Flowerbug's Inkspot

Fabric Bag Tutorial

 I promised you a tutorial on how you can make this adorable fabric bag, so here it is!  I use mine to hold my hand-made greeting cards.  Another great idea is to use this bag to give a gift of cards along with envelopes.

You will need the following to make this bag:

• Bigz Clear large Scallop Square die, Fun Flowers die
  
• a few pieces of fabric
• some heavy duty interfacing or fleece to make the sides and base sturdy
• Sewing maching, thread & pins
  
• Wide ribbon
  
• On Board Chipboard, glue stick, buttons and Baker's Twine
  

I used the same fabric for both long sides and a different pattern for the short (square) sides.  And one last pattern for the bottom or base of the bag. Of course this could all be changed easily.   

• Cut four pieces of fabric into 5 1/2 X 7 1/2" rectangles.  These are for the two long sides.
• Cut 4 pieces of fabric into 5 1/2" X 5 1/2" squares.  These are for both short ends.
• Cut two other pieces of fabric into 5 1/2 X 7 1/2" rectangles for the bottom.
• Cut three pieces of heavy duty interfacing or fleece measuring 3 3/4" X 6" for the sides and bottom.
• Cut two pieces of heavy duty interfacing or fleece measuring 3 3/4" square for the ends. 

Fold the long pieces of fabric for the sides in half and place the fold inside the die-cut area and the cut ends on the outside.  This way you will get a rectangle of cut and scalloped fabric instead of just a square. 

You can cut many layers of cotton based fabric at a time with your Big Shot - up to eight.  Some people use an extra shim of card stock on top their acrylic plate for better cutting results.  You can see the end result with this fold & cut technique below.  

Of course you would cut the square side pieces normally by placing your 5 1/2" squares of fabric directly onto the Scallop Square die and die-cutting it. 

Next is a step I did not take a photo of.  You will lay one layer of your heavy duty interfacing (or fleece) between each of the pieces of fabric.  Remember that the interfacing is hidden between two layers of fabric for stability. I did not pre-sew my interfacing to my fabric as I did not want double stitching to show. **If you use iron-on interfacing you won't need to worry about this.  I pinned the pieces together as I sewed them making sure to catch the interfacing when I stitched. 

Before I sewed all of the pieces together I stitched my ribbon between the long sides of my scalloped rectangles as seen below.  This hides the ribbon ends.

Next I sewed the bottom to the two long sides. 

Then you will pin the square sides to the outer edges of the two sides and base as seen below.  Stitch closed. 

Remove pins from that side and repeat on the other side.  That's it; you're done with the bag!

Here is a view of the inside of my bag.  You can see a bit of my white interfacing between the fabric layers in this photo.

If you like the worn or distressed look, you can make small cuts between each scallop and then wash it.  This helps the outside seams get that fuzzy look.

If you want to add the flower adornment, cut out a few pieces of fabric and glued them onto two squares of our On Board Chipboard with glue stick.  You could use any chipboard for this, but ours is nice and thick.  I love using glue stick with chipboard - it holds the edges down very well.

Now you can cut out your flowers using the Fun Flowers die.  Glue them together using either Tombo multipurpose glue or glue dots.  I added a few buttons and some Bakers Twine and adhered them with glue dots.  Attach the flowers to your bag with either hot glue, large glue dots or Sticky Strip. 

Hope you enjoy making your own!

 

Hearts Galore

I cannot stop playing with hearts!  They really are pretty versatile.

I saw a card like this by Chiaki Haverstick and just had to case it.  Look!

It uses our new Fashionable Hearts embosslit - this wonderful new die from the Occasions mini catalog die cuts and embosses at the same time. 

I also used the Free Sale a Bration designer series paper called Everyday Enchantment.  The colors are Pool Party, Poppy Parade and Calypso Coral. 

Supplies:

• Stamps - Curly Cute
• Ink - Poppy Parade
• Card stock - Pool Party, Whisper White, Everyday Enchantment dsp
• Accessories - Fashionable Hearts embosslit, Hearts framelits, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, Pool Party bakers twine, Big Shot, Pearls jewels, dimensionals

February Technique Class

This month's techniques are great cards; fun and easy too!

