Glitter Everywhere!

 

Tweety trying to stay clear of the glitter

I brought several stamp sets, tools, supplies, and paper out of my room and brought it all into the kitchen/dining room area.  With all the moving around Tweety thought she would be safest near my kitchen sink and out of the way of rolling chairs and feet.

She did come to investigate a couple times and had the wheels of either my chair or Pati’s run into her once or twice so she retreated to her safety zone.

Tweety would not stay still long enough, after all the work was done, so I could get a picture of the sparkling tip of her nose.  She had a bit on her back by the time it was all said and done.

 

Cutting the paper

A year ago I sent a bunch of paper crafting supplies to Pati, one of these paper trimmers was included in the stuff.  She had been trying to use it but had very  little success.

So best to start at the beginning and get her a good understanding with this one so she could, eventually, feel better about using the one she has at home.

Like a good house guest, she quietly agreed to make some cards.  Her “yes” was very timid and her heart was not really in it.  She had agreed to make one card.

She had NOT agreed with the camera so I’ve taken pictures of her working is why you won’t see much of her.

 

Scoring the paper

Her next step was to score the paper.  Her anxiety level was increasing and I could hear it in her voice.  Getting through the first one had her extremely concerned about doing it wrong.  When she had to do the second one she had a bit more confidence in what she was doing.

Still, being the good house guest she was going with the program and, I think, secretly dreading what was coming next.

I went over the measurements with her on the 8-1/2 x 11 paper, turning the 11 inch side  horizontally in the trimmer and cutting it at 5-1/2 then scoring the two pieces at 4-1/4 to get her card bases made.  I think she had “bailing” in mind about now but had no where to go.

 

Creasing the scored fold

Her next step was to put a good crease in the fold at the score she had made.

Poor Sis  had gone from bouts of being quiet to some anxiety filled words.  She asked if she were doing it right, at least once, and I reassured her she was.

This being the first step in it all I could see her eyes dart to the rubber stamp boxes, markers, inks, and other tools.  She had a feeling this was only going to get worse as time went on.

I felt sorry for her being a bit skittish…but not sorry enough to put a stop to it all

 

The stamping begins

The stamp set that had caught her eye was “Big On Christmas”.   It was the ONLY stamp set that had three in the box, the rest I had brought out had five or more.

I told her to cut some white paper at 2-1/2″ for her stamping lesson.  As with any new stamper, me included, she was not sure how much ink had to be on the stamp and exactly how to get it on there.  I  walked her through it all…after I had her cut another length of 2-1/2″ paper.  I had her go through the “What NOT to do” things of mashing the ink pad too hard and rocking it on the stamp and then rocking the stamp on the paper.  She would then actually see what I was telling her.   One thing I’ve learned about my Sis is she and I, both, are visual learners.  You can talk at us all day long but have better and quicker results if you just show us.  As you can see, she had a good image to work with.

The next hurdle was coloring in with the marker pens.  One step at a time.  Big goofs and we turn the paper over and start over.  Little goofs will be “artistic license” and let them be.

 

Glitter - Yippee!

Pati’s entire demeanor changed when she got to apply the glitter.  She was totally stoked and excited about that bit.  The excitement was in her voice even.

It was so cute listening to her exclaim the virtues of glitter.  I think she was beginning to come around.  I think.

Nearing the end of creating this first card she was ready to be finished with it all.  She even told me that.  So I told her it was alright, she could stop at that one.  Just because it is MY passion doesn’t mean I have to be a full out zealot and work to convert her to it.

 

Lace edge punch

Pati braved through it all.  The next was to add a border punch in the mix.  Showing her and teaching her how to use it, I could see the panic begin to rise in her eyes.

She did stay and have a go at that frightful implement.  Many times she has told me of her love of lace and glitter so I was going to give her a chance to have both of them in her card making experience.

Seeing the fear leave her face and hearing the excitement as she was successful in working the punch was well worth the time I took to get her comfortable with all this new stuff.

 

Pati's first card

Ta-daaaaa.  This is Pati’s first card EVER using rubber stamps and a border punch!

I love this card she made.  I do have to admit, she got wounded in the process of making this card because I did not think ahead.

I had the paper piercing tool for her to poke holes in the Christmas tree image where the ornaments were little circles.  Not thinking I handed her the piercing tool and she poked it through and stabbed herself.

I had to go round up my mouse pad and make this part of it less painful to her.  I love, love, love this card she made and I’m so glad she did too.  She was happy enough with this card that…..she agreed to make one more

 

Beginning her second card

All the prompting she needed after agreeing to give it one more try was “More Glitter”.  She’s so funny.

