PKS Sketch Challenge #45

The "Best Friend" card is my interpretation of the sketch below. To see all the challenge entries just click on PKS.

Featured Peachy Keen Stamp

PK-401 Patty Cake Jr.

Paper Dimensions

Bright Olive Green Card – 6” X 12” (Folded to 6” Square)

(A) Dark Olive Green Mat – 5 ¾” Square

(B) Green & White Polka Dot from Stampin’ Up! Apple Cider DS Paper – 5 ½” Square

(C) Bright Olive Green Strip - 1 ¼” X 5 ½”

(D) White Strip – 2 1/2” X 5 ½” (Before punched edges.)

(E) Bright Olive Green Strip - 2 ¼”  X 5 ½”

(F) White Cardstock – 8 ½” X 11”

(G) Dark Olive Green – 3 7/8” Circle

(H) Hot Press Watercolor paper - 3” X 4”

Ink

Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Distress Inks:

Skin: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy and Rusty Hinge

Cheeks: Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick

Dress & Bow: Peeled Paint, Forest Moss and Walnut Stain

Tools

Waterbrush

Martha Stewart Floral Lace Edge Punch

PhotoShop Elements 9

Cricut

Lace Circles SVG Die Cut File (Laina Lamb – Two Peas in a Bucket)

Shamrock Border SVG Die Cut File (Images by Heather M)

Card Construction

Step 1 – Stamp the gingerbread girl image onto watercolor paper with black Versafine ink.  Add color using the waterbrush and Distress Inks. Cut out around the image leaving a small border. Set aside.

Step 2 – Sew B to A and attach to the Card Front.

Step 1 - Sewing the layers and attaching to the card front.

Step 3 – Print out your greeting on an 8 ½” X 11” piece of white cardstock. Before printing on the cardstock, test on copy paper to make sure that the text placement is correct for cutting with Cricut.

Step 4– Place the printed cardstock on the Cricut mat and cut the scallop circle.

Step 4 - Placement of printed text.

Step 5 – Sew the scallop circle to the dark green circle. Center and attach to the card front.

Step 5 - Attaching the scallop circle to the card front.

Gypsy Tip – I tack the circle to the back of the scallop circle with double sided tape to hold both pieces in place while sewing. Do not stitch through the adhesive because it will gum up your needle.

Step 6 – Cut the Shamrock Border from the dark olive green cardstock using Cricut.

Step 7 – Punch along the top and bottom edges of the white strip using the Martha Stewart Floral Lace punch.

Step 8 – Stitch along top and bottom edges of strip E.

Step 9 – Stack pieces C, D and E. Stitch together along top and bottom edges of strip C.

Step 10 - Attach the Shamrock Border to the stitched strips. 

Detail of the layered Sharmrock border strip.

Step 11 - Attach the layered shamrock border over the scallop circle on the card front.

Step 11 - Adding the border strip.

Step 12 – Attach the gingerbread girl to the card front with Pop Dots. Attach a ribbon and button to the gingerbread girl.

Finished Card

Well, that’s my entry for this weeks PKS Sketch Challenge. It was a fun one and I hope you enjoy my card. I have yet another card that I am trying to finish up for the Hero Arts Challenge this week. Once it is posted I will post some details about how I place my text on the cardstock to be cut out accurately using my Cricut. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed your stay! – Jane, the Polka Dot Gypsy

Dimensional Flower Technique

 

This technique for making dimensional flowers for cards and scrapbook pages is one that I learned a while back and have used quite often because it is so simple to do. One of my original resources for this technique is Making Flowers with a Scallop Circle Punch video by Julie Allain.

  

 

As promised, here is a tutorial on how I made the flower for my “Simply Handmade” card.

Dimensional Scalloped Flower Technique

Step 1 - To make the flower, punch a scallop circle from yellow cardstock using any scallop circle punch or die. Scallops must be an even number. The small scallop circle was punched from cardstock using a Stampin’ Up Scallop Circle punch and the larger scallop circle was cut with a Nestabilities die.



Step 1 - Cut a cardstock flower



Step 2 - Swipe Vintage Photo Distress Ink across a craft mat and spritz with water to form drops of color. Tap the flower onto the ink droplets and dry with a heat tool. Repeat until your flower has the distress look that you are happy with. I like to ink both sides of the scallop circle. I also alternate tapping the flower and swiping it through the ink.



Step 2 - Distressing the flowers

Step 3 - Cut a slit between every two scallops as shown in the picture. The length of the cut is about ½” depending on the size of your scallop circle.




Step 3 - Cutting slits to create petals



Step 4 - Place the flower right side down on a padded surface, such as a mouse pad or fun foam. Use an embossing tool to emboss each petal so that they puff up on the right side.

Step 4 - Embossing petals

Step 5 - Flip the embossed flower over and emboss the center of the flower, forming a circle. As you emboss, the petals will pop up from the center.



Step 5 - Emboss center of flower to pop up petals



Step 6 - To complete your flower, attach an embellishment, such as a button, to the center.

 

Step 6 - Add button embellishment to center



Gypsy Tips

Buttons - I added color to the unfinished wood button with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

Sales - Think outside the box when shopping. I purchased this raffia ribbon at an after Christmas sale for 90% off. I had no intention of wrapping any Christmas presents with it. It was going right into my scrappin’ stash!

Crafting Tricks from the Past - Here’s an old crafting trick I learned years ago. To thread ribbon or embroidery floss through a small hole, use a dental floss threader. These threaders can be found in the dental department of most any discount store, pharmacy or grocery store.

Here is how I used the Floss Threader to feed ribbon through the holes of the button with ease.

Insert the ribbon through the loop of the threader. Working from the top of the button, insert the tail of the threader through one of the holes of the button. Pull the ribbon through the hole to the back of the button.

 

Pulling ribbon front to back of button

 

Repeat the process, pulling the ribbon to the front of the button from the back. Tie the ribbon and you are ready to attach the button to the center of your flower.



Pulling ribbon back to front of button

 

Tissue Paper - The center of the larger flower was too big for the size of button that I used. So I cut a smaller scallop circle from tissue paper and used the Polka Dot embossing folder to emboss polka dots onto the tissue paper. 

Detail of the embossed tissue scallop circle

I squished up the center to give it a little dimension and glued the tissue scallop circle to the center of the scallop flower.

Glue scallop circle to center of flower

I attach the button to the center with a Pop Dot.



Detail of the small and large flower with tissue



I hope you enjoy making these flowers. They are very easy to make and a lot of fun to do. Don't forget to take a look at Julie's video. Have a great day! Jane - the Polka Dot Gypsy

PKS Sketch Challenge 44 With A Twist

Just wanted to make this quick post featuring my challenge card for the Tuesday PKS Sketch Challenge 44. The challenge is to create a card or layout based on the sketch below using a monochromatic color scheme.

For the text on my card I really wanted to use, “Snow, snow go away!!!” But the little snowperson looked so peaceful that I decided that “Snow Dreamzz!” was a much better fit. At least he’s enjoying all of this snow!

Here is the list of supplies and tools including brief instructions on how I created the “Snow Dreamzzz!” card.

Stamp

PK-303 Tubular Star Snowman from Peachy Keen Stamps

Ink

Jet Black Stazon

Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans, Tattered Rose and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks

Tools

Nestabities Scallop Circle

Martha Stewart Heart Chain Punch

Sizzix Powdered Sugar Embossing Folder

Cuttlebug Swiss Dots and Polka Dots Embossing Folders

Stampin’ Up! Word Window Punch

1/8” Hole Punch

Embellishments

Black Gems

White Organdy Ribbon

Cardstock Dimensions

Black Card – 11” X 5 ½” folded to 5 ½” Square

(A) Dark Turquoise Mat – 5 3/8” Square

(B) Medium Turquoise Design Panel – 5 ¼” Square

(C) Black Vertical Strip  – 3 ¾” X 5 ¼”

(D) Light Turquoise Embossed Panel – 3 ½” X 5 ¼”

(E) Black Horizontal Strip  – 1 ¾” X 5 ¼”

(F) White Horizontal Strip – 1 ½” X 5 ¼”

(G) Black Scallop Circle – 3 5/8”

(H) Light Turquoise Text Strip – Text Printed on 4” X 6” Cardstock

(I) Black Text Strip Mat – Scrap

Card Construction

Step 1 – Stamp image onto watercolor paper with Stazon ink and add color using Distress Inks. Set aside to dry.

Step 2 – Attach the Medium Turquoise Design Panel (B) to the Dark Turquoise Mat (A) and attach to the Card Front. Set aside.

Step 3 – Emboss the Light Turquoise Panel (D) with the Sizzix Powdered Sugar embossing folder. Attach the embossed panel (D) to the Black Vertical Strip (C) and attach to the Medium Turquoise Design Panel (B). Set Aside.

Step 4 – Emboss the White Horizontal Strip (F) with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. Punch a Heart Chain border along the top edge of strip (F) using the Martha Stewart Heart Chain Punch. Attach to the Black Horizontal Strip (E). Set Aside.

Step 5 – Using your computer and printer, print out the text, “Snow DreamZZZ” on a 4” X 6” piece of light turquoise cardstock. Center the text in the window of the Word Window punch and punch out the text. Attach this text piece to a scrap piece of black cardstock and cut away the excess black leaving a small border around the light turquoise punched piece. Punch a 1/8” hole at each end of the text piece and feed the ends of the ribbon up through each hole, making a knot at the end. Attach the ribbon tails on the back of the black and white strip unit. I placed a couple of Pop Dots under the text panel to lift it off the page.

Step 6 – Cut a Scallop Circle from black cardstock and emboss with the Cuttlebug Polka Dots embossing folder. Attach to the front of the card with Pop Dots or Dimensionals.

Step 7 – Cut out the stamped, watercolor image and add embellishments as desired. Use Pop dots or Dimensionals to attach to the Scallop Circle.

I hope you have been inspired to make a “Snow Dreamzzz!” card of your own.

Don’t forget to visit Peachy Keen Stamps at:

http://peachykeenstampschallenge.blogspot.com/2011/01/peachy-keen-stamps-sketch-challenge-44.html .

There you can view all the other cards submitted for the PKS Tuesday Sketch Challenge. It’s a great way to spend a snowy afternoon.

I’m still working on the post for making the flower from the “Simply Handmade” card from last week. It’s almost completed and will be posted soon. Until then, have a great week! – Jane, the Polka Dot Gypsy