Showing posts with label Lori. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lori. Show all posts

Friday, June 14, 2013

A Berry Happy Birthday with Lori

Have you been using your Copic markers lately? I pulled mine out and made this fun birthday card that will be perfect for one of my daughter's friends or one of my great-nieces.


The papers are leftovers from the Country Drive kit from Echo Park Paper, plus some cardstock from my stash. The stamp is from my stash (sorry I don't remember the brand), and I colored her with the Copics.  I cut my mats using some Sizzix dies I also had in my stash, and embellished the card with ribbon and a bling-y button leftover from a sewing project. My matted image is popped up on some foam adhesive squares. All of my paper edges are ink distressed; I used a couple of colors in my stash, but you can use the Memento ink pads or the Tim Holtz Distress Inks for this.

As usual, I made sure to stamp my image using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on the Xpress Blending Card for the easiest coloring.


I colored my image with the following colors:
  • Hair - E33, E37, E59
  • Skin - E02, E11, E13
  • Dress & Strawberry - YG03, YG06, YG07, YG09, RV21, RV23, RV34
  • Shoes - C6, 100
  • Shadow - C1, C2, C3
Items available at Cutters Creek:
 I hope you enjoyed my card today! I'd love to see what you've been coloring with your Copics lately - be sure to link them here or post them in the Cutters Creek Yahoo group.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

You're the King - Masculine Card with Lori

It's my turn today to share a masculine card with you.  This one is perfect for the King of your castle, for Father's Day, birthday, anniversary, or just because.


Neutrals or dark colors are perfect for masculine cards, and a pop of color makes them eye-catching. My papers are from Graphic 45's Kraft Reflections paper pad. This is no longer in stock at Cutters Creek, but any of the other paper pads with darker colors would be great! (Basically anything currently in the store except Secret Garden.)


Texture is also a must for masculine cards, because we tend to stick to simpler patterns for them.  I used my faux leather technique and a Tim Holtz buckle to create this "belt" on my card. I added a pop of color by making this "poker chip" using a stamp from my stash and embossing with red embossing powder on red cardstock. I made sure the tones were slightly different so it would still "read" well.


Finally, I added my sentiment, using words from two different stamp sets (you're & the) and an alphabet set (king).

Supplies available at Cutters Creek:
Other supplies:
  • cardstock
  • clear embossing ink
  • red embossing powder
  • sentiment stamps
  • Tim Holtz buckles
I hope I gave you some new ideas for your masculine cards today. Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Teacher Card with Lori

The end of the school year is upon most of us in the next couple of weeks. I like to send the teachers a little something in a card to say thank you for their efforts. My son is not likely to appreciate anything too girly, and since I want him to sign it, I went with this easy number:





The entire thing is cut from the Cricut Wild Card cartridge, using My Mind's Eye papers and cardstock. The Stella & Rose - Mabel paper pad I used is not in the store, but many of their lines have the same muted feel. I think it looks a bit like a county fair, which I think is pretty cool!

To add to the rustic look, I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Spiced Marmalade and Evergreen Bough to edge all of my cut papers.

 After assembly, I added accents with Distress Stickles in Spiced Marmalade, Broken China, and Clear Rock Candy. I also slightly curled up the bottom ends of the ribbons.


It's a great way to accent small bits, or to draw attention to a certain part of a single color item, like this sentiment.



I cut the matching envelope from the cartridge, and also ink distressed the edges of the closed envelope to coordinate.


Items available from Cutters Creek:

Other items:
  •  Cardstock

I hope you enjoyed today's project; I had a great time making it! Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Elegant Cards Made Easy with Graphic 45 & Lori

May is a busy month - on top of all the "usual" things, we Mother's Day and graduations to contend with! Which makes it even more important than usual for me to be able to get projects done quickly, and still look like I put plenty of effort into them.  At least I know cards can be a snap with Graphic 45.  My preferred card size is 5x7, and thankfully G45 has some great 4x6 images in many of their collections which are perfect for that size card.  Here's a beautiful (but quick!) card perfect for Mother's Day, a birthday, and more:


I chose an image I loved from the Secret Garden 12x12 paper pad, along with a coordinating print, and decided to use them with a kraft card base.  I cut the print to 4.75" x 6.75", and inked the edges of it and the image panel using Faded Jeans Distress Ink.  I cut a piece of cream cardstock to 4.25" x 6.25", and inked the edges of it and the card base with Antique Linen Distress Ink.

