Cosmo Cricket – My Crafts are Like a Box of Chocolates

Girlie Celebrate Card

July 29, 2013 beccreates1

I needed a card for a 14 year old who was baptized recently and to be honest, it isn’t a niche I cater to in my stash. I have tons of girlie stuff but more for younger girls and women. I have more for teen boys since I have boys myself! I could have gone for flowers or something shabby or vintage of course but that wouldn’t have been as special or personalized.

I had some of this funky Upcycle paper by Cosmo Cricket. Perfect for a teenaged girl. Amazing that I recently bought some washi tape that matched so well I could hardly tell it was added on once I added it and I found some rectangular rhinestones that were too unusual for my shabby or vintage projects but perfect for this funky card. The people stickers came from the paper pack I bought and were de-sticker-ified with baby powder in the areas not touching the vellum. I made the button by adding paper to the back of a clear button with Glossy Accents.

I used a sketch for this card but sadly I forgot to post it in time (as usual) so no point in bothering to show the sketch. I hate when I do that! I think it was a Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: WMS
Ink: Versamark
Paper: chartreuse-PTI, vellum-stash, DP-Cosmo Cricket, going grey CS-SU!
Accessories: oval dies-Spellbinders, foam dots-Jody Morrow, silver EP, clear button-SU!, Glossy Accents-Ranger, stickers-Cosmo Cricket, edger die-PTI, washi tape-??

Uncategorized

Miniature Doll Bedroom with Matchbox Bed

March 6, 2013 beccreates1

As I’ve mentioned before, I swap quite a bit with Swap-Bot. I love getting fun mail, it makes an ordinary day much happier. I run a smaller subgroup which allows like-minded people to have even stricter rules and swap specific themed items which is fun but lots of work. One of my groups is Matchbox and More and I hosted a swap to make a doll bedroom.

The requirements were to use a matchbox as a bed, make a floor and two walls, one with a window and decorate the window and the room in general. And make or buy ‘someone’ to ‘live’ in the room. The matchbox used is approximately 2×1.5×0.5” so it’s pretty small. I used swatches from an online fabric store to make the sheet and blanket. The bottom of the blanket is loose so the drawer can come out then tuck back in. The headboard is actually part of the matchbox sleeve that folds up.

The room was sent flat so it is hinged on two sides but only temporarily adhered on the third side. The table is designed to fold flat too. The doll is made from felt and her features are sewn on using thread as even one strand of embroidery floss was too thick! The curtain rod is part of a BBQ skewer and the curtains are more sample fabric with brad tie backs. The outer part of the window was cut with a square die but I didn’t have a die that perfectly cut the inner squares as the muntin bars would have been too thick so I used a die to cut the outer part of the square then trimmed the rest with an x-acto knife.

If you ever decide to join Swap-Bot, look me up. My username is thebragal.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Paper: Spring Moss, ivory CS-PTI, floral DP-Cosmo Cricket, wood DP-MME, chocolate CS-scrap, wall art-Little Darlings-Graphic 45
Accessories: all stash unless otherwise listed, brads-CTMH, square Nestabilities

Uncategorized

Pretty Strawberries for August SFYTT

August 31, 2012 beccreates1

Sorry about the terrible photo that used to be here. I hope you like this much better! I got a new computer! YEAH! My old one was so slow it was positively painful. I can’t believe how few times I posted last month. So sorry!

I used Copic markers to colour the image, I airbrushed the background but only masked the berries and flowers. So much easier than cutting out the whole image. I have a trick for colouring the seeds so easily! I colour over the whole strawberry, ignoring the seeds. Then I add a tiny bit of white gel pen on the seeds and when dry, I colour over with a yellow Copic. Hasn’t bothered by Copics at all and the seeds look so nice and bright. Even better than colouring them yellow with the white of the paper underneath I think.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE

Stamps: Flourishes

Ink: Moss, Kraft-PTI, antique linen Distress, Memento black

Paper: Moss CS-PTI, white CS-XPress It, light lace DP-Basic Grey Nook and Pantry, coral dots DP-Cosmo Cricket Be Happy, blush CS-SU!

Accessories: doily die-PTI, hug snug seam binding, Quickutz tag die, twine-PTI, charm, lace-stash, pearls-Dollarama, oval Nesties dies

Uncategorized

Double Challenge Quilted Friendship Card

April 25, 2012 beccreates1

This card is for the PTI Blog Hop and Mojo Monday this week.

The inspiration photo this month (see below) was so pretty and I was inspired by the mixy matchy fabric patterns. So I also chose floral, stripe and polka dot patterns.

I cut the paper with the die from Button Boutique. I love that little guy! It wasn’t quite as hard as I thought to keep the papers lined up. I just used a clear ruler to guide me as I laid them down. The spool was stamped on kraft paper and cut out. I thinned out the middle section of the spool to allow for the thickness of the floss. Wouldn’t this be cute paper pieced too?

And last but not least, this week’s Mojo Sketch. Click on sketch to visit Mojo site.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the Blog Hop. Be sure to visit again. I have RSS and email subscription thingies on my side bar!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: PTI
Ink: Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress inks
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Odds and Ends, October Afternoon Thrift Shop, vanilla, kraft CS-SU!, aqua mist, spring moss CS-PTI
Accessories: Button Boutique die, button twine-PTI, foam dots-Jody Morrow, scalloped rectangles Nesties, PTI and Basic Grey buttons, Prima rose, DMC floss, Mettler thread

Uncategorized

Game On for Jameson

February 21, 2012 beccreates1

My 11 yo son came home with a relatively good report card last week so I wanted to congratulate him with a card. Poor kid really struggles with ADD and we are reluctant to medicate him so this means a lot. He got all Bs and Cs (though without ADD he’d get As and Bs) when last report he got some Ds so this is a big improvement.

I am sooo happy with how this turned out! I didn’t use a sketch which is rare and even though it is a CAS card, I like the simplicity. Usually when I make a CAS card I feel like it needs more or that it is boring. funny because I LOVE other people’s CAS cards!

It is pretty simple so really not much to say. The recipe will explain most of it. This card is 3.5 high x7.5” long. This means the whole thing wouldn’t fit into my Cuttlebug without being folded. EMBOSSING TIPS: If you are trying to emboss a card and it must be folded, cut off the excess plastic border from around the pattern on lower portion your embossing folder only. Don’t cut off both. That allows you to get very close to the fold line. And I needed to emboss twice to get the whole thing. On the second pass, line up your plates so that the edges exactly match the patterned part of the embossing folder (not the edge of the plastic). That way the plates and the folder won’t crush the part which was already embossed. You will get a tiny faint line where the folder ends but very little and no crushing of the design. You could also cut off the excess plastic but trust me, never cut off both pieces or the line will be even worse that uncut.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Boy Basics: Simple Circles, Game On-PTI
Ink: saffron, sahara sand-SU!, Memento black
Paper: DP-Boyfriend Cosmo Cricket, white, saffron, black CS-SU!
Accessories: circle die-PTI, foam dots-Jody Morrow,
Cuttlebug embossing folder, Circle Nestabilities

Uncategorized

Back to School Cards

September 20, 2011 beccreates1

I can’t believe my little one is already in school. He’s only 4, still says his ‘L’s like ‘Y’s, as in yunch instead of lunch, and still seems like a baby in some ways. One of my favourite things he said was when he talked about the ‘yady in the yine’ at a store. So cute!

He was totally fine on the first day of school, so confident, never looked back! I did OK, I made it through the drop off, stayed to help the teacher with a kid who was practically hysterical after her mother left (the teacher was directing parents to their kid’s teachers so was busy) and made it to the car before I started to cry. Even then it wasn’t too bad. I think it is because he really isn’t my youngest child anymore. When the baby I’m pregnant with goes to school, that will be really hard.

Anyway, I made the kids each a card for the first day of school. I also made the older one a bookmark. Apparently I did OK, this one was a hit. Hard to make something cool for a 10 year old boy!

I cut apart the sentiment that said Hope your Birthday Rocks and removed the ‘birth’. Then I wrote in ‘first’ with and embossing ink pen. The embossing is a cool colour called Medieval Metals. It is a mix of gold, bronze, copper and silver. Very masculine. The star is made from a coaster cut with a Sizzix die which is also covered in the same EP. The main image is black embossed. I sure gave my heat gun a workout on this card.

