Izbzee

August cards....

Canning, making jam and dehydrating has filled quite a few of our days lately.  The garden is also beginning to produce so veggies are just around the corner and the fruit trees are showing their bounty as well.  HOWEVER, we have managed to squeeze in a bit of crafting time and now that a few of these are already on their way, I can share some of them:

My FIL turned 91 in July.  I've always wanted to make the expanding candle card and this celebration let us do it!  

It was fun and he enjoyed pulling it out and trying to refold it.....  I only lost one cut out of the 270 flame pieces.  Not bad!  The papers were from an Echo Park Let Freedom Ring kit I had some scraps left over from.  He loved all the plaids and prints since he lives in plaid shirts!  

Birthdays abound in August... so I got a little ahead of those and put a couple of them together early.  This one is for my Granddaughter who is turning 16.  She's had some health issues and thankfully, we're able to celebrate the fact that she'll be able to go a full year before having another MRI as her last scan was clear!  

I used several digital papers and images from Nitwit Collections and a tuxedo card base for this one.  It folds flat for mailing and then will pop open a bit to stand.  

The cuts for the two cards above were made using the Skycut C24 and SCAL 6 Pro.  Bearly Art Glue and Scor Tape were used as adhesives.  

My ministering cards for August were made using some unbranded dies - - I purchased the dies through Amazon.  I saw something similar on Pinterest and then decided to flip it to horizontal for about half of the makes.  I used distress inks and a blender tool for the background and some tombow markers for additional interest.  The stamp is from Bear Essentials by Ellen Hutson.

There's more -- but this is enough for today!  Hoping you have a creative day!  

Hello....

Need a little summer lift?  This card was fun to create and didn't take as much time as I thought making a stack of them might take.  Cuts made using the Skycut and SCAL and a fun stamp and die from Ellen Hutson.  I was really happy the the bear stamp set and dies were still in stock and reasonably priced.  

 

The next card is one for a very special birthday.... 91 years!  I've wanted to make a similar card for a long while, and made sure to get it done for my FIL's birthday this coming weekend.  

done in plaids, stripes and patriotic colors - all patterned papers from Echo Park. Other papers from AC Cardstock.  Lots of inking and I only lost one piece that needed to be recut!  Not bad considering there are 91 candles in this accordian style card. 

Next up will be the 5 Tags of Summer Reveal.  Starting on Saturday, the 15th.  It's been an interesting journey with these.  Some turned out just as envisioned, others not to much.... but I'm really happy to have found time to make them with everything else that's been going on in our household.  

2022 Three Tags of Fall - Tag 3

It's the last day of the reveal.  There are times I wish we could have done additional tags, but I'm grateful to have had the time to get these three done.  

Today's tag reminds me of the crisp Fall air -- and apples from the tree.  There's nothing better than picking a ripe apple from the tree... 

 

Just a few notes for this one. I was able to create the design for the paper doll using shapes from the SCAL library.  The design is loosely based on the images created by Christiana Bellini.  The skirt of the patterned paper dress is "pleated."  Just glue the top pleated edge to the doll body.  Add the additional elements for the dress.  Add the hair which consists of an oval and a half oval with a line of  stitching.  Ink the edges if desired.  Glue the large oval to the back of the head.  Glue the half oval to the front, covering the top of the head.  You could add a bow made of paper or ribbon if wanted.  

The tree is from the Valentine Gnome file from Simply Crafty SVGs.  The top of the tree was cut 3 times and resized.  All of the papers were inked to add a little more interest. The top 2 pieces were popped up using foam dots.  

The tag was colored using distress inks to create a background.  Be sure to stop by the Facebook page to see all the rest of the images posted for this Reveal.  

The lettering on the apple basket was hand lettered using a .01 Micron pen.  The basket edges were inked with a dark brown ink pad.  

The apples are from the SCAL library.  You can ink the edges.  Apply a light coat of Mod Podge Hi Lustre glaze with a paint brush to make them shiny if you'd like.  Let dry and stack the apples in the basket.  Add a couple of foam tape squares to the back to adhere to the tag.  

I think tag is my favorite of the three this year.  

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Hoping you've carved out some creative time this coming week.  I have and I'm looking forward to sharing a couple of new projects that I'm working on.  

 

Color Splash

Pinterest has been filled with lots of ideas using these dies and other similar dies.  I fell in love with them and decided to create something a little different for my ministering cards this month.  After several ideas just didn't gel - I chose something really simple and I'm very happy I went that route.  I found a quote that would go with it.  

I used several Tombow markers and a silver paint pen to color all the elements.  The tag was created using a shape in the SCAL library.  The text was created using Type-writer 1 a font from Creative Fabrica and sized to fit in the tag.  Set the text to print and then followed the prompts in the software to do a perfect print 2 cut.  Tied a tag to each of the assembled paint brushes with some twine.  

Things are pretty dry here and every burst of color from a flower or a tree is a welcome sight!  Hoping we'll get some more rain soon.  

 

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.  

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!  

 

Graduation Explosion Box - Simply Crafty SVGs

 

Graduation dates are looming and even a few have passed.  We've been a little busy this year... and next year, we'll see a few more.

For this box, I used the Graduation Explosion Box from Simply Crafty SVGs.  The original design is easy to cut and put together.  I wanted a little more for this box and after consulting with Sandy, we decided the easiest way to create a second layer of flaps in SCAL 5 Pro was to use the Inset Shadow Layer option.  It worked well.  I added a cut in the center of the panel to allow the use of the gift card pop up  which would be the internal focal point when the box was opened.  

I used Blender & Pepakura to "build" a shaker box in place of the mortar board piece in the SVG file.  The same dimensions were used as the piece in the file.  Because I left the box as one piece, it did require use of a 11 x 17in cardstock.  You could create the basic box using 2 pieces of cardstock if desired.  The "frame" and transparency were also cut.  Adhere those to the box top BEFORE closing the box sides.  Using a fun font, the CONGRATS layered image was made and centered in the box.  All pieces for this project were cut using SCAL 5 Pro and the Skycut C24.  





This box was created in our grandson's school colors.  Blue and yellow gold -- we even found some DMC floss that was very close to yellow cardstock we used for the caps and frames for the pictures.  The tassel was easy to make following Sandy's instructions in her assembly video. 

Dies from Queen and Co were used for the caps used in the shaker box.  Additional sprinkles and more were from several different shops.  And the stamped hands and caps were from Simon Says Stamps.  

Hoping you've carved out some fun and creative time this week.  Take care and happy crafting!  

"pewter" planter

I decided to give Simply Crafty SVGs Round Candy Box another go.  Last time, I used the box to make the pocket watch for the Wonderland Hat (found here).  This time, using only the bottom pieces, it's a planter hosting a small gathering of pansies from Maison Gregoria. * 

 

A renewed relationship with an often forgotten tool, the paper crimper was used on the "wall" of the box.  I added a band at the top and bottom of the box.  Added a couple of brads to secure the bands to the box for a little more strength.  

Sandy's assembly video is pretty straight forward for the basic put together of the box base.  The bands I used were  1/2 inch wide and about 1/2" longer than the box side.  glue them to the top and bottom of the side of the box.  For a little extra ornamentation, 2 brads were added to each of the bands where the ends meet and cross.  Once the bottom of the box is completely assembled, a coat of Lumiere (by Jacquard) in Pewter was applied.  Let that dry.  

I decided some flowers were in order and pansies seemed to fit the bill.  The studio is still in transition and a few of my coloring tools aren't available, but we made do with some paint crayons for color on white cardstock.  They turned out okay, but the colors aren't quite as bright as I would like.  The next bunch will be much brighter in color - yellow and purple, I think.  Jamie's tutorials for coloring, shaping and assembling are thorough - so be sure to take a look at the step by step tutorials he has.  I have enough flower and leaf cuts left to make another pot of pansies next week.  

I had a 3 x 2 inch round piece of styrofoam.  I cut the styro to about 2 1/2 inches so it would slide into the box and fit snugly.  No extra glue to secure is needed.  Add some moss and arrange the flowers, buds and leaves.  

 

*affiliate link used for this file.  A small amount will be paid to me if you use the link and purchase the file.  There is no additional cost to you.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you'll have some creative time soon!  

5 Tags of Spring -- shortened version for 2022

This week, the eCal/SCAL Facebook group celebrated the reveal of the annual 5 Tags of Spring Challenge and today is the last day of the reveal.  

Due to time constraints and ongoing projects, I've combined a week's worth of posts into one.  All tags were cut using the SkyCut C24 and SCAL 5 Pro.  

Day 1's reveal:  
Bunny Silhouette from a Creative Fabrica collection.  Tag shape and leaf cut are found in the SCAL library.  This is a large tag and will be used on a gift bag with an added silk ribbon hanger.  Distress Inks were used for color.  Misted with some water for some additional texture.  

Day 2 Reveal:  

This shape was created using a half circle with added circles distributed across the arch and unioned with a rounded rectangle.  The shape was stenciled using a script stencil from StencilGirls and pan pastels.  After the stencil was removed, the pastels were blended a bit.  Hoppy Easter - the bunny silhouette was unioned with the text.  Masked while the color was added and adhered to the tag.  A spray fixative was used to prevent further movement of the color.  

Day 3 Reveal:  

A fun shape created using basic shapes found in the library.  A little shading done with some chalk on the ears and cheeks.  Brads, twine and a jewel for facial details.  

 

Day 4 Reveal:  

No week would be complete without the addition of a shaker tag in my opinion.  Combined use of the skycut and a die (from Queen and Company - to cut the foam  which was too thick for the skycut) the piece covering the foam is also cut using the die.  The acetate circle was cut using the skycut. This tag will be a focal point on a gift bag.  It measures about 3 inches across.  Love all the sprinkles inside too!  

 

Day 5 Reveal:
My favorite for this week's tag reveal.  

Tag shape created in SCAL using a half circle and the rounded rectangle.  Score and swipe the color on the tag for a wood look .  The inset rounded rectangle tag is foiled using black foil and the foil quill. The use of the line fill command gives a distressed look to the foil.   A  Rabbit silhouette cropped to fit in the boot and small ovals were used for the carrot shapes.  Boots from the Spring folder in the shapes library were cut in blue and dots were added using the end of a paint brush and a small outline using a Micron marker.  Green raffia was hot glued to the back of each carrot for the green tops.  

if you have some time, stop by the page and check out all the fab tags created for this challenge in the Challenge Album.  Happy Crafting, All!  

Framed Spring Themed Trio

I loved how this trio of framed projects came together.  I used a couple of techniques from a previous project (Farm Fresh) to pull it all together.  

You'll find additional details for each framed project at The Artistry - it's posted here.