Skateboard Card - My Digital Studio

Longboard skateboard card with teeny, tiny stickers !

Second set of wheels/trucks printed, trimmed and popped up

with dimensionals

Teeny, tiny stickers placed on the board

Designed with My Digital Studio 2 from Stampin' Up!

The card folds along the top of the two upper wheels.

My Digital Studio 2 skateboard images I created.

This is a long card, it doesn't quite fit in a 

business size envelope so I had to make a 

custom size envelope. 

I printed out a second set of wheels/trucks

then cut them out and attached them to 

the top of the card with dimensionals.

To do this, insert a duplicate page on your MDS project

then delete all of the elements that make up the board,

only leaving the wheels and trucks.

My Digital Studio 2 supplies used:

Lots of punch shapes (this is basically a digital punch art project)
   Oval shape elongated and squished to make the board - Midnight Muse color fill
   Rounded corner square punch altered in size for the wheels (there are two layers for them, the bottom layer is Wild Wasabi, the top layer is filled with a Vintage Overlay)
   Word Window and Half Circle for the trucks - Going Gray
   Circles made really small for the bolts - Basic Gray
Numbers punch filled with my home made digital glitter paper
Splatter
Extreme Elements stamp - Basic Black
Scratch (?) background stamp - Going Gray

I took logos from manufacturer webpages then reduced them in size to put on the board, replicating stickers.The real card has the mini logos printed and cut out separately with pieces of double stick tape on the back. I thought it might be fun to do this so the recipient can attach the stickers to the skateboard card where he would like (great idea for little kiddos, not so sure my son will like this idea since he is older)!

This is how I printed the card (I have never been able to print successfully directly from MDS to my printer).
It took me three tries to get this to print correctly, this is how I finally got it to work:
I exported the skateboard image as a high quality jpg.
I opened the image file up in Photoshop Elements 10.
Click PRINT from the top menu.
Double check the layout and all settings for your image and printer. I placed mine in the center of an 8.5" x 11" piece of white card stock then printed.
Once it was printed out, I carefully folded the entire length of the card stock along the top edges of the wheels. I then used scissors to trim out the skateboard while being careful to keep the front and back of the folded card in place. I cut through both layers at the same time. It might be easier for you to cut out the top layer, all around the image of the skateboard except for the tops of the wheels where you want it to fold. Trace this onto the layer beneath then cut out that layer. Whichever way you choose, cut around the entire skateboard except for the top of the wheels on the top of the board ! You want to keep those two small folds there to create the card.

I hand stamped Happy Birthday on the inside of  the card and wrote a note on the upper portion.

This was created for my sons 18th birthday since  he enjoys longboarding. Here are some of the other cards I have made for him in the past:
 Ford F150 shaped truck card
 video game controller card
 slider gift card holder
 wiper card gift card holder

Thanks for looking =)

Free Digital Files - Spring Flowers

Check out these great freebies! They make great Party Favors! Easy and fun to make!

Use these to decorate your lawn or string them together and hang them.
Perfect for spring birthday parties or anything else you can think of!

Available free until May 5th.

(These files are also available in a format that can be used with other digital design programs)

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_1

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_2

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

Use coupon code STMMMS23251 to get $10 off of your purchase 

of the software and you will also receive two free gifts ! 

May Day Basket Card

This card was inspired by May Day flower baskets.

All supplies used were from Stampin' Up!:

Petal Cone die

Secret Garden stamp set and die set

watercolor paper

decorative edges plate for Stampin' Score 

to make the decorative dry embossed design

Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz,

Going Gray and Pool Party card stocks and inks

Going Gray ink used to 

"distress" the watercolor paper

aquapainter - to add highlights to the flowers

white embossing powder

I hadn't added the ribbon handle to it yet when this photo was taken

As I am writing this post, I am thinking about what is to come with 

flooding in our area, predicted to be major flooding next week

(as well as those with much more serious problems

resulting from the recent bombing and explosion or those that 

have already lost everything due to flash flooding today).

Thanks for looking =)

Scalloped Square Die Card

Super easy to create a note card that has three sides with scalloped edges using the Scallop Square die from Stampin' Up! . If you'd like all four edges scalloped, die cut out a single scallop edge piece for the front then glue it to the front of a folded card base.

Simply line up a folded card just under the one edge of the die so that it is not cut when you run it through the Big Shot machine.

You can do a similar thing with the large circle die (or other shapes, too!).

I'm sorry that I do not remember the name of the stamp set (from Stampin' Up!) that I used. I think it was a hostess set, maybe a Saleabration set, from a few years ago and I also believe this card idea I saw elsewhere.

The image was stamped with pink ink on white card stock twice. I cut out the little flower from the second stamped image, added glitter, smooshed it in my hand with the end of and Empressor stylus to give it so dimension then attached it with a black brad. This was mounted on a piece of black card stock punched out with a scallop square punch.

I am not sure where the polka dot ribbon came from, I think it was one of the rolls I ordered from an online vendor.

This card was inspired by samples I've seen.

Thanks for looking =)

Watercolor Spritz Card

Using up lots of old bits and pieces 

(yes, despite  the many cards I have made and donated to

Operation Write Home and other organizations,

I still have some scraps waiting to be used!)

for this Belated Birthday card. 

All stamp images or from Stampin' Up!

I believe the flower is from Paint Prints,

Birthday Wishes is from Sincere Salutations 

and Belated was an inked portion of a stamp

from a birthday greetings set. 

The dashed yellow lines on the background 

were made with a  Stampin' Around wheel. 

I'm sorry I don't recall the exact names right now

as the stamped piece was made some time ago.

To get the water color effect, 

lightly spritz water onto your card stock

then stamp with a water based ink.

I also lightly spritzed the inked stamp before

putting it to paper.

Stamp and cut out a single flower image then

glue to the card front.

Be sure the card stock is totally dry before stamping

on the sentiment otherwise it will smear !

Facebook Event Cover Photo Created With My Digital Studio

*NOTE: Some of the words are purposely left off for this post*

Using the same PIXEL dimensions (851W  x 315H ) as I do to create a custom project size in My Digital Studio by Stampin' Up!, I created a cover photo for an event page.

So easy to do ! I used the custom color chooser for the blue background, inserted a photo that I added a Basic Black mat and drop shadow to.

Insert text boxes for the words that are typed in Whisper White. All have drop shadows except those at the bottom with the date and time.

I'm not going to go overboard on decorations and food, but what I do make I will share as the event gets closer. I already have so many ideas, it is going to be difficult to choose only a few to do !


MY DIGITAL STUDIO IS NOW ONLY $19.95 USD !!!! WOW, what a bargain !

Spring Flower Arrangement

They make a great inspiration for a card or scrapbook page, don't they ?

I received this lovely mason jar of flowers

as a door prize for attending a recent bridal shower.

Actually, it was two different arrangements that

my sister, who also won, and I split up

then made into one.

Mine was all purple flowers with wispy greenery

while hers were the pink tulips and tiny white flowers.

We divided each arrangement in half then

recombined the two halves into two new

lovely arrangements ! 

I snapped this quick photo the day 

I brought it home, not the best lighting.

I intended on wrapping the base with

fabric and taking a better photo

 to share the next day, but

too many things distracted me

so I didn't get to around it then the flowers

started looking sad..... 

they were so pretty for those two days though !

Bridal Shower Card

I made this card three years ago for a bridal shower. 

Unfortunately the wedding was cancelled

so there was no shower.

Then a second one I intended on giving it out to the following year

 did not have a shower at all.

 

Finally, although it was not her wedding colors, I was able to give it away this year. 

Third time's a charm! 

All supplies used are from Stampin' Up!:

Whisper White card stock

Texturz plate Perfect Details

Weather Or Not stamp set

Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain ribbon

Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black markers

Run the upper portion of the card through the Big Shot die cut machine with the Texturz plate.

Color the image with markers then stamp on the lower smooth portion of the card.

Do the same once more only this time stamp on a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock.

 Cut out each umbrella top.

Attach the umbrellas to the card base with dimensionals.

I stamped For Your Shower from Teeny Tiny Wishes on it, but I photographed it before I stamped the sentiment.

Inspired by samples I've seen using this stamp set.

Thanks for looking =) 

Dollar Bill Rose TUTORIAL

NOTE: This post will contain numerous photos, please be patient as they load if you

have dial up internet like myself ;) 

A rose made out five one dollar bills.

This particular rose will be given

to the Bride during the dollar dance

at a wedding reception.

Close up of the tag, all supplies from Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise:

Whisper White and Almost Amethyst card stock

Wisteria Wonder ink

Congrats (welcome to the wedded bliss club)

and Well Scripted (Congratulations) stamp sets

scallop border punch

rhinestones

silver eyelet

ribbon from my stash with colors similar to the wedding

Be sure to see the dollar bill rose bouquet I gave to the

Bride To Be at her Bridal Shower last weekend !

Here is a link to a video for a similar rose,

but the crafter is using paper rather than money.

http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/dollar-bill-rose.html

 Here are some step by step photos I took

to try to show how I made the rose. 

This is going to be the center set of petals.

I don't curl it until after I

assemble the rose.

I work with all of the face side of the bills as the top.

You can make whichever side you wish to be the top.

You may even like the look of mixing them up, 

some facing up other s facing down.

I used really thin wire that Stampin' Up! sold many

years ago to wrap each set of petals.

The photo above and below show how to make

the layers of petals.

I made four of these for the finished rose.

I use my fingers to curl the edges,

starting at one corner and rolling down diagonally.

You may find it easier to roll it around a dowel rod

or something similar.

 This will be the underside of the petals when assembled

Be sure to arrange the layers of petals with all of the 

curled edges underneath. 

This is the topside of the petals.

This shows the arrangement of the petals as you assemble them.

They should make a  +  shape as you alternate the way they lay.

This photo shows the underside of the rose during assembly.

The above and below photo show the rose

after I have added four layers of petals under

the middle single bill that becomes the two

center most petals.

It needs tweaking still.

This is how I make the center most portion of

my roses. You'll find other versions online

as well as other ways to make the petals

or even how to assemble the rose itself.

Once the center is the way you like, gently

push the other petals up around it a bit more,

making them more compact if you like.

you'll need to keep working the curled edges

of each layer as they get smooshed out of shape.

I used a floral stem that held a Dove© chocolate rose.

Yep, I keep lots of "trash" to be reused for other things one day!

I had to use a sharp piercing tool to poke a small

hole through the plastic to run the wire ends through.

                                                And now you have a dollar bill rose !
A fun, unique way to give money to someone that has everything. Perfect to make a bouquet of for the wedding couple rather than a boring check or gift card. You may want to include a note letting them know that it is indeed real money and they can easily disassemble it to spend :)



You can search online for many other tutorials and different ways to make dollar bill roses as well as many other fun folds with bills. I made a sort of bouquet of hearts made from five dollar bills as a Christmas gift for my nephews, you can see the fruit basket/money gift here.

Thanks for looking =)

Decorated Photo Album

A pretty hand made paper covered photo album that I made a 

decorative name plate for the front.

I used My Digital Studio by Stampin' Up! to create the printed piece.

It was printed on the same shimmery paper that I used

for the decorative medallion on the vase I posted previously.

I layered this printed piece on top of

Basic Gray and

Almost Amethyst 

card stocks from Stampin' Up!

I used the scalloped edge border punch and 

added rhinestones to finish it off.

Now, I hope the bride has photos printed to put in it !

I'd hate to know that she keeps them all as digital copies as 

it seems most photos stay nowadays. 

It isn't like the old days when we needed to develop rolls

of film to look at photos. 

Today it seems they stay on electronic devices more

than getting printed out, for most people at least.

Thanks for looking =) 

Faux Mercury Glass Vase

This is a close up (still not a very good photo and I am sad I didn't 

have a chance to take a better one before I gave it away)

of my faux mercury glass vase.

It started as a clear glass vase.

The glass is very thick, but plain clear glass, boring.

I knew I wanted to reuse the vase for the dollar bill rose bouquet

I was making and was planning on dressing it up a bit

when I remembered reading about 

Looking Glass paint by Krylon.

It was difficult to find any locally, I ended up driving a half hour away

to get a can. The cost of gasoline and the $8.47 small can of paint

makes for an expensive vase ! 

Anyway, it is easy to use.

Make sure your glass is really clean

then spray several light coats of the paint 

on the INSIDE of you project.

It must be on the inside 

(and NOT used for food or holding liquids, fresh flowers)

to create the mirror look.

This is not chrome paint.

Chrome paint sprayed on the outside

may make a similar metallic silver look,

but it won't be the mirrored look

and you won't be able to 

remove the paint as easily to make

the faux mercury glass.

It's easy to do and there are a couple

of ways to do this

(search online for several 

step by step tutorials;

I read about it in a magazine article 

some time ago).

Simply spritz, a fine spritz,

vinegar or water/vinegar mixture

on the inside of the project,

letting it sit for a minute or so.

You will then gently dab away the water spots

or very gently rub at them to remove the paint.

I used a damp paper towel.

Depending on how much pressure you use,

it will remove more paint. 

It will also create different looks if you rub

 in small circles or back and forth.

I did this several times during each application of paint

but don't really notice the work I put into it.

The most obvious distressing of the paint is the final

spray where paint was removed then I did not spray again.

 I did spray a couple coats of clear spray paint over it,

this mirror paint seems pretty fragile, easily marred to me. 

This was my first attempt at it and I certainly will try it again.

I did put a note in the card letting the recipients know that 

they could probably remove the paint with some solvent

and elbow grease if they wanted to !

I also told them not to put water in it because although I sealed it,

I don't know that it would last for any length of time.

They could insert a small container inside if they wanted

to use it for fresh florals -

or get a silk /dried floral arrangement made.

This is the medallion I made to attach to the front.

I adhered it with a velcro dot so they could

remove it if need be for cleaning.

The stamp is made by JustRite Stampers,

it is a very tiny alphabet set and

decorative circular border. 

I stamped in Versamark ink then heat embossed

with silver embossing powder.

it is on shimmery white lightweight paper. 

I also stamped and heat embossed the V

in the center of the metal heart.

Rhinestones, narrow organdy ribbon,

a paper medallion of shimmery paper

with a die cut doily from Almost Amethyst

card stock from Stampin' Up! complete it.

Below are the different layers.

Thanks for looking =)

Come back tomorrow to see the altered photo album that matches.

Dollar Bill Rose Bouquet

I'm sad that I did not get a decent photo of this project before giving it away :(

 
This was taken as I was working on finding suitable filler for it the night before. It wasn't totally arranged and pretty. I intended on getting fresh greenery the next morning before the bridal shower, but I ran out of time.

I was pleased with the way it turned out though and many of the other guests at the shower thought it was pretty neat, hadn't seen anything like it before. I know I  have not ! One of them even wanted to know how to do it so she could make her own.

It wasn't too difficult to make. The overall project was time consuming though, I put hours into it.

I used four one dollar bills to make my roses. 

The first one I made used five, but it was just too big and heavy,

would not stay upright on the improvised stems so I used four instead.

TIP: use a plastic calyx from a silk floral bunch to help

hold the dollar bill rose upright better. 

Mine do not have any, 

although I was reusing a stem bunch

(there were seven stems with leaves)

from my old floral supplies stash,

there were no calyx on them.

I used super thin crafting wire to wrap the bills with,

the type of wire that was marketed to paper crafters years ago.

 APRIL 9th, 2013  EDITED TO ADD :

 I NOW HAVE A PHOTO TUTORIAL POSTED ONLINE 

WITH ANOTHER WEDDING RELATED PROJECT

 USING A DOLLAR BILL ROSE,

There are most certainly dozens of tutorials for dollar bill roses

 (and other flowers) posted online.

This is the video I used, though mine are not nearly as pretty

(and the center is done a bit differently):

http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/dollar-bill-rose.html

Here are the steps, but I know they aren't very clear

without photographs for reference. I'll try to take some and post them later.

Fold each bill in half across the short width (face of the person on the bill)

then curl the ends backwards to create the petals. 

You will need to make at least three of these. 

Keep one bill folded in half with the ends pointing upwards for the center of the flower,

but do not curl the petals outward. You can curl this inward if you'd like.

I folded mine over after it was assembled, I thought it looked funny because the 

center petals were so tall. Much improved when folded over.

Tightly pinch (pleat) the dollar bill along that center fold,

making it narrow to wrap the wire around.

Starting with the center petals, wrap the wire around it,

twist to hold in place.

Lay a set of petals underneath, wire into place and wrap around the 

underside again to hold in place.

Alternate the way each set of petals lay,

so lay the next set perpendicular to the first set,

making a + with the petals. Wire into place.

Do this several times, for as many petals as you'd like to add.

Leave tails of wire so you have something to tape to the stem.

Use heavy duty floral wire or stems from dollar store type

fake flowers. Pop off the flowers and use the stems, but don't 

throw away the flowers because you may be able to find

a use for them some day. 

Add a calyx if you wish, making one from paper or using

a plastic one (as I should have done) from old silk flowers.

I added ivy leaves that were in my crafts stash,

I would have rather used fern like greenery and small white flowers

 to fill in the bouquet,

but I didn't have time to get the fresh flowers

(too much time spent at yard sales the day of the shower!)

not to mention the vase could not hold water.

More about the vase in the next blog post!

It really is a fun, unique gift - especially for someone that "has everything".

I thought it would be a unique way to present money

to the couple that already has everything for their wedding day! 

Tomorrow's post will be about the vase I made 

then the next day will be the photo album.

Thanks for looking =) 

Score !

One of the best yard sale scores ever ! It was a "Community Wide Yard Sale" sponsored by a local newspaper and held indoors at a school. There were nearly 60 booths with all sorts of goodies to peruse. There was an admission fee since this was a fundraiser, but in the end paying $1 to enter and walking out with these few finds was worth it. Mom and I thought we wouldn't buy anything, we certainly don't need more stuff  and we have things to get rid of ourselves, but.................. overall we did well, we did say no to lots and lots of great deals and only bought things we could really use !

 At the same time of relishing in the few finds I brought home, I am kicking myself for not getting a few more items. I know I will wish I had that glittery stack of decorative paper for personal use and that bicycle stamp, I am already kicking myself over not getting it. sigh. They offered to sell it separately from the set, but I did not want to break it up. It was a cute bold image of a little kids bike. I didn't want the rest of the small summery images in it and really, in the big scheme of things, paying the $6 asking price for the entire set would not have been too much for the one image I wanted - I just didn't want the rest of the stamps/case taking up space. Plus I did not have six more dollars, only four ! But that bike stamp would have been perfect for a kids card for Operation Write Home (and yet I bought a jack o' lantern pumpkin stamp set for fall, like I needed that since I already had one that is very similar, geesh !). Ah well........... sigh again, kick, kick, kick.

Granted several of the sets are incomplete or mixed up. I have yet to go through each of them and compare them to images in old catalogs to know what is missing for sure. I bought a background stamp for the full asking price right away,  but decided to think about several other sets as we wandered the rest of the huge, packed sale. I was really surprised that there were so many sets left when we finally made it back to that table over nearly two hours later. Of course the couple I was thinking about were gone since they were priced so reasonably to begin with, I'm guessing about half off the retail price.

When I finally made my way back to the table the remaining stamps were half off ! So I decided to snag several that I would not have bought otherwise. There were a couple I would have rather had, but they were already gone and many of what was left were sets I already had or I did not like. They were all older sets, too, but none of the sets I'd love to find some day.

I should have asked for the ladies names and addresses so I could send them a Thank You note...... I really don't think sometimes, shoot I don't think most times !

That was a whirlwind of a day, yardsale-ing with mom all morning, home for 45 minutes before rushing off to the bridal shower and now finally back home. It was a good day.

I'll share the bridal shower gifts I made over the next three days.

Savory Broccoli Cauliflower Roast

This is a recipe I've been holding onto for a year

and finally made it to take to Easter dinner.

I reduced the amounts of everything in it

since I wasn't make a full amount

knowing that nearly everyone would

probably turn their noses up at it.

I did not put on as much of the dressing as

the recipe called for, instead barely drizzling some on

and taking the rest in case anyone wanted to add more.

I also did not add the olives as I did not have any

(and no one would have eaten them if I did).

I liked it as did my brother in law.