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!  

 

 

 

Fall pumpkin

This was a fun project to work with and it's my own design!  I used an oval from the SCAL Library as a starting point and went from there.  Playing with nodes can be relaxing or just plain frustrating.  Yes, there were a few of those moments during the early part of the process.  

The leaf is a shadow of a png image and filled with a pattern. The veins were dry embossed from the back side of the printed leaf, then lightly sanded to distress and show a little lighter paper.  

The stem was also designed in SCAL using basic shapes.  

I love that this is dimensional and stands on it's own.  From a slight distance this looks like it is made from wood.  

You'll need:
Electronic die cutting machine and associated software
(3) 12 x 12 cardstock (orange) 
(1) scrap of dark green or brown for stem
(1) 6 x 6 cardstock or sketch paper
Printer
Digital paper
Embossing tool and mat (for leaf)
Embossing folder and Big Kick/Big Shot (for stem)
Glue (Bearly Art)
Hot glue gun
ink and blender tool (pumpkin toned)
Assorted items for embellishment 

August cards

Tried to get a head start on August's cards, but I'm still working on them.  I let one of them get out into the mail yesterday without getting a picture of the finished under the sea shaker card.  Might have to try to recreate that one in the future.  

In the meantime, I did manage to get all the ministering cards done in good time.  This was a much easier card to print, assemble and get into the mail just before the end of the month.  BONUS:  Easy to change out the greeting on the front of the card too!  

After creating the design in SCAL, printing and folding the card base, I thought the card front was a little too plain with just the word smile and the patterned paper strip.  So I added a little color using some splattered color on the card front.  The splatters were created using some FSJ Silks I've had in my stash for a few years. It was a good way to use a little of that and it does go a long way.  I chose Cranberry and Sour Lemon as they were the closest to the colors in the paper strip.  When the splatters were dry, the paper almost looked like a little more expensive handmade paper I have always loved.

Adding the printed, cut and inked paper strip popped up with some foam tape, adds the finishing touch to the front of the card.  

Anniversaries start on the first Friday in August.  I wasn't sure I could meet that deadline, but yesterday was a good day for designing in SCAL and getting a little cutting done early in the morning and then printing the card base a little later.   I tried a new technique to me - still needs some refining, but I think it works for this design.  I hope to do a little more playing in Procreate to see if I can get the background just the way I see it in my brain.  Fingers crossed.  


I used the color cube system to choose the colors - I think they blended quite well.  Now to make a palette using that system for a few upcoming projects I'd like to try using Procreate again.  

4 more birthdays to do for August.  Hoping to make a dent in one or two of those today for the grands and then focus on the last two cards for the month.  

it's 3 tags of summer time.

And today is the first day of the 3 day reveal.  I decided that for today's tag I would use a basic shaped tag.  I just used two different sized rectangles found in the basic shapes library, union them and add a small circle for the hanging string.  

I found a lovely floral image on Pixabay and thought it would make a great focal image.  I cut and applied a vinyl sentiment*  in a font I had on my computer to the top of the image to finish it off.  All cardstock and vinyl were cut using SCAL 6 Pro (6.056) and the Skycut C24

*Earlier in the process of trying to create the sentiment, I had some issues with my machine.  After a bit of struggle, I was able to finally get a clean cut.  I did try Line Fill under the Effects tab, but the command didn't work correctly.  Not sure if it's a bug yet, but checking if my next attempt doesn't work as it used to on a font I've filled previously.  

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is creating over the course of the next few days.  Feel free to drop by our Facebook page to see the images posted by those that are participating.  

More fun in June

The last of the cards for this month are done -- 

Sandy from Simply Crafty SVGs helped immensely with this card design. I love the hexagon pop up cards -- however, this one gave me a run for my money.  My machine didn't like the paper I chose much ... so the original colors I'd hoped to use had to be switched out.  It did approve of the final choices and I do like the way it turned out.

The digi paper is from Polkadoodles (Rebel Collection) and the flowers are from Lori Whitlock (one of her envelope box cards).  I hand painted the flowers and leaves with Vintage Pastels from Art Philosophy.  


Normally, this card would lay flat for mailing, however, I altered the design a bit and now it's a stand up card that won't lay flat.  LOL  I hope the recipient likes it as much as I do.  She's all into flowers this year and volunteers at a community garden.  

I played with this llama design in Procreate.  I like how it turned out and it was easy enough to export as a png and trace in SCAL and use as an svg.  I used Ohuhu markers to color.  I stacked 4 cuts to make it sturdy like a chipboard die cut.  The small adornments on the blanket cut quite well on the skycut using SCAL 6 Pro (6.056), all things considered and this One Year Celebration card is now ready for personalization.  This is for an early July birthday.... 


