Feeling Scrappy

I just love utilizing every ounce of paper and other supplies, which is why I save my paper scraps.  They certainly come in handy and can be made into the centerpiece in a card like this!  

 I used the following:

-So Saffron and Coastal Cabana card stock

-Retro Fresh designer series paper and washi tape

-Regarding Dahlias stamp set

-Natural Chevron ribbon and linen thread

-Coastal Cabana Ink

Psst....

I envisioned this card the other week when I was going through the Sweet Sorbet paper found in the Sale-a-bration promotion.

This sweet and natural card capitalizes on the crisp cantaloupe floral pattern in the paper.  Here's what I used!

-Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla card stock

-Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper

-Baked Brown Sugar ruffle trim, linen thread, and natural chevron ribbon

-Naturals buttons

-Happy Watercolor stamp set

-Aqua Painters

-Crisp Cantaloupe stamp pad

-Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Markers

-Bone Folder

I stamped my floral image first on very vanilla card stock.  The flowers were filled in with an aqua painter, and the centers were dotted with a Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker.  Finally, the stems were painted with a Pear Pizzaz marker. The sentiment (psst...) was inked then stamped with the Pear Pizzazz marker.

I really wanted the edges of my paper to look worn, so I used a bone folder and my finger nail to roughen the edges of both the designer series paper and the card stock.  I adhered the stamped piece to the patterned paper and then curled one of the edges on the bottom right corner.

Natural Chevron ribbon was wrapped around the paper and the edges slightly mis-matched for a rustic element.  Baked Brown Sugar ruffle trim was adhered to the edge of the chevron ribbon to add some extra decoration.  Finally, Linen Thread was strung through a Very Vanilla button and adhered with a glue dot.  Psst... Enjoy!

Burlap Canvas

I found these burlap canvases a while ago and loved the idea of creating something with them.

I used: 

Soho Subway Designer Series Paper, 

Very Vanilla card stock, 

Gorgeous Grunge and Beautifully Baroque stamp sets,

Spiral Flower Die and Big Shot,

Chevron Border Punch,

Summer Starfruit stitched satin ribbon

Natural chevron ribbon 

Island Indigo Stampin' Write Marker

Crisp Cantaloupe twine

Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons

Crisp Cantaloupe, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, and Crumb Cake stamp pads

Hot glue gun and Snail Adhesive

Bone Folder

Some tips for making these canvases:

-When stamping the images (with the exception of the Baroque stamp in Crumb Cake ink), I'd recommend stamping the image on scrap paper first to achieve a lighter tone to the ink.  

-A bone folder was utilized to rough up the edges of the paper and give a vintage look.

You Are My Sunshine!

We're supposed to have nasty weather where I live in NC tomorrow, so I thought a fun card would cheer me up when the skies are gray tomorrow!

Sale-a-bration is in full swing with Stampin' Up! right now, and I just love some free goodies!  Not that I ever need an excuse to buy SU products, but it's always a nice bonus for stocking up on essentials to have a freebie thrown in!  This card used two of those freebies- the Sweet Sorbet paper and the See Ya Later stamp set.

I used Smoky Slate card stock and cut it lengthwise at 4 1/4 inches.  For the Sweet Sorbet paper (doesn't it sort of look like rain?), I cut a 3 inch by 4 1/4 inch piece.  Finally, I used Whisper White card stock for my stamped saying at 3 x 4 1/4 inches.

I stamped my sentiment in the middle of the white strip of card stock first in smoky slate ink.  Then, I stamped the same image on a scrap piece of card stock in Summer Starfruit ink.  I cut out the "Happy" in the Summer Starfruit stamped image and used Stampin' Dimensionals to make it pop up on my card!

After adhering the designer series paper and sentiment down, I added a bow of bakers twine around the card (Confession!  This gray bakers twine was a leftover bit from the Everyday Occasions kit).  But, the bakers twine in Island Indigo would look great with this too!

Final touches include two scraps of Smoky Slate chevron ribbon and two small dabs of silver dazzling details on either side of the sentiment.

