Every Day Is Magical

There is a fine line in the world of paper crafting. It's a line you get more accustomed to the more time you devote to your crafting. Nonetheless, it's a line that whether you are a beginning crafter or a very experienced one, you deal with on nearly every project. The line? When is too much too much? As crafters and souls obsessed with sparkly things, we tend to love our embellishments--perhaps a bit too much. Knowing when a project is done or needs just "a little something" is in the end a matter of personal taste and artistic vision. I know that I've been guilty of overdoing a design or using one too many embellishments. Sometimes, too much can be a good thing and you'll discover an odd color combination or a surprisingly appealing excess of bling that you might not have otherwise discovered unless you allowed yourself the freedom to let go and experiment. In the end, it is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Don't be afraid to try new things, mix different textures and elements, play with odd color combinations--because it your art and your expression. Not everyone has to "get it" every single time. Being creative means coloring outside of the lines now and again.

This particular card project is a fine example of trying to find the point where you tow the line and say, "This is done...or maybe...".



To start the project, I chose the following papers to work with:

(1) 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Stampin' Up! cardstock in Rich Razzleberry

(1) 4" x 5" piece of SEI cardstock from the 'Jolie Chocolat' collection

(1) 3 3/4" x 4 1/4" piece of Stampin' Up! cardstock in Whisper White

(1) 4" x 5 1/4" pice of Stardream Fuse Mica cardstock in Amethyst

The Rich Razzleberry cardstock is my card base and is scored at 4 1/4" to create an A2 card size. The Whisper White cardstock is my stamping and embossing base. I used the Stampin' Up! scalloped edge punch on the top of the cardstock. The two stamps I used (fairy and sentiment) are from Unity Stamp Co. I heat embossed the fairy image with a silver tinsel embossing powder after stamping it in Versamark. The sentiment was heat embossed with a fine black embossing powder.



Next, I used my ATG714 adhesive gun to adhere the decorative SEI cardstock to the front of my folded card base.



Before adhering my embossed mat to the decorative cardstock, I thought it would be fun to use my Ranger ink blending tool and some Tsukineko Dew Drop ink in Lilac Posies to ink the edges of my stamped piece. The replaceable sponge pads on the tool are really wonderful to work with and give you so many different looks and techniques to try.




At this point, I seriously considered stopping. It was a nice card and very colorful. Yet, something still gnawed at me. After looking at it for a while, I decided it needed another pop of "oomph" to really meet the standard of being magical. My eye zoned in on the top flower of the embossed image and decided it needed more interest, bigger presence. The solution was to take three die-cut flower images and layer them with Stampin' dimensionals to create an image that leapt off the card front. A bit of glitter, a Prima pearl in the center, and a chocolate heart stick pin and now the fairy really had something magical to gaze upon.





Finally, because of the deep color of the Rich Razzleberry cardstock, I adhered the piece of Stardream Fuse Mica cardstock to the interior to have a place to write a note or sentiment.




As always, thanks for stopping by....and may your days be filled with magic always!

We're The Perfect Pear...

It's no secret that my favorite color is green. I love all shades of green--but honestly, I tend to really love the odd end of the scale--olive, chartreuse and lime. Last night while keeping tabs on the all-absorbing Winter Olympics from Vancouver, I worked on this card. I was ready for something Spring-y and Kermit-y.

The base cardstock is Papertrey Ink cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4" with the Scor-Pal. I used my Stampin' Up! ticket corner punch to shape the card. All along, I knew I wanted to make this wonderful Unity Stamp Co. pear stamp the focal point of my card. But, I also knew I was going to need "something" more to keep the card from swallowing up the stamped image.

I stamped the image with a Versamark pad onto Stampin' Up! Whisper White cardstock and then heat embossed it with a fine black embossing powder. I used my Stampin' Write markers to color the embossed image and then trimmed around it. (TIP: I found through trial and error that sometimes using Copic markers to color a heat embossed image is a bit tricky. The alcohol based ink can tend to smear some embossing powders, putting unsightly black streaks into your coloring. However, the Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write markers do not smear any embossing powders that I have tried thus far.)

To set-off my pear image, I decided to use a Cricut cut from the 'Picturesque' cartridge. I chose a swirled tag image cut at 4" from some dark green textured Bazzill cardstock. I used another piece of Papertrey Ink pear colored cardstock to create a backing shadow cut for the open swirl tag. For the hole in the top of the tag, I chose a polka dotted Making Memories brad, cut off the backing prongs, and used Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere it to the tag. Finally, I found a piece of scrap Stampin' Up! designer series paper in a green houndstooth pattern and cut it down to creat a horizontal mat to break up the tag and add another layer of visual interest. Now, it was time to put everything together using my ATG714 adhesive gun.






After I finished the card, I was getting ready to pull and envelope and a poly storage bag to file it away. But, I decided to try something a bit different--and I have to say I really like this idea for presentation purposes. Instead of using an envelope, I chose a glassine envelope/pouch to put my card in. It fits perfectly and I love the fact that you can see some of the card detail through the glassine paper. I picture this stuck in a wicker basket of fresh Bartlett pears as a wonderful neighbor/housewarming gift.





As always, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to stop by and see what's crafting on my blog. Wherever the day takes you, I hope you have a pear-fect one....

Keep Crafting!

Note Card File Prototype

The project I'm sharing today is one that I've been working on for a while now. This is actually the fourth prototype I've created continually tweaking the design. I was inspired by all of the envelope albums that seem to be in vogue right now.

I knew I didn't want to create an album per se. I was interested in taking the "pouch system" created with the envelopes and adapting it to a type of holder or file system. I originally thought it would be a cute idea to use as gift packaging for a set of personalized note cards. However, after working with the design for a while now, I think this would be a great design to hold tags, photos, gift certificates or coupons.

The main problem I encountered was coming up with an appropriate closure system. Previous versions used a hook and loop closure, a constructed tab closure, and a button closure. Through trial and error, I've decided the most effective (and best looking) closure was made by using simple eyelets and ribbon.

The base for this project was a piece of thin chipboard measuring 11" in length and 5" in width. I scored the chipboard piece at 5 1/4" and 5 7/8". This creates the spine of your book, which measures 5/8" in width.

With the interior structure of the folder created, I chose a lovely patterned paper from SEI's 'Oasis' collection to cover my chipboard with. I allowed a 1/4" overhang allowance on all sides of my covers to allow for the paper to wrap over the edges and be adhered to the interior backing of the chipboard. I used separate cut pieces to cover the front and back covers and the spine.

At this point I punched holes on each side of the covers and set eyelets to hold my ribbon closure. For the actual ribbon, I used some 1/2" Stampin' Up! silk ribbon in Old Olive. By threading each piece of the ribbon through the eyelet and then using my ATG 714 adhesive, I taped the ribbon to the interior raw chipboard. Not only does this allow you to anchor your closure, but it allows you to hide the backsides of your eyelets and the ends of your ribbon. I then used the same decorative paper to cover the inside panels of my folder book.

For the actual accordian fan folders, I used some Stampin' Up! A2 sized Kraft envelopes. I took four envelopes and sealed them. Then I cut 2 1/2" off each end of the envelopes to create the eight pockets used to create my filing system. To create the fan file, I used two strips of ATG adhesive in the center of each of the envelope pockets, adhering the back of one pocket to the front of the next. Once all eight pockets are adhered to one another, all that is left to do is adhere the pocket bundle to your chipboard covers. I covered the front of the first envelope pocket and the back of the last pocket and attached them to my cover.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results. I might work on a couple other design modifications, but the basic folder shape is there and it is very functional. [TIP: A cute Valentine's Day idea for a project like this is to create eight coupons to place in your file folders (e.g., "redeem for one kiss", "redeem for a massage", "redeem for a candlit dinner", etc.)]

