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Creative Crew Tree Tag

Creative Crew Tree Tag published on 8 Comments on Creative Crew Tree Tag

Hi everyone!  I am here today with another of my Creative Crew Challenge projects.  The Creative Crew Gallery is so inspirational this month.  You’ll be amazed by the variety of projects!  Staying within my chosen colors of Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and a neutral, the challenge is to create a home decor item (keyword:  CCREW1211HF, CreativeCrew).

The amazing and talented Connie Babbert from Inkspired Treasures created a card for one of the Freshly Made Sketches challenges that had a cool Christmas tree on it.  Immediately I knew I wanted to turn it into a tag.  I contacted her to make sure it was okay to CASE (Copy and Share Everything) for a class.  Not only did she say yes, she had a brilliant suggestion.  Her card used real buttons but for a tag class (5 tags of each design) that isn’t practical.  She said to use the Buttons #5 Die.  Problem solved!!  Stampin’ Up demonstrators are really some of the most generous people I know!  I adjusted the measurements a little from hers.  My largest triangle is a 1 3/4″ square cut on the diagonal and then a 1 1/2″, 1 1/4″ and 1 ” square cut the same way.  The sentiment is pulled from the Season of Joy word stamp and the tree trunk is Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon.

Now just look at my little bag on my entry way table.  Isn’t it great??  I stamped the tissue paper with the snowflake from Bright Hopes to make it coordinate with the colors of the tag.  I also found some wrapping paper that matches this tag for my presents so cross another thing off of the Christmas to-do list!

 

I hope you enjoy this little tag idea as much as my class did!  Thanks again to Connie for the idea!  I’ll be back tomorrow with the latest Freshly Made Sketches Challenge.  This week is my turn on creating the sketch!  Thanks for stopping in today.  Hope your week is great!

Stamps:  Season of Joy, Bright Hopes; Paper:  Frostwood Lodge DSP, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories:  Big Shot, Buttons #5 Die, Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon, Baker’s Twine, 1/8″ Hole Punch, Dimensionals, Crystal Effects (on the button)

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Fun Flowers Hair Band

Fun Flowers Hair Band published on 13 Comments on Fun Flowers Hair Band

I mentioned before that the Creative Crew Challenges this month required us to choose a color group for all of our projects.  I almost stumbled on the wearable art challenge.  What to make with Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and a neutral??!!  Then I remembered the Deck the Halls fabric!

I found a cool tutorial on these poofy flowers at Jones Design Company and I thought it would be fun to use on a hair band.  Now their tutorial has you hand cut flowers out of felt.  I let my Big Shot do all the work and it cut my fabric with the Fun Flowers Die (I cut about 5 layers at a time).  She also cut the little corner before adding the hot glue and I did not do this step.  I did not take pictures (unfortunately) because this was my first try and a big experiment.  Wish I had because it was easy!  The first thing I did was take my Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding roll and grab the end of the ribbon.  Found a center thread and started pulling until I had enough scrunched ribbon to double up for the center.  I simply folded it in half, added some hot glue to the ends and stuck it to the center of my felt piece (I did use felt as the base like in the tutorial…might try just the fabric next time).  I gave it some time to set up and then started adding the folded up flowers until the base was full.  Then I set it aside to dry.  I cut a slightly smaller circle from the felt and created a “sandwich”.  First the smaller felt piece, then the hair band, finally the decorated felt piece.  I attached the two felt pieces with hot glue and smooshed the hair band in-between.

My next critical step was to check it with the toughest critics of all…two 8 year old girls!  I knew they would be honest!  Two of my oldest son’s best friends helped me out and they are both “pictured” here with permission of their moms.  Now I thought about this as a hair band, of course, but apparently one of the new trends in the young girl crowd here is to wear the hair bands on their wrists.  I have to say, this is really cute that way!!  I am starting to debate other options including velcro.  These could be interchangeable but then just making a bunch to go with every outfit is easy enough.  I think I may make more for some nieces as a fun treat!  I knew was on to something by the reaction of one of the girls.  I took the hair band to a workshop at her mom’s house on Tuesday night.  I had promised her that it was hers as soon as I was done with pictures and the party.  In my packing up I inadvertently put the hair band in my bag and brought it home.  She was none too thrilled with me in the morning when she expected to get up and wear it to school.  Needless to say, I have fixed my error and saw her wearing it the very next day!

