Aunt Pat's Birthday

Wow...today has flown by. Sorry I'm a little late in picking a winner for the blog candy! We're back from Seattle and had an awesome time, but it's always nice to be home!! I had a lot of fun reading what you've been up to with your stamping. Thank you so much for all the comments you left...I really do enjoy hearing from you!! I wish I could pick 122 winners, but Random.org only chose one...and that winner is (drum roll please......) ~

Cassie who said...
I have been working on my coloring skills - whether it is watercoloring or colored pencils. Thanks for the sweet treats - it's a great prize!

Congratulations Cassie! If you could please email me your mailing address (youcanstamp@hotmail.com), I'll get those goodies mailed off to you = ) !!! I've been working on my coloring skills too...making myself try new techniques, which is both fun & challenging! I hope to break out my new watercolor crayons this week and give 'em a little try.

Thanks also to everyone who suggested that I stop by the Impress shop while in Seattle... GREAT tip....you were right, it was well worth the stop : ) ! I bought a couple of fun little items and absolutely loved looking through the shop. Also have a few items to show you from the Amuse shop..I got LOTS of ribbon there, Oh my, they have some gorgeous ribbon, and since I'm a bit of a ribbon addict, it was completely irresistable! Also picked up a new Elzybells stamp = ). More on Seattle & shopping later this week!

I did manage to make one card today, after rummaging through boxes and pulling out a few stamping supplies. Most of my stamp room/supplies are boxed up because our contractor was doing some work while we were in Seattle ... but they finished up earlier today & I'll be spending the evening unpacking. It's been a little frustrating, but really, it's a great excuse to start fresh and get good and organized! Who knows...I just might find more blog candy while I'm putting everything away!!

Today's card is for my Aunt Pat...her birthday is this week! I used SCS Sketch from last week, SC169...Click HERE for all the details on the sketch. It's an awesome layout from one of Leslie Miller's cards!! It was a little tricky because the main panel couldn't be any wider than 1.5 inches, but I did manage to stay within the challenge guidelines. It wasn't easy...hmmm...maybe that's why they call it a challenge??

Alrighty then, I better get started with my unpacking and organizing. The quicker I get done, the quicker I can start stamping again.....Thanks for stopping by = )

Supplies for Aunt Pat's card ~
Stamps: A little Birdie told me & Blooming with Love (the flower), Amuse oval shadow stamp
Paper: Whisper White, Brocade Blue, Celery, Cutie Pie DP
Ink: Black Stazon
Accessories: SU Markers in Bashful Blue & Celery, Fine Cosmo Glitter & Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, non-SU self adhesive rhinestones, Ticket corner punch, Paper piercing tool, Sakura clear stardust pen, Silver cord

Have a great evening = ) !!!

More Blog Candy!

Hello from Seattle = ) !!! We're here visiting family for a few days (I LOVE Seattle!), so this will be my last post until early next week. But, I was thinking, since I can't stamp for a few days, why not give away a little BLOG CANDY!!!You probably recongnize this butterfly image from the Sale-a-bration set, Merci. I absolutely love this set! If I was stranded on a desert island and could only have 5 sets with me (forget the food...give me stamps!),this would be one of them! Now that SAB is over, this set is no longer available (gasp!)...BUT, I just happen to have an extra set, and I want to give it away to one lucky winner!
Here's what's included in the blog candy~
1) One die-cut, unmouted Merci Stamp set
2) One 3 x 3 butterfly notecard (pictured above)
3) Enough pre-cut/pre-scored cardstock to make five 3 x 3" notecards
4) 3 yards of coordinating ribbon (not pictured)

More details coming up on how you can win....at the end of today's post! But first, I mentioned that Merci set was my favorite, and a big reason for that is because I love to color, especially with markers! Coloring doesn't have to be difficult or complicated. Sometimes just a few strokes of color is all you need. SU Markers are a great way to add color & shading to your projects. For the butterfly card above, I used markers in Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery & Old Olive. Two of those colors were the same as the cardstock and the other two were a deeper shade of those colors.

Here are a couple of photos that show how I used the fat/paintbrush end of the Regal Rose marker to outline the wings:
...And the fat/paintbrush end of the Pretty in Pink marker to fill in the rest of the wing. I use light, circular strokes, and sort of "paint" the color on. I went right over the top of the Regal Rose outline, to blend the edges. I used the skinny end of the Old Olive Marker to outline the body of the butterfly, then the fat end of the Celery marker to fill in the body and trace over the antennas (sorry...I didn't take photos of those steps, but you can see those details in the first photo). Really simple....Really quick. And for the finishing touch, I used the 2-way glue pen to hi-light a few spots on the wings then dusted them with Dazzling Diamonds glitter! The Cardstock is Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Whisper White. I used the Ticket Corner punch on the image layers.

