More Calendars for the Girls

Here are a few more calendars I have ready for the girls in my family to choose from at our Christmas get together.  This is the second set of calendars I've made for the ladies. 

 

Things have been crazy around here since my last post and I didn't take the time to get photos of the first set of calendars which I gave to the ladies I work with.

 

Like the previous calendars I made for the guys.  I used a Papertrey Ink coaster as the base, patterned paper, cardstock, felt and half-backed pearls.  The leaves are pieces I cut from a floral pick I found at Michaels.  It's just a stem of plastic leaves covered in glitter.  I also used Tim Holtz's easel die to make the calendar stand on a desktop.

 

 

I promise there will be something other than calendars on my next post. 

 

Until next time,

 

Time to Make the Calendars

First, I've been working on selling some of my unused rubber stamps on Ebay.  I just finished selling the first batch of 5.  Boy, does it take a lot of work.  Not sure if I can keep it up with the 50+ sets I have left.  I guess I'll do a few at a time every other week or so.  If you are looking for a retired Stampin' Up set let me know.  I might have it.

 

So on with the post, every year I create desk calendars for my co-workers for Christmas.  Usually I make these girly, frilly and cute calendars for the gals in my department.  Its usually pretty easy to come up with a design.  But early in the year I changed departments and now I have a couple of guys in my department.  I've been stumped on what to do for this year's calendar.  I started with a couple pieces of patterned paper that I found at Hobby Lobby that are more masculine.  I also purchased some sentiment stickers and some clock charms.  Here's what I came up with.

 

 

 

It's a bit hard to read in the photo but the sticker says "Blessing Brighten When We Count Them".  I placed the sticker on cork and cut around it.  It's really cool looking in real life and adds to the masculine look.  I used a coaster that I purchased from Papertrey Ink as the base.  The Tim Holtz easel die was used so that the calendar stands up easily on its own. The calendar is from a word doc I created a few years ago.  I just update it each year.  It just takes hours to cut them all out. 

 

Whew, I have the hard ones done. Now on to making several more calendars for the girls.  

 

Until next time,

 

Love die and a Beatles Song

Sounds like an odd combination but the result is a really cute couple of cards.  I follow a bunch of trendy card making blogs and I've wanted to try this inlaid die cutting technique.  The Love die was purchased from Stampin Up quite a while ago and hadn't used it yet so this sounded like a good time to give it a try.  The sentiment was computer generated  and printed on cardstock.  The sentiment came from the Beatles song by the same name.  Great song = Cool sentiment(s) = Cute Cards. 

 

 

 

I added a sweet Anniversary message to the inside "I love you more than you could ever know.  Happy Anniversary" from Papertrey Ink.  Give it a try you will "Love" the result.  Pun intended. 

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curvy Keepsake Box

I've fallen for the Curvy Keepsake die from Stampin Up.  I ordered the die as a 1/2 price item from my Stampin Up party in September and since then I've made 50+ boxes.  I have 3 photos of my creations. 

 

This first box I made as a thank you for the gals who ordered from my Stampin Up party. I like to include something handmade with their orders to say Thank You.  

 

 

I also made 30 of the 2 designs above for my son's school to sell at our Annual Barbecue Beef Dinner and Bake Sale. I stamped "Give Thanks" on the pumpkins instead of "Happy Halloween" as seen in the first photo.  I also followed a tutorial from Scraphexe which has instructions on how to cut the paper strips to die cut for a two-toned look.  

 

I've also made 15 more for my co-workers and for some special Trick-or-Treaters for the coming week. 

 

There are so many more designs to try I can't wait

 

Until next time,

P.S. - I wanted to link to the inspiration for the Scarecrow box I found on Pinterest.  The watermark on the pin is from "Thoughts That Stick" by Julie Petta but I'm unable to link to the website since its pointing back to a subscriber only site.   

 

Retirement Card

Wish I was retiring soon so I could spend more time stamping.  That will not happen for several more years.  I found a pin that inspired me on Pinterest here.  I don't have this particular stamp but I had one that was similar.  It looks so peaceful.

 

  

I stamped the image in Memomento Tuxedo Black ink on watercolor paper then watercolored the image with some Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  I rubbed the crayon on my craft sheet then picked up the color with my brush.  I think it turned out pretty well.

 

I have been stamping for about 16 years now.  I discovered stamping by attending a Stampin Up workshop.  I still belong to the same Stampin group. (Love spending time with those ladies.)  The majority of my supplies and stamps are from Stampin Up but I do get to Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's and Michaels on occasion. (They are 30 minutes to an hour away.)  I use their coupons on full price items and then look for things on sale or clearance.  So my supplies are not the lastest and greatest products on the market but with some creativity and inspiration from blogs and Pinterest I'm still able to get some nice results.

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

Lets get the bloggin started

Boy who would have thought it would be so hard to figure out what to write.  I have a passion for paper crafting.  There are so many talented crafters out there and I admire so may of them.  My hope is that you will find inspiration from my creations and will give them a try for yourself.

 

My first card was created some time ago.  I seem to always need Sympathy cards.  I keep a box of cards in my office for my coworkers to purchase.  Sadly the Sympathy Cards are the first to go.

 

Until next time,