Bookmarks with Inspiration for Craftwell USA and Latina Crafter

Hi everyone!  Barbara here on the Craftwell Blog with some inspirational bookmarks using my eBrush and stamps from our partner, Latina Crafter.  The style and theme of these are perfect for making inspirational bookmarks for gift giving, special occasions, and of course, to keep.  I know I've said this before, but I think the best thing about using the eBrush is that you can make your own background papers and all of your embellishments to match that background.  

To begin, I cut three pieces of off-white card stock to 3-1/4" x 8-1/2".  I used decorative corner and edger punches to make each different bookmark.  Trim three pieces of white card stock to 2-1/8" x 7-1/2".  These will be the background layers.

I will show you in a bit more detail how I made the first bookmark.  Lay straight edge of a scrap of paper across top of background layer.  eBrush with blue marker.

Now cover the blue section with that same scrap of paper, and cut a slight wave shape from another scrap of paper.  Lay both wave shape pieces over background layer and eBrush with red marker.  Mover papers down the length of the background and continue eBrushing with the red marker to make the flag stripes.

Cover stripes and spread white texture paste through stars stencil, let dry.

Die cut REMEMBER THIS from the Teresa Collins Project Die with the Cut ' Boss die cutting machine.  Save the letters that fall out from the die.  This machine cuts thin dies effortlessly.

Adhere background layer to bookmark.  eBrush with blue marker and adhere to bookmark, as shown. Replace white letters from die.  

For the next bookmark, I embossed the background layer using Teresa Collins' Beautiful Brocade embossing folder and Cut n' Boss machine.  Remove the layer from the embossing folder and eBrush 
it with V04 Lilac.  I love how the eBrush allows you to cover large areas so smoothly and quickly.

I decided to distress the bookmark a bit, so I eBrushed the edges using E31 Brick Beige.  Round corners with corner rounder punch and adhere to bookmark.

I die cut these three elements from white card stock using the Teresa Collins Project Dies using the Cut n' Boss machine.

 

On a piece of scrap white card stock, stamp two sentiments from the Latina Crafter set with black archival ink.   Trim around each sentiment and save one for the next bookmark.  

I cut an extra key, then eBrushed both keys with YR21 Cream and BG72 Ice Cream.  The sentiment was eBrushed with the E31 Brick Beige to match the distressing on the outer edges.  Adhere pieces to bookmark, as shown.

For the third bookmark, eBrush background layer with BG72 Ice Cream and adhere to bookmark.  Tear honeycomb die cut in half, unevenly, and eBrush with BG78 Bronze.  Adhere to background layer.

eBrush butterfly with RV11 Pink, edge with B28 Royal Blue and YG21 Anise.  Round corners on sentiment and eBrush with YG21 Anise.  Adhere to bookmark, as shown.

Since these are bookmarks, I kept them thin and smooth, without much dimension, other than from the die cuts.  

Supplies Used:

Craftwell USA eBrush
Craft well Cut n' Boss
Teresa Collins Beautiful Brocade embossing folder
Teresa Collins Project Dies - Remember This, Today, Honeycomb
Latina Crafter Be a Blessing 
White card stock
Decorative craft punches 
5"x7" kraft card
Copic Markers
Stars stencil
Light Molding Paste
Archival black ink

There will be more fun projects featuring the Latina Crafter, so make sure to check out the Craftwell Blog all month long for more inspiration from the team. 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a crafty day!

Craftwell Guest Designer - Christmas Cards Made Easy

Hello everyone, and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!   I am so excited to have been invited to be the guest designer for Craftwell today.  Craftwell USA makes the eBrush, the Teresa Collins Cut 'n Boss and eBosser machines, and extra large embossing folders.

Speaking of embossing folders, I received this beautiful Teresa Collins Bella Rose embossing folder to use for my post today.  This is a very large (8-1/2" x 11") embossing folder, and it will emboss an entire sheet of paper.  Can you imagine what you can do with an entire sheet of beautiful embossing?  I can, and so here are a couple of projects that I made with my one sheet of beautifully embossed paper.

