Boo! Three Ways

Hello crafty people! So, I will admit that I have been a rather bad blogger lately, but I’ve still been working on things and I have THREE cards to share today!

Two noticeable things, I used my Cricut and I used some new photo editing effects to play up the Halloween theme. I really like the fading effect, but it does make the photos darker so by all means, let me know if you don’t like it.

My good friend Norma and I were chatting one night and she pretty much told me I should make a card using my Cricut. Well, I decided that I wanted to work on my design skills, so I used the same image and sentiment in a series of cards. I started with something simple, and worked my way up to something more involved. I have to be honest and admit that if I were just going to make one card, my first inclination is to always make it very involved.

What I ended up doing was using a few select patterns, textures, colors, and embellishments in different ways. The chevron from the ribbon the first card inspired the use of the chevron paper on the second and third cards. The first card had a black base, but instead of using a black base on the second card, I used a pattern that was mainly black. And, on the third card, I used the same patterned paper (stars) to punch out the pattern, to tie is back to the second card. Lather, rinse, repeat!!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a blessed day!

Thank You Blossoms

Hello everyone! I had to pop in and share a card with a warm weather card before Fall is full blown. I think if I went with the ideas that pop in my brain, I would be making tons of Halloween and Christmas cards.

I wanted to make a card using my newest favorite color, Wisteria Wonder, and this the result:

I have never thought of myself as a purple person, but I am in love with this color. Anyway, I started by stamping my roses from Stippled Blossoms (My first multi-step stamping set, and it’s divine!) from Stampin’ Up. The base layer was stamped with Wisteria Wonder, and the top layer was stamped with Elegant Eggplant.  I stamped them on Vintage Cream cardstock and I cut them out with my detail scissors.

From there, I matted a sheet of woodgrain patterned paper from the My Mind’s Eye Miss Caroline Howdy Doody paper pad onto a piece of Vintage Cream cardstock that I inked with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo. I swear, I use those inks like they’re going out of style. I digress! I took the card front to my sewing machine and did a simple perimeter stitch. I wanted to use a big sentiment with this card, so I pulled out My Creative Time’s Floral Sentiments. I embossed the sentiment with White Zing embossing powder from American Crafts.

Okay, pulling it all together now! I used my Expression to cut a large scalloped border from a piece of script patterned paper from the My Mind’s Eye The Sweetest Thing Lavender pad. If I recall, the scallop is on the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. I adhered it directly to the card front. I then added some Victoria Trim from Stampin’ Up. Love this stuff, you will be seeing lots of it. And then, I took my flowers that I had stamped and cut out, and some leaves that I diecut from Simply Chartreuse Felt using my Sweet Life dies and layered them onto the card front. I used a combination of dimensional adhesive and hot glue.

The finishing touch was some scrunched seam binding from Liz’s Paperloft Boutique and an Antique Brad from Stampin’ Up. OHH! I also misted the card with Mr. Huey Calico Shine, but I don’t possess the photography skills to show you all. But in person, it has a really nice shimmer. Love that stuff!

Thanks for stopping by! Having a bit of a busy work week, but I do hope to find some time to craft. As always, I wish you a blessed day!

My Creative Time Designer Challenge

Happy Thursday everyone! September is off to a great start, and I am here with a really sparkly Christmas card to share as part of our new Designer Challenge.

Emma has decided to replace Throwback Thursday in favor challenges that members of the Design Team come up with. This week, Veronica, from VK Create, challenged us to recycle or reuse a product that wasn’t intentionally made to craft with. I decided to incorporate wrapping paper into my card (thanks to the lovely Shar!).

Okay! The really cute paper that you see on the bottom portion of the card is actually wrapping paper. I bought it at Hob Lob . . .  2 season’s ago, I think. I love their paper, it’s really thick and the rolls have so much paper on them.

The top portion of the card is covered in patterned paper from the original My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found collection.  It has glitter, and y’all know how I lurve my glitter! I did a perimeter zig-zag stitch around the top of the card with my sewing machine. I then diecut a border using my Super Star dies with Aqua Mist felt. I sewed that directly to the card (VERY SLOWLY!) where my to papers met.

I used Expression to diecut some snowflakes using the Christmas/Noel Solutions Cartridge. The red snowflake was cut at 2.59” x 2.18,” the aqua and vellum ones were cut at, 1.79” x 2.18.” I used the base snowflake for the red, and the other two are actually the shifted image. I used my spray adhesive to coat them, and I covered them with Martha Stewart Glitter in Garnet & Blue Topaz. SPARKLES, yeah!!!!

