Three Days of Bliss

I still get excited about getting FREE stamps during Sale-A-Bration. Who couldn’t, right? This year was no exception when I saw the upcoming Sale-A-Bration brochure and what it contained!

Over the next three days, I’m going to share with you some projects that include my favorite FREE stamp set from the 2011 Stampin’ UP! Sale-A-Bration brochure, Bliss.   If you didn’t get the brochure in the mail from me, you’ll need to email me so I can get you on the list to receive the next ones.  In the meantime, you can view the brochure here.  Sale-A-Bration Brochure. Remember all it takes during Sale-A-Bration is a $50 order to get your own Bliss stamp set for FREE. As an extra bonus, anyone that places a Sale-A-Bration order with me, will get one of the “bliss”ful cards in the mail for your own use.

This is what I call a scrap card because it was made of all the scraps that I’ve been holding on to since I started stamping.  This card is a little bit rustic and a little bit vintage..would you call that rustic vintage? It reminds me of all the old barns that I see on American Pickers. I guess you could say that I was “picking” through my scraps for the treasures I needed for this project! This card would be perfect for a wedding, a valentine, a love note or any extremely happy occasion.

Stamps:   Bliss, Elements of Style
Papers:  Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Bravo Burgundy, First Edition Designer Series Paper
Ink: Crumb Cake, Bravo Burgundy, Bravo Burgundy Craft Ink
Accessories: Crumb Cake and Bravo Burgundy Stampin’ Write Markers, Sponge, Antique Brads, Vanilla Seam Tape, Dimensionals 
Tools: Handheld Punch 1/16” Circle, Snail Adhesive, Extra Large Oval Punch, Designer Label Punch, Cutter Kit (Distresser) 
Techniques Used:  Sponging, Ink Direct to Paper, Distressing

Thanks for stopping by!  Watch for another creation using bliss tomorrow.

Enjoy!

 

 

Place a $50 order through my online store now and earn the Bliss Stamp set for FREE or any one of the amazing items that are contained in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure for FREE!

Round Clothespin Gift Topper

This year has got me trying out some new items to decorate!  So I thought this might be the perfect item to share for Shelli’s New Year Creative Challenge.  

This is another fun little item that I bought this year…round clothespins with holders.  I never saw the holders before so I had to buy those too!  I’m glad I did because the holders allow the clothespin to stand up without toppling.  What a perfect idea…keep the topper as a decor item!   

On this project, I used one of the mini lunch sacks* from the Holiday mini, folded the top over to create some thickness added the 3 x 3 card which added more thickness and designed a quick little ornament to attach to the top of the clothespin.  I pushed the holder to the very top of the clothespin and attached to the package.  Easy peasy!

A couple of things to note: How did I do that?

Heart Ornament:  The little hearts were punched out of DSP and again out of Very Vanilla Cardstock.  I attached the DSP hearts together and then attached some linen thread to the top and then covered the back of the hearts with the Very Vanilla hearts to create a more stable ornament.  I just love how this turned out – Simple and Lovely.

Ribbon:  The ribbon I used was the 1-1/4” striped black and vanilla grosgrain ribbon.  I used pinking shears to create a couple of strips and attached to the card and the topper.  It shred easily to create a vintage feel.  So fun!

Enjoy!

 

 

*The heart to heart punch, the two-step bird punch, jewelry tag medium punch and Newsprint DSP are currently available for purchase.  The mini lunch sack from the Holiday Mini is no longer available.

Thread Spool Card Holder How To

These are some samples of some mini thread spools that I created this past week.  This post is to show you how I created the spool with the card holder.

You’ll need wire, the spool your using and some pliers.  I used Stampin’ Up!’s retired Wire Works 20-guage brass wire. I chose a heavier wire so that it wouldn’t bend easily when inserting the mini card. I kept the wire on the wire spool while wrapping, but if you prefer to have a section of wire, use a piece approximately 5” long.

 

 

First, wrap the wire around the spool so that you have two complete loops. 

 

 

 

Next, take your pliers and bend the wire ends so that they are at right angles (approx) from the spool.

 

Gently remove the wire from the spool so that it stays intact and bring the back loop over the front loop.  This creates a bit of tension so that when you place your mini card between the two loops it is held there.  **Don’t forget this step.**

 

Using the pliers, twist the two ends of the wire together and then bend towards the loop.

 

 

 

Clip the ends of the wires using your craft and paper scissors and squeeze together as necessary so that it will fit into the spool hole. You may need to widen if your spool is larger so watch how much you clip off.

Decorate your spool as desired then dip the end of the wire into some crystal effects and insert into the spool.  Allow about 3-5 minutes to dry and it is ready to hold your mini project.

 

 

 

Create one or a bunch of them.  A fun way to create words or names sitting on a shelf or mantle!

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin’ UP! Mini Card Fun

I’ve been sewing again…watching too much DIY channels I think!  I’ve been busy making some new pillows for the old couch to liven it up a bit!  So, when I got back to my stamping room the first thing I picked up was some of the new Designer Fabric that is available in the new Occasions Mini!  I just love the sweet flower prints from the Springtime Vintage pattern and created a cute mini card using Stampin’ Up!’s new Sew Suite set using my clear blocks.  I never made cards this small but a stamping friend back in Illinois paved the way for this cute little thing.  (Thanks, Peggy!)  The size is a mere 1.5” x 2”. 

Now that size might ring a bell with you if you have purchased any of the beautiful Simply Adorned jewelry that Stampin’ Up! has available! This cute little card fits just perfectly (of course it does!) into the 1.5” x 2” Simply Adorned beveled glass front charm.

These charms are so great because they can change with the season, with a holiday or with your mood!  A great gift when you include some of your special pieces of hand crafted art (a mini Artist Trading Card (ATC)) or a mini card such as this one with a special message inside.  Is that sew cool or what?!  Think about using a strip of that same fabric for your chain!  I’ll have to go do that after I’m done here!

Now I couldn’t stop at the charm so I played a bit more with some mini thread spools that I just recently purchased.  I don’t know why I purchased them, I just knew that I would come up with some kind of amazing project.  I am sure you have done that before too, right?  Well, in case you have any spools laying around you can create this fun project too! It doesn’t matter what size spool because any size will do.

I covered the spool with a strip of the Designer Fabric with Stampin’ Up!’s Snail Adhesive and added a wire loop to the top to create a mini card holder.  Tomorrow, I’ll post how I created the loop with a couple other samples.

My mini card holder can be used to hold mini cards,  business cards, seating place cards,  extra inserts for your Simply Adorned charms or perfect to hold any mini pieces of your art work. 

Any of these projects can be used as little acknowledgments for birthdays, graduations, get well wishes or any occasion that you can create a card for.  They remain a memento that the recipient can cherish forever!

Enjoy!

 

Stampin’ Up! products from the 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog or the Occasions Mini Catalog can be purchased through my online store or through me at 214-383-4551 or 630-930-4801!  Sale-a-Bration starts on January 25th!  Qualifying Online orders and orders placed through me earn you free product!

Christmas Mix It Up with Non-Traditional Colors

When we think of Christmas, we think of red, green and sometimes a bit of blue and white.  Frequently around the holidays I like to challenge myself by using other colors than the traditional. 

I’ve put a bit of a vintage twist into this Christmas card by using black and vanilla as my main colors.  If you haven’t purchased the Newsprint Designer Series Paper you are going to want to have that for your paper creations going forward.  It is so lovely and it creates a wonderful background to my Christmas card. 

I got my inspiration for the layout for this card on page 96 of the 2010-2011 Stampin’ UP! Idea Book and Catalog.  I made a slight modification by creating a slit in the background paper and weaving the Very Vanilla strip to the front.  By doing that I created the perfect space for my greeting.  Don’t you just love that greeting?  It comes from the Just Believe stamp set, which by chance isn’t even from a Christmas set, but it is just perfect for this time of year!  I really love how this turned out.  What do you think?

Stamps:   Lovely as a Tree, Just Believe
Papers:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla 
Ink: Versmark, Basic Black
Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Vintage Brads, Black Stampin’  Emboss Powder,
Tools: Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Snail Adhesive, Hobby Blade, Handheld Punch 1/16” Circle
Techniques Used:  Heat Embossing

The finished card size is 4-1/4” x 4- 1/14”.  I like to change up the card size every now and again too…just to mix it up!  I usually mail these in a standard greeting size envelope.

Enjoy!

December Birthdays

I’m sure many of you know someone in your family or a friend that has a December birthday.  I know it is really hard for those people because everyone likes to lump their birthdays in with Christmas.  So, in the spirit of giving I created this fun card for my son’s teacher Mrs. Hardy.  I am so in LOVE with the new bling from the catalog – okay, forgive me for saying NEW, because it is all new to me right now!  7 months of no stamping and I feel like I am on stamping overload! I’m still trying to use as much of my stamping stuff as I can!  LOL! 

A dear friend sent me a picture of a holiday card found over at  Tamara Black’s blog. It was a great starting out place for me and just the inspiration I needed for Mrs. H’s birthday card.  All the “presents” are wrapped/stamped with background stamps.  Don’t you just love those mini background stamps?

Stamps:   A to Z, Dot,Dot,Dot, Solid Stripes, En Francais, Monogram Sweet
Papers:  Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Jet Black Stazon
Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Whisper White Satin Ribbon
Tools: Snail Adhesive, Boho Blossoms Punch, 1-3/8 Square Punch, Paper Snips, Sticky Strip, Needle and Thread, Itty Bitty Bits Punch Pack, Decorative Label Punch, 1-1/4 Circle Punch
Techniques Used:  I gathered the ribbon with needle and thread and secured with Sticky Strip behind the Basic Black layer of cardstock.  

I hope the next time you decide to design a December birthday it doesn’t contain Holly, Christmas trees or wreaths and comes in other colors besides green and red!

Enjoy!

What projects are you creating next?  Should you need any Stampin’ UP! supplies please visit my online store.