Loves Tea & Paper

Instant Friends with Tutorial

My friend, Laura, a wonderful and prolific scrapbooker and cardmaker, is also the designer for ScrapMuch? where she posts a sketch every Friday. If you visit their blog today, you'll see a new sketch up, and they've been kind enough to post this layout I made, inspired by this sketch from March 16th. Here's the sketch:

And here is my layout:

 
I'm working with My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline papers on this one and I love how versatile the line is. The photos aren't perfect, taken at night in our family room, which is 1/2 below ground, with low lighting. I wanted to pick colours that wouldn't emphasize the low lighting and dark furniture, so I chose the floral as a background to pick up the pinkish skin tones in the photos. Then I layered on more patterns for the pennant elements.

I used foam adhesive on the pennants to build up lots of layers. I splattered gesso on the layout and used a sanding block on the papers and photos to give everything a bit of a worn-in feeling. You can see a simple lollipop flower embellishment there, too. To make the handwritten journaling pop a bit, I lightly brushed a coat of gesso on the patterned paper.

If you've not made this kind of embellishment before it's very simple.

1. Gather a variety of circle punches, a circle cutter, or put your die cut machine to work. OR, if you want a more rugged look, skip the tools and cut the circles by hand. I've done this on my Disney layout about a safari.

2. Choose some coordinating papers and then punch 2-3 (or more) circles in escalating sizes.

3. Crinkle the circles up. Scrunch them in your hand, gently.

4. Fold them flat and then apply ink to the creases and edges to give them additional visual texture.

5. Use a paper piercer to create a hole in the centre of each circle.

6. Layer the circles from largest to smallest, lining up the center holes and secure with a brad. Alternately, you could adhere the circles at the center and top with a button, chipboard, small paper flower etc. I have adorned the centers with a small handmade paper rose, too.

7. Attach to your layout or card with adhesive. I used foam adhesive for more dimension.

I hope this tutorial will remind you how simple it is to make your own embellishments, and how much $$ you can save, too!

I'll be back on Sunday with my first reveal for this term at My Sketch World. We're doing a blog hop. You won't want to miss the fun!

 

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Merry Christmas!

Here is the last card I created for Christmas this year.

This is a fun shaker card that I know the recipient is really going to enjoy! Assembling the shaker card is actually quite straight forward, thanks to the Shake It kits available at your lss through Impression Obsession. You can purchase the square or round plastic bubbles and the perfectly cut out cardstock pieces that fit over top separately. What I did underneath the shaker is a fun masking technique that I wanted to show you. I decided that the cute penguins needed a snowy environment, so I ran the white cardbase through the Cuttlebug using the Snowflakes folder. Stamping on top of the embossed surface would leave a very uneven impression and I had just one penguin stamp, the right facing one.

I decided to use a transparency. Here's how I did it:

1. I measured and trimmed the transparency to be slightly larger than the square bubble, about 3.5" x 3.5". I stamped the penguin on the left, using StazOn ink, which is ideally suited for non-porous surfaces, and it dries quickly. I then flipped the transparency over, and stamped the penguin again. This time I inked the stamp using a Copic marker, omitting the fin that carries the gift, so this penguin could be the recipient.

Now there are 2 penguins facing each other.

 

 

 

2. Next, I stamped the penguin using ordinary dye ink on a scrap of paper, and cut it out. I then used temporary adhesive to stick it on top of the penguin. If you have post-it notes handy, you can stamp on the post-it note, right up at the top where the gummy stuff is, cut it out and stick it on top of the image.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Ink up the background stamp, in my case the Christmas tree, with StazOn ink and stamp the it, allowing yourself to go right over the covered penguin, but not going so far as to stamp on the uncovered penguin.

Now, remove the mask you made with the scrap paper or post-it note and flip the transparency over. Repeat your background stamping.

Alternatively, you could create 2 masks and adhere one wrong side down on the penguin on the right, but I find this just as easy.

Use Copic, Sharpie or other permanent markers to colour in your images.

 

4.With your stamping done, you are ready to assemble the card. I placed the diecut cardstock on my cardfront and used a pencil to make light lines to indicate where I needed the transparency and bubble to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Using strong, clear adhesive, like Beacons 3 in 1, adhere the transparency to the cardfront. I find embossed surfaces sometimes don't adhere as well, so the Beacon's is good for ensuring the card won't fall apart. You can see my pencil lines under the transparency. Remember I made it bigger than the bubble, on purpose.