For my sentiment, I used one of last new releases, Warm Holiday Fun. The sentiment is what actually inspired the card. Personally, I fell like sentiments should fit in with the design of the card. It’s an integral part, so that’s where the glitter and shiny paper come in.  Anyway, I stamped the sentiment onto a strip of vellum with Versamark Dazzle in Frost, and I embossed it with Pewter Zing embossing Powder from American Crafts. Cut a notch in the end, and adhered it with red line adhesive. I put a glittered brad from Hob Lob through the snowflakes, and adhered it to the card with red line dimensional adhesive. Super cute right?!

Anyway, thanks for coming by. I adore you lovely people. I wish you all a blessed day! Oh, a while back someone wished I would do a layout . . . Monday!!! I’m not a scrapper so wish me luck!

Edited to add: If you want Warm Holiday Fun, I would suggest you order it now, because I talked with Emma, and she mentioned that they keep selling out!

Vintage Halloween Tags & Bow Tutorial

Hello everyone! I cannot believe it’s already September. Before you know it, the Holidays will creep up on us. I was at work yesterday and I saw that the company is sending the first part of our Holiday collection at the end of this month. Eeek!

Today’s project was planned during the week I guest designed on Everyday Cricut. I wanted to revisit the tags I made, and change them up a bit.

Yes, I finally made another video! And, one thing I discovered when I was editing is that I’m not as uncomfortable as I thought. I’m trying to branch out and grow, so I know that one of the next steps for me is sharing more of my creative process.

I did not film the entire process of making these because the video would have been way too long. So, I wanted to mention that for these tags, I backed the window with vellum that I stamped and embossed a pattern on . Then I basically adhered the card so that it simply became a tag.

Before I leave, I wanted to let you all know about something new that the MCT team is doing every Tuesday. We’re showcasing different techniques. So, please stop by My Creative Time today to hop along.

As always, I thank you all for stopping by. I wish you a very blessed day!

1031 Candy Corn Lane

Okay ladies and . . . more ladies. this is it, the big finale. I’ve had a blast sharing and creating for you all this week. I cannot stress that enough. Just had so much fun. And I have to thank Joy and Melanie for having me one more time.

My last project to share with you all is a 3D/altered Halloween project. Some of the ladies at My Creative Time have been doing these kinds of things for a while, but as I mentioned, my passion is cardmaking. Anyway, I present to you all what I’ve dubbed, 1031 Candy Corn Lane:

Oh my, I don’t even know where to start! The house itself, I bought from Hob Lob. There are three sizes, and I got the medium size. The very first thing I did was paint the roof and the eaves of the house. I used Black Forest Green by Americana. I knew I was going to cover the front portion of the roof with Pinefeather Vintage Buttons, so that’s why I painted it green. Love this color and I have more than enough to do another Halloween house and some Christmas houses.

Next, I covered the house with my patterned paper. I bought both papers at Hob Lob. The black & cream is by Paper Studio, and the orange and yellow dot is My Mind’s Eye. I coated the house and the pieces of paper with Mod Podge and adhered them. I used my heat tool to speed up the drying process. Then, I used my Basic Grey Precision tools to clean up the windows and doors on the front of the house. The sides do have windows, but frankly that is the most time consuming part, and it’s messy. However, I left the sides covered intentionally. I painted over the patterned paper with Folk Art Vintage White paint. I watered it down because I didn’t want to completely cover the patterns. I just wanted to create a whitewashed – vintage look.

The next thing I did was create the scalloped siding under the eaves with my Fiskars Scallop Sentiment punch. I used Butternut Cream cardstock by Core’dinations. This was something I had it my stash, and I liked that it had texture. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. The first strip went across the entire roof, the others I cut as I went. There are no exact measurements here. The only guideline is that I tried to keep the width to 3/4.” I adhered the strips with Mod Podge. When I reached the apex, I actually used a small heart punch because it fit perfectly. My punch is by The Paper Studio. I added scalloped borders under the eaves on the side as well. Lastly, I used some craft pearls to covered the seams. Not really necessary, but it’s all in the details.

