Snow Much Fun Artisan Entry

Here is the first of my two 3-D projects I had to submit for the Artisan Award Contest.

I ended up working on both of my 3-D projects last because I just couldn't decide what to make. I created a Halloween luminary a while back that was completely my design using chipboard coasters, so I thought I'd create another version for Chrismas using the Snow Much Fun set. Here's a closer look.

The coasters are covered in Shimmery White card stock, so along with all the rhinestones, silver embossing and Brushed Silver card stock this had a lot of sparkle & shine. I embossed and stamped a small design all the way around too...

Here's what it looked like lit by the battery operated candle.

I thought it turned out cute, but I knew going in that the 3-D catagory was going to be my weakest, since I don't sew. Some of the other non-winning entries I've seen so far are spectacular...makes me wonder what the winning entries looked like?

With the heat we've been experiencing around the country this week, I'll bet this snowman probably looks really good! Have a great weekend!

Create!

I just finished a project that I've had in mind since I first saw the new Perfect Pennants Die. This was a lot of fun to make and it's going to look cute hanging in my stampin' space.

I used a variety of DSP...some current, like the Regal Rose polka dot print from the Brights DSP Pack & Paisley Petals and some retired, such as Springtime Vintage & Elegant Soiree. As long as it fit into my color scheme of Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose & So Saffron it was fair game! It's a great way to use up some scraps. Here's a closer look at the left side...

I just love the scalloped circle included on the Perfect Pennant die! Each pennant has 3 layers...one is chipboard, one card stock and the last one is dsp which I just cut off about 1/2 inch of the top so it makes a nice layer on the base. The chipboard just gives it a little more stability. Here's a look at the right side...

The letters were cut using the Simple Letters Dies. I used grosgrain ribbon and the frayed ribbon technique to make the little "tassels" on each pennant. Then I topped it with a button or brad. See the little polka dotted brad on the "c" & the "e"? Those are the new Designer Printed Brads...and they are sooooo CUTE! They are available only in the newest In Colors...but I figured the Pool Party looked close enough to Baja Breeze to work here. I was almost finished with my banner when UPS showed up with my 1st new catalog order! So I was able to use the brads and one other new item.  Check out the last "e"...

That's one of the new Designer Frames Embossing Folders. I was surprised that they are smaller than I thought, but happy that the Extra Large Oval punch layers nicely inside. I used a variety of other dies, punches, etc to make my "create" banner, but I'm too excited to go play with my new stuff, so I'm going to wrap this post up. I'm sure you won't blame me...LOOK... It's like Christmas in July!
Can you guess which set of new stamps I'm going to play with first? Stop back by again soon to see. :-)

Love Swag

Yesterday I showed you three projects from my Sending Love Valentine Class. I promised to share more on my favorite project, the LOVE banner today. I created mine horizontally so that I could attach it to pegs on a shelf, but another option is to have it run vertically to enable you to hang easily from a door knob or a single peg,  nail, etc...

The base of each square is a chipboard coaster, which I covered in card stock ran thru my Big Shot using the Polka Dot Textured Impressions Folder. The letters are also chip board which was cut using the Serif Essentials Bigz Dies. I had fun decorating each lettered square with different patterned papers from the Sending Love specialty pack. Here's a closer look at each letter.

The "L" uses Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon that is on sale in the Clearance Rack right now. I also used a cute button from the Latte Button pack. The "love" phrase on the side of the letter is cut from card stock wheeled with the I{Love}Love jumbo wheel.

Inside the center of the letter "O" is also is cut from card stock wheeled with the I{Love}Love jumbo wheel. I accented the center of the glittery flower, cut from Sending Love paper, with one of the cute Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brads. The "all you need is love" sentiment comes from a retired set called Cute Converse.

My favorite print from the Sending Love pack is this red piece with the pink and vanilla glittery flowers. I decorated the "V" with a Real Red Corduroy Button attached with a piece of Linen Thread.

The "E" is also embellished with a cute Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brad. The XOXOXOXO phrase is cut from card stock wheeled with the I{Love}Love jumbo wheel. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes in the top corner of each square and joined them together using Pretty In Pink Satin Ribbon.

