Saturday, October 31, 2009

Decorative Mini Pumpkins

Are these the cutest pair of pumpkins you have ever seen? Yet another way to use our punches. These are made with the Scallop Oval Punch. For the tall pumpkin, the ovals are folded vertically. For the smaller pumpkin, they are folded in half horizontally.

Punch (11) Scallop Ovals from your cardstock. Sponge the edges with Creamy Caramel Ink. Fold all (11) ovals in half, with the sponging on the inside. Apply adhesive to one outside edge of the folded oval and attach the backside of another oval. Continue until they are all connected like an accordian and you can adhere the last two edges together. Your sponged edges should be facing out when completed. Roll a small piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock for the stem and stick in the top hole. Curl some Old Olive Cardstock for the vine/leaf and adhere in the top hole.

The small pumpkin is the most level and is easy to stand up. I am still challenged with getting the taller pumpkin to stand alone, but wanted to share it as an alternate option.

Use these for place settings or just decorations around the house.

TFL!

Stamps: None
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive Cardstock
Ink: Creamy Caramel Classic Stamp Pad
Accessories: Scalloped Oval Punch & Sponges


Oval Punched Pumpkins

Who doesn't love pumpkins: Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Roll & 3-D Pumpkins for your cards??? These are super cute and can be made from any orange cardstock or designer paper.

This is a good example of how to use those punches we collect. These use the Small and Large Oval Punches. Punch 3 same size ovals out of your paper. Adhere two of the ovals by slightly overlapping them. Then, take the third oval and adhere it with a pop dot in the center of the other two ovals. Adhere some ribbon for the stem and curl some cardstock for the leaf and you have pumpkins. I made one large and two small pumpkins for this card.

Love them!!!
TFL

Stamps: Holiday Best (Hostess Set)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Very Vanilla Cardstock; Pumpkin Pie Patterns DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Stamp Pad
Accessories: Swiss Dots Embossing Envelope, Chocolate Chip Brads, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer, 1/4" Old Olive and Chocolate Chip Ribbon and the Small & Large Oval Punches.

Bashful Fall Leaves

A friend of mine sent me a project idea for these leaves...and I knew I had to try them. I cut a pair of each leaf out of old book pages (Persuasion by Jane Austen, if you must know), adhered them together and traced the edges with Platinum Stickles. They are absolutely beautiful!

I experimented with many different color combos, but decided on Kraft, Soft Suede and Bashful Blue. I think it works *wink*. The colors are not your traditional fall colors, but now-a-days we're experimenting more and thinking outside the box. Give it a try on your next Holiday card. Use some colors you normally wouldn't!

Hope you like it & TFL!

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Kraft, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Blue Designer Paper & some Old Book Pages
Ink: Soft Suede Classic Stamp Pad
Accessories: Leaf Dies, Eyelet Border Punch, Platinum Stickles, Bashful Blue 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and 1/2" Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon.

Halloween Treats Galore!

These are the last of the Halloween Treats that I made for the school staff....and my last official Halloween Post! I made about 50 of these and it took no time at all. They can be stuffed with Individual Reese's Cups or Treat Size M&M's.

You cut your cardstock to 8 1/2" x 2 3/4". You then score at 3 3/4" and 4 3/4". Fold on the score lines and staple at the top. So Easy!! The front is then covered with Designer Paper and a focal image. The Designer Paper gets cut to 2 1/2" x 3 1/2".

These could also be used for any holiday treat. The options are endless!
TFL!

Stamps: Batty for You
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Night & Day DSP & Cast-A-Spell DSP
Ink: Old Olive & Basic Black Classic Stamp Pads
Accessories: Staples/Stapler, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch and Olive Olive, Basic Black and Elegant Eggplant 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon.

Halloween Friends

Well friends, it has been far too long since I have posted! I was busy with our school's Fall Festival and then rolled right into making Halloween treats for the school staff. I made 15 of each of these and the Frankenstein box. They were just too cute and I couldn't resist.

These are really very easy to make. I could type up directions, but with the cutting, scoring and adhering, a video works much better. Angie Juda over at Chic 'N Scratch has a great one, so pop on over and check it out: http://chicnscratch.typepad.com/chicnscratchlive/2009/09/little-halloween-box.html

These can easily be converted to a Christmas/Winter theme....the options are endless!
Hope you enjoy!

Mummy Details
Stamps: None
Paper: Creamy Caramel (Base), Very Vanilla, Basic Black and Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad
Accessories: Sponge, 1/2" Circle Punch, Hole Punch, Pop Dots and a Black Marker

Dracula Details
Stamps: None
Paper: Almost Amethyst, Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White
Ink: None
Accessories: Hole Punch, 1/2", 3/'4 & 1 1/4" Circle Punches, a Star Punch, Pop Dots & a Black Marker

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

A Batty Birthday

And I thought I was done with Halloween...No siree! My nephew has a birthday next week and since I have no stamp sets for a 14-Year-Old boy, I had to improvise. His birthday's in October, so Halloween qualifies, right????

I started with a Jodi Collins sketch over at There She Goes. She is the Featured Trendsetter this week and gives some awesome tips on Paper Piercing. I know all my girls love piercing *wink*!

This week, I wanted to create a pennant banner. I could definitely work it into this sketch, so I was one happy girl. I saw a quick tutorial that makes creating these very easy. Start by cutting a rectangle the size you'd like your pennant to be. The purple cardstock was cut to 1" x 2". I then marked the 1" side in the middle. I lined up that middle dot with the opposite corner of the cardstock in my paper trimmer and sliced away. I did the same with the opposite corner and it cuts perfectly. I cut the designer paper 1/4" bigger to create a mat for the purple cardstock.

The possibilities with the pennants are endless. Give them a try! TFL!

Stamps: Riveting & Doodle Alphabet
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black and Gray Cardstock; Various Halloween Papers
Ink: Basic Black Classic Ink
Accessories: Paper Piercer/Mat Pack, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Black Brads, Bat Brads and Black Twine.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Olive Stitched Thanksgiving



Well, this was a bugger of a card to get made! I started the week out working on the Mojo Challenge, but then stumbled upon this stitched pumpkin...and the rest is history.

He is the cutest thing and 'sew' (pun intended..hee hee) easy to make. Punch out a circle using the 1 3/8" circle punch, then using your paper piercer, pierce around the edge (be sure you end up with an even amount of holes.) Grab a needle, thread it up and sew through the holes. Who knew???

I have tons of DMC floss from my cross-stitching days, so I grabbed one that matched the Old Olive Ribbon and stitched away. If you don't have floss, it can be purchased at any Craft Store, is very inexpensive and comes in many, many colors. I used two strings of the floss to sew.

To finish out the card, I used the retired SU! Stitched background stamp. It seemed only fitting with my sewn pumpkin. I also added a clear button to the ribbon, because if you didn't know, buttons are the new must have accessory!

I love how this turned out....it just took a while to get there ;) If you love it too, I will make this available as a Make & Take kit at my Open House on Saturday, October 17th for $3. Stop by and pick one up.

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes & Stitched (Retired SU!)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Old Olive & Dusty Durango Cardstock; Fall DSP
Ink: Old Olive Classic Stamp Pad
Accessories: 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Paper Piercer, Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, SU! Clear Buttons, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, DMC Floss and a Small Needle

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Mojo Monday Challenge - Baby Boy

I am on a roll with the Mojo Challenges! This is my third one in a row....WooHoo! I needed a Baby Boy card for a teacher's gift at school and having a sketch to start with made it sooo easy. I did do a little cheating with the sketch (shhh....don't tell.) The circle image didn't work to the right of my Bunny, so I switched it to the left. Since having to swap that, I moved my bow to the other side as well.

For my patterned paper, I used the Retired Parisian Breeze, as it is one of the few masculine sets of paper that I have. It's perfect for a masculine adult or baby card. You should always have a stash of 'Boy' paper laying around ;)

Next, I had to pick a focal image. I pulled out all of the baby themed stamp sets I had and looked for the biggest image I could find. It happened to be this Bunny from the Retired set A New Little Someone. This set just happens to be on loan from my mom until she gets her craft room in order. It fits perfectly. I stamped the image on two different pieces of the Parisian Breeze Designer Paper, cut out the Bunny and the Bow and paper pieced them together. Love it! He is just adorable.


This was a fun card to make. I hope she likes it!

Stamps: A New Little Someone & So Many Scallops (Both Retired SU!)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze and Whisper White Cardstock; Parisian Breeze DSP (Baja Breeze & Parisian Breeze are both Retired)
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Stamp Pad
Accessories: Paper Piercer and Mat Pack, Jumbo Brads, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Retired Valet Ribbon Originals, Sponges and Paisley Embossing Envelope

Sweet Center Lollipop


Isn't this just too cute? This is the third project we made at my last workshop. It's made with the new Sweet Treat Cups from the Stampin Up Holiday Mini. I made a lollipop and filled my cup with Nerds, but you could fill it with jelly beans, glitter or any other treat you can think of. The possibilities are endless.

The coordinating Stamp Set is called Sweet Centers (also in the Mini.) It includes the Halloween stamp featured here, a Hot Air Balloon, an Ornament and Flower Petal stamps. Once stamped, a circle is punched out with the 1 3/4" Circle Punch for the Treat Cup to be added. The cup has it's own adhesive, so once it's filled and in place, you just add a piece of cardstock to the back to seal it up. It can then be added to a card or made into individual treats.

I saw this idea over at My Life's Art by Teresa Payne. She has an awesome video tutorial if you'd like to check it out: http://www.mylifesart.com/2009/08/new-product-sweet-treat-cups.html
. It's very fun and easy to make! TFL.

Stamps: Sweet Centers
Paper: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant & Old Olive Cardstock
Ink: Elegant Eggplant & Old Olive Classic Stamp Pads
Accessories: Sweet Treat Cups, 1 3/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Sticky Strip, Lollipop Sticks and Googly Eyes.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Deal of the Week #1

Who doesn't love a deal? I know I do! Stampin Up has brought back the Deal of the Week for the month of October. Each deal will run a week and there are no quantity limits or minimum purchases.

The first Deal of the Week features three punches and is available till Monday, October 12th:

Item# 109183 Trio Flower Punch $15.95 Special Price $10.99
Item# 109041 5-Petal Flower Punch $15.95 Special Price $10.99
Item# 110709 My Way Punch $15.95 Special Price $11.99

The punches can be found in the catalog on pgs 186-187.

Please contact me to place an order or order online by clicking on the Order icon in the right sidebar. Thanks!