Spring is Coming!

... but not to Calgary, Alberta! It's been snowing here, and is still snowing. It's going to be a late spring! But for My Sheri Crafts challenge this week, I made a spring LO and a new idea to share.

The LO:



I'm beginning to try to use my stash in more creative ways, and so many of my LOs have my old alpha stickers on them and the Jolee embellishments. I still like using them, but haven't bought any in years! Time to use them up!







I love sewing on LOs:



Supplies:
Paper: SEI Poppy Paper pad
Embellishment: Ladybug by Jolee's by You
Alpha Stickers: Me & My Big Ideas "mambi minis"; Martha Stewart "Holly Alphabet"
Journal tag: Deja Views "Love journal sticker tablet"

And a quick tutorial:

I got these MS felt alphas after Christmas for super-cheap at Michael's, but I couldn't really think of how to use them. There's not enough to make a big title, and they seem pretty limiting. But, after a close look, I realized that I could probably slice the holly off them!



Using a sharp exacto knife, slide it under the holly and gently slice through the top layer of the underlying felt:



Here it is, next to an unchanged letter. Looks like it never had anything there!



And the completed title. I've very happy with the outcome! And, happy to use those letters in a different way!

White on white

I love the effect of tone on tone, and this week's challenge at My Sheri Crafts is monotone. Here's my white on white LO, which is so lovely in person, but a little hard to appreciate in a photo. :-(



There's white stitching around the border, along with two layers of vellum!



Oh, and I LOVE my new Imaginisce I-rock tool. It heat sets jewels and rhinestones. Very cool, and I have a fabulous template to share with you all very soon on a later post!



My first cut from the cricut cartridge, Winter Lace. I love snowflakes, and got this one because you can NEVER have enough snowflakes where I live!

Hope you all have a great week! I'm counting the days until Spring Break -- I've very much in need of some crafting catch-up time!

St Patrick's Day!

I've done my first "live" tutorial in honour of St Patricks Day! Being an active teacher, my hands are really destroyed after working with kids (and washing them constantly!), so I've never made a tutorial where my hands were seen before. Instead, I've stuck to computer tutorials. Well, it's time to break out of my box! Here's this week's project, bobby pin ribbon Shamrocks:



and the video tutorial on how to make them. They're lots of fun and pretty simple once you get the hang of it!



Please feel free to go to my channel on Youtube to view it bigger and in HD!

And here they are in "hair"! This is actually my daughter's dance wig, but I'll have a chance later this week to take some "real" photos :-)

Chinese New Year!

This week's challenge at My Sheri Crafts is Chinese New Year! I had fun making this kanji and a Hello Kitty, and think they go together very nicely! The download for the character, which means "good luck" or "good fortune" follows at the end of this post, and I just used up scraps for the card. Happy Chinese New Year to you all, on February 3rd!

A Little Bit of Bling!

Today's LO is using old set of pictures, in which I wanted to convey a sense of excitment. I think I managed it with the bold and kind of crazy paper:



I know, lots of us are afraid to use those big crazy bright patterns in large quantities. I say, GO FOR IT! Up close of left side:



Right side carries over the colours, but more muted to add emphasis to the journalling:



Cheese-y pun!



The journalling, done with a white ball-point pen. I always prewrite on blank paper and edit. Then I test the pen I want to use on scrap. I had tried black and brown first, but the white looked so much better!



Supplies:
DCWV Summer Dream Stack
Fonts cut with SCAL2: Brush 455BT ("Fair") and Crazy Girlz Blond BTN Lt (everything else)
Frosted Lace Stickles
Rhinestones
Ink (all edges)

My Sheri Crafts -- Mists and Sprays!

A simple LO for My Sheri Crafts this week! The theme is Mists and Sprays, and I've used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist on the Giraffe of this page:





It's very pretty in person, and blends all the colour together nicely :-) I really enjoyed making this little guy; it's a cut from the fairly new, Birthday Bash cricut cartridge.

Supplies:

Paper: K&Co Gypsy Baby
Paper Ribbon from my stash (unknown brand)
Giraffe and 3: Cricut Birthday Bash
Brads and Eyelets: Making Memories
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Sunflower

My Sheri Crafts -- Bears!

My Sheri Crafts challenge this week is Teddy Bear themed. I found this old photo of me, and decided I'd make a cute little Teddy LO for my "All About Me" book:



November 1st I was able to download six free cricut cartridges for my Gypsy, and fortunately I only had one already. I was thrilled to gain the Christmas solutions cartridge, as I'd already wanted it but couldn't justify buying it since I already had Christmas Cheer and Winter Woodland. Here's my first cut from it, the teddy bear:



He's embossed with the A2 embossing folder, Textile Texture. I cut first, then used a cricut marker, then ran through my cuttlebug and chalked with Pebbles Chalk. Love that stuff, love the effect.



I'm forever a sucker for some of the MS punches, so this one got me last week. It's a new one, called Cherish. It's a PATP set, and it's beautiful! I'm sure it'll make it on to many of my LOs!



