Disappearing Birthday!

This card was really fun to make!  In a SCS Weekly Inkling, I saw a tutorial for the Disappearing Nine Patch Card by Betty Traciak.  It came at the right time because I needed a couple of birthday cards for my friends, Lisa & Renee, who is a quilter.

I didn't take any photos as I was doing the card but Betty's video is awesome.  I used SU Raspberry Ripple & Very Vanilla cardstock, SU Birthday Basics DSP & CTMH Stitched Circles Embossing Folder.  The sentiment is an Elizabeth Craft peel off sticker.  

A little fun fact...this was Lisa's card & her birthday is on the 6th.  I was able to punch it out of the DSP & place it in the upper left corner!

TFL!!

Never Ending Birthday Wishes

I saw this technique on Splitcoaststampers called Never-Ending Card by Lynn Mercurio.  I thought it sounded interesting & I needed a cool birthday card for Tina, who is an amazing card maker.  The first one I made didn't turn out so I had to watch the video frame by frame to figure out where I went wrong making my folds.  You really need to watch Lynn's video to see this card in action.  Not sure I'd make a 100 of them but I glad I mastered the technique!

I used SU Baja Breeze (I think) as the base & a couple of different coordinating SU DSPs.  The "Wishing You" is from Wplus9's Sending Hoping Wishing Die Set.  The letters of this die cut are not separate so once I adhered them to the card, I snipped them apart so they would move when the card folded.

Before die cutting all the sentiments, I ran pieces of cardstock through my Xyron Sticker Maker. 

This is the 2nd fold & the die cuts are from Tim Holtz Alphanumeric 1" Tall Dies.

This is the 3rd fold using Tim Holtz Celebration Words Script.  Boy, I sure didn't get that one on straight!

On the 4th fold, I added 2 panels in SU Very Vanilla.  I stamped the sentiment from Paper Tray Ink's Quilter's Sampler Sentiments in Versafine Black & the needle is stamped in silver.

I had to give a demo on how to work the card but it was a hit with Tina & the others in our stamping group.  Wish I would have made a video turning it to the different panels.

TFL!

You look Marvelous!

I made 2 window cards, one for a friend & the other for my "sister" (SIL) who are having birthdays in August.      

Dimensions:

Baja Breeze base cut 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"; scored at 4 1/4"
Whisper White base cut 8" x 5 1/4"; scored 4" & 6" 
Hand Drawn DSP cut 5 1/4" x 4" & 1 3/4" x 4"

                                                                 

The largest DSP was adhered to the front of the Baja Breeze base.  The frame was made by cutting a 3 1/8" scallop circle from Bajaj Breeze then cutting 2 1/4" circle from the center.  The frame was used to determine the position of the window then it was was cut from the front panel using the same circle die.  The frame was adhered to the front panel.  

Next the Whisper White base was folded & adhered to the inside of the Baja Breeze base.  It doesn't show in the photo but the Baja Breeze has a reveal on all sides of the white.  The inside circle was made with the same circle & scallop dies as the frame.  After the sentiment was stamped, the circle was lined up using the window as a guide. Only the right side of the sentiment circle was adhered to the fold of the white.

The reverse side of the smaller DSP was adhered to the white panel as shown.  The inside image & sentiments was stamped so wasn't seen until the card was fully opened.

The sequins was added for a little bling.

This is one of my favorite stamp sets & I probably over use it but I had to showcase Wanda!  There are 2 more images & several snarky sentiments.  This has long since retired & there are other sets but I've never been lucky enough to find one at a reasonable price.

Anyway enough whining, this card was fun to make & really didn't take long.  TFL!!

Supplies: Stamps-Words by Wanda; Dies-Spellbinders Large Standard Circles & Classic Scalloped Circles Large; Cardstock-SU Whisper White & Baja Breeze; DSP-SU Hand Drawn; Inks-SU Baja Breeze & Momento Black; Markers-SU Baja Breeze, Copics R24, R29, YG61, YG63, YR01, E50, E41, RV10; Embellishments-SU Sequins.

Open If You Dare!

This is not only a Halloween card but a birthday card too.  My friend, Mary Ann has an October birthday & she loves everything Halloween.  I  recently saw a similar card but unfortunately I can't find it again to give credit for my inspiration.

The white card front was cut 5 1/4 X 4 from SU Thick Whisper White then inked with Tim Holtz's Crackling Campfire, Spiced Marmalade & Fossilized Amber Distress Ink.

Using Tim Holtz's Stamp Platform, the spooky house from his Haunted House stamp set was stamped in his Archival Black Soot Ink.  It was also distressed with a little Pumice Stone Distress Ink.

Tim's Tangled Twigs was cut from his Kraft-Core Nostalgic Brown Cardstock. Once cut, it was gently sanded.

The ghost is vellum, cut with Tim Holtz Village Graveyard Die.

The ghost was then inked on the back with Tim's Pumice Stone Distress Ink. 

The card front & Tangled Twigs die cut were sprayed with Tim's Brushed Pewter Mica Spray. 

To complete the project the ghost was woven into & adhered to the Tangled Twigs die cut.  It was then adhered to the card front leaving a narrow reveal & added to the SU Basic Black card base.

The final detail was "open if you dare" from Tim's Regions Beyond Stamp Set.  It was stamped on white cardstock, hand cut, inked with Pumice Stone Distress Ink & popped up.  

Hope you like my creation & thanks for looking! 

Susan's Technique Birthday Tag #2

Each month a group of my stamping friends get together to celebrate birthdays & September is Susan's birthday month. She was not able to attend our Technique Tags Tim Holtz Style get together at The Craft Shack in September so instead of a traditional birthday card I decided to make her technique cards in the form of a birthday tag. I'm so glad she was thrilled to be able to add them to her idea-ology worn binder notebook!

In September we revisited Tim's 12 tags of 2016 from February when he had done the monoprint technique from June 2014 & the embossed texture paste technique from March 2015.

The embossed texture paste technique is just a little more involved & I have to say this is one of my favorites! I'll tell you what I did but I suggest you follow the link above to Tim's instructions.

I randomly placed a few small pieces of symphony tissue tape on a #8 manilla tag to create a little more interest. To create the background, I put abandoned coral, seedless preserves & twisted citron paint on a craft sheet, spritzed it with water then swiped & tapped the tag into the paint. I spritzed the tag again before drying between layers & dabbed off any excess ink until I achieved the look I wanted. The tissue tape will resist the paint & show through the paint. Remember once the paint is dry its pernment so clean it up right away.

Once the paint was completely dry, I stamped "happy birthday" from Handwritten Sentiments then masked it before stamping images from Classics 1, Classics 3, & Classics 4 in jet black archival ink.

The images were stamped again on masking paper & cut out to cover anything I didn't want to be covered with embossing texture paste.

I sprayed the back of the Gradient Dot Stencil with Pixie Spray to hold the stencil in place & placed if over the masked tag. This has a very light tack & clean off nicely.

The embossing paste was spread evenly over the stencil & then the stencil was carefully lifted off. The stencil & palette knife need to be cleaned right way.

The embossing paste was immediately covered with gold embossing powder with the excess removed & put back in the jar. The project was set aside while the embossing paste dried. Once it was dry, it was heated to melt the embossing powder. If the embossing paste isn't dry it will crack & the white embossing paste will show through the gold.

That's pretty must it.

Check out her other "birthday card"!

Susan's Technique Birthday Tag #1

Each month a group of my stamping friends get together to celebrate birthdays & September is Susan's birthday month.  She was not able to attend our Technique Tags Tim Holtz Style get together at The Craft Shack in September so instead of a traditional birthday card I decided to make her technique cards in the form of a birthday tag.  I'm so glad she was thrilled to be able to add them to her idea-ology worn binder notebook!

In September we revisited Tim's 12 tags of 2016 from February when he had done the monoprint technique from June 2014 & the embossed texture paste technique from March 2015.

The monoprint technique is a very easy technique using distress inks, water & a stencil on watercolor paper.  I'll tell you what I did but I suggest you follow the link above to Tim's instructions.

The mini ink cubes work best for this technique.  I used peacock feathers, squeezed lemonade & ripe persimmon to ink the back of gradient square stencil.  Tim suggests inking the back of the stencil in the event words, etc. are used that need to face a certain way.

