Tags, Tags, Tags!

Happy New Year! I spent a fruitful week before Christmas finishing up some gift boxes to deliver to friends and co-workers. One of my most relaxing projects was creating these easy watercolor tags:

These were so fun and easy! First, I splashed watercolors on some scrap watercolor paper using various paints, including handmade colors from Pfeiffer Art Supply.  While those were drying, I punched a bunch of tags using a Fiskars tag punch (with built-in eyelet setter!) and painted swooshes of watercolor.

I die cut cut some birds (unknown die … one of the first dies I ever used)  from that painted watercolor scrap. Because the die did not come with a bird wing, I created wings by using a leaf die that was the right size! The stamped birds (old Hero Arts Decorative Birds set and a Claudia Rose flamingo) were white embossed.

Here’s another look:

(The larger bird is Tim Holtz’s Caged Bird Sizzix Alterations die.) sitting on a double stitched oval die from Gina K. Designs.

Such fun to make, and happily received.

Here’s to a happy, healthy new year with many creative opportunities ahead. Thanks for stopping by.

 

Fast & Easy Layered Card

Who can resist a card that is fast and easy to make, and uses up some scraps? Heck, not me.

Stamp set is Hero Arts Color Layering Bird CL866. For the blue flowers in the background, I stamped the first layer with Hero Arts’ Unicorn white pigment ink, then over-stamped with ColorBox Stephanie Barnard blueberry blue die ink.

Tip: When I stamped the blue layer on top of the white, the stamp picked up a bit of the white pigment. To prevent the white from contaminating my pretty blue pad, I off-stamped it before re-inking with the blue. I started off-stamping on scrap paper, then saw how pretty it looked, so went for scrap card stock and created some tags:

Fun, huh?

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Random Craftiness

Here are some bits and pieces of crafty news:

Let’s give a warm welcome back to Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. Prickley Pear, which opened in 2003 by Nicole LaCour and closed last August, is back with new owners but the same fun, whimsical designs.

Tanya Doner-Kostynuk, owner of Riley & Company and Cornish Heritage Farms stamps, and Sue Helm are the proud new parents.

With nearly 900 products in 36 categories, Prickley Pear boasts a large assortment of vintage designs, many of which remind me of the cards my grandmother used to send me! Stamps come in clear polymer or red rubber and there are many matching dies.

Here’s a card I put together very quickly, using just scraps that were on my desk, and the birdcage stamp and die set:

I die cut the bird and cage from some card stock that I think was made using Ranger Distress stains and/or sprays. The butterflies were from punches, the sequins from Doodlebug Designs and the cool background is the Art Deco Texture Plate from Spellbinders.

It’s great to have Prickley Pear back!

. . . . . . . .

If you love fabric and you love vintage, take a look at 7gypsies‘ new Gypsy Seamstress line here and here, which  brings together the look of old fabric prints, quilt-like bunting shapes and gypsy style printed banners.

Aren’t these yummy: 

The collection includes banner making surfaces, totes and an apron.  Besides adding lace, fabric, charms and other bits and baubles, you can color them with  markers, acrylic paint, watercolor, glimmer mist, ink, etc. 7gypsies is part of the Canvas Corp Brands. 

. . . . . . . .

WOW! Embossing Powder (www.wowembossingpowder.com) has come out with its own embossing “mixing” jars so you can create custom-made embossing powders. Why, you ask, do you need to buy a special jar? (Well, that’s what I would ask …) Because these jars are treated with an anti-static material on the inside so your powders don’t cling to the sides. They also have a label so you can jot down your mixology notes. Check out the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDAm7lU_SCE

If nothing else, check out the website for lots of embossing facts and to see the company’s wide range of powders and more. You’ll say “Wow!”

Thanks for stopping by for this little craft update.

 

Fabulous Finds Friday — Elizabeth Craft’s Soft Finish Paper

Paper artists are a tactile bunch and Elizabeth Craft Designs has given us something worthwhile to touch in — the new Soft Finish Cardstock. I mentioned this product on my blog here, but finally had a chance to play with it. And it is, indeed, lovely!

The paper, which comes in two weights, is almost velvety to touch with just a dash of texture. It’s not as heavy as most watercolor papers, but I found it held up nicely to various coloring techniques, including watery applications.

For example….

  

Here are four pieces of the card stock that I abused with Distress Inks, sprays, water, etc. (The trio on the left is the lighter 85 lb. weight, the blue/green piece is 100 lb.)

For the first pink piece on the left I smooshed Distress inks (Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves and Tumbled Glass) on my craft sheet, spritzed with water, then pushed my card through the inks. (I used the textured side of the card stock.) I heated it, then filled in some blanks with more color. The second pink piece was created with the left over pools of ink.

Here’s one finished card:

The dies are from Elizabeth Craft, the sequins from Lawn Fawn. The purple card stock is a discontinued Paper Source line.

The bright yellow/green piece below was created using Distress sprays (Marmalade, Broken China and a spritz of metallic Bronze). I was impressed at how well the paper held up. And here’s the card:

The Tim Holtz crazy bird was stamped and black embossed on the smooth side of the card stock, then colored in with Faber-Castell PITT Big markers scribbled on a craft sheet and applied with a water brush. The bird was fussy cut and mounted with a piece of fun foam (adhered with ScraPerfect’s The Best Glue Ever). The circle (Hero Arts) was stamped in grey and Hello! (Tim Holtz Bird Crazy) in black. I also added a few clear dots of Liquid Glass from Close to My Heart for a bit more subtle dimension:

By the way, the Soft Finish paper also cuts like a dream:

I used some of the leftover pieces for these great kimonos (Elizabeth Craft Designs).

I’ll have another card made with the same papers in the next post — a Halloween card.

Thanks for tuning in!

Fabulous Finds Friday: Chevron Punch

Chevrons are still oh-so-trendy, so imagine my delight with this new *chevron punch from Stampin’ Up!

Check out this quick card that highlights the punch design:

(The sentiment is from Stampin’ Up!‘s Wonderful Words set and the darling bird is part of Besty’s Blossoms. The bird was embossed using American Crafts’ Zing lavender. The pretty branch is a die from Penny Black, and it was the perfect fit here.)

There’s an added bonus with this punch — the punched out pieces create another chevron!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend.

*See disclaimer.

Two Bright Cards

Here are two fun, bright cards (also fast and easy!):

Isn’t she sassy? She’s from Loralei Designs. The words are from Hero Arts. The bright paper is an old one from Paper Source.

The bird and sentiment are also from Hero Arts. Both images colored using watercolor pencils, one of my favorite mediums.

Have a great week!

Fabulous Finds Friday … At the Craft & Hobby Show

I survived the Create-n-Connect trade show put on by the Craft & Hobby Association, but I’m sure by now you have seen lots of other videos and reports directly from the show floor. My report will be coming soon on the Crafts ‘n things Web site (Aug. 9 and Aug. 12).

Needless to say, there are fabulous new stamps and dies and tools to be seen and lusted after! I’ll be spotlighting many of them within the next few weeks.

In the meantime, here’s a fun card made using an M-BossibilitiesTM embossing folder from Spellbinders:

The pretty shiny paper is from Core’dinations Gemstone pack that I ran through the embossing folder, then distressed the edges. The punch is from EK Success. I ran it through my Xyron Sticker Maker to get a nice, even adhesive with no muss.

Here’s a detail shot:

The bird is from Hampton Arts, the sentiment from Hero Arts, and the tiny metallic hot-fix embellishments are from Imaginisce.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A Valentine, from me to you:

(BasicGrey paper and sentiment; Hero Arts bird; Stampendous! border; Ranger’s Stickles Glam Pink and Crystal; Martha Stewart punch)

Have a sweet day! And thanks for stopping by.

New Year’s Card and a quick Fabulous Find

Heavens! I believe this is my first post in the new year. Happy New Year everyone!

Since I was, ahem, a little late with some of my holiday cards, I covered nicely by sending out a few New Year’s cards, which was actually kind of fun. Here is a random card I dressed up for New Year’s:

(Argh, what a blurry picture! I don’t drink, so I don’t know what my excuse is!! I did, however, shoot this photo on New Year’s Day.)

Bird stamp by Martha Stewart; background done with various shimmer mists; bird painted with Twinkling H2Os.

And my Fabulous Find for this Friday is this lip-smacking packet from BasicGrey called Kissing Booth:

Doesn’t it just scream Valentine’s Day? I’ve already cut up a few pieces and will have some cards next week.

Thanks for stopping by… and here’s to a happy, healthy new year!

Holiday Packaging

Everyone is busy making holiday cards (uh….I better get right on that) but lately I’ve been obsessed with recycling empty boxes to make gift bags.

It all started when the wrapping fell off this box of matzoh (a dry cracker-like thing eaten during Passover. An acquired taste. And YES, this box is from Passover, which was in April. Yes, it has been sitting in my studio since then. Hidden from my husband. Don’t judge me, grin.)

Well, as you can see, underneath is a plain, perfectly shaped box, just BEGGING to be decorated:

Really, how could I just toss it away? And since we eat a lot of matzoh during Passover, I had a lot of boxes. Here are some of the results:

(Covered with an old Cavallini calendar from Paper Source). Here is the other side of the box:

I punched holes in two sides and threaded ribbon as a handles.

Still in bird mode, I also used an old calendar for this one:

The next box uses green gift wrap paper. I tore huge chuncks of the paper and glued it, collage style, all over the box.

The NOEL lettering is from a Brenda Walton Chipbox collection (by K&Company).

I have a few more to post later. (I told you I became obsessed with these!)

Thanks for coming by! What have you recylced lately?