View-Master Nostalgia Travel Card

Do you remember using a "View-Master" as a child?  I was fascinated with the 3D images you could see on those odd round slides.  Lately I have seen View-Master images and even actual discs popping up everywhere.

We used half of a View-Master slide at the top of the "Heart and Soul" project in one of the Tim Holtz classes.  (This class was a lot of fun and we learned to do the "faux metal" effects - more about that another day...).

When I was at the Tim Holtz classes and exploring the Absolutely Everything store during the lunch break, I found this sheet of paper from the "Note to Self" collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park.

I loved the look of this paper and "needed" to buy it.  When I was waiting to pay, I noticed that the label in the center says "Payne Bros." so I will definitely be using this for a project about our two sons - the Payne Brothers!

I thought that it would be pretty easy to make my own View-Master type image - so I opened up the Silhouette Studio software and gave it a try.  (I like to make my own files - after I was finished with my card and writing up this post, I thought to look in the Silhouette store and there are two files available there - one is by Lori Whitlock and the other is a Silhouette file). 

I will share the details about how I designed my file in another post.  It isn't difficult, but there is some math involved (!)  Here are all of the bits and pieces for my card.

I cut the two phrases using the font "Reklame Script Regular" Demo version (available at dafont.com HERE).  I welded most of the letters together.  Sometimes a phrase is easier to read if you don't weld all of the letters.  I used the LetraTac adhesive again - it is so easy to use for these small pieces.

I recently found this "Travel" paper pad from Martha Stewart Crafts and I thought it would be perfect for my corny sentiment!

I chose this paper with foil accents for the card front and cut a layer at 4 x 5 1/4 inches.  I chose the lower right corner of the sheet of paper so I could have the word "adventure" showing above and below the View-Master slide.

I inked the edges lightly and adhered the paper to a blue A2 card base (5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches folded in half).

For the inside of the card, I chose this paper.  I cut a piece from the lower left corner, a little bit over toward the center so I could include the Turtle Crossing, palm tree and signpost.

This allows a nice space for the sentiment and a clear spot at the bottom of the card for a message and signature.  I also inked the edges lightly just to take away the white that shows on the cut edge.

I added the View-Master disc with some foam circles for a little dimension on the front of the card.

The raised effect makes it look like you could lift the disc off the card and put it in a viewer!

I think that my little film windows are a bit more rectangular than the actual View-Master version.  I didn't check the exact dimensions of a disc when I designed the file.  I may tweek the file a bit to resize the windows and I may also do a print and cut version to add the numbers and a title.

It was fun to figure out how to make this simple file.  You could also do this in the Cricut software (Design Studio, Gypsy or Craftroom) fairly easily.  The only tricky thing would be to make the little notches on the outer edge.  I would just make a couple of small squares, turn them on the diagonal so they would notch the circle and make sure that you didn't weld the pieces together.

Did you have a View-Master?  Did you know that there are at least 25 different models, thousands of titles and one and a half billion copies of discs!  View-Master is part of the National Toy Hall of Fame in the United States (source - Wikipedia article HERE).

Have a nostalgic day!


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Inspiration Wall at Absolutely Everything

When I went to Absolutely Everything for the Tim Holtz classes I enjoyed looking around at all of the samples and displays at the store.  In the regular store classroom there is a great wall of art - some items are from artists who have visited and taught at the store.  The owner of the store is Kate and there is a "Welcome to Kate's Neighborhood" framed with little houses near the beginning of the wall.

Tim did the demonstrations on the Friday night in the store classroom space (the large space where we did the actual classes is next door).  You can see some of the interesting things on the wall behind him here.

Here is another section of the wall. I have some individual photos to share the inspiration from the wall.  I hope you enjoy them (and maybe get an idea for a new project).

This quote with the watches is on the opposite wall in the classroom.  Have a wonderful Wednesday - I hope you have a chance to dream, create and inspire!

We've been sorting through the house identifying things that would be helpful for our son's apartment.  It looks like this week and the weekend will be very busy with organizing and moving.  Fingers are crossed that the weather cooperates - we've have lots of rain storms on the radar...

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Complex Starbursts with Silhouette Studio

The Silhouette Studio software makes it fun and easy to create intricate original designs.  By mirroring, rotating and arranging simple elements, you can quickly end up with something quite complex and interesting.  I have purchased the designer edition of the software but haven't upgraded my program yet.  All of the designs I have created so far were made with the basic free version of the program.

If you are thinking about getting a Silhouette Cameo, you can download the software from the Silhouette site to "test drive" it.  You can find the download links HERE.

Once I created the starburst shape, it was a simple matter to overlap the points and create a four by three grid of stars.  I sized the group to 5 x 3.75 inches to fit on an A2 card with matting.  Whenever I create a design like this, I also cut a rectangle around the grouped shapes the size of my mat.  This gives me a secondary shape that I can use on another card - I hate to waste anything!

For the first cut I made of this design, I set the material to "heavy cardstock" and checked the box for a double cut.  I do this when I use the Cricut often to insure that the cut will be clean if it is very detailed like this.

The extra cut may have been overkill on the Cameo - some of the tips on this design are a bit ragged and I think it is from the second set of cuts.

I did another cut of the design, just slightly larger (for a 5 x 7 inch card) and set the machine for a single cut - it cut perfectly.  I'll have to try the smaller size with a single cut to see if it was the size of the design or if you really only need one cut.  My blade was set at 5 and I was using a Cricut mat (I have so many of these that I thought it was worth giving them a try since Silhouette mats are not readily available locally).

Here are the two cuts on a plain blue A2 card base - the star grid above and the "offcut" frame below.

I had planned to mat the cut with a layer of white on the card front.

When I looked at the design, I thought the edges needed more definition for the star grid cut.

The frame will work nicely for another card with the white layer cut at the same size (5.25 x 4 inches).  I could also cut a slightly larger piece of white cardstock to get a thin white line for a different look.

You can also take all of the leftover pieces that you remove from the mat to create the negative of the design by adhering the offcut squares in the frame. 

I decided to add an additional layer for a framed effect on my card.  I cut a piece of the same red  cardstock to 4 x 5.24 inches and trimmed the white cardstock to 3.75 x 5 inches.

It is tricky to adhere such a delicate design to the card mat.  You could use spray adhesive but that can be a bit messy (and you need good ventilation for the fumes).  I use LetraTac adhesive for these cuts (you can read my first review of the LetraTac adhesive HERE).  You place the cut on the adhesive and cover the cut with the release sheet, then rub with this little scraper.

When you lift the cut off the adhesive sheet, there are lots of tiny dots of adhesive that will hold the cut to your card or page securely.

Here is the card with the layers and the design adhered.  Of course, I couldn't just leave it like this - it needed a bit of bling!

I added small blue gem stickers to the outer ring of stars, and placed medium size clear gems on the two center stars.  I alternated red and blue stickers in the open spots between designs in the center.

I made this card in red, white and blue for Memorial Day.  I think it would also be pretty with the design cut in green and stickles added to the tips of the stars - they look a little bit like tulips to me!

If you have any questions about how I made the design, please leave a comment and I'll try to answer.  If you have the software already - just start playing with it.  You may be surprised at what you come up with!

After a weekend of beautiful weather we may get rain today - we are lucky that it stayed away for the holiday.  Have a great Tuesday!

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