Little Monsters

For some strange reason of late, I seem to be preoccupied with Christmas. Which is a bit weird since it's more than five months away. My mind is exploding with Christmas card layouts and holiday projects. Most of them are being written in my "inspiration" notebook for perusal at a later date.

But, another holiday struck my fancy yesterday (even though it is still a few months away as well)--Halloween. I recently purchased a terrific set of stamps from Unity Stamp Company called "Little Monsters". They are the most adorable Halloween inspired images. If they don't make you smile, I think a part of you might be dead--which come to think of it might just fit with the holiday!

This card project is a standard A2 size (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). The base cardstock is Stardream Mica Fuse in Flame. The accent cardstock is by Core'dinations from the All In The Family collection in Orange. It's been cut at 3 1/2" x 4 1/4" and edged with the Stampin' Up! Scallop Border Punch. It was then run through the Cuttlebug with the Tiny Mosaic Folder and sanded with a Stampin' Up! Snow Block.

The Baby Frankenstein and Witch's Hat are from the Unity Stamp Set "Little Monsters" and stamped on Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White Cardstock using Tsukineko's Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black. I then colored both images using Copic Sketch Markers. They were adhered to the embossed cardstock with Stampin' Up! Stampin' Dimensionals. The scalloped piece was then adhered to the card base with my ATG 714 adhesive gun. For the card sentiments, I used two other stamps ("little monster" and "trick or treat") from the "Little Monsters" set. Something about this card just makes me feel like a little kid again (Not that I'm not accused of the fact more often than I care to admit!). I hope this card gets your "little monsters" waking from the graveyard of holiday's future and inspires you to create something in honor of ghosts and goblins that float by us each and every day! Keep Crafting....

It's Easy Being Green...

A quick card project to share with you and a cardstock recommendation! I recently placed an order with Papertrey Ink to try some of their products. Needless to say, I'm now awaiting my third large order to arrive. On top of having some wonderfully creative and exquisitely packaged acrylic stamp sets, Papertrey Ink has a full line of solid color and artistic print cardstocks. Today's card project utilizes two of their Perfect Match Papertrey Color Collection cardstocks: Ripe Avocado and Spring Moss. You can purchase a 50 sheet 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock sampler collection (#CS2008) for $10.00 on their website and I highly recommend you try them out. It's a very nicely saturated and heavy cardstock with a fine tooth to it.

For this card, I used a standard A2 base of Papertrey Ripe Avocado. The card was cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and scored on my Scor-Pal at 4 1/4". The mat is Papertrey Spring Moss cut at 5 1/4" x 4". The stamped image and sentiment are from the Stampin' Up! set "Upsy Daisy" (#111710). They were stamped using a Stampin' Pad in Handsome Hunter (#105215). The ribbon is Stampin' Up! 5/8" striped grosgrain in Kiwi Kiss (#111372, which compliments perfectly with the Papertrey cardstocks). The mat was attached using my ATG714 adhesive gun. Finally, I used a Copic Atyou Spica marker in Melon for accent. (The envelope is an A2 size in Kraft from Stampin' Up!)

Going green and good friends are a good thing! Have a great day and Keep Crafting!

Fabulous Friend

Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend with family and friends. Mine was quiet, but I did have dinner with my Mom, my sister and her family on Sunday evening.

I worked on several card projects this weekend as well. I also started a new list of items I want to order on my next Stampin' Up! order. Apparently, the madness never ends.



Today's card project uses the following materials list:

--Stampin' Up! Oval All Stamp Set (#113790)
--Stampin' Up! Large Oval Punch (#107305)
--Stampin' Up! Scallop Oval Punch (#114889)
--Stampin' Up! Classic Stampin' Pad in Garden Green (#102272
--Stampin' Up! 8 1/2" x 11" Cardstock in Kiwi Kiss (#111353)
--Stampin' Up! 8 1/2" x 11" Cardstock in Whisper White (#100730)
--7 Gypsies Decorative Paper; Nottinghill Collection
--Stampin' Up! Simple Flower Embosslit Die (#114514)
--Stampin' Dimensionals (2)
--Stardream Mica Fuse Cardstock in Serpentine
--Prima Center Kiss Jewel in Deep Emerald
--Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen in Clear
--Scotch ATG714 Gold adhesive



