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Sunday, November 27, 2011

I often have receipts, mail, coupons, etc...that I place on our kitchen counter for my husband to take to work, or that I need to remember to take with me on errands on any given day. I detest clutter, and having these lying all around on my workspace was often confusing! I needed somewhere to put them, instead of the refrigerator door, as my hubby often didn't see them - so...my METAL project was born out of my need for practical organization and my love for crafting! I hope you can use this tutorial for your own personal magnetic reminder board, and I'll list some other uses at the end of my post!
So let's get started! First, you will need to locate a piece of galvanized sheet metal! These can be found at your local Sheet Metal Shop, or Heating and Cooling company! Check the Yellow Pages of your local phone directory if you don't already have a company you regularly use! **Just stop by and ask for a piece of scrap sheet metal cut to the size you need, in my case: almost 12 in x 12 in! (YOU WILL ALSO NEED 3-6 small pieces of scrap metal to m ake your decorative metal magnets! These should be 1-3 inches in size, either square or rectangle. Mine were just randomly cut at the metal shop from another scrap in the heap!) Mine are pictured a little further down with the re-purposed magnets I pried out of some old magnetic clips I had.
*They will likely just give it to you for free, or charge you a very minimal price! (My husband and I own a family heating and air, custom metal duct business, so my scrap was free!) And if you agree to mention the business on your blog or to those who see your project, they may give it to you for free as well! :) You will also need a 12in x 12in square picture frame; I had a white, wood frame on hand which coordinated with my kitchen trim.
Tools & Supplies you will need:
Self-Healing mat, 12 in paper trimmer, scissors, Xacto knife, metal/acrylic cutting ruler, sanding block, and corner rounder. Pictured are the various adhesives I used: ATG Tape Runner, Tombow Permanant, Xyron 150 Sticker Maker and CTMH Liquid Glass.

You will also need several (3-6) small scraps of metal to make your magnets, and the same number of STRONG magnet pieces!

**The thin magnetic sheets, strips and coils are not strong enough to hold through several sheets of paper and cardstock! (I repurposed several strong, round magnets out of some old magnetic clips I had.)
You will also need Mod Podge, a craft sponge, and a rubber brayer to adhere the first layer of cardstock to the sheet of metal.

Here is photo collage of the embellishments I used on my project, and the Prima Valentine stem I also used 1 piece of solid 12in x 12in cardstock, and portions of 3 coordinating patterned papers. Now we can start constructing our Magnet Reminder Board! 1. Adhere base cardstock to clean sheet metal with a thick layer of Mod Podge using a sponge. Apply Mod Podge in sections, and smooth each section with your Speedball rubber brayer or similar tool.

2. Place the sheet metal face down between to flat, firm surfaces, and place a weighted object on top of your "metal sandwich" to help keep the cardstock smooth. Set this aside to dry.
3. Now, position your Prima multi-flower stem onto your frame, and adhere is with generous strips of clear Liquid Glass adhesive. Hold in place for a few minutes, and set aside to dry.
4. Next, let's construct the small metal-based magnets you will need to hold items onto your board! **These also serve as part of the decoration/embellishment on your board without taking up space! Run your small metal pieces through a Xyron sticker maker 150 loaded with permanant adhesive.

Cover the sticky side of your metal pieces with paper of your choice, and then trim off the excess using your Xacto knife, self-healing mat, and firm craft ruler.

Next, adhere your strong magnets to the raw metal side of your magnets with clear Liquid Glass adhesive, and be generous! Mine oozed around the sides of the magnet a little. Set these aside to dry, as you will be embellishing these last. (This photo shows mine face down with embellishments.)

5. Now it's time to trim any excess cardstock from your now dry metal sheet with your Xacto knife, ruler and self-healing mat.

6. Next, trim your first, second and third patterned papers to the desired size and shape, and adhere them to the solid cardstock!
I used my ATG for larger areas on the backs of my papers, and then went around very close on all paper edges with my Tombow adhesive runner. I have better control with a smaller tape runner, personally.
Here is the beginning of your Magnetic Reminder Board! For one of my patterned papers, I wanted a distressed look, and to take out some of the brightness of the green of the paper, so I did some heavy sanding all over with my 3m sanding block.
This photo shows "before" I sanded. And here is the "after" effect! For the Bandana patterned piece, I used the corner rounder for some interest on 2 of the corners.
Next, I ran lengths of ribbon and ric rac through my Xyron sticker maker 150, and positioned those onto my sheet metal.
I also tied a length of white tulle around the frame and flower stem in an upside-down bow, and it needed no adhesive.
7. Last, flip over your dry magnets, and embellish as you desire! I used some Prima and Recollections paper flowers, and cut golden pom poms off of trim and edhered them with Liquid Glass adhesive. I also added a few of these onto the frame as if they were part of my flowered stem!
8. Last - place your new magnetic memory board into your frame, replace the backing, and you are all done! Voila!
*I think these would make great baby gifts if made in coordinating nursey colors for a new mom! She could place photos, keepsakes like hospital bracelets, etc...on her board to display temporarily, and then later scrapbook them! Appointment reminder cards are also great to display, too! This could also be a sesaonal/holiday decoration! Just decorate as many sheets of metal as you like, and switch them out in the frame as seasons and holidays change!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Good Times

