12 Tags of 2012 - July

Tim challenged us to play with our alcohol inks in this month's 12 Tags and I finally have time to join in!

As we don't celebrate 4th of July in Australia, I chose some bright colours that would help me feel warm in all this cold.  Also, I didn't have any canned air so I had to improvise there too.   I chose to use a straw to blow the ink around.  I am happy with the way it turned out.  I turned the tag each time applied ink to ensure that I was blowing in the direction I wanted it to splatter.  This is such a quick way to make a cool, colourful background!

Finally, I applied my stamps using Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black, added my embellishments and tied on my ribbon.  Easy and fun!

Some of the close up details:  As you can see here, I inked the edges of the glossy card stock with some Tea Dye Distress Ink

This addition of a chunky embellishment like a key is new to me.  I have tried it a couple of times now and have determined that I need more of this style of embellishment with new ways to attach them!  Watch out wallet :0)

I hope you liked my take on Tim Holtz's July tag.  Thank you for looking and I will get back into posting after we have moved!

xoxo

Kim

June Card Class Project - A Photo Wallet

Hey everyone! Hope this frosty morning finds you all well.

I've posted this project before but I wanted to share again - including what we are making for the class. This project was sourced from Splitcoaststampers. It's a really simple way to share a few photos with friends and family.

So here are the two different versions we are making this month.









The second version:






The flower on the front came from Paper Loves Glue. It's super easy and soooo effective! Here is a side on photo to give you an idea of the dimension:



You will also notice I chose to go with a Velcro fastener and not a belly band. I found that the band kind of takes over if you are using patterned paper.

The projects are made using KaiserCraft and Prima papers. I used Stampin' Up and Distress ink to ink the edges of the paper and stamp the sentiments. Stamps are from Hero Arts, Bo Bunny and KaiserCraft.

xoxo

- Kim

The Book Card

So, my one of my besties had a Finally Forty party last week and I wanted to make her something special because it was a big birthday! I wish I could say I invented this card but, alas, such is not the case. I found it at Gramma's House of Cards. It's called a book card.




As you can see, it sort of looks like a book. It looks really intricate but the hardest part is the accordion frame inside. Before I make this again, I'll be buying a scoring board! So here is the front:



I used Bo Bunny Country Garden paper and embellishments plus a little Stickles and a few rhinestones. The inside is more of the same:



I printed the poem and greeting onto cardstock and inked the edges of the patterned paper. I also added ribbon and corner fasteners to the top of the "shadow box". Here are some close ups and different angles:









In this part of the card, I placed the different items at different levels of the accordion folds to give a 3D effect.

It's a fabulous card that is sure to get lots of admiration if you are keen to give it a try!

- Kim

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

The Never Ending Card

Much like the Never Ending Story, this card just keeps on going! It's almost mesmerising. You just want to keep turning it.

The main thing to remember with this card is not to put bulky embellishments on it as it needs to be able to fold through all the faces without getting stuck. I found an excellent set of instructions here (remember, no point reinventing the wheel).

So here is an example I made while at MUFOG:


This is the front of the card - the start if you like.


This is position 2 - the first set of fold backs.


This is position 3 - the second set of folds


And position 4 - the last set of folds before you get back to the beginning!

I again recommend that you use one line of paper so that all the panels match and a 6 x 6 paper pad works beautifully here. If you get a single line of product, you can use the matching stickers, rub ons and other flat embellishments to dress it up.

Have fun!

xoxo

- Kim

Gatefold Card CAS

Hi all.  It's been busy here with the first term school holidays and Easter but I managed to get this card done during my marathon Easter card making day.

This card is a copy (although not exact) of one in a Print Blocks ad on the back of Scrapbook Creations No. 87.  The card was done by Libby Savaille.  I really loved it when I first saw it so I bought one of the embossing folders to try it out.

Here is my take:

And here is a close up of some of the detail:

Looks hard right?  So not!  It's just some paper piecing and addition of some bling on top of embossing!  A card like this could really make a great wedding invite.  It's quick and easy but very effective.

Thanks for looking today!

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