Thinking Inking

Make a Wish!

In need of a guy card today,  I thought that I'd play with another Inque Boutique set, Mini Memoirs. I love the little swirly branches of this tree!  I also really liked the little apple stamp that came with it, but the apples seemed a bit large for the tree. Hmmmm--how about that folder full of shrink plastic in my drawer? Yes! I used my Versamagic chalk inks to stamp four little apples on translucent shrink plastic, then I cut them out and shrunk them. This is a birthday card, but I had that little "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" aphorism in my head when I was making it.

I used my Scor-Pal to add some scored lines at the bottom and top of the focal image panel, as well as on the background layer above and below it. The tag is a Cuttlebug die from their Tiny Tags set, and the scallop on the bottom is made with the scalloping blade on Marvy 's Paper Trimming Buddy.

The "make a wish" sentiment is from PaperTrey's Mixed Messages set. Inks are Versamagic Dew drops in Red Magic, Tea Leaves, and Jumbo Java, and PaperTrey's Spring Moss on the background layer. The little grass blades behind the torn edge of cardstock were an experiment. (Marianne's rubbing off on me. ;-D) I used the broad nib of a Copic YG93 on its edge to dot some grass blades on, then I wasn't confident enough to leave them totally exposed. (That's why you see the torn cardstock grass in front!) Cardstock is PaperTrey Stamper's Select White and Spring Moss, paired with Prism Suede Brown Dark.

Now, my second reason for using this set today is that Inque Boutique told me that they are holding a special Everything Inque Day on Saturday, June 28. What's special about it? How about getting 20% off of your order that day! Anything bought through this Purple Turtle link, using the coupon code awesome will give you 20% off of your order from Saturday through Monday--just a heads up. Happy exploring!

PaperTrey New Releases

How about simply an eye-candy post tonight? I've posted all of the details regarding marker colors, inks, and paper in the PaperTrey forum here if there's something that you'd like to know. I thought I'd pick some of my favorites to share here.

First, I'm enjoying the new Kraft cardstock! I love to pair it with Aqua Mist and shabby it up a bit. Candice's Birds of a Feather set is very basic and simple to use. Here I paired it with the PTI Out on a Limb set, one of my favorite sets. (A close-up picture is here.)

Next, Lisa's Flower Garden set: I couldn't decide whether to show you the one I stamped the outline of and colored in, or the one that I used the solid stamps on, so here are both.

I have one more Boards and Beams project, a small framed piece. The color scheme may be stretching it a bit, but I wanted to use the new cardstock colors. We'll call it Victorian. (Ahhhh, the things we're allowed to do on paper!) There's a close-up of the little house here if you'd like to see it.

Finally, I have a little 4"x 4" notecard that uses  Guidelines and  Birds of a Feather, along with a bit of glitter and ribbon and some Spellbinders Nested Circle dies.  (If you're wondering how to line circles up, I cut the darker/larger piece first, then penciled in a line on the lighter/smaller piece after getting it lined up properly. I used that penciled line to determine the outside perimeter of the smaller circle die.)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Welcome, Sweet One

I have to admit to having baby cards on the brain these days, and when I saw this Rock-a-Bye set from Flourishes, I knew I needed it! The focal image is stamped in Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance ink on watercolor paper and watercolored with some Twinkling H2O's (Buttercup, Pink Cloud, Chiffon Pink, Plum Blossom, Iridescent Violet, and a touch of Bougainvillea). I'll add a close-up image below, but it's tough to capture the shimmer that you can easily see in person. Background paper is Prism  Iced Amethyst, and card base is a shimmery white cardstock.

I stamped the "Welcome Sweet One" sentiment on translucent shrink plastic, then cut it out with a Spellbinders circle die. (I usually use a punch on shrink plastic, but my largest circle punch was still a tiny bit too small; the die worked well.) I punched a 1/4" hole for the linen thread, then shrunk the medallion. Afterward, I used a Copic Y17 marker to give the medallion a fain yellow glow around the edge to tie in with the moon theme.

Ribbon is PaperTrey Lavender Moon Satin. I used my Scor-Pal to score a lattice background (tutorial here), and lightly sponged antique Linen distress ink on all edges. It's sweet and simple. Now if I only had some baby-powder scent to spray on it. . .

