K.I.S.S. plus one

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone has had a good weekend. Mine was okay...weather was nicer than expected so hubby put the battery in his Harley and rode most of the day yesterday. His body is telling him that he got REALLY out of shape this winter! *ROFL* Cordell and Devin went outside for a couple of hours for some fresh air - Devin walking, Cordell skateboarding. Aidan stayed in playing games, which meant that I had time to craft. But I didn't. Instead, I worked on adding pages to my blog and going through old posts here, getting them all labeled, and emptying out my e-mail boxes. It was long and tedious, but it's DONE!

Today's K.I.S.S. is a sympathy card for Chris' boss' family. They lost a 10 year old boy last week in an accidental shooting. I used Kraft cardstock, white ink, a white gel pen, and some TAC stamps ("Bless Your Heart"- level A hostess set & "Watercolor Plants").

I used the gel pen & a ruler going around the perimeter of the card, 1/4" in from all the edges.
Two of the flowers out of the set.
I used the gel pen again on the inside of the card, repeating the perimeter outline and I wrote the sentiment "Please accept our most heartfelt sympathies for your loss. Our thoughts are with your family during this difficult time."
Chris didn't like it...his old eyes can't see white on kraft, so it irritated him! I think the family will like it, though...the color combo, to me, is very soothing.

Now for the "plus one." This is a lovely free digital image from Nina B of "Crafting in Croatia." It reminded me of a Nikko blue hydrangea that I once had, so I downloaded and printed it last week. Got a chance on Friday to sit and color it up, then found the background paper from ProvoCraft in my stash, and a green velvet ribbon. Nina designed this in honor of her grandmother and I think it would make a lovely Mother's Day card.
Here's a close-up of the image. I cut it out with my large Classic Ovals Nestie & colored it with my COPIC markers. I did the centers with my buttermilk Atyou Spica glitter pen & used 3 jumbo half pearls from Recollections (a Michael's store brand).
That's it for me. I'm going to print off some digital images that I found the other day, let them dry while I'm having supper, and settle down with a DVD of Doctor Who and my COPICs for the evening. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

See anything new?

I'm in the process of adding PAGES to my blog. At the top of this main page, under the header, you'll see that I'm organizing things that may be of interest to you. I'll be doing this throughout the weekend, so don't be surprised if you pop in and notice that things have disappeared out of the sidebars or from below. If you're looking for something specific, it may be under one of those tabs.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Bad! Bad Blogger!!

I'm SO sorry!! I totally missed yesterday's K.I.S.S. post. I've got a FUNshop that I'm working for some ladies this week and I've been prepping for that. If I can squeeze something in tonight before bedtime, then I'll be back on here.

Finally! The Flower Tutorial

This is a LONG post with a lot of pictures. I wanted to be as detailed as possible because I know that the majority of crafters are visual creatures & want to see a step executed so they can recreate it on their own. I'm in the minority...I can look at something & mentally break it apart, then build it back. It's how I taught myself to tole paint. Never could watch others do "floating," I just looked at the effect I was supposed to achieve, then sat down and made myself do it. Same for the "one stroke" technique that Donna Dewberry made famous.

Anyway, I saw this particular flower on a blog about 3 weeks back now & made one in my spare time when I was stitching that large embroidery project. Remember this?I'd love to be able to link you all back to the blog I first saw this floral piece on, but I've spent the last week looking and can't find her. If you recognize who this might belong to, please let me know & I'll edit this post. For now, I'll show you how I've done MY version of this flower.

