Just Magnolia Week 21 - Mina's Sketch

I finally had time to make another card. I received this adorable Tilda with ladybug image from a Wish RAK member. I followed Mina's sketch for the Just Magnolia Week 21 challenge. This week's prize is a $25 gift certificate to Simon Say's Stamps.

The card base is made with Neenah Solar White cardstock. I was using Georgia Pacific cardstock for the bases but the Neenah seems to be a little stiffer - although alot more expensive (About $20 a ream compared to the $6 or $7 for Georgia Pacific). I still use the Georgia Pacific for stamping my images on. The little ladybug brads are from the Eyelet outlet and the heart shaped buttons are from the sewing section at Walmart.

If you get a chance check out all the design team cards at Just Magnolia. They are some very talented ladies.

Giraffe Baby Card

I found an adorable giraffe gift bag at the dollar store today for my baby shower gift and decided to make a card to go with it. (Yes I originally made the Cheeky Bear card for the baby shower, but how could I resist making another card.) I picked up this giraffe print ribbon from Michael's along with this set of Reflections clear stamps. I paired it with a few Stampin' Up papers and some nestabilities dies. I ran the rust colored nestie through the cuttlebug with the tiny mosaic folder. Inside is a sentiment I received from Glenda on Wish RAK that says "One little baby, many happy hearts."

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. I will be participating the Card for the Troops challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers this weekend and hope to have many new cards to show you.

Winner of August Blog Candy Announced

First let me say a big thank you to everyone who entered my first drawing for a set of stamped imaged. It is time to announce the lucky winner. This month's winner is:

Sande

Please email me your address and I will get your images off in the mail.

For the rest of you -- check back later this week as I will be posting another batch of images for September.

Busy Bee Bloggers 1st Challenge

I finally had time to put a card together for the Busy Bee Bloggers 1st challenge. The challenge was to add some pop to your card. I added some pop dots under the image and under the flowers and buttons to give it a little dimension. I realize the color combination is a little funky but that is because I actually used the card as a three in one challenge. The color combination is for the August Wish RAK card challenge at SCS and the card sketch is from the Sugar Bowl. This cute image is called Sweet N Sassy and is another Sugar Nellie stamp.

Thanks for stopping by.



P.S. Time is quickly running out to win this month's blog candy. Be sure to post a comment under that post for your chance to win.

Cheeky Bear Baby Shower Card

I found my Cuddly Buddly stamps when I was cleaning the craft room his week - just in time to make this adorable baby shower card. The scalloped circle is cut out of Stampin Up chocolate chip paper with my Cricut. The sketch is from the MOJO98 sketch challenge a few weeks ago. I added some double stitched ribbon and a few hand dyed dew drops to finish it off. (My pictures are better with the new light box, but they still need a little work. )

Thanks for looking -

Building A Cheap Light Tent

I just finished a photography class at the local community college and have been spending the last few weeks experimenting with the photography of my cards. My main problem seems to be lighting -- or lack thereof. I have been shooting pictures on the dining room table near the window with the light on or on the couch with the window and front door open and just could not seem to get it right. I have been eyeing some light tents and lighting but just haven't been able to pull the trigger. But I think I may have finally found the solution - I built my own light box.

I have seen that some people on the web have created their own light tents at home using wood and in some cases plastic tubing. I finally stumbled across some instructions that I thought I could follow at eyefetch.com. So after a quick trip to the hardware store and a few instructions from my better half on how to use the pipe cutter I was able to knock one out in less than 30 minutes.

Here is what you need:
2 - 10 ft lengths of PVC pipe
4 - 90 degree bend connectors
4 - 90 tee connectors
1 twin size white sheet
1 piece of poster board
hole punch
pvc cutter
3 sheet metal screws
2 50 watt desk lamps (I used two reflector lights from the tool section instead - $7 each)

Cut the first length of pipe into 4 individual 17" pieces, 4 individual 2" pieces, and one 20" piece. Cut the remaining pipe into one 20" piece and 2 individual 24" pieces. Assemble each 17" section to a 90 degree bend connector. Then insert a 2" piece of pipe and add a tee connector to the end. Repeat three more times until you have four legs.

