When I think of Paris

When I think of Paris colors I think of soft hues of linen, petal pinks, creamy coffee and tea tones.  I'm reminded of the pastel colored
macaroons and rich cup of coffee relaxing in Rodin's Garden.

Thanks to  guest Libby Hickson's of the Stampotique Designer's Challenge "French Flair" for reminding me of such pleasures and aesthetics. (I envy that you get to go every summer!)  

For this challenge I created a gift tag I cut from mat board.
The house shape is painted with a white-washed over buttercream and distressed with a little sanding and distressing inks.  Bits of soft color paper and fibers are added.  Cutout window features a portion of  Stampotique's "Little Friends" stamp and the woman figure (my husband's mother) is "Summer of 32."  I have a striped two toned pink tag that I will hang along side it that reads "Pour vous."

It was terrific fun to put off going to the gym and daydream of Paris. 

:-)  Janet

 

Stand-up Skeleton

I've had these craft sticks and blocks in my studio for some time.  I had

glued them together and painted them in more appealing colors and they waited to be put to use.

After completing a new set of digis based on Frida Khalo, the little Skeleton Toy character was screaming to be cut out.  He's a fast little guy to color -- and I like fast.  A little number stamp around the block , some snips and a little Aleen's Tacky Glue makes for a fun little studio friend.  When you make parts in advance, it makes it easier to put things together.

He's a great little character for Dia de los Muertos, but he's going to hang on my shelf year round.

Skeleton Toy and the Frida set are available for instant download in my Etsy store.  Enjoy!

Matchbox Mini Books

I must confess, I had full intentions of making another one this week for the Stampotique recycle challenge but this is my first prototype that I came up with and it's structure is too cute not to share. 

If you like math (wink) you can use any size matchbox, but I have worked the math kinks out for you using two 2 1/8" x 1  7/16" matchbook boxes. 

 

The "drawers" hold a mini book each and the concertina fold which attach to each box also have a booklet in the center. When I measure, I allow for scoring and folding as you want your text pages to sit comfortably in the book spine.

 

 

Materials:

• 2 matchboxes
• 4" thin wire
• 2 beads (elongated) for drawer pulls
• 2 pieces of cardstock for mini book covers 2.5" x 1 6/8"
• 1 piece of cardstock 5 9/16 x 2 1/2" (concertina fold)
• 6 text pages (2 for each book but you can add more) 2 7/16" x 1 15/16"
• 26" thin ribbon
• Beads for ribbon ends
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Paints, papers, stamps, inks
• Ruler
• Bone folder
• Paper Cutter
• Awl ( or something to piece small holes)
• Needle and thread

1. Paint and decorate boxes and drawers or cover with paper.  Set aside to dry.
2. Book Covers:  After you have cut your cardstock to size, distress, stamp, decorate as desired. The long piece is to connect the boxes and the other two are the tiny book covers.   Keep in mind that  about 1 1/2 inches in on both sides of the longer piece will not show as it will be glued to a portion of the box.
3. Color and stamp your text pages as desired. When dry, fold pages in half and allow two sheets (folded) for each booklet.
4. Measure, score, and fold the longer cardstock into four ( 1 3/8") equal sections(three folds).  Zigzag fold.
5. Align the two layers of text pages in the center fold.  With all the pieces together, pierce two holes about 1/4" from the top and bottom.  Sew the text pages into the spine.
6. Covers for the mini books:  Find the center of the 2.5" x 1 6/8" cardstock with your ruler -- (this will be your sewing line) measure and score 1/8" on both sides of the line.  Sew your text pages on the center line.
7. Glue ribbon ends to the center of boxes first, then glue the plain ends of the folded cardstock to cover the ribbons and attach the two boxes.
8. On one end of each "drawer" poke two holes the length of the bead and attach from the inside with a bit of twisted wire.
9. Tuck the little books in the little drawers -- add a charm for a surprise.
10. Add some bead embellishment on the end of the ribbons.  The assembly collapses into a tidy container -- wrap the ribbons to and tie to close.

If you are not a math person you can eyeball the picture above and use the boxes to trace onto your cardstock to approximate your measures. Please feel free to ask me any questions if these directions are not clear. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Digi Stamp

Thanks for stopping by Vera Lane Studio!

Check the new tab, "Free Digi Stamp" for this month's release, "Spring Gal."   She's a simple yet versatile stamp that you may copy for free.

Have her float, fly, or place her in a landscape.  Using Spring Gal as a simple graphic makes 
a perfect image for gift tags, greetings, invites, a thank you, or a simple hello card.

All Vera Lane Studio images are hand drawn and 300-350 resolution. 

If you have any questions on how to use digi stamps please drop me a line at:
janet@veralanestudio.com
 

Document Folder

A single sheet of cardstock scored and folded 1" from the bottom  makes a functional document folder. 

1. Lay cardstock flat to stamp, color, and collage.  Measure 1" from the bottom edge and score from the back of the sheet. 
2. Fold up at score line and rub flat with a bone folder or scissor handle.
3. Secure folder  by attaching a button with a cord to keep your folder closed.  Make sure the cord is long enough to wrap around the folder.
4. Create a matching envelope to tuck inside if desired.

The three Stampotique stamps used for this simple project are from Stampoptique.com.  Look for Antique Description (7228), Carol's Flower Large, 9165, and Little Friends (9154)

Digi Stamps now available for instant download on Etsy

I'm pleased to announce that Vera Lane Studio Digi stamps are now available for instant download in my Etsy shop. 

 

 The current catalog is available by request.  Please email me at:

 

janet@veralanestudio.com

 



June Birthdays

There sure seem to be a lot of them.  I'm one, so is my husband, and many of our friends have June birthdays.  Since the celebrations are beginning soon I put off a couple of items on my agenda to create some small birthday cards. 

The Stampotique Birthday Cake Cube with Candle was a good option to begin my June birthday card set.  I had a stack of 2 x 2" Twinchie cards cut for my children's studio, colored cardstock and my pile of PITT pens (that I can't live without).  To complete this simple collection I used Copics, BIC markers, a corner cropper, and Jim Holtz Distress Inks. You'll also need scissors, adhesive, and foam or adhesive dots.

The completed cards measure 3.5" x 4". 

Cut assorted card stock 3.5" x 8", score in the center and fold.  Stamp a variety of cakes in a variety of colored inks on white card stock.  Color cakes to your desired palette.  Add some bling, glitter, or what ever you desire.  Trim cakes, accent with Pitt pens for some contrast.
Now design a border on your 2 x 2" white card (Twinchie) with the PITT pens.  I like the small tip. 
Pull some colors from the cake and decorated your border design. Attach the 2x2" decorated Twinchie in the top center of the card.  Clip 2" wide scraps to add to the bottom. 
Now embellish the edge of the card with the PITT pen and color with markers.  Add the cake in the center of the Twinchie with double sided sticky foam to make it dimensional. 
Trim corners with a corner cutter and distress the edges with monochromatic Distress Inks. 

It's good therapy to work on variations of a theme, and not a bad idea to make up a batch of birthday cards in advance!