Tag Archives: paper crafts

Card Making: Happy Birthday, Stephanie!

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

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Birthday cake and candle 2

Happy Birthday, Stephanie!

Stephanie

Today is my friend Stephanie’s birthday so I made her a Birthday Girl card!

Scarlet Calliope Card for Stephanie 2013I used “Sugar Chic” from Heidi Swapp and let me tell you I am in love with the colors and the patterns in this stack!  I used a gorgeous ribbon from Lovebug Creations, this one is called “Purple-Dise”.

Before I start creating any of my projects, I always go online to see what other people have been doing and get some quick inspiration. I discovered that there are cute paper bows available from Heidi Swapp, but my local craft store only carried the paper stack and no embellishments, so I had to improvise. I sketched out a template to make a Paper Bow and you are welcome to use it and share it! (As long as you don’t sell it!) Template is at the bottom and here’s the tutorial!

How to Make Paper Bows

1. Print out the template. You may want to make the bow larger or smaller using your scanner or printer settings, depending on your project. The template will make a bow that is approximately 3″ wide x 1.5″ tall. You can either cut your scrapbook paper down to 8.5×11 and send it thru your printer, or print the template onto plain white copy paper. If you print directly to your scrapbook paper, print the template on the blank side so that you don’t waste any cute paper with the frame and title printed on it. If you want to get fancy, cut the bikini top shape out of one paper, and cut the remaining pieces out of a contrasting paper.

2. Cut out the pieces that look like a bikini top, two triangles and the small rectangle. (The doodle on the bottom is so that you can see what it looks like when it’s complete.) If your paper is single sided, you’ll want to cut 2 pieces of bikini shaped paper at the same time, and layer them wrong side to wrong side. If your paper is double sided, you can skip that last part.

3. Add a dot of glue (hot glue works really well for this!) or a glue dot on one end of the bikini and bend it gently towards the middle, but don’t allow it to fold, you want it to stay puffy. Bring the other side of the bikini in to the middle and give it a small dot of glue. If you use liquid glue, use a clamp, paperclip or clothespin to hold the bow in place while the glue dries. Or, use a small snippet of blue painters tape.

4. Bend the small rectangle around the middle of the bikini and secure it with a drop of glue on the back side.

5. Now add the tails to both sides using a drop of glue. They can flare out to the side or hang down, it’s up to you! Allow to dry.

Scarlet Calliope Card bow detail

Isn’t that Cute?

Scarlet Calliope Paper Bow Template 2

Shopping List:

  • Ribbon: Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon, “Purple-dise”
  • Cricut: “Storybook” cartridge
  • Paper: Heidi Swapp “Sugar Chic”

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the template and the tutorial.

xo,

Christine Barker

Design Team Call: Graphic 45

28 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Uncategorized

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http://g45papers.typepad.com/graphic45/2013/02/-graphic-45-design-team-call-2013-.html

Did I mention that Graphic 45 is one of my favorite scrapbook paper companies?  You don’t want to miss your chance to join their brilliant and celebrated design team! Not only do you get the opportunity to create some fantastic projects and show off your skills, but you get shipments of amazing new product, not only from Graphic 45 but also from the crafting companies that they partner with!

http://g45papers.typepad.com/graphic45/2013/02/-graphic-45-design-team-call-2013-.html

If you aren’t familiar with the story of how Graphic 45 was started, I’ll share some of the inspiring story with you. Diane Schultz worked as a designer for companies like McCalls, Simplicity, Vogue/Butterick and some other companies. At the age of 45 she went back to school and got her degree in graphic design. As a person who has gone back to school and earned a degree while working full time and raising a family, I applaud Diane for her discipline and hard work. Diane named her company Graphic 45 to celebrate her achievement.

She took a risk and launched her company with the help of her daughter, Aimee, and the rest is scrapbooking history.

Graphic45 Sharon Ngoo Tag Staples

Graphic 45 Tag by Sharon Ngoo

The deadline to apply is Thursday, March 21, 2013, so head over to the Graphic 45 blog to see all the details!

Good Luck!

xoxo,

Christine Barker

Happy Valentine’s Day!

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Art and Crafting, Uncategorized

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Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. I love the colors of red hearts, with pink accents, and white trim. And, I love the idea of celebrating LOVE!

Graphics Fairy: valentine-clowns-graphicsfairy005b

But most of all, I love candy, especially chocolate. So it’s amazing to me that there is a holiday that brings all of these things together!

Graphics Fairy: Stock-Images-Valentine-Girl-Vintage-GraphicsFairy

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, I created a fun card using Lovebug Creations Rumpled Ribbon.

Scarlet Calliope Valentine Card 2013

Supply List:

  • Lovebug Creations Rumpled Ribbon in Caddy Blue
  • Valentine Scrapbook paper collection
  • Chipboard key shape
  • Paper Doily
  • Turquoise rhinestones
  • Clear glitter
  • Red paint
  • Rhinestone pin
  • Hot glue gun
  • Tacky glue
  • Ranger Glossy Accents
  • Foam Squares
  • Slice shape cutting tool
  • Scissors

Begin this project by creating your embellishments. Start by cutting out a 2.5″ heart out of red patterned paper using a Slice or other die shape cutter.

Scarlet Calliope Valentine 3

Flood the top of the heart with Ranger Glossy Accents to give it a beautiful shine and use a paint brush to spread the glue around before it begins to dry. While the heart is drying, cut out an interesting element from your coordinating scrapbook paper that will be placed in the left hand corner (I used a sweet bird). Add some vintage glitter to really make the embellishment pop. Edge this element with a brown stamp pad or brown marker to give it some definition.

Paint a chipboard key red and set aside to dry. Once dry, add some glitter.

Next, to create a rosette, cut out two strips of the red patterned paper that measure 1″ x 12″. (I attached one strip to the other and ended up using 21″ of it). Also, cut out a 1″ circle of paper using a punch. Using the Martha Stewart Scoring Board, score the strip of paper every 1/2″ and then accordion fold in 1/2″ intervals. Stick the ends together and glue with your hot glue gun. Work the rosette into shape and using a hot glue gun, glue a circle of paper onto the middle of the rosette.

Scarlet Calliope Valentine 2

Using 12″ of Lovebug Creations Rumpled Ribbon, create a loosely gathered bow and tie it down in the middle with 2″ of ribbon. Glue this down on top of the rosette and attach the red Key Chipboard Shape. Attach a rhinestone pin on top of the red key. Set this aside to dry.

Next, cut a piece of scrapbook paper that is 7.5″ tall and 6″ wide. Using a red ink pad, rub the ink pad on the edges to give them a vintage look. Set aside to dry.

I love using Paper Doilies, they remind me of making Valenting crafts in elementary school. Glue a paper doily to the center of the card. Using your red ink pad, edge a piece of 5.5″ x 4″ coordinating paper and attach that on top of the doily using the foam tape. For the center element, a vintage valentine, I used 2 identical pieces of scrapbook paper, but you can also go to The Graphics Fairy and download a free and super cute vintage valentine. Print out two copies onto card stock, and cut the main element out of one of the copies.

Scarlet Calliope Valentine 1

You’ll be layering this cut out copy using foam tape on top of the original copy. Attach these to the 5.5″ x 4″ paper. Add some glitter and some rhinestones to your element.

To finish, attach the handmade and glittered element to the heart shape embellishment using foam tape and attach that to the upper left hand corner with foam tape. Attach the rosette embellishment to the bottom right hand corner with glue. Add some additional rhinestones to the upper right and lower left hand corners of the 5.5″ x 4″ paper.

Scarlet Calliope Valentine Card 2013

Voila! You have a beautiful card or decoration for your home. Enjoy!