First up is Colored Scent. 

Since we now have scented embossing powder I had to figure a way to get a two-toned image embossed.  This card smells like real melon!  And it's not 'scratch & sniff' either.  All you need to do is breathe it in. 

This is Gel Pen Resist - a great way to highlight certain parts of an image.  It's not bright white; just soft and white.  I love this masculine card! 

And here is what I am calling 'Double Vision'.  Get a two toned look by stamping the same image in two different colors.

Local class is on February 28th & 29th.  Tuesday at 3 & 5 pm and Wednesday at 6:30 pm.  Cost is $10.  Please RSVP by Saturday, February 25th.  

If you cannot attend the class here in Minot, ND you can still make these cards by using my online Technique Class tutorial.  It's just $4.  You get complete directions, measurements and photos of the finished cards.  Plus you also get the technique card templates you can print out to add a sample of the technique to.  (See photo below).  These are perfect if you want to create your own technique ideas bundle. Demonstrators are welcome to use any of my ideas for your own classes.  It's all ready for you!

***Scroll down to purchase February's class. 

2012 Technique Classes

January 2012 $4.00 USD February 2012 $4.00 USD

I now have another bundle of Technique Classes ready.  12 months of classes for the price of 10.  That's just $40 for 36 techniques.  You'll receive the last 12 classes I've done from October 2010 thru February 2012.  (I have skipped some months during the last year or so.)

****Scroll down for the latest bundle of 2010-2012 Techniques.

2 months FREE

12 months 2008-2009 $40.00 USD 12 months 2009-2010 $40.00 USD 12 months 2010-2012 $40.00 USD

See all of my Technique Classes here.

Control Freaks February Blog Hop

 Welcome to the Freaks Blog Hop for February! Our theme this month is 'The Cutting Edge' - projects created using the Big Shot.  I love what the addition of the Big Shot has brought to my craft.  I use it for almost everything I make!

You may have just arrived from Lisa Young's blog where you saw her beautiful and very creative projects!  Just keep clicking on to the next stop and you'll see all 13 of the Freak's members die-cutting ideas.

My first project is one we did at a Big Shot class a few weeks ago.  It's quite simple but really shows off the details of our Paper Doily Large Sizzlit. 

After embossing the large White card stock layer with the Framed Tulips embossing folder I cut out a large heart from it using our newest Hearts Collection Framelits.  Next I cut one large Doily from Early Espresso card stock and placed it behind my white layer lining up the intricate pieces of the doily inside the heart.  Then I added Espresso satin ribbon and a Vintage brad before adhering this piece to the folded Bashful Blue card.  

Here's a little tip to get all those little bitty pieces to come out of the beautiful Paper Doily sizzlit.  Roll the Doily die-cut loosely around a pen or pencil first one way and then the other.  Most of the little pieces pop right out for you!  Poke the rest out using a paper piercing tool or tweezers.  

Next up is a project I've wanted to make for a long time.  Nicole, a kind and generous demo from Iowa, gave me one of these at Convention last year and I've been using it on my table to hold my card samples in. I needed one more for each end of my table.  It's fabric cut from the large Bigz Scallop Square die.

The Scallop Square die is square in shape but this bag is rectangular. I will share the step-by-step directions on how to make this cute bag in a day or so.  I used the Candy Cane Christmas fabric to make this.  I love these polka dot & striped fabrics and think they're versatile enough for any season. 

This little fabric bag would be a fabulous way to give someone a gift of cards and envelopes too!    

Take a closer look at the die-cut flower.

I adhered fabric to our On Board chipboard with a glue stick and cut out the flowers using the Fun Flowers die.  I added a few buttons and bakers twine to finish it off. 

Next up is a new embossing technique.

This may seem like a Valentine card but I think it would be perfect for a loved one at any time.  Did you know that you can emboss using our new Framelits?  This technique would also work with our edgelits.  You do need two of our Standard Texturz Silicone Rubber pads.

To get this soft, dimensional look you need to use this sandwich in your Big Shot, starting from the bottom up:

• Multipurpose Platform with all tabs used
• 2 Standard Texturz Silicone Rubber pads
• card stock to emboss
• Framelits or edgelits with the cutting edge up (I used two hearts of different sizes here)
• clear acrylic plate
• extra shim of card stock on top is optional and varies with Big Shots
  

I have one more tip for you.  To get the 'Wonderful You' greeting or flag to pop up over the heart and then down on the ends, place two dimensionals - one over the other to make them twice as thick - over the Cherry heart embosslit in the center.  Then adhere the greeting ends down with adhesive or mini glue dots. This gives you a lot more dimension to the card than you normally would have and it actually stays put too. 

And now you're off to see the great projects Wendy has to show you.  I guarantee you do not want to miss it!

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Sprinkled Expressions

I had to share this Sale a Bration swap card I made for one of my online swap groups.

I used the Sale a Bration stamp set called Sprinkled Expressions. The images are embossing using Black embossing powder onto the Calypso Coral card stock.  I love how the black makes everything pop here!  And don't you love the sentiment?!

Peaking out behind the Calypso Coral pennant piece is the ruffled Pool Party ribbon.  I like all of the little details on this card.  There are lots of scallops, texture and flowers going on. 

Supplies:

• Stamps - Sprinkled Expressions
• Ink - Versamark
• Card stock - Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Black, Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment designer series paper,
• Accessories - embossing buddy, Black embossing powder, heat gun, Pool Party ruffled ribbon, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, Scallop Edge border punch, Everyday Enchantment brads, Big Shot, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder on black circle, 3" circle die
  

 

Adorning Accents Edgelits & Folders Video

This Monday, February 20th is the next Control Freaks Blog tour featuring Big Shot ideas so be sure to come back to see what we have to show you!

Many of you already have the Adorning Accents edgelits and embossing folders so I thought you may want to watch a short video showing you a few tips and tricks while using these fun tools.

 

 

I am loving these dies and folders as they give me another option for embellishing my cards in a new and unique way.

Elegant Doily Thank you

This is a card we made at last month's Card Clubs.  It's perfect for those wintery thank you cards.  

So pretty yet easy too!  Here's the 'how to':

We stamped the large Doily background stamp onto the Island Indigo cardstock (4" X 5 1/4") using White craft ink.  ***If you do not have White craft ink yet, it's a must have!  Set aside to dry.

Punch out a white Triple Layer Doily punch and a Ingido Triple Layer Flower punch and layer these together.  Poke a hole and insert the Vintage brad. 

Ink your greeting (Delightful Dozen) in Island Indigo ink and stamp onto a long scrap of White card stock.  Cut a flag notch in the right end.  Add three mini glue dots underneath this stamped flag.  Place the flag onto your Baja Breeze pleated ribbon and press to secure.  Trim off ends. 

I adhered my punches and brad through the large Island Indigo card stock.  Sneak the left end of the stamped greeting and ribbon piece underneath the doily punches.  Adhere with mini glue dots. 

Layer this entire stamped Doily layer onto your folded Whisper White or Shimmer card stock full card (5 1/2 X 8 1/2"). 

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******Remember that if cannot attend locally and you'd like to make cards like this at home you can join my Cyber Card Club.  I will send you the supplies for two different cards each month along with directions e-mailed in pdf format showing you how to put them together. 

All you need to do to be a Cyber Card Club member is place an online order through me of $25 minimum in product each month.  Committ to 6 months at a time and you'll get a free stamp set from me after the 6 months. 

E-mail me for more details at lagreff at gmail.com

Blossom Builders cards

Have you seen the Blossom Builders kit in the Occasions mini catalog? 

 

In this Designer Printed kit you get two 12" sheets of die-cut, double sided printed flowers along with 2 sizes of pink rhinestones.  It's just $9.95.  Here's what I did with just one sheet of flowers and some rhinestones.  

I made 10 cards using our Stampin' Up! notecards.  They come in a pack of 20 cards with envelopes for just $5.95.  I love making quick cards with these. I added strips of ribbon, a sentiment and a few cards also have texture from our new  Adorning Accents embossing folders. 

