Those Shifty Fibers

I recently took an online stamping class over at My Creative Classroom, and just as with all of the other online crafty classes I take, I fell behind. I did manage to get a few of the assignments completed. This one involved using the Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad on darker paper and then layering the same stamp on top. I stamped the forward most tree with Forest Moss distress ink and heat embossed the image. I've never used Versamark before and was quite pleased with the way the card turned out.

The little tip I want to share with you today involves getting your fibers to stay in place. For this card I used some really old paper raffia from my stash. Generally when I add twine, floss, other fibers, and sometimes ribbon to cards or layouts, I use plain ol' ordinary scotch tape to hold it in place in the back. That keeps it from shifting around when I flip the card over to tie it in the front. No need to use costly adhesives because it's not going to show on the finished project.

Taping it in back makes it easier to tie it exactly where I want to in the front.

And here is the finished card! This one was from the staff at my school and went to our principal who resigned at the end of this school year.

So today's tip? Tape those fibers in place in the back to keep them from shifting around.

Thanks for looking!

WrinkleFreeDiva

Printing Card Sentiments

For the longest time, whenever I needed to type an inside sentiment for a card, I'd type it into my computer, insert my 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock into the printer, and then trim it down to the size needed for the inside of my card. Inevitably, after cutting it down to size, my printing would be off center or the text would be too large or too small for the space. Sometimes, I'd print it again and other times I'd just say to heck with it and leave it the way it was.

There had to be a better way. Then it dawned on me! I could cut my paper first and then print on it, instead of the other way around. For this card, I needed the white inside piece to be 5" x 3.75". I went into MS Word's page layout and changed my paper size to custom, entered the paper dimensions, changed my margins to 0.5, and typed my perfectly-sized text into my document.

I cut my cardstock to the same size, inserted my paper into the printer, adjusted my paper guides accordingly and printed! Voila! A perfectly sized and typed sentiment!

I used it inside of this slider card (the cut file came from the Silhouette Online store)...

Bazzill cardstock in white; DCWV Dots, Stripes and Plaids; RYAN sticker and metal dots (really old from my stash);
American Craft Alpha rub-ons, 

So today's lesson is this, let your printer do the sizing work for you when making the sentiment panels for the insides of your cards.

1. Decide on the size panel you want.
2. Go into your word processing software and change the paper size. Adjust your margins if you'd like.
3. Cut your cardstock the same size.
4. Print! 

And that's it!

I want to close by saying that today is my only offspring's 12th birthday. Happy Birthday "Skootch!" aka "Delawoo!"

Thanks for stopping by!

WrinkleFreeDiva!

Cards in 30 Minutes or Less...

On Friday I joined Mary J and my other sisters over at Scraps of Color for one of our fairly regular Friday Night Challenges. MJ put us through our paces as we had to make each of our cards in 30 minutes or less. And for the first time in a long time, I actually finished all three and met all of the requirements for each challenge.

For this first one, the base had to be a circle, there had to be some distressing, some bling and the word "love" had to be on the front. I had the perfect Cricut diecut, given to me by Helen a couple of years ago, for the front of the card. And... I pulled out a Cuttlebug die cut plate that I've had for at least three years and NEVER used before. The inside reads "you little stinker."

The second challenge was to make a card using at least one solid and one patterned paper. It had to have a circle, a border punch and a sentiment. It could not be for a husband or boyfriend. So this one will be going to my parents. I managed to choose a sketch from one of my many sketch books, select paper from a stack, and get this card completed right under the 30-minute time limit.

The last challenge was to make a Valentine card with the sentiment "To My SOC Friend." Add lots of bling. Send this card to someone who participated in tonight's FNC. So this one is already in the mail to Felisa. Managed to use a sketch for this one as well and paper from the same paper stack.

Not sure if I have a specific lesson in this post, but you know me... sketches are your friend, sketches are your friend, sketches are your friend! And using paper that comes from the same stack doesn't hurt either. It's easy to match patterns and colors, and cuts down on the time it takes to make sure all of your paper works well together. Simplifying the decision-making process makes it actually possible to get a card done in 30 minutes or less! So there you have it my friends and loyal followers. 

Thanks so much for looking!

Don't Be Intimidated...

