Cards

I am so glad that I bought the Big Shot Machine.  It accepts dies from other companies.  I have tried Sizzix, Quickutz and Wizard Nestabilities.  The Big Shot works just like a charm!  I also love how it takes all those embossing folders.  I found better use with my Fiskars embossing plates now.  I have also tried embossing folders from Sizzix, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities and even brass stencils.  As long as you have the Big Shot Multi-purpose Flatform, you're ready to go. 

This lazy Sunday morning, I played with my Big Shot.  I dug my old brass stencils and embossed with it (flowers in the circle).   After embossing, I cut the circle and scalloped circle using my new Nestabilities.  The white flower stamps are from Autumn Leaves by Rhonna Farrer, bought from the dollar section in Joann's.  So far, I would consider ColorBox Frost White Pigment Stamp as the best white ink for dark cardstock.  For embellishmets I used leftover paper strips, ribbon, chipboard tag and a flower brad.  "You're Special" is a rub-on by ColorBok.  The one thing I like about making cards is I get to use a lot of my left-over supplies.  It's just so hard for me to throw away stuff, and everytime I make cards, I'm glad that I didn't throw a particular scrap of bg paper or piece of ribbon.

Last week I got inspired from a pop-up card Jerosha made.  You can see her really cool card here.  I remember buying a book about pop-up cards (The Pop-Up Book by Paul Jackson), and took it out.  I thought making pop-up cards was going to be easy.  If I counted it right, it took me about 4 or 5 tries to finally create a "satisfying" one.  It involves a lot of folding, and folding it right.  And my mistakes involved folding where I shouldn't be folding.  One wrong fold, and you have to start from scratch.

For this card, I used Simply Chick stamps by Provo Craft, and I colored them using Copic Markers.  These markers are so cool because they just color so evenly, and don't bleed.  I'm so glad I bought them when I was in Japan.  They may be a little expensive than most markers, but I think it's worth the investment.  After making this card, I decided to make a different design for a card-making swap I joined in SplitcoastStampers.  Using the same set of stamps, I decided to make a simpler one.

 

This involved a lot of cutting, though.  So it took longer to make, especially when I had to make 7 of them.  But I like how there's more space to write inside the card, unlike the first one above.  And I wanted the element of surprise that's why I only stamped a short phrase in front.

Here's another card I made for another swap.  We are supposed to use a stamping technique, and I chose the "Chalkboard" technique, which I learned from Splitcoast Stampers. 

 

I was in the mood for some "oriental" look when I made this card.  This technique is pretty simple.  Just stamp on a dark cardstock (preferrably black) using white pigment ink, then daub chalk on the image with your preferred colors, using a cotton bud or sponge daubers.  I used The Stencil Collection chalk for this one.  It's also better to apply the chalk while the ink is still wet, so it clings better.  If you want, you can spray a little bit of hair spray to set the chalk.  I love this BG paper from the DCWV Far East Mat Stack.

Time to eat my late lunch...

Happy Day

I really don't know how to start this blog entry.  But all I know is I'm happy.  I got an email from Alice Koh yesterday, letting me know that her "baby" was just launched.  It's called The Daily Scrapper, which creates, collects and publishes news, entertainment, opinion, and information to the digital scrapbook community. 

The overall concept of this website is patterned on newspapers we read everyday, only the main topic is about scrapbooking.  I can still remember that day when Alice asked me to take part in this venture, to which I said yes right away.  I was really excited!  I can't count the many emails Alice and I exchanged, even during my month long trip in the Philippines and Japan.  And of course, in any endeavor we take, the road to the goal is not always smooth.  The whole process was like a rollercoaster ride, especially for Alice.  I am sure it was very frustrating, but cutting to the chase....  the launch was successful!  Yey!!!  The Daily Scrapper has so much to offer.  It has articles that tackle all the aspects of our hobby - traditional, digital and hybrid.  What makes it special is that this new website also talks about the people behind this beautiful craft.  If you're into the scrapbooking business, it has the Retailer Listings, which is also a good place to advertise.  I love the Classifieds section, where you can see all those scrapbook related ads, from vacancies, services, new products  to special events.  In fact, there are two ad spaces being given for free right now until June 25th.  Just email tds.adsales@gmail.com and put "Free Classified Event" on the subject line.  Like most regular newspapers, The Daily Scrapper has an Opinion section where you can see product reviews, reader comments and discussions. Of course, a newspaper won't be complete without an Editorial.  And yes, my favorite of all:  FREEBIES!  The Daily Scrapper has three digital scrapbooking kits in line, and one of them is Happy Freebie by Amy Leigh.  You have to register (free) or log in first, then you can download by clicking here.  This is my take on this kit. 

For the title, I used Alice Koh's Cardboard Alphas, and the journaling font is Doodolonomy Fred.  I enjoyed creating this layout because the colors are perfect for the photo of my niece. 

