a Valentine treat

Hello stamping friends!! I have a super cute Valentine treat bag to share today:

I was going to help a group of teachers make this treat bag and some corner bookmarks on Tuesday, but it snowed like crazy, so we had to reschedule for next month. (Is anyone else really sick of winter???) I'm sharing the treat bag today, and I'll share the bookmarks with a simple tutorial in another post.

First, I embossed the Gift Bag using the Adorning Accents Embossing Folder with the tiny little hearts. Then I attached the whole focal point with Dimensionals.
To create the focal point: I used the Circles #2 Die to die-cut the Red Glimmer Paper, and tied some Linen Thread around the circle for some extra "pretty." The Hearts A Flutter stamp set and coordinating Framelits, along with Real Red, Blushing Bride, and Soft Sky ink, create the three stamped pieces. I also stamped "love you" (from the Express Yourself hostess stamp set) inside the larger heart. The last heart is courtesy of the adorable Small Heart punch and Blushing Bride card stock.
Wouldn't this be the cutest packaging for a simple gift of candy or a gift card??  :}

On a personal note: I've really missed sharing with all of you, and a big "aww, thanks" to those of you who check in on me from time to time. I know I won't be posting every day again anytime soon, but I will pop in here and there to share a variety of projects.
If there's one thing I've learned in the past few months, it's that moving stinks even more than I already knew! I can't believe it's been a year since we closed on our house in Wisconsin... and I'm so dismayed at how slow the "settling in" has gone. Just when I think we are back on track, BAM - Aaron's asthma goes bonkers. Or BAM - plumbing leak. I know we'll get done, eventually... 
Being cooped up in the house with the unusually cold temperatures and extra snow this past month has been sort-of a good thing for me. It's given me a little time to focus some energy in my craft space - YAY!!! I'm having a hard time trying to fit everything in to a smaller space. I try things one way for a while, and when it doesn't work I move it all around again. Sigh... at least it's exercise, right???

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is such a special day... A day for thanking our Moms and all of the Mother figures in our lives who have guided us, prayed for us, and taught us to be who we are today. 

One of the best things about stamping your own cards, is that you can create a one-of-a-kind card that fits the personality of the receiver. My Mom loves the vintage style, and really loves cards with lots of layers. I worked on this card quite a while yesterday to get it "just right." Hope she likes it! 
I started with a Pretty in Pink card base. To that I added a layer of Tea For Two DSP, which I dry embossed in the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder to double-up on the quilted look. Then came the layers... 

For the two sentiments I used two different stamp sets - You're Amazing and Teeny Tiny Wishes. Both sentiment layers have Crumb Cake ink sponged around the edges, and the larger sentiment also has a little spritzing on it with a Lucky Limeade marker. 
Since my darling angels that made me a mother are begging for breakfast, I'll give you the shorthand version for the rest of the layers.  :} 

Delicate Doilies Sizzlit, Lucky Limeade card stock

Hearts a Flutter Framelit, Tea For Two DSP

Pretty in Pink button, Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine

Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon,  Paper Daisy

Papillon Potpourri stamp set, Elegant Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch

Basic Pearls 

Happy Mother's Day to all of our mothers, in our homes and in our hearts, and to all those who have "mothered" us through the years. God bless you!  

Teacher Appreciation Week - Friday

Whew! I made it... five gifts (well, ten since they're for two different teachers) in five days. See the smoke coming from my paper trimmer?   ;) 

All of the gifts were fun to make, and the teachers deserve them very much! Both of my boys have talented, kind, helpful teachers. We are so blessed! 
I'm not sure how I will live without the Fancy Favor Bigz XL die. I was actually shocked to find this "go-to" Big Shot die on the Retiring List. Well, I won't exactly be "living without"... it will go into my vault!
Anywho, I assembled the Fancy Favor box to hold gardening gloves and seed packets. The largest flower (Mixed Bunch) is stamped in Melon Mambo ink onto Twitterpated DSP and punched out with the Blossom punch. The other two flowers (Fruit & Flowers) are also stamped in Melon Mambo ink; one onto Blushing Bride card stock, and the other onto Whisper White card stock. 
I've seen the sentiment "thanks for helping me grow" added to a nice flowering plant. That would have been a super gift, but as I mentioned in the other "teacher appreciation gift" posts, the boys are the delivery service for all of these. And they ride the bus to school, for about twelve entire minutes. Boys can do lots of things in twelve minutes! Can't you just picture the dirt trail from their bus seat, down the steps, into the school, down the hallway... Ummm yeah, seeds work just as well with this sentiment. I created the sentiment using My Digital Studio, and then trimmed it to fit. Easy peasy! To make sure it all arrived inside the Fancy Favor box, I slipped the gifts into Gusseted Cellophane Bags and tied them closed with Melon Mambo Scallop Dots Ribbon.

And now... the conclusion to Aaron's animal alphabet book! I hope you found some inspiration for your classroom and/or punch art creations in this book.

 

Teacher Appreciation Week - Thursday

A week of teacher appreciation gifts was a great idea... right up until I saw Tuesday's and Wednesday's gifts in Aaron's backpack! Aaagh! I emailed his teacher so she could ask him if he has anything in his bag to turn in. Silly little boy...

Sometimes a gift card is the perfect gift. I do worry that it doesn't seem very personal... that's where the "delivery system" takes center stage. Once a gift card is wrapped up in pretty packaging, it becomes fabulous!
Using a 4 x 12" piece of card stock, I designed a pretty gift card holder. Since my gift card is for that yummy coffee shop we all know and love, I thought the BIG mug in the Tea Shoppe stamp set would be perfect. I put the holder together so that it looks like the card is sitting in the mug.   :} 
I used a 22" piece of Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon to tie the gift card holder closed. Since I didn't want the ribbon to fall off once the holder was open, I adhered a 4-1/4" square of Chocolate Chip card stock to the back. 
If I were personally hand-delivering these gift cards, I would have stopped there. But since they were being delivered by two little boys, I enclosed them in Clear Envelopes for a little extra safe keeping.   :}  

And now... a few more pages from Aaron's animal alphabet book- 

Teacher Appreciation Week - Wednesday

While making the teacher appreciation gift packaging for the Wednesday gift, I stumbled across a really nice color combination: Basic Black, Melon Mambo, and Soft Sky. Yowza! These colors are great together!! 

Everyone can use a fun clip-on scent holder for the car, right?? The bags are tied closed with Melon Mambo Scallop Dots ribbon. Then I used 1/8" Basic Black Taffeta ribbon to tie on the tag. 
For the tag, I started by stamping (Forever with You) in black StazOn®, and die cutting the image with the Window Frames Framelits. Then I adhered a strip of Melon Mambo card stock. After punching out a layer of Soft Sky card stock with the Decorative Label punch, I wrote my greeting, and attached it to the tag with Dimensionals. A single rhinestone adds just the right amount of "bling." 

For those of you following Aaron's animal alphabet book pages, here are a few more for your classroom and/or punch art inspiration...  

sweet mojo

Here's a little insight into my floopy thought process... When I saw this week's Mojo Monday sketch, I thought, "aww, what a sweet card that would make! Sweet, sweet, something sweet... chocolate, chocolate covered cherries (no clue as to why I thought of those), oh hey - the cherries will be ready to pick in a few months... cherries! I have a cherry stamp!" Can't image where my son gets the ADD from... SQUIRREL!

And so here we are.   :} 
It is a pretty sweet card, isn't it?! The Riding Hood Red card base measures 4-1/4" square (closed). Can you believe I ended up raiding three DSPs (Twitterpated, Summer Smooches, Regals Stack) for those little strips?  *** Tip: I doubled up the Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine before tying it around the 4" square Lucky Limeade card stock so that my bow would stand out more - cute!!

I used Lucky Limeade and Riding Hood Red Markers to ink the cherry stamp (Button Buddies), which I die cut using a Labels Collection Framelit. Two Riding Hood Red buttons (from my vault, of course) are adhered over the fruit with Mini Glue Dots - mega cute!! For my greeting, I used a Basic Black Marker to ink the words on a stamp in the Storybook Friends stamp set.  Happy, happy, happy  :}   
I think pretty much everything I used, except the stamp for my greeting and the Framelit, is retiring. Remember, retiring accessories (DSP, embellishments, ribbon, stamp wheels, card stock) are available only while supplies last. You can shop for your favorites here, before they are all gone. Oh, and several goodies are on sale!  Have a SWEET day!! 

saying farewell to favorites

While I do get super excited when a new Stampin' Up! catalog is about to start, sometimes it's hard to say goodbye to some of my favorite retiring products. The Build a Blossom stamp set and Blossom Petals punch are two coordinating goodies I'm having trouble letting go of. They will most likely make their way into my "vault."  :} 

I like how you can make a special, elegant flower that's sure to cheer anyone up! The stamp set has both flower and leaf images that fit perfectly in the punch. 

