StarLitStudio

movin' out...movin' in...

Another family in the neighborhood moved away, and a new family moved in.  The card on the left is for the new neighbors; the one on the right is for the family that moved away.

Hello and Miss You sentiments are from A Muse.

Lockhart Stamp Company's Sold Sign was a universal choice for both cards.  American Crafts Big Skies paper and May Arts butter satin ribbon used.  Copic markers quickly colored in the sign image, which was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink.

Mini 3mm brad is from Bazzill (found these in Archivers).

Interior sentiments with strips of scrap paper.  Sentiment on the left is from Verses Rubber Stamps; verse on the right is A Muse.

The card base (and envelopes) are 100% recycled paper - it's called Brown Bag and from Greengrocer... they look and feel like a brown paper grocery bag!

nottinghill sympathy notes

 

Using 7gypsies Nottinghill papers, rubbings and brads for today's projects.  Card base and coordinating envelopes are Memory Box Sapphire.

Cranberry sheer ribbon and cranberry satin ribbon are both from May Arts.

'Thinking of you' sentiment is from Wordsworth. 

'With Sympathy' sentiment is from Stampendous.

I am addicted to rub-ons.  Love the color ones - the black pearls are from KaiserCraft.  Labels One die was aged using an ink blending tool and Distress Antique Linen ink.

notebook for daddy

Papertrey Ink's notebooks are a fun size - I made this for my dear husband using October Afternoon's newest Report Card papers.

Initial is Tim's Type Charms, and I also used 7gypsies Architecture rubbings, Tim's Hinge Clips and Sprocket Gears.

Notebook interior features a pocket and more 7gypsies rubbings (Disclaimer).

knit. purl. repeat.

Notebooks make the most excellent gifts - I create these for teacher gifts and for those hard-to-find gifts for folks.  Mish sent me a notebook years and years ago, I got hooked making them, and I am still using the one she gave me!

I'm using American Crafts Big Skies paper and embellishments; notebook base is Memory Box Kraft - finished size is 3-3/4" x 10".  I cut down large 8-1/2" x 14" notepads to this size.  The interior pocket is formed with a 1/2" flap at the bottom.  Can you see the Dew Drops all over the front?  I love them with this paper!

Lockhart Stamp Company's Basket of Yarn was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto white cardstock (Papertrey) Labels Eight die.  Copic markers formed shadows and a grounding line.

Additional Copic markers were used to color in the balls of yarn.  I selected these Copic colors based on the colors in the Blue Skies paper.

Basket was stamped on striped paper from the Blue Skies collection, and again onto solid cardstock (the reverse side of one of the cardstock patterns from this collection).  Trimmed, then pieced.  Ribbon is May Arts.

This shot shows the Robin's Nest Dew Drops (Flame used)!

Notebook interior - Blue Skies glittery chipboard pieces with silver eyelets added.

kewl things and kittens

New Karen Lockhart stamps have arrived, and I fell in love with the kitten in the mitten!  I'm a poet and don't know it.

When my 7yr old saw this kitty stamp, she looked me in the eye and asked, "Mommy?  Can you please make this kitty a soft and white one?"  So of course this card had to have a white kitty.  Lockhart Mitten Kitten image was stamped twice onto October Afternoon Farm Fresh papers using Ranger Jet Black ink.

 

Image stamped with Memento London Fog ink onto a white cardstock Labels One die, and the sentiment (yup, it's crooked - I'll show you how I fixed this a few photos below) and dotted Vintage Labels stamp (verse, dotted image and cardstock from Papertrey Ink) with Ranger Archival Jet Black ink.

Decorative paper stamped mittens were trimmed and pieced, and adhered into place.  We'll cover the kitty's paws in the next step.

 

I stamped the kitty again with London Fog ink onto a white cardstock scrap, and cut the paws out, then adhered them into place.  Yup, sentiment still crooked...

Fixed the sentiment by stamping again onto white cardstock scrap, then punching out with a 1/2" circle punch.  Added circle sentiment using a dimensional and bam!  I did this nifty accent on purpose!  Not.   Using Copic grays in T1, T3 and T5 I colored the kitty to make the white pop against the white cardstock.  I totally learned this from Marianne. 

I die cut a piece of yummy 100% wool felt using Labels One, and machine stitched the kitty layer to the felt.

A loop of Strano Margot (5/8") and a Papertrey Pure Poppy button add dimension. 

 

Interior sentiment is A Muse, and a leftover strip of the Farm Fresh paper.

Kewl things:  Well it's November here in NJ, which means my hands are FREEZING!  I stop typing every so often to cup my hands to my face and blow hot air into my cupped hands, over and over.  I've been tempted to purchase a space heater for my studio, but have this irrational fear of fire from those things and don't want to waste the electricity.  Besides, it's just my hands that get so cold.  OK my nose too, but I can live with that.  So I found some fingerless gloves on etsy.com from a store called tango November bravo...she's a knitter, and a Canadian, living with a surfer in Portugal.  Crazy, eh?  Totally love it!  Her blog and photos will put you in a happy mood!

sympathy inchie card with cork leaves

(edited to add:  thin cork sheets are from creativeimpressions.com)

Oh, sympathy cards.  I make these when I'm in a somber mood, and I had a sheet of thin cork laying out where I stamp and one thing led to another.  I really liked how the thick, black Inchie Squares set off the cork color, and the airy quality of the cork punches.

