Baby Wipe Plaid

This is a simple technique to make a one-of-a-kind background for a card.  It can be messy.

You will need
Glossy Card stock
2 baby wipes - any brand
3 colors of ink refills
Paper towels and rubber gloves if you don't want ink stained hands.

I am using Basic Gray with two retired colors of Not Quite Navy and More Mustard. 

Cut a piece of glossy paper a little larger than what you need for your final project.  You will trim it down to the deisred size after it has dried.

 

Stack the two baby wipes and fold into thirds in one direction. Then turn it and fold up in thirds the other direction.

You will have a small thick rectangle piece that will be your applicator for the ink.

Hold the baby wipes applicator in one hand and add drops of ink in a pattern - 1-2-3-1-2-3.  I added the Not Quite Navy first.



 

Then added the More Mustard next to the first drops. Just one good drop at each position is all you need. You want a little white space between them.

 

 

And lastly the Basic Gray.   Now you are ready to apply the ink to the glossy paper. 

 

 

Place the applicator with the inked edge touching one edge of the glossy paper.  Drag it down to the other edge.  Try to make the line as straight as possible, however none of mine were very straight.  That is what makes it unique.

 

 

 

That makes the first set of stripes.   You can see from the photo that my first stripe on the right (gray) did not get on the glossy paper and the yellow stripe towards the left did not cover very well.  You can go over it if you want but you will be dragging more ink across the area later so it is not necessary to touch it up now.

 

Flip the applicator so the colors are in the opposite orders now and overlap the far right color on the applicator to the far left stripe on the paper.  If you mess up and don't get them lined up in the order you planned - don't sweat it - the design is pretty forgiving,

 

Repeat until you have covered the glossy paper with top to bottom strokes.

You may want to re-ink your applicator at this time.  Be sure to put the new drops of ink in the same order and in the same location on the applicator edge.

 

Turn the glossy paper at right angle to the original layout and drag the applicator down at right angles to the original stripes - making the plaid design.  Continue flipping the applicator between each swipe until you have covered the whole area.

 

 

 

 

In order to use up more of the ink on the applicator I continued making plaid designs without reinking.  I was able to get four pieces inked before discarding my baby wipes.

 

Trim the plaid piece to fit your design.  This is a good time to get rid of uneven or uninked edges.   Use in your card making to add an interesting focal point to your card front.

 













Baby Shower Favors- sour cream containers and using blender pens with watercolor crayons

Baby Shower Favors- 
Sour cream container favors decorated using the watercolor crayons and blender pens.

12 x 12 Whisper White card stock
Baby Tees Stampin Wheel
3/8 inch taffetta ribbon - I used So Saffron
Watercolor crayons
Blender pens

I stamped rows of the baby tees on the 12 x 12 paper.  It was easy using the ink cartridge and Basic Gray ink refill.  I also used the guide that Stampin Up sells for the wheels.  I have not used the ink cartridge and guide before but they sure made the task much easier.  I did still mess up on a couple rows but not pressing evening and getting some gaps in the design.  I turned the paper over and tried again.   I did a lot of these so I have several sheets left to use as pages in a scrapbook.   I can also sut and use them on card front and I love cutting out the individual onesie to use on a card front or as a gift tag.  So if your rows are not perfect, don't throw them away - cut out any good tees and use them as accents.
I placed the design so there was an inch from the edge and 2 inches between.  The design is 2 inches wide so I placed the guide for my bottom row at 3 inches, the middle row at 7 inches and the top row at 11 inches.  (Love the grid paper - it really helps).

I cut the paper into 4 inch strips and then cut those in half at the 6 inch mark.   Then I started coloring with the So Saffron. My granddaughter's nursery is in yellow and gray so that is the color theme for our shower.   I colored with the crayon to just get it on the paper.  You don't have to be real particular since the blender pen with help smooth it out.  Noticed the 'scribbling' here.

I took a blender pen and went over the area.  So much easier then trying to get it smooth looking with the crayon.   To clean  your blender pen between colors just scribble on some scrap paper until the color is all gone.  The tip may be stained a little but that is okay.  A friend makes sure she uses one tip for reds/pinks, another for yellows, another for blues, another for greens, another for purples, etc.  I am not organized but a helpful hint is  - before using a blender pen scribble on some scrap paper to make sure the previous user cleaned the pen when finished. 

Another way to use the blender pen and crayon is to take the tip of the pen and pick up a little color from the crayon - just rub them gently together.

Then color in the design.  This works really well for small areas like the little heart on the elephant's trunk.  Once the design is all colored as you want, you can start constructing the sour cream container.

This particular one is one of the rows that did not stamp well and I re-stamped on the reverse side so there are uncolored tees on this - you can also see in the lower left corner where I scribbled to clean my blender pen :-)   This is the inside of the container so it will not be seen until the recipient opens it for her treat - but hopefully she will love the chocolate so much she won't care :-)   Place a strip of Sticky Strip along the edge you want to overlap on top of the other.    I also curled the paper a little. If you are using Designer Series Paper, that is probably not necessary but card stock is stiffer and harder to curve into the tube shape.    Remove the red protective strip and roll the card stock up overlapping the sticky strip adhesive on the opposite edge of the card stock.  This will make a tube like a toilet paper roll.

Here is the roll.    You then pinch the bottom edge together and make creases along the side edge.  This is ONLY DONE TO THE BOTTOM at this time.  I tried to make the folds hit right next to the seam so when I did the top the seam was in the middle of the back.   

Add a short piece of Sticky Strip along one side of the bottom inside the roll.   Remove protective plastic and pinch the bottom firmly together.

This is the bottom closed - now you need those little ridges like the sour cream containers have.  This also helps secure the bottom.

Using my crimper, I insert the bottom and roll un about 3/4 inch.  If you don't go far enough the first time - put it back in and try again.  If you go too far - oh well, nobody's perfect :-) It will still make a cute favor.

Pinch the top edge together at a right angle to the bottom.   DO NOT ADD STICKY STRIP  but crimp it in the crimper. (I use a ribbon to tie mine together but you could fill at this point and then use Sticky Strip to seal it closed - exactly like the sour cream containers.  I just like the bow on them and then the recipient does not have to tear it open.)

Using a Crop-a-dile, make two holes near the center of the top edge. 

Run a ribbon through the holes with the ends toward the front.  The seam in the paper roll should be along the back side.

Fill with sweets or a small surprise and tie a bow to close it.    These are so easy and quick.  I made 36 of them in a couple hours even with all the coloring I did.  It would be even faster if you used a decorative Designer Series Paper.

Gift card and Envelope

The new diagonal scoring plate makes it so easy to make matching or coordinating envelopes for your cards.   My favorite is a 3 inch gift card with a coordinating envelope made from DSP.

 I know the sentiment is turned sideways - I like doing that sometimes but it really messes with some people. 
You will need a 5 inch square of the DSP to make the envelope.  This card is made using Wisteria Wonder (3 inch square and 2 1/2 inch square) and Whisper White (2 3/4 inch square and some scraps)  The envelope is the Wisteria Wonder DSP.

Using the 5 inch square of DSP and the diagonal scoring plate for the Simply Scored,  Score at 2 1/4 inches on all 4 sides.

 Fold on the score lines and trim out the little triangles along the sides where the score lines cross.  This is optional but it definitely makes the envelope lay nicer when that is done.

 Bring two opposite sides together.  I used a little snail adhesive on the tip to hold them.  Be careful not to get adhesive anywhere that would seal the envelope shut.

 I use sticky strip on the bottom flap - put whatever adhesive you are using only where the paper overlaps or you will seal the envelope and then it is useless.

 I round the flap using the corner round punch.  I think that makes it look more professional. 

You can also put something on the back to anchor the flap like I did on this one.  The butterfly circle is adhered with a dimensional on the very bottom edge and the flap its nicely under the top of the circle to hold it in place. 
The stamp used on this card and envelope is Kindness Matters.   The colors are Pool Party and Crumb Cake.

Graduation Hat Card

Graduation Hat Card



Materials -

Basic Black Card Stock - 4 1/4 x 9 3/4

Real Red Grosgrain ribbon, 1/4 inch wide - 8 inches (Can also use embroidery floss)

Whisper White Card Stock - 4 x 5 1/4,  2 3/4 inch square

Real Red card stock - 3 inch square

Brad

Supplies -

Paper Trimmer and Scorere

Paper piercer and mat

Stamp sets (I used Teeny Tiny Wishes and Heard from the Heart)

1/16 inch circle hole punch



Score the black rectangle at 5 1/2 inches.

 Fold on score line.  Slide under the paper scorer ruler with the fold at 2 1/8 inches.

 Make small score marks along each edge of the card stock - DO NOT SCORE ACROSS THE CARD STOCK.  These marks are just to 'measure' for work you will do later. Flip the card stock over, keeping the fold at the 2 1/8 inch mark and score small marks on this side as well.

 Open the card stock and place the narrow edge of the shorter section under the ruler and score a small mark at 2 1/8 inches.

 Line up the top mark on one side and the bottom edge on the other side and score to connect those two points.

 Repeat with the other side.

 This should give you an X that crosses at the 5 1/2 inch fold line.

 Line up the top mark on one side with the center mark on the narrow edge and trim away the corner.  Repeat with the other side.

 You card stock should look like this, with a point at the top (Sorry I cut the point off in this photo but you can see it below).

 When all folded you the 'hat' should lay over the base but not completely to the bottom edge of the base.

 Take the white rectangle and using a pencil mark one short edge at center (2 inches) .  Mark 2 inches down both sides.

 Line up the side mark with the center mark and trip the corner.  Repeat for the other corner.
If you would like to make a slit to insert a gift card or cash, go down to the bottom of the blog to see how.

 This will lay inside the bottom of the card.  Stamp your sentiment along the bottom, then adhere inside the card.

Take the grosgrain ribbon and fold in half.  Tie a knot close to the fold.   You want to leave a little tab to attach it to the hat.

 Trim along the very edge of one tail of the ribbon.  Cut of the trim near the knot.

 Unravel the fibers but pulling them away from the untrimmed side.  Do a few at a time or they may get 'frizzy'.

 When you have pulled all the fibers you will have this 'skeleton' left.  Trim that off near the know.

 Repeat with the other tail - and you have your tassel.   You may need to smooth it out some.  If it is full of static, dampen it a little with your fingers or rub it with a used dryer sheet.

 Lay the tassel tab at the approximate center of the hat section. Pierce through the tassel and hat.  You may need to take the piercing tool and twist it around in the tassel only to get a hole big enough to get the brad through.

 Attach the tassel with the brad. 

 Layer the white square on the red square and put inside the hat to cover the bottom of the brad. Decorate as desired.

 Here is the card closed.   It does not stay closed but does work in an envelope.  I you would like to make a slit to insert a gift card or cash - follow these steps before attaching the lower inside white piece.

 Make a centered slit in the white card stock.  I used the metric side of the ruler and cut between 23 and 29.

 Using the 1/16 inch hole punch, make a hole at each end of the slit.

 When adhering this to the inside of the card put adhesive only around the edges of the card stock below the slit.  DO NOT PUT ADHESIVE UNDER THE SLIT OF THE CENTER OF THE CARD STOCK.   I put adhesive above the slit just to keep it anchored.

And there you have it!  Thanks to Brenda for suggesting that and showing me the hole punch trick.

The card can be customized to school colors - you don't have to make it black and red :-)