Artful Avocations

Popscicle Instructions

Thanks for your "cool" comments on my Popscicle cards.  I was inspired by my Sizzix die cut, however it's too small to make a card with...a gift tag would work with it though.  Anyway, I always make my own patterns.  Here's how I do it for symmetrical designs like these Popscicles:  Use a piece of paper cut to the size you want your finished card to be.  Fold the paper in half longways (is that a word??) and cut half of the pattern.  Then open it up and decide if you like it or snip some more to perfect your pattern.  For the popscicles you need to also fold each half in half (quarters) to get the top and bottom parts cut correctly.  Just play around with it until you get something you like.  In this case, the pops are 2-3/4" wide by 4" long, so I used 1/4 of a sheet of card stock for each one.  Adding the sticks to the card makes them about 5" long allowing them to fit in a regular invitation size envelope.  You also get 4 cards from one sheet of card stock this way.  People always ask me how I can just take a piece a paper and cut out any shape.  I think this is the secret...don't be afraid!!!  You are only cutting up some scratch paper!  I usually use paper I have already used for something else and am going to throw away.  In my head I think about what the shape I want to cut looks like, then I just start cutting.  If you don't like it, keep trying.  Save what you do like by tracing it onto another sheet of scratch paper and then try cutting the remaining parts again.  Persevere!!!  Thanks for reading my blog!

Cool Thanks Popsicle Cards

I'm soooo... pleased with myself this evening!  I actually have my swaps ready for next Saturday's quarterly SU! meeting with my upline's group, Women In Ink.  I guess you can say it's a sneak peek for those of you who are going to the meeting Saturday.  ; )
We spent the afternoon at my mom's for Memorial Day and I took my supplies with me and got all the cutting and assembly done.  Once I got home this evening, I embellished them with Stickles (kinda hard to see in the photo).  Everything I used was Stampin' Up! except for the Stickles and the Popsicle sticks.  The Popsicle sticks are punched with the SU! word punch from a pack of wood grain card stock that I bought a couple of years ago at Kelly Paper.  They look exactly like Popsicle stick in real
life!  I didn't want to make just one flavor of popsicle, so I used an assortment of card stock colors - Barely Banana, Green Galore, Cameo Coral, Marigold Morning, Only Orange, Pink Passion, and Tempting Turquoise.  I used the same colors to stamp the little flower from Looks Like Spring and punched them out with the 3-flower punch.  It's hard to see in the photo but the Popsicles are scored in the middle and in the center of each side to resemble the real thing.  The "Thanks" and inside message are done on the computer using SU! Harry Paul font.  The inside message can be changed to "cool" gift, or anything else you can think up.  Hope you like my Popsicle card!  Thanks for looking!

Food Journal

I've been wanting to make a food journal for several weeks and finally got around to it yesterday.  Now I can keep track of everything I eat in style!  I made the journal using chipboard and the Bind-It-All from Eclectic Paperie.  The inside pages are my daily action plans from Lindora.  They come on a tablet, so I punched the holes in them and then took them apart.  When I was almost finshed peeling the last few pages apart, I realized I could have just shaved off the top edge with my Carl Cutter.  Next time.
The front cover is covered with designer paper from K & Company, ribbon from Michael's, SU! Big Blossom flowers stamped in SU! Ruby Red classic ink, and the label is stamped with Karen Foster Snap Stamps in Ruby Red classic ink on SU! Whisper White card stock.  The ovals were punched with both the large and small oval punches from SU!  I tied a length of ribbon to the wire binding to be used as a page marker.  Thanks for looking!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day holiday and taking time to remember and honor those who have so selflessly and bravely defended our country.  God Bless America!

Big Blossom Birthday

I like the brightness of this card.  I used SU! Big Blossom and Voila stamp sets; Green Galore, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquioise, and Whisper White card stocks.  The big blossom is stamped with SU! Only Orange classic ink and the tag is stamped in Pink Passion classic ink.  I used two different Cuttlebug embossing plates for the background pieces.  The ribbon and button are from some scrapbook supply boxes that I purchased at Costco.  Thanks for looking!

