Saturday, March 31, 2018

An Altered Frame For My Sister - Webster's Pages

I was transferring pictures from my phone to my computer and came across this picture of my sister and myself that was taken at her son's wedding back in September. I think it might be one of the only pictures we have together by ourselves and I decided to print it off and make a frame to give to her tomorrow while we are at our Aunt Betty's for Easter. Since she doesn't have the internet this will still be a surprise for her! I thought it would be nice if we both had one of these frames so I made one for myself as well...something I rarely do! I made a matching gift bag and card with the scraps left from the frames.


Supplies Used:

8x10 wood frame
Webster's Pages, not sure of what collection
Paper Studio Poppies & Paperie flowers
Generic paper flowers
EK Success Small Daisy Punch
Chipboard
Mounting Foam
Glue Gun





Hobby Lobby was having an awesome 75% off clearance sale about two months ago and I picked up a couple of packages of the Paper Studio Poppies and Paperie flowers. Of course I have a few flowers in my stash but for the 75 cents that was marked on the package I figured I could make room for a few more and I'm so glad I did because they worked great on the frames. I did use hot glue to attach the flowers as I have found that any other type of glue or tape just doesn't cut it in the long run. I punched out some vellum flowers using the EK Success small daisy punch and added dots of Nuvo Crystal Drops for the centers. I can't find a link for the small daisy punch but it is one of my go to punches for when I need a "filler" on a project, I actually have 3 sizes of the daisy punch and love each one of them!


All the paper is from the Webster's collection and I can't rememember the name and forgot to look before I used the bottom strip as a border on the frames. I know it was from 2012 and was from one of their warehouse sales where you ordered a box for like $40 and got a TON of awesome stuff in the box. 


I didn't have to do a whole lot of fussy cutting on this project but I did do some as there were some good images to use that made the project just come to life *okie wonders if anyone notices she is just typing kinda random shit about the project to make it sound interesting, and then okie wonders if anyone really reads the shit she types anyway*.


I fussy cut the large border at the bottom of the picture area and used chipboard on the back and then some mounting foam because ya know I'm all about dimension when it comes to such projects! I printed the saying "I'm as lucky as I can be because the world's best sister belongs to me" on the vellum and I used my laser printer as it does an excellent job on the vellum. I don't think this is a true vellum, but more of a "kinda like vellum and better for what okie wants to use it for" kinda paper.


After getting the frames completed I made the matching gift bag and card with the scraps left over from the papers I used for the frames. I think my sister will be surprised and pleased!

Friday, March 30, 2018

Graphic 45 Life's A Circus - Envelope Album

I had never made an envelope album before and I totally messed this one up but I still ended up liking it. I messed it up by not allowing spaces to add tags and such in the pockets of the envelope. Next time I make one I won't use as many envelopes so I'll be able to do the pockets and such.


Supplies Used:

A9 Envelopes
Graphic 45 Le Cirque
Various Cardstock
Black Acrylic Paint
Various Stampin Up punches
Michaels Wedding Graffiti flowers
Hot Fix studs and rhinestones
Dollar Tree Pop Up Glitter Stickers
Various Ribbon
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Paper Studio Brads
and probably some other stuff I don't remember



I love looking at all the Graphic45 projects people make and I would love to do one of those super fancy projects one day but the practical side of my brain always overrides the creative side of my brain. I have the need to make sure a project is usable and not just something to look at, especially if it is going to be handled frequently. This issue causes the pages in my albums to be fairly simple and flat.







Another need I have is to have enough spots for pictures. I mean it is an album for cheez-it's sakes and there should be pictures! I do try to balance it out on the pages and think of them as a small scrapbook page. I always include the white paper so people can remove it and use it as a template for their pictures as I know not everyone is a scrapbooker and might get nervous about adding pictures. Well even my friend Carmen is like that and she is a scrapbooker. I have given her mini albums over the years and the ones that have pictures in them are the ones that I printed off the pictures and put in there. She tells me "I don't want to mess it up". 


I always say one of the great things about Graphic45 paper is that there are so many elements that can be fussy cut and used on projects. It makes it so easy to embellish whatever project you are making. The tag on this left hand side has the Maya Road Twine Cording on it. I really love that stuff! It's thicker than regular bakers twine and I have used it on several projects as "rope".





One of the difficulties I have is not covering up the picture area too much since I don't know what pictures people will be using. I try to keep the elements from overlapping that area and have to finagle an embellishment around quite often until I get it to what I think is right.








I like to mix picture sizes up on the pages so it's not just all one size through out the album. I think this allows for some good group photos or some close up shots.











When I make albums I try to keep the back as flat as possible because that is where most people are going to be holding the album when looking at it and besides no one really looks at the backs of books so why work hard to decorate something that is usually ignored. 

I actually made 4 of these *okie knows there are some folks saying "of course she did"* and did them quite some time ago but never got them posted. I have another album I'll be posting soon that is using the Graphic 45 World's Fair collection.



Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Lolliop Happy Birthday Card and How To Glue Small Pieces

This week for one of my Facebook groups I am posting  a birthday card it's a recreation from a card I did a few years ago. If you are a member of the group you know where to find the SVG file for download. 


Supplies Used:

Make the Cut (for designing)
Cricut Design Space (for cutting)
Paper Studio Quatrefoil folder
Various Cardstock
Transparency Overlay Sheet
Teflon Mat (read below for information)

Back in 2014 I posted a card from the Stampin Up Sweets for the Sweet stamp set and I really liked that card. Even though I still have the stamp set I wanted to recreate that card and cut it with the Cricut Maker so I could test how the Maker cuts Transparency Overlay sheets. It is something I never cut with the Explore machines. I was pleasantly surprised how well the transparency cut! 

The only issue with cutting this card was the mint paper and that was not the fault of the Cricut Maker but the cardstock. The cardstock fine sheen layer to it and it separated in a few places on the lettering when I was taking it off the mat but a dot of glue fixed any of those problems. The letters are a little less than a 1/16" thin and the Cricut Maker cut them beautifully!


Here is a close up of the lollipops and you can see the Cricut Maker cut those beautifully as well as the transparency overlay material that I used for the lollipop "packaging". The Art Glitter Glue is simply wonderful and I have started using it as my #1 go to glue. The big bottle is much cheaper in the long run and you can always pour some in a smaller bottle for easy handling. It doesn't seem to warp paper like many glues do and it doesn't leave a shiny film if you over glue. To glue the transparency on I added a small dot of glue on the lollipop stick right below the circle and then added a small dot at the top of the circle on a raised part of cardstock. On the pink candies I used Diamond Stickles on the swirl top layer and on the purple I used Starry Night Stickles on the pinwheel top layer. Oh I also added a couple of squirts of Glimmer Mist Pearl to the circle layer and the sentiment. I think the pearl is my favorite of all the Glimmer Mists and I tend to use it more than anything else, especially when shaping flowers. 



**TIP OF THE DAY - GLUING SMALL PIECES TUTORIAL**



Now let's talk about gluing small pieces! There are so many fantastic things I would like to do but then I think "UGH!! I don't want to get glue everywhere!" and I will avoid a project or cut but while I was making this card I tried something *okie wonders if she might have tried this years ago but then forgot about it* for the small cuts. Instead of turning the cut upside down and applying glue I put a little Art Glitter Glue on a teflon sheet and then used my Tweezerbee's to dip the piece into the glue and let me tell you...GAME CHANGER!! I didn't have to worry about excess glue all over my cut and wiping off glue after I put my cut down.


I searched Amazon and found a 5 pack of 16" x 24" Teflon Sheets for $9.99. If you pick these up in a craft store you can pay that much for just one sheet. These are also larger than the sheets they sell for "heat press teflon sheets" and work wonderfully for that purpose as well. I know because I actually have this same pack that I found at a bargain store. The piece I used for making this card was what was left over from cutting a sheet down to use with my heat press. I keep this little piece in a drawer so it is handy for me to pull out when I need a non stick surface.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - Happy Wedding

This is the last card of the Time To Celebrate series of cards and I'm quite sure you guys are all going "THANK ALL THAT IS HOLY!!!" Obviously this is a wedding card since the banner says "Happy Wedding" and there is a woman in a wedding gown.

Supplies Used: 
Various Cardstock
Stampin Up Itty Bitty Punch Pack Flower
Mounting Foam Squares
Westcott Titanium Non Stick Scissors 









I cut the bride from the waist up and then glued the waist area down and then pop dotted the upper part to help her come off the card a bit, once again inking really helps the emphasis on this.















Ya know the drill by now about the little flowers, punched, Nuvo Drops, yada yada yada. To be honest I am getting tired of even trying to explain the cards because it seems like I just keep repeating myself so y'all aren't the only ones that are glad this is the last card of the series! And with that...GOODBYE TO THE GRAPHIC 45 TIME TO CELEBRATE SERIES!




Friday, March 23, 2018

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - Congratulations Wedding

By the time I got around to doing this card I was running out of ideas on how to embellish the cards so it's pretty simple.

Supplies Used: 
Mounting Foam Squares
Westcott Titanium Non Stick Scissors 









The "congratulations" banner was added over the main image and I made the banner "wave" by slightly bending in places and to make it stay that way I glued the the lower areas to the image.

The left edge of the main image was cut from another paper and was necessary to make the image fit on the die cut frame.












I know ya are probably tired of hearing about the Nuvo Drops but I just want to show you how awesome they are! The tiny flowers on the brides veil have teeny tiny dots of Nuvo drops on the flowers. I know it's hard to see in the picture but in person they show up nicely and really made the veil pop! Oh the groom's boutonniere has the same thing done to it.

You only have to put up with one more card from this series, which posts tomorrow, and then we shall move on to something else!






Thursday, March 22, 2018

Waterlily 3D - FREE SVG FILE

One of the members in my Cricut Design Space Paper Crafting Facebook group asked if anyone had a 3D waterlily and since she wasn't able to find one I thought I would try and make one.


I had to tweak the file a few times to get it to assembly easily. The flower has 6 layers, 2 of 3 different sizes, a center and there is a lily pad that has two layers. I did the two layers on the lilypad to show veins in the lilypad. I always think details make all the difference.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:
White cardstock
Green Cardstock, 2 different shades
Yellow Cardstock
Hot Glue Gun
Quilling Tool
Water or Glimmer Mist




Assembly Intructions:

1. I used a quilling took to wind up the center of the the flower but if you don't have a quilling tool you can use whatever is available to you, such as the end of a small paint brush. Run a line of glue along the bottom before winding the paper.


2. This one is simple, just glue the top layer of the lily pad to the bottom.

3. I used a hot glue gun to put the flower together. I find hot glue seems to work better when making 3D flowers. Spritz water on the flower layer so you can bend it easier. Bend the small tabs up toward the center of the flower, add a drop of hot glue to the large tab on the petal and then adhere to the petal making the flower round. Your flower layer will have a bit of a cone shape to it at this point. Repeat step with all layers.

4. Glue one of the large flower layers to the circle that is cut.

5. Glue the other large flower layer to the bottom layer, staggering the petals and then add the 2 medium layers and finish with the 2 small layers.

6. Add the yellow center with some hot glue and fluff out the fringes. If you don't like how your petals are shaped then just spritz them with a little water and shape as desired and allow to dry.


I am offering this file for free and all I ask is that if you download the file please leave a comment of thank you, much appreciated or some sort of acknowledgement.

SVG DOWNLOAD - WATERLILY 3D

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - It's Party Time

I think this one is definitely a birthday card!

Supplies Used: 
Various Cardstock
Stampin Up Itty Bitty Punch Pack Flower
McGill Paper Blossom Tool Kit
Fiskars Threading Water Punch
1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Mounting Foam Squares
Westcott Titanium Non Stick Scissors 


This balloon was a pain to figure out. I wanted it pop dotted but the "string" was so thin I was afraid that it might tear during handling so I glued the majority of the "string" to the paper and then pop dotted just the balloon.

This was another card that I cut out the background and replaced it with something I liked more. It's amazing how you can make things look so different with Graphic 45 papers!









I used a stamp image on this card because I need to add something besides the main image and the little stamped images seem to work well for such purposes. I used my flower making tools to add dimension to the punched flowers and the fussy cut flowers. Of course I used the Nuvo Drops!

You can't see the Fiskars Threading Water punch border in this picture but I have to tell you a story about using punches while making these cards. So like I said at the beginning of the series, these were made after my hand surgery and each one took quite awhile due to how my hand was wrapped up and then the soreness I found it impossible to use some of the punches. I tried using my left hand to punch but it was still sore and my right hand was totally out of the question, so how did I do it? Well I put the punch on the floor and use my foot! YES...MY FOOT! Ya know the old saying...where there's a will there's a way!


Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - Let's Party

Are you guys tired of these cards yet? I hope not because there are still 3 more after this card! I kinda like the "Let's Party" on this card because it can be used for a variety of occasions such as birthday, anniversary, wedding or just if ya wanna give your friend a card and get drunk!

Supplies Used: 
Various Cardstock
Spellbinders Iron Motif Die
Bazzill Swiss Dot Ribbon
Stampin Up 3 Flower Punch - retired
Stampin Up Photo Corner Punch -retired
Hotfix Rhinestones
Mounting Foam Squares
Westcott Titanium Non Stick Scissors 

This card has a bit more going on than some of the cards. I added the photo corners because without them it looked a little too plain to me and after the plain baby card I wanted to do something a bit more decorative and now that I look at this I wonder if it might be a bit too busy. If it is then it's too bad because I'm sure not taking it apart!


There is a lot of decorative layering here. I used the Spellbinders die and then a circle and then one of the postage stamp images in the collection. Since the white die cut looked a little plain, and I can't leave well enough alone, I added some hotfix rhinestones...besides, who doesn't love bling?!

I had cut the die cuts a long time ago and had them in reserve for when I might want to use them and this series of cards seemed like a good time to use them. I think I need to do that with some of my other dies because it makes it nice to have something ready and not have to get out the Cuttlebug or Gemini.







I punched out the little flowers from the vellum type paper and then inked the petals a bit. The centers are Nuvo Jewel Drops, which are different than the Nuvo Crystal Drops. The jewel drops dry translucent while the crystal are opaque. I totally serious guys when I say you need to try these things! I wish I had all the colors in both the jewel and crystal but surprisingly I do not *okie thinks that might be a good Mother's Day gift for herself in a few months*.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - New Baby

This baby card was the hardest for me to do and it is probably the most simple looking of all the cards I did out of this collection. I was trying to come up with something different and every time I did I either cut off part of the baby's head or the mother's head and that just wouldn't do so I ended up with this.

Supplies Used: 
Various Cardstock  
1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Mounting Foam Squares

I ended up framing the image of the baby and mother and pop dotting the frame. I honestly couldn't figure out what else to do with the image and then that took up most of the card so it's pretty dang simple.




On the tiny flowers I used the Ivory Seashell Nuvo drops on the centers and then also on the centers. Since the centers were a darker pink it gave the little flowers a whole different look than the original image. I dotted Bubblegum Nuvo Drops randomly. I think y'all can tell by now that I Crystal Nuvo Drops are one of my new addictions!










The butterfly was on the original "frame" and I and I think it adds a nice little touch up in the corner. You can tell better in this picture how the frame is pop dotted off the main image.



Sunday, March 18, 2018

Peekaboo Card - File Available

I was perusing through Facebook and came across this really cute card on the Unity Stamps page and the post asked if anyone had tried the layout for the card, which I had not, but I sure wanted to try it! Of course I didn't have the die set or stamp set used so I had to come up with my own and used Make The Cut to design the file and then saved as an SVG and imported to Design Space for cutting.

Supplies Used:
Stampin Up - A Good Egg stamp set
Stampin Up - Delicate Dots paper
Stampin Up - Pale Plum Cardstock
Twine
ProMarkers
Mounting Foam

The stripe paper is cut at 2.75 x 2.75 inches if you want to cut that manually but it is in the file. 

I curled the banner and glued on the left side, and middle so the banner would have a wavy look. 

The chick image was stamped on the stripe paper, on white cardstock and colored with ProMarkers and then on the blue pattern paper. I cut out the chick from the white cardstock after coloring and also the blue egg. The chick was then pop dotted over the image I stamped on the stripe paper. I used Nuvo Crystal drops on the eyes and then to dot on the blue egg.

It would be easy to use this card with a stamp or a cut out image and add a different sentiment. I really like how the openness of the top layer of cardstock shows off the beauty of the paper and I will probably use this again for a different card.

This file is being offered for free. If you download for use please leave a comment of acknowledgement. Remember if you are importing to Design Space you will need to resize the image, instructions are in the file (don't cut those) for resizing.

DOWNLOAD FILE
SVG FILE - Peekaboo Card

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - Happy Anniversary

I don't think I've ever sent out an anniversary card but if I decide to do so I at least have one in my card stash now.

Supplies Used: 
Various Cardstock  
Bazzill Swiss Dot Ribbon
Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Punch
Generic Paper Flowers
Fun Flock - Teddy Bear Tan
Mounting Foam Squares
Hotfix Rhinestones
Westcott Titanium Non Stick Scissors 

The lady had a fur wrap so I added a bit of glue and then put the Fun Flock on the glue so it made her mink stole look a little more life like. I'm not sure if anyone even uses flock anymore but I still like to use the stuff when I can. It just always adds a nice touch. I think the last time I used flock was when I did a mini album using Graphic 45 World's Fair collection and I just realized I never posted that project!! *bad okie, bad, bad, bad okie!!*












I had to really search through my little paper flowers to find some that matched the colors of the paper and luckily I was able to find just enough to finish the two cards I made! The centers are Buttermilk Nuvo Drops and then I also used Ivory Seashell Nuvo Drops randomly. To add a little sparkle I added a few hotfix rhinestones here and there.