Last Friday I was not prepared to participate in the Friday Night Chat Challenge over at Scraps of Color, but I was bound and determined to make the Waterfall Card that was one of the challenges issued. The hostess was kind enough to point us to these links here and here. And as complicated as the card looks, it was actually quite simple to make.

When I told my honey-do that I was going to go make a card, he asked me who it was for. I told him “I dunno, I just want to try the technique.” So he said, “I know! You can make a card for my son…his birthday is in eight days. Maybe you can include pictures of his dog!” So off I went to make a Waterfall Card, with a masculine theme and a picture of a dog!

Last Friday I heard a lot of people say that it was really fun to make and actually quite simple. It really was. I had a lot of fun making it although had I taken time to really look at the pictures, I might have used some different patterned paper, but oh well…c’est la vie. I’ll know next time!

And here is my Waterfall Card!

Our simple lesson today is: try not to be intimidated when it comes to trying a new technique. Sometimes, something that looks really difficult really is quite simple. But you won’t know that unless you try! So take a chance, you just might be surprised and have fun while doing it!

Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for looking!!

Reading is Fundamental

When I began this card, I used the sketch over at Jackson's Digital Expressions. I fully intended to enter it in this week's challenge, but after looking at the challenge again, realized that my card was supposed to have a Thanksgiving/Thank You theme. 

The card is actually for one of my sorors who recently adopted three young siblings. When she told us about the impending adoption, she cried tears of joy and thankfulness... so maybe this really is a card that celebrates a giving of thanks…of sorts.

With that said…I think I’m going to post it over there anyway! Seriously, what do I have to lose? Besides, I used a Robert Jackson digital stamp!

So today’s lesson is this: Reading IS Fundamental…but sometimes you can spin things any way you want to! J

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my faithful followers!

Karen

A Quick Post with a Quick Lesson

In the spirit of not neglecting my blog for too long (and after being inspired to post by looking at several of the blogs I follow) I'm going to do a quick post with some projects completed not too long ago. **There is a quick, but oh so important, little lesson that I just learned today that has nothing to do with this post so make sure to read to the end!**

I hosted Friday Night Challenge over at Scraps of Color on October 12th and the theme was Celebrate the Eight! in commemoration of SOC's 8th birthday. The week-long challenge was to celebrate YOU! Make a layout (single- or double-page) that highlights EIGHT things you love about you! Here is my take on the challenge:

The challenges that Friday night were to:
1)   Make a square card with eight squares on it. (Square cardstock or patterned paper bases do not count as part of the eight squares.) Include one or more stamped images, a sentiment of your choice and some bling.

2)  Create a card using only one piece of plain cardstock to mat your design and at least 8 different patterns and/or colors of washi/decorative tape. Your card base does not count as your piece of cardstock. 

3)  Complete a one- or two-page layout using the following sketch. Use 8 DIFFERENT embellishments on your layout.

Thanks for looking, but don't leave without your quick lesson for today!

DON'T leave new rubber stamps (or old ones for that matter) where the puppy can get to them. They will be rendered useless!

Karen

P.S. Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Scraps and Sticky Ribbons

I got a chance to participate in another Friday Night Challenge over at SOC, this one hosted by our very own Classygirl. We were given three card sketches *y’all know I was ALL over that* and were required to post our creations prior to midnight ET on Sunday. This gave me a little time and breathing room. I was able to get started on Sketch #1 Friday during the chat, but had to leave not too long after to take care of other things.

So, when I came home I threw the sketches (but no paper or cardstock) for the other two cards in my bag *determined to get started on them*, along with about seven or eight layouts in varying degrees of doneness. Even though my crop time was going to be short, due to having to go to a meeting first, I was determined to be productive while I was there.

I did as much as I could with the layouts I had brought with me, and then pulled out the card sketches.  I looked through my layout folders and pulled scraps from several of them. I had gotten this idea from Tiare (Classygirl) who once said that she doesn’t really have scraps because when she finishes a layout, she immediately makes a card(s) from the scraps that are left. I was able to make a good start on laying out the cards and would wait until I got home to add the sentiments and embellishments. Good thing too… cause I took out the clear stamps for the “Happy Thoughts” card and lost the matching sentiment (it says, “are coming your way.”) for the inside. It has to be here on my craft table somewhere but I’ll be darned if I can find it! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr……

While I was at the crop, I got a wonderful idea from one of the ladies there. She works with ribbon a lot and said that she often uses her Xyron to put adhesive on her ribbon. Having tried different kinds of adhesives for ribbon, including the ribbon glue made by Hobby Lobby *it dries out too quickly*, I thought I’d give it a try. I used my trusty Xyron “X” to adhere the ribbon on all three of my cards. The application was so smooth I wondered why I hadn’t tried it before. Thanks for that helpful hint Susan!

Anyway… here are the three cards I submitted for FNC…

Sketch #1 - Used scraps from my drawer and a flower from  Petaloo found at Tuesday Morning.
The ribbon and bling are from my stash.

Sketch #2 - Scraps from layout (coming soon) and flowers from  Petaloo.
The 2-in-1 punch used for the border is from EK Success. Ribbon and fiber from my stash.

Sketch #3 - Scraps from layout (coming soon) and flowers are Color Me Crazy  from Petaloo. Used  Glimmer Mist and Stickles on them as well as pebbles (small flower centers) and the Epiphany Shape Studio for the large epoxy pebble.

My tips for today…

1. Take your leftover scraps for a layout or other papercrafting project and make one or more cards. Eventually, storage of scraps will cease to be an issue.
2. Try using the Xyron for ribbon application. Makes ribbon go on nice and smooth.
3. When using those itty, bitty clear stamps, take out one at a time and put it back when you’re done. Then, hopefully you won’t lose any like I lost mine!

Thanks for visiting… I am Still Young and Croppin’!

I needed a quick card for a baby shower. As I am part of the Baby Boomer generation *gasp… I can’t believe I admitted that…* and don’t have any friends or relatives who are of child-bearing age, I don’t have very many baby-related stamps or embellishments.

I remembered a Copic-colored image I had done for an online Copic class. Of course after finishing the image, I made a scan of it to post in the classroom.  It occurred to me that it would be perfect for the card so I printed it out on Bazzill textured cardstock and used the small and large Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circles to make the mats from scraps in my stash.

Went searching through my scrap drawers for paper that would work *cause of course I don’t have any baby paper either AND I HATE cutting up whole sheets of paper to make a card* and found these old scraps that were a perfect match for the image. It was a double-sided sheet of cardstock from a LSS store that closed over five years ago. I had purchased many sheets of the paper and used it on at least one layout that I could remember. I added a strip of pink paper punched with a border punch, some ribbon and a bow *courtesy of my trusty Bow-Easy*, and three rhinestones.

I don't know about you, but I am still a HUGE novice when it comes to coloring with my Copics *even though I own WAY MORE than a novice should own*. Because I don't color a lot *and therefore don't get very much practice* it takes me FOREVER to color an image to my satisfaction. So when I do, I scan the finished image into my computer for posterity's sake! 

Which brings me to my lesson for today...

When you color an image and think to yourself "WOW! I did an amazing job on that!", scan it into your computer and save it BEFORE adhering it to your project. You never know; it could come in handy when you need a card or other project in a pinch. ***Sidebar: I heard tell of someone who got an order for many  of the exact same card/invitation (something like 15 or more..maybe it was 20+) and was hand-coloring each and every one of them AND this person had a full-time job and family and was staying up until the wee hours of the morning to get this order done. NEVER would I have done that!*** But that's me... jus' sayin!

So with that, I will bid you good-bye for today and as always, I thank you for looking!

Karen aka WrinkleFreeDiva

Maximixe Your Crafting Time

A few weeks ago I was chatting with my CFF *Crafty Friends Forever* Sharon S.  over at SOC. She had recently posted a card on her blog where she used spray mists. It was absolutely beautiful! As we were chatting she encouraged me to use my Glimmer Mists of which I have many. So I chose a few colors and began misting away. 

Wanting to get the most out of my “misting experience,” I decided to spray a 12 x 12 sheet of white cardstock and cut it so that I could make four cards. Sadly, I’ve needed quite a few sympathy cards lately, so since I was making one card that was fairly simple in design, I figured it would be just as easy to make four cards that were similar. When I make a card it is usually because I need it for something specific and so haven’t really built up a go-to stash of cards for all ocassions. This is what I came up with:

This card was also used for the Use Your Stash Challenge over at Scraps of Color. 

Most of the paper is from my scrap drawers. For the flowers I used the Insightful Meadows set from the Unity Stamp Co. and the "With Sympathy" stamp is from the Best Wishes set from Close to My Heart. I also used Distress Embossing Ink and Ranger gold embossing powder.

So my lesson for today is this…

1. If you’re making a card, and taking the time to ink, paint, mist, or stamp a background, why not just make it worth your time and do it on a 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock and net yourself four cards instead of one?
2. When making cards and time allows, try to make duplicates so that you can build up a stash that you can pull from when you need a card but don’t have time to make one.

Thanks for looking!

Karen aka “WrinkleFreeDiva”

Classy Card Sketch Challenge #3

Received an email from Tiare’s blog, iClassyGirl, today with this week’s Classy Card Sketch Challenge. You can check out the challenge and the sketch right here. I am a follower of her blog, but it’s been awhile since I’ve had the opportunity to complete a challenge. Today’s sketch was easy enough and I needed a thank-you card that was long overdue, so I made the card you see below. I only used scraps from my scrap drawers *which led me to begin organizing those…but that’s the subject of another post!* I also used my new washi tape from Indie Chic *they call it decorative tape* and some stud embellishments from Michaels.

Thanks for looking and let me add a footnote here:

One of the reasons that it often takes me so long to update my blog is because when I began this blog journey, I was going to focus on things I learned while working on projects. But sometimes I'm hardheaded and don’t learn nothin’ which creates a sticking point when trying to think about what or how to post about a project. So… just this very moment, I decided that I was going to go with the flow and post as often as possible. If there’s a lesson to be found in that particular project I’ll share it. If not, c’est la vie, and I’ll post anyway!

Karen aka "WrinkleFreeDiva"

Scrap. Set. Match!!!!

For some reason, I had tennis on my mind (even though I haven't played since college) when I came up with the title for this post. Game. Set. Match! Get it??? If you don't, please humor me and pretend like you do.

For those of you who have been with me since the beginning, you know that I am patterned paper challenged!
I've blogged about it many times, but most specifically here.

***I just noticed that all of my followers have disappeared. I hope that's a glitch with blogger and not that people don't like me anymore!

Matching up patterned paper is tough for me and can consume a great chunk of my crafting time. Over the years I've acquired lots and lots of patterned paper...mostly purchased on a whim, with no project in mind. For probably the first eight or nine years of my scrapbooking life, I purchased 10 to 12 sheets of each pattern. Seriously? What was I thinking? I'm still trying to figure out how to use up some of that paper. But I digress....

I think I've found the key to my matching pp problem. I took a Spellbinders card class over at My Creative Classroom. While trying to choose paper for the cards, I pulled out a few DCWV cardstock stacks. (I just began acquiring them within the past year or two. JoAnn's has great sales!). I decided that whatever paper I used for each card would come from the same stack, thus assuring that either the colors or the patterns would work together. And...I was smart this time, and chose my paper BEFORE chosing my Copic markers for coloring.

For my Mother's Day Card, I used the DCWV Summer Dream stack. The bonus with this stack is that all of the paper is double-sided. Makes matching a no-brainer! There are three different patterns used in this card AND some embossing. The sentiment was done in Microsoft Word.

For this sympathy card, I pulled from an old Creative Memories Power Palette set called Blush Blooms. Though it's kind of hard to see in the picture, this card uses four different patterned papers, not including the white cardstock. The sentiment for this one was also done on the computer.

All of the patterned paper in this layout came from the DCWV Guy Stack.

So...I've decided that for most of my paper needs, I'll probably stick with DCWV. Their patterned cardstock is of great quality and they have a lot of selection. They are constantly coming out with new stacks. I need to start crafting on a budget and more often than not, these stacks are on sale at JoAnn's for around $10. If not there's always a coupon. Does this mean that I won't ever buy from other manufacturers or purchase single sheets again? No....but I will make every effort to buy paper that is in sets or, if buying single sheets, buy coordinating sheets that will work together for a project. Having the paper already matched removes some of that decision making that slows me down and gets in the way of my creativity.

So...our lesson for today....wait for it...wait for it!!!!

When setting out to SCRAPbook or make a card, consider purchasing and using paper that comes in SETs. It makes MATCHing patterned paper that much easier!

BTW...Despite the amount of time it took me to make those two cards, I DID manage to give them away!

It's Okay to Give Them Away...Cards That Is!

After taking about six hours to make one card, I decided that I wouldn't give my handmade cards to just anybody. (You know that feeling. You send the card to the person, they look at it, maybe display for a few days and then throw it in the trash.) It would have to be someone who would truly appreciate the time and craftsmanship that went into making the card, someone who would save it forever and ever; usually those are select family members and other paper crafters. But then I found myself participating in Friday Night Challenges over at Scraps of Color and developing a stockpile of handmade cards that I didn't want to give away.

A few weeks ago, I had an "ah ha" moment. When I was spending $5+ for a greeting card, I didn't care what the recipient did with it. When I was taking the time to design and print them with my computer software, I didn't care what the recipients did with them. If the joy comes from the crafting, why stress over what happens to the card once its sent? Just a thought.... So here are just a few that I've been hoarding that I vow to send out in the next couple of months.

 

Thanks for looking!!!!

Making Progress When Challenged - Some Cards

I've recently begun taking part in Friday Night Chat Challenges over at Scraps of Color. A different member hosts each week. A digital image is sent out at the beginning of the week and we use it to make a project of our choice that has to be posted on Friday evening. During the chat on Friday evenings, we are presented with challenges that almost always involve making a card (according to certain parameters) AND posting it within 30 minutes. And...we usually do that THREE times during the course of the evening. That is part of what has gotten me in organization mode here in my scrap space...simply so that I can put my hands on tools and supplies quickly. Since I'm also still fairly new to cardmaking, the entire process forces me to think and move quickly...and if you've been following me for awhile, you know that I am very slow when it comes to papercrafting. It takes me an hour just to choose paper sometimes.

So I'd like to share a few of the cards I've completed and share what I've learned through the process of creating them.

This card was created with the image that was sent to us at the beginning of the week. I'm very new to the world of Copics though I've acquired quite a collection. My coloring leaves a lot to be desired but that's okay because I am a work in progress and have long ago given up on being perfect.

For this card, the instructions were to make a two-layer all-white card with just one small pop of color. I had a great idea in mind and intended to put a layout on there using one of my Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page punches. Only problem was, since acquiring all seven or eight of them (I bought them when Oprah gave out the 50% coupon) I had never used one. I chose to test it out during a 30-minute challenge. Not too smart. I should have tried them out AND learned how to use them as soon as I brought them home. As you can see, I had some issues with the corner punch. (Which reminds me; my Cinch and Creatopia arrived last week. Better take them out of the box and try them out!)

For this card...we were given a sketch to follow and instructed to make it monochromatic (shades of one color). You know me...I love sketches! Not quite monochromatic, but almost!....

For my last card, we were supposed to create a card using stamp of our choice, rhinestones or pearls, fringe and a sentiment. I kind of misread the directions and used the stamp as my sentiment. I also didn't have any fringe in my stash. I suppose I could of made some fringe out of paper but I didn't want to since I was in a time crunch. I found some fiber stuff in my stash that I had forgotten I had. Decided to use that instead.

So here is what I've learned going through this process...

1. Progress, not perfection, is the name of the game.
2. When you go out and spend your hard-earned money on new scrapping tools, get them out and learn how to use them as soon as possible. You've spent the money; no use having them just sit there. You might just be surprised at what you can create with your new toys.
3. This one bears repeating...when you've lost your mojo or are in a creative rut, use a sketch!
4. Don't be afraid to substitute one product for another.

Thanks for stopping by....

Celebrate You

So I finally decided to try another challenge over at Scraps of Color. I decided that it was simple enough that I could get it done in one evening (remember...I am a very slowwww crafter). The challenge was to use kraft cardstock, eight squares of patterned paper, a verse/sentiment (stamped or rub-on), and a piece of ribbon (didn't specify how much). Easy enough, right? When I sat down to work, I actually had a totally different design in mind; one that came to me while I was on the freeway yesterday and which I sketched out on a piece of scratch paper in the parking lot at JoAnn's. When I got home and tried to make it work, I couldn't...so this is what I resorted to. For some reason in the scan, the colors don't look very true (or like they even go together) even though all of the paper came from one paper pack. I assure you that the colors are much more vibrant than what you see.

I had something totally different in mind with the ribbon that would have used much more of it, but the ribbon that I had in the right color was too wide and would have tampered with the balance of the card. So what I learned is that starting with a sketch or idea in mind is great, but it's okay to switch up in the middle of creating. The results just might surprise you. Oh yes...and that I also need to add more ribbon to my ribbon stash! TFL.