Running With Scissors...

Lavender Gift Set

 

Happy Monday, friends!  Once I’ve got this day under my belt it’s only four more Mondays till retirement!  Can you tell I’m a little obsessed with the idea of it?  These last weeks I feel as if I’m on hold or autopilot or something.  So many things need doing, but I can’t seem to dive into anything.  I’m just waiting.  Waiting to exhale, I guess.

 

Today I’m sharing a little something I prepared for a friend on her birthday.  At our local farmer’s market I picked up some lavender soap and a lavender sachet, then made my own quick and easy packaging and a card to match.  I’ll be posting this on the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog today, as well.  I used only one die set, but it made a whole lot of pretty!

 

 

These very sweet and feminine dies are found in the Spellbinders Elegant Ovals set.  I have a particular fondness for ovals, and I especially like something with a solid center onto which I can stamp and color an image.  However, in this case I layered the ovals and cut out and popped up my stamped images.  The stamp set I used is Power Poppy’s Lavender with an “O happy day” from another Power Poppy set.

 

 

If you love dies as I do, treat yourself to a little window shopping at Dies R Us.  Browse their huge selection and build your wish list, then take advantage of their low prices and shipping rates once you’ve narrowed down your choices.  That’s the hard part – narrowing it down.  Have a happy day!

 

Power Poppy Scents and Sensibility Collection Available Now!

 

 

Have you been to the Power Poppy store to see the new April Scents and Sensibility collection yet?  I can show you my version of the colored image, but you really have to see them “undressed” to fully appreciate Marcella’s artwork, I think.  She is one talented lady!

 

I’ve returned to Simply Camellias today to finish up my card set.  Again, clean, sweet, and simple.

 

 

I colored with these Copic markers:

 

 

The box is as simple as the cards.  I used a punch-out-and-fold-up card box which has been in my alterables cupboard forever.  It’s about time, don’t you think?  This thing is so old, purchased in a set of several many years ago and not a one of them used until now.  I covered the curved flap with designer paper and all the rest was covered with white cardstock that was first embossed with the Cuttlebug Wicker Weave embossing folder.  It turned out very sturdy and nice, really.  The belly band, decorated with a bloom and flourishes, has a hidden magnetic closure – easy on, easy off.

 

 

A recap on the other cards in the set:

 

                     

 

 

 

If you’ve enjoyed the Bloom Brigade’s creations the last few days half as much as I have, then it’s been very nice, indeed.  I so appreciate your visits and your sweet comments.  Please do treat yourself to some Bloom Brigade inspiration here:

• Dawn
• Stacy
• Tosha
• Katie
• Allison
• Kathy
• Julie
• Cindy
• Christine
• Marcella

Have a beautiful day!

 

 

Stamps:  Simply Camellias  Paper:  X-Press It Blending Card (image), Neenah Classic Crest Solar White (card base, box, and other white), Graphic 45 Botanical Tea and Bo Bunny Soft Shades Double Dot designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black (image), Versafine Onyx Black (sentiment), Copic markers as pictured above  Accessories:  Ric rac, Cuttlebug Wicker Weave embossing folder, Spellbinders Floral Flourishes

Springtime Love Card and Repurposed Box

 

I’m happy when I can start my card with a sketch, especially when I know right off which stamp I’ll use.  When I saw the SC483 on Splitcoast I thought of this image from my Springtime Love set.  I accomplished a few other things on my stamping “to do” list, as well – use some old designer paper, use up some of this specialty gold paper I’ve had for years, make a point of using ribbon, and, for heaven’s sake, emboss something.  I hardly ever emboss anymore, and I certainly do have plenty of embossing powders.  I recently tossed out the most hideous dull gold embossing powder and replaced it with a new and prettier gold by Ranger, and I thought one of Marcella’s wonderfully detailed florals would be a good reason to crack the seal.

 

 

Below is the sketch.  I did veer off slightly in the placement of the two rectangles, but I think it’s okay.  I had to have someplace to put the ribbon without covering up the image.

 

 

It’s not so easy to photograph gold embossing.  It either looks dark and dull, or blindingly shiny.  It looks pretty in person, though.  I did some very simple coloring with Tombow water-based markers.  I thought about softly sponging the edges, but decided to leave it clean white instead.  The “Love” is a solid stamp in the set.  I punched it out with a 3/4” circle punch and layered several circles together to give it some substance.  Had to fancy it up a bit more, too, with Spellbinders Floral Flourishes die cuts from the specialty gold paper.  Oh, and, by the way, this card was made for a spring wedding which is coming up shortly.

 

 

The box was not made to match the card.  They’re completely unrelated, but since they’re so similar in appearance I thought I would share them together.  The box was originally a plain gold See’s Candy box, about 4 1/2” x 6” (if memory serves correctly).   It came to me packed with yummy treats from the cookie-lady-mom-of-a-coworker whose special talent is baking and spreading love and kindness.  I’m returning it to her with love and a new life, and it will, in turn, be passed along with yet more love from her to someone else.

 

 

There were a few residual sticky spots from the ooey gooey goodness inside which were easily removed with rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball.   I gave it a new liner of lightweight semi-gloss cardboard.  You can see it has a nice hinged lid.  A very cute little box which deserved a new life.

 

 

It’s all set for gift giving with the tag attached – again all stamps are from Power Poppy’s Springtime Love set, gold embossed and colored with Tombow markers.

 

 

Moving along to Easter cards next week.  I hope I can get at least two done and mailed in time.  Gosh, I’ve had a lot of stamping to do lately.  See you again soon!

New Life for an Old Box

 

Poor sad, little box.  It served its purpose carrying lab testing supplies for our chemistry analyzer at work and was headed for the recycle bin.  Such a nice box, really.

 

 

Over the years I’ve seen a number of these boxes come and go, always wanting to repurpose one of them but never getting around to it.  Finally. . .

 

 

The idea was to make a treat carrier for the mom of one of my coworkers who frequently brings treats for us at work.  In fact, she delivers lots of treats to lots of people, scattering confectionery joy wherever she goes.  That requires a lot of treat boxes in all shapes and sizes.  I’ve noticed that she’ll generally ask that we save her carrier, even though it may be just a plain foil-lined box.  I thought it would be a nice way to say “thank you” if I occasionally dressed up a box which she can use for cookie carrying or gift giving or whatever she decides.  It might have been nice to decorate this with a baking theme (next time, maybe), but I know she likes pretty things so I’m hoping this will make her happy.

 

I painted the kraft-colored inside of the box with white acrylic paint and inserted a white cardboard bottom liner, adhered with Scor-Tape.  Two very strong, self-adhesive Velcro Dots hold the handle closed for carrying.   Cookies can be bagged up inside the box, if that’s how she chooses to use it.

 

 

Prima flowers and butterfly and Spellbinders Floral Flourishes decorate the front.  The designer paper is from a retired Stampin’ Up! collection.  I backed the window with Clear Cover Cardstock from Flourishes.

 

 

I didn’t want to over-decorate it, but thought a little something on each side would be nice.

 

                              

 

The ribbon was adhered with Scor-Tape and the paper with Mod Podge.  I sanded corners and edges for a smooth, soft finish.  The decorative white border was done with the Martha Stewart Daisy Fan punch.

 

 

I hope you didn’t mind wading through all these photos.  I sure enjoyed doing something besides a card for a change, and I know it’s going to a good home.  Happy Valentine's Day to all!  I’d love to meet you here again next week!

Watch Out for that Cure!

Hello!  First of all, Wally and I would like to thank you for the sweet birthday wishes you offered him.  He had another good day on Tuesday, hiking and swimming, and we plan to take him for his first camping trip this week.  I’m sure there will be photos of that adventure coming soon, but first…

It’s been a busy week – all fun stuff – and I haven’t done much stamping.  I’m on vacation, actually.  It was supposed to be last week, but… long story short, our family time was cut into somewhat and we’re trying to make the most of it.  I did finish a project for a friend, just a little something, so I thought I’d share that, at least.

This is the story of Andrew – 8 year old Relay for Life Team Leader.  Yes, 8 years old.  When his mom became involved in Relay for Life, Andrew started asking questions, and he was dismayed with the answers.  How could there be such a cruel disease as cancer for which there is no cure?  What could be done about it and how could he help?  His concern and interest were so genuine, his mom agreed to let him become involved in the fight for a cure, and soon Andrew was heading up his own team.

 

He devised a few fund raising schemes, one of his most successful projects being the selling of kisses. How cute is that? He walked around with one of those cardboard sandwich signs advertising kisses for $1, and he made a bundle! His longest running and most popular endeavor, though, was his jungle-themed lemonade stand. He set it up at home shows, mall events, office lobbies – to name a few. When Mom wasn’t busy with her full time job and homeschooling her two boys, she was making jungle juice and other jungle goodies to stock the stand, not to mention negotiating the set up with local businesses, and, with Grandma’s help, hauling that stand all over town. Whew! Andrew was the salesman, though. He manned the booth, pitched the sales, and made the change – all under Mom or Grandma’s watchful eye. A real team effort!

Wish I had a better picture, but all I have is a photo of a photo.  Andrew’s mom asked if I would make a frame for this photo – two, in fact.  One for her and one for Grandma.  She provided the mats and frames and I did the alterations.

I had to make quick work of it in the time available or I may have taken a step back and seen where I would change or add something.  However, my friend, Andrew’s mom, was pretty thrilled with it, and that’s enough for me.   I watercolored and cut out the gorilla and jungle foliage image for each frame.  You can see more about the stamp image here, if desired.  The papers are all from the DCWV Animal Crackers Matstack.

Mostly, I wanted to tell you about Andrew because I think it’s a pretty special story about a pretty special boy.  I hope, someday, his efforts will help someone in need.  Thank you for listening.

Flourishes Preview, Day 3: Garden Fresh

I’m excited!  I was wondering when Flourishes was going to do vegetables and now look what Marcella Hawley has drawn up for us this month – Garden Fresh – beets, carrots, and peas!  Love all these glorious colors.  They color up just as pretty as any of the fruits or flowers.  What can you do with a vegetable set?

How about a card with a pocket for a bookmark and a coordinating acrylic coaster?  It’s hard to see in the photo, but the pocket is made with Clear Cover Cardstock under the half circle frame.  As for the bookmark… well, that’s something new from Flourishes, too!  Bookmark, tag, labels, recipe cards – all available as digital downloads.  The recipe cards are in one file called Fresh Recipes ($1), and all the tags and labels are in another called Fresh Labels ($2).  Very fun!  I’ll refer you to the Newsletter for more information on that.

A close up of the coaster:

 

I wanted to make one with the carrots, too, but I ran out of time.  This is a 3 1/2” square acrylic block like you’d use for stamping.

• I made the designer paper frame with Spellbinders Classic Circle and Square Nestabilities and glued the edges to the back of the block with Mod Podge, being very careful to brush it on smoothly and work the air bubbles out to the edges of the block.
• I then fit the image behind it, glued with Mod Podge on the edges, in the same manner as the frame.
• Finally, there’s chipboard under that to finish off the backside.  In that case I brushed the entire surface with Mod Podge before gluing it on.  Then more designer paper on the backside, coated with Mod Podge, and sprayed with matte sealer.  This protects it if it comes in contact briefly with a wet surface.  It’s not submersible, but a little water won’t damage it.

This works perfectly well as a trivet (hot pad), too.  I placed a teapot full of boiling water on it until it cooled and no harm done.

More complete instructions for making this type of coaster can be found here.  Thank you, Rebecca Oehlers!

I stamped the envelope flap with all the set’s images.  There’s stamping inside the card, as well, and the back of the bookmark is covered with matching designer paper.

All my coloring was done with Copics.  I should mention that the beets were done with the Petunia Collection (RV09, RV19, RV99) with a little help from RV02 to lighten up their middles.

Now all I need is a cookbook to go with the bookmark, and a decorated gift bag to present it in, and I’ve got a nice little gift.

The girls have done some very cute things with the Garden Fresh set.  See them all here:

Barbara Anders

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan

Sharon Doolittle

I think I’ve probably talked your ear off these last three days, so I’m going to leave it up to the Newsletter to fill you in on all the festivities you can take part in.  Please do check back with me a little later (noon CST) for a word scramble game.  It’s another chance to win all three sets in Flourishes June release.  Hope to see you then!  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Garden Fresh  Paper:  Flourishes Classic White, Clear Cover Cardstock, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, BasicGrey Oh, Baby Boy designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Fresh Labels digital download, acrylic block, ribbon, linen thread. hardware, buttons, Spellbinders large and small Classic Circle and Square Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Herringbone embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Flourishes Preview, Day 2: Make a Wish

Welcome to the second day of Flourishes’ new set previews!  Today we’ll be looking at Make a Wish, which you may enjoy if you have a sweet little princess in your life.  Darling images, fun to color, it could work for a big princess, too, but today I’ve made a set for a little girl.

I colored with Copics on Flourishes Classic White cardstock and enhanced with glitter.

The box is a department store jewelry box which will hold a gift fit for a princess.  To sparkle up the lid I pressed it into pink pigment ink, sprinkled with clear glittery embossing powder, and set with my heat gun.  The tag was made with Spellbinders Nested Pennants, and I added a rhinestone heart charm and princess crown charm to the ribbon.

I sparkled a mat for the card’s focal image the same way I did the box lid, but using Classic White cardstock.

Now, for a quick rundown of how you can win either today’s set (Make a Wish) or maybe even win all three of our new sets:

• Visit each team member every day (Wed – Fri) and leave a comment on their Flourishes preview.  Who knows who the Mystery Blogger is?  One of us holds the prize that could be yours – the stamp set of the day.
• Check the Newsletter each day (Wed – Fri) to see what new challenge is up.  There’s one new challenge each day, presented at noon CST.  Challenge winners take home the entire release.
• Don’t forget the Star Spangled Challenge here – another way to win the entire release.

We’re talking about a lot of prize winners this week!  All deadlines are this Friday at 5pm CST.  Winners will be announced on the Flourishes Newsletter Saturday, noon CST.

See some dreamy sweet and utterly divine creations by the rest of the team:

Barbara Anders

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan

Sharon Doolittle

It was good to have you here today.  We’ll have one more set to show you tomorrow and I really think you’ll love what the team has cooked up for that one.  See you soon!

Stamps:  Make a Wish  Paper:  Pixie Pink, Flourishes Classic White, Prima Sweet Fairy designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Green Galore, pink pigment ink, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, glitter, sparkly embossing powder (Stampendous Stardust), oval punch, Cuttlebug D’Vine Swirls embossing folder, Spellbinders Nested Pennants dies, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Spellbinder's Holiday Hoppin' Blog Hop

 
 

Welcome to the first day of the Spellbinders™ Paper Arts Holiday Hoppin’ Blog Hop!  Spellbinders, along with Flourishes are showcasing their newest products just in time for your Holiday crafting and gift giving.  Lots of creative ideas are in store, as well as prizes galore!  Each participating company has generously donated toward the prize package listed on the Spellbinders Blog.  A total of two identical prize packages, one for each day, November 18 and 19, will be given away!  To enter, just leave a comment on a participating blog.  Comments in the first 48 hours of the post are eligible.  One commenter each day will be randomly selected as the winner.  Winners will be announced on November 22, on the Spellbinders Blog.

Be sure to see all of tomorrow’s Holiday Hoppin’ blogs for inspiring projects and another chance to win!

Visit all of today’s Holiday Hoppin’ blogs:

Latisha Yoast

Judy Hayes

Kazan Clark

Ashley Cannon Newell

Holly Simoni

Debbie Olson

Heidi Blankenship

Sherry Cheever

Linda Duke

Laurie Schmidlin

Cheryl Marie Walker

Jill Jacobsen

Jennifer Priest

Christina Klauer

Jodi Sanford

Leslie Miller

Mimi Leinbach

Robyn O'Crowley

Sharon Harnist

Liz Hicks

Sarah Hamer

Christie Bryant

Wendy Sue Anderson

Anary Baumgarth

Jenifer Dove

Gina Krupsky

Today I'm using Spellbinders S4-285 Nested Mittens die template and Flourishes' Vintage Postcard.  I've made an ornament and a box to keep it in:

 

The box is a department store jewelry box which I covered with BasicGrey Jovial designer paper from the 6x6 pad.  Here's a closer look at the Vintage Postcard image:

 

I stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa on one of the less patterened sheets of Jovial paper and colored very lightly with Copic markers.  I then painted over the image with Ranger Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy (clear), which gives it a crackly gloss finish.  The box is wrapped diagonally with gold elastic cord tied through the mitten embellishment, which was made from the smallest of the Nested Mittens.  I sponged through the die in such a way as to make them appear to be the top side of one mitten and the palm side of the other.  As you can see, they are also glossed over with crackle paint.

 The ornament is made from the largest die in the set, and I made it quite sturdy by adhering three layers -- designer paper, cardstock, and lightweight cardboard.  Again, a crackly gloss finish was applied.  I pierced around the edge of the mitten and hand-stitched through the piercing with gold cord.  The cord ties in the back and forms the hanger.  A plaid ribbon bow and some glittery Christmas ornamentation finish it off with festive flair.

I hope you enjoyed my project as much as I enjoyed making it!

Simply leave a comment on my blog to be eligible to win the Spellbinders Holiday Hoppin’ Prize Package!  One winner will be chosen from all the comments on all the blogs participating today.  Comments made in the first 48 hours of this post will be eligible to win.  Winner’s names will be published on the Spellbinders Blog on November 22, and they will have 48 hours to reply to Spellbinders to claim the prizes.

Good luck to everyone and happy hoppin'!  Have a wonderful day!

Flourishes Preview: A Gift For You

 

Welcome to another Flourishes preview!  Today, the team is sharing gift ideas, all decorated with a new set called A Gift For You.  This set was designed to coordinate with, not only some of Flourishes best-selling Christmas stamp sets, but also a handful of Spellbinders Nestabilities -- Labels Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, and some of the new circle and square designs such as those with the Lacey, Beaded, or Eyelet edges.  Flourishes has a nice collection of Spellbinders dies here.

If you'd like to win this set, hop on over to the Flourishes Blog (A Gift For You post) and leave a comment.  All winners will be announced this coming Saturday!

On to my sample... Whenever possible I like to alter rather than create packaging from scratch.  Not only is it fun, but I need to take every opportunity to remove a little something from my overflowing alterables cupboard.  I cannot seem to resist saving anything that appears alterable, even though I don't alter very often.  Cards are my "thing".  Today, I'm sharing an altered Pringles can.

This is the tall size.  The idea is to stack it full of Christmas cookies, and that's just what I plan to do.  I believe I'll wrap them individually so the can may be reused in the future.  I'm thinking it would also be a nice way to present homemade biscotti, but you're only limited by your imagination, really.

I've covered it with 12 x 12 designer paper (retired Stampin' Up!) and added punched trim, rhinestones, and some of Flourishes pretty fuchsia iridescent ribbon.    The holly frame I used is a match for the Dove and Holly set, so I brought that out, too, and added an extra holly sprig alongside the frame and used the small dove image to decorate the top.  My Spellbinders dies are Labels Sixteen. 

A couple more photos (you can click for a larger view):

       

We have extra inspiration for you today, too.  Some of the Spellbinders team is joining the Flourishes fun and they've created samples with A Gift For You and its corresponding dies.  Those girls really know their way around their Spellbinders!  I have a long list of links for you to check out when you have the time.  I think it will be be a treat!

  Christine Okken
·  Cindy Lawrence
·  Danielle Kennedy
·  Dawn Burnworth
·  Julie Koerber
·  Laura Fredrickson
·  Stacy Morgan
·  Ashley Cannon Newell
·  AJ Otto
·  Beth Pingry
·  Deborah Young
·  Gina Hanson
·  Holly Simoni
·  Margie Higuchi
·  Judy Hayes
·  Julie Overby
·  Kazan Clark
·  Latisha Yoast
·  Mona Pendleton

Good stuff!  I hope you enjoy!  I've talked enough for one day, so I'll refer you to the Newsletter for a summary of release details you won't want to miss.  I hope to see you again tomorrow when I'll share a sample with one more new stamp set from Flourishes.  Have a good day!

The Fruits of My Labor

We’ve come around again to Flourishes’ monthly pre-release challenge as the time draws near to begin the new set previews.  Old / new. . . it doesn’t matter – I love working with Flourishes stamps.  This month’s challenge is called “What’s Cookin’?”, and you’re invited to share your favorite recipe in a stamped creation.  Enter for a chance to win all three stamp sets in Flourishes’ July release.  You have until Friday, July 16th, at 5 pm EST to cook up something fabulous.  Upload to your blog, or if you upload to SCS, please use the keyword FLLCJUL10.  Don’t forget to link your creation on the Flourishes Newsletter pre-release challenge post using the Inlinkz Linky.

I considered making a recipe card for this challenge, but decided instead to make something infinitely more practical for my type of recipe organization – you know. . . the bring-home-all-the-recipes-my-coworkers-share-and-slip-them-in-a-folder-with-no-rhyme-or-reason type of organization.  I have two bulging folders, a recipe box, and two drawers full of recipe books.  It’s not so much that I love to cook, but I do love to eat delicious foods!  Some of my favorites year round are recipes with fruits.  Good thing the team is focusing on fruit recipes.  I love them all!  How could I settle on one?

So I decorated a folder specifically for fruit recipes.  Judging by the current state of my other two folders, I can stuff a lot of fruit recipes in this. . .

I worked with what I had on hand.  Since I’d colored every single fruit in Flourishes repertoire on the cover I needed a background that complemented all of them.  The blue seemed to work.  This folder will be shuffled around in a drawer with other folders, books, etc., so I thought I might as well start out with a scuffed up look since it will wind up that way eventually, anyway.  I might “accidentally” forget to put this one away once in a while, though.  The scuffing was done by sanding the white-core cardstock and designer papers with regular sandpaper from the hardware store.

 
Though the placement of the fruit may look rather haphazard, I did stamp all the letters in brown first, then stamped the fruits around them to be certain I had things showing where I wanted them to show.  I did all the coloring with Copics.  The blue letters (from a retired Stampin’ Up! alphabet set) were then embossed, cut out and glued in place.  The last step was to stamp another pair of lemons and glue them over top of the first two letters.

The fruit sets I used are Life, Love and Lemons, Cherries and Peaches, Figs and Pomegranate, and Strawberries.

If you really want a recipe, here’s a favorite quickie (you can click to enlarge, and then print if you wish):

The page the recipe is printed on is from a digital recipe book I compiled with clip art.  I put together my favorite easy recipes and made a book for a girlfriend and one for me.  It’s my most frequently used cookbook.  The pages are all laminated to protect them from messy cooks.

Okay. . . that’s enough talk from me!  How about taking a look at what the rest of the team is sharing?  There’s lots of inspiration to be seen, and I imagine you’ll want to get cookin’, too!

Christine Okken

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Julie Koerber

Laura Fredrickson

Stacy Morgan

Thanks for dropping in!  Have a great weekend!