I'm in the Spotlight at Anything But a Card!

(yes, this was originally posted yesterday - my boo boo - so let's just pretend you didn't see it until today, ok?)
 
As some of you know I am on the design team at Anything but a Card and I am pleased to have my turn at the Spotlight Challenge! The Spotlight Challenge gives each Design Team member a chance to let everyone know a bit more about them and since we all find it hard to talk about ourselves (OK, not everyone, but...) we get rewarded by running a mini challenge of our choice.  Take some time to learn about me and enter my mini challenge!!

I'll give you a hint -

I hope to see you there! 
Blessings ~ Christi

Mother's Day card and Bird's Nest Necklace

Mother’s Day in the United States is just around the corner so today I am showcasing a Mother’s Day card I made for my mom for my Globecraft & Piccolo project. Remember, there is a NEW project every day on the Globecraft & Piccolo blog - go and see what my fabulously talented team mates have made.

What I Used to Make This Card:

Embossing Fluid
Embossing Enamel in Micro Black 
3D Gel in Titanium White and Rose Pearl
MOM Stamp from Great Impressions, #G150
Distress Marker in Seedless Preserves
White Card Base
Scrap of White Cardstock
Paper Flowers & Leaves (Hero Arts & Prima)
Scrap of decorative paper & butterfly sticker 
from KaiserCraft Violet Crush paper pack

Embossed

The gels

I first used Embossing Fluid on my stamp and then stamped it on a piece of scrap white cardstock.  I embossed the card using G&P Embossing Enamel in Micro Black.  Once that was accomplished, I took two of my 3D gels, Titanium White and Rose Pearl, put a dot of each on my wax paper, mixed them together and painted the sentiment. In order to make the letters stand out a bit more I colored over them with the Distress Marker in Seedless Preserves.

Painted with the 3D gel mix

Once my sentiment was dry, I trimmed it and adhered it to the decorative paper.  I needed to add some oomph so I turned to my stash of paper flowers and leaves (my mom loved to plant flowers) and added a few of them, as well as a butterfly sticker. The card is done, so let me move on to the gift I made for her.

The card is actually more purple than pink

For a gift I made a bird’s nest pendant.  This was SO easy but looks SO hard I love it! I loved it so much I already gave it to her I just couldn’t wait!  There are quite a few tutorials on the web for this type of pendant (one of my fav's is HERE) so I am just going to give you a quick explanation on how I made it.  I used some silver craft wire (22 gauge), about the 10” long, put the three “eggs” (these were just plastic beads I had hanging around) on the bottom of the wire and basically formed a circle around the eggs, adding walls and threading the wire through as I went around the nest.  I then cut more wire and weaved it in and out of the nest frame to make it more cohesive.  After I finished with the wire, I took care to tuck the ends so they wouldn’t snag on any clothing and shaped it a bit with a pair of needle nosed pliers.  Mom wore the necklace to her senior center on Tuesday and it was a hit! All the ladies wanted to know if I sell them – I told Mom to get their favorite colors and I’d be happy to make the pendants, the whole thing only took about 15 minutes! 

Not as neat as the ones in the tutorial but I love it!

So there you have it – I will most likely get my mom a plant for Mother’s Day as I can’t go over there empty handed.  I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.  Please keep in touch, as I am getting ready to celebrate my Blogaversary!! I have SO many goodies to give away there is going to be more than one winner (and I keep adding stuff to the pile daily, who knows, maybe everyone will win something!) Thank you for stopping by ~ Christi

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Sister Act Card Challenge - #54, Anything Goes

Creative Moments - #41, Anything Goes

And I would like to enter my bird's nest pendant in these challenges:

C.R.A.F.T. Challenges - #256, Not a Card
All Crafts Challenge - Anything Goes (April/May) 
Party Time Tuesdays - #169, Anything Goes
Pause Dream Enjoy - Linky Party #8, Anything Goes

I won at Rhedd & Rosie Challenge Blog!!

This means the world to me as the challenge winner at Rhedd & Rosie is chosen rather than randomly selected (not that I have anything against randomly selected winners as I have been one on a few occasions), but it is nice to be picked specifically for your design!! Doing a HUGE happy dance :)

I won with my "Fly Pendant" - you can get all the details on how I made this HERE - it was really easier than it looks :)

Thank you Moira for choosing my work! And thank YOU Zoe for the heads up :)

Spring Forward and Fly!

My post today is for the NEW challenge at Anything But a Card Challenge #34 - "SPRING Forward"!! We know Spring is dragging it's feet in arriving as ol' man winter keeps his heels dug in the snow and ice... so we are celebrating the new season with an OPEN THEME!!! Feel free to break out the bright colors and create along with Spring and Easter, or create whatever your muse desires... as long as it's anything but a card!

I love "anything goes" challenges, especially when they are for Anything But a Card - this challenge inspired me and my muse to make use of some extra parts that were just laying around. With gears being all the rage I was lucky enough to find a watch repair place that gave me tons of watch parts that he could no longer use.  After stripping all the parts down I ended up with a bunch of watch cases (I think that is what you call them), some of which were brand new.  As I was thinking about what to do with all these cases I got a fabulous idea – and that is how this pendant was born. How appropriate to use a watch case for "springing forward"!

 

Surprisingly this pendant isn't heavy. . .

Items I used in my creation:

• Empty Watch Case
• Globecraft & Piccolo (G&P) Vintage Silver and MermaidTears Embossing Enamel
• G&P Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
• G&P Butterfly Accents
• 2 Jump Rings
• Charms of your choice
• Crafters Pick Glue
• Necklace for the Pendant (I used Silk Cord that I got from G&P) 

Not the real one, but close

I cleaned one of the watchcases and unscrewed the back and the top. First thing I did was emboss the top case (where the watch face would be seen) with Vintage Silver and Mermaid Tears Embossing Enamel.  I coated and embossed the frame many times (if you chose to emboss any metal part PLEASE be careful, as the metal gets VERY hot, as

Embossed and coated - ready to go!

does the embossing product! Don’t touch anything until it has cooled!) When I was finally happy with the frame I added a coat of Glasstique Gloss to protect the enamel and, hopefully, make the pendant less prone to chipping.

Taking the bottom of the case (where the watch guts are), I found some decorative

paper that showcased the colors in the Mermaid Tears Embossing Enamel and punched out a 1” circle.  I centered the circle and glued it into the bottom.  I decided on a using a small butterfly for the pendant focal point from A148 Butterfly Accents.  I embossed the butterfly with a mix of Mermaid Tears, a pinch of Micro White and a pinch of Vintage Silver.  Once it had cooled I glued it to the center of the bottom case.  I searched through a bunch of old book pages to find the word “fly”, cut it out and attached that above the butterfly. 

Now my watchcase had 2 “handles” on it to hold the watchstrap.  On the top handle I glued a jump ring for the necklace to go though.  I honestly don’t think that is going to hold for very long and I will eventually solder it – once I learn how (hehehe). On the bottom handle I dangled a few charms.  Oh, and since I got Embossing Enamel in the groves of where the two pieces meet, I used glue again to hold the back & front together.

 

You can see the charms better with in the first pic, but I LOVE the colors in this one

Now, go fly and play (and don't forget to enter ANYTHING GOES at Anything But a Card!) Keep an eye out on my blog for my BLOGAVERSARY giveaways - coming soon! In fact, why not start following now so you won't miss it??

Thanks for stopping by ~ Blessings! Christi

I want to enter my pendant in the following challenges:
Crafty Calendar Challenge - Things with Wings
Rhedd and Rosie Challenge Blog - #30, Anything Goes 
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Fairy Tale Challenge Blog - Butterflies

Don't Give up Your Keys!

Inspired by my Globecraft& Piccolo teammate Tracy (see her project HERE), I took one of my recent goodies and decided to use the leftover chipboard as a stencil. For my project today I made a very simple wall hanging.   

I could of made a beautiful card out of this just as easily, but my walls are bare! And, yes, I realize there is nothing on this to hang it yet, but I am going to be ordering wall hangers from G&P!

I used:

LC102 Royal Key Charms

Crafters Pick Glue

Piece of Vellum Card Stock (thicker than regular vellum)

White card stock

Dylusions Ink Sprays

Removable tape (to hold the stencil)

Scrap mat board

Brads

I removed all of the keys (there are 18 of them and they are 2" long) and took the leftover frame, taped it down on a piece of card stock and sprayed away with my Dylusions Ink Sprays.

