Stacy's Paper Crafts

Love Always & ♥ Miss you

Happy Friday! 

Just wanted to pop in today to share a few cards I created this past week. 

I'm so happy with how this card turned out. I used some Quickutz alpha dies that I've had for awhile. I finally got some extended sized cutting plates for my Cuttlebug. What a difference it makes when you have to cut multiple letters, shapes, ect. Love it! 

This card is a mish-mash of several different stamps from different stamp sets. I wanted to create a card that was gender neutral & somewhat "Valentine-y" but would be great to give any time of the year. 

This card is inspired by this weeks CAS-ual Friday Challenge, which is to create a project using alphabet stamps, stickers, or die cuts. Those triangels on the white strip, and arrows stamped on the card base are from a new stamp set called Trifecta,  by a newer stamp company called Mama Elephant Stamps. Love these stamps :) I can't wait to see what else is store for this company. 

C&S 223

Hi all! Just popping in today to share a more traditional Valentine's Day card. I used this weeks Clean & Simple Sketch for inspiration.

Over the last few years I've become more in tune with my "style" so I haven't purchased a ton of supplies. I tend to buy things that can serve more than one purpose, but sometimes that means purchasing 2, 3, & 4 sheets of a certain patterned paper! LOL This year I'm planning to use what's in my stash as much as possible so that I can purchase other things and not feel guilty about accumulating more "stuff."

I've had these little heart brads in my stash for probably about 8 or 9 years! LOL Yes it's literally been that long. For some reason that EBay auction for 50+ heart brads seemed like a good idea to me at the time!

 
But it also goes to show, that you never know when you'll find the perfect project for a particular item you've been hoarding in your stash... so don't throw away ANYTHING! LOL Just kidding :)

A Messy Valentine

Valentine's Day isn't a big to do at my house, but I always look forward to DS's class parties. But he's in middle school this year and they don't have holiday parties. But I wanted to create a few Valentine's Day cards this year anyway.

You won't find any pinks, red, or purples here! Just some cardstock, book paper, stamped images, inks, paint, distressed edges, messy stitching, and a mini heart die cut with a mini button & scrappers floss.

I've been so facinated by mixed media art lately. I tried to incoporate some of the layering techniques commonly used in mixed media and art journaling, with paper, paint, and inks.

This card was inspired by the works of Roben Marie Smith, LOVE her work! Be sure to stop by her blog and take a peek around.

 
 Thanks for looking!

 

 

New Year, New Craft Medium

One of the things I've been wanting to do for a long time is to explore other art mediums. I don't really consider myself to be an artist, but I'd like to be one! LOL

Anyway I've been watching a lot of art tutorials on YouTube lately and came across videos featuring paper clay projects. I figured that was right up my alley, so I picked up a bag/pack from Michaels around Christmas time and decided to play with it.

When I purchased the clay I initially thought I would use it to create ornaments for my Christmas tree, but time just slipped away and I never got around to making them. I started thinking about what else I could create relatively quickly just to see if this form of art was for me.

Then I remembered these little dishes that I bookmarked to my favorites. These are actually made from ceramic, but I thought maybe they'd work with the paper clay since it hardens as it dries.

So this is what I came up with...

I don't know all the specifics regarding the differences between different types of clay, but from what I can tell, paper clay is similar to polymer clay except that it doesn't require kiln firing or baking. You can just air dry your projects made with paper clay.

After rolling out the clay, I used a background stamp from Purple Onion Designs to add some texture to it. Then I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out my shape. I set it aside for about an hour and then began to mold the edges upward to create a little bit of a "lip" to give the clay a dish shape. After another hour or so I molded it some more, and repeated that a few times.

Then I set it aside for about 24 hours. I used white paperclay, but you can purchase it in a number of different colors. After the dish was hard, I painted it with red acrylic paint. I gave each side about 2 coats of paint, and then let it dry for another 24 hours. Then I applied a glossy varnish to give it some shine.

Not bad for my first paperclay project huh?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Speaking of love... I love that patterned paper! It's from Simple Stories Destinations collection. I love how versatile it is. I really didn't intend to use it this way but I love how nicely it works with the Valentine's theme. I hope that you get a chance to squeeze somebody you love today :)

 

Yellow is so difficult to photograph!

I suppose it doesn't help that it's been overcast and cloudy these last few days. I had to doctor up the lighting for this card a LOT.

This is one of  the other cards I created for PTI's digi image challenge the other day. I added some glossy accents to the bee after coloring it with Copic markers. 

This is the card I created for today's challenge featuring Hearts

PTI Products used:  Polka Dot Basics II, Text Style II, Houndstooth Background, Wonderfully Whimsical, Spring Moss & White Cardstock, Medium scallop die, & Fillable Frames #9 die. Other products used: Cuttlebug Heart die, scrappers floss, & mini button.

 Hope you're having a great weekend! 

PTI 5th Anniversary Challenge Day 2

Did you see the sneak peeks on Nichole's blog today? That coffee cup with hearts  is too cute, I can't wait to see the rest of the images/sentiments in that set! 

Today's Anniversary challenge involves using digi images also available on Nichole's blog. Here's one of the images I used. 

I paired this image block with a kraft cardstock base and a piece of spring moss cardstock stamped with PTI's Houndstooth background stamp using spring moss ink. Then I added a little rhinestone to the center. 

I created another card, but I can't seem to get a good photo of it, I may try again later today. If not I'll be back tomorrow. Thanks for looking :)

A Valentine for Him

 

Hi, hope you all had a great weekend! Today is my "Monday," DS had a teachers workday yesterday. I didn't craft this weekend but I did clear off the table today to make the a few Valentine's so I can get them in the mail early... meaning on time before Valentine's Day! LOL

 

This one has a more masculine feel, I really like how the grey patterned hears turned out. I stamped the images and layered them behind the white panel that I adhered using pop dots to give it some dimension. Easy peasy :)

Are you getting excited over all the CHA sneak peeks?  Here's a great website where you can check out a lot of the sneak peeks in one place...

CHA 2012 Sneak Peeks

I'm really looking forward to the new Unity Stamps Christy Thomlinson designed...

CT Unity Stamps I  and  CT Unity Stamps II

I'm still browsing the sneak peeks but those stamps and the album kit Simple Stories is introducing are definitely on my wish list!  Documented how fun is this??!

What's on your wish list?

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year! I'm back :) Yep, and I'm feeling totally inspired to create! I did not set any "New Years resolutions for 2012" but there are so many things I'd like to do in 2012. On the creative front, I want to scrap more, sew more, and play with paint! Painting is definitely something new for me and out of my comfort zone but mixed media & canvas art looks like so much fun! You'll definitely be seeing some of that on my blog this year.

I started cleaning my scrap room and got distracted LOL I decided to use up some paper scraps to create a few Valentine's Day cards. This is one of them. Not only did I use some paper scraps, but I also dug out my old DYMO label maker to create the sentiment, and used a chipboard heart that I've had in my stash for a LONG time. I created a little window after adhering the patterned paper strips across the card base and then added some inking around the edges.

Thanks for looking! 

Guess What?

I'm dusting off my alphabet stamps today. I needed a sentiment but didn't have a stamp for it, so I pulled out some alphabet stamps to create one. Last week 365 Cards hosted a challenge asking us to create a card that didn't have a specific sentiment, one that you could leave blank on the inside ready for whatever big news lies ahead! 

How's that for a sentiment? LOL You really could use this card for just about any occasion :)

This is another card I created for different challenge. This challenge called for a card that has a general sentiment that would be appropriate for anyone. 

I actually stamped the heart panel back around Valentine's Day but never used it. I also a  piece of patterned paper from my giant stack of paper scraps. It's a tiny bit smaller now! LOL 

 Thanks for looking! 

Happy Heart Day!

 Hope you've been showered with love today! Just wanted to share a couple of CAS cards I made for T's teachers.

My friend Laurie always amazes me with her creations, especially those involving embossing & embossing folders. These cards were totally inspired by her :)

 
I used SU's Square Lattice embossing folder to create the background. LOVE this embossing folder!! I create a red card for one of T's teachers and used the same design in pink for one of his other teachers.

 
I used PTI Fillable Frames #11 & Polka Dot Basics II, Cuttlebug die cut hearts, & rhinestones to create the tag. I forgot to photograph the inside but I stamped "happy heart day" from a TAC set for the sentiment.

 
Thanks for looking!

