Crafty Lizzie

Forever Friends Forever

Yesterday I continued my quest to use some of the amazing craft supplies with which I have not yet gotten a chance to play. (Let's not talk about just how many amazing craft supplies are currently in that very category. In fairness, until very recently I never had a moment to myself, let alone to fool around getting crafty.)

I've been having a love affair with My Favorite Things' dies -- they have the most fantastic collection of standalone and sentiment dies that just make me giddy. Yesterday I was bound and determined to make something cute with this Forever Friends Circle Frame die. I had a shaker card in mind and also knew I wanted to use some of this Doodlebug Cute and Crafty paper. The paper patterns in the pack are all so awesome, I had a very hard time picking out a piece to use -- and when I did, I decided to make one card using each of the two sides of one of the pieces of paper. (Does that make any sense?) A single piece of the 12"x12" paper has the heart pattern on one side, and the plaid on the other.

When I cut the frame out of each piece of patterned paper, I realized that I needed to cut additional frames out of solid paper to make the "forever friends" sentiment really pop -- it was lost in the busyness of both patterns. 

I made this shaker card first. It's a basic shaker using random sequins from my huge collection of shaker bling. I found that Lawn Fawn's Rainforest card stock provided a nice, coordinated contrast with the hearts background. I won't get into the various struggles I had with figuring out how to get this to work as a shaker card. It was easier than I thought, and I overthought it. Now I know for next time!

Next I made this simpler card, using an old-school wood-mounted rubber stamp from way back when Elzybells (from the UK) was making rubber stamps. I always loved their images, and occasionally scour eBay to see if I can find any that I don't yet have. Anyway, I colored these two friends with a variety of Copic markers; I didn't note the colors so I can't record them here. For the frame on this one, I used Lawn Fawn's Cilantro card stock. I also used a wee bit of Stickles, in Glam Pink, on the bow in the blonde girl's hair, and I used a Quickie Glue Pen and prism glitter at the girls' feet.

I am not sure what to do with the two frames I cut out from the patterned paper, so for now they are just lingering on my desk, under my computer stand, in case inspiration strikes.

Good Vibes Only

This summer, when Ellen Hutson released this Good Vibes Only die, I knew I had to have it. Except it was a "hot foil" die. What? I did a little research and determined that I needed to purchase additional, relatively expensive equipment to get into this hot foil game, and I decided to take a pass for the time being.

Then I kept seeing hot foil mentioned *everywhere* on the crafty sites and blogs. In early October of 2021, on World Cardmaking Day, I purchased from Spellbinders the Glimmer Hot Foil Machine... and I also went aheads and bought the Good Vibes Only die from Ellen Hutson. And until this past weekend, neither the machine or the die had been used. On Sunday I decided it was time to figure this thing out. It was trickier than I expected, and I'm still getting the hang of it, but practice will make perfect!

For both cards I used the Glimmer-branded gold foil.

For this first design I used Honey Bee Stamps sunburst background stencils (a trio, sadly discontinued), Pinkfresh Studio inks, Taylored Expressions blender brushes, and miscellaneous bling I had lying around.

For the second design I used a Simple Stories stencil, Pinkfresh Studio inks, Taylored Expressions bitty blender brushes, and then a wee bit of Stickles in Crystal on the pineapples' leaves.

I prefer the second one -- just love the pineapples along with that awesome sentiment. :-)

 

 

Birthdays Are the Best!

I had the most amazing time at Crop on the Cape last week! It was the third time I have attended this amazing event in person (and I also attended it virtually in March 2021), and I plan to keep up the tradition for many more years!

This time around I took six classes, which ended up accounting for much of my time on Friday and Saturday, but during the "in between time" I crafted up a storm building a stash of birthday cards! I am always running out of birthday cards. I keep a perpetual calendar and send birthday cards to at least ten peeps each month, and in some months (like May) many more, so my stash is always in need of a restock. In total I made 32 cards similar to the two variations I've posted. They aren't perfect -- the die stuck a bit in the upper left corner and I didn't bring a stabby tool (what do you call those things?) so I used my scissors instead and wasn't as careful as I could have been. ;-) Ah well. They don't have to be perfect; they just have to be cute.