Mine didn't come out as "smooth" as Tracy's - I think I need that adhesive she used! 

I cut the stenciled card stock down to size (I removed all the “over spray”) and then cut a piece of scrap mat board the size of the stenciled card stock.  Before I attached the cardstock to the mat board, I found a cool quote (I know, another one!), set it up in Microsoft Word, adjusted the font and such until I liked it, then printed the quote on vellum card stock. 

Another GREAT quote!!

I chose vellum card stock instead of regular vellum because I wanted to be able to still see the keys behind the quote, but I didn’t want the keys to be so visible that they were a distraction.

I cut the quote down to the size I wanted (after I let it dry – very important that you don’t touch the printed quote for a few minutes – how do I know? Guess!)  and attached that to the card stock using brads.  Glued the card stock onto the mat board and now I have another cool piece to hang in my studio!

Can you see the Key Holder?!?

In addition, wouldn't the leftover frame be a really cute board to hang your keys on?? Hmmm. . .

A final look. . .

I wish you all a happy holiday weekend ~ Christi

I would like to enter my wall hanging in the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks - Sentiment Only (no pictures)

Creative Fingers Challenge Blog - #32, Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps - #92, Anything Goes
Lexi's Creations - #114, Focus on the Sentiment

A Certain Darkness. . .

I know everyone is making pretty spring cards and projects but I am stuck on a quote kick, plus I got a bunch of new stamps from Unity Stamp Company.  And, I found the base paper hiding in my stash, unopened, where it has sat for a very long time (the company I bought it from is out of business, but if you do a web search you can find it).  I am on a mission to use my supplies (I am still buying new stuff, but that can be our little secret) so I wanted to use this paper.  I am very pleased with how this card turned out and I hope you agree!

Not sure why this one looks a little blue. . .

What I used to make this card:

• Base made of black plastisheen paper (which is a thicker, heavier version of glossy cardstock)
• A144 Tiny Hearts, Flowers, Stars & Flourishes
• Unity Stamp Co. “A Certain Darkness”, IB-DD-579
• Micro White, Starry Sky, Siam Silver and Mermaid Tears Embossing Enamel
• Embossing Fluid
• Scrap piece of black cardstock
• Sturdy silver cardstock
• Small Star Punch
• Pop Dots
• Crafters Pick Adhesive

First thing I did was take four of the small stars from the Tiny Hearts, Flowers, Stars and Flourishes set – I need to order that set again as I have no more stars left. I embossed them with Siam Silver Embossing Enamel after coating them with Embossing Fluid.  I just have to say, I have been using this bottle of Embossing Fluid, at least weekly, since January and I haven’t even put a dent in it.  And the dauber delivery system is SO much easier to use than a typical embossing pad, plus, I pried the top off and put a small amount in an old pill bottle to use for painting the Embossing Fluid on.  Love this stuff! Sorry, I got distracted <grin>. I completely ruined one of the stars (don’t drop newly embossed items on the floor when you have four very furry cats) so that left me with 3 stars.  I knew I needed more, so I punched some out using the heavy silver cardstock.

Next, I embossed the sentiment with the Micro White Embossing Enamel on a scrap piece of black cardstock.  Now, I have never had good luck with white embossing, ever.  I use my little pouch thingie to ensure there is no stray powder but I could never seem to get a clean emboss.  I did here! I am thrilled with this stuff! I trimmed the sentiment down so it was even.

It was then I decided to try something new.  I knew I could emboss on glossy cardstock, so I thought I’d give it a whirl on this plastisheen.  All I did was use the Embossing Fluid and I swiped it on the card, right out of the bottle.  Then I embossed my swipes with Starry Sky Embossing Enamel. 

I love the texture (such a big thing now!) and it was so fun! I love to try new things; especially when they work out!

So, now I have my background done, my sentiment and my stars.  I pieced it together and felt something was missing.

