The Build-a-Bear Party

My daughter had her 6th birthday party last month.  I started out the friend party waaaayyyyy too early with her, and now I can't get out of them.  My word of caution to new mothers... if you haven't done this yet, wait as long as possible for the friend party.  Anyway, there was three options she wanted for a party (I was rooting for something outside the house), and we finally arrived at a Build-a-Bear party.  (1) She could invite boys and girls, which is still very important to her, and (2) she could get another stuffed animal without having to get rid of one (my stand-by response every time she asks for one).  Yes, she found the loophole! 

This time round, it was mandatory for her to help with invitations and preparations.  We have made a thousand die-cut Build-a-Bears in the past, so we didn't even need to cut anymore paper.  I convinced her to "share" with her friends.

Here's one of the invitations.  Every one was different.

Cupcakes by Missy and Papa, toppers by Missy and Mama.

Missy with her friends and bear, er, kitty.

And the thank you cards.  We got a chance to use the Designer Typeset polymer stamp set.

I hope everyone had a great time; I was exhausted!  :)  Thanks for stopping by!

Let It Snow...

We've been doing a bunch of sledding and xc skiing here, with three snow storms in three weeks.

I love decorating the house with snowflakes, especially in January when all the Christmas decorations are gone. I know, it's cold, it's miserable. To help get through the doldrums, I embrace snowflakes, and we usually try to get away once a month. I really look forward to these weekends! We will go xc skiing in a couple weeks. So along those lines, I finally ordered some Flurry Decor Elements, both white and Bashful Blue. I split them up, mixed and matched, to apply to the front door both this year and next. From the inside -

From the outside -

And Little Missy taking a picture of me taking a picture of her. :)

And on a snow day, it's a perfect time to create create a card I've been saving to make this time of year... sledding Build-a-Bear. .

This card is created using the tutorial by Barb at Stampin' in the Country. Click on her Build a Bear Workshop label; she's got lots of great bear ideas!

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Season by Season, Serene Snowflakes; Paper: Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Going Gray, Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Whisper White; Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Versamark, Chocolate Chip marker; Accessories: Sponges, Stampin' Pastels, Iridescent Ice, Dazzling Diamonds, Two-way glue, Silver beads, Hemp twine, Linen thread, Stylus, Scallop Circle punch, Wide Oval punch, Boho Blossom punch, Word Window punch, Bear die, Beary Essentials die, Big Shot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for? I'm thankful for health, safety, exercise (endorphins are legal and free!), time to stamp... But most of all, thankful for time with family...

This is a scrapbook page, one of the make & takes from the Baltimore Regionals, showing our family camping along the Hudson River over Labor Day weekend. I love getting away to camp with the family, which does not happen nearly enough!

Stamps: Day of Gratitude; Paper: Old Olive, Cajun Crazy, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink: Old Olive, Cajun Craze; Accessories: Old Olive ribbon, Decorative Label punch.

So, what's on your table this Thanksgiving Day? I created a little Mayflower pilgrim ship for my daughter, who is just learning about the meaning of Thanksgiving. More table art for the SU-Only Challenge.

The template for this ship was created by Brenda Quintana, and the one made by Julia Aston was my inspiration.

Stamps: Woodgrain BG, Holidays & Wishes; Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede marker; Ink: Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake; Accessories: Rope twine, Wooden skewer, Topnote die, Big Shot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving Pumpkins, Turkey, and Bears... Oh My!

I saw the inspiration challenge on Stampin' Celebration,

which reminded me of the white craft pumpkins I bought to decorate for Halloween. Well, my Halloween spirit is gone, so onto Thanksgiving in the nick of time.

My daughter is having too much fun carrying the pumpkins and turkey around, so I didn't want to alter them too much. How about a matching card? Am I inspiring myself?

