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3 Tags of Summer – Tag #3

Another Pinterest inspiration. I found an icon for the bubble topped cup online. With all the hotter than hot weather we’ve been having and we’re back in the triple digits again, I thought this would be a fun way to end the challenge this year.

I used acetate for front and back, so the “cup” is clear and can be seen from both sides. The seed beads are from Michaels and at the time of this writing were 40% off (all jewelry stuff). I’m thinking I should have used more beads and made the bubble top a separate section, but due to some time constraints, kept it simple for this version.

I used a couple of buttons from the stash and some banner shapes for additional interest.

AC white textured cardstock
red marker; blue ink
Bearly Art Glue
buttons
seed beads (red matte)

Have an awesome day!

3 Summer Tags – Tag #2

Pinterest inspiration as well. I did change it up a bit and used several different techniques and media. The tag is from the SCAL library (Tags and Banners folder)

The base, flowers and sentiment piece are sketch pad paper. Leaves, flower centers and ladybug are cut using Encore and Bazzill cardstock

I used some pan pastels and watercolor ink refill for the tag base after stamping with a honeycomb background stamp. The flowers also have pan pastel and some ink splatter.

The sentiment was generated in SCAL and then foiled using the Foil Quill. I added some cheesecloth on top of the tag (you can’t see it) for a base to build on.

I really like how this one turned out. Texture, color and depth.

Sketch pad paper (9×12 sheet)
SCAL
Anenome files from Dreaming Tree
Ladybug file from Creative Fabrica (I did alter the file – adding a stitched line and changed the hearts into circles.
Leaves from a FSJ’s die set, I did use some tweezers to add some dimension and then inked the leaves.

3 Summer Tags – Tag #1

Summer challenge. It’s our annual 3 tags of Summer challenge and today is day one. This tag was an inspiration from Pinterest. The tag was created in SCAL using a rounded rectangle and half circle. The base was a piece of parchment paper — The Hi There was printed following the P2C format in SCAL. I did choose to print the hearts for help in placement. A second set of hearts was printed and cut to top the ones on the base. I used glue and foam tape to secure the cut hearts in place. This adds some dimension, which I really like.

Base: Parchment paper
Printer: Brother Inkvestment
Fonts: from the font library on the PC
Bronze Gel Pen and ribbon from stash

Paper Play – July and August

July and August were pretty busy – lots of cards to create and get in the mail and or hand-deliver. Even a challenge project and some tatting – for which I’m very grateful I haven’t forgotten how to do. So let’s just get started with a few of the many I’ve done over the course of the last month or so.



Print to cut – using SCAL 6 pro. I did use an old SU background stamp on the speech bubble. Cardstock from AC and Bazill. Delivered

Pinterest inspired — the happy birthday is printed on the colored cardstock, cut to size before printing. The 15 is stamped and inked along the edges for a little more interest and texture. Eyelets are from my stash and I used some crochet cotton as the strings. Delivered

File from Etsy – easy to create and while it’s an offsize, it wouldn’t be hard to resize to fit in an A2 envie. I did use some vinyl on the inside for the sentiment. This card has been delivered and he had to show it off to his brother before sharing it with his parents.

Vera Lane digi stamps. I love her quirky style and they’re just fun to color and play with. Background paper from Lasting Impressions. I hope it’s well received.

I found the pattern at LillianTatLace.com It’s a free pattern — you may need to do a search but you’re looking for the Wreath from 2013. It’s an easy piece, but I think I’m going to try to find a different size bead/pearl for the next practice. Maybe we can go do a looksie at the craft store later this week.

Pinterest inspired. Used an old, old stack of Valentine themed paper (more than 15 years old) to create 6 cards. 4 anniversary and 2 birthday cards. They have been delivered.

There’s more…. coming soon. I’ve been in the studio frequently in the past 45 days or so. It’s soothing to my soul — and with all that’s been going on, I really treasure my time in that space.

time for a creative update…

Rootbeer floats for a July hello card. These were lots of fun and using some heat and puff stuff really helped with the details on the float. Mod-Podge applied to the glass, straw and spoon.

A quick birthday card – images and paper from Lasting Impressions.

a little more fun!

Background paper, my own design. Dies from Spellbinders.

fun card size paper quilts. Digital papers from Nit Wit collections and Carta Bella. And old swirl texture plate from Sizzix for the embossing.

A thank you card — pickles for pickles! Pickle SVG download from Witchvector. Lots of inking!

one of four images from Sweet November Stamps colored with Rembrandt pencils on smooth 110 lb Neenah stock.

I think I’ll stop for now. I have a few more things to share — but they can wait until next my next post.

Have a creative week!

birthday pop up

This pop up was a fun make — proved challenging at times, but overall, worked out as planned. Based on a Pinterest inspo and made using a go-to file from Simply Crafty SVGs. You can find the Valentine Gnome box card file on Creative Fabrica.

I changed the wrap around piece to a straight across piece and added a half circle edging across the top in SCAL 6. Once that piece was finalized, I copied that piece and then cut the bottom third off and added some small ovals using back minus front and union. Then made a few adjustments using the node tool to finish the icing for the cake. Remove the scoring lines from the icing piece. You won’t need them or the tab on the end. You can use the knife tool to remove it or leave it and use some scissors after cutting to take it.

The inside part of the box weren’t altered. No inserts were used on the bottom tier — and the cutouts don’t alter the support as the base and can’t be seen when the 2nd tier is glued in place.

The inserts were adapted by cutting off the pieces that would have supported the elements used in the original design. You can glue the candles to the tabs and the transparency has a long enough insert that it can be secured with some double sided tape and you don’t need to cut that tab/insert unless you want to.

A blocky font was selected for the HAPPY and BIRTHDAY. He turns 15 this year and so we added that as well. All lettering and the candles were cut in white and then colored with markers. A bit of Mod Podge was brushed across the top of each letter and number for a little more gloss.

Just a note: A previous test of the design was done in cardstock. The red cardstock was just a little too heavy and didn’t adapt to the folding/training as well as I’d hoped. However, after another 24 hours of training, it’s holding much better, but being the impatient sole I am, I did a print and cut version in a slightly lighter weight and had better luck there almost immediately. The version shown above is the print and cut version.

The base tier is cut at 100% and the second tier is cut at 85%. Both tiers can be cut using a single 8.5 x 11 sheet if you’re doing a single color base — white on white or pink on pink, etc. The candles and lettering/numbers can be cut on a single sheet as well. Alcohol markers were used for colors and some inking along the edges of the inserts, icing and inside box were also done to add a little more depth to the cakes.

Assemble using the video as a guide. Do not put the wrap or icing on the botton tier until you’ve glued the 2nd tier to the base. While the bottom tier is standing, apply glue to the base of the second tier also open and standing. Center on the top of the base and once the glue has had a few seconds to grab hold, fold the base to flatten. Place a weight on top and allow the glue to dry. You may need to retrain the pop up a bit, but it should open and shut as designed. Now add the wrap and the icing and any additional elements that you have chosen to add to your design to the base.

If you use pop up dots, you’ll need a boxy envelope. This is added postage if you send it through the mail system. But we’re offering hand delivery on this one. 🙂

Have an awesome day — hoping it’s a crafty and creative one for you.

more paper fun

One thing I really appreciate about the SCAL software is that ability to resize things with a few clicks of the mouse. I can round corners, add or delete nodes. Play with fonts. Change colors and more. Designing is so much fun and rewarding!

I’ve been eyeing a card on Pinterest for a while, but my budget for purchasing dies and files is on hold for a few weeks. This was an idea that I really needed to get made — so opening SCAL was the first step. All the pieces with the exception of the “fish” were created in SCAL. The fish were a free download from freepik.com. More about them in a minute.

The original card I saw was a slider, but I decided I wanted a box card. Yes, I saw Julie Ebersole’s version of the card, but wanted to do something just a little different, so this is my version.

I traced the jpg version of the file in the software. Once the trace was completed, some of the elements were deleted and those remaining were set to print only. The outline was set to cut. Once the fish were cut, adding a little dimension with some Solar Paste and Nuvo Crystal Drops was all that needed to be done with fish. They were installed on a single insert with some foam tape between layers.

The rolled back top and key were a fun addition. Of course the “label” could be any design your want… I did like this sentiment and there’s plenty of room on the back to add a personalization.

The card folds nearly flat to place in a boxy envelope. It would cost more to mail, but this is a perfect card to hand deliver to a special recipient.

A fun idea

I have to admit, this wasn’t my first vision of this project, but I think this one turned out pretty good. Using the Halloween Books and Square Birthday Candle Box files from Simply Crafty SVGs – this decor piece was easy to put together and finish in a matter or a few hours after cutting. I think the cutting took longer since I was having issues with a blade and a new mat. They didn’t like each other, but that story is for another time.

The firecrackers/candles were easy to do. I did start by modifying the file and resized the main file pieces by 50%. The front panel is a combination of rectangles created using the SCAL software. All but the star is inked. Following the directions for assembly in the file, these are very easy to put together. To adjust for the other two, lengthening the box file (no changes in the width) and bottom pieces is pretty easy. There’s about an additional inch added to the middle cracker and another 1/4 inch added to the tallest. You will have to adapt the upper flap as it is too long to fit. Add another score line where the new fold should be. You can certainly glue this together after inserting the wick which is a piece of jute wrapping.

The books are cut using the file as is. I created another spine piece for each of the books — using the shadow layer feature in SCAL. Easy to do, just make sure you use the blackout box and the shadow is 0.00 – so it’s exactly the same size. There are other ways to do it, but this is just easy as well. Choose the words and font/s you want to use and create them in the software — leaving a small space at each end of the panel. Using some small rectangles or flourishes, place those to finish the spine as desired. The book paper panels are scored using a scoreboard and bone folder every 1/8 inch and inked.

Assembly videos can be found on Sandy’s YouTube channel.
Square Birthday Candles
Halloween Books

For this project you’ll need:
12 x 12 cardstock (red, white blue, off white)
gold vinyl (permanent)
glue
jute
ink (red, lt brown, black, dk blue, lt grey)
score board, bone folder
closure (optional)

Hoping you’ll have some fun doing some of your favorite creative hobbies. Enjoy the time and nurture your heart as well.

Textures

The challenge for the week was to create something with “texture.” There are so many ideas and my cupboards and drawers are full of some wonderful options.

For this tag, I chose to use some oldies but goodies from my stash – sadly, many things are no longer available.

The tag shape was created using two shapes from the SCAL 6 Library and joining them together with the Union command in SCAL 6. Some X’s were added for a little interest on the left side – and were cut not scored during the cutting process by the Skycut. Applied the border embossing folder to the top edge of the tag base. Ink the edges with the distress ink. Add the eyelet.

Cut and emboss the patterned paper piece with a folder, scruff up the edges a bit, ink the edges and glue to the base. Add ribbon and thread and secure in place.

Cut and crimp the strip, ink the edges and glue in place

Cut the backing piece for the frame, stamp and heat emboss the sentiment. Ink the piece leaving the center uninked. Secure in the frame and using brads, secure the frame to the tag base. If desired a backing can be added to the base to hide the brad prongs

Patterned paper – an old 6 x 6 pad (retired long ago)
ivory cardstock
Fiskar crimping tool
border embossing folder – Anna Griffin (Poppy, retired)
Embossing folder – Fun Stampers Journey (retired)
heart shaped eyelet – Eyelets Etc. (retired)
ribbons (stash)
thread (stash)
heat embossing powder -rose
embossing ink – Versa Mark
metal frame – Stampin’ Up! (retired)
hugs stamp – Honey Bee Stamps (Pickup Lines)
distress ink – Ranger (Old Paper)


Hoping your creative time has been productive this week. Thanks for stopping by.

Tower Double Pinwheel card

This was a fun one to create. I basically followed the directions from Crystal Best’s YouTube video for this one. I chose some junk journal images I found on Creative Fabrica (loved the dimension on the images) and a couple of other files also from CF (lined vintage background images and Pastel Ombre images.)*

The finished tower is actually quite sturdy and there are quite a few options on how you use your images of choice on each of the “wings.”

I did turn the smaller layers sideways in my cutting file — my bad, but that’s an easy fix for future makes. This design would also make for a fun mini album or mini journal in a larger album. I made this one in the A2 size (4.25 x 5.50 inches). However, Crystal also has directions for a 5 x 7 design in the same video as shared above which would also be perfect for using some cherished photographs or other small artwork.

A couple of things I really like about the SCAL 6 software (basic or pro) is the option to fill shapes with images using the Pattern command or using a mask option in the software to fussy cut an image. And the Skycut C24 cuts spot on when using the Print 2 Cut option in the software when the calibration has been set. Even better is that regardless of updates to the software, you don’t need to recalibrate the camera/laser. The cutter is a fabulous machine. If the pricing is out of your budget, Skycut is also making a few other machines under different brands (SOLO by Starcraft, Juliet and Romeo by Siser). I’ve heard great things about them all and they can also use the SCAL software as well as the proprietary software sold with the machine.

*I have used affiliate links for all of the Creative Fabrica files I used in this project. If you choose to purchase the files, I will receive a small amount from the sale. Additional costs are not added to your purchase to cover that. AND a huge Thanks for using the links!