A vintage romance...

Hello Friends!

I hope the winter weather is treating you well!  We have had numerous snowstorms over the last couple of weeks,  leaving us with plenty of beautiful white snow everywhere.  New England is a beautiful place to be in the winter!  (Especially if you have a wonderful hubby who takes care of all of the snow moving duties!)

My favorite snow day activity is to hole up in my craft room with multiple cups of tea, NCIS reruns, and an inky painty project!  Here is my most recent make, a romantic Valentine's Day Banner:

I feel the need to apologize for the photos. (I pretty much always feel the need to apologize for my photos.  Maybe I should add a permanent apology to my blog heading?)  I try really hard to use natural lighting, but at this time of year, there's not much natural light available, especially with 15 inches of snow covering my skylights! Please excuse the dark shadows cast by my flash.

My central item is an altered doily, left over from Christmas.  I used several layers of Distress Paints, and Distress Inks to take it from red to pink, As I was playing with it, I realized that it could be folded into a heart shape!  I included a wedding photo of my parents, layered, distressed and stitched onto cardstock, along with a layered ticket and some hearts cut with my Silver Bullet cutter from That's Scrap, Inc., and distressed with my T.H. Tonic edge distresser and Distress Inks. 

I made four mini bouquets with reclaimed paper flowers (they were part of an Ugly with a capitol U shadow box from the thrift store), a rosette cut with my Silver Bullet, and Distress inks and stains.   I threaded the stems through a hole pierced through the corks of the altered mini apothecary bottles.

It took layers and layers of Distress Paints and Inks,alcohol inks, and Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint to get these to look the way I wanted. 

As a final step, I inked up a Tim Holtz scroll stamp with Tree Bark Archival and rolled each bottle carefully across the stamp. 

Distress died seam binding was tied around the necks of the bottles.  After tying the bottles with a long length of Distress Inked bakers' twine, I tied on little flags of seam binding, and ribbon scraps which were, of course, inked with Distress Ink. 

I used lots of different brown Distress products on this project, including Tea Dye, Tree Branch, Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain.  The pinks I used are Spun Sugar, Victorian Velvet and Tattered Rose. 

I am happy to be playing along in the Frilly and Funkie Be My Valen-twine challenge, and the Try It On Tuesday Add a Photo Challenge.

 I am also entering the A Vintage Journey It's Time to Play Tic-Tac-Toe challenge.  I used paint, ephemera and die cuts for three across. 

As always, thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!

Elizabeth

12 Tags of 2015 - February

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are having a fabulous Friday!  Yesterday, I found time (because I completely ignored everything else!) to play with Tim Holtz' techniques for the February 2015 tag.  Click here to view his tutorial and amazing art. 

For my collaged background, I used a combination of papers from an 8 inch Tim Holtz stack, and vintage papers from my stash.  I had fun mixing them up.  Here is how my "tag" turned out:

 

As I described last month, I am making art to frame and display in my wall of vintage boxes.  Here is how my February piece fits in there:

I'm not sure which "box" is the best spot.  I'll keep moving it around until it finds the right place.  As you can see, this month I painted the "frame". 

I used a variety of white acrylic paints, some Wendy Vecchi crackle paste, and Distress Inks (Brushed Corduroy and Pumice Stone)to give my frame an aged appearance  It's pretty rough, and that's the way I like it. 

Here are some close ups of some of my favorite elements.

 

 Thank you, Mr. Tim, for inspiring another fun project! 

Elizabeth

Documented Life Project Week 7 and more

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!  I have my Documented Life Project planner/journal page to share today.

The challenge was to make a shape, add color and repeat.

Once again, I covered up most of the challenge elements of my page.  I started by drawing arrow shapes with colored pencils.  I made additional layers with Twinkling H2Os, gesso, and sketchy wildflowers.  I was feeling a temporary loss of card making mojo, and found that working on the journal unblocked my creativity.  Gotta love that!

For Valentine's Day, I made some cute containers for the kids' goodies:

I used the treat tub file from the SVG Cuts Summer Blockbuster kit.  It makes a really big container, so I sized it down a lot.  I added designer paper decorative panels, so that I could use sturdy cardstock for the bases. 

For DH,  I made this box:

It's the quick box from the SVG Cuts Santa's Visit set.  The amazing gear heart file is a freebie from Lisa at Mind Over Matter Creations.  It is perfect for my husband.  I cut it with my amazing Silver Bullet Professional cutter.  I love how quickly and cleanly it handled all of the tiny details in this file.   And I didn't use a detail blade! 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I will be back soon with more cards and a fun little project that I have been working on.

