PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS

I saw this oh! so cool way to make a Magic Envelope Card by Deb Valder on Pinterest! See her video pin HERE. She uses the new diagonal score board from SU, but I don't have it...so I modified the directions to make this same project on a standard score board --- mine is by Martha Stewart. Begin with an 8 1/2"x 11" piece of DSP - then mark and score your paper as shown in the pics below:

Along the 11" side, mark a point at 1/8", 6" and 7 7/8".

Turn paper 90 degrees to the 8 1/2" side and

mark a point at 5" and 5 5/8".

Turn paper 90 degrees to the 11" side and

mark a point at 3 5/8 and 4".

Turn paper to the 8 1/2" side and mark at 1 5/8".

Now connect with score lines as follows:

3 5/8" to 1/8" marks (To the point instead of 

1/8" works best actually!)

6" to 5 5/8" marks

5" to 4" marks

NOTE: I have drawn a line straight down the center of my score board at the 4 1/4" and 6" point with a Sharpie marker. 

The 6" line helps me score between two marks very easily and accurately. (I also have a Sharpie line drawn at the 4 1/4" mark. The 4 1/4" line helps me quickly locate the point where I need to score my 8 1/2" x 11" papers in half in order to make two cards very quickly. After scoring in half, I turn the paper 90 degrees and cut the paper at 5 1/2" to make two blank card bases.) Here is what the final sheet should look like when all score lines have been made: 

Then simply follow the folding instructions in the video HERE

and begin by folding along the score line shown

by the arrow below so that the lower right corner 

(the largest side of the paper) folds inward:

As Deb shows in her video, double-sided DSP

works perfectly for this project.

HOW TO RE-INK SU'S NEW INK PADS

Just saw this terrific video on YouTube...

and here's a new use for your Yogurtland spoons!

HAPPY EASTER!

Here's a FANTASTIC Easter treat that's a good
substitute for giving candy:

My crafty and clever friend, Mel,
surprised everyone in my
office with this Easter craft!
She bought disposable 12" Wilton's
frosting bags and green
raffia on a spool at Michael's.
Use goldfish crackers,
Cheese-Its, Cheese Puffs
or Cheetos.
...and
Here's an Easter card I made for my

wonderful pen pal, Leslie-Ann:

Inside View:

and to center a punch perfectly...

Use a pencil to mark the center

of where the punch should go!

This is how I got my holes perfectly

aligned for the ribbon shown above.

For this card, I finally got to try the eyelet and ribbon technique shown in a previous post HERE.

Valentine for a Card Maker

INSIDE THE CARD IT READS:

This is for the Ways to Use It WT408 Challenge on Splitcoaststampers.com to show off a new toy that we got for Christmas and mine was the Stampin' Up Fashionable Hearts Embosslits. It embosses and cuts 5 different shaped and embossed hearts all at once! I love using it with metallic paper --- it gives such professional results!

I used translate.google.com to make a background that says in French: To my card maker friend * You are so talented and creative * I'm so lucky to have a friend like you! Then I pasted it over and over again using a script font and WingDings2 "f" key to separate each line. 

TIE THE PERFECT BOW

HAPPY 2013 and here's a diagram that shows the bow technique described in my YouTube video HERE. Once you've practiced the technique, you can use a smaller length of ribbon to make a bow (rather than the 12" mentioned in the video)...and if I'm making a lot of bows, I measure out the length needed to make one bow, add a little extra length, then use that piece to measure and cut the ribbon for the rest of the bows so I can set up my bow-making factory!

A Thank You Card

I love this edgelet and embossing folder from SU! A set of flower stickers from Martha Stewart and the thanks stamp from SU Hodgepodge Happiness was also used to complete this card. HINT: Secure the die with Post-It Notes so the die will not move in the Cuttlebug! Thanks, Brenda, for that terrific tip!

Golfing Card for Dad's Birthday

It's my dad's birthday this week and he's an avid golfer. Even at 83 he still plays twice a week - GO DAD! I found the saying online and it gave him a chuckle. 

and the envelope using a mask and sponging...

Here is the inspiration for this card that I saw on Pinterest:

For this slider card, I used a new simplified method. It's an awesome version of the slider cards that were popular several years ago and this technique also uses Zip Loc bags for the slider mechanism - GENIUS! After making this type of card several times, I did discover that both the crease and the overlap in the plastic have to be placed properly so that the card slides effortlessly. (Make sure that the crease and the overlap on the plastic bag do not slide over any edges when the panels move.)

Slider Card Tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK9jfNSAX_4

Video with Secrets for Making the Perfect Bow or Knot!

I just got a new DSLR camera and made my first video tutorial with it today. In less than 3 minutes, you can learn how to make that perfect bow or knot! Watch the video by clicking on the pic above.

Here are some previous bow tutorials:

Thank You Card

Here's an idea for using up scraps of your favorite papers

that you just can't bear to throw out!

(The saying is a rub on and the inside sentiment says:

...a faithful friend is best.)

HINT: Use the corner of a square punch to make

the banner effect!

Spooky Halloween

 CLOSE UP:

Here's a fence idea to try for your Halloween cards: Use black satin ribbon (3/8" to 1/2" wide) for fence boards (cut with VERY sharp scissors), then place two - 1/8" x 5 1/2" long pieces of textured black cardstock on top of the black fence boards. Zig Two-Way Glue with a chisel tip works well to glue down the ribbon and the skinny pieces of cardstock...and below, I have one of several cards I designed this week for

Really Reasonable Ribbon.

Those googly eyes (5mm in diameter) were purchased from my local craft store and truly add a spooktacular  touch to this brayered background card. (TIP: Use a toothpick dipped in some white glue to put a small amount of glue exactly where you want the eyes to be placed.) The black cats were made using my new Happy Hauntings Cricut cartridge --- I was able to cut out several in no time! (The size of cat shown uses the 1" setting --- a 1 1/4" setting works well, too.)


