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

Never Dull Your Sparkle ~ Anything But a Card Challege 33

The past two weeks were a huge upheaval in my life  – my studio was getting a shelf (finally trying again after the first one literally fell out of the wall) so that entailed cleaning off one of my tables and helping design where things were going to get moved to.  On top of that, my desktop computer was dying a slow death, and of course, that is the computer I have all my art stuff on.  So I spent entirely too much time backing up what I needed to save on my old computer and trying to get another old (but not as old) computer up to date to accept all my saved stuff.  And then get the printer to print and all the files & folders in the correct spots so I had a chance to find them again.  Funny, during all this upset I was thinking about the challenge at Anything But a Card. This month the challenge is SPARKLE and it led me to so many possibilities that I had ideas flowing like crazy.  But given the situation I decided to keep it simple and that helped me narrow it down.   After much deliberation I decided to make a sign that I can hang up in my studio and since I adore quotes it seemed to be a perfect idea to use one for this challenge. That is how this sign was born.

 

My plain board

Since the sign is fairly self-explanatory I didn’t think I needed a list of the items I used.  This is truly a project where you use what you have on hand. It began as an extra piece of foam board, about 8” x 5”.  Then the ideas began percolating.  Looking through all the decorative papers I have acquired I came across this perfect navy-ish blue with embossed silver stars; blue and silver are one of my favorite color combinations as you may have noticed. 

 

Beautiful paper!!

I wanted to keep the quote the focus of the sign so I kept it simple.  After using my Silhouette CAMEO to cut out the word sparkle (I used Core’dinations Glitter Paper) I searched for an alphabet.  I have a huge assortment of sticker alphabets and I knew I’d be able to find one I liked in my stash. Since I wouldn’t be able to use a sticker alphabet directly on the decorative paper because of the bumps caused by the stars, I found a piece of blue cardstock that I felt complimented the color scheme.  As I was rummaging through my alphabets I came across one that I had completely forgotten I even had; it wasn’t my first choice, but I really like how the cork circles look (from a very old set of cork stickers manufactured by Creative Imaginations).  I felt pop-dots were in order for the words on the cardstock.  Lastly I glued the word sparkle in a whimsical way and now I have this adorable sign. Granted, it isn’t hung up yet as another shelf is in the works, but I have it ready to go!

 

The finished product

Thank you for stopping by for my interpretation of Anything But a Cards monthly challenge! There is still time for you to enter YOUR interpretation and we’d love to see it!  Remember, NEVER DULL YOUR SPARKLE!   

I am entering my "Never Dull Your Sparkle" sign in the following challenges:

Pumpkin Spice - #63 Anything Goes

That's Crafty! - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More - #86, Anything Goes

Creative Inspirations - #256, Favorite Colour Combination (Silver & Blue)

Altered Eclectics - March Anything Goes

Crafts & Me Challenge & Inspiration - March Anything Goes

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - March Anything Goes

Blessings!
Christi