Gelli Circles

Yesterday I was needing to make a card for a 13 y/o boy's birthday.  I had a very CAS (clean and simple) idea floating in my head and was certain that making the card would be quick and easy.

Don't you just hate when reality decides that you need to be brought back down to earth?!

First, I discovered that I didn't have the correct sized sentiment stamp for the visual impact that I was wanting to achieve.  Then I wasted  spent an absurd amount of time going through my stash of junk supplies trying to find something else that might make the original idea still a possibility. 

The good news: I "found" lots of supplies that I had forgotten I had and look forward to pulling them out and playing with them!

The bad news:  I own NO SUPPLIES to make teenage boy cards. 

Okay.  That was a lie.  But, keep in mind that I was on a time deadline to get the card done in just a short amount of time so that the Youngest Kiddo could give it to his friend after school let out. And Fridays are always half days.  Time was a tickin' !!!

I had just come to the conclusion that I had forgotten how to make cards, specifically cards for young teenage boys, when inspiration hit while thumbing through my file of "possibilities" (the file that I keep of technique prints that didn't make the cut for some project, but I liked enough to file for another day). 

Ahhhh!! I so love it when an idea comes together!!

I pulled out a bright "fall" colored Gelli Print and actually garnered up the nerve to cut it into circles using a variety of sizes of Spellbinders Classic Circles.

Then it was a matter of arranging, rearranging and just commit already! 

I debated on the sentiment for quite a while.  I REALLY  liked the card front without it and thought about just stamping the sentiment inside. But, somewhere I got this ridiculous notion that a card HAS to have a sentiment on the outside.  

I need to get over that.

Luckily, the different height of the circle layer on the base layer only caused a little blip with the stamping of the sentiment.  It rather annoys me, but I highly doubt that the birthday boy will even notice it!!

Geometric shapes with the slight patterns of a Gelli Print.  PERFECT combination for those cards needed for teen boys!! 

'Till next time.............. 

Eggstra! Eggstra! Read All About It!!

Did the fact that Easter is THIS SUNDAY take anyone else by surprise?!  Seriously, I'm not sure what is happening to the months, besides the fact that they are FLYING by!! 

This week was back to school after spring break.  The Youngest Kiddo's teacher got to spend her week off sick.  She actually missed Monday as she was still feeling below par, but managed to make it through the day yesterday.  We were suppose to get together to make baskets for the Kiddo's class to give to their kinder buddies.  Obviously, that never happened!  Due to overwhelming schedules on both ends, I told her I would just make the baskets.  I mean, there are only seven little guys in the kinder class, how long could it take to make seven little baskets?! Feel free to insert chuckles and major eye rolling here________. 

Sometimes, you just have to roll with the punches.

ANYhoos!!  Let's just say I am forever in debt to the wonderful, crafty ladies and gents who so kindly share their creations and templates for free on the Internet.  These people are a lifeboat to silly mom's like me who over extend themselves!  One such person is Claire Brennan, owner of Waltzingmouse Stamps. This wonderful lady so helpfully posted her free templates for different baskets on her blog this week, saving me precious time in searching. 

Claire, Thank you. 

I printed out the templates onto old, retired SU design paper that I had cut down to 8 1/2" x 11".  I did not feel that the paper was quite sturdy enough to hold the treats that were to be placed inside, so I used some full sheets of Hummungo Killer Adhesive to adhere two sheets of the design paper together before cutting out the template.  Despite setting my printer to grey scale printing, the lines were still pretty obvious so I chose not to tape down the little flaps of the basket. 


It was shortly after that I discovered that I do not own any Easter stamps.  Can someone please explain to me how, in all my years of being a demonstrator, stamping and crafting, that I do not own any Easter sets?!!  I finally found a couple of Easter sentiments in retired SU sets.  I pulled this on from Loads of Love Accessories.  The "eggs" were die cut using Spellbinder's classic ovals and Scalloped ovals. 

This shot shows not only the mess one can create when she has yet to clean up from the Boston Tea Party, but it also shows the inside of the baskets lined with the coordinating design paper.

there was another photo of the unholy mess.  I'll spare you.  You can thank me later.

  Template can be found here. 

I hate to post and run, "but I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it. I'm swamped".  Name that movie!! hehe

Pigs are Now Flying

When I create a card I tend to over think.  I agonize over the colors, layout, embellishments and technique.  It is only once I start the actual creating that I will let things flow.  And then I tend to get sidetracked with thoughts of "WAIT!! Maybe I should try this!! NO, WAIT, this other idea would be better!! AHHA!! This LAST idea is the best yet!!"

Needless to say, creativity does not get completed quickly here.  I would say hours versus minutes is more the norm.

But!! Today, I went off that beaten path and created a card in under 15 minutes, with at least 5 of those minutes attempting to get a decent stamped image. 

And so Pigs are now flying as I NEVER thought I could actually make a card this quickly.

Layout:  Simple
Colors:  only two
Technique:  Fun and could easily become addictive

Result: 

Don't know what is going on here.  My edited photo is in focus.  When I click on this photo for a larger view, it is in focus.  This is NOT in focus.  I highly suggest clicking on the picture for a in focus view!

