Showing posts with label digi stamp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label digi stamp. Show all posts

Friday, June 25, 2010

Frugal Fridays: Great Outdoors Title today only $1.00, get organized and sneak peek

Hello everyone,
      I hope you are all enjoying your Summer.  I can't believe it's almost July!  Time sure does fly by when most of my time is spent sitting my daughter on the potty and hoping that eventually she'll get the idea!

      Now on to the Frugal Friday special.  For today only you get my Great Outdoors title  for $1.00 only.  Hurry though the price will magically disappear when the clock strikes midnight EST Friday, 6/25/2010.   This title is great for hiking, boy and girl scout camp outs, even just lounging in the hammock!  Click words below to purchase.

Great Outdoors


CDT member Aussie Caz even used this title in a wonderfully creative way.  She used it in this digital scrapbooking layout.  I just love how it turned out..don't you!?!


Well I have been very busy on potty duty and other members of my CDT have been busy too so I don't have any other paper crafting projects to share with you.  But...you know I like to "blab" so I can't end this blog post here!  So please read on and at the end of the post you'll see a sneak peak at a digital stamp coming soon to the store and I hope you'll give me an opinion on it.


Yipee..eventually I am getting my very own craft room.  It may be a while until it's ready but I'm very excited about it.  So much so that I have started figuring out ways to organize all my stuff so I can be productive in my craft room.  So I figured I'd share my finds with you here so hopefully it will help you get organized and in turn you'll have more time to make wonderful paper crafting projects.

When I scrapbook and card make the very first thing I think about before I start the project is figure out my color palette.  So I thought about that when I began looking for organizational ideas.   I have a ton of embellishments and really need a good system to store them.  While googling I came across Nicole Heady's wonderful studio here.  She has all her embellishments grouped by color.  So when she needs a pink embellishment she grabs her pink box and she's good to go.  So I had two compartment boxes here and I set to work.



I just did this a couple days ago so I'm not sure if I'm going to like it but in theory it looks great!  Now all my ribbons, fibers, brads, buttons etc all  in one box.  So if I need a pink flower I grab this box..need a pink ribbon..grab this box too.  Now it's not an exact science as some of my ribbons have more than one color.  But since the boxes are all nice and organized and everything is visible it's not hard to look in each box if need be.  Rather than thumbing through many....many different boxes and stuff to find what I need.  Now for a little details on what I have in the box.

*small brads and eyelets are in little snap shut containers.  These were in a bead organizing box all colors together previously.  So I kept my eyelets and brads in these boxes allowing me to keep various things in one compartment of my pink box.

*larger patterned brads are stuck through cork boards keeping them nice and visible

*fibers are in mini zip bags.  I purchased a lot of fibers through E-bay many years ago they had each fiber in a mini zip bag.  I love this as it keeps the fibers contained, organized and untangled.  I plan on getting more of these bags for my other fibers..I saw some at Wal-mart.   They are also great for the small brads and stuff too...allowing for more than one item in each compartment of my box.

*Aren't those little rolls of ribbon cute!  No it didn't take me a lifetime to roll all those ribbons up.  I used a very nifty tool to help me roll them in literally minutes.  The ribbon spooler is sooo handy.  It is one of my favorite tools.  When the ribbon is spooled in this way you can fit soo much ribbon in a very small space.  Which is good for me since I have a massive amount of ribbon.  Can you say "ribbon addict!" 

I do see two problems with this method.  One I only have two of these boxes which I bought years ago when I first started paper crafting and all of my embellishments fit into these two boxes.  So now I need to find more boxes ....keeping my fingers crossed I can without spending a fortune.  I love these boxes because the dividers slide out giving me a bigger compartment.  Two there is no room to grow at least in this box!  I kinda went nuts with pink...did the red box and it's pretty empty!  I think that is because when I had a little girl after doing boy layouts for soo many years I went pink crazy!  So I thought about an alternative if it costs too much to buy a box like this for every color.  I could buy some of those plastic drawers and do one drawer in each color and use the zip bags, tin containers etc to seperate items.  I'd have to dig a little because stuff wouldn't be as compartmentalized but at least there is room to grow and I just toss it in the drawer when I get something new.  This would take up more room though.  I do  think this method  will allow me to see what colors of I need more of and what I shouldn't buy again....ummmm...like PINK!  So what do you think.  Do you give this method a thumbs up or thumbs down?

Okay now for the sneak peek I promised you.  I have been working on this monkey digital stamp and I think it turned out pretty cute.  I'm not positive I like the squiggles by the leaves.  What do you think?  Please let me know either in comment on this post or the chat box to the right top of this blog.  I want to include some sentiments too so hopefully I can get this in the store by next week.



I'll end this post with some Summer Fun!  Last year we had a big inflatable pool but it was soo hard to clean and my kids don't stay in the pool they keep getting out and stepping into the grass and mud making the pool water messy.  So this year we decided to get a kiddie plastic pool that is much easier to clean.  However, it wasn't too small as I couldn't fit it in my van when I bought it.  LOL!  Hubby had to get it with his truck!  The kids love it and I'm soo glad!  One of their favorite things is to make us soup and tea using cheap plastic containers, spoons and watering cans.  Gotta love it when simple things provide endless entertainment!

Okay gotta go..need to go on a compartment box hunt!  Have a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!
Shelly

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Friday, April 02, 2010

Frugal Fridays: Binder Clip files for $1.00 today only, an Easter Sale and Freebie Time!

Hello everyone,
Easter is almost here! Can you believe it! This year is just flying by! We are going to decorate eggs soon. I can't wait! I'm soo lucky my kids are young and enjoy all these activities. Hmmm I wonder what the Easter bunny is going to bring them?! I can't wait to capture their excitement on film!

 

Before I go into the special for today..did you notice the banner above?  That's right I am having a sale to celebrate Easter.  You can get all my designs including cutter files, digital stamps, digital scrapbooking kits and templates for 40% off.  What a great deal!  If you don't have your Easter gifts done yet there may be something in my store that may help.  Why not stop on over today.  Click here to get to my store. 

It's Friday so that means it's time for my Frugal Friday special. For today only I am featuring my build a binder clip cutter file or my digital build a clip template used for digital scrapbooking and card making for only $1.00!  Hurry though the price will magically disappear at midnight EST today April 2, 2010.  See the clock on the right to know what time it is in the PT store.  Click previews below to purchase either template or even both if you wish.   Before you leave though check out what my CDT has done and get your freebie.





Check out what the my newest talented team member did with the build a clip template and my Spring Splendor Digital Scrapbooking kit which is on sale the whole month of April!


That flower photo is simple gorgeous and I love how she attached the photo with the binder clips.  The title that comes in the kit is a perfect match!  Yeah!  Oh and incidently my Ad was made using this kit too.  It's so refreshing to see Spring colors.  This kit just puts me in a good mood...can you tell!?!  LOL!

Another talented CDT member Brett Robinson was having fun with my Spring Watering Can Digi stamp.


The card in the top left  card uses metallic pens and Doodlebug glitter.  The label is from  Jen Adkin's Designs Heritage Labels 1 .  I love the the cardboard background..so perfect!  The bottom right card uses water colors.  I have tried other painting mediums but never water colors.  After seeing Brett's coloring I may have to give it a try.  The brown paper is from Sixxix Little Sizzles Textures.  Another great background!  Wonderful job Brett!  If you'd like to purchase the watering can digi stamp please click on the preview below.




I showed you the Easter chick on a previous blog post.  Well it's finally available in my store.  I colored him with my Copics in and I think he turned out pretty cute. There's not a lot of detail in this little guy so the coloring goes quickly.  So...it's perfect for that last minute Easter card and will also work well after Easter because of all the sentiments I've included.   I would love to see him done up with some flocking.



Above is the card I created.  I got to use my Copic airbrush system again for the background.  It's soo much fun to use!  I'm so glad I bought it!  Once again I put the Transparent touches kit for March to use.  Even the buttons were included in the kit!  I won't bore you again by raving about this kit club but if you are interested just see my previous post here.  If you would like to purchase the Easter Chick digi stamp click on the preview below. 




Since I started using digital stamps, I have found it's great to use my cutter to help make card bases that I can quickly add my stamps to. These work work for regular stamps too.   My goal is to have a collection that will work for all shapes and sizes of images. So I'd like to share with you the card base I used for the Chickie image and hope to share a few more in the future so you can start your collection too.   In the zip I have included cutter files in AI, KNK, GSD, SVG, and WPC format.  I've also included a layered PSD file for those Photoshop users who want to do their card digitally.  I ask that you please do not share this file with anyone but please send them to my blog instead to download it themselves. My TOU included with the file still applies.    Remember saying thanks will keep the freebies coming.  This file will remain here until Tuesday.   Sorry link removed...look for this in my store.



Thanks so much for stopping by!  I'm off to eat lunch and color eggs!  Woo Hoo!  I hope you all have a fabulous Easter.   Don't eat too much chocolate!  LOL!
Shelly
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Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Technique Tuesday: Colored core cardstock and a freebie

Hello everyone,
Once again I must apologize...it is not Tuesday but of course it's Wednesday. I won't go on and on..just know that I am sorry! Now on to the technique!

I love the effects of the paper with the colored core that when you sand or tear it the color magically appears. However, I don't have it available in my neck of the woods. I know I could order it but...I have a ton of cardstock so I figured why not try making my own. Keep reading to find out how you can too! It's sooo easy!



Now for some examples. I'll post a completed card using my new colored core cardstock later on in this post.



Hints:

It is very important you don't use white core cardstock. Look at the edge of your cardstock if you see white then you can not use it for this technique. See if you sand white core cardstock the color will be sanded away and you'll be left with the white ebmossing instead of colored. However, if you want white embossing and you don't have any white paper then by all means go ahead and use the white core cardstock.

It is also very important to let you paint or ink dry completely before embossing. If not and you go to sand you will not get crisp colored embossing instead you will just streak your paint or ink.

In my #3 turquoise snowflake example I noticed the paper becomes somewhat thin in certain areas so I had to be careful not to sand too much or holes will appear

You can sand as little or as much as you like to make the color come through. If you get a few stubborn spots that won't sand away just use an emery board to concentrate on specific spots.

When inking or painting try to put on a lot of color..your cardstock color should not be visible. When inking press your ink pad or blending tool into the paper making sure the ink gets into those fibers. For painting dab on the paint again pushing it into the fibers.

I think this technique is a great way to make the most of your embossing folders. Plus with all the ink colors and paint colors available now a days the combos are endless. Pink/red for Valentines, green/gold for St. Patricks day, dark pink/light pink for baby shower. You could even choose your friends and families favorite colors or match a patterned paper. I know I'm excited to find a use for all the acrylic paint I stashed. I used to be a decorative painter before my kids started occupying my time!

Okay now to show you my card.



I once again tried my hand at coloring with my Copic markers. I was actually looking forward to coloring a smaller area as the ink started drying out when coloring the flower last week but.....this paper was giving me fits! I used Georgia Pacific and it has a tendency to bleed like crazy. I was always the good girl that colored inside the lines so when that ink kept creeping out of the black lines it was driving me nuts. It took quite a few tries and a couple coats of a workable fixative spray but I think I finally have a decent image on my card. I had to be careful not to color too close to the black lines especially with the darker colors. I will definitely be ordering different paper soon and seeing if that helps. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This being my only second try...they say three times the charm right! Hopefully, I'll have better luck coloring next time.

Oh I forgot to say I used At You Spica Glitter makers for the drawn bells. I also used an Elmer's white painter's pen for details. I have one more tip for you. See photo below.



I wanted a silver mat around my image but didn't have any silver paper...so I just ran ink around the edge of a white scrap and let it dry. You can also use your copics and the broad tip to draw a border on any old scrap paper to make a mat too! Sooo frugal..gotta love it!

If you like the jingle bell die cut I used in my card you can get the digital cutter file in my membership club. Click preview below to purchase. On the bell for my card I used some paint meant for drawing silver dots on fabric..probably not the best choice! I should have used multiple layers of silver embossing powder to make it look more like metal bell. Oh well live and learn!



I know I promised you a freebie. Thanks for allowing me to show you my newly discovered technique! As a parting gift I am going to give you the digi stamp I used on my card for free. I will be selling digi stamps in the store at some point in time. I am a little confused as far as what format you all would prefer: jpg., transparent png, tif etc. Also would you like to see a whole sheet of images so you can instantly print them without having to copy and paste? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Click on the preview to download. I have included a transparent PNG and a JPG. You do not need photo editing software just bring the jpg into MS Word and print. I am not sure what type of digi images you would like to see me put in the store. So please e-mail me at shellysart@verizon.net with any ideas. Oh and please do not share this digi stamp with others send them here to download the file themselves. Please abide by the enclosed TOU. This freebie will expire in 24 hours. Sorry freebie expired!



I hope you all have a wonderful day/night depending on when you are reading this! Thanks for stopping by. Join me here Friday for a Frugal Friday special...$1.00 file!

Shelly
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