Bird Crazy Lovers

I'm still crazy about Tim Holtz' "Crazy Birds."  I've been wanting to break them out again and I think Valentine's Day is a perfect time to play with them, especially when there is a fabulous challenge to enter!  The theme for February at Stinkin' Inkers is "Love is in the Air" and your creation can be for Valentine's Day, an anniversary, or even a wedding; anything to do with L-O-V-E.  So, while love is flying all over the place, I present my Bird Crazy Lovers:

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Watercolor Paper
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Bird Crazy Stamps, #CMS212
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Bird Crazy Dies, #660954
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Crazy Things Stamps, #CMS237
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Crazy Things Dies, #660953
Clean Color Zig Markers
Derwent Water Color Pencils
Hero Arts MMH January 2017 You Are Loved Sentiment
Heart Googly Eyes {Dollar Tree}
MISTI
Dimensional Dots

Playing with these stamps feels like I'm home.  I love all the crazy animals Tim's designed and I always have a stash colored and cut, ready to use when the mood strikes me.  However, for this card, I made these characters just for this card.  I didn't want the birds to be too red or pink; in other words, I wanted the card and embellishments to say Valentine's Day - not the color of the birds. 

Mr. Bird

Also, it was important that the birds were looking at each other; and I wanted to color.  Before I get into the making of the card, I just have to detour for a quick second.  I was rummaging through my stamp pads and found my Versafine Black Onyx pad; I must have had this pad for at least 15 years {and five of those years were in storage} and I figured this pad would need to be re-inked, but I'd recently seen a card on Pinterest that used this ink and wanted to try it again.  To my surprise, there was NO re-inking needed!  This pad was so juicy and vibrant that I only needed to stamp with my MISTI one time! Only once! I am hooked on this pad again.  It's been taken out of the drawer and is living on my desk.  Simply amazing since every other black ink I've used on watercolor paper has taken at least two re-inkings to get a good image -

Ms. Bird

these images were clearer and crisper than I've ever gotten on watercolor paper.  So, yes, I've gotten my images happily stamped and I colored them in with my Derwent Watercolor pencils first, and then added some more color using the Clean Color Markers.  I like using more than one medium to color; it gives me the richness I want and it's fun.

Angry Ms. Bird

I cut all my images and accessories, including an extra wing for our fancy guy, and assembled my birds.  I put a bow on her head and he's dapper with his hat and bow tie.  In his wing he is carrying a box of chocolate-covered birdseed to give to his honey.  As you can see, they both have love in their eyes; and, since they are birds, I expect they will get some "Love in the Air" as well <wink>.

A calmer Ms. Bird

One thing you need to be aware of when using shaped googly eyes is how the eyes are pointed.  See how she looks awfully angry in the above picture! Just a little thing to be aware of!  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.  You have an entire month to enter your Love is in the Air creation at Stinkin' Inkers; I hope to see you there! Christi


PS: As the requirement for Retro Rubber is to state how long I've had these stamps I'm going to say at least since April of 2015.

I'm entering my Bird Crazy Lovers in the following challenges:
a2z Scrapbooking - M, It's a Love Thing
Die Cut Divas - M, Love is in the Air, entry #2
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - M, #11, Anything Goes w/ a Critter {or 2}
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Love is in the Air
Retro Rubber - M, #79, Inspired by Love
The Paper Players - #379, Will You be my Valentine?
Just Us Girls - #426, Love
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

 

Roses are Red or What to do with Leftover Shaker Card Foam

I LOVE making shaker cards; even more since I discovered this foam that Kelley from Lawn Fawn inspired me to use {you can see her video as well as the foam I used here.}  Now I seem to have a lots of "extra" foam, so I made a card out of it! This is something new that I have never done before, so for all those "new" challenges, I hope this fits the bill! I made a bunch of roses that I really like and I might even make a wall hanging out of it!

What I Used to Make my Card:
Red Card Base
Die from Die-Namites, Rose Bouquet, #DN-1120 {available online}
Vellum
Embossing folder, Darice, Mini Hearts, #1219 223 {available online}
Alcohol Ink Markers
Red & Green Card
Foam from this card
Ranger Glossy Accents

First thing I did was die cut the roses. I wasn't sure it the die would go through the foam, but it worked perfectly!  So then I had these rose buds cut from white foam.  I wasn't sure what I was going to use to color them, but I figured

I had to start somewhere, so I whipped out my alcohol ink markers; I have a bit of every manufacturer {my generous friend, NanaConnie, sent some to me that she was no longer using - SO SWEET!} and took every red I could find.  It took me two days to color the flowers, mostly because I wasn't sure what they'd look like dry, and I really wanted a deep, rose red on them.   Once they dried, one of them had a sheen to it; no matter what I did, how many times I colored it, the sheen stayed.  What's a crafter to do? Make them ALL shine a bit - I covered them all with s light coat of Glossy Accents.  Problem solved.  Aren't we a talented bunch when it comes to problem solving?

Now I set the roses aside and began to construct the stem portion of the card.  I

cut the die out twice; once in green and then again in red.  The green card is the main design, the one I built off.  I manipulated the red cut by trimming out just the bow portion.  I attached the red card to the green card and then set about attaching the foam flowers; this is when I realized I was missing something - can you spot it? Yep, I am one flower shy.  I have NO idea where it went, but I suspect a Fabulous Feline might have been creeping on my desk.  I try to cover everything I'm working on so

they can't get to it, but they're pretty crafty little devils.  Luckily, I still had foam left and I cut another rose, colored it and glazed it with Glossy Accents.  This rose didn't take as long as the others since experience told me it didn't matter how long I let it dry or how many colors I used; and I had some idea which markers I used.  While this rose was drying,  I ran my vellum through my Big Shot using the Mini Hearts embossing folder and set it aside.

Finally all of the roses were ready to go and I glued the last rose to it's stem; the existing roses on the card had to be trimmed down since my foam flowers didn't quite match up to the roses on the green card.  I wasn't as careful as I should have been and I must have glued a red rose to the wrong green rose.  No worries, you can't tell.  I attached my rose bouquet to the vellum and then used the area under the bouquet to glue the vellum to the red card base.  There you have it! There are tons of ways to use leftover foam; any die will cut it, so even a tiny heart, star, or accent can be utilized - just keep the critters away!

 Since this is such a tactile card, it's going to be my mother's Valentine card.  She never has to worry about the roses wilting!  

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.  What do you do with your leftovers? Be it foam, shapes, whatever; I'd love to hear how you recycle your crafty leftovers.  Please leave your idea in the comments below and be sure there is a link back to your creation, if you've made one.  I'd also be grateful if you'd consider following me; I'll follow you back :)

Have a wonderful day! Christi




I would like to enter my Roses are Red card in the following challenges:
Die Cut Divas - Love is in the Air
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
AAA Cards - #108, CAS & All You Need is Love
Crafting with Dragonflies - #97, Valentines 

A Scrappy Valentine

As a crafter, I hate throwing out things I could possibly use in the future.  One look at my craft room {and craft storage!} will confirm this.  Recently, when I was making my I Love You Easel card, I had to cut off the very top of the papers from the DCWV stack - in order for me to properly position my paper on my Silhouette mat it needed to be 12" x 12" exactly and at the top of the paper, where the hole was, needed to be cut off.  Well, when I was done with my card I had all of these beautiful strips of paper.  Plus some extra strips on my desk from other creations.  I just could not let them go to waste, so my Scrappy Valentine was born:

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Literally Strips of Scraps {mostly from my Easel Card}
Neat & Tangled Floral Heart Stamp Set, Sentiment
Cutter Bee Hearts Dies, #54-80012
Hero Arts Ink in Lavender 
Pink Card
White Card

Close up of the Heart

There really isn't much to tell about this card.  I took the strips of extra cardstock I had and glued them onto a piece of white card {only because that was what I had lying on my desk} and waited for them to dry overnight under the tile on my desk.  I then trimmed the sheet of strips, attached it to my white card base, finishing off with the outer heart cut from pink card, and stamping and cutting the white heart after stamping the sentiment.  That's it.  Sweet and simple!

I hope to encourage you to use up some of your scraps! I appreciate your stopping by and I hope to see you again, soon ~ Christi

I am entering my Scrappy Valentine in the following challenges:
Die Cut Diva's - Love is in The Air
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges - Anything Goes
CAS-ual Fridays - Hearts, Hearts & More Hearts
Pixie's Snippets Playground - Must Use Snippets
Through the Purple Haze - Add Some Turquoise 

Also, Challenges for Days is having a List Manager Call - see here for all the details!! 

Exciting Happenings!!

Hi everyone!! Let's welcome in February with a BANG!

First, I am now on a NEW Design Team for Simply Crafty SVG's.  Sandy is extremely creative and I am honored to have this opportunity to showcase her talent! My first post will be on February 28th, so please stay tuned and support me on my new team.

Second - I am on Instagram.  I've made the plunge.  I will be adding the Instagram logo on to my blog as soon as I figure it out - however, please feel free to check it out at art-without-anxiety.  And I would love to follow you back, but I'm not sure how yet, so feel free to leave your Instagram address in a comment and if you know how to add the Instagram icon to a Blogger blog, please help me!

I appreciate all of my followers and I am getting ready to have another giveaway - you can see what I gave away last time by popping over to D. Ann's blog {she was my last winner.}   This will be open for international folks as well.  I've got to make up the graphic and decide when to hold it, but most likely it will be in March.  One of the rules will be you MUST be a follower of my blog, so why not get ahead of the game and follow me now?

Thank you so much and stay tuned!

Hope your day is filled with craftiness,
Christi

Hello Shaker Card

I wanted to make something my sister could have on her desk.  We don't get to see each other that often since she works all week and I work mostly weekends.  And every time we make plans, something seems to come up - this last time it was the snow.  So I made this sweet little shaker so she'd know I was always thinking of her <3

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card
Lawn Fawn Ready, Set, Snow Stamps , #LF973
Lawn Fawn Ready, Set, Shake Dies, #LF975
Acetate {I used an overhead projector sheet}
Hello stamp was a Lawn Fawn Gift {and the first time I've used it}
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Copic Marker
6mm White Craft Foam {Michael's}
Shaker Fill {explained below}
Washi Tape

This is the actual foam I used.

I filled the shaker with sequin hearts, some glitter, and a few black cats {I have a black cat and she adores my sister} and all of it came from my extensive stash of sequins.  I have quite a collection; aside from your average stars and cups, I have cats, chili peppers, flowers, dots, and much more.  These are all left over from when we used to actually use sequins as an integral part of our cards.  Not just one or two tastefully placed sequins, oh no - we'd plaster happy birthday sequins all over a card!

I digress.  I made this sweet shaker the same way I made the Happy Purrthday shaker.  The only difference is I made the shaker {which is the snow globe} the actual card instead of using it on the card.  I colored the bottom with a red Copic, stamped the "sending you hugs," cut the sentiment out, and attached it to the bottom.  I actually took a chance and stamped the Hello directly on the back of the card.

The inside

The Hinge

I used a piece of washi tape as a hinge - here is the inside of the card {I had already written in the card before I took these pics, so I blurred it out.  I didn't think you all needed to read the gushy sisterly stuff I wrote}. I attached the hinge to the back of the shaker, the back wall that actually holds in all the shake, and then just made another panel and hinged to that. You can sort of see what I mean by looking at the photo. Oh and I added a little red glitter heart that I had lying on my desk.

Here's another look

This set is SO versatile - you can make ornaments out of it for any season or use it like I did.  My sister just sent a text that she loves the card and people in her office want my blog address; I guess I did well! Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day! Christi

I am entering my "Hello Shaker Card" in the following challenges:
Die Cuttin' Divas - #354, Anything Goes
Unicorn Challenge Blog - M, #28, Anything Goes
Crafting with Dragonflies - #96, Anything Goes
Crafter's Castle - #1, Anything Goes
Scrapy Land - Anything Goes
As You Like It - Favorite Die & Why - this is my FAVORITE die set because I love making shaker cards and this makes it SO easy & fun! And Lawn Fawn products are just so stinkin' cute!