Details:  Card base is top fold, 4.25 x 5.5" of Pure Luxury.  The next layer is SU's glossy card stock that I dripped Alcohol Inks in Sunshine Yellow, Red Pepper and Butterscotch on and blasted with some canned air to spread out. I then embossed the inked paper in the Alterations Rays embossing folder. FYI:  the texture fade folders on CRAZY SALE at ep!!  The circles were cut and embossed from SU's Summer Sun and Real Red card stock using Spellbinder's Classic circles.  The sentiment is from SU's retired set So Many Scallops. I used Summer Sun, Real Red and Basic black markers to ink up the image and stamped onto a scrap piece of Pure Luxury. 

I'm thinking that I need to stop over thinking!!

Inspired for a Simple Embossed Thanks

Hey People!  I'm still having a hard time finding my mojo.  Yesterday, I spent the ENTIRE day trying to get a couple of technique ideas to work for the next E-Team hop, to no avail.  Frustrated does not begin to express my creative mind right now! haha!!

I decided to step away from that project today and focus on getting some very belated Christmas thank you's done.  Since I need to mass produce a few and considering the fact that they are to be from my kiddos (no girly girl stuff allowed by my boys!), I went with a CAS (clean and simple) layout.  I really liked the CAS Challenge for this week on SCS and used that as my starting point.  I was also inspired by Joan's Tone on Tone Dimension card and added my own twist. 

I spent more time trying to decide on what sized circles I wanted than I did die cutting and embossing the elements for 5 cards! HA! Go figure!! 

Deets:  Card base is Pure Luxury Ivory.  Circles are from scap PL Ivory and were die cut using Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities. Embossed with a Cuttlebug folder Diamonds.  The sentiment was die cut using Cuttlebug Olivia alphabet (this is a bonus die with the set). from SU's Taken with Teal card stock. 

EASY! 

I'm going to go finish assembling the rest of the cards.  Then take a deeeeep breath and go back to work on another technique idea. Make sure and check back on Friday to see if I got anything to work! haha!

'Till then................remember that not all ideas are destined to work.  Failure is the stepping stones to success.

For the Love of Starbucks

Hey People!  Are you ready to join the E-Team for another eclectic challenge?!  Daisy thought it was time for some early Trick or Treating!!  Today the Team was challenged to join in For the Love of Starbucks.

Here's the challenge recipe:  Use any of the Maya Road Bottle caps.

Add some Seasonal Distress Inks

And combine in your favorite Starbucks inspiration!! 

Since so many enjoy a treat from Starbucks, we're inviting YOU, dear readers, to join along in the fun!!  Now, before you start stressing on all these creative calories, your challenge will be to use the Seasonal Distress Inks and find inspiration from Starbucks.  This can be the colors, the smells, the atmosphere, whatever.  If you happen to have some of the fun Maya Road bottle caps, by all means!! Drag them out and go for the full fledged grande! Just as a disclaimer:  IRL, I REFUSE to say grande, latte or whatever Starbucks calls their cup sizes.  Large, medium and small, works fine for me, thank you very much!  We'd love to see what your Love of Starbucks inspires you to create!  Post your creations to the ep blog to Mr. Linky, by November 15th (the E-Team's next scheduled blog hop), for your chance to win a $10 Starbucks gift card tucked into a box full of eP goodies!!  Winner of the challenge will be announced at the next blog hop.

Of course there will still be three random winners chosen from all the comments left on the E-Team member's blogs.  Those winners will receive a $20 gift voucher to the eP store!  Leave your comments until Sunday, Oct. 30.  The gift voucher winners will be announced late Monday, Oct. 31, on the ep blog.

E-Team Inspiration

Daisy

Broni

Latrice

Linda L

Micki 
And
ME!!

Linda D. is sitting out this hop.  She is taking time to welcome the newest grand baby to her family!  Make sure you drop by and give some congrats!

Sherry is also sitting out this hop, but stop by and tell her she was missed!!



My project began with the embossed gift card that Daisy so generously tucked into my challenge package.  I love the image and wanted to use it, but it had this annoying crease.  I used a ink loaded sponge to bring out the contrast between the embossed image and the kraft card stock. 

From an annoying crease came this idea: 

Bottle cap magnets!! 

I first applied a coat of Claudine's Charcoal Black semi-gloss paint to the inside of a Jumbo bottle cap and two Super Mega bottle caps.   I didn't worry about perfect coverage, as I liked some of the aluminum peeking through the black. 

 For the largest magnet, I traced the image onto some tissue paper and then traced that image onto a piece of Poison Ivy metal.  After embossing the image I filled it in on the back with some embossing paste, to prevent me from smashing all my hard work.  Tip:  light weight spackle will also work for this step.  I chose not to sand off the color on the raised elements, but instead used a brass brush to give a matte finish to the background.  I cut the image out with a Classic Circle Spellbinder's die and adhered the image to the inside of the bottle cap with dimensional tape.  I die cut two stars from the smallest of the Star Five Spellbinders dies and popped those onto the front of the image with more dimensionals.  Two oz of Ice Resin was then poured over the metal and set aside to dry over night.  The next day, I cut another small star from the metal and adhered that to the Resin with a double layer of dimensional tape.  Then another 2 oz of Ice Resin was applied.

I wish I could photograph how cool the Ice Resin looks with this!!  Go figure that I would choose to create something that has multiple mediums that all show glare!!