New Neutral Inchie Notes were punched with Martha's border punch and lined with punched Licorice cardstock.

(above punch is from Family Treasures) I found the center of the Inchie Note was found quickly by using Tim's Design Ruler.  Tim's ruler features a centering ruler, allowing one to locate the center of an item quickly.

A cork leaf was punched using Martha's frond punch, then mounted onto a Black Inchie Square using mini Glue Dots.  A mini pearl was added as an accent.  Sentiment is from Wordsworth. 

(The sympathy card featured in the first photo at the top of this post, center, uses Martha's rose leaf punch.)

Interior sentiment and feather are both from Wordsworth.  All images were stamped using Ranger's Archival Ink in Jet Black.  I'm undecided as to whether I prefer the Black Inchie Square as a diamond or as a square for these cards - I like both...it's like asking if I'd rather have chocolate or peanut butter - both is better!

box of cards for teacher

 

Teacher gifts are my focus at the moment - the holiday are rapidly approaching and with three children plus teacher aides, school secretaries, the school nurse - and I want them all to be special, so I am starting now.

I created enough apple punches (Martha's apple punch), border strips, ribbon snippets, and so forth for all cards needed - these were made assembly-style for speed.  I punched the red apple (Memory Box Cranberry) with a 1/8" hole punch and threaded a white brad as a highlight.  October Afternoon's newest Farm Fresh cardstock papers, Memory Box Vanilla Bean cardstock, and Gourd card base and coordinating envelopes completed the package.

 

I lined each clear-lidded gift box (nashvillewraps.com # SB738) with some of the Farm Fresh cardstock, to give the presentation a professional appearance.  Ribbon used is May Arts celery grosgrain.

Card interior - This is from Verses Rubber Stamps.  These paired with a coordinating notebook (a'la Mish) will make the perfect gift!

happy birthday tent topper

Today's post is a Mish-style tent topper card sending some schweeeeet sentiments for a birthday girl! 

If you are unfamiliar with Mish's tent topper cards, they are a square card featuring a 'topper', extending the card's height to fill the envelope.  In this case, the finished card dimensions are 4-1/4" x 5-1/2".  The actual card base, or the 'tent', is 4-1/4" square.  These are fun and a nice change from the standard 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card that I typically make.

 

Today's post features Karen Lockhart's Cupcakes with October Afternoon's newest Farm Fresh papers and Papertrey Ink Buttons (white and Summer Sunrise).

If you look at the upper left of the photo above, you can see my notebookie card layout sketch from Mish, showing her tent topper style card.  I love using this sketch notebook to remember card layouts.

The 'tent' is complete and the topper is colored with Copic markers.  Lockhart Cupcakes and A Muse sentiment are stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink (Nesties Label #1 used).

 

I die cut a mat for the cupcakes using a larger label #1 of the Nestabilities dies.

 

Two overlapping layers of Farm Fresh papers using Martha's Doily Lace punch, and a Hero Arts sentiment.

A close-up of the glittery cupcakes! Bling is from Hero Arts, and Distress Rock Candy Stickles gives the cupcakes that sugary-shimmer!

autumn blessings

New neighbors have moved in down the street, and I created this quick card to drop in their mailbox, providing them with my name, a friendly note and my phone number if they need anything. 

If you have never moved, there is nothing more frustrating than not knowing where anything is, and a local bridge is out to boot, re-routing all traffic.  I'm sure this is not helping them learn their way around.  If you've moved then you completely understand!

I should warn them about the deer.  See that purtty yellow mum bloom in the photo?  Yeah.  That's the only one left on the entire, enormous shrub!!  They must be very, very tasty to deer.

All Papertrey Ink components, and this set (and paper too if I'm not mistaken) was designed by Becky Oehlers.  Becky lives further south here in New Jersey and I was very fortunate to have her visit here a while back.  She's amazing, isn't she!!    

And I totally Papertrey's Vintage Buttons!!  All ink is ColorBox Chalk.

so stinkin' cute!

 

Playing around with American Crafts Blue Skies collection - ribbon, paper, brads and rub-ons.  I bought these at two peas.

 

Piercing was done with a Tim Ruler, which features a grid designed for paper piercing, and Tim's retractable piercer.  Brads are shiny silver.  The hedgehog's eye is a mini black pearl.  The right edge of the blue cardstock (the reverse of one of the prints in this collection) layer was teased and worn using my fingers/fingernail.

Card base and coordinating envelope is Memory Box Parsley.  Decorative cardstock from this collection decorates the card interior and rub-ons decorate the envelope.  What is it about hedgehogs that are so darn cute?