I had her make two of the images.  One for practice and one for the real deal.  When I began stamping I was never happy with my first stamped image and always had to do it over so I gave her the chance to have a bit more experience.  This might be her last time at stamping and I wanted to ease her into it yet keep her motivated.

She was thinking that I was coming up with spectacular ideas as we were creating her cards.  Truth to tell, I was making it all up as we went along.

 

Glitter and more glitter

I told her we were going to make the word look like snow.  She was not sure what I was talking about so I showed her on the first “S”.

When she saw what she had to do, and how simple it was, she had it all together and I could leave her to do it for a while.

Filling in the “S” with 2-Way glue then adding the glitter was so much easier than coloring in the image with the markers.  Thought she deserved a bit of a break and go into something fun.

Maybe someday I will get just as excited about glitter as she is.  That girl has “Glitter Power”!

 

Looks like snow to me!

By this time Pati was relaxing a bit in all of this.  She  was being a bit more enthusiastic about this adventure and the acquiescent house guest was being less and less.

Maybe I could now persuade her to make one more card with the last stamp in the set.  Maybe.  We still had to finish this one.

Pati has her Mom and Dad in mind for one of these cards, and this one for one of her sons.  She has two of them so I’ll press her a bit to get another one made so both of her sons will have a pleasant Christmas surprise made specially for them by their Mom.

 

Northern Flurries embossing folder

Balking came with the instruction to run the card base through the Big Shot with the Northern Flurries embossing folder.  She wanted no part in that at all.

It took a bit of pushing on my part and just being my aggravating self to get her to try it.  Once it was done then it was over.  She was having no more part of the Big Shot.

At least I got her to try it once, that was all I cared about.  Since she was telling me she was not going to do that again I thought better of pushing her further.  She just might bail for certain if I did that.

 

One more time

I did get her to stamp the last image in the set and work with it.

With a little bit of prompting she cut the card base paper and all the rest on her own.  She even stamped the image on her own and began the coloring with markers.

More glitter was brought out, even the chunky gold glitter to be used on the ornament top.

I can’t say she is “Hooked” on card making but I can say she has done a fantastic job and I am so proud of her for venturing out of her comfort zone and trying a lot of new things.  Even if I had to egg her along with thoughts of more glitter

 

Card #1

Card #2

Card #3

These are the three cards Pati made, AND she stamped an image – totally unaided by me – on the envelopes for her cards.  Sis, I am so proud of you.  Your cards look FANTASTIC.  Your very first time at making cards from start to finish.

I have to report, when I was telling Joe of our day’s events and Pati’s card creations, she even said she enjoyed herself.  We did have a great time doing this.

The Package and Some Cards

 

The goodies I received

I have posted a really quick video of what is in this package.  You can watch the video here.

I have no idea who the person is that sent these things.  Her card indicates she was going to send a tag quite some time back but only did so recently.

I love the tag she made, you will see it in the video.  I don’t even know what her YouTube name is so I will have to send her a card to thank her for the generosity she bestowed upon me.

I’ve been working on something for you girls and it is taking forever to get done.  Coat after coat of Mod Podge and I’m even using glitter   When they are done I’ll show you what you are getting before I send them on.

I’ve made four cards today.  I will be doing a step by step video of the cutting sequence of these cards.  This  is two 12×12 pieces of card stock and two 8-1/2 x 11 pieces of card stock.

 

After they've been cut

Since Thanksgiving is in a few weeks I thought I’d better get to making an attempt to do something.

In the photo, top center is 12 x 12 Old Olive textured card stock.  Far left is Chocolate Chip 12 x 12 textured card stock, the center is Pumpkin Pie 8-1/2 x 11, and the right is Barely Banana 8-1/2 x 11 card stock.

The stamp sets that are to the right, along with the 12 x 12 textured card stocks are no longer available.  I’m such a good Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator.

Oh well, at least I might give anyone interested some ideas what to do with their stash of papers and stamps.

The cards

I kind of got in a rut with these cards and they are pretty similar throughout.  Not much imagination in them.

I’ll show them to you one by one in a minute.

I guess I was going for an assortment of the same theme just varied techniques.

There is some heat embossing, texture embossing, stamping, and even some use of my homemade Glimmer Mists.

I’m all for using what you have and not running out to buy more of something.  I did buy some stands from Hobby Lobby to hold the cards upright for viewing.

Stamping and clear embossing

The rubber stamps I used are from last years Holiday Collection.  Most of them are no longer available – Good Job Bobette.

I’ve clear heat embossed the turkey on the Old Olive paper.  Chocolate Chip ink was used on the right panel along with a stamp set that IS available.  Falling Leaves is the name of that set.  The sentiment in the bottom left panel is from the Falling Leaves set.

The orange ribbon is Pumpkin Pie 1/8 inch taffeta and is available to purchase.

