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Summer 2012 Features:
Machine Tips & Tricks:
How to Use Digital Images
with Your Silhouette CAMEO
Pages 11-22
Blogger’s Corner:
Blog Hop Basics
How to Use MyCutSearch.com
Pages 38
Pages 24-29
Product 3 Ways:
Ink Me Up, Baby!
Pages 44-45
Tips for Hosting a Successful
Blog Hop
Pages 39-40
Blog Hop and Crafty Event
Calendar
Page 41
Product How-To:
A Sketch and a Great Cause
Quilling and
Combing
Pages 54-55
Pages 50-51
BONUS:
Free Digis
Page 42
Clean Your Room!
(Organize Your Stash):
Small Crafty Things
Pages 48-49
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Tips on how to get the most out of Creations by
Crafty Card Gallery magazine:

Every website URL (example:
www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com) will take you
to the website if you tap it (on the iPad) or click it
(on your computer).

E-mail addresses, if clicked or tapped, will launch
your e-mail and begin a new e-mail.

You can zoom in and out to take a closer look.
On the iPad, tap on the page to get rid of the
black header.
Featured Card Maker:
Ellen ♥ CardMonkey (Jarvis)
Pages 30-32
Techie Tidbits:
Pinterest, My Latest Addiction
Pages 46-47
In Every Issue:
Contact Us
Page 4
Letter from the Editors
Page 5
Contributors
Pages 6-8
Prizes and Giveaways
Pages 9-10
The Crafty Card Gallery
Man Cards: Tips & Techniques
Index
Pages 34-37
Page 57
Cards, Cards, and More Beautiful Birthday Cards!
Pages 52-53
Sketch Challenge
Page 58
Survey
Page 59
3
About Creations by Crafty Card Gallery
Trademarks:
Product names mentioned in Creations
by Crafty Card Gallery are registered
trademarks of their respective
companies. Creations by Crafty Card
Gallery makes no claim to these
trademarks and they are used solely in
an editorial manner. We use these
trademarks to the benefit of the
trademark owner, with no intentions to
infringe on the trademarks.
Contact Us:
Creations by Crafty Card Gallery
PO Box 3402
Citrus Heights, CA 95611-3402
E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @CraftyCardGllry
Website:
www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
Like what you see here in Creations by Crafty Card
Gallery? Want mobile inspiration on your iPhone
or iPad?
Check out Crafty Card Gallery on iTunes:
And now available on iTunes
Challenges & Sketches by Crafty Card Gallery:
Copyright 2012
Creations by Crafty Card Gallery
All rights reserved
Publishing, Advertising, and Technical:
Jennifer Restivo
Design & Editing:
Rhonda Nagata
Our Mission:
Provide a card making magazine with
techniques and opportunities to learn
new things in addition to card images.
For all your scrapbooking and card making needs.
Visit
www.kerryscraftycardsandcuts.com.au
Volume 1 Issue 1— Summer 2012
4
Letter from the Editors:
Welcome to Creations by Crafty Card Gallery!
Thank you for taking a chance on a new
publication! This is our first issue, so welcome along on our adventure! Our intention is to be
different from all the other card making magazines out there... and we hope you like it! We want to
be able to not only provide you photos of cards and ideas for making new ones, but to provide you
with new techniques and actual content for you to read, so that you can enjoy the magazine and
hopefully learn something new.
How did this get started? Recently, Rhonda (my co-conspirator in this project) and I were on a long
road trip. I’d already created Crafty Card Gallery, an iPhone app, and was having a blast meeting
and interacting with all the great people I’d met through Facebook and my blog. We were talking
about what types of things we would do in an alternate life if we didn’t have our regular day jobs.
Rhonda mentioned that she’d always wanted to do a newsletter and that sounded like a great idea!
We have both subscribed to and bought many of the different card making magazines that are
available. We were unsatisfied by many of the magazines that were out there - they had a lot of
great pictures, but lacked real content, did not have any new techniques to learn from, and often
only focused on one area of interest. Because of this, we had switched to reading blogs and
watching videos on the internet to get ideas or new techniques.
So in the car that day, we made a list of a lot of great articles that we’d like to see in a future
magazine and the idea sat until last month. Now, here we are embarking on a new adventure. It’s
been a pleasure to talk to the contributors - they’re excited to participate in something new. Many of
them have mentioned the same things we’d said about the current magazine choices.
If nothing else, this process has been a blast - seeing everyone’s enthusiasm, thinking up ideas that
we’d like to see and that others are interested in writing about, and of types of things we’d like to
learn. We set out to do create a magazine that we’d want to read and subscribe to, and we hope
that you will too!
We’d love to have your feedback. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected].
And check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/craftycardgallery, and our blog at
www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com. You can even find us on Twitter: @CraftyCardGllry.
Your feedback will help shape the direction of Creations by Crafty Card Gallery. Do you have an
idea for an article that you’d like to read? Is there a tool or technique that you just can’t figure out?
Are you challenged by a certain type of card? Let us know - we may just include it in the next
issue! We would love for you to e-mail us and give us comments or ask questions about the
articles.
Have you always wanted your cards to be published or wanted to write an article for a magazine?
This is your chance! If you would like to be a contributor, please contact us. We look forward to
hearing from you!
Thank you so much for being part of our first issue!
Happy Crafting!
Jennifer and Rhonda
5
Contributors:
A great big thank you to everyone who contributed to this issue. We were trying to figure out a lot
of things and really appreciate everyone's patience and willingness to participate in a new
adventure! Please be sure to visit their blogs and let them know that you saw them in Creations
by Crafty Card Gallery!
Amy Jo (the Jo part is a nickname) Courchaine is a 30-something
artist who has a huge passion for all things paper-crafting. She
lives in Fort Collins, CO, with her husband and three dogs and
hopes to someday move to Maine (her favorite place to vacation).
After developing severe Fibromyalgia at the age of 29, she was
unable to work. After the first year, she needed something to
devote her time to. This is when she went back to, and really fell in
love with, paper-crafting. She had tried it 10 years ago, but life got
in the way. She started out scrapbooking, then started making
cards and has been committed to paper-crafting and blogging for
the last year and a half. She loves to write and her ultimate dream
is to write for a magazine (crafting or fashion) and is working
towards that goal. She also loves to paint, draw, and make beaded and wire jewelry. Her
favorite crafting tools are digi stamps, stamps, her Cricut machines, and she is a self-admitted
paper hoarder. Her crafting style is very eclectic. She loves vintage and cluttered, all the way to
the opposite end of the spectrum with modern style and clean lines. However, her favorite
crafting style is Halloween/creepy-cute.
Blog: http://lv2scrapandfibrofacts.blogspot.com
Website: www.amyjrockstar.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.courchaine.5
My name is Ashley Townsend. I was born and raised in Delaware.
I have a very supportive fiancé and a wonderful family. I have
been crafting for about 10 years with a more recent focus on card
making. I'm inspired by everyday things and I love inspiring
others.
E-mail: [email protected]
Blog: http://www.theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com
Blog: http://www.thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com
6
Ellen ♥ CardMonkey (Jarvis), Warminster, Pennsylvania
I like all hobbies creative and crafty: paper crafting, sewing, water
coloring, writing, photography. I have been crafting all my life and
am passionate about being creative daily! My most used crafting
tool is the ATG glue gun!
I have been married to my dear hubby John, for 13 years. In my
immediate family are my parents Dot and Ed -- married 62 years in
September, my daughter Emily and her hubby Josh and their
delightful 17-month old daughter Charlotte, and my stepson Paul. I
work full-time as Admissions Coordinator at Pediatric Specialty
Care in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Blog: http://cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Hi everyone, I am Hani from Craftionary. I am a wife, mom and
creative writer. I like to make some time out of my daily life to enjoy
writing about craft projects, inspirational ideas and functional DIYs.
I love to make things to organize and beautify my home. It gives a
homey and personal feeling. It all started when my baby boy was
born, having him was a great feeling and it changed my entire life, I
was looking for some way to connect with the world and hence I
got introduced to blogging. It was a new experience but it's fun, on
my blog I share DIY ideas that are budget and kid friendly and
easy to make for everyone with common craft supplies. I have a
page, listing all my tutorials, if you wish to know more about what I
have been making. :)
Stay in touch, I always keep updating my blog with organizing and decorative projects and love to
meet new people.
Blog: http://www.craftionary.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craftionarypage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/craftionary
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/craftionary
Jennifer Restivo, California
I’m an accountant and meeting goer by day, and creative at night
and on the weekends. I co-wrote Bite Size Body Guide, a diet and
fitness journal for women. I have a huge addiction to shiny new
technology and wanted to combine my love of card making with
my love for my iPhone. So I created Crafty Card Gallery, an
iPhone card gallery app. In doing so, I’ve had the opportunity to
meet some incredibly talented women. I enjoyed that so much,
that Rhonda and I decided to create this magazine. We’ve had a
blast doing this, and hope that everyone enjoys it.
Blog: www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/craftycardgallery
7
I’m Kerry Owen and I live in Adelaide, Australia. I have a
wonderful husband and am a mother to two beautiful boys. I have
been scrapbooking and card making for over 15 years. In the past
5 years, I have been selling my handmade cards and albums. The
past 12 months have been a great challenge where I have taken a
step into the retail world and set up my own online business for
selling scrapbooking and card making products. My favourite tool
would have to be my Sizzix Big Shot and my huge collection of
metal dies. My handmade cards can be viewed on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/kerryscraftycardsandcuts.
Website: http://www.kerryscraftycardsandcuts.com.au/store
Blog: www.kerryscraftycardsandcuts.blogspot.com
Monica Flores, Reseda, California
I love to craft and do pretty much anything crafty. My ultimate must
use crafting tool right now is my Silhouette CAMEO! I don’t know