Here are a few of my favorites.

Apothecary Art Class to Go

February's Class to Go features the beautiful Apothecary Art stamp set. 

If you're stamping style includes either vintage or floral you'll love it.  I find this set to be one of those stamp sets that creates quick and easy cards without much thought or planning.  Because it already has a pretty, curved label look it is simply beautiful on it's own without adding much more to it. 

Here are 3 of the 5 cards you'll receive in your cards kit when you order my Class to Go. 

How does the Class to Go work??

Basically you are making your own set of cards using the stamp set, embellishments and supplies I cut out & send you.  You'll use your new stamp set plus a basic supply of ink or markers, other stamps and a few common tools along with your own adhesive. I will texture and die-cut the card stock for you when needed. I like to call these cards 'Set samplers'.  You'll have 5 great ideas finished and ready to use right away or to save & copy later.

You can hand cut these stamps out to get the curved label shape or use these:

I recommend you add on the Labels Framelits Collection (shown above) that coordinates with this stamp set so perfectly. Of course you do need a Big Shot or other die-cutting machine to use them.  If so, I can add it to your order without increasing the Priority shipping cost.  And if you add this set of dies to your order you earn a free Sale-a-Bration choice (one for each $50 order).  Look here to see what you would like for your free SAB item.     

When you order the Apothecary Art stamp set in clear or wood mount you'll receive all of the supplies needed to make the 5 cards shipped directly to you.  Plus you'll receive the photos & step by step directions with measurements sent in a pdf document via e-mail.

Clear Mount

• Local cost - $36.00
• Priority shipping - $41 (add on Labels Framelits - $72.78) 

Wood Mount

• Local cost - $43.50
• Priority Shipping - $49 (with Labels Framelits - $80.78)

If you'd like to order the Apothecary Art stamp set from me & get the Class to Go cards kit please contact me at lagreff@gmail dot com by Tuesday, February 28th & I'll send you a PayPal invoice.  Or contact me with your credit card information.

The stamp sets will be ordered on or after Tuesday, February 28th and the Class to go sent out in early March.

*****A head's up on March - the Class to Go will be the Bordering on Romance stamp set. 

 

Two cards from One Die-cut

How would you like to cut once and get two cards from your die-cut?  

That is exactly what I did for these two workshop cards using the new Framelit Labels Collection dies.

For the above card I stamped the Apothecary Art image using Eggplant ink on another piece of White card stock and placed it behind the White Tulip embossed frame.  I cut the Framelit from the center of this piece.  It's placed on dimensionals to highlight the framing.  The greeting is stamped onto the Eggplant card stock using White craft ink and cut into a banner.

This card was cased from a fellow Control Freak, Debra Currier.  I love her style!  

Can you see the White curved label under the flower?  This is the piece I die-cut for the first card.

The stamped Pink Pirouette flower is from the Mixed Bunch stamp set.  I punched out two blossom punches in Bravo Burgundy and placed them behind the stamped/punched flower.  It makes a nice layered border.

Supplies:

• Stamps - Mixed Bunch, Friendly Phrases 
• Ink - Bravo Burgundy, Pink Pirouette
• Card stock - Bravo Burgundy, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
• Accessories - Metallic brads, 1" circle and Blossom punches, Labels collection framelits, Big Shot, dimensionals

Punch Art - Casing Stampin' Up!

I bet this card looks slightly familiar to you.  It's in the Idea Book & Catalog on page 142.  Did you know that you can also see tons of completed Stampin' Up! project ideas online?  When you browse my Stampin' Up! online store you an click on a link called 'Browse Projects'.  There are tons of cards, scrapbook pages and gift & craft ideas.  And each pictured project lists the supplies used to make it. 

Click here to get there and then go to the bottom on the left column to 'browse projects'.

For some reason that card has always appealed to me so I decided to case it for my Punch Art sample this week.  Here's my version:

I did use the same layout and even the same stamp set - Pursuit of Happiness.  But I changed the color combination and used Designer Paper instead of stamps for my punched circles.  Love this color combo of Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade and Pool Party!

