Roomie Gift for Trina

My friend Kris/PaperFairy Kris created this adorable Simply Adorned Charm Insert Storage CD Holder for Craft Project Central and taught me to make one.  I LOVE it, and I'm so proud of Kris!

So of course, when I needed something for a Convention Roomie Gift, I jumped at the chance to make one for Trina, my roomie who is willing to put up with me for 4 whole days! I used the new Hostess Designer Series Paper, Cheerful Treat. I like it and think it is, but I hope Trina does too. :)

Front Cover

Open...see the matching "T" charm insert...

Pulled to fully open:

Flipped over to the back side:

Stampin' Up! Convention 2011 Friend Trinkets

These are some tiny Reese's Peanut Butter Cup holders I made with the top half of the small cello bags....I used the bottom half for something you can see posted tomorrow :).  I used the new Pennant Parade Christmas Tree as well as the stocking from the Snow Much Fun set with some new colors and the new Lace Ribbon Border punch which is so dramatic!

What I'm ~not~ swapping....

I love this new chickadee Christmas set, but sadly, I didn't think I'd be able to make 37 of them, so it will have to wait for a technique class I guess.

Pennant Parade Christmas Tree

The Pennant Parade set is adorable, and I really love this new background Letterpress Plate Fancy Fan.  It really dresses up a simple card!  I'm off to convention tomorrow so check back each day to see what I'm swapping. :)

Great New Hostess Benefit Changes!

I hope you'll love the new changes as much as I do!  No more being shut out of a Level 3 Hostess set if your party doesn't make that level! No more getting extra hostess sets after you have them all, just choose catalog merchandise! It's a good thing!

Thumping Technique Precious Butterflies Card

I used the new Wisteria Wonder 2011-2013 In Color with Marina Mist and Pear Pizazz for this card.  The Precious Butterflies set is a new Hostess Choice this year that I obviously couldn't resist.

This was for Technique Challenge #94 a couple of weeks ago on Stampin' Addicts.

For marker thumping just choose a solid image stamp (not line art).

1. Ink your solid image stamp in one color.
2. Use a marker to add another color (or two) to the stamp by thumping the marker sideways onto the inked stamp. Be sure not to pounce the tip of your marker onto the stamp...it will damage your marker irreparably. Perhaps if you have an old worn out marker the angle of your addition of the marker ink wouldn't matter.
3. Huff to rewet/moisten the ink on the stamp.
4. Stamp your image.
5. Finish your card.

You also might want to gently scribble any extraneous colors from your marker onto scratch paper before putting the marker away.

The bluer butterfly in the middle of the circle of butterflies was stamped in Marina Mist with Wisteria Wonder thumped on it. The other butterflies were all stamped in Wisteria Wonder with Marina Mist marker thumped on it.

Snow Much Fun Easel Card

This is for the Fourth Tuesday Fun Fold Challenge on Stampin' Addicts....I think I am going to have a lot of fun with the Snow Much Fun stamp set!

Easel cards are so Easy! :)

1. Cut your cardstock base to 4-1/4 X 11. (in half vertically)
2. Score it at 2-3/4 and 5-1/2 inches.
3. Cut a 4-1/4 X 5-1/2 inch top layer base. This is usually in the same color cardstock as the base.
4. Create a liner of some type for your card that has a horizontal piece for the card to stand against when it is in the easel position.
5. Add all the images and embellishments to finish your card.

The illustration below shows the way to attach the top layer base to the card base just in case....

Stampin' Addicts Retiring Stamp Sets Blog Hop 2011

Welcome to the Stampin' Addicts Retiring Stamp Sets Blog Hop for 2011!

You've likely arrived from Betty's lovely blog  Kitty Stamp where you saw adorable designs with the Blowing Kisses stamp set. Such a CUTE set!  Should you get lost or need a list of the participants, you can see it at Stampin' Addicts.

I'm actually featuring two great stamp "sets" for the hop. (Thanks for allowing me to do that fellow hoppers!) The Simple Birthday Thanks background (page 142) and Birthday Bliss (page 57) were both favorites of mine for kids cards (and thank you cards of course).  The Simple Birthday Thanks Stamp was inadvertently skipped for the Retirement list. Stampin' Up! confirmed that the stamp is NOT on a carryover list and IS retiring by phone.

First up is this gift card holder.....I can't swear I haven't seen it before, but I didn't knowingly copy.  Well, I did copy a birthday cupcake I'd seen intentionally, and I was trying to match some of the colors in the balloon gift card. I love the intense boyish blue of the icing on the Simple Birthday Thanks stamp, and imagine what color your tongue would be after eating such a cupcake in real life! The tag punch shaped "make a wish" candle image makes a quick and easy way to attach the top/icing with a flourish. "Ice Cream and Presents and Cake Oh my!" makes a grand statement for the front of the cupcake liner area. I'll list a step by step tutorial (no pictures-sorry) on Monday, though you probably don't need it-I just used a Pumpkin Pie card base, stamped it, cut it out and cut off the icing.  A thin line of sticky strip on the sides and bottom---Quick and Easy.

This Fancy Favor is cute for giving a gift of 3X3 cards and envelopes.  I have a friend who really enjoys getting handmade cards for her birthday.  Luckily, I really enjoy ~making~ cards!  This set features the new 2011-12 designer series paper "Just Add Cake".  It is an usual color combination, but it is a lot of fun!

