Saturday, December 26, 2009

Scor Pal winner

Just a quick note to congratulate Joy Lane! She one the free Scor Pal Crafty Capers was giving away. I could not post earlier as her husband was going to hide it on her and put it under the tree!! :)
Hope you all had a great Christmas!
Don't forget the Crafty Capers pre-inventory sale Monday Dec 28 10 am - 2 pm (in store sale only sorry!).
Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Spring House


Recognize this house? It's the same one I used yesterday but I've changed it up to make it springy! All the stamps used in this card are Art Impressions except for the saying which is from Flourishes.
Once again I used the watercolor technique with my Tombow markers and Ranger dye inks but this time I added flowers!
I am really happy with the versatility of this stamp - good value!
If you are in the Nanaimo area I will be teaching some Art Impressions watercolor classes so watch the Crafty Capers website for a schedule.
Thanks for looking!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Holiday House


Crafty Capers received an order from Art Impressions last week. I was quite excited to play with my new watercolor stamps since I love the Art Impressions watercolor technique and all their matching stamps! I chose this house stamp (which is a bare house that you add trees, flower to - see tomorrow's post as well for the same stamp).
I won't go into a lot of detail about how one actually does the watercolor technique but I use my Tombow markers and Ranger Adirondack dye inks.

All the stamps used on this card are from Art Impressions including the trees, lights and greenery. To make the snow on the trees and roof I added Liquid Applique, let it dry a few hours (like the instructions say) and then heated it with my heat gun. I've included a close up of the snow for your enjoyment. I hope this is a close to snow as any of us Islanders get this year!! :)
Most of the stamps are available now at Crafty Capers. Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Finally finished the cards!

I have finished making my Christmas cards - hurray!
I was in the shop on Saturday and remembered I had a penguin stencil I bought back in Sept that I had not used yet so I thought I would bring him out.
The technique for this is a bit complicated so bear with me.
I began by cutting a piece of Dreamweaver double sided adhesive slightly smaller than the size of the penguin stencil. I peeled 1 side of the backing off the adhesive and applied it to a scrap of white cardstock. I peeled the 2nd backing off the adhesive so I then had a sticky rectangle. I used a bar of 100% coconut oil soap (smells sooo good!) and rubbed the back side of my stencil with the soap. You want lots of soap on the back side of the stencil. The soap acts like a release agent. I placed the stencil soap side down on the exposed adhesive. I pressed the stencil lightly down on the adhesive so all areas had contact. I then poured black Glitter Ritz glitter over the stencil trying to leave the feathers on his head "non black". I pressed the glitter down and then tapped off the excess. I added Yellow Glitter Ritz glitter to his top feathers and pressed down. I tapped off the excess yellow glitter. I used my handy dandy blush brush to brush off excess glitter then I carefully removed my penguin stencil from the adhesive (this is where you find out if you put enough soap on. I find slipping a craft knife between the stencil and cardstock helps release the stencil). I added White Glitter Ritz glitter to his belly. I tried to keep the white glitter within the outline of his body because I added Be Creative Sugar Beads to the background of the stencil. I was trying to show this with my close up photo but you can't really see this.
I matted the penguing on gold. I cut a circle of burgandy cardstock and ran it through my Cuttlebug with the Snowflake folder. The white cardstock was sprayed with Memory Mist Gold spray ink to jazz it up a bit when the gold was dry I stamped my Joy, joy stamp with Ranger Cranberry ink. I edged the white cardstock with my Ranger Espresso pen and attached everything as shown. I added 3 gold brads to my circle to finish the card off. These cards were fairly quick to mass produce despite all the steps! Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stencil: Dreamweaver (penguin)
Stamp: Penny Black (Joy, joy)
Glitter: Glitter Ritz black, white and yellow
Other: Be Creative sugar beads, gold brads, Dreamweaver double sided adhesive, Memories Mist Gold, Ranger Cranberry dye ink, Ranger Espresso pigment pen, Cuttlebug Snowflake folder

Just a quick note to let you know Crafty Capers received an order from Art Impressions today. We now have in stock lots of watercolor stamps and the VERY popular "tree with bench" stamp. Hurry in for best selection.



Thursday, December 10, 2009

These little cuties are back!!


