Market Cardabilities

I really enjoyed making the paper mache book box.  But, it felt like something was missing.   Maybe a tag, to help package the gift.  Or possibly a card!

I used the same inspiration and sketch from Cardabilites # 91.  Their sketch is beautiful, and the inspiration from their design team is motivating.  So, without further ado, here is their sketch:

Beautiful sketch, huh?  Love the simplicity of the clean lines, and the option to embellish with a few items, or really bundle it up!

here is my card:

I used pattern paper is from Lost & Found - Market Street.  I wrapped some very vanilla seam binding around the main floral pattern paper piece and tied an upside down bow.  I added a Prima Market blossom behind/in front of the bow, depending on how you look at it.  I also flanked both sides of the blossom with Paper Trey Ink vintage buttons.  I tied each button with cream twine.  But, I felt it needed a little more glam.  So, I added a trio of gold sequins and peach half pearls.

For my sentiment banner piece, I actually made two banner pieces.  I stamped both sentiments onto pattern papers.  One is, 'HandMade with heart' and the other one is, ' thinking of you'.  One stamp is from Paper Trey Ink and Stampin' Up!

Thank you for looking.   I hope that you get time to create something.  Wether it is paper crafts, sewing, cooking, baking, or painting.  Whatever makes you happy {smile}.

I was a featured designer for challenge #91 @ cardabilities for this card {smile}.   Thank you for selecting my card.  This honor really made my day!

Altered Paper Mache Book Box Complete

~ photo heavy post ~

Whew.  A finished project!   I finished my paper mache book box this morning.  Took quite a few photos and now I'm ready to share with you, this labor of love.  I purchased a paper mache book box from one of those big box craft stores.  So, they should be relatively easy for you to find one.  You can always order one off the internet, but I'm not a fan of shipping costs.  (Frugal, one might say)  The book box measures 4" wide by 6" tall and 1 1/2" deep.  So, it's not huge, but the measurements are perfect when using 12" x 12" pattern paper.   I used a sketch from Cardabilities #91 for my inspiration to create the cover.

Let's start with the cover:  

I first painted the box with gesso.  Then a light sand color paint.  I spritz the box with an alcohol mist, and rubbed some of the sand color paint off, to give it a worn look.  I also used fine linen distress ink on the edges.  I used pattern paper from Lost & Found - Market Street.  I machine stitched the main panel to a crumb cake card stock.  The chicken wire images are stamped from Distressed Background by CTMH.  The sentiment is stamped from On the Grown by Stampin' Up!.  The lilies and white rose are made from clay.  The butterfly is a resist chipboard piece from Heidi Swap.  The pale green paper blossom is from Kaiser Krafts.  The cream button is from Paper Trey Ink, and the gold sequins are from Stampin' Up!.  (If you saw yesterday's post, I hadn't added the button yet, its tucked-in, between the pink seam binding and the pale green paper blossom.)

a close-up:

Let's open the box.  Here is the inside cover:

I used the same pattern paper threw out this alteration.  To keep everything looking like it belongs.    I did however, use a tag from Prima - Almanac.  Love the chicken.  I did a little stamping:  some more chicken wire, and a country phrase along the left side of the tag from Country Born by CTMH.  I also  created a tiny tag using a stamp from Friendship Jar by Paper Trey Ink.  I added a pool party polka dot brad by Stampin' Up!  I created a banner with the same pattern paper; Market Street.  I added some sweet tiny cream buttons from Paper Trey Ink, that I tied with some cream twine. (if you saw yesterday's post, I had not finished the banner.)  I added a white resin key by Melissa Frances, to help balance the page, and to add a sweet little surprise.  (If you saw yesterday's post, I had to flip the key around, so that the box would close shut.)

the inside of the box:

I just love this floral pattern paper by Market Street.  It adds so much sweetness without giving you a cavity (haha).  I wanted to add a little surprise, so I placed a small white crochet doily and a pale pink paper blossom to the bottom right corner.  I also added a little bit of sparkle by including a link from a Melissa Frances dangle.

here is the close-up:

here is the back of the box:

I wanted the back to have a bit of charm, too.  But, I also wanted to keep it flat, incase the owner wants to lay the book box down.  I used the same pattern paper - Market Street.  But I used a part of a pattern text paper that had this open area.  So, I used a stamp from The Sweet Life by Paper Trey Ink.  I thought is was fitting for a memory box.  I also added my signature stamp along the bottom.  

here is the spine:

I stamped the 'title' with a stamp from Loving Thoughts by Stampin' Up! onto a scrap piece of the Market Street pattern paper.  I also added a white resin lock by Melissa Frances.

I used a scrap piece of some beautiful peach colored silk ribbon by Martha Stewart.  I purchased the ribbon probably 5 years ago from a local scrapbooking store.  I thought the ribbon matched perfectly.

All the edges of the pattern papers were distressed with ink or ink and scissors.  I used scor tape to adhere the papers to the box.  I used my glue gun to hold the various embellishments to the box.

oops! I forgot to show you the bow!

Thank you so much for stopping by and taking a look.  I am off to my craft room once again to finish my desk top calendars.  Yep, I still have 2 more to make.  And January is almost over!

Box Set #129

The weather here, this weekend, is warm and sunny!  It's a great change from snow and cold winds.  It gave me a chance to run some errands, and not wear a jacket or close toe shoes.  It is a t-shirt and flip flop weekend!

So, with the change of weather, I decided to change it up a bit.  The talented ladies over @ Just Us GirlS, have a great challenge this week: make a boxed note card set, with choose your own sentiment tags.  Now, doesn't that sound fun and creative?  And why not change it  up a bit!  So, I went shopping.  I did some looking through the paper crafting products at home, and then went to a local paper craft store, to see what I could purchase for about $5 that would help me complete this challenge.

If you have seen the videos and sneak peaks of CHA 2012, you have probably falling love with some gorgeous new products out there.  I knew what I was looking for, but I always keep my options open.  

I have my products picked out, some new pattern papers from Prima, and some gorgeous dimensional 'ribbon'.    But now I need a sketch to help me put these products together and look great.  So, I headed over to i {heart} 2 stamp and fell in love with this months sketch.  The sketch let me really show off the great graphics in these new Prima papers and that gorgeous new 'ribbon' I purchased.  I used two different pattern papers for the black and grey rectangles.  As for the circle, I used a butterfly shape.  The white rectangle was replaced with a tag.  The long grey rectangle, is where I added a strip of cream lace.  As for my sentiment tags, I actually stamped 5 different sentiments twice, and added foam tape to the backs, so all you need to do is adhere the sentiment circle to the text circle on top of the white doily tag.

Here is my box set:  

This box set contains 6 cards.  The cards are similar, but not exact.  The tags are all different and the white doily tags have three different designs.  But other than that, they are all the same.  With this box set, I have included two sheets of the sentiment circles: Here for You, for you, Heartfelt Thanks, thinking of you, Birthday wishes.  I used my butterfly die to cut those butterflies out of the gorgeous petal ribbon.  I used white bakers twine, when I hand sewn the kraft buttons onto the butterfly bodies.  I used my hot glue gun to adhere the butterflies to the card fronts.  The cards remain blank inside, so you can add your own hand-written message.

Here is a look at the whole set:

  

Thank you for looking.  This card set will be for sale at my Etsy shop soon.  I hope you have a chance to play along in a challenge this weekend!  Remember, have fun, and make something you really love!

thinking Sketch Frenzy

Happy Friday!  It's time for another sketch from Sketch Frenzy Friday!  This sketch is pretty user-friendly.  I flipped it and then mirrored the image, so the sentiment is no longer at the lower left corner, it is now at the upper right corner.  

I used all Stampin' Up! supplies for this challenge.  And I have to say, I really like this card :)

This sketch is brought to us by Tina Taves.  I love a great sketch and Tina has really made this challenge a pleasure to be a part of.   For your next stop on our blog tour, please stop by Tammy B. blog.

I used three different stamp sets, but that was only because I wanted a pretty, feminine font for the sentiment.  I used Creative Elements for the flower and the sentiment tag.  I used Best Friends Forever for the leaves.  The card base is Crumb Cake.  The largest matt is Calypso Coral.  I stamped on the First Edition DSP to help create a background that tied the floral arrangement to the card.  I just love the crochet trim, but it seemed a bit 'light' and that it didn't look grounded to the card, so I layered a scrap piece Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon under the crochet trim.  I tied a random SU! button onto the ribbon with some linen thread.  I made a bow with the long length of thread I originally cut.  I did the 'rock n roll' technique on my flower.  I stamped the whole flower in Calypso Coral classic ink and then rolled the edges in Crumb Cake classic ink.  I actually stamped the flower three times, and layered the different cut-outs with foam tape.  I added some faux half-pearl jewels to keep that pretty, feminine look.  And I finished the card with a few spritz of my home-made shimmer mist!

One Fold and Three Techniques

I have two card clubs.  A Saturday card club, and a Sunday card club.  My card clubs run from July-Nov and February-May.  We take off in December and January due to the weather, holidays, schools out, and folks are already too busy to ad one more thing.  So, we meet a total 9 times in our 'year'.

For this clubs' cards, I wanted something new and creative!  So, I was searching the internet and I found a great technique @ Stamping 411:  Faux Mother of Pearl.  So, I went over to SplitCoastStampers to see what they had on the technique and to look at their gallery.   I was looking for some creative inspiration, and found a wonderful layout @ Stamping 411 Sketch 203. I knew that I wanted to teach this technique, and this is the card we made:

On the Grow stamp set

So, now onto the second card.  The ladies in Sundays' club, love a challenge.  So, I saw this fabulous fold on SplitCoastStampers: Side-Step Card.  On their home page, they also have a tutorial (from May11th) on how to create paper buttons.  I thought this would be fun. One of the things I really enjoy doing, is making my own embellishments, so everything is matchy-match.  And, I don't want to spend good money on paper crafting that I can easily make myself.  This second card has alot going on; a fancy fold, paper piecing, and making our own paper buttons!  And this is the card we made:

 Chic Boutique, Puns from the Past, & With All My Heart stamp sets

Thank you for looking.  If you are interested in joining one of my new card clubs please contact me, we start again in July. If you are outside the area, I can mail your kit to you, along with the kit instructions, supplies list, and materials.  Each club member selects which month they want to be the hostess, and must place a minimum club order of $20 each month we meet: July-November 2011 and February-May 2012.  Have a great week!