Let's Cruise Album for Maik | Carta Bella Paper Collection | Your Book of Memories

 

Hello everyone!  I hope y'all are doing well and staying cool.  Today I am sharing an album I made for a friend in town.  His name is Maik, he's 21, and about to embark on the biggest adventure of his life - working on a cruise ship in Europe for 8 months.  

I met Maik at an event at a language school that my friend owns back when he was only 17 or 18 and a student at the school.  I was really impressed with how good his English was considering he had only been learning for about 6 months.  After getting to know him more over the years, he told me that his dream was to travel the world as a flight attendant and he lived and breathed learning English.  

He had just gotten his certificate at Flight Attendant School when the pandemic hit and everything changed.  It was impossible to get a job on an airline and when planes began to fly again, they were not really hiring.  But he kept studying and focusing on getting out of this town and seeing the world.   

And this week he began working on a cruise line in Europe.  For 8 months.  Yikes!  Now, for most of us, this is not a big deal.  But for him, a dream come true.  He gets out of this town and, at 21, gets to see Europe, improve his English even more, meet amazing people, see amazing countries, and maybe, in the future, get a job as a flight attendant.  I am super proud of him and had to make this album for him to memorialize this time.  

A walk-thru of the album can be watched below or over on my YouTube channel.

For those interested - 

I used the Beginner's Mini Album Tutorial from Your Book of Memories.  The album comes together in less than 2 hours - from start to finish - and if you want to get started making albums, I highly recommend this one. 

I decorated the album using papers from the digital version of the Let's Cruise Mega Collection from Carta Bella.  This paper was designed by Steve Duncan and is really amazing.  You can get the digital version on Snap Click Supply and if you want the physical paper, ask your local scrapbook store or check online.

The album holds about 25 photos with plenty of space in the envelopes and pockets for even more.  

And here are photos of the book.  The video is better.  Just saying!  

I spoke to Maik right before he left and he decided to leave the book home with his parents and will fill it with photos when he returns.  But I am happy that it's there waiting for him and that he saw it before he left so he knows he has to fill it eventually.

I hope you have enjoyed this simple but beautiful album.  I'd love to know what you think - of the album, the papers, etc.  Until next time...

Hugs from Brasil.

~Michael

Crafty Elves Countdown to Christmas - July 2023 Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to the July 2023 Edition of the Crafty Elves' Countdown to Christmas.  If this is your first time, this is a collaboration that I do on the 25th of each month with some of my fellow Crafty Elves - Debra (Meticulosity), Lisa (Live of a BZ Scrapper), and Misty (The Jolly Fat Elf).   Links to their projects and all of our social media pages are at the end of this blog post.  

The idea for this card came about while I was looking in my box of Technique Junkies stamps.  I found this Christmas Lights stamp that had yet to be used.  If you have been following me for some time, you know I love making cards with Christmas lights.  And this is such an easy and fun card to make. 

• I made a top-folding A2 card with white cardstock to which I adhered a piece of red cardstock to the front.
• I stamped Christmas Lights on a piece of white cardstock and die-cut it using a 4" x 5.25" stitched rectangle die.
• I colored in each of the bulbs using BIC Intensity Ultra Fine Tip markers, applied some Glossy Accents to each bulb (Diamond Glaze will also work), and I set it aside to fully dry overnight. 
• Once fully dry, I adhered this to a piece of fun foam and then to the card front. 
• I stamped Season's Greetings Sentiment on a piece of white cardstock and die-cut it using a 2.25" Stitched Square die from Gina Marie Designs. 
• I die-cut a piece of red cardstock using the next size up Stitched Square die.
• I layered the white square on the red square and then on the card front. 
  
  

Done!  Easy Peasy.  Other than waiting for the Glossy Accents to dry.  Another idea I had was to add Stickles to the bulbs.  Hmmmm.....

I hope you have enjoyed this quick idea for a Christmas card.  I hope you will find a few minutes in your day to stop by the other Crafty Elves' posts to see what they have come up with.  Links are all below and it would be great if you followed us too.  But not a requirement.  LOL

Michael - World of Michael Trent

Blog

Instagram

Facebook Page

YouTube Channel

Debra - Meticulosity

Blog (today's card)

Instagram

Facebook Page

Lisa - Life of a BZ Scrapper

Blog (today's card)

Instagram

Facebook Page

Misty - The Jolly Fat Elf

YouTube Channel (today's card)

Instagram

Facebook Page

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today.  I would love to know what you think of this card idea - leave a comment below.  Until next time - 

Hugs from Brasil.

~Michael

The Rum is Gone? Where's The Rum? | Technique Junkies | Pirate Cards

Hello everyone and welcome to July.  Today I am sharing 2 cards I made using the new Rum is Gone stamp which is part of the July 2023 Release from Technique Junkies.  

When I saw Rum Is Gone stamp it brought back so many memories of my college days.  I used to go to clubs with my friends Chris, Jorge, and Gayle and Gayle always ordered Malibu Rum and Coke and she loved to say "I'm the reason they are out of rum".  Good times, good memories.  

Did you know that pirates gravitate toward the colors red and black?  Yup.  I asked Google.  Most pirate flags are red and black.  Don't believe me?  Click HERE!

So, I decided to make 2 cards using those colors for inspiration.  Of course, having pirate-themed scrapbook paper on hand with one side being red and the other black, helped a lot.    This paper was made by a Brasilian company but, sadly, they are gone.  BUT...I found THIS digital pirate scrapbook paper that you can download and use for FREE.  It even has a skull and crossbones on black and red paper if you wish to remake this card idea.  

To make these cards...

• I made 2 A2 card bases using black cardstock.
• I used a stitched rectangle die (4" x 5.25") to cut a piece of the red and a piece of the black skull and crossbones papers and adhered 1 to each card front.
• I stamped Rum is Gone using black ink on white cardstock and die-cut them with a stitched square die.
• I layered each of them on a piece of black cardstock.  Then I adhered a piece of fun foam under the black cardstock and then to the card front.  On an angle. 
• I added some white enamel dots to the black card and black enamel dots to the red card.
• And, lastly, I glued googly eyes to the skull and crossbones at the top of the Rum is Gone image.

The card below also uses Rum is Gone but you'll have to click HERE on the Technique Junkies blog to see how I made it.  Hope to see you there.    

Just a reminder that today is the last day to get any or all of the July 2023 release at a 15% discount.  After today, full price.  If you go shopping and see other things on the Technique Junkies website that you want, you can get a 10% discount using my "friends & family discount code" - TJ10Michael.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today.  I hope I see you over on the Technique Junkies blog too.  Let me know what you think of these cards...I'd love to know.  Leave a comment below.  And, as always, until next time...

Hugs from Brasil.

~Michael

Yes, It's A Holiday Collaboration | World UFO Day | I Believe...Do You?

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Yes, It's a Holiday Collaboration with my Instagram friends - Debra and Lori.  Today we are helping to celebrate World UFO Day!  According to National Today, UFOs have been the stuff of legend for centuries, but it wasn't until the 1950s that flying saucers grabbed national and international attention.  

So, why July 2nd, you ask.  This date represents the anniversary of the famed 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico where people believe a UFO crashed.   What do you believe?  Leave a comment, below, letting me know.  

To read more about today's holiday, just click HERE. 

The idea behind this card started with this card, below, which I made for Pride in about 5 minutes using an LGBT sticker.  I thought it was such a cool idea, I decided to make a card for today using stamps and dies.

How to make this card:

• I made a top-folding A2 card using black cardstock.  
• Then I cut a piece of white cardstock, 4.25" x 5.5", and used a cloud stencil, broken china distress ink, and a blending brush to blend in some clouds on the card front.  No need to go all the way down since the bottom half will be covered.

• I used my Cityscape die from Memory Box (circa 2012 and retired) to die-cut some black and gray cardstock.  I cannot find my solid Cityscape die so I traced the Cityscape die on yellow cardstock and had my Scan N Cut cut them out.  Then I adhered the black and gray pieces to the yellow.  

• I adhered one of the gray/yellow Cityscapes to my card front and then die-cut it using a stitched rectangle die and adhered it to the black card base.

