Gallery Idol 2012 ~ Round #2 ~ You Color My World

Last Friday, I got unbelievable news that I was one of the Top 20 finalists for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol 2012!  (Have no idea what I'm talking about?  Check out the Paper Crafts blog for more info)  First came a rush of giddiness (squeee!) quickly followed by a wave of panic (oh...em...gee...).  After some deep breathing and a little chocolate, I turned my attention to the Round 2 theme, You Color My World!  I had already done this card and this card for the open audition round, so I was feeling a bit tapped out.  So this weekend, I brainstormed, I sketched, I browsed a billion Pinterest images....only to end up doing what I usually do.  I winged it!  Here's what I came up with!  

I can hear you asking, where's the COLOR?  My friend, just pull the tab (see the clear thingie next to the word "you") and wait for it...

It's sprinkling sprinkles!  I know I always say this, but this card is easier to make than it looks!  This card is basically just a modified version of a shaker card.  Instead of one visible well, you have one visible and one hidden!  The wells are super easy to make using fun foam (double up on the layers).  For added fun, put a small piece of acetate between the wells to create a pull tab.

I chose sprinkles for their color and weight, but colored sand and beads are also good choices.  The possibilities make me giddy!    

The beauty of this card is that even after the pull tab is gone, just flip the card over, allow the sprinkles to fall back into the reservoir, and start the fun again!

Before I sign off, I just want to express how thankful I am that you stopped by!  Your visits and kind words really mean so much!  I encourage everyone to visit all the Top 20 blogs and put in your vote HERE (even if it's not for me:)!  And regardless whether I advance to the next round, I feel *so* lucky to have had this experience and to have met such wonderful and talented designers!  Just look at these ladies!  How can you not be inspired by this bunch?

With that, I leave you with much mahalo and aloha,
jj

Paper: Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper), Colored papers (PTI, Mark's Finest Papers), Fun foam

Stamps: Earth stamp from Zipnby to Say Hi (Avocado Arts)

Font: Buffet from myfonts.com

Dies: Nesting circles, large (Spellbinders), Lower Case Alphabet (My Favorite Stamps Dienamics)

Other: Sprinkles

Insta-Smile

The minute I saw this color combo for ColourQ Challenge #138, my thoughts immediately went to the Instagram icon! I realized today that the ColourQ challenge ended yesterday (oops), but went ahead with the card anyway:)

I have to admit that I don't tweet, I'm barely on Facebook, and am just learning to appreciate Pinterest. That said, there's something about Instagram that is so much fun! {I guess it's the 70's child in me} This card was pretty easy to put together! Just a matter of cutting the pieces and assembling. To get a 3D look for the lens, I used fun foam sheets. To cut the rings for the lens, I used my nesting circle dies. (By the way, foam circle frames are great to use with shaker cards. A post for another day:) I ended up using 3 layers of fun foam (1 tan circle, 2 black rings).

I didn't have quite the sentiment I wanted, so I printed one off on the computer and stamped the heart over the sentiment. If you're not an Instagram fan, the design can easily be adapted to any type of camera.

A camera card seems to be fitting for Memorial Day (here in the States). Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

{Aloha, jj}

Paper: Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper), Kraft, Aqua (Mark's Finest Papers), Red, Mustard (Recollections), Foam

Ink: Strawberry (Fresh Ink), White gel pen (Sakura)

Stamp: Heart-A Little Lovin (Paper Smooches)

Font: Rockwell Extra Bold

Tools: Corner Chomper, Canvas IP (PTI)

Dies: Nesting circles, large and small (Spellbinders)

Deconstructed Chevrons

The month of May is historically CRAZY-time here at the Bolton household.  Between a ton of birthdays, the end of the school year, and baseball season, life has been beyond chaotic.  I'm just now coming up for air and I finally got to finish a card today!  Yay me;)  

This card is a slightly different take on the popular chevron pattern.  I started off by cutting chevrons (with my awesome MFT chevron die) in lots of different colors.  I cut each chevron piece into small lengths (each about 3" long).  Then I randomly glued 8 chevron pieces to a strip of white cardstock.  I repeated this process, until I ended up with 4 strips of white cardstock each with a different combination of 8 chevron pieces.    