I will give you the cautionary tale of the hot glue gun.  Ummm, the glue is hot.  Yep, I was a little too quick to touch the glue while sealing the two felt circles and burned my finger.  Don’t let it happen to you!  My finger is fine…no worries.

Tomorrow is one of my favorite classes of the year, the Christmas Tag Class.  I will be back next week with some of the samples!  Until then, I hope you have a fantastic weekend!  Thanks for stopping in today!

Accessories:  Deck the Halls fabric, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Big Shot, Hair Band, Hot Glue Gun, Felt

Creative Crew Sketch

Creative Crew Sketch published on 7 Comments on Creative Crew Sketch

Happy December everyone!  Today I am bringing you the first of my Creative Crew projects for the month.  Our overall theme this month is Color My World and the whole team chose different color combinations for their work.  My colors choices were Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and a neutral.  Yes, yes…I chose to work with some of my very favorite colors for the holidays!

I thought this sketch was so much fun and really unique.  You have to go see all the different variations that the Creative Crew team came up with!

My card has a very clean feel to it.  The contrast of the dark rich Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler snowflakes against the Very Vanilla really appealed to me.  I love that this is a card that can be made in large quantities and mailed without extra shipping charges!  Perfect for those last minute Christmas cards!  The sentiment is from Season of Joy.  I isolated one of the phrases from the big stamp of words.  Basic Pearls seem to be just the right finish for these snowflakes.  So glad they come in packs of a lot of pearls!!  I seem to be using them on everything!

I hope you will be able to join us at Splitcoastampers this month.  If you use this sketch the key words are CCREW1211DF and CreativeCrew.  I will be posting more projects over the next couple of weeks but if you want to see them all go check out my gallery.

Thanks for dropping by today.  I hope that you have a wonderful day!

Stamp:  Season of Joy; Paper:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories:  Big Shot, Northern Frost Die, Basic Pearls

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Freshly Made Sketches #13

Freshly Made Sketches #13 published on 12 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #13

The layout from Freshly Made Sketches this week is courtesy of the amazing Lesley Croghan from Always Playing with Paper.  Lesley is an incredibly talented stamper (who apparently never sleeps!).  She is the creator of the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge as well as the Paper Players Challenge.  All this takes a back seat to her just being a fantastic person…make sure you go check out her blog.  I know you will find new favorites there.

I definitely put emphasis on the clean part of the design today.  I knew I wanted to use the Silver Glimmer Paper to create snowflakes with my Northern Frost Die and wow are they pretty (sadly, the camera just never captures the sparkle).  With the emphasis on those snowflakes I kept the rest of the card fairly neutral.  I used the Snow Burst Embossing Folder on both Whisper White and Cherry Cobbler then chose one to show the embossed side and one to show the debossed side.  I tied on some Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding for balance and then topped off the snowflakes with Basic Pearls.  Yes, I did color them Cherry Cobbler.  You see, I have a brother-in-law that used to work for Sharpie and when I was up visiting their house a couple of weekends ago I asked if they had this color.  When my dear sister-in-law said she did, she was kind enough to let me come home with it.  I debated adding a sentiment but, after staring at the card for a couple of days, decided to go without.  I may add it on as a tag from the bow.  What do you think??

You will be amazed by the work the design team has for you this week.  Such wonderful variety!!  I can’t wait to see what you do with the sketch…so many choices for those shapes!

I’ll be back tomorrow with my latest project for the Creative Crew.  Until then, have a great day!!  Thanks so much for dropping by!

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper; Accessories:  Big Shot, Northern Frost Die, Snow Burst EF, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

SUOC33 – Holiday Colors

SUOC33 – Holiday Colors published on 9 Comments on SUOC33 – Holiday Colors

SU Only Challenges is back with another awesome theme – Holiday Colors.  We want you to show us the colors that inspire your holiday decorating, card making and crafting.  I have to say that it wasn’t a big stretch for me to commit to my color selection on this one.  The color of the season for me this year has been Always Artichoke.  I have been drawn to this color for many years but my use had faded a bit over the last couple of Christmas seasons.  Well, it has come back with full force this year.  I can tell you there is a direct correlation to my getting Bright Hopes and the resurgence!

