Flowerbug's Inkspot

The Freaks Birthday Bash

It's another Control Freaks blog hop - this time featuring Birthdays!

Whether you've just arrived or traveled from Dannie's blog you can continue on to see tons of birthday ideas!  Just click on the icon at the bottom of this page to see them all.

We made this card at my friend Clarisse's workshop last week.  Her favorite technique is embossing and everyone loved the card.  I worried it was a bit much for the beginners but they were wow'd by their first time of heat embossing!  It's great to have newbies fall in love with this hobby!

The gorgeous Swallowtail stamp was inked with Versamark & heat embossed using clear embossing powder on the large Soft Suede card stock. Don't you love the Soft Suede and Pool Party combination?!  

Supplies:

• Stamps - Swallowtail (Spring catalog), Papaya Collage, Papillon Potpourri, Friendly Phrases
• Ink- Versmark
• Card stock - Pool Party, Soft Suede
• Accessories - embossing buddy, heat gun, Clear embossing powder, Pool Party seam binding ribbon, dimensionals, Pearls jewels

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Next - I always have an excess of cards and non-stampers love to get them too! It's the perfect gift for those who have everything.  I'm always looking for a cute bag or container to put them in and found this homemade card box!

I made it from one sheet of Island Indigo card stock and a few extras to pretty it up a bit like our 5/8" crochet trim, Natural Composition Specialty paper and wood buttons.  *I am going to add a magnetic closure I found at a hobby store when I can find my stash of them! 

It can fit at least 10 cards and envelopes inside.  Love this nice, deep box!  Here's the template I used:

Start out with a 11" square of card stock.  You will need to use the SU Diagonal Simply Scored plate to complete this.  On two sides score at 3 1/2 & 5 1/2".  On the other two sides score at 4 1/2" & 6 1/2".  Cut off the little side triangles as shown here and cut into and up to the middle most score line to form your flaps.  Easy!

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And lastly is a card we're making for Melissa's workshop tonight!

I saw a similar card on Pinterest and knew it would work for Melissa.  She loves bright, happy cards.

First punch out a Blossom from your White card stock, then texture the large piece with the Perfect Polka dots embossing folder.  Adhere it with dimensionals to a slightly larger piece (4" X 5 1/4") of Summer Smooches designer series paper.  I added one of the new Designer Builder Brads on page 12 of your Spring catalog. They are fun!

Here's the inside view:

I had that leftover Blossom punch from the card front sitting on my desk and decided to use it inside the card.  And I also had these 3/4" strips of dsp left over from the card front too.  I love finding new ways to use up my leftovers.  I embellished the white Blossom with the new Spring Surprise products - the 7/8" scallop circle punch and coordinating 'A Round Array' stamp set. 

Supplies:

• Stamps - Bring on the Cake, Itty Bitty Bits, A Round Array
• Ink - Real Red, Tempting Turquoise
• Card stock - Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Whisper White, Summer Smooches dsp
• Accessories - Blossom punch, 7/8" and  1/4" scallop circle, 1" circle, Boho Blossoms punch, Itty Bitty punch pack, Designer Builder brads, dimensionals,
  

Now you're off to see what Justin has to share with you.  Enjoy the tour!

Control Freaks Spring Hop

It's time again for another blog hop with the Freaks!  This month's theme is Spring or Easter. 

Finally I can start playing with flowers again!  I love stamping for Christmas  and other occasions but flowers are my first love.

You may have arrived from my friend Barb's blog.  Weren't her projects great? 

First up I have a spring-like card featuring a fun punch trick.  Gotta love those punches! 

I called this technique 'dropped circles' on a previous card.  But these strips are horizontal so that doesn't quite work here.... 

I cut 5 strips of pastel colored card stock - So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Wisteria Wonder and Bashful Blue.  I made sure these measured slightly less than 1 1/4" in width.  You'll see why next.

I inserted a piece of card stock (Marina Mist here) in the punch where you'd usually put it.  This piece helps for the next step.  Now put your 1 1/4" card stock strip (pink here) in through the back of the punch, not where you usually put it though!  See how only half of the strip will be cut in a half circle?  The blue card stock helps you insert it easily and not get caught on the inner metal parts of the punch. 

I used the Spring Sampler stamp set in the Spring catalog, stamping them in coordinating ink color on Whisper White card stock and punching them out with a 1" circle punch.

The greeting verse is from the 'Rain or Shine' stamp set and stamped onto a White die-cut from the Lots of Tags Sizzlits.

