May 08 2008

A JustRite Graduation

The graduation announcements are starting to flow in, so I thought I’d better get busy!!! I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try out the numbers and small letters that can be purchased to go with the DIY Monogram Stampers by JustRite — which, as you may know, is my latest obsession!!! I have always loved monograms, but rarely did them, having to fuss with perfect alignment of letters within frames, etc. But, now — well, it couldn’t be easier and I’m having so much fun!!!

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I wanted to personalize this graduation card with the recipients name, and the small letters are perfect for that. They are small, and I mean VERY small!!! They come with a set of tweezers to pluck them out of their tray and pop them into the groove in the stamper. Once in the groove, you can just use the tweezers to scoot them over to get them spaced properly. To be perfectly honest, I was a bit apprehensive about using these tiny letters — my eyes are every bit of their 54 years, properly clad in bifocals, and somehow over the years my fingers have become clumsy, and are no longer nimble. But, where there’s a will, there’s a way — so I picked up the tweezers and away I went — and, much to my surprise, it was truly no problem at all!!! It was quite easy to get the little letters into thegroove on the stamper, and then very easy to move them about once in the groove. It was certainly not the challenge I feared it might be!!! And that’s a good thing!!! But after I show you the finished card, I will give you some little hints. Here’s the card:

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I personalized the monogram with Congrats Tyler around the outer perimeter in the Small Letters. The center 2008 was done with the medium numbers from the Large and Medium Numbers package. These were stamped using the DIY Monogram Stamper C-45. However, this also could have been stamped with any of the smaller Kits.

Question: Now let me address another question I’ve been getting all day long — people are wondering how these circle images work with the SU 1 1/4″ and 1 3/8″ punches. Well — they don’t. These images done on the C-45 and thewooden stamper (the Classic Stamper) with the wording on the ring around the border are too large for the 1 1/4 and 1 3/8″ SU punches. They work perfectly with the Circle Nestabilites by Spellbinders. I still don’t have my Circle Nestabilities, so again, I had to make due without, which isn’t always a bad thing — it stretches the imagination!!! I’ve been doing these in squares, but really wanted a rounded image for this card, so I punched my monogram with a 2″ Marvy Punch. I then used my Oval Nestabilitiesto make a matted oval on which I mounted my circle punched monogram — then I just added the gold brads to finish off the look!!! I was very pleased with the end result of my monogrammed piece!!!

Now, to make the rest of the card, I used the Harlequin set by Flourishes, stamped in Elegant Eggplant and the diamond centers are embossed in gold. The far left Elegant Eggplant strip is stamped with Damask in Versa Mark for a subtle flourishy look. I used a strip of Gold Metallic Paper as piping between my Harlequin and Damask, and also as the card front. The tassel is a bookmark type of tassell I got at Wal-Mart. Such fun personalizing these cards!!!

  • Stamps: Harlequin, Damask, DIY Monogram Stamper, Numbers and Small Letters, all available at Flourishes
  • Paper: Black, White, Elegant Eggplant, Gold Metallic from Flourishes
  • Ink: Black, Elegant Eggplant, Versa Mark
  • Accessories: Gold Embossing Powder, Tassel, Gold Brads, Petite Oval Nestabilities, 2″ Marvy Punch, Pop Dots, Mini Glue Dots

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Hint: Now, if you think you’d like to get the set of small alphas, here’s a little tip. Before you ever take even one out of the tray, justink the entire set as one unit and stamp it on a piece of paper for future reference. Once taking out many small stamps, having the stamped reference sheet proves to be invaluable when looking at the small letters and not being able to tell a comma from an apostrophe, etc.It’s a simple thing to do and will be helpful intheend!!!

Links: I’ve seen several personalizedcards of recent done with these small alphabets that I’d like to link for you to see, in case you’ve missed them.Here they are:

Jerri Kay — A Gift Set of Cards with Box — this is the group photo, there are individual photos as well (not the small alphabets, but worthy of a look)!!!

Kellie Fortin — Boy’s Birthday Project

Kellie Fortin — Altered Band Aid Box done by 10-year old Jack — very cool!!!

Susan Roberts — Boy’s Birthday Card (plus a gorgeous WeddingCard)

Debbie Olson — Anniversary Card

Aren’t they fun!!! Thanks so much for stopping in again!!! We have a really simple Stamp SimplyChallenge linedup for Friday, so please check back for that!!! Hope you are having a great week!!!