I was also drawn to the upper left picture, like Rochelle, but hopefully my card isn't too much of a CASE. I cut strips of Crumb Cake cardstock and sponged the edges and used direct-to-paper with Soft Suede ink on the "wood planks".

Edit to add: this project won top 3 on Stampin' Celebration - yay!

Stamps: Holiday Best; Paper: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Autumn Traditions DSP; Ink: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede marker; Accessories: Raffia, Wide Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Large Oval punch, Small Oval punch, Crop-o-dile, Sponges, Leaves #2 die, Big Shot.

And another project... I saw a picture of some pilgrim and indian bears, created by Charity Lawson for the Portland Regionals Workshop WOW. Oh my gosh, I had to make some! I love decorating the house with seasonal Build-a-Bears, and it had been a while. For the sake of my daughter, right? ;)

I used the Scallop Edge punch for the grass (punch, shift a half scallop, punch again), sponged it, and also sponged the clouds with Whisper White Craft ink. This scene card is going right up on the white board.

Stamps: Season of Friendship; Paper: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Whisper White, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Certainly Celery; Ink: Early Espresso, Old Olive, Whisper White craft; Accessories: Sponges, Scallop Edge punch, Corner Rounder punch, Early Espresso ribbon, Hemp twine, Bear die, Beary Essentials die, Beary Love die, Birds & Blooms Sizzlit, Big Shot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Big Shot Club - Session #3

Good Morning, Everyone! We had the Big Shot club on Tuesday. Phew! Classes are done for the month. I thought April would be a little quieter than March; I was wrong! I just need to make it through May 1, and then it will calm down? One can hope.

Anywho, on to the project sharing. The focus of this class was cutting "alternate materials". For the first project, we cut wood sheets with the Big Shot.

The leaves were cut with Leaves #2 die and sponged. The wood sheets are really nice! They are very thin wood, so I actually could cut them on my rotary paper cutter, and they have cardstock on the back so you can adhere them easily. The sentiment, from the set Wandering Words from the past Holiday mini, is embossed in gold, always a challenge to photograph. For the envelope-type fold, I cut the base to 5-1/2 x 8-7/8" and scored the top at 2-1/2" and the bottom at 2-1/8".

Stamps: Wandering Words; Paper: Soft Suede, Autumn Traditions DSP; Ink: More Mustard, Ruby Red, Versamark; Accessories: Corner rounder punch, Gold embossing powder, Sponge, Linen thread, Corduroy button, Wood sheets, Leaves #2 die, Big Shot.

For the second project, we die-cut self-adhesive cork.

This one is a clean-and-simple (CAS) design, inspired by 'KandiPants' on SCS.

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, En Francais background; Paper: Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla; Ink: Basic Black, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Scallop edge punch, Scallop circle punch, Saffron grosgrain ribbon, Linen thread, Button, cork, Basket & Blooms die, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

For the last project, we played with fabric. Here Heat 'n Bond was ironed onto the fabric, and then die-cut. The diecut fabric is then ready to iron onto your project. The Heat 'n Bond makes it easier to cut the fabric cleanly and can also be cut in a large rotary paper cutter.

We decorated small drawstring bags with Build-a-Bears. I have previously shown the girl bear, and here Faith created a boy bear.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Good Friday!

I love Easter! It's the very best holiday... spring is here... birds... flowers... Jesus died for our sins and rose again. What more could one ask for?

The egg was a symbol of the rebirth of the earth in celebrations of spring and was adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus.^[1] The egg is symbolic of the grave and life renewed or resurrected by breaking out of it. Like eggs, rabbits and hares are also symbols of fertility.

I have a couple Easter projects for your viewing pleasure. First up, an egg tree -

This one has the same layout as the shamrock tree earlier this month. Ever since I made that one, this one was in my mind. Again I used the tiny egg from the Occasions Collection set, which I had unmounted, trimmed, and mounted on an acrylic block. The little bunny was an add-on; he's so cute! He is stamped twice and popped up. I have to say, if you haven't used these embossing folders, you should try them! They are 'da bomb'! They make such a nice deep impression!

