Quick gift card holders

Chloe and I made these quickly on Christmas Eve (yes, I was doing last minute crafting!) She chose the papers/colours, so don't blame me for them ;)
The snowmen are made with various punches and scalloped nesties. His hat is one half of the SU designer label punch, with a word window punch brim.

The card base opens as normal, but on the front, if you undo the ribbon, you get this:
Cool, huh? I've seen this in a few places, but the awesome Heather did a video tutorial on them, which allowed me to pull these off in a very short time. Thanks Heather!

Stamps: none!
Paper: unknown
Ink: none!
Accessories: Word Window, Snowflake, Designer Label punches, Chit Chat rub-ons, Top Note die (SU), Large circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), embossing folders, CB (Provocraft), ribbon/googly eyes (unknown)

Merry Christmas, John and Yoko

My aunt bought these pillow "armchairs" for my cousin and his girlfriend. They like to stay at home, usually just watching TV in their room, so we thought it would be funny to put "John" and "Yoko" on the pillows.

I found this inkjet friendly "Peel and Stick" cotton transfer paper, and used Microsoft Word to create the names (using WordArt and a downloaded font to make them funky). They came out great from the printer, then I used my mega curved rectangle Nesties to cut them out.Because the pillows are a microfibre material, I knew they wouldn't stick well, so I hand-stitched around the edges to ensure they'd stay on.

Stuffed stockings

Chloe and I made these stocking "boxes" to hold some chocolates and gift cards for her daycare teachers. We used the Stocking Stuffer Timeless Template from PTI.
In case it isn't obvious, she chose the colours, I cut them out, she decorated them ;)Inside are some envelope gift card holders I made some time ago (last Christmas? the one before?) at a SU workshop. We also made some paper straw by crimping cardstock and slicing it into thin pieces, then crumpling it a bit.

Peaceful Wishes Mini-scrapbook

I started this mini-scrapbook at Carrie's, but didn't put it all together until I got home. See Carrie and Leanne, I finished it!

The inside (the pages of which fold out) is meant to have photos. I'm not sure yet which I'll put in there...

This week's challenge at Our Creative Corner is to use snowflakes, which I managed to do in a few places - the die-cuts, stamps on the inside, and on the patterned paper.

All supplies are SU, except the bell (unknown!) and the embossing folders/Cuttlebug (Provocraft).

One sketch, one stamp, two cards

I was inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch #116, and created these two cards, both using Holiday Button Bits (from PTI) and SU paper.

The first uses more "traditional" colours, and PTI buttons for the ornaments. Don't you LOVE that SU Alpine ribbon? I used my SU Mat Pack and paper piercer to create a border/corner element on the top (but it's hard to see in the photo)

Stamps: Holiday Button Bits (PTI)
Paper: Read Red, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip cardstock, Merry Moments DSP (SU)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU)
Accessories: Alpine ribbon, Mat Pack (SU), paper piercer (Making Memories), corner rounder punch (EK Success), buttons (PTI), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), CB (Provocraft)

The second uses some more modern/funky colours, and patterned paper for the ornaments.

Stamps: Holiday Button Bits (PTI)
Paper: Sahara Sand, Taken with Teal, Ruby Red cardstock, Holiday Lounge DSP (SU)
Ink: Sahara Sand, Ruby Red (SU)
Accessories: 1/2", 3/4", 1" circle punch (SU), corner rounder punch (EK Success), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), CB (Provocraft)

Fun with felt

Oops, it's been a while! I've been so busy, I haven't had any time to craft.

I hope to get into the crafts room this weekend (I have to, if I want to send out handmade Christmas cards this year!), but until then, I thought I'd share something fun.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through my favourite blogs, and found one that used Nesties to cut a scalloped square of felt (and as soon as I remember which blog, I'll link it here!). That inspired me to think of this:
Those are felt shapes cut with the SU Build-A-Bear dies. It was so easy to do, the felt cut perfectly, just as you would cut cardstock. My daughter and my friend's son were begging for more, so I ended up cutting many sets of clothes for them. What you see is just a selection of the outfits available ;) Chloe plays with them all the time, and I have visions of creating more, and also using other dies to cut more fun shapes.

I don't have the Build-A-Bear dies yet, but borrowed them from a friend. They're on my list though!

Holiday Wishes

After the big PTI release party tonight, I was inspired to pull out my new Tree Trimming Trio stamp set. I was happy to also use some new SU patterned paper and the yummy Alpine ribbon.

Notice the sentiment? It's part of a larger one. Because the stamps are acrylic, you can bend them before putting them on the stamp block. So I curved the sentiment, inked up the first word, and stamped it (I had to use my Blender Pen to wipe off the ink on the neighbouring letters first). I did the same with the second word. I wish I could say that I measured it to fit perfectly in the wide oval punch, but that was pure chance. I was aiming for a circle punch, but I actually like it better with the oval!

Stamps: Tree Trimming Trio (PTI)
Paper: Read Red, Very Vanilla cardstock, Merry Moments DSP (SU), brown textured cardstock (Bazzil)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU), Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado (Palette)
Accessories: 1/2" circle punch, Wide Oval punch, Blender Pen, Alpine ribbon (SU), sewing machine (Janome)

ho ho ho!

This card is based on the SASSC40 sketch over at Our Creative Corner.
The ink has a slight shimmer to it, which works well with the iridescent snowflake confetti behind the white snowflake brads (yes, I save everything) and the glittered ribbon.

Stamps: Hung up on the Holidays (SU)
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red (SU), pp (ADT)
Ink: Black Noir (Palette), Thyme, Poppy, Chocolate Brilliance Dew Drops (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Scalloped Edge punch (SU), rub-on(Deja Views), snowflake brads/ribbon/snowflake confetti (unknown)

Old Fashioned Peace

Scrap 'n Stamp's November Sketch Challenge #1.
Stamps: Silhouette Angel (Inkadinkado), Elegant Christmas (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand (SU), pp (Memory Block), sage cardstock (unknown)
Ink: Chocolate Brilliance Dew Drops (Tsukineko), Noir Black (Palette)
Accessories: Scribbles and Swirls Sizzlit (Sizzix), (Stickles (Ranger)

Wishing you...

It's my brother's birthday today, so I needed a masculine card. I decided to use of two of my new Papertrey Ink stamp sets, plus Mojo Monday week 112.

It's hard to see, but both the blue and red strips have one of the small "ornament" stamps from Tree Trimming Trio in matching inks.
And the inside of the card - I'm trying to decorate the insides more. It's easy with the scrap bits left over from the front!

Stamps: Birthday Basics, Tree Trimming Trio (PTI)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Soft Sky, Real Red, River Rock cardstock (SU), pp (American Crafts)
Ink: Soft Sky, Real Red, River Rock (SU), Pure Poppy (PTI), Noir Black (Palette)
Accessories: Photo Corner, 1 1/8" circle, 1 3/8" circle, Designer Label punches, River Rock ribbon(SU), 1 1/2" circle punch (Marvy), 1/8" circle punch (Fiskars), eyelet (Making Memories)

Button cards set

I bought the Everyday Button Bits set from Papertrey Ink off of a friend, and I was inspired to create a little set of cards. They're super simple, but great for a little gift set. I used the little 3x3 Love Note cards as my base.
The last one is my favourite. Just brown and green, but so cute!

Stamps: Everyday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Confetti White, Chocolate Chip cardstock, Love Notes (SU)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Apricot Appeal, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Groovy Guava (SU)
Accessories: Hemp Twine, Modern Label punch, Chocolate Chip marker (SU), embroidery thread (unknown), Buttons (Making Memories), decorative edge scissors (Fiskars)

More stamp club cards

We were playing with watercolouring (pencils and crayons):

Most supplies are Stampin' Up, plus the Cuttlebug/folders, unknown ribbon/button.

I won from Pink Cat Studios!!!

Eeek! I entered a contest on the Pink Cat Studio blog and was the random draw winner of three digital stamps! I've been curious to try them, but couldn't decide where to start. So this is perfect!

Here are the stamps I chose:
Polar Bear Present
Cowboy Billy
Cowboy Lily

And how easy - Melissa emailed me the images and I'm ready to go! No need to wait for shipping. Sweet! Now if only I didn't have to go out this afternoon - I'll have to wait until tonight to play with them ;)

Sing a Joyful Song!

(whoops, hit post too early, here's the final post!)

This card is for Mojo week 110. I'm on a quest to stock up on Christmas cards, so here's the first of (hopefully) a bunch. I like what I did last year, which was to give out all different cards (that I had made over the months before) rather than a bunch of the same. That allowed me to try all sorts of designs and techniques, and then put the cards to good use!

Anyway, here's the card.I used the patterned paper and (green) cardstock that I won from Taylored Expressions last year. I'm not sure of the manufacturer for either. The ink is pearlescent, so has a slight shimmer (hard to see in the photo). Some gems and a wee bow with some twine finishes it off.

