Card Tutorial: The "One Stamp" Card

If you liked my butterfly card that I made for my sister's birthday (posted earlier), then you will like the new photo tutorial I have made on how to make it.  I have submitted my tutorial to the iCraft Mother's Day Craft Contest.  (Click to see other gift tutorial entries!)

Children can use this technique to make cards, too, by skipping the embossing step.  (If using a solid stamp image, the patterned paper step can be skipped too).  Children can use any stamps - mine was from the sale bins at Michael's - but foam stamps with acrylic paint could work too if those are easier for children to work with.  For a lesson on being green, you might even use a carved potato stamp.

Click the picture to go to the tutorial.

Hope you enjoy!

Homsense Spinning Lady

So, last weekend, I participated in Empower Hour to raise funds for the fight to end violence against women.  It's a cause with meaning for me, which I fully exploited to get my office to donate A LOT.  I raised enough funds that I got a $50 gift card to Homesense (one of the event sponsors).  I donated $50 myself to kick off my donation pool, so it was kind of nice to get my money back and go shopping!

Homesense and Winners are related stores.  Winners makes me crazy.  Their housewares section is pretty nice but I can't buy clothes they way they are laid out (same way as Marshall's in the U.S.).  Homesense is their home decor store.  LOVED IT!  There are A LOT of great things at reasonable prices.  There is even some scrappy things (I found a Sew Easy Stamper kit for $20, W R Memory keepers fine point scissors for $6 and W R Memory Keepers 18" magnetic mat for $20.)  I didn't buy any of the scrappy things though.  I went there with an eye for shopping for my NEW paper studio.  This summer, my darling husband offered to take his computer and the room furniture out of our shared computer room and put it in my scraproom and I will get the computer room!  It's 2 feet bigger in both directions with a much bigger closet too!  (I think the closet stuff will stay though - it's one of our storage areas, since our basement is occupied.)

Here's what I got with my $50!

(Click for a bigger picture.)

I bought a lazy Susan ($7), a jewellery holder lady ($20) and 4 small hanging pots ($5 each).  My most used scissors are directly on the lady with my tapes.  My other scissors, pens, glues, and tools are in the planter buckets.

You can see her less loaded here:

My new room will have very light grey walls and a teal/turquoise and purple/orchid accent colour combo.  The little cups there with my clothespins in them are from the dollar store.  The baskets behind are also from the dollar store.  The shelf riser was from Home Depot for $6 or $7 dollars.

I can't wait to get my new space!  We will be doing the big move during the summer.

Special Butterflies Card

I made this card for my sister's birthday.  I had gotten this butterfly stamp from the $1.50 bin at Michael's.  Even though I paid 1.5x what an American paper crafter would pay, it's still a good deal .  I prefer rubber stamps to acrylic, so I popped this one into my basket.

I stamped the butterfly all over in Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink and also distressed around the edges with the ink.  Then I stamped the butterfly onto teal patterned paper (it has a very slight pattern) with Versamark twice and embossed them with black embossing powder.  I fussy cut both of the teal butterflies out.  I didn't cut the antennae.  Those were brown on the base card, so I outlined the "stand out" butterfly on the base card with a black sharpie pen.  That ensured that if I didn't line up the cutout butterfly perfectly, no brown would show around the edges and it also made the antennae black.

One butterfly is adhered down flat.  The other is adhered only in the centre with the wings folded up a little.  I made the sentiment with my Bosskut Gazelle.  Any font that it draws it draws in an outline shape (because it's meant to cut out the font with a blade).  I usually colour the letters in, but these were so small, I would have to go back with a white gel pen to make the insides of the letters like in the "e" or in the "A".  So, I left them as an outline.  I kind of like it that way.  It adds to the "airy" feel of the card, I think.

I had fun!  After I had done the one-punch card for our friend, I wanted to try this technique to make a one-stamp card.  My sister liked it!  That's what counts.

Masculine Milestone Birthday Card

One of our friends has turned 40 this year and we are hosting a party for him.  Crafting time is at a premium for me during tax season, but I had to make something for this milestone.  I just got a new Stampin' Up! punch that is gears.  It doesn't punch my Elan Metallic cardstock but it does punch the Bazzill metallic cardstock.  I was worried it was broken when it wouldn't punch the Elan cardstock, which was the first I tried.  After making this card with regular cardstock, it seemed to loosen up a bit.  I guess it needed to be "broken in".  Well, with the number of gears I punched on this masculine birthday card, it definitely got a work out!

This is a one punch card!  The punch has gears in two sizes.  I did use my electronic cutter to cut the "4" but you could use a chipboard letter.  I considered inking the gears to make them stand out more, but there were just so many and they are just so small.  They are clearly visible to the naked eye though.

My sister's birthday was also this past week.  I have her card made (and I really like it), but I have to think of the inside still.  I'll snag a picture before I hand it over to her.

Happy Easter Weekend everyone!