the CLASSroom

Joyeux Noel Masked Ornament Card by Julia Stainton

Recently I've been experimenting with some fun ways of using the new Art Magnetic Masking Material. I'm loving this unique and flexible product and for this design, have a great way to pair it up with Nestability dies to create a custom mask. By combining different shapes of Nestabilities together and cutting them out of the magnetic sheet I've created a mask that I can use time and time again to stamp an old fashioned Christmas ornament. Masking techniques are really easy to do and give a great new look to your stamps. Here's how I did it...

The Art Magnetic Masking Material is a very fine, bendable material that can be cut with scissors, paper trimmers or die cutting machines easily. I trimmed my reusable magnetic masking piece to 4.25" x 5.5" to card front size so that I could easily line up and completely mask my cardstock. Using the Magnetic Precision Mat Kit ruler, I marked off the center line of my mask to easily line up the dies straight when cutting them. This magnetic mat also works great when it comes time to stamp and sponge the design as the magnetic mask easily stays in place.

To design the shape of my custom mask, I arranged dies onto my mask until I was happy with how the cut negative space would look. When cutting the shapes, you'll need to cut each one out separately making sure that you have equal space on each side of the penciled in line. For this project, I used the Circle, Standard Small dies and the Ovals, Classic Small die set.

 

After my mask is ready to use, I laid it over a piece of Solar white cardstock. Using two different snowflakes from the Joyeux Noel stamp set by CHF, I stamped two of the snowflakes in Pool and Lettuce Adirondack Inks. Before sponging, wipe off the excess ink on the mask to cut down on color transfer.

To give the ornament some definition and shape, sponge the outside edges with Aqua Adirondack ink leaving the center with less ink. This makes the ornament to appear more three dimensional and natural to the eye. Remove mask. The mask can be reused again and again so give it a wipe off and store in a safe place.

After cutting the layer to size and planning my patterned paper background, I stamped the sentiment in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. The gorgeous patterned paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly 6x6 paper pad.

I stitched the edges of the layers in black thread to make them pop and then adhered to my Vanilla Bean card base.

I feel that every card looks better with an embellishment and this little Martha Stewart Scalloped Felt Ribbon and Christmas Twine add the finishing touch.

 

Thanks for joining us in the CLASSroom today! Have a wonderful weekend!

Wreath Angel by Sharon Harnist

Today I have a home decor project to share with you, using Webster's Pages' gorgeous 6x6 Petite Papers-Holiday Collection papers and Karen Lockhart's sweet Wreath Angel.  As soon as I find either a 6-inch or 8-inch frame for this, it will be a beautiful home accent piece this holiday season!

To make the wreath base, you will need to die cut a piece of cardstock with Circle Nestabilities:

I used green scrap cardstock since I knew it would be one of the colors I'd be working with for my wreath but really any color will do since the final finished piece will be covered with glitter.  I chose to use Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities for the outer edge of my wreath base, just so I wouldn't have that much cardstock peeking from under the punched leaves, but you could also use another plain Classic Circle die.  My base turned out to be a little less than 1/2-inch wide.  Next, I die cut the angel image with the Classic Circle die that was a little smaller than the overall size of my wreath base.

 
 
Next, I ran the wreath base through my Xyron machine but you could use just about any transparent tape or glue you'd like. After punching all the leaves (from a coordinating patterned paper from the same Webster's Holiday Collection -- I used both sides of the paper, which were nice complimentary green and aqua colors), I placed each of the leaves in an overlapping pattern onto the wreath base. Then, since there was still exposed adhesive on the wreath base, I sprinkled Martha Stewart's Peridot glitter all over the wreath.

On the back of the wreath, I applied foam mounting tape so the wreath would be popped up over the angel image, creating a nice frame for her.  The angel image was colored with these Copic markers and Gold Spica glitter pen:

I first adhered the angel image where I wanted it on the background paper and then mounted the wreath frame over the angel.  Some tiny red gemstone stickers serve as berries for the wreath and beautiful Webster's gold-trimmed aqua velvet ribbon ties and anchors the wreath to the page. Hopefully you can see in the photo below (click on it for a larger view) all the pretty sparkle this has ... gold glittery angel hair, green glittery wreath, and red sparkly gemstones! 

 
I love the sentiment that is printed on this paper ... "special people brighten the season & warm our hearts".  Thanks for visiting today ... the holidays will be here before you know it, won't they?!!

 
Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company-Wreath Angel
Paper: Webster's 6x6 Petite Papers-Holiday Collection, Neenah Natural White
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Copic markers (shown above) & Gold Spica glitter pen
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Circle & Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Frond Punch & Essential Colors Glitter-Peridot, AMuse Creative Candy Twinkle Stickers-Mini Dot, Webster's Holiday Trim Collection, Xyron adhesive

Trick Or Treat? by Kim Hughes

well, I am sure that most kids will choose treat instead of trick, but who says that it needs to be a sweet treat?  My kids are handed more and more non-treats such as popcorn, toothbrushes and pencils.  So, I created an easy pencil "treat" holder just in time for Halloween

Supplies:

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Terra Cotta, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Pitch Black

Punch, 5/8" Circle

Invisibles, Paper "Dots"

Memory Box - Web Crawler, Halloween Greetings

Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam

Kim Hughes Paper Pack, Mocha Chica

Basic Grey 12"x12" Collection, Lemonade, Basic Grey Buttons, Wisteria

Martha Stewart Baker's Twine, Solids

 
Start by adding color to the polka dot Invisibles paper.  I rubbed the ink on with a circular motion.
 
  

Once you have covered the paper with ink, rub off excess ink from the resist polka dots.  Use a circle punch that is the same size as the polka dots...or one that is as close to the size as you can get.
  

Use a larger circle punch to punch out a "scrap" circle template.

 

On the back of the orange polka dot paper, line up the inner circle with your template and trace along the top of the outer circle.  Trace paper or a ruler across the center of the circle and hand cut along the line.

  

This is what it will look like once you have cut both ends

 

mat the paper onto yellow paper, add the pencil through the ends

Stamp spider web, sentiment and spider in black onto green paper and cut around it so that it's slightly larger than the yellow base because it needs to go over the pencil.

Punch 2 small holes through the green panel and the base at the same time.

 

thread the twine through both holes at the same time and wrap around to the front.

 

tie a bow in front and add a button accent to the center of the bow.

 

and here's a close-up of your Halloween message

 

this is what the back side will look like.  You can add it to a card base and include a message inside. 
 
 
I am hoping that you will find these easy enough that you might consider making some for your child's class.  Change the size of the holes to adapt to a lollipop, toothbrush or a stick of gum.  Experiment and have fun!

Get Zig-Zaggy With Your Stitching!

Thanks for stopping in today to see what we are up to for our Technique Tuesday Tags!

I thought it would be fun to explore a little more stitching, so let's play with some ways to use the zig-zag stitch in our projects.

We are going to begin by creating a frame for our background paper on the card base. To start, set your stitch width and length to your preferences. For cards I like my width set at 4.0 and my length set at 2.0. This comes from many years of using my machine and I find that that this setting pair works best for me. I usually start in the bottom left corner and stitch up the side from there, this is a place where the viewer's eye usually doesn't rest so the connection is "hidden". I also make sure that my needle is in the down position so that it makes it easier to pivot on the corners. My preference is to have the pivot occur with the needle on the background side and then turn it to the next edge from there. It makes a nice open and clean corner. Continue along all the sides until you come the end. Lift needle and trim threads.

This is what your card base will look like when you are done. For this card, I used a piece of my gorgeous Eerie paper that is from Basic Grey. I love all of the color variation that is in the paper already, I don't need to add anything for it to look fabulous! Set the card base aside until later.

Next we will be stamping the "Newspaper Ads" Scrapblock onto our shipping tag.

I used "Pebble" Adirondack to create a nice subtle look.

Place but don't adhere some Art Flowers onto the tag where you like them. With a pencil draw lines that lead to your "Art Flowers", any color of flowers will work, but I went with some that felt like Thanksgiving since it is that time of year.

Use the zig-zag stitch to create stems for your flowers and along the base for some texture.

When you are done, gently erase your lightly drawn pencil lines and lightly adhere the flowers to the tag. Stitch vintage buttons onto the centers of your flowers with Natural Colored "Baker's Twine" and then tie into bows.

I didn't have a ribbon that matched the way I liked, so I got out my "Silk Ribbon" and colored it with my Copics, E33 and YRO4, perfect!

Stamp a sentiment of thanks or gratitude, trim and then safety pin into ribbons that you have tied onto the tag. Tie ribbon across bottom of tag to finish the look and then adhere  the tag to your card base and call it good!

