Happy Day!

I'm back with another 3-D project using the fabulous SRM Stickers! I used a box I got from Pick Your Plum back before Christmas, plus the Maya Roads zipper flower I showed you from spring break. You still have time to play along with CAS-ual Fridays #95: No Stamps challenge! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
SRM Stickers, Maya Roads Zipper trim, My Mind's Eye enamel dots, SU Island Indigo Baker's Twine.

Hello Sunshine {10}

I'm back with another "No Stamps" project! This contains a little surprise for my sweet niece who recently turned 10. 

I used more of the fabulous goodies from SRM Stickers that were provided to the Girl Fridays for our CFC#95: No Stamps challenge! You still have time to play along! I used the clear pillow box (loved that thing!) and some shredded cardstock to hide the contents. I took a blank label (Labels by the Dozen) and attached it to a 2" plain chipboard circle, then ran it through the Big Shot with a Chevron embossing folder to give it some texture. Easy peasy and endless possibilities! 

Hope you're having a great weekend! I can't believe much of the country is getting more snow, crazy! We had a few storms and a little rain, but now it's sunny and cool at 54 degrees. We haven't had to use any snow or ice days this year, so looks like we'll get off for Good Friday this week, yay! I hope you all are safe and warm!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
SRM Stickers & Clear Pillow Box, Thickers Numbers, Big Shot & SU Chevron Embossing Folder, SU Blushing Bride Cardstock (shredded) and Ribbon.

Ooooh...a 3D item!

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great day! My first day back from Spring Break wasn't as *hard* as I expected, lol! The kids always make it worth the while! :) However, I would NOT recommend seeing We Need to Talk About Kevin on your last day of break before returning back to school! Yikes! I went with some friends last night, and yes, the movie is good and very well made, but VERY disturbing. But, on to happier topics...


I mentioned I was having my Christmas gift exchange with my girlfriends last night (it was SO worth the wait!), so I thought I'd share one of the gifts I made my friend Lori. I started out with a purchased "L" monogram hanging from Michaels, then I jazzed it up! See the original state below:



These friends go all out on their packaging and wrapping, and I'm always a "throw the gifts in a gift bag" kind of girl, so I thought I would surprise them with some fancy wrapping! ha! Here's how it looked wrapped on the package:


Okaysies, I'd better skedaddle and get back to some school work. Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Valentine Treats

Happy Friday! It's the most wonderful time...of the week!


Just a quick share of the Valentine treats I made for my students. The photo is not great, I took it with my phone at the last minute before passing them out, of course! ha! I also made them at the last moment, of course, on Sunday night, because that's just the way I do everything!


I was trying to find something fast to make and something that wouldn't make me cry when they threw it away and ate the candy part. I found this flower idea from Andrea Walford and thought it would be perfect, you can see it here. I changed the cookie centers to chocolate hearts and changed the dowels to pencils...something useful that they wouldn't throw away! :)


Hope you have a wonderful Friday! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Paisley Prints: gift card set

Happy Thursday! Hope you are having a great week!


I can't believe I am finally showing my last SU Convention display project! :)


This is another 3D item. I made a little box thing (sort of reminds me of a printer's tray) and laid a little card with matching scallop envelope inside each section. The Paisley Prints set was perfect for making different cards for different seasons/holidays. This is another project that I wish I remembered how I made it! lol! Here's another photo of it, the glare on the cellophane made it a challenge:


On another note, thanks so much for your wonderful, sweet comments lately! I'm especially touched by your supportive comments about my teaching. There are so many thoughtful people out there, what a blessing. I'm so behind in visiting other bloggers out there, but I will soon catch up as I enjoy my Thanksgiving week off next week! :)


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Paisley Prints: milk carton box

Happy Saturday! I'm feeling much better after LOTS of sleep last night! By yesterday afternoon at school, I thought I had reached that point where I had to walk out and never return. I'm really counting on Thanksgiving break to restore me. Any other teachers out there feeling this way?! Yikes! :)


But now for the cute stuff, ha! It's my last 3D box for the week, this one uses the darling Paisley Prints stamp set. This is so bad to admit, but I really can't recall how I made this! I think I must have got a template online and printed it out. I like this box, though, because it's actually very usable (for an odd-shaped, small gift, right?!) since the little clip on top lets you open it and reclose it. After you open some boxes that have big bows, tags, etc you know you can never get them closed and looking right again! I do love these colors for Christmas too: Bashful Blue, Real Red, and Wild Wasabi.