The mainstay supplies, like Chocolate Chip ink used on the edges of the papers and the images on the top right panel.  Basic Black ink for the sentiment and dimensionals for popping the sentiment out from the card.

Texture embossing

Cajun Crazy "Glimmer Mist"

The images on this card are from the Falling Leaves stamp set.

I’ve made my “Glimmer Mist” from the Cajun Crazy ink and Perfect Pearls.  I’ve used it on the Whisper White piece on the bottom left after I had stamped it.

The texture embossing folder is available, as is the little buckle thing on the ribbon.  That is from the Hodge Podge Hardware set.

Texture and heat embossing

This one I made an attempt at making it more masculine with not much in the way of foofy stuff.

The Give Thanks stamp is not available.  After I stamped that image, I pressed it in a VersaMark pad directly then added clear embossing powder and heat set it.

The bottom left is a texture embossing folder with Polka Dots.

The ribbon along the width, I cut a small hole in the folded edge of the card and threaded the ribbon through and tied it in a knot.  The ribbon top to bottom is attached to the inside back of the card front and covered with a piece of card stock.

No, not an eye

At the bottom left panel of the card is a piece of Hodge Podge Hardware that I used to make that lone acorn image not look so lonely.  It looks like an eye looking at you now.

The acorn stamp is from the Falling Leaves set.

The turkey is not available.  I’ve used a scallop circle punch and some finagling with placement to get that opening right.  The turkey is stamped and embossed in Silver on a scrap piece of the Barely Banana card stock and secured behind the Old Olive.  Tricky but it looks pretty good.

So…that is my card making for today.  Tuesday I’ll do the cutting, video of the cutting, and have the directions posted on my other blog if anyone is interested in how to cut the paper for these cards.

Hope you all had a great weekend and got rested for the new work and school week.  Looks like you will need a jacket next week.

 

Words Of Encouragement

I am a sucker for sentiments or quotes that empower women.  I’ve traveled a long and winding road to get to be the person I am today.  Many times the road was blocked by boulders.  The only thing that kept me going was knowing that “The only way OUT is THROUGH”.  The hardest thing for me to learn and to take into my heart was “Own Your Own Stuff”.  Too many years were spent blaming other people for the predicament I found myself in.   Even today it is so easy to fall back in that space.

Stampin’ Up!  has come up with a set of stamps.  Wood mounted and clear mounted that have some fantastic sentiments.

Favorite Thoughts – #120048

Word Play – #120651 This set has two packs of 12 stamps each.

Cafe Matutino #121032 I made a mistake and ordered this set in Spanish.  I can use it anyway.

Style Beautiful – 120483 Flourishes and some beautiful images.

So…here is the first card I put together today.

Tea and Support

The sentiment inside this card mentions tea bags.

When I ordered the stamp set Cafe Matutino I meant to order the English version.  There are images of coffee cups, a percolator, a water kettle, and a mug.  I can use the images but not the words that go with the set.  I don’t know what they say.

We have a brand of tea here at home that is individually packeted so I used that on the cover of the card.  When the tea bag is taken off there is a water kettle beneath.  I’ve made a video of making this card.  It won’t be up until tomorrow sometime.

Papers I’ve used are all Stampin’ Up! – More Mustard, Not Quite Navy, Close To Cocoa, and Whisper White.

Inside of Card

This is the inside of the card.

A quote by Eleanor Roosevelt and the images from the wrong stamp set (Spanish instead of English) worked out good.

A bit of ribbon from my stash was added.  I used markers from Stampin’ Up! to color the cups and the water kettle.

There are times when someone you care about is facing some challenges in life and need your support.  Not knowing the right thing to say can stop you from saying anything.

The next card I made was a total CHALLENGE.  I need a nap after this one.  Math is not my best suit.  I had some problems with the execution of this card.  Getting the proper size for each piece nearly brought on a headache.

A video of the creation of this card will be up tomorrow sometime so you can see how I made the openings.

Encouragment Card

The papers used in this card are all Stampin’ Up!

Blush Blossom for the card base – 10″ x 4-1/4

Not Quite Navy – 4-5/8 x 4

Close To Cocoa – 4-3/8 x 3-3/4

Taken With Teal – 3-3/8 x 2-3/4

Whisper White – 2-3/8 x 1-3/4  then trimmed to fit in the spot.

The stamp set is Stampin’ Up! Word Play on the outside and another of the Favorite Thoughts on the inside.

Well-Behaved Women

My stamping skills are pretty bad.  Smudges happen often which I would like to figure out how to stop.

The flourish, flower, thingy is from Style Beautiful.

I thought about coloring in the flower flourish but decided not to do so since I had already smeared it pretty bad.  So this card will remain in my stash of “Practice” items.

