Floral Grunge

Hello Friends!

Once again I apologize for not being 'on it' in the blogosphere. Life, as we all know, can be hectic, harried and before you know it days turn into weeks turn into months.
So even with work and kids and homelife, I have still been crafting up a storm for Stampin' Up! and creating products for my hand crafted items, The Paper Gift Boutique.

I just finished whipping up stacks of all occasion cards using my new favourite stamp sets. I will admit, when I first saw Gorgeous Grunge, I thought it was not very attractive. I ADMIT IT! I could not see the point of a stamp set that just had splatters. But oh Pinterest, you wicked beast. I caught a glimpse of some of the amazing projects others had used with it and then I had to get it for myself. And now I am hooked! I can't believe how versatile it is. I especially love using it with the Petite Petals and Flower Shop stamp sets. I also splurged and got the Hardwood background stamp set and that just brought it up a notch.

So trying to use some more vintage colors, as opposed to bright pops of color, I used Blushing Bride with Calypso Coral and Island Indigo with Pool Party. Adding either of those comos to Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake gave it that old school feel I was going for. Topped with Linen Thread (or thicker Twine if you can find it) and Basic Pearls, I found that these cards had a simple elegance to them. I tried doing different folding techniques to make them pop in a different way. So check these out.

 So I did a traditional gatefold card, but using the blooms to create a 'closure' for the tag (oh- and I am also a bit obsessed with the font from the various "Endless" sentiment sets. I have Birthday, Thanks and Wishes (a holiday one which works great with the others, but is retired unfortunately). Creating my own sentiments and then using the Tags and Labels Framelits really brings the look together.

I had so much fun with these sets!

I have no idea what these ones are called, to be honest, but the one on the left is a Joy Fold Card.

The ones on the right were inspired by pinterest as well. I really love cutting 'chunks' out and creating a 3D feel with the negative space.

The bottom card has become a go-to unique cut as well- as I used this particular design on plenty of holiday cards last year. (I'll have some of those to show at a later date!)

Cardmaking for the past decade has taught me a lot, as has being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.

 I used to go all out and think cards needed a big splash to be great. I love this simple approach with minimizing and creating uniqueness using different card cuts and layering. The bonus is that you're spending LESS on materials, but still maintain a wow factor.

Anyways, that's all I have for now. Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

3D Landscape Card

Need to give my hubby props. I showed him the card that I came up with (at least, I hadn't seen it before so if you came up with a similar card- great minds my friend!) and it needed a name. So he named it a 3D Landscape card.
I likes it :D

 So I used the new Sleigh Ride Edgelits and Jingle all the Way stamp set available in the new Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalogue. I have to say, the idea is INGENIOUS! I am in love! So much versatility.
Anyways, it's 3 layers, though I am sure you can make more. Being as I have NO CLUE how to do a video, y'all are going to have to bear with me and my multitude of photos. (also- playing around with my light box and settings so some pics will look different as I am trying to find the 'best' way).

 So Step 1. you'll want some layered thinlit dies. You could use the same size, but using different layering sizes, you can create more depth. The world's your oyster- whatever works!
I used some retired label dies I have- they are like potato chips for sure- can't just have one!
You can also use a variety of colors- either go monochromatic, or mix it up.

 So I cut 3 pieces of cardstock at 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. The top layer uses the largest die. So after cutting that in the centre (you could even cut them off centre for a unique outlook.) To make sure they are centred, I placed the already cut piece on top of the next as a sort of 'template'. You can do that off centre as well- just moving your cardstock over.

The I used the Sleigh Ride Edgelits. Thing is, they don't really work for this type of card as-is, BUT after a happy accident, I cut another set as a replacement but decided to work with both.

 Awe :( I cut a house off. So I just trimmed it off. How it got trimmed off was my lining up of the die. If you look at the next 2 photos, you'll notice that the die for the middle panel of the card is too far to one side for it to work. I wanted the houses more centred. So I cut it far on the one side, and tried to line up the die with the cut on the other side and cut it out again so it would work for my card. When I cut the 2nd set of houses out, I decided to glue them and create a bit more of a scene.

 

 
 
 So you can see the 2 different cut outs and then I just adhered the small one under the larger one. You could go ahead and ink the edges to create dimension. I dabbed it with some Whisper White Ink and then put some Dazzling Details on a sponge and dabbed it over top. You can't really see the 'glitter' effect, but it's there!

