Today's card is a quick and easy Valentine card made with the Sprinkled Expressions Sale-a-bration set. It's been a while since I made this card, but I think I used Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, and Pretty in Pink ink, card stock, and Patterns DSP. I die cut the scallops with the Tasteful Trim die, curled the edges a little bit and tied everything off with a bit of baker's twine and a button. That is pretty much all there is to it.
The Artisans have their Valentine gallery featured today over on the Stampin' Up! Facebook gallery. I have two projects this time. Why? Well I didn't even think I would have time to make anything at all, but a few weeks ago I made this altered heart box. I liked how it turned out so I thought, hey, I can use this as my FB project. So I photographed it and sent it in early. I used the Circle #2 die, some red felt, and the Loving Thoughts stamp set from the Occassions Mini catalog, 5/8 Black Satin Ribbon, and a glue gun. I was inspired by a pillow I saw while shopping and decided to see if I could get a similar look.
I was really pleased with how it turned out, but let me tell you a funny story. At the time I made this I was wearing hybrid gel nail polish (is like a cross between regular and acrylic polish). It was like the polish literally attracted the glue from the hot glue gun...I mean, almost like a magnet. It was not a good experience. So I have decided to save this type of manicure for special occassions and just not wear any polish most of the time...at least not when I am going to be using a hot glue gun. :)
So, now I will finish my story about why I have two projects on the SU Artisan FB wall. Well, I was feeling a little guilty that the felt heart just didn't have much "paper crafting", so about a week after I had already sent SU photos of the other project, I got another burst of inspiration and created this project. When I sent in the pics of this one, they said, "we'll just use both projects if that's OK with you". As it turns out, participation was a little low this time, so there you have it.
I really wanted this altered box to have a vintage feel to it, so I embossed, sanded, and used tea stain distressing ink to achieve the effect. I love how it looks so romantic. The paper I used is from Sell-a-bration and the stamp sets are from the Occassions Mini catalog. These aren't your typical Valentine's Day colors, but I think they make a refreshing change to the popular reds and pinks you normally expect to see.
For the flower I used a combination of flowers from the Fun Flowers die (three layers) and the Blossom punch (3 layers). I embossed, sanded, distressed and curled each petal and then put the layers together using Stampin' Dimensionals. I even used one of the new large pearls from the mini catalog. I used lots of seam binding ribbon to create a big, beautiful bow and attached it all with a hot melt glue gun.
Well, that's all for today. Can you believe that both projects are really just $1 boxes of chocolate? I hope that you are inspired to create something special for your sweetie! It doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming, but you might want to buy more than one box, just in case you can't resist the tempation to quality test the chocolate! :)
When I made this card, I didn't really think about Valentine's Day (it was late November), but I do think it fits the theme well. You could change out the expressions, or just use it the way it is here. I used the SAB Fresh Vintage stamp set along with the Everyday Enchantment DSP. Let me just say right off the bat that this is my FAVORITE design in this DSP collection. Even though SU says it the color is Poppy Parade, I personally think it goes better with Real Red ink and cardstock...so that is how I used it. There is a slight color variation between the background paper and the stamped image, but honestly it is almost undectible (and I am super picky about things like that).
This is one of the display projects I made that SU sent off to another market, so unless you are visiting my blog from the UK, you are probably seeing this card for the first time. As a matter of fact, all but one of the samples I have left to share were not on display in San Antonio, so there are lots of new things from Sale-a-bration to show you coming up over the next few weeks!
I hope you aren't tired of Leadership Samples because I have lots more to share with you over the next several weeks. This is an 8"x8" scrapbook page of the two most important men in my life (with exception of my dad, whom I love dearly). I paired Everyday Enchantment DSP with Real Red/Basic Black card stock to give the page a little bit more of a masculine feel. I also used the Elementary Elegance stamp set (also from Sale-a-bration) as the focal point of the layout.
The crown in this stamp set is perfect because my guys are the king and prince of this household (or so I let them think). We all know who is really in charge (wink). Don't forget, you can earn free product during Sale-a-bration, going on right now. For more information, visit my on-line store by clicking on the "shop online 24/7" button in the upper right corner of my blog.
I thought I would take a little break from leadership samples to share with you a little project that I did a while back. This is just a simple notecard that I created in MDS using the Sunset Serenade download. Not much to tell about it really...it's just a fun, simple little note that I put together just in case I need it.
I have been playing around with the new Simply Scored insert that I was lucky enough to win at Leadership. I created a fun envelope to go along with the card using some coordinating DSP. I will be back soon with some helpful hints on making envelopes with the insert along with measurements for some different size envelopes.
Today's project is the final make-n-take display sample that I made for Leadership. I think this was my favorite because I had to really stretch my creativity. Of course, I have already told you that they wanted us to use only the kit contents. So here is how I made this entirely from the kit.
I used a button box lid and cut holes in the top to stabilize the flowers later in the process. I know that sounds a little difficult to understand, but I didn't want my flowers falling around all over the place so it was sort of like I made a flower frog that fit snuggly into the tube. I covered the outside edges of both parts of the button container with sticky strip and wrapped a 3"x8 1/2" piece of white card stock around them with one plactic piece on the top and the other on the bottom.
Here is what the tube looked like before I covered it. It definitely wasn't pretty, but then I covered it with DSP and made it about an inch taller so that you wouldn't see the plastic when it was finished.
The kit also included four wooden skewers, so I cut them into two pieces for the flower stems. I even shredded pink card stock for the vase filler. Of course I stamped the flowers with the Mixed Bunch stamp set (#125537). Each flower has three layers of petals. I gave the flowers fullness by curling the petals with a bone folder and assembling the layers with dimensionals.
Just like yesterday's project, this one was on display somewhere at leadership because I have seen pictures that others took...but I'll be darned if I know where it was. Oh well, thank goodness I took pictures at home.
I don't know how life is at your house, but at our house we sometimes need a little reminder about our "attitude". Today I have another free digital Bible verse for you. Just scroll down to the bottom of this post for the link. I have had this verse ready to go, but I wanted to make an inspirational piece to use it on. So yesterday I sat down with My Digital Studio and created this framed art to put on my desk at home.
I design my .png digital images so that you can use them large (like you see here) or small for a scrapbook page or even a card without image distortion. To use the files all you need to do is create a new folder in the stamp folder of your MDS software. Then you can use them just like any other digital stamp brush set. I named my folder "Bible Verses" so that I know where to find them.
For this project I purchased an inexpensive 8"x10" frame. I removed the glass so that I could add embellishments to the finished piece. Be careful not to cut yourself when removing the glass. Here is how I created the artwork in My Digital Studio.
In My Digital Studio I created a 8.5"x11" (landscape) scrapbook page and added the Tickets & Tags DSP #2 for the background. (Tickets & Tags Kit #127431). I added a square punch, enlongated it, and filled it with Tickets & Tags DSP #1. Then I added a drop shadow. Next I added the Decorative Label Punch, enlarged it and filled it with Whisper White. I added a Baja Breeze outline to the punch (size 6) and also added a drop shadow. For just a subtle hint of color I added the flourish from the Bliss Stamp Brush Set in Baja Breeze and changed the opacity to 20%. Then I pulled in the Bible verse artwork and left it Basic Black. For just a little bit of interest I added a little bird from the Bliss set. Now it is ready to print. I printed my digital masterpiece on HP Premium Presentation Paper on my HP Photosmart C5180 color printer and trimmed it down to fit inside the frame. I added a few flowers that I created by hand and some pearls for a finishing touch.
If you don't have My Digital Studio, you now can get a free 30-day trial version of My Digital Studio Express. Just click on the shop 24/7 button in the upper right corner of my blog and select "Digital Designing" from the menu. At the very top you of the list you will find more information on how to download your free trial software.
Here is the link to today's free digital Bible Verse download. Enjoy.
I am back today with another make-n-take display sample from leadership. Like I mentioned before, we were asked to use the kit contents (and only the kit contents) to make five projects of our choice. I created a small pizza-style-box using Twitterpated DSP. Then I created the flower with the Blossom Builders kit. I used a Poppy Parade ink pad to stamp the sentiment, but there wasn't any matching CS...so I made my own using Whisper White CS and a Poppy Parade ink pad. I also sponged the flower with the same ink to give it a richer color.
I didn't even know this project was on display. Somehow I missed some of the samples. I just happened to see some pictures that somebody else posted on our demonstator website. I was like "Hey! I didn't see that there." I still don't know where it was displayed. If you were at Leadership and know where these were, I would love for you to let me know. OK...well that's all for today. See you tomorrow!
Since I have been sharing my Leadership M&T projects for the past couple of days, I thought I would go ahead an show you another one. This is a card that I created from the M&T kit using the Twitterpated DSP and the Blossom Builders Designer Printed Kit (#125410). I've seen a lot of projects where the different colors are mixed & matched, but that really isn't my style, so I opted to stick with different patterns of the same color. Each flower in the kit is double-sided, so if you don't care for one side, just flip it over for a different look. I shaped the petals of the flower with a bone folder and then assembled it using dimensionsals so it would stand out.
Here is another one of the projects I made for the Leadership M&T display. Bear in mind, that our supplies were very limited, and by the time I got around to making this card, I was really starting to get a little desperate for ideas.
Afterall, we only had 30 days to make 24 projects and mail them AND it was smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. So, this is probably not my favorite card that I have ever made, I suppose it was pretty good under the circumstances. I do love that Twitterpated DSP and the stamp sets (Mixed Bunch and Loving Thoguhts) from the Occassions Mini are wonderful! Oh yes, and I think I cheated and substituted a Cherry Cobbler button for a Real Red one (wink) because it works much better with that particular DSP. Also, I used Island Indgo ink for the flower and the sentiment.