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Popular Posts
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Time for another draw! Congratulations to Theresa, Jenny and Ann!! Theresa said... Thanks for the chance to win such great blog candy. I hav...
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I fell in love with Close to My Heart's " Dimensional Elements: Ornaments " (no word of a lie, I bought 4 packs!). You get six...
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Done! It's been a blast working on this piece, the person who commissioned me (name withheld in case the person who is getting the card...
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Well, I'm still working on a commission so I don't have any new crafts to show you today (but man have I got a lot of ideas to put i...
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I have a really hard time working with pink. Those of you who knew me when my first daughter was born know that I really don't like pink...
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Aaaah! the cute!!! it hurts!! I found this template over at SCS being used for a "Date Night" card . Thank you Janelle, very sweet...
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I got my new stamps from Paper Pretties yesterday and I figured this would be a great time to experiment with colouring. I don't own c...
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I've never done a give-away before! After some consideration I've decided to give away the stamp set Moments in Time by Close to My...
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More Christmas stuff?? Don't worry, we'll be starting in on Valentine's Day soon! I fell in love with that broad ribbon a month ...
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Close shave for this guy, but he didn't quite make the cut. (Don't you just love it when people mix metaphores!) Once again I'm ...
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Blast from the Past
Garden Whimsey is the stamp set (I bought it after that weekend!) which is from Stampin' Up though now retired. I'm pretty sure that is Always Artichoke green in the background, then Almost Amethyst SU design paper and Barely Banana cardstock.
It's fun when you look back and go, "wow, I've come so far".
Edit to add: wow, I remember I used a hammer on the brads, that's why they look so squished.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Scrap Day
Last week, before I headed out of town, I was working on a kids birthday card inspired by this card made by Libby. I was surprised at just how quick and easy it was to put together the faces!
See how cute they are?! My only pain is that I don't own the 1/2 circle punch (yet) and the 3/4 inch is too big. So I had to cheat and use Alphalicious cricut cartridge and cut out 12 letter i's. Oi! I'd hit "Cut" then "stop" once it was done the dot. (Er, I cut out 12, clearly, because I was doing TWO cards with three figures... hehe). I also need a sharper hole punch cause the one I have is cutting ragged circles.
At any rate, Koen was intrigued with my project and I dug out my scrap bin. I wasn't worried about cutting 1/2 circles for HIS eyes, he doesn't care. I put adhesive on the backs (I put the black dots on myself) and let him stick down the pieces where ever he wanted.
I think he kinda looks like Sid from Ice Age! Koen had fun making a few faces, which Kerowyn then colored for him.
Tools: SU Scallop punch, SU 1-1/4 circle punch (mouth), hole punch, cricut cause I'm too cheap to have already bought the 1/2 inch circle punch.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
I'm sorry... with cricut
I started with a 4.24x5 card base in Basic Black. Then I used some of my scrap card stock in Summer Sun, Only Orange and Real Rust to cut out @, # and & in both 1 inch and 1.5 inch sizes. I glued those down randomly (don't mind the still-wet glue in the picture!) on a 4inch chat bubble in Whisper White.
On the inside I did a couple more chat bubbles (1.5 and 3 inch I think) and a 1inch heart. I left the larger chat bubble blank but I'd wanted to stamp an "I'm sorry!" near the top (leaving room for hand written sentiment).
On a repeat of this card I think I might sponge the edges of the chat bubbles, red on the front and a soft pink on the inside.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Ronald McDonald House in Southern Alberta
My first question was, "what kind of cards? are they all 'get well soon' cards?" Nope! Any kind of card. A parent at a sick child's bedside doesn't need to worry about sending birthday cards or anniversary cards to friends and relatives, they should focus on being with their baby. What about birthday cards or thank you cards? Children's birthday cards especially!
My next question was, "what kind of craft supplies?" Well aside from kids crafts there is a need for scrapbooking supplies for families who find a way of coping with the stress by scrapbooking the experience.
