Paper Technique: Iris Folding

I’m gonna keep this post short n’ sweet, because quite frankly I should have been sleeping by now.

I ordered a book called ” Compendium of Cardmaking Techniques”  and received it last week. I finally got my craft room more organized and felt like I could take on a new technique from this book.

I chose to try Iris Folding. This technique uses a tiny amount of paper ( 15.5″ x 5/8″ in 4 colors, glue, something to cut and score with, a template ( I traced mine out of the book with acetate and a Sharpie ), and a ton of patience !

I found this technique to be more calming than monotonous. I do have an odd trait that allows me to be very patient if I know it is necessary to achieve the outcome I want. Otherwise, I’m extremely impatient ( I’ve left stores without buying an item before just because lines were too long).

I’m going to share my first one with you , but I’m only going to do a tutorial if I’m asked for it 🙂 . I am considering using this technique to make a cool looking pupil for an eye to use on a mixed-media project. See, the ideas are already flowing! Haha .

Here are the pics :

Let me know what you think about this technique . Old news? Cool, but you have a new spin on it ? Fun to try, but not enough patience to do multiples ?

Remember… If you want a tutorial I’ll do it, you just have to tell Me ! Thanks for stopping by .

Love Photo Frame for a Man

After my sweet man got me such a nice gift for V-Day, I felt like I should give him a little more than just a handmade card and a kiss. I couldn’t think of anything I could even buy him so I decided to dedicate most of my Sunday to designing and making this picture frame. I was kind of surprised how long it took me to make it, but as I was explaining the whole process to my boyfriend it came quite apparent that making something similar to this wouldn’t take nearly as long the second time around. My intention with this frame was to make it “fit for a man, but obvious that it was given to him by a woman”, as I explained it to my boyfriend.

Below is a finished shot and a before and after. I have a few more of the blanks, so I plan on making a few more. One is going to be for my BFF’s unborn child and the other 2 I plan to make to sell on Etsy (hopefully!)

Full blog post is super long and is an attachment. It is a tutorial of how I made this picture frame. I’m still getting the hang of this whole blogging thing! haha. Thanks for being patient with me while I figure it all out!

Here is the link…. Love Photo Frame for a Man

Tab Inspiration

As I was admiring the colors of my Rockstar Energy drink today I was reminded that it was this color combination that inspired me to chose purple and black as my main business colors. It just proves that inspiration can come from all places and sometimes they can be random and unusual.

So, what are some random or unusual places that have given you inspiration ?

Graphic 45 Papers. What’s your Favorite Collection?

I know I have seen these papers before, but I never knew who made them or where to get them from. Now that I found them I am curious what everyone’s favorite collection is? I know that is probably a really hard question if you are loving Graphic 45 papers as much as I am. However, I am feeling very drawn towards their new Graphic 45’s Staples Collection and their Olde Curiosity Shoppe Collection.

I am very seriously considering stocking some of their papers. Your input is greatly appreciated. Also, let me know if you prefer paper pads or single 12 x 12 sheets. If you prefer paper pads, let me know if you like the 8 x 8 or 12 x 12 more.

To check out all of Graphic 45’s collections, click here.  Thanks!

Happy V – Day !

I feel so loved today . Not that jewelry buys my love, but my boyfriend had me totally convinced that he wasn’t getting me anything . What a surprise when he pulled out a teal colored bag this morning ! That booger lol. I didn’t get him anything , but I did, of course, make him a card .

Front

Inside

Inside

Back

I wrote personal stuff to him on the other side , that I’m just going to keep between us .

My totally unexpected and very appreciated gift !

My New Business Cards!

Front of the business card

Back of the business card

Address Labels that I tossed on at the last-minute (hehe, couldn’t help myself!)

 

I’m so excited for these to come, I just had to share. I actually had an order pending with OvernightPrints.com that I ended up cancelling because it was taking too long (placed the order on 1/30/12 and they hadn’t even started printing yet) and I didn’t like the design that I threw together at 11:30 pm at night to use a coupon that was expiring at midnight. I am very happy with this design and I am glad that Overnight Prints let me cancel for a full refund. I knew something wasn’t right when I looked at the first ones I designed and thought “eh, I guess they’ll do for now”. I later thought “What are you doing?! You need to convey everything that you are about and that is NOT this “eh” attitude!” LOL, yes, I have a lot of dialogue in my head talking to myself. At least I’m not doing it out loud…for now 🙂

Alcohol ink & up-cycled Valentine’s Card

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Ok , so I just finished this card and I’m so excited to share it that I HAD to post it immediately even though I’m not ready to write all about it. I really have to get some homework done for my managerial accounting class . So…after that’s done (and if it’s not too late) I will come back and do a step by step of making the card. Yay !

Update: I didn’t get done until around 12:20 am , so I crashed right after that. It probably won’t be until Tuesday night that I will have some time to write up this tutorial. Sorry for keeping you hanging. Probably a rookie mistake posting before I was really ready to write!

Update 2/11/2012: I’ve decided that too much time has already passed since I have posted this that I am not going to do a full on tutorial. However, I want to include a few bits of information especially if you are interested in what materials were used to make this card. I wrote a huge long list of techniques and supplies, etc. I spell checked, hit the publish button and BOOM, it was ALL gone!! What!? You can imagine how extremely frustrated I am right now, and I’m so very sorry,  but I am not doing that again. I have also learned the valuable lesson of why they say to blog in a word processer, then transfer that text to your blog :(. If you have any questions about what I used or anything about the card, please feel free to comment. I will still be happy to answer you!

Simple Valentine’s Tags

These tags were super easy to make and relatively quick.

Materials & Tools Used:

•Two halves of 8-1/2″ x 11″ cardstock papers by Recollections. One in black with white polka-dots and the other in light pink.
•Tim Holtz Tiny Tabs & Tags Sizzix Alterations Die (3-1/4″ x 1-5/8″ Tag)
•Spellbinders Lacey Ovals Die. (3rd Smallest/Largest Oval Used)
•Paper Piercer (to poke out hanging pieces on the lacey part)
•Black Archival Ink by Ranger
•Various Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous and Inkadinkado Stamps from multiple different sets.

To get started I first measured out how I should cut the paper to maxmize how many tags I could get out of it. One 8-1/2″ x 11″ piece of cardstock produced a total of 12 tags. I made sure to cut out the pieces of paper large enough so I could have enough clearance when cutting with the dies that I would have a 100% success rate. I can not stand it when I’m trying to maximize paper and end up scrapping some out in the process. I cut the paper every 3-1/2″ on the 8-1/2″ side and every 2″ on the 11″ side. Yes, I know those numbers do not add up and you will end up with some unused small strips still.For the scalloped oval I was able to get a total of 15 out of one 8-1/2″ x 11″ piece of cardstock. I cut every 2-1/8″ on the 11″ side of the paper and every 2-3/4″ on the 8-1/2″ side.

I was able to get 6 layers of cardstock through the Tiny Tabs & Tags die at a time. That was quick. The Spellbinders Lacey Ovals die is only made for one sheet at a time, so that was a little bit of a pain. I also had to stop after each pass through and poke out the spots where the paper was stuck in the lacey part on the die and on my die-cut. I decided to see if the Spellbinders Lacey Ovals Die could handle two pieces of cardstock at once. My conclusion is that it’s not a good idea. While I know it is not designed for that, I still had to try! You could most likley get two pieces of paper through it, but the cardstock took too much time to pull apart and “fix” after running through two at once. Besides that, I am not sure if doing that is good for your die or your machine.

Now that I had all my die cuts ready, I put the tags aside and started stamping the lacey ovals. I browsed through my stamps and pre-picked out the ones I wanted to use. I use mostly clear stamps. I wanted to move along quickly while stamping, so as I picked them out I mounted each stamp to their own acrylic block. Obviously this is not necessary, but I happen to have a good amount of blocks, so why not use them!

After stamping all of my lacey oval die cuts, I left them for a little while to dry. Archival ink takes a little longer to dry than other inks. I had to leave them to have dinner, but normally I’d just hit it with my heating tool and move on to the next step. I attached the lacey oval die cuts to my tags with two small squares of foam mount tape (a.k.a “dimensionals” if you’re more familiar with the Stampin’ Up term). That’s it!

I hope you like these simple Valentine’s / Love themed tags! I am selling one of the sets at my Etsy shop. If you’re interested, they are $4.49 for the set of 6 tags. Click here to go to my Etsy Shop.

If you like these tags, have any questions, comments, or knowledge to lend, please comment below! I am new to crafting, so if you have a better way of doing any of the things I did in this process, I am all ears! Thanks for stoppin’ by.