You Croc My World

One of the newer additions to the Polka Dot Orchard store is the set called You Croc My World.  This super fun set was designed by Malanie Colver.  It's such a fun and whimsical set!  

Purchase HERE

I wanted to do something a little bit different than a card.  Enter sublimation markers from Artesprix.  I recently discovered these little gems when I won a starter kit.  Now I'm hooked!  They are very easy to use.  You color whatever you want onto a piece of regular copy paper using these markers.  Use a heat press to transfer the image to a sublimation blank and you have magic!

To start the process I printed my images out onto copier paper.  I used You Croc My World and Sip Happens.

Purchase HERE

Then I got out my light box and the black Artesprix marker set.  I used the black markers to trace the digital stamp.  Once that was done I used the Artesprix markers to color in the images.  The majority of colors I used are in the original Artesprix marker 10 pack.  Here's what it looked like before I used the heat press.

And here's what it looked like after heat was applied.

I am using a special sublimation Maple bag tag that I also got from Artesprix as my surface.  You tape the colored image to the tag using a special heat resistant tape.  Then you create a sublimation sandwich and apply heat.  My heat source is a 9x 9 Cricut Easy Press 2.  Leave it on for the recommended time and remove heat.  Then you wait because it's HOT!

And at last, the reveal!

Front

Back

And here it is hanging from my suitcase.  I had to dust it off due to lack of use...

I hope you liked my "not a card" project for today.  Come back soon!

~Kristina

PDO 13 days of Thanks Challenge

Hidey-ho all you crafty people!  I am sad that the Coffee Lovers blog hop is over but I'm super excited about a brand new challenge for Polka Dot Orchard!  What's this you say?  Starting today and ending on Thanksgiving PDO is having a 12 days of Thanks challenge.  You simply need to make a fall or Thanksgiving themed project and post it on Instagram.  The fine details are that you need to include #GiveThanksPDO1119 and tell us something you are thankful for.  Prizes?  Of course there will be prizes, two in fact!  If the winner uses a PDO image, they will win a $10 gift card to the Polka Dot Orchard shop.  The second prize will got to someone who doesn't use a PDO image.  They will receive a $5 gift card to use on digital stamps in the shop.  Whew!  Now that we have all of the details out of the way, let's take a look at what I made.

I made a fun wall hanging using a brand new set called Let's Get Basted.  What's even more exciting that it is one of the debut sets from our newest artist Malanie Colver!  Eeeeeek!

SHOP HERE

Isn't it just the cutest?  I'm a total sucker for puns!  My sign measures approximately 7 3/4" x 8 3/4".

I printed the digi onto Cryogen White cardstock.  Then I colored it up with Copic markers to match the colors in the leaf paper.  The largest layer of cardstock is a dark green.  The leaf layer is a paper I have been hoarding forever from Carta Bella.  I layered the colored piece onto a yellow piece of cardstock.  I backed with foam tape before adhering it to the leaf layer.  

With so many layers of cardstock I found it to be thick enough to not need a cardboard backing.  I punched two holes with a standard paper punch and added a length of ribbon from my stash.  I simply slipped it through the holes and knoted it in the back.  And now I have an awesome sign to hang up for Thanksgiving!

I hope you'll find some time to play along with the PDO 13 days of Thanks Challenge on Instagram.  Don't forget #PDO13Thanks2019 and tell us something you are thankful for!!

Toodles

~Kristina

Cup of coffee

Hey there everyone!  I was able to sneak away to my craft room to come up with another coffee themed project for the Coffee Lovers blog hop.  I also got to use more gorgeous digital stamps from Polka Dot Orchard!

I love all things coffee and my entire kitchen is coffee themed so I wanted to create a mini home decor project.  There was a digi sentiment that caught my eye in the Flowers in Bloom set and I knew I wanted to use it in my project.  The coffee cup element I chose comes from the Way of Beauty set.
Let me show you what I came up with, then I'll walk you through my process.

I used Adobe Illustrator to create my project but I have seen lots of videos where you can do the same thing using Microsoft word...or any of your other favorite editing programs!

I created a rectangle outline in my program measuring 5" x 7".  This is the size of the picture frame I am using so this helps me get everything sized correctly.  Next I brought in the sentiment and then the coffee cup.  I just played around with the sizing of both of them until I was happy with the layout.  I did reduce the transparency of the cup image so it would fade a bit more into the background.  Then I printed it out onto Cryogen White cardstock.  This is a Copic friendly cardstock that has a faint metallic sparkle to it.  I will also mention that it is not a true white but I still love it.  

I went ahead and cut it down to the 5x7 rectangle so that I would have a smaller piece of paper to work with when coloring.  I picked some vibrant oranges so they would really stand out.  I colored the flowers with R08 (the deepest shade), Y16, Y14 and Y12.  The flower centers and stamen were colored with T9, T7 and T5.  I let it sit for just a few minutes to make sure the Copics were completely dry before I added some extra details.  

There are some tiny dots that print with the image.  I played these up by adding dots of the oranges and dots made with a white gel pen.  I also added gray dots and white dots to the centers.  Here is a close up of the details.

I popped it into an inexpensive frame from Wal-Mart and my home decor project was done.  I hope you like it.  It really was a quick and easy project to complete.  Can't wait to put it in my kitchen!

Just a reminder that you too can create a coffee/tea project and link up HERE to participate in the Coffee Lovers blog hop. Don't forget to use #springsummer2019clh

And you can purchase the great digital stamps I used from Polka Dot Orchards right HERE!

~Kristina

Be Mine banner

Hey there gang!  I'm back with a Valentine's Day home decor project today over on the Dies R Us blog page.  Come on over and check out all the details HERE!

Hope to see you over there!

~Kristina