Izbzee

while recuperating....

I've taken the time to spend a little more in my creative space.  I really like it in here and I'm grateful to call this space my own.  It's been a couple of busy weeks and I'm happy with all that I've been able to push out... so here goes:  

I skipped Easter stuff for the most part this year, though we did put some treat bags together for everyone that showed up to the family dinner -- no pics, but the kids (old and young) were delighted to get a little more chocolate and jelly beans!  LOL

Ministering cards for May have been delivered.  I'm glad they came together pretty quickly.  I used a heart die and a word die.  The sentiment strip is a print 2 cut done in SCAL 6 Pro, printed and then cut on the Skycut C24.  Made that part a breeze, that's for sure.  I added a trio of gems (nail art kit from Amazon a couple of years ago).  The inside sentiment is printed with a personal note added for each recipient.  

 

The holographic silver cardstock I got earlier in the month came in handy for our eldest grandson's bday card.  It was a fun make and designing it in SCAL was pretty easy.  It was a pinterest inspiration.  


Sandy released an updated version of the pitcher/vase during the month of April.   She'd added some panels that could be embossed or printed on.  I chose to emboss mine and then added some solar paste to the entire piece.  I love how it turned out.  I also used the same floral arrangement (it pops out for ease in changing) as used in the previous versions you can see here: 



I've got a few more things to share in the days to come, but sadly, I'm having some trouble getting a few things to load correctly.  Have a wonderful week!  I've got a lot more to share - cause since I first started this post (last month), I've gotten a few more things done.  :)  

  

florals

I had so much fun creating the flowers for these and putting them into their "vases."  The pitcher was designed by Sandy Stark of Simply Crafty SVGs.  I was having such a difficult time in Blender making my own, that once again, I turned to her for help.  She'd been working on a design similar to the one I had been trying to create that she offered to finish hers up and  let me test the file.  I LOVED IT!  I've made a few and added flowers from different designers since the first make back in 2022.  

I was hoping to imitate a speckled enamel version with the blue pitcher.  I think I achieved it.  The solid blue paper is from Michael's (Recollection) and has a smooth surface on both sides.  TIP:  Cut the paper on the wrong side.  This will put all the score lines on the inside and your can basically wrap the cylinders and glue with just the slightest sight of the score lines.  It's simple to put together... and forming the handle is really easy too.  I did splatter the cuts with watered down white paint before assembly for the speckled look.  

The rose file is from SVGCuts.  I cut all the pieces for the rose and leaves at 50% of the original size.  The rose is cut on cream paper (AC textured cardstock #80) and inked using some yellow and orangey inks.  I also used cloth wrapped wire in place of the skewers suggested in the original file and video.  

The cosmos is from Dreaming Tree.  The pieces are also cut at 50% of the original size from a light pink for the flower, yellow for the sepals and the same color of green for the the flower center and leaves.  I used some embossing tools and a set of tweezers to add some additional details to the flower after cutting and inking.  

The tiny blue and white flowers were from Dream Posies and were cut at 100%.  I added some Nuvo drops to the center of each wired flower - I really like how they turned out.  

The "leather leaf" file is from Creative Fabrica - and I reduced the size to about 75%.  I wanted to add a little extra texture to the leaves to I used an embossing folder and then inked the entire leaf with a slightly darker than the paper ink.  

I'm not a professional floral designer or arranger and don't profess to be, but I think these turned out pretty good and from the look on our neighbor's face when I delivered one of them to her, I did okay.  LOL

Hoping your day has been or will be a good one.  Enjoy some time outside and marvel at the beauty that surrounds you.  

2025 5 Spring Tags Reveal - Tag 5

It's time to share the last tag for this year's reveal.  It's been so fun to see what the rest of the group has come up with, though I wish we could get a few more people to participate from the overall group.  

Tag #5 has some dimension and movement.  The tag shape is combined shapes from the library.  The panel is a print 2 cut using a paper from a Polkadoodles Spring collection.  The flower is an adapted shape, using a couple of layers of vellum which has been colored with some ink refills.  The ladybug button is from my stash and is adhered to a mini-vibrating button motor.  The circuit is  attached to another tag shape below the top layer.  Hello is vinyl and burnished to the front panel.  


The tag I chose not to use:  
This is a fun tri-fold card downsized to a tag.  The original inspiration is from Pinterest.  The digitals are from Polkadoodles.  the pop up is a simple box mechanism with the digital attached to the pop-up.  Once folded, I added a button magnet to keep things closed.  

 

it's time for the 2025 Spring Tags Reveal

It's been an interesting week working to create the tags for this year's reveal.  A few of the test runs won't be used for this year's challenge since they don't meet the criteria -- but all of them were fun to make.  

Let's start with the first tag that will be used in this year's Reveal.

Tag #1:  Super simple tag... using a tag shape from the SCAL library, I used the rabbit is a black and white digital image from a collection by Bine Brandle colored using pencils and the polkadot strip is made using a dotted stencil cut on the Skycut and then I used Nuvo drops to "fill the dots".  I like the way it turned out and that little bit of sparkle is perfect!  I did use an old punch for the cut at the bottom of the tag.  The tag and rabbit are cut using the Skycut and SCAL software.  

One of the tags I didn't use:  


This tag uses some leftovers from a previous project.  The flower is a die set from the Greetery.  The oval is a cut using a spellbinder set of oval dies and is paper from a retired stack.  The rabbit is a digital image from the same set used above - a print 2 cut using the Skycut and SCAL.  

Tomorrow's post will also feature  2 tags again -- one for the reveal and another I chose not to use.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the group shares this week!  

Hoping you've set aside some creative time this week.  Enjoy the day!  

1 month down...

I've spent a good part of the month organizing my "new to me space" again.  It took a while to get the paper moved from the downstairs studio upstairs and find space for it all.  Let's just say that when that mission was accomplished, it felt pretty good.  I knew there was a lot of paper --- but it was hard to fathom that there was "that much!"  Now that paper organization is out of the way for a "little while," it's definitely time for a little bit of creativity.

This is a combination of a couple of files from Simply Crafty SVGs.  I changed the Bunny Crate box into a box card by removing the bottom from the file.  I used the bunny butt from the Bunny Butt Treat box and the carrots are from the Easter Truck box card.  


I wanted to do another Layered Shadow Box project and found this one.  I used the same color scheme as the sample -- it was fun and easy to create!  This file is from DrizyStudio.com  


And one more that I can share at this point in time.... The Egg box file is from Simply Crafty SVGs.  I've used this file before and it's super easy to assemble and accessorize.  Some dry embossing, inking, sanding finish off the egg.  The added "floral corsage" with some ribbon ends, adds the finishing touch.  Daisy from Simply Crafty, filler flowers and ferns from Maison Gregoria.  


Ministering cards for the month of February are done and should be arriving at their respective new homes today.  I was inspired by a watercolor drawing I found on Instagram.  I used Procreate to "draw" a faux watercolor image to use as a focal image on the fun fold card.  



That's about it for this month.  I've still got a few pics to take of some other projects... we'll have to see how things move forward next month.  

Hope you get some creative time over the next few weeks.  Enjoy the time nurturing your soul.   

 

Tag 7

This framed and layered tag was reminiscent of a tag I remember on a gift received a number of years ago.  The floral is from Creative Fabrica, the candy canes from the SCAL library and the basic shape of the tag is a rounded rectangle.  The "framed pieces are stacked to add some additional depth around the frame.  

The candy canes are colored using Ohuhu markers.  Some glitter was added to the flower centers.  

2024 - 3 Fall Tags Reveal #3

Tag 3 is a grouping of  tags.  

I used several ideas to create this project.  The puzzle pieces were generated in SCAL using the Puzzle Generator under the effects tab.  I had a few digital vintage dictionary pages in my stash that I chose from to use as a background image for the puzzle pieces.  Once that was printed and cut, the interior pieces were used for these tags. 


They were inked for a little more texture.  The flowers were files found in the SCAL library (Sandra Createinspain's collection from the old eShape store).  I cut the larger flowers in Kraft and the smaller flowers using watercolor paper.  The glossy accents "burped" on the flower centers -- I decided to let them just be to add a little more quirkiness to each of the tags.  

If desired, once you're inked the puzzle pieces, add a small eyelet to the tag to allow for your hanging string.  For a little more interest and texture you could also emboss the puzzle pieces and don't forget to add a little twine for more interest as well.  

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! 

Cut n Create Challenge piece

Insomnia has played a huge part in this project.... I got all the matting done after finding all the required files in my stash the other night after searching through lots of files to find just the right cutting files to create this framed wreath.  


The leafy wreath and square shadow box frame file are both from Creative Fabrica.  I used an old Stampin Up punch for a few extra "branches."

The rolled roses are from a file from Simply Crafty SVGS (Victorian Hat) and the small flowers are from a Dreaming Tree file (Hydrangea Tray).  The doily is a file from SVG Cuts Doily Collection.  

All files were matted in SCAL6 Pro.  I used print 2 cut print for the sentiment on the doily and then it was cut using the SkyCut.  I cut 3 of the leafy wreaths and inked them.  I wanted a little more depth and used foam tape between two of the layers.  The roses are inked on both sides and the top of the petals are slightly flared for a little more dimension.  They are glued directly to the wreath.  The smaller flowers have a small pearl in the center and are glued to the wreath as well.  Additional pearls are glued using E6000 and allowed to dry for a couple of hours to make sure everything is secure.   I added a loopy bow using 1/4" wide lavender ribbon and secured with a drop of hot glue.  

The 6" box frame is a single piece file.  Easy to put together.  The center area of the frame is about 5 inches.... it's a pretty snug fit.