I love projects like this because they are easy to make in any color for what ever situation you need. Try it in blues for letting a special man in your life know how much you appreciate him or in some beautiful pinks for a special friend who is needing a boost. So many variations are waiting for you!

Hope you have fun exploring your zig-zag stitch, and thanks for stopping by to play a little!

B-

Nutmeg Fall Shadowbox Card by Debbie Olson

This week I was playing with some Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg paper (6" x 6" Mini Deck) and my favorite little Kim Hughes Autumn Tree when I remembered making shadowbox cards a few years ago. Since stamping often seems cyclical, I thought that it might be time to re-share this oldie but goodie, the shadowbox card.

 

First I chose my papers from the Nutmeg Mini Deck. I already knew that I wanted to use the Autumn Trees stamp set, and I really liked the leaf prints as well as the sky paper to coordinate. For a card base, I used two squares of natural white (light ivory) cardstock cut to 5-1/2" square. 

Pictured here are really two steps. First, I tool a Long Rectangle Nestability and cut a window into my card front with its attached brown leaf mat layer. I seemed to need some kind of accent, so I cut a second rectangle from an aqua cardstock, trimming a bit past the outside edges to form my frame. This gave me a more finished look on the front.

For the area inside the window, I created a little background by piecing the sky along with some rolling hills, all sanded so that they would stand out better. I left the sewing off, though I was tempted to put it!

I colored the little tree in the Copic markers shown above (E356, E37, BG72. YR15, and E07). The most time consuming part of this card was trimming carefully around the tree, but it was necessary and worth it.

 

My card back and front are scored at 1/2" and 1" in on both sides, the top so that it bows up, and the bottom so that it bows down.

I attached the back to the front with three eyelets on either side, wanting to make sure that it didn't pop open accidentally. Obviously, you would have to sign this kind of card on the back rather than on the inside (since it doesn't open), but it's a nice type of card to display.

If you make a shadowbox card, I would love to see a link!  Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom today.

You Rule Princess Card by Julia Stainton

I love designing with all things pretty so I thought it would be fun to do a very lacy style card today. Using panels of lace and trim is a great way to add texture and interest to a design and they can be adhered right over your cardstock or patterned paper.

To start off a project, it's always a great idea to pull out the supplies you want to use and go from there. If you start by coloring the image it may be difficult to find papers and embellishments in your stash to match. I never would have thought to color the crown pink, purple with a lime green accent but it's bright, fun and girlie and works great with the supplies I chose.

This card was easy to put together with a Key Lime Memory Box notecard base and patterned paper from the Webster's Pages Magical Wishes 6x6 paper pad. I loved how this particular piece had the word princess on it and worked that into the design.

To apply the lace you can either stitch it or use a strong dry adhesive. I like to use my Glue Glider Pro for a good clean hold. This gorgeous trim is the new Webster's Pages Postcards from Paris/Nature's Storybook trim collection. When applying trim to a card, I always cut it just a little long and then trim the edges cleanly once they are all adhered.

A Royal Birthday is a beautiful stamp set from CHF that works well for other occasions as well. After stamping onto Neenah Classic Solar White cardstock, I die cut out my image layer with the Spellbinders Labels Six die. I chose this die as I liked how it echoed the shape of the top of the crown image. To get a nice even border effect, I left the die in place when airbrushing around the edges.

Here's the Copic colors I used...

The You Rule sentiment is fro the same set. It is colored and cut out and then adhered on top of the crown layer. To embellish the crown, after all every princess needs a little bling, I added a couple Accent Pearls.

To finish off the project, I adhered the images on dimensional foam tape over the lace and added a little bow made from twill ribbon. As a final touch, I distressed the right edge of the patterned paper with my finger giving a little peek at the other side.

 

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom! Happy creating!

Thankful Pumpkins by Sharon Harnist

 
I love making three dimensional projects with my die cuts, so when I first saw these Nested Pumpkin dies, I immediately knew what I wanted to try with them ... a 3D pumpkin decoration!  Here are all the supplies you'll need (minimal):

 
I started with an Indian Summer 12x12 sheet of patterned paper (Basic Grey) and die cut it.  I was able to cut the paper into three even strips and then run two thicknesses of them (stacked) through my Wizard die cutting machine at once, thus cutting down the number of passes through my machine.  If you plan it out carefully, you should be able to get 9 of the largest pumpkins cut from one sheet of 12-inch paper.

Next, I scored each pumpkin down the middle and folded them with the pattern of the paper facing inward.  To assemble, all you need to do is apply adhesive to the half of pumpkin that's facing up, and then place another folded pumpkin die cut onto the first one.  Keep stacking until you think you have enough ... it will look like this:

 
Four die cuts stacked will yield a pumpkin that will stand up okay on its own but the fuller it is, the better look in my opinion.  I used 8 die cuts and then still had one left over for another project.  When you have the look you want, just adhere the those last two folds together (that are showing flat on my work surface in the photo above). 

Imagine this same concept with the Nested Pine tree dies I used last week!  Just like those Nested Pines, these Nested Pumpkin diess are a seasonal limited edition die set that will only be available through November 30th.  So as soon as Ellen's current supply is depleted, she probably won't be getting any more.

 
I thought these would make great little decorations to group and display in your home or use one at each of your Thanksgiving (or any other Fall celebration) dinner table settings -- maybe even with each guest's name on them!  I chose to attach a tag that reads "Give Thanks", along with Karen Lockhart's wonderful Two Acorns stamped image.

I stamped the leaves/acorns onto more Basic Grey Indian Summer (orange leaf) patterned paper and cut it out.  Then I enhanced the image a little by using a light Prisma pencil on the acorn bottoms (and a darker pencil to shade them), along with some Copic markers on the leaves, to define them:

 
The leaves were adhered to a tag die cut (from yellow leaf Indian Summer paper) with foam tape and the "give thanks" sentiment stamped onto the tag.  Here's a view from the top of the pumpkin, hopefully showing the dimension it has:

 
For the card, I took my cues from the gorgeous colors in the same Indian Summer patterned paper and chose this Memory Box Raspberry, Boysenberry & Paprika combination, which I love together!!  Using that 9th pumpkin I die cut earlier, I machine stitched it with chocolate thread, popped it up on foam tape, and added the "Celebrate the Season" sentiment flag at the top.  I think this is a pretty versatile sentiment that can be used for a number of seasons/holidays, don't you? 

I tied up a beautiful shade of pumpkin satin ribbon that Ellen includes as a little thank you gift with your order (the color changes usually each month) -- it's a perfect match for the Indian Summer papers! A tied button and machine stitching all around the card base finishes it off (quick & simple)!

Thanks for visiting today and happy Fall!
 
Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company Two Acorns, Give Thanks & Celebrate the Season sentiments
Paper: Basic Grey Indian Summer 12x12; Memory Box Raspberry, Boysenberry & Paprika cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa, Copic markers (shown above)
Accessories: Spellbinders Nested Pumpkin & Tags 5 die sets, Martha Stewart Embossed Zig Zag edge punch & Baker's Twine-Christmas, Scor-It Board Mini, pumpkin satin ribbon from Ellen's monthly "thank you" gift, Prisma pencils (shown above), button, sewing machine

party favor idea by Kim Hughes

Baby, wedding, birthday...you name it..all occasions that may include party favors are fair game for this project.  This is something that can be displayed on a table top, can be taken home as a gift and also provides a sweet treat for you and your guests

Supplies:

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

Backgrounder, Fine Gingham

Martha Stewart Baker's Twine, Solids,

Martha Stewart Test Tube Favors

Basic Grey 12"x12" Collection Pack, Nook and Pantry

Spellbinder's Nested Flower

Beading Wire, 28 Ga, Silver

Red Liner Tape, 1/4"

other:

circle punch and hole punch

rock chocolate

Start with a 12 x 12 piece of Basic Grey paper and cut it 3 inches wide.

Score at 1inch, 3 inch and 1 inch again.

Cut a base to 2 1/2 x 3

Punch a circle in the center

Apply adhesive of choice to the ends of each flap and attach to the base.

machine sew along the inside fold for a firm hold to the base

Punch a hole through both sides of the middle

 

...and tie a bow with brown twine

and voila, here is your base to hold the test tube.  It works well.  I wish I knew the engineering behind it, but it seems to do the trick!  :)

die cut 4 flowers from the same Basic Grey paper and fold each one down the middle in the same exact way as each other.

Use red tape on the inside to secure the wire.  Use a liquid adhesive on the edges of each flower petal.

 

...and it will look like this.
 
 

stamp the gingham pattern onto Memory Box card stock and punch out 4 flower centers

fold each circle and add to the flower centers on all 4 sides.

