Christmas Thank you

Do you have some of the holiday DSP left over? Well, here is a great way to use some more of it up and take care of your holiday thank you cards, too!

Using the Home For the Holidays DSP that I had left over (and, yes, I actually did use some of it LOL), I created the card and envelope. The card base is Very Vanilla, matted with Pool Party. Put this aside and mat the DSP with Very Vanilla. Add the knotted real red ribbon: NOTE: Tie it around a cylinder, I used the Paper Piercing Tool container, slip off and cut the loop to create the ties. Cut the ribbon long enough to wrap and tape to the back side of this piece of the card. Add it to the base.

Stamp the poinsettia from the Reason For the Season set, with Real Red ink, onto Very Vanilla. I used the blender pen to soften the ink and bring it into the petals. Then cut the flower out with paper snips, curl the petal tips slightly and attach to the card with dimensionals. Add a rhinestone to the middle of the flower. Stamp your sentiment onto Very Vanilla with Real Red ink. Punch or cut it out and add it to the lower right side of the card.

I would use the less busy side of the DSP when making another one. I thought this one was a bit too much.

Then for the inside:

I matted a piece of Very Vanilla with the same DSP as the front and added it to the inside of the card. The envelope is made from the same sheet of DSP, which I created BEFORE cutting the pieces for the card.
 

I hope you enjoyed this project. I also hope that you had a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for stopping by. Our holiday catalog is still available for a few more days, so grab what you need before it is gone.

Thank you feathers

After playing in the kitchen today, I decided to play in the craft room The result was these two thank you cards.

This one was cased from a card similar to Sabrina's and created with some retired items. It is nice to pull some of those out and play with them again. The base is Brown Sugar cardstock. The main mat is Natural's White matted with Always Artichoke. I made the mat 1/4" smaller and the white just an eighth of an inch smaller, so only a small bit of the Always Artichoke shows. Using the Four Feathers stamp set, I stamped two of each of two feather patterns with craft white ink on Brown Sugar and Always Artichoke. I also embossed with white embossing powder. The spots are from the Perpetual Birthday Calendar set and Soft Suede ink, which I stamped off on scrap paper before stamping onto the card. After cutting out the feathers with the matching framelits, I arranged them on the card and added a bow from twine. The sentiment is stamped directly onto the card with Soft Suede.

Using the same stamp sets, I made the base of Elegant Eggplant. I matted the Whisper White with the Wisteria Wonder in the same sizes as on the previous card. I stamped the center feather with Elegant Eggplant and the other two with Wisteria Wonder. These are stamped directly onto the white cardstock. I then inked the sentiment up with Basic Black and stamped over the feather images. I also sponged around the edge of the white with Wisteria Wonder.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing these and will give them a try. Thanks for stopping by and since I may not post again this week, Merry Christmas to all of you!

Ornament Gift Boxes

I am finally sharing one of the projects that I am creating for Christmas this year. It is a hanging box that can become an ornament after removing what is inside. So a gift that the recipient can keep for future Christmases. Of course, these could be created for other holidays, too.

A NOTE for patterned paper: Pay attention to the direction. Didn't want Santa or the deer hanging upside down! Plus I wanted a certain part of the Santa scene to be on the front of the box. So you do need to plan ahead for these types of things when creating.

This was/is another great project from "Poodles". So check out the video HERE and have fun! This one is even simple enough for the smaller crafters to create and share with family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! and thanks for stopping by!

A "gift" for you

I have been busy making Christmas cards, but, unfortunately the camera has not been part of the process. I need an "automatic" for that process when I am having too much fun creating!

I like to create and give small appreciation gifts to different ones in my community and came across this video. I believe that this is what I will be creating this year. She does not have a picture of the finished product for me to post here, so you will have to open it open and see for yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dduM-fZMrIo#action=share

I hope you enjoy "opening your gift" and have a wonderful day.

Thanks for stopping by!

EXTRAVAGANZA Sale

You have to check this one out! This is a While Supplies Last! Need an envelope board?? Check out the price for today ONLY on this one!

