Sunday, February 25, 2018

Seasons Spring Double Gate

      Here is a card made with the Graphic 45 Seasons collection. The card base is made with kraft paper on a double gate fold card base. 


     The entire card is matted with Brown Eyes from My Colors card stock. The "Bloom bright all Season" is a piece of Ephemera. I made a collage consisting of a die cut flower, one of the chip board buttons (painted purple) with a knot of ivory seam binding, and a fussy cut bouquet of tulips from the patterned paper.


     The middle panels are handmade pockets with a die cut tag in each. The pockets are made by trimming a pocket and a tag in half. The sentiments on the tags are stickers.
 
 

     The front panels are made from a trimmed piece of ephemera. The embellishment is removable. I painted a mini clothespin with purple acrylic paint, matted a 7/8 inch square "spring" sticker on ivory, and added it to the clothespin. This is attached to a loopy bow made with seam binding.  


     I added a belly band with a hand made pinwheel over the ends, which makes the belly band appear endless.







     I will be making 16 cards and 4 calendars with this Graphic 45 Seasons Paper. All of these SEASON cards can be made using:

  • one sheet of each of the patterned paper 
  • one sheet of each of  Prints and Solids
In order to make All Seasons cards and calendars, you only need purchase the following items once:
  • Tags and Pockets
  • Chip Board
  • Ephemera
  • Stickers
Stay tuned for more cards this year.
Spring
Spring Double Gate Card - You are here!

Summer

Winter

Materials List:
     Patterned Paper: Graphic 45 - Seasons
     Card Stock: My Colors - Brown Eyes
                                        Kraft
                                        Concord Grape
                      Bazzill - Sawdust
     Die: Burniston - Flowers & Bee
           Stamps of Life - Stitched Tags
     Ink: Inking - Frayed Burlap
     Embellies: 1/2 inch Cream Seam Binding
                     Mini Clothespin
                    Twine - Purple & Cream 
                    Gems - Starfoam Stickers (Pink)
                    Paint - Deco Art (Dazzling Metallics - Purple Pearl)


Challenges

Challenge Up Your Life - Spring Flowers - #38 - *
Crafty Calendar - 2 or More Layers - #238 - *
Crafty Friends Challenges - Springtime - #10 - *
Dragonfly Dreams - Flowers - #116 - *
Pile-It-On - 3-D Embellies & Stickers - #117 - *

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Polar Birthday

     This card was made for a friend who had a January birthday. I worked so hard on the inside of the card, that I was happy to let the sketch lead the way for the front of the card. As a result, I ended up with a card front fitting of the details inside. 


Card and Envelope
     I hope you are joining us at Sketch~N~Scrap. Today there is a fun sketch by Lisa for you to try. Enter your creation before the end of the month to be eligible for a fun prize.

Card Sketch #116
       I made a card using this Burniston die last October. Karen Burniston visited the store where I teach my classes. She demonstrated a card using this Tag Book Pop Up die. I remember the relief when we were assembling it. This die is super easy to put together. This is one of those cases where the card is easier than it looks. I presented it to my friend at dinner in January and well you know the WOW factor was there. 

Inside of Card


Materials List:
     Patterned Paper: Authentique - Frosty 1 & 4
     Card Stock: Bazzill - Sea Salt
                                   Her Majesty
                                   Sugar Wafer
                                   Date Swirl
                       My Colors - Sea Foam
                       Gina K - Lovely Lavendar
                                    White
     Dies: Burniston - Cupcake Pop-Up
                               Birthday Charms
                               Word Set 2 - Birthday
                               Winter Animals
                               Tag Book Pop Up
                               Labels & Circles
     Punch: 1 inch corner                                                   
     Embellies: Starfoam Stickers - Pink/Silver
                     Really Reasonable Ribbon - Tulip Grograin 5/8"
                                                             Anastasia White Crochet Lace 1/2"

    
Challenges

Always Fun Challenges - Zoo Animals - #9 - *
Crafty Catz - Pretty Ribbon - #63 - *
Dies R Us - Tag You're It - #8 - *
Get Creative Challenges - Ribbon - #62 - *
Through the Purple Haze - Add Turquoise - #35 - *
UnstampaBelles Challenges - Something New - #45 - *

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Like a Tea Bag

      My husband told me a month ago that he needed a retirement card for his boss. I have pained over this. I couldn't think of anything that I liked until he brought me this quote:    
A woman is like a tea bag: you never know her strength until you drop her in hot water. - Nancy Reagan
I had suggested a Z card, but when we were talking in my craft room my husband pointed to a Shutter Card and said, "That card has a lot going on." Final decision: tea theme on a shutter card. 
     I have had this Gorguss stamp for quite some time, but have never used it. There is a tag on the cup that says "Drink Me". I can't think of any occasion for which this sentiment is appropriate. I decided to use it, but cover the words with flowers.


     With Copics markers, I practiced the skin and hair before coloring on the stamped image. The hair on the stamped image looks darker, because there are more details in the image. As you can see, I gave absolutely NO attention to the "Drink Me" tag.


     I added some tea elements from a Die-namics die set and some trim from an old Ionic edge punch.


     I printed the quote on heavy card stock and die cut it with a Spellbinders die. I used the die again with Gray Stone paper to frame the quote.


     I also cut mats for the back of the card base using patterned paper. Colleagues will sign those with a handwritten message. I will add those later.

Envelope

Card Laying Flat

Materials List:
     Patterned Paper: Kaiser Kraft - Wildflower Collection (Spring, Vines, In Bloom, Fleur)
                              Dear Lizzy - Christmas Winter Wishes
     Card Stock: Gina K - White
                       Bazzill - Gray Stone
                                   Lime
                       Silver Metallic
     Ink: Stampin' Up - Bermuda Bay 
            Momento - Tuxedo Black
            Distress - Hickory Smoke
     Stamps: Santoro - Sweet Tea
     Dies: Karen Burniston - Flowers & Bee
             Die-namics - Always Time for Tea
             Spellbinders - Fancy Tags 
     Punch: Ionic
     Embellies: Black/White Twine
                    Gray Enamel Glitter Dot
     Copics: Skin - E000, 00, 11, R20
                 Hair - E21, 23, 25, 27
                 Cup - C0, 1, 3, 5
                        - RV91, 93, 95
                 Dress/Bow - BG10, 11, 13
                 Bunny - C00, 0, 1, 2, R00
    
Challenges

Cards 4 Galz Challenge - Stamping - #24 - Winner !!!
Color Inspiration Monthly - Colored Image - #30 - March 6
Crafting with Butterflies - Special Folds - #3 - Winner!!!
Fashionable Stamping - One for the Girls - #18 - *
Gem of a Challenge - Spring Flowers - #8 - *
House That Stamps Built - TicTacToe (Twine, Patterned Paper, Flowers) - *
Pixie's Crafty Workshop - Use Snippets - #1 -  *
Star in My Pocket - Make it GIRLY - #18 - *

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Raggedy Ann Valentine Project

     This was Valentine making session #2. My granddaughter, Elena, is 3 and attends Pre-School. She needed 8 Valentines for her class. She loves dolls especially the dress up part. I thought she would like assembling a doll for her Valentines. 


      I used a Raggedy Ann Silhouette file. This one is called "Annie Doll Cute as a Button" by Stinkin' Cute. I'm not sure where my head was when I chose this design, as I didn't think about ALL of the pieces there were in the making of this card. I spent 8 hours cutting and gluing in preparation for Elena to assemble these cards. 
     Since Elena is just 3, I decided to place the letters/sentiment on the card before she worked on it. I made the doll into stickers for her to place on to the shaped card base.The big hair behind her head was too big to run thru my sticker maker, so I also glued those on ahead of time. 


Sticker sheets

    The doll was divided into 5 stickers:

  1. the legs and shoes
  2. the dress, arms, and pantaloons
  3. the face and front hair
  4. the bow
  5. the heart-shaped button
Elena at Work
     I demonstrated how to put one doll together - that was all she needed. She put all of the cards together by herself!!! You can see there was a little difficulty matching the legs to the pantaloons, but that certainly doesn't distract from the finished product. 

SUCCESS!!!
A little somthin' somthin' on the back


Sunday, February 4, 2018

Donut Valentines

     Today I made Valentines with my grandson, Lucas. He needed at least 22 plus one for his teacher. He was a donut with pink frosting and a milk carton hat for Halloween. I chose donuts because he LOVES donuts! 
Halloween Donut
     While the Silhouette was cutting all of the donuts, frosting, and sprinkles, Lucas stamped the inside of the cards using Gina K Kraft ink and the MISTI. BTW: It's so easy even a five year old can do it.

     Lucas punched small hearts from a variety of punches as I glued them on.


     Lucas colored the frosting on the stamped donut on the inside of each card.



Inside of Card
     Lucas had had enough of stamping, so I stamped the card fronts. After sorting all of the donuts, frosting, and sprinkles, Lucas made stacks of the four donut parts needed to complete one donut as I glued them together and onto the card front. I was more than a little happy to find this Silhouette cut file. I didn't want to stamp and color or glue sprinkles on individually for 24 cards.


Front of A2 Card



      After making 24 of these cards, Lucas was pretty much maxed out on card making, so I made the teacher card myself. It is a larger card - 5 1/2 x 6 1/2. I also made a large donut for Lucas to take home and play with (the most important part).
Teacher Card
Inside of Teacher Card

      I'll be making Valentines with my 3 year old granddaughter, Elena, later this week. She only needs 8 plus a teacher card. I am still in the brainstorming process - wish me luck!
Materials:
Stamps: Stamps of Life - donuts 2 stamp
              Gina K - Lovely Ladybug (Valentine sentiments)
Silhouette File: Miss Kate Cuttables - Donut and Donut Hole
Ink: Gina K - Kraft
Momento - Tuxedo Black
Markers: Permanent Chalk - Black
                 Crayola Washable
Punches: Miscellaneous Hearts

Challenges

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - #319 - Snippets - #11 - *


Thursday, February 1, 2018

Dating

      This is a fun 2-photo layout sketch from Sketch N Scrap. You have all month to upload a picture of the layout you make using it. It was so interesting to design the borders for the patterned paper in the center. I am looking forward to seeing how the challenge entrants treat it.
 
Sketch #146

      Here are two pictures of my brother and his wife taken when they were dating in the late '60s. The patterned paper in the background is very hard to see in the picture. I chose it because it is so delicate. I then framed it with the most beautiful thing I could find in the craft room. I chose this lace, then made a paper border to the inside using roses on gray wood grain. Finally, I embellished it with die cut hearts and gray enamel dots.    


Papers I Used

Materials List:
     Patterned Paper: BoBunny - Bella Rosa (Damask, Shutters)
                                               Double Dot (Wine, Island Mist)
     Ink: Gina K - Cherry Red
            Distress - Frayed Burlap
     Dies: Stamps of Life - Hearts 2 Die For
     Punch: ek - 1" Corner
               Martha Stewart - Alphabet
     Embellies:  Silver Enamel Dots
                     Ivory 1 inch Lace Trim