Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Fall Leaves & Thanksgiving Sleeves

My favorite season of all...Fall!  I love taking afternoon drives and seeing all the beautiful colors of the leaves on the trees.   I like the cooler weather...just before it gets cold (sweater, not coat), and watching the birds trying to decide whether or not to make a run for it, down south.  And of course...Thanksgiving dinner!  Which got me thinking about the table dressing... 

Not too long ago I found some wonderful jingle-bells that were in the shape of acorns, and I was thinking they would look great on the table for Napkin Sleeves (aka napkin rings).  I still haven't found the napkins I want yet, but at least you'll get the idea anyway.  My MIL bought me the lovely green jeweled leaves for the table center and I'm hoping to find napkins to match...eventually.  =)


I'm thinking of warm butternut squash soup...Mmmmm
Step 1
1. Start with cardboard tubing, cut into thirds (or desired widths) and sand lightly.  This could be tissue tubes, paper towel tubes, etc.
Step 2

2. Using wired ribbon wider than the tube, wrap around the tube and cut ribbon to size, allowing about 1/2" to overlap. 

Roll ribbon, right sides together, and insert inside tube. 

Wrap both edges around the cardboard tube edges evenly and smooth insides.  No need to add adhesive for this step, as the wire on the ribbon holds it secure.

Step 3
 3. At this stage you can choose a ribbon that is the same width as your tube for the outside.  I chose to use the same ribbon for consistency.  Because the ribbon was too wide for the outside, and I didn't want raw edges inside, I laid one edge in line with the tube's edge and accordian folded the center of the ribbon, using one valley & one mountain fold -- so that the opposite side of the ribbon met the opposite edge of the tube (see photo for step 3)

Step 4
Run a line of adhesive down center fold and adhere.  Fold raw edges inwards on one end -- wrap ribbon around tube and when ribbon meets together fold other end inwards as well.

4. Using a strong adhesive, adhere the ribbon around the outside of the tube coming together to form a thin seam.  Napkin sleeve is pretty as is...or you can add some embellishments, as I did.

Using my Cricut, and brown Coredinations CS, I cut two types of leaves with vines (3 each) from the Thanksgiving seasonal cartridge at 2 1/2".  The I used the Autumn Type embossing folder to emboss the titles onto the leaves.  Because I used cardstock with a lighter core color I was able to do some light sanding to bring out the embossing a bit more.

Next I used Glimmer Mist to spray generously onto the leaves.  The more glimmer mist you let puddle and dry, the more color you'll achieve on a darker color, such as the brown I used.  I was only looking for a bit of color and shimmer, so I used a paper towel to lightly dab the liquid shimmer and let them air dry for a bit (you could also use a heat gun). 

 Next I used Mod Podge to coat the leaves to make them more durable.  And since they will also be on the table, I thought it would be nice to be able to wipe them off, if necessary, from splatter.  While the leaves were still wet from the Mod Podge I sprinkled Martha Stewart leaf glitter on top. 

Very important to note...because these will be used in the presence of food it is essential to remove any loose glitter.  Once the Mod Podge was dry I removed all loose glitter.  Any glitter that wasn't completely covered with a second coat of Mod Podge came off. 

For the ribbon...I used white seam binding that I scrunched up and sprayed with my Mini Mister filled 3/4 with water, 2 drops Forest Moss reinker, 1 drop Sage reinker, and a pinch or two of Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls--which gave it the gorgeous green coloring.  You can dry carefully with a heat gun as I did, or air dry.  Just a note -- the ribbon will look darkest when it is first sprayed, but lightens significantly once dry.

For the final effect I used a thin paintbrush to paint on Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls over one of the words on each of the leaves. I just sprayed a mist of water on an acrylic block, added some of the Perfect Pearls with the paintbrush to the water until it was the consistency I desired, and painted directly from the block.


To put it all together I wrapped the ribbon around the seam of the napkin sleeve a few times then added the acorn bell before tying into a bow. I secured it further with a metal leaf brad I poked through the bell's jump ring & ribbon. For the leaves & vines, they were simply hot glued to the napkin sleeve.

Here's hoping you're enjoying the last bit of fall weather before the final push of winter comes blowing through...at least in my neck of the woods.  =)
Happy Thanksgiving!  Lisa

Monday, November 14, 2011

Book of Treasures - Saving the Day, The Finale!


This is the final installment of The Martinacious Book of Treasures.  This interactive mini-book was made for my five year old nephew, Marty., and started out with a survey I sent for him to complete (with his parent's help) and return to me with questions that would tell me "all-about-Marty".  I also included a dollar to thank him for completing the survey.  =)

If you've missed the previous posts you can click on the links below which includes the YouTube video showing how this interactive book works:


and now...Saving the Day, The Finale! 

This last layout page culminates with my nephew's love of sword play.  I asked my DH to "pose" with his sword he got in England, so that the engraving on the sword could be seen.  It's pretty cool --even has the Statue of Liberty in the globe at the top of the handle.  Normally, it simply hangs on the wall as decoration, but I knew I wanted to use it for the last layout page and tinker with the symbolics a bit.  Such as his uniform, God's Warrior epoxy sticker, and the verse in Ephesians, (which I cut out of scrapbook paper) relating to the armour of God.  He was a good sport -- since it was for our nephew.  =)

I used an epoxy sticker for the helmet, and used my Cricut to cut the shield & sword (shield - Sentimentals cartridge, sword - Indie Art cartridge).  I adhered the shield on two sides so that the sword would be secured behind it, but could also be easily removed. 

I had the idea the the sword could be used as a bookmark, but I wanted it a bit more interactive so I made a sheath for it as well (using the shadow feature on Indie Art for the sword, and a bit of scissor-cutting).   I wrote on the back of the sheath with a Glaze Pen so the ink would have an embossed feel.  I love those Glaze Pens!  Both the shield and the sword were "painted" with Perfect Pearls so that they have a shimmer look to them.

 And under the photo flap I adhered the vellum quote "Saving the Day" with Tombow mono dots to give it the chainmail armour "look", and wrote "At the cross" with silver gel pen.  The epoxy sticker that I had off the side of my hubby's picture was covered on the back with Perfect Pearls, which removed the stickiness and gave it some semblance of a sunset look.  I cut the cross from the Indie Art cartridge and painted Perfect Pearls on it as well.  The blue cardstock for the page is from  Bo Bunny.

The back of the mini-book shows a silver butterfly sticker, a little hamster sticker (something else from his survey), and "heart" Aunt Lisa (cut from Love Struck, Printing Press, & Plantin Schoolhouse cartridges).

And finally...the back of the book holder -- which is the backside of the inspirational scrapbook paper.  I used silver gel pen to write all the things he had listed on his survey from a variety of categories -- most of which I used in some way in the book. 

Thanks for joining me in this "mini" series. 
The End!  Lisa

Friday, November 11, 2011

Book of Treasures - Pirates and Dolphins

Okay, I know dolphins & pirates really don't go together, but in this case I made an exception.  This is probably one of my favorite pages of my nephew's mini book - The Martinacious Book (of Treasures).  What's really cool about this page, that you can't "hear" on this post, is the sound the dolphins make when the page is turned and this layout is opened up.  If you haven't seen the YouTube video of this book yet, you can check it out HERE -- so you can "hear".  =)  (sorry, that was a bit lame.  ha ha)

The mechanism I used to create this, is actually -- a store bought card!  Yep, the blue background has a white tab that pulls when the card is opened to create the sound already built into the original card.  I simply cut the card to fit the size of my book and created all my own thematic embellishments using my Cricut.
 Because the sound mechanism added a lot of bulk, I lifted up the pirate image (Cricut Love Struck cartridge) with mounting foam and tucked in a "treasure" of real money from the Federal Reserve, just behind the Arrrrr.  I had to take some of the money out of the packet to fit, so it lowered the value to about $5...it was a bit inflated anyway.  LoL

 Of course the money's not the real "Treasure"...

