A Touch of Grace

Hi Ladies, I finally have pictures of my craft room.  I’ve decided to go ahead and post before and after pictures.  The reason I chose to do this is not only so you can see the room before the renovations were made, but I wanted you to see why I haven’t been posting.  Please understand my old stamping room looked nothing like this.  It was in order .  .  . somewhat .  .  . no .  .  .  really .  .  .  it was!

This room was my sons’ playroom since they were very small.  When Stephen left for college a year ago, the idea came to me to move my stamping room to this room as it is twice as large.  But there were air conditioning issues and frankly, I could not tolerate the heat.  After we completed renovations to our house in May, I called my AC guy and he was able to resolve the air conditioning issues.  At that point I moved every thing out of my old room and into this one.  My hubby took one look at the room and took pity on me.  He told me to find someone to make it my dream stamping room.  I did!  And quickly  .  .  .  before he could change his mind. 

So for the past couple of months this is what the room has been like.  Seriously, could you design in a room like this?  Last week it got worse.  I had to move this mess out of the room so that the cabinet installers could come and install my long awaited cabinets.  The contents you see in these pictures are currently in both my sons’ bedrooms, an attic, and the upstairs hallway.  The upper floor to my house is truly a maze .  .  . LOL.  The cabinets are now installed.  I’m missing two drawer fronts and one cabinet door that will be in next week.  Apparently there was a mistake in measurements resulting in pieces that didn’t fit.

So without further adieu, here are the pictures I promised.

Entry into room before renovations.

Entry after renovations.

We’re going to go around the room starting with the right side (or west side of the room). “Before” pictures will be first, followed by “after” pictures.

The tall white armoire is a custom paper armoire.  The lower drawers have been designed with racks to hold 8 1/2″ x 11″ cardstock.  The upper portion with the doors has been designed to hold 12″ x 12″ cardstock and designer paper.

Over the countertops you’ll see open cubbies.  They are 15″ in height and 8″ deep.  The bluish cast you see is a reflection of my flash.  If you look at the bottom of the armoire that has several drawers (custom for my stamps), that is the color of the cubbies.  The cabinet colors are ivory and maple. The small white door to the left is a door we nicknamed the “dwarf” door.  It’s an entry into one of our attics.  Several of the boxes you see in the “before” pictures are in there.  After I’ve moved every thing back in, I’ll use the attic for overflow (old stamps and items I don’t use on a regular basis).

This room is a room over our garage which accounts for the odd angles in the ceiling. This is my second largest work station.  I’m placing my sewing machine here.

Oops, sorry, some of the shots are at an angle.  It was late when I took these shots and I guess I was a wee bit tired.

Here I have two more work stations. Perfect for classes!  Do you see the four black oval shapes on the countertops?  Those are grommets for eletrical outlets so that I can drop electrical cords right down.  I love that!  No wiring all over the countertops or hanging over the edges.   

I’m placing my printer here underneath the cabinets.

I love the bookshelf.  Now I have a place for all my stamping and craft magazines and books. 

This is my main work station.  It’s perfect for water coloring and designing.  It’s huge, room enough for two people.  I love the “L” shape.  I chose this location because of the bright natural sunlight coming in that window.  The window is 6′ x 3′, allowing for sunlight all day long in the room.  I’m placing my Wizard underneath the overhead cabinet to the far right and will place my dies in the cabinet above.  Underneath the countertop I’ll place my Cuttlebug and Revolution, together with the Quikutz dies and Cuttlebug dies I have.  Two drawer fronts and one cabinet door are missing.  When they came in, they were the wrong size.  The replacements will be installed next week.  See the drawer and two cabinet doors that don’t have knobs.  Those are fake, it’s the side view of the three drawers that pull out from the front.  The knobs will be here Wednesday to be installed.

See the niche behind the door, that’s where I have my Stampin’ Up! classic and craft ink pads.  My Wizard and Cuttlebug are behind the ink towers.  I can’t wait to get started on this room!

We’re at the end of the tour.  I’ll be back to post pictures once I’ve moved every thing back into the room and everything is in order. 

