Loopy Felt Flower Tutorial & Lots of Tips!

Boy oh boy, am I ready for spring!  I am using flowers everywhere and when I saw an advertisement for Basic Grey’s new loopy felt flowers I had to see if I could make them myself. How did I do?

They are fun, easy and only take seconds. All you need is craft store felt sheets, you know, the .25 cent kind and a pair of scissors and a dob of glue. Honestly, they cost about 2 cents each to make so why not give it a try. Watch the short video to see how:

Here are the written instructions: Fold a 1.5″ x9″ strip of felt in half the long way. cut slits every 1/8″ (you can use fringe scissors to speed things up) then roll up the strip and secure with hot glue. You can cut leaves from green felt and add them if you wish. If you want a flower with a round center just use a 1/2″x4″ strip of felt and roll that up into a coil then attach the folded fringed piece and roll as before. Easy peasy!

More tips!!!

I loved the background paper I made the other day, so much that I did not want to cover it up so I stamped a magnolia collage stamp on top. Here are some tips for stamping on pattern paper

1. Color the image with regular wax-based colored pencils (like Prismacolor or Crayola) the colors, especially the light ones, are opaque and will block out the pattern underneath. Color firmly to blend.

2. Frame the image by using a reverse mask. I used Post-It notes to make a frame around my stamped image and sponged (a make-up wedge works great!)on brown ink. When you remove the post it note you have a pretty frame just like magic and you can still see parts of your beautiful paper!

3. This probably goes without saying BUT, use a dark ink on a patterned background so it will show up

One last tip!

Mix and match your frame and sentiment stamps for snazzy new looks! I have had this oval frame from Rubber Stampede for years, I love how well it pairs up with the Stampin Up stamps I just got this month. That oldie is not moldy anymore!

That’s all for today, I am having friends over to craft tonight so I must clean up the crap..er craft room!  Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A simple “bleep bleep” birthday card!

Hello there, today I wanted to share a card/tag/envelope set I made for a birthday the kids want to this weekend, it only took minutes to make;

 

I like to test my stamps out on a scrap before committing them to a card. In this case the test scrap made a nice tag. I wanted to make a matching envelope so I simply used the same ink to stamp gears on the envelope too, easy peasy!

I used stamps from The Paper Studio (all but the flag which is Pink Persimmon and the tiny green alien and tiny beep, those are from Basic Grey) Ink was from Stampin’ Up (Real Red, Only Orange, Tempting turquoise, and basic black) the only coloring was on the flag and done with a yellow tombow marker.

Honestly, it took longer to write this blog post them to make the card!

Here is a tip though, the clear robot stamps are cheapies from JoAnns, to get them to stamp well I scuffed them with a fine grit emery board (or you can use an eraser) then the ink will stick properly to them;)

Til next time happy crafting!

kokeshi card challenge

We are having a gorgeous day here in the northeast so I’m gonna keep this post short and sweet! The theme at Oriental Stamp Art this week is kokeshi dolls and I used last weeks OSA card layout to make this card:

Stamps: About Art Accents, Markers: Copic, Paper: Basic Grey, Seam Binging Sew-True. Don't forget the handmade envelope!

I used a kokeshi stamp from About Art Accents, the doll sets are absolutely adorable and you get many stamps on a sheet, think of all the cool card you can make. I used two strands of clearance seam binding (see yesterdays post for deal info and free shipping coupon) as-is and made a bow (how easy) and wrapped it around my panel of BG kioshi paper (need more of that!) and I colored my image with copics:

This card also qualifies for the Caardvarks Challenge (clean & simple), and Wild orchid (ribbons and bows).

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Earth week day 5

OK I’m gonna be straight with you, I am in a creative rut, I had a very productive week last week and made loads of cards and scrapbook pages and even banged out an article but this week I have been just plain flat, like an old can of soda! So I started to clean, and I found an old {worthless} comic book, I was about to toss it in the recycle bin but then thought “Hey! I can make something with this!”

It ain't the greatest but it's something...

I know these cards will not win any awards but I think the best way to break through a creative rut is to push right through it, well, it sure beats cleaning anyway! I used my Cricut and scal software to cut the solid robot out of the Cricut Cuttables stamp material {be sure to use a brand new sticky mat and follow the directions on the package!} using the free font EFON. I welded the head to the body with a rectangle in scal. I used some cute stamps from Basic Grey and a diamond plate embossing folder on the other. I love the screw top brads, they are by Creative Imaginations but other companies have them too. Well the present in the photo is for a birthday party we are rushing off to and one of the cards is too!

Thanks for listening to my crafting rut rant, til next time happy crafting!

Scrap it already!

Ever take WAAAY to many photos and then feel overwhelmed when you sit down to scrap? I know I’m not alone here, but I found an easy solution to this. Print your photos out as a collage then paste the collage strait on to your patterned paper, add a few embellies and you are done!

Paper: Basic Grey, Stamp: Inque Boutique, Die Cuts Cricut (opposites Attract, Base Camp)

Paper: Basic Grey, Die Cuts, Bingo Cards, flowers: Lindsay Weirich, Software: SCAL

I used my Cricut and SCAL software to make the die cuts on the layouts. I designed the chick in inkscape and you can cut it with your cricut if you have SCAL software.

Download the chick SVG cutting file here.

The bingo cards are a freebie also, I offered them before but in case you missed them you can download them here.

I have been trying to make crocheted flowers, I used my first attempts on this page, all of the paper is by Basic Grey. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

The Ultimate Card Showdown!!!

I couldn’t resist, I had to enter the 2 sketches 4 you ultimate card showdown (every time I hear that name I think of the monster truck show announcer “This Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY it the Ultimate Card Showdown! Get your tickets, Kid’s seats are still $5!!!” what, is it only me?)  even though the competition is huge. The grand prize winner gets $500 worth of scrapping/stamping supplies including (what I am really in this for) a beautiful pink Bind it All!!! OK enough Jibber-Jabbering, here is my card:

Cardstock: SU!, PP: Autumn leaves, Basic Grey, Stamps: Hero Arts, Inkadinkado, Technique Tuesday, Rubber Stampede, Font: DB Boho Banner, Felt: Queen & Co, Other: Window screen, washers, ink

Here in an uncluttered look at the card;)

The base is one sheet of SU! kraft paper folded in half. I score some decorative lines on the edge and inked it. I stamp the paisley and birthday definition on color gloss lazer paper. Tip: Gloss Lazer paper (from the office supply store, I used Hammermill color lazer gloss)  is great for detail stamping and a lot cheaper than glossy cardstock, you get 300 sheets for less then $10! then I sprinkled green, brown and gold powder on it to give it a patina look. I also stamped bolts down the side to up the “manly” factor and I “borrowed” some washers form hubby’s workshop and altered them with rust embossing powder. I added screw top eyelets to the flowers cut form map paper and the scallop boarder was cut from fiberglass window screening then painted brown and stapled on. I added a bit of die cut felt for texture and I made the transparency banner by printing a banner form the DB boho banner font onto a transparency and typed “happy birthday” on it before printing. Tip: I printed a whole sheet of banners while I was at it so I didn’t waste the transparency sheet, see:

DB boho banners font

Well, there you have it, I’ll let you know next week weather I made the top 30 or not;) Thanks for stopping by and till next time happy crafting!

toot toot!

What can I say, I’m having a good month I just got the June issue of Vamp Stamp News in the mail and I have a card in there! Woohoo! The magazine had a challenge to make embossed backgrounds with a die cut machine and well, I love my die cutters so I made a couple cards to send in. Here is one that did not make it into the magazine but I like it just the same so I thought I would share it here:

Stamp: About Art Accents, Cardstock: SU!, PP: Basic Grey

I used a Fiskars Texture plate in place of one of my cutting pads, placed my folded cardstock on top then a sheet of rubber gasket material (form the plumbing section of a hardware store) then the other cutting plate and ran it through my Big shot. Then I distressed the card with brown ink and white acrylic paint. The focal image is from about Art Accents and a colored it with chalk and a blender pen for a vintage look.  made the die cut shapes with my cricut and scal software. SCAL is on sale for 10% off until the 26th with the coupon code:3847758. SCAL lets you cut any font on your computer and svg files with your cricut machine!

Speaking of Cricut, and die cutter in general, the June issue of VSN had a great article on choosing a die cutter and it review most all of the consumer grade machines out there so if you are in the market for a die cutter check it out!

Have a great Memorial day weekend, we are building the kids a playhouse, so much fun, I hope the weather stays nice for us, it have been lovely all week (hence a couple of days I didn’t post, I was too busy enjoying the weather!) Until next time happy crafting!

