Mother's Day Inspiration #2

Here is another card that could be used for Mother's Day. It was created with a Memory Box die, Tombow markers and a clear Wink of Stella pen to blend everything.

 I added some Prima wired cord and a heart charm. The charm was originally antique silver but I did not like the color so I added some Ranger Cranberry Alcohol ink and I am happy with the new color. In real life the flowers and butterflies are nice and shimmery due to the Wink of Stella pan. In this close up photo I think you can see the shimmer a bit better.

 Hope this card kicks your mojo into high gear. Have a great weekend and don't forget Mother's day on Sunday!

With Love

We have so many great new Memory Box dies sitting on our shelves right now that I really want to play with. We have had a bunch of people coming in looking for 50th Wedding anniversary card inspiration so thought I would give one a try.

 I used the English Rose Corner and Curled Ribbons dies for the front of the card cut out of Stardream Antique Gold paper. I added a Hero Arts sentiment, embossed in gold in the middle and some pearls, did some quick matting and corner rounding and the card was done. Crafty Capers currently has all the items to make this card in stock now.

 I love how it turned out. My parents have another couple of years before they have their 50th wedding anniversary but I might just hang on to it until then! :) 

Thank you everyone for stopping by.

New Memory Box card sample

Here is the card I made up using the new Memory Box dies. Pretty happy with how it turned out and, bonus, it came together quickly! I cutt he evergreen trees out of velvet paper and the birch tree oval was cut with Core Kraft cardstock which I lightly sanded to give the trunks some interest.

I used the new dies: Evergreen trio and Woodland Oval. I also included a spring release die called Mama and baby bear. I think this is perfect for a man birthday card and the trees can be used for fall and Christmas cards as well! Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Well, this could very well be the final post before Christmas. Crafty Capers is still really busy and we are still receiving new product including a small batch of Reddy Craft 3d paper tole kits and some Hunky Dory Toppers. Stop by to seem them. They are perfect for quick cards.
I have (finally) finished all my Christmas cards and they are all in the mail or hand delivered. This card was on of the ones I made in my final batch of cards. I made about 5 similar to this one using gold leafing and Memory Box dies. I began by cutting out the Memory Box Ornament border background with Be Creative tape and then applied gold leafing all over the exposed sticky tape then I die cut the Memory Box Ornament Border Outline in black and adhered it over top of the leafed ornaments. I used my Memory Box Pine Border die for the top and the Memory Box Curled Ribbons for extra embellishments. The background paper is by Graphic 45 Twas the Night before Christmas. I am happy with how this card turned out and will be playing more with gold leafing in 2015!

Coloring with Chameleons

I did some coloring with my Chameleon markers yesterday as part of my Crafty Capers December demo and thought I would post a card I completed. I have been busy working on Valentines orders as well as cards over the past week which, after 13 years of business, still blows me away that I am always 1 season ahead of everyone.
This card was made with a Memory Box stamp embossed onto 100lb smooth white cardstock with Ranger Super Fine gold embossing powder then colored with my red, olive and bisque Chamelon markers. I finished off the card with some Coredinations cardstock (dry) embossed with the Sizzix wood grain embossing folder then sanded and a piece of white vellum  which I stamped a Hero Arts swirly stamp into then embossed with clear. It is very subtle and in fact, I had to use 3 different inks before I could see anything at all! I was going for subtle but invisible is a bit too subtle even for me! The pink/red ribbon is my May Arts and I love the 2 colors with the stitching!
The second photo is another coloring job I did during the demo and used just 2 markers red (yes the same red I used for the top card) and grass green. Hopefully, I will have a few minutes to crop this panel and get it made into a card. I love this image and it was a breeze to color. At the moment all the supplies I used to make this card are in stock at Crafty Capers so hurry in if anything catches your eye.

Have a great weekend everyone.

What's Shaking?

I made this cute card today after I demoed the Scrapbook Adhesives adhesive sheets designed to be used with dies so that the back of the die is covered in adhesive another alternative to the glue pens and dot tape runners. Seemed to work OK and was definitely easy to cut with my Big Shot. I used the Memory Box die Frostyville Border.  Here is a video on other things you can do with it.
I had this Stampendous PenPattern Penguin already colored up with my Tombow Markers (on Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock) so the card was pretty quick to do. I fussy cut out my penguin and put him on an Action Wobble so he dances whenever the card is moved. I stamped a Penny Black sentiment with white embossing powder. I added some Warm Highlight Glitter Ritz glitter to the snow and the penguin's scarf and some Snow Writer for the penguin to stand on. Such a fun card if I do say myself!

Happy birthday Kathy!

