DIY Faux Chalkboard Embellishments

The snow-pocalypse is upon us, so I'm holed up in my craft room with Pandora and lots of coffee. I've been drooling over the sneak peek of the newest chalkboard embellishments from My Mind's Eye. Since they're not available in stores yet, I decided to try making my own.

The Artiste Cricut cartridge (from Close To My Heart) has several of these swing cards; after cutting out the cards, I cut the coordinating label shapes out of leftover cereal box. I then painted them with matte black acrylic paint, rubbed them with chalk, and brushed off the excess. All that was left was to stamp some stylized sentiments with white pigment ink! Easy DIY faux chalkboard embellishments. 

I was also inspired by the current CAS-ual Fridays challenge: choose a word that describes what you hope for the new year. My word is POSSIBILITIES!

Can't wait to see what the coming year has in store...

ETA: Also linking up at the Paper Players Challenge: A Clean Slate. Thanks for the heads up, wienerhoneymooners! 

More Halloween Treats

I've got a few more Halloween projects to share today. First off, some little treat boxes:

The tops flip open like this:

And for our front door:

I just love Fall!

Supplies:

Treat Boxes: DCWV "Halloween & Fall" stack; The Paper Studio textured cardstock (black); transparent overlay; Cricut / Tags Bags Boxes & More 2 cartridge / Artiste cartridge

Wreath: DCWV "Halloween & Fall" stack; The Paper Studio textured cardstock (black); cereal box; Cricut / Martha Stewart All Occasions Cake cartridge / Artiste cartridge

Trick or Treat

Just wanted to pop in and share some little Halloween treat pouches I whipped up using the Cricut Artiste cartridge:

They're just right to hold a little fun-size candy bar.

Super easy, but super cute!

Supplies:

Stamps: My Mind's Eye ("All is Bright", "Happy Days", "Remember","Hello", "Everyday Fun"), Martha Stewart ("Carnival Cling")

Ink: Black pigment

Accessories: Cricut / Artiste cartridge, Crop-a-Dile, foam adhesive, ribbon

Crafty Space: In Progress

One of the challenges of our nomadic lifestyle is that we've had to really pare down our belongings. For the past eight years, the majority of our worldly goods fit into several Rubbermaid bins. So when we came back to the States in April, we had to scramble to furnish our new place - and on a tight budget, no less. With a little luck and a lot of elbow grease, we've been able to find just the right pieces to put together a cozy home that fits us to a T. Below is a shot of my new crafty space:

As you can see, it's still a work in progress - the walls are looking awfully bare. But can I just gush for a minute over this desk? 

The clean lines, the rich wood grain... It's my new pride and joy. I scooped this baby up for $10 at a dusty little thrift store. Yep, you read that correctly - TEN dollars. It wasn't in the greatest condition, but I stripped it, sanded it, and applied a Danish oil finish. Now it practically glows. 

The recliner was another great find. It's a vintage La-Z-Boy Reclina-Rocker:

The color is even more vibrant in real life, a gorgeous aqua tweed with underlying hints of olive. Love. 

This small chest of drawers in the far corner is the perfect height for my die-cutting machines:

Inside are my Cricut cartridges, cardstock, and patterned paper. 

I'm slowly adding decorative details around the room, mostly accents of white and silver. I'm just so happy to have a space of my own again - it's something I've really been needing!

Elegant Reindeer

This year I only bought one new set of holiday stamps, "North Country" by Prima. The flourished reindeer is one of my favorite stamps from the set - classic and elegant.

I love the idea of Papertrey Ink's Half & Half dies, but a) I don't own them (their international shipping is just too high) and b) I needed a wider version to accommodate the reindeer stamp. So, I created my own using my Cricut and the Elegant Edges cartridge. I really like how it turned out! The reindeer was stamped with antique gold pigment ink, then embellished with rhinestones in various sizes and colors. Papercrafting supplies may be virtually nonexistent here in China, but the one thing I can find plenty of is rhinestones!


This afternoon I'm enjoying a little post-holiday down-time, listening to the new Florence & the Machine album (so far I liked her first album better) and doing a little crafting. My tummy is full of tasty Ajisen Ramen soup, our apartment is warm and cozy, and I'm wrapped up in my favorite "grandpa sweater" sipping a cup of coffee. Yep, it's a good day.


