Flower Vase Tutorial

In my previous posts, I had a super cute flower vase on display and wanted to provide this as a tutorial on how to make these simple blossoms!

Start with the Blossom punch and the Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack.  I punched out 4 blossoms total.

Next, crumple each of the blossoms up.  Seriously.  You can get some stress out this way, and help make the paper more pliable by breaking down some of the fibers.

Once finished, gently un-crumple the blossoms (very scientific term, isn't it?)

Get out your hot glue gun or glue dots for this next part.  If you have brads, this will work great with those too!  Just make sure to stack your blossoms as mentioned below, then punch through the entire blossom stack.

You'll want to lay one blossom on top of the first, twisting this so the petals don't line up.  I chose to invert my blossom to add some dimension to my flower, but the choice is up to you!

Continue to twist and stack until you finish your flower stack. Use glue or glue dots between each layer to adhere them together.  Once finished, take your top layer and scrunch it upward.

Next, do the same for the second layer, then the third, then the fourth until your flower looks like this.  Fluff and ruffle those petals to your hearts content!

After I finished my blossoms, I took some floral wire and used needle nose pliers to bend the end of the wire into a circle.  This was then hot glued to the bottom of my blossom and cut to length.   

Here is the finished product!

January Blog Challenge Part II

Here is Part II of my guest blog post!

I hope you enjoyed some of the cards and goodies made with my box of challenge goodies!  As you can tell, I had a field day with this stuff!  Just as I finished something up, another idea would pop in my head!  That's how I ended up with so many fun things.

Part II of this blog features one of my favorites: 3D projects (don't tell my cards I said that!).  I try with each workshop or class to show a 3D project with each card we make.  Why?  I want to show the versatility of our products.  But enough talk- let's get to the show and tell!

First up: These adorable tiny treat boxes.  I fell in love with these the minute I saw them.  They are so little and perfect for stacking and using for a small treat.  I plan to send some to my little gift shop for jewelry boxes.  Well, that's if I don't hoard them all myself!

The boxes are simple to assemble and begging for decoration!  Here is how I put mine together:  Box 1 has a shaker top using the gold sequin trim and shaker frames.  The bottom uses the Hello Life stamp set to make a design around the middle, where I added the little heart detail.

Box numero dos uses washi tape all around the sides and has a little heart from the Hello Life kit added on the front with dimensionals.  The top mimics the banner on my Project board in blog #1 and is blinged out with some sequin trim!

Our last box is made with paper from the Stacked with Love DSP paper stack.  I made a double pennant and glued half to the top of the box, and then folding it over. I left the bottom free of adhesive so the box could easily be opened.  Some Staz On white ink, a chalkboard heart from the Hello Life kit and some frayed twine from the kit finish this little guy up!

When using a paper stack of DSP, I always get a hankering to make "sour cream packets".  The dimensions of the paper is perfect, and they are a great "random acts of kindness" gift.  So, I couldn't help making some here! Aren't they so cute?

Finally, I wanted to continue with my 3D projects and make a small journal.  These journals make perfect hostess gifts or are a great little something to give for any occasion.  Here is my take on journals using these products:

Want to win one of these journals?!? It's giveaway time!  To enter, comment on this blog with your name.  I will choose a winner next week and get in touch with you for your address!  Yay!

January Guest Blog Part I

I was recently asked to blog for a friend's website.  FUN!!  I present Part I or a two-part guest blog here.  Stay tuned for the future post as well as tutorials on making each of these great projects!

January Challenge Part 1

Hello friends!  My name is Erin Cook and I’m guest blogging this week.  I’m absolutely tickled to be able to share some ideas with you in this two-part blog.

So, I little bit about me!  This is me (on right, with my mama).  I’ve been a demo for about 2 years now, but have been an SU addict for over 10 years.  I work as a career counselor at a small University in North Carolina by day, and am a renegade crafty by night.  I also work part-time at a local gift shop that specializes in local artists work.  I sell my cards and other crafties there (yay angel policy!) and use this as a way to spread my love of SU!

This fun challenge started with this set of goodies.  I don’t know about you, but this occasions catalog is ADDICTIVE! My goal is to show you some fun ways to mix up these products in a new and slightly unconventional ways.

If you haven’t considered the Hello Life project kit a try, you should.  The wire frame is amazing and all of the accessories are so versatile!  I used mine as a Project display board, where I included a list of supplies for my class and examples of what we will be making.  However, this can be used in many other ways: An inspiration board, display to show future class options, or even idea board of ways to use the class products in a different way. 

I decorated mine with pom-poms from the kit, and made a pennant banner with the Stacked with Love designer washi tape. 

I love to find ways to use every little bit of a kit, including the parts you normally would throw away.  These first two cards were made with the cardstock left over from punching out the hearts in the Hello Life kit.  They made a great stencil!

By placing the “stencil” on a piece of white DSP, I had 6 hearts all in a row.  Two were sponged with Melon Mambo and Real Red ink with a sponge dauber, and the rest included hearts from the Hello Life kit.

I also used the stencil as a template for stamping these hearts in memento ink.  Then, I used Melon Mambo blendabilities to color my hearts.  A cut out ampersand and some dazzling details polka dots finished this up!

This card uses Hello Life kit parts and the darling stamp from the You Plus Me stamp set.  So cute!

This next darling card turned a photo frame in the Hello Life kit into a shaker card! It is versatile enough to be for about any occasion, which is fabulous and features Crushed Curry, Basic Black, and Bermuda Bay ink.

While I was getting punch happy with the Confetti Heart boarder punch, I made a few more for this next card.  The Hello Life stamp set is so darling and is featured here.  Notice that glitter heart?  I drew a heart shape with dazzling details glue on a silicone mat.  Once dry, I colored it with Blendabilities!  I can color about anything that will stand still!

This next card is fun and flirty.  I love using doilies as a backdrop to our beautiful paper and accessories. Kraft cardstock is a favorite of mine and is a great backing here.

The Confetti Heart border punch makes great borders and trims and the leftover hearts are perfect for shaker cards or embellishments.  With these two, I created one card with the traditional trim and used the trim on another as a stencil.  The hearts are from the Hello Life kit along with the clothespin!

One more fun project for this blog.  If you’ve noticed, a little bouquet keeps sneaking up in the pictures.  I used Stacked with Love DSP Stack to punch out flowers with the Blossom punch.  I hot glued floral wire to the base and used a small jar decorated with washi tape to make a vase.  What a great centerpiece or hostess gift!

I had so much fun making these projects, I went a little overboard!  Stay tuned for Part II with more projects!