Before I could adhere the front layer of buildings, I needed to figure out where to place the UFO and abducted people.  

• I stamped and fussy cut the UFO image - Galaxy Lover from Rubber Soul.  Sadly, this image is no longer being made but Rubber Soul is still going strong.  Yay!  
• Then I cut a piece of yellow cardstock to look like a beam coming down from the ship and stamped a few of the images from the Festive Fun set from Card-io (thanks Sue for making me buy this set).  I also layered it on a piece of black cardstock so it would pop off the front of the card.

Now I can work with the placement.  

• I held the front layer of buildings in my fingers while I adhered the yellow piece with the abducted aliens in place using wet glue.

Now to finish off the card.

• I adhered the UFO and the front layer of buildings to the card using foam tape to give a 3D look. 
• Following an idea my friend Sue gave me, I added Yellow Stickles to the lights under the UFO.
• And, lastly, to make my sentiment, I used Wavy Banner Sentiments and the matching Wavy Banner Dies - both from Heffy Doodle. 

I had so much fun making this card.  I hope you love it as much as I do.  If you have Instagram, it would be awesome if you could stop by my friends' pages to see what they came up with for National UFO Day.  Links to our Instagram pages are below.

Me - @worldofmichaeltrent

Debra - @djdavison814

Lori - @mamakobs

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  Leave a comment below and tell me if you believe UFO sightings are real and if others exist out there.  Me? I totally believe.  Until next time...

Hugs from Brasil.

~Michael

Technique Junkies July 2023 Release | All You Need is a Passport | Discount Info

Hello everyone.  I hope everyone is doing well and having a fun summer or winter so far, depending on where you live in the world.  Here it's winter and a bit chilly this year so I have been busy making cards with stamps from July 2023 Stamp Release from Technique Junkies.    

All the new stamps are 15% off thru July 8th and you can see them all HERE.

If you love them all and just "Gotta Have Them All", click HERE to see the special deal where you save almost $30. 

If you want to save an additional 10% on the rest of the website use my "friends & family discount code" - TJ10Michael - at checkout.

To help kick off the July 2023 Release, I made 2 cards using the new "A Passport" stamp, which is perfect for all your summer travel crafts - bon voyage cards, maybe in your travel journal, maybe even on luggage tags. 

For my first card idea, below:

• I made a top-folding A2-sized card base using black cardstock.
• Then I stamped "World Compass" using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on one of the maps in the Maps & Ledgers Paper Pad from Joann's.
• Then I die-cut it using a 4.25" x 5.5" stitched rectangle die, which I adhered to the card front.   
• I stamped "A Passport" on white cardstock, die-cut it with a stitched rectangle die, layered it on black cardstock, and then to the card front using foam tape. 
• Lastly, I adhered a piece of white cardstock to the inside for any message.

For my second card idea, below: 

• I made a top-folding A2-sized card base using white card cardstock and adhered a piece of navy blue cardstock to the card front.
• I used a 4.25" x 5.25" stitched rectangle die to cut a piece of Kraft cardstock and then I embossed it with an embossing folder covered in passport stamps.  It's from Sunlit and is only available here in Brasil.  
• I distressed the sides and front using Vintage Photo Distress Ink, adhered it to a piece of fun foam, and then adhered it to the card front.
• I stamped "A Passport" on white cardstock, die-cut it with a stitched rectangle die, layered it on a piece of black cardstock, and then adhered it to the card front.  

I have a few more ideas up my short sleeve (hey, it's Brasil) and I cannot wait to show them to you.  Keep a look out for them during the month.  Click on each of the other Design Team Members, below, to be taken to some of their new creations for this release. 

Technique Junkies Blog

Debra - Meticulosity

Pam - Mustang Creations

Shalana - Scrappin with Shalana

Jeanette - Cre8tive Play

Christine - Purple Lake Stamps

Darlene - Dar's Blog

Pat - The Technique Trail

Thanks again for stopping by my blog today.  I'd love to know what you think of my cards and tell me in the comments which new stamp is your favorite.  Until next time...

Hugs from Brasil.

~Michael