Friday, December 30, 2011

Demask Stamp Card



I have had this stamp set (which includes 4 stamps) for a few months and haven't done anything with it...It was still in it's package!  See, this blog is already making me more productive!  :-)  I think I got it at Big Lots...You can find GREAT deals on scrapbooking supplies there!  The only thing is that you have to catch them at the right time.  I bought cuttlebug dies for $2 a piece there before (needless to say I bought almost every one they had)!  I walked out with $100 of mechandise for only about $16!  It was an AWESOME find.  They regularly carry Thickers, paper and all kinds of stamps and embellishments! 

Anyway....back to the card above...I started with a white card base that opens at the bottom.  The piece of paper is 11 1/2 x 4 1/4.  Both ink choices are from Stampin' UP!'s Earth Elements Collection....Old Olive and Creamy Caramel.  I took the largest demask stamp and stamped it in Old Olive.  I then stamped the smaller stamp over the large using the Creamy Caramel stamp pad.  I then inked the edges with both colors, attached the knotted ribbon with staples on both ends, and stamped my sentiment in Old Olive.  I added a gemstone in the middle of the design to add a little character to the card...I thought it needed something!  :-)  It took under 10 minutes to make!  I LOVE fast ideas! 

Hope this inspires you to open that stamp set you bought ages ago and start creating!  Have a great day and remember it is always homemade!!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Quick Thank You Card


I called a friend of my Mom's in Florida to have her help me out with a surprise gift that I can't purchase here and I sent her a Thank You card along with a check for the item.  I can't say what that is because my Mom still hasn't received it yet!  Anyway, I whipped up a quick card (it took me all of ten minutes) to send the enclosed money with a thank you note as well!  I got my idea from the new Paper Crafts Magazine, Jan/Feb 2012, Page 68.  I used the layout only.  All the colors, as well as the theme, are different.  I inked the edges, used my Notebook Paper Border Punch on the blue and the patterned paper.  I then used my new stamp set that I have been dying to use...it is "Aviary" from Stampin' UP!.  I LOVE it!  I can see many cards coming from it in the future!  The paper clip came from a pack I got from Walmart in the office supply section of the store.  I stamped the front of the envelope to match!  Simple, but classy, and always homemade! 


Monday, December 26, 2011

Paper Rosette Wreath





I got this idea from seeing a paper rosette wreath on Google Images. Here is a picture of what I saw:

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e4su5flk1ec7ef54

Apparently, it was in a mini catalog of Stampin' UP!. It was so cute, I decided to make it with no instructions...I would just wing it...surprisingly, it went very well! The first one I did was the Halloween one seen below. I then decided to take one to our annual "Ornament Swap" this December that we have with all the ladies at church. This one was so cute...there is a picture below as well. Well, our preacher's wife liked it, but didn't get it (we play dirty Santa) and I offered to make her one. She accepted, brought me some "vintage" paper that would match her decorations in her bedroom, along with an old black and white photo of some distant relatives, and I went to work! This was my best yet! The picture just doesn't give it justice! Now that I have made three, and having actually decided to watch a couple of YouTube videos about making the rosettes, maybe this will help you NOT to "wing it"! ;)

Items Needed:

12x12 piece of cardboard or wood
5-6  pieces of double-sided thick cardstock paper with desired prints
Glue Gun and glue sticks
20 - 1 to 2 inch circles cut out of scrap cardstock
Score tool...it can be a board or a blade that fits into your paper trimmer
Matching brads, buttons, flowers...whatever you plan to top your rosettes with
Materials to make your accent piece


Before you begin this project, I want you to go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search "Christmas Paper Rosettes Tutorial" and you should see a video pop up that is by craftdiva99.  These are the basics of making a paper rosette.  I have not done any videos yet and this is the best way to show you how to do these rosettes.  The biggest difference with what I do and what she does is that I use hot glue on all the areas that need to be secured because I have found, after making 3 of these wreath,s that it holds the best.  Also, I use a 2 inch circle to secure the rosette instead of the rectangular piece she used.  I also believe that thicker cardstock paper is the best choice of paper to make these.  Okay...so now that you have watched the video on how to make the rosettes, here are my directions to make the wreath...

