Pinterest Organizing

I organized my pinterest boards today during my lunch break- it was a very therapeutic time! I love pinterest, but the boards quickly turn into a chaotic ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mess without regular maintenance.

I try to keep boards for specific projects as temporary- when the project is done, I go through and save any pins that I actually used, and I toss the rest and delete the board. General inspiration boards are culled annually- if I can’t remember why I loved it, I pitch it. (I try to journal about the pins if I have time- that helps me remember why I saved the idea in the first place.)

I'm constantly looking for new ways to organize and categorize my thoughts, as well. I'm finding the COLOR WHEEL THEN CALENDAR YEAR/A-Z method that I use in my craft organization works well for my digital ideas as well. 

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Project Life 2014 - Title Page

Somehow I managed to miss the whole Project Life phenomenon- probably because the product launch coincided with my move to Spokane and thus my shelving of photos and scrapbooks for several years.  The task of going through bittersweet memories is never motivating, and the longer I left the photos buried in the closet, the more daunting the task seemed. So- they languished, my life went undocumented, and I crafted idly, limiting myself to cards, scarves, and special requests.

A few weekends back, I was wandering through the craft Vatican feeling sorry for myself. I was lonely and discouraged. I felt lost.  I stared listlessly at every paper, punch, and pen in the palace before picking up a box of Project Life journal cards. I felt a little spark of interest- I do love mustaches, after all. I flipped through a starter box, and then a few page kits, and finally an entire Becky Higgins idea book. Sitting there on the floor next to the alphastickers, I found myself wondering if, maybe, it was time to dust off the photos and process the memories. I used a Shutterfly free-prints coupon and bought a slew of page protectors and the mustaschey starter kit...and managed to catch myself up to Washington.  That's right- I scrapped five years in just two weekends. I scrapped everything (memories, photos, ephemera), everyone (friends, family, ex-boyfriends) and everything (funerals, parties, broken homes, and new beginnings.)

It. Was. Wonderful.

I cried buckets. I laughed until I frightened my cats. I bugged mom to help me remember dates. I called siblings to share memories. I let go. I did not sing Let it Go. I did heal, though, and remembered better things than I remembered when I put the photos away.  That was such a gift- a reminder that for as hard as those years were, they were also amazing and I am thankful they happened.

I also downloaded a free trial of Adobe Photoshop and discovered how easy hybrid pocket scrapping is. I'm pretty sure I'm hooked.  It is so easy to snap out the pages, then separate them into prints, place the orders, and voila! All done. I always loved the look of writing on top of photographs to help tell the story- and I love how professional the journaling looks on the pages, and the consistency (not to mention- no more typos!) I was just playing with the software, and put together the page on the left in 10 minutes. I've never made a page so pretty and so quickly.

 I'm staring my 2014 book now, complete with my own paper kit. just to see if I can do it. I decided to base the theme on Radiant Orchid, which is the pantone color of the year. I don't think I've ever detoured back to a store for lipstick before, but I did this time. The color embodies everything feminine and luxurious and gorgeous- it is both feminine and strong- and I love the complimentary colors too, of course. I suppose it looks a little like the evil stepsisters from Cinderella...but that could work well for the book theme too, right? Right?! Anyway. Let's stick with the radiance theme- all about light, and beauty, and warmth.

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Top Ten Scrapbook Tools

I ran some searches recently on 'Must Have Tools' for papercrafting.  I thought reading the opinions of other crafters would be insightful- who knows? Maybe I'm missing out on something amazing!  Unfortunately, the quality of the blogs returned were...disappointing.  There were tons of  must-have or favorite-thing lists, but each list suffered the same flaw.  The lists were of general categories, rather than specific products. Adhesive is a must-have item for papercrafting? Really? This is my surprised face. Everyone uses adhesive...but adhesive is personal stuff!  There are more opinions about the best papercraft adhesives than about climate control, so why don't these must-have lists tell me what brand of adhesive is the best?  Don't even get me started on people who just list 'cardstock' either.

