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 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.

Make A Wish!

The Giggler's birthday girl in February is our friend, Diane AKA Cookiestamper.  I went out on a limb using an Art Impression Stamp because Diane is on their design team & I can't hold a candle (no pun intended) to her coloring technique.

To make this card special, I decided to "light" the candle using a white Chibitronics
LED light sticker, copper tape & a battery.  When you press on the gift, the candle lights up!  Diane was thrilled with the card & that made my day!

This was my first attempt at this type of card & unfortunately I was so wrapped up making the circuit that I forgot to take pictures of how I did it.  But watch for future posts because I will be making these cards for all of the Gigglers this year & will give step by step insturctions.

Also, if you want to see Diane's work visit her blog, Paper Cookies.

SUPPLIES: Stamps-Art Impressions "Out to Lunch", SU Gift; Lights-Chibitronics Chibi White LED Stickers, Copper Tape, & 3V Coin Battery; Cardstock-Neenah Premium 110 lb Extra Heavy, SU Orchid Opulence; DSP-Unknown; Copic Markers; SU Punches-1 1/4" Scallop, 1" circle; Dies-Impression Obsession Greetings Top Edgers; Adhesives-3d White Foam Squares, Foam Mounting Tape, SU Foam Adhesive Strips; Misc-Wink of Stella, Eyelet Outlet Jewels