Super Easy Monday's Challenge

Happy Monday! And Happy August! Susan and I will be hosting the blog this week and we wanted to keep it easy and low-key for you. Susan has a new baby and I am up for jury duty on Tuesday, so easy is essential right now. :)

shop supplies: Blank Canvas white paint, bubblegum and green mists, foam tab circles

Today's challenge is brought to you out of necessity. I've had a bunch of weddings to attend this summer and this last weekend signaled the end of my homemade wedding cards. So please join us this week as we challenge you to make at least three cards. Use up your stash. I used the K & Co. die cuts from Granny's Cupboard kit, Tina's fun paint dragging technique, and a couple of them used misting. They were super easy, I made three cards in less than 20 minutes. Now I have a stash again. I think I'll try to do this challenge every day, using different themes every day. Ah, the possibilities!

• Mother's Day
• Father's Day
• Birthday
• Friendship
• Thank You
• Get Well
• Thinking of You
• Cheer Up
• I Love You
• Good Luck
• Congratulations
• Graduation
• Wedding
• Engagement
• New Baby
• Celebrate
• Just Because
• Holidays

To be entered in the challenge drawing for a $5 SC gift card, in one post, add your three cards to the gallery. Please keep all the cards together so we don't have to go hunting to make sure you accomplished the challenge. Separate cards will not be counted, so take a picture of them all together, or make a collage like I did, or post the three card images in the same upload. Then post to the challenge thread that I'll start today. The more sets you do, the more entries you'll get. AND the more cards you'll have on hand :) I'll draw a random winner on Saturday evening 10 MST. Good luck and here's to easy!

insider tips : faux washi tape

Happy Thursday, everyone! This week is flying by for me. Today, I want to share some faux washi tape inspiration with you. I love the look of washi tape, but have never been able to pick just which colors or patterns to get - and buying rolls adds up quickly! I've experimented with making my own with masking tape, mist and stamps, but was never happy with the results. Earlier this week, I came across this tutorial for making it using fabric tape that you find in the first aid aisle. The tutorial uses watercolor paint to color the tape, but I wanted to see if I could make it work with mist - and it did!

I found that the best way to get even color was to brush my tape with water first. I love this brush set - they are priced well and the brushes hold up beautifully over time. You can use the tape full size or cut it to a smaller width - I had no problem using my paper trimmer to cut it.



Next, I sprayed the tape with mist. I used hydrangea on this piece. After I misted, I used my paint brush again to spread the mist evenly. You could also leave it as is, and get a more of a gradient color wash - the point closest to where you sprayed would be the darkest, and it would fade from there. If your color is too dark, blot it with a paper towel and you can remove some of the mist. If you're happy with the color it's time to let it dry. It took about twenty minutes for my tape to dry completely, but if you're in a hurry, I'm sure a heat gun would speed up the process!

Now comes the fun part - adding patterns with stamps. The sky's the limit here - you can go for a tone on tone look, or experiment with something a little more bold. After I stamped, I used my tapes on a quick card - and of course I had to keep with our travel theme for the week. =)



(supply list : vanilla cardstock, jetset pp, window seat pp, girl's paperie pp from the july kit, hydrangea mist, lemon mist, charcoal mist, tumbled glass ink, mustard seed ink, journaling lines stamp, tweets stamps, tiny attacher, bumpy road border punch, foam adhesive, shipping tag, fiskars heart and circle punches, typewriter)

The best part of this? The roll of fabric tape cost me $2.79 - I had everything else on hand. Now I can have tape that matches any project for a fraction of what washi tape would cost. I can't wait to experiment more with this technique.

tutorial : stitched circles

(items from June's Partly Sunny and add-ons + lemon mist + mustard seed ink + tiny attacher + pinking sheers)

Hi all! I'm sneaking in on Kelly and Maggie's favorites weeks to give you a few pointers on one of my favorite techniques - stitching. More specifically - stitching circles. This is a technique that takes a bit of practice but it's well worth it - I love the sense of movement that large stitched circles can add to a background, and stitching smaller circles can add a lot of texture and detail to your page.


(Collage Press + Jenni Bowlin Studio)

Since stitching larger circles is definitely easier, let's work on that first. Both of the above pages have large circles stitched on the background. I started them the same way - by laying out a circle template and tracing the circles onto my background with pencil. I tend to use my Fiskars USX templates, but if you don't have something similar, head to your kitchen. You'll find a multitude of perfect circles in your cabinets - search through your plates, bowls and cups until you find one that's the right size.



