Masculine Journal & pen

Hello, Crafty Friends!!

 I am so excited to start the new week with Craftwell's new sponsor... Latina Crafter!! I really love the assortment of Stamps and stencils! And today, I'll be using their fabulous stamps with Craftwell's awesome dies, to make this masculine journal and matching pen set for my husband. Awhile back he asked me for one but I never got around to making him one till now... I think I'll surprise him with a just because gift! Because who doesn't like surprises, right?!!

Supplies Used

Cut'n'boss (Craftwell)

Teresa Collins Pocket Dies- Noteworthy, Memory Collection, Thankful Holiday,  (Craftwell)

Anchor Stamp Set (Latina Crafter)

Hey Sailor Stack (DCWV)

Gold Metallic Foil Board (Grafix)

Creative Station with 9" Permanent Adhesive Refill Cartridge (Xyron)

Mega Runner (Xyron)

1.5" Sticker Maker (Xyron)

VersaFine Onyx Black (Imagine Crafts/ Tsukineko)

Composition Book 

Ballpoint Pen

Paper Crimper (Fiskars)

 First, I started by cutting two sheets of patterned paper from the Hey Sailor stack, to measure 9.75"x 7.25". I want this to be really sturdy and stick in place so I ran both sheets through my Xyron Creative Station using a permanent adhesive cartridge. This way I had edge to edge adhesive coverage.

Then, I peeled off the protective backer and applied to my composition book. I used the corner and the edge of the book as a guide so the paper would adhere straight. Then, I rounded off the corners with a scissors.

To cover the spine of the composition book, I cut a 2.5"x 9.75" strip from coordinating paper on the same stack.

To decorate the front of my book, I used my Cut'n'boss machine and Teresa Collins pocket dies, from the Lover's Lane set, out of more patterned paper from the Hey Sailor stack. 

I also die cut these Teresa Collins pocket dies, from the Memory Collection & Noteworthy sets, to die cut gold metallic foil board.

To get more from my dies I like to cut them apart. I cut the doily die in half and tuck the cut edge under other elements. I also cut the numbers apart. Sometimes dies are too long to fit onto a surface and in these cases I'll either trim off the excess or cut them down and rearrange the cuts so that they do fit.

I love using paper stack that not just come with gorgeous sheets of patterned paper but also include sheets with decorative panels you can cut out. these make for awesome pocket page inserts or lovely coordinating embellishments!

I cut out this sailboat form one of these panels. Next, I ran that panel and my die-cuts through m Xyron Creative Station. Then I applied them onto my book front.

That sail boat went perfectly with one of the passages from the Anchor stamp set from Latina Crafter!

I cut out more gold foil paper and used it to frame my passage that I stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black ink. I cut out strip of more coordinating paper and snipped a fishtail to each, just one one side. I ran all my pieces through my Xyron Sticker Maker and mounted my elements onto my book cover.

Now, I just had to make a matching pen to go with my journal... and you know what?? They  are super easy to make!!

Take a ball point pen, you need the kind that easily unscrew on one end, and take your pen out of the barrel.

Then, cut a strip of paper measuring .5"x 3.75" from any of the paper scraps I used from my book cover. Then I ran it through my paper crimper, lengthwise. This help curl over and insert into the barrel. Trim off any overhanging paper that doesn't fit the length of the barrel. 

Insert pen through paper and back into the barrel and screw pen back together.

Tah-dah... Matching Pen!!!

And, here is the finished Journal and matching pen set...

I hope you all enjoyed this project!!

See you all next time!

&

HAPPY CRAFTING!!

~Mitsy

Planner decor with Craftwell dies

Hey, Crafty Friends!! I know there are many of you that have planners! And many of you are CRAZY over planner accessories!! I'll show you quick and easy ways to accessorize and decorate your planners!!

Need something to decorate those blank pages?? Want to turn your drab/ blah pages to cheerful/ upbeat ones... try stenciling!!

Don't have stencils handy or just can;t find one that suits your mood or personality... make your own!! Dies make awesome stencils!! 

Here, I used my Teresa Collins Pocket Die to make a stencil out of vellum... I know what you;re thinking... " Why vellum?", right?! Well, that's easy, 1)Vellum is transparent. I can see exactly where I'm placing my stencil. And 2) Because vellum is a type of paper, it cuts easily and cleanly in my die-cut machine!

To cut vellum with Teresa Collins dies in my Cut'n'boss, I used the following platform combination:

From Bottom to Top

D Plate

B Plate

A plate

Die (with cutting edge faced up)

Paper

A Plate

Look how well it cut!! No vellum... No problem... parchment paper or wax paper will work in a pinch!! And both are transparent enough for precise stencil placement!

Once your stencil is cut out color over your stencil! I airbrushed over my stencil using an eBrush and pink sharpie marker!! Because I only wanted my pattern inside each individual block, I used blue painter's tape to create a border around each section not to get ink on parts I didn't want sprayed. 

Inking with a sponge dauber or ink pad will work also. I just love the way airbrushing looks on paper, it adds a softness to my result without harsh lines.

Since the blue tape is removable, I was able to move it around and use it over and over. 

It's awesome how much more personality my pages have from simple stenciling... but I wanted to kick it up a notch and decorate my pages even more.

I also made my own decorative planner stickers!! And it was easy-peasy!!

I just die cut several of my Teresa Collins Pocket Dies out of gold foil cardstock. And because I used my cut'n'boss machine (that has a ginormous cutting platform), I was able to cut 14 dies at once... and still had tons of room on it to cut more!

I used the exact platform combination above to cut my gold cardstock.

From Bottom to Top

D Plate

B Plate

A plate

Die (with cutting edge faced up)

Paper

A Plate

Look how awesome these came out with that gold foil cardstock!!

Then I ran all my die-cuts through my Xyron 3" Sticker Maker, transforming them into instant stickers!!

Now, just PEEL & STICK!!

Here is a  picture of my finished planner pages..

I accented my pages further by using a little bit of washi tape, some Pink and Main Planner Stamps and some Teresa Collins stickers and die-cut pieces I had in my stash!

At this angle you can really see the shine of the gold foil cardstock! It's is just gorgeous!!

SUPPLIES USED

Cut'n'boss (Craftwell)

eBrush (Craftwell)

Teresa Collins Pocket Dies (Craftwell)

Xyron 3" Sticker Maker

Gold Foil Cardstock (Grafix)

Planner Stamps (Pink and Main)

Baby Pink Sharpie

Teresa Collins stickers

Washi Tape (Tim Holtz, Other)

Vellum

I hope you enjoyed today's project and are inspired to create your own planner accessories!! They are just too fun not to try!!

Until next time...

HAPPY CRAFTING FRIENDS!!

~ Mitsy

Teresa Collins See-thru Card

Hi Crafty Friends!! I get to kick off this week with this awesome card made with lovely Teresa Collins Papers!! That's because Teresa Collins is this month's sponsor for Craftwell!! Woohoo... how awesome is that?? 

And when I saw these new clear sheet of Teresa Collins I knew I had to make a see-thru card... A shaker see-thru card!!

Supplies Used

Cut'n'Boss (Craftwell)

Teresa Collins Pocket Dies, Leaves (Thankful Set), Happy Frame (Lifestyle Set), Butterfly ( Memory Collection)

eBrush (Craftwell) w/ SN adapter

Teresa Collins Papers- Collector's Edition "Flowers", Project Pink Paper Gold. Clear Paper Gold Arrows

Teresa Collins Collector's Edition Sticker Sheet

Xyron Creative Station with 9" Permanent Adhesive Refill

Xyron 3" Sticker Maker

Spectrum Noir Markers- IB1 and GT1

Acetate (Grafix)

Black Foam Sheet

Diamond Glaze

Sequins

PITT Artist Pen B (Faber-Castell)

Gesso (Liquitex)

toothpick

Scissors

Paper Trimmer

I started my shaker card by cutting my Happy frame from my flower paper, black foam sheet, and gold from the TC Project Pink Gold paper. The gold is awesome not overly shiny but still a lot of bling!

Next, I ran my pieces all through my Xyron Creative Station to give them all instant adhesive.

I wanted a coordinating panel for the inside of my card and I also wanted it sized appropriately... so I used my die that I used to cut my frame, trace around it with the same Teresa Collins Flower Paper, and cut it out with my scissors. I adhered it to an A2 sized card base I made using Teresa Collins' Clear Paper in Gold Arrows.

I also used more TC Collector's Edition Flowers Paper to cut out my butterfly. I used a my PITT Artist Pen to draw the outlines and wing details. Then finished it off by applying gesso with a toothpick for the white spots.

