Paper-Piecing

Pretty Little Dresses!

I think the best way to add a little interest to plain clothing  is to do some paper -piecing! I bought this image just for that purpose. The best thing about this technique is that you can use up the tiniest of scraps to create something cute. 

Image: "Flower Girl"  from Whimsy and Stars

Tools: Copics, White gel pen, Cuttlebug with Marianne die, Nellie Snellen embossing leaf punch set, SU! Slot punch, Dauber, Pink ink

Papers: SU! Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Garden Green, Neenah smooth white, Blue plaid DP

Embellishments: Grosgrain ribbon, Flower pot charm Prima flowers, Brads

I've entered this in The Pink Elephant Challenge,  Paper-piecing

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 Another image purchased for this technique!

I cut a tiny slot in the image panel and inserted the ribbon for her hat.

Image: Purrfect Friend from Picture Kitchen Studio (Cuddly Buddly)

Tools: Copics, White gel pen, MS Fence border punch

Papers: SU! Cool Caribbean, Melon Mambo, Neenah smooth white, Cosmo Cricket DP

Embellishments: Narrow satin ribbon, Enameled and plain brads

I've entered this in Digi Doodle Shop's Best Challenge, Anything Goes

 

Paper-Piecing Instructions 

for Digital Images

I print out the image I'm going to use twice...once on good CS and again on computer paper. I then tape a scrap of DP over the image on the computer paper, making sure to cover everything I want to piece and being careful that the tape isn't over the part of the image I want to use. The next step is to run that through the printer again, printing the image for a third time. I color the CS image first, then adhere the cut out  piece or pieces, being careful to glue down all the edges well.

I hope you'll give this a try! I think you'll like it as much as I do!

Thanks for looking!

Elaine

What a Pain!

Tall, Dark, and Skinny!

 "What a Pain" actually has a double meaning in this case! First, because it was a real pain doing all that fussy cutting. I don't know what I was thinking! It also alludes to the image and the saying inside the card. 

I had a hard time with this card. Dark and Gothic really isn't even close to my style. I don't do 'elegant' too well, either, but I think the saying is fun, and it will appeal to someone for that reason.

Inside: ....Even when you're being a pain in the neck! Happy Anniversary, Honey!"

Images: "Come Hither" from Mo's Digital Pencil, Ornate frame from Graphics Fairy, computer-generated sentiment

Tools: Copics, Gold metallic pen, Cuttlebug with Embossing folder, Diamond Glaze, Tacky tape, Scissors, MS Dripping Goo punch 

Papers: SU! Real Red, Basic Black, Confetti White, Neenah smooth white

Embellishments: Satin ribbon, Pearl cabochons, Ornate button (shank removed)

I'm glad you stopped by!

Elaine

Mo's Challenge # 97

School Daze!

We go back to school in just a few days, and I'm just not ready to get back to work yet! I just celebrated  my 66th birthday, and I'm planning to work until I'm 70, but at this rate, I don't know if I can make it! I know once school starts, I'll get right back in the swing of things, though.

I chose "Trinity" as my image for the "Back to School" theme. I love her droopy socks and big glasses!

I didn't have any appropriate embellishments, so I made some. The 'pencils' are round toothpicks that I whittled and colored with Copics. I added a bit of silver marker for the metal around the eraser.  I made the ribbon flowers by sewing 5 or 6 inch scraps of grosgrain with a gathering stitch. It's a great way to use up short snippets of ribbon.

Image: "Trinity" from Mo's Digital Pencil

Tools: Copics, Peach Prismacolor pencil, Nellie Snellen embossing leaf punch set, MS branch punch, Silver marker

Papers: SU! Gable Green and Dusty Durango, Cosmo Cricket and Basic Grey DP

Embellishments: Hand-made ribbon roses, Metal letters, Hand-made pencils (toothpicks)

Now it's your turn to go 'back to school'! Show us your creation in Mo's Challenge. We'll be waiting so don't be late or it will go on your permanent record! 

So glad you came by!

Elaine

This One's For the "Girls"

Pink, But Not So Girly!

I made this for my daughter to give to a friend who's undergoing cancer treatment.

The flower is one I made out of a scrap of grosgrain ribbon.

