Month: February 2017

I’m so proud of myself! I figured out an easy, inexpensive way to get the right lighting when I take pictures of the cards I create. I struggled with this until I came up with a solution…a tri-fold corrugated display board, 14 inches x 22 inches. I found one at Walmart-$1.97. It’s small but the perfect size to take pictures of cards. The front is white, which probably is helpful in capturing the light. If more light is needed, I just move the two sides of the display board. I took the above picture, using a standard table light with shade and the tri-fold, around 2:00 a.m. when I couldn’t sleep.

What I like too is its versatility. To change the look of the background, I just use a different piece of material (and it doesn’t take a very big piece to do this).  Plus, the tri-fold is easy to set up, to store, and can be taken with you if needed.

For the ‘With Deepest Sympathy’ card, I used my Sizzix Big Shot and a Cricut embossing folder. That seems like a contradiction.  🙂  I put the distress inks on the raised side of the embossing folder, placed the paper inside, and ran it through the Big Shot.

Materials Used:

• White Cardstock
• 98 lb. XL Canson Mix Media Paper (used in the embossing folder)
• Coredinations Cardstock, Seafoam (Joanne’s)
• Ranger Distress Inks: Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade, and Tumbled Glass
• Ranger Archival Ink, Aquamarine
• Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four, S4-190, 2-1/4 x 3-5/8”
• Cricut Cuttlebug Anna Griffin Embossing Folder, Thistle Bouquet
• Stampabilities ‘With Deepest Sympathy’ Rubber Stamp, FR1124

Have a blessed day!

Diane

Lovely Lady on the Balcony from The Graphics Fairy

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Today, I want to send some love to those of you who have given of yourself and your time to create and post cardmaking videos on your blogs, websites, and YouTube (as well as to those who have shared via text format). All these wonderful sources of information have given me the knowledge, techniques, and instruction that I needed to learn to create cards, which nourishes my soul and has made my creativity blossom.

Thanks to all of you!!!

Have a beautiful day that is filled with LOVE! (not just romantic love, but all kinds of love: self-love, love of your children/grandchildren, sisters and brothers, parents, grandparents, friends, your furry friends, too…anyone you hold dear in your heart that makes you happy.)

Diane

Materials used:

• White cardstock
• Red cardstock
• Spellbinders Die D-Lites ‘Vines of Passion’ Die, S2-022
• White lace (Hobby Lobby)
• Red Polka Dot Ribbon, Celebrate It 360 (Michael’s)
• Ranger Archival Ink, Vermillion
• Stampabilities ‘Cursive Thinking of You’ Stamp, ER1143
• Scor-Tape: 1/8”, 1/4”, and 1/2” wide
• Aidox-Corner Cutter (Photo Max), Large

Photo of Angels is from The Graphics Fairy:  http://thegraphicsfairy.com.

Princess Adalina riding her unicorn, Primara, in the Enchanted Fae Forest.

This card was so much fun to make! I began by cutting the fairy and unicorn image with my Silhouette Cameo. After I removed the extra pieces from the fairy wings, I put the wings on a 2.5″ wide piece of Scor-Tape, adhesive side facing up. I sprinkled some Cosmic Gilding flakes on top of that and rubbed lightly with a piece of Ranger Rub It-Scrub It Stamp Cleaning Pad until it blended. Scor-Tape and gilding flakes were also used to make the unicorn’s eye sparkle. Monica, from scrappin4myboys, has a wonderful YouTube video, which inspired me and gave me the idea to use Scor-Tape as an adhesive instead of glue: https://youtu.be/L_EXeeR4oxE

I blended five colors of distress ink to create the background of the card. When I first tried to use distress inks, the ink blending tool left circles all over the paper. The secret, I learned, is to start your blending tool off the paper on the craft mat. Tammy Tutterow has an excellent YouTube video on How to Blend and Apply Tim Holtz Distress Inks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc9YOth8tsI

I held my breath while removing the Scor-Tape backing behind the fairy wings because I wasn’t sure if the gilding would come off, too. But the result was a really thin and fragile-like ‘paper,’ and the wings and gilding stayed in one piece. Some Scor-Tape pieces on the back of the fairy and unicorn were added, and I  c a r e f u l l y  placed the fairy and unicorn on the cardstock. (I say ‘carefully’ because the fantastic thing about Scor-Tape is it’s adhesion-things stay put. But the bad thing about it is once it makes contact with cardstock, it can’t be repositioned.)

Ranger Archival Ink was used for the flowers and the snail on the card, as well as the ‘Believe’ sentiment. A piece of black paper behind the ‘Believe’ sentiment finished the card.

Materials Used:

• Strathmore Watercolor Paper, 140 lb., 400 Series, White (140 lb. cardstock was maybe overkill-I think a lighter weight would have worked, too.)
• Black paper
• ‘Fairy riding unicorn’ die cut, Design ID #148952, from the Silhouette Design Store
• Ranger Distress Inks: Lucky Clover, Cracked Pistachio, Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, and Spiced Marmalade.
• Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool and Foam
• Cosmic Shimmer Gilding Flakes, Autumn Leaves
• Ranger Rub It-Scrub It Cleaning Pad (a small piece)
• Scor-Tape: 1/8″, 1/4″, and 2.5″ wide
• Ranger Archival Ink, Jet Black
• Stampabilities ‘Believe’ Rubber Stamp, ER1136
• Barrel of Stamps, #133678, Snail Stamp
• Studiog-two flower stamps

Have a blessed and wonderful day!

Diane

Today was a COLD day in Minnesota! It was a good day to stay inside and work on a dress card.

A while ago, I saw some beautiful lace and instantly thought ‘dress card.’ I cut some of the lace into a mini-dress size and anchored it on both sides with 1/8″ Scor-Tape. To give the dress an empire waist, I used black velvet ribbon and sewed on some faux-pearls. I wasn’t sure if the strip of pearls would start coming apart when I cut one pearl off, but the rest of them stayed on the string. This trim was so easy to use-I think I’ll be using it a lot. The velvet ribbon was anchored to the dress with 1/4″ Scor-Tape.

I used a different kind of faux-pearls for the straps of the dress and anchored those with a couple strips of 1/8″ Score-Tape. I cut out the label using my Sizzix machine and stamped the sentiment with Ranger Archival Ink.

Materials used:

• Core’dinations Gemstones Cardstock, Tanzanite (JoAnn)
• White Pleated Lace (Hobby Lobby)
• Decorative Trim, Black Velvet, 3/8″ (Hobby Lobby)
• Decorative Trim, White (faux-pearls on the empire waist), #416461, 8 yards for $1.99 at Hobby Lobby.
• The Paper Studio Pearl Gemstones (the dress straps) at Hobby Lobby
• Spellbinders Die-D-Lites Petite Labels One, Bracket 3: 2-7/8 x 1-5/8″
• Core’dinations Gemstones Cardstock, Pearl (the label)
• Stampabilities ‘Celebrate You’ Rubber Stamp, CR1131
• Ranger Archival Ink, Color: Watering Can

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Diane