I love the tree in Bright Hopes…love it.  The simple elegance lends itself to monochromatic cards and I have enjoyed making those all season.  It seemed appropriate that I make another for this challenge.  I started by inking the tree in Versamark Ink and then with my Always Artichoke Pad.  After stamping it on Naturals Ivory, I heat embossed it with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder.  I did the same for the sentiment.  Pictures can never capture how much the heat embossing adds  but the bit of texture and shine is pretty in person.  I added a little more holiday feel by scrunching up my Always Artichoke Seam Binding along the edge of the tree panel.  I just ran a little glue along the edge and created the pleats behind the panel.  This panel was popped up on Dimensionals.  I put the sentiment on a little banner to add a little more dimension.  Of course the tree isn’t complete without some Basic Pearls so I added one to the center and two little one on the sentiment banner.  Because it is a Christmas tree, this card also qualifies for the Our Creative Corner: O Christmas Tree Challenge.

I am so excited to see all the color variations you will show us this week.  Remember that you have 10 days to participate!  The team has provided some fantastic inspiration as always!

I will be back tomorrow with a new challenge from Freshly Made Sketches and Thursday will bring new Creative Crew projects.  Hope to see you back as the week goes on!  Have a great day!

Stamp:  Bright Hopes; Paper:  Naturals Ivory, Always Artichoke; Ink:  Always Artichoke, Versamark; Accessories:  Heat Tool, Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

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Freshly Made Sketches #12

Freshly Made Sketches #12 published on 13 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #12

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome back for another fun challenge from Freshly Made Sketches!  This week’s sketch is courtesy of the amazing Jen Mitchell from I Create and boy does she ever create!  Her style is so cool.  She has a knack for wonderful clean lines but her cards always have a “wow” factor!

I took another non-holiday turn for this card.  I don’t know about you but I have some family members who have December birthdays.  I always try to make something for them that makes them feel special and that in no way reflects Christmas.  So out came the Beau Chateau DSP and off I went.  This paper seems to call out for a flower but instead of stamping one, I created one from my Fun Flowers die.  I folded up a piece of wrapping tissue paper and ran it through the Big Shot.  Since my tissue paper was white and this paper has a sponged element I sponged the layers with some Crumb Cake ink.  The center of the flower is a Crumb Cake button from my Neutrals pack.  The little banner is stamped on another piece of DSP from the set and grounded with an additional button.   A little bit of Linen Thread was tied onto both buttons to complete the look.  Between the Big Shot and the DSP, this is one of those cards that looks harder than it is…love it when that happens!

Thanks so much for dropping in today.  Make sure you go see what the rest of the team has created to inspire you.  They always amaze me!  I certainly hope that you get some crafting time this week and will show us your version of the sketch.  I will be off for a few days for the Thanksgiving holiday but next week promises to be full of posts!  For those of you in the US, I wish you a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!  See you soon!

Stamp:  All Holidays (retired); Paper:  Beau Chateau DSP, Soft Suede; Ink:  Soft Suede, Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Big Shot, Fun Flowers Die, Neutrals Buttons, Linen Thread, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Sponges, Wrapping Tissue Paper

Stocking Gift Card Holder

Stocking Gift Card Holder published on 6 Comments on Stocking Gift Card Holder

I’m continuing today with another project from my Christmas Wow Class last week.  Let’s face it, we all end up needing to give gift cards sometimes.  I know I personally love the gift of shopping for myself so I ask for them.  The problem is always in the presentation.  A gift card by itself always seems to be missing something.

I found this fun tutorial from Michelle Suit at Faith, Trust and Pixiedust and knew that I had to make it!  I changed the outer design but kept to her measurements and directions.  Thanks Michelle for a wonderful tutorial!  I used Old Olive and Early Espresso for my stocking colors.  My stocking is embossed with the Snow Burst Embossing Folder and I added the Baker’s Twin as trim for the Early Espresso pieces.  You do this by laying down a very thin line of Multipurpose Glue (Tombo).  I added some snowflakes from my Northern Frost die and a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  The magic of this is on the inside!