Image: Boxing gloves from a coloring book site, Computer-generated sentiment

Tools: Copics, Cuttlebug with embossing folder, Corner rounder, Mounting tape

Papers: SU! Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Gray, Neenah smooth white

Embellishments: Satin ribbon, Ribbon flower, Hope charm, Bead, Wire, Satin ribbon leaves

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Pink and Very Girly

This one is a Thank You card.

Inside: "Good friends are like good bras...they never leave you hanging!"

I made a crazy quilt out of scrap papers and sewed a ziz-zag  stitch on  the 'seams'. I really love the look!

Image: Bra from DZ Doodles (I think!)

Tools: Copics, White gel pen, Sewing machine, MS branch punch, SU! border punch, Tacky tape

Papers: SU! Melon Mambo, Neenah smooth white, Assorted DP (Tiny roses from Jak Heath)

Embellishments: Pearl brad, Flowers from WOC, Doily, Grosgrain ribbon, Ruffled lace

Thanks for looking!

Elaine

Mo's Challenge # 96

Feeling Blue!

No, I'm not feeling blue.....that's just the theme for Mo's Challenge this week....use blue!

I chose "Hoping" as the image for my card, cause the thought of dieting does make me blue!

The inside says, "So just enjoy your day and start the diet tomorrow. Happy Birthday!"

Images: "Hoping" from Mo's Digital Pencil, Digital sentiment from TLC

Tools: Copics, Peach Prismacolor pencil,  White Gel Pen, Cuttlebug with Nesties and Marianne swirl die, M.S. wide trim punch

Papers: SU! Cool Caribbean and Tempting Turquoise, Neenah smooth white, Cosmo Cricket DP

Embellishments: Flowers from W.O.C., Pearl cabochons, Grosgrain ribbon

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This image is one of four cute little ones sitting on the potty; another boy with curly hair and two girls, one with straight hair, and one with curly hair.

Inside: Missin' you and feelin' blue!

 Image: "On the Pot"from Mo's Digital Pencil, Computer-generated sentiment

Tools: Copics, Cuttlebug with Nestie label, Sponge dauber

Papers: SU! Soft Suede and Pacific Point, Neenah smooth white, K & Co. DP

Embellishments: Button brads

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We'll be waiting to see your blue creation in Mo's Challenge!

So good of you to drop by!
 Elaine

Kraft & Prismacolors

This was fun!

Since I'm a little ahead with my DT cards for Mo's Challenge, I decided to try out my Prismacolor pencils on images printed on Kraft paper. I've been admiring the stuff Dorcas (Be sure to check out her wonderful blog!) does for some time now and, although I don't think I could ever be as proficient at it as she is, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I wasn't ready to try people yet, so I printed off some nature images  and got started!

Goin' South

White is never really white, so I used several shades of pink, blue, yellow and green along with the white pencil.

Image: Magnolia from  Just-Inklined

Tools: Prismacolor pencils, OMS, Stumps, Cuttlebug with Nestie oval dies, Mounting tape, Tacky tape

Papers: SU! Kraft, Garden Green, Gable Green, Very Vanilla, Basic Grey DP

Embellishments: Natural cotton lace, Narrow satin ribbon, Vanilla antique brad, Pearl cabochons

'Button' Mushrooms

I love the 'woodsy'  feel of this card!

Image: Mushrooms from Tidbits Trinkets (Great vintage public domain images!)

Tools: Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, Stumps, Cuttlebug with Nesties circles, Leaf dies, MS Branch punch, Tacky tape

Papers: SU! Kraft, Kiwi Kiss, Soft Suede, Basic Grey DP

   

Embellishments: Natural cotton lace, Grosgrain ribbon, Buttons (mottled with Copic marker), Linen thread

I have a few more images all colored up, and will be making them into cards today. It's my birthday, so I get to play all day!

It's always nice to have you drop by!

Elaine

Mo's Challenge # 95

Don't Card Me!

This week the challenge at Mo's is "Anything But a Card". That's a theme that always throws me for some reason! I put my thinking cap on and remembered making some Christmas candles last year with my daughter. They're pretty quick and simple to do, so that's what I decided to go with.

This one uses Mo's "Lemon Girl."
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This one uses Mo's "Sending Peace."
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This is the first one I made, using Mo's "Flower Girl."

The only problem I had was not remembering that you have to use much darker colors than you'd normally use in order to get the effect you want. This turned out much paler than I'd have liked, but with this image, that's not such  a bad thing.

