Card for Marie

Hi Everyone!

I thought I'd share a card before I headed off to work.  Every year Jeanne takes Marie for a day of shopping.  They spend the entire day shopping for a head to toe outfit for Marie.  When I saw this card  (scroll down her blog a little to see it) on Loll Thompson's "Stamping with Loll" blog, I knew it would be the perfect card for Jeanne to give to Marie.

My shopping bags are 1.5" wide and 1.75" tall.  I added tiny eyelets to the handles and used thin ribbon for the handles.  I wish I had thought to adhere the bags to the layering paper with foam tape, but I didn't and the card still "works". 

Have a great day!
Carol

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on its Way

Hi Everyone!

I took pictures of some of my Easter cards earlier today and just realized I haven't posted them.  It's been a busy, productive, fun day.  I made at least a dozen Easter cards, an altered frame, and a birthday card for Jeanne to give Marie.  In the middle of the day I went to Absolutely Everything with Janet and when I got home I used some of my new "toys" right away.  Will need to take more pictures tomorrow when the light is better.  

I love the "Dancing Chicks" wooden stamp from Hero Arts. I stamped them onto a paper from Lawn Fawn's Bright Side collection.  

I used my Martha Stewart fringing scissors to cut the grass for this card.  The idea for the card is from Paper Source.

"Hoppy" from A Muse Artstamps has had quite a workout this year.  It's so easy to fussy cut her. 

Here's Hoppy again!  I saw the idea for this card on the Paper Source web site at this link.  This is my favorite Easter card. 

I've been using my Martha Stewart basket and eggs punch a lot this year too.

Okay, it's late and I need to get some sleep!

Carol

Teri Anderson

Hi Everyone!

One of the blogs I read regularly is Teri Anderson's "A Bit of This.  A Bit of That."  Over and over again Teri's creations have inspired me to create many of the cards and gifts I give my friends and family. 

Before I share the link to one of Teri's recent posts I need to explain why it excited me.  From the time she could walk and talk Marie has been obsessed with paper and pens.  She'd walk around with a little gift bag that was filled with paper and pens and would suddenly stop, take out some paper and a pen and would say, "Write somesin (something) down."  Then she'd scribble on the paper and put it back in her bag. 

Marie will turn 25 on April 3.  One of her desk drawers is filled with the pads of Post-Its she has acquired over the years.  She owns more pens than the local office supply store and stilll loves to get one that's a little "different".  She's in graduate school and uses binders for the notes from her classes.  She loves all things pretty. 

So when I read Teri's recent post on "Page Dividers" I squealed with delight because I knew they were something that Marie will totally LOVE.  I read that post fairly late on Friday night, but still managed to create 2 sets of 6 page dividers before I went to bed!

I used some papers from Echo Park's "Dots & Stripes" collection to make my page dividers.  The papers fit perfectly into the polka dot theme I am putting together for Marie's birthday.  I followed Teri's instructions, but went a step further.  I added a diagonal or half page pocket to each divider.  The tabs I used are from Martha Stewart's office supplies collection.

The dividers were so easy to create.  I will NEVER buy those boring white ones that the stores sell again.  Neither will Marie.  I'm sure I'll be making her many more sets. 

Have a great day!
Carol

Dotty Creations

Hi Everyone!

This is my second post for today.  Marie's birthday is Tuesday, April 3 and Easter is Sunday, April 8.  I decided that a polka dot theme would work for both occasions so I ordered a variety of papers from Echo Park's "Dots & Stripes" collection and have been using those papers to create many of the projects I have already shared with you and others that I plan to share with you.

Here's the Easter garland that I strung across the mantle.

I used an AccuCut egg die to cut the eggs.  Used a paper punch that punches a tiny hole to punch 2 holes through each egg and then strung them onto some baby white ric rac.

I've decorated a dozen note pads, but still need to decorate 11 pens.

I used the  "Around Town" template from PaperTrey Ink to create this gift bag.  The paper is from the Recollections Pastel Collection at Michaels.  I used a Sizzix die to create the flowers.

The photograph makes this tiny favor bag from PaperTrey Ink's "Do Me a Favor" template look much larger than it actually is.  The flower is a Martha Stewart sticker. 

Hope you're getting inspired to do some creating of your own!
Carol

Where Flowers Bloom

Good Morning Everyone!

And it really is a good morning.  The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I have a day all to myself to work on my paper crafts.  I have taken lots of pictures this morning and plan to write about them and post them today. 

Marie has been asking me to create "something cool" for her bedroom walls.  I have asked her again and again what she has in mind and her only response has been, "Something cool."  So I stopped by HomeGoods yesterday to check out their frames and found a few that I totally loved.  Normally I am not a big fan of the distressed look, but there was a collection of distressed frames in the yummiest shades of pink, blue, yellow, and green that caught my eye.  I selected an 8" x 10" green one and an 8" x 10" blue one. 

I had an idea in mind and it all came together quite nicely.  I browsed through the quotes at this link, http://www.scrapbook.com/quotes.php and found a quote that I could use.  I created a document and used the CK Quick Stitch font to type, "Where flowers bloom, so does hope." 

