"Your Style" Stick Pins and ATCs

The theme for the June Swaps at The Scrap Cafe is "Your Style." We had the choice of stick pins and/or ATCs to swap. I almost always do the stick pin swap. (My husband says I'm a stick pin hoarder!!!) This month I also decided to try out the ATC swap. I have never made them before, but they were kind of fun.

I'm not real sure what my style is, but right now it's HOT HOT HOT in South Carolina, so I'm thinking about the beach. My Lone Wolf Designs Design Team Project for June was a beach themed canvas and I loved the colors that I used, so I decided to carry them over into these swaps as well. I used my favorite distressing technique, Tim Holtz's Wrinkle-Free Distress Technique, to color my #8 tags. I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Salty Ocean, Broken China, and Evergreen Bough.

I used Studio 490 Wendi Vecchi Embossing Paste and the Polka Dotty Stencil to add some texture to the tag. After the paste dried, I rubbed Salty Ocean ink over the top. I used a Prima flower (Giselle-Mermaid) to anchor my stick pins.  To keep with the ocean theme, I used blue, green, and turquoise beads.

In this photo, you can see a bit more of the texture. I used a plastic knife to spread the paste. Instead of spreading it smooth, I used the teeth of the knife to add extra texture.

I used the same technique and ink colors to create the background for the Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). I used watercolor paper for the card base. I used the embossing paste and Lovely Leaves stencil to create some texture on the card. After the paste dried, I put the stencil back on top of the card and used Evergreen Bough to color the leaves. I finished the card off with some May Arts pleated ribbon and a Prima flower (Avante-Teal). I really am trying to use up my stick pins and added one to each card. (I did not make any of these stick pins. I have received them in swaps.)

Instead of smoothing the embossing paste flat, I used my finger and "lifted" the paste on each of the leaves.

Many of the products used for this project can be purchased at 25% off MSRP at Lone Wolf Designs, LLC. All you have to do is join the Lone Wolf Designs Discount Retail Sales Facebook Group. If you haven’t joined us yet, you’re paying too much for your craft supplies!

Friendship Card

I made 4 of these cute cards for a swap for our Lexington Card and Crafts  group. If you live in the Midlands of South Carolina, be sure to check out the Facebook group and join us once a month for some craft time.

I used OWH Sketch #174, patterned paper from the Basic Grey Fiction line, and a piece of Core'dinations cardstock. The ribbon is May Arts. The bird and friendship quote are from the Stampin Up! "Language of Friendship" stamp set with coordinating punch. I used a Viva Decor Pearl Pen to create two sets of three pearl drops. This is probably only the second time I have used it. I should get it out more often!

I love using paper pads when making cards. It takes the guess work out of matching. Everything already matches! I used SIX different pieces of patterned paper on this card. I'm sure I would not have been so brave had I not had a paper pad there to do all the matching work for me.

LWD Design Team Showcase: Prima Flowers

My Lone Wolf Designs Design Team showcase for this month is an 11"x14" altered canvas featuring LOTS of Prima flowers. I have listed the flowers (name and item number) at the end of the post. You can use that information to place an order with Kris at Lone Wolf Designs Discount Retail Sales Group. The next Prima order is going in on July 5th, 2013.

This is my first time creating an altered canvas. Let me tell you, I was very nervous about it at first. Once I got into it, though, I had a great time. I can't wait to make another one! The hardest part was waiting for the background to dry. Well, I take that back...the hardest part was picking a theme after I decided to do a canvas. My FB friend, Marilyn, is on the design team for Basically Bare, and she does a lot of altered art projects. I thought I might find some inspiration if I looked around her space for bit. I spent hours looking through all the altered art and mini album posts on both of the blogs. The inspiration for today's project came from this post at Basically Bare. Now, I know what you're thinking....How did I go from this...

to this...

I was inspired by how she created the background of her canvas. My original plan was to use the inks to create the background then use Studio 490 Wendi Vecchi stencils and embossing paste to further decorate the background. However, once I decided on the theme (beachy), I decided I didn't really like that idea anymore. For my background, I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Salty Ocean, Broken China, and Evergreen Bough. I rubbed the ink pad directly on the canvas and spritzed it with water. I turned it on the side to let the colors run together then dried it with my heat tool.

For the last layer, after I spritzed the inks with water, I rubbed a paper towel over the canvas in a "swirly" motion. I wanted the colors to really blend together. Apparently, I did a good job. My 7 yr old told me so and also told me that it looked "just like a real ocean."

Next, I started on my photo mats. I got 2 different colors of blue/teal Core-dinations cardstock and cut them down to size. I wanted my photos to be 4"x4" so I cut the lighter photo mat (which would be directly behind the photo) 4.25"x4.25" and the darker photo mat is cut at 4.5"x4.5". I used my Tim Holtz Paper Distresser to really distress the edges of all of the photo mats. I inked the edges of all the photo mats with Evergreen Bough.

