New Tag Tuesday Challenge ~ Theme is Strawberry

Happy Tuesday, folks!  I always look forward to the Tag Tuesday Challenge that Rebecca hosts over at the Blog Challenge Garden!  As you might know, making tags is one of my favorite things to do, and I love making them to use as note cards and greeting cards . . . I truly think tags are under-rated!  Anyway, I got up this morning, checked my email and facebook and then went to check out what this week's challenge might be, and immediately LOVED it!!!  The theme this week is Strawberry (or strawberries) and as soon as I saw that, I thought of an image I got from The Graphics Fairy website.   It's a kind of flash card, with a single strawberry and the number '51', and I love the vintage feel of the image.  So, here's my tag based on this week's theme . . .

I know, I know - the lace is covering up part of the tag, but I love the feel of the tag with the vintage lace!  Here's another copy of the tag with the lace pulled back . . .

Now, that's better!  Here are the details . . .

The Blueprint:  Create a tag with the theme of 'Strawberries'

The Supply List:

• One #5 manila tag (2 3/4" x 4 7/8")
• Movie themed paper from K&Company's Cut'N Paste Designer Paper Pad
• Clipart image from The Graphics Fairy - printed (2 copies) using computer, Picasa, and ink jet printer
• Sentiment 'many thanks' from SRM Stickers #51006 Thinking of You
• Sentiment 'You're So Sweet' printed using ink jet printer
• Stickles 'platinum'
• Ribbon and Lace from my stash
• Brown ink pad from Stampabilities
• Foam squares - can't remember brand

The Tools:

• Scissors
• Craft knife
• computer and ink jet printer
• ruler
• 1/4" hole punch

The Construction:

• Using a craft knife and the tag as a template, cut patterned paper to fit the tag
• Glue paper to the tag
• Punch hole in patterned paper
• Ink edges with brown ink pad
• Cut out strawberry image, back on scrap of cardstock and ink edges with brown ink
• Trim strawberry from the second copy of the image
• Using foam squares, place over the strawberry in the base image
• Glue image to the tag
• Print sentiment on white cardstock
• Cut out words and edge with brown ink
• Glue words to tag
• Place 'many thanks' sentiment onto bottom of tag
• Pull lace through hole in tag and tie in single knot
• Thread ribbon through the loop of lace and tie in a simple bow
• Add Stickles 'platinum' to edges of strawberry

And then you are done!  This came together very quickly (except for choosing which ribbon to use) and I really love it!  This will definitely make a sweet thank you note!

Thanks for visiting today!  Now I'm off to do some cleaning {sigh}!  You can't play in your studio ALL the time, though I definitely try!  Have a great day, and Blessings, friends!!!  Becky

Little Red Wagon Challenge #80 - Houses

This week's challenge over at Little Red Wagon is to feature a house, or houses, on your project.  As soon as I saw that I knew I wanted to use the Echo Park paper from the line 'life is good' called The Neighborhood.  The colors are great, there are tons of houses, and well, it's Echo Park . . . hello!  Anyway, here is my card for this week's challenge . . .

And here are all the details . . .

The Blueprint:  Create a card featuring a house or houses

The Supply List:

• Cardstock is from The Paper Studio
• Patterned paper is Echo Park ~ life is good ~ 'The Neighborhood'
• Gems are from Prima
• Brown ink is Stampabilities
• Sentiments are SRM Stickers
• corrugated cardboard
• Beacon 3 in 1 Advanced Craft Glue
• Glue Glider Pro and Perma Bond adhesive

The Tools:

• Cricut Expression and Walk In My Garden Cartridge
• Fiskars 'Apron Lace' Border Punch
• Rotary Cutter
• Scissors, Craft knife
• Glue Glider Pro

The Construction:

• Cut card base using Cricut Expression and Walk In My Garden cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Cut patterned paper using Cricut Expression and Walk In My Garden cartridge, card1 set at 5"
• Ink edges of patterned paper with brown ink pad
• Using Glue Glider Pro, adhere patterned paper to card base
• Using rotary cutter, cut piece of blue cardstock 5" x 3 1/2"
• Punch edges of blue cardstock using border punch.
• Using rotary cutter, cut piece of patterned paper the height of the houses by 5"
• Ink edges of strip of patterned paper with brown ink pad
• (Note:  So okay, I wanted to bump this up off the page a bit, and I'm almost out of foam dots and wanted to economize, so here's what I did!)
• Cut 2-3 strips of cardboard about 4" x 1 1/2" and glue to back side of blue cardstock
• Glue cardboard and cardstock to card base.
• Glue houses strip to cardstock
• Apply sentiment stickers
• Apply gems

And Voila!  You have a card!  You know, we crafters have to be 'crafty' and some times you just have to improvise as I did with the cardboard!  But it worked!  Thanks for visiting today!  Blessings friends, Becky

Daring Cardmakers ~ The Darlin Bugs of May!

