July's Sincerely Cards for Kiwi Lane (a.k.a #19, #20 & #21)

I have a confession to make... or maybe a few confessions.  Every Monday before the third Wednesday, I wake up thinking, "OH, CRAP!  I have a Sincerely submission due today!!"  Yep, I'm a true procrastinator.  I have about a month between each submission, my assignment for each month for the rest of the year, and all the supplies to do it, and I usually start and finish it the day of.  Now, if you know me at all, you will also know that I don't like mornings.  And you will also know that I REALLY don't like Monday mornings!  So this realization that something is due on a Monday morning, and I haven't started on it any more than thinking about it briefly, is not a fun one!  That being said, I have to say that I love Kiwi Lane Designs Templates!!  Why?  Because they let my half-asleep-brain work quickly to create things without having to think harder than I can handle on a Monday morning.  And if they let me do that, just imagine what they can do for you when you're fully awake (and it's not Monday morning!)!!  So, moving on to the reason you came~

Birthday Star:

Finished card size: 5 1/2" x 5 1/2"
Supplies: card base (DCWV); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); rhinestone star (Teresa Collins); ink (Ranger); pen (ZIG); circle punches (Marvy Uchida, EK Success)
Templates: Spook Alley 1B, Rings 2, Tiny Shapes 7T, Adventure 1&2.

I have been seeing chevrons everywhere in recent... months!  Have you?  I just really wanted to see if I could use them on this batch of cards and with the templates.  I like that this card ended up with masculine elements like chevrons, stars and a bulls eye type of design (the layers of circles).  And I had to throw in one glittery element with the rhinestone star :)

Wondering how to make chevrons with the templates?  It's easy peasy... and here's how:

Use one of the zig zag borders from the Spook Alley template set (not just for Halloween anymore!) and mark (with a pencil) how long you want your chevron to be.  Trace one zig zag line on your paper.

 Move the template away from the line you just made, keeping it evenly spaced from the entire length of the traced line.  Trace again.

Repeat this for as many time as you need to get the desired number of chevrons.  Cut with scissors and ink, and you're done!  Use them on your projects as you'd like.  Just remember to make sure you have the template the same way for each paper, if you're using multiple papers.

Birthday Balloons:

Finished Card Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Supplies:  card base (DCWV); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); vellum (Provo Craft); twine (Lilly Belles Paperie on Etsy, SupplyOwl on Etsy); ink (Ranger); pen (ZIG); felt rick rack (Creative Imaginations); stamp (Studio G)
Templates:  Sentiments 1 A&B, Celebrate 1, 2, & 3

Do you have a stash of vellum like I do?  I haven't seen it used very much recently and thought I'd challenge myself to use it a bit more than usual.  Balloons seemed to be a perfect fit!  The vellum balloon is sheer enough to see part of the sentiment through.  I used a single mini glue dot under the twine to adhere it to the card (it hides the glue enough that it isn't seen).  I left the strings on the balloons long to make it more interactive- perfect for a curious little boy!!

It's Your Day Gift Card Holder/ Card:

Finished Card Size: 5"x7"
Supplies: cardstock (Provo Craft); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); star punches (Carl); twine (Lilly Belles Paperie on Etsy, SupplyOwl on Etsy); alphabet letters (Making Memories); felt rick rack (Creative Imaginations); ink (Ranger)
Templates: Tiny Tags 1T, Celebrate 6, Tiny Wildflower 2T

I started out wanting to make this into just a small gift card holder, but somehow it morphed into a full fledged card with a gift card holder that looked like a gift.  Cute, huh?  I know, it's not a gift card in the holder, it's my alumni card.  I couldn't find a gift card anywhere in our house and this was the only card  I found that didn't clash with the primary colors on the card... but, wouldn't a Target gift card look fabulous??  Anyway, the easiest way to make the part to hold the GC is this:  Cut a piece of paper just bigger than the card.  Ink the edges.  Use removable tape or glue dots to adhere card to paper.  Tie baker's twine around the card and paper like you would tie ribbon around a gift.  Don't double knot!!  You want a bow that's easy to untie so the recipient can actually remove the gift card without destroying the card!

The top of the party hat is a loopy pom pom made from more baker's twine.  I used a 1" glue dot to adhere it to the card and keep the strands separated.  Then I added the star punches on top of the twine. I had to glam it up a bit with small glittered alphabet stickers for the sentiment :)

Hope you had fun seeing my cards!  Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Scrapping!!

