Thanks for your patience...

I will be going home tomorrow - I want to say thanks for your patience while I have been away.  You may remember that I recently shared a photo of some cardstock and ribbons in some of my favorite colors.  I had hoped to write up one of the posts showing how I used these but my internet connection has been somewhat problematic and my time limited.

Here is a quick peek at a close up of the butterfly on this card.  When I get home I will fill you in on all the details along with the other part of the project.  I know that a lot of people are busy with Easter preparations and many school age children have Spring Break this week so I imagine that many of you don't have much time right now to check your online sources of inspiration and information.  I just want to be sure that those of you who do count on getting a morning email from me have something to look at!

I will have lots to share when I get home and I will soon be able to tell you about some of the exciting new projects I am working on!

Snow ATCs for February

The theme for my small ATC group this month was "snow."  I usually think of shades of blue to go with snow themes, however, since it was Valentine's month, I decided to use pink and red for a change.

  

I started with this image on the Graphically Speaking cartridge.  This is one of my favorite cartridges - there is so much variety and lots of unique cuts that are not repetitive with other cartridges.  It came out at the same time as Storybook and while Storybook was an early favorite, I think a lot of people were pleasantly surprised but the versatility of Graphically Speaking.

I have used this image for an A2 card before - here is a LINK to the post.

 

  

Artist Trading Cards must be 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches.  I wanted to layer this image on the base card so I set the slider bar for 3 1/4 inches.  Then I set the width to 2 1/4 inches.  In the image above you can see the original square image and my adapted image.

 

  

The design has some contour lines around the edges which I hid using "hide selected contour."  I also decided to hide the snowflake cut out.

 

  

I created eight of the ATC tops.  Unfortunately, it is not currently possible to copy and paste an image with contours hidden and have them remain hidden.  So I needed to hide seven lines eight times (it didn't take long).   I previewed the cuts by placing a full sheet square in a contrasting color on a second mat.

 

  

I cut the tops in pale pink textured cardstock.

I used a photo I took last winter for the backs of the cards.  This is a holly bush in our back yard covered with snow.  I brought the photo into my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 software to edit, resize and add the words.  I worked at 5 x 7 to make it easier - this is exactly twice the size of the ATC so I know that it will shrink proportionately for printing.

 When my image was ready, I saved it to my desktop as a JPEG and then imported it into my Creative Memories Memory Manager 3.0 software for printing. This program has standard package layouts which makes it very easy to print a sheet of 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch images.

Here you can see the sheet of eight ATC backs that I printed on matte photo paper (8 1/2 x 11 inches).

I trimmed the images just a tiny bit inside the printed area to be sure that they would not be seen on the front side of the ATC.  Then I inked the edges with red ink to hide the white contrast against the red base card.

I cut small pieces of white glitter cardstock to fill in the window behind the letters.  It looks very sparkly and snowy.  I didn't want to add the weight and bulk of a full glitter layer to the cards.

I carefully placed the card topper in the snow Cuttlebug embossing folder from the Oh My Crafts exclusive holiday bundle.  I planned the placement of the embossing to fill the corner where the snowflake cut had been in the original design.

  

 Here are all of the components of my ATC ready to assemble.

 

  

 I used my Precision Point Adhesive to adhere the embossed topper to the red card base, sandwiching the glitter layer in the window opening.

 

  

Here are the six cards - front...

 and back.  I have filled in the number of each ATC and signed them on the back. 

  

Here is one more view of the front 

  

and the back.

After I had packaged and mailed the ATCs, I realized that I hadn't added the small pink gem to the cards.  I guess I will be sending them individually to my swapping partners so they can stick them on if they would like to "fix" my mistake..

The moral of the story - try not to craft when you are suffering with a bad head cold and not thinking sraight!

I wasn't able to get the ATCs for my large group done in time and will do them and send with the next monthly group for March.  Tomorrow it will be two weeks since the fire that destroyed our neighbor's home.  Thank you so much to those of you who have sent cards to cheer them and amuse the children.  If you wanted to send a card and need the information here is a LINK to the blog entry with the details - just scroll to the end of the post.

Martha's Pansies

I bought a magazine called "Stamper's Sampler Take Ten" at Borders a couple of weeks ago.  It was a surprise that it cost $14.99 (magazines cost more than books sometimes!) but I have really enjoyed looking at all of the cards and ideas.  Here is a LINK to the web page for the magazine (along with a lot of other interesting publications by the same company).

