ROAR! RIT Class of 2015

What do you do when 2 out of 3 of your son's roommates graduate? Two different cards? Two the same?  Subtlety or KAPOW!  Well, I tried to think of 2 different but equal designs and I couldn't so this is what I did.

I decided to go with the School colors of Orange and Brown and the School mascot, a tiger, as the focus.  And of course, the tiger HAD to be graduating!  Then I thought, what if it were a shaker card?  Everyone loves a skaker card right?  So I looked through my bead stash and even my sequin stash and nothing.  All my sequins seem to be Christmas themed and my beads are tiny.  

So I decided to experiment with Shrinky Dinks.  Yes!  All those little mortar boards and diplomas are Shrinky Dinks.  Did I mention how awesome his roommates are? In fact, the Shrinky Dinks mortar board is the same one on the tiger's head. Boom! I love it when a plan starts to come together.

I made the main background using a non-patented hinged stamp positioner so I could restamp as needed and keep it aligned.  The one I have isn't easy on this size card but I made it work.  I masked the tiger and stamped over him with the large tiger stripe background stamp.

Then it was time to decorate the envelope to match.  I went with the same background stamp and an ombre effect of the school colors but starting with black moving through brown to orange.  Who needs a specialist inkpad?!

Ingredients:

Card Size - 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in;

Cardstock - Recollections 65lb: white, kraft, orange, black; scrap packaging transparency;

Stamps - High Hopes Stamps: Tiger, Grad Cap, Diploma; Stampendous: Simply Safari, School Years; Hero Arts: Graduation; See D's: Plain Jane Alphabet; Cornish Heritage Farms: Tiger Stripe;
Ink - Memento: Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, Tangelo;

Color - Copics;

Accessories - black cord.

A Knight Light

So I bought these glass blocks over a year ago, and I decided now was the time to do something with them. I have a special place in my heart for this young lady because I know how much it means to her mom that she is going to University.

I found a font I liked on my computer and printed her name on tissue paper and adhered it to the block with modge podge.  That is the "graining" you see through the paper from the brush strokes.  I cut/tore the edges of the tissue paper.  I let that dry for a bit and printed out her University's shield from a pdf I found online.  In an attempt to get get a different texture behind the tissue paper I stippled the modge podge onto the block and ended up with a hot mess.  I washed off the block and modge podge, dried the block and started again.  This time I went with what I knew and decided that the graining added an artistic flair.

After that cured overnight, I sealed the block with matte sealer on both sides.  The sealer basically frosted the glass that wasn't already covered by tissue paper.  I then put a ribbon around the block (that black & white polka dot one) and made a bow topper.

It was my first time making a bow let alone a bow with multiple ribbons.  There are a few layers I would have done slightly differently but in the end I like how it turned out.  I went with black and white because they are neutral and go with anything.

I placed the bow on top of the block and decided I wanted "more" or to be honest a more personal touch.  So I dug out my knight in shining armor stamp and colored it in School colors, then I had find a place to adhere it... nothing looked right so I made a topper to attach to the bow.  Of course, then I had to decorate the back of the topper.

That is when I went through my graduation stamp sets and found this wonderful phrase.  A bit of Versamark and white embossing powder later with some white gel pen highlights and I had my topper complete.

I found the flower and rhinestone when I bought the ribbon and thought it would add a girly flair to the block.  Can't be too girly now can we?

My biggest regret with this...I didn't use a hot glue gun to attach the bow.  TBH I wasn't supposed to see, but I saw my gift in two pieces. HEARTBREAK! I guess it could have been worse and been a shattered block on the floor.  Anyway I had used large 3D glue dots for the bow.  Learnt my lesson on that one. *Sigh* These things happen.

The night light was placed by using a hot knife to cut an access in the plastic bung. I then used a 3D glue dot to keep it upright and a couple of foam dimensionals to keep the bung in the block (seemed loose on this one for whatever reason).  I didn't want to make it too permanent for when the bulb needs replacing eventually.

The upside to this experience is that I have had a sly request for another from my eldest. I will have to get my thinking cap on!

Ingredients
Surface - Krafty Blok Large
Paper/Cardstock -Printed Tissue Paper, Neenah Classic Crest, The Paper Company
Adhesive - Modge Podge, 3D Zots, Foam Dimensionals
Stamps - High Hopes Stamps, Hero Arts Graduation
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, VersamarkColor - Copics
Miscellaneous - Ribbon, Flower, White Gel Pen, Matte Sealer, Night light.