Happy Earth Day and 1 More Happy Birthday to my First Born, Along with a Useful Tip for Stamping

Well, that is a long title, but that's what I have to share today --- so get ready!  First of all, Happy Earth Day.  I have another all green card for you, in honor of Earth Day.

This is one of the cards I made for my free kits during our free shipping promotion.  Most of the cards full size and a few were made with our cute little note cards.  I like the clean, crisp look of the green and white color story.  My green is Lucky Limeade.

As for the kits, I did have a lot.  They've all been picked up now and are being enjoyed by the lucky recipients.  These are just the last of those ready to be picked up.  As I said, I made a lot!

Now, for the birthday.  Yesterday was my daughter's birthday.  I made this card in honor of her birthday.

I knew I was hand delivering it (with a fun gift card inside) so I decided to make an over-sized card.  My colors are Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade.

... and here's my tip:
Whenever I am designing a card, layout or projects, I often go in a different direction than from where I first start.  This means that sometimes I have really nice (stamped) pieces that I do not use right then.  I keep these in a little case together.  When I get ready to start a new project, I keep these pieces in mind so I can pull them out and most of my work is already completed.  I added the 'Happy Birthday' and then chose my card base and a mat for the Crumb Cake layer.  As in all darker card bases, I added a lighter piece inside so I could write on it.

... and there you have it... a really nice card for a very special someone who has blessed my life for several years now.  I won't tell how many.  That would make her mad and make me look bad:)

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

It's All About the Team / A Teeny Weeny Mini Tutorial

I had my Team Meeting yesterday for my downline and we did a shoebox swap.  Would you like to see what we made?  This post kind of runs like a narration for a fashion show ... and fashion and style is what we have here!

First up is Lynn's design.  She used a delightful combo of Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake and Island Indigo.  The stamp set and framelits coordinate --- Secret Garden.  If you love to add cut flowers to your design but don't like fussy cutting, these framelits were made for you!  The large framelits are from our Window Frame Collection of framelits.  The DSP is Print Poetry.

 

Next up is my daughter Jenn's design.  She's used Tea for Two DSP and the cute little stamps and coordinating punch from our Sale-A-Bration collection.  Once the 2 pieces of DSP were attached to the Lucky Limeade layer, we embossed the entire piece, giving it the look of a wonderful, cuddly quilt.  I'm not a big pink lover, but this card is a winner for sure.

For Laura's card, she used the chalkboard technique.  You can find more about this fun technique here.  I really love this card.  Banners are really hot right now and the Hearts A Flutter stamps and coordinating framelits help to make this card a winner. She's used them in a very creative way, too.

Didn't my team do a great job?

Before I show you mine, I want to share one more of Lynn's projects with you.  This is a Valentine's Day card she made for her kids.  She even added real stitching, which I just love!

 

Is this cute or what?  Love it!

Now, I've saved my card for last because I have a teeny weeny mini tutorial to go with it.  Is there such a thing?  Well, there is today. 

I've had lots of questions about how the layers were created for the project in the top, left photo on page 20 or our Spring Catalog.  Do you see how the frame sits higher than the circular part of the image?  I love the look and just worked until I figured out how they did it. 

Here's what I did.

Stamp the image TWO times.  Cut out 1 of the images using the framelit from our Window Frame Collection.  Now, using paper snips, cut out the circle from your second image.  (We do not have a punch the size you need for this circle.)

Now, cut around the outside edges of the frame image.  Place dimensionals (You'll have to use the tiny edge pieces, so they'll fit.) on the back of the cut frame, all around the edges.  Attach the frame to the larger piece.  That's all there is to it.  It has a really nice look.

So, that's it for our Team's designs.  I'm really proud of them and hope you love their creations as much as I do.  None of these cards were overly complicated, either, so they were fun and relaxing to make.  I'll hope you'll give them a try.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

2 Layouts / 1 Template

For my Scraps and Prayers group, I came up with 2 layouts you can make using the same template.  We made a winter layout and a Valentine's Day layout.  Here's a little 'mini tutorial' on how I did it.