I continued to use elements from my nephew Marty's survey (I had him fill this out, and I used it to customize his book).  I added names of his friends & sisters into the book, giving them each their own small part.  For the sand, I used tan cardstock which I ripped and inked, and made it into a pocket which holds the chocolate coins. 

I made the water elements, dolphins, swimmers, etc from the Cricut Life is a Beach cartridge, adding ink and gel pen highlights.  I gotta say...some of the smaller pieces (such as the bubbles & stripes on the trunks) were a little persnickety to play around with, but they were so worth it -- I really was pleased to make it unique. 

And what Pirate could be complete without his own pirate treasure map?  I used my circle punch for the half circle punched out of the page, and adhered it to a cardstock map which I put my own spin on.

I decided to make this map as a guide for his interactive book.  If he missed something the first time through the book, he would be able to look at the map and find all the hidden "treasures".  I didn't want to hide the map too well so he wouldn't see it...or how would he be able to use it.  But I did have it tuck neatly into a side pocket. 

I used a black sharpie to write the page being referenced, then I used a silver gel pen for all that pages information.  Depending on how you look at the map in the light will depend on what you'll be able to read with the silver pen.  Finally, I used a fine red tip marker to separate each page layout...he's just been reading a bit at five years old, but maybe this will be a good incentive to help him learn.  And of course his parents are there to help as well.


Funny thing about this map...when I was showing the book on YouTube and got to this map, I'm glad I read part of it.  Turned out I forgot to show the secret hidden pocket I made for the Star Wars page.  I had to go to back to show it...but I guess you could say the map worked!  Ha ha...

 As this page layout turns into the last page you can see I made a larger pocket to hold a mini album.  I used black grosgrain ribbon for binding the pocket sides, just adhered with Score-tape.  The mini photo album has an elastic silver cording & tassel which is easily pulled to withdrawal the book.

 The mini photo book is made with black cardstock and includes many things my nephew had in his survey.  This is Marty's recent photo from Disney.  Perfect Pirate!  ha ha

 For each photo I included I left the opposite side blank with black cardstock.  He can choose to add more photos or use a gel pen to write on the pages. 

 I had to include this page!  My son used to dress up his floor with his "designs".  One of the items in Marty's survey he said he liked was to "Find Snakes".  So I put this page in as a teaser.  When he got his book it took him a bit of time to find it.  He decidedly did not want help from his parents either.  When he did find it, my brother sent me a picture of him pointing to it.  That was so cool!

COUSINS:  Cody & Marty
Well Guys...only one more page layout left!  I can't wait to show you some of the other things I've been working on.  Whew...

If you've missed the other book posts....

YouTube Mini Book
Book info & Bug Tag
Dragon Slayer pages
Star Wars pages
Batman pages
Courageous layout

Thanks for hanging in there...Lisa

Book of Treasures - Courageous


Continuing with the next page layout of the Book of Treasures, I didn't want to leave out my nephew's dislikes from the survey I had him fill out.  So I decided to use them in a unique way on this page by creating the antithesis of the things he didn't like -- more on that down a bit further in this post. 

In the photo above, my son Cody is on the left, and my nephew Marty is on the right...or at least his head is.  I used a picture of Cody when he was about 9yrs old sword-fighting (toys) with a friend.  In Marty's survey he said he liked sword-fighting with Cody, so I did a cut & paste for his face replacement.  The cross shape was cut from the Cricut Indie Art cartridge.

The vellum overlay is attached to a cardstock base with a photo that easily slides into a side pocket of the book. 



