History of Ever Valentine's Card & Tip on Gluing Die-Cut Letters Perfectly Straight

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am so excited to be back on my blog sharing a project.  It has been a few months - I was crafting while I was away from blogging, so I will be sharing more projects soon.

I was shopping in the Silhouette Store and was very inspired by Lori Whitlock's You're My Favorite Phrase Cut File.  It is such a sweet and fun Valentine's Day sentiment!

I cut the sentiment out with black cardstock using my Silhouette.  I glued the black letters on vellum so I wouldn't cover up the background of the card.  You may be thinking....wouldn't it be easier to print the sentiment on vellum?  Probably!  :)  But, I thought about it, and I love the layering effect and texture you get with die-cut letters especially on vellum.  

To ensure the black letters were glued perfectly straight on the vellum, I used the black cardstock negative from the die-cut to position and glue the letters.  This technique also keeps the glue behind the letters and not all over the vellum!  Use a paper clip to the keep the vellum and negative in place.

Once you have glued all of the letters in place, remove the black cardstock negative.  Make sure to do this slowly so you don't remove any of the letters with it.

I am love with maps right now, so I had to use a map as the card background.  The 'map' paper is by October Afternoon pulled from my stash of the Seaside collection.  I added some little red die-cut hearts to the red lines on the map and I splattered pink ink (Pink Balloon Sprinkler by October Afternoon) for more color.

To finish the card, I added a little pennant with paper from the October Afternoon Cakewalk collection and a sweet little wood heart by Freckled Fawn (added a little red sequin to the center!).  

Here is a angled picture showing the lovely layering on the card!  From the little red hearts, vellum, the die-cut letters, and the pennant.  

I LOVE the way the layering turned out!  I hope you all have a very Happy Valentine's Day and thanks for stopping by!

Melanie

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Spooky Cute Halloween Brownie Pops!

Eeeeeeeeek! Halloween is right around the corner! I have a really fun project to share with you today!

I made some adorable and delicious Halloween Brownie Pops to give out as spooky gifts for Halloween.  I made the cute box the pops are standing in too - the box displays them so nicely!

Believe it or not, the hardest part of making the pops is the time spent deciding how you want to decorate them and shopping for the supplies.  Many of the ingredients you can pick up at your local grocery store or Target.  For more variety in decorating supplies, I recommend taking a trip to your local Michael's or Joann's as well.

Ingredients:

Box of Brownie Mix & Ingredients to Make Brownies per Box

Lollipop Sticks

Wilton Candy Eyes

Wilton Candy Melts - I used melts in Black, Vibrant Green, Orange, and Lavender.

2 Boxes of Baker's Premium White Chocolate Baking Bar (4oz Box)

Twizzler's Black Licorice Nibs (For Frankenstein's Bolts)

Wax Paper

Mini Pretzel Twists

Styrofoam Square

Toothpicks

Instructions:

To make the brownie pops, I used the Brownie Pop Recipe by Betty Crocker linked here.  Below, I have listed some helpful tips/tricks when making the brownie pops (incorporate these into the recipe's instructions if you would like).  Also, I have listed specifics on how I made each pop into a Halloween character - Mummy, Frankenstein, Jack-O-Lantern, and Three-eyed Monster, and how to make the cute gift box to display the pops:

Tips/Tricks:

1) I recommend adding an extra egg to the batter.  It will help with forming the cake pops later.

2) After the brownies have cooled, remove any hard edges from the brownie pan.  I did this by cutting one large rectangle in the pan excluding 1/4" from each side of the pan.

4) Cut the brownies while in the pan into 1.5" squares - each square can be rolled into a ball and ensures each pop will be the same size.

5) Add additional flavor by adding a few butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips to the melted candy mixtures.

6) Use white chocolate with food coloring instead of colored candy melts.  If using chocolate chips, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for every cup of chips when melting.  See additional info on melting chocolate here.

7) Cover decorated pops with mini clear treat bags and close using twine or ribbon.

Decorating Pops as Halloween Characters:

Mummy - Dip pops into melted white chocolate.  Add candy eyeballs before chocolate hardens.  Place pops into refrigerator for 30 minutes so chocolate hardens.  After cooled, add strips of melted white chocolate to create the mummy (tip: over a bowl, let the melted chocolate drip off a spoon onto the pops while you turn them).  Cool in refrigerator for another 30 minutes.  After cooled, add the mouth using a toothpick dipped in melted black candy.

Frankenstein - Cut Black Licorice Nibs into two pieces using a scissors.  Dip pops into melted green candy.  Add bolts (Nibs) and candy eyeballs before chocolate hardens.  Place pops into refrigerator for 30 minutes so chocolate hardens.  After cooled, add strips of melted black candy to the top of the pops to give Frankenstein hair.  Add the mouth and scars using a toothpick dipped in melted black candy.

Jack-O-Lantern - Break mini pretzel twists into pieces that look like pumpkin stems.  Dip pops into melted orange candy.  Add pretzel stems and candy eyeballs before chocolate hardens.  Place pops into refrigerator for 30 minutes so chocolate hardens.  After cooled, add the mouth using a toothpick dipped in melted black candy.

Three-Eyed Monster - Dip pops into melted purple candy.  Add candy eyeballs before chocolate hardens.  Place pops into refrigerator for 30 minutes so chocolate hardens.  After cooled, add the mouth using a toothpick dipped in melted black candy.

Lollipop Gift Box:

The box, fence, bat, and pumpkins are digital die-cuts (SVGs) by SVG Cuts.  If you don't have a electronic die-cutting machine, you could use a small gift box and pop small holes in the top to place the pops - just make sure you place Styrofoam inside the box to hold the pops in place.

For SVGs users, cut and assemble the box, bat, and pumpkins based on the default size setting of the file.  The box is from the For My Valentine SVG Kit.  The bat and pumpkins are from the Spooky Cuties SVG Collection.  To make the fence that goes around the box, I used the fence from the Elmhurst Hollow SVG Kit and resized it to 7.25W x 3.862H in SCAL (note: delete the extra wood strips before sizing as you don't need these).  Cut the fence out twice and glue around the box so the ends come together on each side of the box.

Add brads or black pearl stickers to the middle of the bat's and pumpkins' eyes - this makes them look like the candy eyeballs on the brownie pops!  Also, add a sentiment to the box if you would like.

Your brownie pops and gift box are ready for someone special to take home!  I hope you enjoyed this project and give these pops a try!  They are sure to make someone smile!

Melanie

A Country Christmas Village & Tutorial on Homemade Snow! Guest Designer at Lori Whitlock!

Hey there!  I have a wonderful project to share with you today!  I hope you love it, take some inspiration from it, and/or make one of your own!

I am the Guest Designer over at the Lori Whitlock blog today!

If you are not familiar with Lori Whitlock, she designs very professional SVG files, Echo Park paper, and digital scrapbooking kits available at Jessica Sprague.  She is extremely talented and I love that she designs so many fun 3D SVG files.  I had a very hard time picking what I was going to make from her store!

To forewarn you, I have lots of photos below.  I added lots of tiny details to this project and want to show you every inch of them!  I hope you can bare with me!  Also, at the bottom of this post, I have a tutorial on how to make your very own snow for your projects using materials you should have around the house!

Okay, enough with the introduction.....here is my project!  A Country Christmas Village!

I couldn't resist making the 3D Christmas Village by Lori Whitlock!  I know lots of people have been sharing villages they have made recently and they are all so adorable.  I wanted to present something different so I challenged myself to make each building look like it was not made of paper (and they are of course!).  I pictured the ceramic villages you can buy at the store that my mom has so many of!

Here are a couple pictures of the village all lit up!

It is really pretty at night as the light from our Christmas tree reflects off the glitter and trims on each building. 

To light up the village, I put flameless votives inside each building through the opened doors except for the cottage as the door is too small.  I will show you how I put the votive inside the cottage below.

Now for all of the tiny details I added to each building in the village!  First up, The School House:

There are only pine trees in my village, so I thought it was appropriate to give the town the name "Pine Hill!"  It sounds country too, which I like!  :)  The pine trees are SVG files by Lori Whitlock -  3D Christmas Tree #3 and 3D Christmas Tree #5.

I used the curved banner label from the 14 Labels SVG set to add the school name above the school's door.  It worked perfectly!  I sized it to 2.239" wide by 0.741" tall.  I printed the name out first, then cut the label out using the Print/Cut feature in SCAL.

To create the wreath on the school, I first created a base using two punches from Stampin' Up!  First, I punched out a 1/2" circle into my cardstock.  Then, I centered the largest flower from the Boho Blossoms punch around the punched circle to create the wreath's base.  Then, I glued holly leaves from Lori's Christmas Icons Set 2 to the base.  To finish the wreath, I added some red rhinestones.

To add more holiday decor to the school, I used garland trimmings I found at Michael's.  I applied the garland around the school door and created scallops around the school windows.  I added Lori's holly leaves and red rhinestones to dress-up the garland.

The tower on top of the school was made for a bell (so stinkin' cute, right!) - I found some small metal bells at Michael's in the holiday decor area.  I hung the bell in the tower using gold crafting wire which I adhered to the top of the tower using a hot glue gun.

And there is a little surprise inside of the school house.  The back wall of the school house has a black board with a message that reads:  "See you in the new year!"  My teachers always said that when school was out for the holidays!

Next up, The Church:

To give the windows of the church a stained glass look, I stamp embossed onto vellum using the Lattice Background stamp by Unity Stamps for Jillibean Soup and gold glitter embossing powder by Martha Stewart Crafts.  I love the way the windows turned out!!!!

To add texture and color to the cross in the window, I applied glitter glue in gold by Martha Stewart Crafts.

There is a bell in the steeple too!

For the final touch, I created a standing sign with a message board for the church.  I thought the message "Merry Christmas" was perfect for the sign.  I added some snow, glitter, holly and rhinestones to embellish the sign.

Last and not least, The Cottage:

This is where my husband and I live in the village!  We are the only residents in Pine Hill!  LOL! 

I included our last name and a house # on the cottage. I used another label from the 14 Labels SVG set for the house # and accented it with rhinestones.

I created a wreath for the door using the garland trim I used on the school (I wrapped it around my glue pen to give it the circle shape).  Then added some gold sequins to it.  I love the silver/gold combo!

I used the 3D Christmas Tree #5 SVG by Lori for the Christmas tree in the window. I decorated the tree using red and silver rhinestones and some gold sequins trim I found at Michael's.   I used my hot glue gun to glue the tree in place inside the cottage.

Since I couldn't add real lights to the outside of the cottage, I added this rhinestone trim by Simplicity.  I applied the "lights" to the roof of the cottage and the top of the fireplace using a hot glue gun.

To turn on the flameless votive inside of the cottage, I left the back of the roof open - meaning I didn't glue the back side of the roof down.  Sneaky, ay?  ;)

Did you notice the super adorable scalloped shingles and the snow on the roofs and trees?????  And, the doors - the beautiful wooden doors!!!  I used 'Boardroom' patterned paper from the 9 to 5 collection by October Afternoon!  These were my favorite, favorite adds!  Lori had made the villages so adorable already, I wanted to add something too!  To create the shingles, I used the scalloped border SVG from the Simple Borders set.  This was time consuming, I can't lie, and so worth it!  I cut out about 60 of these borders, then curled them up around a pen (so they stick up more), and then glued them down individually, one after the other, to the roofs.  Once the villages were complete, I added some homemade snow!

One more thing that I almost forgot to mention and it is an important tip!  To make each village very sturdy, I created them using lightweight chipboard in white.  This is why the inside of each building is white.  I glued the colored cardstock to one side of each of the chipboard pieces prior to assembling the buildings.

Thanks for looking at my village!  Below is a complete list of the materials I used for this project as well as a tutorial on how to make snow for your projects!

Materials Used:
SVGs by Lori Whitlock (see above for specific SVG files)
Lightweight Chipboard in White
Brown Cardstock by Core'dinations (Shingles)
White Cardstock by Bazzill Basics (Trims)
Artichoke Cardstock by Stampin Up (Trees)
Other Cardstock by Recollections (Michael's brand)
Vellum Paper (Church Windows)
Gold Glitter Embossing Powder by Martha Stewart Crafts (Church Windows)
Lattice Background Stamp by Unity Stamps for Jillibean Soup (Church Windows)
9 to 5 Boardroom Patterned Paper by October Afternoon (Wood Doors)
Boho Blossoms and 1/2" Circle Punch by Stampin' Up! (Base for School Wreath)
Silver Sequin and Gold Sequin Holiday Trims by Celebrate It (Michael's brand)
Miniature Gold Bells by Celebrate It
Rhinestone Trim on the Cottage by Simplicity
Rhinestones by Creative Charms
Crystal Glitter Large by Creatology
Mini Shimmer Alpha Stickers in Red by Making Memories (Church Sign)
Silver and Antique Gold brads by Making Memories (Doorknobs)
Styrofoam, White Felt, and Eco Flurries (Snowy Village Base)

Make Your Own Snow!

Materials Needed:
Baby Powder or Talcum Powder
Crystal Glitter (Larger Course Glitter)
White Glue - Elmer's or Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive
Spray Adhesive
White Acrylic Paint
Paint Brush or Wood Popsicle Stick
2 Plastic Containers for Mixing Ingredients
Newspaper (2 different placings - one for powder mixture and one for glitter)

Instructions:
1) Create a mixture of 1/2 cup baby powder and 1/2 cup course crystal glitter in a plastic container.  Set the powder mixture aside. 

2) Mix equal parts of white glue and white acrylic paint together in a plastic container using a paint brush or wood popsicle stick.  There is no set amount you need to make at one time as you can make as little or as much as you would like.  If you want to make a lot of the glue mixture at one time, I recommend putting it in a container with a lid so you avoid the glue drying before it is applied to your project.

3) Apply the glue mixture to your project liberally using a paint brush or wood popsicle stick. 

4) Put the project on top of some newspaper and apply the powder mixture liberally to the areas where the glue was applied.  Let the powder sit on the glue for a few minutes.  Then, shake off the excess powder onto the newspaper. 

5) To add more texture and shine, I recommend putting the project on top of some new newspaper, then apply a spray adhesive.  Immediately apply glitter to the sprayed areas.  Shake off the excess glitter onto the newspaper.

Here is what the finished snow should look like on your project:

To clean-up, use the crease in the newspaper to gather the extra powder and/or glitter and dump them into their respective plastic containers.

It will take about 24 hours for the snow paste to dry.  Avoid handling your project during this time.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and thank you Lori and Lisa for having me as a Guest Designer on the Lori Whitlock blog!  I had a lot of fun using your SVG files and feel very honored that you asked me!

Mel

Make Your Own Shaker Tags and Winner!

It is almost 4:30 pm and the sun is setting in Minnesota.  I miss you sun!  I guess this is the sign that winter is here.  Good thing we have the holidays to distract us! 

Today I used my new Sizzix Eclips and eCal software to make some fun shaker tags.  I have included a tutorial below in case you want to make some of these too!  Also, see the bottom of this post for the winner of my giveaway of the new Holly Jolly Christmas SVG collection by The Digi Bistro and the 12 Days of Christmas paper kit by My Mind's Eye!

To make the shaker part of the tags, you will need:

• Lightweight chipboard
• Window sheets or transparency paper
• Cardstock
• Glue (I prefer Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive)
• Confetti/Punches/Glitter - Whatever you want to put inside the shaker.  I used Iridescent Glitter by Martha Stewart Crafts

Determine what shape you want to use for the shaker.  If you have SCAL or MTC, make a copy of the shape and make it a shadow of the original shape.  Then place the original shape within the shadow and group them together.  Once grouped, make 3 copies of the shape with the shadow and cut them out on the lightweight chipboard using your die-cutting machine like shown in the picture below.

Remove the shapes from the mat.  Then glue them together - one on top of the other until it looks like this.



Cut out this shape one more time with the cardstock you want to put on top of the assembled shaker.

Then, in your cutting software, remove the original shape (the inside shape) and cut out the remaining shape (the shadow) in cardstock for the back of the shaker and in the windowed sheet/transparency paper for the top of the shaker.  You should now have all of the shapes show below. 

Now glue the shadow shape to the back of the layered chipboard shape. 

Then, fill the shape generously with confetti/punches/glitter.  Once filled, glue the windowed shape to the top of the layered chipboard. 

The final step is to glue the cardstock shape to the very top (this covers the glue that shows through the windowed shape).  Your shaker is done!

And here are the final tags embellished with the assembled shakers:

The pine trees SVG is from the Peppermint Holiday Cut Its collection by Lettering Delights and the tag SVG is from the Little Ho-ho-ho-ligans Accents Cut Its collection by Lettering Delights.  Both of these SVG collections are only $2 until 11/29/12!  The paper, letter stickers, pink sprinkler (to color the doily die-cut), and pipe streamers are by October Afternoon.

Other materials used:
Doily die by Papertrey Ink
Star and circle nesting dies by Sizzix
Merry Christmas Script embossing folder by Sizzix
Scalloped border punch by Stampin Up
Glitter paper in white by DCWV
Felt

I am entering this project into the following challenges:
Paper Issues - Any Holiday Project
My Sheri Crafts - Tis The Season
Hiding in My Craft Room - Christmas

Now for the giveaway winner!  Congratulations #21 which is .........................................................

Amy E!  Congrats Amy E!  Please send your full name and address to

cheryl.evans @ thedigibistro dot com and mention you won The Paper Retreat giveaway.

That's it from me today - hope you stop by again soon!  Also, if you make a shaker using my tutorial, please remember to link your blog post to the tutorial on my blog.  Thanks so much!

Mel

Print and Cut Out a Digital Stamp Using Sure Cuts A Lot!!! Tutorial Included!

Did you know that you can print a digital stamp using Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) and then cut it out using a shape or SVG in SCAL?  See an example of a project where I did this below.  Pretty cool, huh?  No physical stamp required!!!  The SCAL tutorial I have listed below, will show you how to do this! 

If you are not familiar with what a digital stamp is, it is a stamp that you print from your computer versus using a rubber/clear stamp.  Digital stamps are usually a JPEG or PNG image.  Many sites offer digital stamps for a fee and/or for FREE!  Free Digital Stamps is one of my favorite sites!

Sure Cuts A Lot Tutorial:  Print and Cut Out a Digital Stamp Using SCAL*
1)  Upload the digital stamp into SCAL by clicking on Place Image. 




















2) Then select the file and click Open.  Note: The image will be huge as shown below.  If the image does NOT load into SCAL, you may need to change the file format.  Using the Paint application, open the image, than save it as a JPEG image.

3)  Resize the digital stamp/image to the desired size by adjusting the width and height (circled below).

4)  Add a shape or SVG to the mat.  To add a shape, select a shape from the Shape Library in SCAL.  To add a SVG, click on the +SVG icon on the toolbar (circled below).  Then locate the SVG on your computer and click Open.

5)  Resize the shape/SVG and place it around the digital stamp as desired.  This will be where the stamp will print and where the shape/SVG will cut.  Note: You may want to move the shape/SVG behind the digital stamp so you can center it easier.  To rearrange the layers, right click on shape/SVG and select Arrange-->Send to Back. 

6)  Delete the shape/SVG by clicking on it, then pressing your delete button on your computer's keyboard.  Only the digital stamp should be showing on the mat.  Note: Make sure you do NOT save

7)  Connect your USB cord so that it is connected to your computer (SCAL) and your printer.

 
8)  Place your paper so that it is snug against where the paper feeds into the printer.

                                                                                            
9)  In SCAL, go to File-->Print.  Note:  Make sure your printer's properties are set to print color if necessary.  Click Print.

10)  Click the undo button in SCAL so the shape/SVG returns to the mat.

11)  Delete the digital stamp from the mat so that only the shape/SVG is displayed on the mat.

                                                                             

12)  Remove the USB cord from your printer and attach it to your die-cutting machine.

13)  Place the sheet of paper at the furthest corner of the mat and make sure your printed digital stamp is face up and placed in the same corner and direction as shown on the mat in SCAL.

14)  Load the mat into your die-cutting machine.  I use a Cricut and make sure the mat hugs the left-side when loading.

15)  Click the Cut button in SCAL (circled below).

                                             
16)  The SVG should cut around the digital stamp as shown below.

   

*This tutorial was developed using SCAL2; however, it should be relevant for SCAL3 as well.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!             
Melanie