Rose Shaker Tag Gift Bag

For this last shaker tag I decided to make a matching little gift bag.
I found this great pack of 25 simple white gift bags at my local Dollarama for $3. Can't beat that price and the basic white is just asking to be beautified.

I did learn the hard way that one should open the bag and place a solid surface inside before stamping or the design towards the bottom of the bag where the fold is, won't stamp too well. It still turned out quite pretty though and I do have 24 more bags to practice on.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Bazzill, Recollections
Stamps: Four Frames - SU, Sheltering Tree - SU, Cottage Rose - SU
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette, Always Artichoke, Mossy meadow - SU, Memento - Tuxedo Black
Markers:  Copic RV10, RV34, SU Blendabilities: Old Olive
Punch: Deco Label - SU
Die: Two Tags - SU, Bold Butterflies - SU
Misc.: acetate, clear micro beads, Rhinestones, Always Artichoke seam binding, White gift bag

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

More Shake Tags

I love how the same basic design of a project can turn out completely different just be changing the colours and embellishments.

These pretty shaker tag were create with the same basic supplies as my birthday tag form yesterday's post. I simple chose different colours, embellishments and one of the other Four Frame stamps.

This one uses the filigree frame. Which made me think of my grandmother. So I turned it into a bit of an antique design, choosing lace, flowers and soft cream/brown hues.

The little flowers were stamped in black ink and then I sponged them with a little brown and dark red. I shape the petals a little and twisted 2 into smaller buds. Each has a rhinestone centre that was coloured with alcohol markers.
The ruler/yard stick at the bottom was a scrap of a self adhesive border.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections - ivory, rest is old Bazzill
Ink: Colorbox Chalk ink - Chestnut Roan, Memento - Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler & Early Espresso - SU
Stamps: Four Frames - SU, Petite Petals - SU
Punches: Deco Frame - SU, Petite Petals - SU
Die: Two Tags - SU
Misc.: foam tape, acetate, rhinestones (1 for each flower center), 5/8" taupe lace ribbon, clear micro beads, yard stick border - K & Company -  Julianne

The little bird frame inspired autumn.  I coloured the bird with alcohol markers to resemble a robin. Going with the fall theme I coloured the flowers yellow and brown. I kept the front of the tag rather simple and now wonder if maybe stamping it with a darker red or brown using a background stamp such as a wood texture would maybe enhance the autumn feeling a little.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Early Espresso & Mossy Meadow - SU
Markers: SU Blendabilities - Daffodile Delight, Old Olive, Skintone, Cherry Cobbler
Stamps: Four Frames - SU, Petite Petals - SU
Punches: Deco Frame - SU, Petite Petals - SU
Die: Two Tags - SU
Misc.: foam tape, acetate, Always Asparagus seam binding, clear micro beads,

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Birthday Shaker Tag

This past week has been a busy one for me. Most of the week I attended a work related training seminar and therefore had very little time (nor energy) to create anything.

Yesterday I felt rather uninspired but thank goodness today I had some time and the creative juices started flowing. My inspiration came from my last card, the one with the cute little micro bead shaker.

This time I made several shaker tags. I love how fast & easy these come together when using a stamp set and matching punch (or die).

I decided to use the deco label punch and Four Frames stamp set to create four different looks with the same shaker technique.

Here is a closer look at the Birthday tag.

I die cut the tag from light blue cardstock, then punched the deco label from the bottom (as high as the punch will reach) making sure to center it. Next I sponged the edges of the tag in blue.

I then stamped the frame and sentiment on a scrap piece (approx. 2" x 3") of white cardstock.
I cut foam tape into strips and attached it around the stamped image to create my shaker frame.

I cut a 2" x 3" piece of clear acetate and using my trusty Mono Multi liquid glue adhered it to the back of my blue tag. I then filled my shaker base with some micro beads, removed the adhesive from the back of the foam frame and carefully placed my blue tag on top, ensuring the opening is centered over the stamped image, pressing a little around the opening edges to make sure the foam tape adhered.

I then used several foam dots (and some scrap) the same thickness as my foam tape on the back of the tag and adhered a white layer slightly bigger than the blue tag.

I hand trimmed the white cardstock to approx. 1/8" width all around. That's it. The shaker tag is done and ready to be decorated.

I chose to add a few punch art balloons and a white organza bow. The punch art is not my design, you can find the instructions for the basic small oval balloon here. I did mix it up by making a larger oval and a heart balloon in addition to the 2 small balloons.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections - white, all others Bazzill
Ink: Marina mist, Daffodil Delight - SU
Stamps: Four Frames - SU, Vintage Labels - SU
Punch: Deco Label - SU, Small oval - SU, Small wide oval - SU, Owl Builder - SU, Medium Heart - Emagination
Die: Two Tags - SU
Misc.: foam tape, acetate, white gel pen, mini rhinestones, 5/8" white organza ribbon, clear micro beads

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Simple Shaker Card

I remember shakers being all the rage about 15 years ago. I made them filled with metallic confetti, seed beads, punch outs, shrinky dink creations ... you name it I tried it.
Then they got old and I put away my confetti and such to never give them a second thought again.

Well recently I've been seeing more and more shakers on cards so I thought I'd incorporate them into mine once again.

I was puzzling over what to fill it with though. I tried sequins (which seems to be the go-to-filler these days), but found it was getting stuck to the foam tape edges and didn't look very nice.
I have to note here that I currently only have 1/16" foam tape and for a proper shaker needed to layer it. This is not the best idea. As hard as I tried there were sticky edges in the layers.
Of course I had the same results with the metallic confetti (and I still have a ton of this in various themes (wedding, fall, baby....).

I must have pulled apart my card 3 or more times to change out the content and wasn't happy with any of it.  I then decided to look through my abundant stash of embellishments. And what do you know, I came across a large jar of those tiny clear micro beads (no holes). I've had these for more than 12 years, gathering dust. I used to stamp images and then cover it with the beads for a unique glass effect. But the results were rather heavy, so I haven't used them in forever.

I decided to use a small scoop of these, and guess what, I love how this turned out and I love how the beads roll inside the shaker. I doubt I am the first to use them for this purposes but to me it is a new and versatile solutions for these old micro beads. And to top it off, they are clear so the image I stamped inside the shaker can still be seen no matter where the beads are. Win, win if you ask me. You can bet I will be making more shakers filled with these beads.

So without any further ado here is the card I made.

I kept it somewhat simple so the focus is on my shaker, which contains the greeting.
Now although the shaker is shaped, my "box" is a simple square behind the cut out.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections white, Bazzill colours
Stamps: You're Lovely - SU, Kinda Eclectic - SU
Die: Deco sables Framelits - SU
Punches: banner punch - SU, 1 1/4" square - SU (for large banner tails)
Embossing folder: Cloudy Day - SU
Alcohol markers: Copic: Y21, Y23, YR02, Blendabilities by SU- Skintone and Old Olive
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Soft Sky, Tangelo Twist, So Safron, Old Olive - SU
Misc.: Acetate, Foam mounting tape, clear micro beads

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

CAS Best Thoughts

Here is one more card created with SU's Best Thoughts stamp set. This time I decided to go the CAS (clean-and-simple) route. I always find it amazing how versatile one image can be.
Just looking at the three cards I made with this set, a simple change in style can makes this image look so very different.

I kept my background very simple - white, but textured by use of embossing folder.
I coloured my flowers with lighter colours, which seem to give the card a spring like feeling.
I also speckled my mat by flicking my marker pens above the paper.

I couldn't quite resist adding a few little pearls that I coloured using Copics to match the colour of the flowers and a very sheer organza bow. The flower image was die cut and adhered with a little bit of foam tape (very shallow, only about 1/16" thick).

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Best Thoughts - SU
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Alcohol markers: Copic -R11, R22, R24, YG03, YG25, W1, W3, W5, Blendabilities by SU - Lightest of Olive Green
Misc.: foam tape, little self adhesive pearls (Recollections), 5/8" peach organza ribbon

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Best Thoughts with a touch of Goth

This is my second card using the Best Thoughts SU stamp set.
I decided to colour the image with markers and let my daughter's passion for the Goth style inspire my colour choices.

This image was stamped in black ink on white cardstock and then coloured using alcohol markers. I also added a light shadow to the right of the image.
My shading isn't perfect yet, but it's slowly getting there.

I die cut the image, stamped the butterfly on a scrap piece and then fussy cut it.
I embosser a piece of red cardstock, then die cut into a banner. The black background was also embossed. Both embossed pieces were inked with white pearlescent ink to enhance the raised design.

The sentiment was stamped and die cut, I trimmed the bottom of the design as I found it too large for my card.
The flower image was attached with foam mounting tape (1/8" thick) and the butterfly with a 1/4" foam square.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Best Thoughts - SU, Morning Meadow - SU
Embossing folders: Fancy Fan - SU, Heart Entwined - Elizabeth Craft
Dies: Banners Framelits - SU, Deco Labels Framelits - SU, Apothecary Accents - SU
Ink: Tuxedo Black - Memento, |Cherry Cobbler  SU, Pealescent white - Club Scrap
Markers: Love Green, Cherry Cobbler - SU Blendabilites, Dark Red (R89), Warm Gray (W1, W3, W5), Maize (Y35), Cool Gray (C7),Light Orange (YR02) - Copic
Misc.: Foam mounting tape

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Shabby Chic Best Thoughts

I am slowly trying to make my way through all the new stamps I purchased in the past 3 months which I still have not used (after all, I have got to be able to justify buying several of the amazing sets in SU's new Holiday mini).

On the docket for this week is SU's Hostess set Best Thoughts. I love this beautiful large flower image. It is perfect for colouring with Copics, which was my plan. However after looking at it for a while I thought before I go the colouring's route I would try a simple embossed image.

The results were this very shabby chic looking card. Although not my usual style I am really pleased with how it turned out.

I am also pleased with how many old products I managed to make good use off.

I started by stamping the post card image on ivory cardstock. I then trimmed it and distressed the edges. The entire layer was then sprayed with a little walnut stain.

Next I stamped several grungy splatters in pink and green. I also stamped some random writing and my "Hello" greeting.

The postage stamp image was stamped on a scrap piece of ivory and then punched out using the SU stamp punch.

The white paper doily was distressed with Walnut stain and a small scrap of doily was sponged with pink ink.

The flower image was stamped with Versamark on dark brown cardstock and embossed with Verdigris embossing powder. The image was then fussy cut and attached with foam tape for a ltitle added depth.

My card base is light ivory. The edges were sponged with pink and a few walnut ink smudges.
I also added a little pink colour to the cotton bow and the 2c portion of the stamp image with markers.

Last but not least I added a few small pearls for a little touch of chic.

Supplies used;
Cardstock: Recollections ivory and light ivory. Bazzill brown
Ink: ColorBox Chalk ink - Chestnut Roan, SU - Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Pistachio Pudding,
        Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Walnut Stain, Versamark
Stamps: Post Card - SU, Gorgeous Grunge - SU, Label Something - SU, Best Thoughts - SU,
              Postage Due - SU, random script - Club Scrap
Markers: Pale Cherry pink (R11), Light Prawn (R22), Warm Gray (W3) - Copic
Embossing powder: Vintage Verdigris - SU
Punch: Postage Stamp - SU
Misc.: Natural cotton ribbon, paper doily, tiny pearls, foam mounting tape, Tonic Perforator (for distressing)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Tree Builder Christmas Swag

My apologies for the lack of posts. I had intended to post sooner this week but we've been hit with two severe thunderstorms that resulted in a lot of hail, flash floods and power outages.
Yesterday I almost didn't make it home as I had to drive through a foot of water to try and merge onto the freeway.

Now on to my card.
After creating a rustic looking branch wreath with the tree builder punch I wondered if I could also turn it into a pine wreath or swag.

It turned out fairly well so I decided to share this card.

I used 10 dark green tree shapes and 4 light green. It does look a little sparse in a couple of spots. If you like, increase them by 2 more on each side to produce a fuller swag.

I added a few red rhinestones as they really catch the light well for a festive look and the red reminds me of holly.
The finished card is 5.5" square.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollection white and ivory,rest is Bazzill
Patterned paper: We R Memory Keepers Antique Chic 6 x 6 paper pad
Stamps: French Script - SU, Wondrous Wreath - SU
Ink: ColorBox Fluid Ink - Chestnut Roan, Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow - SU
Dies: Apothecary Accents - SU, Labels Framelits - SU
Punches: Tree Builder - SU, Bow Builder - SU
Misc.: 6 x 1/4" red rhinestones, 2 x 1/4" clear rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Tree Builder Fall Wreath

It may still be summer but I am starting to plan my fall projects as it always seems to sneak up on me.
On top of that with back to school, Thanksgiving and Halloween the time always seems to pass too quickly.

So when this idea came to me I had to create it right away just in case later I won't have enough time.

The wreath is made with one punch, the new SU Tree Builder punch. The wreath base uses 12 bare tree punch outs.

The decorations consist of 3 birds, 5 apples and 15 drops (use as leaves). All shapes were inked in a coordinating colour.

The finished wreath was attached using 1/8" foam squares.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Bazzill, Recollections for the base
Stamp: Because you Care - SU
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU: Tangelo Twist, Mossy Meadow, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry
Die: Banners Framelits - SU
Punch: Tree Builder - SU
Misc.: black marker, foam squares, Always Artichoke seam binding - SU

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.