Cork memo holder

A few years ago I bought a package of round cork trivets from Ikea because I thought they would make perfect memo boards. Well, last weekend I finally tackled the task, and here is the result:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® except "Other supplies"):
Card stock: Whisper White
Accessories: Basic Gray stitched grosgrain ribbon, 7/8" and 1-1/4" scalloped circle punches, Brights buttons, Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, white baker's twine, Sticky Strip
Other supplies: Round cork trivet, hot glue gun

I think it turned out pretty cute! And it was really easy to make. I arranged four pieces of Basic Gray stitched grosgrain ribbon in a crisscross pattern across the front of the trivet. Using hot glue, I adhered the ribbons to the trivet just at the four places where they intersected; that way you can slip your notes under the ribbons. Then I glued the ends of the ribbons to the back of the trivet. For the hanger, I cut a longer piece of ribbon and glued the ends to the back of the trivet. (So the back of the memo holder isn't cute, but then the backs of my projects are rarely cute. You should see my counted cross-stitch.)

For the flowers I punched four 7/8" scallop circles out of Whisper White card stock. On each circle I snipped between the scallops toward the center of the circle to make petals. Using Sticky Strip I adhered a Daffodil Delight button tied with white baker's twine to the center of each flower, and then I gently curved the petals up around the button. I adhered the button flowers over the intersecting ribbons with hot glue.

For the larger flower, I punched two 1-1/4" scallop circles from Whisper White card stock. I snipped between the scallops on one of the circles, added a button with baker's twine and curved up the petals. Then I adhered it to the second scallop circle to make the flower look a little fuller. For leaves I added a piece of Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon folded in half. I used hot glue to adhere the flower to the ribbon hanger.

Now that I have one memo holder done, maybe I'll be motivated to finish the other two (a girl can dream, right?). Thanks for stopping by!

A taste of textures

When I am looking for a little something to add to a card, I often find myself reaching for one of my embossing folders. I love how adding a bit of texture can really make a card stand out. And if adding a little bit of one texture is fun, what about adding a taste of several textures, all together on one card?

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®):
Stamps: Curly Cute
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Bashful Blue card stock; Natural Composition Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Crumb Cake
Accessories: Embossing folders: Houndstooth, Chevron, Vine Street, Perfect Polka Dots, Argyle, Honeycomb; Apothecary Accents Framelits dies; Essentials paper-piercing pack; paper-piercing tool and mat; 7/8" scallop circle punch; 1" square punch; Real Red 1/8" taffeta ribbon; Brights brads; Dimensionals

What do you think?  It reminds me of a quilt sampler, but instead of different square patterns, there are different textures.

For this card, I used six different embossing folders for the main textures and three designs from the Natural Composition Specialty DSP for more subtle textures. The squares are each 1", and the margins between the squares are just a tiny bit wider than 1/4".

To make the focal piece, I stamped the sentiment and then die cut it using the label shape from the Apothecary Accents Framelits dies. I pierced a border around the edges of the label to add some texture. (It's hard to tell in the photo, but I pierced from the back side of the tag so the little bumps are on the front.) For some color, I added a scallop circle behind each of the two curved edges (love that the new 7/8" scallop circle punch creates a perfect layer!) and a brad in the middle. I wrapped Real Red 1/8" taffeta ribbon around the card front and adhered the label over the ribbon with Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Display stamper submission

Earlier this month, Stampin' Up!^® demonstrators were invited to apply to be a display stamper -- one of the people who make sample projects that are displayed at different events for the company. Applicants had to create six items: three cards, two 3D items and one scrapbook page. Here are the projects I created for my submission.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Betsy's Blossoms, Sweet Essentials
Card stock: Whisper White, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Pool Party, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Cloudy Day embossing folder, Vine Street embossing folder, 1-1/4" Scallop Circle punch, 3/16" corner rounder, Brights Designer buttons, Lucky Limeade baker's twine, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals

To make the flowers on this card, I stamped the large flower image from the Betsy's Blossoms set three times with Daffodil Delight ink on Whisper White card stock. I punched out the middle of the flowers with the 1-1/4" scallop circle punch. Between each of the scallops, I snipped about 1/4" toward the center of the circle to make "petals." I adhered an Old Olive button tied with Lucky Limeade baker's twine to the center of each flower and gently curved the petals up around the button. For the greeting I carefully inked and stamped just part of the "hello, baby" sentiment from the Sweet Essentials set.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Secret Garden
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla card stock; Print Poetry Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack
Ink: Crumb Cake
Accessories: Secret Garden Framelits dies, Honeycomb embossing folder, 5/8" Victoria crochet trim, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, Pearl Basic Jewels, Dimensionals

A monochromatic card definitely doesn't have to be boring. I used a piece of patterned paper from the Print Poetry DSP Stack (which is perfect for card-making) and different textures from the Honeycomb embossing folder, crochet trim and seam binding ribbon to create a lot of visual interest on this card. The focal point is a single flower from the Secret Garden stamp set. I used the coordinating Framelits dies to cut out the stamped flower; I cut out the stem by hand and adhered it to the back of the flower. I used Dimensionals to attach the flower to the embossed card stock and also to adhere the whole panel to the card front.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Tea Shoppe
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Primrose Petals, Soft Suede
Ink: Primrose Petals, Soft Suede, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border punch, 1" Circle punch, 1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 5/8" Victoria crochet trim, Soft Suede 3/8" taffeta ribbon, Vintage Trinkets, Pearl Basic Jewels, paper-piercing tool, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Stamp-a-ma-jig tool, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals

The sentiment I used for this card ("A cup of thanks") is actually one line of text on the stamp. I wanted it to fit in a circle punch, so I inked and stamped just the first three words and then used the Stamp-a-ma-jig tool to stamp the last word underneath. That allowed the greeting to fit perfectly in a 1" circle. I added three pearls and a scallop circle mat, pierced a hole in the top with the paper-piercing tool, and attached the tag to the focal image with a mini safety pin from the Vintage Trinkets embellishments. I also tied a little piece of Soft Suede taffeta ribbon on the safety pin.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! except "Other supplies"):
Stamps: Betsy's Blossoms, Just for You (from the Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit)
Card stock: Very Vanilla
Ink: Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Basic Gray (marker)
Accessories: Summer Starfruit 3/8" stitched satin ribbon, Pool Party 3/8" ruffled ribbon, 5/8" flower trim, 3/8" Basics glimmer brads, Sycamore Street ribbon and button pack, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, 3/16" corner rounder,
Other supplies: Single-pronged curl clips, hot glue gun

I love these cute little barrettes, and as long as my cousins keep having baby girls, I'll just keep making them. (For a tutorial, see my Aug. 23, 2011, post titled Ribbon barrettes.) To embellish the Summer Starfruit barrettes, I used two individual flowers from the new 5/8" flower trim, carefully cutting off the extra tulle around each flower. For the Pool Party barrettes, I clipped the prongs off of two silver brads and hot glued the brad tops to Pool Party buttons from the Sycamore Street ribbon and button pack. To attach the barrettes to the tag, I used the circle punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack to punch four holes in the card stock. Then I opened each barrette, placed the back of the clip through one of the holes and let the barrette close.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Paper: Natural Composition Specialty DSP, vellum card stock, Crumb Cake card stock
Accessories: Window Frames Collection Framelits dies, Festive Paper-Piercing Pack, paper-piercing tool, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Simply Scored scoring tool, Sticky Strip

To make this tealight holder, I used the largest die and the second-smallest die from the set of Window Frames Collection Framelits dies to die cut four shapes with windows from the Natural Composition Specialty DSP. For each of the die-cut shapes, I paper-pierced around the window and adhered a 3" square piece of vellum card stock to the back. I used the Simply Scored scoring tool to make score lines along three of the "flaps" on each die-cut shape and adhered the die-cuts together by placing Sticky Strip on the flaps (be sure the non-scored flap is on the top). I folded the bottom flaps to the inside of the candleholder and adhered a 3-1/2" square piece of Crumb Cake card stock over them to create a flat bottom for a battery-operated tealight candle. Although you can't see it in the photo, the candlelight does look very pretty shining softly through the vellum. You could make these candle holders with different colors of card stock -- plain, stamped and/or embossed -- to match holiday decor or to make table centerpieces for a party.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Pursuit of Happiness
Card stock: Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand, Pacific Point, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Ink: Marina Mist, Sahara Sand, Pacific Point, Always Artichoke markers
Accessories: Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die, Apothecary Accents Framelits dies, Natural 7/16" trim ribbon, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, 3/16" corner rounder, color spritzer tool, Sticky Strip, Glue Dots, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Dimensionals

To create the background for this 8" x 8" scrapbook page, I used the Tasteful Trim die to cut strips of "bubble" trim in several colors that coordinated with the water in my photo. (My favorite part of this page is how the Pacific Point and Always Artichoke strips at the top of the page blend in perfectly with the waves on the left side of the picture.) For the sentiment, I used the color spritzer to make splatters of Marina Mist and Sahara Sand on a piece of Whisper White card stock and then stamped the greeting in Pacific Point and Always Artichoke. I cut out the sentiment using a label shape from the Apothecary Accents Framelits dies and adhered a piece of natural trim to the back.

Thanks for stopping by -- and wish me luck!

A dress-up rainbow

I'm not really much of a girly girl; I rarely wear make-up, I prefer jeans to dresses, and I despise high heels. (Seriously, the last time I wore heels was for a friend's wedding several years ago -- I was her personal attendant -- and my toes were numb for days afterward.) But the new Dress Up Framelits dies in the Stampin' Up!^® spring catalog are too adorable for words. The set comes with dies for two different dresses and a dress form. I bought them on my last order, and yesterday I made this adorable set of cards:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Paper: Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper (DSP); Basic Gray, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Real Red card stock
Accessories: Dress Up Framelits dies, Oval Accent Bigz Clear die, Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, corner rounder, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Bitty Buttons, Brights Designer Buttons, Everyday Enchantment Lucky Limeade 1/8" organdy ribbon, Daffodil Delight and Real Red 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Sycamore Street Tangerine Tango and Island Indigo 1/4" ribbon, Rich Razzleberry 3/8" taffeta ribbon, white baker's twine, pearls, rhinestones, Glue Dots, Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue

Aren't they cute? They were easy to make, too. I used Basic Gray card stock to die cut the six dress forms. For the dresses, I chose six monochromatic patterns from the Summer Smooches DSP and cut a dress from each pattern.

The hardest part definitely was deciding how to embellish the dresses! I've seen many cute and creative variations of these die-cuts: dresses with ribbon skirts or ruffles along the bottom, dresses with patterned tops and solid skirts (or vice versa), and adorable little cardigan sweaters over dresses. But I decided to keep it simple: I just added a ribbon belt and one other embellishment to each dress. I did make a little alteration to the Real Red dress by trimming off one of the straps. Then I added a flower (made with three flower shapes from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack crumpled and layered together with a pearl in the center) to the other strap.

To frame the dresses, I used the Oval Accent die to cut decorative oval shapes from Whisper White card stock. I embossed the ovals with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and adhered them to Basic Gray card bases. (I rounded the corners of the card bases before attaching the ovals.) I adhered the dresses onto the dress forms and then glued the forms to the middle of the white ovals. Inside the cards I simply adhered a blank 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock with rounded corners.

I have a few friends with birthdays coming up this spring, and I've been trying to decide who will receive this set of cards. Hmm ... I might just have to make some more dress-up cards. Thanks for stopping by!

By the Tide for him and her

About a month ago I ordered the By the Tide stamp set from Stampin' Up!^®. I loved the set as soon as I saw it in the spring catalog, and when it arrived I mounted the stamps on the wood blocks and then ... did nothing. I was stumped. (Everyone I know thinks I just sit down and magically start producing cards, but it's really not that easy.) The images are gorgeous and make me think of all things beachy (oh, what I wouldn't give to be on a beach right now!), but I just couldn't figure out how to put them together on a card. So  I decided the only way to get going was to just start playing with the stamps. The end product was two cards: one feminine and one masculine.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: By the Tide
Card stock: Pool Party, River Rock
Ink: Pool Party, River Rock, Basic Gray
Accessories: Pearls, Dimensionals

Not very many supplies, right? I wanted a clean and simple layout for the feminine card, so I stamped the coral image in Pool Party ink on a Pool Party card base. To create the look of sand along the bottom of the card, I tore the edge off a strip of River Rock card stock and then crumpled and creased the card stock. After I smoothed out the strip, I gently rubbed my River Rock ink pad over it so the edges and creases were lightly inked and then adhered it to the bottom of the card. I also used River Rock ink and card stock for the shell, which I cut out and adhered to the card with Dimensionals. I stamped the poem over part of the coral image with Basic Gray ink and added a few pearls beneath it. To fill the emptiness in the top right corner of the card, I cut two small banners from Pool Party card stock and adhered them above the poem; I like how the tone-on-tone detail adds a subtle visual interest but doesn't detract from the stamped images.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: By the Tide, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Not Quite Navy
Ink: Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede
Accessories: Woodgrain embossing folder, Natural Trim ribbon, hemp twine, medium metallic brad (Making Memories), Dimensionals

For the masculine card, I used collage-style stamping. I randomly stamped images over a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock using Not Quite Navy (seahorse), Always Artichoke (shell), River Rock (coral) and Soft Suede (fish). I embossed the card stock with the Woodgrain embossing folder to add some texture (I think the wavy lines are reminiscent of water) and mounted the piece on a Not Quite Navy card base. I distressed a piece of Natural Trim ribbon by fraying the ends and then adhered it along the bottom of the card, leaving it bunched and curved in some places. I wrapped a piece of hemp twine around the right side of the card twice, making an X shape. For the focal point, I cut out a stamped fish image, used Dimensionals to adhere it over the knot in the twine and added a thin strip of card stock stamped with "Happy Father's Day." The brad in the corner was a bit of an afterthought, but I'm glad I added it.

So which card do you like better? I think I'm leaning toward the more feminine card, but I have to admit that the masculine one is growing on me. Now that I've got a start with this stamp set, I'm excited to see what else I can create. Thanks for stopping by!