Step 1: Using ivory paper (NOT cardstock) print off some vintage sheet music, a wallpaper sample, a storybook page, or scan a dictionary page. I used the Print Wizard in Windows to get {4} 3.5"x5" prints on one page. The image was a freebie that I downloaded, I THINK, from The Graphic Fairy. For a funkier look you can print on both sides of your page. You could use an old book to punch up, but I'm not a big fan of tearing up my "friends" to make a craft. The ONLY way that I could tear up a book in good conscience is if it's nearly destroyed when I find it (of course, if you saw my 1905 hardcover edition of Helen Keller's "The Story of My Life" or my 1948 course textbook on Gregg shorthand, you'd call me a liar AND a sucker for old books. *LOL* I try very hard to save these "treasures" whenever possible.) I just prefer using scans - that's my story & I'm sticking to it!!
Step 2: Once you've got your print (you can make more, if you'd like), you need to get out your punches or, if you're lucky enough to have a set, your Nestabilities. I don't have any scalloped Nesties, so I'm using my scallop circle punches. I have a Marvy Giga Pink that cuts I believe a 2 1/2" circle, an EK Success 2", & one from The Paper Studio that measures 1 7/8". I'm going to use the largest punch. If you're going the Nestie route, pick one die in a size that appeals to you.
Step 3: Trim away the outside borders of the paper to bring you as close as possible to the printed image. This large punch and this printed size of 3.5x5 will yield you TWO PUNCHES per image. If you're using Nesties, you may need to cut the images apart, then layer as many as you can cut per pass through your die cutting machine of choice.
Step 4: Stack the circles together - use a MINIMUM of four layers. You're always welcome to use more. For this flower, I used all eight circles.
Step 5: Using either a hand-held punch OR a Crop-a-dile (for those with grip/strength issues), punch a small 1/8" hole in the center all the way through the bundle of circles.
Step 6: Separate all of the circles, then crumple up all of them EXCEPT for one (this will be your flower base).
Step 7: Grab your ink pad & sponge (or whatever you like to use for antiquing). Color does not matter - I've used black, Ranger's Walnut Stain, Tea Dye, Tattered Rose, & Mulled Lavendar. It depends on the effect you're wanting from your flower & how it will tie in to your project. I chose Vintage Photo for this one.
Step 8: Antique the "base" as little or as much as you'd like.
Step 9: Unfurl the layers you crumpled, without flattening them out entirely & using your applicator, put on your ink. I wanted mine "grungy" so I covered the every layer completely, but if you want a lighter look, you can do just the edges.
Step 10: Stack the layers together. Be deliberate about NOT LINING UP the scallops...the more disarrayed, the better for this flower. Using the smallest brad you can find, "pin" the layers together & open the brad on the back side. You'll have something that looks like this:
See how crumpling the layers gave it dimension? You COULD stop here, but c'mon...we're crafters! *LOL* We can't just STOP & leave it without doing that "something extra".....right? RIGHT!!
Step 11: One layer at a time, start curling the paper UP toward the center....
Every layer, except the last one - remember it's your flower base. Then, slowly, unfold each layer again, rolling the edges of the flower up or down (again, your preference), until the flower is completely open again.
Step 12: Drag out your button stash...the older the buttons, the better, in my opinion. I have my "big" antique buttons in this darling little onion jar I found at a thrift store for 50¢.
Setp 13: Pull out the buttons that look like they might coordinate with your flower or your project. Play with them. Place them in the center of your flower to see how they look.

I chose this one. I liked the texture in it...kinda looks like a slice of coal.

NOTE: If the button has a shank, be sure to use some flat-sided wire cutters & clip it as close to the button back as you can. If necessary, you can use sandpaper to file the "bumps" down a bit. If your button choice has holes, use Scrapper's Floss, twine, linen thread, hemp thread, or embroidery floss to tie through the holes for some added visual interest, like I did in the first photo at the beginning of this tutorial.
Step 14: Using a good glue, glue dots, or pop dots, adhere your button to the center of the flower.

Step 15: Put glue dots on the flower "base" and attach it to your project. The flower I made in this tutorial, ended up HERE.

Variations:
Using the 1 7/8" punch from The Paper Studio & the same size 3.5"x5" images, I was able to make 3 flowers with 4 layers in each flower.
Different centers...

I used a rose from Prima for the center of this flower instead of a button. I just flipped it over & twisted the wire that came on the rose to secure the flower, instead of a brad. I even restrained myself from antiquing the entire thing!
Don't be afraid to play around with what you've got hiding in your stash...Stickles, Liquid Pearls, half pearls, rhinestones. Dig through hubby's toolbox. How would a washer or a nut look? A glass flat-back marble? A seashell? Use your imagination...it's what we crafty types do best!

That's it! Hope you enjoyed my tutorial. One of these days, I'll figure out how to do a video of this, or find one of my men that can stand still for 20 minutes to lend me a hand doing the shooting while I do the talking! *LOL* Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

K.I.S.S.

I can hear some of you now..."this isn't SIMPLE!" Actually, yes, it is & it only took about 30 minutes to put together. I'll walk you through the steps...
(1) pre-made 5x7 black card base; (2) a/c foil tape (LOVE this stuff!!) - cut out {14} 1" squares with either your Nesties or a punch (I used my Nesties this go round); (3) emboss foil squares with Textile Texture Cuttlebug folder (or whatever you'd prefer); (4) peel off backing and place as evenly as possible around perimeter of the card; (5) take piece of black cardstock (about 3 1/2" square) & emboss in Cuttlebug with Impressabilities "flourish" (or a Cuttlebug folder of your choice); (6) mount square to center of card with foam tape; (7) take 1 1/2" square punch or Nestie & cut out piece of watercolor paper; (8) stamp image in navy ink (stamp used TAC's "watercolor plants"); (9) mount watercolor paper onto some powder blue cardstock & cut about 1/4" around the square; (10) mount onto black cardstock slightly off-center (toward the top) with pop dots; (11) emboss small strip of black cardstock with Cuttlebug border folder; (12) mount onto powder blue cardstock & cut 1/4" around to make matting; (13) using glue pen lightly go over letters & swirl of the embossing & cover with sterling MS glitter, let dry; (14) dust off excess glitter & center-mount to the bottom portion of the black embossed square.
Okay, so it's more than 4 steps, but it IS simple to do and the effect...well, just look at all of the TEXTURE (below).

I really like how it turned out & I hope you do too! Thanks for stopping by & have a fantastic evening! I'm off to fix myself some supper then polish up the last bits of this tutorial for you.

I learned a cool trick!

Last night, I was playing around with a technique that I picked up from Sherry Cheever of Spellbinders DT & longtime member of SCS. This trick with Nestabilities is absolutely AMAZING & when she first shared it during the Spellbinders Release party last month, I was in love. It appealed to the "Vintage Girly-Girl" in me SO MUCH!

For my project, I used Labels 1 (starting with the next to largest & chose 3 down from there), a vintage seed packet front out of my vast clip art collection (printed the same 3.5"x5" size, four times), some K&Co papers (PERFECT for the vintage look I wanted), my MS lacy edge border punch, & some pop dots. Here's the finished piece:
I'm so thrilled with how it turned out! And easy...just looking at it, you think, "Oh, I could NEVER do that!" You can and Sherry was sweet enough to show you how in a video tutorial. Here's a close-up of the layers. You can see them & get the general idea, but.....
they REALLY show up this way! I will definitely be using this technique again AND I'll remember to keep the cutouts, because Sherry shows us HERE how to use the technique in reverse for another totally cool effect!
Well, I still have to put together the K.I.S.S. post for today, so I've got to get moving. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Edited to add my challenge entries for this card:
Crafty Angels - what's your colour? - I love all colors, but blues (especially "antique-y" blues) & reds are my favorites
Lexi's Challenge #7 - spotted or striped - got spots in the floral paper on top & the stripes on bottom!
Pile it On #6 - let us see flowers - you got it!
Theme Thursday - flowers
Cute Card Thursday #99 - In the Name of Love - in the language of flowers, the red rose represents LOVE
Creative Craft Challenge #6 - Roses are Red - they are today! *LOL*
365 Cards - stacked up (at least 3 layers) - my second entry! There are the two background papers, the "belt," and FOUR layers of the focal point

Sharing a challenge card

Short post tonight because I'm still working on that flower-making tutorial AND planning out tomorrow's K.I.S.S. post. I have some challenges that I'm entering this card in & I thought you'd enjoy taking a peek at it. Base is an A2 card (white), background paper is from Prima, border strip is K&Co punched with the MS doily lace punch, pink pearls are from Basic Grey, and the focal point is....are you ready for this? Toilet paper! *ROFL* Yes, you read correctly...it's an embossing technique that I learned last summer...a form of paper casting that uses Cuttlebug folders. For this one I used "textile texture" & highlighted the embossing with my Tsukeniko chalk inks in pink, soft aqua, & jumbo java.

I want to give a special shout out to Linners - she's the one that mailed me the people paper last summer before we moved. It came NOT in a box, but wrapped very well in Cling Wrap & was completely undamaged in its travels from Georgia to Utah. My mailman thought we were BOTH nuts! *ROFL*

The challenges I'm entering this card in are:
Saturday Spotlight - use something from around your house - toilet paper
Colour Q Challenge #19 - regal rose, chocolate chip, blush blossom, close to cocoa, & white - pretty doggone close!
Creative Inspirations Challenge #47 - anyone for leftovers? - papers are scrap bits out of my stash boxes
Everybody-Art-Challenge #77 - Valentine - I was going for a vintage Valentine (it could also make a cool anniversary card!)
Fussy & Fancy Friday Challenge #4 - Dazzle us - pearls & hey...using t.p. would qualify as "dazzling" you with my creativity! *LOL*
365 Cards - stacked up (at least 3 layers) - background, lace strip, focal point, & pearls

Now I'm off to link this post to all of these challenges. It was fun to see how many of these I could manage with just one card. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

So what if....

the Indianapolis Colts had won the Super Bowl, you ask? Okay, so maybe YOU didn't ask, but someone DID ask that I share the blue and white project I had waiting in the wings for this last K.I.S.S. I mentioned on Sunday that I had a project in each team's colors for my K.I.S.S. project and was waiting for the final score. If Peyton had stayed in peak performance & had led his team to victory, my post would have included this:Very simple but very pretty. I used a distressed blue dotted paper from the Scrapbook/Craft section of King's (a local northern Utah store) that I picked up a couple of summers ago, a white heart paper doily, two blue silk flowers, and a half pearl. I really like how it turned out.

Now this darling image below is "Manga Boy" from Funky Kits, UK. Chris got him (& a few others) for me as an early Valentine's gift and in celebration of the Colts making it to the Super Bowl. I had stamped the image last week as soon as I had him mounted on cling cushion, but didn't get to "play" with him till last night. He's just OODLES of fun to color with my COPIC markers & I've got some ideas to change up his look a bit for future cards. You know, make him not so conservative or traditional and more....Manga. *LOL* Right now, he kinda looks like my scruffy-headed boys!This is another image that Chris got for me from Funky Kits. I just love Leanne Ellis & I've played with her artwork, with her permission, on here before. I'm entering this lovely in Frosted Designs "Valentine Challenge" because they want you to use ANYTHING BUT pink or red. This definitely qualifies! *LOL* I used a brown patterned background paper from MME, paper doily inked with Ranger Distress colors of Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, and Walnut Stain. I used a blending stump, a bit of water and the same inks to color the image. The hearts & wings are "sugared" with antique linen Distress Stickles.I have also had a request to show how I made that flower last week. Well, when I made one Sunday for the Saints card, I made sure I took pix of the steps I used to make them. I also made some in different sizes, as well. As soon as I have all the pictures watermarked, I'll post them for you.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

KISS - Super Bowl Edition

Yup! I'm doing a "themed" K.I.S.S. post tonight. I actually had two projects planned out for whoever won the game - one in blue and white, the other in black and gold. If you watched then you know that the "WHO DAT? NATION" now has their very first Super Bowl title. I was really hoping for a Colts win (love watching Peyton Manning in action), but an interception with a LOOONG return, followed by a couple of crummy calls ended it in a bad way for the Blue n White. I guess since Peyton's daddy, Archie, used to be QB for the Saints & does their commentary it's kind of a win-win. *LOL* Oh, well, anyway, there's always next year for the Colts...congrats to Drew Brees & the New Orleans Saints!

In honor of the Saints winning the game, my card is Black n Gold (okay really dark, creamy yellow, but you get the idea! *LOL*).

I used a 5x7 wheat pre-made base from K&Co, some "Vintage Vogue" paper from Graphic 45, black cardstock punched with my MS lacy border punch, my MS score board to do the embossing on the top half of the card...
...and the highlight of the card is that flower. It looks difficult, but it really wasn't and tomorrow, I'll share with you how I made it. Dig out your antique button stash, your Ranger Distress Inks, and get ready!
Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

More stitichin' projects

I made these yesterday while watching re-runs of "Bones." They went together so quickly that I had two done in just under an hour.I'm going to trim them into smaller squares, sew some cotton lace to them, & attach them to a natural colored tote. With the two that I made several days ago, the four of them will look very nice on it, I think.

Now what to do with this beauty....maybe get out some of my Graphic45 Vintage Vogue paper & play for a bit?
Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!