Faith's Journals

Faith came over today to try and finish up her Christmas present journals. We ended up doing 10 of them and I "made" her do most of the work after I showed her how to streamline her process. I'm quite proud of her efforts and how well she did.

See what you think:

I think her friends will be quite pleased. I had to laugh though... She said she liked them so much that she almost couldn't bear to part with them. She now has about 15 of them made so I'm sure she'll be able to keep one or two for herself.

Cards for my friend

I had an additional order for some cards for a co-worker. I finally got the all finished today. Here they are:

Two thank you cards, one wedding card, one "anything" card (hello), one baby shower card, and one birthday card.

I think they turned out very cute. Hope she likes them...

New cards

I have some new cards to share. The first one is Get Well Riley.

We have a very dear friend who had a traumatic brain injury several years ago from a car accident. She did well for quite awhile (after not being expected to live at all) but over the past few years her health has declined. Her daughter let us know that she's been quite sick this year so I wanted to send her a little "Riley" cheer.

This card is part of an order of cards that I've been working on.

It'll be in a set with the thank you card and the "hello" card. I still have to make one more thank you card and the order will be complete.

This is another card for her order:

I stamped "baby" randomly over the cardstock in yellow and then went back over it with green. I did the same thing to the envelope and the liner for the envelope.

Stair-step card

I saw a card on another blog that I really, really wanted to make. I didn't have the same cartridge that was used in the inspiration card, but I made some adjustments and came up with my own version of it. She used carolers in her scene and I switched to snowmen.

The inspiration card can be found here at Scrapbookpal.com:


Here is my version of it:

I take crooked pictures. Oops... Sorry.

Here it is from the side:

I think I might need more snow on the roof tops. The color is not as true as the card really looks. Oh well.

What do you think?

Instructions:

Materials used:


Joys of the Season Cricut cartridge (snowman on page 48)
Winter Wonderland Cricut cartridge (trees on page 37, building on page 43, building on page 42, and building on page 44)
Christmas Cheer Cricut cartridge (snowman on page 122)
Polar White Flower Soft for the snow
Spring Iris ink (Close to My Heart) for the stamp
Blue ribbon
Bazzil cardstock in brown (tree trunk), green (trees; sorry – not sure of the color name), yellow (lights in buildings), and midnight blue (sky)
Silver glitter
Copic markers
Jewel accents
Stardust Stickles

Directions:

I followed the measurements for the blue cardstock on ScrapbookPals.com blog. They are:

Cut two pieces in the following sizes:

10.5 x 6.5 (scored at 1.25”, 2.5”, 4.5”, 6”, and 8.25” – fold in a zig-zag pattern)
5.5 x 6.5
Stamp this piece with a star stamp. I used a glue stamp and then dipped the piece in silver glitter; tap off excess and set aside

For the “snow” use three strips of white cardstock in 6.5 x 1.5, 6.5 x 1.75, and 6.5 x 2 inches. Tear along the tops to make a jagged edge.

Create “snow” by adding glue and the Polar White Flower Soft to the white strips of cardstock and set aside to dry.

Select your stamped image (I used Merry & Bright stamped in Spring Iris ink from Close to My Heart); stamp on white cardstock and trim with decorative edge trimmer. Mount on a dark blue mat. (Note: I put the ribbon between the white stamped image and the blue mat.)

Since I didn’t have the same cartridge for the trees and buildings, here are my measurements:

Winter Wonderland:

Cut trees from the green cardstock at 3.5. Re-cut with the shift to get the tree trunks, using brown
Adhere the brown trunks to the trees and set aside

Winter Wonderland:

Cut the building (church) on page 43 at 4.5 inches in black on the setting
Cut the building on page 42 at 4 inches in black on the setting
Cut the building on page 44 at 4 inches in black on the setting

Joys of the Season:

Cut the image in white at 3 inches. Color hat, branches, facial features, and scarf with your choice of colors. Add stickles or glitter to give some sheen and sparkle. Add Flower Soft as desired.

Christmas Cheer:

Cut image at 3 inches in white. Color hat, branches, facial features, and scarf with your choice of colors. Add stickles or glitter to give some sheen and sparkle. Add Flower Soft as desired.

Using scrap yellow cardstock, create “lights” for the building windows and adhere to the backs of the buildings.

Time to assemble:

Glue your “snow” to the two lower folds.
Glue your buildings onto the stamped blue cardstock and then glue this piece to the back fold. Don’t glue it all the way to the bottom or it won’t be tall enough over the other folds. Add “snow” to the rooftops.
Glue your last piece of “snow” to the inside of the last fold.
Attach your images.
Attach your stamped image and ribbon to the front layer.

If the images and the snow make the card too heavy, you can cut and attach anchors to the bottom to help keep it upright.

New Journals

Today was busier than I had originally planned. Got up, took the dog for her monthly beauty appointment, took Keith to work, went to the car dealership to pick up my garage door opener (that I left in the loaner), went to a scrapbook store to get a few items I needed for some orders (and ended up making a totally cute "ornament" make-and-take), headed back to work to leave Keith my car and stayed to watch Isaiah at our Toys for Tots "carnival" (to raise money for the local chapter). Then, I left with Amy and Isaiah and went to lunch (she bought - Chipotle's), Toys r Us so Isaiah could show us "exactly" what he wanted for Christmas, and then the mall so she could pick up her wedding ring that she's sent off for repairs and to pick up some items from Bath and Body Works that she had a coupon for. Next, we went to Kohl's because someone had outgrown his winter coat. We ran into Faith, our 15 year old granddaughter, and her mom. She wanted to come over tonight to work on her journals for her friends' Christmas presents, so I said to come on over. Isaiah wanted to spend the night anyway so I probably wasn't going to get much done for my stuff.

So, instead of working on my Christmas cards tonight, I helped Faith and one of her friends make journals and cards for friends. I was really pleased with how well they came out. They picked the papers and I did most of the gluing. My Scotch tape runner was being very difficult. I didn't get any pictures of the cards but here are the journals "they" made:

 And this is the other one for my co-worker's order:

All in all, it was a very good day.

The finished journal

I just have to brag... I am so happy with how this journal turned out.

Outside:

Inside front:

I think she's going to be thrilled with it.

Christmas cards

Here are my Christmas card offerings (for now). They'll be $3.00 each or 4 of the same for $10. The larger one will be $4 each or 4 of the same for $12.

The bottom right is bigger and has basically a 2nd card inside and then the inside of that is blank. The blue snowflake card has a design inside, but the card is blank for writing. I can stamp Merry Christmas or something else inside.

The snowman card I can also do more than one way. I have a few Riley Moose stamps and will be doing some with those. One is Santa going down the chimney, one is Riley decorating the tree, one is Riley bringing home the tree, and the last is Mrs. Claus. They're very cute and will be the same prices, too.

The snowman is stamped, colored with Copic markers, and then cut out. He's also sprinkled with glitter. I'm having difficulty locating a snowflake punch exactly like the one I used to make these. I have a smaller one but the larger one is no longer being sold. I sold 3 sets of cards today that use that punch so I have to figure out something very quickly.

Scrap N Tote giveaway at Bits of Paper

Jamie Lane, over at Bits of Paper is giving away a PINK scrap-n-tote Cricut storage container. This thing is really neat and I'd love to have one, especially a pink one. Free would be good, too. LOL!

Anyway, check out her blog and contest here.

I love her blog. She's very talented and posts links to download files. Very nice!

New Journal and New Card

One of the ladies at work is having a birthday on Monday. I decided to make her a special covered journal...

I decided that it looked too shiny so I opted to add a little bit of distressing ink to the edges. I liked it so well, I added a bit more and a bit more. I think the finished item has just the right amount of "aged" look.  The birthday card slides down into the envelope on the front.

I'm so proud of myself... I used my Cricut today to cut out the mini-birthday card, envelope, and the "laugh often" words. I was just playing around with it and decided to do one of the simple projects on one of the cartridges.

I've been working on a birthday card for twin girls for a couple of weeks. I just didn't quite have how I wanted it to look. I'm happy with it today. The nice thing about designing cards is that once I have a design "down" I can re-create it pretty quickly.

I actually used my Cricut to cut these letters, too. The glare makes it look like there's too much glue or something on it, but they're really just fine. I think it's the lighting and the glare.

Halloween-themed Wedding Card

I made a special-order card for my friend, who sent it to her friend who was renewing her wedding vows on Halloween. I thought it turned out pretty cute but I couldn't post it until the recipient had actually received it.

She loved it, which is nice.

I hand-cut the bride and groom bodies. The "faces" are from a sheet of Halloween paper. The bride's gloves and over-skirt came from a piece of Amy's former wedding album and her veil came from one of my slips (it already had a rip - I just helped it along). All in all, I think it turned out very nicely.

Thanksgiving Cards

I have finished the four Thanksgiving cards for my friend at work. Here is one of them. They are all the same. I did add more "jewels" to the ribbon (of course, I think of these things after I've taken pictures).

Pumpkin (glitter) Fall Cards

All done with my special order for eight glittery pumpkin cards. These will go into the mail tomorrow.

The envelopes are lined with handmade copper paper. There was a paper store going out of business this summer so I stocked up on some really nice quality handmade papers. This copper one is really beautiful.

The insides are blank so she can add her own sentiment.

Enjoy...

Altered Journal

One thing I'm doing for Christmas presents this year is an altered journal. I work with several ladies and have three teenage granddaughters, so I thought something like this would be a good gift.

This is the first one, which I may keep for myself. I decided one thing I needed to do differently - after I hadn't done it - so I may keep this first attempt. See if you can guess what I should have done...

Front

Back

Inside

I should have put the ribbon under the inside liner piece. I actually thought of the ribbon after I'd already done the lining. Oh well - it's still very pretty.

Christmas Cards - take 1

Kris and I went to the Creative Keepsakes convention in Kansas City a couple of weeks ago. I got some great ideas. The Wise Men are printed on clear acetate and then mounted on the shiny purple paper. This set will be going on Etsy for $10 for the set.

They're not very big - I think maybe 4 x 3.5. The star has been enhanced with silver glitter. The camel harnesses have also been enhanced with silver glitter. The background is intended to mimic the night sky. The envelopes are completely hand made and lined with coordinating paper.

Thanksgiving Card

I made this card today for Pat over at A View From the Edge (we met for dinner tonight) but the glitter wasn't dry before I left to meet her. So... I'll have to mail it to her instead.

I hope she likes it.

Halloween Cards

A friend of mine ordered a total of 12 cards from me - four Halloween cards and eight of the glitter pumpkin cards. The Halloween cards I needed to get made and in the mail quickly so she could get them in plenty of time. The glitter cards I can do over the next couple of weeks and send to her by the end of the month.

These are my Halloween cards. I have to say, I'm really quite proud of them.

The glitter puts a little bit of a glare on the picture, but I'm kind of limited on what I can use to stand them so I can take a picture. Maybe I'll get something someday. For now, I need to recoup some investment and then start paying on some medical bills.

Here are the cards individually with their envelopes. I took these pictures with my Nikon camera, so the colors are a bit better.

Flower making

Amy and I went to a flower making class last night. We had a great time. These are my flowers:

The yellow/blue on the left is made with two long strips of paper that have been "accordion" folded, the one in front (purplish) is made from three 1.5" punches, the pink one standing is one 1.5" scalloped punch, the "Dogwood tree" flower is made with four little balloon (yes, balloon) punches and two star punches (with flower fluff in the middle), and the last one on the right is done with Tim Holtz Grungeboard and one of his dies.

It was loads of fun and I am sure I can re-create all but the grungeboard flower.

Big sister card

I finished the "big sister" card for my friend at work and took it in today for her approval. She liked it, which was a relief. There's really nothing out there to give to siblings when a new baby sister/brother is born. (Hint: Artists out there should think about that and come up with a solution.)

I used the Riley Stroller image and added a pink hair bow. The moose is most likely supposed to be a "mommy" and not a child, but I made it work.

The bottom is scalloped (picture cut off the bottom).

Some changes

You may have noticed that I have a new name... Tee's Treasures. I'm hoping that by changing the name a bit (I may have to change the blog URL, too) that I'll direct more people here. "Why?" you might ask. I want to be able to take orders for cards or sell cards that I already have made. I am working on getting some cards made up and will post them here as I do.

I also created an Etsy store, which is currently empty - but will have stuff posted soon (I hope).

I hope that people will find something they like and either refer a friend or make a purchase. All proceeds will go to a worthy cause - really... Medical bills!!!

Latest cards

I've been making a few cards to give to people and one of the ladies I work with has been really encouraging me to sell some - with her as my first customer. I know that my stuff is just average at best, but I was really flattered that she thought so highly of them.

