Izbzee

B-days in November

Dropping in to update:  We have a few birthdays this month -- two cards are in the mail and should have arrived at their destination yesterday.  Fingers crossed!  

 

It was fun using papers from my stash.  One of the stacks is 15  years old!  Time to get it used up!  Ink for some texture, pop up dots for some layers and a surprise on the inside which can't be shared right now. 

Do you like to get b-day cards?  I certainly do.  Especially those that have been created with me specifically in mind.   

Cuts made using the Skycut C24 and SCAL 5 Pro.  

More cards to finish up in the next week or so and I'm looking forward to some creative time in the next few days.  How about you?  Have  you built in some creative time in the next few days?  If not, try.  It really is good for the soul.  

 

Slider in a box card & more

For this card, I chose the At the Ballpark box card from Simply Crafty SVGs.  You'll find it here.  It's very easy and quick to assemble.  I adapted the baseball diamond and added a slot for a slider.  I chose to use the baseball from the file as the ball for the slider.  I like the size of the ball and it does look like it's being hit out of the park as you pull the slider.  Once the slider component  has been completed, the baseball diamond is added to the back insert using foam strips.  

The Grand Slam title is part print to cut and cut.  It looks like there are 4 layers, but actually, there are only 3.  It is popped up on the insert as are the bats.  

Digital papers from Creative Fabrica.  Other papers from AC Cardstock.  

 

A couple of other cards made recently for a couple of grandsons.  

Both are Pinterest inspired.  

All the papers in the Cool Kid card are from the Manual Labour collection from NitWit Collections.  Lots of fun masculine looking papers and lots of fun ephemera.  It was fun filling 3 inch squares with the papers and then making some cuts after printing.  The stars were filled and the print 2 cut option was used in the SCAL5 Pro Software with the Skycut C24 making all the cuts.  

The background paper for this card was also printed from the Manual Labour collection.  The stars are colored in using Tombow markers.  The tone on tone for the background and personalization for the card was what caught my interest when browsing through Pinterest.  I think it turned out quite nicely and I'm sure that the boys will enjoy their cards when we celebrate birthdays this coming weekend.  

If you haven't set any time aside to do some crafting, today might just be your day! Have a great one and enjoy your creative time!  

Let's Eat Cake

Latest fun on The Artistry is now up and ready for viewing.  Let's Eat Cake originally started as a project to celebrate an upcoming 90th birthday and have every guest leave with a piece of the honoree's favorite pie.

This particular file is available on Creative Fabrica.  It's a fun file and is so adaptable.  3 versions are shared in the blog post found here.  For even more versatility, consider versions for holidays and seasons.  Using printed paper?  The options are endless.  

Just click here to view the blog post or check out some of the my other articles posted there by going to my author's page.  

Stay tuned, more crafting ahead!  Thanks for stopping by.  Hoping you've scheduled some time in your crafting space soon.  

Light the candle - cupcake spinner card

I couldn't leave the spinner cards alone and decided to try another one - this one with a birthday theme. 

The Reindeer Spinner Card and the Cupcake Center Panel Card files are from Simply Crafty SVGs (links below).  The candle lights up too.. and if you pull the slider just enough to close the circuit, the candle light flicker!  

The Chibitronic blog has some great examples to look at and I snagged this idea from there.  To create the card, you will need to resize the cupcake (and decorative pieces) a bit.  I used vellum for the flame on the candle.  The vellum will allow the light to shine through.  

I cut all the pieces for this card from 110 lb cardstock.  Plan on a little bit of time to create the circuit if you've not created one before.  Follow Eiko's video (here) for step-by-step details on how to sew the conductive thread to the light and to the circuit.  It's a very important part of the process.  

The circuit:  

For this card, I did used another battery instead of the CR2016 recommended because I was out of that size.  Since making this card, I've been able to pick up a couple of extra batteries to have on hand as I have several other ideas for a few upcoming cards and batteries will be required!  

Once you've got things assembled, turn that cupcake around and get ready for some fun!  

The sentiment is a self-designed cut I created in SCAL 5 Pro and cut using the Skycut. 

You'll need: 
Chibitronic LED light (white was used in this project)
Copper tape with adhesive backing
conductive thread
foam tape
CR2016 battery
Heavy duty double sided tape
Bearly Art Glue
Decorative paper (1 8.5 x 11 inch sheet)
110 lb cardstock for card base and circuit layer and sentiment.  
scissors
paper piercer
electronic cutting machine 
Reindeer Spinner card (Simply Crafty SVGs)
Cupcake Center Panel Card (Simply Craft SVGs)
vellum (transparent)
yellow, orange and red alcohol markers

Thanks for stopping by.  Hoping you're enjoying some creative time this week as well.  

It's been a productive week...

or at least a productive couple of days!  Birthdays for this month are creeping up and so it was a mad dash to get a few done. A mix of digital and hybrid.  Love all the fun that can be created using the SCAL 5 Pro software and a few fun files and dies from favorite vendors.  

Using the Gradient feature in SCAL 5 Pro, you can create a full rainbow of color and fill the text with lots of fun!  Moving the individual sliders you can play with the color movement as well until you're satisfied with the shift. 

Purely digital and so much fun.  

Let the Skycut plotter/cutter do the cutting of a chunky font and you create the background on the card base using distress inks and blending tools.  Embellish with a single cupcake (digi is from Creative Fabrica) colored with pencils are markers of your choice.  Add a little glaze to the cherry for some shine.  

Digi image from Creative Fabrica (watercolor collection).  Print 2 cut using SCAL5 Pro to set up.  Once the image is printed, use a Spellbinders' border die.  Round the corners of the back edge and add a bit of additional color to the edge with a strip of paper in a complimentary color.  

 

 Hoping you will be able to spend some time in your creative space this week.  Enjoy every moment of it.  Happy Crafting!  

digi stamps by Vera Lane

It's been so fun to use these quirky digital images from Vera Lane Studio for some upcoming birthday cards.  

The digi stamp is a p2c using the Skycut and SCAL5.  Spot on and perfect cut!  Colored pencils, blended with Gamsol.  The background is "smooshed" using distress inks, water and an acetate sheet.  A few enamel dots were added.  The Happy Birthday stamp is from Stampers Anonymous.  

This "scrappy" slimline card is interactive.  There's a lever mechanism and a wobble in use.  It's so much fun. The colors are bright and and are perfect for the 10 year old it's going to.  All pieces were cut on the Skycut using SCAL 5.  And again, the P2C is spot on with no problem cutting the candle and flames.  The digi stamp was resized without losing any details and is about 1 1/2 inches tall.  Colored pencils, gamsol were used for color on the stamp.  Some hand drawn details were added to the "packages" 

I'm looking forward to using these and a few other digis in my stash in the days to come.  It's so relaxing to do a little coloring and that lever mechanism is easy to set up and use.  It's the same mechanism that was used in this post last year using a digi from Whimsy Stamps.  

Thanks for dropping by and have a crafty day and if today's not your day, schedule in an hour to two this week.  

It's birthday season again

We have quite a few birthdays coming up in the next few weeks.  LOTS of birthdays!  Pinterest offered the inspiration for this card.

I love the retro look in the way the triangle shapes are organized.  This was the first card I cut on the new machine (#skycut) and I was amazed at how quickly the machine  cut everything but the card base.  It was probably less than 1 1/2 minutes from start to finish.  

A little inking around each of the triangles.  The word "birthday" is a stamp from a Tim Holtz set, embossed with white detail embossing powder from Ranger.  The enamel dot is from FSJ.  Paper is from SU, FSJ, Bazill and AC.  

This card is so adaptable for other occasions as well.  Change out the words, papers and even the font if you'd like to suit the occasion.  Looking forward to making a few with some of the digital papers I have in my stash....  

Off to cut and make a stack!  Hoping you have some creative time planned in the next few days!  Enjoy!  

Shabby Chic...

These blocks were so much fun to create and were a perfect birthday gift for someone very special.  

All the details for the blocks can be found at https://www.creativefabrica.com/.../shabby-chic-block-art/

The hydrangeas are from Dreaming Tree (Hydrangea Tray) 

Thanks for dropping by.  Hoping you've got some creative time scheduled on your calendar for the weekend!  Enjoy!

Turning 4.... already!

Who knew the last 4 years would fly by so quickly?  He's growing up so fast and it's hard to believe that he will turn 4 next week.  

He's a tall boy and this card I think will bring a smile to his face.

 

The animal stamps are an older set from Pink and Main, Happy Birthday stamp from Stamper's Anonymous (Tim Holtz collection) Crazy Talk.  

A masking technique was used to stack the animals..   Masking is easy to do and requires stamping off on a piece of tissue paper (masking material) or even copy paper and trimming to fit the stamped image.  

TIP:  If there are any components on the stamp you do not want to appear, use a little bit of blue painters tape to cover those parts, ink up your stamp and then remove the tape.  If you're using a fast drying ink, huff a little on the stamp to refresh the ink on the stamp. 

 

Now, layer the mask you stamped previously and ink and stamp the next image.  In this card, the elephant was stamped first.  The lion second, the turtle and monkey are a combined image on one stamp and they were stamped over the mask of the lion.  Pretty simple, but is a fun process.  Color with water soluble pencils.  In this case, I used Caran D'Arche supracolor soft pencils for this card.  They do blend well, dry or wet.  

A sheet of color block paper (in blues) was used for the backing on the AC smooth white cardstock base.  

Birthday "season" has arrived!  Looking forward to making each one a little special this year.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Hoping you're able to fit some creative time into your crowded days.  Keep nurturing your spirit!  It does much good for your mental health too.  

 

Birthday Season has arrived

Lots of birthdays are on the calendar for the next few months... time to buckle down and make a few more cards!  

Our littlest princess turns 1 very soon.  Hard to believe she was born just as the world went a little crazy last year!  We've missed out on so much of her 1st year -- here's hopes for a reunion very soon.

Papers for this card are from a collection I found at Creative Fabrica.  The website is one of the first places I stop when looking for themed digital images and papers.  

Pink and Gold Foil Digital Paper Set 

  I was even happy to find the crown was also included in the collection.  It's really a pretty simple card and the eCal3 software made it a breeze to fill the name and shadow of the 1 with the digital papers -- and size it to the shape. The card is based on a cake topper I saw on Pinterest.  I love that it was easy to translate into a card front and so quickly.  

The shadow layer of the 1,  Happy Birthday, and the crown are printed on the AC smooth white card front.  I used my print template for a card and oh how easy it is to print a card at a moment's notice in the software. 

A second crown with a blackout shadow and the name, Emily, were cut separately.  The number 1 was cut out of plain white cardstock.  The gel pen came in handy for some dots at just the right size for our cute little granddaughter.  Using a little double stick tape, the number was adhered to the card front, centered over the "shadow."  Pop up dots add a little dimension to the name and I also used a gold metallic gel pen to highlight the crown in several places before using some pop up dots to secure it to the card front over the printed crown. 

Birthday wishes are going out in the mail today!     

Hoping you're enjoying some creative time -- and if not, will set aside some time to do so in the very near future! Enjoy!   

 

digi stamps and movement

A digital Whimsy Stamp (Sugar) to the rescue for this card for one of our granddaughters.  Her birthday is coming up soon and I really hope she'll like it.  We've been doing some sort of interactive card for each of the grandkids for the last couple of years and it's getting a little tougher each year to find something "new" to keep them excited.  However......

Digi stamp cuteness makes this little girl shine and dance using a simple lever mechanism. 

Sentiment is from Queen & Co.  I printed 3 stamps* to create one card.  I used some textured AC cardstock for this card.  Coloring accomplished using colored pencils.  I sprayed with a fixative for a little more insurance against smearing.

*Printing multiple images and cutting the lever mechanism sets  makes it easy to create additional cards on the fly when needed.  

Thanks for dropping by today.  Hoping you're staying safe and well during this Covid stuff and finding some time to be creative!