how I crafted without it! It’s the greatest tool ever!!!
I have been crafting since I was in elementary school. I started to
paint t-shirts at around 5th grade. During junior high I was making
bracelets and selling them to my friends!
I am a substitute teacher that loves working with children!
I absolutely love the color BLUE and I’m a huge baseball fan,
Go Dodgers!!
Blog: www.monicascreativemadness.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Simply-Cricutting/120264801362837
YouTube: www.youtube.com/simplycricutting
Shawn Mosch is the mother of the family that created
MyCutSearch.com, an online searchable database of images that
are found on Cricut cartridges. The idea for the site came as
Shawn was crafting one day and was searching for an image that
she knew she had on one of her Cricut cartridges, but she could
not remember which one. After searching through all of her Cricut
cartridge handbooks and STILL not finding the image she wanted
she said, “I KNOW I have this on one of these cartridges!” Hearing
her frustration, her husband said, “There should be a searchable
database of all of the images.”, to which Shawn responded,
“Okay. . . you make a site like that.” It was that day that the idea
for MyCutSearch.com was born.
Blog: http://craftychicsblog.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.mycutsearch.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/shawn_mosch/
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Prizes & Giveaways
Be sure to join in on our HUGE giveaway to celebrate the first issue of Creations by Crafty Card
Gallery! Please visit http://craftycardgallery.blogspot.com/2012/06/raffle-copter-giveaway-postfor.html or the Crafty Card Gallery Facebook page for details. We will be giving away:
A copy of MyMemories Suite v3 scrapbooking software
Sponsored by MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking
http://www.mymemories.com
Spiral Roses Quilling Kit
Sponsored by Quilled Creations
http://www.quilledcreations.com
Sew Ribbon tool with a ribbon & needle pack from Memory Works
Sponsored by Gina Torres
http://ginatorres.memory-works.com
Bite Size Body Guide - A diet & fitness journal for women
Sponsored by Bite Size Body Guide
http://www.bitesizebodyguide.com
$20 giftcard to Scraptastical Kreations
Sponsored by Scraptastical Kreations
http://www.Scraptasticalkreations.com
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Prizes & Giveaways
A copy of Crafty Card Gallery App
Sponsored by Jennifer Restivo
http://craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
Tim Holtz Spring Seasonal Distress Inks
Sponsored by Ginger Snap Scraps
www.gingersnapscraps.com
$10 gift card to Cold Stone Creamery
Sponsored by Creations by Crafty Card Gallery
http://craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
3 packages of 1/16” quilling paper
Sponsored by Creations by Crafty Card Gallery
http://craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
$20 giftcard to Just Jaimee digital designs
Sponsored by Just Jaimee
http://scrapflower.com/shoppe/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=98
$20 gift card to MyHobbyVinyl.com
Sponsored by MyHobbyVinyl.com
http://myhobbyvinyl.com
10
Hi
eve ryone ,
this
is
Monica
with
Monica’s
Creative
Madness
(www.monicascreativemadness.com). I am really happy and excited to share a few tips I
have learned while using my all-time favorite, the Silhouette CAMEO. I have never used
any type of digital stamp before this amazing machine came to my doorstep. Knowing that
I had to use scissors to cut around my printed image just wasn’t flying with me. Let’s face
it; I cannot cut a straight line with a pair of scissor if my life depended on it. So, while
playing around with this machine and the Silhouette Studio software, I realized there was
a way to dab into the digital stamp world! The Silhouette software would do everything for
me! All I had to do was pick a cute stamp!
Get your Silhouette Studio running and download your favorite digital stamp. We are
going on a crafty adventure!
What you will need: Silhouette Studio (Designer Edition), white cardstock, printer, digital
image, and the Silhouette CAMEO.
1. Change your paper size in the software to the size paper you will use in your
printer.
11
2. Add your registration marks. This will help the CAMEO detect the area that needs to be
cut once it is printed.
3. Time to add your digital stamp! Click on File and then click on Merge. Make sure you
remember where you saved your digital image.
12
4. Once your digital image is merged to the Silhouette software, trace it.
5. Once you have dragged your cursor around your image and clicked Trace you will notice
your image lines turn red. That means that your image was successfully traced. Click on
your image and drag the imported image to the left. You will be working with the red
image.
13
6. Right click your image and click Release Compound Path. This will turn your image into
pieces to work with the coloring.
7. Click on the Pail icon and begin choosing the colors or patterns that you want to work
with to fill your image. Do not fill in the lines yet, just the pieces.
14
8. Zoom in as close as you can and click on the outline of your image. The whole image
should be highlighted. Fill it with black.
9. Image outline filled in black:
15
10. Zoom out and drag your cursor around the whole image. You will notice little gray
squares appear. Click on the Line icon and click Transparent. The red lines will
disappear.
11. Now that you have your image perfect, right click and group all the pieces together.
Next click on the Scissors icon and select Cut Edge. Your image is now ready to be sent
to your printer for printing.
16
12. Print your image using your printer.
13. Your image should print with the registration marks. Like this:
17
14. Place your printed image to the left top corner of your cutting mat:
15. Insert your cutting mat into the Silhouette CAMEO.
18
16. In the Silhouette Studio, click on the Send to Silhouette icon and then Click here to Skip
Printing.
17. Click Continue.
19
18. Click on the Detect Automatically link.
19. The Silhouette CAMEO blade will move around the image looking for the registration
marks.
20
20. Once the machine detects the registration marks, your screen will look like this:
21. Click Cut and let the CAMEO work its magic!
21
Tada! Your image is cut perfectly! Now you can add it to a card or scrapbooking page!
22
23
Editor’s note: If you don’t know what MyCutSearch.com is, it is an online searchable
database of Cricut cartridge images.
Most people know about the basic way to use MyCutSearch.com to find Cricut cartridge
images. Just enter the singular version of a word into the search bar, so “flower” not
“flowers”, and hit search. You will then see preview thumbnail images of all of the
handbook pages that have a flower on them. Sometimes they are the main image,
sometimes they are in a charm, tag or accent function key so they would be images you
might not normally think of for that word. Many of us forget what all of those “extra”
images are while we are busy using the main images from the cartridge.
Today I want to share an Advanced MyCutSearch.com Tip with you.
“How do you search for unique shapes?”
Knowing how to search for images, even unique ones, is all about knowing what names
or “search tags” were given to those images.
When I first started crafting, I did not know that people commonly called the following
image a Top Note, but once I did I was able to add that as a search tag for all images
similar to this.
This image is called a Fleur-De-Lis:
24
Other images might take some imagination in the naming department. For example, this
image reminded me of a print on a Damask fabric, so I tagged it as “damask”.
Images like this are tagged as “swirl”:
Another term that I tagged to some unique decorative cuts with is “flourish”. There are
hundreds of these types of images, from a simple flourish to a more elaborate and detailed
flourish.
“When your search brings up hundreds of images, how do you sort through them all to find
the one that you want to use?”
Everyone sorts and organizes their crafting supplies differently, and I feel that the same
goes with ways to sort through the information on MyCutSearch.com. I will show you what
I personally do when I come across a search that has a large search result.
First, I want to show some of the specific areas and information found on the search page,
that way as I talk about them we are all looking at the same information. Once you run a
search, you will see the Thumbnail Preview Page. It will contain up to 12 previews of
various handbook pages. The names of the cartridges along with the page number and
keypad location are shown in the title under the handbook page thumbnail.
I have labeled the various areas so that we can be sure we are all looking at the same
areas while going over this information.
25
Thumbnail Preview Page
To the left of the (A) you will see the word that you entered for this search. This is nice in
case you have multiple browser windows open with a different search on each one. It
allows you to quickly refresh your memory as to what word you typed in to get these
images.
In the lower left-hand corner you will always see a number, indicated by the (B) in the
image above. This number is the total number of Cricut cartridge handbook pages that
came up for this search, so for this example there are 267 different Cricut cartridge
handbook pages with a flourish on them.
The number indicated by the (C) in the above image is how many Thumbnail Preview
Pages there are. So to see all of the small thumbnail previews you will need to sort
through 23 Thumbnail Preview Pages, each with up to 12 different Cricut cartridge
thumbnail images on them.
There are two ways to advance to the next Thumbnail Preview Page. Above the (C.1)
there is a page number, and if you pull down that little arrow you can pick which Thumbnail
Preview Page you would like to go to. The other way would be to click on the page
number, above the (C.2)
So remember when I told you I would share with you how I personally sort through large
search results like this . . .
One of the things that I love about MyCutSearch.com is that the name of the handbook is
below each and every thumbnail preview. When I have a search that brings back a large
number of images, like the one in our example, I start off by reading the handbook titles
under the thumbnails. If I know that I do not own any of those cartridges I can just forward
26
to the next page. Then, when I do find a handbook that I own in the search results I will
right click on the image and choose “Open in a new tab”. I continue like this until I have
looked at all of the Thumbnail Preview Pages. For this example, when I was done I have
about 26 tabs open, and it took me less than a minute to just read the titles and right-click
to open the tabs. Now I can go through the images in the open tabs and I know I am
ONLY looking at images that are on cartridges I own. As I look at each one, I can close
the tab if I decide that I do not want to use the image on that page. This helps to weed out
the ones you like and the ones you do not like for the project you are working on.
Normally, when I am done with this I am left with less than 5 tabs open and then I just have
