Scraptastic Class Samples

Over the past few weeks I've read a number of articles on how to re-purpose leftover crafting supplies and voila!...the birth of a new class: Scraptastic Card Class. With the number of classes and workshops I've offered over the past two years, my supply of scraps has built up to quite a formidable stash, one which I'm more than willing to whittle down to a manageable pile and I'm sure you'd like to do the same with your hoard of scraps (if you're a crafter, you know you have one!). Here's a few tips that should help to inspire a few projects and get rid of your scraps all at the same time...it's a twofer!

Tip 1: Make Card Candy/Scrap Candy/Embellishments

Those bits of paper make great little embellishments, especially if you've got nifty designer paper leftover. Whip out your punches and dies to make assorted shapes, using them to make adorable little embellishments to keep on hand or give away. Add texture to the shapes by embossing, tipping with glitter, or stamping with a background stamp. In the above picture, I've mounted a few layered embellishments on a 6" x 6" piece of acetate and will give them in a gift with some simple 4" x 4" cards and envelopes. Perfect to tuck into an altered CD tin or acetate gift box. See the pleated accent at the top? It's just a strip of leftover cardstock scored and folded! Take it up a notch and stitch over it with your sewing machine. It's amazing what can be done with a smidgeon of imagination and scraps :)

Tip 2: Make collages or pattern strips from designer paper

Use your punches (squares, circles, etc.) to create pattern collages, as I did here with the four squares featured in the center of the card. This makes it easy to use scraps in the same color family, as well as coordinate other scrap pieces to use for layering. I had a large piece of leftover Kiwi Kiss cardstock that matched the designer paper. A scrap of white cardstock was embossed in a damask pattern to complement the designer paper, as well as a tiny piece of white used to make the coordinating tag.

Tip 3: Use scraps and punches to create unique borders
Inspired by a scrapbooking blog I follow, I punched 1 3/8" circles, scored the circles on each side, folded the scores down and then cut the circles in half to make this fabulous little border. Once the circles are cut, use Sticky Strip or Scor-Tape to adhere the half circles. I love the extra touch this border adds to my project.


Tip 4: Use small pieces to make tiny gift tags, buttons, and flowers
Don't limit your thinking to just paper...think buttons, ribbon, leftover pearls, and paper flowers. Using the Stampin' Up! Tiny Tags set and coordinating punch, I made ten coordinating gift tags to use with card fronts or on small gifts, like the card on the right. I tucked the tags into the little matchbox and used coordinating scraps to decorate the box. The butterfly accent on the box is a leftover piece of cardstock and a random button tied with leftover twine. Quick and cute!

The green flower accent is a 1 3/8" circle snipped all the way around. The button is a technique I learned at the European Stampin' Up! convention last November: punch 6 to 8 circles of designer paper or cardstock and layer together using Crystal Effects. Allow to dry, then punch holes using the Crop-A-Dile. Add thread, twine, or ribbon, and you've got a homemade paper button! Easy peasy! The "leaf" is a leftover piece of Certainly Celery twill tape folded over.

This card actually goes along with Tip 2, which is creating a patterned strip using designer paper.

Again, I used leftover cardstock to creat my own embellished flower. Once I cut out the flower, I colored the center of the flower with a coordinating ink, added Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and a few beads.

These projects are all very girlie, with lots of flowers and butterflies but you get the idea of ways you can use your scraps. I think I'll have to come back and do another one making masculine embellishments :) Here's some further helpful hints for using up your scraps:

*Remember: Thou shalt not make more scraps! If you're doing "Scraps Only" projects, try to only create card bases or boxes that will use the exact measurements of a regular sized piece of cardstock without making more scraps to do it. For example, you can cut 12" x 12" cardstock into 3" x 3", 4" x 4", 6" x 6", or 3" x 6" card bases so that you don't generate more scraps and you use the entire piece. Once you've created your card bases, then you can dig into your scraps to make embellishments.

*When creating projects, always look in your scraps first before cutting into another piece of paper.

*Organize your scraps: ribbons, diecuts, paper by color or color family, buttons, etc. Whatever method of organization works so that you can find what you need without having to dig for an hour looking for that button or ribbon scrap you know is in there somewhere.

*Keep your scraps out in the open or easily accessible: out of sight is out of mind so keep them where you can see them and be reminded of using them first. I have three glass jars on my craft desk with ribbon scraps, tags, and diecuts that I can see at a glance if there's anything I can use. It's amazing how often you'll find something you can use when you keep it in sight.

Thanks for hanging in to the very end! Now go reward yourself with some chocolate (or whatever you like) because you deserve it for reading all the way to the very bottom. I truly hope this has inspired you to look at your scraps in a whole new way. Happy crafting!

Designing on a Dime: Toilet Paper Tubes

Given the current global economic climate, I think most of us are on the lookout for quality but inexpensive gift giving ideas. Gift cards are an ideal gift but I want a unique gift card holder that shows that I took just a little bit of extra effort in presenting the gift card. Inspired by Julie Griffith's Toilet Paper Tube Album on Paper Jewels, I designed a Toilet Paper Tube Gift Card Holder.

With the amount of money we spend on toilet paper, why not get your full value for your money and use the leftover tube to make a special gift? This holder is quick, easy to mass produce, and economical. Simply flatten your toilet paper tube, then cut the long end down to 4" in length. This enables you to make 6 holder covers from one sheet of 12" x 12" paper and keeps the tube long enough to hold a gift card and mini card. (Each cover measures 4" x 6" and the designer paper strip is 3" x 6") You can create mini embellishments for the outside of the tube with sentiments for any occasion utilizing whatever paper scraps you may have on hand and the ribbon to tie the holder closed is actually inexpensive seam binding.

Here's a view of the holder with the mini card inserted


A view of the toilet paper tube on the interior. I found that Scor-Tape or SU! Sticky Strip are the best for adhering the paper to the toilet paper tube so that it remains securely fastened to the tube.

Another design, using a similar color scheme. The ribbon is vintage black seam binding, purchased from Mary Not Martha on Etsy. (Thanks to Suzi for the custom listing!)

I have been hard pressed to find masculine projects that I like so I came up with this gift card holder that could be used for Father's Day or a birthday. I love the fact that I could create both feminine and masculine gifts from the same pack of designer paper! I'm also working on some kid friendly holders using some of Jordan's robot paper and some fun teen-themed grunge paper from Basic Grey, which I'll post when those are finished. I hope this project inspires you to take a fresh look at your toilet paper tubes and create a unique and inexpensive gift.

Supplies: Toilet Paper Tubes (any brand...LOL), Close to my Heart retired Silhouette Designer Paper, Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Very Vanilla, and Kraft cardstock, Black Staz-On, Stampin' Up! Soft Suede and Basic Gray Classic Ink, Stampin' Up! Sanded, Well Scripted, and Oval All stamp sets, Scor-Tape, Stampin' Up! dimensionals, Close to my Heart paper flowers, Papertrey Ink twine and Vintage black buttons, Crop-A-Dile, MaryNotMartha vintage black seam binding, Martha Stewart champagne seam binding, Impress Rubber Stamps bolt brads, Stampin' Up! blender pen

Beautiful Card

As I mentioned in my last posting, we've had an unusual amount of extreme cold weather and snow this winter. We LOVE the snow and other than the shoveling getting tiresome after a bit, we enjoy the beauty of watching the snow fall and playing in it when the storm subsides. Last night we went for a walk and Jordan took great delight in throwing himself into the piles of snow built up beside each house from the neighbors shoveling. What does that have to do with this card, you ask? This past week I had a lovely group of ladies registered for my first Cards Only Club and it turned out to be a snow day so the classes were cancelled...boohoo! Since the ladies couldn't come to me, I thought I'd post one of the projects from the class so they could cry over what they missed (just kidding). CASE'd from a card on the Stampin' Up! demonstrators website, I tweaked this design in order to use product that I purchased in bulk some months ago and needed to use up before they collected any more dust. Have I mentioned that I have a tendency to hoard supplies? Definitely need to break that habit so my pocketbook will stop crying! I had some retired Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze cardstock that I finally decided to part with rather reluctantly but this group of ladies would have appreciated my sacrifice since it has been one of my favorite In Color releases to date. This design is very simple and perfect for a quick but pretty card that can easily be mass produced with different sentiments.

As Emeril Lagasse would say, I decided to "kick it up a notch" by adding a row of glitter at the base of some cards using a line of Scor-tape, as well as running the butterfly through my Xyron sticker maker to add a layer of adhesive and sprinkle lovely glitter over the surface. You can never have too much bling!

Here's a closer look at the glittered butterfly. Isn't it pretty?! The sticker maker adds a nice even layer of adhesive and once you add the glitter, it holds it without tons of glitter falling off nor do you have to wait for it to dry which is an added bonus. Not a bad project for a snow day!

Supplies: SU! Great Friend stamp set, Technique Tuesday Ali Edwards Limited Edition Beautiful stamp set, SU! Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, and Whisper White Cardstock, SU! Cameo Coral and Basic Gray classic ink, SU! Walk in the Park Designer paper, Versamark, Dimensionals, We R Memory Keepers Chomper, Xyron sticker maker, Martha Steward Fine Glitter, SU! white hardware grommet, Scor-tape, Scor-pal

Valentine's Day Crafts and Snow

Happy almost Valentine's Day! Today's post is a long one, which means you might want to prepare yourself with your favorite beverage before plowing ahead. I've been a busy bee lately, crafting up a storm for Valentine's Day, classes, and volunteer gifts as well as offering a free class to 28 ladies at our annual Europe-Wide Ladies Retreat held last week. Thank goodness for friends who willingly stay up until 2 a.m. to cut cardstock and put course materials together or I would never have made it through (overflowing gratitude to Marilyn and Tasha) The unfortunate reality: I didn't take a single picture of the class or the projects I demonstrated! Sigh....these things happen but I could have kicked myself for not bringing my camera along. Back to the post at hand: the project shown above is from a box template available free on Lauren Meader's new business website and one which I made as a gift for my technique club attendees in January. I revamped the design for Valentine's Day and made 14 of these beauties for the wonderful ladies who volunteer with me at the high school student store.

The box template is the size and shape of a crayon box, perfect for dropping in Russell Stover's chocolate marshmallow hearts, or other yummy treats. The designer paper with the paper flower attached is actually a belly band that slides right off. I'm loving the new Stampin' Up! designer papers and embellishments in our current mini catalog!

Same paper set, now made into a card. I case'd this design from someone on Splitcoaststampers and I'm sorry to admit that I couldn't find the designer to give them credit. Whoever you are, thank you for a simple yet classy card design! I've really got to work on the lighting when I take my photos but sometimes it's better to take a bad picture and have something to post than no picture at all.

Jordan wanted to do goodie bags for his class for Valentine's Day but he wanted to do something unique. None of the suggestions I made seemed to appeal to him until we happened upon a project by Debbie Olson on Nichole Heady's blog that featured an airplane treat made out of a pack of gum and a matching tag. Several years ago we learned how to make candy airplanes at a Family Readiness Group meeting with Joe's unit and Jordan thought that would be the perfect "unique" treat for his class. I printed the font for the tag on Print Shop using a free Creating Keepsakes font called CK Alis Handwriting, then stamped and colored the airplane with Jordan's help. The airplane is from the retired Stampin' Up! set called Toy Box. The heart is punched from the Stampin' Up! Heart to Heart punch and leftover red cardstock scraps. I'm determined to work my way through my scraps!

Here's a close-up: Joe and Jordan ended up coloring in the airplanes for me so I could finish tying all the bags off with curling ribbon. I forgot to make room on the tag for a hole to put the ribbon through so I just attached the tag to the bag with mini Glue Dots.

A close-up of the airplane, made of one roll of Mentos, two unwrapped Lifesavers for wheels, a pack of Bubble Yum, and a rubber band to hold it all in place. We had a serious discussion on whether or not to cover the gum and mints with Valentine's Day paper but Jordan felt it would be too "girlie" and that some of the kids in his class might be "grossed out" by all the hearts and love if we got carried away. I guess girls still have cooties in the fourth grade :) The propeller was attached by pushing a paper piercer into the front of the mints to create a small hole and inserting a silver brad in to hold it. The propeller is also made from leftover red cardstock scraps and the Stampin' Up! Word Window punch. You can design a smaller version of the plane with small Doublemint or Juicy Fruit gum packs and long Tootsie Rolls for the body. Jordan will have to give these to his classmates next week since today ended up being a Snow Day and there's no school! I'm sure his classmates will enjoy them, even if they're received late.

Speaking of snow, we've had an unseasonable amount of snow this year, extremely unusual for the area of Germany we live in. You can see here that Jordan is enjoying the snow quite a bit!

"The Boys" decided to go outside and build snowmice instead of snowmen: they both play MouseHunt on Facebook and thought it would be cool to make a snowmouse representative of the mice on the game. Joe is the supposed grown-up on the right...hee, hee!

Thanks for hanging in there to the very end! I've got more projects and miscellaneous stuff to post but will spare you for the time being. Until next time....

Paper Flowers and a Happy New Year

Happy New Year! We've whizzed through Thanksgiving, Christmas, our 19th wedding anniversary, and the New Year in our house but things are finally settling back into some semblance of routine. The kids went back to school today, Joe was at work for the first full day in a few weeks, and I got to enjoy having the house all to myself. Don't get me wrong...I love having everyone home but I definitely enjoyed my "Mom" time today!

I hosted my monthly Technique club a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd finally get around to posting one of the techniques I learned from Monica Gale at the European Stampin' Up! Convention, the layered paper flower. Isn't this a pretty embellishment?? Granted, it's a bit "poofy" for mailing but it can easily be tucked into a gift bag or box if you aren't up to sending it in a padded mailer. The flower on this particular card is made from lunch bags! I always seem to have lots of disposable lunch bags for crafts since the kids take LL Bean lunch bags to school. I realize the card design has a "fall" look but I've been trying to go through the supplies I've got on hand and I just love this fall paper from SU!'s last mini catalog. Here's how to make the flower:

1. Using the Stampin' Up! Scallop Circle punch, punch 6 to 8 circles out of your paper of choice.

2. For lightweight papers such as tissue, Designer Series paper, or the lunch bags, crumple each of your circles up into a ball. For heavier cardstock, lightly mist the paper with water and then crumple so the fibers in the paper will break easier.

3. Open up each crumpled ball and layer all of the circles together, then punch a hole in the center using a Crop-A-Dile.

4. Insert a knotted ribbon or brad in the center to hold the layers together.

5. Fluff the layers up until you achieve the desired effect, as shown in the picture above. If needed, you can spritz more water on the flower to soften the layers so they'll crumple up easier. Leave the flower to dry for a few minutes if you've used water.

6. Add any embellishments such as leaves, buttons, felt circles, etc.

You can also visit Dawn McVey's blog if you want a step by step pictorial on how to make the flowers step by step. For a different look, try using different punch shapes like hearts or ovals. Thanks for stopping by to check out my latest card project! I hope you enjoyed the holidays and I wish you a blessed 2010.

So Tweet and the latest happenings

I know I promised to post pics from my trip to Belgium but I haven't quite found the time to weed through them all. Tomorrow is sort of a "Home Day" for me, with no appointments in the afternoon, so maybe I can squeeze in some crafting and blog updating. We've already decided to make breakfast for dinner, pull out the bed in the couch, and have breakfast in bed for dinner. Yippee! Anyway, I thought I'd post some random things since they were on my mind. I'll start with a project first. Isn't this a tweet, I mean sweet, card?! Once again inspired by Angi Juda's site, I CASE'd this idea for a workshop I did the last week of June. Very simple design and easy to put together. Sometimes it's nice to have a project that's quick, just to experience a quick jolt of satisfaction at having completed a project.
Here's a peek at the inside. I just love the SU! Cheep Talk stamp set with its pudgy little birdie.

July 3rd was an absolutely crazy day weatherwise! I had attempted to put together a weekend trip to Paris and so many things seemed to bar the way that perhaps it was a hint to cancel the trip. After the storm subsided on Friday, I was glad that I was not out traveling in such horrendous weather. The day started off well enough, with sunshine but a smattering of cloud cover and LOTS of humidity. As the day progressed this dark, ominous cloud formation appeared on the horizon and next thing I know, we're being pelted by heavy downpour that turns into hail. That's right, HAIL...in July!!!! I've lived in Germany for many years and this is the first time I remember a hailstorm in the middle of summer. I don't know if you can spot the hail pellets scattered over my yard but the above photo is taken from my office window after the hail had subsided. My poor plants took a beating!

When the storm began, I opened the window to the office to watch the rain and a butterfly fluttered over to the window and almost flew into the house! It was a breathtaking moment to watch this beautiful butterfly fluttering under the eave of the house, looking for a refuge from the storm and watching to see if it was going to fly into the house or stay outside. Instead it took cover from the storm just outside the window and stayed for quite some time. There's a life lesson in there somewhere but I'm still pondering on it. Thankfully the yucky weather passed on and we had a gorgeous 4th of July.

I was on Skype with Joe today and looked over to see Alex asleep in her chair. She was helping Jordan play a game on her computer and at some point, she fell asleep. Eventually he left to play Legos in his room but she remained, just snoozing away. I'm sure she'll be happy to see I've posted this on my blog! Hee, hee...evil mommy laughter.....

Recently I purchased a letter "A" on Etsy for the space above my craft desk and it finally came in last week. I love it! I had actually planned to put it in the space above the punches but it didn't look right so I moved the clock above the door and put the stamp quote and a moo card above the punches and put the letter where the clock used to hang. I also added another kitchen bar from Ikea since I've expanded my inventory of punches. The space where the letter hangs still seems a little bare but I'm just happy to have the space organized a bit better until I can figure out what I want to do differently. I know, having a giant letter "A" on the wall is not the most exciting thing that can happen in life but for some reason the pretty font and bright red color makes me happy. We all need a bit of whimsy in life from time to time!

So, I guess that's the end of today's random musings. Lately I've been spending time on other artist's blogs and feeling that my blog leaves something to be desired. Do I change to Typepad or stay with Blogger? How much more time can I spend crafting so I have more exciting projects on my blog that will entice folks to check it out or does it really matter to me? Where do I need to rearrange things in my life that will bring it into better balance with things that REALLY matter to me, like my family and my relationship with God? Can I make it through another three months of deployment? Just stuff I've been thinking about lately. Probably not interesting for anyone reading this but it sure is therapeutic just to write about it! So, off to bed and a little time reading a new devotion book for Bible study on Friday. Until next time!

Father's Day Pull Out Card

A stunning event has occurred in my house: I've actually got my Father's Day cards made a MONTH in advance! Shocking, I know. This nifty card idea was given to me by Beate Schupp, the German SU! demo who helped me host a workshop two months ago. If you haven't visited her blog, it is well worth the time to scroll through and check out her projects.

Isn't this a fun design? With two pull out panels, one side features a photo of my husband as a kid with his dad and the other side will have a note to my father-in-law. I love the fact that you recycle the plastic packaging around the SU! cardstock to make the movable band on the inside. With the economy in its current state, many crafters are learning to make do with what they have to create projects cheaply and this card doubles as an inexpensive "mini album". Click here for a link to a tutorial on how to complete this card from start to finish. Happy crafting!

Supplies: SU! Frohliche Feiertage, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, and Print Pattern (retired) stamp sets, SU! Close to Cocoa, Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, and Old Olive cardstock and Classic ink, plastic packaging from cardstock pack, Scor-Pal, SU! library clips, dimensionals, SU! 1 3/8" circle and 1 1/2" square punches, Crop-A-Dile, bronze eyelets, 1/4" Scor-Tape, paper piercing tool and mat, adhesive

Cogsmo Cricket Birthday

My third posting for today: talk about overkill! I haven't posted any projects recently and thought I'd get off my lazy hiney and take some pics. I'm always looking for gift bag/card ideas, especially having a 9 year old who is always being invited to parties. Most of his friends are boys but sometimes boy themed papers are difficult to find. Utilizing the Cogsmo Cricket "Cogsmo" paper from a previous project, I threw together a matching gift bag and birthday card set for a party Jordan is going to this afternoon. I ordered a bajillion of the craft bags from Packaging Source and have been using them for every occasion, just altering them appropriately based on who the gift is for.
How can you not love this paper? The pattern reminds me of the characters in the movie "Robots"! The card took me about 10 minutes to design and throw together, with paper to spare for duplicates. Thanks for checking out my projects!
Supplies: Stampin' Up! Real Red, Bayou Blue cardstock and classic ink, SU! Toybox (retired) , Everyday Flexible Phrases (retired) and It's Your Birthday (retired) stamp sets, Cogsmo Cricket "Cogsmo" Designer 8x8" paper pack, SU! library clips and silver brads, Cricut, paper piercer/tool, white DMZ floss, window punch, foam dimensional tape, adhesive,

A Mess and a Few Projects

What a mess but a happy mess! Last Saturday I hosted a German Stampin' Up! workshop and it was a lot of fun! I've been wanting to purchase some of the German Stampin' Up! sentiment stamps since the company established itself here in Germany in 2007 but could never find a German demo until recently. This is some of the mess leftover from the workshop and my subsequent club class on Sunday. I needed to finish up some samples and figured there was no point in shlepping everything upstairs to finish it when everything was already set up in the living room. I had eleven guests, some American and some German, making extra work for the demonstrator as she had to translate between English and German, but she did a great job and I think everyone had a good time. Beate brought some terrific samples (unfortunately, I didn't take photos!) but you can visit her blog to see her handiwork.

Isn't this fantastic?! This was my hostess gift from Beate, which immediately made all of us want to make one. Beate added so many little details that made this project extra special, such as the addition of organdy ribbon and the beautifully detailed chipboard flower.

How cute is that?!!! The box coordinates perfectly with the hazelnut chocolate nuggets inside and I love how the lid fits into the box to create a display. You can visit Beate's blog to see how to make this project, however the directions are in German and the dimensions are in centimeters so be prepared to adjust your thinking if you're used to working in inches. You can also contact Beate through her blog if you're interested in ordering however, she can only ship to German addresses so you're out of luck if you live stateside!

After posting that beautiful gift box, I don't know that I want to show my meager little project! This is a simple but quick design for a lovely card that can be used for any occasion. I'm really hooked on the Close To Cocoa/Baja Breeze/Kiwi Kiss color combination, which you may have noticed since the last three projects I've posted have utilized these colors.

Here's a close-up of some of the detailing. I'm off to run errands and enjoy some of the beautiful sunshine! Have a wonderful week!

Circle Scissors, Paper Pleating, and Ribbon Flowers, Oh My!

Here's the latest in club projects featuring two new techniques and a new crafting tool! While both of these projects are a bit more labor intensive, I think they're well worth the extra time. I designed these for Mother's Day but you could easily adapt them for other occasions.

The Mother's Day Window Bag, adapted from a bag demo'd by StampinUp!'s Shannon West, utilizes the new Circle Scissors Plus. The Circle Scissors Plus is a circular cutter which can cut varying sizes of circles, up to 16". This is actually version two of the original bag I designed as I gave away my original to one of my customers who couldn't stay to complete the bag. Before teaching yesterday, I had already been playing around with the Circle Scissors so I could demo the tool with confidence. Every sample I made while trying it out was effortless but when I went to demo it for my Sunday stamp club, disaster struck! It was hilarious: everything I cut was either crooked or didn't cut all the way through, and I ended up screwing up SIX craft bags before I got it right. At one point I grabbed up all the bags, tossed them on the floor in a fit of dramatic pique and said, "That's it! I quit!" Everyone cracked up and I finally was able to demo the project. When Shannon West features the tool on the video for SU!, she says, "Just turn it like you're stirring a pot of soup." Well, my soup was defective! If you'd like to see a video tutorial on the Circle Scissors Plus, visit Angie Juda's Stamping Academy.


This card features two new techniques: paper pleating and creating a ribbon flower. The paper pleating is super easy and creates a lovely effect. Simply score a strip of cardstock or designer paper at 1" and 1/2" intervals (1, 1 1/2, 2 1/2, 3, 4, 4 1/2", and so on), then fold the paper in pleats. Once the pleats are folded, go back and smooth the pleats with a bone folder or Scor-Tool so they will lay properly. Back the pleat with a strip of Scor-Tape or Sticky Strip as you'll need something stronger than Snail adhesive to keep the pleated strip on your project. If you pleat a 12 inch long strip, it creates a 4 1/2" pleated strip which is perfect for trimming down for a standard A2 card.
The ribbon flower was created with a 10" strip of wide grosgrain ribbon (the wider the width of ribbon, the larger your flower). Beginning at one end, run a loose stitch or gathering stitch all the way up one side of the ribbon, pulling the thread tight at intervals. I used DMC floss rather than thread for its strength factor as it is less likely to break each time you pull the ribbon for gathering. Once the end is pulled tight, place a small knot at the end to help keep the gathers in place, then stitch the two ends of ribbon together to form a circle. Stitch a button over the top and you've got yourself a lovely ribbon flower perfect for a card or scrapbook page. Who knew that my mom's lessons on sewing would actually come in handy! Here's a link to a ribbon tutorial on Peacoats and Party Hats for those visual learners. I'm sorry the pictures aren't the greatest...I was trying to get some nice outdoor photos and they weren't as clear as I thought they'd be. Still working on the photography :) Happy crafting!

Supplies: (Bag) SU! Close To Cocoa and Baja Breeze Classic Ink, SU! Parisian Breeze Designer Series Paper, SU! Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, and Baja Breeze cardstock, SU! Great Friend stamp set (2009 Mini Occasions catalog), Circle Scissors Plus, paper piercer, Buttons Galore assorted white buttons, natural twine (Listmann's), Marvy Uchida Giga Tag punch, SU! 1 3/4" circle punch, SU! ribbon originals, dimensionals, window sheets, Cricut, SU! Crystal Effects, SU! Dazzling Diamonds glitter (on butterfly)
(card) Supplies almost identical to list above. White grosgrain ribbon (Dollar Tree), SU! Baja Breeze flower button from Button Bouquet set, SU! eyelet lace punch

Thank You Card: Experiment Two

This is card experiment two, inspired threefold by: a scrapbook page layout on pg. 6 of the new SU! Occasions Mini Catalog, a Kwerner Design Challenge, and a card by Beate Johns. I've been trying to add more layering and detail to my cards but just haven't found my own "niche" yet so there's a tendency to cheat and check out what everyone else is creating. The "Gratitude" stamp and details beneath it are from a new clear stamp set I recently purchased from Technique Tuesday called Family Circle. It was designed by Ali Edwards and features her terrific sense of style that I felt would compliment this layout. So, what do you think? Card one or card two? I think I prefer this one but I'm determined to keep playing with the colors Jordan likes until I find a design I think she'll like. Enjoy!

Supplies: SU! Close To Cocoa, Shimmer White, Kiwi Kiss, and Baja Breeze cardstock, SU! Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss, and Baja Breeze Classic ink, SU! Urban Garden Designer Series paper, SU! Great Friend stamp Set, Technique Tuesday Family Circle by Ali Edwards stamp set, SU! eyelet lace and 1" punches, SU! corduroy buttons and Chocolate dotted ribbon, paper piercer/mat set, mini glue dots, dimensionals

Thank You Card: Experiment One

Several months ago I was asked to make some thank you cards for one of the seniors graduating from Ramstein High School and for the last two days I've been playing around with different designs. I saw a card design in the 2008 Idea Book & Catalog that I liked but when I began to tweak it, it just didn't come out right. Believe it or not, this is actually an original design! It's not a horrible card but it's not one of my best projects. I'm going to post my second card and leave it up to you, the reader, to judge which one you like best!

Gate Fold Card

I finally got out my new light tent and started playing with it...can you see the difference in my photos already? I have no clue what I'm doing with the tent or my new camera but I figure I'm staving off Alzheimer's by teaching myself how to use this stuff! Ha! This is a simple card I designed for the German ladies at my church using the gate fold. Felicia Escalante, one of the SU! demos in Ramstein, taught our demo group how to do this simple card fold but I never went back and played with the design. What an easy way to make cards!

Aren't these flowers perfect with the American Crafts designer paper? I picked up the felt flowers at Globus, a local store similar to Target. Germans have interesting and fun decorations for various holidays and these flowers were part of their current Easter/spring decorations available. I paid 1.99 euros for 30 flowers, which isn't a bad price. I used a pop-up glue dot to ensure that the flower is stuck to my card for good! Here's a basic how-to:

1. Cut cardstock 4" x 8"

2. Score the 8" length at 2" and 6" (the Scor-Pal makes this quick and easy)

3. Using your Scor-tool or bone folder, fold the card in at the two scores, making a folded 4" x 4" card.

4. Decorate and embellish!

Size Variations: 3"x6" card-Cut 6"x6" cardstock and score at 1 1/2" and 4 1/2"

Valentine's Day Card

I'm starting to get caught up! This was one of the cards completed by my stamp club in January (okay, so it's two months overdue!) I originally case'd this from a stamper on Splitcoast and didn't keep track of the link for it. I really need to do a better job of that because I hate for crafters to not get credit for their work. :( Yet another Big Shot project, this card features the lovely scalloped envelope die and a monochromatic pink scheme. The SU! Love You Much bundle, which came with a punch, designer paper, and a stamp set, was a big hit with me this year, especially the punch. Most anyone who has seen my craft room knows about my passion for craft punches! I hope you enjoy the card and Happy Valentine's Day in March...ha!

Supplies: SU! Shimmer White, Pirouette Pink, and Regal Rose card stock, SU! Regal Rose Classic ink, SU! Love You Much stamp set, SU! heart, scallop, and 1 3/8" punches, 3/8" white satin ribbon, three-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Michael's Dollar Spot pink sparkle gemstones, Big Shot Scallop Envelope die, and dimensionals

Thank You Card

This summer I decided to participate in an online swap and had a lot of fun finding different craft supplies to mail to each of my two Mystery Sistah's. This week I received this lovely thank you card from Debra Harrison, aka disneydeb25 on Splitcoaststampers, who was one of the ladies I sent goodies over the summer. Look at the detail on this card! The dry embossed top, the felt butterflies, the scallops on the bottom: that's alot of work and she chose to send this to me! :) I love being inspired by other crafters and this beautiful card has certainly done that. Thanks, Deb!

Onesie Card Tutorial

Isn't this card adorable? Our local SU! demo group met last week and this was the project demo'd by Ally, one of our newest demonstrators. The card is super easy and would make a great baby shower invite, gift card or announcement. I used Barely Banana and Whisper White cardstock, retired SU! DP paper and the Announcements retired SU! set, as well as the 1 3/8" circle punch and scallop punch. Trying to use up my retired stuff! Of course, everyone got a good laugh at my expense when I pulled out my stamp set and mounted one of the stamps right there in class. It was a set I just "had to have" and then never used it! Okay, so I'm a supply hoarder but who isn't?! I've attached the link to a tutorial by Lauren Meader, who created this sweet card:

http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/02/05/create-your-own-onesie-card-tutorial-and-important-note-please-read/

Happy card making!