If you want to see how I easily tied the teeny tiny bows on the cats, watch the quick video HERE...then click HERE to view all of the cards I have on the Really Reasonable Ribbon's blog today as their guest designer.  


Stamp Set: Branch Out (Stampin' Up)
Inks: Black Stazon for the tree, Celebration (Stampin' Up) multi-colored ink pad for the brayered background on glossy paper
NOTE: Use a circle punch with computer paper and repositionable adhesive prior to using the brayer to create the white moon in the second card
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder for the Moon: Swirls
Fright Night Saying: K&Co. Halloween Sentiment Assortment

Masculine Birthday Card

Have you ever made a card and then had a hard time giving it away? That happens to me quite often, so I usually make more than one of the same card while I've got everything out....but this card was a one-of-a-kind and I never got around to making another one....so, it's been in my blank card box for ages because I could never give it away....until now! My brother-in-law's birthday was last week and enough time had passed by so I could finally part with it! 

I masked each rectangle with Post-It Notes at the top and bottom and used the same stamp for all 3 images --- changing the direction of the stamp on each rectangle. It's actually a quick and easy technique --- I don't know why I didn't make two!


Stamp Set: Close to Nature from Stampin' Up

My Favorite Things

This panda bear and the "LOVE" black frame were made with one of my all-time favorite Cricut cartridges called Pagoda. I LOVE panda bears and if you look closely, you'll see a panda head in the "O" of "Hom" in my watermark! I cut a small piece of green cardstock to make a piece of bamboo for the panda's mouth and added opaque white ink (by Uniball) for the eyes. The inside of this card and the envelope are shown below. The stamp set I used is called Asian Influences by INKADINKADOO.

CAN YOU PART WITH SOME OF YOUR RIBBONS?!

Here's a card I made from an idea presented in the May/June 2010 Paper Crafts magazine. I am the absolute Queen of ribbon collecting and this card was a perfect way  to put a (very slight) dent in my stash of ribbons! (See a portion of my ribbon infatuation HERE.) 

To create your own version of this card, start with a piece of 2" x 6" long black cardstock then: 

• Fold one end of a 2" long segment of ribbon in half and cut at an angle to create a banner-type end on the ribbon --- This step requires very sharp scissors!
• Adhere a piece of red sticky tape along the back of the 2" long piece of ribbon
• Pull off the protective covering on the tape and adhere your ribbon to the black cardstock so that the ribbon end (opposite the banner end) hangs over the edge of the black cardstock just slightly AND there is about 1/4" of black space from the top edge (so you have some room to adjust the black cardstock strip when you adhere it to the card front at the end)
• Use the edge of the black cardstock and your sharp scissors to trim the ribbon exactly to the edge
• Add additional ribbon strips approx. 1/8" apart until you get near the end of the length of black cardstock NOTE: Check the length of the black cardstock against your card length to see where to stop the last piece of ribbon (You may need to trim your card slightly to achieve ideal spacing on that last ribbon.)
• Adhere the black cardstock to your card, trim it at the top and bottom as needed and add additional embellishments as shown

Experiment with different patterns, textures, colors, widths and ribbon with text!
...and a big shout out to REALLY REASONABLE RIBBONS.... I just entered this card into their latest ribbon challenge! Visit their cool blog and store websites at:

http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.com

and

http://www.reasonableribbon.com

Inside a Grad Card

Here's the inside view of my pop up sailboat card and one of two birthday/graduation/and Father's Day sayings that will be included with my two June paper craft projects. I thought the Mark Twain quote was perfect for this sailboat card and provides some inspiration no matter what age your driver's license states!...Stay tuned for the photos of the entire set of June projects which I'll post on June 1st.... and here's another quick way to finish the inside of your graduation cards. 

The saying is from Hero Arts and simply says: May your dreams take flight. The kite tail uses gold cording (purchase it in the jewelry section of your craft store). The cording is held in place by small glue dots under the kite tail bows. View the front of this graduation card HERE.

Ribbon Organized!

I've just re-organized my ribbon stock. Now I'm in Organized Ribbon Heaven and it feels GREAT! Ribbon is definitely one my weaknesses because finding just the right ribbon width, color and texture can make or break a paper craft project! This wonderful organizer was previously a toy bin, and I placed all of my ribbons by color in each bin. It took quite awhile to do it, but now I can pull out a bin (or several bins!) and quickly see which color and texture would go best with my project.  (The storage bin fits perfectly on one side of my craft room closet.) I found this toy organizer - gently used - at my local Salvation Army store for $19 - oh, what a find!....but you can find a new one at Target.com or Amazon.com with a search for "12 bin toy storage"...or find a deal on one at a neighborhood garage sale. I have to warn you about one potential problem, though...I was so excited to show my husband my new ribbon organization system...BUT when he saw the VAST amount of ribbon I had, he asked if I was running a ribbon store out of our house!

A Wedding Card

We're going to a wedding soon and I dropped off our present and card today with the bride's mother. One of my favorite color combinations is white with off-white and pink! I used my computer for the HUGS, KISSES and JOY words and used mini roses from Michaels. For the  off-white component on this card, I used an embroidered ribbon. Oh, how I love to go to weddings! BTW --- to prevent ribbon from fraying after cutting, select a red sticky tape slightly narrower than the ribbon width, place a strip of sticky tape across your card --- slightly extending it beyond the right and left sides of the card, remove the red protective covering, place your ribbon on top of the red sticky tape and press down firmly to adhere, then use the card border on each side to trim the ribbon exactly to the edge. Remember to use sharp scissors when trimming ribbon!