Supplies:

• Stamps - Pursuit of Happiness
• Ink - Lucky Limeade
• Card stock - Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment designer series paper
• Accessories - 1" circle punch, Itty Bitty shapes punch pack, Dotted Scallop ribbon border punch, Lucky Limeade bakers twine, Pearls, mini glue dots

Happy Birthday!

To my son Luke that is.  It's his 24th birthday today! 

Here is the card I made and sent to him.  He lives 5 hours away from us so we don't see him as much as we'd like to. 

I used the stamp set 'Need for Speed' for this card plus the new set in the Occasions mini catalog called 'Loved Ones'. 

The car image is heat embossed using Black embossing powder onto Real Red card stock and die-cut using our new Labels Framelits.  The greetings are embossed using Silver embossing powder on Black card stock and popped up on dimensionals. 

The silver textured background is heavy duty kitchen foil.  I added the texture with our Backgrounds #1 Texturz plate.  I love this textured look for masculine cards.  He works on cars so I think he'll love this card. 

Tip:  Add adhesive to your card stock instead of the textured foil or you'll get the imprint from your tape runner. 

 

Create & Keep cards kit

Have you seem this in the Occasions mini catalog? 

It's the new Create & Keep Simply sent kit.  It's a box and cards kit that includes 10 pre-cut (and printed) cards and envelopes along with adhesive die-cuts for embellishing.  It's just $14.95!  Here's what I created with mine:

This pretty kit is so fun and easy to make! 

All I added were a few pearls or rhinestones, tiny flower punches (Itty Bitty Punch pack) and dimensionals.  No stamping is needed as the greetings are included in the die-cuts.  This would be a wonderful project for yourself or a great gift.

I've created a pdf document showing details and a close-up of each of the cards I made.  I hope this makes it easier for anyone who wants to use my ideas as a starting point. 

Create & Keep Simply Sent Cards Box

Shelly's Valentine

I have a gorgeous and very special Valentine to share with you. 

This is the swap card I received from Shelly Gardener (Co-founder and CEO of SU) at Founder's Circle last September.  There are sooo many pretty details on the card. 

Here's a close-up of it.

She used clear embossing on the background and on the bird.  I cannot tell you which stamp sets she used to make this card but I have a feeling it is from a retired mini catalog.  But I think the layout and design of it is very pretty and something to remember for a later card. 

Free 'My Digital Studio' this month

As you may have noticed I do not post much about My Digital Studio here on my blog.  MDS is Stampin' Up!'s digital software for scrapbooking, card making and much more.  I have used it and found it very easy and even fun!  I hope to make time for more of it in the near future.

Here are a few reasons you may want to try it:

1. It's free right now!  See details below!
2. If you like computer work, you will love it.
3. If you want to get tons of scrapbook pages done quickly!
4. If you like to give personalized gifts like family photo calendars......
   

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My Digital Studio Express Free Trial Now Available

Stampin' Up! is offering a 30-day My Digital Studio Express trial version beginning February 1, that you can take advantage of.

With the FREE trial, you'll get:

• Full access to the software at NO COST.
• Full design functionality.
• Exclusive artwork that comes with My Digital Studio Express.
• Opportunity to purchase additional downloads from designer templates to stamp brush sets--and everything in between.
• Access to our professional print services.

It's simple; add the free My Digital Studio Express trial (item 129600) to your online shopping cart, and then download and install it from your Download Manager. (Just click on the highlighted area above.)

If you don't already have the My Digital Studio software, make sure to take advantage of the free trial offer.  Try it out and see the fun and ease of My Digital Studio.

What do you do once you try it and like it?
Once the 30-day free trial period is over, you can purchase the downloadable or disc version of the software to continue using it. You'll simply open up the trial version you already have on your computer, and will be prompted to enter the product registration key you received after purchasing the software. (You'll receive this key via e-mail if you purchase the downloadable version, and you'll find it along with your shipped software if you purchase the disc version.) 

****Did you know that Stampin' Up! has an entire website just for My Digital Studio? You do not have to purchase the software or even download the free trial to read about MDS.

Check it out here on this link:  My Digital Studio