Supplies:
DVWC WB Gypsy Baby Stack
Martha Stewart Cherish Punch
Ribbon
Martha Stewart Antique Gold Glitter
Cuttlebug A2 embossing folder, Textile Texture
Pebbles Chalk

My Sheri Crafts -- Remembrance Day

This week's challenge on My Sheri Crafts is special: it's Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day for our American friends). My Uncle Stewart is a retired member of the British Armed Forces, and this is my favorite photo of him, on exercise sometime the 80's. Being so far away, I didn't grow up knowing him; but on visits to Northern Ireland as an adult, I have grown to appreciate what an amazing man he is.







Supplies:

Martha Stewart "Modern Garland" punch
Paper: DCWV "At Home" stack
Glossy Accents and Distress Stickles ("Broken China") on Uncle
Heritage cricut cartridge

Please check out the other inspirational projects atMy Sheri Crafts and enter yours!

Finally, I'd like to share this video with you. It was shown to my students on a field trip last week to the Calgary Military Museum. Please check out the Military Museum if you can. It's truly fabulous, and well worth a full days visit.



All Canadians who fall in the line of duty are repatriated through the base at Trenton, Ontario, and driven to Canada's chief coroner in Toronto. This has been the procession of the 152 men and women who have died in Afghanistan since 2002.

My Sheri Crafts -- Get Well Soon!

How appropriate! My littlest helper, "Wiggles", is almost three and on Friday night became quite ill. She vomited all over her daddy and again on me. Poor little one. As I write this, she's asleep on the floor, lying on a towel, beside me. She doesn't want to move, just stay close by.

Funny enough, our challenge on My Sheri Crafts this week is "Get Well Soon" and I made this card:





I like the cuts, from Just Because cricut cartridge, but I LOVE the ribbon detail. It was inspired by the paper weaving our kids do in school, but is a nice touch I think!

Make sure you enter your card (or other craft) in My Sheri Crafts blog this week!

Have a great weekend, and safe Halloween!

My Sheri Crafts -- Halloween!

My Sheri Crafts is getting ready for Halloween! So is my class, and we made these fabulous water bottles:







Supplies:
Cricut vinyl
Cricut Happy Hauntings
Transfer tape
Halloween coloured ribbons
Glow in the dark beads

Make sure you enter your project at My Sheri Crafts for a chance to win!!

My Sheri Crafts -- Stitching Challenge and MS Doily Tutorial

This week's challenge at My Sheri Crafts is "Stitching"! I love using my sewing machine on LOs, but I got this fabulous package of stickers from my LSS a while ago, that are actually meant to be stitched. Fun, huh?



Here's an up close of one of the stickers, stitched with metallic thread:



And the finished LO:



Another fun detail was making the doily that partly mats the photo.I love my Martha Stewart punches, and I'm always looking for ways to use them on things in new ways. I've made circle doilies before (see here) but this one doesn't require cutting into the pattern and uses a corner punch!

How to make the doily, using a Martha Stewart corner punch:

You'll need a circle and a corner punch. Not all punches work equally well. I'd suggest punches that have a sloping entry/exit into the pattern, or just experimenting.



This circle was cut 7.25".



Start punching! I flip my punch over to see exactly where the punch will occur. Keep the design close to the edge.



Line up the next punch section. Your pattern repeats should overlap, but not get too close.



The result. The last punch may not line up exactly. Since this will be layered under a photo, it doesn't matter. If I was going to use it and have it all show, I would "hide" the not-perfect lining up bit with ribbon or a prima flower.



There's a little triangle bit left over from the punch.



The triangle bit can be left, or removed with an exacto knife.

Fun! I hope you like this technique. It's a great way to extend the use of those fabulous punches (and go get some more!!)

Make sure you hop over to My Sheri Crafts and enter your stitching project for a chance to win!

Breast Cancer Card

Run for the Cure

This week's My Sheri Crafts challenge is Think Pink for Breast Cancer. I made this card:



Instructions: Download and cut card sneaker.svg from the download box at the bottom of this post. Cut card base at 10.5" wide on dark pink. Cut proportional top layer in light pink. Chalk all edges with Pebbles Inc chalk. Layer and adhere. For most of my paper product, I use an ATG gun, especially with cards where I want it to stick and not move!

To make the awareness paper ribbon: cut a strip of paper 3/8" wide. Fold twice to create the ribbon shape, then trim ends on a sharp angle. Adhere together, then add a gem to the middle.



The following download box has access to all the cards I've made SVGs for. This one is the "card sneaker.svg" Enjoy!





Please make sure to enter your creation at My Sheri Crafts to have a chance at a great prize!

A Masculine Layout

Here's a photo and LO of my grandfather. I believe this photo was taken in about 1945 or a bit earlier, and it's been housed in a terrible frame with icky gummy tape and cardboard box behind it. What a relief to have it out! The matting was already showing age spots and what looked like mold. It hadn't gotten into the photo yet, so this was a joy to make a LO that might stand the test of time a bit better.



Supplies: all paper K&Co Blue Awning; tag K&Co Wild Saffrom; ink for edges; distressing tool for all matting; #12 embroidery thread for sewn edge.