Saturday, January 28, 2012

She shoots.... she scoooooores!!!

So, as per my new year's resolution, I made two birthday cards today. I had to, because dear son had two birthday parties to go to. :)  Luckily, I could make the same card for both boys, because they're both avid hockey players, yet they're on different teams and won't know they both have the same cards. Shhhhh! Don't tell their moms!

I used the Silhouette Studio's print and cut feature to trace out a cute hockey player image. Then I used the colours of their respective uniforms to decide cardstock colours. For the background, I googled "skating rink texture" and found an unrestricted image to use. I printed it on white cardstock and matted it.


The inside of the card is an image of a hockey rink layout, watermarked, and a hockey-ish birthday sentiment.


There you go. I know a few hockey moms who would love these. :)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Full Reveal!

Well, I know I've been MIA for way too long. Certainly, it wasn't my choice. Let's just say, my computer decided to take a break. I've taught it a lesson and completely reformatted the drive, so hopefully it won't be doing that again!

I'm happy to post two final projects from our January kit at Scrapbook Queens (the first one being the Valentine's card on my previous post.

This one I created because I love this picture Emma had taken while at summer camp last year. Something about the way the sunlight shines through the straw hat, and her smile. 



The tree was made by cutting out a "twiggy tree" by Memory Box out of the same Harmonie paper I used for the background. Then, I used the reverse side of the yellow clouds and used some pop dots to give dimension.  A little bird rubon from Studio Calico is the final touch.




Products used: Kraft background paper - Harmonie, Clouds and tree, flowered paper - Pebbles Tree House collection, yellow frame is Echo Park, cut with the sihouette Cameo, Tree die cut - Memory Box Dies, "Emma" letters - Thickers, "eleven" stickers - Jillibean, the cute little bird is a Studio Calico rub on.

The final layout I'm posting today was actually the first one I made for Scrapbook Queens. I did it right after New Year's...



If you're really paying attention, you see that the green frame is exactly the same as the yellow one from the other layout. I used the negative of the yellow bracket frame here to brighten up the layout. I used a black background to make it look more like a nighttime fireworks/streamer kind of thing.

My 2012 Scrapbooking Resolutions:

1. to keep my scrapbooking area neat
2. to try new things (check!)
3. to figure out the P/A/S/M settings on my camera
4. to make all my birthday cards
5. to include myself in my layouts

We'll see how it goes. :)  Confession - scrapbooking area is already a mess.

I wanted the "2012" to really pop, so I cut out the shape about 5 times from black cardstock with my Cameo, and I stuck it all together. It worked great, as the green paper was too thin to sit solidly with the pop dots. I used two layers of stickles on the 2012 so it's EXTRA sparkly.




Products used: patterned paper is Echo Park, cut with the sihouette Cameo, Bazzill cardstock, Stickles



Thursday, January 12, 2012

Time in a Bottle

In my kit for the Scrapbook Queen's design team, I had a vial that completely stumped me. I can't use it on a scrapbook page because it's way too lumpy, and it won't fit in an envelope. Anyway, it's one of those things that I just left in my bin, and thought about occassionally. I had lunch with a friend yesterday and tossed a few ideas out. I was leaning towards a jar decorated for the tooth fairy, but last night, I was surfing the net (or is it interweb now?), and was inspired by the Jim Croce song, "Time in a Bottle."   The last verse of the song goes:

          But there never seems to be enough time
          To do the things you want to do once you find them
          I've looked around enough to know
          That you're the one I want to go through time with

Those last two lines really resonated with me  Ok... Got it!!



I put some time in a bottle. Well, the word "time" printed on kraft paper and curled so that the word showed on the outside. Mixed in some bronze Jewel Glitter Ritz to be sandy (but still sparkly). Tied it off with some string. I actually put some glue on the inside lip of the vial before corking it so that it wouldn't accidentally open and leave sparkle everywhere.

Once that was done, I got down to the business of cardmaking. I cut out a pretty heart swirl with my Cameo (the shape is "essence of love") and inked it up a bit. I was going for tone-on-tone, but didn't want the shape to disappear completely.


Then, I needed a piece of the Harmonie/Bella Bohemia paper. I didn't cut it right from the corner, because this is the type of paper I like to use as matting for an entire page. This way, I can leave a one inch border and still use a full 12x12 mat.



I used a doily to make a ruffle. The doily is round, so I cut an arc out, and stuck it down on a piece of Sookwang sticky tape. When I made it straight, the edges ruffle up. I did scrunch it up a bit and add a little bit of pink ink to it to add some extra dimension.


