Back-2-School: Kerning

OK first a disclaimer: I am NOT caught up with my scrapbooking! I just like to scrap photos the day I take them sometimes while the moment is fresh! Here is a scrapbook page I made yesterday with photos I took yesterday as my kids went of to school:

Collage Sheet: Lindsay's stamp Stuff, Apple Clip Art: LillyBimble (Mygrafico.com), Font: LD Pencil (lettering Delights), paper: Autumn Leaves

I love back to school time, I loved that new pencil box smell, new school clothes and getting back with my friends after a summer apart…of course that got old quick and I would long for lazy days by the pool LOL!

I also decided to make some backpack tags, they are so quick and fun, I used two freebies from Lindsay’s stamp Stuff: Shipping Tag template and Back to School Collage sheet. the tab on the bottom left photo was from the teacher’s helper kit. The apple clip art is from the Super fruit kit by LilyBimble and you can snag all of these goodies at MyGrafico.

Handy Stuff to Know: I want to talk a bit about kerning today, kerning is the spacing between letters in a font. Most of the time the letters you type will be just fine but sometimes if you have a font where the characters connect (like a cursive or script font) they won’t line up just right. Take a look at this example using the Font LD Pencil from Lettering Delights (that I used on the name tags and scrapbook page and it is on sale for a dollar!) and also a cursive font called Little Days:

this example was done in Paint shop pro, if you are using Microsoft word and want to adjust the kerning go to format, font and click the character spacing tab then click the spacing box and it gives you the option to condense (squish the letters together) or expand (spread them apart) play with the spacing until you like the look.

I wanted to make sure the backpack tags I made would survive the elements so I cut a slit in a 3″x5″ ATC baggie and slipped in my paper tags feeding the ribbon through the hole and sealed it shut on the bottom. I could have laminated it with packing tape too, just be sure to do that before you set your eyelet and add ribbon.

This project qualifies for the following challenges: silhouette 10 (sketch), A crafty Little Place (anything goes), Fussy and Fancy Friday, Incy Wincy, S2G , Simple Doodles and Stamp Challenges (back to School)

Also a great deal! Lettering Delights has everything on sale for a dollar but they also have  extra coupons you can use on top of that: 10% off a $10 and up purchase: TakeTen or 30% off a $25 purchase: TakeThirty That is a fantastic deal! I love the Doodlebats they sell because the cut great in my Cricut using SCAL software and you don’t need to convert them because they are ready to cut! OMG SCAL is on sale too for $59.95 regular $75. I love a good sale!

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

My Fab Weekend!

Happy Monday! Over the weekend my niece got married, her wedding colors were Orange, green and black so I did a card and gift wrapping in those colors:

Stamps: (card) Gina K, Hero Arts, Tag: Stampin Up, Inkadinkado

I had fun making the card, I stamped the large Chandelier from the Fine furnishings set from Gina K on white cardstock and clear embossed it then sprayed it with homemade glimmer mist and sponged on orange and green ink, then I stamped a wedding script stamp from here arts over that. I like the effect! I sprayed white cardstock with pearl shimmer mist and sent it through my Big Shot with an old Fiskars texture plate to do the embossing. I made my own crinkle ribbon (Stay tuned for a tutorial later this week) and added it to the card as well.

This card qualifies for the following challenges: Alotta Rubber Stamps (fall colors), Annebelles Stamps (bow), For Fun Challenge (ribbon) and the sketch from Anyone for Anya.

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A Royal Summons!

Howdy folks and happy Saturday! Just a reminder that today is the last say to save 30% on EVERYTHING in the Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff shop at MyGrafico. This year my daughters decided they wanted to have a tea party for their birthday so what better way to make invitations then with my Vintage Alice ATC set:

I used both the black and white and colored printable sheets for these cards.

You get 2 printable sheets in this kit, a black and white sheet of 12 stamps and also a hand colored sheet, I used both sheets to make the cards. This set was very frugal to make, I cut 2 envelopes from each sheet of 12×12 scrapbook paper using my Envelope Bonanza template set (use the bb_envie file) and I cut them with my Cricut  and SCAL software, so quick! Also it only took 3 sheets of pink pattern paper to cover the fronts of 18 cards, and 9 sheets of white cardstock cut in half for the bases. The punched edges add a fancy flair perfect for a tea party!

