PTI Make It Monday #62

This week's technique is "step it up layering." My simple card uses PTI's Delightful Dahlia and a sentiment from Hero Arts. All ink is ColorBox (one of the petals with all the colors): olive, stucco, & roussilion. I stamped the leaves directly onto the card. The flowers were die-cut with the Delightful Dahlia dies. The smaller flower was glued directly to the card, and the larger flower was adhered with foam dots. I think the paper is Bazzil, but I'm not sure. It (along with the white paper) is from my scrap stash.

Tutorial: http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2012/04/make-it-monday-62.html

PTI MIM #42

So I finally do a Papertrey Ink Make It Monday, and then I realize that I probably did it slightly wrong. I watched the video on Monday but didn't make the card until Thursday or Friday. I was already thinking of doing this card when I saw the video so I got really excited when I saw it! So, I made the background with the sentiment stamps, but I didn't layer them...at least not on purpose. There was a bit of overlap here and there but I like how it turned out. I used a Spellbinders Nestibilities die to cut the bottom edge of the strip I stamped.

Stamp: PTI Mazel Tov

Paper: PTI rustic white (base), DCWV shimmer stack (blue layer & focal), Staples 110 lb card stock (white layer)

Ink: ColorBox (not sure what color but it's from one of those strips with lots of colors), Martha Stewart silver

Other: silver cord (stash), Stampendous clear embossing powder

Ornament!

Once again, I didn't get around to doing the Papertrey Ink Make It Monday (maybe next week?). I am super excited about the project I did tonight though. Not only is this my first attempt at an ornament. It's the first time I saw something in the store, looked at it and thought, " I know exactly what I could do with this" and then came home and did it. I also really like it because there was a bit of beading involved. I haven't beaded since last year, around this time (when I learned how to bead), so I'm pretty pleased with what I accomplished. This little penguin is going to a friend, and I hope they really enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by!

From my happy place to yours,
Debbie

zebra matchbox birthday note

Here with another card that should have been pretty quick but took longer than it should have because I didn't know what I wanted to do. Next time it will be super fast since I know what I'm doing. :) I made this one entirely from scraps (love challenging myself like that).

I started with a 2.75 x 9 strip of brown for my base. I scored it at 1" and again at 5" (creating two 4" sections and one 1" section). You can do this with any length of paper. Just score at 1" (or whatever length you want your flap) and then score again at halfway of whatever is left. I glued a white insert into the card to write on. Then I glued the sides of the 1" flap down and added a brad. The brad shows through the back, I just glued a coordinating strip or blue on the back to cover it up.

In order for the top 4" flap to go into the bottom flap, I trimmed the corners from the 4" flap.

Before gluing everything down, I glued the blue strip on the main base and on the flap. I didn't measure. I just glued it down, cut at the edge and then repeated on the flap. Then I stamped the sentiment (Papertrey Ink) and created dots with my VersaMark pen. It was my first time using the pen (even though I've had it for a few months)...totally worth it. Get one.

The flower is a Fiskers punch. I had a bunch of these punched from a previous project but never used them. The zebra was cut from the gypsy, but I don't remember the size and I didn't save the file. (I really need to get better at that.) If you have a gypsy though, use one layer to create a visual template the size of your card. Then use a second layer to size your cut to fit the way you want on the card. Since you're working with layers, make sure all the layers are grouped when you're sizing so you know they will fit together properly. The zebra is attached with dimensional foam adhesive so it could easily overlap the bottom flap and still close.

The only other thing I did was color the black portion with a black glitter gel pen to add a little shine. You can't see it well I'm the pictures, but you can see it in person. It's very subtle. Another thing I tried that had a nice effect was cutting the white layer from photo paper. I like the gloss effect. You should try it. Just be careful handling it when working with ink, but that's good advice for any white paper. I'm a messy crafter so there are some ink smudges. No worries though. That's part of the handmade charm. ;)

Give it a try and challenge yourself to do an entire project with scraps. I always feel more accomplishment and pride with my scrap projects than I do with my other ones because they are more challenging.

from my happy place to yours,
Debbie

Birthday seahorse

I just had to post this cute little seahorse card I made. Here's what I love about it...
1. I made it entirely from scraps (including the card base)
2. It has a seahorse on it...and it's purple!
3. I got to try a new technique (crackle embossing) that I've wanted to try for a while now.

The card is about 3.5 x 5.5 (a strip left over from a 5.5 x 5.5 card I made for something else). I'll let you in on a secret, when I'm testing inks and embossing power, I'll test on the strip that's left over from when I cut my card base. The base of this card was the left over strip so there are all kinds of stamping and embossing samples under that blue paper! I'll try to remember to take a picture next time. 

