CARD & MATCHING ENVELOPE

Decorate an envelope while you are creating your card. All it takes is a small piece of one of the patterns of paper you are using. For this card, I tore the bottom edge of the patterned paper before I attached it to the card front. I also colored the torn edge by inking it with Fluid Chalk stamp pads. This is a great way to give it a vintage look. Decorating the envelope was as simple as tearing a scrap of this paper and coloring the torn edge with the same stamp pads. This was cut the size of the envelope and glued to the front. Now all that is needed is the name and address added to the front. This will easily go through the mail or makes for a nice look if this card is being added to a present.
The greeting for this card is a rub-on from a set of rub-ons by Bo-Bunny Press. There couldn't be an easier way to add words to a card and this set includes a number of greeting that work perfectly for Christmas cards.

Materials:
Solid cardstock – WORLDWIN Papers/Dark Heritage Gray/ColorMates
Patterned paper – Teal Floral & Newsprint Flat/Ancestry/K&Co.
Scallop Oval and Oval punch – Marvy
Rub-on Christmas greetings – Bo Bunny Press
Mini bronze brads – Karen Foster
Fluid Chalk stamp pads – Clearsnap
Scallop scissors – Family Treasures
Envelope – I Am A Scrapaholic December Card Kit

RAK winner

As many of you know we drew a name from all the comments posted on our new blog through the 18th to win a RAK. Well....we have 2 winners! I did not realize that we have two people with the same name ahead of time -I discovered it when I was double checking. So the easiest thing to do is give a RAK to both people. Congratulations to both TAMMYs! Please e-mail me your addresses and I will get those out to you!

Thank you everyone for visiting our blog! Be sure to watch for more great items and RAKS.

Saturday Pond Crafts Acrylic Snowflake Wall hanging


Ok, I have to say - this was SO FUN to make! I used the acrylic snowflakes in the Little Pill Kit to make this decorative wall hanging - my kids LOVE IT! (They think it's actually going to bring snow LOL!)

Here are the instructions:

1. First peel off the lining on the acrylic snowflakes (yes, Lynn is laughing at me right now)

2. Ink the snowflakes with a white ink (I used Colorbox Frost White which came in a previous kit)

3. Emboss with clear embossing powder.
Note: If you emboss with aluminum foil under the snowflakes, they will not warp as much. I tried it with and without the foil and I liked the without the best to add dimension)

4. Accent the snowflakes with stickles. I'm not too great at the doodling thing, so I placed a doodling rubon under the snowflake and traced it with the stickles.

5. Ink your grungeboard letters. I applied the white frost color first, let it dry and then applied a blue. Then I accented the edges of the letters with Cinnamon stickles.

6. Adhere the letters to the snowflakes - use a strong adhesive, especially if the snowflakes warped during the embossing process.

7. Connect the snowflakes with ribbon (I only punched holes in the top one), hang the mittens on the bottom flake and Wallah!

I covered the Cosco Cricket chipboard mittens with K & Co paper, some white Bazzill and added the ribbon. I punched holes in the tops of the mittens so I could hang them from the snowflake and inked the edges.

Close up of the detail.

CRACKLE PAINT-GRUNGEBOARD card
Grungeboard letters and Crackle paint just go together!!! One of the really fun things about a package of these letters is the variety of sizes that are included. That makes it a natural to mix the sizes for a great look. Here I simply painted the letters with the Ranger Crackle Paint. The letters already have a texture to them so the cracks in the paint are a bonus.This patterned paper by K&Co that is part of the December kit has a metallic bronze to the print, making it so wonderful for a Holiday card.

Solid cardstock – WORLDWIN Papers/Terra Cotta, Coffee Brown and Glorious Green/DoubleMates

Patterned paper – Burgundy Medallion Bronzed Paper/Ancestry/K&Co.

Scallop and circle punch – Marvy

Tim Holtz Grungeboard letters – Advantus

Fired Brick Crackle Paint – Ranger

Bronze stamp pad – BrillianceRibbon

Simple Holiday Card Set

Need a few last minute holiday cards? This quick card set is easy to make and very festive with the simplistic designs. Sometimes less is more and that's a hard concept for me =)! But, you can see that a few simple embellishments, stickers and patterned paper really jazz up these little cards.