I made this cupcake card to match this fun wrapping paper.  I just did some cutting with the paper cutter for the squares and rectangles and punched the circles and half circles.  I also made some curlicues and attached them with mono multi/green lid glue.  I stamped Birthday Bliss from the Birthday Bliss stamp set for a vibrant sentiment.  A little ribbon completes the card.

Now it is time to continue on to Holly's Rubber Redneck blog where she'll show you lovely creations with the Always stamp set. We're going to miss that set!

 

Faux Cloisonné

This is an unusal old technique that only requires a magazine photo of flowers (I like to use a floral bedspread picture), Versamark and gold embossing powder.


1. Pick your floral photo....this will determine the color scheme for your card.
2. Stamp an open line stamp (one with line edges not a color-block type stamp like you'd use for faux shaving cream) in Versamark onto the magazine/catalog photo.
3. Cover with gold embossing powder.
4. Heat emboss.
5. Cut out the image leaving the gold edges.
6. Finish your card.

Glittered Dryer Sheet Technique

Not sure why I never posted this? It was the technique challenge I posted on Stampin Addicts a month ago.
It is especially nice with snowflake stamps in winter so you might want to wait to use it until then.


1. Stamp images in a variety of colors on your cardstock. Allow to dry for at least 10 minutes. (I don't recommend Red because it can smear when the glue stick hits it. Maybe you could heat it?)

2. Cover the cardstock with a thick coating of glue from a Stampin' Up! gluestick. (You can also use a Xyron, but if we can do it SU!, then let's.)

3. Press a well used (though not with dark clothes as they can sometimes fade or get dark lint on the dryer sheet) dryer sheet into the cardstock. (The glue will ooze through so be forewarned.) I used Bounce. You might want to ask anyone who has allergies to bring their own dryer sheet (unscented?) if the scent might be a problem.

4. Cover the cardstock with Dazzling Diamonds, and shake off the excess. (I think it might be a good idea to press the glitter into the cardstock at this point too.)

Fun Fold Technique Challenge on Stampin' Addicts

Lots of excitement with the Demonstrator Preorder, Retiring Stamp Set List and Retiring Accessories List! I am losing a ton of ribbon :(, but the show must go one...:)

Today's Fun Fold is really easy and was inspired by this week's MOJO Monday sketch MOJO193. I actually thought at first that this card style was the sketch, but it wasn't. I decided it should have been so I made it the Fun Fold Challenge on Stampin' Addicts. I used Blushing Bridge and a piece of the Hostess Level 1 dsp set as well as the bouquet from the On the Grow set in the Summer Mini Catalog.

1. Cut your cardstock into a 6 inch square.

2. Turn the card on its point ends and score each side at 2-1/8 inches top to bottom. Be sure to keep the top and bottom point and left and right points straight as you score. Repeat for each side.

3. Carefully fold the corners to the center making a nice center in which the points meet up. (Use the bone folder to get them just so. Have patience.)

4. Cut your dsp into a square that is 3-7/8 inches. It would seem like 4 inch would be it since the finished card is 4-1/4 square, but since there is a middle edge you want it either 3-7/8 or 3-3/4 inches square.

5. Wrap ribbon around the card and attach it to your matching base (ONLY-Nothing is adhered to the card base except the dsp). The base cardstock layer in my example is 2-3/4 square. This base allows you slide the image, sentiment and ribbon off so that the card may be opened for writing inside. My image layer is 2-1/2 square.

6. Attach your image layer and sentiment layer and voila'.

We also signed a couple of Thank You cards....

I made a few cards for those who participated in the card making to sign (and forged a couple of names we forgot to ask to sign--Kris Kilkenny :) ) as Thank Yous for the troops. We thought they could put one on the bulletin board occasionally.  I think this is a perfect Oklahoma Thank You.

 

Cards for the Troops...

Recently, customers and friends helped my downline, Candi create cards for the troops.  Her husband is deploying, and we made what we hope is plenty of cards for them to send back to their families while they are there.  They are only going for about 6 months, so there was no way they'd be able to get cards from Operation Write Home (there is a waiting list).

I think this card is cute for an airman to send to his wife, girlfriend or child depending on his sense of humor. :)  The inside says "wish it were sooner"....I just printed it out on Whisper White, punched it with the modern label punch and adhered it to the inside.

A KickStand Card

These were popular a couple years ago, so I thought I'd show one with a recent stamp set.  I tried to go simple with the rest of the card so that the main image could shine.

Nailpolish Holder Tutorial

This is a really simple nail polish holder...I hope you all aren't disappointed!

Cut your cardstock 8 inches by 6 inches....Score the 6 inch side at 1-1/2 inches and 4-1/2 inches.  Score the 8 inch side only up the the 1-1/2 inch and 4-1/2 inch scores at 1-1/2, 3 and 4-1/2 inches.  Cut only up to the score lines at these same lines. Cut the top part that is above the 4-1/2 inch scores completely off as shown below.

Corner round the top and add any decorative dsp or stamping to the project. Next add sticky strip to the lower two squares for assembly as shown below. I think it is probably sturdier to leave all three of the edge boxes attached, but you might need to make the top edge even with your paper snips if they aren't even.

Make marks for centering your modern label punch left to right for the handle. I put it about 2/3 of an inch from the top of the cardstock.

Punch your modern label punch.

Here it is in a planning stage so that you can see the edges.

Complete decorating the toenail polish holder.

Here's a link to an updated version with a VIDEO made in 2018: Beachy Nail Polish Holder