Saturday, August 25, 2012

Changing It Up

You may have wondered, as you clicked on my blog link, if you had the right address.  It does definitely look different around here.  First of all, I designed a new blog header using MDS2,  My Digital Studio 2.  What a lot of fun I had, experimenting with the new program!  It is very easy to use, and no mess to clean up afterward.  You can choose background papers, text, stamps, embellishments like brads and ribbons. and punches!  What do you think?  You've got to try it, too, and the 31% off some digital products continues until September 14!  So you still have time to order it, download it and play with a project, then have it printed, all with the discounts.  31% off printing applies to cards, tags, photo books, and individual pages!

Here's my first project:


I also wanted to change the name of my blog, since I haven't been sharing any of my plays, but using this blog specifically for my cardmaking and paper crafting, so I changed the name to "Playing with Papercrafting" from "Plays and Papercrafting".  The URL is the same though, so you won't need to change that.  I will start another blog to share my drama scripts in a while.

Lastly, I needed to change the template to one that matched the header.  So, a brand new look for the fall. And now that that is accomplished, I can start a new enterprise:  Posting Tutorial Videos.  Look for my first one soon.

And I wanted to share a card with a new background technique that I will be using at my September Technique Classes.  The background technique is called "Frosted Filters" and a good photo tutorial can be found here,  at Splitcoast Stampers site.


The card base is Early Espresso card stock and the next panel is made by dropping some drops of about 3 different re-inkers randomly on a plate, spritzing them with some water and dropping in a coffee filter to soak the colours up.  (Here I used Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, and Tangerine Tango because,well, those were the only re-inkers I had!  I just got two new sets, though, yesterday and will have some lighter choices for my Technique stampers.)  I dried the filter with the low setting on the fabulous new Stampin' Up heat tool and then wrapped it around some Whisper White card stock and adhered it, after adding some More Mustard Scallop Dots Ribbon. 

I used the Gently Falling two-step stamp set on some Naturals White card stock, die cut using the Labels Collection Framelits.  I used Crumb Cake ink for the solid background stamp and Soft Suede for the outline stamp on top.  The sentiment was created using the Curly Cute stamp set in Early Espresso ink. The next sized Labels Framelit was really too big for the card, so to create a matte for the Naturals White panel, I just cut out an Early Espresso version of the same-sized framelit. I then cut it in half horizontally and then adhered it to the stamped panel so just a small border was visible on the top and bottom.  The sentiment covered any area that had no border, because of the cut.
Some Rhinestone Basic Jewels added the finishing touch.

Here's another version of that technique:


Before I leave you, I will just remind you that there are only a few days left in August to take advantage of the special Spooktacular offer from Stampin' Up for those who are ready to join the Stampin' Up family.

Won't you leave me a note to tell me what you think of all the new changes?  Your feedback means a lot to me.
 
Stamps: Gently Falling (w123802; c123804); Curly Cute (w117014; c120510)
Paper: Early Espresso (119686), Whisper White (100730); Naturals White (102316) card stock; ordinary coffee filters
Inks:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Early Espresso (126974), Crumb Cake (126975) and Soft Suede (126978); Classic Stampin' Ink Refills in Cherry Cobbler (119778), Old Olive (100531), and Tangerine Tango (111841)
Accessories:  Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246); 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon in More Mustard (124140)
Tools:  Labels Collection Framelits (125598)
Gently Falling
Curly Cute
More Mustard Scallop Dot Ribbon
Stampin' Up Heat Tool



7 comments :

  1. I like the changes for your header, though I miss how vibrant the old one was. This one feels plainer or maybe cleaner is the proper term. I did notice that your content is wider now, I have to move my screen to read the info on your right hand margin. That probably isn't important though as the main body of your text is all there. On a more encouraging note, I love your cards. It amazes me how creative you are, though I guess that shouldn't surprise me, knowing you!

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    1. Thanks for your feedback, Eunice. I'm kind of missing the colour as well, but this was the only template I could find that would match my header. Good to know about the width. I think I can fix that!

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    2. Guess what, Eunice? When I checked again, I found I could add some colour to the page background! I'm glad your comment got me looking. I like it much better now. I chose a more neutral shade so that it wouldn't interfere with the various colours of the cards I post. Thanks again!

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    3. Glad to have been an encouragement. I like the changes you have made. Your cards 'pop' now.

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  2. heather.....ummmmmm all i can say is that you are an amazing person and that amazement comes out in all that you do!!
    your site is creative and mostly inspiring, i believe i will find you on the stage sooner than you think for many many goals and talents you possess and share. thank you for being my inspiration.

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    1. Holly, you are such an encourager! Thank you so much.

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  3. I definitely did a double take when I got here today. Looks great Heather!

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I love to read your comments and get to know you better! Thanks for adding one!