Cooking up a birthday wish…

Hello fellow crafters! I hope you are having a lovely weekend. Ours looks to be low-key, no birthday parties or ball games, we can just relax. What a great time to get ahead on cardmaking. Here is a birthday card I made with one of the flowers done with the homemade clay I shared earlier this week and some cute stamps that came free with a magazine I bought last week.

 

I was really surprised when I saw the April issue of Cardmaking & Papercraft (A UK magazine) at my local JoAnn Fabrics. I expected it to cost $20 but it was 10.99, then it was on sale for 10% off and on top of that I had a 20% off total purchase so I got the magazine and a large set of stamps for $8! It is an adorable set and I’m sure you will see me use it many times! I will have to keep my eye out for that mag to see if they offer free stamps with it again! I used my ProMarkers to color the image.

That’s all for today, til next time happy crafting!

I’m “batty” & 40% off!

Silence…my kids are back to school today, time for a second cup of coffee and some peace and quiet, ahhhhh. Rather than have another back to school project for you today I thought I’d fast forward a bit and show you a Halloween card I made with my new digital stamp set Halloween Doodles, that set is 40% off along with EVERYTHING at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff today {August 31st} only!

 

I had a nice time making this card. I like to listen to audio books while I craft and I was listing to a very creepy one (Cujo by Stephen King) while I was making this. First I colored the bat with 4 shades of purple promarkers then I masked the bat and moon and colored the sky with inkpads.

TIP: When you wan to mask a digistamp simply stick a post-it note over the image (you will be able to see through it enough) and trace the outline, then cut out the shape and stick it over the image you want to mask, easy!

I punched a 1.5″ circle (of post-it note) to mask the moon and dabbed away with several shades of blue ink pad over the masked bat and moon. then I used a foam dauber to swirl in some clouds. Finally I finished it off with white colored pencil to give the clouds more shape and the moon more definition.

 So, if you liked that be sure to grab the Halloween Doodles set or anything else that strikes your fancy at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff for 40% off today! Here are some products you might enjoy:

 

Today’s project qualifies for the following challenges:  Creative Card Crew, Digital Tuesday, Partytime Tuesdays, Passion For Promarkers Challenge, Tuesday Throwdown, Daisy Doodles Creative Challenge, Haunted Design House Macabre Mondays, Hooked on Crafts, Make it Monday, Stamps R Us, Aly’s Sunday Challenge, Corrosive Challenges and One Stitch At A Time

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Wouldn’t it be nice…

Don’t you wish you could add a few hours to the day…a few productive hours that is, not more endless drudgery? I revisited a stamp set I bought from Sunday International a few years ago with funny fake product ads and I loved this one for Stop The Clock Grease:

 

I used my ProMarkers and Air Marker to color this. I love this new toy, all I have to do is snap a ProMarker in to the airbrush system, turn on my air compressor (you can use canned air if you prefer) and spray away! It is so quick too and these last few weeks of summer vacation with the kids home from school I will take any time save I can get! I know I promised you a video on using the new Letra Jet Air Marker but realistically it will probably not happen til September and the kids are back in school

BTW the die-cuts are from the Steampunk SVG kit from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff:

Quick Tip! I wanted some vintage advertizing pattern paper in the background of my card but I had none so I did a search on the web and found lots of free vintage ad collage sheets here. Ain’t the internet grand!

This card qualifies for the following challenges: Top Tip Tuesday, Cards For Men, Craft Your Passion, Die Cut Dreams, Karens Doodles, Make it Monday, Paper Playtime, Pollycraft, Stamps R Us, The Outlawz , Here Come the Boys, Lollipop Crafts, and Outlawz challenge (CAS and make an embellishment-I made the die cut clock hands)

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Try this on your next card!

Happy Sunday folks! I had a lot of fun making this thank you card for my sister, she gave me a pretty glass ball for my birthday after remembering me admire the ones she had hanging in her house and realizing the one I used to have broke a year ago. I used the wrapping paper and tissue paper from her gift in my card, how about that for recycling?

 

OK so you probably want to hear about the trick I want you to try on your next card….OKthen, check out the fairy’s wings, the glitter is actually clear glitter nail polish from the Dollar Tree! I love this stuff, it dries in seconds and has a brush built into the cap and does not smear my ink. Nifty cool! I am always smearing my stickles because they take forever to dry, the nailpolish is cheaper too!

 

I used my Promarker Blender sets to color the fairy. The fairy stamp is from Crafters Companion, it is the Buttercup fairy and I used the smaller one in that set. I bought it from Costom Crops NAYY (not affialited yadda yadda) I should tell you that the Fariopolis sets are clear but the other flower fairy sets are real rubber sheets and you need to cut them out and adhere them to a block to stamp. There is no mention of that on their website. I prefer the rubber so it was a pleasant surprise but if you do not want to deal with cutting the stamp apart and mounting them stick to the Fariopolis line They are on sale for $5 each set now BTW, regular $10-I paid $6.50-still a deal tho Another tip: If you do get these stamps besure to save the packaging that comes with them because the designs are very “sketchy” and you will want them to refer to when you color.

