Birthday Cards

World Card Making Day was Saturday, Oct 4, and I actually got a couple of cards made. Well, I made one card on Saturday and the other one on Sunday, so it was a weekend endeavor.

First up is a birthday shaker card.  I love shaker cards and this one has a birthday cake on the front.  I used the Arched Top Card Base and Party Shaker Tags from svgcuttingfiles.com to make this card.  The stamps are from Jaded Blossom — Birthday Treat Tags and Birthday Candies.  I also used one of the  Mini Tag 2 dies to cut the sentiment circle.  I heat embossed the sentiments.

The pattern paper is from SEI and I used Doodlebug Design sequins inside the shaker.  I outlined the candle flames with Stickles.

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The next card I made for our dog, Fifi, to give to Steve for his birthday in a couple of weeks.  Steve doesn’t look at our blog, so I don’t have to worry about him seeing the card.

I used the Dog Bone Shaped Card and the Pomeranian Pup files for this card.  Fifi is a mix of Pomeranian/Chihuahua, but she looks like a Pom.

I used the computer to generate the sentiment and cut it out with one of the Flag Dies from Jaded Blossom.

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I am entering both cards in svgcuttingfiles.com’s monthly challenge, which is a Birthday Card Challenge.  I’m also posting them to the Cricut Circle Message Board, where Sara is hosting a challenge for World Card Making Day.

  •  SVG Cutting Files – Arched Top Card Base, Party Shaker Tags, Dog Bone Shaped Card, and Pomeranian Pup
  • Jaded Blossom Stamps – Birthday Treat Tags, Birthday Candies, Mini Tags 2 die and Flag dies
  • SEI paper pad
  • Embossing powder
  • Doodlebug Designs sequins
  • Stickles
  • Baker’s Twine

Birthday Shaker Card & Nugget Box

It took me about a year to break my Zing cutter out of its box and give it a try — and now I am kicking myself for waiting so long!  I love it — it is cutting paper that I had trouble cutting with my Expression.  The paper that gave me problems was usually textured.  I had some Bazzill that the Expression would refuse to cut — it looked like it tried to gum its way through.  So far the Zing has cut everything I’ve thrown at it.

What I am really loving is cutting svg files.  svgcuttingfiles.com has some of the cutest designs and I love that jadedblossom.com has coordinating stamps for many of the cut files.  For this project I used two cutting files and two different sets of stamps.

I made this birthday card and matching box that holds little Nugget candy bars for my niece.   I love shaker cards and when I saw the Party Shaker Tag file, I had to buy it.   I made the candle card — there are three other shakers in this set.  I used the Birthday Treat Tags stamps to heat emboss the design in the shaker.  Of course I used my favorite embossing powder, from Lindy’s Stamp Gang.   I think the color I used was Cleopatra’s Copper.

CardCandy6

The patterned paper is from the Secret Garden collection by Graphic 45.  I used a Martha Stewart punch around the page set called Vintage Floral.  I stitched around a couple of the mats, added some lace trim at the bottom, along with a satin bow made using one of my favorite tools, the Zutter Bow-it-All.  The roses are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the sequins in the shaker from Doodlebug Designs.

I used two Cuttlebug folders, Dotted Swiss and Charles (for the flames).

Card1

For the box, I used the Candle Nugget Box svg.  I wrapped each nugget and then topped it with a circle sentiment from the Birthday Candies stamp set.

Candy1This set was so much fun to make.

Altered Book Box and Stick Pin Swap

I just participated in an altered book box and stick pin swap on the Cricut Circle Message Board.  I had never altered a paper mache box before, so this was a new adventure for me.  My partner (Maria) let me know some of her likes — I knew she liked bright colors and owls.  Since I like owls too, I decided to use that for my theme.

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The first thing I did was primer the book in gesso.  Then I applied two coats of Martha Stewart  Mother of Pearl paint.  I let the last coat of paint dry overnight and then I brushed on a layer of Tim Holtz Rock Candy Crackle paint on the spine and the inside edges of the book.  When that was thoroughly dry, I sponged on some blue and brown distress ink over the crackled paint.

Spine

The title was printed on the computer and adhered on the spine using Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish.  I added a couple coats of the gloss medium over the crackle paint on the spine and on the inside.

Spine2

I used Ranger Sticky Back Canvas for the cover of the book.  Since this was my first time using it, I wasn’t sure if it need to be primed with gesso.  I decided to go ahead and gesso it, but first I stuck the canvas to a piece of cardstock and sewed around the edges. After the gesso dried, I stamped a scene of the moon and some trees using Versamark and heat embossed it using white embossing powder.  The stamp set is by Sheena Douglass and called Lakeside Shore.

Then I sprayed the canvas with several different colors of Starburst spray by Lindy’s Stamp Gang.  As you can see, the colors are nice and bright. Since I had used gesso on the canvas, it acted as a resist to the sprays and I found they would easily wipe off.  So I let them dry and then sprayed a coat of gloss varnish (Krylon) over the canvas to seal it.  I was happy to see that I didn’t lose all the pretty shimmer when I sprayed the canvas with the sealer.

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I purchased the crocheted owl from Tatiana, who I first found on the Cricut Message Board.  She now sells her beautiful crocheted pieces on her Facebook page, Created  By Tatiana.   I picked the colors for this owl to match the book and also ordered several other owls in different colors.

I added a branch and some leaves that I cut from white cotton crinoline using a Martha Stewart punch. The leaves were sprayed with Starburst spray. The flowers and foliage at the bottom were also cut from crinoline using Martha Stewart punches and colored with Starburst spray.

The book has a ribbon closure.

Front2

The back of the book is my attempt at humor, a pun on the Looney Tunes “That’s All Folks”.  The paper is from Doodlebug Designs and the owl is some clipart I got from the now defunct PC Crafter website. The image at the bottom is stamped and heat embossed using Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s embossing powder.

Back

The inside of the cover is also Doodlebug Design paper and I added a clipart bookplate to it.

Bookplate

This is looking inside the book, showing the fabric book that I made to hold the stick pins.  Since this post is so long, I am going to do a separate post for the stick pin holder.

Inside

I included two extra crocheted owls for my swap partner.  The cards they are on were stamped with the Button Boutique stamp set from Papertrey Ink and cut using the coordinating die.

CrochetOwls

 

  • Paper mache book box from Hobby Lobby
  • Doodlebug Design paper
  • Ranger Sticky Back Canvas
  • Lindy’s Stamp Gang Starburst sprays and embossing powder
  • Tim Holtz Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink
  • Crocheted owls from Created By Tatiana on Facebook
  • Sheena Douglass Lakeside Shore stamp set
  • Button Boutique stamp and die set from Papertrey Ink
  • Martha Stewart craft paint — Mother of Pearl
  • Martha Stewart punches
  • Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish
  • Cotton crinoline purchased at Joann.com

Sympathy Card

This is a sympathy card I made for a friend who lost her mother unexpectedly. I used white cardstock and colored the background pink using Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s Starburst spray. I stamped the Dandelion Frame from Hero Arts using Versamark and then embossed it using white embossing powder.

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The flower is a stamp from Hero Arts called 3 Dotted Flowers.  I stamped it on vellum, again heat embossing it in white.  I layered the 3 flowers together and added a pearl for the center.  The butterfly is from two Memory Box dies (Pippi & Isabella), one for the filigree layer and one for the solid layer.  The sentiment is computer generated and cut with a Spellbinders tag die.

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  • Hero Arts stamps:  Dandelion Frame, 3 Dotted Flowers
  • Lindy’s Stamp Gang Starburst spray
  • Memory Box dies:  Pippi and Isabella
  • Spellbinders tag die

Christmas Mini Album for Cricut Circle Stocking Stuffer Swap

I participated in the Cricut Circle Stocking Stuffer Swap for the first time in 2013.  I figure it’s about time I posted the mini album I made to send to my partner, Sherry (Octoberbeauty).  I’ll warn you — there are lots of pictures.

This is the second mini album I’ve made and I again used a tutorial from Cathy, whose etsy shop is called So Much Scrap.   For this album I used her All Hallow’s Eve tutorial.  I really like her tutorials because they are very detailed and easy to follow.

I did something a little different on this album than what the directions call for.  I made the spine and binding system using only chipboard and book binding cloth — I didn’t use any cardstock in the construction.  I am happy with the way it turned out — the binding system is very flexible.

The patterned paper I used throughout the album is from My Mind’s Eye Merry & Bright collection.  The solid cardstock is all Basis 80#.  The edges of the chipboard are painted with Martha Stewart pearl paint.  I covered the outside of the spine in wool felt and added some ribbon, lace and metallic rick rack trim to the edges.

Front10B

Front12B

Back2

I made the charm on the spine using stardust jingle bells, crystal snowflake beads and a deer pendant I got from eBay. I made the bow using my Zutter Bow-It-All.  I’m really liking the bows I can make using this handy tool.

Charm

Here are some close-up details of the album front.  The poinsettia is made from the Layered Poinsettia die by Spellbinders, sprayed with Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s Starburst spray, and I added glass seed beads to the center.  The snowflake is from the Tim Holtz Snowflake Rosette die and is coated in coarse glitter.  The album closure is a ribbon that wraps around a brad on the front cover — another of Cathy’s wonderful ideas.

FrontPoinsettia

CoverDetail

Pages 1 and 2:

P1-2

P1B

The pocket opens up to reveal a photo mat inside.  I made all the tabs for the photo mats using my We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board and embossed the tabs with my Cuttlebug.

P1TagB

The ornament is cut from a Memory Box die.  The edges on the pocket flaps were done with a punch — I think it was an EK Success Bracket border punch.  The flaps close with a magnet — there are lots of magnetic closures used in this album.

P2

I made the small tags using Tim Holtz’s Tag & Tie die.

P2Tags

Pages 3-4:

P3-4

P3Tags

P4

Page 4 opens and has a photo mat inside the pocket.

P4Open

P4Tag

Pages 5 and 6:

P5-6B

The pocket closes using an elastic hair band and a brad.

P5B

P5Open

Page 6 has an accordion fold feature that folds up and is held closed with a ribbon.  The snowflake trim is from a Martha Stewart punch.

P6

P6Open

P6OpenB

Pages 7 and 8:

P7-8B

The ornament is embossed with Lindy’s Stamp Gang embossing powder.  I can’t remember what stamp I used for the ornament — that’s what I get for waiting so long to post this on our blog.  The ribbon hanger is a Memory Box die.

P7B

P7TagsB

Page 8 has a waterfall feature.

P8B

P8OpenC

P8OpenB

P8Open

Pages 9 and 10:

P9-10B

P9

P9OpenB

P9TagC

P10

P10WTag

Thanks for checking out my Christmas album.  I have a Valentine mini to post next — I hope it doesn’t take me two months to get it written up, like it did with this album.

Front6B

  • My Mind’s Eye Merry & Bright paper collection
  • Basis 80# cardstock
  • So Much Scrap (etsy shop), All Hallow’s Eve tutorial
  • Tim Holtz dies: Snowflake Rosette and Tag & Tie
  • Memory Box ornament and bow dies
  • Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia die
  • Lindy’s Stamp Gang embossing powder
  • EK Success Bracket edger punch
  • We R Memory Keeps Envelope Punch Board
  • Zutter Bow-It-All
  • Martha Stewart pearl paint
  • Cuttlebug

My First Mini Album

Yesterday I posted the mini album I received in a swap.  Today I want to share the mini album I made for my swap partner.  I took a ton of pictures — I think because after spending so much time making the album, it was hard for me to part with it.  I felt like it was part of the family 🙂

I made several wonderful discoveries along the way while making the album.  First and foremost, I discovered some wonderful mini album tutorials on Etsy.  You can find them in Cathy’s shop, which is called SoMuchScrap.

I have been researching minis on the internet for a long time and knew I wanted to make something with interactive pages.  After finding Cathy’s tutorials, I knew this was the way to go for me.    I purchased her binding tutorial and her Je’ T’ Adore tutorial for a 6″ x 6″ mini.  All I did was change the papers to a fall theme.  The tutorials are excellently written and have step-by-step instructions as well as pictures to guide you through each page.  Another plus about purchasing from Cathy is that she readily answers any questions you might have.  So, with big thanks to Cathy, here is my mini.

Thumb

I used paper from BoBunny’s Forever Fall collection.  The solid cardstock is all from papertemptress.com.  The brown trim and ribbon are from Joann’s.  Another discovery I made was book cloth — I used imitation suede book cloth to cover the spine of the album and a glue specifically designed for bookbinding.  I was amazed at how easy it was to apply the cloth.  I picked up these supplies at Hollander’s.

Front2

The title is from two Spellbinders dies, Labels 4 and Grommet Tags.  I embossed the bottom layer with the Distressed Striped Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I added highlights with a copper ink pad and sponge.  The “Autumn Splendor” is from a Close to My Heart stamp set with the same name, heat embossed with Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s embossing powder.

That is another of my discoveries — Lindy’s Stamp Gang‘s products.  I bought their Autumn Leaves Mega Set and I can’t say enough good things about it.  I love their sprays and embossing powders — they are gorgeous.  Look at the heat embossing close up — their powder not only embosses but also adds a shimmer, which you will see in the second picture.

Title

The dragonfly is from a Martha Stewart punch and I sprayed him with Lindy’s Starburst Spray and dried him with a heat gun.  I added a chocolate pearl to each side of the tag.

TitleEmboss

The rhinestone embellishment is from Michaels, from their Recollections brand.  I made the three flowers on the front, using Spellbinders Jewel Flowers and Flourishes for the sunflower.  The two smaller flowers are cut with my Cricut using the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  I added Stickles to the centers of the small flowers and Flower Soft to the center of the sunflower.

Flowers 

Flowers2

On the spine I hung a charm on a Tim Holtz ring fastener that I made with supplies I picked up at Joann’s. This was my first time making a charm — and I love the way it turned out.

Spine

The pendant is glass and it reminded me of a leaf shape — so I figured it would go well with the album.

Charm

OK, let’s look inside the album.  Here are pages 1 and 2.

1-2

The first page has a pocket and I used a Martha Stewart border punch on it.   There is also ribbon running under the sentiment.

1

The sentiment is a graphic I got from the Internet and cut out with a EK Success punch.  I made the leaves using a Cuttlebug die.  I found this video on making leaves and they were really easy to do.  She uses the Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die for her leaves, but I found them to be too large for what I wanted.  The Cuttlebug die leaves were just the right size.  The leaf on the right has Crackle Accents on top of it and the leaf on the left has matte medium coating it.

1Verse

I made two tags to sit inside the pocket, using Distress Ink, stamping, heat embossing , and seam binding ribbon to create them.  The ribbon is colored with Lindy’s sprays.  

1Tags

The pumpkin is from a Cuttlebug Cut and Emboss die, the sentiment is computer generated,  and there is another dragonfly from the Martha Stewart punch.  I kept the backs simple.

1TagsBack

Page 2 is an interactive page, folding up and closing with a small magnet.  I used Basic Grey magnetic snaps throughout the mini.   The Scrabble letters are from a Whimsy stamp (Spell It Out), heat embossed with Lindy’s embossing powder.  The sunflower is from a Heartfelt Creations stamp, colored with Copics and cut out.

2

This is page 2, partially open, revealing a tag inside.  The flowers are Recollection from Michaels, sprayed with Lindy’s Starburst Spray and topped with Stickles in the centers.  The pocket that holds the tag is a label shape from Spellbinders, cut in half.  The rectangle on the mat at the right is attached only at the bottom and right hand side to create a pocket to slip a photo in.

2Open1

I learned so much making this mini — like how to make tabs for tags using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.  I watched this video.

2Tag

I made the backs of all the tags the same — I created a little spot for journaling.  I used the Cricut cartridge Simply Charmed for the notebook paper, using colored pencils and a ruler to go over the score lines.

TagsBack

This is page 2, fully opened.  I created corners by cutting a square in half and embossing them with Darice’s Fall Leaf folder. The stamps I used throughout the album are either Close To My Heart, Inkadinkado, or from Michaels $1 bin.

2Open

Next up are pages 3 and 4.

3-4

The leaf is from a Spellbinders die and the sentiment is heat embossed.  The square the leaf is on is only glued at the bottom and left hand edge to the page — to create another pocket.  There is a mat that pulls out with a ribbon tab.

3

The mat is good sized.  This is the back, which I stamped with a Close To My Heart Stamp.  I used Memento Rich Cocoa Ink for the stamps that aren’t heat embossed.

3Mat2

Page 4 is another interactive page.   The title is from the Simply Scarecrows Cricut cartridge and sprayed with Lindy’s Starburst sprays.  The small leaves are from a Martha Stewart punch.  The ribbon opener features a brad from the BoBunny Forever Fall collection and closes with a magnet.

4

And here’s what it looks like open.

4Open

Now were moving on to pages 5 and 6.

5-6

Page 5 has a mat that pulls out of a pocket and folds over, forming the front.  It is held in place with a magnet.  I kept the front simple, adding a couple of leaves and another dragonfly.

5

This is page 5 open.  There is a tag inside.  The pumpkin on the mat is from the same Cuttlebug Cut and Emboss die that is on the tag in the pocket on page 1, with the leaf cut off.  It is attached only at the bottom and left side, so a photo can slip inside.

5Open

Two pictures of the mat, front and back.

5Mat

 

5Mat2

Page 6 has a waterfall feature.   The BoBunny charm sits on two Spellbinders ovals.  The brad is also from the Forever Fall collection, using dyed seam binding to wrap around it as a closure.

6

Each layer of the waterfall has an embossed trim strip at the bottom and a pocket with a tag at the top.  This is the uppermost layer.

6WF

Here is the tag, partially pulled out.

6WF2

The second layer of the waterfall.

6WF3

This is a close-up of the brad.  I again used the Martha Stewart border punch for the leaf border.

6Brad

This shows how the waterfall closes.  You will also notice two brads in the spine of my album.  Cathy’s binding tutorial shows how to add strength to your binding system by not only taping it to your spine, but by adding brads.

6Closed

We’re getting near the end.  Here are pages 7 and 8.

7-8

Page 7 has a pocket at the bottom.  The label is a Spellbinders die and the sentiment is heat embossed.  There is another pull out mat in the pocket on this page.

7Open

Page 8 features a mat that folds around to the front and is held in place with a magnet.  There is a pocket at the bottom and the curved oval shape (a Spellbinders die) is attached at the bottom to the pocket only.  The embossing is from the Cuttlebug Divine Swirls folder and is highlighted with gold metallic ink.  And there is one more of those little dragonflies on this page.

8

This picture again shows how wonderful Lindy’s Stamp Gang products are — look at all that sparkle.  I used more than one color on the dragonfly.

8Emboss

This is page 8 with the mat partially out.

8Open2

And we’re to the last of the pages, pages 9 and 10.

9-10

Page 9 is a fun interactive page.  It has a brad and seam binding closure.

9

The sentiment is attached at the lower and left edges only, forming a pocket.  The small leaves are the negative cuts from the Martha Stewart border punch, sprayed with Starburst Spray.

9Verse

Page 9 opens to reveal another tag.

9Open

The left side of the page then opens up to reveal two more spots for photos.

9Flap

Page 10 is the inside of the back cover.  It has a pocket at the right hand side with a folded photo mat tucked inside.

10

I again used some Recollection brand rhinestones on the pocket.

10Rhinestones

The photo mat features a hexagon made with the BoBunny paper using an Epiphany Crafts tool and  bubble cap.

10Mat3

How cool is that hexagon?

10Epiphany

This is the inside of the mat.

10MatInside

And, finally, we are to the back cover of the album.

Back

Thank you for taking a “tour” of my mini album.  And I want to share my last discovery — I discovered that I love to make mini albums.  I am already planning my next one.

Front

 

  • BoBunny Forever Fall Collection
  • Cricut cartridges:  Flower Shoppe, Simply Charmed, Simply Scarecrows
  • Cuttlebug:  Divine Swirls folder, Distressed Stripes folder,  Fall Leaves die, Cut and Emboss Pumpkin Spice
  • Spellbinders:  Labels Four, Grommet Tags, Jewel Flowers and Flourishes
  • Lindy’s Stamp Gang embossing powder and Starburst Sprays
  • We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board
  • Martha Stewart punches
  • Recollections rhinestones
  • Stickles
  • Flower Soft

Open Book Easel Card

 

I made this card a while ago to send to a lovely lady on the Cricut Circle Message Board who was celebrating her 65th birthday.  I wanted to create a special card for her and first set out to make one using a Bookatrix Board.  I picked one up on eBay a long time ago and have yet to use it.  It’s basically an embossing board and you emboss the edges of the pages for the book and then cut them out by hand.

As I sat reviewing videos on YouTube on how to use the Bookatrix Board, I couldn’t help but wonder why I couldn’t do something similar with my Cricut and not have to cut everything by hand.   So this is my attempt at “Cricut-izing” a Bookatrix card. And I have to say I am very happy with how it turned out.

Thumb

The solid cardstock is Bazzill and the printed papers are all from Graphic 45’s Secret Garden collection.  And because I want to remember how I made this card, I am posting a little tutorial.

Front4 

The book is from the Summer Celebrations Cricut cartridge and is the card feature.  I put it on my mat in Cricut Craft Room (CCR) and made the measurements 8″ wide by 5.5″ high.  I took two lower case “v”s from Cricut Craft Room Basics, turned them upside down and welded one into each upper corner to hide the notches that are in this particular cut.  I also hid the score marks that are in the center of the book.  This is layer one (the back layer on the card) — I guess you would call it the cover.

Next is the middle layer.  I copied and pasted the first (cover) layer onto another mat and made it 7.75″ wide by 5.25″ high.  I did the top (third) layer the same and it measures 7.5″ wide by 5″ high.  I cut out all three of the layers.

I laid the top and middle layers (the pages) on my scoreboard along the width and found the center.  Then I scored a line 1/4″ on both the left and right side of center.  This enables you to fold the pages up slightly and have them sit away from the cover. It is also the area that you will be gluing to attach the layers together.  I distressed the edges of the pages only (the middle and top layer) and then inked them.  I took a dowel about 1” in diameter (from Lowe’s) and curled the pages under, curling one layer at a time.

Dowel

The base for the easel card is a piece of solid cardstock that measures 7″ wide by 10″ high.  Lay the 10″ side on a scoreboard and score at 2 1/2″ and at 5″.  It should look like this unfolded.

BaseUnfolded

And here is how it looks folded.

BaseFolded2

Cut the remaining pieces.  The frames on the pages (for the owl and verse) are from Elegant Edges and cut at 3″.  The label where I heat embossed “Happy Birthday” is from Cricut Craft Room Basics and I fiddled with the dimensions to get something that would fit in the area I had to work with on the base of the card.  The bottom layer measures 5″ wide by 2.75″ high.  The middle layer is 4.75″ wide by 2.5″ high.  And the top layer is 4.5″ wide by 2.25″ high.

The mat for the easel card base is 6 3/4″ wide by 4 3/4″ wide.  I used a corner punch on the front two edges.  This is what your pieces should look like.

Pieces

To assemble the card, I first attached the book cover (layer one) to the easel base.  I centered it across the width and had the bottom edge of the book even with the edge of the base.

Adhere the middle and top layer together, putting the adhesive in the 1/2″ center area created by the two score marks. Before attaching the pages to the cover, lay ribbon down the middle and attach it on the back of the pages at the top and bottom. Adhere the pages to the book cover in the center only.

Assemble the frames, using whatever cuts/designs you wish in the middle.   I used the dowel to curve the frames just a little so they would conform to the pages.  The computer-printed verse is a layer of the frame.  I adhered the frames to the pages before adding the owl.  I used the owl from Disney’s Happily Ever After, cut at  2″, and attached it with foam dots.

The daisies are from the Flower Shoppe, cut at 1″.  The roses are from the Paisley cartridge.  I posted a card here where I give the measurements and a link to a tutorial on how to make the roses.  Both are cut from cream-colored cardstock and I inked the edges with distress ink to add color.  The center of the daisies are Stickles.

This is what it looks like up to this point, lying flat and minus the owl.

Unassembled

The “Happy Birthday” label is popped up on foam dots and is what holds the easel card up.  I added a bow at the top of the ribbon in the center.

The greenery around the flowers is from a Martha Stewart punch, as are the butterflies.  I attached a little gold key charm on the “Happy Birthday” label, which you can barely see in this picture.  Oh, I also added a pearl to each corner in the front.

Front2

This is a side view of the card, so you can see how it stands.

Side

And this is what the completed card looked like folded flat.

FoldedFlat

Because my card would not fit into a standard envelope, I made a little box for it to sit in.

InBox

 

Boxed

At some point I will probably post this in Cricut’s Project Center and will attach the file.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this little tutorial.

Front5

  • Cricut cartridges used:  Cricut Craft Room Basics, Disney’s Happily Ever After, Elegant Edges, Flower Shoppe, Summer Celebrations
  • Bazzill cardstock
  • Graphic 45 Secret Garden collection
  • Martha Stewart punches
  • Ribbon
  • Key charm
  • Stickles

Graphic 45 A Ladies’ Diary Birthday Card

 

I wanted to make a special birthday card and only knew that I wanted to use some of my beautiful Graphic 45 paper (that I seem to be hoarding) to make it.  I went looking on the web for some inspiration and it didn’t take long for me to decide on my design.

I found a card sketch on Stuck On U Sketches that I liked and got out my paper.  All the printed paper is from A Ladies’ Diary collection.  The base of the card, the solid black cardstock, is from Bazzill.

Front6

The background is a piece of corrugated cardboard — I removed one of the layers so you can see the ribs.  Then I took some gesso and dry brushed it on.  I wrapped a piece of gold ribbon from my stash around the middle.

I cut the triangle pieces in Cricut Craft Room using George & Basic Shapes.  I dry brushed some gesso on the triangles and glued lace trim around the edges using Farbri-Tac glue.  The gold trim around the edges is stickers.  I attached pearls at the corners.

Front5

The scallop circle is from Cricut Alphabet, <Doily12>, and it is cut at 2.5″.  I used a Krylon 18kt. Gold Leafing pen to go around the edges of the shadow scallop.  I dyed some seam binding using Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and threaded it through the holes in the doily, leaving the tails to hang down.

ScallopCircle

The birthday button in the center of the scallop is a new stamp and die set that I just got from Whimsy Stamps.  I heat embossed the sentiment using Stampendous Stardust embossing powder.

Button

The two small roses were made following this tutorial, from Scraps of Life’s blog.  I used a flower shape from Paisley, Layer1 + <Shoes1>, cut at 4.5″.  I dry brushed the layers with gesso and used the gold leafing pen on the edges of the petals before I assembled the flowers.    I love how tiny they are — they are under 1″ across.

Roses

The scallop layer and the button are attached to the card using foam pop dots.

On the inside of the card, I edged the black floral layer with the gold leafing pen.  I still have to do my sentiment layer.  I think I will write it first before attaching it.  If I make a mistake, then I can just redo it rather than having my blunder permanently attached to the card.

Inside

  • Graphic 45 A Ladies’ Diary collection
  • Bazzill cardstock
  • Cricut Craft Room
  • Cricut cartridges:  Cricut Alphabet, George & Basic Shapes, Paisley
  • piece of corrugated cardboard
  • ribbon from my stash
  • seam binding
  • Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist
  • Stampendous Stardust embossing powder
  • gold border stickers
  • self-adhesive pearls
  • Gesso
  • Krylon 18kt Gold Leafing Pen
  • Whimsy Stamps — Everyday Button Sentiments and Button Die
  • Fabri-Tac adhesive

 

 

My First Mixed Media Canvas — Cricut Southwest Contest

I have been wanting to try my hand at creating a mixed media canvas for a while now.  Cricut’s latest contest for their new Southwest cartridge gave me the push to get started.  The inspiration for my project was a picture I pinned on Pinterest of a gorgeous white dream catcher.

I watched a lot of videos online trying to gather facts on what supplies I needed and how I wanted to proceed.  I made a run to Michaels for supplies before I started.  I needed a canvas and gesso, and I also picked up a few fun items to try.  I think my favorite was the modeling paste.

3

 

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I laid my design out in Cricut Craft Room.  The first step was to paint the 8″ x 10″ canvas with gesso.  After it was dry, I cut out the dream catcher  at 7″ and border strips at .85″ from scrap cardstock so I could gauge where I wanted them on the canvas.  I lightly traced around the cuts with a pencil.

StepCanvasLayout

Then I added some cheesecloth to the canvas using a gloss medium.  When that was dry, I gave everything another coat of gesso.  Then I used two shades of Martha Stewart metallic craft paint to cover it.

StepCanvasPaint

For my borders, I cut the design using repositionable vinyl and made stencils.  I used the negative images for my stencils.  The stencils are the polka dot material in the pictures.  It is some vinyl I picked up on clearance.  Using the first stencil, I laid down some gunmetal metallic paint.  I would skip this step next time because I ended up covering that part of the design with some leather lacing.  I didn’t like the dark paint — it was too much of a contrast.

StepBorderDk1

In this picture you will notice the canvas looks different than the finished project. I had stamped some images on it that I decided to delete by covering with gesso and adding some more cheesecloth. I then painted the area to blend in with the background.

I laid down the turquoise color with the second stencil.  I put a layer of gesso first and then added two layers of color.  The final layer was a coat of Martha Stewart glitter paint.

StepBorderBlue

The third stencil is where I got to try the modeling paste.  I mixed some copper color into the paste and used a craft stick to smooth it over the stencil.

StepModelPaste1

I was so happy with how it turned out — the design is raised and after it dried it reminded me of pottery.

StepModelPaste

 

Before doing the last layer of the borders, I cut a stencil of the shadow of the dream catcher and stuck it on the canvas.  I mixed some glass bead gel with some glitter paint and spread it over the canvas.  This layer was pretty wet and it had to dry overnight.

StepGlassBeads

 

You can see the glass beads behind the web part of the dream catcher.  They give a really neat effect.

DCCloseup2

 

The final border stencil was a little tricky.  My first issue was weeding the correct vinyl — I kept pulling off the wrong areas.  The I had trouble getting it to stick on top of the modeling pasted.  It wanted to lift up, so I opted to add just a coat of copper glitter paint for the final coat, rather than changing colors completely.  I was afraid the paint would bleed and be noticeable if I went for a contrast.

StepBorderTopLayer

 

I was very pleased with the finished border.  The last layer added a subtle glitter design on the modeling paste.

BorderCloseup2

At this point I decided I did not like the stamped images I placed on the canvas earlier.  I painted over them with gesso and then added some more cheesecloth.  I went over the entire area with the metallic paint and blended the areas into the background.   I also glued some leather lacing along the edges of the border, covering the dark painted layer I had first stenciled on.  I was much happier with this look.

StepCheesecloth2

I used several layers to make the dream catcher.  I trimmed one layer so all I had was a circle and used that to tie on the trim and beads.  The top layer is also just the circle and I heat embossed it using a Fran-tage powder from Stampendous.  The web part is also heat embossed using a holographic powder.  I glued some small seed beads to it.  I added several layers of feathers and sketched in some lines using a marker.

StepDCLayers

 

This is what it looks like all put together.

 

DCCloseup

The flowers were cut at two sizes, 1.5″ and 1.25″.  I inked the edges and curled the petals under.  The flower centers are glass glitter from Stampendous.  I glued some feathers behind the flowers.  The owl was cut at 2″ and heat embossed with copper embossing powder.

Owl

The saying was printed using various fonts and cut apart into rectangles.  I inked the edges and glued them on the canvas.  It is actually a song lyric from Dream a Little Dream of Me, sung by Cass Elliott of the Mamas & Papas.

Here is a side view of the canvas, to give you an idea of all the texture and dimension it has.

SideView

While this project was very time consuming, I do want to try doing a canvas again.  With all the supplies I now own, I don’t have an excuse not to.

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  •  Cricut Southwest cartridge
  • 8″ x 10″ canvas
  • Liquitex Gesso
  • Liquitex Modeling Paste
  • Liquitex Glass Beads
  • Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid (used to blend background paints)
  • Martha Stewart acrylic craft paints:  Light Gold Metallic, Pale Bronze Metallic, Aquarium Pearl, Turquoise Glitter, Brownstone Glitter, Sunstone Glitter
  • Cheesecloth
  • Stampendous Fran-tage embossing powder
  • Stampendous Glass Glitter
  • Yarn
  • Beads
  • Feathers
  • Leather lacing (from Michaels)

Prom Princess Scrapbook Layout

Wow, it has been so long since I posted something on our blog.  A couple of weeks ago, Bitten by the Bug 2, posted their Princess (the Word) Challenge and I decided I wanted to participate.  Of course, I waited until the last minute to finish my project.  Time is running so short, in fact, that I am going to post pictures right now so I can link my project to their blog and then come back and post the details.   I am hoping I can come back and add comments without creating a disaster — we’ll see how that works out 🙂

OK, now I will see if I can add some details.   The picture in this layout is of our dog and it was taken in 2006, shortly after we adopted her from a rescue group.  Fifi was in foster care for about a year before we got her, so we decided to keep the name she came with — even though it was not high on my hubby’s list of dog names.

Fifi also came with a few issues, the most worrisome was that she nipped.  We talked with our veterinarian about the problem and she recommended a dog trainer–Fifi likes to refer to her as her personal trainer.  Anyway, the trainer seemed to do the trick as Fifi has not nipped since getting individual and group training.

At the end of the year, the trainer had a party for the dogs.  She does this each year and always chooses a different theme.  For 2006 the theme was Prom.  The dogs all came dressed up, but once they walked for judging they got to get undressed and get down to some serious partying — which included running in the dog park and lots of doggy treats.

This was the first  (and so far only) time that Fifi has dressed up — and I wanted to make her something special to wear.  I altered a dog pattern to make her frilly dress.  I also made a matching cover for her leash.  I was surprised that Fifi did not mind wearing the dress.  After walking for the judges, Fifi was chosen as a Prom Princess and her award was a new chew toy.

 I used a paper stack from Die Cuts With a View called The Chateau Lavender.  I laid out my design in Cricut Design Studio and I used the Once Upon a Princess cartridge for the title “Princess” cut and Don Juan for “Prom”.  The frame was cut from Elegant Edges, the throne from Formal Occasion and the dog and crown from Paper Pups.

 I did some heat embossing on the frame using some Stampendous products that I recently bought.  The embossing powder I used all over the frame is called Fran-tage Shabby White Opaque.  It is chunky and has lots of gold glitter in it.  I also added some Stampendous Shaved Ice on top of the powder before I heated it — the Shaved Ice adds chunks of bling.  My only problem was trying to keep it from blowing all over.  I heated the frame from underneath, as Stampendous recommends.

 I cut a throw rug to go underneath the throne using George and Basic Shapes.  For the white on the crown, I heat embossed it using the same Stampendous products that I used on the frame.  I did some chalking on the pup.

I used Stampendous Fran-Tage Lavender Crushed Glass Glitter on the princess hat in the title and used Stickles on the star that dots the “i”.  The last step was the small flowers, which are Recollections brand from Michaels that I recently got on clearance.  I used Stickles in the center of the flowers.

  • DCWV The Chateau Lavender
  • Cricut Cartridges:  Don Juan, Elegant Edges, Formal Occasion, Once Upon a Princess, Paper Pups
  • Stampendous Fran-tage Shabby White Opaque Embossing Powder, Lavender Crushed Glass Glitter, Shaved Ice
  • Recollections flowers
  • Stickles