Here's a cute little gift bag under my tree. I used the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper for the main cardstock and a small strip of whisper white for the scalloped edge. The ribbon is retired silver narrow organdy. I stamped the mittens with the Scandinavian Season, tied them with crochet thread and hung them from the bow. The mittens serve the double purpose of decoration and gift tag. I love making these boxes - they're so easy. For those of you who came to my 3-D class, this is the 2-5-7-10 box. I've copied the instructions here so that you can easily recreate this.
Instructions:
Hold an 11 x 8 1/2” piece of cardstock in the landscape orientation and score at 2, 5, 7, & 10, Turn to the portrait orientation and score at 2 & 7. On the longer 2” side, cut all of the first row off except for the 2 x 3 section in between the 7 & 10 scores. On the opposite side which has the 1 1/2” scored section cut along the score lines to the first cross section to create flaps; cut the smallest square (1 1/2 x 1) at the end off. On the 1” wide section, cut the corners off at a diagonal to make the inside flap. Fold on all remaining score lines. Use Tombow or Sticky strip along the 1” flap and attach to other end of box. Glue the bottom flaps together after folding. Use your fingers in the sides of the top of the box to create a fold and then fold the top flap over. Secure with ribbon, Velcro dot, or magnetic snaps.
So let me know what you think. Have you tried this? Upload a pic and copy the link into your comment here. I'd love to see your creations too!
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And I had to break out this set, also. The stamp set is Something New to Love. The layout idea came from the XO heart - reminded me of tic tac toe. I also used my Orchid Opulence marker to draw in some faux stitching for the tic tac toe board. Vanilla grosgrain tied and mini glue dotted in the corners give a photo corner look. It was a fun and VERY quick card to make.
Are you like me - addicted to Designer Series Papers? I love them, because they make my projects easier, because I don't need to come up with a color combo and the fact that they look so beautiful that I don't have to do much to make the project look gorgeous. So for those of you who have some DSP sitting around, here's a tutorial for you. A sideline of mine in Idaho shared this link with our group. Scroll down to the end and click on the tutorial pic. It's super easy and fun. I've had this hanging on my tree the last two days, but I'm going to use this beautiful snowflake as a present topper. To all you family out there reading my post - who will be the lucky recipient?
I had to pass on this request for RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness). If you follow the link on the title of this post, you'll find an address that you can send a card to a couple who's newborn has been in NICU since her birth on Dec. 1. This is the card that I sent in today. I'll be praying for a complete recovery for this sweet baby and for peace and comfort for her parents. As a parent myself, I can only imagine the agony that they are going through right now. Thank you to Cami for making so many people aware of this opportunity through her blog. For this card, I used a current SU! set called Refuge and Strength and a PREVIEW STAMP SET called Sweet Stems. I was also able to use my PREVIEW EMBOSSLIT which coordinates with the Sweet Stems stamp set and is for use with the Big Shot. Yes, that is the latest and greatest "toy"/tool for me. I LOVE that thing! I stamped the flowers and sentiment on Vellum and stamped the cross underneath. I also used the cut out shape as a template to sponge inside of. Supplies: Mellow Moss, Regal Rose, Riding Hood Red, StazOn Black, vellum, Rich Regals brads, blender pens, sweet stems embosslit, sponges.
Sorry for the dark picture. I took the photo at 11 pm. Ouch! Yes, it will be really hard to wake up tomorrow. I made this card for my youngest son Zach's birthday. He's going to be six on Thursday and loves trains. I used Sketch Challenge 207 for my layout and Color Challenge 197 for my color theme. They made for a great boy birthday card. The background of the train is the Baby Wipe technique on Glossy cardstock. See the end of this post for instructions on this technique. Here, I've used the "pick it up and daube" technique. Over the background, I stamped the train in Not Quite Navy. The small strips of Baja Breeze are stamped with the Canvas Background in Not Quite Navy. I sponged around the Kiwi with Basic Gray to give it that smoky look so common to the steam engines. I hope Zach will like this.
Baby Wipe Technique:
Fold a baby wipe in quarters. Using your ink refills, put dots of at least two different colors on the baby wipe, filling up as large a space as you want to stamp. You can use this as your ink pad to ink your stamp on, or pick it up (after you've donned a plastic glove) to daube on your glossy cardstock. It's really that easy, and another good excuse to buy the ink refills.
Supplies:
Happiness is a Journey, Canvas Background, Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Glossy Cardstock, Sponge, Baby Wipe.
There. Hope you've enjoyed this post. Let me know if you try this technique - I'd love to see the results. Oh, and if you're wondering where to buy the glossy cardstock from? Well, of COURSE it comes from Stampin' Up!
Sorry for the blur on this photo. It's really hard to hold the punch, focus your image and hold the camera steady while you snap the picture! Make sure to notice that you first punch with the small tag punch and then punch with the large tag punch over the image. It's much easier to center over your small tag and punch evenly. You'll need 8 of these for one layer, 16 for a two layer starburst. Now don't throw away the small tags that you have leftover. They can be used for your Christmas gifts! Just stamp on them in VersaMark and then emboss with white embossing powder. You'll see how great it looks on the last photo, where I used my Starburst on a Christmas card.
Using your Two-Way Glue Pen, apply glue to the back side of your first tag outline. Line up the next three with the angled sides touching. The Two-Way Glue Pen is perfect for a project like this. The pen makes it very easy to draw small lines of adhesive and also works great for applying glitter to small or lined areas.