Hmm. . .not quite right

After debating how to give the card some more interest, I took 2 of the cardstock silver stars and embossed them with Mermaid Tears.  Definitely gave the card a little more pizzazz! After I glued my stars where I wanted them, I pop dotted the sentiment, adhered that and we have liftoff!

My Mermaid Tears stars

So there you have it! I want to share a few more pictures of the card:

I was amazed to see the purple pop out in this picture!

And the last picture of the finished product!

It is very difficult to get a good picture of a black glossy card!
Thank you for popping by and I hope you stop by the Globecraft & Piccolo blog every day to see what my fabulously talented teamies have created! I have to get started on my Mother's Day card ~ eeeek!! Christi 

I am entering my card in the following challenges: (I urge all my followers to take a chance and enter some challenges! I find they really stretch my creativity and you might just win!)

Aud Sentiments - #104, Sentiment for a Friend 

Love to Scrap! Challenge Blog - #27, Anything Goes!
Craftin Desert Diva's Linky Party - Anything Goes!

Craft Your Passion - No Designer Papers
Craft Hoarders Anonymous - Pick a Stamp!
Stamping Sensations - April Challenge, Use Punches and/or Dies
Rhedd and Rosie Challenge Blog - #30, Anything Goes! 
Crafting for all Seasons - #74, Punches and Dies

And The Day Came. . .

I made this card for myself.  I love quotes, as most of you who read my blog know, and this one is just so fitting for me right now.  So, when I saw it, I decided to make myself a card - I deserve one! Plus, with spring here I wanted be colorful and use some flowers - Globecraft & Piccolo's products are perfect for both!

What I used to make the card:

• Square white card base, 5 ¼” x 5 ¼”
• LA106 Stacey’s Stacking Flowers
• Ruby Red Slippers, Royal Sterling, Cranberry Wine, Deep Blue Sky and Girls Night Out Embossing Enamel
• Embossing Fluid
• Wendy Vecchi’s Blooming Art stamp set, SCS119
• Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
• Wendy Vecchi’s Archival Ink in Fern Green
• Scrap of White Cardstock for the sentiment
• Crafters Pick Glue

The first step in making this card was stamping the leafy branch for the background.  I used the stamp in the Blooming Arts set and stamped it four times, kind of in each corner, but I wasn’t so exact about it.  I thought the Fern Green ink would be perfect for all my colorful flowers.

Then I stamped the sentiment on the scrap white cardstock, trimmed it and placed it in the middle of the card.  I didn’t glue anything down at this point.

I set about embossing my flowers from Stacey’s Stacking Flowers set.  I love how the flowers have the grooves cut deep into the chipboard – you can see them even when the flowers have been embossed. Also, you can turn the flowers around and while the grooves are slightly visible, the flowers are smoother.  In the picture, I used the flowers with the full grooves, on the top. 

I just choose a bunch of the flowers, (there are 24 in the pack!) before I embossed them, and placed them around the card, getting a feel for what size flower I wanted where.  Then I embossed them with the Embossing Enamel – one time each.  If I had spots where I didn’t fully ink the flower with the Embossing Fluid, I used a paintbrush to fill in the spot and embossed that spot only. 

Lastly, I glued the sentiment in place first and then adhered the flowers.  It really is a lovely card – I love the sparkles and the blended colors in the Embossing Enamel. I realize the quote may be difficult to read due to the type face it is in, so this is the quote: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to bloom." 

Another view

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your week is going well! Christi

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges: 
The Artistic Stamper - April, Embossing & Texture

Crafting By Designs - April, Anything Goes Challenge
Simon Monday Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
DRS Designs Rubber Stamps Challenge - Who's the (em)boss? 
Red Rubber Designs - Inspirational #114, Spring

I was selected as a Top Ten Card for DCWV!

I am beyond words! This was my first time playing at DCWV Diary Stackaholic Challenge.  They use 2 sketches for inspiration, one is for layouts and one is for cards.  As some of you may know I entered 3 cards into the March challenge and I honestly didn't think I'd get chosen - but my "Happy Birthday" card, using the Tattered Time stack, got chosen as one of the Top Ten Cards! What a great way to start out the month!!

 

This is the sketch for March

 

Here is the card that was selected and here is the blog post explaining how I made the card.  Yippee!!

Thank you for joining me in my celebration!