Sunday, November 30, 2014

Such a Cutie

Hello everyone, Heidi back again and I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.  Today I have a layout to share using a Brick Wall  and the Cherry Blossom both in chipboard as opposed to MDF.



For the Cherry Blossom I decided to paint it in white first and then on the below branch I popped it through my cricket and used a swiss dot embossing folder.  Once it was dry embossed I decided to use some very link pink embossing powder to give the branch a nice soft colour.  I just used plain white for the Brick Wall Stencil and placed that underneath my photo.


For the other piece of the Cherry Blossom I did the same thing except for the dry embossing, so this one is nice and smooth.  Look at the cool little tile you get when you order the Brick Wall


I created some texture with Gesso for the background and then used some Gelato's to get that water colour effect.  Once that dried I used some texture paste and a mask to give it some more texture.


I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, and I just wanted to thank Unique Laser Designs for this fabulous opportunity of being part of this awesome team,  so for the last time...

TFL & Happy Scrapping






Saturday, November 29, 2014

Gingerbread good enough to eat (almost)


At our house, the day after Thanksgiving is reserved for decorating the house for Christmas.  This year, I created something new for the kitchen, and it LOOKS good enough to eat...
but DON'T (unless you want splinters in your teeth)!


Using these adorable gingerbread ornaments from Unique Laser Designs, I made a simple garland with just some ribbon, wooden beads, and twine.






First, I covered the gingerbread men with clear VersaMark ink and then bathed them in embossing powder (Espresso from Adirondack).  When I heated them up with the heat gun, I was mesmerized as they developed this great texture that even turned a little white around the edges.  Once cooled, I added just a bit of Stickles (rock candy) on the edges to give them just a little sparkle.



I strung some painted wooden beads on some twine and then hot glued the gingerbread men on, separating them with some gingham ribbon scraps.

These guys are ready for hanging in the kitchen.  One decoration down, about 512 more to go!

My term on the Unique Laser Design Team is coming to a close, and this is my last post that I get to share with you.  I have truly LOVED these wood shapes and will keep coming back to get more with each new reveal.   The new Design Team has some real treats coming up in these weeks before Christmas...keep watching the blog.  You can still visit me at my blog too...www.kellystarsallthingscrafty.blogspot.com

And, just for you shoppers, here is a DEAL!  35% of the whole ULD store through Monday (enter the code THANKS35 at checkout).  Stuff your stockings!

Wishing you and your family
 a very merry Christmas season!


Friday, November 28, 2014

All is Calm Canvas


Hello again! It's Lee and I'm bringing you your Black Friday Unique Laser Design post. Thanksgiving is over,  Christmas shopping has officially commenced and I believe that it is a good day to share my project, "All is Calm."


I love the snow.  I really love being in a quiet snowy place and I cannot think of a more peaceful setting.  This was the feeling that I was thinking of when I put this canvas together.

The Swirly Christmas Tree was lightly brushed with gesso, leaving some of the wood bare.  I wanted to make the tree look like it was snow covered.  After the tree was dry I gave it some green ink. 



The reindeer was given two separate coats of embossing powder.  The body, head, and ears were covered in a translucent powder and the antlers were covered in gold glitter embossing powder.  The reindeer is shiny and sparkly, but you're going to have to take my word for it.



If you're going to be brave and go shopping today, take a deep breath and remember "All is Calm."  May it bring you a moment of peace.  Good luck out there!







Thursday, November 27, 2014

My Special Bag for Holidays

Hi everyone,

Martha Lucia here! This time of the year is absolutely my favorite; gathering with friends and family, decorating, celebrating the reason for the season and creating a lot of special gifts. Today I want to share My Special Bag for the Holidays.



One of my favorite things about the holidays is the opportunity to give the gifts and pack them. But during the last few years I have discovered more and more that gift cards and money seem to be a crowd favorite. It simplifies things, but sometimes money and gift cards don't feel very personal. So this year I decided to create special bags because the packaging becomes even more important, so as to make the gift feel more meaningful.

I think I chose the perfect product in the Unique Laser Designs Store. This is the Holly Ornament that I will show you today. This is a unique piece available in unfinished wood, great to decorate and personalize. I made mine using Versamark ink and different colors of embossing powders: Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso and Gold from Stampin Up.  I then created a little texture over the leaves with Gelatos in yellow, brown and dark green from Faber castell.



The bag is a Mini Muslin Bag from Stampin Up that came in a plain ivory color and I decided to decorate with Encore Gold Metalic Ink and a sponge dauber. To avoid mixing the ink in both sides of the bag I put a piece of cardboard covered with wax paper inside of the bag.

The final touch was a cherry cobbler bow with a line of gold sequins to tie a small tag with best wishes stamped. The holly ornament came with a ribbon to hang it easily on the tree. 


Now I want to show you the original form of my holly ornament and invite you to visit the ULD Store to see all of different ornaments that are available during this holiday season. 