Check it all out here: http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryid=100600

I would really appreciate it, if when you place your order, you would enter my name as your demonstrator (IF you don't already have one). Don't forget to let me contact you for a thank you! If you mark no contact, I won't be able to do that.

Have a GREAT day and thanks for stopping by!

Hello Fall

I love shaker cards and they really are fun to make. I have used two different techniques. The first one is to simply place your confetti in a small bag, like the ones that can be found in the jewelry crafts. Seal it and place tape around the edges to attach over your image, then add your top layer.

The second way, and what I usually use, is to stamp your image and line with dimensional tape. The edges to the dimensionals work great for this. Place your confetti on the inside, cut the Window sheet to fit and place on top. Add your top image and finish the card. That is all there is to it.

I decided the white "walls" were too plain, so I wadded up a piece of wax paper and blotted ink around my window. AND the window really isn't crooked, just the way the picture took :) !

I used the dauber and old olive ink to color the Organza ribbon and added my sentiment. I love this ribbon and this way I can have any color that I need! The stamp set is from the Happy Scenes set.

The Holiday catalog will soon be a thing of the past with most of the products retiring, so check it out and get your order in before you lose out on these great items. Let me know if you have any questions and I would so appreciate it if when ordering, you would enter my name, Mary Lee Carroll, as your demonstrator. That is if you don't already have one!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Autumn Wishes

I think that fall is going to be a very short season this year! We have already had a taste of winter. Thankfully it was very short lived and not nearly as bad as they predicted.

Did you think that you had seen the last of this woodland folder? I warned you that it is one of my favorites and that I don't think that will change anytime soon. Just too many things to do with it. :)

The sentiment and leaves are from the Among the Branches stamp set, which can be purchased with the folder as a bundle, saving 15%! Just click on the catalog to the right and check out the Holiday catalog. Please add myself as your demo when ordering, if you don't already have one. Thanks!

This card is very simple without a lot of layers. I stamped the folder with So Saffron ink before embossing on whisper white cardstock. Wrap a piece of ribbon around it and attach it to the So Saffron card base. Using different inks, stamp the leaves randomly on the branches. I used Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, and Bravo Burgundy. I actually double stamped the Pumpkin Pie to give the two different tones.

The sentiment is stamped with Pumpkin Pie on Whisper White, then punched out with the 2" circle punch and mounted to the So Saffron scalloped circle punch. Add it to the card with dimensionals.
And you are done, unless you want to and more to it, of course!

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Haunted Hill

Ok, so, Happy Halloween! This will be my last one for this years holiday. Everything I used has been retired except the card stock, but you may have all of it in your stash, too.

The card base is Pumpkin Pie with DSP as the mat. I used a large circle cut out to stamp the tree and haunted house onto with black ink. I also sponged around the edge with Pumpkin Pie. I stamped and embossed the sentiment on black and stamped the pumpkins with pumpkin pie, before tearing the piece and placing it on the card with dimensionals. That is it :)

This was one of my favorites this season, so hope you enjoyed it, too.

Keep you and yours safe tonight, and keep your pets safe, too, by keeping them inside.

Have a safe and fun Halloween and thanks for stopping by!

Whooooo Halloween

One more Halloween card using the Among the Branches set and the Woodland embossing folder. Guess I have got my money's worth out of these two products plus!

Emboss the cover of a Whisper White card base, and sponge the trees with Smokey Slate using a sponge wedge or a dauber. Stamp a sentiment on a scrap piece and attach to the bottom. Add ribbon or washi tape. With the circle dies, you will need to choose the size needed for the image, one the next size up, and another two sizes more. Use the largest one to cut a circle out of the center of the cover.

Then cut the smallest one from a Whisper White. Place it on the inside of the card, through the larger opening, close to the one side. Holding it in place or put just a small dot of adhesive to hold it in place, stamp the branch with Smoky Slate. Stamp the owl with Momento Black and remove. Cut out a Basic Black the next size up and place it behind the image. Line up the branches and attach to the inside of the card, again doing so through the cover circle.

NOTE: You can also do this on two pieces of white cardstock, attaching one on top of the other, then mount it onto a Basic Black card base.

Hope you have enjoyed your visit. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Craftin' !

Halloween Crows

First, let me tell you that I just created a Christmas card that I sooooo want to share with you! BUT, I still have a couple more Halloween cards and I am telling myself that they have to be shared first! Especially since Halloween is only a couple of days away! How did that happen?????

So here is my next share:

To create this card, I used a Pumpkin Pie base with a black mat underneath the image. I then pulled out my brayer and Woodland embossing folder (of course), along with the ink pads, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip. Punch a 2" circle from a post it and position it on the folder side where you want the moon to be. Brayer the Daffodil Delight, starting at the bottom of the trees working all the way up the trees, then Pumpkin Pie up two thirds of the way and ending with the CC about a third of the way (this will be the bottom of the card).

NOTE: I have explained in other posts how to do this technique. If you missed it, you can find it here.

Remove the post it and insert the Daffodil Delight card stock. Run this through the Big Shot. Using a sponge or dauber, add smokey slate ink to the raised trees. The crows are stamped from the Among the Branches set with Momento Black ink.

I used Teeny Tiny Wishes to stamp the sentiment, also with the black ink, onto Pumpkin Pie card stock and punched it out with the word window punch. It is hard to see in the photo, but it is also matted with black card stock. This can be achieved in one of two ways: 1. adhere the sentiment piece to a scrap piece of card stock and cut around it, using the paper snips. OR 2. punch out another word window and cut it in four pieces and adhere to the back of the sentiment, leaving tiny gaps between the pieces (which aren't really noticeable.

Thanks so much for visiting! Have a great day!!!!

Halloween Favor

This is a quick and fun project to create. Using the pillow die (we now have one in the SU with a wider shape!!!), cut out the pillows from Whisper White. Stamp spiders from the A Little Something stamp set (this set will get you through the year, easily!) Create the pillow and add the goodies. Mine were for office workers, so I added a chocolate (of course!), post it pad, and a few shaped paperclips. (Those reindeer clips would be perfect for the Christmas pillows!)

Using the Fine Tip Glue Pen, add the Spider Web Doily. I then added a sentiment piece with dimensionals and although this one doesn't show it, I later added a small ghost to the right side of the sentiment.

I find it so hard to believe that this month is almost over!! Have a great day and enjoy every moment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Peek a BOO

I have again used the Woodland Embossing Folder and the Among the Branches stamp set. Don't forget that these can be purchased as a bundle, saving 15%!

The base is Smokey Slate and run through the folder. I then lightly sponged the trees with the same ink color. The owl, crow, and eyes use the same ink. Using the Halloween doily and the Fine-tip Glue pen (LOVE these two products!), I positioned the doily on the corner of the card, then trimmed off the extra with my paper snips. Add a strip of ribbon and the sentiment, stamped on Whisper White with Pumpkin Pie ink. Punch it out with the 2" Circle Punch. Use the Build an Owl punch body, trimming off the legs to form the ghost, and color in the "face". Attach it to the back of the sentiment and using dimensionals, add it to the corner. Tie a small bow in a piece of Baker's Twine and add to the circle with a glue dot. (NOTE: I roll the dot in half , then place behind the knot, trying not to touch with your fingers, too much. I actually use my piercing tool.)

And that is all there is to it! Love quick and easy!!!

Want some more GREAT information?????? ALL stamp sets are on sale at 15% off! Check it out!!

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/default.aspx

If you don't already have a demo, I would love to be. Just enter my name when asked for your demo while placing your order.

Have a great day and thanks so much for visiting! Let me know if you have any questions!

Haunt Ya Later in the Woodland

Okay, I am back on track and getting my Halloween cards created! Had to share this one with everyone! I don't usually order or use what I call the "cutesy" stamp sets, but just couldn't pass this one up! You probably already know that the Woodland embossing folder is one of my favorites and you know you will be seeing much more of this one! Both of these items are available in the new Holiday catalog!!

Want to order your own sets? Click on the catalog to the right. It will take you to the Stampin' Up site and all you have to do is click on the Holiday catalog and enjoy shopping! I would appreciate it if you would enter my name as your demonstrator, if you don't already have one. Allow me to contact you (the form will ask if this is okay) and I will send you a thank you plus your own catalog, if you would like one.

Okay, back to the card.... The base is Basic Grey. The mat is Whisper White and before embossing, use the brayer to ink up the Woodland embossing folder with Smokey Slate (the side with the Sizzix printed on it). Emboss, then stamp the owl from the Among the Branches set (Love this versatile set, too!) For the moon, stamp the image from the same set on to Whisper White and punch out with a 2" circle. Sponge with Pumpkin Pie around the edge. Add it to the mat.

Using the new Basic Black (LOVE this for coloring with markers or watercoloring!!! No bleeding! It is permanent. So is the new Basic Grey, both in the Holiday catalog!), stamp and color the images from the Haunt Ya Later set. Cut each one out with the paper snips (LOVE these, too! They are great to do fine clipping!) Add these images to the card with dimensionals.

Bet you have noticed that I LOVE the new Holiday catalog. :) I hope that you have enjoyed this post and thank you for stopping by! Let me know if you have any questions.

Haunting Woods

Seems I am making more Christmas cards than anything right now, so am way behind on this holiday. That is very unusual because Halloween is one of my favorite.

This fun card was created with the new Woodland embossing folder from the new holiday catalog. I have used this one a lot already and will be sharing more samples in the future.

This card base is Pumpkin Pie with the mat of Elegant Eggplant.

Punch out a 1 3/8" circle from a post it and add it to the folder, on the side with the Sizzix print. Then brayer a layer of Daffodil Delight towards the open end, then Pumpkin Pie toward the middle and Elegant Eggplant on the inside near the fold. Pull off the post it circle. Ink up the image with Elegant Eggplant and stamp, lining up the moon on the stamp with the uninked area created under the post it. (I used a retired stamp set, but any image will work.)

Place the whisper white cardstock on the uninked side of the folder, lining up so that the scene will ink in the position you want, and run through the big shot.

This is so much fun that I have created other scenes (one with deer, for example), and I hope you will give it a try.

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Window Box Card

 
 

Sometimes you just need to bring out some of your retired stamp sets. That is exactly what I did for this fun card. The new Holiday catalog has some great sets that would work great for this type of card, especially the Snow Place, which can also be purchased with the matching die set to save 15%!

The base of this card is Pacific Point cut at 5 1/2" x 10 1/2", scored at 3 1/2" (the front panel), 6 1/2" (the middle "back" panel), 7" (right side of "box"), 10" (window section plus 1/2" tab).

With the front panel to the right side, decorate as desired, of course, but here is what I did.  I used the retired set Snow Much Fun for this sample. I stamped snowflakes with the Silver Encore ink around the cover, inked the snowman on Whisper White with Marina Mist. He is watercolored with Real Red, Garden Green, and Smokey Slate. This was done by squeezing the ink pad while shut to form a spot of ink on the inside of the lid for a pallet. Use a blender pen or an aqua brush to pick up some of the ink and color. The more ink you pick up, the more dense the color will be. The "snowballs" are punched from the Dazzling Diamonds Glitter paper. All are added with dimensionals to the cover.

On the "window" panel, which is on the left side. Using the window frame from the Hearth and Home Framelits set (which can be purchased with the Happy Seasons stamp set as a bundle to SAVE 15%), I placed it on the panel and marked the outer corners of the window squares with a pencil. Then cut this box out about an eighth of an inch outside of these marks. Cut the window Frame out with Whisper White and use glue or tape to place around the cut out box. (At this point you could also add a piece of window sheet to the back, but I chose to just leave mine open.)I stamped a few images with the snowflakes and added the sentiment to the bottom, again using the silver Encore.

Add a strip of strong tape or glue to the left 1/2" tab, using tombo, Tear and Tape, or Fast Fuse Adhesive. IF USING GLUE, wait on this step!

Now for the inside panel, flip the card (decorated panels will now be face down, with the cover on the left side.) Checking to make sure things will show through the window like you want them to do, decorate this panel. I placed designer series paper, then added the tree with dimensionals.

Fold the window panel to the center, lining up the 1/2" panel to the 3 1/2" score line. (Glue can be placed on the tab at this time.) Fold the cover over and press on the 1/2" tab. This will attach it to the back of the front cover and now when you open the card, the box will pop up. Make sure all of your score lines are crisp folds as this will help the card open and close easier.

Have fun with this one and thanks so much for stopping by!

Festive Fireplace

This card was created using the Festive Fireplace Bundle in the Holiday Catalog. That means I saved 15% by purchasing the stamp and die set together!

There is some fussy cutting even with the die set, but I think it was so worth it.

The base is Very Vanilla, using the Hardwood background and Sahara Sand ink. HINT: When using a background stamp, I turn it upside down and ink it, then carefully place the piece of cardstock on top of it. Place a piece of scratch paper on top of that and using your fingers or a brayer, press all around. Remove the scrap and carefully pull up the cardstock. This is the easiest way I have found to use the large stamps.

Stamp the fireplace with Cherry Cobbler ink onto Cherry Cobbler cardstock and cut out. Using Soft Suede, stamp the log fire on Crumb Cake cardstock. Use the die to punch out, then cut the logs out and sponge them lightly with Chocolate Chip. Stamp the same image on Daffodil Delight with Cherry Cobbler ink and punch out with the die. Use the blender pen to bleed the ink around the edges of the fire. Tape the logs on top of the flame piece. Cut a piece of Smokey Slate cardstock to fit behind the fireplace and add the fire to the bottom. Attach a line of dimensionals (the outer edge of the dimensionals works great for this) around the fireplace and add it to the Smokey Slate piece. Using Smokey Slate, stamp the mantle on the same color of cardstock and use the die to cut it out. Place a small line of glue with the Fine Tip Glue Pen (LOVE this new product!) and attach to the top of the fireplace.

Stamp the garland with Garden Green on to Old Olive cardstock and cut out with the die. Clean your stamp then use the Chocolate Chip marker to color just the pinecones and stamp them onto Crumb Cake cardstock. Cut them out, add glue dots and place them on the garland. Place a thin strip of dimensionals across the top of the garland (do not remove the cover paper yet) and a line of glue across the bottom. Glue this to the top of the mantle. Decorate your stockings, adding dimensionals onto the bottom portion and attaching to the fireplace. Add adhesive to the back of the fireplace, remove the cover strip from the garland and position onto the card. Using White Craft ink and Basic Black cardstock, cut the cat out with the die (I didn't use the tail). Add dimensionals and add to the side of the fireplace.

Stamp the sentiment with Cherry Cobbler ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock. Add dimensionals and attach to Cherry Cobbler cardstock before placing onto the top of the card. TaDa!

There are lots of steps to this card and the dies save you a lot of time. I hope you will give it a try.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fall Forest

These look like Aspen to me, so I need to make a card depicting all the beautiful golden leaves that they have right now.

This is using the new Woodland embossing folder and the Among the Branches stamp set. Both are in the new Holiday catalog AND you can save 15% by purchasing both!!!! How great is that!

I brayered Daffodil Delight on the folder before embossing the whisper White cardstock. The sentiment is stamped in Pumpkin Pie, attached to a Daffodil Delight Scallop punch out, the attached to the card with dimensionals. The leaves (there are three different shapes in the set) are stamped with Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, and Night of Navy. I then placed it on the cover of a Daffodil Delight card.

Fall is definitely in the air around here, so I hope you are having a wonderful day, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Fall shaker

This fun card uses the items from the new Holiday catalog. You really need to check it out. There are so many great new goodies and lots of bundles to save you 15%! Who doesn't like to save money!

Anyway, back to the card. The base is Whisper White. I was going to stamp the background with the hardwood, but forgot, SO, I waded up some wax paper and stamped it with Pumpkin Pie ink. There is a new technique for me that I will be using again!

I used the Happy Scenes stamp set for the fall scene, stamping with Basic Black and coloring with markers. Cut the window out of Chocolate chip with the new Hearth and Home Framlits and two pieces of window sheet ( 2 1/4"x3"). Adhere one sheet to the back of the window, add dimensional tape around the edges (the sides on the sheet of dimensionals work great for this!). Add a few sequins to the center, I really think that the secret here is to not add too much. You want your image to be visible.  Add the second piece of acetate to the back and attach to the card over the stamped image. Hello is from the Perfect Pennant set, stamped in Pumpkin Pie. I added dimensionals and placed it on the white Organza ribbon, which I have colored using a dauber and Old Olive ink.

Hope you enjoy this fall themed card and give it a try. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Calypso Coral Spring

This isn't exactly the time of year for this card. It looks more like a spring card to me, but when the creative bug takes over, you just go with it. :)

You could actually change the colors to make it work for any season or holiday. I may just do that and share them with you at another time.

The card base and layers are Calypso Coral, with Whisper White for contrast. I used the Serene Silhouettes and Butterfly Basics stamp sets. The ink is also Calypso Coral. The image is punched out with the circle die, then mounted on the scallop punch with dimensionals. I also used dimensionals to mount this onto the card.

Hope you enjoy this card and will give it a try. It is really simple and quick, one of my favorite types!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Fall in the air

This is a card that I created after seeing one by my fellow demonstrator, Beth Rush. It is made with products from the new holiday catalog. If you haven't seen it, you REALLY need to click on the button on the right side and check it out!

I used the Among the Branches and Woodland embossing folder Bundle on page 39. Don't you love those bundles!!! saving 15%!

The card base is old olive and the mat is natural's white. I sponged soft suede lightly across the trunks, then stamped the leaf images in old olive, tangelo twist, and hello honey, stamping off on scrap paper on a few of them.

The sentiment is stamped with tangelo twist on naturals white, and punched out with the 2" circle punch. I put a strip of old olive across it, using the small banner punch to create the ends, and fussy cutting a set of leaves. attaching with dimensionals. I added the ribbon and placed it all on the card, again using dimensionals to give the card more texture.

I hope you will give this one a try. Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Stamping!!

July MPP

Wanted to share my latest project with you. I really love the July My Paper Pumpkin kit!

I will be creating more of these for note cards. There is always extra supplies in the kit, so looking forward to seeing what else I can create.

Interested in having your own monthly kit. Click on the Paper Pumpkin to the right and sign up today.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Envelope 3D Christmas card

Here is what I worked on this weekend. (Had to take a break from my pocket letter creating LOL)

Here is a video on the how to: Video

For mine, I used her measurements with products I had on hand. The tree and Santa are from the retired stamp set "Old Fashioned Christmas". The rest of it is all from scraps of paper I have collected at some time. The base is from Whisper White cardstock.

It really went together easily, too. My biggest obstacle was remembering to be careful where I placed things on the front in reference to the center fold. The top picture shows it all closed up.

I have a couple of other ideas for this type of card so may have some more Christmas in July.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

PL OWL Bookmark

 

I adapted these bookmarks from Carries idea. I loved creating hers, but wanted a smaller version to include in the pocket letters, I so enjoy creating. So this is what I came up with.

 

The back piece which forms the head is the large heart punch. Use the large oval punch to punch out a half oval from designer paper for the body. The wings are the small oval punch with embossed cardstock. Using the Itty Bitty punch set, punch out two stars for the feet.

 

For the eyes, use different sizes of circle punches. I actually used a small flower punch from my stash, so you can use whatever you have on hand. The circles from the Build an Owl stamp would work great. Then I just cut a small triangle for the beak (if you have the tiny tree punch, the top of it works great for this.) Attach this with a small piece of dimensional.

 

From solid cardstock, cut a 2x2 inch piece and a bit smaller from designer paper. Layer these for the bottom/back of your bookmark. Put a small ribbon of glue about halfway down on the owl and attach to the cardstock, leaving the bottom of the owl loose to complete your mini bookmark.

 

The top picture shows how it will look when placed on the page.

