WATERING CAN DECOR GIFT SET - BONUS PROJECT

This bright and cheerful watering can is a beautiful décor piece that is guaranteed to add some sunshine into any space. The watering can hangs at a downward angle showering crystal water droplets downward that catch and reflect the sunlight. The watering can also features a bright and beautiful bouquet of flowers. Pair it up with the matching card and this is the perfect gift that will brighten someone’s day!

This is the July bonus project at Craft Project Central, and it was designed by Amanda.  Qualifying for the bonus tutorial is easy . . . just subscribe to two or more months in a row, put the Craft Project Central badge on your blog, or refer a friend to the site.  When your friend subscribes, just let us know!

A POP-UP FOR CHRISTMAS

I recently purchased Cricut's Simple Pop-Up Cards cartridge and some Cricut pens and, when they arrived today, it was time to make a card.  One of my favorite projects on the cartridge is this Christmas card.  The one and only issue that I had (and it was 100% my error) was forgetting to size the card appropriately.  If I should happen to make any miniature friends (hobbits, perhaps), I will have the perfect card to send to them in December--or I could use this card as a gift tag.

This particular design will definitely be among the Christmas cards that I send this year!  Even at such a small size, my Cricut Explore cut it beautifully, and I can only imagine what a breeze it will be to cut (and fold) larger ones.  I think the penned sentiment turned out pretty, too, and I love that the machine has the ability to write/draw images--and that I now have a selection of ink colors for this!  

Not much thought went into decorating the front of the card since I was mostly interested in the inside.  The white layer was embossed with Stampin' Up!'s Decorative Dots embossing folder, and the layered framed deer image is from Cricut's awesome Winter Woodland cartridge.  

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

It's Monday, and that means I get to share a project that was a snap to make.  Now that wood-mount stamps are a minority in my stamp room, I sometimes forget the four or five sets that are in the old style cases and located away from the majority of my stamps.  Work of Art, the stamp set that I used for this card, actually came in one of Stampin' Up!'s latest style of cases; however, it was a real booger to situate the stamps "just so" in that case, so my solution was to just give them a slightly more spacious home to save my nerves.  Truth is . . . I really, really, really love this stamp set!  For my card, I used Soft Sky ink to create the flower and then the Elegant Dots embossing folder provided a subtle texture.  The1-1/4" Scallop Circle punch was used to cut a scrap of Hello Honey card stock for the center, and then rhinestone jewels were added.  I stamped the chevron image using Soft Sky ink on a scrap of Whisper White card stock, and then used Hello Honey ink to stamp the sentiment on that scrap.  After tearing one edge and curling the other, I folded the Soft Sky thick twine in half, wrapped it around the sentiment layer, and tied the ends in a knot.  And voila . . . this pretty little card was done.

Have a happy Monday and a fabulous week!

FAUX ETCHED GLASS BUTTERFLIES

Nothing says warm weather like fluttering butterflies, and these delicate and beautiful “faux etched glass” butterflies will live forever. With just a few Stampin’ Up! products and this simple “Faux Glass Etching” technique, you’ll have enough faux glass butterflies for two home décor projects and an all-occasion card to send to a friend. This would make a fun class or stamp camp project, as well. 

 

Oh, my . . . this ensemble is soooooo gorgeous!  If you didn't click on the sneak peek photo to open a larger view, then you're missing a treat.  An even better treat will be your subscription to Craft Project Central, which will give you access to the step-by-step tutorial for this ensemble that Buffy Cooper designed.

BIRTHDAY IN THE BARNYARD

This Birthday in the Barnyard party set is perfect for the birthday celebration of your darling little girl.  This set features the Barnyard Babies Stamp Set... with the support of sentiments from Something to Say and A Dozen Thoughts Stamp Sets.  Also highlighted are Farmers Market Designer Series Paper and Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack…in combination with bright, fun Calypso Coral, Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry Cardstock.  Gold Metallic Doilies and Gold Embossing provide a lovely bit of sparkle to this ensemble, and baker’s twine provides just the right amount of country feel.  This party set includes a 3-1/2” x 5” party invitation, a barn shaped thank you party favor, a cupcake pick, a milk bottle medallion and a party banner.  And…there’s a bonus!  This set is also incredibly versatile in that, with a small color change it would be a fabulous foundation for the birthday celebration of any handsome little guy.  And there’s more…a simple sentiment switch on a couple of the pieces would easily convert this party set to the perfect background for a baby shower…for a boy or a girl!

This darling ensemble was designed by Sue Plote, and her tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.  Sue is a new designer this month, and she's incorporated a lot of new Stampin' Up! products in her project.

JULY "MY PAPER PUMPKIN" ALTERNATE DESIGNS

My July Paper Pumpkin arrived around the same time that the Pretty Thankful stamp set came, so I combined the two products on a couple of the cards.  Here's the first one:

And another one featuring a background created with one of the frame images from Pretty Thankful:

The July My Paper Pumpkin kit is a great one, and I really enjoyed it!  Best of all, I have a set of greeting cards ready for mailing, and they didn't take long to make!  If you haven't tried My Paper Pumpkin or if you haven't tried the subscription lately, then I highly recommend that you treat yourself to a subscription.  Of course, I'd really appreciate it if you subscribe through me by clicking the "Subscribe Today" link in the left sidebar.  I'm pretty sure that you'll be glad you did.  ;-)

HOUSE OF CARDSTOCK

What can you do with simple Whisper White Cardstock, a Bone Folder, a cutting blade and some Stampin’ Dimensionals?  The truth is, you can make a whole lot!!!!  Sometimes we begin to believe that we need a ton of supplies and shiny new products to make something special.  This month’s project is here to show you that with the simplest of supplies you can make an incredibly special gift for yourself or a friend!  This House Of Cardstock project will walk you through the steps for making a replica of your home, or the home of a friend or loved one, out of Whisper White Cardstock!  What a great way to turn your simple supplies into a wonderful gift!!!  The beauty is that the supplies are right there in your own home, just waiting for you to begin!

The tutorial for this amazing project, which was designed by Michelle, can be found at Craft Project Central.  Did you click on the sneak peek photo to open a larger view?  There are some awesome project tutorials this month.  Have you subscribed yet?  For approximately $1/week, you can stay inspired and have something new to create every couple of days!

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

And yet another weekend has come and gone.  They pass so quickly, don't they?  My apologies for the poor photo quality of this week's MISM project, which features what might be the most easily (accidentally, of course) overlooked/unnoticed stamp set in the current Stampin' Up! catalog.  Or maybe I'm the only one who didn't notice it until about two weeks ago.  I hardly ever get comments from my blog visitors, but I would REALLY love to know if you have/haven't noticed the Pretty Thankful set in the main catalog on page 79.  As I was thumbing through the pages, I think I did a triple take when my eyes actually paid attention to the images in this set.  It's wonderful!  I love the string frames and the way a stamped sentiment can be divided, and this set couldn't get to my front door soon enough.  I even used it over the weekend as I worked on this month's Paper Pumpkin cards!  All of the stamped images on my card are from Pretty Thankful, and didn't the oval frame make an interesting background?  Additional Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include:

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake

Ink:  Sahara Sand, Soft Sky

Sizzix:  Happy Heart embossing folder, Tags & Labels Framelits (love these!!!!)

Accessories:  In Color Sequin Assortment, ribbon (retired from this year's Sale-a-Bration), Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Have a stampin' good week!



SWALLOWTAIL CARD SET & BOX

Explore different ways to use the large and magnificent Swallowtail stamp in the card box and set of six cards. This project uses six different methods for accenting the beauty of this butterfly each with a unique card design. The coordinating butterfly box is a great way to present these cards as a gift with matching envelopes. This would make a great hostess gift or class project!

Did you read that . . . SIX different methods for accenting the beauty of the Swallowtail butterfly!  The tutorial for this fabulous project, which was designed by Amanda, can be found at Craft Project Central.