The roof, the roof is on fire . . . no, not really, but you have to have patience on this part. Buttons are great because they come in all shapes and sizes, as you can see above. I did a rough layout, but honestly, I just took my glue gun and started adhering buttons. For the back, I used Pinefeather Cardstock and I punched 1” circles with my Fiskars punch. I basically started at the bottom and ran a line of hot glue and started placing circles, slightly overlapping them. You’re not adhering the entire circle, just the top half, this will allow you to”curl” the tiles when you’re finished. When you reach the peak of the roof, adhere circles that have been folded in half. Gives it a finished look. When I covered the roof and curled my tiles, I sprayed it with Krylon adhesive and dusted it with Doodlebug Lilywhite Sugar Coating & Martha Stewart Hematite. Sparkles like a rock on a rich ladies’ finger doesn’t it? My obsession with glitter will not be stopped!

The next thing was embellishing the house, basically the finishing touches. I added the picket fence, and I pulled out some of the posts. I glued some of them back on to make it look like they fell. I cut the ghost from Simply Charmed and I stamped his face with a Peachy Keen face. The set I used is Everyday Character Assortment. He’s inked with Pool Party ink from Stampin’ Up, and his cheekers are Regal Rose. Generally, I am not into cutesy, but I think it was appropriate here. Isn’t he cute?  My pumpkins are from Create A Critter, and again, I hid the smiling face with my Gypsy. To give them some definition I inked the edges with Tea Dye and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

I wanted it to look like hay was on the ground, so I took some shredded packaging and glued it here and there. Making sure to pull it through the fence. My favorite candy EVER is candy corn, so I decorated the posts with some embellies I found at Hob Lob. On the front corner post, I used more harlequin ribbon and tied some double bows, and I placed candy corn in the centers. I have no idea what to call the things I put on the roof, but I thought they were cute, so I went with it. Let’s just call them orange halo balls.

Very last thing, flickering tea lights on the inside. It makes for a nice subtle glow.

I know this is like a marathon post and I tried to be concise as possible. If there is anything you want to know, by all means, shoot me an email. I don’t mind! Thank you all for welcoming me this week. Have an amazingly blessed weekend!

Tag, You’re It!

Hey there! Glad you came by today. I have a really quick little tag card to share with you all. Super easy and super simple. And it’s using a cartridge that I know most of us have, an oldie, but a goodie, Tag, Bags, Boxes & More.

I know what you’re thinking, he brought back the glitter. Why yes, I did. I just can’t help it.

I intended to only make tags today. But, I saw this gem on the TBBM cartridge and I was like, “OMG window card!” You have to say it like you’re from Valley – like on Saved By the Bell. I’m a child of the 90’s, don’t judge.

Once again, I have the Gypsy file. If you want it email me. Now, down to business!

This one is pretty straightforward. I found the candy cane cut on the Gingerbread Seasonal Cartridge. I used Pure Poppy, and Stamper’s Select White. Normally, I use good ole Georgia Pacific because it’s umm, affordable. But I knew I was going to cover that layer with glitter, so I used something more sturdy.

Okay, so, between me and y’all, I cheated on Martha. Yeah, I used Doodlebug Lilywhite Sugarcoating on my candy canes today. I feel terrible, that counts, doesn’t it?

Because the card front has a window, I didn’t want any adhesive to show. So, I had to size it just right. After I cut them, I used Background Basics: Houndstooth to stamp on them. I’m an Alabama boy, what can I say? No seriously, I like the pattern, that’s all. I used Lucky Limeade and Real Red. Full disclosure, I had to lay the card flat and mask the back with Post-It Notes when I was stamping. After that, I cut my clear cardstock (Save your acetate!) to cover the window, and I adhered it with my Tombo Mono Multi. I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch a hole through the top of the card, and I set eyelets on the front and the inside.

The only tricky part was positioning the foam adhesive so that it wouldn’t show on the inside. Does it matter? Probably not, but I’m OCD, so I just have to have it a certain way. For this I used red line dimensionals from Jody, they’re super strong. I used them because I knew I was going to tie bows around the candy canes. For those, I used some saddle stitch ribbon from Hob Lob.

Last thing, a little Caribbean twine from The Twinery, and a sentiment on the inside. For that, I used another new My Creative Time set, Warm Holiday Fun.

Okay, that is all for me today, but I have a really special project for tomorrow! I cannot wait to show you all. Thanks for stopping by, have a blessed day!

Tree-mendous Wishes

It’s beginning to look a lot like . . . summer. Cause I live in Alabama and it’s hotter than a box of firecrackers on the Fourth of July. Anyway, I welcome you on this great Wednesday!

I have a quick Christmas card to share with you today. I was trying to make it vintage, yet fun.

For today’s card, I wanted to incorporate a little more stamping –because that’s what I mainly consider myself to be these days, a stamper. And, one of my favorite things to do is stamp onto die cuts. In this case, Cricut cuts. I stamped on the lighter green cut with my Just Jeans stamp from Stampin’ Up.

I totally winged this card. With the exception of the Kraft base an the Christmas tree cut from Winter Frolic, the rest just kind of came to me as I was creating. Just to let you all know where I was going, the Christmas tree is basically a vintage pin. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. When I cut the tree, the little circle that are meant to be balls were incredibly tiny. But no matter, I grabbed my Melissa Frances pearls and colored a few with my markers, problem solved. A little Crystal Stickles and my little tree was complete. The button card stamp is from Button Boutique and I stamped it with Real Red ink.

Standard card base, no need for reinventing the wheel today. Continuing the theme, of the week, my pattern papers are from the Echo Park Merry Christmas Collection. The green polka dot measured 4” x 3,” and the stripe is 4” x 2.25.” Adhered them with a small amount of ATG – just enough in the center so they won’t shift while sewing. By the way, I use Coats & Clark thread for all of my sewing. While I had my machine out, I stitched some lace over the seam where the papers met.

Once I added the lace, I figured I might as well keep with the fabric/texture theme, so I stitched some burlap with Liz’s Boutique onto a scrap of Vintage Cream cardstock. Initially, I was going to distress the edges, but I decided to trim it with my pinking shears to match the little paper sack I used. Which reminds me . . .  Before I stitched the burlap, I used Background Basics: Houndstooth to stamp on a Canvas Corp bag. I used Stampin’ Up’s Soft Suede ink. Words cannot describe how much I love that color. Love it. I know some of you are thinking, Trell, it’s just brown. Errr, no it’s not, so there!

From there I tied a bow with some red seam binding, because everything is better with a bow. I adhered the bag and the button card to the card with red line tape. I have found that I like to use it because it has such a strong hold. Anyway, I stamped my sentiment from My Creative Time’s newest sets, It’s a Magical Season, onto a negative from a frame that I kept. I know it’s on Elegant Edges. The main cut is a postage note frame.

To finish it off, I inserted a corsage pin into the bow, and inked around the card with Antique Linen Distress ink and a little Soft Suede.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving such wonderful comments. Have a blessed day!

Best Witches

Hello beautiful people! I hope your week is off to a great start. Mine definitely is, thank you the the awesome comments yesterday, I really appreciate them!

How about a little vintage Halloween number today? What’s that? Yes? Well, I will surely oblige!

Believe it or not, I don’t really celebrate Halloween. I do love Thanksgiving and Christmas though. Anyway, this came together better than I could have ever imagined. I am in love with silhouettes. I think they are classy and elegant, and when I was planning my projects, I knew I wanted to cover the witch with some Martha Stewart glitter.

I was shopping around for vintage/shabby crafting supplies and I came across some crepe paper trim. So, a light bulb went off and I thought, I bet I could make my own. And that I did. Super economical. I bought five colors for $6.45 – a total deal. I do regret not picking up the purple though. But, I will be making a trip back to Hob Lob this week so I might pick it up then. I used my sewing machine to stitch six strips of crepe paper together, and then I just cut it with my scissors. Really easy.

So, my card is a standard A2 – True Black from Papertrey. I adhered some of that star paper that I printed from the Teresa Collins Black & White Pattern cart to the bottom. It measured about 4.25” x 2.25” – the width matters more than the height because it will be covered. The top portion of the card is a piece of Stampin’ Up! Wisteria Wonder that I stamped with my acanthus background stamp. I inked up with Versamark Dazzle in Frost and embossed with clear embossing powder. It measures 3.75” x 2.25.” I cut a 4.25” x ,” strip from a diagonal stripe I found in the My Mind’s Eye Mischievous pad. And the vintage bingo card is a printable that I purchased on Etsy. It comes as a 8.5” x 11,” sheet and I trimmed them out. I inked it with Wild Honey & Black Soot Distress inks. I should mention that everything is sewed to the card, with the exception of the bingo card, I used some red liner tape to adhere it.

