StarLitStudio

jury duty & blog candy winners

I am indisposed for jury duty this week and wanted to get the winner's names posted asap -

Elaine Allen

Great gifts Cindy. Now why couldn't you have been around when my son was in school and I needed these - LOL!! I remember is was always so hard to try and find something nice for the teachers, but something that didn't kill the budget. These really fit the bill.

and

Lana

What a wonderful idea to have the option to ship to a friend!

I will contact you two ladies when I get back home - we're on lunch break and I'm #13.  Lucky or unlucky??  LOL!

Best wishes to everyone for a great week -

springtime teacher gifts & blog candy

These are the springtime gifts for my kids' teachers, the aides, school secretaries and the nurse.  Bath & Body Works had $1 shipping and I purchased a dozen of three styles of hand sanitizer - something every teacher needs, right?  Hope they like these - used October Afternoon papers, red velvet ribbon and Martha butterfly & border punches (from ellenhutson.com).

Blog candy time!   I have four (4) Basic Grey Koshi kits that need homes - these are complete and each kit creates eight cards; envelopes are included with the kit.  More kits means you increase your chances!

Here's the fun twist - there will be two winners - if you win you get one and I'll send the second kit to any address you give me - either select for two to be sent to you or one to you and one to a crafty friend.

Please leave a comment for this post, and we'll close it Saturday.  Best wishes for a wonderful weekend!

framed butterflies for Alice

My neighbor and friend Alice just celebrated a birthday, and this is the gift I created for her.  It celebrates Alice's love for butterflies, and uses a frame from my local framing store.  They have these in a big bin where one walks into the store, and most are reasonable in cost and beautiful for projects like this one.

Graphic 45 papers featured, along with vellum paper (Papertrey Ink) and May Arts ribbon.  All edges of the Graphic 45 papers were inked with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress inks.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

winged and blinged

Basic Grey's Sugar Rush 6x6 papers, their nifty Clips, and Glazed Brads were used with Lockhart Stamp Company's versatile Star Butterfly.

I stamped the Lockhart Star Butterfly onto a piece of ivory cardstock using Archival Jet Black ink, then punched out a portion of it using a Marvy scallop heart punch (it's the yellow one). 

The butterfly was stamped again onto two of the 6x6 Sugar Rush papers and trimmed, layering them on top of the scalloped heart punch.

Prior to adhering the scalloped heart/butterfly unit to the card front, add a Glazed Brad from the Sugar Rush line for the butterfly's head.

The card base consists of a 4-1/4" x 8-1/2" (unfolded) piece of ivory cardstock, and I added a few layers of the Sugar Rush papers: 

The center unit was created using Labels One, then a Nestabilities Circle die, and adhering over another, coordinating piece of Sugar Rush paper using a single layer of foam dimensionals.

Mini bling (A Muse) really dresses up this card!  The scalloped heart-butterfly unit was mounted with a double layer of foam dimensionals.

The Sugar Rush Clip added at the top can be removed by the recipient and recycled for household or office use - these are beautiful, fun and practical.  By keeping the card size 4-1/4" square, the clip increases the size but the unit can successfully be placed into a standard envelope for A2 cards.  Yay!

My trick for neatly adhering the clip is to adhere the 4-1/4" square piece of patterned love paper with foam dimensionals, so there is a nice space between the folded card base and that first cardstock layer.  

Finished card size - 4-1/4" (10.9cm) square, not including the clip.

butterfly birthday

This Memory Box Branch Heart image works well for a variety of occasions:  anniversaries and Valentine's Day come immediately to mind.

Card base and envelope are Memory Box Hyacinth.

Birthday sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

For today's project I used the heart image for a birthday card for my neighbor Alice.  Alice is a marathon runner and trains very hard; her son and my daughter are in 7th grade together and I adore her to pieces.  I created this card for her and used her love of butterflies for the theme.

Using Memento Rich Cocoa ink I stamped the branch heart onto white cardstock then die cut using Labels 8.  I quickly and none-too-neatly (for a natural look) colored around the heart image using Copic marker BV000, then punched a piece of vellum using Martha's butterfly punch.

The centers of the butterflies are Memory Box Cherry Red pearls.  I use binding rings to hold the bling cards together so I can locate them quickly in a drawer.

To get the vellum butterflies to pop I rolled up a mini glue dot into a ball. (This idea is from Jennifer at Hero Arts.)

To install the wire antennae, first poke a hole (I'm using Tim's piercer) above each butterfly and use a foam pad underneath.

Next, using a short length 20 gauge wire folded in half, insert the folded end through the pierced hole from the front, and push down until the desired length of wire is exposed.

Using tape I adhered each set of antennae from the back.  Scotch tape is not archival, so if you are doing something that needs archival products use an archival tape here.

Once this is done flip the cardstock over and using your fingertips adjust and splay the wire antennae as desired.

Card interior stamp is from Verses Rubber Stamps, additional butterflies are punched from Hyacinth cardstock. 

Alice loved this card!  Try using other elements other than butterflies, like bling flowers or flowers from your favorite flower punch.  I'll update in a few days and show you the framed collage I created for Alice to accompany this card.  Best wishes for a great week!