I'm so excited! Crafty Capers is carrying House Mouse stamps again! We've brought in some stamps just in time for Christmas gift giving! Crafty Capers carried House Mouse stamps waaaaay back when we first opened and now they are back!! I can't wait to play with them again.
Also, the Hero Arts 2010 Stamp Debut party on Dec 19 is fast approaching. We have our Make and Take kits ready to go. Free Make and Takes will be offered anytime between 10 am and 3 pm. You will also be one of the first people in the WORLD to see the ALL the new Hero Arts cling and clear stamps! I can't wait to see what Hero Arts has in store for 2010! Hope to see you in the store Dec 19 if not before. I hope to have a card post up (or 2) up later this week. I can see the end of my Christmas cards! Yeah!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Getting there...


OK I am making slow and steady progress on the Christmas cards. I bet by now you are recognizing this image!! Here is yet another card made with the images I colored with my Tombow markers back mid-Nov.
The layout is pretty self explanatory. The last few cards have made me realize I am seriously short on small sentiments. I guess that can be my new year's resolution. I'm pretty sure I can keep that one!
Thanks for looking!
Again the recipe is:
Stamps: Penny Black Caroling Trio, Stampendous clear sentiment (don't know the name off the top of my head but it's an oldie!!)
Coloring: Tombow markers
Ink: Versafine onyx black ink, Versamagic Night Sky ink
Other: Bazzill & Crafters Workshop cardstock

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Christmas cards done??


I bet you are thinking "wow she finally got her Christmas cards all done" well you would be thinking wrong!! I actually did 2 non-Christmas cards today. This one for my neighbourhood class on Sunday and one just for a shop display! I will be regretting today's lollygagging next week! :)
I wanted to do a non-Christmas card for my Sunday class and most of my group are big time gardeners so I thought I'd better do a flowery one.
Despite the lots of layers the card is fairly simple. The flower is stamped and embossed with gold embossing powder on a scrap of white cardstock (and I had a bunch of the same sized squares so I did not even have to cut this part of the paper for the class). I edged the white panel with Ranger Stonewash ink. I matted it with a scrap of green. I ran 2 squares of blue through the Cuttlebug with the BEST Cuttlebug folder there is "Victoria" and rubbed my ink pad on the raised parts to give it more definition. I added a strip of designer paper also from my stash down the front of the card. I cut the sentiment ovals with my Spellbinder ovals and stamped my sentiment. I attached everything as shown and added some wired ribbon to the bottom of the card. I was going to tie a knot but liked the look of the ribbon wrapped around itself. I'm quite proud of myself most of this card came out of my scrap box.
Thanks for looking!
Recipe:
Stamps: Stampendous Agapanthus cluster, Hero Arts clear cupcake set (happy birthday)
Ink: Embossing ink (PSX), Ranger Adirondack Brights dye Citrus, Ranger Adirondack Earthtones Stonewash
Paper: Bazzill and Fancy Pants
Other: ribbon (unknown), Victoria Cuttlebug folder, Spellbinder classic large and small ovals

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Royal Mail

I am teaching a mini class this weekend for my neighbours who are complete beginner stampers. I think this will be one of the cards we do and coincidently it also qualifies for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge! This week it was a sketch challenge. They are my favourite! I started by stamping my main image with my Versafine ink then colored it with my pencil crayons. I cut the piece down to size and matted it with a scrap of red. I then found a piece of red vellum which I scored into 9 equal squares then I cut 8 1.25" squares and stamped them with the Winter Bough stamp with Cranberry ink. I mounted each stamped square inside a red square. The scored lines sure made it easy to line things up! I stamped and embossed my sentiment on a white Spellbinder tag then trimmed it down to fit onto the red one. I addied a piece of gold cord and glittery white brads in each corner of the red vellum piece. I mounted the main image and sentiment as shown. I finished up the card by applying my Designers Dries White
glue to the snowy areas of the mailbox and added Glitter Ritz Cool highlight to the glue. I must confess I like the top of the mailbox snow the best - where the glue was coming out all globby because I had a jam in the tip!! Once I got the glue flowing it came out smoothly which I did not think looked as nice! :) I've included a close up so you can see the snow better. Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Penny Black Royal Mail, Winter bough, holiday cheer

Ink: Versafine Onyx black, Ranger Cranberry dye, PSX tinted embossing ink

Coloring: Prisma pencil crayons

Other: gold embossing powder, dries white glue, cool highlight glitter, gold cord, Spellbinder Label







Friday, November 27, 2009

Love those penguins!



I've been seeing quite a few Tri-shutter cards around lately and I thought I should give one a try. You know, because I have so much time on my hands since all my Christmas cards are done - NOT!

The basic idea is fairly simple the hard part is decorating the panels. For this card I used a penguin set by Art Impressions. I love this set! Using this set made decorating the panels a little easier since I had a bunch of matching stamps at my disposal.

I've included a bunch of photos so you can see all the panels. The first photo on the left is a view of the closed card (sorry it's a tad blurry) then the rest are inside the card. I must give Estelle and Annika thanks for the help with the card. Estelle was nice enough to help with the idea, coloring and cutting out. Annika gave some color advice. I think the assembly of the card is pretty self explanatory. For instructions on how to make the card click here.
I used my Scor It board for the scoring. Images were stamped with Versafine onyx black. Versamagic Aegean Sea ink was used to edge the white panels and stamp the snowflakes. Images were colored with Tombow markers and Prisma pencil crayons. White Liquid Applique, foam mounting tape and Stickles were used to add bling and dimension!

Thanks for looking!


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Carolling Trio


Told you you would be seeing quite a bit of this image!
I like this card better than the first there is just something about the red spotted paper!
I began this card the same as the last - stamped the image with my Versafine onyx black ink and embossed it with Crafty Capers clear embossing powder. I colored the image with my Tombow Markers and a water brush. Once the coloring was done I edged the piece with Ranger's Adirondack Stonewash ink with a sponge dauber. I matted the image on red and mounted it onto the red spotted cardstock.
I cut out a label using Spellbinder's Fancy Labels die and stamped my message. I thought the label needed something so I edged it with a black pen to make it pop. I mounted this to the red cardstock as well. I finished the card with my Yellow Stickles.
Thanks for looking!
Just a reminder we're having in store voting on the entries from the recent Penny Black card contest. Come on in and vote for your favourite!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Happy Anniversary!


It was my in-laws 45th wedding anniversary over the weekend. My husband sprang the "can you make a card" request the day before and on a day I was expecting and order at the shop as well as a day I *should* have been cutting paper for a class (THAT did not get done!).
Anyway, I whipped this up pretty quickly but it turned out OK. I started with a pad of DCWV "elegant" patterned cardstock. I really loves these cardstocks but don't use them often for some reason. They are shimmery and a very heavy weight.
I stamped a clear Stampendous imaged on the folded cardstock twice with Crafty Capers Silver Dollar embossing powder. I really love this embossing powder it heats up really smooth and gives a very elegant look to a card. I colored the flowers with my Sakura Glaze pens, again an often over looked product in my stash! You can't see it in the photo but they give a really smooth, glossy finish on glossy cardstock almost like glass.
I stamped the saying with Brillance Pearlescent Sky Blue ink and voila - done!
Recipe:
Stamps: Perfectly Clear Flower Swirls set
Paper: DCWV Elegant paper stack
Coloring: Sakura Glaze pens

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Winter Greetings


I cannot believe how quickly Christmas is coming!! I spent most of Nov 11 coloring images for my Christmas cards however the assembling part is slow in coming. So far, I have a whopping 4 cards done! I'd better pick up the pace!
You will be seeing a lot of this image in the next few weeks because I have colored quite a few of these. :) I started this card by stamping the image by Penny Black with my fav ink Versafine Onyx Black then embossing with Crafty Capers clear embossing powder. I colored the image with my Tombow markers and a water brush.
I then cut out my image with a Spellbinders label and edged the shape with Ranger's Stonewashed dye ink and a finger dauber then I edged the shape with my Ranger Silver Metallic pen.
I cut out 2 mats with Spellbinders borders and edged one with the silver pen as well.
I cut a Spellbinder oval and stamped my saying on it with my Versafine ink and edged that piece as well with the Stonewash ink. I matted as shown and added a Stampendous snowflake sticker from my stash and added yellow Stickles glitter glue to the lantern area for an extra sparkle! Thanks for looking.
Recipe:
Stamps: Penny Black Carolling Trio (new slap stick), Stampendous Snowy Short Stacks (greeting)
Spellbinder: Classic ovals, Labels 2, In Spades Borderabilities
Other: Versafine Onyx ink, Tombow Markers, Ranger Adirondack dye Stonewash ink, Ranger Silver Metallic pen, Yellow Stickles glitter glue

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Elf Book


We have some up coming "elf book" classes at Crafty Capers, basically you will make a mini book you can write your Crafty Capers Christmas list in and pass along to your significant other or friends then they know exactly what you would like!
I finally, got around to getting my prototype done and I'm really happy with it. It is not often I make a "non card" with my stamps so this was out of my usual comfort zone.
I won't go into a lot of detail about how this is made you'll just have to sign up for the class! Class dates on the Crafty Capers website.
The image is the Snowy Short Stacks set by Stampendous. The red designer paper is Basic Grey. Die cuts were done with Spellbinder dies. The words were computer generated.
Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

So busy!


Wow, the first post of November! It's been so busy at the shop over the past few weeks. We've received the majority of our winter/Christmas orders over the past few weeks including the new Cuttlebug folders and new Impression Obsession! So that has kept us hopping!

I've had this card in my head for a week or more but just did not have time to get it onto paper. It's a pretty simple card. The main image is by Penny Black (the name escapes me at the moment) that I embossed with Crafty Capers gold embossing powder on Vintage White Bazzill cardstock. I then took one of my square Spellbinder Nestabilities and embossed a square around the image. I then held the die in place and using my Ranger Cut N Dry foam I applied Adirondack Light Cool Peri dye ink inside the square. I stamped Holiday Cheer (Penny Black) with Ranger Adirondack Bright Purple Twilight dye ink near the bottom right of the card. To finish the card I used my Lavender Stickles (Ranger) randomly on the embossed image.
This card would be so easy to mass produce for Christmas in fact I managed to get 2 whipped off in less than 1/2 an hour.
Thanks for looking.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Snowy Short Stacks


We had so many orders come in last week I did not really have time to play! Here is one of the sets that came in with the Stampendous order that came in last week. As soon as I saw this set I knew I wanted it and knew this girl needed a Fun Flock hat! I got to play with Crafty Caper's newest toy while making this card as well - Xyron's brand new Creatopia machine!!
To start this card I stamped the girl on a piece of cream cardstock and colored her with my pencil crayons. I added wet glue to her hat then added Stampendous' Mint and Chip fun flock to the wet glue. I added glue to the bottom of her coat and sleeves and added the Stampendous White Fun Flock. I set her aside to dry so I did not stick my hand or something in the wet glue! I used the new Creatopia deckle blade to cut the edged of the cream cardstock then matted her on a scrap of designer paper and deckled the top and bottom of the mat as well. I found a scrap strip of green cardstock and I used the new Creatopia Perforated blade to perforate the green. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this blade!! I think it looks just like faux stitching and it will also perforate and tear if you are working on a project that needs this type of thing as well!! I did not get the Shapez piece for the Creatopia so I used my Cuttlebug to cut 2 Spellbinder snowflakes from the Snowflake Wonder set and cut an oval from my Classic oval set with a scrap of Tim Holtz patterned cardstock. I stamped my sentiment (also from the snowy short stacks set)with Ranger Denim dye ink and attached the oval and snowflakes with a brad to the green perforated strip. I thought the card needed something else so I added 2 stripes of Fun Flock to the bottom of the card (Mint and Chip, and Eyeshadow Blue). To finish I used 4 Stampendous Geoshapes in each corner of the girl piece.
Thanks for looking!
Just wanted to let eveyone know Crafty Capers got a new shipment from Hero Arts on Saturday. We now have all their brand new cling stamps.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Playing with new Stampendous stamps


This card was done with two new Stampendous Perfectly Clear stamp sets that came into the store on Monday. The tree, holly and ornament come from the set Damask Season. The swirl comes from the clear set Wedding Corners.
The card is pretty straight forworward. I embossed the ornament on a scrap of red cardstock with gold embossing powder and cut it out. The swirl and tree were embossed on a piece of white cardstock with Crafty Caper Evergreen embossing powder.
I edged the white cardstock with my Brillance Pearlescent Tyme ink using a piece of Ranger Cut N Dry foam. I stamped the Season's Greetings (from the Damask set) with the Brillance pad as well. I stamped the holly with the Tyme ink in the upper left corner. I stamped the ornament top with Encore gold ink and attached the cut out ornament with double sided foam mounting tape. I finished the card by mounting the white onto a piece of red then gold then the main cardstock. I added Distress Fired Brick Stickles to various areas of the card to add a little jazz! Thanks for looking!
PS today we got 2 MORE orders! Dreamweaver stencils and Mirror Cardstock in silver and gold! Come and get em!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

All that Shines Flourishes Challenge


Flourishes is having an "all that shines" challenge to celebrate their new October release stamp sets. The challenge was to make a project that shines. I think this card fits the bill.

