Almost Artisan Card #1: Cupcake

I’ve finally got my Artisan project photos all edited, and have started writing my posts about them. So starting today I’ll be posting one Almost Artisan project a week – roughly in the order I created them. Here is Card #1 – Cupcake:

This card was inspired by a photograph of Liz Lemon’s cupcake pajamas in Entertainment Weekly. I’d originally imagined it as a standard sized card with a bunch of color blocks with a cupcake on each.

But when I mocked that up I was really unimpressed with it. So then I decided to scale down to one cupcake on a 3×3″ card – I wanted to make a confection-y nugget of a card.

The card base is Shimmery White card stock that was run through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Die.

The ribbon is from the Masterpiece Ribbon Originals collection. It is actually two pieces – one long one, and a second shorter one that was folded to make loops. I sewed the two ribbons together to make sure they would stay together.

The next layer is a Love Notes Kisses (from the Occasions Mini) that I dyed using a Pretty In Pink Reinker. On a plate I mixed reinker with water and then let the paper soak in the mixture until it had soaked up the color. It took several tries to get the color I wanted, and unfortunately I didn’t keep track of the ratio of reinker to water! After it dried, I paper pierced around the edges to add some extra detail. It is popped up with two layers of Stampin’ Dimensionals to give the ribbon enough room underneath.

The last layer is the little glittery cupcake. I stamped the cupcake in Black StazOn and then colored with Stampin’ Write Markers. I then heat embossed the cupcake with a combination of clear embossing powder and Dazzling Diamonds. I then cut it out and covered it with Crystal Effects to make it extra shiny and button-like. It was popped up with a Stampin’ Dimensional.

Recipe:

• Stamps: The More the Merrier
• Paper: Love Notes Kisses, Shimmery White
• Ink: Pretty In Pink Reinker, Black Stazon, Stampin’ Write Markers, Versamark
• Embellishments: Masterpiece Ribbon Originals, Clear Embossing Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Crystal Effects
• Tools: Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Heat Tool, Paper Snips, Craft and Ribbon Sissors

Woven Melon Mambo Card

This is a card I sent to Stampin’ Up! last June for one of the monthly design contests they have for Demonstrators. I’d saved it to post later, and just re-discovered it!

I really love this card because of the bright colors – Apricot Appeal and Melon Mambo, and the black gingham ribbon adds a sweet and edgy touch to the card.

The weaving isn’t as difficult as it looks – the trick is to get it set up correctly at the beginning. Here is what I did:

• Position a 4 1/2” x 5 1/2” piece of Melon Mambo with the long edge at the top. Use Dotto to keep paper in place.
• Using a ruler, draw a line parallel to the top of the card, 1/4” from the edge. Repeat from the bottom. These two lines will tell you where to start and stop cutting in the next step.
• Starting 1/2” from the left, use the Hobby Blade to cut a line from the top to the bottom line, using the ruler to guide you.
• Repeat every 1/4” until you are 1/2” from the right side of the card. Now you have a “loom” in which to weave.
• Cut eleven (11) 1/4” x 4” strips of Apricot Appeal. Weave these in and out of the “loom” created in the Melon Mambo card stock. Continue until you can’t fit any more strips. No need for adhesive; they will hold tight in the “loom”. You may need to push up the strips as you work.

Recipe:

• Stamps: The More the Merrier
• Paper: Melon Mambo, Apricot Appeal, Basic Black
• Ink: Basic Black
• Accessories: Whisper White 1/4” Grosgrain, Black Gingham Ribbon,
• Adhesives: Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL, Dotto
• Tools: Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Hobby Blade, Craft & Paper Scissors, ruler

Shop OnyxStamps

Since I’ve been told repeatedly that I should sell my creations, I’ve launched an online shop at ShopHandmade.com. I’ve also added a “Shop” page to this blog that will have a glimpse of the current products that I have available for sale.

The first item I listed is this fantastic Thank You Set that I made for my friend’s daughter birthday.

It has 20 Thank You Cards and envelopes (10 each of 2 designs) which are held in a fabulous purse that is customized with an initial. The idea is that the cards could be sent as is, or the images could be colored (my friend’s daughter loves art, so coloring would be a fun way to make them ‘hers’”. It is $40, which includes shipping inside the US. You can purchase a set here.

New Catalog Preview, #2

The new Level 2 Hostess set The More the Merrier, is so cute I just had to have it right away. It has great selection of images and sentiments for the major holidays during the year. I’m participating in a preview swap, and am still playing around with ideas. This is an idea I had that hasn’t really worked out yet, but made such a lovely little card I had to share.

This stamp actually has 5 cupcakes on it. I cut a piece of Whisper White paper to fit the Scallop Envelope die, inked up only three of the cupcakes and stamped them on the top card. I then used my Hobby Blade and a ruler to draw a straight line across, skipping the cupcakes. I then used my paper snips to carefully cut out the tops of the cupcakes. I then colored them with a mixture of Stampin’ Pastels and Stampin’ Write Markers.

Recipe:

• Stamps: The More the Merrier
• Paper: Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss
• Ink/Coloring: StazOn, Stampin’ Pastels, Stampin’ Write Markers
• Accessories/Tools: Hobby Blade, Paper Snips, Blender Pens, Stamp-a-ma-jig