Friday, November 30, 2012

WOW Embossing Powders meets Graphic 45

Hello, Wow fans! Anne here.  It's the last day of November and soon Christmas will be knocking on our doors. I'm sure a lot of you industrious people have already put up your trees, decorated them, adorned the exterior with lights and lawn ornaments and have all your shopping done and packages wrapped. Well, guess what... I haven't bought the first gift yet. Truth be known, all of my gifts will be hand made this year as money is awfully tight and there's no room in my budget for shopping. 

I have for you today a mini album I made featuring Graphic 45's A Ladies' Journal collection and lots of WOW! Embossing Powders and Clear Stamps. I'm going to cut right to the chase and show it to you as there are several pages in this little book.



This collection by Graphic 45 is absolutely gorgeous.  I have been wanting to do this for quite some time and when I was assigned to do a mini or scrapbook layout, guess which one I chose!




Below is a waterfall feature where the recipient can put photos, journaling or anything else she wants. There is a tab hidden under the layers of photo mats. When you pull the tab, the layers flip up one at a time to reveal the one underneath it. I don't know who came up with this idea but she/he is a genius! It's a very clever design.



As you can tell from the photo below, all of the envelopes, pockets and waterfall flips work... they aren't just for looks. 




Below is the back of the album.  The graphics in this G45 collection are so elegant and feminine and remind us of a simpler time with their Victorian and Elizabethan flavor. 



The embossing powders I used were: Metallic Gold Regular, Metallic Copper Regular, Neutral Ultra Shimmer, Opaque White and Primary Ebony. The stamp sets I used were With Love, Simply Amazing, Brocade and Make A Wish. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing this little book. I have a little more embellishing to do and a few tags to make before I can say this project is complete but I'm really happy with the way it turned out. It's going to a special person on my Christmas list. Mini albums are a lot of work but the results are usually so eye-catching it makes all the extra effort worthwhile. 

I am entering this project in the following challenges:

TBD

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I hope you'll pop over to the WOW blog too and check out some of the lovely projects made by my teammates. Until next time....

Happy crafting!
Anniebee







Thursday, November 29, 2012

A Mo Manning Thank You Card

Wow! Can you guys believe that Christmas is less than a month away??? I sure can't!! I'm nowhere near ready for it and still have some cards and gifts to make. I don't know how in the world I'll get them all finished in time. I guess I'll just put one foot in front of the other and hope that I get there before time runs out.

Today, I have a card that I made for my daughter-in-law last week. She has been such a sweetheart since I moved down here and has gone out of her way to help not only with the move but also by lending a hand whenever I have needed it. So I wanted to tell her in my own way how much I love her and appreciate everything she does for everybody, myself included.

I used this sweet image by Mo Manning, called Alisa with Roses. I have made a couple of cards with this one before but I think this one is my favorite of the three. I just think this is the sweetest little girl and makes into such a soft and feminine card. 





Here's the inside of the card.

The photo above shows the box/envelope I made to go with the card. I had to improvise a bit because the card is a bit large and quite dimensional with all the flowers on it and I had no cardstock larger than 12"x12" on hand. It turned out quite well though, I think.

Supplies used:

Image - Alisa with Roses by Mo Manning
Copic markers
Sentiment stamp - Studio G (front); TPC Studio (inside)
Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page punch set - Deco Fan
Butterflies - (gold glitter) Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly; (pink) Memory Box Kaleidoscope Butterfly
Evergreen branches - Martha Stewart branch punch
Corner Punch - Manufacturer unknown
Cardstock from the DCWV Modern Bouquet stack for the envelope
White Cardstock - Coordinations
Branch and leaves diecuts - Sizzix 
Flowers - I Am Roses
Quick Quotes Powderpuff Chalk Ink - Pink Cheeks
Pink rhinestone flourish - Prima Say It With Crystals
Pearls - Studio G
Adhesives - Scotch ATG, Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Metallic Gold ink - Gelly Roll gel pen
White faux stiches - Gelly Roll gel pen
Foam mounting tape - Front Porch Treasures
Scissors
Paper, dark pink flower buds and ribbon from my stash

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

TBD

This card is a little more frilly than the ones I normally make but I really love this style and will probably make a few more. They allow me to embellish to my heart's content! LOL I hope you enjoyed seeing it.  I'll be back with a new project for WOW! Embossing Powders on Friday and if time permits, I might even have another card for you before then. Thanks for stopping in, have a wonderful week and until next time...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A Blue and Silver Christmas

Hello! It's hump day and I have a new card for you that I made for a challenge hosted by Bearly Mine Designs. The theme this time is blue and silver. I actually made this little gem about 3 weeks ago but have never gotten around to posting it here so this is the perfect opportunity.  I'm going to keep this post short and sweet as I have some pressing matters to attend to today so without further delay, here is my card using Kenny K's sassy little "Mistletoe" digi.


