Izbzee

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! 

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.

 

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!  

It's time for our 2022 Holiday Tag Reveal! Tag 1

Tag 1 for this year was inspired by a find in pinterest.  Using SCAL to design and cut on the Skycut C24.   AC cardstock in  Kraft for the base.   The sentiment Merry and Bright is foiled using the foil quill and the standard point.  The holly and berries are from the SCAL library, also cut in Kraft and colored using alcohol markers.  Tied off with a bit of twine.  The pine bough stamp is stamped using Versamark embossing ink.  

These are super easy and quick to make ...  thanks for stopping by today. 

Come on over to our Facebook page -- and see all the other fabulous tags our makers are creating!  

more Halloween decor

The Topsy Turvy Cake file from Simply Crafty SVGs was the perfect base for this fun project.  It also pairs really well with the Shrunken Head Candlesticks found in this post.  

It was fun using a digital striped paper (from Creative Fabrica) to fill the pieces for that section.  The SCAL 5 software makes it so easy and the Skycut cuts a printed image perfectly!  We added a "stripe" of light gray marker along each side of the stripe.  This adds a little more depth to the striped pattern on the paper.  

Assemble the cake as demonstrated in the video found here.  We used Bearly Art Precision Craft glue to adhere most of the pieces in this project.  

The "eyes on you" border was created in SCAL 5 and is simply a series of duplicated circles evenly distributed on a long narrow rectangle.   The union command was used to make it all one connected piece.  Cut.  Ink the edges with some mid to dark gray ink.  Create additional circles in slightly smaller sizes for the remaining 2 pieces of the eyes.  Assemble.  Add some white gel pen details if desired.   and coat lightly with some glaze.  We used Mod Podge Collage Medium.  Let dry and then using some narrow double stick tape, adhere to the edge of each of the cake layers after assembling the cake.  We made 5 strips (23 circles) measuring 11.5 inches in length cut on the diagonal and used most of the strips to decorate the edge of the cake layers.  

The "It's Show Time" marquee is simply 3 pieces of paper cut to the width of the top layer.  2 white and 1 black slightly larger in size.  You can cut the text on both pieces of white -- however, we chose to use it only on one piece.  Sandwich the black between the two white pieces.  We added a toothpick to each end and slid the picks between the border and edge of the top cake layer.  

Since we plan to fill the cake box with some goodies for our upcoming family dinner, we decided to add some weight and strength to the cake base.  We cut an extra bottom for the base and filled a sandwich bag with about 1/2 cup of rice.  Seal the bag and carefully stuff into the base.  Add an additional circle under the doily piece.  This will add a bit more strength to the entire base and stiffen the edges a bit.  

The cake with the marquee in place is nearly the same height as the candlesticks... so together, they work quite well.  

Hoping you're enjoying some creative time in your space this weekend.  Enjoy and relax!  Crafting is a great way to destress.  

Thanks for stopping by!  There are a couple of additional ideas coming together here ... can't wait to share in the next week or so.  

2022 Three Tags of Fall - Tag 2

It's day 2 of the 3 Tags of Fall Reveal.  Yesterday's  tags were pretty awesome.  Did you stop by the Facebook page to see them?  If not, you should -- and it's likely that one or two of today's tags have posted as well.  

Today's tag was a fun one.  I'd been looking for a "long-boxy" sort of bear but couldn't find what I was looking for as an image or SVG, so I thought I'd give designing what I was looking for based on the sketch in my sketchbook for this year's tags.  It didn't turn out too badly and was all done in SCAL5 Pro - using shapes in the library. 

The leaves were from a file I've had for a while and got at Creative Fabrica.  After coloring, I added some foam tape to the back of the top two.  Created the bundle of three and slipped it under the one arm as shown in the image above.  

I used the same tag shape but didn't add the frame.  You'll find the directions to create it in yesterday's post.  I extended the length of the tag by adding a piece of 2" wide plaid ribbon I've had in my stash for a very long time, stapling it to the bottom of the tag. 

The leaves and bear were colored using Ohuhu alcohol markers.  I like the primitive colored look for this version.  It was fun to make.

Stop by the Facebook page today to see the tags that have posted.  I'm sure there will be some additional lovelies added today and again tomorrow.  

2022 Three Tags of Fall - Tag 1

It's time for the annual 3 Tags of Fall reveal.  After perusing Pinterest for a little bit, I found a couple of ideas that I thought would translate to paper very well.

Using the library in SCAL5, the elements for this tag were created.  The tag shape was made using the vertical rectangle, a half circle.  These two elements were "fused" using the union command once the half circle was elongated a bit and centered on the upper edge of the rectangle.  A small circle (.10) was added and centered in the upper portion of the half circle.  Front minus Back was used again.  If you want a reinforcement for the tag, you can create on in a different color or in the same paper you used to cut the tag.  

The tag frame was created using two vertical rectangles and the Back minus Front command.  some foam tape was added to the back of this piece and then attached to the tag base.  Edge all the pieces with some black ink.  

The flowers are created using stars from the library.  Place two stars together, shifting one star slightly to the left or right.  Use Union to create the petals.  Cut two petals for each flower. Color and ink the edges.  For the flower centers, cut a solid circle and a frame.  Emboss the flower center and using some off white ink, ink the edges of the circle frame.  Using a paper piercer, curl some of the petals.  Attach the flowers using some pop dots.  Add some twine for a little interest if desired.  

Stop by the eCal-SCAL Facebook page to see all of the wonderful tags that are being created for this year's Reveal.  

new stuff...

I know it's been a bit on the quiet side, but some things you just can't rush.  So let's get started with post #1 for the week.  

Today is publication day for The Artistry.  This one has been in the queue for a couple of weeks, so I'm glad I can finally share this.  

This was so fun to put together!  Lumiere by Jacquard, IkonArt Stencils and Ohuhu Alcohol based markers for the win on this project.  You'll find the details for this project here.  

Working on raw clay.  

Loved working on the baked clay too. 

 

These two options will be used again in the future for a couple of projects on my list.  

I think of the two projects, I love the notebook the best.  So much fun to make and showcase the clay image.  Hope you like them too.  For additional ideas, visit my author page on The Artistry.  

Enjoy some creative time today!  

12 Tags of Christmas - Tag 9

Really hoping today's tag doesn't jinx the storm that is supposed to be here a little later this morning.  We're actually expecting some white stuff called SNOW today.  

The sentiment is foil quilled on a tag from the Library.  The snowman is 3 circles of different sizes unioned together.  The hat is made using basic shapes as are the other decorative elements.  A little bit of shading with the edge of a marker for a little more definition.  I also added an arrow shaped reinforcement at the hanging hole.  

Super simple and quick tag.  Next time, I'll use a color or designer paper for the tag.  It wasn't a particularly good "eye" day when I was making this one.  Will be very happy when surgery 2 is done and the healing cycle has completed and I can get my new glasses.  Mid-January isn't too far away, is it?  

Thanksgiving Paper quilt

Loving the way blocks for this turned out.  The dovetail quilt blocks provide a perfect setting for signatures or in this case, words of gratitude.  The paper piecing was easy, but this project also features some embossing done on a metallic sheet - the Skycut and SCAL5 Pro software made it so easy to accomplish.  For all the details, head on over to The Artistry!