Thinking of You Criss Cross Card Tutorial

 Good morning fellow scrappers!  Hmmmm, seems like almost a whole month has flown by & I've been a bit quiet.  Well, you can blame work for that.  I've been a bit swamped since I went back.  I've made it a point to keep my sanity by taking the time to scrap here n' there--I just haven't had the chance to post any of it!  So, to start myself off here's a DT card I've made for Authentique.  I've used their lovely papers from the 'Remembrance' collection. I've decided to go with a non-traditional card & opted for what is called a 'criss cross' card. 

'Remembrance' is one of Authentique's petite collections full of beautiful papers in shades of deep purple & olive greens with elegant patterns and sentiments of sympathy, thoughtfulness, and good memories.  These papers can be used for sympathy cards, to honor memories of loved ones who has since left us or to pay tribute to a dear family member or friend.

There are several tutorials and how to's on the internet on how you can make your own criss cross card.  I simply decided to add to this collection of tutorials with my own version.  What I like about the criss cross card is that it's essentially one large pocket that you can embellish as desired with a sentiment that easily slides in & out of the card.  It's not a complex card to make if you wish to go with a slightly different sort of card.



Here is what the inside sentiment of the card looks like.

Following are a couple of close ups.





Now onto the tutorial...

Step 1: You'll need 1 piece of solid colored card stock cut in 1/2. A 5 3/4" x 5 3/4" piece of contrasting paper & two 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" pieces of coordinating paper.

Step 2: Score the two 12" x 6" pieces of card stock in half. With a trimmer, scissors or craft knife you will then need to cut at a diagonal from one corner of the card stock to the bottom corner of the center fold. TIP: The photo came out a bit too bright to see this, but with a pencil & a ruler I lightly draw a line marking where I intend to cut. This serves as a guide so that I don't cut way off.

You will repeat this step on the other piece of 12" x 6" card stock. NOTE: when you cut the second piece of card stock make sure you do so on the opposite side so that when you join the two pieces of card stock the two middle sections will overlap to the form the base of your card.

Step 3: When you adhere the two 12"x6" pieces of card stock--this is what they should look like.

Step 4: Cut all of the remaining pieces of paper diagonally as shown. Once again I first drew a line lightly as my guide with a pencil & ruler prior to cutting. I don't know about most of you but I'm very lopsided! I can never just cut away without some kind of guide!

Step 5: Adhere the patterned paper to the contrasting piece of paper. You will have the other halves of the patterned paper left over. Keep these for future projects. NOTE: If you do not wish to have leftovers or if you want your card to have just one design--simply use one piece of 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" patterned paper cut in half diagonally.

Step 6: Take the two triangles and adhere them to the base of the card as shown. At this point you have your criss cross card pretty much done. All that's left is to glue it closed & decorate it!

Step 7: With two sided tape (or glue with a fine tip) place one strip on the base of the card at the very bottom to adhere the first flap. Then take a second strip of tape & place it on top of the first flap to adhere the second flap as shown here.

Step 8: For the inside of the card you'll need 1 piece of patterned or solid colored paper (whichever works best for your project) sized 5 3/4" wide by 5 1/2" high.  This next step is optional--to make the tabs with the brads seen on my card simply take a 1" circle punch & punch out 2 circles--fold them in half, pierce a small hole into one half of the circle, attach the brad & finally adhere to the card.

Step 9: Here's your finished card. Now just embellish away!

Hope this tutorial will inspire some of you to create a criss cross card for you next project.  Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of the week

You Color My World Layout & Challenge

Good morning fellow scrappers! It's actually my turn to host my very first challenge over at Berry71Bleu!  This is the first time I host any kind of challenge--so I'm quite excited & a bit nervous...

After a bit of deliberation, I decided to go with a 'You Color My World' theme.  The concept is to create a project based on a person(s) that adds 'color' to your world--that just brightens your day.  That one person(s) that just gives your life meaning.  It can be more than one person & it can even be a pet!  I have my own fur baby--so I'm very much aware of how much joy a pet can bring into someone's life.  So pets are included in this theme.  The challenge is to use paint in your project.  You can use paint in any shape or form...splash it onto your background, use it to color your embellishments such as chipboard or flowers--the possibilities are many, just let your creativity be your guide.

I provided this photo collage as inspiration for the challenge.  The projects don't necessarily have to have many colors or bright colors--the photos are more for inspiration since they're lively, happy & joyful.

At first I was going to scrap my newborn son--what can add more happiness & joy to someone's life than their first child right?  Then I thought...hmmm, can't leave Toby my fur baby out--he taught me the meaning of unconditional love!  Then after more thought I realized that I wouldn't have Toby or my son if it weren't for my husband.  So I based the page on him--the beginning of it all & the reason as to why I have the family that I'm part of today.

I'm a cautious person & take my time to make any life changing decisions.  If it weren't for my husband giving me those much needed nudges neither Toby or my newborn son would be here today.  How grateful I am today that he gave me those nudges--my two boys complete my world & are my two little rays of sunshine.  So this project is dedicated to my husband...with much love!

 The title was printed on a transparency, cut out & adhered with clear dry glue.  The light orange polka dots were made with a stencil provided by this month's challenge sponsor DecoArt.

The border seen here was made with a punch by Martha Stewart.  The large light brown flower is by Manor House Creations & the mulberry orange & yellow flowers are from I Am Roses & Wild Orchid Crafts.

In the upper corner of this screen shot you'll notice my usual scroll which holds my journaling.  Here I provided my husband with a heartfelt message.  You can find a tutorial on how I make these journaling scrolls here if interested.

All of the chipboard cogs seen here are by Dusty Attic.  To give them texture, they were all first primed with gesso.  Once dry, I colored them with blue frosted paint also sponsored by DecoArt.  After this layer dried I finished it off by using a bit of DecoArt purple & blue twinkle paint.   I especially liked working with the twinkle paint--as you can see, this paint gave my chipboard cogs a nice shimmery & glittery final touch.

The splatters seen in the background were made with the 'Splats' stamp set by Recollections.

The film strip is by Tim Holtz & all these really cute wooden tags & the wooden window shutter seen underneath the Manor House flower is by a shop found in Zibbet called SaCrafters.

Love my bright blue cogs!  :-)

I included these two paint brushes to be symbolic of having my husband 'color' my world.  These were actually the brushes I used to paint my chipboard cogs.  I just cleaned them a bit & adhered them to my page.

Make sure you head on over to the Berry71Bleu blog & play along!  You have until the end of March to play & this month's sponsor DecoArt has provided us with some of their fabulous products as the prize to the lucky winners!  Looking forward to seeing all of your lovely works of art.