A Little Bit of Sunshine

It's February and just this past Saturday I was scraping chunks of ice off of my front walkway.  But today, we enjoyed a warm day reminiscent of April instead.  So, I thought of making something that was as warm and cheery as today!

Have I mentioned I love washi tape?  It's amazing stuff!  Washi tape is easy to apply, tears like masking tape, on some surfaces can be peeled and removed again, AND you can write on it!  I use it frequently to decorate things, including this cute photo frame.

It all started with a picture frame I found on clearance.  And this is what it was transformed into!

Washi Tape made this easy!  I started with painting the frame white with some craft paint.  Then, I played around with a design on some scratch paper before starting the pattern on the frame.

The pattern I decided upon used the Gingham Garden washi tape set from Stampin' Up!.  Starting in one corner made it easy to continue the pattern over the frame. I laid the two strips of yellow and pink tape down first, then the flower strip was laid in an over-under pattern where it went over the yellow piece and under the pink piece.  That might be more complicated that you wish to do, but the washi tape being easy to pull back made the pattern much easier than it might sound!

Here's a closer look at the creation of the pattern.  After tearing off a few strips of the yellow and pink patterned washi and laying them across my frame, I could pull a portion of the strip up to lay down the floral pattern.  Then, the pink strip could be placed back over it.

As you go around, continue your pattern until you reach the other corner.  Don't worry about the excess tape that is hanging over the sides yet as this will be used to wrap around the side of the frame.  You can then easily trim off the excess!  For the inner corners, I made a small cut in the tape toward the corner, then pulled the two pieces of tape to the sides of the frame.

And those cute flowers on the finished frame, I used washi for those too!  I took a scrap of white paper and covered it with strips of washi tape on one side then another color on the back of the paper, trimming the excess tape from the edges of the paper when I finished.

I then used a punch (or you can trace a circle pattern) onto the paper to cut out a circle.  Starting on the outside of the circle, I used scissors to cut in a circular motion to make a spiral.  When I got to toward the center, I left a little circular bit so my flower would have a base.  I used the spiral flower die from SU as a sort of template for this idea.

Starting with the outer edge to the spiral, I wrapped it around a pencil to help tighten spiral into more of a curlycue.  I then (for lack of a better term) "squished" the spiral together so the spiral made concentric circular rings toward the little base, which was then hot glued together.  A double bow of Daffodil Delight trim, some leaves cut from the bird builder punch, and we're all set!

The best part?  I'm giving it away.  Yep!  Comment on this post or like it on Facebook to be entered to have this little bit of spring in your home!

Wreathing It

I recently put together the Burlap and Blossoms Wreath Kit from Stampin' Up!  and thought it was so cute!  So, I was inspired to make my own version!

Here's what I used:

-Chipboard wreath from a local craft store

-1 roll of burlap ribbon

-Hot glue gun

-Ribbon in the following : Victoria Crochet Trim, Baked Brown Sugar Ruffle Stretch Trim, Linen Thread, Natural 7/16" Trim, Natural Cotton Ribbon

-Buttons in the following: Neutrals designer buttons, Very Vintage designer buttons, and Vintage Faceted designer buttons

-Punches in the following: Boho Blossoms, Blossom, and Fancy Flower

-Paper Trimmer

-Spiral Flower Originals Die, and Fun Flowers Bigz L Die (with Big Shot)

-Modern Medley Designer Series Paper

-Fringe Scissors or Paper Snip Scissors

-Sticky Strip

I used a glue gun to adhere the end of the burlap ribbon to the back of the wreath.  Then,  I wrapped it tightly around the wreath to cover.

The flowers were made using the punches and dies.  In addition, the pom-pom flowers were made using these simple steps:

-Cut a strip of paper at 3 inches

-Score lengthwise at 1.5 inches

-Cut the paper using fringe scissors or trim every few centimeters to create the fringe.  Make sure to cut on the folded end of the paper!

-Add sticky strip to the outside of the paper strip lengthwise and remove backing

-Start to roll the paper strip together

After creating your flowers, lay them out on the side of the wreath before hot gluing to make sure you are happy with the look of your wreath.  I chose to keep the embellishments on one side, but you can decorate your wreath to your hearts content!  