Crafty Capers "Monday gal" Kathy is celebrating her 65th birthday today! I stayed late at work last night to get her card made and this is what I came up with (my original plan involved dancing girls and coloring but the card turned into this). I used  Sticky Back canvas as by base, matted onto black cardstock. I used BoBunny paper, TCW stencil, Tim Holtz stencils, Distress paint, gesso, Distress Ink, Imagine Crafts gel medium and Gelatos to achieve the background. The poppy is a die cut colored with Chameleon markers and the sentiment is a rub on by Kaisercraft.
Happy birthday Kathy! May you enjoy many more but don't even think about retiring! :)

Going batty!

Hope you have enjoyed Glitter Ritz week and perhaps some of these posts have inspired you to get out your Glitter Ritz and maybe pick up a few more colors, you can never have enough you know. I am still finding glitter on my face and it has been a week since I finished these cards! Oh well always ready for a party!
This card is my favourite and not just because I am sooooo loving Halloween this year. This card was, again, done with the burnished velvet technique and a Memory Box die called Harvest Moon. Microfine Glitter Ritz colors used: real teal, black, pumpkin spice and yellow.
Once I was finished the panel I cut out some bats (Memory Box bunch of bats die) with white cardstock and Be Creative tape and put black glitter on them as well. I finished up the card by cutting a Memory Box Picket Fence die and added a sentiment sticker from Authentique.
Thank you to every who stopped by the blog this week. If you are in the Nanaimo (BC) area stop by to see all these cards and more in person.

Christmas is coming

3 months today until Christmas! Crazy! Now might be a good time get started on your cards if you have not already. I have made a good start now just need to keep the momentum up which gets me every year!
This card done with the newer Memory Box die Clairmont ornaments and the burnished velvet technique. I used the Glitter Ritz colors (microfine) fire red, bronze, champagne, moss green and warm highlight. I also added touches of glitter around my sentiment (Penny Black, stamped with Memento Luxe Peanut Brittle) using my Sakura Quickie Glue pen and glitter strips with my 5mm Be Creative tape. I mounted my ornamnts on a piece of Graphic 45 paper cut out with a Spellbinder die. I used an Elizabeth Craft embossing folder on my background.
Thank you for stopping by. Our Glitter Ritz week is not yet over so be sure to keep stopping by.

Classy and Elegant

(also quick and dirty!). This card is super easy but looks like a million dollars!
I began with a white cardstock panel and cut out the Memory Box Dazzling Snowflake die (it cuts out holes in the shape of a snowflake not an actual snowflake) then I put a big piece of Be Creative tape on the back side of the die cut. I added Gliter Ritz (Microfine) Champagne glitter to the tape through the holes of the white cut out.
I added 5mm strips of Be Creative tape to the top and bottom of the white cardstock on the good side then added champagne glitter to those as well.
I mounted the glittery cardstock to my main cardstock leaving a space at the bottom for my Hero Arts sentiment stamped with Memento Luxe Peanut Brittle ink.
I cut a bunch of these out during my demo so managed to get quite a few Christmas cards started - yeah me! :)

Glitter Ritz Day 2!

Happy Tuesday everyone. Hope your week has started off well.
Today I am showing off another card I made during last weekend's Glitter Ritz demo. The ornament has been done in glitter using the burnished velvet technique. I used 2 Memory Box dies Traditional Ornament and the, brand new, Holly Bouquet die. I used the Glitter Ritz colors: moss green, merlot, regal red (ultra fine, the other colors are microfine) and champagne. The pine die is the new Memory Box Forest Pine Branch. The designer paper is from Teresa Collins' Tinsel and Co line. The sentiment is by Penny Black, ribbon by May Arts. Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for another sample.

Luxe Poinsettia

Another quick Christmas card to share featuring the new Memory Box Luxe Poinsettia Outline and Background dies. As soon as I saw the detail on the outline stamp I loved it! I cut this particular one out of red velvet paper for some extra dimension. The pattern paper including the Joy sentiment is from Echo Park 'Tis the Season line. The white paper is white vellum I embossed using a Sizzix embossing folder. The red gems are Metallic Decor by Hero Arts.
Thanks everyone for stopping by.

Christmas in July

Well it certainly has been busy around the store. We have started with the store's Christmas ordering and new Christmas/Fall stock will be arriving in the next few weeks and in fact, I am off to Salt Lake City shortly to attend a special retailer training event for 4 days. I will be just one of 3 retailers from Canada attending the seminars so I am pretty excited about that! I'll be getting sneak peaks, warehouse tours and classes with lots of the new fall paper and stamp lines so watch this space next week for some behind the scenes posts all the way from Salt Lake City!

Here is a card I whipped up a few weeks back with some new Memory Box dies. I used Bristol Snowflake (cut out of silver mirror card) and Merry Christmas background die (cut out of Bazzill bling cardstock). I had a strip of American Crafts silver glitter paper kicking around in my scraps and added that to the bottom Christmas word for some extra emphasis. Simple and easy!

Backgrounds!