I cut the strips into narrower strips (along the chevron corners) and rearranged the strips into new chevrons.  I love how the pattern looks 3D!  To give the chevrons an "inlaid" look I covered the loose white strips at the top and bottom with a piece of white cardstock cut with the chevron die.  Gives it a nice finished look!  After much debate, I ended up putting the sentiment on vellum.  I don't know about you, but I have a terrible time with sentiment placement!  

I really like how colorful and happy this card turned out!  I'm kind of getting a Qbert vibe;)  (Anyone else remember that video game?)  This one is going to be added to the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol flickr group:)  I'm also adding it to the CAS-ual Friday's Punches/Dies challenge this week! 

I'm looking forward to a quiet week and I hope I can hit all the blog posts that I've been missing!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

{Aloha, jj}

Paper: Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper), Vellum, Assorted colors from Mark's Finest Papers and PTI

Stamp: Sentiment (Hero Arts)

Tools: Corner Chomper

Dies: Chevron (My Favorite Things Stamps)

Look up to Glittery Rainbows

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend!  We had great weather here in VA, which is fortunate since we had to help my parents move.  I'm still in the process of trying to get them to simplify, but I'm glad they're settled into a place that is comfortable for them.  Back to the card!  I've been on a bit of a glitter kick lately, and I thought how cool would it be to do a glitter rainbow?  So I got out my favorite rainbow die (a MFT die) and die cut a rainbow from a sheet of Be Creative (Sookwang) double-sided tape.  

 

I worked carefully and slowly to remove it from the die.  To keep the rainbow pieces together and aligned, I applied it to the cardstock by slowly pressing the white label side down onto the cardstock as I pulled the brown side off the back (pic above right). 

One by one, I peeled off the white cover pieces and adhered the glitter.  To make sure that the glitter didn't get in the grooves of the rainbow, I used Post-It tape as a mask.  After the glitter was applied, I used my wonky scallop die to cut across the bottom.  This allowed for my printed sentiment to show from the base card.  The die cut vellum clouds were added last.  {Tip: The vellum clouds are glued down only where they touch the rainbow to disguise the adhesive.  In the picture above (right), I highlighted in gray where I've put the adhesive (cut from a Be Creative sheet).  So when you attach the clouds, the adhesive seems to disappear and the clouds float off the page.  

Between the glitter and the rainbow, this card really makes me smile!  I'm going to hop over and add it to the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol flickr group.  I hope everyone has a fantastic week!  Thanks for taking a peek!

{Aloha, jj}

Paper: Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper), Vellum

Font: Aaargh (free from Dafont.com)

Embellishments: Glitter (Martha Stewart)

Tools: Adhesive sheets (Sookwang), Post-It label roll

Dies: Clouds (Memory Box), Clouds (PTI), Wonky Scallop Border, Rainbow (My Favorite Things Stamps)

Mother's Day Tea

Just stopping in REAL QUICK to post another Mother's Day card!  I haven't played with my Memory Box window and shutter dies lately, and this card was just begging to be made!  {If you're playing along, this window die cut has been a dresser and fireplace as well:)} 

Putting this card together could not have been easier.  The Memory Box dies are a dream to cut and fit together perfectly.  I used a bit of enamel paint for the handles of the sideboard.  The tiny tea set from Waltzingmouse Stamps is the perfect scale for this little scene!  The sentiment banner was printed (Black Jack font) and die cut with my new Die-namics Fishtail Flags Stax from MFT.  The rolled felt flower is from my lovely friend (and awesome cardmaker) Jeanne. I love how sweet this little card turned out!  The only thing I would change is to use embossing powder for the tea set (so that the pattern doesn't bleed through).    

