Sites of the week

There is a new stamp company on the block!…My Cute Stamps {fun lil’ name!!} I am excited that I am the Guest Designer for MCS this month. Today I have a fun and easy notebook to show you. First, I started off with the Spunky Nature set and made my own pattern paper…good idea in this economy!! I then matted it and stitched around the edges and then adhered it to another piece of cardstock, which is essentially the cover to the notebook.

To jazz up the cover a little, I used the EK Success Scalloped Scallop border punch {I loveeee this punch!!}. The strip with my name and the buttons were kinda an afterthought when I wanted to make it a little more personal. The notebook is bound with my Bind-It-All, but if you do not have a BIA you can still make these…easy peasy. In the office section of Wal-Mart they sell binder rings and you can punch holes in your covers and papers and then bind it with the rings. Just another sweet and simple gift for teachers or anyone else.

Alright, I’m outta here for now. See you tomorrow for another Sketch For You To Try. I’ll be taking some days off next week as I hang out with some family that is coming in today from out of town.

TGIF y’all! Hope everyone had a great {and productive} week. I have been creating like crazy…as you all have seen! Today I have 3 {of the same} projects to show you. I got some of Jody’s die cuts and I can’t put them down…and I was already addicted to the dimensional boosters that she has. BTW-the boosters I use are the same shape as SU! ones, but basically made with red-line adhesive…AWESOME! The die cut that I used for today’s creations is the Candy Box {the first one on her die cut sale page}. Before I even got started creating, I brainstormed some ideas for these. Here are a few that I came up with:

-Just Because/Friend
-Thank You
-Wedding Favor
-Kid’s Party Favor
-Office/Co-worker Birthday
-Teacher Gifts {you know it’s that time of year!!}
-Sports Team and/or Coach Gifts/Incentives
-Any Holiday Theme
-Place Setting {put names on them}
…I am sure there are a ton more, but I stopped here because I had enough to get started on these…

This is one that I made with a sports team theme. When I played soccer in high school we had secret sisters and this would have been perfect to fill with goodies or even team colored hair bows. I forgot to anti-static my paper before I used super fine black embossing powder, but I actually like the way that it came out…kinda matching the distressed look of the PTI stamp…

Yep, I embossed the candy box with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. You have to be a little creative to do it since it is not a perfect fit, but it is definitely {and easily} do-able. I put the embossing folder over the center part of the candy box and then folded the end pieces/flaps on top of the folder and then ran it through. It isnt’ quite long enough, so you have to do it from the other side, too.

The next one I made can be for a wedding or party favor. The bright colors of this one say “party” to me, but if tone down the colors, these would make fab wedding favors. Again, where were these when I was making my own wedding favors 5 years ago?

See those glittery dots? I made those, too! I used Jody’s sticky dots and placed them all over the paper and then sprinkled pink glitter on top…viola, sparkle paper! Note: you only need to put the dots on 4 of the 5 sides because one them is tucked/adhered under to make it into a square shape. Here’s pic of the paper with all the dots on it…

Finally, here is one that would be perfect for a “Just Because” type gifty. You can always change up the sentiment and embellishment to make it for any occasion. I think that these would make cute place cards for a holiday dinner or wedding. The “Friend” stamp is from the new release “Because of You” from Verve Stamps.

Here are a few detail shots from when I created this…

Give the edges some “flair” by using a border punch {one of those new EK Success ones here}. I think that EK Success has one that has either or both ABC/123 and I think that would be SO CUTE for teacher gifts!

I covered each side with white embossed cardstock and then matted it with pink cardstock. Again, you only have to do 4 of the 5 sides, because you glue one under.

The dimensions of the cardstock pieces are: 2 3/8″ x 1 3/8″ and 2 1/4″ x 1 1/4″.

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So, on Wednesday I got some SUPER happy mail…

That’s MY card on the cover!! O-M-G!! That’s worth tooting my horn about!! lol!! See ya tomorrow for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY!

TGIF! Is everyone ready for the weekend? We have another birthday party to go to and some serious relaxin’ to do! I also have some serious stampin’ and publication submitting to do. I hope that all your plans include fun and sunny days. It’s a bright sunny day that inspired my colors for today’s project, in fact. I have been slightly addicted to this flower shape on the Noteworthy Slice Design Card. I love layering the colors and sizes and I have been playing around with some texture, too.

The dress form is from none other than the queen’s of all things alterable…GLUE ART & PAPER STUDIO. I used green gingham paper that I got at Hobby Lobby {Paper Studio brand} and polka dot Doodlebug Designs paper to cover it. The gorgeous green satin ribbon is from Taylored Expressions. I FINALLY played with some of the pom pom ribbon that I have bundles of! I just never think to use it, even though it is hot, hot, hot right now. I scalloped the edges of some SU! Pixie Pink cardstock and then adhered mini green rhinestones to the edge for a little added bling bling. I repeated that bling bling in the center of the each of the Prima flowers. Here is a detail shot…

Here’s a tip about covering alterables…
If you do not want to sand the edges, be sure to closely trace the shape onto your pattern paper. Then, cut the shape out with sharp scissors, adhere to the alterable and then {here’s the tip part} take your bone folder along the where the paper meets the edges for a smooth finish.

And, the Ellie pics I promised…

ADVENTURES WITH BUBBLES

The last one cracks me up! So much effort for bubbles! LOL! Have a great weekend! You know I’ll have another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {winner announced, too!}.

Um, wasn’t it **just** Monday? Time flew by this week! I received some great news yesterday…I got a job at Ellie’s school! It’s a Mother’s Day Out program and I will be in the 4 year old class next year. YAY!

Well, being that is actually is Friday {already}, I have an ABC {Anything But A Card} project to show you. I pulled out a door hanger with pouch template that I had printed off a while ago from Andrea Walford. You can find that template HERE. I modified the measurements to my needs, and this is what I came up with…

Here is a little more of a side shot. I really like how the rounded edges on the pocket part came out. I kept the paper folded in half as I punched with my corner rounder punch.

Close up of My Favorite Things’ Flopsey from the Flopsey’s Flowers set…

A little about my design process on this project…
First, I knew that I wanted an all pink hanger, but I knew that I didn’t want a one layer project. So, I used Vintage Cream cardstock {PTI} to mat another layer of Pink Pirouette {SU!}, which I embossed with the Cuttlebug Heart Block embossing folder.
To get the circle cut out of the top of the hanger, I used my circle Nestabilities. Then, I created a scalloped circle frame. I repeated the scallops along the edges of the sentiment panel {SU! Old Olive}. For finishing touches, I added the flowers to the top of the hanger circle with a rhinestone in the center. I also repeated the rhinestones {on a smaller scale} on top of the flowers that Flopsey is holding.

See you tomorrow for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY

Happy {Good} Friday! I finally reached for some more spring-y pastel colors and made this little basket as a gift for my neighbor. It’s filled with iridescent grass and a cello bag filled with pastel jellybeans {yummy ones!}.

I started off with a 8.5″ square paper {PTI Lemon Tart} and score at 2.75″ on each side. I then cut, folded and pasted it into box form. I covered the sides with purple polka dot paper {The Paper Studio} and then punched holes to thread the ribbon in and out of. The ribbon is secured on the inside of the box with red-line tape. I then added a handle made of the same ribbon that I threaded through the basket {PTI Lemon Tart Saddle Stitch ribbon}. The buttons are both for decoration and they secure the handle…well, actually, I guess that is what the linen thread is doing, but you get the idea.

In the pic above and below, you can see the scalloped scallop edge that I added. This is becoming one of my “go to” punches {EK Success}. It’s one that I picked up at Michael’s with my handy 40% off coupon. As for the front of the basket, I cut out 2 flowers with my Slice machine, ran them through the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and inked the edges. Then, I added a Prima flower and the butterfly punches topped with Swarovski crystals.

Here’s a shot of the inside of the bag topped with PTI New Leaf satin ribbon inside the box…

This was a super easy project that can easily be customized for holidays and events. Although I chose not to, a sentiment or name could easily be hung off the handle. These would be lots of fun for favors for showers or kid’s parties. Have fun with it!

Hope you have a wonder Friday! I will be back tomorrow with another Sketch For You To Try!