Harvest Happiness Ornaments Video

Gift Bow/Topper or Ornament

These pretty decorations are made by stamping images onto corresponding cut shapes, folding them and gluing them into 3 dimensional shapes.  Here is a video tutorial showing how to make them:

The stamp shapes for Harvest Happiness correspond with the Art Philosophy cartridge.  The shapes on the posts here and here correspond with the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Once you know the procedure, you can use any shape that you like!

CTMH Harvest Happiness Stamp Set

The ornaments can be hung up or used to decorate gifts.

15 Shapes Cut From Cricut Art Philosophy

Embellishments in the center offer another place to show your creativity.  Add bling, buttons, ribbons, twine, beads, etc. either with glue or foam tape.

CTMH Burlap Ribbon

If you have any questions please leave me a comment or feel free to email me at StampinBev@msn.com

Thank you for visiting!
Beverly

La Belle Vie Baby

CTMH La Belle Vie B & T

When I saw this new paper, I thought of the picture above, taken about 22 years ago. Dark colors are not usually found on typical baby layouts.  But this is no typical baby.  She was a delight from the moment she arrived, but very pensive. A sweet and gentle girl, but a deep thinker with a strong sense of propriety. When she was about one and a half, she climbed down from her high chair to put herself in timeout because she said she was thinking something naughty. My mother used to say, "Eva has an old soul."

She has always had her own personality and her own style. She has gorgeous olive skin and dark soul-filled eyes. My other dd would not be able to carry the weight of this paper, but dear little Eva can. It suits her.  Sort of a Goth-baby type look.

Semi-Hidden Journaling Using Cricut Artiste Doily

The lace backdrop of the photograph lightens up the center of the page. The reverse side of the black patterned paper is the pretty pink/mauve patterned paper. I cut a 9" doily using the Accent 1 shape on page 31 of the CTMH Cricut Artiste Handbook.  I tucked the month and year under a couple of the openings with the La Belle Vie Mauve cardstock for a peek-a-boo effect.

Mixing Boutique and Bohemian Embellishments

The embellishments were from a few different collections. Pearls came from the Opaque Adhesive Gems and the Pearl Flourishes.  I placed a pearl on each of the rosettes on the Colonial White ribbon. The crocheted flower is from the Bohemian Assortment and the metal bow clip is from the Boutique Assortment.

CTMH Jardin Frame Stamped on Martha Stewart Clay

I flattened out some Martha Stewart air-dry clay and stamped the frame from the Jardin set in Chocolate ink.  It dried to almost the same shade of pink as the paper used for the doily!  What a great accident! If you want a certain color, it would probably be a good idea to make a small sample first.  Here is a quick video showing how to stamp on this type of clay:

  

The clay is sold at both Joann's and Michael's.

*edited to add a note about the Slate ink used in video -
It dried closer to it's true color, with a tinge of green around the edges.

Sewing Through Eyelets and Pearls Added to Rosette Ribbon

It was fun to incorporate a few peek-a-boo elements in the layout for a little whimsy.  In addition to the date, mentioned above, I placed cardstock cut with the Martha Stewart doily edger punch under the patterned paper.  I also set eyelets and sewed through them, tying a big knot.

Even though this paper would look stunning with wedding photos or used for a visit to an old, classic city, I like it for this baby layout, too.  Sometimes, pushing myself out of the 'norm' results in a mess!  But I think it worked this time. :-)

I hope you have a wonderful day!  Thank you for visiting!

Beverly

Avonlea Cards - August Bonus Projects

CTMH Avonlea B & T Paper

The three cards on this page all used patterned paper from the Avonlea collection.  The top two are 6 x 6 square cards and the bottom one is a standard 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card.  The top one has a Parlor Velvet Rub-On for a little added texture, along with pieces of Black Tulle Ribbon and Slate Satin Polka Dot Ribbon.  The sentiment comes from the Words of Comfort set.

Sentiment is from CTMH Card Chatter - Sympathy Set

I love how simple this card is, but it still has a lot of character.  The sentiment was stamped on a shape cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge and layered over progressively larger shapes.  A couple of Mocha Opaques anchor the sides of the layered labels. The Slate Polka Dot Ribbon adds an elegant touch. Inside the card is a strip of patterned paper adhered to the edge.  The front of the card was cut a little smaller so that the inside paper could be seen peeking out.

Liquid Glass Turns Matte Finishes to Glossy

 The birthday card has pops of bright, stamped images.  Honey ink was used with the images from the Artiste Collection.  The two banners were then covered with Liquid Glass to make shiny embellishments for the card.  All of the design elements were popped off the page using foam tape.

Paper Pieced Cupcake

Even though there is a cupcake cut file on the Artiste cartridge, I hand cut it because I wanted to paper-piece it. The 'sprinkles' on the cupcake are Mocha Opaques Adhesive Gems. 

All three cards are part of my August Bonus - Thank-You Projects for any customer who shops with me this month.  I will email the complete instructions to all online customers.  The projects can be made with whatever papers and inks you have on hand, they do not have to be made with the supplies that are from the samples. The other projects are here and here.

Thank you for stopping by today!  I appreciate you taking the time to visit.

Beverly

Avonlea Note Board - Serenity Prayer

Glass Fronted Frame For Message Board

Almost every time that we get home from the grocery store or Costco one of us remembers something that we needed to buy, but we had forgotten.  I decided to take a big picture frame and turn it into a message center so that we can hopefully avoid these problems in the future. The idea is to record grocery lists or other important messages on something big enough that we can see it/find it.  

It was important to me that the picture frame be attractive and functional.  The insert for the mat board is an 11 1/2" square.  It was a perfect size for a piece of scrapbooking paper!  Having a gorgeous piece of framed paper was great, but I decided that I wanted it to be even More spectacular!  So I typed the Serenity Prayer and printed it on cardstock.  I decided to random stamp some of the images from the Avonlea WOTG on it and then distressed the edges.  A few Mocha Pearl Opaques decorated the insert and it was almost done.

The last step was cutting the letters.  I used a different piece of Avonlea paper and the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to spell Notes.  The periods were made with more Mocha Pearls.

CTMH Avonlea Patterned Paper

It probably would have been best to photograph it without the glass.  But I wanted to show it with the dry erase or chalk ink - wet wipe markers written on it. Please excuse the glare.  If you click on the photograph you can see a bigger picture, which will show the poem and detail better.

Ikea Virserum 19 3/4" Square Frame

Last year I made a Blessings Board with a smaller frame for my dd.  The project idea is similar to this. That post is here.

The full project instructions for the Avonlea Notes/Message Board are my thank-you gift for my customers this month.  The instructions also include the ornaments posted yesterday and the cards that will be posted tomorrow.  If you place an online order with me, your bonus project instruction sheet will be emailed to you.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Beverly

Supplies:
Ikea Virserum Square Frame, Chalk Ink Wet Wipe Marker
CTMH: Avonlea Workshop on the Go Stamp, Paper Packet and Mocha Opaques
Cricut Art Philosophy
Ink: Slate, Juniper, Chocolate, Bamboo
White Daisy Cardstock

Stamping On Seam Binding Ribbon

Stamped Ribbon

This card uses one of my favorite combinations - red with kraft cardstock.  In this case, the red is CTMH's new Ruby color dye ink.  I stamped the Pirouette image directly onto the kraft card and then stamped it again onto Colonial White.  Since I already had the stamp inky, I thought I would try stamping directly on the seam binding ribbon.  It has a sort of tie-dye look about it. Or maybe a little bit like damask?

5 x 5 Square Card

The sentiment is from another new set which will be released on August 1st.  It is called Words of Comfort.  I know I will use it more often than I want to, because it means someone I care about is hurting. However, it will be a welcome addition to my stamp collection because it is so hard to find the right words to say sometimes.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I appreciate it!  Btw, this morning I am having dental surgery so if you try calling me today, I won't be able to answer the phone!

Supplies are CTMH:
Kraft Cardstock
Colonial White Cardstock
Black Ink
Ruby Ink - Available August 1, 2012
Pirouette Stamp - Available August 1, 2012 
Words of Comfort Stamp Set - Available August 1, 2012
Pearl Opaques Adhesive Gems
Rhinestone Designer Brads
Color Ready Seam Binding
Corner Rounder

Cricut Artiste Word Balloons Cards

6 Cards Fit In The Mini-Magazine Holder

Monday, I posted about the box pictured above.  It is an adorable, pared down file folder holder as part of the popular office-supply trend that is a big part of scrapbooking.  You could make a really cute Heidi Swapp inspired set of folders for Memory Files.  Or you could make a bunch of cards and stuff it with them. :-)  The original post is here, btw.  These cards are all mail-able without extra postage - except maybe the one with the ribbon.  It smashes down to fit in an envelope without any problems, though it may need a little extra postage due to the bulk.

Artiste Owl  On Page 76 - Accent 3

 So, you can see that I made a bunch of cards to coordinate with the holder.  Each of them used a different stamp from the Word Balloons set that comes with the Artiste Collection.  There are two arrow stamps that I did not use from the set.  You will see those soon on another project.

Artiste Mustache Page 67 - Accent 2

All of the cut shapes are either popped up on foam tape or in the case of the word balloons, mounted on their corresponding Dimensional Elements.  The sizes to cut are printed on the front of the package of the Dimensional Elements and also on the carrier sheet for the stamps.  Because the stamps are acrylic, it is easy to stamp in the Cricut cut shape.

Artiste Bride Page 61 Accent 2 (Shift)

I filled in the hollow on the bride's tummy by placing a piece of Stella paper behind her.  The main reason was so that I could put a piece of foam tape there to offer more support.  Otherwise, she is see through right there.  It sort of looks like a bouquet outline.  The groom is quite dapper looking and the welded words on this page are beautiful!

Artiste Dress-form and Dress Page 41 Accent 1 and Accent 2 (shift)

 Sewing has been a part of paper crafting forever.  Several of the shapes on page 41 keep to that theme.  In addition to the shapes on the card above, there is a spool, thread to layer on it, a pair of scissors and a hanger.  The non-sewing specific items using the same button are the letter Q, a card and wrapper, and a cute 3-D purse.

Artiste Cat Page 76 Card (Shift)

 This key is called Eek!  The cat shares it with the owl pictured on the first card and several other great Halloween shapes.  I added the Bitty Sparkles to make a collar for this lovely little cat.

Artiste Robot/Alien Page 68 Accent 2

As soon as I saw this little guy, I thought of the Durables Studs.  They seemed like perfect "eyes", especially with the red Sparkles.  The "Hugs & Kisses" sentiment from the Word Balloons stamp set seemed like a quirky, unexpected choice.  It made me chuckle when I put these two together.  It also could be that I was chocolate deprived and I wasn't quite thinking straight!

Thank you for visiting!

Beverly

Supplies are all CTMH:

Cardstock: standard card base, Sunset, Lagoon, Colonial White, Cocoa, Chocolate, Black,

B & T Patterned Paper: Stella, Dotty, Pemberly (owls feathers)

Ink: Lagoon, Sunset, Black

Reinker: Lagoon - to color Seam Binding Ribbon

Embellishments: Square Durables Studs, Red Sparkles, Bitty Sparkles, Mocha Opaques Adhesive Gems

Foam tape

Corner Rounder

The following are included in the CTMH Artiste Collection: 

Cricut Artiste Cartridge, Artiste Word Balloons Stamp Set, Dimensional Elements "Quotes" - Available August 1, 2012

Tools: Derwent Colored Pencils, SU! Scallop Edge Punch

Artiste File Box and Folder

Cut from CTMH Cricut Artiste Accent 3 on Page 47

 The new Cricut Artiste Cartridge will be released in a couple of weeks so I am trying to cut as many things as possible beforehand to be able to answer questions about it!  This is the Dotty paper from the National Scrapbooking promotion in May.  It made such a cute miniature magazine holder/file folder box!  It is 6 inches tall at the highest point and 4 3/4" deep.  The file folder (Accent 2) is a perfect fit at 5" by 4 1/2" (when folded and measured at the tab.)

Cut at 6 Inches - Standard 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" Cards Fit Perfectly

I cut the label holder at 1/2" (Accent 4 on page 47.)  After realizing the size of this adorable holder, I decided to make a set of  six different cards to go inside.  They were all made with the Artiste Collection.  I will post those on Wednesday.  But here is a sneak peak of one of them:

Owl From Cricut Artiste and CTMH Pearl Opaque Gems

Thank you for visiting!

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

First Artwork From Artiste Cricut Cartridge

3D Object From Page 35 CTMH Artiste Collection

This adorable purse was created in mere minutes with the new Cricut Cartridge.  I used the instructions in the booklet and cut it at 3" out of CTMH's Lucy paper.  Folded it up, added some feet and some bling and voila!

So easy!  Some miniature Hershey's candies will fit in here just perfectly.  Or a small gift, like a beaded bracelet.

Supplies:
Cricut Artiste Collection
Lucy B & T
Rhinestone Designer Brads
Durables Studs (feet)
Pearl Opaques Adhesive Gems

Thank you for visiting!
Beverly

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

Wishing You Well

Six Inch Square Card

Making cards with minimal effort but big wow factor is one of my goals every time I work on a card.  This card was quite simple to do using the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge and the CTMH Say it in Style stamp set.

