Mel Stampz: April 2008

Monday, April 28, 2008

Teaser: _ _ _ _ _-shaped Card Box Templates

I'm a sneaky-teaser-weasel, muhaha! You can guess what this is, No? Of course you can! It rhymes with the thing I make the most of: mess! lol. I don't have time to finish the design work on this right now, but I had to share a little. I promise to have 2 templates 'perfected' for you (& full photos with a tutorial) by Thursday night.

Happy Monday!
:0)
Mel

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Quick Cuttlebug Card: Two tone cuttlebuggin'

This simple card was inspired by a layout of a card in the Demo newsletter--with hodgepodge hardware. It's for a belated thank you (I get so far behind with those.) This won't be a long post (evil migraine strikes again... had my head examined the day before yesterday though, lol) actually a CT scan. It sounded like a UFO or a fun fair ride. The machine spins around your head...so Sci-fi. And apparently, I do have a brain in there, hehehe. :0)

Card details:

Cuttlebugged two colours and cut to create 2 panels
Swiped Soft Sky piece with White craft ink
Adhered pieces to Basic Grey mat
Edged with the silver end of a Zig Painty pen (to tie in hodge podge hardware)
Added white organza and hand-dyed taffeta (was white is now basic gray)
Stamped the flower from Carte Postale in Soft Sky ink
Over-stamped sentiment from the same set in Stazon
Trimmed to fit hodge podge (you could use the punch; it may be the only punch I don't have)
Added silver & glitter details to the flowers
Assembled everything

Happy Crafting,

P.S.
101 things to do with a Cuttlebug (& counting) here.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Hot Cuttlebug Smoosh (using craft ink & e.p.)

Okay, this card (two down below) was bugging me: it was a little BORING for a kid. So here's the revamped version. Are the stars too much?

After:

Before:

The cuttlebug smoosh, ink embossing, & inking the negative are all the rage right now, so I thought I'd try something similar. We could call it 'hot cuttlebug embossing' since you'll need your heat gun. It's really very similar to those other techniques but you use Craft ink and add embossing powder after you cuttlebug it. Here's how:

Cut cardstock to size (I used Naturals White) (if you cut roughly larger than you want then you can trim later for pristine edges (the paper stretches during cuttlebugging)
Ink desired area of cuttlebug embossing folder with craft ink or versamark--just press your stamp pad all over it; takes a while to get it covered (I used white craft ink-I like the tone on tone.)
Add your cardstock to the cuttlebug folder & run it through.
Sprinkle clear embossing powder on your newly inked cardstock.
Heat gun it.
Work another colour of ink into the cracks/grooves. (I've used Soft Sky ink & I find ink goes on deepest with a sponge and a reinker, but you could use an ink pad.)

Click on this pic (or the others) for a closer look at the texture:

You can't tell in this photo, but the first photo, above, shows you the shine it has from the embossing powder. Here are the other card details:

To make the helicopter from SU's retired By Air set:

Emboss helicopter with Versamark & clear e.p. on Blue Bayou cardstock
Emboss helicopter blade in silver ink & silver e.p. on Blue Bayou c.s.
Cut both out separately.
Add embellishment to helicopter (I've used eyelets, silver zigpainty marker & a brad)

The metal "hello" tag behind the helicopter is made using a dymo aluminum label maker. It's dressed up with cardstock mats, an eyelet & a wire. The side pieces are composed of 6 tags punched with SU's tag punches: 4 large tags in Not Quite Navy with Blue Bayou ink over them & 2 small tags in Marigold Morning with Marigold Morning ink over them. Tags are such an easy way to add colour cause there's no precision cutting. :0) The little silver dots are made with a Zig painty pen.

Thank you so much for stopping by & I can't thank you enough for your wonderful comments. It's enough to keep a girl blabbin! :0)

P.S. 1o1 more things you can do with your cuttlebug

P.P.S. I needa kid. You gotta kid? Great kid crafting site here.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

A Background Doodle (gluepen emboss resist) and a Faux Suede Purse

This card & purse combo combines a couple of weird techniques. Click the link if you'd like to go to the tutorials:

Glue pen emboss resist (for the silver pattern on the card) & Faux suede (for the purse.) The purse also uses distress embossing & the purse template is here and Faux Bleach with no bleach (to get the gray tones on the card.) The sharp white line details are done with a Signo gel pen.