Tropical Happy Birthday

I just can't help making all these tropical looking cards!  I love the bright and fresh look.  For this card I used all  Stampin' Up! materials except for the flower punch which is from the new Martha Stewart collection and the burlap background paper that I've had for a few years and have no idea who made it.
Stamp sets and materials:
Do the Hula, Chipboard frame, light blue mini brads, buttons.  Card Stock:  Whisper White and Pretty in Pink.  Classic Inks:  Cool Caribbean, Green Galore, Gable Green.  Designer Paper: Petals and Paisleys
Thanks so much for looking!  I'm very busy at work right now, so I probably won't be posting again until the weekend.  Have a great week!

Friends Always

Here's another quick little card using the Papertrey Faux Ribbon set to stamp the ribbons and the verse on this card.  I also used Stampin' Up! retired set Tropical Blossoms.  Love that set, retired or not, I'm still using it!  I also used SU! Whisper White card stock and Pretty In Pink classic ink, small and large oval punches, and a pink mini brad.  The card is a tri-fold, held closed with thin magnets.  The flowers are from JoAnn's and the ribbon is from Walmart.

Thanks with Appreciation

I finally have had a chance to play a little with the Faux Ribbon set from   Papertrey   It's a fun little set!  I used two different widths of "ribbon" to stamp the background on this card and the Thanks statement.  The flowers and the background on the header are from Stampin' Up!  You Make Me Happy.  I also used SU! cardstock Whisper White and Green Galore; classic inks YoYo Yellow, Green Galore, and Tempting Turquoise; buttons and dimensionals.  The leaves are cut freehand and the Thanks statement is punched with SU!'s small and large oval punches.  The "real ribbon" across the header is from Offray.  Thanks for looking!

Hawaiian Thank-You

I'm still playing around with the box of embossed cards from DCWV that I picked up at Michael's the other day.  This one has flowers all over it, so I thought it would work well with the new Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch that I also bought on that trip to Michael's.  I mentioned the punch in a previous post and thought maybe I should use it so you could see what it looks like.  It reminded me of a little tropical flower, hence the Hawaiian theme to this card.  I used Stampin' Up! card stocks Green Galore for the letters, Gable Green for the layer under Mahalo and the leaves under the flowers, and Pretty in Pink for the flowers.  In the center of each flower is a tiny Amuse twinkle sticker.  The flowers are popped with SU! Dimensionals.  The pink dotted paper is from SU! Designer Petals and Paisleys paper.  The dotted ribbon is from Offray.  I cut the Mahalo letters out with my Cricut using the Tear Drop alphabet.  I like the plain white background on this card.  I did try swiping one of these cards with Gable Green ink, but thought it was too dark for this layout and the hydrangeas seemed to get lost on the page.  So, I will make something else with the green card...be on the lookout for it!  The weekend is over and I hope it was a good one for you!  God's blessings on your new week!

It's That Time Again!

Know anyone that's graduating this year???  I'm sure we all do, whether it's kindergarten, 8th grade, high school, or college.  This is probably the fastest and easiest card I have ever made....seriously! Or at least in a very long time...long enough to evade my recent memory.  I used one of the embossed cards from DCWV, stamped "congrats" on it with SU Basic Black ink, punched a 1-1/4" square from SU Basic Black card stock, stuck a mini brad in the center, looped a piece of SU Gold Cord around the brad and tied the two ends then unraveled them to make the tassel.  I anchored the tassel end to the card with a mini glue dot.  I used a clear Gelly Roll Glaze Pen to give some shine to the inside of the letters.  Done!! The Congrats is from one of the dollar sets from Studio G that I picked up at Michael's or JoAnn's.  It probably took about 3 minutes to make this card.  Thanks for looking!

Hello!

The third, and final, card I will post tonight is my favorite of the three.  I think it's the color combination.  This card came from a box included in the "amongst other things I bought at Michael's."  It is from the Kitchen Note Card collection from We R Memory Keepers.  The box is soooo cute I had to buy this set!!!  I also picked up some little sets of acrylic stamps at JoAnn's and Michael's from Studio G.  The little flower and the Hello! are from one of those sets.  They are stamped in Cranberry Crisp on Whisper White card stock.  I used the Stampin' Up! small oval punch to punch out the hello! and the large oval to punch out the hole in Buckaroo Blue card stock.  I distressed the edges of the two white elements and they are popped with Dimensionals.  The flowers are watercolored with Buckaroo Blue ink and mounted on Buckaroo Blue card stock.  The ribbon is Stampin' Up! Cranberry Crisp, the flower is a Prima with a Karen Foster brad in the center.  Thanks for peeking!  I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!