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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Design Team Call at Anything But A Card Challenges!!

                               

You can find all the details at

IF 
YOU love Creating?
YOU enjoy exploring many types of media and projects.
YOU want to create with NO limits.
YOU enjoy all aspects of blogging. YOU want to grow with us!

THEN
Why not have a look at what we are looking for?

Variety is the spice of LIFE 
That's what there is at 
Anything But A Card

We Want YOU!
 
We have a fabulous team and we'd love to have you join us! 
 
(thanks to Julie Short who I shamelessly copied from)

Monday, August 18, 2014

Hosting My First Challenge at Craft-Room Challenges!

Hi all, this is Christi and I am thrilled to bring you my very first challenge for Craft-Room Challenges! Some of you may know I am crazy cat woman. I might not qualify just yet, but with five furry felines, I am definitely on my way. The last cat we acquired was brought home when my significant other went to Petco (a large pet store chain) to get some more cat litter and food.  Petco will often show some cats from our local shelter in order to help them get adopted, especially during the summer months when people want kittens and cats older than one year often get over looked.  Well, when I got the phone call the he was bringing home a surprise for "me & the cats" I figured it wasn't food or any crafty goodies - sure enough, it was Sylvester who was our surprise.  How could I stay mad? So, Sylvester joined our happy family of other felines, Monster, Mew, Bud and Junior.  Sorry for the ramble, but when I start talking about my children cats, I find it hard to stop!  Anyway, I decided to honor my growing brood , I choose CATS as my challenge theme for challenge #83 at Craft-Room Challenges.  I can't wait to see the projects you come up with, and keep in mind you can create anything as long as you follow the theme. 

Now, I present my project. I love making wall hangings and I love quotes, so I incorporated three of my favorite things and came up with this canvas.


What I Used to Make my Project:
11 x 14 canvas
Memory Makers Paper, Pets, 12 x 12 "Cat Words" and 2 strips of "Cat Paws" (discontinued)
Coordinating Piece of 12 x 12 Paper
12 x 12 White Cardstock
Various Cat Cut Files (free)
Lobster 2 Font (free)
Silhouette CAMEO
Washi or Removable Tape
Regular Tape
Crafters Pick The Ultimate Glue
Toothpicks

I have tons of cat and pet papers and embellishments that I have been saving for years.  My goal is to some day make a scrapbook of all my furbabies, both past & present.  My major problem is I am not a scrapbooker and I find it very difficult to make myself sit down and create a layout.  I am confident that someday I will do it - well, let's say it is on my list.  So first thing I did was go through my cat papers and I chose to use a paper from Pets by Memory Makers called "Cat Words" as my focal paper.  Since the 14" canvas is too wide for the 12 x 12 paper to fit, I cut off 2 strips from another paper in the same collection called "Cat Paws".  I attached the strips to the main page using tape on the backside.  
Paper with the added sides
Close Up

Next I set about finding a font I wanted to work with.  Since the quote is fairly long I wanted the words to weld together and be easier to work with.  I have hundreds of fonts I have collected and after trying a few out I settled on using Lobster 2 (which is a great font to use with any electronic cut machine - I have to thank Clever Someday for compiling list after list of good fonts as well as being an invaluable resource).  When my words were cut out, I used washi tape to keep the letters that were not welded with the words they belonged to.  I also use the tape to keep the letters and punctuation properly spaced so when I attach them to the canvas they are evenly spaced (mostly).

I found a plethora of cat cut files, as well as some I made into cut files and chose the ones I felt wouldn't be too complicated to scale down.  I am terrible at measuring and often just use my eye so I wasn't sure how big my vats were going to turn out - I figured the simpler the better.  After I had a page full of my cats all ready to be cut out, I decided to use white card for them.  I had originally had thoughts of making them all kinds of cat colors, but, knowing myself I would have taken that even further and had to make calico's, tabby's, etc., which would of caused me a whole 'nother level of stress over my inability to make them as good as I saw them in my minds eye.  Again, I am learning that, at least for now, simpler is better.  So we have white cats.
Fiddling with the Layout - placing words & cats
After putting on the lettering (with removable tape) I set about fiddling with the cats, after finally cutting out a size I felt fit the project.  I have enough white cat cut outs to serve my white cat cut out needs for quite a while.  Maybe I'll practice making them cat colors?  Anyway, with a little help from a good friend (who I can trust will put a bit more into her thoughts about a project than saying "Oh, yeah. That's cool.") I was able to finalize the design and glue it all down.  This is where the toothpicks become indispensable.  I use them for spreading glue, for getting glue on those teeny tiny areas and for getting glue out of those other teeny tiny areas.  I can't live without them!

So there you have it - "Cats are like potato chips, you can't have just one". A quote that I am living proof of.  I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and get inspired to join us at Craft-Room Challenges with your own cat inspired project! Remember, our challenge is on for two weeks - plenty of time to join. Thanks! Christi
Another look


I would like to enter my project in the following challenges:
Through the Craft Room Door - 8/19 to 8/25 - Anything Goes
{PIN}spirational - #121, see image
Crafty Calendar Challenge - August, Anything Goes
Amusing Challenges - Use Die Cuts
Inky Impressions - #172,  Animal Friends
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes (altered canvas)
Altered Eclectics - August Challenge, Anything Goes (altered canvas)
http://pinspirationalchallenges.blogspot.ca/
{PIN}spirational Challenge


                                                                        

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Shades of Blue at Anything But a Card

Challenge #38 at Anything But a Card is the theme of  Repeating Motifs and/or Patterns. I had just been going through some of my stamps (which I confess are in boxes right now) and I came across some of the more "artsy" stamps that I have.  I had forgotten how beautiful they were, and how perfect some of them would be for the theme.  So, along with my favorite color palette, I chose my stamp and away I went! Let me share my Shades of Blue wall hanging with with you.

What I Used to Make this Project:
Limited Edition Rubber Stamp, # 8779K (I think this stamp is discontinued)
White Cardstock
Blue Ink - I used every blue ink I had: StazOn Azure, Distress Tumbled Glass & Faded Jeans, Brilliance Ink Mediterranean Blue, Pearlescent Ice Blue and Pearlescent Sky Blue, Memento Ink Bahama Blue & Danube Blue, Wendy Vecchi Cornflower Blue, Adirondack Denim Blue & Stream.
12 x 12 Piece of Navy Blue Card
Piece of Mat Board, approximately 9 x 9

This stamp worked perfect for this wall hanging.  Since it had 3 "lines", I decided I'd use 9 squares.  First, I stamped the image in the various blue inks on the white card stock.
Stamped Many Times
I cut apart the images just so I could get a better sense of which ones I actually wanted to use in the project.  







Trimmed Squares & Strips


Once I had chosen the final 9, the next step was to trim them so they'd be close to the same size and then I cut each square stamped with the stamp into three strips.  After that I fooled at bit with the placement of strips, using three strips at a time to reconstruct the stamp.  I had found an old piece of mat board and I trimmed it to 9" x 9", and then covered it with navy blue cardstock which was also trimmed to size.  After deciding the placement of the reconstructed squares
Restructured Squares (color is off, sorry!)
- I didn't want to have 2 strips of the same color next to each other - I glued them all down and there you have it ~ Shades of Blue! 










 
Another View

I do have to put some sort of protective coating on it - if you have any ideas of what I should use, please share - but after that I plan to hang it in my kitchen where my colors are green, blue and white (although it's hard to tell <grin>). I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and my final project.  There is still plenty of time to join in on the challenge at Anything But a Card and I hope to see you there.  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have an artful week! Christi

I would like to enter my Shades of Blue project in the following challenges:
The Squirrel & The Fox - #75, Anything Goes
Stamping Sensations - August Challenge, Anything Goes
613 Avenue - #85, Anything Goes 
Marks Finest Papers - #225, Nine Squares
Crafts for Eternity - #189, Something Old (the stamp I used is at least 10 years old)
Simply Create Too - #68, Monochromatic (Shades of Blue) 
The Artistic Stamper - August Challenge, Anything Goes

Where did I find these fabulous challenges to enter? Check out Challenges for Days and find some challenges that inspire YOU!  

Monday, August 4, 2014

A Summer Garden Challenge at Craft-Room Challenges


~*~ This is my one hundredth post!! ~*~ Go ME!

For the 82nd challenge at Craft-Room Challenge, Hazel has chosen the theme of "A Summer Garden".  Once again, I had lofty plans of all the incredible art I was going to create when I realized I was running out of time once again.  Truthfully, as I write this the challenge is almost 1 1/2 weeks away, but I am having major dental surgery at the end of July and I am scrambling like mad to try to ensure all my Design Team work is done.   So by the time you read this I will be happily recuperating because I should be heavily medicated and it will be over and done with.  But I digress. . .
Confused? Read on. . .KaiserCraft on the left, DCWV on the right
 What I Used to Create my Card(s):
  • 2 coordinating pieces of DCWV Linen Closet Stack
  • 1 piece KaiserCraft Lady Rose Collection, Champagne 
  • 1 piece Green paper, for base of KaiserCraft card
  • Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink by Ranger in Fern Green
  • Wendy Vecchi Blooming Art stamp set, SCS119, for sentiment
  • White Cardstock for label
  • Crafters Pick The Ultimate Glue 
  • A2 Pop Up Card - Artisan (Silhouette or Lori Whitlock store)
  • Silhouette Cameo
The final card

The base card (DCWV)
As you know by now I love making 3D things and I had found this card in the Silhouette store named "A2 Pop Up Card - Artisan", which was designed by Lori Whitlock (you can purchase the cut file through the Silhouette store or on the Lori Whitlock site).  It looked like fun and I also love using labels so this was a win win for me!  I purchased the card and opened it up in my Silhouette Studio DE to figure out how to piece the card out for cutting.  Now, I know the challenge is Summer Garden, and I truly thought I could use the paper I initially picked out, which was DCWV Linen Closet Stack (I had some 6" x 12" scraps and I was happy that I could make the card with those).  There are some awesome florals in that stack - very sparkly, glittery and pretty.  It really wasn't until I was almost done with the card that I realized the paper wasn't summery at all. While the paper is indeed sparkly, glittery and pretty, it definitely isn't summery; at least it isn't to me.  So I went and chose some KaiserCraft paper, the collection is called Lady Rose, perfect for "A Summer Garden".  So, I proceeded to make another card. 
The cover card stock, on my cutting mat (DCWV)
Well, I had taken all my pictures using the DCWV paper, so now you'll get to see two different versions of the card.  What I think is really neat about the card is that it stands on it's own and yet, when it is folded in, it still fits in an A2 envelope. I also kept the cover card stock in place as I took it off my cutting mat, in fact, I adhered each piece to the base card as I removed the it to ensure I'd have no pattern upset. I also resized the label down a bit to make the white label that I stamped and put on the front of the KaiserCraft card. Wendy Vecchi's ink matched that green base card perfectly!  See, I truly DO need all of those ink  pads!

 
View from the top of the card (KasierCraft) 

When I make the card again, I think I'll put 2 of the white labels together (fold over, like a place card) so if I want to write something "in" the card I'll have a space to do it in.  All in all I am excited about how simple it was to put these together and I immediately thought of holiday cards - how pretty would some festive Christmas or Chanukah paper would look! And with my "place card" idea the structure of the card would still be the same and I can write a little note on each card.  Or, even Halloween!! Wouldn't a bat be adorable in place of the label?!? Oh yes, the ideas are rolling in. . .

It really does fit in an A2 envelope! (A2 is card size 5 1/2" x 4 1/4")
  
And a final look - the colors aren't as bright in this picture for some reason.  They are truer in the other pictures.


Thank you for stopping by and I hope my directions weren't too confusing.  Please, feel free to contact by using the Contact Form on the side bar, or leave me a comment if you have any questions.  In fact, leave me a comment even if you don't have any questions (and leave your blog address in your comment so I can stop by your blog!) Also, please pop by Craft-Room Challenges and enter!! Fabulous new challenge every 2 weeks ~ Have a wonderful day ~ Christi

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:
I Love to Create - #127, Anything Goes
Crafty Cardmakers and More - #120, Fancy Folds
Stamping Sensations - August Challenge, Anything Goes 
Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - L is for Layers
Sister Act Card Challenge - #68, Anything Goes