 This is the 2nd panel all finished. You can't really see- but I stamped some snowflakes in Whisper White and embossed with Irredecant Ice Embossing Powder. I also stamped very lightly in Marina Mist (Soft Sky was just too light). I'd suggest a wee bit darker color to make it 'pop'.




So once I played around and created the other 2 layers, setting them on the others to make sure that it was the visual appeal that I wanted. The top is also stamped with the same snowflakes from Last Year's Endless Wishes stamp set. I added my sentiment from Jingle all the way after I cut out the die from the Edgelits. You can't see it, but I dabbed Dazzling Details on the bottom part to look like 'snow' and added some old Soft Sky ribbon I had.

Once all 3 panels are done, you'll want 2 pieces of 4 1/4x2 1/2 cardstock. Score at 1/2 inch intervals 4 times (adding more width and scorelines if you've made more than 3 panels). It's blurry, but you can kind of see it on my Stampin' Score Board.

You then mountain/valley fold the small pieces. This is the tricky part, play around to make sure that the panels will be adhered to the correct edges so there is a bit of a gap between each panel. If you adhere them incorrectly, then the panels are just one on top of another and you lose the effect. When I look at my card from the side, it looks like a "W" with an extra flap. The idea is you want to put your sticky strip on the BACK of each panel (start with one side, don't try to adhere each panel to both accordian sides at once).

 You can see here that the adhesive is on the back of the panel. If you put the adhesive on the back of the top panel and adhere it to first valley fold of the accordian flap, skip the mountain, adhere the 2nd panel from the back to the 2nd valley fold and carry on, you should have the desired effect.

 As with anything handmade, there can  be 'oopses' in measurements. As I squished my card, you can see that there is a bit of 'excess' on the right hand side. So trim it off right? So I have to hold the card closed, trim the excess, and pinch the flaps from the left side so I can trim as closely as possible.
I don't have 3 hands.


VOILA! Yay paper clip! Lol. That was a handy-dandy way to close it so I can trim the edges!

  

What I did next is just the same thing as the left side. I adhered the accordian panel on the back of each panel, on the valley of the accordian panel. I did the top panel first, leaving the other panels 'open' so it was easier to adhere. Do this carefully, especially if using sticky strip as that stuff STICKS. You could just use repositionable adhesive, but I would worry about the panels eventually coming off.













So here is the finished product! The final panel doesn't need to be too fancy as it's 'far in the back' but definitely add some dimension with an edgelit or die cuts.

So much fun to make! I have a couple other examples using non-SU! items- but same idea :)

 Now that SU! is working on their Blendabilities (C'MON SU!) lol I did not get any replacement because they can be costly, but I did grab some Crayola's after seeing a really cool tutorial on how to blend with Colored Pencils. So SO cool.  So the stamps aren't SU! but the dies and paper are :) I created my own flowers with the Petite Petal punch, layering it and using Gold Dazzling Details and mini brads. The single layered flowers are just embossed with versa-mark and Irredecent Ice powder. The top princess one used
another retired Label Die from SU! and if you look closely, you can see that they are listing to the left. I put the princess on the front panel, Prince Charming on the 2nd and the castle on the last. I was channeling Aurora and Prince Phillip. I love how it turned out. When the Princess Set came with a single braided princess and a double braided princess, I IMMEDIATELY thought of Ana and Elsa. I used last year's retired Snow Flake Dies and used them and the Floral Frames Collect for Ana's 'flower' centre panel.

So there you can see it's pretty versatile and so much fun.

I hope you enjoyed and have fun with your own creations!

~Brandie~

Back in the Saddle

Welcome back everyone! I (again) am hoping that this is the start of a new and improved Crafter's Eden. Full time work is hard, but I have ignored my passions for crafting and writing for far too long. That, friends, is my advice. Don't starve your passions. I saw a great 'meme' on Facebook the other day- ignoring your passion is a slow suicide. Noting that, my hubby is on board and 'riding my tushie' to make sure I make time to craft and write. And, I have never shared how much I enjoyed my passions with my husband before and how far I really wanted to take them. And to have his support and encouragement just lights that fire even hotter. So this past week (on staycation- WOO HOO!) I have placed a not-so-pre-order for Stampin' Up! holiday goodies, stocked up on paper, created a light box (seriously, where WAS this thing the whole time?- and for 3 bucks!), and set goals and started crafting again.
I feel great :) It'll be hard once I go back to work tomorrow, but with Chris by my side and my goal list in hand- I know I can do this.
So first thing first- I created this bad boy after doing quite a bit of research on how to take better pics of my cards. It's hard- especially trying to sell my cards online- to showcase the amount of detail or work that goes into them. I find myself saying "Oh they look better in person" to people. A lot.
Etsy was a great resource, but for the most part they called for natural light. GREAT! But I live in a trailer and get very little natural light. Plus, very soon, the sun will be limited up here in the great white North so I am doomed with my florescent kitchen light? Back to the drawing board!
So I, in my pintrest and Google hazed state, found something called a light box.
Great. I really REALLY don't want to spend another small fortune on my business.
Oh pintrest. I really do love you.
A few other snazzy folks had created one with just a few odds and ends around the house. I don't remember which blogs were most helpful (like I said- haze) but the jist of it all was cardboard box, white tissue paper and poster board - oh and tape! All of which are found at my local Dollar Store.
That plus borrowing my daughter's desk lamp and using my own floor lamp my camera, plus a decent software program, created high quality photos for said blog and better advertising for my business to do some selling.
Check this space out! So you can see the box and my daughter's desk lamp propped up on some boxes to give it more height so I can have the light come down from the top. I still need to play around with lighting and my editing software, a photographer I ain't,  but so far it's been awesome.




Check out the difference: The first photo is how I used to take photos. (usually I'd drape a sheet on a chair- but this time I used a cleared spot on my desk- but still same idea. Flash on a white background with my phone camera):

I had  no idea how to utilize my software - so I didn't edit any of my photos other than cropping them if needed and rotating them. So it's not bad. Show cases what the card looks like- but...dulls it. You can't really see the glitter or the color. This was the 'old' way.

So now the photo with the 2 corsets (tutorial to come!) is in the light box with my camera flash off and the exposure value at the highest level (2 from 0- I have no idea what the means lol) but it brought in more light and according to the photo blogs, it's easier to fix that way. Again, this is me just learning. There is an autofix feature on my soft ware, so let's put that to good use!

So here it is! Cropped, watermarked, and autofixed. I am not sure if it's 'perfect', but I am happy with it :) I find the colors more vibrant and just looking 'side by side' the first photo looks 'passport quality' and I like to think the last one is more 'magazine quality'.
I know I have a lot to learn and will continue to hone and play around - I want to get better color quality so they look truer to Stampin' Up!'s color pallet.















So that's all that's new with me here. Excited to carry on, use my light box and new goodies and dive right back in with both feet.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Brandie~

Intro to Blendabilities Class

Hello and happy New Year!

So with Sale-A-Bration well under way, it's a great way to re-introduce the amazing and versatile Blendabilities alcohol makers from Stampin' Up! If you didn't know already- you can get a set ($15.95 CND value) FREE by spending $60 during SAB. I had always wanted to try the 'other' markers- but they did seem so difficult, not to mention expensive. Not knowing the colour theory and having to purchase individual markers at $7 a pop up here where I live (or going on line) just made it a pipe dream. I am very thankful to Stampin' Up! for coming out with their own version. Not only are they less expensive, but they bundle the colours by shade so getting the correct tones is so much easier than I thought it would be. Needless to say- almost all of the holiday cards I sold this season had Blendabilities all over them.

Now with Sale-A-Bration offering free sets, I figured it was a great time to start an intro class now that I think I have somewhat of a handle on these fine pens. Doesn't honestly take that much time to get the hang of them- but the more you use them the more fun and creative you find yourself being.

SO one of the cards I am doing is an easle card and I got this idea off Pintrest. It was done in black instead of Crumb Cake and the colours popped more vibrantly on the white ink. I was just seeing what it would do on Crumb Cake and I have to say, I absolutely love the outcome. Yes, it isn't 'perfect' when you look closely- but it didn't take a lot work and I didn't use any shading or anything. Just brushed it over the images. Well- here take a look!

 I used the Corner Garden Clear mount Stamp (134048) and stamped on Crumb Cake in Whisper White Craft Ink and embossed with white embossing powder. I used the darker hues of
Costal Cabana (131000)
Rich Razzelberry (131003)
Old Olive (130999)

All I did was brush the large tip over and colour in the lines best I could. I used some silk ribbon and Soft Sky and Island Indigo layers. I absolutely love the colour combo! You can also use Soft Suede as a base instead and have an equally dramatic effect.
To finish it off, I used the Blendabilities on the Basic Pearl Embellishments (119247). Another selling feature of the markers is that you can colour the rhinestones or pearls, buttons or ribbons and being alcohol based they aren't going to rub off.

The 2nd card we are making is just a basic layered card (no insert- just flat) using Basic Gray, Smokey Slate and Rich Razzelberry. I did the rock and roll technique on the top layer of flowers and added some Dazzling Details (LOVE THOSE) for the centers.

I used a few different techniques on the Secret Garden set (now retired- insert sad face here- that set is AMAZING for these markers!) I tried blending Rich Razzleberry with Wisteria Wonder, I did dark to medium to light on a few and then light to medium to dark on one flower. I even tried dark-medium-dark on the bottom large flower in the corner. 

SO basically I adored trying different techniques and playing with these markers to get different effects. I believe that these markers have even more potential depending on how creative you want to be. 

So that's it for me! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Brandie

Christmas

Not a very original title, I know. I also know it's been well over a year since I have blogged. I have been meaning to, desiring to, it's just I never seem to have the time. Since last year I have ventured from dayhome provider to part time worker, to 2 part time jobs to full time employee. Trying to adjust to that after a decade of being a homemaker only and still trying to make my little home business a priority plus everything that needs to be done on the home front leaves precious little time for my hobby of writing.

But that's not to say I have not been busy crafting up a storm! I have dabbled in the trade show circut and have decided it's just not for me. I loved meeting new people and have had fun networking, but the payout from table fees to making sure I have items to sell with what I earn from them is just unbalanced. I sold 2 packs of cards in 4 hours at the most recent, but was able to post the left overs on line and sell out in mere hours. Mostly from friends and family- so that's okay :) A lot of my friends are other direct sellers with various companies so it's a great way to expand and get my name out there to other markets I hadn't considered.

So here are some samples of things I whipped up just for the show.

 All of the stamps I used ARE older and retired (mostly). It's been a tough year getting back into my Stampin' Up! but after this season I really want to make 2015 more of an SU! focused year. I am so proud of my little business and this coming April will mark 4 years as a demonstrator. It's been tough and I haven't yet reached goals that I have wanted to reach- but I am getting there!

 I did want to stray away from typical fold cards so most of the ones I did were a real hit as they were folded or cut in unique ways. I loved using the SU! labels collection to create this swing card. The paper is old stock from last year- I can't remember what it was called but it was postage themed. I loved the colours and thought they could be very festive. Another thing I have enjoyed doing is using double stick adhesive strips in lines on my projects and rubbing glitter over it.

  

No despite what it may look like- the little Gingerbread men cards are NOT side step cards (though I am thinking I am going to have to try it!) I just scored a 5.5x4.25 piece of paper in half and then added blocks up from the bottom to create a neat visual effect. The little man is from Pink Cat Studio and I had so much fun using my SU! Blendabilities creating the coloring. In fact, I used those puppies so much this season that I am now in need of a new Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler set!
On the note of Blendabilities, I simply cannot WAIT for SaleABration- but that's all I am going to say about that ;)
The last card was created using vellum for the front. Now, I tell all my customers how much I love Stampin' Up! cardstock compared to big box store CS. The difference in quality is obvious- SU! card stock is tougher (in a good way) and able to uphold in different card forms as well as being used for 3D projects. It's never let me down! The reason I am stating that is that I have recently bought vellum from Stampin' Up! and it's the same thing. Stronger, better quality. I am proud to be part of a company that has such quality products. Anyways- using vellum for my card fronts and finishing them off with an old Stampin' Around Wheel (wish they'd bring those puppies back!), Adorning  Edgelits dies, ribbon and Scentsational Season stamps and dies finish off this card in a fun, yummy way.

So that's what I have been up to recently. Hoping to keep up on this thing is another goal (I know I know- I have said THAT before) but being part of my business it is a valuable tool to reach out to all the other stampers out there!

Thanks for visiting,

Brandie

Post Valentine Kisses

What a weekend! I know down in the States my American friends just celebrated their Presidents day and up here in the frozen north of Alberta (though it's been strangely mild this February. I don't trust it) we celebrated Family Day. The idea is to go no-tech and enjoy each other's company, and while I DO love my hubs and kids, we're not very out doorsy/large groups of people-people. So we stayed tucked in and had pizza and a movie night. Then being as the kids had Friday off for in service day those lucky ducks had an extended weekend and momma hadn't had time to blog Valentine's treats til now.

Have I mentioned that I love pinterest? I was going to go all rustic and start making my own crackers (epic fail) paints (so epic fail) and body cleansers/detoxes (still on the fence). After many fails there I gave up on trying to make my own lotions and face scrub. SCREW IT! says I. I'll just keep the local grocery store in service that way. But that aside, pintrest has some amazing ideas for home renos, refurbishing old items around the house AND baking/crafting :D (my two most favouritest of things! lol) So I got this nifty idea off of there to buy some strawberry wafer cookies (on sale- thank you Save On foods!) and dip them half way into chocolate. So I bought white chocolate melts (can't stand the stuff- good thing too or I would have eaten all the kids treats) and some Valentine's sprinkles. I wanted to do Inking Idaho's purse tutorial but it was too small for what I had in mind so mine just became a bag topper. I got to use my new Sale A Bration goodies (just over a month left!!!!!!! make sure you get your parties in folks!) and my Hearts a Flutter bundle stamps and dies.

 So I used my Top Note die and turned and scored it length ways instead of width ways, used 4x6 cellophane baggies which fit 3 dipped bars nicely. I used the small heart found in the Create A Cupcake stamp set. I also got to use my brand new That's the Ticket Stamp set and duo ticket punch :) A cute versatile little set. You can also get the Take A Ticket Stampin' Around wheel for the punch. The tickets on it ARE a bit smaller than the punch, but you can still punch the center out and have a cute little ticket :)

Now, for the past few years I have also made a
Valentine's treat for my kiddos. You will notice that there are only 3- that's because Mat is 3 and wouldn't care (don't worry! He DID get candy too! lol). I used 4 of Stampin' Up!'s 1x8 cellophane bags and put M&M's in them. 2 bags of candy filled 4 cellophane bags. Being as they are 8 inches I then trimmed 1/2-1/4 inch off the side of a standard sheet of cardstock. So the cardstock is trimmed to 8x10 inches. I scored each side length wise at 3 and 3.5 inches so I have a half inch rise on both sides. The flaps on both sides don't meet in the middle perfectly, there is a bit of an overlap, and I used this to my advantage. Now I wanted to use my Hearts a Flutter die to cut those window hearts out, but my paper was too big to feed through my Big Shot so I cheated and used another punch. If you can figure out how to feed a larger piece of paper through the Big Shot without scrunching the paper up, I'm all ears ;) . So I created a back ground with a retired So Swirly Jumbo Wheel and then various hearts from my stamp sets. I layered some coordinating cardstock and DSP and then made some belly bands. I grabbed some ribbon I had laying around and made the strands super long so I could use some cut-out hearts and layer them with dimensionals and added a wooden button in the center of them. I used my Fabulous Phrases stamp set, along with that same little heart, and my 1 inch circle punch and the coordinating 1 1/4 scalloped circle punch found in the Spring Catalogue.
The kids loved them and I had a blast making them over coffee with a friend.

Well that's it for me for today. Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

Sweet Grandma Valentine's

Okay- I guess I don't celebrate Valentine's with my grandmother ;) but with the new installment of lace and doilies and silver trinkets for embellishments in the new Spring Catalogue, it seems that they were inspired by my Grandmother's own old china cabinet.

They are classic and elegant and, a lot of fun! I would highly recommend getting the Artisan Embellishment Kit (129328) ...or two- for scrapbooks, cards or any project you may have your eye on. It coordinates wonderfully with the More Amore DSP (129309). I have now also decided that I LOVE the idea of using sales tickets type embellishments after using the cute LOVE ones in the Artisan kit. So needless to say, my Stampers 10 order for this month will include the Ticket Punch duo as well as the really versatile "That's the Ticket" stamp set (128075 c 128072 w). I am eager to play with it!

Along with the Artisan kit and Amore DSP- I grabbed the super cute Ciao Bella stamp set in clear. It's amazingly cute and coordinates with the 7/8 Scalloped Circle punch (THIS IS NEW! Lol- this is NOT the 1 1/2 inch scalloped circle punch that I mistakenly got. Ah well- it'll have it's use!) and the NEW Petite Curly Label punch from our Sale A Bration Flyer. Trust me- you have to have it ;)

Another thing with the Artisan Kit- the ribbons and lace come wrapped on these cute little heart cardstock pieces. Why not hold onto them and utilize them in your projects? I cut phrase off of one of the pieces of DSP and used it as my sentiment, and trimmed the stems off my paper roses. They needed a few glue dots- but they went nicely onto this easel card. With the colours and lace it really reminded me of elegant older ladies. I added the doily that came with the kit (get extras to make more cards or other fun projects from the new Spring Catalogue- Paper Doilies 129399)

There is so much good stuff in this season's mini that I can't wait to get more presents in and show you even more. Have a few friends over and host a party and get some of the amazing products from the Sale-a-Bration flyer- there is so much there that it'll be hard to chose just one!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~