I tied a bow with some seam binding that I purchased from Liz’s Paperloft Boutique. I like mine crinkled. I found the frame and silhouette on the Happy Haunting Art Cartridge. Again, I tend to use my Gypsy whenever I cut, so shoot me a line if you want the file, but they were cut at 3.75.” I sprayed them with adhesive and covered them with Onyx and Sterling glitter from Martha Stewart.

Confession, I made a bit of an oopsie when I was sewing, so that is why there are buttons on the card. They are Papertrey and are stitched directly to the card with orange embroidery floss.

My sentiment is from My Creative Time’s new Treats For My Sweet stamp set. I stamped with Onyx Black Versafine ink. I stamped it on one of my favorite Cricut cuts from Plantin Schoolbook. I just love the shape of that tag. The pointed end helps it tuck nicely under the button when I secured them. Last touch was a little inking with my Slate inkpad from Impress.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day!

Joy

Hello crafty peeps! So, you’re in for a treat this week, because I am guesting on the Everyday Cricut blog! That’s right, every single day. Before I get into my project for today, I want to thank Joy and Melanie for having me, it’s an honor.

I think most people that read my blog, know that I am a cardmaker. That’s my passion, but would it surprise you all that I did something, “off the page,” to kick off the week?

Joy to the world . . . Kidding, I have a terrible singing voice. But, this makes me want to sing! I wanted to offer some ideas for the upcoming holiday season, and banners are great décor items. I opted to keep it simple and small, but if have a mantle, why not go all out?

The inspiration for this came from the Fontopia Art Cartridge. When I looked through the handbook, I knew I wanted to make a banner with the letters. I just love the typography. But, I digress! I’ll walk you through the process, it was really easy, and I worked on it for a few days (I have this job . . . I know, ugh. Joking, I love it.), but it really wouldn’t take long to do in one sitting.

I woke up my Imagine from a deep slumber, and printed out three patterns from the Teresa Collins Black & White Pattern Cartridge. Because everyone loves a visual, I took a picture of the patterns I printed:

I am a big fan of options. Know what I’m saying? In the end, I went for the sheet music because I think it conveyed Christmas the most; to me, anyway. Also, as you can see, I printed on Kraft cardstock and it came from Jo-Ann. I think I spent more time deciding on and printing patterns,  than anything else during the making of this. Trell’s creative method is to sit and stare at the paper. It works though!

I sized my cuts and everything with my Gypsy. I have the file for those that want it. And, I might even make a Craft Room file. I used Birthday Bash for the pennant cuts.

I am a man of few embellishments. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but I can’t afford to buy everything under the sun, so I tend to concentrate on a few. I will sing the praises of paper doilies. I love them and you will see them again this week, I’m sure of it. They’re cheap, and we all have at least one place where we can find them. Anyway, I used my Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Inks to age the pennants and doilies. I then adhered them with some Tombo Mono Multi. I punched a scallop border strip from cream cardstock and adhered them to the bottom of the pennants. And, I added a little trim to the top of the pennants.

In this case, I also use paper as an embellie. I make my own rosettes with my score board. I measured my the width of my pennant, and I deduced that my rosettes should be 3 inches. So, I cut my patterned paper, from the Echo Park Merry Christmas collection, to 1.5” x 12.” Inked them and adhered them with my hot glue gun. I find it to be the fastest and best adhesive for rosettes. I adhered them to the pennants with hot glue as well.

Next up were the letters, I cut out three of each letter because I wanted them to be like a lightweight chipboard. I adhered them all together and sprayed them with Krylon Spray Adhesive. I then coated them with Melissa Frances Glass Glitter. I got that, and the Melissa Frances Pom-Pom trim from Liz’s Paperloft Boutique. I like spray adhesive because it cuts down the drying time, and it holds glitter very well. I also adhered the letters with hot glue. In the center of the O, I used my small star punch to cover the center of the rosette.

Lastly, I used some twine from Liz’s Paperloft to tie some loose double bows and connect them. Little extra nugget, eyelets would have been great, but I didn’t have any! I finished it off by tying some double bows with some ribbon I picked up from Hob Lob eons and eons ago.

Welp, sorry for the super looong post, but I like to leave no detail spared! Thanks for stopping by, have an amazingly blessed day!