Look at the gift card!  Tucked neatly inside the little stocking!  This is so easy to do with your Word Window Punch that you won’t believe it.  My “to/from” is from an unknown set from Stampin’ Up.  I think the set is gone but I kept this stamp.  I will tell you that Sticky Strip is your good friend when putting together this card.  You won’t have to worry about anything coming apart no matter who gets this!

The best part…now you can wrap this up in a little box and the recipient can ooh and aah and still get the gift card they wanted.  Perfect!  Cross off another project done for Christmas!

I’ll be back tomorrow with my latest card for Freshly Made Sketches.  Don’t forget to check back.  You’ll want to have this sketch on hand for any spare crafting time you get over the holiday weekend!  Thanks so much for dropping by today!

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Unknown SU; Paper:  Old Olive, Early Espresso, Whisper White; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories:  Big Shot, Holiday Stocking Die, Snow Burst EF, Northern Frost Die, Early Espresso Baker’s Twine, Word Window Punch, Sticky Strip, Mini Glue Dots

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Online Extravaganza is here!!

Online Extravaganza is here!! published on No Comments on Online Extravaganza is here!!

All the information about Stampin’ Up’s Online Extravaganza is available at my Online Store .  You can save 20% to 60% off of selected items.  For TODAY ONLY, you can save 20% off of the Simply Scored Scoring Tool and the Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps!  Click here or on my “Shop Online” airplane to see all the details!!

 

 

Snowman Easel Card

Snowman Easel Card published on 6 Comments on Snowman Easel Card

All this week I have had a Christmas Wow Class for my local stampers.  We made three cards that are a bit more over the top with details.  When I am planning a Wow Class, I look to techniques or folds in addition to more accessories.  The first card we made was an easel card.  Until I made the one for the Creative Crew, I had no idea how easy they are (and with such impact)!

Last Wednesday I talked to you a little about the pros and cons of feet on a snowman.  In this card, the feet work perfectly so here they are.  I stamped this fellow in Stazon Black onto Whisper White paper.  With my blender pen I followed the shading lines using Crumb Cake ink on the snowman’s body and face.  Then I added his Tangerine Tango nose and went to work on the rest.  Don’t forget to use light and dark shading to add visual depth!  I tied the little Mini Jingle Bells onto Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine to add more texture.  Since this is an easel card it can fold closed.  The jingle bell on the bottom could present a bit of a problem if mailing so just use a plain bow if you want the postal service to handle it.  I think mine is likely to go in a package or gift bag so I am set.  The final little thing to do was add a little extra dimension to that snowball.  I cut out a second one and popped it up on a Mini Glue Dot that was rolled up.

A wow card doesn’t have to be overly busy.  It just has a lot of little details that make it special.  You might not want to make 60 of them but 5-10 might be lots of fun.  For the record…my five year old son who is really taking off on his reading looked at the sentiment and found it hilarious because the snowman was throwing snow.  What better gift for a card maker than to have someone find so much humor in it??!!

I should be back on Monday with another of my projects but also be on the lookout for an early post with the details about the Online Extravaganza!!  Have a great weekend!

Stamp:  Snow Much Fun; Paper:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Whisper White; Ink:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Tangerine Tango; Accessories:  Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Blender Pen, Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine, Mini Jingle Bells, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

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Get ready to shop!!

Get ready to shop!! published on No Comments on Get ready to shop!!

Sorry that I didn’t post my promised card yesterday.  School activities for my children have taken more time than I expected.  But the Kindergarten Feast was great and a fun run/fundraiser went really well!  I don’t have the pictures ready so I will try to get them up tomorrow.  Instead, I have great news from Stampin’ Up that I want everyone to know about!!

Online Extravaganza is coming to Stampin’ Up on Monday.  How do you take advantage??  Just log into my online store by clicking here or on my shop online airplane icon on Monday, November 21st.  There will be all kinds of things like free Digital Downloads valued at $40 with you purchase of MDS Express, 60% off select designer fabrics, and 30% off an exclusive ribbon bundle.  Additionally, there will be two items on sale for 24 hours only (Nov. 21st from 12:01a – 11:59p).  I don’t know the details until Monday but be on the lookout.  I’m sure they will be great!!

Ok, off to see if I can get some pictures ready for posting!  Have a great Friday!

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