to pick which one of those images is the one I am going to use for my project. For me this
is a great way to see all of the images I have to choose from and weed through them to
find the perfect one for my project.
“Are there any other special features in the handbook previews?”
Of course! Let’s talk about those now . . .
Let’s pretend you have selected the image that you want to use, and you have clicked on
that image to see it larger. You will get a window that looks like this. I have continued with
the letter labeling system to show you some additional things about this view.
The icon above the (D) is the Return to Thumbnail Page button. Clicking this will take you
right back to the Thumbnail Preview Page that you started on.
27
The icon above the (E) is the Hide/Display File Information button. This allows you to see
more information about the file for this handbook page, including the words that I tagged to
it for the search function to work.
When you click on it so that you Display the file information it will look like this:
As you can see, the information next to the E.1 is called Keywords. These are all of the
words that I tagged to this handbook page. If you see a word on this list that you want to
see more images of, you can click on the underlined word and it will take you to the search
results for that word.
28
Simply click the Hide/Display button again to return to this view
The last button I am going to talk about today is the one above the (F), which is the
Slideshow button. If you click this button it will give you a slideshow of each handbook
preview that came up for this search word. This allows you to view the images without
having to click the forward arrows to go from one image to the next.
I hope that you have learned something new about MyCutSearch.com from this! You can
also go to my personal crafting blog at http://craftychicsblog.blogspot.com to find additional
MyCutSearch.com tips.
If you'd like to buy MyMemories software, they will give readers of Creations by Crafty Card
Gallery a $10 discount on the purchase of the MyMemories Suite V3 scrapbook software
from this site: http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software.
Use discount code STMMMS93040
(Software also comes with a $10 coupon for downloads-a total value of $20!)
29
Featured Card Maker: Ellen ♥ Cardmonkey (Jarvis)
(Pennsylvania, USA)
Papercrafting has brought me great joy in the
two-plus years since I bought my first Cricut. It
is a relaxing hobby where I can use my
creativity, at a reasonable cost, and share the
joy by giving away my cards and 3-D projects.
feeding pumps, IVs, and are in wheelchairs or
are confined to bed. Not many are cognitive at
all, and some are aware but are low functioning.
It is difficult seeing children struggle to do
what we take for granted – breathing, walking,
seeing, and talking.
At the time I started playing with paper, I was
working as a customer service representative in
a knitting mill. I got to enjoy seeing lush colors
on yarn and in fabric, and hoarded fabric scraps
and bits of yarn and metallic thread to
incorporate into my cards. I gave most of the
cards I made to colleagues for their birthdays,
and I made party favors for one colleague’s
wedding. I became so addicted to crafting that
I cut back my hours, and arranged to have
every Friday off so I could play in my craft
room.
As much as it is difficult to see these beautiful
children struggle, it is even more painful to see
the look in a parent’s eyes when he or she has
lost hope for their child. It is harder still for our
staff who tenderly love these children as if they
are their own, and yet have little or no response
from the child.
I wanted to celebrate the love the families and
staff have for the children by brightening the
hallways and work stations of PSC – and
perhaps bring joy to the children, too. Last
summer (2011), just three months into the job,
I decided I would make Halloween a happy time
at PSC, even though our kids could not go out
trick-or-treating. I thought I’d make a banner
or two for the living room and staff areas, and
then took my idea to the Web.
Then, just about a year ago, an opportunity
arose where I could return to marketing in a
pediatric healthcare setting, where I spent most
of my career before the Mill. I accepted a job as
Admissions Coordinator at Pediatric Specialty
Care (www.pediatricspecialty.com), which is a
long term, skilled nursing facility for special
needs children.
I put a call out on my blog (http://cardmonkeybusiness.blogspot.com) to see if any of my
Blogger friends would like to make a banner
too, for the kids at PSC to celebrate Halloween.
Quickly, e-mails started rolling in from friends
Most of the children at PSC are severely
damaged, by disease, accident, abuse, birth
defects, prematurity, or trauma. Many are on
life-support systems, such as ventilators,
30
who wanted to share their love of
papercrafting too, with kids who are lessfortunate.
I called it the “Labor of Love Halloween
Hop,” coining the term because I’d be hosting
the Hop over Labor Day weekend. I asked
each of the hoppers to create a Halloweenthemed banner to hang over the bed or at the
doorway, of each of the 40 children in our
facility in Bucks County. The banner couldn’t
be scary or gruesome – e.g., no R.I.P.’s,
skeletons or tombstones or scary witches for
these kids who battle back death every day.
You’d be amazed when you look at
commercially prepared decorations to see how
many are simply inappropriate or are not
suitable for children at all, even healthy ones.
The participants in my banner hop knew that
they were to donate their banners to me, so
that I could have them hung at PSC. My
mailman became overwhelmed when banners
arrived daily, and I received more than 40
banners within a week. They came from all
over the world, including Canada, Germany,
Ireland, France, and England.
They were all amazing! Some were highly
embellished on cardstock, strung with
ribbon; some were more simple but still
colorful. Each one was a loving gesture from a
kind and generous crafter. They each had so
much fun making the banners, that by popular
request, I had another banner hop for special
needs kids for Christmas (held in November),
and again for Valentine’s Day when “Love
31
Bugs” was our theme. Our most recent banner
hop – again, done because the blog hoppers
wanted continued association with our kids at
PSC – celebrated Spring and its holidays.
Thirty-plus banners came in then, too.
When I brought the huge boxes stuffed with
banners to PSC, our Programming (Child Life)
staff took them out and laid them side-by-side
in the facility’s living room. They FILLED the
room! We staged an impromptu art show in
the living room, where staff could choose
which banner might be most appropriate for
the child in their care. One of our little
patients who is sick but ambulatory strolled
among the banners, and his face just lit up
with joy. He came to me and gave me a deep
hug, snuggled against belly, at five he could
barely reach my waist, he had tears in his eyes
when he said:
“Your friends made these for me? Wow, you
sure have a lot of friends!”
He picked out one for over his bed and got
another for outside his room in the hallway.
Later that month, the sweetie I call “Little
Dude” supervised the survey and judging of
the Kids’ Pick, for a special blog candy I made
for the winning banner. (I made a customized
Cricut cover for the winner, Lori Apgar of
Nebraska).
Another celebrated banner that month was
made by Pam Bray, of Tennessee.
Pam
entered her banner in Scrapbook Etc’s givingback competition. Fueled by viewer votes,
Pam’s banner won a $500 cash prize to the
victor, as well as a matching $500 gift to the
nonprofit organization of the winner’s choice!
Our next banner hop goes back to Halloweenthemed banners, and the hop will be held over
2012’s Labor Day weekend. Already, 30+
people have signed up to make banners … and
there is always room for more! (PSC has
facilities in Bucks County [where I work],
Lancaster County, and near Pittsburgh, all in
PA;
expansion plans are underway for
facilities in Georgia, New York and Illinois.)
If you’d like to participate in this
heartwarming cause – either just for one hop,
or for them all – please contact Ellen
(CardMonkey) at [email protected].
Banner Tips & Techniques
1. To make my pennant banners durable to
last several years (yes, your banners are
cherished and are saved for future holiday
seasons!!), I use a base of cut cardboard
that I cover in paper. For the cardboard, I
use recycled cereal boxes, which seems to
have the right thickness -- easy to cut, and
embellish, and yet still firm enough to
adequately support embellishments and
eyelets.
2. People have asked what I set my eyelets
with, and where I get my eyelets. I set my
eyelets using a Crop-A-Dile, and I buy my
eyelets through www.eyeletoutlet.com.
3. Add a little more in adhesive than usual. I
feel this helps your embellishments stay put
much longer.
4. You can use a straw on the back of banner
piece (place in between two layers if you do
not want it to show) and it's much easier to
thread.
5. A typical banner for these Hops for Kids
would be about 36" - 42" wide to hang over
an average doorway. They can be longer
(for mantle, the nurses' stations), or
shorter (for over a crib or bassinett). They
can be horizontal or vertical.
6. Please be careful to ensure your
embellishments are firmly affixed,
especially if they're small like buttons.
Little things that fall off banners present a
choking or slip/fall hazard. Hot glue works
great!
7. Remember, these are KIDS! They love
things bright, fun, and happy!
32
Ginger Snap Scraps is a brand new, on-line scrapbook store run by stay at home mom, Cori
Wagner. Ginger Snap Scraps has been open to customers since March, you can see what people
are saying about Cori and her store in the testimonial section.
The store has many popular brands such as Authentique, Cricut, Copic, Prima, My Mind's Eye,
Graphic 45, Echo Park, Peachy Keen and many more of your favorites!
You can read about the reward points and customer loyalty program by visiting the store.
Shipping at Ginger Snap Scraps is $5 flat rate shipping to the US and $10 flat rate shipping to
Canada. Shipping to military bases is always free, as a thank you for your service to our country.
Ginger Snap Scraps is offering a 10% off coupon to all of our readers.
Please enter coupon code Mag5 at check out!
Join the Ginger Snap Scraps Community:
www.gingersnapscraps.com (Store)
www.ginger-snap-scraps.blogspot.com (Blog)
http://www.facebook.com/GingerSnapScraps (Facebook)
33
by Jennifer Restivo
I make a lot of cards, and the only thing that
stumps me more than making a card for a
fellow crafter (the pressure is too intense) is
making a man card. It gets difficult if you
primarily make cards for women, since you
cannot really use flowers, or pretty glitter or
bling... What to do? How to make the card look
good? What kind of image to use? How to
accessorize? What colors?
We’ve got quite a few man cards in this issue to
help inspire you, and we’ve collected some tips
& techniques for you:
 You can't go wrong with using brown
undertones. I also like to add metal
embellishments whenever possible!
familiar with, I find it easier to do a manly
card. - Zenita Barnes-Smith, Missouri, USA,
http://scrappinwithz.blogspot.com

