glitter

New card bases from Silhouette

Posted on by debbrooner

I just purchased the new card bases and envies from the  Silhouette Store.  I thought I’d show you what you can do with them.  Since I don’t have the Cameo I couldn’t cut out the envelopes, but since the cards are a standard 4.25 x 5.5 inches I can just use rather boring but servicable white ones.  This first picture shows what the card bases look like when open.The only difference in all of the cards is the shape of the card front.  Now for the finished cards which, by the way, refused to stay in an upright position when placed in the frog, hence the thumb showing in each one.  Sorry about that.

Card base 1 has these fun scalloped edges.  I cut the overlay out of white cardstock and then used the internal offset to cut a slightly smaller overlay out of patterned paper.  The bird file is one of my favorites and the ability to cut out the ” beautiful you” so cleanly still amazes me.  Due to the size I did end up double cutting the phrase.  I found some yellow butterflies in my “yellow” box, so I put 2 of them together and added them as well.  I felt the yellow cardstock needed some help so I ran it through my Cuttlebug Polka Dots embossing folder.  Doesn’t the background now look like a giant yellow Lego?  Oops.

card_base_1_C01686_20509; bird_on_branch_C00648_19547; beautiful_you_phrase_C00987_20509;

I love the colors on this card.  They are all from then Tropical  AC Cardstock pack. Originally I had intended on using rhinestones to cover some of the black polka dots but I didn’t have the right colors so I just punched out several of each color of cardstock, added them to the card, and then covered each of them with Glossy Accents.  Easy cheap coordinating embellishments.

card_base_2_C01688_20509; paisley_C00413_31857; background stamp Stampabilities Polka Dot Background; sentiment Fiskars All Year Greetings

This next card is pretty busy for me, but I did get to used up several bits and pieces I had laying around.  I cut the fancy border in two parts and used them to border the top and bottom of the card front.  I used the Cuttlebug Forest Branched folder on the red cardstock and then turned the pattern sideways and cut a strip.  I  ran the black butterfly through my Xyron, front side down, and then pulled the backing off of just the butterfly wings and added glitter.  I learned a very important lesson about black cardstock and colored glitter. Yellow glitter appears green and orange apppears brown.  Tricky stuff, that glitter. I then removed the backing from the body and added black glitter.  I got the idea for the butterfly from yesterday’s A Cut Above online class.

I made the flower on the tiny label by cutting 3- 12 petal flowers, covering them withDistress Ink, and then curling the petals and layering on top of each other.  The flower almost looks like a small dried one.

card_base_3_C01690_20509; elegant_border_C00105; assorted_butterfly_filigree_C01438_20387; 12_petal_flowers_C00667; 5_petal_flowers_C01237_20509; leaves_C00027_23445; 5_labels_C01207

You know how often farm dogs are “outside dogs”?  Well this bird is an “outside bird”.  He hangs around the cage but never in it .  Just thought you’d want to know.

This is a pretty simple card, actually.  I really like the birdcage and sentiment. The set comes with 2 more birdcages, several birds and one more sentiment that is bird related.

card_base_4_C01629_20509; 3_bands_C00965_20509; TAC Studio Vintage Birdcages

This last card is probably my favorite.  I really like the teacup and the frilly edges of the card front go well with it.

The dotted background is from a blogsite called Mel Stamps. If you haven’t been to her site then you are in for some fun!  She has lots of free templates and background papers as well as cards she has made.  Prepare to spend some time there, though.

This is one of those cards that ended up being a “flub fixed” one.  I ran all of my letters throught my Xyron but found out that I had run  one of the T’s and O’s in backwards. I really didn’t want to have to recut just 2 letters, so I used the misglued letters for the word “two” and addeds glue to the front of the W.  I then added clear embossing powder to the word and heated it.  Now it looks like I intended that word to be glossy.  Take that, goof up monster.

card_base_5_C01694_20509; 4_flourished_tea_cup_set_C00656_19210: background stamp Hero Arts Word Pops

Six more cards to go.  See you next week!

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Silhouette for inchies

Posted on by debbrooner

I used my Silhouette for a lot of my inchies this month, and it performed even better than I expected.

All of the teacups and the “2 for tea” were cut with it.  These little guys are all smaller than one inch, yet cut very well.  My favorite one is the watercolor background one with the teacup with leaves on it. There are 4 different designs in the set and would work for inchies, cards, and scrapbook pages.

two_tea_cups_C00384_23067; two_delicate_tea_cups_C00385_23067; 4_flourished_tea_cup_set_C00656; 2_for_tea_word_phrase_C01176; tea_set_C00651_2581

The POW! glitter paper on the pink cupcake is by American Crafts. It cuts beautifully.  I had tried other glitter papers, but my machine was pretty vocal about not really liking to cut them.  This paper has a great glimmer but doesn’t slough off glitter bits all over.   Very nice.  The middle cupcake was also cut with my Sil using white cardstock, colored with Bic markers and then I added some Stickles for shine.

3_cupcakes_C00869_20509; Cupcake_0241

The color challenge for this month was teal, cream and orange. I had purchased an American Craft package of pastel colors so I used them for this project.  It has a nice texture on one side and is smooth on the other.  It cuts very well.  It was a lot of fun to just pick my quilt patterns, cut them out and glue them on my inchies.  I used a Sakura glitter pen to do the stitching since a black pen overpowered the designs.

quilt_blocks_1_-_set_of_4_Coo355_17986; quilt_blocks_2_-_set_of_4_Coo356_17986

 

 

 

Finally, I made this Easter inchie book. For all of the right-hand pages I used these Easter blocks.  Love the colors- the American Craft cardstock again.

block_easter_C00495_20509

These are the left-hand pages.  I tried to cut the letters for the words, but they were just too small, hence the bad handwriting .  I used some leftover shapes from the blocks for these pages as well.  Gets me in the mood for making some Easter cards!

 

25 Christmas Cards Part 5

Posted on by debbrooner

 

I had cut out the green background quite a while back, not even thinking about using it as a Christmas embellishment, but I needed something to use as a backdrop for my stocking and it seemed to work.  Again, I used the offset function to cut out  a red mat . Easy peasy. I thought the stocking turned out super cute, and the Silhouette cut through my glitter paper like butter.

irregular_squares_mesh_background_C00378_21585, 4_christmas_icons_C01274_20509, Sizzix Dotted Flower Rings, Hampton Arts A Very Merry

I would NOT recommend this next card if you are doing a whole bunch- unless you plan to start making them in January! The cutting out? Very quick.  The gluing to the card? Not so much!  After I got all of the pieces on the card I decided it needed something more so I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the triad leaves folder. I don’t remember what font I used for the Joy banner but it is great to be able to use any TrueType font with the Silhouette. Because the berries were so small I used Stickles instead of red cardstock.

whimsical_tree_C20091012182328_20508, Sizzix Triad Leaves

I don’t usually do square cards because I don’t like either the extra postage due if the card is mailed in a square enelope, or the half-filled envelope that you get from mailing a square card in a regular rectangular envelope.  However, this card needed the square format to work, so half-filled envelope here it comes. I added a some Stickles Icicle glitter to the doily that I cut out and embossed the Noel with a swiss dots folder.  This was a very fast card to do.

If you don’t have a Silhouette you could use a purchased paper doily and stamp the Noel on a piece of cardstock.

noel_title_C00539_20387, doily_lace_decoration_C00600_20387, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot, A Lost Art background script

I used the same resist technique that I did for one of the Tiny Bundle cards, but the background stamp I used this time was an alphabet  collage. This too was a very quick card.  The silk ribbon I used was some that I had purchased quite a while ago.  It was so pretty I was hesitant to use it, but use it I did, to good effect.

Ali Edwards Good Cheer, Tim Holtz Seasonal REflections, Unknown Alphabet Collage

What can I say? This card is busy ! There’s the embossing (2 different folders), 2 different patterned papers, 3 colors of cardstock, and 3 different die cuts. MOJO Monday would probably be proud of me, but I must admit it gave me a bit of a tic to look at it  after it was finished.  I did like the bird on the branch embossed piece , though. The sentiment was stamped with Versamark ionk and dusted with Spring Green PearlEx.

3_borders_C00678_20509, artisan_label_set_C00178_41853, Sizzix Bird on Branch #2, Cuttlebug Paper Lace #2, Hero arts Holiday Sayings

 

 

 

 

 

Not quite enough room for the last 3 cards, so see you tomorrow.

25 Christmas Cards Part 4

Posted on by debbrooner

Miscellaneous cards

I wanted to do a card that wasn’t my usual 5″ x 4.5 “, so I made one that fits a standard business size envelope.  Everything on this card makes me happy, from the dotted border to the “joy” embellishment.   I used Versamark ink for the bottom dotted border and white pigment ink for the music .The holly corners are from my Silhouette, as is the “joy to the world” embellishment.  This same embellishment could be made by stamping a sentiment and then cutting around it leaving a border. Layer the piece on to some colored cardstock and trim again.

holly_corner_C20090907225746_18816, joy_C20091008175557_19210, Hampton Arts music border, Hero Arts Tiny Jubilee Dots

 I used the same dots stamp and Versamark on this card.  Kraft card lends itself to Versamark ink very well.

I decided to cut a hole in the card front and then affix the ” Merry Christmas” stamped image on the inside of the card. Since I used dimensional dots to secure it the image stands out even when the card is closed.

I purposely made the pink frame and pearls very subtle.  The beauty of kraft cardstock is that it can be brightened up (like the card above) or left neutral.  Either way works.

square_nested_C01065_18816, Hero Arts Tiny Jubilee Dots, Printworks Holly andBerries, Magenta Merry Christmas

The next 2 cards contain the phrase “Wise Men Still Seek Him”.  Cutting these words out is so quick and easy.

For the background on this card I stamped a poinsettia pattern with Versamark ink and then embossed with clear powder.  I cut the panel into to pieces, trimmed each one a bit, and then applied them to the card. I used a Versamark pen to make the dots on the letters.  I love the rich red rhinestones that go so well with the background.

wise_men_still_seek_him_C00762_19547, holly_C00780_19547, Penny Black Poionsettia Script

Placement of the words is made even easier by having a mat underneath. I placed the phrase on the desktop and then hit the offset button.  I played with the settings until I got to the place whereI had a mat that had  the words  touching but there was still some open space.  I used the same cardstock for both the phrase and the mat and then I ran the mat , right side down, through my Xyron and sprinkled glitter on the sticky side.

wisae_men_still_seek_him_C00762_19547, A Lost Art background script, Bella Bohemia corner flourish

I wanted to do a card using a nativity scene  die cut but the ones I bought last year just wasn’t working for me.  I got very frustrated.  But this year there was a new nativity scene and it worked beautifully.  It fit just right on a 61/4″ by 4 4/8″ card.  I got the idea for the background from a video made by Paper Try Ink.

1_pc_nativity_C00539_31857, Bella Bohemia corner flourish, Inkadinkadoo O’ Come phrase

This is one of my favorites.  I had embosseed a white piece of cardstock with the Dotted Flower Rings folder but hadn’t used it.  One day, out of boredom, I took a Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll pen and colored in all of the flower centers.  The result was a great subtle shimmer that would worked well for a white and gold card.  The wreath was cut out of a piece of AC Specialty Pearl paper.  The paper shifts between white and gold as it is moved around.  The bow, berries, and the phrase were all cut out of a gold specialty cardstock.  Love the way the phrase is cut out so cleanly!

bow_christmas_wreath_C01349_20508, joy_to_world_C200912022115604_18816, Sizzix Dotted Flower Ring

See you tomorrow!

25 Christmas Cards Part 3

Posted on by debbrooner

Precious Gift Stamped Image

I found this stamp at Michaels recently and really liked the way it dealt with the best gift ever in a slightly different way.  What a Christmas gift we all have been given!

I have always intended to try an easel card but somehow was scared by the prospect of finding enough images that would work together.  Not that big of a deal, I found out.  Love the cheery Christmas colors.  Since it doesnt work very well to put dimensional pieces on the flat part of the card (the “noel” part) I cut out the holly and then filled the berry holes with red Stickles.  Looks like they are above the surface, but they aren’t.  The directions for an easel card can be found at the  Splitcoast Stampers site. Look under “resources”.

holly_C00780_19547,basic_folding_easel_card_C01456_17986, Inkadinkadoo Winter Trails, Recollections Noel, Stampendous Precious Gift

This card is not my favorite, but in order to get to 25 cards it has to be counted!  I sized the scroll label to fit my stamp and added Stickles Icicle glitter to all of the scrolls.  For the background I used Versamark and then brushed red and green PearlEx on the image.  A quick swipe with a Swiffer dusting cloth and the excess powder was gone.  Swiffers are the best for cleaning up glitter as well.

I used the “kissiing technique” for the background of this card.  Check out Jennifer McGuire’s blog to get more info.  I started with white glossy card and Distress Inks by Ranger.  I first inked up a damask background stamp using Peeled Paint ink.  I then used Pine Bough ink on a Tim Holtz Reflections stamp and stamped it onto the damask stamp (notice- nothing stamped on paper yet).  THEN I stamped the damask stamp on the glossy card.  Since the reflections stamps have the words backwards the final result is a stamped image with the words the right direction.  Fancy that.

lace_border_0856, Stampendous Precious Gift, Hero Arts Classic Fabric Design, Tim Holtz Seasonal Reflections

The embossing folder I used for this card is a Sizzix one called Triad Leaves.  You will see it again several more times.  The border is so easy with the Silhouette.  I just cut out the green top layer and then ungrouped the image, got rid of the dots and teardrop shapes, and cut out a white piece that fit perfectly behind the green one.  I have to admit that originally I started with a border that I had punched out with a Martha Stewart punch.  I wanted the border to have white behind it so I glued the green piece to some white paper and pondered the prospect of doing some really fiddly cutting.  Fortunately about that time a voice boomed out, “drop those scissors, dummy, use your Silhouette”. Duh.

6_labels_C01078_20509, scalloped_flower_border_C20090810003018_19210, Stampendous Precious Gift, Sizzix Triad Leaves

Next up: “wise men” and kraft cards.

25 Christmas Cards Part 2

Posted on by debbrooner

Nontraditional Colors

The colors for this first card came from the Print and Cut wreath from Silhouette (the colors are off slightly, seems that this magenta color is a difficult one to get right). I printed out the wreath on white cardstock and then added Glossy Accents to the baubles for some extra dimension.

This card could be made without having the a Silhouette.  Pick out several fun colors of cardstock and go crazy punching out leaves or branches. Shape into a wreath, add circle punch-outs, layer on coordinating papers, and your card is finished.

I really like the Sizzix Dotted Flower Rings I used for the background , so prepare to see it several other places. Kinda reminds me of the texture of a sea creature.

mod_wreath_pnc_C00574_31857, Sizzix Dotted Flower Rings, Recollections Noel

The die cuts for this card were done with my Silhouette, but it could just as easily be done with snowflake stamps, white ink and white embossing powder. Stamp and emboss the snowflakes on dark cardstock, layer  onto  a white piece of cardstock,and cut the edges with a stamp-edged scissors. Tie a ribbon around the piece and mount it on a light color card .  Add a snowflake embellishment and some  pink brads.

snowflake_stamp_C00760_23067, Fiskars Winter Wonderland

Here is another snowflake card, this time in browns, pinks and mint green to match the paper I used.  I used a (nontraditional) ledger background stamp  and colored the snowflake shaped rhinestone in the middle of the embellishment with a brown Sharpie. I ran the green snowflake through my Xyron machine and added glitter to the sticky side. A much easier way to apply glitter!

4_snowflakes_C00810, classic_snowflake_set_C01124_20387, scalloped_border_set_C00318_31857,Inkadinkadoo Joy Peace Love Mini, Hero Arts Luscious Ledger

I really liked this brown Print and Cut wreath- I think because of all the funky colors.  I don’t think of brown as being a christmas color but it worked for me here.

wreath_with_ornaments_pnc_C00557_31857, border_strip_layered_C00253_20509 , Inkadinkadoo Christmas Sayings

That’s all for today. Next time I will show you the cards I made using a new stamp I purchased at Michael’s recently.

25 christmas cards part 1

Posted on by debbrooner

My friend Barb sent me an email saying that she had finished 160 christmas cards! While I can’t imagine making that many cards, it did get me thinking.  After watching Kristine Werner’s “25 days of Christmas”  videos I decided that I could give making 25 a try.  For someone who has the attention span of a gnat making only 2 of each design was great fun!  I have roughly grouped them according to technique, new product or miscellaneous.  While some need specific tools, most may made using other techniques or tools.  Have fun looking through them.

Hero Arts stamp/emboss combo cards

Hero Arts has new sets that contain both a stamp and an embossing folder to match .  It is a really simple process: just stamp the image on a piece of cardstock and then place it in the folder.  The images line up perfectly in the folder and you end up with a fun card that looks like you spent a    of time on it.  Here is a close-up of the card:

The next card uses the same combo but with silver metallic ink and embossing powder.  I used a french script stamp and a strip of silver glitter paper as well.

I used Versamark watermark ink on this last card..  I like the tone-on-tone effect .  The faux post is an old stamp but I still like it a lot.  I used watercolor pencils for the leaves and red Stickles for the berries.

That does it for today’s cards.  Check back tomorrow for cards made with an adorable new stamp I purchased this year.

Krafty Cards

Posted on by debbrooner

I like working with kraft cardstock. It lends itself well to use with colored pencils and can be combined with almost any other kind of paper. The  card above uses so many of my favorite techiques- die cuts, embossing, colored pencils, stamping, fibers, Versamark ink with gold PearlEx powder dusted on,and even a rhinestone.  Whew!

The closeup shows the colored pencil and the french knots done with metallic thread.  Loooove metallic anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this card I used the same rubber stamp but a different colorway.  I love the combination of pebble cardstock, handmade paper and kraft cardstock.

 

 

 

 

 

Green glitter paper and pink corrugated cardboard both work well with the kraft cardstock on this card.  I used a white gel pen as well.  More fiber and rhinestones finished the card.

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a sheet of this cork-covered paper ages ago but hadn’t gotten around to using it.  After I colored the hearts and cut them out I was looking for the right backing paper. The cork paper fit the bill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made the flower vase 3D by coloring and cutting out an extra vase then placed it on the panel with a dimensional stickie foam.

The magenta striped hand-made paper and the turquoise embossed card pulled colors from the floral panel.

Simple but effective.

So there you have it!  Grabsome kraft card and some colored  pencils and get going.

Glitter ATC

Posted on by debbrooner

 

Since I got several questions regarding the glittered ATC I made I thought I would put it on my blog.

Here are the materials you will need:

A lacy piece (I used Graphic 1 from Silhouette) for the card front

A backing sheet of cardstock

A Xyron  with an adhesive cartridge

Assorted glitters

Post It notes

My cards were made with a black front and a black background, but since that would be too hard to see I will use a white background (fig. 1).

Fig. 1

First of all, take the background piece and run it through your Xyron .  You may use another way to apply adhesive to the card, but the point is that you will need to cover the entire card with something that will stay sticky long enough for you to get all the glitter attached.

Lay the card sticky side up and place the lacy piece on it.  You will then have an ATC with a lacy front and sticky in all the white cells (fig. 2).

Fig. 2

Now comes the time for the post- it notes.  Carefully lay the sticky side of the post- it on the black lines of the front and cover every hole but one (fig.3).

Fig. 3

 

 Pour glitter onto the white space and press down gently but thoroughly.  Tip excess glitter off of the card. You now have one cell done (fig. 4).

Fig. 4

Remove the post-it from the next cell and add another color of glitter. If you tamped the glitter on the first cell well there should be no stickiness left so the next color will not stick there. Your second cell is now glittered (fig. 5).

Fig. 5

Continue to remove post-its and add glitter to cells until all have been filled.  You may need to reposition some of the post-its, depending on how you arranged them to begin with. 

As an aside, if you have a Swiffer dusting cloth available you may come out of your studio with a lot less glitter in your hair!  I use these great cloths for both glitter and PearlEx projects when you want the color on the project and not anywhere else.

HTH- leave a comment, please.