The middle magnet was inspired by a quote that my cousin posted onto Facebook.  I began with the Wrinkled Free technique, Version Me, with Distress Peeled Paint, Seasonal Seedless Preserves and Ripe Persimmon with a misting of Tattered Angel's Pearl and Antique Brass Glimmer Mist.  I then covered both sides of the paper with Studio Matte Medium, which, to be honest, totally negated the Glimmer mist!!  But!  if the paper was not sealed, it would become transparent when covered with the Ice Resin.  The paper was then cut out with a Spellbinder Classic Circle die and taped to the inside of the bottle cap. 



The saying itself, was printed out onto regular copy paper and then traced onto more Poison Ivy metal.  Some of the words were embossed and some debossed.  The brass brush was again used to give a matte finish to some of the panels.  I popped up some of the words with dimensionals.  Just one layer of Ice Resin (2oz) was used to cover the metal.



The last magnet was inspired by my word for the year.  At the beginning of the year, there were several blogs and conversations regarding what your word for the year was going to be.  Mine was Leap.  If you'd like to read the details of the choosing of that particular word, you can find it here. 

Notice those tiny air bubbles by the "L" and "A"?  This is the only magnet that ended up with them.  I'm thinking that the cold night temperature that this one cured in may have resulted in those. Not terribly obvious, but there. 

More Poison Ivy metal was cut with a Classic Circle die and embossed with Sizzix's Diamond embossing folder.  I sanded off the raised parts, exposing the aluminum. The metal was adhered to the bottle cap with dimensionals.  I then spelled out Leap with idea-ology Type Charms and covered the letters with the included epoxy sticker.  The charms were attached to the chain of an altered swival clasp (I just removed the clasp part) with jump rings.  I popped up the letter "E" with two dimensionals  and "P" with  one dimensional, but could not get a photo to show that.  After carefully arranging the charms how I wanted, I covered everything again in one layer (2oz) of Ice Resin. 

Self adhesive magnetic strips were applied to the back and WAH-La!!  Inspriational magnets for my refrigerator!!



Hope you join in on the Love of Starbucks Challenge!  I'll be checking the blog for your creations!  Till then.......Believe and LEAP!!

Riding a Bike

Hey People!  I hope that your week has been a good one!  I'm not sure how it has gotten to be late Thursday already!  But hey!  The weekend is upon us!!  The Toad and the Oldest Kiddo will be attending the Kiddo's first live rock concert this weekend, while the Youngest Kiddo and I take in the action movie Real Steel.  I would vote for Footloose, but don't think that suggestion will fly until the manly man movie is seen!! LOL!!

Needed a birthday card for my father in law today.  Now, just in case you are a new visitor to this little blog o' mine, bicycling is LIFE in this family.  There was a time, before children, that it wasn't a matter IF we would ride, but WHERE we were going to ride.  So, it seemed only appropriate that I incorporate the bicycle theme into the birthday card.

I searched the web for a bicycle type quote, got brave and used PSE9 to lay it out more fancy like, and printed it out onto SU's Very Vanilla because my printer HATES Pure Luxury!!  I die cut the image with Spellbinder's Labels Twelve.  While the die was still in place, I lightly sponged around the edges with Distress Ink Antique Linen.  A very minimal sponging was done along the outer edge with Distress Gathered Twigs.  The sentiment was then adhered using dimensionals. 

The card base is (of course) Pure Luxury Ivory 5 1/2" square.  A small mat of basic black is behind the dp from the Kraft Resist Idea-ology line Paper Stash.  I lightly sponged more Gathered Twigs ink along the edges of the resist paper. 

The bicycle is from a Glimmer Glass collection, Clear Destination, from Tattered Angel's that I have had in my stash for waaaaay too long!  I snipped teeny, tiny little pieces of dimensionals and carefully placed them behind the more solid portions of the image.  I did color the edges with a black marker to hide the white tape from a side view.  Some 1/2 pearls were adhered in the corners, a little library clip to the sentiment and called it done!

Pretty CAS, but hey!  It's for a guy who thinks riding a single speed is all you need. Actually, who thinks that riding period is all you need!!  Perfect for him.

That's it for me today!  I have another idea in the works on my desk.  I'm hoping to get that finished this weekend!  Until then.................enjoy the Ride.....



Get Whale Soon

So, it would appear that my computer is just psycho. 

Seriously.  I think it needs to be put on medication.

It would seem that said computer takes great pleasure in giving me false hope with little snippits of times where it will work, only to snatch it away when I'm in the middle of trying to get something accomplished online.

This is one of those snippits of time that it appears to be working.  So, I am going to QUICKLY try and post a project.

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There are just some cards I wish I NEVER had to make.  Sympathy cards are one.  But this isn't a sympathy card. 

This is a Get Well Soon card.  For the 15 y/o daughter of good family friends.  On Tuesday, she will undergo brain surgery to try and remove a 1.5 cm tumor from the cerebellum vermis (a very important part of the brain that controls proprioception and movement). 

Scary.

But!  This young lady has a very positive attitude and a whole lotta spunk!  She posted on her Caring Bridge page that she thought that everyone should just "Save the Whales and Kill the Tumor". 

Her Motto and design have been made into a T-shirt., which will raise money to help bring awareness to brain tumors. 

I decided that I know NOTHING about what 15 y/o girls are into and wouldn't think as corney (as it would seem I'm surrounded by barrels of testostrone).  So I went with the Whale Theme.   The jury is still out on whether or not this is too cutsey or corney, but I will take refuge in the fact that I'm probably at the age where all 15 y/o kiddo's will just roll their eyes at me and think that I'm just another corney adult. 

