Saturday, March 23, 2019

Back to basics: Masculine birthday card - I love you so "mush" - Altenew

Hola,
One of the biggest challenges I have as cardmaker is making masculine cards. 



So for today's back to basics I made a cute and colorful masculine card.
I went through my stamp catalog and found this Altenew stamp set - 
the sentiment was what did it for me.
"You are such a fungi!"
Too cute!!
This set was a December 2017 release and I had not used it yet - so today was the day!!! 
And I am so glad I did!


What is back to basics?
My first love for card making started with stamps and ink.
So for this series I am getting out my stamps and my inks and using them!

What I used:
Stamp sets: 
Altenew - Love you so "mush"
Stampin Up Label something
Stamp at home - Big grid background stamp  - this stamp is huge and I love it! I bought it at the Stampin & Scrapbook EXPO in MA about two years ago.

Inks & Paper:  
All my inks and color papers are Stampin up
Crumb cake (ink only)
Summer Sun - retired
Lemon Lime Twist
Berry Burst
Pumpkin Pie
Pacific Point

Card base: Neenah Desert Storm
White paper: Hammermill 80#

Die set: MFT Stitched MOD rectangle Stax
Punch: Stampin Up Modern Label Punch

Nuvo drops in a lot of colors!

Since I had all the inks out already, 
I decided to create some extra cards for my Birthday Clubs.
Here they are!!











If you have this stamp set, 
get it out and create something cute!

Hope you enjoyed the cards!

Adiós,
~~Yar

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Scrapbooking: FANTASTIC Summer of 2010

Hola!

Remember the mists I made back in January?
I have been using them to create mixed media layouts!
And loving it!

This is my latest one "Fantastic Summer of 2010"

 What I used:

To make this layout I used a cut file from Paige Evans Taylor, 
properly titled "FANTASTIC" 

I used my scan and cut and white, thick Darice 12 x 12" cardstock.

I used Stampin Up Naturally Eclectic Designer paper series

One of my goals is to incorporate more stamps into my layouts,
for this one I used two different stamp sets:
1.  Stampin' Up! "Let's get away"


2. Simon Says stamp "Pool Play"

To add to the colorful feel I added a bunch of embellishments
I have collected through the years!

 


Navy blue embellishments.
The clear die cuts are from Spice Market.


This is the dark teal corner!
And the light greenish corner below! 
Flowers are from Maggie Holmes!



Orange corner number 1. is at the F
And orange corner number 2 is by the C.
I do love orange!
Buttons are from Stampin Up. 



This layout is about my love of camping, 
so I wanted to add the camper stamp.

I hope you liked it!
Adios,
~~Yar


Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Tutorial: Making Mists from Sharpie Markers Blog post and Video

Hola!


I have jumped in the Mixed Media bandwagon and I am loving it!
I have been eyeing the Glimmer Mists and Delusion Sprays for a few weeks now and
decided to create my own while I try my hand at this new way of art.
I don't want to invest a lot of money on sprays I won't end up using.

I like my cards clean and simple, so mixed media is out of my comfort zone :)
hence I am being cautious!

This is how my final colors looked like!
Materials I used:

  • Empty spray bottles (2 oz)
  • Isopropyl Alcohol (higher % are better, I used 50% but now wished I had a higher percentage)
  • Pliers
  • Exacto knife
  • plastic cups (1 cup per color)
  • Sharpie or Bic markers - they are alcohol based
  • scissors
  • paper towels- it's messy
  • funnel - optional

If you'd rather watch a video, here it is!


Step 1. Get your station ready.
Fill one plastic cup with 1 oz of alcohol, set aside.
You are going to need space to work in 
and  separate space to store the mess you are creating while they cure. 
Lay your matt, then a plastic cutting board and paper towels.
Make sure you have a second area to place the filled plastic cups

Step 2. Start with lighter colors first. I did not :) You really should!
My suggestion light pink or yellow and go from there.
Take cap off the sharpie, but do not discard.
With pliers the nib off the marker. DO NOT wiggle the nib or you will break it.
If you break it, don't worry we can rescue it.
Place nib in the 1 oz alcohol you set aside in a cup in step 1.


Step 3. Get the filter that is inside the gray sharpie tube -  
that is where the ink is!
Place pliers on front part of markers case, the section of the marker that holds the nib. It is usually the same color of the cap.  Firmly wiggle it and pull at the same time. Some are tighter than others...don't be shy, go for it. The plastic parts will be wasted anyway so don't worry if you break them.

If you broke your nib in step 2, use the back of you exact knife to push it from behind. This will give you enough nib to pull it out - do not wiggle it. Place nib in the cup with the 1oz of alcohol.

Step 4. The filter! Place filter on paper towel and slice it along its length with an Xacto knife. You can even flip it 180 degrees and do a second cut. 
This will allow the ink to get out easily.
Step 5. Bring the cup with the 1 oz of alcohol in it in and cut the filter in half.
Place nib, and the cut up filter in the alcohol cup. 

Step 6. If you saved the markers cap. 
Place the caps on the brim of the cups, easier to identify colors!
Your  new concoction needs time to cure, so wait a few hours, between 2-4.


Step 7. Time to transfer your new mists from the cup to the spray bottle. 
You may use a funnel for this - I tried, but did not like it. 
Very important: REMOVE EVERYTHING, only pour the liquid. 
You should not add the nib or the filter to your spray bottle.
Trust me I did one and the sprayer plugged within minutes.
Not worth the effort if the spray bottle is not going to spray!

PS. Keep the nibs and filters, put them all together to get another shade of purple-gray. Really cute!

Step 8. Label your spray bottles so you can "see" what it will look like before you spray a project!

Step 9. Clean up!




Another link to the video!

I hope you liked it!
I made them a few months ago and use them quite a bit!
I am happy!

PPS: I had blue fingers for about 4 days :) 

Adios,
Yar

Friday, December 21, 2018

What are your elves up to? Are you burnt out?

HolA!
We are baaaaaack!!! - Snow and Jolly!

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

Our household in on Christmas Mode! 
Everything is about the big day!!! 
You can feel the positive energy & joy in the air! I love it!
As part of our traditions..
we have a pair of elves who visit us each Christmas
 and I thought I would share with you some of their adventures.

Their names: Jolly (male elf) & Snow (female elf)

I have seen plenty of posts on facebook about people running out of ideas or being burnt out. Take it easy parents, here are a few Quick and SIMPLE ideas to help you get through it all. Remember your kids will love anything the elves will do - there is no need to have to build skyscrapers every day, unless you choose to.

Our elves are fun but simple, no elaborate scenes.  Usually we spend 3-4 minutes on this. The elves do leave a note each night. It's a 3x4 project life card which I scrapbook. 

To prevent burnout, think carefully about when they should arrive

***Hint- our elves show up until the 7th or so - I think on 12/1 is way too early and the Christmas spirit is not yet in full swing. So give yourself a few days to recover from Thanksgiving.


Here are some of the adventures of Jolly & Snow:

1. Elves help make with the Christmas cards
  
I use an Apple based IOS APP called COLLECT to create the card on the right. I print them like this since I already added the journaling- easy to scrapbook.

2. Elves take  a selfie
3. take a board game and use it. Ie candy Land, bingo, clue, monopoly

4. Play hide and seek - they leave note with a hint
 - ours hid in the Christmas wreath!!!

5. Make north pole dinner - the yuckiest the better

 


6. Taco tuesday- an elf gets wrapped in a tortilla
7. Pancake morning- the elf takes the pancake box and put it in the Kitchenaid blender and promise to make pancakes (no mess, box is closed)



8.More toy playing ideas

9. Helpful elves. Our elves come to scout each day, so they are not usually mischievous, just funny and always helpful. Here the elves are helping my son with the Christmas counter.



10. Elf tries to get in kids back pack

11. Elf takes toilet paper roll and makes a snowman with a marker 

12. Elf draws funny faces on milk and juice jugs

13. Elves let us know we are out of paper towels!



14. Love hiking? Elf climbs the tree

15. Elf gets caught in an upside down glass 
16. Els draws family portrait on the 24th as a goodbye
17 elf gets stuck in stocking
18 elf folds laundry- their way
19 elf gets pinned under tower of folded laundry
20. Elf tries to vacuum and it gets sucked in - just place elf under the vacuum.
21Round some toys and have a toy meeting
22. Elves reading kids book
23. Elsa from FROZEN freezes elf - you can place elf in water and then in freezer. No damage to the doll (ideas from facebook)
24. ELf tries to help wrapping and gets tangled up in the wrapping paper


Have fun and enjoy the magic of Christmas 
and your kid's smiles just by seeing that the elves moved!
Have any great ideas to share?
Leave me a comment!
Gracias y Feliz Navidad,
~~ Yar
























Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Mis Quince: PAPI (Layout #7)

Hola


This is my seventh and possibly the last layout of this Mis Quince series.
Since these layouts are all for my album - the family album
I wanted to have a picture of me and my papi.
And talk about our relationship from my perspective.
Papi is My very first love!

PS..I might need to do one of my mami too...she might get jealous!


I took some pictures of the three clusters of embellishments.


I thought the almost black letters were too dark, 
so I soften them with Heidi Swap's Color Shine and
 some Spectrum Noir Black Glitter Pen


Cluster on the top of the page.
Papi saw my Layout and when I asked him if he liked it he said: "Claro!!!" :)

Te amo papi!

Hope you liked my series of "Mis Quince"
I had a great time reliving the day and sharing it with you.

Time to start a new series!!!

Adiós,
~~Yar


SaveSave

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Mis Quince: Family of Four (Layout #6)

Hola!


It was her birthday and we were all a part of it.
Our little family of four celebrated in style!
What an amazing day for all of us.

What did I use?
Studio Calico Scrapbook Kit from July 2016
Pool Party
Background paper: Handmade paper in Purple
Yellow NUVO drops
A few Project Life Cards
And other goodies from my collection.

Some of the details!

Enjoy!
~~Yar

Friday, July 27, 2018

Mis Quince: Silly Faces (Layout #5)

Hola!


Layout #5: Silly Faces

My DD is a silly girl and some of the pictures from that special bday reflect it.
I wanted to make sure I captured her funny side during a hectic day.

Scrapbook kit: Studio Calico Pool Party - July 2016.
I also used the stamp set that came in the kit.
I love circles!

This is one of the clusters of embellishments,
It also shows the stamp set from the kit.
I have a few more layouts for you on this series. 
I am hoping you are loving them as much as I am.

Adiós,
~~Yar