This card is for the little one. He doesn’t really care much about what I make him and he will probably trash it first chance he gets so I didn’t spend too much time on it. The image was coloured with Copics and raised up on foam dots. Except the little lines joining the balloon and basket. They were stamped on the background. I threaded the buttons with Divine Twine. The right one looks like plain white twine but it is really yellow twist.

I know, why on earth did I photograph a black bookmark on a black background? Even brunettes have blonde moments is my only excuse! I had placed the bookmark on the back of the matching card and just photographed it there. This time I used silver EP since the bookmark will usually not be near the card. I used the rock n roll technique for the coloured area on the guitar. The neck of the guitar was coloured with Copics and I darkened the middle with a Copic multiliner. It is a very simple design, just a folded over piece of CS, like a long, skinny card. Inside, on each side, are magnets to help the bookmark stay in the book.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
ROCK Card and Bookmark
Stamps: Taylored Expressions
Ink: Versamark, not quite navy, banana, orange, red-SU!, embossing pen
Paper: black, white CS-SU!, DP-Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend
Accessories: foam dots- Jody Morrow, Sizzix die, coaster board, ticket corner punch-SU!, Copic R29, C5, Black, silver EP-SU!, Medieval Metals-Sweet Stamps, magnet tape-Michaels

BALLOON Card
Stamps: Taylored Expressions
Ink: Memento black
Paper: red CS-CDS, blue CS-SU!, white CS-X-Press It
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, EK Success punch, buttons-stash, Divine Twine, Copics (sorry, I forget the numbers especially since I rarely use these bright colours)

Uncategorized

Cowboy Hero for Our Creative Corner

February 26, 2011 beccreates1

Our Challenge this week is to De-Stress by Distressing while using the Sketch Sarah designed.

I started by flipping the sketch and substituted ribbon for the panel on the left side because I didn’t want to cover up all that great DP that already had distressing ‘built in’! Then I sponged the panels with ink and scratched up the edges of the card and the DP panels. The edges of the chipboard sticker were sanded and inked too. I also used an ink spritzing tool from SU! to fly speck my card. That thing killed my hands, now I remember why I stopped using it. I am longing for another can of air for my Copic airbrush system! I just finished it earlier this week. Maybe I’ll get out our compressor and see if it will work. I always had air so I haven’t tried it out.

I hope you will all play with us at the OCC this week! Thanks to Sarah for a great challenge and we are so glad she is safe from the devastation caused by the earthquake in New Zealand; thankfully her family is safe too. Don’t forget to visit the OCC blog to check out all the FANTASTIC projects from the DT! They are just YUMMY!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Sentiment PTI
Ink: Distress Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap, chocolate chip-SU!
Paper: Wanted-Cosmo Cricket, chocolate chip, vanilla CS-SU!
Accessories: Sizzix embossing folder, foam dots-Jody Morrow, Circle Nesties, Cosmo Cricket Wanted Chipboard, hardware-SU!, ribbon-stash, hemp twine-stash

Uncategorized

Pink snow anyone?

December 16, 2010 beccreates1

I just love using pink for wintery scenes. I actually HATE winter but I don’t mind crafting that focuses on winter because I am warm and snuggy in my house while I work! And snowflakes are so pretty!

The background was stamped with a music background in sweet blush ink. Then white ink was swiped along the edges for a frosty look. I toned down the super white doily with distress ink because they white was just too stark, especially since my ‘snow’ turned out a bit yellow/ivoryish.

Speaking of the snow, I used Tim Holtz recipe for UTEE snow. You mix 2 parts white UTEE with 1 part clear UTEE, a dash of white glitter and moisten that to a paste with Glossy Accents or similar clear drying dimensional glue. Then apply very carefully, use gloves if you aren’t using a tool or spatula, wherever snow would naturally fall on your image. It is great too for placing on the top edges of chipboard letters or other dimensional objects as it sits along the top edge nicely. That is how Tim used it on a 12 Days of Christmas tag a couple years ago. I actually used one part each white and clear UTEE but I wished I hadn’t because I think it would be whiter otherwise.

I paper pieced the main areas of the image except the skirt. The rest is coloured with Copics except her mitten which was cut from felt. I coloured over her coat to brighten it some because it was too peachy. It actually looks less peachy IRL than it does in the photo. The first mitten I cut from felt didn’t look so great because the ink smudged so I just cut the shape by hand without any outline and did the same with the pompoms on her hat. I airbrushed the background but I sure wished I had done so before I paper pieced it because the mask I created sat up higher off the base paper than it normally would leaving funny edges without ink and making it hard to get into the small grooves like the one between the girls legs and the edge of the snowman’s body. Oh well…

The snowflake was cut using MFT new snowflake dies from shimmery white paper. I sponged the base snowflake and the top snowflake with the same pink ink. I looked high and low for a white/clear rhinestone brad but I only had coloured. So I know what I am getting the next time I go to Michaels! For the background, I wanted it to appear that snow was falling so I took a fine tipped glue pen and put tiny dots of glue over the image and added white glitter. In case you are wondering, the snow accumulated only on the snowman and not the little girl because the snowman has been outside much longer!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: MFT Pure Innocence, CHF music scrapblock
Ink: Memento black, PTI sweet blush and white
Paper: sweet blush CS-PTI, white CS-Xpress it blending card, doily-Wilton, Jolly by Golly DP-Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: Zva rhinestone, MFT dies, Crystal Effects, UTEE white and clear, Snow Glitter-Stampendous, rickrack-stash, pink and white felt-stash, Label 1 Nesties, Copics: Bkgd-B12,45 Skirt-B91,93,95,45, Shadows C1 Branch, boots-E47,49 Face E00,21,93, Pink tone over jacket to brighten, shading-RV21, RV23 Stockings-E53,31, Buttons-C7, 100, Snowman shading-BG10

Uncategorized

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop–Winter Gift Tag

November 25, 2010 beccreates1

This month’s blog hop is all about holiday tags. Well, I don’t celebrate any kind of holiday celebrations but I do give handmade gifts. So I went with a winter gift tag instead of a holiday one.

I went with a Mishie inspired tag design. Her scrappy style is awesome. I hope you like my version. Once I make someone a handmade gift (in the winter of course!), this tag will be perfect. I’ll write the recipient’s name in the middle of the circle so it isn’t so empty. Or maybe stamp something little in there…

If you enjoyed my tag, please feel free to subscribe; I have thingies on my sidebar for both RSS feeds and email.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: PTI
Ink: Memento black, Antique Linen and Old Paper Distress inks
Paper: kraft-Ellen Hutson, DP-Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: Ribbon-May Arts, pearl-Dollarama, scalloped punch-SU!, cord-stash, button, twine-PTI, snowflake die-Spellbinders, E33 Copic marker (to darken ribbon), foam dots-Jody Morrow, circle Nestabilities

Uncategorized

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop-Winter Gift Set

October 25, 2010 beccreates1

Welcome to my blog! I had such fun making this little gift set. I was so rushed that it isn’t quite finished. But I really wanted to add it to the Blog hop quickly.

I made an adorable note or list pad using the cute little pads Papertrey sells. The cover opens like a little book. I used the frame from Take Note for the DP on the bottom. I coloured the space between the frame’s lines with a Copic marker to make it pop. The white border under the bow is cut from felt using the medium scallop die. I cut the mittens out from the DP, don’t you love the Baker’s twine mitten string? I think it is so cute! I may still add a couple punched snowflakes to the framed area. Either that or I might put a dot of Stickles in the center of each mitten in the DP.

The tin I purchased online, it is covered with DP on the top and Hibiscus Burst ribbon on the sides. Inside are 4 clothespins I covered with DP then with glitter then I added a button threaded with twine for an accent. I am going to clip them to a piece of CS and line the tin with tissue paper before I add it to my Etsy shop.

I hope you enjoyed my gift set. If you like my blog, I hope you’ll subscribe, I have thingies on my sidebar. Thanks for visiting!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: PTI
Ink: Worn Lipstick Distress ink, Memento black
Paper: Holly by Golly DP-Cosmo Cricket, Hibiscus Burst CS-PTI, white, turquoise CS-SU!
Accessories: buttons, twine, note pad, scalloped die-PTI, tin, Baker’s twine-stash, foam dots-Jody Morrow, glitter-Art Institute

NOTE: PTI sells similar tins and Baker’s twine.