Going back to The Daily Scrapper, it is special to me too, because this is where my work was featured for the first time.  That in itself is a blessing!  You can see my contributions here and here.  And my name is right on this page under Features Department.  I wish you could see the big smile on my face :D.  Congratulations to Alice Koh for a successful launch of a great website with a really cool concept!  Hats off to you for having such a brave heart and facing all those challenges head on.  I don't think I can ever do that!

As for more freebies, Memory Makers has several digital kits available for download.  Their latest one is the Bohemian Summer Kit by Michelle Coleman, which I adore!  I always love Michelle's work, and this is no exception.  Her kit comes with cool papers, embellishments and alphas. 

For this layout, I also used CK Alis Writing, LDJ Shop Til You Drop and Gang of Three fonts.  All with the aid of Memory Mixer.  You can get the rest Memory Maker's free digital kits by clicking here.

Another reason to be happy is being able to create three layouts in a day.  You've seen two of them above, and my third one is a traditional layout for my 2008 Scrapbook Calendar. 

This is actually a kit by Creating Keepsakes, which I bought from QVC a couple of years ago.  I always like CK products because they are so user friendly!  In fact, I made this page in less than 30 minutes.  There's a boo-boo on this page, actually.  I guess one of my ink tanks are low, so when the photo came out of my printer, it had lines around the image of my niece.  But it kinda blended with the stripe BG paper so I decided not to print another one.  I still like the result :)

And OMG!!!  I just saw my name in Paula Pascual's blog:  CRAFTY STORAGE under Great Real Life Studios.  This IS a happy day :D

Monday

Yeah, it's been a while.  I have been busy IRL, and rearranging stuff in the basement.  In fact, I'm just taking a break, and I'll be going back down there to do more work after this.  I know, excuses, excuses!  hehehe. 

My new OTT-Lite Lamp arrived, and I'm really happy!  No other kind of lighting really beats this lamp.  There's such a big difference.  With that, I'm hoping to finish my cross stitch WIP soon.  I'm thinking about finishing the darn thing by the end of the month.  We'll see...

Now that it's back to normal for me, and my jetlag's gone, I went back to my normal internet browsing, especially for craft stuff.  In SplitCoastStampers, I joined 10 swaps, excluding the other three that I'm already in.  Six of these swaps are for card making, one is for jewelry making, two are image swaps and one goodie bag swap.  I guess I got too excited, and now I realize that I joined too many.  But that's ok.  I have more reasons to make cards, now that I have 3 of the Spellbinders Nestabilities die sets.

I am almost done for the jewelry swap, where I had to make 9 necklaces.  It's been a while since I made some accessories like these.  I decided to create my own pendant using UTEE (Ultra thick embossing enamel).  I melted it on my Ranger melting pot, add a few drops of Suze Weinber's To Dye For (Magenta) and two hues of Pearl Ex powders.  When I was happy with the color, I poured the melted UTEE on a non-stick craft sheet, and pressed an "O" shape cookie cutter.  UTEE hardens up pretty fast, so when it does and while it's still warm, I take off the UTEE I don't need, and smoothen the edges with a regular craft knife.  It took a while for me to decide on what to do next.  Especially because my heat gun quit working.  I tried a bunch of things - from adding some dimensional embellishments using Inkssentials Glossy Accents and Beadazzles micro beads, to adhering "bling" stones with KandiKane Applicator Wand.  But they didn't work.  Somehow, they just can't adhere "permanently" to the UTEE.  Until yesterday when I thought of just using beads and trim instead.  This is how they look so far.

 I still have to put "enclosures", but I'm happy with the the way it looks.  This is really easy to do.  I'll make a tutorial of this one soon :)

Last week, my DSIL asked me to make a poster for her son's graduation party. 

With this project, I am again thankful that I have the Cricut machine, because the poster was done in a snap.  For this one, I used Mini Monograms and George and Basic Shapes cartridges.  I don't think I'll get rid of my Cricut anytime soon.

OK, time for me to go back down the basement....

Pens, a hybrid layout, a card and some good Walmart buys...

I'd like to start with a hybrid page I did a few days ago.

I wanted to make a layout about my brother, sister and me, and I want to use a lot of photos.  With the aid of Photoshop Elements, I used KHMize's Photo Mosaic Cluster element and Art Nation's Blossom Paper 3 and 9 for the background.  I didn't want to add anything else because I want the rest of the elements to be traditional.  After printing, the 8x8 digital layout on the 8.5 x 11 photo paper looked like one of those polaroid photos.  I decided not to trim it, and just use the entire letter size.  I was having a little difficulty with this layout because my brother is in it.  It's always hard to create a layout with men in the subject. 

I ended up using a lot of left over ribbon that match the main background, and eyelets (with the aid of my Crop-a-Dile2).  I also used some of the Foam Stamp Set by Creating Keepsakes, stamped on white chipboard coasters.  For the title, I used yellow alpha stickers by Provo Craft.  As for the number "3", I threw away the packaging years ago, and now I have no idea what brand it is.  If somebody knows, please tell me.  I adhered it using 3D foam squares to pop out.  The donut word stickers are from K & Co.  I also used a fabric sticker roll (plaid) and adhesive backed cork strip, both bought from the 100 Yen Store in Japan.  For journaling, I used black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker. 

And of course, none of these is possible without my Scotch ATG 700 and Duck adhesive.  When I thought everything was done, I felt like the layout seemed flat.  So what I did was print the digital layout again.  But to save ink, I only selected the three photos  that I want to pop out in the layout, using Photoshop again.  I just use the eraser tool for that, and it was easy.  After printing and cutting those three photos, I adhered them with 3D adhesive foam squares.  Can you tell which three photos are actually popping out?   

Yesterday, I finally decided to clean up planet.  My attention went to the Copic Markers I bought in Japan.  I printed the color list from the website, and made an inventory of what I have.  As I was doing this, I decided to organize all my pens and markers according to color families: 

• Clear
• White
• Grey
• Black
• Gold
• Brown
• Blue
• Blue Green
• Violet
• Blue Violet
• Red
• Red Violet
• Yellow
• Yellow Red
• Green
• Yellow Green

I was able to separate all my pens and markers successfully.  But with the new addition of Copic Markers, they just won't fit in my Pampered Chef Carousel anymore.  Off to the internet I went to search for the "perfect" pen organizer for me.  And as expected, I couldn't find any.  It's either I have someone build it for me, or I'll have to improvise.  I haven't picked which road to take, so I decided to just put the markers in ziplock bags according to color.  This is how it looks like for now. 

This morning, I was so in the mood to make a card.  I've been reading through some card making books and magazines and I got inspired.  I wanted to use my embossing folders this time (Tiny Flowers & Flowers # 2 by Sizzix; Leaves by Fiskars). 

I embossed assorted hues of orange cardstock and punched them with my Creative Memories Square Punch.  Among the four orange squares you see, one of them is an actual embossed paper I bought in Japan a few years ago.  Can you tell which one?  It's my first time to try Embassy Black Cardstock which I bought from Walmart for $3.96 (60 sheets).  I like it so far.  Then, I used Diffusion stamp by Hampton Art Stamps and the sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts.  Then I added purple flower sequins, leftover orange flowers (cut in half), brown button and leftover purple paper strip.  I also love the stand I bought for $3.47. 

Speaking of Walmart, if you happen to go there, here are some items that I consider really good buys:



Georgia Pacific White Cardstock (8.5 x 11) - if you love to create cards, this is the bomb. The quality is really good and a lot of card makers use this brand. Only $5.48 for 150 sheets.

Duck Double Sided Adhesive Rollers (4 Pack) - This is the best and economical handy adhesive roller that I've ever used. Aside from paper/cardstock, they're also good for ribbon and fabric. The price is about $9 and some cents. Plus each roller lasts a long long time.

OK, time to freshen up :)

Chaos Rules Again

My planet was very clean, organized and peaceful when I was away for a month.  Now that I'm back, it's a total mess.... again!  I haven't put away my craft buys from the Philippines and Japan.  Despite that, I still went on and made a traditional and a hybrid layout, which made my craft desk all the more chaotic.  Can I help it if I wasn't able to create anything for a month?  It is really hard to resist.  However during the process of making those layouts, I got frustrated because I forgot where I put a certain tool and a particular embellishment.  I was so mad because I know I have them, but I just don't know where they are.  Grrrrr.

Yesterday, I received two goodies in the mail.  Two very beautiful double page layouts from my SCS sisters Valerie from Las Vegas and Sasha from Canada.  I'm expecting more goodies sometime soon because I went online shopping at Joann.com for my new OTT Lamp and some Oval Nestabilities dies by Spellbinders. 

 I have been reading about how stampers and card makers love the Nestabilities, and I have seen the gorgeous cards they have created.  I have been browsing online where I can get them the cheapest, and I'm so glad Joann.com finally carries them, way lot cheaper than a lot of scrapbook online stores ($18.74).  What I also like about Nestabilities is the fact that I can use them with my Big Shot.  I'm really excited to play with these!

Also, if you guys love those Cuttlebug embossing folders, they are coming out with new designs.  Again, I couldn't resist pre-ordering one of them.  See, I'm being a good girl because I'm getting only one!  And then, I had to buy the Swiss Dots, too.  Which means, I actually bought two.  Hee hee!  You can see the latest releases by clicking here.  I don't know, but I'm really into those embossing folders right now.   It doesn't matter what brand, because my Big Shot takes them all.  The thing is, I have been hoarding (again!) and I haven't really started creating with them. 

(Raising my right hand)  I promise to make cards with my embossing folders when my Nestabilities dies arrive in the mail.  Period.

I'm tightly keeping my fingers crossed on two online scrapbooking projects right now.  I'm not allowed to say anything until everything's final.  Please wish me luck on these two ventures :)

Time for me to eat dinner....