Supplies used: Pretty Pink Posh images, dies, and bling; Simon Says Stamp! sentiment; Lawn Fawn paper (sadly discontinued), prisma glitter, and Jet Black ink pad; Copic markers W4, W2, BG0000, BG53 Y02, YG05, RV21; 3M foam tape; Tombow adhesive; Quickie Glue Pen

Thank You for Being a Friend

Like any good crafter I've managed to accumulate (hoard?) more sequins and shaker bits than I could possibly use in a lifetime, and so I decided it's time to start making shaker cards! I've also been accumulating (hoarding?) awesome sentiment dies from My Favorite Things and I thought -- let's put these things together!

This design was a bit fussy, not going to lie. I'd do something different next time around. The little bits that were cut out from the letters (like, the inside of the little peaks of the As, or the inside of the O, for example), to me, had to be added back in, so I glued them *just so* onto the card base before assembling the card. A better way? There has to be. I was thankful for my picker-upper tool (what is that called?).

Supplies: Lawn Fawn Flower Market paper, MFT die, acetate, random sequins, 3M foam tape, Tombow tape runner

P.S. Must work on photography skills. ;-)

Let the shenanigans begin!

In April 2019, as I was preparing to leave one job (and institution) for another, I ordered these beautiful personal calling cards from Paper Source; on each is printed my name, address, email, cell, and blog address. In April 2019 my blog, this very blog, had been long neglected, and my putting the blog address on these calling cards would surely -- so I thought -- motivate me to actually keep the blog alive because as I transitioned from one job to another, I shared these calling cards with many contacts. With these calling cards I was committing my future self to maintaining this site.

Well, it's clear how this plan shook out. I can count on one hand how many posts I've done since April 2019. Yeah, sure, there was a little pandemic thrown in there, but still -- sigh.

Now it's March 2022 and I have just left that new-in-spring-2019 job... to take a break, the first actual break of my adult life, one that's been needed for many years. As I embark on this break I find myself again reaching into that stash of calling cards, still with this blog address on them, to share my contact info with people I will no longer see in the workplace, or really, on the Zooms these days.

Oh man -- I have, somewhat unwittingly, upped the ante with this neglected blog! I'd better add something more recent...!

All the while I've been crafting a good amount, though often at the last minute and under some sort of duress. I haven't even taken photos of most of my creations, let alone chronicled them here. There just wasn't enough time. But now... now maybe I have time.

This weekend I pulled together a small batch of cards for St. Patrick's Day. This really was a small batch -- enough for my closest friends and also for some fellow crafters. I got them into the mail this morning and I hope they arrive on or before March 17. Time will tell!

This stamp set, and its coordinating dies, are favorites from Pretty Pink Posh.I won't share all the rest of the details or supplies here but if anyone 1) actually reads this post and 2) wonders about any of my supplies, just shoot me a message and I'll get back to you. Can we just take a moment to behold the magic and power of Stickles? I used Goldenrod all over this card... took a long time to dry but my goodness... GORGEOUS.

Happy 4th of July!

Hi ho! I actually thought to take a photo of one of the cards I made (small batch, given time constraints) before I popped the whole lot of them in the mail! I was spending some time recently on the various craft sites I visit... you know, retail therapy... and I searched for Doodlebug Design since their paper and stickers are always so adorable. Well, they had the cutest patriotic stamp set (with matching paper, natch) I have ever seen, and you know the whole kit and caboodle had to go in my shopping cart. And then, I had to find/make the time to create something with my new supplies so it wasn't all just for naught. Sometimes it all turns out to be for naught, but I hate when that's the case.

I used what little time was at hand to whip up this simple but adorable (IMHO) design. You can't see it well in the photo, but the Stickles adorn the hearts on the flag, as well as some of the outermost sparkles of each of the fireworks.

I hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July. Whatever you do, I hope it's fun, and I hope the sun shines so you can BBQ to your heart's content -- if that's your bag. If it's not, well, I hope the sun still shines, because we all need sunshine right now.

 

Supplies used:

Doodlebug Design Inc. Land That I Love stamp set, die set, and patterned paper

Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Star Stackables die set

Copic markers in B29, R29, E57

Stickles in Twinkle

Relaxing... with the sand between our toes

Greetings and salutations! I'm back, once again, because my good friend, crafty inspiration, and true {creative chick} Jenn Shurkus lives on Cape Cod and is raising money for the Cape Cod Resilience Fund. This fund will help small businesses on Cape Cod that are experiencing financial difficulties due to COVID-19. This fund will be around for the long run, and will continue to help small businesses out into the future. YOU can help by purchasing one of Jenn's exclusive Cape Cod stamp sets (and get one while you can if you haven't yet -- these stamp sets are selling like those proverbial hotcakes!). For each set sold between June 15th-July 1st (or while supplies last), $10 will be donated to the CCRF. Another way you can help? Share this with your creative friends and help spread the word! More details can be found on Jenn's site here: https://shurk.us/CCRF

Here's another project I made using images from Jenn's Cape Cod stamp set. The set is very versatile and can be used to make a wide array of beach-themed creations!