Well. Cast no stones, she who has not also tried to blog on the topic!  Here are items I always have on-hand for crafting, and would recommend to anyone, whether a beginner or advanced practitioner, to add to their collection.

* Fiskars 12" Portable Rotary Paper Trimmer.  This tool has been my go-to slicing machine for more than ten years.  My model is older than the one pictured, but all the good bits are still in place. I don't have space for a full 12x12 base (though I lust for one) so I went with this trimmer as the best compromise of all my desires. Rotary cutting is my go-to for strait, crisp lines through almost any medium. I cut paper, metal, fabric, chipboard, canvas, and plastic with this baby, and then it folds up neatly into my drawer for storage. The blades and cutting mat are replaceable, easy to find, and reasonably priced. I can switch out the blade to different edges, and even though I rarely use the feature, I'm glad to know I have the option. The platform is sturdy enough not to wobble around, and best of all...the 4 1/4" mark is on the platform when the base is completely closed, which means I don't have to open it up for basic cardmaking! Win, win, win.

* Cutter Bee Scissors.  There are a lot of good, beefy scissors out there (and the Tonic Micro brand was a close runner up for this slot) but again and again, I go back to my Cutter Bees. The handle is super comfy to work with, and the blades handle precision cutting or general trimming smoothly on all of my mixed media surfaces. Sharp enough to trim button backs, fabrics, canvas, aluminum cans, chipboard, etc.  These are not a stick-free surface (like the Tonics) but they clean up easily with some rubbing alcohol, and they're more comfortable to hold.  They also have a protective case, which makes them easier to transport.  I have one pair for sewing and one pair for crafting.  My set is about eight years old and is still sharp, with clean, nick-free blades.

* Ranger Inkssentials Reusable Nonstick Craft Sheet.  Maybe there are other brands that are just as good, but I haven't found one yet.  Measuring a beastly 14"x18", this craft mat lives over my magnetic cutting surface (see #5) for almost all of my projects.  Whether working with the marvelous distress techniques of Tim Holtz, painting with water colors, or just using messy liquid glues, this is my go-to cover for multimedia crafting.  Double sided and heat resistant, I appreciate not having to change work surfaces frequently during the finishing process for my crafts.  The mat is durable (I just replaced mine after five years of hard use), cleans easily in the sink with soap and water, and rolls up for easy, space-efficient storage.  The craft sheet is not a cutting surface though, and you'll need to replace your mat if you cut or punch on it.

* Tombo Mono Adhesive - Permanent.  Yard-for-yard the most cost effective adhesive on the market, Tombo Mono Perm is my favorite papercraft sticker-on-er.  The Tombo runner works on paper and lightweight multimedia elements.  The runner is precise and easy to use, and I rarely have waste created by poor application.  The runners are refillable, and usually last me about a year of hard use before they're too junky.  I could clean the dispenser, but they're so inexpensive, it is easier to just replace them periodically.  I order my Tombo in bulk direct from the manufacturer, and I love it for cardcrafting. The dispenser travels well, because there's a nifty little flap to protect the runner on to tip.  This is not the adhesive for thick and heavy elements, but it is perfect for 90% of my needs.

* Making Memories Magnetic Cutting Mat.  Now a discontinued product, MM was the first to execute this go-to concept.  My mat measures 24x24 with a perfect square grid marked in 1/8" increments across the entire worksurface. It comes with a ruler and a set of magnets to hold things in place.  I use this as the base of my worksurface, and cover it with the Craft Sheet when not cutting. (Those nifty magnets help hold the craft sheet in place, as well as whatever else I'm working on!)  The mat puts up with a lot of abuse- punching, drilling, cutting, scoring, piercing, sanding, hammering, distressing- you name it.  I've linked to the We R Memory Keepers version, which looks pretty good for an alternative.

