Thursday, June 28, 2012

Birthday Card For A Teen

Not having any teenagers of my own, I was a little stumped as to how I could follow the "Teens" card theme over at CARD A DAY BLOG , where I will be tomorrow's featured designer.  I thought I'd make something that would appeal to boys as most of the teens in my family are boys.  Of course that made it even harder as I couldn't do something "Girly" which I know I do too much of.   lol.  
I looked through my supplies for inspiration and found these birthday ticket stickers and designer paper from Bo Bunny called "Hip Hip Hooray Bright Numbers".  I figured something bold and bright would be just the "ticket" for a teen!
The card was simple to put together and except for the background paper, I used up my scraps. I stamped the sentiment in black ink and to the left on the thin strip of purple paper showing, I added Rock Candy Distress Stickles to give the card some "bling".
Now if I were to make a "Girl Teen" card, I would have used one of my SVG files to create the card.   Just a few more years for my niece Gracie to become a teenager!
  

Monday, June 25, 2012

Cool Stuff Part 2

 It's not often I get excited about stamps that aren't by Tim Holtz.  But I recently discovered wonderful vintage stamps by TJ Designs that I purchased from Outlaw Women Scrapbook Emporium  Besides the totally awesome red rubber images, I absolutely LOVE how these stamps are packaged.  They come in a hard plastic hinged  jewel case.  Inside the lid is a stamp index.  This makes it soooo easy to use and store!  No more stamps falling off the plastic sheets.
I'll be pairing these stamps with my Graphic 45 On The Boardwalk paper so stay tuned to see what I create.  Oh...and I've already picked out the next set I want to get-- "By the Sea".  It was hard to choose since I want them all, but I think the two sets will compliment each other.   
ENABLER ALERT: If you are an Alice In Wonderland fan, there are multiple sets to choose from!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Cool Stuff Part 1

As a dedicated shopper I always love to enable...er SHARE with my fellow crafters some of the cool stuff I find.  Recently I shopped an awesome Tent Sale at my favorite local craft shop:  Arnie's Arts & Crafts in Houghton Lake Michigan.  I found this great wooden case from Prismacolor Premier.

 The size of a briefcase, this cool container also includes 72 Prismacolor pencils.  (If you don't have good colored pencils, this is a great set as it includes a selection of all the colors you need to get started)  I had 1/2 of the colors already so what sold me on the set was the case  (besides you can always use extra colored pencils!).  I really like how the case opens and the plastic trays that hold the pencils!
The tray's cantilever hinge allows easy access to every pencil in the case and has extra wells in the front to hold erasers and other accessories.  Previously I had my pencils in two zip up cases but the pencils were hard to get in and out.  With this case I can see all the colors at a glance.  I put them in the trays by color family in numerical order.  Pretty cool! 
NOTE:  I found this online from DICK BLICK clearance priced at $76.99, 
$3 less than what I paid locally.

Monday, June 18, 2012

"Pieces Of My Heart" Collage

 I truly believe that God always sends us just what we need just when we need it.  Last week marked the first anniversary of the loss of my bulldog Louie.  About a week before that sad day, I found an awesome quote that lifted my spirits.  I knew I wanted to create a collage featuring ALL my dogs using that sentiment (which I'll share below).  I didn't plan the piece out, didn't obsess over any placement of elements...just sat down and in one sitting created a very personal piece. 
 First I grabbed an 8" x 11" canvas board.  I painted it with yellow acrylic paint and then using three shades of red paint, added the circle stamping with a piece of recycled bubble wrap.  Once the paint was dry, I took Distress Inks in reds and browns and added ink to edges, corners and where the heart was to be placed.  I added a swash of lighter yellow paint where I wanted to place the sentiment.  The center heart was cut from designer dog-themed paper.  The dog heads were printed in black and white (sealed with fixative) and glued to the heart.  I added paint and ink to the heart and stamped the bones around the edges.  I used collage glue to attach the heart to the canvas.  The metal heart charm is from Tim Holtz and it's attached with Glossy Accents.
Using my new Picket Fence Distress Marker I colored in the bones.  It looked great--not too bright.  I thought that spraying it with fixative would hold the color--it didn't (FYI)--so I left it without the white.  I also thinned the yellow background paint to make a glaze and painted it lightly over the dog photos.  This gave them the same tone as the background.  I used Sharpie pens to add the names and write the sentiment.  At the top I stamped the images using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I used a mat sealer to finish the piece.
Here is the sentiment I found that I loved so much:
"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them, and every dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart.  If I live long enough all the components of my heart with be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are."

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day SVG Sale

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
I'm spending the day with my family celebrating a combination Father's Day and Birthday for my Dad.  He will be 77 soon and is still enjoying life to the fullest.  He rides his ATV, plays golf and loves to putter in his woodworking shop.  He's the best and I'm very thankful to be able to spend the day with him and the rest of my family.
To celebrate, TODAY ONLY I'm offering all my SVG files for 50% Off.
Click HERE to go to the store.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

DAD Jersey SVG Freebie

 
Looking for a Father's Day element for a card or scrapbook page?
Grab this sports jersey SVG cut file for FREE until midnight Friday.
Get the file HERE

 After 6/15/12 you can purchase the file through the same link for just $1.
Here are some other Father's Day files you might like:

Monday, June 11, 2012

Anniversary Card

My parents recently celebrated their 53rd Wedding Anniversary.  While they love each other dearly, they also spend a lot of time together now that they've retired and I know that sometimes they can get on each others nerves.  So when I found this sentiment:
"It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life"
--Rita Rudner
I knew I wanted to create a card using one of the vintage sour-puss couples I've collected.
I followed this sketch:
From 

Some Details:
I used K & Company "Life's Journey" designer paper as the background.  Over that I randomly stamped scattered dots (Stampers Anonymous "Urban Tapestry") with Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Bundled Sage). The photo was printed on white cardstock and mounted onto brown cardstock with torn edges.  The ends of the strips were rounded using a Coluzzle.  The sentiment was printed on scrap green cardstock using Traveling Typewriter font.  All the elements were distressed using Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Bundled Sage, Old Paper, Walnut Stain).  The twine was added after punching small holes through the paper.
This card is entered into the following Challenges:

Monday, June 4, 2012

May Blog Candy Winner

Please forgive me for being a few days late with this announcement.  Between cleaning up after the holiday weekend, participating in Relay For Life and my niece's graduation party, time was limited.  Anyway, without further ado, the May Blog Candy winner of the Tim Holtz Distress Marker is
Lisa Rea
Please email (creative@avci.net) me by June 11th to claim your prize.
Now here is June's Blog Candy
A cute summer flower clear stamp from Inkadinkado.
It's easy to win!  Just be a follower.