You Warm My Heart

The theme for the current Lawn Fawnatics challenge is anything but a card.  It's been a while since I papercrafted something other than a card!  I turned to something tried and true, creating a mini box that's the perfect size to house one of those single serve K-cups.

The base for the box was made from minty green cardstock. After cutting, scoring, folding, and assembling the little box, I covered the sides and the top with square panels of a pretty pastel patterned paper.  To dress up the box, I stamped four bunnies from Lawn Fawn's Snow day stamp set on kraft cardstock.  I colored in their ears with a pink Copic marker before cutting out the images with the matching dies.  It's hard to see in the photos, but I added a bit of white flock to each bunny's tail.  The bunnies were adhered to the sides of the box using foam tape for dimension. I cut out pink hearts using the set's heart die and tucked one of the hearts underneath each bunny.  A bit of pink grosgrain ribbon wrapped around the box and secured with a simple knot ground the bunnies and add a bit of texture to the design. For the top, I stamped the set's "you warm my heart" sentiment on a pink die cut circle.  I matted the circle on minty green cardstock and placed it on the top of the box to finish the little treat.  In case you want to give it a try, here's a printable version of the template I used to make the box. Happy gifting!

Materials Used:
Snow Day stamp set, Snow Day dies (Lawn Fawn); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts); markers (Copic); Mint Julep and Lovely Lady cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Southern Chicken Dumpling Soup-Celery Stalks designer paper (Jillibean Soup); circle dies (Spellbinders); pink grosgrain ribbon (Stampin' Up!); white flock (Stampendous); foam tape

You Are Jawsome

The theme for the current Lawnfawnatics challenge is Perfect for Parties.  I put together a simple ocean themed party favor box perfect for a summertime event.

I don't have any of the Lawn Fawn boxes or favor dies since I have a nice collection of dies like that from my time on the Clear and Simple Stamps design team.  I used one of them, Party Favor 3, here.  The box was cut from light blue cardstock, then assembled with some clear tape strips.  For my ocean theme, I used different sized circle punches to make wave-like snips into strips of darker blue cardstock.  One strip was adhered directly to the box front.  The other was adhered on top using foam tape for dimension.  A strip of torn vellum was tucked behind the top wavy strip for the appearance of "foam" at the top of the wave.  I added the shark from the Duh-nuh set on top of the layered waves using more foam tape.  The set's "you are jawsome" sentiment was stamped directly on the top of the box in teal ink.  I added a satin ribbon handle and stuffed the box with some fun striped tissue to finish the box.  I think this would be perfect to fill with some colorful gummy fish as a party favor!

Materials Used:
Duh-nuh stamp set, Duh-nuh dies (Lawn Fawn); Memento Tuxedo Black and Teal Zeal inks (Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts); markers (Copic); Party Teal Dawn and My Style Blueprint cardstock, Party Favor 3 die (Clear and Simple Stamps); circle punches (EK Success); blue satin ribbon (Target); white vellum; foam tape

Handmade Holiday

With the holidays approaching, I needed to put together a few small gifts to share.  I turned to one of my favorite stand-by's--stamped candles, dressed up and packaged pretty.

I started out by adding the stamped image to the candle.  This was done by stamping the snowflake image from the Clear and Simple Stamps Flurry Days set in silver ink on a white tissue paper circle and punching a hole in the center to thread the wick through, then placing the image on the candle.  Once the tissue was in place, I heated it with my heat tool, melting the wax so the tissue adhered to the candle.  It doesn't take long, but the tealight's metal rim gets pretty hot, so be careful!  I used large tealights--I think they came from Ikea--but I've also done the same thing with the smaller size.  After the candle cooled, I wrapped the outside with some festive striped washi tape.

To package the candle, I used a square of red cardstock to make a box.  With a few scores and snips, the square was easily turned into a box.  The cover is simply an acetate sleeve that I wrapped around the box, scoring it at the sides and securing it with adhesive on the bottom.  It slides on and off easily.  To decorate it, I wrapped a bit of silver baker's twine around the box and tied on a small die cut tag.  I stamped the tag with the "a gift for you" sentiment from the Duly Noted stamp set.  I tucked the candle inside and the gift is ready to go!

Materials Used:
Flurry Days and Duly Noted stamp sets, Dare to Be a Diva Red ink, Dare to Be a Diva Red cardstock, Tags 1 die, Simple Adhesive (Clear and Simple Stamps); Delicata Silvery Shimmer ink (Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts); circle punch (EK Success); twine (Maya Road); white tissue paper; red and white striped washi tape; acetate

August Sweet2Repeat Blog Hop

Hi Friends! It’s time again for our monthly, Sweet 2 Repeat Blog Hop ! Now that so many of you have our Summer Product Release stamp sets in your hot little hands, our Pod Squad of designers have geared up to inspire you with even MORE creative possibilities featuring the newest SugarPea Designs sets!

I used the new SugarCuts-Notebook Journal Card die and the chipboard sheets sold in the SPD store to make a desktop notepad. The base for the notepad is simply an inexpensive clear acrylic 4x6 picture frame. Instead of a photo, I slipped some notebook patterned paper, layered on a pair of contrasting mats, inside of the frame.

I decorated the top of the frame with elements I die cut from chipboard. The letters in the word “notes” were inked with red pigment ink before I arranged them on the frame. If I’d been thinking ahead, I would have backed the chipboard with a wide piece of ScorTape before cutting the letters so that all I’d have to do to adhere them was peel off the backing and stick. Maybe next time . . . The pencil was also cut from chipboard to make it sturdy and give it dimension. I also die cut the pieces for the pencil from different cardstock scraps, then mixed and matched them to assemble the pencil. The pencil’s tip was rubbed in gray pigment ink to get the look of a sharpened pencil.

Once I had the chipboard pieces in place, I added a pad of yellow sticky notes to the frame. This makes such a great back to school gift for a special teacher! I can tell you from my own experience that teachers can never have too many sticky notes!

Would you like to WIN a $20 gift certificate to spend on some SugarPea Designs of your own? Please visit with each of our design team members listed below and leave a comment for your chance to win!

InLinkz.com

Materials Used
SugarCuts-Notebook Journal Card die, chipboard stack (SugarPea Designs); Memento Luxe Love Letter and Gray Flannel inks (IMAGINE Crafts/Tsukineko); Real Red, So Saffron, and Pink Pirouette cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Fine Linen cardstock (Papertrey Ink); silver paper (Target); Simple Lined-Turquoise designer paper (Luxe Designs); acrylic frame

Unwrap the Magic

This week's blogger challenge theme is holiday packaging.  This simple, festive package is yet another reject from a Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking magazine call.  It uses stamps and dies from Clear and Simple Stamps and a seasonal red, white, and silver color scheme.

I die cut the flap top pillow box from red cardstock, then assembled the box using CSS's Simple Adhesive.  To dress it up, I wrapped the box with some red and white baker's twine.  A trio of stacked elements were threaded on to the twine/  I started off with a  snowflake cut from sparkly silver glitter cardstock.  I added on a tag, stamped with a holiday sentiment from the All Wrapped Up set, then topped it with a red button.  The twine was tied on top in a simple bow.

Materials Used:
All Wrapped Up stamp set, Dare to Be a Diva Red ink, Dare to Be a Diva Red and A Blanc Check cardstock, Party Favor 15, Tags 1, and Flurries dies, red baker's twine, Dare to Be a Diva Red button, Simple Adhesive (Clear and Simple Stamps); glitter cardstock (Michaels)

Winter Woodland Holiday Ornament

This week's blogger challenge theme is ornaments.  I made the ornament I'm sharing today for a Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking magazine call, but it didn't make the cut.  I liked it enough to share it here today.

I used a birch bark circle I found at the craft store as the base for my ornament.  I stamped a deer from the Clear and Simple Stamps Oh Deer set on the tag in brown pigment ink, then added a sentiment from the Winter Woodlands set along the top, curving it to match the shape of the tag.  After the ink set, I added some texture courtesy of a little snow made from light modeling paste.  The modeling paste was sprinkled with glitter for an ice-like sparkle.  I used a heavy duty staple gun to attach a red ribbon loop to the back of the ornament so it can be hung for display.

Materials Used:
Oh Deer and Party Elements: Winter Woodlands stamp sets (Clear and Simple Stamps); Memento Luxe Rich Cocoa ink (Tsukineko); red grosgrain ribbon, birch tag (Michaels); light modeling paste (Liquitex); Dazzling Diamonds glitter (Stampin' Up!); staple gun

Oh Snap

This week's blogger challenge theme is "alter it."  I altered a simple photo album by dressing up the cover with a fun die cut cameral and speech bubble.

The album had a black cover, so I started by covering most of it with a red cardstock panel with a strip of sparkly silver glitter tape stretched across it.  I topped the sparkly tape with a camera made with the Cute Cameras 2 die set from My Favorite Things.  To go with the camera, I die cut a speech bubble and stamped the "oh snap" sentiment from the Paper Smooches We Totally Click set on the bubble.  A few black enamel dots completed the design.

Materials Used:
Paper Smooches We Totally Click stamp set; My Favorite Things Steel Grey and Electric Red cardstock, Die-namics Cute Cameras 2 dies; Clear and Simple Stamps Sterling Silver cardstock; Papertrey Ink Bubble Talk dies, Memento Luxe Love Letter pigment ink; American Crafts silver glitter tape; foam tape

TCP Tuesday 273-Just for You

This week's TCP challenge is an inspiration challenge brought to us by Christine.  Aren't those sunflowers beautiful?  As soon as I saw them, TCP's Sunflower Rosette CutUps die came to mind.

Since it's kind of bulky when it's put together, instead of using the die to make an embellishment for a card, I used it to turn a large paper clip into a pretty bookmark.  After die cutting the pieces and assembling the flower, I sandwiched the clip between the flower and a cardstock circle, using thick glue dots to adhere the pieces.  To make leaves for the flower, I tied a piece of green stitched grosgrain ribbon into a bow around the side of the clip.

I made a simple holder for the bookmark so that it can be given as a gift.  I topped a kraft cardstock rectangle with a slightly smaller patterned paper panel with an oval slit at the top. The patterned paper panel was glued just along the edges so that the clip can be tucked in to the slit.  I stamped the "just for you" sentiment from the Bearing Flowers set near the bottom of the patterned paper panel in dark brown ink.

I hope you'll join us for this week's challenge. Link up your finished project on the TCP blog for a chance to win this week's Cat Cash prize--and to be in the running to be our next Swanky Stamper. The Swanky Stamper is selected from among all of the month's challenge entries and gets a selection of stamps from an upcoming release and joins the Cat Pack for our Pajama Party and Blog Hop. You can find all the details on the TCP blog.

Materials Used:
Bearing Flowers stamp set, CutUps Sunflower Rosette die (The Cat's Pajamas); Memento Espresso Truffle ink (Tsukineko); Harvest Gold cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Chocolate Chip cardstock, word window punch (Stampin' Up!); Desert Storm cardstock (Neenah); Let's Polka designer paper (Lawn Fawn); green stitched grosgrain ribbon; large metal paper clip; foam tape

Teacher Appreciation Time

This week's blogger challenge theme is "alter it."  Since teacher appreciation week is coming up soon, I thought this would be a good time to put together a quick and useful teacher thank you project using an inexpensive clear photo frame and a pad of sticky notes. As I put together my project, I took photos for a basic step by step tutorial so you can whip one up for your favorite teacher.

Here's what you need to put this gift together:

• 4" x 6" clear picture frame

• 3" x 3" sticky note pad 

• stamps and ink (or patterned paper if you'd prefer!)

• cardstock to stamp on and to layer your stamped panel on

• double sided adhesive

• letter stickers

I started off by cutting a white cardstock panel just a little smaller than the size of the frame.  I stamped an apple image from the Reverse Confetti Class Act stamp set repeatedly on a white cardstock panel using pigment inks from Imagine Crafts.  You don't have to stamp a panel--a piece of patterned paper would work just fine here, too.

After I finished stamping, I matted the panel on a piece of kraft cardstock cut to fit inside the frame.  Of course, you can use any color that coordinates with your stamped or patterned paper panel.

I slipped the panel inside of the frame.  Make sure you set the frame so it slants down, not so that it sits up like you'd use it to display a photo.

I attached some strong double-sided adhesive strips to the back of the pad of sticky notes.

I peeled off the tape's backing, then attached it to the frame.

You can stop there, but to add a personal touch, I used foam letter stickers to add the teacher's name (mine!).  I'll be putting this on my desk when I go back to the classroom next year!

Materials Used:
Class Act stamp set (Reverse Confetti); Memento Luxe Love Letter, Toffee Crunch, and Pear Tart inks (Tsukineko); white cardstock (Michaels); Desert Storm cardstock (Neenah); black foam letter stickers (American Crafts)

Snowflake Necklace Gift Set

This week’s blogger challenge theme is gifts. I created a pretty winter themed necklace with a coordinating gift box using stamps and dies from Clear and Simple Stamps.

The charm on the necklace is made from a piece of cork. I painted it with several coats of shiny silver acrylic paint. After the paint dried, I stamped one of the snowflakes from the Flurry Days set on the cork using teal ink. The back of the cork circle is covered with a circle of white felt for a finished look. I attached a tiny screw eye to the side of the cork pieced and used that to hang the finished piece from a simple silver chain.

I made a matching box for the necklace using CSS’s Party Favor 15 die. I cut the pillow box from teal cardstock and stamped the “a gift for you” sentiment from the Duly Noted set under the box’s flap. After putting the necklace inside, I added a silver snowflake, die cut with one of the Flurries Combo dies and dressed up with a clear crystal at its center, to the front of the flap to match the necklace.

Materials Used:
Flurry Days and Duly Noted stamp sets, Party Teal Dawn ink, Party Teal Dawn and Sterling Silver cardstock, Flurries Combo and Party Favor 15 dies, Simple Adhesive (Clear and Simple Stamps); Metallic Silver acrylic paint (AC Moore); clear crystal (Michaels); cork; jewelry findings; screw eye; foam tape

Season's Greetings Ornament Gift Set

This week’s blogger challenge theme is ornaments. I created a simple woodland themed ornament along with a coordinating box for gift giving using stamps and dies from Clear and Simple Stamps.

I picked up a bag of birch tags at the craft store recently, thinking that I’d come up with something to do with them and realized that they were just perfect for making an ornament. Chloe the cutie puppy also discovered they make fabulous chew toys—she stole my test run ornament off of the table pretty much every time I had my back turned . . . Anyway, I discovered that CSS’s inks stamp beautifully on the tags. Here, I stamped one of the deer images from the Party Elements: Winter Woodlands set on the tag in Brown Leather Satchel ink, then added the “season’s greetings” sentiment along the tag’s edge in Dare to Be a Diva Red ink. The snowflakes are made with some Ice Stickles. I sprinkled a little bit of dry glitter over the Stickles for even more sparkle (and mess on my table, too).

The ornament hanger is made from a piece of CSS’s burlap ribbon. After some consideration about the best way to adhere the ribbon to the back of the tag, I used a staple gun to attach the ribbon. It holds it nice and secure and the staple points don’t show through the front of the tag. Covering the back with some felt or cardstock would have given this a more finished look, but I didn’t think about that until I was taking the photo . . .

I made a box to hold the ornament using CSS’s Party Favor 8 die. The box was die cut from red textured cardstock. Before assembling it, I used the largest die from the Shapes: Circles set to cut an opening in the box. When assembled, the ornament is visible from the opening when the top flap of the box is lifted. I added a pair of layered circles mirroring the colors of the ornament on the front of the box, then used foam tape to attach a die cut banner, stamped with the “season’s greetings” sentiment, on top.

Materials Used:
Party Elements: Winter Woodlands, New Year Cheer, Background Basics 1 stamp sets, Dare to Be a Diva Red and Brown Leather Satchel inks, Kraft Like a Rockstar cardstock, Party Favor 8, Shapes: Circles, and Petite Banner dies, burlap ribbon, Simple Adhesive (Clear and Simple Stamps); red textured cardstock, birch tag (Michaels); Crystal Ice Ice Stickles and Diamond dry Stickles (Ranger); staple gun; foam tape

Trick or Treat Mummy Box

This week’s blogger challenge theme is Halloween. I created a fun treat box for the challenge using the Party Favor 3 box from Clear and Simple Stamps as the starting point.  The clean and simple design also works for the new CAS-ual Fridays challenge to create a treat bag and tag.

 

I die cut the box from white cardstock and assembled it with CSS’s Simple Adhesive. To turn it into a mummy, I used my paper trimmer to cut a piece of white cardstock into narrow strips. I inked the edges of each strip with distress ink using an ink blending tool, then arranged the inked strips on the box, leaving the layered cardstock circle eyes visible. Once the strips were in place, I trimmed them so they were flush with the edges of the box, then used the ink blending tool to add a little distress ink to the newly trimmed edges. The distress ink gives the mummy an "aged" look and helps to define the white on white strips.  For a whimsical touch, I die cut a bow from orange cardstock using one of the Bow Trio: Mini dies and added that at the top of the box. One last long cardstock strip was used to make the box’s handle.

 

To go with the box, I made a simple tag using one of the dies from the Mini Label Tags die set. I die cut the tag from orange cardstock, then stamped the matching outline image from the Party Elements: Baby set on the tag in black ink. The “trick or treat” sentiment from the Party Elements: 31 set fits perfectly inside the frame! I used some Halloween colored twine to secure the finished tag to the box’s handle. I tucked some white tissue inside the box and it was good to go!

Materials Used:
Party Elements: Baby and Party Elements: 31 stamp sets, Perfect Little Black Dress ink, Orange You Fabulous, Perfect Little Black Dress, and A Blanc Check cardstock, Party Favor 3, Bow Trio: Mini, and Mini Label Tags dies, Simple Adhesive (Clear and Simple Stamps); Tea Dye distress ink (Ranger); circle punches (EK Success); Halloween baker’s twine (Divine Twine)

Halloween Treats

I don’t have many Waltzingmouse Stamps Halloween themed stamps, but I managed to put together a seasonal treat bag for the current Waltzingmouse Fanatics Halloween themed challenge.

I used a chevron patterned paper bag as my starting point. I folded over the top of the bag, tucking half of a paper doily underneath the folded top of the bag to dress it up. I topped the folded part and the doily with an orange oval stamped with one of the frames from the Cameo Maker set and the silhouette witch image from the Hocus Pocus set. To set it off from the bag a bit, I adhered a black fishtail flag strip extending out from the bottom of the oval. A piece of black satin ribbon from my scrap pile was tied in a simple knot and attached where the oval and fishtail flag strip meet to add a little texture and dimension.

I combined a pair of sentiments from the Say It Loud: Winter Holidays set to stamp the “Halloween treats” sentiment near the bottom of the bag in black ink. A trio of silver sequins scattered around the bag give it a festive sparkle.

Materials Used:
Hocus Pocus, Cameo Maker, and Say It Loud: Winter Holidays stamp sets (Waltzingmouse Stamps); Versafine Onxy Black ink (Tsukineko); Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); oval die (Spellbinders); Die-namics Fishtail Flag Stax Layers dies (My Favorite Things); silver sequins (Michaels); chevron patterned bag (Whisker Graphics); paper doily

Sailor Boy

I missed last month's Waltzingmouse Stamps Pajama Party, so I made sure to put this month's on my calendar early so I wouldn't forget about it!  I made a sweet baby onesie and a coordinating gift bag and tag for the “Get Nauty” challenge--and for this week's baby themed blogger challenge--using images from the new Ocean Bound stamp set. The pair makes a perfect baby gift!

The onesie is super easy to do. All you have to do is pick your images and stamp away. I used the anchor, a frame, and a sentiment here, all stamped in bold primary colors.

There are two things to remember for a project like this. First, be sure that your ink will work on fabrics with minimal bleeding and will not disappear in the wash. I used hybrid inks here since I know that they’re designed to work on many surfaces, including fabrics. And, be sure to place a piece of chipboard between the front and back of the onesie before stamping. This will keep the ink from bleeding through from the front to the back—definitely not a stylish look!

Here’s a look at the coordinating gift bag. I covered the bottom of the bag with a blue cardstock panel, then added a white strip stamped with one of the anchor images in red ink.  The anchor panel is edged with red cardstock strips to set it off.

I made a simple tag for the bag using a white die cut tag and the same anchor and rope border I used on the onesie.  The image panel is adhered to the tag with foam tape for a little dimension.  I made my own sentiment by combining two of the sentiments from the set to get "ahoy matey."  With the onesie tucked inside, the gift is packaged and ready to go!

Materials Used:
Ocean Bound stamp set (Waltzingmouse Stamps); Golden Tiara, Dare to Be a Diva Red, and Simply Blue-tiful inks (Clear and Simple Stamps); Memento Lady Bug, Cantaloupe, and Bahama Blue inks (Tsukineko); Real Red, Marina Mist, and Whisper White cardstock (Stampin' Up!); red grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); foam tape

Little Critter Pal Fabric Fun

I just love the Little Critter Pals (and coordinating Critter Pals) from Clear and Simple Stamps.  One of my favorite things about them, aside from the variety of cute animals, is that the sets include several different sizes of each animal.  The different sized animals give you lots of options for creating all kinds of coordinating projects.  Today, I’m going to show you how I created a sweet baby gift ensemble using some of the stamps and dies from the Little Critter Pals series released in Collection 7 along with fabric and CSS’s ink.  You can see the finished onesie and blanket in the photo above.

I picked up some cozy flannel remnants at my local fabric store to use for the project.  I started off by ironing some fusible adhesive (I used Heat 'n Bond brand) onto my fabric, following the direction on the packaging. Once that was done, I arranged the dies I wanted to use on the fabric pieces , then ran the dies and fabric through my die cutting machine. I used two of the different shaped dies for my project.  Once backed with the fusible adhesive, the fabric cuts nicely with CSS’s dies. You can still see the perforated details that help give the critters character!

Let’s look at the blanket first. I arranged all of the die cut pieces that make up Ellie on the blanket, then used my iron to adhere her to the blanket, again following the directions on the package. Super quick and easy! If you’re a good seamstress, you can add machine stitching around the edges for a really finished look—I’m not, so I didn’t even bother trying!

Here’s a closer look at the onesie. Putting this one together was a lot like paper piecing a stamped image, except with fabric. I started by stamping the Ellie image from the Little Critter Pals 3 set on each of the die cut fabric pieces I’d be using to assemble her. CSS’s inks stamp beautifully on fabric without bleeding and can be machine washed, too.

Then I used my fabric scissors to cut apart the pieces, keeping the purple dotted die cut piece intact as the base and filling in the different body parts with bits and pieces from the pink and white die cut pieces. See, just like paper piecing!

Once I was done, I ironed the finished Ellie on to the onesie.

I finished it off by stamping the “lil’ peanut” sentiment beneath Ellie in CSS’s VIP Purple ink. Be sure to place a piece of cardboard between the front and back of the onesie when you do this to ensure that the ink doesn’t bleed through.

These make such a great gift and are easy to customize just by changing up the fabric choices and colors--and even the animal used. How cute would the lion or frog be on one of these??

I'm linking this post up to this week's Happy Hour Friday linky party at Happy Hour Projects.

Materials Used:
Little Critter Pals 3 stamp set, Perfect Little Black Dress and VIP Purple inks, Build-a-Critter Pal: Basics, Build-a-Critter Pal Elephant/Bunny, Little Critter Pals dies (Clear and Simple Stamps); Heat 'n Bond; assorted flannel fabric remnants