Where Does the Time Go? And Giving the Gift of Cards

We have been so busy around here! What with regular daily activities, visitors and card classes, I just haven't had time to post. I'm not complaining, just making note :)

Today, I had friends come to visit with their new baby. It was wonderful to cuddle a newly born little guy again, but equally as nice to give him back. It made me realise that my "little baby" will be 3 in a few months and I am wondering where all that time went! It all just goes by so quick - I mean the oldest will be double digits next year. Sheesh!

As I like to do, I picked up a gift for the baby to give to my friends when they arrived. And, as I also like to do, I added something for Mum. After all, she had a lot of work to do (and much more to come) and deserves a little treat too! This time I decided on a gift of cards.

So, I found this awesome little thing called a One Sheet Wonder. It's different patterns you can cut up one sheet of paper into to make bulk lots of cards. I found the one I used at Mae's Cachet. If you search her site for One Sheet Wonder, you'll find a few different templates for both A4 and 12x12. There are tons if you search on Google too.

I also made the envelopes (I may never buy envelopes again) using the Any Size Envelope tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. The box is the A2 Card Box tutorial from the same site.

So here are the results:
















All cardstock, embellishments, ribbon and stamps are from Stampin' Up (What! No Bo Bunny or Tim Holtz I hear you say!). As I have often said, it's much easier to create cards and other projects when you use a coordinating line of products. I made all of this in about 3 hours (including envelopes and the research). I hope you give it a try!

I have sent out the email for the June card class. We are making photo wallets! Let me known if you want to join in and I'll send you the details.

xoxo

- Kim

Alcohol Ink Monoprint Technique

First, I just have to say I have the BEST husband.  He has taken my Tim Holtz addiction on board and purchased me both Compendiums (both autographed too) along with the funniest email to Tim to get them for me for our 15th Wedding Anniversary.  It just goes to show that he does pay attention each time I squeal at a new technique or product!

These cards were made using one of the techniques from the first Compendium called Alcohol Ink Monoprint.  Essentially, you put a few different colours of alcohol ink on your craft mat along with some Metallic Fixative and blending solution, swipe your glossy card stock through and voila!  So easy yet it makes a fabulous background.  Using the same inks, you get some very different results as can be seen here:

Yes, the exact same colour inks were used to make these backgrounds - just in different concentrations.  So now what?  Well, this is what I did with these two.

This card was stamped with a combination of Bo Bunny Gabrielle stamps and Stampin' Up sentiment.  You have to use a dye based ink pad like Memories or Archival Ink on top of the alcohol inks.  It will dry on it's own but I am always in a hurry so I use a heat tool.

These stamps are from Gina K. Designs and I created the scene by stamping the horse first, masking it and then stamping the trees and fence.  The colours of this background just really suited the theme.

Talk about easy cards!  Just a bit of swiping and stamping and you have a stunning finished product!  I was having so much fun though, I created one more.  I have the same problem with my alcohol inks as I do with my Distress Ink - similar colours.  I will need to make sure I get some colours outside of my usual palette next time.  Here is the last card:

This is a Gina K. Designs stamp set too.  I stamped the image onto silver card stock and added the sentiment before punching it out and adhering it with foam tape.  I added some KaiserCraft pearls to the flower centres and used my Distress Stains to colour some Tim Holtz trimmings to match.  Again, simple card but effective!

Thanks for looking and I will be bringing you a more constructed card soon!

xoxo

Kim

CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration - Case File #1

This site is seriously cool; and challenging.

There is a "scene" (colour palette), "evidence" (pins, numbers, lace, etc) and "testimony"(journalling) that have to be included in your layout.  The whole idea of making it like a crime you have to solve is some how intriguing.  It draws you in and makes you want to play along.  So far this month, the inspiration has come from Alice in Wonderland and I have to say the results in the gallery are magnificent.

Of course, I decided to play along!  Here is the Case File:

These are not my normal colours so I found this very challenging.  Still, it made me think of things I might not have.  I think my layout lacks a little something BUT I gave it a red hot try and I am proud of myself for doing so.  Here is my take on CSI #1:

I was pretty please that I had materials in my stash to match the five colours, especially the green!  I needed more journalling but I was so wrung out from figuring out how to put this together that I just couldn't think!!  The flowers were the biggest thing for me.  I made them!  How cool...but as usual, credit where it is due - this is where I learned it from:

I inked mine with Spiced Marmalade and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink and when they were close to dry, I sprayed them with Smooch Spritz.  The rub on is an old Basic Grey one I've had for ever and the patterned paper is Scenic Route Paper Co - Rockland Laurel Street.  The tags were traced from others that I had and the chipboard was a piece I received as part of a kit a long time ago.  The edges were punched with a Martha Stewart punch and a Fiskar's punch.  The pattern paper was distressed with scissors and then inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  The chipboard letters are randoms left over from various sets that were inked with a Cajun Craze (Stampin' Up) marker after being lightened up with Picket Fence Distress Stain!

I hope that you check the site out and join in; and that you use the flower technique...it really is effective and makes for a great 3D look to your page.  Until next time!

xoxo

Kim

Jan 2012 Color Challenge for Paper Secrets

I promise to not bother you again today!  I have been a busy little girl.  So, as promised, I have a scrapbook layout for you.  The challenge was to scrap a page, card or altered project using Gold or Silver on it.  I chose silver as I had this great picture of Indy from the south coast that I turned black and white and then added the colour back to her eyes.  So here it is:

Heaps of silver here!  Although it's not easy to tell in the photo, even the paper has a silver metallic running through it.  But the most notable silver features are the photo mat, the letter squares and of course, the butterflies.

The photo mat was cut with a Time Holtz on the edge die and the letter tiles are grunge blocks.  I embossed the squares with silver and then inked the letters with Stormy Sky Distress Ink.  The paper is Die Cuts With a View (all of it except for the glitter paper), most from the Luxury Premium Stack.  The butterflies are Go-Lo specials as are the flowers.  The rub-on is from Stampin' Up  Eastern Elegance.  The bling and brads were stash items.

Hope you like it!  We just love Indy and we are so happy to have made her part of our family.  I can't help but give the rescue agency another plug - ABR - Arctic Breed Rescue.  The people there are wonderful, knowledgable and very friendly.  They get to know the dogs well and will match you perfectly with one of their beauties.  The dogs are all Malamutes, Huskies, Samoyeds and any other Arctic breed you can think of as well as crosses.  Look into one of their rescues before buying a puppy - these dogs deserve to be loved!

Off my soap box now...thanks for looking again today :0)

xoxo

Kim

6 Fold Card

Each Wednesday, I get an email from SplitCoastStampers with a new tutorial.  When I saw this one, I just had to try it out.  Again, it's not as hard as I first thought although I felt I had to watch the video that is at the bottom of the tutorial page.  I am not going to repeat the tutorial but here is the link to the 6 Fold Card.

I chose to use the Kaisercraft Gypsy papers and embellishments.  The butterflies are Hero Arts stamps teamed with Sizzix framelit dies which were coloured with Smooch Accent Inks.  This is what mine looked like finished:

This is the closed front.  The butterfly was also sprayed with Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom Gold, edged with VersaColor Ink in Gold and then coated with Dimensional Magic and Diamond Stickles.  The ribbon is a random piece from my stash while the central medallion is part of the Kaisercraft Gypsy Chipboard embellishments.  This was sanded, inked (Distress Ink Vintage Photo) and sprayed with the Heirloom Gold.  The paper was inked with  Vintage Photo too.

First and second folds open.  The flowers and brads were inked with Vintage Photo and Gold and are from the KaiserCraft Gypsy collection.  The base paper was from DCWV brights card stock stack.

With the forth and fifth folds open.  The small butterfly was attached with foam tape.  The brads are ones I've had for ages and the thread is Memory Thread from DMC.  The centre panel is Very Vanilla card stock from Stampin' Up that was inked with Vintage Photo.

Completely open now.  The bottom greeting was stamped on Very Vanilla with Ranger Archival Ink in Plum and then inked with Vintage Photo (as were the butterflies).  The tag stamp is from Hero Arts teamed with a matching Sizzix Framelit die.  The word is from a set of Stamp It stamps I bought years ago.

All of the papers were inked with Vintage Photo but unless you see what it looked like before, it seems kind of meaningless.  So, here they are side by side:

As you can see, the act of inking has changed the look of these papers substantially.  It tones down those colours that might be too bright for you.  Give it a try on one of those pieces that you love the pattern on but just can't get past the colour now.  Also, for some reason, the colours in my photos are not accurate this time.  The card stock is more green and the pinky red centre piece is actually more burgundy as is the ribbon.  Grrrrrr...you would think I'd have that sorted by now huh?!

Oh, I thought this could be our first class project too!  Obviously, different papers and colours (ooooo, need to go shopping).  I won't have a class in January so am looking at a February date.  Need to schedule around birthdays and classes of others that I attend so will get back to you soon with the date.

And now onto the January colour challenge by Paper Secrets!  I hope to have a scrapbook page for you soon.

xoxo

Kim

Last Card Making Bonanza

Ok, I know it's after Christmas but I just didn't get to getting this one up.  These are most definitely Christmas cards!  I found it on Two Friends Stamping (with instructions on how to complete) and I have managed to copy it almost exactly with my own stash of materials.  I used Dimensional Magic for the icicles with glitter sprinkled in like this:

Even in the warmer weather, it needed overnight to dry and it was a little brittle so be careful.  Definitely use the plastic wrap to create this as suggested on Two Friends Stamping's blog.  My end products looked like this:

Two slightly different looks just by changing up the roof colour and ribbon.  I didn't have a woodgrain embossing folder but I had paper with a similar texture that worked well.  This is not as hard as it looks.  I thought it would take me ages but I whipped these out within a couple of hours (after the icicles were dry).

I also made this:

 I used Tim Holtz Distress Papers for the circles and sanded them to make the embossing show.  The embossing folder was a Cuttlebug one (snowflakes).  Then I highlighted parts of the ornaments with Diamond Stickles.  I drew on the "strings" with a zig marker and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up - Snow Swirled.  The border is the scallop punch from Stampin' Up.

The last card I want to show, you I've done the tutorial for.  I found this idea on Simply One Of a Kind who entered hers into the Less is More challenge.

I am still putting this up because you can do this technique at any time - it doesn't have to be a Christmas theme.  Change the stamps and colours and you could have a birthday card, sympathy, Thinking of you, etc and it is really simple.  So here is the finished products:

As you can see, I used different stamps for each one (the first was a roller graph).  I also changed my embossing powder for the last from sea foam white to silver.  I was so involved in doing these, I forgot to take pictures until the last one so here is how the silver trees was made - the technique is the same for them all.

Cut your card to size (I chose A5 but you could do larger or smaller).  I chose to score my lines in before I stamped but upon reflection of the finished product, I would probably leave that until the last step now.

Mask off the area that you want to stamp in with post it notes (or some other form of removable paper).  This will stay until you are finished with the inking so I suggest overlapping your post it notes so that you don't get bleeding of the ink between them.  To make sure they are straight, use the edge of a ruler or draw a light pencil line that you can erase later.

Next, wipe over the entire exposed area (including the post it notes) with an embossing buddy.  This insures that your embossing powder only sticks to the image and not anywhere you don't want it (you can use corn starch or baby powder if you don't have an embossing buddy).

Load up your stamp with Versamark ink and stamp it several times across the card.  If you are using multiple stamps, that is fine as the ink stays wet for a long time so there is no real hurry.  Having said that, don't leave it sitting for ages either :0)

 Sprinkle the image with your embossing powder (silver used here) and tap off any excess.  The easiest way to do this is to have a piece of folded paper underneath that has been wiped with an embossing buddy.  Then pour your embossing powder on your image.  When you pick it up, it will fall off onto the paper.  Then fold the paper in half and use the crease to empty the extra back into the container.

Heat the image with your heat gun.  You will see the powder go from dull to shiny.  Continue to move across the card until all the powder is shiny.

Side view so you can see the shiny!

Now it's time to ink.  I chose distress inks in Stormy Sky and Chipped Sapphire as I was going for a night sky look.  Always start with the lightest colour first.  I chose to use the ink blending tool but a make up sponge will do the same thing.  Always start off the page or area you want to ink to test the colour first.

 Here is the first layer.  I chose to leave an area at the bottom white to look like snow.

Second layer done.

As I think you all know by now, I like my shiny things so I added a layer of Perfect Pearls Mist - Pearl to the image.  The cool thing about this is that  the Distress Inks react with the liquid of the mist so they have blended even better together.  Can you see the extra shine?

Now you can remove your post it notes.  If you have drawn a line, erase it.  Now would be the time to score your lines if you haven't done so already.

 Add your sentiment under the image.

In the end, I decided I needed to make the white area look more like snow so I added a thick layer of crystal Kindy Glitz.  And you are done!

Thanks for keeping up with me during the busy season.  I will have some more cards and some scrap book pages for you shortly along with my date for my first class!

xoxo
Kim

The Card Blog That Almost Didn't Happen

Yep, that's right.  Today's card-a-thon almost didn't happen.  Because I am a numpty!  No, really, I am.  I take full responsibility for the stupidity of my actions (happy Drew?).  It almost didn't happen because....no wait for it....I stuck my SD card with all the photos on it into the CD ROM drive on my Mac.  Now, stop it.  I know you are laughing but it wasn't funny...at first.  The sad thing is, I am obviously not the first to do it as there were a myriad of videos on youtube showing idiots like me how to remove it.  It really hurts to admit this to you all...but only because I know the next time I see you I will have to endure the pointing and laughing.  In my defense, who was the silly person who designed the computer so that the two slots are less than 2 inches apart?!  And who said that I should be looking at what I am doing while I do it?  I can multi-task...wait, maybe not.

Anyhoo...on with the show.

I managed to get my six cards done last night because I had forgotten about the lovely 3D Decoupage scenes that I had so painstakingly put together before going to MUFOG (click the word to find out what it is if you don't know).  I found these while perusing my paper and trying to decide what I was going to do last night.  I'd show you a picture of what they looked like but I was just a wee bit spacey last night so instead, here is the picture of all six finished:

Pretty cute and easy to do.  The great thing about the 3D Decoupage sheets these days is that they are die cut (so just push the shapes out of the card) and numbered so all you have to do is follow the order and tape them together.  No cutting!

Because these are just stock standard cards (in other words, no technical details), I'm not going to do a standard tutorial for them.  Instead, I'll show you a few short cuts that I have learned over the years so that you too can do this easily.  The first one is to tell you where to cut a normal A4 piece of paper to get two cards out of one piece of paper.  This was one the first things I learned in the various card workshops I have taken.

14.8cm is the magic number.  It looks like 14.9 in the photo but I assure you it isn't.  If you cut at 14.8, you will have to equally sized pieces that can be folded in half to give you the perfect A5 card.  Good tip, eh?  Can't tell you how much card stock that has saved me over the years.

Speaking of measuring.  How many of you spend ages measuring the piece you want to mat so that you get the perfect edge around it?  I don't and for those of you who have gotten cards from me, I bet you didn't even notice (for my pedantic friends out there - I don't want to hear how you noticed but were too nice to tell me.  It's deliberate I tell you!).  This is what I do:

Essentially, I eyeball it.  I adhere what I want to cut on the paper I want to mat with and then stick it in my trimmer and away we go!  It's usually pretty close and takes a lot less time.  However, if it has to be just so, I understand :0)

I also recommend getting a ruler like this:

This happens to be the Tim Holtz Design Ruler but it is awesome.  Because it is clear, it's easy to measure stuff that is already on your card.  In this instance, I was measuring for some ribbon because I forgot to put it on before I taped down!  The other cool thing about this ruler is that it has the holes for marking brad placement (or stitching designs) as well as a metal edge for cutting against.  With the lines, you can also check if things are straight.  So cool!

Also, don't under estimate the value of buying matching stamps and punches.  Yes, it can be expensive, but as a time saver, it's worth it!  Here is the one I used in my cards:

A little later, I chose to make one of my decoupage pieces look like an ornament hanging from some tinsel.  This is what I did for that particular look:

I cut a piece of twine and used sticky tape to attach it to the back of the decoupage piece.

Then on my tinsel ribbon, I tied a separate piece of twine into a bow.

Then I adhered the ribbon down with Glossy Accents (an Inkssentials product).  Because the bow was separate from the piece coming off the decoupage, I could slide it around until it was just right.

I trimmed the ribbon to size and the card is done!

Last but not least is just a reminder that there are plenty of thing around the house that you can use in your craft.  This is one of them.

Staples!  Lots of craft stores sell "specialty" ones that will cost you a fortune and if you are looking for special coloured staples you may have to buy one but if just regular old staples will do, then you probably have at least one around the house!  Use it...you'll be happy you did.

So that is all from me people.  Tonight's effort is more of an artwork but I have another dastardly plan to make up the time another night ;0)

xoxo

Kim

Card Night 2

This did not go as planned!  While I was working on yesterday's post (waiting for all those photos to upload), I started making last night's card.  I was going to have a go at a clear card.  Alas, the clear stuff I have just would not let the ink dry (and they were looking really awesome too).  So, I had to start from scratch.

I was feeling a tad tired so I decided to use the Splitcoaststampers Resource section for some inspiration as I remembered as special fold card that had stumped me previously.  I found it and that is what I made last night - 1 of the 4 I was SUPPOSED to make.  I got stuck on the closure.  I wanted to try something "different".  By the time 10:30pm rolled around, I decided that I may have to concede and do a belly band for the card...so I did :0)

This was the end result:

 This is the card closed (with the offending belly band).

Card in the "open" state

As it would be displayed (sorry for the picture quality but the camera just did not want to cooperate)

Now, I don't see any sense in re-inventing the wheel.  Especially when that wheel was created by Beate Johns - one of the main resource providers from Splitcoaststampers.  Therefore, I have posted a link to her tutorial below.  I didn't change a thing except I used plain paper as my base instead of patterned.  If you don't have square envelopes - you can make them ;0) Enjoy!

Box Card

I'm now off to attempt to get three more of these made before the little man wakes up from his nap!  See you tomorrow with tonight's creations.

xoxo

Kim