It's that time already! Where has it all gone? All along I've been blissfully creating with my beloved Core cardstock and truthfully... I don't EVER want it to end. But, there is a new Design Team call happening and I need to... I MUST, re-apply. Like I said, I never want it to end! Core'dinations cardstock is the first supply I think about or touch when it's time for me to get my craft on, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Seriously, it's that good!
Sooo, here we go... a look at what all I've created lately using many of my favorite Core'dinations collections.
Sooo, here we go... a look at what all I've created lately using many of my favorite Core'dinations collections.
This first project came about as wanting to create something special for two of my dear friends who've recently lost their mothers this past year. I wanted to send them each something, "more than a card"... something that they both could keep around nearby as a token of remembrance. This is how the embellished Angel Wings ornament came to be.
"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my Angel Mother!", is a quote from Abraham Lincoln, that I instantly knew needed to be written on these wings. For this project I used pink cardstock from the Core Essentials Pastels collection as well as Snowflake White Core Essentials. I must say that Core'dinations is the perfect weight of cardstock to bedazzle with glitter. The texture of the cardstock creates a perfect surface for holding super chunky glitter like the vintage Diamond Dust glass glitter I've used here.
These wings were die cut using the Cricut Picturesque cartridge. I distressed the edges of the pink layers a bit before applying the glitter, and the edges of the white layers were inked with a soft gray ink to give them some definition.
I only hope these wings of remembrance will serve their purpose and will be well loved in their new homes!
Next up is a card that I had so much fun creating... and yess, it is loaded with yummy, gorgeous Core. I've used Vintage Core, Gemstones, some Core Impressions Basic Grey Ornate collection, David Tutera Celebrate A7 Embossed Floral layers, as well as a smidge of Whitewash and White Smooth texture cardstock... all on one card!
I've always loved the look of peacocks! Their feathers are so majestic. Sometimes it's all about choosing the perfect Core for a project that you want to be "just right", ya know?! The Gemstones Core collection with all it's glitz and sheen seems to me to be the ultimate look for creating a design featuring a peacock. The Gemstones surface even takes well to inks and sprays which is also really cool. Here I sprayed some gold Perfect Pearls spray from Ranger onto the feathers, giving them an even more intensified color and visual interest. I used the Cricut Give A Hoot cartridge to cut the body of the peacock from some Whitewash and Basic Grey Ornate Core Impressions for the top layer. I sanded the embossed texture and then inked the edges of the teal cardstock with a green ink to highlight and add variation. The feathers were cut using the Sentimentals Cricut cartridge. For the background layers I used 2 of the floral embossed A7 layers from the David Tutera Celebrate line from Core'dinations. The magenta piece I used full size, but used the reverse debossed side and layered a dark teal piece on top which was cut down smaller and sanded. It's always so amazing to me that a project like this card, with the exception of a few embellishments can be created from cardstock only and look SOOO decorative. I love that about Core'dinations cardstock... no patterned paper neccessary!
Here's one more photo of the delicious details... I even dressed it up with some gorgeous May Arts Ribbon!
For my last share, I did some experimenting with Core on a scrapbook page. See, I've had this nifty little tool to use with my Cricut for some time now, and I finally decided to give it a try. Not sure why I waited so long. It's an Engraving Tip by Chomas Creations and it goes directly into a Cricut machine in place of the Cricut blade holder. The tip of the engraver is made of a very hard carbide which can engrave, or etch into surfaces such as metal sheets, acrylic, plastic sheets, clear transparencies AND even Core'dinations Cardstock! The result, is a fabulous, clean etched design onto your cardstock surface. This tool will NOT cut through your surface, rather "engrave" a fantastic design. I'll tell you... it works like a dream and I love this tool! So here is my background that I etched onto a sheet of brown French Roast Core Essentials cardstock with a repeated quadrafoil design. This design can be found on the Cricut Paper Lace cartridge.
You can see it left a perfect pattern on the surface of the cardstock. This can now be manipulated, sanded and inked as I have done here on my layout. I distressed the edges of the piece by sanding a bit more before mounting onto a larger sheet of green cardstock from the Tim Holtz and Ranger Distress collection. I then replaced the engraving tip with the original Cricut blade and repeated the same pattern on a sheet of green from the Tim Holtz Kraft Core Shattered collection. I took several of the die cut green quadrafoils and adhered them to the brown cardstock sheet with foam dimensional adhesive directly over the corresponding etched shapes in an alternating pattern.
To finish this page I cut out the title using the Cricut Teresa Collin's Sophisticated cartridge, from some brown Shattered cardstock and Smooth textured Kraft. To add the perfect complimenting details to this cardstock creation, I used a burlap Prima flower, some jute twine, green crinkled May Arts ribbon and a Recollections butterfly button and resist tag. I really like the results of the engraving technique and I know I will be using this fabulous tool for much, much more. I think this is easily a tool that any crafter who breathes cardstock would love to have.
Well I do hope you've enjoyed my little journey of cardstock projects that I've so lovingly shared here with you all! There is just so much that can be done and accomplished in creating with Core'dinations ColorCore Cardstock! I've loved my time designing with this fabulous brand and I'm sure I've only scratched the surface of what all can be done!
