Izbzee

Graduation pop-up card

Hats off to all the graduates of 2022 and those who may finally be able to walk the line after the COVID closures.  Congratulations!  

This card using images from Creative Fabrica was fun to put together for a relatively quick print and cut card using SCAL 5 and the Skycut C24.  

Where's the pop-up? 

BONUS:  The slot is just the right size for a gift card!  

Details for making the card are on The Artistry.  Hope you'll enjoy the process and find a few more ideas to celebrate this milestone occasion for your graduate.  

 

Have a creative sort of day!  

Posy Pockets

These are so fun and easy to make....

I whipped a few out the last couple of days after designing the pocket in SCAL 5 Pro.  One piece for the main pocket and 2 bands to go around the top and the bottom of the pocket.  The skycut required about 1 1/2 minutes to do the cutting and scoring.  Once you have added the inking, texture and embellishment, assembly is accomplished with a seam in the back and gluing the bottom edge together.  Glue on the bands and add your hanger.

I used wire for the hanger, but ribbon, twine or other fibers would work well.  Fill the pocket with whatever your heart desires.  

Silk flowers were used in the 2 pockets above. 

For this pocket, we added Spanish Moss (green) and a paper air plant (file from Creative Fabrica).  The air plant was made using white sketch paper and colored using some spectrum noir markers and the Ebrush by CraftwellUSA.  

No watering needed.... EVER!  

Labels ( Label Creator Font found here) are printed with an inkjet printer on tissue paper.  Let dry for about 15 minutes before using Matte acrylic medium to apply to the pocket.  You can add some additional inking around the edges once the medium has dried to cover the edges of the label that was applied to the pocket.  

While some of the details can't be seen in the images, you can also use a scoreboard and score some lines from the back of the piece to make the pocket look like it has some ridges  like a can might have. Then use a ball stylus to emphasize the ridge a bit.   This is a great way to add some additional texture and interest to you piece.  You can also use an embossing folder to add interest. Lots of options to make each pocket unique and have your personal touch.  

Thanks for stopping by and hoping that you've set aside some creative time this week.  Enjoy it! 

* Affiliate links have been used.  

 

Father's Day

We got a bit of a headstart on some Father's day pieces for next month.  For this project we used files from SimplyCrafty SVGs and papers and embellishments from the Gentlemen Folk from NitWit Collections* .  We LOVE the plaids and stripes included in the collection and wanted to showcase them in all three of our pieces.  

We used the Tool Caddy, Dad Easel Card and the Tie Gift Box.  

The Tool Caddy - SCAL 5 and the pattern fill option allows you to just fill a shape with the image and print only the pieces you want.  It was fun to add the images, do the print and even print an embellishment or two from the collection.  We made a coupon book using the shirt images in the collection to join the candy in the tool caddy as part of the gift.  Print and cut is made super simple using SCAL and the Skycut.  All the cuts were spot on!  Assembly instructions are really easy to follow on Sandy's videos.  Be sure to watch them if you have any questions.    

The Dad Easel Card  - again we used pattern fill for several of the elements and cut an extra DAD to add a little more interest to the card using an off white as the "shadow" for the word DAD.  We used another wordstrip for the inside of the card.  Oh, and we did use brads -- but cut off the prongs and glued them in place with E6000 to ensure a good hold.  

The Tie Gift Box is probably the fastest piece of the three to complete.  The belly band is a 1 by 12 inch strip of the color of the base of the box.  The box top and panel are filled using the pattern fill option in SCAL.  Print and cut! 

Pop up the wordstrip from the digital collection and add a tie clip to the edge of the wordstrip to finish it off.  The tie clip is a piece I found in my Dad's box.  I'm sure that T will like it too.  

I'm happy to share that these are also showcased on the blog at SimplyCraftySVGs.com.  

*graphics by www.nitwitcollections.com under License #115854

FAMILY PHOTO:  SAM CRUMP PHOTOGRAPHY.

It's warming up...

and time to chill out with a cool drink!  The old coasters we've been using were showing a bit of wear - and heck they were made of coated chipboard purchased from the $ store.  New ones are needed and needed ASAP!  So my solution?  Make some brightly colored new ones using mason jar lids and rings and some printable fabric.  

Finding the perfect images was easy on Creative Fabrica.  You'll find the tutorial on The Artistry today.  Hope you'll take a look.  

I love the bright colors and hope you do too!  SCAL 5 and an inkjet printer make it all happen!  And once the images have been printed, ironed to set the ink (plus a couple of other quick and easy steps) and been sprayed with some waterproofing, your glassware can sweat and drip all it wants once the coaster is assembled.  

All of my previous projects for Creative Fabrica are posted on my author page at The Artistry.  Take a peek there for more creative ideas you may have missed.  

Spring Pitcher of flowers

Sandy's been a super support lately and I really appreciate her help with this project.  I'm sure at some point the pitcher design will be in her shop -- so stay tuned!

 

 

After perusing Pinterest a couple of weeks ago, I found an antique pitcher shape I really liked... however, there wasn't much in the design shops that I could find that looked close to the shape and would be simple to put together without using panels.  Sandy had already started something similar and she was gracious enough to send me a test version of a file.  

Needless to say, I fell in love with it and the shape was near spot on to what I had in mind.  This was created in Blender and Pepakura.  NitWit Collections Lilac Blossoms collection was a perfect fit for a Spring look.  I used SCAL5's option for print 2 cut and added the Lilac spray to the base of the pitcher cut.  

Assembly is easy for someone with a little experience.  The handle is 3 strips of paper glued together and shaped before the glue dries. It is attached to the back seam wall of the pitcher with some white washed brads I've had in my stash for years!  

Apply a coat of gloss Mod Podge to the outside for a nice finish and a little more strength.  If you plan to use live flowers, you do need to seal the interior of the pitcher BEFORE you assemble.  A tall pharmacy prescription bottle fits nicely inside and a 2 inch styro ball can be scrunched into the bottle to help with placement of your paper or silk floral pieces.  

Did you know that only one shop has a design for 3D lilac flowers? And that site requires a paid membership to access.  Budget being what it is, I looked for something that I could use - and found the Filler Flower at Maison Gregoria's Etsy shop to be a great fit.  Lots of tiny flowers, all cut on the Skycut using sketchbook paper.  Assembly is a bit tedious since each bloom is on it's own wire.  But it's worth the time and effort.  Once everything is wired and bundled into groups, it was time to use the eBrush for a little color.  Tombow markers in three shades of purple (623, 620, 636) were used to add some texture and depth to the shapes.  Even bundled the color went on fairly evenly.  PLUS:  it didn't take but a minute for the bundles to dry with the layered colors and you're ready to start putting your arrangement together.  

Add some additional greenery from the Poinsettia Wreath file (also from Maison Gregoria on CreativeFabrica.com) which I downsized a bit and also cut using the Skycut.  Wired and ready for use.  I used some chalk for a little extra color and used my exacto knife and a pair of craft tweezers to add the veins to the greenery.  While most of it is too tiny to see in the images, it was worth the time and effort to make it happen.  




The pitcher and floral arrangement stands about 8.5 inches tall and would be perfect for a side table, tablescape tray or open tiered tray or riser decor.  

 

Thanks for dropping by today.  Hope your day is filled with beautiful things!  Wishing you a creative day!