Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Compact Mini Album

This is a very belated Mother's Day gift I made for one of my friends, Heather.  I've been wanting to make one of these little mini albums made out of a powder compact that I bought at the Dollar Store.   I found a great tutorial to make one, here

The only thing I did differently was to take the mirror out of the compact as well as the powder.  I just popped it off with the knife end of my wine key.  This gave me a little extra room to embellish the pages. 



I've never "scrapbooked" before, I always just make cards and gifts.  My sister is the real scrapbooker, this attempt pales in comparison to the wonderful pages that she makes!  


For these two pages, I used the one of the sentiments from Pins & Needles by Our Craft Lounge.  I added a few buttons and alphabet beads to spell out Oliver's name.


For these pages, I used the Just The Ticket stamp set/die from Papertrey Ink and another button tied with DMC floss.


For the last pages, I used the You Make Me Smile stamp by Penny Black.  I embellished these two pages with some little punched hearts and one more button tied with DMC floss.  I didn't have the label punch that Shaunte used in hers, so I just make a little pull tab with a square punch and a corner rounder.



I wanted to keep the top simple so Heather could keep it in her purse.  I just cut another circle and then adhered a cardstock sticker to the top with a piece of foam tape.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Papertrey Ink, Penny Black, Our Craft Lounge
Ink:  Stamps By Judith
Paper:  S.E.I. Granny's Kitchen and matching cardstock stickers
Misc:  DMC floss, buttons, compact, foam tape, heart paper punch, Just The Ticket Die, alphabet beads, Nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by,

Monday, May 28, 2012

You Make My Heart Skip A Beat



This card is my entry for three different challenges!  This is the first time I've entered more than one challenge with a single card. 

The Challenges:


I love the Pure Innocence Stamps, I need all of them, but unfortunately I don't have them all yet (insert my whiny voice and pitiful face here).   This time I used the Jump For Joy stamp set. I stamped her, colored her with Copics and paper pieced her dress.  For the jump rope, I used some Baker's Twine.  This super sweet paper is from My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline Fiddlesticks Paper Pad.  For my fellow Red Sox fans, yes I sang our song and it was so good, so good, so good!  For the Catered Crop Recipe Swap, I used felt for the grass.  For the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club Challenge, I used the sketch.  For the Kraft Journal Make It Monday Emboss and Embellish, I embossed the kraft cardstock and the tiny kraft hearts with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder.  The clouds were cut with the My Favorite Things Clouds Die-Namics.  The small hearts are from the Martha Stewart Confetti Heart Paper Punch.  I did lots of layering with foam tape and and a little machine stitching.



I need to go to bed soon, but game one of the East Finals Basketball game is on.  My Celtics are having a bit of a hard time, but it's only the first game and it's not over yet!  I have to get up at 5:00 AM tomorrow for a 7:00 AM doctor appointment, yuck!

Thanks for stopping by,


I "Heart" You


If you haven't bought the Paper Crafts Card Creations Volume 10 yet, you definitely need to go and get it!  There are tons of great cards, so many that I plan to case.  This one was inspired by Kayln Kepner, Button Birthday, on page 46.

I paper punched some hearts in two sizes.  They are attached with foam tape to the base of my card.  I didn't have the right amount/color of buttons to match my paper, so I used the Papertrey Ink Button Dies to make my own.  The sentiment is from Stampin' Up.

Supplies:
Stamp:  Stampin'Up-I Love You
Ink:  Tim Holtz, Stamps by Judith
Paper:  Bazzill, My Mind's Eye-Nostalgia
Misc:  Papertrey Ink Button Dies, foam tape, pinking shears, DMC floss, sewing machine

I hope everyone is having a safe Memorial Day.  God bless the Men and Women who have fought and died for our country, the Men and Women in our Armed Forces, our Veterans, and America.

Thanks for stopping by,

Friday, May 25, 2012

Button Flowers


I've been admiring of all of the button flowers over at Pinterest, and decided to make some of my own.   Then, I whipped up some simple birthday cards to show them off!


