Fun Little Altered Notebooks!

I got these small compositon books at Walgreen's. They have them on sale when school is about to start and several times throuhout the year. I try to buy them when they are on sale. And it's one of those things where you need to get there right away because they sell SO quickly. Do you think it's all of us demonstrators buying them up??? LOL

These little notebooks measure 3-1/8" x 4". They are PEFECT for your purse, car or anywhere you need a small notebook. I like to keep one in my purse, I am forever seeing things and writing notes so I remember it. And if I can ready my writing a day or two later I'm doing REALLY good!!! Lately I've been writing slower so I (and anyone else) can read it. LOL

I started this notebook out a bit differently than I finished it. I had the stamped images moved up higher on the decorative paper and I originally was going to have bows and buttons up below it. I thought it would be cute but then again I thought about where I was going to be keeping my notebooks. My purse is not a good place to keep anything with any embellishments on it at all. They usually get hung up on something and they rip or fall off leaving the cute little notebook not so cute anymore.

SO here it is a very plain fairly smooth front! I did use the new Autumn Vine Designer Series paper. This decorative paper pack has such adorable pages in it. It goes perfectly with the new "Season's of Friendship" stamp set.

The stamp set I used to make these little notebooks is the new "Pocket Silhouttes" set. They are SO cute. There was one more stamp in the set, it had a broader leaf on the stems. I like it but I could only pick 3 and I left that one out. I wanted the 3 that were the taller leaner looking ones. They fit well in the space and they were more uniform in shape than the other one. I did use the other one in a frame I will be posting soon and then you can view it there.

Now I usually try to pay attention when I'm making things and I REALLY thought I was when I was putting these notebooks together. I got all done with them. I took photos today and then as I was sitting here with them in front of me typing up this post I opened up one and noticed that I put the layers on the back of the notebook!!! Well, I guess that is the one I'm going to be putting in my purse first!!! LOL I was working on them when I was tired!!! Not a good thing to do. But when I'm tired the best ideas come to mind!!! Do you think that happens because subconsiously your mind knows you can't work on it and it's just messin' with you?? LOL

But here you have it!!! Cute little notebooks that would be great for Hostess Gifts, Customer Appreciation Gifts, Make n' Takes, Craft Fairs and even Stamp Camp! I mean, who can't use a notebook??

This item was made using Stampin' Up! products. To view more items made using Stampin' Up! products click here.

DIVA Gifts!

I created some fun lip balm gifts for the DIVA's today. These are a LOT of fun to make. I have made lip balm stick holders before and enjoyed doing them. These are just a little bit different. They have a small mirror on the inside. I saw that at one of the Stamp Shares I was at. I thought it was a clever idea and I went shopping for the mirrors at Joann's. I adhered them in place using the Sticky Strip. I figured they would need a stronger tape to hold them in place. SO far they are still stuck on the card stock!!!

I used the new "Haunting" jumbo wheel for the fronts of these. Just load up a black cartridge in your wheel and you can stamp a long time!!! Aren't those characters just adorable????

Here is the link to the other lip balm holder I did. And there you will find the link to the instructins and pattern to make your own. They don't take long at all to make. These would be a fun thing to make for those teenage girly parties!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

A Shimmery Christmas!

Oh my, another case of "Shameless Casing!!!!!"

I saw this card on Kari's Stamping Made Easy blog. I downloaded the card to my computer and kept looking at it several times in one day and I just knew that I HAD to make one. It's such a stunning card.

I used the Stampin' Up! "Lovely as a Tree" set and a VersaMark pad. The words are from the "Many Merry Messages" set. I was surprised when I was looking through my stamps that I had EVERYTHING to copy this card exactly as Kari did!!!

First of all I LOVE the Bravo Burgandy used. I also LOVE the use of the new die cut, the gold embossing, the brushed gold card stock and not to mention how quick this card was to put together.

Had I not already figured out our Christmas card for this year I think I would have just copied this one. It's absolutely gorgeous.

It's always nice when you can make such a stunning card that takes so few layers and no embellishments. The gold embossing and gold card stock just carry this card on it's own. It's got such a rich look to it too!!! Didn't she do a fabulous job creating it??? I merely copied it, not a lot of effort in it. But now and then one must case a card they just can't stop looking at!!! LOL

This item was made using Stampin' Up! products. To view more items made using Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you every SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

In Color Cards

I am looking forward to Sunday. It's DIVA Day! Us DIVA's will be meeting at Sue's house for a fun day of stamping and pampering!!! I always look forward to her event! She spoils us rotten. She has projects lined up for us to do. Cards to make and we all share our business ideas, project ideas and other things we found along the way. It's a great group of gals and we always have a great time!!! Sue is the best!!!

We are not doing swaps this time. We are to make a card and repeat it using the six new Stampin' Up! "In Colors." And then we will take pictures of the cards for future reference.

Here are my cards. Aren't they fun??? I used the following stamp sets to make these cards: Canvas, En Francais, Sincere Salutations and Wow Flowers. A few punches a rhinestone brad and some tape and I'm ready to go!!! It took me a while to figure out what to make and once the first one was done the rest were easy. Except I had to clean the stamps after each card. When making swaps you just use the same stamp and ink for each card. But they are done and ready for Sunday!

This item was made using Stampin' Up! products. To view more items made using Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Trick or Treat!!! Halloween Candy Project

I was just having some fun making some packaging for Halloween candy. I found these adorable marshmallow pumpkins at the Dollar Tree. They had just gotten them in. The Palmer company makes them. Not a big fan of their chocolate, it's a bit too waxy for me. And I'm not a fan of marshmallow at all. But look at their faces!!! How can you refuse a face like that? SO that is why I had to figure out a way to display them in a package (other than a baggie with a header) and yet allow the face to show. Click on the photo for a larger view. They do come pre-wrapped!

Well, the new Stampin' Up! oval punch was perfect for the task! Don't you think so??

Cut your card stock 7" x 3-1/2". Next run it through your paper crimper. On the long side score it at 2-1/2" and 2-7/8". Fold the scored pieces up. Take the punch and drop the card stock all the way to the bottom of the punch and punch out the oval. Be sure to center it as best as you can. It's handmade so it doesn't have to be perfect. Now place your candy in the center. Fold the cut out piece up over the candy. Poke holes in the corners and add your brads or eyelets, depending on what you prefer to work with. Find some wording you'd like to use and stamp it. Cut it and then cut a layer to fit behind it. As simple as that!!! I used a small die cut for the "Boo" and spiders on it. And that is pretty much it. You can decorate them as much or as little as you wish.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

I was SO happy I had time to play at SplitCoastStampers with their Wednesday Sketch Challenge. Again it was a fun a fun one. I guess I'm one who REALLY likes the "lots of layers" look!! The simpler the layouts are the more I struggle with them. But this one was right up my alley. My alley??? I have an alley??? LOL

Anyway, it didn't take me long at all to figure out what I was going to do with this layout. I headed over to the Stampin' Up! "Holiday Lineup" set and I was SO thrilled to see they fit right in that area they refer to as #4. And off I went.

I colored the snowmen in with markers. Then I found some snowflake paper. The snowflakes were VERY large on this paper but it's ok, it still gives the background a nice look. And behind that on layer #2 is Always Amethyst card stock. If I were to make a bunch of these and didn't have enough of that decorative paper I would use a piece of Always Amethyst and use the bleaching technique to give the background area the whitish look. Assuming that the card stock would turn white with bleach on the Almost Amethyst. I have not bleached that card stock to know what will happen. Or white craft ink could be used to tone down that panel. My decorative paper came from Michael's the last time they had a sale on the papers. Best time to purchase them!!! And I just HAD to purchase it because it was snowflakes!!!! You know me an snow!!!

I also added some pearly dew drops and the "Happy Holidays" (done on the computer) layered and scalloped punch!! I did use the Cuttlebug folder for the white snowflake background. After all it is a winter card!!! And up here in the north, what's winter without snow???

If you have time go play along at SplitCoast. Every Wednesday they have a new Sketch Challenge (new card design layout). I LOVE having a variety of layouts to play with. It seems that you find a stamp image you just don't know what to do with. Well, you can find a layout for it there. Somewhere in that group is the entire list of all the 196 sketches!! That's a lot of card layouts. And if you can't find it there, just ask in forum and someone will give you a link. The people on there are SO nice too!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Faux Metal Technique Page

I could not believe how great this image turned out. I have done Faux Metal before but with just stamping a flower or something simple on the heated embossing powder. I used the Stampin' Up! "Cute & Curly" set with the "Lable Punch." I used gold embossing power and when I made the first impression and punched it out I was just amazed at how much this looked like a metal label! Pretty impressive, isn't it??? Click on the photo for a closer view.

Take your card stock and press it into the VersaMark pad. Cover the card stock with embossing powder. Heat the powder until it is all melted. You may want to do this in a small shallow box, the powder can blow all over your work area. Once melted add a little more powder and heat again. Do this one or two more times. After the final melting press the rubber stamp into the hot unset (molten lava) embossed area. Wait for about 15 seconds or longer and remove the stamp. If you don’t like the looks of it reheat it and try again. Cut or punch out desired shape. It’s easier to do this while the embossed area is still warm.

I had cut my card stock to fit the block of wood the image is affixed to. After setting the stamp in the molten embossing powder and releasing it I added a little bit of double sided tape to a piece of copier paper so I could handle it better in the punch. And I found that it punches better if the embossed piece is still warm. But warm or cool it still warps. I tried to set it down with pressure on it so it would cool off and stay flat but it doesn't. SO to affix it to your card or scrapbook page you will need to use the REALLY sticky Stampin' Up! Sticky Strip tape. GREAT stuff!!!

I will be adding this page to the second set of 20 pages. I have gotten a LOT of emails about the first set of 20 and after much thought I will be redoing them later this fall. There is a lot going on right now so I can not give a date as to when they will be available but I will be sure to post it. And I will be needing to make more of the current 20 pages. SO please be patient with me and keep an eye out for the post for them!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Thanks and Thanks Again!!!

Once again I am finding myself in need of making thank you cards!

I wanted to play with my new Stampin' Up! "Pocket Silhouettes" set. After I got the set mounted on the wood and ready to go I dove right in and the whole time I'm working on this card a thousand other designs with these images were going through my mind! I promise you I won't post all one thousand of them!!! LOL

I just feel that this set has LOTS of possibilities and I can't wait to start in on some of them!!

Every now and then I like to see how quick and simple I can make a card. I am aware that not everyone likes to make those 10 layer elaborate cards. A few easy layers (usually made using punches) and some sponging and the card is done is what I call a quick card.

This card was a quick card. So for starters I used Lavender Lace card stock for the base of the card. On top of that I added a piece of Old Olive and then on top of that I added the piece of white card stock that I ran through the Cuttlebug folder and sponged it in the Lavender Lace.

The words came with the set, how cool is that?? I stamped them in Lavender Lace and then used the word window punch to punch it out. I moved the words to one end of the punch and after punching it out I used removable tape and stuck it to a piece of copier paper and I moved the words to the other end and punched them out. I wanted the words to be small enough to fit in the oval punch, which I used Old Olive card stock for. And the Lavender Lace piece was punched out using the new larger oval punch. That is another punch I may be wearing out!!! LOL

For the image I stamped it in Old Olive and then took a blender pen and wiped off the flower bud things. Then I colored them in with Lavender Lace. When I had them all colored in I huffed on it and stamped it on the white card stock. I sponged the edges and cut the layers to go under it. Before assembling it all I added the ribbon on top of the Cuttlebug piece.

It's a simple card yet has a touch of elegance to it. I could make TONS of these, they are pretty quick to do. Not super fast but fast enough that you got a taste of stamping without spending all day on a single card!!!

Thank you ever SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Upsy Daisy Thank You!

I LOVE these solid type stamps!! I especially LOVE them when stamped on glossy card stock!!

I did use black Staz-on to do this image. I really wasn't sure where I was going with the background when I started. I didn't know if I wanted to do a sunset or make it like a meadow. I decided to just start with the Pretty in Pink and work my way up the sky with Bashful Blue and Brocade Blue. I sponged the blue edges with Night of Navy.

For the moon I punched out a circle of copier paper and used removable tape and stuck it on the card stock before I began sponging in the background colors. Once I was done I removed the paper. The circle was such a bright white that I had to tone it down with a bit of Barely Banana.

This type of card is fairly simple to make. Since I wanted to make this a "Thank You" card I had to find some small words that fit in the circles. I wanted to use the scalloped punch on the card. And I wanted to keep my wording to the upper right. I didn't want the wording to be the focal point of the card. I did find the perfect size words in the "Holiday Blitz" set. I've used those words from that set MANY times. They're just the perfect size!!!

I used the Cuttlebug flower folder for the Bordering Blue background. I really like those folders because they allow you to give that part of your card that little something it needs without distracting from the rest of the card. To leave it plain it would actually look like it needs "something!" And the Cuddlebug folder was just what it needed!!!

I did get to use the new Stampin' Up! die cut. I used it once for the glossy card stock. After I was done adding my colors I cut on the "dotted" lines and then used the distressing tool and smoothed off those edges. Then I cut another one out of black and layered it behind the glossy piece. It was just the perfect layer, wasn't it? And don't you LOVE it that you can just trim away that small area and have a nice looking layer? It's just SO convenient!!!

Thank you so much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Direct To Rubber Technique

WOW, two technique pages in one week. You are going to get spoiled!!! LOL

Now I saw another technique called "Direct to Rubber" but I learned it as the "Thumping Technique" which I will be doing in a week or so. This "Direct to Rubber" is exactly that. You color directly on the rubber.

Here is a perfect example of this technique. Several colored markers were used coloring directly onto the rubber stamp. Color in all the areas with markers. When you are finished huff on the rubber and stamp the image on your card stock. Huff on the image again and stamp it on another piece of card stock to use on another project.

To view other technique pages click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Anniversary Wishes

A friend of mine is celebrating their anniversary with a huge party and I will not be able to attend. I have other plans for the day and won't be around. So I needed to make them a card and get it off in the mail. I just hope it gets to them by Saturday. Nothing like waiting until the last moment to make the card. I do have some cards in my stash but I wanted something new and fresh. As a last resort you go to your stash. I think that's why it's called a stash!!! LOL

This is a VERY simple card to do and a VERY easy set to work with.

I used the Direct to Rubber Technique. No, I have not made a page for that yet. It's all typed up and ready to print out. There is a lot of prep work to making a technique page. The typing of the directions and materials, actually doing the technique so I have some pieces to put on the technique pages and the layering, sponging and background. And then I can take a photo of it and post it here on my blog!!! Ok, now you know all about that and less about the card I've made today! LOL

I used YoYo Yellow, More Mustard and Close to Cocoa markers. I used the Close to Cocoa ink pad for the words. They are from a retired Stampin' Up! set that I kept because it has LOTS of great words to use for SO many occasions!

I layered the card in More Mustard after I sponged the edges with More Mustard. And I taped the layers on top of Close to Cocoa card stock. I added a piece of white card stock inside so I could write on it. And that's pretty much the card. Not a lot of pieces to it and no ribbons, bows or frills of any kind. But yet it doesn't appear to need it either. The coloring of the rubber like that holds it's own on this card.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Sock It To Me! Weekend Project

I found these adorable Halloween socks at the Dollar Tree! I have a whole drawer full of these kinds of fun socks. Some for every season!!!

I picked this pair up for my niece. I knew she’d like it because it’s got a kitty on it!!! Maybe that is why I liked it too!! LOL

I totally dressed up these socks that they no longer look like they were only a dollar!!! I’m not telling anyone!!!

For the box bottom I took a piece of black card stock and cut it 5" x 8". You will be able to get two boxes from one piece of card stock. I scored all 4 sides at 3/4". I then snipped one side of each of the little scored squares on each end. I hold the scored card stock in front of me and I snip the first right little scored line on the bottom. Turn the card stock and snip the next one in the same place. You want them to be snipped in the same spot so when you tape or glue them together it looks better. Once you have them snipped then tape or glue the box bottom together.

For the lid I cut the acetate exactly the same as I did for the box bottom. Score it the same as the box bottom too, at 3/4" on all 4 sides. Instead of just snipping a scored line on one of the little squares you will be removing those little squares. When I placed my lid in the box bottom it buckled a bit on one end. To resolve that I just clipped a little more off those areas I cut the square from the bottom edge up. Clip it at an angle going from the bottom and narrowing to the top. Don’t clip a big chunk off, just an 1/8" at the most. Do this on all of those edges (8 of them total) and your lid should fit perfectly.

Now you are ready to decorate the box up for that special person. I just added a little strip of decorative paper to the top of mine. I used the scallop punch and I poked some holes in along the way! I added some ghosts I punches out of white card stock and stamped "Happy Halloween" on there too. I added a little tape to the back in the middle so it would stick to the plastic. I tucked the sides in and that was pretty much it. I was going to add some light green ribbon but it took away from the design on the socks so I just left it as it is. Less is better!! Under the decorative paper is the tag to the socks, I didn't want to take it off, it's kind of big but if I take it off the socks wouldn't be together anymore and I wanted them to be packaged. SO the decorative paper is also hiding their header tag thing!! Serves a dual purpose!!!

Isn’t this a fun and perfect way to jazz up an inexpensive item?

To see more weekend projects just click here.

Thank you SO much for visiting my blog today,
Wanda

No Yard Yard Sale

I have an additional blog, "The No Yard Yard Sale." I'm using it to sell some of my rubber stamps. I do have a store but my webmaster has put me on the back burner because tending to paying customers. I was a test project so I got to have the store for free but the stipulation was that I would never be high priority. I was ok with that because I didn't have much together to sell at the time. Now I'm starting to gather my stamps I no longer use and putting them up for sale so I can make room. Probably not so much for new ones, maybe a few but just to have room and less clutter.

You can subscribe to that blog and you will get emails when I upload a new stamp for sale.

The stamp is the Chickadee that I made the card for on the Sketch Challenge.

Click here to be directed to the yard sale blog.

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

Here is my card for the sketch challenge today at SplitCoastStampers. When I participate in these I usually go through my book of images I have and try to find one that fits in the focal area of the sketch and then I go from there. Well, today I happened upon this Chickadee stamp that I had. It's by The Uptown Design Company. Isn't it adorable?? Chickadees happen to be my most favorite bird. We use to have TONS of them in our yard until straight line winds took our HUGE pine tree down. Now it's rare we see any. That tree was alive with birds any time of the year. And the bird fights in the tree were UNREAL too! It was a 60+ foot Blue Spruce that was the most perfect straight and beautiful tree. It was SO sad to see it go.

Ok, back to the card. I stamped the image on watercolor paper and colored it in with a blender pen. I use my white gel pen for the snow flakes and as a last resort (because the gel pen was fading into the paper) I used a tooth brush and some white acrylic paint for the snow. And I didn't bother to cover my laptop so it's full of little white speckles!!! They won't hurt it and it's ok because it's SO old it's on it's last legs!!! A fresh dotting of paint never hurts!!! LOL

I used Not Quite Navy for the middle layer and for the last layer I used some decorative snowflake paper I had gotten at Michael's. I used a piece of white card stock and ran it through the Cuttlebug snowflake folder. I put it all together and added a few clear dew drops to the Not Quite Navy card stock. There was no room for bows or ribbons. And the optional piece I was going to have a "Merry Christmas" on it and punch it out with a round punch and a larger punch for a layer behind it but the placing of the bird and branches didn't allow that to look nice on the card. So I just kept the bird as the focal part and was pleased with the end results.

This stamp is for sale more information can be found here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda