Mojo Singing Ava

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The last days of 2009 are here and I have a cutie pie card to show, probably the last, before the new year! WOW! I hope you all have another year ahead of you that is filled with blessings and gracious love.

My little Ava is singing with a grateful heart for Mojo Monday's last sketch of the year. The image is InStyle's Karaoke Ava. I was mostly tickled to find I had Prismacolor's to go with the paper from Where the Heart Is by My Mind's Eye. I say mostly because I lacked the lighter blue green marker to do Ava's dress, so I made a special trip to the art store. {wink}

Have a safe and fun New Year! Thanks for stopping by.



Details:
Stamps: Instyle Karaoke Ava, Verve Christmas in the Air and PJ Grateful Heart
Paper: MME Where the Heart Is, Mohawk Smooth White, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Laserjet printer, Prismacolor Markers*, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Nestabilities Classic Square and Scallop Square, Classic Circles; stitching, Stickles Waterfall and Orange Peel, MS Onyx and Sterling glitter, Glossy Accents

*Prismacolor Markers Details: Hair - Terra Cotta, Pumpkin Orange, Mineral Orange; Wings - Yellow Ochre, Goldenrod; Skin - Pale Peach, Brick Beige, Clay Rose; Mouth - Blush Pink, Clay Rose; Dress - Jade Green, Teal Blue; Leggings - Pale Jade, Jade Green; Shoes and Microphone - Cool Grey 30% and 90%

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Date Night Kit Tutorial

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Hello all,

I wanted to give the construction details to my Blog Hop project here, but I ran out of time before I needed to post the actual project. LOL I hope they work since I wrote this from memory and measurements from the completed project.

So here are the details on how I made the CD holder and the cuts for the tickets and gift card.

1 - 5 7/8 x 10 inch cardstock
1 - 5 x 12 inch cardstock
3 - 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch cardstock or patterned paper

2 - 2 x 2 1/2 inch copy paper (hidden and optional)

1 - 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch copy paper (hidden and optional)

Martha Stewart Score board or Scor Pal

ISP or Tacky Tape

Eyelet Hole Punch with smallest punch

Craft Blade Knife (Xacto Knife)

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Step 1:
Score the 5 7/8 x 10 inch cardstock at (A) 4 7/8 inch and 9 3/4 inch. You will have a 1/4 inch tail for adhesive. Rotate 90 degrees to the left and score at (B) 1 inch. Fold cardstock on the (A) scores and press with a bone folder. Apply sticky tape to 1/4 inch tail and press together. Score line (B) is to make the book crease on the same line, but is not a functional fold or really needed I guess. LOL. Use a circle punch in the center of the open end to make a notch (about 1/3 of the punch should be used.)

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Step 2: Score the 5 x 12 inch cardstock at 5, 6, and 7 inch marks. Fold and press with a bone folder. Inside the valley fold line the edges of the 5 and 7 inch scores on the inside (see illustration) adhere some sticky tape.

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Step 3: Center the 1-inch tab of the cd insert into the valley fold of the cover and secure using the sticky tape on the cover.

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Step 4: Take one of the 4 1/2  by 4 1/2 inch square pieces of cardstock and  mark on the front side the desired position of the ticket holder cuts. For my project the the coordinates for the left cut are: 7/8 inch from the left side and 1 5/8 from the bottom and ending 2 5/8 inch from the left side and 2 inches from the bottom. The right cut coordinates are: 2 inches from the left side and 2 5/8 from the bottom and ending 3 5/8 inch from the left side and 1 1/8 inch from the bottom.

At each end of the cut line use the smallest eyelet punch you have. Use a craft knife and cut the lines.

(Hint: Click on the image to enlarge it and make it easier to read the measurements.)

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Step 5: Turn the ticket panel over and apply sticky tape across the top of each line.

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Step 6: Take another panel (4 1/2 by 4 1/2) and draw a line 3 1/2 inches long about 2 inches from the bottom. Using the same eyelet punch, make holes at each end of the line. Cut the line as you did for the ticket panel. I punched a small dip in paper below the cut line to make it easier to slide in the card.

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Step 7: Turn over the giftcard panel and apply sticky tape above the line.

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Optional: If you want to make sure the tickets or giftcard don't slide down into the cuts of the panel, make the following sleeves out of plain copy paper. Adhere each one to the back of the panel before attaching the panel to the inside of the cover. Each sleeve length should be 2 1/4 inches long and the width should be the same length as the slit ( My tickets cuts were 1 1/2 inches and 3 1/2 inches for the giftcard). Make a score line at 1 inch for all and fold. On the outside of the 1 inch length apply sticky tape. This will be adhered just under the cut line. The sticky tape on the panel just above the cut will be for adhering the longer length of the sleeve.

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Use sticky tape on the back of the panels and adhere to the insides of the cover. Now would be a great time to add two lengths of ribbon for a bow closure element. (I forgot to do this part on my blog hop sample.) WAIT! Check to make sure that the seam on the CD cover is at the bottom before applying the panels, this way the recipient won't see a seam when they open up their gift kit.

Now you just need to decorate the front!

If you have any questions email me or better yet leave a comment on this post. Other visitors may have the same question as you do!

I would love to see what you create with this tutorial so if you can remember to email or post a comment linking back to your project I would just love it!

Eeks! Just two days left until Christmas. Have a great week!

It's time to hop into some Love and Romance!

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Are you enjoying the Blog Hop so far? The Design Team has created some awesome projects. If you've been hopping with us then you came from Linda's blog. If you've just arrived here for a visit and if you've got time we would love to have you join us! Hop over to the beginning at the InStyle Stamps blog here.

My project for the hop today can either be for your significant other or as a gift to a couple you know.  It's a date night kit of sorts, all wrapped up into one package. Just as a frequent flyer has a wallet for passport, boarding pass and charge cards, this little package has a pair of tickets, music CD and a restaurant giftcard.

I used Mike and Jessie for my cup of sweetness. They just look so much in love it makes you smile. You'll find them as well on the music CD label. I stamped around on the red panels with a couple of dreamy sets from Verve called Thankful Accents and Thankful Hearts as well as the sentiment from Anniversary Birds. I downloaded and resized a digi-paper from A Cherry on Top and printed it out for four (4) panels, but my ink cartridge was low and I only had two match, so I just used some paper in my scrap pile for the cover.

That's it! Thanks for stopping in on the hop. You're next stop is at Genevieve's blog.

After you're done visiting all the design team blogs go back to InStyle Stamps and give yourself some love by entering a chance to win a prize. Don't forget to vote on your favorite project by a design team member.

The hop list, just in case you need to know where you are on the hop.

Kim

Mary
Jodi S.
Melissa

Joy

Maylee

Julie

Raquel
Linda
Janelle - You're here!
Genevieve
Lysa
Virginia
Margie
Piali
Lana
Angelique
Cyndi

Details:

Stamps: InStyle Mike and Jessie, Verve Thankful Accents and Thankful Hearts, Anniversary Birds

Paper: Brocade Blue, Digi-paper from A Cherry on Top, Red and tan cardstock unknown

Ink: LaserJet, Brocade Blue, Prismacolor Markers*

Accessories: Rhinestones, SU Finial Press EF

*Prismacolor Details:  Mike: Hair - Cinnamon Toast 201, Light Tan 95 and Mocha Dark 200; Shirt and Sweater - Brick White 79, Brittany Blue 142; Pants - Khaki 209; Shoes - Mocha Dark 200. Jessie; Hair - Deco Yellow 131 and Yellow Ochre 18; Shirt - Flagstone Red 73 and Mahogany Red 150; Skirt - Cool Grey 30% 110 and Cool Grey 70% 114; Shoes - Cool Grey 30% 110 and Cool Grey 90%

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Letterpress Kit Giveaway

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Lifestyle Crafts has a giveaway! I'm so curious about this Letterpress technique and equipment. I've seen it advertised at Archiver's. Well, I don't enter many give-aways but I think I'll try this one over at the Lifestyle Crafts website.

You become a Follower of their blog, post on your blog with a link back, and become a member of their Fanbook on Facebook. Each option permits an entry in the comment section and a chance to win this $150 value kit.

It's worth a try.

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Happy New Year's Party Invite

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It's Over the Hump Day Blog Candy Giveaway at InStyle Stamps blog today! The Challenge theme for the month is New Year's. If you haven't already thought of ideas for this quick approaching day or just need a change from the hustle and bustle of your current day, head on over and look at some of the InStyle Design Team's projects for inspiration.

Here's my card or rather 3D project. You would not believe where this "card" started if I told you so I'll just tell you what I did once this idea blossomed. (Thanks dear MIL for all the ideas). It's an Invitation Door Hanger. Who wouldn't want to get an invite like this hanging on their front door?

My popped up image is from InStyle Stamps Sitting Kylah. I went back to the colored pencil and OMS technique for coloring after watching an episode on Stamp TV, and I feel like I did much better at getting depth and vibrant colors this time.  It's a great alternative to using my Prismacolor markers. I'll be doing it again! I added some glitter to her dress and wings which of course is not photogenic AT ALL. I made a picture hanger out of paper and hole punched it, put the silver cord through it and slipped it over the acetate box.

The box template is called Piece of Cake from SEI's post here. I used clear acetate so that the foil wrappers from the candy would be visible and give the invitation some texture. Here's a tip: If you use acetate you might want adhere the sides at the bottom of the box so the contents don't fall out. I used ISP from i{heart}papers. The box normally doesn't need any adhesive to stay together, just the ribbon tied at the top of the box.

One of my tangent ideas was to make a table decoration or party favor using triangle box template from The Guilded Bee using the same construction and assembling as the door hanger. Maybe I'll try it out if I have time. LOL

Details:
Stamps: InStyle Sitting Kylah
Paper: Astrobright copy paper (various), Mohawk Smooth White, Clear Acetate
Ink: LaserJet, Prismacolor Pencils
Accessories: SU Crushed Curry ribbon and silver cord, candy, wire, OMS, Yellow Stickles, MS Wintermint glitter and gel adhesive, SU Ticket corner punch, standard hole punch

Prismacolor Details: Hair - Light Umber 947, Dark Umber 941; Skin - Peach 939; Mouth - Blush Pink 928, Carmin Red 926; Wings - Canary Yellow 916, Yellow Ochre 942; Dress - Parrot Green 1106; Leggings - French Grey 20% 1069; Shoes - Black 935

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Tis the Season - We have a Winner!

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Good morning everyone! The blog candy closed last night, but later than I had posted. The close function wasn't working out as planned for Mr. Linky so there was an extra 5 hours to enter. LOL

Thank you, Cheryl, Penni, Shanna, Cathy and Ginette, for playing in "My mistake can make you a winner" Blog Candy Give-away.

I used Random.org to generate the winner and that person is Cheryl from She Stamps blog. Congratulations! Cheryl, please send me your address to me (go to View my complete profile link to get my email address) so I can get it out in the mail.

This was fun! I think I might find another mistake and do another Blog Candy next month. It might be something to do with coloring images. Hmmmmm what could it be?

Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday to you and your family! Stop in any time.

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Tis the Season...BLOG CANDY!

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THIS POST WILL REMAIN AT THE TOP UNTIL TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15th. Scroll down for Club Anime posts.

It is certainly the holiday season. The schedule starts getting filled up and the next thing you know it's been over a week since you have posted anything! I hope you all have had an easy time preparing for the holidays and most importantly taking time to craft. LOL

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to post about a little mishap of mine. I made a silly ordering mistake and ordered two of the same stamp sets and now my Followers reap the benefits! I ordered an extra Verve Snow Wonderful stamp set. I'm going to throw in a pack of "Holiday" patterned paper from Pressed Petal . It's wouldn't be right if there wasn't a little bling thrown in so there's some clear rhinestones (adhesive back) and black eyelets to round out this little mistake. My way of saying thank you to all of you who encourage me to continue doing what I do.

The paper pack was a surprise set. My son was with me shopping and said, "I want that!". The sample images on the front weren't my style, but for the sale price it was worth it for my kids crafting stash. I was pleasantly surprised at what was inside when I opened mine, so we stopped off at the store the next day and bought another pack for this give-away. (Click on the image to see the pattern's better.)

How to play?

