Cards for today

Hello friends,

Here are two cards I recently made. The first is a clean and simple up-cycled card - an image was cut from a magazine, mounted on patterned paper and then adhered to a card base. There is a wealth of interesting pictures to be found in magazines, advertising flyers, travel brochures, glossy newspaper inserts and catalogs that can be cut out and easily made into cards.  I think this one is pretty cute.

The yellow patterned paper is a great complement to the flowers in the boots and brightens the weathered wood background. Since the card base is red, a piece of thin white paper is added inside for writing a message. Although this card is an odd size due to the size of the boot picture, it will fit nicely into a 5 x 7 envelope. Or if you are the proud owner of an envelope punch board, you can make a custom size envelope.

The next card has more of a vintage feel. This carved image stamp from Magenta was stamped in Ranger Red Geranium ink on off-white paper. The edges were torn into an oval shape and inked with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo. I tore a book page to the approximate size to fit the card base and did some machine zig-zag stitching around the edges in red thread. The stamped image was glued on and the layers mounted onto the kraft colored card. This one also has a paper glued inside for message writing.

I am a fan of the look of kraft with red - the red stitching adds a bit of pop to a card that could otherwise be non-descript and bland. Images mounted on book pages are very "in" these days and a vintage look is easily achieved using inked and torn book pages.

Cheers til next time!

S.

BabyThemed Note Cards

Hello friends,
Over the past several years, I have become addicted to rubber stamps. And there are so many wonderful ones out there. I had always loved stamps as a kid  . . . there's something about the images . . .  being drawing-challenged, stamps are a great way to create without having to put pencil (and mostly eraser) to paper.

Many of the stamps designed by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, especially his "mini" blueprint series, have found their way via the UPS truck to my house. ("What can brown do for you? Hah!)  I own the set pictured below, bought originally for the stack of books in the lower right (that librarian thing . . .)

The baby-themed images were perfect for making some note cards for the soon-to-be mom to use as thank you's or whatever.

Below is a grouping of some of the cards made - four of them using the blueprint stamps. I didn't take individual pictures of the cards . . . so squinting is necessary . . .

 The images were stamped on watercolor paper and color applied using Ranger Distress markers and ink pads (Spun Sugar, Faded Lilac, Scattered Straw, and Evergreen Bough). The ink pads were stamped onto a silicone craft mat and using a wet brush, the colors were picked up and slashed across the image . . . in all honesty I can't really call what I did "painting." Shading was added with the markers in places I thought shading should be. I do confess to watching a YouTube video or two to see how other people worked with the inks and just went from there.

After the images were dry, I tore ( the ABC blocks) and cut the images to fit on patterned paper that was layered onto a blank card. All in all, I was pretty happy with the results. And so was the mom-to-be.

The "onesie on a hanger" cards are made with a stamp I picked up at Michael's, stamped in red ink on white cardstock with a pink mat on cheerful paper. The clothesline card is made from some paper I unearthed from my thousands of sheets and added onesie puffy stickers to "hang" on the line.

For the "Where's Waldo fans, if you look closely and compare my bear card to the image on the bear blueprint stamp, you may notice a difference. It's the eyes.  Intended to be buttons, the original eyes on the stamp are way too big and spooky-looking for my liking.

So . . . out came the craft knife and those button eyes were history - sliced right off the stamp. (You can change anything with the right tools.)  A circle of black marker makes a much nicer eye while a heart punched from red cardstock and a bow tied from red DMC pearl cotton complete the look. One handsome bear.


Until next time!

S.

A wedding card

Hello friends,

Here is a wedding card I made for a friend to give to a special couple . . .

The Prima Julie Nutting doll stamps, Adam and Lorrena, were used for the happy couple.  I stamped the foundation figures on buff cardstock, colored/shaded them with Prismacolor pencils and cut them out. Next, the garments were stamped - white ink on black cardstock for the "tux" and sepia ink on dotted vellum for the dress. These were cut by hand, the edges inked, and glued to the figures with rubber cement. The self stick "Say it with Crystals" used for the jewelry on the bride are made by Prima. I drew in the pocket square and colored the tie with silver pen and snipped the bride's arm so it could intertwine with the groom's (after I trimmed down his jacket sleeve a bit).

The rest of the card just evolved serendipitously. I probably slipped a dozen or more different papers behind the couple and was surprised at what looked the best. A sheet of gray paper with a wild floral border was the hands-down choice.

The paper was trimmed to take advantage of the flowers while also fitting on the 5 x 7 black card base. The greeting was stamped using white ink on black paper and placed vertically (since it was the only place it would fit).  A piece of 4 x 6 plain paper was affixed inside the card for writing  a personalized message. A custom envelope was folded to fit the card . . . the skirt just nudges over the edge and I couldn't bring myself to cut it off.

The card was a big hit with the gifter and the giftees,

Two more card postings coming next.

Cheers!

S.

Baby Gift #3 - More Onesies

Hello Friends,

So more shower gift onesies for Baby girl L . . . but there is a story - there's always a story, dontcha know?
A while ago I became a member at Lia Griffith's website and have access to a fabulous library of Lia's projects. There are templates, printables and cut files for a variety of occasions - wedding, holiday, home, kids and babies, stationary and more. A great value.

Lia must have been reading my mind (or it was just karma) because one day there appeared in my inbox a post describing two iron-on tee/onesie designs for baby - just what I needed. After all, two diva onesies with beads are plenty for one little baby. And these can be called "denim friendly"  - I mean, all babies wear jeans, don't they?

I just happened to have some Avery iron-on transfer paper so I was ready.  I printed the design on plain paper first and decided it was just a bit too large for the 3-6 month size I was making.  I re-sized the image (in the print dialogue box) to 70% of the original. Perfect fit.

I printed the designs onto the transfer paper, followed the instructions for ironing them on and Voila!  Pretty cute, aren't they? Thank you, Lia!

These were packaged as the second layer in a suitcase style storage box found at the craft store. The tag (made with Stampin' Up Bear Hugs) has care instructions on the reverse.

The bottom layer held the "store-bought" gifts.  These were two Burt's Bees coveralls and matching blankets, two cute little board books and a some Carter's baby headbands.

The "Take me to the Park" blanket (shown in a previous post) was folded to fit the box as the top layer in the suitcase. Neat and tidy.

All-in-all, a successful project from the perspective of  the gifter.  The giftee seemed pretty pleased, too!

Next time, some baby cards.

Cheers! 

Baby Gift #2 - "Dress Up" Onesies

Hello friends
For the baby shower I decorated some onesies for the soon to arrive Baby L.  Two are similar to ones that I have posted about previously . . . painted necklaces with fabric flowers. Here's the look:

The onesies were washed first to remove any sizing or whatever. The beads were stamped with a pencil eraser (a new flat one) using fabric paint. I drew half ovals in black Sharpie on a piece of paper sized to fit the shirts and then pinned it in place inside the onesie. This provided guide lines for painting and also prevented any paint bleed through to the back of the shirt. 

 I began in the center of the shirt, following the outlines and spacing the dots somewhat evenly to create the necklace strands. (Handmade is not perfect.) The beads were shaded by brushing on a bit of white paint to add dimension. Finally the beads were connected by painting in little lines with a fine tip brush. 

After drying overnight (the bottle says 4 hours), I heat set the painted areas on both sides of the shirt using a dry iron over a pressing cloth. This flattened the bits of fiber that had arisen during the painting process and gave the pieces a nice finished look. 

The flower is simply four 1" circles of cotton print, each folded into quarters and the tips sewn together onto a smaller scrap of fabric. A button found in Annie's button box completes the look.  I sewed this on very thoroughly and tightly so there is no chance of it coming off and becoming a choking hazard. 

The tag made using the little bear from the "Stampin' Up" Bear Hugs set has washing instructions on the reverse and proclaims these to be "Dress Up" onesies. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's "Denim-Friendly" onesies.

Cheers!

S.

Babies and such . . .

Hello friends
I hope you are enjoying the warm temperatures and spring greenery that have finally decided to appear here in eastern Connecticut.

I journeyed to the suburbs of Washington, DC last weekend for my niece's baby shower. Baby L is due to arrive in mid-July but "like a fine wine" will come in time. It was wonderful to spend time with Mama L in her new home (well, new last year) . . . we don't get to do that very often  . . .

An elegant cake - would you believe made of diapers - made a beautiful centerpiece!

The banners I made using the Julie Nutting baby stamps added a whimsical touch to the traditional colonial decor at the shower venue.

Living with "the crafty gene" as my niece terms it, I created my shower gifts rather than shopping from the registry. Before we knew which flavor the little one would be, I had sewn a bright but  "gender neutral" flannel blanket. The hexagon print flannel is backed with navy and white dots . . . very washable and both picnic and car friendly. Tagged with a balloon image stamped from a  Tim Holtz set, I called it the "Take me to the park" blanket. It's ready to travel on lots of outings.

Stay tuned for the rest of the gifts next time !

Cheers!

S.

A Crafty Workshop Morning

Hello friends
Today, I watched a number of YouTube videos  . . . what? you ask . . . crafting videos, of course. YouTube is the next-best-thing to attending workshops with the rock stars of the crafting world, since few find their way to CT.

I watched (actually re-watched) some of the demonstrations of  new products and techniques that were introduced at the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) Mega Show in January.  I wanted a refresh of the products introduced by my favorite designer, Tim Holtz. Tim is the Creative Director for Ranger Industries and also teams up with various companies including Advantus, Stampers Anonymous, Sizzix, Tonic Studios, Core’dinations, and Westminster Fibers/Coats to bring unique products to the market.

I do love Tim's products and design aesthetic . . . and my craft room shelves show it. One of my best experiences was meeting Tim several years ago (three years ago today, to be exact) at a workshop in Westbrook, CT. Tim is most gracious, friendly and full of knowledge. It was a thrill to meet him.

The ScrapTimeVideos channel on You Tube is worth a look for information on the newest products and how to use them.

Til next time . . .

S.