"APOTHECARY ART" CARD FOLDER

Have you seen the new Occasion Mini Catalog? It’s fabulous and full of great new stamp sets and accessories! This pretty project by Laurie Zoellmer uses several new products from this mini . . .  the new Adorning Accents Edgelits dies, Adorning Accents embossing folders, Labels Collection Framelits die, new designer series paper, and the beautiful new "Apothecary Art" stamp set!  This folder and cards make a perfect gift for birthdays, Mother’s Day or a "just because" gift.  The tutorial for this project is featured today on Craft Project Central.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY" WITH A CAKE POP!

Have you caught the cake pop rage like me?  One of my Christmas gifts to myself was a Babycakes cake pop maker, and I made an assortment of these cuties to have on hand this weekend and decided to use one for my MISM project . . . this cute little birthday tag.  I recently purchased Stampin' Up!'s "Easy Events" stamp set, and I'm loving it!  I stamped the cupcake image with Black StazOn ink onto watercolor paper and used an aqua painter and ink pads (Certainly Celery, Soft Suede, Rose Red, and Regal Rose) to color the image.  I stamped the image a second time onto Regal Rose card stock and cut out the "happy" sentiment so that I could place it with a Stampin' Dimensional onto the tag.  Finishing touches included accents of Dazzling Details and a glimmery red heart.  The ribbon, although it isn't an exact match for the Certainly Celery card stock, is from the Sale-a-Bration "Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack".  Wouldn't a friend, neighbor, co-worker, etc. like to receive this little birthday remembrance?  Have a stampin' good day . . . and stamp something nice for someone!

MASCULINE CARD AND A REALLY FUN WAY TO ATTACH A SENTIMENT TO A CARD

Today is my husband's birthday, and this is the card that I made for him.  All week, I have wanted to participate in Craft Project Central's Creating Pretty Cards - Card Challenge #7 and, since I needed to make a card for my husband, I decided that my submission would be a masculine design.  Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include "Countryside" and "Teeny Tiny Wishes" stamp sets, 1-3/8" circle punch, tag punch, silver brads, "Well Worn" designer paper, River Rock and Early Espresso card stock, Shimmery White card stock (for the stamped image), Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter, Stampin' Sponges, Mat Pack and piercing tool, and denim ribbon.  I've had this ribbon for so long, and this is the first time I've used it.  I can honestly say that my most favorite part of this card is the way the sentiment tag is folded over the top of the ribbon.  Don't you just love it when a good idea jumps out at you at just the right moment?  Why don't you treat yourself to a cupcake to celebrate with us today and then create a card for Craft Project Central's card challenge #7?  You might end up winning a FREE one-month subscription!  There's really nothing to lose!

RUE DES FLEURS

Right off the bat, let me just say that this was NOT an easy card to photograph, and it looked much better in real life before I dropped it in the mail.  I can't think of the name of the technique. but I stamped the image with white Craft ink and then colored it with Stampin' Pastels and gently brushed away the excess chalk with a tissue.  To make the colors pop and add a little sparkle, I sprayed the black card stock with a shimmer mist created by mixing Stampin' Up!'s Champagne Mist shimmer paint with water.  Unfortunately, the shimmer mist presents as little white specks in the photo.  All products used to create this card are from Stampin' Up! and include:  "Rue Des Fleurs" stamp set, "Adorning Accents" Edgelits die and embossing folders (including the embossed hearts along the bottom of the card), seam binding, oval punches, and rhinestone jewel.  When I first got this stamp set, I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to color this image.  Sometimes, when I'm stumped or an image is very detailed and will require a lot of careful coloring, this is my "go to" technique.  It's quick, quite forgiving, and most always produces a good look.

CALENDAR DESK MATE

Tis’ the season to pull out those new 2012 calendars! This desk calendar is designed so that the main calendar stand can be used as a card and folds easily to fit into a Small Open-End envelope! The box that accompanies the "card" holds note paper, and the ensemble makes a perfect gift for teachers, co-workers or anyone that could use a desk calendar!  And what's not to love about a new 3D project????

Tanya is the creative designer of this project, and you can find

the tutorial this month at Craft Project Central. 

ONE FREE PASS TO CRAFT PROJECT CENTRAL GOES TO . . .

ARIEL . . . the third person who left a comment on THIS blog post!!!!!

I will contact you, Ariel, to get the information necessary to set up your subscription. 

I appreciate the other comments very much!  I will have another subscription give-away soon.

BRINGIN' BACK "FREESTYLE FRIDAYS"

It's a new year, and it's time to bring back Freestyle Fridays!  It's Julie's turn this week to share a project sample and, from the looks of this sneak peek that she sent to me, she has used butterflies and seam binding as interesting accents.  To see the whole project, we'll have to hop over to Julie's blog.

While there, don't forget to take a few minutes to leave a little comment.  Bloggers love to get comments, and it's (usually) an easy thing to do.  Have a great weekend!!

TWO CRAFT PROJECT CENTRAL PROJECTS AND ANOTHER FREE SUBSCRIPTION

I have the pleasure, once again, of designing for Craft Project Central this month, and this means that I have one FREE pass (subscription) to give away.  All you need to do to enter the drawing for the free pass is leave a comment to this blog post.  I will use random.org to choose the winner this Friday, January 6th.  Two awesome projects have already been posted this month (photos below), and it's not too late to subscribe to Craft Project Central so you can get the tutorials for the January projects.

How cute is this crocodile box and card designed and created by Kim Score????  I'm anxious to make one of these! 

The tutorial for this elegant ensemble was posted today--designed and created by Sharon Burkert.  Wouldn't this make a perfect gift, especially for someone who loves butterflies (and who doesn't)!   This project is quick and easy, but has a big WOW factor!  Don't forget to leave a comment to this blog post to be entered in the drawing for the FREE subscription to this month's tutorials.  On the left sidebar of my blog, there's a Craft Project Central button that you can click to go ahead and purchase a subscription if you'd like.  Have a stampin' good day!
ETA:  When you leave a comment, be sure to include your email addy (ex:  randari at hotmail dot com) so that I will know how to contact the winner.

HOW I STORE MY FRAMELITS & EDGELITS

Stampin' Up!'s new dies (Framelits and Edgelits) are packaged in a nice, sturdy snap-closure envelope-style packet, but I decided to use the clear stamp cases to store mine.  I used the computer to create spine labels and photocopies from the Occasions mini catalog to decorate the front of the cases.  Magnetic sheets were another very handy Stampin' Up! product that I used in the organization process.  For the Edgelits, I used Basic Black card stock to create a pocket/band to store the "Adorning Accents" embossing folders.  I really like having both the dies and coordinating embossing folders in the same case!

 

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Happy New Year, everyone!!!  For today's MISM project, I'm sharing another "Turtle & Co." card that's 3" x 6".  I think this stamp set is so cute!  This card features the "Twitterpated" designer paper and pleated satin ribbon from Stampin' Up!'s Occasions mini catalog, and the design is a simple one that's quick to make.  I stamped the image onto watercolor paper and colored the images with markers and an aqua painter.