Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Amazing YOU! It's National Scrapbooking Month

Happy National Scrapbooking Month!  

Now, you all know by now that I'm not much of a scrapbooker -- otherwise I'd be known as ScrapMonkey, right? -- but I DO love my cards, and I especially love finding creative ways to use papers and kits made for scrapbooking.

This month, Close To My Heart has a fabulous kit that includes designer two-sided paper, complementing cardstock, punched cut-outs and oooh-la-la, a stamp set. Check this out!
For me, this paper collection is the perfect picker-upper as we head into summer from what felt like a very long winter. Certainly, there aren't any palm trees in Pennsylvania but we do travel to tropical islands from time to time, and we can dream, right?

Let's take a closer look at the stamp set. It has several images that you can use independent of the kit, and even, independent of the tropics:

See those pretty flowers (hibiscus, I think)?  Many of my friends grow those in planters on their patios. There's also one stamp that says "amazing Family vacation". Cut it apart -- YES, you can do that with acrylic stamps, just use sharp scissors and care, and look at what you can make with this -- a congratulations card!


I stamped the larger hibiscus flower in Sapphire and Crystal Blue CTMH Exclusive Inks, the smaller flower in Smoothie ink, and the leaves in Fern ink. The "Amazing" part of the large stamp set was also stamped in Crystal Blue.  I also added "Congratulations" from an older, retired stamp set (C1673: Some Kinda Wonderful), stamped in Sapphire. 

The technique in cutting the word "YOU" from the center of the card and elevating it is called the "Eclipse" method.  There are many ways that crafters describe how they do this technique; I'm not sure there's a right way or a wrong way, as long as you get the same results. 

For me, I stamp my paper in the pattern that I want. I then cut the word out of the print I've made, using CTMH's Block Alphabet Thin Cuts.  Save every piece you cut out, including the center of the letter O.  

Next, create your "eclipse" by using Craft Foam. I purchased the foam I use at Michael's; it comes in a package of multi-colored foam that's about 1/32nd of an inch thick. Each sheet is 8.5"x11".  

Cut a piece that's wider than your letter die cuts are high. In the case of the CTMH Block Alphabet Thin Cuts, that's 1.5" high, so I cut a strip of foam that's 2" wide from the larger sheet.  

Next, cover that piece of foam with double-sided adhesive tape. I use 6" wide tape from Elizabeth Crafts.  Yes, it's expensive -- almost $50 for a large roll -- but believe me, it lasts forever and it's really worth it!  Cut your letters (YOU, here) from the foam with its adhesive, using a Cuttlebug or other die-cutting machine. 

You'll need to mount your stamped card (that now has the YOU cut out of the center) onto a background color. I used CTMH's Sapphire cardstock. Peel the adhesive backing off of your cut letters, and affix them in place of the missing letters on your stamped card. After that, peel the top of the adhesive paper off of the letters to expose the stickiness, and attach the letters that you've saved on top of that, like a foam sandwich. Don't forget to adhere (with glue) the center of your O.  All done!

Have a question on the Eclipse Method I used, or about any CTMH product?  Please don't hesitate to contact me at cardmonkey@comcast.net, or via a comment left here.

Thanks for stopping by!