http://elizabethspapercreations.blogspot.com

Keep men's cards simple. I find that brown
and teal work or cranberry :)
- Susan Bermudez ,New Jersey, USA,
http://susanascorner.blogspot.com

- Jessica Shelton, Ohio, USA,
http://jessicascraftshaque.blogspot.com

I stay away from glitter and flowers and keep
the color pallet to no more than 3 colors. If I
add any embellishments I try to keep them
natural like tree bark or tan twine, I’ve even
used mini tools. - Beth Miller, New York, USA,
I've always found that if I go with a neutral
color and then one color that really pops it
looks more manly! Then I also try to use a
digi or stamp that has something that my
husband or my four boys are interested in. If
I'm using something that they like and I'm
Look for shades of blue, brown, black and
red. Look for papers that have shapes like
squares, diamonds, and stripes in them.
Look for themes, i.e., golf, sport, BBQ, shirt
and tie. I love using ribbon and bling, but
keep it minimal!
- Kerry Owen, Adelaide, Australia,
http://www.kerrysscrapplace.blogspot.com.au
(Continued on page 37)
34
35
36
(Continued from page 34)

I think less is more, darker tones, "manly"
textures, rustic looks, twine, etc. They are a
lot tougher than just being able to slap a
butterfly or a bunch of flowers on a card! :P
Here’s a great example of a man card - bold
colors, bold pattern, fun sentiment, and a great
image.
- Donna Phelan, Massachusetts, USA

Definitely less is more. Men don't like
clutter or frou-frou. And earth tones or
blues and greens are best. Also twine or
grosgrain ribbon in plain colors. A bit of
layering is good, but not too much. They
are a challenge for sure!!
- Judy Meeks Woodland, Michigan, USA

I like to use brads if I want an
embellishment on my cards .
- Regina Cooper Hardy, Missouri, USA,
http://cardsbyregina.blogspot.com

This card made by Connie West uses a FREE!
digital (digi) stamp from Free VINTAGE Digital
Stamps! You can find the digi stamp here:
I try to keep the design simple and use
more texture: embossing plates, aluminum
foil, rope, twine, etc.
- Rhonda Nagata, California, USA

If they are into sports or have a strong
interest, I try to find paper, stickers or
embellishments that coordinate - like golf
theme paper with golf club stickers, or tool
themed paper with brads that look like
screws, “Star Wars” paper with black glitter
or silver backgrounds, etc. I also think that
man cards are a great opportunity to do
different kinds of folds or shapes. Keep an
eye on trends. A lot of the trends this year,
such as chevrons, bottle caps, mustaches,
and twine, are all man-card friendly. And I
asked a man - my husband - what he
thought, and he said he just appreciates
the effort… which I’ve heard from a lot of
guys!!!
Jennifer Restivo, California, USA,
http://www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
http://freevintagedigistamps.blogspot.com/2012/01/
free-digital-stamp-vintage-mustache.html
Be sure to visit Hani’s Blog:
http://www.craftionary.net
37
If you’re an experienced blog hopper, you can
skip reading this introduction and move right
on to Amy’s article on how to host a
successful blog hop. If you’re new to blog
hops or are wondering what a blog hop is,
read on.
Blog hops have a start time and date so that
all links will link correctly to the next blog. If all
blog posts aren’t live at the same time, there
will be broken links (meaning a hopper could
get stuck).
A hopper would go from blog to blog following
the links provided.
What is a blog hop?
A blog hop is an organized event, where
bloggers post links on their blogs to one
another so that “hoppers” can go from site to
site and view or comment. Often there are
prizes associated with the hop. A “hopper” is
someone who views the blogs. A hostess is
the coordinator of the hop.
What’s the purpose of a blog hop?
The purpose is usually twofold - to get new
visitors and, hopefully, followers to your blog,
and they almost always have a theme. It
provides the bloggers a theme or category to
be creative about (for example, sketch blog
hops, Disney blog hops, etc). Sometimes
they’re to raise awareness (like Cardmonkey’s
banner hops). Using the example above,
Ann’s blog hop might be a birthday card blog
hop. Everyone would need to post a birthday
card on their blog. If someone followed Beth’s
blog, but not any of the other participants, they
would hop along to the other blogs, and if they
liked what they saw, they could become a
follower of the other blogs.
Example: If Ann decides she’d like to host a
birthday themed blog hop, she would find
participants to be in her hop. If Beth, Carol and
Denise all have blogs, and they wanted to be
in Ann’s blog hop, Ann would include them in
her blog hop lineup. Ann would be the first
stop in the hop (the hostess is usually the first
stop in the hop). Ann would post a link to
Beth’s blog, and Beth would post a link to
Carol’s blog, and Carol would post a link to
Denise’s blog. Each blogger would have a link
back to the starting blog, which is Ann’s blog.
What’s the etiquette around hopping?
Bloggers love to get feedback, especially
specific feedback. It’s much nicer for a
blogger to hear “I love the flower on your card”
rather than “great card”. If you’re a new
follower to the blog, be sure to tell them you’re
a “new follower”. I know that I often smile
reading the comments on my blog.
38
By Amy Courchaine
(Colorado, USA)
I don’t know about you, but I have seen the
good, the bad, and the ugly, when it comes to
blog hops. As a blogger, I love participating in
blog hops because it is a great way to get
more exposure to your blog and to also find
inspiration from other blogs, as well as making
new friends along the way. Hops can be a lot
of fun if coordinated properly. Now, I’m not
saying you can always make every blog hop
go 100% smoothly because obviously, not
everything is completely in your control.
People will forget, illness and life events
happen, and sometimes a person who signed
up for the hop is simply unreachable. I have
been asked many times by my bloggy buddies
about how to make their hops successful and
avoid the mistakes often seen while hopping
through a not-so-perfect hop so I thought I
would share them here with everyone!
The great thing about using Facebook to
organize your hop is that you can add
documents, your blog hop button, the lineup,
and communicate with everyone who is
participating in your hop in one place. Once
you have set up your Facebook group the first
thing you should do is create a document with
all the details of your hop, a lineup sign up
document, and a separate document for
everyone to list their e-mail address if you
would like. You will also want to create a blog
hop button, or have one created for you and
add it, along with the HTML code to the
PHOTOS section of your group and a
comment on the main group page so people
don’t miss it. You will want to make sure that
the theme and the requirements are very
clear, as well as the date(s) for the hop. As
far as the requirements, here are the standard
ones that I have found work very well
First of all, I like to use Facebook for setting
up a group to add participants to. For the
purposes of this article, we are going to
assume you have a Facebook account. At
least two months prior to your blog hop, you
will want to pick your theme/topic and date(s).
Once you (the hostess) have decided upon
this, you can put out a request for other
bloggers to join. There are several great preblog hop groups on Facebook where you can
post the quick details of your upcoming blog
hop and get participants that way. I would
suggest trying to get at least 8 participants
and I don’t necessarily think you need to limit
how many people join in, but you do need to
keep in mind the more people that participate,
the longer it will take your hoppers to hop
through so you may want to allow for an extra
day (make it a two-day instead of one day
hop).
Make sure that only the hostess of the hop
has the entire lineup on her page. The reason
I’m saying this is often participants will do their
post days or weeks before the hop and if they
have the entire list on their page and someone
drops out or is moved to a different spot in the
hop, their list will be inaccurate and hoppers
will get confused as to where they should
really be going. They can always refer to the
hostess’ page if they get lost.
You will need to make a standard write up for
your hop for people who don’t want to write
their own, however, I like to allow everyone
who wants to, to write their own so the hop
doesn’t get redundant.
If you hop to
everyone’s stop and they have the exact same
thing written, it gets quite boring. The most
important thing here is that participants
39
actually read the write-up before posting it on
their blog. I have been to countless blogs
where the person copied and pasted exactly
and didn’t remove the notes the author had
created, such as putting an item in
parenthesis and saying “add next blog here”
or “post your project here”. I’ve seen many
people leave those notes in, rather than
actually following the directions and removing
and replacing the author’s notes with the
required element. In fact, I would add a
separate comment in the main section of your
group to again reiterate the fact that people
using the write up will need to remove some
elements and replace with their own and also
to let them know do not just copy and paste
the write-up, but actually read it! I cannot
stress that enough as that seems to be the
most common mistake I have seen.
to check in a week before if you have not
stated that is what you want done. People are
busy and are often in many groups so you
need to realize that your hop is probably not
the most important thing on their plate, though
it may be to you.
You will want to state clearly what the topic/
theme of this hop is and how many projects
they need to create (one for each day or one
total is the standard).
Often people are in more than one hop at the
same time so just make sure they add a link in
each of their posts for that day to guide people
to your hop.
Don’t forget to put exactly what time you want
all posts to go live and please remember we
are all in different time zones so make a note
of that. One thing I would recommend is
giving people as much time as possible
because some of us (myself included) are
what I like to call “last-minute crafters” and we
need that extra time to finish up our projects
and our posts. I think sometime between 6:00
AM EST to 8:00 AM EST is perfectly
reasonable.
Every single participant in your hop must list
your blog address as the beginning stop, the
blog address of the person directly before
them and at the end of their post, they need to
put the link to the next stop on the hop. This
must be stressed or the hop will not run
smoothly. Most importantly here though, is
that each participant should be responsible for
checking those three links after they have
posted them on their own page. If they check
the addresses in the group to make sure it is
correct, that is not enough because often
when transferring (copy/pasting) to their blog,
one little thing might get removed and the
address will not be correct. Post this very
clearly in the requirements section. Bold it,
underline it, or add stars to make sure it is
read.
In my opinion, I feel the hostess should offer
some sort of blog candy or incentive for
people to follow your hop. There are so many
hops these days that it’s important for people
understand exactly what your hop is about
and what you would like hoppers to do if you
are offering a prize (blog candy) i.e., follow
your blog, leave a comment, follow other
participants blogs, etc. Always allow the hop
participants to post their own blog candy if
they would like. Who doesn’t love to win
goodies, right?
If you would like the participants to check in
before the hop make it very clear as to what
time and date they need to do that by. One
thing that I find difficult is when you sign up for
a hop and then check in the day of the hop
and the hostess has kicked you out of the
group because they didn’t specify they wanted
you to contact them weeks before or whatever
the case may be. If you want your participants
to check in before the hop, bold that
requirement so they know that is what they
are supposed to do. Do not expect everyone
Finally and most importantly HAVE FUN!!!
These are supposed to be fun and not
stressful so just realize that and you’ll do fine.
Be sure to go through the entire hop yourself
to make sure there are no broken links. If
there are, leave a quick comment on the
participant’s page,
as well as in the
group on Facebook
and/or e-mail.
40
July 21st-22nd
July
Christmas In July Blog Hop
July 8th
http://beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
Christmas In July Card Blog Hop
http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com
July 23rd
Mary Poppins Just A Spoonful Of Sugar
Blog Hop
July 14th
Two Bundles Of Joy Blog Hop
http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com
http://beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
August
July 16th-19th
CHA 2012 Summer Conference & Trade Show
https://www.craftandhobby.org
August 12th
Easel Card Blog Hop
http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com
July 21st-22nd
Home Décor And More Blog Hop
http://pinkdalmationscrapper.blogspot.com
August 18th-19th
Flowers And Ladybugs Blog Hop
http://beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
Looking for Blog Hops? Want to be in a hop? Hosting a hop?
Scrapping Blog Addicts Pre-Hops is a Facebook-based group for creating and joining blog hops:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/136021503134583
Scrapping Blog Addicts is a Facebook-based group that has a calendar of blog hops from all over
bloggyland: https://www.facebook.com/groups/170215143028715
41
We’ve got some things for you for FREE!
Yep, we have a free digi summer stamp by
Eric Owens (California, USA)
Zebra by by John Lewis (California, USA)
Available here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/52012581/zebra.jpg
Sentiment by Jennifer Restivo (California, USA)
Available here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/52012581/Flip%20Flop%
20Beach.jpg
Background by Jennifer Restivo (California, USA)
Available here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/52012581/birthday%
20as%20wonderful%20as%20you.jpg
Available here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/52012581/Green%
20leaf%20print%20paper-1.jpg
If you do use the images, please follow our terms
of use. You may use these images in completed
projects for personal or commercial use under the
terms listed here. When you post your completed
project on eBay, etsy, Facebook, your blog or other
website, please credit Creations by Crafty Card
Gallery. For example, you may write something
like this in your listing: Images from Creations by
Crafty Card Gallery
www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com.
You may not offer them as free files for sharing
(either on a sharing site or your blog), sell the
images, or create a rubber stamp with the images.
42
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10% off with coupon code CCG
Gina Torres
http://ginatorres.memory-works.com
43
Who loves ink? I see plenty of hands! It is one of my favourite products to work with. I had
inks before I owned stamps. “What?” I hear you say, “Why did you have inks when you
didn’t have stamps?” There are plenty of uses for inks other than stamping an image or
phrase onto a piece of cardstock and this article is
going to show you three different ways.
My favourite technique is the edging technique…all
this involves is running your ink pad around the edge
of a card, scrapbook page or element on your page.
For me, it changes the look and gives the item you are
making a Pop. All you need is your ink pad and your
item and you are ready to go!
Before
After
The second technique is distressing: creating a lovely
background for that special card, or a different look for
your die cuts. For this technique you need Distress Ink
(my favourite Tim Holtz inks always are a garb*
[*Australian slang for “always on hand”]), white smooth
Step two
Step one
cardstock, a plastic bag or a bit of cling film from the
kitchen cupboard, water (either in a spray bottle or a
small pot will do the trick) and some glimmer mist
(whatever color
matches or goes
with your ink). First
Step three
Final look
screw your plastic
bag or cling film up into a ball, next dab onto the ink
pad and all over your page until it’s covered, but not
totally. Dip your cling film into the small pot of water
and blend ink blobs together. If using a spray bottle,
Card using
spray over page to blend. You may need to dab your
techniques 1 and 2
cling film into the ink occasionally to help with
blending. Do this until you are happy with the blending.
Then get your glimmer mist and spray over total page
and let it run. Wait for it to dry. You have now made a
unique piece of paper to use on your project. How
simple was that?!
Lastly, a technique I quite often forget about but the
results are stunning is the embossing technique. For
those of you with embossing folders and die cutting
machines this is a great technique to use your
embossing folders to their greatest potential. Grab
your ink (best to use a slow drying one for this) and
Card using technique 3
44
your embossing folder. Make sure you have a piece of plain smooth cardstock cut to the
size of your embossing folder at the ready. Dab the top of your embossing folder with your
ink pad until well covered, Insert your cardstock carefully, being carefully to make sure it
does not move, and place through your machine. The results are a beautiful piece of
embossed cardstock to use on your project as a background or as part of a die cut.
So next time you get to stressing that you don’t have the right paper for your project or
need a special something for your best friend’s wedding card, GRAB THE INK! You will not
be disappointed! Most of all have fun and be sure to clean up the mess!
Happy Scrapping
Kerry
MyCutSearch.com: The Crafting Tool That Will Give You Time To Craft
www.mycutsearch.com
45
Do you love Pinterest (www.pinterest.com)?
Are you addicted like I am? Or are you
wondering what all the hubbub is and what
everyone is talking about? If you haven't
heard of Pinterest before, let me explain it to
you. It's a virtual pin board for you to post
your images to. You can organize and
share the things that you find on the internet,
and can look at what other people have
pinned.
the page from my phone so they could have
the recipe. Tonight my husband asked me
to make them again, so I got out my phone
& pulled up the Pinterest app & got the
recipe again. Contrast that to my annual
Christmas cookie experience when I can
never find the piece of paper that my mom
wrote the recipe on, or the cookbook page.
It’s much easier to find the picture on my
“yummy looking recipes” board.
I, personally, have always had a hard time
keeping track of all the great places I find on
the internet. I would bookmark them, and
then be faced with an incredibly large,
indecipherable list of bookmarks. Pinterest
solved my problem! Now, if I see a website
that I want to go back to, I just use the Pin it
button that I have on my browser bar, and it
will get pinned to the board of my choosing
in my Pinterest account. What I find even
more compelling is being able to see other
people’s pins. It feels like I don't have to
surf the internet anymore - it's like the best
of the internet all in one place! And it's fun
to see what things other people pin and
repin. I’ll be honest though, it is easy to
spend a lot time looking at Pinterest.
So I'm sure you’re asking what does this
have to do with card making. Well, I follow a
lot of card maker’s boards, so I see a lot of
great cards. If I see something I want to
order (but not yet), I pin it until I'm ready to
order. If I see a technique that someone
has done a tutorial on, but don't have time to
watch or read about it now, I pin it so I can
find it again later. And best of all, I've found
some great blogs to follow.
How do I use it? I love to find recipes or
craft projects for future use. I pin them and
then use the iPhone or iPad app to get to
the recipe or project in the kitchen or in my
craft room. It's nice to be able to find a
recipe quickly, and not have to print it out or
have to look for it again later. For Easter I
made a cookie recipe that I had posted to
Pinterest. They were a big hit - so I showed
everyone the recipe (and explained
Pinterest) and was able to e-mail a link to
I love Pinterest so much that when we
decided to do this magazine, I reached out
to them to get some tips for how crafters
could use Pinterest to their advantage. I got
a great response from the Pinterest
representative who gave me the following
tips on
how Pinterest might best be used by crafters
and DIYers:
"We encourage people to pin their
inspirations and other things they genuinely
love. For a crafter or any creative person,
Pinterest is a great place to showcase their
personal taste and give their friends, family,
followers, etc. a glimpse into their wide
variety of interests. No one just knits. Maybe
you're a great resource for vegetarian
46
recipes too and creating a board on
Pinterest about that topic could allow you to
expose yourself to a whole new group of
people.
There are also basic habits that can help
anyone grow a following on Pinterest:
 Write
informative pin descriptions.
Pinners love searching for pins or
boards by keyword, so sparse pindescriptions aren't as easily found.
 Add some new pins, too! There's no rule
on how much you can repin, but only
new pins are displayed in public feeds
such as the "Everything" section or the
subcategories like "DIY & Crafts."
Repins don't get aggregated in these
areas, so new pins are browsed more by
others.
 Write some comments. If you repin
something, chances are you have
something to say about the pin as well
and all it takes it a thoughtful comment
to increase the likelihood of someone
following you."
She also provided some good Craft/DIY
Boards:
http://pinterest.com/mkrafty/craft-and-diy
http://pinterest.com/cliff/stuff-i-made
http://pinterest.com/minieco
http://pinterest.com/happysolez
http://pinterest.com/strangecan/do-ityourself
http://pinterest.com/iheartlinen/i-need-tomake-one-of-these
http://pinterest.com/ezpudewa/craft-supplies
http://pinterest.com/mercedesgrosso
You can also add a "follow me on Pinterest"
button to your blog or web site. Hope this
inspires you to check out Pinterest if you
haven't done so already. Thanks so much
to Pinterest for the great tips! And of
course you can follow me at
http://pinterest.com/jenniferlr
47
Be sure to visit
Ellen ♥ Cardmonkey’s blog:
http://cardmonkeybusiness.blogspot.com
You can find Monica in a lot of places:
Blog:
www.monicascreativemadness.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SimplyCricutting/120264801362837
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/simplycricutting
Hi everyone, I am Hani from Craftionary.
(Texas, USA)
Today, I am going to share the quickest
and easiest organizing project for people
who love to craft and keep things
functional and easy to reach for
inspiration.
To Make This, You will need:
• Plastic boxes with lids
• Picture frame
• Double-sided tape
• Scrapbook paper
This is like a 10-minute project. All you have to do is add scrapbook paper in the frame to give
it a contrasting background and stick the plastic boxes onto the glass using double-sided tape;
or if you would like a permanent job done, you can glue them.
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And that's all. You’re done!
Use this to organize small things like beads, buttons, pins, needles and more. You can also glue
boxes and have lids to cover them up and label the lids for an even more functional system. It
can also be a great sorting box serving as an inspiration for your next project.
For my other tutorials, go to http://www.craftionary.net/p/my-projects.html. A few of my previous
projects that I feel happy making:
Stencil Painted Magnetic Board
49
I had the opportunity to meet the nice people at Quilled Creations at the Craft and Hobby
Association (CHA) convention in January. They were kind enough to sponsor a quilling challenge
on my blog. I have to say I loved quilling, and ordered some new toys from Quilled Creations.
I wanted to try combing, since I had seen a great card and great step-by-step instructions in the
book Paper Quilling For the First Time, by Alli Bartkowski. My first quilling card was a direct copy of
the card that they had in the book. It was easy and looked great.
For this card, I used 2 different colors of 1/8” quilling paper for my flower petals (3 strips each), 1
strip for the flower center, and 1 strip for the leaf (all from Quilled Creations Jewel Toned Mixed
Pack). I also used glue, a quilling comb, a slotted quilling tool, scissors, various cardstock, and a
sentiment sticker.
Petals: The technique I used is called “Alternating-sides Combing Technique”.
1. Take one strip, and wrap the
end of it around the top two
prongs on the quilling comb.
2. Place some glue on the
paper, and wrap the paper
around it. I didn’t have much
success with the gluestick
shown in the photos; I would
recommend simple Elmer’s
glue and a toothpick or small
paintbrush to put the glue on
the paper.
3. At the 8th prong, look the
paper strip around the prong,
and go back to the top. Glue
it to the back. This is the
center loop.
4. Loop the paper strip around
the 7th prong on the right
side and glue it at the top.
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5. Repeat on the 7th prong but
on the left side. Repeat this
technique on the 6th, and 5th
prongs.
6. When complete, glue the
strip to the back. Make sure
the glue holds before you
continue.
7. Slide the completed section
off of the comb.
Card Details
A2 sized card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")
1. Cut the following size papers
First Layer (patterned paper):
4” x 5 1/4”
Second Layer: 3 1/2” x 4 1/2”
Third Layer: 3 1/4” x 4 1/4”
2. Layer card pieces using
adhesive.
3. Lay quilled pieces on card for
desired spacing before
attaching with glue or
adhesive.
4. Attach sticker sentiment to
paper and trim and attach to
card front.
If this inspired you to try quilling, be
sure to please visit
www.quilledcreations.com and use
coupon code CCG for 10% off!
8. Repeat steps 1-7 to create 5
more combed sections.
2. Use your finger to guide the
paper.
9. Trim off the excess paper.
3. When you’ve reached the
end of the strip, gently push
the coil off of the tool. If you
pull, your coil can get
messed up.
Flower Center:
This would be considered
traditional quilling.
1. Slide the end of the paper
into the slot.. Begin rolling
the paper around the tool.
4. Place the coil on a flat
surface. If you have a
quilling ruler, it would be
51
used here: decide the correct
diameter, and glue the paper
to the coil.
Leaf:
1. Repeat steps 1-4 in Flower
Center section.
2. Pinch both ends of the coil
at the same time. This will
form what’s called a
marquise shape.
52
Card by Rhonda Nagata
53
In this section, I am going to show you how to
take a card that's just OK (most of my
cards!) and make it better. This isn't
going to be about how to make a card
phenomenal, and isn’t about spending
five hours on a card. It's about that
"Oh No! I need a card for today and I
have 30 minutes to make it look good!"
Here's the sketch:
This happened to me this past week. I
have two co-workers with birthdays
one day apart, but needed both cards
for Thursday morning. Of course, I
wasn't in the mood on Wednesday
night so I procrastinated and made the
card on Thursday morning... with less
than an hour, and no real ideas.
I knew I needed a card for an
upcoming sketch hop for Operation Write
Home (OWH).
If you don't know about
Operation Write Home, it's a great
organization that provides blank handmade
greeting cards for our troops to write home on
and "AnyHero" cards to encourage and thank
them. I've been sending cards to Operation
Write Home since 2010, and have met Sandy
Allnock, the president of OWH. She works
incredibly hard for this organization and they
do a lot of great and fun things for card
makers.
You can visit their website at
www.operationwritehome.org. You'll find tons
of great resources there.
And I knew the card had to be pink because
the recipient loves pink...
So here was my initial take of the sketch:
So back to the story... I went to their sketches
page (www.operationwritehome.org/sketches)
and picked one that went with the paper I had
chosen.
Pink paper from my stash, 3 Bugs in a Rug
Bake Me a Cake paper, and the polka dot
paper is the back side of the patterned paper.
The sticker is an Elizabeth Craft Design,
2478. I used the Elizabeth Craft sticker with
54
Sookwang double-sided tape, and Crystal
Glitter Ritz transparent micro fine glitter. If
you haven't used these before, I highly
recommend them. They make impressive
cards with minimal work (but you end up
with glitter all over you, so don't do it in your
work clothes!)
How I used the sticker: Take a piece of
white paper and adhere a piece of
Sookwang tape that is wider than you
sticker. Peel off tape backing. Put the
Elizabeth Craft sticker on top of sticky side.
Be careful, if you put your fingernail on it, it
can pull off your polish. Then put Crystal
Glitter Ritz transparent micro fine glitter on
the whole thing. It will have a soft texture,
and there should be no more sticky. Then
trim around the sticker. This will leave you
with a white glittery embellishment.
You can then use your Copic or other
alcohol ink markers to color in the
sticker. The ink won't bleed. It's so
pretty!
I love making these and
everyone who gets them “oohs and
aahs” over them and they're not as
difficult as they look.
on the card to signify that. I had some left
over Bo Bunny letter/number stickers from
Valentines day that matched the color.
The letters didn't really pop, and she's a
bling kind of person... so here's my final
version of the card:
So back to the card... It didn't look
very exciting to me, so I wanted to
add some flair. So I matted the
papers and added ribbon:
I used Stampin’ Up! Stampin’ Dimensionals
to pop up the cake sticker and also the
black background rectangle. I used a white
Uniball gel pen to outline the numbers, and
added Stampin’ Up! basic rhinestones jewel
accents. The ribbon was from my stash.
I've learned a couple things over the years
on how to make a mediocre card better:

Add dimension - different layers of
paper, using Stampin’ Dimensionals or
other foam based adhesives add a lot.

Ribbons with textures add interest.
Looks better doesn't it?
Since this was a big birthday for her (60), I
wanted to make sure that I had something
55

Embellishments
(rhinestones,
pearls,
buttons, brads) add a finished look.

Stitching (faux with a gel pen or other tool,
or real with a needle) adds a lot of interest
to a card.

Using ink or chalk on the edges of the
paper also adds interest to the card.

Glitter (which you can't use for OWH
cards) usually intrigues people as well.
I hope you enjoyed the card. It's not the most
complicated card you'll find in this issue, but it
is definitely do-able by any skill level.
Hopefully this will give you some ideas on
how to give your cards some more interest. If
you use one of the techniques in the article,
send
a
photo
of
your
card
to
[email protected]. We'd love to see
your card and might use it in our next issue!
For more ideas and to find out how you can
help, visit www.operationwritehome.org.
Be sure to visit Ashley’s Blogs http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com
http://thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com
Do you like Jamie’s cards on
pages 35, 36, and 53?
See Beth’s cards for our
sketch challenge
on page 58.
Looking for great cards and
other crafts?
And please be sure to
visit her blog:
Be sure to visit http://craftygirl21.blogspot.com
And if you’re on Facebook, be sure to "like"
Jamie at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crafty-Girl21/109716449077710
http://elizabethspapercreations.blogspot.com
56
Index:
Advertisers:
Ashley Townsend (p. 56)
Beth Miller (p. 56)
Bite Size Body Guide (p. 45)
Crafty Card Gallery (p. 4)
Ellen ♥ Cardmonkey Jarvis (p. 47)
Gina Torres for MemoryWorks (p. 43)
Ginger Snap Scraps (p. 33)
10% off, use code: Mag5
Hani from Craftionary (p. 37)
Jamie Rogers Moore (p. 56)
Just Jaimee (p. 23)
Kerry Owen (p. 4)
Monica Flores (p. 47)
MyCutSearch.com (p. 45)
MyHobbyVinyl.com (p. 23)
15% off $30 or more, use code: CCG15OFF
MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking (p. 29)
$10 off, use code: STMMMS93040
Quilled Creations (p. 43)
10% off, use code: CCG
Scraptastical Kreations (p. 33)
Articles:
Amy Courchaine (pp. 39 - 40)
Ashley Townsend (p. 41)
Ellen ♥ Cardmonkey Jarvis (pp. 30 - 32)
Hani from Craftionary (pp. 48 - 49)
Jennifer Restivo (pp. 38, 34 - 37, 46 - 47,
50 - 51, 54 - 56, 58)
Kerry Owen (pp. 44 - 45)
Monica Flores (pp. 11 - 22)
Shawn Mosch (pp. 24 - 29)
Digital Images (p. 42):
Eric Owens
Jennifer Restivo
John Lewis
Cards:
Beth Miller (p. 58)
Connie West (p. 37)
Donna Phelan (pp. 35, 52 - 53)
Jamie Rogers Moore (pp. 36, 53)
Jennifer Restivo (pp. 36, 58)
Judy Meeks Woodland (pp. 35, 52 - 53)
Kerry Owen (pp. 36, 53)
Kristy from Scraptastical Kreations (p. 35)
Lissa Marie (p. 52)
Rhonda Nagata (pp. 36, 52 - 53)
Tonia Williams (p. 36)
Man Card Tips:
Beth Miller (p. 34)
Donna Phelan (p. 37)
Jennifer Restivo (p. 37)
Jessica Shelton (p. 34)
Judy Meeks Woodland (p. 37)
Kerry Owen (p. 34)
Regina Cooper Hardy (p. 37)
Rhonda Nagata (p. 37)
Susan Bermudez (p. 34)
Zenita Barnes-Smith (p. 34)
See Lissa Marie’s card
on page 52 and
visit her blog at
http://somanycrafts.com
57
Sketch Challenge
By Jennifer Restivo
If you’ve been to my blog, you know
I’ve been doing some sketches, and
have a new app coming out for
sketches & challenges. So here’s a
sketch, and if you’d like to create a
card with the sketch, you can
send it in for publication!
E-mail: [email protected]
Don’t think that you need to keep
the same orientation. Sometimes
flipping a sketch on its
side can add endless possibilities.
Remember that a sketch is just a
guideline. Just have fun with it
and let your imagination
take wing!
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