Products Used:


  • Holly Ornament - UNIQUE LASER DESIGNS
  • Versamark Ink
  • Embossing Powder in Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi, Gold and Early Espresso (Stampin Up)
  • Encore Gold Metalic Ink (Stampin Up)
  • Sponge Dauber
  • Muslin Bag
  • Sequins
  • Ribbon
  • That´s the ticket Stamp Set or Ese es el Boleto Set de Sellos (Stampin Up)

 Come back soon to see more wonderful ideas!

{{HUGS}} Martha Lucia!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Thanksgiving Weekend Sale !

Fall is one of my favorite seasons !  All the pretty colors, holiday spirit, hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, special time with family and friends...

We are very thankful for your support this year, and to show our thanks, we are offering a Thanksgiving sale starting on Thanksgiving day (11/27/2014), all the way through Cyber Monday (12/01/2014).
We will be offering you 35% off any items on our website.  All you need to do is enter THANKS35 at checkout to get your discount.  Don't forget - all orders over $75 ship free !
Discount is good on everything, from craft items, to gifts and supplies (excludes special orders.)  Supplies are limited to stock on hand.  

Please note, we have discontinued International shipping, and apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

Holly Shaker Ornament

Hey everyone!  Today is my last post for ULD....I only signed on for the fall term, but I've loved every minute of it!  I'm a little sad, but I'm a fan of wooden embellishments, and will definitely be sharing more projects using ULD on my blog and the ULD facebook page!

I've got a great little gift idea, or just something to pretty up your own holiday using this holly ornament:
 
                                                         X-0058 Holly Ornament 3½”x4”

Here is my Holly Shaker Ornament:





I've used a tacky type glue that dries clear, but stays sticky, brushed over the top:



Then I added glitter to the holly leaves and berries. 

Next I traced the ornament on a piece of acetate (I used packaging from craft supplies that I've saved) then cut it out.  I did this twice.  Then I applied a thin line of glue around the edges and adhered the acetate to one side (you can see a slight outline on the left....that is one of the acetate circles):


then, before I glued the other side, I added some glass beads and then glass glitter around the edges.

The final ornament just needs a cord (they come with these!!), and it's ready to give!

Thanks for stoppin' by today!!  Get inspired to get those gifts made!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Reindeer Christmas Card

Greetings my friends! 

This is Elizabeth here to share with you my latest project for Unique Laser Designs using their lovely Reindeer. I decided to leave him in his natural wood state with the exception of….well, you’ll see in a minute!


First, I selected my papers for the card. You’ll see a piece of sweatshirt fabric here with a pretty snow scene image that I decided to use on my card. I’ve had that scrap for who knows how long and it was a piece my husband brought home from work. It had been tossed out so he cut it out of the sweatshirt thinking I might want to use it for something!


I first distressed the edges of my papers and scrunched them up a bit. Then, I fussy cut the image out for my card and then glued it onto my background paper which is from K & Company EB Visions of Christmas Designer Paper Pad. I added some pretty Stickles to it as well as the snowflakes on the paper. After that, I decided to use some of my homemade texture paste to look like snow on the bottom of my card. This recipe was shared in a tutorial by Gabrielle Pollacco. When it dried I added some Star Dust Stickles for shimmer.




I then inked all the edges of my background papers, as well as the edge of the white corrugated cardboard using Tim Holtz Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Ink.


In this photo you will see that I added a used Bounce dryer sheet to give it more of an appearance of snow mounding! Then I added some more Stickles (Diamond this time).


I wanted my deer to be walking in the snow so I added some texture paste and Stickles to his hooves.




Thought he needed a pretty, Christmas bridle!


Now, to finish off the details…I made a little bow with some bling and cheesecloth underneath for the top corner and stamped the greeting using Impression Obsession’s Christmas Sentiments clear stamp in Tim Holtz Faded Jeans Distress Ink.




And here’s the finished product!


Thank you for stopping by to view my tutorial!

ULD Products:

Other Products Used:
Coredinations Foundations – Silver Pear cardstock
K & Company EB Visions of Christmas Designer Paper Pad
DCWV Luxury Stack Paper Pad
White Corrugated Cardboard
Stickles – Holly, Xmas Red, Icicle, Star Dust, Crystal and Diamond
Tim Holtz Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Ink
Stampendous Frantage Glass Glitter – Steel Blue
Homemade Texture Paste
Used Bounce Dryer Sheet

Cheesecloth

Monday, November 24, 2014

Welcome to our newest Designers

Wow - can you believe that Christmas is only one month away ?  Where has this year gone ?  Hopefully you're well on your way to having your Christmas shopping done.  If you're still looking for that special, one of a kind gift, don't forget that we offer many different gift items, from Christmas ornaments to custom engraved wine boxes and lots more.


Today I want to introduce you to the newest Designers to join our already wonderful team of talented ladies.



Blog / Pinterest / Facebook
Hi, my name is Sabrina Jackson and I live in Southern Arizona with my husband and our two beautiful girls.  I am a Christian and love spreading the word of God through my creations.  I have been crafting my entire life from flower arranging, to sewing, knitting and crocheting and I started paper crafting about 8 years ago. Was bitten by that bug and have not looked back, lol!  
I create mostly cards and tags, but love going outside my comfort zone ever so often. I am looking forward to using Unique Laser Designs in my creations!




Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter / Instagram
My name is Erin Reed.  I am a military wife, a stay at home mom (my children give me wonderful pictures to scrap with), 2 boys and 2 girls.  I was a teacher (high school science) before I stayed at home, and I love to scrapbook!!  My first love is my family, they mean everything to me.  My second love is crafting, especially scrapbooking.  My style of crafting is funky, shabby layers.  I love to just get messy and just play with my projects!



We are very excited to share the new creations from all of our wonderful designers with you in the future.  To these new ladies - Welcome !

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Christmas in the City


Merry Christmas Philadelphia! Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love, and friends of the city know the iconic Philadelphia landmark created by Robert Indiana. Today, the larger than life landmark unites people from all over the world in Love Park, right in the center of the city. Wherever you call home, big city or small town, may it be filled with love and joy this holiday season!

This card is all about the layering - -lots and lots of layering! But first, we begin with the beautiful wooden embellishment from Unique Laser Designs

I painted the Love in the original Indiana sculpture colors, vivid red on the front, bright sky blue on the inside. Give it a couple of coats for a bright, smooth finish.


To make the card, cut a white card stock base 5.75 by 5.75 square. I love square cards, and usually have them open on the bottom. Then cut a layer of patterned paper 5.5 by 5.5 square. Then cut your "snow" layer, which must be 5.5 inches wide, and about 2 inches tall, out of shiny Bazzill Bling Diamond. You can freehand a rolling hill, or use a die cut machine. I used my favorite winter die cut landscape, Modern Landscape from Memory Box. Line up your snow base with your patterned paper, then adhere with a thin line of glue, but only on the bottom to secure it in place.  Use a guillotine to trim your layer to a 5.5 by 5.5 inch square.

Now, remember when I said this card was all about the layering? Every layer must go behind the previous layer, so you can't glue anything in place until all of your pieces are cut and assembled. 

Next come the city buildings! Cut one Cityscape Nightline out of Bazzill Bling String of Pearls card stock. Cut a second Cityscape Nightline out of shiny Bazzill Bling Sparkle (light blue).  Then cut two  Cityscape Silhouettes out of Bazill Bling Infatuation (light purple).

Next we add the holiday lights in all the windows! Let your imagination run wild! I use little scraps left over from my glitter paper stock, with yellow glitter paper for most of the windows, with a few red, green, blue and purple pieces to look like a city waiting for Santa! You could make all the windows red or green, or mix them all up in a rainbow of colors. To add the windows, use a pair of craft tweezers to add tiny, tiny squares to the back of your cut Cityscape Nightline. When all of the windows are finished in both skylines, adhere your light purple Cityscape Silhouette slightly to the left behind the skyline, so it looks like a "shadow."

Layer order: white cardstock base, patterned paper, snow layer, String of Pearls buildings, glitter windows, light purple shadow, Sparkle buildings, glitter windows, light purple shadows. Did I say layers?


Once all those layers are glued into place, then it's time to decorate the city! I used Diamond white clouds, a few Bazzill Bling Bank Roll Evergreen Trees, by Poppystamps, and artsy snowflakes cut with a tiny hole punch.

And, now, finally, add the lovely jewel in the crown, your painted LOVE wooden show stopper from ULD! I love how it fits center stage!


Despite the time-consuming layering and tedious glitter paper placement and gluing, this card is easier to make than you might imagine. A little practice makes perfect too! Here's what you'll need to send your city a little love!
Supplies:
ULD LOVE wooden laser cut
White card stock base
Bazzill Bling card stock: Diamond, String of Pearls, Sparkle, Infatuation,  & Bank Roll
Memory Box dies: Modern Landscape, Cityscape Nightline, Cityscape Silhouette, & Puffy Clouds
Poppystamps die: Evergreen Trees
Assorted glitter paper scraps
Acrylic paints: crimson & cerulean blue

Thanks for dropping by today!

Live your life in color!


Friday, November 21, 2014

Thanksgiving Greetings

Thanksgiving is fastly approaching and I love giving the host of our Thanksgiving festivities a greeting card. 
 
Today I'll share two of the cards I created to give.

 
I absolutely love the colors of Fall and use them often.
 

 
Of course let's start with the gathering of supplies.  I adore Unique Laser Designs cork embellishments.  They are very compatiable with the wood and chipboard embellies for added texture.
 

 
Begin the layering of your card base.
 


Here's an upclose view of the cork and chipboard embellishments. The chipboard Honeycomb Stencil was cut to size and distressed using Lindy's stamp gang Starburst (Industrial Chic Line) spray. 
 
The next card was created using the Cork Leaf Branches.
 
 


 
I added a little stitching to the edges of the second layer, then begin to layer on fabric, washi tape, black gesso, light molding paste and more Lindy's inks.
 

Here's a look at the Cork Leaf Branches before I altered it.
 

 
As you can tell here, I actually cut one of the leaves from the branch and repositioned it to work for my card.  Because of the "nature" of the season and card, I left the Leaf Branch natural.
 
I wish you all a very safe and Happy Thanksgiving!!
 
Products Used: