Izbzee

Playing with AI images

I've always wanted to create my own background papers, but found it quite frustrating when trying to create seamless backgrounds.  Creative Fabrica has a set of AI tools on their site that you can access with a subscription.  Thanks to Creative Fabrica's generous gift of 1 month's access, I was able to create a collection of images to use in a playful Pinterest inspired Paper Quilt.  

While I didn't use all the images I created, it was fun to see what the tools would come up with using prompts and then tweaking the prompts for other images that could be used.  Some editing was done in Photoshop Elements and Affinity Designer.  I'm still a dabbler with Affinity, but I did learn quite a bit through this experience as well.  

One of the images I created but didn't use in the project is this one.

It only had one line of flowers at the bottom of the image and I wanted flowers throughout on the stripes.  So I downloaded and saved the file to my computer and put it in a folder shared with my iPad.  Opened Affinity and played, creating a new image and incorporating the stripes and flowers into one new image.  

It was a fun experiment -- I'm not sure I would use the tools often enough with my current library of digital prints to warrant the extra subscription, but in a crunch if I needed something I didn't have, I might use the tools again.    

Here's a link to the completed PAPER QUILT project I completed using the SPARK tools on The Artistry.  I used SCAL 6 Pro and the Skycut to make all the shapes and to save on ink -- you can use the pattern fill command and only fill the shapes with the desired digital patterns you create in SPARK.  

If you give SPARK a whirl, I'd love to hear about it!  Leave a comment!  

Carve out some creative time over the weekend if you can.  Enjoy your play!  

 

 

 

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

Halloween... 2023

We've gotten a little early start as you can tell... having made this typewriter previously, it wasn't difficult to give it a different feel.  

One of our daughters is in her final semester of her undergraduate studies.  Since she's majoring in Creative Writing, she asked for a Halloween themed typewriter similar to one she saw online.  The Typewriter SVG file is from SVGCuts and is a box.  The skeleton hands are from Creative Fabrica and the vintage collage is also from a collection found on Creative Fabrica. 

I was originally worried about the colors, but after grunging things up a bit, it actually reminded her of an old typewriter we had a number of years ago... an old Royal manual that you had to push the keys so hard, to get the ribbon to print the image on the paper.  

Now to finish the rest of the display.  Hoping to have it cut, assembled and on display with the typewriter very soon.  

baby shower

Grandbaby 13 arrived a bit early... it's baby shower time!  I used the Photo Popup Card SVG File from Simply Crafty SVGs for them.  All 30!  Mom and Dad sent several pictures for us to choose from.  I chose one that used the portrait option and using SCAL 6 Pro I was able to use the Clip Path command and insert the pic right into the blank photo file piece.  Once the file and photo were grouped, I could copy and paste as many as I needed to fill a page.  These were printed on photo paper and I let them dry for 48 hours before cutting them. 




Some woodland background digital papers from Creative Fabrica as well as the black and white silhouette of a baby gnome were used. I used the pattern fill option in the SCAL software and filled the panels with the image and printed the panels on buttercream textured paper.  

I set up the gnome in png format as a print to cut option... sizing to fit on the front panel of the card.  After printing, I hand-colored each gnome using the colors in the photos we had and then set things up in SCAL to finish the print 2 cut.  This was a great stress relieving activity after a very stress-filled week.  ;)




The base of the card was cut using some Mossy Meadow from Stampin' Up.  I guess the humidity was still a little high and the first couple of cuts didn't cut as smoothly as I'd have liked, so I did some additional test cuts and finally got some settings that worked much better.... and finished cutting all the bases.  

Details for the shower are on the back of the vertical pop up piece.  

Assembly for the card is very easy.... and it folds flat enough to fit in a standard invitation envelope for mailing.  Feel free to watch the video found here  (scroll down the page a bit) to see just how easy it is!  

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!  

2023 - 5 tags of Summer - tag 2

For tag #2, I decided to include a lip balmer holder in this fold-over the top tag.  Again, I've used some digital paper from the Polkadoodle Rebel collection.  This is a quick to make and design in the SCAL software and cutting was a breeze for the skycut using a 12 x 12 sheet of paper.  You can make 4 base tags with ease on one sheet of paper.  

I altered the holder and glued it to the inside of the front of the tag.  The version (from Amazon) I purchased has the adhesive on the back of the holder.  I needed it on the front.  And if you're not aware, the holder is the perfect size to hold some paper money!  

The sentiment is from Polkadoodles Rebel collection (in the greetings folder).  The back of this tag is perfect for adding the to and from while the inside of the tag has sufficient room to personalize for that someone special!  

some fun cards

Summer is just around the corner.... but the weather has been warm enough to flip the switch and turn on the AC for a few hours every afternoon.  

Sandy at Simply Crafty SVGs has put out a new batch of cards in the last week --  fun box cards.  

I've made a couple of these cards from the new files.  Love them!

I added a shaker element in the pitcher and literally filled it with polymer clay sliced lemons I found on Etsy a couple of years ago.  So fun!  
Used some collage podge on the pitcher and the lemon slices.  The digital paper is from Creative Fabrica.  It was perfect and grounded the card.  The basic box elements for the card can be cut from a single 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper!  Lots of inking and a little watercolor painting.  I love the design of the glass in this file.  It looks dimensional.  

And then there was this one... who doesn't like donuts?  

I used several mediums on this one.  Inking, Dimensional Glaze, nail art bits and pieces and Pearl Luster Lumiere.  It was fun - but was hard to wait for everything to dry!  The original file does not have the transparent window.  I created on for a little more fun and will likely add a sentiment to the window to personalize it when it is gifted.  

Both cards were cut on the Skycut using SCAL6 Pro software to set up the SVG files for cutting.  Paper from AC Cardstock.  Bearly Art Glue and Scor-Tape  were the adhesives used.  

Both cards will fold flat and fit into a standard invitation envelope.  If you choose to add a shaker component, there is a little bulk, so extra postage may be needed if you add any dimension like I have done.  

An early start to Christmas makes

I saw a sample of something similar to this explosion box project, but the boxes used on the inside walls of the explosion box were too shallow for what I wanted to accomplish.  So I tried my hand at creating my own version with a little help from a friend.  Finished size is 4.25 x 4.25 x 4.25 inches.  

All patterned paper is digital and I was able to isolate one of the reindeer from the larger paper image and create a "sticker" with it.  There's a reindeer on each side of the box.  SCAL 6 makes it very easy to fill each shape with the paper and size as desired.  All of the images used were backgrounds that were scalable and seamless.  

When you open the box, you'll find 6 mini- cubes on each side panel.  Each cube is numbered.  

Each cube holds a  small single bit candy bar or a couple of hershey kisses.  They will also hold a small charm.  It's makes a perfect Advent calendar for the holidays or could be adapted to celebrate a birthday month or upcoming anniversary.  

I used print 2 cut to create all the panels using a digital paper package call Happy Holidays I picked up from Creative Fabrica a while back.  It's a fun set of backgrounds.  I added a little bling to the red-nosed reindeer in the panels using some flat sequins.  

I think it turned about pretty good!  Day 25 will be an envelope holding a gift certificate or voucher for a family to use during or after the holidays.  

Looking forward to starting another Advent box very soon... we need several more for this coming holiday season!  

May - went fast!

I spent a majority of the month playing with some new ideas -- and grateful to have finished most of them.  

Most of the finished designs are based on finds at Pinterest.  

Late in the month finish... a cute little flip top box with a mini-album insert.  Scraps used for all.  The paper is from Echo Park's Let Freedom Ring collection.  I did create the star cut border using SCAL.  There's some foiling and stamping in this album as well.  

Mo's Digital Pencil is the creator of the above image.  It's so cute and can be adaptable to most anyone's birthday celebration!  

Another image from Mo's Digital Pencil.  It was the perfect image for an upcoming birthday!  

With Father's Day just around the corner, this fun print and cut and digital colored image from Polkadoodles helped create this fun card for the guys in the family!  I hope they like them.  

Two of the boys have birthdays near the first of the month.  This quick make was perfect for them and includes use of scraps, print and cut and cut using the Skycut and SCAL 5 Pro.  I'm really happy this came together quickly and I'm looking forward to using this file again soon with a different color scheme.  

I made a stack of 18 of these to send out in June.  The digital image was from Polkdoodles (Spring bundle).  I used some old spellbinder border dies and created the ENJOY using a font and a few small rectangles to connect "the dots" if you will.  The word is cut on the skycut and the sentiment on the inside was a print using SCAL as well.  

May was busy -- and June is already filling up with plans for creating.  I'm definitely looking forward to more creative time this coming month.  How about you?

 

 

the lull

It's been a while.... but I do have a few things to share.  I loved this image of a tulip as soon as I found it at Creative Fabrica.  I used it for two projects and I love the way it radiates light even on matte cardstock.  

One of the three cards shared in the article -- a fun fold stand up card.  This version is the portrait version.  The card folds flat for mailing.  You'll find all the details at:  https://www.creativefabrica.com/the-artistry/card-making/mothers-day-themed-fun-fold-stand-up-card/

 

As many of you may be aware, I send out a stack of cards every month to a group of women from my church.  It's always fun to create these cards and I hope they enjoy them.  I used the same tulip image, added a dark frame and a gold foiled sentiment.  I love how these turned out.  

 

Here's the results of a cute new file from Simply Crafty SVGs... 

I used a few pop up dots for added dimension on this fun box card and it still folds flat for mailing!  

The Magical Things bundle also from Simply Crafty SVGs will be the perfect centerpiece for our May family dinner.  I was thrilled with how it turned out  

I finished this fun box card using another Simply Crafty SVG file, Cruise Ship Box card.  I added a mini album on the back of the card for the recipient to add a line or two about their trip.  We'll add a travel journal as a gift for them to add photos and more details about the trip too.  

Our oldest grandson has a birthday later this week.  This was a fun card to share with him.  The Smart Phone file is from Dreaming Tree.    

While perusing Pinterest, I came across a fun card, but couldn't find a cut file for the life of me.  Everything was hand cut.  Eventually, I decided to try my hand at creating a cutting file.  It worked!  And here are my results. 

 

That's it for today!    Hoping you've built in some creative time over the course of the next few days!  If not, try to squeeze some in!

2023 5 Tags of Spring - Day 5

It's the final day of this year's reveal.  If you haven't visited the FB page/album and seen all the beautiful makes, today's your day!  There are some amazing pieces from group members and it's always fun to see what others make and create!  

Today's tag is all in pink and white.  I used some digital paper I had in my stash.  The focal piece was generated using swirl and heart shapes found in the SCAL library.  I did use the Symmetrical Mirror command in SCAL to make both sides match.  While not perfect, I did learn a few things in the process and the final results aren't too bad!  ;)  

I used a couple of the small word stamps from a retired Fun Stampers Journey set on a small rectangle scrap of digital paper.  I chose the words to reflect some feelings I was having while creating this for someone special.  

Some small pink acrylic dots were added as well.  

Hoping this weekend offers good things in a creative way for you.  Take care and enjoy!