Valentine Favors

I put these together using the Party Favor #1 and Heart die cuts from Clear and Simple Stamps. I ran the kraft cardstock through my Cuttlebug with the Party Favor #1 die and then again with the heart die. Next I doodled around the heart with a white gel pen and then I added a piece of clear cardstock from Papertrey Ink to the inside front panel to cover the heart cutout. For the finishing touches, I filled them with candy and tied ribbon and bakers twine to the handles.

I really like the detail that the white gel pen doodles give the front and that it doesn't take any time to do so these would be great for mass producing.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you have a marvelous Monday. Happy Stamping!

T is for Tin and Teacher

I found some tins at a sale awhile back and while I didn't have a plan for them when I bought them I knew they would come in handy. Yesterday I had the idea to decorate them for teacher gifts. I pulled out some paper, ink, stamps and dies then got to work. Here's a look at the top of the tins. For the black background piece I used my Corner Chomper to round the corners and then stamped the numbers from Glitz Distressing stamp set using ColorBox Frost White pigment ink. I was going for a chalkboard look.

For the focal piece on the top I decided it should be a magnet. That way it can be removed and placed anywhere. The larger piece is a die from My Favorite Things. I cut out a layer of chipboard and a layer of SU Red Riding Hood cardstock and glued them together. The red cardstock was then stamped with the grid pattern stamp also from the Glitz Distressing stamp set using Versamark ink. The next layer is PTI's Fillable Frames die with matching stamp set for the border (also stamped with ColorBox White Frost pigment ink). The sentiments are from PTI's Teacher's Apple set and stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and SU Real Red on SU Crumb Cake cardstock. That piece is mounted with foam dimensionals. For the finishing touches there is an apple also from PTI's Teacher's Apple set stamped with SU Real Red, Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip inks and a bow of Charcoal twine from The Twinery. 

 

I add a piece of SU Crumb Cake cardstock with a stamped apple to the back of the tin to cover up the printing on the tin. This would be a nice place to personalize the tin for the teacher or have your student write a little note.

For now my tins are empty but you could fill them with any number of things including notecards, a gift card, candy . . . just to name a few.

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you're having a wonderful week. Happy Stamping!

Boo Blocks

I hope you're in the mood for Halloween because I have another project for Halloween to share today. Yesterday I mentioned the vase I found at a sale this summer for 25 cents and today I have another find while browsing at rummage sales this summer - a set of alphabet wood blocks. After a nice coat of black spray paint they were ready to be covered with some My Mind's Eye  (Night Light collection) halloween papers.

 After all of the sides were covered with paper I added the letters to spell BOO. The letters were stamped in black on kraft cardstock and punched out with a circle punch. The edges of the circles were inked with black soot distress ink and matted with a black circle of cardstock. For the orange pieces I used my Nestabilities.

For the finishing touch the blocks were sprayed with a clear sealer. I really like how they turned out. Have you found any great things at garage sales for your crafting projects? Let me know.


Thanks for stopping by. Happy Stamping!

New Stamp and Template of the Month

Hard to believe it's already February! We've been having some really cold weather here this past week and I'm ready for it to warm up. It's overcast and cold again today but at least today's project warms my heart. :)

You all know by now that along with the first of the month comes a new Stamp of the Month set and free template from Clear & Simple Stamps. First I'll share the new Stamp of the Month for February: Sweet Hearts.

Don't forget that you can get $1 off the set by entering Discount Code: CSS0210 (valid Feb 1-28, 2010)
Clear and Simple has also come up with a new Copic Trio: Red Trio 3 (R32, R35, R39). There is a $4 savings when you purchase the Sweet Hearts set and the Copic Trio bundle on the bottom of this page. Also if you enter the Discount Code: CSS0210 you will get the additional $1 savings so it would be $25 for the set and trio of Copics. What a great deal!


Ok, now it's time to share the February Template of the Month designed by Sue Berker for Clear and Simple Stamps. It's a wonderful Sweet Hearts Box. Sue has even posted directions on her blog Sharing What I  Love. For my sample I used Core'dinations paper for the base and decorated it with some papers from K&Company's Lovely patterned paper pack.

 

  

Instead of adding the little pen holder on the front of my heart box I inserted it inside the box and then made tall skinny note cards perfect for making lists. The note cards measure 8 1/2 x 2 3/4 with a 1 inch wide strip of designer paper and then a 2 in circle stamped with a sneak peak of an unreleased set from Clear and Simple Stamps. Not only is this a really cute template but the best part is it's FREE!

Be sure to visit my fellow Design Team members blogs for more inspiration and samples of the Sweet Hearts Box Template.

I hope you're all having a wonderful Monday!

Reindeer Noses

Are you looking for a cute little stocking stuffer or small gift for the kids in the neighborhood or classmates? Well, how about some Reindeer Noses.

A friend brought me a page torn out of her Current Catalog and asked me if I could make her some packets of Rudolf Noses. After more thought and discussion we decided on Reindeer noses instead of strickly Rudolf noses. Here's what I came up with. . .

