Previous month:
January 2017
Next month:
March 2017

Posts from February 2017

Monday Montage 88

Mondaymontage6

Welcome to the Monday Montage blog hop!  Every other Monday, my friends and I share inspiring projects.  Be sure to visit all the stops....you don't want to miss anything!

I created a blog post & video tutorial for a covered Jr. Legal pad with matching pen in 2010.  That particular project still sends tons of new people to my blog every month.  I thought it would be a good time to update the project with some of my current supplies.  I've been sick as a dog all weekend, so I ended up just grabbing a few things from my scrap stash to pull this together.

 

 

Jr. Legal Pad Cover

  covered jr. legal pad


legal pad close up

 

 You can view the original video tutorial below.  Perhaps if I get my voice back this week, I'll update it as well.

 

 

Jr. Legal Pad Cover Paper Measurements
  • Cover:  8" x 11.5", scored at 5.5", 6", and 6.5"
  • Front Cardstock Layer:  4-3/4" x 7-3/4"
  • Front Designer Series Paper Layer:  4-1/2" x 6" and 4-1/2" x 1-1/2"
  • Top of Legal Pad Designer Series Paper:  1" x 5"
  • Designer Series Paper for RSVP pen:  1" x 3-3/8"

  Legal Pad Measurements

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Be sure to visit all the stops on the hop.  Click next to see what the Wonderful Wendy has created or click back to check out Kreative Kaitlyn's fabulous project.

 

Mondaymontageback-1
Back to Kaitlyn

 

Mondaymontagenext-copy
Next to Wendy

Save

Save

Order Stampin' Up!

Let's Celebrate!

 

Cfwelcome
 

Welcome to the Control Freaks monthly blog tour! This month's theme is Let's Celebrate!  If you started at the beginning of the tour, you just visited the very talented, Lyssa Zwolanek.   She is AMAZING!!!

 

I often hear 2 things from new stampers & demonstrators:

  • "I'm not very creative and can't come up with ideas."
  • "I don't have EVERYTHING yet."

 

Well, let me assure you that even after 15 years, I still feel that way occasionally.  However, I've learned to use the catalogs for inspiration and make projects work with whatever I do have on hand.  And no, I don't own everything in the catalog (and probably never will).

 

 Birthday Blast Bundle

If you look on page 11 of the Occasions Catalog, you'll see where I got the inspiration for these projects.  I switched up the colors with ink, paper, and accessories that I already had to create some fun, birthday projects.

 

Birthday Blast Box

This little box is super cute and sure to delight anyone that receives it.

 

Birthday Blast Card by Melissa Stout

I switched the colors on the card to Flirty Flamingo with Basic Black thread and Soft Sky enamel shapes.  I also changed the orientation of the card to mix it up a bit.  Again, don't worry about what you don't have.  You can take any layout and create with items that you do own.  Don't be afraid to change colors or layouts!

 

Birthday Blast Crown

 

At my downline meeting last month, Linda made me a "crown" from the Star Blast Edgelits Dies.  I thought this was another fun use for this bundle that you might want to try!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of the web! Feel free to PIN any of the projects shown here today.

Don't forget to visit Connie Babbert to continue on the blog tour. She's got some amazing projects to share with you!

 

Cfclick

Save

Order Stampin' Up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

My husband and I usually plan a romantic date night or getaway to celebrate.  However, this year we've pretty much thrown in the towel on romance.  LOL   We've got a crazy week at work, coupled with trying to implement a new software system.  Our new software company informed us that we needed to do approximately 14 hours of training before we could use the new program.  That's 14 hours EXTRA that we have to find????  Hence, romance has been put on the back burner for now.

 

Valentine's Day close up

So, today I'm sharing a simple swap card that I created late last year, along with a few Make & Takes from ON Stage last November.  All of these projects feature the Sealed with Love Stamp Set and Sending Love Designer Series Paper.  If you need to whip up a few last-minute Valentines, these are some easy ideas to CASE.

 

sending love mini notes

In addition to the craziness at my day job, I'm also completing my final month of projects for the Splitcoast Dirty Dozen.  Those will debut tomorrow, so I'll try to give you a little sneak peek on the blog in the morning.  I hope you'll check it out.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Product List

Big Shot
$110.00

 

Order Stampin' Up!

#SSINKCS42 February Card Sketch

Sealed with Love

 Happy Day before Valentine's Day!  If you're scrambling to create a card for someone special, I've got a super quick and easy card using this weeks sketch from Stylin' Stampin' INKSpiration.

 

#SSINKCS42

 

 For this card, I used the Sealed with Love stamp set and the coordinating Sending Love Designer Series Paper.  The main greeting was stamped on Whisper White card stock with Real Red ink, then die cut with the Stitched Shapes Thinlits and the Big Shot.  I cut a scalloped circle from Real Red card stock to layer the greeting onto and make it stand out a little more.

 

Happy Valentines Day

 

 The "hugs and kisses" was stamped in Versamark ink onto Basic Black card stock.  Next, I sprinkled the image with White Embossing Powder and heat it with a heat tool until melted.

 

Hugs & Kisses

 The final touches are some pieces of the Sending Love Designer Series Paper and a couple of Real Red Enamel Shapes.

If you'd like to see what the other designers created with this sketch and play along with us this week, click HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Product List

Heat Tool
$30.00
Big Shot
$110.00

 

Order Stampin' Up!

Lift Me Up #TGIFC94

Lift Me Up Birthday

This is my first Sketch Challenge with TGIF and I hope that you'll play along with us this week.  I created a Clean & Simple birthday card using the Lift Me Up bundle, along with the coordinating Carried Away Designer Series Paper from the Sale-a-Bration and a few of my standard favorites.

 

TGIF Challenge Buttons 2017-007

 

You can click the sketch image above to see what the other talented designers created with this sketch.  Use the linky at the end of the TGIF blog to submit your card using the sketch.

 

Cloud Nine Birthday

 

I started by using the Sunburst Die to cut out a piece of Daffodil Delight Designer Series Paper from the Brights DSP stack.  After the Sunburst, I cut the Daffodil paper a second time using the Stitched Shapes Framelits.  I cut a scalloped Whisper White circle from the Layering Circles dies to back the Sunburst.  The corner piece is a 3" x 3" piece of the Carried Away Designer Series Paper.  By placing the circle/sunburst combo in the corner, I trimmed off 2 of the edges to make it fit.

 

Lift Me Up Birthday Close UP

 

The greeting and balloon image are from the Lift Me Up stamp set.  I die-cut the balloon and cloud with the coordinating dies.  The finishing touches are a Real Red enamel heart and a light touch of Clear Wink of Stella on the cloud.

Don't forget to add your card HERE.

You'll find the complete list of supplies below.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Product List

Big Shot
$110.00
Order Stampin' Up!

Love is in the Air

 

Welcome to the Stylin' Stampin' INKSpiration Blog Hop!  Our theme this month is Love is in the Air.  We've got inspiration from 16 bloggers ready to share their best ideas for Valentine's Day and other lovely occasions.  As you hop along, please be sure to comment and show some love on every blog! We are always excited to hear from our followers! You should have just left stop number 6 on the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Blog Hop - Darcy Johnson at Dj's Stampin' Place . If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn't work or you get off track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below.

 

Beautiful You and Lift Me Up

This is truly shocking.....the Beautiful You stamp set and the Lift Me Up stamp set have set on my shelf uninked for over 2 months.  It was time to put them both to work on this month's theme.  I started by stamping the image of the woman with the umbrella, and paper-pieced her dress and umbrella with paper from the Carried Away Designer Series Paper stack.  You'll also see a small strip of this paper adorning the opposite edge of the card.

 

Love is in the Air

The greeting and cloud images are from the Lift Me Up stamp set.  The clouds were stamped, die-cut, and lightly watercolored with an aqua painter using Soft Sky and Smoky Slate inks.   As a final touch, I sprinkled some enamel shapes in various shades of pink and red to mimic "love rain".  Cute, huh?

 

Thanks for stopping by!  You are now ready to move on to the next stop, which is my good friend, Cheryl.  I'm sure she has some wonderful goodies to share!

 

 

 

Blog Hop Participant List:

  1. Nichole L. at Scrappy Stamps & Ink
  2. Cathy A. at Maine Mountain Stamper
  3. Tobe B. at The Craft Sea
  4. Diana E. at Stampin' Fun with Diana
  5. Pamela W. at Stinky Tofu
  6. Darcy J. at Dj's Stampin' Place
  7. Melissa S. at The Stamp Doc
  8. Cheryl H. at Create with Cheryl
  9. Donna S. at Geek Squad Crafting
  10. Jennifer G. at Jenny G Paper Crafts
  11. Jen G. at Faith.Grace.Stamp
  12. Jen P. at By the Shore Stamping
  13. Bree W. at Craft-somnia Momma
  14. Tonya B. at Stampin' with Tonya
  15. Kim R. at Stamping with Kim
  16. Darla R. at Stampin' with Darla

Save

Save

Save

Product List

Big Shot
$110.00

 

Order Stampin' Up!

Inside the Lines Sympathy Card

Inside the Lines DSP

 

The designers at Stylin' Stampin' INKSpiration are featuring Get Well and Sympathy cards on our blog today.  Next to birthday cards and thank you cards, these are probably the types of cards I send out the most.  I certainly feel like it's important to let people know you care about them through difficult times.  Although I usually call my stamping style "clean and simple", I feel like sympathy cards should be "special and simple".  There shouldn't be a ton of fuss, but it should definitely look like you put forth the effort to create a nice, thoughtful card.

 

Mojo483

I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch for the layout and paired it with the Inside the Lines Designer Series Paper.  I wanted the card to be have a Black & White color scheme with just a small pop of color.

 

With Sympathy Card

You can get the Inside the Lines Designer Series Paper as your FREE item with any $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration.  It's gorgeous, isn't it?  There is one other Sale-a-Bration item featured on this card and that is the 3/8" Metallic Ribbon.  I felt it complimented the card nicely.  I used quite a few Big Shot items on this card and those will help you get to the $50 level quickly:  Layered Circles Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, and Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

 

Sympathy Close Up

The sentiment is from the Rose Wonder stamp set.  I colored the bee image with markers and highlighted the wings with the Clear Wink of Stella.  You'll find the complete list of supplies at the end of this post.

If you'd like to see the other designers creations, click HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Product List

Big Shot
$110.00
Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker
Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker
[131901]
$3.50

 

Order Stampin' Up!

Stylin' Stampin' INKSpiration Color Challenge #42

Carousel Birthday Color Challenge

There is a great Color Challenge on the Stylin' Stampin' INKSpiration blog today.  Check out what the designers have created HERE.  We'd love to see what you can create with this color combination so please share your creations this week using the INLinkz linkup. 

 

Carousel Birthday Close Up

I simply CASEd this card from the Occasions Catalog page 8.  A change of color palette and the addition of the Cupcakes & Carousels Designer Series Paper makes it look like a completely different card.

 

20170205_214829000_iOS

 

You'll find the complete list of supplies at the end of this post.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Product List

Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker
Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker
[100079]
$3.50
So Saffron Stampin' Write Marker
So Saffron Stampin' Write Marker
[105114]
$3.50

 

Order Stampin' Up!

Monday Montage 87

Mondaymontage6

Welcome to the Monday Montage blog hop!  Every other Monday, my friends and I share inspiring projects.  Be sure to visit all the stops....you don't want to miss anything!

 

Yummy in my Tummy Gift Bag

I'm always on the lookout for different types of treats, so these Cupcake Hershey's Kisses really caught my eye.  Not only could I visualize them in my belly, but also in the belly of the cute monster from the Yummy in my Tummy stamp set.

 

Yummy Monster

I stamped the monster image in Basic Black Archival ink onto a Petite Cafe Bag and also onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock.  I carefully cut a hole in the bag for the belly window with paper snips.  The other stamped monster was colored with the Watercolor Pencils.  I used the Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo pencils along with a blender pen.  Swirling the color mimicks the appearance of fur.  I cut out the image with my Silhouette Cameo.  The calibration was a little off, but it was still quicker than what I could have done with scissors.  A window sheet was placed inside the bag over the open circle and the cut out monster image was adhered with Dimensionals.

 

Valentine Topper

I randomly stamped hearts in Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry ink over the rest of the bag.  The topper was created with scraps of Silver Glimmer Paper, Rich Razzleberry DSP, and Melon Mambo.  I stamped the greeting and die-cut it with the Layering Circles Dies.  A few Brights Enamel Shapes and some Thick Whisper White Baker's Twine complete the tag topper.

 

Yummy Petite Cafe Bag

I think this bag turned out pretty cute.  As a bonus, I found out that the Cupcake Kisses are quite tasty.  You might want to pick up a bag for Valentine's Day.  And if you need any of the supplies for this project, you'll find the list at the very end of this post.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Be sure to visit all the stops on the hop.  Click next to see what the Wonderful Wendy has created or click back to check out Kreative Kaitlyn's fabulous project.

 

Mondaymontageback-1
Back to Kaitlyn

 

Mondaymontagenext-copy
Next to Wendy
Product List
Blender Pens
[102845]
$10.00
Big Shot
[143263]
$110.00
Order Stampin' Up!

Sweet Matchbook Valentines

  Sweet Matchbook Valentines

 

One of the fun things about blogging is finding out where your readers are arriving from.  It never fails that this time of year, one of my more popular posts is the Quick & Easy Matchbook Valentines.  I've done several incarnations of this project to reflect different products that are available, as well as different holidays.  So, without further ado....here is the 2017 update of the Sweet Matchbook Valentines.

 

Sweet Matchbook Valentines

 

You can get 4 of these Matchbook Valentines from a single sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" card stock.  I show you how in the video below:

 

 

 

In case you missed it, here are the measurements:

  • Score along the 11" side at 3/4", 4-1/2", and 5"
  • Cut along the 8-1/2" side at 2-3/4" increments
  • Front panel (red dots) measures 2-1/2" x 3-1/4"
  • Finished base will measure 2-3/4" x 8-1/2" with score marks at 3/4", 4-1/2", and 5"

 

Sealed with a Kiss

I keep the supplies for these treats at a minimum, so that they are super quick & easy to assemble.  You simply need the Sending Love Designer Series Paper Stack, 2 ink pads, the Sealed with Love stamp set, and your favorite shape dies.  My current favorite is the Stitched Shapes Framelits, but almost any of the layered dies will work.  If you want to step it up a bit more, you can add the coordinating Sending Love Embellishments and/or Sending Love Ribbon.  As always, you'll find the complete list of supplies with links to purchase at the end of this post.  Plus, during Sale-a-Bration, you'll receive a FREE Sale-A-Bration item with every $50 purchase.  It's a win-win!

 

Valentine Matchbook

 Looking for even more ideas for Valentines Day?  The designers at Stylin' Stampin' INKSpiration are sharing some great 3-d Valentines treats.  You can check them out HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Product List

Big Shot
$110.00

 

Order Stampin' Up!