Supplies
Stamps: Prima "North Country" (reindeer), SEI (flourish), Studio G (sentiment)
Ink: Stamp It Up! pigment (antique gold), ColorBox pigment (antique pewter), Versamark
Accessories: Cricut / Elegant Edges cartridge, clear embossing powder, small corner rounder punch, adhesive rhinestones, foam adhesive

MFTT: Stripe-tastic!

This week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger features this pic full of stripey goodness: 

I knew I wanted to replicate those bold, graphic stripes, so I rummaged through my stash till I found a long-forgotten stripe stamp. The dress and the styling of the photo seemed very "Anthro" to me, which led me down a creative rabbit-trail that ended with the idea of retro typography as the focal point for my card:

The sentiment was added with my labelmaker. I made this one as a winter holiday card, but by using a different color scheme and changing the words to "you" & "me", this could easily become a Valentine's Day or anniversary card. 

Be sure to stop by Moxie Fab World to check out the rest of the entries!


Supplies:
Stamps: Impression Obsession "Borders"
Ink: Stamp It Up pigment, My Mind's Eye pigment
Accessories: Cricut / Cake Basics cartridge, Dymo Labelmaker, black label tape, small corner rounder punch, foam adhesive

Star of Wonder...

 

Our stockings are hung, the presents are wrapped, and our Christmas playlist has been in heavy rotation. Tonight we're hoping to stroll through the Christkindlmarkt and watch a holiday movie or two. 

Today's card features a little glitter-trick I like to use called clear packing tape. Start off with a negative diecut, then apply a strip of tape across the backside of your cutout so that the sticky portion shows through to the front. Pour glitter onto the sticky portion, press down to adhere, then shake/brush off the excess. Perfect glitter application every time!

In this case, I added a second negative diecut, cut an inch larger than the first, adhered on top of the glittered layer with foam adhesive. The completed 3-D star panel was then attached flat to the cardfront.

I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing holiday, just me and the hubby. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your family and loved ones!


Supplies
Cricut / Joys of the Season cartridge, Martha Stewart "copper" glitter, clear packing tape, foam adhesive

MFTT: And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

It's been forever since I've had a chance to play along with the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger, but this week's trigger was just too pretty to pass up:

I decided to create my own nature-themed card, incorporating the subtle sparkle and soft grays of the inspiration pic:

I stamped the border image onto the deer with silver metallic ink, then glammed it up with some teeny-tiny rhinestones and pearls. (Can I just say how much I love this deer diecut? I want to use it on everything!) I kept the rest of the card nice and simple. Because the front is sentiment-free, it can be used for any number of winter occasions.

Be sure to check out the rest of the entries over at Moxie Fab World!

Supplies
Stamps: Walmart $1 set
Ink: Silver Metallic
Accessories: Cricut / Give a Hoot cartridge, adhesive pearls, adhesive rhinestones, small corner rounder punch, foam adhesive 

Candy-Filled Mini Tree-Box

 

The tree stamp from the Prima "North Country" cling set is a perfect fit for this box from the Cricut "Tags, Bags, Boxes & More" cartridge. I cut the box at 4", stamped the tree with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Zing embossing powder. Fill with M&Ms or Red Hot candies for a quick and easy holiday favor!

Supplies
Stamp: Prima "North Country"
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Cricut / Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cartridge; Zing! embossing powder; double-sided redline adhesive; embroidery floss 

Modern Poinsettia

 

It's hard to believe Christmas is right around the corner! The past few months have been pretty busy for us; lots of business meetings, out-of-town guests, the works. We hosted a medical team from the States for a week-long project in a nearby rural province;  my mom came to visit for two weeks (her first time in Asia!); and my father-in-law was here for a month. Needless to say, there hasn't been much time for paper-crafting!

Things have finally slowed down enough for me to work on a few holiday projects. I found this great poinsettia shape on the Cricut "Joys of the Season" cartridge. The negative cutout is attached to the cardfront with foam adhesive, with some black rhinestones for added sparkle. Clean, modern, and easy to mass-produce!