Thanks for visiting!

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Credits
Stamps: Rock-a-Bye (Flourishes)
Cardstock: Iced Amethyst (Prism), Cryogen White/Shimmery White (Arjo Wiggins)
Ink: Chocolate Pearlescent Brilliance (Tsukineko), Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger)
Coloring medium: Twinkling H2O's (Luminarte)
Accessories: translucent shrink plastic (Lucky Squirrel), linen thread (Stampin' Up), Lavender Moon Satin (PaperTrey Ink)
Tools: Scor-Pal, sewing machine

Round Gatefold Card Tutorial

I had several people ask how my scalloped round card for CPS Sketch 66 was made, so I made another card and took some pictures for you. Hope this helps!

First, I measured across my largest Spellbinders large petite scalloped circle die at its center point (measured its diameter). It was 4" across, so I knew that to get a gate-fold card that was hinged on the scallops, I would need to cut a piece of cardstock slightly smaller than double the width of the die-- 7-7/8" x about 4-1/4". (The same principles work at any size. If you are using a Coluzzle circle template, measure your circle, then cut your cardstock about 1/8" less than your circle diameter if you want to have a gate-fold hinge.)

My cardstock was scored at approximately 1-15/16" in from both sides. You can see the score marks in the picture above.

I folded both flaps in, making sure that they met in the center, and making sure that the die edges extended slightly past the cardstock on both sides. (You need to keep a small area on both sides uncut so that you have hinges when the card is opened. Think in terms of a paper doll chain--remember that you left their hands and feet uncut on the edges so that when you unfolded them, they would be connected?) It also helps to tape the die in place or use your magnetic mat. I tend to work a bit better with tape.

This is my card base and card front after cutting. Notice the hinges? The card mat layer is made with the largest plain circle die.

Now, to get the front mat layer cut perfectly, I closed my card and applied adhesive to only one side. Then I made sure my mat circle was in the center of my scalloped circle.  Only the left side is attached here.  I can now see exactly where I need to cut in order to have a perfect connection.

After cutting the front mat layer, I attached it to the right side. This is how my card will open. My focal image will not be split, for obvious reasons. I'll use a little button as a handle of sorts. I am also adding a layer on complementary striped paper, cut with the same circle die.

Here's a close-up of my finished card. I colored the Bib and Itty Bitty Cherries images with the Copic markers show below. Thanks for visiting!

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Credits:

Stamps: Bib and IB Cherries by Lockhart Stamp Company; sentiment from Bitty Baby Blessings by PaperTrey Ink

Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento by Tsukineko

Patterned Paper: Die Cuts with a View Nana's Nursery (girl version)

Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White for the card base and PaperTrey Stamper's Select White for the focal
image  (The Neenah is a bit thinner than the PaperTrey, so it's easier to cut a double layer. I like having a thicker cardstock for my focal image though, especially since it opens independently rather than being attached on both sides to a mat layer.)

Accessories: Pink Satin ribbon by Stampin' Up; Buttons by Autumn Leaves/Foo-Fa-La

Markers: Copic by Imagination International

Dies: Spellbinders Paper Arts Company

The Crownless Queen: PTI Blog Hop and Window/Scoring Tutorial

Would you believe that I just LOST my crown stamp for this Honeybees  set?  Accckkk!  It was sitting on my desk an hour ago, and now it has vanished-- probably into a parallel universe. . . ;-D  I thought that I'd better get my PTI Blog Hop piece posted even without the Queen Bee's crown.

I also photographed a tutorial on cutting windows with Spellbinders dies, but I need to take a meal to someone right now.  I'll come back late tonight and amend this post to include the tutorial. Happy Blog Hopping!

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For the last PaperTrey Ink release, I had used my Spellbinders dies to cut a window in both a card front and a mat. I had several questions on how to line them up, so I said that I'd try to illustrate.  I thought I'd show you grid-scoring  one more time as well.

 

First, since I'm making a square card, I used a ruler to draw an "x" across the card front to determine the center point. That helps me to know exactly where to place my die--no guessing! I used tape across the center of the die to hold my die in place  since that part will be cut out anyway.