Generously mist the inked stencil with water then lay it on the smooth side of the distress watercolor-paper.  Cover with a paper towel & press down on the surface so the ink absorbs into the watercolor paper.  Lift the stencil & dry with a heat tool.

To finish it off, I stamped "happy birthday" from Handwritten Sentiments then masked it before I stamped an images from Classics 1, Classics 3, & Classics 4  in jet black archival ink.  It was then added to a #8 kraft tag.

That's it!!  Easy peasy!

Check out her other "birthday card"!

Flowers for Your Birthday

I made these birthday cards using Tim Holtz Alcohol Lift-Ink Technique for the Giggler's August birthday girls, Judy & Robin.  Lots of fun & its like a BOGO sale!!

How I did it:

Following Tim's instructions, I started by creating a background on Ranger White Alcohol Ink Yupo Cardstock with Aquamarine, Dandelion & Bottle alcohol inks.  Using my Tim Holtz Stamp Platform, I stamped Hero Arts Everything Flower stamp using the alcohol lift-ink onto the background.  To transfer the ink, I immediately stamped the  image onto a  piece of Neenah Premium 110 lb extra heavy cardstock.  I then went back to the original background to blot & dab the image off.  The "happy birthday" was cut from thin foam from the Dollar Tree using Tim Holtz Alterations Celebration Word Script then run through my Xyron sticker maker.  I liked being able to bend the "birthday" into an arch.  I thought the green sentiment needed something to stand out so I brushed it with Clear Zig Wink of Stella.  To finish them off, I added a few pieces of Neat & Tangled Sequin with Ranger Glossy Accents.  It was then mounted on another piece of white cardstock and SU! Tempting Turquoise. 

What worked best for me:

I've practiced this technique several times & since you need to work quickly having a design plan helps.  I like using medium to dark colors because the lighter colors looked washed out on the white Yupo.  I was also impatient so I ended up with a few smears & rubbed to much ink off because I didn't listen to Tim...make sure the alcohol ink is dry before stamping; most important is to blot the ink off until it's no longer shiny before you start to dab or rub & always have a clean spot on your paper towel.

I can see this being a technique I'll use over & over again!  TFL!

Wicked Birthday

Last night the Giggler's celebrated Mary Ann's birthday.  Of course when you have a birthday in October chances are you love Halloween (& she does) plus she loves tags so I made this spooky guy & he lights.  

The background was done using Hickory Smoke, Stormy Sky, Wilted Violet & Peeled Paint Distress Ink on a #10 tag then spritzed with water.  The skull (on white CS), spider web, birthday sentiment & pumpkins were stamped in black Archival ink on another manila tag.  The pumpkins were colored with a detailer water brush using Dried Marigold, Carved Pumpkin & Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink then fussy cut & layered.  The skull was lightly inked with Hickory Smoke & fussy cut.  "Wicked" was done by coloring white embossing paste with a few drops from a Twisted Citron re-inker & applied over the stencil.  The words at the bottom are remnant rubs & the bats at the top are die cuts.  I also spattered black ink over everything before adding the spider which was attached with a piece of thread.    

The tag has 2 layers.  The bottom layers holds the copper tape, battery & LED light.  On the top layer, I cut a hole where the eye is & placed the skull over the light.  I also cut a hole in the top layer & placed a pumpkin over top (it's being pressed) so the battery could be changed.  The top & bottom are held together with two layers of foam tape.  The SU Wisteria Wonder ribbon was added last.

TIP:  My friend, Shannon suggested replacing one of the layers of foam tape with Velcro so the battery could be changed.  I think that's a great idea & next time I'll give that a try.

For details on how I make light up tags you can visit my blogl plus there are many YouTube Videos.

Thanks for looking!!

I've Go An Idea!

It's time for another Giggler's birthday project & it's for Susan!  I've made birthday tags for Susan before but I promised everyone a light up card this year so I decided to make her a light up tag!  I usually use white card stock so I know the light shines through but the tag is a little heavier & it was harder to see so I made a few modifications.  I also used a technique I learned in a class taught by Tim using Mica spray instead of water to activate the Oxide inks!!

First I figured out where I wanted the image for the crazy bird & light bulb plus the balloons which will be pressed for the light to come on.  Then I placed the stamps on the Tim Holt Stamp Platform & stamped 2 #10 tags in black archival ink.   I find it helpful to have the same images on both layers so I know where to place the Chibitronics Led Light & it's easier to line up when the layers are put together.  I inked the tag by smooshing Tim's Oxide Inks (Salty Ocean, Worn Lipstick, Wilted Violet & Spiced Marmalade on my craft sheet & spritzing the ink with brushed pewter mica spray.  I pressed the tag into the ink, dried it & repeated several times.  The mica spray gives it a very cool shimmery effect.  I don't normally ink the bottom layer (tag on the right) but it was an "oopsie" & I didn't want to waste a good tag.

To make the the circuit, first I adhered a folded piece of copy paper over the balloon where the battery will be.  The copper tape needs to connect to the positive side (+) side of the battery (top) & the negative (-) side of the battery (bottom) with a small gap between where the LED light will be.

The LED light has a sticky back so I pressed it down with the point (-) over the negative cooper tape & the (+) over the positive cooper tape.  Make sure you press down hard enough so it makes the connection.  Using a glue dot, I placed the battery over the cooper tape with the (-) down & the (+) up.  The top of the copy paper was then folded over the top of the battery.  Layers of foam tape were placed around & built up slightly above the battery so the cooper tape on the copy paper only touches the battery when the balloons are pressed.  Leave the covering on the top of the last layer of foam tape so it won't stick to the top layers when it's added.

Once I had tested the circuit so I knew it would light & made sure it would line up when the layers were put together, I layered double sided foam tape around the edges & in the middle (right photo) so you can't see the mess inside & it wouldn't flex.  My original plan was not to put 2 layers of foam around the out side edges so I cut a hole in the top layer (at left) for the battery to be above the top layer.  I was going to add the second layer of foam to the balloons but changed after I cut the hole.  The light was dim through the tag, so I cut a small hole in the light bulb & adhered a light bulb over it that I stamped on plain white card stock, colored with Copics & fussy cut.

When I put the two layers together, I don't remove all the tops off the foam tape at once.  Instead I pull a small piece to the side, using the exposed sticky part of the foam tape to tack the layers together.  Once I was sure it's lined up I removed the remaining top of the tape by pulling off.  Tweezers were helpful when I needed to grab the edge of the foam tape covering.  Next I stamped, colored & die cut several balloons which are layered over the battery.  I stamp "Press Here" on the top balloon.  I also stamped, colored & die cut out the crazy bird to layer on the tag so it would really stand out!  Of course I had to add a fluffy bow!

Hope you enjoyed hearing how I made my first light up tag light!  TFL!!

Lighting Up Your Birthday

Our stamping group, the NEPA Gigglers have 4 birthdays in June & this year I'm making everyone a card that lights.  Of course I want them all to be different & now I have 7 complete out of 15.  The obvious is a cupcake & I have a LOT of cupcake stamps but I did find another subject which fits perfect for 2 of my friends.

I used Chibitronic White LED Stickers, copper tape & a pancake battery on all the cards.  Here is a previous card I made that shows how I did the circuits.  TIP - to take the guess work out of placing my LED sticker, I stamped my card front using my Misti then stamped another piece of CS that was the same size to put the circuits on.

This is the 1st card for my SIL, Pam.  I used SU Ice Cream Parlor DSP & Pacific Point CS.  The stamps are from SU Create A Cupcake using matching inks.   The balloons are Marvy punches.

Elaine's card was next & I didn't stray from the cupcake theme.  I used SU Sprinkles of Life (cupcake), Starburst Sayings (button) & Birthday Greetings (sentiment) stamps sets with Ice Cream Parlor DSP & Pacific Point CS.  I colored with Copics & punched with SU 1" round & 1" scallop.

The next card I made was for Shannon & the camper from SU Loads of Fun was perfect because I could have a light in the window plus she loves to camp!  I used SU Birthday Basics DSP with Raspberry Ripple CS.  The trees behind the camper are from SU Lovely as a Tree, the button is from SU Starburst Sayings & the sentiment is from SU Birthday Greetings.  I colored the camper with Copics & used SU's 1" round & 1" scallop punches..

This was the last card I made & it was for Kathy who also loves camping.  I used the same supplies but decided to draw a "porch light" on the side of the camper.  I told them Shannon was inside crafting & Kathy was still by the campfire.  Oh & I stamped the camper first then masked it off before stamping the trees.

Now all I have to do is come up with 8 more ideas!  Hope you enjoyed my creations & TFL!

Happy Birthday To Me!

I was lucky enough to take a class with Tim last month where he taught several techniques using the new oxides inks. This was my tag using one of the techniques which we did in last night's class, Technique Tags Tim Holtz Style at The Craft Shack.  Can you tell my birthday is this month?

The background was done by layering Tim's yummy distress oxide inks.  Smoosh the inks on a craft mat, spritz with water, drag through the inks once & dry.  Then tap into the remaining ink, dry & repeat changing your ink if necessary or adding another color.  I probably did 15 layers because each layer only covers a small area at a time.  The key is drying between layers.  Remember Tim's advice...wet on dry layers, wet on wet blends & it can create mud!

The technique is lifting the background color using a stencil & water.  Spray the stencil with water, wipe the edges of the stencil to avoid having a large strip on the background.  Lay the stencil over the tag, using a paper towel press down & blot to absorb any water in the open area.  Lift the stencil off & quickly blot off the remaining water from the tag with the paper towel.  This will lift some of the color off the tag, leaving the image of the stencil!  Isn't that cool?

It's hard to see in the photo but I think the key is lots of water on the stencil & blotting right after lifting the stencil off the tag.  Hope you give it a try!  Oh & how about that fluffy bow?  TFL!


SUPPLIES:  Surfaces-#10 manilla craft tag; Inks-distress oxides (cracked pistachio, faded jeans, fossilized amber, peeled paint, spiced marmalade, wilted violet, worn lipstick, frayed burlap), cracked pistachio paint, frayed burlap distress ink. purple twilight alcohol ink, jet black arrchival; Stencils-ornate & burlap; Stamps-wildflowers, calendar 1, mini worn text, handwritten sentiments, classics #3; Misc-remnant rubs, mirrored stars, crinkle ribbon, tiny attacher, clippings stickers, typed tokens, distress sprayer, mini blending tool.

Happy Birthday Cupcake!

I made 2 more birthday cards that light up for my friends Sally & Jeannette.  I've decided to make one for each of the Giggler's so by the end of the year I'll have made 16 of them (13 more to go!).  Even though I used a simple circuit I had a hard time wrapping my head around connecting the positive side to the battery.

I cut 2 pieces of CS & finished the card front.  I measured to determine where to place the light, marked the 2nd piece & stamped the candle.  I drew a diagram so I'd know where to put the copper tape & battery. I cut 1/8" off each side of the back CS so it wouldn't show when I put it together.  The copy paper at the right is for the battery.

I adhered the copier paper then placed the copper tape over my diagram leaving a gap where the light will go.

I placed the LED sticker over the copper tape making sure the positive & negative marks on the sticker touched the correct sides.  Using a glue dot I added the battery negative side down over the negative side of the copper tape.  There are 2 layers of dimensionals around the battery which are slightly higher than the battery & so the positive side of the copper tape doesn't touch the battery unless it's pressed.  The skin" of the top dimensionals were left on so it doesn't stick to the copy paper.

I then folded the copier paper over the battery to test the light before I finished putting it together.

I placed a dimensional strip around the outside & a few towards the top for stability before adding to the card front.














Here's the finished card.  I probably didn't need to but I stamp, colored & cut out the icing again so I could pop it up.

They are definitely fun to make.  Check out Chibitronics for more ideas on making these cards.

TFL!










SUPPLIES:  Chibitroncis-LED Stickers, copper tape; Cardstock-SU Pretty In Pine, SU Whisper White; Ink-Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaFine Onyx Black, Stamps-SU Sprinkles of Life, SU Perfectly Penned; Markers-Copics R81, R83, R85, G12, G14, Y06, Tombow Light Gray; Embossing Folder-SU Framed Tulip; Battery-Sony CR2032 Lithium 3V; Deminsionals-SU Strips, Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares.