Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Florentine Card ~ You make me smile

Here’s a little card I made for a team swap that I participated in last night.  It’s using the Art Philosophy Cartridge on my Cricut Expression.  There was a little technique to matting the flower and the label.  Through the settings on my Expression, I changed my Cricut over to cut in 0.1” increments instead of 0.25”.  This allowed me to cut the label background at 1.4” and the flower  background at 2.90” which is only 0.15” larger than the cut in front of it.    This is a great way to make a shadow since we don’t have that feature on our cartridge. 

P1040082

Here’s my cut recipe:
Daisy in Colonial White  2”, 2.75”
Label tag in Colonial White 1.25”
Butterfly in  Garden Green 1.25”
Now with the settings at 0.1” increments
In Twilight B&T label 1.40” & daisy 2.90”
Card is an A2 4.25 x 5.5.”

I also used Brown Button Collection & the Seam Binding Ribbon which I dyed with Goldrush ink from my inkpad.  When you do this, be sure to let your ribbon dry thoroughly or heat it with an embossing heater or hair dryer so it doesn’t bleed. 

Friday, May 25, 2012

A One Stamp Wonder

Create a finished card in a minute with the new series of single-image A-size My Acrylix® stamp sets from Close To My Heart. Use them for quick scrapbook layout titles or easy, one-step cardmaking. Each one is designed to complete your project with a single stamp, and at just $6.95 each, these stamps are super affordable!

June is Stampaganza.  Buy 2 stamp sets, get one free!  It’s a perfect time to get these stamps! 

Click here to shop for these stamps and more!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

This Friday’s Card Workshop ~ Victory for Guys & Dads

Come join us Friday night @ 6:30 to make a set of these cards!

Everything’s cut & ready for you to assemble. 

Collages

You pick the greeting ~   General, Birthday or Father’s Day!  Cost is $8 or just $3 with a $35 order placed that evening.  Please RSVP by Thursday, 5/24.  425-350-6879 or email me so I can have supplies for you & give you directions!  Mary F has kindly offered her home for this month’s workshop.

Can’t make it & want to buy the card kit?  
Kits are available for $12 shipped.  Items will be cut, stamped and ready for you to assemble.  Payment by PayPal preferred. 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Mother’s Day Card

Last week’s Fun & Fabulous card workshop was a hit!  This card was the highlight of the evening.  And how great it was to send several girlfriends home with Mother’s Day cards before the end of April! 
If you’re interested in my workshop kit for all 4 of last week’s cards, I will gladly put one together for you.  It will be $10 with stamped images, $8 if you already have the stamps.  I’ll be featuring the other cards in upcoming posts.  
April Workshop 1a
Have you ever heard of Pinterest?  I have to mention it because I’m pretty sure that’s where I first saw this card.  CTMH sister Pam Klassen originally designed it as a Valentine and featured it on her blog. 
It’s an easel card which means that folds flat for mailing but stands up on it’s own for display.  That cute little daisy in the middle of the card isn’t just there to look cute.  It’s holding the whole card up! 
P1040040
Every bit of this card was cut on the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge that is exclusive to Close to My Heart.  It’s just fabulous.  The paper is from the Lucy paper pack.  The flowers & butterfly are from the Lucy Workshop on the Go.  (Get this set now or never—they will only be available through July 31st and won’t be in the next Idea Book.)  Happy Mother’s Day is from “Say It in Style.”  I think these are my two most used stamp sets I ever owned.  Say it in Style was the first one I ever purchased about 3 years ago and it’s still my go to.  And better yet, it’s still available.
I don’t know what sizes Pam cut her card at on the Cricut but here’s my recipe:
Updating to show page numbers.  All cut from Art Philosophy (because that's all that was available)

  • Scalloped Card 5.25” in Colonial White Row 2, Button 3 (CARD feature)
  • Lace Heart (last button on keypad) 4.75” in Lucy Shift Row 5, Button 10 (Font Layer)
  • Scalloped Square 4.75 in Lucy (Either 1/2 of a card or the scalloped square  (Row 2 Button 3)
  • Heart (behind lace one) 3.75” in Blush  Shift Row 1, Button 6 
  • 3 Daisies 1.25” in Colonial White Shift Row 1, Button 9
  • 1 Butterfly 0.75” in Colonial White Shift Row 3, Button 1

To make the card an easel, you add a second fold to the card front that’s parallel to the original one right in the middle of the front of the card.  (see second picture)  Then you’ll only adhere the lower half of the heart to the card so the top half of the heart will stick up.
For more info on easel cards see this tutorial called "4x4 Easel Card" by Penny Wessenauer.  There's 3-4 sheets of info.  The top of the card can be any shape, just as long as it’s not bigger than the base.   
Notice the bit of stitching around the edge?  Before adhering it down to the inside of the card, I used the pink scalloped square.  I held it down and followed its edge with my piercing tool.
Inks were
Blush & Cotton Candy for the flowers with Crème Brulee as the center
Sweet Leave with Topiary sponged on the bottom butterfly wings of the stamp
Grey Wool for the sentiment. 

Hope you’re inspired for a Mother’s Day card!  It’s just 11 days away.

UPDATE:  here's some little images you can use as stickers for the back of your cards so the recipient knows how to open and display the easel card. They were created by Penny Wessenauer who has shared tons of tutorials via her Photobucket Albums.  I'm looking forward to creating more of her projects and posting them here.  
Go here to download or print. (They'll print pretty nicely directly from the browser window