Mrs. B’s Corner

At the beginning of the month, I got in the mail my January SEI kit. I decided to use the design ideas with different papers. It’s an experiment that only worked out so-so on this card.

Before this week, it had been a while since I updated. I figured I’d spend some time catching up on what I worked on last fall and winter. A lot of these photos are from the same SEI kit and were made at a friends in New Mexico in late September.

Today’s card looks like a valentine but is great for anyone who needs a little encouragement.

Hey, everybody. As I hope you saw, I plan on renewing my commitment to being crafty. I’ve been working hard on getting pictures updated and cards made. If you would like to order a card, simply contact me with the card’s name and your email address. For easier browsing, I’ve put all my cards up on my flickr organized into sets by topic. If you’d like a custom card and want other design ideas, please check out the Handmade by Shay set. For anyone actually reading, I’d love to get some feedback. Why do you read Handmade by Shay? Are you a friend or family member? Do you like the design ideas and content? Also, which blog format do you like to see? Do you like mostly photos, video, or the in depth photos and directions? Please, take a minute and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Thanks,

~Shay

Last week I took a card tricks class at my nearest Michael’s craft store. It was $25 to take the class but does not include the needed supplies. With the syllabus and receipt, you do at least get 10% off your purchase. All of that only matters if you are learning something new or want to duplicate the example cards exactly. I had a special situation because I was the only one in the class and the instructor came in just for me. It was a two hour class and she let me use the classroom’s supplies and leftovers. Here are the three cards I had time to make.

The tricks and tools that the class showcased was two different types of embossing, paper piecing, faux stitching, tearing, and water-mark ink. Some embellishments I had never used before were the glitter tape, rhinestones, and glitter shapes. One trick I learned that I’d like to share with you is the faux stitching. All you need is a paper piercer and fine tip marker. Once you decide where you want your stitching to be, evenly poke holes along that path. In the class, I just did straight lines around the edges and used a ruler. If your eye and hand is good enough, you could probably even faux stitch wording. Once your paper is pierced, take your fine tipped pen and apply the ink to the first hole. Let it soak in the hole for just a moment then draw a straight line (for straight stitching) to the next hole. Again, hold it for a moment for the hole to soak up the ink and draw your next line. The more smooth the lines the more like actual sewing it should look! If you like this set of Chandelier Notecards, click the link to buy them. Also, look up a Michael’s near you to find a class that suits your crafting needs!

I’m slowly dwindling my supply from the earth-toned scrap pack and decided to use some of the scraps. I started with a premade 6.5″ by 5″ card and glued half inch strips of patterned paper. I really love the way it turned out!

I started today’s card with a die cut frame and cream-colored cardstock. I decided to make another window card with a transparency instead of vellum and the message “thinking of you” peeking through.

I recently spent some time with my aunt and wanted to leave some of my cards with her. This is the first one I made. I decided to use the heart I initially made for yesterday’s card and add the message: God is love.