Silhouette SD | If The Glue Sticks…Embellish

Stick To It- Tapes of All kinds

Posted on May 19, 2014 by debbrooner

I love tape! Any kind will do, whether it is Washi Tape, decorative tape, handmade tape, or print and cut versions. Even small bits can add a real oomph to a project.

Up first-real Washi Tape cards. I am especially fond of applying the tape to the cardstock and then running the piece through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder. The embossing gives the tape just a bit more dimension.

The second type of tape I use Decorative Tape ( Scotch brand). It is shinier than the Washi tape but comes in some really fun patterns, like this arrow pattern which reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright’s stained glass windows.

“Faux washi” is also fun to make and use. Any artist paper can be used by applying double-sided tape to the paper and then trimming it down to the width of the tape. Here I used a transparent pink rice paper.

Silhouette has several files for washi tapes. They can be cut out of any solid paper or cardstock or can be filled with designs or patterns and treated as Print and Cut files. I used white cardstock and printed these tapes to match my embellishments. I like the slightly thicker look as a result of using cardstock instead of paper.

If you need ideas for the use of tape Pinterest is a great place to look. So what are you waiting for? Grab some tape and start embellishing!

Clean and Simple Stamping #257

Posted on September 9, 2013 by debbrooner

This card has a larger curved edge than the sketch but I liked the results anyway. I am going to try something new this time and give you a tutorial, complete with pictures, to show how I made this card with my Silhouette. Some of the pics aren’t the best but this is my first time for this so extend some grace my direction, okay?

Step 1: Draw a rectangle that is 5.5″ wide by 8.5 ” high. This will give you a standard 5.5″ x 4.25″ card. I colored this rectangle gray so it would be easier to tell what is what later on.

Step 2: bring in the desired doily and resize it so that it is slightly larger than the card. I made mine 5.55 x 5.55 inches. Place it on top of the card base, lining up the bottom of the doily with the bottom of the card. I have colored the doily so you can see it easier.

Step 3: I made another rectangle by starting it on the upper left-hand of the card base and dragged it halfway down the doily, then sending it backward one step so that it is between the doily and the card base.. This rectangle and the doily will be the 2 pieces that will be welded together. This new rectangle is peach colored.

Step 4: I no longer needed the card base so I removed it.

Step 5: I highlighted both the peach rectangle and the doily and hit the “weld” button and tada- a card with a fancy border!

I used the My Mind’s Eye “Memorable” 6×6 pad, Pumice Stone Distress ink, and the Hero Arts /Sizzix Stamp and Die Cut Butterflies set. The doily is #18185. I added some Distress Stickles and yellow embroidery thread to dress it up a bit more.

Thanks for giving this a peek!

Da Font is Da Bomb!

Posted on August 29, 2013 by debbrooner

I recently downloaded a font called Peony from the DaFont site. It is a free font and is really fun. Each letter is a different, seamless design.
Using my Silhouette, my Amy Chomas pen holder, and a black pen , I typed the letter B across the middle of the card front, which made the vine design. I then added washi tape and a stamped embossed panel. This card was fast and has a good amount of white space for those of you who want to keep things simple!

DaFont: Peony; Hero Arts: Art of the Card-Untitled Love

The ginko pattern is the letter M from DaFont as well. After drawing it with my silhouette I filled the image in with a black pen then added some machine stitching and thin black washi tape. The flower was made using patterned paper and the Sizzix Flower 6 die. I cut the sentiment out of white cardstock ,colored it with red pigment ink, and then embossed it.

Silhouette: Create Title #4094

What other fun fonts do you use? Let me know!

Silhouette Sketch Cards 2

Posted on July 18, 2013 by debbrooner

This is round 2 of the cards I have made using sketches from the Silhouette Store. I am really getting to like these sketches. They are kind of like having a rubber stamp that can be made into any size. And they don’t take up space in my stamp drawer! I am still using the Amy Chomas pen holders (see this post: https://ifthegluesticks.com/2012/07/25/silhouette-ske…as-pen-holders/) and love them. I will say one thing however, while I ordered both the small holder and the large holder it is the large one that I use all the time. I can’t seem to find pens small enough to fit in the small holder. Something to think about.

This could have made up as a one layer card by stamping a border under the definition and using a bit of yellow stickles on the dandelions.

Dandelion Sketch #32314; Laughter Definition: Stampabilities Definitions

Okay, this card has it all. Sketched flowers, rubber stamping, distress ink, die cut banner, dimensional adhesive, and letterpress using an embossing folder. Gasp. I started out by sketching the floral motif and then used a Hero Arts shadow stamp to highlight the blossoms. It still looked like it needed something so I brayered the concave side of an embossing folder with distress ink and ran the panel through my Cuttlebug. Since I cut out my banner in white cardstock I was able to use the same ink for it that I had used for the background. When I placed the banner on the card I found that the background was showing through the word cutouts so I traced the banner on another piece of cardstock and inked it with the purple ink. That looked much better! I glued the bottom (purple) banner directly to the card and then used dimensionals to add the top banner. Lots of fun.

Flower Motifs: #43709; Banner Words-Life: #37895; Hero Arts Scalloped Solid; Paper Studio: Horizontal Script; Distress Inks; Pumice Stone, Ripe Persimmon, Dusty Concord, Shabby shutters.

I sketched these little guys and then stamped the dots on the blossoms. I like the wonky kind of look I get with this technique. Remember what I said about being able to make these any size? The original file for each flower was a little over eight inches. I scaled them down to an inch and a half.

Flower Sketches: #30091, 30092, 30093, 30094

These cheery dots just screamed “use the word ‘happy'” , so I did. Sketched dots, distress ink and rhinestones made a very fun panel. The nice thing about having the word happy on the outside of the card is that the inside can say “birthday’, “day”, etc. Very handy, especially for me as I never seem to have the right sentiment at the right time.

Polka Dot Sketch: #19374; Sentiment: 38773; Distress Inks: Picked Raspberry, Dusty Concord, Ripe Persimmon, Shabby Shutters

And finally, this card. Am I happy happy happy with the white gel pen that I used to shadow the letters? No, no, no. This copy is for my portfolio so no one will receive a card this messy!

I typed the word “happy” in my Silhouette and then played with spacing of the letters until they touched. Using white cardstock letters and words is really a good idea. Just a bit of ink in the color you need and you have coordinated your card elements.

I used 3 different inks for the flowers and loved how they coordinated with some cardstock I had on hand. I used the middle value of the purple inks to edge the flower panel. It is not obvious but it does help give it a finished look.

Flower Sketches: 44160, 44161; Distress inks: Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves

Kraft Cardstock Mania 4

Posted on April 2, 2013 by debbrooner

This is the last of my Kraft + color posts. Hope you have gotten some ideas to try for yourself.

This is hands-down my favorite of all of the cards. It is fairly flat so it could be sent through the mail without any problem. This was pretty much a Cuttlebug card- the honeycomb background, the sentiment, the poppies, and the embossed dots on the side of the card were all done with my mighty bug. I am not a big fan of a lot of the Tim Holtz stuff but the Papillon stamp set is awesome.

Cuttlebug: Honeycomb; With Love; Friends Forever

This one looks a little wonky because it is. If you tilt your head a little to the right…never mind, it doesn’t help.

I am choosing to leave this one in because of a technique that I have started using a lot. I have been gluing gold Momi , which is a medium weight , gold crumpled paper. It looks like this:

When it is glued to a piece of cardstock and then run through an embossing folder it looks like it has actually become part of the cardstock. It almost looks like the cardstock is gilded.

Inkadinkadoo: Illuminata; Cuttlebug: Paper Lace 2

Now for two completely random pictures-

I love the way this store used chevrons. There is a card idea ready to pop out.

Okay, this is weird, I must admit. Does anyone know what this is? Is there anyone else out there who photographs their trash? This reminds me of a Jeffrey Dever polymer clay piece.

My next series will be dealing with small wall quilts so it won’t be paper related. However the ideas could certainly be used for paper arts. Stay tuned.

Kraft Cardstock Mania 3

Posted on March 13, 2013 by debbrooner

This red card uses the negative space left after cutting out the flower shape. It always looks like this type of design is really hard and took a lot of fussy cutting or gluing, but the fact is it couldn’t be easier. Cut the flower design out of Kraft cardstock, back with your favorite designer paper (or in this case marbled paper), add other embellishments and the card is done. Adding dimensional adhesive to the flower panel gave some extra interest to the card.

Silhouette: Flower Rectangle #33935; Cuttlebug: With Gratitude

Do any of you have a basket full of die cuts or stamped pieces that never quite make it to the front of a card? Well I do, and this card is the result of determination on my part to use several pieces in my basket. The paisley square, the background lace, and the sentiment were all lost pieces looking for a home. I colored the lace with Distress Ink and then layered it over a gold metallic paper so that it pulled the background and the paisley square together. The glittery sentiment matched the green PearlEx paint on the square- yay! I had had the purple ribbon for a very long time and hadn’t used it because the color never seemed to match anythingI was working on. It was really a serendipitous thing that it was exactly the right color as well.

One more week of Kraft Mania left. I would love to see what you have been doing with your Kraft cardstock!

Stampendous: Paisley Texture Cube; Silhouette: Floral Lace Background #3924; Cuttlebug: Friends Forever

Kraft Cardstock Mania 2

Posted on March 8, 2013 by debbrooner

Welcome to the second installment of my Kraft cardstock series.

This pink one could almost be called a one-layer card. I really like the stamped layered effect which gives some depth and interest. I used all of my ink choices on this card: distress, pigment and archival. That way all of my ink pads would not be jealous…The pearly finish of the pink cardstock contrasts nicely with the matte Kraft cardstock.

Text: Tim Holtz French Market; background stamp: Tim Holtz Multimedia; Butterfly: Inkadinkadoo Mindscapes.

For the big butterfly on this card I used my Silhouette and cut a butterfly pattern 3 times, with each cut slightly smaller than the last. I stamped the largest and smallest ones with Tim Holtz’ Papillon stamp then glued them all together on the bodies only. I used the same stamp set for the 3 small butterflies on the bottom.

The Kraft background was embossed with a new folder I just got called “Cindi Loo”. Now I ask you, what could be more fun than using a great folder with a really fun name?

Butterfly Cutout: #12423; Cuttlebug folder

Five more cards to go! See you next week, and may all your butterflies be on your cards not your stomach.

Kraft Cardstock Mania 1

Posted on February 26, 2013 by debbrooner

There is just something wonderful about Kraft cardstock for me. It has just enough color to add interest to a project and is neutral enough to not detract from any other color I wish to add. So here I sit with a dozen sheets of Kraft cardstock and a sense of anticipation. For the next 3 weeks I will be showing you the cards I have made using this awesome media. I hope you like them and that they provide a springboard for your own creative process.

The first card using a Queen Anne’s Lace stamp is crisp enough to add interest without adding any color at all. I cut out the Hello with my Silhouette ( not sure what font I used- sorry) and used Tim Holtz’ distress ink for the ‘thinking of you’ sentiment. I am not very good at adding more than 1 sentiment to a card so this is my first attempt at doing so. Adding several pearls finished it up nicely.

Inkadinkadoo stamp “Meadow”; Hero Arts “Everyday Sayings”One of the things I promised myself that I would do was to go through my stash of die cuts and use a bunch of them up. I used Wild Honey Distress Ink to color the banner and some white flowers that I had cut long ago and used another Distress Ink for the “awesome”. In order to ground the flowers I used an embossing folder border along the bottom of the card. This card was not my most favorite but it was okay and again I used 2 sentiments. Whoot whoot!

Cuttlebug “Just My Type”; Silhouette “Spring Flowers 1” #8179; “spring Flowers 2” #8180; “Embrace Banner #37895; “Awesome” #37880;

Stamping Queens Cards and ATC’s

Posted on August 10, 2012 by debbrooner

I just joined a new Yahoo group called Stamping_Queens. There appear to be lots of different swaps going each month so I am hoping to get a little of everything- cards, ATC’s, inchies, and sketchs.

The card above was made with the Spit Coast Stampers sketch 164. The paper is from Basic Grey’s Out Of Print collection. Love those papers! The little retro background is from Silhouette.

retro background:#23521; Cuttlebug Embossing folder:Swiss Dot: Sentiment: Stampendous “Friendship Assortment”

The theme for the ATC’s this month was pink and black- not hard for me to do since any color plus black is right up my alley.

I don’t usually like old timey silhouettes, but this little girl holding a butterfly called my name. I stamped the definition on the ATC, added Worn Lipstick Distress Ink to the edges, and then cut out a tiny butterfly that I folded in half and glued to her hand. A thin strip of polka dot paper finished the ATC off.

I cut the butterfly out and then ungrouped the design, got rid of the inside pieces, and cut the outline out so that it would be a solid shape. I glued the 2 pieces together on the body only, cut the butterfly in half, glued the butterfly to the card, and then bent the top layer of wings up. I didn’t forget the antenna which was emboidery floss stiffened with glue. Fun.

assorted butterflies filligree set: #26282; girl with butterfly border: #29236; lace butterfly: #27233

This last card I made is a Silhouette product. I don’t usually buy the cards that I could design myself, but for some reason I did this time. I was pretty pleased with the results and will definitely use this card again as it is very quick to make but doesn’t look like it is.

I stamped the 2 side panels and used dimensional adhesive on all three panels so the holes in the middle panel are more obvious.I did add an extra piece so I had a place for my sentiment.

A2 size cared: # 28261; sentiment: Stampendous “Friendship Assortment”; Background stamp: Great Impressions “Scroll and Leaves”

Silhouette Sketch Pens and Amy Chomas Pen Holders

Posted on July 25, 2012 by debbrooner

I decided to try the sketch pen feature the other day. I used the basic pen set that Silhouette sells but unfortunately there was not enough ink in them to do the background designs that I had picked out. Bummer. I purched a great tree sketch so I thought I’d just nip over to the store and get a small brown pen from Sihouette. Big problem- no brown to be found.

I had seen ads for Amy Chomas’ Pen and marker holders so I went to her sight to see if they were something I would want. I ended up getting both holders(one holds pens, the other is big enough for markers, so there is a size for everything) and have been really happy I did. The upside to these holders? I can now use Sharpies,gel pens, Pigma Microns- you name it. Since I can use full size pens I can sketch larger designs without running out of ink. It also means that I don’t have to stick with the very limited colors Silhouette offers. Take look at Amy’s blog and see what you think.

For the card above I used some cool gel pens called GellyRoll Gold. They come in a pack of 5 and have red, purple,blue, green, and olive. The neat thing about these pens is that they write both the color and gold together. I used the green and red ones on this card.I made a rectangle around both elements, hit the “line styles” button and picked a perforated line. It all sketched out perfectly. I added a white tab which I colored with the green pen, some black rhinestones to the middle of the flowers, and a punched strip on the left side. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the cards base and that was it. Pretty easy, actually.

Sketched Flowers: #1176; Dream Create Inspire: #1595; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Geometric Rings

For this card I just used a lattice background and the word, which I colored in after it was sketched. I found this lovely black feather in my stash and some gold rhinestones tha finished it up. I love the card base. It is gold on the front and blue on the back.

3 backgrounds: #28032; Imagine: #7787

Word Definition Stamp As A Background

Posted on July 18, 2012 by debbrooner

I have really been enjoying the “ Stretch Your Stamps” online class. One of the days focused on using word stamps different ways which got me inspired. I used this ” Create ” definition stamp as a background for my card. I used black detail embossing powder since the font was so small. The poppy embellishment was a Silhouette design which I backed with a green and red specialty cardstock and the red tape was a piece of fake Washi tape I made from unryu paper.

By the way, kudos to Silhouette for reducing the ID numbers to a managable size. Sure makes my job easier!

rounded card flowers punch out: #27930; sentiment: Fiskars “Just Between Friends”

If you have never tried one of the online card classes you really should! I have never been sorry with any of them I have purchased. You can watch them as many times as you like and there is also a PDF you can print out. Always good for the times I get stuck!

Happy cardmaking!

New card bases from Silhouette

Posted on April 28, 2012 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!

Authentique Paper, 3 Sketches

Posted on April 13, 2012 by debbrooner

Since grey and yellow are so hot now I picked up this pad of cardstock. I found out, however, that the grey is more brown than black. I like it anyway!

I wanted to make 3 cards using 3 fferent weekly sketches. I enjoyed the challenge of each card as none of them were my usual style. They were good” stretchers”.

This first sketch is from Clean and Simple Stamping. I don’t usually try to make cards using circles but this one was very easy to do. I just drew a 4.25 x 5.5″ rectangle on my Silhouette workspace. I then drew a circle, sized it to fit my card and used the Offset button to make the second circle. After I had the size of the card figured out all I had to do for the flowers and the leaves was to pick the files I wanted and then size them to fit.

I have to apologize for the inferior stamping. The first stamping was not too good so I restamped it (easy to do with clear stamps), but it wasn’t much better. I could have stamped the sentiment on a different piece of paper to cover up the mess, but I thought that it would make the card too busy and it will go into my portfolio, so I left it as is.

leaf_spray_C01298_20387; 3d_flower_C01679_20509; 3d_flower_C01678_20509; 3d_cherry_blossom_C00798_31857

This sketch is from the Card Pattern Sketch. Again, I used my Silhouette to get the pieces the right size. Authentique has 2 punch-out pages to coördinate with their cardstock. I used the small argyle tag for the sentiment and added the pink ruler underneath it. I had cut out a pink and a brown flourish, not being sure which one I wanted to use. Neither one alone really made me happy but they looked very good layered. Yes the damask is sideways. This was my day for goofs.

flourish_C02801_1

The last sketch I used was this one from retro sketches. The flower was sketched with my Sil and a yellow pen (yes, the Silhouette also can draw). It was rather ironic because I had no intention of using a bird house on the card, but after layering the flower onto the card I decided it needed something else. There was a birdcage punch-out on the sheet, so I used it. So much for “I definitely won’t do…”

I added Glossy accents to the pink flowers on the top of the card and some really cute sparkly yellow dots to the pink band.

flower_C00881_2581

This last part is for those who are new to card making. When you are using a paper pad that is 6×6 you will also need some coordinating solid color cardstock to use for the card bases and any other embellishments you might like to make. You don’t want to get home and find you can’t finish your card because you don’t have all the right stuff.

Easter Cards

Posted on April 5, 2012 by debbrooner

I love little cards! For Valentines day I made 3×3 inch cards (40 of them) and gave them away.You can see all of them here What fun!

The size is big enough for me to do pretty much whatever I feel like doing yet small enough to finish quickly. The amount of cardstock is also minimal and I can hand them out without envelopes if I feel like it.

I decided to stick with one design for the cards that I made for the ladies I play bells with. With my trust Silhouette I was able to cut out lots of teeny tiny flowers, greenery and baskets. I used one of the new teeny tiny cards files to make the cards. Since the cards were very dimensional I decided to put them in envelopes. I had 12 envelopes cut out and ready to fill in a very short period of time! Here’s what the cards ended up looking like. Cute, huh?

teeny_tiny_card_kit_-_25_x_4_bracket_C00054_96084; decorative_ easter_egg_C01413_20387; flower_basket_C00778_31857; flower_set_C01289_20508; leaves_C20090902002518_18816; star_leaves_C00497_20387; leaf_spray_C01298_20387; cute_grasses_2_Coo237_41853; nature_set_C00970_20387

This next card is small too. It is 4″x2 1/2″ and is another of the tiny cards files from the Silhouette store. I embossed the card front with a Cuttlebug folder.

I used a woodgrain cardstock for the cross but found that the lily spray included in the file was just too small to cut nicely so I used a die from Memory Box and cut it into pieces for the spray. This is the Floral Square:My only problem with using this die cut was that I had to cut it into pieces, resulting in a lot of waste, so I didn’t make more than 1 of these. Maybe next year I’ll make more.

teeny_tiny_card_kit_-_25_x_4_rounded_C00055_96034; cross_with_lilies_C01045_20508; Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder; Memory Box die Floral Square

I love this holiday! Because of Jesus’ death on a cross for our sins and His resurrection the grave has been defeated. We can know for sure where we will spend eternity. Take some time between now and Sunday to crack open your Bible, read through one or all of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) and ponder the gift that has been given for you.

It is fitting that I will go to the funeral of a brother in Christ on Monday and celebrate the fact that he is with Jesus. We will grieve with family, but we will also celebrate. It’s an amazing thing, this eternal life with Christ.

Faux Poste Card

Posted on March 23, 2012 by debbrooner

This is a quicky since I really need to get going on my Easter cards. The card design is from Becky Fleck’s Card Maps. I liked the postage placed on little tiny artisan pages. I embossed the card itself with the Cuttlebug Polka Dots folder and used the “Viola” paper collecxtion by Memory Box.

I used the Silhouette for the artisan pages, the stamps, the butterfly and the flourish then stamped the cancellations and the sentiment .

filigree_butterfly_set_C01045; flourish_C02802_; 3_artisan_pages_C00135_24282;postage_stamps_C00046_41853;

“Thinking” by Fiskars’ “Just Between Friends”; “Luxe Cancellation” Hero Arts

Stay tuned for two and three-inch Easter cards!

St. Patrick’s Day and baby cards

Posted on March 15, 2012 by debbrooner

I have 3 cards to share today. The first is a St. Patrick’s Day card. I have never made one of these before, but since I have a friend who celebrates the day I decided to make one to send to her. This card has it all- stamping, distress ink, Silhouette images, and glittery brads. Love the brads! The size is 4.5z’ x 5.5″ and the fold is at the top.

cut_out_shamrock_banner_kit_C00001_96084; clover_flourish_C00994_179086, Inkadinkado background and Great Impressions Scroll & Leaves; Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distressed Inks

This bunny is so cute, and quick to put together. Next time, though I will probably run all of the pieces through an embossing folder before I assemble it. Each piece was edged with distress ink before I put it together for more definition. I used a Cuttlebug border embossing plate at the bottom and then the stamped sentiment and a pearl. Is it just me or are baby sentiment stamps hard to find?

bunny_Coo784_2581; Cuttlebug Just My Type border;Studio G stamp

After I made this card I realized that I had made this little outfit out of the same paper as the last card I made. Hmm.. guess I really like this color combination! I used a Cuttlebug border for this card as well but I added a bit of pencil to the indentations to give the design more definition. This card is pretty close to being clean and simple.

baby_boy_motifs_C00257_31857; Cuttlebug Just My Type folder;Studio G stamp

Acacia tree Clean and Simple Card

Posted on March 8, 2012 by debbrooner

I don’t remember where I got this free GSD file for the tree, but it is awesome! It seemed to be just right for this Clean and Simple (FTL 180) card. I embossed it with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder and then lightly swiped a yellow pigment ink pad across the leafy parts.

The black and yellow cardstock is from a designer pad by Teresa Collins called Carolina Breeze. It also contains several patterns containing gray. Since gray and yellow are really in right now I will probably make several other cards from this group as well.

The label and the bird are Silhouette files. It is super fun to cut out a bird that is only 1/2″ in size!

The yellow epoxy sticker in the corner was so old it wasn’t sticking anymore, so I just added a drop of Glossy Accents. Problem solved, sticker is stuck!

bird_collection_C00012_28466; artisan_shapes_set_Cooo90_41853

Silhouette for inchies

Posted on March 2, 2012 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!

Sew Many Possibilities- Silhouette bobbins cards

Posted on January 12, 2012 by debbrooner

The cards today are really fun ones to make and could be customized in several ways. First of all, I used my Silhouette to cut tiny versions of embroidery floss bobbins. If you don’t have a digital cutter then you could scan a regular size bobbin and then reduce the image, cut out by hand, and then punch a hole in the top. The other option is simply to hand draw you own and cut out. Whatever works for you.

Here are the dimensions and supplies needed for these cards:

5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ card (I used black for the bright card and dark green for the dark card)

Cardstock for the bobbins

Coordinating cardstock for the letters

5 1/4″ x 3 7/8″ piece of cross stitch fabric or pierced paper ( the fabric I used was 18 count)

Assorted colors of floss to wind on the bobbins

I started by stitching around the perimeter of the cloth and pierced paper, using a simple running stitch. I did a little extra stitching at the corners. I used a tape runner on the fabric to attach it to the card, but on the pierced paper the glue showed through the holes, so I attached it to the card with glue dots in the corners. I then started winding the bobbins. I found it was easier if I put a small piece of double-sided tape on the back to hold the end of the floss while I was winding. I also used the double stick tape attach the floss at the end. This worked out well because when I was placing the bobbins on the card they stuck just enough to stay put until I got them properly glued on. I used Glossy Accents to securely attach mine, but any strong glue would do.

You can use any color combos on these cards, such as pastels for a babies card or Christmas colors. The bobbins could also be wound with yarn or thin ribbons.

The “SEW…” is very versatile. The inside of the card could say …how are you?, …how are you feeling?,…many threads, sew little time, …happy for you, …long, we’ll miss you, …good to have you as a friend. The list goes on and on. It is also possible to cross stitch or back-stitch the word “sew”

SEW… have a good time with this card and don’t forget to send my a picture when you are done!

25 Christmas Cards Part 6

Posted on December 19, 2011 by debbrooner

Okay, this is frustrating- I finished the blog for the last 3 cards, hit the “save” button and….nothing appeared on the page. Hopefully things will work out better today and I can finish up this series.

This would be a quick card to make if you had a lot to do. The card front was run through an embossing folder and lightly swiped with Versmark ink then dusted with green PearlEx. The deer was embossed and the sentiment was stamped with Versamark and green PearlEx was brushed on. I used an edge punch to make the ribbon and added a piece of hendmade paper behind (next time I would probably lay a thin strip of the handmade paper on top of the ribbon, not under it). That’s it! The background could be stamped, as could the deer, if you don’t have any way to use the embossing folders.

Sizzix Triad Leaves, Sizzix Reindeer #2, Martha Stewart Arch Lattice, Hero Arts Holiday Sayings

This is the first card I made. It is a Silhouette card and I didn’t do a whole lot to it. I did emboss the front, use pearls instead of cutting out berries and green pearls insted of brads.

christmas_card_C001244_20509, Sizzix Triad Leaves

I used American Crafts Pearl paper in white to make the trees. The paper shifts from white to gold when it is moved. Love it! The trees are Silhouette die cuts and the background is handmade paper with a small gold floral print. I cut another piece of the paper, turned to to the back side and used it as a floor for the trees . It never hurts to look at the backside of handmade paper- often it is usable as well.

Well, that ‘s it. I hope you enjoyed these cards and that some of them were springboards for your own creations. Write me a comment and send me pics of the cards yiou made.