For this card project, I tried out some new toys from the new Occasions mini-catalog from Stampin' Up! Specifically I used the stamp set called "Oval All" which was designed to work with the large oval punch and the new scallop oval punch. For the card base I chose a piece of Stampin' Up! cardstock in Kiwi Kiss and cut it down to a standard A2 size, 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". I chose the stamp that said "Fabulous Friend" on it and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock with Garden Green Ink. I then used the large oval punch to punch out the sentiment. For the backing scalloped oval, I used a small piece of mica cardstock in a light green color with an exquisite shimmer to it called Serpentine. As I have lamented in the past, this beautiful cardstock from Italy does NOT photograph well, but it is a must-see in person. I purchase my mica cardstock from California Paper Goods.




As a Cuttlebug fan, I've never really played with any Sizzix products. However, there is a set of exclusive to Stampin' Up! embosslits dies that are made for use in the Big Shot in the current catalog. I ordered a couple of them in hopes that they would work with my trusty Cuttlebug--and they do work beautifully. These dies are small hinged rounded squares that cut and emboss the design at the same time. I simply put the paper (in this case more Stardream mica cardstock in several colors) and placed the die between the two B plates and ran it through the Cuttlebug. I used both dies I have currently and numerous color shades and played way too much as evidenced by my virtual flower garden.




Needless to say, I'll save all my flowers for various projects. I chose to use one cut from the Simple Flower die in the Serpentine mica cardstock for this project. I also chose a piece of decorative paper from the 7 Gypsies Nottinghill Collection cut to 3" x 5 1/2". I adhered to decorative paper off center to my base cardstock with my ATG714 adhesive gun. I also adhered the oval sentiment to the scallop base. I adhered the scalloped sentiment to the card front using Stampin' Dimensionals to give it lift away from the cardbase and create more visual interest. For my flower embellishment, I adhered a small Prima Center Kiss blossom to the flower's center for just a pop of darker color. I then adhered the flower to the card. For a final touch, I used a clear Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen to outline the flower and the edges of the decorative paper (which again does not photograph well).





Well, I hope you get a bit of inspiration to surprise one of your fabulous friends with a card when they least expect it. Every now and again, we can all use a bit of pick-me-up when it's least expected.

Have a great Monday--and Keep Crafting!

Card Spotlight: A Rose Is A Rose...

I just received some new Stampin' Up supplies...so of course, I had to try them out. The result was this card. The base cardstock is textured Bazzill cut to 8 1/2" x 5" and scored at 4 1/4" on the Scor-Pal. I used two strips (4 1/4") of Bazzill textured white cardstock and the Martha Stewart Lattice Arch Border Bunch to create the edging. The decorative paper is from Die Cuts With A View Once Upon A Time paper stack. The particular design is called "Stained Glass Window".

The border strips are adhered to the decorative paper using my ATG 714 gun. I had carefully picked this decorative paper because I was dying to try out one of the new stamp sets I just received from Stampin' Up. The set is called 'A Rose Is A Rose' (#111560)--and I just LOVE it. It's designed for a two-step stamping process and it enhances the realism of the image in my opinion. I used some Stampin' Up Whisper White cardstock to stamp the image on.

I used Rose Red to stamp the base rose image and used Cranberry Crisp for the highlight image. The leaves were done with Kiwi Kiss and True Thyme. I then cut out the image and used All Night Media Pop Dots for the dimensional positioning. Two lines of the new Glitz Stickles in Ruby Slippers accent the border between the puched element and the decorative paper.

Pandamonium!

A recent project that I have to admit, I really love. The base cardstock is Bazzill. The decorative paper is from Basic Grey and is trimmed using the Martha Stewart Arched Lattice Border Punch. The panda paper is from Prima. A little touch of a Sakura clear glitter pen...and you just have to love a little pandamonium! :-)