Thinking of You Criss Cross Card Tutorial

 Good morning fellow scrappers!  Hmmmm, seems like almost a whole month has flown by & I've been a bit quiet.  Well, you can blame work for that.  I've been a bit swamped since I went back.  I've made it a point to keep my sanity by taking the time to scrap here n' there--I just haven't had the chance to post any of it!  So, to start myself off here's a DT card I've made for Authentique.  I've used their lovely papers from the 'Remembrance' collection. I've decided to go with a non-traditional card & opted for what is called a 'criss cross' card. 

'Remembrance' is one of Authentique's petite collections full of beautiful papers in shades of deep purple & olive greens with elegant patterns and sentiments of sympathy, thoughtfulness, and good memories.  These papers can be used for sympathy cards, to honor memories of loved ones who has since left us or to pay tribute to a dear family member or friend.

There are several tutorials and how to's on the internet on how you can make your own criss cross card.  I simply decided to add to this collection of tutorials with my own version.  What I like about the criss cross card is that it's essentially one large pocket that you can embellish as desired with a sentiment that easily slides in & out of the card.  It's not a complex card to make if you wish to go with a slightly different sort of card.



Here is what the inside sentiment of the card looks like.

Following are a couple of close ups.





Now onto the tutorial...

Step 1: You'll need 1 piece of solid colored card stock cut in 1/2. A 5 3/4" x 5 3/4" piece of contrasting paper & two 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" pieces of coordinating paper.

Step 2: Score the two 12" x 6" pieces of card stock in half. With a trimmer, scissors or craft knife you will then need to cut at a diagonal from one corner of the card stock to the bottom corner of the center fold. TIP: The photo came out a bit too bright to see this, but with a pencil & a ruler I lightly draw a line marking where I intend to cut. This serves as a guide so that I don't cut way off.

You will repeat this step on the other piece of 12" x 6" card stock. NOTE: when you cut the second piece of card stock make sure you do so on the opposite side so that when you join the two pieces of card stock the two middle sections will overlap to the form the base of your card.

Step 3: When you adhere the two 12"x6" pieces of card stock--this is what they should look like.

Step 4: Cut all of the remaining pieces of paper diagonally as shown. Once again I first drew a line lightly as my guide with a pencil & ruler prior to cutting. I don't know about most of you but I'm very lopsided! I can never just cut away without some kind of guide!

Step 5: Adhere the patterned paper to the contrasting piece of paper. You will have the other halves of the patterned paper left over. Keep these for future projects. NOTE: If you do not wish to have leftovers or if you want your card to have just one design--simply use one piece of 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" patterned paper cut in half diagonally.

Step 6: Take the two triangles and adhere them to the base of the card as shown. At this point you have your criss cross card pretty much done. All that's left is to glue it closed & decorate it!

Step 7: With two sided tape (or glue with a fine tip) place one strip on the base of the card at the very bottom to adhere the first flap. Then take a second strip of tape & place it on top of the first flap to adhere the second flap as shown here.

Step 8: For the inside of the card you'll need 1 piece of patterned or solid colored paper (whichever works best for your project) sized 5 3/4" wide by 5 1/2" high.  This next step is optional--to make the tabs with the brads seen on my card simply take a 1" circle punch & punch out 2 circles--fold them in half, pierce a small hole into one half of the circle, attach the brad & finally adhere to the card.

Step 9: Here's your finished card. Now just embellish away!

Hope this tutorial will inspire some of you to create a criss cross card for you next project.  Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of the week

Mixed Media Chipboard Winter Trees

Hello fellow crafters!  I put together this tutorial to show how I added texture to these Dusty Attic chippie trees found on my 'My Greatest Gift' page.

Let's get started!

Step 1:  This step can be optional.  I personally wanted to give my trees a bit more dimension so I lifted a couple of the branches up with my nails!  lol  Yep, Dusty Attic chipboard is pretty thick, so I just stuck my nails in the middle of each branch & just peeled back.  I admit I have very strong nails--don't know what I eat to make them like this...but they NEVER break.  They grow like claws & unless I cut them; they just keep on growing.  If you don't have claws like mine any sharp object will work, such as scissors or maybe a thin craft spatula or even a small kitchen knife...it doesn't take much strength to just dig in there & peel back.

Step 2: So this is what my tree looked like when I was done peeling back a few of the branches.  Now the fun begins.

Step 3: Start by applying gesso.  I used a foam brush to apply the gesso.  In the areas where you want your beads apply the gesso extra heavy.  Once done applying the gesso, take your beads & drop them in the areas where you heavily applied the gesso.  The beads should 'sink' into the gesso--but not be drowned in it.

To add more texture & some glimmer I randomly spread some Shaved Ice & Aged Rose Embossing Enamel both by Stampendous onto my tree.

Step 4: Heat set your tree--this will melt the embossing powder & shaved ice & dry the gesso so your beads will stick.

Step 4:  Check out that texture!  Love it!!  Now at this point you can stop if you wish.  But if you want to add even more pizzazz go onto Step 5.

