Flowerbug's Inkspot

Punch Art Lollipop

I saw a card like this on Pinterest and knew it would be fun to make for this weeks Punch Art post. 

Don't you just love it?? 

You could use any size circle punch here.  Doesn't it remind you of those big, colorful lollipops?

I used a 1 3/8" circle punch for mine and many colors of our SU card stock.  I just glued them together overlapping each one so they fit together tightly in the center.  I added the lollipop stick behind them with a mini glue dot and adhered the entire thing to the card front with dimensionals.

Supplies:

• Stamps - Sweet Cake
• Card stock - Sahara Sand, White, and the circles in order starting at the pinks - Melon Mambo, Rgal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Island Indigo, Tempting Turquoise
• Accessories - Perfect Polka dots embossing folder, Big Shot, Regal Rose narrow taffeta ribbon, Neutral buttons, mini glue dots, 1 3/8" circle punch, lollipop stick, dimensionals, Modern Label punch, Markers for the greeting

Adorning Accents Die-Cut Tutorial

Here's another Apothecary Art card we made last month at my Big Shot Class. 

There is just one day left to get in on my Class to Go featuring the Apothecary Art stamp set.  Read about it here. 

We made this fun-fold card by adjusting the clear acrylic plate on top of the scored card before it is die-cut with the Adorning Labels dies. 

I scored my 5 1/2 X 8 1/2" card in half first at 4 1/4".  Then I scored one of those sides in half at 2 1/8". Place the center point of the die on this 2 1/8" mark. 

In this photo you can see I have placed the clear acrylic plate over the area I want to cut out.  The acrylic plate edge meets up with that 2 1/8" score mark and just this part of it is over the card stock and die.  The rest is hanging over nothing as it runs through your Big Shot. 

Here's a view of the inside.  I did stamp and die-cut two of the same images for the outside and the inside front of the card and colored them in with markers. 

The Certainly Celery label die-cut inside the card is just a bit larger than the front one so it layers wonderfully. 

Supplies:

• Stamps - Apothecary  Art, Bring on the Cake
• Ink - Black Stazon, Blushing Bride
• Card stock - Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Certainly Celery
• Accessories - Big Shot, Adorning Accents Labels dies, sponge, markers, Certainly Celery taffeta ribbon
  

 

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!

Click here to purchase the February 2012 Technique Class

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.)

Click here to purchase the 2010-2012 Technique Class Bundle

Click here to see all of my technique classes

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