8 whoppers per pack for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. And 1 cherry sour for Rudolf.

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday! Please let me know if you make any packets of noses and leave me a link if you post them on-line.
Happy Stamping!

Supplies:

• Stamps: Hero Arts (frame and reindeer), Snap Stamps (words)
• Paper: Kraft, Vanilla, Riding Hood Red
• Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Cocoa
• Misc: Lollipop bags, Candy, Crystals

Happy Easter

Just a quick post to wish you all a Happy Easter! I made this mini basket from the template found here. The pink paper is scraps that I had and the patterned paper is from Chatterbox. The saying is from the Easter Basket set by Clear & Simple Stamps. Finishing touches include a prima flower and gemstone.

I hope you're all having a great weekend.

InStyle Sheree

For today's project I used another stamp from InStyle stamps called Sheree. She's so cute lounging in her tub of bubbles. I trimmed her down with my labels 1 set from Spellbinders and used her as the label on a jar of bath salts.

For the bubbles I used the melted pearl technique. Use your versamark pen to color them then emboss them with clear embossing powder and while it is still warm brush the bubbles with pearl ex. Reheat them a little so the pearl ex melts into the embossing powder. I didn't get a good photo of them but in person they have a nice irredescent look like real bubbles.


I hope you're all having a Happy Monday! Thanks for stopping by.

A Trinket Box for Gwyneth

My friend's little girl had a birthday yesterday so I made her a little trinket box. I got the idea from Kimberly Crawford's blog For the Love of Paper. Here's the link to her Fairy Box.

For my box I used the largest die from the Spellbinders Label 1 set and cut out two each of chipboard, white cardstock and patterned paper. I covered the chipboard with the white cardstock and patterned paper then created by box. Since the label was about 4 inches square I decided to go with a 3 inch box and make it 2 inches high. I attached the box to the bottom label and then made a 3 1/4 inch box that was only 1/2 inch high to attach to the top label for the lid.

The top was decorated with more labels, a G from the Olivia Cuttlebug set and a butterfly from the Martha Stewart punch.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you're all having a great day!

Bottle Tag

'Tis the season for bringing wine to the hostess of your holiday party and what better way to present it than with a handmade tag draped around the neck of the bottle.

I used a long scalloped rectangle nestie for my tag. I cut out 1 layer of chipboard and two layers of BasicGrey paper to cover the front and back of the chipboard layer. The front was stamped with SU Lace Snowflakes in Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Then I used my crop-o-dile to add eyelets to the top for threading my wire through. Before attaching the handle to the main tag, I added the cheers tag. The verse is from Papertrey Ink and stamped on white with more Walnut Stain Distress Ink. The edges were sponged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a blue border was drawn on with a Stampin Write marker. The cuttlebug snowflakes were made out of chipboard and painted with SnowCap Ranger Paint Dabber. Once they were dry, glitter and a jewel were added.

I think the hostess at your next party would be thrilled to receive this.

Supplies:

• Stamps - Paptertrey Ink
• Ink - Distress Ink Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo
• Paper - Basic Grey, White
• Misc - Nesties, Cuttlebug, Ranger Paint dauber snowcap, Glitter, Crystal effects, Gemstone, Crop-o-dile, Eyelets

Nuggets and Frap Bottles

I discovered a few empty frap bottles in a drawer and decided to give them some new life. I didn't have any Kisses but I did have Nuggets so I pulled out some My Mind's Eye papers and covered the Nuggets before putting them in the bottles.

The Happy Holidays image from SU Riveting (retired hostess set) was embossed in gold on Very Vanilla and then colored with copic markers. A little sponging with Vintage Photo Distress Ink was added to tone down the vanilla a little bit and give it a more aged look. They were then layered on chocolate chip and kraft for the tops and the labels. The ribbon is from May Arts and the twine is from Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts.

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you're having a wonderful day.

Pattern for Magnet Set Box

Ok, I have had some requests for the box pattern for the magnet sets that I posted last month but I couldn't find my template so I pulled one of the boxes apart and took some pictures and measurements.

Cut a piece of cardstock 8 x 7 1/2. Score 3/4 of an inch in from either end on the 7 1/2 inch side. Now working on the 8 inch side we're going to make 4 score lines - 1) score 3/4 of an inch from one end, 2) 3 inches over from the first score line, 3) 3/4 of an inch over from the second score, 4) another 3 inches from the last score line. That should leave you with panels that measure 3/4 inch, 3 inch , 3/4 inch , 3 inch and 1/2 inch.

Now cut the scor lines on the 7 1/2 inch ends as indicated in the photo above. Then to assemble the box, add redline tape (or the adhesive of choice) to the bottom side of 3/4 inch tabs. Note in the photo my redline tape is facing my scorpal. The 3/4 inch tabs are folded up and in and the 3 inch ends are then folded up

Here's the box assembled.