So, do you want to contribute? I'd welcome your help! If you have any cards or supplies for donation please contact me at berkanaisageek(at)hotmail(dot)com. If you don't live in Southern Alberta there's a whole list of ladies accepting donations for other RMH locations over at Splitcoast Stampers!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Custom Card for Warcrafter in Love
Hunters use bows and shaman use totems. It was a lot of fun coming up with a template for a totem (each race has totems that look different). I used a chipboard parenthesis with waxy for the bow. For the "flame" around the fire totem I used white ribbon colored with a SU marker.
The tree embellishment is from SU Thoughts & Prayers and the sentiment is from CTMH Picture Perfect.
Obviously I couldn't post the picture until the woman gave the card to her love, so here it is... a month later! I'm happy with how it turned out (and I kept the template for the totem!) I just hope HE likes it too!
For more information on how to get a custom made card or craft of your own please check out my post detailing the process.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Blogaversary give-away
Friday, July 23, 2010
World of Warcraft: More DoTs
DoT stands for "Damage Over Time" and means a type of damage dealing spell that... well... does damage... over... time. The phrase, "more dots", is something a group leader might call out when coordinating 10 or 25 people to take out the same bad guy. (It's FUNNY because of a recording that was passed around the internet long ago that I won't link in my blog... but most Warcrafters will remember the "More Dots" clip).
DoTs are also usually fairly small amounts of damage, so the sentiment is funny... to anyone who plays a warlock at least.
All I did for this card is punch out 3 sizes of circles (3/4inch, 1-1/4inch and 2inch) from my scraps bin... essentially anything with a dot on it... and used my Creative Memories bubble punch on some of them. Then I started layering. I had some sticker letters to do the text and done! The longest process was punching out all the circles.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Kids Can Blog Too!
Our morning routine involves getting the kids breakfast, making a pot of coffee and then Kerowyn and I head down to my computer. She sits on my lap and colors while I view check out my blog feeds in Google Reader (best invention EVER!). Kerowyn often comments on the blogs... especially if there's flowers; fairies; anything sparkly or... pets.
One of her favorites is Lucky Stamper because the image of Lucky is different (if not every day than close to it). The video below isn't from the morning but it shows how she responds none-the-less... the blog on the screen is Crafty Girl 21.
First WoW Card, revisted
In the game, World of Warcraft, you can pick up and complete quests that earn you rewards. A character that has a quest is shown with a large yellow ! over his or her head. When you've completed the quest that person then has a large yellow ? over their head, letting you know to come collect your reward.
On the original design I'd put an exclamation point on the front and a question mark inside... because of how quests work and the sentiment I chose, it made more sense to do it this way.
I used Barely Banana paper with Summer Sun ink. The stamped sentiments are from Full of Life and Congrats. All products are from Stampin' Up.
Sorry for the dim pictures, it's horribly overcast today! I think the weather is a contributing factor to the series of unfortunate events that occured while making this card. Things I learned today include...
- Even if you have a seperate embossing tray for your black powder, it WILL contaminate all other powders. Your white will never be white again, even if you didn't open it during the same project as the black.
- It doesn't matter how careful you are... black emobossing powder WILL smudge.
- You really do need an embossing buddy, the other crafters aren't making it up.
- If you're having One of Those Days and something could go wrong? it will.
Hey look! Another one of those nifty detailed shots! Now I just need a photo box!
Happy Birthday - for a friend
I used a Close to My Heart scrapbooking kit called "Miracle" which has made an appearance previously in one of my crafts. The irony here is that I'd originally made that craft FOR Calanthe but wasn't happy with the quality once I'd finished it.
Look!! I'm trying to take more creative photos... I keep seeing these nifty detail shots in other blogs. Mind you, I don't have a fancy photo box (where would I put it that the toddlers wouldn't get to it??) so I just use two pieces of cork. One on my desk, the other leaning against my monitor. You can usually tell if I've taken the photo at night since the natural light makes daytime photos more vibrant.