ENGLISH GARDEN CARD BOX

This beautiful card box is easy to assemble and sure to impress!  You can easily change up the colors and papers to suit anyone!  This box will hold four decorated handmade cards and envelopes.  What a great gift idea for birthdays, hostesses, and teacher gifts or even to sell at Craft Shows!  Once you start making these card boxes, you’ll want to make them for everyone on your gift list!

Stampin' Up! has some gorgeous new designer paper collections, and this project features one of them.  The tutorial for this pretty project, designed by Laurie, can be found at Craft Project Central. 

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY" . . . AND A WINNER!

If you're visiting my blog, wondering why I didn't post the winner of the FREE one-month subscription to Craft Project Central yesterday, then this post is for you.  Huge apologies!  My stamp room is turned upside-down following the installation of a new 10' countertop and base cabinets, and I haven't been able to access the majority of my stampin' goodies, let alone find a place to use them.  This project has turned out to be bigger than I had imagined--not only because half of my room had to be packed up and moved out of the way, but the whole process has sparked a mandatory re-organization.  It will be wonderful once everything is in a place, although I'm sure I won't know where to find anything.  The card that I'm sharing for MISM is a cheat because it was made a few days before the work began in my room.

Since I've been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator (over 10 years), I think I've purchased all of the stamp sets that included large images of grapes.  Before you start imagining shelves and shelves of stamp sets with grapes in my room, trust me when I say that there hasn't been a "bunch" of grapes in Stampin' Up! land.  Anyway . . . I used an Aqua Painter and ink pads to color the stamped image (from the Market Fresh stamp set) using Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, and Crumb Cake.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but this card also features the new Elegant Dots embossing folder and Farmers Market designer paper.  I must have big plans for this paper because I already have three packs of it!  I l♥ve it!!! 

WINNER! WINNER! WINNER!

With my July 4th blog post (HERE), I promised that I would announce the winner  (yesterday) of the FREE one-month subscription to Craft Project Central .  To be entered in the drawing, there was one simple requirement . . . just leave a comment HERE about my project.  Thanks so much to those who took the time to comment.  I only have one subscription to give away, and it goes to . . . KAY CARLSON who wrote, "I just started getting (and using) Washi tape. What a cute, fun, and quick way to add that “little extra touch” to my projects! Easy to use, too Happy 4th of July!"  Congratulations, Kay!  If you'll email me at randari at Hotmail dot com, we'll get your subscription started!

 

 

RAINBOW NOTE CARDS

Nothing says happy more than rainbows, and Stampin’ Up has a new stamp set celebrating just that! This set of six rainbow colored note cards features the new Brights Designer Series Paper Stack and the Over the Rainbow stamp set. The note cards fit perfectly in a modified pizza box and come with a matching oval shaped card. This set would make an excellent gift as well as a class or club project. 

What a great set of cards to give as gift--and so cheery!  The tutorial for this set, which was designed by Yapha Mason, can be found at Craft Project Central.

BUTTERFLY GREETING CARD SET & CADDY

Make this feminine greeting card set with a matching caddy that will hold your cards and envelopes. The caddy is easy to make and can be refilled with other stationery items later. It is also a pretty décor item on any desks. Make four greeting cards to go in the caddy, using the same butterfly embellishments and lay-outs, but with different background techniques that will come handy for future craft projects. Great for a stamp camp, or as a class project.

This is such a lovely project!  The tutorial for this gem, which was designed by Monika Davis, can be found at Craft Project Central.  Have you subscribed yet?  All of the tutorials have step-by-step photos and written instructions that are easy to follow.

