Diecut Fun (INACTIVE): April 2010

A Card That Really Isn't...

Posted by nancybabb ,

Today's thang is to make a card that really isn't. I wanted to to draw everything from scratch...

stamp
paper
trim
whatever

Here ya go....

A card that really isn't:

see...

same thing, only different:

Boone, my inspiration:

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I have added something new on my sidebar. It is a Youtube song that I put on my other blog because I absolutely LOVE IT...it brings out the core of me and I want to play it constantly. I was having to go over to my other blog to listen to it so I decided to add it here so I can always have access to it while I'm here.

Problem is...I'm having a hard time keeping my hands on the keyboard and not up in the air!

Unfortunately, you can only see a sliver of the video because of the limitations of the blog template but you are welcome to go visit my other blog "Life Lessons" http://www.myfathershands-nb.blogspot.com/ and see it there. That blog is who I really am...this one is just about the outside, surface, me.

And, today I have a REALLY AMAZING YouTube you need to see!

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Faux Japanese Masking Tape

Posted by nancybabb ,

Yesterday I woke up to an email from my sweet niece, Mattie, introducing me to Japanese Masking Tape. OMG!!! I fell in love instantly so I spent the next two hours shopping the internet for different colors and things to do with it. I "spent" almost $200 and didn't have all I wanted....and thankfully, I never pushed the final "pay" button!!! That's a LOT of masking tape... and I was having a hard time thinking about what *I* would do with it. There were some cute things but... $200!!!

This time...one of the RARE times, I waited a while before actually buying anything. Later in the day I thought that printing on clear label paper may work. It is sticky on one side and I can do ANY color almost instantly. There are pros and cons but... $200!!!

So, here you go...here are some pictures of actual tape and some of the patterns I came up with...I didn't try to match but they are in the same color families so I'm showing them together...

Here is an example of one of the problems with the clear label sheet...(sorry for the HORRIBLE picture!) Below you can see by the bottom grid, it is see thru...so white isn't white unless you put it on white. So, I put it onto white tape for the top version... fixes the problem, but adds a step. I kinda like the two together.

One cool thing about the way I laid it out on the paper is that I can cut a strip across the "grain" and get multiple patterns or up and down to get a single pattern. Examples of both below:

What I did with it: (again, sorry for the bad picture, it's getting dark here)

This is a VERY EASY way to match my envelopes and cards without having to print directly to the envelope! I probably couldn't do that as easily with tape because the colors wouldn't be exact. BUT, I will be buying some that I "just HAVE TO HAVE"! :-)

OH! and FYI, I had to eat vegetable soup for lunch so I would have a can to make the pencil holder! ... the sacrifices we make for our art...

Thanks for the inspiration Mattie! I LOVE YOU!

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Thank You for Loving Mom

Posted by nancybabb ,

The Spotted Chick (http://thespottedchick.blogspot.com/) now has a "That's Krafty Thursday" challenge...This week (the first) you just had to use Kraft paper somewhere on the card... any stamp. That was great because it forced me to think about how the heck to use a "stamp" I just came up with. I thought when I did it that it would make a good Mother's Day or Father's Day card... soooo

Kraft paper = Dad's day, in my mind ...

One of the things I use to do when I used real stamps was sponge the outside edges...now that I'm trying to do as much as possible BEFORE I print my digital stamps I digitally colored these then "sponged" the edges... I NEED PRACTICE!! One has too much, then next doesn't have enough...gotta practice!

I decided to include this picture so you can see why I LOVE coloring on the PC! I can print this page and be ready with 6 cards, with one page print!

You can also see in this photo that I saved a version with the "sponging" done in a circle in case I decide to cut it in a circle.

If you look closely at the little boy's shirt... and the dress and hat on the card below, you will see that I used background paper, that I scanned and have saved. If I had known I was going to use the plaid on the card I would have used that for the boy's shirt... Oh well...next time.

Actually.... I am adding this part a few days later... all I had to do the change the boys shirt was open the photo file and change the shirt! EASY ENOUGH! Matches better :-)

Another thing I just discovered on my Corel software was a tool that lets you darken color...I used it in several places but you can best see the shadow on the left side of the dress.

Thanks for the challenge Jeanie!

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No Black and White Here!

Posted by nancybabb ,

If you know me at all you know that I am most comfortable with black and white... this blog is helping me get out of my rut!

This week I took advantage of the 40% sales at Michael's and got 4.5" x 6.5" pads of color coordinated cardstock. I knew that if I had them I could do something with color!

Yesterday I was thinking that this might be a good way to start a collection of Copic pens... just buy pens that go with my paper...a few at a time. But I have to tell you, there is just something about spending $3.50(on sale) - $6.50 for a single marker that goes against everything in me!!! The problem is, to do a beautiful job of blending (their selling point) you have to have 3 or 4 pens to blend! and that might be for just one thing on a stamped image! OUCH! So... no buying Copic pens for me! I just spent $200 to upgrade my CorelSuite package so I AM GOING TO USE IT!!!

One of the problems with printing what you color is that it may, or may not, be the same color once it is printed. After having the Copic debate with myself I decided to get serious about choosing the correct PC colors. To do that,

1. I printed out a Pantone chart so I would know how MY printer printed each color.

2. I then looked for all the unique colors in my paper pad (the one I will be showing is Cafe Mediterranean...comparing them to my chart to get exact matches.

3. I was then able to go back to Corel PhotoPaint and created a color palette of only the colors I identified in step 2. So, now I can color with the right colors!! WHOOHOO!!!

4. I also printed out the color chart with the pantone RGB formulas on it and glued it to the front of the pad of paper (not sure why? but I'm certain there's a reason!)

DONE!

Now I am "paying" for my CorelSuite upgrade by not buying pens! Not to mention, I only had to color the flowers once and can now print it out to any size, any time, as many times as I want to!

Here are two different things using the same palette:

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More Items for the Resilient Conference

Posted by nancybabb ,

There is going to be a "Pastor's Wives" Dinner one night so I made 39 small gifts for each lady...

there is a tiny tag that says:

To: My Church
From: Father God

the package alone wasn't enough, I had to add a bag with a card on it so that the gift would make more sense.

The card says:

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17a)

This is one of my precious gifts to the church.... I LOVE YOU, Father God"

When they open the box they will see a reflexion of themselves in the mirror stuck to the bottom of the box.

There are 18 punching bags all over the church... I put the words they wanted on each one... Anger, Fear, Loneliness, Debt, Doubt, etc.... The attendees will be able to punch their enemy.

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LOOK what I made!!!...Stamp On Steroids!

Posted by nancybabb ,

I was given a new challenge this week! I just never know what is around the corner!

Four years ago a friend that I used to work with went to work as an Events Planner at a church here in Atlanta. We haven't seen each other but one time since then. This week she had a "problem" come up and remembered me...thinking I might be able to help her out.

Their church is having a conference next weekend and the pastor's wife wanted a 5 foot lady on the front of a punching bag. LOOK what I came up with!!! I'm excited because its another thing I have never done. The coloring (dark skin, blonde hair) was her choice, I would have done something different...but YEA!!!

If you look back at my post on April 2nd you will see that I came up with the face/hair that day. GOD IS SO COOL!!! I had NO CLUE why I have been learning and drawing the things I have been this month... now we know :-)

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Kamryn learning Spanish

Posted by nancybabb ,

Needs to be cleaned up but still cute....

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Every Good and Perfect Gift

Posted by nancybabb ,

Made this last night...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

Got the drawing, now no clue how to use it!

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I Found My Eyes Today

Posted by nancybabb ,

n my mind, the hardest thing to decide is what your "signature eyes" will be. I found mine today... older female eyes anyway... Love them ... AND, I got a good mouth too! Both out of my head...no copying! YES!