The 5 1/2" square  base is Gina K's Pure Luxury.  The design paper is from My Mind's Eye and comes from my "I've had forever stash".  The Whale image, from Stampin' Up's Silly Sea Life, was stamped using Archival Jet Black ink onto a scrap piece of Pure Luxury.  I die cut around the image with my Classic Circle Nestabilities.  Leaving the image in the die, I made a mask of the whale and lightly sponged Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass for the sky and a combination of  Distress Broken China and SU's Pacific Point for the ocean.  I added some waves with Copic markers. 

The whale was also colored with Copics and then covered with Glossy Accents.  The waves were highlighted with Distress Rock Candy stickles.  Hint:  Do NOT try to speed up the drying of Glossy Accents (even from the back of your paper) with a heat gun.  This poor guy has a blister on his head that required an attempted fix by adding more Glossy Accents.  Just sayin'.

Finally, the image and design paper were matted with an unknown SU blue. It would seem that SOMEONE just bought all the blue paper's from her former upline when said upline decided to quit stamping.  But SOMEONE has no idea what blue this particular shade is, as she has not kept up with the latest from SU.  Robin's Nest Dew Drops finish off the bling on the card. 



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That's about it for me today.  I need to start tackling the mile long list of projects that need to be done over the next two weeks as school winds down!  Keep your fingers crossed that my computer will continue on the  "I like you phase". 

'Till then..............give your loved ones a Whale of a Hug. 

Making the Years Count

Happy Monday Peoples! Yes, I am aware that the day is half over, and for some of you, drawing towards evening. But being as I was fairly productive on the home front as well as the creative front, the timing is what it is!!

Last night I was going through some of my papers just to remind myself what I had.  I pulled out a little 6x6 pad from 7gypsie's Gypsie's Market  and was immediately struck with the idea to make a flower out of the striped  paper.

While the flower did get made, you will not see it on today's project! Haha!  It would seem that after planning the whole card around the flower, I did not like the flower as an embellishment!  Soooo, I swapped it for a butterfly made out of the same paper. 

The layout comes from Verve's MoJo Monday Sketch Blog.  I'm not sure why, but sadly, I do not own any of Verve's stamps.  I think that this is something that I may need to change in the near future!  But lucky for me, Verve invites everyone to play along regardless of stamps used! Whew!



The card is actually pretty simple in product. The card base is a 5 1/2  square piece of Vanilla Pure Luxury.  All the  design papers are from 7gypsies.  The two strips of paper along the left side are fauxed layered.  I used a black marker and my small T-square to draw the lines.  The diagonal border is a Martha Stewart punch.  The sentiment panels were cut using Spellbinders classic circles and scalloped circle Nestabilities.  The actual sentiment layer is another piece of the Vanilla Pure luxury that was stamped with Archival Jet Black ink using a retired SU stamp set It's Your Birthday and spritzed with Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mist in Old Lace (nice shimmer IRL).  The leaves are Sizzix Branch w/Leaves sizzlet die.  The butterfly, from SU's Beautiful Butterflies, was cut twice and attached only by the body with a rolled glue dot.  The striped layer (from 7gypsie's again) was sponged with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and both layers were spritzed again with Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mist in Old Lace. The 1/2 backed pearls were altered from a pearl color to the red with a Copic marker.

I rather like the color combination on this.  I'm getting much more at ease with combining different patterns of paper onto one project.  Of course, it helps tremendously when you use all the papers from a paper pack! hahaaa!!!

'Till next time.......................remember to take some time for creativity, in whatever form it may be!

Wrinkle Free and Distressed!



Welcome to Part 2 of the Get Distressed series the E-Team is presenting!  Today, the Team is showcasing the Wrinkle Free Distress Technique (tutorial courtesy of our own team member Sherry!)

Of course, Daisy has some great wrinkle free goodies to share with two lucky people!!  All you have to do is leave a comment on each team member's blog for the random chance to win some new goodies that are just hitting the store!    You will have the weekend to leave a comment and the winners will be chosen Sunday night!

Broni H

Latrice M

Linda D

Linda L

Micki H

Sherry C

and

ME!

In all honesty, this has to be just about my FAVORITE technique!  It is perfect for making custom background papers, adding a grunge look to a project or just an excuse to mix and match!!

For the LIFE OF ME, I could NOT get the "blues" to photograph with the actual "sea green" tone that the paper has in real life versus this turquoise color that is invading my photo!  You will just have to take my word on the fact that the "blues" are more green and that the ribbon matches much better in person!!

Quick Tip:  this technique does work best with Distress Inks.  Distress inks maintain their true colors when mixed with water, versus other water based inks, which become diluted. 



Of course, I have my own little twist to this technique.  Instead of swiping my ink across my craft mat in a nice row, I swipe in splotches. I start with my lightest color and then randomly smoosh the ink on my craft mat.

Yes, these are different colors than what I ended up using. This would be step one of a failed attempt at an experiment.  But it illustrates my method just the same!

Then I spritz the inks with Glimmer Mist.  You could easily use Perfect Pearl mists too.  I just happen to have more GM then PP!!



Then I smoosh my paper ( I used a 5 x 5 vanilla tag for my project today) in the beaded up ink.  I usually dry my paper and repeat the steps until I get the look I like. Using a glimmer mist or the like, gives a soft  shimmer to your project adding that little extra punch!



