Stampin' Up! Dress up Card - Celebrate! (Floating Framelits)

We had such fun in the chat room yesterday for the UStamp with Dawn and Friends Big Shot Roundup event. Kris Sobolik was hosting the chat and we talked about all sorts of things - Artisan contest, upcoming Convention, cutting SVG files with an eclips, the weather in North Dakota and New Zealand - all good stuff! Tonight I will be hosting a chat for members of the event, so be sure to stop by at 9:30 EST. There are opportunities for prizes! Just sayin'!

You can still register and have access to all the projects that have been posted so far plus all the ones coming. A new project is posted every 12 hours along with full supply lists and downloadable PDF tutorials. (My projects also include private video tutorials) For example, Fran Sabad's awesome Pop 'n Cuts project went live today.

The event is open to anyone, demonstrators or just crafters who love Stampin' Up! products. (Like me!) There is even a Gallery where you are encouraged to post your own versions of the Designer Projects.

I posted my first project the other day and thought that in preparation for my chat session tonight I would prove just how easy it is to reproduce the Floating Framelits card in another color.

 

All supplies Stampin' Up!

 

For this card I cut the Pop 'n Cuts Base Die from a clear window sheet and constructed the Floating Framelits from it. This allowed the outer portions of the card to "disappear" and give the illusion of suspended objects.

When the card is closed the dress lines up with the dress form, but then when the card is opened you discover that they are on two different layers. Pretty nifty, huh?

12 Tags of 2013: March - Accordion Album Easter

Shelly Hickox and I were texting yesterday morning. The conversation started after she sent me sneak peek photos of the absolute MASTERPIECE she made for the Inspiration Emporium blog. After staring bug-eyed at the photos I promptly sent a text to Shelly went something like this:

Pardon while I curse, but HOLY SH**! HOLY, HOLY, SHELLYPIECE! LIKE A FREAKIN' OPTICAL ILLUSION OF AWESOMENESS!

So it's safe to say that I adore Shelly's project.

Heck, I adore everything she makes. Very inspiring. Like the kind of inspiring that doesn't make you say "I can't do that!" (Although, truth-be-told, it's nearly impossible to duplicate her awesomeness) but rather "I want to TRY that!"

So naturally when Shelly shared that she wanted to make the Tim Holtz March Tag out of the Accordion Album die, I immediatedly wanted to try it too. My next project was going to be an album anyway, and I had this idea for using a Movers & Shapers piece through the whole album so the holes would line up when the album was closed. Tim's March tag was MFTI! (Made For This Idea)

At the time I was busy editing a video, so later in the day, when I had barely finished painting and assembling my Tim Holtz Foliage pieces into cute little flower pops Shelly had already posted a photo of her finished project on Facebook! It is now on her blog and you can see bigger photos of Shelly's awesome doublehigh March tag card/album by clicking here.

I am proud to say that, despite uttering a few "I'm not worthy!"s after seeing Shelly's, I still finished my project and am quite happy with it.

The album in the closed position gives the closest approximation to Tim's tag. I used his Bunny & Bow Movers & Shapers piece and created the cute little flower pops using Distress Paints (so in love with these!) and his Foliage pieces. I painted white Distress Paint over the SEI patterned paper to tone it down. So easy, with great results! 

When the card is opened you see that it is actually three panels of the Accordion Album with bunny holes on pages 1-2 and a glittery silver bunny on page 3.

To make the matching holes you'll need to do some work before assembling the album. Start by attaching the outer (square) frames for Pages 1 and 2. Add the patterned paper frame to Page 1 using the companion Frame & Label Bracket die, which perfectly coordinates with the Accordion Album die.

Don't add Page 3 yet and don't attach the small frames to each other. Instead, fold the two pages the way they will eventually be folded and lay the two page set over the Bunny Movers & Shapers piece using the Tim Holtz Base Tray. Die cut the set, which will put mirror-image bunny holes into the first two pages. Save one of the bunnies that falls out of the holes and cover it with chunky silver glitter (or the tinsel twine that Tim and Shelly used) 

Because you didn't connect the two small frames together yet, it's easy to now re-flatten the album to add Page 3 and do the rest of the decorations.

I'm going to send you over to Shelly's post to get supply links for the Tim Holtz products. This way you can use her coupon code and get a great deal. I'm sorry to say that the Accordion Album and Frame & Label Bracket dies have already sold out at Inspiration Emporium. Check your local Sizzix retailers to see if they have the dies, or the album die appears to possibly be in stock at Blue Moon Scrapbooking HERE. 

BTW, you still have a few days to get your projects in for the Inspiration Emporium Add a Little P.O.P. challenge. Happy crafting!

UStamp with Dawn and Friends Big Shot Roundup Project #1: Floating Framelits Card

I am honored to be invited once again to be a guest designer for the current UStamp event: Big Shot Roundup featuring projects made with Stampin' Up! products. Every die and folder that is currently available from Stampin' Up! will be featured in at least one project by the amazing design team.

This is my first project, using the Stampin' Up! Exclusive Card Base for Pop 'n Cuts along with the Dress Up Framelits and Labels Framelits to create a fun interactive card. 

You can still register for this event, which is going on now. A new project is posted every 12 hours along with downloadable supply list and instruction sheets. For my projects I also do a private video tutorial, accessible on the site for members of the event. 

I'm hosting a chat on Thursday night. The chats, gallery, prize-winning potential, contests . . . it's a fun place to be! Come on over! 

Clear Accordion Album Birthday Card

Celebrating belated birthdays (it's the latest trend) continues today with a card for Kelly Booth's March 17th birthday!

Yesterday I pulled out all sorts of grungy stuff to make a Steampunk Door Birthday Card for Shelly Hickox and naturally none of the supplies had been put away. While starting to store the Tim Holtz Pediments die in my Bigz drawer I got the sudden idea that a pediment would look fabulous on the Accordion Album die! (Pssst - the Accordion Album is back in stock but going fast at Scrapbook.com HERE) It worked out perfectly with another idea I'd been meaning to try - cutting the album out of a clear material.

I used Bazzill Plastic Paper for the album. I folded the tabs back and forth several times before assembly to loosen them. The patterned paper is Bo Bunny's Prairie Chic. 

When the card is closed, the Happy Birthday stamp (Stampin' Up! - stamped with white paint and colored on the back with alcohol ink) has a blue background, which is actually the paper on the back side of Page 2. Clear albums are so fun! You can see, for example, all the white rub-ons (stash item, very old) through the outer frames no matter which layer they are actually on.

The patterned papers were cut using the Bigz Frame & Label, Bracket die, which perfectly coordinates with the Accordion Album. To create the circle cut-out I used the Star & Circle Movers & Shapers set. When the circle of that set is cut, it also cuts a scalloped circle at the same time. I turned the scalloped circle into a flower by cutting between each scallop toward the center and then pinching all the petals.

I will write a personal greeting on the blue paper before mailing. The bird is a stamp from the same Bo Bunny collection, stamped, colored with Copics, and fussy-cut.

The paint color for the edges of the clear album and the pediments is Tim Holtz Distress Paint; Broken China. I cut the pediments from wood-colored cardstock, then covered with paint, dried and sanded.

Happy Birthday, Kelly!

Who will get my next belated card? I'm thinking maybe my Mom . . .

Steampunk Door Birthday Card

Did you hear about how belated birthday wishes are all the rage now? Apparently wishing someone Happy Birthday with a handmade card on their actual birthday is soooo 2012.

For example, it is my mother's birthday today, but did she receive a birthday card in the mail from me? Of course not! I love her too much for that! (heh)

Once a birthday is well past, THAT'S when it's time to celebrate! So today we're celebrating the March 15th birthday of my friend Shelly Hickox. Shelly is such an amazing designer and is especially fond of steampunk, so I decided to dig out all manner of paints and stains and metals and such and do my best to make her proud with a Steampunk Door Birthday Card.

Do you see any patterned paper on this card? No? That's because there isn't any! I made all the patterns and textures myself using a method that went something like this:

1. Paint the item a base color.

2. Use Distress Black Paint over the top.

3. Freak out because it's way too dark.

4. Spritz with water and blot with a rag.

5. Use Distress White Paint over the top.

6. Decide it's too light.

7. Spritz with water and blot with a rag.

8. Dry it with a heat gun.

9. What would happen if I sand this?

10. Don't I have some Vintage Photo Distress Stain somewhere? 

11. Did I try spritzing/blotting/sanding/blasting with a heat gun? How about another round of that?

12. Lather, rinse, repeat.

But experimentation can yield some cool results, so there's that.

The fleur-de-lis is a piece of confetti. For reals, yo. I just glued it on there with some Glossy Accents, then put Glossy Accents on top to make it shiny. I shouldn't use Glossy Accents because I am (a) impatient and (b) a messy crafter. It doesn't matter how far away I put the item to dry, I will inevitably put my hand or a tool or something else down on top of it while it's still wet, thus wrecking the gloss. After wrecking the gloss I did some combination of Steps 1-12 above and suddenly it looked kind of old and weathered and non-confetti-ish. Bonus!

Speaking of Bonuses, how perfectly does the new Tim Holtz Pediments die work over the top of my Bigz Door Die? Perfection!!!!

I mixed old metals from my stash (hinges, arrow, 1/16" eyelets) with Tim Holtz metals (gears, knob) to create the Steampunk look on the door. For the doorknob plate I stamped a Lost Coast Designs stamp onto shrink plastic and shrunk it.

I've found that if you're using actual metal hinges on the door (not decorative, but functional) then it's best to just cut the door at the fold so that only the hinges are used for opening and closing. Otherwise it can be tricky to get the hinges in exactly the right spot to work in conjunction with the crease.

If you were at all worried that there was nothing popping up on this card I say pshaw! Do you even know me? I made a very simple box pop-up from a strip of transparency and added the 3D Balloon from the Celebrate Sizzlits Set. I also used the label from that set for the greeting, which is a Stampin' Up! stamp.

The pictures don't really do justice to the metallic rusty texture of the balloon. An embossed piece of silver cardstock with any number of Steps #1-#12 created this:

A couple of final notes - I found a pre-made clock post in a bag of Farmhouse embellishments so it saved me making my own. I also decided the upper left corner of the card was in need of something so I stenciled Shelly's name. It's meant to look somewhat graffiti-esque.

The brick is a Tim Holtz Texture Fade, heavier on Vintage Photo and Sanding in the 12-step process. I stamped the rulers to fill the rest of the space.

Because I am a giver (I give!) I plan to actually mail this card to Shelly, after using it here on my blog and posting it over on the Inspiration Emporium "Add a Little P.O.P." challenge. Now THAT'S friendship! Ha ha.

Happy Birthday, Shelly!

Accordion Album back in stock at Scrapbook.com! (While they last!)

Sizzix 658035 Accordion Album

Sizzix 658037 Frame & Label, Bracket

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accordion Albums are shipping out to stores! Scrapbook.com just got them back in. Click on either die above to go to Scrapbook.com and order.

I got a fun piece of Royal Mail from my friend Helen Cryer this week that is the perfect illustration of these two dies in action! The Accordion Album die is cut from blue cardstock and the patterned paper decorations (outer frames, inner labels) are cut with the Frame & Label, Bracket die.

Thanks Helen! What a fun mail day!

Green Day Layout with Pop 'n Cuts and Magic Photo Card

All my long time crafty stampy peeps are going to remember the days of Magic Cards. Remember? I am sure if you Google "Magic Card" you'll get an actual tutorial, but let me just explain the concept.

The concept of a Magic Card is to have a black outline image stamped onto a transparency and overlaid perfectly onto the same image, stamped onto cardstock, and colored in. Then, to make the image appear to change "magically" from black to color, you put a plain piece of cardstock between the two layers. Once that plain piece of cardstock is pulled away, the images will line up and appear to change from plain black to color.

Another option, instead of pulling the solid piece away, is to pull the transparency and colored images up simultaneously until they clear the solid piece, creating the same effect. Here's an example:

Many years ago I had a layout published in Creating Keepsakes magazine that used the concept of the Magic Card to make a photo change from black and white to color. It was a magnificent layout that, because of space issues, they never photographed with the pull tab out, which is what caused the photo to become colored! It was one of those "laugh and cry" moments when I got the magazine and realized that the effect wasn't shown and it appeared to be just a black and white photo. I wish I could find a photo of that layout, but, alas, a lot of my old layout photos were lost on a malfunctioning hard drive years ago.

I'm not sure what brought the Magic Card technique to mind, maybe it was all the green in my photos, but I decided to revisit the Magic Photo Card idea for my Scrapp'n Savvy Sampler layout. All of the instructors at Scrapp'n Savvy were given the assignment this week to use paper from Bazzill's Lucy's Crab Shack line and to make a one page 12x12 layout in our own personal styles. For me, that was definitely going to be an interactive layout, so I used both the Magic Card technique and a Pop 'n Cuts card.

The top photo is the Magic Card. As you pull the tab, the white paper between the layers slides out and allows the clear black and white photo to perfectly overlay a colored print of the same photo, creating the magic.

When I did this technique before, I had printed my black and white photo onto a transparency, but this time I used Scrapbooking Attitude film for my black & white photo, overlaid onto a piece of Bazzill clear paper.

Because I needed some real estate for journaling, plus believing strongly that if one interactive element is great, two must be even greater, I opted for a Pop 'n Cuts card behind my vertical photo.

I used a couple of new dies from the upcoming Pop 'n Cuts Journey collection, shipping in June. I used the Funky Label Pop 'n Cuts Insert, the coordinating Funky Label Framelits, and the Birds & Banners Textured Impressions Folder Set. Underneath the card I added the Bigz Ornate Plate, which is available now. 

On the left side of the layout I wanted to add an Eileen Hull Border die, so I folded the paper before die cutting so I could make the border about 10" tall. To hide the fold, I added some metal findings from my stash. The title letters are green Thickers from my stash.

I definitely felt a little rusty with scrapbooking - I've been really focused on cards - but it was fun to create a layout for a change!

Disney Trip = awesome!

Some of you may have been wondering "Did she get eaten by an alligator in Louisiana?" 

It really has been an atrocious amount of time since my last post. I plead Disney! On March 6th I boarded Bus #4 in the 5-bus caravan carrying 250 maroon-clad band kids and chaperones to Orlando to march in a Disney parade.

On March 5th I sat in the mandatory chaperones meeting at the high school and listened to how the trip would work and what our duties would be. I leaned over to another parent (Vanessa, later nicknamed "Giggles" in our chaperone gang because of her infectious laughing as she rode Space Mountain) and said "I'm a little frightened" to which Giggles replied "I'm petrified!"

But we had no reason to be. The marching band is comprised of the most awesome kids on the planet. These kids were responsible, respectful, talented, sweet and full of fun. On Saturday, March 9, they marched through Disneyworld playing a series of Texas-themed songs to a huge crowd of cheering tourists and parents.

The rest of the days were spent exploring the theme parks. We hit Universal Studios, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.

We stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside Disney resort, pretty much filling two buildings:

One of our duties as chaperones was to take one 3-hour shift (mine was 3 am to 6 am Friday night) to patrol the buildings and make sure kids did not leave their rooms. Once all four kids were in each room, the chaperones would tape the doors closed with blue painters tape so it would be evident to the patrols if a door had been opened. 

So it came to pass that at 3:30 am I was staring at a broken piece of tape lamenting that I was going to be the one chaperone who had to pound on a door and perform a "bust". I went in search of the other parent on duty, Rick, and together we pounded on the door and woke up the sleepy students inside.

The door was opened by a groggy girl. 

ME: Is everyone in there? Your tape has been broken.

GIRL: Yes, we're all here.

ME: I must come in and verify.

So I went in, counted three sleeping girls plus the groggy one at the door.

ME: OK. You're all here. Why was your tape broken?

GIRL: I think it was from when Alicia came back from the hospital.

ME: (confused) Oh. OK. Well I'm taping you back in. Good night.

Rick and I discussed how we were unaware of a kid going to the hospital. I snapped a picture of the room number so I could look up which chaperone was in charge of the room from my master list.

The next morning, as I was telling the story to my roommate, Leigh Ann, and consulting my master list, I couldn't find the room number on our master list. Even stranger, I couldn't find any girls named Alicia on the list either.

ME: Leigh Ann, will you find this room number on the list? I can't find it. And do you know any students named Alicia?

LA: No.... hey....are you sure it was our band?

And that's when it hit us. Obviously there was another school trip with kids in the same building and that school was using, coincidentally, blue painters tape on their doors!

Oops.

I chaperoned another school's room!

We laughed and laughed and laughed about that one. 

I didn't spend much time with Emma, actually. She was hanging out with her friend Erin and I was not on her bus nor her chaperone. Still, I would occasionally run into her and she was all smiles!

Here she is marching in the Parade. (Pssst - check out the pants! She was not the only student who had grown significantly taller between marching season and concert season!)

Here is a shot of the chaperones, directors and our school principal, who made the trip to support the band. How cool is that?!

I made such great friends on this trip. What a fabulous group of parents!

We arrived back in Katy, exhausted, on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately by Tuesday night I was ravaged with a terrible cold. I spent Wednesday on the couch moaning. By Thursday I could tell that it was probably a sinus infection and went to the Dr. for some antibiotics. Despite the antibiotics I am slow to recover, although I do think I am on the road, finally.

In any case, the kids are back in school and it's time to get crafty!