I was going in an entirely different direction then I was demoing my Stampendous Stamp and Bond embossing powder for Nicole (thanks for the inspiration Nicole!) and changed my idea.

This card was made with Flourishes Spring Ephemerals set. I took a strip of white cardstock which I had cut 3 Spellbinder ovals out of. I used my Brillance Pearlescent Purple ink pad and the 'forget me not" stamp from the set and stamped it randomly around on the white cardstock. I used a sponge dauber to apply Versamagic Pretty Petunia ink around the outside and circle edges. I found a strip of cream text weight Stardream (shimmery) paper and stamped the other 3 flowers on the paper with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink then sprinkled them with Stampendous Stamp and Bond embossing powder and heated it just until melted then I poured Glitter Ritz Champaign glitter onto the now sticky embossing powder and pressed down to ensure good contact. I brushed the excess glitter away. I mounted the cream behind the purple forget me not background with the flowers showing in the holes. I matted the pieces on a piece of Bazzill purple cardstock. I stamped each flower's name (also included in the Spring Emphemerals set) on strips of white vellum with Versamagic Perfect Plumeria ink. I attached them over each flower. I wrapped gold cord down the right side of the card and attached it to the main cardstock. This card was very hard to photograph so I have included a few so hopefully you can see everything. All supplies are available from Crafty Capers. Thanks for looking!








Playin with Glitter


This is not the best photo but hopefully you can find some inspiration anyways. First off, guess what this gold foil is?? The packaging from a Caramilk chocolate bar!! I say bring on the candy!!

I attached the foil wrapper to a scrap of cardstock and ran it through my Cuttlebug with the Floral Fantasy folder then, and this is the cool part, I used my Art Institute Dries clear glue and filled in some of the recessed areas and added glitter. I worked from the darkest color in this case Glitter Ritz Merlot then worked to the lighter colors (Glitter Ritz Grasshopper & Yellow). It turned out very cool!! The Grasshopper color does not photograph well, unfortunately but hopefully, you can see a little better in the close up shot. The rest of the card is pretty simple. The saying is by Stampendous out of a Perfectly Clear summer set which was stamped with Brillance Crimson Copper ink. The corners are cut out with a Sizzix die. The ribbon is from my stash I just found that got hidden away during the shop move in July! Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Birthday Balloons


What a surprise I found time to participate in this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge! I might almost be on a roll here!! This week the challenge is to use "buttons and bows" on a project. I based this card loosely on a sketch I found on line here. The main image is by Penny Black. I cut a circle out of watercolor paper and embossed him with Crafty Capers black embossing powder. I colored the image with my Tombow markers. I added Stampendous Latte Fun Flock to him which you can see if you squint and tilt you head to the right you can see in the close up shot. :) I used Ranger's Glossy Accents on the balloons after I had finished coloring them. While the teddy was drying I cut a rectangle of green spotted A Muse cardstock to act as a mat. I put a strip of Be Creative 5mm double sided tape near the bottom of the cardstock. I added mini buttons from Hero Arts that I have had kicking around for YEARS to the tape. I don't even think they make them anymore!! I filled in the holes on the tape with Glitter Ritz Liberty Blue glitter. The blue mat was cut with my Spellbinder Long deckle rectangle then I used my Cuttlebug and embossed it with my Swiss Dot embossing folder. I cut the smallest rectangle out of the Spellbinder Deckle rectangle and used it for my sentiment (Stampendous from the Happy Bday clear set). I added a ribbon and bow near the bottom and assembled the card as shown. Thanks for looking!
Card Recipe:
Stamps: Penny Black Birthday Balloons, Stampendous Perfectly Clear set Happy Bday
Coloring: Tombow water based markers
Embellishments: Ranger Glossy Accents, Stampendous Latte Fun Flock, Hero Arts mini buttoms, Liberty Blue Glitter Ritz, Ribbon (unknown)
Other: Black embossing powder, Versafine Vintage Sepia ink, Spellbinder Long Deckle Rectangle (large), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder
Papers: A Muse (spotted), Watercolor cardstock, Prism & Bazzill

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Fun Flock and Glitter


I am participating in Stampendous' beginner stamping class over at Paper Craft Planet it's fairly basic but I have learned a few things. Anyway, this week it's all about Stampendous Fun Flock and Glitter. The challenge was to make something using it.
I used the Spellbinder nested trees and cut them out using Be Creative double sided tape then using my handy craft knife cut some areas out of the tape backing and left some areas alone then added glitter and fun flock as desired. See the previous post for what I did with my tree leftovers! It made some nice sparkly and fluffy trees! When I was finished I thought it needed a little something and there staring me in the face were my forgotten Stampendous Geo Shapes stickers! I love these stickers you get a whole strip of circles, tear drops, squares, and diamond shaped glitter stickers. They last forever!! The finishing touch was to add these Geoshapes to my garlands. I must say the trees look better in person and you can feel the fluffy goodness too! :) The Merry was stamped on a scrap of Basic Grey designer paper and colored with pencil crayons. Inside I stamped Christmas which is also in the Merry set.
Thanks for looking and Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Cute snowman


This card I cased from here. I did not have a die cut to cut out the snowman but I did have Stampendous' Jumbo Snowman. I stamped the snowman putting the top of his head near the top fold of the card then I cut him out leaving the top fold intact. I stamped his hat on a separate piece of cardstock and cut out. I did the same with the scarf. I colored the scarf and hat with pencil crayons and added Stampendous' Mint and Chip Fun Flock using wet glue to the green areas. I cuttlebugged the front of the snowman with the folder Floral Fantasy and added Diamond Stickles for glitter and Glossy Accents to make his nose shiny. I added the scarf and hat to the appropriate areas. I stamped the saying from Penny Black to a scrap of white cardstock using Brillance Pearlescent Tyme and edged the piece with Brillance Pearlescent Jade.
Thanks for looking!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Fall Challenge


Penny Black Saturday Challenge this week is to make a fall card with Penny Black stamps. I actually had time to enter this week. Yeah!
I don't own any official fall stamps of any brand but thought this stamp from the Penny Black clear set "flower gallery" could pass for a Mum. I stamped the image with Versafine Smokey Gray and colored it with my Prisma pencil crayons and cut it out. I scored my designer paper (Basic Grey - african nectar) with my Scor-it board and then ran my Versafine Smokey Gray over the raised areas and the edges. I was not too worried if I got extra ink on the paper since it already had a distressed type of look. I cut out a border with my NEW Spellbinder In Spades border out of Glimmer Vellum and matted it with a skinny red scrap. I cut a circle out of a scrap of Bazzill cardstock and matted my Mums on it. I finished the card by matting with brown then attaching the piece to a red card (Bazzill). I also added Orange Peel and Yellow Stickles to the flowers for extra pop.
Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Very Bad Blogger!!

I have just realized the last time I posted was waaaay back Sept 10! Very bad. In my defense I did not work over the summer so did not make any cards. Anyway, I have seen the error in my ways and promise to get something up every few days! :)

As some of you may know Sunday Oct 4 is World Card Day at Crafty Capers. We are having a card smorgasbord where participants will get to pick and choose which cards they would like to make at the card buffet between 10 am and 3 pm. Each card made is $3 with all fees going to the Canadian Cancer Society.

It was my job to prepare a few "dishes" for the event and today's blog card did not make the buffet "cut".

I started this card by putting a piece of Be Creative double sided tape on a scrap of white cardstock then I cut out a medium sized Spellbinder Label 2. I peeled off the tape backing and applied Warm Highlight Glitter Ritz then stamped the hedgehog with Ranger's black Archival ink right on top of the glitter. I then painted the image with Shimmerz Silver Bells, Bubblegum and Sky Blue paints for a little extra shimmer! As usual, the glitter and shimmer do not really show in these photos! I cut out another Label 2 out of blue cardstock for a mat. I took a square of white cardstock and stamped a Art Impressions snowflake bunch with Versamagic Seabreeze ink to make a background.

I cut out a Spellbinder's Labels 4 and stamped my sentiment with Seabreeze ink as well. The label was also edged in Seabreeze. I attached all my pieces as shown and added some A Muse ribbon and Kaiser pearls.

All supplies are available from Crafty Capers. Hope to see you at World Card Day on Sunday!




Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Eternal Summer


Here is another card made with the new Flourishes stamps. This card was made with the Poppy set.
I started with smooth white Neenah 80lb cardstock and stamped poppies with Versafine Vintage Sepia on the main cardstock. I colored these poppies with my Prismacolor pencil crayons. I then stamped the same poppies on some Golden Topaz Glimmer Vellum with Versafine Sepia ink then embossed them with clear embossing powder. I cut the poppies out attached them on top of the pencil crayoned images. I stamped some of the leaves from the poppy set at the bottom of the cardstock with Versamagic Hint of Pesto ink. I sponged the entire leaf area with a light coating of Hint of Pesto ink to "green" up the area. I sponged Versamagic Sea Breeze in the sky area of the card and stamped the saying from the poppy set also using the Sea Breeze ink.
As usual, all supplies used in this card are available from Crafty Capers. Thanks for looking!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sympathy card


I am lucky, I don't have to make many sympathy cards but a few weeks back a close family friend passed away unexpectedly. Now that I am back cardmaking I thought I had better get some sympathy cards made.
This card is a pretty close copy of the one on the back of the Penny Black Flower Gallery clear set (which the flowers came from). I quite liked it. Simple and classy.
Anyway I started by stamping the Penny Black stamp "footnote" in each corner using Ranger's Distress ink Broken China then I stamped the magnolia's using my Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. I colored the images with my Prismacolor pencil crayons then stamped the Impression Obsession saying from their clear Sympathy set. I mounted everything on to blue cardstock and voila! done! Thanks for looking!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Blue, Tan and Cream challenge


This is not the best photo but the Penny Black Saturday challenge crew are having a Blue, Tan and Cream challenge this week. I decided to participate again after a long break!
I used a newer clear Penny Black Flower Gallery set and a Penny Black saying as well for this card.
I started out by taking a piece of blue Coordinations cardstock and rubbing Versamagic Sahara Sand and Aegean Blue inks around on it to add some interest to the cardstock then I stamped the magnolia stamp from the set in Versafine Sepia ink randomly on the blue cardstock. I let dry then took a cream Prismacolor pencil crayon and colored some of the flowers. I stamped the saying, which shows up better in real life, with Aegean Blue ink on a scrap of cream and matted it with tan and two other scraps of blue cardstock. I had two areas in my background that I thought needed something so I added stripes of Be Creative 5 mm double sided tape on each side of where the saying was going and applied Liberty Blue Glitter Ritz to the tape. Much better! I attached my saying then added an embossed border around the card using my Scor-It board. Thanks for looking!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Limited supply challenge


I took home the Crafty Capers Flourishes stamps over the weekend with the hopes of finding time to play with them. When I was grabbing supplies from the store I was thinking I would just practice my coloring so brought home my Sepia Versafine ink, Pixie dust embossing (clear with sparkle), watercolor paper, heat gun and my Tombow markers. I got home started playing and realized I really should make a thank you card for our neighbours since they have been a huge help to use while I have been recovering from surgery. That is all well and good except I don't craft at home and had NO supplies to finish the card!
I found some nail scissors to cut out the images and my husband had some foam mounting tape at the back of his desk. The main white cardstock (which is hidden behind the blue cardstock) is from before I opened Crafty Capers and, to put it politely lesser quality from a large chain store. I had a blue card in the pile to go in the recycling bag so I cut the back of the card off and used it as my new card front. The striped paper is some wrapping paper I had kicking around and the yellow mount was from the Pre-Crafty Capers days. I had to assemble the card using an old glue stick I found in my desk! Not the best card I've made but not too terrible either!
Thanks for looking!
Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes Peaches and Cherries set
Ink: Versafine Sepia
Embossing Powder: Crafty Capers Pixie Dust
Coloring: Tombow markers
Other: Bazzill cardstock, watercolor and others

Friday, August 14, 2009

New Stamp Company to Crafty Capers!!




Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I am trying to get back to cardmaking so I can inspire you with some new ideas. Unfortunately, life has been busy and cardmaking has taken a back seat. :(
I am happy to say thought that Flourishes stamps are now at Crafty Capers!! Yeah! The order arrived today and there are lots of beautiful sets in stock now including the new August releases: Gerber Daisies and Peaches and Cherries sets.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

All moved!

Well we survived the BIG Crafty Capers move this past weekend despite the heat. Why on earth did we pick the hottest week in the last 100 years to move??? Good timing!!
Anyway here are some misc. photos taken the day of the move and some pictures of the new shop all put together as well. Gigantic Thanks goes to all my painters and movers (in no particular order): my mom, Michelle, Georgeann, Sheila, Mary, my Dad, Phil, Kim, Kathy, Lolly, Sue, Lorri, George, Randy, BJ, Richard, Diana, and Judy. Let me know if you helped and I've forgotten to mention you!! I could not have done it without you! You are the best!