It is a 6" White Daisy square card base. On top of that is a Dutch Blue piece of cardstock cut with the AP cartridge using Shape 10 and the Font layer with the shift button activated. The Outdoor Denim piece was cut at 4 1/4" and the White Daisy piece at 4" - both using the standard Shape 10 design. To top off the layers of cardstock, I cut one more piece of Dutch Blue at 4" using the same shape's decorative layer with the shift activated again.

Center Sentiment Panel is Raised on Foam Tape

The pearl gems add a nice touch of bling to the card.  I think it all works well together.  And best of all it is pretty fast because the Cricut does most of the work!  :-)

Supplies are all CTMH except white wired ribbon which came from Michaels.
Cardstock: White Daisy, Dutch Blue, Outdoor Denim
Ink: Outdoor Denim
Embellishments: Opaques Pearl Adhesive Gems

Thank you for visiting today!
Beverly

Everything You Can Imagine Card

Patterned papers are from the Prima Pixie Glen 6 x 6 Paper Stack

The rest of the quote from Pablo Picasso:
"Everything you can imagine is real"

He had such an imagination and artistic vision.  Who can argue with that thought?  When I saw the pretty Prima papers, I knew that I wanted to use this CTMH stamp with them.  I threw on a little lace to sort of make it look like a window.  And of course, any time I can add some pearls, I do! Three of the layers - across the bottom of the papers - were all cut using the EK Success Bracket Punch.

Thank you for visiting!
Beverly

Sympathy Cards

 First, let me say "Thank You" to all of the past and present members of our military and to their families for your service to our country.  Memorial Day is tomorrow, but I think of your sacrifices everyday.  Many years ago, I had the honor of teaching elementary school in a district that had a large military population.  It was a learning opportunity for me because I had not known any military families before then. It was humbling to see, first hand, the commitment and dedication these brave women and men exhibited before, during and after September 11, 2001. Thank you for keeping freedom, free.

On this weekend, I thought I would share some sympathy cards.  I prefer to have some of these made up before they are needed because I do not much feel like creating them when the time comes to send one.

Martha Stewart Double Arches Punch Around the Page Layers

 This card is a 6" square.  Both layers of paper on top of the base were cut with MS punches.  The top white cardstock layer was spritzed with Cappuccino Perfect Pearls and stamped with a CTMH stamp.  The cameo is a button from Joann's.  I decided to frame the inside layer with the black May Arts ribbon because it seemed very 'busy' without it.

Personal Stamp Exchange Lily Stamp

 The second card was stamped and embossed in green ink.  I love PSX stamps because of their fine detail.  Unfortunately, they went out of business a few years ago. The card is layered on a dark green base and embellished with CTMH pearls and a piece of lace from my stash.

Masculine Sympathy Card

 The last card is layers of linen and cardstock.  On top of the textured cardstock base I adhered a piece of linen fabric wrapped with a piece of baker's twine. I wanted to keep this card very simple and only added a few black pearls to the focal point sentiment.  The embossed piece of white cardstock made a nice backdrop for the linen with the stamped image. This was done on a piece cut with a Spellbinders die and inked around the edges.

Lots of Texture 

Thank you for stopping by today.  I wish you a peaceful holiday weekend.  Please thank a Veteran when you can.

Beverly

Rainbow Flower Rosette Card

Edited on 6/21/2012 - Reposted after having been removed for publication. 

Rosettes Made From EK Success Parisian Edge Punch

Flowers are one of my all time favorite embellishments to use on, well, just about everything!  The accordion folded rosettes are very simple to make and with this particular punch they fall into the super fast category as well.  Because of how the punch is designed, no scoring board is necessary.  It is easy to align the holes up and fold them free hand.

Stamped Sentiment From CTMH's Art Philosophy Collection

The sentiment is layered on a 2" scallop punch black circle. The rosettes would also look pretty layered on a scallop circle. All of the flowers have CTMH Pearl Opaques Adhesive Gems. Two of the smaller sized pearls were added as accents to the sentiment flower.  I love these little pearls.  The stems and leaves were cut freehand from CTMH Sonoma paper.  That cute little felt bird has been in my stash for over a year, it was with the Valentine's stuff on clearance at Michael's.

Close To My Heart Cardstock 3-d Flowers

Thank you for visiting my blog today on the last day of "Rainbow Week"! I hope you enjoy many rainbows in your lifetime.

Beverly