I used 2 dies from PaperTrey Ink's Bloom builders #1 die set and cut 2 flowers.  I used a Sizzix die to cut my leaves, but free cut the stems.  Here's my frame.

I love the way it turned out and think Marie will too.

The stats on blogger show that I average between 50 and 100 hits a day so I know that there are people reading my blog.  I'd love some comments to hear what you think about my creations and what else you'd like to see because I don't post all of my creations. 

Have a wonderful day!  Expect some more posts today. 
Carol

Carrot boxes for Easter

Hi Everyone!

Gloomy raw day out there today, but it's bright and cheery inside.  I've been working on so many projects that my house is overdecorated for Easter.  We're looking forward to having my cousin, Linda, and her husband, Tom, and my sister, Jeanne, to dinner today. 

When I was younger my Nana Riley used to call me "Carrots" because my favorite vegetable back then was carrots.  Now my brother, Bobby, is the only one who ever addresses me that way.  My love of carrots lives on in papercrafting.

I found a great selection of carrot making videos and blog posts on the Internet. 

http://chelemom.blogspot.com/2012/03/easter-carrots-and-tutorial.html

http://www.debbieseyer.com/my_weblog/2011/02/a-bucket-full-of-carrots.html

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/templates-f143/triangle-box-template-t192686.html

http://creativetryals.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-favor-carrot-box-tutorial.html

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/templates-f143/carrot-box-long-lean-t328273.html

I used their ideas to create my own carrots boxes.

Hope you have a fun-filled day!
Carol

Easter cards

Good Morning Everyone!

I need to take a camera class.  Somehow I changed the settings on my camera and I cannot figure out what I need to reset to get photographs of my cards that actually show the true colors of the cards.  My sister, Paula, is the photographer and writer in our family.  Paula,  please hop on a plane and come here to teach me (again) how to use my camera!

Meanwhile, as you look at my cards imagine that the colors are prettier than they appear to be on your computer screen. 

When I spotted the paper on this card from SEI's "Dill Blossom" collection I thought of bunnies hopping through the meadow and had the idea for this card.  The "Hoppy" bunny is from A Muse Artstamps, the text is from A Country Welcome stamps, and the path that the bunnies are hopping along is a stamp from Lawn Fawn's "Gnome Sweet Gnome" clear stamp set.  I stamped the bunnies on some patterned paper from Memory Box and fussy cut them before I adhered them to the patterned paper on my blank card. 

This is one of the cards that is much prettier than the photographs shows...cameras do lie!  I used some of my Martha Stewart paper punches to create the embellishments.  I used foam tape to adhere them to the 1.25" squares. 

Here's a variation of that card.  LOVE the Lawn Fawn floral patterned paper from her Bright Side collection.  Those tiny blades of grass that you can see behind the animals are from Lawn Fawn's "Gnome Sweet Gnome" clear stamp set.  Every blade of grass prints clearly.  I LOVE the quality of her stamps. 

Here's another card with some papers from Lawn Fawn's "Bright Side" collection.

Hope you have a great day!

Carol

Egg Tree in a Frame

Hi Everyone!

It's just before 10 PM on Sunday night.  I am so excited about the project that I just created that I have to share it tonight even though many of you won't be reading this blog until sometime tomorrow.  The other day Brenda asked if I had any framed projects for Easter and I had to admit that I hadn't come up with any yet.  But when I was laying in bed last night I suddenly got a couple of ideas.  So today I purchased a 5" x 7" white frame for one of my ideas. 

I trimmed a piece of patterned paper to 4" x 5.5" and stamped the grass from Lawn Fawn's "Gnome Sweet Gnome" clear stamp set along the bottom edge.   Then I stamped the "Tree for all Seasons' by Judith and Heather.  I took out one of my scrap boxes and paper punched about 50 eggs from Martha Stewart's basket and eggs paper punch.  I paper punched a chick from Martha Stewart's chick punch and cut the handle off of one of the baskets I had punched.

I used dimensional foam to adhere the chick, eggs, and basket to the patterned paper.  I matted the patterned paper onto a sheet of 4.25" x 5.75" white tag.  Then I matted the white tag onto a sheet of 5" x 7" patterned paper and put my creation in the white 5" x 7" frame.

Here's the finished project.

Enjoy what's left of tonight!
Carol

Daffodil Candy Cups

Good Morning Everyone!

Spring is on its way!  The daffodils on the side of our house have sprouted and I can see tiny buds on them.  Daffodils are the flower symbol for March birthdays.  My friend Diane gave me a beautiful bunch of fresh cut ones more than a week ago to celebrate my birthday.  They are just starting to fade, but are still pretty. 

I found a template for a daffodil candy cup on Martha Stewart's web site at this link.

http://www.marthastewart.com/335059/daffodil-candy-cups?center=276968&gallery=274530&slide=333582

I printed 3 copies of the template, cut them out, and glued them to a sheet of copy paper.  You may want to glue them to a sheet of white tag to make your template stronger.