Stamps: Elegant Christmas (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla (SU), pp & green carstock (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Thyme, Poppy, Chocolate Brilliance Dew Drops (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Ticket Corner punch, twine (SU), Ribbon (American Crafts), rhinestones (Kaiser), circle neties (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

From the Library of...

I put my Small Letter set from JustRite to good use.

SU Stamp-a-Stack Cards

A few cards I made at my friend Carrie's place. She's my SU demo, and tempts me with all sorts of goodies. Almost all products are SU. It's hard to see on the last one, but the base Kraft layer is stamped with snowflakes in Versamark Dazzle. It's so gorgeous!

Baby Shower Card

I had to make a "quick" baby shower card, and decided to use ssnotime #108 and Scrap 'n Stamp's Oct Sketch Challenge #2.

Not too sure about it, I knew which ribbon I wanted to use, so I grabbed the colours from there. Pretend the top ribbon is sewed on straight. Sigh.

Stamps: Cuddles and Tickles, Friendship Blooms (SU)
Paper: Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Kraft cardstock (SU), black textured cardstock (Bazzil)
Ink: Pink Passion (SU), Blue Lagoon Fluid Chalk Ink (ColorBox)
Accessories: Ribbon (Michael's), sewing machine (Janome)

happy B-day

I feel like I've been away from my crafts room for so long that I'm starting anew. I had to sit down and reacquaint myself with everything. Oh, and put away a few things I've bought over the last month!

Speaking of things I've bought...

I decided I'd jump in with a sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You, Kazan's sketch #36. Most of the supplies on this card are from the Explore kit by We R Memory Keepers.

Stamps: none
Paper: Really Rust cardstock (SU), patterned paper (We R Memory Keepers)
Ink: Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Ranger)
Accessories: Spiral punch (SU), 2.5" & 3" circle punches (Marvy), stickers, ribbon (We R Memory Keepers), brads (Karen Foster), wavy-edged scissors (Provocraft)

I'm sure I've mentioned that my crafts room is a haven for my 3.5 year-old daughter. This is a card she made for her best friend's birthday. I helped with the layout and stamping, she took over after that. We added some Stickles as a last step (she wants to use my "sparkles" on everything!)

Where I've been...

Lots of scrapbooking to follow!

Vacation 2007

Yeah, I know. Posts have been scarce lately. It's the end of summer, what can I say? Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things come fall.

And yes, I've finally scrapped some photos from our Feb 2007 trip to Mexico. The disappointing part? These are photos for my mother-in-law's album. I haven't even started ours yet. Whoops!

Anyway, I was inspired by this pail/shovel die cut that I have (and used on another page) so I ended up hand cutting all of the embellishments for this page, aside from the flip-flops and title (stickers).

All products are Creative Memories (oh, I forgot about the marker for the journalling, which is Marvy).

ETA: Since posting this, I realized that I forgot that I wanted to add something to the last page. So imagine that along the right side of the top photo is the caption "The original squishy-face" in the same blue marker as the journalling. I'm too lazy to take another photo.

Win one of THREE Basic Grey paper collections!

Check out Craft Critique for all the details. But back off, they're mine!!!

celebrate U

Still working on the Mojo Monday turns 100 sketches. I skipped ahead to day 7, because I knew right away what I wanted to do.
The smaller squares of DSP were easy to punch out with a 1" square punch, but my 1 1/4" square punch was too big for the Old Olive mats for each of them, so I just used my trimmer to get the right size.

Lots of distressing, including crumpling the main image and smoothing it back out (a bit). I also put my trusty dollar-store crimper to work on the image layers...when's the last time you used YOURS? ;)

Three large eyelets and some twine finish it off.

Stamps: All About U (SU)
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Blue Bayou cardstock, Spring BreakDSP (SU)
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie (SU)
Accessories: Hemp twine (SU), 1" punch (EK Success), eyelets (Making Memories), crimper (dollar store)

Flowered Congratulations

Still on the Mojo Monday turns 100 train. This is day 3. I'm also still on the rub-ons kick, so I used a lot on this card.

I layered a bunch of brown and white rub-ons, but obviously the white ones didn't show up on the white paper. I stamped some small flowers in the two shades of blue, then sponged over the entire thing with the lighter blue (Soft Sky). I'm really happy with how it looks! I like the white border around each rub-on. It really defines them well.

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, French Script (SU)
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky cardstock, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky textured cardstock, Soft Sky DSP (SU), brown textured cardstock (Bazzil)
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou (SU)
Accessories: Hidden Garden rub-ons, Scalloped Edge punch, sponge (SU), pearls (Kaiser)

I've also been decorating the inside of my cards lately, here's what I did for this one:
Ask me why I have a mirror image of the script-stamped/scalloped edge white piece cardstock that I used on the front of the card. Go ahead, ask me.

That's right, because I stamped it the wrong way the first time. It was supposed to go on the front of the card, so I needed the scallops to point to the right. But the text was upside-down. Oops!

Ask me what's on the back of the same piece. Yup, you guessed it. More script stamp, STILL upside down! Luckily I was able to use it on the inside.

I'm happy to say that this card is for an upcoming wedding. So I've managed to make a card for an occasion, an entire MONTH before I need it, rather than an hour before!

Happy Trails to You...

...until we meet again.

Ugh. I've been singing that song (and all I really know is that part) for the last 1/2 hour, since I decided on the sentiment for this card:

The card is based off of Mojo Monday 100 (day 2). The sentiment I was originally going to use (from the Cosmo Cricket stamp set) was too long. Then I came up with an even better idea, and pulled out my JustRite 50pt font set. It barely fit, but I'm so glad it did!

I tried something different with the ribbon. I think I've seen something like this elsewhere, but I don't know if it's exactly the same (and of course I can't remember where). I'm sure I'm not the first to do it. Anyway, I used my Crop-o-Dile to punch three holes in a line, close together. Don't mind my scrap paper and ribbon.
Then, from the back of the cardstock, I pulled one end of the ribbon up through the first hole and then down through the last one (by-passing the middle one), leaving some slack.
Then I pulled the two ends (which were both sticking out of the back of the cardstock) up through the middle hole, and to the side.
Finally, adjust as needed and then tighten the whole thing.
And there you have it - a cool ribbon "knot", without a lot of bulk. And I got the ends to sit just how I wanted them! This works well with ribbon that is quite a bit bigger than the hole -- not like I did in my example, but like I did in my card. Then you don't see the holes when you pull it tight - or you can "fluff" it up a bit, to hide them.

The rest of the card is fairly obvious. I was happy to pull out (and use!) some of my Cosmo Cricket papers, the ones that match the stamp set, obviously. Finally, the ribbon just happened to work. It's actually SU Riding Hood Red, but matches very well with SU Ruby Red, and the reddish colour in the paper. Yay!

Stamps: Happy Camper (Cosmo Cricket), Times New Roman 50pt Font (JustRite)
Paper: Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Ruby Red cardstock (SU), Happy Camper DSP (Cosmo Cricket), kraft (unknown)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard (SU)
Accessories: Riding Hood Red ribbon, Scalloped Edge punch (SU), corner rounder punch (EK Success), Crop-o-Dile (W R Memory Keepers)

Thanks for all that you do

This card was inspired by Mojo Monday Week 100 (day 1) and Color Throwdown #55.

I don't have the new in colours, so I substituted Summer Sun and Pixie Pink for Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo.
The main image and sentiment are rub-ons (see Carrie, I'm trying to use them!). I made the card slightly larger than normal (it's 6.5 x 4.5) to fit an envelope I already had. I also stamped on the envelope (you can see it under the card) and on the inside of the card (I lined it with white cardstock and a strip of the yellow).

Stamps: Eastern Blooms (SU)
Paper: Whipser White, Kraft, Pixie Pink, Summer Sun cardstock (SU), black cardstock (Bazzil)
Ink: Pixie Pink, Summer Sun (SU)
Accessories: Hidden Garden and Chit Chad rub-ons, Scalloped circle & 1 3/4" circle punch (SU), Scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Floral Screen embossing folder, CB (Provocraft), 1 1/2" circle punch (Marvy), paper piercer (Making Memories), Design Ruler (Tim Holtz), ribbon (unknown)

Tropical Birthday

Two cards I made for my husband's birthday (the big 4-0!). Both made using Penguin Pants stamps - unfortunately they've recently gone out of business :(


Stamps: So Many Sayings (SU), Aloha Paradise (Penguin Pants Stamps)
Paper: Whipser White, Old Olive cardstock (SU)
Ink: Basic Brown, Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, More Mustard, Old Olive, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, Blue Bayou (SU)
VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Word Window Punch, sponges, brad (SU), White Glaze pen (Sakura),VersaMark pen (Tsukineko), heat tool (Marvy Uchida), clear embossing powder (Ranger), 1 1/2" circle punch (Marvy)


Stamps: Aloha Paradise (Penguin Pants Stamps)
Paper: Whipser White, Wild Wasabi, River Rock cardstock, Groovy Guava textured cardstock (SU)
Ink: So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava, More Mustard (SU)
Accessories: Mega Curved Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), CB (Provocraft), lime ribbon (Michael's)

And even more blog candy!

This time it's from Denise. She's giving away a big pile of goodies - check it out!

Holy blog candy, Batman!

Check out Bev's blog candy giveaway. It's H-U-G-E!!!

Congrats on 400K hits, Bev!

Shimmer flowers

Here's another of those images from Jill. This time I used metallic chalks to give it a soft, shimmery look. The card is based off of Kazan's Sketch #32.
I distressed the edges of the white and green layers, and added a big knot to the ribbon.

Stamps: French Script (SU), not sure (from Jill)
Paper: Lavender Lace, Whipser White, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery cardstock (SU)
Ink: Pretty in Pink (SU), not sure (from Jill)
Accessories: Glimmer Chalks (Craf-T), Mega Curved Rectangle nesties (Spellbinders), Birds and Swirls embossing folder, Cuttlebug (Provo Craft), ribbon (unknown)

Remember me?

Uh yeah. I'm still around. Haven't done much crafting, have you heard about the heatwave we had? Oh, and I'm at the tail-end of a two week vacation. And my garden is seriously neglected. So not much time in the crafts room!

Anyway, I was organizing the other day, and found some images that Jill had sent me waaaaay back when. And I coloured a couple of them, and even made a really simple card with one.

I couldn't decide on a sentiment, so I left it blank. But it will go just above the knot in the ribbon (and the two scored lines), to the left of the image panel.

Stamps: not sure (from Jill)
Paper: Old Olive, Whipser White, Basic Black cardstock, Old Olive DSP (SU)
Ink: not sure (from Jill)
Accessories: Old Olive ribbon, Metallic pencil crayons (SU), scoring blade (Fiskars), Mega Curved Rectangle nesties (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug (Provo Craft)

Glitter, glitter, everywhere.

Another card. This is for ssnotime95 (glitter) and Kazan's Sketch 30.

A very, very quick card. I used the glitter line technique again (shown to me by Leanne). It's simply a line of double-sided tape (use redline for the best results) with glitter. The stars are two-sided stickies as well.

Stamps: So Many Sayings (SU)
Paper: Soft Sky textured cardstock (SU), white (Bazzil), PP (Making Memories)
Ink: Lovely Lilac (SU)
Accessories: sticky stars (Confessions of a Ribbon Addict), glitter ()

Babies are Trouble

This card is for Mojo Monday week 94 and Color Throwdown #50. I had to flip the sketch to work with the layout of the quote.

The quote makes me laugh. It's SO true!

My Real Red ink spot is driving me nuts. It doesn't dry, and then gets my fingers red (not good when you're working with white paper!)

Stamps: Cuddles & Tickles, Riveting (SU)
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise cardstock, Wild Wasabi textured cardstock, East Coast Prep DSP (SU)
Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise (SU)
Accessories: red striped ribbon, Wide Oval Punch (SU), Cuttlebug, Argyle Swirls embossing folder (Provo Craft), mini brads (unknown), paper piercer (Making Memories), vellum quote (Flair Designs)

Brown Umbrella

What? Two cards in one night? Yup, that's right! Scroll down for another card after this one.

This is for another sketch, this one from Mojo Monday #93.
Stamps: Blooming with Happiness, Simply Said (SU)
Paper: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip cardstock, Berry Bliss DSP (SU)
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip (SU)
Accessories: white ribbon, Wide Oval Punch (SU), Cuttlebug, D'Vine Swirls embossing folder (Provo Craft), lg Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders) brads (unknown)

I debated whether I should add anyting to the umbrella, but in the end I left it nice and simple. Don't you love the handle on it? Makes me think Mary Poppins is going to float down with it from the sky.

I wasn't sure how to frame the sentiment. This was my first version:
I created the scallops beind it like this:
But in the end I went with the plain oval.I don't have a scalloped oval punch/Nesties, so I hand cut the brown layer.

Oh, and I don't have any rectangle Nesties, so I created a square by cutting out two scallops, and taping it back together: