"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Another Monday has rolled around, and that means it's time to share a snappy little project.  This is a card that I made for my grandmother recently, and it features Stampin' Up!'s Another Thank You stamp set (which happens to be a favorite of mine), the Small Heart punch, rhinestone jewel, Spiral Flower die, and Secret Garden Framelits.  It's very hard to tell from the photo, but I used the Simply Scored scoring tool to emboss straight lines at the top left and bottom right corners of the card.  The worst thing about this card was the cost of postage to mail it, but it was what I consider a necessary extravagance--a rip-off from the USPS but definitely worth the cost for it to land in mamaw's mailbox.  I have another fun card to share that features the Spiral Flower die, but I'll save it for another day.  When I was trying to decide if I should get the Spiral Flower die, I kept wondering if I would get enough use from it.  Obviously, it's not a preferred product for card-making if the cards have to be mailed, but I know now that I will thoroughly continue to enjoy this die, particularly for making felt flowers for non-card projects. 

SPRING FLOWER BALL GIFT SET

This spring flower ball will give a pop of cheer to anyone’s décor. Displayed on an ornament hanger, it can be ‘hung’ just about anywhere Or place it atop a candlestick holder for a dramatic display. No matter how the recipient decides to display it, they will be delighted to receive it in the custom made window box, along with the coordinating card.

Isn't this a pretty gift set?  Julie Beltramo designed this project, and her tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.

SHAMROCK CARD FOR MAMAW

The new tutorial that posted this week at splitcoaststampers.com is an interesting shamrock card made from four die-cut hearts.  I'm not one who usually celebrates or goes all out for St. Patrick's Day, but I immediately was interested in making a shamrock card for my grandmother.  For the past several years, she has kept her Christmas tree standing year-round.  It's a very pretty tree, has a natural look with a rustic trunk, and is a perfect size for her living room.  During the year, she decorates the tree for all seasons and holidays and, in between, she sometimes decorates it with cards that I have sent to her.  I really like that!  ;-)  On Monday when I was there, she was preparing to decorate the tree with shamrocks, and I traced them onto construction paper so she could cut them out with scissors.  Even though they were a lighter green than the color of the tree, I also traced and cut some semi-circles from white paper to be colored rainbow decorations in hopes that they would break up all of the green-ness.  On Wednesday, I made this shamrock card for her.

Yes, I'm still using and loving Stampin' Up!'s Eye-Catching Ikat stamp set.  To give the stamped hearts a little sparkle, I dotted some glitter glue in a few places and added rhinestone jewels to the sentiment and the four-leaf clover on the "pot of gold".  I used gold glitter glue on the punched hearts that fill the black pot, which got its shape from the Wide Oval and Word Window punches.  The Small Heart punch was used to create the four-leaf clover, and I adhered the pot to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.  

I made a little mess of glitter smear and transfer on the pot when I checked to see if it was dry.  It stuck to my finger and then fell off at a very wrong time and, of course, my glittered finger caught it during the juggle to right-side-up.  

Mamaw will know exactly why I chose to send her a shamrock card; however, I doubt that she'll know how it's supposed to stand.  And that's where this blog post and my mother's iPad will come in handy.  :-)

FLORAL PURSE CARD SET - BONUS PROJECT

This project will give you a little spring in the middle of this cold winter.  The set includes two different designs of thank you cards.  The purse can hold six of these cards, along with matching lined envelopes.  This would make a great card set to give to anyone who loves purses!

Isn't that purse adorable!?!?  This ensemble was designed by Christy Fulk, and she is so skilled at bringing bright, cheery project ideas!  I can hardly wait to make a purse like this, and you can, too!  The tutorial for this project--a BONUS tutorial--can be found at Craft Project Central.  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!

IN LOVE WITH IKAT (ee-kot)

On Monday and Tuesday, UPS delivered a box filled with goodies, and one of the fun products was the Eye-Catching Ikat photopolymer stamp set.  If you're like me, you've wondered about "ikat", so I did a little research.  Really . . . it was just a tiny bit of research, and I found a definition worth accepting HERE.  That explains why the images seem a little hazy and misshapen; however, it would seem that this stamp set should have been named "Eee-Kotching Ikat", which might help to pronounce it correctly.  ;-)  I'll betcha can't say it as fast now that you know how to pronounce it, huh?  I'll be 100% honest with you.  When I first laid eyes on this stamp set--on the day that it was unveiled and available for purchase--I didn't give it a two-second glance.  Actually, I was disappointed that it wasn't something useful or fun or . . . nice.  Since I'm busy truthing, I'll also admit that I have yet to find project samples that made me have to have this set.  I love photopolymer stamp sets and, after going back again and again to look at this set and wonder WHY it couldn't have been something else, I began to realize that it had the potential to be a set that I'd like.  Just look at all of the assorted images that I could use to create backgrounds or dress up a portion of a project!

And so, Eye-Catching Ikat got added to my cart, and let me just tell you that I am in L♥VE with it!  I played with it all afternoon yesterday, and it wasn't because I didn't have other new stamp sets--between Monday and Tuesday, I received SIX new sets, and this is the only one that's touched ink so far.

About my project . . . it's a gift card holder!  Notice the skinny piece of card stock sticking out from the punched semi-circle on the left, under the ribbon?  If you look closely, you can see where I used Stampin' Up!'s new Perforating Blade and, when that skinny Crisp Cantaloupe tab is pulled, the card stock gets whisked away to reveal a gift card.  How fun is that?!?!  Of course, my white card stock was stamped with ikat images using Crisp Cantaloupe and Old Olive ink, and I also stamped a few dots (from the Happy Watercolor stamp set) using Sahara Sand ink and black ink was used to stamp the sentiment, which is from A Dozen Thoughts stamp set.  The flower . . . oh, that flower is such a dream!  I used the brand new Spiral Flower die to cut a piece of glittery felt, and it was a breeze to roll into shape.  Seriously, if you have that die and haven't used it with felt before, you simply must.  With paper or card stock, you normally would roll the flowers tightly, but you don't have to do that with felt and it's sooooooo much easier to hold onto.  I'm getting ready to make another gift card holder and, yes, I'm going to give the card stock a pretty ikat design, probably using the same images because I love the look.  The photo isn't very good, but to the right is a scrap piece of card stock that I stamped with images using one color of (Crisp Cantaloupe) ink.  Can you see how fun this stamp set is?!?!  Just click HERE to shop with me and add Eye-Catching Ikat to your collection!

BABY SHOWER GIFT SET

What a cute gift box, notebook, and card to give with your gift at the next baby shower you attend!  The new mother-to-be will simply love the pastel tones and having a gorgeous box (once the gift has been removed) to save of her baby shower cards and tags, not to mention a handy notebook for her handbag/nappy bag to record all of baby's firsts that occur while she's out and about.

This project was designed by Angie Jones, and I love the hand and foot prints and, of course, that gorgeous designer paper!  Angie's tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Valentine's Day has passed, but I wanted to share the treat that I gave to my stampin' friends who attended class this month.  It's a perfect MISM project!  I used the Envelope Punch Board to create small envelopes from Whisper White card stock.  Earlier this month, my son brought Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and there were printed Valentines on the boxes that were good for one free doughnut so I put two of them in each envelope.  Stampin' Up! products used to decorate the envelopes included:  Perfectly Preserved and Create a Cupcake stamp sets, Bitty Banners Framelits, Smoky Slate card stock, and Blushing Bride and Rose Red ink.

"PETAL PARADE" CARD BOX WITH BELLY BAND

This darling card box makes a perfect gift!  It can easily hold six decorated cards and envelopes and is easy to assemble!  Beautiful, too!

The complete tutorial for this project, which was designed by Laurie, can be found at Craft Project Central. 

MAKE ME HAPPY

Soft Sky.

Doilies.

Soft Suede.

Dry-embossing.

Ruffled trim.

Rhinestone jewels.

These are just some of the things that make me happy.  Lately, I've had a hard time embracing gold (kind of hard to tell from my blog, huh?), but page 21 of the Mar/Apr Stampin' Success publication totally got my attention and had me scrambling to find gold embossing powder.  Do you remember when certain Stampin' Up! products had pretty blue and white colored labels?  That's what my container of gold embossing powder has, so you can imagine that it's not new.  On page 21 of the recent Stampin' Success, I found gorgeous project photos featuring the Happy Watercolor stamp set and, of course, gold stamping and embossing.  The gold heat-embossed doilies were striking.  So striking!  I've seen a few ways to color doilies, but gold-embossed . . . oh my . . . sweet!!!!  And so began the inspiration to create this card.

In case you're wondering, I did NOT copy any of the projects that were pictured on page 21; instead, I used them to challenge myself to create something that I would find just as pleasing (if not more so), and I really like this card!  Whether I use gold or silver embossed doilies, this card can be re-done in a host of gorgeous color combos!  I suppose that is true for any card design/sketch, but there are some designs that make you want to make them over and over again.  Know what I mean?  Stampin' Up! products that I used for this card include: 

Card Stock:  Whisper White, Soft Sky, Soft Suede
Stamp Set:  Happy Watercolor

Ink:  Soft Sky, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight

Sizzix:  Decorative Dots embossing folder

Punch:  Corner Rounder

Accessories:  Gold embossing powder, rhinestone jewels, linen thread, heat tool, aqua painter, stretch ruffle trim

SLIDER PAGE MINI ALBUM

Today at Craft Project Central, subscribers get a brand new tutorial!  This project includes a cute mini album with a unique slider page, which is perfect for hidden journaling or photos.  Complete the ensemble with a card and gift tag, and it's the ideal gift for someone special in your life.

The designer of this unique project is Tina Gillespie, and her complete tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.