning, 10 degrees reported on our news. Stay warm.

  4. Love these cards! The recipient of the cute box set will be so impressed:)

  5. Angie in Illinois

    Very, very nice, Brian! What a wonderful gift.

  6. Love these cards Brian! This bundle is on my list…almost in the top spot. Thanks for sharing.

  7. New Year, New Ideas!

    I love the cards Brian! I want to make more card sets to give as gifts this year. You’ve given me my first set to recreate. Although, I do have a BUT ….. Square cards cost more to mail. I think I might recreate these card to the standard A2 size.

    Thanks for your wonderful ideas! Love following your blog.

  8. does this size card go through the mail? just wonderin’. the sayings are super cute!

  9. I usually make a stack of cards for each of my friends at Christmas time and the first year I did it I decorated a cigar box to gift them in. I missed doing them one Christmas and my friends got together, sent me the empty boxes with a note that said “we are hungry, please fill again”. I think people really do appreciate having a hand made card at their fingertips and this set you made is gorgeous. Anyone would be thrilled to have it. And the box from SU is wonderful for just that purpose.

  10. Hi Brian!
    I just stumbled onto your blog a couple days ago, and have been greatly enjoying browsing your posts and projects! I love the way you include the tips and tricks for your projects….makes it so much easier for us to CASE them! 😉
    Keep up the good work and thanks so much for sharing your great ideas! Especially this card set….what a wonderful gift idea!
    June in KS

  11. I love this gathered ribbon and the colors speak of Spring loud and clear!! and that is a beautiful sound, specially right now that we are kind of in a deep freeze up here in NW Indiana, right now it’s a flat zero degrees, although it “warmed up” from -2. Beautiful CAS cards to give away to some lucky friend. Thank you for sharing.

  12. Oh Brian, I was racking my brain trying to come up with a club project for my group…I opened up this post and there it is!!! I hope you don’t mind if I CASE this project, giving you full credit of course!
    Thank you so much for your inspirational posts….Happy 2014!

  13. Love the C & S style of these cards! Cute, cute, cute and love, love, love them !! 🙂

  14. What a fantastic gift idea! So bright and cheerful!

  15. Love this set! Such a fun idea and would make a great gift!! Very clever my friend! 🙂

  16. I just love these cards! Each one reminds me of spring and a different flavor of ice cream! Just so fresh and the tiny ruffled ribbon just makes it pop. Wonderful idea!

  17. Absolutely love the way you put these together! The layout manages to showcase the paper, the sentiment, AND the ribbon equally superbly! This is why you’re King! 🙂 Happy new year/new catalog/new opportunities for you, my friend!

  18. Love, Love, Love to give a box of cards away! These are great. 🙂

  19. Laurie Burns Gachewicz

    A sensational gift set Brian!! Brilliant idea to put them in the Decorative Window Gift Boxes!!! I never would have thought to do that so TFS!!! 🙂

  20. El, a Stampin' Pretty Pal

    I had no interest in this bundle until now. I was thinking that this stamp set and coordinating dies were only for scrapbooking, and I’m not a scrapper. Your card set is too cute! You’ve convinced me that this bundle is a must-have. Great gift! *So* well done, Brian!!!

  21. What a great idea! They are super cute and super easy. I made up some very different ones in the same size, I choose the size because the envelops used a 6×6″ paper size. Perfect to get 4 envelops out of one 12×12 paper.
    But THANK YOU! Didn’t know they fit in the box.
    Hugs

  22. Brian…another awesome idea from the “King”! This is definitely one to CASE. Thank you for sharing your creativity.

  23. So how much would you charge for this class? I can never get the price right. How do you calculate your pricing? I need some “for examples”.

    • Christie – that’s a really hard question to answer because it would really depend on your area. The only suggestion I have is to make sure you’ve covered your cost of products and time.

      • Thanks for your response! So for example…how much would you charge for this project, if you were to offer it as a class?

  24. This is a fabulous idea for a card set and a great use for the Decorative Window Gift boxes!

  25. Brian, found this on someone’s Pinterest – just LOVE it! What a brilliant way to use SU!’s Deco Window Gift Boxes ~ seriously! So glad to have you as a Pal 😉 You are a true & brilliant mind & inspiration. Thank you for all you do! PS Glad the Word Bubble Bundle will be lovingly delivered by our Surfer Dude Brown on Monday ~ HooRah!

Leave a Reply to Lucy Cancel reply