Easter's on it's Way!

I made this card a while back (and I'm sure I was inspired by someone else's creation somewhere??). I loved the simplicity of it, but still with some fun details! I used the Finial Press Impressions Folder for the texture on the white piece. And, I used the Chit Chat rub-ons directly onto the Chocolate Satin ribbon.

And, I used the super-fab Sweet Pea felt for the focal point~ still lovin' those felt pieces!


Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Easter will Travel!

I made a quick Easter Card for my nephew tonight. I'm trying to get better about mailing things out on time, so I figured I better get on it before the week slips by! So now this little guy is ready to go. I tried to keep it simple cause it will probably "fly the coop" soon after opening, if you know what I mean!

I used the Good Egg set and the Sweet Pea Designer Papers. I kept the colors a little less pastel, and somewhat boyish.



Happy Stamping and Crafting,


Julie

Are they Waterlilies?

I found this idea for making vellum flowers from Leeann Greff, another SU! demonstrator. I kinda think they look like waterlilies. Probably they would look a lot more like waterlilies with different colors (maybe yellow and green), but I wanted to keep it monochromatic - and I chose Rose Red.

Anyway, I like the vellum for the flowers - kinda subtle and nice.

Happy Sunday,

Julie

A Beautiful Sunset and a Floppy Ear Bunny!

I'm out of town tonight (at our Cambria house). We went out for a nice dinner, and then home to this beautiful sunset... This is the view from our roof-top deck... I know, pretty lucky we are!!

But then I was anxious to go inside and CASE this cute little floppy ear bunny. I saw it on Stampin' Connection (I think it was made by Mercedes Weber), and had to copy it! Bunnies are cute, but floppy ear bunnies makes me want to have one (until I have to clean up after one!!). But, yes, they're super cute!

So, the one I copied was really cute, and put on a cute little box. But, because I was headed out of town, and brought very limited supplies, this card was what I came up with!

Anyway, the punches used are 1 3/4" circle (body), 1 1/4" circle (head), large and small oval punches (ears), 3/4" circle (cheeks and feet), 1/2" circle (tail), 1/4" circle (eyes and nose).

The background is the Sweet Pea Designer Papers and the Scallop Trim Border Punch and it's coordinating Corner punch! (Yes, I practiced that scallop trim layer since the last time I posted a sample with that. And, yes, with the right measures and some practice - it does get easier! I actually think the bigger the layer, the easier it is!). And, yes, with my limited supplies I brought my favorite word set, Well Scripted, for the "Happy Easter."


Hope you have a great weekend!


Julie

Wanna Get Married Again?

This little box makes me want to make wedding favors all over again! Well maybe 150 of these would be a little overwhelming, but I LOVE how this little box turned out! And, if you're coming to the Technique class next Friday, you'll be making one!

And, I'm super excited to share this idea! I couldn't wait to show you the Real Roses we'll be making. They are way easier than I thought they would be to make. We'll use the new Extra Large Fancy Flower punch to make these little pretties.

Here's a close-up of the roses, but they are still even better in real life!

I hope you'll be joining us next Friday. Email if you'd like more info about the class!



Thanks for stopping by,

Julie

What a way to thank someone!

Here's another little Milk Carton box I made with the Big Shot! They're so fun and easy to make! This one has a little stamp inside of it - I'm giving it to a friend as a Thank You. These Milk Cartons are the perfect size to put a few loose candies in - M&M's, jelly bellies, or any kind of small candies. And, I love how the spout of the milk carton opens so perfectly!

I added the Sweet Pea felt flowers on the front - lovin' these for quick, cute and easy! I used the five petal flower punch for the leaves (I used up all of the leaves from my Sweet Pea Felt pack!). And, the little tag is from the Tiny Tags set and punch.


Hope you're having a great week,

Julie

Spring Happy Thoughts!

If you've been stamping and papercrafting for a while, you'll remember this easy little treat container! It's been called the Sour Cream Container, although I've never had sour cream out of this kind of container (I have had the Minute Maid frozen juice in one!). I think Wendy's uses this for their baked potatoes and sour cream. Anyways, this sour cream container has a special surprise in it for the hostess of a workshop I'm doing tonight - and, no, it's not sour cream!! But, I can't tell what it is, or it won't be a surprise!

I'm looking forward to going and doing a workshop; it's always fun to meet new people and see their reaction to the projects. I hope they will like them!


Have a good one,

Julie

Dark Chocolate Bunny Basket

I saw this really cute idea on the Stampin' Up! demonstrator website. Just don't look too close at some of my details (no, I won't point them out, but there are a few!). This was my first version making the basket. It's made out of the Scallop Oval die for the Big Shot. I did run it through the Texturz Plate first to give the basket weave look. Then after die cutting the Scallop Oval, you use the inside oval piece to make the basket bottom, and the scallop frame becomes the handle.

I made a second white oval with the same die to create the background. It's stamped with the Inspired By Nature grass stamp (OK, so that was one of the details - I should have stamped it a little higher so you could see it better). I added "eggs" with the small oval punch, using the Sweet Pea Designer papers. The saying is from Teeny Tiny Wishes! The Butterflies are from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit. And, the best part, is the Chocolate Bunny who's clear embossed on Chocolate Chip cardstock!

Easter is coming soon! Hope you find time to make some special cards and gifts.


Thanks for dropping by,

Julie

Getting Things Done Kinda Sunday!

Today was a getting-things-done-Sunday! I caught up on laundry, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen... Fun stuff!! At least it does feel good to be done with it though - or at least for today! Anyway, one of my to-do things was to make some thank you's for the get together we had a few weeks ago. So, I used the Holiday Photo Card Kit (yes, we do still sell it in the main catalog). I did buy it before the holidays so I could show it for samples, and then I decided to use other ideas for my Holiday cards. But, I was glad to find this kit today to make these photo cards.

Anyway, it made a perfect and easy, get 'er done! kind of card for a photo! I didn't use any of the self-adhesive stuff that comes in the kit, but I like it with just a simple tag-punched saying (which is a retired Hostess set!). I also added a layer of Chocolate Chip cardstock behind the photo. The best part of the kit is the larger-sized card with the coordinating envelope!

Well, now I better go write the Thank You's! I love making cards, the creative part, - but writing the inside isn't always the easy part.


Hope you had a great weekend,

Julie

Cute Little Candy Bunny!

Yesterday I found this cute idea on Stampin' Connection (a stamping website for Stampin' Up! demonstrators only). It was made by a demonstrator named Michelle Reynolds. I adapted the face of the bunny a little, but I loved this for a cute little way to wrap up a Hershey's miniature.

For the bunny's face, I used the 1 1/4" circle, the ears are the small oval punch (and sponged a little Pretty in pink), the "cheeks" are 1/2" circles, and the eyes and nose are 1/4" circles. For the "collar," I used the Scallop circle punch and the Afternoon Tea Designer Papers (another cute set of papers to use for Spring projects!). The base of the whole project is the Stampin' Up! Two Tags die.

So, here's the back of him. For the cute little tail, I used the Boho Blossoms punch and, of course, some dimensionals!

And, of course, this project could not be possible without the honorable mention of Mini Glue Dots... Eyes, nose, cheeks and ears - all Mini Glue-Dotted!

The only stamping was the little saying from the Tiny Tags set from the Occasions Mini Catalog. Cute cuz it's little, and it fit!

Fun, Fun!


Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Quick and Easy Milk Carton Box

Sorry this isn't the best picture!? This was one of the small projects we made last week at the high school class I did. The Big Shot made this quick and easy! The day before we made this, I showed them how to make a milk carton box from a half sheet of cardstock by just scoring lines and cutting. - What a difference to run it through the Big Shot - way easier!!

The colors are Ballet Blue, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White. The Designer Paper is the Pawsitively Prints pack from the Build-A-Bear collection (I Love these papers for Spring!!). The saying stamp is from the "On a Pedestal" set.

We filled our Milk Cartons with M&Ms, but they are great for any little candy treat. Because they are so easy with the Big Shot, it would be a great project for mass-producing! And, the little paper clip that holds the top closed makes it great for easy closing, but also for refilling!


Happy Stampin',


Julie

Very Versatile Bird Punch!

Here's another card I've been wanting to make to show how versatile the Bird Punch is! The flower petals and flower buds are really the bird wing piece from the new Bird Punch. Lovin' it!! From previous posts, I've used the punch to make the bird on a branch (the obvious use), and a bunch of tulips (a little out of the box use), and now this flower with buds and vines (another out of the box use). I found this idea from a master with punches stamper, Jackie Topa (she has some amazing ideas with our punches!).

So the colors are Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand and Pretty in Pink (sponged with Regal Rose). I used the Stampin' Up! Flourish Texturz Plate, of course it was first spritzed with Shimmer Spray! I added a Boho Blossom punched flower and a 5/16" white brad for the flower center. And, I added "wonderful mother" from my new favorite set Well Scripted, and punched with the Wide Oval. And, finally I added a knotted scrap of 5/8" Whisper White Satin Ribbon.


Happy Stampin',

Julie

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patty's Day!! Hope you remembered to be wearin' the green today! I made this card using the heart punch and the Scalloped Heart of Heart Embosslit. Then I added the oval punches for the Teeny Tiny Wishes saying layer. The color combo is Kraft, Certainly Celery and Old Olive.

Hope you do something fun to celebrate the green today - at least there's a lot of green on the hills today!


Have a Happy Day,


Julie

Easy Good Neighbor Card!

My friend Liz had this awesome idea on her blog a bit ago to use the Good Neighbor Papers (still free with a $50 order, until March 31st). So the papers come 6" x 6". And all you do is score two of them in half vertically. Then you fold back the top corners. And, you overlap and stick together the back two sections.

So then I just added a little scallop edge under the front flap; and I added a layered oval punch using the Vintage Labels saying, "for you" (another Sale-A-Bration pick). Then a taffeta ribbon topped it off!

Cute, easy tri-fold card that you can make real quick! And, you get 72 sheets in the Good Neighbor paper pack; so you can make a whole bunch of 'em! And, they fit in our small open end envelopes - perfect for sending!


Have a great day~


Julie

Scallops, Scallops, Scallops...

I've been wanting to try a scallop border trim layer. I used both the scallop border trim punch and the coordinating scallop trim corner punch. It is definitely not a set of punches for the beginner! The scallop trim border punch alone is awesome - LOVE it and Easy! But I will admit that adding the corner punch takes some practice, or maybe a lot of practice. There are certain specific measurements that it works with, and you do have to have patience to make it right! Other blogs have a bunch of measurements that make it come out even. Email me if you want some hints!


I do like how the simplicity of the layers of the card ended up. I used Kraft and Rich Razzleberry to keep it sort of monochromatic. I used the Great Friend set saying, "for you" in Chocolate Chip. I also added a Polka Dot Impressions background for some texture. And, I used the Beautiful Wings embosslit for the butterfly, along with some linen thread for its antennae.



Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Case-ing a fun flower idea!

Probably the awesome Spring weather that inspired this card tonight. What a nice weekend it was - sun!! Well that was part of the inspiration anyway. The other part was seeing the cards that other Stampin' Up! demonstrators have created with the XL Two-Step Bird Punch. These cute tulips are actually made from the wing of the bird and the stems are the branch from the same punch, just cutting off the leaves.

The colors I used are Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery. I used a background paper from the Good Neighbor Designer Papers from the Sale-a-Bration brochure (that ends the end of this month!). Of course the saying is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set - my go to set for any occasion! And, the bottom edge is the Scallop Border Trim Punch - another Sale-a-Bration pick!

Hope you had a great weekend!


Julie

Project Favorites!

So here are a couple of what I could figure were the favorites of the class I did this past week. Of course, they liked the gum slider (the one to the right), and they seemed to like the chocolate treat holder (the one to the left - an adaptation of the gum holder we've done, but a long time ago!) We did both of these on the same day that we did 4 cards and a few templates for envelope ideas and 6 x 6 page ideas. I'm telling you I bombarded them with things it has taken me a year or more to introduce to my classes (but, who knows how much they've retained??!!).

So here they are they are opened - which was the part they liked best! - The candy inside! We've made these ideas before as a gum holder (the one to the left, just adapted slightly) and the treat holder slider (the one to the right).

Hope you will be inspired to make some St Patrick's Day treats or Easter treats from these. Easy, just work out the measurements according to what goes inside! St Patrick's Day is this coming Wednesday!

Email me if you need more details!

Hope you're having a good weekend,


Julie

Another little St. Pat's Quick Gift!

I made a bunch of these little pouches for some quick gifts. It is just the Card Petal die folded on only three sides. I tied white taffeta around it and wide oval punched the Go Green single stamp - Wah Lah! And of course, the important part, the Peppermint Patty. Gotta love how the Big Shot makes my life easy!! I did try to add a layer under the wide oval punch; that's the one on the right. I got the oval from the Big Shot Oval die - it's the smallest of three ovals on the die. I like it; it's a real slim edge around the wide oval punch. But it wasn't noticeable enough for me to punch a whole stack of 'em!

Well, if you can believe this, I'm on stamp overload! It wasn't the three hours each day with the awesome high schoolers I had this week, but the many hours of prepping stuff - and my indecision with ideas! I stayed up late (or early , since it was the a.m.!) every night putting away one day's stuff, and putting together the next day's stuff. I'll post some of the stuff we did soon!

I'm off to catch up some stamping blog surfing - gotta see what everyone else has been doing this week - and then early to bed!

Have a good weekend,

Julie

A real Birthday Card that got Mailed!

Today I did some real stamping - you know, the kind that you actually make AND send out to someone!! Imagine that! So this was it - a card for my daughter's boyfriend. His birthday is Friday; so he may actually get it on his real birthday. That's another "imagine that!' especially for me. I'm not really sure why I'm like that - you know someone's birthday is coming and then just keep procrastinating!?

Anyway... the card was made with the Thoroughly Modern Designer Series papers - I like the color combo for masculine cards. And I used just one stamp from the Seeing Stars set. I just got that set when I was having the birthday box classes, and I really like it! It's a great "anybody" kind of set - the stars can be used for lots of occasions, and it has punches that coordinate with some of the stamps. Always love the coordinating punches!

Well, off to prep more stuff for my back to school stampers tomorrow - it's been fun!

Thanks for stopping in,

Julie

Steppin' It Up!

Tomorrow is my first day back to school! If only this was what I was teaching before though... Honestly, I did love my teaching job - 2nd grade, middle school, special education and everything in between! But I am really looking forward to teaching this week!

I'll be teaching stamping and paper crafting for three hours Monday through Friday this week - and my class will be nine high schoolers... what a dream job!!

We'll be making the Forget-Me-Not Card Keeper Box (you've seen it in a previous post - or maybe you've even made one!), lots of cards and lots of projects!

This card above will be one of the cards we'll start with tomorrow. Back to basic Two-Step Stampin'. - I got the card idea from Stampin' Connection (a stamping idea website for Stampin' Up! demonstrators). - It uses the sets With All My Heart and On Your Birthday, and the colors are So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive and Basic Brown. It's simply stamped onto Whisper White cardstock - awesome!!

And so to be prepared, I stepped it up for version two! They'll have the choice to either make two of the easier version, or they can step it up and make one of each. Not sure how ready they'll be, but I'll have the stuff ready to make this version. I added the Eyelet Border Punch to the edge, tied it with Pink Taffeta and stuck on an inch strip of Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper.

To me, What a Difference!! It seems so plain to go back to version 1, but if you have never done any stamping... it's a quick wow! And you feel good about making a card so quick! Remember those days?!!

OK, I better get going! Gotta pack it up for my first big day tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by,


Julie

Bright, but Belated Birthday!

This morning I did a quick surf of some blogs to find a birthday card idea for my good friend Judy (who I was late in getting a birthday card to! I know I did just finish up the Birthday Card Box Classes - and here I am late with birthday cards still!!). So, I found this color combination with Rose Red, Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie - lovin' the brightness of it, it reminds of something Judy would like. And the card I adapted this from also used this set, On a Pedestal and the Good Neighbor Sale-A-Bration papers.

Hope you have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by,

Julie

Sneak Peek for Friday's Class!

Here's the Scallop Square Basket we're going to make this Friday at Technique Class. The pattern for the box is really easy, and then you just Sticky Strip the Scallop Squares on the front and back. And, at first I wasn't real excited about the Chocolate Bunny, but he's really grown on me! It's awesome that you buy him as a single stamp though. - A nice way to get an Easter stamp, without having to buy a whole set. And the saying stamp is from the new set Well Scripted - Lovin' that set!!

A little 'sleeper item' that was used on this project is the Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Papers. We're using the saffron gingham and the olive herringbone prints, but this set of papers is super-cute for Spring! It was originally in the Holiday Mini Catalog with the introduction of the Build-A-Bear Workshop stuff. But it is still available, just not shown in our Occasions Mini Catalog. Anyway, you'll see the other prints in the set if you're coming to class - love 'em!

Hope to see you at class on Friday!


Julie

Quick and Easy St. Pat's!

I found this quick idea on another blog to use the Scallop Square and make a little treat holder. So when the Scallop Square is flat, you score lines at every three scallops along both edges - so you end up with 9 'square' areas. Then you fold and squish it up together to make this little holder! I punched holes on the four corners to tie the ribbon through. Then I added a quick tag. I used little hearts, and a scrap, to make the shamrock! The little Hershey's nuggets fit perfectly, one in each opening! It's tiny, but fun!!

So, I'm getting back in the groove today with my stamp stuff - and I'll be back soon to post a sneak peek, or maybe two, for this Friday's technique class!


Thanks for stopping by,


Julie