You'll want to have a rough idea where your other elements will be - there's nothing worse than adding in your photos and patterned paper and realizing that all of your hard work is now hidden!



You'll also want to make sure that your circle is the right size to accommodate any elements that you're planning to arrange around it.



Once you've got your circles drawn in pencil, it's time to sew! Go SLOW. You can always speed up, but it's easier to get a feel for how you need to move the paper when you're maching is going slow. I use one hand to guide my paper - you just want to steer it gently, and be sure not to push or pull it. If you push or pull too hard you can pull your needle out of it's natural position for the stitch you've selected, and it's going to hop back to where it's supposed to be the second you stop applying pressure.


When that happens, you'll end up with odd lumps around your circle, as you can see in the biggest circle on this example. What you're aiming for is the circle in the middle - the lines are smooth, and you can't even see the pencil lines. The smallest circle shows an easy fix for a stitch job with a few mistakes - add a couple more circles and your mistakes will all even out. ;)



(Studio Calico Documentary + Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride chipboard - available in the shop on 6.27 at noon EST + tiny attacher)

Once you get comfortable with big circles, it's time to start experimenting with little ones. I started this card with a circle punch, and arranged strips of paper around it to make a sun.



You'll stitch around small circles with the same technique that you used for larger ones - but go even slower. And chances are, you're going to make mistakes. I rarely manage to get a good clean circle when I'm working in the under 3in diameter ranger. This was not one of those times. =)



So I went around a couple more times and called it good. ;)

I'm hoping to see more circles popping up in the gallery - please link me up if you give it a try!

Tutorial: Hand-stitiching Words Onto Paper

Hi Everyone! Susan here today with a tutorial on hand-stitching. I love the look of hand-sewing & embroidery on both my cards and layouts, and wanted to show you an easy way to hand-stitch words onto your own paper projects.

Start by printing out the word you'd like to include on your project, in the font and font size that will work best. (I used 'amelie' font at 150 pts).


Gently tape the corners of the paper down over the cardstock that you'd like to stitch onto.


Use a paper piercer to pierce holes along the printed word, at even intervals (keep in mind tht your interval hole length will dictate your stitch length). I like to use a craft mat under my cardstock while I'm piercing holes.



Once entire word is "pierced" gently pull up template paper to reveal stitching pattern on cardstock.


Using a large embroidery needle, and embroidery floss, start to stitch word using a backstitch stitching technique. Secure end of floss to backside of cardstock using a small piece of tape. Then make first stitch, and bring needle back up through second side of second stitch.


"Backstitch" by threading needle and floss BACK THROUGH previous hole as shown.


Continue on along word, and stitching holes.


Until entire word is stitched! Secure end of floss to backside of other end of word using a small piece of tape.


Trim your stitched word from your cardstock anyway that you like and include it on a card or layout!

:)

"Leftovers" Challenge!

Hi Everyone!!!

Susan here today to post the challenge of the week... Lisa and I will be hosting the blog this week, and after all the fun of NSD this past weekend, we thought it would be a good idea to do a "second-chance" or "leftovers" type of challenge.

Soooooooooooo.... Our challenge for you is....

Pick one of the NSD Challenges that you didn't have time to do, and do it!

You can see the blog post that links to all of the challenges HERE.

Your "second-chance" challenge can be any of the listed challenges, but just to share what Lisa & I came up with, here is Lisa's "scrap a camera phone pic" challenge layout (which i LOVE!!!)...

(sorry, Lisa's LO is out for publication!!)

And my "favorite SC stamp on a card" challenge card....


So go ahead and choose one of the challenges that you didn't have time to get to, and upload to the SC gallery, and then link your project to THIS BLOG POST by midnight PST on Saturday night...

Can't wait to see everyone's "leftover" challenge projects!!!

-Susan

Tutorial: Fabric Envelopes!

Hi everyone! Susan here today, with a tutorial on how to make the fabric envelope pictured above. :)

I love to use leftover fabric odds & ends in different ways, and this envelope is one of the easiest ways to make a hand-crafted card even more special...

Start by selecting a fabric that coordinates with your card...


I like to use Fiskars Pinking Shears to trim the edges of the material for my card envelope. I find that the pinking edge holds up much better when leaving a raw edge on the envelope - as is the case here.

These scissors are definitely an "investment" - but trust me, they are well worth the price. They will last you a lifetime if cared for correctly, and are one of my "go-to" sewing tools that I use on a constant basis. (I also love using them to deco-trim the edges of fabric that I incorporate on paper projects like scrapbook pages and cards!)

As an example of size, for my 5x4 inch card here, I trimmed a 7.5x20 inch piece of fabric. >> You want your fabric piece to be slightly wider than your card, and at least 4x as long as your card's width.


Now start to make the iron press/crease marks to guide the shape of your envelope:

Use an iron to fold in the edge of one short end and press to crease. Fold in approx 1 inch.


Continue folding upwards, then press to crease to create main "pocket" portion of the envelope.


Fold leftover top flap down and press with iron to crease along top. (Body of envelope is now formed.)


Machine stitch with 1/4 inch inseam & straight stitch along top of front pocket panel.


Pin sides together to hold in place.


Then machine stitch with approx 1/4 inch inseam & straight stitch each of four sides.


Congratulations, you have a fabric envelope! :)


Take it a step further and choose ribbon or lace or pom pom trim and machine stitch that along the envelopes flap. I choose a scalloped velvet trim.


What's nice about giving someone a card in a fabric envelope, is that the "envelope" can then be reused for years to come!


:)
-Susan

challenge : make a card out of scraps

Hi all!! Steph W and I are hosting the blog this week, and I'm here to start things off with a challenge. =)

I've admitted before that I'm a messy scrapper. As I work, my desk gets covered in little bits of patterned paper and embellishments or stamped images that didn't make it onto a page for one reason or another. When I clean up, I tend to think that these little bits and pieces would make great cards.




This card uses mostly bits from my most recent page - piggy rides. The 3 circles were already punched in the backing from a package of Studio Calico's rubons. I had stamped the house in Mustard Seed before settling on Tumbled Glass for the page, so I used that along with a scrap of the Home Front Blown Fuse paper. I finished the card with some stitching, vintage seam tape and bits of fabric from a recent sewing project.



This card uses leftovers from my Joyland kit. I liked the effect of layering these two papers when I used it on my 3 of a kind page, so I used the same technique to make a big "9" for my oldest's birthday.

So that's our challenge for this week. Take the leftover, cast aside and not used items from your last project and throw them together into a quick card. Post a link to your card on this thread on the message board, and we'll draw one winner for a $5 gift certificate to the shop. You've got until midnight EST on Saturday night to enter!

Yo-Yo Flowers Tutorial

Quite a few of the Design Team made the project kit add on this month. I know when midnight rolls around we are going to see a few different takes on the fabric flower.

I love making fabric flowers, and one of my favorite quick and easy ones is the yo-yo flower! For one thing, its called a yo-yo flower, that totally makes me smile and think of Eazy-E. When you make it without a hem, it is a quick and easy embellishment to any project.

Here's my process:


1) Find a circle for a template. This is a random chipboard circle that I had lying around, but I've used all sorts of things in the past including a punch like this. The finished flower will be 1/2 the radius of the beginning circle.

2) Either trace the circle or just cut out around the circle template. I chose to trace the circle.


3) Cut out your circle! I love my cutterbee scissors, but I've also used these Tim Holtz scissors with excellent results.

4) String a needle with embroidery floss or bakers twine with a knot in the end. Sew a running stitch around the outside edge of your circle, leaving approximately 1/8th inch of fabric. Gathering fabric as you go.

You don't need to make a hem like you would on a quilt yo-yo, because we will be covering up the middle of our yo-yo.

5) In the end you will have a little drawstring bag.

6) Turn your bag into a flower with the gathered part in the center. Leave the floss and needle in place if you are sewing on a button. If not, tie off your floss.

7) Sew a button into the middle of your yo-yo, and voila, a yo-yo flower!!!


Here is my completed banner project for our new baby's room. There is a yo-yo flower between each flag. I used the Patchwork add-on along with papers from the other kits for the mini banner and letters. I used lime twine for the mini banner. I also added a spray of Lemon Mist on each of the flags.

Here are a couple of other uses for yo-yo flowers.