Cutting corners

I really love art, and live for my crafting. Unfortunately, I usually can't afford to just go out and purchase any ol' tool or craft embellishment at my whim. Necessity being the mother of invention, I often find ways to 'cut corners'. Here's my first post describing a couple ways I've found to cut those corners. Literally. Substituting design elements or embellishments may not look nearly as fancy as a professionally designed product, and often takes more time to accomplish. But, I think the time and intention put into a project is every bit as special as something that looks uber fancy or nearly store bought. This might sound like I'm trying to justify being 'cheap', but fact is, poor thrifty people like to craft too.

First, a disclaimer: When at all possible, please invest in the proper and safe tools recommended by the pros for the tasks you want to do. I am sharing what I use to accomplish certain tasks or crafting effects, and should you decide to use my examples, you do so at your own risk and assume any and all responsibility for your own actions.

That said, let's get started! I recently made a 'bookmark card', and had to figure out a way to temporarily attach the book mark to the card, without adhesives, and despite the fact I don't have photo corners to use on them.

(in the card tutorial, I cut right into the card itself.) But in this example, I cut out a contrasting base paper slightly smaller than one half of the card I'll glue it to. I then position the bookmark on it at a pleasing angle. Then I used a fine tip black pen to mark points on that paper. Imagine drawing a diagonal line across a corner of the bookmark, at least the size and depth a photo corner would be. Draw a little dot to mark the very edge of the bookmark, along that imaginary diagonal line.
I don't need to be exact or measure it, but I try to keep the dots in approximately the same depth and length on each corner. For extra stability, I also marked 2 dots on the left and right sides of the bookmark, to make small rounded tabs.

Click the pic to see an example of the dots.
I remove the bookmark,
and using a craft knife on a cutting mat or other surface safe for cutting, I make straight incisions from dot to diagonal dot, at all four corners. I should then have 4 slits that the corners of my bookmark will slide into. Next, I carefully cut a half circle incision, that points to the center, on both the right and left sides, using the dots I marked for these tabs. Please see the first photo for reference.
When I have all my incisions made, I gently separate each incision, and slide my bookmark into the slots.
Here's a hint: Substitute the word 'bookmark' for photo, card, or design element.


















This is another corner I cut: I do not have a proper paper distressing tool, though I have every intention of buying one as soon as I can. Until then, I use the sharp edge of my craft knife to distress/age the edges of my card stock.

I grasp my card stock firmly, at an upper corner, and carefully drag the sharp edge of my craft knife down the edge/side of the paper. It may take several passes to get the effect I want. I like making small scrapes, sometimes back and forth to rough up the fibers. This method isn't without it's challenges. If I press too hard, I could accidentally cut or tear the paper. But I've found this issue to usually make the paper look even more interesting. Tip: if my card stock is bending up or down, I am pressing too hard. I like to take my time and be safe.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial, and as I come across more ways to cut corners, you'll be the first I share them with.
Inspiration to you!

Tribal Leftovers

I've been working so hard to get my cards and various gifts made, that I'd been neglecting tutorials I've had in the works! While I am still nowhere near finished with my holiday rush, I just have to take time out to share what I've done with left over rubber from mounting rubber stamps. A couple months ago, I started buying my first Stampin' Up unmounted stamp sets on Ebay. The rush I got from assembling my own stamps was awesome! But my goodness, there was so much waste! I sat there, my cogs turning, wondering if there were other applications for these rubber 'leftovers'. And it came to me: I would cut them down to various sized blocks, and save them for later.

At first I had the idea of making my own tile background for stamping. I got out one of my huge wood stamps that I knew I'd never sell, and started fitting and mounting the leftovers together on the top of the stamp, to form a pleasing pattern. I then put it away until last week. A friend of mine decorates his home in 'tribal' design. So I went on the internet, and drew inspiration from some very lovely examples of African tribal art to make something unique for him. That's when the gears finally fell in place, and I had a use for the leftover rubber! Not only that, I found some very creative uses for other items in my crafting supplies.

As you see, I used a handful of supplies to make the stamped picture. I made a small rectangle stamp using a piece of the leftover rubber. I simply peeled it up off the large stamp I'd made, and stuck it to the 'top' edge of another wood stamp in my collection. For ink, I used Opaque Stazon in Cotton White, on the black paperboard background that came with this 16x20" frame. Working from the outside to the center, (stamping from top to bottom) I used a long ruler to butt the bottom of the stamp against to keep my patterns even, as I worked one stripe at a time, from top to bottom.

