Izbzee

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!  

It's birthday time again...

Birthdays!  I got myself in a bit of a bind earlier and ran out of my stash of birthday cards earlier than anticipated!  I'm thinking that's a good thing in the realm of papercrafting.  More opportunities to play, right?

Well, if that's the case, it's been fun!  Playing with some new dies (Queen & Co). Shaker cards are always a hit!  

The Sweet Shoppe kit has been so much fun to create with.  The kit comes complete with everything you need to complete several cards... well, maybe all but the card base, but that's not a huge issue since most of us keep lots of cardstock in our stash.  The kit also has lots of patterned paper, the foam shapes and of course dies.  You'll never be at a loss when it comes  to personalizing colors and there are stamps included in each full kit that will serve nearly every occasion.  

This cute shaker is for a young gal back in Oklahoma.  I'm happy to support her "birthday card party" this year.  

 

 

paper and more paper....

I've always enjoyed infinity cards, but the ones I've made in the past have all been on the "girly" design side.  I decided to create my own svg file to cut pieces ahead of time and assemble additional cards when needed.  I took a look at what I could find on Pinterest and there were quite a few to pique my interest.  Loved seeing the Rubix cube version and created one similar to one I found there in a larger size.  

Making cards has always been a favorite pastime.. 30 plus years of stamping and paper play.  The advent of home die cutting machines has changed the face of cardmaking for lots of makers.  I for one, enjoy using SVGs to create one of kind cards or making a large number of cards in one sitting.  

This particular never ending card offers lots of opportunity to use up scraps -- just cut the 10 squares of each color with a paper trimmer. I used my Xyron Creative Station to apply edge to edge adhesive to each of the squares.  No glue mess! 

Finished size of this card was 5 x 5, but could be enlarged or downsized if desired.  

Directions and templates are available on the internet and there's an assembly tutorial over on YouTube. This was the perfect birthday card for one of our grandsons.  I hope he enjoyed it.  

 

 

quietly creating in July and August

It's been a fairly quiet summer... but that doesn't mean that the cutting machines haven't been busy.  However, I've been a little lax in taking photos of finished projects.  Cut, glue. assemble and out the door seems to the current routine for most of every project I've completed since mid-June, however, I'm hoping that won't be the case as Summer turns to Fall here in just a few weeks. 

Back to school - pencil from Scrappy Dew.

Traditional Baseball Birthday gift -- one of the gifts for T's birthday has to be centered on his favorite sport.  Design from Crafting with SVG Cut Files - Special Heart Studio.  

 

We've also started several home renovation projects. Big changes ahead for this home we can now call our own.  

Lots of projects in the queue and I'm looking forward to some creative time in the near future and posting again soon.  I'll be back soon with a few photos and current makes.  There are a few more photos to share.... they just need to get into the right folders.  I've fallen behind on organizing as well.  

Happy crafting!  Enjoy a fabulous week!