Encouraging Matchbox Stories

Hello again friends!

I am excited to share two projects I created pairing i-crafter's Ribbon Rosette Funny Add-On dies & Matchbox Stories dies! The idea behind the Matchbox Stories is that you can give a little pocket-sized message to someone, or keep it for yourself.

 

My first Matchbox, I pulled out some origami paper that I picked up at Dasio in Seattle forever ago to create a sweet outer sleeve for the box. I then used the Ribbon Rosette, Funny Add-On die that says "did my BEST" to cut a sparkly cardstock from a friend's wedding invite. It was way too pretty to just toss! I used the negative letters instead of the full circle. These were glued to the top of the sleeve.

For the base of the Matchbox, I cut out a pretty raspberry pink. I added another piece of the origami paper to the bottom interior of the box. Last, I added a few acrylic roses that have sat in my stash for years.

This box is for me, to help me remember that no matter what life throws my way, I am doing my best, and to try to stay positive in the face of adversity!

My next Matchbox, seems a bit snarky, but I promise, it's filled with so much love. One of my favorite people in the whole world, has a lot of social anxiety. That being said, they push the boundaries of their comfort zone for the people they love often and have to cope at social gatherings despite the fact that they'd rather be home crafting.

She is self-proclaimed as "Socially Awkward" so the Ribbon Rosette, Funny Add-On for this box was really easy to pick! After cutting the words out, I used the oval die from the Matchbox Stories set to cut out the topper for this box.

I used Catherine Pooler's Happy Hearts Slimline Patterned Paper pack for the sleeve purple sleeve and yellow box base. My friend LOVES color and these heart filled papers just make me smile. Once my Matchbox was built, I added small crystal pieces that are intended to encourage positive energy, protection, health, love, and confidence. This will be easy for her slip into her pocket or purse for those uncomfortable social situations.

Be sure to join the i-crafter Facebook Fan Club, then follow us on Instagram, and Pinterest too! We love seeing all of your creations using the i-crafter products so don't forget to tag us or use #icrafter when you share!

Until next time,

Rachel Winn

A Whale of a Tale!

Whale Hello!

I'm so excited to share my creation using i-crafter's Box Pops, Whale Done Add-On die set! I have been a sucker for whales since Free Willy came out when I was young, but for my project, instead of an Orca, I modified my whale to create a Minke Whale instead. 

I started my project by using a 3" x 5" Gel Press, 4 shades of blue acrylic paints, and Sassy & Crafty's Mermaid Tails Stencil to create a pretty ocean for my whale to swim in. After I was happy with my print, I used the i-crafter Animalopes die set and cut out the gift card envelope base.

They are similar enough to Orcas that I felt I could use the die, but their dorsal fin sits a bit further back so after I cut my whale out of watercolor paper, I carefully cut the fin off the top. 

 Next, I watercolored the two pieces, being careful to change the pattern of the markings from what is cut with the die to be more in line with what a Minke looks like. Once My watercoloring came out a bit darker than I was wanting, but the light spots are perfect for the dark silvery color that these whales are typically colored. After they finished drying, I glued the dorsal fin on towards the back half of the whale.

For the back of the gift card envelope, there was a bit of a gap where my print ended and the center of the envelope. I used a sponge to fill that space in with the darkest blue. I used another print attempt for the back top flap of the gift card envelope. This was a lighter blue but also used the Sassy & Crafty's Mermaid Tails Stencil. From i-crafter's Box Pops, Whale Done Add-On die set, I also cut out the "Whale Done!" sentiment out of scrap silver mirrored cardstock.

This was my first time using either of these die sets, but I am SO pleased with the results! A gift card fits in perfectly, and I can easily add this into a card or package without adding a bunch of weight.

I hope that you enjoy this project as much as I enjoyed creating it! 

If you’d like to follow me, here is my blog, Instagram, and Facebook page. Be sure to join the i-crafter Facebook Fan Club, then follow us on Instagram, and Pinterest too! We love seeing all of your creations using the i-crafter products so don't forget to tag us or use #icrafter when you share!

Until next time,

Rachel Winn

Dashed Circles, i-crafter May Release

Hi again friends!

It's i-crafter's Release Day and I am so excited to share the new Dashed Circles dies. This set is super versatile and allows you to use your other i-crafter products (and every other company's products) in even more fun ways! The dies cut dashes on two sides of the cut circle creating a positive and negative space that can be used on your projects. I have 3 cards to show you today with fun ways to create using this great new set.

My first two projects use paper from Echo Park's Perfect Princess paper pad. I have two adorable little girls that are getting a package from me soon and I wanted to include some cards for them. 

The first card, I folded my card base out of a dark gray, and took the die to the very edge of the fold. By placing the cutting circle just over the fold, I was able to cut *almost* a full circle card base. My cutting machine didn't fully cut the bottom circle's dashes, I could have recut or used a shim to help it, but decided that I liked the look and kept it as is.

Next, I picked my patterned papers from the Perfect Princess pad, and die cut two Dashed Circles from it, the larger of the two circles is the princesses, the smaller is a sentiment that says "little girls have a magic of their own, princess." 

I added a medium sized Dashed Circle in a bright yellow to contrast with the gray and create space between the two patterned papers. This was popped-up on a thin foam tape, then the smallest Dashed Circle was added to it. I finished the card with 3 light purple heart embellishments from HAI Supply

The second card, I used the same paper pad, but wanted to show off a few more tricks the Dashed Circles die set can do! I started with a blue-green card base then cut down another piece of the yellow to add on top of that. I cut out various pieces of the patterned paper that I wanted to include. Next, I took a medium sized Dashed Circle die, and added the die one size smaller in the center of it. I cut both of these at the same time, creating a frame for my unicorns (I lined up the outer circle dashes on both the unicorns and the frame) and a back layer for my crowns.

After playing with the layout of the 4 patterns, I turned my attention to the sentiment circle "You're a princess". In order to highlight this circle, I positioned the smallest Dashed Circle die in the top left of the yellow layer, creating a negative space that opened up to the blue-green base. I added foam tap to the back of the sentiment to give it more depth. I finished this card off with some Raspberry DoubleClick Skittles.

My last card is super shiny! I stared with a black card base to make the Holographic Cardstock pop more, in the center of this shiny layer, I used second from the smallest Dashed Circle die and cut a negative space. I used this to line up the location for my Halo Lights. I added the center cut piece of the Holographic Cardstock to help the light reflect upwards more (black tends to absorb light so this helped more go upward.) I also used a metallic blue marker to fill in the rest of the black, thinking I would be using vellum to fill the negative space, which I later decided against.

Next, I cut out 2 partial Dashed Circles from a striped pink cardstock scrap. I grabbed the scraps of my yellow cardstock from earlier and cut out "Shine on" for the top circle, and "like a" for the bottom circle with i-crafter's Carly alphabet dies. For "diamond" and to fill the negative space in the center, I used Light Blue Metallic Paper.

I finished the card off with Diamond Clear Jewels from HAI and by writing in "Push" since I failed to stamp it before I glued everything together! Here is a short video show off card all lit up!

Head over to i-crafter to get the new Dashed Circles die set, and check out the other wonderful new release items too! Be sure to join the i-crafter Facebook Fan Club, then follow us on Instagram, and Pinterest too! We love seeing all of your creations using the i-crafter products.

Until next time,

R. Winn