The blue strip runs from the front to the back of the card. I adhered it to the base and then scored both to make the folding easier. Then I trimmed the edge with a scallop paper trimmer (not an edge punch). The paper has a big floral print, I thought with the white lines of the flower and the variation of the blue, it looked pretty ocean-y. 

Finally, the seahorse was cut using my gypsy and the Doodlecharms cartridge. I cut the base and the layer to fit the card (I made a rectangle the size of my card so I could size the seahorse to fit). Both were cut in the same purple paper. Then I embossed the layer with Versamark (just press the entire piece into the stamp pad or vice versa) and extra thick embossing powder/crystals 3 times. After the third time, I bent the paper in different directions to get the crackle effect. Depending on how this turns out, I sometimes apply a thin coat of glossy accents. That does two things, (1) seals the crackle so little bits don't fall off and (2) makes is glossy. To top it off, I used a thin layer of glossy accents on the bottom layer so it didn't look too boring against the cracked layer. (It was also really thin paper so it didn't look so great without a little extra touch.)

The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's very first stamp set, Papertey. I cut the circle from the Cricut as well (probably Alphalicious, but there are tons of circles on many cartridges) and tied it with some thin rope I picked up from a floral design center. 

Hope you enjoy this "under the seahorse" card!

motivation & time saving

this is my first video post, but i didn't shoot it. my sister and i were talking (texting) tonight. i was telling her how i don't feel motivated lately to make anything. because we have our own business, it sometimes just feels like one more thing i have to do. she shot and sent me this quick video that some of you may find helpful. it's a pretty simple idea, but I hadn't really thought of it before. when she doesn't feel like committing to a whole project, she just stamps and stores extra sentiments. it's kind of a nice way to do something small and productive without making a huge commitment...and have some fun with your stamps! i do mostly paper crafts, but i bet this can work for all crafters. if you sew, maybe do some cutting. if you knit or crochet, make some sample blocks to measure the gauge for a future project. if you paint, prep a canvas or play around with mixing some new colors. at least you'll feel like you got a little something done.

ps - i <3 my sister. she's pretty awesome.

from my happy place to yours,

debbie

Papertrey Ink July 2011 Release

Once again, Papertrey Ink has released beautiful stamps. I've never really followed Nichole Heady's blog, but I may have to start. I usually just check out the Make it Monday (still haven't made anything for that, but one day!) and check out what others have made for MIM. However, right before they release new stamps on the 15th of every month (I can't even imagine how much work that is), she and her design team (DT) make projects to reveal and show you ideas for the upcoming stamps. Her DT is phenomenal! They really show you what you can do with the stamps, and they make me want to get them. Come to think of it, maybe I shouldn't follow the blog. ;)

I don't know what her policies are, so I'm not going to post pictures here, but I will post some links to the new stamps and some of my favorite projects from the DT so you can check out their sites and blogs. Everyone wants a little traffic thrown their way, right?

July 2011 release can be found on the Papertrey Ink homepage.

At first glance, Tranquility Trinity is not my favorite. I usually prefer circles over triangles, but check out these great projects!

• Erin Lincoln does a take on the fun of baby gender reveals. Also, her blog title, Procrastination Station, was the nickname of my college ResHall [dorm] room for the first two years of school, so I knew I would like her right away.
• Check out these cute little straw flags Jessica Witty put together for a kids party! The card on her page was also very nice. I own a sewing machine, but I haven't learned how to use it yet. Maybe one day I can create something like that.
• Maile Belles may be my absolute favorite! She combines layers of embossed images over stamped images for a very elegant finish!

I'm not going to post about the other stamps and their projects because there are so many, but you should definitely check them out at www.papertreyink.com. Be sure to take a closer look at:

• Hanging Out stamp set. If you even know someone who knows someone that might be having a baby, you have enough cause to buy this insanely cute set! Once you see what Melissa Bickford did with this it, you'll know you must have it.
• I really like the projects the designers did with the Peaceful Garden set. Lisa Johnson at Poppy Paperie created some cards that actually made me pause. They truly are peaceful. You also need to check out what Nichole Heady did with this set. Just click this link, and scroll down to the cards with the blue card bases. Jaw dropping. 
• Half & Half, Little Labels, Think Big Favories #6, and Congrats All Ways stamp sets could easily become staples that you go to again and again. They would totally be worth the investment!
• Dies! They look pretty plain at first glance, but check out how Maile Belles uses the Leafy Vine Border (very bottom of page) die, the Half & Half Die Collection, and the Woodgrain Impression Plate (6th one down). Can you see why she's becoming my favorite Papertrey designer?

If you have any projects using stamps or dies from the Papertrey Ink July 2011 release, post a link to your project in the comments section so folks can see what can be done.

I hope you found this helpful and that someone is guarding your wallet because these will be hard to resist!

From my happy place to yours,

Debbie