Welcome to my layout for the Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs, featuring "Embossing." I chose to incorporate dry embossing on the red cardstock die cut shape behind the "E," as well as wet, heat embossing on the title and horseshoe accents! I really do like both types of embossing for different reasons: dry embossing is more subtle, and heat embossing adds pop!
So, I encourage you to get out those embossing plates and stylus, heat guns and fine powders, and get creative! (And messy, if you are like me! :)
Please join us each and every Fabulous Friday at Frosted Designs!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas 2011: This is my first Copic and Prismacolor marker project! I absolutely love Christmas, and traditional Christmas colors, so I just layered and layered those with my favorite shape, the square, until I was happy with my card. This DIGI image is by Mo Manning, and actually was chosen becuase this little boy, "Jimmy" looks so much like my own 3 year old! I usually add a lot more "bling" to my projecrs, but for this card, I really wanted you to be able to focus on the image of this sweet boy and his excitement about Christmas, so I took a more minimalist approach.
This being my first coloring project, literally, I was pretty pleased with how this sweet boy and his stocking turned out! I have just a few Copic Sketch markers, and so I mixed my coloring with Prismacolor markers that are available where I live. Both worked very well on the Copic Xpress paper, and I could tell a big difference in the ease of coloring with it and the basic cardstock that I tested colors on!
The angle of this photograph really emphasizes the embossed texture on the base of my card, and I think it adds a little something without being a distraction.
For this card, and the many duplicates I will make to mail to loved ones all over the USA, I dove into my STASH, and decided to CLEAR OUT the Clover Meadow cardstock from Close To My Heart that I have had for at least 3 or 4 years. I also used the last red rhinestone on a sheet that I have had for years, too...and yes I saved just one rhinestone... I was thrilled to be able to pull out a very old embossing plate out of my tools stash, and hand emboss the basket weave texture onto my base layer!
*Being a mother of ALL BOYS - I get to create papercrafted projects that reflect my primarily masculine household. (Me, and 2 of our pets are ladies! LOL!) Personally, I love ribbon, flowers, bling, etc... but, for this card, I wanted to truly reflect who we are as a family...we are mostly boys, very bright and colorful, very conservative & square, very complex with lots of layers, and completely in love with Christmas....and I feel that's what my card communicates.
TOP TIP TUESDAY: When working with any medium to dark colored solid cardstock, be sure to wash your hands with a non-moisturizing soap, and DO NOT apply hand lotion or cream! This will keep your cardstock fresh and clean without any oily fingerprints, and will prevent your photos and images from detiorating over time from oily fingers!
***I found some WONDERFUL blogs that are hosting challenges that worked with my card, and here they are! *** Please become a follower of my blog, and visit these, too! **** There She Goes: TSG129 Holiday Daisy Doodles Creative Challenges: #46 Anything Goes w/a digi Heart Song Inspirations: Challenge #23 Anything Goes
*Products I Incorporated Into This Card: Clover Meadow cardstock by CTMH (very old) Classic Red Textured Cardstock by Bazzill Sassy Trees on Ivory pp by Canvas Corp. Copic XPress It Laser White cardstock "Jimmy's Stocking" image by Mo Manning Twine by My Minds Eye Basket Weave Embossing plate by Fiskars (very old) Clover Meadow ink by CTMH (very old) Playful Numbers Stamp Set by CTMH (OLD - not used in 3 years?) Rhinestone bling by Me and My Big Ideas* (very old!) Copic Sketch Markers: 0, 100, BG10, E33, YR04, R29, YG03, YG67 Prismacolor Markers: PM-192, PM-187, PM-90, PM-88, PM-19

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Riding Horses

I wanted to share this layout with you, as I am really pleased with how it turned out! I used some brand-spanking new products, as well as some older ones that I was thrilled to incorporate! Again, this layout features my youngest son, and showcases his confident personality! This "horse" is life-sized, and he was fearless as I hoisted him up into the aged leather saddle!
As for the newest of my supplies, I incorporated the natural and black burlap fibers, and the horseshoe die-cut that I puchased this summer at a Creating Keepsakes Convention. The oldest supplies include the natural string, and the year stickers in the lower left corner. The string is so old, I can't even remember where it came from, but it is certainly from my pre-scrapbooking days, which dates it pre-2001!
My partial list of supplies:
Sandylion and Karen Foster stickers, Basic Grey brads, CTMH Sarsparilla, DCWV patterned paper, Want 2 Scrap die-cut
*****

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Anchors Away!

I was really happy to create this layout with 9 photos, and still have a little "white" space not covered! I used square punch to create the uniform photo size, and then distressed all photo edges with my hardware store sanding block! I love the sanded photo look, and I think it fits my subject well; my rough and tumble little boy! I would say this is one of my signature looks.
I used these products to create this nautical layout:
Cardstock (CTMH, Bazzill & Recollections), Patterned Paper (American Crafts), Nautical Stickers (Martha Stewart), Metallic Font Chipboard (Me and My Big Ideas), Twine (My Mind's Eye), Blue Pearls (Queen & Co.), Silver Charms (Michaels), Anchor Punch (Martha Stewart)