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Next is a pretty flower I saw on Pinterest:

I made a flower from our Blossom punch.  I used just 5 Raspberry Ripple Blossom punched pieces to get this beautiful flower. 

The box is one of our Kraft boxes on page 161 of the main catalog.  I covered it with pieces of our More Amore Specialty dsp and added an embossed tag from the Pop-Up Posies kit on page 18 of the Spring catalog.  The 'just for you' stamp is also from the same Posies kit. 

****I'll be posting a step-by-step tutorial to create this flower next week.  

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The next card is one we made at a recent workshop.  

This simple yet pretty card was cased from my talented friend Susie Wood.  It's so easy too!

We stamped the single 'Easter Blessings' stamp first using Lucky Limeade ink and then die-cut it with the new Oval framelits.  It's added to a Pretty in Pink labels framelit piece and then to one of our pretty doilies.  The patterned paper pennant is cut from Sunshine & Sprinkles designer paper in the Spring catalog. 

It's finished off with a little butterfly stamped with the Sale a Bration stamp set 'Bloomin' Marvelous' and then punched with the Itty Bitty Butterfly punch.  Remember, the Sale a Bration promotion is over in just a few days!

And now you're off to see the beautiful cards Yvette has to share with you.  Enjoy the tour!  

 

Control Freaks Spring Blog Hop

Yay!  It's another amazing Freaks blog hop, this time showcasing products from the Spring Catalog!

If you've just arrived or if you've come from the talented Wendy's blog, just keep clicking on the icon at the bottom of each post to see all 12 of the Control Freaks awesomeness! 

Even though there are sooo many neat products I could show today 'Spring' makes me think of flowers and gardening; hence my moniker 'Flowerbug'.  And I haven't played with any flower stamps lately!  So on to my projects .....

I love yellow and orange!  Guess what my bedroom colors were as a teen!?

This is a one layer card but it doens't look like it does it?  The colors just pop!

Here's the 'how to': I masked off the middle of the Whisper White card front with post-it notes and embossed a few of the flowers from the Secret Garden stamp set using white embossing powder.  Then I sponged (burnished) both Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie ink all over it. 

Next I stamped more flowers using Pumpkin Pie ink and then removed the post-its. Then I stamped one more flower on the upper left. I colored in a few flower centers with a black marker and added the greeting from Blooming with Kindness in Black ink.

Can you see the scored lines above and below the masked area?  I like that extra little detail. I hope you like this simple yet WOW card! 

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Another easy to reproduce card for you.  Are you wondering where I got the chevron patterned paper behind the punched White butterflies.  It's actually a stamped image from the OH, Hello stamp set.  I inked it in Tempting Turquoise and stamped onto White card stock and then punched out three 1 3/8" circle punched pieces. 

To get those White butterfly circles, first punch out a butterfly from a scrap of White card stock.  Then punch a 1 1/4" circle around it.  Add pieces of dimensionals to pop it up.

Did you see the matching envelope? 

I wanted to have a coordinating envelope for this card and thought our new Simply Scored Borders Scoring Plate would be perfect.  I scored it twice using one of the zig-zag patterns on it; just move the envelope slightly over 1/4" from the first scored line.  Then I added two of the extra punched butterflies above it.

Thank you for stopping in today.  Now you're off to see what Connie Babbert has to share with you!

 

Freaky Christmas Blog Hop!

Yes; it's our monthly Control Freaks blog tour and this month's theme is a real favorite for us - Christmas!  I think most stampers love to create for the Holidays.

You may have arrived from my friend Barb's blog or if you've started here make sure you keep clicking on the icon at the end of each post to see all 16 of the Control Freaks holiday projects. 

First I have some easy Punch Art Snowman tags to share with you.

I think these would be just adorable on a Christmas package.  And save them for a tree ornament later!  Stamp or write the 'to & from' on the back instead.

Punches - 1" & 1 3/8" square punches for the hat, 1 3/8" circle, 1 3/4 & 2 3/8" scallop circle punches for his body, Owl Builder punch for the heart buttons & the Modern Label punch for the branches.

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 And this is a card we made at my Card Clubs in November. 

It's just lovely in Vanilla and Always Artichoke with a bit of Champagne Glimmer card stock.  We stamped soft shimmery snowflakes using our new Illuminate ink pad inside the card. 

Supplies:

Stamps – Snow Swirled, Mixed Medley, More Merry Messages  Card stock –Vanilla, Artichoke card stock, Champagne glimmer Ink – Always Artichoke, Illuminate  Accessories – dimensionals, Artichoke seam binding ribbon, mini glue dots, sponge, Holiday Frame embossing folder, Big Shot, Apothecary Accents framelits, ¾” circle and small oval punches

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And this next project may be my favorite; a Rosette Christmas tree!

I made a Christmas tree using 9 rosettes!  The rosettes are die-cut from Old Olive prints designer paper and the Rosette Bigz XL die. 

Hints: The little ornaments are from our Merry Mini's punch pack (on page 6 of the Holiday catalog) and Red & Champagne glimmer paper. The tree skirt is from the Candlight Christmas specialty designer series paper.  I hand cut the star from Silver glimmer paper.  

*****I'll be posting a free step-by-step tutorial on how to make this in a few days so stop back in!

And now you're off to see what Gretchen has to share with you.

A Manly Freaks Blog Hop

Yes; it's that time again where we share our creativity with you.  The theme this month is Masculine projects.

You may have arrived from Dannie's blog or started here on mine, but just keep clicking on the icon on the bottom of each page to see them all.  There are 12 fantastic stops this month.

First up I have a card you could give to a special man in your life. Or change the greeting to suit any occasion.

Isn't it pretty?  Yet it's manly too, right?! 

I used the Direct to Paper technique (ink pad rubbed directly onto the cs) on the Island Indigo layer first and then ran it through the Woodgrain embossing folder.  I used the smoother side of the textured piece so it looks a bit like water.

It's hard to tell but I used my stylus on the ships sails to puff them out a bit.  I couldn't get a good photo of it for you.  But to do this just rub your stylus on the front side around the stamped lines so it presses them in a bit.  Then turn it over to the back side and use those lines as a guide to dry-emboss them.  It's a lovely look & feel!     

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Next I wanted to make something I would give my own husband as a little treat.  Something 'just because' and to remind him I am thinking of him. He is a rare gem and I do not tell him often enough! 

It's a French Fry box filled with one of his favorites - trail mix.  He drives all over ND for his job, keeps some in his car, and sometimes this is lunch!  Poor guy! 

I mixed up craisins, peanuts, white & dark chocolate chips and almonds and put some in our new Gusset bags in the Holiday catalog.   Then tied it closed with either ribbon or Espresso scalloped tulle for easy munching access.  I used our World Spectacular dsp for the boxes and embellished them with Naturals wood-like buttons and die-cut & textured leaves with a bit of linen thread.

Here's the French fry box template I found online.

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And last is one of the cards we made at my Card Clubs this month:

We used the Triple-Time stamping technique with the new Wonderfall stamp set.

Everyone loved this card!  They were amazed at how easy this technique is.  Have you been wanting to try it?  Here's the trick:  Cut three layers of neutral card stock in decending sizes.  My Vanilla layers are 2 1/2 X 3 1/2", 3 1/4" X 4 3/8", and the largest is 4" X 5 1/4".  

Lay these three Vanilla pieces over each other so the smallest is on top and the largest is on the bottom making sure they are evenly spaced.  Add a tiny bit of adhesive between the layers to hold them in place while stamping.  Stamp over all three layers just as you would if you had one layer.  You will not get a good stamped image by the edges of each piece because of the thickness of the card stock.  That is why you will adhere these stamped layers to the Espresso layers.  It hides the discrepancy. 

My Espresso layers are as follows:  2 3/4" X 3 3/4", 3 1/2" X 4 5/8" and the full card is 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" scored at 4 1/4".

And this is the inside of the card. 

Supplies: Stamps – Wonderfall, Sassy Salutations  Card stock –Vanilla, Early Espresso card stock Ink – Early Espresso, Island Indigo, Cajun Craze, More Mustard Accessories – dimensionals, markers

Thanks for stopping in to see my 'Manly' projects.  Now you can check out Justin's creative ideas.

Fall with the Freaks

It's that time again - the 20th of each month when the Freaks share their creativity with you on a blog tour.  This month - it's a Fall theme. 

There are 14 of us on the tour so sit back, grab a beverage and enjoy!  Keep clicking on the icons at the end of each post and you'll see it all.

You may have arrived from Judy's blog here.  Weren't her projects neat?

First up is the card I made for my Fall downline Swap:

I used the new Autumn Accents Bigz die here.  Did you know you can cut out three images all at once?  Just place a rectangle of card stock (2 1/2" X 5 1/4") onto the die at a slight angle and this is what you get. 

I ran it through the Square Lattice embossing folder.  Next I cut out two leaves and one acorn in contrasting colors to place inside the die-cut areas.  I sponged them with a bit of color too.