The cutouts on the front of the card were made using the sliding blade trimmer.  After you see the video then you will understand these measurements and directions.  Right now it will just confuse the fool out of you.

Close To Cocoa – 4-3/8 side:  Line the left side of the paper at 4-1/8″ on the trimmer body.  Line the arrows of the sliding blade on the 1/4 mark of the part of the trimmer the blade slides in.  Press the blade in the paper at the 1/4 inch mark and slide it down to the 1-3/4 inch mark then stop.

Turn the 4-3/8 side around in the trimmer and make the same cut.  You will have two slits on opposite sides of the card and from top to bottom and bottom to top.

Now turn the paper over and line up the 3-3/4 inch edge with the 3-1/2 mark on the trimmer.  Set the sliding blade at the 1/4″ mark and drag to 1-3/4″.  Flip the paper top to bottom and repeat this cut.  These two cuts will create a cut like a photo corner on the paper.

Now turn the Close To Cocoa paper back to the front side and put the 4-3/8″ side of paper under the trimmer and line up at the 3-7/8 mark.  Move the sliding blade to the 1/2 inch mark on the slider and cut down to 1-3/4 mark.  Do this same thing with the other end of the 4-3/8 side of the paper.

Flip the paper over to the back side and line up the 3-3/4″ edge to 3-1/4.  Line the sliding blade with the 1/2″ mark on the sliding thing and cut to 1-3/4″.  Flip the paper over and line up the paper with the 3-1/4 inch mark and make the same cut you just made.

Now you should have to “photo corner” cuts.  Take the point of the photo corner and pull it down to show a square in the area.  It will look like a square.  You will be cutting this extra piece out of the photo corner to have this opening.

You will repeat the same step with the Taken With Teal paper.

3-3/8″ side lined up with the 3-1/8 mark, the sliding blade set at 1/4″ and cut to 1-3/4″.  Repeat to the bottom side of the card.

The 2-3/4 side is lined up with the 2-1/2 mark blade lined up at the 1/4″ and cut to 1-3/4″.  Repeat with the bottom side for your “Photo Corner’ cut.

Now the 3-3/8 side lined up with the 2-7/8 mark, bladed lined up at the 1/2 inch mark and cut to 1-3/4.  Repeat with the bottom side for your opposing slits.

Back to the 3-3/8 side align at the 2-5/8 mark, blade at the 1/2 in mark and cut to 1-3/4.  Repeat with the bottom side for your Photo Corner like cuts.

Totally confused now?  Wait for the video and maybe it won’t be clear as mud when it is all over with.

Beginner Stamp Kit

Beginner Stamp Kit

Bonus Items In Beginner Stamp Kit

To see the items in the First Ever – Message In A Fold – Stamp Set, click on the photos to enlarge and get a better view of what you will receive.

This kit sells for $30.  The bonus items are things I have picked out especially for you as a Thank You for placing your order through Message In A Fold.  Also included for your $30 purchase is a DVD with full instructions in mounting the rubber stamp, cutting the paper into card size, scoring the paper to create the card, and step by step instructions to create four Birthday cards from this kit.

You can check out the items at my Stampin’ Up! website and see the actual cost of these items.  The DVD is not for sale at my Stampin’ Up! Website, nor anywhere else except through Message In A Fold.

This kit, along with my instructional video, will get you started in making cards for your family and friends.  The Whisper White card stock included in this kit is enough to make 80 cards.  There are envelopes in the kit to mail or hand deliver 40 cards so you will have plenty of material to work with.

Once you make your first few cards you will be well on your way to creating your own designs with the kit.  If you have other papers and inks in your stash, feel free to use them also in your creations.

These are the cards you will make in this kit by following along with the instructional video.  After you have made all four of these cards you can switch things up with all the techniques I show you to begin making your very own designs.

Stamp Off Technique

To get a larger view of this card, simply click on the photo to enlarge it.

Once you have gone through all the techniques I’ve shown you in this kit you can change the Birthday cakes from all black and gray to some black and some Summer Sun by using the Stamp Off Technique and the Marker To Image Technique you will learn.

Do you like glitter?  There is enough glitter to completely cover all of the four cards I show you how to make – and then some.  The 2-Way Glue Pen can handle all the glitter and glam you want to throw at the card.

To see this card in more detail, just click on it.

This technique is called “Marker To Image”.  You will use the Summer Sun Stampin’ Write Marker to ink the Birthday cake and stamp your image.  Using the Black Classic ink you will make balloons out of the “Happy Birthday” sentiment.  Drawing ribbon tails with a black pen and the Summer Sun Stampin’ Write Marker, create the bow with the marker and you have a cute card that any young child would love to receive.

Watch the instructional video to learn this “Marker To Image” Technique.

Click on this photo to see the details of this card.

Using the Black Classic Ink you will stamp the cake image approximately in the center of your card front.  Using the lid of the glitter container you will cover the stamped cake and stamp the “Happy Birthday” sentiment in Classic Black ink then follow that up with the Summer Sun Stampin’ Write Marker.

Full instructions are on the video.

Faux Ribbon Technique

Click on this photo to get a more detailed look at the “Faux Ribbon” on this card.

All of the instructions are included in the video.  Measuring and marking the placement of the cake in the lower right hand corner,  measuring and marking the placement of the sentiment, measuring and marking the placement of the “Faux Ribbon”, and finally the measuring and marking of the placement of the three cakes at the top.

Once again, after you complete all four of these techniques you will be able to design your own cards.  Want to do something different with this card?  Make the center cake at the top Summer Sun by using the Marker to Image technique.

This is just a starting place for you as a new stamper.  There is a limited amount of these kits so get yours today.  After you have mastered this one and are ready for a bit more detail and up your skills a bit, there is another set coming in the next couple weeks.  This one will be “Thank You” and you will be learning some new skills to get you going in the right direction.  You will be working with colored card stocks to add dimension to your cards.

The next kit will help get you on the way to having a stash of supplies at your disposal to get creative.

So, head on over to Message In A Fold today and place your order for this first kit.

How To Make An Envelope

I’ve done this before and it makes me crazy. Look at my calendar and see a birthday in the next week I’ve got to make a card for. After I get the card made and ready to send I find no envelopes. I’ve done this so many times you’d think I’d check my stash of envelopes before I make a card. But noooo. I put it off telling myself I’ll get them with my next Stampin’ Up! order.

Yep, we all know how that goes. Unless we write it down it isn’t going to happen.

So, if you find yourself facing this crazy situation then don’t put that card away until later. Get some paper out and follow the directions I give in this video. It is really easy.

Measure on the diagonal

Measuring your card to make an envelope is done on the diagonal.   See the photo at left.   Add one inch to that measurement then take some paper to the trimmer.  This card measures 7 inches on the diagonal.  I’ll cut my paper at 8 x 8.

Position paper in a diamond shape

Once you have your paper cut lay it out on your work surface in a diamond pattern. Pointy corner up and down, just watch the video and that bit of mud will be clear.

Center your card in the diamond

Firmly hold your card in position

Place your card in the center of the diamond.  If you are off a bit it is alright, just eyeball center.

You will need to hold the card securely down in this centered position because you will be bringing the pointy edges in to the edges of the card and creasing the  papers.

Bottom flap up to bottom of card

Right flap to right edge of card

Left flap to left edge of card

Top flap to top edge of card

One at a time bring the flaps, for lack of a better word, up to the edges of the card.  Make sure to hold the card firmly in place so it doesn’t get moved.  Press these folds well.  You will use your bone folder after you have finished making these folds.  Getting the paper trained in the way you want it to go is the goal right now.

The creases you just made

Use a bone folder now

Get those creases firmly made now with your bone folder.  Make sure you get pressure all along the fold from edge to edge.

You will need to make intersection marks where all the folds come together.  These will look like triangles.

The triangle made at the intersections

Cut the triangles out

When you cut these triangles out, go just a teensy bit out from the fold line.  After you have cut one of the triangles out there should be a bit of fold left on two sides of the triangle and a flat cut edge on the other.

Cutting these triangles out will remove the added bulk when you fold up these flaps and get ready to glue them down.

Any kind of permanent adhesive will work

Put adhesive only one the two outer edges

Any kind of permanent adhesive will work on this.  Glue stick, a bit of liquid glue smeared well, tape runner, sticky strip, whatever you choose to use.

Only put the adhesive on the two outer edges of the flap.  Sorry, you can’t see the blue line of the adhesive I chose to  use in this example.

Press the adhesive edges firmly

Put your card in

Fold in the left and right flaps then press the bottom flap with the adhesive firmly where it overlaps the two side flaps.

Some adhesives have to dry a bit before you can put your card in for mailing.

When you are ready, stick that card in and get it mailed.

This is a really easy thing to do.  Just think of the possibilities.  Matching envelopes for a set of cards you are giving as a gift to someone….

Petal Card Die

Petal Card Die Cut

Have you purchased the Petal Card die?  Are you wondering what you can do with it now that it is in your home?

When I first purchased this die, it was mainly because I was struck by the way it folds and tucks in on itself to form a self closing envelope.

Once I had it in my home and in my “studio” it sat on a shelf for a long time because I was not sure what to do with it.  I’m not alone in this I’m sure.  Purchasing something then wonder why I did that.