Then comes the fun part!! You can use the paper as it is, or make a custom design paper to match your project (and at 1/2 the cost of regular design paper!!)

I first stamped the Aged Music Sheet from Cornish Heritage farms (no longer available...sorry!) with Distress Tea Dye.  Then I overstamped the Fabulous Flourishes Distress Sage Shadow.  The edges were sponged with Vintage Photo. 

The cage is from the Alterations Die Caged Bird.  It was die cut from TenSecond Studios Dark Chocolate metal, that I "distressed" by wrinkling the metal, then lightly sanding the bumps before smoothing it out with the roller tool in the finishing set.  I cut two frames and attached them only at the top and bottom, rounding out the front frame to give it a more realistic dimension.

The bird (from the same die) and the sentiment frame were cut from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante paper line.  I cut the bird out twice.  By chance, the paper pattern lent itself to being the birds legs perfectly!  I cut out the branch from the bird and layered it over the second die cut.  The Spellbinders Label Eleven frame is raised over the sentiment (Flights of Fancy) with dimensional tape. 

The ribbon was from idea-ology findings  Trimmings that I sponged Sage Shadow, a bit of Broken China and Vintage Photo onto.  I FINALLY got it to fray and crinkle by pulling threads (why is it, that ribbon always frays when you don't want it too, but won't do it when you need it too?!!)

The tassel was made with some fine chain that I had in my stash.  It started out silver, but I used some Alcohol Ink in Espresso to darken.  The chain and the beads (again, from my stash) were attached to the cage with  idea-ology jump rings.  The whole sha-bang was adhered to a piece of presentation foam board  with Scor Tape to give it some stability.

I hope you found the E-Team's Distress ideas inspiring and Wrinkle Free! 



Moments

Well, here it is.  The final project. 

Daisy, if by chance you are looking....GO AWAY.  You'll get to see it in person on Friday!!

Is she gone?  Ok. Good.  Here is the completed project:

Please allow me to insert a VERY large sigh here__________________.  I will be the first to admit that my photography skills are at the beginner level.  But, seriously!! I attempted to get a decent picture in a larger amount of time that completing this project took!! Either I am going to have to figure out how to photograph metal or you are just going to have to take my word on how cool my metal projects look IRL!! May I strongly suggest that you just take my word on how awesome this looks IRL?  Trust me, it will save you a lot of time waiting!!

Enough whining!  A few details.  This started out as a dollar frame from Michael's. I first painted the edges and the back side of the frame with some Clover acrylic paint.   I then traced the frame onto a piece of TSS (TenSecond Studios)  Poison Ivy metal.  I placed a Tattered Angels glimmer screen from the set Fanciful Stencils along one side and traced around it.  Using paper stumps, a refiner and my thin mat, I puffed out the flourish image.  I then filled in the backside of the flourish with some embossing paste.  You could use good ol' Spackle too.  Which, in hindsight, I would use for such a large area.  My hands were killing me trying to squeeze out that much paste!!

After the backing paste had dried, I used a sharp refiner to make all the squiggly lines over the rest of the metal.  The Toad says it makes it look like it is leather IRL.  Again, just take his word on it.  I am soooo not going to try and get another picture of this!!  The squiggles do not make the rest of the frame that much lighter.  They just add a texture.  Sigh.....I really need to figure out how to photograph metal....

The metal was then carefully adhered to the frame with Hummungo Killer adhesive. This stuff is STICKY!! I was sweating bullets in fear that I would adhere it crooked!! 

The daisies were cut using Spellbinders Daisy Head dies and I used a paper stump to emboss them.   I cut them from TenSecond Studios Kiss Me Pink metal.  I then snipped between each petal so that I could bend the petals to my liking.  I spritzed all the layers with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in S.W.A.K.  (pink).  Again, IRL, these flowers are NOT this bright pink!! The Kiss Me Pink metal is more of a pale, blush pink. The S.W.A.K. glimmer mist added a "spritzed" texture (or droplets, if you want to get down to basics) to the petals that I thought added some depth.  I then used my copics to add the yellow centers.  I used my hot glue gun to layer the flowers to each other and to adhere them to the frame.

The chipboard letters are from Maya Road (I believe they are the Noah mini alphabet).  Initially, I attempted to color the letters with a chocolate chip marker.  Then decided that I didn't like that look.  Of course, this was discovered after I had already colored one of my two "M's".  Soooo, the "W's" were called in for replacement duty!!  I decided, that I liked the letters just plain against the metal. 

Ok...I tried again.  Here is another picture that may show some of the detail a bit better.

hmmmm......maybe the key to photographing metal is to take all pictures at night, with no flash, in a poorly lit craft room....now if I could just figure out how to get the framing correct!

ANYHOOS!! 

Just a heads up that my posting will be pretty scarce over the weekend.  Did I mention that I get to go to CHA?!!  Excitement is oooozing right now!!  Since I am one of the last remaining dinosaurs, who does not have a laptop or an iPad.....I won't promise pictures until I get back.  Unless I can take something decent with my camera phone and figure out how to post from my phone.  Yeah......you should probably plan on pics early next week! LOL!!

Till then....................enjoy the creative journey................



Eleven....

....more days until Christmas Eve. 

I know that you are all aware of the calendar days racing by.  But I hate to be in a panic all by myself.  That's why I keep sharing the obvious with you.

This weekend I cranked out more teacher/co worker gifts.  I thought I'd share two of them with you today.

First up.  Another frame.  Are you sick of these yet?!! I'm pretty sure this is my last one, LOL!



Once again I started with Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts and painted the edges with Jenni Bowlin's Chili Pepper Paint dauber .  I obviously had not cleaned up my desk from the last frame!!  I covered the frame in yet more Holly Jolly dp from My Mind's Eye and lightly sponged some Vintage Photo Distress ink along the edges.  Since I hadn't put away the Grungeboard Mini Elements away, I pulled out the numbers and the swirl and gave them a coating of brown acrylic paint.  I then smooshed (that would be the technical term) them into my Glue Pad and sprinkled with some Doodlebug Sugar Coating glitter in brown.  The elements were adhered using Claudine's Multi Medium (this is quickly becoming my favorite glue).  Once again, I cut a piece of transparency to make my "glass".  I made a loop out of my ribbon and placed it between the layers.  I adhered everything together with Scor Tape. 

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Next up.  A gift card set for one of the youngest Kiddo's teachers.  Mrs. B was his teacher last year and she takes over the classroom in the afternoon for the basics of handwriting, spelling and Bible since his primary teacher is only part time (the hoopla our small school jumps through to avoid combining smaller classes together without straining the budget even more).  Mrs. B also happens to be a stamper (though she doesn't get much time to play anymore!) so I wanted to make something CAS (clean and simple), yet with a bit of a pop.  This is what I came up with: 

I pulled out some oldies but goodies from my SU collection to make this card.  The base is a piece of Vanilla Pure Luxury from Gina K with a top fold (I use my scor buddy to make my score lines.  It is one of those tools that make me look better as a stamper.  I have eliminated my crooked cards to almost NEVER!! Mind you....the Scor Pal or Scor buddy only give straight lines if you make sure your paper is butted up against the edge.  Just sayin'. ).  I cut and embossed the rectangles using Spellbinders Classic and Scalloped rectangles from Pure Luxury Vanilla and Black.  I stamped the music block from Darci's Cardinal Ornament set with Distress Antique Linen ink.  I then stamped the silhouette from SU's Garden Silhouette using Archival Jet Black Ink. 

I then took my Versamarker pad and went over the entire image and used glassy glaze enamel to do the Cracked Glass technique.  After cracking the glaze, I sponged lightly over the top with some Vintage Photo Distress ink to give a bit more contrast.  I then stamped the sentiment from SU's All Year Cheer I using the Archival Jet Black ink. 

I made 6 of these, all the same and boxed them in a clear box with some envies.  I figure the sentiment on these could be used for sympathy, birthday or missing you cards.  Even thank you cards could be squeezed out of them if needed!!

Thanks for dropping by again today!  I still have a couple more projects that need to be completed before the week's end so I had better get to crackalackin'!!  Till then............

Christmas Bunny

Hey Peoples!!  I was just finishing the boss's Christmas card from all of us at work and lo and behold!  It actually fits the Try a New Technique Challenge!!  The challenge was to use sponging on our card.  Easy! I  have not had time to do a challenge in FOREVER so I'm going to make this short and sweet!

Inside:  To Wish you a Very Merry Birthday!!

Sorry, forgot to take a picture of the inside.  And I'm trying to get to bed at a some what decent time so I'm not going to take the time to set up again for an inside shot.  The inside sentiment is layered like the outside sentiment.

Ok!  Let me explain this Christmas card!! My boss ALWAYS gives us the wrong holiday card (like Christmas or Easter) for our birthday's.  Sooo, he will get a Easter/Christmas/Birthday card from all of us at the office!!  Twisted and Demented.  The BEST type of cards!! hehe

The details:  Once again, Bugaboo Stamps comes to my rescue for twisted and demented!  I sized the image and printed it off on Georgia Pacific 110# paper as my cheapo printer HATES my preferred Pure Luxury paper!!  I colored the image with copics.  I then used Breezy Blue sparkly fluff on the bunny jammies and slippers. I have to tell you that the Sakura Quickie Glue pen was PERFECT for this!! It is not like other glue pens where you have to push down or squeeze the body of the pen to get the glue to come out.  This pen literally just "writes" the glue!! Wonderful for smaller areas like the sleeves on the jammies! I used the same glue pen and some white fun flock (I have had this stuff for YEARS in my stash!!) for the tummy and the puff balls on the slippers and the tail. I sponged around the edges with Distress ink in Stormy Sky.

The sentiments on the outside and inside are computer generated.  I cut  and embossed the sentiment layers  using Spellbinders Classic Ovals.   While the sentiment was still in the die, I sponged the center, leaving a white border.  The front sentiment is adhered with dimensionals.

The base of the card is a 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 top folded piece of Pure Luxury.  The design paper is Basic Grey's "Mellow" that I have had in my stash for a couple of years, I believe!

I'm so excited I got to participate in the challenge!!  I'll be back again with some other projects that I worked on over the weekend. Yes, my holiday to do list has gotten a tiny bit smaller.  Till then.......... 



Operation Write Home

Edited to add that while comments are still welcomed, the blog candy comment has already been determined.  The winner can be found HERE.   



Hey Peoples!! Today is a very special day as the E-Team is inviting you to join us on a FABULOUS birthday celebration  ride to benefit Operation Write Home.  This non-profit organization collects UNSIGNED cards that our troops can choose to send home to loved ones.   As we come up on the holiday season, it is even more emotionally difficult for our troops to be away from their families and loved ones.  The E-Team invites you to pull out your stamping supplies and either replicate the cards we have to share or use our tips and tricks to mass produce your own awesome cards to send to our troops overseas!!