Here is a card made with the black and white sheet I colored with markers:

And here is one I made with the pre colored sheet:

These invitations qualify for the following challenges: Challenge up your Life (celebrations) and Polk-a-Doodle (vintage).

Here is a look at the set, you get both 8.5″x11″ printable sheets:

If you want a kit with more versatility try the Vintage Alice Printables with 30 classic Alice in wonderland illustrations on 5 printable sheets suitable for cropping and resizing.

And to make the perfect envelope try the Envelope bonanza kit with SVG files to cut with your cricut and printable versions you can resize as well if you don’t use a cricut!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend and remember the 30% off sale ends tonight at midnight at Lindsay’s stamp Stuff! Happy Crafting!

Free Collage Sheet & 30% off Sale!

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” No, not Christmas, back to school time! I decided to mark the last week before school starts in my neck of the woods with a big sale, everything in the Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff shop at MyGrafico is 30% off through Saturday!

I was inspired to make a back to school set using my new Teacher’s Helper SVG set, it has tabs, clips, pockets, folders and a sliding box plus 2 digital stamps all for $4! (that’s on sale for $2.80!)

Stamps, papers, diecuts: Lindsay's stamp stuff

I used a bunch of LSS kits on this set: Uptown Houndstooth and School Papers Digital Paper Packs, School Bingo Cards form School Rules Kit and of course the die cutting templates from Teacher’s Helper SVG set. There are printable templates in the kit too if you don’t have a cricut and SCAL software (BTW, I just saw on the Craft Edge website that SCAL is on sale for $59! SCAL allows you to cut SVG files AND your computer’s fonts with your Cricut machine!)

This card took minutes to make! you could also use the idea for a belated birthday card and stamp "Happy Birthday & past due" on the library card!

This box is about pencil box sized but you could make a mini slider box to fill with treats or candy!

This is jut a fun tag made from leftovers, you could use it as a book mark or a backpack ID tag (you might want to laminate it first though:) This set qualifies for the following challenges: Creative Inspirations (bookmark),  Cutie Sunday and HandStamp Creations and I Did IT creations and One Stop Craft Challenges (anything but  a card),  Double Dutch (make your own DP-Hey I designed all of the pattern paper-does that count?), Frosted Designs and Lil Red Wagon (back to school), Gingersnap creations (red and black), Incy Wincy and Lollipop crafts (buttons/bows).

Here is a look at the new sets at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff this week, remember everything in my shop is on sale for 30% off through Saturday!

And now for the free collage sheet I promised! You get an 8.5″x11″ 300dpi printable sheet of card elements! Click the pic to download, Enjoy 🙂

This week we welcome a new designer to out Team. Laurel Seabrook is a very talented crafter and we are so glad to have her on the LSS DT! Let’s see what the DT has for us today, please note all of the new projects will be live by 10am ET 🙂

Cheryl Gorka DT Coordinator

Shannon Neparko

Margie Visnick

Lisa Jurecek

Tracey Allen

Melissa Craig

Leanne Garner

Tamara Bennett

Cindi Hooks

Micki Harper

Karin Martin

Jennifer Bliss

Rhonda Walker

Diane Bove

Tracy Vinson

Laurel Seabrook

Thanks for stopping by! Remember everything at Lindsay’s stamp stuff is 30% off until Saturday at midnight! Happy crafting!

Stop the Presses!

I just saw that everything at Letting Delights is on sale for $1! I love the fonts and Doodlebats to cut with my Cricut and SCAL software, Many of the fonts and graphics they sell have been made into cricut cartridges, check out this post for a list. Don’t miss this sale!

OK now back to your regularly scheduled bloginess;) Happy Crafting!

Leftover card…

If only using up leftovers from the ‘fridge was as easy as using up leftover paper scraps. I made this card with leftovers scraps of green papers and the Sewing Stuff digital stamp from Lindsay’s stamp stuff:

Stamps and Template: Lindsay's stamp Stuff

I had this extra image printed and I colored it the other night while watching TV, i wasn’t sure about the bright purple thread but now I think I like it 🙂 The Box is from the Fun Favors set and don’t forget the matching envelope! I cut the templates out with my Cricut and SCAL software, easy peasy!

This card qualifies for the following challenges: Bunny Zoes, Creatilicious (vintage), Dancing Pajamas (die cuts), and the design is loosely based on the sketch from 2sketches4you.

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Crepe paper goodness!

Party streamers, gotta love them! Not only can they set the mood for a festive party but they can also add a lovely touch of vintage flair to your next project and since they are so inexpensive (you can get 2 packs at the dollar store) you can add them to everything. Here I adhered a pleated crepe paper streamer to this card:

Stamps: Crafty Secrets, Ink: Memento, Markers: Copic, PP: DCWV, Other: Crepe-paper streamer, buttons, ribbon

The crepe paper holds the folds well, all that is needed is a strip of double stick tape on the back to hold it, Give this technique a try! I have a bunch of Tea-Part invitations to make for my daughters’ birthday next month and I’ll be using party streamers for sure!

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

DIY coasters!

Have you ever had a great idea and then realized a flaw in your plan when it was too late to do anything about it?  I planned to have a tutorial on photocopy transfers today, I went to the library yesterday and had the Vintage Halloween Label stamps I wanted to transfer onto tile coasters photocopied only to realize that I forgot to mirror image my designs before they copied them…and of course I realize this AFTER the library closed 😛  (I would have had backwards words if I did that so with no time to come up with a new project I decided to revive the art of Decoupage and venture onward with this project:

Craft this set in no time with the Vintage Halloween Labels set from Lindsay's stamp Stuff!

Here is how to decoupage your very own coasters:

1. Print out your designs on a LAZER printer or print them out on an ink jet printer and have them photocopied. The toner in lazer printers and photocopy machines won’t bleed when you paint over it with mod-podge.
2. Color your images with ALCOHOL based markers such as Bic Markits, Copic, Sharpie, Promarker or Prismacolor. Avoid using a xylene based marker like Chartpack, it will lift the toner.
3. Closely trim around your designs.
4. Use a brush to paint a layer of decoupage medium such as Mod-podge or white glue (not the washable kind) on a ceramic tile then place your colored cut out image on top and paint another coat of decoupage medium over it.
5. Let dry. If you like you can add additional coats of Mod-Podge for added durability.
6. Put felt, cork or foam pads on the bottom of the tile to protect your furniture.
7. Enjoy knowing you have the coolest coasters on the block!

This project qualifies for the following challenges: Bunny Zoe’s & Creatilicious (vintage), Cards For Men (decoupage), Craft Your Passion (anything goes) and  Lil Red Wagon (altered item)

Now how about a freebie? Here is add-on to the Vintage Halloween Labels set, Spider Cider anyone?

Click the picture to download 🙂

Now let’s see what the LSS design team has for us today.

Cheryl Gorka DT Coordinator

Shannon Neparko

Margie Visnick

Lisa Jurecek

Tracey Allen

Melissa Craig

Leanne Garner

Tamara Bennett

Cindi Hooks

Micki Harper

Karin Martin

Jennifer Bliss

Rhonda Walker

Diane Bove

Tracy Vinson

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

a good friend

As soon as I saw this sentiment stamp from About Art Accents I wanted to make a friendship card:

Stamps: About Art Accents, Template: Lindsay's stamp stuff

It was a quick card, I stamped the sentiment and dragonfly (2) on cream cardstock, colored them with prismacolor markers and spritzed them with my homemade glimmer mist, easy and elegant, gotta love that!

The hexagon box is from the Steampunk SVG templates, the paper I used on the box is from a Lettering Delights paper pack and I arranged it on the printable box template in the Steampunk set before printing to save ink.

This qualifies for the following challenges: Alotta Rubberstamps (fall colors), C.R.A.F.T (insects), Crafty Pad (glitz and glitter), One Stop Craft (Oriental), Pocketful of posies (flowers/glitter: the background paper has metallic printing on it and is flowers),