Love Notes to my children and grandchildren

This die got a lot of use last week while I was snowed in.  I took advantage of the storm and the threatened power outages to get my Valentine gifts made and sent to my family.

Each child and grandchild got a special note from me delivered in a mail box stuffed with assorted candies.

I had so much fun creating these gift boxes and notes.  Since I could not get out and around I was forced to concentrate on getting this task completed and in the mail.

It is my main focus to let my children and grandchildren know that I love them.  It is selfish of me, I know, but in the event of my demise I do not want to be on my deathbed and regretting that I did not tell my family I love them and how special they are to me.  My daily life is so full of coming and going and busy doing that I get lost in my world and don’t see past that.

Mailbox, candy, and love note.

I took the time to think about each person and the things that make me laugh or warm my heart because they are in my life.  The cute mail boxes  I made will be stuffed away in a closet somewhere or put in a box out of sight.  The candy will be consumed.  The love note will be lost somewhere in a drawer or box.  The message will remain with them for a long time.  That was the most important part of my Valentine’s gift this year.

The Petal Card die I purchased long ago has finally been put to use.  It took more time to get the paper laid over the die and ready to be cut out than it did to actually cut the shape.  I was so thankful for that die by the time I was finished with the first mail box.  Had I needed to cut out 24 of those note holders by hand I would have given up by the second one and none of this would have been accomplished.

Yesterday I met with a group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators.  Much to my surprise the discussion was about the Petal Card Die and the many ways to use it.  I have no idea who made what but an assortment of items were displayed on a table.  You can well imagine my delight when I saw the creativity these women have when I saw what they had come up with.

A Treat Holder

A Hanging Basket

A Bookmark

A Basket

A Sucker Holder

Hidden Message On A Card Front

After seeing these creative ideas how can you not be inspired by this single die?

What are your needs?  Do you belong to a book club?  Do you have an avid reader in your family?  This Petal Card die makes the creation of a bookmark easy and personalizing it is just as easy.

Do you have an event coming up that requires a little something for table seating?  The basket made from this Petal Card die can hold candy hearts, jelly beans, or some nuts.  Designer papers used for the theme or color scheme will make these baskets the talk of the neighborhood.

Co-workers or your children’s class mates will be delighted to receive a sucker wrapped in a package you made all the more special.

Have you made cards the same way for so long that you have run out of ideas for card fronts?  Create a hidden message on your next card with the Petal Card die cut just to stir things up.

Has this inspired your creativity?  Pop on over to my Stampin’ Up! website and place your order for the Petal Card die #113467 today.  While you are there add some paper to your order and a rubber stamp.

Sale-A-Bration is still going on.  You  have until March 31, 2010 to take advantage of free stamps, punch, and 6×6 paper with your order of $50.  For every $50 you get to choose one item from the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

“Ad-Libing”

Thank You Card

Using magazine ads in card making can be useful.  Just  have to look at the photos in a different way.  Forget about what product is being advertised look to see what the photo is saying.

For this ad I thought it would be a good one to use for a Thank You or to let someone know you received their invitation and have made note of it on your calendar – or something similar.

I’ve used a scrap piece of Tempting Turquoise #102067 behind the ad, Old Olive  #100702 with the Modern Label Punch #116630, “Thanks” is from the Fundamental Phrases stamp set #114968, and I’ve stamped it on Whisper White #100730, and used the Word Window Punch #105090 to punch out the “Thanks”.  Brads are from my stash.

As you can see, any magazine ad can be dressed up and made into a card.

"Work Hard" Sentiment Card

Using a scrap piece of Certainly Celery #105125 for the background and a piece of Kraft #102125 that I’ve previously smeared coffee grounds on for a mat, and some faux stitching around each piece for borders.  This is my card front.

The sentiment piece is Chocolate Chip #102128 cut out with the Modern Label Punch #116630 and Whisper White #100730 with the Word Window Punch #105090 topped with a piece from my stash that says Work Hard.  The brads are from my stash.

The colors I chose reflect the colors of the ad inside the card.

Love What You've Done To The Place

The inside of the card is the “message”.  This photo is about reconstruction of the damaged homes after Katrina and the work that had to be done to restore the home to occupancy.

Using Old Olive #100702 and Chocolate Chip #102128 to mat the story’s photo and make it more noticeable.

Do you know someone that has done renovations and been through the whole demolition process?  The work is done and the results are beautiful and comfy?  Use a magazine ad or story photo that relates to the trials and tribulations they have encountered during the process.

Happy Anniversary

Using an ad for Viagra that shows a happy couple can be made into an Anniversary card.

