Summer Fun Tracker & Blog Candy!!!

I have got some exciting news for you!! I have blog candy!!! and I was asked by Connie and Mary of Create with Connie and Mary to return as a Senior Guest Designer for their Summer Mini edition and....I said yes!

So you know what that means, it is time for another round of fabulous Stampin' Up! only projects with full blown tutorials (with pictures :) ) to go with them for a full five weeks! That 30 projects and not even mentioning the scrapbook project sheets you get too! All you need to do is subscribe today! Now is the perfect time to do so you will save $5 off the "normal" price! Check out the options here!

Over the next two weeks each member of the design team has a FREE special project (tutorial included) to share with you. This will give you an idea of the type of projects and how we present the tutorials to our subscribers.

Alright onto my project. It is a Summer Fun Tracker! (Really you could name this anything you wanted for whatever you are going to use it for...coupons, recipes......)

I took a Clear Stamp Case from Stampin' Up! and made it into a handy organizer to take with you on the go to keep track of anything you want to!




Here is the inside folders. Wouldn't this be a fun and bright way to organize things for you this summer? I think so! If you think so too, you need to check out the Create with Connie and Mary site for the FREE tutorial I made for you!

Are you ready for the blog candy? All you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post right here and you will be entered into the drawing for a FREE subscription to the Summer Edition!!! How awesome is that? Good Luck!

Thanks for looking!
and I hope to see you over at the Summer Edition soon!

Fringed Sewing Machine Cover (plus a tutorial)- ccmc-om5

We had a fantastic last week of projects and tutorials over at the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Mini Edition! I can't believe it is over! It went by so quickly. This week we have been creating using all the products in the Oh Sew Suite from the Occasions Mini.

Ok, on to this week's Saturday challenge which was to Sew (real or faux)! Usually Saturday challenges are for our subscribers to join in and every time they do they are entered to win a $75 Stampin' Up! merchandise gift certificate and a FREE registration to Create with Connie and Mary Summer Mini Edition, but this week, since it is our last week it is only for the Design Team.

My sewing machine needed a new cover so bad I could hear it begging me to use the Sweet Stitches designer Series fabric to make a new cover for it this week, sew (so) that is what I did!


I used one pack of Sweet Stitches designer series fabric to make the entire cover. I added the "SEW..." to the front of the cover using the Fabric Adhesive Roll and some dark brown fabric that was die cut using the Serif Essentials bigz dies.

I am not going to go into a lot of details on how I made this here, because I have made a short two page pdf "how to" for you to download! Here it is: Fringed Sewing Machine Cover How To!

Be sure to head over to the Create with Connie and Mary site to check out the other Design Team Members sewing projects this week! While you are there make sure you check out their blogs as well!

Thanks for looking!

Click here to order Stampin' Up! supplies 24/7! remember for every $50 you spend you get to choose a FREE Sale-A-Bration product from the SAB catalog!

Antiqued Purple Flowers- SCIC03

I can't even believe it's week 3 already for the Stampin' Celebration blog Inspiration Challenge! And look at this inspiration picture! The yellow, brown, purple.....very fun colors to work with!! Go give it a try and while you are there check out the other design team members fabulous samples this week...you do not want to miss them!!

Here is my card for this week. I used the Messages for Mom stamp set just like I did for my Mom's mothers day card here. I also did a little something different with this card, I used the Cracked Glass Technique. (This is where you rub Versa Mark all over your image and then sprinkle Glossy Glaze embossing power all over it, use the heat gun on it to emboss and them repeat two more times. This creates a thick shiny layer over your image. When that is done, stick your glossy images in the freezer for about 5 minutes. When you take it out immediately start to crack it by bending the paper a bit. Then you take a sponge with darker ink on it and rub it over the cracks to make the crack more pronounced and rub off any extra ink that did not get in the cracks with a dry cloth.)

Here is close up of the technique.

I finished off the card by tying a piece of Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon around the card and added a sentiment on a Medium Jewelery Tag and called it good!

Thanks for looking!

don't forget to stop by the Stampin' Celebration blog!

Tile Coaster Tutorail

In a previous post, seen here, I posted these tile coasters and then was asked to tell how I made these tile coasters, so here we go!

Supplies needed:
- Travertino tiles, not sealed (you can find theses at your local home improvement store or tile store. The ones I got were sold in pack's of 9)
- Black Staz On ink (or any solvent based ink)
- Stamp set of your choice (I used Circle Circus from SU!)
- Small cork pads (to put on the bottom of the tiles so they don't scratch the table when in use)

Instructions:
- Take your tile and wipe off any access residue from the tile (the white powdery stuff)
- Ink your stamp with Black Staz On (you must ONLY use a solvent based ink, like Staz On ink, on these tiles, if you use water based ink, it will smear and come off as soon as any water comes in contact with them!)
- Stamp your images on your tiles and let dry.
- Put four small cork pads on the bottom of each tile and you are done!

There is no need to seal them with anything. I tested mine after I stamped them and let them dry by dunking them into water and rubbing them while they were under water and nothing happened!

These will make perfect gifts for any occasion! Have fun!

If you have any other questions, please let me know!

I don't know why the text size in this post is all messed up size-wise...?

Fringing Ribbon (and adding it to a Graduation Cap for a Tassel)

Here is a piece of fringed ribbon. It can be used for many thing in paper crafting. A few of the things I have used it for is hair and a tassel for a Graduation Cap I made.

Things you will need are some grosgrain ribbon in the color of your choice and a pair of small scissors.

1. Cut a length of ribbon off your roll. Then cut one of the finished edges off of the whole length of the ribbon.

2. Next pull the fibers from the ribbon away from the finished edged you didn't cut off.

3. You should now have two pieces. They should look like this. You can throwaway the one on the left. The fibers (on the right) are what we will be needing.



4. Now take your fibers and tie them into a knot closer to one side.

If you are using the fringed ribbon for hair or something else besides a tassel for a Graduation cap, you are done! Just add to your project!
(I would love to see what you made, leave a comment and a link to your project and I will check it out!)




5. Now take your Graduation Cap and punch a hole in the middle for the brad. Don't poke it all the way through. Take your fringed ribbon and wrap it around your brad and then secure your brad. The brad should hold your ribbon in, just make sure you wrapped it around the brad tightly.

6. Here is what it should look like. Notice the extra fringed ribbon sticking out of the brad on top of the hat? Cut it off using some little sharp scissors.

7. Here is what it should look like as a finished product.



If you have any questions, please let me know!

How to Make a Gradutaion Cap

This owl is wearing the Graduation Cap we will be making!

Here is what you will need:

• 1 1/4" x 1/34" black card stock
• Ruler
• White gel pen
• Cutter
• Key Tag Punch
  
• Tape or glue
  
• Brad and ribbon
  

1. Mark each side of your rectangle at the half way points.



2. Draw lines connecting your half way points.

3. Cut along the lines. It should look like this now. (You can throwaway the little triangles).

4. Now punch a Key Tag out of black card stock and cut about 3/4" off one end. (You can throwaway the bigger piece).

5. Tape the two pieces together so it looks like a graduation cap.

6. You can add a brad in the center of the cap and some frayed ribbon (click here to see my tutorial) to make a tassel and you are done!

(To see the full card with this Graduating Owl on it click here.)


Thanks and if have nay questions, please let me know!

April $5 Friday- Cameo Crazy

Do you recognize this card? If you looked at my blog a few days ago, you should! I made a very very similar card to this one and liked it so much, I decided to do it for $5 Friday this month.

You know when you make a card the first time and then go to make it again, you tweak it, well, that is what happened to this one! I changed the card size to 51/2" X 41/4", changed the leaf color, stamped a different sentiment, added different ribbon and added some more paper piercing.

To get this custom "Basic Gray" ribbon, I dyed white ribbon and it came out perfectly! I haven't done very much dying, but the few times I have dine it, I have been very satisfied!

(All you do to dye ribbon is add a little water to a small plastic container, I used an old embellishment container from SU!, and then add drops of classic re-inker to the water until the mixture is a bit darker than you want the finished product to be and then dip your ribbon in and pat it dry with a paper towel and then speed up the drying process with a hair dryer!)



The second card we made this month is this Cameo Coral Birthday card.

The white daisy and the pearl center is from the Pretties Kit. The DSP is from the Raspberry Tart paper kit and I layered some Velum Card Stock over it to lighten it up a bit. I stamped the birthday sentiment from On Your Birthday on the Velum using Black Staz-On.

The Whisper White card stock on the bottom is embossed using the Big Shot and the Large dots texture plate (it's hard to see in the picture).

(I haven't used the big daisy from the Pretties kit very much, because I always find that it is "floppy". So I was thinking what I could do to it to make it not so "floppy" and I thought if aerosol hair spray! So I sprayed the daisy and then hit it with the hair dryer a minute and it seemed to help! I was also just thinking, I wonder if you could use starch as well...ummm...I will have to try that next time!)

Thanks for looking!

Envelope of a 4 1/4" X 4 1/4" Card

Here is a video of how to alter a standard size envelope
so that a 4 1/4" X 4 1/4" square card
fits in it so when it goes through the mail
it does not "shuffle" around inside of the envelope.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Chocolate Flower Pants and Socks

Here is a quick video (my first ever!) tutorial on how to make cute and simple die cut shapes for clothing without sewing anything!

Enjoy!

Supplies used in video:
Big Shot, multipurpose platform and standard cutting pads
Spring Flower Set sizzlits die
Stampin' Up! Birds and Blooms sizzlits die
"Heat n Bond" tape
Material
Iron and ironing board
Pants and socks

Snowman Soup

Here is a fun simple treat to make to give to your friends and family this Holiday season, it's Snowman Soup!

Soup Contents:

-Hot Cocoa Packet
-Little baggie of mini marshmallows
-Mini candy cane
-A Hershey's Kiss

Put all the Soup ingredients into a cellophane bag, add a topper, add a cute saying and decorate!

This is the saying that I used. I got it from someone at Splicoast but I left out a line and maybe changed a few words.



Happy Holidays!!

Bag-Box Tutorial

What you will need:

-Ghostly Greeting DSP cut at 5 1/2" X 11" (or any DSP)
-Basic Black card stock cut at 4 1/2" X 4 1/2" (or any card stock, used for the base and decorating)
-Whisper White card stock (or any card stock, used for decorating)
-Batty For You stamp set (or any stamp set)
-Basic Black ribbon (or any ribbon)
-Scallop edge punch
-Scallop circle punch
-1 3/8” circle punch
-Tab punch
-Crop-a-Dile
-Stapler
-Double sided tape



1. Take your 4 1/2" X 4 1/2" piece and score it at 1" in on all four sides.

2. Cut on the white lines (shown below) so you can fold your card stock to make a box. Tape the box together as show below.

3. Take double sided tape and wrap it around the outside of your box.

4. Now take your DSP and attach it to your box with the tape you just put on. Make sure that the paper is lining up with the bottom of the box.

5. When you get to where you started with your DSP, you will need to put some double sided tape on the tall edge of your DSP (shown below with the black strip) so it will stick together.

6. Now take some more card stock and line the bottom outside of your bag box to give it a finished look. Attach it the same way we attached the DSP to the Box (step 3 and 4). I used the scallop edge punch on my paper.

7. Take your tab punch and punch out 2 tabs. Attach them to the top of your bag box with a stapler on opposite sides of the bag box. Use your Crop-a-Dile to punch a hole in each of them so you can put the ribbon through the holes.

8. Decorate your Bag Box as you please and you are done!

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Punch Art Giraffe

Supplies

Punches:
-Key Tag (head)
-1 3/4” Circle (head)
-5-Petal Flower (ears)
-Horizontal Slot (horns)
-1/4” circle (eyes)
-1/8” circle* (eyes and nostrils)
-3/16” circle* (horns)
-3/4” circle (spots)
-1/2” circle (spots)
-Wide Oval (leaves)

*These punches are on the Crop-A-Dile

Ink Pads:
-So Saffron (sponging on giraffe)
-Old Olive (sponging on leaves)
-Bashful Blue (stamped background)
-Basic Brown (greeting)

Card Stock:
-8 1/2” X 5 1/2” Very Vanilla folded in half (main card)
-4 1/8” X 5 3/8” Chocolate Chip
-4” X 5 1/4” Bashful Blue
-4” X 1/2” So Saffron (giraffe neck)
-4” X 1/2” Chocolate Chip (mane)
-scraps of So Saffron (head, ears and horns)
-scraps of Chocolate Chip (horns, nose, eyes and spots)
-scraps of Very Vanilla (eyes and greeting)
-scraps of Old Olive (leaves)

Stamps:
-Canvas (background)
-Fundamental Phrases

Other:
-Tombow Adhesive or something similar
-Double sided tape or Snail adhesive
-Scissors
-Sponge
-Scrap computer paper

Instructions:

1. Fold your Very Vanilla card stock in half. Then tape the Chocolate Chip card stock centered on the Very Vanilla.

2. Stamp the Canvas background onto the Bashful Blue card stock with Bashful Blue Ink and tape it centered onto the Chocolate Chip card stock.

3. Punch a Key Tag punch out of So Saffron paper. Use a little piece of double sided tape to tape the So Saffron Key Tag on to a scrap piece of computer paper.

4. Take the 1 3/4” circle punch and punch a little sliver off the middle of each of the long sides of the Key Tag (this is going to make the Giraffes face shape). After that, sponge the So Saffron ink around the edge of the head you just made.

5. Take the Key Tag punch and punch out the end of the Giraffes nose with Chocolate Chip card stock. Now take the 1/8” circle punch and punch out the Giraffes nostrils. Set aside.

6. Punch two 1/4” circles out of the Very Vanilla scrap, two 3/16” circles out of the Chocolate Chip scrap and two 1/8” circles of the Chocolate Chip scrap. Using the Tombow adhesive, glue the 1/8” (smallest) Chocolate Chip circles in the middle of the 1/4” Very Vanilla circles. Set aside.

7. Using the Horizontal Slot punch, punch out two slot in the So Saffron scrap card stock. Now glue the 3/16” Chocolate Chip circles on to the top of the slots, to make the horns. Set aside.

8. Now take the 5-Petal Flower punch and punch out one of the petals using So Saffron scrap card stock. Cut the petal in half. Set aside.

These are the pieces you should have now:

9. Take all your pieces from the above steps and glue them together to make the Giraffes head. Set aside. It should look like this when it is done:

10. Now punch out a few 3/4” and 1/2” circles from the Chocolate Chip scrap card stock. Cut all the circle in half (they don’t have to be exactly in half)

11. Take the 4” X 1/2” So Saffron piece of card stock and sponge So Saffron ink on it (while you have the sponge and the ink out again, sponge the ears of the Giraffe a little bit too!)

12. Take the Chocolate Chip 1/2 circles and glue them onto the So Saffron piece

13. Take the 4” X 1/2” Chocolate Chip piece of card stock and make little cuts all the way up the 4” side. Now glue the “neck and the mane” together.

14. Glue the head and the neck together, to make the Giraffe. Set aside.

15. Punch two Wide Oval’s out of Old Olive card stock. Fold each of them in half the long way. Un-fold and cut triangle shapes out of the sides of the ovals to make leaves. Sponge Old Olive on the leaves.

16. Stamp greeting in Basic Brown on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock.

17. Place all the pieces on the card the way you want them and then glue them all down!

If you have any questions, let me know!