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!