I’ve used Old Olive #100702 as the vertical strip and the Baroque Borders Stampin’ Wheel #109675 with Old Olive ink #102277 for a bit of flourish.  Scraps of Rose Red #102544 are the horizontal pieces.  Chocolate Chip #102128 is used as the photo mat on this card front.  From the Fundamental Phrases stamp set #114968 I’ve stamped “Happy” and “Anniversary” on the horizontal strips.

The ad photo is not the total message you are sending.  How you have used that ad and the sentiment you wish to express is what the message is.  Showing you care and remembering an event in their lives is what counts, the ad photo helps to get the point of the message across.

Encouraging Words

Do you have someone in your life that is thinking of taking a different career path, or striking out on their own?  Someone that is stepping out of their normal life and stepping forward into a different way out of their comfort zone?

Do they need your support and encouragement to keep going on their newly chosen path?  Use stickers that have encouraging words and add your own along with them.

I’ve used bold strips of color on the card front.  Tempting Turquoise #102067, Real Red #102482, and Old Olive #100702 with the encourage word stickers attached.  Below each word personalize them with your own words and hand writing.  This kind of a card will not only lend support to the person but let them know you care enough by “speaking” directly to them with your words.

Take That Leap Of Faith

To most people, the thought of jumping off a cliff is scary and something they would not, normally, choose to do.

Making a drastic change in their life and the terrifying and exhilarating feelings are just the same as any cliff jumper has.

Taking that leap of faith is hard to do for anyone.  The thoughts of crashing at the bottom and not surviving the life change are upper most in anyone’s mind.

This card can be used as a sort of “I know what you are going through” message.

In the empty space within the card you can tell your friend or loved one about your experiences when you got out of your comfort zone.  Plus you can also show them that you survived the “Leap” and are doing well.

A card received with these unexpected images are what personalize your heartfelt messages of love and support.  You don’t necessarily need to use the images on the cards, use them as a starter to get your mind working and searching for the items you currently own in the way of rubber stamps or stickers.

Whatever you use to make a card is not the issue.  The important thing is that you have cared enough to let someone know you are thinking about them.  So what are you waiting for?  You don’t need to make a trip to the store, just take a look at what you have in your home.

Mad About Ads

Most of the time we go through magazines to read the articles.  The photos with the articles help in telling the story.  The further back in the magazine we get the advertising begins and we just glance through them and then we are done.

The next time you look through a magazine, take a look at the photos with a different mind set.  Look at them with the intent of a card front.   How can that magazine photo be used to your advantage when creating a card?

In today’s tutorial I take your through some advertising and article photos I’ve torn from a Popular Mechanics magazine, my husband’s subscription  – and I had his permission to tear them out.  There are several I have gathered together and I tell you how I would use them for a card.

Many, many, years ago when my daughter was in grade school she needed Valentine Cards for her classmates.  At the time, I could not afford to go to the store and buy the cards to give out.  That $3 had to be put towards shoes for her growing feet which had more importance to me than some card that would be thrown away by days end.

Trying to think of something that would work and not embarrass her to no end was a challenge.   We had to pass a dumpster in our apartment complex that had a separate box for newspapers and magazines on our way to work and school.  I thought I’d go through a couple of the magazines to see what they held later when we came back home.

While she was off playing with her friends I took advantage of the time alone to dig through the magazines and gather a couple and take back home.  Later that evening, after dinner, I asked her to sit with me and pick out photos that we could use.  Yes, you can  hear the groans and the wailing from my child can’t you.  “But Mom, the other kids will have cards from the store not the trash!”  I suffered through that for quite a while.  She relented though and came and sat next to me looking at the ads and coming up with a crazy saying that would accompany the card.

We cut the photos out, glued them to some construction paper and put our saying on them.  By the end of the evening we had a stack of cards that were cute and presentable to  her classmates.  When I asked her how things went at school the day the cards were handed out she at least didn’t tell me she was threatened with being tarred and feathered and run out of town.  To my knowledge, that event didn’t put a permanent scar on her psyche.

Years later, one of my other daughters was in Naval Boot Camp in Grand Lakes, Illinois.  I made her a little book to cheer her up during her time there.  Lamenting all the things she had to give up while in Boot Camp.  One of the ads I used was for a Calgon bubble bath product.  The photo was of a woman relaxing in a bathtub full of soothing and scented bubbles.  The caption I placed below that ads photo was “No more long and lingering baths to melt the stress away”.  I was later told the thing I sent her had been confiscated due to the racy nature of the photo.  My daughter said she had read it and showed it to some of her Camp mates and they all got a kick out of it.  It was over when a Master Sergeant came to inquire over the gathering of young women, thinking there was a plot to overthrow the Navy brewing.