Elizabeth

Tools and supplies used for this project include:

Silver Bullet Professional Digital Die Cutter
SVG Cuts files
Mind Over Matter Creations SVG file
Papers from DCWV, My Minds Eye and Recollections
Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive
Scotch ATG adhesive
Twinkling H20 paints
Colored Pencils
Gesso
Sharpie Pen
Distress Stains

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello Folks!

I hope you all find time today to do something you love with someone you love.  You should not be surprised to see that today's card is another Valentine!

I used some Distress Inks to add a touch of color to the neutral heart die cuts and the border element that I pulled out of my stash of die cuts.  ( I love this one, from SVG Cuts!)  I added shadow layers behind the hearts to help define them.  The arrow is from a set of Christmas stamps (don't know what an arrow has to do with Christmas!) stamped with Wendy Vecchi's Red Geranium Archival. 

Finally, I added a big organza bow.  I love the touch of sparkle that it adds to this otherwise grungy/vintage card. 

Have a lovely love day! 

Elizabeth

Tools and supplies used to create this project include:

Silver Bullet Pro digital die cutter
Archival Ink
Scraps and die cuts from my Stash
SCAL Software
Crate Paper
Glitz stamp

Yet another "heart" card

 

 

 

Good Day, Everyone!

 

 

As you can see, I have another heart card, but with a different color scheme than the last few.  For this card, I started with one of my inky backgrounds.  I cut it to size, added some Distress Stains and inks, decoupaged dictionary paper, Tim Holtz background stamping and a couple of heart stamps as a focal image.  All of my stamping was done with Archival inks.  I added a double organza bow, mounted it on an embossed layer and the base, and there you have it. 

Here is a peek at the inside:

Just some arrow shaped layers, and a printed and cut (with my Silver Bullet Professional digital die cutter) sentiment. 

Here is another view of the front. 

 

 

I feel pretty thrifty when I use my saved photo storage box index cards to soak up the leftover ink and paint on my craft mat. ( I discovered that it is only the boxes from Michael's that have the index cards, and not the ones from A. C. Moore) I always have a few close at hand, and love using them for quick card or tag backgrounds.  It's a terrific way to experiment with unusual color combos, and hey, if it's really ugly, I just throw it away without feeling too wasteful.  If I want to be extra super duper thrifty, (and sometimes I do!) I  just paint over the mess with some Gesso and start over. 

 

I hope everyone finds some time and energy for some thrifty crafting this week!

 

Elizabeth

 

Tools and Supplies used to create this project include:

Silver Bullet Pro Digital Die Cutter

Tim Holtz Stamps

Distress Stains and Inks

Vintage and new paper from my stash

Ranger Archival Inks

 

 

 





Here's another valentine...

Hello, Everyone,

It's always fun to have a special card making holiday, isn't it? 

 

 

I used a hex embossing folder on photo paper to make the background for this card.  It doesn't show well in my photo, but the glossy paper looks terrific with embossing.  I cut the hearts with my Silver Bullet Professional digital cutter.  I picked up the satin ribbon on a post Christmas clearance sale, and tied the bow with my nifty home made bow tying tool. 

I layered my print and cut sentiment with a red layer to match the front of the card.  This card will go to one of my darling daughters on Friday, along with a little treat.

Happy Day!

Elizabeth

Products and tools used to make this project include:

Paper and card blank from my stash
Ribbon from my stash
Glossy HP Photo paper
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Sizzix Big Kick
Silver Bullet Pro digital die cutter
SCAL software
Scotch ATG adhesive

Valentine

Happy Good Morning, Everyone!

Hope your week is starting off well.  I have a Valentine's card to share today. 

 The front features a stamp from the craft store bargain bin.  First I used the love stamp and Watering Can Archival to create a background, using second and even third generation stamping to give me some variation in tone.  I used Geranium Archival to stamp the ladybug.  I sure am enjoying the Wendy Vecchi Archival colors.   The black and grey rivet paper is an oldie from DCWV.  I added a red layer behind the focal stamp, and a narrow red satin bow. 

I kept the inside simple, with a sentiment printed and cut with my Silver Bullet Digital Die Cutter, layered over a red background. 

Hope you are still enjoying the season of ice and snow! 

Elizabeth

Heart Day is on its way!

Hi Everyone!

I'm back to the current season with today's card:

Just some simple die cut hearts and text, with an embossed background.  No mystery in how I assembled it!  I really like the black red and white color combo. 

Here's the inside:

And an angled view:

I've been having fun creating Valentine's cards, and will be sharing more soon.

Thanks for looking!

Elizabeth

Supplies and tools used to create this project include:

Silver Bullet Pro Digital Die Cutter
Recollections papers
Sizzix Big Kick
Darice Embossing Folders
Scrap Fusion Adhesive
Scotch ATG tape runner

Pretty in Pink Valentine

Hi Everyone!

I made this simple valentine recently:

 

I used foam dots to pop both the white background, (with the little heart cut-outs) and the heart focal element, which was cut from various pink scraps, and enhanced with a shadow layer. 

 

Here is a side view, so you can see the dimension:

 

(It's not wonky in real life)

This is the inside

This is the opposite side of the inside.  I thought it was a fun way to use  even more scraps. And I love the negative space from the heart die-cut)

 

I had fun with this card, and expect to play around some more with this basic design soon.

 

Hope you have a fun filled, crafty day!

 

Elizabeth

 

Supplies and tools used for this project include:

Digital Die Cutter

Papers from my stash

Foam Dots

Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive

Scotch ATG tape runner

Sizzix Swiss Dots embossing folder

Sizzix Big Kick

 

 

 





Another pink Easel Card

Happy Day, Everyone!

Today, I have another pink easel card to share. 

This bracket easel card is another from the My Scrap Chick Easel cards collection.   I highlighted the pressure embossed background and the daisy with Picket Fence Distress Stain.  I used the same stain to edge the base of the card, which is a new technique for me, and one I will definitely try again.   

I like the shine that comes from the Mylar layer on the button.  It never hurts to add a bit of "twinkle" to punch up a monochromatic color scheme. 

 

I think I use this Swiss dots embossing folder on every third project!  It is absolutely my most used folder. 

 

Hope you find time to make something beautiful today!

 

Elizabeth

 

Tools and supplies used in this project include:

Papers and die cuts from my stash

Picket Fence Distress Stain

Digital Die Cutter

Button maker

My Scrap Chick Easel Card SVG file

Sizzix Big Kick pressure embosser

Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive

Ivy Hollow Scrap Fusion Adhesive

Scotch ATG tape runner

Hot Glue Gun

Swiss dots, floral and crackle embossing folders

 

 



Lovin' the Easel Cards!

Happy Day, Everyone!

I am here today to share another easel card with you.  This one was designed by Bird of Bird's Cards.  I just love her files, and they are all free!  Go check them out!

It was so quick and easy to make this card.  I just chose some papers from my stash and cut all the elements.  I used the pen tool on my digital cutter to write the sentiment, and then cut the heart around it.  I used some foam squares and an embossing folder to add a bit of dimension.  It is important to pop up an element on the base of the card to hold the top of the card in the correct position. 

I really appreciate how Bird echoed the lace pattern from the front of the card in the part that folds behind it.  I think it adds elegance to the design.  The easel portion of the card disappears when viewed from the front.

Finally, I have a tip for those of you who use a digital die cutter.  I discovered in making this card that doing a multi cut on linen textured cardstock really helps it cut cleanly.  I lowered the force a bit, and set my software to cut repeat the cut twice.  I wish I had discovered this years ago! 

Have a terrific day!

Elizabeth

supplies and tools used for this card include:

Stashed papers
Jelly Roll Pen
Black Cat Cougar Digital Cutter
Black Cat Cougar Pen Tool
Anna Griffin Embossing Folder
Sizzix Big Kick
Organza Ribbon rescued from  PJ packaging
Foam adhesive squares
ATG Tape gun
The AWESOME bow tying gadget that my DH made me for Christmas

My Artistic Adventure Challenge # 1

Happy Day, Everyone!

Today I am sharing an easel style card that I made using a collage sheet from Heather Hudson's Etsy shop.  Heather is an incredibly talented lady!  I was excited to see recently that she is starting a series of challenges this year.  This news fit perfectly with my plan to enter more challenges.  So I am jumping right in by entering the My Artistic Adventures Challenge # 1.

I used Heather's Shabby Vintage  Chic Valentine's Day Romantic Music Tags Digital Collage sheet to make the tag that is the focal point for this easel card.  I chose to use the sepia toned version, and used all of the elements on the card.  Don't you just love the little girl and vintage typewriter photo?  I think it is adorable. 

This view shows the easel a bit better.  The card base and layers were cut with my digital cutter and a file from My Scrap Chick.  The cool thing about easel cards is that they fold flat for mailing, but are easily assembled into a display. 

I enjoyed using a pre-designed card base, so that I could focus more on the wonderful focal elements than the construction.  I used some lace from Really Reasonable Ribbon, inked the embossed layers with Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy, and dyed the bias tape, also from RRR, with Distress Stains in Vintage Photo and Dusty Concord.  The little newsprint "Candies" are from RRR as well. 

I used an Idea-Ology custom fastener with the lovely bird element from the collage sheet:

 

I love all of the texture that Heather incorporated into this collection.  There are so many interesting layers on each little piece of art. 

 

I want to thank you for stopping by my blog today to check out my project. 

 

Be well,

 

Elizabeth

 

Supplies and Tools used in this project include:

Digital Collage Sheet from My Artistic Adventures

Lace and Ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon

Distress Inks and Stains

Stashed papers

Recollections metal arrow

My Scrap Chick Easel Cards SVG File

Scotch Quick Dry Glue for Paper

ATG Tape gun

Candies newsprint "buttons"

Idea-Ology Custom Fastener

foam adhesive squares

Sizzix Big Kick

Anna Griffin Embossing Folder

 



The one with the eyes....

Hello,

Another Valentine project tonight.  I made 10 of these cuties for my co-workers, eight of whom are very "manly men".  (the other two are women, just to be clear!) I get a kick out of making funny little gifts for them.  When I saw this idea on the Inking Idaho blog, I knew I had to make them!  That was the night before Valentine's Day, which made for a pretty late night.  Totally worth it, I think!

 

The  print paper is from the Sassy Designs Poparazzi collection.  I made a cut file to speed things along.  The owl forms a pocket that is just the right size for a mini Hersey's bar. 

 



I am sharing the file in SVG format.  You can grab it here: Owl Candy Pocket.

Sure hope you all had a marvelous Monday!

Elizabeth

The one with the stenciled gesso background...

Hi Everyone,

I am still catching up on Valentine's postings.  Hope everyone had a great day.  I got to spend the day with my youngest daughter, which is always a joy.   Then we had a nice family dinner, with a yummy chocolate cake for dessert. 

Here is the card I made for my youngest daughter.  I used the technique from CJS #35, which involves applying gesso (I used extra thick gesso here.) over a stencil, allowing it to dry, and coloring with water soluable crayons. 

Here is the background:

 

I stamped some text and random flourishes with Ranger Archival Ink, added drips of alcohol ink, and splattered on some watered down white acrylic paint before mounting it on some cardstock and adding a couple of embellishments.  Here is the finished card:

 

 

I painted the chipboard bird white, and added a bit of Distress Ink.  I embossed the hearts and added some acrylic paint to the larger one.  That's a layer of crumpled leftover tissue paper behind the heart.  That's it.  Pretty simple. 

 

Thanks for dropping by, and have a terrific week!

 

Elizabeth



Saw it, pinned it, made it... all in one day!

Hello Friends!

Happy Superbowl Sunday!  I have just a few minutes to write this post before I need to go and start making some Superbowl treats.  Twice baked potatoes are the favorite around here. 

This morning, while roaming around on some of my favorite sites, I found this card on the Ellen Hutson Classroom blog.  I really liked it, so I pinned it on Pinterest, thinking I would get around to making it some day.  Lo and behold, I found myself in my craft room with time on my hands!  (because I ignored the housework again, of course!)

Here is my version of the card:

I don't usually keep an inspiration photo around while I'm working.  I like to work from memory, so that I don't end up with an exact copy.  Now that I am looking at them side by side, I think my card needs a little extra touch.  I believe I will add a pin to the twine, and maybe a charm. 

Supplies used:
Distress Inks
Stamps from Inkadinkadoo and Stampin Up
Martha Stewart twine
Paper from my stash, and some Tim Holtz Craft Resist for the heart
Tim Holtz Washi Tape
Electronic Digital Cutter

I'm pretty sure that this will be DH's Valentine's card. 

Thanks for looking, and enjoy the game if you are watching!

Elizabeth

PS: I ordered some supplies recently from Ellen Hutson, and just have to say that her customer service is excellent.  My package arrived quickly, and included a Thank You card and a surprise gift.  Sweet!

A Valentine

Hello Everyone,

Hope you all had a great Saturday.  I had the best morning!  I slept in a bit with a snuggly kitty, and then sat in my living room chatting with my DD for a couple of hours.  My favorite kind of Saturday morning!  I spent some time de-cluttering the house, and dusting, before heading to my craft room to work on a Valentine project for a swap.  (Spoiler Alert, That's Scrap Forum friends!) 

 

I cut the frame shaped box from a file by SVG Cuts.  It is part of the Spirits of Christmas Past kit.  I love the versatility of these files.  This one can be used for any occasion.  I had two inspirations for the embellishments on this project.  The beading on the hearts was inspired by Creative Jump Start #16, taught by Anna Bjorklund.   I used two of her ideas, gluing a bead outline around the top heart, and stringing beads and wrapping them around the bottom heart.  I loved the way she scattered beads to make them look spilled, and tried to emulate that with my project.  I'm really happy with the results, although sorting and gluing the beads was rather tedious. 

 

My second inspiration is from a Blog that I discovered quite recently, One Lucky Day, which has jumped to the top of my favorites list.  When digging around in their old posts, I found this terrific fabric flower, made with lining fabric circles, melted over a candle to give them shape.  I added a fancy pendant center that I picked up from a Michael's clearance rack.  (My DH kindly clipped the hanging loop off the back, so it would lay flat.) 

 

I used Distress Inks in Tattered Rose, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Vintage Velvet on the hearts, which started out white.  I inked each shadow layer in a darker color, and the tops in a lighter color.  Then I stamped the tops with the darker color.  I inked the edges of the background with Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar.  The background paper is from the Tranquility pack by Sassy Designs.  I love the subtle tone on tone rose pattern.  So pretty!

 

To finish off my project, I dyed a ribbon (upcycled from the wrapping of our annual Christmas pajamas!) with Spun Sugar Distress Stain, threaded it through the holes in the top of the box, and tied a bow. 

 

I made two of these boxes, and I cant wait to fill them with a little goody, and send them off to two of my "forum friends". 

 

I am hoping for some more time in my craft room tomorrow.  Hopefully between chores in the morning and the AFC Playoff Game in the evening (GO PATS), I can get another project or two finished. 

 

Happy Weekend!

 

Elizabeth

 

 

 



 



So much show and tell!

Hi Everyone,

I finally figured out how to work around Blogger's photo posting issues with IE9.  So, instead of the post I worked on over the weekend, I will just post the photos (Yay!) of what I worked on over the weekend, using the tutorials from  Creative Jump Start 2013.

CJS 2 - inspired by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

For this card, I misted onto cardstock, over a stencil. using a mixture of Distress Reinkers and water in a mini-mister.  After it dried, I used my ink blending tool to blend some more Distress Ink over the stenciled cardstock.  I added some coordinating heart die cuts, and a stamped sentiment, over layers of solid and printed cardstock.  It was fun to break away from tradional seasonal colors and go bright.  I really like this technique.  It adds great interest and movement to what would otherwise be a clean and simple card. 

CJS 3 - Inspired by Heidi Swap

For this card, I used a mask and a stencil simultaneously.  I rarely use either of those items, and never thought of using them together.  I really like the effect for the background, as well as keeping the mask in place while I stamped the floral images.  It took a few tries before I was happy with the results.  I ended up cutting a stencil from Bird's Cards.  I  amazed at how easily I was able to cut the stencil using SCAL software and my electronic cutter.  I cut the first one at 8 inches square, and then decided to reduce it to 4 inches, and the detail cut beautifully at this size too!


CJS 5 - Inspired by Sharon Laakkonen

For this tag, I used two ideas from Sharon's tutorial.  She used a punch to punch shapes from the bottom edge of a tag, and layered it over a piece of patterned paper.  I used my cutter to cut the mittens from the bottom of my tag.  Sharon covered another tag with strips of Washi Tape.  I used some of the Washi Tape that I made last year ( Click here to see it.) and covered a hat shape that was leftover from a bad attempt at CJS 3.  (Love using up my mistakes!)  I realize that I need to add some words to this project, but I haven't decided how to do that yet. 

CJS 6 - Inspired by Natalie Kalbach

This was a really great technique that involved using a stencil, a foam stamp and some acrylic paints.  I didn't have any foam stamps, but it was easy to make one using a basic shape from SCAL, a sheet of foam, a 60 degree blade from Sherri at That's Scrap, and my electronic cutter, which I also purchased from That's Scrap, Inc.. I had never cut foam before, but today was a day for experimentation, and it was really easy as pie.  I stuck it to an acrylic stamp block with some tape from my ATG.  (The stencil I used is the smaller version of Bird's stencil.)

For the card, I stamped both the background paper and the cut out flowers using Natalie's technique.  I layered the cut out flowers with some embossed background papers, and added a little tag with a tiny little sentiment.  (It says "Love You", in case you can't see it.  I wish I had used a darker ink, but the Distress Mustard Seed really matched the card well.) I layered it up with some matching background papers, and there you have it.  A Valentine's card for my older DD. 

Whew!  Its been a long time since I posted 4 projects at once. 

Have a great week!

Elizabeth