  

Here's a closer look at the test tube base.
 

Change the paper colors to accommodate a different season.  This project reminds me of fall, but you can add a Christmas tree to the top for a holiday party and fill the test tube with peppermints maybe?  Put jelly beans in the tube for a baby shower...add a ducky to the top possibly?  Just have fun.

Thank you for joining me today.  :)
 
 

Fall at Twilight by Debbie Olson

 

This week I found three sheets of Basic Grey's Eerie paper in my stash. Although I don't make many Halloween cards, I loved the colors and patterns in this collection and decided to use it in a general fall application.

In addition to the Eerie papers, I chose the Kim Hughes Autumn Trees stamp set, a handful of Copic markers, and a white Prismacolor pencil. (My Eerie papers were the 12" x 12" variety, but they are also available in a 6" x 6" pad.)

I stamped the bare birch tree image in Memento Black ink on Kraft cardstock and colored the tree with the gray Copic markers shown above (C0 and C2).  Next, I used a white Prismacolor pencil to lighten one side of the birch tree. I was aiming for a twilight feel, so having shadows on a white tree didn't bother me. Still, I needed some highlights in order so give it dimension, and a white Prismacolor on top of Copic marker is perfect for that. (Do NOT use your markers on top of the Prismacolor since the wax will be harmful to your marker tips.) In this picture, I've left the left branch of the tree without a Prismacolor shading so that you can see it before and after over the gray marker.

I colored the leaf pile with the Copic markers shown above (Y35, Y38, and YR16), and enhanced a few of the leaves with my white Prismacolor pencil before trimming closely around the leaf pile to place it in front of the tree.

Accents are the Baker's Twine and some Paris Dew Drops. I used an Binder Edge punch to punch the strip of patterned paper on the left edge. 

Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom today!

Spooky Savings

Get your eerie goodies while you still have a ghost of a chance of finding them in stock!

Deer Friend Pocket Card by Julia Stainton

I hate to say it but the holiday season is fast approaching. While that means joyous times, it also makes for very busy days. I'm excited about getting started on my holiday cards now before the rush starts. There's even some snow on the ground this morning to get me in the mood!

For the special people in my life, I like to play around with giving them a special card each year. An easy way to make a card seem extra special is to try out a new card fold design. Today I've created a tri-fold pocket design to share with you and of course, the final card with a "deer friend" of mine.

To get started, I chose this darling Memory Box Deer Friends stamp for inspiration and the Memory Box Spiceberry 6x6 paper pad. The colors and scaled down prints are so darling and festive.To create the pocket base I used a sheet of Memory Box Raspberry cardstock. Cut the cardstock to a 5.5" x 11" size and then score 3 3/8" from each side. Fold towards center leaving the raspberry color to the inside.

Mark 2" down from the top of each side and trim off on an angle to create a diagonal edge.

Trim patterned paper to cover each side panel by cutting to 3 3/8" x 5.5" and then trimming off the same angle.

To add interest, punch with the Martha Stewart Snowflakes Edger Punch along diagonal edge of both patterned paper layers. Adhere to side panels of card.

Cut Kraft Cardstock insert to 4" x 5" in size. Punch along top edge with snowflakes edger punch. Adhere pocket together with Red Liner Tape for a secure pocket.

Stamp Deer Friends stamp onto Kraft cardstock using a Copic-friendly black ink. I use the Tuxedo Black by Memento.

Color with Copic Markers. I used YG95, E31, RV17 & E71. I didn't bother coloring the legs as I knew I'd be cutting them off to fit the charm.

 

To add a little dimension and make the tag special. I used a Tim Holtz Fragments Charm. They adhere really well to cardstock using a very thin coat of Glossy Accents. Spread it out evenly with your finger and place over image. It will dry almost instantly. Cut out cardstock closely around edges of tag.

I think one of the best things I love about this Deer Friends stamp is that it includes the sentiment right on the stamp. So cute, it's great value and you NEVER lose the accompanying sentiment. I stamped it onto my insert and also adhered a little of the patterned paper scraps to add some color.

 

Tie ribbon around card pocket and tie on Fragment charm.

 

Here's the final project. Why not try it out for other special occasions as well? Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom! Have a great weekend!

Stitched Nouveau Pines by Sharon Harnist

 
I thought I'd continue with our sewing theme we're on here in the CLASSroom and InTouch Newsletter this week ... it's one of my favorite things to do on my papercrafting projects.  I think it lends a very nice hand-made feel to just about anything and adds wonderful detail and dimension!

I started by stamping CHF's Art Nouveau backgrounder with Adirondack Cranberry dye ink onto a Peach Fuzz Memory Box notecard -- I loved how this color combo turned out (although the peach notecard is appearing a bit more on the pink side than peach in some of these photos, much to my dismay)!

Next, I stamped the CHF Vintage Text Scrapblock with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto Neenah Natural White cardstock and then die cut it using Spellbinders' limited edition set of Nested Pine Tree dies. 
FYI: If you like this die set, you'll want to be sure to scoop it up before November 30th, when they'll be gone.  I would suspect Ellen won't be getting anymore of them into the store once the ones she has on hand are gone.

Then I cut two sets of waves out of Neenah Natural White cardstock and layered them on top of each other, to resemble snow banks/hills and below is how it all came together:

 

I want to point out what the stitching and a little ink sponging/distressing can really add to a project.  Below, you'll see that I sponged Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink to the trees and Antique Linen ink to the snow hills.  Now you can really see all the details in those trees and hills and it really makes them pop!

 
To finish off my card, I added machine stitching with brown thread to one tree.  I won't lie, it was a bit time consuming to slowly rotate the wheel of my sewing machine slowly and keep pivoting the needle at each turn of a tree limb!  That's when I decided that one stitched tree would be plenty of impact for this card, LOL!!

I also machine stitched together with ivory thread, the snow hills.  I did this with just the snow pieces and THEN adhered them to my cardfront, so all the stitching would be concealed and not on the inside of my cardfront.

Next, I created the sentiment flag by stamping one of Mona Lisa Moment's pretty new Vintage Christmas Expressions with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto more Peach Fuzz cardstock and just hand-trimmed it into a flag shape.  I stitched a button to one end of the sentiment flag, bent it into a wave, and then attached the flag to the card (again, to conceal the stitching), using glue dots.

I hope you'll give sewing on your projects a try ... I think you'll become as addicted as I (and a lot of people) have become!

 
Stamps: CHF Backgrounder-Art Nouveau, CHF Scrapblock-Vintage Text, CHF Mona Lisa Moments-Vintage Christmas Expressions
Paper: Neenah Natural White cardstock, Memory Box Peach Fuzz notecard
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; Ranger Adirondack Cranberry dye ink, Antique Linen & Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks
Accessories: Spellbinders Nested Pine Tree die set, button, sewing machine

Flower magnet gift set by Kim Hughes

Have you needed a last minute gift and just couldn't think of what to make?  I am hoping that this idea comes to mind the next time you are in a pinch.  Make custom refrigerator magnets.  You can make a bunch of them to have on hand.  Create some in holiday theme or coordinate colors with a loved one's kitchen.  Give them to a friend, family member, teacher, co-worker etc.  Have fun with this fast and easy gift idea.

Supplies:

Spellbinder's Nested Flower

Nestability Dies - Circle, Standard Large

Martha Stewart Baker's Twine, Solids

Gardener's Know the Best Dirt (Karen Lockhart stamp)

Essentials by Ellen: Art Magnetic Masking Material

Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, The Boyfriend

Webster's Pages Petite Papers Paperpad, Postcards from Paris & Sweet as Cherry

Start by cutting flowers with a Nestabilities die cut from Ellen's innovative magnetic masking material.  The dies stay in palace because of the magnet (pretty cool)

the magnetic paper has a smooth white paper finish on the front.  Use the same flower die cut on blue patterned paper as well.

The paper flowers fit the magnets beautifully.  Use a circle punch or the circle Nestabilties dies for the red paper polka dot flower centers.  Hand cut green paper leaves for each flower.

Adhere the leaves between the paper and magnet layer.  Having paper in the back of the magnet will most likely affect how well it works.

Cut a card base and machine sew around the edge.  Pull out some chocolate twine.

wrap the twine around the card, wrap around the magnet to hold it in place.  This is an interactive card, where they will be instructed on the inside that the flowers are not only a beautiful accent to the card, but gift magnets as well.

Once you have held each flower in place, tie the strings together

Use a paper scrap for the sentiment

and hand cut around it, adding a curve in the end for added interest.  Add the sentiment to the bottom of the card.

and see...it really does look beautiful on my fridge.  I plan to make a bunch more today.
 
Thanks for stopping by today.  I always enjoy your company.