And again, with the magnets inside. I hope you find this helpful. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will try and answer them. Thanks for stopping!

Magnet Sets

I recently participated in a craft show with my friend Rachel Hart of Apron Elegance and Gift an Apron.com. She sews the most amazingly detailed and fun hostess aprons in addition to functional aprons. Her media aprons are so cute with the little vinyl pocket for your cell phone or iPod. Check them out.

Now, on to my magnets. I wanted to create something more than just cards to sell at the craft show so I made up some magnet sets.

Check out Tim Holtz's blog for the directions on how to create these using Tim Holtz Fragments, Glossy Accents and some patterned paper or stamped images.

This set uses the Basic Grey Urban Prairie papers. For packaging I wanted something to stick the magnets to so they didn't just flop around so I went to Home Depot and bought some flat metal brackets. To make them look presentable I sewed a muslin cover over the bracket and trimmed the edges with pinking shears. Finally I created a little box for the muslin covered bracket to fit in and covered it with matching paper. Here's a photo of the set with the matching box.

One of my co-workers saw them and asked for 8 sets so I'd better get to work. They are pretty fun to put together. The Fragments and Glossy Accents are available at Rubbernecker. I purchased the magnets at Michael's. If you're interested in a pattern for the box, leave me a comment and I'll put one together.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

U Rock Chocolates

I found some cute little chocolate rocks and decided to package them up with bag toppers to share them with friends.


I used DCWV Rockstar papers for the toppers. The U is cut from grungeboard and sponged with inks to match the papers. The ROCK on the purple package is stamped from the Hero Arts Monogram Alphabet set using Palette hybrid black ink. The ROCK on the other package is actually part of the designer paper.

Thanks for stopping.

Coaster Frames

I was making some squash books (see here for directions) the other day and looking at the coasters I was using and decided they would be great for little picture frames so here's what I came up with.

I cut a piece of 4x4 patterned paper and rounded the corners with my corner rounder. Next I cut a transparency into a 3 1/4 inch square and sewed it onto the patterned paper with my Janome Sew Mini. After attaching the paper to the front I also covered the back with matching paper and a large piece of magnet. To finish the frames I added a variety of stamped images, ribbons, and flowers.



All of the stamps used are from Inque Boutique. The "dance" is cut out with my cuttlebug and covered in stickles so it sparkles. Wallet sized photos fit perfectly in these frames.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you like the frame idea. Let me know if you try them.

Bon Appetit Hostess Gift

The next time you're invited to a friends for
dinner, consider bringing a hand decorated towel as a hostess gift.


I altered a flour sack towel by sewing a strip of ribbon along the bottom of the towel and then stamping just above the ribbon. For the stamping I arranged the silverware and words from the Bon Appetit set by Clear and Simple Stamps on my acrylic block and then stamped them repeatedly along the bottom of the towel using VersaCraft ink and heat set them with my iron.


I picked up the little tin for $1 at Michael's and thought it would work well to hold the towel so I stamped the Let's Eat sentiment and put that on the front of the tin then added a bow and small little matching gift card to the top. I plan to roll the towel up to fit in the tin.





This will be great to have on hand the next time I need a little hostess gift. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you're all having a wonderful day!

Time for a Girls Getaway!

I made this little coaster box to hold supplies for a Girls Getaway. I covered both sides of 5 coasters with the Marcella K Summer Travel papers and then used my crop-o-dile to punch holes in four of them and thread them together with ribbon to make the box. The Jet-Setter Darling from Clear and Simple Stamps is stamped in Palette Hybrid Noir on white cardstock and colored with Copics. I cut her out and mounted her with pop dots. Inside the box is some body wash, lipgloss, nail polish and an emery board. My bookclub is having an overnight meeting at one of the members cabins next month and I though it would be fun to make these and bring them along. I think I'll tuck some chocolate in them too.

Here's another view

The weather is finally great here in Minnesota. It's sunny and in the 80's. . . perfect! I hope you're enjoying your day. And as always, thanks for stopping by.

Lauren's Gift Wrapper

I didn't get a chance to post my second project yesterday that I did so here it is.

Have you seen all of the cute clear boxes made out of acetate sheets. I love the template that Lauren Meader created. Here's the link to the template on her blog.


I decided to give it a try but instead of using Ghirardelli Chocolate squares I used York Peppermint Pattie Hearts. Eight of them fit nicely in the box. I covered each of them with a band of Martha Stewart Candy shop paper. The strip was cut to 4 1/2 x 2 inches and wrapped around each mint. For the top of the box I just used my crop-o-dile to punch a couple of holes to thread my ribbon through. The band around the box is also from the Martha Stewart Candy shop paper pack. For the label on the front I used my new Hero Arts Frames & Messages set. I stamped the frame and word in Ranger Seashell pink on SU Whisper white then cut it out and added a couple of gemstones for a finishing touch.

This is not an easy thing to photograph but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

As always, thanks for stopping!