Glue your second layer of tag outlines over the first, keeping them lined up in between the first layer of tags. Try to keep everything even. You might want to lay your second layer of tags over the first before gluing, so that you can center the tags.
After gluing on all of the tag outlines, cut along the outsides of the tags, following the star pattern. If you would like to make a double-layered starburst, repeat from the beginning, so that you have two starbursts.
I colored the center of the flower with a marker on the BACK side of the flower. After putting the two layers together with a pop-up glue dot, I mounted the flower on this gorgeous Ski Slope Designer paper. And since we crafters are so good at using our scraps, I used one of the tag centers for my greeting.
Supplies used:
Small and Large Tag Punches, Vellum, Riding Hood Red and Very Vanilla Cardstock, Gold Brads, Pop-Up Glue Dots, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Best Yet Hostess Stamp Set, Ski Slope & Bella Rose Designer Paper, Gold Elastic Cord.
So if you play along, post your card somewhere and leave a comment here with the link to your starburst card. I'd love to see them!
stamp sets go when they retire?
So here are attempt number 2 and number 3. On the first card, I first used my embossing buddy across the glossy cardstock (a VERY important step with glossy) then stamped the Upsy Daisy flowers in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. Did you know that the Stampin' Up! embossing powder has a better coverage and melts better than the cheap brand at your local craft store? I highly recommend our embossing powder for your projects. I then followed the embossing with daubing Kiwi Kiss ink on the cardstock, with a few patches of Old Olive, followed by the spritzing of Simple Green. After it was dry, I stamped over the image with StazOn Black. Pretty cool effect. Wouldn't this card be great for an over-the-hill party or masculine birthday? I stamped the background grass with my Inspired by Nature set in Artichoke on Mellow Moss. For some fun detail, I popped up the ovals on dimensionals and paper pierced the edges of the Mellow Moss and a design on the ovals. All supplies are Stampin' Up!
Today I tried out the Technique Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers. After daubing ink or using your brayer to apply ink to your glossy cardstock, you spritz it with Simple Green. Yeah, I know, strange but true. Look at how cool this Speckled Background turned out, though! The upper half is mostly daubed with Lavender Lace, with a bit on Orchid Opulence in some places. The lower half has mostly Mellow Moss with some Always Artichoke in some places. After you spray on the Simple Green, set it aside to dry. I think used my markers on my Inspired by Nature stamp and stamped over it. I really like the effect! Very unusual. As usual, all supplies are from Stampin' Up! So, want to try it? I'd love to see what you make with it! But you definitely want to use glossy cardstock. (Available on my website.)
Supplies:
Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Happy for You
Papers: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Lavender Lace, Glossy, retired SU designer paper
Accessories: Big Shot, Bigz Die, Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon, Retired Pewter Hardware
Ever see a wall in your home and wish that you had just the right thing to hang there? Well, that spot for me is my entryway. What do you put up? And then you want to change it for special holidays? I was shopping at a thrift store and found this great frame in perfect condition, but without the glass. Glass? Not necessary if you're stamping something, right? I paid $2 for this frams and look what it became! I used the Watercolor Wonder Crayons for the Watercolor Wash technique for the background. Those of you who came to my Christmas Card Cranks were able to try it out and found out how much fun it is. One frame says "Hope", one says "Joy", and the middle frame has an image of the manger scene, complete with star and Luke 2:11. I glittered the star, halo over the baby Jesus, and the first letters of the words. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Come on over to see it in person.
Stamp Sets: Illuminations, Season of Simple Grace
Watercolor Wonder Crayons & Sponges, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter & 2-Way Glue Pen
Here is one of the cards that we'll be making on Saturday. This is one of my absolute favorites. I love the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper and it goes beautifully with this stamp set. I also love the simplicity of the two colors.
Stamp Set: Season of Simple Grace
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, 2-Way Glue Pen, Sponge
As usual, all supplies are Stampin' Up!
I've seen so many decorated Altoid tins. I just had to try it myself! This is the second one I made. I gave another one away as a hostess gift for my last workshop. Since it's a candy tin, I decided to fill it with "card candy". Card candy is an image that is pre-stamped and ready to go on the center of a card. That makes is super simple to make a quick card when you needed one five minutes ago. Ever been there? I used my ATG framing gun to attach the Bella Rose Designer Series Paper, though I imagine that wonderful Tombow would also do the trick. The bow is made of Red Riding Hood Taffeta (I just LOVE that ribbon!) folded over a few times and tied in the center with gold elastic cord. The poinsettia is made by punching two flowers with the five petal punch. After punching the flowers out, place them on a foam mat and draw in the veins with a stylus. I punched three holes in the center and used gold brads to look like the center of the flower. I think this would make a great gift and would also double as a gift card holder!
Well, this was a fun card to make! I created this one for two challenges on SCS http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/. This was for Sketch Challenge 200 and Color Challenge 190. This new stamp set "Cheers To You" is a really fun one! Now I just have to figure out which friend or family member to gift this to! .....or I could keep it for myself. :-) I used dimensionals behind both the scallop square and the white square to give it a fun look. Blender Pens allowed me to color in the drinks with the In Color inks. All supplies are SU!
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Old Olive, Ski Slope Designer Series Paper, Whisper White
Tools & Accessories: Scallop Edge and Square Punches, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Pumpkin Striped Grosgrain, Paper Piercer & Foam Mat
Inks: Old Olive, Pixie Pink, Pumpkin Pie