Each card is 4" x 4" and I was able to make (4) from one sheet of cardstock.

Cut each card to 4" x 8" and fold in half. Embellish with stickers, brads, patterned paper, chipboard and glitter.

You could even give the entire set as a gift. Enjoy!

Crackle Paint Ornament

I loved playing with the Ranger Crackle Paint so much I thought why not try this yummy stuff on a glass ornament. These ornaments can be found at any craft store in all kinds of shapes and sizes. My first recommendation would be to cover the ornament in modge podge or a sealant because I found that the Crackle Paint does not like to stick to the glass as well as I hoped. Once you have the ornament sealed you can then coat it with the crackle paint. In order for the ornament to dry and not have to retouch the paint, I inserted the pencil into the ornament and let it sit for several hours. Once dry I then sealed it again with modge podge for added durablility. Adding charms or ribbons will finish up the project and make a fun, different ornament for your tree or to give as a gift.

Santa Snowman Ornament

The December kit was so fun to use. I absolutely loved the chipboard elements and had a great time using them to make my own ornaments for gifts and for our tree. I painted and pieced together the Snowman pieces to make my new friend :)

Once the paint was dry I added some doodling and some misc brads. Sticklers from the November kit were used on his hat and center portion. Added the ribbon scarf and he was ready to hang on the tree.

Photo Shoot Accordian Tag card/album

These Crafty Creations tags/card comes in this ACCORDIAN form. What is great about this is how easy it is to make a mini album, to create a card that opens and it is wonderful to display on a shelf or they can be cut apart to have individual tags. For mine, I wanted to use several little pictures of this Christmas photo shoot that I did with my grandkids. It opens to reveal lots of great accents and will look adorable sitting around during the holidays.

The added fun feature here is the Stickles that was added to the Queen & Co Self-adhesive felt. I used the Cinnamon that came in the December it. One big tip to this is it takes longer to dry on the felt so you do need to set it aside for awhile, even overnight.

Materials:

Accordion tag – WORLDWIN Papers/Tag Accordion card/Crafty Creations

Patterned Paper – Best Creations Inc.

Word Stickers – Making MemoriesCinnamon Stickles

Glitter Glue – Ranger

Fluid Chalk stamp pads – Clearsnap

Queen & Co felt ribbon

Red alphabet stickers – KI Memories

Red Plaid Ribbon

Snowflake punch – PaperShapers/EK Success

Photos

Directions:

1. From the one piece of the patterned paper, cut along the flourish design and the stripes to have a 12” band to place across all of the panels of the accordion tag. Ink all of the cut edges of this piece with the Fluid Chalk stamp pads and glue it to the panels. Let it completely dry before folding on the fold lines of the tags. Also ink the outside edges of the tags.

2. I printed out my pictures 1 ½” square and when I cut them, I left a small border around each picture. This makes them look more like pictures that were processed at a lab. Run a Fluid Chalk stamp pad along all of the cut edges of the photos. The Fluid Chalk stamp pad dries quickly and it doesn’t smear. Set them aside to dry for a little bit though. This just gives the pictures a little definition without needing to mat them.

3. Add the pictures and then all of the various stickers to the panels. Ink the edges of the stickers before adding them – this just gives them a little more of an antique look and helps them stand out a little better.

4. Add the sticker letters for the title, punch a small snowflake and add that to one of the “o’s” and attach it with a mini brad.

5. Add the self adhesive felt to the first, title tag and then covered the felt flourishes with the Cinnamon Stickles. This will take some time to dry because it gets absorbed into the felt.

6. Tie a ribbon in each of the holes of the tags and tie these in a knot or bow.

Merry Christmas Paper Tree

Using the papers from the December kit, I made this paper Christmas tree. Of course I first have to give credit for this inspiring idea to Jamie Harper - one of the most talented scrappers in the industry.

