The Ultimate Crafter's Companion - Part 2

So, I had a blast creating a few projects with my new toy, the Ultimate Crafter's Companion.  I think what I really like about the tool is how many things you can do with it.  I don't think I've tapped into half of the benefits yet... but, that's why I purchased it.  The "have-to-have" features will be used all the time and the extras will be all for fun!  And that's why I had to share.

I borrowed this image from the Ultimate Crafter's Companion website, in case you were wondering what it looks like:

Vintage GM Gift Box:

This next project was a quick gift box, created for my Grandpa's birthday.  I always like to get him gift cards and a little something to open.  And knowing how much he loves things that are made for him, I know this will be something he'll save.

I stamped the Vintage City Scrapblock on Natural White cardstock with Vintage Photo Distress ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.  I used Old Paper Distress ink and a bit of Vintage Photo ink to give the map an aged feel.  I like embossing the image first to ensure I don't lose the detail of the design.  The 1938 Suburban was also embossed and aged.  This is such a perfect look for the image, as the shine of the embossing powder really looks like the shiny finish of the car.  You have to love that!

And the box... well, I love that the box itself took less than 10 minutes to create.  The scoring template in the Ultimate Crafter's Companion made it so fast and easy!

Thanks for stopping by,
lise
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Supplies:
Stamps:
-Vintage City Scrapblock, 1938 Suburban (from the GM Collection) and You're a Classic (for the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Mona Lisa Moments Collection) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
-Vintage Photo, Black Ink and Old Paper Distress inks by Ranger

Paper:
-Black Prismatic by Prism Papers
-Natural White cardstock by Neenah

Other:
-The Ultimate Crafter's Companion
-Clear Embossing powder by Ranger
-Distressing tool by Tonic
-Game spinner, brad and sprocket by Tim Holtz Ideology

The Ultimate Crafter's Companion - Part 1

I admit it... I'm a gadget junkie.  I see a gadget, I need it.  And be honest, what stamper out there isn't like me?  But, I'd like to think I only get the tools I HAVE to have.

And my post tonight is all about the Ultimate Crafter's Companion.  I received this gem and was blown away!  The vast number of things you can create with just one tool is amazing!

Hello Honey Gift Set:

I started by creating an accordian fold card first and used my all-time favorite patterned paper, Urban Prairie.  It's just so perfect with the Kim Hughes / CHF stamp set The Birds and the Bees stamp set, isn't it?  The card also has the large scallop edge to it, making it a concertina.  The best part of this is the directions for creating this are included with the Ultimage Crafter's Companion.  And depending on how you learn, you can either follow the steps outlined in the pamphlet or the DVD that's included.  I was inspired to create an entire gift set.

And as long as we have confessions going (the first one that I'm a tool junkie), I am completely inept at making envelopes.  I have a minor in math and yet the entire envelope concept eludes me.  The Enveloper template is on the outside of the case, so I used a bit of patterned paper to make a matching slimline envelope... or rather an envelobox, as it's dimensional to hold  larger card.  Guess what??  It works perfectly!  No more brain cramps trying to figure out the necessary dimensions.  I will never struggle with envelope making EVER again.

Because I was on a roll, I flipped through the instruction pamphlet and found the details on making wedge boxes.  SO simple and perfect to personalize a gift.

I have another Ultimate Crafter's Companion post for later this week... I just couldn't stop once the ball started rolling!

Thanks for stopping by,
lise
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Supplies:
Stamps:
-The Birds and the Bees (Kim Hughes Collection) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
-Pitch Black, Aqua and Watermelon Adirondack inks by Ranger

Paper:
-Natural white cardstock by Neenah

Patterned Paper:
-Urban Prairie by Basic Grey

Other:
-The Ultimate Crafter's Companion
-dimensional tape
-Fabric-Tac adhesive by Beacon
-Stapler
-Velvet ribbons, grograin ribbon and cord by May Arts
-Nestabilities by Spellbinder
-Copic Markers

Paper Tole Technique

One of my recent techniques I've posted on the Cornish Heritage Farms forum is on creating Paper Tole Flowers.  I love this technique and really loved how the project finished.

Roses for You:

The technique is a matter of repetitive stamping and forming the edges of the cardstock to give a very textural / dimensional effect.  Well... all the details are in my tutorial --> HERE.

To have a better view of how the roses look:

And there are multiple techniques listed in the Technique Talk forum for your inspiration.  I love creating them and hope if you have a favorite, a question or a technique you'd love to see, please let me know!

Thanks for stopping by,
Lise
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Supplies:
Stamps:
A Perfect Yellow Rose (Thomas Kinkade Series) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Script Essential Expressions (Mona Lisa Moments) by Cornish Heritage Farms


Ink:
Versafine Onyx Black ink by Tsukineko


Cardstock:
Natural White and Black cardstock


Patterned Paper:
My Mind's Eye


Other:
Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Prismacolor Pencils
Mineral Spirits
Blending Stumps
Precision Scissors
Wooden Skewer
Glue Dots
Black Brads by Making Memories
Spray bottle with water

TK Blitz in Full Swing

Hello!  Have you been by the CHF Forum for the Thomas Kinkade Blitz yet?  Loads of fun to be had by all!

The first challenge for Thursday was Monochromatic designs and the gallery is stocked with fantastic samples!

The Open Gate:

I love the soft grey color with this image.  Very dreamy!  And I always think the TK images look so elegant in monochrome.

I hope you'll join us for chat, challenges and fun this weekend!
Thanks for stopping by,
Lise

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Supplies:
Stamps:
-The Open Gate (Thomas Kinkade Series) by CHF
-Tulle Damask Scrapblock by CHF


Ink:
-Smokey Gray Versafine ink by Tsukineko
-Weathered Wood Distress ink by Ranger


Paper:
-Gray Prismatic by Prism
-Natural White by Neenah


Other:
-Flowers by Prima
-brads by Spare Parts
-Sewing machine and thread
-Distress tool by Tonic

Thomas Kinkade Blitz

One of the product lines at Cornish Heritage Farms is the Thomas Kinkade stamps.  Highly detailed, gorgeous red rubber stamps that do the Painter of Light proud... and when I stamp with them, I feel like an artist myself!

Starting on Thursday, the crew at CHF is having a Thomas Kinkade Blitz.  Starting on Thursday, we'll have chat, giveaways, challenges and designer samples.  The details can all be found in this post on the Cornish forum: HERE.   So that everyone has plenty of time to work on the challenges, they are all posted in advance.

I hope you'll join us!  Post your creations on the challenge day and you could win!!!

--------------------------------

Thursday February 19th -Challenge #1 (TKC01)-Monochromatic Challenge, simply stamp your TK image in a single color of ink for a beautiful monochromatic image

Friday Feb 20th - release day and 2 challenges to participate in

Challenge #2 (TKC02) - Spotlight Challenge - use the spotlight technique to spotlight a part of your TK stamped image

Challenge #3 (TKC03) - Multiple Inks Challenge - try using two or more colors of inks on your Thomas Kinkade image...think Spectrum pads or inking with two different inks

Saturday Feb 21st - our final challenge day

Challenge #4 (TKC04) - Embossing Challenge - whether you emboss your stamped image or try out a cracked glass technique, we'd love to see some fun embossing for this challenge

Challenge #5 (TKC05) - Methods of Coloring challenge - What's your favorite way of coloring the Thomas Kinkade Images?! They are so flexible! Do you like chalks, Copics, watercolor, colored pencils? For this challenge color in a Thomas Kinkade image with your favorite method. We can't wait to see them!

Rules:
- Use Thomas Kinkade stamps by Cornish Heritage Farms
- Upload your project to the Cornish Heritage Farms Gallery using the appropriate keyword
- Please post a link to your design back in the CHF forum thread for that day
You may double up your challenges but please submit your design to only ONE of the challenges to keep the chances fair for everyone. One project = one chance to win
- You can create as many designs as you wish for each challenge

--------------------------------

To get those creative juices flowing, I thought I'd share a Thomas Kinkade card that I created at the end of last year.  To be honest, I can't remember if I've posted it already (sorry if I have... my memory is terrible lately).

Silent Night

I actually created this a long time ago and gave as a gift to someone special.  It's a simple image and project... but you don't have to spend 45 hours to make a masterpiece with a TK image.  They are truly a detailed work of art, in and of themselves.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope we'll see you in the forum later this week!

lise

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Supplies:
Stamps: Thomas Kinkade Silent Night Vignette by Cornish Heritage Farms
Paper: Prism Twilight Dark (B309-E), Twilight Medium (B471-D), Twilight Light (B471-D), and Cryogen White Shimmery cardstock by CutCardStock.com
Ink: Colorbox Queue Blue Iris and Oyster White Fluid Chalk inks
Accessories: Designer Home Accents Glass Frame by Noteworthy, Silver cord and white organdy ribbon by May Arts, Large Classic Rectangle Nestabilities, Making Memories silver eyelets, Silent Setter by Provo Craft

CHF and Card Positioning Systems

I know... I should be flogged.  It's been too long since I last posted.  Believe it or not, I've been doing stamp related things.  More to come, trust me.

Today's post is in celebration of the 2 year anniversary and 100th sketch at Card Positioning Systems (CPS)... and Cornish Heritage Farms is sponsoring!

I've created a couple of cards using the amazing sketch by Tami (you can see it HERE... I'd rather direct you to the source, than snag the picture).

Bold Blooms:

I think this card will actually require you to dim your computer screens.  It is BRIGHT!  If this doesn't get you happy and on the right path, I'm not sure what it would take!  LOL!  The card is a 5" square design, following the sketch layout, with the exception that the three panel elements are round.  The colors were chosen because I honestly just wanted to use one of the new (to me) Chloe's Closet epoxy clips that are so bright and fun... and hard to resist.

Sweet Girl:

This next card has a tidge of creative license on the sketch, but still maintains the three center elements and diagonal (with scoring and stitching).  My quick tip for this design was to score double lines and use one of them as the stitch guide.  It guarantees the stitched lines to be parallel.  And isn't this little girl darling???  I love her simple joy at contemplating the beauty of the tulips.  She's colored with Copic markers and has more depth in real life.  I suppose you'll have to trust me on that one.  :-)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll give this week's sketch a try (and every week, for that matter) at CPS.  It's the perfect place to get a jump start for your creativity and the designs posted there are by the industry's leading designers.  Stunning designs!

Thanks!
lise
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Bold Blooms Supplies:
Stamps:
-Artsy Blooms (Shady Tree Studios) by Cornish Heritage Farms
-Pin Dot Scrapblock(TM) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
-Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger
-Spiced Marmalade Distress ink by Ranger

Paper:
-Nautical Blue Med, Intense Orange, and Intense Yellow by Prism Papers
-Classic Crest Solar White by Neenah

Other;
-Chloe's Closet Epoxy Clips by Making Memories
-Jumbo Button by Paper Studios
-White floss by Karen Foster Designs
-Nestabilities by Spellbinder
-Corner Rounder by EK Success
-Prismacolor Pencils, OMS and Stumps
-White Eyelet lace by Wright's

***********************************
Sweet Girl Supplies:
Stamps:
-Tulip Girl (Saturday Evening Post) by Cornish Heritage Farms
-French Script Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farm

Ink:
-London Fog Memento Ink by Tsukineko

Paper:
-Classic Crest Solar White by Neenah
-Cranberry Med. and Gray Prismatic

Patterned Paper:
-Sabrina Spiral Journaling Book by Making Memories

Other:
-Copic Markers and Copic Opaque White (with fine tip brush for application to tulips for highlights)
-Lace by Prima Marketing
-Nestabilities by Spellbinder
-Corner Rounder by EK Success
-Old decorative tack (unknown source)

Shady Tree Studio Images

The CHF Be Creative Blog has been sharing sneak peeks all week on the new line of floral images, illustrated by Nancy Baier.  Her flowers just make me SO happy!!!!  I've been watercoloring and penciling these gorgeous, yummy flowers.

I thought I'd share one with you today...

AND let you know that the CHF Be Creative Blog will be giving away four of these beautiful stamps... so post soon!

Poppin' Poppies:

Seriously... is that not the most lovely poppy image ever?  I love how it makes you feel like an artist to color and paint them!

I did paint in this one.  I used Peerless watercolors to give these poppies a red-orange-yellow feel.  A bit of slate gray was added to the center for depth, shading and those lovely seeds in the center.

Since the watercoloring yielded such a bold result, I had to pair it with the black and white of the Making Memories Spiral Journaling paper as a layer.  I love the pattern, don't you?

The release is just around the corner.  Be sure to stop by the team blog for a giveaway and more lovely samples!

Thanks for stopping by,
lise
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Supplies:
Stamps:
-Poppy Pair (Shady Tree Studio) by CHF


Ink:
-Stone Gray Stazon ink by Tsukineko


Paper:
-Desert Coral Medium, Black Prismatic by Prism Papers
-Staedtler water color paper


Patterned Paper:
-5th Avenue Spiral Journaling book by Making Memories


Other:
-Peerless Water colors
-Scallop black ribbon by May Arts
-Piercing Tool by Making Memories

Bringing in the New Year - In Style!

It has been ages since I had time to create with all the holiday and family events we had over the last 4-5 weeks.  So, on New Year's Day, I decided to chain myself to my stamping desk and bar the door.

One of my first creations was a desk set for my kitchen.  It's a feeble attempt to be organized.  But I HAVE to try, right?

Granola Desk Set

The first portion of this set is a framed message board.

I stamped the Vintage Ledger Scrapblock™ on Simply Smooth White cardstock.  Next, I added "NOTES" to the top with the Playful Alphabet from the Kim Hughes Collection at CHF.  Finally, I stamped a couple of swirls from the Beautiful set from the Rummage Bin to complete the stamping.

It's all framed with Basic Grey Granola patterned paper - yummy!  And... I added a dry erase marker with a bit of magnet to the back of the frame so I could really leave notes for my family.  Very cool stuff!
The second portion of the set is a Jumbo Clip and a perpetual calendar - both to match.  Neither have any stamping on them, but I love the look of the dark browns and blues together.  Just what my kitchen needed!

Thanks for stopping by!
lise
---------------------------------------------
Supplies:
Notes Message Board:
Stamps:
-Playful Alphabet stamp set (the Kim Hughes Collection) by CHF
-swirl from the Beautiful stamp set (The Rummage Bin) by CHF
-Vintage Ledger Scrapblock by CHF


Ink:
-Pitch Black Adirondack ink by Ranger
-Weathered Wood Distress ink by Ranger


Paper:
-Simply Smooth White by Prism Papers


Patterned Paper:
-Granola by Basic Grey


Other:
-8"x10" frame in black (Target)
-dry erase markers


Jumbo Clip:
Patterned Paper:
-Granola by Basic Grey


Other:
-Mod Podge Adhesive
-Jumbo Photo Clip in Walnut from Kohl's


Perpetual Calendar:
Ink:
-Vintage Photo Distress ink by Ranger - to ink blocks (staining them)


Patterned Paper:
-Granola by Basic Grey


Other:
-Mod Podge Adhesive
-Butter cream acrylic paint from Michael's Crafts
-perpetual wooden calendar from Walnut Hollow

Giveaway at the CHF Be Creative Blog

I know it's been ages since I've posted... but since you are all friends, I know you've overlooked my lapse.  Right?  OK... sorry... I promise to do better.

I come bringing news of a JUICY giveaway at the CHF Be Creative Blog.  All you have to do is take a peek at the recent posts of Kim Hughes upcoming release (just in time for CHA) and comment on your favorite.  Just that easy.  Or hard... if you're like me and can't pick which one is the cutest!  Kim's images are always a hit with me!

I'll catch you over at CHF Be Creative Blog for some Farm Fresh Kim Hughes images!

And I'll have a creative post of my own tomorrow.  Promise!

Hugs,
Lise

Merry & Bright

It's hard for me to belive we have 1 week until Christmas.  I am clearly not prepared.  Anyone that says they are incredulous on how fast the year is going is probably playing the catch up game... and that, my friends, is me. :-)

I have been creating holiday cards for months, but I don't think this is something I've shared with you before.

Merry & Bright

I used the December Stamp of the Month again, but this time I tried something different.  I thought I'd go for a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  I would have made this a bit bent over, but it wouldn't have worked quite so well for the Spellbinder die.  With all that bling, it looks like it'll topple over, though...  LOL!  I think that's one of my favorite holiday specials.  There's nothing sweeter than Linus sharing the real meaning of Christmas.

I hope your holiday preparations are going well.  Be sure to sit back and enjoy the moment at some point.

Thanks for stopping by,
lise

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Supplies:
Stamps:
-Fir Branch (SOTM) by CHF
-Christmas Expressions (mona lisa moments) by CHF


Ink:
-Meadow Adirondack ink by Ranger


Paper:
-Simply Smooth by Prism


Patterned Paper:
-Mistletoe and Pear by Basic Grey


Other:
-Say It In Crystals by Prima Marketing
-Rhinestones by K & Company
-Nestabilities by Spellbinder
-Sewing machine and thread


Finished size: 5.5" square