TIP: When you distress the edges, REALLY distress them. If you only distress a little bit, it looks like you need a new blade in your paper trimmer and that just makes your work look sloppy.

This photo shows how I have arranged my 3 photo mats. Normally, when I adhere photo mats, I make sure that my adhesive goes all the way to the edge so nothing lifts up from the paper. Since this is a beach themed project, I kept the adhesive about 1/4" from the edges and allowed the edges to curl up. It kind of reminds me of waves.

You'll notice on the bottom photo mat that I have penciled in "4x4". This is to remind me what size I will need to print or crop my photos. When I make layouts ahead of time, I always try to mark what size I need to print or crop my photo. This saves me the trouble of having to remember it or having to get the ruler out and measure it again.

Last summer I participated in 2 or 3 stick pin swaps that had beach themes. I was seriously starting to wonder if I would ever find a use for all those stick pins! I was pleased to tell my husband (who accuses me of being a stick pin hoarder!) that I used SIX stick pins on this project. I think that must be some kind of record!

 

This starfish stick pin was actually the color inspiration for this project. I love the pop of orange that it adds to the canvas. The large flower (Odette Aqua) is my favorite flower that I used.  I wanted to use fishing net on this but I couldn't find any small pieces. These flowers have a layer that sort of looks like a net, and of course, the color was just perfect. I also tucked a couple of Petaloo feathers in there to add some interest.

This large flower stem actually had 2 paper birds in it. I cut them off and saved them to use on a future project. The colors were just perfect to use.

Can you see the 3 stick pins that are in this floral arrangement?

All the flowers are Prima, except for the little white roses. They are from the dollar bin at Michael's. I tucked in one last stick pin at the bottom of canvas along with a few more feathers.

Growing up in South Florida, I could visit the beach pretty much when ever I wanted. It was only a short 45 minute drive. Now, I live in the middle of South Carolina and it takes a bit more planning ahead when I want to go to the beach. I have insisted that my husband take me next month. I have the canvas all ready for some special pictures. Now we HAVE to go, right?!?

If you purchase some of these flowers and/or make your own canvas. Please let me know. I would love to see how you used them in your project!

Have you joined us over at Lone Wolf Designs Discount Retail Sales Group? Everything is always 25% off MSRP and you never have to wait for a coupon! If you are purchasing your craft supplies from somewhere else, you are paying too much!

Prima:
Songbird Vine Blue (Item #539023)
Avante Teal (Item #566678)
Labelle Calypso (Item #565909)
Giselle Mermaid (Item #566395)
Joulee Tidepool (Item #567125)
Odette Aqua (Item #566586)

Petaloo:
Feathers Cream (Item #1608-001)

Father's Day Cards

Yesterday I posted my Mother's Day cards. Today I have Father's Day cards. Unfortunately, the Dad's don't get as much bling and flowers as the Mom's do. Their cards are plain and simple.

This card uses OWH Sketch #138 and paper from the Basic Grey Fact line. The cardstock is Core'dinations. I picked up the letter stamps from Tuesday Morning and I think they are American Crafts. The focal image is from the Paris Memoir (CMS 159) stamp set by Stampers Anonymous. I inked the top half of him up with black ink and embossed him with clear embossing powder. I also embossed the "dad" sentiment. I made the sentiment strip into a banner and adhered a red crystal heart.

Paper Bag Card for Mother's Day

I just have a quick card share for you today. These are the cards that I made for Mother's Day this year. They are made with the black "Celebrate It!" lunch bags from Michael's. I prefer to pay a little more for these bags than to use the regular brown lunch bags that you can pick up from your local dollar store. The "Celebrate It!" bags are thicker and make a much better presentation. Also, there are SO MANY colors to choose from! Right now, I'm liking the black. I have used them to make mini albums and several of these cards. So fun!

The inspiration for these cards is from AKCaraboo on YouTube. She has a great tutorial video and also shows several different styles of cards.

I used the "Hearts a Flutter" framelits dies (Stampin' Up!) for the hearts and banners. I also used the SU! Tab Punch (love that!) for the tag pull. The "Mom" cards in the pockets are from the Family pack of Me and My BIG Ideas Pocket Page Cards.

OK...first up is the card for my mom. I used paper from My Minds Eye Lost & Found 2 collection for this card.

Here is a close up of the front. I used my Tiny Attacher to staple an Adage Ticket and a piece of coordinating twine to the pocket of the bag. The flower is Prima and the stick pin is one I received in a swap. I'm trying very hard to use up my swap stick pins and try to incorporate them on every card or project, if possible.

This pink card is for my mother-in-law. The paper is leftover from making a mini album and I'm not sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's Recollections.

The green card was for my husband's step-mom. That green flower had an incredibly ugly furry center. I ripped it off and replaced it with a pretty piece of bling. : ) This paper is also left over from a mini album project. It is K&Co, but I'm not sure of the name.

This style of card is so versatile. All you need to do is change up the paper and it totally changes the look of the card. The little pocket in front is just perfect for a gift card.

Let me know if you make one of these cards. I would love to see it!