The body of this tree is a styrofoam cone from Michael's. I cut my papers into 1" X 4" strips and used straight pins to secure them to the cone. Then I added some of the MM holly berries.

For the title, I used white acrylic and chipboard letters. I coated them with the Silver Ice Stickles, let them dry overnight and adhered them to the paper with ZipDry.

Put a pretty bow on top and decorate you house or give as a gift this holiday season.

Altered Frame & Crackle Paint Tips.

by Elisa Kammerdiener

Supply List

• Picture Frame (Maple Lane ready to make frame)
  
• Tim Holtz Crackle Paint (Black Soot and Peeled Paint)
• Making Memories black paint
  
• 1 1/4 Die cut chipboard squares
• 1 sheet of pattern paper (to mat your photo on)
• Embellishments (rub-ons, ribbons, puffy paint, pen, etc)
• craft knife
  

Directions

1. Take your regular black paint an paint the entire frame with a thin coat and let dry.
   
2. Using your crackle paint (peeled paint) paint the entire frame. You want to paint it really thick as seen in photos below. Then set aside for several hours to dry.
3. While your frame is drying take your black soot crackle paint and paint 6 squares. Paint these with a thin coat as seen below. Set aside to dry for about 30 min
4. Once dry line your squares into a box and adhere your photo then turn over and with your craft knife carefully seperate your squares. once you have all 6 of your squares apart sand all your edges.
5. Trim your pattern paper to fit in your frame but be sure to make it a little bigger then the opening. If you are using the Maple Leaf frame I simply took out the insert and used that for a measuring guide. Once you have that done carefully insert it into your frame.
6. Center your squares and adhere them to the pattern paper in your frame.
7. Once your frame is dry embellish it with your rub-ons, ribbon etc.

I have been playing with Tim Holtz crackle paint since July and have come up with some tips I think will be helpful.

• Roll your crackle paint bottle in your hands for a few minutes. This will help stir your paint and warm it up at the same time. You will notice the difference.
• Painting a thin layer of crackle paint on your project will give your finished product a lot of very thin cracks.
• Painting a thick layer of crackle paint on your project it will give your finished product a lot of deep cracks.
• You do not have to be neat when using the crackle paint. It will all settle as it dries. I actually found that the messier I applied the paint the cooler my project looked as it dried. What I mean by applying it messy is not just a straight line. Apply it on your project in every direction you can think of. Side by side, up and down, circular etc.
  
• If you are working on a smaller project and the brush that comes in the bottle with the crackle is too large for you to use. Then use your own brush. Not a foam brush. You need to use a bristle paint brush. You can find them at any craft store. Be sure to buy a nice one where the bristles won't fall out on your project.
• Drying time. Well that really all depends on how thick you want it. As I have told anyone who has asked me. Don’t start a project that you are going to use crackle paint on unless you are ready to give it the time it needs to dry on its own. Yes you can use a heat gun on it when it has STARTED to dry. As it dries it starts to crackle. However, it looks much better if you just let it do its own thing. So paint and set it aside for a few hours. If you painted it on thin it will not take that long to dry. Maybe 30 minute to an hour, but if you applied it thick give it a few hours.
  

Now I have some cool fun technique tips to share with you. It will for sure get you pulling out other supplies to use along side your crackle paint.

• Paint your project with a different color before you use your crackle on it. I painted a wooden haunted house with an orange paint. Then I took the “black soot” crackle paint and painted over it. When my crackle paint dried my cracks were all orange.
  
• Use your distressing inks over the crackle once it’s dry to give your cracks a more visible feeling or to give your crackle a different color.
  
• Use your embossing inks over the crackle to give it more dimension. Don't be afraid to stamp on the crackle paint with embossing ink and using your embossing powders. Put rub-ons over your crackle paint when it's dry. In other words don't be afraid to embellish your crackle paint.
• Use it on anything and everything. Your photos, Overlays, chipboard, buttons, felt, metal, glass etc.

Have fun with it. I hope this has given you some great ideas and helped you decide that every scrapper needs a few bottles of crackle paint. It really is a great product and one you will not be disappointed in.