For the shaker... I added the the flower paper to plain white card stock as a backer before running it through my Xyron Sticker maker... making it one solid piece. Next, I adhered the foam to the out line of the framed area of the flower paper. Then I sprinkled some sequins into my  framed area. I used diamond glaze over the foam and topped it off with my window made from my golden frame adhered to acetate.

 I chose to do it this way because the framed area is used as guide to where to glue my foam frame for proper alignment... once I put the top layer on it will all line up with the foam and I don't have to worry about my foam being crooked.

I wanted my butterfly to look like it was in a tree or resting on a branch so I cut out 5 stems of leaves out of black card stock and adhered them to the outside of my frame using my glue pen.

I didn't want the shaker to look like it was just "floating" so I  used a couple Teresa Collins border stickers to accent the front of my card and anchor my shaker frame.

Then I I curled the wings of my butterfly to give it a bit of dimension and only applied adhesive to the body of the butterfly and attached it on top the leaves and let dry.

And here is my finished card...

These Teresa Collins papers make this card look ultra chic. Pictures don't do this justice!! 

I hope you enjoyed my project for today!!

Until next time...

Happy Crafting Friends!!

~ Mitsy

Popcorn Box Party Favors

Hey Crafty Friends!! Today I'm going to show you part what I've been working on... that's right, I said part! LOL In order to see all the rest you'll just have to follow along with and stay tuned!!

If you know me and my family then you know that my oldest daughter, Kyan, has a birthday coming up real soon! And you would also know that she shares my love for everything Hello Kitty!!! So, can you guess what she chose for her birthday party this year?? You guessed it... Hello Kitty!!

But I decided it wasn't just going to be a HK themed kiddie party... nope, we're gonna have us a little hoity-toity, prim & proper, tea party... with a Hello Kitty twist of course!

Here are a few of  the party favors I am making!

Supplies Used

Hello Kitty Plushies

Favor Boxes Stack (DCWV) for gold patterned paper, box template. & bow template

Teresa Collins Cabbage Rose Embossing folder (Craftwell)

Cut'n'boss (Craftwell)

Metallic Gold Cardstock (Grafix)

Paper Doilies (Wilton)

Xyron Creative Station (with 9" & 5" permanent adhesive refills)

Xyron Mega Runner

Craft plastic (Grafix) or stencil film

Iridescent Shreds (Voila)

Diamond Glaze (Judikins)

Self Adhesive Rhinestones(optional)

To get started I used one of DCWV's new project stacks. These are awesome! And this sack in particular contains enough material; to make 100 projects!! EEeeek!!! 

For my project I used this fabulous popcorn box! But not to hold popcorn.

I'm going to use it as little dwelling for cute little kitties!!

Instead of cutting out my template, I'm going to trace my templates out onto craft plastic. This material is like a thick plastic film similar to stencil film. My stack contain several templates but I want to make sure I can use them over and over again with out the worry of them ripping or falling apart.

I layed the film directly over my template and traced over the lines with my blue Sharpie. 

Then I cut them out using my scissors.

I used my finished template and cut out my box.

I creased and folded my flaps and then used my Xyron Mega Runner to glue down the flaps.

I repeated the previous steps with my bow template on to gold cardstock.

I embossed my bow cut outs...

and folded a glued down the flaps using Diamond Glaze as my adhesive.

Next, I cut contrasting paper into 2"x12" strips.

I then ran those strips though my Xyron Creative Station using my 9"permanent adhesive refill.

I peeled and stuck the strips to my box, one side at a time and trimmed off the excess as I went around.

My doilies weren't so big so I switched out my cartridges. I took out my 9" permanent cartridge with my Xyron 5" a\permanent adhesive refill.

Then I quickly ran my doilies through.

Peeled the protective film off then adhered it to the front of my project

Then I glued my bow down using more Diamond Glaze. Wait for your adhesive to dry first before attempting to fill your boxes. For a filler I used  iridescent shreds at the bottom of the boxes before adding my plush doll.

Not the typical party favor... but way better!! At least I'd like to think so!!

Here are few close-up

left-hand side

 right hands side

And a TRIO of Kitties!!

I hope you enjoyed today project!! Stay tuned for more projects (for this party) real soon!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a super crafty day!!

~ Mitsy