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Tag 5 - Spring Tag Challenge 2020

Well, it's Friday and it's been a fun week. Thanks for dropping by and sharing a bit of your day  or evening checking things out. As you can see I decided to make another shaker card - a perfect way to round out the week.  

The background is an image I purchased on Dreamstime.com - I've used it for a couple of cards and have plans to use it for another couple of projects in the days to come.  I loved the colors and thought they would serve well as the background for this tag.  

Printed on photo paper (4x6 -borderless setting).  

The sentiment is written in the Walking Wind font and is from CreativeFabrica.com  I used the foil quill and some pink glimmer mist foil from Spellbinders.  I think it turned out quite lovely.   

Stack 5 ovals cut using the eclips and ecal and adhere them to form your shaker box, centering the stack around the sentiment.  

Add the sequin mix.  Adhere an oval cut piece of transparency and the top card stock oval.  If desired add a few more sequins to the oval and the tag base.  Add some ribbon or fibers to hang your tag.  

Thanks for joining me this week.  It's been a fun week.  Don't let COVID-19 get you down .... I hope you'll be able to find a few minutes, hours or more to craft as you can.  Be safe, stay well.  

Tag 4 - Spring Tag Challenge 2020

 

Covid-19 is still disrupting lives across the world and now in our community.  I'm grateful for our online communities and the flexibility we have of working from home.  I'm still grateful for a crafting stash and no need to leave the house.  I'm pretty sure my hubby was wondering about the boxes that arrived earlier this year filled with glue, paper, and more.

This tag features another fun image from Buddly Crafts -- While this is printed on white stock, it would look wonderful on some antiqued paper for a more vintage look.  

Size, print and color the image as desired.  Using the print 2 cut feature in eCal, cut the tag.  Add a shadow layer or more as shown in the tag featured in yesterday's post.  

Embellish as desired for gifting.  Create multiples for a fun Spring banner.  

Be safe, stay well and craft on! 

Tag 3 - Spring Tag Challenge 2020

Hard to believe that we're already mid-week in the challenge.  Have you checked out all the tags showing up on the page?  If note or you need the link, you'll find the images here.  

Digital stamps to the rescue -- and I really like this one from Buddly Crafts.  Their digital stamps are nicely detailed and don't lose anything in the resizing using eCal3.  Perfect for using the print 2 cut and print 2 cut print features offered in eCal.  If you'd like, you can also print your sentiment at the same time using a fun font*.  

Print and color your stamped image.  Coloring has always been a good way for me to destress after a busy day at work or providing care for Mom.  I used Rembrandt professional colored pencils for this image.  

After the coloring is done, cut the images as desired.  I used a cloud shape from the shape library -- You can add a couple of shadow layers and cut those in colors that will coordinate with your image. 

* Or add a sentiment if desired using a stamp of choice.  This is a really quick tag - pretty easy and reminds me of one of the vintage images in my old scrapbook.  

 

Tag 2 - Spring Tag Challenge

 

Tag 2 -- A bit oversized, however, this shaker tag will make a nice statement on a gift basket.  

Isolation/social distancing isn't too bad when you have a stash of craft supplies and who knew that they would come in handy this spring when our local craft stores are closed or doing limited business - order online and they'll deliver curbside... great for some things, but if you're a shopper who likes to see and touch things to make sure these embellishments are the right size -- well... I'm sure you get the drift.  

The Mandala egg SVG was from Creative Fabrica.  You'll find it here. I used front minus back to incorporate the egg into the tag shape.  There will be a few detail pieces you will want to glue to the front of the transparency - so don't scrape all those bits and pieces off the mat just yet.

Using some scor-tape, adhere the transparency to the back of the tag front.  Add those detail pieces from the cut to the front of the transparency with a dab of glue.  Let dry.  Add foam tape to form a box on the back of the tag front to keep the sequin mix in place once the tag back is added.  I love the window effect in this piece.

The white paper was a bit too stark and needed a little something.  So I drew some swirls using a Versa-mark pen.  It was perfect!  Very subtle but when the light hits things just right you can see those swirls.  Next time, maybe stamp a doily or mandala using versa-mark.  Let dry a bit to avoid smearing.  You can heat set if desired.  

 

Add a bit of ribbon and fiber to the tag and you're set to add to that gift bag or basket for a special delivery.  
Hoping you are able to find some creative time  -- keep nurturing your soul.  Stay safe and be well.  

Spring Tag 2020 Challenge

It's that time of year again - with all the chaos that Covid-19 has been causing, this challenge has offered a bit of respite during this period of self-isolation and social distancing.  The first cases of the virus wreaked havoc in the stores as people hoarded certain items and made it nearly impossible for the general public to have access.  One of the items was toilet paper -- and in true crafter fashion Whimsey stamps offered this digital freebie!  

eCal3's Print 2 cut feature was perfect for this tag using the digital image from Whimsey Stamps.
Creative Fabrica's font library provided the font, name of font.  Font was "filled" with the line fill command and printed (I had originally planned on using the foil quill, but my quill broke and I didn't want to wait for the delivery (yeah, some days it's just like that.) You just have to keep crafting.  

Rembrandt colored pencils were used to color Dudley and the print 2 cut feature was used to cut both the tag and Dudley.  

Run the lower 1/3 to 1/2 through an embossing folder and the Big Shot for a little extra texture.  I decided to add a little more dimension using the eBrush and a light gray marker.  Just a little color added enough dimension.  

Using some strategically placed pop-dots place Dudley as desired on the tag and embellish as desired.Add a for a hanger.

 

Hop on over to the eclips/ecal FB page to see what others are making this year.  It's time to get some more crafting on!  Hoping you're finding some time to do the same.  Enjoy!

Happy January -- 2020

The Christmas cards were a hit with the fam... and being able to share Mom's voice in a recording was the highlight at our family party. These 5 x 5 cards are actually a triple fold with an EZ Sound module with a recording on them.  We were able to get Mom to record a Christmas greeting -- we finally got a usable one after 3 tries.  We thought it would be a perfect touch to the cards we were sharing with my siblings this holiday season.  THEY WERE A HIT!  The image is one taken by a friend of ours and I purchased the rights for commercial use.  Printed on glossy photo paper and trimmed to 3.50 x 3.50 for the 5 x 5 card version.  The foil quill was the perfect tool to use to apply the foil on the vellum.  Trim the vellum as desired and using some vellum tape, adhere to the card front.  I used Print Shop to create the insert for the inside of the card.  


Materials:
Per card:
5 x 15 cardstock, scored at 5 and 10 inches (cardstock from Envelopes.com 11x17 in navy, matching envelopes are available)
EZ sound module (InviteByVoice.com), with desired recording (voice and music clip - a royalty free clip was purchased from Melody Loops)
Audio editing software (Audacity - it's free)
vellum
eClips 2 and eCal3 software
WRMK Foil Quill ( fine tip and adaptor for your cutting machine , heat activated foil (glimmer mist from Spellbinders)
Focal image 
Printer
glossy photo paper (4 x 6)
PhotoShop Elements (17)
Envelopes (I used a plastic box for cards from Clear Bags with an elastic band the same color as the foiling)

It's been a busy couple of months -- hopefully, as things slow down a bit now that the BIG work projects has been completed there will be more craftiness to come in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned!  

Time to deck the porch

Our pencil Christmas trees were beginning to look a little ragged and half the lights were out on the smallest of the three trees -- it was time to look at replacing the trees....but out budget for a replacement was a little skimpier than what I had plans for... so we bought one tree to replace the three.  No regrets... but then what do we do with the 3 old trees?  

Grab an old blanket or some felt, yarn and a ball ornament.  Some caulking, tin snips, a bucket and hot glue gun and sticks - this is a NO-SEW project!  

They've been transformed!  We now have 3 decked out gnomes ready to greet our guests as they approach the front door.  And since we no longer have a tree in the foyer, we opted for a smaller version. These are also no sew and quick to make, taking about 45 minutes each to make.  

The laser cut wood sign is from Expressions in Vinyl.  Thank you, Pinterest for the fun holiday decor idea.  These Dollar Tree gnomes are quick and easy to make.  I was very sad to learn that they had sold out of the trees when we went to puck another cart of trees to make more.  The buckets were from Lowes.  

I decided that i would add a couple more signs to our holiday decor this year.  

Let it Snow

Jingle Bells 

and the Nativity triptych 

More details (and better pictures) to follow on each of these projects in the next few days.  Thanks for dropping by.  Hoping your holiday crafting time brings you joy!   

2019 holiday season

It seems like the holidays have descended in one fell swoop... late Thanksgiving and before you know it... well Christmas is just 10 days out now.

We've been busy "elves" the last several months!  I can now share a couple of things I've created now that InviteByVoice has shared the projects on their site.  

The turkey is a design we used several years ago and I decided it was time to bring it back.  I couldn't find the original cutting file and created my own using ecal3 and cut the shapes with the eclips2.  A little inking, pen and a wobble added a little dimension to the turkey.  The background was embossed and inked.  The sentiment was a file from CreativeFabrica and was printed in reverse on transparency... TIP:  Print and let dry for 24 hours before using.  I also added an EZ Sound module to this card -- the sentiment on the inside says and compliments the Gobble til you Wobble ringtone.  

A also created a trio of 15 minute cards using the same basic design, just altering the embellishments.  These cards were featured on the InviteByVoice blog - you'll find that post and a step by step tutorial  here.  

There are several other projects on the crafting table... will be sharing those very soon.  Thanks for dropping by.  Hoping you'll make some time this holiday season to do a little creating.  Happy Holidays!  

prim for sure

This snowman was so fun to work with and I enjoyed "grunging" things up a bit to give him a little more personality

This file can be found in the Silhouette store -- a SnapDragonSnippets creation.  Be aware that you will have to adjust the pieces a bit as the SVG needs a few adjustments.  

 

I used a "new to me" grunging technique which was fun.  A bit of paint and ground cinnamon and cloves.  Best thing is that your paper smells good even after you're finished with the project!  And clean up is easy.  I plan to keep a small bottle of the spices in my crafting supplies now so I'm not raiding my cooking and baking ones.  Clean up is easy if you use acrylic paints.  And the "rust" looks pretty real!  

The file does not come with a hat for our snow dude, so I resized the hat from here to fit.  Added a bit of cotton to the edges, grunged it up with some tea with added cinnamon and cloves.  Just be careful not to get the paper too damp or it will tear.  

Rather than go out and purchase a dowel to help support the center post, I used a colored pencil from the grandkids' coloring stash.  They won't miss it and it was the perfect height.  I chose to put the head on an angle so the nose is lifted a bit more than is shown in the original file.  


Add the snowflake buttons and the rest of the embellishments - I grunged things up a bit on the buttons too.  

This is a relatively quick project and was fun as well -- I wouldn't be surprised if a few more appear this holiday season.  

Thanks for stopping by today.  Happy Creating!  

2019 12 Tags of Christmas Day 12

Today is the final reveal... Another simple tag and using stamps from my stash.

Find a fun snowflake and place on your tag and if desired, using the eCal software, choose path and back minus front.  Design your sentiment.  It's a little difficult to read Christmas on this one... sorry about that.  Use the foil quill to draw and then cut the tag.  I cut a second tag for the background piece. 

Stamp the tree.  I chose to use a color that would give a faint image, then added some background color.  Add a little snow to the branches if desired using a white gel pen.  Add some sparkle.  Set aside. (Stamp is from SU, retired)

Stamp the front of the tag. (Snowflake stamp is from Pink and Main, retired) I decided to heat emboss with some detail white embossing powder,

Glue the tag front to the stamped background.