"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY" & WINNER OF FREE CRAFT PROJECT CENTRAL SUBSCRIPTION

Today's MISM project isn't at all what I had planned to share, but it's just too cute and so appropriate as a "snappy" project.

It's a candy wrapper (box) that I made with the Envelope Punch Board.  This festive little package was decorated with Stampin' Up!'s Geometrical and Off the Grid stamp sets, the ends were tied using twine from the Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack (free Sale-a-Bration product), and then cut with Stampin' Up!'s Fringe Scissors.  This is one of the projects that I have planned for class this Friday, and I think it's going to be fun for all!

WINNER!  WINNER!  WINNER!

With my February 8th blog post (HERE), I offered a FREE subscription to the Craft Project Central tutorials this month.  The one and only easy requirement to get your name in the drawing was to leave a comment HERE, and I promised to announce the winner today.  And the winner is

Barbara V 

who wrote, "Another great project, Regina! Keep up the good work!"  Huge thanks to everyone who left a comment, and CONGRATULATIONS Barbara!  If you'll email me at randari at hotmail dot com, we'll get your subscription started.

"SWALLOWTAIL" ALTERED BOOK BOX & CARD

This Swallowtail altered book box and card is a perfect way to transform an unused hardcover book into a beautiful gift!  The set features an altered hardcover book and coordinating gift card.  The elegant box provides a special place to store a secret gift, small journal, or other cherished keepsakes!

Wouldn't this make a wonderful gift for a treasured friend?!?!  Michelle Wecksler designed this project, and her butterflies are gorgeous!  Her complete tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.

RETRO FRESH MAGNETIC MEMO BOARD

It's always nice to have a fresh new way to post some quick notes and reminders.  This Magnetic Memo Board is really simple to make, and the Retro Fresh designer series paper gives it a super fun vibe!!  The coordinating note cards, pen, and super-hip magnets are all stored neatly into the sweet and simple storage case.  When it's all packed, it makes a great little "anytime" gift!

Stampin' Up!'s new stamp cases are quite roomy!  This project, which was designed by Julie Beltramo, demonstrates how useful and roomy those new cases are!  Her tutorial for this ensemble can be found at Craft Project Central.

TUTORIAL: SKETCH CHALLENGE FEATURING MY DIY SWING/FLIP CARD

Each month, Craft Project Central has a fun sketch challenge, and you can see this month's Creating Pretty Cards - Card Challenge #32 HERE.  When I first saw the sketch, it reminded me of Stampin' Up!'s Circle Card Thinlits, which I do not own.  Even though this month's sketch doesn't suggest using the flip-card dies, that's the kind of card that I wanted to create . . . and I did!

One of my friends was telling me recently how any Thinlits/Framelits die could be used to create a flip card, and this was a perfect time to see if I could get it right.  It worked, and it's soooooooo easy! I placed one of the acrylic cutting pads onto the platform, and then I cut a 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" section from a Magnetic Vent Cover, placed it on top of the cutting pad, and then placed two Magnetic Business Cards in the center with a narrow gap between them.  BTW, I have the old teal and black Big Shot, and I don't know if newer models come with the platform that I used.  If you have the Multipurpose Platform, you will probably need to open all tabs and just work with the thick platform (no tabs).

Place your die (I used one of Stampin' Up!'s Starburst Framelits dies) as shown in the photo.  Yes, it's best to have it cut-side-up so that it doesn't cut into your magnetic pieces.  Duh!  Next, place your card stock (5-1/2" x 8-1/2") on top, followed by an acrylic cutting pad. 

Run the sandwich through the Big Shot, and you should end up with a die-cut shape with an uncut strip down the center.  You'll need to make two scored lines--one on each side of the uncut strip--so that you can fold the card to swing/flip. 

Fold your card into shape, and then cut it to an A2 size.  I suppose you could do the math and get all measurements worked out so no cutting is necessary, but at least you have options when your die-cut and scored card is bigger than needed . . . you might want a wider panel on the inside and will have the freedom to cut your card that way.  ;-)

As you can see, I used High Tide designer paper and Settin' Sail stamp set (l♥ve this set!!!!) to decorate my card.  I used one of the Circles Collection Framelits to cut the Daffodil Delight circles.  To die-cut the designer paper, I just cut each piece slightly smaller than the panel where it would be adhered.  For the front and back panels, I used a pencil to trace the backside of the paper, and then placed the same size Starburst Framelits die onto the paper so that after cutting, there would be a small border around the die-cut window.  This worked surprisingly well!  Other Stampin' Up! products used to complete this card include Daffodil Delight seam binding, white 1/8" taffeta ribbon, and white Baker's twine.  For the stamped images, I used Pacific Point and Smoky Slate ink.

Whew!  I think this must be my longest post ever.  I hope the tutorial is helpful to you and would love to hear your thoughts.  Remember to create a card for Creating Pretty Cards - Card Challenge #32 and upload your card at Craft Project Central.  For every ten cards that are submitted, a winning name will be drawn to win a FREE one-month subscription to the site!  As a project designer, I have a FREE subscription to give, and all you have to do to enter the drawing is leave a comment about my project HERE.  I will draw a winning name and announce the winner with my Make-It-Snappy-Monday blog post on Monday, February 17th.

"SIMPLE STEMS" PURSE

For the past week (at least that long), I've been taking my time to do some weeding out and moving around in my stamp room.  Four bags of trash were taken out of here yesterday, so I don't understand why this room is still so full.  Ha!  During most of the cleaning process, I haven't had an open space for stamping and have been missing my hobby!  I finally kicked it in gear really late last night and cleaned off my desk, and you know how stampers are . . . show us a tidy area, and we instantly feel the urge to make a mess.  And so I did.  During one of my "digs", I found a Stampin' Up! card kit (can't remember the name of it) that had a pretty box to hold the cards so, before assembling the box, I made a template out of cardboard.  Pictured in this blog post is what I created with that template . . . a pretty purse!  My Very Vanilla card stock pieces were stamped with images from Stampin' Up!'s Simple Stems and Off the Grid stamp sets using Soft Sky, Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Always Artichoke, and Baked Brown Sugar ink.  The die-cut foliage is from the Secret Garden Framelits, and I used the Spiral Flower Originals Die to create the three rosebuds.  A small piece of gold metallic paper from the Calypso Coral Celebration Basics Add-On Kit was used to stamp and punch the live happy sentiment, which is from the You're Lovely Sale-a-Bration stamp set, to mimic a name-brand label on the purse.

During the creation of this purse, I thought it needed something different on the front, so I cut a piece of card stock that followed the same contour as the top, embossed it for texture, and sponged the edges.

The above photo shows some of the details.  I used Fringe Scissors to create the tassel and punches to create the purse strap attachment that allows the strap to move somewhat freely, which makes it easier to open the purse.  I had a lot of fun with this project and seeing how it evolved from a test to see if the template would work to figuring out how to finish the purse with enough detailing.  I had only used the Spiral Flower Originals Die a couple of times, but I developed quite an appreciation for it while making the three flowers for the purse.  It's amazing how quick and easy it is to make something that pretty!

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Oops!  I'm a little late posting today's MISM project, which features two new Stampin' Up! products . . . "You're Lovely" Sale-a-Bration stamp set and Fringe Scissors.  One thing that I really like about the floral image that I chose for my card is that it has a blank space on the right side, which is perfect for a small stamped sentiment!  To color the flowers, I used an Aqua Painter and Pearl Ex.  Unfortunately, Stampin' Up! retired Pearl Ex (pearlescent pigment powders) around the time that I began to discover fun ways to use them.  As you can see from the close-up photo, they have a very pretty and unique shimmer/shine to them!  In the center of the flowers, I used 2-Way Glue and a Q-tip to apply Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

On the bottom of my Very Vanilla (top-fold) card, I added texture with the Fancy Fan embossing folder.  A strip of Basic Black card stock was cut with the fringe scissors (along the bottom) and then adhered to the card, and the black gingham ribbon was wrapped around the card and tied in a bow.  I die-cut the stamped image with the Deco Labels Framelits, stamped "hello sweet friend" from the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set, and used a Q-tip to sponge the inside edges of the die-cut label with Crumb Cake ink before adhering it to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.  There you have it . . . a relatively quick and easy card with plenty of texture, dimension, and visual appeal.

"SWEET SORBET" NOTE CARD SET & BOX

This cute note card set would make a great gift idea for a friend or perhaps a teacher or co-worker.  This project would also be great for a Stampin' Up! Sale-a-Bration kick-off class, showcasing some of the fun Sweet Sorbet designer series paper and accessories.

Personally, I love the Sweet Sorbet DSP, but then I almost always like the paper collection that Stampin' Up! presents during Sale-a-Bration.  Breelin Renwick designed this pretty ensemble, and her tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.  Did you know that you can begin your subscription (only $10!!!!) at any time during the month and have access to all of the month's tutorials?  Also, those tutorials will be available to you through January 2015. 

"REMEMBER THIS" 2014 MIXED MEDIA CANVAS & A FREE SUBSCRIPTION!!!

Today is the day that my project is featured at Craft Project Central, and following is the introduction that I wrote for the project:  Some people jot New Year's resolutions on a piece of paper, but this project demonstrates a creative way to keep specific goals in sight.  Although this project features the designer's resolutions of being happy, creating the kind of life that she wants, and remembering kind gestures toward others, it will be easy to customize your canvas to reflect your goals and resolutions.  This tutorial also features a coordinating card and envelope.

Don't you just love the colors!?!?  I had so much fun creating this project, and the tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.!  Have you ever worked on a project that you just seem to dive right into and lose yourself?  That's exactly what this project was like for me!  I can't speak highly enough of the Heartfelt Banner kit that I used, and I had plenty of kit contents left that I can use on other projects.  Those felt balls are just too fun and festive!  In case you haven't seen this kit, it's one of Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration products. 

Would you like to win a FREE one-month subscription to Craft Project Central?  Of course, you would!  All you have to do is visit Craft Project Central, and leave a comment on the post dated February 8th.  You'll know it's the right post because you'll see the same project photo of my canvas.  I'll post the winning name with my Make-It-Snappy-Monday blog post on February 17th.

NUMBERED CARDS SET WITH HOLDER

These super cute cards with numbers can be used as birthday cards, invitations, or thank you notes.  Put the same number on each card or change it up!  Tutorial includes a handy card holder as well as lined envelopes.

I love the designer paper that Yapha Mason used to create this project!  Her tutorial is available at Craft Project Central.

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

I don't think I've ever wanted to own or wear a pair of mittens, but there's something about seeing them on a card that makes me love them!  And I love this MISM card because it's wintry, warming, dimensional, and textural.  The products that I used to create this card include the following:

Card Stock:  Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Midnight Muse, Old Olive (all from Stampin' Up!)

Punches:  Eyelet Border (retired Stampin' Up!), Branch Pine (Martha Stewart)

Embossing Folders:  Square Lattice, Northern Flurry (Stampin' Up!)

Dies:  Winter Cabin Landscape (Memory Box), Nested Mittens (Spellbinders)

Accessories:  Natural Hemp twine, button (both retired Stampin' Up!)

I found out last night that the card in this blog post is being featured today on "My Crafty Friends Monday".  Stampin' Up!'s Happy Watercolor is the featured stamp set today, so you might want to hop on over and see all of the other featured cards.