* Martha Stewart Crafts Score Board.  I love nice, crisp, straight lines for folding. I love perfect triangles. I love gift boxes. This product enables all of these things.  The worksurface is large enough to score an entire 12x12 sheet of paper or cardstock, and the included angler makes crafting boxes a breeze. It comes with a bone folder and has a handy reference sheet for calculating sizes for folding when creating custom boxes and envelopes.  The surface is sturdy, the grooves are well cut and easily marked.  I did mark the bottom of my common grooves with a marker, as I do find the board to be a bit too large to work on cards with, and I have a Making Memories bone folder that I use to actually burnish along the folds with, as the included scoring tool is too sharp to burnish with.  I'd use a coupon to buy this puppy on sale, too- as long as you buy it.

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Test Post for Facebook

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ODB Stamp: Chickadee

As a music minister, Biblical references to "sing a new song" or "make a joyful noise!" have always been particular poignant to me.  When I found this stamp set from Our Daily Bread, the purchase was a no-brainer. Unfortunately, I was stumped for a card idea...until now!

I used a pretty fun masking technique on this card, and used a lot of layers to create the depth of the card.  It is actually pop-dotted above the image pretty significantly (at least 1/4") so the in-person effect is very dramatic. There's the tiniest bit of sparkle on the berries, achieved using Distress Stickles in Rock Candy.  I colored the image using Tim Holtz distress markers...my first real attempt to do an entire image using the 'watercolor' technique he demoed at Winter CHA. 

Supplies:

• Cardstock in black, tan, red
• Watercolor paper
• Card base: kraft
• Nested dies from Sizzix
• Chickadee die set 
• Archival ink in black
• Distress Markers + water brush 
• Distress stickles in Rock Candy
• Distress ink in Tattered Rose + ink blender
• PopDots + regular adhesive
• Music background stamp  - Hero Arts 
• Patience + time

Instructions:

1. Stamp the chickadee image on watercolor paper, allow to dry.
2. Paint using distress marker watercolor technique, allow to dry, then apply stickles to berries and set aside.
3. Create standard card base out of Kraft
4. Trim black cardstock to 4"x5.25" and adhere to front of card base
5. Trim tan cardstock to 3.75"x5"
6. Trim red cardstock to 3.5"x4.75"

Now the tricky part:

1. Select four nested dies in graduated sizes.  The smallest size will create the window to view the image through, so select this one first and build up. For convenience I will call them S1, S2, S3, and S4, with S1 being the smallest die selected. 
2. Die cut using S2 in the center of the tan cardstock.
3. Adhere the red cardstock to the center of the tan cardstock. Turn the cardstock over. You should now have a tan frame filled entirely with red.  Carefully place S1 inside the frame created by the tan, to cut through ONLY RED cardstock and diecut. You should now have a beautiful matted piece of red and tan. 
4. Take a scrap piece of black cardstock (NOT the piece on the card base) and cut out the S3 shape from the center. 
5. Carefully layer S4 around the edges of S3 to create a frame and cut out. 
6. Align the newly created black frame around the tan-and-red frame and hold in place using a finger. Now, take the inside piece of black cut out of S3 and lay it inside the black frame, covering up all of the red and part of the tan. Without moving the inside piece, gently set the black frame aside. You have now created a mask. (note: I used a piece of dull tape on the back of the layers to hold this together.)
7. Carefully stamp the music background over the showing tan area and black mask to create background image, and distress the edges using the ink blender.
8. Remove the mask and carefully replace the black frame.  The exterior of the tan should now be stamped and the interior should be plain, framed in black. When happy with placement, adhere black frame.

Okay, back to regular stuff!

1. Take the chickadee image and trim to 3.5"x4.75" and adhere on top of the black cardstock ON THE CARD BASE.
2. Apply 'high' pop dots to the tan/red/black frame layer. Align over the card base so the stamped image shows through the window and adhere.
3. Remember all those extra punched out pieces? Layer, adhere, stamp with sentiment, and adhere to interior of card. 

Whew, done!

