12 on the 12th and the Pixie card

  

Guess what?  It is the 12th of the month again.  For those of you doing the "12 on the 12th for 2012" project, today is the day to take those 12 (or more) photos.

Here is my little eight year old neighbor with her special birthday card.  Everyone loves to see their name in print.  It is also nice to know that the card you give is custom made just for the recipient.

I used digital papers and embellishments from the Cosmo Cricket "Pixie-Licious" line to create the card.  I'll do another post explaining how I used the digital elements to create all of the parts of the card.  Once I had everything set up in the Silhouette Studio software, I printed two sheets of white cardstock with registration marks for cutting.

Here are all of the card pieces after cutting.  I chose a blue card base from my stash of Papertrey Ink cardstock, this color is Spring Rain.

I continue to be impressed by the detail and accuracy of the cuts I get with the Silhouette Cameo.    The narrow frame that I cut from the sentiment page is nearly perfect.

I left a thin white border around the Pixie image to help it stand out on the card front.  Some parts of the design needed a little added sparkle so I went over them with the Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust glitter pen.

I also added some sparkle to the words with some glitter gelly pen touches on the curves of each letter (the font I used is called "Curlz").

 

The spots around the circle are actually tiny flowers and I added some sparkle to the center of each flower.

I even added a bit of sparkle to the tips of her toes!

I cut four pixies so I would have a few extras.  I did notice that the calibration was off a tiny bit on a couple of the images.  I'll have to work through the calibration process to see if I can fix the errors.

I added large foam squares to the back of the printed scalloped circle to raise it from the first layer of pattern on the card front.

I wanted the pixie to "float" above the circle so I added a second layer of dots to all of the spots on the back except the one for the heart.  I wanted the images to work together and stay level.

This side view shows how the stacked foam squares work to raise the pixie higher and keep the images level.

The inside of the card has an inner liner that was adapted from a large square piece of digital paper.  I got the Pixie-Licious paper and elements in digital files from Jessica Sprague.com, you can find them at the top of the page HERE.

This card was a lot of fun to make.  It amazes me when I do a print and cut to see how easy it is to just start with white papers or cardstock and produce all of the pieces for your card.

If you'd like more information about how to take the digital images into the Silhouette software and create the cutting lines, please leave a question or comment.  I'll try to do another post to show the step by step process.

In other news...our world travelers are home - we picked them up at the airport last night and we are all looking forward to some fun times together before they head out to California.  My crafting and blogging time will be limited while they are here but I have lots up my sleeve for later this summer!


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Happy Birthday (by the numbers)

My father-in-law turned 78 yesterday and we got together with some of the family for a nice birthday dinner.  I think it is fun to make cards with the exact age sometimes - particularly since you can usually only buy them with ages that end in a "5" or "0."  When you are young, you are always "going on" the next age and a card with the exact number seems special.  For much of your adult life, the number isn't as big a deal and then when you are getting older, you start to brag again.  I remember my Grandmother who was 89 when she died but would always tell people she was "in my 90th year!"

I used Cardstock from this DCWV "Cotton Bloom" stack.  This was a recent find at Marshall's for just $5.99 for 48 sheets.  I am not sure when this stack came out but I suspect it was a couple of years ago.  If you check the DCWV blog, Erin posts the Ultimate Stack List from time to time as new stacks are issued.  I found a listing for "Cotton Blossoms" as a Michael's exclusive - eventually the exclusives appear for sale elsewhere (I am guessing that this is the same stack since the name is so close...). 

I decided to use part of this striped sheet for the card.  I like the plaid for a man's card and I thought the elegant gold swirls and green would make a nice overall effect.  I usually cut layers for a card front but this time I simply cut a piece at 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches to completely cover the card front.

I chose to use the dotted striped with the zig-zag edge as the top of the card so I trimmed the cardstock along that line and then cut 4 1/4 inches below in the green section.  Designs in stacks often have edges that are slightly darker (to look "inked") and I don't like to work from the edge and have one side that looks different than the other.  Since the sheet is 12 inches across and I need only 5 1/2 inches to cover the card front, I can shift the cut over to avoid the "inked' edge.  In this case, I trimmed 1/2 inch from the left side to create my card cover.

I cut the numbers for the age with my Sizzix "Fun Serif" dies that I have had for years.  I sometimes think of getting rid of these because they do take up an entire drawer but I find that I still use them for quick and easy individual letters and numbers.  The green glittered cardstock is also from the Cotton Bloom stack.  I backed the number with a circle cut from Core'dinations cardstock with the Nestabilities "pinking circle"  dies.  I used these to match the top pinking edge on the card.  I used Scor-Tape to adhere the ribbon (from my stash, I bought it many years ago when we lived in Germany) to the pinked circle and then used foam dots to adhere the circle to the card.

I stamped the sentiment on the front and then went over the letters with a Sakura Stardust Clear Jelly Roll pen.

 
On the inside of the card, I added a pocket for a gift card.  I cut a strip of the same blue Core'dinations cardstock and used the Martha Stewart "Arched Lattice" border punch on the top edge.  I chose this punch because it also has a "pinked" top edge.  I put Scor-Tape on the sides and bottom of the cardstock and placed it on the back of the top flap of the card.  If you make sure the fit is a little snug, the card should stay in even though it will be upside down when the card is folded.  The sentiment is a Studio G stamp from Michael's.

Remember that 1/2 inch strip I trimmed from the striped paper?  I used it to decorate the envelope.  I also used a strip of the same blue Core'dinations cardstock and cut the letters from the same green glitter cardstock as the number inside.  Pretty coordinated, eh?!

The card was a hit with Dad - here is a father and son photo (in case you couldn't just tell by looking!).

Here are the card and envelope together - a birthday "ensemble" to make a nice presentation for the gift card inside.

There may be a bit of a break in the weather today - it poured most of Saturday.  We'll be finishing the painting and trying to move some things in to the apartment so we have fingers crossed for some breaks in the weather!  I hope  you are having a nice weekend.

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*Scor-Tape 1/8"" Crafting Tape

*Sakura Stardust CLEAR GLITTER PENS Sparkle Accent

*Martha Stewart ARCH LATTICE Edge Punch Edger M284018

*DCWV Cardstock 12 x 12 COTTON BLOOM Stack Paper Printed

InLinkz.com

Super Simple Cards

It seems that life has been busier than ever lately - I think May is just a busy month for most people.  We have had lots of events to attend and more coming up this weekend.  I am a little off my usual schedule for posting - I have had less time to be in my craft room and even less time to get to the computer and write up the projects I have been making.

Since many of us are pressed for time, I wanted to share a super quick way to make a card.  Not a prizewinning, over the top fabulous card, just a simple card to send when your time is limited but you still want to send a card.

If you are like me, you can't resist buying paper, cardstock and more paper.  This 8 x 8 stack was at Marshall's for a few dollars and I liked the look of a lot of the designs - so I bought it.  I don't know how long it has been sitting on my shelf.  I think I have used one or two pieces since I got it.

Flipping through the stack I saw this design and I knew it would convert to a card topper very easily.  I cut it in half through the plain center area to make two pieces that measured four inch by eight inches.  Then I looked at the design and decided where to cut each half to showcase the floral design to suit a card front.  In this case, I thought the section with the larger dark blue flower would be the best so I cut a piece at 5 1/4 inches to make a card topper.

I stamped the sentiment in blue - not quite an exact match, but close enough.

I wasn't quite happy with the stamping, so I used a Sakura Stardust glitter pen to soften the stamped image and add some sparkle (it may be difficult to see in the photo above but when the light hits the card it is really sparkly - see below).

You don't have to be perfect - just trace the letters as best you can and they will shine prettily.

I added ribbon along the shiny pink section of the cardstock and taped it to the back before adhering the topper to the card.  Then I tied a knot with a shorter piece of ribbon near the top of the card.

Whenever I use a darker shade of cardstock for the card base, I add some sort of liner to make it easier to write the message.  You can just add a plain piece of 5 1/4 x 4 inch cardstock but I like to use one of my many border punches to dress it up a little.  It takes just a few seconds but it really makes a difference!

To finish the card, I added pearls in a few sizes to the centers of the flowers.

Quick and simple - but still a nice way to say thank you!

Do you have any favorite shortcuts for making cards?  What is your favorite "go to" style when you have just a short time to make something?

I am planning on starting the scrapbooking challenges soon so think about an event or a set of photos that you have "been meaning to get to."  Then print the photos if they are digital and you want to make traditional pages so you will be ready to go (digital pages are fine too if you prefer them).  If your photos are already printed - great!  The plan is to finish pages in a simple style and to tell the story behind the photos instead of burying them in embellishments.  If you prefer sketches to get you started, I'll be happy to post some - just leave a comment to let me know.


Have a great day!

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Cupcake Birthday Card

I dusted off my Imagine this weekend and made a few things.  I have been using my Imagine primarily to print paper since I never have had good luck in getting it calibrated to cut a full sheet of images neatly.  If I print and cut just a few images at the top of the page, I can usually get acceptable cuts. 

My first cuts (the images on the left) looked very odd.  The color was off and I could tell that the black ink was missing.  I remembered having this problem before and tried cleaning the print heads (under "settings").  I did this three times but I could never get the black ink to work so I gave in and replaced the black ink cartridge.  That did the trick, as you can see in the images on the right above.

I usually skip over some of the "cute" images, but this cupcake with a girly face from the Better Together Imagine cartridge appealed to me.  I cut it quite large - at 3 3/4 inches tall.  I cut an extra layer of the frosting to add some dimension to the card.

I cut two mat layers for the A2 card.  The pink layer is 5 1/4 x 4 inches and the blue layer is 5 x 3 3/4 inches.  By cutting the top layer this size, I was able to use a 5 x 7 inch Cuttlebug folder and emboss the front with the pattern running horizontally.

 I was careful to line up the paper so the top row of cupcakes was complete.

This embossing folder is from the Once Upon a Princess Cuttlebug Companion set - this set of four is one of my favorites of the "Companion" sets.  I find that often there are two folders I like and two that I don't care for in the sets but I like all four of the options in this set.

 
The images on the Better Together cartridge are shaded to give an "inked" effect.  I wanted to add some more sparkle, so I used my Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust glitter pen to emphasize all of the lines of the stars and the black contour lines.

The glitter from the pen makes the frosting look much more festive!

Some foam adhesive circles lift the top layer above the base and hold it tight.  I adhered the base layer of the cupcake directly to the embossed front.

Lifting the frosting from the base cupcake brings the image to life.  I also added an outline to the mouth with the Sakura pen and used two tiny gem stickers for the eyes.

I printed and cut the "Hey cupcake" phrase from the Better Together cartridge.  It also needed a bit of sparkle so I outlined the words with the sparkly gel pen.

If you look carefully, you can see the added definition given by the glitter pen.  I completed the sentiment with a stamp and colored the tiny crown with Promarkers with metallic gold on the circles and more glitter pen outlining to finish the image.

Here is the inside of the card before it was signed.

I placed the cupcake at a slight angle, making sure that the embossed cupcakes were covered neatly.

Don't you love those long eyelashes on the cupcake face!  I guess if you are going to do cute you need to "go big or go home" (as my Grandma used to say!).

If you don't have an Imagine, you can make a very similar card with one of the many, many cupcake images to be found on Cricut cartridges.  You can stamp or draw the face in the same style.

Once I got the Imagine printing sorted out this was a pretty simple card to put together.  I think I may take another stab at the advanced calibration.  If I could only get the entire sheet to print and cut correctly I would probably use this machine more.

Be sure to check out the information about the Spring Training 2012 course that Ella Publishing is offering from April 23 to May 4th.  Check the post HERE to get more details and to leave a comment for a chance to win a free spot.  Only the comments left on the original post will be included in the random drawing.  There are five great instructors and access to the videos will never expire.  

I'll be drawing a winner late tonight and will post the name on Tuesday.  If the random number generator doesn't pick your number, I think the course will be well worth the price - so go ahead and sign up and join in the fun!

We have a holiday today - it is "Patriot's Day" in Massachusetts so there will be a parade in our historic town.  The Boston Marathon is also today and I am worried about the runners since the temperatures are predicted to be in the high 80s!

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