The bulls-eye zone (AKA The "X" zone) was also cut with Cricut's Indie Art cartridge, and the circles are some of the remaining cuts from the Star Wars layout.  I used a piece of transparency acetate to make the pocket, and backed the pocket with mirror paper.  The Choosing Medallions are tucked behind the blue disc and have cording to pull for either side.
The Choosing Medallions have a blue and a red eyelet side.  If you pull the red side, you'll see the things my nephew listed on his survey as his dislikes:  shirts w/collars, the sight of blood, and being bothered while playing (I ad-libbed a bit on the discs).  Then on the blue side is different perspective of those dislikes.  Just another interactive element for his mini book. 

For the parts of the book you may have missed, you can use the links below to check them out:

The Martinacious Book on YouTube
Book Info & Bug Tag
Dragon Slayer Page Layout
Star Wars Page Layout
Batman Page Layout

And speaking of "Courageous",  have you seen the movie yet?  I haven't had a chance yet, but I've heard it's very good, and can't wait to go see it.  You can click on the links for the movie trailer and theme song. 

Courageous Movie Trailer
"Courageous" by Casting Crowns

Finally, I can't end this "Courageous" post without sincerely thanking all our Veterans who have served, are still serving, and have given their lives for our freedom.  God Bless you all!
Lisa

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Book of Treasures - Batman


A quick post today for the Batman page layout of the Martinacious Book.  I used several printables for these pages.  You can google Batman printables and you will find many options.  I got most of mine at the Coloring Pages website.  They have quite a lot to offer for a variety of subjects...including Super Heroes.  I stapled a sheet of  glittered vellum, sized about 1/2" smaller than my page layout, to the center of the page, and glued the printable "Bat Signal" to the center.


On the left side of the layout I created another pocket out of clear plastic (transparency) and tucked in a few coloring pages, as well as a tag I printed & laminated. 

The back of the tag says, "You Are Commissioned!
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  Mark 16:15"
"Property of Marty, AKA Faithful Servant"

I wrote with a silver gel pen on the black cardstock, and added another printable, before adhering the clear pocket that holds the coloring pages & tag.  That way if everything is removed from the pocket there isn't a blank book page. 


The right side of the page layout was reserved for the Magic Coloring Page, in keeping with the coloring theme I created for Batman.  I used my computer to manipulate the printable into a black & white image, and printed it on transparency.  I printed the same sized image in color onto white cardstock.  The result shows the picture magically being colored as the tab is pulled upwards.  Pretty cool! 


Splitcoast Stampers has a similar method to creating this Magic Coloring Page using stamped images.  You can find the directions HERE for Splitcoast Stamper's "Magic Card". 

If you've missed the other posts for The Martinacious Book of Treasures, you can find them by clicking on the following links:


I'm nearly finished with the posts for the mini book pages and I already have a backlog of other posts I'm working on as well...including my own version of the popular "Smash" book which I call..."Lisa's Fragmented Book". 

With Thanksgiving nearly here, and Christmas on the way, I've been super busy in the craft room -- make sure you check in from time to time.   

Thanks for stopping by today!  Lisa

Friday, November 4, 2011

Book of Treasures - Star Wars

Can you find the Secret Pocket?

If you've been following along, I'm going through each page layout of the interactive mini, The Martinacious Book of Treasures  -- I didn't want to overload you with photos & information in just one post.  I made this book for my five year old nephew based on a survey I asked him to complete (with his parents assistance).  If you need to catch up, you can click on the links below:


Today I'm sharing a bit about the Star Wars page layout.  The Star Wars licensed paper I used was the foiled "Star Wars" titled blue cardstock (CS), and a 12x12 sheet that had a variety of black & red targets and blue & green silhouettes.  I used most of the silhouettes CS on this layout, and elsewhere in the book, and only half of the titled 12x12 CS. 