28 responses so far

28 Responses to “A JustRite Graduation”

  1. Rose Ann says:

    I love your grad card, Sharon!! Your personalization makes this extra special, and thanks for enabling me! Now I need to decide what I need in order to get started…lol!

  2. Viv (VivLyn) says:

    Gorgeous card! I’m taking it, the colors you chose are his school colors? I love them regardless! Just a perfect card for graduation!

  3. Joan Fricker says:

    This is beautiful and perfect for graduation. I love your Momograms and I think I am going to have to purchase the set.

    By the way, it is confirmed….I am going to be able to attend the Michigan get together the first weekend of August. I can’t wait to meet you and all the other gals. I am so excited!

    Joan

  4. Joan Fricker says:

    This is beautiful and perfect for graduation. I love your Monograms and I think I am going to have to purchase the set.

    By the way, it is confirmed….I am going to be able to attend the Michigan get together the first weekend of August. I can’t wait to meet you and all the other gals. I am so excited!

    Joan

  5. Janine says:

    Love this card! And I really like my monogrammer… I have used it often. Such a great tool.

  6. Jerri Jimenez says:

    Oh my gosh, Sharon, these are absolutely wonderful! That graduation card is perfect and I have all the sets, you know what that means!!!! I feel a case coming on . . . seriously, this card is perfect for all the grads I have to do cards for. I have the small letters that I got from Flourishes (just received them in the mail) and I’m going to utilize your tip and stamp a reference sheet before I start. This is so perfect, imagine how special to receive a card that is personalized in your own name (and the check inside is an added bonus . . . LOL). Now, off to Wal-Mart to find that tassel. Thanks so much!!!!!

  7. Lois says:

    Marvelous card, Sharon. I’m not sure I have any graduates for this year, but my grandson graduates next year. I’ll have plenty of time to practice!

  8. Pinky says:

    Sharon, I love these monogram stamps…they look so easy to use and personalize…TFS your project for graduation!

    Pinky

  9. Sharon, I love these monograms. After seeing your cards the other
    day, I ordered them from Flourishes myself. Love this graduation card.
    Barb

  10. Julie says:

    Great Card! I just purchase the DIY monogram stamper too and love it!
    You can view the card here: http://www.addicted2stamping.blogspot.com
    Thank you for answering my questions.

  11. joann(sarahzoe) says:

    Great way to use the monogram, Sharon. The personalization is wonderful. Thanks for showing me how the tools work. That was fun. Soooooooo many toys…..Soooooooooo little time.
    Go purple and gold.

  12. Ashley says:

    That is such a cute idea. I have been eying this stamp ever since a friend of mine got one. TOO FUN!

  13. Marisa says:

    Very nicely done! It is wonderful when you can personalize the monogram, makes it a one of a kind card. I’m sure the recipients will love them!

  14. sewflake says:

    I too have graduation anouncments coming in, what a great idea to make the card in the school colors……….and the Harliquin background works sooooo well with all styles……..Your work is always the best!!

  15. Debbie Olson says:

    I thought I left a comment earlier, Sharon, but I must have hit something wrong! Fabulous graduation card; I’ll be trying this idea for sure!

  16. Sharon your grad card is FABULOUS!! Love the tassel!

  17. This is really an ideal-looking graduation card, Sharon! I love the purple, and the monogram tool really personalizes it nicely. Love those two backgrounds together. Very elegant and can be seen as either masculine or feminine.

  18. Claudia says:

    super classy card.
    i so love your style!

  19. Donelda says:

    Sharon, your card is beautiful. I love everything about it and that monogram stamp is tempting. Thanks for all the other links too….makes me feel the need to buy coming on….. 🙂

  20. Once again Sharon, your creativity is amazing. Thanks for posting such a wonderful card! Denise

  21. Jennifer says:

    Such a great toy that as soon as I saw your entry, and the other samples you listed, I had to go and buy it. AND a bunch of the accessories. Happy Mother’s Day to me!

  22. […] I used the super cool small alphafrom JustRite.  It comes with tons of letters, numbers and punctuation.  There are also tweezers to put the letters on with.  I used mine with one of the wooden blocks in the Manual Kits.  I got this idea from Sharon Johnson {here}. […]

  23. DIY Monogram Stampers, I really like it and i also recommend to all use this very beneficial.

  24. Nice effort, very informative, this will help me to complete my task.

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  27. Hey great stuff, thank you for sharing this useful information and i will let know my friends as well.

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