Birds And Twigs And Fun Too!

This was a quick and fun card.

IMAGES:

1. Birds and Twigs was stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold on white cardstock, heated to set the ink, painted with Twinkling H2O's, and red rhinestone stickers applied as shown.  Glossy Accents was used under the stickers for extra traction.  Trimmed around it and set aside.
2. Background is CAC Small Quatrefoil stamped with VersaMark, embossed with Stamp 'n Bond Adhesive powder, Deco Art Glamour Dust applied, and reheated so it would stick.
3. The sentiment, Blessed Christmas, is stamped with Brilliance Rocket Red ink on white cardstock (big enough to be cut with the second largest die from Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight, and heated to dry.

ASSEMBLY Card Base:

1. Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight largest die cut was used for the base and the center as a stencil over the CAC Small Quatrefoil, so it would be attached to the center.
2.  Birds and Twigs image was mounted with 3D pop dots in the center.
3. Red Velvet ribbon bow was mounted with Glue Dots.
4. Red rhinestone sticker heart was done with Glossy Accents as base.
5. The stick pin is from a Making Memories Deco set.   It may be discontinued.  Couldn't find it online anywhere.  :-(

ASSEMBLY Inside:

1. Measured the inside of the die cut to the corners of the flowers (4.75"X3.5").  Cut white cardstock 9.5"X3.5" and scored in the middle.
2. Used the die cut cardfront to trace the edges and trimmed to the inside.  Did the same for two pieces of Small Quatrefoil mounted to the top and bottom as shown.
3. Die cut the sentiment with the second largest die from the Spellbinders set.
4. Used the center as a stencil to trace around the sentiment and mounted, traced around it with a red fine end marker, applied a glue pen on top of that and added glitter to it.
5. Placed 3 dots with the red fine point marker and added Glossy Accents to them.
6. When dry, mounted as shown.

A really fun card.  Hope to get back sooner with another one!!  Don't forget to check out the IO blog, HERE, for challenges, blog hops and a chance to win $25 gift certificates for the IO online store.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner!!   Thanks for stopping by to look and share.  I have missed sharing with all of you and can't wait to start hopping by.  :-)

 Shirley

SUPPLIES:

Back With A Tribute And A Card

Tomorrow is going to be a very sad day for me and I think for most of us.  I will never forget where I was while watching it all happening on TV and getting ready for work on the West coast.  I am in awe of those who survived, both rescuers, victims, and their families too.  I found a widget of the official 9/11 flag and a picture of the beautiful Reflecting Pools built at Ground Zero.  Prayers of energy and peace to the survivors, families, and friends, and to those who have used their time and energy to help and encourage those in need because of this horrendous event.

It's been a while and have I been busy!!   IO is planning a new store website and I have been gathering some information for Mitra.  Also, I have been working on some personal things and my yard.  It was so hot here this summer we were in drought again and I didn't do much.  Now is the time for getting the weeds out and seeding my lawn since it is only in the 80's now.


Now for my offering.  I love this Sweet Violets stamp set by Flourishes, but I had never used it until now.  Well, if you know me, you know I have to layer and emboss for depth, so............

I stamped the image on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80lb. cardstock twice using Brilliance Galaxy Gold.   I painted the images with Twinkling H20's Cherry Sorbet and Moss Green using my Niji Waterbrush.  I cut out my base image using my X-Acto knife and painted the edges with the colors of the violets and leaves.  Everything forward has been turned over on an embossing mat and embossed with a stylus.  Next I cut out the leaves on the second image as shown and mounted with 1/16" 3D pop dots.  I did the same with the backs of the flowers, but mounted them using only Glossy Accents.

I ran my new Marianne Die Cutting Frame Swirl 116 through my Cuttlebug using more Neenah Solar White.  The second time through was to emboss the center.  (Hint:  When it doesn't show enough I turn it over with the die in place and use a stylus to accent it more.  I used 1/16" 3D pop dots on the leaves of the Violets and 1/8" 3D pop dots for the flowers.  I put it aside to wait until I had the second die cut.

I put another piece of Neenah Solar White through the Cuttlebug using Spellbinders Curved Rectangles.  The second time was to emboss the center part.  I used the die as a stencil to get the center part using SU DP.  That was mounted to the center of the Solar White die cut with ATG Gold tape.

I removed the backing on the 3D pop dots of the Violets and mounted them and the Marianne die cut to the Curved Rectangle die cut as shown.  I love both these dies!!!!

I cut a piece of the SU DP to 4.25X5.5.  The image and die cuts were mounted to it using 1/16" 3D pop dots.  May Arts ribbon was run under the Marianne die cut for the outside ribbon.  It was run over and under the Marianne die cut for the center piece of ribbon.  My bow was done using the Bow-Easy.  There are 3 rounds of ribbon.  (Hint:  I hate trying to get the bow layers to stay separate and found that if I twist the flip the ends backward they look frilly, so that's what I did.  I like the look.)

The sentiment is from Impression Obsession's Mini Messages clear stamp set and was stamped using Memento Bamboo Green on Neenah.  The smallest Curved Rectangle on SU DP was used for the frame.

The pearls on the corner were purchased on EBay in the nail art section and were cheap and free shipping.  I think they were in Hong Kong.  Incredible!   The pearls on the sentiment are from Mark Richards 3mm pearl stickers.  The heart pearl is Making Memories and the beads are Czech.

That's it for now.  If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.  Thanks for stopping by to look and share.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Flourishes Sweet Violets; Impression Obsession Mini Messages

Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock and SU DP
Inks:  Memento Bamboo Green; Brilliance Galaxy Gold; Twinkling H2O's Cherry Sorbet and Moss Green
Accessories:  Spellbinders Curved Rectangles, Marianne Die Cutting Frame Swirl 116; Making Memories White Heart Pearl stick pin; Mark Richards 3mm white pearl stickers; Czech pink faceted and pearl beads; Bow-Easy; May Arts ribbon.

 Shirley

A Tweet Bird And A New List

I'll want to let you know about my new list tab.  With my new blog layout comes TABS.  Love them.  They are taking some of the stuff out of my sidebars and placing it on top where you can see them if you like.  As you can see, I've added 3 more tabs.  I think you can have a total of 7.

The one tab I would like to bring to your attention is the "Any Stamp Challenges".  I have been blog hopping more recently and noticed all of the Rubber Stamp Challenges in Blogland.  :-)  I had someone ask if I knew where there was a list of challenges for 'using any stamp'.  I said no, but I would collect them while hopping.  If you are interested, check the tab.  I was blown away with the ones I have already found.  If you know of any I don't have, let me know and I will put them on the list.  On to my card!!!

I was over at Stephanie Lanzalotto's blog, My Ink Well, and saw her cute Chickadee card!  I didn't have the stamp set she used, but I did have a button I had been wanting to use on a card for some time.

Construction of Bird:

I applied the button to a remnant of white cardstock and drew the legs, tail feathers, and beak with a pencil. I punched out a wing with one of my tear drop punches and then used it to make a larger one with a pencil. Cut it out and used it as a template on some SU DP scraps for the wing and the background for the flowers. Mounted it with a glue dot.  I trimmed around the bird, nose, and legs. Lined them with Viva Black Pearl Pen and applied a generous dot for the bird's eye.  I used the Viva Hematite Glitter Liner to accent some little dots on DP on the Wing.  Set aside to dry.

Stamped on Neenah White Cardstock with Cover-A-Card Swirls and VersaMark pigment ink.  Embossed with Clear EP.  Used Cuttlebug and Spellbinders Lacey Circles Dies for 2 die cuts.  Used larger die as a stencil and brayered with SU Classic Bashful Blue.  Used as stencil again on vellum to put over the Bashful Blue part to later stamp sentiment.  Used smaller die as stencil for background on SU remnant DP and used Viva Hematite Glitter Liner to accent small circles.