Saturday, March 17, 2018

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - Very Happy Birthday

And today we have yet another birthday card! I used this image on the Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate Birthday Girl but I just loved her sweet face and wanted to use her again.

Supplies Used: 
Various Cardstock 
Stampin Up Itty Bitty Punch Pack Flower
Bazzill Swiss Dot Ribbon
Mounting Foam Squares









Is anyone else a ribbon freak? I love ribbon and use it on almost all my cards and scrapbook pages *okie tries to remember the last time she did a scrapbook page* and the organza ribbon is always so nice! You can see how I added the banner over the image and I pop dotted it for dimension.

Once again I feel the inking really made the banner stand out and that is why I'm an obsessive inker!











The little flowers were punched out of a vellum like paper with the Stampin Up Itty Bitty Punch Pack Flower *okie so loves her punches but then again okie is rather attached to all her toys in her craftroom*. I used Buttermilk Nuvo Drops on the flower centers and then dropped Bubblegum and Ivory Seashell Nuvo Drops randomly for added accent.

The butterfly was a fussy cut add on and I did pop dot the wings. Y'all know good and well I am all about dimension!




Friday, March 16, 2018

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - Boy With Balloons

So this is a birthday card but not sure I would give it to a boy because of the colors. I guess some boys would like the colors but most I know would be wondering why I gave them a girly looking card. 

Supplies Used: 
Various Cardstock  
Mini Brads
Stampin Up Marker - Chocolate Chip
Stampin Up Corner Punch
Glossy Accents
Mounting Foam Squares



To jazz the card up a bit I used Glossy Accents on the pink balloons but left the white plain and to be honest I was just too lazy to do the white and it actually seemed to work out better with giving the pink a little more dimension and make them stand out.

I always have to make sure to set things aside when I use Glossy Accents or any other product that goes on wet because I am notorious about picking it back up and sticking my finger right in the wet stuff. Anytime I show my daughter something I have to make sure it's dry because she always, ALWAYS, wants to touch whatever is sticking up, even if I tell her DON'T TOUCH THAT PART! But she does anyway...good thing she had moved out before I did this card! *okie cracks up laughing*



One of my favorite little punches is the Stampin Up Ticket Punch which was retired a few years ago and I have seen some other punches that will do this effect but not at a very good price, at least not in my book. 

After I got the sentiment all done it seemed to need something else so I got out my hotfix rhinestones and added a few of those and that seemed to do the trick. My friend Carmen sometimes tells me that I don't know when to leave things alone *okie agrees she doesn't at times* but usually after I add just a little more she likes the project even better.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Graphic 45 Time To Celebrate - Girl With Doll

Getting back to the Graphic 45 Time to Celebrate cards that I was posting...this one is definitely a birthday card!

Supplies Used: 
Various Cardstock  
Organza Ribbon
Ribbon Buckle
Mounting Foam Squares
Westcott Titanium Non Stick Scissors 

I should have written details after I made the cards because now it is hard for me to remember for sure what all I used and did to make the cards but I'm trying my best to remember.



I cut the frame from one image and then added the girl from another, including the banner. I pop dotted the frame on another background. I had to cut a piece of edging to go on the right hand side of the frame so it would size right. That is one of the great things with Graphic 45 papers, you can always find something to make your ideas work and people will think you are a creative genius when the credit really goes to the paper designers for always making sure there are different images that can be cut out and used in other ways.

I double matted the frame on white and then pink paper because the base paper was busy and I didn't want main image to just wash into the background.

Inking always seems to make a world of difference to me. I always complain about doing it and I do try not to ink at times but with these type of cards it seems to really help the images stand out a little more. *okie raises her hand, stands up and says "Hi, I'm okieladybug and I'm an obsessive inker*.


I've had ribbon buckles for quite a few years and I always forget to use them and actually found them while digging through my embellishment drawer looking for something to use with this card. I have a hard time using them on cards because I always wonder if it's too thick to go through the regular mail but I'm trying to get over that issue. The ribbon is actually from one of those instant bow things and I cut it apart to use just as regular ribbon for cards. I think I got them for like a nickel a piece or some ridiculously low amount at the local bargain store. 

The white doily looking paper is cut from one of the Spellbinders Moroccan Accents die set and it just kinda gives the ribbon and buckle a nice little center.

Hope you guys aren't tired of seeing these because I have several more from this paper collection to post!