My stamping time has been very limited these past few weeks... but I am so excited....I should be back to my regular stamping (yay!) and posting (yay!) routine next week!!! In the meanwhile....If you'd like to be in the drawing for the blog candy, just leave me a comment under this post, telling me what you've been up to with stamping ~ Do you have a favorite stamp set, technique or tool?? I'd love to hear about it! I'll pick a random winner on Monday morning....one entry per person please = ) !!!

Since I find myself in Seattle....I'm going to make a trip over to A-muse Rubber Stamps tomorrow and check it out! I hear it's a great shop!! Hey, maybe they'll have paper & ink out to play with...that would be so awesome!!!!!

Happy Stamping!

Light of The World Winner!

Happy Easter & Happy Spring! It's a bee-a-utiful day on the Oregon Coast! Perfect day to post a few cards featuring flowers...but we'll get back to that in a minute. First, it's time to select a winner for the Light of the World Stamp set...donated by Kelley over at Our Daily Bread Designs!! Incase you missed it, click HERE for all the exciting details about Kelley's new store featuring Scripture based stamps! Thanks to everyone who entered and Thank You for all those wonderful comments.....I think Kelley has us all really excited about her fabulous new stamps and accessories!!! And now....it's time to pick a winner (drum roll please.......................) Random.org chose #15:

dianalcurtis , who said...
I love the website and meeting the design team. I love the beautiful messages on the stamps.

Congratulations Diana! And remember, if you weren't the winner, you can hop on over to ODBD and ordering a set of your very own!! Diana, if you could please email me your mailing address (youcanstamp@hotmail.com), I'll pass that along to Kelley, and she'll get that set in the mail to you = ) !!! WOooooo-HOoooo for you!!!!

And now, onto some SCS Challenge Cards for this week!! On Thursday, I pulled out the Time Well Spent stamp set (level-3, hostess) to create a variety of simple Easter greetings. The first card isn't a challenge card, just one of several simple Easter cards I made & mailed on Thursday. As I was making these, I was thinking about the SCS Color Challenge #158, to use Orchid Opulence, Sage Shadow & Kraft. I don't have the Orchid or Sage stamp pads yet (yes, it's true, I don't have one of everything...yet, lol!). But, I do have markers in both those colors, so that's all I needed to complete the color challenge! Thanks Carole for guest hosting that challenge this week. Great choice of colors!! The shading variation you see in the tulips was all done with the SU Orchip Opulence marker...just by going over the outer, outline area an extra time, it created a darker shade. Here's the 4 1/4" square card I came up with for cc158~

Then, on Friday, Jen posted her Limited Supply Challenge (LSC160). This challenge was to create a variety of cards (3-4) using the same 3-4 stamps, 2 colors of cardstock, 1 piece of DP, and 1 neutral cardstock. I selected 4 stamps from the Time Well Spent set , Regal Rose & Certainly Celery cardstock, Crew Kids Girl DP, and Whisper White:

And I used the following Inks, Accessories & Tools: Stazon Black, Regal Rose Classic Ink pad, SU Markers in Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Olive & Celery, Fiskar Cutter/Scorer, Paper piercing tool/mat pack, Scallop & 1 3/8" Circle punches, Ticket & Tag corner punches, Horizontal Slot Punch, Hobby Blade, Pink & Celery brads, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter with 2 way glue pen and glue dots, Celery 1/4" gg ribbon, non-su small scallop scissors. With those supplies, I created these:

That dress card is a variation of Lauren Meader's wonderful Onsie card design/tutorial, which can be found HERE. And a few samples of other cards I did with her design & inspiration can be seen HERE. Plus this next card, also qualifies for Wednesday's SCS Sketch Challenge, 168 ~
Thanks Jen, Carole & Rox for some great inspiration with those challenges. And extra thanks to Jen, for reminding us how much can be done with just a few stamps, when you have the right tools and accessories! I didn't have a lot of time to stamp this week, so I just used ideas that I'd already done or new challenge ideas and incorporated this stamp set into all of them!!