I also made a rings of flowers to fancy the candles up a bit. That took me back to my days as a florist, when I spent my days making wedding bouquets and corsages.  

Image: All from Mo's Digital Pencil

Tools: Copics, Tissue paper, Waxed paper, Heat Gun, Wire, Florist Tape, Nellie Snellen embossing leaf punch set, Pillar candle

Embellishments: Flowers from WOC, Ribbon

 

Instructions

To make one, you adhere tissue paper to a piece of CS. I used Tacky Tape along the edges to secure the tissue. Then I printed off the image, colored it  and cut closely around the  image.
You have to color it darker than you would normally in order to get the right  color on the finished project.
The next step is to place the image where you want it on the candle, then cut a piece of waxed paper big enough to cover the image completely and wrap around to the back of the candle with enough extra to allow you to  hold it tightly against the candle, smoothing out any wrinkles as best you can.  The last step is to hold a heat gun about 6 to 8 inches from the image and carefully pass it back and forth over the image until you notice it getting shiny. When the entire image is shiny, remove the wax paper and check to see if the tissue paper is completely melted into the candle. If there are spots that haven't , replace the wax paper and heat again. Be careful not to use too much heat, or the wax will run and ruin your work.

 

 

Well, this challenge wasn't as difficult as I'd thought it would be, so I know you can do it, too!

Make something wonderful and share it with us in Mo's Challenge!

Thanks for looking!

Elaine

Odds & Ends

An Assortment

My husband needed a Sympathy card, so this is what I came up with.

Images: Peony from Fred She Said, Digital sentiment from Paper Garden Project

Tools: Copics, White gel pen, Mounting tape, Tacky tape, Cuttlebug with Nestie ovals and embossing folder

Papers: SU! Sage Shadow, Cool Caribbean, Neenah smooth white, Basic Grey DP

Embellishments: Lace trim, Satin Ribbon, Pearl cabochons

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  This is a Thank You for a lovely old couple who put up nine of our family members in their five bedroom rental house in northern New Hampshire at no charge! Their grandson is good friends with our youngest, so they wouldn't take any money. We left them something anyway, of course!

 

Images: Pansy Cluster (?), SU! stamped greeting

Tools: Copics, Cuttlebug with Nesties and Parisian Accents die, MS Hydrangea punch

Papers: SU! Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Confetti white, Neenah smooth white, Gingham DP

Embellishments: Pearl Cabochons, Seed beads, Satin Ribbon

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I finally got around to finishing  a Trudy card. I had her colored and the dresses made, but I had just put them aside in an envelope. I winged it while putting it together, so things didn't work out exactly as I'd intended. I'll do it a bit differently next time.

  This is how it looks when closed.

Here it is opened.

Here she is with her dresses.

She can stand on her own. You can see the slits in the card which keep her in place. 

This is actually mounted on a slightly larger card so that I can insert a printed greeting.

Image: Trudy's Party Dress from Mo's Digital Pencil

Tools: Copic, Prismacolor pencil, Quickutz Swirl die, Nellie Snellen embossing leaf punch, MS Border punch

Papers: SU! Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, and Gable Green, Neenah smooth white, Assorted DP

Embellishments: Prima flowers, Pearl flower brad, Brads, Pearl cabochons, Narrow satin ribbon, narrow lace trim, Tiny ribbon rose.

Hope you liked the cards!
Elaine

Mo's Challenge # 94

You Can Do This Easel-ly!

The challenge this week is to make an easel card that includes either a bird or animal. Mo has a few images with birds and lots with animals, so this should be a snap! 

My card is 5" x 7" when folded, so I had to figure out the measurements on my own. If you're interested,  just ask, and I'll be happy to share.

Images: "Hoppin Happy" from Mo's Digital Pencil, Digital sentiment from Meljen's Designs

Tools: Copics, Cuttlebug with Nestie circle and Marianne swirl die, MS border punch, Nellie Snellen Embossing leaf punch set, Tacky tape

Papers: SU! Groovy Guava, Garden Green, and Barely Banana, Neenah smooth white, Cosmo Cricket DP

Embellishments: Prima daisies and flowers, Brads, Gathered gingham ribbon, Narrow satin ribbon, Paper doily

Your turn! Can't wait to see what you'll do for Mo's Challenge this week!

Glad you stopped in!
Elaine