Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  I took a bit of a break from the blog over the holidays, but I am back with a fun post to start my second term on the Trendy Twine Design team. That’s right, Lesley kept me on for a second term and I am tickled pink…and green and white actually!  Today I get to share my new favourite twine colour - Watermelon Taffy!  It’s a combination of pink, green and white – and with my two little gals, I know that this is going to end up on so many projects.  But for now, let me show you the first one:

This little project is a gift card holder!  Created with some Echo Park Springtime paper (I know, a bit ironic), the top white part of the mitten actually pulls out to reveal a coffee card from my Canadian favourite - Tim Hortons!

I love this picture because it really shows off the cute colours in this twine!

The design is really simple – just make sure you make your mitten wide and long enough to store the card, cut two, and adhere only around the edges!  I swear, it is almost that easy!

I added a little tag with a message, but you could easily include a stamped image, or even a spot for a personal message!

So come on over to Trendy Twine this month and join us for the challenge!  You don’t even need TT to enter!

Thanks for stopping by and see you soon!

Owl Always Love You – A Candy Bar Slider tutorial

Project Title: Owl Always Love You – Candy Bar Slider

Before I started scrapbooking and chatting with crafters all over the world, I had no idea there were so many owl fans!  I agree that there is something endearing about these little creatures, and their cute sound is full of sentiment potential!  So this month, in honour of all of my CropChocolate friends who are fans of owls, I decided to team up owls and chocolate! Oh, and few hearts too!

Materials:

1. 1 candy bar (Ritter Sport used in this project)
2. 1 piece of plain colored cardstock for body
3. Scraps of black and white cardstock for eyes
4. Adhesive
5. At least 1 piece of patterned cardstock for feathers / beak / feet

• Blue Owl – MME Good Day Sunshine collection
• Pink Owl – MME Quite Contrary

Instructions:

Slider:

1. Cut a piece of cardstock that is 4″ high by 9 1/8″ long.  If you are using a different candy bar, measure the wrapper to determine the height and length you will need to cover your bar (see video for description of included measurements)

2. On the front, top edge of your wrapper (the widest section), cut out a half moon shape that runs from one side to the other.  This will give your wrapper an “owl shaped” head.

3. On the same top edge, find the middle and measure down about 1/4″.

4. Press the front section down so that it lines up with the back section and punch a hole at the marked location, making sure the hole goes through both sections.

5. Measure out a piece of ribbon that is 4X the height of your wrapper. If you are using a Ritter Sport bar, your ribbon would need to be 12″ in length.

6. Thread the ribbon from the front section through to the back section.  Center the ribbon so there are equal amounts sticking out the front and the back.

7. Place your candy bar in the wrapper, pushing the ribbon down as you insert it into the wrapper.  Tie a bow at the top. Your candy bar should now slide up and down into the wrapper when you pull up on the ribbon.

To embellish:

1. Cut out at least 15 1/2″ hearts.  Apply the hearts upside down with adhesive starting at the bottom edge of the wrapper and working your way up  - 3 rows of 5 hearts.  Adjust according to your candy bar dimensions.

2. Cut out 2 hearts that are at least 2″ in height.  Apply upside down on the side edges of your wrapper for wings.

3. Cut out 2 – 1″ hearts and attach to the bottom edge for feet.

4. Cut out 1 – 1/2″ heart and attach as a beak.

5. Using overlapping circles, cut out eyes and adhere to wrapper.

6. If desired, add a message to the back of the wrapper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdN0WrPzglM&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

A Stacked Slider Tutorial

It was recipe challenge time over at CropChocolate this month!  The challenge for the design team was to come up with a project that included 3 metals, 1 decorative edge, 3 patterned papers and a fiber of some sort (ribbon, twine, etc.).  The 3 patterned papers reminded me of a stacked slider card that I have been wanting to try out, so I decided to give it a go.

This pretty card was made for my sister in law for her birthday in September.  Here are a few instructions if you would like to give it a go!

Made with Making Memories embellishment paper (Whimsy), this card style has “slid” into top spot for me!

Supplies:

- Patterned Paper- Making Memories Whimsy Embellishment paper (A 12X12 double sided sheet of paper will work great for this project, just make sure that the paper is not too thick as there are quite a number of layers in this card. One sheet will make all three strips, forming the tiers of your card (3 tiers in total).

- Fibers – Celebrate It Basic Narrows

- Ink – Distress Ink (Broken China)

Instructions:

Card Base:

1. Cut three strips of paper to the following lengths:

• 4″X12 (Mark as “A“)
• 4″X10 1/2″ (Mark as “B“)
• 4″X 9″ (Mark as “C“)

2. Take tier C and score at the 4″ and 8″ marks.  Fold.

3. Take tier B and score it at the 3 1/2″ and 7″ points.

4. Take tier A and score it at the 3″ and 6″ points. 

5. Cut a coordinating piece of paper approximately 2″ by 3″.  Fold in half and adhere to the top center of tier A.  This will be the pull tab that the recipient of your card uses to pull out each tier of the card so make sure to use a good amount of adhesive.

To create the first sliding mechanism (use tiers C and B)

6. Using tier C - On the one of the panels created by the fold, place your ruler at the top edge of the tier and measure/mark 1″ from the fold and 1″ from the edge of the paper.

7. Place your ruler parallel to the edge of the paper at one of your 1″ marks and draw a line downward that starts 1/4″ down from the top and continues for 3 1/2″. You should now have a line that starts and ends 1/4″ from the top and bottom edges of your paper.

8. Repeat step 6 with the second mark.

9. Use a paper cuter or utility knife to cut along the lines you have drawn.

10.  Repeat steps 5-8 for tier B.

11. Using a scrap piece of thick cardstock, cut 2 pieces of paper that is about 3/4″ wide and 3″ long.  This piece of paper will be the piece that slides up and down on your card.

12. Take tier B and place it down so that the wrong side of the paper is facing up. Take one piece of your cut cardstock and slide it in between the two cuts you have made (the two ends of the cardstock should be hidden, and you should see an exposed section in between the two cuts you made on the tier).

13. Apply adhesive to the section of the cardstock that you can see.

14. Take tier A, line it up with the bottom of tier B and press down to adhere it to the cardstock slider.

15. Apply adhesive to the top and bottom edges of tier B and close up the folds ensuring that the slider is hidden inside the folded sections.  

16. Repeat steps 10-12 with tier C.

17. Take tier B (which now has tier A tucked away inside of it), line it up with the bottom of tier C and press down to adhere it to the cardstock slider.

18. Close up the folds of tier C ensuring that the slider is inside the folds and apply adhesive to the bottom and top edges to keep it together as you did in step 15.

19. Decorate as desired!  If you would like to include a paper rose just like the one on this card, make sure to go and check out the tutrorial here.

And for those of you who learn visually, I’ve got a video of the process here for you too!

Make sure you come back and visit later this week because I have some fun variations of this card to show you!

UPDATE: Click here for some variations of this card!

Happy World Card Making Day!

Scratch and sniff the stamp...ahhhh...cherries!

Happy World Card making day everyone!  I thought I would take a little time to share with you a little thank-you card I made to celebrate!  This great idea for a pop-up slider card was one I scraplifted from a great video I found while I was out looking for ideas on creating pop-ups (you all know how I love my pop-ups).  There are so many talented ladies out there sharing their craft, and I have to admit that any time I am stumped for a new idea, I just head out there into cyberspace to see what everyone else is up to!  The mechanism is really easy, and I think the result is pretty special.  Check it out here.

As for the rest of the card, it is basic black and white cardstock embossed with Tim Holtz Embossing ink and clear embossing powder. The cherries and “thanks” are from the My Mind’s Eye Fine and Dandy collection. I have been neglecting my stamps a little bit in the last couple of months, so I wanted to pull them out and have some fun!  I love the look of clear embossing on solid colour cardstock – I need to see if I can incorporate more of this into my layouts too! Perhaps some homemade patterned paper is in my future!

So, in honor of WCMD,  I’m giving away blog candy!!! It’s a little surprise embellishment grab bag, including a few handmade flowers by me (I’m on a bit of a flower making kick right now…stay tuned for some tutorials).  All you have to do is leave a comment below sharing they type of card you like making the most!  Oh, and for an extra entry, post a link to your own blog showing a card that you make today in honor of WCMD (please link directly to your post about the card, not just to your blog).  Yup – two chances to win!!!  Check back Monday morning at 9:00am to see if you are the winner.

In the meantime, go get crafty everyone!