Bee Happy

I'd like to enter this card into the Less is More Challenge  #264: add texture.

For my card I mixed white embossing paste with Distress inks (cracked pistachio, picked raspberry and spiced marmalade) and Applied it through a Memory box stencil (honey) comb) which provided one kind of texture.
The image is from Hot of the press (bee happy) and so is the sentiment. I stamped the bee with Memento black ink on Neenah solar white paper and coloured it with my Spectrum Noir markers. Cut it out
I also  stamped it on the honeycomb (once dry ofcourse) for it's little legs and antenna's.
Raised the image with foamtape for the other texture.

I know honey combs are not pastel coloured, but I felt like it as a happy spring card ;-)

For more information on the Less is More Challenge, see this.

We've moved house card

I'd like to enter this card into the Addicted to CAS Challenge #82: home.

I used three stamsets: Uniko home sweet home, for the house image and the sentiment, the fence is from Avec b.v.crafthouses and the bunny is from Lawn Fawn's hello baby set.

I made masks for the fence and the bunny so I could layer the stamping.

I added a gravel path with a multi liner.
I stamped it all with Memento black ink so I could colour the image with my Spectrum Noir markers. For the grass I used the palette technique to get variegated  grass.

For more information on the Addiced to Cas Challenge, see this

I thought about adding this also to the Less is More challenge about adding texture, but I'm not sure this is the kind of texture they're looking for, so I'll go make another card now ;-)

Mentos mini sweets rolls triangular giftbox

I'm not sure if you can buy these Mentos outside of the Netherlands. But then it's just to show you how to make a triangular box, you can adapt all the sizes, this box is 2 inches high and a little under 1"3/4 in with.
In the video I show you how to build two boxes, one with a pattern  that doesn't matter how you cut the paper and one with image you want upright on the box.

I am making these little giftboxes, together with another version for a birthday party for a friend's son.

Just a little something the kids can take home.

These boxes are glued shut, I tried to make a lid, but it wouldn't stay closed, It would involve an different pattern.
I reckoned kids wouldn't care and would tear open these boxes like there's no tomorrow ;-)

You can put anything in these little boxes, I prefer using treats that are packaged individually for hygiene and safety reasons.
But little gumballs, easter eggs, Skittles, M&M's would perfectly go in this box.

You can decorate further with a thank you tag, ribbon and such, I am doing this off camera.


To make the box you need a piece or (patterned paper) 5"3/8 wide by 4"3/4 high.
If your pattern has to be "legible" or the right way up make sure it's positioned horizontally or right way up on the long side.

On the longside score at: 1/2 inch, 2"1/8 and 3"3/4
then turn and score on the short side at: 1"3/8 and 3"3/8 

I eyeballed the center of each square to cut my traingles, it's not really important, if you want it to be precise, measure, it's too difficult for a metric girl ;-) sorry

Cut away the parts as shown in the drawing and glue the parts as indicated. I used double sided tape.

the pattern is not 100% to scale as my grid is in centimeters

make sure your pattern is the right way up like my flowers...

CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #161

CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #161

For my card I wanted to use Distress inks Dusty concord and shaded lilac, BUT my Dusty concord is soooooo dry and I don't have the refill yet and shaded lilac had more blue in it than the colour from the challenge (wisteria wonder)
Also I thought for my silver I could die cut Happy Birthday from some aluminium tape from the hardware store, it's self adhesive so I thought that would work well. It diecut perfectly, but I couldn't get the release paper off, also the metal was wrinkled a lot.

So ditched this all above and proceeded with the next ideas...

I used my Spectrum Noir markers (HB3 and  LV2) to colour the feathers and the sides of the card which I coloured differently for interest. Ofcourse this bleeds through to the inside, but I don't mind.
The feathers are from Simon Says Stamp (feathers)

and after diecutting I coloured them plain, meaning no shading as I didn't want to use more colours than the challenge allows.
To give some interest to the feathers I rubbed the edges on my Versamark pad and heat embossed t it with silver (Papermania superfine silver) . For the solid silver one I did about three coats as it kept escaping from my tweezers and getting smudged, I also  like the smoothness you get from more layers.

Tried one of those metallic thread nests...never looks right if I do them, more like used dental floss than great embellishment, lol.

Ditched that and as I had already placed a gluedot for the silver thread I just stuck the feathers on top, adding more gluedots where  needed.

The sentiment is from Sizzix (birthday by Stephanie Barnard) and I stamped it Versafine black onyx.
adhered the cardpanel with taperunner.

For more information on the CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #161, see this

Updated February 19th for a close up of the embossing

Update March 1st:

3 compartment shaker card

Simon says : shake it up, so I did ;-)
Showcasing Memory box, at least that's what I read before...dyslexia? just a little..it 's actually says We R Memory keepers...lol...
Well fair to say I didn't use them, could have to cut the paper, but I didn't...
I guess it's all about the Fuse I don't have so I made my shaker card the old fashioned way.

Last week they were showcasing Paper Smooches and I ordered some from SSS, just because I thought I didn't have any.
Today whilst thinking up this card I pulled out some dies by Memorybox and balloon dies, I knew some from Simon Says Stamp and another brand...I didn't remember but they are Paper Smooches...oh my..I tucked them in the same sleeve and forgot.

So next week I'll use WRMK products  I guess?

I have the punch  board and unless you make a see through envelope shaker thing pretty useless..hmm idea though...I might enter twice this week ;-)

Anyway for my card I diecut MemoryBox puffy clouds and spread Tombow and Tacky over and over on the diecuts, Just plain printer paper.
I think I saw Kelly Latevola making masks with Tombow glue and whilst I was at it, I thought I'd try Aleene's tack it over and over as well.
Spread it on with a brush and let it dry a while. Some were still pretty sticky so I detacked them on my hands, I think too much as they peel up a little, But this works better for me than the masking paper I was using before.

I used Distess inks (tumbled glass and broken china) and a dry brush to color the cardpanel.
Peeled off the masks I think I can reuse at least one more time if I store them properly ;-)
Then stamped the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp (birthday balloons) with Versafine black onyx.
I used SSS  celebration dies and Paper Smooches balloon dies to cut out three windows from this panel.
I attached some acetate behind the panel for the shaker window.
Then proceeded to attach a double layer or foamtape.
This is much easier if you first attach the foamtape to some (old saved) release paper from (in my case) double sided adhesive, but I guess wax paper would also work, altough I don't know as we can't buy that in the Netherlands, as far as I know...never seen it.
I just Checked SSS and they sell A4 size sheets, I have now put on my project (wish) list for my next order

You can double up the layer here and cut it like a dream, even doubled up.
So I proceeded to make the compartments and used my powder pouch to take away the stickiness from the side of the foamtape. It's just a microfivber cleaning cloth gathered with ribbon, filled with cornstarch..nothing fancy, I have an embossing buddy or such, but this one works great for shakercards.
Filled the compartments with green, purple/pink and blue toned sequins.
Closed the shaker part with a small panel.
I find that easier then trying  to place the cardbase immediately.
I used taperunner to attach the shaker portion to the cardbase.




For more information on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, see this

Plant/herb markers from old spoons

Over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is all about recycle and upcycling.

I once bought these spoons at the thriftstore or as we call them recycle stores. But for me they were too big, I can't eat off them, so they've been sitting in a closet for a while.
Today at the allotment garden I found a lot of plastic plant tags that were corroded by the sunlight and were brittle, they all snapped.

I had been thinking about the challenge whilst weeding, ofcourse, and I thought to myself: "those spoons are stainless steel, so they should last"...
So I got out my gesso to prime them, then mixed up acryllic paint into nice pastel colors.
Not sure if you  need the gesso as a primer, but just to be safe I used it anyway.
I then sourced these tissue papers I get with gifts or

even stampsets, like the green chevron one. I have many, black on white polka dots from the Ton p.e. but they didn't go with my pastel theme.

I decoupaged pieces of tissue paper on the back of the spoon and on the front I wrote herb names on tissue paper with a Sharpie.

I'm not 100% sold on these , layout wise. I think they might look better without the tissue paper, so whilst I type this I have two new spoons drying I will leave "bland".
I guess also the back left unpainted might be nice and shiny to scare off pigeons from my crops.

And for yet another idea it might be possible to use chalkboard paint, it comes in pretty colors these days, but those would be for indoor use only as one  rainy day will probably erase your plant markers ;-) I

don't have chalkboard paints and or indoor herbplants.

I first tried to decoupage cliparts I printed, but even normal printing paper was too thick for these curved shapes.
I guess if you have knives laying around...

I like to shop at the recycle shop, although their prices resemble more antique shops than second hand these days, they look up things and price them accordingly, which is good for them, but they get it for free and should use fixed prices I think.
Anyway I like to think everything I rescue doesn't end up in landfill.
I compost my green waste, collect glass, metal, plastic for the appropriate containers, as well as spent cooking oil, lamps, batteries, shoes, textiles, paper and make regular trips with empty soda bottles as we have a deposit system in the Netherlands

I try not to buy tinned food or food in glass jars as they mean more trips to the recycle spots and I like to avoid those trips...not near my house and on a bicycle you can only take little bits at the time, but somehow the plastic bin piles up really quickly...
Did you know there are worms that can compost your green waste and other worm towers that can deal with diapers and yet another that can eat up all the dogwaste and transform all this into usable stuff for your garden?
If you have babies or toddlers in diapers I would suggest to look into one of those bins as they reduce your waste drastically. There's talk of introducing  a pay as you go system for your waste in Delft at least, they weigh your bin and charge you somehow, there's a chip in your wheelie bin to record all this, not sure how this will work, but yeah, the less kilos the better ;-)

 

Some of my herb pots look a little sorry, so sorry about that, the ground in it was frozen solid, so I could only slip the spoons in at the edges of the pot. Hopefully they all survive the winter, the rosemary is in flower already. You can see the frost on my neighbour's roof...

Even the paint mix thing
 is  from a package of tape, perfect little dish I use and re-use



For more information on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, see this

Happy birthday butterfly shaker card

I'd like to enter this card into the Inkspirational challenge #102: pop and the AAA Cards Challenge #58: sequins.

Now sequins always make me think of shaker cards, so I made one, and the pop is a pop of colour if that makes sense. I think the red/purple butterfly really stands out from the white.

The backpanel to the shaker opening is a watercoloured panel with candied apple and wilted violet from Distress inks, diluted with perfect pearl mist for shimmer.

First I stamped the sentiment  from Sizzix (birthday by Stephanie Barnard) and I stamped it with Versafine, three times cos I kept messing it up, lucky for me a page has 2 sides...I think there's a dip in my table or something, because it was always the same corner that didn't transfer...ofcourse I tried to restamp on top of it..hahaha I don't know why I try, it never works ;-)

I added  some layers of craftfoam underneath the panel for my third try and it stamped perfectly.

The shaker window I made by diecutting the butterfly from Simon Says Stamp, it coordinates with a stamp but works as a standalone too.

I then attached a piece of acetate and proceeded to make the shaker frame with foamtape, double layer. I didn't use craftfoam this time as it was thinner that two layers of foamtape and I wanted depth for the clear beads.

I filled my shaker with clear beads, silver sequins in two sizes and purple and red (iridescent) butterfly confetti. Some red butterfly show up green ish on the photo, that is because they're iridescent, don't know  to fix that on the photo, but they are red! as you can see from the other photo. 

Mounted the watercolour panel to close the shaker then used taperunner to add this panel to a cardbase.