1.  Cut out a background circle to attach all your rosettes to...you want to do this first, because as you make your rosettes, you can place them on the circle to see how they will fit and how many more you need to make.  My background circle is about 12 x 12 in diameter and about an 1 1/2 wide.  I made mine out of thick cardboard...you can make it out of cardboard, wood, etc...anything sturdy. 

                                                     Wood Circle


2.  The girl in this video appeared to score each strip individually...I didn't want to waste time, so I took my 5-6 pieces of 12x12 paper and scored the whole length of each sheet at every 1/4 inch before I did anything else.  I cut my strips that I needed, as seen below in the next step.  After you score the entire piece of paper, to make your strips you cut PERPENDICULAR to the score lines that you have made.  (See picture below)


3.  The large rosettes on my wreath are 2 inch wide strips that are 18 inches long...you will have to attach 6 inches to a strip of 12 inches.  DO NOT discard the extra 6 inch strip...it will probably be needed again.  I cut the strips, adhered the two strips together and THEN folded the strip in an accordian fashion.  I just thought it was easier to attach the extra strip first before I folded.
     The smaller rosettes are 1 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long and done the same way as in the video.  You make all the sizes and number of rosettes that you need and then you attach them to your background circle with hot glue.   



4.  When you have all of your rosettes finished, you can now decide what you would like to be on the bottom, right rosette...For Halloween I embossed a black cat, added gemstones for eyes and an orange bow around his neck.  For the Holiday Wreath I embossed Swiss Dots on the circle I placed on top of my rosette, used VersaMark and heat embossed some glittery powder on the circle and then adhered a 3D Christmas Tree onto the large circle.  On the third one that I did for my preacher's wife, she wanted a vintage photograph (of her distant relatives), in a very lightweight frame, placed on the wreath.  They all turned out so cute...you can do anything on the wreath that you would like to!  Just use your imagination!  Once you get the hang of it, it won't take long at all! 

Halloween Wreath

Christmas Wreath


I hope this helps some of you create one on your own!  Remeber it is always fun, and always homemade!!!  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!








Saturday, December 24, 2011

A Different Spin on Snowflakes

















I seriously don't know how I came upon this pattern last week, but here is the website where you can get this pattern and template.

 http://mattersofgrey.com/diy-star-wars-snowflakes/

My son, who is 3, doesn't really know the story of Star Wars, who is good and bad...etc, but he knows he likes Storm Troopers!!  He has a shirt with Darth Vader and two Storm Troopers on it and one day he wore this to Speech class at a local school...the teacher said, "Oh, your shirt is so scary", and he proceeded to tell her very sarcastically, "It's not scary, it's just Star Wars."  We all laughed and went with it.  Anyway...when I found these online, I thought I would try to trace them in my SCAL software and cut them out for the tree this year!  They worked great!  I did a Storm Trooper one for our tree and for a friend of ours who's twin boys and husband love Star Wars "stuff".  My son chose the red background.  He loves looking at it and can't wait to show Daddy when he gets home!  When his Dad did get home, he said, "You know, you need to do one of Yoda too for our friends", so, that is what I did!  Yoda was so cute!  Hope you have fun cutting these out.  You DON'T have to have a cutting machine to do these...there are templates to go by on the website that you use scissors to cut them out!  Have fun and remember, it is always homemade!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

"Sour Cream" Containers...Teacher Gifts


I saw this idea on a blog with a video...these are so simple and so cute.  I couldn't find the blog that I had seen when I did these but found another one with great directions and a video:

www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/sour_cream_container/

I did these for teacher gifts at Halloween and now again for Christmas.  I did the Halloween ones for my children's Bible school teachers and for my son's preschool teachers.  I just did them this time for their Bible School teachers.  These teachers work in 6 month rotations and I know PERSONALLY that these are hard jobs for 6 months at a time and they deserve a little appreciation at different times of the year.  I don't have a picture of the Halloween ones that I did but they were Halloween paper with a tag on them much like the website above.  For the Christmas ones I did, I used holiday paper and attached a reindeer head on them and stamped "Happy Holidays" on the face of the reindeer.  Simple and cute.  Just a tid bit of info:  This website above used red tape, which would work great!  I used hot glue on mine this time because regular adhesive (no matter how sticky you think it is) it is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.  Use red tape or hot glue!!!  If you use hot glue, it is a little harder to put through the paper crimper but it works just as well.  Red tape would be your best bet!  Enjoy!  Here is a pic of my reindeer containers! Remember, it is always homemade!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Holiday Cards


These cards are so cute and so easy...it takes a few minutes to do them but I am about to give you the measurements for each card so that will take some of the guessing out of it for you!  I saw this pattern this morning on http://www.southerninkerbelles.blogspot.com/ (she used it for baby shower cards) and thought, "This would be great for Santa and Elves...or ANYTHING you could think of doing with it!!"  So, I went with the Holiday ideas and did and Santa and an Elf. 

Santa:  1.  Start with a RED A2 size card (8 1/2 in x 5 1/2  in piece of paper folded in half)  that opens from the side (you could make it open from the top as well if you wanted to which would be a 4 1/4 in x 11 1/2 in piece of paper folded in half).  2.  Use a 1 3/4 in circle punch to punch out the neck.  3.  Use a 1 1/4 in square punch to punch out middle of the legs.  4.  Cut out slim rectangles off the top sides to make the indentions you see in the picture....about 2 in x 1/2 inch.  5.  Use a cutting system or a punch to cut out the scalloped edge around the neck.  6.  Use a edge punch to make the center white "fluff" for the jacket.  Use the same punch to make small ends to his pants.  (all of my white was done with glittery white paper)  7.  Cut out a piece of black that is 4 1/4 x 1 inch.  8.  In yellow or gold cut out a small 1 inch square;  then cut around that with a 1 1/4 inch square punch and you have your buckle!  8.  If you so choose, you can emboss the front of the card before you assemble all the peices.  I did mine with the Swiss Dots pattern.  9.  Assemble!  10.  After you assemble you may have to trim a little bit in the neck area.   Just FYI  :)


Elf:  1.  Follow the first 5 steps of the santa card....except the color in step ONE will be GREEN.  6.  Cut out a strip of striped red paper (or whatever pattern you think would be cute on an elf) that is 1 1/2 in x 4 1/4 in.  7.  Cut out a black strip that is 1 in x 4 1/4.  8.  Cut out in white or silver (I used a white glitter paper) a buckle that is the same size as the Santa buckle.  9.  Cut out two small circles using a cutting system or punch for the buttons.  You could also use large brads, buttons...whatever you think would be cute.  10.  You can emboss the card before you assemble if you would like.  On the elf, I chose not to, but it is totally up to you!  11.  Assemble!  12.  After you assemble you will have to trim the red paper in the indention of the legs.  FYI  :)


Hope these were fun to do!  They were for me!  Happy Holidays!! Remember, it is always homemade!!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Shells Up...




Here is another card set that I made my sister-in-law for Christmas.  She LOVES turtles, so I went with it...  I made a gateway card (my first ever).  I stepped out of the normal A2 card "box" and opened a whole new door...thanks to the Martha Stewart Score Board!  I can't believe that I haven't made one before...it was a whole new challenge!  Okay...so you start with a piece of paper that is 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches and you score it (while laying it horizontally on your board) at 2 1/8 x 6 3/8.  That is all there is to it...and you DON'T have to have a score board to do it, you can purchase a score blade that will fit into your paper trimmer and do it that way!  It still comes out the same way!  I then proceeded to cut out all my pieces for my turtle and my scalloped circle.  I inked the edges and taped it down.  Now, here is the tricky part...if you can call it that...you have to tape the circle down on the TOP FLAP ONLY...if you don't, you won't be able to open the card!!!   I used my SCAL software to cut this turtle out...Cricut "Create a Critter" also has a really cute turtle!  Better yet, you can use anything you want to and then stamp a greeting and you are all done!  I added a couple rhinestones for some bling :) and also stamped an envelope to (somewhat) match!  Enjoy, and remember it is always homemade!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Simple Monogram Card



This is the first year for my side of the family to draw names for Christmas gift giving...I picked my sister-in-law's name out of the hat.  I was super excited about this (not that I wouldn't be with any one else's name) because she really likes to send cards out to people.  I actually made 300+ cards for her and my brother's wedding to give to each person who attended as their little special gifts...They were very simple cards but everyone liked them!  It was a much more personal gift than just a piece of candy, bubbles, or other little things you may see.  Anyway, she loves cards and she is also a teacher and sends notes out to parents frequently.  So, I started thinking about what I could do for her Christmas present this year, and I came up with three different cards...Here is the first one.  I made her two packs of 8 and packaged them nicely with stamped envelopes to match.  Her name begins with the letter "M", just in case you were wondering.  :)  I know you can't see the inked edges really well, but the white card is inked much more than the other two colors on the frames.  I also inked the silhouette with white ink.   I couldn't get the exact picture I wanted.  I will have to work on that.  I cut out the two frames and the silhouette with my SCAL software as well as the "M".  You could also use a sticker for the letter if you wanted to do that instead.  I inked the edges, rounded the corners, tied the knot and it was done.  So cute, simple and classy.  I chose the teal and pink because these are her two most favorite colors.  Hope this inspires you.  Remember, it is always homemade!

Monday, December 12, 2011

A New Adventure


Call me crazy, but I am about to start a "crafty" blog.  If you know me, you know that in all my "spare" time, which there is little of, I stamp, scrapbook, craft and create.  I have many people who live near me and far away that ask me how I do things, where I get ideas and just want to see what I made...so, this blog is going to be for that purpose.  I hope that it will keep me on task and to make me work on things that I have put off, especially my scrapbooking!  I am a couple of years behind on my family albums, one year behind on my second child's first year album, and several years behind on vacation albums...it is sad, really!  So, I am going to make a schedule of things that I plan to post throughout the next year.  I plan to post at least one scrapbook layout each week, one card layout/idea, and then any other ideas/crafts that I do each week.  I am always making something, so surely, I will have enough to post :-).  I will begin my proposed schedule the first week of the new year.  Obviously, this time of year is sooooo busy but I hope to post a couple of things before this year ends. 

Just so you know what I am working with and doing the majority of my crafts with, here is a list of my "go-to tools": 
1.  Cricut Expression (with cartridges and SCAL software)
2.  Cuttlebug (Which I use mostly to emboss)
3.  Score Board (by Martha Stewart)
4.  Glue Gun
5.  Stamps (of all kinds)
6.  etc...etc...etc...

I have all the normal tools like the paper trimmer, circle cutter system (by Creative Memories), Crop-a-Dile (small and large), Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper (heavy duty), pens, scissors, punches (of all shapes and sizes) and of course...ALL KINDS OF PAPER!!!

I have been scrapbooking since I was in high school and in the last 5 years or so, have really branched out to all types of paper crafts.  I will be the first to admit most of my projects are copied or inspired by things that I have seen somewhere (on internet, blogs, pinterest, magazines, etc...) and when I copy an idea, I will link you to the original or at least tell you where I got it from.  I will not take credit for other people's ideas!  I may make the same project but I may change it to fit my tastes, go about it differently or simply just use the layout...it all depends on the project.  I have no alligance to a company or certain product, I simply use whatever I can find to work with at any "crafty" store.

Okay...so, I hope you love the blog and the ideas that are held within!  Enjoy my creations and know that they are always homemade!  Here goes....

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