Birthday Card

Boy, this counterfeit kit is lasting FOREVER!!  I haven't kept up with the counterfeit kit challenge since I just can't seem to get all the way through this one kit.  Oh well.  There's too much going on in life right now to do much scrapping or blogging.  Unfortunately.

Anyway, here's a Birthday Card I made for my mom (um, back in March, she adds sheepishly).  Using, of course, this kit.

I stamped & embossed the lady's image on manilla cardstock with superfine embossing powder in black by ranger.  Then I cut out the image and adhered it to the card base with pop dots.  Isn't she just great?!?  I love her attitude!!  I used the distress-it-all on the edges of the red flowered paper.  And this is my first attempt sewing on a card/layout.  Really love this look.  I'm sure I'll do more of it in the future.  

UPDATE -- Thinking of You

I saw my daughter's teacher from 1st grade the other day, and she is doing better.  They were able to remove all of the tumor without much damage to the surrounding tissue and are confident they got it all out.  She is done with Chemo, so now her hair can grow back, and they are starting radiation.  Guess all our prayers were heard!!  Hopefully she will be back at school in September when my youngest starts Kindergarten : )

Thinking of You

I just found out that my daughter's 1st grade teacher (now she's in 7th grade) has breast cancer.  So I made this card for her from my Scraps of Darkness Counterfeit Kit:

I also used a cut-down envelope to make a pocket in the interior, so I could include a recent photo of my daughter and a place for her to write her former teacher a quick note (on the back of the sheet with the photo):

And of course I had to add my home-made stamp on the back (in case that wasn't obvious):

Some close-ups:

 

I sincerely hope she makes a quick and complete recovery.  She'll be in our family's thoughts and prayers.

Welcome to the Blog Hop for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge

Welcome to the next stop on the Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop.  The challenge for this blog hop was to create a layout using this Scraps of Darkness sketch:

This sketch really got my creative juices flowing!  I absolutely love it.  But, alas, my counterfeit kit has no pink, and very little white paper.  I must admit that threw me for a loop for a couple of days, until I realized that I could substitute the following colors:

White in Sketch = Black in my Layout

Black in Sketch = White in my Layout

Pink in Sketch = Red in my Layout

Once I figured that out, I came up with the following layout:

...using only supplies from my counterfeit kit (...almost).  I even got to use the clock mask I created!  What fun.  

The only thing not originally in my kit was white opal liquid pearls and some ink & embossing powders I used.  But I don't count those since they are tools, right?!?  : )

Supplies Used:

Distress-it-All (on photos)

Matte Accents

ATG Gun

Versamark

Maya Road Maya Resist

The Paper Company Black Cardstock

Red Harlequin Paper (very old -- I forget the manufacturer)

Martha Stewart Double Arches Large Punch Around the Page Punch

Tattered Angels Chalkboard Charcoal Mist

Ranger Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder

Ranger Superfine Detail Black Embossing Powder

Stampendous White Embossing Powder

Ranger White Opal Liquid Pearls

Colorbox White Pigment Ink

Pentel Sunburst White Gel Pen

Tim Holtz 'Love' Acrylic Stamp

Inkadinkado Acrylic Flourish Stamp

Inkadinkado Acrylic '&' Stamp

Stampin' Up!  'Love Definition' Wood Block Rubber Stamp

Hero Arts 'Collage Take Time' Wood Block Rubber Stamp

DCWV Immortal Love Glitter Chipboard Letters (you)

Recollections Mini Roses

American Crafts White Ribbon Rose

Recollections 'Cherish' Adhesive Metal Embellishment
Misc: Black Lace & Snippet of Red Ribon

Another Freebie: I actually edited my clock cut file that I posted earlier and cut it out of acrylic with my Cricut Expression.  I used the Graphix acrylic sheets, but I just found out that my LSS sells the same kind of acrylic in individual sheets for less (about sixty cents per sheet).   Here's what the mask I used in this layout looks like:

You can download the SVG Clock File and the SCUT Clock File here.

Homemade Mask Tips & Tricks:

• I found that the larger and more detailed masks (like this clock) worked better when cut from acrylic than from vinyl.
• Acetate masks work just like the masks sold by Prima and Tattered Angels.
• When cutting acetate with the cricut, I used the deep cut blade, set on 6, maximum pressure, at the slowest speed.
• I found I really needed a very sticky/new mat to cut these acetate sheets, or it would shift and ruin the cut.
• I also found, the smaller, chunkier masks (like the small Eiffel Tower in my last post) work perfectly in vinyl.
• You can use the smaller (and less intricate) vinyl masks over & over.
• Before cutting the vinyl, I brayer it after it is applied to the mat.  This decreases the number of 'bubbles' in the vinyl and ensures a clean cut.
• I use a regular blade when cutting vinyl, with the blade set on 3, medium pressure and medium speed.  I have found this gives me the perfect kiss cut without areas that are left uncut.  However, if you have settings that work for you, go for it!
• Depending upon the type of vinyl you use (I used oracal 651 -- but you could use cricut or silhouette vinyl), you may need to press the adhesive side of the cut against your shirt or hand a few times to de-sticky it a bit.  While I never had any problems with paper ripping when I used wall pops for masks (they used to sell wall pops at Lowes), I'm having some issues with the ones I made for this challenge with the oracal vinyl.  I guess the adhesive is a bit more 'industrial' on the oracal vinyl.  Using this method to de-sticky them really helps and prevents your paper from ripping at all.  
• For the larger and more intricate designs cut from vinyl, I had to use transfer tape to apply them to the paper, and since I didn't have any luck removing them from the paper with the transfer tape, I had to ruin the mask when I took it off the paper.  That is why I ended up cutting the clock from acetate.