That eye catching Island Indigo gingham print paper is from the Autumn Harvest designer series paper pack. 

Supplies:

• Stamps - Affection Collection
• Card stock - Early Espresso, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Island Indigo, Very Vanilla
• Ink - Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Island Indigo
• Accessories - Autumn Accents Bigz die, Square Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot, Espresso stitched grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, large and extra large oval punches, sponges, Finishing Touches edgelits

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And for those of you who love Halloween here is a treat for you:


I simply call it a 'BOO' Banner. A fun way to add a bit of the season to your decorating.

I made my own pennant templates from plain scrap paper and used those to cut out my Tangerine and patterned paper pennants.  The measurement across the top is 5 1/2" for the Tangerine Tango layer and the sides are 7 1/2" long.  I actually got three pieces from one 8 1/2 X 11" card stock piece. 

I cut out two 1 1/2" X 11" Tangerine Tango strips for each rosette, using the Rosette Bigz XL die to cut them out.  See this post to see my Fall Rosette Wreath and the Rosette die video.  You get either a scallop or a rick rack edge on your rosettes.  I almost tossed it but I decided to use the leftover trim that was cut off by the die for the vertical trim on each piece.  Love the googly eyes on the spider! 

This project took me about 1 1/2 hours to make so it's pretty fast! Hope you like it!

Supplies:

• Stamps - Googly Ghouls
• Card stock - Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla, Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP
• Ink - Black
• Accessories - Designer Rosette Bigz XL die, Big Shot, Typeset Alphabet Bigz set, Silicone Craft Sheet, hot glue gun, 1 3/4" circle punch, Googly Eyes (Holiday catalog), Neutral Glimmer brads
  

And now you're off to see what Eileen has to show you. Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy!

 

 

Control Freaks Holiday Blog Hop

Get ready to see some amazing projects!  It's another Control Freaks Blog Hop. This month's theme is the new and fabulous Holiday 'not so mini' Catalog. And we are also including o few items we swapped when we got together at Convention last week.  I have said it before, but I am just thrilled to be a part of this amazing group of stampers!  They are so talented and just genuine nice people!

There are 14 of us on the tour this month so keep clicking on the Freaks' icons at the bottom of each post to see them all. You may have just arrived from the talented Mary Brown's blog - StamperCamper's.  Love her stuff!

I'll start with one of the cards I made for the Freaks Convention swap.

These cute stamp images are from the stamp set called Bootiful Occasions.  This image would usually be used for Halloween but I wanted to see if it could be a bit more versitile.  What do you think - is it okay for a birthday card too? 

I love the fun colors here; Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade with Black & White. I embossed the boot using Versamark ink and Black embossing powder and then just colored in the rest of it with markers.  I used a 3 1/2" circle die for the large Black circle and the 2 1/2" circle punch for the smaller one.  I love the layout and how the big circles reflect the polka-dot boot.

I was inspired to make this cute treat by a swap I received at Convention from Pam Wheeler. 

I used the new Ghoulish Googlies Designer Printed Kit in the Holiday catalog.  It comes with lots of things to make 10 treat bags.  I used the pre-printed tags, (one that I stamped on here and another striped one in the back) googly eyes and the Pumpkin bakers twine for the bow. 

I folded my oval tag in half and punched a 3/4" half-circle in the fold.  This lets me insert the top of my 1" cello bag through the hole, then fold and secure.  I then cut a black Labels Collection framelit and folded that in half for a curvy layer.  The Pumpkin & Black striped circle in the very back is another tag included in the kit.  Of course it wouldn't be finished without those cute googlie eyes on the stamped spider! 

Next is a card I made for a shoebox swap with my friend Susie Wood, her friends and my downline.  We meet at Convention each year and love to get together to stamp.

I used a few new products from the Holiday catalog here.  The background is created by using three of the new builder wheels, Snowflake Party, Good Cheer and Linked Lace.  I made my own colored Triple Cell ink cartridge by adding ink refills to an uninked cartridge.  The colors here are Bashful Blue, Night of Navy & Cherry Cobbler.  I love the diagonal look to it here.

I also made a pretty snowflake by cutting out three white snowflakes from the new Snow Flurry Bigz Die and layering them together.  I used two of the medium and one small snowflake here.  I added clear Dazzling Details and lots of Rhinestone jewels. Here's a view of the inside of the card.

Other products I used are the 2 1/2" circle and 2 3/8" scallop circle punches, the Tasteful Trim die for the large scallop and Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon.   The inside greeting is from the More Merry Messages stamp set in the main catalog. 

Now you're off to see the fabulous projects Judy DiScipio has made for this month's tour.  Sit back and enjoy yourself! 

 

New Catalog Freaky Creations

Welcome to the Control Freaks June blog hop!  This month's theme is 'New Catalog Creations'. 

You may have just arrived or come from Patty Bennett's blog where you saw her beautiful projects.  Just keep clicking on the Freak's icon at the end of each post to make the complete round of 11 of us. 

This is one of the cards I made for a swap and also for my downline meeting in May. 

It's a little unusual because the lower half of the card front is cut off leaving the die hanging over the inside of the card. 

I cut a white die-cut using the new Apothecary Accents framelit and then I stamped the leaves and the pretty bird. I stamped one more bird to get another wing to cut out and pop up. The flowers are stamped on another piece of White cs and then punched out with the 1/2" circle and the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack circle.   These are also popped up. Do you see that gorgeous Fancy Fan embossing on the main Marina Mist card front?  So pretty!  I also used the new Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack to add the detail around the White framelit edge.

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Next is a memory album I made to highlight photos from our family trip to Hawaii a few years ago.

I used the new Essentials Designer Fabric and our Oval Accents Bigz clear die.

It's so easy to make your own album if you have a Bigz die and the Big Shot.  You can easily use patterned paper or card stock instead of fabric like I did.

First you want to cover your chipboard with fabric or paper.  I used the chipboard included in our specialty designer paper packs.  I prefer using a glue stick with chipboard.  After you have adhered your fabric or paper to a chipboard piece you will cut them out with your Bigz die.  I have 6 pages in my book.  I punched a hole through them all in the corner and added a metal ring and coordinating ribbons.  

Here's the back page with a family photo at the volcano.  This is a fun and easy project!  I hope you try one for yourself.

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Next up is what I call my 'pretty card'.  The colors here are Pink Pirouette, Raspberry Ripple and the new beautiful Gumball Green.

We made this card at my June card clubs.  I just love these colors together!  Pink Pirouette, Raspberry Ripple and Gumball Green.  Here are the details:

• Ink the image from World Treasures stamp set with Raspberry & Gumball Green markers.  Stamp on the white rectangle and then run it through the Big Shot using the Designer Frames Folder. 
• Next sponge just the raised frame with Pink Pirouette classic ink using a sponge dauber.  Add either pearls or silver brads to the flower centers. 
• Run a 5 1/2 X 1 1/4" strip of Pink Pirouette card stock through the Big Shot using our new Delicate Designs embossing folder. 
• Use our new Large Scallop Edgelit to easily trim off the scallop made by the embossing folder.  Tip:  Use a Post-it note to hold the edgelit in place.  Place it so it holds your edgelit, the card stock and the clear acryllic plate in place.  Works beautifully!  
• Wrap the Gumball Green stitched ribbon around this embossed strip and then to the strip of Raspberry Ripple card stock.  Then adhere to your card.
• The greeting is from the new stamp set 'Lacy & Lovely'. 

And now you're off to see what Deb Currier has to share with you.  I've said it before and I'll say it again; I just love her clean and simple style. 

Photo Wallet Tutorial

I promised you a Tutorial for the Photo Wallet I made for the Control Freaks blog tour yesterday so here we go.

I used two retiring sets for these projects.  Flower Fest and Baroque Motifs.  I will truly miss both of these stamp sets. 

Most likely they will end up in our annual Stamping Rummage Sale on Saturday, June 16th.  If you're local don't miss it cause it's absolutely the best place to stock up if you're a paper crafter! We usually have over 30 sellers!

• Flower Fest - Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink and Elegant Eggplant card stock, Butterfly & Blossom punches, Subtles brads, corner rounder punch and sponges.
• Baroque Motifs - Cherry Cobbler, Black, So Saffron card stock, Designer Label punch, corner rounder, Itty Bitty shapes pack, Regals brads.

You can see how it looks without the flaps opened above.

Measurements:

• Cherry Cobbler piece - 4 1/4" X 11".  Score at 1 3/4", 2", 5" and 8".
  
• Cut three coordinating pieces that will fold out at 2 3/4" X 8".  Score at 4"
• Belly Band - 1 1/4" X 7 3/4".

First stamp the main long piece with your stamp of choice.  I used tone on tone - Cherry Cobbler ink on Cherry Cobbler card stock.

Adhere the three flap pieces to the main piece so they flip out alternately. I printed out the 'My Bragbook' on our Vellum card stock.  You can use mine to get 9 on a page.    My Bragbook  Cut them out at 2 1/4" X 3 1/4" in size. 

The scalloped corners are made by first punching a scallop square and then cutting it into quarters. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. 

Control Freaks 'Almost Gone' Blog Hop

It's that time again for a Control Freaks Blog Hop.  And this month we are featuring our favorite Retiring items.  We hope to give you great ideas for products you may already own and of course tease you a bit to get some items we love and will sorely miss when they retire in a few weeks on May 31st.

You may have just arrived from Debra's blog where you saw her beautiful, clean & simple talent.  Just keep clicking on the icon at the bottom of each post and you'll see all 12 of our chosen favorites.

***I have highlighted all of the retiring items in Rose Red so you'll catch them. 

First up I have a card using one of my go-to stamp sets, Upsy Daisy.

So what do you think of this bright, eye-catching card?  Too much for some of you?  I have a few friends that do not like yellow or orange - yes, can you believe it?  I have always loved it.  I even had my room decorated in these colors as a teen.

Details:  I inked the Upsy Daisy stamp in Daffodil Delight ink and then sponged on a bit of Pumpkin Pie ink over the tops of most of the daisies.  Huff and stamp.  Then I ran the bottom portion of the Black card stock through my Big Shot with the soon to be retired Finial Press embossing folder. After putting these together I wrapped the beautiful 5/8" Pumpkin Satin ribbon around them.  I made a loop out of another piece of ribbon and secured the ends together with a mini glue dot, then pinched that together so the prongs of the flower brad went around it.  Instant bow!

Notice the greeting has a few two-toned daisies on it too?  I just huffed that stamp one more time (without re-inking) and stamped it over my white punched greeting. 

Next up is a Photo Wallet that we made for a Relay for Life fundraiser event last weekend.

 

It uses the retiring sets Flower Fest and Baroque Motifs.  It's the perfect thing for those who want to share photos of their grandchildren or a recent vacation.  Here's what it looks like when you open it up completely:

The colors are Cherry Cobbler, Black and So Saffron.  I will be posting a complete free tutorial on Monday so stop back then!  

I made this quick card for my friend's workshop last night.  I found this idea on my friend Kay Kalthoff's blog. She's so clever!  You can make this card easily by just running a 4" X 5 1/4" piece of card stock through your Big Shot using the retiring Stars #2 die.  Yes in one cut you have an instant card front! 

I ran this piece through my Big Shot again using the Houndstooth embossing folder. Add some black brads and dimensionals along with a strip of ribbon and greeting (Tagtastic hostess set) and you're all set for those grad cards you may need. And it's easy to change the color to suit your graduate too.  Thanks for the great idea Kay!

And now you're off to see what my friend Barb Mullikin has to show you.  Check it out!

Petite Purse Square Box Tutorial

I promised you a tutorial on how to make this fun 'square' Petite Purse Box seen last week on our Freaks Blog Hop.

You will need to cut out four of the Petite Purse die-cuts, although you really do not need the full die-cut. 

You can see where I cut off the base of it here and part of the large flap on the left side (where the black line is).  I also trimmed off just a bit of the curved flap too. 

****I did add texture to my Real Red card stock die-cuts with the Perfect Polka dots embossing folder before adhering them together below.  

Here is a photo of all 4 of the die-cuts adhered together by their narrow side flaps.  I prefer using our Tombo Multipurpose adhesive for boxes.  It holds so strongly!

This is the box as it looks from the top.  You can fit quite a few goodies in this square box.  I just folded the patterned paper flaps inside and added velcro dots to the Red card stock flaps. 

I do like the added strength using card stock gives this box.  You could do it with all card stock or all patterned paper.  It's up to you but if you want a sturdy box I recommend at least half card stock as I did. 

This is the difference in size.  You get double the space inside for treats when you make it square. 

Details:

• If you look at the little curved notch on the very top of the Red square box, that is the flap that usually tucks in to hold the Petite Purse flap down and closed (it's hiding under my punched flowers on the left image).
• The die-cut includes a narrow handle for the Petite Purse.  I used these die-cut strips as accents on my square box on the bottom of each side.
• I adhered Daffodil Delight brights buttons as 'feet' on my square box using mini glue dots.
• The Summer Smooches fabric covered brads match the Summer Smooches patterned paper perfectly! 

 

Smooches with the Freaks Tour

It's that time again for another Control Freaks Blog Tour!  The theme this month is our Summer Smooches Sneak Peak. You'll see tons of projects using the fun Summer Smooches products available during April.

You may have arrived from Deb's blog.   I love her work; it's so clean, simple and artistic.  I want to case every thing she makes! .

My first project is a fun little 'square' box I created using our new Petite Purses die.

Isn't it cute?!  I cut out four of the Purse die-cuts; two each from Real Red card stock and Summer Smooches patterned paper.  Then I cut off a few flaps here & there to make it a square box instead of a purse.  Here is a photo of it beside a Petite Purse on the left made as it's meant to be.

These are made with the Summer Smooches designer series paper along with the new fabric covered brads and the gorgeous Daffodil Delight seam binding.  Love this ribbon! 

I will be sharing the free tutorial 'how to' on this Square Petite Box next week.

And here is a simple card using the Bright Blossoms stamp set:

I inked the flowers and leaves with markers and stamped on Whisper White card stock.  Then punched them out with the 1" circle punch and layered them onto Real Red Triple Bouquet Blossom punch pieces.  I jazzed the flowers up with a rhinestone that has been colored with a Red permanent marker. 

I used our Labels Framelits to cut out the curved label shapes, adding a thin layer of Real Red behind the two top pieces by cutting two Red Label die-cuts in half - one lengthwise and the other vertically.  Just move them slightly outside the top layers and adhere.

Lastly is an adorable fabric covered cards box I made for my daughter Jenilee. 

Surprise!  I am not sure when I can give this up to you though.....   She had mentioned that she loved this new fabric and wanted to get some.  I think she'll love having a cute box in her colors for the cards I give her.  

This box was on our Clearance Rack last week but it looks like they're out of stock now.  Another good reason to check this place often!  I think you could use any other type of photo box for this project instead.

I used Sticky Strip tape on all edges of the fabric to adhere it to the box.  I just laid the box on top and cut, added tape and folded.  The Turquoise piece on the front is our On Board Merry Medly chipboard.  I traced around the chipboard to get the Turquoise shape and textured it with the Perfect Polka dots embossing folder.  The metal accent came with the box.  Here's a look at the inside:

Thanks for stopping by to see my Summer Smooches projects!  Now you're off to see the remarkable Jan Tink's projects.

 

Spring in with the Freaks Tour

Welcome to the Control Freaks 'Spring into Spring' blog hop.

You may have just arrived from my friend Barb Mullikin's blog. Keep clicking at the end of each post to see everyone's Springtime ideas.

My first one is an Easter card I designed for this month's Card Clubs. 

 

I used an old favorite stamp set called 'Fifth Avenue Floral'.  After stamping the flower and stem with Black Stazon ink I used a sponge dauber to add either So Saffron or Wisteria Wonder ink to the flower.  Then to get the flower stamens white again I colored them in with a white gel pen. 

Can you see the texture on the background layer?  I used our new Diagonal Scoring plate. The happy easter stamp is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set.  We also turned this card into either a sympathy or get well card by changing the greeting. 

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Next up is the other card we made at my March Card Clubs - a Tri-Shutter card using the Sale a Bration Everyday Enchantment designer series paper, brads & ribbon plus the Sprinkled Expressions stamp set.  I love these colors together, don't you? 

They could choose between these two versions at Club. This card looks intimidating but it turned out quite easy to make. 

Later this week I will be posting the complete, downloadable tutorial for this fun card, including step by step directions, dimensions and photos. 

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Next up is a sweet little Easter treat:

It's a little basket to hold a chocolate covered Peep all nestled in Sweetart jelly beans. 

First I have to tell you about these candies.  If you already like peeps, you'll love this version. Dipping a peep in chocolate is genius.  And if you haven't tried these jelly beans you really should - they are the perfect balance of sweet and sour. 

Okay; I'll stop talking about the candy and get to the project.....  I used our Matchbox die to create an small open box (not the lid part of this die) and wrapped it with a strip of our Lace Border punch - all in Pretty in Pink.  Then I added a strip of Dotted Scallop ribbon border punch for the handle.  Easiest basket ever!  It's the perfect addition to your Easter Basket goodies. 

 Now you're off to see what the creative Jan Tink has to share with you. 

Control Freaks February Blog Hop

 Welcome to the Freaks Blog Hop for February! Our theme this month is 'The Cutting Edge' - projects created using the Big Shot.  I love what the addition of the Big Shot has brought to my craft.  I use it for almost everything I make!

You may have just arrived from Lisa Young's blog where you saw her beautiful and very creative projects!  Just keep clicking on to the next stop and you'll see all 13 of the Freak's members die-cutting ideas.

My first project is one we did at a Big Shot class a few weeks ago.  It's quite simple but really shows off the details of our Paper Doily Large Sizzlit. 

After embossing the large White card stock layer with the Framed Tulips embossing folder I cut out a large heart from it using our newest Hearts Collection Framelits.  Next I cut one large Doily from Early Espresso card stock and placed it behind my white layer lining up the intricate pieces of the doily inside the heart.  Then I added Espresso satin ribbon and a Vintage brad before adhering this piece to the folded Bashful Blue card.  

Here's a little tip to get all those little bitty pieces to come out of the beautiful Paper Doily sizzlit.  Roll the Doily die-cut loosely around a pen or pencil first one way and then the other.  Most of the little pieces pop right out for you!  Poke the rest out using a paper piercing tool or tweezers.  

Next up is a project I've wanted to make for a long time.  Nicole, a kind and generous demo from Iowa, gave me one of these at Convention last year and I've been using it on my table to hold my card samples in. I needed one more for each end of my table.  It's fabric cut from the large Bigz Scallop Square die.

The Scallop Square die is square in shape but this bag is rectangular. I will share the step-by-step directions on how to make this cute bag in a day or so.  I used the Candy Cane Christmas fabric to make this.  I love these polka dot & striped fabrics and think they're versatile enough for any season. 

This little fabric bag would be a fabulous way to give someone a gift of cards and envelopes too!    

Take a closer look at the die-cut flower.

I adhered fabric to our On Board chipboard with a glue stick and cut out the flowers using the Fun Flowers die.  I added a few buttons and bakers twine to finish it off. 

Next up is a new embossing technique.

This may seem like a Valentine card but I think it would be perfect for a loved one at any time.  Did you know that you can emboss using our new Framelits?  This technique would also work with our edgelits.  You do need two of our Standard Texturz Silicone Rubber pads.

To get this soft, dimensional look you need to use this sandwich in your Big Shot, starting from the bottom up:

• Multipurpose Platform with all tabs used
• 2 Standard Texturz Silicone Rubber pads
• card stock to emboss
• Framelits or edgelits with the cutting edge up (I used two hearts of different sizes here)
• clear acrylic plate
• extra shim of card stock on top is optional and varies with Big Shots
  

I have one more tip for you.  To get the 'Wonderful You' greeting or flag to pop up over the heart and then down on the ends, place two dimensionals - one over the other to make them twice as thick - over the Cherry heart embosslit in the center.  Then adhere the greeting ends down with adhesive or mini glue dots. This gives you a lot more dimension to the card than you normally would have and it actually stays put too. 

And now you're off to see the great projects Wendy has to show you.  I guarantee you do not want to miss it!

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Love is in the Air Blog Hop

Welcome to the January Control Freak's Blog Hop!  This month's theme - Love is in the Air.

If you just arrived from Lisa Young's blog, you saw some incredible projects!   Just keep clicking on the Freak's icon at the end of each post and you'll be able to see it all.  I know you'll be inspired since the Freaks are freakin' amazing crafters!  

This card is one we made at January's Card Clubs.  I decided to go traditional and romantic in my color choices of Red & Black for our Club Valentine this year.  

I used two of the new Occasions mini catalog stamp sets to create the card front - Take It fo Heart and Loving Thoughts.

The hearts are die-cuts using our fabulous new framelits.  I added some ruffled Red Satin ribbon under the sentiment label.  

Now, check out the inside view of this card! 

It's a Valentine pop-up card!  When I die-cut the full red heart for the card front, I added a second larger framelit around it to create this heart frame.  I scored it in the center and added it to my White card stock using glue dots placed on just the outer-most area of the heart.  ***You need to place the heart frame on the card while the card is slightly folded, not flat.   

Then I added all 5 of the new Fashionable Hearts embosslits hearts around the heart pop-up.  The larger stamped heart is our Full Heart punch that I stamped with the new Sale-a-Bration stamp set 'Sprinkled Expressions'.

The 'Be My Valentine' stamp is part of the Delightful Dozen stamp set.

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Next up is my Ruffled Heart Pocket.    

I used our Hearts framelit dies again to make this project, die-cutting 2 of the largest scalloped hearts from Vanilla card stock.  

I used the Loving Thoughts stamp set again along with the beautiful new Riding Hood Red ruffled ribbon and the Sale-a- Bration designer paper called Everyday Enchantment.  ***I'll post the directions for this project on Monday the 23rd right here on my blog.   

And now you're off to see what the creative Jan Tink has for you.  

Enjoy your tour!