Carol's Creations

Taking Time to Read - A Sense Of Time Bookmark

It's truly a pleasure (and often a luxury) in our hurried, hectic world to sit down and relax with a book purely for enjoyment.  Students have so much to read for their classes and research, and adults either have so much reading to do for their jobs or else are so tired after a hard days work, that reading a book for pleasure is the last thing on their minds.

Sometimes I give a book as a gift, and I always like to include a special bookmark as a part of the gift.  I made this one two weeks ago for the Royal Blog Tour I participated in, but I never got this photo uploaded.  It features A Sense Of Time, and the other verse from the stamp set (which I stamped on the back of the bookmark) is especially appropriate in light of what I said in the first paragraph - it's a source of wealth to take time for special things and not feel hurried, and I include reading as one of those special things.

The colors used were Dusty Durango, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, More Mustard and Kraft.  And although you can't see it on the photo, the surface has a lovely golden glimmer because of the new Smooch Spritzer I used on it. 
 

Hope you enjoyed this little giftable item.  Do remember to come back on Saturday for the Sudsol Blog Tour.  My projects are all made with Elements of Style.

A Teeny Tiny Scrapbook

I'm still in search of Deana Smart.  Deana, please email me or leave a comment to claim your blog candy from last weekend's Royal Blog Tour. 

And now, on to today's project to share with you.  It's another scrapbooking special, this time a grandmother's brag book in a very compact size to take everywhere to show off a dozen little photos of those little angels in your life.  I found the tutorial on Split Coast Stampers and happened to have the key ingredient - the coin envelopes.  So I whipped up a few of these little charmers.  They're easy and fun to make, even more fun to show off.

The one at the top of the picture will be shown in detail below.  The other one is embellished with some of the butterfly punch pansies I showed you recently.  Those are another fun thing for you to try if you haven't already.  Bet you can't make just one.

I purchased some very strong, extremely thin magnetic closures to hold these books closed securely and without bulk.  Those tiny magnets really do a terrific job!  The little coin envelopes hold tags for journaling or more photos - they're die-cut with the Two Tags Bigz Die.  The body of the scrapbook is another die cut - this one with the bag with scallop top (minus the side pieces).  I love my Big Shot and use it for so many things - home decor, crafting (like the denim bag), scrapbooking, cards, gifts, it just is so versatile.

Click on any picture to see it in more detail.  As always, feel free to email with with any questions you have, or just to tell me that you enjoyed reading my blog today.

Until next time,  Happy Stamping!

 
 

Retiform a la Tamp-a-Stamp Tiles

Continuing my "mission" to use some of my non-Stampin' Up! tools and stamps, I created a series of cards a day or two ago.  I'll show you two of them in this post because they share some elements.  The color scheme of each was determined by the Kaleidacolor ink pad (Creole Spice, my favorite!).  The both use stamps by Renaissance Art Stamps as the main image and a greeting stamp by Stampin' Up!  They each have an oval element.  And most obviously, they both use a technique I thought you'd enjoy seeing.  It's a variation of Retiform, but here it's created with stipple brushes and a cool tool by Tamp-a-Stamps.  It's a plexiglass rectangle frame with odd-shaped pieces that fit together like a puzzle nested inside.  You lift out one at a time, stipple the color in that space, replace that piece, and move to the next.  It's so much fun, and foolproof.

On the card above, I matted the main layer with a Lavender Lace layer embossed with the Textile Cuttlebug Embossing Folder.  The oval was cut and embossed with one of the Nestabilities classic ovals dies.  I need to find a verse for inside today, because this card needs to be mailed out to a dear friend whose mother just passed away.

You can see some of the similarities between the two cards, I'm sure.
Differences:  The second one is a smaller card (standard A-2 size) because the stamped image is smaller.  I stippled the color on with a lighter touch, and I chose the olive from the pad.  The K-pads have five related colors, so you can have a different look each time.  This oval was cut with a Sizzix die called Bookplate Ovals.  And I framed the image with black, then layered it onto Marigold Morning card stock.  I chose a generic greeting so that I can use it  for many different occasions.

So there you have a little sampling of my Retiform a la Tamp-a-Stamp.  You can use post-it notes to mask off areas and achieve the same look, and try sponges instead of stipple brushes.  It's an oldie-but-goodie technique that I haven't used in a long while.

Waxy Cuttlebug Friendship

The amazing Technique Junkies Newsletter is always filled with innovative new techniques for our paper crafting projects.  Among the new techniques in this month's issue is Waxy Cuttlebug.  It's a twist on the wax-paper resist technique that you probably learned years ago.  This one incorporates the super-popular Cuttlebug embossing folders.  Instead of adding tactile texture, this technique results in fantastic visual texture.  The only stamping on this card is the greeting, one of the many words on the retired Stampin' Up! background stamp, Word By Word.  The colors used here are Orchid Opulence, Almost Amethyst and Lavender Lace card stock to coordinate with the Kaleidacolor pad Berry Breeze.  It was so much fun to try this technique that I didn't follow the directions very well.  So my piece is an unstamped background to the greeting.  I will try it again soon, but the next time I'll try to follow the directions. 

It just occurred to me, though, that very often I don't follow the directions (when crafting) or the recipe (when cooking) exactly because I don't have or don't like all of the ingredients called for.  The results are sometimes even better than the original.  Okay, I admit it - not always.  I do have my share of flops when "experimenting".  But that's how new recipes and new techniques get "invented", isn't it?  So don't be afraid to just dive in and get those creative juices flowing.

Here's the third in my "series" of the Faux Shimmer sheets cards I made.  This one features Stampin' Up!'s True Friend stamp set.  This medallion is so gorgeous, and if you look more closely, you'll notice the raised layer in the center.

Think that's too much fine detail cutting?  Think again!  The 1/2" circle punch is all you need to precisely trim the center of the medallion.  Add a couple of foam dimensionals, a faux gem, some Crystal Effects, and you have a stunning focal point for your card.

On the right you'll se a closer view of the card.  I know that many of you have the Cuttlebug Embossing Folders.  This technique utilizes one of the new Cuttlebug folders and some surprising other "ingredients".

Because I love to teach and get true satisfaction out of seeing my "students" create beautiful projects and learn new techniques, I am going to offer some technique classes on some cool Cuttlebug uses such as this one.

Interested?  You have to let me know.  Leave a comment below or e-mail me directly.  I'd love to hear from you!

Bright and Beautiful

The second of my Faux Shimmer Sheets cards is in my favorite colors.   The stamp set is still True Friend.  The image is colored with markers and stamped onto Glossy white card stock twice - one flower is cut out and layered onto the other for added dimension.  This is a very tactile card, but very visual at the same time.

Taken with Teal, Orchid Opulence and Basic Black are the other card stock colors used (all Stampin' Up!)

Shiny and Bright

I've decided to start a separate blog for my cards and other projects that are not exclusively Stampin' Up!  I don't think I'll ever do any stamping or scrapping without any Stampin' Up! products, though.  They are my staples.  I go to them first.  I think in Stampin' Up! colors, I reach for my Stampin' Up! stamps first and I can truly say that they are fabulous.  But the other wonderful products out there have been tempting me, and I couldn't resist.

This card is an example.  It uses only Stampin' Up! card stock, stamps, and punches, but some of the other fun things I used are not.

Stamp sets:  One of a Kind, So Many Scallops, True Friend          Card stock:  Glossy White, Brushed Silver Metallic, Basic Black, Orchid Opulence

The technique used on the background of this card is Faux Shimmer Sheets, created and shared by Gerrie Johnnic on her blog.  It gave me the opportunity to use my Adirondack Alcohol Inks, my Cuttlebug embossing folders, and my Xyron machine.  I hope you can see the shimmer beneath the shine.

I made several other projects using the same technique.  I'll be sharing them on this blog, so please check back.  Or subscribe to get updates so you won't miss them.  And once I get my online store set up, these creations will be for sale.