Tag Topper Easter Favor

These little Lindt chocolate bunnies went home with me the other day and over the weekend I designed and created these cute little favors.  I took a picture of the three different favors I made while getting to the perfect size~~the Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight favor was the winner.  You will need a piece of cardstock measuring 7-1/2" x 2", scored at 3-3/4' and 4-3/4".  After scoring,  punch both ends of the cardstock using the Scallop Tag Topper punch.  The smallest oval framelit was used to diecut the front, placing it close to the bottom and off to the side.  The reason is so that you see more of the bunny and don't hide the face.  I adhered the bunny using dimensionals on the bottom.  Next time I am going to double layer the dimensionals so it stands up a little more.  I used the Itty Bitty Banner framelit for the sentiment and the little flower from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch set and the Beautiful Wings Embosslit to embellish.  On one I used our rhinestones, on the other little pearls. Have a great day and enjoy the Spring weather!

A Banner Blast

Sale-a-bration comes to an end on March 31st and I wanted to make one more card using SAB products.  Today's card was created around the Banner Blast stamp set and the coordinating banner punch.  After stamping and punching the little banners on the card, I hand cut the red and white longer banners.  The Baker's twine is wrapped around the card and to create the illusion that the banners are hanging from the twine, I adhered them using dimensionals placing the banner tops just above the twine.   I used the retired Stylish Stripes embossing folder to add texture to the card.  Two Real Red Candy Dots were added just because!  And before I put the stamps and ink pads away, I decorated the back of the envelope too!Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stmapin' time.

Quick Easter Favors

I was busy playing with Sydney yesterday, so I did not make a card for today.   But I am posting a photo of a variety of little Easter favors I made for the Cricut ladies.  I used the Explore to cut everything, but you can easily do the same thing with our framelits and/or punches.  The small Reese's peanut butter eggs fit perfectly on layered Oval framelits.  The chocolate coins (Palmer candy) fit perfectly on a couple of our circle framelits and also on a couple of punches that are layered.  I will be making these for Easter with a little sentiment banner added to the front.  Happy Easter (Teeny Tiny Wishes) will be stamped in a coordinating ink color, cut using an Itty Bitty Framelit and adhered to the favor.  A rhinestone colored with a Sharpie marker to match the cardstock will be the finishing touch on the banner.  Now I just need to hide the Reese's peanut butter eggs from myself!!!  Have a great day!

Vivid Vases & DSP

At this month's card classes we used the Vivid Vases stamp that is in the Occasion Mini.  It is on page 20 and is a single stamp.  As this was a popular item, I wanted to post another card I created using the stamp.  (I did customize the stamp for myself when it arrived.  Since I will use the vase part of the stamp more often than as a single image, I carefully cut the sentiment off the stamp before mounting it.  I then adhered the image to one side of the wood block and the sentiment to the other side.)  Now back to today's card!  I stamped the image on white cardstock and again on two pieces of Designer Series Paper (part of the SAB offerings).  I carefully hand cut the vases from the DSP.  After making a little shelf, I sponged the background lightly in Soft Sky and the shelf using Crumb Cake and adhered the DSP vases over the vases stamped on whisper white cardstock.  In my attempt to make this look like a shelf/wall in your house,  I punched the little "pictures" using the Petite Curly Labels punch and hung them on the wall next to the vases.  A sentiment will be added at a later date.  We had a great time with Sydney yesterday and we will be enjoying her again today.  Have a great day and enjoy the sunshine!!

Pink & White Decorative Ball

This is what I spent the better part of yesterday working on in my
scrap room.  It is very pretty but it took hours to complete.  I think next time I make one of these I will use more of the solid color cardstock rather than sponging so much Whisper White cardstock.  I will also be sure to have a  little silk baby's breath to add.  I adhered the flowers to a styrofoam ball with hot glue gun; pins were used to add folded ribbon pieces. Same decorative ball in both photos, different sides and different lighting.  Now I need to get going as we will be picking up Sydney for a sleepover~~yeah!!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Pink & White Easter

I am very pleased with today's card.  The only thing I might change is to use a little darker color, such as Wisteria Wonder.  After stamping the Blessed Easter image (Occasions Mini) using Versamark, I sprinkled it with white embossing powder and hit it with the heat gun.  The Fancy Fan embossing folder is an elegant pattern that does not take away from the soft feel of the card.  Of course, one of my favorite colors is Pink Pirouette, so I would like this card!  If you send out a number of Easter cards, this is one that can easily be produced in multiples.  Have a great day!

