Winter Roses

Hi Everyone, One of the design team cards for the Our Creative Corner challenge just blew me away this week... Dana's card, to be exact. The challenge is to use blue and cream and add metal and vellum. I love vellum, and I am now wondering why it doesn't make it to my cards more often. I definitely wanted to give some vellum rosettes a try.

I was trying to go for a white-on-white look, so I didn't want to use too much Night of Navy cardstock, just a sprig or two. I used the Table Setting die to create the rosettes. While my tombo glue was still tacky, I added silver micro beads for the metal part. I also sponged the rosettes and glued a couple of Night of Navy circles to the bottom.

This card will also fit in nicely to the Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge this week.

Stamps: Warmest Regards; Paper: Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White; Ink: Night of Navy; Accessories: Sponge, Silver micro beads, White satin ribbon, Circle punches, Finial Press embossing folder, Table Setting die, Big Shot, Tombo multipurpose adhesive, Dimensionals.

Sorry my card is very CASE-y, but I just had to play!! Thanks for stopping by!

Quilt Block Projects

Good morning Everyone! I thought I would follow up with the final wall hanging from the quilt block swap I participated in last spring.

I created a couple additional blocks myself, so that all blocks had neutral backgrounds. I handed these off to my mom, the family quilter, to put it together for me.

You can click on the image for a closer view. Can you guess which ones I made? Of course, you can cheat and click here for all past fabric posts, which gives away the answer.

I had one extra block, which I gave to my mom. She made a little pillow out of it and gave it to my daughter for Christmas. So adorable!

It fits in perfectly with the room that is quickly transforming into a princess room. In fact, I will be back next week for one or two more installments of the transformation.

Don't forget that the January edition of Paper Crafters Sampler ...With Love is available now (code PCSHB).

Thanks for stopping by!

Matchbook Dresser

My blogging buddy Karen posted a matchbox dresser, and I made a note to put this one on my to-do list. I think opening these little drawers, hiding little treasures, are perfect for a young tween girl, who's "too old for princesses".

The flower on top was created by starting with ~18" of Purely Pomegranite satin ribbon and cutting half way across the width of the ribbon every 3/4-1", rounding the edges of the cuts, and then heating with a heat gun until the ribbon curls. Once the curling is done, just form a ribbon on a 1-3/4" circle of Sticky Strip pages or Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets.

The hardest part is to find some little treasures that fit into a matchbox drawer.

For this drawer, I stamped some tissue paper and wrapped up some earrings.

Can you tell I find chocolate to be a pretty good gift?

Stamps: Wonderful You; Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP; Ink: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry; Accessories: Clear rhinestone brads, Tissue paper, Purely Pomegranite satin ribbon, Multipurpose adhesive sheet, 1-3/4" Cirlce punch, Pearl brad, Topnote die, Matchbox die, Big Shot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Steampunk Genre

Have you heard of the steampunk genre? According to Wikipedia, steampunk involves the steam engine era, 19th century or Victorian Britian, and science fiction, as it was seen at that time. Think scientific romance of H.G. Wells or Jules Verne.

Steampunk has been gaining popularity in the papercrafting world. Anyone who has seen my ATCs knows I often make them vintage. So it sounded like a nice challenge to see if I could pull off a steampunk ATC with my current supplies.

I started with a page from an AP Calculus study guide as a background and stamped gears, pocket watch and vintage carnival images. I layered the pocket watch, aviator goggles, and (hubby's creation) a bike balloon. The balloon was created by free-hand drawing rope lines, cutting each section apart, sponging, and reassembling.

I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

Stamps: Pedaling Past, Plane & Simple, Sweet Centers, Pocket watch by Inkadinkado, Sense of Time, Carnival scene by Club Scrap; Paper: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Very Vanilla, Pages from AP Calculus study guide; Ink: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Soft Suede, Early Espresso; Accessories: Sponges, Brad, Crystal Effects, 1-3/4" Circle punch, Craft knife.