Supplies for the first card~ Stamps: Time Well Spent Ink: Black Stazon Paper: Pretty in Pink, Celery, Banana, Spring Fling DP Accessories: SU Markers in Banana, Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Olive & Celery, Dazzling Diamonds glitter with 2-way glue pen, Sakura Clear Glaze & Stardust pens, Ticket Corner punch, 1/4" pink gg ribbon

Supplies for Orchid card~ Stamps: Time Well Spent Ink: Black Stazon Paper: Kraft, Orchid, Sage, WW, Spring Fling DP Accessories: Paper piercing tool/mat pack, Hemp twine

Wishing you all a Hope-filled, Happy Easter as we celebrate our risen Savior! Click HERE to see & hear a great song by Nicole C Mullen song, Our Redeemer Lives!! = )

Light of the World

I've been sooooo excited for today and finally get to show you these brand new stamps by Our Daily Bread Designs! And guess what? I'm on the Design Team!! My very first...it's a dream come true. Beautiful, top quality stamps, featuring scripture and a corresponding image. Plus, Kelley is giving a portion of her proceeds to help feed the hungry...that's pretty cool, don't you think? Let me introduce you to the very creative & talented design team Kelley has put together (not sure how I ended up with this group, but I'm so happy to be here!!):
Amy Sheffer
Angel Wilde
Dina Kowal
Kelly Sampson
Lauren Meader
Laurie Schmidlin
Kelley's first set is called Light of the World...you can check out the entire set right HERE!! PLUS, Kelley has given me a set to give away, so be sure to keep reading, for all the details on how you can WIN a set of your very own = ) !!!!Wooo-hooo!!!! I have so much to show you and tell you today, so we better move on. The first card was done for today's SCS Sketch Challenge, SC168.


I made this little box to hold scripture cards. The finished size is 2 1/4 deep x 3 1/4 wide x 3 1/4 tall. The box is Jen Del Muro's design, and you can find her fabulous tutorial right HERE! Thanks Jen, that box was perfect to hold each of Kelley's verses, and plenty of room in the box to add more as she releases new sets each month!! I have a little easel that is just right for featuring the one I want to see and memorize!

As soon as I saw these stamps, I knew I wanted to do a red, white & blue card....and this is it. I wanted to add a little dimension to the card, so I stamped an extra image of the lighthouse, cut it out, and popped it up on dimensionals. Really quick and easy and added a nice element to the card (you can see that a little better in the 2nd photo). As I was taking the photo, the sun was shining through the window and added a nice beam of light to the card. Seemed fitting for the scripture. It's been about a week of non-stop overcast rain and drizzle here on the Oregon Coast, so it was a blessing to see sunshine today!!

This next card is a simple 4 1/4 square. Mostly DP, and featuring the verse. I think a set of these notecards, using each of the 3 verses, would make a lovely gift! Something I plan on making in the near future!!

I was going to post this last card on St Patrick's Day, earlier this week, because there's so much green in it, but I wasn't sure I liked it. Maybe a bit too much green, but I like the layout, so I thought I'd show you. There's a green rhinestone brad in the center of the flower and the image is stamped on Shimmery white...so irl, there's some nice shimmer & sparkle going on!! So....those are my first projects and I'll be showing you more over the next few weeks. I am so impressed with these stamps Kelley has designed. Not only are they beautiful, they are REALLY easy to use. You know when you get a new stamp....you ink it up...put it to paper....and get to see that first image?? Well, for me, it was the lighthouse, and I have to tell you, the first image, was perfectly crisp and clean, I literally let out a little gasp of delight = ) ! Now that's a great stamp! You can check out Kelley's blog, The Stampng Studio, HERE...and the Our Daily Bread Designs site, HERE.

Wait a minute...I think I mentioned BLOG CANDY?? Kelley has given me a "Light of the World" set to give away!! To be entered, all you need to do is pop over to Our Daily Bread Designs, take a look around, then come back here and leave me a comment on this post, telling me what you think of Kelley's new Stamp Company! I will draw a random winner, on Saturday morning!!

Supplies for the projects (all projects feature the Light Of The World stamp set)
First card~ Paper: Banana, Black, WW Ink: Black Stazon Accessories: Paper piercing tool/mat pack, black gingham ribbon, black eyelets, cropadile
Box~ Paper: Chocolate Chip, WW, Afternoon Tea DP Ink: Chocolate Chip Accessories: Silver HPH, Ticket corner punch, Tab corner punch, Silver stretch cord (retired SU), Sprinkles stamp used for background on the scripture card...stamped in Soft Sky
Second card~ Paper: Night of Navy, Real Red, WW, Summer Picnic DP Ink: Night of Navy Accessories: Red striped 5/8" gg ribbon, Silver brads, Ticket corner punch
Third card~ Paper: Bordering Blue, So Saffron, Vanilla, Le Jardin DP Ink: Bordering Blue Accessories: Photo Corner Punch, CB & oval/scallop nestabilities, Vanilla Tafetta ribbon
Fourth card~ Paper: Chocolate Chip, Shimmery White, Afternoon Tea DP Ink: Brown Stazon Accessories: Boho Flower punch, Green rhinestone brad, dazzling diamonds glitter, Paper piercing tool, Photo corner punch, Silver brads, CB with oval/scallop nestabilities

