Vintage Birthday Card

Hi Everyone!

I've been working on birthday cards lately, not only for myself, but for friends and there's a few "Sassy Seniors" with birthdays this month. I decided to work on a very vintage birthday card with some sparkle and flare.

The flower is three coaster-size doilies. I made the flower by spraying them with "Sassy Shimmer Spritz" (aka homemade glimmer mist). You can also use just plain water for the crinkle effect, but the soft coloring and shimmer is so pretty. After you spray your flowers and they are rather damp, take each one and wad it up in a little ball. Before they dry, unravel them. Take a quick-dry wet mount or glue dot and layer them one on top of each other. While the doilies are still a little damp, start pulling the center of the doilies up so that you have a little "finger" in the middle. Start to crunch up the edges of the doilies to give them a ruffle look. Then take a scissors and cut the little finger out of the middle until it's flat enough to adhere some bling or a button to. If you're still wanting more shimmer, re-spray the flower before adding your center. You can use flat-backed pearls, smaller flowers, rhinestones...you're only limited by your imagination.

For the other elements on the card, I used a border punch to punch both sides of the brown strip of paper. For the pleated ribbon, I used my glue runner on the back to help hold the folds. I began folding and used small glue dots on the front of the ribbon to hold the folds in place where it needed it. I just used my glue runner to attach the ribbon to my card. You could also run the ribbon through your Xyron sticker maker too.

Sassy Shimmer Spritz Recipe:

I filled a 4 oz. spray bottle up 3/4 of the way with water. To that I added two drops of white acrylic paint, three drops of pearl acrylic paint, and about a half teaspoon of pearl Pearl Ex pigment powder. (There's a great sale on a set of Pearl Ex at Overstock.com) If you don't like it that shimmery, just add less Pearl Ex. If you can never have too much shimmer, add a little at a time until you get the desired effect. This mixture will give you a shimmer mist similiar to the Tattered Angels Marshmallow Glimmer Mist.

You can also use bottles of stamp pad re-inker mixed with water, pearl paint, and/or Pearl Ex. The mixture I sprayed the doilies with on my project, using a Ranger mini mister, I filled it 3/4 of the way with water, 2 drops of CTMH Chocolate re-inker, and bronze Pearl Ex. For the Pearl Ex, I used the blade of my Xacto knife kinda like a spoon and put two small blade-fulls in the container. It really looked fantastic on the doilies and was a warmer, richer shimmer.

Thanks for stopping by, and until next time, have a Sassy Scrappy Day!

The iRock Rocks!

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to share some information about a product I played with today. It's the iRock by Imaginisce. It's been in stores for a while and I've been on the fence about taking the plunge...

I can glue my rhinestones on my projects. Do I really need another tool? Well, the answer for me is yes! It's a lot quicker to heat set rhinestones than it is to use a quick dry glue or other wet mount.

My tale of woe...

I put a dab of glue on my project and one of two things happen. I either drop the rhinestone upside down on the glue and goop it all up (making it no longer blingy) or I put a larger dab than I need and I have the "glue halo" surrounding my gem. Both of these irk me to no end.

iRock, my hero...

No goopy glue to drop my rhinestone in, no "glue halo" because the rhinestones have the exact amount of adhesive already applied. I simply put the rhinestone where I wanted it, pressed the button on the tool, touched it to the rhinestone, and in seconds I had a perfectly placed gem. It was really awesome and totally blew me away. I'm looking forward to making designs (like the Prima bling) on my projects for a lot less money. You also have the "rhinestone function" in the Make the Cut software for Cricut that turns any shape into a rhinestone design as well as rhinestone templates from Silhouette. Visions of glittering borders and flourishes are dancing in my head;)

(Note: The flower was also "Sassy Shimmer Spritzed.")

Any drawbacks you ask? Well, maybe one. The gems under the iRock/Imaginisce brand are a little pricey, but there's an alternative. You can use ANY heat set gemstone with the iRock. I hopped over to ebay and found 20 gross of rhinestones (144 x 20 = a big honking bunch) for only $8.99 with free shipping. I'm up to my ears in rhinestones of 10 different colors. I used the clear, aurora borealis, and red on my two test subjects. There's also quite a few rhinestones stuck in various places in my scraproom. I kept thinking...hmmm, will it stick to that? Yep, it did. What about there? Cool, there too. Even fabric, if you're wondering. All in all, I had a great experience with this product. I'll be doing a few demos at my crop on February 5th, 10:00-6:00, Messiah Church in Prattville, AL if you'd like to see the iRock in action.

For my next installment, I'll be sharing the recipe for "Sassy Shimmer Spritz" (aka homemade Glimmer Mist) so be sure to check back soon. Not only is it budget-friendly, but it'll add that extra touch of sass to your projects.

Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

A Quick Shout-out!

Hello Ladies!

I'll have another project idea ready to post tomorrow, but I wanted to take this opportunity to say hello again to all the fantastic Sassy Scrappers I met today at the Gigantic Flea Market in Prattville. Joan (aka Mom) and I enjoyed meeting and chatting with each of you and can't wait to see everyone on February 5th at our card class and/or crop.

Today was the perfect example of why I love scrapbooking so much. We all got into it for different reasons and at different times in our lives, spread all over the U.S. How great is it that our hobby can bring us all together to learn, laugh, and share the moments of our lives that are so important to us. We are all truly blessed!

Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

New Year, Fresh Start!

Okay, I'll admit it. I failed miserably with my 12 card ideas of Christmas. I did finish all the projects, just didn't get everything up on the blog in time. I think I forgot how hectic the holidays are. I love Christmas. It's one of my favorite holidays, but whew, I'm glad when it's over; but I always miss the decorations. The house goes back to looking so bland and boring after having all the glittery knick-knacks and twinkling lights everywhere.


Now it's time for some hot cocoa (sugar free for my diet) and making Valentine's Day cards. Nothing says "I Love You" like a handmade card or gift. Here are a few ideas for spreading "a little love," 3x3 cards that are small enough to tuck into a lunchbox or briefcase. It doesn't matter if you've told the special people in your life that you love them a thousand times a day. They never tire of hearing it and it's always a good idea to put it in writing every once in a while:)

These five little cards where made from one piece of 8.5x11 kraft cardstock and scraps. I had a few bits and pieces laying on my desk and decided to put them to good use instead of filing them in the scrap bucket. They were all easy and quick to make.

The "Big Love" card was just a CTMH stamp heat embossed in bright red, add an ecru ribbon and it's finished.

"Love You" is one of those $1 clear stamps from the bins at local craft stores. I picked it up a few years ago somewhere. I heat embossed with CTMH Cocoa embossing powder, used a heart punch and a scalloped border punch, add a piece of ivory ribbon. How easy is that?

"Pink Heart" is a chipboard heart that I ran through my Cuttlebug in the Script embossing folder (one of my Christmas presents). I then painted it a pale pink and sprayed it with Glimmer Mist in Rose Tea. Using one of those $1 bin stamps again, I stamped it in CTMH Cocoa ink and used a circle punch to cut it out and attached it with a pop dot. Add ribbon and Prima flower and you're on to the next.

"Rosette" card was a little more time consuming. I scored a 1x12 inch strip of paper every 1/4 inch and accordian folded it, attached the two ends, and flattened it out to make the rosette. I heat embossed a heart on the center circle and glued it all together with quick dry adhesive. A wet mount works best. I stamped "Be Mine" on the bottom in CTMH Cranberry ink. Four down, one to go.

"Red Heart" card was REALLY EASY. I used my Cricut to cut out a scalloped heart, ran it through my Cuttlebug with a damask embossing folder, and stapled it to my card. Yep, you don't even need glue for this one! I stamped "I love you" in CTMH Chocolate ink. Done!

Five mini cards and it probably took me about two hours total, which sounds like a long time. But when you factor in that I designed the cards, made the mini envelopes, lost some of the scraps in the mess on my craft table, and spent 45 minutes looking for my Valentines stamps because I didn't remember where I stored them, it really didn't take that long;)

Hope you've been inspired to share a "little love." Until next time, Scrap Sassy!