This cute coffee mug and matching Christmas card used less than one entire sheet of embossed paper.  As you can see, the mug is made entirely from a piece of the rose embossed card stock.  The card, however, is embellished with fussy cut pieces of embossed roses and adhered to another piece of red print card stock (from My Mind's Eye All is Bright paper collection) that I embossed with a Spellbinders M-bossibilities (Nobility) embossing folder.  I then highlighted that embossing with green ink.  I love how you can enhance any paper, even a print  paper, and make it more suitable to your project.

Here, I have added some Christmas picks to the mug for a beautiful table decoration, but this would make such a quick and easy gift that you could fill with candies, tea, or even hot chocolate packets.

And here is a close up of that card that looks so complicated, yet was so easy to make.

I could not stop there.  You see, I was able to borrow the Teresa Collins eBosser machine from a friend, and so I wanted to give the machine a good workout while I had use of it.  I had this very intricate die of snowflakes, and these edger dies, as well.  I had always had such a problem getting complete cuts with my die cutting machine.  Well, let me tell you, the eBosser machine is now on my wish list.  It worked like a charm, as you can see from this beautiful Christmas card I made, again, in no time flat.

I used several Spellbinders edger dies, the Joy Craft snowflake circle die, and the Teresa Collins woodgrain embossing folder. 

And here is a closeup of those delicate, intricate snowflakes.  The eBosser gets my vote from now on.  

 

I hope you enjoyed my set of Christmas cards and coffee mug for home decoration or gift.  I also want to thank Craftwell for asking me to be their guest designer today.  It was such a pleasure to design something for you and to hopefully inspire you with their fabulous products.

I am also linking this project up with the Unruly Paper Arts 12 Days of Christmas Link Up Party.  You can join in the fun, too, or just sit back and enjoy the inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful and creative week!!

Barbara

Tips and Techniques Thursday

Hello again, and welcome back to another edition of T&TT (that's Tips & Techniques Thursday, of course).  

Today I am going to share a technique with you that I used for my altered cigar box, posted last weekend during Leslie Rahye's Very Fall Steampunk Blog Hop.  In case you missed it, this is the box.

What I am going to show you now is how I made those beautiful steampunk style metal leaves on the box top.  Pictured below are the products I used:

First, die cut the leaves from the Spellbinders Premium Craft Foil, or any lightweight metal you may already have on hand.  I used the Memory Box maple leaf die.  I then embossed the leaves with a Paper Studio Gears embossing folder.  Easy so far, right?   

Next, I painted each leaf with Vintaj Moss Patina and let it dry.  Then I spritzed each leaf with two colors of Smooch Spritz in Limolicious and Sea Kiss.  I used a heat gun to quick dry the paint, allowing it to bubble, which made it age some.  

Now you have beautiful leaves that are easy to mold and maintain their shape for adding to your steampunk style botanical art.  Here is a closer look at them on the cigar box lid.  

Of course, there are a million different ways to make these, but this is just one of them.  I hope you enjoyed it and will give it a try.  It is a lot of fun and the results are pretty amazing.

Until next time, I hope you have wonderful crafting experiences!

Barbara

Tips and Techniques Thursday

Uh oh.  Too much birthday celebrations this week.  I almost forgot to post a new tips and techniques for Thursday.  So, here are a couple of tips to keep you going another week, I hope.  

Tip 1 - The original size Cuttlebug, Sizzix, and Quickutz embossing folders store perfectly in 4” x 6” size recipe boxes.  For easy reference, I like to use a label maker to label each one with their descriptive title, or write on them with a Sharpie permanent marker.

Tip 2 - Brass stencils can be stored in 4” x 6” size mini photo albums you can purchase at your local craft store.  Just flip through the book for your favorite stencil.  If you have lots, you can store them by theme, or even by manufacturer, and add file labels to the pages.  You can then store them on a book shelf.

Tip 3 - If you recycle, keep a lookout for #6 plastic because it is the same as shrink plastic.  You can use it to make your own shrink plastic embellishments. 

Well, as always, I am so very glad you stopped by today.   I hope you enjoyed today's tips and will visit again soon.

Have a very happy and creative week.  

Barbara