Placed larger die over Vellum as stencil, cut out and mounted over center, placed bird near top, stamped sentiment with StazOn near bottom, created Tweet on computer sticker paper, trimmed around, and placed above sentiment, and used Viva Hematite Glitter Liner over all words.

Mounted bird and words in upper left-hand corner with 3D pop dots.  Mounted May Arts ribbon and bow made with Bow-Easy as shown.

Mounted SU DP remnant in center of smaller die cut.  Mounted Prima flowers as shown.  Used Twinkling H2O's True Blue with Niji waterbrush on edges of larger rose.  I wet the edge of petals first with colorless water and Niji.  Then brushed the color lightly onto edges.  It bleeds and blends on the dampened area for a softer natural look.

It needed something else, so I pulled out a Making Memories Blue Heart Stick Pin and threaded it with a Czech jet black onyx bead and a Blue Moon cultured pearl bead from my stash.

Done except for a little of the DP and Cover-A-Card in thin strips inside the card on the top and on the envelope in the lower left-hand corner.

Thanks for stopping by to say hi and look and share!!

 Shirley

Supplies:

Papers: Domtar White, Super Smooth, 90 lb. Folded card base ; SU Bashful Blue/DP remnants; Neenah Classic Crest, Solar White, Super Smooth; Tan or Bone cardstock;Vellum


Stamps: Impression Obsession Cover-A-Card CC002 - Swirls and Damask; Just Rite Friendship Nested Sentiments; Tweet Computer Generated - Flemish Script BT


Inks: StazOn Jet Black; Brilliance Moonlight White;SU Classic Bashful Blue; Twinkling H2O's True Blue


Accessories: Viva Pearl Pen Black and Glitter Liner Hematite; Niji waterbrush 9mm Small; Cuttlebug; Spellbinders Lacey Circles; Prima Innocence (I think!); May Arts Ribbon; Bow-Easy; Czech black faceted bead, Making Memories stick pin, Blue Moon cultured pearl

Easy Twisted Easel Card Tutorial

I was blog hopping and saw this beautiful Twisted Easel Card at Marti's Essence of Paper blog.  That link referred me to Margaret's I Love Crafting blog to view her video on how to do this A2 (4.25x5.5) easel card.  After I watched the video, I had a picture of what I wanted to post here.  A simple picture tutorial for a quick fold A2 Twisted Easel Card.  I want to thank both Martie and Margaret for inspiring me and teaching me how to do it too!!

1.  Trim a piece of white 8.5"X11" cardstock to 8.5"X9.75". 
2.  Cut that into 2 pieces of 4.25"X9.75".  Now you have enough for 2 card bases.

 
3.  Score your piece at 5.5" on Score-Pal, leaving one end as 4.25"X4.25" (a square).

4.  At the 5.5"X4.25 scored line, line your piece diagonally and score point to point as shown, on the 4.25"X4.25" side.  Fold the corner on the upper right to the bottom left of the same 4.25"X4.25" square and it will make a triangle when you fold it.

5.  Unfold the corner and turn the card so it is folded like above.  The unfolded square will be on top and the 4.25"X5.5" rectangle will be on the bottom.  Tape the bottom right-hand triangle as shown.

  

6.  Prepare your card front and base.  Both will measure 4.25" by 5.5" as shown above

Card Front & Base Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts - CG115 Thank You; Impression Obsession B3568 Thinking Of You (Red Rubber) or All Occasion I (Clear Stamp Set) and Cover-A-Card^TM CC008 Thick & Thin (Red Rubber Cling 5.75"X5.75"
Card Stock:  Neenah Classic White Solar Crest 80lb.
Inks - Brilliance Galaxy Gold, StazOn Blazing Red and Olive Green; Twinkling H2O's Ruby Red and Olive Green
Accessories - Michaels Ribbon, Making Memories Heat Pin, Mark Richards Pearl stickers, faux dew drops from the florist part of Michaels.