I Love You Easel Card

I hate to admit it, but this is my very first easel card, ever.  I was never good with patterns {even though there have been many of them floating around the internet}, all that resizing and the need to cut a straight line was just too much for me.  However, when I was browsing my Silhouette files I saw I had purchased one that was an easel card and today was as good a day as ever to try one out! And, honestly, I had a new DCWV pad that needed to be broken in.

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card
Silhouette CAMEO Machine
Lori Whitlock's A2 Easel Card Be My Valentine, File #117356
Hero Arts Stamp & Cut, Hello, #DC151
Core'dinations Pastel Pink Paper {used as base}
DCWV Copper Luxury Paper Stack {hope they didn't close!}
Wink of Stella in Clear
White Brad

Yes, I'm spoiled.  All those complicated cards are a breeze now thanks to the

The card closed

electronic cutting machines and all the dies that can do the hard work for you.  I don't care; I think this is a beautiful card! There really is no tutorial because Lori Whitlock has put together a fabulous one; it's a generic tutorial for all of her easy easel cards.  If you happen to have any type of Silhouette machine, consider purchasing the file for this card.  It was super easy to make and lots of fun.  

In fact, the card was easy to see how to construct just by looking at the pieces.  The one thing I

Ah ha! It's a brad!

couldn't figure out {before I watched the tutorial} was how the cards stayed "up" like an easel.  I realized I'd never looked that hard at one of the cards to see the brad!  How ingenious, and frankly, since these cards are so striking, who's gonna be bothered looking for how it works {well, I did, but only because I was making one}? 

I did discover how to fix a mistake I make often - putting glue on the wrong side of the cardstock.  At

least in this case I quickly wiped the glue off with a baby wipe and then covered the heart in clear Wink of Stella - ta da! No glossy tell tale glue marks on this heart! If you look closely, you can see the wonderful Wink sparkle.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my short post and my lovely card.  The patterns and colors of the Copper Luxury stack are perfect for any cards or projects you might have on your 'to do' list.  Thanks so much for visiting ~ Christi


I would like to enter my Love You Easel Card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Layer it Up
Cardz for Galz - Anything but Square {I hope this qualifies!}
a2z Scrapbooking - M, New to Me {never made this type of card before}
Joy Clair - Dec/Jan, Make it Pop!
Wednesday's Creative Inspirations Challenge - M, Something New!
Die Cuttin' Divas - M, Something New {2}
Fussy and Fancy - #204, Fussy and Fancy
SumMoreFun Mood Board - #20 

It's Written in the Stars

This is only the second time I've gotten to play with the Lawn Fawn Shadow Box Card die set, but I've had this card brewing in my mind since I bought the Upon a Star Stamps and matching dies.  I've had this set for a while but I have never used it; I just couldn't get this card out of my mind! Now that it's finally made, I can move on <grin>.  Speaking of moving on, I just placed another order with Dies R Us because not only are their die prices insanely low, but they now stock paper, adhesives, Distress markers, and SO much more.  If you haven't been to the store in a while, you need to GO!  Now let's get back to my card; I truly enjoyed making it and I hope you like it.

What I Used to Make my Card:
Black Card
Lawn Fawn Shadow Box Card Die Set, #LF1486
Lawn Fawn Scripty Sayings Stamp Set, #LF844
Lawn Fawn Upon a Star Stamp Set, #LF1407 {New}
Lawn Fawn Upon a Star Die Set, #LF1408 {New}
MISTI
Lawn Fawn Starry Skies Die, #LF1377 {New}
Star/Night Sky Patterned Paper {stash}
Banner - Silhouette Cameo {but you could use these instead}
Hero Arts Intense Black Ink
Scor-Tape, 1/8" size
Embossing Ink
Simon Says Stamp Detail White Embossing Powder
Watercolor Paper
Derwent Inktense Water Color Pencils
Light & Dark Brown Card
Silver Glitter Card
Wink of Stella in Clear
Acetate 

Like all fabulous Lawn Fawn products {the Shadow Box Card is a stand alone die, which means there is no coordinating stamp set}, Kelly has produced an amazing video that you can see here.  However, I changed my card up a bit.  I was inspired by this card that Kelly created {the owner and designer of Lawn Fawn}.  She used a piece of acetate to hold up one of her constellations; she talks about it in the video I referenced above.   Click on the image and you can see where I pointed out the acetate.  Like usual for me, the bunnies I used were already colored with Derwent Watercolor Pencils and cut out.  I actually have a few pairs of the rabbits and the foxes, which come with the Upon a Star set, all colored and cut out, ready to go for when the mood strikes me.

These cards are not complicated, but I took a few photos of how I made the card and how I changed it a bit.  

 On the right hand side, here are the two panels that were cut out from the dies, all the creases and tabs are folded. 

On the left you'll see the two panels attached to each other, but it's not time to do that yet.  

The background paper of the night sky was cut out and attached to the very back panel of the box prior to attaching the hills.

 Here are the panels - I cut out three of them - two I attached as instructed and one I kept separate to cut it down.  The third panel is what I am going to use to attach the acetate components.  This where I changed up the construction of the card.  On most of the shadow box cards made with the kit, there are only two hills.  I needed the third to attach my pieces that will look like they are floating {if it comes out the way I picture it in my mind}.
On the right are all three panels attached to the shadow box on one side.  The left shows the box constructed and how the first two panels {hills} can be seen, but the third one, in the very back, can't be seen.  

I put the box aside and began to construct the banner that I wanted to use. In the photo on the right, I show how I stamped the sentiment on the banner.  I used my MISTI to hold the banner and the stamp in place.  The sides of the banner are folded and I put sticky notes under each side because the stamp is longer than the banner.  This way the over-stamp won't get on the sides of the banner.

The photo on the right shows the banner stamped.  See how there was a bit of over stamping on the sticky note?


Here is a picture of the banner completed: 

Back to the shadow box; here are the three hills attached.  This is the view from the top of the box, the patterned paper is the back and the opening is the front.  On the left are some of the pieces I wanted to use in the shadow box.  I ended up switching them up, which I do quite often when making a card.  I think I want certain things and then I think other things will look better.

As I began to build up the scene, I decided I need a few bare trees to even out the box.  I cut out the small trees with dark brown paper and attached them to the second hill.  Then I cut out the skinny strips of acetate I needed to hold up the heart constellation; at this point I wasn't sure what else I was going to put in the scene.  

I flipped through my dies and came across the Lawn Fawn Starry Skies die set and decided a few glittery stars were just what I needed.  I cut out some of the stars from silver glitter card and attached some to the back of the card {where the patterned paper is} and then I floated some using the acetate strips.  I attached the bunnies and the banner; lastly, I used Clear Wink of Stella around the exterior of the box to give just a bit more sparkle.

On the right you can see a side view of the card.  It was a trial to get a good picture not showing the acetate!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I did making it.  Don't forget, the Dies R Us store is carrying more than dies now, check out the new and improved inventory of crafting goodies! Hugs, Christi

Another Look

Don't forget to join in on all the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  

There's  a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month

 and one lucky  randomly drawn winner will receive a gift voucher prize to 

the Dies R Us Store.  For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us 

links are provided below.

click below for:

STORE
CHALLENGE BLOG
FACEBOOK
INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

I am entering my It's Written in the Stars card in the following challenges:
Lawn Fawnatics Challenge - #21, Inspiration Board {see graphic below}
Daisy Chain Challenges - #15, Something New
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Add a Sentiment
Die Cut Diva's - M, Use or Do Something New
a2z Scrapbooking - M, New to Me
Cuttlebug Mania - Valentines
Crafting by Designs - Out of this World
The Rubber Buggy Challenge - #10, Valentine {see graphic below}