simple dreams

Cardmaking with Trina

Yes, it's true - I work on the weekends. Some of you have asked how I get it all done - well in all honesty I don't - LOL! I try REALLY hard, but reality is that my studio is not as put away as I would like, my desk has "piles" that need to be put away, and...

It was nice to have my family drop in this weekend to help. My DH vacuumed, Maddi started putting products away and Trina created a card and "gift" for the friend's birthday party she was headed to that evening.

Her friend loves flourescent things and I do believe she selected colors that fit the bill :-D

She filled this awesome little pillow box with flourescent colored paper clips - the perfect combo to go with the animal print footie p.j.'s don't you think :-D

Thank you for stopping in and taking a peek at her creations - if you have any thoughts to share with Trina I know she would love to hear from you :-D

Oops - forgot her supply list - she would not have been happy with me - LOL!

 
stamps: Hero Arts ClearDesign Have a Donut and Wonderful Birthday

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

paper: Neenah Solar White, Memory Box Currant and Basic Grey Green at Heart

accessories: Open Scallop Edger Punch, Pillow Box Die (6x6 paper works PERFECT with this :-D)

Noel Wreath Card using Digital Letters

Each month as I create the thank you note that goes out with your orders I try to think of an image that is appropriate for the upcoming season. This will then allow you to either use it as a color reference and/or create a card with that image :-D I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the appreciation you share with us when you receive this note and the little snippet of ribbon. I want you to know that you are special to us and I couldn't do this without your support - so once again I would like to thank you so much for being here and shopping with us!

To begin I selected the Wreath of Gifts. I had a blast creating this card and want to share another way to use the letters that Julia created for this holiday season. When I asked her if this would be something she could do I told her some of the ideas I had in mind that I wanted them for, along with some patterns I wanted her to create with and she just went to work. I am SO very proud of her and the creativity she is bringing to our team. Thank you Julia!

So one of the ideas is to use the letters as ornaments. I felt that the wreath made the perfect letter "O". I colored the packages to coordinate with the beautiful Webster's Pages Sweet Season papers, using a silvery gray ribbon to tie them all together.

The fantastic value in these letters is that you can resize them to whatever size you need. To begin follow the instructions in this post.

Once you have pasted the letters into your Word document resizing is simple. Note where the red arrows are pointing. Double click on the letter itself and you will see it outlined as shown above. By double clicking it will take you to the "Format" window. On the right side of the page you will see two boxes with dimensions in them. For this project input the number 1 in the first box and click enter. This will automatically resize your letters to 1" in size.

Use your space bar to add additional spacing between the letters if desired.

I then used a 1 1/8" punch (which has been ordered but I'm still waiting for them to arrive in the store) to create my circle.

My next steps were to punch the border trim with my edger punch and sew the trim to the decorative paper. By sewing at this point I am able to hide the bottom stitching.

Using a 2-way glue pen around the edge of the circle and dipping the letter in Microfine Glitter gives it that final sparkly touch! Position the ornament letters and wreath by using a see-through ruler. This helps you align them evenly and in a straight line. Yes, the perfectionist syndrome coming out in me again - LOL!

Once the letters are positioned it is time to attach the "string." The new Webster's Pages silver trim is AMAZING! The incredulous thing about this trim is that it is linked together with tiny jump ring like circles. I have absolutely no idea how they even manufacture something so delicate. The beauty of this trim is that you can cut it easily with scissors. As I experimented I realized that when you cut it to a single line it falls apart into individual little circles that they look like little bells :-D I love happy accidents!

As you can also see in the photo above this one I am becoming addicted to this little bottle of Studio Matte Medium. It REALLY holds and to have a non-shiny adhesion is important to me. By placing a very small dab of adhesive on the top of the ornament I was able to attach my "chain". I allowed this to dry before moving on.

Once dry stretch the chain up and over your trim and cut to fit.

Then lift the purple trim apply yet another small dab of Matte Medium and attach the upper end of the "chain."

Not only does this chain sparkle, but it actually creates a musical sound when you shake the card :) I'm such a sucker for little details like this - LOL!

Using my favorite tweezers I then placed little jingle bells on each ornament in the wreath using Matte Medium to hold them in place. A final sparkle was added with the Sakura Stardust pen.

I hope that you can use some of these little details in the creating of your holiday cards. Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour this morning! Thanks for stopping in again today and I hope you have a fabulous Sunday.

downloads: Candy Lane Seasonal Alphabet

stamps: Lockhart Wreath of Gifts

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

paper: Webster's Pages Sweet Season and Waiting for Santa 6x6 Paper Pack,

accessories: Webster's Pages Sweet Season and Waiting for Santa Trim Pack and Silver Chain Trim, Studio Matte Medium Mini, 2-Way Glue Pen, Silver Microfine Glitter, Vintage Lace Punch around the Page Edger

Waiting for Santa Letterpress Tray - Part 3, Altering Doilies

Thank you to all who have been leaving your love and comments in various locations on the internet and thanks to Webster's Pages for featuring this project on their Inspire Me website. If you love Webster's Pages I would highly recommend joining their Ning site for inspiration! I'm not certain if you will be able to view the page I have linked you to above if you are not a member, but becoming a member has been something I have really enjoyed.

As you probably have figured out by now I love the classic elegance and diversity of the Webster's Pages line of products and will do my best to always keep their items stocked in our store.

Now on with today's how-to complete the tray post.

Doilies, doilies, doilies... yes, I have always loved them, even before they became all the rage. Now that they are we have put together collections of various assortments for you to select from. Altering the color of the doily is SO easy!

Two of the easiest methods of altering the color of the doily are with the ink blending tool and/or misting sprays. For this project I actually combined the two looks.

It is important to work carefully with your ink blending tool. Typically I will start off my paper and swirl on to the paper when using this tool, but with the delicacy of the edge of the doily I need to work blending from the interior outwards.

The final step was lightly spritzing with Sweet Clover Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

Today I also want to share how you could get a "2-for-1" when spritzing and use your doily as a mask. As well I would like to introduce you to the new Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists. The beauty of the Perfect Pearls Mists comes in the mixing. Ranger has done a FANTASTIC job of thinking through the mixing process by placing a little "mixer" contraption in the bottle. It takes a LOT less swirling to mix these bottles, for which I am a grateful girl :-D

As you can see in the photo above the coloring of these mists is quite transparent. If you are familiar with Glimmer Mist products and want a similar look it is extremely simple to put a slight amount of the Perfect Pearl Mist into a Mini Mister and then add a squirt of your Distress Reinker to colorize it. Double click on the photo above to see the variation between the simple Kiwi and the mix of Kiwi and Bundled Sage.

When spritzing to add color to your doily you can use it as a mask for an upcoming project. I selected one of the beautiful Webster's 6x6 pages and placed my lacey doily in position in the upper right hand corner of the paper. To hold it in place I simply used my Craft Assistant and a couple of small magnets. This helps to ensure getting a more crisp definition on my masked doily. As you can see I opted to leave the doily in place and dry the mist with my Heat It tool. Yes, I'm a girl who likes to work fast - LOL!

One of my pet peeves when working with "wet" materials is the curling of my paper. Problem solved with the tip below.

TIP: I am fortunate to have a slightly rounded edge on my work surface. By pulling my paper gentley back and forth over this edge in the opposite direction I am easily able to flatten it back out again :-D

I would like to once again remind you that if you are looking for the supplies that I used in the creating of this tray please visit this post.

It's a beautiful, record breaking, sunny day here in Seattle and so I have a grin from ear to ear as I look out the window and prepare to take Jasper for his little lunch break stroll. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you for a few more techniquey posts regarding this tray in the next couple of days!

Waiting for Santa Letterpress Tray - Part 2, Altering Resin Applique Pieces

When I first laid eyes on the Melissa Frances Resin pieces I knew it was love at first sight. The soft elegance of these designs is oh, so classic! Immediately I knew that I would need to experiment with altering the color of them once I had them in my hot little hands and that time has finally come :-D

The white frame around my girls with Santa draws your eye and I didn't want to compete with that, but felt that the new Tree was THE perfect piece for the top left corner. What to do? With so many options to select from I decided to start with a simple technique.

I began by first spraying the piece with English Ivy Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I allowed the liquid to pool in the crevices and then took a paper towel and wiped the surface. The detail that emerged was absolutely lovely, but I wanted just a little more color.

After allowing it to dry slightly I then sprayed with a second and lighter color of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Sweet Clover. Immediately I pulled out my Heat It tool and used it to dry the surface. The gentle heat helped to set the beautiful color in place on my surface, with the soft pooling of the color adding dimension.

A little glue added with a 2-way glue pen and Sand Glitter Ritz on the star finished the piece. I then used some dry clear glue around what would be the base of the tree and added some white Mica Flakes for snow.

It's all in the little details and you know I love details - LOL! Julia was trying to get me to color the presents under the tree with Copics, but I told her that would have to wait for a new project ;-D All I can tell you is that I'm LOVING these little resin pieces and hope to share more with you in the future.

For a complete list of supplies please visit yesterday's post.

Now it's time to head out into the blustery rain and wind --- a warm house and dinner is on the horizon. Thanks for stopping in again today!