Glitter, Grunge & So Much More

Rosette pattern from Silhouette online store

Confession... I spent the better part of today designing one card. In the end it turned out beautifully! I am loving all the glimmery mists and distress stains I have.

I began by carefully choosing several different digital images and combining them to form a collage. I printed and cut the tags on brown cardstock via the print-and-cut function on Silhouette's Studio software. After the images were cut, I sprayed the cardstock with a gold-toned fine mist (Perfect Pearls - don't know the name of the colour; it came in a two-pack from Michaels). When dry, I applied a reinforcer and darkened the edges of the tag.

Notice the discreet glimmer - beautiful!

After I embossed the dark teal paper with my Cuttlebug, I sprayed the tag with a silvery mist (my other Perfect Pearls - again, I cannot find the colour on the bottle). When the tag was dry I applied a reinforcer and dirtied the edges and raised surfaces.

The paper for the two patterned tags came from a K&Company paper pack from Michaels. I simply cut both tags (using my Cameo), applied reinforcers, and dirtied the edges. Blackened look throughout card comes from Color Box's charcoal fluid chalk inkpad.

After embossing my card front, I  carefully placed all items on card surface (music note design also comes from the Silhouette online store).

Here is the fruit of my labour.

Happy Easter!

Images: Stampin Up "Everybunny"
Embossing Folder: Tim Holtz "Chicken Wire"

All the windows are open, and the sun is pouring in. What a beautiful sunny Easter! I can definitely feel summer in the air.
:)

My design space is freshly organized, so I had a lot of fun creating today. I decided to play with some Easter images I recently acquired. The more I use the Studio design software and Silhouette Cameo the more I love them. I had so much fun creating these Easter cards!

Print-and-cut take two: I created both cards using the same digital images. The image for the first card is set against a warm yellow backing. I added texture with the Chicken Wire embossing folder by Tim Holtz (Sizzix Alterations).

Images: Stampin Up "Everybunny"
Embossing Folder: Tim Holtz "Chicken Wire"

The second card is a little busier...

I stained the card with Tim Holtz's "peeled paint" Distress Stain. I used the same embossing folder for texture (Sizzix Alterations "Chicken Wire" by Tim Holtz), but for this card I added some colour to the texture. Digital image is set against the same warm yellow.

I love how perfectly the digital images cut out with this program. Beautiful!

A Note of Thanks

This is my first ever print-and-cut project. I created a digital print image with a cut shape surrounding it using my Studio design program. The Studio program sends the file to the printer first, where it prints the image as well as three registration marks. When the image completed printing, I placed the page on my mat.

Square (top right) and upside-down L (top left)
are two of the registration marks. The third is
out of sight on the bottom left-hand side of the page.

Aligned and ready to begin cutting

The Silhouette Cameo reads the registration marks on my page, and lines up the cut file from the Studio program with the printed image on the page. I followed the same process in order to create a second image for the card front. In the end I wound up with a beautiful Thank-you card with perfectly aligned print-and-cut images.

Thanks!

Tea Time

Two for tea and tea for two...

In my opinion, there is nothing better than sharing a cup of tea with a close friend. For some reason, tea always tastes better when it's sipped from a pretty teacup, and fine china always makes me think of family.

I designed this pop-up card with my Studio design program using a teacup cutting file I had on hand; I cut the file with my most-loved Silhouette Cameo.This design and colour combination was inspired by my favourite black tea with cream (and yes, I said cream, not milk).

For Grandma and Taunte Marie

Slider Card

Mostly closed - Slider piece is mostly hidden

Okay, so I was watching this tutorial today, and I got inspired to create my own template. Apparently I just can't stop today! It took a few tries to get the measurements exactly right, but I finally got it to work.

Completely open - Slider piece is mostly visible

Use your screen capture tool to save the images (seen below) to your computer. Once you have the images saved, use your design program of choice to convert the images into usable files.

If you follow the measurement guides shown on the pictures you should be able to cut both files from one sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock. Your completed card will be just a hair smaller than the standard A2 (4.25" x 5.5") card, and it will fit in any standard envelope.

Slider Card - 1 of 2

Slider Card - 2 of 2

You will find assembly instructions in the following You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBowliF0IX4 . Enjoy!

Who's Ready for an Adventure?!

Tardis Card

Hop aboard the Tardis, and hang on for dear life! This entry is for all my marvellous geek friends and family. Without you my life would be rather dull.

I designed this card entirely from scratch. Each colour is its own layer, and is cut out separately. The only layer I could not cut out is the sign on the door (the letters were too small and tore), so I configured a print-and-cut file for the sign. The card is merely six inches tall, and it was more than a little complicated to assemble! The next time I cut this file I will make a larger card, for sure.

I have uploaded all the individual files as .png files below. Please feel free to recreate this card!

Card Front - 1 of 9

Frame - 3 of 9

Card Template - 2 of 9

Sign (print and cut edge) - 4 of 9

Grill for Light - 6 of 9

Light - 5 of 9

Windows - 9 of 9

Police Box Sign Backing - 7 of 9

Police Box Sign - 8 of 9

Diffusers!

Diffusers!

While these pics might not look that exciting to some, these diffusers (designed by yours truly) open up a world of possibilities with my embossing folders. I designed them with my Studio program, and I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut four identical layers of each image out of cereal box cardboard. I glued all four layers and viola, diffusers!

I placed my tools in the following order, bottom to top: A plate, B plate, embossing folder with cardstock inside, and finally on top, the card-sized diffuser. When I ran it through my Cuttlebug I ended up with the embossed design all around the outer edge, and a nice smooth oval in the middle. Please note that I did not use my second B plate on top of the embossing folder the way I would normally have done. The diffuser replaces the top B plate when using this method.

Large Oval diffuser used here with Chicken Wire and Bubbles Embossing folders.

To complete this melded design, I ran my cardstock through one more time. This time I used the large oval cut-out that matches the card-sized diffuser with which I started. I placed my tools in the following order from bottom to top: A plate, B plate, embossing folder (new design) with cardstock inside, and I carefully placed the large oval cut-out on top. I matched the oval placement with the smooth oval space I had remaining on my cardstock the first time I ran it through. See the end result above - gorgeous!