EASTER POP-UP CARD

On the outside, this looks like a very simply designed Spring card, but there's a pop-up party going on inside!

I love that you just don't expect to see so much on the inside of this card, but isn't it great?  I purchased the cut file (designed by Daniela Angelova) for this card from the Silhouette online store.  It was a dream to cut and very simple to put together but . . . once the inside was done, I had no idea how I would decorate the front of the card, which was 5" or 5-1/2" square.  That's a pretty big area to decorate when you're at a loss for ideas!  The pop-up cut file for this card only had the inside of the card designed, so the rest was up to me.  Of course, I used the pretty butterflies that were cut out from the inside pop-up layer, and the tulip bouquet (another cut file) seemed perfect.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but the tulips on the center bouquet were adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.  The finishing touch was the grass, which I used fringe scissors to cut.  I signed it, put it in a pretty handmade envelope, and dropped it in the mail for Aunt Betty.  I haven't sent her a card in a while, so maybe this one will make up for lost time.

HAVE A HAPPY AND BLESSED EASTER!!!!

SLIP COVER CANDY BOX

Every once in a while you need a little something to give to a teacher, neighbor, friend or any other special person!  Make the little something even more special by making it yourself.  Here is a pretty Slip Cover Candy Box and a matching card sure to wow the recipient and let them know you think they’re special!  Make several sets and then just fill them with candy when you are ready to give the gift!

This clever project was designed and created by Kim, and her tutorial is available at Craft Project Central.

ONE MDS DESIGN, ONE SILHOUETTE CAMEO UPFIT, AND TWO CARDS FOR "FREESTYLE FRIDAYS". WHEW!

NOTE:  This is a very long blog post, which is in direct proportion to the amount of descriptive information it contains.  With her Freestyle Fridays post last week, Julie created a gorgeous "wet" brick wall with a vine of Cherry Cobbler 3D flowers on it, and she issued a mission for me to create something this week using a color palette of Basic Gray, Cherry Cobbler, and one other color.  Admittedly, I had a difficult time using Cherry Cobbler, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I'm ready for Spring--not Summer, but Spring.  And so I turned to Stampin' Up!'s MDS software and filled some hexagon shapes with digital designer papers that included Basic Gray, Cherry Cobbler, and Pool Party.  Oh yes, that was definitely the way to accomplish the mission.

I thought the design would work for a Father's Day card, so I added the large anchor image and, on my MDS page, I added the Pool Party tag and Happy Father's Day sentiment.  After printing the digital creation, I cut and punched all of the elements and completed the card.  Shown below is a clip of what my MDS design page looked like:

But I didn't stop there.  I decided to export the SVG images (the shapes--not the anchor or designer paper images) so that I could use them with the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition software.  As you can see from the clip of my Silhouette Studio design mat below, I filled the hexagons with Stampin' Up!'s "Newsprint" designer paper images, which I had previously imported to the Silhouette software.  I also filled the tag shape with a color gradient and manipulated the size/shape of the sentiment.  If you're familiar with the Silhouette software, then you recognize the registration marks on my Silhouette design mat.  Those registration marks make it possible to design with an imported SVG image, print the design onto card stock, and then load the card stock into the Silhouette Cameo machine to cut the design.  Before cutting the design, I added an Offset, which you can see as the red outline around the group of hexagon shapes and the tag.  The Offset (outline) tells the Cameo where to cut, and I think the outline adds a nice finishing touch in that it gives the illusion of matting for the hexagon shapes.

Once my shaped design was printed and cut, I used the cuts to create this hybrid Father's Day card:

How cool is that?????  One MDS digital design laid the foundation for TWO cards!  To be honest, I really wanted to do something vintage-y with the "Newsprint" filled hexagons, and it was so difficult for me to not add feminine touches to the card.  To "man" it up, I stamped, colored, and cut out the truck image from Stampin' Up!'s "Countryside" stamp set and adhered it with Stampin' Dimensionals on top of the Natural Trim ribbon.  Every masculine card needs some "hardware", so I added the arrow-shaped Cute Clip to hold the sentiment.  I scored framing lines around the border of the Very Vanilla card, but I'm sure they are not easily seen in the photo.  The other thing that you probably can't tell from the photo is the "Honeycomb" embossing on the Basic Black card stock.

Are you impressed?  There have been times when I've wondered if I did the right thing by purchasing a second electronic cutter but, like almost everything in a craft room, it has a purpose of it own and an absolute right to be here!  Best of all, I have found the Silhouette Cameo to be VERY easy to learn and work with, although I still have a lot to learn.  Being able to use this machine to cut MDS designs almost seems like cheating, but it's a good cheat. 

ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS

You know how you've heard some quotes/phrases all of your life and, at certain times in your life, the true meaning of a quote just seems to hit home?  The quote that I stamped on this card is one that I think of every time I see a mother and child because I know that the time goes by too quickly, and there are so many moments that you'd like to go back and do again.  It's amazing how 20 years can seemingly come and go in a snap!  Enjoy the little things!!!

HOPPY SPRING ENSEMBLE

Wanting to celebrate the arrival of Spring?  Here are some fun treat containers to give as favors as well as a matching ensemble to set your table up, with cute place cards and napkin holders! 

   

This adorable festive ensemble was designed by Heidi King, and her tutorial is available at Craft Project Central.

"FEELING SENTIMENTAL"

Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration promotion has ended, and I'm surprised that I didn't use the "Feeling Sentimental" stamp set as much as I thought I would.  The real problem, I think, is that I just had too many new products that I wanted to demo.  I loved this stamp set, though, and pictured here is one of the cards that I designed for my March Inkerbelles' class.  The card is about 3.5" wide and, if you follow my blog, then you know that I like odd sized (and shaped) cards.  They just make the mail more fun for the recipient, don't they?

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Today's MISM project is a fake tri-fold card . . . fake because the third panel was an afterthought, something that I added after the card was nearly complete.  I glanced at my calendar and saw that I needed to send a birthday card to a sweet man (actually, I should have mailed a card by last Friday), so I started thinking about what kind of card to make.  The square card with a circle window was laying on my desk, as were the pieces for the vintage fan that I had cut with the Silhouette Cameo earlier last week.  I used the manifest image from Stampin' Up!'s "The Open Sea" stamp set on half of the card front, and then the fan was assembled and adhered to the center panel, which is the one that I added to the card.  I used washi tape to cover the flap that was adhered to the inside panel, and the birthday sentiment is from the "You're Amazing" stamp set.  I tried different ribbon and twine bows and knots on the front of the card before settling with the gingham and organdy.  It's really hard to beat gingham ribbon--I just {♥}gingham!!!!  When I showed the card to my son yesterday, he wanted to know why I put a bow on the card if it's for a man.  That's a good question, and I hope the sweet man who receives this card won't mind, but this particular bow looked better than anything else that I tried.

PATTERNED POSIES GIFT SET

Are you ready for Spring flowers but there are none in sight?  Make your own bright patterned flowers to cheer up your space and decorate for Spring!  This bunch of flowers, vase, and card wold also make a lovely gift set for someone special! 

Aren't those posies gorgeous . . . and life-like?  Amanda designed this ensemble, and her tutorial is available at Craft Project Central.

"MY PAPER PUMPKIN" - ALTERNATE PROJECTS

I received the My Paper Pumpkin welcome kit recently, and I had so much fun creating various cards and treat holders with it.  This is just one of the cards that I made.  Of course, I added a few products that weren't included in the kit, but that's a fun option when you already have a lot of coordinating Stampin' Up! products.

From one of the envelopes provided in the kit, I made this Bag-a-lope.  Truth be told, I never liked Bag-a-lopes, but that is mainly because I could never quite make one without it looking overworked and worn by the time I was finished.  This one, however, turned out nicely. 

This treat purse was my most favorite of the alternate projects that I created, and it was also the first project that I made from the kit contents.  I took one of the cards and converted it (with a few score lines and scissor snips) into a neat little purse.

I made a total of seven projects using the kit contents--five cards and two treat holders--and this card was the last project that I made.  This is the original kit project, and there were enough supplies to make four of these cards.

FYI:  Customers who subscribe to My Paper Pumpkin and choose me as their demonstrator will get at least one alternate project idea (with instructions) each month from me.  My subscribers received a .pdf document this week with photos and instructions for creating all of the projects that I made using the kit contents (and a few other Stampin' Up! products).  I would love to add YOU to my mailing list!  Just go to www.mypaperpumpkin.com to subscribe, and don't forget to choose me as your demonstrator.

JACK-IN-THE-BOX

Who doesn’t love a Jack-in-the-box?  How about a little Jungle-in-a-box?  Give this cute little jungle animal pop-up gift and matching card set to a young one (or one young at heart!) for a fun little birthday surprise! 

This project was designed by Tara, and her tutorial is available at Craft Project Central.