To make specific patterns for this tribal look, I used the 'I' and the 'O' letters of the Jive alphabet by Stamp Craft. You can see their respective patterns just under the 'I' stamp, and to the left of the 'O' stamp. I also used a stamp from the Stampin' Up set 'Artifacts'.







I then took a foam stamp I bought at Walmart many moons ago, and I cut it down to get abstract line patterns. (See the deep red, Oriental foam stamp? The round center stamp is what it looked like before I release the tribal patterns from it. You will see remnants of the actual foam stamp I cut up with a craft knife to the top, bottom, and very left if it. Notice the pattern right under the very left stamp for which it was used? Cool, huh?)



:::This is the final product! Isn't that just cool looking? I made a monogram in the middle to match my friend's name. For the overall pattern, I used 4 various sizes and shapes of leftover rubber, 2 quirky alphabet stamps, 1 cut up foam stamp I hadn't otherwise used in 4 years.

While I was making this, I also realized the design potential for this technique to be EASILY modified to look like tire tracks. I thought of it, because this also fits my friend, as he rides a motorcycle. See, wherever you take this technique, the point to this tutorial and a great tip is to think twice before you throw those scraps away!!

Before I go, I want to share with you another blog that I found to be absolutely fantastic, that has a tutorial similar to this one. While I stayed blocky, she took her leftover rubber to a whole new level. Please check it out for more ideas on what to do with those scraps!

ABC's of being Nauti, or, a tutorial on Alcohol Ink painting and tinting.

Materials Needed:
A computer
Printer with a black ink cartridge
A photo or graphic retouching program like Adobe Photoshop
A jpg or scan of a picture you want to use in this project.
1 piece high gloss photo paper
1 piece lightweight (flimsy) white vellum
Q-Tips
Adirondack/Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks, various colors of your liking.
A craft mat is useful (especially for larger photos or clutzy painters!)
A painter's palette with paint wells, or a small plastic measuring cup
for mixing alcohol inks (useful, but not necessary).


1) I decide on a picture I like. In a program such as Adobe Photoshop or any picture/photo processing program, I completely desaturate the photo, turning it into a black and white picture. I also lighten the contrast and increase the brightness slightly, as the lighter the printed picture, the more color you'll see after it's colored with alcohol inks. But if you go too light, you'll lose definition. (Please see the black and white picture of the nautilus in my photo album, to get an idea of the lightness.) Then I resize the photo to the desired size and resolution. (I use a resolution of 72 pixels per inch (web quality), and a pre-measured size suitable for the frame I'll be using).

For my projects I've been using Kodak Inkjet Photo Paper. But when using any brand, the higher the gloss, the better. On the printer settings, use the 'glossy paper' or 'transparency' setting located in your printer properties. Print one copy of the picture on the high gloss photo paper.

Next, I change the brightness setting in my printer properties to 'light'. This uses not only uses less ink and decreases smearing, but makes the next copy just a tad lighter, which is good for effect. Print your black and white picture on a piece of light translucent vellum.

(For the nautilus, I used a piece of white iridescent speckled 'Neutral Vellum' by Paperbilities. The flimsier and 'clearer', the better, as it will allow more color to come through. Colored vellum does not seem to work very well for this project, so I try to stick to the white vellum.)

Let both copies dry. Once they are dry, I apply Adirondack/Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks with a Q-tip to the photo paper copy only! I like using Q-tips for this because there is relatively little ink waste, they are effective, low-mess, no lint, cheap, and disposable once my project is finished. To make my own colors, hues and saturations, I use a 15ml (.5 Fluid Oz) measuring cup, add a little blending solution and drops of AI to suit my whim.

(the measuring cups I use are extremely handy with various crafts, and can be obtained from suppliers of DIY skin care products. Follow the link for an example:
http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/equipment/thumbnails.asp?category=EQDisp
You will also see other nifty things to have in your craft room, like pipettes, funnels or larger mixing/measuring cups.)

I 'paint' all areas I wish to show up colorful, and I do not worry about being precise or staying exactly in the lines. The vellum you will put on top later, diffuses light and because of this, is somewhat forgiving. Also, the more you go over any area with AI, the colors will layer and darken; so you want to remain mindful of the colors you layer together, that they will change hue and darken considerably.

Once you have 'painted' your photo, and the AI has dried, take your black and white vellum copy, and lay it on top of the photo copy. The copies should exactly match each other in picture and placement, once you line up the edges. To trim, I tack the edges of the 2 layers together with a small bit of tape, and carefully cut with a paper cutter (or scissors) to the final size of my project. (To place in a frame, use on a card, etc.)

I hope this helps! But if I was unclear on anything, or if anyone reading this should have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! Also, should you want to see pictures of the project I just described, refer to my previous post. Thank you!