Birthday Albums

I've been pretty busy stamping but you wouldn't know it by my blog posts! LOL A few of the projects I cannot show you yet...they are for the upcoming Catty Cruise. Make sure to check back here on Saturday to see the cruise projects I have been working on...plus fantastic projects by the rest of the crew.

A couple other projects that have been keeping me busy are two birthday albums I've been working on. One is complete, but the other one is still a work in progress, which needs to be finished by Saturday. Both are gifts for family who hit milestone birthdays this year. Here is the cover of the book I am still working on for my Aunt.
I used the Circle Circus set for many of the inside pages so I used some retired Haiku paper for the cover. I LOVED that paper...I sure wish they made it available in another color scheme because it coordinates so nicely with the Circle Circus set. Oh well... at least I have a little bit left in my stash. I also used some new specialty paper called The Write Stuff. The Ruby Red polka-dot paper and the scalloped die cut is from that pack. I can't wait to create some fun scrapbook pages with some of the other die cuts from that pack!

I used Long Board Chip Board for the cover and then my new toy...the Bind It All to punch the holes for the binding. The silk flower is from the Pretties Kit and the center is one of the large White Grommets. I'll share some of the inside pages when I'm all finished.

The other book I created was for my Mom to give to a close family friend. Since this one was for a guy, and I only had a couple of days to complete the whole book, it is much simpler. Here's the cover:

I didn't use very many stamps, mostly an adhesive card stock sticker set called Older & Wiser from the Paper Loft. You can see here that I used one of my favorite wheels - Rough Around the Edges, to add some texture to the cover. Here's a view of the inside:
Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring! While the sun is shining brightly today, the temperature doesn't feel too spring like...but that's OK, I'm sure before we know it everything will be blooming and turning green...my favorite time of the year! I love to decorate my antique buffet for each season, so I created this banner to celebrate spring.
The Tea Party papers are just perfect for spring, and I used many of the pretty patterns from that pack. I used my Big Shot along with the Serif Essentials Alphabet, Beautiful Butterflies, Daisies #2 and the Button dies. On the background for the letters "P" and "N" I also used the Polka Dot Texturz plate. The only stamp I used was the hummingbird from the Dream a Little hostess set. To embellish my creation I used the celery & saffron ribbon from the SAB ribbon bundle, Button Latte and Soft Subtle brads. Here is what it looks life on my buffet.
Unfortunately I do not have all my other Spring/Easter decor out as we are waiting for our new flooring to be installed. I was hoping it would be done today but now we're looking at next week. We pulled up our carpet over a week ago while my hubby was off and I'm growing tired of walking on plywood. lol Oh well, it will be nice when it's done, and worth the wait I'm sure. I'll try to post another photo showing my buffet in all it's spring-time glory after our floor is done.
Think Spring is also the challenge posted today on the Stamp Something blog and I think my banner definitely qualifies. :-)
Have a wonderful weekend!

Christmas Hostess Club

Last night was my December Hostess Club meeting. I prepared some festive non-card holiday projects for the group. (I guess I couldn't bear doing another Christmas card this week!) You may remember the Thanksgiving frame I shared here a couple weeks ago? We did a Christmas version of that using the Ski Slope papers and Little Felt Flurries.
This time instead of using the On Board Book Basics, I used the Long Board Chip Board made for use with the Big Shot. (I found out after the fact that the Book Basics are a little thicker and not recommended for use on the Big Shot.) I certainly don't want to hurt my beloved Big Shot or my Top Note die! I didn't take a photo of the back this time, but if you check out the Thanksgiving version is shows the pocket for the photo and the stand created from chipboard using one of the Sizzix tag dies.

We also created this darling little ornament using the penguin from Punch Pals.
This is one of those little favor tins with the clear lid. Using White Stazon, we stamped the lid with the snowflake from Season of Friendship. A piece of Ski Slope paper was cut into a circle using the Coluzzle and adhered to inside of tin with Tombo Multi Adhesive. The penguin was stamped on Shimmery White, watercolored, cut out and adhered to the back with some stacked pop dots for extra dimension. Iridescent Buffalo Snow and some Clear Micro Beads were added to the inside, the then tin was sealed with some Sticky Strip around the outside of the lid. This also held the Baha Breeze Striped ribbon in place, and it was knotted at the top. Silver cord inserted before the ribbon was knotted acts as the hanger.

I made these Christmas boxes using the Scallop Envelope Bigz Die for each of my clubbers.
The box is made by attaching 4 of the scallop envelopes together. I wheeled each one with the Bold Snowflake jumbo wheel and finished them off with the cute images from the Deer Friends Level 2 Hostess set. Here's a closer look:
Inside the box was a snowflake ornament created with the large Snowflake die and 4" square coasters. Each one was embossed and finished with a Felt Flurry and rhinestone brad. Of course there was also chocolate in the boxes as well!

Have a wonderful day! Looks like we're in for another c-c-cooold one here.

Top Note Harvest Frame

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day! We enjoyed a delicious dinner at my Mom's house yesterday. Both her and my Step Dad always put so much effort into creating such a wonderful meal for the family each year, so I always try to create a little something for my Mom as a little thank you. Last year I made her this Thanksgiving planner with place cards and napkin rings. This year when I was trying to think of what I could make I remembered this adorable project I had seen while blog hopping. Here is my version of Gretchen's awesome Top Note frame.

I covered a piece of the small On Board Book Basics with some Haiku paper, centered the Top Note die where I wanted it and then ran it through the Big Shot. I sanded the edges and then gave them a distressed look by adding ink along the edges. I added a pocket to the back by cutting a 6 1/4 x 4 1/4" piece of More Mustard card stock and then cut a half circle from the top using the 1 3/8" circle punch. I also created a little stand for my frame by cutting out a piece of chip board using a tag die and the Big Shot. I attached these pieces to the back using sticky strip. Here's a photo of the back so you can see what I'm trying to describe.
To embellish the frame I water colored the Indian corn image from Harvest Home and cut it out...boy, was it fun cutting out those curly little husks! I had to use my X-acto knife for that part. I also cut out a button using the Button Sizzlet and then embossed it with Glassy Glaze. I attached it to the stamped sentiment using Linen Thread. Along the left side of the frame I tied on a piece of More Mustard grosgrain ribbon. The oak leaves were cut out using a leaf die and the Big Shot...have I told you how much I {LOVE} my Big Shot???! I added veins to the leaves by laying them on my foam mat and "drawing" them on using the stylus. I attached them with glue dots and also added some hemp twine and a maple leaf brad I've had in my stash for a while, and I was done...until yesterday morning when I realized I didn't have a gift bag...So I whipped up a matching bag-a-lope using a catalog sized envelope rolled with the Harvest wheel. To decorate the front I added a little envelope cut with the Scallop Envelope Bigz die. On the front of the envelope is a punch out using the Cute & Curly punch bundle which is on sale right now at 30% off. The handles are made from Creative Twist paper ribbon...not sure if they even make it anymore...but I still have some hanging around my craft room.

My Mom loved her little gift and much to everyone's delight, I forced them to pose for a group photo around the dining room table so that my Mom will have a photo of everyone to slip into her new frame. Now, I'm thinking Christmas frames...

Sparkley Scrap Bucket

Isn't this the cutest garbage can you've ever seen? This is one of the projects my stamp club made last night. I've had a little altered bucket similar to this on my stamping table for scraps for a while now, and it has always gotten a lot of comments. One club member in particular has even threatened that she was going to take it home when I'm not looking. So...I had them all make one so I could quit worrying about mine coming up missing. ;-) After seeing Pam Morgan's great demo using Heat & Stick Powder, Fine Cosmo Glitter & chipboard on the SU! website, I've been dying to try it. The Heat & Stick Powder & glitter came in my last order, and I still had some pieces of chipboard left from the On Board Blossoms & Basics so that's what I used.

I bought the tin buckets from the Target's Dollar Spot and drilled a hole in the center. The glittery flowers are attached with one of the pretty brads from the Styled Silver HPH set. Then we just tied different ribbons on the handle. I had 3 different colored buckets for them to choose from and the flowers were different shapes and sizes, so it was fun to see how they all turned out.

This weeks challenge over at the Stamp Something blog is to "Embellish Something". I think this qualifies. :-) I'll be back tomorrow to show you the other project we did last night.

I started to put the glitter & chipboard away and decided while it was all out I may as well add a little glitz and glamour to another bucket and this metal container I keep my paper plates in. I think I'll also add some rub ons to go around the large one, but for now this is good. I better put away that glitter now before I go crazy and start putting it on everything!

On Board Bucket of Blossoms

I've been thinking that I needed something cute and springy to decorate the window sill in my rubber room ever since I put up a new window treatment my Mom sewed for me. I still had the Flowers For You papers sitting out that we used at stamp club the other night and I noticed how well they matched the cute little tin buckets that I have hanging from my peg board for miscellaneous tools. Two of those colors - celery and rose, also matched the fabric used for the valance. (I also used a bit of So Saffron Designer prints since that color was also in the fabric.) I had quite a few pieces left from a set of On Board Blossoms & Basics chipboard, so I decided it was time to use some of them up. This is what I came up with.


I just love the way it turned out! The hardest part was trying to decide which sheets of patterned paper & which shapes to use. When I made my decisions I traced around the shapes and cut them out. The easiest way to do this is to trace the shape on the wrong side of the paper so you don't have to erase any pencil marks. I found it helpful to also make a mark on the top of the flower shape and on the same spot on the chipboard so it was easy to then line them back up. I adhered the paper to the chipboard using decoupage medium and a foam brush, but you could also use a glue stick or Tombow multi purpose adhesive. After I allow the shapes to dry a bit, I sanded off the excess paper around the edges.
The stems are made from lolly-pop sticks (found in the baking section at the craft store) brushed with Certainly Celery re-inker. I used my hot glue gun to attach the flowers and leaves to the stem. The metal bucket was purchased at Target in their Dollar Spot area a while back. (I noticed recently they have them again...just different colors) The bucket had 2 holes in the front where ribbon was threaded though and tied into a bow. I changed out the ribbon to better match my project and also added some rub-ons I had left from the Love & Happiness collection (SAB).

I filled the bucket with Styrofoam and then inserted the flowers. I covered the foam with some Spanish moss, but felt it needed some more color, so I crimped some Certainly Celery cardstock and cut it into thin strips to put on top of the moss...and I was done! It looks so cute on my window sill!

Pretty soon I'll have flowers popping up outside my window as well. Especially if the weather reports I've heard are correct. Today is going to be a beautiful day...possibly hitting 70 degrees! We are going out to dinner later to celebrate my oldest sons birthday. He turns 20 today! I can hardly believe it! I don't feel old until I see how grown up my boys are...then it hits me! Oh well, I guess you're only as old as you act...and most of the time I don't act my age. (guess that can be good and bad...but at least I have fun!;^) Have a wonderful day!

I finally created something with my coasters!

I ordered a large box of coasters a while back and never got around to making anything with them. I had my first hostess club meeting last night so that got me motivated to come up with a fun project for the group to do. I think they all really enjoyed making this project and they were all so cute when done!

We used the designer prints double sided papers in Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst & Rose Red. I got to try out my new Crop-A-Dile, the cool new Jumbo eyelets & the On Board Blossoms & Basics chipboard for this project. The Crop-A-Dile punches through the chipboard like butter! That thing is great...sure to become my favorite tool! This was also my first experience using chip board and I must say it's pretty fun to work with. Here is the coaster frame we made:

I'm loving the new double stitched ribbon! It really adds a nice touch and is really nice to work with. So far I only have the Wild Wasabi, but can't wait to get some of the other colors. The only stamps used for this project were Little Pieces which we embossed with white for the center of the chipboard flower and So Many Sayings, the Level 1 Hostess set, which we punched out with the Word Window punch. I plan to give this to my niece Amanda. The photos were taken at her high school graduation last month.

We also did a card last night using the Pick A Petal set and the new In Colors. It is a fun, happy card. We used Purely Pomegranate for the base and ink, but it photographed a bit off. We used the rock 'n roll technique for the petals. First ink stamp in Groovy Guava then rolled in Pomegranate. I doodled around the edge with the white gel pen. Some of the group was nervous to try this, so I suggested faux stitching instead. Either way...they all looked great!

My hostess Kim was happy to get Baroque Motifs and Side Kick Sayings with her Hostess Credit plus some goodies from me. I altered one of those cute little note books from Target using the Petals & Paisley designer paper and a chip board frame from the On Board Blossoms & Basics. In between projects we enjoyed a yummy dessert made by Kim...boy that was good! Thanks again for bringing dessert Kim!