Step 5: To add the impression of snow on the branches, I used white Puffy Paint.  Puffy paint can be found in any arts & crafts store...try the t-shirt section! That's where I found mine.

Step 6: Heat set the puffy paint.  With heat, the puffy paint...well, puffs!  That's where it gets it's name.  When puffy, it gives off the impression of snow.

You're done!  You can leave the tree as is or add even more color.  On my 'My Greatest Gift' page, I randomly added Pearlz Pretty In Pink paint by Shimmerz to my trees & the puffy paint.  I just wanted my trees to be more on the pink side.  It's all up to you, the artist, on how you want your trees to look!

Hope you all found this tutorial useful.  Happy creating!

Diamond Dust & Acrylic Tutorial

This tutorial explains how Diamond Dust can be used to give your acrylic embellishments some fabulous texture.  In addition to the Diamond Dust you can add a bit more visual interest to your embellishments with either acrylic paints or alcohol inks.

So let's get started first with the acrylic snowflake found on my "Christmas 2012" page.

Step 1: Outline the border of your snowflake with a white Sharpie Paint pen.  This will help your snowflake to stand out more.

NOTE: The color you use to outline your acrylic embellishment also depends on your project.  Just make sure you use a permanent marker such as Sharpie--these markers are meant for non-pourous surfaces & will not smear on your acrylic

Step 2: Apply adhesive to your snowflake.  This adhesive can be any as long as it dries clear.  This part is important because you want to keep the transparency of your acrylic snowflake.

Apply Diamond Dust.

Step 3:  At this point you can leave your snowflake as is or add even more texture.  It all depends on your project.  For my page, I wanted the snowflake to stand out a bit more.  So with a small paint brush I spread a bit of white & silver acrylic paint on top of the Diamond Dust.  Let it dry & you're done!

NOTE: The acrylic paint you use can be any color depending on your project--keep in mind that paint goes on opaque & will remove the transparency of your project.  This is why for my snowflake I 'dabbed' the paint on instead of brushing it on--therefore still keeping the transparency of my snowflake to a certain degree

How you adhere your snowflake to your project is also based on your preference.  You can adhere your embellishment with the Diamond Dust side facing up or down--again, this is based on what you feel works best for your project.

On my "Christmas 2012" page--I adhered my snowflakes with the Diamond Dust side facing down.  I wanted the outline of the snowflakes to stand out more--so adhering them this way worked best for my page.

On my "Family" page, I did Steps 1 & 2 on the acrylic title--only difference is that I added color to the Diamond Dust with alcohol inks on this one instead of acrylic paint.  Just dab alcohol inks with the applicator directly onto your Diamond Dust.  This technique adds a more subtle color to the Diamond Dust.  Unlike acrylic paint, alcohol inks gives color to the Diamond Dust while still maintaining it's transparency.

As you can see--for my "Family" page I adhered my title with the Diamond Dust side facing up--again, I felt that this suited my page best.

Hope you all found this tutorial helpful!

Alcohol Ink Splatter Tutorial

Hello fellow scrappers!  Just a quick tutorial to showcase how you can get random splatters of alcohol inks onto acrylic backgrounds.

This technique can be seen on 'My Little Devil' page.

It's a very simple technique actually.  All you need are alcohol inks and a can of compressed gas duster.

Step 1: Work on the back of your acrylic--remember, acrylic is clear so working on what will be the back of your acrylic will display on the front of your page with no issues.  I work this way because the surface where you actually use the alcohol inks can remain a bit sticky--so might as well use the non-sticky side as the main base for your page.  Just randomly apply drops from your bottle of alcohol inks directly onto the acrylic.  Then before the ink dries blow puffs of compressed gas onto your alcohol ink drops.  This will create random splatters of ink.

Step 2: Work with one color at a time--this is more of a tip than a step.  Don't try to work with all of your inks at once--you run the risk of having a bit of the ink dry up or it can just get too messy.  Also do remember that if you do mess up--alcohol inks combined with acrylic are very forgiving.  Just take a paper towel...pour a few drops of alcohol ink blending solution and simply rub off the alcohol ink from your acrylic.  Then simply try again!

Here's a photo of my own can of 'Dust Remover' or compressed gas duster.  I use it to clean my computer keyboard--but can also be used for crafting as shown here.  You can find these cans in any office supply store such as Staples or Office Max.  I've also seen them in Target, Walmart & Kmart.

Enjoy!

Booklet Journaling Tutorial

During the month of September, the OUAS DT joined forces with CSI.  What a great combo this turned out to be!  I rec'd case #39 to work on.  Amongst the testimony for this case was the option to include your journaling in the form of a booklet.  Till this case came along, I had never considered storing my journaling in some kind of mini booklet--so I started coming up with an idea on how I can accomplish this--and this is what I came up with.  You can find this booklet on my 'She Gave Me Wings' page.

I really liked this form of documenting journaling on a page because you can store a large amount of information--keep it private & the booklet makes for a very unique & creative embellishment on your page.

Let's get started!

