Paper Explosion

AECP Level 1: All About Layering 3

The past month has been a bit busy with welcome visits from family and friends. It truly feels as if life is returning to a new normal. We took quick trips to Las Vegas and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We’ve had rain, which is welcome since we are desert dwellers. Anyway, it’s […]

Altenew Craft Your Life Bouquet Bonanza

The last month has been challenging. I had cataract surgeries on both eyes, so crafting was off the table for a bit. This past Saturday, I participated in the Altenew Craft Your Life Virtual Retreat – Bouquet Bonanza 2022, focused on using one of their new stamp sets, Timeless Tulips, and pigment inks. The kit […]

Father’s Day Card

This year, I chose to make Father’s Day cards with files from svgcuts.com. The resulting cards have a retro Route 66 design that is fun, and the files also include the envelope. I eliminated the lines in the files for the folds, as I have been having trouble with the paper ripping during assembly. The […]

Jeep Card

To date, I have only used my Brother Scan ‘n Cut to scan images I’ve stamped and cut them, because I have a hard time fussy cutting due to Rheumatoid Arthritis. Recently, I decided I need to try the different techniques available with this machine. To that end, I downloaded some files from svgcuts.com. This […]

Altenew Craft Your Life Retreat Color Pop 2022

Since doing two weeks of classes didn’t seem to be enough (hahaha), I also enrolled in Altenew’s Color Pop retreat, 12 hours of crafting. This one really stretched my boundaries. There was a lot of watercoloring, which I haven’t done in quite awhile. I enjoyed the projects, but I can’t say they turned out very […]

Day 10 – Rainbows and Patterns

I had fun with this day’s techniques. Who doesn’t like rainbows? I used a David Tutera Sizzix die for the leafy spray, and Gina K stamps for the birthday greeting on the square card. The bling embellishments are Starform stickers.

Day 9 – Inlay Die Cutting

Today is inlay die cutting. I skipped Day 8 – Die Cut Flowers. I have done plenty of the dimensional florals, and I’m not a big fan. I mail 99% of my cards, and those shaped florals simply do not stand up to the treatment of the USPS. So anyway, inlay die cutting is actually […]

Day 7 – Stacked Die Cuts

Ok, not my favorite technique today. I thought I was following the directions for my die cutter, but the sandwich got stuck in my machine. Thankfully, I was able to reverse it and my machine seems no worse for wear. I tried again, and here’s the result. I used Lawn Fawn dies.

Day 6 – Color Blocking

Today’s cards use a cover plate background die and three bold colors to create fairly simple cards with big impact.

Day 5 – Stamped Wreaths

Today we did stamped wreaths. On the square card, I used an Altenew mini stamp set. On the second card, I used a Gina K set with a die cut Lawn Fawn scripty hello.