Thursday, November 26, 2009

Black Friday 55% off sale, explosion box and freebies.

Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving....and are ready to start on that Christmas wish list. To help you out Laury of Just Laury and I have teamed up to give you an amazing sale. See the Ad below for more details. Note: my membership club is already at a discounted price so it is not included in my store sale. Check out Laury's fab designs here and mine here. But don't go yet I have more to share. Oh and if you see any files you want but aren't listed in SVG format...simply purchase them in any format and e-mail me the invoice and I'll send you the file ASAP. My e-mail: shellysart@verizon.net



Sue Shaff made this amazing box that I would like to show you all! She made it with my explosion box, flower bow, and 3-D tree files. All available in my quarterly membership. You may purchase the membership here and make your own box. She also used Paperthread's Design's awesome 12 days of Christmas file available here.






You can click on the photos to see all the gorgeous details Sue added to each die cut.

Oh and in case you haven't heard of an explosion box. It is a box where the lid holds the panels together that make up the sides of the box. When you remove the lids the panels drop down (explode) and you can see all the goodies glued to the panels. Sue used die cuts but you can also use photos, poems, recipes etc.



Look I got one Christmas gift all ready to go! This will hold a gift card and I'm calling it done! I got to play with my set of copics for the first time too when making this project! Can you guessed what I used them on? Yep...I colored the flowers using my copics. I cut them on my cutter using my build a wreath file using Georgia Pacific cardstock. I got a little bleeding when I started blending but I think in this case it looks good. I have a ton of the Georgia Pacific stock so until I use it I'll just have to make due! What do you think? Did I do a good job coloring? Any tips on how to use these copics is greatly appreciated. I think it will be easier to color a digi stamp as the areas to color aren't as large and I don't have to worry about the colored areas drying out before I got to blend them.

The charm came from my Christmas word charms file. I placed multiple layers of gold embossing powder on the paper to make it look like faux metal. Click on the previews below to purchase the word charms or build a wreath files at 55% off today only!




Would you like to make an ornament just like this too? Okay well I'll let you in on a little secret. You can get this adorable woven basket ornament as a freebie on Laury's blog here and I'll have the flower and word charm for you as a freebie below.

Oh and the glittery button was painted with glitter glue and then I applied my paper button technique you can find more about it here.

Click preview below to download the freebie. The file contains the SVG, KNK, AI, GSD, and WPC formats. Even though it is free..it still follows my terms of use. I ask that you do not share this file but instead send people to my blog to download it themselves. This freebie will expire in 24 hours so get it NOW! Sorry freebie expired!

I do apologize. My frugal Friday $1.00 file conflicts with my black Friday sale..making it $1.35. I will offer this file again after the sale is over. Thanks for your patience.

I hope you enjoy shopping from the comfort of your own computer chair. I also hope you get some hand made gifts made this year for Christmas. After all those are the best gifts to give and receive...well besides love and kisses!

Shelly
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Technique Tuesday: Faux Stitching, Christmas boxes, and a freebie

Hello,
I know once again I'm late with my technique. I'm sorry. I won't bore you with a lengthy apology instead I'll just get on with the faux stitching tutorial.

Photo can be clicked on to make it larger.

Here's a picture of the completed card. I really do thing the stitching looks pretty real. But...if you'd rather do your stitching using a needle and thread instead of a pen you can still use the same technique. Just draw the lines in lightly with pencil or use a marker that matches your thread color.



If you'd like this technique and would like your own set of stitching rulers. You can purchase them here at my store. If you scroll down you'll see examples of the different stitches the templates will make.

Oh if you like the card file. It is available by purchasing my quarterly membership. Click hereto purchase. I think this is a great card to make masculine looking.

If you'd like to know how to do the bow...you can find it on Nicole Heady's blog here. You'll have to scroll down a bit. I did mine backwards as hers is tied in the back but I think it still looks good.
You can even use the buttons you made from my paper button technique found here.

I'd also like to share with you two boxes I have made similar to that spider box you all liked so much! First up is a wreath box. It's perfect for the upcoming Christmas season. It is only available by purchasing my membership here.



I also have a snowflake box to show you. This is great for Winter gifts that aren't necessarily Christmas gifts. This one especially looks pretty with a battery operated tea light. Click here to see it in my store.







Laury and I have teamed up to offer you a great sale at our stores at Paperthreads. The sale starts on turkey day and runs through the weekend and even Monday in case you have a busy weekend. If you can stop by and visit us on Black Friday you will get a whopping 55% off. If you can't don't worry you can still save on the other days too! Check out Laury's store here and mine here. Why not go over now and make your wish list!



Elizabeth and her daughter Sam came over to keep Adoree occupied while we took Tyler out to eat for his birthday. Elizabeth bought a cookie tree for Adoree to make. As you can see Adoree really enjoyed it! Thanks so much Elizabeth for playing with Adoree and filling her with sugar! LOL!

Okay now I know you are waiting for your freebie. Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my tut with you. For your freebie I'm giving you a stitching template ruler file so you can try the tut out for yourself right away! Click on the preview to download. In the zip file are the SVG, KNK, GSD, AI, and WPC formats. This file still follows my terms of use and I ask that you don't share this file. Instead send them here to download it. This freebie will be expire in 24 hours so grab it now. Sorry freebie expired!


Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all my wonderful blog readers and customers! Be sure to stop by Friday...I'll have a freebie then too.

Shelly
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Friday, November 20, 2009

Frugal Fridays: True Love Kit Just $1.00

It's Friday and that means It's time for another Frugal Friday deal of the week. For today only 11/20/2009 my true love kit will be available for $1.00. The sale will expire at midnight CST so hurry and cash in on this great deal! It really is a great file....the scallop rectangle mats a 4 x 6 photo perfectly! Switch up the colors and the paisley goes with just about any layout. I can definitely see it in reds and greens or metallic colors for holiday cards. Click on the preview to purchase or here.



Speaking of Christmas I'd like to share with you some fun and festive Christmas cards a very talented member of CDT named Lisa created. She used my notebook edge: shaped notes file. It is only available by purchasing my membership.



And....look she didn't stop there...two more cards posted below!



I just love all the little touches Lisa adds like the buttons and ribbon. Here is what Lisa had to say about her splendid cards...."The label is a modified version of Laury's file from last months card challenge. The border strip on this card is the negative image of the edge of one of the notes. Other elements are punches or my own KNK files."

Below you can see the actual file you get when you purchase the membership. Click here to purchase. You do get the flower and swirl too.



I'd also like to share with you the most recent file added to my membership. It's rather whimsical. Look closely at Mr. Tom...he is a very tricky bird! He is hiding the pumpkin pie behind his back. He is stating that if you are going to eat his friends then you don't get any pie! LOL! Corny I know but I thought it was nice twist to this box. You can just cut the front body twice or just have the wings hold a name tag or something instead of being corny like me! You can only get this file by purchasing my membership. Click here to purchase or in the Ad at the bottom of this post.



Another wonderful member of my CDT, Elizabeth helped me cut this at my house this past weekend. I love how it turned out and will be giving these as teacher gifts next week!


I'll be busy celebrating two birthdays this weekend hubby's and my son's! I hope you all have fun too! Thanks for stopping by!

Shelly
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Technique Tuesdays: Paper Ornament freebie and Happy Birthday Tyler!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER! My little boy turned 6 today! I can't believe it! He is growing so fast. Even his jeans we bought at the beginning of the school year are short! He eats like crazy but stays soo thin! I wish I could grow tall again! LOL! Daddy took Tyler out for breakfast then dropped him and his cupcakes off at school. He just loves riding in Daddy's truck and going out for breakfast! The teacher made him a party hat and he wore it all day! It was covered in 6s! Hmm I should take a photo of him wearing it before his sister gets a hold of it!

Okay now for the technique. I know it's a little late but at least this time it's still Tuesday! I must work on next week's technique early...Tyler's birthday party is Sat so we'll see! I found the technique for these cool ornaments on Carlos N Molina's blog. (Carlos has amazing paper items..his shoes look sooo real!) I can't take credit for the idea. Carlos created them and he has a video for you to view here. I did my own little tut in photograph form below too. I have provided you with the digital paper cutter file as a freebie at the end of this post.





Remember you can click on the photos to make them larger. I will show you some examples of one I made. But first let me share with you some things I discovered while making them...meaning things I goofed up and don't want you to.

*The center tube is much easier to roll if it is NOT cardstock. It is best to make sure your tube matches your ball in case it is visible between the paper strips. So if you have a thinner paper as one of your colors use it to cut the rectangle used for the tube.

*Very thick cardstock is harder to make form the curve of the strips. So you may want to "soften" by running a pencil down it as you would if you were curling ribbon with scissors. Making it curve as it will when you make the ornament.

*As you add the strips onto the top of the wire it will have a tendency to "pop" up so make sure you use your fingers to press down the strips maintaining the round shape. Also make sure at the very end when you form the loop that you have cut enough wire off. If there is any gap between the beads or paper circles then you need to cut more off. You need everything to be tight to have a nice round ball...or you will end up with an ugly cone!

*I was trying to use thing around my house so I used two different wires. One hubby gave me was a softer copper wire. The other was a stiffer wire 22 gauge I think...maybe 24. For this project the stiffer wire was better as the softer wire kept wanting to bend while I was making the ornament.

I know none of these hints make sense right now but you'll understand once you start actually making your ornament. Oh and these are really very easy to make don't be intimidated by all the steps in my instructions! Okay now on to my examples.




Above is one more tip....I think it is better to use cardstock for the circles but if
you want your patterned paper to show just cut two and glue them together so you have the stability of the cardstock and the prettiness of the patterned paper.

The pictures really don't do the ornaments justice. The glimmer mist has such a pretty gold sheen on it. The snowflake one is pretty too with the silver sheen. Tyler wanted me to make some of these to hang up for his birthday party! Hmmm now there's an idea! Don't know if I'll have time though! I'm giving the ornaments I made to the church for their craft bizarre on Sat.

Oh and for the snowflake one you can purchase the snowflake in my Festive Twig Tree file. Click on the preview below to purchase it. It's on sale the whole month of November!



I was trying to use things around my house...beads that I had and papers. I bet you if you went shopping though you could easily make these to coordinate with a birthday party or Christmas party. I'd love to see some done with glitter but I didn't have any loose glitter and didn't want to have to wait for the glitter glue to dry. You guys have waited long enough for this tut! Flocked flourishes would be soo lovely! If you make an ornament I'd love to see it email me it to me at shellysart@verizon.net. I'd love to feature it on my blog!

I'd like to share with you this pretty box Jan Walz made using files from my quarterly membership club. I love the burgundy and evergreen colors she used and the felt embellishments.



If you'd like to make a box like this of your own then click on the Ad below to purchase my membership. (It's a great gift to mail as you can lay it flat to send it off!) I promise to offer a variety of boxes, embellishments, cards, and home decor items. If you scroll through previous posts you can see some of the files I have offered already in the membership. All files will be in SVG, KNK, GSD, WPC, and AI formats.



Wow! I didn't realize this post had gotten soo long! Sorry! I guess I'd better stop blabbing and give you the freebie I promised. This is totally a time saver. You can use your digital paper cutter to cut the ornament pieces and not fuss with measuring. (I despise measuring!) KNK, SVG, GSD, AI, and WPC are included in the zip. This file still follows my terms of use. Please do not share this file instead send others to my blog to download it. Click on preview to download.



Thanks for letting me share with you this little ornament. I do hope you are inspired to make one too and will share you creation with me! I'm ready for a snoozers!

Goodnight! Be sure to join me Frugal Fridays where I feature 1 file for $1.00 for 1 day only!
Shelly
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Friday, November 13, 2009

Frugal Fridays: Notepad for $1.00..great stocking stuffers and teacher's gifts!

Hello everyone,
It's finally Friday! I have a good friend Elizabeth (aka scramper75) coming to visit this weekend! I can't wait to see her and hopefully get in some crafting time!

Speaking of Friday it's time for my frugal deal of the week. Today only you can get my Notepad with Cover file for only $1.00. This low price will expire at midnight CST today (Nov. 13, 2009) so hurry and get this great item before the dollar days are gone! This makes a great stocking stuffer! I like to keep one in my purse for jotting down things and keeping the kids occupied while waiting. This would also be great as a teacher's gift. It fits perfectly inside Sam and Hailey Design's all purpose treat box (see an example of this in my store here). You can place a tea bag or snack size candy bag in it too. You could even put a mesh bag filled with potpourri inside and use it as a drawer scent. Click preview below if you'd like to purchase it for only $1.00!

(Just wanted to share with you a tip....if you don't have any double sided paper make your own by using spray adhesive to adhere two sheets together...if your machine is capable of cutting heavy layers you could even do a two thin pattern papers and a solid cardstock layer in the middle!)


I wanted to share with you a card I made. See the snowflake? I used the same technique I used to do the the buttons on my previous post. (If you missed it scroll down). I started with only 1 white snowflake then several layers of poly sparkle embossing powder. I am simply amazed at how this turned that paper into a sparkly plastic type of material. I can't wait to make more!



Photos just don't do justice to how pretty the snowflake is but here is a close up and you can kinda tell how it looks like glittery plastic.



If you are interested in purchasing any of the files I used for my card click on previews below.



Kelly's baby will soon be here yet she continues to amaze me with all the wonderful projects she keeps cranking out! I remember my last few months...I was sooo tired and miserable...barely able to walk let alone be creative. I'm so proud of Kelly and how she's fairing this pregnancy sooo well! Okay now to share some of her creations!



Isn't that card adorable! I love seeing my build a.. files put to use. Everyone makes it their own unique creation by what they choose. Kelly used my build a turkey file. Click below to purchase. It's on sale the whole month of November!






Kelly put another one of my build a files to good use. This one uses my build a snowman file. I love the expression she chose. Did you see the cuttlebug embossing folder matches the background paper perfectly! Kelly is definitely the queen of embossing! It is soo funny..many times when Kelly creates something I see she used papers I have in my stash. I even have that ribbon too! Thus making it easy to copy her creations! I wish her and I could go shopping together one day...we have similar tastes it seems and I know we could spend a boat load of money together no problem! What's that they say..."Great minds think aike!". Click below if you'd like to purchase my build a snowman file.

Oh I almost forgot to mention. All of these cards were based on a sketch on Mojo Monday's blog. I am using it for my monthly card sketch challenge on the Paperthreads forum. If you participate you get a free file from me. Then all who post a card get their name in a drawing for another file from one of the other PT designers. If you like to join click here. You do need to be a member of the PT forum but registration is easy and free!


Have an amazing weekend! I hope you'll stop by next Friday for another $1.00 steal!
Shelly
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Technique Tuesdays: Making a 3-D Paper Button, a freebie, and membership file peek.





I love this technique! It is soo easy to do and a great inexpensive way to get coordinating light weight embellishments for all your paper crafting project. Oh I almost forgot I did not create this technique....you can find the original amazing tut by Fraulein here.

A couple hints:
*Be careful when you sand your buttons..don't sand so much you loose the shape of the button. Umm a hexagon can quickly turn into a circle before you realize it (don't ask me how I know this!--tee--hee)

*If you have access to Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel use it as you will get amazing looking buttons without all the work of adding layer upon layer.

*You can use any type of glossy accents in place of the embossing powder but you will need to leave your buttons set for a long time probably around 8 hours depending how thick you put on the liquid. You will have a hard time avoiding the holes using this but you can use a hole puncher like a Crop-a-dile to punch the holes after completely dry.

Plain buttons are wonderful but....there are soo many options for decorating your buttons. I will share only a few below.





Remember you can click on the photos above to see them larger and see the details of the buttons. All of the buttons I used are in my buttons galore file. Click below if you'd like to purchase it.



Below is my completed card using one of the buttons I made. You can see it in the center of the flower. I just love how it coordinates with my background paper of my card! It's hard to tell in the photo but I used Copic At You Spica glitter markers for the Greeting on the purple letters and black letters. I just love these markers...the subtle glitter is great as it doesn't fight with the dramatic glitter of the swirly (used glitter glue on it).



If you like the notebook edge block pictured on my card you can only get it by purchasing my quarterly membership. Posted below is a peek at the whole file you will get if you pay for the membership.



My card is going to Janice, Jan's (Sam & Hailey Designs) mother who is undergoing radiation therapy for cancer. Shirley Clark of Paperthreads started a wonderful program where you mail her a card for the chosen recipient and she send the cards to the person in need of cheering up. It's absolutely wonderful! You can find more info about this on Shirley's blog.

If you would like to purchase my membership you can do so by clicking the Ad below. I have posted an explosion box with a flower/bow and 3-D tree plus the one above so far (scroll down to previous posts to see images of these). I have many more files planned which will appeal to all types of paper crafters including home decor, cards, and boxes.



Thanks for stopping by and letting me teach you about paper buttons. As a parting gift I'd like to give you a set of button files so you can start making your own 3-D paper buttons right away. The zip will include the AI, KNK, GSD, WPC, and SVG formats. Even though this file is free it still follows my terms of use (included in zip). Please do not share this file. Send them to my blog to have them download it. Click on preview to download. It will only be free for 24 hours so grab it quick!

Freebie expired sorry!


I'm off to go shoe shopping...I hate my wide feet! Looks like my daughter is going to have the same problem! UGH...didn't want to pass that trait on to her!

Have a great evening and once again I apologize for being late! Hope to see you next week for another technique. Also, if you come across any techniques you just love. Please pass them along so I can feature it on my blog. E-mail: shellysart@verizon.net

Shelly
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Monday, November 09, 2009

New Blog candy winner and more

Howdy,
I'd like to first of all thank everyone who participated in my sale on Sat and all those who grabbed the freebie and liked it! I'm debating making a set of these to put in the store. If you think that is a good idea please leave me a comment.

Secondly, I had some blog candy to give away during the blog hop in Oct. It has been over a month and the winner has not contacted me soooooo...........Random.org has picked another winner...and the winner is......




Congrats Vanessa please contact me at shellysart@verizon.net so I can mail you your prize.

Third, I know someone else who is distributing some totally awesome blog candy (better than mine...tee hee!) Beth is giving away a $50.00 gift certificate to Oh My crafts Visit her blog here for the rules. Hurry she will be picking a winner on Nov. 14th. Oh my crafts has some amazing stuff and I'm sure I could spend $50.00 very easily. It is sooo generous of Beth to give away such a great prize! Good luck everyone!

I have a few new files in my store check them out below. Click on the preview to purchase them.





Be sure to join me tomorrow for another post in my Technique Tuesdays series! Thanks for stopping by! Have an awesome day!
Shelly
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