At any rate, as you can see I used two different sizes of dimentionals again so that the middle balloon is slightly higher. Loving this stamp set!! CTMH's "Happy Forever". The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's "Full of Life" (I use this stamp set SO MUCH!)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
AAAH The Cute!! It HURTS!!
Instead of adding a spot for tickets I left much of the card blank (I'll be adding Elora's "stats" now that photos have been taken). The CD itself will hold ALL of the pictures and video that I've taken of Elora from her birth to the day I mail out the cards.
I used the CTMH stamp set, "Happy Forever", and I mean I literally used all the images (I didn't use the tiny heart and two of the three sentiments). I used my SU watercolor pencils to color the little guy... when I make the second one I'll use proper watercolor paper for the CD "sleeve" since I found the cardstock I did use didn't react well with water, limiting how much blending I could do.
First sketch attempt...
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Stepping outside...
Monday, July 19, 2010
Birthday Boy
My nephew Aidan is turning two at the end of the month, he's getting so big! I made this card from a template from A Path of Paper blog. So much fun to make and super easy!
I wanted to keep this one fairly simple so I didn't use anything but the base cardstock (in one of the many blues from Stampin' Up, I can't tell which one heh). I used Night of Navy ink to darken the edges of the overalls and pocket so they'd stand out a bit and to add smudges... cause boys are dirty! Always dirty!
The stitching is just a white marker and the "a" is a rub on. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out (though next time I won't do it when my toddlers are up so I can get my stitching straight! gah!).
Hopefully Aidan likes it too!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Stampin' Ten Group
I'm posting the cards we made. These are made entirely of Stampin' Up product (all current) and tools... oh maybe the adhesive wasn't Stampin' Up heh. We used tons of embellishments and techniques but all were super easy and super fast! (Note that these were not designed by me, and the demos looked way better than mine cause I like to switch around details a bit lol).
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Blog Candy (and Contest) Blog
So without further ramblings I present you the Blog Candy Blog!
I'm looking for a couple dedicated crafters who are interested in helping keep the posts coming, if you think you might be interested in finding and posting about blog candy, let me know!! There's no need to go out of your way to find the blog candy, but when you do you'd just make a quick post on the Blog Candy blog (checking first to be sure it's not a duplicate of course).
Friday, July 16, 2010
Swap Owl!
So here it is! A sneak peek for those participating in the swap. I did something different this time, I made the wings mobile! I think moving bits on cards are really cool and fun. It means using more embellishments and dimentional tape, but I'm okay with that. Hey, I could teach my owl how to use semaphore flags!
Stampin' Up materials used: paper (sahara sand, some pinks and purples that I'm sure are retired, very vanilla), ink (perfect plum), stamps ("Sprinkles") and punches, (tag, scallop circle, trio flower, circles and trio heart).
Close to My Heart materials used: stamps ("A Little Buzz" and "Hodgepodge Alphabet")
Other materials used: ribbon, itty bitty brads, creative memories corner punch
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Scrapbooking, I do that too!
Here's one of the Grandpa pages I did, minus photos. (Sorry for the glare on the "Pride&Joy" sticker). I'm having a harder time doing the more manly pages and an even worse time making "gender neutral" pages for Auntie/Uncle combos!
Three kits, three choices
First up is the $39.95 US kit from Photocentric called StampIt which is designed for people only intending to make a few stamps. The quality is not as high as the premade stamps you'd buy at the store or from a stamping company. It's perfect for creating a family project. The process takes about 25 minutes per stamp and it uses a regular 60 watt bulb from a standard lamp.
Next up is the same machine as the TC Stampmaker, you can either get the Stampmaker Essential forr $139.99 US or the Stampmaker Complete, which comes with an inkjet printer, for $189.99 US. The printer is important since the images you print have to be super, super, dark to prevent light from going through in certain spots. These two kits are great for folks who want to make a few more stamps and want to speed up the process (5 minutes per stamp). From what I understand the quality of the stamps produced are a bit better than the StampIt kit. This option is probably best for the avid crafter planning on making stamps for personal use.
