Izbzee

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 

Tag 4 - CAS

Clean and simple and all white.  This tag has a few things that set it apart from other tags.  It lights up!

I used the score board to score the background circles for this tag.  They are taped securely to the back of the front tag.  A simple circuit was created for the light using a chibi white light - 

Two layers of foam tape was sufficient for the depth of the battery (CR2016) used in the circuit.  Once the circuit was complete and working with slight pressure, secure the top tag to the base.  Details on creating a circuit and finding materials used, can be found at chibitronics.com

The flower file was in my stash (designer unknown) and it cut nearly perfectly after being resized down a little more than 75%.  

A pop of color on the flower finishes the card.  

EDITED:  
I decided to switch out the flower head and used a pressed paper flower and sequin to finish off the tag - I do like it much better this way.  




Thanks again for stopping by.  You've made my day!  Hoping you have an awesome day too.  

Is it Spring yet?

Mother Nature isn't quite willing to let Spring show her grandeur.  But I'm hoping we'll see more signs very soon!

Maybe one way we can make that happen is to share a few Spring Tags this week.  It's our Spring Tag Reveal week over on Facebook...  I'll post the link to the page at the bottom of this post.  

I decided to start off the week with this simple tag.  It's a shaped tag and slightly oversized.  

The chick is from the Library in SCAL, and I added a rounded triangle using the Union command for the tail.  The base is cut from a grey colored cardstock and is crimped and painted for a weathered look.  The body is also crimped but with the lines running horizontally.  I added some dimensional glaze to the eye.  The flower is from the Library in SCAL as well.  It is drybrushed with some white paint.  A glittered brad holds the layers together.  I used some baker's twine around the neck and for the hanger.  Sweet and simply!  

Hope you'll stop by and see all the other tags that have been made for this year's reveal.  You'll find them here.  Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek today.  Hope you have some creative time built into your week to nurture your creative soul.  

it's not been too quiet....

craft wise.  I'd say a little busy for the first week of January.  

This guy was finished up just before the first wave of snow started last evening (the 6th).  His first iteration began earlier in the week -- some tweaking and I kind of like the finished look.  


I combined 3 files from Simply Crafty SVGs to make him.  
Smiling Snowman (one of my favorite files -- especially for the hat shape)  I added panels to the hat to get the checkerboard effect I was looking for.  The hat band has some holographic embossed snowflakes -- they didn't quite turn out the way I'd hoped, but there is some sparkle up there.  The panels on the head are embossed with the swiss dots folder from Provo Craft.  I didn't ink these.  The scarf has an extra tail -- and the paper pattern is from Creative Fabrica.  

I used the 3D Round Ornament Gift Box for the body.  The head is glued to the top of the box for easy access to the large area where you could put a scarf, mitten/gloves or some candy.  The bottom of the ornament is flat -- so you could finish there, however, I opted to add a base using the Dog Dish file.  I think next time I make this, I'll add some panels to the inside of the larger piece and again to the outside for a bit more strength since I didn't add the band at the bottom of the outside part of the dish.  The base of the ornament is glued to the dog dish for more stability.  

I created the arms and mittens and hand cut those.  Panels for the body and the arms and mittens are done using the Swiss dots folder.  I used a small button for the chest, two small beads for the eyes and a glittered brad for the nose (after cutting off the prongs).  Hot glue keeps those in place  

Hope you'll find some creative time soon if you don't already have some inked in this coming week.  Enjoy the time and nurture your heart along the way.  

Thanks again, for dropping by!  

2023 5 Tags of Spring - Day 3

Fun and lots of paper shapes create this fun tag for day 3.  The chocolate bunny is from Simply Crafty SVGs.  It's resized to fit on this mini tag that measures about 1.5 inches wide by 2.5 inches in height.  The flowers and leaves can be found in the SCAL library (SandraCreateinSpain folder)

It's also a good tag to use scraps with.  Add some ink, markers and a bit of glue, it's also a quick assemble.  The small hello is a print 2 cut.  Embossing the tag base adds a little more dimension and it was swiped with an ink pad in an antiquing color.  

Again, thanks for dropping by today.  Set aside some creative time and enjoy nurturing your soul this week.  

a first for me...

in a very long time.... A little paper house.  

I used the Bird House file and the stand from Smiling Jack O' Lantern file from Simply Crafty SVGs with an added beveled box I created using Blender and Pepakura. This was lots of fun!

The panels on the outside of the house are embossed with a rock embossing folder and the inside walls of the house are also paneled for a little more sturdiness to compensate for the added weight of the moss on the roof and to cover the prongs used in the hinges.    

.... after opening the bird house file in SCAL, I made a few changes to the door and added a few additional details. 

The door is comprised of 4 layers of cardstock.  The top layer is embossed and inked and was washed with a bit of water.  the window element was created in SCAL combining some basic shapes.  The door is set off center on the front of the house.  A half arch was added to one side (not shown above) and is also made of 4 layers, embossed and inked.  

The door knocker is made with some jewelry findings (a bead and jump ring) glued to a metallic (aluminum can) heart die cut. In the final design, they are colored with a black sharpie.   The hinges were a find on Amazon.  I used some small brads to secure the hinges to the door and house frame.  The door knob (not shown) is a brad minus the prongs.  E6000 glue was used to secure the metallic pieces to the door.  Let dry overnight for best results!

Assemble the house following the basic assembly instructions provided at Simply Crafty SVGs.  The video instruction does not include the door used for this project.  

A sheet of hobby craft moss was cut to size to use on the roof.  I used some heavy duty double stick tape to secure it on the roof pieces.  

I really like the stand from the Smiling Jack O'Lantern file.  I've used it for several other projects and it's a favorite and so easy to assemble.  No need to alter the size or design. An additional beveled box was added to the stand to add more width and stability at the top to accommodate the house.   

 

Is it perfect?  NO, not at all!  But I've learned a lot in this construction, and hope to add a few additional houses in the months to come implementing some additional ideas.  Overall, it was an enjoyable project and got me out of my comfort zone in several areas and using materials I don't often use or combine with paper.

Supplies:
Paper:  American Cardstock (AC) and Bazill  80lb (textured)
Adhesives:  Bearly Art Glue, e6000, red line tape (heavy duty)
Software used:  SCAL 5, Blender, Pepakura
Skycut C24
embossing folders, small heart die
Big Shot
Findings:  small bead, jump ring, aluminum can, hinges, brads
Jewelry round nose pliers, wire cutters
Water brush
Distress Inks
Ink blending tool

Thanks for stopping by.  Hoping you've carved out some creative time this week.  I have and I'm looking forward to some fun time crafting and creating.  If you choose to make this or something similar... please be sure to let me know and tag #simplycraftysvgs too!  Sandy would love to see your make as well!  

Valentine Fresh Blooms

Everyone I know likes flowers... even paper ones especially at Valentine's Day.

How about this one created using files from Simply Crafty SVGs? I used the box base from the Santa Hat box and the flowers from the Bee Hive files.  I added Heart 6, a star and a leaf from the shapes library in SCAL.  

The florals, hearts, leaves and sepals were cut using some sketch pad paper.  The skycut had no problem cutting the images including the smallest of the centers of the flower.  They were all colored using alcohol markers, front and back.  I used a star for the sepal on each of the flowers.  The petals of the flowers were shaped with the petals going down.  All of these pieces are wired and hot glue was used to attach the wire to each flower.  You can add some additional details to the wire by wrapping around a skewer if desired.  

No changes to the box file were necessary other than copying an additional panel for the front panel since you won't be using the Santa face included with the file.  Using the Pattern command, fill the panel pieces with a fun digital paper.  The paper used in our sample is from Creative Fabrica.  The score lines were changed to DRAW and the scoring tool was used to draw those lines.  

Once the pieces are scored and cut, glue the printed panels to the box sides.  Glue the two sides of the box together as instructed in the video Sandy has created for putting the box together.  The panels were inked using some distress ink in a pink that nearly matched the pink in the flowers.  The ink adds another layer of color and interest to the overall box.  You can add the ink BEFORE adding to the box sides, or after.  

The metallic LOVE stamp is an old retired embossing and die set from Sizzix Cuttlebug.  It was cut from a piece of an aluminum soda can scrap. 

This project would be easy to replicate and could be finished within a hour or two once the florals are colored.

Thanks for stopping by!.  Hope you've marked out some creative time this week and enjoy the process of nurturing your creative spirit.

 

A Spring Prim

Winter just arrived and after the most recent storms, everyone is anxious for Spring to roll in!  I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it was fun to do a little playing and combining a few Simply Crafty SVGs files to create 2 versions of this Spring Prim Bunny.  

The head from the Smiling Snowman file once again makes up the central portion of this piece.  I did not cut the bottom piece that wraps around the bottom of the head.  Add some ears from the Bunny Easter Basket file. 

The head and ear cuts were reduced to 85%.  Double embossing* of the panels and a small amount of inking using some grey distress ink and blender tool.  The coloring for the inner ear pieces was done using colored pencils.  A small slit on each side of the top piece allowed for the ear to be inset into the head about 1/4 of an inch.  Glue in place.  The facial features are a pink glittered brad nose.  The prongs of the brad were cut off and 2 beads were used for eyes and some scrap cardstock was used for the eyebrows.  

A fluffy organza bow is attached to the lower portion of the head.  

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I made two bases -- the first base is made using the carrot from the Carrot Patch file and increasing it in size just a little bit.  You don't need to cut the top piece with the slit in it.  

Ink all the edges and let the ink travel into the center of each side if desired.  I added about a tablespoon of rice in a small plastic bag to the inside of the carrot piece before closing it up and gluing it shut. the rice was used as a weight and for stability. You can just place the head of the rabbit over the top of the carrot and it should fit snugly.  Cut another carrot piece for the base.  You'll need to cut 2 inches off to create a truncated cone.  Add a little inking.  Assemble and flip with the lid as your base.  You will have an opening for the carrot to sit in.  I added some small punched flowers and some grass edging found in this file: Bunny in a Basket Card  (I placed three of the grass strips together slightly overlapped and used the Union command in SCAL 5 to make the strip one long piece.  Copy and paste the strip -- and on one of the pieces, make it slightly taller.  Cut and ink.  Wrap around the base.  Add some pastel flowers and set the carrot in the base.

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For the second base, I used the spindle stand from the Smiling Jack O'Lantern from Simply Crafty SVGs.  No changes were made and it was cut as it was designed in the file.  Once the stand is assembled, ink as desired for additional texture and interest.  Place the head on the stand.  You could add a small cube to the top of the stand for a little more stability of the head, but we wanted to add a small battery operated tealight for an additional element of surprise.  

You'll also need:

AC cardstock (12 x 12 white, weave, rust, dk olive green)
Distress inks (colors as desired) and blending tool or felt to blend
1 1/2 yard white organza ribbon (1/2 inch wide)
Brad
Seed Beads
Hot Glue gun
Bearly Art Precision Art Glue
SkyCut C24 and SCAL 5 Pro
Colored pencils
wire cutters
wire
Embossing folders 
Embossing machine (Big Kick by Sizzix was used)

*to double emboss:  Run the pieces through the embossing machine with the most detailed folder first.  Then make a second pass using the second folder.  The embossing from the first run will be still visible, but not as detailed.  You'll be able to pick up most of the design if you lightly brush the top with some ink.  

Hoping you'll enjoy some creative time in the next few days and nurture your soul.  Crafting is my stress release and I always look forward to setting aside some creative time.  Hoping you do too!  

prim snowman

This was a fun project... I finally got to use one of the several bedsprings I purchased last fall.  They've been sitting in a box just waiting.....  

I adapted the Smiling Snowman file from Simply Crafty SVGS.  The panels are double embossed -- using 2 folders for some extra texture and depth in the Neenah 110 lb cardstock.  Using the blending tool, apply a bit of Antique Photo Distress ink on the panels and on the assembled head.  

The Skycut C24 cut everything as planned including the print2cut hat band and scarf pieces.  Some ink was also applied to the edges of each of these pieces to "hide" the white from the the original color of the cardstock.  

I added an additional tabbed piece to the bottom of the head (designed in SCAL 5 Pro) and pierced a hole and threaded the top of the bedspring into the hole and attached the head to the spring. A bit of hot glue will help to stabilize it a little more if you find the head is a bit floppy. 

The face of the snowman is embellished with a glittered brad (the prongs cut off).  Small beads for the eyes and a bit of black AC cardstock from a scrap for the eyebrows.  The glue gun and some liquid glue made this easy to do.

I found a piece of holly from an unused die cut in my stash, glued it to the hat band and added a small bell that had a bit of brown wrapped wire twisted and coiled for additional interest.  Swipe some white or cream ink along the edges of the hat if desired.

Looking forward to adding some additional wintry items for this piece that will be on the mantel after all the Christmas decor has been put away.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Hoping you've got some creative plans in the works over the next couple of weeks.  Enjoy the time!  

2022 Holiday Tags - #10

Have you ever looked at the fabulous iced cookies that are being created out there?  They are amazing.  I wish I could hold an icing bag again to do some of them - but arthritis makes it a little more difficult.    Using a cutting machine and paper makes it possible to create this small paperquilt/paper-pieced tag.  

This star "cookie" was a fun one and adding some details using embossing folder added a little more texture for the finished tag.  It was fun to dig through my tub of embossing folders and choose what to use for this tag.  Both folders were from Sizzix.  Basic shapes for the five-sided star, circle for the nose and an oval for the face.  The raindrops in the Spring folder for the general make-up of this tag.  I used a couple of horizontal lines found in the Basic Shapes folder -- and used the wave effect to create a slight curve in both lines. This tag is also a great way to use up some of your scraps.  Nothing over 4 x 4!  Bearly Art glue was used.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Join us over on the Facebook page to check out the rest of the makes!