You'll have to  take my word for it that the square is embossed as well as cut out.  I will erase the lines now.

Here I simply held the Lemon Zest cardstock firmly and scored every half inch in a grid pattern, turning the cardstock as I went. I scored the lines nearest the center of the  square first because I wanted to stop my lines 1/2" short of the inner square to frame it. When I am scoring a grid and need to be able to see exactly where I am stopping an starting, I find it simplest to use an embossing stylus to score with; it's easier to see where the point is with a stylus than with the provided scoring tool for this particular application. Even using an embossing stylus, if you enlarge the picture, you will see that I went over the line in a few places--no problem!  You simply turn your grid over to the front side (as shown above), and use that embossing stylus to carefully burnish the little overruns down flat.

As you can see above, while the lines aren't perfect in the center, they are better after the tweaking maneuver.

Next comes the window: to line up your inner window and your outer window, first make sure that your top mat fits your card base and has equal margins all around. If it doesn't, fix that. Then place a light pencil mark around the inside perimeter of the square. 

I moved the Lemon Zest mat so that you could see my penciled line. The penciled line is the same size as my next smaller diameter Spellbinders Classic Square die is. (The full set gives you 1/8" increments.)

I will once again tape my die across the center so that it can't slip. I don't have to worry about removing the tape since I am discarding the center piece anyway. I will simply cut and emboss this piece, and both the mat and the card base are lined up--simple!

Newsflash: I just found the crown!  It was stuck to my Scor-Pal--the ONE place that I hadn't looked. Woohoo!   

Fresh Strawberries: CPS 66

**There's a PaperTrey Blog Hop tonight--not the normally scheduled night. I'll try to have a card up for that, though I don't think I signed up. . . I can't wait to see what some of you create for it as well!**

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Have you had a chance to play along with this week's CPS Sketch?  There are some truly amazing pieces over there this week!  I was just looking at them a few minutes ago. It's a fun sketch--a round card, or at least a round element on a card.  Here's a close-up of my CPS 66 card that was posted on Monday. I colored the image with my Copic Markers (listed below), then coated each strawberry with Glossy Accents. The stems are colored with a Melon Spica Glitter pen, and I used my Copic Airbrush system to airbrush the background with my circle die left in place as a mask.  I used my Scalloped circle die to cut the card base, and my Scor-Pal to create a gate fold from the center.

Now, I will try my best to get a Blog Hop card done for 5pm or so! Thanks for visiting.

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Credits

Stamps: Strawberries by Lockhart Stamp Company; inside sentiment from A Muse Art Stamps
Paper: DCWV Nana's Nursery mat pad
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White
Markers: (Copic): R20, R43, R46, R59, YG11, YG03, YG63, YG95, W1, W3, 0; Spica Melon Glitter Pen
Tools: Spellbinders Nestability Plain and Scalloped Classic Circle dies, Embossing Zig-Zag punch by Martha Stewart Crafts (still out of stock at the time of posting)
Accessories: gingham ribbon (SU), red button (Autumn Leaves Foo-Fa-La)

More Graduation Cards. . .

I finally finished my graduation cards! Two were in school colors, and the other two were for home schoolers. I won't babble extensively here since I explained my process for the gift card holders in this post. (The two girls' cards had a pocket added on the inside left flap.)

In case you're not around this weekend, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and stay safe if you travel!

Credits
Stamps: JustRite Stampers Small Letters and  Medium and Large Numbers; Tiled Scallops Backgrounder, Motivational Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Onyz Black, Majestic Blue, Vintage Sepia (Versafine); Red Brick (Versamagic); Versamark
Cardstock: Classic Purple, Twilight Dark, Desert Coral Dark, Nero (Prism); Crate Brunch Collection

Accessories: Crate Brunch Ribbon Collection; SU Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware; Iridescent Swarovski Crystals; black embossing powder (for Tiled Scallops black embossed background)
Tools: Spellbinders Petite Plain and Scalloped Circle Dies; Scor-Pal Scoring Board; Martha Stewart Crafts Zig-Zag Punch and eyelet punch

 

Graduation: JustRite Gift Folder Card

It's that time of year; we have four graduation open houses to go to in the next week!  That means that I need to get busy with graduation cards. I just finished my first one, totally inspired by my buddy Sharon Johnson's elegant card that she posted a couple of weeks ago. Mine is for a high school graduation, so I kept the style modern and used the school's colors--maize and royal blue. These colors are far from my comfort zone, but it won't kill me to use them once a year. . .

I decided to make a gift card folder since our graduation gift is invariably a check. I know--not very original, but you can't go wrong on the size or color, can you? I started with an 5-1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock, then used my cool little Martha Stewart Zig-Zag punch to punch one end for the front flap fold-over. I them trimmed the length to 10", and scored it at 2" and 6-1/4". I cut the maize (Prism  Intense Yellow) to 3", then punched the zig-zag and trimmed it to fit the top panel, and the royal blue (Prism Intense Cobalt) to 1-7/8" x 5-3/8".  (Don't attach the cobalt layer quite yet; you'll want to put the photo turn through that layer after you get your monogram sentiment made and figure out exactly where to put the photo turn.) I folded the 2" bottom piece on the white cardstock in and attached it with super sticky  tape to form a pocket. (See the bottom picture for the folded pocket.)

Now, for the focal image, I used the Small Letter set and the medium and large numbers set to spell out "Congratulations," "Class of 2008 KHS," and "Chelsey" on the back of my wooden handle. (Yes, it took a bit of time, but now that it's set up, all I have to change is the name and the school initials for my next three cards!)  I cheated on my embossing a bit; I didn't have a pigment pad in royal blue, so I inked my JustRite Stamper in Versamark first, then inked it in my SU Brilliant Blue ink, before stamping and heat-embossing with clear embossing powder.

Next I used my Spellbinders Plain circle die to cut and dry-emboss the focal point.  I used my Petite Scalloped Circle die to cut and emboss the cobalt layer to mat the white layer.  After placing my matted focal image on the card front and deciding where I needed to place the photo turn, I attached the photo turn through the cobalt layer and adhered the cobalt layer to the card front.  I stamped a "Congratulations" sentiment inside the card and left room to sign our names above the check pocket. Easy!

If you read this far in the post, here's one more tidbit of news for you: JustRite Stampers has a new blog and is giving away five large monogram stampers to random people who sign up for their newsletter by Monday. Have you been thinking that a monogram stamper might come in handy?  Better go check it out!

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Credits

Stamps: Small Letter set, and Medium and Large number Set (JustRite Stampers); inside sentiment from Stampin' Up
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White, Prism Intense Cobalt and Intense Yellow
Accessories: Pewter photo turn (SU Hardly Hardware)
Tools: Plain and Petite Scalloped Circle Dies (Spellbinders Paper Arts); Scor-Pal scoring Board; Zig-Zag Border Punch (MarthaStewartCrafts.com)

Two Hearts, One Love: CPS Sketch 63

I loved this week's CPS Sketch!  Our sponsor this week was Scor-Pal, so I wanted to incorporate something other than my normal fold. I started with a 4-1/4" x 12" piece of cardstock, then scored it at 3" and at 8-1/2". I then laid it out in a landscape orientation and folded the right flap in first. The left flap has the bracket box attached to it.

How about those papers? Digital! I wasn't very confident after my hybrid foray a few weeks ago, but I just kept getting good deals on lovely digital papers--the ones that I'm "someday" going to digi-scrap with. When I looked at this week's CPS Sketch and saw a box, I wanted to use a bracket box. I had ordered some online not long ago, and when I got them, they were too large for cards. What I needed was a bracket box that I could control the size of. . . Wait a minute! I started checking my digital files, and there were several choices--woohoo! So, other than the plain cardstock on this card, a natural vanilla (Prism), Bordering Blue (SU), and Spring Moss (PaperTrey Ink), everything else is from Shabby Miss Jenn's Lil Guys Collection. I have so many pink, flowery papers, but I wanted an anniversary card to appeal to both genders, hence the blues and greens.

Printer Ramble: When I print digital papers, I have the best luck using heavyweight matte finish paper on best print setting. And if I need only 5-1/2", I resize the 12" x 12" file in my print dialog box to 5-1/2" x 5-1/2" so I'm not wasting ink printing paper that I don't need. Then I can turn the paper around to the other end and print a second 5-1/2" x 5-1/2" pattern, or some smaller elements so that I don't waste paper. I also have a printer for which I can get very economical generic ink, and it will be a sad day when it dies. (It's a Canon Pixma iP 3000. It's probably outdated, but I knew that I would get e-mail asking about it if I didn't tell you what it was. Your best bet on choosing a printer is to check Consumer Reports or something similar. Then check the online ink vendors to see if generic ink is available for the model that you choose. I think my printer was only about $50, so a decent printer doesn't have to cost a lot to buy or to re-ink. Okay, printer ramble has now officially ended.

Stamps, etc.: For stamps, I used Stampin' Up's Kind Thoughts set along with a sentiment from Favor It Weddings by PaperTrey Ink. For the tag, I used one of my new Spellbinders Tags Trio dies, and for the circles I used my Spellbinders Nestability Plain and Petite Scalloped Circle dies. Ribbon is PaperTrey Ink's Spring Moss stitched grosgrain, and those cute little heart rhinestones are made by A Muse. (Yes, I've been waiting for at least a year to use these on something! :-D)

Finally, a word about scoring tools: if you don't have one, and you are an avid papercrafter, you need one. (No, no one asked me to say this. It's my version of a public service announcement. :-D) Here's the scoop: I looked at scoring tools for two years before I decided to buy one. I just kept thinking, "That's two sets of stamps that I'm giving up to buy a tool." I had a little scoring blade for my smallest paper cutter. In fact, I had two of them: one was dull and didn't score well, and the other was sharp and cut into my paper unless I remembered to score lightly. I finally bought a dedicated scoring tool, and I don't think I have made even one card in the past couple of years that I haven't used a scoring tool on--yes, to me, it's that important.  I now have two different brands of scoring tools, and both work  beautifully. Truthfully, the Scor-Pal is the one I use most for two reasons: first, it is lighter to pull off of the shelf while I'm sitting down working, and second, I don't have to bother to look at measurements. I can simply align the cardstock in the corner, and 95% of the time, I'm good to go. (Occasionally I may be scoring a non-standard sized item and use a different tool, or  I may have a piece of cardstock that is 1/16" short. That would account for the other 5% of the time, in case you're wondering.)

Goodness, I'm quite verbose when I'm typing a blog post during the day instead of the middle of the night! Don't worry: I won't make a habit of it.  Have a blessed Sunday!

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Credits

Stamps: Kind Thoughts (Stampin' Up), Favor It Weddings (PaperTrey Ink)
Papers: (DIGITAL) Shabby Miss Jenn's Little Guys Collection
Cardstock: Prism Natural; PaperTrey Ink Spring Moss; Stampin' Up Bordering Blue
Accessories: Ribbon is PaperTrey Ink Spring Moss Stitched Grosgrain; heart-shaped rhinestones are A Muse Twinkle Stickers
Tools: Scor-Pal; Spellbinders Tags Trio and Nestabilities Plain and Petite Scalloped Circle Dies; Ranger Inkssentials White Opaque pen; piercing tool, foam tape

Celebrate Today Birthday Gift Card Folder

How are you at choosing gifts? I have to admit that when it comes to gift selection, I'm not always the best. For instance, I now know better than to choose clothes for my teenage niece! One gift that is truly a one-size-fits-all is a gift card to the recipient's favorite store or restaurant. As I was working on a gift card enclosure a few days ago, I came up with one that I thought might be helpful to share with my blog friends. I have attached a .pdf template with measurements. Download Giftcard_Holder_DO_4_08.pdf

This partially open view shows how the top flap tucks behind the scalloped circle piece in order to keep the folder shut. You can slide the ribbon off and slide it back on, but the card will stay shut with or without the ribbon on.

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The interior has a scalloped asymmetrically curved top flap, a panel for your sentiment and signature, and a pocket panel for the gift card. That's the gist of it! If you'd like to see my step-by-step process, keep scrolling. . . and scrolling. . .

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1. I began with a piece of cardstock cut to 4-1/4" x 11", then scored at 4-1/4" and 8-1/2"  leaving a 3-1/2" flap. I used my Spellbinders Paisley Nestabilities to trim the flap asymmetrically. If you are crunched for time, you could use a Coluzzle template to round the top flap, or simply use a corner rounder on the edges of the top flap.
      
      
    
2. Next I placed my paisley die blade-side down on only the top edge of my PaperTrey Stamper's Select White cardstock. If you look carefully, you can see the score line; that is the score between the top flap and the body of the card.  The tricky part is in the next few steps! If you are using a corner rounder, you can skip to step 6.
      
   
    
3. To avoid getting an unwanted crease on your cardstock, place your white spacer plate only on the part of the template that needs to cut. This particular white plate is one that I had cut into accidentally and warped, so I used an old pair of scissors to trim it slightly so that I can fit it through my Spellbinders Wizard without bumping into the side of the machine.
      
   
    
4. After cutting the cardstock, place it on the tan embossing mat and run it back through the die cutter to get an embossed edge. You can't see it here, but to avoid getting an unwanted crease, I will take this little die/cardstock stack and move it to the bottom end of my plate before sending it through the machine. That way I won't get an impression from the part of the paisley die that I am not using.
      
   
    
5. This is what my embossed edge now looks like.
      
   
    
6. I saved the scrap that I cut from the white cardstock base in order to line up my patterned paper (from the 6" x 6" Pink Patterns pad), then cut and embossed the patterned layer. (I realized after I'd already finished taking pictures that I showed the plain paisley die here, then ended up choosing to use the scalloped paisley die for this layer--mea culpa!) Alternative/simpler idea: you could use temporary adhesive to attach the patterned paper right on top of the cardstock in step 4 and cut them both at the same time. Then you would trim 1/16" off both sides of the patterned paper, attach it permanently to the scalloped base flap, and skip this step!
      
      
    
7. This is what my finished flap looks like now.
      
   
    
8. Next, I used my Stampin' Up Word Window Punch to punch the bottom panel of the cardstock base. Be sure to slide the punch in as far as it will go; that way it will be simple to align for your second punch. (One punch will not yield a wide enough opening for a gift card. ) I left about 1" on either side of the card unpunched.  This view was shot after I had punched and then folded the cardstock on my scoreline to let you see the punch from the back side.
      
   
    
9. I cut a piece of patterned paper 4-1/8" square to cover the outside lower part of my card. (NOTE: you may need to trim just a sliver (1/32" or so) of cardstock from the bottom edge of the card in order for it to fold perfectly flat.) If you look carefully, you can see a lighter area where my base layer is punched for the gift card. This patterned layer is to cover the hole and form the rest of the pocket. When you use adhesive on this layer, you must take care to put no adhesive where the card will need to slide into the pocket. I used a short length of 1/8" redline tape at the very bottom of this layer to keep the gift card from coming through.
      
   
    
10. This is an inside view after I added the patterned paper on the outside. You can see the slot for the gift card, backed by patterned paper from the card front, where my paper piercing tool is pointing.
       
    
     
11. I stamped flowers and leaves from the Boxes, Bags, and Tags set that coordinates with the Pink Patterned paper, then used my Spellbinders circle dies to cut a flowered layer and a mat layer. (Mat layer is cut from PaperTrey's Sweet Blush cardstock. Ink is PaperTrey's Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, and Spring Moss.)
       
    
     
12. To attach the round scalloped layer, I used foam tape only on the bottom third. This is important since the scallop will also serve to hold your card shut.  If you get the foam tape too high, you won't be able to tuck the top of the flap under the scalloped circle.
    
    
13. This is how your gift card will stay shut--by tucking the top flap under the scalloped circle. I also added a Sweet Blush Stitched grosgrain ribbon as well as a tag (sentiment from Mixed Messages). The ribbon can be slipped on and off; it doesn't need to be untied in order to open the card.
    
    
14. Inside of the card is stamped with PaperTrey's Birthday Basics set, with a cut-out, Stickled flower from the Boxes, Bags, and Tags set added at the gift card slot.
    
    If you click on any of the pictures in this LONG tutorial, you should  get a larger view. Enjoy, and thanks for visiting!  Heather Nichols has a great  PaperTrey sneak peek for you today, and I'm quite sure that Nichole will have something amazing as well!