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!

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!

For You–Monday Madness Imagine That!

Hey there crafty peeps! It is Monday and I am here with a vintage inspired Imagine card. The theme for this week’s challenge is, “happiness.” Emma wanted us to create a project based on something that makes us happy. There are a lot of things that make me happy, but quite a few of them do not necessarily translate into card making. I’ve been wanting to use the Kate’s Kitchen Imagine cartridge for a while now. It has a very retro/vintage look, and y’all know that I love me some vintage stuff! What else makes me happy? Coffee, so vintage and coffee make an awesome combination for a card!

Okay, so for the sake of full disclosure. I kind of made a mistake during the beginning stages of making the card. I planned to do some random zig-zag stitching with red thread, but I couldn’t because I put my adhesive on the edges of the patterned paper. Adhesive and sewing are enemies! If you get into sewing on your projects, you only need to use a small amount of adhesive – and put it towards the center of whatever you’re adhering down.

Now, the details! My card is a standard A2 cut into a portrait style. The base is Spring Moss. All of the patterned paper was printed from the Kate’s Kitchen Imagine cartridge. I also inked all of the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink. For the doily, I blended Antique Linen and Old Paper. I highly recommend buy a package of these doilies. They are super cheap and there’s like 40 in the package.

I made this card for a specific reason. We’re FINALLY getting a Starbucks in my little Alabama town, and I have a coworker that loves coffee just as much as I do, so when they open, I plan to insert a gift card into mini bag. I love that it functions as an embellishment AND a holder. The bags that I use are made by Canvas Corp.

The diecut that my cup is mounted on is actually a cut from Kate’s Kitchen as well. It is located on page 26. I actually intended to use the printed cut, but it was a hot mess, so I turned it over and stamped it with a polka dot in Real Red ink. I diecut the cup from Coffee Break in Lemon Tart cardstock and the sleeve was cut from Aqua Mist. I stamped the sleeve with the coordinating stamp in Crumb Cake ink. I used my heart punch – another item that I highly recommend, to add another pop of red. At the very end, I decided to cover it with some Glossy Accents.

My sentiment is from Teeny Tag Greetings. I stamped it with Early Espresso. Oh, I tied a bow with some red gingham ribbon from Offray. I am so happy that I finally got to use it. I think it is just the perfect touch.

Okay, so I am going to just stop typing now. I know my posts are kind of like information overload, but I know that I personally like to read how people make their cards when I visit their blogs, so I keep that in mind when I write my posts.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an amazingly blessed day (and week)!

Monday Madness . . . Imagine That!

Hello all! Happy Monday and welcome to another Imagine That! This week, we’re doing things a little different and we’re making it a color challenge.

Imagine Color Challenge: Black, White, Gray & Pink.

Using the colors above I made this card with some printed patterns from my Imagine the the Teresa Collins Black & White pattern cartridge.

As usual, my card is  standard A2. I used True Black cardstock for my base. I cut a white mat from my Georgia Pacific cardstock and sewed the gray and black scroll patterned mat to it with some black there. I adhered that to my card base.

I printed the polka dot pattern on some gray cardstock and I decided it use it to break up the intricate backdrop. But I wanted to do it with a little pattern and one that made sense. Also, I wanted a small accent of pink, so I punch a scallop border with my Scallop Sentiment punch and adhered it to the polka dot strip. By the way, it measures 4.25” x 1.5”. I then adhered that directly to the card, doing my best the center it.

I cut the stock top not from the Imagine in True Black and again with a floral patterned on some pink cardstock. I use dimensional adhesive to adhered them together and set them aside. I use some satin and sheer Offray ribbon to tie a bow on the card. I simply cut a slit on the side to feed the ribbon through. I used VersaMark Dazzle to stamp my sentiment and embossed it with black Zing embossing powder. My sentiment hails from the latest MCT release You Are Perk-fect. I wanted to show that sentiments are versatile.

To bring it all together, I adhered the top notes to the card with more dimensional adhesive, and I used some liquid adhesive to adhere my sentiment on top. I printed some butterflies from Storybook with the Black and White patterns and I decided to include them as well. Some pink rhinestones, Prima flourishes, and silver Shimmer Spritz finished it off!

Thanks so much for coming by. Have a blessed day!!

Monday Madness . . . Imagine That!

Hello everyone! I am here with my first ever Imagine That project! It shouldn’t be a surprise that I made a card for today, but it’s a different card! Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 5th Anniversary this month and Nichole put out a challenge to pick one of the design team members projects that inspired you and make something new. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it on my blog, but I LOVE Ashley Cannon Newell. If you’ve never been to her blog, A New Design, I totally recommend it. I think she is just fantastic. So, my project today is inspired by her. Generally, I wouldn’t do a casing type of deal – I like to try and come up with my own ideas and even if I don’t love the resulting project, I post it. I don’t want to get in the habit of using others ideas. Click here to see the card that inspired my project.

I just realized that I totally used Teresa Collins’s signature color scheme, and it really wasn’t something I did consciously. Initially, I was going to make a spring themed card as a pre-release week appetizer, but I’ve been really into making Valentine’s cards.

Anyway, the jumping point for the design and color scheme came from the Teresa Collins Black & White Imagine cartridge. I printed the bold floral onto some Sweet Blush cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I did not print an entire sheet, instead I printed a 6” x 6” square. I trimmed it to 4” x 5.25” and matted it onto a A2 sized piece of Vintage Cream.

I used my favorite label cut from the Imagine to cut a 3.2” Vintage Cream mat. I then cut the label again in Sweet Blush at 3”. I used my Background Basics: Houndstooth stamp and VersaMark ink to give the label some depth. I built on the pattern by stamping the cherub from 100% Sweetness. I used More Gift Card Sentiments and another piece of Vintage Cream to stamp my sentiment and I embossed it with black Zing embossing powder from American Crafts. Err, backtracking a bit, after I adhered the floral paper to the cream mat, I used my sewing machine to stitch around the edges. Moving on!

To make the pocket, I trimmed a piece of True Black cardstock to 6.5” x 8.5” and scored it at 4.25”. I used a ruler to find the center of the pocket front and marked it on the inside with a pencil. I then drew lines from to corner to that center point and used an X-acto to cut the notched opening (It helps to adhere the cardstock to your cutting mat with repositionable adhesive.). I used white ink and Polka Dot Basics to give the front a little pattern. I then set it off with two rick rack die cuts. I used some black satin to trim the opening of my pocket. I would have loved to incorporate felt, but it wasn’t cutting to my liking. I stitched the pleated ribbon to secure it completely. It is important to sew the pocket together after you decorate it! After that, I stamped the cherub on the heart die from 100% Sweetness and embossed it with black Zing as well. I hope all of this makes sense and doesn’t sound complicated (it really wasn’t)! I know a lot of people like it when I give detailed instructions, so I try to include everything. Lastly, I used my white ink pad and swiped it around the pocket to soften it a bit.

Thanks for coming by! Have a blessed day!

Happy Graduation–MCT Sneak Peaks Day #2

Happy Tuesday everyone and welcome to day two of the My Creative Time January release sneaks. Emma has put together another great release this month. Getting right into it, I have a card to share with you all using More Gift Card Sentiments.

I knew I wanted to make a card with a fresh color combination. I’ve been really feeling yellow and blue as of late, and I didn’t want to make another vintage looking card. I used patterned paper from the A Walk in the Park collection from Echo Park as the starting point, and from there, I decided that I wanted to use a butterfly somewhere. The orange scalloped border strip is from the collection’s element sticker sheet. and I purchased the felt butterflies from the Spring seasonal isle at Hobby Lobby last year.

My card base is your standard A2. It’s Recollections Kraft. I trimmed the blue patterned mat to 4” x 5.25.” The yellow label die cut is a stock image from my Cricut Imagine. It’s Lemon Tart from Papertrey Ink. I’ve had that color for quite a while, but I’ve been reluctant to use it because I wanted the ribbon to coordinate with the cardstock. I ordered the ribbon on Sunday night and I can’t wait until it comes in. The green mat is from the Echo Park collection and the labels are cut at 3” and 2.8” respectively. I stamped my sentiment with Chicken Feed dye ink from Jenni Bowlin. I love her inks, the cover great and the colors are amazing. I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch a hole on the left side of the sentiment banner and I tied a bow with some yellow gingham Offray ribbon.