Here's some close ups of the flower extravaganza happening on my wreath!

Getting Creative with Colleagues

This fall, I started a program at my workplace called "Crafting and Camaraderie" where I invite colleagues to spend their lunch hour with me making a craft once a month.  We all bring our lunch and create something together!  I appreciate the fact that I work in an organization that supports this type of thing.  I really see it as a ministry to be able to provide something like this.  Trust me, I always feel inspired and ready to face the rest of the day after expending a little creative energy.

Today being Valentines Day, it was appropriate to make some extra special goodies.  We had a blast! What I enjoyed the most was interacting with my colleagues in a fun new way.  And the fellas?  They got in on it too.  Their lucky wives get homemade goodies for this Valentines Day!  Our little craft time was something we all could share together.

Look at Andrew stampin' away! (Left)  Meredith and Michael are seriously intent on their creations.

I love how Jessica took the basic idea I gave her and ran with it, making her own unique design. (Left)  Tina is hard at work creating what I've officially dubbed the "sour cream treat bags" since they look like a sour cream packet.  Lucky for us, there is nothing but sweetness inside these packets!

Andrew was so very proud of his creation!  On the right, Doug and Janet consult on what Doug named the "toilet paper roll technique" where the paper for the treat packet is rolled over on itself to create a hollow roll.

Here are the goodies we made.   First, these little treat packets are so adorable and super simple.  I got the idea original from Julie Davison on her site (juliedavison.com).  A paper stack, sticky strip, candy, and embellishments have these finished in minutes!

Next, some modge podge, designer series paper, crochet trim and linen thread were used to turn a drab baby food jar into a cute votive.  I cut the paper into a 1 1/4" by 7 1/4" strip.   Folding the paper over, a heart shape was cut out so the candle can be seen through the glass.  Modge podge glued the paper to the jar.  I call this "let your love shine!"

Finally, we made a cute little box!  This was easy thanks to a few stamps (Happy Watercolor using Strawberry Slush and Pool Party ink), some ruffle trim, and the spiral flower die.  The guys said that the process of curling the flower up looked like trimming off an apple peel, and that is exactly the way it looks as you start to curl it up.  I was so impressed with how easy everyone caught on to these techniques.  I have some future craft geniuses in my colleagues!

Have a blessed Valentines Day!  I hope the day leaves you feeling as special as you really are!

What A Crafter Does On A Snow Day

We southern folk don't know how to react to several inches of snow.  Besides turning into a 5-year old again like my mom, snow normally means hanging out at home for a few days.  What's a girl to do?  Hang out in her craft room of course!  (Or as I call it, my crafting lab).

I woke up this morning to beautiful snow and instantly felt like I was in Narnia (hence the lamppost pics).  This being my first few months in my new home, I had to get out and explore the neighborhood!  Here are some pictures of my adventures.

I had a blast romping in the snow with my camera.  Somehow, taking pictures of snow falling just never gets old! 

Once back inside, I let my inner artist take over with some valentines cards!  One thing I like to show is how the same basic design can be used in several different ways, leading to cards that are all unique and original!  I started with a basic design for a workshop I recently hosted using the Banner Blast stamp set, banner punch, and Fresh Prints paper stack.

This simple design was quick and easy thanks to the banner punch.  I also used the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set to add a little background texture. The strip of Coastal Cabana card stock makes it easy to line up the banners.

Using the same design, I added a few extra touches to give a little feminine oomph to my card.  A paper doily sponged in Coastal Cabana ink and a few stamped hearts adds a great touch!

Here's what I call the "bedazzled" version.  I fun tip for making the banners all even?  I lightly scored the card front where I wanted to line up the banners.  The bakers twine covers the score line and makes getting straight banners a breeze.  Don't you love the rich colors?  I felt so regal making this card.  Gold foil paper, some extra sequins from the gold sequin trim, and Island Indigo and Rich Razzleberry ink and cardstock will do that to ya!

Dude!  I thought about you too.  Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black make this card a little more manly.  Some random Gorgeous Grunge stamped images make kinda fun, too!