Purse How-to:

Print template onto desired cardstock (I used Basic Gray)
Cut it out & Score it where indicated
Stamp it with a background ( I used Stitched in white craft ink)
Emboss with clear embossing powder & heat (until dark lines show in spots--for a distressed look)
Let cool & Rub the whole thing with white craft ink (I use a damp paper towel then heat gun it a little to dry it)
Crease folds with a bone-folder
Embellish & Assemble it.

Card How-to:

Part A (glue pen embossing-again, lol):

Print your line image out onto cardstock (I used a flower background doodle I made--printed onto White Naturals cardstock.
Trace over the lines of your image with a Sakura quickie glue pen. You may need to work in stages since you want to:
Emboss the wet glue pen with clear embossing powder & heat it.

Part B (emboss resisit):

Wash over the glue pen embossing with ink (I've used basic black ink)
Remove excess ink (off of embossing)

Part C (faux bleach with no bleach)

Paint areas of the blackened (or darkened) image with a wash of White craft ink. An aquapainter is perfect for this.
Layer with more white wash and add details with a Signo gel pen. (you can also tint it with pastels.)

The white tab thank you is made using SU's round tab punch and is stamped by markering the 'thank you' of 'thank you very much' from Much Appreciated.

Card ingredients: Cardstock, Naturals white, (for glue pen emboss resist), Basic Black mat, & Basic Grey card; White taffeta ribbon (SU), white organza (unknown mystery organza-sorry), white square 'ribbon brad' (by Bazzill), white Signo gel pen, Sakura glitter pen (clear).

Thanks so much for reading, :0)

P.S. Do you guys get sick of the full instructions?
I include them in case any of you are beginners... and to describe the whacky things I do, lol.

Three inch by Three inch notecard Purse (faux suede +more glue pen embossing)

The "Loved-it" purse template from SU makes a cute little purse, but when I tried to add 3" note cards to make a it a gift set, it was falling over. So I widened the bottom & scanned it for you to use. Here's the altered template. It works with SU's 3" envelopes or there's this three inch envelope template to make your own.

The techniques this card set uses are:

Glue pen embossing
My version of Faux Suede (SO easy that it's like cheating.)

Both techniques combine to create 'Faux suede glue pen emboss resist' <--haha that's a mouthful.( If you click on the picture of the purse below, you can see the effect a little better):

Faux suede glue pen emboss resist tutorial:

1. Print an image. I used this triangular banner from this great clip art site:

2. Lighten the banner (using photo software) & print it (I printed it on Perfect plum cardstock.)

3. Add glue pen embossing over the printer lines

Trace lines with a Sakura Quickie glue pen
Emboss the wet glue pen with clear e.p. & heat

4.The embossed glue pen acts as a resist for the easiest faux suede technique on the planet:

5. Just swipe it with White Craft (pigment) ink & remove the excess.
Told ya it was easy. And it really looks like suede in person, honest.

Working with the Purse Template:

(note: the template in these pics is the original one, not the extended one)

The purse template is available for download in this forum post.

Putting the template in the corner to trace it, saves cutting time & cardstock. If you mark a 1/4 inch long line for the score lines then shift the template up & use the first top lines that you marked to make similar markings on the bottom, then you can erase them and have no visible lines on your image. (If that makes no sense--'cuz you're visual like me :0)--then just see the pictures below (click 'em for a better view):

A) Mark a 1/4 inch long line for the score lines:

B) Then shift the template up & use the first top lines you marked to make similar markings on the bottom, then you can erase them and have no visible lines on your image.

Purse Details:

Cardstock for the purse is Perfect Plum. The glue pen embossed section is done separately & adhered with double-sided tape. The handle is made with wire & dollar store seed beads. The eyelets keep it from tearing. There are also eyelets to keep the purse closed with ribbon. (I'll add a photo as soon as those blammed camera batteries are charged) ;0) The ribbon is hand-dyed (SU's white taffeta.) Tutorial here & types that work well here

E.T.A. here's the closure detail:

It's just two eyelets on the main purse, then one in a little finger shaped paper mini flap. The two ribbon ends thread into the front mini flap. If that makes no sense, just let me know ;0)

E.T.A. Here's the view of the inside (with the envelopes & note cards:

The cards slide right out (or in) so there's no need to untie the front.
(Though you may want to add a little note to your recipient so they know that--or permanently affix the front) :0)

Note Card Details

Perfect Plum cardstock stamped with Riot of Petals background stamp in Whisper White craft ink. Distress embossed with clear embossing powder (just over heat it until you see dark lines around, but avoid scorching.) Hand-dyed ribbon (SU's white taffeta.) Round faux suede "hi" is done with the same glue pen emboss resist and punched with a 1" circle punch.

Happy Craftin' Crafty People! :0)

P.S. More searches on that clip art site:

blank keyword search here.
I found that searches for the keywords banner & flower turned up some lovely things.

Some other glue pen embossing projects
(it can give you so many different looks!):

Monday, April 21, 2008

Mini purses (template) & Funky Fabric Flower Sticker

These little purses were ultra easy to make. They were inspired by AnneMarie's gorgeous purses. The template is available on the Stampin Up demonstrator site, but for some reason it wouldn't print properly for me. Since I think it's just plain mean to show you a project with no template, (lol) I printed it 2 times, pieced it together, and scanned it. This also meant I could resize it for you. Here are the purse templates at standard-size, at 120%, and at 75%. They make these two mini purses (about 2" and 2.5" high):

The purse on the right is how the template prints (with handles.) However, you can save paper and add interest by omitting the handles & adding ribbon instead--as I have with the purse on the left. I used Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon here. The little flowers hide the ends of the ribbon. They're punched from the Three For You set. I've added little paper punched circles and crystal effects to them to get some dimension. Double sided paper is so sweet with these because you get the full effect of both sides. These papers are both by Cosmo Cricket: Fleuriste-Vineyard & Fleuriste-Maize.

To make the purses without having printer lines show:

Print a copy of the template(s) onto cardstock (I love Naturals)
Cut along the edges
Place template over your patterned paper
Trace with a pencil (mechanical pencil or a sharp one) Omit handles if you like
Cut along pencil lines & erase them when done
Score where the pattern indicates (dotted lines) Don't worry this pattern is very forgiving with score lines. I was worried I had bunged it up & it turned out just fine :0)
Embellish with eyelets & ribbon (if desired)
Fold & press along folds with a bone-folder
Adhere with good double-sided tape

This Black fabric flower sticker is made from a sticky linen sheet that you can put in the printer. (It's by Close to my Heart and it's called StickStock (Linen)--for more see this post)

To make the flower I just did this schtuff:

Printed the flower template out onto Stickstock (or cardstock)
Cut a flower out & painted it with Black Craft ink
Added silver stitches with glue pen embossing
Rubbed on some extra silver embossing powder & heated for a distressed look
Stuck it onto acetate & cut it out (leaving a border where the acetate would show)
Beaded the center (using Crystal Effects adhesive & beads from an old necklace)
Stuck the flower onto the card with Pop-up glue dots

The Black 'ribbon' with white text is 7gypsies gaffer tape "Le Monde" (I've tinted it with Brown Stazon to reduce the contrast.)

Other Card Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic Gray & Black, Patterned paper by Cosmo Cricket: Fleuriste-Cobblestone, Stamps: Close to my Heart flourish (in River Rock to right of best wishes) from Playful Petals set, Sentiment "Best Wishes" is from Kim Hughes's Silhouette Blooms I set Accessories: Hodge Podge hardware pewter, Mellow Moss Taffeta ribbon.

Thank you so much for reading &
I hope your crafting is blissful! :0)

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Clear card-candy Pocket Card (+ABC easy embossed background)

The clear pocket on this card was one of those happy accidents. I was cutting paper and accidentally sliced through one of SU's clear cellophane envelopes; then, I thought hmmm I could use that as a pocket. So this weird thing was created. ;0) I used the pocket to hold card candy. I wanted to make this card a special BRAT: belated random act of thanks, heehee. Tucked into the pocket are tiny acetate flowers & white flowers (that are homemade fabric stickers.)

The sentiment & flower stems are from Kim Hughes's beautiful Silhoutte Blooms I set. They're stamped in Basic Grey, Black, & silver e.p. You can get such depth from those flower stems stamps. Check the masterpieces Julia has made with them: flocked, in pink'n'black, and my ultimate fave: on white.

The embossed alphabet background is made using a Close to my Heart stitch alphabet stamp, but I didn't stamp each letter separately. I was thinking about placing each letter on my acrylic block one at a time, but it was way easier to just leave them on the storage sheet (this was the first time I used them so they're perfectly spaced.) You can see the Dotto adhesive if you click on this picture below (The Dotto holds the clear sheet of stamps onto the acrylic block):

(Don't worry, the Dotto comes right off of your plastic sheet by rubbing.) After stamping with this set you're left with the perfect little dots to connect. (No lines in the stamped image.) To make the lines that I added silver, and embossed, I just:

Stamped the alphabet in Soft Sky ink
Dotted over each dot with a Silver Zigpainty pen
Drew little stitches in with a Sakura quickie glue pen
Sprinkled on silver embossing powder & heated it

Interested in learning more about glue pen embossing? (I just can't shut up about it!) ;0) You can find more examples here, and here , here , here and here. The Tutorial is here.

Card Supplies:

Cardstock: Pied a Terre (side B) by Autumn Leaves AL8102, the circles are actually from shimmer flocked paper from Heidi grace designs; it's called Moonlight Meadow/Flourish, & Basic Gray c.s. Punches: 3/4" & 1" circle punches, word window punch. Stamps: Kim Hughes's sweet Silhoutte Blooms I set, and Close to my Heart stitch alphabet stamp. Accessories: Stampin' Up!s clear translucent rectangular envelopes (102619) The clear envelopes also make great mini photo albums.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Craftin! :0)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Sneak Peek: 1st draft of flower template (for gluepen embossing/embroidery/paper piercing)

Have You ever wanted to make your own images to work with?
Or your own stamp?

Apparently, you can have a stamp made for you from any drawing. Wouldn't it be fun to have one made of your favourite kid's drawing? This doodle still needs a fair bit of tweaking, but I'm liking the new process I'm experimenting with for working with doodles & the scanner. I'll share the details in a tutorial when theres time--in case it might be useful to you. This image is destined to become a template for glue pen embossing/embroidery/paper piercing. Thinkin' I might try having a stamp made of a couple of sketches...

Image Details: a doodle scanned printed and done in glue pen embossing. Painted with Stampin Up inks: Cool Caribbean, Tempting turquoise, Blue Bayou, Basic Grey, Certain Celery, Gable Green. (Love that Aquapainter almost as much as glue pens!)

Thanks for stopping by! :0)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Fabric sticker technique, a purse in progress, & More Martha flower templates

I'm lovin' scanning to make customized templates lately.
This Martha flower template is available here.

Martha Stewart et al make some lovely templates (like this single flower one) to make those sweet cards above with that cut out technique. However, I find their templates are usually a big waste of paper--especially for us crafters who can use different sizes of one image for many things.

The multi-sized flower template used to make these fabric sticker flowers is also great for:

Sweet Floral cutout cards--(À la Martha Stewart)
Paper piercing template (print on cardstock or printable acetate or transfer to plastic sheets)
Vellum/cardstock flowers for scrapbooking
Embroidery/glue-pen embossing guide

Want to adapt your own templates? Here's how:

1. Print several numbers of one/more items. You can use scaled printing to resize the image(s) With my printer this option is under file>print>properties button>page set up tab--page layout section--choose scaled printing.

2. Cut out images and stick to a piece of paper; I love to use Dotto (repositionable adhesive) for this, so I can move them around for the best fit. TIP: it helps to keep print margins in mind.

3. Scan the page you've made:

I choose the black and white photo setting on my scanner (Canon Pixma MP210.) After scanning, there's an option to save as a PDF or a JPEG...I save one of each, because you can post PDFs in splitcoaststampers forum threads (and it won't alter in size--which seems to be crucial for some templates) --But if you want a pic of your template on blogger you need a jpeg instead.

Another advantage to having both a pdf & a JPEG is that you can manipulate the jpeg but not the PDF. It's of great advantage to be able to crop lighten or darken the image. You can also use imaging or photo manipulation software to change sizes/colours at your whim

The fabric for the flowers is a sticky linen paper from Close to my Heart that you can easily run through your printer, cut out stamp & peel. Nifty huh?

Card Supplies:

Cardstock: Vellum cardstock distressed with a nailfile and scratched with an exacto blade, Really Rust altered with Orange Stazon ink, Tempting turquoise altered with Orange Stazon, Basic Grey Alias from the Skate Shoppe line SKT-307 also altered with Orange Stazon Stamps: Paisley Print Accessories: Flower template, Really Rust marker, Close to my Heart Linen paper, Flower punch (SU retired), assorted brads, Copper tape made by adding a verdigris patina to stained-glass tape how-to here.

Purse & note card Supplies:

A homemade purse template (I'm still ironing out the kinks, so that it'll stand well after adding weighty accessories--I'll post it soon) :0) For 66 purse templates/projects (and counting) please see my previous post
Cardstock: Fancy Pants Blossom from their Fancy-Free collection Accessories: hodgepodge hardware brad, dollar store beads & grosgrain.

Thanks for stopping by! :0)

P.S. Here's another Martha cutout flower card idea: Daisy tent topper cutout