Izbzee

3 Tags of Fall - Tag 3

It's the last day of the 3 Tags of Fall reveal on our FB page.  It's been a fun couple of days to see what the other makers have created and while our numbers are few, we know that there are others creating, but not posting.  

For my last tag, I created this Pinterest inspired BOO tag using SCAL 6 and cut with the Skycut.  I filled the letters with some paper from Lori Whitlock's digital  I Love Halloween collection from Echo Park.  


The tag base was created in SCAL 6.  It has been inked and the sentiment (Avenir and Ballegand fonts) is foiled with black foil.  Using the Magic Moon Font, I've used the Pattern option to fill each of the letters.  Follow the print 2 cut directions for your software and machine.  I've added foam behind the printed letters which have been lightly inked with Black Soot (distress ink) and there are two shadow layers beneath the top layer.  The bottom is a blackout shadow cut in black paper.  The middle layer is a burnt orange color and is glued directly to the bottom blackout layer.  I've added a small wiggle eye as the period of the exclamation mark for a little more dimension and interest.  



Materials:
AC Cardstock
Printer
Distress Ink, blending tool
Foil Quill (standard nib)
Black Foil (Spellbinders)
Bearly Art Glue
Black foam tape
Wiggle Eye

3 Tags of Fall - Tag 2

Fall mean harvest time around here.... and we've been canning, dehydrating and freezing everything from our garden.  We didn't get enough apples to do much with, but this shaker will be the perfect addition to a gift of apple bars.  

I've  had this file in my stash for quite a while.  I can't find the original information, but it is similar to this one,

I started with white paper and added color as needed.  Leaves are colored using the ink refills (dragging the paper through drops of ink. The bow was done the same way.  Once dry, the pieces were "painted" with a light coat of collage pauge for added sheen.  The leaves are from the SCAL library and the bow is from a file another file.  I used a silver marker -- and added a little sheen with the collage pauge after gluing it to the top of the shaker once it was assembled.  

I had a couple of packages of polymer clay apple slices in red and green I could use in the shaker.  

You'll find a few more tags being shared on our FB page:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/eclipsecal

MATERIALS:
AC cardstock (smooth white)
Watercolor Brush Ink Refills (Poetique)
Shaker Sprinkles (Etsy)
Zig 0.08 black pane
Bearly Art Glue
Glossy Collage Pauge by Aleene's
Small flat brush for acrylics
Transparency Acetate
SCAL 6 Pro
Skycut C24

3 Tags of Fall - Tag 1

I haven't done a lot of paper piecing items lately -- and this file has been in my stash of files for quite a while.  I thought it might be fun to make it slightly smaller for a fun tag for an autumn gift bag.  The original file is for a mini album, so I just used the pieces that were necessary for the front and back of the album.  

This file, Owl Critter Book, is from My Scrap Chick.  I reduced the pieces across pages in the SCAL 6 software to 75%.  I was able to use some scraps from the stash too to put this one together! 

All the pieces are inked before assembly and you do need to look at the image that is included in the file to determine placement.  This tag also has a finished back.  The to and from could be added there.  I also added some shimmer to the pieces for a little extra shine.  The hanger is a piece of wired twine formed into a hook. 

You can see this tag and others on our Facebook Group page:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/eclipsecal

Materials:  
Bearly Art Glue
AC cardstock (all scraps from previous projects)
Ranger Distress inks
Wink of Stella
Sakura White Gel Pen
SCAL 6 Pro
Skycut C24

Make it now not later challenge

This was a fun Halloween decor piece to create.  I'm using two files from Simply Crafty SVGs (listed below) and a few other things to embellish.  

Oh, my!  I got to HL too early to find one of the items I needed and wanted to use for the tail in the Christmas section (now about 1/2 of the store!)  LOL... however, after a quick trip to Joann's I found a  pick with feathers for a fluffy cat tail that I think will work.  The giant curly chenille stems weren't at the store either in the color I wanted... so the pick will have to work.  

For the base:

I used the Halloween Witchy Luminary found here.  I created the base using the solid pieces (just copy and paste to get eight of them)  I reduced these pieces 25% so the finished size was 75% of the original design.  Repeat the process for the panels.  You need eight solid panels, also reduced.  The luminary base will be flipped and used for the topper.  I cut a circle for the bottom of the luminary closing off the bottom of the box.  

The cat is cut at 125% and is from the Vintage Halloween Bags.  The Orange piece is a solid background shadow of the gray piece of the stacked images.  Cut two of each shape.  I also created a folded tab to help the piece stand in the base.  Cut a slit about 1 inch wide in the bottom of the base (which will become the top)  Once you've completed assembly of the cat with the folded tabs glued between the two orange pieces, slide the edge in the slit and glue them to the underside of the base.  The cat should stand up without any additional supports. The head will be heavy and I did need to add an additional support.  I used a large paper clip and secured it in place.  

Make a rosette to go around the cat's neck and cover the shape on the base.  4 patterned paper strips were cut at 1 3/8" x 6".  Scored every 1/4" along the long edge.  Fold each strip accordian style.  I glued the four strips together to form a rosette.  Use a glue gun to secure the rosette (the hole is large enough to slip over the head of the cat... you then adjust the fan folds around the head as evenly as possible

Add any other embellishments desired.  Glue on the tail using hot glue to secure in place, under a panel in the back. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hoping you have some creative time on your calendar this week, if it's not inked in yet, I hope you'll make some time to nurture your creative spirit very soon. 

 

trying a few new "to me" things

When I purchased the Skycut C24 a couple of years ago, I also purchased the embossing and etching tools.  I don't use them often, but a current project required use of the etching tool.  I was a bit wary and also glad that the acrylic blanks were fairly inexpensive, so ruining a couple wouldn't cause lots of worry.  

Here's the "test" result using a the Premium Monogram Font I found at Creative Fabrica.  

The steps to achieve this are pretty easy to do using SCAL and the Skycut.  
I chose an old grungy mat.  Not a lot of tackiness but using some redline tape  provided the tack needed to keep the 3 inch blank in place during the etching process.  In SCAL, I placed the image on the mat and set the X and Y to the bottom right corner at 11.00 inches.  Set the image to draw.  Hide the blank shape (the circle).  

As with most images, you may need to use line fill to complete the etching and fill in the shapes using the line fill option in the effects dropdown menu.  

Prepare the mat:  I placed the tape vertically on the mat so the tape was straddling the 11 inch mark on the right side of the mat and then straddling the 8 inch mark.  The strips were just a little more than 3 inches in length.  These strips held quite well for several etched pieced.  

Insert the etching tool into the holder.  Make sure that you have the mat and the post-it note stack (10 count) to set the height of the tool.  If you don't do that, the tool will drag across the blank and leave a few extra scratches that you really don't want!  Remove the protective sheets from both sides of the blank and center the blank between the two strips of tape.  Making sure that the blank doesn't extend beyond either 11 inch line on the mat.  Press the blank to the tape and to the mat to make sure it won't slide during the etching process.

Load the mat, and make sure that you have the tool centered at the bottom right corner in portrait orientation.  My Draw settings for this particular project was force 20, speed 6.   Click on Cut, Click on Draw -- and let the magic begin.  This etching took about 25 minutes.  Remember, I slowed down the speed a bit.  

Once the process has completed, remove the mat and carefully, remove the blank.  Wipe away the "sand," and clean carefully. 

Again, this is a test image and not the final version, I'm really happy with the outcome and plan on using the etching option for several other projects!  

Have a great day... thanks for dropping by and I hope you've carved out some creative time in the very near future.  

 

 

2023 - 5 Tags of Summer - tag 5

For my last tag for this challenge, I created a nighttime mountain scene.  I found a couple of files at Creative Fabrica that would work.  I chose dark papers for this tag to remind me of my last trip to the mountains and looking up at the night sky.  Wouldn't it be neat to see the northern lights too?  Sadly, we hardly ever have the opportunity to see them where we live... but it would be fun!  

I used the same design for this tag as I used for the Summer Reads tag.  I didn't change the size of the tag.  To add the flap to the front of the tag, I added an altered tag from the basic library in SCAL.  This flap will also be the important to the interactive portion of the tag. 

The sentiment, Summer's last hurrah! is foiled using the foil quill.  

Before assembling the front of the tag, I marked the 2nd tag I cut so I could create a circuit for the chibitronics LED lights I planned to add for the interactive piece.  I created the circuit using conductive fabric tape.  Added the lights and secured the lights with an extra layer of tape.  To make sure the tape that would be placed on the back of the tag front would make contact with the battery and circuit, I added a small piece of foam tape and burnished a small piece of tape on the circuit on the back tag.  Add foam tape around the perimeter of the tag and make sure there is a border around the battery to hold it in place.  

Ink the layer pieces as desired.  I added some Pearl Ex mixed with water to the upper portion of the tag front.  Let dry.  Assemble and glue the remaining pieces for the front of that tag.   In the area where the opening is, place a piece of conductive fabric, making sure it aligns with the battery and the circuit.  Test to make sure the lights will light when the flap is pressed against the tag.  

Remove the release paper on the foam tape and align the tag front to the tag back and secure in place.  I used black foam tape.  

 

2023 5 Tags of Spring - Day 2

using some Pastel Digital paper from Nit Wit collections,  as well as the floral image used in the framed areas of this tag, this tag was a fun make.  I used the faux glassine technique used in the Valentine Tag project shared in this project. 

The Tag is made of a simple rectangle with equal sized and spaced circle cuts. The hanger element is created using a round rectangle and half circle and the Union command in SCAL 6 was used before adding a smaller circle for the twine to go through.  A little bit of antiqued cheesecloth and a word strip were used to finish off the tag.  

I really like the spring colors and hoping they brighten your day as well.  Spend a little time in your creative space this week!  Enjoy!

Layers

I loved the images I found in this grouping of cute fairy houses at Creative Fabrica and wanted to do something fun with one of them and use it in a fun frame.  This is the result for this project now being shared on The Artistry at Creative Fabrica.  

Lots of fussy cutting on the focal image - and some added layering for more dimension.  The hexagon frame was easy to assemble, and would be perfect for a series of images on a wall.  The Skycut and SCAL 6 were my go to's for this project.  The SCAL software makes it very easy to do the print then cut and resizing of the frame was also an important process.  Scaling the background image to fit in the frame was a breeze to accomplish as well.  

Again, the step-by-step process for printing, cutting and assembling this project can be found here.  

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you've got some creative time carved out this week and through the month of March!  Hoping that there's a real change in the season soon and we'll be seeing things green up and blooming as we enter Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere!  We've had quite a winter!  Another fresh 5+ inches of white stuff on the ground this morning!    

Valentine Tags

Have you ever made glassine paper?  I remember doing this years ago, but tried it again using a couple of different types of paper.  The plan was to use the paper in some Valentine tags - These tags are oversized a bit -- as I didn't want to lose any of the detail in the images.

The article with most of the details can be found on the Artistry here.

Rather than stamp images I decided to print on the papers....  I used tracing paper and tissue paper as my test mediums... The prints came out as expected.  The tissue paper image colors are a little diffused and the tracing paper image is much brighter.  I used SCAL 6 Pro as my editing program to size and print from while using the png images from Creative Fabrica. 

I didn't antique either paper before printing or afterwards.  Once the printing was completed, I finished the process by adding the wax and loving the change in the look of each of the papers.  

tissue paper

tracing paper

These were really fun to make and I have some ideas for some other versions I'd like to try in the next couple of months.  We'll see how that rolls out!  LOL 

The tags were created in SCAL 6 Pro using several steps... it's important to have your tag just the way your want it before going to the next step.  Once the tag was ready, I placed an image on the mat, placed the tag on top and used Clip Path > Set Clip Path and printed the tags and cut them using the Skycut C24.  

Details for assembling the tags is in the article -- found here.  

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you've carved out some creative time this week and month.  Nurture your creative spirit any way you feel you  must.  

Valentine Tiered Tray take 2

Last year, I created this one.

 

I wanted a few new things in 2023... so this was the result!

I even cut the fabric for the mini hearts using the Skycut and SCAL 5 pro!  That was a fun and very successful project, though my stitching small stuff like that wasn't as "perfect" as I would have liked.  But it was fun and very enjoyable seeing how the skycut managed the fabric.  I used Jacquard's cotton fabric.  It's already pre-treated and can be run through the rear tray of my inkjet printer with ease.  

You'll find all the details for creating the hearts and other items for this year's tray on The Artistry.