Nativity Card

This is a card that I made for my Card Swap Group last Christmas.   With all of the kerfuffle about Christmas, I wanted to make a card that expressed more about the simplicity of the true meaning of Christmas.

Silhouette Design ID #14775

Materials
Kraft card
Corrugated green card stock
Lime green raffia - from Creative Bag
Little wooden star painted yellow
Studio G glitter glue - yellow

The glue holding these small parts of the nativity together is of course The Best Glue Ever - this has been such a help to me with gluing my tiny pieces of paper.

Happy New Year

It has been 4 months since I last posted a blog entry.  Family matters and busy schedules have kept me from posting.  I am back and will get caught up on all of the things I have to post.

Happy New Year

With it being the beginning of a New Year I thought I would post a few things about some of my favourite tools and things I have learned from others.

1. Silhouette America's Cameo - has saved me from having to store great numbers of punches, border punches, dies and paper trimmers.. and the dreaded cartridges. I can also make so many of my own stickers and embellishments custom as per the need.

2. Copic Certification Class - by using my markers or the Copic Airbrush I only have to buy white flowers, ribbons & clear gems. I can have perfectly matched ribbon, flowers and gems for all of my scrapbooking and Papercrafting projects.

Learned to create a chart of markers that belong in each 72 slot wallet that I have so I can know immediately if one is missing and which one.  I also put K & Company Smash Whale Tape around my markers so that I can easily identify which marker if mine if they wander away at a class or crop.

3. ScrapRack - I don't have space for one at the moment but I have learned to get rid of all of my embellishment jars and boxes and organize my embellishments by colour with all of my patterned, single sheets and scraps of paper. Now housed in multiple Project Life 12 x 12 binders to be transferred as soon as I have a place for a ScrapRack.  Things are so much easier to find when they are organized all in one place.  Thank you Tiffany.

4. Ikea - thank heavens they had the wisdom to create shelving units that are larger than 12" Expedit 

5. Scotch - my ATG goes everywhere I do and my papers no longer pop off my projects after a few page turns.

6. ScraPerfect - "The Best Glue Ever" the wet glue I have fallen in love with for both pieces of papers and embellishments that are too small for my ATG and for resticking my Silhouette mat. (be sure to watch the video on the Best Glue Ever  page)

7. I have always been one to Catalogue my stamps, Stickles, stamp pads and marker colours and keep them in a handy binder for quick reference and the location where I have them stored. (long time stamp collector - I'm a purist and love the wood mounted rubber). The majority of my stamp pads are the original pads made by Ranger and I was lucky enough to get large bottles of ink for reining.

8. Embossing folders pressed onto larger paint chips, lightly sanded

to see the design easily... stored in my traveling tool tote for quick reference to my embossing folders to help me with my projects - otherwise i forget what I have.

These  are a few of the things that have helped me to organize my tools and products in a very small space in a tiny apartment and to work more effectively.   My only real issue is where to put a ScrapRack and how to store all of those paper stacks that I love so much.

May all of you have a very productive and organized year.

Bachelorette Party Tumblers

This past week I created a cut file for bachelorette party tumblers with a colour scheme of white, grey and purple.  Acrylic tumblers make a great surface for fun vinyl designs.  Hand washing of course is always recommended with these tumblers.

Heidi Swapp Honeycomb Stencil and Color Shine

I did a demo last weekend for two Heidi Swapp products.  For the stencil, I used the spray that was on the plastic part of the stencil and flipped it over onto a fresh piece of card stock to get a reverse of the stencil image - I love how it turned out.

The Color Shine has a wonderful shimmer to it, the perfect subtle bling for my projects.

6 x 6 Honeycomb Stencil
Mustard Color Shine

Stampin Up  Rubber Stamp - You are one in a Buzzillion...

Since taking photos I have used:
Copic Markers Y11 & YR24
Ranger Glossy Accents on the Buzzillion Bee

Silhouette 25% Off September 10th - 19th 2013

Silhouettes latest newsletter announced a 25% savings on supplies and materials.  Time to stock up on mats, blades and vinyl or time to try something new.

My Cameo will be working over time with Christmas cards.

Go to Silhouette America and use promotion code SILHOUETTE during checkout.

Sale ends September 19, 2013 at 11:59 PDT

Heidi Swapp Color Shine & Stencils

Heidi Swapp Teal Color Shine and stencils

Envelope Punch Board

In preparation to do a demo with the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board, I was able to spend some time paying with the board.

I LOVE IT!

I find the rectangle shapes work the best for no excessive tab overlay.  Can't wait to play some more.

For the A2 size card the punch board is wrong.  Cut your paper 8 1/8" x 8 1/4" instead of the 8 1/8 x 8 1/3 measurements that are on the chart.  Your first mark will be the same at 3 3/4".

Inky Antics honeyPOP

This is so much fun - remember those honeycomb wedding bells and Christmas decorations from when you were a kid?  They are back in a DIY paper pad.  You can create your own shapes to make 3D honeycomb cards and decorations.  Inky Antics has created rubber stamp sets that can be used with honeyPOP honeycomb paper pads to create adorable cards.

When making your card you need to score a 1/8" gusset so the card will lay flat with the honeyPOP paper inside.

Stamp on the honey comb paper pads  and line up the arrows on the stamp to match the direction of the honeycomb paper.   Cut out your shape and like magic it opens like a .honeycomb

Card / Envelope Size Chart

This is the reference chart that I use for cutting cards and envelopes.  I have it laminated and keep it as a handy in my studio for quick reference.

My favorite method of cutting cards is to use my Silhouette Studio software to get exact measurements and a perfectly square cut on my Cameo.  Perfect cards every time.

Graduation Cap Card

This is a card that I made for my card swap group in the spring.  I started with heavy black glitter paper and cut into 5" squares.  

The back is from the Silhouette Online Store:  Petal Fold Envelope or Card by Lori Whitlock Design ID #4216 in black card stock.  I used E6000 to glue buttons and tassels to the front of the card.  There is a square in white card stock in the center of the petal to make it easier to write.  You could also leave it black and use an opaque gel pen. (school colours would work well)

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The petal flaps fold like closing a cardboard box.