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hi everyone, it’s been ages since I’ve posted.  I’ve not had access to my stamping supplies, they’ve been packed in boxes for nearly two months.  I moved my stamping room to another location in my home and am having cabinets made for the room.  Little did I realize it would take this long.  The cabinets were installed Thursday and Friday, but are not yet complete.  Hopefully everything will be completed on Monday.  I have before and after pictures that I’ll be sharing with you soon.  Once you see the pictures you’ll understand why I haven’t been able to stamp.

I didn’t pack my water colors and have been working on this painting.  It’s roughly about 8 1/2″ x 11.”  I didn’t draw the fairy, sadly I’m not that talented .  .  . LOL.  I purchased a book at Michael’s a couple of years ago entitled “Enchanting Fairies” by Barbara Lanza.  I blew up a drawing provided in the book and transferred it to 8 1/2″ x 11″ water color paper.  I painted the fairy with a mix of Schminke and Winsor Newton water color paints.  After completing the painting, I adhered Swarovski crystals to the fairy’s hair.  The crystals don’t show up well in the photos; in real life they sparkle like diamonds and emeralds.   While the painting is a bit “amateurish,” I’m pleased with my first attempt at a water color this size. 

I’m providing a close up of her face, you can see I’ve also placed a few crystals on the fairy’s ear and forehead.  I’ve named her Dawn Marie.  I think she resembles my very sweet and beautiful second cousin, Dawn Marie.  Dawn lives here in Tampa and is a senior at University of South Tampa.

I’ll be back soon with pictures of my stamp room and new designs.  You won’t want to miss this coming September 17 & 18! JustRite Stampers is hosting a blog hop and has invited several of the top designers to join in.  I’ll be posting my design on Friday, September 18.

I hope you had a wonderful summer with your family and friends! 

Many Blessings!

       I’m excited to share with you today that my fabulously fun friend, Jenny Gropp, from  One Krafty Cat has invited me to be the guest designer for the challenge today over at  Our Creative Corner.   I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to be playing along with the very talented designers of Our Creative Corner.

The details for the challenge are:

      Triple Play:   Less is not always More! You must pick at least three types of embellishments to use on your card or project. These are your choices: Brads, Eyelets, Bling, Ribbon, Buttons, Thread/Floss, Beads, Charms, Rub Ons, Liquid Applique, Crystal Lacquer  (items highlighted in pink are the elements I used in my design).

       I agree with Jenny, less is not always more.  Those of you who are familiar with my blog know that I typically design more is more designs so this challenge is right up my alley.

       A little about the design:  I recently came across a picture of an egg that was beautifully decorated by an artist with paper tole.  I’ve seen paper tole in books, but have never attempted it and decided to give it a try for the challenge.  I’m sure I’ve made some mistakes with this technique, but overall I’m very happy with my first attempt.  I’m thoroughly hooked on this form of art and hope to learn more!  A drawing was provided by the artist for the design that was on the egg.  I transferred it onto Bristol paper and painted it with acrylic paints.  Once it was dry I made four photocopies on white cardstock using a color printer.  I cut out the flowers only from one of the photocopies and adhered them flat onto the cardstock.  I then painted in the foliage around the flowers directly onto the embossed cardstock.  Using a craft knife, I cut the petals and stems from the copies, toled the paper, and adhered the pieces down using thick crafters’ glue.  I continued to do this for three layers.  The petals were painted with Mod Podge.  I punched several leaves with a Martha Stewart punch and cut small tendrils of green paper.  I wrapped the tendrils around a paintbrush to curl them.  I adhered bits and pieces of the leaves down randomly creating the foliage and painted them with Mod Podge.  Once the Mod Podge was dry, I painted the entire design with crystal lacquer, giving it an enameled lustre.  I finished the floral arrangement by painting gold paint around the petals, stems, leaves, and green tendrils. Once that portion of the design was complete, I went to work on the butterfly.  I stamped and embossed it onto cardstock using gold embossing powder.  I painted the butterfly using the same acrylics that I used in the painting.  I used the same technique to tole the butterfly as I did with the flowers. 

      You can see touches of pink and lavender in the petals in this picture.  I’m including several close up photographs at different angles to show you the detail and dimension of the design.  I love the little flower buds.  Each flower and bud is four layers.  Looking carefully you can see the tiny stems, they are two paper layers thick.

       In this photograph you can see the dimension of the layers of the buds, stems, and the center flowers.  A closer view of the background painting is shown in this photo as well.  I used a liner brush to paint in small stems and leaves.  The same liner brush was used to paint the gold on the edges of the flowers, leaves, stems, tendrils, and the butterfly.   

