I Received an Award!!!

I received an award from Sandie at Bear Patch Crafts. Sandie has some REALLY cute crafty things on her blog. For those of you looking for 3-D items to make for gifts you should be able to find something on her blog.





I thank you for the award Sandie but I'm sorry to say I am unable to play at this time.

Unbelievable!!!

I can not even begin to tell you all that went wrong while making this card!!!

Imagine if you will a white card, just a half a sheet of card stock folded in half. And at the bottom right corner was the flower pictured on this card. It was in the apricot oval. Just sitting there in the lower right corner. Nothing more on the card. I just wanted to make a very simple "thank you" card. On the inside I was going to use the little "thanks" from the Stampin' Up! set "Everyday Flexible Phrases." That was all I wanted. Something just simple and the "thanks" on the inside would say it all. But it turned out SO ugly I couldn't even take a picture of it. SO I cut the flower off the corner and layered it with the decorative papers and card stock.

Then I made a larger layer that went the long way on the card. It was about 3/4" from the top and bottom. I set the flower layer on top and it looked awful. SO long and out of place. So I cut it down. Well, in doing that the proportion wasn't right for the flower layer. I ended up cutting another layer the same size as the flower one and going that route. Oh but I forgot to tell you. Before I had the long layers on and the flower just sitting there on top I had stamped "thanks" on white and punched it out. Then I punched out a larger circle using the decorative paper. And I layered those on top of a piece of Regal Rose I had used the scallop punch on. UGH!!! And then I had the audacity to try to get the scalloped layer to work with these two layers you see on the card. Another BIG UGH!!! LOL

I decided to tie on some ribbon and add the words directly onto the decorative paper and I was much happier with how this turned out. The behind the scenes stuff gets to be pretty intense sometimes and in the photo it looks like it was just simple and sweet!!!! Pictures can be deceiving!!! LOL

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Taking Advantage!

Isn't it fun when you can take something so plain and dress it up to be so cute you don't want to use it?? LOL

This is the time of the year when you can find some REALLY great bargains on school supplies!!! And I mean REALLY great deals. These little composition notebooks are always so expensive but at this time of the year you can get them for a song and a dance. Well, not really. I got kicked out of Wal-mart for the "song and dance" thing and I'm not allowed back!!! And if you heard me sing or saw me dance you'd understand!!! LOL

I have to tell you a little story about what happened to me on Mother's Day this year. We were at Perkins for dinner and "Blueberry Hill" was playing on their sound system. I started singing along and DH asks me "who sings that song?" I told him, "Fats Domino." And he says to me, "Let's keep it that way!" LOL There's a music critic in every family, isn't there? LOL

Ok, back to this fun composition book. I thought it would be fun to dress them up a bit. It's nice to have them decorated a bit so they would never get mixed up with someone elses. This would be a great project for the kids to do on their notebooks. It personalizes them plus gives them some fun things to do with their notebooks. I was going to add some buttons or buckles and ribbons to this but realized I was going to be putting mine in my purse and those fun embellishments wouldn't stay on there for long. And they'd probably get caught on something else in my purse. Certainly not money!!! Never any of that in there anymore!!! LOL

To cover these notebooks you just put your card stock over the notebook and take a pencil and make light marks where you need to do your cutting. It's very rare to find the font and back of the notebook to be equal because of the way the spine piece is put on. So you will need to cut the front and back out separately. And again for the spine piece you'll just lay a piece of card stock over the black, add a little more and mark where the folds go. I used the bone folder to make a nice sharp fold. And do the same for the back part of the spine.

Decorate your notebooks as you like. Keep in mind where these are going to used before you load them up with embellishments!!! It's probably best to keep them simple.

I used the "notes" stamp I had from Vista Print. You can order your own custom stamp from them or Stampin' Up! and have your notebooks say what you want. I'm wondering if I had one made by Stampin' Up! then it would never retire now would it????? Hmmmm, there's a thought I'm going to have to pursue!!!!! Then I can use it on any notebooks I make and it would still be all Stampin' Up! products!!! Ok, guess what I'm ordering??? LOL

Ok, now when you pick up those notebooks for the kiddies help them decorate them up for school!! Or dress them up yourself and suprise them on the first day of school!

Click here to view my other notebooks for more ideas!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Leave it to Leah!!!

Leah is a very good friend and a FABULOUS and very CREATIVE stamper!!! She is extremely talented, especially with those Peppermint Patties!!!! It's amazing what she can come up with!

Leah made these wonderful cards that I just had to share with you. I am just lovin' the sports one!!! Not that the baby one isn't great too but I'm SO impressed with the sports one because I rarely do any sports cards. I was drawn to the brightness of the card too. Isn't it just wonderful? She used a decorative shank button on the bow. It was just SO perfect for that card too!! Probably why she used it, huh?? It was SO nice of her to share her cards with me and to allow me to share them with you.

I have never thought of using those buttons on cards before. Thank you Leah for the new ideas and for inspiring me. Next time I'm out shopping I'm going to be looking at those decorative buttons a little differently. They're not just for clothes anymore!!!

Leah also used those buttons in her scrapbooking. She said she removes the shank on the back so they lay a little fatter on the pages. Another GREAT idea!!! I told you she was "CREATIVE" now didn't I???

Here is another great idea that Leah had earlier this year. These graduation candies are SO cute. And they were a BIG hit at the party too!

Oh and if Leah's hubby is reading this, Leah REALLY wants a "Sizzix Big Kick" for Christmas!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Fossil Stone Technique Page

Here's a REALLY cool technique. I just love the effect of this one. And the colors you can mix together make it even more fun.

Rub one of the colors on the inside of the front of the plastic folder. Repeat with the second color on the inside of the back of the plastic folder.

Put the plastic folder together and rub so that the two inks mix and bubbles form. You may want to have a piece of paper over the plastic so you don’t get ink all over your hands. You want the ink to be all over the entire plastic pieces.

Put two pieces of Glossy White Card Stock together, glossy side out. Insert in the plastic folder and then rub so the ink transfers to the card stock.

You can use it as your background and you can stamp directly on top of it too. SO much you can do with this background. And it's perfect for a masculine card!!!

This one is going in my technique book and I have one ready to go with the other pages that I will be giving away as Blog Candy when my blog reaches 500,000 hits. That should be within 30 days. And with that in mind I'd better get cracking on making some more pages. A month will fly by fast. Plus a page a week won't add up to much so I need to do two or three and that should make a very nice resource book for someone!!! The book pages will go to a lucky winner in a random drawing. When I put out the word on the Blog Candy you will just post a comment there and the names from that post will be drawn. Plus I will be adding some more names too. You may have an extra chance to win. I will pick a day from now until the post of the Blog Candy, a day that has the most comments. I will take those names and add them to the drawing. SO if you left a comment on a day that has the most comments your name will be in the drawing twice!!! SO much fun!!

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

To see the other Technique Pages, click here. You can also watch them on the slide show on the right sidebar. But if you want to see them faster just click on the link above to take you to all of them!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,

Wanda

So, I'm At The Dollar Spot In JoAnns...... Weekend Project

Need I say any more????? LOL I wish I could just walk right past that area but no, I just have to "look to see if there is anything new." Well of course there is, there's always something new there. Today it was strawberry stuff. The paper note cube is what caught my eye. And the Stampin' Up! "Tart & Tangy" set came to mind. And I knew I had some decorative papers left too. SO I got them out and my Crop-A-Dile and started to play.

Now this project didn't take long at all. I counted 30 sheet of the strawberry paper and removed them all at once so they would still be stuck together. Then I cut a piece of white cardboard that was in the package of decorative paper. I made it the exact size of the note paper. Then I cut a piece of the red decorative paper the exact same size too. I took a piece of white card stock and used the corner rounder and made my scallop. Now for those of you who pre-ordered the new scallop edge punch this will go much faster for you. I'm waiting to order mine, just didn't have the funds!

I taped the scalloped piece in place with a little bit of tape. I didn't put the tape where I was going to be punching. I didn't want my punch to get all sticky in the holes. It's REALLY hard to clean out. Using alcohol soaked q-tips wasn't on my list of things to do tonight!!! I marked where I wanted the holes to go and punched them with the Crop-A-Dile. Then I took some red grossgrain ribbon and fed it through the holes and tied the bow.

I took the strawberry from the "Tart & Tangy" set and used the Real Red marker on the strawberry and Garden Green on the top of the strawberry. I huffed on it and stamped the image on a piece of white card stock. Then I punched it out with the 1-1/4" punch. I punched out a red circle using the 1-3/8" punch and I used the scallop punch on the Garden Green card stock. I taped them all together and taped it on the cover. Just too quick and very simple. If you want a thicker pad just add more paper but you'll have to punch it separately, the Crop-A-Dile can only punch so many sheets at a time!

These would be a fun Make N' Take, Hostess Gift, Customer Appreciation Gift, Stamp Camp item or even for a Craft Fair.

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

This week's Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers was very fun. They all have been fun. I don't think I've done one I don't like yet!!! I have missed a few of them here and there, not because I didn't like them but because I didn't have time to play that day.

I used the Stampin' Up! set "True Friend," "Boho Backgrounds" and "Fun & Fast Notes" to make this card.

For the flower part of this card I stamped the whole thing in Soft Sky ink. I then took a blender pen and wiped off the color on the leaves and stem. I picked up the Blue Bayou in pad and used one corner of it and went around the edges of the flower. Much like you would do with the "Rock 'n Roll" technique. Then I took the Old Olie marker and colored in the leaves and stems. I highlighted them a little using the Always Artichoke marker. I huffed on it to get the steam from my breath on the rubber to moisten the ink up and stamped it on a piece of white card stock. I sponged the edges in Blue Bayou. I layerd it on a piece of black card stock and added the brad.

For the #2 part of the card I used a piece of Soft Sky card stock and stamped the flowers from the "Boho Backgrounds" set on it using Soft Sky ink. I sponged the edges in Soft Sky ink and layered it on a piece of black card stock.

The #1 part of the card was done using a piece of white card stock and stamping the flowers from the "Boho Backgrounds" set on it using Soft Sky ink. I sponged the edges in Soft Sky ink and layered it on a piece of black card stock.

I felt the upper right needed just a little something so I took the birthday stamp from the "Fun & Fast Notes" set and used a marker and colored over the words "Happy Birthday." Then I punched it out with the small oval punch and sponged the edges with Blue Bayou. I punched the larger oval out using Blue Bayou card stock. I took a black marker and went around the edges of the large oval with it. I added it in the upper left corner.

For the #3 piece I took the Blue Bayou ribbon and added a piece of black card stock behind it and pated it in place over the Soft Sky piece.

I added some Dimensionals on the flower piece before I set it in place. This was such a fun card to do and I am sure going to miss the Blue Bayou and the Soft Sky colors!!!

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Shameless Casing!!!

Isn't this card just fabulous??? I LOVE it. This was made from the Stampin' Up! "Polka Dots & Petals" set. This set is retiring as is the colors of card stock that was used to make the card. Soft Sky and Blue Bayou. Such fabulous colors together too. But the new colors coming out all compliment each other too. SO it's just a matter of giving up one color for an even better color. I've liked all the colors from the "in colors" since Stampin' Up! started doing them and each set has been better than the last.

The original card was taken from the SplitCoastStampers gallery of Jenn4. I think it was the colors and layout of the images that caught my eye. The wording on hers reads "I just heard." I didn't need that sentiment on my card so I changed it to a birthday greeting. I'm always in need of birthday cards. I just need to remember to mail them out!!!

This was a very fun and simple card to make too!! SO I made four of them!!! There a very quick card to make too!!

Head on over to SplitCoastStampers and find something to case (Copy and Study Everything)! Just be sure to give credit to the one you copied it from! It's important!

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

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Technique Page Crayon Resist

Here is another page for the technique book. Some lucky winner will be the recipient of these pages for their own book/collection. When my blog gets to 500,000 hits I will post the blog candy along with some fun game to play to enter in for a chance to win the pages!

Today's page is an oldie but goody, the Crayon Resist technique.

Stamp your image on glossy card stock using Basic Black or Staz-on ink. Take a white crayon and color in the areas that you want to remain white. Sponge or brayer over the image with Classic Ink. You can use multiple colors of ink. Try not to touch the crayon areas, the ink will bead up on it. Lay a paper towel over the top of it and blot up the ink.

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

To see the other Technique Pages, click here. You can also watch them on the slide show on the right sidebar. But if you want to see them faster just click on the link above to take you to all of them!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

SO Sparkly!

I told you in my post yesterday that I was finishing my my "stuff" and then I was going to go work on a bracelet. Well, here it is!!! I designed it all by myself!!! My plans are to have them for sale in my store! Hopefully early this week!

Ok, here it is in all it's blinding "bling!" LOL There are two pictured in the one photo. And then I took a close-up. It's very pretty but doesn't photograph (by me) well.

They are made using Swarvoski Crystal Rose Montees. Very fun to work with and VERY sparkly!!! If you click on the photos you will be able to see them closer.

Show Me Yours!! Tissue Holder - Weekend Project

You would not believe how much trouble I had making this little tissue holder. I thought it would be simple. Well, actually it was simple but you have to write things down properly or it doesn't work out right!!!! LOL

I got these tissues at Rainbow Foods. They come 8 in a package for $1.00. Such a deal!!! These tissues measure about 2" x 4". They are NOT the same size as the Kleenix brand ones.

I thought it would be a GREAT thing for the fall craft fairs coming up. SO I got out my scrap paper and began working on the pattern. Then I got out the ruler!!! UGH! There's where it all went wrong. Working in fractions. Another big UGH!!!! And after 3 failures I finally got it figured out. I had written a measurement wrong and I followed it wrong in making my "final" copy! Oh no, it was the 4th time. Not a failure on the 3rd one, just the wrong color of card stock!!! Anyway, I got the color of card stock right (white - like that was so hard to do!) and then I used some pieces of decorative paper. Now this is a PERFECT way to use up a LOT of decorative papers and hopefully make some cash to buy the new papers that are coming out!!

I think these would not only be great for craft fairs (great profit margin in them too) but they'd make fun Hostess Gifts, Customer Appreciation Gifts, Stamp Camp and even a fun Make N Take.

Here are the measurements to my own personally design for this tissue holder. If you use these in your projects please give me the proper credit and if you're showing them on your blog I'd appreciate a link back to my blog.

To make this holder you will need to cut your card stock 6-5/8" x 7-5/8"

On the long side score as follows: 7/8", 1-3/4", 5-7/8" and 6-3/4"

On the short side score has follows: 2-1/8", 3", 5-1/8" and 6"

Cut away the areas marked with an "x".

Fold in all the score lines.

To make the slot for the tissue to come out you will need the Word Window punch. This is a punch that I will never get rid of even if it's retired. I make and sell TOO many tissue holders to let that gem slip through my fingers!!!

Fold in the smallest scored area and then fold inward once more. Take your Word Window punch and punch as close to the center of the larger area. You will need to move the punch over to the right and widen the hole there and then slide over to the left and widen it on the other end as well. You want to have about 3/4" on each side.

You will need to trim the flaps a bit on each side. Trim from the fold line outward just a little so they fit inside the holder better. Also trim the top and bottom larger flaps too. Doing this really does make the hold thing fit together better.

Once you are done with this you are ready to assemble the holder. It's VERY simple to do, it just requires taping or gluing on the thin end. You can use a bone folder and slide it inside the holder along the taped line to hold it in place. Be careful not to cut along the folds just below the window punch. I caught a bit of it in my punch. You can't fix this! If you're going to make a lot of these you may want to make a template and then trace the window on the inside of each holder. You won't regret it!!

Now decorate away. And here is where I had trouble. With the other tissue holder I did I had a large area to work in. (By the way, I didn't design that one and I was informed that the pattern is only available to demonstrators - which is too bad and is why I'm making one for you here).

So this is where the "Show Me Yours" comes into play. Make a tissue holder and email me your designs (with your first name - last initial is optional) and I will post it on my blog. It's your turn to give me some ideas!!! Now the stress is on you!!! LOL Go have fun and show me yours!!!

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A Little Old Meets Very New!

Mixing some older decorative paper "Le Jardin" with the new stamp set "Wow Flowers." I pre-orded this set because I thought it would be a very versatile set. It also has a "Thank You" image with it. This image has a flower in the "o" of the word you. With room for a brad in the center or to even punch out the center. I'm going to play with this set a bit and see what I can come up with. And the other image is a flower but it could pass for a snowflake. The ends of the flower part have a large dot on them that could be punched out or could accommodate brads. It looks like it has a lot of potential too. I used two of the stamps in that set on this card. I love the little "birthday wishes" and as you can see it fits nicely in the word window punch. And my assumption here is that punch will be in the new catalog!!! Hope so, I LOVE using it for many things!!

SO onto this card. I used the decorative paper as my backgrounds. There is very little stamping on this card. The birthday circle and the words is pretty much it. I stamped the birthday wishes and punched it out with the 1" circle punch. I stamped the image again using So Saffron ink and cut out the flower. I set it on top of the flower in the circle I had punched out and poked a hole in the two of them for my brad. I layered it on top of Always Artichoke and Sahara Sand squares. I used the ticket corner punch on the larger corners. I added a little Artichoke ribbon and tied a bow.

It was a pretty simple card to make and very fun. I may use up a lot of my decorative papers on some more cards like this. My stash is getting pretty big. I need to start using them more or purchase them less. Hmmm, which one is more doable for me???? We know I can't NOT buy the new stuff!!! LOL

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

I designed a bracelet yesterday and now I'm off to make one and write down the directions as I work on it. I'd rather just design them!!! I'll post a photo of it tomorrow!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Technique Page Pencil Over

Isn't this a refreshing technique?? Here's a fun technique that I've had for a LONG time. It's a technique that has been around a while but not too many people do it. Why I'm not sure. It may be because the background needs to be dark?? Maybe because it takes a little bit of time to do. But there are other techniques that take a lot more time. I really don't know. It's not that it's not a popular one it's just not a well known one like cracked glass or the waxed paper resist one is. I like the technique and use it when I want something different.

For this technique you need a white craft ink pad, black card stock, colored pencils and fairly solid to completely solid stamps.

You stamp your images using the white craft ink. You do need to allow the ink to dry. You can speed up the drying time by using the heat tool. Once the ink is dry you will take your colored pencils and color in the white ares. Use contrasting colors to give the areas dimension. You can use this as a background or cut and use shapes as your focal piece.

You don't need expensive colored pencils for this technique. Any colored pencil will work. Though some of the really cheap ones don't have enough wax in them to leave much color behind and those tend to leave more of an indentation in your card stock than color!

Give this technique a try, it's a LOT of fun!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wedding Card Redo Suggestion!!

Adding the wider ribbon made the original card much better in that area of the card. And this time I went with Crystalshope's suggestion of using the bride and groom from the Stampin' Up! "Viola to Go" set. I think adding that to the circle (just like the Mr. & Mrs. stamps did) let you know it was definitely a wedding card!!!

There were not that many elements to these cards which can sometimes be a good thing and other times can make a card look like you didn't finish it or got lost while designing it!!! I get lost a lot!!! LOL

I find simpler cards to be more of a challenge for me and there are times when I step out of my box and try out one of those simpler cards with very few pieces to it. And most times I produce a card I like and then there are times that the card becomes a struggle and I ask you for your opinion!!! I got a LOT of great ideas though I didn't have a lot of the stamps or supplies that were suggested. There's a lot of talented stampers out there!!! Why aren't you all blogging and showing your creations?????

It was fun doing this. I'll have to seek out your help again sometime soon. SO I will be contacting Crystalshop and getting her snail mail address!!!

I have some fun stuff lined up here for this weekend. NO, I don't have them done. I just have the ideas written down and am looking for the opportunity to play and create!!! With craft fairs coming up I like to share what I make for those and hope they will be a good seller!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda