SWEET MINI BOOK

Good afternoon stampers! Sorry I am a little late with this one, but today is my birthday and I spent the morning doing NOTHING but drinking coffee and watching some of my shows that I needed to catch up on, lol! I love being lazy every once in awhile BUT then I get restless and need to get back to it, lol! I am spending the afternoon stamping, and then out to dinner with the fam :-) I am excited because we are going to the Japanese Steakhouse, one of my all-time favorite places to go! But before all that, I wanted to share a sneak peek at my mini of the month! You see, every single month I offer a mini book class of some type - I try and change it up to keep it fresh and exciting! This month we are going to do a paper bag book with with some super fun elements like 3d pages :-) I am hoping that they all love it as much as I loved putting it together! I am going to share just the cover; I will share the whole mini at the end of the month once the class has been held. I want them to see it first*wink*
For this mini, I am using the Enchanted Designer Series Paper that you can receive FREE as a SALE-A-BRATION choice with a $50 order - yep, FREE! It's is BEAUTIFUL - easily my favorite paper right now!! I just love all the colors and patterns in this pack, and I can't believe it's FREE!! There are lots of pretty details in this mini - I love to use my Big Shot and all the fun embellishments and of course the STAMPS!!!

I played with two of my favorite new dies to make things for this cover.  The first one is the XL Designer Rosette Die, which I used to make the fan! I just love the versatility of this die, there is sooo much you can do with this one! I have enjoyed experimenting with this one, and coming up with all kinds of cool projects and elements for my cards, books, and scrapbook pages! Such a wonderful die! It is located in the Occasions Mini, and was one of the first things I ordered, lol!

Here is a close-up of the fan that I made using the die. What I loved about it is I can make it as big or as small as I want just by the paper size that I use. So cool! And, isn't that paper just sooooo yummy??!!! Remember, it's FREE, LOL!!!! I used some super cute Lucky Limeade Ruffled ribbon to the bottom to hold the fan together, and I just think it gives this cover the WOW! factor is deserves :-) Plus, it looks purdy, heehee!!!
The second die that I used is called the Elegant Bird Bigz Die and it is just that - elegant! I love this bird; I actually squealed out load when I first saw it in the Mini, and yes, it was also on my first order, lol! Not only does it dress up ANY project that you make, but there are TONS of different projects you can use this die with as well! It is one of the things I love about the Big Shot - there are limitless creative ways to use all the fun dies and folders you can get! See how cute it turned out??!! I did stamp some on the bird, and I used Lucky Limeade Card stock as well as some more of the Enchanted DSP for the wing. I also added some pretty ribbon and bling because well, I LIKE it :-)  I had such fun putting this mini together - the inside pages are full of all kinds of different techniques and elements that everyone is sure to be happy with! It makes a great gift, OR you can keep it to yourself as I tend to do, lol! I always have good intentions to give them away, but then I fall in love with them and I don't want to part with them....so now, I make two so I have one to keep :-) If you like what you see here and would like to order it for yourself, you can do so in my online store OR you can email me and I will be happy to place your order for you! Remember, the patterned paper you see here can be yours FREE with your order of $50 or more - what a great deal!!! So, now I am off to stamp some and then get ready for my birthday dinner! I am excited to be going out tonight - no cooking for ME, LOL!!! Have a wonderful day and don't forget to make time to be creative, it's good for the heart!!!
Mini Cover Recipe:
Paper - Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Naturals Ivory card stock, Enchanted Designer Series Paper(SAB item)
Inks- Lucky Limeade, Pool Party classic inks
Stamps - Elementary Elegance, Fresh Vintage (both sets are Sale-a-Bration sets), Petite Pairs(sentiment)
Tools- Big Shot, Elegant Bird Bigz Die, XL Designer Rosette Die, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, 1 1/4 inch and 1 inch Circle Punches, Scalloped Square Die, Crimping Tool, Dimensionals
Accessories - Victoria Lace Ribbon, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Whisper White Thin Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Basic Pearls

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Good morning stampers!! I have to say, this is my favorite time of year - I just adore Christmas! All the fun decorations, the baking, the presents, the music, the family and friends, I love it ALL!! I especially love to create fun gifts and cards for all the special people in my life! I tend to make sooo much more than I ever could use, but boy, is it FUN!  And, we have such fabulous holiday items in our Holiday mini this year that well, I went a little crazy with it and had to have it all, lol!!! So, I thought I would share a fun little craft that we made during my Santa's workshop classes - it is a box filled with fun Christmas tags to use on all your special gifts! I actually saw this idea somewhere and tweaked it somewhat to make it my own and I love how it turned out!!! The box itself is made of chipboard and then covered in Cherry Cobbler card stock - we also did that with the drawers to this cutie will last for lots of seasons in the future! The top and bottom of the box are 6x6 in size, and then the drawers were cut using the Matchbox die for the Big Shot, lined up with the edges of the box, and sticky taped down. The top of the box has two more layers, one of Old Olive card stock and then another using the Letters to Santa Designer Series paper - looooove it!!! The image is also layered - the base layer is Early Espresso card stock and then the image is stamped on Naturals White card stock. This pretty tree comes from the Christmas Lodge stamp set, available in the Holiday Mini (but only until the 3rd of January so you better get is soon!). I love this tree because it is a nice, big image which makes a great focal point! We used the Old Olive, Early Espresso, and Cherry Cobbler stampin' write markers to color in the tree and then stamped it, making a beautiful watercolor effect that gives this box a wonderful vintage look!

Then, we added some Dazzling Details to make the tree look like it had hundreds of pretty lights on it - check out the close-up here! Doesn't it look fabulous, all sparkly and twinkly??!! I swear, this made the whole box for my stampin' ladies -they just loved it!! We added a pretty Cherry Cobbler button from the Regals designer buttons group, which we threaded with Cherry Cobbler twine. We tied a knot and then distressed the ends to add to that vintage look. The sentiment is also from the Christmas Lodge stamp set, and it is stamped in Early Espresso on some Old Olive card stock, then adhered to the box. And, of course we needed to have a little more bling so we added a rhinestone to the top of the tree and to the sentiment to give it that extra WOW! factor. Now, for the drawers! There are four drawers on this box, one on each side. As you can see from the picture, they can slide in and out, and they are easy to open since each one has a large brad that acts as the drawer pull. Each drawer can hold up to 20 tags and pieces of twine, but we did eight for each drawer, all in different shapes, colors, and styles so there is something for every present that gets wrapped and put under the tree! I am not going to name each and every stamp set we used to make the tags, but if you have a question about any of them, feel free to email me and I am happy to answer you! We had a blast making this Christmas box, and I am sure it will be put to good use over the next few weeks *wink* I know I have used all the tags and made some more :-) If you like any of these products and want some for your very own, you can order them in my online store or contact me and I will be happy to help you place your order! Now, I am off to bake a birthday cake for my sweetheart who turns 44 today - yep, he has finally caught up with me, lol!!! For ten months I am older than him, a fact he never lets me live down :-) I hope you all have a fabulous day and take some time out to be creative!!!
Box Recipe:
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Naturals White card stock, Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper
Inks - Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Marina Mist stampin' write markers and classic stampin' pads
Stamps - (image and sentiment) Christmas Lodge
Tools - Matchbox die, Big Shot, Ornament Punch, Designer Label Punch
Accessories - Regals Buttons, Dazzling Details, Cherry Cobbler twine, Basic Rhinestones
 

MAD BUSY BUT STILL CREATING :-)

Good morning stampers! I have been a bad blogger lately, but I cannot seem to find enough hours in the day to get everything done that I need to do!! I have been teaching a lot of holiday classes lately as well as finishing up some of my own Christmas projects so there is a lot of creating going on! I thought I would share another fun project with you today that we made in my Santa's workshop a couple of weeks back.  This is a jar that is filled with all the ingredients you need to make a wonderful mint hot chocolate, something we have each and every year, and that we all look forward to as the weather gets colder! We used some of the holiday fabric called Candy Cane Christmas - the patterns are so fun and festive, they make me smile! We cut a piece out using the Scallop Circle Bigz Die on the Big Shot - it fits perfectly for these little pint jars! We placed it over the inside ring of the lid, pulled it tight, and then screwed the lid back on - super cute, right??!! We then added a punched flower created from the Scallop Circle punch and the 1 3/8 inch Circle punch with a Holly Berry Bouquet Real Red button. To Top it off, we threaded some Whisper White twine through the button and tied a cute little bow - simple but oh so cute!! We then wrapped the lid with some of Baha Breeze Seam Binding ribbon that is attached using Red Sticky Tape - have I told you how much I love this stuff??!! My customers and friends tease me about my obsession with this tape but it is a wonderful adhesive and I keep myself well stocked with it, lol!! The tag is made using the Two Tags die on the Big Shot and Real Red card stock. The sentiment is layered with Baha Breeze card stock punched out with the Designer Label punch and then the sentiment itself is from the Sweet Season stamp set, which has some super cute stamps that are perfect for gift giving. We stamped it in Real Red classic ink on Naturals White card stock, then punched it out with the Wide Oval punch. It is attached to the jar with some twine that is threaded through the ribbon and then tied in a knot, then trimmed close to the knot so it does not show too much. The inside of the tag has the typed out recipe and directions on how to make this yummy chocolatey treat! This little gift item was a huge hit at the workshop - but nobody wants to give them away, lol! They ARE darling, and look great on the kitchen counter :-)  I hope you like this little treat, and find some time to make some of your own handmade gifts this year - they are always the most well received! Who wouldn't want to receive something as totally cuts as this?? *wink* I will be making several more handmade gifts this week as I get things ready for my husband's staff and our friends. If you like the items that were used on this project, you can purchase them in my online store or contact me and I will be happy to take your order! Now, I am off to get my many errands done so I can come home and play in my stamp room - yippee!!! Have a wonderful day and check back tomorrow for another gift idea that you are going to love!!
Jar Recipe:
Paper - Real Red, Baha Breeze, Naturals White card stock
Inks - Real Red classic ink
Stamps - Sweet Season
Tools - Big Shot, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, Two Tags Die, Wide Oval punch, Designer Label punch, Red Sticky Tape, Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8 inch Circle punch
Accessories - Holly Berry Bouquet buttons, Baha Breeze seam binding ribbon, Whisper White twine, Candy Cane Christmas fabric

TIME FOR THE CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN!

Happy Hump Day stampers!!! Yes, I know it has been awhile, but I had some personal family health issues to focus on as my family is always my priority! Although we still are dealing with what lies ahead, and know it is going to be a VERY long and bumpy road, we are going to walk it together!!! So, I though it was time to get back into some semblance of a normal routine (do we EVER have that??) and share something crafty!! I want to share with you the Christmas Advent Wreath I made and then turned into a class - I did three sessions and each session was really fun!! And, we all left with a great decoration too!  I did all the cutting and the sticky tape ahead of time so they could put it together and decorate it - the fun parts, lol! We started out with a flat wooden circle that I ordered from an online supply store as I wanted the wreath to have a really sturdy base. We wrapped that in Cherry Cobbler wide striped ribbon, leaving enough to make the hanger you see in the picture. So, from the back side, you don't see ugly wood, you see pretty ribbon :-) We then cut out a circle that fit the back side of wreath - we used the cardboard from the paper packs since you can't see it. Then, we covered that with the Cherry Cobbler card stock circle you see in the center - both are attached using hot glue since we never want it to come off, lol!!  The 24 boxes you see are made with the matchbox die for the Big Shot and the base is made of Cherry Cobbler card stock to ensure they are nice and sturdy for many years to come! The lids are made of patterned paper from the Letters to Santa Designer Series paper pack - such beautiful paper!! The bottom twelve boxes are sticky taped to the circle first, creating the base for the top ones. They are placed out diagonally around the circle in order to keep the circle shape since as you go around the circle, the angles change quite a bit - this was tricky, but everyone got it :-) The top boxes then were staggered in between every two of the top boxes, creating that awesome wreath look! Each of the top boxes have an Old Olive Ornament that was punched out with the Ornament punch and adhered to the box. The numbers on the box were cut out using the Medium Sizzlets alphabet for the Big Shot, and were cut using the Silver Glimmer Paper - looks amazing, all sparkly!!! Then, the ornaments were each adorned with tiny bows using some of the yummy Cherry Cobbler Quilted ribbon.  The numbers for the bottom boxes are on the inside of the wreath and correspond with each box, making sure 13 started to the right of box 12, keeping the sequence going. In the very center of the wreath, there is a Scalloped Circle of the Letters to Santa DSP that was cut on the Big Shot. A Whisper White circle was also die cut and nested in the center after it was stamped using the Christmas Postcard A la Carte stamp. It was stamped in Stazon, then colored in with Stampin' Write markers. For some fun accents, we added a snowflake and some of the holly leaves out of the super cute Stitched Felt package you can find in the Holiday Mini, along with the Holly Berry Bunch button we used in the center of the snowflake! To finish it off, we put Rhinestones on every other scallop, and added some Dazzling Details to the stamped image, making the whole project sparkle!! Everyone loved how it turned out - including me!! I am thrilled with this wreath and can't wait to start using it tomorrow :-)

Here are some closer shots of the wreath as well as showing how the drawers open to put the treat inside!  I hope you enjoyed seeing this as much as I enjoyed designing it! I think made from the heart decor is the best kind, don't you?? I have made several home decor items this year that I will share with you over the next few weeks as we count down the days until Santa comes!! Christmas is my very favorite time of year, and I am so very excited as my oldest son will be coming home for the holidays as he transfers to Southern California for his first Marine Corps duty station. Yes, my baby is all grown up!! I still can't wait to hug his neck though, lol!!! I will be back tomorrow with some other super fun and cute projects to share, but until then, take some time to be creative, it makes for a better day!!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Wreath Recipe:
Paper -  Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Whisper White cardstock, Letters to Santa Designer Series paper, Silver Glimmer Paper
Inks - Black Stazon, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Marina Mist, River Rock Stampin' Write markers
Stamps - Christmas Postcard
Tools - Medium Sizzlets Alphabet, Scalloped Circle die, Clear Circle die, Matchbox die, Big Shot,  Ornament Punch, Sticky Tape, hot glue gun
Accessories - Basic Rhinestones, Cherry Cobbler Wide Striped Ribbon and Quilted Ribbon, Stitched Felt, Hollyberry buttons, Dazzling Details

SUPER CUTE MINI BOOK

Hi stampers!! I hope someone is reading this, I know I took quite the hiatus!! I was battling quite a bad sinus infection which ended up going into my chest and caused me all kinds of grief! And, just when I was getting over that, I caught a bad head cold that I am currently at the end of  - sheesh!!! So, I am back on track and have TONS to show you this week!!! Today I want to share a cute mini book I made for one of my husband's staff that is leaving for a new job. He wanted something they could all sign and then add pictures to from her going away party so this is what I came up with! I got to attend the party as well and she loved the book, which made me happy :-) I have several pages to show you so what I will do is list  the main products that I used as I show you the pages. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me, and I will do my very best to answer them! This first pic is of the cover - it's an accordion album so it is held together by the Daffodil Delight wide striped grosgrain ribbon on the side. I used Pacific Point card stock as my base for the whole album, and the patterned paper is all from the Beyond the Garden Designer Series paper collection.  I used several stamp sets in this album; the ones on the front cover come from the BFF stamp set, and the Friends Never Fade stamp set. Although you can't tell from the pic, I sprayed the accordion flower with Frost White Shimmerz - looks so pretty IRL!

In this mini I tried to keep a similar theme going for all the pages as there are some on the front AND back pages of this book. So, I am going to show you the front pages as I repeated the themes from the front onto the back. These first two pages show how I did the pockets and tags for them all to sign and leave little notes, and then there are places for pictures as well! I used the Kindness Matters stamp set, and the Just Believe stamp set for the images and the borders on these pages.  I also used the Triple Layer flower punch, I just love that! The ribbon is the yummy Tangerine Tango Scalloped Polka Dot ribbon, which you will see throughout the book. The border on the pocket was made with the Eyelet Border punch, one of my favorites that I tend to reach for over and over. There are some blingy items on this page as well - I used some of the Antique brads as well as some rhinestones and pearls - a girl has got to have bling, right??

These two pages have lots of room for journaling and also for pictures. I used my Scallop Circle die on my Big Shot to create the pull-out from the right page, which can hold two pics all on it's own. The stamp sets on the right hand page are from the Vintage Vogue stamp set.  As you can see, the pocket on the left side is a repeat pocket - I did these all the same throughout the mini and it looks great! It gave a lot of continuity to the book, and the other pages really added the pop to the book with all their different elements!

These two pages are once again showing two pocket pages, one of which should look familiar *wink* The right side is another pocket similar to the last one, but with different images. These come from the Friends Never Fade stamp set, a great set that can be used for many, many different occasions! The Eyelet Border punch was used along the diagonal of the pocket as it was on the last page I showed you!

These are the last two pages of the book, and they are primarily for placing pictures. Lots of stamping going on here as well! The butterflies are from the Kindness Matters stamp set - I just stamped them on Whisper White card stock, cut them out, and then placed some rhinestones down the center of them. I also used the Just Believe stamp set on the left page, adding some cute little pink flowers punched out with my Bitty punch.  And of course, I added some pearls :-) The outline of the Scalloped Square shape is left from the Scalloped Square you see on the front of the album cover - I hate to let it go to waste so I used it here. Another stamp set used on the right page is called My Friend, and it is one of the first stamp sets I purchased from this catalog, I just love it! Lots of fun images to play with :-)  So, there you have all the pages (some I did not show as they are duplicates of ones you see here) of the cute mini I made for a going away gift! This is the best part of being a scrapper and stamper, that I get the chance to make these handmade gift items for people - I just love how much they appreciate them - much better than a sweater, don't you think??!! Although, I tend to give both, lol!  If you like any of these items you see here, you can purchase them in my online store, or contact me and I will be happy to take your order. I hope the pictures are clear enough for you to see, there was not the best light when I took them, and well, I don't have the book anymore to get better ones, lol! I will be back tomorrow with a frame that I made for my husband's grandma who turned 86 yesterday! Yep, another handmade gift item :-) Until then, I hope you have a wonderful Monday, and take time to stamp something!

FRAME GIFT SET

Happy Monday stampers!!! I woke up this morning full of ideas and headed straight back to my craft room, lol! I love days where I have nothing planned so that if I want to play all day, I can *smile* and today is one of those days!! Of course, it IS a beautiful day outside so I may have to go out for a little while and maybe hang out with the kiddos by the pool, lol! However, first I am stamping :-)  I wanted to share with you the frame gift set we made in class the other night!  We used the new Flirtatious Specialty Suite designer series paper - I love the fun, bright colors of this pack, it makes me happy! We started out with an unfinished wood frame and using Sticky Strip, adhered the patterned paper to the frame.  There is no glass on this frame which I like so that the center can have some 3d items if you want. The yellow circles are punched from a sheet of DSP and popped up on dimensionals with some pretty rhinestones added to the center - love it!!! We used the stamp set Precious Butterflies, a hostess set that is absolutely gorgeous and definitely a favorite of mine :-)

 

The pretty butterflies on the frame are cut out using the Beautiful Butterflies Big Shot die, then embossed with the Finial Press embossing folder (the same one is used on the main images for the card).  Across the bottom of the frame and the side of the card you can see the pretty Lace Border punch was used on some patterned paper - doesn't it look wonderful??! I really like the effect of using this new punch on the patterned paper - it really makes it pop!  It's just soooooo pretty!!!  And, of course we had to add some of the gorgeous pearls to make our butterflies all girly to match the frame - love those!!

And, on the frame, my favorite part is the flower - it is made out of the YUMMY Flirtatious fabric! We used the Flower Folds Big Shot die and created a beautiful embellishment! Here is a close-up picture of just the flower so you can see how pretty it turned out! It is really full and fluffy IRL! The center is a button from my collection - they were allowed to pick whatever they wanted from my big button jar, even if it is retired, which I think this one is (uh, oh!)  I love it though - so I don't feel too too bad about it, lol!

 The BEST part of this frame is of course the picture in the middle! The beautiful girl on the left is my daughter and the other beauty is her best friend Jordyn - these two are joined at the hip, I swear - they spend pretty much every waking moment together, lol! This was taken at the American Idol concert - I just made it black and white so I could do any color I wanted on the frame *wink* This is one of my favorite pics of the two of them - they are both smiling and look like they are really having a lot of fun!  I know I didn't talk to much about the card, but all the products used on the frame were also used on the card, with the exception of the flower - I did this so if my customers want to gift this frame to someone else (they all said they were keeping it though, lol!) they had a matching gift card to go with their pretty gift!  I will leave you with the recipe for this and then I am off to stamp! I am so excited to play today - I just know I am going to come up with something fun, cute, and wonderful to share with you later on this week - lol!! If you like any of the products that I used in these projects, you can order them in my online store OR contact me and I will be happy to place an order for you! Or, if you would like these products FREE, why not host a workshop? Contact me now and let's get you set up with your very own afternoon of stamping fun :-)  Have a wonderful day and I will be back soon with another fun project to share :-) Until then, go STAMP SOMETHING!!!
Frame/Card Recipe:
Paper - Daffodil Delight, Wisteria Wonder, Melon Mambo, Very Vanilla card stock, Flirtatious Designer Specialty Designer Series Paper
Inks - Wisteria Wonder, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush, Regal Rose class inks
Stamps - Precious Butterflies (hostess set)
Tools - Big Shot, Flower Folds Die, Beautiful Butterflies Die, Finial Press embossing folder, Lace Border Punch, Designer Label Punch, 1 inch Circle Punch
Accessories - Basic Rhinestones, Basic Pearls, Daffodil Delight Wide Striped grosgrain ribbon, Daffodil Delight narrow grosgrain ribbon, Buttons, Whisper White Twine