Izbzee

ATC and a little mixed media

The eclips/eCal Facebook page is having another ATC challenge - CELEBRATIONS!   and all of the elements used to create the ATC must be designed and cut using the eclips and eCal. 

Here's my finished card.  It was inspired by a find on Pinterest --

I started with a plain piece of cardstock that had a light layer of Gesso.  I masked off a section of the gelli plate slightly larger than the ATC dimensions, brayered on some paint and pulled a print.  I added a few additional pulls of color  to the print using some stencils (cut with the eclips) and additional pink and white and yellow paints until I got the desired results. 

Using the eCal software, size a vertical rectangle to 2.5 x 3.5, set the line to Print 2 Cut Cut.  Create text on an arch.  I used Funky Mother for the fun text.  Fill the text with color (I chose black) and set the stroke to none.  Change from cut to Print 2 Cut Print.  Print, make sure you select registration marks.  Since the cardstock has some tooth from the Gesso and gelli print, you can opt to use some embossing powder and a heat gun to add a little more texture to the card.  I used some Ranger Black embossing powder. 

Now for the cutting.  Place the gessoed paper on the mat and following the print 2 cut directions, cut the ATC. 

I found a fun cupcake graphic at Creative Fabrica and decided to use the base of the cupcake as the stencil.  Size it to approximately 2 inches high with keep proportions checked. Cut using stencil material or regular cardstock.

 

Position the cupcake stencil on the ATC base as desired and using some watercolors and a water brush, add some additional colors.  Let dry. 

Add some sprinkles to your frosting.  I used the sprinkles in the original design, grouped them together and created a small stencil for those and added a little more color. 

 

Add additional details using a Micron pen.  For a little extra shine, use a sparkle brush and let dry.

 

Thanks for dropping by!  Hoping you have built in some creative time this week! 

 

 

 

 

Robots

Tim Holtz' Robots dies found their way into the craft room this past week.  I thought they would be fun to use to create some birthday cards for May. 

I added an EZSound Module from InviteByVoice.com and an audio file from MelodyLoops.com for the final touch. 

 

I decided to use a handwritten message for the inside of the card.  Make sure that you add your sentiment BEFORE you add the module.

You'll need:

EZ Sound Module

Tim Holtz' Robotic
Cardstock (scraps for the robots - assortment of colors)
Dark Silver card for the front panel
White card for the base (cut to 5.5 x 12.75)
Darice Gears embossing folder
Big Shot, multi-purpose platform, cutting plates
Sentiment circle print (I used eCal3 and Sizzix eclip2 to make mine)
Audio used in this project is "I am Robot" from MelodyLoops.com

 

Foil Quill results

I finally was able to pick up a Foil Quill here locally. 

I'd pre-ordered from another company back in January, but they weren't able to secure all of their order and were still waiting for their first shipment.... so grateful they were willing to completely refund and I could go pick one up at one of the local craft stores.

I'm very impressed.  My first samples were near perfect.  Using cross-hatching or line fill and just adjusting it a bit will fill in most of the lettering. 


Just a little more tweaking and I think the fill will be perfected on the lettering.  In the meantime....

I found some really neat svg/png files to cut, but decided to use them as foiling patterns.    Using the Foil Quill fine tip and no additional adjustments to the draw/pen settings in eCal 3 and cut using the eclips2. 

I used Inktense watercolor pencils and a waterbrush to apply the color.  Love the results and hope you do too.  The background is an altered digi background (PhotoShop Elements) print of a "faux watercolor" piece I shared in this post

Thanks for stopping by.  So looking forward to my next bit of creative time.... hoping you have some time carved out in your busy schedule too! 

 

fairy tales

Life gets a little crazy around here with birthdays in the spring and with 10 grands I need to come up with something a little different for each.

Since I started the year with Holden's interactive card, I figured I'd best get designing a few more for the rest of the grands that have birthdays coming up on the calendar.  It's going to be a busy Spring!

This card is inspired by a card I saw on Instagram (MFT Stamps).  Reminds me of a fairy tale.  How about you? 

eCal3 has a gradient tool and it makes it easy to add colors to make the perfect sky!  You can save your presets too!  Fill a rectangle using the gradient tool and set it to print to cut.  Create a shadow layer, set as print 2 cut cut layer.  I made the castle turret using basic shapes and using the pattern fill, and also set that as print to cut.  I used one of the unicorns from a Crafting Desert Diva digital set -- resized to fit.  You can also fill the hills and trees using patterns from your digital paper collection OR use scraps from your patterned papers.   All pieces are cut using the eclips2.  Have a stash of foam squares for added dimension ready -- you'll need them!  I used the eBrush  and Tombow USA markers to add a little shading to the clouds and to the 'hills." 

If desired, create a sliding tab mechanism and attach the braid to the slide.  Pulling the slide will pull the braid up a bit inside the turret.  Pulling the end of the braid lengthens the braid for the interactive component. I added a couple of layers of primary colored card stock to add a little bit of contrast and secured to a card base. 

I know the stamping is a little messed up....  dang it all!  Will try a little more blending to see if I can fix it for a more shaded look. 

Thanks for taking a few minutes out of your busy day and stopping by.  Hope you have some creative time scheduled on your calendar and soon!  Enjoy!  We'll be back again soon... there's more Spring birthdays ahead! 

for the record

 

 

Vinyl is making a comeback!  And I was excited to see some creative pieces recently showcasing them.  Die-namics has a cool set of dies -- but they were too small for the 6 x 6 card I needed to make.. so eCal3 and the eclips2 to the rescue.

Using the basic shapes library in eCal, I created the record, the needle arm and "knobs" very quickly.  To make the record look a little more realistic, I added additional scoring lines and covered the cardstock with some black 651 permanent glossy vinyl. 

Fill a half circle with an image.  Place on top of the circle for the label, weld, then use the print2cut feature in eCal.    Print and cut. 

I created a cover and base for the card.  there's a bit of dimension there -- enough to place a recorded sound card by Invite by Voice in the base part of the card.  Create a small hold that allows enough light to activate the card.  Sound clip was purchased at Amazon. 

To make it a little more interactive, I added a pull string that turns the record. 

Our youngest grandson loves it!  He enjoys listening to one of his favorite songs!  Nice thing is when he grows out of this song, we can re-record and add a new one for him. 

There's another one of these floating around the house -- made one for Valentine's Day for the hubs.  He rather likes it and had fun making it play too.... I purchased a track of a song we use to tease each other with during our "courting" days and recorded it to a light activated sound card as well.     



Hoping you have some creative time planned over the course of the coming week. Enjoy the time and joy creating brings to you and yours!  We'll see you again soon!