Beveled Bookmarks

Hello!  I have another fabulous Beveled Windowpane project for you today.  My stamp clubs made bookmarks with them this month.  Have a look at one of the designs.

They're so simple and so fun!  These little gems would be great gifts for teachers or anyone who likes to read.  What a fun little addition to a gift of books!  Here's a closer look...

I used craft ink (Real Red, Old Olive and Whisper White) on Crumb Cake cardstock.  I love the way craft ink looks on the Crumb Cake cardstock!  I also sponged around the edges of the cardstock with Early Espresso ink (classic).

To assemble the bookmark, you want to do the ribbon first (I used Early Espresso 5/8" Grosgrain).  Feed a long piece through one slot and tie with a piece of Linen Thread to secure it.  Then do the same with a short piece through the other slot.  On the short piece, I tied a button on with the Line Thread.  The Linen Thread loops around the ribbon and then instead of tying it off, I fed the ends through the button holes and then finished it off with a bow!  And, just so the ribbon won't fray, I torched it...ok, well not torched, but rather melted with a lighter.  But, doesn't torched sound much more dramatic!!!  Then you put a glue dot on the ribbon and stick the cardstock to it.  Easy peasy!

Here's what it looks like in use.

BTW...good book!

The March Madness winner from the last post is #6...Congratulations Lacey!  Today's prize is a surprise...but it's a big one!  Leave a comment telling me what your favorite book is and I will randomly choose a winner from all the comments left.  I'll go first...right now I'm reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and I love it (totally hooked and have a hard time putting it down)!  I don't really have a favorite book, but I love reading John Grisham, Jodi Picoult and James Patterson.

Bingo Square:  Soft Suede Puppy

Have an inspired day!

Last Day...

Just a quick reminder that today is the LAST DAY of Sale-A-Bration!  Place your orders before 11 tonight to get your free SAB product before it's gone!  You can call or email me to place your order, or go to my online store.

Be back later with some stampin and another March Madness prize!

S-P-R-I-N-G

I am convinced that Spring has to be just around the corner and we are NOT going to get anymore snow!  I've even been checking daily to see if my tulips are coming up...nothing yet, but soon I'm sure!

So, do you ever start a project and squeal with delight when it's finished because it's so fabulous?  I totally did that when I finished the S-P-R-I-N-G frame project for the Festive Frames class last week.  Check it out...

I can honestly say I love EVERYTHING about this project!!!  I started with the Springtime Vintage DSP to choose my colors and went from there.  Here are some close ups of some of the elements.

The flowers were done with the Fun Flower die which you can find in the Occasions Mini right now...love that die!!!  They are Baja Breeze sponged with Night of Navy and Pink Pirouette sponged with Rose Red.  They're finished off with some pearls and Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding for leaves.

Check out this bird!  He (or maybe it's a she because it's pink?!?!?) is punched from Rose Red cardstock.  The wing is some Springtime Vintage DSP and the eye is a pearl.  Did you notice the nest?  I *heart* the nest!!!  I found a roll of really old Hemp Twine in my cupboard and it was perfect for the nest!  I wrapped it around my finger 3 times and then tied the ends around the "nest" to keep it together.

I really love how the butterfly turned out!  My butterfly is cut from the Springtime Vintage DSP and has a row of pearls for the body.  To give the wings some dimension, I curled them with my bone folder (by running the wings between my finger an the bone folder...similar to how you would curl ribbon with scissors). 

Did you notice how the butterfly is flying from the cute button flowers?  Those buttons are from the Springtime Vintage Designer Button package...also in the Occasions Mini!  The leaves are from the Apple Blossoms level 2 hostess set and the grass is...yep, you guessed it...Springtime Vintage DSP!

Check out the sweet little tags...

They were punched with the Jewellery Tag punch and attached to the Baja Breeze Seam Binding bow with a sweet little pin.  You can find those pins in the Vintage Trinkets.

All my letters were cut with my beloved Big Shot and the Simple Alphabet.  The squares that the letters are on were stamped with the small flower from the Vintage Vogue set.  The background of the whole project was also stamped with a stamp from the Vintage Vogue set.

All in all...I love it and it looks so pretty hanging on my wall in my front entrance!

March Madness time...sorry about the unfinished post last time!  Long night the night before and I was distracted and pushed post instead of save.  Anyway, the kids chose #5, which means Rebecca wins!  Congratulations Rebecca.  For today's prize, I have a package of Subtles Glimmer Brads up for grabs.  Leave a comment telling me your favorite part of spring and I will randomly choose a winner from all the comments.

Bingo Square:  Perfect Plum Flower

Have an inspired day!

Rock On!

For Scrapbook Saturday today, I want to share a digital spread I recently did. 

Over Christmas holidays, Taylor had a really cool project to complete.  Their class was learning about sound in science, and each kid had to create an instrument.  Tay didn't think too long before he decided that he wanted to make a drum set.  So I told him to go find the stuff he needed to make it in the recycle bins in the garage.  He was out there a long time!  But, I was so impressed with what he came in with!  He chose a huge variety of cans and containers so that each of his "drums" and "cymbals" made a different sound!  We left most of the project completely up to him and just stepped in to help put it together since that required poking some holes in some of the cans.  We were super impressed with how creative he was with this project!

Left page



Right Page

For the background of my page, I used (my fav) the 2011 Noteable Desktop Calendar Kit!  Then I added the Extreme Guitar stamp in River Rock and played around with the drop shadow to get it to look like it's kind of popping off the page.  The photos are matted with either Basic Black or River Rock.  My journaling is done on a punch...the Curly Label punch filled with River Rock and matted with Basic Black.  To finish it off, I added some stars (from the Extreme Elements set) in River Rock. 

The font I chose for this page was a free download from Creating Keepsakes called CK Rugged.

Since it's Scrapbook Saturday, my March Madness prize today is a Simply Scrappin Kit!  The winner will get the Just 4 You Simply Scrappin' Kit from quite a few years ago!  The winer will be randomly chosen from all the comments left today.  The winning comment from the last post is #6, which is Janet!  Congratulations Janet!

Bingo Square:  Pretty In Pink Cat

Have an inspired day!

More Magnets

Ok, so my title isn't quite true...today's post isn't magnets as much as it's another magnet!  This month, my stamp clubs did some magnetic calendars.

I used the Playdate DSP for this project.  The scallop rectangle was cut with the Big Shot.  I used the Scallop Square Duo die.  To get a rectangle, you fold your cardstock in half and place it on the square one bump down (between the first and second scallops).  Then when you run it through the Big Shot and unfold it, you have a great rectangle!

To finish it off, I punched a 5 petal flower from Tempting Turquoise.  I scrunched it up until the layers of paper started separating and peeled it apart.  I love the look you get when you do this...kind of fuzzy with lots of texture!  I used another 5 petal flower for the leaves.  It's finished off with a small Early Espresso flower (from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack) and a Glimmer Brad!  On the back, I used a 2x3 piece of our magnet sheets so I could hang it by my desk...right beside the magnet I showed here.

Well, now you all have me longing for summer with your comments about flip flops and lemonade!!!  There are things about each season that I love, but I think if I had to choose a favorite, it would be fall.  The smell in the air, the crisp feel to the air, the colors and the "fall foods"!  I had Sawyer choose a number this morning and he chose 3...which was Kelly.  Congratulations Kelly!  Today's March Madness prize is a package of Timeless Type Chipboard.  This is a great package of chipboard letters and numbers perfect for all kinds of projects.  To win, you just need to leave a comment telling me your favorite flower!

Bingo Square:  Certainly Celery Star

Have an inspired day!

Pom Pom Cupcake

LOL...I was surprised at all the comments yesterday!  Obviously I'm not the only one who hates going to the dentist.  The funny thing is that both Kevin and I hate it, but ALL THREE of our kids love it!  Maybe that has something to do with the prizes kids get and adults don't!!!  I guess we're just really good at putting on a brave face in front of the kids.

Today's card was a make & take at my January downline meeting.  Heather brought it for all of us to make and it is just too cute not to share!

Love it!   I really like how she jazzed up the cupcake with some bling and that super cute pom pom trim.  Remember, time is running out to get that super cute pom pom trim.  At the end of April it will go bye-bye...so stock up now!

Alright, before school I had Carter choose a number to pick the winner from yesterday and he chose #5.  Congratulations Kim!  For today's March Madness prize I have a package of Subtles Glimmer Brads and a spool of So Saffron ribbon.  Today's question is What's your favorite season?  I will randomly choose a comment and that person will win!

Bingo Square:  Cajun Craze Leaf (this is the more orangy of the two colors if you have two leaves on your card!)

Have an inspired day!

Birthday Bag

So, it's been a few days!  We were away for the weekend (at a wonderful demonstrator meeting...more on that later) and yesterday I had a dentist appointmnet...it was traumatic!  Turns out my sore tooth is the result of a cracked filling which needs to be fixed ASAP and he wants to replace my other fillings too becuase they're starting to bug me.  *sigh*  I really am not a fan of the dentist, but if my tooth will stop hurting, I will put my big girl panties on and get it over with!!!

So, I have two  more birthday projects to share with you and then we're moving on to something else!  Today I have a Birthday Gift Bag to share.

Cute, eh?  I started with a plain old white papre gift bag from my stash of stuff.  Around the top, I put a piece of Old Olive DSP layered with a piece of textured Pumpkin Pie cardstock which  I cut with the Tasteful Trim die and my Big Shot!  Love that die!

See that wonderful Rich Razzleberry Happy Birthday around the top?  That was cut with the Basic Birthday decorative strip die.  So fun!  And did you notice that bow?

That bow gives me goosebumps!!!  I used the yummy striped ribbon and it tied perfectly!  Here's a closer look at the focal element on the bag.

I *heart* the Build-A-Cupcake punch and coordinating Build-A-Cupcake set.  I sure hope they carry over to the new Idea Book & Catalogue in July!!!

So, the winner of the last March Madness prize is Angela!  Congratulations Angela!  Today's question is, What do you think of the dentist...fan or not so much?  I will randomly draw a winner from all the comments and the winner will receive the Punched Posies Hostess set from last year's Occasions Mini.

Bingo Square:  Garden Green Shamrock

Have an inspired day!

Cupcake Crazy

Thanks to all of you who commented with birthday wishes yesterday!  I had a great day that ended with a delicious coconut cupcake from Crazy Cakes...oh, so yummy!  There were 8 comments left yesterday, so I had Carter choose a number between 1 & 8 this morning to choose the winner.  He chose #7...which was Kim!  Congratulations Kim!  Your prize will be in the mail shortly!

I'm going cupcake crazy people!  Today I have a super fun cupcake card to share with you!

This card went in a TOTALLY different direction than I had envisioned, but I'm happy with the way it turned out!  I started with some scraps from this card and just went with it.  Here's a close up of the cupcakes.

Mmmm, chocolate icing with chocolate sprinkles!!!

See that teeny tiny scallop edge?  It's done with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (whew...that's a mouthfull!).  I punched a strip and then glued it to the back of the Certainly Celery piece so that just a bit of the scallop was showing.  Cute, eh?

Ok, the March Madness Giveaway of the day is a super cute Stampin' Up! Manicure Set with a little bottle of lotion...in a super cute package, of course!  All you have to do to win, is be the first to comment with the correct answer to this question (the answer is on this blog somewhere!!).  Which body part did I seriously injure while building a fort for my boys in the backyard?

Bingo Square:  Basic Gray Hammer & Nails

Have an inspired day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Today's my birthday, so I ate Turtle Cheesecake for breakfast...and it was sinfully delicious!!!!  Don't worry mom...I set a good example and told the boys they could have cheesecake for their birthday breakfasts when they were as old as I was and then I served them oatmeal and fruit!!!  I also have to say thanks to Kelly for bringing the cheesecake to Stamp Club last night and to all the stamp club girls for singing to me!  It was so fun last night!

Today I have a great project for you that I CASED from Christy Daughtry.  And, the project today will answer yesterday's March Madness giveaway!  Check it out...

Can you guess what it is?  It's a birthday badge...

These are so fun and easy to make.  You could make one for any occasion!  I started with a 1 3/4" x 12" strip of DSP and scrored it at 1/2" incriments.  Then I fan-folded it, glued the ends together and gently pushed down in the center so that it would lay in a circle.  Then I glued it onto a 1 3/4" Pear Pizzazz Circle on both the front and back to hold it together.

Then, to decorate it, I used some of the Pear Pizzazz and Poppy Parade Ribbon, and on the front I did some stamping and punching.  Which brings me to a fabulous punch tip!  With punches like the Build A Cupcake, you can make yourself a punch template so that you can stamp exactly where it will punch out.  Have a look...



Make your template with a piece of Medium Window Sheet.



With the template on your cardstock, stamp your images in the appropriate holes, remove the template.



And it lines up perfectly in the punch!


There you have it!  How fun!!!!

Yesterday's winner was Alise!  She was the first to comment with the correct answer.  Congrats Alise...your prize will be mailed in the next few days.

So, today's March Madness Giveaway is a chipboard heart book (from a last year's Occasions Mini!).  All you have to do to win, is leave a comment and I will randomly chose a winner from all the comments.  You can say anything you want (if it's not nice, you won't win! *grin*).

Bingo Square:  Blushing Bride Crown

BONUS Bingo Square:  So Saffron Ducky, Wild Wasabi Umbrella

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go for a long walk (into the wind!) to wear off that birthday breakfast cheesecake!  Have an inspired day!

It's My Party...

...so how about some decor?

We did this project at my To Die For class last week.  I think it was a hit!  Funny thing...I hung it up on the mantle and Kevin walked upstairs and said, "Whose birthday is it?"  DUH!!!!!  I better get a good present for that!!!

Here's a bit of a different view.

Each pennant is half of a petal cone die cut.  They were all cut from the Ice Cream Parlor DSP (which you can still get free with a qualifying SAB order of $60 or more before shipping and tax).  The little round part on the top was folded over a piece of Whisper White Satin Ribbon.

The letters are from the Basic Birthday Decorative Strip die.  We just cut each of them apart.  They are on a 1 3/4 Whisper White circle and then onto a 2 3/8" Scallop Circle.  The colors were pulled directly from the DSP (Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie).

Between the two words is...what else...a super cute punched cupcake!

Each class participant got to make the cupcake in colors of their choice and we all embellished our cupcakes with little Ice Cream Parlor buttons and a rhinestone!!!  How cute is that?!?!?!

DINg, DING, DING...we have a winner from yesterday!  Angela was the first to comment with the correct answer to the question.  Yes, I used the wing from the Bird Punch to make the candle flames!  Angela, your prize is in the mail!

Alrighty then, lets get onto the March Madness giveaway of the day.  The first person to comment with the correct answer to the following question will win a Holly & Jolly kit which includes a package of the Holly & Jolly Rub Ons, some Jolly Holiday DSP, cardstock and ribbon!

It's never too early to start on your Christmas Cards people!!!!  Ok, so the question today is...How old am I turning?  Remember, the first person to comment with the correct answer will win!  Good luck!

Bingo Square:  Night of Navy Present

Have an inspired day!

Japan

Good morning!  At the end of last week, the world woke up to extreme devastation due to a MASSIVE earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  The pictures and stories in the news have been both scary and heart wrenching.  I can't help but feel so sad for what the Japanese people are going through right now and what they will go through as they come to terms with what has happened and try to pick up and move on with a new life.

My friend Allison is married to a man who was born and raised in Japan and whose family is still living there.  Thankfully, his dad and brother are ok.  She decided she had to do something to help the hundreds of thousands of people in need there right now.  So, she is selling some gorgeous cards and will donate ALL proceeds to the relief effort in Japan.

If you would like to learn more about her efforts and donate please visit her blog here.

Check back later for more birthday and March Madness.  Have an inspired day.

So Many Candles...

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!  Congratulations Rebecca!  Rebecca was the first to comment with the correct answer...my birthday is March 16.  Rebecca, your prize will be mailed to you in the next couple days!

On to today's card.  Since it's "all birthday, all week", I wanted to do something not cake or cupcake...you'll see more cupcakes later this week, and I don't want you to get sick of cupcakes!  So I went with candles.

I *heart* the way this turned out...even though it looked nothing like this in my head when I came up with it!!!  I started with a Marina Mist base and then a layer of Perfect Plum, which I ran through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and stamped with a saying from the "It's Your Birthday" set (Occasions Mini) and Certainly Celery Craft ink.

The candles are on a Top Note shape (cut out of both Certainly Celery and Whisper White, layered together).  The candles are made with strips of the Subtles Patterns DSP Stack.  It's finished off with some flames (So Saffron) and a piece of Marina Mist Taffeta ribbon.

That gives you a close up of the candles and the sentiment.  So, for today's March Madness giveaway...What punch did I use to make the candle flames?  The first person to post a comment with the correct answer will win a package of...

Drumroll please.....

Paper Daisies!!!  Remember, you have to be the first to comment with the correct answer to win!  Good luck!  Sorry, due to SU Demonstrator policies, today's giveaway is only valid in Canada.

Bingo Square:  Pacific Point Snowflake

Have an inspired day!

Simple Cupcake

Happy Sunday!  Whew...taxes are done, and I'm also caught up for my 2011 taxes too (we'll see how long that lasts!!!).  It's my birthday week, and I have some fun stuff planned, so let's get started!

I have a great simple birthday card to share with you today.  This card would be super easy to mass produce in a ton of colors and have on hand for those birthdays that you *gasp* forget!!!

It's a simple white base (my fav Note Cards with Envelopes!!).  I added a Melon Mambo layer, a Whisper White layer and a super cute stamped and punched cupcake.  Did you notice the button on the cupcake?  It has a rhinestone on it!!!!!!

The ruffled ribbon is a piece of Daffodil Delight Striped Grosgrain that I cut in half.  I pulled some of the strings out of the cut edge to make a little fringe.  It's gathered by being stuck on a piece of Sticky Strip.  So easy to do and you get such a fun result!

Yesterday I mentioned that my version of March Madness was going to start today.  Did I spark your curiosity?  Here's how it will work.  Each post that I make from now until the end of March will have a prize up for grabs.  How exciting is that?!?!?  I will ask a question, issue a challenge, or just give something away to someone random.  Today, to kick things off, I have a question and the first person who comments with the correct answer will win this...

It's a notepad holder!  The first person to comment with the correct answer will win it AND a project instruction sheet so you can make them for your friends, family and anyone else you want to give one to.  So, the question today is...What date is my birthday?  Remember, the first one to comment with the correct answer will win.

Bingo Square:  Bravo Burgundy Ornament

Have an inspired day!