Looking forward to sharing July's cards with you soon.. I have some unexpected medical testing added to the calendar this month and possible surgery in the near future -- so I did get my July Ministering Card stack completed.  I'll share those very soon.  In the meantime, I've got a few tags to get made before the 24th!  

Have a creative sort of day -- even if it's just perusing pages in Instagram or Pinterest.  Enjoy! 

June and nearly July

Lots on the calendar this month -- and we seem to add a few more things every day. We've still be creating -- but maybe not as much as I'd really like.  

Father's Day is just around the corner so I did a little looksie over on Pinterest, found a sketch I really liked, but the paper was a no go -- it's no longer available!  Drats!  However, I did have something I could use in my digi paper stash (Nit Wit Collections - Manual Labour Collection) that is my usual default for masculine prints.  So using the pattern fill, print and cut options in SCAL 6 Pro was my go to.

I opted to do a little personalizing on both the front for a couple of our sons and again with the sentiment on the inside of the card.  One other thing I really like about SCAL is being able to set a template for the size of the card and then using pre-cut stock, just print the inside of the card.  It's a BREEZE!  

June's Ministering Card stack was fun and a little more cutting intensive, but the Skycut handled all the cuts and the "buttons" were really a fun addition to this card.  

The rose gold vinyl "hello" was the perfect way to add the sentiment for the front of the card.  I now have a stash of kraft colored hearts to use in shakers over the course of the next couple of months!  LOL

Our Mother's Day card was an adaptation of the Orchid Box card from Simply Crafty SVGs.  I wanted a slimline card and the orchids and stem were resized a bit to fit on the card.  I really like how this one turned out.  

I played around with a pocket design and some holographic overlay on some digital clip art.  While I like the images, I'm not so sure about the final use on this project.  

And last, but not least, we have a couple of boys celebrating birthdays this month.  I finished up their cards late last month -- I really like the pop & twist movement in this card.  Interactive cards are at the top of my to-do list whenever I can! 



Since the rest of the birthdays are still coming up -- I guess I'll hold off sharing those images until a little later this month. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a creative rest of the month!  

A little spring.... maybe?

Spring was here for a week or so, but winter came roaring back yesterday with a bit of snow and some pretty cold air blew in with it as well.  Grateful we aren't having the blizzard like weather or getting dumped on either that many others to the east are having to deal with.  

I've been able to spend a little time with my software and cutting machine again -- having some and trying some new to me stuff.  We made some Spring/Easter cards for the family.  They turned out really nice.  I learned some new stuff that my cutting software (SCAL 6 Pro) can do and used that to create this card. The pre-colored digital images are from Polkadoodles.  

My big project for March was to convert a house file into a doll house.  To be honest, I nearly gave up as I had to change a few things to make it work.  I used the Halfling Hideaway House from Simply Crafty SVGs for this one. 





The doorway is changed and the alternative roof pieces were resized and used as the walls and ceiling for the interior of the house.  I added an extra layer for the flooring which is "brick" and inked some strips for the wood trim for the interior.  I think it turned out pretty good.  The house isn't a true 1:12, but is more closely a 1:24.  It will make creating the furniture a little more interesting since things will be much smaller.  I did get a table and benches made (file from Thicketworks), it still needs some detailing -- 

I've talked to one of my daughters and we're going thrift shopping for an old dollhouse to see if we could use it in there once we get the outside of the house spruced up.  I do like working with miniatures a bit and it would be fun to do something a little bigger and maybe even make a replica of the 150 year old family cradle that all my my children were rocked in as babies as well as me and my siblings, my mother and her father and several of his siblings and include that in the dollhouse.  I think it would be cool. 

Hope you have some creative time built into your schedule this coming week.  Nurture your heart and have a wonderful week! 

RESOURCES USED:
AC Cardstock
Bearly Art Glue
SCAL 6 Pro
Skycut C24
Digital paper (rocks and bricks from stash)
Halfling Hideaway House
Polkadoodle Digital Stamps:  Spring into Easter (Big Kahuna Collection)
Photoshop Elements
mini hinge and mini brads (stash)
Moss (hobby Lobby)

  

teacher appreciation gift for March

We started doing Teacher Appreciation "thank you's" last August.  It's been fun to add this to our monthly creative calendar.  This month we opted for a less traditional St Patrick's day color scheme -- and made some sour cream sugar cookies for the treat.  

The digital paper was from Creative Fabrica and the cut file is from Lori Whitlock's shop.  I ordered the food safe cookie bags from Amazon.  I'd originally planned on using some Baker's Twine to tie everything together, but I didn't like the look and instead went with the gold twist ties included with the cookie bags.  We added a small print and cut tag to the front and a larger label to the back. 

Hubby said they were a "hit" and the sweet was a perfect ending to the day for his staff.  

 

AC Cardstock (White, smooth 12 x 12)  4 wraps to a sheet
24 small tags to one 12x12 sheet
8 larger scalloped tags to one 12x12 sheet
scor tape
Skycut C24
SCAL6 Pro

Tag 3

We're now in the middle of the week and it's day three of the reveal.  It's going quickly!  This tag was inspired by one seen on Pinterest.

I thought that creating the dotted layer would be more difficult than it was -- overthinking again.  LOL  However, that's not the case.  I think the results were just as I anticipated.  The tag is my design made using shapes from the library.  Digital paper fills the shapes and was from the FQB Hey Cupcake NitWit Collection. The flower shapes were from the SCAL Library.  The banners were created using basic shapes and the sentiment uses Arkina Sans from Creative Fabrica and was set to print 2 print only and filled with a color very similar to the Kraft color used for the back tag.  The back tag is loose so it can be personalized if desired.  White embroidery thread was used for the hanger.  

Thanks again for dropping by on day 3 of the reveal.  Enjoy the shares on our Facebook page -- you'll find it here.  Keep on creating!  

Tag 2 of 2024 Spring Tag Reveal

Yesterday, I shared the chick tag with you.  Today, I have two smaller tags that are print 2 cut and could be personalized for any occasion, season or theme.  

Both tags use the same base and inset shadow.  I created the shape using some basic shapes from the library in SCAL.  I really like how they turned out.  The digital paper is from Polkadoodles Spring into Easter paper bundles.  SCAL makes it so easy to add patterned paper to a shape, set it to print only.  I didn't add the inset shadow as an extra cut - however, you certainly could.  I did add a shadow to that inset shape using a fine tipped marker after printing.  The sentiment uses the Arkina and Arkina Sans font duo from Creative Fabrica and are also set to print to cut.    The "shadow tag" is cut separately and could be personalized for the recipient.  The Skycut is spot on when it comes to print 2 cut images.  I never have to worry about a miscut.  To finish the tag, I added an eyelet to the front tag only - If desired ink the outside edges in a coordinating color with your digital paper OR the color you used for the shadow.  No glue needed for these tags either!  

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're creating this week.  Enjoy every moment!  Be sure to drop by the Facebook page to see what the rest of the group is sharing.  

whether or weather

The weather has been kind of yucky the last few days.  Lots of dreary days and sometimes it makes it harder to get the supplies out and play.  However, there have been a few days that playing has been accomplished and successful.  

This month's stack was made using another pre-colored digi stamp from Polkadoodles.  It's a simple and clean to complete card.  The SCAL 6 software makes it easy to set up the card front for printing and cutting and then using the  skycut, I get a perfect cut every time. I don't have to recalibrate the camera/laser after a software update either.  Spot on!   

We have a few birthdays in February as well.  So I chose to dig through some stamps and dies and use those for this fun square card.  The bear is from Eileen Hutson, the flowers in a vase stamp is retired (Stampin' Up!) and the Happy Birthday is from Stamper's Anonymous.  The square die is an oldie from Spellbinders.  The background paper is from a very old stack and I colored the images using colored pencils on watercolor paper for a little more texture.  

If you've been following me for a while, I'm sure you know that I love to add lights, sound and movement to some of my cards.  I thought this one would be a fun one.
The penguins "shake" when you shake the card.  They're on a string and hang on the card between two small holes.  It's fun and is a case from a card I saw on Instagram.  I'm pretty sure there will be a few more along this same idea in the future.  Digi paper and penguins for easy print 2 cut and assembly!

The next card is for one of our granddaughters.  Her b-day is coming up shortly and I designed this box card in SCAL 6 and cut most everything with the skycut.  I did use a couple of punches and a die for the smaller embellishments.  The digi stamp is a fun one and it's from Whimsy Stamps.  I used pencils to color this one in too.  this image doesn't have the sentiment on the front yet.  I love how it folds flat and fits into an A2 envelope!  


Yesterday, I decided to play with some circuits again.  It's getting pretty easy to get the LED light ones to work on the first try now.... I used the robot die set from Tim Holtz and distress inks to color the pieces that started out as white paper.  I love playing with color....  This was a case from a card I saw on Pinterest.  The left eye does light up.  


Well, that's it for now.  I have another project to share in a day or so... but typepad isn't cooperating with letting me upload the image at the moment.  LOL  

Hope you've got some creative time built into your week.  Take care and nurture your creative soul as often as you can.