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Monday, 6 June 2011

Felt-based cards (Rock-a-Bye Baby tutorial)

Posted on 16:15 by Unknown
New idea, Old projects....

I've been debating whether or not to post some older projects/tutorials since the big bad insecurity beast is nibbling away at my creativity big time, but I'm trying to remind myself: "better brave and posting than missing entirely" so here are some oldies...

Caardvarks C&S rock-a-bye felt card mel stampz

New?

A new supply idea. (Well, new for me anyhow) You might find it hard to tell from the photo, but this is a card with a card-base of stiff felt instead of cardstock. I bought the stiff felt sheet at Michael's and thought it would make a good card base. [The stuff I bought was black, but it comes in white and other colours as well if you want a softer look.'


I was surprised at how sturdy a card-base the stiff felt made & it even folded nicely. I just cut it on a paper cutter, & stuck paper inside to give somewhere to write on. (There's soft white felt adhered to the card-front also).

And here's a softer version, using all the
same Clear and Simple Stamps:

Caardvarks C&S rock-a-bye quilt card mel stampz

The buttons, ribbon, and label shape are
from Clear & Simple Stamps as well...

.

Old?


So, here's the scoop on these old projects: Back when my 24-hours-a-day-7-days-a-week-crafty-world started to fall apart, I was putting together these cards and this little tutorial for Caardvarks (with the sponsor Clear & Simple Stamps), but... I had to stop blogging due to major health breakdown (and crafty-system-crash).

Now that I'm back a little bit, I wanted to finally post these cards to say a belated thank you to the Caardvark crew (who I dearly miss) for being beyond amazing.... and to Clear & Simple Stamps as well for havin' such inspirational stamps, templates, and stuff.

So here's how the black felt card was made.



...make a felt card:


  • Rock-a-Bye stamp from Clear & Simple Stamps
  • Black Brilliance ink & clear embossing powder on white paper
  • Green with Envy ink, buttons & ribbon from Clear & Simple Stamps
  • Main Card: stiff black felt
  • White mat: soft white felt
  • Patterned Papers by BasicGrey Origins 6x6
  • Star background stamp (also from Rock-a-Bye set)
  • Green paper behind horse is My Mind's Eye Abbey Road-Nice Ride.
  • Misc. metal sewing snaps; Green, white, & black thread
  • Little label from same stamp set



Step 1) Make The Rocking Horse:

1A) Emboss Rock-a-Bye horse in black on white cardstock.
1B) Colour with Copic markers & a Sakura Souffle pen (white dots on black for the seat.)
1C) Add dots on nails with a silver metallic marker.



Step 2) Cut the rocking horse out: I find that cutting into the image (like I did here by cutting between the rockers is the easiest way to get a detailed cut) then you can just...



Step 3)
Reinforce the cuts with itty bits of paper glued on the back



Step 4)
Adhere bits of embroidery thread for his mane & trim it.



Step 5) Make a Frame:

5A) Paint a scalloped chipboard frame with white paint & press a wooden batik block in the wet paint for texture. (Or simply emboss it to get texture, instead).
5B)Colour over the paint with a silver metallic marker.
5C) Adhere My Mind's Eye 'Abbey Road-Nice Ride' paper to the back of the frame.

6--Adhere the Rock-a-Bye horse to the front of the frame

Step 6) Adhere the Rock-a-Bye horse to the front of the frame.



Step 7) Make a Felt card & mat:

7A) Cut black mat (3 1/4" square) from stiff black felt & cut the card from that as well.
7B) Adhere soft white felt (3" square) to white cardstock & stitch it onto the black felt mat.



Step 8) Add details to the patterned paper:

8A) Add a line of dots around the edge of the patterned paper (this black graph paper is from BasicGrey Origins 6x6 pack) & a shade around it with Copic marker.



8B) Stamp stars from Rock-a-Bye on more paper (this green patterned paper is BasicGrey Origins too. The stars were stamped in Brilliance ink & embossed with clear embossing powder.
8C) Colour edge of the cardstock with black marker, to create a faux mat
8D) Pierce holes beside the black marker edging & stitch in white thread.



Step 9) Make a label:

9A) Stamp Rock-a-Bye sentiment onto CSS tag in Green with Envy ink.



9B) Pierce & stitch around it in black thread. Fill in every other stitch with black permanent marker to save time.
9C) Colour edge with green Copic marker.



9D) Pierce holes on either side to add 2 snaps



9E) Put snaps in 2 the holes: back-snap on the back of the label & front-snap on the front. No glue or anything. ;o)

(Insert embellishment rant here: Snaps on baby cards are my fave--they are ultra affordable and they're a little funky or modern since they're metal, but they remind me of onesie jumpers, so they just seem to be an embellishment that really fits the baby theme).



9E) Add a tiny embroidery thread bow.



Step 10) Assemble the card (adhere papers etc. to the felt with a strong glue)
and there you have it...

... a black stiff-felt card:

(blogger photos for those who like to click for close-ups)

And here's the softer version:



Thanks for having a look.
Hope you're feeling great!
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Posted in Caardvarks, techniques, Tutorials | No comments

Saturday, 4 June 2011

new template set: Cake/Gift-stack boxes (and garden chit chat)

Posted on 10:55 by Unknown


Big family reunion day for us today! (with my Dad's side of the family &
boy, are we numerous: Nana had 9 kids). Mostly everyone is flying to BC
from Ontario. Sooooh... In honour of such an exciting day, I wanted to
share a new template set that I made for ya. Sorry no photos of a sample
(that'd be a tad more exciting, hey?)



I'm dreaming of the boxes done up as a 3-layer
wedding cake covered in the amazing 3D flowers from
this Layers release from A Day For Daisies:



The shape-able 3D flower layers were a custom request I asked Tammy about & she made them a dream come true! (She is beyond amazing & can make custom images from your photos as well). There's also a free image every time they have the ADFD challenges & 30% off their whole shop too (June 3rd-10th). (I'm not affiliated in any way, just a huge fan).


Lately we green thumb newbies have been having an ultra happy Spring.
The community veggie garden has been singing her siren song:

(sorry, cellphone pictures):

(on a clear day, you can see all the mountains)

Our little plot went from this:



...to this:



Still quite a ways to go, but we did get smart &
get some rubber boots after that first day:



We've been working like crazy ... enjoying the soil amending (who knew manure could be such a wonderful sight?). The seedlings popping up (Charles is like a little boy again & he's seriously obsessed with who's new on the green scene). The slug crop is the biggest so far (and they are BIG here; some are 3 inches or more and they eat everything in sight).

All in all, Pure Joy! (but shhh, don't tell anyone: you would not believe the piggish state our puny condo can get in after just one week of neglecting the housework entirely: OINK!) ;o)



Hopefully this box template collection is something you can have fun with.
Each page has a box bottom & a box lid. As usual, there are 2 versions of each:

1) a version with dotted score lines on it &
2) a version with no dotted line (just tick marks showing where to score, so you can print them and make a tidy looking box).

If anyone would like to make & share a .cut file or SVG file please feel free (just no resale as a digital file, please). If you sell your crafts & you'd like to use these templates to make handmade goods to sell, please feel free!

Here are some ideas on how you might like to use it:
  • As a wedding cake stack
  • As a birthday cake stack
  • As a gift box stack
  • As a set of nested gift boxes (one inside the other inside the other) ;)
  • As a bottom & top for an acetate or vellum sided gift box
  • As a shallow box for a diorama or display
  • or take the largest box & resize to make any size square box you like
Saving Files:

To save the JPEG files directly from this post:
1) Simply click the pictures below to open them up (large size)
2) then, right click on it and choose save image as

OR

you can see the whole set of JPGs on on flickr here
(and the links to the PDF versions of these files are there on flickr)

Top

top -- no score lines:



top -- with score lines:


Middle


middle -- no score lines:



middle -- with score lines:


Bottom

bottom -- no score lines:






bottom -- with score lines:


Hope you're having a gorgeous day!
Mel
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Posted in *TEMPLATEs, 3D-projects, A-Day-For-Daisies, Freebies | No comments

Monday, 23 May 2011

Gardening tidbits: some herb faves

Posted on 14:25 by Unknown
...and we've been gardening a little too!

herb faves collage mel stampz

A few plant faves...

I thought I'd share a couple-few pics of the zillion herbs
that we're planting in terracotta pots since the varieties
are some that you green thumbs might find neat:



Cuban Oregano
A succulent oregano that I adore. Cuban Oregano is
quite drought-tolerant. It overwinters indoors
relatively well, and the leaves have a juicy crunch.



Boxwood Basil
I jumped for joy when I found this Boxwood Basil at the
Rona nearby. I saw them at Home Depot as well (in B.C. Canada)
It's less leggy/flimsy-stemmed than its large-leafed brethren
and looks more like an ornamental.



Gold Dust Rosemary
Love the colour on this variegated cultivar Gold Dust Rosemary.
Haven't tasted it yet, but I imagine it tastes like Rosemary ;o).



Sorrel
A perennial leafy plant with spinach texture and
a very zingy lemony taste. Sorrel is best used sparingly
(use it more like the herb it is than like a salad leaf)
since it has oxalic acid. So tasty though!


and last but not least, one non-edible fave:


Stock flowers
This one's not unusual at all. In fact, it's a very traditional flower
but one that I've never grown and that I wish I'd always done.
Did you know that Stock flowers smell indescribably amazing?
If I had to describe it I'd say they have a hint of nutmeg.

Also being planted: fern leaf dill; 2 traditional dill; 3 cilantro; thai basil; lime basil; traditional basil; parsley; english thyme; lemon thyme; ginger mint; peppermint; spearmint; lemon balm; catnip; chives; golden oregano; spicy oregano; traditional oregano; dwarf marjoram; golden-tipped marjoram; barbecue rosemary; traditional rosemary; green onions; and sage

Anywho, I hope you are having a spring that's bursting with green, or a great season in general wherever you are,


P.S. a big thank you to Katrina of Pugly Pixel fame for the photo styling elements: Scallop edges (adapted by adding my own pattern) & Tape Strips. Her premium access for 30 days was the best $5.oo I've ever spent & her tutorial on how to use photo overlays in photoshop is just plain "WOW." Her free section is delectable.
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Friday, 20 May 2011

Damask Basket with matching box & patterned paper

Posted on 11:25 by Unknown



Been trying to stretch out that vacation feeling, lately
but boy have I've missed you guys!

We had some great family time: a lovely visit on Vancouver Island.
We've gotten some household chores done. (With Charles's bum-knee and
my miscellaneous schtuff sometimes just getting the groceries all
stocked up feels like such a grand accomplishment!) :-D

We've also done a little happy hibernating:



(Our cat, Mouse, in a paper bag, heeheehee)

But since it's been eons since I shared a craft project,
I figured it might be time to come out of hibernation already!
So here's a printable template collection for that
curvaceous basket (now it's all doodled up with damask).

You can find the plain version linked in this older post.



You can find the whole damask set
linked here on flickr

( JPGs loaded to flickr
and links there to the PDFs on acrobat.com)

Click the pics and choose save as to save as a jpg
(or if you prefer, you can click the links before each template if you'd like to
save the page to your flickr faves or find the links to PDFs)

The basket box:




side panels for the basket:



damask patterned paper:
(to make a matching card, if you like)


jewelery box:
(2 and 1/4 inch square
1 and 1/4 inch tall)


Thanks for checkin' this out,

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Posted in 'Mouse'-the-cat, *TEMPLATEs, Freebies | No comments
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