As many of you are aware, I design for WOW! Embossing Powders so I used lots of their products on this card. The background was created with their beautiful "Brocade" clear stamp and their Metallic Silver Ultra High Embossing Powder. This stamp is one of my favorites and is very versatile for backgrounds. 


I used their Bodacious Blue embossing powder for the sentiment. It's a glittery powder and works very well for finely detailed sentiments.


If you click on the photos, you may be able to see the Clear Ultra Shimmer powder I used on the fur trimming on Mistletoe's cute outfit. It has just the perfect amount of sparkle and lets the color underneath show through.



 

I also used the Metallic Silver Ultra High and Bodacious Blue on the inside of the card. You can see the fine detail of the stamp in this shot. It really is gorgeous and Wow's powders work so well on fine lines and details as you can tell. If you have never tried WOW! stamps and embossing powders, you don't know what you're missing.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Bearly Mine Challenge #63 - Blues and Silver

So that's it for today, folks! I'll be back tomorrow with another new card using a Mo Manning image. I think you'll enjoy it because it's a little different for me. I really like it though! So until then...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Another Kenny K card for Top Tip Tuesday

Hello, all! I hope that those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving this past week didn't overeat too much but that you were able to enjoy some special time together with family and friends. Did you get any shopping done? I didn't... but I did get to spend time crafting and relaxing, in that order.

It's Tuesday again and Top Tip Tuesday's current challenge, for which Kenny K is one of the sponsors and some of his design team have created projects to help inspire and encourage participation is still going on. I believe that they are posting a reminder on the challenge blog today and I made another card for them to share there. As I mentioned on my original post, the theme this time is Kids/Teens and I used Kenny's Download Diva for my image. This card is a definite contrast to the first one I made. The first one was very colorful and a little sassy where this one is done in pastel tones and is more sweet and innocent. See what you think.


 




So which one do you like better? I can't decide. There are things I like about both of them making it difficult for me to have a favorite. For more inspiration, visit Top Tip Tuesday and see what their design team has created to inspire you.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Through The Craftroom Door - #46 Anything Goes
Deep Ocean Challenge - #39 Pastels
Digital Tuesday Challenge - #188 Girly
Party Time Tuesday - #96 Anything Goes
Tuesday Alchemy - #42 Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - #125 Lots of Layers
ABC Challenge - ABC6 Anything Goes

That's all I have for today but I'll be back soon with another new project for you. Thanks for visiting and until next time...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Ho! Ho! Ho! Time For A Kenny K Christmas Challenge!

Hi and Happy Sunday, everyone!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and Kenny K's Krafty Krew is hosting a new challenge this week with a Christmas theme... in fact, we'd like for you to use traditional Christmas colors on your projects this time. Kenny has lots of digi designs perfect for Christmas cards, scrapbook pages and all manner of other Christmas-themed projects.


This weeks first sponsor is Kenny K's Downloads


The prize from Kenny is the winner's choice of 5 digi's.

And our second sponsor is 


Leo at Flonz





I made not one, but two cards this time.  Know why? Because Kenny is also releasing 5 new images this week... all skateboarders! They are so cool! But more on that later. First I want to show you the first card I made, using the sweet and sexy "Mistletoe".





 

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

TBD

Now, for something a bit less traditional... a Christmas skateboarder! "Extreme" is one of the five new images Kenny is releasing this week and they can all be purchased here





I haven't finished the inside of this one yet. I think I'm going to give it to my grandson for Christmas if I don't color him again with blond hair. I haven't decided yet. Have you started making your Christmas cards yet? I have made several but need to make some with a more traditional style/image for those on my list who might not appreciate Kenny's artwork as much as I do! LOL! 

Please take a few minutes to visit the Krafty Krew's blog to see the awesome projects created by my teamies and Kenny's store to see the other new designs. I'll be back Tuesday with yet another Kenny K card for the Top Tip Tuesday challenge blog. Don't forget to enter your Kid/Teen projects in their current challenge.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

TBD

Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Graphic 45 Book Card and Tutorial

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers in the U.S.!! As I mentioned in a previous post, I celebrated Turkey Day with my son, daughter-in-law and grandkids on Tuesday because my son had to return to work on Wednesday morning. He works offshore and is gone 7 days at a time.

