the creative closet by cindy lawrence

Another Video Tutorial!

Happy Friday, friends!

I know...can you believe I made another video already?!  I figure practice makes perfect; so here I am again. :)

This week's Flourishes Friday Focus is By the Sea.  We were to try to incorporate the "feel" of the sea in our projects.  I chose the Waterlilies stamp set, and tried a fun technique for giving the water a slight ripple effect.  Check out the video tutorial for all the details.  I made a few improvements in my video-taking skills...still need to work on quality; but I'm getting there.  I'd love to know what you think if you have a minute.

Here is the finished sample:

Stamps:  Waterlilies

Papers:  Classic White, Basic Black

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Marker Collections - Poppy, Spring Greens, Water, Daffodil, C07 Copic Marker (to color pearls at top of card)

Accessories:  Black Satin Stitch Ribbon, Black Lace, White Pearls, Ticket Corner Punch

If you'd like to play along with this week's Flourishes Focus, stop by the Flourishes Newsletter for complete details.

Now, hop on over to see what the rest of the design team has created:

• Christine Okken
• Faith Hofrichter
• Latisha Yoast
• Laura Fredrickson
• Leslie Miller
• Sharon Doolittle
• Stacy Morgan

Have a fantastic Friday, everyone!  Let's just hope that the never-ending rain doesn't put a "damper" on tonight's fireworks display.  We shall see...

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans...and a belated happy Canada Day to our nothern neighbors! :)

Hugs~
C 

Copic Coloring Tutorial

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Today I have something fun to share with you...a Copic coloring tutorial!  Would you believe it's a video tutorial???  It's my very first one; so please be gentle. :)

The card above is the finished sample.  I used Flourishes Nasturtiums stamp set.  The gorgeous ribbon and crocheted lace are also from Flourishes.  You have got to check out the ribbons at Flourishes!!!  They are the most fabulous ribbons I have ever used...especially the silks!  Yum-O!

I also used a couple of Flourishes new Copic Collections to do my coloring, Tiger Lily & Evergreen.  Those collections make shading your images a SNAP!

 

Here's the recipe for my card:

Stamps:  Nasturtiums

Papers:  Classic White, Always Artichoke, Porcelain Designer Paper

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tiger Lily Copic Marker Collection, Evergreen Copic Marker Collection, Daffodil Copic Marker Collection (flower centers)

Accessories:  Copper Finishing Touches Heart Pin and Brads, Ticket Corner Punch, Ivory Crocheted Lace, Moss/Olive Silk Ribbon, Sewing Machine, Dimensionals

Okay, here's the video for ya:

Thanks for watching! 

Check out the Flourishes Newsletter, as well as Julie's, Latisha's, and Stacy's blogs for more Copic coloring fun!

Have a great day!

Hugs~
C

Pun Fun Class

OMGosh!  Why have I not played with this stamp set before now?!  These images are so adorable, and so much fun to watercolor!  I hope it doesn't retire this year...I wanna play with it a whole lot more! :)

I did a class with it on Saturday, and everyone LOVED their cards!!!  I kept the layouts all very similar, and chose to do square cards for all.  If you scroll down below this post, you will see all of the cards up close & personal.

It has really bothered me that we don't sell any square envies to fit a 4-1/4" card!  Am I the only one who is obsessed with making these small square cards???  Anyway, I decided to try cutting one of my regular envelopes down & using DSP for the flap....VOILA!  It not only works great; but they are so darned cute too!



Here's how you make the envies:

Cut a medium envelope down so that it is square...I believe it's 4-3/8". 

Next, glue the flap down.  I use SNAIL because I hate licking envelopes!









Next, I used the 1-1/4" Circle punch to punch a half-circle in the top of the envelope.  This makes it easy to pull a card out.  You want to be sure to only punch the side with the seam in it.












Next, I scored a 4-3/8" x 3" piece of dsp at 1" (on the 3" side).  Be careful not to cut your dsp...gentle, gentle, gentle...yes, that's personal experience talking!

Attach the 1" section of the dsp to the envelope using SNAIL.

I used the Tag Corner Punch to angle the corners of my dsp.  You could use a corner rounder or whatever makes you happy. :)

I added some Greeting Glue across the top of the inside of the flap.  This glue is retired from SU; but I'm willing to bet you can get it in a craft store.  You just swipe it on & let it dry.  It then works just like the glue on the envelopes you buy in the store...cool, huh?!












Here's the front side of the finished envelope.

Aren't they neat?!  I usually just give clear envelopes with my small square cards; but this is so much more fun!

Have a very happy Tuesday everyone!

Blessings~
C

How to Dye a Ribbon Slide

Well, I've talked about how to dye a Ribbon Slide before, but never actually shown you how.  So, today I have a tutorial for you.

If you look at yesterday's post, you'll see that the Ribbon Slide in the middle of the flower is dyed blue (Soft Sky actually).

Here's how it's done:

Pour a small puddle of Crystal Effects into a plastic container.  I use the lids of the Stampin' Store containers.  Then add a couple of drops of Classic Re-Inker in the color of your choice.  In the photo I have shown Soft Sky & Groovy Guava.  Use a toothpick to mix the Crystal Effects & Re-Inker together.  Then use the toothpick to drop the lovely colored lacquer into the recessed area of the Ribbon Slide.  Set it aside & let it dry for about 10 t0 15 minutes.  That's it!  You can even dye those fabulous designer brads from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware kit in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  In fact, I'll bet there are other "dyeables" out there...just use your imagination!  Have fun with this, and let me know how it goes!

Star Box

Happy Friday Stamping Friends!

I am having so much fun preparing these posts for the week while I'm recovering from surgery!  I am so thankful to Lynn for explaining how to do that! :)

Here is another one of our Winter Demo Class projects.  I just loved making these!  They are so much easier than you would think!  I have made them in a few different designs.  You can also easily adjust the height of the box by adjusting the cardstock length.  Your box will be one inch shorter than the height of the cardstock.  For example, this box is 6-1/2" tall, one inch shorter than the 7-1/2" piece of Teal cardstock.  Make sense?  Hope so!  Sometimes I swear I know how to speak Greek!

Below is the tutorial for the box.  Enjoy! :)

Supplies:

Paper cutter with scoring blade
Cardstock –
7 ½" x 10 ½”  Taken with Teal
2” x 10 ½” Whisper White
Scraps of Teal & White for top & bottom
Designer Series Paper
3” x 10 ½” Bali Breeze
White Taffeta Ribbon
Pencil for marking
SNAIL Adhesive
Sticky Strip

Instructions:

1. Score Taken with Teal cardstock 1” from one long edge.
2. Adhere Bali Breeze DSP along score line on Taken w/Teal cardstock.
3. With DSP facing down, score Teal cardstock at 1”, 3”, 5”, 7” & 9”.
4. Flip cardstock over (not side to side) & score at 2”, 4”, 6”, 8” & 10”.
5. Adhere White Taffeta Ribbon along top edge of DSP using Sticky Strip.Cut the ten 1” squares into points & cut off the ½” tab (see photo below).
   
6. Accordion fold, creasing along each fold. Apply Stick Strip along the length of the side tab on the right side. Do not expose the adhesive yet.
7. Fold the tabs in, right over left, along bottom. Remove liner from Sticky Strip and adhere side tab to the inside, retaining star shape. Adhere tabs together (see photo below).
8. TakenTrace the outline of the box onto a square of Taken w/Teal cardstock.  Cut inside the pencil lines and adhere with Sticky Strip.
9. Use Crop-a-dile to dry emboss circles onto box lid, which is the Whisper White cardstock strip that is already scored for you. Emboss two circles in each section.
10. Repeat steps 6 – 9 with box lid. Use a white cardstock square to finish off top.
11. Before you adhere the top white star, punch out a Teal star using new Large Star Punch & attach to top. Then use the 1/8” circle punch to punch two holes in the middle & tie White Taffeta Ribbon through holes (see photo below).
12. Next time, try experimenting with different sized boxes. Have fun!

Tag Punch Star Card

Happy Wednesday to you all!

Have you seen these fabulous Tag Punch Stars??? They are just too stinkin' AWESOME!!!  An amazingly talented lady named Donna Moore (aka Shadow Mill on SplitCoast) came up with these!  I think she is a GENIUS!

We made this card at our Winter Demo Class.  It's a clean, simple design...had to be because the stars are a bit time-comsuming. :)

Below is the tutorial to make the card.

Have fun with these! :)

Supplies:

Stem Sayings & Snowflake Wheel
Soft Sky & Purely Pomegranate Classic Pads
Large & Small Tag Punches
½”, 1-3/8” & 1-1/4” Circle Punches
Snow Blossom Punch
Cardstock –
5 ½" x 4 ¼” Whisper White & scraps for tags
4” x 4” Purely Pomegranate
3-7/8” x 3-7/8” Soft Sky
White Vellum
Purely Pomegranate Stitched Ribbon
Pewter Build-a-Brad, Piercing Tools
2-Way Glue Pen, SNAIL, Dimensionals
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Instructions:

1. Fold white cardstock in half.

2. Punch 16 tags using Small Tag Punch, leaving a ¼” edge around each one.

3. Using Large Tag Punch, go back over the holes made with the Small Tag Punch. Line up holes so edges are even all the way around & punch out 16 frames.

4. Each layer of the star will consist of 4 frames. Apply 2-Way Glue evenly over the back of each frame as you lay it down. Carefully apply your frames in a cross-shaped pattern on the White Vellum (see photo below).

5. Follow the same process for attaching the next layer of 4 frames to the base layer. The second layer fills in the empty areas of the first cross-shaped layer (see photo below).

6. The points of the star will be visible when the second layer is attached. Use Paper Snips to trim away the excess (see photo below).

7. Repeat Steps 4-6 to make another star.

8. Use 2-Way Glue to adhere Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to edges of stars.

9. Use Dimensionals to adhere the two stars.

10. Punch out circles & Snow Blossom & attach layers together.

11. Make Build-a-Brad using punched out ½” snowflake paper, put through center of Snow Blossom & adhere to center of star.

12. Wheel Snowflake background on Soft Sky, pierce top corners & attach layers.

13. Pierce two lines on white card base & stamp saying in Pomegranate ink.

14. Adhere Pomegranate Stitched Ribbon & attach star assembly to card.

Double Pocket Bag w/Notecards

Hey everyone!  I am baaack! :)

This cute little bag o' notecards was one of our Fall Fest projects this year.  We included enough supplies for each person to not only make the 3 mini cards with envelopes, but also to make a bunch of fun "card candy", which they put into two cello bags tied up with pretty ribbons.  Too stinkin' CUTE I must say! :)

Here are the directions to make the bag...super easy! 

Ø Score 12x12 Designer Series Paper at 1” & 11”. Fold on score lines.

Ø Turn ¼ turn & score at 3-1/2” & 8-1/2”. Fold on score lines.

Ø Use adhesive to attach all folded sides.

Ø Fold the “tube” you’ve formed in half.

Ø Score at ¾” from center line on both sides, creating a “w” so bag will stand up.

Ø Adhere the two sides together using Sticky Strip down the center.

Ø Add ribbon for handles using Sticky Strip or brads or whatever suits your fancy.

That's it!  Have fun!