Supplies used:

Lawn Fawn dies: Simple Puffy Clouds, Stitched Wave Borders, Simple Road Border

Copics: R29, R35, YR16, Y15, Y17, Y38, YG17, YG23, E33, E57

Stickles: Distress Rock Candy

Clear Wink of Stella (on the umbrella top, which is paper pieced and mounted with foam tape)

Cape Cod Resilience Fund

Hello, and happy June of 2020! Man, this has been (and continues to be) one weird year. Once again as I log into this blog, I hang my head in shame at how long I've let it sit neglected. Alas.

I'm back on Typepad because my good friend, crafty inspiration, and true {creative chick} Jenn Shurkus lives on Cape Cod and is raising money for the Cape Cod Resilience Fund. This fund will help small businesses on Cape Cod that are experiencing financial difficulties due to COVID-19. This fund will be around for the long run, and will continue to help small businesses out into the future. YOU can help by purchasing one of Jenn's exclusive Cape Cod stamp sets. For each set sold between June 15th-July 1st, $10 will be donated to the CCRF. Another way you can help? Share this with your creative friends and help spread the word! More details can be found on Jenn's site here: https://shurk.us/CCRF

Today I'd like to share with you a shadow box card that I made using images from Jenn's Cape Cod stamp set. Although this particular project is Cape Cod-themed, please note that the stamp set isn't just for Cape Cod cards!

I took photos into the right and left corners of the shadow box to try to capture the project's dimension and depth.

And look -- the project folds flat and easily fits into a standard A2 envelope!

Supplies used:

Lawn Fawn dies: Shadow Box Card, Shadow Box Card Ocean Add-On

Copics: BG10, C4, YG17, E33, E57

Stickles: Twinkle

Two holiday cards from November's shoebox swap

Oy vey. I'm glad that I have made the decision each year to keep this blog "alive," but I really need to feed it some content on a regular basis. Quality content. And I guess that's a big part of the issue: while I have been paper crating a fair amount in the intervening months between my last post and this one, my creations haven't been anything I've been particularly proud of. They've been derivative at best and generally uninspired. But hey, at least I'm using some of the "stuff" I continue to acquire. We are always our own worst critics. And if the happy mail I send actually achieves its goal of making other people happy, then all is good.

Now that my self-loathing has been aired, I can get on to the task at hand: sharing, only three months late, the two cards that were my contributions to a small shoebox swap I hosted at our house back in mid-November. How I wish I had taken a photo of everyone's cards -- and I really thought I had. But now I just can't find it. phooey (Maybe it's living on my Mac's hard drive? I'll check when I'm at home.) Anyway, every now and again I like to invite a small group of crafty friends to come over to swap seasonal card projects. It's always great to see people and catch up. It's also fun to build my card stash while playing with other people's stuff -- and often learning new techniques. Bonus!

Here is the first card that I brought to the table (literally) -- with a lot of help (with design and execution) from the fabulous Cheiron Brandon, who came up from New Jersey for the swap. I love when she comes to visit. We always have a blast.

This awesome set, "Holiday Spirits," is by Avery Elle, and right now it's on wicked sale. I hadn't yet bought the matching dies (which I now have), so we fussy cut out the "holiday cheer" bottle. We stamped with Lawn Fawn Jet Black ink and used some Copic markers to color in the bottles. Stickles (Xmas Red) blinged out the holly berries and we used a heat tool to pouf Liquid Applique on the little Santa hat. The rectangle border die is from Lawn Fawn. Candy Cane striped paper is from my stash, originally from A Muse Artstamps -- don't know if it's still available. White cardstock is Neenah.

I love how this card turned out and ended up making a bunch for my friends. Thanks, Cheiron, for your talent and vision! I have to share -- I thought this was really funny: my son, who is six, really likes to play with my supplies and make cards for his friends. He really wanted to make a card for his cousins on Ben's side of the family. He grabbed the liquor bottle stamps and started crafting up a storm. I decided not to make a big deal out of it but did tell him to use the bottle labeled "Holiday Cheer." Ahhh.