I hope you have a super weekend! We had a little cold front come through Dallas last night, love the way it's feeling! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

So Many Thanks...another 3D box

Happy Friday!


Continuing with the boxes...here's another! I used the Big Shot with the Matchbox Bigz XL die. I made 4 boxes in different colors, then mixed the "drawers" around and adhered them together. For the sentiment, I ran Whisper White cardstock through the Big Shot with the same die to make the "label" part, then I inked up the So Many Thanks stamp with different colors of markers and stamped. Easy peasy! Let me know if you have any questions!


I know this one is a little bright looking, but I'll have a cute Christmas box to share with you tomorrow! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

So Many Thanks...3D box

Happy Thursday!


Here's another little 3D box I made for the SU Convention samples, like the one from yesterday. I have several more of these I haven't shared, so maybe this will be little 3D box week, lol!


For this one, I actually took apart an empty Pop Up Glue Dot box and covered it with designer series paper. I think now I could have chosen a more exciting paper, but I think I had some idea in my head at the time. I made the little flag pennants freehand by stamping the So Many Thanks stamp first, then cutting them out. The "poles" are bamboo skewers cut down. I used mini glue dots to help hold them in place. Let me know if you have any other questions.


Counting today there are just 7 more school days before Thanksgiving fall break, whoo hoo! I really can't believe it's getting so close to the holidays! It's still been so warm here, we've barely had fall start. Is anybody feeling the holiday spirit yet?


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Just Believe...fancy little box

Happy Wednesday!


Here's a nice little spring box! Seems like a perfect time to share it since it's fall now! :)


I used the Just Believe stamp set and Big Shot with Fancy Box die. Lots of other SU goodies, let me know if you have any questions! To make the flower, I just took some designer series paper and kind of folded it and rolled it up as I went along.


I went to a great vocabulary teacher workshop yesterday, so that was a nice little break! Can't wait to get to school today and try some new techniques out!


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Just Believe: 3D!

Happy Wednesday! How about a little 3-D action with the Just Believe stamp set?! A little gift box with removable lid.


I don't remember too much about it, sigh. I had saved the sheet with measurements for awhile, but then I cleaned up and it seems to be gone. It's one of those simple boxes with the lid made just a tiny bit larger than the box. I decided the edges needed more detail later, so I added strips with the scallop edges on top. Now that I see it photographed from above, it really doesn't look very good! I should have disguised that better with some cool blanket stitching or something.


Anywhooo, let me know if you have any questions about this. Which reminds me, dh asked me not to say "anywhooo." Isn't that odd? For the most part, he thinks I do no wrong (it's true, I told you he was a saint!), but this bothers him. Now I find it very hard not to say it ALL the time! (Insert evil grin here!)


Actually, maybe I just think he thinks I do no wrong, because the other day we were talking and he was saying some seriously funny stuff. Then he noticed me writing on a piece of paper...


DH: What are you doing?
Me: Writing this down.
DH: Why?
Me: So I can remember it and put it on my blog.
DH: I don't wanna be on your blog. (Think of Jerry Seinfeld saying "But I don't wanna be a pirate!)


Now, where's that paper...


Oh yes, found it. Remember this chair I bought for $5 awhile back? It was supposed to go in my craft room. I wheeled it in late that night and left it in the living room. Well, it looks dang good in the living room! I know, crazy! But our living is all brown and cream and believe me, it just works. So here's how this conversation went:

DH: Did you put that chair in your office? (I think "office" indiciates that the activities performed in there could possibly result in income some day.)
Me: No, I'm leaving it in the living room.
DH: But it's an office chair.
Me: I know, but it looks good.
DH: But it's an office chair.
Me: I know, but it's amazing how it's brought new life into that tired, old room.
DH: Here's what's amazing, how the monstrous cliches roll out of you.


Isn't he funny?! See why I wrote that down? Now let's just hope he doesn't read the blog anytime soon and keeps on thinking I do no wrong. *grin*


Thanks so much for stopping by...and putting up with my ramblings! Hugs and happy stamping!

Vintage Labels: Best Wishes bag

Happy Thursday! We are close to Friday, my friends! Yippee!


Thought I'd share a 3-D project for a change and this one seemed like a good choice since it matched the colors from yesterday's card. It's a gift bag I created from Soft Suede 12x12 carstock. To reinforce the sides and make it stronger, I glued a sheet of chipboard to the inside (like the white chipboard pieces that come in the Stampin' Up! designer series paper packages) and then glued a sheet of patterned paper on top of the chipboard so it would look pretty.


The last letter "t" has a little banner sticking out saying "wishes" but it's hard to see in the photo. I made the rosettes like this and to make the paper ruffle, I softened a strip of cardstock by rubbing it over and over with my bone folder, then pulled it apart so you can see the texture of the inside of the paper. Last step, I made the little pleat folds randomly and glued them down. Let me know if you have any other questions!


Well, duty calls...school duty that is! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Stamps: Medallion, Vintage Labels.
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, The Write Stuff & Thoroughly Modern DSP.
Ink: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, and Taken With Teal.
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Chipboard letters, 2-way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.

New home congratulations box

Happy Sunday! Hope y'all had a super weekend. I don't know how they go by so fast! I still have some school stuff to work on for tomorrow, but thought I would post this real quick-like! ;-)


This photo is not the best, it was taken inside late at night, of course, as the leadership samples deadline loomed near, ha! I used the Big Shot and the Fancy Favor box die, just modifying it by punching a 1 3/4" circle in the front and lining it with a transparency sheet. I tucked a little cello bag full of Skittles inside. I'm sure everyone thinks "Skittles" when they think "new home gift"! ha! I had bought a pretty little glass candle to put inside, but it didn't fit, so I had to fall back on plan B, c'est la vie!


Enjoy your evening! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Stamps: Good Neighbors, Contempo Alphabet.
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip textured, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, The Write Stuff DSP.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Red Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Transparency sheet, cello bag, Stapler, "congratulations" from Lovely Lines hostess rub-ons.

Top Note Box...revisited!

Happy Sunday! Here is the Top Note Box...revisited! You might remember it from back here, but I was so honored when Beate asked me to write a tutorial for the Splitcoast Stampers Holiday Blitz, how could I say no! You can check out my new tutorial here. Be sure and look around at all of the Holiday Blitz projects featured this week, wowza, there are some great ideas! I can't wait until Thanksgiving Break to try some out!


For the above box, I used the new Stampin' Up! wood sheets. They are so cool and I haven't played with them enough. The embellishments are from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit. Below here is a variation box using some other goodies:

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments or shoot me an email! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Merry treat box

Whoo! Hoo! It's Friday!


Here's a little treat box I made for my Stampin' Up! November Artisan challenge. SU sent all the Artisan Award winners the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit and asked us to create something using it, so this is what I came up with. I thought the colors would work with some peppermints, so luckily I found a few kinds at Walgreens up on the top shelf (this is before Halloween since the projects were due earlier).


I used the Big Shot and the Fancy Favors Bigz XL die. Don't you love that top edge of the box? I didn't want to cover it up, so I added a paper ruffle (just folded paper over) and glued it to the inside of the box with sticky strip tape. The ornament is one of the repositionable die-cut stickers, and I cut the "merry" off of one of the greetings. Easy peasy! Let me know if you have any other questions!


Okay, off to school! We've been doing a farming unit and today we're making corn husk dolls and planting corn, should be fun. We're a little off season, so wish us luck! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Edited to add: These are the candies from Walgreens that I used, click the photo for link:


I couldn't find these peppermint sticks on the Walgreen's website, probably because they are seasonal, but click the photo for the manufacturer website:



Recipe
Stamps: none
Cardstock: Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit
Accessories: Big Shot, Fancy Favors Bigz XL die, Sleigh Bell ribbon, Linen Thread, Old Olive Playground button.

Stamp Club Cards & Projects, oh my!

Happy Friday! Yay! First, I have to say thank you for all your nice comments and congratulations on winning the Stampin' Up! Artisan Award. I couldn't believe it myself when Brent Steele called last Friday...I was in bed with fever and flu after school, but when I saw that "801" number on my cell phone, I got my happy, perky voice on fast! lol! Second, this post is going to be long, but good!, with lots of photos of cards from my stamp club members and stamp club projects from my bff and downline Lori, so you might want to grab your favorite beverage! lol!



Lori gave us these materials to use on our challenge cards. You can always add more goodies, but you have to use these and that's what I used on my card above:



I mentioned in a previous post how I add *chipboard* behind patterned paper sometimes to make it *sturdier* on the card, like here...



...but it's not always regular chipboard...




So I guess it's a partly *green* card! Look in your recycling bin, you probably have lots of good chipboard options!


Okay, now for the cards from some of the club members...


Below here is Beverly's super cute card, love that chipboard "U" she added and the rhinestone brad in the center of the "g"!


Next is this beauty from Michelva, don't you love that die cut she added, and how she cut the scallop square in half and cut out the two little birdies?! Darling!


I'm excited to show you Rachel's card below. This is the FIRST card or paper-crafting of any kind that she has done, and she did it all by herself!! How awesome!


Lastly is this wonderful card from Valerie, her ribbon treatment is the coolest, and I love how she added the bird house and sentiment!


We had a little random prize of hardware goodies (the container top is decorated with cute flowers and a big brad you can't see here!) for the participants and Michelva won! Beverly couldn't make it last night, so she can see the papers here that her name was included! hee! hee!


Now for the super cute projects that Lori created for us (she's helping me out and kind of taking over hostessing the club, but they're all my best friends so I'm still going, of course!). This is a darling box made from the scallop square envelope die with the Big Shot, and we made three little notecards with envelopes to go inside it. She told me who she got the idea from, but I can't remember, oops! If it was you, give me a shout out so I can give you credit and a link!



And lastly, she showed us this precious little business card holder, also made from the scallop envelope die and Big Shot. I believe she said that she saw it on Patty Bennett's blog, and I found the tutorial here if you'd like to try!



Schwooo! That was long, so if you're still here, give yourself a pat on the back from me! I guess I'm off to school. Is it our last day? NO! Is it Field Day? yes, ugh! lol! I'm old, out of shape, and I don't like sweating, so wish me luck! ha! Hopefully the kids will have fun and I'll get some great pictures to scrap!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

The Color Purple Challenge!

Happy Saturday! I was so flattered that the very talented Cindy Major over at Encre, Papier, Ciseaux asked me to be a guest stamper this week for her weekly blog challenge! Of course, I said yes, then she told me the challenge...use the color purple...and I thought, "Oh no, I never use purple!" lol! So it truly was a good challenge for me! I tried to use one purple from three different SU color families, and here's what I came up with...


For the first card I made, I used Almost Amethyst from the Soft Subtles color family, and I used white as an accent. It's hard to see, but the card is embossed with the Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate using the Big Shot, and the baby carriage is from Puns From the Past. The letters are by Making Memories, and I picked them up at Target because I thought the pastel colors would work well with this challenge.




This next card, my wild one, uses Lovely Lilac from the Bold Brights color family and Sassafrass Lass paper, chipboard frame, and flower. The chipboard letters are from Pink Paislee, so yummy! The "good friend" is embossed in white on Chocolate Chip cardstock. The ribbon, rhinestone brad, and crochet flower are all by SU.



My last project uses Elegant Eggplant (yes, I had to look up the *official name* of this color, yikes!) from the Rich Regals card family. I used my Big Shot with the Matchbox Die, it really is the quickest and easiest box to make! I threw in black as an accent color and a little bit of white. The "u r" are Black Tie Thickers, and the "everybody's favorite" is from a retired SU set Cute Converse.



Be sure and check out Cindy's creations here! I hope you will take the color purple challenge too and let us check out your creations!


If you have any specific questions, let me know and I'll get back with you! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Stamp Club Project #2

Happy Monday! Thought I'd show the other Stamp Club project for this month...a little treat holder made with the Big Shot Matchbox Die from the new SU Spring Occasions Mini Catalog. Isn't it precious?! I can say that because I copied it directly from Stampin' Up! lol! Here is their sample, photographed much better, sigh:

DH was in charge of getting candy at the grocery store, but he couldn't find any *pastel* colored candy like I had requested...imagine him calling me and describing the various colors of different kinds of candies...in the end, we decided on Skittles! Because they are so bright, I changed the ribbon to Tangerine Tango. I'm crazy about unfinished, aka raw, chipboard lately, but maybe I should let them cover theirs with patterned paper if they want.


One more thing, have you heard of the Inspirational blog? My friend Anthonette contacted me about featuring my blog on there, how nice was that?! You can check it out here! Be sure and check out the whole blog, I found a bunch of great new blogs and paper artists!


Okay, hope your Monday is super duper spectacular! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Stamps: Sweet Little Sentiments Hostess Level 1.
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss Textured, Whisper White
Ink: Staz-On Brown.
Accessories: Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, 1/16" Punch, Chipboard Heart, Transparency, Curly Label Punch, Big Shot, Matchbox Bigz XL Die.

Scallop Envelope Treat Holder

Happy Thursday! I just finished whipping up this little box for one of our stamp club projects this month. Thanks to my buddy Jenn over at Stamp Your Heart for the great idea! It's made with the Big Shot Scallop Envelope die. We've made a bigger box with this die before using four envelopes, but this one is smaller and only uses two envelopes. It's smaller than I thought...I bought ten Reese's eggs for stamp club members to put inside, but they wouldn't fit! Wonder what I'm going to do with ten Reese's eggs now?! hee! hee! Here's the overall pic:

Have I mentioned that I'm going on a scrapbooking retreat this weekend? Did I mention that I'm leaving work and hitting the road at noon tomorrow? Have I started packing or preparing supplies?! Ugggghhhhh! Oh well, here's what I do have ready: clean pajamas, the tequila and margarita mix, Diet Vanilla Pepsi....I should be good, right?!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Stamps: Polka Dot Punches, Sweet Sampler (enjoy)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral, Tempting Turquoise, Pink Flamingo DSP.
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Big Shot, Scallop Envelope Die, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Vintage Brads, 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, 5/8" Chocolate Chip Jumbo Brad, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals.

Top Note Purse...thanks to Nitestamper!

Happy Friday! Whoo! Hoo! I didn't actually stamp last night, decided I'd better stay in the living room with flu-infested dh and keep him company, he's a few days behind me in the flu cycle. It seemed like the least I could do, since I had brought this pox upon our household, lol! Thank you for all of your get well wishes, I really appreciate it!

I did remember that I had not shown the other project the stamp club members are doing this month...it's this darling Top Note Purse that I totally cased from Chat (aka Nitestamper on Splitcoast) over at Me, My Stamps and I. Thanks, Chat, you were a real lifesaver this month!! You can see Chat's original here and an awesome tutorial for making the box that goes inside here.

Thanks for your comments on my stalking post down below! lol! The funny thing is, the whole time I was doing it, the purpose was just for the pictures so that I could scrapbook them and put them on my blog! I don't know why I didn't think about actually trying to see Elsie, I guess because I took that class with her and already have photos taken with her, etc...which reminds me, I never finished scrapbooking those, doh!

Well, off to finish getting ready for school. The kids have a half-day today and teachers have trainings in the afternoon, so should be a pretty easy day! Hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Stamps: Love You Bundle
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Red Riding Hood, Whisper White.
Ink: Red Riding Hood, Staz-On White.
Accessories: Large Oval Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die, Mini Glue Dots.

Love You Much: Hugs & Kisses Treat Holder

Happy Sunday! Hope you're all having a great weekend! (Hey, there's still a few hours left, right?!) I took Saturday easy as I seem to be getting sick...AGAIN, ugh! I knew I was in for it last Tuesday when a 2nd grader sneezed on her hand, then grabbed mine and held onto it for a good five minutes. As soon as I freed myself, I doused my hands with sanitizer, but I fear the damage had already been done. By Thursday I was sneezing, then coughing and aching by Friday, sigh. lol!

Last night I had to whip up a couple of projects for stamp club, which was this afternoon and this coming Wednesday night, so here is one of them. I was pretty out of it, so I looked around for "inspiration" to steal, and found this Love You Much project below by Stampin' Up! to copy, yay! I didn't have Close to Cocoa cardstock, so I used Kraft, and I used Hershey's Kisses, which don't look quite as cute as their photo...but they sure taste good! *wink*



Okay, I'm off to finish up some stuff for school and will try to get to bed early tonight! lol! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Stamps: Love You Much
Cardstock: Kraft, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Candy Lane DSP.
Ink: Staz-On Brown.
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Red Taffeta Ribbon, bamboo skewer.