Well, I hope these tidbits inspire you to try to create your own masks.  They are really fun.  And, despite the lengthy instructions (sorry), they are pretty easy to make.

Here are some close-up photos of my counterfeit kit sketch challenge layout:

I didn't bother to adhere the die-cut edges since doing so is tricky and I really like the dimension they add.

I just LOVE Ranger liquid platinum embossing powder!!

I used Matte Accents to adhere the chipboard letters.  I really like the way it doesn't show, even

if you are a little messy in your application (like me) and some seeps out the sides.

I stamped the ampersand in white opal liquid pearls.

I had fun adding dots with the liquid pearls.  Okay, I went a little crazy with the dots.

And the Pentex White Gel Pen just glides on.

I hid my journalling on the back of this tag.  

Journalling Says: Okay, I’m really not trying to look sexy here.  This picture was taken the night before I left my childhood home in California for Peace Corps.  It’s hard to believe that was 27 years ago already.  God, I was so young.  I was really sad to be leaving my cat, Noel, for what I knew would be at least two years.  Thus, the pouty face.  As it turned out, this was the last time I ever saw Noel.  While I was overseas, someone took Noel from my grandparent’s yard.  Or so my grandfather insisted.  And I choose to believe that version of events.  It is very believable.  Noel was such a sweet kitty.  He was a big lover.  He would approach anyone and plop down, expecting to be petted.  He was rarely disappointed.   He really behaved more like a dog than a cat.  I loved him so much.

My mom and I found him in Balboa Park during Christmas when I was a junior in College.  We fell in love immediately.  After confirming that he was a stray with staff at the Prado (who fed him milk), we took him home and named him Noel.

I had a lot of trouble getting just that thin edge of black along the top of this topnote shape until

I used the Maya Resist.  Then I diluted the white opal liquid pearls and painted it on.

It worked like a charm!  Also, I love to distress the edges of my photos with the 

Distress-it-All.  It adds just a bit of texture.

Thanks, everybody, for visiting my blog.  I must be the slowest scrapper in the WORLD, so this is the only project I've made so far with my counterfeit kit.  It was a lot of fun, though, and this is the first 12" x 12" layout I've done in AGES!!  So thanks for the inspiration.

The next stop on the Blog Hop is Deb's Eclectic Thoughts.  She has some wonderful tutorials for making your own embellies, so check her blog out!  You won't be disappointed.

Freebies!!!

Hey, who doesn't love freebies?!?

As promised, I'm sharing the links for the masks I cut from vinyl:

I cut these from vinyl scraps I had from another project.  They were created/imported on Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) and cut with my Cricut Expression. The heart flourishes were made with the shapes that come with SCAL.  Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the original cut file.  However, I made another that is very similar.  I might even like it better.  To download the SCUT or SVG file for this image, click on the link below:

Heart Flourish SCUT

Heart Flourish SVG

For those folks who don't have a cricut or other die cut machine, here is a link to a heart that would be pretty easy to cut out of vinyl (or cardstock) with just a craft knife.  Download it for free in a variety of file formats using the link below:

Red Maori Heart Clip Art at Clker.com

I also created the clock on SCAL.  I made it really big (about 11" diameter) because I already have a couple clock masks in a smaller sizes.  But I thought this would be really useful for 12 x 12 layouts.  Of course, it can be resized.  I wouldn't try this one too small, though, because there is a lot of detail in this cut.  Here is a link to download the SCUT and SVG files:

Vintage Clock SCUT

Vintage Clock SVG

I can't take credit for the Eiffel Tower SVG.  I downloaded that (for free) at My Cricut Scrapbooking.  Here's the link:

Eiffel Tower SVG at My Cricut Scrapbooking

The hot air balloons were from the Vehicular Font.  It is free at FFonts.  I used the blackout feature (in SCAL) for the more detailed hot air balloon, and I used the shadow rounded feature (in SCAL) with the less detailed balloon to make it more chunky and easier to use as a mask.  Because this is a font, you could even type this in Word and cut it out of cardstock with a craft knife.  Here is the link to download the free font:

Vehicular Font at FFonts

Finally, I got the frame from Darian's Frames at Fontspace.  Some of these frames are too detailed to cut at 4" or less, so I went with a simpler frame.  Again, because this is a font, you could even type some of the simpler designs in Word and cut them out of cardstock with a craft knife.  Here is the link to download the free font:

Darrian's Frames at Fontspace

Okay, so you ask, what if I don't have vinyl?  Well....you could even cut some of the simpler shapes out of thin clear plastic packaging scraps.  Or even plain old cardstock (as long as you don't mind your masks being disposable).  I really like these clear sheets you can get at Michael's:

Generally, I don't like to cut acrylic on my cricut unless it has a film attached, since adhesive 'boogers' tend to stick to the acrylic and mar it's perfect transparency.  With a LOT of elbow grease these will eventually come off with a good dose of goo gone followed by a good cleaning with warm water and then windex.  However, since these will only be used as masks, the 'adhesive boogers' aren't really much of an issue in this situation.

If you don't have an electronic die cutter, you could print the simpler designs on cardstock and cut them out with a craft knife or scissors that can cut fine detail.  Of course, these masks would only be good for a few uses.  If desired, you could try laminating the cardstock before cutting it (assuming you have every craft gadget known to man, like me).  Some wetness would seep around the edges of the design, but you could get a few more uses out of it.  If you want to go the extra step, you could even use the the cardstock as a template for cutting vinyl or acrylic sheets.  Vinyl cuts beautifully with a craft knife, without too much pressure needed.  So you don't tend to get hand cramps like you do making stencils or templates out of acrylic sheets.  Just remember to use a kiss cut -- where you cut all the way through the vinyl, but not through the paper backing material.  That will make it much easier to separate the image from the background (known as weeding), and easier to remove, replace and store the image on the backing material.

Soooooooooooooo.... I hope this post gave you some ideas for creating your own masks.  I really like to create my own masks because I can cut just what I want in exactly the size I want it -- even a couple sizes of the same image if I like.  Also, I prefer vinyl masks to many of the non-adhesive masks on the market.  They give a really clean, detailed image.  And for simpler designs, you can even use the negative image as a mask.  I didn't do that with any of my examples above, but I may show how this can be done in a future post.

Tomorrow I will try to post a tutorial for making and using home-made masks.  Until then, happy scrappin'...

More Counterfeit Kit Pics

Thanks for the comments.  Who knew blogging could be so much fun?!?

As promised, here are some close-ups of my kit:

And I just couldn't help myself.  I had so many things I wanted to add to this kit, well... here's my extra bonus add-on kit:

And I thought these would go with the kit as well:

While I was at it, I pulled some stamps I thought would go nicely with the kit, so I don't have to search for them later:

Well that's it for now.  Later today I'll post the links/tutorial for the masks.  Thanks for the comments.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge

I just love the idea behind the Counterfeit Kit Challenge.  Every month the moderators choose a kit from a popular kit club for inspiration and challenge bloggers to create a 'counterfeit kit' from scrapping goodies in their stash.  Absolute GENIUS!!  Now I might actually make a dent in the 11+ years of accumulated scrapping goodness that occupies a good chunk of the second floor of my home.

I'm really excited about this month's challenge kit from Scraps of Darkness.  It is called 'The Telltale Heart' and has a wonderfully gothic feel to it.  Poe is my husband's favorite author.  When we lived back East, we used to visit Poe's grave every year on his birthday.  There is a big party for him and revelers leave pennies on his grave.  So how could I not LOVE this kit?!? (Valentine pun intended, unfortunately)

However, my take on the kit reflects a more bohemian feel.  Hubby and I watched the movie 'Moulin Rouge' the night before last.  When pulling elements of the kit together, I was struck by the kit's parisian influences and how well the the bohemian values of truth, beauty and -- above all -- LOVE could be incorporated into this kit.  So, without further ado, here's my counterfeit kit:

And here is a better look at all those yummy papers:

My center page may not be Echo Park, but I just love it.  Theresa Collins is fabulous.  Also, I kinda missed the window of opportunity for creating a lot of Valentine's projects with this kit, so a general theme is better for my purposes.

The original kit has an add-on patterned paper pack.  So I had to have one too!

...And a cardstock add-on pack, of course:

My center cardstock is a coordinations whitewash paper.  Love those.  Can't wait to do some sanding.

The kit also has an add-on (romance) embellishment kit, so here's my version:

... And a color add-on.  See what I threw together:

I'm going to try to make some homemade Glimmer Glaze (or is it Glam?  I can never keep those two straight) with the glitter.  Instructions are on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog.  Looks super cool.

Also in this add-on kit are some prima masks.  Here's what the prima masks look like:

I made similar masks with my cricut, SCAL and free fonts or vector graphics I found online.  Then I cut them out of vinyl.  Here's how they turned out so far:

I added a mask of the heart flourish I created in SCAL.  Fun.  I love vinyl.

Oh, I have so much more, but it is getting late (or early), so I better go to bed and get some sleep.  I'll post some close-ups of my kit tomorrow, as well as a 'bonus' add-on I put together, and links to make the masks shown above.

Thanks for reading my very first blog post EVER.