       I had to squeeze some ribbon in here somewhere .   .   . LOL .   .   . what are flowers without the stems being tied with beautiful white silk ribbon to hold them together!

      This photograph shows off the Swarovski crystals.  They sparkle like diamonds in real life.  Off white, ballet pink, peony, and lavender acrylics were used to paint the flowers and buds. I painted the flowers Off White and then glazed the petals with pink and lavender hues.  You can see hints of the colors in the petals.

      A close up shot of the bejeweled butterfly, her abdomen consists of six 2mm green Swarovski crystals, her wings and antennae are loaded with 1.5mm crystals.

      I’m giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to my store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique to one lucky winner.  To enter all you have to do is play along with the OCC challenge, follow the rules provided above, post your card on your blog or your gallery at Splitcoaststampers using the keyword OCCC.  Leave a comment on the OCC blog linking your design so they can check it out.  The drawing is random, the winner will be announced next Saturday on the OCC blog.  Be sure to check back there next Friday to see if you’ve won.  

      If you’re looking for inspiration for the challenge, be sure to check out the fabulous designs of the OCC Ladies on their blogs - Jenny Gropp, Silke Ledlow, Cindy Haffner (my DDA sister, big hugs Girl!), Jennifer Meyer, Vicki Garrett, Loretta Lock, Joycelyn Turner, and Frances Byrne.

      Shopping info:   A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique -  Embossing Paper:  Carnation White, Light Pink, Olive Green, Hunter Green, Bristol paper,  light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, acrylic paints,  Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads, Joy Pearls, Martha Stewart leaf punch, paint brushes, Mod Podge, thick crafters’ glue, tweezers, Swarovski crystals, gold paint, Ranger gold embossing powder, heating tool, Encore gold ink, color printer, computer, white card stock, crystal lacquer

      Parked on Rubber:  butterfly stamp

      Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy, white silk ribbon

      Thank you for stopping by, I truly appreciate your visit! 

   Summer is here and in full swing in sunny (hot and humid) Florida .   .   . LOL!  I love the idea of making a recipe card and thought with the 4th of July coming up, this would be a perfect opportunity to share a recipe that’s perfect for the upcoming holiday and always a summer time hit with my family. I made this recipe card set for the Stamp Simply Summer Recipes challenge featured on Sharon’s blog.  The challenge is to make a card or recipe card to share with others.
     I love cobblers, especially blueberry and cherry.  I pulled a favorite recipe and designed this ensemble using a stencil from A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique. 

     My uncle’s blueberries grow on a fence, which gave me the idea to create a lattice frame using this stencil.  I embossed two panels, cut them out with a craft knife, and adhered them to the front of my card on either side of the blueberry drawing.  To have the images facing each other I simply embossed one panel, flipped the stencil over and embossed a second panel.

A close up of the card showing the embossing detail and cut work.  I used a craft knife for the cutting and adhered the darker blue paper behind some of the cutout work in the scrolls.  The blueberries were drawn directly onto the embossing paper and colored with colored pencils.  I used a mapping pen and gold Tinta ink to cover the graphite lines of the drawing.  The butterflies and blueberries at the top of the photo and on the lattice were applied with Perga Kit 3D adhesive.  Perga Kit works like using dimensionals or foam dots, only it dries clear and is barely noticeable - no more visible white foam on my cards!

A close up of the recipe card that will go inside the card when it’s mailed.  I used my computer to print the recipe on the embossing paper.  Although it appears black in this photo, the recipe is in dark blue ink.  A Krylon 18K Gold Leaf pen was used on the edges of the card and recipe card.  Blending stumps were used to blend the colors.  When using blending stumps, remember to sand the color off your blending stump with a sanding paddle when changing colors so that you don’t accidentally lay a color on top of another color you don’t want contaminated.

Shopping info:   A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique - Lacy Fence Stencil - EH1857, Embossing Paper, Pergamano Tinta Gold, Tracing Pen, light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, Caran d’Ache colored pencils, Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, sanding paddle, blending stumps, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy, dark blue Taffeta ribbon

Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate your visiting my blog. 

Hi, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to sit down and play.  I’ve finally finished, for the most part, the store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique, (a link is provided on the left sidebar under my picture).  After completing the store I sat and drew the above drawing for my new blog banner.  I was very pleased with the finished result.  That is, until I tried to put it in my banner.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite wide enough and it was too tall.  Sooooo .  .  .  .  what you see in the banner is a cropped portion of the drawing.  One of these days I’ll get it right!

I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you for making the Mother’s Day Card Kit such a huge success.  I do plan on future kits and promise not to limit the number.  I was overwhelmed with the response, never dreaming it would be so incredible!  From the bottom on my heart, Thank You!

A special thank you to my son, Stephen, for helping me with the design of the store and helping with the blog facelift.  I couldn’t have done it without you, Stephen!  I know it wasn’t easy working with all this pink .   .   . LOL!!!

 A little about the store and what you’ll find:  Tools and accessories I love to work with.  Everything in the store is what I use in my designs from blending stumps, Gum Arabic, Pearl Ex, Ranger gold embossing powders, even my favorite heating tool, The Milwaukee Heating Tool that I use for my gold embossing.  I’ve had my heating tool for 13 years, it’s still going as strong today as the day I bought it.  You’ll find a very large selection of embossing stencils.  Click on the picture to see the price, click on it again and it enlarges to approximately 4 x 6 for ease of viewing.  Some of you have asked me about the dimensions of the stencils.  They vary from one stencil to the next.  If you see one you like (or two), please e-mail me and I’ll be happy to provide you with the dimensions.  I do anticipate eventually getting that information on the site, but I’ve been away for a while and I’d like to get back to doing what I love most .  .  . designing. 

I also have a large line of Pergamano products in the store.  I’ve recently been introduced to Pergamano and love it!  If you’re a Pergamano fan or just plain curious, click on Pergamano on the menu and then browse through all the different categories.  The books and patterns are fabulous! I have the complete line of perforating and embossing tools, as well as paints and inks (what a surprise! . . . LOL!!!).  All the adhesives you’ll find in the store are the adhesives I use on my designs; Zip Dry is definitely my adhesive of choice!  It adheres quickly and leaves no wrinkling or buckling of the paper.   I also carry several gold stickers in many patterns, including sentiments.  These are no ordinary stickers, check them out, click on them twice to get the full size so that you can see them, the corners and borders are my favorites!  Click here to see an example of gold stickers on a design.

As I post designs, I’ll try to feature a product or two and illustrate to you how I use it and why.  At the bottom of this post under “Shopping”, I’ve provided links to the products I used in the design below for easy viewing. This stencil is an “L” shaped stencil approximately 3″ x 3″.  A link is provided below.

After taking the photograph for the banner, I flipped the drawing upright and completed this design that will be framed and placed somewhere in our home, which is now filled with a few of my designs .  .  .  LOL! I embossed and cut the four corners of the design and placed the drawing over Seagreen embossing paper.  I mounted the panel on Turquoise embossing paper using Joy! Foam Pads and then placed the design on Carnation White embossing paper.  All edges were finished with an 18K Gold Krylon pen. The bow was made with the Bow Easy.  I drew the butterflies and adhered them to the card with Perga Kit 3D adhesive .  .  . love it for adding dimension on the top panel - it’s my latest great find.  I want to show you how it’s used and why I think it’s fabulous for 3D effects on the top panel in a future post.

A close up of one of the embossed corners.

Shopping:

 A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique - Corner Stencil FE6124, Embossing Paper, Pergamano Tinta Gold, Tracing Pen, light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, Caran d’Ache colored pencils, Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, sanding paddle, blending stumps, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit.  I hope you’re enjoying your summer with the kids and grandkids. 

Ladies,  I just want to make sure you all understand that the kit is a kit, not a tutorial.  For those of you who have written me, I have sent information regarding what is and is not included in the kit.  It comes with a seven page instructional guide with small pics, illustrating the placement of the stencil on the paper.  I go step-by-step putting the card together, an electronic file will also be forwarded to you with large photos (22 I believe) showing you the step-by-step pictures as well.  

Please note, while I give the names and numbers of the colored pencils I used, Caren d’Ache Pablo colored pencils (can be purchased at Dick Blick’s, I’ve provided a link on the tutorial), you can use Prisma’s by matching up the color names to Prisma colors, the kit does not include a tutorial for coloring the flowers.  It does give instruction on which colors are used on the leaves, the petals, the flower centers, etc. 

When I designed this card for my mother, I had no idea of the response and that you all would want a kit.  I used the colored pencils of my choice, Caren d’Ache Pablo colored pencils.  Why?  Because Caren d’Ache Pablo colored pencils are oil based, Prisma’s are wax based.  While I love using Prisma’s as well, I chose the Caren d’Ache because the finished result is a softer, dreamier look when used with Gamsol.  However, if you have Prisma’s, they will be fine to use, it’s just a matter of preference.  Also note, a full-size colored photo of the finished card will be included in the electronic submission as a guide for you to follow when coloring.

A few weeks ago I posted an Easter card and told you about a bow tying secret that I had picked up from Jenny Gropp, One Krafty Kat.  Since that time I’ve posted a few more cards with beautiful bows that I’ve made using that same “secret” method for perfect bows.  Several of you have written to me asking how I make such beautiful bows with both tails on the back side of the bow.

Well today I’m pleased to share the good news with you, the “secret” Jenny shared with me.  The “secret” is the Bow Easy.  Yes, that’s right, Bow Easy, and is it ever easy to tie the most beautiful bows you’ll ever make.  So what’s this Bow Easy?  Take a peek here and you’ll see what the Bow Easy is all about.  I’m pleased to share with you that the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store is selling the Bow Easy at the very low fee of $6.  Personally, I would have paid a small fortune for something that would help me create such beautiful bows, but there was no need . . . LOL!  The Bow Easy is so incredibly easy to use.  The green bows shown on the card above are only one inch in length and have triple loops.  With the Bow Easy you can make as many or as little loops as you like, and you can make seven different size bows.  To illustrate this I made a large bow with two loops from May Arts one inch sheer ribbon and then made a small bow from of May Arts 1/4″ silk ribbon and adhered it on top of the larger bow.  To see a wide variety of beautiful bows on samples boards made by Jenny, click here.

I recommend that you be the first to order the Bow Easy from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store before it sells out, I have a feeling Sharon’s supply won’t last long; and, while you’re there, check out the beautiful variety of May Arts ribbons that Sharon has available.  My personal favorites are the sheers and the silks, but all are gorgeous!!

Check back with me later in the week, if all goes as planned, I’ll have a bow tying video posted showing you just how easy the Bow Easy really is.

I made this card for the Stamp Simply Challenge #85 - Let the Sun Shine.  No stamps were used, the image is my design.  It was drawn to fit within the parameters of the embossing.  Those sweet little butterflies were made with a new punch I just love.  I adhered them on the tassel and on the bow centers.

If you’re still not convinced the Bow Easy is for you, I invite you to check out the designs of these very talented designers:

Sharon Johnson, owner of the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

Jenny Gropp, who so willingly shared her “secret” with Sharon and me.  You’ll definitely want to check out this link, Jenny is offering a Bow Easy as blog candy.

Joan Fricker, of Joan’s Gardens, designed this fabulous card.

• Image:  hand drawn
• Paper:  Embossing Paper
• Ink:  Tinta Gold
• Accessories:  Embossing stencil, light box, craft knife, Krylon gold leafing pen, mini butterfly punch, small butterfly punch, Bow Easy, 3D glue, glitter, May Arts ribbons, gold cord, green glass beads, pearls, mapping pen, colored pencils, Gamsol, blending stump, dimensionals, Zip Dry adhesive

Shopping:

A Touch of Grace-Paper Boutique: Stencil

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:  May Arts ribbons, Bow Easy

Joan’s Gardens:  Zip Dry adhesive

Thank you so much for visiting my blog.  Please be sure to check back later in the week for the Bow Easy tutorial and Bow Easy blog candy.  Wishing you a wonderful day with all His blessings!

Edited to Add:  The stencil can be purchased at A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique.  Yesterday it was a gorgeous day here in Tampa, we had lots of  sunshine.  I took advantage of the sunlight and photographed some finished designs.  I mentioned in a previous post that we are having renovations made in our home and our bedroom, where I take all my photographs, is upside down.