We are now open for business with lots of new stock. This week we have received orders from Impression Obsession, Penny Black, Dreamweaver stencils, Glitter Ritz, Be Creative tape and Ranger inks. We are expecting a few more orders in the next few days including an order from a new company - Flourishes!! We're very excited to see these stamps in person!!
We're also working on a class schedule for August if there are any classes you would like to see please let us know (and also if you prefere day or evening classes).

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Crafty Capers moves this weekend!


Well the pink paint is all gone. Someone has said she is now craving chocolate chip ice cream because of the new color!
The final finishing touches are going in as I type this. The shop is getting a final clean tomorrow. We start moving in Saturday!
Just a reminder tomorrow July 24 is the final day Crafty Capers is open in it's Lantzville location. We reopen in the new and improved location (2137C Bowen Rd, Nanaimo (near the Northfield exit)) 10 am Tuesday July 28. Hope to see you there!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

One week until the move!


Renos are still underway and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Most of the slatwall is up, the floor is pretty much done except for one problem area, the lights are up and the painting is underway. Don't forget the last day the Lantzville store is open is Friday July 24 10 am - 5 pm. We are closed for moving July 25, 26 & 27. We open at the new location (2137C Bowen Rd, Nanaimo phone 250-585-0022) Tuesday July 28 at 10 am. Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

More shop updates

Sorry no new photos. I forgot my camera on Saturday when I was in last.
Renos are coming along a little slower than I had planned but since I cannot do any of the work I should not complain. Basically, the floor is done. The slat wall is being installed. The new lighting is done. We have a new phone number 250-585-0022. The line was installed yesterday but there is no phone yet in the store. Painting is being done as the slat wall is being installed.
Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to say hi and offered to help out!
Hopefully, I can get some new photos in the next few day.
Don't forget we open in the new location Tuesday July 28. Once again the new address 2137C Bowen Rd. Nanaimo.
Don't forget to stop by the new store. I've been busy putting in orders so we will have lots of new products to see.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Crafty Capers is Moving!!


Crafty Capers is moving! We are open in our Lantzville store until July 24. We are closed July 25-27 moving products new and old into the new location at 2137C Bowen Rd (near the Northfield exit and Pipers Meats and Tailor to Go). Since I am not cardmaking due to my surgery I will blog the renovations at the new store. As you can see the previous tenents left the space very PINK! We're correcting that!

The floors were also very nasty with mystery stained carpets and laminate floors held down with duct tape!

The space is broken up into 3 rooms so we took out a door and made the opening bigger (thanks Phil and Dad!) We ripped up all the flooring today and removed a bunch of chair rail. We also make fun of the bathroom and wondered why on earth people in the '60s had such ugly medicine cabinets and then were horrified when we discovered a bunch of used lipsticks and rusted screws in said medicine cabinet!!

We loaded up Phil's truck with the nasty carpet, a chair rail, mystery cords, and duct taped laminate floor! We also moved in a bunch of slat wall in preparation for painting. Lots going on! Thanks to today's helpers: Kim, Lynn (Mom), Bill (Dad), Phil, Colin, Kathy and Hayley.

I'll post more photos as we progress. Tomorrow the new floor is being laid.

Monday, June 15, 2009

The Best!


This card was done mostly with Stampendous stickers only the saying (also by Stampendous) was stamped. I stuck the stickers to a piece of acetate and 1 on top of an A Muse clear scallop circle. I colored the stickers with my Sakura Glaze pens and let dry. I grabbed a piece of Coordinations White wash cardstock (whitish with a color on 1 side and a solid color on the other with a solid core color). I cut a scalloped circle out of my main cardstock with my Scallop Circle Nestabilities. I cut out one daisy and left one on the background of acetate. I mounted the one with the background in the hole in the main cardstock. I used a scrap of the main cardstock and flipped it over and ran it through the Cuttlebug with the Bloom Dots embossing folder and sanded it to show off the core color. I mounted it to my main cardstock. I attached my cut out flower with a daube of Ranger's Glossy Accents. I stamped the saying on a scrap of Bazzill cardstock, mounted it on black cardstock and attached it to my card. I thought the A Muse sticker was looking a little bare so I added some Perfect Pearls Interference Red to the back sticky side of the sticker and because I had de-stickied it I had to use my Glossy Accents again to attach it. I still thought the card looked naked so I added some of the leftover bits from the same sticker sheet onto the main cardstock.
I am having surgery on my heel today and will not be able to weigh bear for 6 weeks which means I probably will not get much crafting done but watch the blog you never know who might make a guest appearance! :)
Thanks for looking!