Version 2 of Notepad Project and a Mini Tutorial

Today, I'm sharing a second version for a notepad project.  Enjoy!

Above:  the thin case, on top of the wide case.
Below:  the wide case holds 2 notepads, an RSVP pen, and a little memo book.

I bought the RSVP pens, the memo books and the notepads at Staples.  They cut down the notepads to fit the stamp cases.  I took a case with me, to be sure they were cut down enough.  The notepads look like miniature legal pads and the memo books look like miniature composition books.

Pen Tutorial:
- Unscrew the black end of the pen and remove the 'tube' of ink.
- Cut DSP to 3 1/2 X 1" and roll tightly into a tube.
- Insert the rolled DSP into the pen, reinsert the ink 'tube' and screw the end back onto it.
DSP Measurements for stamp case, notepad and memo books:
- Thin stamp case = 10 1/2 X 7"
- Wide stamp case = 11 1/4 X 7"
- Notepad topper = 5 X 2"
- Miniature composition book = 3 1/2 X 1"
Before slipping the DSP into the stamp case, decorate as you wish.  By adding the 'embellishments' directly to the DSP, it will be on the inside of your case, so you can carry the notepad case in your purse or brief case and it won't get dirty or torn.  Keep them flat --- no bumpy pieces to stick up and tear the cover on the stamp case. 

August Classes:

August 14 -- Scraps and Prayers
     5:30-7:30 / $15.00 -- book box with cards project. 

THERE WILL BE NO SATURDAY STAMPERS CLASS IN AUGUST.  CHECK BACK FOR SEPTEMBER DATES AND CLASSES. 
 

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world.

- Come back often for more creative inspiration. 

Our Last Project from June Scraps and Prayers ... a Squash Card

I love making squash cards and hadn't made any for a long time, so I thought this would be a fun card to use in our class.  It's a squash card, which is kind of like a teeny tiny squash book.  We made the card on the right at my class.  The one on the left is basically the same.  I just showed how you could use a belly band to keep it closed, instead of tying it closed with a ribbon.

I decided to use Wisteria Wonder as my card base.  It is in this DSP, even though it's not listed.

This particular design of the Delightful Daisy DSP is so soft and pretty.  It has a beautiful watercolor look to it.

This card starts as an 8 1/2" square.  Fold in half in both directions and then diagonally once.

How you decorate a squash card is totally up to you and your imagination.

Which style do you like the best?  In my next post, I'll share some other squash card designs.  Be sure to come back to see them.

July Classes:
July 10 -- Scraps and Prayers / REGISTRATION CLOSED
     5:30-7:30 / $15.00 -- fun notepad project. 
July 15 -- Saturday Stampers
     1:00-4:00 / $20.00 -- fun techniques to create 6 cards.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT JULY SPECIALS BY CLICKING ON THE IMAGES ON THE LEFT.  

August Classes:
August 14 -- Scraps and Prayers
     5:30-7:30 / $15.00 -- book box with cards project. 

THERE WILL BE NO SATURDAY STAMPERS CLASS IN AUGUST.  CHECK BACK FOR SEPTEMBER DATES AND CLASSES. 
 
BE SURE TO SIGN UP EARLY BECAUSE CLASS SIZES ARE LIMITED AND ARE FILLING UP FAST!!!

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world.

- Come back often for more creative inspiration. 

Botanicals Beauty

Here's a card I made that I just love.  I'm not bragging.  I love it because of the products I used to make it.
If ever there was a prettier paper, I don't know when it would be...   AND it comes with a coordinating stamp set ... AND framelits!

The card front was so pretty, that I decided to make the inside extra special, too.

Even though the card has a ton of details, it was still pretty easy to make because of the framelits.  These are amazing!

If you only get one product suite from our Occasions Catalog, make it be the Botanicals.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration. 

For the Love of Monarch Butterflies

Who doesn't love seeing a beautiful butterfly, especially Monarchs?  They are just gorgeous.  I have a couple of Monarchs for you today.  It was easy to choose my color story, as it's based on the color of the beautiful Monarchs.  

I actually used several stamp sets for this card --- You've Got This, Birthday Blossoms, and Watercolor Wings.  It all comes together for a really pretty card.  Our Thinlits and Framelits make for quick and easy cutting of the butterflies.  I love how the 2 die sets coordinate. 

Here's a bit of a close-up of the butterflies.

Here's a sneak peek at the coordinating inside of the card. 

As with my previous butterfly projects, I've only attached the butterflies in the middle, so their wings are more dimensional.

Have you stamped lately?  You'd better get going and create something beautiful today.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

A Trio of Berry Baskets, A Video, A Promise, A Tip ...and An Update on My Creative Binge

I must confess that, when the Spring Occasions Catalog came out, I was super excited to get the Berry Basket Bigz Die.  And then... it sat and waited for me to get around to playing with it.  Well, last week, I finally had time to do just that.  I love it!!!  Thanks goodness it didn't retire before I could create with it.  So, today, I have a trio of berry baskets to share with you.

Aren't they cute?  I used some of our new Cotton Papers (Watermelon Wonder) for the 'filler' in my baskets.  I have an old shredder that only cuts one way.  I got it and reserved it for just this purpose... tearing up perfectly good papers... to make filler:)

I made bunches of butterflies... gold foil and Delightful Dijon... and used them to decorate (and for a non-fattening treat in the baskets:)  Do you see some new ribbon on the two end baskets?  It is like our retired In Colors ribbon... soft, smooth, shiny and luscious... not to mention how easy it is to work with it.

If you plan to make some berry baskets of your own, be sure to watch this video.  It will make your work absolutely easy as pie! 
Click here for the video.

My promise:
When a new product arrives in the little brown truck, I will not put it away until I've played with it a bit and put it to good creative use.  I've already made sure that all my new stamps got put together and totally ready to use as soon as I unpacked them.

Tip:
How do I store my stamps?  I organize them according to the categories in the table of contents in each new catalog when it comes out each year.  I number the categories and then write that number on the back of the stamp case.  If it does not retire but moves to a new category when a new catalog comes out, I simply remove the number (alcohol wipe) and label it with its new number.  It makes it super easy to put them all away and to find them when I need them.  Each box has a labeled tag on it with the category title and the number.

When the box is full, no more stamps for that category.  I've always made it fit.  I do have 2 boxes for Artistic Expression.  It's easy to tell what style of stamps I love the most.  The tiny Christmas stash will grow soon... no problem:)

Are you ready for my creative binge update?
- 12 albums completed and printed from MDS, right before it retired
-  4 framed projects
- 70 brand new cards... yes, 70!

Now, I must sign off and go make something beautiful today.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

A Pair of Ornaments

For this chilly morning, I have a pair of ornaments for you.  These were made with our framelits.  Using the Big Shot makes this a fun and easy card to create.

I love the clean, crisp look of white on white, so I added a layer of white on top of the white card base.  I embossed the top layer with our Northern Flurry embossing folder, stamped the sentiment and added a strip of ribbon, all before attaching the top layer to the card.  The sentiment is from Greetings of the Season, from the Holiday catalog.  I think it's one of the prettiest stamp sets ever because it contains 4 beautiful greetings, each with a gorgeous font.

You'll notice that I'm still using a touch of Gumball Green (a frequent player in my Christmas cards this year) but I've switched from my beloved Cherry Cobbler to Raspberry Ripple.  I love the stitched satin ribbon and it looks so pretty on this card.  I could have made it into a bow, but I decided to keep it simple and let the focus remain on the ornaments.  I've used white baker's twine to 'hang' the ornaments onto the card.

So, that's it for today.  Have a beautiful day and don't forget to use a warmer coat if you live in my area.  It's chilly out there!

World Treasures

There's a stamp set in our new catalog that I just love.  It's called World Treasures.
Here's a little card I made with it.

I added dahlias to the flowers.  My colors are summer starfruit, gumball green, midnight muse and raspberry ripple -- 4 of our new In Colors.  The ribbon is a new one to go with these colors, too.  It's a stitched satin ribbon.
The little framelit works perfectly to cut out the text.
I stamped a coordinating envelope for my card.
Come back for my next post where I'll be revisiting the Comfort Cafe DSP.

Reason to Smile, Sample 2

Here's another card I made using the Reason to Smile stamp set.

I used summer starfruit, midnight muse and soft suede CS.  To add texture, I layered the focal piece using 3 graduated sizes of framelits.  I also used 2 different embossing folders to add texture to the background.
The text is from the Word Play stamp set.  I stamped images in the background of the text piece, for added interest.
I added a summer starfruit dahlia to the center of one of the flowers and a sprig of 2 stitched satin ribbons for the finishing touches.
Don't forget to check out my schedule for my next classes!

A Cute Little Card and Our Cute Little Critter

Here's a cute little card that was a lot of fun to make.

This is a 3 X 3" card and fits into our smallest envelopes.
I used summer starfruit for the top layer and a new embossing edgelit across the front of it.
The cute little flower is 3 layers of paper daisies, embossed 3 times each.
The little In Color Dahlia makes a great center for the flower.
Using the bitty banners framelits and coordinating stamps makes it easy to add a sentiment to any card.
A little knotted sprig of In Color stitched satin ribbon adds a nice finishing touch.

And now...
Meet our cute little backyard critter.  He has taken a liking to our bird feeder.  He tore up the first one and threw it on the ground, after chewing through a vinyl coated wire!
My husband, not one to be discouraged, replaced the bird feeder and hung it with a chain.  The squirrel just uses the chain as an easy way to climb down to the bird feeder.  He actually stretches his entire body over the bird feeder, reaches down and pulls seeds out of the hole and flings them onto the ground.  Then, he and the birds enjoy a shared snack.

These are seeds flying to the ground.

It's always fun to enjoy nature right in your own back yard.  The boys are loving it!  Well, I'm off to work in my studio.  I have a lot more to get ready for my Friday night class.  Have a great day!