After that is the kit you'd use if you were planning on going into production for your own stamp line. The Imagebox kit goes for $379.00 US and the time to make a stamp goes back up to 25 minutes, however the quality is much higher and you can do a full sheet (8.5x11) of stamps at the same time.
Very exciting! When do I get to win the lottery?!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Love Bug
The base is SU Barely Banana, the other colors are Certainly Celery, and I think Old Olive and Always Artichoke (I was using scraps). The images are stamped in Chocolatel Chip.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Onsie Cards by Lauren
I used Sahara Sand and Certainly Celery for the paper colors, mostly because I have way too much Sahara Sand and need to use some up! I restamped and cut out the peas to give them a little bit of pop.
For the girl onsie I used Very Vanilla and Regal Rose (with a touch of Blush Blossom for accents on the Ewe). The Stamp Set is from Stampin' Up as well, it's call "Pun Fun".
These were super easy to make once I got it down. I didn't use the same size circles as Lauren simply because I don't have as many punches (yet!) as others... but I think it worked out in the end. If I make these again I'll have to get some teeny buttons like Lauren did for the snaps at the bottom! Thank you for a great card idea Lauren!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Another Give-Away!
Congratulations to Theresa, Jenny and Ann!!
Theresa said...
Thanks for the chance to win such great blog candy. I have become a follower and have liked you on Facebook.
Theresa in Kitimat
Jenny said...
Fun giveaway!! I'm a follower and I will like you on FB!
Ann Crowe said...
I'm dancin on yur comments page! /dance
Commented, posted, liked and followed! We're on a roll!
Theresa, once you let me know which three cards you'd like I'll whip em up and mail em out!
Jenny, I'll be in touch with the details on how to claim your gift certificate from Leisa!
Ann, I'm sure we can arrange a speedy delivery of your new stamp sets!
We only reached 30 followers this go around so my super secret prize carries over to next month's draw. Spread the word!
Thank you to everyone who participated in my give-away!! Check back again next month to see what else I'm willing to part with!
Prizes include:
- 3 cards of your choice. If I've posted it on my blog and you want it, you got it!
- $20 Gift Certificate for Close to My Heart from my very own dealer (and soon to be upline) Leisa Hubley!
- The "gently used" stamp sets from Stampin' Up called "So Many Sayings" and "Event Full". Both of these stamp sets were hostess gifts, so you couldn't get them without hosting a party and now are no longer offered as options! (Scroll down to see pictures of both stamp sets)
Here's how to enter...
Edit to add: Don't forget to comment if you "follow" the blog or "like" the Facebook page!
1. Comment in reply to this blog entry.
2. Followers of my blog who reply to say they wish to be entered are actually entered twice! (make sure to tell me in your reply that you're in my "Follow" list so I don't miss it!)
3. "Like" my page on Facebook (there's a "Find us on Facebook" link on the right hand side of my blog) and comment here to let me know and you're entered again!
4. "Share" my blog on your blog or on Facebook and comment here to let me know you've done that (if you have a blog AND Facebook that's two more entries in the draw!) make sure to leave a link in your comment!!
That's four OR MORE ways to enter!!
The draw will be on July 24th, so entries up until July 23rd 9pm mountain time will be accepted!
SURPRISE! If my "Followers" reaches 100 people there will be a fourth surprise draw! So tell your friends!!
Oh my goodness!!
Teresa Collins posted on her site a few days back about her soon-to-be-released (drat I missed the draw!) Stamp Making Machine. That's right... a machine that makes your own stamps from your own images, acrylic stamps at that!
From what I'm hearing the machine will retail at $169.99 (it was unclear which dollar that was in) with consumables potentially being as low as $1. I've also heard that you do not need to hook this machine up to your computer... however you'll still want to have a way to print your images (unless you're hand drawing them of course). What I can see if the picture it looks like one of those salon nail drying machines. Funky! Teresa has said she'll include a few of her own images to get you started right "out of the box". Creating a stamp only takes about 5 minutes. Wow!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
And the Winner is...
So... sorry Celtica while you won the stamp set, my son showed a blatant disregard for your victory! Congratulations! I will make sure you get this stamp set ASAP, which I think will be next Tuesday since you're coming over. You can have a chat with Koen about his lack of respect then.
Next up was Kerowyn... cause anything her big brother does she has to do too. Explaining to a two year old the concept of "just one" turned out to be easier, but she felt the piece of paper would be better served shoved in the gap in my cabinet behind her (while Koen looked on the floor for Celitca). Ah well, I did manage to rescue your piece of paper, Leslie, so congratulations! You've won three cards of your choice!
This has been a lot of fun and I hope to do another give-away soon. Thank you so much for everyone who showed their support and entered. I've learned a great deal... like don't put your draw date too far away, and have your husband do the draw not your kids.
Once again, congratulations to Celtica and Leslie, our winners!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Casket Treat Box
I used Sahara Sand paper because I have far, FAR, too much of it and need to use it up. Besides, doing three dimentional projects is easier with proper cardstock instead of patterned paper! Aside from "All Holidays" I used "Make it Count" also from Stampin' Up. The other colors are Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Bravo Burgundy (text), and Creamy Caramel (sponging). I'm so happy to find a use for Creamy Caramel, it's one of the few colors I've never used before! The project measures 6 inches long by 3 inches wide (at the wide point) by just under 2 inches tall. It's big enough to be used for pencils or small toys.
This one is for you Colleen G. I know how much you like Hallowe'en stuff and it was your recent birthday that inspired me to make this early!
On a totally related note, my 3.5 year old son was watching Mister Maker (what? T.V. is how I can make a craft during the day, don't judge me! hehe) while I was making this project. He said, "Mommy, what you doin'?". I replied, "I'm making a box, honey". He pondered this a moment and nodded, "mommy, you misser maker," and returned to watching his program. I am excited to know I have reached such heights of esteem in my son's mind. *snerk*
Information on Commissioning a Custom Piece
Since this might be a recurring situation I wanted to post with details on what happens during the commission process.
Step One: you contact me and make a request. You can be as specific or as vague as you like. "I want something with flowers on it," or "I want a card orange flowers, purple polka dots on the flowers and a green background, it has to have 3 pearl accents somewhere too".
Step Two: we communicate. I tell you if your request is reasonably something I can complete or I offer suggestions on how it can be modified. We keep up this communication until either you are happy with the idea or we realize that I cannot meet your expectations.
Step Three: Assuming we've come to an agreement instead of parting ways, we discuss price. Price is based on the materials I use and the time it takes to make the craft. The more "stuff" you want on your project, the longer it will take to complete and the higher the price. A card costs less than a two page 12x12 scrapbook page. Because it's a custom commission the price is something you can control, it may mean going back to step two. That is up to you.
Step Four: With the idea and price now set I begin work on the craft. I'm happy to take photos during the process and send them along so you can see where I am... but the more often I do that the longer it takes to make the project!
Step Five: The project is complete, payment needs to be made (you are paying for shipping so I can't send it without payment!)
Step Six: Payment is made so I send the project. I will make every reasonable effort to ensure it is not damaged (for example packing a scrapbook page with a piece of cardboard to prevent accidental bending of the page, and writing "please do not bed" on the packaging) but if the mail service causes damage I cannot be held responsible.
And that's that! I always ask that I be given permission to post a picture of the finished commission on my blog to showcase my skills, but I don't do so until you've told me it's okay just in case your commission is a gift.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Gate card
The little snail is from a now-retired stamp set called Garden Whimsey, also from Stampin' Up. The vines are hand drawn with Garden Green and Old Olive markers.
The inside of the card reads, "Thanks... not just for the BIG things you do, but all the wonderful little things too!" and is from the stamp set "Full of Life" from Stampin' Up.