I used my 1 1/2" (3.81cm) & 1 1/4" (3.17cm) circle punch to punch out the round silhouettes and scissor-cut some of the target shapes, then I added some of his friend's names (from his survey), and phrasing, to a few of the silhouettes with a fine point Sharpie.  I used brads to move some of the silhouettes and targets for an interactive feature, before securing them to the page.  I cut a portion of the silhouettes CS for mini pockets to hold the "Property of" tags, and adhered them in place with Score-Tape adhesive on two sides only.


The "Property Of" tags, and the bookbag tags were printed onto Brochure paper for a nice finished print, and I used my Your Story to laminate the bookbag tags.  I found these great Lego Star Wars printables from Amy Locurto's fabulous website, Living Locurto.  They were a free pdf download which you can find HERE


The "secret pocket" card fits cosily on the right side of the page.  I just attached one of the silhouettes with a single strip of Score-Tape so the curved portion of the green tab allows it to slip snugly over the page into the pocket I created with my binding (more on the binding in a later post).  I used a silver gel pen to hand-write the words and corner-rounded the edges.


And finished the pocket card with a spiritual twist in the "Life Force Power".  Did ya see that comin'?  =) 

Thank you for following along...I'll be posting Batman's page layout coming up. 
Stay Tuned...
Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!  Lisa

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Book of Treasures - Dragon Slayer

I recently uploaded my first YouTube video for this interactive Book of Treasures mini book, which I made for my 5 year old nephew based on a survey I sent him in the mail.  I'm going through the page layouts this week to give you a better idea of how I made the mini.  If you haven't seen the video yet, it can be viewed ---> HERE

For the title of the book I used my Cricut and the Sophisticated cartridge.  However, since this book was for my young nephew,  I wanted to change the "a" (with the hook) to the grade school "a", as shown in the above photo.  I did this by using Gypsy to weld the letters together, changing out the "a" in the Sophisticated cartridge to the italic "a" from the Plantin Schoolbook cart.

As mentioned in my previous post with the 'Bugs' tag, each page layout measures approx. 5 3/8" x 10 3/4".  This first page layout reflects Marty's love of swords.  I started with the printed vellum from the "Prince 'Quotes' Stack" which I adhered with a triangle eyelet and vellum tape.  I love these themed  puffy stickers because they were squishy and dimensional -- and great for kids.  I made a tag pocket with tag, and added the "crunchy" quote with a silver gel pen.

For the castle page I used the Life is a Beach cartridge and cut out the square card sandcastle in black, adding blue cardstock (CS) behind the frame for the castle in the clouds.  I cut the castle layers/flags in Marty's favorite colors (I used my Gypsy to help size the layers). The picture doesn't pick it up too well, but the blue CS has a foggy mist for the clouds and feels like smooth suede.  I achieved this by brayering on Liquid Applique and heat setting. 

In creating the door, I adhered the crossed-sword sticker to the front of the castle door using a paint brush to add baby powder to the exposed part of the sticker to remove the "sticky".  I used my Cuttlebug to emboss a strip of CS with Tim Holtz Burlap folder and painted on Sunflower Gold Perfect Pearls for the shimmer effect, before accordion folding and attaching to the front of the castle and door.  I used Tim Holtz game spinner pieces, which I bent to fit the depth of the castle door, and attached them to the page with brads.  They easily swivel aside to allow the castle door to open -- showing the "streets of gold", a cross, and my nephew's favorite verse, James 2:1-4.  Finished the page off with the "Citizen of the Kingdom" hardened epoxy sticker.

In creating this book for Marty using the things he liked/disliked on his survey, I decided to give each page a spiritual reference as well.  So lots of hidden innuendos and such in this book. I used the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cartridge to cut my tag (bvltop blackout), and distressed the edges.  Then used a Sharpie to write information about the Amour of God on one side, and added more stickers & rub-ons on the other. 

TIP:  When I cut tags with my Cricut, I use the Auto Fill to cut several at once -- that way, when I need a quick tag I always have one ready to embellish.

That's about it for today.  I'll be back soon with my next page layout...Star Wars!
Thanks for dropping by, Lisa