I hope everyone has a fantastic week!  Thanks for taking a peek!

{Aloha, jj}

Paper: Fresh Floral Stack (DCWV), Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper)
Stamps: Afternoon Tea (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Embellishments: White Enamel (Ranger), pearl, rolled felt flower (from my card buddy Jeanne)

Tools: Madison Window and Shutters dies ~ Small (Memory Box), Die-namics Fishtail Flags Stax, Royal Leaves (My Favorite Things Stamps)

Flowery Thanks: CAS-ual Fridays #CFC50

I've gotten a lot of questions about how I made this card, so I did a quick picture tutorial for you all!   I'm also playing along with the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge (CFC50): April Showers Bring May Flowers!  This will be a content-heavy post, so hang on!

I start off by choosing my stamps.  Stamps that are simple, solid, with good spacing between the images work best.  For this card technique to work, you need to create two stamped pieces that are exactly the same.  There are probably many ways to do this, but here's how I do it.  I apply my stamps to acrylic blocks by ink color.  In the pic above (left), the bottom block has my stems (green) and the top block has the blooms (pink).  I use my stamp placement tool (in this case a Stamp-a-majig) to arrange them on the blocks so that each block lines up against the Stamp-a-majig.  The Stamp-a-majig stays in one place and each color can be stamped at a time.  Tip: Stamp onto large pieces of cardstock.  Do not trim your panel to size before stamping.  Trimming after you stamp will always be easier and give you better results. 

Now that you have your two exact copies stamped, it's time to diecut.  I use Post-It label tape to align my letter dies.  This tape has the perfect amount of stickiness and it gives me a nice straight edge to line up my letters.  Try not to crowd the letters.  Test out the alignment on a scrap piece of paper until you find an arrangement/alignment you like.    

Place the taped dies over one of the stamped images.  It doesn't matter if the dies line up with the sides of the paper, you will be trimming the final panel later.  You just want to center the dies over the stamped images.  The die cut letters tend to look better if they are partially white (not totally covered in pattern).  Once you've die cut your letters, lay them out over the clean, uncut stamped image before you start gluing things down.  If you're having trouble placing the letters, use the reverse cut of the letters as a guide.   

Once you have the letters laid out in place, place a ruler along the bottom of the edge of the letters.  I try to use as little pencil marks as possible, so I only make a small mark on the far right and far left to denote the straight line across the card.  You will also want to mark the left edge of the die cut letters (in front of "t" and after "s").  This will  give you some reference points to help you trim the panel.  In my case, my letters aren't centered on the panel because I wanted to stamp the grass at the bottom.  

Once the marking is done, remove the laid out letters and trim the panel *before* you adhere the die cut letters.  Once trimmed, adhere the letters with small pieces of dimensional foam tape.  Tip: When using foam tape to adhere die cuts, use at least 2 separate pieces.  For example, on the letter "h", I have foam tape on each leg of the letter.  This will prevent each piece from teetering.  For better control, use a pair of tweezers.  

You will notice that I stamped the grass after I adhered the letters.  I don't recommend doing this because you run the risk of the acrylic block coming into contact with the adhered letters.  You don't want stray ink to spoil the fun!  I finished this card off with a bit of rounding at the top edges (to counterbalance the straight lines of the block letters).  I know this *seems* like a lot of complicated steps, but truly it's easier than it seems.  If you like this look, I really hope you try it out!

I'm off to link up to this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge (CFC50): April Showers Bring May Flowers.  If you want to play along, you've got until Wednesday evening!  If you have any questions at all about the instructions above, feel free to email or leave a comment.  As always, THANK YOU so, so much for stopping by! 

{Aloha, jj}

Paper: Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper)

Stamps: Daydreamer (PTI)

Ink: Pink Lemonade, Basil (Fresh) 

Tools: Block alphabet dies (PTI), Corner Chomper