Congratulations Wedding Shaker

Shakers are all the rage and I can’t seem to stop making them!! Have you made any yet? If not, you have to try them! They are super fun to both the making and the playing! I keep mine for a couple days before making so my 5 year old son, Teddy, and I can play with them! He’s completely enamoured with all my interactive cards.

Do you even find you have a piece of patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye-Fancy That) that is so lovely you can’t bear to cut it up? I find that to be true often when a paper has a border or is a full-sheet design rather than a repeating pattern. The gold dots around the edges of this piece were so pretty, I couldn’t bear to cut it small enough for an A2 card so this card is a whopping 6x6”! Yes, you will have to buy oversized envelopes or make them yourself. But I think it’s worth it!

TIP: One way to mail an oversized card without buying or making special envelopes is to wrap it in tissue, add some washi tape, a pretty tag or an embellishment then mail it in a plain white 9x12” envelope cut down to size.

Instead of building from the bottom up to make my shaker, I decided to work from the top down. That way my shaker’s edges are hidden under the gold striped paper. This is an elegant way to create a shaker especially if you find you have trouble getting the layers to align and look neat. My paper was cut with an oval nesting die (Spellbinders) to create a frame for my shaker then the acetate was adhered to the back of the frame. You don’t need as much adhesive for this layer as there won’t be any sequins trying to escape! To make things easier, I used the nesting dies to cut fun foam Strong adhesive was added to the fun foam on both sides. I placed the fun foam on a scrap of a quilt patterned paper then added my sequins. Finally I placed it altogether!

Love this card? Be sure to Pin or Share!

With so many sequins, all this card needed was a layered black sparkly die cut sentiment (Simon Says Stamp/Wink of Stella) and a silk ribbon (May Arts) bow. I haven’t given this one away yet because I’m still busy playing with it there haven’t been any weddings or anniversaries yet but I hope the happy couple will love this card!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Caring Thoughts Card for Unscripted Sketches #256

I need more get well cards in my stash and these ones are even better because they can be used for either Get Well or Thinking of You.

They are identical except for the middles. They are epoxy stickers I’ve hoarded but have finally decided to use. I popped them up on foam dots so they wouldn’t squish the shaped flower petals. I took them off a hydrangea stem.

I coloured the flowers with a Copic marker because I though they were too pale despite being a nice ivory colour. They look really pretty!

I hope you can play along with this week’s sketch! It’s a really nice one. My card is pretty exact except the banner I added. I always seem to have to change it in some way don’t I? :)

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, Healing Sentiments-PTI
Ink: kraft-PTI, frayed Burlap distress, Navy-SU!
Paper: Glitz Designs
Accessories: Foam dots-The Sticky Stuff Store, floral stem-Michaels, epoxy stickers-Anna Griffin,

Shabby Lace Wedding Card for Unscripted Sketches #251

This week’s sketch is so simple and versatile! It’s a Unscripted Sketches favourite for sure! I decided to get my shabby on for this one and wow, am I ever proud of how it turned out! Especially my handmade flower! I am entering this in this week’s Shabby Tea Room challenge ‘Pretty in Pink’.

The flower is made from layers of organza, light see-through bridal fabric, and some crinoline which is heavy and stiff but once wet, it curls up and then dries with lots of texture. The organza flower petals were melted with my heat gun. I use tweezers to hold each petal while I just kiss the edge with the heat gun. It’s easy to end up with lots of melting and no petal so be careful and same for the crinoline; it singes very easily. So go easy if you speed up drying it with your heat gun but that can be a cool look if you want it really shabby. I allowed it to singe in a few places just enough to get a light brown colour to help out the Distress ink I added to make the crinoline ivory.

The leaves are made in the same way as the petals but this time I used satin fabric. The crinoline will also make nice leaves if you dye it green with reinkers, spray mist or colour it with markers. The green ribbons are hand cut using more organza cut on the bias. If you cut fabric into ribbons this thin in the usual straight way, it will fray too badly to be used. To cut it on the bias, cut your strips, mine were 1/2”, on the 45 degree grain of the fabric. A quilting ruler, rotary cutter and a grid mat with 45 marked on it are a tremendous help.

The lace is gorgeous don’t you think? I picked it up in the bridal department of my local fabric store. It was pricey but I bought it on sale and since it had two decorated edges, and I only needed a bit, it was worth the cost. I had a hard time deciding if I wanted it to overlay the whole card or just the bottom but it was too pretty to not use it on the whole card! I just had to arrange my sentiment carefully so you could read it! I just love how the stripes peek out from underneath the lace!

I made the little pearl accent on the wire, it’s pretty easy, just cut a piece of wire, add a pearl to the center, twist the wire. Then add another pearl a little ways from the bottom of the twist, fold the wire and twist just using that one wire until it is tight. Then twist the two wires together and repeat. Just try to alternate which wire you add the pearls to or one will be really short and the other very long and use lots more wire than you think you’ll need. Twisting wire uses a lot more than you’d think.

If you’ve always wanted to play but never got the chance, this is the week since this is a pretty easy sketch! And be sure to visit my blog and Unscripted Sketches next week too because we are having our BLOG-AVERSARY! YEAH!! There will be prizes and giveaways on some of our blogs and other fun events so you don’t want to miss it!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Stamps: Say it Loud-WMS
Ink: antique linen Distress, Watering Can Archival-Ranger, London Fog-Memento
Paper: MME Market Pad, cream CS-PTI
Accessories: fabrics, lace as listed above-Fabricland, brad-CTMH, flower, leaf dies-rose creations Spellbinders, ribbon-stash, half-back pearls-can’t remember sorry they are really nice ones, gold wire-beading store, top-drilled pearls-AH Beads, cream silk ribbon-May Arts

Blingy Baby Love for Unscripted Sketches #244

This has to be one of the cards I’ve made that I’m most proud of lately. It suits my signature style of simple shabby (shabby without too many layers or embellies) and my favourite category of cards – baby!

No special techniques here to explain. I kinda enlarged one of the circles on the sketch and omitted one but I think you can still see the inspiration! I enlarged an angled view of the sentiment. I drives me nuts when I use lovely gold EP and it photographs really dark, even black!

I hope you enjoy playing with this sketch like I did! It’s really fun when you realize that you don’t have to use each element as you see it. Change the shapes, sizes, proportions, flip; rotate, mirror, whatever you like!

We’d love to have more people play our sketch so be sure to come by Unscripted Sketches this week!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Graphic 45
Paper: Graphic 45
Ink: Versamark, Vintage photo distress
Accessories: pearls-Recollections, oval die-Spellbinders, ribbon (chevron and silk to thread buttons)-May Arts, buttons-ebay, lace-stash, focal stickers-G45, foam dots-Jody Morrow, gold EP-SU!

Music and Roses Necklace

I’ve been making more and more jewelry lately but dang it is it hard to photograph with out some sort of stand! Especially necklaces. Earrings are pretty easy but not necklaces! I FINALLY got a stand so yeah! This one is my favourite because it goes with pretty much anything!

This one is actually a little bit crafty! I added vintage music paper to the back of the Swarovski flat backed baroque pendant (not all are flat on the back) with Glue and Seal then sealed the sides and back with the same. You can see how the facets reflect the light in the picture. I finally managed to take a good sharp picture that shows sparkle! I was starting to wonder where my photography skills had gone!

I hope you like it!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Pendant, 6mm gold pearls-Swarovski, champagne rondelles-Znetshows, roses-local bead store, wire-bronze 24g artistic wire, bronze 6mm, 20g ID jump ring, 8mmlobster clasp

Technique Used: wire wrapped and linked beads (to learn try Fire Mountain Beads or Artbeads or YouTube), dont know that I’ve ever seen instructions for the gluing technique, email me if you’d like a further explanation

Roses and Polka Dots Card for PTI 7th Anniversary Challenge

This challenge was to choose a colour combination and sketch and make a card. There are so many possible combinations and this is the one challenge that isn’t over in 24 hours. It is so hard to fulfill the challenge and blog it in time if you only have one day!

I used the following colours which look remarkably different on my screen which is weird because all I did is save them from Nichole’s blog and put them on mine.

This is the sketch I used. It didn’t seem very natural to me (neither did the other ones) but I like to start with lots of elements to guide me and this one seems to offer the most in that department. Once I thought about using the stencil for the middle of the card space, I was off and running.

One thing I do regret is not taping off the sides of my card for stencilling, well the one side anyway. That last vertical row of dots really annoys me, and the few that show to the bottom right of the bottom brown panel too. I tried to scratch one off and it worked but left a mark so I tried to cover it with rhinestones. I managed a straight margin on the right, it’s perfect in fact (so of course it’s covered up!), but the texture paste is harder to control on the left.

The roses look like they are a different red than the cardstock but its one of those tricks that happens when you take a photo, looks like a perfect match IRL. Its a very dramatic colour of rose, I’m not sure I love it but it matches the colour combo for sure. I winged the placement of the hex stamping meaning I didn’t use anything as a placement guide; worked out OK I think. I felt the whole card needed some softening since the roses are so bold and strong. That’s also why I chose the doily edging.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: PTI
Ink: scarlet Jewel
Paper: ivory, poppy, chocolate-PTI, doily (restaurant)
Accessories: homemade texture paste, Copic E31 marker to tint texture paste kraft colour, MFT stencil, rhinestones-TE, Copic E49 to colour rhinestones, PTI dies (flourish, label shape, roses), foam dots-Jody Morrow

Rose Card for PTI Challenge

PTI had issued a challenge to make a 3x4 card such as you would use for Project life but in this case you can decorate it in any way you wish just like you would an ATC! Nichole is even setting up a way to trade them if you wish!

I have to make this quick as hubby just got home with the groceries so suffice it to say that except the gold spray, ribbon, pink and red ink and foam dots, everything is PTI. (The middle ink colour is melon berry.) The only thing about ink splatters I don’t like is dang it, I can’t control them. I am a bit of a control freak!!

I’m not going to trade this, so it will likely end up as a mini card, a place card or a tag. It is a nice size.

Enjoy the PTI 7th Anniversary Celebrations.

Rebecca

Bracelet Card for Unscripted Sketches #240

I finally found a sketch where I could combine my love of jewellery making and my design team sketch!

I used Memory wire and many types of glass, crystal and stone beads and pearls to make this bracelet. I had a general pattern to work with but it is pretty much random. I started with the largest heart beads and laid them out red, white, red… Then I filled in with the next largest beads. I didn’t use a bead board and didn’t make an effort to keep the beads in order thus the randomness. I just made sure that each type of bead had the same number placed between each large heart-shaped bead; some just one and others 2.

When it came time to string them, I just grabbed them and added them, again, no order. I used pink cat’s eye, pink and white pearls, large white and gold lamp work beads, pink glass lentil beads, small red hearts, medium pink quartz beads, large pink Czech crystals and a couple others. It’s very hard to see but if you enlarge the photo, you might be able to see that the dangle on the end of the bracelet is made with a heart-shaped head pin I made Cute huh? To support the weight of the bracelet, I reinforced the panel with cereal box board and the card does stand quite well!

Adding the ribbon was a bit of a trick. I wanted the ribbon to hold hte weight of the bracelet but not dig into the panel’s sides and not droop. The side pieces are faux, the don’t connect to the bow. The bow ribbon is first attached through a hole in the reinforced panel and pops through then ties around the bracelet. Just untie to release the bracelet. If you retie the bow, the card might look a bit empty but it would hide the hole so still look nice! The hearts are a die cut covered in EP.

I’m so excited so many of you played our sketch last week! Please keep it up! I can’t wait to see what you do with this week’s sketch at Unscripted Sketches. This is a perfect one for people who like to colour because you can play with the proportions like I did to make it a focal sized panel but it also works great for a focal sentiment or photo for scrappers! The sky’s the limit!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Bracelet: beads-various sources including ebay, Beadalon

Card:
Paper: Fancy Pants DP, Bazzill CS, white CS for die cut, punching-scrap
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: gold EP-SU!, die-Memory Box, ribbon-SU!, hole punch-WRMK

Icicle Lights Jewellery Set

Wanna know what’s been keeping me so busy lately? Well yes, three kids but I’ve also been getting  into making jewellery. In the next few weeks, I will be showing you what I've been up to!

This is one of my latest pieces. I made this for my autistic son’s respite worker. She’s leaving for three month’s to go to Australia and her work also asks her to bling it up since it’s a nice place so this works for both. It uses headpins (a silver wire with a flat end on it which acts as a stopper) which I strung Swarovski round and bicone crystals in blue, teal and white then turned a 3/4 loop with round nose pliers and slipped the loop over the chain.

Then I completed the loop and wrapped the wire tail around the wire stem just above the beads. I cut the chain to size, added a clasp to the chain and that’s it! The earrings are even easier. Add the beads to the headpin, wrap the loop. Add the earring wire. That’s it. It you are working with thicker wire than I am, you can just turn a loop and not even wrap it!

Planning the beads so they hang nicely, look good and keep them in order while making the was the harder than the construction. I wish I’d planned the second and third in from each end a little better as they don’t lay well. The other’s just don’t have support behind them in the photo to lay perfectly but the end ones just sit funny because they don’t have room. Oh well.

The earrings aren’t as interesting (I don’t like crazy earrings) but I did use a long French wire, (heck I don’t know what they are really called but that’s what I call em) so that makes them a bit more unique. When I asked our worker what style she likes or what preferences she has all I got was “I’m sure I’ll like anything you will make. Whatever you’d like to make.'” and “blue” so I think I’m good!

Enjoy Rebecca

RECIPE
any decent bead store has everything you see here. I used a basic jump ring and lobster claw closure. There are dozens of tutorials on line to teach you how to make wrapped loops and open and close jump rings, the only skills i used. Try Fire Mountain Beads and Artbeads

Elegant Anniversary Card

I made this a very long time ago, maybe a year and a half. Sometimes I browse my photos and wonder if maybe a card has been missed. Now I have a ‘Not Posted’ File so that helps but when I’m in a hurry, it’s so hard to keep track!

Originally I designed this layout as a ‘thank you for your business’ card, without the pearls and with black and gold or black and ivory paper on bottom, for a friend’s business. My BFF saw it and much to my delight, went on and on about how it was hte prettiest card she’d ever seen and how she’d frame it. So of course, I obliged making her one. Then I had the opportunity to make it again for a very classy couple for their anniversary . I thought adding the dancing couple was a nice touch.

I’ve made this as multiples so I know it isn’t that hard and I think it would also make great monogrammed stationery. It would also make amazing formal shower, wedding, anniversary party or any formal invites

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
please email for details. Most manufacturers are found in the tags.