It's time once again for the Daring Cardmakers 'dare' of the week.  The dare is to make a card that showcases bugs or insects, including (but not limited to) ladybugs, butterflies and dragonflies.  When I was looking for an image to use, I found this one that I really LOVE, and knew immediately what papers I would use with it!  And I have to say that I really LOVE this card!  Here is my take on this week's dare . . .

Here are all of the details . . .

The Blueprint:  Make a card featuring bugs, insects, etc.

The Supply List:

• Base Cardstock is from The Paper Studio Cardstock Stack 'dark'
• Green floral patterned paper is Graphic 45, Times Nouveau Collection 'Hey You'
• Yellow checked patterned paper is My Minds Eye, Stella and Rose Collection, Gertie "Friends Forever" Tapestry Paper
• Image is from clipart software
• Sentiment is from SRM Stickers 'Happy Birthday'
• Tattered Angels Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist
• EK Success Foam Dots
• Beacon 3 in 1 Advanced Craft Glue
• Stickles 'platinum'
• Jute twine is from my stash
• Singer Quilters Pin with butterfly head (see more below)

Tools:

• Cricut Expression and 'Walk In My Garden' cartridge
• Scissors
• Rotary cutter
• Glue Glider Pro from Glue Arts
• Craft Knife
• Computer and printer
• Fiskars 'Apron Lace' Border Punch

The Construction:

• Print image onto white cardstock using ink jet printer
• Cut card base on Cricut using Walk In My Garden cartridge, card2 set at 5"
• Cut green patterned paper on Cricut using Walk In My Garden cartridge, card1 set at 5", then adhere to base of card
• Cut yellow checked paper to 5" by 3 1/2"
• Punch edges of yellow checked paper with border punch then adhere to base of card
• Apply sentiment sticker to yellow patterned paper
• Trim image, mat on scrap of green cardstock
• Add foam dots to back of image and place on card
• Wrap jute twine around the card several times, then tie in a knot and trim ends
• Cut yellow butterfly from extra copy of the image
• Spray butterfly with Glimmer Mist and allow to dry
• Glue butterfly to twine
• Add Stickles 'platinum' to edges and body of butterfly
• Stick butterfly pin into the knot in the twine (see instructions for pin below)

Tips:

• For butterfly pin:  Use a quilters pin with a butterfly head.  They are by Singer and come in a box with 5 shapes (see picture below) one being a butterfly.  Coat butterfly with Stickles 'platinum' on all sides and stick into something so it will be upright to dry.  Coat as many times as necessary (usually 2-3) to get it fully covered, allowing to dry between each coat.

I know that sounds like a lot, but it's really not a long process at all!  I want to thank you for the comments I've received on my tutorials.  It's nice to know that your efforts are appreciated, so thank you!

Please come back soon!  I've been making some other cards, too, and hope to have them posted on here soon!  Blessings folks!  Becky

Unscripted Sketches # 106 - Artists Canvas Mixed Media Picture

Hello everyone, I'm back for this week's Unscripted Sketches challenge.  Sketch #106, for some reason, was hard for me to turn into a card, so I finally tried something I had been wanting to work on for a while - an artist canvas mixed media piece.   Here is my take on this week's sketch . . . . .

And here are all the details . . .

The blueprint:

The Supply List:

• 8" x 10" artists canvas (Walmart)
• Acrylic Paints, decoupage medium, foam brush and 1" flat brush all from my stash
• Green paper is My Minds Eye, Penny Lane, Feeling Groovy "Pure Joy" Happy Stripe Paper (reverse)
• Red pokla dotted paper is Echo Park, "For The Record by Bella Road", Table Cloth
• Image printed on ink jet printer from collage sheet purchased from Etsy Shop phenomenon1859.  The image is an old Mabel Lucie Attwell picture
• Scrap of fabric, twine and gems from my stash.
• Red grosgrain ribbon from my stash - saved from gift packaging

Tools:

• Ink Jet Printer and Computer
• Scissors, craft knife
• Rotary cutter
• Cricut Expression, A Child's Year Cartridge

Tips and Techniques:

• Paint canvas with 2-3 coats of white acrylic paint, allowing each to dry before applying next
• Print image from Picasa free photo editing software onto white cardstock
• Paint top 3/4 of canvas with 2 coats of blue paint, allowing to dry between coats
• Once all of the paint is dry, glue green patterned paper to canvas
• Paint with one coat of decoupage medium, place image while wet, then allow to dry completely
• Paint with another coat of decoupage medium, place lettering while wet, then allow to dry completely
• Paint with at least two more coats of decoupage medium, allowing to dry completely between coats
• Add gems with glue
• Add swatch of fabric and twine with glue
• Glue ribbon around the outer edge of the canvas using glue

I am really pleased with how this turned out, and think I will hang it on the wall in my 'laundry closet' to brighten my laundry days!  Don't be afraid to try new things, and use products meant for one type of craft in new and different ways, I think you will find lots of ways to use your papercrafting products.

Thank you so much for visiting, and for joining us at Unscripted Sketches this week!  Be back soon with another project.  Blessings, Becky

Daring Cardmakers . . . and playing catch-up!

This week's theme over at Daring Cardmakers is the flower for May, either the hawthorne or lily of the valley.  And I really LOVE lily of the valley, so you know that's what I went for!  We just got back from vacation, and yesterday after returning to work hubby asked me for a couple of cards.  One for a friend who is getting married this weekend, and another for the family of one of his customers.  The customer was in his home in Alabama when the storms hit a couple of weeks ago and he was killed.  So I got to work, and found images of lily of the valley that worked well for both.  And of course that means I have two cards to share with you, and they are very different - one from the other.

Here is the sympathy card . . .

The image is one I found on Flickr - you can find all kinds of vintage images, botanicals, greeting cards there if you are patient!  The green cardstock is Core-dinations for Jenni Bowlin and I sanded it a bit to show the lighter color underneath.  The ribbon has been in my stash for probably 10 years, and I finally found something it was made for!  The gem is a vintage brooch that I found at a yard sale ages ago.  I matted the image with light lavender and darker purple cardstock, and bumped it up with foam dots for dimension.  Here are a couple of close-up shots . . .

And my main card, the one I really LOVE, is for hubby's friend who is getting married this weekend.  He and hubby have worked together for many years, and he lost his wife a while back after a long and very tough struggle with cancer.  We really wish him much happiness as he moves on to his new life!  Here is my card . . .

The patterned paper is from a Making Memories 'English Garden' stack, the pink cardstock is a scrap of DCWV.  The green gems are from Prima eLine, and a touch of Stickles 'stardust' added a bit of shine to the flowers.  The silk flowers were in a bag I bought at a thrift store, the sentiment is from SRM Press, and the tiny bit of pink ribbon is from my stash.  Oh, and I used the Fiskars 'Apron Lace' border punch.  The image came from a digital collage sheet I bought from an Etsy Seller.  If you are interested, Maggie at phenomenon1895 is having a sale, and any five (5) collage sheets are only $3.00 - a great deal!  Just click on the link to see what she has in her shop.

And here are a few close-up shots of this card . . .

And one last card to share!  Right before we left for vacation I had so much to do!  When you go camping for a week, you have to try to remember to take EVERYTHING you will need.  I plan and pack everything except for hubby's clothes, and he does those; but everything else, I have to take care of.  And that includes the dogs, their food, etc. too!  So I was just so busy, but I really wanted to do the Daring Cardmakers challenge before we left.  The theme was 'royalty' in honor of the royal wedding and could cover any occasion as long as it had a 'royal' theme.  I found this really cute princess image and had some new papers from Prima Marketing that matched the image perfectly!  And, I got the card made, but there just wasn't time to get a post done and linked up to Daring Cardmakers before we left.  I wanted to share the card with you any way . . .

I love the little princess image, and the Prima paper matched it perfectly.  The sentiment is from SRM Press and the gems are from Prima eLine.

So, I guess that's all from me right now (and it really is plenty!) but I hope to be back soon.  Now that I have gotten all caught up, my posts and tutorials will be back to normal as well!  Take care, friends, and come back soon!  Blessings, Becky