Supplies
Stamps: TPC Studio
Ink: Brilliance "Graphite Black"
Patterned Paper: "Happy Holidays" paper pack (Hobby Lobby)
Accessories: Cricut / Joys of the Season cartridge; adhesive rhinestones; foam adhesive

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm thankful for so many things - my wonderful husband, family, friends, this crazy adventure Seth and I get to share every single day... It's a good life!


Card Supplies:
Cricut / Something to Celebrate cartridge, small corner rounder punch, foam adhesive

Pop-Up

It's been pretty quiet around here the last few days. Well, when I say "quiet" I mean "uneventful", because we happen to live in a pretty noisy neighborhood. The Chinese might call it 热闹 (rènào), which means "lively, bustling with noise" (with a positive connotation) - we call it "say goodbye to peace and quiet". But in a city of 23 million people, can you really expect anything different?

One thing I do love about our neighborhood is that we have so many food options within walking distance: Japanese, Korean, Indian, German, French, American, Spanish, not to mention all of the Chinese options. For lunch today we had Thai: green chicken curry, spring rolls... So good. 

The pop-up card above is the result of some tinkering around in Cricut Design Studio. It lays flat for mailing, and then the recipient can simply fold the bottom half of the cardfront at the hinge to make the words stand up. I thought about adding some masking/stamping to the letters, but then decided less is more. I already have someone in mind for this one - hope it puts a smile on their face! 

Supplies:
Cricut / Design Studio / Martha Stewart Elegant Cake Art cartridge 

MFTT: Girly & Gutsy

This week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger challenge was too great to pass up:

The yellow chairs, black and white rug, fisheye mirror, starburst light fixture... Oh. My. Word. Here's my interpretation:

I cut a starburst shape from a transparency with my Cricut, then glammed it up with rhinestones. (Did you notice the one pink rhinestone in the very center? Had to get that pink in there somehow!) Next, I bent up the "rays" at alternating angles to give it some motion. Here's a side view:

The black background is actually adhesive vinyl, cut with (you guessed it) my Cricut. I really like how the vinyl turned out - I'll definitely be trying this again!

Card Supplies:
Acetate transparency, black vinyl, Cricut / Design Studio / Elegant Edges cartridge (frame) / Storybook cartridge (flourish background), adhesive rhinestones, foam dimensionals

Happy Days

Reuters

This past weekend, we were geared up to bunker down in our little apartment as typhoon Muifa barreled towards us. Hubby, who spent part of his childhood in Taiwan (which averages 3-4 typhoons a year), had told me stories of taping windows, grown men being blown off their feet, and sideways-sheeting rain. Now, I grew up in the US Midwest, where huddling in a storm cellar during tornado warnings was just a part of life. But here in this mega-city of high-rises, we certainly don't have any basements to hide out in. As we went to bed late Saturday night, the wind was already beginning to gust, rattling our windows and fluttering the curtains. Imagine our surprise (and relief) when we awoke the next morning to find that the storm had weakened and changed course, leaving only some blustery winds and intermittent showers in its wake!

In honor of that happy news, I've got a little card creation to share:

That red frame? It's from the Cricut "Elegant Edges" cartridge, which has become my go-to crafting item. It's like having scores of Nesties at the press of a button. Each shape has a regular and oblong version with matching frame, plain or decorative-layer options, plus coordinating border strips and decorative-edge book pages. (You can see it all here.) A lot of Cricut cartridges are too cartoony-cutesy for my taste, but this one is a cardmaker's dream!

New to my wishlist is the "Art Philosphy" cartridge. (Check out the handbook for this one!) It's exactly the kind of cartridge I've been hoping they'd make: clean, modern, non-cutesy artwork, with as much content as they could possibly cram into one cartridge. Images, labels, cards, tags, 3D flowers, boxes, pennants, borders, a font...  Unfortunately, it's only available through Close To My Heart as part of a (pretty pricey) bundle, which means no cheap deals online. I like it so much, though, I'm going to have to start saving my pennies. I do have a birthday coming up... Hubby, are you reading this? ; )