Supplies:
Stamps:  My Favorite Things-Big Greetings, Studio G-Leaf
Ink:  Versafine, Versamark
Paper:  Wasau, Teresa Collins, Little Yellow Bicycle
Misc:  Buttons, paper punches, tacky glue, My Favorite Things Scallop Border Die-Namic

Thanks for stopping by,

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Greetings From Sunny Florida

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post!  I've been going through some serious crafting withdrawal.  I've been working a lot of double shifts lately as now that the snow birds are gone, business where I work is starting to slow down.  By the time I get home, I'm so exhausted and then I have to get up the next morning and do it all over again.  I also picked up extra shifts last week because I needed last Saturday off to go to the Scrapbook Expo.  It was totally awesome!!!!  Just Laura and I went and we also celebrated "Aunt's Day".  We bought lots of new goodies including paper (you can never have enough) and Scrapbuck was there with Quickutz 2 X 2 Dies for $1.00 and the 4 X 4 Dies for $3.00!  We love Quickutz, so needless to say we certainly stocked up!  My gifts from Laura included a pair of Boston Bruins earrings, dinner, and my very first pedicure.  We had such a good time.  I spent the night at our Mom's where I made my version of a skinny margarita, they were super delicious!

I recently received a great gift bag full of new stamps from Dandelion Designs.  They are truly one of my favorite companies.  I wanted to make Jean, the owner, a thank you card using some of these stamps. 

I cut the state of Florida out using the 50 States Cricut Cartridge.  The post card was made using the Papertrey Ink Button Card Die and the Postmarks Stamp Set. I stamped the little beach girl, colored her with Copics, and paper pieced her bikini.  The stamped and fussy cut the sun.  Then, I added a little yellow Stickles around the rays. 

This picture doesn't do the card much justice.  It's much nicer in real life. 

Supplies:
Stamps:  Dandelion Designs, Papertrey Ink, Custer's Last Stamp
Ink:  Memento, Versafine
Paper:  Bazzill, My Mind's Eye The Sunny Side
Misc:  Copics, Stickles, Papertrey Ink Button Card Die, pop up dots, black Sharpie pen, sewing machine

Thanks for stopping by,


Monday, May 14, 2012

Happy Day After Mother's Day!


Happy belated Mother's Day!  Here is one last card I made for my Mom.  I wanted to post it yesterday, but I had to work a double shift.  By the time I got home, I was so tired and I had to get up really early today.  Laura and I bought Mom a yarn bowl.  I am going to see Mom and Laura this coming weekend.  I will give Mom all of the cards I made for her.  Laura got a lot of really fun Mother's Day gifts from her kids, including an above the ground garden that they boys built.  It sounds very impressive.   Laura and I are going to the Scrapbook Expo on Saturday, she informed me that according to her calender, Saturday is "Aunt's Day".  I think she has a surprise planned!  I am wicked super excited about it!

This is a Michelle Wooderson inspired card.  It's much prettier in person than in the photograph.  I very carefully masked the stems/blooms onto the jar.  Masking makes me very nervous, I just think I need some more practice.  The stems and leaves were colored with Copics.  The blooms are paper pieced. 

Supplies:
Stamps:  Papertrey Ink-Limitless Labels (sentiment), Friendship Jar, Friendship Jar Spring Fillers
Ink:  Versafine
Paper:  Wasau, Authentique
Misc:  Copics, Papertrey Ink Friendship Jar Die, hearts paper punch, sewing machine, My Favorite Things Scallop Border Dienamics

Got to get back to my Celtics game and laundry.  Defense!

Thanks for stopping by,

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Pinterest Inspired Mother's Day Card

I just love Pinterest, there are some the coolest things on there. Unfortunately, it's extremely addicting and I spend way too much time there.   I found this card there and used it for the inspiration for another card for my Mom.  She really likes cards!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Papertrey Ink-Blooming Button Bits
Ink:  Memento
Paper:  Martha Stewart, The Paper Studio, American Crafts, Bo Bunny
Misc:  Nestabilities, buttons, dyed seam binding, sewing machine, computer generated sentiment, pop up dots, tags, My Favorite Things Clouds Die-Namics, Papertrey Ink Button Dies, Cuttlebug Swirls Embossing Folder

Thanks for stopping by,

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Catered Crop Recipe Swap "The Letter B"

Here is my entries for the Catered Crop Recipe Swap.  The ingredients for this swap include anything with the letter B.  You can check out all of the details and the great entries here.


Two more of my fellow co-workers are expecting babies, so this was the perfect challenge for my gifts.  I purchased two pairs of baby shoes, one for a girl and one for a boy.  Then, I decided to make some fun little shoes boxes to present the little bitty shoes in, or as my Mom would say, "I tricked them up!".  The boxes were made with Scor-Pal.  I used Nestabilities (heart and circle) to cut a hole in the top of each box to reveal the contents of the box.

First, the box for the little baby girl. 



Here is the inside of the box, with the tiny little pair of Mary Janes.  They are so cute!



Supplies:
Stamp:  Studio G-Onesie
Ink:  Versafine
Paper:  Martha Stewart, The Paper Company
Misc:  Nestabilities, clear acetate, baker's twine, pop up dots, ric rak, half pearl, button, DMC pearl cotton, Martha Stewart tag, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, wired ribbon, paper doily, baby shoes, Scor-Pal, Scor-Tape

Next, up for the future basketball player.


In this all star box, a tiny pair of sneakers.  Now, the daddy of this future player is a Laker's fan, and I bleed Celtic green, so I thought blue sneakers was a happy compromise!  For a fun "boyish" bow, I used a wide shoelace.


Supplies:
Stamps:  Papertrey Ink-Just The Ticket
Ink:  Memento, VersaColor
Paper:  The Paper Company, Recollections
Misc:  Shoe lace, baker's twine, Papertrey Ink Just The Ticket Die, basketball brad, Nestabilities, clear acetate, baby sneakers, Scor-Pal, Scor-Tape

Now, the ingredients that include the letter B:
Baby
Box
Bow
Brad
Basketball
Baker's Twine
Button
Butterfly
Boy

I can't wait to give the expecting parents these gifts.  I had a blast making them!

Thanks for stopping by,


Saturday, May 5, 2012

MFTWSC70 My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Club


Here is my entry for the My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Club.  You can find all the details, here.

The  sentiment is from My Favorite Things Big Greetings stamp set.  I hand cut the fish tail banners.   The flowers were made using Papertrey Ink Beautiful Blooms Dies, buttons, and a little tulle.  I cut the leaves free hand from some felt and then added some machine stitching to create the center vein.


To personalize my card, I just added some glitters letters from my stash.

Supplies:
Stamps:  My Favorite Things-Big Greetings
Ink:  Versafine
Paper:  Papertrey Ink, Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon, Crate Paper
Misc:  Pop up dots, buttons, DMC floss, tulle, glitter letters, sewing machine, My Favorite Things Die-Namics Scallop Border.  Papertrey Ink Beautiful Blooms Flower Dies, felt, Nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by,




Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A BIG Thank You and Some Mother's Day Gifts

First of all, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who read and/or left a comment on my last post.  It is such a honor to have you all for my friends.  I could feel your hugs through my internet connection.  You are such a wonderful group of ladies, and I'm just so appreciative of your support. 

So, I've trying to re-organize my crafty space.  It's actually my bedroom, or should I say a craft room with a bed in it!  I'm trying purge/pare down my stash.  I would find stuff and not remember buying it?!  Someone one should have a challenge blog called, "When did I buy this, more importantly, why did I buy this?".  If you know anyone that has already thought of this, let me know, I'm ready for it!

Onto my project...I made some little "gifties" for the ladies at my Mom's knitting group for Mother's Day.  My Mom likes to pass out the little surprises I send with her, she said it's like when you brought cupcakes to school on your birthday.  I only got to do it twice.  My birthday is in August and in Massachusetts, it's still summer vacation.  But, when I was in kindergarten, if your birthday was in the summer, there was a special day you could bring in cupcakes.  I remember I brought in chocolate ones with Fluff frosting.  Now, explain to me why I remember that which was 40 years ago and I can't remember buying Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Nine?  The other time was when I first moved to Florida and, on my birthday, I brought cupcakes to my sister's class to share with her students.  I think she was teaching 5th grade then.  They were Publix cupcakes and they were super delicious.



Back to the topic, the little packages I made.  I made tags with some paper scraps, a few paper punches, and the sentiment from Dandelion Designs.  I tucked some candy into a glassine bag and then wrapped some tulle around it and tied it into a bow.  I made some silver rimmed tags and added a button and a tiny paper punched butterfly.



I made 13 of these little "gifties".  One for my Mom and then there are 10 ladies in the group.  There are two extra, just in case.  What I love about these is that even though I used the same papers on each one, they are arranged different on each one.  No two tags are alike, so everyone gets one that is special just for them, just like them!



Supplies:
Stamps:  Dandelion Designs
Paper:  Scraps from my Stash!
Ink:  Versamagic
Misc: Buttons, sewing machine, paper punches, half pearls, tulle, glassine bags, Making Memories Tag Maker, candy

Thanks for stopping by,