There were quite a few cards based on a challenge which involved a basic A2 card (5.5 x 4.25 inches) with a strip removed from the front and the corners rounded.  I liked this style of card so I decided to give it a try.

Another recent purchase was this new Martha Stewart Pansy punch around the page set.  I have always loved pansies and I fell in love with this design - I am sure you will see it in many future projects!

When I made the card base I ended up with a one inch strip just sitting on my table - so I had to try the punch on it!  Here you can see the design I made by punching the strip from both sides evenly.

Then I started to experiment with different widths of paper strips.  The example at the top is a one inch strip and the one on the bottom is a one and a quarter inch strip.

I tried the punch on some DCWV glitter cardstock and it worked well.  I trimmed the ends straight and then decided that it would be a better idea to try to curve the cuts to make the flower petals.

Here you can see another dark purple strip where I did not make the straight cut and trimmed around the petal ends for a more pleasing cut.

Here are all of the pieces for this card.  The dark purple strip is 1.25 x 4.25 inches.  The pink cardstock is cut at 3 x 4 inches with two corners rounded to match the card base and embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder.  The pink glitter cardstock pansies are evenly centered and punched on both sides of a 1.25 inch strip and then trimmed.  The dark purple pansies are punched from a one inch strip of cardstock and trimmed.  The "love you" and the interlocked hearts are from the Cuttlebug Embossing and Die Set "Love Language."

 Here is the card with the base layers applied.  There are so many possibilities with this basic card form.

Here is a view of the assembled card flat on the table...

...and one more view of the card standing.

I got home after a long drive Tuesday so I can finally get caught up with a lot of pending projects and emails.  It will be nice to stay put for a while!

Plum Blossom (one of eight new Cuttlebug embossing folders)

I can't seem to stop adding Cuttlebug embossing folders to my collection.  I find the textures that they add to be so appealing.  One of the newest collections to become available is the "Asian Bundle" which coordinates nicely with the Pagoda Cricut cartridge.  Here is a LINK to the page on the Cricut.com site where you can see more information about the bundle.

There are eight folders in the bundle, four are 5 x 7 inches (Plum Blossom, Oriental Weave, Kimiko, Bamboo) and four are A2 size (Japanese Scales, Mandarin Screen, Koi, Lanterns).  I am not sure if they will be sold separately - I have only seen sold them as a bundle at this time.

I ordered these folders from Creative Express and they arrived yesterday.  The one I was most eager to try was the Plum Blossom, so I decided to make a quick card.

I realized that this folder coordinates nicely with the widest border folder from the "Just my Type" set.  I embossed most of the front of an A2 card with the Plum Blossoms folder, leaving an area about an inch or so wide for the border.

You could just leave the card plain - it is simple and elegant and would be nice for notes of all sorts.  I added a thin strip of blue glitter cardstock between the two embossed sections and used the "Thank you" from the Cuttlebug "With Gratitude" A2 combo emboss and die set for a sentiment.   The butterfly is the Martha Stewart "Royal Butterfly" punch.


Just a quick post tonight - I have been working on a few "secret" projects that I can't show you just yet (but I think you will like them!).  It is really cold here - at least we expect this weather in New England.  I hope all my friends in the South are staying warm.

A Quick Card Challenge

I had one of those "just got back from another trip - too much to do and too tired to do it!" kind of days today. I got the things I needed to do for my family done and then took care of a lot of computer "stuff" and then I tried to get a video ready to share today but things weren't going my way. I needed some creative time!

So I challenged myself to go make a card - I had to use one of the many, many trial cuts stacked all over my space and to try use something that had been sitting in my space for over six months without being used - and I had to put the card together in twenty minutes or less.



I found this heart cut from the A Child's Year cartridge. When I first got this cartridge I was so excited to try it out that I cut lots and lots of images (the cartridge wasn't even on Design Studio at the time so some of them were in "surprise" sizes!). I cut some standard pieces for an A2 card - the base at 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in dark green cardstock folded vertically, a 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 inch layer in ivory cardstock and a 4 x 4 inch layer in the same red as the heart. I embossed the ivory layer using the new harlequin Cuttlebug embossing folder (my neighbor and I ordered these from HSN when they had a special offer for the set of 11 new folders).



I inked the embossed cardstock using the "creamy brown" ink and then inked the edges using the "chestnut roan" ink from this set of six Color Box chalk cat's eye inks. I was trying to mimic the look of the wings on the heart in the chipboard accent piece. I also inked the edges of the red layer and the card itself with the creamy brown.



The chipboard accent was from this set that was sent to me by a friend - I really like the style of this artwork. I have had these quite a while so it was nice to use another one for a project.



I used my Creative Memories precision point adhesive to adhere the heart to the embossed cardstock. It is perfect for intricate open cuts like this one. I always let it dry to clear so it won't ooze out from any edges. This actually makes it removable but I have never had any trouble with anything coming off after adhering and I have even used this adhesive to hold bags and boxes together.



When I embossed the ivory layer, I tried to center the diamonds. I placed the heart so the tip would fall in between two diamonds - I think it looks more balanced this way.



Whenever I add an embossed layer to a card I place the adhesive on the layer below it so I won't flatten or damage the embossing with my adhesive applicator (tape runner or ATG gun).



I decided that the chipboard also needed a layer of red beneath it so I cut a strip 4 x 1 1/8 inches and inked the edges again with the creamy brown ink. The chipboard came with an adhesive already applied and I just peeled it off the clear backing and stuck it to the red strip.



Here is the final card - it actually took less than twenty minutes (but longer than that to edit the photos and write up the directions!). I am still not the world's best" inker" but I think this looks much better than the last time I tried inking!

I am off to get some sleep and I hope that tomorrow I will finally catch up with everything. It is hard to believe that summer is already coming to an end.

Whitewash Embossing

I really have become fascinated by the Core'dinations cardstock. Earlier this week I shared a card I made using the "black magic" variety (here is a LINK to that post).



Today I thought I'd show you the "whitewash" Core'dinations cardstock (here is a LINK to their site where you can see all of the varieties).



When I did the "black magic" card, I used this sanding block - which was really too fine a grade and it made it difficult to remove the color quickly. A blog reader (hi Marjorie!) wrote to me to say that she had used an nail file (emery board) and that it worked very well. So I tried that and it was faster and easier (I did break it as you can see above!).

When I went to get a link for the Core'dinations site I discovered this tip on the home page:

If you really want to get the most out of your new Core'dinations ColorCore Cardstock make sure you sand it with 150 or 180 grit sandpaper. If you're using another grit, you're either missing out on the vibrant ColorCore or causing yourself extra work!

It always pays to read a manufacturer's site to find their recommendations for using the product! So for my next card I will raid my husband's workbench to find the right sandpaper.



I used my new Celtic Knot A2 cuttlebug embossing folder. I cut the piece of Core'dinations whitewash paper to 4 x 5 1/4 inches to layer on an A2 card. I had some Bazzill cardstock for the card base that is very close in color to the core color of this piece of Whitewash cardstock.



Here is a closer view of the embossing and sanding.



This is a complicated design and it looks good from both sides - there is embossing and debossing on each side to create the pattern of the knot.



When I want to put an embossed layer on a card I put the adhesive directly on the card base so I won't press too hard with the tape gun and flatten the embossing.



Since it is difficult to get the tape exactly where the corners will fall on the card, I put a small glue dot at each corner to keep the corners firmly adhered.



This design will work for a vertical (above) or horizontal (below) card.



I thought the design was so pretty that it would be best to leave it plain with no embellishments. These would make lovely notecards.


A Few Notes...

No one has correctly guessed the cartridge or cartridges I used for the design I posted yesterday. I will add a few guesses that came by email rather than a comment so you can see all that have been suggested so far. I did not have a chance to test cut this design yet but I am confident that it will cut nicely

Jen and I have scheduled three classes for next week - with our time off for medical/personal stuff last week we didn't allow enough time this week for sign ups so we moved the classes ahead a week. We expect to have some new and different classes ready to go for the following week (we know that there are a number of you who have taken all three classes and are waiting for some new ones to be available). If you want to take the Getting Started , Basic Cards, or Wordbooks classes please register following the directions on the Let me Show you How to Do that blog.

I have recently received a couple of interesting packages in the mail - check back in a few days to see what was in them and what I do with the contents! (I wish one was a Gypsy to test - but no such luck...).