Next, insert a 24" piece between the two tee connectors to form your front and back. Then insert the 20" pieces into the tee to form the two sides. (I hope that makes sense.) Finally punch three holes along the top of your poster board. Hold the poster board up to one of the 24" pieces and mark where to insert your screws. The posterboard will hang off the screws so don't screw them in all the way. That is pretty much it.

Cover the box with the sheet and place one lamp on each side and you are ready to photograph your cards. You can even use some 20w halogen lamps for fill lighting if need be. I will be back with some new pictures later.

Thanks for visiting -

Just Magnolia Week 18 Challenge

After the great luck I had last week winning blog candy at the Sugar Bowl, I decided to give a few more challenges a try. Magnolia stamps are among my favorite stamps and I am an admirer of the Just Magnolia challenge blog. That design team has some impressive cards. The theme for the Week 18 challenge is friendship. Basically anything that you would give to a friend qualifies to enter. The prize is a Basic Grey Sultry collection pack from The Hobby House. I used this Cherry Tilda that I got from Amy over at Splitcoast Stampers. I have had this cherry paper in my stash for a while trying to think of a way to use it. The sketch is modified from a sketch a found at SCS. I tried to distress the edges of the blue cardstock by rubbing my scissors on it but it didn’t work out quite as I had expected. Next I resorted to some white chalk and paper piercing. The images is colored with prismacolor pencils and gamasol. (I’m trying to decide if I want to move on to copic markers or not??) Let me know what you think.

I won some sugar at the Sugar Bowl!

Well ladies I had quite a surprise today. I hopped on over to the Sugar Bowl to see what this week's sketch challenge was and saw my name listed as the Challenge 16 winner. I could not believe my eyes. Then I thought I had better click on the link to make sure it was me because there was more than one Jane listed in the entries. Sure enough it was! I am so excited. So for being the winner I get to pick six stamps from the Sugar Nellie line. I am off to make another card for the Sugar Bowl and to pick out my new stamps. If you get a chance stop by Funky Kits and see all the great Sugar Nellie stamps.

Making Word Circles

Have you ever wondered how people get those words in a circle shape around their stamped image? Well here is a quick tutorial using Microsoft Word. I inserted a piece of clip art in the center of mine but you would print the word circle and stamp your image in the center then cut with a circle cutter or punch. Or for you digital stamps you could insert that in the center.

To make words into semi-circles, circular, etc that you can print off and put on your card or print directly onto your paper, do the following:

1. Open a Word Document
2. Select Insert, then "picture", then "WordArt".
3. Word should open a menu to choose different "styles".
4. Select a 'style' and click ok.
5. Type the text you wish to view and click ok.
6. Word will then display the style and the words into the format chosen.
7. You can then drag and drop the text anywhere on your paper.
8. Left click on the words and a diagram box should appear around the words along with a text editor. In the middle of this text editor is an "A" - WordArt Shape. Select that and you will get more options.
9. To get a circle of the words that you typed.. click the circle.
10. Word will automatically take the words and loop them in a circle.
11. You should see some little black boxes in the corners and in the middle of the line around the words. If you take your mouse and put it over those boxes, you should get a directional arrow. Left click and hold your mouse down... dragging the arrow down the page to make the text box larger.
12. Play with this and have fun.

Thanks for stopping by!

More Crocheted Flowers

Here are two more of my favorite flowers to crochet for cards. You can use crochet thread of even DMC floss to mix and match with your favorite papers. Pop a brad or a button in the center for a little extra touch. They are very inexpensive and you can make several just waiting at the kid's sports practice or while watching a TV show.

Flower at top left:

Rnd 1: Ch 2, 5 sc in 2nd ch from hook. Join with sl st to first sc.
Rnd 2: [ (ch 2, 3dc, ch 2, sl st) in the same sc, sl st to the next sc], 5 times, making 5 petals. Cut off.

Orange flower:
(This flower is from Nichole Heady's blog. she has some wonderful picture tutorials for this flower if you need a little help)

Step 1: ch 5. Join with sl st to form ring.
Step 2: Add 10 sc through ring.
Step 3: sl st to top of first sc.
Step 4: create a small petal in the first sc using the following pattern (sc, 3dc, sc).
Step 5: continue creating a small petal in every other sc with the same pattern (creating 5 petals total). sl st to join with first sc of first petal. You can stop here and fasten off for a small flower that measures approximately 1-inch in diameter. Or you can continue to create a more elaborate 2-layer flower.
Step 6: flipping to the back of the flower, sc down through base opening of small petal.
Step 7: ch 3, and sc through next petal base opening.
Step 8: repeat 4 more times in each opening. sl st through first sc, creating a series of 5 loops total.
Step 9: create a large petal in the first loop using the following pattern (sc, 5dc, sc).
Step 10: continue creating a large petal in each of the remaining 4 loops with the same pattern. sl st to join with first sc of first petal.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sugar Nellie Challenge 16

Isn't this little girl adorable! The stamp is called "Giddy Up" and is a line from Sugar Nellie. I love to look at all the design team cards over at the Sugar Bowl challenge blog and decided to give this week's sketch a shot. I inked the edges of all my papers with some Chestnut ink to give it a more aged look. The brads are a little crooked at the bottom - but that's what happens when I get in a hurry. Anyways hop on over to the Sugar Bowl and check out all the great cards. This week's prize is a Sugar Nellie 6 stamp pick'n'mix.

Crocheted flowers

I have been working on some crocheted flowers lately. I played with several different patterns and have narrowed it down to my five favorite. Some of these are from other people and some I have adapted to what I was looking for. Here are the first two:

General information

Materials:

yarn or cotton thread

crochet hook

scissors

Abbreviations:

Ch=chain

Sl st=slip stitch

Sc=single crochet

Hdc=half double crochet

Dc=double crochet

Rep=repeat
Rnd=round

Purple flower:

Ch 4, join with sl st to form ring

Rnd 1: Ch 2, 9 dc into ring, join with sl st to Ch 2

Rnd 2: Ch 3, skip first sc from hook, sc into next sc. Repeat four more times joining with sl st to first loop of first Ch3.

Rnd 3: sc, 4 dc, sc into first chain 3 loop. Repeat four more times ending with sl st to first single crochet.

Fasten off and weave ends into flower with small hook or needle.

Green flower:

*Note: I found this pattern on the internet but now I can not find it. If you know where please let me know so I can make sure they receive credit.

Ch 4, join with sl st to form ring

Rnd 1: Ch 1 sc in ring * ch 3 sc in ring *, repeat * to * 3 more times, ch 3, sl st to first sc

Rnd 2: (sc, Ch 1, 3 dc, sc) in same ch 3 space around in each ch 3 space. sl st to first sc

Fasten off and weave ends in with hook or needle.

Party Princess MOJO98 Challenge

I finally got a few minutes to make another card. I have been a little challenged due to what I like to call a "creative mess." My other half says he doesn't know how I can even make anything because things are so strung about. I just organized this room six months ago with some storage cubes and a bookcase from IKEA only to later realize I am not a sit down crafter. I would much prefer to stand at the dining room table -- or even better -- the kitchen counter. Guess it's time to rethink the craft room situation.

Anyways I was able to dig up enough stuff to put this card together tonight. I used the sketch over at the Mojo Monday challenge blog. I have been dying to ink up some of my new stamps from Sugar Nellie's Gorjuss Girl Set #3. I love this cute little Party Princess stamp and thought these papers would go perfect. I am still working on my knot and bow tying. Thank heaven's for YouTube!

Digital Stamps

Digital images are a great alternative to rubber stamps. You simply download them and store them on your computer hard drive. No extra equipment is required. Printing them is as simple as opening Microsoft Word and inserting the picture which can be resized to the size you want (even better than rubber stamps!) Run a piece of your best cardstock through the printer and you have your image - no need to worry about imperfections in your stamping. You can trim these images with your paper trimmer or Nestabilities.

One of my favorite places to get digital images is from Mo's Digital Stamps. I'm sure you will find something great there. The owner, Maurie Manning is a children's book author and illustrator and has decided to jump into the world of digital images. She had so many cute items it was hard to choose. I received my images within 5 minutes of placing my order. Head on over and check it out!