WATERING CAN DECOR GIFT SET - BONUS PROJECT

This bright and cheerful watering can is a beautiful décor piece that is guaranteed to add some sunshine into any space. The watering can hangs at a downward angle showering crystal water droplets downward that catch and reflect the sunlight. The watering can also features a bright and beautiful bouquet of flowers. Pair it up with the matching card and this is the perfect gift that will brighten someone’s day!

This is the July bonus project at Craft Project Central, and it was designed by Amanda.  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!

A POP-UP FOR CHRISTMAS

I recently purchased Cricut's Simple Pop-Up Cards cartridge and some Cricut pens and, when they arrived today, it was time to make a card.  One of my favorite projects on the cartridge is this Christmas card.  The one and only issue that I had (and it was 100% my error) was forgetting to size the card appropriately.  If I should happen to make any miniature friends (hobbits, perhaps), I will have the perfect card to send to them in December--or I could use this card as a gift tag.

This particular design will definitely be among the Christmas cards that I send this year!  Even at such a small size, my Cricut Explore cut it beautifully, and I can only imagine what a breeze it will be to cut (and fold) larger ones.  I think the penned sentiment turned out pretty, too, and I love that the machine has the ability to write/draw images--and that I now have a selection of ink colors for this!  

Not much thought went into decorating the front of the card since I was mostly interested in the inside.  The white layer was embossed with Stampin' Up!'s Decorative Dots embossing folder, and the layered framed deer image is from Cricut's awesome Winter Woodland cartridge.  

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

It's Monday, and that means I get to share a project that was a snap to make.  Now that wood-mount stamps are a minority in my stamp room, I sometimes forget the four or five sets that are in the old style cases and located away from the majority of my stamps.  Work of Art, the stamp set that I used for this card, actually came in one of Stampin' Up!'s latest style of cases; however, it was a real booger to situate the stamps "just so" in that case, so my solution was to just give them a slightly more spacious home to save my nerves.  Truth is . . . I really, really, really love this stamp set!  For my card, I used Soft Sky ink to create the flower and then the Elegant Dots embossing folder provided a subtle texture.  The1-1/4" Scallop Circle punch was used to cut a scrap of Hello Honey card stock for the center, and then rhinestone jewels were added.  I stamped the chevron image using Soft Sky ink on a scrap of Whisper White card stock, and then used Hello Honey ink to stamp the sentiment on that scrap.  After tearing one edge and curling the other, I folded the Soft Sky thick twine in half, wrapped it around the sentiment layer, and tied the ends in a knot.  And voila . . . this pretty little card was done.

Have a happy Monday and a fabulous week!

FAUX ETCHED GLASS BUTTERFLIES

Nothing says warm weather like fluttering butterflies, and these delicate and beautiful “faux etched glass” butterflies will live forever. With just a few Stampin’ Up! products and this simple “Faux Glass Etching” technique, you’ll have enough faux glass butterflies for two home décor projects and an all-occasion card to send to a friend. This would make a fun class or stamp camp project, as well. 

 

Oh, my . . . this ensemble is soooooo gorgeous!  If you didn't click on the sneak peek photo to open a larger view, then you're missing a treat.  An even better treat will be your subscription to Craft Project Central, which will give you access to the step-by-step tutorial for this ensemble that Buffy Cooper designed.

BIRTHDAY IN THE BARNYARD

This Birthday in the Barnyard party set is perfect for the birthday celebration of your darling little girl.  This set features the Barnyard Babies Stamp Set... with the support of sentiments from Something to Say and A Dozen Thoughts Stamp Sets.  Also highlighted are Farmers Market Designer Series Paper and Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack…in combination with bright, fun Calypso Coral, Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry Cardstock.  Gold Metallic Doilies and Gold Embossing provide a lovely bit of sparkle to this ensemble, and baker’s twine provides just the right amount of country feel.  This party set includes a 3-1/2” x 5” party invitation, a barn shaped thank you party favor, a cupcake pick, a milk bottle medallion and a party banner.  And…there’s a bonus!  This set is also incredibly versatile in that, with a small color change it would be a fabulous foundation for the birthday celebration of any handsome little guy.  And there’s more…a simple sentiment switch on a couple of the pieces would easily convert this party set to the perfect background for a baby shower…for a boy or a girl!

This darling ensemble was designed by Sue Plote, and her tutorial can be found at Craft Project Central.  Sue is a new designer this month, and she's incorporated a lot of new Stampin' Up! products in her project.

JULY "MY PAPER PUMPKIN" ALTERNATE DESIGNS

My July Paper Pumpkin arrived around the same time that the Pretty Thankful stamp set came, so I combined the two products on a couple of the cards.  Here's the first one:

And another one featuring a background created with one of the frame images from Pretty Thankful:

The July My Paper Pumpkin kit is a great one, and I really enjoyed it!  Best of all, I have a set of greeting cards ready for mailing, and they didn't take long to make!  If you haven't tried My Paper Pumpkin or if you haven't tried the subscription lately, then I highly recommend that you treat yourself to a subscription.  Of course, I'd really appreciate it if you subscribe through me by clicking the "Subscribe Today" link in the left sidebar.  I'm pretty sure that you'll be glad you did.  ;-)

HOUSE OF CARDSTOCK

What can you do with simple Whisper White Cardstock, a Bone Folder, a cutting blade and some Stampin’ Dimensionals?  The truth is, you can make a whole lot!!!!  Sometimes we begin to believe that we need a ton of supplies and shiny new products to make something special.  This month’s project is here to show you that with the simplest of supplies you can make an incredibly special gift for yourself or a friend!  This House Of Cardstock project will walk you through the steps for making a replica of your home, or the home of a friend or loved one, out of Whisper White Cardstock!  What a great way to turn your simple supplies into a wonderful gift!!!  The beauty is that the supplies are right there in your own home, just waiting for you to begin!

The tutorial for this amazing project, which was designed by Michelle, can be found at Craft Project Central.  Did you click on the sneak peek photo to open a larger view?  There are some awesome project tutorials this month.  Have you subscribed yet?  For approximately $1/week, you can stay inspired and have something new to create every couple of days!

"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

And yet another weekend has come and gone.  They pass so quickly, don't they?  My apologies for the poor photo quality of this week's MISM project, which features what might be the most easily (accidentally, of course) overlooked/unnoticed stamp set in the current Stampin' Up! catalog.  Or maybe I'm the only one who didn't notice it until about two weeks ago.  I hardly ever get comments from my blog visitors, but I would REALLY love to know if you have/haven't noticed the Pretty Thankful set in the main catalog on page 79.  As I was thumbing through the pages, I think I did a triple take when my eyes actually paid attention to the images in this set.  It's wonderful!  I love the string frames and the way a stamped sentiment can be divided, and this set couldn't get to my front door soon enough.  I even used it over the weekend as I worked on this month's Paper Pumpkin cards!  All of the stamped images on my card are from Pretty Thankful, and didn't the oval frame make an interesting background?  Additional Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include:

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake

Ink:  Sahara Sand, Soft Sky

Sizzix:  Happy Heart embossing folder, Tags & Labels Framelits (love these!!!!)

Accessories:  In Color Sequin Assortment, ribbon (retired from this year's Sale-a-Bration), Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Have a stampin' good week!



SWALLOWTAIL CARD SET & BOX

Explore different ways to use the large and magnificent Swallowtail stamp in the card box and set of six cards. This project uses six different methods for accenting the beauty of this butterfly each with a unique card design. The coordinating butterfly box is a great way to present these cards as a gift with matching envelopes. This would make a great hostess gift or class project!

Did you read that . . . SIX different methods for accenting the beauty of the Swallowtail butterfly!  The tutorial for this fabulous project, which was designed by Amanda, can be found at Craft Project Central.

ENGLISH GARDEN CARD BOX

This beautiful card box is easy to assemble and sure to impress!  You can easily change up the colors and papers to suit anyone!  This box will hold four decorated handmade cards and envelopes.  What a great gift idea for birthdays, hostesses, and teacher gifts or even to sell at Craft Shows!  Once you start making these card boxes, you’ll want to make them for everyone on your gift list!

Stampin' Up! has some gorgeous new designer paper collections, and this project features one of them.  The tutorial for this pretty project, designed by Laurie, can be found at Craft Project Central.