Izbzee

August cards....

Canning, making jam and dehydrating has filled quite a few of our days lately.  The garden is also beginning to produce so veggies are just around the corner and the fruit trees are showing their bounty as well.  HOWEVER, we have managed to squeeze in a bit of crafting time and now that a few of these are already on their way, I can share some of them:

My FIL turned 91 in July.  I've always wanted to make the expanding candle card and this celebration let us do it!  

It was fun and he enjoyed pulling it out and trying to refold it.....  I only lost one cut out of the 270 flame pieces.  Not bad!  The papers were from an Echo Park Let Freedom Ring kit I had some scraps left over from.  He loved all the plaids and prints since he lives in plaid shirts!  

Birthdays abound in August... so I got a little ahead of those and put a couple of them together early.  This one is for my Granddaughter who is turning 16.  She's had some health issues and thankfully, we're able to celebrate the fact that she'll be able to go a full year before having another MRI as her last scan was clear!  

I used several digital papers and images from Nitwit Collections and a tuxedo card base for this one.  It folds flat for mailing and then will pop open a bit to stand.  

The cuts for the two cards above were made using the Skycut C24 and SCAL 6 Pro.  Bearly Art Glue and Scor Tape were used as adhesives.  

My ministering cards for August were made using some unbranded dies - - I purchased the dies through Amazon.  I saw something similar on Pinterest and then decided to flip it to horizontal for about half of the makes.  I used distress inks and a blender tool for the background and some tombow markers for additional interest.  The stamp is from Bear Essentials by Ellen Hutson.

There's more -- but this is enough for today!  Hoping you have a creative day!  

2023 - 5 Tags of Summer - tag 5

For my last tag for this challenge, I created a nighttime mountain scene.  I found a couple of files at Creative Fabrica that would work.  I chose dark papers for this tag to remind me of my last trip to the mountains and looking up at the night sky.  Wouldn't it be neat to see the northern lights too?  Sadly, we hardly ever have the opportunity to see them where we live... but it would be fun!  

I used the same design for this tag as I used for the Summer Reads tag.  I didn't change the size of the tag.  To add the flap to the front of the tag, I added an altered tag from the basic library in SCAL.  This flap will also be the important to the interactive portion of the tag. 

The sentiment, Summer's last hurrah! is foiled using the foil quill.  

Before assembling the front of the tag, I marked the 2nd tag I cut so I could create a circuit for the chibitronics LED lights I planned to add for the interactive piece.  I created the circuit using conductive fabric tape.  Added the lights and secured the lights with an extra layer of tape.  To make sure the tape that would be placed on the back of the tag front would make contact with the battery and circuit, I added a small piece of foam tape and burnished a small piece of tape on the circuit on the back tag.  Add foam tape around the perimeter of the tag and make sure there is a border around the battery to hold it in place.  

Ink the layer pieces as desired.  I added some Pearl Ex mixed with water to the upper portion of the tag front.  Let dry.  Assemble and glue the remaining pieces for the front of that tag.   In the area where the opening is, place a piece of conductive fabric, making sure it aligns with the battery and the circuit.  Test to make sure the lights will light when the flap is pressed against the tag.  

Remove the release paper on the foam tape and align the tag front to the tag back and secure in place.  I used black foam tape.  

 

2023 - 5 Tags of Summer - Tag 4

This tag is pinterest inspired!  I wanted at least one circle shaped tag in this set.  Using kraft colored paper, I created a scalloped back and a circle front.  The circle front is crimped.  Both of these pieces are inked for additional color and texture.  For the larger heart, I used the foil quill to foil the word dream in black foil.  The flower is from the SCAL basic shapes library, but is  not cut using the small center.  The stem and leaf are handcut.  The leaf was also crimped for some extra dimension.  I added some clear Nuvo drops to the brown marker center of the flower.  The smaller hear is stamped with an old Stampin' Up stamp and inked on the edges as is the small pink heart.  All paper is from AC cardstock.

Using some watered down ink, I added a few splats to the hearts.  I had some metallic gold wax and added a little bit of that in a few places on the tag.  I used some twine to finish the tag.  

Fun to make and likely will be on the repeat for the future for a few gift bags later this year.  

2023 5 Tags of Summer - tag 3

Tag #3:  I've been participating in a summer reading challenge and have enjoyed making time to read every day.  Most often, it's late at night, but at least I'm getting some time in.  I've finished 7 short mystery books so far since the first of July and should finish up one more book by bedtime this evening!  

This tag is a reminder of my love for reading.  The tag is my own design, cut on white paper.  I used the Foil Quill to write the sentiment and add the details on the books.  The books are attached using some narrow foam strips and rounded slightly for a little added dimension.  The sun is a stamp and die from Ellen Hutson and is placed on a wobble.  I swiped distress ink on the books and over the foiled lettering and wiped the foiled areas with a tissue to clean it up just a bit.  

2023 - 5 tags of Summer - tag 2

For tag #2, I decided to include a lip balmer holder in this fold-over the top tag.  Again, I've used some digital paper from the Polkadoodle Rebel collection.  This is a quick to make and design in the SCAL software and cutting was a breeze for the skycut using a 12 x 12 sheet of paper.  You can make 4 base tags with ease on one sheet of paper.  

I altered the holder and glued it to the inside of the front of the tag.  The version (from Amazon) I purchased has the adhesive on the back of the holder.  I needed it on the front.  And if you're not aware, the holder is the perfect size to hold some paper money!  

The sentiment is from Polkadoodles Rebel collection (in the greetings folder).  The back of this tag is perfect for adding the to and from while the inside of the tag has sufficient room to personalize for that someone special!  

2023 - 5 tags of Summer Reveal - Tag 1

It's been fun to make the tags this year.  Summer has definitely arrived and with it some heat!  For this year's tags, I'll start with this one:  

A fun pocket tag using some fun papers from Polkadoodle (the Rebel collection).  I printed a 6" sq with one background image and then filled the back of the pocket with a shape just slightly smaller than the tag shape.  Print the inside of the pocket with the original printed side on the reverse.  Cut using the Print 2 Cut directions for your software.  I've used SCAL 6 Pro for all of my tags this year and all cuts have been completed using the Skycut C 24.

I added a border doodle on the front of the pocket.  Lightly inked with a similar color ink.  A strip of ribbon is wrapped around the pull -tag insert.  A small button is glue to a small ribbon bow that is also glued to the front of the pocket.  

The pocket is large enough for a gift card to be inserted if preferred.  

Hello....

Need a little summer lift?  This card was fun to create and didn't take as much time as I thought making a stack of them might take.  Cuts made using the Skycut and SCAL and a fun stamp and die from Ellen Hutson.  I was really happy the the bear stamp set and dies were still in stock and reasonably priced.  

 

The next card is one for a very special birthday.... 91 years!  I've wanted to make a similar card for a long while, and made sure to get it done for my FIL's birthday this coming weekend.  

done in plaids, stripes and patriotic colors - all patterned papers from Echo Park. Other papers from AC Cardstock.  Lots of inking and I only lost one piece that needed to be recut!  Not bad considering there are 91 candles in this accordian style card. 

Next up will be the 5 Tags of Summer Reveal.  Starting on Saturday, the 15th.  It's been an interesting journey with these.  Some turned out just as envisioned, others not to much.... but I'm really happy to have found time to make them with everything else that's been going on in our household.  

some fun cards

Summer is just around the corner.... but the weather has been warm enough to flip the switch and turn on the AC for a few hours every afternoon.  

Sandy at Simply Crafty SVGs has put out a new batch of cards in the last week --  fun box cards.  

I've made a couple of these cards from the new files.  Love them!

I added a shaker element in the pitcher and literally filled it with polymer clay sliced lemons I found on Etsy a couple of years ago.  So fun!  
Used some collage podge on the pitcher and the lemon slices.  The digital paper is from Creative Fabrica.  It was perfect and grounded the card.  The basic box elements for the card can be cut from a single 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper!  Lots of inking and a little watercolor painting.  I love the design of the glass in this file.  It looks dimensional.  

And then there was this one... who doesn't like donuts?  

I used several mediums on this one.  Inking, Dimensional Glaze, nail art bits and pieces and Pearl Luster Lumiere.  It was fun - but was hard to wait for everything to dry!  The original file does not have the transparent window.  I created on for a little more fun and will likely add a sentiment to the window to personalize it when it is gifted.  

Both cards were cut on the Skycut using SCAL6 Pro software to set up the SVG files for cutting.  Paper from AC Cardstock.  Bearly Art Glue and Scor-Tape  were the adhesives used.  

Both cards will fold flat and fit into a standard invitation envelope.  If you choose to add a shaker component, there is a little bulk, so extra postage may be needed if you add any dimension like I have done.  

An early start to Christmas makes

I saw a sample of something similar to this explosion box project, but the boxes used on the inside walls of the explosion box were too shallow for what I wanted to accomplish.  So I tried my hand at creating my own version with a little help from a friend.  Finished size is 4.25 x 4.25 x 4.25 inches.  

All patterned paper is digital and I was able to isolate one of the reindeer from the larger paper image and create a "sticker" with it.  There's a reindeer on each side of the box.  SCAL 6 makes it very easy to fill each shape with the paper and size as desired.  All of the images used were backgrounds that were scalable and seamless.  

When you open the box, you'll find 6 mini- cubes on each side panel.  Each cube is numbered.  

Each cube holds a  small single bit candy bar or a couple of hershey kisses.  They will also hold a small charm.  It's makes a perfect Advent calendar for the holidays or could be adapted to celebrate a birthday month or upcoming anniversary.  

I used print 2 cut to create all the panels using a digital paper package call Happy Holidays I picked up from Creative Fabrica a while back.  It's a fun set of backgrounds.  I added a little bling to the red-nosed reindeer in the panels using some flat sequins.  

I think it turned about pretty good!  Day 25 will be an envelope holding a gift certificate or voucher for a family to use during or after the holidays.  

Looking forward to starting another Advent box very soon... we need several more for this coming holiday season!  

May - went fast!

I spent a majority of the month playing with some new ideas -- and grateful to have finished most of them.  

Most of the finished designs are based on finds at Pinterest.  

Late in the month finish... a cute little flip top box with a mini-album insert.  Scraps used for all.  The paper is from Echo Park's Let Freedom Ring collection.  I did create the star cut border using SCAL.  There's some foiling and stamping in this album as well.  

Mo's Digital Pencil is the creator of the above image.  It's so cute and can be adaptable to most anyone's birthday celebration!  

Another image from Mo's Digital Pencil.  It was the perfect image for an upcoming birthday!  

With Father's Day just around the corner, this fun print and cut and digital colored image from Polkadoodles helped create this fun card for the guys in the family!  I hope they like them.  

Two of the boys have birthdays near the first of the month.  This quick make was perfect for them and includes use of scraps, print and cut and cut using the Skycut and SCAL 5 Pro.  I'm really happy this came together quickly and I'm looking forward to using this file again soon with a different color scheme.  

I made a stack of 18 of these to send out in June.  The digital image was from Polkdoodles (Spring bundle).  I used some old spellbinder border dies and created the ENJOY using a font and a few small rectangles to connect "the dots" if you will.  The word is cut on the skycut and the sentiment on the inside was a print using SCAL as well.  

May was busy -- and June is already filling up with plans for creating.  I'm definitely looking forward to more creative time this coming month.  How about you?