Flowerbug's Inkspot

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!

Holiday Mini Control Freaks Hop

Welcome to the August Blog Hop for the Control Freaks group. 

Whether you just arrived here or came from another of our stops, if you keep going you'll see all 13 blogs.  This month we're featuring products from the absolutely amazing Holiday Mini catalog that starts in September.

Click on the links given to see a ton of incredible Sneak Peaks from the Freaks.

If you just arrived from Debra Currier's blog you were at one of my favorite places. I just love her work and find I want to case her quite often.

I decided to do a 'tour of the Holidays' with a project from each season - Halloween, Fall and Christmas.  First up is my Fall card:

Do you love this color combination like I do??  It's really beautiful!  The new stamp set 'Gently Falling' has 12 'two-step' botanical stamps with a solid image and an outline image for each.  Here I inked the tall leaf in More Mustard ink and sponged Cherry Cobbler onto the edges with a sponge dauber before stamping on my Vanilla cs.  Then the outline image is stamped using Early Espresso ink.

That gorgeous wood patterned paper is from the Frostwood Lodge designer series paper. 

Next is my Halloween treat bag.

My son loves the Cheese Balls that you can get in large containers and when I was looking for a 3d item to make I saw these bright orange treats and knew they'd be perfect in our largest cello bags.   

I used the A la Carte stamp set called 'Haunted Forest'. 

First I punched out a 1 3/8" circle from a post-it note and adhered that to my Whisper White card stock. Then I inked up 1" of my brayer with Pumpkin Pie ink and brayered that over the top of my Whisper White card stock.  Then I flipped it and brayered Elegant Eggplant ink onto the bottom.  The colors meet and blend in the center a bit. Remove the post-it circle and stamp the image in Black ink.

See the sparkle?  That is our newest Iridesent glitter glue called Dazzling Details.  Just squeeze it where you want it and let it dry.  No messy glitter all over! 

Now for my Christmas card.........

Quick and easy has been my motto this summer.  This stamp set - The Sounding Joy was a clear choice for me.  I am a sucker for anything swirly!  And I think this card would be pretty easy to mass produce for Christmas. 

I tend to use unusual color combo's for Christmas; it's just fun to try new ones.  Here you see Pool Party, Basic Gray with black and white. I inked the star image in our new In Color - Pool Party, and stamped it onto White card stock.  Then I rubbed the embossing buddy over it and stamped the 'Joy' image using Versamark ink.  I heat embossed it using our newest embossing powder - Pewter!  Love it! 

The background texture is also a new Embossing Folder.  It's called Snow Burst.

Supplies:

• Stamps - The Sounding Joy
• Ink - Versamark, Pool Party
• Card stock - Pool Party, Black, Basic Gray, Whisper White
• Accessories - Decorative label punch, Snow Burst embossing folder, Embossing buddy, Pewter embossing powder, heat gun, Rhinestone jewels, Black satin ribbon, Big Shot

****And now you're off to see what the clever Cindy Major has to show you.

 

July Tour de Freaks!

Yes!  You're about to see the monthly tour de Freaks! 

This is the first stop of many in our tour or you may have arrived from the talented Connie Babbert's blog.  Aren't her projects amazing! 

We met at Convention on Saturday to swap two sets of cards and we were so thrilled with them that we decided that you had to see them too. 

Oh it's just fantastic to be a part of this amazing group of women.  Because of our flood situation they surprised me with a kind and generous gift at Convention that left me in tears and speechless.  I was having a bit of an emotional day and their kindness sent me right over!  These gals are just the absolute best! They don't just create beautiful work but are beautiful inside too. 

Plus you'll be seeing a bit of Christmas in July too.  So get ready to be 'WOW'd' by the Freaks!

I believe Pool Party is my favorite new In Color.  It's a gorgeous yet soothing pretty blue/green color.  I saw a card like this awhile ago 'somewhere!' and just had to case it.  

The main floral images are from the single stamp 'Triple Treat Flower'.  You can find this stamp in the A la Carte section in the front of your new catalog. 

Details:

• Fancy Fan Letterpress background - I inked up my brayer with Pool Party ink and rolled it onto the letterpress plate.  Then just run it through the Big Shot to transfer the design.
• Stamp the 'Triple Treat' flower twice onto Very Vanilla card stock.  Punch out once using the Fancy Flower punch and again using the 5 Petal punch.  Layer them together using dimensionals and add a silver Filigree brad in the center.
• I spritzed the smaller Very Vanilla card stock with my favorite shimmer mixture of 70% rubbing alcohol (2 oz) and Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint (1/2 tsp) in a small spray bottle and then ran it through the Big Shot using the Perfect Details Texturz plate.  Adding the alcohol spray makes your texture a little deeper along with a beautiful shimmer. 

