"FREESTYLE FRIDAYS"

It's Julie's turn to share a Freestyle Fridays project today, and she's been playing with glitter . . . and die cuts and punches and a background stamp, and is that a little dahlia in the center of the flower?  Wow!  To learn all about this dimensional creation, we'll have to visit Julie's blog.  I'm sure she'd love it if we surprise her with a comment!

I have to brag on Julie girl.  Last Saturday evening, I pulled a package from the mailbox and was surprised to see that it was from Julie.  I wasn't expecting anything, and then it occurred to me that she might be thinking that I have a birthday coming up.  Yikes!  My birthday isn't until November!  When I opened the package, I pulled out a pretty, sparkly "thinking of you" card and . . . (drum roll) . . . a music CD for which she had created a custom label of a map featuring my hometown of Mocksville and other towns and cities that are near and dear to me.  Lake Norman is on the map, too, but the little town of Denver (where I live) just barely missed the crop line.  Knowing that I have been traveling back and forth to Mocksville for a while now, Julie loaded the CD with some of my favorite songs!!!  I was planning a trip to Mocksville the next day, and I sooooooooo enjoyed listening to the CD!  Julie has magical powers and seems to know exactly when to send special surprises.  The last time that I received a CD from her, I was on my way to Mocksville.  I had pulled the mail out of the mailbox as I was leaving my house and just happened to look through it while I was getting gas, and there was a surprise package from Julie . . . and a brand new Lady Antebellum CD.  Julie, THANK YOU (once again) for making my day (many of them, actually)!!!!  Give yourself another hug from me!!!!

INTERACTIVE GIFT BOX & CARD

Are you looking for a fun way to present a special birthday gift?  This fun, interactive box has a special drawer where you can place your gift.  When the recipient opens the drawer, out pops a special little note card where you can hide a message.  The fun gift box is sure to surprise whomever receives it, and the matching birthday card is sure to impress.

It looks like just another pretty box, but the surprise pop-out element takes it to a whole new level of awesome!  Amanda designed this project, and her complete tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.

CARD FILE BOX

Here’s a cute and easy little box to store your cards in.  The box has dividers so you can sort your cards by different occasions.  This project also includes a business card or small note pad holder that can also be used for addresses and postage stamps!  Buffy Cooper designed this pretty project, and her tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.

BRAND NEW PRODUCTS FOR "MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

First of all . . . HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, and THANK YOU to all veterans for your service and sacrifice!

Last Thursday, a box arrived from Stampin' Up! containing a "sneak peek" bundle of products that I earned (FREE!!!!) earlier this year during Sale-a-Bration.  I love to earn free products, and it's especially exciting to earn brand new items that won't be available until the launch of the new catalog which, thankfully, will be very soon.  Brand new products featured on this super snappy card include "Modern Medley" designer paper, "Happy Day" stamp set, and a really cute clip from the Essentials Hardware Clips assortment.  Other Stampin' Up! products featured include Very Vanilla card stock, Blossom punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle punch, pearl jewel, and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Enjoy whatever festivities you have planned for today, but don't forget to thank a veteran!

BIRTHDAY GIFT BOX & CARD

This beautiful gift box is perfect for giving a small gift to a special person.  The matching card is sure to impress as well.  This fun project can be used for more than just birthdays . . . how about as a teacher appreciation gift or as a thank you gift to a friend or neighbor!

I love this cheerfully colored project!!  It was designed and created by Chris, and her tutorial is at Craft Project Central.

"FREESTYLE FRIDAYS"

I've had a lack of stampin' mojo lately but, as I was heading to bed a few nights ago, I got an idea for the Freestyle Fridays mission that Julie issued last week.  The mission was to use a retired Stampin' Up! color (I chose True Thyme) and one other color (Very Vanilla), but my project could only have one layer.  Hmmmm.  One layer . . . that's what really stumped me, and I may have bent the mission when I added the True Thyme ribbon bow, but that die-cut frame around the die-cut window on my card surely only counted as half of a layer.  Surely!  For the most part, I was quite pleased with this card, but . . . argh!!!!!! . . . the lacy embossed portion ended up inside-out, which I almost ALWAYS do when I use that embossing folder (Delicate Designs from Stampin' Up!).  It doesn't seem to matter that I feel the raised design in the folder before placing my card stock inside, trying to get it right . . . I guess I confuse myself with the flipping back and forth and almost always manage to get it wrong.  I should put a note on that folder to only use it on layers that I can flip.  The best part of making this card was getting to use the retired "Have a Seat" stamp set.  It may seem odd to have that bench behind the text, but it works and any occasion to use one of the "Have a Seat" stamps is good enough for me!  The sentiment is from a brand new stamp set, "Really Good Greetings".  I love that sentiment; however, it's one that will have to be used carefully since all situations don't end up "OK".  When I read it, I think of someone who loses a job and then (hopefully) will end up with an even better job--one they would have never found if they hadn't been forced to look.  Here's a look at the inside of the card.  If you click on the picture to open a larger view, you can almost see what the lacy embossed edge should have looked like on the front of the card.  ;-)

Thank you for yet another challenging mission, Julie!  Even when they stump me, they're still a lot of fun!

BOX CARD WITH POP-UP SENTIMENT

I recently purchased some cut files for the Silhouette Cameo, and one of them was a box card.  I have attempted to make box cards in the past, but I was never very successful at getting them folded exactly perfect so that everything lined up like it should.  Having a cut file for the Cameo is really nice, mainly because I can now make box cards out of card stock without having to worry about it being too bulky!  When I started working on this box card, I was going to send it to my parents and include a note card (in a mini envelope) for each of them.  The front of the card is decorated with Stampin' Up!'s "This & That" designer paper, and I decorated the band that keeps the card closed with a large die-cut bird (Elegant Bird Bigz die) that I embossed with the Fancy Fan embossing folder and decorated with flower trim and a rhinestone brad for the bird's eye.

A really cool feature of this particular card is one that a friend recently showed me how to do . . . the pop-up sentiment!  When the box card is opened, the "thank you" sentiment pops up!  I used Stampin' Up!'s Decorative Label punch, small Oval punch, and Four Frames stamp set to create the layered sentiment.

CARD TOTE, OVAL BOX, & BEAUTIFUL CARDS AT CRAFT PROJECT CENTRAL

Have a blooming good time making this cheerful and pretty Best of Flowers card tote and cards!  In this project you will learn how to make an easy hidden message card and a scaled down version of an easel card.  Lot of crafting fun, and the set makes a wonderful gift for teachers, co-workers, neighbors, you name it!  

This beautiful ensemble was created by the talented Sharon Burkert, and her step-by-step photo tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.

Another project that was recently posted at Craft Project Central, designed by Tara, is this pretty Oval Box & Card Set.

 A soft, delicate gift box. Perfect for filling with jewelry, candy or a small gift, this sturdy yet elegant gift box is sure to be a hit. Present it with the matching card and have a coordinating gift for that special person in your life.

SPOOL-SHAPED CARDS

Lately, I've enjoyed making spool-shaped cards and am sharing two of them in this blog post.  One of my favorite things about these cards is that the ribbon and buttons can be removed and put to good, creative use.  The first card features Stampin' Up! ribbon, buttons, Baker's twine, and a cute hanger-shaped clip, as well as an image from the retired "Sew Suite" stamp set.

The second card features the same (or similar) Stampin' Up! products, as well as a Vintage Trinkets pin and mini brad.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut both of the cards and the miniature scissors. It seems that I do a little something different to each spool-shaped card, and I end up liking "the next one" even better than the last one!

I have found that there are two things to take into consideration when making one of these cards . . . (1) Do I have buttons to match the ribbon, and (2) Do I have enough ribbon.  I would say that a spool card is perfect for ribbon scraps, but these cards call for a pretty long "scrap" of ribbon!  I haven't yet measured to see exactly how much ribbon I've put on any of the cards, but it's definitely enough that the recipient could use it on a few projects--if she can talk herself into "un-doing" the card.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

On Friday, I received the May My Paper Pumpkin kit, and I am so pleased with it!  I haven't begun the actual project (a brag book), but I used some of the papers and printed die-cut adhesives to create this quick card.  Each month, the kit contents are wrapped in tissue paper, and I used some of the tissue paper and Stampin' Up!'s 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch to create the flower for my card.  

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