Then I worked on assembly. I had a heart left over from the negative of the "essence of love," so I added some stickles to that.  I coloured an ivory button with some Shell Pink alcohol ink, and tied it all together with some Twinery Twine.  The end result is a pretty Valentine's Day card with a masculine edge to it. And the beauty of a Valentine's Day card is that you hand deliver it, so a lumpy vial won't matter!!




By the way, if you head over to the Scrapbook Queens Forum, I have a challenge posted there. We have a pretty cool giveaway for one lucky participant. Any layout uploaded and posted before February 6th will be eligible to win. Also, all participants will earn "Diva Dollars" to be used towards future auctions.




Products used:  Bazzill Cardstock, Bella Bohemia Botanque paper, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Spun Sugar and Brushed Corduroy), The Twinery twine (Blossom), paper doily, Tim Holtz vial, Cotton Candy Stickles, Bronze Jewel Glitter Ritz, Shell Pink Alcohol Ink

Monday, January 9, 2012

Working on my first resolution....

So, I made some scrapbooking resolutions this year. One of them was to make my own cards. I seriously can't believe how much it costs to buy a card in the store. And if it's a cool one, that really suits the recipient, somehow these cost upwards of $5! (Same thing happens for me with clothing, btw... I always like the expensive ones.)

Anyway, I resolved this year to make all my birthday cards. Not the ones for me, I mean. That would be silly (but they'd say really nice things like, "Rona, you look really young for your age... can't believe you're 39 already").  So, to be proactive, I'm starting now. I think I'll need to stockpile 4 or 5 cards to have ready at a moment's notice.

Last year, I picked up some Inky Antics HoneyPOP stamps that are really cute. They're great for Copic colouring, and are made to have a surprise inside the card.  Here's the outside of the first one I've made:


And inside...


The best thing about these cards is the honeycomb bit that ends up 3D inside the card.


The cards are actually very easy to make. The only trick is to have a double crease in the middle of the card (1/8" apart).  Inky Antics has made a little video on how to do this:


I had my daughter helping me with these cards. I even let her use my Copics. She has no idea how lucky she is. :)  Anyway, one card down!



Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Time for the first post of 2012....

Ok, corny title, but I've never been one to shy away from a good pun.

This is my first post as a design team member for Scrapbook Queens... I'm so excited!!! I think I'm the newbie out of the four DT members, so hopefully I don't embarass myself!

Anyway, since we moved two years ago, we've been looking for a new clock for my daughter's room. Now, she's a tween, so the princess clocks are too young, and the other styles are, well, just too old. 

The only one I thought would be suitable was this one:


but it's HUGE and doesn't really fit her decor.  Time went on (ha ha ha.... I kill me!) and I found a clock for $3 at Walmart. A hideous clock. But it was THREE DOLLARS, and I'm crafty.  Here's the before picture:

And after:


This is great for her room. I used http://www.wordle.net/ to create a word cloud with makeup related words and her name, printed it off, and cut it out for the face of the clock. Scrapbooking supplies for the numbers, and voila!

Now, her bff's birthday party is this weekend, so I had a go at another one, this time with lots of photos so I can show you how to make your own.

First step is to buy a cheap clock. Really cheap. If you can't find it at Walmart, try the dollar store. Next, you get to take it apart. :)  Turn the clock over and you'll probably see 4 or 5  screws that you need to remove. 

Take the glass out


and then you can paint the frame of the clock, if you want to change the colour.  I used the Krylon paint so that it would adhere well to the plastic.


Now, you need to create a pretty face for the clock.  Remove the clock hands. Be careful not too bend them. They're very bendy. My guess is that they're made very thin so as to be light and not have gravity affect the motion of the clock. But that's totally a guess. Either that or the thin metal keeps costs down.



Measure the existing clock face so that you know the diameter.


Then cut a circle and decorate to your heart's content. Be cognizant of the fact that the clock hands must pass over the surface of the clock, so you don't want it too lumpy.

I used my Cameo to cut the circle, as well as some swirls and a figure skater (the birthday girl loves this sport.... also, her room is teal, and her favourite colour is yellow). I punched some numbers and stickled them (hereby starting the movement to make "stickled" a real word in 2012).


I used alcohol inks to change the colour of the clock hands:


Then, carefully push the hands back on, being careful not to bend them. Have a good look from the side to make sure they're level, unbent, and will be able to turn unimpeded.


Here's something that I figured out after an "aha" moment... I wanted to put the hands in the right place for the time. I think it was like 20 past the hour, so I was thinking that the big hand needed to be about one third between the 2 and the 3. Duh. Ok, line all three hands up with the twelve, and then set the time. (smacking hand to forehead)


So, now just put the glass face back on, add a battery and you're done! If you try this, I'd love to see it. If you're on scrapbookqueens.ca, there's a forum there you can post the photo in.  Here's the finished product, back in the original box and ready to wrap!