 

You can see the pile of "snow", about a teaspoon, piled in the centre of the transparency.

 

 

 

 

 

6. Remove the adhesive from the bubble and adhere it to the transparency (with all the transparent surfaces here, the photo is a little less than ideal, but I hope you can see how this is coming together).

 

Then adhere the cardstock panel to the front. Again, I used the Beacon's to ensure it adheres to the slick transparent surfaces and the embossed surfaces.

I stamped a sentiment, added a little bling and adhered it to the cardfront with double sided foam adhesive.

Have you made shaker cards? I'd love to see them! Leave me a link in the comments.

Merry Christmas, friends! May all the blessings of the season fill your heart and home with joy! - Ann

 

 

 

Poinsettia Flower Tutorial - Practical Scrappers

I was making Christmas cards a few weeks ago and wanted to add a paper poinsettia to the front of one. I went looking for a tutorial and couldn't find one, so it was time to make one of my own! I'm sharing this at Practical Scrappers too. Remember we've been sharing layout, card, altered item, and fun Christmas ideas since the middle of November and we'll be your Christmas idea central right up to Christmas, so check it out!

To make your paper poinsettia, you will need:

5 petal flower punch (preferable with sharp not rounded petals), or a diecut machine

scrap cardstock - green and whatever colour you'd like your poinsettia to be (I chose off-white)

ink

gem, dewdrop or microbeads

quick drying strong adhesive, like Beacon's

tools - scissors, bamboo skewer (a dry emboss tool or pencil should work too)

 

From the off-white cardstock scrap, punch 3 flowers. Then punch 2 flowers from the green scrap.

 

 

 

 

 

If desired, ink the edges of your flowers to add texture and dimension. I used green, since white poinsettias have a tinge of green throughout them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snip one green flower by cutting between petals, so one of the pieces has 3 petals and the other has 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using a bamboo skewer (my favourite tool!), curl the petals downward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using strong quick-dry adhesive, glue the 3 white flowers together, staggering how they line up. Then adhere the intact green flower on, which will be one level of leaves, and place the other 2 pieces in a pleasing way, for a second level of leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the skewer one more time and ease the petals apart as the glue will stick them together  a little bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the poinsettia is taking the desired shape and dimension , you can add some finishing touches. I used my finger to dab a little gold Stickles to the petals, and added a Robin’s Nest gold dew drop to the flower centre. You could use micro beads or a rhinestone, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use foam adhesive to attach the poinsettia to your project.

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

 

Inked Background Tutorial & Winner Announced!

I wanted to show you a Christmas card I designed to show some friends for a cardmaking night last month. I've done it up as a tutorial so you can do it step by step, too. This would be an easy card to mass produce if you need a bunch quickly (Christmas is only 2 1/2 weeks away, so cards going in the mail, really have to be done, soon, right? Ack - I know I have a few more to make, and soon!)

You will need:

- glossy cardstock (I get mine from Stampin' Up! - it may be available elsewhere. I haven't tried it with photo paper, yet, so I can't tell you how that works. But the glossy really makes a difference on how the card looks, so try to track some down.)

- ink pads

- sponge daubers (I really like the daubers. I've tried using tissue, and sponges, but I find the daubers easiest to handle and control and less messy)

I used a deer stamp, and a tree stamp, you can use whatever you have to create your landscape. Here we go:

Emboss an image on your glossy cardstock. I inked the reindeer with gold ink and stamped, and then sprinkled on gold embossing powder and set it with the heat tool.

Once the image is cool, apply ink to the glossy cardstock using the sponge dauber. I like to move the ink around in a circular motion, and on the glossy cardstock, you really can move the ink. It takes longer to absorb the ink than a regular cardstock.

Apply a second colour, if desired. I used navy for the night sky, applying the colour more darkly closer to the ground and more lightly as we moved up toward the sky. I used chocolate coloured ink for the ground.

Working on a scrap of paper, I stamped the tree image in hunter green, sometimes stamping more than once between reinking the stamp. You can see I stamped off the page, too. This multiple stamping creates the effect of a forest, and now the deer is in a setting.

Can you see all that ink on the embossed image from my tree stamp?

Now it's gone! I simply used a tissue to wipe the excess ink from the embossing. While I waited for the ink to dry on the glossy cardstock, I ran a cardbase through the Cuttlebug and created a sentiment by embossing and punching it out from a scrap. When the ink was dry on the central image, I applied a mixture of coarse and fine glitter to the line where the earth and sky meet to create a frosty effect. I then tied some linen thread around the card for a little extra punch. I also adhered fine glitter on the deer's rack.

Speaking of racks, someone is waiting to hear who won the RAK I was giving away during the MSW bloghop. Thank you to everyone who came by and left a comment - it really was gratifying to read how much you appreciated the simple to advanced approach I took. I will have to remember to do that again from time to time! We printed all the names of the commenters and numbered them, then Sarah picked a number between 1 and 31. She chose number 16.

And the winner is....

 

...

 

Stephanie!!!

Stephanie I will email you to request your address. Congratulations and thanks so much for joining the blog hop!

Thanks to everyone who popped by today. If you use this technique, I'd love to see it. Leave me a comment to let me know where to come see your creation!

Blessings,

Ann

 

 

Holly Jolly Smiles - Rolled Paper ChristmasTree Tutorial

I'm back with a Christmas layout I've just finished and I took a few extra photos while I was in the process so I could show you how to make this fabulous Christmas tree embellishment.

To make this embellishment, you will need:

a scrap of cardstock cut into a triangle

patterned paper

strong quick dry adhesive, such as Beacon's

a pencil, or bamboo skewer

rhinestones, Stickles, buttons or other embellishments for your tree

Cut the patterned paper into squares. I used 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" squares and 1 3/4" x 1 3/4" squares.

The patterned paper I am using is quite heavy and thick, so I used a pencil to slightly bend or curl 2 opposing corners.

Can you see how 2 corners remain flat while 2 corners are curled up?

Have your glue handy. Now roll the square into a cylinder and use the adhesive to glue the point down. Hold onto the cylinder until the glue holds.

Once you have a number of cylinders made in both sizes, you can begin to adhere them to your triangle base. I used the large cylinders for the bottom row and then layered on 2 more rows using the smaller cylinders. Once the glue is dry, you can embellish the tree as desired.

I made a star from tinsel ribbon by snipping 3 small pieces and crisscrossing them. I held them with a brad, bending the brad prongs around the centres of the tinsel. A foam adhesive square pops the tinsel star up. I added rhinestone gems and silver Stickles to the tree.

Here is the completed layout with the rolled paper Christmas tree. This is the new Teresa Collins Christmas Home line and I really love it!

The background paper is stitched in black. The subtitle is created with October Afternoon letters and the word "sparkle" comes from a whole page of words. I snipped this one out, rounded the corners on one end, and added silver Stickles to make it sparkle.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and if you try this technique, please leave me a comment with your blog, so I can see it!

Thanks so much for popping by!

Be blessed,

Ann

Good News and Winner Announced!

I'm back from a great time of camping in beautiful Killbear Provincial Park. Just before I left I put together a couple of submissions and I'm thrilled to say that one of them was accepted! Yes, I have been invited for another term at My Sketch World (thank you Lucy - it is an honour and privilege!).

 

I already showed you the other "unseen" layout, Shine. This layout was also used for the submission to the other call, so I wanted to wait until that call was over and selection was complete to show you. That was a DT call for SEI, and they did not require SEI paper for all 5 submission photos, so I included this layout in that submission. No, I was not accepted. This time. {Wink}

This layout uses a sketch from Lucy's E-book. It came together in bits and pieces. I started it at a crop at Two Scrapbook Friends, that I attended with bff Christa. Then I continued to build on it at home.  The title is "Natural Beauty" and speaks to both the setting, Killbear Park, and to Sarah, I think (though as her mom, I may be biased). I've layered about 4 Basic Grey papers on this one and I love that funky diagonal dot. I used a chartreuse coloured thread to pick up on the yellowy-green colour in the paper, and then really played up on the plummy pomegranate colours in the clusters.

  

The journaling square was replaced with this gorgeous Prima rubon. The bottom of the layout features this wide satin ribbon that I crimped, some vellum butterflies (thanks for loaning me your punches, Christa!) and these lovely gemmed medallions that were part of a RAK I won last month on Vicki's blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another medallion and more glittered butterflies on the right of the layout, help to form a visual triangle that keeps the eye focused on the photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Felt leaves, bejewelled fabric and paper flowers, and a gorgeous wire stem are clustered on top of some Bazzill chipboard flourishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to show you how I changed the plain chipboard flourish to the yellowy-green shade.