Here is the card that I designed for the swap. This one was a little complicated for me, a generally lazy stamper who likes that the term "clean and simple" makes my general laziness sound like a style choice. 

I loved this card. And I was seriously impressed with myself that I was able to figure out how to use, and then actually use, my MISTI (Most Incredible Stamp Tool Invented). Like, woah. Not being sarcastic in the slightest. I didn't have a hard time wrapping my brain around the stamp-a-ma-jig back in the day, but this is like -- boom to the brain. Anyway. Seriously worth the investment. If you want to see how it works, please search for a video and watch it. While I've pretty much figured out how to use it... I'm not at all sure I could explain it to someone else!

 This card was made using a whole bunch of retired products -- sorry, guys. The wreath stamps and matching dies are an awesome Stampin' Up! set from a couple of years ago -- the stamp set is called "Wondrous Wreath." The red paper is a Designer Series Paper from, goodness, five or six years ago? (It might be even older than my oldest child!) I used three A Muse Studio inks -- two greens, and the red. And I used Xmas Red Stickles, a perennial favorite. I used the MISTI to stamp the wreath and the bow. The wreath had three steps, matching three individual stamps in the set: leaf batch one (done in a lighter green), leaf batch two (done in a darker green), and holly berries (done in red). Each image was perfectly positioned. It was amazing. I did use a corner-rounding punch, too, and also used ivory cardstock from Neenah. (The brown you see at the edges of the photo is my table.)

And that's it, for now. I did design a batch of adorable Valentines this year, using a bunch of Lawn Fawn sets. I made seven designs in total. I'll post those soon. But I had to play catch-up first.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Catching Up Before the Calendar Flips

Greetings, friends. Wow, 2016 has been a doozie of a year, hasn't it? "Don't get me started. Don't even get me started!"

I have crafted a bit this fall. I thought I'd share those creations, though admittedly the photos I took are by and large just awful. Bad light, etc. But, in the spirit of getting things done and moving on, here we go.

In late September I invited some of my friends from my kids' school (daycare) to come over for an evening of crafting. I like to make cards for the teachers, kids, and other families. I wanted to show them how easy (and therapeutic!) paper crafting could be. I designed some simple cards for everyone to try. We had a lot of fun!

This first design was so super simple! I stamped the image, by Savvy Stamps, in Memento Tuxedo Black ink right onto the card base (from A Muse Artstamps). Then on a separate piece of paper I stamped just the hat in Memento Tangelo, cut it out, and glued it in place. I stamped the sentiment, a classic A Muse Artstamps design, in Tuxedo Black. I colored the elephant with a couple of Copic markers and tied some A Muse Artstamps ribbon around the side. Done!

Next up was this adorable design, using an image and a sentiment from Rubber Soul. Ribbon and papers are from A Muse Studio. I used a Copic BG10 marker to give the sheep a little dimension and then used a Quickie Glue Pen and white flock to make the sheep all fuzzy. I used a couple of old Marvy punches to cut out the scalloped ovals.

 This next design was definitely a rehash of something I had done years ago, back when I was teaching classes. Papers and stamps (image and sentiment) are from A Muse Artstamps. Oval punches are Marvy; word window punch is Stampin' Up! I stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored with Copic markers. A couple of black brads and a length of orange hemp ribbon completed the design.

For this design I used images from Lawn Fawn's set, Winter Sparrows. I stamped with Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, and Bamboo Leaves. Papers are from A Muse Studio. Some Copic markers, and some carefully-applied Stickles, completed the design.

  Separate from that girls' crafting night, I realized that I was very low on anniversary cards -- and I really like to send anniversary cards to our closest friends. With little time I came up with this design, which I almost loved... but did not quite. I think, honestly, that this design would have looked better on a smaller card. Well, maybe at some point I'll reboot it and play with the dimensions. These images are from the Avery Elle set, We Go Together. I stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa and added some color with Copic markers. I also dotted on some Liquid Pearls to mimic chocolate chips in the cookie.

And finally, here is a card I designed for my work colleagues. White paper is Neenah; kraft is Paper Source. All images are from the Stampin' Up! set, Visions of Santa. I stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and then paper pieced the moose's long johns using vintage Christmas papers from Stampin' Up! It was a tedious labor of love but it paid off with some very cute cards.

Thanks for stopping by!