Faux Football

I woke up in the middle night with some inspiration for the Dirty Challenge yesterday to make a single layer card, but upon completion, I realized I hadn't done any masking (one of the requirements) so I couldn't use it. Oh well, I like how it turned out!! A tutorial with just one pic and just a few easy steps, it is very straightforward!

1. Punch 8 holes down the side of your scored and folded CS.*

2. Stamp your "logo" in black, here I used three stamps from "Just So Sporty".

3. Draw a curvy "three-humped" line to the right of your holes in black, then pierce along the line for faux stitching. (Here's a football to look at, or just copy my card!) :)

4. Run your CS through your Cuttlebug using the Tiny Bubbles folder.

5. Sponge on brown ink to to shade the sides and make the pattern pop.

6. Make a slit at the top left to thread your white grosgrain (or twill or shoelace if you have it) through. Start at the top, go down under the bottom edge with your ribbon and then pull around the left side to go through first hole at the bottom, repeating up until the ball is completely laced. Attach the end of the ribbon inside with a glue dot.

7. Round of the top and bottom right of the card by trimming with your scissors.

That's it! (Does it bug you that you don't see the entire football shape? I debated on whether to make the whole thing and then decide I like this kind of close up, "snapshot" of a football.) Down, set, HIKE!



Another shaped card coming up, (I've been getting lots of requests for it!) with a tutorial and template! Please check back! Now I'm off to check Carolyn's blog for the mother of all blog candy deets!!

*I really want a Big Bite, but I was able to pull this off with my regular Cropodile, and actually I didn't even have to mark where I was going to put my holes. If you slide it all the way into punch(which is right about where I wanted it, hee!) all the holes will line up. You need 8 for a "regulation football" (wink) so make a hole in the center. Now make one close to either end. Now punch two holes between each. 8 relatively even spaced holes!!(okay, some of you may prefer just to get out your eyelet template!) :)

PS A teensy prayer request, not huge deal, but a little worrisome: I am having some severe joint pain and stiffness in my right pointer finger(the drawing hand!!) I haven't done anything to strain it but in the morning I had pain and stiffness in it like I jammed it (but I didn't), and it has gotten progressively worse, now the whole finger as the day has passed. I've been trying to finish up a future release this past week (which I have been putting off because of migraines) and now I have this little stumbling block. I often think about how important my hands are to me, but at the same time I think how my passion for what I do is bigger than an injury or the loss of my dexterity and if somethign happens to my right, I'll just have to learn to draw with my left (although I'd definitely miss some releases, I can barely write my name with that hand LOL!), and if something happens to my left, I'll have to put the pen in my mouth (like Joni Erickson Tada) or in my left foot (like Christy Brown!)! I'm sure it will all work out, but I have noticed the past few winters I have some trouble at times holding my blocks to stamp, I have poor circulation and my mother has fibromyalgia so it's been on my mind...anyway, thanks for reading.