Sunday Interview #11

Hi, Everyone! Today I have a treat for any of you who have a yen for creating beautiful things. Please welcome the creative mind behind the blog Liz J Fox Design.

Hello, Liz! Would you please tell my readers a little bit about yourself?

I’ve been happily married to my sweet husband Dave for almost 30 years, retired from my business as a graphic designer (self-taught), am a confirmed Macintosh user, and became a serial hobbyist, loving every minute of it. Many of the hobbies continue to overlap, which makes my hobby room an interesting place to visit.

Sounds like my craft room – although I have a feeling yours is more organized than mine! lol

How long have you been blogging and what prompted you to start a blog?

I’m a very new blogger so still on a learning curve. I had a web site through Apple’s me.com, but they did away with it at the end of June. In exploring what to replace it with, preferably free, I discovered the wonderful world of blogging. You were one of my first commenters, which was wonderful. Thank you.

I heard of you through a comment you made at PILLOWS A-LA-MODE, another crafty site. 🙂

What can one expect to see when they visit YOUR site?

A glimpse into my life as a serial hobbyist. You will see what I’ve learned, pictures and how to’s, and even more importantly what not to do. Each blog has tips that might help others who want to do the same thing. I may share things that have inspired me from others, too. I want to share the riches of exploring new things and how God continues to bless us with His creativity.

What are some of your favorite crafts?

I have explored many, and I will be writing about them in future blogs. I would say right now, machine embroidery, paper arts (quilling, teabag folding, iris folding, card-making, scrapbooking) are on-going. I recently got into jewelry making, dichroic glass and wire-wrapping, and purse/tote making.

But my most interesting craft over the years is rock painting – turning rocks into 3-dimensional life-like animals. I started when I got a book “How to Paint Animals on Rocks” by Lin Wellford (link below). She spells it out in wonderful detail. Anyone can do this – even my 5-year old granddaughter! I met some wonderful people in the Yahoo Rock Painting group and got the encouragement to expand, so went on to do memorial rocks for people who lost their beloved pets. These are difficult, because of the emotion involved. I must not only capture the physical likeness of the dog or cat, but their character as well. My last one was a German Shepherd who perished in a home fire. That one was tragic and done with so many tears.

I can imagine! That would have been rally hard to do.

Are there any special tools you need for that?

First of all, rocks. They can be pebble size to huge. Start small. Landscape rock places will have river rocks. People will also give you rocks if you ask. (I sent 40 lbs from the rock wall at my Mom’s house on the Ottawa River. The Post Office clerk asked, jokingly, “What ya got in there, lady, rocks?” Yup!

The rest of it, after thorough cleaning and sometime wood-filler, is craft paint. I use outdoor acrylic paint and a gel medium to help the paint stay moist. A turn table – a little plastic one – to help paint all sides. Finally, patience to layer, layer, layer, letting the paint dry in-between. I use a waterproof sealer at the end and a special treatment to make the eyes look real. I will be journaling one from beginning to end shortly.

That sounds fascinating, but I should think you’d need some artistic talent as well! 🙂

Where do you get the inspiration for your creations?

I have had one goal all my adult life: “Do something new this year that you didn’t even know existed last year.” That opens my eyes to new creations and activities. It takes away the fear of trying new things and keeps me expectant. I have a wonderful husband who laughs at me when I get inspired to start something new because he knows the pattern – read all about it on line, get lots of ideas, buy all the stuff for it, buy all the stuff to organize it, do it, buy more stuff, reorganize it, etc. Specific inspiration often comes in the tub. “Oh, why don’t I try or make or create xyz.” I don’t like following patterns (or recipes). I may combine many different ideas into one thing, so often it is trial and error till somehow it tells me “I’m done.” If I’m smart, I stop.

What advice can you give someone starting a creative hobby?

– Be open to ideas. 

– Google, google, google. Pinterest. Blogs. There are lots of free tips, patterns, ideas, dos and don’ts out there. 

– And just start.

– Decide not to be perfect. Keep the first things you do to remind you how far you come with practice. 

– Don’t point out your mistakes. No one else can see them. 

– Use your God-given talent to enrich someone else’s life (for example, make cards for military members or kids in the hospital.)

– Give your crafts as gifts and teach someone else how to do it.  

– Take pictures of your process (you might never know when you want to blog it).

– Take pictures before you give it away.

– Don’t throw anything away … you might be able to use it in a craft. LOL 

– One other tip, since buying stuff for hobbies can get out of hand. Start an envelope or quicken line item, or however you separate money, and put a certain amount in a hobby play fund each week. If it has money in it, you can spend it or save it for something larger, if not … well, wait for the next week(s). Use money from coupons to fund the hobby account. Keep it separate from household budget so DH won’t care.

All good tips! That last part sounds like a wise way to do it – unlike my “Oooo, I love this, so charge it!”  process, which irritates my husband! lol

Do you have any pictures of some of your favorite creations that you’d like to share with us, today?

Just started learning to do purses.

My most ambitious embroidery – 20 5×5″ blocks of a Nativity Scene

Dichroic glass and wire-wrapping

Iris Folding – Small strips of paper following a pattern (and this time I DO follow the pattern) Done from the backside through the hat-shaped hole.

Tea bag folding – 8 of the top squares of wrapping paper turns out to be a unique embellishment.

Rock Painting – animals are done using all parts of the rock.

Simple quilling on a candle holder. Great gift.

Wow! Those are all really beautiful! I love how the paper folding turned the butterfly into a kaleidoscope effect! 🙂

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I didn’t know I was crafty, although my mom always said I always liked to fancy things up. She often told the story (in later years many, many times) that when I was young, my very down-to-earth twin sister proudly came into her proclaiming, “I finally taught Liz how to color grass green!”  … how boring! But it wasn’t till late in adulthood I tried my hand at real art … watercolors for the first time (see Quackers and Cheese on my blog). 

And the other thing that is so important to me is that after 43 years of doing everything on my own and making a pretty good mess of my life, I accepted Jesus into my life, and that decision gave me everything I ever needed, no matter what happened. I just hope there are crafts in heaven, cause I know that’s where I’m going. 

For those who would like to visit Liz’s blog you could do so by clicking www.lizjfoxdesign.com

Liz, are there any other links you’d like to share?

For getting started with rock painting: http://www.linwellford.com

A really great link to check out is http://gotquestions.org

Thank you for chatting with us, today, Liz. 🙂

Hope you all enjoyed learning a few things from this ‘master crafter’! To learn more, be sure to check out her blog. 🙂

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Crafty Wednesday – Cuttlebug demo

Hi, folks! Since ‘reveal day’ is getting closer, I didn’t want to give a sneak peek to any relatives who might be wondering what their cards look like, since I’ve started to label the photos I take with the person they’re for and the year. This way, I can keep track of the style of card I give a person so I don’t make the mistake of doing the same type of card for them the next year!

Instead of showcasing my cards, I thought I’d demonstrate my Cuttlebug, using a new embossing folder I picked up at Scrapbook Cottage’s Garage Sale a couple of weeks ago. I think the wrong folder was put in the package I bought, but I still like it – and for 3 bucks, I can’t complain! The one I am referring to is the one on the bottom of the picture. The 3 folders shown are of the larger variety, measuring 5″ x 7″ instead of the usual 3-3/4″ x 5″ size.

To start with, for those who have never used a Cuttlebug before, here is what mine looks like. It’s an older model, but works just as well as the newer models that have folding handles, which makes it easier to transport. (I’m jealous!) With mine, you need a wrench to remove the handle – and it’s green. The one I recently bought for my niece is black.

There is a similar product on the market, too, called The Big Shot. It works basically the same and all the embossing folders seem to work on either machine. The machine itself has fold-out guide shelves, a handle for carrying and the crank handle, which turns rollers in the centre portion that press against the plates to form the designs. It can be used by either hand – just turn the machine around, if you happen to be left-handed. There are plastic plates of varying thicknesses depending on the thickness of your embossing folder or die-cutter. Today, I will just demonstrate the embossing procedure and leave the die-cutting for another time. If anyone is interested in learning about that, leave me a comment to that regard and I will show you how my die-cutting plates work. In the meantime, here is how embossing works:

Step #1 – remove embossing folder from its package, find the paper or card stock you want to emboss and place the paper/card stock inside the folder.

Step #2 – sandwich the embossing folder between the two thin clear plastic plates (labeled ‘B’). Leave a bit of space at the top so the machine can ‘grab’ it.

Step # 3 – Place the two ‘B’ plates on top of the thicker white plate ‘A’…

…and place everything on the guide shelf.

Step #4 – Crank the handle until the plates & embossing folder are completely through the rollers and come out on the other side.

Step #5 – Remove your embossed paper/card stock from the folder. You’re done!

There are, however, some things you can do with the embossed impression once you’ve finished…

You can dust it with embossing powder – the non-heat type. This will enhance the images so they are easier to see.

Using a clean brush, remove any excess powder.

The end result.

If you have a steady hand and like to paint, that is also an option. I’ve often mentioned using my glittery shiny paints that I’ve used to embellish stamped and embossed images. Well, here is what the set looks like:

It’s called Pearl Ex Watercolor CD Series. It comes in a handy CD-sized package which is easy to bring with me whenever I go other places to scrapbook. I only wish I could remember where I bought it!

Since the pattern on the embossing folder reminded me of stained glass, I chose the black paper, thinking it would look really cool once it was painted. What do you think?

Above is the final results of my handiwork. I cut apart each panel to show what each individual panel looks like. The far left shows the image reversed, with the outlines indented. The second is the painted panel. Third is the glitter-embossed version and the last panel shows what the embossing looks like with the outlines raised. Now, I can use each of the four panels on separate cards. Stay tuned. I’ll figure out what to do with them all and show you in another post.

While the painted version takes the longest to accomplish, I really prefer it over the plain, unembellished versions and even the glitter-embossed one. Now, you know why each card takes me so long to make. 🙂

This is only one element in a card. There’s also deciding what colour palette to put it on, what other embellishments would look good with it and also decide on the appropriate sentiment. Each card I make is unique, usually keeping in mind to whom I will be giving it. People have often told me I should sell my cards, but with all the family & friend I make them for, there isn’t time. I also don’t think I could make cards for random strangers. I might be coerced into being commissioned to make cards for people, as long as I’m told a little bit about the recipient – for a fee, of course! 🙂

So, of the four embossed panels, which one do you prefer and how would you use it on a card or scrapbook page?

Crafty Wednesday/Who wants an Interview?

Before I begin another Crafty Wednesday, I want you to know I have some Sundays open for Interviews, if there is anyone out there who would like a little face time on my blog. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a published author or not, or whether you are crafty or whether you just blog about everyday things.  If you are interested, please leave a comment below and I will contact you.

Now, on to the crafty stuff:

For the musical folks in your circle of family & friends, here’s a simple little number that’s sure to please. I started with a dark green card stock for the base card which measures 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″, then folded it in half. I found some green polka dot paper that I cut to 3-3/4″ x 5″, then trimmed the corner with a curved-corner paper punch and attached to the front of the card with a glue-runner. If you have any old sheet music lying about (or if you can find printed paper packs with musical paper in it) cut it to 5-1/4″ x 2-1/4″ and trim the corners with your curved-corner paper punch. I sponged the edges with green ink and angled it over the polka dot paper and attached it with a glue -runner.

The scrolled ‘Happy Birthday’ was created with a Stampin’ Up stamp and the ‘Groovy’ is from the Close To My Heart ‘Groovy’ stamp set. Both sentiments were first stamped using the Versa Mark sticky pad, and then heat-embossed with black embossing powder. I cut out the HB with a 2″circle punch and the groovy was cut out using a 1-1/2″ scalloped oval punch. I sponged their edges with green ink.

The inside started with more green polka dot paper measuring 3″ x 5-1/4″ with corners rounded with the corner punch. It was attached to the inside of thecard with a glue runner. From the CTMH ‘Love Life’ clear acrylic set, I stamped the ‘cherish simple pleasures, Live. Laugh. Love.’ with Versa Mark and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I sponged around its edged with green ink and attached it with a glue runner. The musical grid, notes and treble clef were stamped with black ink using the CTMH ‘Groovy’ stamp set. I cut around the treble clef and stuck it on the card with 3-D sticky dots.