I thought I would share with you today a book card I made for publication in "Through The Craftroom Door", an online paper crafting magazine. I was asked by the publisher, Colleen Holmes, to do a special project for the magazine and this was what I chose to do. This post is quite graphic intensive so I hope you'll make yourselves comfortable before you begin. LOL!

Book Card Tutorial
 
I adapted this cool technique from a video tutorial I found on You Tube by added my own special touches to make it sturdier and more durable. My version actually looks like a real book until you open it and see the inside.

Supplies needed:

2- 12”x 12” or 4- 8.5”x 11” sheets of cardstock in white, cream or light beige
Distress, chalk or pigment ink pad (I use Quick Quotes Powderpuff Chalk Ink)
Patterned paper that conveys the theme/title of your book (I chose Graphic 45's Fashionista Collection, which I believe has been discontinued now).
Light or medium-weight chipboard
Mod Podge, white glue and Beacon’s 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue (or comparable products)
Paper Trimmer
Scoring Board
Wide duct tape or masking tape
Scissors
Embellishments of choice (i.e. lace, ribbon, pearls, rhinestones, brads, paper or silk flowers, die cuts, photos, embossing powders, markers, etc.)

Instructions:

You'll need 2 sheets of 12" x 12" or 4 sheets of 8.5" x 11" cardstock. This will make the pages of your book card.  I use a light beige color to make the pages of my book look like old paper. Cut 2 pieces of cardstock (the cheaper the better) 11 or 12 inches by 6 inches and 2 pieces of the same cardstock 11 or 12 inches by 4 inches. The length will depend on whether you use 12x12 or 8.5x11 cardstock. The extra inch will make your book look just a tad thicker but it’s not really enough to matter.

 
 Score each piece every ½ inch across the shorter side, as pictured below. 

 
After all 4 pieces are scored, fan fold each piece using a bone folder to enhance the creases as you go. When this step is complete, you should have 2 pieces that are 0.5’ x 4” and 2 that are 0.5” x 6”.
 
 
Prior to assembling the pieces, ink both of the edges of each piece with distress ink or any kind of tan ink pad. My preference is Quick Quotes Powderpuff Chalk Ink in Mocha Mama You can also apply a gold embossing powder, gold gel pen or gold leaf to the outer edges. Doing this will give your “pages”the appearance of gilded gold as many of the antique hard bound books had. I think it kind of depends on the kind of book card you’re making.
 
 
The next step is the most difficult of the entire process. You must interlace one short side and one long side together to form one corner of the book. You can use either regular glue or an adhesive tape like the ATC tapes to accomplish this. There are good and bad about both methods. The tape method is not very forgiving so there is little room for adjustment once the sections are stuck to one another. Glue, on the other hand, is more messy but does allow for some degree of adjustment if you work quickly before the glue starts to dry. If you use glue, try to work quickly but don’t rush so much that your adjacent pieces do not form a good 90 degree angle when you’re finished. Repeat this step to form the opposite corner.
 
 
Now you have to put the two pieces you have just created together to form the pages section of your book. Do the same thing as you did in the last step to join the two pieces on the opposite corners. Now you should have a full rectangle that measures 4” x 6” and approximately 1.25” deep.
 
 
 
Next we'll make the cover for the book. First, two pieces of chipboard 4.25” x 6.25” and one piece 6.25” x 1.25” (or however deep your pages are. This measurement may vary slightly each time so it’s always best to measure before you cut the spine section for your cover. 
 
 

Placing the narrow piece between the two covers, use duct tape or wide masking tape to join the three sections of the cover together, leave a very slight space between the sections so the cover can fold without causing a bind.
 

 
If you haven't already done so, now's the time to choose the theme for your book and the papers for the outside and inside of your cover. You’ll want to choose papers that compliment your theme and look something like an actual book cover.  The papers I chose for this project are shown below.  The dark brocade paper (from DCWV’s “Lemon Flower” stack) will be the outside cover and the red paper with the cherries on it (from Graphic 45’s “Fashionista” collection) will be the inner cover.   Cut the paper to make your outer cover to 7.5” x 11”, making sure that you cut it so that any pattern will be centered on the cover.  
 
 
Using a craft mat or butcher paper to keep from making a mess on your work surface, apply a think layer of Mod Podge or any liquid adhesive that doesn't dry very quickly to the back side of your cover paper and lay the chipboard pieces down on the paper. Press down on the chipboard to insure a good hold. I don’t recommend using snail adhesive to adhere the paper to the cover because the paper needs to be firmly attached to the chipboard and that just can’t be accomplished with snail adhesive. 
 
 
Turn the cover with the paper attached over and smooth the outside, eliminating any wrinkles. Turn it back over and brush adhesive on the overhanging edges. Fold the corners in first, then the long sides and finally the short sides until all the overhanging edges are folded to the inside of the cover. Allow to dry.


 
HINTIt helps to fold the chipboard book cover as you as you apply the paper to the outside so that when it’s dry and you fold it into the correct book shape, it doesn’t stretch and tear your paper at the spine, as it will when it’s attached too tightly over the chipboard pieces.  You may want to make the cover in 2 separate steps, allowing the cover paper to dry before applying the strip on the spine to prevent problems when folding the cover after the glue dries.
 
If you wish, you can cover the spine of your book with a coordinating paper.  If you decide to do this, cut a strip 2.5” to 3” wide and 7.5” long. Apply Mod Podge or your adhesive of choice on the strip and adhere it to the spine on the outside, folding the overhanging ends to the inside.
 
Cut the paper for the inside cover to 9.75” x 6”. Check to make sure that the piece is not too large.  You’ll want to see about ¼” of the cover paper all the way around on the inside of the cover.  Brush on an ample amount of Mod Podge or other liquid adhesive on the back of the paper and place on the inside of the cover so that only about 1/8” to ¼” of the paper from the front side shows all the way around.  Press paper down firmly and roll a brayer over it several times to form a good bond, wiping with a damp (not wet) paper towel any excess glue that may be squeezed out during this step .  Place the cover between 2 pieces of wax paper and lay something flat and heavy on top of it and allow it to dry for several hours.  This will prevent any warping of the cover.
 
When it's dry, carefully fold the cover at the creases, making sure that there are no places where the paper isn’t stuck well to the chipboard.  If you find any such places , use regular white glue to stick them back down and press in place with your fingers until it holds well.  It should look something close to the photo below.    
 
 
Next, cut a strip of of heavy paper or light cardstock 6” long and about ¼” wider than the width of your “pages”.  Take your bone folder and make a score line at ¼” and fold at the line. Use a very strong adhesive like Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue to adhere the strip of paper to one of the long sides of the pages section on the outside.   Press into place with your fingertips being careful not to push the paper into the folds of the pages.  This covered edge will be used to adhere the spine to the pages later. (See photo for Step 17.)
 
Choose the paper you want to show in the back of your book card. It will show through and should have something to do with the theme of your book. For instance, if you’re making a wedding or anniversary card, you might want to select paper that conveys that idea. Cut a piece of thin chipboard (I use empty cereal boxes or the backs of paper pads for this purpose) to just less than 4”x 6” and cut your background paper the same size. Adhere the paper to the chipboard and then adhere that to the back side of the pages section by applying adhesive to the flat back of the pages section.
 
The final step in creating the book form itself is to attach the pages section to the back cover/spine. Again, I use the Beacon’s 3-in-1 glue for this because it’s strong enough to hold together a project that will get as much attention as this one will when it’s complete.
 

 
Now, all the fun starts! All that’s left to do is embellish, embellish, embellish… to your heart’s content.  I add gathered vintage lace and ribbon to the inside frame created by the pages.   A book label looks great on the front cover or on the inside of the cover.  I’m a “more is more” kind of girl so this type of project is right up my alley. 

 
 Shown below is my finished project. I have several more of these planned as future gifts for family and friends. 




 


If you enjoy trying different techniques, and if you haven’t tried making one of these book cards, I highly recommend it.  They take a little more in the way of time and patience than regular cards but I think the results are well worth the effort and they make wonderful hand-crafted gifts for the special people in our lives.
 
I'm also including some photos of one that I created for my nephew and his wife, who were married a year and a half ago.  They haven't seen it yet and I'm planning to give it to them for their 2nd anniversary. They're in Michigan right now so I'm not sure when I'll get to see them again. I just hope they don't visit my blog between now and then!
 
 
The two chemical lace flourishes and all of the ruffled lace on the inside are antique lace that I collected when I used to make antique reproduction porcelain dolls. 
 
 

 
I'll put all of the information regarding their wedding day on the placard on the left inside page, including their names, the date, etc.


This would also be a great gift for the new mom, special birthday or graduate.

So there you have it! I hope you're all having a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving, surrounded by family and friends. Don't forget to do whatever you can for those who aren't so fortunate or who can't spend the day with those who love them. My daughter-in-law and I baked banana, pumpkin and apple breads as well as pumpkin and pecan pies for the local fire station. We also sent a complete turkey dinner with my son to the rig so they could have their own little celebration offshore.
I am entering the top book card in the following challenges:

TBD

Until next time...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee