WhoIsTracy? Blog

I've recently been in a few ATC swaps with some wonderful stampers who are members of the same stamping forums as I am. I've had such fun planning out my ATCs and creating them. And what a treat to get those swaps in the mail- it's such an inspiration to see everyone else's ideas and creations.

The only downside I've noticed is that I usually end up with one or two extra ATCs of my own. I keep one of my own before mailing mine off, and then usually end up getting another one back in the swap!

I wanted a nice way to showcase those duplicates. What better way than to turn it into the showpiece of your card front?

Here, I used my most recent ATC swap card. I took a piece of white cardstock and added a decorative scalloped edge to the bottom of the front. Then I pierced holes in each scallop with my paper piercer. It's nearly impossible to tell in this photo, but I sprayed some glimmer mist on the bottom of the inside of the card. I wanted to add a little interest to the underside of the scallops.



My ATC already had so much detail and color, I didn't want to detract from that with my card. I kept the rest of the card plain and just added a piece of Spring Moss twill ribbon from PTI. You can see some of the dimension in this photo. The bee is popped up on dimensionals. The flower also has a couple layers and is topped with a pearl dew drop. The other flower centers are accented with a dot of white liquid pearls.

Simple and fun, and a nice way to showcase any duplicate ATCs you may have laying around.

Lastly, I want to say thanks to the ever-sweet Mandy, owner of Limelight Papercrafts and Mary from My Little Corner of the Web for passing along the I love your blog award to me. Thank you both so much for thinking of me! I'm terrible at passing these along. I could never narrow down my choices. If you're looking for inspiring blogs, check out my sidebar under Favorites. I have dozens of crafty blogs listed there that I try to visit daily for inspiration.

Bee Happy ATC Card Recipe:
Cardstock: PTI white and spring moss; black from my stash
Stamps: PTI Honey Bees
Accessories: Spring Moss twill ribbon from PTI, pearl dew drops, white liquid pearls, paper piercer, scalloped scissors, pearl glimmer mist

I was inspired again by the wonderful sketches on the Hero Arts blog. Namely, the sketch from Friday. The card Shari posted with the circle cut-out and the tree just made me think fall.

This was the only tree stamp I could find in my stash, guess it's time to add more. I used a tiny leaf punch for the leaves and decided to make my tree a bit eclectic. Who doesn't love a crazy tree with lots of different colored leaves?!

Something you can't see in the photo is that I took one of the tiny leaf stamps that were in the Falling for You set and using Versamark stamped the leaf randomly over my patterned paper. It's a nice subtle touch that helps tie my theme in with the paper better.

I cut my circle out of my decorative paper using nestabilities. I wanted a little dimension to the card so I popped the decorative paper up on dimensionals. For a more autumnal feel I used a bit of raffia tied to my sentiment. The felt leaves were something I found at the dollar spot in Target last fall.

Give Thanks Recipe:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Gecko, Paper Accents white
Decorative Paper: Basic Grey Periphery
Stamps: My Favorite Things Falling for You
Accessories: nestabilities, leaf punch, corner rounder punch, raffia, felt leaves

I had to say goodbye to Chambery over the weekend. We hardly got to know each other, but I think it's better that way. Less chance for me to get attached!

I made this little card to accompany her on her trip. It's a 4.25" square card, something I don't usually make. I wanted to keep with the pink and black theme of the earrings, so I tossed in a little white for contrast.



And here's my little dear all packed up ready to go. She looks so grown up in her box, doesn't she??

I just wanted to say a word of thanks to those of you who have supported my Etsy shop. I never imagined anyone would actually be interested in my jewelry and other bits. And it warms my heart just to think of some of you out there walking around with my earrings on! Thank you, thank you, thank you! {hugs}

Au revoir Chambery, au revoir my friends.

Merci Recipe:
Cardstock: Black (from my stash, unknown manufacturer)
Stamps: Fiskars Thank You, PTI Birds of a Feather
Accessories: nestabilities, pink satin ribbon, white liquid pearls

I made this card for a challenge over at the Hero Arts blog last week. The challenge was to use any of the wonderful sketches they posted during the week. I liked Monday's sketch, so that was what I ran with.

I don't usually make scrappy styled cards, but as this one developed it seemed to direct me down that path. I started with that wonderful paper from the Inspire collection by Memory Box. I wanted to showcase that great flourish. And it just so happened that I had cardstock to match the color of the flourish.



The flourish on the paper made me think of that sweet bird stamp from Hero Arts. I seem to use her a lot these days. She's so happy, just singing her little tune. Love that!

After I assembled the card it still seemed to be missing something. I thought that I hadn't used my Primas in a long time. So I got them out and layered a couple together and then topped with a clear dew drop. I love those little dew drops for flower centers. I think that's about all I seem to use them for. But they're the perfect size for it, so it works.

Another detail you probably can't see from the photos is that I outlined the bird's song (the flourishes coming out of her beak) with a Sakura clear gelly roll pen for a little sparkle. And then to highlight the wonderful flourish on the decorative paper that was the inspiration for this card, I colored it in with my Copic Spica clear glitter pen.

Tweet Recipe:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Hazel
Decorative Paper: Inspire by Memory Box
Stamps: Hero Arts Sweet Bird & Manuscript Background; PTI Simple Alphabet
Accessories: Prima flowers, clear dew drop, pink satin ribbon, Copic Spica clear glitter pen, Sakura clear gelly roll pen

These earrings just scream girly and frills and frou-frou to me. What do you think??

This is Chambery. She's French, of course. And listed here in my Etsy shop if you want to take her home with you.

I love these pink Swarovski pearls. They're so much higher in quality than any of the other faux pearls I've seen. And they come in any color you could imagine. I think it's about time I ordered some more. Once the budget agrees with me, that is.

And those are black rhinestone rondelle accents in there. Not the usual white crystal I seem to use.

These earrings are tiny. Well, smaller than what I usually make. She's only three-quarters of an inch long. But super cute and full of sparkle and shine.

Thank you for all the kind comments on yesterday's tutorial. I'm glad you like it! Don't forget if you make one to come back here and give me the link. I'd love to see! Have a wonderful weekend- we have nothing fun planned but working on the garage. I hope to get some free time to create something, if I'm lucky.

My husband asked me the other day to make a card for a friend of ours. He came over last week and helped Mike replace a few boards of wood on our garage. So to thank him, hubby bought a gift card for his favorite coffee spot in town. My job- to make the card of course!

I knew I wanted something the giftcard would slide in and out of. But also something that had a flap like a card. So I just decided to make my own holder!

I whipped up a little tutorial for you all, in case you'd like to try your hand at making one, too. These would be great for holidays and birthdays.



First, you need to start with a sheet of cardstock that is cut to 8" by 10". With the short side at the top, score your cardstock at 2.25" and 5.75". Then, turn your cardstock so the long side is at the top and score at 5".



Next, with the short side at the top, you'll want to remove the two top side pieces. I just used my scissors for this and cut along my score marks. See the photo above if you're unsure which pieces to remove.

The top piece will be our card flap. The bottom section will be our giftcard holder.



Are you with me? Ok, good. Now, following the score lines you made in the first step, fold your giftcard holder. First the giftcard flaps, then the card flap. Be sure to press with your bone folder for crisp edges.



Grab a pen or pencil and your giftcard for this next step. Lay your giftcard down sideways on top of your holder. Mark with your pencil where the giftcard ends. Then, take your adhesive of choice (I like mono multi or double-sided tape) and apply the adhesive on the center section up to the line you made. Then fold your flaps over and press to secure.



Lastly, you'll want to take a circle punch to punch a half-circle into the end of the giftcard side so the giftcard will slide out more easily. And you're finished! When you insert your giftcard into the slot, it will automatically stop where your adhesive is. Now, just decorate your holder.



Onto the deets about my giftcard holder. I knew I needed it to be masculine, so no frilly paper, ribbons, etc. I like the combination of brown and green, which seems manly to me. So I went with that.

I embossed a small strip of white cardstock with my Script embossing folder. Then layered a piece of brown cardstock over that. Followed by a white square I cut out and embossed with my square nestabilities which holds my sentiment.



I finished the card off with three self-adhesive silver dots. Nothing too girly, right? On the inside of my card I adhered a white piece of cardstock for my husband to write his note on. That also helps to cover up the edges of the flaps that were folded over to hold the giftcard.

This fits into a standard 4-bar envelope, which are so easy to find. Not to mention just the right size for a little note!

If you make one, I'd love to see how it turns out. Be sure to come and post a comment with a link so I can check it out!

Gracias Giftcard Holder Recipe:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Gecko, Bazzill Basics Root Beer, Paper Accents white
Stamps: Fiskars Thank You
Accessories: Cuttlebug Script embossing folder, square nestabilities, self-adhesive metallic dots