Visit all the E-Team blogs to get tricks and ideas for mass producing cards and make sure you comment on each blog for a chance to win some paper crafting goodies!! PLUS:  upload your card to eclectic Paperie Flicker group (tag photos as OWH) by Sunday, October 3, for a chance to win one of two eclectic Paperie box of goodies!!

THE E-TEAM

Broni Holcombe

Daisy Sparks

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter

Micki Harper

Starla Nelson (me!)

eclectic Paperie

 has a special coupon code to offer some savings in order to stock up on favorite tools, papers, stamps, and all things paper crafts. Use coupon code OWHCARDS and you will receive 10% off your entire order (min $10 order) at eclectic Paperie. The coupon code is good Saturday, September 25th thru Sunday October 3rd. Yes, the coupon code is good through World Card Making day!

Make sure you leave a comment on my blog for a chance to win these paper craft goodies!

You have until Monday, September 27th, 8:00pm, PST to leave a comment.  I will have RandomKid chose the winner of the above goodies and on Tuesday, September 28th, I will post a winner by 10:00 am, PST

Before I begin my project today, I want to make sure you are aware of some REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES that are very important for the cards that will be sent to our troops (i.e. NO GLITTER).   PLEASE make sure you read these as we want your time and effort to be useful to OWH.  I highly recommend you watch the short video too as it gives a great overview of what OWH does!!  More detailed information can be found on the Operation Write Home Site. 

OK!! Are you ready?  LET'S RIDE!!

When it comes to mass production of cards, I am a QUEEN!  When I send out Christmas cards (yes, there are years when this task does not get done!) I mass produce as I have between 70-100 cards to send out and there is NO WAY I am going to come up with a different card for each family on my list. And there is the other factor of time.  In all honesty, I usually start my Christmas cards in December.  LAAATE December!!  I have NO time to be original!! With that being said, here are a few tips that I've learned over the years to make mass production much easier:

1.  Design.  The design needs to be fairly CAS (clean and simple) yet, pack a "WOW" punch.  Some design elements that I think add a "WOW" factor are:  embossing, shimmer (glimmer mists), clear cards and some sponging. Mass production is not really the time to add 15 layers or tons of embellishments.  Make a statement, don't yell it.

2.  Design Part 2:  Have your design planned out PRIOR to moving onto the assembly portion.  This means that you will have a "mock" up of what the final product will look like.  This can be done with those "oops" papers that we all make (you do make those, right?!!).  Your mock up does not have to be assembled completely.  This is the time to experiment with your layout, embellishments, etc.  Finalize your mock draft before you start assembly.

3.  Think assembly line.  Mass production happens in an assembly line in other areas of life.  Plan your card with the same thought process as to what would be the most productive way to assemble your card.

4.  CLEAN SPACE.  I am a VERY messy creator.  I tend to create by starting with an idea and then continuously pull out other stuff to add to it, embellish it, try it...discard it.  All without cleaning up.  This system works for producing ONE card.  This will not work for mass production!!  In order for the assembly line to work properly, the area must be clean so that you have room to put your little piles of supplies and tools as needed.  After you are done with one assembly line, clean up and lay out your supplies for the next assembly line.

Under the space category, I would add that while the kitchen table provides a larger space to do mass production, keep in mind that your family WILL expect to still be fed during this process and shoving all your bits and pieces to the side runs the risk of someone spilling something and ruining all your supplies.  Clean off your craft desk and pull out the card table if you need more space.  Trust me, it is worth the effort!

5.  Make sure you have all the tools, paper, tape and whatnots that you will need to complete the amount of cards you wish to make at that sitting.  There is nothing more frustrating then being in the middle of a mass production than to find you have run out of tape and need to stop everything to run down to you LSS and hope that they have what you need!!

6.  Realize that mass production does NOT have to be completed in one sitting!! I will plan how many cards I think I can make in my time allotment for the evening.  Usually, it is between 10-20 cards.  Mass production can be tedious.  Spread it out over a couple of evenings that way you don't develop an extreme allergy to the task!

Ok....enough jibber jabber!! Let's get STAMPING!!

Here is the card that I will be mass producing today (why is this photo blurry?!! In my photo editing program it looks fine!! grrrrrrr).  I am planning on making 10 cards of this layout to send to OWH.


To begin with, gather up all your supplies that you will need



Supply list for this card: 

Vanilla (Gina K's pure luxury) and Certainly Celery cardstock

Stamps of choice:  SU's Lovely as a Tree and CHF Vintage text *no longer available and Papertrey's Mixed Messages used here
Acrylic blocks, if using unmounted or clear stamps

Inks: Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and Encore Metallic Copper used here

Embossing Powders:  Distress Vintage Photo and SU's Copper used here

Paper Trimmer

Stamp positioner

Corner rounder punch

Spellbinders Nestabilities:  Label 12 and Classic Ovals

Craft Mat

Scor Tape

Scor Pal/Buddy

Ribbon

Scissors

Heat Gun

Begin by cutting your vanilla cardstock to 4.25" x 8.50"

                                    
Round all corners with your corner rounder.  I like to turn my punch upside down so that I make sure the corner angle is in the proper place.