SOC Weekend Challenge

Mornin' all!

This past weekend the ladies of SOC were challenged to create a Valentine's Day card using non-traditional colors. This was a fun challenge! I even used my Karen Foster Snap Stamps to stamp "amazing." Remember how popular they were years ago? I still love them, it's so easy to customize your own sentiment and line each letter up perfectly! This color scheme works well for a masculine card, I've been making a lot of them this year. 

You are amazing: Paper: Basic Grey patterned paper, Bazzill & PTI cardstock, Stamps: Studio G, PTI, Karen Foster, & TAC, Other: Tim Holtz distress ink, mini button, & scrappers floss

Thanks for looking!  

Pink & Gray Hearts

Hi all! Hope you had a great weekend! We're having a snow/ice day today so T & I have been hanging out, sledding and shoveling ice. We're taking a break while I let the motrin kick in! LOL 

Pink & Gray Hearts Paper: SU & PTI cardstock, Stamps: TAC & Studio G, Ink: Palette Charcoal & SU Cameo Coral, Other: White satin ribbon & pop dots

I didn't spend much time in my craft room over the weekend but I do have a card to share that I made Friday. I missplaced my memory card so I couldn't share it sooner. I found it yesterday morning! Yay! Some how it ended up nestled in my Scrapbooks Ect. mag! LOL I'm not sure how that happened but I'm glad I found it. 

I really loved the gray hearts on the card I shared last week so I decided to use it again this time pairing it with a trio of patterned hearts that I stamped repeatedly over white cardstock. I used SU's Cameo Coral for the card base and on the heart on the oval for the focal image. I LOVE the gray. I got the heart stamp from Michaels for $1 last year sometime. It's a rubber stamp which I love. I have given up on buying the $1 clear stamps from Studio G, I alway end up with defected acrylic and I can't ever seem to get a crisp image so I always keep my eyes peeled for the rubber ones :) Anyhoo, thanks for looking!  

Gray Hearts

I like color. I'm not ashamed to say it. I couldn't deny it even if I tried. You wanna know something else.... I really like gray!

I just discovered it today! Gray with a little pop of color... WOW! This card was inspired by this print from the State of the Heart collection by My Mind's eye. I wanted to create a masculine Valentine's Day card instead of my usual red & pink girly ones. This is almost what I envisioned but I'm still working on it :) I think I should have left off the rhinestones... or "Beddazzle Bling" as my DH likes to refer to it.  

{Gray Hearts} Stamps: TAC's I Heart You & GWP sentiment stamp, Paper: PTI white cardstock & black Bazzill cardstock, Ink: Palette Noir, L'Amore Red, & Charcoal, Other: Mini rhinestones

Ooooh, I just thought about something else.... wouldn't this make a great one layered card too??!! I'm off to my craft room. Thanks for looking :)

TGIF!

Happy Friday ya'll! I don't have anything special planned for the weekend but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless. How about you?

One of my craft related goals this year is to participate in more challenges and to try some new techniques more often. CPS always has great sketches to play with, I created this card for this weeks Sketch Challenge.

Supplies: Stamp: Stampabilities, Paper: Memory-Works patterned paper & coordinating cardstock, Ink: Palette L'Amore Red, Other: Crystal Stickles, Prisma Ultra Fine Glitter, Cuttlebug heart die cut

This week I had a chance to check out the new Hobby Lobby they opened closest to me. It's about a 35-45 minute drive from me depending on traffic... which is a GOOD thing. The store is HUGE & wonderful :) Lot's of crafty goodness & even some home decor stuffs. I could easily get in trouble there! LOL Anyway I only bought one thing... this sentiment stamp by Stampabilities which was on clearance for $1.50!

 

Last year I purchased Memory-Work's Life Documented collection with great intentions to use it for my 2010 family scrapbook but I just didn't take enough photos :( I took a lot of photos in November, December, & August but very few in between those months. This year I'm going to do better! Anyway I  did use some of the kit on a few layouts  but I still have most of the kit so I decided to use some of the paper to create this card.  I added stickles & Glossy Accents to a Cuttlebug heart die cut, but then I decided it didn't have enough glitter so I added some additional glitter :) Then I inked all of edges and added some mini pop dots to give it some dimension.

Thanks for looking!