Thomas Kinkade 3D

 

Whooo Hooo, I was able to do some blog hopping the other day. How fun that was!!! I have missed so many awesome projects. I still have many sites I have not gotten to. I am planning on spending some time tomorrow morning blog hopping again. I don't want to miss reading such great posts and seeing all the projects!

 

No card today, but a really pretty 3D image. When I found some Thomas Kinkade 3D image sets on Moonstone Treasures I just had to get them. Each set contains 10 images, two each.They have a CD set that contains 3 more sets, which I am sure I will get soon.

 

This is the first image I made. I sure learned a lot about how to do these 3D images. First, I thought they would be easy to cut out since there really weren't any very small parts. I was wrong. The edges are quite detailed. Having several layers, like the pine tree, cutting each the exact same way was no easy task.

 

Second, there are some tiny areas. The snowman has a twig arm with a glove on the end. How skinny/tiny that was and a bit hard to cut!!! The lamp also has a pole sticking out on each side that are equally skinny/tiny. Really could not leave them out, otherwise they would only be on the bottom layer. That would make them look out of place.

 

I also learned that they are not so easy to photograph. They are on shiny paper, kind of like photo paper. I was able to get 4 photos that looked OK.

 

This first one shows the actual colors of the image. The others came out off, I am thinking it is because the way the light hit them.

 

Isn't this stunning! And the photo just does not do it justice. The paper really makes the "light" show up like it does on a TK print. I thought of adding some glitter or something, but it looks so pretty as is. 

Here you can get and idea of the amount of layers. I lost my biggest dimensionals, so had to use lots of smaller ones. For the bottom 2 layers I used 2 mm high dimensionals. For the rest I used 1 1/2 mm ones.

 

It really worked out nice that way. I figured that when an item is closer to you, the less depth it has. Also, for things like the chimneys, they would not seem so far separated from the house (if that makes sense)

 

Yikes, look at all that yellow. The color is so off here. It does show a bit of how the depth of the image looks, which you really can not see in the first photo.

 

I tried to take a closer shot of the difference between the 2mm and the 1 1/2mm demensionals. You can see it quite well with the tree, snowman and chimneys.

I plan on making sets of Christmas cards to sell in my Etsy store, though I have read that cards really don't sell well. I thought these were so unique that perhaps people would purchase them.

I am not sure what I am going to do with this one. Since it is my first, it is not as good as I think it should be in order to sell it. I am going back and forth between using it for a Christmas card for myself or framing it.

To frame it, I would need a shadow box frame, but not a really deep one. I looked at my local Micheal's, but they only had ones that were something like 2" deep. I think this image would get lost in it. I may be able to add some layers of corrugated board behind it to bring it closer to the front. I'll have to think about how I would mat it also.

Thanks for spending some of your time with me :o)

HUGS,

A Couple Of Fun Stories and A 3D Bird

Hi Everyone! It has been a while, again. I have been fighting some health issues and some depression the past couple of months. Of course, whenever my body is under any kind of stress I have a fibro flair, sniff sniff. I did force myself into the craft room and got a card made. It did take 3 days, lol, but I am so happy to have gotten something done.

I have some fun things to share with you first. I know it will make the post a bit long, but I hope you enjoy reading them.

I was still pretty bummed yesterday but I had to sit my grandson. On my way there, I ended up behind a truck with it's back center window open. The German Shepherd in the truck kept putting his front feet and head out of it, ha ha ha. He was having such fun enjoying the wind, excitedly sniffing and looking around. He kept being told to get back in and he listened. Just like a kid, though, getting back in only meant for the next minute or so. Out he popped again, over and over. He made me laugh so much! I wish I had a video camera. Out went the blues. Isn't funny how the smallest thing can make such a difference in someones day :o)

Also, my daughter and son-in-law have been trying to have another baby for a year now. She went to the Dr last week so that they could start running tests. Of course, the first thing they check is the guy. OH, my poor son-in-law! Not wanting to drag things along, he dropped off his...well...you know..."sample" yesterday morning. I just can't imagine the embarrassment a guy must feel doing that, OH MY, I am practically humiliated for him, lol.

Anyway, my daughter was craving oatmeal raisin cookies this past weekend, to the point that she actually made a bunch of them. The point here is that she does not even like them. On top of that she was whole 4 days late, YKWIM...so she decided to take a pregnancy test at work (she is a nurse at an immediate care facility, so she can get them free :o)

When she got home from work she handed me a plastic baggie. I looked at it and could not for the life of me imagine what that thing inside way. After laughing at me she told me what it was. It was a pregnancy test stick thing or whatever the thing-a-ma-jig is called. Yeah, I admit I am that old :o(  It was not just any test, though, it was a PINK one! Sheesh...I am so slow...I didn't even know what that meant!

You know where this is going...yup, she is pregnant! That means she was pregnant last week when she went to the Dr and when my poor son-in-law made his morning "delivery"...Poor guy!!! (I don't think I am supposed to know that part...so don't tell anyone, OK?!?)

Now, I am not supposed to tell anyone but my husband. Yet, I am sooooooo excited, how could I not tell someone! So I chose you gals :o)  Again....keep the secret until they let the world know, OK?!? {WINK}

Alright...on to my card...

I really liked this 3D bird image, though I have no idea why he is green. Have you ever seen a green bird? The image is 5 layers. Cutting the small parts, like the skinny flower stems, was not really the hard part for me.  The hard part was actually the stems as I put the image together. There is no way to adhere them with any type of dimensional since they are so skinny. I needed to "pull" them just enough that they did not sag/wrinkle or rip. Good thing I like a challenge ;o)

I used some metallic floss to stitch the flourishes and leaves. I really am my own worst enemy sometimes...the metallic thread is such a difficult thing to work with. It really does add that perfect "touch" since I really like how it shimmers (or anything that shimmers for that matter).

OK, as I have said before, I am a bit slow with some things. One of them is figuring out how to make a bow with multi loops. I tried that Bow Easy tool, which is not easy at all. They should add a "child proof" label on it since anything with those labels are not so "adult" friendly.

 

I finally figured it out though. This is the first one I made with my old, truely easy bowmaker. I adhered the green ribbon and bow over some organza ivory ribbon with metallic edges.

 

On the inside, I just paper pierced the flourishes and leaves on each side. I could not seem to get a good photo of it because the paper was so shimmery, it just reflected the light. If you click on the photo, I think you will be able to see it better. But you don't have too, lol, because if you do, it will look like the peircing is really off, with different size holes everywhere. Doesn't look like that in real life. I think I need a "less quality" camera that does not pick up so many details that the eye doesn't even notice.

Here you can see how the ivory paper shimmers. It has a pretty gold hue (I think that is what it is called) when the light hits it a certain way. The green layer is the same, which you can kind of see in the next photo on the upper right corner.

As always, I added what I think of as an "all occassion" sentiment.

Thank you so much for sticking with me and making it to the bottom of the post. lol Have a wonderful day!!!

 

{{{HUGS}}}

 

3D Image In A Handmade Frame

Phew! It appears that I ended up taking most of the summer off, which was quite unintended. I am sad that I lost a couple of followers and want to thank all those who stuck with me.

I purchased the cutest paper tole images over the summer. I made one of them for this project.

Arent' they so pretty. I love the soft colors and content of the image. The paper tole sheet was die cut making it so easy to make. There are 4 layers total, all of which were large enough to make adding the dimensional foam easy to use.

The sheet is from the Paintbox Poppets Series from a set called Outdoor Children, which you can find HERE.

I needed to make my own frame due to the measurements of the image. I made the frame using some corrugated cardboard from a box. To cover it, I cut the appropriate sizes from a thick chipboard sheet. Can you believe I can't remember what I adhered it with! Yikes! (an embarrassed winking smiley would go here) I do know that it worked really well.

I had some really pretty butterfly embossed shimmer card stock. It is all white, though, since that is the only color I could find it in. No problem really. White can always become any color you want, yayyy. As you can see here, the shimmer just shines right through the ink.

I covered the top sheet with two Stampin' Up colors that matched the blues and greens in the image. For some reason, the photos show it as not matching so well, but in real life the paper really brings out the colors from the image.

I kept the paper on the edge of the frame white. You can see here how dimensional it is even from a top and side angle. The lace, pearls, flowers and butterfly look so lovely no matter which angle you are looking from.
I matted the image with some light purple shimmer paper, which really made the pale purples in the image pop out. I like matching the papers to the soft colors of an image so that they are seen more and not lost in the background.

I covered the back with more of the thick chipboard so that it would look neat. I then added a picture hanger so that it could be hung. To make sure that the nails did not slip out, I made the holes first, squished some liquid cement into and a little bit around them. Then I inserted the nails which will not come out, lol and the overflow holds the picture hanger on securely.

Though you can't see it in the photos, I put some of the inked butterfly paper around the inside edges of the opening. To protect the image, I used the Stampin' Up thick window sheets. These are fantastic! They are thick enough to not flop around when using them, score and bend really well and adhere perfectly with double sided tape. They are still available in the current catalog on page 216, but do not mention how thick they are, only that they are window sheets.

You needn't worry about getting finger prints or glue on the outside (or even inside before adhering) because Goo Gone removes it all perfectly and easily without leaving any scratches or streaks! Isn't that fantastic! I love that, especially since I get more glue on the wrong parts of a project than I get where it is supposed to be.

It took me a while to figure out how to attach the pearl stand onto the frame. That is how the glue got on the window sheet, tee he he. Finally, I tried some of the 1/8" Score Tape. It worked wonderfully with no waiting for the glue to dry. Now THAT is incredibly important, WINK. I do wish it came in 1/16" wide though, as the 1/8" is slightly to wide. It really is not a big deal on this project, but may be on another project in the future. Do you think I should write them about making some, lol. would you ever use it that thin?

 

See those little knots. Those simple little knots seemed like the perfect way to snazzy up the corners a bit, since I did not want to add so many embellishment as to distract from the image. 

 

Simple! Yeah, right! Sheesh..Those things are a real pain, lol. Trying to tie them in just the right place was no easy task for me. Thinking back, I suppose that I could have adhered the lace to the edge, then tie the knot where I wanted it. That may have worked, though I am not sure I would not just pull the ribbon off the edge as I tied them. Hmmm...I guess it would be worth a try next time. Have you found a way to do this easily? If so, I would love to know how!

 

I hope you like this project.

 

What a looonnnggg post, ha ha ha. I guess I really missed talking to you all.

 

HUGS,

Paper Stitching Tutorial

WOW, I feel like I am on a roll, lol Not only did I have time to make this tutorial for you, but I also made my first official post on my Egg Transformer blog. There are other posts on it, but they are all copied from posts I made on this blog. The egg I just posted is the very first egg I designed myself. I'd love it if you could pop by it and let me know what you think.

I was going to make a card today, but the thought occurred to me that a tutorial would be fun. So why not one on paper stitching?!

In my last post, the card has a really pretty paper stitching pattern on it. The stitch used for this pattern is one of many. So far, of the ones I have tried, I like this one the best.

For those who have never tried this technique, I thought I would show you how simple it can be. The first time I tried it, I got very confused. I was sure I would never get the hang of it. I did, though, and I absolutely love it.

I did a lot of "talking" since I was trying to explain it to make sense. I apologize ahead of time if it is to long and boring. I underlined the main points in case you don't have time or the patience to read my rambling (wink) Also, that this is a photo tutorial instead of a video. I haven't figured out how to make videos yet. AND.....my camera was being incredibly naughty today! I was so close to putting it in time out! Luckily for the camera, I wanted to finish this tutorial first ;o) so the photos are not as good as they could be.

You can click on any of the photos if you need to see the details better.

This is the pattern I used for the last card. I copied it from a paper stitching magazine a while ago. I will add some links to the bottom of the post for sites that offer free patterns for you to try.

* To start, you will need to cut your paper the same size as the pattern. I find that light weight card stock works best.
*Adhere the card stock to the back of the pattern with removable tape, such a Dotto
*Do all the piercing at one time. You will want to make sure to keep the piercer straight (I have no idea what degree the angle would be, maybe 180?) Either way, it should be straight up and down, not held at the angle like when using a pencil. You will want to make sure you did not miss any holes by holding it up to the light before removing the paper.

***A little about the stitching pattern holes. This is the swirl from the above pattern I chose to use. You will notice right away that the "holes" are not evenly spaced. I have yet to see a pattern where they they are.

On the curve of the left swirl, you will see 2 holes farther apart than the others are. Now, you may be tempted to poke a hole in between to make the spacing more even...but don't do it! LOL It really will mess things up, believe me, I've tried it.

On the curve of the right swirl, you will see that 2 holes are closer to one another.  In this pattern it is not so bad, but in others I have done, some were really close. It makes it difficult when stitching and can cause the paper to rip between the holes. TIP: to help prevent tearing from happening, put some scotch tape on the back side of holes that are close together. You can stitch right through the tape and it gives the paper some extra strength.

When all is said and done, the odd spacing of these holes won't even matter in the finished flourish, yeah!

*You will need to know what I call the "hole count". Every pattern tells you the count for it. It will either be on the pattern itself (like this one) or written in instructions that might accompany the pattern. When it is, you will probably want to write it on the pattern itself so you will always know.

The hole count for this pattern is 1-5. That means you will start at hole #1 and end at hole #5, continuing the stitching with this 1-5 numbering.  This pattern has the hole count on the bottom center of it. Other patterns have the hole count next to the piercing patterns.

Hole #1 can be on either end of the swirl. If it matters where hole #1 is for a particular pattern, it will tell you.

*Many people use embroidery floss for stitching. When using this, you will want to separate the threads and us only one of them. There are places where you can buy special paper stitching thread in which you most likely will not have to do this (I don't know for sure since I don't have any). But embroidery thread is pretty and much less expensive

*The size needle does matter. It took me a while to find out what size to use. Actually, I never figured it out. I finally found someone I could email and ask, tee he he. Of course, after she replied, I seemed to see the needle information everywhere (rolling eyes) The most commonly used and easiest to find is the #10 embroidery needle. If the needle is to big, it makes the holes in the paper really large when you stitch through them, while on the other hand, if it is to small...it is near impossible to get the thread through it! Even one thread of the embroidery floss is to thick to pull through the eye, if you happen to even get it in the eye, ha ha ha

*After taping the end of the floss to the back, you will go UP hole 1. (The back of the pattern is the side with the big bumps.)

*Count to the 5th hole and go down. When counting to hole 5, include hole 1. I know...it's kind of obvious! BUT...this actually confused me when I first started. No directions clarified if you counted it or not. This caused me quite a bit of frustration (again rolling my eyes) therefore I figured I would tell you just in case I am not the only one who over thinks things, ha ha ha

*Come UP hole #6.

*Count back 5 (including hole 5, tee he he) ,which will bring you to hole #2  and go down. When you get further along, it will not be so easy to see which hole you need. I find, for myself, it is better to keep in the habit of counting even when just beginning.

*Continue doing the hole count stitching (1-5 here) for the whole pattern unless other wise instructed. You will always come up the hole next to the one you just came down. You will start restitching in holes but it should not make the hole larger.

If you look underneath, you will find the stitching makes a pattern. At first, before you start stitching into holes already stitched in, you will see that the stitches have a space between them (like on the left/top ones). Once you start to restitch in the holes, the blank spot fills in (like you see on the curve to the right). As you stitch in the "unprestitched" (ha ha ha, is that even a word?) holes, there will always be this space. When you go through "prestitched" (again, is that even a word?) the blank spot fills in. I know that there are probably more "technical" words I could have used, but I am a simple person, lol

This is good to know because if you keep an eye on this, you will always know when/if you have miscounted somehow. Of course, if you do miscount, you can always take out those stitches and just continue on as if it never happened.

*When you are at the end, your last stitch should be going down. Tape the floss to the back and cut off the extra. If the last stitch doesn't go down, you have miscounted somewhere.

The last stitch is not always in the very last hole as you can see with this swirl.

LINKS

Card making Inspirations a tutorial for a different type of stitch

*Stores with some free patterns for you to try:

Stitching Cards >>> Link to their free patterns HERE  (awwww...check out the adorable dog! using a SUPER EASY stitch!)
Form-A-Lines >>> Link to their free patterns HERE
Pin Broidery >>> Link to their free patterns HERE
Prick n Stitch >>>Has one free pattern HERE
Card Inspirations >>>Link to their free patterns HERE

*Free patterns:

Rose
Hearts
Wheelbarrow with flowers
HERE are 5 patterns, including a super pretty corner one
HERE you can down load the pattern in PDF format. Soem have a link to an instruction sheet, others links to a blog, while others are just the pattern with no instructions.

*For these ones, you need to click on the photo you want to look at. If you want to print it, you might have to click on the option button on the lower left:

HERE are some interesting printable patterns. There is a variety of stitching techniques among them. One really nice one I like uses a completely different "hole counting" method, but looks really easy. (very bottom, second from left)

HERE are some more interesting ones to print. Variety varies like the one above. Looks like a few fun ones here.

HERE are lots of pretty frames and borders

HERE are some really great ones. Super pretty swan half way down.

Have fun! HUGS

Using My Favorite Techiques

I have had a really hard time getting into my craft room due to baby sitting my grandson. My daughter just got a new job, so I not longer have to babysit. It is bitter sweet.

Hmmm...that is what I thought as I went to make my first project in a while. How exactly do I get back into it with the excitement I had before?

Deciding the best way was to do my favorite techniques, I pulled out my paper stitching and iris folding patterns. After a bit of trial and error, I finally found the perfect size iris fold pattern to go in a lovely stitching pattern I found in a magazine I have had for quite some time.
 

Isn't this iris fold pattern pretty! To really snazz it up I pulled out some metallic paper I have been hording. I wish I could remember where I purchased it. I am thinking that I will have to mark everything I buy with the store name so this will stop happening, lol

The metallic paper has such a lovely embossed design that really added some beautiful texture to the wings. 

Of course, I had to use some metallic floss for the stitching to match the paper. Even though the metallic floss is much more difficult to work with, the finished result is always worth it.

One problem I have always had when paper stitching is the pierced holes being quite large when I am finished. I find rubbing over them with a paper scorer works really great for remeding this.

  

I used a sentiment stamp from a Stampin' Up set called Wonderful Words. I love the font on this and am not sure I will ever tire of it.

To keep the continuity of the metallic look, I embosssed it gold.

Can you see the lovely shimmer of my favorite paper? Yum...The designer paper also has metallic outlines around the swirls. All of the designer paper I used for this card came from the lovely 6 1/2 sq." pad from Keiser Craft called Sweet Nothings.

There is a lot of texture and demension to this card. I added the pearls for a final touch. They are not as shiney as I would have liked, but the color goes quite well. I used some pale pink chalk to add a bit of shadowding around the butterfly here on the front. It did not show up in the photos, but in this one, you can tell the vanilla paper is not so vanillary. 

I used the butterfly that I cut out to make the iris fold for the inside top flap. WOW...was adding the piercing from the sewing pattern difficult. I just could not get the bottom flourished to match as well as I would have liked. After 3 tries, I just used the best one. Yeah...I agree, I am a bit anal about things like that, ha ha ha

To outline this butterfly as well as the one on the front and the anteneas, I used my Krylon gold leaf marker.

Here is the inside of the card. I used the stitching pattern as a frame, but only pierced it. I am not sure which I like better, just piercing or the sewing. It was the perfect way to dress up the rather large rectangle for a personal note.

Put all together, I am really pleased with how the card turned out. It is larger than most cards I make, being about 5 1/2 x 7". I did make sure I had an envelope to mail it in before making it. It would be a total bummer if I had a card and no envelope to go with it!!!

Now I am excited to get back to paper crafting and blogging again. Not only that...but the blog hopping I so much miss. I learn so much from other craftes. There are sooooo many wonderfully talented people out there!!!

{{{HUGS}}}