A Little Easter Basket

I have been working on my taxes and trying to stay out of my scrap room so today's post is a cute little basket I created using the Explore the other day.  I used a really thick cardstock for this.  The first problem was that even with the setting on cardstock, the blade was not cutting all the way through.  When I finally found a setting that worked, it became apparent that the score line was way too faint.  I could barely see the score line.  I did have to rescore the lines using my Simply Score Tool.  Next time, I will use something a little thinner.  The basket measures approximately 2-1/2" high by 3" wide.  It is the perfect size for a little Easter favor on the dinner table.   It was cut in three pieces, two side pieces and the handle.   I added the little butterfly~~just because!  It is going to be 60 degrees here today, so I plan on enjoying a little fresh air and finishing my taxes.  Have a great day and weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time! 

Hello, My Friend

Happy first day of Spring!  I have been enjoying the birds outside my office window again now that we have had a few warmer days recently.  So needless to say, birds are appearing on my creations, including today's card.  The fence is the Hardwood background stamped on Crumb Cake cardstock, cut into strips and rounded on one end.  I adhered those strips on the front of the card to mimic a fence on which my little birds can perch.  I am sure you recognize the bird as from Stampin' Up's bird builder punch.  I punched birds, but they were a little too big for the layout on this card.  So, I used my Explore to cut out smaller versions of the bird which I exported from MDS as an SVG file.  I used an embossing folder to add a little texture to their wings.  The "hello" is from the A Dozen Thoughts set and "my friend" from the Six-sided Sampler set.  This is a card we will make at a future card class.  It is cute and can be used for a variety of reasons/occasions.  Have a great Spring day!

"Quiet" Cards

Today's cards are on the "quiet" side.  Someone mentioned that they liked "quiet" cards.  As I was in my scrap room wondering what to create, I thought about what a "quiet" card looks like.  So today's cards are my idea of a "quiet" card.  They are "clean and simple" cards, but the simplicity and the subdued color do make them "quiet".  I used two of the stamps in the Peaceful Petals set in the Occasions Mini and Basic Gray ink and cardstock.  On the card to the right, after stamping the leaf image in the corner, I stamped it again without reinking the stamp.  Today I will be having a "quiet" day as I watch videos on using the Cricut Explore.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Pink Peaceful Petals

The card looks easy enough, right?  Well, normally it would be fairly easy.  But for some reason, I was not having a lot of luck.  I must have stamped and cut (using the Scan N Cut) about 6 flowers.  I was using markers and an aqua painter to color the flowers and I would get to the point of near completion and I would go way out of the line!!  I get the card all assembled, go to the Score Board to add a couple of decorative lines at the bottom on the card and the stylus jumps the track~~unwanted indent in the card.  What do do?  Cut off that part of the card and replace it with a scalloped border piece of cardstock.  The overlap of the edge is way too obvious.  Thank goodness for the seam binding.  And as I look at the photo of the card, I see where the water coloring wasn't too good.  Oh well, I will be adding a little butterfly or two!!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thanks to my friend, Kathy, I have a really cute favor to show you today. She saw them while looking for ideas on the internet and she got to work.  She used Lucky Limeade cardstock and Baker's Twine together with Certainly Celery cardstock.  She used a retired stamp for the little tags and punched them out using the Decorative Label Punch.  Kathy made something like 50 of these for the teaching staff at the school at which her daughter is the principal.  I hope the Hershey Corporation appreciates all the crafters who use their products for our creations!!  And then the final photo is that of a couple of images in the Cricut Explore Design Space that caught my eye. I just thought the turtle was a so cute, so instead of a pot of gold, my rainbow has an Irish turtle at the end of it!!  Have a great day and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Names With the Explore

The Cricut Explore has its advantages and disadvantages.  The writing feature is an advantage.  Today's post includes pictures of name tags I made using the Explore.  I chose a banner from the images I have access to in Design Space.  After choosing a font, I added text, hit go and it took me to the cutting mats.  The Explore cut the pink tag layer and then went back and printed the name.  Since each banner had a different name, it took a little time to keep changing the text, but not that much.  If I was drawing or writing using the same design on the same cut, this would have taken a lot less time.  Once the gray layers were cut, all I had to do was assemble them.  The brown tag is another image available to me.  It came with three layers, but since I was only trying out the write feature, I just used the one layer.  Again, I added text to the label, pressed go and the Explore cut and wrote on the label.  The outline on the label is part of the image I chose.  The Cricut has two holders (for lack of a better word). So while one holder is for the blade, the other is for a pen or score tool, so no changing out the blade for the marker!  For now I only have the gray metallic pen that came with my Explore but a set that is specifically for the Explore in on its way.  I will be playing with my Explore over the weekend~~that's for sure!  Have a great day and a great weekend!

Easter Cards

Yesterday I went down to play with my new Cricut Explore.  I wanted to
see if I could figure out how to write names with it.  I was successful with that and I will show the labels I made in another post.  But today I want to share my Easter Cards created using the Explore. (Once again, got sucked into the scrap room for longer than planned!!) The egg on the pink and white card is one of the images I have access to in the Cricut Design Studio.  It showed this image had two layers.  So, I used Pink Pirouette and Early Espresso for the egg.  I really set out to make an Easter card in a box, but the pink and brown egg was way to big for the box.  Now I needed to do something with it~~a quick and easy card.   Then I started playing with the sizing of things.  First the grass was too big, then too small.  One egg was too big, the other just ugly--lol!!  But when all was said and done, someone will be receive a very special Easter card. I like the way it turned out.  The only thing I would change is to make the cross a little taller. I used retired DSP to cover the box and a retired stamp set for the sentiment.   Now this morning, I am going to go downstairs and clean and get ready for classes this weekend~~that's the plan anyway!  Have a great day.

Hardwood Background

Background stamps are a great way to add texture to cards.  The Hardwood background stamp in the Occasions Mini has made its way to my collection and you will be seeing more of it on future projects.  After stamping the background image in Basic Gray ink on white cardstock and choosing Bermuda Bay as the card base, I wondered what I would do next.  But it did not take too long before I stamped and punched colorful flowers from the Flower Shop stamp set.  To the flowers I added a few leaves created using one of the Secret Garden framelits.  After arranging the pieces on the "fence" I added a little vine from the Bird Builder punch and a couple of butterflies. I have a few ideas floating around in my head as to how I will be using this background stamp~~possibilities are endless!  Have a great day and be careful if you are out and about!

First Card In A Box!

Have you seen the pretty little "cards in a box" on the Internet lately?  I have and I have been wanting to make one.  So yesterday afternoon, I went down and got to work.  This first attempt definitely needs to be improved upon, but isn't it just too cute?  The box closes pretty flat and fits into an A2 envelope, measuring 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" when completed.  The sentiment or little note is on the back of the box.  Sending a gift card or money?  No problem!  Just add a little pocket in
the middle of whatever fills your card in a box.  My future creations will be posted here as I am sure there are at least a couple in my future!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

A Spring-like Day!

Well that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it is going to be in the 50's~~at least today!  We will ignore the predicted cold and snowy
Tuesday night!!  Anyway, yesterday at card class we made the roses.  They all turned out very pretty and the ladies were all pleased with their creastions.  Hopefully, by the next card class I will have a hanging rose ball, similar to the curled paper ones I made during the holidays.  I will be working on that during the week.  Over the weekend I did spend some time with my Cricut Explore.  I was just making test cuts and wanted to share a couple of things I cut on the Explore.  I punched a bird from the SU Bird Builder Punch.  I then imported the bird punch SVG file from SU's digital program into the Cricut Design Space and cut large and medium  sized versions of the bird and branch.  And since I was playing with birds,  I wanted to create a card using a bird from one of the Cricut images.  So I cut out this cute little bird, layered her on embossed black cardstock and added a Cricut cut sentiment.  Next project with the Explore is going to be cutting and writing on an image using the Explore for both!  Have a great day and enjoy the sunshine and "warm" weather we have today! 

Cricut Explore

I have had a Cricut electronic die cutting machine for many years and use it for scrapbooking and making embellishments for cards.  Provocraft just introduced a new die cutter, the Cricut Explore.  I wasn't sure I wanted it, but when the Explore was debuted on the Home Shopping Network I ordered it.  Yesterday I was playing with and comparing the Explore with my old Cricuts.  The biggest concern I have so far is that you have to be connected to the internet to use it thru Provocraft's Design Space.  This new machine does have its advantages, including a cleaner cut than I get with my Cricut Expression.  If I am cutting a box that already has the scorelines in the image, not only will the Cricut cut the box, it will score it, too!  I do not have to change blades either.  This machine holds both the cutting blade and score tool or pen at the same time!  I love that feature.  You can change the blade setting by turning a dial to adjust the blade depth.  When you insert one of the images in the Design Space, it appears on the screen fully layered!  So if you have an image with three layers, each layer is a different color and on a separate mat. Plus, I can bring my Stampin' Up and other SVG files into the Design Space and save them for future use.  For right now, the biggest disadvantage is that  you have to be connected to the internet to  cut images . Everything you do is stored in a "cloud".  So it isn't like you can design something and then save it to your computer~~Provocraft "stores" it all.  My cartridges will be linked to the Design Space but cannot be used alone as with my old Cricuts.  You will hear more about the Explore but for today, I am posting a card I made using images from the Cricut Design Studio.  And just for the heck of it, I added one of my little butterflies--lol!!  Don't forget to "spring" your clocks ahead this weekend!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

More Happy Watercolor!

It has become evident that I am getting a lot of use out of my Happy Watercolor stamp set.  And here is yet another post displaying the use of that set.  The layouts of both the greeting card and the 3"x 3" gift card came right from Stampin' Up.  One of the perks of being a SU demonstrator is a magazine we receive which includes business and product use suggestions.  The most recent Stampin' Success issue included a number of ideas using the Happy Watercolor stamp set.  I absolutely loved what SU created and I wanted to recreate their work using product I had.  So,  SU used Coastal Cabana and Baked Brown Sugar cardstock and gold ink for their samples.  I switched the colors to Strawberry Slush and Smokey Slate cardstock and ink.  SU used Linen Thread which looked very nice on their creations as it coordinated very nicely with the Baked Brown Sugar.  I dyed white baker's twine using Smokey Slate reinker and rubbing alcohol to create Smokey Slate twine.  And I think it looks great!  As a matter of fact, I will be ordering more white bakers twine with the next order I place.  I see a lot of twine dying in the near future!  I do have all of the reinkers so at a cost of $2.95 for 25 yards of twine, it is a rather inexpensive way to add a pretty embellishment to my cards/tags.  When you notice my cards have colored twine on them, you will know my order arrived!!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Coral, Strawberry & Black

Today's cards are about the color combination of Strawberry Slush, Calypso Coral and Black.  (The colors are not showing up as pretty as they are in real life!)  The thank you card was created using the Happy Watercolor set and black ink.  Quick and easy.  The Mother's Day card took a little more effort, but thanks to my little stash of butterflies (Beautiful Wings embosslit) all I had to do was stamp and adhere!!  I really like the font and the design of the sentiment, one of the stamps from the My Mother set also in the Occasions Mini.  When I recreate the Mother's Day card, I will stamp the color blocking under the butterflies over to the left edge more. Well we are having another snowy morning here in the Chicago area, so I guess I will have another play day in the scrap room!!  Have a great day and be careful!

Paper Roses

Aren't these pretty?  In the past I have posted photos of three dimensional flowers I created using my Cricut electronic cutter.  And because I have an electronic cutter, I wasn't sure about investing in the SU die.  But I did!  And of course, the minute I opened it, I had to use it.  The picture to the left is a group of the variety of roses I made.  Each rose is a little different.  The rose in the center is a little sad looking, but it was my first--lol!!  A couple were made with solid cardstock and one diecut, a couple made using two diecuts, one using DSP and a couple have sponged petals. Then I wanted to create something on which to use the roses.  The red rose on the gift tag is the most perfect rose I made while the white rose with Crisp Cantaloupe sponged petals is the prettiest.  At card class we will be making roses and you will be able to choose which item you prefer to create together with the greeting of your choosing.  Either will be a pretty addition to a gift for any occasion.  Have a great day!

Anniversary Cards

We celebrated our 40th anniversary with our children, of course.  And it was a wonderful celebration!  Jen and Sydney both made cards for this occasion and I couldn't post  Sydney's and not Jennifer's, so here are both! While Sydney used 3 dimensional stickers, Jen embellished her card with hearts she stitched after using the Festive Paper Piercing Pack to make the heart patterns.  Sydney's card was created using the colors Baja Breeze, Regal Rose and Crumb Cake.  Jen used Pool Party, Pink Pirouette and white.  Interesting how alike the cards are considering they made them at different times! I guess it's "like mother like daughter" more often than one realizes!! Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!!