Step 1: You can technically make your little booklet any size.  Just keep in mind to make the cover 1/4" larger than the size of your actual journaling paper.  The cover for my book ended up being 2 1/4" wide by 3 1/4" high.  Next you'll need a long strip of card stock that will store your journaling.  I cut my strip from some left over scraps.  Size is 2" inches high by 12" inches long.  Last you need either ribbon, twine or jute that will keep your booklet closed.  I used ribbon.  Your ribbon should be approximately 12" inches to 14" inches long.  This again depends on the size of your booklet.  If you make your booklet bigger--then you'll need longer ribbon.  In the photo my ribbon looks relatively small.  That's because at the time it was!  I had a different idea in mind...but when that didn't work out as planned...I changed my approach and used one long strand of ribbon.

You can ink the edges of your cover if you wish.

Step 2: I printed my journaling on regular white printing paper.  I used Word as my application.  I changed the setup of my page to be landscape and changed my margins in word to be 10" inches wide & a little under 2" inches in height.  I then printed out my journaling.

Next, trim your journaling to size & adhere onto your 2"x12" strip of card stock.

Final step is to score your strip.  I scored at every 2" inches & folded it in an accordion style.  Your journaling should look something like this photo when done.

You can ink the edges of your journaling strip if you wish.

Step 3: Adhere your journaling strip to your covers.  The covers are 1/4" inch larger than your journaling strip--so when adhering ensure all your edges are aligned right.

Step 4: At this point you're pretty much done.  Here's my journaling strip attached to both covers.

Next just fold in your booklet and attach the ribbon that will keep it closed

Step 5: Just make sure your ribbon is even on both sides and adhere it to the back of your booklet leaving the two ends free for you to tie into a ribbon.

You're done...simple as that.  Now adhere the back of your booklet wherever you please on your project.  To open up your booklet--untie the ribbon & unfold.

Hope some of you find this tutorial helpful.  Enjoy the rest of the day!

Marigold Tutorial

Hello once again fellow scrappers & happy Hump Day!  Today I'm bringing to you yet another brief flower tutorial.  I guess I've been on a 'handmade flower' spree lately for some reason.  It may be that Autumn is finally just around the corner which is my favorite season!  These flowers do make a nice addition to Autumn themed pages & projects--at least that's how I would use them.

I named these after the marigold flower.  I think that's the flower they most resemble.  From what I saw online, the majority of marigolds are yellow/orange in color.  I made a purple one as you can see here just for kicks!  Hey who is to say we have to be so exact right?

Ok onto the tutorial...

I once again used the Spellbinders Carnation Creations die by Donna Salazar.  I indicated with an arrow the specific die I used for this flower.

Step 1: Cut out 6 flowers.  Take one of these flowers and snip out two of the petals.  Take another one of these flowers & snip out three of the petals as shown here.  Do not throw out the snipped petals--you'll need them later!

Step 2: Ink your petal edges.  I used a chalk ink by SEI for my inking--color is Cherry.  The inking of the petals really works here because most marigolds actually have that two-tone look on their petals.

Step 3:  All my petals have been inked.  Even the petal snippets as you can see here

Step 4: With the handle of a thin brush (which is what I used), a wooden skewer, a stylus, a thin pencil etc...take your bottom three layers and start curling their petals down as shown here

Step 5: Once you curl your petals; cup your layers by taking a stylus or even a pencil or the handle of a thicker paint brush & in a circular motion press down on a soft surface.  I have a foam mat by McGill that I use to shape my flowers.  If you do not have a foam mat I found that turning your mouse pad upside down works just as well.  You just need a soft surface so that your layers cup as you press down in a circular motion

Step 6: Time to adhere your bottom 3 layers.  As you adhere, try to off-set your petals.  Once done, your flower should look close to what is shown here.  By the way, I use a small hot glue gun for all of my flower making. It's fast and makes for a strong bond.

Step 7:  Take the two layers where the petals were snipped.  You are going to overlap the two petals in order to eliminate the gap left by the petals that were removed.  Adhere these petals with your glue

Step 8: This is what your snipped layers should look like once adhered.  They will end up looking like small cones

Step 9: Take your final 3 layers and curl the petals down as shown in step 4.

Time to adhere your last 3 layers.  The top three layers need to be cupped tightly as shown here prior to adhering.  You are building your flower up.  So you want a 'fluffy' look

Step 10:  This is what your flower should look like with all 6 layers adhered.  Notice that you'll end up with a small hole right in the center.  Well this is where your snipped petals come in

Step 11: I usually start with the 3 snipped petals.  Curl them down just like all the other petals and fold the snippet in 1/2 as shown. Then you're going to adhere these 3 little petals right smack in the center of your flower

Step 12: Voila! No more hole in the center!  If by any chance you still have a little hole...then take your remaining 2 snipped petals & do the same procedure.  Curl the petals down, fold them in half and tuck them right in the center.

Once done you can finish shaping your flower.  Usually when I put my flowers together they get lopsided, squished, etc as I adhere one layer on top of the other.  Once done you can re-shape your flower again--fluff the layers, re-curl some of your petals etc.

Hope some of you found this tutorial useful!  Have a great rest of the week.