Then I put the template in the top of my printer so that I could copy it.  I copied the template onto the back of an 8.5" x 11' sheet of polka dotted tag from Memory Box.  I cut slightly inside the lines, flipped the daffodil over, glued a candy cup in the center of it, and have adorable, quick and easy to make decorations for each place setting.

Have a wonderful day!
Carol

Paper Lanterns

Hi Everyone!

I've been fascinated by paper lanterns for as long as I can remember.  I am pretty sure that I made my first one when I was in kindergarten and I know that over the years I made them with my kindergarten, first and second grade students.  I used a ruler and pencil to draw the lines that they cut along on a piece of folded construction paper. 

Paper lanterns became a staple at Robbie and Marie's birthday parties.  When they were younger we made them together using the same technique that I used with my students.  As they grew older and my passion for patterned paper began, we started to use it in place of construction paper. 

I had my eye on Martha Stewart's templates for 6" and 12" lanterns for a long time.  About 2 weeks ago I was shocked, surprsed, delighted...to find the templates marked down for clearance at Michaels.  I quickly purchased one of each and rushed home to try them out. 

Basically all you need to do is fold a 6" square of paper and place it inside the template for the 6" lantern or fold a 12" square of paper and place it in the template for a 12" lantern.  Then you use an X-acto knife that is included with the template to cut the lines on the lantern.  Easy Peasy!

I found a great video for lantern making on youtube that is presented by Linda Kaiser at this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDt4GAAGEHQ
She also talks about the lanterns on her blog at this link
http://paperboutique.blogspot.com/2011/08/martha-stewart-crafts-lantern-and.html
She shows you how to add a tube to the inside of the lantern.  She also suggests that in place of the tube you can put a flameless tea light in the center of the lantern.  She shows you how to add ribbon to the handle and the upper and lower edges of the lantern. 

I especially love the 6" lanterns and plan to use them along with some egg cutouts to create some Easter garland.

The templates don't seem to be on clearance in every store yet, so keep your eyes open and hopefully you'll find them on clearance in the Martha Stewart papercrafting section of a store near you. 

Have a nice night!
Carol

Paper Flowers

Good Morning Everyone!

I am pretty sure that I have previously mentioned how much I love Scrapbooks, etc. magazine.  I have also probably told you that I am not a scrapbooker, but I read the scrapbooking tips and apply many of them to my cardmaking.  In addition to scrapbooking ideas each issue of the magazine always has at least several craft and card ideas.  It is mainly the craft ideas that draw me to the magazine.  The April 2012 issue has adorable cupcakes on the cover that were created with baker's twine .  I haven't given them a try yet, but hope to sometime soon. 

Inside the magazine on page 40 there's a photograph of an arrangement of paper flowers.  They've used a pair of two toned pink rubber boots for the vase and tied a big yellow polka dotted bow around the boots.  Adorable.  Totally adorable.  Well, I don't have any cute boots to use as a vase, but I do have some pretty new vases that Diane gave me for my birthday. 

It took me less than half an hour to create five paper flowers.  I used floral cloth wire for my stems and a sizzix die to cut my daisies.  The buttons were in my stash.  I used glue dots to adhere the stems and buttons to the flowers and the layered flowers to each other.  Now I have a pretty bouquet of flowers sitting on the table.

Have a great day!

Carol

Denami Design's Birthday Blog Hop

Hi Everyone!

Happy Sunday! Welcome to the Denami Design Birthday Blog Hop.

Here are the details for this hop.

When: The blog hop starts on March 11 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until March 12, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).
Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!
 

If you have arrived here from the blog of the incredibly creative Michelle Gross you are on the right track. If you get lost along the way you can always start back at the beginning of the hop.

Denami Design has a wonderful variety of border and frame stamps in their collection. One of my favorites is their birthday circle stamp.   I like this stamp because I can stamp something that is dear to the recipient in the center of the circle. 

My sister asked me to create a birthday card for a friend who loves flower gardening. Here’s the card I created for her.

A friend requested a birthday card for her granddaughter whose favorite food is ice cream and favorite color is pink. I paper pieced the Denami Design ice cream cone for her “pink” card.

Before you hop along to view Pat Quinet’s beautiful creations please leave a comment on my blog. You may also want to become a follower of my blog so you’ll see my future creations.

Have a great day!

Carol

Birdhouse Card

Hi Everybody! 

Yesterday my copy of 100 Fresh and Fun Handmade Cards by Kimber McGray arrived in the mail.  I flipped through it when I first opened my package and after dinner sat down and read it from cover to cover. 

What an amazing book!  There are directions explaining how to create a basic card for times when you want to make something quick and directions explaining ways to make that same card a bit more complex.  The photographs throughout the book are so inspiring that I stayed up last night just so I could create a card. 

I decided to create the birdhouse card by Kim Hughes on page 130.  I used a classic and a scalloped square Nestability to create my window.  I cut 2 of them and ran them through my crimper.  Then I put some foam tape between the 2 of them to add dimension to the card. 

The bird is a chipboard embellishment from Maya Road that I had in my stash.  You could use a bird template that's in the back of the book to create your bird. 

Have a nice night! 
Carol