Sunday, June 29, 2008

Thanks Ramona

Decided to use my pretties kit to make a thank you card for Ramona, a friend who has been really helpful to us here ~ even lending us her microwave when she heard that our rental home didn't have one.

I used the flower stamp from the Natural Beauty set to make the panels for this card...figured out the size I needed for all 3 panels, cut one piece to fit, stamped it and then cut it into 3 so the panels would all be perfectly matched. Used the scor-pal to draw the lines around the outer panels. Note to self ~ I am SO terrible at math ~ it took me several tries, and then help from my husband to figure out the measurements that would make the panels equal.

I'm disappointed with the way my scanner is handling colors lately ~ in reality, the ink color and the CS are exactly the same shade, as is the center flower and the brad. Color is lavender lace, and it looks so pretty IRL. I know Ramona will really like this card.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

One Sheet Wonder

Here's the finished view of the altered notebook and bookmark I made using the "one sheet wonder" technique. (see post below for all of the items I made). Basically, this technique consists of stamping multiple layers on a piece of white cardstock, then cutting the cardstock to use on a number of different projects. It's a very quick and easy way to prepare your own patterned cardstock to use in several different projects. I just added some mint melody cardstock, positively pink cardstock. my square steps corner punch and some ribbon to make the projects. Here's how it's done:



You will need stamps, and several colors/shades of ink. Start by taking a sheet of white cardstock and randomly stamping it in the lightest color with a geometric stamp. I used Barely Banana and the triple triangle stamp from the Fun with Shapes set.



Next, choose one or two other light colors and geometric stamps and stamp randomly again. It doesn't matter if you layer the colors; in fact, it looks better that way, so you don't have to be careful! Here, I used two more stamps from Fun With Shapes, and Pretty in Pink and Mint Melody ink.



Next, choose some images you want to stamp and use darker ink. I wanted flowers and leaves, so I decided to use the Petal Prints set. I chose the 3-leaf stamp and the solid flower. Positviely Pink (same as my cardstock) and Garden Green were my color choices.


Finally, stamp with your darkest ink ~ if you have any white spaces, try to fill them in. I used the outline stamp from Petal Prints that coordinates with the solid stamp.
When you're finished, you'll have a sheet of cardstock that looks like mine above. To use your newly created cardstock on yoru projects, simply cut or punch it in any shape, mat it if desired, and then put it on a cardstock background. It works best if your background cardstock is the same as one of the ink colors you have used. Here I've used mint melody as my cardstock color, and, if you check the projects below, you'll see that I also used Positively Pink. You'll also see my one-sheet wonder cut with the scallop punch. Note as well that you can use your one-sheet wonder as a mat with your plain CS on top.


To make the bookmark shown above, cut two pieces of your patterned CS to 1 1/2 x 3". Cut 2 mint melody mats 1/8" larger all around (I used the perfect layers tool for this). Cut 2 positively pink CS pieces at 2" x 4 1/4", then score each at 3/4". It works best if you score one of the front and one on the back. Adhere each piece of patterned CS to each mint melody mat, then each positively pink mat. You will end up with two separate pieces, identical except for the direction of the scores. Place the two pieces of positively pink CS back to back, punch the square steps corner punch at both top corners, and fold at score lines (you'll be folding both pieces forward).


Use the Crop a Dile to set an eyelet in the centre, and tie with a pretty ribbon. If you wish, you can add magnets to the back of each of the two facing pieces.




Wednesday, June 18, 2008

My First House Mouse

When my daughter told me recently that my Aunt Betty has had surgery, I knew this was the perfect occasion to use the House Mouse stamp that I got at a Stamp Sale awhile back. It's my first House Mouse project, and it was really fun to do, so I'm sure it won't be my last. I stamped the image twice in Staz On, so that I could pop the mouse above the rest. Image was colored with Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel, and Chocolate Chip, using a watercolor pen.

Flower is from the Stampin Up pretties kit and is stamped with a flower from the Little Pieces stamp set. Sentiment is from "Brighter Tomorrow" and brads are from the Stampin Up "Ice" collection.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Family Memories for Father's Day


The colors in this card look a little muddy in the scan ~ it's actually quite stunning IRL. Last weekend, Kelton and his dad built a sandcastle at the beach across from our rented house, and when I went looking to see what stamps I had that were suitable for a father's day card, this one just jumped right out at me.

CS is Barely Banana and Chocolate Chip along with white. Stamp set is Summer by the Sea (Stampin Up), and I embossed it in black before coloring it in with a watercolor pen and markers ~ barely banana, blush blossom, sahara sand, bordering blue, pumpkin pie, close to cocoa and chocolate chip. I colored the ribbon with my barely banana marker so it would match. "Family Memories" are two separate words from a set called Words of Expression ~ not sure who that one is made by.

I also tried making an envelope with my scor-pal for the first time ever, and it worked perfectly on the first try :) It's not shown here, but I used the same DP that I used on the card. I will most definitely be making my own envies from now on....it was so very quick and easy. Instructions for making an envelope for *any* size card are on the Scor-Pal website.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

My Little Guy is 4 Today

Oh my goodness, where does the time go? I can't believe our youngest (and last ~ sob!) is 4 years old today. We took him for photos, then to the zoo in Merida. He loved the rides and was amazed by the animals, especially the hippos. Kelton also got a pinata for his birthday, as per Mexican tradition. He chose his own, so it's Sponge Bob...not a character I approve of, but hey, he only turns 4 once.

The Bee Happy card was the second card I made for Kelton. First, I made a dragon card, very cute but.....Kelton got The Bee Movie this week and has been watching it over and over, so when I saw this card on www.susanbluerobot.blogspot.com, I just couldn't resist! Card is made with the Cricut Design Studio and George cartridge. "Kelton" is stamped with black staz on ink and a clear alphabet by All Night Media.

Happy Birthday, Kelton!