Just using some scraps

As an SU! demonstrator, I have a little 3″x3″ piece of each of the double-sided patterned papers so that I can show customers in real life how awesome they are. Recently I went through the retired ones and decided they might make good little giveaways. At first I was wondering if such a small size might be a good “win” for someone. Then I made this little flower using 3 of those little papers from the Juntos paper pack in the Spanish catalog. Or should I say, a portion of them. There is enough room on each of the 3 squares to make 2 or 3 more of these little flowers! So I believe this nice big stack will be a good win! And actually, there’s enough to divide them in half and have 2 wins.

I’ve seen these adorable flowers around the web for a long time, but it’s my first time to try making them. I know you can make them without using circle punches, but I used the 1″, 1 1/4″, & 1 3/8″ circle punches. Then I cut a bit more off of the 1″ circle because I wanted to see more of the petal behind it. I ran my scissors around the circle edges and roughed the edges up a bit more with my fingers.

I freehanded a curved edge on the Always Artichoke patterned paper and roughed up the edge, too. The leaves – guess where I got them…they are the leftover pieces from the Lattice Bigz die! Perfect leaves.  Card measures 3″ x 6″.  Thanks for stopping by today!

{happy birthday ingredients}

Stamps: Stem Sayings

Paper: Kraft card stock, Juntos & Patterns Pack DSP (both retired)

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Ice Rhinestone brad, large glue dot, Soft Suede polka dot ribbon, Lattice Bigz & Big Shot by Sizzix

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

  Item #115078

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While on loan…

…you should get good use out of your borrowed stamp sets, lol! I liked my last sponged card so much, I decided to do another! The inside of this one says, “I’ve really missed you.”, and it’s for someone very special – my sweet, Julia-Roberts-look-a-like sister.  I found it difficult to get the coloring right on this one.  The Soft Suede is difficult to get true to color.  So it’s a bit dark I think.  Oh well.  Thanks for stopping by today!

{Missing You ingredients}

Stamps: Branch Out (dormant list, Item #113200)

Paper: Basic Gray textured, Sahara Sand & Whisper White card stock

Ink: Going Gray, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Sahara Sand & Soft Suede

Accessories: sponge, 1 3/4″ circle punch, silver brads

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

Item #113200

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I really didn’t forget

Sometimes I’m bad at getting it done, though.  This card was sent out late to a friend – just a quick one, using up the last of the bigger pieces of the now retired, Rockabilly DSP.  I wish I had more…sigh.

Since it went through the mail I didn’t want too much bulk, but it still has dimention.  Not much to say about this – it’s pretty straitforward.  You can click the photo for a larger view.  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I enjoy reading your comments!

{and you thought I forgot ingredients}

Stamps: Good Friend, A Little Birthday Cheer

Paper: Kiwi Kiss (retired) & Whisper White card stock, Rockabilly & Ski Slope DSP (both retired)

Ink: Kiwi Kiss (retired) & Basic Black

Accessories: Top Note Bigz & Big Shot by Sizzix, Riding Hood Red striped ribbon (retired), linen thread, stampin’ dimentionals

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

 

Item #113740                                                 Item #115018

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September Stamp Club projects

I’m finally back with September’s stamp club projects.  We had so much fun creating these items – did I mention it’s my favorite time of the month?  Sure love these gals.  Ok, up first is the amazing card I CASEd from the Über-talented Michelle Zindorf.  This girls just totally rocks it with ink, and I found it actually quite easy to copy this one, because it uses sponges instead of a brayer, and her instructions are perfect.  I liked the card so much and was so determined to do in in stamp club, I had to borrow the tree from Branch Out (it’s on the dormant list and you can still purchase it!) from one friend, and the bat from another.  Now the bat is actually from a retired set, Autumn Apparitions, but the original card by Michelle uses the one from From the Crypt, which is in the current catalog, but I couldn’t find anyone who had it to borrow.

I saw these little sour cream containers made with the fantastic Night and Day DSP (Holiday Mini) and decided to try some of my own, using the Twick or Tweet stamp set.  I think this was the girls’ favorite project, because they are easy, can be made with a variety of papers and embellishments, and can be used for so many occasions.  I used Beate’s excellent tutorial on how to make these little cuties found here. 

And finally, we made this card using the Lattice Bigz die as a mask.  I just used a piece of a page protector (yep, just cut it up) folded in half to get a longer length of the pattern.  You do have to place it very carefully on the die to get it to not cut the folded end, but it works like a charm when you get it right.  If you don’t, just take tiny (and I mean, tiny) pieces of tape to hold your mask together.  Lay your mask onto a piece of Bermuda Bay card stock and sponge away with the same color ink.  Make sure to wipe off your plastic mask before removing it or you’ll get it all over you and then on your project.  Card measures 3″ x 6″, and fits perfectly in the small open-end envelopes (item #107286).

Also, you’ll see my latest acquired item that is holding my cards?  It’s an antique floral frog, which I got from my granny and it’s really old.  Ok, maybe I didn’t get it from her after all.  Maybe I just bought it from ebay ’cause I see so many of my stamping muses use them to hold their cards and I wanted one, too.  I’m not sure if my granny even had one of these, and I really called her Gramma anyway.  But since I don’t have a granny with one, I just went out and found one.  I will say, though, that it did come to me with a wee bit of dried up leaves inside the sharp teeth.  Way down, where I had to risk scraping myself up to dig it out.  But I’m ok, thanks for asking.  And thanks for stopping by today!

{Spooky sponging ingredients}

Stamps: Branch Out (Item #113200 – on the dormant list), Autumn Apparitions (retired)

Paper: Whisper White, Always Artichoke & Sahara Sand card stock

Ink: Going Gray, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Sahara Sand, & Soft Suede

Accessories: 1 3/4″ circle punch, silver brads, sponges

{Hallowe’en sour cream containers ingredients}

Stamps: Twick or Tweet

Paper: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie & Whisper White card stock, Night & Day DSP

Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, & Old Olive

Accessories:  Large Oval, scallop circle, 1 3/8″, & 1 1/4″ circle, & curly label punches, Mover’s & Shapers Curly Label Bigz & Big Shot by Sizzix, linen thread, blender pen

{Lattice mask ingredients}

Stamps: Heard from the Heart

Paper: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Certainly Celery, & Whisper White card stock

Ink: Bermuda bay, VersaMark

Accessories: sponge, gold embossing powder, heat tool, Little Leaves sizzlit, Lattice Bigz die & Big Shot by Sizzix

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

Item #116768

Item #115958

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I’m amazed!

I am very spatially challenged, so I was quite surprised that I was so easily able to figure out how to make these adorable Basket & Blooms boxes, thought up by Angie, before seeing her video!  Aren’t these the cutest things?  Now I could NEVER have come up with the idea to do them on my own, and normally wouldn’t be able to figure out how to do it unless seeing it done, but this time I don’t know why, but I just sat down and did it my way. As of now, she hasn’t posted a video, and this afternoon I just couldn’t wait any longer!  I just guessed, so it may not be exactly how she did it, but it worked for me. 

So, here’s a photo-by-photo tutorial on how to make this little box, which is just the right size for hiding a Ghirardelli chocolate or two, using the Basket & Blooms Bigz XL die. 

Edited to add: new photo is above!  Please excuse the terrible photos of the finished ones – when I picked up from when I left off this afternoon it was already dark.  I’ll take better pics and switch them out tomorrow.  And as usual, you can click on each photo to enlarge.  Please ignore the hand model’s hands.  I could not find good help on such short notice, lol!

  Step 1  With the Big Shot, cut out the pieces shown here.  This is what they look like when they come straight out of the die.

Step 2  Cut off the perforated parts from both pieces.

Step 3  Line up each edge at 1/2″ and score.  Here you can see I’m using the Fiskars cutting/scoring tool and lining it up at the 1/2″ mark. 

 

Step 3.5  (Because it’s really just the same step, just showing you a little more).  It’s much easier to use a tool like this, but you could use a stylus and ruler as well.

 Step 4  Now this is the part I think would be especially hard to do without this tool, but line up the pointed ends of the bottom at the 1/2″ mark and score.

  Step 5  (oops!  another indoor photo).  After all the score marks are done, cut the 2 small, squarish shapes out of each panel.  You see I have cut one, and left the other so you can see what I mean.

Step 5   No photo – just fold each edge and glue together!  I used Tombo glue, but you could also use sticky strip.  I just like the glue ’cause it’s just as strong but gives you a bit of time to get it just where you want it.  If you mess up with the sticky strip, you’re stuck with it there!  Besides, the bottom flaps don’t line up exactly like the sides do, so the sticky strip would be far too wide.  I just put a line of glue where it needs to go and hold it closed, or set it down and use the end of a marker or something to press the flaps down a bit so they dry together.

Step 6  Decorate as desired.  Now, of course you should stamp anything onto the card stock before assembling.

I know it looks like I used several shades of card stock in all these photos, but really they are all Elegant Eggplant!  The lighting on each one must be slightly different, and it wasn’t important to me to try to fix it.  Thanks for stopping by today!

{Hallowe’en Baskets & Blooms BOXES ingredients}

Stamps: Tasty Sweet, Twick or Tweet

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant & Old Olive card stock

Ink: Only Orange, Summer Sun & Pumpkin Pie markers, Kiwi Kiss, Always Artichoke, Perfect Plum & Elegant Eggplant on black box.  Basic Black & Only Orange on Eggplant box, along with colored pencils

Accessories: Basket & Blooms Bigz XL & Big Shot by Sizzix, scallop square punch, 1 1/4″ square punch, word window punch, Old Olive/Vanilla striped grosgrain ribbon, blender pen

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

Item #113484                                            Item #111698

  Item #116497

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I adore the Stamp-a-majig!

Without it, I couldn’t have made this card.  I took the {GRATEFUL} stamp from the Falling Leaves stamp set and used the Soft Suede marker to only ink up the word, and left off the parenthesis.  I used the SAMJ to line up the word over and over again on my Kraft square.  Yes, it’s a pain.  But so is cutting out images and I love to do that, too!  I like how it turned out.  Will I do it for a card swap?  NO!  But for you – yes, lol!  I was going to use my sewing machine, but you know how much we don’t get along, so paper piercer and white gel pen to the rescue.  Card measures 4 1/4″ square.  Thank you for stopping by today!

{GRATEFUL ingredients}

Stamps: Falling Leaves

Paper: Soft Suede, Kraft & Naturals Ivory card stock, The Write Stuff Specialty & Thoroughly Modern DSP

Ink: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry

Accessories: SAMJ, Soft Suede polka dot ribbon, paper piercer, Signo white gel pen, vintage brads, mat pack, stampin’ dimentionals

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

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Here’s the one I went with

This was my card for our local card club/swap tonight.  I did a couple of different color versions just for fun.  I got a lot of super cute cards!  I used my computer for the sentiment – the font is called LD Buttercream, which I printed in brown.  Notice the brads that perefectly matching the Soft Suede color in the 2nd card?  It was a happy accident that I had some that matched.  Again I used the Movers & Shapers Curly Label die for these cards, which I’m really enjoying.  Oh, and I didn’t take a picture of the inside, but I have a coordinating DSP scallop along the bottom edge of the inside, which I really liked.  You can view each photo for a larger view.  And now I must go to bed as it’s pretty late by now.  Thank you all so much for stopping by!

{feel better soon ingredients}

Stamps: Of the Earth

Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Sahara Sand, Rich Razzleberry & Rose Red cs, Bella Blue, Razzleberry Lemonade & Thoroughly Modern DSP

Markers – Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Soft Suede, Rose Red, & Old Olive

Accessories: Movers & Shapers Curly Label Bigz die & Big Shot by Sizzix, scallop edge punch, Modern Label & Curly Label punch, Button Latte, Melon Mambo & Soft Suede polka dot ribbon, CTMH Chocolate brads

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

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It’s growing on me

 

I made this card last night and really wasn’t crazy about it.  But I do like it better today, so I thought that since I didn’t have anything else to show you, I’d go ahead and post this.  I used the Good Friend bird and stamped him twice onto the back of 2 different patterned papers (one for the body and one for the wing), cut around the stamped images and turned them over.  I did the same thing with the beak, which my DD thought should not have been a color with such contrast.  I beg to differ – I mean the red color would indicate that that’s her lipstick, right?  The eye is a black brad and the flower centers are punched from the double circle punch.  I really just wanted to use that cute set Crazy Cool on a card, and this just evolved.  I stuck the sentiment from the Hostess Level 3 set, Kind and Caring Thoughts in there because we’re doing Get Well cards for our local card club, but this one will not make the cut.  I already made a card that looks totally different, and that’s the one I’m keeping.  I’ll post that next.  Thanks for stopping by today!

{Hope you feel better soon ingredients}

Stamps: Good Friend, Crazy Cool, Kind and Caring Thoughts

Paper: Kraft & Basic Black cs, Pink Flamingo & Flock Together DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip & Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: White taffeta ribbon, black brad, glue dots, Trio flower punch, corner rounder punch, Stamp-a-majig

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

  Item #113740

  Item #115211

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Little Notes of Thanks

I had to make several Thank You’s for all those who were so helpful to me in making our church function such a success last week…so I whipped up a few of these cuties.  They are 3″ x 3″ and since I am going to pass them out at church I don’t need to mail them.  I used the Parisian Breeze Specialty paper that is now retired on the first 4, and just for fun I used some prints from a vintage Italian study book on the other 2. 

I used retired SU! eyelets for a pop of color, as well as a green rhinestone brad, which is really hard to see, unless you view it larger.  The 2 with stars instead of the flower/eyelet are for the men who helped.  Thanks for stopping by today!

{a little note of thanks ingredients}

Stamps: Wanted, Note of Thanks from the mini note kit (retired)

Paper: Whisper White & Very Vanilla card stock, Parisian Breeze Speciality, vintage Italian book print

Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze (retired), & Creamy Caramel

Accessories: Chocolate Chip & Old Olive 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon, Jersey Ribbon Originals (retired), eyelets (retired), Crop-a-dile, Ice Rhinestone brad, scallop & 1 3/8″ circle punches, stampin’ dimentionals, sponge

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Holiday Mini catalog and a new special

I’ve been consumed with preparing for a big church function for the ladies tomorrow night, so I haven’t even created anything lately, let alone post anything. After tomorrow night, I’ll be back in my stamp room! But for now, I wanted you to know, if you didn’t already, that the new Holiday Mini catalog is here and the awesome new products are available to purchase. Please visit my right sidebar for the link to view it. And as always, you can order items from the mini, or main catalog by clicking HERE.

There’s also a new promotion to go with it – Host a workshop totaling $250 or more and choose any one item * from the 2009 Holiday Mini Catalog for only $10! *Offer excludes hostess sets and My Digital Studio.

This is a great time to hold a workshop and get more for your effort, ie. inviting your family and friends to a night of stamping goodness, and perhaps cleaning a part of your house! Let me know if you’d like to schedule a workshop today!

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