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Happy Anniversary, J&D!

Several summers ago, I watched my best friend marry a really amazing man.  It has been a privilage to watch them grow as individuals and as a team, and inspiring as well- we can all only hope to be so lucky!

I saw this wedding card on Pinterest, and loved the simple elegance of the design.  I thought I'd try it for J&D, and here's the result:

I'm hugely pleased with the design, and I will probably make a few more variations of the layout for future use or sale. 

Supplies:
Cardstock in black and white
Embossing folders and machine
White ribbon
Stickers
Embellishments and bling
Heart punches - or - equivalent
Scissors
Black marker
Popdots

(Simple!) Instructions:

1. Cut the card base to 4.25" by 11", fold at 5.5". (Note: I used a different white base for the card because I wanted the linen texture for the inside of the card, but you could totally cut the card base out of the white cardstock and use the rest for the card if you're trying to be thrifty!)
2. Trim black cardstock to 4"x5.25", adhere
3. Trim white cardstock to 3.75" x 5", run through texture machine, tie ribbon around it, adhere
4. Punch large heart out of black and white cardstock (1 each)
5. Punch medium heart out of black and white cardstock (1 each)
6. Trim a deep triangle from medium black heart and adhere to large white heart, add bow tie and buttons using markers. Pop dot on card. (Note: for lots of dimension, I used 'short' popdots on this part...)
7. Run medium white heart through texture machine (use a different embossing folder), adhere to large black heart, pop dot over previous heart. (Note 2: ...and 'high' popdots on this part!) Add necklace made of bling.
8. Punch large black oval and medium white oval, layer and adhere. Add sentiment sticker and popdot under ribbon.
9. Add additional bling.

One more note: If you're mailing cards with pins, make sure to tuck the sharps behind other parts of the card or use a padded envelope!

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Fourth of July!

This year, I went all-out on my Fourth of July cards. 
I made a bunch using an old cupcake stampset, half of which I colored using watercolor markers and half of which I colored using Tim Holtz distress markers. Way fun!  I'll have more up on my marker review soon.

Then, y'know, I decided to do some custom carding, so I made a coordinated 'set' of four based on kraft paper, each with a 'window' theme. I think my favorite is the bottlecaps, but I'm also particularly proud of the faux kraft pop-up one. Anyway...to all of you who couldn't get a card for real, I hope you enjoy these!

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Rosemary Hill

Do you ever have those moments when you see a picture, and suddenly a layout jumps into your head? Unfortunately for me, that usually happens when I see pictures that belong to someone else.  This happened to me last week at work.  My coworker was showing me pictures of his new baby, and one photo in particular jumped out at me.  It has an amazing story to go behind it, too...one of those stories that makes you smile and almost cry at the same time.  I knew I HAD to make a page using the photo, and here it is! I had a hard time getting a good shot of the entire page, so there's a few in there.  I think my favorite part is using the larger photo as the mat for the smaller photo.

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Supplies:
Basic Grey Lilikate Paper
Distress Ink in Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick
Distress Stain in Spun Sugar and Picket Fence
Wilton's Paper Doily
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Creme de Chocolat
Assorted silk flowers
Assorted gemstone flourishes
Archiver's Cardstock in Chocolate
Assorted adhesives, distressers, sand papers, and scissors
Embossing sheets
Tim Holtz Ideaology stamps and label

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Wardrobe Colors

I've been housecleaning, and that includes sorting out my closets and trying to get organized.  I decided I needed to set some hard rules about my wardrobe, and I'm super pleased with how things are turning out, so I thought I'd share.  After following the VERY FIRST STEP OF WARDROBE PLANNING (throwing out anything that doesn't fit) I still had too many clothes and the wardrobe felt inconsistent. So, I turned to my very best friend: color.

I went through everything I owned, and I came up with nine basic colors that are staples in my wardrobe, and I love them.  I've presented them below organized in columns of neutrals, primary colors, and accents.

Once I organized all of my clothes into these categories, I had a shamefully large pile of rejects to go through.  I went through this pile with a firm eye for love...sometimes a piece is just too fantastic to get rid of, or it is the "make" piece of an outfit which is mostly compiled of my other clothes.  I came up with the following assortment of colors, most of which exist as singles in my wardrobe.  You'll note that most of these are just color variations of the original 9, or the missing neutrals (navy and khaki) which do have a place in every wardrobe, but just in limited quantities for mine. The exception to this is green, which I love love love but which rarely suits my complexion.  I managed to put most of my olive in the 'to donate' pile, compromising instead with some olive-hued jewelry that blends nice with the regular colors.

I mostly prefer deep, rich colors- pastels tend to wash me out (and make me look wider!) and brights are usually too severe for my taste and complexion.  Of course there are a few exceptions, such as my love of hot pink, but mostly I stay away from what I will now call "The Microsoft Look".

This isn't a perfect wardrobe color process, since obviously I can't just mix and match all of my colors together (teal and pink? Hmmm!) but it is a fair cry better than my previous efforts.  I have a pile of clothing to take to local charities now, and hopefully this can help curb my impulse shopping and help me in future shopping efforts.  It also inspired a bunch of card ideas, so maybe I'll have new products up soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Valentines Day - Part 2

Sometimes, a special Valentine deserves a very special Valentine's Day Giftset.  I believe it speaks for itself, so I will leave you with the pictures. If you want the files, contact me!

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Valentines Day - Part 1

Happy Valentine's Day!

I created a series of projects for Valentines Day this year for many different friends and family.  I've included most of them in this post, but be sure to check out my next post for a very special Valentine as well.

I made heart-topped boxes with heart-window cut-outs for my sisters, and stuffed them with candy from Ikea.  The boxes are covered in patterned paper from the Basic Grey Bittersweet line, and I used the Tim Holtz Regal Flourish Texture Fade. I used an SVG pattern from Craft Gossip.com, available here.

For my brother and friends, I needed something a little more squashable to mail out, so I made little candy bag toppers. Easy peasy- I punched out scalloped circles from scrap patterned paper and stamped little Tweet-Heart birds on them, and tied them on with doodlebug string.

For my mom, and several of the girls at work, I decided a more relaxing, "take time for you" approach was a good solution, so I found this amazing teacup and teapot gift set from Creations by AR. (Check out the last post for my review on their excellent site!)  I stuffed these with 100-calorie pack shortbread cookies, teabags (with custom tea-bag tags, of course!) and a succulent truffle or two.  These didn't take as much time as I thought, but they are VERY paper-intensive.  Still, I was surprised, and pleased, with how sturdy the boxes were and how many goodies I could tuck inside.  I used hot-glue on the flowers outside.

Okay, now for the fun stuff.  I made beautiful Tim Holtz-inspired cards to go with these gifts.  The supplies are pretty basic: kraft paper, white paper, pink paper, scrap red paper, ticket thin-strip die, distress ink in tea dye, vintage photo, and Victorian velvet,   LoveStruck stamp set, black archival ink, a sentiment of your choice, and adhesive.  The directions are pretty simple too! Cut out one full set of kraft paper tickets, and one red ticket, using the thin-strip die.  Using the ticket stamp and black ink, stamp each ticket with the image and set aside.  Fold the remaining kraft paper into a standard size-card.  Cut a piece of white paper to 4"x4" and randomly stamp the love definition across the paper, alternating between dark and light brown colors. Distress edges and adhere from left edge of card, leaving a 1/8" margin.  Trim a piece of pink paper to 4"x2" and stamp randomly with the scribble heart stamp using victorian velvet. Distress and adhere from right edge of card, again leaving a margin.  The two sheets will overlap.  Now randomly adhere the kraft tickets over the seam of the two stamped papers. Finally, position the red ticket as desired and adhere using pop dots.  Stamp the sentiment on the inside of the card and layer the heart stamp for effect. Voila, finished! (Okay, I went back and glimmer misted the red tickets...I can't help myself!)

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New Blog to Follow!

I'm working on Valentine's Day projects, and I've got some fun ideas for grown-up Valentines for my friends.  As such, I've been on a hunt for a very specific SVG file and I finally found it on the "Creations by AR" website! Their blog has some beautiful ideas and fun challenges, and their store has a huge variety of sophisticated, classy, and elegant templates.  Each purchase comes with file types to support a wide range of cutting machines, as well as detailed instructions and color photographs! They are also very reasonably priced.  Check them out! And no, I didn't get paid to rave about them...I just think they're that cool.

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January Birthday Stuff

Okay, soo...I'm a little behind on January birthdays, because this post includes a December one too! (Sorry, Dylan!)

Anyway, Hero Arts has a new stamp set out called "Wish Big" that incorporates the newspaper-print overlay with traditional birthday images. I'm a big fan, so I decided to use the set to make my dad's birthday card. It turned out so well that I made a whole bunch to take to work! I also made a rocketship bag for my dad's gift, and then for fun, I threw in pictures of the cupcake card and bag for Dylan's (late, oh noes!) birthday gift. I'm only posting instructions for the balloon card here. The birthday cupcake is a variation of the same technique with different papers, and the rocketship bag is just its own world of awesome. (See what I did there? World? Space? hah.)  Okay, supplies:

• Card base
• Cardstock in contrast color, cut to 4x5.25" 
• Patterned paper of choice, cut to 3.75x5" 
• Wish Big stamp set 
• Black ink 
• Chalk inks, coordinating colors - OR - scraps of patterned paper 
• scissors, adhesive, pop dots 
• glimmer mist 
• ribbon

Stamp the balloon image and the phrase on the patterned paper in black On scrap white paper, stamp each balloon in a different color ink and cut out - OR - stamp the entire balloon image on scrap patterned paper and cut out the balloons Mist balloons with glimmer mist, if desired Adhere the balloons over the stamped image on the original patterned paper to create a layered effect. Use pop dots to help with the 3-D imaging. Adhere finished front to contrast cardstock, then adhere to card. Tie a bow with ribbon and stick it on with a glue dot. Voila!

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I think the patterned paper made the most visually appealing card, but I like the blues and browns in the second card a lot. The pastels don't photograph well...but lesson learned. I'm taking my extras in to work! Huzzah!

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Christmas 2011

I thought you might like to see the photobox I made as gifts for my grandmother and parents, and as a bonus, the gift tags I used!

The photobox is the 6x6 from 7Gypsies, using the awesome portraits that Brooke Summer Photography produced for me. I love the little red rose in the corner!  The tags are glass ornaments with alcohol inks blown about in them using canned air. I finished them with jingle bells tied around the ribbons and Tim Holtz Christmas Tokens.  Pretty!

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January Organization Effort: Introduction

January is a great time for organizing and cleaning out.  As I brush stuff off my desk so I have room to type this blog entry, I think its time to start on the scrapbook hovel…I mean creative joint workspace…and get cleaned up for my upcoming move.  As I undertake to clean out my overabundance of crafting supplies, I think I’ll devote some of my blogging to how I organize, and see if any of you have creative ideas, tips or tricks to share. Plus, as I find stuff I no longer want or need, if its in good shape, I’ll put it up here for grabs at no cost. (Unless you want me to ship it…then you’ll have to pay postage!)

 So here we go.  First things first, it is important to establish what kind of an organizer you are!  The most beautiful, organized home in the world is useless if the occupants don’t think the same way the stuff was put away…and it won’t stay organized.  Personally, I’ve found my organization style has changed significantly in the past few years.  When I first started scrapping, my mode was: Minimization! Everything fit in a plastic sewing tote or two and I liked it that way.  Of course, that was the era of decorative-edged scissors and stickers, but hey! When I joined the ranks of Archivers, my new mantra was Portable! Yes…I was a victim of “take the crafting room to the crop” disease, and I organized my supplies based on whether or not I could take them with me.  Of course, I also learned about the joys of stamping, die cutting, embossing, and cardcrafting.  Now, I have too much stuff to ever make that practical, but I’m also a wiser crafter: I don’t need to take all my stuff because, I don’t use every supply for every project!  I’m also lucky enough to have a small but dedicated space to my crafting, which means I can afford to worry less about how to put it all away and more about how to organize around the way I think.  So my organizational mantra now is Facilitate Creativity.  Here are the things I consider when I organize:

1.      Is it beautiful, and does it facilitate my creative flow?

2.      Does this make effective use of my space and my budget?

3.      Do I have room to grow with this?

4.      Does this protect my investment that it stores?

5.      Will this keep my materials easily accessible?

I tend to use a lot of bins and boxes made of plastic, especially for things that don’t like water (paper, anyone?) because I have a fire sprinkler in my craft room.  My losses, if ever the sprinkler in this building go off, will be heavy, but I can protect some of it.  I like things to be uniform, with small elements of beauty to help spur things along.  I’m not a digger; I like my supplies to be sorted by theme, color or material.  This takes up more space, but it helps me find what I want pretty quickly. I am a sketcher, which means I have a lot of space devoted to reference and inspiration aids.  I’m also learning not to be a hoarder, which means I require less space for scraps than in previous organizational efforts.  I believe in vertical rather than horizontal storage whenever possible, and I try to keep my “favorites” in easy reach of my fingertips at all times.  I try to keep the project confined to the crafting mat and the area immediately surrounding it, and I put tools away as I finish with them.

I’m going to organize one category at a time, so look for posts on Paper, Stamping, Tools, Die-cuts and Embossing, Embellishments, and Projects.  I might also do a few subcategories in these sections.  I’ll try to post photos of before and after as well! And, of course, some supplies will be up for grabs.  Post comments with your ideas, tips and tricks!

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12 Tags of Christmas Day 1

How lame am I? I JUST got around to making my first of the 12 Tags of Christmas. Ah well...this was really one of my favorites this year anyway.  All of Tim's stuff is amazing, but when it comes to Christmas, I like elegant and sparkly a little bit more than shabby vintage. I can't help it.

Anyway. Since I had the advantage of having read the entire 12 Tags Blog series prior to starting my craft, I think this tag is inspired both by tag 1 and tag 3.  This ended up as a Christmas card for a dear friend of mine at work.

Supplies:
Cordinations KraftCore No. 17
Plain Kraft paper - Archivers
Tim Holtz Texture Fade Flourish
Snowflake Embossing Folder - Cuttlebug (discontinued)
Stampendous Shabby White Embossing Enamel
VersaInk Embossing Ink
Distress Ink in Broken China
Distress Stain in Broken China
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Snow Queen
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist inPearl
Ribbon in gold and black
Felt snowflake ribbon - Michaels
Acrylic snowflake cutout- Archivers
Sanding block
Silver paint dabber
Tim Holtz Tag and Bookplates Diecut
Cricut Cartridge Winter Woodland

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Basically, I followed Tim's instructions for the preparation of the base of the card, including the cutout, embossing, enameling and sanding of the card. I put more enamel across the top (I dipped my fingertip in versaink and applied it directly to the tag to give it a smudged look) and because I used the shabby enamel, a lot of it distressed itself, so my sanding was pretty light. You can see in the picture that the outlines of the snowflakes embossed much better than the background, but it came out pretty cool.  While the tag was cooling and before I sanded it, I cut out the letters "NOEL" using my cricut and the font on the Winter Woodland cartridge and using kraft paper.  I painted the letters using the silver paint dabber and set them aside to dry.  Then I took my acrylic snowflake and ran it through the embossing machine using the Flourishes texture fade, which I then misted with Snow Queen glimmer mist. That took a long time to dry, but it came out kind of marbley looking and I like it. Anyway, since I was all about coloring accents at this point, I cut some strips of felt snowflake ribbon. One I misted with Pearl glimmer mist and set aside. Then I misted another ribbon with the same glimmer mist, and then swiped my Broken China distress ink over it.  For the final piece, I dabbed all over the ribbon using the distress stain. The felt absorbed the stain in some funky ways, and I decided not to mist it and leave it kind of blotchy looking. (Note: all of these coloring techniques are available on Tim's blog.)

Once my silver letters were dry, I distressed them and the tag itself using the sanding block. I played with the positioning of the phrase for a long time before settling on the blocked format. I adhered the felt ribbon using gluedots and tiny attachers, and then I tied the acrylic snowflake using gold ribbon. To finish, I added black and blue ribbon across the top and attached my scrap felt snowflakes using a jeweled pin. Voila!

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The Truth about Cardcrafting?

Oh, lists...they're so important sometimes.

I don't take people off my card list if I don't hear back from them, but I also am pretty selective about who I send them to.  I think its because I make them all, so I'm not just investing the cash to buy some pre-printed ones and then the time to sign and address the cards, I'm also investing a little piece of me into each card that says "You are loved, don't forget it!".

Of course, then there are all the OTHER lists we make. Its good to stay on most of those, too. :)

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Hero Arts 2012 Catalog

So, I finally got to check out the new Hero Arts 2010 Catalog online and (wow!!) I am very impressed. I think the new Frame Cuts are going to be a new and unexpected favorite product of mine. Frame cuts are very thin die cuts (think Spellbinders or Sizzix) that can be positioned anywhere on a page to create beautiful windows and shapes in sizes perfect for card crafting.  In addition, they coordinate with a range of new stamps for precision trimming of images. In fact, I've already got Enchante and Le Journal on my list. I smell a beautiful line of cards, gift bags, and tags in my future. I have to be honest...in the past, I was not a huge fan of Hero Arts, mostly because (as you've probably noticed) I prefer a more vintage look to my work. I think this year's catalog blows my previous biases away, and I'm so excited to work with these new products. 

Also, in a huge shout-out to an innovation I hope other stamping companies follow up with, Hero Arts now offers digital die cut files that coordinate with their existing stamp lines! For example, check out this flourish background cut! I think the stamp itself is rather average and common (how many variations of this image have you seen?) but add it on top of a cut-out lace background...oh heavens. Gorgeous.  I can't wait to get crafting again.

**Note: in the first part of the post, I linked to the awesome Simon Says Stamp page because that happened to be the page I was shopping from at the time. I tried to link the rest back to HeroArts.com itself.

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Christmas Cards!

I've had these posts ready FOREVER but I wanted to get Christmas Cards out in the mail before I posted anything.

My primary christmas card this year is a religious theme. I found this gorgeous Inkadinkado stamp at Archivers last year...I'm a big fan of the Mindscape line. I stamped the image using crushed concord distress ink and white card stock, and then polished antique gold perfect pearls onto the wet ink. I mounted the image on gold glimmer cardstock, and then pop-dotted the image onto the card. I stamped the sentiment using versamark clear and embossed using the new stampendous shabby white embossing powder. (This is totally another favorite product of mine. I actually bought the sampler kit so I got the shabby white, pink, blue, gold and silver...love it!!) I used pre-done purple cards and envelopes I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby for the card base, so that saved some time! You can't see it in the photos, but I stamped a sentiment inside the card as well using the distress ink. I finished the card with a tiny gem in the center of the star.  Simple, but elegant. I am particularly pleased with the gold shimmer of the image and the hint of purple behind it.

(photos will go here!)

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White Truffle: Gift Guide in Black & White by JBM Designs

Gorgeous designs and awesome gifts. I've ordered mine already!!

White Truffle: Gift Guide in Black & White by JBM Designs: Gift Guide in Black & White by JBM Designs

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