Whew...this was the longest post ever...but worth it, don't you think? Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you and to giving away that Stamp Set on Saturday!!! = )

March Workshop Fun

I have some fun things to show you today and some big news & blog candy coming up later this week! The cards today are examples of some projects we made at my March workshops & classes! I apologize for some of the marginal photos...it's a dark, drizzly, rainy day in Oregon...and this is the best I can get!These cards all featured the Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8 and 1 1/4" Circle punches. I seriously LOVE those punches!! They just work so beautifully together. This first little gift card is variation of an idea I developed last year for a friend's baby shower. Using those 3 punches, plus the Word Window Punch....it's easy to make a little baby rattle (or lollipop). I always like start off with a "quick & easy" project at my workshops...and this was it for March! We used 2 different stamps from the So Many Scallops set & did some punching, cutting and layering. The handle was stamped with an image from the One of a Kind set. Another thing that made this so simple, is that we started with a pack of SU pre-cut/scored giftcards & envelopes. Added a layer of CS & DP and had a sweet little gift card all ready to go!

These next "Onsie" cards are from the brilliant design mind of Lauren Meader, My Time, My Creations, My Space!! Lauren has a fantastic tutorial over at her blog for this Onsie Card. These can be used for baby announcements, baby birthdays, welcome baby, decorative tags for gift bags...just to name a few! These were all so fun & easy. Thank you Lauren for an absolutely wonderful little card design & tutorial!!

This pattern is just SO darn cute...and it gives me so many ideas of variations I want to try! I made this dress by skipping the step where you punch the legs. Perfect for a little girl's birthday card or party invitations. The girls at my workshop last night were thinking up all kinds of fun dress ideas. Another great thing about these cards are that they're standard sized cards so they fit right into a standard/medium sized envelope! I cut the 2nd little red dress down a bit, so it is smaller....doesn't it remind you of Little Orphan Annie?? = )

Something really helpful to remember when doing a project like this is to use those half-way guides on your punches (little notches that you can see when you look at the punch upside down). I actually made some additional marks with a black sharpie inside my punches, to make it even easier...here's how it looks:

Okay...remember to check back soon for big news and BLOG CANDY = ) !!! Woooo-hooo !! I just love giving away prizes!! = )

Supplies for the first card~ Stamps: So Many Scallops, One of a Kind Paper: WW Gift card, WW cardstock, Celery, Pretty in Pink, Spring Fling DP Ink: Pretty in Pink & Celery Accessories: Pink Gingham ribbon, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle punches, Word Window Punch

Basic Supplies for all 6 Onesie/Dress cards~ 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punches, Fiskar Cutter/Scorer, Hobby Blade & Cutting Mat

Supplies for Blue Onsie~ Stamps: Short & Sweet, Cardstock: WW & Ballet Blue Ink: Ballet Blue Accessories: Word Window Punch, White Eyelets, Cropadile

Supplies for White Onsie~ Stamps: Short & Sweet, Sprinkles Cardstock: WW & Regal Rose Ink: Regal Rose Accessories: 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches & Dazzling Diamonds glitter with 2-way glue pen

Supplies for Lavender Onsie~ Stamps: So Many Scallops, One of a Kind, Sprinkles (background is hard to see in the photo) Cardstock: WW & Lavender Lace Ink: Lavender Lace Accessories: 1 1/4" , 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punch, Silver Eyelets, Cropadile, Dazzling Diamonds with 2-way glue pen

Supplies for Pink Onsie~ Stamps: For a Friend (hostess) Cardstock: Pixie Pink & WW Ink: Pixie Pink Accessories: Silver brads, 1/4" White gg ribbon

Supplies for White dress~ Stamps: Sprinkles, Short & Sweet Cardstock: WW & Real Red Ink: Real Red Accessories: 1/2 & 3/4" Circle punches, 1/4" real red gg ribbon, Silver HPH Ribbon Pull

Supplies for Red dress~ Stamps: One of a Kind Cardstock: Real Red, WW Ink: Real Red Accessories: Love & Happiness (SAB) Rub-ons, Boho Flower Punch, Paper piercing tool, gold brad, 1/4" white gg ribbon

Have a Great Evening = ) !!!