I made this card for Mom for Mother’s Day.  The images are drawings she recently gave me that she drew some 26/27 years ago.  Mom used to paint on china and designed several pieces that I proudly display in my home.  You can imagine my excitement when she recently told me she had kept all of her drawings, paints, supplies, etc.   On Easter Sunday she and I went through a large box she had stored in the closet of my bedroom (my parents still live in the house I was raised in), we were like two little girls in a candy store!   Mom sent the box home with me so I have a hunch you’re going to be seeing a lot more of these lovely drawings.

Using tracing paper, I rearranged the flowers and leaves on this design to fit within the parameters of the embossing.  I then used graphite paper and transferred the drawings directly to the card stock after I embossed and did the cut out work.  I used a Pergamano mapping pen with a brass nib to draw over the graphite lines in gold ink.  Once dry, I used colored pencils to color the image.  The little butterflies were punched with a Fiskars punch.  Those adorable pink bows were a dream to make, I used May Arts 1/4″ silk that I purchased from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

Editing to add if you would like a full size picture of the card, I would be happy to e-mail it to you, just leave a comment below and I’ll forward it on.

The Kaiser pearls I purchased at Joan’s Gardens are a very light pink, so pretty on this design.  The sentiment is from Verve’s Beautiful You stamp set.

To have the flowers facing each other on the end panels I simply turned the graphite paper over and traced from the reverse side.  I can’t wait to give Mom this card!

Here’s a picture I took of one of Mom’s pieces, isn’t it beautiful!  I treasure each and every piece she has given me.

Thanks for stopping by, I wish you and yours many blessings in the upcoming week!

I can’t believe that February has come and gone already!  Where is the time going?

Yesterday my friend Sharon, notimetostamp, posted her Friday challenge ssnotime76.  Sharon’s got Cabin Fever BAD!!  She wants sunshine and warmer temps, she wants to open her windows and let in the fresh air, she wants to see and smell the Spring flowers and green grasses.  She says she’s tired of being cooped up inside and suffering from the dreaded “Cabin Fever”.  She needs to get out and get revitalized and refreshed!  For Sharon and those living in the Northwoods, Spring is quite a ways away, a dream to look forward to.  She’s challenged us to make a card or project that will bring signs of Spring, new life, fresh air, and warmer temps.

Well Sharon, I’ve painted this scene for you!  I want you to dream that you’re a fairy flittering about in a willow tree, soaking up the gorgeous Spring sunshine, dipping your toes in the fresh water, enjoying nature and all that Spring has to offer you.  Inhale that fresh air, smell those fresh flowers, skip through the green grasses, enjoy those warm temps.

Okay Sharon, did it work, are you feeling better?

The painting itself measures 3 1/2″  x 6″, it was too large to make a card and since I don’t scrapbook, I decided to frame it and save it for a future granddaughter.  I’m placing it in my guest bedroom for the time being, the colors go well with the decor.

A close up view of the picture just after I finished painting it.  You can see at the top where I painted bits of color trying to match up greens.

A picture of the stamp with the painting beside it.  I used water color paints, mixing the various hues to try to match the original painting as close as I could without knowing what colors were actually used in the original.  The stamp is an image of a painting painted by Cicely Mary Baker.

• Stamps:  Stamps Happen, Inc.
• Paper:  Arches Hot Pressed 140 lbs. water color paper
• Ink:  Versafine Black Onyx
• Accessories:  Water color painting (3 sizes - OO, O, 1); ceramic mixing trays, Cadmium Red, Zinc White, Sap Green, Aureolin, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green, Ultramarine Blue, Photo Mats and Frame (Michael’s)

This post almost didn’t make it ladies.  When I design the purses, luggage and wallets, I start out with a rough sketch of what I want and create pattern pieces similar to that of sewing a garment.  As I continue with the design, I usually make adjustments and alter several of the pattern pieces.  Usually by the time I’ve finished the design, the first template has so many alterations, it’s unusable for a tutorial; hence the need to re-create the pattern pieces.  I sat down Friday night and began work on a new template for this post.

Saturday, I cut pieces to make three more wallets and took these photos as I went along.  I apologize for the quality of these shots.  I don’t have sufficient lighting in my stamping room and I don’t have enough room to create an area for photo shoots using artificial lighting.

By Saturday evening I had completed the wallets and uploaded the pictures on my laptop to begin the process of editing in Photoshop, placing my watermark on them, and resizing them.  Sunday, after church, I moved the pictures into my blog.  Once there, I realized they were too small to see the writing on the template so I deleted them and went back to Photoshop and started the process all over again sizing the pictures large enough to see the writing on the template.  I then moved the pictures back to my blog only to discover that about 25% of the picture had run off into the right margin and couldn’t be seen.  So Sunday evening, I deleted everything once again and went back to Photoshop to resize the photos so that they would be large enough to see the writing, but small enough to fit within the margins.  No matter what size I made the pictures, they would not work.  By 11:00 p.m. Sunday night, tired and frustrated, I concluded it just wasn’t meant to be.

I had a full schedule Monday and wasn’t able to do anything stamping related.  Last night after dinner, I decided to give it one more try and uploaded the photographs onto my main computer instead of my laptop.  Spending an hour and half in Photoshop, I tested each picture one at a time and was able to get the photos a size that is readable and will fit within the parameters of my margins.  Success at last!

In the spirit of sharing, please remember that all content (including text, images, photographs, and designs) is copyright © Jerri Kay Jimenez.  My artwork is shared for your personal inspiration only and may not be copied for publication, contest entry, or personal financial gain.  Thank you.

It’s not necessary to know how to sew to make this wallet, but if you have sewing experience, you will find this project much easier.

There are ten pieces to the wallet template. This picture gives the measurements and shows what the wallet should look like when sewn together.  The front of the wallet consists of three pieces which can be seen three pictures below.  All drawn lines are stitching lines.

This picture shows the measurements for the inside insert and the lining. Drawn lines are stitching lines.

These pieces are for the inside of the wallet, measurements are written on each piece.  Drawn lines are stitching lines.

These are the three pieces for the front of the wallet.

This picture shows the pieces of the inside insert, lining and pieces to be sewn together.

Using your JustRite rectangular stamper, spell out “Genuine Leather” with the small letters (see photo below).  Using a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, center the words on one of the tan leather pieces measuring 4 1/2″ x 3″ using Stampin’ Up! Chocolate Chip Craft ink (die inks will not work on this paper).  Then stamp the name of the individual on the tan paper measuring 4 1/2″ x 2 (see picture above with pattern pieces).  Helpful Hint:  Heat set the craft ink being very careful not to burn the paper.

Helpful hint:  Leave your letters on this storage case for easy storing.  I mist the letters with water when I’m finished, using a toothbrush I gently clean them.  I use a tissue to absorb the “dirty” water and then place the letters back onto the black storage case they came in.

Place the three front pieces on grid paper, adhering the tan piece on the wrong side of the crocodile paper (here’s where sewing experience comes in, right side to wrong side, adhere with right side of the tan leather paper to the wrong side of the crocodile paper).  Your finished measurements will be 3 1/2″ x 9 3/4″.

Stitch around all edges of the pattern pieces as shown above.  For the piece with the name on it, sew across the tops of all three pieces, then stack them together and sew around all edges.  DO NOT sew around the edges first and then across the tops or you will not be able to use the slots to insert gift cards.

Take the lining piece (crocodile paper) and adhere it to the top of the wrong side of the front of the wallet.  This is needed to cover the top of the back of the paper.  The rest will be hidden once the pattern pieces are adhered on.

Fold the crocodile flap over the piece that says “Genuine Leather” and adhere on the back side.  On the back side of the pieces, place double sided tape on three sides (the sides and bottom).

Adhere the brown leather insert to the wrong side of the wallet front, leaving 1/16″ of an inch on the ends.

Now adhere the last two pieces to the brown leather insert, placing the piece with the crocodile flag on the left and placing the personalized piece on the right.  All of the pieces are functional, you can place dollar bills between the wallet front and the tan leather insert, and gift cards in the three slots on the right side.

Fold the wallet together forming the crease line.

Inspiration for the wallet came from one I saw at Steinmart.  I was shopping for my son’s birthday and came across a wallet that I liked.  My son didn’t need a wallet, but I really liked this wallet.  A lightbulb went off in my head.  I opened it up and looked at the inside and thought, gee, I think I can do this, the wallet was just a plain old cowhide leather wallet.  When I got home, I went upstairs and went through my stash of designer papers and found the tan leather paper, then I came across the crocodile paper and decided to use both in the design.  I sat down and started drawing out rectangles and created the template.  It took a couple of hours to make the template and to get it all to fit together. It was a hit with my son and husband.