December Daily 2013

Hola peeps! I have a surprise for you all today – a video! I am going to warn you all that it is a bit long. And, because of my health issues, my voice is definitely higher than it used to be.

This is kind of serving as the introduction to what will be a little series that will run until I am finished. As of right now, it will spill over into 2014. I am okay with that. I know that I can only do so much and I don’t want to stress out. My plan is for the videos to be posted on Sunday’s.

Like I mention in the video, I am not generally a scrapbooker, so this is going to be a learning experience for me. I have a general idea, but for the most part I am going to go with what feels like me.

I mentioned in the video that I will primarily be using my iPhone and, when it comes, my new Rebel T3i to photograph the pictures for my album. To expound upon that, I will say that my everyday photos will be with my iPhone or maybe my little Kodak point-and-shoot. I am saving my DSLR for family gatherings and maybe some of the things that I do with the kids in the family. Also, I will be providing an InLinkz list of many of the products I will be using, but here is another list of basic supplies I will be using in case you’re wondering:

Album: Simple Stories Sn@p 6”x 8” in Red. All of the inserts will be Sn@p as well. I am using a random assortment.

Photo Paper: HP Premium Photo Paper (Gloss & Matte)

Printer: HP Photosmart Premium (It’s older so I will link to a newer model.)

Cameras: iPhone 4; Canon Rebel T3i; Kodak Easyshare C1450.

Photo Editing Software: Picasa & Adobe Photoshop Elements 11.

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink.

Other Supplies (click on picture for more information):

Happy Holidays Paper - Tis The Season - Echo Park	Gingerbread Man Paper - Snow Village - Pink Paislee	Buttered Rum Paper - Snow Village - Pink Paislee	Peppermint Patty Paper - Snow Village - Pink Paislee
From Me To You Paper - It's Christmas - Websters Pages	Gingerbread Man Paper - Snow Village - Pink Paislee	Magical Time Paper - Tis The Season - Echo Park	North Pole Paper - Reflections: Christmas - Echo Park
Bundled Up 6 x 6 Paper Pad - Crate Paper	Mini Flat Kraft Colored Bag By Canvas Corp.	Mini Flat White Bags By Canvas Corp.	Red 6"x8" Snap Binder - Simple Stories
Snap Alpha Letters Stickers - Simple Stories	Snap Label Stickers - Simple Stories	Daily Clear Stamps - Snap - Simple Stories	Mistletoe Magic Brads - My Minds Eye
Merry & Bright Mini Stamp - Websters Pages	Mistletoe Magic Enamel Dots - My Minds Eye	Bundled Up Ephemera Pack - Crate Paper	Bundled Up Adhesive Badges - Crate Paper
Let It Snow Clear Stamps

InLinkz.com

That’s all I have for you today! If you don’t want to miss out on the videos to come, make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel. I decided that integrate my blog with my personal channel.

Thank you for stopping by! Have 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!

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!

Stars and Stripes

Hello Friends! I am here with another card to usher in the weekend, AND I have an announcement. A little less than a month ago, I received an email from a dear friend that wanted to know if I was available for a design team position. So, just to cut to the chase, I am now a member of the Platinum Scraps Design Team!

I think my readers that have connected with me through Facebook or from the Cricut board know that I am not your mainstream paper crafter. I am male, which is rare, but I am also African American, which is basically a double whammy in the paper world! Platinum Scraps is a team of African American scrappers and card makers. My thought is that maybe there is another African American, male crafter waiting to be inspired, so it is with great pleasure that I join the team.

Now, for today’s card! I think for the first time, I made a card based on a sketch – maybe the second time. It’s not generally how I go about creating, but nonetheless, I tried to put my own spin on it! You can see the sketch an get all of the details by going over to the Platinum Scraps blog.

I’m calling my card Stars and Stripes – the design evolved kind of effortlessly. I even glittered the rosette without making a gigantic mess! I know that when I first got into crafting, glitter was one of my first purchases. I think I have maybe 6 colors, but they rarely see the light of day. I will admit that I am quite partial to the Martha Stewart Crafts glitter. I dare say it is the best on the market. I digress!

My card base is Soft Stone from Papertrey Ink. Until they release a medium toned gray, this is my absolute favorite. I used my Distress Stripes Cuttlebug embossing folder to give my Spring Rain layer texture, and to embody the stripes of the flag. From there, I selected some patterned papers. The antiqued book print is from an oldie, but a goodie, Lost & Found Portobello Road by My Mind’s Eye. I used some Tsukineko Gold Shimmer Spritz and water so I could ball and crinkle the paper. I dried it with my heat tool and ripped the bottom edge. I also did a bit of inking with my Antique Linen Distress ink. I adhered it to my card and did a bit of stitching with some red thread.

Next, I adhered another pattern from the Portobello Road pad. I rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper. The ribbon is gold satin from Offray. The Distressed Stars and Handkerchief (the rosette) are from Hobby Lobby. I added the postage stamp border for two reasons: first and foremost, I like the way it looks, and second, it’s thin paper. I also did a bit more stitching.

I used my Martha Stewart Scoring Board to make the rosette. I cut two 1.25” x 11” strips and scored them at every half inch. I glittered it with Jasper glitter, again from Martha Stewart. It’s a beautiful deep red that has incredible depth. It’s dark, but there is definitely a lot of glimmer as well.

My sentiment is from Here’s Lookin’ at You, from My Creative Time. I absolutely love the font combination that Emma used in this set. I used my Versamark Dazzle Frost ink to stamp my sentiment and I embossed it with Gold Metallic Zing embossing powder from American Crafts. I am happy to add that I finally have an embossing buddy! No more dryer sheets!

Thanks for stopping by. Have an amazing weekend (I’ll be working.)!! And, have the most blessed day!

Gingham and Toile

Hey there! It’s been a while since I posted a card just because I was inspired to create. That’s not to say that I’m not inspired with my other cards, but the card that I made for today is very good testament to who I am and to my favorite style.

Before I share my card, I’d like to share some inspiration photos that I found while Pinteresting:

Gideon Mendelson Design via Design Chic

Credit

Ginger Barber via Cote de Texas

As I have mentioned before, my first love is interior design. One of these days I hope to spend my time designing beautiful spaces as well as cards! I’m pretty patient, and I am sure God has a greater plan than I can even imagine.

A few months ago, I ordered a Papertrey Ink set that I had wish-listed, Button Boutique, and I was finally able to put it to use.  I combined it with Background Basics: Gingham, and some toile Paper Studio paper from Hobby Lobby to design this shabby card:

So, I have to confess that I have a total love affair with felt. It’s not the most luxurious of fabrics, but I love that it adds a bit of a soft texture to my projects. I will say that the non-synthetic variety is better for die cutting, but for uses like my button card, my craft felt worked fine. By the way, I used the Scalloped Circle die from My Creative Time to make my flower. The buttons are from Papertrey Ink.

I will say that I deviated from my normal process when I made this card. Since my flower was made previously, I started by stamping the gingham pattern onto a strip of Lemon Tart. Yellow is one of my most favorite colors – especially soft yellow. When it is the right shade, it can be incredibly neutral.

Next, I trimmed my toile paper. The sizing came to be about 4” x 2.5” – my focus was on the imagery within the pattern. I knew I wanted that particular vignette. Then I cut a strip of Aqua Mist – actually, it might have been a scrap, but I embossed it with the Perfectly Paisley Cuttlebug folder. Starting with my patterned paper, I adhered them all directly to a Spring Moss card base. I stitched the seam between the papers with red Coats & Clark thread. I then went back and stitched around the border with my normal cream thread (also Coats & Clark – I will only use that or Güttermann).

To soften the edges and give the card a bit of a weathered look, I took a foam brush and swiped on some vanilla paint from Jo-Ann. I then cut a Wilton doily in half and adhered it over the embossed portion. After that I ruffled some Antique White Offray grosgrain ribbon over were it met the gingham portion and went back it with my sewing machine to add a zigzag detail.

My button card was stamped with Early Espresso ink from Stampin’ Up! I don’t have the coordinating die at the moment, so I used my trimmer to trim it, and I then adhered it to a piece of Aqua Mist. And I then adhered that with a little Beacon’s 3-in-1 to my felt. Back to the sewing machine with red thread for a little stitching! More vanilla paint, some brown baker’s twine from Liz’s Paperloft Boutique, and my flower completed it!

I really love how it came together! Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed day!