If you are in need of inspiration you can find it many places.  Sometimes it takes looking at something with a different mind set.  Look at it your way and not how the advertising guru’s want you to see it.

Using Acrylic Paint And Rubber Stamps

Acrylic paint and rubber stamping

Okay, okay.  I’m no painter.  I prefer paper to be my “medium” more than paint.

Since this week is about making do with what we have at hand, and I have acrylic paint from my plaster Christmas ornament days, then I thought this would be a good time to show using the paint with rubber stamps.  See how I did this in today’s tutorial.

If you have thought about doing it before but have been reluctant because you might damage your rubber stamps, then let me put that concern to rest.

You will not damage the rubber stamp or the image.  Even if you leave the paint on the stamp for a week.  The dried acrylic will pop off and crumble when you use your fingers and apply pressure to the rubber.  There might be some paint that sticks in the grooves of the image.  With a bit of work with a toothbrush and water will clean the paint out of the grooves.  The only way to damage your stamp is to go at it with a sharp implement and dig away at the dried paint.

There might be a stain from the pigment used to color the paint on your stamp but that will not  harm it.  A bit of stamp cleaner and a good scrubbing will get most of the pigment stain off the stamp.

Bleach is more caustic than acrylic paint and people use a diluted solution of bleach and water with a stamp on colored card stock with really great results.  So acrylic paint isn’t going to harm your stamp.

Apply the acrylic paint to a background stamp and apply it to a scrapbook page or a card.  What are you waiting for?  Get your apron on, or some old clothes since acrylic paint will permanently stain your clothes, and do some experimentation.

Hey, it is only paper!!!  If you don’t want to mess up your good card stock or printed papers then use some newspapers, or notebook paper, or paper grocery bags.  Get your technique perfected before you actually go for the good paper.  The main thing is Go Have Fun!!!

I Can’t Make Anything Because I Don’t Have…

My Sister inspired this coming week’s videos.  She has not dabbled in paper crafts, nor been around anyone that does.  A comment she made to me two weeks ago, in one of our telephone conversations, fired off all kinds of things in my brain.  She said “I would like to be able to make cards, but I don’t have anything to do that with and I don’t know how.  I guess I could get some construction paper.”

She has not been influenced by me because we have only been in contact with each other since last year.  When I found her, after searching for five years and we danced around all the land mines and found common ground, I told her about my paper crafting then sent her a bunch of stuff I had on hand and could part with.  Yikes, remember my crazy shopping spree of late 2005 early 2006?

Last week she finally opened the boxes I sent.  A bit overwhelmed she was by the “largess”.  I’m afraid I compounded matters with the mass of goods.  Quite a lot of it she could not name if she was forced to.  That’s okay, I’ll get her familiar with all of it sooner or later.

This coming week we are going to be working “Outside the Box” with the things we have already in our craft spaces.  We are going to be doing some “Problem Solving” this week.  If money is a bit tight right now we are not going to let that little problem get in our way.

This coming week I am playing the “What If” game all week long.  We are going through our stash.  Things we have in drawers, jars, boxes, closets, shoved way back and long forgotten in some area of our space.  With a bit of glue, an item normally chucked in the recycling bin or trash, and some of the items we fell in love with at the craft/hobby store and have not used once we got them home.

Monday, I show you how to make a wonderful book from a cardboard box, some used coffee grounds, bookbinding glue, chipboard embellishments, a piece of mica, and photos.

CAUTION:  Monday (January 18th) is a three part set to get the whole project done from start to finish.

• What If you need to make a gift for someone and your paper stock is low.  Not enough left over to make what you would really like to make?
• What if you need two pieces of 4×8 chipboard and all you have are odd bits from previous projects?
• What if you have some neutral papers but they are not quite the right color?

Tuesday is about heat tools and embossing powders.

• What if you are having trouble getting the hang of heat embossing?  What are your options?
• What if your heat tool has quit?  What if you have a project you have been working on that requires a bit of heat embossing?  Do you just give up?

Wednesday is about acrylic paint and rubber stamps.

• What if you discover the ink pad you chose to use for some stamping is all dried up and you don’t have a reinker?
• What if you were given a rubber stamp, by a thoughtful well meaning person, and you don’t have ink pads?

Thursday is going to be about those bothersome magazine ads.  We see them then quickly thumb past them.

• What if you don’t have any rubber stamps for images?
• What if the rubber stamps you do have don’t quite work with the message you want to send?

Friday is going to be about using the magazine ads and our scraps of plain colored card stock to our advantage.

It is my hope that by the end of the week you will have a different outlook on your craft supplies and what you can do with what you have.

Need supplies?  Place your order at my Stampin’ Up! website.  While you are waiting for them to be delivered get busy with what you have until then.  Don’t let a short supply of products stop you from creating.