All Things Unity Challenge #44

I am so excited to be sponsoring the All Things Unity challenge blog for the month of November! We'd love to have you play along with us. You could win a $20 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Just click on the challenge image below to go directly to the challenge post.


Our challenge was to buy something from the Dollar Store and alter it. I actually bought a jumbo clothespin from the $1 bin at A.C. Moore (I hope that counts!) and alter it so that it looks very different from it's original form. I used a mix of paper scraps from Imaginisce and Momenta with one of my favorite fall stamp sets from Ippity, "Fall for You".


I think I will keep this on my desk at school to hold important little notes. :)

What will you create?

September Blog Hop

Welcome to your next stop on the Master Forgers' Blog Hop! If you didn't start at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog, please click HERE so that you don't miss any of the fabulous projects along the way!
For our hop, our challenge was to try a new technique. I decided to use my patterned paper as inspiration and create an embellishment to match using my stamps. I combined a bird and leaf stamp from Ippity's "Sing a New Song" set to make my bird embellie. See the feathered tail? It's really leaves from the branch stamp! I also pieced the flower layers to match the flowers in the paper.
So, I'm not sure if this falls into the traditional category of "techniques", but it is a fun way to stretch your stamp collection! I actually used 5 different stamp sets on my card. The flower is from "Now & Always", the label is from "Season of Joy", the sentiment is from "Flowers+Friends=Priceless", the photo corners are from "Fall for You", and the bird and branch are from "Sing a New Song."
These sets are all available HERE in my Etsy shop-and remember, I'm giving one away as a prize at the CKCB! Just comment on tomorrow's blog hop and you will be entered!
Your next stop on our hop is the blog of the fabulous Kim!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge-Stamp Your Own Patterned Paper

The Counterfeit Kit Challenge (which I am sponsoring this month) issues 3 mini challenges each month to help you use up the supplies in your monthly kit. The first mini challenge for September is to create your own patterned paper using stamps. I usually use my Ippity stamps to make focal point embellishments for cards, so creating background paper was a great way to get me thinking outside of my comfort zone. I decided that I wanted to give myself an additional challenge to create a layout instead of a card.
There are quite a few stamped elements on this layout. Can you see them all? First, I created my background paper using a piece of ivory cardstock and Tattered Rose Distress Ink. I first stamped the cardstock with the Dots for Sure background stamp. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the dots. I then wanted to give it a bit of a vintage look, so I then stamped the paper again (randomly) with the postmark stamp from Cherish Your Dreams.

Now on to the embellishments. I used up all of the flower embellies that I made in THIS tutorial. The flower, leaf, and butterfly stamps are all from Ippity's Now & Always stamp set. I also stamped the journaling spot where my title is with one of the frames from the Season of Joy set. I just love that frame! I distressed the edges of the frame with Tattered Rose Distress Ink to tie it in with my background paper.

I hope that you are playing along with us at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge this month. It's not too late to start playing! Remember, you could win your choice of Ippity stamps if you join in! Check out the details at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog, along with all of the wonderful stamping projects from the Master Forgers. I know you will be inspired!

Momenta Blog

I am blogging again over at Momenta today-go check it out! I have a budget-friendly, time-saving project for you! :)

Layered Stamped Flower Tutorial

Good morning! Today I am going to show you how I made the layered, stamped flower embellies in my September Counterfeit kit. These two stamps are some of my very favorite Ippity stamps-they are from the Now & Always set (get yours HERE.)

First, gather all of your supplies: 3x3 squares of patterned paper and a 2x3 scrap of green cardstock, stamps, acrylic blocks, and black dye ink. You may also want to add pearls or gems to the finished flower. (I used 3 different patterned papers, but I have also made this flower using the same patterned paper for all three layers and it was absolutely beautiful!)

Stamp the flower on each of the patterned papers. Stamp 2 leaves on the green cardstock.

Trim the flowers and the leaves as shown. This flower stamp is perfect for layering-simply cut around the smallest flower petals for the first layer, etc.

Gently curl the flower petals with your fingers, rolling them back slightly. (This step is optional, but I like the way it gives the flowers a bit of dimension.)

Adhere the layers together by using a glue dot or glue stick just in the center of each layer. (Don't put adhesive on the petals.) Finish your flower by adding a gem or pearl to the center. Here, I've done one of each so you can see how the type and size of the gem can change the look of the flower.
You don't have to use all three layers to make your flowers, either. Here, I've made a flower using just the two smaller layers, and also a single flower using just the smallest layer. This is a great technique is you want to create a cluster of flower embellies for your project.

Here is a card that I made using one of the finished flowers:

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. If you would like more information on tis stamp set, please visit my Etsy shop. You can purchase this stamp set there. You could also WIN this stamp set (or a stamp set of your choice) just by playing along with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge this month! See THIS POST on the CKCB for more details.

(*Note: This card also features a frame image from the Season of Joy stamp set and a sentiment from the Just Wanted to Say set, both available in my Etsy shop.)

CAS Lanterns

I am lovin' my new Copics! This card is really the first time that I have really used them since taking my class in April. I'm still learning how to shade and blend, but I was so happy with the way these lantern came out! The challenge for this card, believe it or not, was the size: 4"x9". This was the requirement for this week's CAS-ual Friday Challenge.
I used cardstock and stamps from this month's Counterfeit Kit. I can't believe the number of projects that I have made so far with this kit-more than all of the others combined, I think! So far, I have made 2 single-page layouts, a double-page layout, and 11 cards! Plus, I have 4 more layouts in mind-just need to get my photos printed! Hopefully I can get those done before the August kit is revealed!

Counterfeit Kit Cards

Today is the last day of the month, so I am TRYING to use up as much of my July Counterfeit Kit as I can. I have three layouts in mind that I want to make, but I have to print some photos. I decided to make some cards using the smaller pieces of paper and some of my embellies. The lighting on these is a little wonky...not sure WHAT'S going on with that! Someday I'll learn how to use all of the features on my camera and photo software. :)I love the coral and teal color combo, so I made this card using scraps of each and some of the Basic Grey Hopscotch stickers. I reddened the pink sticker a bit with chalk to make it match my paper, and the butterflies are stickers from the same sheet.

(Sorry-these cards are now both out for publication!)

This one's kind of corny, but hey-that's me. :) I hadn't planned on using the "boombox "paper with this kit (the reverse is my "clothesline" print), but it was cute and I thought it would stretch my kit a bit to make a boy card. I think that all of the neutrals balance out the teal and orange. I used my chalks again to recolor the white letter stickers a teal color. Those chalks have been a great resource for me this month! I also "raided" my June kit for the tiny black alphas and black cardstock scraps.

Yep-another corny sentiment. :) I saw a stamp set once that had a camera and "Oh, snap!" as the sentiment. The idea was cute and stuck with me. I knew when I made my kit that I wanted to pair that sentiment with the camera paper. I attached a ribbon camera strap to the camera that I cut from patterned paper. I wrote "I missed your birthday!" on the inside of the card using those same black tiny alphas from my June kit.

Cool... :)

This card just makes me giggle. It's silly and fun, and it's just the thing that I needed to make today. Isn't it cute?

I spritzed a piece of kraft cardstock with Mister Huey in Orchard, then stamped and paper-pieced the popsicle from Unity. The sentiment is also from the "Mix-Up of Cuteness" set. Papers are from Sassafras Lass' "Sunshine Lollipops" collection.
I am entering this card in two challenges. The first is the All Things Unity #36, Summer Feeling, Challenge.

I also used the sketch from this week's Card Patterns challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Cuppy Cakes

I made this cute little cupcake card using the "Cuppy Cakes" stamp set from {ippity} and papers from Basic Grey's Lemonade collection. These cupcakes were so fun to paper-piece! I can't wait to make more. I am entering this card in 2 challenges. The first is the {ippity} paper-piecing challenge. Although {ippity} chicks can't win, many of us play along just to share some fun ideas for how to use the stamp set. You, however, could win a $20 gift certificate to your favorite {ippity} chick! If you play along and win, I'd love to have you shop with me! :) You can find the details for the challenge HERE.
I am also entering this card in the Mojo Monday sketch challenge. This is my first time entering this challenge, although my friend Lesa has been playing along for quite a while. I am a bit intimidated by the numbers-there are already 148 cards entered in the challenge! WOW! The great thing about that, however, is that there are a ton of great ideas to peruse through the linky.
Thanks for visiting today-I will be back a little later with a couple more challenge cards to share!

Christmas (in July) Layout

***Please note that this is my 2nd post for today. Please scroll down for the Master Forgers' Blog Hop post. Thank you! ***


I really wanted to use my 4th of July add-on kit from this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge, but I didn't have any pictures from this past 4th of July. I did, however, have these photos of a trip that my son, Ryan, and I took way back in December of 2007. We went to Washington, D.C. as part of the Wreaths Across America convoy. On this trip, Ryan placed a Christmas wreath on a grave at Arlington, and he also visited the grave of a soldier he had learned about in his Enrichment Resources class. We also got to meet the soldier's wife and daughter. It was by far the most meaningful trip that either one of has ever taken.

Everything on this layout is from either my July main kit or the 4th of July add-on. I stamped the banners at the top using a photo corner stamp from {ippity}. I also used a Unity Christmas bough stamp to stamp the red strip at the bottom with watermark ink. I am entering this layout in the "My Unity Place" Banners challenge.

Master Forgers' Blog Hop

Welcome to our blog hop for the month of July! If you didn't start at the beginning of the hop, please head over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog so that you don't miss ANY of the fabulous projects that we have to share with you today!
Our challenge for this hop was to create a flower for our project. I made my flower by punching 6 circles from patterned paper. I folded each of the circles into a petal shape, then adhered them to a circular base. The center of my flower is a 1" circle punched from yellow paper, edges snipped and crumpled slightly. To finish my flower, I then used a 1/2" x 6" strip of coral patterned paper, fringed one edge, then coiled it and "puffed out" the snipped edge. The result is a fun pom-pom center for my flower.
The rest of my card is very simple, with layers of punched borders and a sentiment cut from patterned paper and handstitched to add a bit of interest. I also used my very last piece of coral seam binding (sniff, sniff!) I LOVE this color-thank you so much, Meridy, for sending it to me! It was the perfect pop of color for this card!
Your next stop on today's hop is Kim. I KNOW she has an amazing project to share with you. Thanks for hopping along with us today!

Priceless

I love this card-I got a chance to try lots of fun little techniques! I made this card for a friend, using my July Counterfeit Kit and one of {ippity}'s newest stamp sets, Flowers + Friends + Priceless. I also made another one of Vicky's adorable little envelopes-I adjusted the scale to make it smaller to fit on the front of my card. I also included a little "something special" inside the envelope-a tiny tag with a cute little message.
This was also my first time embellishing crepe paper for a project. I trimmed the bottom edge with pinking shears, then used {ippity}'s Dots for Sure stamp to stamp teal polka dots. I then machine-stitched it to the front of my card. So easy, and I love the result! I will definitely use this technique on other projects.

I am entering this card in the current All Things Unity challenge-Wrap it Up. I used three kinds of twine and also used them three different ways. First, I tied on some buttons. Second, I used it as a clasp for my mini envie. Finally, I tried a new technique: I swirled it around on a round glue dot to create the center for my large yellow flower. I then surrounded the twine with a row of tiny gems.

Thanks for stopping by today-hope to have some more fun projects for you later this week!

Sweet 16

I realized that I forgot to share the Sweet 16 card that I made for my daughter Jordan earlier this month. "Coffee" may seem like a strange theme for this card, but her Sweet 16 party had a coffee-shop theme, so it was very appropriate. :) I used my July Counterfeit Kit for this card. I am getting SO much mileage from this kit! I have another card that I will share later today which I also made using this month's kit. That makes a total of 6 cards, a single-page layout, and a double-page layout so far, and it's only the 18th! I still have quite a bit of product left in my kit. I have two more layouts in mind for this kit, then I will probably make cards from the rest of my kit. This is the most I have used from a kit since I started playing along back in January!

Mother's Day Picnic

My last share for today is a 2-page layout that I made using my July Counterfeit Kit and the latest sketch (Two-Page Sketch #17) from Allison Davis at Sketch Support. As much as I love the look of large die-cut papers, I am VERY intimidated by them! So this was a huge step for me to use this paper. (I can't tell you how nervous I was to cut it right down the middle of that beautiful paper!) I changed the photo sizes on the left hand page slightly to work with my photos, but other than that, I stayed pretty true to the sketch. The butterfly garland was very fun to make, too. I got this idea from Pinterest, and it made a great substitution for the stars in the original sketch. Thanks for checking out the projects that I made over my scrappy weekend. I hope to be back tomorrow with another project or two!

Chicago Style Deep Dish

I have been scrapbooking this weekend-not just cardmaking, but REALLY scrapbooking! This is a one-page layout that I made using my July Counterfeit Kit. If you haven't checked out the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, you need to hop on over there-right now! :) We have some amazing tutorials and inpsiration projects posted already this month, with more to come!
For this layout, I tried my hand at paper pleating. There are tutorials listed on the blog, but I tried my own version and machine-stitched across the top. This is a super simple layout, so

there's really not much else to say about it. One thing I would add is that I re-colored my chipboard letters and the "loopy" border sticker at the top using my old chalks. It really helped me to make the most of my kit contents, plus use up a little bit of my chalk! I also stamped a little "mmm..." near my title using a stamp from my donut stamp set that I included in my kit. Thanks for checking it out!

Hang in There

Just another quick share-not for any challenges, just for a friend who needs to cheering up. I made this card from my July Counterfeit Kit. I changed up the chipboard letters a bit by chalking them with teal chalk. This color made them pop a little bit more on the green patterned paper. I also added the two pewter brads and the two mini clothespins. These were the last two pewter brads in my stash, and the clothespins have been clipped to my memo board for years! So even though these items weren't part of my original kit, I feel good about using them up. Oh, and the socks were hand-cut from the scrap of felt I had included in my kit. Thanks for checking out my card!

Along for the Ride

Cards for guys are tough, especially anniversary cards! While I was playing with my July kit for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, I noticed that the back of one of the papers had a cute retro car and camper. My husband was just saying that he would love to find a teardrop camper and restore it to match our '55 Chevy Belair. I thought it would be cute to make an anniversary card for him using that paper. I couldn't believe it when I looked through my stamps and saw this cute little sentiment from Unity-uninked! It was the perfect message for this card. I added some twine and buttons to my arrow sticker and paper pieced the little details on the stamped image. I am entering this in the All Things Unity Challenge #35: Wrap it Up. I haven't participated in many challenges lately-it feels so good to be creative again! Thanks for stopping by!

Patriotic Thank You

Today I get to share with you my creation for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge's first challenge for July. It is all about embossing-you can dry emboss or heat emboss. I chose to dry emboss, but with a twist. I wanted to emboss a coordinating border for my card. Since I wanted to make my card using leftovers from my 4th of July Add-On, I thought stars would be a fun accent. My only problem: I don't have a star embossing folder. So, I decided to make my own embossing plate.
First, I found a thin piece of chipboard (this piece came in a package of Stampin' Up patterned paper.) I trimmed the chipboard to be slightly larger than my card front. Then I used a star punch to punch 6 stars from the leftover chipboard. I arranged 3 of the stars on my chipboard base, then adhered them down. Because the chipboard was so thin, I stacked another star on top of each on the base and adhered them so that I could get a deeper impression.
Then it was time to emboss. It took a little trial-and-error to come up with the right "sandwich" for my embossing plate, but here is what worked for the thickness of chipboard that I used. You may need to adjust your "sandwich" if your chipboard or cardstock is heavier than mine. I started with Tab 1, one clear cutting pad,and the homemade embossing plate. (Make sure the star punches are facing UP.)

Next, I stacked my kraft cardstock on top of the embossing plate, making sure that the edges were placed slightly inside the edge of the embossing plate.

The next layer is the black silicone pad that I use with my Sizzix embossing plates.

The final layer is the hard black plastic pad, also used with the Sizzix embossing plates.

Carefully run all layers through your die cut machine. Here is what the finished cardstock will look like:

To highlight the embossing, I rubbed a Creamy Brown chalk ink pad over the tops of the stars and also around all of the edges of the kraft cardstock. I attached the embossed panel to the front of my card base, then embellished the card with rub-on letters and a handmade bunting embellie.

I love the Americana look, and the tri-color bunting looks slightly vintage. I can't wait to try this embellie using softer colored papers from my main kit. Thanks for stopping by!

DIY Mini Kraft Envelopes

I put together a little step-by-step photo tutorial to show you how I made the mini kraft envelopes in my July Counterfeit Kit. I downloaded and printed THESE ENVELOPES from Vicky at Clips-n-Cuts. Isn't she amazing to offer these for free? :)
Step1: Cut out envelope following printed template. Score along tabs. Punch 1/8" hole near point on top flap.


Step 2: Fold along all scored lines. Ink all edges using Creamy Brown chalk ink.

Step 3: Insert a piece of twine through hole. Leave only a small tail behind hole (about 1/2").

Step 4: Cut out circles from template. Ink edges with Creamy Brown chalk ink. Punch 1/8" hole in center of circle. Align over hole on flap.

Step 5: Insert tan (or metallic) eyelet through circle and flap, making sure that the end of the twine is still pulled through the hole underneath. Set eyelet.

Step 6: Cut out and ink edges of second circle. Punch 1/8" hole through center of circle. With top flap closed, mark position for second circle. Punch 1/8" hole through ONLY the front layer of the envelope.

Step 7: Insert eyelet through circle and front of envelope. Set eyelet.

Step 8: Close envelope by wrapping twine around the circle clasps.

I hope that you found this tutorial helpful and not too confusing, lol! I find pictures very helpful when I am trying to assemble something for the first time. I am excited to check out the other links that Beth and Meridy have shared today on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog-fun ideas for how to use these mini envelopes! Thanks for stopping by today!

Get Well Soon

Here's a sweet little card that I shared during my last ShareCroppers class. The heart stamp and sentiment are both from {ippity}'s "How YOU Doin' " stamp set. These pretty little patterned papers are from SEI's Happy Day collection.

Love these stamps! Visit my Etsy shop to see all of the sets I have available for purchase. I'd love to be your {ippity} chick!
To see other great cards made with {ippity} stamps, visit this week's Linky Party. Thanks for stopping by!