Cute Stash Bags!

One thing I love to do; because my love language is gifts, is make stash bags for parties. I like to send everyone away feeling like they were all celebrated! So, it should come as no surprise that I made stash bags for the upcoming luau birthday party! And yes, I used the digi stamps (mosdigitalpencil.com) I built the whole party around ;).
For this bag I got a pack of ten at the dollar store. I cut the colored stamps using Sampin' Up!Floral Framelits dies. I glued this down then used a giant flower punch to make the extra flowers. I added names cut out on my Sizzix.
To get the 3-D look on the flowers I pinched each petal while using my other hand to press up from behind. I could have added some gems in the centers, but did not want to overkill something the kids are gonna' throw out. It's always best to go into a project with realistic expectations, to avoid disappointment.
I will add little favors like stickers, candy, tiny toys for a fun bag each kid can take home to play with later!

Fan style banner

Birthday Banner

Using 4.25x11 strips (6) of card stock in pink, I scored every 1/2 inch. Fanning them back and forth I then hot glued three together. Once you have them glued into a ring you will press down while the piece flattens, the center comes together. Hot glue the center to a 2 inch circle in front and back.
The flowers are cut using Stampin' Up! Floral Framelits die cuts. I alternated colors for a little pop. The papers are random left overs. The letters are made using Shadow Box dies from Sizzix. 

The whole concept was designed to use a couple stamps bought from Mosdigitalpencil.com, Pineapple Girl and Kalei, which the party is themed as. To reiterate a point I am always harping on, with digital stamps you can re size them to fit your plans! These are sized all the way down to about 2.5 in circumference!
I added eyelets to run thin ribbon through and tied loops on the ends to hang up from tacks. After the party the girls may want to hang them over their beds! 
 So far I have a wreath decor, one each of these for the girls, and the invites. 
I considered making a fan between the pics and the pink, but I used up all the blue, so, it's plenty beautiful, lol! It would look better with that layer but I would want it to match!
Other plans to come; the girls individual birthday cards, and later the scrapbook page! I really like to get my money's worth!


                                               

Simple delft tea card

 So, I bought this Mucinex at the Dollar Tree and I couln't just throw away the package like a normal person might. Why not? because it was so cute, shaped like a cup. This is how I ended up using it, and despite my title, it's sort of complex. I used this with stampin' Up! A Nice Cuppa. And whit card stock.
First I kept both the bubble and the die cut inside as a template:

 And here's the die cut, traced onto a 5&1/2 x 11 card base:

Oops, the bubble had some legs, so I just had to press in place and trace those from the bubble itself. I couldn't use the bubbly to trace the whole thing becaus ethere are pars that don't follow the shape, as well as needing  the hole to be smaller than the bubble.

 After fitting it in I was able to press against where I might need some detail snipping. See the black lines? Those are getting snipped. 

I then stamped a cute little tea bag all over the card front. Including one that says "and you".

Next I needed a piece of paper that was the same size as the card front.

I laid it behind so we can see where to stamp. 

 And stamped:

Next, lay the bubble in with lots of glue (hot glue if you like) around the edges. Add the tea and the stamped background, using again, lots of glue.  You see that the message is hidden under the tea, it is good there, they will either discover it now or later and be able to save a lovely card even after extracting their special gift. 

Stamp inside:

Add a little bow and voila! Mine will be hand delivered, but if you are mailing yours make a 'box envelope' or include it in with your next batch of goodies to the recipient; grandma, college students, favorite aunites, besties.... you get the idea.

Luau party invites

So, obviously I want to look brilliant without too much effort, but the invites really can't be too overdone. Wait for the birthday cards for that. So with our theme of our Mosdigitalpencil.com luau girls, we went simple. I don't actually do Clean and simple, if you've heard of that, we'll just call it simple!
Coloring is so much fun, so I'd never call that work. Digging for invites stamps was work, I think next time I'll type and print! I cut the girls to fit a standard A6 card. Stamping the 'invite' rather crookedly, I then added a block that say 'Spectacular', because I wanted to use that stamp. Duh.
All the details are inside the card, but to be clear about who's party I punched out some hibiscus, this is an old punch from EKSuccess, not sure it they still offer it. Inside the flowers I spelled out the name of each girl, Iz can give out hers and Eve can give out hers. Wahoo!
Are you srating to see my investment growing of these two stamps? Just. Wait.

Aloha, oy

So, we have the annual a party coming up; what to make the theme this year? Eve is so into hula and Izzi wants to go to Hawaii, how perfectly their current interests intersect!

We have a load of themed items, but I want it personalized, of course! Two stamps from my favorite artist work out perfectly! (mosdigitalpencil.com; pinapple girl and Kalei).


The first idea I want to share is the wreath! If you wish to recreate this you will need a foam circle, a bag of drink umbrellas, and your own image of choice, or even some flowers if you're not stamp and color crazy like me! The idea is to 'break' the umbrellas with something. 
All you need to do is hot glue your image (or flowers) then poke the little umbrellas all over. I actually had to break mine down, they were super long. Now, you could do all umbrellas, but that would just prove how afraid you are to go crazy, to test your creative boundaries, to take a craft on the wild side. Keep on the lookout for more decor and cards for this party!



Stair step card... to celebrate cake?

Doesn't it sounds healthy? I really liked a card a saw lately using this stair step look, and thought, I must figure that out! So, hopefully, you don't have to. I have included detailed steps that even I could follow them!


I made these wonderful

diagrams this time, because I found this card so difficult!

Step 1: Cut a paper to 8x10.
Step 2: Looking at the paper with the long sides being top and bottom, the shorter sides the edges. Score a the 3,4,5,6,7, inch marks.
Step 3: Turn the paper so it seems the short sides are top and bottom. Sliding the page into your cutter go in to  1 and 1/2 inches. Reading the ruler on the with the slicer cut from 3" to 5".
Slide into the cutter to 3". At this point slice from 4-6 on the reading of the slicing ruler.
Slide further into cutter to 4.5". Slice here from 5-7".

Step 4:

You will need two of the step-looking paper. If it is a forgiving pattern that does not require to face a specific direction you could carefully cut them at once, from a 10 1/2 x 5 1/2" paper. Otherwise place two pieces together, one turned upside down and cut once that way.

Place you paper on the slicer at zero point. Sliding down to 2 3/8" cut 1"down from the top.
Slide it in to 3 5/8" mark and slice down 1".
Slide it in further to the 4 5/8" mark and slice down an inch.

Step 6: Go back to sever the paper at each slice ending.

Step 7: Cat 4 rectangles that are 3/4 x 1 1/4".

Step 8: Adhere these to card.

Step 9: Adhere your chosen image, letters, and sentiment to the card!

Now, I am NOT math-y, so you must take the idea and make it your own size on your own, lol. This requires a large envelope, so of course it could use modification if you want to save on stamps ;).

My stamp is from www.mosdigitalpencil.com  (no surprises there, lol). She is called The Birthday Girl. She would be fun on scrapbook pages or blown up As a coloring page, too.

My sentiment is all me!

Birthdays are for
Having your cake,
And eating it too!


The best birthdays begin with cake,

              end with cake,
and have a little cake in the middle!
If God didn't approve of cake
he never would have made
birthdays so varied.
Sorry I forgot your birthday,
Just giving you a reason
To eat more cake!


I'm almost certain, no matter the trouble,
A nice slice of birthday cake will fix it.

Especially, if it's not your birthday.

Confession Of A Hoarder

Like many crafters, I hoard not only regular supplies, but office supplies as well. Come school shopping time I load up on ten cent folders and quarter pencil sharpeners like I actually have a use for them. Then the 'drives' happen and everything I bought from last year goes into a bin outside the store I am re-loading up at. One such supply addiction is post it notes. I had learned a few years back to make a very cute, clever holder that fits into your purse, but immediately found myself upgrading the design to fit my needs. My much larger needs. See, when I use a post-it note, I tend to use somewhere between three and thirty. Even my notes are rambling. Oy!
So I rehabbed the design and made it Tracy friendly, to fit a useful size note. These are often available at the dollar stores in multi packs. they are rarely actually sticky so you have to 'stickify' it yourself. Perhaps with super red tape. The supplies you will need are:

2- cardboard pieces sized 6 1/2 x 4 3/4
2- pretty papers, 7 x 5 1/4

velvet, leather, suede, or other magical papers:
1- 2 x 6 3/4 piece

1- 9 1/2 x 6 5/8 piece

1- 1 1/2 x 3 piece

one Velcro sticky dot

paper pad
decoupauge glue

any gems or glitter you may need to 'fancify' the cover

The first step to this fabulous folder/holder is to decoupage those cardboard pieces with your chosen pretty paper. Feel free to add stamped images, photos, or zany sayings. when you have your paper in place fold in the excess, this will keep the look professional, rather than snipping right along the edge.
While those are drying fold your 1 1/2 x 3 inch piece of magical paper so it is now 3/4 by three, with whatever beauty it holds showing both front and back.
Use your 2 x 6 3/4 inch piece of magical paper to join the cardboard pieces, leaving a half in between them. Your magic paper will overlap both cardboard pieces and secure a 1/2 inch space between them. This is necessary to accommodate the notepad. Use glue only on the backside, so as not to ruin the beauty of your spine.
Flip this over. You should be looking at the 'ugly' side of the cardboard and a 1/2 gap of the back side of the magic paper. Halfway down the right edge you will glue the small strip about 1/2 inch in. Smother he wrong side of the magic paper with decoupage glue. Seal in all that ugliness with this beautiful paper. 

Secure your notebook in place by whatever means necessary. Add a Velcro dot to the end of the flap and remove the adhesive backing. Close the cover and allow the Velcro to place itself where necessary! Add bling, with gems, stickers, glitter, whatever!

Desktop Decor

Sometimes I just want to play. That's when I pull out the coloring books, or print up a coloring page. This image inspired me to play, and I couldn't wait to frame it and build some flowers. The image is from mosdigitalpencil.com and the Flower Builder Sizzix is from Stampin' Up!.http://www.stampinup.com/home/en-US/ (use demonstrator ID 2163910 for shopping).

My two darling girls inspired the color choices, With the little one loving purples and the older one loving blue. The background is a digi paper available at mosdigitalpencil.

My favorite of the flowers is the off white, which is (drumroll) coffee filters! The red is shimmer is available at Joanne's (http://www.joann.com/crafters-companion-shimmering-cardstock---candy-red/14220180.html). The purple is a double sided cardstock that is older than my children, so I really don;t know the brand. Centered in each flower is a adhesive enamel dot, available at many sources including Stampin' Up!

A Sticker Situation

We all have those stickers that do not have a use; all consonants, weird sayings, random numbers. I am here to remind you there is a use for all this. These old school tips and tricks are tried and true... and often forgotten.

First off, think of journaling. Is there a place where a beautiful font might start off a journal-ed sentence? How often have you read in books, 'Once Upon A Time....' where just the O is super fancy? It is in this spirit you might work. What about words to highlight, within the sentence? Using the same idea, just use that 'Z' as you write zealous! Another great way is at names, or just initials. Go ahead and use those numbers instead of writing out seven.

Next, think of them as stencils! Lay them on your paper and ink or spray around them! In the case of a strange sticker shape, I revert back to journaling; use this 'empty' space to journal or doodle in! Once the ink has dried, gently peel the stickers off. You will have a fabulous paper, and no one will notice a lack of letters or numbers.

My example and instructions uses 'Bedtime Story' from Mosdigitalpencil.com.

1. Lay your stickers on paper, choose ink or sprays that go well together.

2.Begin by randomly inking areas with one color.

3.Add second color.


4.Remove stickers.

Create!

The Other

I love to think outside the box when I buy new stamps or stamp sets. While they are new and the excitement is fresh is really the time to do this. One rule I have for making sure I get my money's worth is to make one card, one scrapbook page, and one 'other'. The 'other' is the most challenging part. Sometimes I think and think on it, and sometimes, like in the case of Mo Manning's Neighbors I knew before I even bought it. I saw this stamp and couldn't wait to decorate my new address book. My old address book had lasted years, with scribbles and stickers covering old addresses, names I no longer recognized, and some names that brought back smiles and fond memories, but where nonetheless obsolete. I loved making this and likely will make some gifts this Christmas using the same stamp. This stamp is great for cards such as; welcome to the neighborhood, congrats on your new home, we've moved, come to a house warming or invitation to a block party! It can be found here: http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/neighbors/
If you decide to challenge yourself to my standard of making sure you get your stamp value, some other 'others' I have done have been jewelry, bookmarks, wall art, magnets, and stamping on fabric. With these digis I suppose you would print them on iron on transfer paper to do that. Share your ideas in comments. Thanks for stopping by!

A comparison of coloring options

Note: All images from:

https://store-04628.mybigcommerce.com/cart.php?tk=hk3gpisaauegr8vi699bealb91


I was playing around with a fab background image, adding different secondary images and thought, why not color with different mediums? It is easier to see the difference when so much of the image is similar, in this case the background (lighthouse). So here is a comparison of a few. There are others, and I love them all, and there may someday be a part two. But for now, we have what we have.

Starting off my favorite way to color; art pencils with mineral oil to blend!

Used along with Harvest Aquina, who is collecting muscles along the beach after the first lighthouse, powered by candles, was built. I love the softness of using the pencils and blending out from an image. I struggle with small spaces, getting a shaded look without a lot of area to leave 'white' spots. Then I struggle with open spaces where there is not a lot to color in. Still, I love the soft look achieved here. It is peaceful and sweet. the downside is, of course the time. This is he most time costly way to color, so I only send these cards to people I really love.

Coming up next was one colored simply using fine tip markers, Sharpie's, Le Pen's and Papermate. I will say I like the Sharpie's best, they are smooth and bleed least. Oh, I did try to make the sand blend out with one Chameleon pen ;).

The positive here is that this is the fastest way to color I have found. Just straight coloring with no blending either using fine markers or pencils is quick, therapeutic, and still has a nice end result. But it's just nice. My problems with it are: the doubled over areas, the bleeding capacity when I am trying so hard to stay in the lines, and the limit of colors. Although the final might be fixed by having multiple brands I found blues were too similar between the Sharpie and Papermate, that's when I called in my Le Pens. The Le pen's have a very fine tip which was enjoyable, but again colors were limited. Still it's a good enough card to send to someone I like. I added a mermaid to the water here (Mermais Kailani) and some fun embellishing, making it a bit more darling. 

Finally I played with my Chameleon markers. For those unfamiliar with these, they are an alcohol based marker system where each pen is used to create multiple shading affects of that color. 

I struggled with the sand, I will admit it right up front. I added more color, removed color, and just couldn't get the right look. Then, I decided, if the waves had been ebbing and flowing like they do, maybe the sand would look this way. The sand is done using one pen. The ocean done is using one pen. The grass (not the bushes/trees) is done using one pen. This is a very efficient way to color. There is a limit of pens, but they are manipulable, saving money (compared to other alcohol based pen systems) and space on the craft table. The time is slightly longer then fine tip markers, but way less than artist pencils. In my opinion the look is slightly less desirable than art pencils, but much better than fine tip markers. Image used is Summer Sisters. I added a punched edge and a circle punched sunshine. I would send it to someone I love. 

Other forms of coloring: water color pencils, ink and blender pen, chalks may be featured in another blog. Things you will not catch me using; Distress Markers (mine dried out ridiculously fast), any form of crayon (too unpredictable), or Gelatos (again, unpredictable). Yet, every time I say never.....

Gorjuss Girls

Here is proof I do use stamps other than Mo Manning. Just not often, lol. To play with these aptly named Gorjuss stamps I decided to stick with the use of metal paper embossed behind them. So, I have the consistency of the brand as well as similar designs. I enjoy these cuties, even though the lack of mouths bugged me at first. I considered adding them, but I am no artist, just a lowly crafter.
I really love the way an embossed background shows up on metal papers. I hoard these papers for the occasion when I get out all the fun embossing folders. This is a really nice thing that embossing folders bring to the table, as when I work with metal stencils and a light box there would be no way the design would show through the thick metallics.
I used my usual Prisma colored pencils with a blending stub and mineral oil. No matter how it turns out I feel revived and I have fun! 

Today is a fairy good day.

Well, I love a chance to play around and color adorable stamped images. Today I played with some Mo Manning put out by Penny Black called 'Cute as A Bug". I love to color using Prisma color pencils and blending with mineral oil. It really is therapeutic; as all the coloring books are now claiming. All I can say is I have been saying for years the secret to relaxation is playing. I have told classes of adults, "Somewhere we stopped playing, and that is where we made the mistake." So shake off the grown up inhibitions, get out the glitter and pencils and glue and scissors and perfect those skills you began in kindergaarten.
Trying to better myself I actually got out some of those Spellbinders Nestabilities that mostly just sit in a box. I finally used a Sizzix Bee die I bought, oh, a year ago, lol, using the honeycomb shapes (the bees were way to cutsie). I played with my Stampin' Up! butterfly die, because it's one of my favorites, yeah, I am kind of a girly girl some days. Which might explain the stickles on the wings as well.
I hope you enjoy, and you can always pick up Mo's Digital Stamps at:

 http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/

Little band aid box

First a wink in the direction of the stamp designer:

http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/

I love to save my little altoid tins. There's several things I do with them, including making fun little care boxes to keep in the purse or car. Some thing you may end up needing; band-aids, cough drops, antiseptic wipes, q-tips. You never know.
1. It is important to start with a clean and dry tin. 2.The next thing to do is to size down the stamped image and a piece of paper for the back side as well.
3. I used Washi tape on the sides, cutting notches for the hinge area, but I have seen plenty of examples using paint, and myself have considered dipping into my extensive pile of nail polish for this.
4. I added some Stickles to sparkle up the snow at the St. Bernards feet, because I love glitter!
5. You will want to decoupage the top and bottom paper, or add a clear plastic sheet such as self stick laminating sheets.

Another option is a sewing kit, I just get the dollar store ones and transfer them into something much cuter. Again, a perfect image can be found by Mo Manning. These make cute and easy gifts for someone just starting out, or new moms.