Christmas Cards

In the past years I came up with Christmas card design and then made the same set for that year. It streamlined the process and I didn't have to think who gets which card. This year, however, I just couldn't make up my mind on what I wanted and continued to make cards until I had about a dozen different ones. I finally gave up on the idea of a single design. I just hope that everyone likes the card they end up with. Here's a sneak peak.

This first one is a cute penguin by Whipper Snapper. The layout was for a clean and simple SCS challenge, so it's pretty basic, but I flocked and added glitter to the little guy for some dimension. Both the tan (ok, I know penguins aren't tan, but he was willing to make the sacrifice for the sake of color coordination) and white parts are covered in fun flock which I had to apply it in two steps. If you want to know more about using flocking see my earlier Fun Flock Tutorial post.

Supplies: (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted)

• Stamps: Whipper Snapper Ice Cream Penguin
  
• Paper: Very vanilla, My Minds Eye DP
  
• Ink: Momento Black, chocolate chip, close to cocoa, certainly celery, real red, rose royal, pumpkin pie
• Accessories:  RibbonFx, Fun Flock, Stickles

Next is a quick poinsettia card using Basic Grey paper. I just added some chunky glitter for a frosted effect and ribbon with sentiment. Each card is just a little different since it was cut from a 12x12 sheet.

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Cute and Curly
  
• Paper: Whisper white, Basic Grey Dasher DP collection
  
• Ink: Cranberry crisp
• Accessories: Ribbon, chunky glitter

For these next few cards I was trying to use up my Vintage Violet paper stash, which was one of the first "in colors" offered by Stampin'Up!. The first few are the fun Christmas tree Fluffles images and the last is a more traditional design. It didn't show up on the picture at all, but in person the card looks a lot prettier because there's glitter mixed in with the white embossing powder, so the card sparkles.

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Fluffles Tree by Stampendeous, Best Yet, Snowflake spot, Cute and Curly
• Paper: Vintage violet, whisper white
  
• Ink: Vintage violet, Versamark, sage shadow
• Accessories: Silver Stickles, Diamonds EP
  
• Tools: Cuttlebug, punches

~Olgy

Playing Dressup - A Simple White Card Makeover and a Giveaway

I wasn't feeling well today and worked from home. Before getting some shut eye, I had to peek at today's SCS CAS challenge and couldn't resist playing. I love how quickly these cards come together! For today's challenge we could use white and only one other color (and yes, black counted as color).  I needed to brighten my mood so I reached for happy, sunny yo-yo yellow. After the first unsuccessful attempt with punches, I ended up with this clean and simple card.

I dont know if it was the yo yo yellow or being in my craft room, but it succeeded in lifting my spirits. I liked the look of the card as is, but I thought to myself that this may also look nice embossed... Fastforward half an hour and here are embossed, beaded, glittered and flocked cards. I know, I just couldn't resist...

The beads have an interesting look, but I think blue embossing and flocking are my favorite out of the bunch. Which one is yours? I'll mail the card of your choice to the first person to leave a comment (don't forget to email me your address) and by Nov 15 I'll choose another person at random to get another surprise.

If you're wondering which card is made with wich product and how to get that look - read on:

1. Classic Stampin'Up! ink pad in Yoyo yellow. To get this look: Just stamp!
2. Zing Embossing Powder in powder color. To get this look: Stamp image with Versamark, cover with EP, heat until it melts.
3. Martha Stewart brownstone glitter. To get this look:  apply heat & stick powder (I got mine from Stampin'Up! but other companies likely carry it too) and once it's melted quickly sprinkle with glitter. You can also buy EP with glitter in it (see #5) or trace the image with gluepen and then apply glitter.
4. Martha Stewart tourmaline glass microbeads. To get this look: apply adhesive to the image (I traced it with Glossy Accents) and apply beads. Let the adhesive dry.
   
5. CopperKate Rose Gold EP (it's already mixed with glitter). To get this look: See #2
6. Fun Flock by Stempendous in chili pepper red. To get this look: See Fun Flock Tutorial and Tips post.

I'm also working on a Big Ego layout for Candy Shoppe Designs challenge, so stay tuned for that in the next few days.

~Olgy

2008: A Year In Review

First of all, let me apologize about the format of the Flocking tutorial in my last post. I've made a few attempts to repost it, but every time the spacing either in FireFox or IE is skewed and the pictures are misaligned. I'm sorry about that. If you're having problems viewing it try using FireFox or if you'd like a pdf of this instead, just email me and I'll send one to you.

Now, for some belated 2008 wrap-ups. I thought this was one of my least eventful years - no vacations, mostly work. Then I started listing the things I've done and to my surprise it was a lot more than I thought. A lot of firsts. A first trip to Singapore, actually Asia in general; a first tri; a first craft room (well, loft); started building a house; started this blog, etc. I actually ran out of space on my layout and had to stop at 10.

See Flocking Tutorial if you want to know how to make your own "fuzzy" letters.

Now thinking about 2009, I'm not big on for making New Year's resolutions. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for self improvement, I just don't tend to associate it with the first of the year. Maybe knowing that I have a year to realize something makes it feel like it has to be something BIG. Or maybe I just feel like I wouldn't get as much done right away if I had a full year in front of me (admit it, we all procrastinate). Instead I'll just try to do more "firsts." With the move I doubt I'll be traveling much, but I'd like visit some new place outside of Austin. I need to start training again... maybe even train for an Olympic distance instead of a sprint if I can find the time. I don't want to set a goal who's outcome is out of my hands, so instead of making a goal of getting published or getting on a design team I'll make a goal to submit. I often say I will and then forget or change my mind, so this year by March I want to submit at least ten of my pieces. Ok, that's more than I keep track of as is. Happy New Year!

~Olgy

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: none
• Paper: kraft, SEI Dill Blossom, whisper white
• Ink: basic black
• Accessories: Stampin'Up! Sticky Cut Letters, Fun Flock, Basic Grey Obscure rub-ons
• Tools: Wishblade
  

Fun Flock Tutorial and Tips

I have a few New Year related posts I want to do, but first here's a fun flock tutorial I promised earlier.

Fun flock, also known as flocking, is made up of loose fibers and can be used to add fuzzy appearance to craft projects. I love using it on cards with little critters and it looks great on anything from flower, clothing images, alphabet, brads and much more. Fun flock is sold in some local and online retailers. I bought mine at Archiver's.

Working with fun-flock is somewhat similar to working with embossing powder, except it does NOT need to be heat set. I'll walk you through a few different adhesive options and do's and don't tips.

LIQUID GLUE
This is the method I use most often because it's flexible and requires no extra tools.
PROS: good precision, quick and easy to apply
CONS: dry time

1. Stamp the image and evenly apply glue to the sections you want covered. Don't let the glue dry out before you apply the flocking.
Tip: stay inside the lines or even leave a slight gap when applying glue because when pressing in the flocking the glue may spread out. In my example I covered the white sections with glue and left a little extra space around the eyes and mouth of the panda.

2. Pour fun flock over the image, covering it generously. Make sure you have embossing tray or scrap paper under your image so you can easily pour the extra back in the container.
Press the fibers into the glue firmly. Don't rub, just make sure you have plenty of access flock covering the image and press into it. This helps make the flocking feel fuller and more even in the end. If you skip this step, the end result could be a bit patchy and have “bold” spots.
Let the image sit for 10-15min. Don't tap off the flocking yet, just set it aside until the glue dries thoroughly.

3. Tap off the flocking onto embossing tray or scrap paper and tap the paper a few times to get access off. If some flocking is still falling you can VERY GENTLY and evenly rub the image with your thumb to help the access come off.





4. If flocking covers parts of the image you didn't want to use piercing tool or something else pointy to gently scrape the areas being careful to not scrape the paper. For example on my image even though I didn't apply glue to the eye area on the Panda, flocking still covered them partially so I pushed the “fur” out of the areas.

5. Voila! It's ready to be used on a card or layout.











STICKY LETTERS OR TAPE RUNNER


This is the first time i tried using Stampin'Up! Sticky letters and was pretty happy with the results.

PROS: no dry time, even application
CONS: requires extra accessories such as adhesive shapes. If using tape runner then have less precision and takes longer to apply than liquid glue.



1. Peel off the cover on your image to reveal sticky side. I peeled off one side and peeled off the back after I was done, but you may find it easier to adhere to image to the project first.





2. Follow steps 2 and 5 from the Liquid glue portion of the tutorial. The upside here is that there's no drying time so you can tell right away if the coating is even and thick. I found that after the pressing in the powder if the coating isn't thick enough, you may need to picked up the image and add pinches of flocking with your hands to individual areas, then press and gently rub while holding it between your thumb and index finger. It's a bit messy, but the results are more consistent. Be careful to not rub too hard as the adhesive may roll up and come off.

3. If you don't have a self adhesive image, you can also try to create one yourself by applying tape adhesive to paper or chipboard. I had to to that for one of the numbers for a layout in my title because I needed two 0s but the set only had one. I traced the image, cut it out and covered it with tape adhesive. Be careful to cover the entire area without gaps and try to keep the layers fairly even. Finish by following steps 2.

Note: this works ok on larger alphabets but would be difficult on more intricate designs. You also need to be very careful about peeling or rubbing off the adhesive from your paper or chipboard while applying the flocking.

4. Finished letter.












HEAT & STICK POWDER
I actually had the least success with this method and it took me a few tries to get decent results. For larger or more detailed areas this technique may be the better option.

PROS: allows to stamp the image, no need to trace with glue
CONS: requires extra tools such as heat and stick powder and heat tool, the timing has to be very quick.

1. Stamp the image with Versamark















2. Apply heat and stick powder as you would embossing powder.













3. Heat it and really quickly before it's dry add flocking on top. Don't heat the flocking. You can also try layout the flocking out on a tray ahead of time and then pressing the image into it.





4. Tap off and finalize image as outlined in steps 5-7 of the liquid glue technique.













5. As you can see from my example on the left, I didn't add the flocking fast enough the first time I tried this, so most of it didn't adhere properly. The image on the right shows a the better result.



GENERAL TIPS FOR WORKING WITH FLOCKING

• When choosing a stamp or image to use with this product, keep in mind that it's opaque so the best images are those with empty space in the middle or something that's easy to trace. Images with a lot of detail will not show up very well since the detail will be covered.

• When using colored flocking, stamp or color the area with the same color ink prior to adding adhesive and flocking. This helps hide minor "bold" spots.

I'll be posting projects with flocking shortly and look forward to your questions or comments.

~Olgy