7.  Look at the image in STEP 5.  Place your card front directly on top so it covers the whole square and rectangle and press down.  Lift up the top from the right hand side and it should look like my card at the top.

How I Prepared My Base For The Twist:
A.  (You need to decide what you are going to use to stop the Card Front after it is opened - Buttons, Pearls, Cardstock on Pop dots, etc.)  I wanted to leave enough room so I could write a short message.   I decided to use part of the main image.  I opened the Cardfront until the bottom left and corner was even with the base top edge.  I marked along the bottom of the cardfront (lightly) with a pencil.  The pieces were mounted with glue as shown and the line erased.


Honestly, putting this tutorial together was more work than the card.  LOLOL  Then Google took everything down and I was ready to pull my hair out!!!!!  Yesterday, around 4 pm, I sent them a message with my site address and in about an hour it was back.   Don't think I didn't thank them.  Another thanks to Marti and Margaret for their inspiring me.

I hope you try this.  It really is a cool and fun fold.  Thanks for stopping by to look and say hi!

 Shirley

Hi Everybody!

Well, I'm baaaaack!  I have been doing cards and cross stitch too, until I broke my left arm.  That's almost behind me and I am so excited to have some cards to show.  For those of you who are still out there, thanks for waiting.

I find that I am really into layering things and not just DP.  Acutally, I love cutting and almost creating a tole look.

I stamped this image on Neenah Solar White cardstock always using Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink. I use this ink like its water.  If you want to know why, look HERE.  The bugs and heart leaves were then stamped again twice.  The Lovebugs on all were painted with Twinkling H2O's Garnet and Olive Vine on all copies.

The scalloped edge around the background copy was done using The Crafter's Workshop 6X6 Template - Stitch Doodle Dot. 

The heart leaves were cut out and mounted on the ground copy using pop dots.  The Love Bugs were then prepared to be mounted.  If you look at each you will see some White Pearl Antennae.  Those are Flower Stamen used by cake decorators.  I bought mine from Golda' Kitchen online.  She had the best selection of sizes and colors too, and shipping was resonable.  I bought micro and small.  You are looking at the micro here.  They were curled around a think croched hook and then mounted to the back using scotch tape.  Then the bug was mounted to the leaves, etc.

The dots on the backs of the Lovebugs were done with Ranger Liquid Pearls White Opal.  I wanted the spots to have diminesion like the pearls, so Rangers Glossy Accents was used first.  Then the sparkles were done by sprinkling lightly with Deco Art Glamour Dust.  All Love Bugs were mounted with Pop Dots.

The ribbon is May Arts, done with the Bow Easy, and mounted with glue dots.  The Stick Pin is from the Making Memories Mistletoe Deco Pins.  A white freshwater pearl and crystal round bead were added too.

The tag is from Spellbinders round die set.  I edged it with Brilliance Galaxy Gold using a Niji Waterbrush, wrote the words with a Galaxy Glitter pen, added some Glossy Accents, and added some of the Glamour Dust to that.  It was moutned with pop dots too.

And that wasn't enough.  I needed the inside for the card and the envy, both shown below.  I actually made the envelope so there would be room for the bow and it wouldn't be smooshed.  I used some Neenah Solar White text weight paper for it.  LOLOL

SUPPLIES:

Stamps:  Impression-Obsession - Love Bugs (Red Rubber Stamp) Can also be purchased in Clear
Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth 80lb. cardstock,
Inks:  Brilliance Galaxy Gold, Twinkling H2O's Garnet, Olive Vine
Accessories:  Rangers Liquid Pearls White Opal; Glossy Accents; Deco Art Glamour Dust; White Pearl Stamens,  Crafter's Kitchen Stitch Doodle Dot TCW131, Making Memories Mistletoe Deco Pin, white freshwater pearl and clear crystal bead. 1/16" and 1/8" pop dots.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  My email is in the upper left hand corner of the sidebar.  It's great to be back and thanks for stopping by to look and say hi!!!

 Shirley