Posts
Lavender & Honey - 4 Cards 1 Kit
3 weeks ago
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Projects this week!
I've been hard at work this week! The Digichick was really putting out some awesome new products, and I just HAD to get my hands on them! Here is what I did early in the morning, during nap time and at night. I think I need to take a break!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Hybrid Pop-Top Can Tutorial
I'm serious, people. If you were to look into my hall closet, you would be appalled. Empty cans, empty juice mix containers, and empty boxes are on the verge of spilling out into the hallway. Well, okay, I guess it is not THAT bad. But still, I do tend to collect "useful items". What's worse (or perhaps, better?) is that my husband will look at an empty container at his office and think, "Hmm. I wonder if Kelleigh can do something with this?"
You see, I have this problem with being obsessed with creating pretty things with my digital supplies. Even better is when those pretty things are also useful. Which brings me to today's project.
Time to open up a can. Not just any can, though. I want you to look through your kitchen pantry and try to find a can of food with a pop top.
Yeah, I couldn't find one either, the first time I tried this project, so I went to the store and bought a couple of cans of fruit. While you are shopping, you need to pay attention to the BOTTOM of the can, too.
The reason the bottom is important is because you will be using a can opener that is designed to open the can from the sides and create clean edges that are NOT sharp. If you do not have one of these cool can openers, just ask a friend if you can borrow hers. They are pretty popular, so someone you know should have one!
Make SURE you open the can from the bottom and NOT the top! You will be filling the can and closing it up again, so if you pop the top . . . no good.
Now, feed your family, wash out the can, and tear off the label. This is what you should end up with.
At this point, you'll want to measure the surface area of the outside of your can. Mine was roughly 9.25in x 4.25in. Open Photoshop, and create a new document with these dimensions. Now it is time to design!
I used a great kit from one of The Digichick's newest designers, Nicole Seitler, who will be debuting tomorrow, so this is a little sneaky peaky at one of her products called A Little Birdie. So cute!
I went ahead and designed the outside to my liking.
Then I flattened my project and dragged it onto a new, blank, 8.5 x 11 in document, since my printer is a standard size. I added the little tag from Nicole's kit that I had fallen in love with to the right of my page. Then, to add a little dimension to my finished product, I used my rectangular marquis tool to select the flowers from the front of the can. I copied and pasted them onto a new layer, then dragged them to the side of my document. My plan was to cut these out, apply pop dots (dimensional foam stickers) and put them right back where I got them.
Next, I measured the diameter of the top of my can. To do this, just find the middle of your lid and measure across. Mine was roughly 2.75 inches. Now, just select your circular marquis tool and type in a fixed size of 2.75in x 2.75in. Design the top as you would like, flatten and drag onto your "page to print". You'll notice that I selected the flowers from the top of my can before I flattened and duplicated them so I could cut them out as I mentioned above.
And, since I am not one to waste valuable, quality paper, this is what my "page to print" looked like.
(Go check out the hybrid gallery on Thursday morning to see the other project I created with Nicole's goodies! Her stuff ROCKS!)
Now, print your page and begin cutting. I used my trusty micro-tip scissors to carefully cut around each flower that I planned to "pop".
Apply your favorite dry adhesive (tape runner, tabs, etc.) paying special attention to the "seams", or the area where the two sides will meet.
Line your paper up on your can so your main image is directly across from the pop top tab. Stick it to the can!
Now, cut out your top and position it. I cut out a notch in my paper using a 1" circle punch, but you could use your scissors, too.
Apply foam pop dots to the flower pieces you cut out, and reposition them on your can, right on top of the original flowers like so:
Add your tag and a ribbon to the pop top tab, if desired. This is my finished project!
Fill the can from the bottom with candy, tiny bath items, a gift card, etc. and seal up with a liquid adhesive that is appropriate for metal (or just push the bottom on until it is nice and tight!).
What a fun "wrapping" for a present, huh? And, after the recipient opens it (by pulling the tab!), the can could be used as a pencil holder!
Now, it is time to try this project for yourself. You have until midnight, Pacific time, Friday, August 8th to make your own hybrid can for a chance to win $5 to Nicole Seitler's new store at The Digichick! Just post your creation to the hybrid gallery and link us up in the hybrid forum.
Have fun!
You see, I have this problem with being obsessed with creating pretty things with my digital supplies. Even better is when those pretty things are also useful. Which brings me to today's project.
Time to open up a can. Not just any can, though. I want you to look through your kitchen pantry and try to find a can of food with a pop top.
Yeah, I couldn't find one either, the first time I tried this project, so I went to the store and bought a couple of cans of fruit. While you are shopping, you need to pay attention to the BOTTOM of the can, too.
The reason the bottom is important is because you will be using a can opener that is designed to open the can from the sides and create clean edges that are NOT sharp. If you do not have one of these cool can openers, just ask a friend if you can borrow hers. They are pretty popular, so someone you know should have one!
Make SURE you open the can from the bottom and NOT the top! You will be filling the can and closing it up again, so if you pop the top . . . no good.
Now, feed your family, wash out the can, and tear off the label. This is what you should end up with.
At this point, you'll want to measure the surface area of the outside of your can. Mine was roughly 9.25in x 4.25in. Open Photoshop, and create a new document with these dimensions. Now it is time to design!
I used a great kit from one of The Digichick's newest designers, Nicole Seitler, who will be debuting tomorrow, so this is a little sneaky peaky at one of her products called A Little Birdie. So cute!
I went ahead and designed the outside to my liking.
Then I flattened my project and dragged it onto a new, blank, 8.5 x 11 in document, since my printer is a standard size. I added the little tag from Nicole's kit that I had fallen in love with to the right of my page. Then, to add a little dimension to my finished product, I used my rectangular marquis tool to select the flowers from the front of the can. I copied and pasted them onto a new layer, then dragged them to the side of my document. My plan was to cut these out, apply pop dots (dimensional foam stickers) and put them right back where I got them.
Next, I measured the diameter of the top of my can. To do this, just find the middle of your lid and measure across. Mine was roughly 2.75 inches. Now, just select your circular marquis tool and type in a fixed size of 2.75in x 2.75in. Design the top as you would like, flatten and drag onto your "page to print". You'll notice that I selected the flowers from the top of my can before I flattened and duplicated them so I could cut them out as I mentioned above.
And, since I am not one to waste valuable, quality paper, this is what my "page to print" looked like.
(Go check out the hybrid gallery on Thursday morning to see the other project I created with Nicole's goodies! Her stuff ROCKS!)
Now, print your page and begin cutting. I used my trusty micro-tip scissors to carefully cut around each flower that I planned to "pop".
Apply your favorite dry adhesive (tape runner, tabs, etc.) paying special attention to the "seams", or the area where the two sides will meet.
Line your paper up on your can so your main image is directly across from the pop top tab. Stick it to the can!
Now, cut out your top and position it. I cut out a notch in my paper using a 1" circle punch, but you could use your scissors, too.
Apply foam pop dots to the flower pieces you cut out, and reposition them on your can, right on top of the original flowers like so:
Add your tag and a ribbon to the pop top tab, if desired. This is my finished project!
Fill the can from the bottom with candy, tiny bath items, a gift card, etc. and seal up with a liquid adhesive that is appropriate for metal (or just push the bottom on until it is nice and tight!).
What a fun "wrapping" for a present, huh? And, after the recipient opens it (by pulling the tab!), the can could be used as a pencil holder!
Now, it is time to try this project for yourself. You have until midnight, Pacific time, Friday, August 8th to make your own hybrid can for a chance to win $5 to Nicole Seitler's new store at The Digichick! Just post your creation to the hybrid gallery and link us up in the hybrid forum.
Have fun!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Grant's 5th Birthday mini album
I finally put together Grant's 5th birthday mini album! I had a lot of fun doing it and it went together pretty quickly. I used a freebie template from Michelle Filo, which is SUPER basic (just the shapes of the pages), but got my creative juices flowing. She also has a similar layered template which I bought last week that is super cool. I'll probably use that soon. I ended up shrinking down my pages so that they actually fit on 1/2 a sheet of 8.5x11 paper. It's a real mini! Here ya go! (Notice I salvaged the hand picture! Ha!)
Friday, July 25, 2008
Pages and stuff I've been doing
Goodness, I have been busy lately!! VBS was this week, and I am exhausted. I absolutely LOVE VBS. The kids are so much fun and the activities are a blast. Lots of children made decisions for the Lord this week, and for me that is the most exciting thing about VBS. I "taught" one of the 3rd grade groups and my sister, Angela was one of my helpers. Well, she actually did a TON of stuff with the kids while I just sat back and watched. She is amazing. Seriously.
Since I was a worker, Cole got to come to VBS and stay in the nursery while Grant was in his own class. I loved being able to watch Grant sing and dance and watch Chatter the Chipmunk get into trouble. He had to cover his ears a few times because the little video clip is not so scary when your ears are covered. He's just like me! He would put his money in the offering bucket and then turn around and give me a big grin. I am so stinking proud of that kid that I feel like my heart is going to pop right out of my chest. Sometimes I am just overwhelmed by how much I love my boys.
On that note, this has been a Grant layout week. Here ya go:
And, I did a little Hybrid project, too!
Since I was a worker, Cole got to come to VBS and stay in the nursery while Grant was in his own class. I loved being able to watch Grant sing and dance and watch Chatter the Chipmunk get into trouble. He had to cover his ears a few times because the little video clip is not so scary when your ears are covered. He's just like me! He would put his money in the offering bucket and then turn around and give me a big grin. I am so stinking proud of that kid that I feel like my heart is going to pop right out of my chest. Sometimes I am just overwhelmed by how much I love my boys.
On that note, this has been a Grant layout week. Here ya go:
And, I did a little Hybrid project, too!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Rachel's Squash Book
I made this little squash book for Rachel's baby shower. The blue and white triangle pages are for words of advice or nice thoughts written down by the guests. The other pages are for pictures from the shower. Everyone really loved it! And, it is NOT digital (so yes, I still play AWAY from my computer . . . although I plan to do a hybrid squash book!).
Custom gift bag
Friday, July 18, 2008
Gasoline
No, we will not discuss the price of gas these days. Instead, let me remind my male audience out there that the laundry room is NOT a place to toss gasoline saturated rags. Please refrain. If you choose not to heed my warning, you may end up with gasoline scented underpants. You may end up paying a larger than average heating bill for all of the hot water that was used to clean up the inside of the high efficiency washer. Not to mention a higher grocery bill for all of the vinegar and baking soda that was also used. You may discover that gasoline is NOT a pheromone. Your wife may become cranky.
Just ask Mitch.
Just ask Mitch.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
My Sisters
These are my two youngest sisters, Hannah and Christina (age 9). Aren't they cute? They were adopted from Russia (same orphanage) when they were around 1. Actually, Hannah had just turned 1 and Christina was about 8 months. So, yeah, I'm about 23 years older than them!
Besides their wonderful, sweet, hysterical personalities, I LOVE the way they bring a smile to my Dad's face. Since they were tiny little things, my Dad has always completely lit up when they entered the room. At Thanksgiving, my Dad is thankful for the joy that Hannah and Christina bring to our lives. It is amazing to me that these two were considered "throw away" children by some, and yet they are so heartily embraced by our family. That is adoption for you! What a wonderful thing.
Besides their wonderful, sweet, hysterical personalities, I LOVE the way they bring a smile to my Dad's face. Since they were tiny little things, my Dad has always completely lit up when they entered the room. At Thanksgiving, my Dad is thankful for the joy that Hannah and Christina bring to our lives. It is amazing to me that these two were considered "throw away" children by some, and yet they are so heartily embraced by our family. That is adoption for you! What a wonderful thing.
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