Paper Amour

Reminder!

Just wanted to put a little bug in your ear...

My October contest runs through the end of the month - which means time is running out to get your entry in.

See full details here... OCTOBER PAPER AMOUR CONTEST.

Hope to see your entry soon!

Spiceberry Card

Today I'm going to show you a card I made from the lovely Spiceberry paper pack.

Sometimes I want to build my card from patterned papers instead of working on a blank notecard... I begin by cutting three pieces from three different prints. The stripe is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2, the red print is 4 1/8 x 5 1/2 and the white poinsettia print started out as 1 x 5 1/2, then was punched with a border punch to give it the scalloped edge.

 

I adhered this scalloped strip behind the right edge of the red piece, then scored the left side 3/4" from the left edge.

 

Adhere the scored flap behind the strip print and you have a note card!

 

I added an ornament stamped from the 'Night Before' clear set. I stamped it, embossed it with gold detail powder, then punched it with a 1 1/4" circle punch... used a scrap of stripe print and a little wire to add the hanger and it's an ornament! It's mounted to the front of the card with foam tape to add dimension.

 

Next, I wanted to try something new. Clear Snap recently sent the Memory Box blog team some samples of their newest products, and in my box I had several colors of Smooch inks. I wanted to add some detail to the centers of the poinsettias on the red print, so I grabbed a bottle of Gold Lame Smooch. It's in a sweet little bottle that reminds me of a fingernail polish bottle, but the brush inside has an extra fine tip for detail work. Perfect to making teeny tiny little dots. They're difficult to photograph, but add so much to the card in real life. (If you click on any of the photos, you can see a much larger version of it and can enjoy the details better!)

 And there you have it. A quick, easy card made from Memory Box's perfectly coordinating prints - embellished and made even more beautiful with stamping and detailing.

I don't know about you, but this card makes me want to eat peppermint bark and hot chocolate by the fire!
 

Advent Calendar background card

I LOVE the new Advent Calendar clear set... the mixture of fonts and shapes is so fun - and the possibilities are endless with this fun set.

As I sat looking at it the other day, though, I was struck with this thought: "Why not use the whole set as a background?"

And so I did!

I started with some Opal Soiree cardstock and Brilliance Pearlescent Crimson ink. I just left all the stamps on their original backing and inked them on it. I figured this was WAY easier than removing and rearranging them all on a clear block!

Once the image had dried (always give your Brilliance images LOTS of time to dry) I cut out the image in a square.

I mounted the square on two mats in Sapp and Boysenberry and placed it all on a square card I made out of Silver Soiree cardstock.

I added a Snowflake Jewel to the '25' spot, adhered a thin wooden tree I'd embellished with Colorbox Sparkle Fibers (FUN!) to the front and tied on a ribbon.

What a fun card. It was quick and easy, but really has the feel of something special. I'm thinking it will be the perfect addition to a gift basket for someone special this Christmas.

Contest Time!

For the month of October, I'll be hosting a contest here on Paper Amour!

You have a whole month to put together an entry - so I'm hoping to get lots of participation.

And the prize? $100 in Memory Box products!!!

All you need to do to enter is create a scrapbook layout or a home decor item with one of Memory Box's new Halloween stamps.

Maybe you'll want to use the Shady Window stamp...

Or the Tendril Collage...

Or the Web Crawler stamp...

Whichever stamp you choose, (and there are lots of other great choices!) I can't wait to see you entries.

Once you've created your entry, upload it to an online gallery and post a link to your creation here in the comments. Or, email a jpg of your entry to customerservice@memoryboxco.com. Submissions must be received by 8:00 pm PST on October 31st.

Happy creating!!!

(The fine print: If you've won any $100 prize from a Memory Box blog in the past six months, you are not eligible for entry. If you've won a smaller prize, go for it! The more entries, the better! A winner will be chosen from all entries and posted here on Paper Amour on November 2nd.)

Reader Banner - Corina's "Spiceberry Noel"

I had to share this lovely banner made with Memory Box's Spiceberry paper pack. It was made by a reader, Corina, using my tutorial last week.

Isn't it just lovely? I love the big poinsettia "O" in her word.

I'm so glad she shared it with me - and agreed to let me share it with you!

Great job, Corina!

(If you're inspired to create something you've seen here be sure to let me know and link me to your creation - you might just find yourself featured on Paper Amour like Corina!)

Cattail Birds

I run into stampers all the time who are looking for masculine stamps to make cards that are appropriate for men. I think it's hard to find stamps that are fun to create with and aren't always full of stereotypical masculine motifs like hunting and fishing paraphanalia.

Cattail Birds is the perfect stamp for this.

While it doesn't have to be used for a 'man card', it certainly works in this application.

I got to see Dave recently when he was in Spokane teaching a class at a local store. While I was visiting, I saw a beautiful card the women in class had made using the Cattail Bird stamp. They painted the background in graduated colors of Twinkling H2Os, creating a soft, watercolor background for the stamp.

I loved the look of it and wondered if I could duplicate it with inks applied directly to paper.

So I pulled out some textured paper, some Brilliance inks and started playing.

First, I used Pearlescent Sky Blue and Platinum Planet. I applied the ink directly to a precut rectangle sized to fit the Cattail Bird stamp. I went with about 2/3 Blue and 1/3 Platinum, hoping this would give the appearance of snow and sky.

Then I stamped the Cattail Birds directly on top of the inked background with Graphite Black Brilliance.

I matted the image after all the inks had dried and applied it to a Memory Box notecard.

I love the softness of the background - especially where the two inks met and overlapped.

Next, I wanted to try the same technique with three colors.

I started with Coffee Bean on the bottom, then Crimson Copper in the middle and Pearlescent Rust on the top.

I let more of the creamy background of the textured paper show through on this one. These colors didn't blend as well as the first two - but it sure inspired me to try lots of different color combinations to find my favorites!

Graphite Black for the stamp again, and some coordinating mats... another card - done!

I love how quick and versatile this technique is. And how great these cards will work for men or women.

If you don't have Cattail Birds, I can't recommend it enough. What a perfect stamp for really quick and beautiful cards!

Coming soon...

You might just want to be sure you've got some Memory Box Halloween stamps in your stash...

And if you don't, get yourself to a store where you can pick one up.

Because starting on October 1st - you'll have a chance to win a nice big Memory Box prize here on Paper Amour if you make something with one of our newest Halloween stamps...

I'm just sayin'.

Dewfrost Banner

Using the same dimensions I used for the Twilight Boo Banner, I made a banner out of Dewfrost papers... I substituted white felt for the second print, giving the banner a fluffy, snowy feel.

(as always, click on a photo to make it larger)

I used Biscotti Water for the circles and backed them with another layer of felt.

I'm so happy with how it turned out. It's soft and sweet and glittery, just like snow. Originally I thought I would use the word 'snow' on the banner, but ended up going with 'joy' instead because I like odd numbers for banners.

I'm on a banner kick... I think I'll try Spiceberry next! Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

Embellished Boo Banner

Here's my banner made with the Twilight paper pack all embellished and ready to decorate my fireplace. I added Daffodils Pearls along the top of each pennant piece, glittered some chipboard letters for the "BOO" and hung it all together with some black brads and ribbons on the end.

I love it!

 Aren't those spiders creepy? I found them at Pier One with all their halloween decor. I just had to buy them!

 I'm going to make a "SNOW" banner next using the Dewfrost paper pack. Watch for it soon!

Twilight Boo Banner

I love making banners. I always have one hanging on my fireplace, regardless of the season. I have banners that say "HOME" and "SPRING" and "SNOW"... so I thought it would be fun to make a banner for Halloween using the wonderful Twilight paper pack - and this one would say "BOO". I began with the paper. I pulled one of each of the ten prints out and laid them out in a pattern I liked. When I make a banner, I like to have one pennant for each letter and then a blank one on either end to balance it out - so for the "BOO" banner, I needed a total of five pennants. Perfect - because the 6 x 6 paper packs come with ten different prints and I needed two prints for each pennant!

(click on any photo to make it larger)

To create the classic pennant shape, I took each of the five top papers and cut a one inch strip off one end. Then, from the remaining piece, I measured and marked the center (2.5") of one of the five inch sides. Then I drew lines from that mark to the corners on the other five inch side. This diagram probably explains it better than I can with words...

 

I cut all five of the 'top' pieces this way...

 

and set aside the 1" strips for later.

Next, I wanted to mat each triangle with some vintage dictionary paper. I get my old dictionaries at garage sales - but I've seen them often at thrift stores too. If you don't have one, pick one up! Their pages are SO fun to add to projects.

 

To create the mat, I adhered each pennant to it's own page,

 

then trimmed around it, leaving an even mat on both diagonal edges. I left about an inch of dictionary page at the top of each triangle - this will give me something to adhere the top border pieces to later.

 

Next,I wanted to work with my 1" strips set aside from before. These will serve as the border pieces at the top of each pennant.

I began by adhering each strip to a dictionary page, leaving space between them to trim. I got out my trusty scalloped scissors and cut a scalloped edge along the bottom of each strip.

 

After trimming the scalloped side, I got my straight edged scissors and trimmed the other three sides even with the straight edges of the 1" strips.

 

Ahh, that's better!

Now it's time to put all the elements together.

First, I adhered each matted pennant to it's coordinating print. Making sure to adhere the sides and point well (I run a solid line of tape runner here - skimping on adhesive will make your banner less 'solid' and you may have edges coming up) I adhered each pennant so it's tip was centered on the bottom edge of the 6 x 6 square. 

Then, I adhered the 1" strip of my choice to the top of the pennant piece, making sure the scallops overlap the top edge of the 6" square I just added. (Again, be sure you're generous with your adhesive here. I run a solid line along both long edges just to be sure the strip is well adhered.)

 

I used straight edge scissors to trim off the excess dictionary page from the top edge and my scalloped edged scissors to trim the diagonal sides...

 

ending up with pennant pieces that looked like this!

 Come back in a couple of days to see how I embellished and finished the banner!