Pathfinding Paper Pack

I am still loving this paper packet for fall.  Here is a recreation of a card I made once before but now it has a fun fall theme.

This card was made using one of the cute little M stamps that are just $2.95 each and the paper from the Pathfinding paper pack.  I added ribbon from my stash and colored in the stamp with my Spectrum Noir markers.  Fun, easy and perfect for the fall.  All the supplies (except the markers) can be purchased from my website at www.craftwithronnie.ctmh.com or by clicking on the shopping cart at the top of this blog.  Happy Crafting!!!

Artfully Sent Cartridge

I have been away for a few weeks.  Had the family in for a long overdue visit.  I now feel refreshed and ready to make some cards.  The only problem I ran into was that my Close to my Heart Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge that I have been awaiting showed up the second day of the two week visit.  Since my craft room is also the guest room I had to be patient and wait to crack it open.  But now everyone is gone and today I played.  These are not great photo's but I wanted to get a card or two done with the cartridge so here goes.

This first card is really cute, the haunted house is completely cut out while still attached to the background so the yellow layer shows through the windows and doors, really cute.  

The outside of this card is a mixed bag.  The spider and web are from the artfully sent cartridge, the Eek is from the Artiste Cartridge and the pumpkin is from the Artbooking cartridge, oh and the ghost is a left over piece from the inside of the card that was done with the Artfully sent cartridge.

Here is the inside, it is hard to see but this card is a pop-out, the ghosts and moon are cut and the background color (white here) shows through, the tree is another layer and then the house and fence are also a layer and they are attached to a step out on the card.  I love the 3-D affect.

This cartridge makes over 400 cards, check out the video and additional information on my website at www.craftwithronnie.ctmh.com   or just click on the shopping cart at the top of the blog and it will take you there.

Happy Crafting!!!!

Gearing up for Christmas

I know, the kids just went back to school and it is just September.  So why think about Christmas cards and holiday projects now?  Because if you are like me somehow the holidays always sneak up on you.  Each year I swear no more midnight baking or candy making or card addressing and each year that is just what I end up doing all over again.  So this year I am challenging myself to be done with the cards (including the family letter and addressing them), the gift purchasing and wrapping by December 1st so I can actually enjoy the holidays.  I actually started planning Christmas cards and projects several months ago and will be hosting a mega workshop in October where we are going to make 24 Christmas cards in one day (4 each of 6 designs).  One of the things I plan to do is make some beautiful boxed card sets for gifts for my family and friends.  You know everyone needs cards and people my mothers age have everything they need and can use but cards are something that she loves to receive, so each year she asks for them.  This year I am going to try some different ideas out here and I hope you will give me some feedback so I know which way to go with the cards.  But I digress, so here is one of the Christmas cards I created and I love the clean simple lines, let me know what you think (oh, and this is super simple to make).

Ok so I started with a card base cut from ruby card stock to 5 1/2 x 8  1/2" and folded to the standard A2 size of 4 1/4 x 5 1/2".  I then cut a piece of daisy white card stock to 4 x 5 1/4" and embossed it with the Damask embossing folder.  I cut a piece of the ruby card stock to 2 x 4 1/4" and punched the scallops along the bottom using one of my punches in my stash.  I then cut a pieces of daisy white card stock one at 1 1/2 x 4 1/4" on which I stamped the sentiment (from the Holiday Tags stamp set) in the bottom right corner with topiary ink.  I added a bow and ribbon (more stuff from my stash) around the white daisy card stock before attaching it to the ruby base.  The next piece of daisy white card stock was cut to 2 1/4 x 3 1/4" and it was stamped with an evergreen tree (from the Always Grateful stamp set).  For the trees I did a technique where I started with the trees in the background and to create that look I inked my stamp and stamped off on scrap paper and then stamped on my card stock (giving it that ghost image).  I did that three times across the back and then I stamped the trees in the foreground using normal stamping (I did however stamp off the card stock both on the sides and at the bottom to give the trees the look of differing sizes.  This was mounted onto a piece of ruby card stock that was cut to 2 1/2 x 3 1/2".  Now everything was assembled, note here though, when attaching embossed items or items that have ribbon wrapped around them you need to use a strong adhesive so the pieces don't pull apart (I used score tape).  I hope you like this simple yet elegant card, it is fun and easy to make and would be a great one for mass production.  

Below is a list of supplies used to create this card, they can be purchased on my website at www.craftwithronnie.ctmh.com or by clicking the shopping cart at the top of this blog.  Happy Crafting!!!

Supplies:  White daisy card stock (1385), ruby card stock (X5927), topiary ink (X5635), Damask embossing folder (Z1927), Always Grateful stamp set (C1559), and Holiday Tags stamp set (D1560)

Feeling crafty

Well here we are another beautiful morning in Central California.  Fog is burning off and it looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day.  I had one of those super productive days yesterday and it looks like today is going to be the same.  I was wide awake at 5:30 a.m. so I have already made some cards and cleaned the oven and it isn't even 8 a.m.  Well here are some of my fun makes, I am doing my best to try new techniques whenever possible, so here are two that I think worked out well.

I had already posted a picture of the first card I did like this but the tree was stamped with olive ink.  In this one I got brave and decided to try something new for me.  I started by loading up a dauber with honey ink and daubing randomly on the stamp, then I went in with autumn terracotta, next was olive and finally just a touch of chocolate (for the base of the tree).  I think it looks great, I was really happy with the result.  I will be honest though the first one didn't look so great.  I made the mistake of too much olive and chocolate and it was to dark.  I found if I depended more on the honey (rich yellow) and the autumn terracotta (beautiful fall orange) I got a better look.  The tree and sentiment are from the Always Grateful (C1559) stamp set and I use them all the time, the set has a great evergreen for Christmas as well.  I will definitely be using this technique some more.  

The next technique was something I saw on You Tube when I was looking for some new ideas for embossing folders and velum and I hit the jackpot, using them together.  I love the look, it was very rich and I got a beautiful result.  I do still need to add a sentiment to them but I found words don't do well stamped directly onto vellum so I am going to do them on some coordinating card stock and add them to the cards.  

These were so much fun.  I embossed the vellum first (I found I needed embossing folders with a large void area to color in) and then I colored them in using my Close to My Heart inks.  To achieve a watercolor affect on the velum I took one of my acrylic blocks and just swiped it across the ink pad to pick up some of the ink.  I then dipped my blending pen (which I had purchased from Close to my Heart without knowing anything about how to use one, LOL) into that ink and colored directly onto the vellum, adding more ink as necessary.  I think they are beautiful.  Next time I would like to play around with acetate and see what I can do with that.  I hope you liked these new techniques, I had a great time and I learned to give something new a try and who knows what you might create.

Until next time Happy Crafting!!!