Thanks for stopping by!

Suitcase Tutorial Is Now Available

Hi Everyone, I created this suitcase box for the Stampin' Addicts Occasions Mini Blog Hop.

Stamps: Plane & Simple; Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Botanical Gazette DSP; Ink: Marina Mist; Accessories: Marina Mist taffeta ribbon, Early Espresso taffeta ribbon, Eyelet, Brads, Decorative Label punch, Corner Rounder punch, Word Window punch, Small Oval punch, Cogs punch, 1-3/4" Circle punch, Crop-o-dile, Square Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot, Candy.

The finished size is 3-3/8 x 5-1/2 x 1-3/8".  I've created a tutorial for the box, which is available now for $5.00. A PDF file of the tutorial will be emailed to you within 24 hours once your purchase is complete.

I would love for you to share your creations here and around the web. But please keep in mind this tutorial is copyrighted, so please do not share with others, but rather refer them back to this webpage. Thanks so much!!

January Paper Crafters Sampler Sneak Peek and Occasions Mini Starts Today!

In a few days, the new issue of Paper Crafters Sampler will be released, and I'm excited to report this will be the first issue that I'm a contributing designer! Woohoo!

The January issue is now available for purchase. Plus, through January 9, you can get an early bird special on a yearly subscription. That's 12 months full of fantastically creative projects, with instructions and supplies lists, from some amazing stampers, $89 for a full-year subscription. Make sure you use code PCSHB so Melanie knows I sent you.

In the meantime, here is a sneak peek of my project.

I am so excited about how it came out, so I hope you drop by Paper Crafters Sampler to take a look.

And today's the day the new Occasions mini starts!

This mini is BEA-U-TIFUL!!! Click on the icon above to download your own copy, or contact me if you would like one in your own hands.



So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!! Thanks for stopping by!

Plane & Simple Projects

Thanks for coming back for further description of the Stampin' Addicts Occasions Mini Blog Hop projects, featuring the stamp set Plane & Simple. First up, the Aviator Birthday Card.

I mentioned I used a scallop circle template and sponging to create the sky. I also used a sewing machine to create the loop-de-loop path of the plane. Here is a close up of the crystal effects on the goggles.

Stamps: Plane & Simple; Paper: River Rock, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Newsprint DSP; Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Baja Breeze, Soft Suede; Accessories: Sponges, Scallop Circle punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Metallic brad, Crystal Effects, Craft knife, Sewing machine, Thread.

Here are some additional shots of the suitcase box, filled with one of my dad's favorite candy, Snickers! I don't want to go into the scoring and cutting details right now. That's a whole 'nother post.

Edited to add: Tutorial is available here.

Stamps: Plane & Simple; Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Botanical Gazette DSP; Ink: Marina Mist; Accessories: Marina Mist taffeta ribbon, Early Espresso taffeta ribbon, Eyelet, Brads, Decorative Label punch, Corner Rounder punch, Word Window punch, Small Oval punch, Cogs punch, 1-3/4" Circle punch, Crop-o-dile, Square Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot, Candy.

For the diorama card, I started with a 4-1/4 x 7" based (both for front and back), scored 1" on either end. I created by background sky scene by brayering with Marina Mist ink. Clouds were created by tracing on Newsprint DSP and then applying Whisper White Craft ink directly to them. The plane was cut out and popped up, and the "happy father's day" banner was curled to give it a dimensional feel.

The middle layer started with a 1 x 6" strip, scored 1/2" on either end. Once assembled, this is attached directly to the inside of the "box". The middle scene was created by free-hand cutting grassy hills out of Pear Pizzazz and Old Olive DSP, sponging the edges. Trees were stamped and cut out using the Trendy Trees set.

Stamps: Plane & Simple, Trendy Trees; Paper: Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Newsprint DSP, Pear Pizzazz DSP, Old Olive DSP; Ink: Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Whisper White Craft; Accessories: Brayer, Sponges, Linen thread, Topnote die, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!