Just blog about it, or if you want put it in your sidebar whatever is easiest, just have a link back to this post. Make sure you're a Follower on my blog too! Come back and add your name to Mr. Linky. That's it!

I'll close Mr. Linky on Monday, December 14, 2009 by 5 p.m. Mountain Time (7 p.m. ET) and I'll announce the winner in a Tuesday post.

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Club Anime December Color Challenge #4

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Today's color challenge over at Club Anime is right on holiday cue! Maybe you've got some last minute cards to make and dragging to get them done. Well come and play with us over at Club Anime with our color challenge, we would love it if you did.

Red   *   Green   *   Brown

My card for the challenge started with sketch sk120509 at Paper Craft Planet and is using a couple of cheerful sledders named Leang and Sei, available at InStyle Stamps (remember you can get a 5% discount on your order if you use the link in my sidebar). A quick pass through my Cuttlebug with embossing plates Swiss Dots (on red) and Snow Dots (on green) and a button bow made with Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, Kaisercraft lime green button and DMC brown floss. 

The image was colored with, you guessed it, Prismacolor markers. I tried something different with my coloring technique on this one. I'll start by telling you that the beauty of illustration markers is that they blend so well on top of eachother, but this time I only used two shades of colors for each color and tried NOT to blend them. I used the lighter color first and went throughout the area evenly and then went back with the darker color and did a bold shadow area. The result is less time over coloring and more time assembling the card! Gotta like that this time of year. I'm not sure this technique has a name, but I did it as a study in a college art class for graphic design. I vaguely remember that we used prismacolor pencils and a traced magazine ad to practice defining the lines between an image and its shadows. We called it cell-shading.

Here's a close-up of the image. I need a little more practice at this technique. It's harder to imagine where the shadows should be than in my college class where they were already there we just had to make them more pronounced. LOL

Have a great Saturday!

Details:
Stamps: InStyle Stamps Leang and Sei, Verve Snow Wonderful
Paper: White, Real Red, Garden Green, LSS lime green, red and burgundy
Ink: LaserJet Printer, Chocolate Chip, Prismacolor Markers
Accessories: SU Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Kaisercraft Lime Green button, DMC Floss, Cuttlebug Snow Dots and Swiss Dots

For those wanting to know what color I used on a certain area of the image, these details are for you. (The number after the marker color is its corresponding PM #.)

Prismacolor Details: Boy: Hair - Yellow Ochre 18 and Goldenrod 69, Skin - Pale Peach 207 and Cinnamon Toast 201, Eyes - Deco Blue 134, Shirt - Apple Green 167 and Grass Green 165. Girl: Hair - Light Tan 95 and Sienna Brown 65, Eyes - Light Walnut 89, Shirt - Raspberry 151 and Mahogany Red 150, Scarf - Apple Green 167 and Grass Green 165. Both: Mouth - Ballet Pink 208 and Clay Rose 137, Pants - Light Walnut 89 and Walnut 90. Sled - Cool Grey 30% 110 and 70% 114. Snow - Brick White 79.

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Club Anime Sketch Time!

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It's Sketch time at the Club Anime blog. Head on over there and give it a try! I really like all the elements in this sketch, it really worked my coordinating colors skills. LOL  I used Raquel from the Club Anime Kit for November. She'll be coming to the store soon for all to purchase and enjoy. I think she would be darling on a bookmark.

Make a project with the sketch and link it through Mr. Linky on Club Anime and you will also be entering for a chance as a Guest Designer for January and February.

Looking for a color challenge? Club Anime's current challenge using the bedding set image as inspiration is still going on right now, but only for little more than a week.  Submit a project using the colors from this bedding set to the Mr. Linky on this post by Friday, December 11th 11:59 PST for a chance to receive a $20 gift certificate to In Style Stamps.

Hope you have a great day!

Details:
Stamps: In Style Raquel, Verve Fluttering By
Paper: An assortment of dp unknown, Old Olive, Basic Black
Ink: LaserJet, Prismacolor Markers (PM 73, 152, 151, 192, 124, 95, 172, 205, 195, 166)
Accessories: Cuttlebug Spots and Dots, Swiss Dots, Sanding Block, SU Scallop Edge Punch, May Arts ribbon, KaiserCrafts rhinestones (Michael's).

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