The Crafty Capers had a free demo yesterday on backgrounds. I did a bunch of different techniques such as alcohol inks, watercolor, letter press, stamping with embossing folders and glitter however by far my favourite and the favourite of the participants was the shaving cream technique! I must confess that even though it is a 10+ year old technique it is one I had never done before however, that has changed! Soooo much fun! This red/orange background was one of the pieces I made during the demo. 

I needed a card for my FIL for last night so I pulled one of my shaving cream pieces out of the pile and whipped up this card. Photo does not show all the detail because I was in a hurry as hubby was waiting for me to finish the card so we could get to the party! 

The gear die is by Memory Box and I cut it out of black cardstock and added some Ranger Gold acrylic paint, Graphite Inkagold and Goose Bumps spray to it to add some interest. A bit of gold cord and I was done!

Thanks everyone for stopping by. Hope you are having a great Canada weekend!

Moments

Here is another card from my stenciling demo last weekend. The white flowered panel was done with a Crafters Workship stencil, Dreamweaver white stencil paste and Glitter Ritz Warm Highlight glitter. The sentiment is by Penny Black stamped with Adirondack Red Pepper die ink and the ladybugs are a die by Memory Box. The color is a bit wonky in this photo but quite happy with how this card turned out.

Stencil demo tomorrow!

Here is a quick reminder that tomorrow is Crafty Capers's monthly free demo! Stop by between 10:30 - 12:30 and learn things you can do with stencils!
I made this card using 2 different stencil techniques (and 3 stencils) - sponging & spraying inks.
Stop by the store tomorrow to learn more!

19 days and counting!

Wow 19 days until Christmas! Crazy! Strangely enough I am fairly in control of things around here. Did my last pre-Christmas Costco shop tonight (and parking was a breeze!), cards are made, and 1/2 my presents are purchased. Feeling pretty good! I need to get started on my baking and a menu for Christmas day but that should be pretty easy!
I am SURE I am so organized this year because I made this fabulous Christmas Countdown project back in November! Love how it turned out and I've had a friend make a couple of these for some of her family based on my design.
Papers are by Bella Blvd (Christmas Countdown). Numbers were cut out using my Slice machine, the lights are a Memory Box die (highlighted with many colors of Stickles glitter glue), the kitty at the bottom is a stamp by Penny Black. The ring binding was done with my Bind it All machine.
Hope everyone is on their way to being as organized as I am this year! Thanks for stopping by!

A little Merry

I had a few minutes over the weekend to do some Christmas card playing. This is a glittery card and as usual looks better in person.
This card was done with a Penny Black stamp called Starlite. I used clear drying glue with a metal glue tip to apply tiny drops of glue over the image then used Glitter Ritz champagne and fire red glitter over the glue. I added a Memory Box star of wonder die to the top of the tree and a Memory Box Merry die to the bottom, matted the image with American Craft red glitter cardstock then mounted everything to my main card. Yeah, a fairly quick card provided you have time to wait for the glue to dry! Who knew I would have job where I watch glue dry?? LOL
Have a great day everyone!

A snowy day

I've been busy working on Christmas/Winter card samples with some of the new product that has been arriving recently. I have wanted to play with the new Memory Box Swirling Snowflakes die ever since it came in back in July and finally, I set some time aside to play with it.
I began by cutting the die out with Silver Mirrorcard. I needed the metal shim to cut it in my Big Shot but it cut out beautifully!!! Then I stamped the Stampendous Polar Ride stamp on Bazzill cardstock and colored it with my Tombow markers then cut the image out. I found a blue card base and cut a piece of Be Creative tape to fit the front of the card (4.25x5.5) and put it on the card front. I carefully laid down the snowflake die cut then I added Cool Highlight Glitter Ritz over the remaining exposed tape for a sparkly sky. I stamped the sentiment by Hero Arts on a leftover bit the same color as my main card (unglittered) and attached it as shown then I mounted my polar bears. Really happy with how this card turned out and happy I got to reuse an older Christmas stamp from a few years back.
Just a reminder that Crafty Capers will be having a Glitter Ritz free demo, tomorrow, Wednesday Sept 11 @1 pm. No need to preregister just drop in between 1 and 3 pm it is recommended you bring a notebook to jot down all the glitter tips and techniques.

Glitter Demo sample

I've got a (free) Glitter demo next Wednesday 1:00 - 3:00 pm at the store so I made some time to work on samples today. The tree is made from two Dee's Distinctively dies (Tree Silhouette and Tree Overlay #1) using the Burnished Velvet technique coincidently developed by Dee, herself and her friend Haroldine. I used Microfine Champagne and Ultrafine Emerald Glitter Ritz glitter and Be Creative tape to create the colors on the tree. The background is a stamp by Hero Arts (star also by Hero Arts) stamped with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. The Joy is made with an alphabet by Memory Box and covered with more Ultrafine Emerald Glitter Ritz.
Special thanks to my "color consultant" for this card, Marilyn!
Hope everyone is having a great week!