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Ever since Stampin' Up! released MDS, I have been hoping they would eventually release Bella Rose as a digital designer series paper. Well, that day has finally arrived. WooHoo! I know it may sound a little silly, but I loved this DSP and was so sad to see it retired. Now I have access to for all my digital and digital hybrid projects.
Visit my on-line store to see all of today's new digital releases...including Bella Rose DSP!
I have been too distracted over the past few days to really sit down and stamp anything worth posting. So I thought I would share with you the tag and card that I had published in CARDS Magazine a few months ago. I know many of you have asked me where you can get CARDS Magazine. I have found them at several craft stores, but you can also visit their website at www.northridgepublishing.com for subscription info.
This tag was the first thing I have ever sent in for consideration and I was floored when they said they wanted to publish it in the February issue. Since I had never even attempted to be published before, I decided to start small and work my nerve up for bigger and better things. I am amazed by the incredible quality of the photographs in this magazine. This tag was fairly simple, but the felt heart did require some hand-stitching. Basically everything is Stampin' Up! except the tag die (Sizzix) and the pink felt. It has been quite some time since I made this, so please forgive me if I don't give many details.
This was the first card that I have ever had published (CARDS, March 2011). I knew the minute I finished it that it would either be an Artisan Award entry or a magazine submission. Obviously I decided to go with submitting it to a magazine. I started with a Pretty in Pink Card Base and layered on another piece that I had run through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I rubbed the embossed image with Whisper White craft ink to give it a more vintage look. I cut some Pretty in Pink DSP with the Blossom Party die and spritzed it with a mixture of Frost White Shimmer Paint and rubbing alcohol. You can click on either picture for a closer look.
It may seem a little too early for an Autumn-style card, but the truth is that I made this card last Fall and I am just now sharing it. I held on to it thinking that I might use it as one of my Artisan Award entries this year. But in the end, I had some last minute inspiration, so I decided to set this one aside for another day. With the new catalog just around the corner, I thought I had better post it before everything about it was obselete. Almost everything about this card is self-explanatory, but I know many of you are wondering about the flower center, so I will focus on it.
I turned a black button over, added pearls, then painted it with Stazon Jet Black refill ink and a disposable brush. Pretty simple actually, but it can be messy, so I highly suggest you put on a pair of disposable gloves and work on a protected surface.
That's all for now. Have a wonderful weekend.
I don't know how it is for everyone else, but for me life starts to go crazy about this time of year and continues to build until the end of July. Somewhere in all of this madness I try to find time to post to my blog and get swaps/gifts ready for convention. It's not that I am not stamping or creating, it is just that I am working on projects that I can't share with you at the moment. Bearing that in mind, sometimes I get started on a card and then run into some type of roadblock. That is exactly what happened with this card. It was 95% complete, but it needed just the right sentiment. So I plopped it into the "finish another day" box over six months ago. I finally pulled it out and completed it yesterday. It's really wonderful when I can take five minutes and end up with a great card.
This card uses Elegant Soiree DSP; Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, and Chocolate Chip card stock; and the Just Believe & Perfect Punches stamp sets. I dyed each crocheted flower with different strenghts of Baja Breeze reinker and water so they each had a slightly different intensity. After they dried completely, I attached them to the card with glue dots and placed buttons in the centers with mini glue dots.
See you soon.
Medallions have been popular in the paper crafting world for a few years now, but when I recently went to the craft store, I found that now they are really BIG. Big as in size that is. What I couldn't believe is how expensive they are if you purchase them pre-made. So as ususal I said to myself, "I can do that". So when I got an invitation to a close friends' birthday party, I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to create this fun jumbo medallion. I haven't decided exactly how I will use it, maybe on her gift bag. There are a lot of possibilities.
These also fit perfectly with the birthday theme over a Stamping Celebration this week, so I thought I would enter this into the challenge as well. Would you like to make one of these too? Well, it is really simple. You will need the following tools: Computer & Color Printer, My Digital Studio software, a Big Shot Machine, the Clear Circle die (#114533), the Scallop Circle die (#113468), hot glue gun, and a scoring tool.
First, you will need to select the image(s) for the medallion center. I used the Happy Birthday from the Engraved Greeting digital download and the Dotted Circle from Enjoy Every Moment. I resized the images to fit inside a 3.75" Circle with an little extra room for cutting. Print a set of two centers (my medallion is double-sided) on white card stock. This is the image I used on the back. It's from the Punch Bunch Digital CD that I recieved during Sell-a-bration. Now center the image inside the center of the Clear Circle die. (TIP: the image will shift slightly when you die cut, so center the image perfectly from left to right, but slightly higher toward the top of the die to allow for the drag of the die cut machine.)
I used blue painters to hold everything in position while I die cut the image. You will need to cut two scallop circles from Real Red card stock. You will use the scallop circles as a base for the medallion. Now there are directions everywhere for how to create the acutal medallion, so I won't spend a lot of time on this step. Basically, I used traditional designer series paper because it is easier to work with. (Digital DSP tends to crack when fan-folded). I used the Pacific Point striped pattern from the Brights DSP collection. I cut two strips 3"x12" and scored it every 1/2" and fan-folded each section. I attached the two strips together end-to-end to form a cirlce and then flattened the center. These jumbo medallions require a lot of extra holding power, so I used a hot glue gun to attach the scallop circle to the front. After the first side cooled, I turned the medallion and added a ribbon hanger and tails with hot glue. Then I added the second scallop circle with hot glue to cover the mess and add extra stability. At this point you can use regular adhesive to attach the Happy Birthday sentiment to the center of the scallop circle.
Now all that is left is to attach it to a gift bag or present. It would also look great hanging from the ceiling, a door knob, or even turned into a necklace or pin for the birthday girl/boy.
Remember, you can purchase your Stampin' Up! supplies on my web site 24/7.
Several months ago I entered a SU monthly contest with a Big Shot theme as the catagory. Well, I didn't win, but I did have a lot of fun with this entry. I can't believe I never shared this with you gals, but I guess it's about time it did. I was inspired by some designer housework gloves that I saw in a specialty boutique. I thought "I can do that with vinyl!" From that point on I was on a mission. I purchased a pair of white latex gloves at a store that buys lots of product overruns and discontinued items. I thought it would be adorable to use black vinyl and the circles die #2 to decorate them. I think that multi-colored designs would be wonderful as well, but I only had a few colors in my vinyl collection to choose from. Since I bought this one pair of gloves I have looked everywhere and not been able to find anymore white ones. Of course, you can always go with the standard yellow ones, and occasionally you may find some other color like purple or pink, but I really wish that I could find more white ones.
After I decorated the gloves, I thought how cute it would be to make a matching set of cleaning items. Of course, it would have been difficult to ship a big broom or a pail through the mail, so I opted for a dust pan/mini broom combo. I really love the way both items turned out. Just a side note, after I decorated both items, I felt like the design was a little sparce, so I carefully punched some smaller circles with the 3/4" & 1/2" punches to fill-in a few areas. (Be aware that it is difficult to punch vinyl because it wants to stretch and will sometimes leave unclean edges, so that is why standard steel-rule dies work much better.)
This project was so easy to do. You could decorate a bucket, add some matching gloves, some cleaning supplies and a big bow and in practically no time at all have a wonderful housewarming gift and your new neighbors will think you are the craftiest person on the block.