This is the winter layout, in Marina Mist and Whisper White.  I used the Snowflake Soiree stamp set for stamping the Night of Navy snowflakes.  For a final touch of elegance, I embossed (with the new Borders Scoring Plate) across the lower edge of the white strips.  (See close-up later in this post.)  Then I spritzed the entire page (each page) with a shimmer mist.  It's gorgeous in real life.

Close-up of the silver glimmer paper snowflakes for accents.

Here's the Valentine's Day layout.  I used 2 punches for all the little hearts and added our new little paper doilies behind the strips.
I stamped across the borders (under the pink strips) with the Delicate Doilies stamp set (same process as with the snowflakes in the winter layout) and added a few accents with a floral stamp from the You are Loved stamp set.

I wanted a little glimmer on this layout, too, so I spritzed just the area with the hearts and doilies with a shimmer mist.

Here's a close-up:

The shimmer mist just doesn't not show up well in a photo, but it is very pretty.  The colors I used were Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, and Regal Rose.

Here's a little 'mini tutorial' on how I did the strips and the stamping.  Enjoy!

I made 2 pencil lines straight across each piece of CS.  The lines are light, so I added arrows to point them out.  Line your CS up with your grid paper and let it be your guide for making your lines.  If your CS is at the top, left corner of your grid paper, you will start your pencil line at the 7" mark on the left, top side of the grid paper.  The lower pencil guideline is 2" below the top one.  If you can find a large, clear ruler that is 2" wide, like mine, it will make your job super simple.  Mine is one that was handed down from my mother with her sewing things.  I've used it a lot.  Look in the quilting section of a fabric store and you can probably find one.  They are longer than the 12" CS, so you can easily align both sides of your CS with your grid paper and have your lines perfectly straight every time.  I highly recommend it!

After drawing the guidelines, I stamped randomly across them in a kind of wavy motion (rather than in a straight line.)   I cut my white CS strips at 21/2" wide and then lined them up with the grid paper, starting 1/4" above the 7" line where I drew the first pencil guidelines.  This will make sure that your pencil lines are entirely covered.

Here's the close-up of the embossing --- difficult to photograph!!!

Here's a tip for using the new scoring plate:  
When you get your CS positioned where you want it, (See my marker at 4" mark.) place sticky notes over the edges to help hold it in place.  Now, lay your template overlay on top and you're ready to emboss!

I hope you enjoyed my little 'mini tutorial' and will try making some templates of your own.  Tell me what you think of this idea and share your comments.  I'd love to hear from you.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

A 'wreath' card

I love it when a stamp set can serve multiple purposes.  Such is the case with the Delicate Doilies stamp set (p. 127 IBAC) and the Hello, Doily large stamp (same page).
Here's my take on a card I saw Dawn Olchefske make.

See how the doily becomes a wreath?  Love it!
I used Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler CS, along with Whisper White.

Use the larger scalloped square on the 2 squares die for the main focal piece.

Place your CS just partway into the embossing folder (Petals-a-Plenty/#116824).
Tip:
This is a top-fold card.  The card is opened up all the way and just the end of the top layer is inserted into the embossing folder.  You can't see it in the photo, but the back of my card is outside the embossing folder, hanging down.

It will leave a tiny line where the edge of the embossing folder was, but don't worry.  This will be covered up by your 1 1/4 X 4 1/4" strip of DSP.  I used Frostwood Lodge.

...and there you have it --- a quick and simple card to make for the holidays!  Happy stamping!

Side notes:
I had my party yesterday.  We had a good time.  We actually made this card as one of the projects.  Everyone did a good job.  Yes, I'm tired today but it's fun to entertain friends during the Christmas season.  They really liked the punch!  I decorated my punch bowl with Decor Elements.  I mostly use it at Christmas time, so I'll leave it decorated for now.
My party could have been a total disaster because, the night before the party, I had a terrible accident.  We went to the store and I was loading all the juices into the fridge in my studio, to be chilled for the party.  I dropped the large can of pineapple juice.  It landed so hard on my left foot (big toe area, of course) that it actually bounced up and came down onto my right foot --- right onto my bunion.  It hurt so much, I actually cried.  My big toe areas on both feet are pretty black now.  I will spare you any ugly photos:)  I was in a lot of pain at the party, but came through it.