Well that is it for me, we are hosing a cookout today so I’m gonna be busy but it will be a great time I’m sure! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Gasp! A manly card :)

OK, so I am not known for making “guy” cards but I needed a birthday card for my nephew-in-law {is that even a title?} So I grabbed some kraft cardstock, my Promarkers, a wood grain embossing plate and some stamps and had at it!

Stampscapes stamp tips:

I bought this beautiful Stampcapes scenic stamp at a yard sale a few years ago but I’ll admit I had a hard time using it. These stamps have a lot of detail and there is a trick to getting it right!

1. Use a brayer to ink up the stamp. I have 2 soft rubber brayers in my craft room: one for blacks and browns and one for other colors. Simply roll the brayer on an inkpad (I used Close to Cocoa by Stampin Up!) then roll it along your stamp. Repeat this a couple of times from left to right and top to bottom.
2. Use smooth paper. You can use glossy cardstock or very smooth regular cardstock such as Neenah Classic Crest. Keep the stamp rubber side up on your table and lay the cardstock on top of the inked stamp and rub your hand over the paper. Just be sure not to move the paper as you rub.
3. When coloring keep elements that are in the background (like the trees behind the cabin) dull in color and make the objects closer to you (like the grass in the foreground) brighter in color.
4. If you need to add brighter, or lighter color to your design after coloring it with markers layer colored pencils on top for a spark of color and texture.

A couple more tips:
1. When you want to mat {layer} a piece of stamp art first punch a shape out of the center of the background layer. You don’t see the middle of the panel so it does not matter if there is a hole in it;) You can save these punch outs for a future project or make a matching gift tag! It will also cut down on wight when mailing, you might just save yourself an extra stamp!
2. Leftover over scraps of paper used on the card can be turned into an envelope liner as I did on the top photo. Simply trace the flap of the envelope on the scrap paper (make sure you have a couple of inches below the flap so you can tuck it inside) cut it out and slide in the envie. Hold the tip of the liner in place with double-sided tape.
3. When stamping oft-used sentiments such as the birthday definition be sure to stamp a few extra so you can have them ready to use on your next card, it is a time saver!

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Off the Grid {love card}

Still enjoying my computer free week! Here is the card I made for my husband on Fathers Day!

 

I flocked the bee with black and yellow, the glue is still wet in this pic but you get the idea:)

 

All the stamps are moldie-oldies: Anna Griffin (flower), Anitas (bee), Stamp Fransisco (text) the classics never go out of style!

Thanks for dropping by and til next time happy crafting!

A quick Father’s Day Card and a chance to win ProMarkers!

I hope you are having a lovely Saturday! Guess what? Tomorrow is Father’s Day and when I saw this image for free on the Letraset Blog I knew I needed to make this card:

 

Letraset is having a coloring contest and all you have to do is download one (or both) of the free images on their blog, color it and email a photo of it to them (or link to it the comment section of the blog) and you are entered to win! The contest goes til the end of the month and the winner gets a 12 set of promarkers and 4 coloring books, I think there is runner up marker prizes too so go ahead and try for some markers! You can read all about it on the Letraset Blog!

BTW I colored my image with the Vivid Promarker blending set with the addition of cool grey4, black and pastel blue;)

This card qualifies for the following challenges: Fashionista Friday, Glitter Geeks , Inspire Me Fridays, Just Add Ink, Mami Doodles, Poodles Parlour , Wags ‘n Whiskers, Craft Us Crazy, Crafty Sentiments, Delightful Challenges, Samuel Taylor’s Challenge, Shelly’s Images, Little Red Wagon, Paper Take Weekly, The Stamping Boutique, Cupcake Craft, Incy Wincy Designs, Ooh La La Creations, Simon Says Stamp and Show…, Squigglefly, Stamp-N-Doodle, Creative Inspirations, Dream Valley Challenges and Sentimental Sundays. 

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

2 new fairy cards {and 65% off markers!}

Happy Friday! Nope, that is not a typo in today’s blog post header, Letraset is offering 65% off the Tria Marker sets of 12 Friday June 17th only! The ink in Tria Markers is the same as in Promarkers but Tria markers are refillable and you can replace the nibs but the most wonderful feature of these markers is that it has 3 nibs! You get a brush end on one end (it has a nice “spring” to it, I like it better than Copic) and the other end has a chisel tip and a fine tip snaps over the chisel tip to give you 3 nibs in one. I love them. I have the Fashion set and it is fabulous. As my Promarkers are used up (not that any of them are remotely dried out and I use them all the time!) I will be replacing them with the Tria of the same color. To get the sale price on the Letraset website use the code: SHH-0611. Letraset ships worldwide too! Now on to the cards colored with Letraset markers:

The Flower Fairy stamps are from Crafter’s Companion, love these! I hope to own all of their individual fairy stamps someday, sigh…

Here are the close-ups of the cards. I stamped the fairies on Neenah Classic crest #80 with Memento black and colored them with my Promarkers by Letraset. I started with the darkest colors on the edges and blended them inwards with a lighter shade. The only difference between Promarkers and Letra set is that you can refill/replace the nibs and ink on Trias and there are 300+ colors in Tria and only about 144 in the promarker range. I have some of both and they work beautifully together!

