Lots of glimmer in the DEALS this week:
It may be too early to start shopping and decorating, but shopping for holiday craft supplies is right around the corner. Be sure you stock up on Glimmer paper and Glitter – not to mention ribbons and cording and rhinestone jewels and…
Shop HERE.
As a counterpoint to the Angry Birds card, we created a Minion card.
This is an easy card, but it takes a little time, and your fingers will likely get all Tombo-ee (yes, that is a word.)
Begin with the Circle Thinlet card in Daffodil Delight. You’ll need 2 pieces of Pacific Point (mine were 1 1/2″ tall) for the overalls, plus narrow strips to make the straps. The “button” on the straps is from the Owl Builder – a real button would have made this card too thick for standard postage.
I used a 3/4″ strip of Basic Black for the bands near the eye (what the heck are they for, anyway??)  And you’ll need to punch 2 Whisper White 2 1/2″ circles, a 2″ Daffodil circle (that you’ll cut in half), and a 3/4″ Black circle for the eyeball. The glasses? goggle? monocle? is created by punching a 2″ Smoky Slate circle, then centering the round opening in the 2 1/2″ circle punch to cut out a ring. I used Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it some height over the eye.
This is what the card looks like laid out flat. There’s a plain Whisper White circle on the back of the eye to write a message, but here’s where I got stuck. What does the minion say? No idea.
Here’s the back side, laid flat. Note that the “hair” is angled off to the side – otherwise it gets smushed (also a word) when the card is closed.
My card is CASED from THIS version, but there are many other versions in the CraftyWeb. Have a blast creating your own!!
Last weekend I made a whirlwind trip to attend my high school reunion. I took goodie bags for the people who made it happen – and they worked very hard! Before I left, I made up some simple tags for the bags:
A hand-made tag is a lovely personal touch and I made 10 of these in about 15 minutes – you can’t get much quicker than that! I cut our new heavy-weight Whisper White card stock into 2″ x 8 1/2″ strips and punched the each end with the Tag Topper, then cut them in half and rounded the opposite corners. Stamp, stamp, stamp and done!
Last week I shared THESE tags, and they were quick too.
My trip, while insanely fast, was well worthwhile. I got to spend time with my parents, which is always special. My sister and her family joined us on Friday night for drinks (my niece has just turned 21) and then dinner. I got to spend time with a dear friend from high school. And I reconnected with people I knew, and built new relationships with people I barely knew.
Sally and I were friends in high school, college frosh roomies, and then went our separate ways for about 35 years. A year or so ago, she tracked me down and we picked up where we left off. If she hadn’t messaged me to say that she was coming to reunion and I should too, I wouldn’t have attended. Lesson one: reach out to old friends.
Lesson two: EVERYONE feels nervous about attending reunion. I talked to a lot of different classmates, and it seemed we all felt the same apprehension as we approached the event. And yet, as we shared our stories, we laughed and agreed that we were so happy we’d made the effort.
I talked to people with whom I’d had classes or been in clubs together or shared a summer job. And I also talked to people that I’m pretty sure were never on my radar in high school. But I enjoyed renewing old relationships and especially developing new ones, and that made the trip worthwhile. Lesson three: The people you most enjoy speaking with may not be the people you thought you were coming to see.
Sally is escorting her youngest to college this weekend – it will be a bittersweet time for them both. I’m home, slightly reeling from traveling over 5,000 miles in a weekend. And we are both the better for the adventure. And still crazy after all these years.
Hey there, crafty friends – it’s Tuesday and that means DEALS:
If you’re like me, it’s starting to dawn on you that it’s time to start planning for Christmas crafting. (I KNOW.) But if you’re like me (again), there’s nothing more annoying than starting a project and realizing you don’t have enough ribbon…or buttons…or that punch board. ‘Nuff said.
Shop HERE and let go of worry.
Recently, one of my regular stampers requested projects for kids. I looked at what I had on my shelf and found stamps suitable for feminine or baby cards, but not really for KIDS.
Off to Pinterest, the Black Hole of the Internet!
I found some great ideas and they weren’t even in mason jars!! Score.
This was inspired by THIS great card, and I CASED it pretty liberally. The Red Bird is punched from the 1 3/4″ circle, and the Yellow Bird is the old style Heart Punch. I think you could get that shape using a square and a corner rounder.
The white body portions are 1 3/4″ circles punched twice. The orange beak is the Itty Bitty Heart (trimmed) and the head and tail feathers are from the retired Boho punch. I think you could get the same look from the Flower Fair framelits.
The eyebrows are the end of the stem from the bird punch. The birds aren’t angry until you add those eyebrows, so work them!! The eyes are from the Owl punch, and I used the 1″ square for the yellow beak.
The Word Window and the Woodgrain TIEF make up the slingshot, and the linen thread finishes it off. I trimmed a strip of Garden Green with Fringe Scissors, and the embellishment at the top is from Amazing Birthday. We had to stamp SOMETHING!
These are last year’s bags – the current bags are plain, so you could even add some clouds as Sarah-Jane Rae did to her card.
Everyone loved the end result – but we agreed that these birds take a lot of little pieces!
Welcome to the RemARKable Blog tour – this month, it’s all about bundles!
There are heaps of great bundles in the Annual Catalog, and I chose to focus on the Flower Patch stamps and framelits. I don’t know about you, but when I create a card with a set like this I often have a lot of little pieces left over. I pulled out those pieces to see what I could do:
I ALWAYS need tags, and 9 times out of 10, I need a tag AT THE LAST MINUTE. Can you relate?
As I worked on color combinations for these tags, it occurred to me that the best thing to do would be to make a lot of pieces, mix and match them to form pleasing combinations, and put them together to create a little stash for myself.
If I weren’t sharing these with you today, I would have left them without a sentiment. That way, I could add the exact phrase I needed when I was looking for a last minute tag.
If you’re like me, you have lots of bits and pieces all over your crafting desktop. Grab a Tag Topper punch and craft up some tags!
Next stop on the tour is Heather Mathiason – enjoy her great projects!
Nancy Amato – http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com/2015/08/remarkable-stampers-blog-tour-bundle-up.html
Melissa Bolinger – http://creativeblessingsbymissy.blogspot.com/2015/08/remarkable-blog-tour-watercolor-wings.html
Tamra Davis –Â http://www.thecardladies.com/remarkable-blog-hop-ready-for-fall/
Anne Matasci – http://wp.me/pCcBw-1Vk  YOU ARE HERE!!!
Heather Mathieson – https://inkyladybug.wordpress.com/?p=187
Audra Monk –
http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com/2015/08/remarkable-blog-hop-any-choice-bundle.html
Maria Pane -http://stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com/2015/08/remarkable-blog-tour-su-bundles.html
Michele Reynolds – http://inspirationink.typepad.com/inspiration-ink/2015/08/bundle-blog-tour.html
Pam Staples – http://wp.me/p3p2VA-14W
Janet Wakeland – http://wp.me/pHIQD-7m8
My niece was married in May, and I was delighted that she asked for my help with the favors for her wedding. Their theme was Starry Starry Night, and they carried it out beautifully. She had wine charms for her favors, and late one night we texted back and forth a dozen times until we came up with a plan:
I’ve done enough mass production to know that you have to break it up into smaller tasks. I want to enjoy the process, and production isn’t my favorite thing to do. It’s a gift that I can give, and I want to give it joyfully!
The first thing that I did was borrow another set of Star Framelits so that I would have two. By carefully planning and cutting the card stock into strips, I could cut eight stars at a time…two pieces of card stock at time. It’s not the recommended procedure, but if your shape is simple enough it works! Having 2 sets meant I could put 4 framelits through at a time.
I’ve also learned to work in stacks. It helps me to keep track of my progress, and also helps avoid the inevitable shortage of one piece or another.
Tools help too! The piercing mat was a lifesaver 🙂 The stars are Night of Navy and Soft Suede, and I stamped one side with a star pattern from a retired Project Life set called Point and Click. The other side had their names and wedding date printed – I confess that was mostly by trial and error using MS Word. Print first, cut with framelits second!
It was a great feeling to get them all finished and ready to send off. I confess that putting them in a Priority Mail package and sending them off across the ocean made me feel a little nervous, and I was quite happy to get that arrival email! The Post Office has been good to me, and I am a big fan.
We used to carry a fabulous product called Champagne Mist Shimmer paint, and I have a stash of it that I keep for very special projects. Every star was sprayed front and back with Shimmer Spray, and it was a perfect finishing touch.
Finally, my card for the happy couple carried out the theme too:
The entire event was a glorious celebration of love, commitment and family. Congratulations and many happy years together, Liz and Mark!
It was a bit of a late night but it’s ready for you:
Loads of stamps, DSP, kits, and treasures! I even have Mystery Grab Bags!
Doors open a 8:30am. Christmas Card Pre-Sneak-Peek class starts at 9am. See ya!
Here are the Deals for this week – I look forward to these, don’t you?
Shop HERE to take advantage of these great prices, and remember that supplies are limited at this price. Be sure you check out the Clearance Rack, too!
What’s happened to our summer?? It’s hard to believe we’ve arrived at August FIRST!
I’m back to my birds…Stampin’ Up! just can’t make enough bird images in my opinion! I love the size and detail of this one from An Open Heart. I didn’t have any particular species in mind when I chose my colors, I was just coloring to make myself happy. And what could possibly be wrong with that?
I’ll enjoy watching this fellow on my kitchen counter this month.
Be sure you stop by to see what Cheryl and Crystal have created this month!
The Maui Stamper 