Since cash is a normal gift for graduates, I thought it would be a great idea to use the Embossed Gift Card Holder as a pocket to keep the bills secure. Unfortunately, I don’t have any cash on my person to demonstrate this. I‘m 100% committed to using my debit card and pretty much the only time I get cash is when I get my hair cut. My mom fusses at me all the time about it. Anyway, I digress! I used Gift Card Sentiments to stamp on the gift card holder, and I used more of the scalloped border sticker and a flower to dress it up a little.

Sneak Peek Giveaway Time!
With all of our Sneak Peek weeks, Emma likes to do some FUN giveaways!

All you have to do is leave comments on our blogs! You do NOT have to comment on every blog, BUT if you do, you will just have more chances to win!

SPREAD THE WORD TO THE WORLD ON FACEBOOK about this release & whatever connections you may have! Let us know on "My Creative Time's" FB page here http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/My-Creative-Time/364568506334 that you did so! OR you can just tag me in your post!

Emma will randomly pick & announce all winners on Friday, January 21st during this AWESOME release happening @ 12:01am PST in her video! GOOD LUCK!

Log onto to your Facebook now & let start spreading word!;)

That’s all for me, but I will be back on Thursday. Have a blessed day!

Celebrate the Occasion Challenge # 42

If you’re looking for Day #6 of MCT 12 Days of Christmas Hop, click here!

Welcome! This is my second of two projects for today and it’s a card for Celebrate the Occasion. But, before I get into the card, I’d like to announce that CTO is having a Design Team call!! The call will run from today until December 20th. I’ve had an amazing time on the DT, so I definitely encourage everyone to apply. Good luck!

We’re celebrating Christmas this week and the requirement is to not use ANY green! I’ve known for a while that I wanted to do a Christmas card with navy, and this is the first one I came up with. I might try again and add a little red or green, we shall see. It’s a standard A2 card. The base is Papertrey Ink Enchanted Evening. I used a TPC Studio stamp set appropriately titled, “Snowflake,” and my trusty VersaMark Dazzle to stamp the background. Love the embossed snowflakes! For the sentiment, I cut two mats from my Imagine – one in DCWV Silver Shimmer cardstock and the other in my regular white cardstock. I took the same stamps, inked them in VersaMark first and then into Bashful Blue ink from Stampin’ Up. I then took the, “Peace,” stamp and followed the same steps, except I used Night of Navy ink. Because I couldn’t help myself, I decided to use clear embossing powder on them as well.

To finish the card, I tied a knot with some grosgrain and added two rhinestones to the center of the Bashful Blue snowflakes. Used the .5” setting on my corner rounder and it was a done deal. Super simple. Does not have to be a snowflake – just an image that works well in the background.

Thanks for coming by! Don’t forget to stop by the CTO blog to get the scoop on applying for the Design Team. Have a blessed day!

MCT 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day #2

Hello everyone! If you arrived here from Tracy’s blog, you’re on the right track. If not, start at Emma’s blog here: My Creative Time.

We’re on day two and I’m here today with a card. With the exception of the card that I made today, this card came together relatively fast. The only hiccup occurred when my scallop border punch broke, but I came up with a solution to save the design! I know this a nontraditional card, but this is how it popped up in my head and I just went with it!

Here are the details/directions:

• Cut cardstock to form a standard A2 base and score at 5.5.” Stamp card base with background stamp using watermark ink. I used VersaMark Dazzle in Frost.  The polka dot stamp is a wood mounted stamp I got from Hobby Lobby.
• Cut a 2.25” x 5.5” mat from patterned paper. I printed this paper from the Mr. Frosty Pattern Cartridge for the Imagine.
• In a coordinating color of cardstock (I used Hawaiian Shores from Papertrey Ink.) , trim cardstock to 1” x 6” and punch with a scalloped border punch. As I mentioned, mine broke, so I got my Gypsy and found the scallop I used in Accent Essentials. I sized them to 3.16” x .41” and I welded three together. I copied it to make two. After you cut your scalloped borders, adhere them on each sides on the back of your patterned mat. I try my best to line my scallops up so they are even on both sides and then I trim the excess with paper snips.
• The rosette is made with two strips of 1.25” x 12” patterned paper,. Again, I printed my pattern from Mr. Frosty. Score at ever .5” Ink edges with Tea Dye Distress Ink using blending tool. After I adhered my rosette, I took my snips and “distressed” the surface of the rosette.
• I cut the holly image from Winter Woodland. It’s found on page 41. I filled it with patterns from Mr. Frosty. I cut a scalloped circle in felt from My Creative Time to create a medallion for my embellishment.
• Tie ribbon down the center of your patterned mat and tie it in a bow. Trim ends. Adhere mat to card base with dimensional adhesive. I used Stampin’ Dimensionals because I like the smaller thickness for this type of application.
• Stamp sentiment on tag. I used Mixed Holiday Sentiments from My Creative Time. My ink is Melon Mambo from Stampin’ Up. Thread twine through tag. Loop one end around bow knot and thread through button. Thread other end through button and tie in a bow to secure.
• Adhere rosette to center of card and round bottom corners of the card with .5” setting on Corner Chomper.

I know this sounds very involved, but it really isn’t, lol! I like my instructions to be thorough. AND, I made a video, but I still sounded horrible, but I am going to shoot it again so check back later.

ETA: Okay, so the video is lot longer than I planned, and I am self admittedly scatterbrained, but here’s the vid. It’s my first time, don’t be too hard on me. I gotta practice!! Also, the noise is from my camera, I don’t know why it does it, but I’m getting another one AND, I didn’t zoom enough, but again, this was my first time.

***12 Days of Christmas Give Away Alert***

To qualify for ALL the AMAZING giveaways for the next 12 days, you must comment on every blog in this hop! You will have until Tues, Dec 13th @ midnight to have all of your comments in! VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE LEAVE A WAY FOR US TO CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE WINNER'S!

There are some AMAZING giveaways for this special 12 day event & some SURPRISES to help celebrate "My Creative Time's" One Year Anniversary! Yep, Emma released her 1st set of stamps one year ago! So make sure you are tuned in because this is ONE hop you do NOT want to miss!;)

Blog Hop Line-up:

Emma

Cassandra

Cathryn

Cindy

Jeanne

Katie

Leanne

Linsey

Liz

Nancy

Nikki

Rosy

Ruthie

Shar

Tracy

Trell (you’re here)

Veronica

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day.

November Harvest – Celebrate the Occasion

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend and that THIS week is off to a great start for you!

It’s team 2’s turn this week at Celebrate the Occasion, and our challenge this week is a make a Thanksgiving card and use a button. And this is what I came up with.

My card base is a standard A2 and is Papertrey Ink New Leaf. My patterned mat is Vintage Cream and measures 4” x 5.25.” I used a Studio G stamp set from the dollar bin at Wal-Mart, as well as a Stampabilities set from Hobby Lobby called Fall Holidays to create the background. My inks are from Stampin’ Up (Lucky Limeade, Cherry Cobbler, and Chocolate Chip) and Jenni Bowlin (Malted Milk).

The pumpkin die cuts are from my Imagine. Once again, I used one of the stock images come preloaded on the machine. I really need to start using the carts that I continue to shell out money for. Anyway, the Orange Zest pumpkin was cut at 2.4” and I embossed it using the Perfectly Paisley Cuttlebug folder. The middle pumpkin was filled with a pattern from my go to cart, Ancestry, and is sized at 2.5.” I inked the edges with Tea Dye Distress ink. My last pumpkin was cut at 2 from Vintage Cream cardstock. I stamped the polka dots with Tangelo ink from Memento. I adhered the orange pumpkin directly to my card. I used dimensional adhesive to adhere the largest pumpkin, And the smallest pumpkin was adhered with a combination of both. I stamped my sentiment in Chocolate Chip ink on Vintage Cream cardstock and used my scissors to trim it. I adhered it to my card with dimensional adhesive as well. To finish off my card, I took some brown bakers twine from Martha Stewart and a Autumn Mix button from Papertrey Ink.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed day!