#18

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Authentique? ;)  Ya, I know.  I'm a little obsessed!  But can you blame me?  Have you seen their Gathering collection?  Well, if not, here's your chance?  This layout was done using their Gathering collection and their July monthly sketch:

Supplies: patterned paper, die cuts, orange letter stickers, word stickers (Authentique); brown letter stickers (SEI); ink (Ranger); brads (craft supply); twine (The Twinery)

The lighting isn't the best on this photo- I got impatient waiting for some sunlight to peek through the clouds and rain for two days and ended up taking it at night with artificial light.  But, you get the idea, right?

That's it for now!  Happy Scrapping!

Patriotic Cards, Gift Bag and Tag for Kiwi Lane (#14, 15, 16 & 17)

Oh, sweet internet!  It's so good to have you back!!  (Let's just hope it stays on today and I don't lose this post... again.)  If you have stopped by from Kiwi Lane's Facebook page and couldn't find what you were looking for, it's because I didn't have it here.  Hopefully this will work today.  Third time's the charm...

These are the cards I made for Kiwi Lane using their Authentiqe Glory paper pack.  I added just a few things like buttons, twine and jewels (like these cute star-shaped ones I found at JoAnn for $1!)-

I think they are just so cute!  Here is a close up for each one with details listed below:

Finished card size: A2 (5 1/2" x 4 1/4")
Supplies: cardstock (Core'dinations); patterned paper (Authentique); button and twine (craft supply); ink (Ranger); Kiwi Lane templates (Celebrate 4, Tiny Shapes 3T, Tiny Accents 3T, Adorn 1A & B)
I saw the pinwheel and tiny star layered together on Debbie's Calendar page for July and loved it so much that I just had to try it!  I added an accordion folded paper flower, a button and some twine and it was perfect on the striped background.  Thanks for the inspiration, Debbie!

Finished card size: A2 (5 1/2" x 4 1/4")
Supplies: cardstock (Core'dinations); patterned paper (Authentique); ink (Ranger); twine (craft supply); jewels (JoAnn); Kiwi Lane templates (Journey 5, Adorn 3A)
I was just looking through photos of my cousin and his wife on a trip to Washington, D.C. and I kept seeing a shield-type shape with stripes and stars on it.  I loved the idea of something similar for a patriotic card and this is what I came up with!  I used the interstate sign from the Journey set instead of the shield from the Playtime set because it was closer to the shape I wanted.  Then I cut it out three times, one for each layer I wanted.  I used the striped one as my base, then used my paper trimmer to cut the top off the blue one and make sure it was a straight line.  Then I used the small Adorn scallop to trace and cut my cream layer, first marking where my blue layer hit the cream layer.  Then I inked and glued it together.  So here's my handy hint- use your templates for layering- just use part of the template for different layers.  It adds even more depth to your projects!

And here is the gift bag and tag-

Supplies (bag): patterned paper (Authentique); ink (Ranger); button and twine (craft supply); Kiwi Lane templates (Abbie Road 3B, Paisley Place 3B, Tiny Wildflower 5T, Adventure 1)

The bag is just one of those kraft paper bags you can pick up at the dollar store or craft stores.  I chose the craft color because I thought it looked good next to the off white of the paper, but you could use whatever color looks good to you.  I also used the large 12" templates and just trimmed off the excess paper with scissors.

Close up of the tag-

Supplies: patterned paper (Authentique); jewels (JoAnn); ink (Ranger); eyelet (We R Memory Keepers); twine (Divine Twine); Kiwi Lane templates (Tags 7, Tiny Accents 3T, Adorn 2A & B)
I wanted something to look like the crazy spray pattern of a firework and I tried a few things for this tag, but I wound up using this crazy curly paper.  I used my Martha Stewart Crafts fringe scissors to cut a piece of 3" x 1" paper, making 5 smaller strips.  Then I just used my fingers to curl them up and then pulled on them a bit to loosen the curls.  I then tucked it behind my star and adhered it.  I like how it turned out and I think I'm going to use the same technique on a page.

Well, my internet connection seems intact, so I'll go ahead and post this... fingers crossed!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

#13

Here's what I came up with for the Scrapbooksteals.com Midweek Mojo Turquoise #5:

Supplies: patterned paper and stickers (Scenic Route), card stock (Core'dinations), ink (Ranger), embossing folder and machine (Cuttlebug), circle punches (Marvy Uchida) star templates (Kiwi Lane Designs)

I have to apologize for the weird angle of this layout- the lighting was off and I had to use a flash and in order to not have a glare on the photos, I had to take the picture at an angle.  But you get the idea, right?  I did the circles with 1" and 1/2" circle punches on a coordinating sticker sheet.  I embossed the green star and sanded the edges and the top of the embossing with a sanding sponge.  And, as usual, I inked the edges of almost everything with Vintage Photo Distress Ink to help everything stand out.

This was a super fast layout- we're talking 30 minutes!  Thanks to the awesome sketch provided by Scrapbooksteals.com!!

Happy Scrapping!