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Design Themes

Lifelong Friends Assemblage

by Joe Rotella on February 9, 2012

About a month ago, I used a photo stamp for the first time – Senior Ladies 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″ (#8671) from Viva Las Vegastamps! – and created a card. Every time I looked at the stamp I imagined more and more about the two ladies it shows, sitting outside, side-by-side…. …They’ve known each other [...]

Life’s A Beach Card with Sand from Cancun!

by Joe Rotella February 6, 2012

Last June, I was in Mexico for business and had just a few minutes to run to the beach and feel the water before heading back to the airport for the trip home to Ohio. In those short minutes, I couldn’t resist filling an empty water bottle with sand, knowing it might come in handy [...]

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3D Ornament

by Carole Lassak February 1, 2012

I’ve had a long-time fascination with origami. I love the looks of all those intricate folds, but, truth be told, I’m just not patient enough to do all the folding required to create an origami piece. That’s why I loved this project so much!! It has that intricate look of origami, but none of the [...]

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Paperclay Picture Frame

by Carole Lassak January 31, 2012

Welcome to our Blog Hop—Love Cast in Clay!! Amazing Mold Putty meets Paperclay. We’ve got blog candy:  One winner will be picked from the Amazing Mold Putty blog and another winner from the Creative Paperclay® blog. Each winner will receive on 16 oz. package of Creative Paperclay® and a package of Amazing Mold Putty.  Retail [...]

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Shimmering Koi Kimono With Mica and Gold Metallic Leaf

by Joe Rotella January 26, 2012

Sometimes I feel more like a collector than a crafter. I see things, new and old, and say to myself, “Ooo! That’s so nice! I know I can make something with that!” I buy it and then it sits—sometimes for weeks, months or even years. That was this case with the Kimono stamp #2545 I [...]

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Paper Napkin Collage Frame and Perfect Paper Adhesive (PPA) from USArtQuest

by Joe Rotella January 12, 2012

I’m so excited to be sharing my first project as a member of the USArtQuest Design Team (DT)!  I first met Susan Pickering Rothamel at a scrapbook convention in 2009. She was demonstrating technique after technique all while answering questions from the crowd. I watched in awe. She made everything look so easy, I was [...]

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Wine Glass Shade

by Carole Lassak January 4, 2012

Robin’s Nest papers are so elegant!! When I first saw this gorgeous paper I just knew I had to use it to make a wine glass shade. There’s nothing like candlelight to add the right ambiance to transform an ordinary meal into a memorable experience. And wine glass lamps are just the ticket. I used [...]

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Split Personalities, Psycho Spiral, Viva Las Vegas Blog Hop – Happy New Year!

by Joe Rotella January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!! To kick off the year with a bang, Viva Las Vegastamps! is hosting a blog hop! If you’ve come here from DeeDee Catron’s blog, Um Wow Studio, then you’re in the right place. To start the hop from the beginning, please go to the Viva Las Vegastamps! blog. If you like blog [...]

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Christmas Ornaments Galore!!

by Carole Lassak December 21, 2011

Christmas has got to be my favorite holiday!! Love all the decorations and lights. I’ve been having a blast molding and casting all sorts of Christmas-y things. Amazing Mold Putty is so easy to use and the casting resin gives such great results!! You’ve got to try this out. I’ve got several projects to share [...]

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Circus Themed Card using Viva Las Vegastamps! and Creative Paperclay

by Joe Rotella December 19, 2011

A couple years back, I took a pottery class through the Lifelong Learning program offered by my city’s Parks and Recreation department. We learned to throw pots, work with clay slabs and even did some molding. Back then I used some small face molds to make embellishments for a clay bowl. When it came time [...]

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Creating A Collaged Frame With 3D Embellishments

by Joe Rotella December 15, 2011

I met Susan Pickering Rothamel a couple of years ago at a convention. I watched how easily she created beautiful projects with USArtQuest products and purchased a “starter kit.”  I bought her book, The Art of Paper Collage, and was so excited to start exploring the world of mixed media. I stared at the supplies [...]

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Season’s Greetings Side Step Card

by Joe Rotella December 5, 2011

I participate in a card swap at Red Letter Journals. On the first Sunday of every month, about two dozen card makers get together to learn a new technique and trade cards using the technique they learned the previous month. It’s a great way to learn new things, have fun and get some great cards! [...]

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Christmas Picture Frame

by Carole Lassak December 1, 2011

I’m really getting into the Christmas spirit, so this project is one that I can use for many seasons to come. I started with this chipboard frame that I picked up from a $1 bin at one of our local stores. I selected Robin’s Nest Red Sorbet Glitter cardstock to cover the frame because I [...]

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Bowling Ball Spinner Card – Fiesta Lanes (Includes Pattern to Download)

by Joe Rotella November 21, 2011

Sometimes when I browse a collection of stamps, I look for stamps that will work well together to create a scene. When I found these three bowling stamps at Viva Las Vegastamps! I knew there had to be a fun way to combine them. It wasn’t too long before I realized a spinner card might [...]

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Christmas Clipboard

by Carole Lassak November 17, 2011

  As a member of the Amazing Mold Putty design team I’ve been having a blast molding and casting a variety of items. This month I’ve molded rubber stamps, fancy brads, and metal pieces to create embellishments to decorate my clipboard.  After mixing equal parts of A and B putty, I molded my snowflake and [...]

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Merry Christmoose

by Joe Morgan November 14, 2011

For this week’s project, I wanted to make something with Sakura Crystal Lacquer. One of the things I really like about Crytstal Lacquer is that when it dries, it’s not just clear and glossy, it’s also flexible. So, unlike similar products, it won’t crack or break off of something if you bend it. I recently spent [...]

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Shell Shaped Card Featuring a Glitter on Acetate Mermaid!

by Joe Rotella November 7, 2011

Glitter!  Most every crafter I know likes to add a little bling to their projects once in a while, and glitter is an easy way to do it. This little fact may surprise you; glitter was invented by an American cattle farmer named Ruschman during the 1930s! Although some sources say he invented the product [...]

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Halloween Clock with My Little Shoebox Papers

by Carole Lassak October 28, 2011

I had so much fun doing this project!! It all started on a Saturday morning when my DIL Joanna and I went to a garage sale. She was searching for toddler toys; I was along for the ride. But I found this clock begging to be refurbished. I removed the clock mechanism and spray painted [...]

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Beware the Pumpkin Eater!

by Joe Morgan October 23, 2011

  Halloween, my favorite holiday, is almost here! For this weeks post, I made a cute card using three different pumpkin stamps. To start out, I stamped the three stamps on white cardstock, and colored them with Copic markers. I cut out all three of them. One of them includes a graveyard scene in the [...]

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Angel Wings

by Carole Lassak October 20, 2011

Amazing Mold Putty!! Perfectly named. It is amazing—there is no end to the things that you can mold with this easy-to-use medium. You just take equal parts of A (which is white) and B (which is yellow), and knead them together—just like working with clay—until they are completelycombined and there are no streaks. Depending on [...]

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Halloween Treat Boxes and Tag – With A Free Pattern!

by Joe Rotella October 17, 2011

I’m not a big fan of horror stories, scary films, haunted houses and the like. They make my heart pound and I scare pretty easily. Maybe that’s why I prefer the spooky but fun approach to Halloween. When I saw the Eyes Inside Pumpkin stamp from Viva Las Vegastamps! it made me chuckle. The design [...]

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Ouija Board Halloween Card

by Joe Morgan October 10, 2011

Welcome! I’m happy to be posting the first project of my second term on the Viva Las Vegastamps! Design Team. This month, the folks at The Robin’s Nest provided us with a selection of their papers to use in our projects. As I flipped through the pile, I saw my favorite – Glitter Sepia Trees [...]

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Halloween Lantern with Viva Las Vegastamps!

by Joe Rotella October 3, 2011

I’m so excited to be sharing my first project with you, as a new member of the Viva Las Vegastamps! Design Team (DT)! It was so hard to pick just one Halloween image from the huge variety of stamps Viva Las Vegastamps! has in their 15,000+ collection that I needed to come up with some [...]

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Moon & Stars

by Joe Morgan September 26, 2011

For this week’s project I wanted to use a couple of stamps that I have had for a while. The sentiment that I used was one of the very first stamps I bought from Viva Las Vegastamps! It reads, “We already have the moon. Let’s not ask for the stars.” It has always made me [...]

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Pixie In A Bottle – The Upcycle Blog Hop and a Your Story Prize Giveaway!

by Joe Rotella September 17, 2011

Welcome to the Upcycle Blog Hop hosted by Tanya, the Scrappy Scavenger. If you’re doing the hop and are here from Dawn’s blog, Strawberry Delights, then you are in the right spot. If you just arrived here and would like to start from the beginning of the hop, please go to Tanya’s blog, the Scrappy Scavenger. [...]

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Swapper’s Day Finds!

by Joe Rotella September 15, 2011

Over the last few months, I’ve seen my crafting shift from card making to more 3D projects. I’ve also started using a variety of materials in combination with paper. I guess I’ve moved in to the mixed media space. I’ve always liked lumpy bumpy artwork. I’ve always been more attracted to sculpture, pottery, carvings, art [...]

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Trick or Treat! Gift Tag

by Joe Morgan September 12, 2011

October will be here soon! So, I decided to make something for Halloween this week since it is my favorite time of the year. For this week’s post, I made a tag that I can attach to a small gift bag of Halloween treats. I started out by stamping the Surprised Kitty stamp on white [...]

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M-113 Steampunk Clock

by Joe Rotella September 1, 2011

Over the past 6 months, we’ve been going to thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales looking for things we could incorporate in to our craft projects. I’ve been especially interested in wooden pieces that I could upscale using paper collage and stamping. One of our finds was a small battery operated clock in a [...]

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Bah! Humbug! Christmas card season is coming! Like it, or not!

by Joe Morgan August 31, 2011

    While browsing though the Viva Las Vegastamps! store, I found this beautiful Angel stamp that I had to have. The card you see here isn’t what I had originally planned to do with this stamp, but once I found the “Grumpy Nightcap Man” stamp that makes me think of Scrooge, I decided to [...]

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August Card Club

by Amy Day August 27, 2011

You know the old saying “Better late than never?”  I’m going to use that as my defense! Red Letter Journals’ monthly card club met on Sunday, August 7.  Unfortunately, the Create & Craft team was unable to attend, but we were nicely represented by Carole’s daughter-in-law, the lovely Joanna.  While I was at our annual [...]

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3D Memorabilia Display – Butterfly Frame

by Carole Lassak August 23, 2011

I discovered a new way to save and display precious photos and memorabilia—Globecraft Memories 3D keeper frames. This butterfly kit comes with the globe, pre-cut designer paper, butterfly cut-outs, and these pieces to assemble the frame. To begin the project I painted a thin layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer on the oval pieces and adhered [...]

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Backgrounds with Crystal Lacquer

by Carole Lassak August 10, 2011

I am participating in a card swap next month at Red Letter Journals, one of our local scrapbooking shops. The challenge theme is backgrounds. So, here’s what I came up with. I started with a piece of acetate slightly smaller that my card. I stamped my image—Dragonfly from Earth Art International—on the acetate using black [...]

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Don’t Make Me Get My Flying Monkeys!

by Joe Morgan August 8, 2011

  Don’t Make Me Get My Flying Monkeys! Hello again! For my Viva Las Vegastamps! blog post this week, I wanted to use a witch stamp that I got in my last order. So here is what I came up with. I ended up using three stamps from Viva Las Vegastamps! in my project. First, [...]

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Stained Glass Crane

by Joe Morgan August 5, 2011

I was asked by another member of the Viva Las Vegastamps! design team if I could post today in her place because she is travelling for a fun filled weekend. So I agreed and this is what I made! I fell in love with the Stained Glass Crane (#5013) stamp as soon as I saw [...]

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The Curse!

by Joe Morgan July 24, 2011

Sometimes, two things collide and the result is a very interesting card. I eagerly opened the “pound of rubber” from Viva Las Vegastamps! as soon as the packaged arrived. Would it have cool stamps? How many would be ones that I would have picked out myself? Would there be any surprises that would really inspire [...]

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Sakura Crystal Lacquer Blog Hop!

by Carole Lassak June 29, 2011

Welcome to Sakura Crystal Lacquer’s Blog Hop!! You have arrived from Heather’s blog. First off, I need to credit Joe Rotella, Founder and Creative Director of Create & Craft, with this idea. He’s been creating some outstanding projects using aluminum tape. The shapes I used are from SVG Cuts’ Peony Cottage SVG Kit. The supplies [...]

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Viva Las Vegastamps! Blog Hop

by Joe Morgan June 29, 2011

Welcome to the Viva Las Vegastamps! blog hop! If you are hopping in order, you should have come here from Rebecca Parsons’ blog. If this happens to be your first stop, be sure to visit all the blogs by following the links.  For blog candy, Viva Las Vegastamps! is giving away their “Pound O’ Rubber” [...]

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Hot in Vegas!

by Joe Morgan June 27, 2011

Hi! Today I posted my second project for the Viva Las Vegastamps! design team. As luck would have it,  I just happen to be posting from my room at The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas.  I am here with my partner who is here on business to speak at an HR conference (SHRM). Tomorrow, I [...]

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Gnomes Are Stealing My Sanity!

by Joe Morgan June 12, 2011

Hi! Thanks for checking out my first blog post as a Viva Las Vegastamps! Design Team member. I have a strange sense of humor, as you will see in some of my postings. For this project I decided to make a card using three stamps from Viva Las Vegastamps! To start out, I stamped the [...]

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Hand Made Flowers

by Amy Day June 11, 2011

A few months ago, the Create and Craft team joined a monthly card swap at Red Letter Journal in Grove City.  Each month, the club meets to create a card using a specific technique.  Over the next month, each member makes a set of 6 cards using that technique.  The cards made over the previous [...]

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Word Book

by Carole Lassak June 7, 2011

The chip board letters for this work book were a gift from Betty Scott, one of the Create & Craft design team members, to celebrate the birth of my first grandchild–eighteen months ago. I will admit that I was totally intimidated by this project and put off beginning it. But once I got started, I [...]

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Once Upon A Time…Illuminated Letters

by Joe Rotella May 27, 2011

Fate has a way of making things happen that are supposed to happen. Earlier this week I had to spend a day in Chicago and caught a flight back home to Columbus at the end of the day. When I got in line at position A1 (shoutout to Southwest!), I was surprised to see a [...]

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Easter Eggs with 3D Crystal Lacquer

by Carole Lassak April 13, 2011

Anybody thinking about decorating Easter eggs??? You can definitely add a new dimension to your egg decorations with colored 3D crystal lacquers from Sakura Hobby Craft. I started my egg decorating project by coloring hard boiled eggs. I dissolved a tiny amount of paste dye (the kind used for cake icing) in one cup of hot [...]

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Acetate, Glitter & 3D Lacquer

by Carole Lassak March 23, 2011

Today I have another fun project using Sakura Hobby Craft 3D Crystal Lacquer, acetate, and glitter. I made a tile that I used to embellish the front of a greeting card. This is an easy technique that delivers results that will have folks asking, “How did you do that?” To start, select the stamp that [...]

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Viva Las Vegastamps! Design Team Submissions

by Joe Morgan March 15, 2011

Viva Las VegaStamps! Here are a couple of projects I did for the Viva Las VegaStamps! call for design team members. The first one was a butterfly card that I made using an Impression Obsession Cover A Card stamp on two layers, and then a PSX butterfly stamp colored with 3 different shades of blue [...]

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Love at First Sight

by Amy Day March 6, 2011

Love at first sight?  It’s not a myth.  I have proof that it exists.  I’ve not only seen it, I’ve experienced it!  I didn’t expect it.  I didn’t search for it.  But when my eyes fell upon that sweet face, I knew life would never be the same! I have fallen in love with a [...]

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Tim Holtz Inspired Challenge

by Joe Rotella February 17, 2011

K. Andrew over at Getting Cricky posted a challenge on her blog to create something in the altered style of Tim Holtz.  With only 1 night to work on our projects, Joe M., Betty and I sat down to crank out something completely free flowing. No planning. No fretting. Just  heart-to-hands creating. Here’s what we [...]

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Your Story Package Giveaway! Cricky Across the 50! Blog Hop

by Joe Rotella February 11, 2011

A Big Cricut Hello & Chirp to each of you! Welcome to the Cricky Across the 50 Blog Hop hosted by K Andrew of Getting Cricky! If you are here from Patricia Logan of MDN Creates then you are in the right spot. If you just arrived here and would like to start from the [...]

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Cupcake Card

by Joe Rotella January 3, 2010

Nearly everyone loves cupcakes, those pint sized servings of delicious cake covered in swirls of icing. We create this card, with “swirls” of embossed icing, to help celebrate Valentine’s Day.

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Hoo Hoo Hoo Who Loves You

by Joe Rotella January 3, 2010

A Valentine’s Day Card using a chocolate brown and pink palette with an owl as the focal point, asking “Hoo Hoo Hoo who loves you?”

Stamps are from Hampton Art and Inkadinkadoo.

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Struggling To Create Tags Using Cricut® DesignStudio

by Joe Rotella December 30, 2009

A contest was recently posted where the basic requirement sounded simple:
Create a tag using Cricut® DesignStudio (DS) and the Cricut® Plantin SchoolBook font cartridge.

The end result? The limited functionality of DS combined with the limited shapes available on the Cricut® Plantin SchoolBook font cartridge made this tedious and time consuming. Worst of all, I had to change my design concept to fit the limitations of the software and cartridge.

When the possibilities are endless with Sure Cuts A Lot™, why would anyone use DS?

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