My second swap features the new set called 'Best of Everything'.  Aren't the little images adorable?!  I'm really loving this stamp set. 

Here are some of the extra details on this card:

• Ruffled ribbon border.  I used two strips of the new Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon along the bottom edge of the main image.
• Diagonal Stripes.  When running your card stock through the new 'Stripes' embossing folder give it a twist!
• Curly Label layers.  I used the magnetic Movers and Shapers 'Punch Windows' to get the Calypso Coral layer for my white Curly Label piece. 
• Mini brads.  Gorgeous new silver mini brads - 200 in a package!
• Fresh color combo from our Color Coach!  Baja Breeze, Calypso Coral and Daffodil Delight with a little Lucky Limeade added in.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to continue on to see all of the fabulous projects.  It won't take long as we do our best to keep the tour short and very sweet.

Next up is my friend Barb Mullikin.  I know you'll love her projects!

Freaky Blog Hop for June

Welcome to the June Blog Hop for the Control Freaks! 

The theme this month includes both Summer Mini products and New Catalog Sneak Peak projects.

You may have arrived from seeing Jen Smith's beautiful projects.  If not you can go on back and see them.

I've got a few projects from the fabulous Summer Mini catalog.  The first set of cards is what we made at my June Card Clubs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Touch of Kindness stamp set is absolutely adorable!  I can't decide which main image I like better.  The images were colored with our SU markers.  Of course I had to color the kitty the same color as my Tigger.

Tip: be sure to use a border punch before you emboss or add texture to the card stock or you may get fuzzy edges while punching.  I used two different embossing folders; Square Lattice or Perfect Polka dots. 

The color combination here is a bit unusual but I think it works, don't you?  Baja Breeze, So Saffron and Rich Razzleberry. 

Here's a close-up of the bird bath image:

You can see the dimension and shine on the birds from the Crystal Effects I applied.  Hint: always add the Crystal Effects last.  Then put the card in a place where you won't lay anything on top of it.  Ask me how I know this!

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Now you can see what my husband is getting for Father's Day.

First, let me remind you that we love water - being in, near or on it just doesn't matter.  We love it! So when I was thinking of making him something I thought of these stamp sets - The Open Sea and Sail Away.

A set of coasters!  It's been years since I made any.  Let me tell you that if you've always waned to make some stop putting it off!  They are quite easy to make.

First find some tiles that are not finished. They should have no shine. Most times they are pretty dusty or even gritty from tile dust.  These are 4" square, a light taupe color and can be found in most large home improvement stores. 

You do need to use either Stazon ink or Craft ink when stamping.  If using Craft ink it is best to add embossing powder to set the ink.  Yes, you can emboss on ceramic tiles. I used a bit of each.  Black Stazon ink for the large boat and my craft ink spots for the smaller images I wanted to be a solid color. You can just heat set the craft ink with a heat gun, but you can also add clear embossing powder and emboss them.

I used our pastels and cotton swabs to color in the large sailboat.  And I also used the pastels to add color to the surface of all of the tiles.  I just picked up some chalk with a cotton ball and rubbed it all over to add some soft color to the surface. 

As soon as I finish coloring I take them outside to the garage and lay them onto a large cardboard box.  Then I spray them with a clear coat finishing spray.  You can do this twice if you don't get the shine you like. 

After they are dry, add some sticky-back felt feet on the back side like this:

Thanks for stopping in today and enjoy your next stop when you move on to see Cindy Major's creative and unique projects here.

Playful Polka Dots Buckle Box

Here is the promised tutorial for the Buckle Box I posted here.

To make the box itself you need a 5 1/2" X 8" piece of card stock.  Use this template to cut the flaps & score it.

Here's a photo of mine after scoring the lines and cutting the flaps.

You'll fold up the side flaps adhering them over each other approximately 1/2" on the sides. 

For the front I cut out part of a Scallop Envelope die using the designer paper included in the Playful Polka Dots Simply Scrappin' kit and adhered it onto the front of the box. 

Here's the side view:

I inserted my Word Window punch down into the front of the box as deep as I could and punched once.  This gives you the opening for your buckle strap.

I chose a few long adhesive die-cut strips to wrap around and embellish the base of my box.

To make your buckle strap cut a piece of coordinating card stock measuring 1 1/2" X 5 1/2".  Add a strip of designer series paper measuring 1" X 5 1/2" long.  I used my new Postage Stamp Punch to add a little bit of fun to the ends of each of these strips before I adhered them together and onto the inside back of my box.  You could easily just round the corners on the front flap. 

Here's the box and the cards I made by cutting 4 different colors of 3" square cards in Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight and Rose Red.  They fit our mini square white envelopes perfectly. 

I embellished them very simply by using the adhesive die-cuts provided in the Simply Scrappin' kit.

 

Sneak Peak Freaks Hop

It's that time again for a Control Freaks Blog Hop.

We're featuring Sneak Peaks from the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog.  This catalog is full of new and beautiful items so you may want to start a new wish list!

It won't take you long to see all of the projects as we try to keep our posts short and sweet.  But you may want to grab a soda or a cup of coffee and relax and enjoy everyone's amazing projects!

You may have just arrived from Lisa Martz's blog. 

First up is a card we made at my downline meeting.  It uses two of our newest punches:

Sweet isn't it?  Our new Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch is so cool!  You actually get four different pieces from this one punch.  It's like a 'dial a punch' since you pick which one you want! 

I punched out three white blossoms and layered them onto the Postage Stamp Punch  pieces in Turquoise, Real Red and Old Olive.  I am so happy to report that this new Postage Stamp Punch layers onto our 1 1/4" and the 1 3/8" square punches perfectly.

I also used the Postage Stamp punch to punch a border along the bottom of my Whisper White layer.  The sentiment 'Thanks for being a friend' is also new.  It's called 'Happy Greetings' and you can find it on page 26 of the Summer Mini catalog.

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Do you remember making these cute Buckle Purse Boxes for 3 X 3" cards a few years ago?  I loved making and giving them for gifts. 

This one features the new Simply Scrapbook kit called Playful Polka Dots.  I love these SS kits because everything included coordinates so easily. 

Stop back in two days on Good Friday to see the free tutorial on how to make this cute & easy box. 


Inside the box are four 3 X 3" cards and envelopes.  I embellished each card simply using adhesive die-cuts from the kit.  I also used the die-cuts on a few of the envelopes.

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Next is a card that shows how beautiful one of my favorite color combos can be. 

It's Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie with Black & White. It features the stamp set called Fabulous Florets.  It has gorgeous images.

I stamped the leaves stamp in Black ink on the Whisper White layer.  Then I stamped the small outline flower with Black Stazon ink onto Watercolor paper and colored it in with Rose Red and Pumpkin Pie water color crayons  and my blender pen.  I cut it out and popped it up with dimensionals over the leaves.

The 'Imagine the Possiblities' sentiment is from the set called Word Play in the Idea Book & Catalog. I inked it with Black Stazon and stamped onto Vellum card stock.  The ink stays wet longer on Vellum so I embossed it with clear embossing powder and attached it to the card stock layers with black brads.

Do you see the embossing peaking out on the Black layer on the left?  That is our newest embossing folder called 'Flower Garden'.

*****If you want to see more of our previous Blog Hops, click here.

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

Love Blooms Blog Hop

It's the time of the month for a Control Freaks Blog Hop & this month's theme is all about weddings. 

I know you'll be inspired by the Freaks' beautiful & creative projects.

You may have arrived from browsing Renee's beautiful projects.  Just keep clicking on this icon & you'll complete the tour.  No worries -there's only 9 stops this month.

I was inspired by the blues this month.  No, not the sad 'blues', the lovely blues.  As in 'Something borrowed, something blue!'  My projects are also quite easy to make. 

First up is a pretty money holder which was inspired by Jill Hilliard.

It's super easy to make.  Just cut a piece of card stock measuring 7" X 8".  Score at 2" & 5".

The gorgeous patterned paper is from the brand new Sneak Peak designer paper from the upcoming new Idea Book & Catalog this July.  It's called Paisley Prints.  You can get this paper only during the month of April with a $20 order.  It's Stampin' Up's Spring is Blossoming promotion.

I punched a large oval just half way over the inside flap & then adhered the sides down with Sticky Strip to form the pocket.

The belly band is made from two strips of card stock.  The Whisper White strip is about 8" long & 1 1/8" wide.  The Not Quite Navy strip started out at least 1 1/2" wide before using the Pinking Hearts border punch on both long edges.

I cut out a flower from the same Paisley Prints designer series paper & adhered it to a 1 3/4" circle that had been sponged with Baja Breeze classic ink.  I then added some pearls to the flower center.

The ribbon is our beautiful Organza ribbon that gives that soft & pretty look.

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Next is a pretty floral wedding card.

The Blossoms Petals punch makes it easy to create a simple & gorgeous flower.

I punched out 5 large petals & 6 small petals from Whisper White card stock.  Then I ran them through my Big Shot using the Perfect Details texturz plate.  I sponged the edges of each one with Baja Breeze classic ink and used a bone folder to curve the ends.  Here's a close-up view of the texture and soft sponging.

To form the flower I recommend punching a 1" circle punch.  This gives you a base to adhere all of the petals together in the center.  After they are adhered together add a Sweet Stitches fabric covered brad.

The Blossoms Petals punch and the Sweet Stitches brads are only available through April in the Occasions Mini catalog.  Get them while you can!

Supplies:

• Stamps - Word Play
• Ink - Baja Breeze, Versamark
• Card stock - Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala dsp
• Accessories - Blossoms Petals punch, Scallop trim border punch, Sweet Stitches fabric covered brads. Perfect Details texturz plate, Big Shot, sponge, white embossing powder, Rhinestone jewels, mini glue dots 

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!  Next up you're off to see what Jan Tink's has for you.  Enjoy the tour!

Quick & Easy Note Card Gift Box

If you were here to see the Freak's Birthday Blog hop yesterday you know I promised a Free Tutorial on my Easy Note Card Gift Box. 

Well here it is!  This cute little gift portfolio holds four note cards with envelopes.

Just click here to download the FREE Tutorial pdf so you can make your own.

****If you are unable to download the above pdf, you may need to get the newest version of Adobe Reader here.  It's free! 

Like I said before, I kept the note cards inside fairly simple to reproduce.  I used just two stamp sets - Bold Blossom & Sincere Salutations. 

This is one of the cards included in the set of four. 

Supplies:

• Stamps – Sincere Salutations, Bold Blossom
• Card stock – Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Poppy Parade, Whisper White
• Ink – Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz
• Accessories – white Organza ribbon, Dotted Scallop ribbon punch, ¾” circle punch, assorted 1/8” brads, dimensional, Color Spritzer tool, sponge, bone folder, four  SU note cards with envelopes
• Sizzix – Perfect Polka dot embossing folder, Fun Flowers Bigz die, Big Shot

Thanks for stopping by!

The Freaks Birthday Bash

Welcome to the Control Freaks February blog hop.  This month the theme is Birthdays.

You may have arrived from Wendy's blog.  It's always fun to see just what our creative Wendy will come up with. 

To see all of the Freak's projects just click on this icon at the end of each post.

First up is the card we made at my Card Clubs last month.

 
We used the wonderful stamp set called Create a Cupcake & the matching Cupcake punch.  I always try to do a fun fold at my Card Clubs so check out the inside to see what makes this card extra fun!

It's a pop-up card!  It's so very quick & easy, it really takes just a minute to add this special trick to any card.

The numbers image is from the Bring on the Cake set. Just color in or glitter the age of your special person. 

Here's how you make thie simple pop-up.

The above left photo is a side view of the popped up image.  The above right photo is the pop-up mechanism before it's adhered to the inside fold.

Just cut a 1/2" X 3" piece of card stock.  Fold it in half at 1 1/2".  Then fold each end over by 1/2".  Adhere just the 1/2" ends to the card with the middle fold of the little piece centered over the middle score line of the main card.  Be sure to adhere your stamped piece to just one side of your folded strip.

• Stamps - Create a Cupcake, Bring on the Cake
• Ink - Real Red, Baja Breeze & Chocolate Chip (stamped off), Black Stazon - inside piece
  
• Card stock - Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Subtles prints dsp, Glimmer paper
  
• Accessories - Scallop Edge border punch, Build a Cupcake punch, 1/8" Red Taffeta ribbon, dimensionals, 2 3/8" Scallop circle & 2 1/2" circle punches, 2-way glue pen, Red Glitter from the Fine Galaxy glitter stacks
  

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Next I have a really cute gift to give that birthday girl (or guy).

It's an All Occasion notecard gift box.  We saw a box like this at the Minneapolis Regionals last weekend.  It's so cute I know you'll want to make one.

Inside it holds four of Stampin' Up!'s note cards.  Did you even know we had note cards in our catalog?  They come in a set of 20 & includes the perfect size envelopes.  A great way to make fast cards.

Here is the inside view of the box with cards.  I wanted them to be simple yet striking.  Isn't this a wonderful color combination?  Baja Breeze, So Saffron & Real Red.  Another great combo from the SU Color Coach.

You can make the main box from just one sheet of 8 1/2" X 11" card stock! 

I'll be posting the FREE Tutorial and the project supplies on how to make this box on Monday.  So stop back then! 

Now you're on to my friend Barb Mullikin's blog. I know you'll love what you see!