I layered the image on the cream cardstock, and the coordinating print on the card base.  I added some silver Glitter Tape to opposite corners of the matted image, then adhered it to the card front using foam adhesive. Finally, I used several colors of Copic Spicas to add more sparkly details to the image:


 
The closeup photos just do not do the actual image justice. I just love how a little sparkle makes these images shine! (No pun intended, lol.)

Cutters Creek supplies used:
Other Supplies: cardstock in kraft and cream (I used CTMH)

I hope today's post has given you some ideas - I'd love to hear what you think!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Thinking of You Card with Lori

It seems that I am always needing some kind of a get well or thinking of you card.  (Maybe that's a sign of my increasing age, I don't know...) I like that kind of card to "feel" happy, and I decided some Secret Garden papers from Graphic 45 were in order.  Here's the most recent card I made:


I love the little cut-apart images G45 always seems to include in their paper pads, and these mini seed packet designs are just perfect and sunny looking. Layered on a couple of Spellbinders Nestabilities, this one was the perfect focal point for my 5x7 card.






I matted the focal image once, and popped that up with foam adhesive on a second matted blank.  I added Kaisercraft pearls to the four corners for a little something extra.




Lastly, I added some bling to my image using Copic Spicas in Orange, Lemon, Buttermilk, and Clear.  I hope you enjoyed my card today, and I hope my recipient has a sunny day after seeing it!

Items available at Cutters Creek:

Other Items Used:
  • cardstock
  • Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles
  • border punch
  • stamping ink & sentiment stamp

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Asian Gift Box with Lori

Today I have a different kind of gift box to share with you. The other day I used a new cut file for an Enchanted Lantern, and I decided I just HAD to make the open-window version, but with a twist. I basically closed up all of the windows and turned the "lantern" into a gift box.  With Mother's Day fast approaching, a small box like this is always handy for an elegant presentation of a gift card to a favorite store or lunch spot. At any rate, I was excited to measure the window openings and discover that the "trading card" images on my 8x8 Grraphic 45 paper pad fit almost perfectly.  Here's what I did:


Even though the lantern itself is not an Asian style, I think it lends itself wonderfully to these papers. And would also look wonderful with many other G45 papers, due to its simple style. Since I was planning for Mother's Day, I chose 4 images and words I thought fit the theme well.  I used the Pagoda Cricut cartridge to cut the Kanji words to match each picture. The "photos" are all from the 8x8 paper pad, and the script paper forming the main box of the lantern is from the 12x12 pad.

"Mother"

"Wisdom"  
"Happiness"  
"Beauty"  
For some added dimension, the "photos" were adhered behind the windows with two layers of the ASI Kool Tak clear adhesive squares. I also added a frame around each opening with Distress Stickles in Fired Brick. I added additional Stickles dots along the base of the lantern on all sides.






As a helpful hint, since the Kanji characters are fairly intricate and I was cutting at only 1", I cut them from vinyl instead of paper.  It made them easier to cut and adhere to the shadow base. I then added more Stickles over them to tie in with the rest of the lantern.  The shadow is cut from metallic cardstock.  The American Crafts Specialty Cardstock - Foil is a great option for this.

Here are the Cutters Creek supplies I used for this project:

Other supplies:
  • black cardstock, suede texture
  • gold metallic cardstock
  • Pagoda cartridge for Cricut
  • Cricut indoor vinyl
  • Enchanted Lantern cutting file from Creations by AR
If you'd like to see the lantern project that inspired my box, you can see the 4/16 post over on my blog.  That's it for today - thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Wedding Card with Lori

Hello! Seems it's been a while since I've been here; the germs have been rocking our house a little hard this month.  Anyway, today I have a pretty wedding easel card to share with you.  The hubs came home last week and told me he needs a card for a coworker getting married.  Since he'll be delivering it in person, I was happy to make it thick and chunky because I don't have to deal with mailing it, lol.  Here's what I came up with:





I pulled out one of my few wedding stamps (I think it's Bildmalarna) and my Copic Markers.  I knew I wanted to use that beautiful doily die again, so I cut a circle from Xpress Blending Card to fit the center. I stamped my image on the circle and colored it with my Copics.




I made my 6x6 easel card using CTMH cardstock and Authentique papers from my stash.  I placed the stopper for my easel near the top of the inside instead of the traditional placement near the bottom so it would stand up almost straight. I made sure to pop up the top strip with foam adhesive to keep it from popping closed.  I also added some rhinestone brads for bling.




I raised the doily off the card front using more foam adhesive for added depth and interest.  I embellished using Prima Fairytale Roses and Cutters Creek branded flowers.  I inked the CC flowers to darken them a bit since they were the same shade as the darker Fairytale Roses, and I wanted to add a little more color variety. The flowers are all adhered using Glossy Accents.




It's hard to see in the pictures, but I added sparkle to the eyelet areas of the wedding dress using a clear Copic Spica pen. 


Supplies available at Cutters Creek:
Other Supplies Used:
  • Cardstock
  • Pattern Paper (I used Authentique)
  • Ink to sponge flowers & paper edges (the Tim Holtz Distress Ink pads in the store would work great)
 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Blooming Love with Lori

Happy Valentine's day to you all! Today I have a cute little project to share with you that can easily be made using any of the 6x6 paper pads carried in the store.  I chose a love theme for today, but obviously you could use it for so much more.



This sweet little Lolli-pot favor was cut with a file from Creations by AR (they come in SVG, DXF, and PDF format and this one is easy to cut by hand).  Each piece was cut from a different pattern from the paper pad.  Before placing the insert in the pot, a sucker is inserted through the hole upside down.  I then created my large flower using an oversize bottle cap and some flowers from my stash.  The package of Petaloo Color-Me-Crazy flowers has some large flowers that are perfect for this!  To finish off my project, I used Stickles in Baby Blue, Cotton Candy, Lime Green, and Pink.

Now, for a little talk about adhesive - if you belong to our Yahoo group, you know that Kim has been taking signups for an adhesive club.  Officially, signups are closed for the club, but if you get in touch with Kim by end of day Friday (2/15) she should be able to add you in.  I use a variety of adhesives when putting this type of item together, and I have a feeling that all of them will be making an appearance in the adhesive club!  Here's what I use, and why I use it:
  • Scor Tape - great for holding together simple 3-D items because it holds instantly, but once it's stuck, it's stuck. I used this on the actual flower pot.
  • Glossy Accents - great for small areas and for more complicated items because it gives a bit of wiggle room for adjustments but it does dry pretty quickly. (I usually count to 60 to be safe!) I used this to assemble the tray for the pot and to stick the pot to the tray.In addition to being a great adhesive, as its name implies, it makes great epoxy-like accents.
  • Mini Glue Dots (3/16") - great for sticking small things to other things, or sticking things to small and/or odd-shaped things. I used three of them to stick my big flower to my sucker stick.
  • Cosmo Cricket Glubers (2") - great for sticking larger items together, especially heavy items.  I used these to adhere the layers of my flowers and the bottle cap to the center.
If you'd like to make your own version of this project, I have a supply list.

Items available from Cutters Creek:
Other Items:
  • Lolli-Pot template from Creations by AR
  • 2" bottle cap
  • Epiphany Crafts heart 25 punch and epoxy bubbles
  • sucker (I used a Charm's blow pop)

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Sparkly Valentine with Lori

Today I have a bit of a non-traditional Valentine to share with you.  I'm using non-Valentine paper and a non-Valentine image, but by focusing on the red and adding some sparkle and some little added bits, it would make a fun Valentine for a special someone (who might be just a little bit grumpy, lol).

I started with the Miss Caroline Dilly Dally 6"x6" pad from My Mind's Eye, a Gorjuss Girl stamp from my stash (sorry, she's discontinued), and my Copic Markers and Spicas.  This is how it turned out:


 I can honestly say that I am in love with this little grouch!  I stamped my image in Memento Cocoa Brown on Xpress Blending Card, then chose the papers I wanted to use with her.  I wanted the red & white polka dots for a mat to put the focus on the red. Then I decided that the ticket pattern would make a great background and I could treat it like a kissing booth.  I cut a ticket shape from a Cricut Cartridge (I think I used Art Philosophy, but there are tickets on a number of cartridges), and stamped the sentiment with an alphabet set in my stash.  I didn't worry about making it straight, letting it be fun & child-like.  

I colored my image with Copic Markers to match the papers I chose (see list below).  Then I used Copic Spicas in Red and Lipstick to trace the letters on the tickets and go over all of the hearts on the girl's dress and her barrettes.  Finally, I trimmed all of my papers to size and added borders using a Chocolate Copic Spica.  I sponged the edges of the papers and the card base with coordinating inks and adhered everything, adding ribbon from my stash to the ticket paper. After assembly, I added my ticket using foam adhesive squares, and added some Kaisercraft adhesive pearls in Lemon.

 Here's an angle that shows how glittery the Spica Pens make everything!:


Products available from Cutters Creek:
Here's a closeup of the colored image, followed by a list of the colors I used:

Skin: E00, E02, E11, E13, YR000, R20
Hair: YR21, YR23, YR24
Shoes: E15, E37, E59
Clothes: BG11, BG15, BG18, R24, R27, R29
Shadow: W1, W3, W5

Now it's your turn!  Grab some papers  an image that may not say "Valentine's Day", but includes one color you can focus on to bring your theme through.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Copic Practice and Contest with Lori

I am always looking for new images to practice with my Copic Markers, especially my blending and my skin tones.  It also helps me decide when I need more colors to work with in a certain range.  Right now, Copic Marker has a coloring contest going on, and the images they provided for the contest are great practice sheets.  One of the images is pretty detailed with lots of small areas unless you print it out really large, but the other one is perfect for one of my practice sessions. And I thought I would use it to point out a few helpful hints for using a practice session to improve your coloring.


Normally, I like coloring more detailed images, like the Sarah Kay stamps in the store. But because the areas are smaller, it is harder to see the blending and to figure out why something may not be looking exactly right.  These larger bits make it much easier.  For example, I think the green sweater and the "2013" look great!  I used a series of 3 colors in a range for these areas and they blended really well. (Example: the greens I used are YG06, YG07, and YG09.)

However, look at the orange streamer and orange hair bow - they look a little more flat.  That's because somehow, I managed to buy YR04 and YR07, but not a third color which would have helped add more depth to those areas. Also, look at my blue streamers. I used B21 and B24, but then jumped to B29, which seems too dark for the other shades and doesn't blend as well. So, I should get another blue in between B24 and B29 for a smoother transition.

I can also tell that I need more work on my skin tones on faces where the features are not as well defined. I have always had trouble drawing faces, especially noses, so I have trouble getting the shadows right. Another thing to study up on and get more practice!

Note: I always use the Copic recommended Xpress Blending Card when coloring with my markers.  It really does make a big difference in my coloring!

If you want to print out the images (and check out the contest that ends 1/20), you can see it at Copic Marker here.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope I've given you some suggestions to use when practicing your coloring. Let us know if there's anything else you'd like to know about choosing and using Copic Markers.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Easy Gift Bags With Lori

With Christmas rapidly approaching and teacher gifts finally completed, I realized I needed some git bags to pop them in.  Scor Pal to the rescue!  You can use your Scor Pal to make nearly any size bag you want, and I can show you how.

Based on the size of my gift, I decided to make a bag 6" wide by 2.5" deep. (Sorry, I can't show the actual gifts yet, since they are being given Thursday & Friday and I don't want to spoil the surprise, just in case!)  So, it's easy to figure out how much paper you need based on the size of the bag, plus a 1/2" - 1" flap for adhering.  Just add up all of the sides: 6 + 2.5 + 6 + 2.5 = 17  Since this is larger than 12 inches, I know I will need 2 sheets of cardstock.  I will need a flap on each piece to attach them, and I choose a 1/2" flap, so I will need 2 sheets cut to 9" x 12". The 12" is height plus bottom, so lay your cardstock on the Scor Pal vertically, like this:


Next, score the cardstock for the 2 side measurements and flap.







When you have scored both lines, your cardstock should look like this:


Next, you will rotate your cardstock one turn (90 degrees). It doesn't matter which way you turn it, as long as you do both sheets of cardstock the same way.  When you are done, the cardstock will look like this:


This corner piece I have scribbled through gets removed completely.

Next, you will cut the flaps for the bottom of the bag:


The arrows I drew in show where pieces are cut to make the flaps.  Note that the piece we cut completely out in the previous step is next to a bottom flap.  Next, we need to attach the two pieces of cardstock and assemble the bottom of the bag.


Lay your cardstock so the fold of the skinny side flap is a "mountain" fold.  Put your adhesive on the top side of this skinny flap on both pieces of cardstock.  Now adhere the flap on the first piece of cardstock to the "inside" of the second piece of cardstock.  Then adhere the flap on the second piece of cardstock to the inside of the first piece of cardstock.


Next you will put adhesive on the "outside" of the smaller side flaps, and fold over one of the larger side flaps on top of them.  Set it flat on the table and push down the smaller flaps from the inside of the bag to make sure they are adhered.


Finally, you will put adhesive on the "inside" of the final flap and adhere it to the rest of the bottom.  Your bag is now finished.  If you are going to want to put a topper on your bag, you can use your fingers to crease the small sides in half partway down the sides of the bag.

Now, on to the fun part - making the bag pretty!  Here is how mine turned out:


I opted for a simple topper since my paper had a pretty design.  The 6"x6" paper pads in the store are perfect for this! I just folded mine in half.  I wanted to make my bag reusable, so rather than permanently attach the topper, I wanted to tie it on.  I held my folded topper over the folded bag and punched 2 holes through all of the layers at once.  I used eyelets from my stash to reinforce the holes in the topper only.


Since my paper had a pretty design, I left it alone and just traced over some of the design elements with my Copic Spica pens.


I also traced over some of the stamped elements on this tag with the Copic Spics pens.  I reinforced the hole in the tag with another eyelet.  I threaded twine through the holes in the bag & topper, then through the tag and tied it in a shoestring bow.  Easy to open and easy to reuse!  (Note: if you want to see the gifts I made, you can visit my blog Friday to see them.)

The following products to make this are available in the Cutters Creek store:

Other materials used:
  • cardstock in coordinating color(s)
  • Cricut Artiste cartridge (for tag)
  • stamps of your choice (for tag)
  • eyelets and punch (I used a Crop-a-dile)

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Easy Christmas Decor with Lori

I don't know about you, but I feel Christmas sneaking up on me FAST! We always like to add something new every year, but we are starting to run out of room for anything too large.  So this cute little decor piece was the perfect answer - small and quick.  I started with a wood block, originally intended for a rubber stamp, that I had in a little stash of mine.  It's about 5 something inches by about 6.5" or so.

Next I painted it with some green craft paint I had on hand.  I think it would have looked awesome with a Distress Stain instead, but I haven't started collecting those yet!


 I painted it on in a very thin coat, using a dry brush, so the grain shows through the paint.  I pulled out my Echo Park Season's Greetings Collection kit and got to assembling.  ALERT!: Kim has only two of this collection left in stock, so if you want it you better jump on it fast.






I cut a piece of pattern paper smaller than the block, leaving a nice border, and distressed the edges.  I then pierced holes all the way around and added pen stitching between the holes using a Copic Multiliner 0.5 tip.  I attached it to my block using ATG tape, but if you're concerned about lifespan you can use Scor Tape.





I selected a large tree sticker for my focal image, and added some details with a Copic Spica pen in Clear.



Finally, after adhering the sticker to the block, I added more details.  The border and ornament banner are also from the sticker sheet, and the "sign" is cut from one of the other papers in the collection. I added sparkly details ont eh word "trees" with a Copic Spics pen in Mint, matted it on black cardstock and adhered it with foam adhesive. I removed the prongs from a brad in my stash and attached it to the top of the tree with a Glue Dot, then added ornaments with Christmas Red and Gold Stickles.

This will make a cute little addition to our Christmas decorations and, other than drying time for the paint and Stickles, only took about 10 minutes to put together!

Items available at Cutters Creek:

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Down On the Farm With Lori

I know, everyone seems to be Christmas crafting lately.  But even with Christmas coming, other events continue to happen.  And I hope since I made this now, I will remember to mail it to my sister for her birthday in early January!  Since we lived on a farm, I thought this sweet Country Girl stamp by Sarah Kay was perfect.


I matched her up to some great papers from the Miss Caroline Dilly Dally 6"x6" paper pad from My Mind's Eye.  The frame is cut with my Cricut using the Fancy Frames cartridge.  I added a felt ribbon, paper flowers, buttons, & a brad from my stash to complete my card. I sure hope she likes it!


She was a lot of fun to color with my Copic markers.  Here is a list of the colors I used:
  • R29, R39
  • Y11, Y13, Y15, Y21
  • YR000
  • BG11, BG15, BG18
  • B000
  • E00, E02, E11, E13, E15, E37
  • C1
  • W1, W3, W5
These items are all available at Cutters Creek:
Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoyed this project.
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