:)

A Little Bewitching Stitching

There are many ways to add texture to a project, but one of my favorites is stitching. Whether by hand or machine, there are so many ways to add a little something extra. What I am going to share is adding stitched letters and shapes to your project using both machine and hand stitching.

The first is a monogram card:

I started with a Medium Manila tag and the letter "J" from the Basic Grey (un)Dressed Chipboard Monograms. I traced the letter onto the tag,

and then stitched around it using my very loved sewing machine.

After I was done stitching it looked like this...

A few suggestions for making this easier from my trial and error. A smaller stitch length goes around rounded shapes easier, and I have the option of leaving my needle down when I take my foot off the peddle. This is a very useful tool as well, as I can leave the needle down but lift the presser foot and get very clean pivot points on places like corners or tight spots. I recommend you practice with your machine before you start on a project with product that you don't want to waste. 

I traced the letter onto some Cosmo Cricket paper from "The Boyfriend" collection, I used the 12" x 12" as that is what I had on hand, but I think I would have enjoyed using the 6" x 6" better to keep the scale to the card size. After tracing it, I trimmed it down to fit inside the monogram with a little buffer space on the inside edges so it felt lighter. I adhered the letter inside of the stitching, and then stitched the tag down with a little zigzag stitching on two edges. A couple of buttons stitched on with black DMC floss adds a nice touch.

When I was done with that I adhered it all to a card base and tied a big red ribbon through the tag and called it good...

An easy way to make a special monogram card!

The next project is along the same concept, but takes it quite a few steps further. A great technique for preserving some special memories.

First we are going to do some tracing again, the letters for the title and then a few stars, very spooky!

I mixed some paint from the Studio Line, Landscape Green and Sable Brown made a really nice subtle color that fit the look of the Eerie paper I was working on. I filled in the shapes and then went back after that layer had dried and added a very light layer of the green by itself that was pretty thinned down.

After the paint has dried take it to the sewing machine and stitch around it all. This is a place where you have a couple of choices. I stitched with the same color of thread so that if I like how that looked I would be done. My plan all along was to hand stitch, but you never know so I thought that while I was stitching I would try this look. Another option if you are thinking you want to hand stitch is to use your machine to do the hole punching for you. Just leave the thread out of the machine when you do the stitching.

This is what it looked like when I was done stitching with the machine...

When I was done with that I got out my black and purple DMC floss and spent a little time using the holes that the machine had punched to do a running stitch around each of the shapes. After I was done I added a some favorite pictures, a scallop punched border and a few buttons that were stitched on with more black floss.

And this is what I ended up with:

I hope that this has inspired you to look at stitching in a new way, and be sure to check out the next In Touch Newsletter. I will be sharing and exploring more ways to play with your stitching, so please stop by and check it out!

B-

Fall Whimsy by Debbie Olson

 

As I watch the leaves spiral madly from the trees in our back yard today, I look at some of my stamps differently. For instance, the weeping willow from Primitive Beginnings never shouted "fall" to me before, but today it begged to be used with the colors in Basic Grey's Indian Summer papers. (This paper is also available in a 6" x 6" pad; I just happened to have a few sheets of the 12" x 12".)

To ink the tree, I started with four Adirondack ink pad colors and one water-based dark brown marker. I inked the inside top leaves with Lettuce ink, then Sunset Orange below the green, Terra Cotta at the very top, and Cranberry at the very bottom. I used the corner of my ink pads and didn't really mess my ink pads up at all. For the tree trunk and branches, I used a water based brown marker directly on the rubber, then huffed on the rubber to re-moisten it before stamping my paper. (If you aren't pleased with your first try, be sure to clean your stamp before re-inking, or you may end up with muddy colors.)

To add a bit of background and "ground" the tree, I tore a piece of Eclipse paper and used the top half to mask for airbrushed grass (Copic YG95), and the bottom half to mask for a hint of sky (Copic Y32).

For the patterned paper background, I chose the brown leafy sheet as my base and accented it with the striped layer and the rose-toned layer, using the Binding Edge punch as well as some machine stitching to add interest.

This card started out quite normally, as you can see by the progression of pictures. When I got close to the end, however, it seemed to need something--like a bit of whimsy. I added the sheep and paper pieced him with some of the Indian Summer paper. Of course that made him need a creative sentiment, right? Finally "Home is where the heart lives" became "art lives" and my sentiment was born. 

That's it--an evolution from fall to whimsy. Sometimes your creativity doesn't take you where you thought you were going, but it generally works out anyway. Enjoy the journey, and thank you for visiting the CLASSroom today!

Test Tube Treats by Julia Stainton

Just three more weeks until Halloween and I thought it was time to get creating some fun treat containers for the occasion. It a really unique way of packaging sweets to give to your favorite trick or treaters. These test tubes are super easy to cover and embellish and hold a nice quantity of goodies. Here's how I made them!

The Martha Stewart Test Tube Favors come in a package of eight and are about 6.5" tall. Unlike real test tubes which are breakable glass, these test tubes are plastic and durable. I covered each of mine with a 3"x4" piece of Memory Box Twilight patterned paper. 

 

I used a strong double sided adhesive to hold the paper onto the test tube. Be sure to adhere straight so that the paper will roll on neatly. Adhere other side after rolling with more double sided adhesive.
 

My favorite ink to use is the Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. This image is the pumpkin label from the All Things Considered Fall Harvest stamp set by CHF.

 

Here's the Copic Marker colors I used... YR09, BV08, V15, YG95, YR21, YG93, & YR18
 

Don't worry about coloring outside of the image when you are cutting it out. I wish you could see it better in this photo but I highlighted the pumpkin with a Clear Spica glitter pen.
 

If you're pressed for time and you're looking for a quicker version of this test tube, simply stamp an image onto colored cardstock and call it good. I used Memory Box Concord Grape Cardstock and the Memory Box Jack O Lantern cardstock to mat the images. A fun way to define the edges to to add a grungy look is to ink them with black ink.
 

To put the project together, a purple velvet ribbon is tied around the test tube and knotted. After punching a hole  in the images to create a tag, they are then pinned to the ribbon knot. Fill test tubes with holiday candy and cap with cork.

If you're in need of some more ideas for these test tubes, why not rework the design for Christmas, Valentine's or a birthday. These test tubes could also be filled with glitter, confetti, bubbles or anything else fun and small.

Happy creating and thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom!

Cornucopia Stamp of the Month by Sharon Harnist

There's a chill in the air and it's finally feeling like Fall down here in the South USA, so I thought I'd get a head start on my Thanksgiving cards AND wish our Canadian friends a very happy upcoming Thanksgiving!  Karen Lockhart's beautiful new Cornucopia stamp is perfect for the holiday and I have step-by-step Copic coloring tutorial for you today. 

Some of the supplies I used are from this month's Stamp Of The Month Kit.  Ellen put together this wonderfully matched kit of notecards, patterned paper, cardstock, ribbon & buttons and all you have to do is choose which stamp you'd like to pair it up with!

 

Here's your step-by-step Copic coloring instructions, under each photo.  You can click on any of the photos for a larger view:

1-Color cornucopia with E33, shade the bottom and edge opening with E35, color pumpkin and orange with YR12, add YR12 highlights to cornucopia.  2-Blend pumpkin and orange with YR00, color inside of cornucopia with E39.

3-Color squash and top of apples with Y21, base coat pear & right apple with YG11, add shadow to lower part of right apple with YG23.  4-Shadow lower part of pear and squash with E21 and color lower part of acrorns, add darker shadows to pumpkin and orange with YR04, color center apple with R24.

5-Blend pumpkin and orange with YR00 and base coat the oak leaves, color pear with YG93 and use to add shadow to bottom of green apple, use Y21 to blend green apple and add to oak leaves.  6-Color grapes first with V12, add shadows to bottoms of grapes with V15 & V17.

7-Color fruit leaves with YG93, color acorn tops with E35.  8-Color oak leaves with YR12, YG23, E35; blend with YR00.

9-Color vines with YG23, flowers with V15 and dots around flower with Lemon Spica Glitter Pen.  10-Shadow around bottom of cornucopia and fruit with W1, blending edges with 0-Colorless Blender.

11-Die cut image with Classic Circle Nestabilities; airbrush outer edges with E31.

There you have it!  I finished the card by zig-zag stitching a brightly colored piece of the Indian Summer paper onto another piece of brown leaf paper from the pad and punched the lower edge.  Karen Lockhart's Give Thanks sentiment was stamped onto the Mango notecard.

 
The focal image was layered onto another die cut (Labels Three Nestabilities) of paper from Indian Summer and popped up on foam tape.  Thanks for visiting today -- I hope you all enjoy a bountiful Thanksgiving!

