Fabulous Foiling!

Yes, I am obsessed with foil. I didn’t do a lot of foiling when it first became big because I didn’t have the right tools (including access to a laser printer for printing and foiling).

But my discovery of therm-o-web‘s wide selection of foiling capabilities rocked my world! And I’ve been foil crazy since then.

I started my experimenting by using my Fiskars XOXO punch (see here for more on this punch. My first experiment was to use the punch on  ToW’s adhesive foam. (The adhesive was a tad thick for the punch, but I managed to not mangle it too badly. My foiling was not perfectly smooth, but that’s ok!)

The background was made using Magenta‘s Nuance, a water-soluble powdered coloring agent (similar to Brusho, Ken Oliver’s Color Burst, Cosmo Cricket’s Pixie Paints, etc.) The butterflies were cut from a wonderful new Donna Salazar/Spellbinders die, Cascading Butterflies, then stamped and inked with Ranger Distress Inks (Fossilized Amber, Abandoned Coral, Peacock Feathers, Shabby Shutters). A light mist of Ranger Perfect Pearls gives them a subtle sheen (hard to see here.)

My favorite so far is therm-o-web’s self-adhesive toner sheets. For this card, I first die cut the Stampin’ Up Rose Garden from the toner sheet, then foiled it (using ToW’s iCraft® foils and a Royal Sovereign laminator.) I cut the leaves off and foiled them separately.

(sentiment by Kaisercraft, gold embossed. Black panel cut using a Spellbinders’ Cele’bration pierced rectangle die)

Never one to toss out a scrap, I used the leftover sheet (the negative left after foiling the rose die) to create this:

(Sentiment by Technique Tuesday).

I’m obsessed, so there are more foiled projects to come! 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 — Bella Blvd Beauties

Been havin’ fun this week with some new papers from Bella Blvd.

I love the bright, happy colors of the collection, which includes Tiny Tots, Hello Autumn, Halloween Magic and Christmas Cheer.

Here are two from Tiny Tots:

And two quick cards (I do more card making than scrapbooking!)

I cut two of the papers to fit this card front and covered the seam with a piece of ribbon from Maya Road. Sending Smiles (Hero Arts) was stamped in Hero Arts Cup O’ Joe brown ink on a scrap, cut and edged with Distress Vintage Photo. It was mounted on foam squares. Yellow Kaisercraft pearls were added.

Another fast and easy card:

First, I stamped Hero Arts‘ Dots and Stripes border using Close To My Heart Cranberry ink. Then I cut the bottom piece  from this card stock:

… and covered the seam with a border from the set. 

Stay tuned for some fun Halloween and Christmas treats!

Fun, Frilly Valentines

These Valentines are a bit of a departure for me. They started because I love the paper (from Basic Grey’s Out of Print collection) and was eager to use it.

Because these are two-sided papers, I cut a piece about a quarter of an inch larger than the normal front of my A2 card. I scored the top, then attached the small scored part to the back of a flat card. The hearts (Hero Arts) were embossed with American Crafts’ Zing Blush, Ranger Antique Claret, Ranger Antique Verdigris. Sentiment from Inkadinkado. Because the ribbon is so sheer I ran it through my Baby Xyron for adhesive.

Paper, sentiment, ribbon all from the vendors above. The chipboard butterfly is from my stash. I rubbed it Viva Décor Inca Gold (I love these creamy colorants) in Rose Quartz and Inca Gold (the only two colors I have. I think I need more.) I stamped the butterfly with a text background (Hero Arts) and added a few pearls. It’s a little hard to see, but I dotted the centers of the lace flowers with Viva Silver Pearl Pen.

Thanks for stopping by!

Last Set … Butterflies

Here’s the last of my card sets, and maybe my favorite. These cards are so fast and easy and I used up a lot of my scraps! This project is also great when you need something to do while watching TV — I take a big stack of scraps, a few punches, and punch away during the commercials.

Pretty self-explanatory here … I ran the top paper through a Cuttlebug embossing folder (using my Sizzix Big Shot), layered it on cardstock, and added the butterflies (punch is from Martha Stewart/EK Success.) I added small dots of Ranger’s Opal dimensional paint and/or Stickles.

Have a great weekend!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Easy Cardmaking

In a rush? Have a card emergency? David Tutera (working with Core’dinations) has come to the rescue, making it easy for anyone — even non-stampers — to make several cards in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

The collection is a great introduction for beginning crafters, but experienced cardmakers will find it easy to turn it up a notch. There are three basic steps: Pick your card base, add a layer, and finish with a sentiment and embellishments. Stampers, of course, can add a stamped sentiment or embellishment. Don’t forget to stamp the envelope!

Here are a few samples:

(I chose a pearly card base and distressed the butterfly to show off the colored core of the Core’dinations distressable stock. See the stamped envelope peeking out from behind? Butterflies (Hero Arts) stamped using a Kaleidacolor Tahiti rainbow pad from Tsukineko, now known as Imagine Crafts.)

(oops! I used a Tombow Multi Purpose glue pen to attach the top layer but got a splotch on the bottom part of the card. I covered it with this felt self-adhesive trim from Queen & Co.)

I added some text stamping (Hero Arts 5344) to the butterfly on this one. Here’s a close-up:

(Ignore the speck of glitter … from another project … that I neglected to remove before taking the photo!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Get the Sunglasses…More Neon

Remember when I said I wasn’t all that into neon colors when they first came out? Can you say … now happily addicted?

Here are some more neon samples (see my post from last Friday for more). All neon inks are from Hero Arts.

This one was so fast and easy I’m almost embarrassed:

All the stamps are from Close to My Heart. I love this set! (You can’t see it very well, but there are shadow images behind the outline,  giving a bit of depth to the leaves and the flowers.) The frame was embossed in Zing! Neon Green powder from American Crafts.

This tag was cut using my Cricut; the neon  butterflies are from Prima and Layers of Color; the neon dragonfly and the white embossed butterfly are from Inkadinkado.

And here’s one that almost didn’t work out:

The beautiful image is from Stampendous! and was black embossed. Then I tried to use one of my favorite inking tricks to color in the flowers — smooshing the ink pad directly on my Ranger Craft Sheet, then picking up the color with my water brush pen. For some reason, this didn’t work very well. The ink just stained my brush and wouldn’t brush on nicely. So I wound up using neon highlighter pens to color in the flowers!

Thansk for sticking around! And don’t be surprised if there are more….

Fabulous Finds Friday — Easy Stamping!

I found the perfect way to entice my non-crafty friends into stamping! Hero Arts has a new line called Add Your Message. This might not sound very exciting to all you experienced stampers, but to me, this line is the perfect way to show non-stamping friends how easy and satisfying it is to use a rubber stamp. Talk about enabling!

Check it out:

These pre-printed sets include 12 colorful cards, envelopes and four wood mounted sentiment stamps. How easy can it get? Besides the butterflies above and the Paris set below, designs include flowers, stripes and more.

Hero Arts has some other great new products, including Frame Cuts — cutting dies made by Sizzix to coordinate with Hero Arts images. What I love about these sets is that the dies are labeled so you know exactly which stamps match the shapes.

There are also more Stamp & Emboss sets, more die/stamp combos and new Mid-Tone Shadow inks that are a touch brighter than the existing Shadow Inks. I’ll share more later, when I’ve had a chance to test out these products.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Punch It Out!

I love punches because they make it so easy to create multiple shapes … and because you can use up a lot of scraps with punches. But wait … there’s more! I also love flowers. So imagine my joy when I found these punches from EK Success:

The two longer punches create oh-so-easy flowers. Simply punch a long border, roll the “petals” around a straw or pencil, and wha-la — instant floral:

The pink flower would have been fuller had I used two pieces of 12-inch paper, but I was too impatient so I just used smaller scraps. To make a fuller flower, use two strips, each one 10-12 inches. Before rolling the flowers, offset the papers so the petals don’t directly overlap. Glue the bottom, then gently curl the petals outward.

Here’s a closer look:

Not feeling floral? Leave the punched out strip flat and make a pretty border.

The third punch is such fun — it makes your butterflies ready to take flight by punching three — count ’em, three! — butterfly shapes with slightly different designs so you can layer them:

Simply move the button to the design you want. Here are some samples (again, diggin’ into the ol’ scrap basket):

Another thing I love about these punches is that they lock in the down position, making them uber easy to store.

Thanks for swinging by, and thanks to EK Success for sending these punches for me to try.