Score your paper at the 4.25" mark.  I LOVE using my Scor Pal (and now my new Scor Buddy for this!! No more crooked cards!)

This will be your 4.25" x 4. 25" base.  Lay it aside for now.  Pull out your favorite die cutting machine and your Spellbinder Nestabilities dies. I am using the 5th die (counting from smallest/center to larger) of the Labels 12 set and the approximate 1 3/8" Classic Oval die.  *If you don't have any of these dies, just use your paper trimmer to make a square that is approximately 3 1/8" x 3 1/8".  You could use a punch to add a different element to the corners or along the edges. Likewise, you could use an oval or circle punch for the ovals on this card.   I am using my Big Shot here, but I have used my Cuttlebug with the Nestabilities and it works just fine!  Pull out all those scraps of Certainly Celery paper (or what ever paper you are using!) and die cut *10 of the label.  Now, I think you are suppose to use the dies with the cut edge up.  I make my sandwich with the cut edge down so that I can see exactly where my die is on my paper.  This way I can make the most of my paper space without waste.

While you have your die cutting machine out, go ahead and die cut the smaller 1" Classic Oval out of your vanilla paper scraps. And die cut the main image square too.  I used the third one from the center (about 2 1/8" x 2 1/8")

You will now have all the basic shaped paper elements of your card.

Now for the fun stamping part!! Now I usually do all my crafting on my Craft Sheet because I can easily wipe off over stamped inks, apply inks to it for the Wrinkle Free Distress technique (a favorite of mine), heat emboss on it or iron on it.  But in trying to keep my ink on the front side of my desired paper only and not everywhere else, I have laid down a piece of scrap paper to absorb the ink.   Begin with your largest Certainly Celery square.  Ink up the background stamp that you want to use with Distress Vintage Photo ink and stamp all *10 squares.  While the ink is still out, sponge along the edges of the square and the large Certainly Celery oval with more of the Vintage Photo ink.  Personally, I LOVE these large sponge daubers for this job!! I have a dauber for each of my individual Distress Ink colors and just label the dauber with a sharpie.

Set aside these elements and pull out your focal image stamp.  Since my image panel has already been die cut, I like to use my stamp positioner to make sure my image is going to end up where I want it, while being somewhat straight.  Yes, I am very capable of still stamping an image crooked even with a stamp positioner!! I tend to get in a hurry and forget to make sure my edges are all nice and tight!

If you've never used a stamp positioner before, take your plastic sheet and butt it up against your "T".  I like to place my "T" facing down towards me.  Just fits my stamping position better.  Ink up your stamp and butt it against the "T", stamping the plastic sheet.  You will place the plastic sheet over you paper, placing the image exactly where you want it.  Butt the "T" against the plastic edge and then remove the plastic sheet.  Re ink your image and butt the stamp against the "T".  Image where you want it!!

For this project, I wanted to add a "WOW" pop with some embossing.  Gather up your embossing tray, embossing buddy and powders *if using Distress Embossing Powder, remember to shake the bottle first to mix the release crystals.

 First wipe your paper with an embossing buddy.  This will keep stray powders from other areas besides the image from sticking! 

 Stamp your image with Distress Ink Vintage Photo. Immediately sprinkle your embossing powder over the wet ink.  Tap off the excess into your embossing tray.  This will make it easier to pour the extra powder back into the bottle.  Set the image aside.  Repeat with the remaining image panels.  *Do not stack the images at this point or you will wipe off the embossing powder.  This is where the clean desk/more room comes into play!

After all the powder has been applied, pull out your heat gun and melt the powder over your Craft sheet.  The Craft Sheet will protect your work area from the high heat and from the embossing powders melting.  If you are using Distress Embossing Powder, the powder will not become shiny, like other embossing powders.  The powder becomes darker when it is embossed. After the image is cool, brush off the release crystals to give the "distressed" embossed look.  While you have the embossing tools out, ink and emboss your sentiment onto the small vanilla oval.

My sentiment is a clear, polymer stamp.  Using a clear acrylic block enables me to see exactly where I want to stamp my image.  Remember:  with clear stamps you do not have to press down as hard as you do with rubber stamps.  The image will squish out and become distorted with too much pressure! Practice on scrap paper if you've never used clear stamps before to get the feel of them.

Finally, the "Putting it all together" portion of our project!!  Gather your scissors, ribbon and tape. I am using Scor Tape (LOVE that fact that it comes in various sizes, I can tear it to size and the backing does not cling to EVERYTHING like the red liner tape!) and Tim Holtz's Tonic scissors (cuts ribbon like butter!).  Cut approximately 4-5" of ribbon and apply tape to the backside.  Wrap the ribbon around the edge of the large square panel. 

Adhere the main image to the background panel.  Adhere that to the card base.  Then adhere the sentiment in the bottom corner.

Use a bone folder to fold along the scored line and WAH-LAH!! The finished cards!!

*I stamped some of the images and sentiments with Encore Metallic Copper ink and embossed using copper embossing powder.  Just playing around with different looks!!

I hope that this little tutorial will encourage you to give some mass production for OWH a try!! I think this is such an awesome way to give back to the men and women who are sacrificing so much so that we can stay home and enjoy our freedoms that we so often take for granted. 

Thanks for dropping by today and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance at the goodies!! AND stop by the other E-Team members for some more inspiration!!

Till then......remember to make some time for creativity in your day!!