 

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

MPP Fourth of July

Here is another Fourth of July card. The base is a top fold with Whisper White, then matted with Night of Navy. I had some pieces left over from one of My Paper Pumpkin kits (check these out on the right hand column). The striped piece is half of one of the pinwheels that came in the kit. I positioned it into the corner so that the Night of Navy mat didn't show around the sides. I cut a smaller mat from Whisper White and marked where I needed to cut the diagonal with a pencil. After cutting it, I ran it through the dotted embossing folder and attached it to the card. The stars are Night of Navy and Whisper White from the Medium Star and the Itty Bitty Accents star punches. Then I had some red confetti stars in my stash and thought they added to it. Stamped the sentiment, decorated the inside and it was complete!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Sheltering Tree Flag

So, I decided that I had to take a break from creating Pocket Letters and get my Fourth of July cards done. I must have enjoyed myself because before I knew it, it was time to fix lunch! It was also a productive morning because I completed four cards. It was nice to have the time to do that.

So I will be sharing my creations over the next few days. I hope that they will inspire you to create some yourself, either by CASEing or coming up with some of your own ideas. No matter which, I hope you have an enjoyable time.

Here is the first card that I want to share with you.

This one was the last one I created this morning, but since it is so simple and fast, I thought I would share it with you first.

The base is Whisper White cardstock cut at 4 1/4" x 11, scored at 5 1/2", which gives you a top fold card. I used the "C" clear block to create the Night of Navy block for the stars. I added three stars which were punched out of Silver Glimmer Paper with the star punch from the Itty Bitty Accents punch set. The stripes of the flag are with Real Red and the stamp from the Sheltering Tree set.

I had this small piece of ribbon and thought it looked great with the image so taped it onto the side. You could get the same effect by drawing lines with the markers.

Have a really great day and thanks for stopping by!

Patriotic Pocket Letter

I really do enjoy creating and receiving these pocket letters. They are SO much fun! I actually used part of a My Paper Pumpkin Kit to create this one. I cut down one of the papers to create a smaller pinwheel, used the stars all over the pockets, cut down one of the straws to create a fireworks and added the extra pieces as embellishments for the cards.

Think the recipient enjoyed it too :)

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Pocket Letter envelope

Hi, Everyone! Have you caught the pocket letter craze yet??? I certainly have and now I would like to share what I think is the perfect envelope for them. (I have covered the return address label with a snowman emory board and the recipient's address label with the leaf.)

To make the envelope, you will need a sturdy piece of designer paper or cardstock and the envelope punch board. Cut the paper/cardstock to 11 1/8" square and line it up at 3 1/2" mark on the board. Punch and score, then line the score line up and proceed as usual. The top and bottom triangles are a bit larger than the envelope, so I just tucked the bottom one under and trimmed the top one to fit.

In my example the paper is a bit dark, so I decorated an address label and placed it on the front. I used strong double sided tape to put the envelope together.

Want to see some of my pocket letters: Look here: or check out pinterest for even more samples, but be careful, because they are very addictive!

Have a great day and thanks for looking!

Cherry on Top

 

Hi, everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful day!

 

Here are three cards created with the Cherry on Top DSP stack (138443) on page 144 of the new 2015/16 catalog. I love the new In Colors that are a part of this paper stack! I have used two of them for the base card on the top and bottom of this set, Watermelon Wonder and Cucumber Crush. The center one is Bermuda Bay.

 

The first card uses one of my FAVORITE new items, the Banner Punch (138292) on page 165. It has placement for three sizes, 2", 1.5", and 1". You can, of course, create other sizes, smaller than the 2" by centering the cardstock into the punch. LOVE IT!!!

 

The sentiment is from the Butterfly Basics stamp set on page 124. This set is available in all three styles, photopolymer (137154), clear mount (138816) and wood mount (138813). So choose your favorite when ordering.

 

The center card uses the small Banner punch (133519) on page 166 to create the small banner.

 

And the final card at the bottom uses the 2 3/8" scallop punch (118874) on page 165 and the  sentiment is also from the Butterfly Basics stamp set. I also sponged around the edge with calypso coral ink and attached it with dimensionals.

 

I am sure I will be creating a whole lot more from this very colorful and vibrant paper stack. You can also order the cardstock pack which goes along with it.

 

Place your order at stampinup.com and add my name as your demonstrator. You will receive a thank you card from me, if you include your contact information by NOT clicking on the button asking not to be contacted by your demonstrator. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask AND don't forget that if your order qualifies, you also earn free hostess credits, so get with your friends and enter a larger order together.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Owl Builder Roses

I love it when there is more than one use for a crafting tool. Guess it takes away the quilt of purchasing some of them. LOL Well, there are so many uses for the Owl Builder Punch that it seems ridiculously worth the price, no matter what you would pay. Luckily it is only $18 on page 167 of the new annual catalog (#118074). Take a look on pinterest and you will see all kinds of animals and shapes created with this punch. One of my favorite and most viewed posts is a card that I used it to make tulips. You can see that one HERE. And now here is another great flower! I couldn't wait to share these with you, so will share an actual project using them later.

Absolutely LOVE these, plus they are quick and easy to create. Here is the great video that I used to create these lovely roses: Owl Builder Roses. A couple of things I did differently, I colored the petals after creating them (less messy) and if you have a slotted quilling tool or a large eye needle, they work better for curling the petals on the center.

If you like flowers even a fraction of how much I love them, I hope you will give these a try. You truly won't be disappointed. Well, off to make some more colors for my stash (like to have extras on hand), so I hope you have a great, crafty day.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Quilted notecards

Here is a great way to use up those bits and pieces of DSP.

The center is a 1 1/2" square and the other pieces are one inch squares cut from one corner to the opposite. I found it easiest to position by placing the corner pieces, then the top two triangles, then the center square. Lie it all out (you might even want to use temporary adhesive), then glue down.

Some of the squares I added a small scallop circle for a little more interest then added "stitch" marks with the white gel pen. I only stitched on the long edge of the corners and around the square, but you can stitch as little or as much as you like and in any color.

These are actually notecards that I am donating to the local nursing home. You could easily make these into greeting cards, too. So pull out your unused DSP and have some fun.

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

New Catalog!!!!

The new catalog went live today!!!

 

There are SO many cool new items in this one! (Am I dating myself????)

Today ONLY, you can also still order from the last two catalogs. As long as the retired items are still in stock, they can be ordered. NOTE: Some of the carry over items are going up in price, so get your order in today for the last chance at the old price.

If you have any questions, just let me know! Or if you are interested in a catalog, drop me a note!

Have a great day and Happy Crafting!!!!

Pocket Letters

Have you jumped in with this fun/new craft???? It is so much fun to swap these pages. Here are a couple of my creations that I swapped with an "all about me" theme.

And here are a couple with a holiday theme:

If you haven't seen these before, you may want to check out the creators blog HERE.

Here is one more that I created for a pocket letter pal:

These really are a lot of fun and a great way to use up your scraps. I should probably warn you that they can be very addictive, too.

Hope you enjoyed these and thanks so much for stopping by! Don't forget to leave me a comment. I would love to know what you think of my creations and of the pocket letter idea.

Have a great and creative week!

Another card fold

I hope this finds everyone enjoying life. It has been longer than I thought since I have posted. It is a busy time of the year, especially with a graduate this year. Not sure how that happened already!!!

Anyway, I love trying new folds for my cards, so thought I would share one that I thought was fun. I do not know who originally came up with this one, but I will share how I did it.

This is what it looks like when it is closed and undecorated. You will need to use double sided DSP to enjoy the full effect.

Start with an 8" square piece of double sided DSP. Using the Diagonal score plate, score at 3" on each side. Cut out each triangle that is formed where the scores meet. Remove the diagonal plate and score at 1" down to the notched out triangle. Repeat this for the other three corners.

Decide which side of the DSP will be the inside and fold the inside score lines toward that side. The outside score lines will be folded to the opposite side of the paper.

Starting with the left side, close by folding the left side in, then the top, then the right side, remembering to keep the 1" score folded over.

Now ease the bottom underneath the left side panel. This closes your card. Decorate as desired. I sometimes enclose instructions on how to close it back up. I would close the card to decorate the outside so you won't accidentally glue to the wrong area. OR just create and decorate a sleeve to slip over it (which I prefer to do).

I hope you enjoy this fun way of creating another card fold. Have a great day and thanks so very much for stopping by!