Frosted Designs Office Supplies Challenge

Reminder Board For Child

Office supply stores are one of my favorite places to visit; on the list just under bookstores.  Back-to-School-Time is also one of my favorites because all of the school supplies are on sale.  I think a lot of paper-crafters share similar feelings.  Which brings me to the challenge from Frosted Designs this week: Office Supplies. Whoo hoo!  I love it!

Three Pieces of Cardboard Packaging To Be Glued Together For Base

For the challenge, I knew I wanted to use shipping tags and binder clips.  I also knew that I was becoming weary of reminding my dd every single day to do some simple things.  It seemed a Reminder Chart was in order.  

The greatest thing about this project is that I used things on hand and things that would normally have been thrown into the recycling bin.

Cricut Art Philosophy Negative Cut Sheet 

After painting the cardboard base with acrylic paint, I adhered a piece of cardstock that was a leftover from a Cricut heart-cutting project that had been misted with pearl paint and water.

Binder Clips To Be Covered With Washi and Tissue Tape

On each side of the chart there are cute tape covered binder clips to hold the decorated shipping tags with the various reminders printed on them.  

Painted Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Shipping Tag

The tags are regular manilla painted with Tattered Angels Tutti Fruiti Glimmer Mist.  After they dried I ran them through the printer and added washi/tissue tape to both ends.

Close-Up of Painted Chipboard Letters With Liquid Pearls

My seven year old is the princess of re-purposing. She noticed that the double-sided tape dispenser was empty and that some of the washi tape was the same size as the used-up tape.  She suggested that I re-use the dispenser.  What a great idea! See it pictured below.

Reusing Tape Dispenser For Washi Tape

The last addition to the board was ribbon.  The one used for hanging came from a gift and the other little ones are from my stash.

Bow Tucked Through Binder Clip

She has had this in her room for a couple of days and it has helped a little bit.  Now instead of asking her if she did each of the individual things, I ask her if she did the things on the board.  It is progress!  Once these items are habits, we can change the tags to new things.

Hanging In DD's Room

This is my last Frosted Designs Challenge as a Design Team member.  When the card challenges ceased, I opted to remain for my term as a Friday team member.  I love the women who are part of Frosted Designs.  They are talented, kind and very sharing.  I will miss being a part of this amazing group, but am excited to continue working on other projects.  Speaking of which, if you get a chance, please visit Faithbooking For All for this week's Faithbooking Friday post.

Thank you for visiting! Have an amazing weekend!
Beverly

New Favorite Stamp Sets Card

Stacked Medallion Made From Accent 1 - Cricut Artiste Cartridge Pg. 56

New toys are always fun to play with!  After you have a chance to use them for awhile, you inevitably have a few favorites.  As soon as I saw these sets, I knew that they would quickly move into "favorite" status.  This card was made with new stamps and some old(er) paper.

CTMH Pirouette and Magnifique Stamps on Diecut Images 

I used 6 of the 7 of the new Jardin stamps to create the background on the Baby Pink cardstock which is under the layered medallion in the center.  This was placed on top of a square from the soon-to-be-retired Lucy B & T paper. Which in turn was placed on a piece of Pear cardstock.  All of these squares were edge distressed.  The card base is Colonial White card stock cut 5 1/2" by 11" and folded in half to make a square.

Image from the CTMH July Stamp of the Month Set: Live Out Loud

Supplies are from CTMH:
Cricut Artiste Collection Cartridge
Cardstock: Colonial White, Pear, Baby Pink - Retiring July 31, 2012
Patterned Paper: Lucy B & T - Retiring July 31, 2012
Stamps: Live Out Loud, Pirouette, Jardin, and La Belle Vie Workshop
Ink: Blush, Pear, Baby Pink - Retiring July 31, 2012
Embellishments: Pearl Opaque Adhesive Gems, Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon spritzed with Create-A-Shade Pearl paint mixed with water

Christmas In July - Canvas Wall Art With Paper and Clay

Martha Stewart Craft Clay Frame Painted With Pearl Paint Mixed with Reinker

It is hard to find inexpensive, yet pretty home decor pieces.  So, I was pretty excited when I found these little stretched canvases at Jo-Ann's on sale for $.50 each!  That meant that whatever I made with them would still fall into the low-cost category. The various ribbon pieces, papers, bitty pearls and the small amount of clay cost less than $5 all together.  What a great gift this will make!

Three Small Stretched Canvases Transformed Into A Single Piece of Art

By placing the canvases on top of the chipboard and cardstock base this 3-d piece of art already has a lot of depth to it.  When adding a clay frame and popped up letters, it makes it even more interesting to look at.  There is a lot of detail with big impact on a pretty small piece.  The overall dimensions are based on the scrap piece of chipboard I used to mount the three canvases.  It is about 9" long and a little less than 5" high.  The ribbon lace across the canvases ties them together, yet still allows each one to stand as its own little creation.

Holly Leaves Cut With Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

Here is a video tutorial on how to make this triptych inspired Christmas art:

Thank you for visiting today!

Beverly

Supplies:
3 - 3.5" x 2.5" Stretched Canvases
Cricut Cartridge - Art Philosophy
Martha Stewart Frame Mold and Craft Clay
Paper: CTMH - Mistletoe (Retired)
Cardstock: CTMH - Cranberry, New England Ivy, Ponderosa Pine
Ink: CTMH New England Ivy, Versamark
Reinker: CTMH Parchment retiring July 31, 2012
Stamps: CTMH Baroque Alphabet retiring July 31, 2012, CTMH Diverse Backgrounds
Chipboard or Cardboard
Ribbon: Kaiser lace and (retired) CTMH
CTMH Bitty Opaques Pearl Adhesive Gems
CTMH Silver Embossing Powder
CTMH Create-A-Shade Perfect Pearl Paint
Markers: CTMH Black retiring July 31, 2012, Copic R27, R29
Adhesive: Golden Matte Medium, CTMH Liquid Glass, 3-D Foam Tape
Dry Embossing/Scoring Stylus
Craft Heater
Micro-Tip Scissors

Memento Versus Brilliance Ink With Copic Markers

Copic markers come in over 300 beautiful colors. They are versatile in their application techniques: Direct to paper, airbrush, refills for backgrounds, etc.  They are ethanol based and are safe to use on scrapbook layouts.  There are a wide variety of materials that they can be used on - porous and non-porous surfaces alike.  However, the types of papers and inks that they work best upon is the main question that most beginners have before they start exploring all of the other fabulous things you can do with them.

Today, I wanted to show how two of the inks that are recommended by Copic compare with each other.  Why would you prefer one to the other and do you need both?   This is my personal opinion and not endorsed by Copic, by the way. :-)

Heavenly White Ultrasmooth #120 Cardstock

Assessing what kinds of images you use may be the biggest determining factor in what type of ink you prefer.  The images posted above were made from a very fine line acrylic stamp set. If your images are more dense or have a bulkier presence, than either ink will stamp equally well for you.  Your area of interest may then just be whether the ink will hold up to coloring with Copic markers and whether heat setting your images is something you want to do.

As you can see, the Memento ink, on the left, gave a thicker and darker impression than the Brilliance.  There is more observable detail with the Brilliance ink.  Memento is fast drying, but you do want to make sure it is dry before coloring.  Give the ink a chance to be absorbed by the paper.  Brilliance, on the other hand, requires heat setting. If you plan ahead, you can stamp your images in advance and let them dry overnight with comparable results.

Copics R81, R83, and Y15

 The flower on the left was colored by crossing over the black ink with the marker.  I was very careful to not use the light pink (R81) on the stamped ink on the right.  There was no bleeding on either of the images.  The photo below shows those same flowers plus a smaller flower that had been colored at full size and cut down.  This one was stamped with the Brilliance ink and heat set at the same time as the others. However, you will notice that the black ink smeared and bled and really doesn't look very nice in comparison to the other two.  The only difference was that I colored over the black stamped image with the R81 marker.  Is this typical, you may wonder?  I do not know. It happens to me frequently, though!  Your climate may play a part in how much moisture is in your paper.  How old the paper is can also affect the results because of moisture content.

So, because I have experienced this on more than one occasion, I usually do not color Over stamped lines.  Yes, it takes longer.  But so does starting over. :-)

You may wonder why I used the image anyway since I was clearly not happy with it?  Because I wanted to show that even though it was messed up, it was still salvageable.  By cutting the image smaller, it gave it less importance.  Also, by having a lot of texture on the card, the eye doesn't stop too long at that spot.

Spica Pens (Set B) Provide a Little Glitz To the Flowers

So do you need both inks?  Only you know the answer to that!  :-)  However, I hope that this has provided you with enough information to know whether or not you want to try these inks, if you haven't already.

Tomorrow's post is also about Copic Markers.  It involves some inks that are on the 'not recommended' list. Please stop by and see the results of my little experiment with eight inks and Copic markers.

Thank you for visiting today!

Beverly

The additional supplies used on the card are as follows:

Stamps: Flower and leaves are from the CTMH Card Word Puzzle set 

  Sentiment is from the CTMH Say It In Style set

Cardstock: Card base and sentiment tag are CTMH White Daisy

  CTMH Baby Pink punched with Martha Stewart Doily Lace edge punch

Velvet paper (from my stash) embossed with script folder from Hobby Lobby's in-house brand

Gingham pattern paper: Making Memories

Butterflies were made with Martha Stewart mold and clay, white one was painted with Create-a-Shade

Lace: Martha Stewart

Polka Dot Ribbon: CTMH (retired)

Tiny Pearls are CTHM Bitty Opaque Adhesive Gems

Christmas In July - Part 1 - Advent Calendar Wreath

Countdown to Christmas Wreath

Now that the Fourth of July is over it is time for me to get ready for Christmas!  Just kidding.  I actually made this advent calendar last winter and I am finally getting around to posting the video tutorial.  It has been in the video camera for months!

Here is the tutorial if you would like to follow along as I show you the steps that I took to make this.

This wreath is made with wedding favor tins.  Inside can be placed candies or little messages.  Over the years I have made a few Countdown To Christmas/Advent Calendars.  Here is one that I made last year with some ideas posted about what I was enclosing inside.  

Wilton Wedding Favor Tins - For Christmas Advent Calendar

It would have been yummy to have sampled lots of different sized candies for the tins, but I am trying to set a good example about "every once in awhile treats." So, in order to show the relative size of these little tins I used candy that was already in the house.  This could also be interpreted as "candy that is not to my liking."  Which is why it is still in the house. ;-)

This is a great project that my family will enjoy using for many years. I hope you get a chance to make one, too!

Please visit again next Friday for another Christmas in July project.  I hope to have a new Christmas project posted every Friday this month.

Thank you for stopping by today!
Beverly

Supplies:
Wilton Wedding Favor Tin Kit
18" MDF Craft Wreath Base
Paint Brush
Adirondack Red Pepper Acrylic Paint Dabber
CTMH - Create A Shade Pearl Paint
Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge - Leaf 3 on page 46, numbers
Stamp Set: CTMH A Holiday
CTMH New England Ivy and Olive Cardstock
CTMH White Daisy Cardstock
CTMH New England Ivy Ink Pad
Assorted Patterned Paper - I used retired CTMH papers
2" Circle Punch
Hot glue gun
Ribbon and Wire for bow

Thinking Of You - Stamping On Vellum Layered Card

Card With Vellum Cover

 Vellum seems so elegant to use on a hand-crafted card.  I love how what is layered underneath seems extra special.  This card is very simple to create, but in person still has a wow factor.

