Acetate in August

Welcome to our big August Acetate Blog Hop! We're shining our spotlight on the clear plastic acetate material that makes terrific cards, boxes, embellishments, and more. It can be stamped on, painted, and embossed -- which makes it a very fun, versatile choice for any project.

Let's start this party with some new, never-before-seen samples made with acetate components of our adorable Birthday Boy Card Kit, designed by Pam Smerker:


And here are a few more from the kits:

And here we have a card from Dusty Patrick. It is the A2 Acetate Card plus straight frame in black cardstock. The rubons are from Basic Grey.





Another sample is this card by Trish Estrella. It is the A2 Gate Fold Crescent Card with Band in Acetate. The stamps are from Fancy Pants.


And now for some fun news! We're getting ready to show off a fabulous new designer kit very soon -- and we're offering one up as a prize. It's so new, we don't even have a photo yet! It's the new Sealife 8"x8" Album Kit. It uses the adorable Doodlebug papers and embellishments, and includes chipboard, cardstock and acetate pages. Here are the four different ways to win it:

(A) Leave a comment on this post. (This is limited to one per person unless you meet the criteria of B, C, and/or D below.) Tell us all about your Christmas card plans. How many are you making? Do you usually say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas"? Are they fancy or whimsical?

(B) Leave one extra comment if you've posted a link to this blog candy on your own blog. Make sure to include a link to your specific post in your comment.

(C) Leave one extra comment if you become one of our blog followers. See the right-hand navigation column to follow us.

(D) Leave one extra comment if you click over to our page on Facebook and become a fan.

Thank you for coming! The prize has already been awarded.

Speaking of designer kits, there's yet another fabulous kit in the works! It will feature some gorgeous Autumn patterned papers and a nice variety of die-cut cards and embellishments. It will be called (f)All Occasions, and it will feature sentiments for birthdays, thank-yous, and more. Want to see? Okay, here is the very preliminary sneak peek of just some of the beautiful patterned papers:


Our hop today starts with Angie and she'll direct you to the next blog, and they'll direct you to the next blog, and so on. If for some reason a link is broken, don't panic. Just return here to the list and complete your journey.

Hoppin' Team Members:
Angie Pearl
Kim Ross
Carla Mayfield
Chrissy Dickinson
Carissa Peach, Guest
Jennifer Johnson
Eva Dobilas, Guest
Lindsay Weirich
Stephany Zerbe, Guest
Pam Smerker

Before you head to Angie's blog and start hopping, we've got some special savings for you! Save 15% at the Creative Cuts & More Store through August 14th by using the code acetatebloghop0809 at checkout.

Happy Hopping & Happy Shopping!

Double Mate mini mini album

This tiny little album isn't usually the size that I work on, but boy, was it a fun new adventure! This little album fits inside a candy/Altoid tin and is an accordion album. I had Terry cut it out of DoubleMates Cardstock in Icy Indigo. (It even sounds snowy, doesn't it?) The album came with two covers and I got the layers that go on each fold of the accordion too. The Snowflake? Well it was Snowflake #04 small out of Pearlescent Swirlette. It is just gorgeous!!

This is what it looks like when I opened it up. I used one of the layers and stamped on it and journaled on it. The accordion album is on the right. The Stamps are from Stampendous, out of their Jumbo Tree set. I stamped the swirl using White ink on the right and blue in on the panel on the right. The snowflake is Snowflake #01 in pearlescent swirlette.

I used the Circle Scallop Frame to highlight the single photo on the layout. The snowflakes (Snowflake #01 petite) and frame both were cut from Pearlescent swirlette. The title is done with white rub-ons from Autumn Leaves I did carefully measure and cut the photos, frames and snowflakes so that they would more easily fold into the candy tin and lay flatter when folded.

On the other side of the accordion album, I also placed only one photo. I again carefully cut the photo and the snowflakes, then stamped them. The dark blue cardstock on this layout is the layers that came with the album. I turned them to a landscape orientation instead of using each layer vertically on each fold. I love the DoubleMates cardstock because it is one color on one side and a complementary color on the other. No need for covering the album or changing the color of the cardstock!! It was a little tricky to get the layers just right on this layout. I wanted to cut the snowflakes at the fold so the album would lay better when folded...but it was tricky, tricky. Then I adhered all the pieces together.

This is the back cover of the candy tin. I used Snowflake #01 petite cut from the DoubleMates cardstock. Here you can see that both sides are a lovely color and go together so well. If you are covering mini albums or want tags or other embellishments made, this is a great way to have an embellishment that you could use either side of. Also, this cardstock would work great in an acrylic album because both sides are colored and you wouldn't have to worry about covering up the white backside of a piece of paper!

Teeny bopper album

I just completed an album for my teenage niece. I hope she likes it...(I guess I won't know unless I get it sent to her! ;o)

However, here is a peek at what I have been working on. I combined a 6x6 Album in Acetate and a 6x6 Album in Chipboard to create this one. I also chose to use patterned paper from the DCWV Nonsense Line. The notebook-looking paper is from Making Memories. For the page on the right, I used a Tag Pocket Card with Tag. On the fold-down flap of the tag pocket, I used my Fiskars border punch to add some pizazz. Before adhering the pocket together I used an EK Success Whale of a Punch (circle) to punch a hole on the bottom left of the front of the pocket. On the tag that is inserted in the pocket, I punched a flower with my Fiskars punch and adhered it so it can be seen through the hole. To add some pattern, I used a stamp from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps to stamp the library pocket (front and back) and the insert tag. I outlined the stamped image with a Gelly Roll clear marker to give it just a hint of bling.

This is a view of the back side of that Tag Pocket Card. I not only stamped it with a floral/flourish in Versamark ink, I also stamped a butterfly (yep...from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps) and a small crown image and colored the image in using Stardust Gelly Roll markers. The sentiment is from a rub-on set by Me and My Big Ideas.

The page on the right was done on one of the chipboard pages. I added a Purse A2 Card with Layer die cut from Creative Cuts and More. It's a darling little purse and you can get it with a little tag that can be inserted in the middle. (see picture below) I wanted another little place to "hide" photos and journaling, so I adhered it to the page and it flips open. The flourish stamp is from Stampendous and the flower is a Fiskars punch.

For the last page I have to show you, I used a cute little Coin Purse Card with Clasps. I adhered a small mat and stamped a journaling block. (stamp from Autumn Leaves) I then made a pocket on the chipboard covered album page and that made a place to insert it to keep it in it's place on the page. It just slips out so it can be opened to look at.

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you enjoyed the peek at my newest creation!

Angie

New in February...

Here's another mini album idea! This 4x4 album is a great little album that you can alter, distress, try out new embellishing ideas or just give as a great little gift! I did this one as a celebration of our 12th anniversary. It was fun to just put some memories together in a little album! The antique label on the front can be found here. The flourish is a little die cut (from my personal "collection") by Sizzix. The alpha set is Tiny Alphabet by Stampendous.


This layout not only features some hand cut letters, but the scalloped circle frame can be a very versatile embellishment. I used it in the following layout too. The letters were made by using chipboard letters, laying a sheet of cardstock over them and running them through my personal die cutting system (BigKick by Ellison) and the flower is a hand punch by McGill.

The alphabet letters are from Cornish Heritage Farms, the circle stamp was from Gel-a-Tins. (A set called Sheltering Trees.) The oval was hand stamped with a stamp from 7 Gypsies and then I hand cut it.

Besides using die cuts as embellishments, a great way to add some variety to those die cuts is to use your favorite stamps to stamp on them. The flourish is a Hero Arts stamp and the sentiment is from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps.

On this layout, I used a Top Ten List stamp from Little Yellow Bicycle's "Zach's Life" line. Also, I punched the flowers using my Fiskars punch and then overlayed the two flowers. The slide frame is a die cut from Creative Cuts and More. I used a Hero Arts stamp and stamped on top of it. It added a little extra "zing" to my embellishment! I love to combine stamping into my album pages, and what better way to do that than to stamp on the embellies?? Here's a close up version:

The rectangle in the middle is a Tim Holtz Fragment. I used my sanding block on one side of the clear acrylic chip, making it look frosted. I then embossed on it using Versamark and clear embossing powder. (Don't hold the heat on it too long at a time!) I also stamped on it using Black StazOn ink.

Hope you have enjoyed these ideas! This is a fun and versatile little book...hop on over and check it out!

Patterned Paper: All Dressed Up by DCWV