Cartwheels In My Mind

Readers Digest Books Revisited :: A Weekend Challenge.

Happy Friday Everyone! We are getting ready for my parents to arrive this evening to spend the weekend with us...which means that this week went by at a little slower pace than usual. It seems like whenever we finally get company it makes each day seem like an entire week on it's own. But we're here now (and by HERE, I mean it's 5am and I'm way too excited to sleep!:D) and I thought it would be fun to do a little challenge for this weekend since we haven't had one for awhile.

First of all, let me just start by asking that you please pardon the quality of the images I'm sharing today. My Photoshop needs a little tune-up so I used my iPhone to capture and edit the images.  I think you can get the idea, though.

Ok, so onto the challenge...Do you remember when they used to have readers digest hardback books to buy? Yes? No? Yeah, me neither. :D Actually, I can't even guarantee that they don't still have them coming out to this day. All I know is that when I was moving into my house in Ohio 3 years ago, My mom and I were cleaning out some of the storage in the garage and came upon probably 50 or more of them. And I kept every single one. Let me tell you why: because whenever I find a good black & white/cream scrapbook paper I tend to buy like 10 sheets. Because nothing is more inspiring to me than a great color popping against a black and white accent print. I just love that almost any photo or embellishment can work with the right sheet. So tonight when I wanted to do a few quick cards to send out, I immediately thought of sharing different ways to use pages torn from the RD books. Best part? You can find an old book for no more than 25cents at any thrift store and you'll probably never run out in your lifetime since alot of them have hundreds of pages. I'm trying, though. I actually have three completed projects using them at the moment that I need to photograph and share very soon. But I digress...let's get on with what we came here to do today, shall we?

The challenge, essentially, is to use a page torn from a book on at least 2 different projects in 2 ways.

First up, I made this little owl card in less than 10 minutes using the RD page as the tree. I basically kind of let the first embellishments that caught my eye (the owl sticker {Hambly} and word bubble post-it {Kikkerland} guide me as far as where I took the design. The tree branch that the owl is perched on made a tree trunk the obvious direction to go, and the hot pink letters {Joann's} added a pop of color.

This next card is my favorite by far and took the longest (about 30 minutes total) but it is for my sister-in-law who is due with her forth child but found out for the first time the sex of the baby before her delivery. For this one I just cut the RD page into a square and let it be the backdrop for the nursery rhyme. I love that the typed words give the illusion of a much more complex project without taking away from the main embellishments.

(Caterpillar & Snail: Sassafrass; Blue Letter Stickers: Making Memories; & sticker: K&Co; Mushroom Rubons: Heidi Grace.)

For this next one I decided to try out the cream printed page against white cardstock for a subtle effect. Less subtly, I wanted to represent something really happy in an effort to show just how sorry I was...and the happiest thing I could think of was butterflies and flowers mixed together to make a new species that I invented called butterflowers. Not to be mistaken for a higher calorie version of cauliflower. ;)

(Butterflies: Hambly; Patterned Paper: Scenic Route) 

This last one is just a collage style card using the book paper for the balloon and random bits and pieces from my scrap container.

(Butterfly Stickers: Hambly; Blue/Green Contact paper: Vintage; Lined Blue Sticker: Studio Calico; Red Letter Sticker: Joanns)

That's all I've got for you today, my friends! All this card making has me in the mood for some serious scrapping...but alas I'll have to wait till next week because we've got company coming. Anyways, I really hope that you join me in the challenge this week. If you do, please make sure you share it in the Cartwheels Flickr Gallery so I can share it here on the site. I hope you all have as great of a weekend as I know mine is going to be! :)

xoxo, Cheryl

RANDOM CHERYL FACT: I am right now obsessed with the circus. I have never been to one in my life, but I just finished watching the 6-hour mini-series CIRCUS from PBS (on Netflix) and am in awe of the talent, work ethic and the gypsy lifestyle. Not to mention the costumes and bright colors. I am dying to do some circus inspired art!

Best Wishes:: Flower Embellishment

Once a month I go to a make-and-take night sponsored by a local Stampin' Up Demonstrator.  We usually make 3-4 cards and each time I am introduced to a new technique that I get to add to my bag of tricks.  Last month we made this card and I fell in love with the flower embellishment.  Before I left to go home that evening, I had purchased the punch so I could make more projects with the same cute flowers on them!

 

I am a very visual learner, so I took photos of each step and added the directions so you can follow along step by step. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added patterned paper, a punched border, and a stamped birthday greeting with embellishment to complete my card. 

I just love how the flower adds so much personality to each of these cards. I am already thinking up lots of other projects to use them on - scrapbook pages, gift wrapped packages, a garland, cupcake toppers...so many possibilities!

Random Fact About Me:  I have this crazy notion that things have to be organized in rainbow order.  My scrapbook paper is organized in rainbow order.  Supply bins in my classroom at school are organized in rainbow order.  My stamp pads are organized in rainbow order.  You gotta love ROY G BIV!!!





Card Inspiration :: You Make Me Happy When Skies Are Gray....

 

I live in Ohio where wintery skies are usually gray and depressing.  Along with the dreary gray skies, we have had way too much snow this winter (43.65 inches so far)!  While I love a little gray as a neutral color in fashion , design, and art, I needed a pop of color with that gray to cheer me up and brighten the winter blahs.  I chose some bright, cheery colors from my cardstock stash to create some cards using gray as the neutral color in each of them.

 

Yellow + Gray

 

 

Purple + Gray

 
 

Green + Gray
 
  

Pink + Gray

 

Turquoise + Gray

 

 

 

Red + Gray

 

Stamp sources :

owl - Hero Arts

tricycle, umbrella couple - Unity Stamps

camera - Close to My Heart

medallion, small flowers - Stampin' Up

 

 

25 Days of Christmas :: Photo Card Set.

Hi there, friends! I hope that all of you are doing better with the whole gift gathering thing than I am...because I'm running about 2 months behind schedule. And considering Christmas is just around the corner, I don't exactly have 2 months to make everything. 

Which brings me to this quick and easy gift idea :: the photo card.

Remember this photo that I shared a couple months ago?

Ok, so probably you don't remember it considering the number of photos that have been shared on this site in the past 6 months alone, but it's one of my favorites. It was one of those photos that I thought of and executed within about 5-10 minutes flat...my favorite. :) Anyways, I like to give my mom a few handmade cards each Christmas since she is so good about sending cards to people...and this photo seemed to be the perfect fit for the image on the cards.

To make the cards, I just printed the I LOVE YOU photo at 5x7 inches onto the right side of a piece of 8.5x11 cardstock and then cut it out and folded it at the exact edge of the photo.

Next, I just added 1 little pop-dotted flower/button sticker to each card along the word clothesline and then placed each card into a craft colored envelope.

And just like that, within 1 hour I had a set of 10 cards for her to send out this year. 

Easy right? And cheap...and not very time consuming. My kind of project. :)

25 Days of Christmas :: Guest Artist Tutorial :: The Tinted Mint.

Hello! This is Patty of Tinted Mint and I am super excited to share easy holiday DIY ideas with you. Tinted Mint my online shop featuring fabulous Japanese masking tape (washi tape), hand-selected Japanese paper goods, and my own line of handmade wares. 

Random fact: I will travel for food. :)

 

Recently I picked up laser cutting and find it a fun way to experiment with new products. One of my new handmade goods for the holidays are sets of laser-cut snowflakes in different prints. I designed these to be versatile embellishments that can be layered. I am all about customization. As a Product Designer, I love thinking in terms of components, easy ways for the consumer to put together elements themselves for a unique product. 

Since winter holidays are here, I would like to show some very simple ways to add a touch of your warmth and heart into gift presentation. First, let's see how we can use the laser-cut snowflakes.

SNOWFLAKE HOLIDAY CARD

This is so simple that the images are self-explanatory. However, you can make this card as fancy as you like by lining the inside with colored paper or blowing a bit of glitter onto the surface.

 

 

SNOWFLAKE GIFT BOX

It's okay, you don't have to cover each gift with wrapping paper. If you have the gift in a nice box already, all you need is a bit of extra embellishment.

 

 

THE IMPERFECT

Here is an untraditional approach to gift wrapping. Let's work with papers we already have, even though it may not be the perfect size for our product. Here's an example of using leftover scrap piece of wrapping paper. To start, it may look like a bad idea, but the end result is lovely. Spontaneity in this case is good.

 

 

 

 

FUNCTIONAL GIFT WRAP

Not often would we think to intentionally expose the gift itself. But in this example, it makes perfect sense. The gift: 2 note pads and 2 metal book markers. This is a great way to use the book markers as embellishments.

Some people think I'm crafty, but really I am not. I am the type that finds it difficult to follow recipes exactly, always skipping an ingredient or two or looking for some short cut. I love DIY and making things myself. I hope I inspired you to do some easy DIY also!

My laser-cut snowflakes and metal bookmarks will launch online next Monday 11/29. Stay tuned for awesome Thanksgiving deals this weekend at www.thetintedmint.com.

-Patty

 

One Stamp Set.....4 Variations

 
 

I love getting new crafting supplies!  I just can't wait to get them into my scrapbook room, tear open the package, and start playing!!  Recently I got a new stamp set called Aviary from Stampin Up and found an hour in my crazy, busy day to make 4 different cards using the stamps. (I apologize that the color is a little "off" in these photos.  That's what I get for taking pictures at night instead of using natural light.)

 

 
 

 
Source:  all stamps from Stampin' Up

Happy Creating !!