Sunset Punch Recipe:
1 can frozen pink lemonade (add water as directed)
1 can frozen orange juice (add water as directed)
1 can pineapple juice
1 bottle cranberry juice
2 large bottles ginger ale
(ALL INGREDIENTS ARE CHILLED AHEAD OF TIME.)
Right before serving, add dollops of raspberry sherbet to float on top.

Speaking of embossing and party punch...
You can emboss your napkins, too!  This is quick and easy and a big hit at the party.

UPS --- Yay!!!
The doorbell just rang.  It was the fast 'jab and run' doorbell chime of the UPS man.  Yay!  This time, he was bringing my MDS projects I had printed.  They all turned out great!!!  If you haven't tried the My Digital Studio program yet, you really should.  You can go to the website (click on MDS image on the left side of my blog) and learn more about the program, as well as see some of the projects I've made using MDS.  It's so much fun and saves a ton of time.  Once you have projects printed, you can always add more embellishments to satisfy that need for extra goodies.

Happy stamping!

December 12 and counting...

Tile Coasters Tutorial

Here is another way you can make coasters for Christmas gifts.  This is a super simple project and makes a great gift.  I've come up with a gift box for them, too, to give the presentation a 'wow' factor.
Go to your local store that sells tiles (I got these at Lowe's.) and choose tumbled marble --- 4" square tiles.  Pick through the box and find the smoothest ones possible.
I make these gifts up in sets of 4.

Stamp images onto the tiles with Craft Ink.  I used Chocolate Chip.  The super great thing about this project is that if you make a mistake, you can wipe off the wet ink with a baby wipe and stamp it again when it dries.

The Craft Ink will not absorb into the tiles.  It will just sit on top, so they will stay wet.  We need to seal them.  Carefully lay the wet tiles onto a cookie sheet.  Place in oven and 'bake' at 300 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  My oven is a little lower in temperature settings than it should be, so I baked them for 45 minutes.

Place adhesive-backed felt pads onto the back of the tiles after baking, to protect furniture.  (I got these at Lowe's, too.)  I used 1" circles.

I wanted to make these look really nice for giving as gifts, so I designed a box for them.
Cut a 10" square of CS.  I used Cherry Cobbler.  Score at 3" and 7."  Cut slits up to first fold line on opposite sides, as shown.

Glue 2 flaps together, using Liquid Tombow and then pull up outside flap and attach it to the side.

Hold in place a few seconds, as it dries.

Glue opposite side the same way.

Make a lid for your box with a window sheet.  Cut an 8" square from a window sheet.  Score at 2" and 6."  Fold.  Cut and fold in, just as the CS pieces for the bottom of the box.  To hold it together, I just used 1 piece of tape on each side.  This will not show because it will be under the ribbon.

Attach a cute tag and you've got a great gift.  Notice that I put the window sheet on the inside of the box on the left.  To make it this way, just score at 2 1/8" and 5 7/8" instead of 2" and 6."  I think I prefer the lid on the outside, but it's nice to try it both ways.

Tip:
For stamping on the tiles, I used 3 stamp sets --- 1 for each of the 3 sets of coasters:
Delicate Doilies
Winter Post
Sweet Floral (background stamp)
Many of our stamp sets would look great for a project like this one.  Explore the catalog and see what you'd like to try on your project.
Tip:
The Simply Scored tool is perfect for this project.  I don't know how I lived without it!!!

Now you can see how easy it is to make the tile coasters --- and super fun!  Before you go out to shop for your tiles, I want you to add another item to your shopping list.  Get a few of the 1" tiles, too.  They come with a mesh backing in about 12" square sheets so if you buy just 1 sheet, you'll have quite a few tiles to use for your projects.  Just pull a square off the mesh backing when you're ready to use it in your project.
Try this for an idea:

These are recipe card holders and a magnet.  Once you start thinking about your projects, I'm sure you can come up with lots of ideas.  I stamped these and baked them with my coaster tiles. I used my hot glue gun to attach the clothespins and the magnet.  (My clothespins are about 2" long.)  My magnet was already on the metal rimmed tag, so I just used it as is.  You can glue your magnet directly to the tile.
Tip:  Be sure to attach the clothespin with the side up that will hold your recipe card.  The open end at the bottom acts as a 'stand' to stand up your cute little tile.

OK, now you can go shop for your tiles.
Have fun with this project and let me know how yours turns out.