Fancy Favor Made with 8 1/2 x 11

As you can see, today's bag is very similar to yesterdays... however, this bag was made using an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock instead of a 12x12 piece. I knew there had to be a way to do it and found the solution! Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the process, but the directions should be easy to follow for those occasions when you don't have a 12x12 of the cardstock you want to use!

1. Cut your cardstock to 6x11.

2. Cut the remaining strip to 6 x 2 1/2.

3. Adhere the small strip to the longer strip.

4. Line up the cardstock on the die so that the seam occurs AFTER the score line for the flap of the bag (if you lay it before the score line of the flap, you will have a seam on the front of your bag).

5. Run through the Big Shot and score creased lines.

6. When you fold your bag together, you will notice a small strip of paper that extends past the crease line of the flap. Simply snip this off at the score line and you can adhere your bag together!

Stamps: Holiday Best, Seasons of Friendship

Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Old Olive

Ink: Whisper White

Accessories: Big Shot, Fancy Favor Die, Scalloped Oval Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, SU Markers, Chocolate Chip Ribbon

Baby Shower Favors

Let me just start by saying that these were supposed to be Halloween favor bags...but, after opening all of my new goodies, I realized that the new Big Shot Die Fancy Favor only works with 12x12 paper! While I did buy a pack of the Halloween DSP (which is 12x12), I wasn't ready to use it just yet...so I decided to do a baby shower theme in honor of my cousin who's shower is in a few months. My aunt contacted me about doing invitations and favors, just haven't set anything in stone yet, so I thought I'd start throwing around ideas. These could also be adapted for weddings, birthday parties, graduations, etc! And they were SUPER easy to make! A 6x12 piece of paper and two pieces of Sticky Strip and you have this really cute little bag to fill with any kind of treat you like! You can also leave them open (without the ribbon) for an even bigger treat.

I used the retired Parisian Breeze DSP and the Fun and Fast Notes stamp set (which was one of the sets I got in my Starter Kit!). I made both of these in 10 minutes. Coloring the carriage took me longer than assembling the bag. Plan on seeing lots more of these!

P.S. I have been brainstorming a way to possibly use 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock. So if it works as well in real life as it does in my head, I will have a tutorial for you soon :)

Stamps: Fun and Fast Notes

Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Parisian Breeze DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Big Shot, Fancy Favor XL Die, Horizontal Slot Punch, SU Markers, Chocolate Chip Ribbon

Froggy Bookmark

I am a big reader and love to read (when I'm not stamping or working out that is! hehe). I recently picked up a book at the library and decided I wanted to make a cute bookmark for my new book. This bookmark template was the "Sample This" project in my up-upline Kathy's newsletter, so it couldn't have been more perfect timing!

Here is what the bookmark looks like marking my favorite page in the Stampin' Up Idea Book & Catalog...the Halloween page!! My new goodies just arrived today with almost 90% Halloween stuff, so I can't wait to rip that box open!

Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons

Paper: Watercolor Paper, Chocolate Chip, and Parisian Breeze DSP

Ink: Basic Black

Accessories: SU Markers, 1 1/2 Circle and Scalloped Circle Punches, Scalloped Edge Punch, Blender Pens, White Gel Pen, Chocolate Chip Ribbon

1. Cut piece of Chocolate Chip to 3 7/8 x 4 and scallop one of the short sides. This will be the bottom.

2. Mark top center point as well as 2 inches down on each side. Score between these marks and fold on score line. Adhere ends together in back.

3. Adhere 3 1/4 x 3 7/8 piece of Parisian Breeze DSP to the Chocolate Chip cardstock and fold the corners around the back. These corners will wrap around the pages.

4. Stamp the image from Flower for All Seasons on Watercolor paper with Basic Black ink.

5. Use blender pen and SU markers to color image.

6. Punch out with 1 1/2 Circle Punch and adhere to punched Scalloped Circle.

7. Tie Chocolate Chip ribbon around entire bookmark where DSP meets the Chocolate Chip.

8. Adhere scalloped image to DSP so that it lays slightly underneath the bow of the ribbon.

9. Use white gel pen to add dots to scallops along the bottom.

Bridal Birdie

Hi All,

Sorry for the week long absence! I've been busy working on wedding invitations. Getting close to being done, so I will be able to post more often! This is a card for the bride of the invitations I'm making. I met her through a co-worker and this card is for her shower, from my co-worker. She wanted me to use the same colors as the invitations. When the bride was looking through my Stampin' Up catty, she really liked the Friends 24-7 set, but just not for her wedding. So when I was asked to make her shower card, I knew I wanted to use that set. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

On another note, I just received my first offer to have my cards sold at a local antique store! Joe and I love going to the Marketplace on Main (most of the decorations from our house are from there) and have become good friends with the owner. We were down there last week and the owner started talking about cards, and before he could even finish his story, Joe said "She makes cards" and that was the end of it! He told me to bring some down to sell. I think I'm going to make a few sets and some individuals to see what sells best. I might also do some candles and post it note holders. I couldn't be more excited!! Pictures to come soon of the sets that will be sold! :)

Stamps: Friends 24-7, Lots of Thoughts

Paper: Kraft, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Mat Pack and Paper Piercer, Large and Scalloped Oval Punches, Ribbon, SU Markers

1. Score 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 piece of Kraft at 4 1/4 and fold on score line.

2. Cut 3 1/2 square of Whisper White. Stamp bird in center using Chocolate Chip ink. Stamp flowers in all four corners on a diagonal. Sponge edges with Chocolate Chip ink. Distress slightly with fingernail.

3. Color flowers using SU Markers (Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery, Old Olive).

4. Adhere to 3 3/4 square Elegant Eggplant. Pierce the border with mat pack and paper piercer.

5. Stamp bird image onto scrap piece of Whisper White and cut out. Adhere to main image using dimentionals.

6. Tie Chocolate Chip ribbon around the center of the card. Adhere image over ribbon using dimentionals.

7. Stamp sentiment from Lots of Thoughts onto Whisper White and punch out with Oval Punch. Sponge edges with Chocolate Chip.

8. Punch out Scalloped Oval from Old Olive cardstock and adhere to sentiment.

9. Adhere to card with dimentional.

10. A piece of 5 1/4 x 4 piece of Whisper White was added to the inside with the flowers stamped and colored on the right.

Granola Bar Treats

I'm having a staff meeting tomorrow for my Group Exercise instructors and wanted to give them a small snack to have during our meeting. I immediately thought of granola bars...but I couldn't simply just give them a plain g-bar (as Joe and I call them). Here is what I am taking to the meeting tomorrow:

Surprisingly, these didn't take long to make at all. In fact I made all 20 in less than an hour and a half. The most time consuming part was cutting out all of the butterflies. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. At first I was going to use some retired DSP, but Razzleberry Lemonade was too tempting and I caved!

Stamps: Great Friend

Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry Cardstock, and Razzleberry Lemonade DSP

Ink: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: 1 3/8 and Scalloped Circle Punch, Polka Dot Ribbon

1. Cut DSP to 4 x 4 1/4 and wrap around bar (long side is the length)

2. Stamp butterfly onto scrap piece of Whisper White using Melon Mambo and cut out. Adhere to 1 3/8 Whisper White Circle. Adhere that piece to Scalloped Circle punched from Rich Razzleberry.

3. Stamp sentiment over butterfly using Rich Razzleberry ink.

4. Adhere to center of bar.

5. Tie Polka Dot Ribbon around top of the bar.

And voila! Super easy! These could also be done with candy bars, rice crispy treats, etc!

How Wedding Invitations Are Made

You may remember this post from a while ago where I showed a few samples of wedding invitations I had made for a bride. She combined elements from both samples to create her own idea and I have been working on mass producing them. I'm more than half way done, but thought I'd show you the finished product and what it takes to get there!

Here is the finished set. The bellyband holds the invitation and post-card sized response card.

And these are the steps it took to get there

Some fun facts:

• 110 invitation sets were needed
• 175 pieces of cardstock were used to create the 990 pieces needed to create all 110 sets
• 220 circles were punched (110 Elegant Eggplant and 110 Whisper White--which were also stamped)
• 550 leaves were stamped using Old Olive in the corners of the invitations and response cards as well as the center of the belly band
• 880 corners were rounded

You can click here to see other wedding invitations I have made. If you are engaged and are looking for unique, handmade invitations, send me an email! I also can do baby showers, graduations, birthday parties, etc.

Rubber Band Brayer

I can't remember where I first saw this technique, but I was very excited to try it! It's brayering with rubber bands tied around your brayer! Simply pop the roller off and tie rubber bands of different sizes around it. The colors I used were Cameo Coral, Baja Breeze, and Old Olive. I know Baja Breeze is retired, I just have a lot of it left, so I thought I would use it in this experiement! I am going to be teaching this technique at my class tomorrow. The cool thing is that the ink comes off the bands pretty easily, so you don't have to change them before switching to a different ink...although, as always, I would recommend starting with the lightest color and working your way to the darkest. I feel like the card needs something more on the bottom, so I might run it through the Big Shot with a texture plate??? Not sure. But what a fun way to make your own unique DSP to coordinate to whatever project you're doing!

Stamps: Oval All
Paper: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Cameo Coral, Whisper White
Ink: Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Scalloped Edge Punch, Scalloped Oval and Large Oval Punch, Paper Piercer and Mat Pack, Ribbon, Brayer, Rubber Bands, Cameo Coral and Certainly Celery SU Marker (for butterfly)

Meet My Kids

Hi All,

I'm so sorry I haven't posted since last week. I've been hard at work on wedding invitations. I have pictures of the process...so watch for those soon!

I thought I would take today and introduce you to my "kids"

Secret is our kitty...Joe and I got him back in 2007 when we still lived in our apartment. We weren't supposed to have pets, hence his name. He definitely is a cat with personality! Even people who don't like cats like Secret!

Cervantes is our puppy. He's a full blooded Rottweiler and we got him in August of 2008 when he was 7 weeks old. He's so well behaved and I hate that his breed gives him a bad name before people get to know him. He's currently 11 months old and weighs about 85lbs. He and Secret are really good friends and even though their playing looks more like a UFC match, I know that they love each other.

Paper Pierced Wedding

Even though this set is retired, I still love it! Ever since I got my Texture Plates for the Big Shot, I have wanted to make a paper pieced wedding dress, and today I got to do that. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture and I couldn't get a good close up of the detail, but I used the "swirly" Texture Plate for the skirt of her dress. This card is also for the customer I've been mentioning the past few days. I was excited to use my brand new Filigree brads too!

Stamps: To Have and to Hold

Paper: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Natural Ivory Cardstock

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black

Accessories: Big Shot, Texture Plates, Eyelet Border Punch, Filigree Brads, Rose Red, Close to Cocoa, and Chocolate Chip SU Markers, White Gel Pen, Chocolate Chip Ribbon

1. Score 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 piece of Chocolate Chip at 4 1/4 and fold on score line.

2. Cut Natural Ivory cardstock to 2 3/4 x 4. Stamp the bride and groom using Basic Black.

3. Run scrap piece of Whisper White through the Big Shot with the swirly Texture Plate. Stamp bride and groom onto embossed piece and cut out dress on the inside of the stamp line. Adhere to Ivory piece. Color bodice, veil and groom's shirt with white gel pen.

4. Color the flowers and tie with a Rose Red SU Marker, the groom's suit with Chocolate Chip, and both of their hair with Close to Cocoa.

5. Adhere Ivory piece to a 3 x 4 piece of Whisper White.

6. Scallop the long edge of a 3 3/4 x 1 1/2 piece of Rose Red.

7. Adhere a 3 3/4 x 1 1/2 piece of Whisper White to Rose Red piece. Stamp sentiment.

8. Wrap Chocolate Chip ribbon across the seam of the red and white pieces. Tie bow using another piece of ribbon.

9. Punch a hole through the ribbon using your paper piercer and run the Filigree brad through.

10. Attach both pieces to Chocolate Chip card base.

In Color Flower Fancy

I had a girl who orders cards off of me all the time (the card from yesterday is for her too) ask for a card for an upcoming bridal shower where the colors are pink and black. I had a really hard time trying to find a layout that I liked using those two colors and ultimately gave up trying last night. This morning as I was blog surfing, I came across this card from Andrea Walford. Although her colors are not pink and black, it inspired me to use my color combination with her layout. I was also excited to see how she used Flower Fancy. That set is SO versatile! But this is what I came up with! I altered the size to a standard size card (hers is a 5 1/4 square) and, obviously the colors. I did intend to put some brads on, but since I used the polka dot ribbon, I didn't want to make it too busy. She used the Sanded BG stamp on her scalloped layer and I ran my layer through the Big Shot with texture plates instead (hard to see in the picture). Also, the sentiment looks much better in real life...I think it's hard to read in the picture. Enjoy!

Stamps: Flower Fancy, To Have and to Hold
Paper: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
Ink: Black Stazon, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry SU Markers
Accessories: Big Shot, Texture Plates, Melon Mambo Ribbon, Blender Pen, Scalloped Edge Punch

1. Score 4 1/4 x 11 piece of Melon Mambo at 5 1/2 and fold on score line.
2. Cut 1 1/2 x 4 piece of Basic Black and run it through the Big Shot with the "Swirly" texture plate. Use the scalloped edge punch on one long edge.
3. Stamp the Flower Fancy flowers sideways twice onto a 3 x 4 piece of Whisper White. Color with blender pen and Pretty ink Pink, using the Melon Mambo marker as an accent and the Crushed Curry for the center. The leaves were done using Certainly Celery
4. Stamp the flowers 4 more times on scrap pieces and color to match. Cut out and adhere to Whisper White piece (2 on top of the flowers and the other 2 wherever you thinks looks best).
5. Cut a 1 1/2 x 4 piece of Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and stamp sentiment from To Have and to Hold in bottom right corner with Basic Black ink.
6. Adhere all three layers together with the Whisper White behind both the black and DSP. Make sure to use the size of the card as a guide, but don't attach to Melon Mambo card base yet.
7. Tie a piece of Melon Mambo ribbon around the top black layer.
8. Attach entire piece to Melon Mambo card base.

Best Wishes Bridal Shower

This layout was cased from a card I received in a swap. The original was made by Sue Millenbaugh. She used similar colors, but a different flower set. I'm really excited with how it turned out...especially the flowers! It is for a bridal shower. The colors of the wedding are shades of purple. 

Stamps: Oval All, Friends 24-7

Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace, Whisper White

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace, Old Olive, Certainly Celery SU Markers

Accessories: Large Oval Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, Blender Pen

1. Cut 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 piece of Elegant Eggplant. Score 2 1/2 on each long end and fold on score lines.

2. Cut two pieces of Lavender Lace at 1 7/8 x 5 1/4 and two pieces of Whisper White at 1 5/8 and 5.

3. Use Lavender Lace and Old Olive Markers to color directly onto the stamp and stamp onto each of the white panels. *tip to remoisten the ink after coloring on the stamp, simply breathe onto the stamp*

4. Use blender pen and Certainly Celery ink to shade the stems and leaves and Lavender Lace and blender pen to shade the flowers. I applied more color to the centers of the flowers and to certain parts of the leaves.

5. Adhere all panel levels together. 

6. Use Lavender Lace and Elegant Eggplant markers to color onto Oval All stamp and stamp onto scrap piece of Whisper White. Punch with Oval Punch and adhere to Scalloped Oval punched out using Elegant Eggplant.

7. Adhere half of the oval piece to the left panel.

8. For the inside I adhered a 4 x 5 1/4 piece of Lavender Lace.

Another Onsie Card

Ever since this post, these cards have been my most popular...in fact I have made 5 more since then! I decided to post my most recent one since the picture came out a lot better than the one in the linked post. I made this using Baja Breeze cardstock and Bashful Blue brads. I do wish I would have spaced the brads a little bit farther apart, but they are still cute. I used my mat pack and paper piercer to keep them straight. Next time I will pierce every other hole instead of three back to back. Up until I got my mat pack, I would just eye it up with a hole punch and they didn't always line up nicely (and since I'm a super perfectionist, that usually meant I would start the whole card over!) The carriage was colored using my blender pen and Baja Breeze ink pad and then detail was added using Not Quite Navy and Rose Red SU Markers. Click the link above for the full tutorial.

Stamps: Fun and Fast Notes

Paper: Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Baja Breeze

Accessories: 1 3/8, 1 1/2 Circle Punches, Scalloped Circle Punches, Mat Pack and Paper Piercer, Bashful Blue Brads, Blender Pen, Not Quite Navy and Rose Red SU Markers, Dimentionals

Friends 24-7

Hi All! I hope you had a great 4th of July!! This card was made after seeing this card on SCS. What I was looking for was a way to use my new Texture plates for the Big Shot. Although that card does not use the texture plates, it gave me an idea on where to use mine. This card is also going to be one of my workshop projects for my July 17th workshop...and what I really wanted to do was show how to use the new In Color ribbon without the polka dots...but, as you can see, I couldn't resist! Plus I think the dots from the texture plates and ribbon compliment each other very well. I used my new favorite set Friends 24-7 as well as some of the new In Colors and Chocolate Chip DSP. After running the Top Note through the Big Shot with the texture plates, I lightly sanded the dots to create the polka dot effect. It's also hard to see from the picture, but there is a watermark in the upper right hand corner under the sentiment of the flowers from the same set. To learn more about this card, email me to sign up for my workshop!

Stamps: Friend 24-7

Paper: Dusty Durango, Bermuda Bay, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Accessories: Big Shot, Texture Plates, Top Note Die, Bermuda Bay Ribbon

Best Wishes Pillow Box

It's hard to believe that this is only the first project I have made with the new In Colors, ribbon, and DSP!! This is another project for my July 17 workshop and I can't wait to show you how simple these little pillow boxes are to make! I used the In Color markers to color the stamp in Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, and Rich Razzleberry. At first I thought the polka dot ribbon and DSP together would be too much, but I'm glad I didn't turn the ribbon around. This was also the first time I used my new Oval All stamp set. I love how it coordinates with the Large Oval Punch and Scalloped Oval punches...super super easy!

These would also make super cute favors for weddings, showers, or graduation parties and can be customized to any color theme (and filled with your favorite treat!)...just let me know!!

Stamps: Oval All

Paper: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP

Ink: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry Markers

Accessories: Big Shot, Pillow Box Die, Large Oval Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, Melon Mambo Ribbon

Another Brayered Landscape

Each month, Meg sends a DVD of her Stamp and Share meeting to those of us who live out of town. The one I got yesterday couldn't have come at a better time as one of the demos was BRAYERING! And after my debacle yesterday, I watched this demo 3 or 4 times. This is similar to the card demonstrated and it was MUCH easier than the one I made yesterday. The one thing I did learn from making this is to use a different mask for each color. I was using an edge of paper to create my sky line and mountains and then flipped the paper and used the same mask to create the water. What I found was that the ink from the sky and mountain was rubbing onto the card. Once I used a different mask for each color, I had no problems. In the example on the DVD, she uses Inspired by Nature, but since I have given that back to it's rightful owner, Jen, I decided to use one of the new sets, Asian Artistry. The highlights were created using a White Gel Pen. The only thing I wish I would have done would be to have made the sky a little bigger so that the sun wasn't basically at the horizon...but I wasn't about to do it over!!

 We will definitely be making this card at my July 17 workshop now that I think I have all the kinks work out and feel more confident in my skills :) Hope to see you there!

Stamps: Asian Artistry

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Glossy White

Ink: More Mustard, Cameo Coral, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black

Accessories: Brayer, 1 3/8 Circle Punch, White Gel Pen

Brayer Attempt #2

I really don't think I'm cut out for brayering! You may remember this post. That was my first attempt at brayering on my own...a so-so attempt. Well after seeing a lot of different brayered cards I thought about having a brayer project at my July workshop (which is July 17 at 6:00pm)...however, this card took about 5 mess ups before I even got it close to what I wanted it to look like! To me, I still think it's a little plain, but wasn't sure exactly what else to add. I got the idea for this card here. I may give up brayering after this attempt...any tips or suggestions are more than welcome!

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes

Paper: More Mustard, Baja Breeze, Glossy White

Ink: Old Olive, Baja Breeze, More Mustard, Basic Black

Accessories: Brayer, 1 3/8 Circle Punch