Criss Cross Basket Tutorial

Here's that Tutorial I promised to show you for my Criss Cross Easter Basket. The finished size is 2 x 2" square, just the right size for one egg or a few small goodies! But really, you can make it any size you'd like, just make sure you start out with a square that can be scored into 3 equal parts...and you're good to go! The nice thing about this size is that you can cut 4 out of a 12 x 12 piece of cardstock. Then you just need an extra piece of cardstock for the handles. I probably took way more photos than needed, but when I'm trying to follow instructions...it's so true....a picture is worth a thousand words = )

Supplies
~Fiskar Paper Cutter/Scorer

~ Stamps: Never ending Joy & So Many Scallops
~ Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White & Barely Banana
~Ribbon: ¼” Celery gg ribbon
~ Adhesive: Roll-on, 2-way glue pen, Dimensionals & glue dots
~ Punches: 1 ¼”, 1 3/8”, Scallop
~ Ink: Bashful Blue, Celery
~ Markers: Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Barely Banana, So Saffron
~ Dazzling Diamonds glitter

(I used a piece of Moss colored cardstock for the example photos...it was easier to see in the photo than the Bashful Blue)

1. Cut 6x6” square of Bashful Blue Cardstock & Cut handle 1/2" x 8"

2. Score at 2" & 4", turn cardstock and repeat. At this point your score lines should look like the photo below ~

3. Using the Fiskar paper cutter, cut each of the corners off (see photo)

4. Cut into the 2 score-lines on one side of the basket. Repeat on the opposite side (see photo) 5. Trim end flaps to about 3/4"(see photo). If you're going to stamp any images on the basket itself, you would do this now.

6. Fold all score lines. Flip basket over so you're looking at the "outside". Place two rows of adhesive on both of the 3/4" sides flaps (squiggly black lines in photo below).

















then Press the first half of the criss-cross piece onto the 3/4" flaps on both sides (see photos) ~

7. Place roll on adhesive on the inside of the other criss-cross flaps ( squiggly lines in photo below) and press the flaps into place.

8. I used roll on adhesive to attach some 1/4" gg ribbon to my handle before adhering the handles to the inside of the basket. You can use sticky strip or a couple of glue dots to adhere the handles to the basket.

9. I stamped my image onto whisper white cardstock and puched it out with a 1 1/4" circle punch. I punch a 1 3/8" circle out of barely banana cardstock. Then stamped a scallop image (with bashful blue)onto whisper white and punched it out with the Scallop Circle punch. I layered those up together and placed 2 dimensionals on the end of the basket. Then added the Scallop piece.

10. To give the image piece a little shimmer, I used my 2-way glue pen then dusted it with some Dazzling Diamonds glitter = ) !! I love that stuff!!!

11. Make a bow with 1/4" ribbon and attach with a glue dot.

That's it! For some of my baskets, I placed a scallop image piece on each end, for some I just did one end. I kept it pretty simple, so I'm sure you'll think of lots of variations. It's a fun and easy little basket & I hope you enjoy making one!! Let me know what you think = )

Have a great evening!

Easter Workshop Projects

Here are a variety of projects we worked on at my workshops, clubs & classes last month. Wow, these past few weeks have been crazy busy! So much fun and excitement during Sale-A-Bration!! Only a few more days till all those wonderful SAB bonuses are gone till next year! We used a fantastic little stamp set called, Never Ending Joy at the workshops, to make some fun, simple little Easter projects, while exploring a variety of techniques. This basket is just the right size to hold one egg, or a few small goodies...I'll be sharing that tutorial a little later this week. I think I may have already shown you this card...but I'll show you again, because it's what we made using the Two-Step Stampin' Technique (just click on the words to pop over the SU and see how two-step stampin' is done). We used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get those stems, flowers and the bow all lined up...that tool makes it easy! We finished off the image with some touches of dazzling diamonds and the new Poly-Twill Old Olive ribbon!!

This next card is a super simple 3 x 3 enclosure card. I kept it very simple so we could concentrate on the technique (hey, 2 hours in a workshop goes by soooo fast!). For the Pink card, we used markers. I chose 2 shades of each color: Pretty in Pink & Pixie Pink...Almost Amethyst & Lovely Lilac...Certainly Celery & Old Olive. Using the lighter marker first, you just cover the entire portion of the image then color in accents/shading with the darker shade. Then, you "huff" some breath onto the stamp to re-moisten, and stamp the image. You can see a brief tutorial on this technique at Stampin Up's website, along with other technique & project ideas...check it out HERE! I love my markers and this is yet another great way to use them!! You can see the color and shading variations in these photos ~

And for this last Lavender Lace card...we used the Poppin' Pastels technique for the tulips. First, we stamped the stem in Certainly Celery, the bow in Barely Banana, then Stamped the tulips in Versamark. Using a Sponge Dauber, we added some Lavender Lace Pastels (aka chalk) to the tulips. It gave them a really nice soft look (little hard to see in the photo). We did a brief introduction to the Poppin Pastels technique...but if you're interested in learning more, Beate has done a great tutorial over at SCS and you can see that HERE!

So...that's part of what I've been up to for the past few weeks. It's fun to explore new techniques, and this stamp set works perfectly for doing just that! I still have a few more orders to get ready for delivery, and some workshop prep to finish up for this month's events and then....on to some challenge & sketch cards = ) !! Yay! Don't get me wrong, even with being super busy, I wouldn't trade a minute. It's been a blast helping my friends and customers earn free merchandise during SAB!

Supplies for the basket: coming up later this week along with the tutorial

Supplies for the card:

Stamps: Never Ending Joy

Paper: Lavender Lace, Old Olive, Whisper White, Bali Breeze DP

Ink: Lavender Lace, Old Olive & Apricot Appeal

Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds with 2-way glue pen, Pewter brads, Paper piercing tool, Ticket corner punch, Poly-twill 1/4" Olive ribbon

I've got some exciting news to share with you later this week ... = ) !!

Happy Tuesday!

Quick & Easy Mini Easter Baskets

I have 2 baskets to share with you this week. This is the quick & easy one.... and they REALLY are super quick ... I made about 25 of them, as favors, for guests at my workshops last weekend. It was great way to use up small scraps of Designer Paper! Finished size is slightly larger than 1 x 1 and just the right size to hold a Hershey's Nugget. And you know, there's just something so cute about anything thats miniature...including these!! The ones pictured were made with eyelets, but we made some at my hostess clubs this month with colored brads and those were really cute too. You can dress them with flowers and ribbon, or leave them simple, like these. I'm not sure where the pattern originated, but I think I was introduced to the basic design back in gradeschool. The beauty of it is the simplicity. It's just a square divided into 9 equal parts by scoring. You can use cardstock or DP...and you can make it any size you'd like. Just make sure your starting square can be divided into 3 equal parts. Here's how I made these mini baskets:

1) Cut a 3" x 3" square of DP for the basket

2) Cut 1/2" x 5 1/2" of DP for the handle

3) Cut 1" x 3" of DP to wrap the Hershey's Nugget

4) Score (VERY lightly with DP) the 3 x 3" Square at 1" & 2", turn your cardstock and score again at 1" & 2". Your score lines should have divided your square into 9 little squares.

5) Cut in at the 2 score lines on one side of the basket, then cut into the 2 score lines on the opposite side. (see photo)

6) Fold all score lines. You should be able to fold it into a box.

7) Pull the sides together until they look like the photo below (you may need to use just a tiny bit of adhesive to hold it in place).

8) Punch a 1/8" hole on the side of the basket, making sure you punch through all 3 layers of the DP. That would be right about where you can see the dark blue flower in the photo. I used a hand-held fiskar hole punch. I LOVE my cropadile, but it's a pretty small space, so a smaller tool seems to work a little better.

9) Punch a 1/8" hole on each end of the handle.

10) Line the hole on one side of the basket up with the hole in the handle and place an eyelet or a brad to hold them together. Repeat on the other side.

11) Wrap your Nugget with DP using a good adhesive on both ends. I topped my Nuggets off with a flower stamped with flowers from the One of A Kind stamp set and punched them out with the coordinating Boho Blossoms Punch. I attached my flower with a mini glue dot.

Supplies for the Mini DP Easter Basket~
Fiskar Cutter/Scorer
Scraps of DP (Flowers for You & Berry Bliss)
Metallic Eyelets or brads
Cropadile
Hand-held 1/8" Fiskar hole punch
monohesive
One of A Kind stamp set
Boho Blossoms Punch
Pretty in Pink, Lavender Lace & Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink

Be sure to check back later in the week for the other basket tutorial.. Good Night!!

Divine Faithfulness BVC# 3

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Psalm 57:9-10

Sorry, I'm a little late in posting this morning. You don't want to hear all the details, but lets just say, life is full of challenges! Hey, it's March 8th...Divine Design day = ) !! I love these projects! This is my card and scripture for the month. God is faithful and loving. Sometimes that's hard to wrap our minds around when life brings uncertainly and challenge. I've been reading in Psalms this month for my devotions and I've been reminded of God's unfailing love & faithfulness! To see more about the Divine Design Monthly Challenge & how it all got started...click HERE to see the January posting! Here are the links to the other Scripture Chicks and their awesome March projects~

Lori Craig ~ Make A Difference

Angel Wilde ~ Angelosity

Jami Sibley ~ More is More

Taylor Van Bruggen ~ Taylored Expressions

My daughter, Megan, chose a wonderful scripture from Romans. She's selecting a scripture each month & I'm making a bookmark for her. I can't seem to get a decent photo of this one. I've tried on a variety of days in various lighting...but this is the best I can get (sorry!). It really is pretty irl, but you'll have to take my word for it = ) ~

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials. For we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation, and this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. Romans 5:3-5

Megan know about problems and trials, as well as endurance. She's a distance runner, at college on scholarship to run...but since arriving at college 18 months ago, she's been faced with a variety of personal & athletic challenges, including one illness and injury after another that has prevented her from competing or training to her full potential. All of this has been entirely beyond her control, so as you can imagine, it's been pretty frustrating for her. As you can see by the scripture she chose, her heart is steadfast for the Lord. Even amidst the disappointments, she still loves God with all her heart and chooses to trust Him, one day at a time.

Our scriptures today remind of a song...Praise You In The Storm ~ Click HERE to see the video and hear that great song by Casting Crowns!

I'm off to check out the other Scripture Chick's Projects! You can jump in at anytime and play along...and I hope you will!! Click HERE for more details from my first post. Lori Craig is heading up the project over at SCS and you can Click HERE for all those details! If you upload to SCS, be sure and use the keywords ~ BVC08. The whole goal is to create a project that will help you to memorize Scripture...whether it be a card, an index card, a journal...whatever works for you!

Supplies for my card ~

Stamps: Sprinkles, Computer generated verse

Paper: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea DP

Ink: Soft Sky & Brown ink from the computer

Accessories: HPH Silver ribbon pull, 1/4" polytwill choc chip ribbon, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punch, Photo corner punch, Silver brads, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Paper piercing tool

Supplies for Meg's Bookmark~

Stamps: Merci, Computer generated verse

Ink: Basic gray, computer gray ink

Paper: Regal Rose, Wasabi, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Crew Kids Girls DP

Accessories: Crew Kids Girls SSK, self adhesive pink rhinestones, 5/8" Regal Rose gg ribbon, Love & Happiness Rub-ons, Ticket Corner Punch, SU Markers (Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Olive & Celery), Dazzling Diamonds

Have an AWESOME Day = ) !!!

Crew Kids Cards

Today is Wednesday...Sketch Challenge day at SCS! This first card was a quick one I did for SC166. I pulled out my new Crew Kids Girls Simply Scrappin Kit for both the cards. Great color combo in that kit~ Wasabi, Regal Rose, Basic Gray & Whisper White. The new Phrases for a Friend sentiment was just the right size for the sketch. That stamp set is big, bold & fun, fun, fun!! I used Sprinkles to add some accents around the sentiment and on the side panel. That little set is staying right on my workbench. It's perfect for backgrounds or little accents. I really like the new Silver Hodgepodge collection, and so far, the embossed brads are my favorites. I wanted a little bling on the first card, so I placed a self-adhesive rhinestone in the center of my brad....perfect fit = ) !

Nancy Littrell stopped by & showed me some of her cards yesterday, and after she left, I was so inspired that I cased one of her cards = ) ! You can see her card I cased HERE (isn't it pretty!). Since I didn't have a lot of time to stamp, it was fun to use her great card design and just fill in a few details of my own! Which reminds me, I wanted to show you my ribbon up close...

Do you recognize that ribbon? It's SU 1/4" white gg ribbon....with a little Regal Rose on the edges. I just drew it on with my SU Regal Rose Marker!! I've done that with organdy ribbon before, but had no idea it would work so well with grosgrain. The edge of the ribbon is slightly raised, so you just set the ribbon down flat, and run the edge of the marker (fat tip) along that ridge. Doesn't it look pretty? I was having trouble finding the right ribbon for the card, so I decided to make my own = ) !! I love it when experiments in stampin actually work!

Supplies for the first card ~ Stamps: Phrases for a Friend, Sprinkles Paper: Whisper White, Regal Rose, Wasabi, Crew Kids Girls DP Ink: Wasabi & Regal Rose Accessories: Double stitched Wasabi ribbon, HPH Silver brad, non-su self adhesive pink rhinestone (I just realized I used no punches on this card...now that is rare...no worries, I more than made up for it with the 2nd card...lol!)

Supplies for the second card ~ Stamps: Lots of Thoughts, Sprinkles Paper: Wasabi (textured), Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Crew Kids Girls DP Ink: Basic Gray, Regal Rose Accessories: Photo corner punhc, Tag corner punch, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" & Scallop circle punch, Regal Rose Marker, 1/4" white gg ribbon, HPH Silver ribbon pull, Paper piercing tool

Have a great evening = ) !

A Bouquet of Thank Yous

It seems like, no matter how many I make, I never have enough Thank You notes on hand! I decided to whip up several quick, easy cards from the scrap that were on my work bench last week. I'd been working on Easter projects, so I had all this springy cardstock & DP out and they looked so pretty together. I just threw in a little Chocolate Chip for my base & did a little mixing and matching to create a beautiful bouquet of thank you notes = ) !I had 8 of these made in an hour...start to finish, and that included the time it took to decide on the design. When I'm trying for quick & easy, I almost always use the 4 1/4" sqauare card...I really like working with that size. I wanted to add ribbon and a variety of other embelishments, but I kept reminding myself to keep it quick and simple and flat enough to mail without extra postage. So I went with some Silver Eyelets, which were fun, because they let you peek through and see a little bit of color from the layer below. My favorite little hostess set, For A Friend, is perfect for a quick, easy image. I used my SU Markers to add a splash of color. And, of course, the Rhinestone Brads added a little bling! Because I kept with the same layout for all the cards, they went really fast. Once you have your measurements, it's easy to repeat. Setting eyelets with the Cropadile is so fast...it's just crazy! Do you remember what it was like to set eyelets the old fashion way, with a hammer....my head hurts just thinking about all that pounding. That Cropadile is the best tool in the world!!

Supplies I used for all three cards~ Stamp: For a Friend Cardstock: Chocolate Chip & Whisper White Ink: Black Stazon Accessories: Silver Eyelets, Rhinestone Brads & Paper piercing tool, Sakura Clear stardust pen

Supplies for the Lavender Lace card~ Stamp: Sprinkles (background) Paper: Spring Fling DP, Lavender Lace Markers: Almost Amethyst, Lavender Lace, Celery & Old Olive

Supplies for the Bashful Blue Card~ Paper: Summer Picnic DP Markers: Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Celery & Old Olive

Supplies for the Celery Card ~ Paper: Textured Celery CS Markers: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Celery & Old Olive

Oh my goodness...just looked at the clock. It's bedtime! Goodnight : )

Featuring My Friend

Have you seen these new Carousel notes??? They are so cool! It is my pleasure to share two beautiful Carousel Notes that were made by my friend ... super nice, super sweet & super talented .... Nancy Littrell!! You know when something is just so great, you can't wait to share it? Well, that's how I feel about Nancy and her amazing cards. So, I'm very excited to share them with you today! She stopped by last week to show me some goodies from the Occasions Mini Catalog. It's always fun & inspiring to see what she's working on... and when she pulled this sky carousel note out of the box...wow! I knew they would be going on my next order. They're bigger than I realized, great 6 x 6" size, and they come with these gorgeous chocolate chip envelopes.

Another great thing about the Carousel Notes is that they come in 3 colors that coordinate perfectly with the new Afternoon Tea DP ~Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi & Soft Sky! Nancy is one of those people who radiates kindness, beauty and a refreshingly positive outlook in everything she does. I think that really show up in her projects. She doesn't blog (yet)...but she does have an amazing GALLERY over at SCS, so you can check out her gallery, including details on how she made both of these wonderful Carousel notes... right HERE! Thanks Nance, for letting me feature your beautiful cards today and for being such a great friend...you're the best!

And...speaking of talented stampers ~ I was blog tagged, by Marie Cottrell from Stamp Lounge!! Looks like she just got back from the Regional Convention and she has some really great samples to show you over at her blog! Plus, she's made some cards with the new stamp set, She's all That....omg...they're sooo sweet! Check 'em out HERE! Aren't they fantastic? After seeing her cards, that set just moved way up to the top of my wish list!! Thanks Marie for the tag AND for the inspiration! I'll answer those tag questions and tag a couple of other stampers in an upcoming post = ) !

Besides for celebrating my daughter's 23rd birthday this weekend, I had the pleasure of spending time with my friends, meet some new friends and re-connecting with an old friend...at my workshops! Thanks Tonya & Sandi for hosting great events! You guys are AWESOME!!

Coming up later this week....I'll be showing you the little Easter basket we made at my workshops over the weekend and the tutorial too = )... You're gonna love it!

Thanks for stopping by & Have a great evening!!