Sunday, June 28, 2015

Birthday Card and a Birthday Gift Set

Dear Readers,

Today I share a birthday card I made for a dear friend. I also made her a note card and journal set which match each other. 


This time I managed to take a picture of my stamp masking. As you can see, I am really getting as much as I can out of the Polka Dot Greetings set from Die-namics. I can't wait until I have a larger collection of stamps to choose from, but seriously, this set is so versatile. I also used a sentiment and its corresponding frame stamp from a Martha Stewart stamp set that was on clearance. 


The patterned papers I used come from Echo Park's 6x6 Getawaybasicgrey 6x6 Aurora, and Crate Paper's 6x6 DIY Shop. 



--LJE









Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Local Baltimore Art: The Charm City Craft Mafia's Pile of Craft

Howdy, Friends, 

Last Saturday I attended the Charm City Craft Mafia Pile of Craft craft fair--so many amazing vendors. I wanted to share some of my favorites with you (not that I didn't love virtually everything). And not only was the art amazing, these vendors had some of the best business cards:


























Sweet Pepita: fabric art 

Tadpole Creations: items for kids

Designs in Metal: jewelry

linda johnson studio: pottery

illegible ink: prints

Cotton Monster: plush

Seeing in Fabric: sewn art 

kharaledonne: painted miniatures

The Broken Plate Pendant Company: re-purposed dishware

Jenny Jen 42: bird art

Bowerbox Press: letterpress

FUZZYMUG: pet portraits (I bought the beauties below! The notebook is an amazingly versatile size. Larger size also available. Custom pet portraits an option.)

Click here for a complete vendor list!

--LJE




Sunday, June 21, 2015

Father's Day Card

Howdy, Readers! Starting with today's post I am going to make an effort to post twice a week--Sundays and Wednesdays! Hopefully this will be manageable. :fingers crossed: 

I got the idea and technique for this card from this video by the Frugal Crafter


I'd already learned this from all the craft videos I've watched lately, but Lawn Fawn alphabet stamps are especially great because they are all rectangular and arranged so that they line up correctly on their own like movable type pieces. I used Claire's ABC's for this card, and you will definitely be seeing more of it. I am also continuing to use sentiments and frames from the Polka Dot Greetings set from Die-namics. I masked out friend and used Claire's ABC's to spell "Dad."

The patterned papers I used come from Crate Paper's 6x6 Farmhouse, Crate Paper's 6x6 DIY Shop, and basicgrey's 6x6 Prism.


This card is yet another situation where having a die cut machine would have been very helpful. 


Below see closed, open, and back. 

--LJE








Sunday, June 14, 2015

Set of Thank You Card, Set 2

Dear Readers,

Today I present the second of two sets of thank you cards I made as gifts. Both use one of the stamps from the set I previously mentioned receiving as a free gift (Polka Dot Greetings set from Die-namics). 


Additionally, in the same free gift package Simon Says Stamp sent me two different types of embellishments that I used for these card sets. I would not have bought them myself, but they ended up being great additions to these projects. The one used in the cards in this post are from the Prima Flowers Sunrise Sunset Collection. (Again, the free gift items can be hard to track down.) I used metal fasteners to secure the flowers. 


I also used Heidi Swapp's 5x7 Wanderlust Collection. I really adore this paper pad. I cut one of the sheets into sections to make the sentiment interiors. I love that the interiors then match but also all look a bit different because that particular paper sheet resembles swipes of paint in progressively darker shades. 


For these cards I tried out a technique I saw in this Soapbox Creations blog post with my new score board. I love when you can achieve an interesting affect with a simple process. 


--LJE











Sunday, June 7, 2015

Set of Thank You Cards, Set 1

Dear Readers,

Today I present the first of two sets of thank you cards I made as gifts. Both use one of the stamps from the set I previously mentioned receiving as a free gift (Polka Dot Greetings set from Die-namics). 


Additionally, in the same free gift package Simon Says Stamp sent me two different types of embellishments that I used for these card sets. I would not have bought them myself, but they ended up being great additions to these projects. The one used in the cards in this post are from the Prima Flowers Lady Bird Collection. (Again, the free gift items can be hard to track down.)


I also used Papertrey Ink's 6x6 Father Knows Best and some paper I had leftover from a long ago scrap booking gift set I never thought I'd use. 


I also throw in a tag I made for a friend's gift with my brand new tag punch! Way too excited about that one. 


--LJE









Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Birthdays, Books, and Comics (or Don't Dredd Your Birthday...hyuck hyuck)

Howdy, Readers, 

Today I've got a birthday card with a book theme and a funny (hopefully) birthday card with comic book cutouts. 


I love the basicgrey 6x6 Aurora paper pack so much that I bought a second one and the coordinating basicgrey Aurora Mini Library Pockets. I really like this set of five, but if you're interested, you might want to know that only two of pockets actually look like library pockets, in my opinion, and neither of those two have the standard library insert check out card. One has a decorative note pad look (see the inside of the first card below), and the other has a "to do list" that means to emulate a library insert check out card. Both of these are actual library pocket size which I didn't expect based on the mini branding. Two of the remaining pockets look like gift card holders. One has an insert with a decorative border and the other has an insert with the heading "notes from today." There is a also a pocket that looks like a tabbed folder. Its insert also looks like a sheet with a decorative border. So, not exactly what I thought it would be, but I do recommend. I also bought the coordinating basicgrey Aurora Die Cuts and Transparencies. I haven't used these yet, but they are a wonderful addition if you love the paper pack as much as I do. Some of the transparencies look like they would make great mini windows. 


For these projects I also used Pebbles' 6x6 Front Porch, Authentique's 6x6 Classique: BeautyCrate Paper's 6x6 Farmhouse, Crate Paper's 6x6 DIY Shop, Echo Park's 6x6 Getaway, and other assorted papers. 


But, perhaps the really exciting bit for me as a card crafter is that I used stamps for the first time. I was trying to avoid that rabbit hole, but Simon Says Stamp sent me a free gift that included stamps! I didn't think I would like a stamp set so much, but I really love this one. It is the Polka Dot Greetings set from Die-namics and arrived with a coordinating die (too bad I'm not ready to buy a die cut machine). Unfortunately, I think they send out of stock or discontinued products as free gifts. Nonetheless, this stamp set is great because the sentiments are versatile, and there are three frame stamps that can be interchanged or not used at all. I was especially pleased with myself for successfully masking out all but one word on the birthday stamp on my first time out on the second card below. I guess I've watched that many craft videos! 


When I picked up ink and acrylic blocks at the craft store, I also picked up some alphabet stamps. At the bottom you can see the little logo I made for myself. This could be the start of a long rabbit hole...(Hint: If anyone feels inclined to buy me a gift, I've been eyeing the Lawn Fawn Check This Out stamp set for months. And by "eyeing," I mean I refuse to close the browser tab.)


Until next time,

LJE