Merry Christmas Star Ornament

This star ornament is part of the Little Pill #2 kit. I used Zip Dry to adhere the kit's patterned paper to the chipboard stars, and accented the edges with the Silver Ice stickles. Rubon a Christmas greeting, slide the ribbon through the top and this baby is ready to hang on the tree. Super easy and really fun!

Kit products:

Papers: K & Co. Ancestry/Burgandy Medallion Bronze, Tan Eye Oval & Swirls Froth
Saturday Pond Crafts 3-D Chipboard Star Ornament Bo-Bunny rubons

Stickles – Silver Ice

Making Memories Cranberry Gathered ribbon

Sparkle Chipboard Christmas tree card

It was fun to give some bling to this chipboard tree in a completely different way then I had ever tried before. The main secret is the embossing powder. It is Opalescent by Clearsnap. The longer you heat this powder, it changes colors. Very interesting. But before I used the powder, I did some prep work so the instructions below define that.

SPARKLE TREE/MERRY CHRISTMAS card
Materials:
Solid cardstock – WORLDWIN Papers/Pure White/Treasures
Shimmer cardstock - Bazzill
Circle template – Coluzzle
Patterned paper – Best Creations, Inc.
Chipboard tree and star – Cosmo Cricket
Rub-on Christmas greetings – Bo Bunny Press
Fluid Chalk stamp pad – Clearsnap
Glitter brad – Making Memories
Peel Paint and Scattered Straw Crackle paint – Ranger
White Pigment ink – Colorbox/Clearsnap
Opalescent embossing powder – Clearsnap
Gathered ribbon – Making Memories

Directions:
1. Cut cardstock to make a 5 ½” square and fold it. Using a circle template (I used Coluzzle) position the circle over the side where the fold is so that when you trace or cut the circle, you are leaving a portion of the fold in the circle.
2. Cut a smaller circle from the Shimmer cardstock and a still smaller circle from the patterned paper and glue these layers to the front of the card.
3. Using the Fluid Chalk stamp pads, ink the outside edge of the card and the edge of the patterned paper.
4. Using a hand-held punch, punch two holes INTO the fold and thread the ribbon from the inside of the card to the outside and tie this in a knot or bow.
5. Paint the chipboard tree with the Peeled Paint Crackle Paint and paint the star with the Scattered Straw Crackle Paint. Let the tree dry and while the paint is still wet on the star, sprinkle glitter on it. I used a very fine glitter.
6. Rub the white, Pigment ink stamp pad all over the painted tree, making sure to get extra ink along the edges of the tree. Sprinkle this with the Opalescent embossing powder, pour off the extra embossing powder and heat. This embossing powder reacts to the heat by changing colors a little bit depending on how long you heat it.
7. Attach the star to the top of the tree with the glitter brad and attach the tree to the card, putting it a little off center.
8. Add the “Merry Christmas” rub-on greeting to the card front.

Make your own postcards

Make your own Postcards by Marci Knecht

Everyone loves to get mail. In this electronic age of digital photos and email, sometimes we forget the joy and excitement of opening the mailbox and finding a letter, or better yet a postcard, just for us. Have you ever thought about surprising your family and friends with homemade Postcards?

Postcards are less expensive to mail then a regular letter, just 26 cents (within the U.S.) as long as it conforms to the USPS guidelines. A “Post card” must meet the following measurements:

Min. Max.
Height 3.5 inches 4.25 inches
Length 5 inches 6 inches
Thickness 0.007 inches 0.016 inches

It must be rectangular in shape, unfolded or uncreased, paper or cardstock.

Your design could range from a very basic 4x6 photo with no embellishment, to a more elaborate, intricately stamped, painted, embossed or glittered design. You can use strips of fabric, felt or foil for texture, collage scrapbook paper and small photos – your imagination is the limit. If you want to protect your creation, laminate it before attaching postage.

laminated postcard

non laminated postcard


Next time you’re wondering what to do with those little “scraps”, surprise someone with “happy mail”…..and make a postcard!