The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,800 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 5 years to get that many views.
While planning this card, I had the perfect patterned paper in mind. It features a design of concentric circles in multiple colors. My plan was to cut a square piece of it so that the circles look like arches, acting as a sky (in sunrise or sunset, if you will) for a hot-air-balloon cutout. I thought the paper, which I’ve had for at least four years, would have been partially used but that I’d have enough for my creation.
I reached into my accordion paper storage, found the paper … and discovered a whole, pristine piece.
It’s common for me to have pieces of unused paper that are several years old. Unfortunately, the company that produced it, Scrapworks, may no longer be in business. Its last blog post was in 2008 and its website no longer exists in cyberspace. A rare, untouched piece of patterned paper? Not for long! Time for this paper to serve its crafting purpose.
A simple card can make a great impression. No embellishments or layers, just a stamp or two and one piece of cardstock.
This card shows off the cardstock’s subtle pattern of embossed polka dots, which doesn’t overwhelm little Woodstock. Add a bit of glaze pen, and you’re done.
The front:
The back:
I wanted to play with patterns this week, using different media and multiple layers.
For the background, I stamped the same image twice. I piled on my layers, added a lot of bling … and voila!
I’m the proud owner of several more design cards for my Making Memories Slice Elite (special thanks to my sweet husband), and I couldn’t wait to try one out.
When I saw the tandem-bike design on the “Grandma’s Attic” design card, I knew what I wanted to create.
The card below has two secrets: The clouds are not really clouds, and the white textured paper is a “recycled” item. I can’t believe I don’t have any cloud stamps or die-cuts, but I do have a set of interchangeable cupcake stamps (which I used for this card). Two of the frosting stamps in the set look like clouds. I stamped them on textured white cardstock from a small packaging box for jewelry (for more on “found” items, go here).
This 5-inch-square card is made from pearl-foil cardstock, which is something I had not seen before. It offers a subtle sheen, which I really like.
One trend that’s sticking around (har, har) in the crafting world is tape. Washi tape, a paper tape from Japan, is popular and comes in various patterns and colors. It can be easily repositioned and is versatile. Put it on paper, wrap it around an embellishment, use it on gift packaging … there are endless possibilities!
I have tape from Japan, but it’s not washi. It’s a shiny tape with a black-and-white pattern, and I haven’t used it since I bought it about a year and a half ago. It was time to break it out.
Out of the many, many stamps I own, none came to mind when thinking of what to use with this tape. On a recent trip to area crafts stores, I found the dress-form stamp I used for this card. Vintage-style craft products are everywhere. I saw Hero Arts stamps featuring images inspired by vintage advertising. I wonder what I could do with those …
The crafting world often draws inspiration from style trends. Vintage is “in,” and I’m loving it. Somehow, I’ve collected three different stamps of typewriters, and I’m sure I’ll find a use for all of them.
I also found a stamp set that includes an image of a rotary-dial telephone. For this card, I stamped in white ink, embossed with clear embossing powder and embellished with ribbon, a Fastenater staple and brads. If you have brads, a brad-hole punch is a must. I don’t miss the days when I punched my cardstock with a large safety pin.
April showers bring pretty cards … at least that’s how the phrase goes to me.
A rainy day inspired me to make this card and to show how to stamp on a transparency. As I mentioned last week, the key ingredient is StazOn ink. This ink is permanent and usable on many surfaces, such as metal and glass. It can be found in most craft stores. If you use StazOn, purchase the StazOn stamp-cleaning fluid. Otherwise, the ink will not come off your stamps.
To stamp on a transparency, ink your stamp with StazOn. If the transparency is for ink-jet printing, the transparency will have a gritty coating on one side. Stamp your image on that side. After stamping, let it dry.
To attach the transparency to cardstock, I recommend using a glue that dries clear, such as Aleene’s Jewel-It. Apply small dots of glue to the transparency’s corners.
I also used a ribbon punch on this card, which is a must for any paper crafter. It has its limitations in terms of how far it can reach, but it makes threading ribbons a piece of cake (mmmm … cake).
Spring is in full swing, and I’m thinking of colorful cards.
The card below is bold thanks to the bright pop of glittery orange from the embossing powder. I love embossing. It can get messy, with powder getting everywhere (much like glitter does), but the effect is eye-catching.
If you’ve never embossed before, be careful when using the heat gun because it becomes very hot. Don’t let the gun get too close to the paper. Also, don’t keep the heat on the powder for too long. Both can cause the embossing to look “overcooked.” When you turn on the heat gun, hold it upright for several seconds to safely heat it up. When embossing, heat the powder until it is “just done.”
Any stamping ink will work with embossing powders, but I recommend Versamark for its clear color and slow drying time. Although, when embossing in black, black ink will give the embossed image a more intense color.
Years ago, I bought a piece of paper that has a pattern of broken sheet music. I bought it because I was a “band geek” from elementary school through high school, and nostalgia kicked in. I hadn’t thought of a use for it, though, until recently. I remembered a bird stamp I’ve had for a couple of years, and something clicked.
I suppose the lesson here is that those old pieces of patterned paper that have gone unused may one day become a part of someth
ing great — you just have to wait until the right ingredient comes along. Or until you remember that you have a stamp that would be perfect for it.
This card features some distressed edges. I have a distressing tool, but until I had that, I moved the paper back and forth between two tines of a fork.
I also cut out part of the stamped image to give some dimension. Detail scissors are key for this.
There are two benefits from this card: I used a paper I’d thought I’d never use, and I have a card for future use. The latter is good for me, because I typically create cards as I need them. It’s good to have some “emergency” cards on hand.
