Ole-Talk

Sister Sketch | Hit or Miss?

I can't believe that it is May and time for another Sister Sketch already.  This year is flying by.  The sketch we used this month is from Jeana over at the Silhouette Blog. 

Source

And here is my take on it!

Notice that I used strips of washi tape and a paper border in place of the chevron design.  I also replaced the mini photos with embellishments.  That's what I love about sketches, they can be so versatile and they are also great for when you have to do a layout in a hurry and have no idea where to start.

So do you think I hit the ball or missed it?

Now go check out Francine's take of this sketch here

Bookmaking

I just completed a six week book making class at RISD.  One of the perks of the job is being able to take these awesome Continuing Education classes for free or reduced tuition...another reason why I love my job!  So anyway back to my book making class.  It was truly a wonderful experience made doubly so by the fact that I did it with my wonderful boss Suzanne.  We got to bond even more while being creative.

I have dabbled on my own with book making but it was great to see how the professionals do it. I picked up quite a few tips on how to make my books really look finished.  I learned about the importance of grain, not only in the paper but also in book board, how to make cloth paper, suminagashi, and paste papers to name a few things.  I walked away with three completed books, a list of supplies, and a burning need to make more.

Here are my books.

This one is made using a sew-to-tape or smythe sewn binding with an uncovered spine and the cover boards are covered with paste paper (I actually did not make this paper but I plan to make some pretty soon).

This one is basically the same as the first only fully encased and covered with book cloth that I made.

And finally a Japanese stab binding book.  This was so simple to do and the possibilities with this binding are endless.

With this new knowledge the possibilities for gifts is endless.  It also means that I have no excuse to buy another journal...humm is that good or bad...you decide!

10 Things to Knit or Crochet

The 10th of the month crept up on me and took me by surprise, but I still wanted to get my 10 Things post up.  so here's my 10 things one day late!

Snapshot of my board

Lately it feels like I have only been knitting things for other people.  Don't get me wrong I love that I can make handmade gifts for my friends and family but I really want to start making some of the awesome things that I have been filling my Knit & Crochet board on Pinterest with.  So here in no particular order are 10 things I really want to make. (Click links to see them on my Pinterest board)

1. Light and airy scarf

2. Crochet Poncho

3. Washcloths

4. Colorblock Handwarmers

5. The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife Cardigan

6. Crochet Socks

7. Misti Brioche Honeycomb Sweater

8. Lace Stockings

9. Various Shawls starting with this one

10. Toys, Toys, Toys (these and much more)

Now I just need to find the time to get these and much more onto my needles!

You can find more 10 Things posts on Shimelle's blog.

Newest Cards

Here are a couple of my latest cards.

A couple close ups.

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!

Thank You Card With Paint

Here's a quick Thank You card that I whipped up using mostly Ranger Ink products.

Step 1: Stamp image with Archival Ink onto Craft Tag.

Step 2: Using Claudine Hellmuth Studio paint minis apply paint direct from bottle to stamped image.  Let dry completely.

Step 3: Cut a piece of plain card stock a quarter inch smaller than the size that the card will be.  So in this case my card will be 5X7 so the plain cardstock is 4 3/4 x 6 3/4.  Use Studio Paint mini to make dots along the bottom edge.

Step 4: Add brad and bakers twine to tag and adhere to decorated cardstock.

Step 5:  Add letter stickers with sentiment of your choice.

Step 6: Attach to store bought card form or you can make your won as I did using Kraft paper.

Some close up shots!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Baby Shower Fever | Take 4

Today is my last baby shower post for this week. Today I am sharing decorations.  When I saw these on my sister Francine's blog I just knew I wanted to use them for something and I got the perfect opportunity with the baby shower we had for the girls at the Museum. 

Francine had originally posted about these printable bunting letters here on Craft Gossip.  These are so great!  It took me less than an hour to print and put them together with some bakers twine...gotta love that bakers twine.

The clouds and circles on the tables were shapes that I cut with my Silhouette either using the regular cut feature or the print and cut feature.  My Silhouette is really paying for itself finally!!  You can also see how my cupcakes were displayed.

Thanks for sticking with me this week. You can view the previous posts here, here and here!I do have another shower coming up at the end of May and will share anything new I do for that one then. 

Baby Shower Fever | Take 3

After a brief break yesterday to post Sister Sketch I am back to share some more baby shower stuff.  Today is all about cupcakes.

I made a basic vanilla cupcake and for the baby boy ones I did a blueberry marshmallow filling and buttercream frosting.  Oh and I should note here that blueberries make frosting lilac not blue...just saying!

The baby girl cupcakes have a strawberry filling and frosting, and yes strawberries do make things pink! Imagine that!

The cupcake toppers were cut with my Silhouette.  I used a regular cut shape and used the fill tool and line color tool to add color to the shapes and words and then cut them using the print and cut feature.  Attach them to both sides of a lollipop stick and your topper is done.

The cupcakes were a hit and I got the highest compliment from coworkers who thought they were from a bakery and said that they were very professionally done.

Thanks for looking.  Check out take 1 and take 2 to see what else I did.

Sister Sketch | Spring

I am taking a break today from baby shower fever to share the latest sister sketch.  For this month's sketch we switched it up a bit and tried a sketch by Jenna from the Silhouette America blog.

Source

I loved the simplicity and placement  of the elements on this sketch.  I used a photo that was landscape oriented and it works just great.

What I love about doing these sketches is that I am using up my scrapbooking kits that have been sitting here gathering dust.

Here are some close ups.

Thanks for coming back for another month. Go here to see Francine's take on this sketch.  And if this is your first time visiting my blog you can see the previous month's layouts here and here.

Baby Shower Fever | Take 2

Continuing with my baby shower theme this week here is some more baby crafting.

Baby boy card.

Baby girl card.

I am definitely using my stash.  Everything I used for these cards (with the exception of the bakers twine) has been in my stash for at least a year and in some cases much, much longer.  This just goes to show that you don't always need the newest and brightest to create wonderful pieces.

Details

I also made these cute altered canvases for my friends.  One is having a girl and one a boy and they both have nicknames for them as they are keeping their names a secret until the babies are born.

These were super easy to make.  I found the boy and girl sheep in the Silhouette shape shop.  They were originally done so that you cut the pieces from different colored cardstock or patterned paper but I decided to simplify my life and use the print and cut feature on the Silhouette.  To do this I ungrouped the shape and then used the fill feature to color each section and also changed the line color to match.  Then it was just a matter of sending to my printer, and then cutting the printed pieces out with the Silhouette.  I painted the canvases with acrylic paint, glues the pieces to the canvas using Paper Modge Podge and also coated the completed piece with Modge Podge to seal them.  The letters are vinyl Thickers that I have had forever.

Thanks for looking and check out yesterdays post for some other ideas.

Baby Shower Fever | Take 1

Two of my friends are having babies this summer and Saturday and Monday was a whirl wind of baby showers for them.  Over the coming days I will be sharing the stuff that I whipped up for the various festivities.

Basket that I decorated for Carol and Leah

I bought a plain basket at Joann's and added the pink ribbon and bow using glue to adhere it.

The washcloth bouquet was an idea that I found on Pinterest.  I cut the cone and the circular embellishment with my Silhouette and then added the ribbon to finish it off.

After putting everything into the basket it looked like it was missing something, that's when the idea to do a bunting came to me, because after all buntings make everything more festive.  The bunting is made from washi tape and bakers twine and I used a straw slipped over a wooden skewer as the poles.

Finally, the gift tag.  Once more I used the Silhouette to cut tags from two different patterned papers and then cut those in half along the diagonal.  Using the top from one paper and the bottom from the other I reassembled the tag added the ribbon and bakers twine, the embellishments, and the letter stickers.

Here's another view of the completed basket.

Thanks for looking and come back tomorrow to see more baby inspired projects!