Here’s a masculine card. I started with a white piece of card stock measuring 8-1/2″ x 5-1/4″ and folded it in half. I sponged the edges with brown ink. The brown card stock measures 5″ x 3-3/4″ and was attached with a glue runner. Around a piece of wine-colored card stock, measuring 5″ x 1-3/4″, I wound twine three times, tying it in the front a little off-centre so the ship will hide the bulge of the knot. I attached this piece to the card using Sukwang double-sided tape to secure it & the twine. With my 3-1/2″ scalloped circle punch I cut out the centre piece out of gray card stock, then embossed the bottom half of it with the Cuttlebug‘s embossing folder ‘Vine Swirl‘. I cut out white card stock with my 1-1/2″ scalloped oval punch and stamped ‘happy birthday’ with the stamp from my Stampin’ Up set ‘Plane & Simple’, (there’s a similar ‘happy birthday’ stamp from SU‘s ‘Just My Type’ set) using a blank ink pad. It was slipped under the twine and stuck on with 3-D sticky dots.

The main features of the card front were created using the SU‘s ‘Open Sea’ stamp set for the ship and the globe and a black ink pad. I added color with my shiny paint set & a thin brush. I carefully cut around the ship and used my 2″ circle punch to cut out the globe. The globe was attached with a glue runner, the ship with 3-D sticky dots.

Inside, I cut a 3-1/4″ square, embossed it with the ‘Vine Swirls’ Cuttlebug embossing folder and lightly sponged it with brown ink to bring up the swirl pattern (I probably should have done that on the front, too). It was then secured to the card with a glue runner. Next, I cut out the scalloped circle out of brown card stock with my 2-1/2″ scalloped circle punch and glue-runnered it to the centre of the embossed square. I stamped the compass (SU‘s ‘Open Sea’ set) with black ink. The ‘Go confidently in the Direction of your Dreams’ (from SU‘s ‘Word Play’ set), was stamped with black ink and carefully cut out. Both the sentiment and compass were attached with 3-D sticky dots.

For the super hero among your friends and family, here’s a card that will be sure to ‘fly’ with whoever you choose to give it to. I started with a blue card stock for my base, measuring 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ folded in half. I cut out a yellow card stock ‘sun’ with my 2″ circle punch, & attached it to the lower left-hand corner of the card with a glue runner. Superman was cut out of a wallpaper sample book and attached with 3-D sticky dots. ‘Built Tough’ (CTMH‘s ‘Hero’ set) and ‘Brave and True’ (CTMH‘s ‘Brave Adventure’ set) were stamped with Versa Mark and heat-embossed with black embossing powder. I carefully painted a bit of color onto them with my shiny paint set before carefully cutting them out and attaching them with 3-D sticky dots.

For the inside, I cut out the Superman emblem from a wallpaper sample book page, cutting out the ‘S’ and replacing it with the appropriate letter cut out of red card stock using a Cricut and the ‘Winterland’ cartridge. (Thank-you, Sister-in-law!) It took some adjustments to get the right size, but we finally did it. I attached the red emblem outline to yellow card stock and the whole emblem onto the card with a glue runner. I attached the ‘J’ with 3-D sticky dots. The ‘Incredible’ (from CTMH‘s ‘Hero’ stamp set) and the ‘Happy Birthday’ (from SU‘s ‘Punch Bunch’ set) were stamped with Versa Mark & heat-embossed with black embossing powder and carefully cut out. I colored the ‘HB’ with my shiny paints. Both sentiments were attached with 3-D sticky dots.

Well, I think that about covers it for today. Now, it’s off to make more cards! 

Don’t forget to let me know if you’d like to be interviewed! 🙂

Aahh! Bliss!

This is the first day in a long time that I had a chance to shop for something other than necessities. The Michael’s gift card I got for Mother’s Day has been burning a hole in my wallet for quite some time, so I decided to put out the fire. There have been certain colours of paper that I use a lot when card-making, so I replenished my stock, picked up a large scalloped square punch and a variety of other things. As I wandered from aisle to aisle, I found myself in the cake-decorating section.

What a mistake!

I was suddenly flooded with so many interesting items, like shaped cake pans, cupcake wrappers, candy moulds, sprinkles of all designs and colours, how-to books, edible icing markers – I wanted it all! Before I could gather all these marvelous things into my cart, Ms. Sensible popped into my head and said, “No! You have enough crafty things on the go already, you don’t need more to do!”

With a sigh, I left the aisle, but not before I dropped the jungle-themed cupcake wrappers and picks into my cart.

I reasoned I could always photocopy them and cut out more than the dozen sets in the package. They would be cute to use for Grandson’s 2nd birthday party, don’t you think? I’ll make it a jungle theme… 🙂

Crafty Wednesday – preserving memories

I have been a little too busy lately to jump back into creating scrapbook pages, but between 2004 and 2008, I created several memory books – one for my parents’ 50th anniversary, one about my mother when she passed away and one of my Dad for his 80th birthday. Here is a little peek into my family history with relation to my early days of scrapbooking. It goes to show that you don’t need to be really fancy when putting a scrapbook together. There are many other ways you can pretty up a page. These books were created before I had my collection of stamps and fancy embellishments. Let’s start at the beginning.

First there was my dad:

You will notice that I made a collage of pictures with his parents and created a title – “Special times with Mom & Dad” using the ‘text box’ feature from Windows Word. I used a 12″ x 12″ blue patterned paper for the background and embellished it with stickers. You will notice there’s also a strip of antique-looking paper near the bottom.

 

 

 

 

A few years later, my mother came along. I think there was about 7 years difference in their ages. This page shows Mom & her sisters as children. I embellished the page with stickers (even the oval ‘frame’ is a sticker) and glitter glue. I have found that the glitter glue stays a bit tacky and will stick to the inside of the page protector. Personally, I would not advise using it.

The two pages above show Mom & Dad about the time they met at the office. Mom was actually nominated to be a beauty pageant contestant representing the floor she worked on. From this picture, it’s easy to see why.

Her picture was from the 8″ x 8″ album I made about her. I used a wood-look paper with brick strips on either side for accents. To get the shape of the journaling piece, I traced the shape, printed the comment and used glitter glue around it. I added a flower sticker and a butterfly sticker around the picture for embellishment. Dad’s page was the first of his 80th birthday book for which I used a 12″ x 12″ album. I liked the idea of making it like the old TV series, “This Is Your Life”. The page on the left (below) is also from Dad’s birthday album, highlighting a few moments from his twenties.

After working together for awhile, Mom & Dad decided to get married. The right-hand photo above shows a wedding picture and one from their honeymoon in Minneapolis, among others from that time. The photo directly to the right shows a page from my parents’ anniversary album – the construction of the house where I grew up. I made mats for each photo and arranged them on angles, embellishing them with stickers.

 

 

 

Soon after the house was completed, I arrived on the scene. (I’m the hand puppet!) I was tiny, barely over 5 lbs. A few years later came brother #1, then 15 months later came brother #2.

The page is embellished with stickers and graphics from my Printmaster Gold Publishing Suite disc, printed and filled in with coloured pencils.

 

Below is an example of how many similarly-themed photos can be bunched together. This represents a few of the 50 anniversaries that Mom & Dad shared. I embellished with stickers and printed labels from my word processor.

After Mom’s passing, I came across a box of material scraps that brought back a lot of memories for me. Mom used to sew a lot when I was growing up (curtains, clothes for her and us kids, even doll clothes), so I thought that I would put these items into her memory book so that people could see some examples of her handiwork. On the left (above) is a sample of the curtain material that made up the living room drapes when I was young – pretty ugly, by today’s standards but definitely memorable! The picture on the right shows her initial attempts at crocheting and smocking. When I think about the many hours she spent smocking my dresses, I wish I’d appreciated them more. She used to make clothes for my Barbie, too, and in later years, would knit or crochet outfits for dolls that were entered into a contest where Dad worked. The entries were then given to the Christmas Cheerboard which added them to care packages delivered to needy families in the city. These pages prove that when creating a scrapbook, it doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to represent the life you are showcasing at the time, using whatever materials you have on hand. 🙂

The pages above show just how goofy our family could get at times. Mom & Dad were pretty fun-loving in their youth and that humour was passed onto their kids and grandkids, as you can see! Scrapbook collages are fun to do. You can find stick-on word bubbles that you can use to add funny sayings to your pictures, or simply print out the comments or journaling from your word processor.

And now, a final picture from one of Mom’s famous Halloween parties, embellished with stickers. She often used dry ice to froth up her ‘witch’s brew’. Mom enjoyed entertaining, a trait I have inherited. I love any excuse for a party. I remember some of those parties more than my brothers who were sent to bed early on those days. I usually got to stay up until the guests arrived so I could see them in costume. I have pictures of those crazy parties but probably shouldn’t show them as some of the participants are still around!

Scrapbooks these days are more than simple photo albums. The way they are set up can give future generations a pretty good idea what life was like for the person who created them and will be so important for family anecdotes. So many of my grandparents photos did not even have a name or a date on the back, so they have no context for us looking back. They are gone now, so those photos will probably end up in the trash because they are simply nameless people that we don’t know anything about.

I hope you liked this trip down Memory Lane and have picked up a few ideas on how you can dress up your photos so that future generations will know the important people in your life. 🙂

Just in time for Father’s Day

Someone made a comment on my last Crafty Wednesday post wondering if I was going to make a Father’s Day card, so I sat down and made this one for my son to give to his Dad. I used the motorcycle, flame and the ‘Feel The Wind’ stamp from Close To My Heart‘s Born To Ride set. The letters for ‘DAD!’ are from the CTMH Hero Alphabet stamp set. The ‘Incredible’ sentiment and frame on the inside of the card were from the CTMH Pure Adventure set. The ‘Happy Father’s Day’ was from the Stampin’ Up set Plane Simple.

For all the stamped elements, I used my Versa Mark sticky pad and heat-emboss powders. The ‘DAD!’, ‘Happy Father’s Day’ and motorcycle were embossed in black. For the flames, ‘Incredible’ and ‘Feel The Wind’ I used copper embossing powder. Using my Cuttlebug, I cut/embossed an orange ‘Fanciful Label’ with a folder by Provo Craft. I brushed a non-heat gold embossing powder over the label to make it shiny.

The base of the card is half of an 8 1/2″ x 11″ white card stock, folded in half, making the final card dimensions 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″. The brown paper on the front of the card measures 5 1/4″ x 3″. The polka dot paper is 5 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ and tucks under the brown, slightly. The paper was fastened to the card base with double-sided sticky tape. The flames were attached with a glue runner. The motorcycle and letters were attached with 3-D squares.

Inside, I glued a brown square, 3″ x 3″, to the centre of a strip of polka dot paper measuring 3″ x 5 1/4″. ‘Incredible’ and ‘Feel The Wind’ were glued to brown paper and trimmed to add contrast to the orange paper. The ‘Happy Father’s Day’ was attached with Sticky Dots. The orange label and sentiments were attached to the card with 3-D squares.

Well, the instructions weren’t step-by-step today, but I hope you got the idea. If you want to used this as a model for a card for a dad in your life, go for it! Make changes, add your own embellishments, if you like. I’m sure the dad you give it to will love it and appreciate that fact that it is home-made by you! 🙂

Happy Father’s Day to all dads, grandfathers and great-grandfathers! 🙂

Crafty Wednesday

Hello fellow crafters & bloggers!

I thought I’d try a different format for my cards, today, for those people who might want to make one like it. I will introduce them to you then supply you with a list of what I used and describe the process.

It’s been a rather hectic 2 weeks so I didn’t get as many cards made as I had hoped, but I did get the ones done that were needed! A dear friend is retiring this year after working in our school division for about 35 years, so of course I had to make her a card! I made this one big enough that all the staff in her class would have room to sign it and add a comment or two. Mrs. L. is a very colourful and gregarious person so the card reflects that – as did her retirement party this past Monday night. The theme for the party was colour!

Supply List

Fanciful labels

1 sheet of 8 1/2″ x 11″ yellow card stock
Purple card stock (large paisley)
Blue card stock (small paisley)
Green card stock (frame for sentiment)
Orange Card stock (small butterfly)
White card stock (sentiments)
Yellow card stock (large butterfly)
8 1/2″ feathery ribbon
Glue Dots – large & small

Sticky Dots Die-cut Adhesive
Fanciful Labels embossing folder by Cricut (I used the yellow shape)
Cuttlebug plus ‘C’ plate & 2 ‘B’ plates (or a Big Shot)
Versa Mark (or similar) sticky pad for heat embossing
Close To My Heart‘s Sonoma Workshop On The Go acrylic stamp set (or any other style of paisley stamps)
Large swirl from CTMH Love Life clear acrylic stamp set

9 green mini jewels
1 copper-colored mini jewel
1 pink silk flower, 1 3/4″ in diameter
1 small plastic flower (or flower-shaped brad)
small butterfly stamp (I used one from Martha Stewart‘s butterfly clear acrylic stamp set)

Scotch brand Quick Dry Adhesive (I like this brand because it has a fine spout that’s perfect for gluing on the jewels)
Copper embossing powder
Black embossing powder
Green embossing powder
large butterfly stamp (I used one from Martha Stewart‘s set)
white card stock
green paper
orange/yellow poppy specialty paper
2 1/2″ scalloped circle punch
Lacy Labels embossing folders by Cricut
Microsoft Word for printing the sentiments
non-heat embossing powders in green & gold

Directions

1. Fold the yellow card stock in half.
2. Attach the feather ribbon with small Glue Dots along the left-hand side of the card about a 1/2″ from the edge.
3. Cut out the green label using the Fanciful Labels embossing folder & your Cuttlebug. Then, with your sharp pointy scissors, cut neatly along the inside rim of the label.
4. Print out the sentiments, making sure that the ‘Happy Retirement’ is no longer than the inside dimension of the label you just cut out.
5. Carefully attach the label over the sentiment with sticky dots, then centre on card and attach with Sticky Dots.
6. Stamp the paisley prints (large on purple, small on blue card stock) using your sticky pad and then sprinkle with black embossing powder.
7. Use the heat tool to melt the embossing just until it becomes shiny.
8. Carefully cut out your paisley prints and attach to card using the Sticky Dots.
9. Attach silk flower just below the label/sentiment with a large raised Glue Dot. Use a generous amount of Quick Dry Adhesive to attach the plastic flower onto the centre of the silk flower, then glue the copper-colored jewel to the centre of the plastic flower. Allow plenty of time for the glue to dry. (As an alternative, you could use a flower-shaped brad for the centre of the silk flower.)
10. Use Versa Mark to stamp the swirly design beneath the flower and sentiment on an angle. Add the green embossing powder and heat. Glue on the green mini-jewels onto the ends of the swirly bits.
11. Use Versa Mark to stamp the small butterfly on the orange card stock. Add the copper-colored embossing powder and heat. Cut carefully around the outline of the butterfly and attach it to the bottom right corner of the card with a large Glue Dot.

For the inside of the card, use the Cuttlebug to emboss the frame. Carefully cut around the outside of the frame. Brush the leaves with the green non-heat embossing powder and the flowers with the gold. Brush off any excess. Attach the frame to the inside of the card with sticky dots.
2. Punch out a scalloped circle of the orange/yellow poppies. Carefully cut around the sentiment and place it over the centre of this circle. Use sticky dots to affix to the centre of the green frame.
3. Stamp & heat emboss the large butterfly with black embossing powder. Use large Glue Dot to attach to the bottom of the frame below the sentiment.

This card was for one of the students I have worked with since he started Middle School. He is now 21 and will be graduating, this year. He is in a wheelchair and wears braces over his ankles with the imprint of a motorcycle on each one, so I decided to use a motorcycle theme for his card.

Supplies

5 1/2″ x 2 1/5″ Pale green paper for the grass plus another strip 5 1/2″ x 1 3/4″
3″x 3″ pice of darker green paper for inside
5 1/2″ x 1 3/4″ piece of pale blue or ‘cloud-patterned’ paper for the sky
brown card stock
Sookwang sheet (double sided adhesive sheet) – one piece 5 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ (same as the green paper) & another piece the same size as the road
yellow, white & red glitter mixed together (maybe a teaspoon, altogether)
CTMH Born To Ride clear acrylic stamp set (Born To Ride, Motorcycle stamps)
CTMH Dreamin’ Workshop on the Go clear acrylic stamp set (leaf pattern)
CTMH Hero Alphabet clear acrylic stamp set (1, 2, !, &)
CTMH Pure Adventure clear acrylic stamp set (the flying goose)
Versa Mark sticky pad
Black embossing powder
heat tool
sharp scissors
black ink pad
green ink pad
The boy was from a set of paper dolls I got a long time ago and I don’t remember where I got them or what the name of it was.
3-D double-sided sticky squares
The ‘Happy Birthday’ stamp was from the bargain bins at Michael’s
Cuttlebug, ‘C’ plate & 2 ‘B’ plates
Happy Birthday embossing folder

Directions

1. Draw a road on the green paper to the ‘horizon’. Cut out pieces. Trace shapes onto Sookwang and cut out.
2. Trace the road you’ve just cut out onto the brown card stock. Peel off the backing of the Sookwang from the piece that matches the road shape and affix to the front part of the brown road. Remove the rest of the backing and sprinkle the glitter onto the sticky surface. Rub the glitter around so that no stickiness is left. Cut enough Sookwang to cover the back of the road.
3. Snip the road-side edge of the green paper that will go on the right-hand side to look like grass. Attach the matching piece of Sookwang to this pice of ‘grass’ and attach to the bottom right-hand side of the card front.
4. Peel the Sookwang backing from the road and stick into place under the grassy fringe.
5. Match up the left-hand side of grass with the Soowkang and attach grass to the card.
6.  Stamp the motorcycle, numbers, & sentiments using Versa Mark and black embossing powder. Heat until shiny. Carefully cut around each piece.
7. Stamp the flying goose in black ink at the top left-hand corner of ‘sky’.
8. Stamp leaf patterns in the ‘grass’. if you want them to overlap, use the extra piece of green paper and cut out the patterns to suit your taste.
9. Place the boy on the motorcycle and tape the back so he does not fall off the bike. Use 3-D squares to affix the motorcycle and boy as shown.
10 Inside, use the Cuttlebug to emboss a piece of green paper with the ‘Happy Birthday’ embossing folder. Glue to the centre of the card. Attache the sentiments with 3-D squares as shown.

Phew! That seems like a lot of work when I write it out this way! I hope I remembered to tell you everything. Let me know if I’ve missed a step, or if something seems confusing.

Do you prefer this format, or the previous, more chatty version to describe how I made my cards?

Crafty Wednesday

While Hubby & Son were helping Brother and Nephew put up drywall on Saturday, Sister-in-law & I made a few cards. I was anxious to try out a couple of new stamp sets from Stampin’ Up, ‘Rue des Fleurs’ and ‘You’re My Type’. Since I like vintage things, these two sets were right up my alley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are two cards I made with the ‘You’re My Type’ set which is basically just the typewriter with sayings that will fit onto the paper. For the green one, I used the polka dot embossing folder on the Cuttlebug. To that I added a 3″ wide piece of yellow plaid paper and a 1″ strip of peacock feather-patterned paper. For the blue card, I used a vine-patterned Cuttlebug embossing folder. The yellow strip is only 2 1/2″ wide. The blue pattern is stamped with one of the stamps from the ‘Rue des Fleurs’ set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the ‘Rue des Fleurs’ set there were other pretty stamps like the flower-filled corset, a parasol with clocks hanging from it and a fountain pen with flourishes flowing from its nib. You can see them in the two cards above. The scrolled ‘Thanks’ is also part of the set. On the orange card, I stamped ‘Time to’ from a set called ‘Get It In Gear’ and haven’t yet decided whether it will be turned into a birthday card or a shower invitation.

Since my brother’s anniversary is coming up, I secretly made this card for them. The horn was also from the ‘Rue des Fleurs’ set as well as the 3 patterned pieces in the centre, which I cut out separately. I tried to use two different coloured inks when stamping the horn so that it was brown and the flourishes were green, but it didn’t show up too well. I used an edging embossing folder (and the Cuttlebug) to create the impressions on the top and bottom of the card. The hearts are from another new Stampin’ Up set called ‘Sprinkled Expressions’. It comes with the heart stamp, a flower and a star with sentiments that go along with each one. I used one of my sister-in-law’s stamps for the ‘happy together’. Again, I cut a 1″ strip of peacock feather paper from the Recollections Peacock paper pack. I love that pack, as it has so many beautiful paper patterns, some with glitter.

What are some of the hobbies that YOU like to indulge in whenever you get the chance?

New cards

I have updated My Crafty Alterego page with some Christmas Card designs by my Stampin’ Up representative, Ashley Sokal. She designed them, I made them. I love her creative mind. If you are interested in crafty things, please check out my page when you get the chance and her blog (in the blogroll, below)