Sunday, January 26, 2014

Boy's Mini Album

I made this mini album after seeing one on YouTube.  I really like how it turned out.  I haven't decorated the front yet but I wanted to grab some pictures and document it now.  I'm thinking I might use my Cricut Paper Dolls cartridge to whip up some really cute decorations for the cover.  I'll post again after I finish the cover.  This album has lots of fold out pages and tags that slip into various pockets.  I also made a couple extra ones that she didn't include in the video.  One is the pocket that has the MVP tag in it.  It was just a simple rectangle of paper that I set at an angle and then folded over and glued to the back.  If you need more info in how to do it, just leave me a comment below and I'll expand on how to do it.









I used the Boyhood paper stack from DCWV and my solid card stock is all from Core'dinations.  I followed this tutorial from Ginger at My Sister's Scrapper:  http://youtu.be/P3hRZkxb92A  This link will take you to the first of the 5 part video series.  She does an excellent job of explaining everything and gives you all the measurements you need.

I will definitely be making more of these but next time will use actual chipboard for the covers and spine.  This one is not very sturdy and will most likely just be a display piece on my bookcase.  I highly recommend making sure you have a lot of Scor-tape on hand because you will use it!

Koala Birthday

I made this card for my niece's upcoming birthday.  I picked up Create a Critter 2 at Joann's recently during a sale and this was the first time I've used it.  I really like it but, like normal, the phrase cuts just wouldn't work correctly cut small enough for a card.  I've heard the new Cricut machine that is coming out this spring can make those smaller cuts - bummer that I already invested so much money in this one!  So...I ended up using some really old stamps I have from Will 'n Way to create a sentiment.  I used Momento Dew Drop ink in Lilac Posies and I think it matches the paper pretty well.

The print papers are from a 6x6 paper pad from DCWV called Girl Fille.  The solid papers are all Core'dinations card stock.  The gemstone is from a huge container I purchased from Hobby Lobby years ago - it will probably take me the rest of my life to use them all!









The koala is cut at 2.5" and you really don't need the cut called "KoalaHrt" if you are also cutting out the shadow.  The only part on that cut that shows through are the facial features and I actually liked the way it looked with the black showing through.  I used a white Jelly Roll pen to highlight the eyes and give a little hint of a curve to the nose.

On the inside I used a piece of the printed paper and my Fiskars Interchangeable Border Punch Set with the Daisy Chain cartridge.  I really like this Fiskars punch.  The cartridges are interchangeable and take up way less space than having complete border punch contraptions for every design.  I picked mine up at Tuesday Morning but I've seen them everywhere.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Ten Fingers and Toes


A friend is having a baby and her shower is coming up.  I wanted to put together a cute card for her.  I had also attempted to loom knit her a baby blanket but it came out more like a superman cape (but really light on the "super" part!) - needless to say that project will not be getting posted to the blog!  I did tell her about the failed blanket though and she got a laugh out of it so it wasn't a complete loss.

Although baby stuff is so fun to shop for I thought I would get her a gift card instead so she can pick up anything from her registry that she didn't get.  So I just created a pocket with a piece of the pattern paper using some scor tape to stick it down.  Hopefully Toys-R-Us gift cards are the same size as an Albertson's Shoppers Card since that's what I used to make that fabulous faux gift card you see in the pic.



I used an old stamp set I have from Provo Craft.  I wasn't sure it was going to stamp well since it's so old it's turned yellow and the rubber is horribly sticky.  It worked though so I'm really happy I was able to use it.

As usual I stamped the images and sentiments on Neenah card stock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and the card is a standard A2 size.

Additional Supplies:
Sam's basic card stock for the base
Pattern Paper - DCWV Boyhood Stack
Copic Colors - N0 and B91
I inked the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Faded Jeans (I also stamped the little safety pins on the inside with this same ink)

I still feel like the front needs a little something - maybe a ribbon bow.  I'll have to see what I can find in my stash to fix that problem.



Age is Only a Number

I made this card for an aunt who is having a birthday soon.  One of my goals for 2014 is to make all my cards this year and to get them sent out on time!


I used the Inkadinkado Humorous Birthday stamp set for this card.  There are some really good images and sentiments in this set so I'm sure I'll be using it more.  This is a standard A2 sized card.  I like the way this one turned out but if I make it again I think I will layer some yellow paper under the image.  I tried to pull it up to do that but that Zig 2 Way Glue is way too good to let me do that!!  I also tried to give the lizard some texture with my Copics but that is something I need to practice a little more.

