Sock Monkey

One of my dear friends at work was so kind I couldn't help but make her a thank you card.  She loves sock monkeys.  So I pulled out the Stampin Up sock monkey set and this cute little card was created.:)
I used black pearls for the button look on his eyes.

Pumpkin Pie Anyone?

SvgCuts makes the cutest svg files.  I'm always looking for unique boxes/bags to make for friends & family.  They add the perfect touch.  Here's one of their newest files from the Crisp Days Of Fall set.  A pumpkin pie treat box!  If I make 7 more I'll have a whole pie to share. :)  I'm thinking for summer time doing a cherry pie or strawberry.  Mmmmm

www.svgcuts.com

Happy Owl-aween!

For Halloween treats this year I had a "hoot" making these cute Owl pillow boxes.  They held mini Halloween bag of M&M's and a piece of Twizzler candy.  This was a svg file but can also be made with the pillow box Sizzix die from Stampin Up.  I also used circle punch for the feathers and heart punch for beak & feet.

Here's a link to a great website & video to assemble a pillow box.

  http://paperpastime.blogspot.com/2010/01/pillow-box-favor-video-file.html

Haunted House

I love the change of seasons when the air is crisp and it's starting to get chilly.  SvgCuts website has for sale this cute svg cut file.  You can create your own spooky, haunted house! And they have a wonderful video tutorial to follow that makes this project - you guessed it super fun and easy.  If you have SCAL this site is the best!  Here's my version with the little battery operated tea lights glowing in the night.

Halloween Is Coming!

I found an awesome tutorial on Youtube on how to make removable window clings.  All you use is clear  shelf liners from the store, cut to the size to fit your Cricut mat, and just like vinyl it works!  I found a fun font and cut out BEWARE for our mirror that is in our entry way.  Decorated with a few cut out spiders just to catch our visitors off guard.  Fun and fast project. :)

Butterflies & Wax Paper Resist

Today I wanted to share with you a little something I've been working on.  Since school is getting ready to start I'm looking forward to stamping again with kids after school.  I'd really like to start teaching some techniques and since I still need to be schooled in them Splitcoaststampers is always my first stop.
I followed the directions for Wax Paper Resist and was amazed wax paper that I store in my kitchen could make such a wonderful image.  I say the word "store" because I don't cook and am so glad it has another purpose.  lol   Below is my first card with the wax paper, hope you like it. :) 

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/wax_paper_resist/

Supplies used - Wax paper, Stampin Up butterfly & scallop punch, and white pearl buttons.

For the butterflies I used Stampin Up butterfly prints and embossed them with clear powder on colored velum paper.

Faux Silk Miss You Card

This simple but elegant card was so much fun to make.  And I got to use tissue paper in a whole new way. :)
Always learning something new from the wonderful creative people on Splitcoaststampers.  This technique is called Faux Silk.  White tissue paper, stamp it, crinkle it, then spray a glue adhesive, and trim. For dimension I used the Stampin Up bird punch, 3D miss you sticker and a Stampin Up button.  Wanna give it a try?  Here's the link http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/faux_silk/

Faux Flower - Thank You Card

I take a weekly vacation to Splitcoaststampers website - love their resource link.  The technique I tried this week was Faux Flowers.  I've had some flower embellishments for while now and really wanted to make a card using more than one without it looking gaudy.  This worked perfectly!  Stamp an image with flowers or vines, pick out or punch your favorite flower embellishments, add designer paper, dry emboss all of it together.   I used a Sizzix folder through my machine, then added pearls on the middle of the flower.  Fun and easy :)

For close up look at the embossing detail, click on picture to enlarge it.

Up, Up and away!

Lately I've been cleaning out my stamp "accessories."  Aka -scrap paper.  I have drawer full of it and I can't see parting with a good scrap. I admit it, I hord paper. :) Well SVG Cuts has a adorable hot air balloon file.  My scrap paper drawer came in handy.  To go along with my fabric themes, I cut out the green background of the balloon with fabric on my Cricut.  You really can't tell it's fabric but if you touch it it's just as soft as a real hot air balloon floating by.

Shimmer effect - Pearls Powder, and background is Encaustic.

Stamping On Fabric

 Have you ever been at a store and a sale item was just too good to pass up?  Well, that was me. I bought fabric I didn't need but it was so cheap I thought maybe I could use it down the road.  Then a light bulb went off I had the perfect project in mind. It resembled a pair a jeans, so I inked up my stamps and a cute fabric pocket formed! :)  This card was made with Stampin Up Pocket Fun, flower & enjoy stickers, various background paper, and button brads to complete the look.

Acetate Stamping

Stamping with Acetate.  My translation, fancy way of saying - over head projector sheets. :) Lots of fun and easy to do.

 I dressed up a cute little address book my Stampin Up Demo gave me. Added glitter and rub on decorations.  If you would like to learn more about acetate check out http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ look under resource you'll find the best tutorials and videos around. :)





Note Cards

If you haven't heard of Swap-bot this site has every swap you can think of from fabric - to stamping to? http://www.swap-bot.com/  And it's free!  I have received some beautiful things.  A current swap I was in was to send 2 lotto scratch tickets and you would get 2 in return.  Well off mine went but I couldn't do it without making a little card to carry them safely to their new homes.  So here is what I came up with.  It's another gate fold but used up and down instead of the traditional side to side.  I bought them at Michael's and the stickers from Crop Girls store.  The scallop edge punch is Stampin Up.  I love to mix and match stuff to come up with one happy card in the end.

Safari Baby Shower Invites

A friend of mine asked if I could make baby shower invites for her.  I said yes, then realized this would be a first for me.  I've done invites for birthday parties but never baby showers.  It was to be a safari theme with lions, tigers and bears - oh my!  Wait wrong story lol!  She did want lions, monkeys, and giraffe.  So off I went to Google svg files and found the cutest ones.  I had to make 30 but it fun seeing each little animal come together.  The lion is actually made from punches I borrowed from http://chicnscratch.typepad.com/chic_n_scratch/punch-art/  she has wonderful punch art ideas.  I used a gate fold along with strips of  matching scrapbook paper.  My Cricut Expression really gave me an extra pair of hands.  Without it I'd still be cutting out critters by hand. The vine you see in the inside was actual soft ribbon from a wonderful store I recently discovered called Crop Girls.  If you need inspiration they are the place to go - Card ideas everywhere! http://cropgirls.com/html/gallery.html

Easter Egg Card

I realize it's summer time and not Spring.  But I forgot to upload these cards I made for co-workers.  Supplies used - various pastel paper, Cricut, SCAL, egg svg file, and pearl accents from Michael's.  And I love adding a little treat.  I found the cutest Easter eggs in the shape of chickens!  So I used the svg file from SVG cuts and made sure he had a little patch of grass to rest on.  And don't forget if you use this idea to fill them with candy to share :)  Yummy and cute!




The Cricut makes this fast and easy.  I love using pearl stickers they come in a variety of colors.



http://www.svgcuts.com/blog/2011/04/18/easter-egg-svg-characters/

3D Paper Flowers

I am in love with svg files!  Here is a wonderful blog to check out if you haven't already.  http://www.svgcuts.com/blog/2009/05/12/3d-flowers-svg-kit-video-tutorial/  There I found 3D flowers and not just one but a bouquet of them!  I sized them down for  flower arrangements at our school volunteer luncheon.  There are so many fun things you can do with these, adorn cards, scrapbook pages, or even hair accessories.  My husband made the stems out of green floral wire, bows are Martha Stewart, and the vases are from Target.  They were a big hit at our luncheon. :)

School Appreciation - Fifties Style

One of my favorite times of the year - Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week.  Each year we have a luncheon to say thank you to the staff for all their hard work.  I feel so blessed, they let me have full creative say and every year I HAVE to theme it! lol  This year was a 50's diner with my husband as our personal chef!  In staying with the theme we like to do little gifts as well.  I chose little mason jars from the wedding section at Michael's. Used the Cricut for vinyl letters and glass etching cream to personalize each staff members initials.  Inside they were filled to the rim with Reese's Pieces and topped off with a little record "You Rock" tag made from a free svg file.  Our school colors are brown and orange, the candy worked out perfect!



Glass etching cream takes 5 minutes but looks like it took hours:)



One done, 99 to go!

These were so much fun to make and easy too!

Done!  A Special treat you can reuse :)

Water Bottle Holder Part 1

There are some cute water bottle drink holders out there.  I found Crystal Light single pouches drink mixes fit perfectly.  You just hang one of these on a water bottle with a drink mix pouch and it's guaranteed to make someone smile :)

Water Bottle Drink Mix Holders

It's summer... time to unwind. I can't wait to dive into my craft room and share some new ideas with you. Recently I fell in love with the those cute water bottle pouches. Here is my take on it. I also used Splitcoaststampers tutorial on acetate & tissue technique. I used Stampin Up Fish set and blue refill ink. I bet food coloring would work well too!

More ink drops the darker the look, less for a more see through water effect.

Here's the link to Splitcoaststampers wonderful tutorial http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/acetate_tissue/

Hang In There - Candy Airplanes

Another project that the kids LOVED making in class today.  Spotted these on Splitcoaststampers, they were so cute I couldn't wait to try them out. These were a lot of fun to make and easy too!  These would make great party favors or baby shower accessories.


Candy airplanes  - Recipe - 1 stick of gum, 1 Smarties candy, 1 rubber band and 2 Lifesavers.  I used a flower punch for the propeller and pearl button.  As an extra touch we added a cute tail message

 Hang in there! :)

Paper Fortune Cookies

Chinese paper fortune cookies!  I dared to dream the impossible :) lol!  I found a recipe to make paper fortune cookies but I wanted to turn one into a special treat.  A cookie within a cookie!  These little cookies can be used for a variety of things.  To gift money, secret message, or an invite to a birthday party.  We're actually using this same idea to invite my daughter's guest to a Chinese themed birthday later this month.  These are very easy to make.  Use your favorite color of paper cut out a circle, tape, pinch and walla instant cookie!

http://www.ehow.com/video_4790371_make-paper-fortune-cookies.html

Owl Bookmark

In one of our recent classes we made these fun owl bookmarks out of colored paper clips.
The kids had so much fun.  These would make a great gift for any book lover or even party favors.  Supplies used - Stampin Up Owl punch, a variety of scrap paper, google eyes, foam tape, and colorful paper clips.

Valentine Candle Stamping

I love using stamps on a variety of things.  One of my favorite is stamping on candles.  It looks so neat and is sooo easy. :)

1. Stamp on white tissue paper.
2. Color and trim around your image.
3. Place trimmed image on candle.
4. Place wax paper over image and press onto the candle.
5. Use heating tool on wax paper to melt the tissue paper image underneath to candle.
6. Step back oooh and ahhh over your creation :)
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/stamping_on_candles/

Candle Stamping

Strawberry Treat Holders

Strawberries & Basket - so cute they look good enough to eat!  Well actually the strawberry is a candy holder!  I made these from using a strawberry & basket svg cut file, the Sure Cuts A Lot program, and my Cricut. Scallop oval punches are Stampin Up.  Friends stamp was a cheap find at Michael's.
Filled with conversation hearts for a Valentine treat. :)

Bee Mine....

I have a class once of week for elementary students.  My goal is to teach them to be creative and have fun making gifts to share with family and friends.  Here is our latest project.  Lollipop holder with a Stampin Up Scallop Square.

Valentine's Day Treat

For Christmas I purchased the Sure Cuts A Lot program for my Cricut.  The Craftedge blog has some wonderful svg files. One of them being this cute Valentine's Day Mailbox.  You can make them any size you like.  I sized them down to 6 inches because it fit my SweetTart candy perfectly.

http://www.craftedge.com/purchase/purchase.php?rfid=2072843&ref=0adfe1a0d2cc2c8f10bc5b46d377d9da