I used watercolour crayons.

Dipping the crayon into some water and then shaking off the excess drips, I simply coloured the flourish.

I started with the lighter yellow shade.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I selected a light bright green watercolour crayon and repeated the process, just colouring to fill in any bare spots and to blend with the yellow. Because watercolour crayons blend well, this created a flourish in a colour that worked well with the tones in the paper.

 

 

 

 

 

Watercolour crayons, if you are looking for them, can be found at artist supply stores.  They are usually sold in a tin. This collection are by Caran D'Ache of Switzerland.

 

I got this larger collection of them from Stampin' Up! a few years ago, and I assume they still sell them.

These crayons just glide on the chipboard, dry quickly, and there is no mess, or big cleanup.  They are water soluble, and non toxic. I will definitely remember this trick next time I want to alter chipboard - it's so much easier, cleaner and faster than some of the other methods (think priming with white, then painting or misting...) And anything that allows me to keep the flow going when I'm creating is a GOOD thing! Which is why I wanted to share it with you, too!

Well, if you've stuck with me this far, then I must congratulate you - this seems to be a long post today! I placed all the names of the kind people who commented here since I posted my blog giveaway into a camping kettle here that still needs to get stored until next time. I'm giving the kettle a good shake...

... I'm sticking my hand into the kettle....

... swirling around the pieces of paper some more...

... drawing my hand back out with the paper slip.... 

... and the winner of my birthday blog candy is....

..... LISA M!...

... Yeah, Lisa! Thanks so much for popping by and for all of your kind and encouraging words! Lisa, I'll need your address so that I can drop this in the mail to you.

And to everyone, thank you for taking the time to leave comments. I read them and treasure them.

Blessings,

Ann

 

 Supplies: patterned paper - Basic Grey; vellum, ribbon - Stampin' Up!; rubon, wire stem, flowers - Prima; gems - Bo Bunny; stickles - Ranger; alphas - SEI and American Crafts; chipboard - Bazzill

 

Origami Gift Card Wallet Tutorial

I'm back with the tutorial I promised for making these folded gift card holders.

I've got lots of photos to try to help explain the scoring and folding, which I hope you find helpful. Here we go!

I am using a piece of cardstock for the purposes of this tutorial, so that you can see the measure/score lines. When you make this,  do not draw in the lines - these are here for the tutorial only, so you can see where to score.

Choose a patterned paper, preferably double-sided and let's get started!

(You can experiment with single sided papers and perhaps stamping on the plain side, or choose a neutral cardstock and stamp on it.)

To begin, cut your paper to 8" x 8".

Using a scoring tool (i.e. Scor-Pal or other), or your scoring blade in your trimmer, or a ruler and bone folder, score on one side at 1 1/2", 4", and 6 1/2".

Then turn your cardstock 90 degrees and score at 5" and 1 1/2". IF you are working with a patterned paper that has a pattern that only works in one direction, i.e. hanging ornaments or something, be sure that your 1 1/2" score is at the top of the paper and the 5" score is at the bottom.

You will also need to score across the corners from the 1 1/2" mark on one side to the 1 1/2 " mark on the other side (see dotted lines in the photo above.)

 

Using your trimmer, or scissors if you rock at cutting a straight line (so not me!), trim out the rectangle between the 1 1/2" score lines at the top. See in the photo how I've gone in and trimmed away - I placed the scored lines on the cutting line of the trimmer and set the blade in at 6 1/2" and then brought the blade toward me, stopping at 1 1/2". Then I used scissors to trim up 1 1/2", removing the rectangle from the top edge.

 

I find it easier to punch a hole or slot for my ribbon now, before the wallet is folded.

To do that, use a round or slot punch and punch a ribbon slot - this will be on right hand middle panel, somewhat close to the edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flip the (almost) square over and fold in each of the 4 corners on the score lines, so that each corner is now a triangle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flip the paper back over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now fold each vertical side under.

Hang in there, we're almost done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold the bottom edge up toward the top, along the horizontal scored line.

 

 

 

Press hard on your folds.

 

 

 

Tuck one point down under the folded flap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold the other point down and tuck under the flap.

Now you can see how I had one side in which to insert the gift card, and on the other side, I had a spot to insert a tag with a sentiment.

 

 

 

 

Your last fold is to fold the wallet in half vertically. This is the front before you decorate it. On the sample I showed you last time, I made a separate front and adhered it with foam adhesive which allowed me to run ribbon under the front around the back and through that slot.  Depending on your pattern, you may not want or need to do much with the front. Unless you like getting fancy (it is a gift after all), and this is a great opportunity to use up scraps!  

The inside tag and front  piece both measure 3 1/4" x 2 1/4".

 

 

Well, that's it! You don't have to wait until Christmas to make these, and I'd love to see yours, so leave me a comment with a link if you give it a go!

Thanks for popping by and blessings,

Ann

 

 

 

 

Christmas Week is Here!

Are you all set for Christmas?

I'd love to say I am... but there are a few things not yet done...

Here's a project that is ready to go under the tree:

OK, it looks like a can of almonds. This is the kind of can with a pull tab lid. If you decide to try this project, shop for a can with a pull tab lid, and make sure it has a lip around the bottom. I saw some small cans of olives that met this criteria, too.

 

What I did with this can of almonds is...

I used a Starfrit can opener (Tupperware and Pampered Chef sell them too) to remove the bottom of the can. These openers take the whole lip off, which is what you want for this project. I emptied out the almonds and  wiped out the can.

I stuffed into the bottom of the can 2 pair of glittery socks that I hope dd will like (she can be particular about socks, but she may not want to be wearing sockettes when it gets really really cold out there.) You can replace the contents of the can with whatever surprise you'd like to put inside - home made cookies, a pair of boxers for him, scrapbooking embellies for a scrappy friend, etc. Once you have your new items in the can, you use Crystal Effects, Glassy Glaze or another strong clear adhesive to reattach the bottom of the can.

Next I adhered 2 lengths of patterned paper together, both trimmed to the height of the can. One length  of 12 x 12 didn't completely circle the can, that's why I needed more - to extend it a little.

With a second shorter strip, I used a border punch and then inked the edges before adhering it to the top lip of the can.

Decorate the can anyway you like.

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to decorate the lid. Mine was a bright yellow lid with blue printing on it - that wasn't going to work with this look!

I trimmed papers, sanded some edges, and made a bow and tag for the lid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So dd will lift the decorated plastic lid to find the can still intact.

She'll pull off the pull tab to open the can.

And she'll find her glittery socks! I hope she finds it a fun surprise and a bit of a mystery as to how they got there!

If you decide to try this project, I'd love to see it. Leave me a link to it in the comments. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings, Ann

So What Can I Show You Today???

I have been creating this week, but some of it is for GDT work, so I can't show you just yet... Soon, though!

Meantime, let's see...

Oh, a little tutorial. These have been around for years, but some of you may not be familiar with them...

My mom is on the committee with her Lioness club and they are holding a convention in September. She needed to make favours that would hold a couple of mints. The theme is Under the Big Top. We got busy last week, and I remembered to snap a few photos:

These are called sour cream containers, and they are easy peasy to make.

When I first learned to make these years ago, you used a quarter sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock.

Mom wanted her favours to be really colourful, and we needed good yield from the paper because we were making 210 of these things.

She purchased a pp stack from SU earlier in the spring. Meantime, I resized the pattern to 4 1/4 x 2 3/4, which allowed us to get 2 mints in each packet, and 10 packets from each sheet of pp.

Apply 2-sided tape to 3 sides of the paper, the 2 long sides and 1 short side. 

Peel off the strips (if you can find 2 sided tape without the strip - you put it in a tape dispenser, this goes even faster, but I'm out and couldn't find any in my local office supply or scrapbook stores).

Carefully roll the paper into a tube. The short side with no tape should now be adhered to the short side with tape now.

Pinch one end closed. After it's adhered, I like to place the end in a crimper - it justseems to give it a bit more sticking power.

The convention isn't until September, so these need to hold for a few months, through our delightfully humid summer here in Ontario. Humidity and adhesion don't always seem to work well - don't you find that?

Pop the mints (or whatever) into the closed tube.

Give the tube a quarter turn before pinching the end closed, so it's no longer tubular. Again, you can further clamp it by using the crimper.

Now your favours are ready for further embellishments. Because we were making 210 of them and cost is a constraint, we just used the Cricut to cut out 1 1/2" tall circus animals and popped them on with a glue dot.

If you were making fewer, say for a Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner place setting, you could make pretty monogrammed tags and bling them up!

Do you have a favourite quick and easy favour idea? I'd love to hear about it! Leave me a comment.