Other supplies:
Neenah card stock for the stamped image
Momento Tuxedo Black Ink for image
Momento Dew Drop in Grape Jelly for the sentiment inside
Copic Colors:  B000, BV11, YG00, and YG06
White Jelly Roll pen for the faux stitching
Sam's club basic card stock for the base
Pattern Paper - DCWV Girl Fille Stack
Solid Paper - Core'dinations card stock
Yellow/White bakers twine from my stash - probably from Hobby Lobby
I used my Fiskars circle and scallop punches for the layering under the sentiment

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Whooo Loves You?


I picked up the Cindy Loo Cricut Cartridge on the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby and I've been having lots of fun with it.  This particular cut has lots of small pieces so I'm not sure I'll do this one again.  It's taken me a couple months to get them all put together and made into cards.



The cards are the standard A2 made with that same white card stock from Sam's.  The pattern paper is some paper I had in my stock so I'm not 100% sure where it came from but I think it might be from DCWV and the solid colors are all Core'dinations card stock.  I inked the edges with Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distress Ink.  The ribbon is from American Crafts and I created the sentiment on my computer using a free font I found on the internet called Party.  I cut the oval 4" x 3.5" using the cricut and embossed it with a polka dot embossing folder from Darice.

I had to use several different adhesives on this - Scotch Quick Dry on the owls and my ATG on the rest.  There are so many layers on the owls that I ended up having to sandwich them all between some heavy books to get the curl out of them.  Like I said before I don't know if I'll use this particular cut again but what I might do is cut just the silhouette layer and then draw the owl face on with a Copic Fineline marker.

All of these cards are going to Operation Write Home.


Friday, January 3, 2014

Hey Cupcake!

Here is another version of the Here's the Scoop card.



Same supplies but this time I used the cupcake stamp and the Hey Cupcake sentiment (also from Fiskars The Sweet Life set).  I turned the orientation of the card sideways and mounted the stamped image on the center.  I also added some ribbon to the top to change it up just a little.

In this version I used Copic Colors YG00 and YG06 on the frosting, E47 for the wrapper, and R43 and R46 for the cherry.  I made several other versions using the same color combos as I used for the ice cream cones but I think this green frosted one is my favorite.

The cupcake is a little smaller than the ice cream cone so I used my Fiskars 1.5" circle punch on the image and then layered it with the 2" circle and scallop punches.  I used the same Rhubarb Stalk ink from Momento Dew Drop but when I stamped it on the green background it muted it a bit but I like the effect.  I forgot to mention on the previous card I use Neenah Bright White card stock and Momento Tuxedo Black ink for my images.

Here's the Scoop...

I put together a bunch of OWH cards using some fun stamps and colored them with my new Copic Sketch 25th Anniversary set that my wonderful husband gave me for Christmas.  I'm still learning how to use the Copics but I'm really loving them!  I have some Prismacolors and also the American Crafts Chromatix alcohol markers but I prefer the Copics by far.  They blend so well and they make even a beginner like me feel like an artist!  They also don't roll around the table.
 

All of the cards are the standard A2 size and I used an American Crafts Hip Hip Hooray 6x6 Paper Pad for the patterned papers.  I love the 6x6 pads - the designs are all scaled down so they work great on cards.  I was able to cut enough pieces out of one 36 sheet pad to make 72 cards.  I'll post some of the other cards as I get them done - I changed up the orientation of the design, the stamps I used, and added some ribbon to make them all a little different.  I tried to make sure that none of the pattern paper combinations I used were repeated.  All the papers in the pad coordinate with each other so it was really easy to mix them all up and still have them come out looking great.  The bases are just the basic white card stock you can get at Sam's and the solid card stock is Core'dinations brand.  I just grabbed several primary colors and they worked great with the patterned papers.

All of these cards will be going to OWH.

Supplies:
Main base:  4" x 5 1/4"
Strip on right side:  1" x 5 1/4"
Center colored square: 3" x 3"
Center white square: 2 3/4" x 2 3/4"
Both the ice cream and the backing card stock were punched with a 2" Fiskars punch - circle and scallop.
Stamp Set:  Fiskars The Sweet Life (#136770-0001)
Ink:  Momento Dew Drop (I used Rhubarb Stalk on the card above)
Copics:  E42, E47 for cone and various duos and triplets for the ice cream - BV11, BV13, and BV17; YR12, YR15, and YR68; BG01 and BG07; R81 and R85; YG00 and YG06; G43 and G46; RV00 and RV55 (that's what I used on the sample card above); Y32 and Y35; B000 and B28; and B91 and B95.  I even tried using one single color (RV43) and layering the color on itself in order to get the effect of rounded surfaces and light reflection.
Adhesive:  Scotch Advanced Tape Glider (ATG)

Shopping Note:  I found the 6 x 6 pad of 36 papers for $2.99 and the Fiskars stamp sets for $4.99 at my local Tuesday Morning.  If you have one of those stores, you've got to check it out.  I find so many awesome paper crafting bargains there!!  But...if you find something you like, grab it up - they never have the same thing twice.