The Library card digistamp is from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff in the Teacher’s Helper SVG set.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! Don’t forget the Tria Marker sale at Letraset is today (June 17, 2011) only and you have to use the code: SHH-0611 when you checkout to get the 65% off!

Til next time Happy Crafting!

Another one bites the dust…

So, I feel the need today to alert my blog readers of something that happened over the weekend. SCAL2, the die cutting software I use 95% of the time with my Cricut Machine, has been removed from the Craft Edge website and will no longer be sold. If you have SCAL2 or SCAL already you are OK, the software will continue to work just fine and you will not be tricked into updating scal and losing your ability to cut with your Cricut. Craft Edge will continue to support the software until the end of the year. However you won’t want to update any ProvoCraft Cricut software or they may block you SCAL or MTC and then you will be up the proverbial river. I’m just bummed today, I have been a passionate user of SCAL for almost 3 years, I think it stinks the ProvoCraft (the makers of Cricut) have bullied them and got their way. Boo provocaft, shame on you! I will continue to use my SCAL2 software until my Cricut wears out then I will buy a die cutter that will let me cut what I want and doesn’t go around suing everybody and there are plenty of reputable die cutting machines that will work with the new SCAL3 such as: Craftwell eCraft™, Black Cat Cougar/Lynx™, Boss Kut Gazelle™, Pazzles Inspiration™, Silhouette SD™, USCutter™. And unlike Provocraft software SCAL is available for Windows and Macintosh. 

I will no longer purchase products from bullies and I know other crafters feel the same way. Provocraft/Cricut thinks that this move will give them back a monopoly so they can charge $90 a cartridge…think again.  BTW there is a new software I tried called FairyCut and although I prefer scal for straight die cutting the print & Cut feature in fairy cut is freakin’ unbelievable! It’s like having the Cricut Imagine machine except you can print and cut ANYTHING you want not just the lame graphics available on the overpriced cartridge…oh wait, that was just mean…shame on me Of course it is only a matter of time before they get sued too so you might want to grab this software while you can Alrightie, I am official done with my ranting and raving…speaking of fairies (nice segway huh?) here is a card I made with the new Flower Fairy stamps from Crafters Companion:

Stamps: Fairy/daisy (Crafters Companion), Words/other flower (SU!), Frugal Tip: Make an envelope first and use the scrap of paper leftover on the card.

It was a thank you for the Daisy Girl Scout leader, hence the daisy fairy. To see how I colored this image you can watch the video here. This was the image I colored in the video. To add the daisies I simply covered the fairy with a sticky note and stamped the daisy stamp right on top after the image was colored, then I stamped just the ends if the stems again to make the flowers look bigger and as if they were behind the fairy. I colored them with my promarkers.

This card qualifies for the following challenges: By the Cute & Girly, Sundays with Crissy, Tiffany Doodles, Come and Get It Challenges, One Stitch At A Time, ECP Challenges, Creative Card Crew

Thanks for listening to me rant today. I just wanted to make sure that if you have a cricut and d not already have SCAL that you don’t run out and get SCAL3 because it will not work with a cricut. (If you have another brand of diecutter I still wholeheartedly recommend it tho!)I am so fortunate that I got mine when I did! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Make Your Own: Baker’s Twine!

Hello folks! I spent a good part of the afternoon making beautiful bakers twine with plain cotton thread (#10 crochet cotton) and my ProMarkers. Check it out, it looks like the real deal, no?

I found a great video tutorial from UKmaryanne on you tube and she showed how to turn ordinary crochet cotton string (you can get a big honkin’ ball of it for about $3 at the craft store) into lovely striped twine, now why didn’t I think, of that!?!  Here is her video:

I decided that I needed to use my new twine straight away so I made up a few “kid’s cards” using some of my new PinkPersimmon stamps:

I just LOVE this twine!

Check out the orange flag and button, I heated up fun-foam and stamped it to make 3-D squishy embellishments.

Here is a closer look at the button:

Well, that was my fun for the day. Thanks to UKmaryanne for sharing her totally awesome baker’s twine idea, I do hop you’ll try it, it is such fun and s quick to make and it looks just like the real thing for a fraction of the cost!

Today’s projects qualify for the following challenges: A Spoonful Of Sugar, Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT Challenge , Top Tip Tuesday, Bunny Zoe’s Crafts (bright cards for boys), Incy Wincy Designs, KB Cute Monday, Stamp with Fun , Aly’s Sunday Challenge, Card Cupids (pastels-pink and green cards), Pile It On , Fussy and Fancy, Paper Cutz, Art Impressions Stamps Challenge  and Aud Sentiments Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!