Gorilla Glue and New to You cards!

Wow, what a week! My girls had 4 friends with birthday parties this week, my son had to give a report on Hawaii and there was a little party for parents and students in his class yesterday! After the party he went to play at a friends house and got roughhousing and broke his glasses jumping off something, don’t ask, I didn’t get the whole story. Of course like most accidents/injuries/breakdowns it happened late on a Friday afternoon so the chance of getting the glasses repaired by a professional was slim so I took my chances and my bottle of Gorilla Super glue and decided to fix said glasses. I can hardly believe it but it worked! The way the glasses came apart was weird, it was at the hinge and the strait part that hooks to your ear has slipped out of the hole where it hooks to the hinge, it had a little pin on it so I dabbed some glue on the pin and pushed it in the hole, took it out and wiped away any excess glue then slid it back in and let it sit for an hour and they are a good as new! I used the regular Gorilla super glue not the precision pen. Hopefully it will hold up, everything else I’ve used this with has and it contains rubber particles in the glue so it is not brittle like other brands of super glue. Well that $5 bottle of glue saved me $200 at the eye doctor!

I’ve been so busy getting my digi-stamp store up and running that I haven’t had enough time (really, is there ever?) to craft! so I thought I’d share a card I made with a cool Stampin Up set I borrowed from my mother. The set is called 5th Avenue Floral, ain’t it pretty?

Stamps: Stampin Up, Paper: SU!, The Paper Co, Ribbon: Dollar Tree

Stamp: Stampin Up, Paper: Basic Grey, DCWV, Dies: Sizzix

Sorry, I don’t know what set this stamp was from, leave a comment if you know, it is a pretty one! That’s all for tonight, thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

And the big news is…

that I am opening a digital stamp store! I’ve already put in 10 designs and I have many more to add and I’m working on getting the shopping cart up and then I will share the link. I’m very excited! I have sold illustrations to a couple rubber stamp companies in the past so I have experience but I wanted people to have inexpensive access to my other designs. Since the products are digital there will be no shipping fees either! He are a couple quick cards made with my digi stamps:

The cupcake is a digi-stamp designed by me!

The chick and egg image is also a digi-stamp of mine, you can download this digi-stamp below, enjoy!

You can never have too many cupcakes right? Another digi stamp design I will put in my shop!

To use digi stamps just print, color and attach it to a card or scrapbook page. As a thank you for visiting my blog you can get the Chick and Egg stamp for free here. I would love your feedback on the design and I’d like to see what you make with it. I will have some other freebies in a few days when I launch the store and will will have a design team call shortly for interested designers. Thanks for visiting my blog and until next time happy crafting!

Free Printable Spring Bingo Cards!

Heidi-ho frugal fans have I got something cool for you today. Well, I think it’s cool anyway. I am totally in the spring frame of mind (even though it is only 19 degrees out right now) and I thought I would share a card I made with some lovey spring stamps from About Art Accents:

Paper: Basic Grey, Stamps: About Art Accents

As soon as I saw the image of the little girl with the bouquet I had to have this set and make a mothers day card. I took a cheap small plastic frame stencil and dry embossed a scrap of white cardstock, then I placed the stencil over the embossed design and used a stipple brush to add color to the lace design and around the oval. Finally I took a needle and pierced around the frame.  I used the rock and roll technique to stamp this. Here is how to do it. Ink your stamp up with a light color then rock the edges of the stamp in a darker shade of the same color and stamp! Try to use a clear block close to the same size as the stamp so you don’t get the block covered in ink. Check out the other stamps in the set:

And this collection is on sale for $12! that’s half price, I don’t know how long it will last (notice I made sure to get a set before I told anyone about it LOL!) It is a rubber plate and when you get it you will need to trim the stamps apart with sharp scissors (very easy) then you can put them on ez mount cling foam or just brush the back with a little Aleens Tack it Over and Over or Re-Position it, let dry and you are ready to stamp!

Did you like the bingo cards? Well, enjoy because you can download them for free!

A Freebie for you, see download links below!

Click to download the Spring bingo cards in Black, Pink, Lavender and green. Then just print and trim, easy peasy. To use these in digiscrappping simply open the file and crop the card you want and copy and paste it into your layout, also easy!

Thanks for stopping by and until next time happy crafting!