Winners of my Hawaiian Shirt Blog Candy

Thank you to everyone who sent a shirt(s) to Janice for her Senior Services Meals on Wheels Fund Raiser. I would have loved to send each and every one of you something special as a thank you, but I could only choose three...

And here they are! The three winners of my Hawaiian Shirt Blog Candy! Congratulations to Lora from Brooklyn, New York, Paulette from Pompano Beach, Florida and Arlene from Chicago, Illinois! Thank you ladies!

In appreciation for all you've done, each of you will receive a package consisting of the following:

• One of my very own Hawaiian Shirts
• A "Thank You" themed set of Clear Stamps
• Two Clear Stamp Blocks
• A spool of Ribbon
  in tropical colors
• A pack of 100 Mini Brads
  (to use on additional Shirts, perhaps?)
  

My thanks to Lora, Paulette, and Arlene and to everyone who participated in this worthy cause.

And now, a word from My Readers...

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I've been so quiet lately. I've been (GASP!) too busy to craft. But although I have nothing new to show you at this time, You, my readers, have been plenty busy! Here are some of the beautiful creations your fellow scrappers have created using either my Original Hawaiian Shirt template or my Hawaiian Shirt 2.0 template for double-sided cardstock.

Thanks for sharing, ladies!
(Remember, you can click on any photo to get a larger image.)


I love this design from Elaine in Colorado.




Elaine modified the Original template to create this cool baseball shirt.









And she didn't forget about the details on the back of the shirt either! Check out the personalization on the curved text!



Valita in Australia created these adorable cards, also using the Original shirt template.

This is Valita's "Pink PJs" creation. I love the slippers -- too cute! And great detail with the pocket and the faux stitching.







Valita named this one "Paint Shirt" for obvious reasons. She said she was inspired by the paper, which looked like splattered paint. I love the tiny paint roller!






This is New Yorker LoraSara's design. So sunny and bright!
Doesn't the pattern give it a kind of retro feel?






Paulette from Florida created both of these summery designs, I believe from my Hawaiian Shirt 2.0 template.


Great swirl pattern on this shirt, and you gotta love all those tiny flowers!








This one is so cute and creative! So juicy and delicious! I love the tiny, little watermelon lei.



Thanks again to all of you creative ladies for sharing your designs! Keep them coming! I would love to see ALL of them!

p.s. If you would like to send me a photo of your version of my Hawaiian Shirt and see it posted in my blog, check out my contact info here.

Cool New Products

I just came across a couple of cool new products from Piggy Tales. They're called "Barndoors" and "Hide & Seek Flap Books."

Creating Keepsakes chose them as a top 10 product at CHA Summer 2007. Here is CK's demo of the products ...




I think they would be great for kids albums! I haven't gotten my hands on any yet, but when I do I'll be sure to post the finished product here!

Introducing the NEW & Improved Hawaiian Shirt!

Same great style of the Original Hawaiian Shirt... Now with HALF the cutting and pasting!

I've kept the look of the Original, but trimmed down the design time with my secret weapon... Double Sided Cardstock!

As with the Original Hawaiian Shirt, please remember that this template is for personal or not-for-profit use only (no commercial gain) and if you use it, please give me credit as the designer. And again, feel free to email me a photo of your finished creation!

Materials:

• Template
• 6” x 12” Double-sided Cardstock
  (small pattern on one side and solid on reverse is most effective)
• Mini brads
• Adhesive
  (Any adhesive should work to glue on the “lapels.” However, I do recommend a very strong paper adhesive like Scotch's Quick Dry Tacky Adhesive for step 4.)
  
• Paper piercer or pushpin
• Computer & printer
• Ruler
• Craft knife and/or scissors
• Bone Folder

Step 1:
Download template.

Print template at 100% on patterned side of cardstock and cut out pieces on solid lines using a craft knife and ruler or scissors.

Note: I designed the pattern so that I could get 2 shirts from one 12” x 12” piece of cardstock. If your printer cannot accept this size paper, one pattern also fits on 8.5” x 11” paper at 100%.



Step 2:
Poke small holes at dots of right shirtfront with paper piercer or pushpin. Fold on dashed line. Unfold, add adhesive and refold to form shirt placket.

Re-poke holes through both layers and attach brads.

Adhere lapels.





Step 3:
With the patterned side facing you, score back of shirt on dashed lines using a ruler and a bone folder or stylus.

Fold on scored lines.









Step 4:
Flip the shirt over.

Apply glue to the solid side of the shirt on outside folded areas only (sleeves & shirt sides).

Glue shirt fronts to shirt back.

I recommend using a very strong adhesive (like Scotch's Quick Dry Tacky Adhesive) for this step.




Your shirt is done!
Finished Size 5" x 4.375"

Optional: Attach mini paper flowers using mini glue dots.

Add dots of dimensional fabric paint to center of each flower.

Note: For more info about the flowers that I used to create this project, check out my FAQ page.

Hawaiian Shirt Blog Candy

Or is it a PIF? (Pay It Forward) Or a RAK? (Random Act of Kindness) I'm kinda new at this, so I'm not sure what it is. I'm gonna to call it a great, big THANK YOU for all of you who shared your time and creative energy in order to send a Hawaiian Shirt(s) for Janice's Senior Services Meals on Wheels Fund Raiser.

As a token of my appreciation, I will be giving away three prize packages consisting of one of my own Hawaiian Shirts plus some additional cool scrapbooking product(s). Janice will randomly pick the three winners from among those who sent her a shirt.

If you would like a chance to win, please make sure that Janice receives your shirt(s) by August 27th. The drawing will be on August 28th and I will post the winners here on my blog. (Remember to include a return address with your shirt!)

For more information about the fund raiser, see this post. For more information on making your own Hawaiian Shirt, see my original tutorial here or my revised tutorial for double-sided cardstock here.

"Miss You" Envelope Book

This is a little project that I sent to my husband while he was away on his last business trip. The finished book measures 3" x 4.75".

The front features a string and grommet closure. The back has faux stitching detail and a sentiment printed on a transparency film and attached with eyelets. I also inked the edges to give it an aged look.

The flap opens to reveal five pockets containing tags with "Missing You" sentiments - also printed on transparency film and attached with eyelets.

I got the instructions for this project from one of the Weekly Webisodes on the Paper Wishes website. You can find the webisode for this project here and the instructions here.

This is another (more feminine) version that I designed. This one features a hook-and-eye closure and a ribbon accent. I sanded the edges for a worn look. I also added some faux stitching on the back, this time with white "thread."

Thanks for looking!

Quick & Easy Faux Stitching

Are you like me and intimidated by the thought of using your sewing machine on your paper projects? Tired of dragging out that old, clunky machine? Or perhaps you want the look but don't want to spend the time? Well you're in luck! What I have right here is a tool that will miraculously create quick, even stitching with out ever touching a needle and thread! Yes, that's right! And all it takes is three easy payments of ...

Sorry! Too many late night infomercials... But believe or not, it really works! You can create quick and easy stitching without a needle and thread using this tool. It's called a Serrated Tracing Wheel and it can be found in the sewing notions department of your local craft and fabric stores. Sewers and quilters use it to transfer patterns on to fabric. And the best news is that it costs less than $2! No installment plan necessary!


All you need is a Serrated Tracing Wheel, a ruler (for straight line stitching), a fine point marker or gel pen, and your paper. And you will probably want to protect your work surface with a cutting mat.

Bonus Tip! For deeper "stitches" use an old mousepad instead of a cutting mat.


First line up your ruler where you want the stitching.

Note: You can also do this technique without a ruler for a more freeform or hand-stitched look.





Next roll your serrated tracing wheel along the ruler to pierce holes in your paper. For best results, apply a strong, even pressure on the wheel. I find that pushing the wheel away from me works better than pulling the wheel towards me.




Then simply connect the holes using your marker or gel pen. Pause in each hole to allow the paper to soak up more ink to get a more realistic stitched effect. I used a brown pen here for the contrast, but I really like the look I get with my white gel pen.




Change the way you connect the holes to get different "stitches."

I used two lines of holes to create the stitching in rows 3 - 5.

The last row was made without a ruler.




That's it! All done! Wasn't that easy? This will also work with cardstock, chipboard, etc.

Here are a couple of projects that I made with some stitching detail.

For more info on these projects, check back for my next post!

OMG! Another Project Is Going to be Published!

Yippee! I can't believe it! I just got notified that another of my creations is going to be published in Paper Crafts magazine! (Insert picture of me doing a little jig! I take that back... erase that image!)

This one, titled "Snowman Poop" (hee hee - yes, that's what I'm calling it!) is a winter project that I had submitted in May. Turns out that Cath from Paper Crafts had sent me an email back in June requesting my project for their December 2007/January 2008 issue. And I never got the email! Bad Email Application! Bad!!!

Luckily she sent me another email today, which I did read and responded to IMMEDIATELY! So now I will be recreating my Snowman Poop Holder in order to write accurate instructions for this project -- it's been months since I originally designed it. But that is a teeny, tiny, little inconvenience compared to the HUGE honor of being selected again by PC. (Although, technically... this will be my first published project in Paper Crafts, as this issue goes on sale in November, while the Card Creations issue goes on sale around Christmas... And PC did send the request for this project before their request for my Birthday Bubbles card... Darn confusing Space/Time continuum!)

If permitted, I will post a sneak peek of my project here in my blog in November -- before the issue goes on sale.

Thanks everyone for all of your support and kind words!

p.s. Sorry for the Sci-Fi reference... Guess my geek husband is rubbing off on me.

Ok, I admit it... I am a weird geek/artist-type hybrid.

And now I'm rambling. It's late. "Say 'Goodnight' Angela."
("Goodnight Angela!")

This is what happens when they let ANYONE blog...