Vellum Adhered On The Fold Side

This card uses a 12" x 6" piece of cardstock, a 6" piece of vellum and a white cardstock diecut made with the Silhouette Cameo.   I spritzed the diecut with a mixture of CTMH Crystal Blue reinker, Create A Shade Pearl Paint and water to give it a bit of a blue tinge.  To make it easy to adhere, I ran it through the Xyron and made it into a gigantic sticker. This was then adhered to the card front.  The vellum was layered on top with a thin strip of vellum adhesive after stamping.

CTMH Thinking Of You Image From The Childhood Portrait Set

The image was stamped with Versamark ink and embossed with white powder.  I used a white fiber (retired CTMH) on the fold side and tied it in a bow.

Even though this card is layered, it is not at all bulky.  The fiber adds a bit of dimension but would not interfere with any of the automatic postage sorting machines.  No additional postage would be necessary if it were a standard size.  Of course I didn't think of that until after I made it. :-)

Thank you for stopping by today!
Beverly

Silhouette Cameo Snowflakes Card - No Patterned Paper!

Crystal Blue and White Cardstock

 The Silhouette Cameo cuts beautiful and intricate designs. I wanted to showcase the  pretty cuts by making a clean and simple card.    This card uses 2 colors of plain cardstock, one ink color, one stamp, and some ribbon and bling.  Easy!

CTMH Snow Flurries stamp used as a background stamp

 The card base is Crystal Blue CTMH Cardstock stamped with Crystal Blue ink using one stamp from the Snow Flurries set.  White Daisy cardstock was cut using a blade depth of 4 at a speed of 3 using the double cut option through the software linked to the Cameo.  For even more intricate cuts that I've used on upcoming projects, I slowed the speed to 2. This was with a new blade, btw.

Create A Shade Pearl Paint sprayed on White Cardstock

 After cutting the shapes, I sprayed them with a paint and water mixture to give the snowflakes a shimmery effect.  The picture above was taken with a flash to show off the pearlized look.

The final touch was to add some CTMH Clear and Bitty Sparkles to the snowflakes. The white organdy ribbon was threaded through a ribbon slide and  adhered to the front of the card.

Thank you for stopping by today!
Beverly

Card Box with Wonderland B & T for Die Cuts Storage And New Product Blog Hop

You know how you think you want to use a particular image that you've already cut, stamped or colored in some way and then you Don't end up using it in your project?  Well, I have a bunch of little gems like that in piles all over my work area.  You can see some letters (in the picture below) just wanting a home.  I decided to turn the new CTMH My Creations Card Box into a pretty storage box to sit on my desk to house all those little orphan pieces until I can use them on a card or other project.

 This is what the box looked like beforehand.  Here are some of the papers and other supplies that will be used.

 Here is Spring Iris reinker waiting to be mixed with CTMH's Create a Shade Pearl Paint.

 I'm all about re-using whatever I can, so I save the plastic containers that Tombox refills come in and then use them for painting, etc.

 All the pieces of paper are cut and will be sponge distressed using Crystal Blue ink.  I label whatever I can, so that I can find what I need fairly quickly.  The card box is in the background after I painted it with the newly mixed pearl paint colors.

 I also painted some little wood blocks with white acrylic paint and glued them onto the bottom of the box.  This is the back of the box with a piece of Crystal Blue card stock stamped in White Daisy Pigment Ink and embossed with Clear Detail Powder.  The image is from the Universal Backgrounds set (D1477).

 The sides are both the same with some pewter embellishments.

 This is the front foot with a small butterfly from the Fill In the Blank Stamp set.  On the top of the box are the bird and larger butterfly stamped from the same set.

 The inside of the box is painted with the Spring Iris/Pearl Paint mixture.  It turned a different shade on the surface of the inside walls of the box which gave it a cool two-tone effect.  The box is beginning to get filled up with lots of fun things for future projects!

Here is the top of the box with a paper rosette made from the same paper pack.  The button on the bow is from the new Bling Assortment.   The Sparkles on the butterflies come from the Blue and Green Assortment.

Please join the CTMH New Product Blog Hop hosted by the lovely Ms. Tresa Black. Thanks Tresa!