 

• Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company-Cornucopia (stamp of the month) & Give Thanks sentiment
• Paper: Neenah Natural White, Basic Grey Indian Summer 6x6 & Memory Box Mango Notecard (from October Stamp of the Month Packet)
• Ink: Adirondack Espresso, Copic markers (shown above) & Lemon Spica Glitter Pen
• Accessories: Copic Airbrush System, Classic Circle & Labels Three Nestabilities dies, Martha Stewart Simple Scallop Edger Punch, sewing machine 

Stitched Greetings by Kim Hughes

Hello everyone.  Hope you had a fantastic time with all of the World Card Making Day festivities.  I know I did :)  We enjoyed having you here with us.

Here's a "simple and clean" card that you can send at any time of year...great for spring, baby, Christmas (maybe add a jingle bell to the bow) love and just saying "hi".  Click on the image for a closer look

 
Supplies:

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

Martha Stewart Baker's Twine, Solids

Nestability Dies - Labels Three

Memory Box Notecard Collection, Muted Spring and  Peace, Love and Joy stamp

Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, Earth Love

 

Hand stitching adds such a fun, personal touch.  It's easy, but time consuming...but oh' so worth it in the end

Start by tracing the Nestabilities shape onto the inside of your card base with pencil

Use the thread to poke holes along the line that you just drew.  I erased a portion so that you can see it better.  No need to erase the lines. 

 
Securely tape both ends of the twine.  You can cover the inside if you wish to make it look cleaner.

and here's what it looks like on the front.  This represents a journal spot, frame or fun accent piece.

Cut paper scraps to add to the bottom of the card.  Cut bird border from patterned paper.

Stamp sentiment in the stitched area

Push green twine through one of the orange stitches with scissors.

 

...and tie in a bow.  If you tie the bow upside down, it should hang towards the bottom of the card.  (The top of the card closest to you)

cut a cute little bird from the patterned paper and arrange him on top so that he's looking down onto your whimsical sentiment.

 
Peace, Love and Joy to all of you.  Thank you for joining me :)

World Card Making Day Blog Candy Winners

Yippie!!! What a fun weekend! Thank you all for sharing in the fun and excitement! We really appreciate you stopping by the CLASSroom and supporting our group of talented ladies! Remember you still have the remainder of today to enter in our final Blog Candy drawing.

So on to our winners!

BLINKIE LINKIE Blog Candy Winnter:

Here are your random numbers:

16	

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 16:21:15 UTC

Happy WCMD!
Here's a link to my blog: http://sweetvioletspaperie.blogspot.com/

Posted by: Cam | September 29, 2009 at 06:13 AM

 

EHWCMD1 Inchie Blog Candy Winner:

Here are your random numbers:

82	

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 15:42:40 UTC

oh this is just beautiful. i am so inspired by the creativity of these inchies!

Posted by: janice | October 04, 2009 at 06:07 AM

 

EHWCMD2 Sketch Blog Candy Winner:

Here are your random numbers:

52	

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 15:50:15 UTC

What a bright and beautiful card, Susan! Great sketch too!

Posted by: Broni | October 03, 2009 at 07:12 PM

 

EHWCMD3 Halloween Blog Candy Winner:

Here are your random numbers:

79	

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 15:52:04 UTC

So very cool!! Love the flower and how you used it. Really would like to try out the sticky back canvas

Posted by: Sara | October 04, 2009 at 09:55 AM

 

EHWCMD4 Puttin' on the Glitz Blog Candy Winner:

Here are your random numbers:

22	

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 16:05:28 UTC

The vintage feel is so fun and brings memories of earlier times.

Posted by: Stephanie S. | October 03, 2009 at 01:07 PM

 

EHWCMD5 Fashion/Home Decor Blog Candy Winner:

Here are your random numbers:

52	

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 16:07:21 UTC

This card is adorable!!! Super duper.

Posted by: Giovana | October 03, 2009 at 08:10 PM

 

EHWCMD6 Color Inspiration Blog Candy Winner:

Here are your random numbers:

79	

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 16:15:26 UTC

I love this color combination!
It's so wintery.

Posted by: Yael | October 04, 2009 at 08:06 AM

 

EHWCMD7 Holiday Card Blog Candy Winner: 

Here are your random numbers:

19	

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 16:18:30 UTC

Oh boy, I love this card!!! The colors are just perfect and I love snowmen and kitty's, adorable!!!

Posted by: Mary | October 03, 2009 at 03:29 PM

 

We will be sending out emails momentarily, but if you see your name on this list you are welcome to contact us at [email protected] as well. Congratulations everyone and thank you again for your amazing support! -Ellen

World Card Making Day Thank You and Update

THANK YOU!!! Thank you for coming to visit us in our little corner yesterday (and today, AND tomorrow - LOL!) of World Card Making Day!

There is still time! Yes, you have until tonight at midnight to tell the girls how wonderful they are (insert big grin). Please leave a comment for them on their posts - besides it enters you in a drawing for the blog candy at the end of each of their posts. This means that you have SEVEN women to share your thoughts with and SEVEN opportunities to win some wonderful prizes! I want them to know how special they are and your comments are so appreciated!!!

I can't begin to ever thank each of these wonderful women nearly enough for all they do to help educate you our customers and readers. Becky, Cindy, Debbie, Julia, Kim, Sharon, Susan - you ladies are ROCK STARS! Your projects were AMAZING - thank you for taking on the challenge ideas I shared with such gusto. I appreciate you so much!

Remember that you still have time to create as well!!! Take on these challenges and share your creations with us. Once you have completed a challenge just leave a comment on THIS POST (double click on this link to take you to our challenge blog candy post) and you will be entered in to our drawing. You have today and tomorrow to still create!!!

Thank you again for your support during our sale and with your comments. We hope that you have enjoyed the creativity and inspiration that was shared yesterday!

World Card Making Day Seasonal Challenge: Holiday Cards by Debbie Olson (EHWCMD7)

Is there anyone else out there in blog land who seems to need "just a few more" cards around December 20 every year? I can think I have enough, but it seems that I'm always running out and then having to mass product a dozen or so cards toward the end! 

Just in case you need a friendly shove in the direction of getting started, I'm sharing a darling little Lockhart Limited Edition snow globe, Nicholas & Kitty, paired with some Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly Mini Deck papers. Keep in mind that you can click on any of these pictures to make them larger. 

First, I chose the papers from the Jolly by Golly Mini Deck that I thought I might want to use, along with some coordinating Copic markers, R30, R32, G40, G12, and C0. I colored the trees, coat, and cat's bow with this first batch of markers. (Shall we pretend that Nicholas is Nikki today? I really wanted some pink in here, and a pink cat just didn't seem right! ;-D)

Next, I chose Copic BG000 for the sky, BG72 for mittens, hat, and scarf, and some cool gray (C1) for defining shadows on the snowman and on the snow.

 

The toughest decision for me was how to color the cat. I chose Copic E21 and added a dab of E25 in shadow areas, using my lighter marker as a paintbrush to dab at and apply the darker marker. It's a good way to avoid having to try to blend extreme values, and it's not a problem with Copic markers since they cannot be cross-contaminated. 

I added a few more cool shadows to help the white of the snow and snowman pop, as well as coloring the base so that it would appear reflective. Normally I would go with a darker value right next to the light to indicate reflectivity, but I toned it down here because I didn't want to draw attention to the base of the snow globe. 

Here are the Spica glitter pens that I used to touch up an add highlights. All but the orange one are the newer colors; my caps aren't colored because mine are prototype markers. If you order them, they will have colored caps as always.

Finally, here is a close-up of the colored "Nicholas and Kitty" image--I love this one! Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom on World Card Making Day!

HOLIDAY CARD CHALLENGE

This is our last challenge for the day and it is an important one! Create a card to use this upcoming holiday season! It would be fun for you to share how many cards you have already created as you leave your comments below or in the post above.

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post! It would also be great if you could please refer to Challenge EHWCMD7 when you upload to a gallery to make it easier for us to spot your creations!

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of World Card Making Day today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the following delicious goodies used to create this project:

 

• Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly 6x6 Paper Pad
• Lockhart 2009 Limited Edition, Nicholas and Kitty
• Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly Ribbon Packet
• Memory Box Cardstock - Eggshell, Robin's Egg, Wheat Grass, Currant, Raspberry

All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, October 4th to be eligible.

World Card Making Day Color Challenge by Sharon Harnist (EHWCMD6)

Hi, everyone -- we hope you are having fun today, setting aside some time to craft and maybe get started on your holiday cards?  Well I hope this challenge might help you with that ... or anything YOU might like to create today, as this is one of my favorite color combos!

I chose some beautiful Memory Box patterned papers to get my creative juices flowing, and paired it with one of Memory Box's latest holiday stamps.  This made for an easy color combo for a wintery holiday card!

I selected Memory Box's solid coordinating cardstock colors shown in the color challenge graphic above to match their Dewfrost patterned paper, but you are certainly free to use any manufacturer's similar colors of soft, light robin's egg blue; dark brown & vanilla/cream.

 

Winter Retreat Dew Drops accent the Twisty Pine tree that was stamped onto a light blue solid pattern from Memory Box's Dewfrost 6x6 paper collection and then mounted to a layer of Natural White cardstock.  Machine stitching provides a snowy ground for the tree.  Spellbinders Snowflake Wonder die was used to cut patterned paper snowflakes, which were adhered to the Memory Box Vanilla Bean card base.  Call me crazy, but I love making brown snowflakes!

We can't wait to see what YOU come up with ... I hope you have a blast participating in the challenges today!  Thanks for playing! ~ Sharon

 

• Stamps: Memory Box Twisty Pine
• Paper: Memory Box Dewfrost 6x6 patterned cardstock pad & Vanilla Bean Notecards, Neenah Natural White cardstock
• Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
• Accessories: Spellbinder Snowflake Wonder dies, Winter Retreat Dew Drops, Tim Holtz Paper Distresser

COLOR CHALLENGE

Use this fabulous color combination to create your card!

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post! It would also be great if you could please refer to Challenge EHWCMD6 when you upload to a gallery to make it easier for us to spot your creations!

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of World Card Making Day today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the following delicious goodies used to create this project:

 

• Memory Box Dewfrost 6x6 Paper Pad
• Vanilla Bean Notecards and Envelopes
• Twisty Pine Stamp
• Winter Retreat Dew Drops
• Spellbinders Snowflake Wonder Dies

All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, October 4th to be eligible.

World Card Making Day fashion/home decor challenge - Kim (EHWCMD5)

Happy World Card Making Day!  I'd like to invite you to join in my fashion/home decor challenge.  Although both topics are uniquely different, they are surprisingly the same.  Both have a style that changes with each season.  Trends, textures and time of year all have an impact of what we see in magazines and on television.

I love the rich colors in this ad.  Bursts of vibrant color, subtle patterns.  Hints of glam and silver.  All of which makes me want to learn more about the 40's.

 

These beautiful rooms seems so inviting.  The cozygreen and blue tones that just make me want to melt into a couch.  The openness of rooms with large windows and touches of nature leaves me refreshed.  And the golden tones of an elegant room just melts me heart.

 

I took inspiration from so many aspects of these ads.  I chose stripes that are elegant and inviting.  I adore the white pleated top, so I added a touch of folded white paper to the bottom of my border.  The tiny weaved slacks are so classy...so I chose to add a subtle patterned strip to my card.  I just had to add a pop of yellow and a button and bling was perfect!  I am not sure if the stamps that I chose are characteristic of the 40's but it reminds me of "olden days".  I chose the main panel paper for it's colors, flowers and leaves...this ties in the nature that is seen in all three rooms.  I couldn't call it complete until I added just a splash of silver.

 

supplies: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Ginger, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Cranberry, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso, Gemstones, Small Blossom, Basic Grey Buttons, Wisteria, Basic Grey Buttons, Granola, Rummage Bin, On the Desk PRECUT, Webster's Pages Petite Papers Paperpad, Postcards from Paris & Sweet as Cherry Other: silver brads, light white printer paper

FASHION/HOME DECOR CHALLENGE

My challenge for you is:  Take inspiration from one or both of the ads that I have shown.  Take inspiration from the colors, textures or style.  Choose one element or many...the possibilities are truly endless.  Create a card, tag or what ever you like.  Have fun!

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post! It would also be great if you could please refer to Challenge EHWCMD5 when you upload to a gallery to make it easier for us to spot your creations!

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of World Card Making Day today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the following delicious goodies used to create this project:

 

• Webster's Pages Petite Papers Paperpad, Postcards from Paris & Sweet as Cherry Pie
• Cornish Heritage Farms On the Desk
• Gemstones, Small Blossom
• Adirondack Dye Ink Pads - Ginger, Cranberry, Espresso

All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, October 4th to be eligible.

Puttin' on the Glitz Challenge by Julia Stainton (EHWCMD4)

 
Welcome to our fourth World Card Making Day challenge at the CLASSroom! I love cards with glitz on them and today, we're challenging you to put on the glitz to celebrate! I've created a glitzy holiday card sample but feel free to create for any occasion using glitter, bling, sparkles, whatever shimmers or shines.

I've been drooling over these gorgeous Graphic 45 Christmas Past papers and couldn't wait to put them to use. You'll see three different patterns in my project but because these papers are double-sided, I actually only had to use two. Don't you love the vintage look and the warm holiday feel?

Instead of designing my card around an image, I created simple Christmas trees from the patterned paper and then added some glitz to dress them up.To cut the trees so that they are nice and even, first cut out a rectangle the height and width you want the trees to be. Mark the mid-point on the top of the rectangle with a pencil and then trim down from the middle to the bottom sides.

It's my opinion that all holiday trees should be decked out for the season and that's where the glitz part of this design came into the project. The striped tree is covered with a double sided adhesive sheet  and then sprinkled with glitter. So festive in person. My second tree, I decided to glitz it up by adding Copper Stickles to the snowflake pattern on the paper.

The darling little sentiment gets a holiday ornament feel by die cutting it out with Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies. Now the beautiful green lace trim was just a little too fresh for the look of this project so I lightly sponged it with the Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink

Paper: Neenah Classic Solar White cardstock, kraft cardstock, Christmas Past (letters to Santa & Let it Snow) by Graphic 45

Stamps: Winter Vintage Signage(the Rummage Bin Line) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento ink by Tsukineko, Brushed Corduroy Distress ink by Ranger

Other: spellbinders circle nestabilty dies, Webster’s Pages trim, Copper Stickles by Ranger, dimensional foam tape, double sided adhesive, glitter

Have fun with today's challenges, happy World Card Making Day and thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom!
Julia

PUTTIN' ON THE GLITZ CHALLENGE

OK girls - it's time to get sparkly! Create a card that shimmers and shines using your favorite "glitzy" product!  

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post! It would also be great if you could please refer to Challenge EHWCMD4 when you upload to a gallery to make it easier for us to spot your creations!

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of World Card Making Day today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the following delicious goodies used to create this project:

• Christmas Past Paper Pad
• Rummage Bin Winter Vintage Signage Stamp Set
• Essential Colors Glitter Set, 24 piece
• Memory Box Cardstock - Kraft (10 sheets)

All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, October 4th to be eligible.

Welcoming Becky Olsen!!! Sticky Back Canvas Image Transfer Technique and Challenge by Becky Olsen (EHWCMD3)

Ellen here, sneaking in the night before our preview to hopefully surprise sweet Becky, as well as all of you. It is with GREAT excitement that we welcome Becky in to our midst. I have been struggling to complete our Technique Tuesday Tags for the past several months - too many things and just not enough time. I was SO thrilled and excited when Becky agreed to join our team!!! Her Ranger U training will come in so very handy and it is so exciting to have her fabulous talent here in the CLASSroom. We welcome you Becky - I am so thrilled that you are here with us! Now I'm going to scoot on out of the way and let you savour these fabulous projects Becky created!!!

Hello!

My name is Becky Olsen, I have joined Ellen and her wonderful team with the goal of bringing fun, interesting and inspiring technique tutorials to the CLASSroom.

Here are the projects that we are creating today. The first is a card with a fun handmade scalloped flower...

and the second is an altered breath mint tin.

Supplies you will need:

One sheet of sticky back canvas

Claudine Hellmuth matte multi-medium Paint brush

brayer

Non-stick craft sheet

Paper from Eerie 6' x 6" paper pack

Mini-mister filled with water

Ranger craft scraper

Tonic Tim Holtz non-stick craft scissors

Archival ink in black

Owl silhouette stamp (out of stock right now, but will be back soon!)

Black gems

To get started, layout your non-stick craft sheet, your jar of multi-medium, a brush, a sheet of the sticky back canvas and three sheets of paper (one of those cut in half). Organize the paper so that you will have a good idea of how you will want it laid out. This helps you to work quickly when the surface is sticky.

Using your wide paint brush, lay down a generous (but not gloopy) layer of the multi-medium over the whole surface of the sheet of canvas.

Carefully place your papers in place.

Try to place them working from the center out to avoid air bubbles. Smooth with hands to try to work out air bubbles if you do have them.

Brayer the back with even pressure. Now step away and let it dry completely, this is very important, so don't rush it. While you are exhibiting immense patience, the multi-medium is absorbing the ink from the paper. So cool!

After it is completely dry, peel off as much of the paper as you can, this makes the next step a little easier

Spritz the back of the paper with your Mini-Mister to loosen the paper fibers.

Gently scrape and spritz lightly as needed to remove the next layer of paper.

It doesn't need to be soaked, just damp to be effective.

Keep spritzing and scraping until you have a pretty smooth surface.

Spritz again to make the surface a little moister and use your finger tips to work in small circles to remove the smallest fibers that are left from the scraping. Then lightly scrape those from the surface with the scraper. You can see those little piles of fiber on the right in the picture, they have more color than the previous bits. When you are done, the surface should feel smooth.

Put a few full paint brush smears of the multi-medium onto the non-stick mat and spritz with the Mini-Mister. That loosens the gel up so that you can spread it over the canvas and smooth the last few fibers that are left (that you can't see) to create a very nice looking surface. A great last touch before you start to create projects. Of course now you have to walk away for a bit and let it dry completely.

So now that we are dry we are ready to cut! I love my non-stick Tonics for this job. I freehand cut my scallops because I like that random look. If you wanted them to be more even, just trace a piece of scalloped cardstock and cut along that line.

Remove the sticky back and use a paper piercer to make even holes in the canvas. Mine was not so sticky that I couldn't work with it, but if you find yours is really sticky still, just sprinkle a little baby powder on the back. Work thread through holes with needle and gather.

Tie closed at the diameter you want the flower to be. I liked mine with a little tighter, ruffled look, so I gathered it very closely for the project. For the sample shown here, it is looser and has a larger finished diameter. It is up to you!

For the card, trim a section of the green at 3 1/4" x 5 1/4".
The trim a piece of the stripe at 1/2" x 5 1/4" and then a hand trimmed piece of the star dot at about 1" x 5 1/4". Assemble on card base made from black cardstock that measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" using extra adhesive if necessary.
Cut a large circle from one of the sheets of paper and adhere to card.
Then stamp owl onto another sheet and cut out around the circle, adhere to card with foam squares.
Adhere a button with ribbon tied in a bow onto top of scallop flower.
Adhere this on top of larger circle.
Call it done!

For altered tin, trace around top of tin and then trim out. Place on top of tin, it should stay itself, but if it not as sticky as you would like, add a little extra adhesive, the multi-medium works well for this, just lightly brush a little on the top of the tin, then place canvas, and let dry. I didn't need to and mine is holding perfectly, but it is about personal preference, do what works for you.

Cut a strip of the striped paper the long way and apply to tin the same way as you did the top.

I finished decorating mine with a black velvet ribbon, little sparkly letter stickers and some black crystals. I love a little bit of bling!

HALLOWEEN PROJECT CHALLENGE  

Are you ready for a challenge now? Create a Halloween project that is in some way inspired from this post.

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post! It would also be great if you could please refer to Challenge EHWCMD3 when you upload to a gallery to make it easier for us to spot your creations!

It is so exciting and fun to be a part of this team and your day! Thank you so much for taking some time to stop by and play!

B-

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of World Card Making Day today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the following delicious goodies used to create this project:

• Ranger Studio Line Sticky Back Canvas
• Basic Grey Eerie 6x6 Paper Pad
• Black Gems
• Matte Multi-Medium
• Mini Mister

All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, October 4th to be eligible.

 

World Card Making Day Sketch Challenge by Susan Roberts (EHWCMD2)

Happy World Card Making Day!!  I'm so excited to have a Sketch Challenge and some Blog Candy for you today!  Here is the sketch for you to try.  The measurements are given as a guide only.  Your card can vary from this as long as the general layout can be recognized.  It is also fine to rotate the sketch 90 degrees, if desired.

Here is the card I made using the sketch.

After tying the ribbon on my card today, I trimmed the ends.  This left a couple of almost-2" pieces of ribbon.  Here's something to do with those extra pieces of ribbon that feel just a little too long to throw away.

I attached glue dots to one end of each piece and tucked them under the flower.

After trimming the ribbon a second time, the extra pieces were only about 1/4".  I can part with that!  And I love the look of the additional pieces of ribbon with the flower.

Hope you will join in the fun and give this sketch a try.

Happy Crafting!!

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Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms "Botanical Bliss" and "Time to Stamp"

Papers: Memory Box Cardstock and Notecard and Basic Grey "June Bug"

Inks: Memento "Tuxedo Black" and Copics:

Accessories: Basic Grey "June Bug Pops Layered Stickers", Dew Drops, Art Flowers, Satin Ribbon

SKETCH CHALLENGE

Come join in the fun and create a card using this sketch!  

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post! It would also be great if you could please refer to Challenge EHWCMD2 when you upload to a gallery to make it easier for us to spot your creations!

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of World Card Making Day today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the following delicious goodies used to create this project:

 

• Basic Grey June Bug 6x6 Paper Pad
• Cornish Heritage Farms Botanical Bliss
• June Bug Pops
• Art Flowers, Neutral
• Memory Box Cardstock - Sunflower, Cherry Blossom, Red Pepper, Dill, Licorice (2 each for a total of 10 sheets)

All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, October 4th to be eligible.

Inchie challenge by Cindy Lyles and NEW Inchie Products (EHWCMD1)

We are so excited to reveal brand new products from Inchie Arts - Neutrals!!  Inchie Arts has released new Neutrals Inchie Notes and Neutrals Inchie Squares - soft, delicate hues that are rich in color, yet pale enough to stamp on and color! 

Inchie Squares consist of the highest grade Alpharag Artcare, 100% cotton, museum-quality archival matboard.  Each Inchie Square is four-ply matboard and one-millimeter thick, fade and bleed resistant, and acid free and lignin free.  These make a bold statement on any project when used singly or in multiples. 

For today's project we arranged three gradient colors from the new neutrals Inchie Squares - pale ivory, pale bisque and a light taupe.  For the challenge, try and arrange three Inchie Squares (or one-inch squares) on a simple card, and stretch the image over the three squares.

Memory Box's Bird and Nest image was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink over the gradient arrangement of Inchie Squares.

Using Copic markers the nest was quickly shaded and used BV0000 Pale Thistle to add shadows to the entire image.  The wee bitty bird was stamped using Adirondack Cranberry ink.

The edges of the neutral Inchie Squares were inked and blended using Distress Vintage Photo ink and an ink blending tool.  The three gradient Inchie Squares were mounted onto pierced Crimson cardstock then a Vanilla Bean layer.

The nest image was stamped again onto Neenah Classic Cream cardstock, colored with the same Copic markers and cut out.  Three Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearls were added to the nest, followed by the nest layer mounted on a sliver of foam.

Finished card size is three and half inches square (89mm square). 

INCHIE CHALLENGE

For the Inchie challenge, try and arrange three Inchie Squares (or one-inch squares) on a simple card, and stretch the image over the three squares.

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post! It would also be great if you could please refer to Challenge EHWCMD1 when you upload to a gallery to make it easier for us to spot your creations!

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of World Card Making Day today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the following delicious goodies used to create this project:

• Inchie Arts Neutral Inchie Squares,
• Inchie Arts Netural Inchie Notes,
• Memory Box Bird and Nest,
• Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearls, Teal/Aquamarine

All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, October 4th to be eligible.

World Card Making Day "Challenge Blog Candy"

It is with great excitement that we share our projects and challenges throughout the day on World Card Making Day. We would LOVE to have you play along with us! Each hour tomorrow, Saturday, October 3rd, starting at 8:00am Pacific Time we will be sharing a new challenge - so be certain to return every hour, on the hour, until 2:00pm Pacific Time to see what is new and to leave a comment for each designer! Your comment on their post will automatically enter you in a drawing for the goodies that will be given away with their challenge post.

Please scroll down through the posts that include a challenge number next to them - example EHWCMD1 through EHWCMD7. There will be seven different challenges for you to participate in. To participate in this Blog Candy drawing all you need to do is create a card for one of these challenges!

Following are some simple instructions sharing how you can participate in our Grand Prize Challenge Blog Candy:

1. Create a project for one challenge, several challenges, or participate in all of them. It is completely up to you how many challenges you would like to create for. You are welcome to create a total of seven projects and enter each one as a new entry.
2. Please enter only one card for each challenge. Each card can only be used for one challenge category. For example please do not combine the color challenge with the sketch challenge and enter the same project twice.
3. Share the projects that you create on your blog, or in a forum gallery such as Splitcoaststampers or the World Card Making Day gallery.
4. Once you have your project uploaded come back and share a link to your project in the comments section of this post. Be certain to list the Challenge Number located in the title of each challenge in your comment.
5. Deadline for entering in our "Challenge Blog Candy" is Monday, October 5th at 11:59pm. We would like for you to have an additional day to create, so that you can take advantage of as many challenges as possible.
6. We will use a random number generator to select our contest winner on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009.

So be certain to return tomorrow morning at 8:00am for our very first challenge AND NEW product reveal!!!

This prize package is valued at approximately $50 and includes the following:

Basic Grey Eerie 12 x 12 Paper Collection,

Memory Box Cardstock (Licorice, Lavender, Mango, Jack O Lantern, Parsley)

Basic Grey Eerie Take Note

Martha Stewart Scary Cat Punch

Memory Box Halloween Jewels

Distress Stickles, Maramalade

 

Gearing up for the BIG Day - World Card Making Day (Saturday, October 3rd)!

Our sale is in full swing and the girls have been rockin' the warehouse. I am so proud of them! They have been packing and shipping out the orders at an unbelievable pace. To be able to go to work each day and be surrounded by such happy, bright women is such a pleasure! We thank you for supporting us and we will do our best to get your orders to you quickly.

You may want to note that we have had some serious influx of product even today! New Hero Arts, more markers, fun embellishments - you name it... you may need to look again. We are hoping for more boxes again tomorrow to refresh our supplies, so keep your fingers crossed.

So what can you do to get ready for October 3rd? First of all I would like to suggest that you have a place where you can upload your projects - because we are going to try and challenge AND entice you to create by stimulating your creativity with gorgeous examples, and luring you with some lovely prizes!!! If you do not have a blog we highly recommend one of the following places to start a gallery - so sign up for one now!

• Splitcoaststampers Gallery
• World Card Making Day Gallery - ooooh - I just learned that if you post to this gallery you may have other opportunities as well! Read here to learn more!

Festivities will begin here in the CLASSroom starting at 8:00am Pacific Time. Yep, we are starting early, because we have LOTS to share! You will want to return here every hour on the hour to see what new fun has popped up. You may want to cover your keyboards to protect them from the drool these projects will illicit. I assure you that you will be inspired!!! I've seen the projects and they ROCK!

We will be interspersing the fun with a few announcements as well - you will NOT want to miss them! So get ready for some serious fun. Clear your desks, or at least a little corner some place and get ready to create with us on World Card Making Day!

October Stamp of the Month

Thank you for joining us again here in the CLASSroom today! Don't forget that our sale starts today and runs through tomorrow! As well you will most DEFINITELY want to join us on Saturday, October 3rd for a day full of card making festivities!

This month I wanted to share how you can use our stamp of the month packet to create very different looks. The colors always seem to pull the cards together, but if you look at each of the cards below they are quite different from each other. We hope that you enjoy this month's layouts and elements and that they inspire you to create something "firey" for the fall season.

To begin I selected the Basic Grey, Indian Summer collection of papers. The colors in these papers just grab me - the warmth, vibrance and sheer beauty scream fall.

 

When I first saw the Lockhart Cornucopia stamp I just HAD to color it! It was one of the first from the collection that I began to create with.

I always like to begin by laying down a light colored layer of color using Copic markers. As you can see - I do NOT worry about precision when placing these colors. I then begin to layer additional colors on top utilizing my Prismacolor pencils.

Many of you have wondered why it is that at times I switch from Copics to Prismacolor pencils. It is because I get a completely different look - one that has more depth, more texture, when I color on top of my Copic colors with Prismacolor pencils.

 

Prismacolor pencils when colored wtih a light hand will grab the tooth of the paper, allowing the colors below to show through. It is a difficult process to catch in photos, but I highly recommend that you give it a try.

I almost always use three different colors of pencils to color in one item, starting with the lightest color and adding the darkest color last.

Here is a closeup of the final colored piece. Following is the list of colored pencils I used - Burnt Ochre, Siena Brown, Chocolate, Dark Brown, Sand, Goldenrod, Pumpkin Orange, Scarlet Lake, Crimson Lake, Crimson Red, Poppy Red, Tuscon Red, Mahogany Red, Black Cherry, Limepeel, Dark Green. That's a lot of colors, but I love the depth and variety of color that makes the piece come alive.

To create the depth in this cornucopia I colored additional layers of the fruits and vegies. The foremost layer only has the pumpkin colored and cut out, with the second layer including the squash, pear, tomatoes, persimmon, and pumpkin.

Many of you have seen how Susan Tierney Cockburn has taught me how to make her GORGEOUS flowers. To create the leaves for this project I used the coffee filter technique that we worked on together when she first shared her wonderful skills with me. I just knew that Copic markers would add incredible color to these beauties.

To begin I color a small portion of a coffee filter with Y21. I then used several Martha Stewart leaf punches to create the leaves for this project.

To add color to these leaves I used a number of different Copic colors - R08, R59, YG00, E11, and E59

I then used Spica glitter pens to add some sparkley veining to my little leaves. As you can see I simply soak color in to one edge of the leaf and then come back in with my lighter colors to spread and blend the ink tones. This makes these leaves look so real!

The oak leaf was much to large to use in this basket, so I ended up cutting it and only using the top portion.

Simply adhere several leaves to your base layer, add the next fruit and vegie layer using dimensionals. Secure a couple of additional leaves and then place the pumpkin atop these using yet another dimensional.

I used a label nine die to create the background. Keeping my die in place I airbrushed my project using Copic colors Y38, Y26, YR24, and E09. "Give thanks" from the Rummage Bin, All Things Fall set was added as a greeting.

For my next card I just had to bring out my brayer. I have always been mesmerized by some of the beautiful brayered backgrounds I have seen and I felt that this stamp was begging for a similar look.

To begin I stamped my image on Eclipse tape and then cut out the circle and placed it on my white cardstock.

WIth this project I have found that I prefer the soft edges of the Speedball brayer - I hope to do an entire blog post on this subject soon.

To begin I brayered using the following colors on the top protion of my paper - Peach Bellini, Sunset Orange, Watermelon. Then on the bottom I brayered on Scattered Straw (I need to double check this one because I am writing this too late at night from home - LOL) and used Tea Dye ink direct to paper swiping in a sweeping motion that would represent hills.

The brayer from the bottom up the last layer of color is Walnut Stain ink. To determine the placement of my colors I stamped my image on a Stamp-a-ma-jig Imaging sheet and used it as a guide.

I also used my stamp-a-ma-jig to make certain that my stamped image would align perfectly with my circle. I removed my mask and positioned my imaging sheet as shown.

Simply remove the imaging sheet and stamp your image in the same place. Each stamp-a-ma-jig comes with directions, but sometimes a little refresher course can help.

As you can see I applied so much ink that it bleed through my mask, but I loved the look and realized that sometimes accidents are "good things."

The final step was to add a little extra depth to the hills. By positioning my Eclipse Tape along the hillside line and using my Walnut Stain ink together with a blending tool I was able to add that extra depth.

 

To finalize the focal image I added some accents using my Opaque pen. I just LOVE the colors of this project!

 

Finally came "The Pines." Working against the clock, because this image arrived in our warehouse only today, I realized that easy would be good. I LOVE the papers in the Indian Summer collection that are monochromatic leaf images. I simply stamped my image using VersaMark on the gourd colored leaves and embossed it with Walnut Stain embossing powder. The texture and depth this Distress Powder provides is simply gorgeous. This is one of my all-time favorite embossing powders.

A little stitching and a few buttons and this beautiful silhouette was complete. There will be so many ways for you to use this simple stamp --- white for winter, color with various ink pads or water-based markers and you will get a completely different look!

We hope that you enjoy the diversity in this month's selection and that you each find something that you are attracted to. Simple or complex - we want to give you choices.

Stamps: Lockhart Cornucopia, Rummage Bin All Things Fall, Memory Box Tendril Collage, CHF The Pines

Paper: Basic Grey 6x6 Paper Pad Indian Summer, Memory Box - Gourd, Mango, Persimmon, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa, Adirondack - Peach Bellini, Sunset Orange, Watermelon, Distress Ink Pads - Tea Dye, Walnut Stain

Accessories: Snips, Labels Nine, Dotted Scallop Edger Punch, Satin Ribbon (included in thank you packet), Antique Gold Twill, Basic Grey Indian Summer Buttons, Sewing Machine, Walnut Stain Distress Embossing Powder, Brayer, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Thank you for stopping by the CLASSroom today and be certain to stay tuned for more World Card Making Day announcements soon! For those of you who have added the "Blinkie" for our upcoming World Card Making Day events to your blogs this is the prize packet you will be receiving! We hope that you will enjoy the fun we have planned!