Card Supplies:
Stamps: Sassafras Lass "Songwriter", Stampin Up "Many Happy Returns" (sentiment); Ink: ColorBox pigment "Chestnut", My Mind's Eye "Natural" pigment palette; DCWV cardstock; Accessories: Cricut / Design Studio / Elegant Edges cartridge / Fabulous Finds cartridge, embroidery floss, small corner rounder punch, foam dimensionals

Battening Down the Hatches

Here in Shanghai we're bracing for Typhoon Muifa, which is expected to be the worst storm to hit the city since 2005. The neighborhood guards have been walking the streets with megaphones, advising residents to take precautions, and we've received text-message PSAs warning us to beware of flying objects, flooding, and electrocution. Needless to say, we'll be spending the rest of the weekend cozied up in our apartment, watching dvds and reading a good book or two. Hmm, might be the perfect opportunity for a little Criminal Minds marathon...

Fun With Letters

Hubby and I caught an early matinee yesterday - 3D glasses, popcorn, cokes, the works. Such a fun date! China only allows about 20 foreign films to be shown per year, so seeing an American movie in the theater is a rare treat for us.

On the creative front, lately my eye has been drawn to creative typography - in subway art posters, stationery, print ads, etc. I got an idea in my head, and came up with this fun little reusable mask, perfectly sized for an A2 cardfront:

Which I then used to make this:

I sponged inside the mask using a seafoam green ink, then stamped the letters in red. I think this would also look cool with polka dots, or chevron stripes, even woodgrain - so many possibilities!

Card Supplies:
Stamps: Sassafras Lass "Songwriter"; Ink: My Mind's Eye "Natural" pigment palette, Stamp It Up! pigment (red); Accessories: Cricut / Design Studio / Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake Art cartridge, small corner rounder punch

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC13

This week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to create a 4x9" card. That's a pretty big canvas to work with! After a lot of thinking, and even more tinkering, here's what I came up with:

 
I created the large label shape with Cricut Design Studio, stamped the ends, then used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the center portion. Here's a closeup of the sentiment:

I used a blender pen to color in the border around the sentiment, then finished it off with three teeny tiny rhinestones. Everything's better with a little bling!

Card Supplies:
Stamps: American Crafts "Hello There" (sentiment), SEI (polka dots); Ink: My Mind's Eye "Sundress" pigment palette, Stamp It Up! pigment (lavender), ColorBox pigment "Antique Pewter"; Cardstock: American Crafts; Accessories: Cricut / Design Studio / Elegant Edges cartridge, Cuttlebug / Seeing Spots embossing folder, small corner rounder punch, blender pen, adhesive rhinestones, foam adhesive

Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger: Squares to Cherish

This week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger challenge brings us this lovely inspiration pic:

I wanted to recreate those graphic layered squares, as well as incorporate the soothing colors. I started by using Cricut Design Studio to create a set of concentric medallions centered within a 4" square:

I cut the whole thing out of white cardstock, then inked and stamped away. Here's the finished product:

The only colored paper used is the gray cardfront - the rest is all just inks (direct to paper) and stamps! The layers are attached with varying thicknesses of foam dimensionals for added depth. Not bad for just a 4" square of white cardstock, don't you think?

Card Supplies:
Stamps: SEI "Bridgeport", Stampin' Up (sentiment); Ink: Stamp It Up! pigment (lavender), My Mind's Eye "Natural" pigment palette; Accessories: Cricut / Design Studio software / Elegant Edges cartridge, foam dimensionals

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC12

I finally get to play along with another CAS-ual Fridays challenge! This week the challenge is to use a rub-on or sticker on your project. Here's my creation:

Now, I have to confess: this is my first time EVER using a rub-on on a card! I've had this one little pack of American Crafts rub-ons for years, but for some reason I've always been hesitant to break them out. Let me tell you, I'm a convert! They go on smoothly, and the coverage is superb. I'll definitely be using more of these in the future!

Card Supplies:

Cricut / Sentimentals cartridge (peacock feather); American Crafts rub-on; small corner rounder punch; foam dimensionals

Summer Show & Tell

After yet another round of VPN issues, I finally have access to Blogger again. Sometimes the restrictions here really get under my skin! Now, where were we before our unscheduled break? 

So far my summer has been filled with things like yummy food:

Colorful art exhibits:

And stunning views:

Can't wait to see how the rest of the summer unfolds!