A bit of Monkeying around

My brother in law will also be celebrating his birthday this weekend. I just got the Fox & Friends stamp set so thought I'll CASE a card I recently saw while blog hopping. This is my version.

Masculine and versatile enough

What design for a male turning 40? Well, going with the black & white theme, and didn't want it to be an overtly 40th birthday card, this is the All Occasions card I came up with. I love stamp sets like the Stampin Up Lexicon of Love set - it is so versatile.

Black & White

I am trying to be prompt with taking pictures of my crafting before gifting away, so here is one hot off the press. This boxed cards set is for the other Mrs P, my beautiful sister in law, whose birthday we're celebrating tonight. I hope she likes it.

One of the things I certainly find quite frustrating with crafting is my indecisiveness. I keep deliberating whether to put stripes on the box, just like the cards, or leave it plain black. I'll be thinking about it until I give it to her tonight. What would you have done?

So I made 4 "all occasions" cards, but could fill the box with 2 more cards. The trouble with working with black ink is that you have to be very very neat and take extreme care, especially on white paper. And I reckon it does stain the rubber stamps. Oh well...

Also, I forgot to take into account the bigger size of a standard card envelope, so they don't actually fit inside the box. I could custom make the envelopes too, I suppose. Hmm....

Now what I reckon will make these cards have a polished look is having the heat embossing tool to wet emboss the stamped image. It is already on the shopping list, might have to see if I can bump it up the list, lol.

Desk Calendar

Here is another project I have been wanting to do ever since I first came across it. Well, we're in the 2nd half of the year already, but it's never too late, since MF and I still don't have a desk calendar at work, and really, I just started the calendar in July instead of January.

The instructions I used were from http://stampingmaria.blogspot.com/2011/02/easel-box-tutorial.html

The project uses up 3 x A4 cardstocks and 1 x 12" square cardstock.

Another instructions link (which I think makes a smaller version) I have saved is http://inkspiredtreasures.com/wp-content/uploads/Desktop%20Calendar%20Box%20Tutorial(1).pdf

The calendar itself is my own simple creation in an Excel file. I just may be making these for Christmas presents this year....

More Little Books

Shocking photos, bah humbug! Our unreliable camera of 8 years didn't come to play so I used DH's iPhone, or maybe it's just cos' I am not a good photographer...anyhow, at least I got pictures of these two sets. I gave the third one to the mother of the baby boy born last week, forgetting to take a picture of it. The only difference between that one and the one below is that it was stamped using Wild About You stamp set.

This one is for my little fella who turned 2 at the end of June. I have intentions to make one of these little books for each child for each birthday...let's just say I often have intentions, but whether I ended up carrying it out...hmm...let's see!

The link to the instructions for these is in this previous post.

Clean And Simple

There is a card style known as CAS - ie Clean and Simple. I think it is open to interpretation what CAS means. One idea, which I like, is that it involves a lot of white space. I particularly like the simplicity of "LateBlossom" - there's something classy about her creations.

Well, I think this card is about as simple as it gets. And it uses up left-over patterned papers very effectively. Takes all of 5 minutes to whip up. Still inspired and made especially with the person it is intended for in mind though - can you see what the inspiration might be?

There is a theme of shoes running through the card - very subtly. This is a birthday card for a girlfriend whom I have only quite recently gotten back in touch with. Simple, yet effective.

What Kind Of Book Is It?

The answer is, whatever you want it to be!

The Meander Accordian Folded Book has many aliases, so is it any surprise it can be whatever book you want it to be? (This link has a video tutorial if you are that way inclined.)

I made this one to gift to a friend's 5 year old girl - the idea is that she can fill each of the 16 pages with her favourite things. I gave suggestions of favourites, such as favourite song, favourite animal, favourite saying/quote, favourite thing to do, etc...you get the gist. I am thinking I have to do one of these for each of my children each year. This can be my answer to scrapbooking which I know I am not discipline enough to do. The children each can fill their new book each year on their birthday - wow, imagine a collection of these little books for each child journalling how their favourites have change over time. Hmm, I like....

Next one of these I make will be a Baby one - for a newbie born at the beginning of this week.

Hoot Hoot

Well, I'd never have considered myself an owl fan, but how could you not be with these little hooters?



I got the instructions from Darlene (she even has a video tutorial on there) - isn't she a talented lady? I am considering making this birthday card for all the birthdays the rest of this year - that is how much I like them!

For the outside of the card, I thought I ought to try to keep it clean and simple, but still something that will work with the whole owl theme. So here it is:

Stamp Set: Build A Cupcake

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Paper: Pink Cardstock, Mulberry Cardstock, Whisper White, DSP Good Morning Sunshine

Punch: 2-step Owl Punch, Corner Rounder, Large Word Window, Build A Cupcake

Other: various embossing folders, jiggly eyes

All In One

Here's a groovy little project that is like an all-in-one gift, packaging and card - how cool is that?! I have filled this little number with a jewellery set of necklace, ear-rings and bracelet I got handmade for my dear friend's 40th. The fourth box will be filled with chocolates, of course :-)

I first came across this project while browsing the myriad of crafty blogs a month ago. Known as the Stepper Box or Fantasy Box, the instructions for this project, however, does not seem to be found easily with a simple google search. Various links seem to point to Teri Digness who gave the original instructions but her link doesn't appear to work. In the end I got the instructions from here or here.

As is my habit, I haven't followed the instructions entirely. I have seen boxes made with four panels but I chose to make it with 5 panels, as there will be a written note on the fifth panel. I am still thinking what to write, I'm thinking a poem (if I can find a suitable lovely one) or perhaps a Scripture verse. I also feel like it may need some further embellishments on the inside, or maybe I should just keep it simple? It truly is a luxury to have such simple dilemmas, lol! Well, I have a few more days to play with this before I gift it to my friend.

Now for the pictures....

Stamp Set: Priceless (would have used So Swirly stampin wheel if I own one - it's been on the shopping list for ages!)

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Pink and Black Cardstocks (Trophee Brand from The Warehouse Stationery), scrapbook paper from stash

Other: Stampin Up Sticky Tape, ribbon from stash, Sizzix Stars and Swirls Embossing Folder

ETA: with a little more embellishments:

Not An Original

One of the first stamp sets I acquired was Wild ABout You - I hadn't realised it was missing a stamp (and it had to be the much adored lion - grrr!) when I bid on Ebay and of course, I ended up winning the auction. Anyway, I have found that sometimes it takes time (a lot of it!) and effort to "muck" around with stamps to create a card I am excited about. And then I get discouraged, and find that I am not making time for it, so it's a vicious cycle. I have all these stamp sets, and I just want to get them used. So I swallow the pride pill, googled the Wild About You stamp set to see what so many talented people have done with it - wow! I decided to copy (I think sometimes this is referred to as "case"?) one entirely, only I can't link to a blog as it was from an auction site. So there, that's my part in giving the credit of the idea to its rightful owner, and here's the picture of the card I copied/cased (well picture to come when I take the photo in the daylight). Notice I have not put any sentiments on the card so it is flexible what I use it for (though it's probably likely to be a Happy Birthday or Thank You card).

Stamp Set: Wild ABout You

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Real Red

Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Whisper White

Other: Double sided tape

I Discovered

Pop-Up cards! I've been on Google looking at examples and techniques lately.

This one, using the spiral circle technique, will be given to the birthday friend tomorrow.

Stamp Set: Priceless

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Whisper White, (Yellow scraps from stash)

Punch: Full Heart, Boho Blossoms, Large Word Window

Other: Stampin Write Marker Real Red, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive

Skittles Cake

Another Cake gift - this time for 11 year old fan of Skittles whose Mum says they (the Skittles lollies) are a birthday treat only.

11 boxes filled with Skittles - sorry Jan (his mum)! His sisters (pictured above, who helped made the boxes) think I will be his best friend now (even though we're almost a month late with the gift.)

Don't these just remind you of Jaffas or Mint Slice? Yum!

Punch: Scallop Edge (actually, these scallop edging were done using a pair of craft scissors I purchased for the kids from Geoff's Emporium for only $1.95!)

Other: Cuttlebug Spots and Dots Embossing Folder

The Cake That Never Runs Out

I saw a sample of a cake slice box, so guess what I did? Google of course! Found this template but I wanted it to open from the top so I modified the template accordingly and photocopy onto a set of pink card stock. As you can see from the pictures, it took 11 cake slices to make one cake.

There is that Swiss Dot embossing folder in use again - see how versatile it is?

And just to show that this "cake" is even filled with a layer of "cream", lol!

All packaged up for the birthday girl turning the big 5 - what a milestone, what a celebration!

Paper: Pink Cardstock (Trophee Brand from The Warehouse Stationery), Whisper White, Purple Cardstock (from old stash, DSP Raspberry Tart scraps

Punch: Butterfly, Scallop Edge, Full Heart

Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot Embossing Folder, You're Not The Boss Of Me Alphabet Set

We filled each box with all sorts: ladybird pegs, beads, a NZ Fern Key ring that S7 had that he insisted on gifting to J5, jiggly craft eyes, a small nail polish, a bottle of bubble mixture, necklaces, lollies and chocolate easter eggs.

First in the Church Baby Boom

We are experiencing a bit of a baby boom at the local church we fellowship at: 7 babies to be born before the end of the year. Here's a card for the first baby - Lily Grace - (whose Mummy the baby shower project was for).

Stamp Set: Wild About You, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Ink: Blushing Bride, Chocolate Chip

Paper: Pink cardstock (Trophee Brand from The Warehouse Stationery), Whisper White

Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder, White ribbon (from stash)

I really really dig the Swiss Dot embossing folder - can you tell? I must get one and return this one that I borrowed from a lovely friend.

Children's Handiwork

Card making is part of the homeschooling curriculum :-)

Sample from N5:

Stamp Set: Wanted, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Ink: Pear Pizzazz

Paper: Yellow cardstock (from old stash, most likely purchased from The Warehouse or a $2 shop), Whisper White

Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder

Sample from S7:

Stamp Set: Priceless, Heart (by Dots)

Ink: Real Red

Paper: Red cardstock (from old stash, most likely purchased from The Warehouse or a $2 shop), Whisper White

Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder

Mini Milk Cartons

It's another one of those last minute idea that I just have to give a go - last minute because:

1) I see the idea on Friday afternoon, and think, "Oh look, that's what I can make for Deb's Baby Shower gift!" The baby shower is on the next day. Never mind that I have no templates, and not even the time to google but you know, the idea is there, and I just have to run with it.

2) The earliest possible time I could experiment/work on it is Saturday morning, and that's when I also have three active boys all to myself as DH had to pop out for an hour or so.

I did have another gift planned but if this worked out, then that gift will be given when baby is born.

The idea is a picture on page 33 of the Stampin' Up 2010-11 IB & C (Idea Book & Catalogue) - NZ edition.

Unfortunately, I don't have the Bigz L Mini Milk Carton Die - indeed I don't even own the Sizzix Big Shot machine. I have not even seen the die nor the actual template it cuts out.

Fortunately, there's a small picture in the catalogue of the shape of the template the die cuts out , so I could easily just make some measurements up for it. The prototype I made up looked a decent size for what I wanted to use it for so yay! Next is working out how to do the carry tray with handle. This time I had no template to work from, but it is simple enough really to work out. I just didn't know how well it will hold up four mini milk cartons filled with yummies as I was using Designer Series Paper cardstock. Oh well, I gave it a go anyway. The end result appeared to hold up well enough. I'll just have to find out from Deb later down the track how well it served its purpose :-)

So, here it is: "Deb's Care Package"

I think it looked a bit more complete with the label embellishment:

Paper: Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper (DSP)

Punch: Heart to heart, 1" Circle, Horizontal Slot, Scallop Circle Extra Large 1 3/4"

Other: Double sided tape (though I think I'd use Sticky Strip instead if I had some - I read somewhere it's better for gift boxes), Gold decorative cord, cello bag for filling up yummy munchies in, cutting blade to cut a slit on the bottom of the tray to feed the handle panel through, 1/4" Grosgrain (I think?) Ribbon in Certainly Celery ( I think?) - I "stole" it from an old project that I had done in a class last year as it seemed to match the green on the DSP though the green there is Kiwi Kiss.

One box was filled with Prunes (if you haven't had a baby before, one of the things you always get asked by the doctor or midwife that see you in the days post birth is if you have passed bowel motions, because, well, it is important that you have a healthy bowel. So prunes can help some women).

One box was filled with Nuts (natural whole almonds and unsalted roasted cashew nuts) for energy and good fats.

The third box was filled with Lactation Cookies (actually I ran out of time to bake so I just substituted with shortbread that I had in the pantry! Will have to make Deb a batch of the actual lactation cookies when I visit her post birth. Google will give you many results, this is one of them, haven't checked if it's the same as the one I use, but it's got the main ingredients, ie flaxseed meal/ground linseed, brewers yeast, oats and chocolate chips, of course!).

Finally, the last box is filled with some chocolates. We all need a little bit of chocolate indulgence, don't you think?

The KTFPC Post #3

I had seen on ebay that someone was selling little kitsets to make-your-own bookmark projects of cute animals like bears, lions and frogs. So I googled to see if there was any tutorial on making a pig bookmark. Since I didn't find any, I just based mine on what I can see in the picture of one of the ebay listings :-) Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of it, and it was promptly given away the day it was made to the 12 year old pig crazy recipient :-) I'm sure i will be making more of these novel bookmarks so will blog about it at some stage.

However, in my search I found http://artgirlzscrappinattic.typepad.com/artgirlzscrappinattic_web/2008/02/altered-office.html and love the idea of a note/photo holder.

(That cutie patootie would be my 3rd born J20month, then 8.5months old)

Stamp Set: Best Wishes & More, Best Yet

Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Paper: Whisper White, Bella Bleu DSP, Good Morning Sunshine DSP

Punch: Scallop Circle Extra Large 1 3/4", Circle 1 3/8"

Other: Double sided Tape, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Ribbon, Jumbo Binder Clip

(As you can see, I don't having the corresponding ink to the Not-Quite-Navy blue in the Bella Bleu paper, and the ribbon is just one that I found at the local Spotlight store that is the closest match in colour. Oh to have all the matching products! Oh well...at least, I think, this turned out quite well.

For future reference:

DSP Bella Bleu colours are: Very Vanilla, Kraft and Not Quite Navy

DSP Good Morning Sunshine: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip

The KTFPC Post #2

I do so love gifting handmade gifts - my dear friends who get them hopefully know that for me, it is not just a money saving way to gift. It is about gifting something of myself.

What do you do with standard off-the-production-line journals like this:

With the right tools and supplies and plenty of time and patience, you transform it to something like these:

Stamp Set: Sense of Time, (not sure but will update as I find out)

Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Naturals Ivory, Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, Old Olive

Punch: Scallop Circle Extra Large1 3/4", Two-Step Bird Extra Large,

Other: Sizzix Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Dimensionals, Sizzix Circles Dies, Snail Adhesive, Double Sided Tape, Sponge daubers.

I got the idea for these Christmas 2010 gifts from the talented and kind hearted Penny who let me spent an evening late into the night at her home to use her supplies and the Big Shot machine to emboss the papers that covered the journals.

These were made with each person in mind, and prayers of blessings were declared over each of their lives.

The KTFPC Post #1

I thought I'll post pics of what other things I have made since November 2010 - just so this doesn't look like a one-post blog :-) (since I know I don't get crafting everyday, not even every week!) There are a few things I have made but not taken a picture of but I'm sure I will make more of those at some stage this year. So this is the "Keep The First Post Company" Post #1 - quick project made in January 2010.

Stamp Set: One of a Kind

Ink: Kiwi Kiss

Paper: Raspberry Tart DSP

Punch: Boho Blossoms

Other: Stampin' Pastels, Dimensionals, Double sided tape (would have preferred to use sticky tape if I actually own some), velcro dots

What do you do when you receive a phone call late on a Saturday morning - it was your dear friend saying that they were having a afternoon tea that very same day for their daughter whose 7th birthday it was? Well, it was an opportunity to create a fun little gift - yes in a very short time, with three active little boys and DH not available at home to take the boys out to work off their seemingly endless bound of energy.

Mr Google to the rescue, of course! I managed to search and found a simple purse template online. Once it was made up, then it was a quick trip to the shops to look for the fillers - hair ties, clips, lip gloss...you know, what a girl needs :)

For future reference, the colours of DSP Raspberry Tart are: Real Red, Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Pretty in Pink, Kiwi Kiss.

New Journey

The title to my first post on this blog is apt on two accounts. First it, refers to where I'm at in my paper crafting journey and secondly, this post is about how I created a card to congratulate a couple who will soon make the lifelong commitment we call Marriage. It was the night before DH's youngest brother's engagement BBQ. The children are in bed early-ish (8.30pm) and after a day of slow going on the motivation front, I got out my small (though growing!) Stampin' Up supplies to see what engagement card I could come up with.

I have been wanting to use the Versamark ink pad but really had no idea how to use it since I hadn't seen a demonstration of its use (which I now know is a-plenty - Google is so my friend!) and bought it new off Trade Me cos it was a good buy. The Watermark technique was the obvious route with what tools I have.

I only have 4 cardstock colours to choose from - Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White or Very Vanilla. Limited choice is good, otherwise I might still be debating which colours to use! The watermark effect popped out more on the Cherry Cobbler than the Real Red, so that was a simple decision that needs no more deliberating - phew.

Next decision - what sentiments and stamps to use? Well I was already using the Priceless swirly stamp for the watermark background, and since it is a card about Love, the heart or butterfly stamps in that same stamp set seems fitting. I also went for the Best Wishes stamp from the Oval All stamp set because it means I get to use the oval and Scallop oval punches (I just love using punches). Sweet - now all that remained to do is to put the card together.

Stamp Set: Priceless, Oval All

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Versamark

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Whisper White

Punch: Scallop Edge, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Other: Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, 2-way Glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive

(ps: I just can't seem to capture the true colour on camera or otherwise it is blurry...oh well, you get the idea.)

Ahh - I feel better. It is so good to create. This was a great way to end my slow going day. Now I just have to think what to write inside the card! But that will be tomorrow's task as it is far too late now.