Thank You For the Shower Gift Card Set

Be sure to enter for my blog candy HERE.

I am so sorry that I haven’t posted anything new for so long. BAD BLOGGER!! I was just so busy with my photography class – which is going wonderfully—thanks for asking! I would recommend it to anyone who needs to brush up or learn about their SLR camera from scratch. And I can’t even begin to tell you how many hours I spent (20+ I guess??) on that mini album for the bridal shower but I got it done, all 22 or 24 pages of it.

Want to hear a bummer? The bride-to-be figured out the surprise and was there before me and a lot of other guests. Wanna know what the first page of the album was titled? “Surprize!” URGH!!! Nerts!! I will be sure and let you see all of the album as I fill in the photos. For now, here are a couple of cards I made her as thank you for her shower gifts. There were 8 in total, 3 red-based, 4 white-based and the lingerie card I showed in my last project post.

These are basically the same card, I dressed up the top of the white one because it looked too boring with plain white at the top. They make an awesome gift, especially in a nice clear box, matching cardstock box or one of Lauren’s Timeless Templates!

I have to admit, I wanted to use all riding hood red but I just couldn’t. I have so little left and I really love it! I just couldn’t use up most of my remaining sheets, especially as card bases. Now that I think about it, if I hadn’t been rushing, I could have used white bases and just cut the upper part only in red. I just didn’t have the time because I THOUGHT it was a surprise and I HAD to get there before the guest of honour so I wouldn't ruin the surprise. And I am ALWAYS late, not by much, just 5 or 10 minutes most times but if I had also gotten lost…  **SIGH** Sorry  about the photo of the white card, I should have used a coloured back drop but I was crazy rushing to get them done… It was white backdrop or no card picture! (BTW, the shower itself was really fun!)

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: SU! I think it is called Simply Said
Ink: riding hood red
Paper: SU! DSP, white, riding hood red, kiwi CS
Accessories: Cuttlebug textile embossing folder, Nestabilities Labels 1, foam dots-Jody Morrow, SU! oval punch

Pink Violets-Easy to Make Multiples

Nichole Heady asked a question on her blog: Do you make cards in multiples? I actually don’t very often and mostly for gifts, invitations or to sell. But it got me thinking, I remembered I had saved a card that would be perfect, super simple but very classy. So I CASEd it. Actually, I almost copied it! Different stamp and ribbon but otherwise pretty much the same. I don’t have a link but the card was by Angela Jones for There She Goes.

I used my Bow Easy to tie all of those little bows. All that tying lead to a Bow Tying Tutorial I hope you enjoy (or have enjoyed, I never know which order I am going to post in!) I’m afraid I can’t remember who makes this violet stamp but it was so close to the one I was CASE’ng I used it even though the card is pink, not purple. Yah know, violets and all? The original had sheer black  ribbon with white dots, I wish I had some of that. I also stamped the envelope, something I hardly ever do until it is time for mailing. I am toying with the idea of making a cool box or basket for them and either giving them as a gift or selling them. They do need one more element, the original had a sentiment stamped across the white panel just above the  black ribbon. If I sell/gift them, I guess I will just stamp popular sentiments on them.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: unknown
Ink: pretty in pink-SU!
Paper: pink CS-unknown, white, black CS-SU!
Accessories: ribbon-SU!

Whimsical Butterfly Card for Twinkling Tuesday

So sorry I’m late y’all! I was at a three-day convention all weekend so I was too tired to make this card yesterday for posting last night or this morning! I took Monday to just CHILL! But it is still technically Tuesday so I guess I am safe! Hee Hee!! :) This card was inspired by a doozy of a sketch by Jack, Madelynn’s little brother. But just wait ‘til the next 2 weeks, then the sketches get really intense! I enjoy a challenge, that’s for sure. I don’t even usually post the sketch in advance of showing you the card but this card requires the sketch to make sense! This sketch doesn’t look too hard at first but look again at all the details! Dots in each corner of the card and the stamped panel, tabs at the end of each ‘line’ and all of the stars at the bottom. Whew. Now in case anyone is wondering, I had a great time trying to think of what to do and loved using this sketch. It is just that my card is a wee bit busier than normal; I decided to use ALL of the details in this sketch, every last one! Well, OK, I didn’t use the crosshatching on the lower tabs…

I love how this sketch allowed me to show off this awesome DP! It really shows through the design. I was thinking about butterflies lately because of the Butterfly Project. Heard of it? The Holocaust Museum of Houston is creating an exhibit of 1.5 MILLION butterflies, one representing each child killed during the Holocaust. The exhibit opens 2012 and anyone is able to send in a butterfly (or more) to the exhibit. They can be of any medium, flat preferred, no glitter or food products, no larger than 8x10”. I hope I get to see this exhibit once it opens. Please consider making a butterfly or two (or more!) for this worthy project. Craft Critique is going to send a huge package of butterflies so if you wish, you can send yours to them by September 15th. You can also send them to the museum directly. If you wish to read more, click HERE. If you do make a butterfly, I’d love to see it so leave me the link here. No blog? Registration is free to upload to Splitcoast Stampers or Paper Craft Planet. This is a great project to do with your kids, I’m pretty sure construction paper would make awesome butterflies. Craft Critique has and I’m guessing will continue to have ideas for butterflies for both kids and adults. You could paint, sew, quilt, stencil, weave, punch, die cut, knit, sketch, crochet, scrap, stamp, cut, colour, photograph, collage, tole, pierce, paper piece, emboss, iris fold, embroider, cross-stitch, needlepoint, rug hook, dye, tat, batik or silk-screen your butterflies. ‘Nuf ideas??

The paper I used was from Basic Grey Phoebe, the flower cut out from another paper in the same pack. I punched the butterfly from a solid section of the flower paper and outlined it in marker to help it stand out. I used a larger pearl for the head and two smaller ones for the body. The ‘red’ dew drops aren’t really red but a deep, bright pink, matching much better IRL. Ditto for the butterfly within the sentiment; I stamped the image a second time on white cardstock and cut it out. I can’t remember where I got the eyelet brads but they used to be silver, I heated them with the heat gun and dipped them into my white embossing powder which makes it stick and heated again to melt the powder until smooth. I LOVE that technique! You don’t even need embossing ink. The more I worked on this card, the more it appeared whimsical, like I should have a faerie on it somewhere, thus the post’s title! The sentiment didn’t end up quite as dark as I would have preferred it and then I think the camera focused on the butterflies wings making the sentiment a wee bit blurry. In case you can’t read it, it says, “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly. –Richard Bach'”

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: Verve
Ink: Stazon brown, rose red
Paper: banana CS-SU!, Phoebe paper pack-Basic Grey, vellum-stash
Accessories: MS butterfly punch; flowers, sheer white ribbon, white EP, ‘eyelet’ brads -stash, Kaisercraft pearls, Dew Drops, foam dots-Jody Morrow, regal rose marker-SU!
Technique: use embossing powder to change embellishment’s colour

Masculine Gift Card Holder Tutorial

I needed a gift card holder for my son’s gymnastics coach. I’ve only seen him a few times as I usually drop Jameson off letting him go in by himself and he comes straight out to the car after. That way I don’t have to take the baby out of the car. It is hard to watch anyways because unless you lean against the glass and cup your hands around your eyes, the glare on the glass prevents you seeing into the gym. Which means watching the baby is impossible! But today I got to go in and take pictures in the last 10 minutes. Not enough time and Jameson refused to show me his best skill because he was scared. GRRR! Anyway, I figure this poor guy deserves something for trying to teach my ADD kid in an environment where he can run, jump and play! Almost impossible to keep him focused! So I bought him a Tim Horton’s (THE donut shop in Canada, there are a few in the US) gift card. I had so many choices of how to present it but could I be bothered to look up the tutorial for the style of gift card I chose? NO WAY! I am getting ready this week for a BBQ for 60 people this weekend so quick and easy was required. Once I get on to the computer, I can get lost for hours. So I came up with my own tutorial! I am going to share it with you here.

Gift Card or Gift Certificate Holder Tutorial
makes a 4.25x5.5” card

Step 1. Cut Cardstock 5.5x11”. Score at 4 1/4”, 5.5” then turn the paper 180 degrees (turn, not flip) and score again at 4.25. ( I have a Scor-Pal and 4.25” has its own channel so it is easier to turn it than figure out where to score again!) Fold with bone folder as shown below. Two valley folds and one mountain fold.

Step 2. Mark the width or length of your gift card/certificate on the mountain fold, centering it. Add 1/4” at each end. (Whether you use the length or width depends on which way you choose to put your gift card in. Either way will work.) Use your word window punch to punch the center of the mountain fold. Only insert the paper into the punch a bit less than half way. You will probably need to punch twice to cover the distance. Just line the punch up with the previous hole for the second punch. If you don’t have a word window punch, try using a 3/8” hole punch on each end, paper only inserted to bit less than the half way point of the circle, punch. Then connect the tops of the two circles with your paper cutter or a ruler and craft knife.

Step 3. Flip the cardstock over and apply adhesive to the fold as per the photo below. Do not remove the backing yet!

Step 4. If you wish to stamp directly on the front of the card, do so now.

Step 5. Remove the adhesive backing, close fold and finish the card front.

Now I have to explain something. I am totally creeped out by anything supernatural including vampires. I know there are a TON of you out there who are crazy for these books and movies. However, I am not. I only have this card because I was given it when I returned something. I didn’t notice what was on it until later and I didn’t notice which card I had picked out of my wallet until I looked back at these pictures. If I still had the gift card holder I would have changed it and if I knew how, I would blur it out. I apologize to anyone else who is a strict Christian like me.

Here’s the finished card. This is an AWESOME way to use up scraps. And so easy to make!

There is a foam dot under the chocolate circle at the top and the ‘graph’ paper at the bottom. I used the second and third from the smallest of Nesties large and small circle dies and my SU! 1” punch. Here’s a tip. My paper was double-sided so I placed the pieces side by side on my Cuttlebug plate. I put one of the circles I had chosen on each paper and one underneath each paper. Make sense? Two on top and two below. I cut 4 circles in one pass!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: rough edges wheel, letterpress alphabet, everyday phrases
Ink: Java (scented ink)-Ranger, bordering blue
Paper: bordering blue, vanilla and chocolate CS, DSP (actually only two pieces of double-sided paper)
Accessories: Nestabilities circles, chocolate eyelets-CTMH, foam tape-dollar store. All products by SU! unless otherwise noted.

Mini Shaped CAS Card

Another quick and easy little card. This measures a bit less than 4x4” I think. It is the largest of the Label 1 Nestabilities dies.  Instead of cutting a full layer of the stripes and then cutting it to size, I marked the die with permanent marker and lined up my paper cutting only the piece I needed. Saves paper, right?!

I used Eclipse tape to hold the die and paper to my Cuttlebug plates so they wouldn’t shift. For beginners info, Eclipse tape is basically a roll of paper with repositionable adhesive used for masking; it comes in several widths. That way you don’t have to use repositionable adhesive or press normal tape to your pants or carpet to get fuzz stuck to it reducing it’s stickiness. The problem with repositionable tape is that it can transfer from the surface you adhere it to and get on your final work. I was making a one-layered card with lots of masking; I added repositionable adhesive to the mask. As I brayered over my mask, the adhesive transferred to my card. I tried to remove it but I couldn’t find my adhesive eraser and so the card ended up in the round file :(  I haven’t tried Eclipse tape for this but I hear it works. Normal tape isn’t too bad for holding paper and a die in the Cuttlebug but if you misjudge how much fuzz you need, your tape can be too sticky and can tear your paper. And of course, it simply doesn’t work for masking. Eclipse tape does both!! For a tutorial teaching you how I made the shaped card, Click HERE.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: grateful
Ink: pretty in pink
Paper: white, pretty in pink CS, stripes
Accessories: pretty in pink ribbon, MS butterfly punch. All products by SU! unless otherwise noted.