 

SKETCH CHALLENGE #49

Each month, there's a new sketch challenge at Craft Project Central.  If you've never challenged yourself to create a project based on a sketch, then you are missing out.  This month's Creating Pretty Cards - Sketch Challenge #49 looks like this:

And this is what I did with it:

I turned it on its side and used a tag instead of a banner.  That's one of the fun things about working with a sketch--your starting point comes from the sketch, but then you can make slight alterations of your own design.  If, however, your mojo is on vacation, you can find an easy-to-follow tutorial for Sketch #49 HERE.  Did you know that for every 10 cards submitted for the Sketch Challenge, Craft Project Central will choose one winner who will receive a FREE one-month subscription to the site?  That would be a fun prize!  You can find a tutorial for the sketch and upload your card HERE.  Stampin' Up! products featured on my card include:

Cardstock:  Very Vanilla

Designer Series Paper:  Farmers Market

Stamp Set:  Merry Everything

Punch:  Note Tag

Accessories:  Very Vanilla Thick Baker's Twine, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

For an extra chance to win a FREE one-month subscription to Craft Project Central, leave a comment HERE on the project that I designed this month.  I will draw the winning name and announce it on July 12th.  Be sure to check my blog on that day to see if you're the winner.

For a chance to win a free one-month subscription, leave a comment HERE.

FLORAL MONTHLY CARD ORGANIZER & CARDS

If you need something to organize the cards you give out throughout the year, you need this organizer. This sturdy, accordion-style organizer has file tabs for each month for easy filing of your cards. It has ribbon ties on each side to adjust the depth of the organizer, along with jute ribbon handles on top for easy carrying. This tutorial also includes two cards to get you started on your card collection. The organizer and cards feature the stamp set, Garden in Bloom, and the designer series paper, English Garden.

This gorgeous ensemble was designed by the talented Christy Fulk, and her tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.  Did you click on the sneak peek photo?  Christy has some fun details to share with this project!

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Today's MISM project is a very simple card that I designed for aunt Betty.  My mother, sister, and I visited her last Thursday and, bless her sweet little heart, she just didn't seem like her jovial, talkative self.  She recently fractured her pelvis, which has been causing pain and discomfort, and it's understandable that the whole ordeal has opened the door and let the blues in.  I even took a pretty bag of goodies for her, which I know she appreciated, but she just isn't in a happy state of mind right now.  The sentiment tag on my card is teensy and reads, "My love for you . . .", and then the remainder of the sentiment goes like this:

Betty loves to get cards, and she especially likes the ones that stray from the ordinary.  I sometimes give way too much thought to what kind of card to send when I should have already put a card in the mail, but I like for her to get a surprise when she opens the envelope.  :-)  She'll like this one, and I hope that it finds her spirits much higher than they were last Thursday.

Have a happy Monday, a wonderful week, and . . . if you have elderly relatives who can no longer "get out and go", send them a card or--better yet--go visit them this week.

 

WONDERFUL WASHI

The July project that I designed for Craft Project Central is featured today, and following is the introduction that I wrote for this unique ensemble:

 

Washi Tape is an affordable product that we love to have, look at, and hold, but do you use yours?  With this tutorial, you’ll use Washi Tape to decorate a generously-sized twist container and a handmade home decor item—mini wooden pallet—that could be used to embellish a gift bag or box or hang on a door knob or hook.  The two most exciting things about this tutorial are (1) learning how to add text (a custom sentiment/message) to your tape without using stamps and (2) making a 3D flower with vertical bunches of curly petals!  There are a lot of little surprises in this tutorial!



One of the fun things about being a Craft Project Central project designer is that I get a FREE one-month subscription to give to a lucky winner.  Best of all, it's very easy to get your name in the drawing . . . just click HERE and leave a comment!  On Sunday, July 12th, I will announce the winning name, so be sure to check my blog on that day to see if you're the winner.

 

SUMMER GARDEN TOTE GIFT SET

Make this super sweet Summer Garden Tote Bag as a Thank You to that special friend. The coordinating Covered Notepad and Pen are simple but functional gifts that fit neatly inside the Tote. And, of course, the Thank You Card is a must to top off a perfect gift! In this tutorial you’ll also learn an essential tip - the perfect ‘stay put knot/bow’ – you’ll never tie a knot or bow any differently after learning it!

The tutorial for this gorgeous ensemble, which was designed by Julie Beltramo, can be found at Craft Project Central.