I sold her the fall pumpkin card I'd made and the standing card that said "Never regret..." - and I custom made her a baby boy card and a boy's 1st birthday card. I still have to make her a "big sister" card and a congrats on baby girl card. She said she buys cards nearly every month so she would definitely be interested in special orders. I would like to put together small assortment packages - like 4 cards for $10 or so.

Here are her cards:

The moose card was supposed to look like this next one, but since it was for a 1st birthday, I had to make some minor adjustments:

My nephew and his wife just had a baby girl, so I made this card for them:

Fall card and Stamps

Two Saturdays ago, I went to KC to go with my sister to the Renaissance Fair. While we were there, we went to visit a stamping shop that she had told me about, Stampers, Ink. The owner holds the license for a stamp line called Riley & Company. I made one card while at the store and then made a couple of tags at my sister's house. My phone didn't take a great photo (the color was a bit off), but here it is anyway:

It's colored with Copic markers. Can't tell you what supplies I used because they were pre-cut and provided for at the shop.

She also had some cards that she'd done with acetate and glitter, and was in the process of putting together a new card for a class for the next week. I (obviously) wouldn't be able to be there, so she graciously let me take a picture of her card:

This is my rendition of it, just based on the picture and no written instructions. I'm pretty pleased with my initial attempt at this art form:

I have a little bit of glitter that came off when I was working. LOL - it is fun, but messy. It's definitely a learning curve to figure out how to get it all done without wearing part of it. Plus, she didn't say how heavy to put on the glue so mine is a bit thinner than the original card. Also, not sure if you noticed or not, but I actually have the acetate reversed from hers. I guess it's correct either way, and I had originally marked what I thought was the "top" of the stamp - and then it ended up looking like this. Oh well... I like it.

I really like this art form so I will be doing some Christmas cards like this. I also really like the Riley & Company stamp line.

Now, to just stay away from that store...

New Cards

I had signed up for a card making class at my LSS and it was scheduled for July 13. With Ron's emergency surgery on July 12, I completely forgot about it. In fact, I didn't even remember it for over a week and one night as I was coming home from the rehab center, it hit me that I'd missed the class. I know that she pays the teacher based on the people who sign up, so I figured at best they'd give me credit towards another classs. That's exactly what the store did and I took last week's class.

We made four cards in two hours - and each of them had quite a bit of detail. I was really glad that I got to take this class because the cards turned out beautifully.

I gave the black and white one to my mom for her birthday and the "Dance" card is going to someone for her 13th birthday. I figure that 13-year olds definitely dance to their own music, so this is very appropriate for her.

Since this picture was taken, I've colored the butterfly and flower and added some sparkle in other places. I like it.

I hope she does, too.

Back to School card

In my blog browsing the other day, I came across a totally adorable back to school card on here on Craft Room with A View blog. I loved it! As I was reading how she did it and such, I noticed that she had actually seen one here on Hands, Head, and Heart blog (scroll down a bit for the school card). Both of them were so cute that I decided I had to try my hand at one for Isaiah.

I started out searching online for a picture of the backpack that Amy bought him for school and found it here on Target's Website. I saved a picture of it so I'd have a reference to work from:

I wanted to make the backpack as realistic looking as possible but I knew I'd be challenged because of my lack of artistic training. I had some Tim Holtz Idea-ology chipboard so I used that as my base and built up from there. I cut one piece for the body and then cut a piece for the top "flap" and one for the bottom "flap."

I covered all three pieces with cardstock. The bottom piece I covered with red, the body I covered with white and then colored with Martha Stewart Pewter marker, and the top piece I covered with part of a sticker that had the right texture that I wanted.

While those were drying, I worked on the little "badge" that goes on the top flap. This was very, very challenging. Let me reiterate - I am not an artist and have never had any drawing lessons or shading lessons. So, I started out bigger than what I needed and then started making it smaller and smaller until it was as small as I could go and still work with it. The white pieces on the emblem are white cardstock pieces that I cut out and glued on. The Storm Trooper faces are drawn freehand (just don't look too closely at them!).

The bottom flap has my interpretation of Darth Vader and two more Storm Troopers. The lettering and Storm Troopers were done with a white colored pencil and the rest was done with gray - both Martha Stewart colors.

My finished card:

The patterned paper is Show & Tell from We R Memory Keepers and the stickers are some from Big Lots that I've had for awhile.

I wanted to carry the lined paper theme into the inside so I added some more, along with a couple of stickers to also tie the inside to the outside.