Thursday, February 27, 2014

Coral & Navy Cards - DCWV

Good evening crafters!  I'm bringing you a little card tri I made using the new DCWV stack called "Coral & Navy".  It's full of nice, bold geometrics and some very pretty florals in a clean and modern color scheme of coral, yellow, light blue and navy.
 
 
I actually made these for Valentine's day, but haven't posted them until now.
 
 

 
I was really inspired by the sheets of 3x4 cards that are included with Coral and Navy.  The will be great in a pocket-page system, but they're also a really awesome size to use for A2 cards.


 
There were plenty of pretty floral images to cut out that I used for my main embellishments.  I also cut some words using my silhouette.  I chose swirly fonts/phrases from the silhouette store and I thought it added a nice, romantic feeling to the more geometric patterns.

 
 This one was a little hard to capture in the picture. It reads: "gosh you're awesome". :)




 
Here is a great example of the cards that can be found in the stack.  I used my We R Memory Keepers card punch to mimic the 3x4 size using the larger patterned papers. To round the corners I used Becky Higgins' paper rounder.
 
Thanks for taking a look people!!  Grab this stack if you see it - it's a good one!
 
Later queenies!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Miss Kate Cuttables - Happy Birthday To You!

Hello! I'm here with you to share a fun birthday card made with some sweet SVG files from Miss Kate Cuttables!

Well, if I've learned one thing throughout my time as a paper crafter, it's that color can make a world of difference.  So, I pulled up a cute birthday cake focal image and decided to see if I could change the feeling of the design with a very refined color scheme.
 
 
More info on this project is available on the Miss Kate Cuttables blog!
 
 
Check out the files I used for this project in the 50 cent store:
 
Swirl Flourish Set SVG cut files flourish svg cut files flourish svg files free svgs free svg cuts 
 
Happy Birthday To You! SVG birthday cake svg file birthday girl svg file svg files for scrapbooking
 
Thanks so much for stopping by!!
 

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Snow Place Like Home | Goodwood Stack | DCWV



Hello people!  Just stopping by today to share a new DCWV project with you!!
 
There are some AMAZING releases from DCWV this month and this one is a new favorite of mine!
 


The "Polar Vortex" was a big part of 2014 so far -for so many of us.  I had to document the extreme craziness, but also the reality that this is our home and we had no choice but to deal with it.

 
I ended up choosing a sketch (source unknown) from pinterest and I followed it pretty closely.  I was inspired to use this particular sketch because it had the large circle element which I knew would be perfect for the wood rings paper from Goodwood.
 
 
This would be an amazing stack to mix with other themes and other papers because there are so many really great background papers and it's super trendy to mix wood grain with pretty much anything these days! My choice to stick with mostly this stack was inspired by the Glitter Girl, monochromatic epsode (106) on two peas in a bucket.  I thought the photos really stood out against all those shades of ivory, white, and brown.
 
 
 
Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you're able to get your hands on this stack - it's a good one!
 
Later queenies!
 
 
 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Sweet Stamp Shop Intern - Class of 2014!!

I have awesome news!  I have been keep this under wraps - but today I can share the awesome experience I am having being a part of the very first Sweet Stamp Shop internship!

(Isn't this banner awesome!? Emily Branch made it and I just had to snag!)
 
Interestingly enough, my involvement in the Sweet Stamp Shop internship began with a tax question.

As many Sweet fans know, Mr. Sweet is a CPA. Well, I responded to a facebook question that Nicole posted about crafty businesses and the upcoming tax season. I had indicated in my question that I was thinking about starting my own crafty manufacturing business. Immediately Nicole PM'd me and said. “Britt, I have an opportunity that you can't pass up...”

The rest is – not yet history, but is definitely becoming an bright spot on my journey.

I've thought, for years, about trying to submit some of my drawings to stamp companies in hopes of finding a gateway into the design side of scrapbooking. I have a solid background in art – I've taken instruction in different art forms throughout my high school and college years and I was a music and theatre major in college. Though performance-heavy, all art intersects and I had to show skills in a mix of media types in school. I've been a life-long crafter and I was always thinking about stamps I WISHED I had or really thought the crafting community would love. I was confident in my drawing abilities and thought I had a pretty unique style.
Then, I tried contacting a few different companies, sharing my ideas and asking for a chance to talk to someone about an opportunity – but the responses were either negative or non-existent. It was a puzzle. I had the ideas - the dream. I had the passion and willingness to work for what I wanted, but no one was listening. Even though I still believed in my ability – I was loosing faith that I had to tools to make anything happen.
Enter Nicole and her internship. So many missing pieces of my puzzle have come together as a result.

I've learned that I was right – I didn't have the tools to make those things happen. BUT, I could get those tools and I didn't have to spend another four years in school to build something worth showing to manufacturers. I needed to learn Adobe Illustrator – and I COULD learn it. I needed a portfolio – and I COULD build one using the exact work I was doing in this program. I needed to have some focus – and it is difficult to separate yourself from your art enough to gain that kind of perspective alone. I needed community – they helped me see things I never would have otherwise. And, I needed to have someone expecting me to “show up” and contribute to my own future – being responsible to someone is a huge help and great motivation for me.
To those of you who are reading these letters because you are trying to decide if you want to apply. I urge you to apply – it will be worth your time.
Lastly, I think it is important that you know the good things but ALSO some of the things that might be challenging.
 
 Doing art as a job can be brutal.
 
 I'm not saying that anyone in the SSS program would EVER treat you in a mean spirit. BUT, to get the most out of this opportunity, you have to grow a little thicker skin. Nicole, Alyssa, and all the other interns will always encourage you, but they will also look at your work critically. And, though it might make some days feel harder, learning to handle constructive criticism AND more importantly, learning to look at your OWN work critically WILL help you if you REALLY want to take your art to the world. I had a little advantage coming into this program because of my artful education, but just as I my armor was tested, I have seen some of my fellow interns really build up their armor and we are all better for it.
The Sweet Stamp Shop Internship gave me more design focus and invaluable information about manufacturing, but it also reminded me what it takes to make art into a job and has equipped me with many of the tools I need to take my ideas and make them work for ME.

Thanks Nicole, I'm so glad I got to be a part of this on the ground floor. You rock.
Britt Bass,
Sweet Stamp Shop Intern

Monday, February 3, 2014

Miss Kate Cuttables: Island Girl Hybrid Layout!

I'm so excited to share my project with you today!  I decided that I really wanted to create a true hybrid layout for  those out there that are hybrid fans - or those that are curious about hybrid!
 
 
I used two Miss Kate Cuttables files here, Summer Background Shapes and the Island Girl title.  I wanted to make sure that I got as many of my elements from my digital library as possible.  First, I chose all the elements I wanted to use and filled the designs with patterns by Glitz Design (Uncharted collection - found in the silhouette store) and then used coordinating colors to fill in the flowers, swirls and empty spaces. 
 
 
More photos and more instructions for this page are available on the Miss Kate Cuttables blog as well as info about the freebie of the day!

 
Here are the two files I used:
 
Summer 12 X 12 Background Shapes SVG files for scrapbooking summer svg files free svgs
 
 
Island Girl SVG scrapbook title beach svg file tropical svg scrapbook title free svg cuts
 
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I hope you enjoyed my foray into hybrid scrapbooking!  If you need some help figuring out the print and cut feature on your silhouette, please visit THIS tutorial!
 
Don't forget to follow Miss Kate Cuttables on Facebook and make sure you're following this blog too!
 
Also, please visit  my facebook page and follow me for updates on all my news as well!