When assembling the flower, I like to punch out a scrap circle to have a base for adhering the petals. 
One of my favorite flowers to make with these goodies is a poinsettia. It looks nice on cards, scrapbook pages, and gifts!

And buried in my computer files was a video tutorial I made a while ago showing you how easy this is to make! 

Don't you just want to make some right now!!  ;)  I love how amazing the flowers turn out. Make a few for your friends and they will think you are the craftiest person they ever met.  :}  

Be to to shop for all of your favorite retiring goodies before they are all gone!

the return of Soft Sky

It will be a few days before I get my goodies from the "new Cattie pre-order," but I'm too darn excited about some of the colors that are retuning. Sooooo, I got into my vault (aka "paper-crafting stuff I'm hoarding"). I pulled some Soft Sky card stock, retired ribbon, and retired DSP from my vault, and paired them with this week's Mojo Monday sketch to create this pretty card- 

I might be getting a little obsessed with the Papillon Potpourri stamp set, but it's so pretty, and has punches that coordinate! Technically it's Groovy Guava in that retired DSP, but I think it works nicely with Calypso Coral on this card. I'm so happy Calypso Coral is moving into our "core" colors!

To add a subtle look of four "boxes," I added score lines an inch apart on the Whisper White card stock.   **Tip: Before adhering punched butterflies (or flowers) to your project, curl the edges up slightly to add more interest. 

So how do you start playing with these fun new colors like Soft Sky if you don't have a vault of retired goodies??? All you need is a good color combination! Here's what Soft Sky looks like when paired with Pumpkin Pie and Wild Wasabi- 

Love this color combo!! I see a lot of "boy" cards in my crafting future using these colors. 
FYI - those Pumpkin Pie brads are on the "chopping block." The retiring accessories are available only while supplies last, so be sure to shop now before all the good stuff is gone!   ;) 

sympathy cards for family

I'll be back in a few days... my husband's grandfather passed away Thursday morning. 

stamp sets: So Sorry, Everything Eleanor 
ribbon: 7/8" Natural Cotton, 5/8" Crochet Trim, Linen Thread

The crumb Cake card stock layer gets it's pretty design from the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder. I used a stamping sponge to rub a little Whisper White Craft ink over the raised areas.

If you have a minute, I would be so thankful if you could include my family in your prayers. Thank you.

a Fun pink Flower... and LAST day for FREE shipping

It occurred to me the other day that it's been a while since I used the Fun Flowers Bigz Die - gasp!! So I had to fix that situation right away. 

I used the Raining Flowers stamp set to stamp with Pretty in Pink ink onto the same color card stock. After tying some grosgrain ribbon onto a strip of Tea for Two DSP, the real fun began.   :}   

Using the Big Shot, I cut two layers of Regal Rose card stock on the Fun Flowers Bigz Die. To make the flowers soft and pretty, I spritzed them with a little water, crumbled them up, and then opened them and arranged the petals to have a slight curve. After the flowers were dry, I sponged some Regal Rose ink around the edges. A 3/4" Lucky Limeade Circle, and a pink button threaded with Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine make a simple flower center. 

*** Don't forget that today is the last day to get FREE SHIPPING from Stampin' Up! - no minimum; no limit!!!!  Shop now for everything you need to make fabulous Spring projects. ***

a pink princess card

I have two boys, so I don't create a whole lot of "girlie-girl" projects. I tend to overdo it with the pink when I'm making something for a little girl... just can't help myself! Today's card is very pink, but I toned it down a little bit by adding a layer of Brushed Silver card stock (dry embossed). 

I made this card for one of my neighbors to send to her niece. My neighbor, Fatima, has a sister who recently gave birth to twins. This has created the usual older-sibling tension for Fatima's niece, Amira. So I suggested that a pretty, girlie card would give Amira (who is affectionately called "princess") a little extra attention and cheer her up. I started with the You Rule stamp set, added lots of Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink, and finished with some bling to create the perfect card for a nice little girl. 

A fancy card needs extra special details. I used the Scallop Trim Border punch to create a delicate edge. Then I used the Scallop Trim Corner punch to create a pretty little ending on my 1/2" wide greeting strip. 

After adding some Rhinestones and Large Rhinestones, I spritzed the whole card liberally with my mixture of Frost White Shimmer Paint in rubbing alcohol. It only shows up a tiny bit in the photo, but trust me, it's super sparkly! I'm sure Amira will love it.   :}  

***** Need some pretty embellishments in your crafting stash? Get them now with FREE SHIPPING! The free shipping offer from Stampin' Up! only lasts through tomorrow, so don't delay. Be sure to check out my stampin' Rewards Spot to see what you can earn with your online order! ***** 

FREE shipping on all of your scrapbook supplies!

It's been a while since I shared a "taditional" scrapbook page, so I have a pretty SPRING scrapbook layout to share with you today! 

The 12x12 pages are Certainly Celery card stock, and the three stamped chevron images that are stamped directly onto the pages in Lucky Limeade ink are from the Oh, Hello stamp set. All of the DSP on this two-page layout is from the Tea for Two package... I love how it all coordinates!
Remember in yesterday's post I said my card was inspired by a scrapbook page? Well, check out the title of this page! This is what gave me the idea for the card.  :}   

supplies used for the banner: 

Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon

Tea for Two DSP 

Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Early Espresso, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, and Very Vanilla card stock

stamp sets: Hearts a Flutter, Occasions Alphabet, and Oh, Hello

Framelits: Hearts a Flutter

punches: 1-3/4" Circle, Petite Pennants, Petite Curly Label

more supplies used on this page: 

Labels Collection Framelits 

Elegant Butterfly and Bitty Butterfly punches

Vellum card stock

Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine

Soooo, now that you want to scrapbook some of your Spring photos, how about getting FREE shipping on those supplies???  Yahoo!!! 

Remember, some of the colors I used on my scrapbook layout are retiring, so shop now before they're gone! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Happy shopping!  :}

a pretty Thank You card

Hello stamping friends! It's finally warming up a bit (close to 60 degrees this weekend!!) and the snow is melting. That means it's time to stamp some "thank you" cards with a springy theme.   :} 

We made this card in my class at the bakery last weekend. Don't you just love the butterflies?! I'm so glad the Bitty Butterfly punch came out in the Spring Catalog. It layers nicely with the Elegant Butterfly punch. Speaking of that Elegant Butterfly piece... notice the chevron image stamped onto the Calypso Coral card stock??? I used the oval-chevron image in the Oh, Hello stamp set to stamp with Calypso Coral ink onto the same color card stock, then punched out the butterfly. Easy peasy  ;)
And speaking of punches, I used four of them on this card! Layered under the butterflies is a circle of Tea for Two DSP. The 1-3/4" Circle punch centers perfectly over the stitched-circle image on the DSP - yay! And layered under the circle is a bit of Early Espresso card stock punched out with the Decorative Label punch. 

A strip of the Tea for Two DSP is adhered to the card after tying some grosgrain ribbon around it. I stamped the stitched-chevron image in Pretty in Pink, and then stamped my greeting (in Calypso Coral) so that it slightly overlapped. The layers of punched pieces are adhered to the card with Dimensionals.

I hope it is beginning to look like Spring wherever you are. If you have a minute, I have a little Friday Freebie on my Facebook Page today. Have a wonderful day!!

one sketch... two cards

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! It was sunny and kinda warm (51 degrees in the afternoon!), so the boys spent the day running around outside keeping you all safe from pirates, dragons, storm troopers, and aliens. AND, I had soooo much fun at my afternoon stamping class. Do you know what we will be doing today? Shoveling!

How do you like the contrast of our palm branches in the snow??? Crazy Spring weather! 

For both of the cards I'm sharing today, I used the same card sketch:

Here's the simple birthday card from yesterday's class-

stamp sets: Spring Sampler, Made for You

Embossing Folder: Chevron

DSP: Tea for Two 

And here's the card from the craft night I held at the grade school last week- 

stamp set: Madison Avenue 

Embossing Folder: Vine Street 

DSP: Sycamore Street 

Well, whatever kind of weather Spring has brought to your door today, I hope your day is fabulous! Thanks for stopping by my blog... now go stamp something!!  :}