Stamps: Branch Out, Forest Friends, Occasions Collection, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper: Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa; Ink: Various Soft Subtles, Chocolate Chip ink & marker; Accessories: Sponge, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, Glue dot, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Big Shot, Ruler, Dimensionals.

I have been decorating my house with Build-a-Bears lately. So of course I needed a bunny bear. These bears are my daughter's favorite.

Paper: Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Whisper White, Delicate Dots DSP, Welcome Neighbor DSP, Sweet Pea DSP; Ink: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Sponge, Scallop Edge punch, Big Shot, and Bear, Beary Essentials, Beary Girl, Beary Hoppy dies.

And yesterday my daughter joined in the fun at an Easter egg hunt in our (finally!) beautiful weather.

Thanks for stopping by!

Leprechaun Bear

A fellow Stampin' Addicts blogger made a Build-a-Bear Leprechaun, and it was just so cute. Heck, I haven't made any St. Patrick's Day projects yet, so in between music class and satisfying the demands of the jelly bean snob (my daughter) who only wanted the green Jelly Bellies from Adams, off I went to CASE.

The basket and necktie are from the new die Beary Hoppy in the Occasions mini. It is a Sizzlits die and very affordable at $5.95. I am sure there is an Easter bear or two in my future!

The original art work was created by Lisa Naples, her blog here. Thanks for inspiring me today!

Stamps: Holiday Blitz; Paper: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Garden Green, Certainly Celery; Ink: Garden Green, Certainly Celery; Accessories: Sponge, Gold embossing powder, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Small circle punch, Big Shot, and Bear, Beary Essentials, Beary Boy, Beary Hoppy dies.

Thanks for stopping by!

Big Shot Fabric Swap: Build-a-Bear Drawstring Bag

Here is my other Big Shot fabric swap item - the Build-a-Bear drawstring bag. This would be a perfect party favor bag for birthday parties.

I created this one the same way as the appliqued towel. Iron on Heat 'n Bond to the backside of the fabric and run it through the Big Shot with the Stampin Up Bear and Beary Girl dies. Yes, I was able to cut fabric with the Sizzlit dies! Then remove the backing from the Heat 'n Bond and iron onto the drawstring bag. I just pressed the iron rather than moving it back and forth to avoid the fabric from fraying at the edges. I added a Sending Love epoxy brad from the Occasions mini for a little belt bling.

We will be making these bags at our Big Shot club Meeting #3 (Alternate Materials theme) on March 30th. Feel free to join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Cute Little Gift

I created my first paper pin this weekend. This was surprising easy to make and super fun! The hardest part was driving to the store to pick up pin backs when it was snowing here. :( I learned this technique from 'sherristampsalot' at Virginia Regionals.

I didn't take too many photos, so I'll have to recreate this and post a tutorial later.

Stamps: Beary Best Friends; Paper: Basic Gray, Watercolor paper; Ink: Black Stazon, Pretty in Pink reinker, Versamark; Accessories: Wide oval punch, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Earth Elements and Neutrals watercolor crayons, Aquapainter, Crystal Effects, Pin backing.

This pin was a gift, so I packaged it in this little matchbox, which was inspired by 'peggy-sue' on SCS. I LOVE this vintage-y look!

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Sending Love DSP; Ink: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Matchbox die, Big Shot, Eyelet Border punch, Word window punch, Pretty in Pink corduroy buttons, Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

SAB and New Occasions Mini Start Today!

Today's the day - Sale-a-bration and the new Occasions mini start today!! There are some great spring sets and accessories in there. Grab a cup of coffee and sit down to peruse!

One exciting item to note - most stamp sets are now available in either wood-mounted or acrylic-mounted options.

If you are looking to save space and buy stamp sets at lower prices, clear-mounted stamp sets may be the way for you! All you would need is a set of Stampin' Up's high quality, four-sided grooved acrylic blocks (pg. 6 of the Occasions mini). With the money you will save on stamp sets, the blocks will easily pay for themselves.

In addition to the two brochures, there is another neat set of coordinating products available, the Sweetheart stamp set and Heart Treat cups.

The stamp set and cups coordinate with the Full Heart punch, for quick, easy, and cute treats just in time for Valentine's! More information is available on the right sidebar.

I thought I would share a more ideas for the Something Sweet stamp set, available in the Occasions mini.

- More Gumball Machines -

I ordered this set in the new clear-mounted version, and one neat thing you will find with this set - the rubber of the circle stamp is die-cut both on the outside AND on the inside. Don't throw that inside circle away! I used it as part of the background stamping. The candy pieces were stamped using the masking technique, and the "jar" part of the gumball machine was heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

Stamps: Something Sweet, Enjoy Every Moment, Priceless; Paper: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White; Ink: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped grosgrain ribbon, Silver brads, Scallop edge punch, Clear embossing powder, Dimensionals.

- Spinner Card - I had a few more ideas for this stamp set. The New Year's Eve challenges gave me the push to get some of them done, while also challenging me to get out of my color rut. Love those challenges!!

Here is my first spinner card. There is a tutorial for this card on Splitcoaststampers (Resources section). The color combo I used here is Sage Shadow, Cameo Coral, and Chocolate Chip. I would never have tried this combo, and I think it looks pretty sweet - LOL!

- Beary Sporty Girl - There was several comments that the baby rattle handle looked like a baseball bat. So why not??

I stamped the baseball by running my marker around the gumball stamp for an outline and drew in the stitches with the Real Red marker. I don't have the Pretty in Pink marker, so I created the pin stripes on bear's pants with reinker and a calligraphy pen (my past and present paper hobbies collide - love that!). And for the record - she's a girl who plays baseball (according to DH, the ball is too small to be a softball). Tough girl!

- You Are My Sunshine - I loved Lyssa's weathered card from the blog hop, so I CASE'd it.

I texturized the center of the sunflower with the Big Shot texturz plate, and the base cardstock was "weathered" with Dusty Durango and Craft White ink direct-to-paper technique.

The supplies for these cards can be found on my SCS gallery, unless otherwise noted. Thanks for stopping by!

Dressing Bear

"Dressing Bear", that's what my daughter calls the Build-a-Bear projects with all the clothes to dress them with.

You recall the magnetic bear I made...

Well, I've had a flannel and felt board in progress for a while. It takes a lot of people to put this together: trips to fabric store and craft store for flannel, felt and artist canvas frame, Grandma to sew the flannel piece together, Papa to staple fabric onto artist canvas frame, and Janneke to help cut out some Build-a-Bears and clothes.

The blue striped and green bunny/duck fabric are both flannel, to represent grass and sky. The bears were diecut out of stiffer felt, and the clothes were cut out of a tie-dye felt pack. It is a big hit!

Thanks for stopping by!

Magnetic Build-a-Bear

Janneke just loves to "make bear" and "make clothes" with the Build-a-Bear Big Shot dies. So I decided to give the "magnetic Build-a-Bear" a try. This led to a long discussion with my husband about the polarity of the magnetic sheets and how best to get a strong magnetic attraction (true physicists at heart). I haven't perfected it yet, but here is my first pass.

All the clothes pieces can be stored in the Skinny Tins, which are on sale on the Clearance Rack. Super cute!

And how about a picture of our Halloween cow?

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamper Bear

Stamper Bear took a trip to the Build-a-Bear workshop store to get dressed. She is ready for some Build-a-Bear events... contact me to schedule yours today! It would be fun to do a Mom and me event!

We could make little coloring books with the Beary Best Friends stamp set

and make paper bear dolls with the Big Shot dies.

So fun! Thanks for stopping by!