"just saying hi" - A Quick Card

I had a complicated sort of day and I wasn't able to do some of the things I had planned. There are a couple of files that I wanted to test cut but they will have to wait for tomorrow. I have been gradually working on moving in to the new craft island and, as I am sorting thing, I discover "forgotten treasures" and get distracted by using them! I made this quick card with some of these supplies and tools.



I think I bought this Inkadinkado stamp set a year or so ago - along with several others in similar styles. It says "two clear stamps" but the butterfly is actually attached to the outer ring until you trim it. I left them together for the time being to help make sure that the butterfly was lined up properly.



I also found this large multicolor stamp pad that I used for some brayered backgrounds a long time ago - I am not sure if I ever posted those cards on my blog but I think I will make some more soon.



I used the "rock-a-block" to help make a clear stamped image - there is a slight curve to the block and you gently roll the stamp to make the impression. I have had good luck using these with a much better percentage of "good" stamped images.



Next I used some of my Nestabilities dies. I cut the image using the largest petite scalloped circle from the small set and then cut another scalloped circle from pink paper using the largest die from the large set. They are sized to fit together perfectly. I stamped the little sentiment using Versamark ink and heat embossed the words with light blue embossing powder.



I have many scalloped circles available to me with my Cricut - some on cartridges and some that I have designed in specific sizes and numbers of "bumps" using Design Studio. I can't always get scallops to cut perfectly on the Cricut but the Nestabilities dies make an even scallop every time and I just love that embossed inner edge. I used foam squares to raise up the stamped layer and attached the pink layer directly to my A2 card.



I added just a few white dots in three corners to give the card a bit more "spark" (and I managed to resist the temptation to add Stickles somewhere!).

It was fun to "rediscover" some of my supplies and to make this simple card. I am hoping that tomorrow will be a quieter day and I will be able to make some progress on the various projects I have spread all over my work area (and in my computer). I am sure my son would like to use the pool table from time to time but right now it is covered in paper!

I encourage you to take a look through all of your "crafting stash" - you may be surprised to see some of the things you already have!

History (Or Her Story) Tags plus inchies swap

As I mentioned a few days ago, the last two sets of Tags plus Inchies (TPIs) for the swap my friend Kopperhead organized were themed "Weather or Not" and "History. Or Her Story." For my "His(her)story" TPI, I decided to honor my maternal grandmother, Cora. She lived with us when I was in high school and was a great knitter and crocheter, making hundreds of pairs of mittens and slippers and many, many afghans over the years. If one of our children had been a girl, we planned to use "Cora" for the middle name (but I live in an all boy plus Mom household and love it!).



Here is a photo of Cora, taken in 1912, shortly before she married my Grandfather. Can you believe how tiny her waist is! I love these old family photos and have been planning on doing some heritage albums but I am still working on collecting all of the photos I need.



I scanned the old photo and then created my top layer for the tag using my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus software. I cropped the photo in an oval to eliminate the dark mat frame it was in and softened the edges. Then I layered the cropped photo on some digital paper with a textured overall design and added the words "Remember When" from one of my CM digital kits (but I altered it a bit by making it narrower and taller to fit my image). I printed these images out nine to a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 heavy matte photo paper and then cut and embossed them using the scalloped rectangle Nestabilities. I cut and embossed my colored cardstock backing from the next larger size rectangle in the "nest."

I still needed an "inchie" for my tag so I decided on a sort of "stealth inchie" (!) I cropped the photo of Cora's face with the "circle punch" in the CM program. I use a circle size a bit more than an inch so I wouldn't have a problem punching inchie sized circles after printing,




Above you can see my sheet of faces in circles which I printed on glossy photo paper. (I know there are more than I needed but I decided to fill up the page and may use these little faces on another project). I punched out the faces using my one inch circle punch. Below is a close up view of the glossy inchie, adhered to the large photo with a large dimensional glue dot.



I have created many .cut files for scalloped shapes, and there are now a number of Cricut cartridges that have scalloped shapes, but there is just something irresistible about the embossed edge that you can achieve with the Nestabilities. Here is a closer view... isn't it pretty?!



I punched a hole in the top left corner and added a bit of thin ivory ribbon. Below you can see are my 20 His(her)story tags ready to send for swapping.



I received the other tags in these two swaps yesterday and they are all amazing - it always seems like a lot of work to create multiples of the same item but it is a lot of fun to receive all of the different variations from the other participants.




I must apologize - I know I am behind in my emails and answers to comments but I have been working on an exciting new project - I can't tell you everything about it for a few more days but I may leave a "hint" or two here and there - maybe you will guess what I am up to...! Thanks for all the feedback on the videos I have been making - it has been helpful to hear from so many of you and I have a long list of suggested topics! There will be a new video tomorrow unless my day gets totally crazy...

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2009 - a brand new year with lots of possibilities! I hope that you all had a happy and healthy finish to 2008. We had some great family gatherings over the holidays and the time seemed to fly by much too fast.

So now I am ready to get back to more regular posting. I hope to be able to post something every day - just to keep things interesting. Some posts will be complicated designs with files and directions or long tutorials but some will be short and simple!

I have been fighting off a cold (which seems to be getting the better of me) so tonight I am just posting a card that I made last month. No design studio involved here - in fact, I didn't even use the Cricut for this one (!)

I have designed a lot of files for different scalloped shapes and there are quite a few cartridges now that have scalloped shapes as options, but there is something about the embossed edge that the Nestabilities dies produce that I find irresistible.



Above you can see the subtle but elegant edge on the long rectangle shape that I used for this card.



The word "peace" was heat embossed using sparkle embossing powder - it gives an iridescent effect when it catches the light.



The stamp of the snowy village is one that I have had for years - even though I didn't get very interested in stamping until recently, I seem to have acquired some stamps through the years - blame it on my crafter's collecting instincts! It actually looks a lot like the town I live in when winter is here (typical New England scenery). I highlighted the snowy roofs and trees with Stickles.

So, it isn't a fancy complicated card with many layers and ribbons and extra embellishments - just a simple card and a simple wish to all for peace and prosperity in the coming year.