Very Punny Milk Bath Sour Cream Containers

OK, this is the last of my milk bath (for a while)! I only had about a half a cup or so left and I suppose I could have grabbed a book and taken a nice hot milk bath but I chose to seal them up in these two sour cream containers! To make these I cut my vellum 3" x 5". I stamped the image on the velum using black Staz-on. I let it dry for a few minutes, just to be sure. Then I took the 3" side of the vellum and with a toothpick I added some glue and made a tube. I repeated it for the second one. It goes a lot smoother if you make more than two, you don't really need to "wait" for the glue to dry. By the time you get to the last one the glue is dry on the first one you did. Once you're sure the glue is dry you will be taking your tube and on one end you will add some glue to the inside edge, using the toothpick to make sure you get the glue on evenly and on half the circle. Fold the circle edge in to form a "V". Make sure the seam from the 3" edge is in the middle. You are not making any creases in the tube except for the very end where you just put the glue. You will pinch the side edges to form a small crease. Insert this end in the paper crimper and give it a little ridge. This is optional. I have made many sour cream containers without crimping. Crimping just adds a bit more depth to the edges. Once you have done one end on all of your containers you will now fill it about 3/4 full of your bath product. Again you will be gluing edge but this time when you close it you will be making sure the seam is on an edge and not the middle. This will give the container that twist! And viola! You have a sour cream container. You can use decorative papers but not with bath products. The essential oils in bath products will bleed through the paper and leave what appears to be grease spots. And yes, glue has to be used (I used tacky glue here) again, because of the oils tape will not hold. You can also use these to put little candies in or money. Punch a hole in one of the edges and make an ornament with it. There's a lot of things you can do with these! Have fun!

Thanks for looking,
Wanda

Petal Prints Cards with Tote

Looks a lot like the notebook and beaded pen, doesn't it? I liked that design SO much I made some cards for a gift. I was to be in a Shoebox Swap but was unable to attend so my manager found someone to do the swaps for me and as a token of appreciation for her doing this for me I made her a set of cards with envelopes! Of course you HAVE to stamp on the envelopes! Remember, it's all about the presentation!

For the tote I took a 6" x 6" photo sleeve and cut off the part where you put it in the binder. I used the Snail Tape and attached it to some Bashful Blue card stock. I tore the top and then added some Basic Black card stock and tore that to match. I punched a tiny circle in some Basic Black card stock and then lined up that hole in the center of the 1/2" punch and punched out a circle. I attached the circle with a brad and under it I attached the black gingham ribbon. I cut the ribbon long enough to go all the way around the tote so it could go around the "button" to hold it shut. I did not do any stamping on the tote at all. I wanted what was inside it to be the focal point. A fun and quick project!

Thank you for looking!

Beaded Pens

I've had questions about how to make a beaded pen. It's a pretty simple project. First you need a white label. An address label is not big enough. I bought a package of full sheet labels. There is one 8 1/2" x 11" label on the page. You can get 18 to 20 pieces out of one sheet. Cut the piece to fit the pen. I use the Bic Stick Grip pens. Cut your label 3 13/16" x 1 1/8" Next you will need double sided tape. I prefer to use the double sided sheets. They are about the same size as the label so you can get 18 to 20 pieces per sheet. Cut that the same size as the label.

Add your design to the white label. Remove the backing and put it on the pen, just above the black "grip" part. Now you are going to add the double sided sheet. Remove the backing and put it on the pen. Use the edge of the label as a guideline, adding the double sided tape just above that edge (about 1/8"). When putting the sheet on be careful not to let the ends touch until you have removed the outer label. If the sticky side touches the other side of the protective backing you will be working a bit hard to remove it so it will stick to the pen. Once you have done that, remove the other outer backing piece, being careful NOT to touch the tape. Your finger oils will remain on the tape and the beads will stick but in time they will fall off on those places. Make sure your micro beads are poured into a flat dish and roll your pen in them to cover it. Take the pen out, set it on a hard surface and with your palm and a little pressure roll the pen across your work area. This will push the beads in further.

If you're using the double sided tape you need to wrap the tape around the label completely covering it. Once that is done, roll it in the beads. If you have any questions please email me, my email address can be found below the "View My Complete Profile" link on the right column, just below the "About Me" paragraph.

Splitcoast also has a beaded pen tutorial. I believe they ran that on the week of the 18th.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

Petal Prints Notebook with Beaded Pen

Here is a notebook and beaded pen I made using the "Petal Prints" set by Stampin' Up! This is such a fun set to play with.

I used Bashful Blue, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock. The color I used here for the leaves was Old Olive. For the flower I used Ruby Red, More Mustard and Olive Green markers. I sprayed it with a fine mister and then stamped it. I also used the splatter stamp from the "Basic Background" set by Stampin' Up! and I lightly stamped the splatters around on the white and on the label for the pen. The background on the blue is the large "Canvas" stamp and I used Versa Mark for that. I sponged the edges of the white with Old Olive and I added 3 black brads . Stamp leaves on your label sheet for the pen, add the tape and roll it in the beads. It's a nice gift anyone would love to receive!!! I'm pretty sure I CASED this from someone. If you know who the original artist is please let me know so I can give them credit.

Thank you for looking!

Classic Pickups Birthday Card

You can never seem to find enough masculine cards. I found this somewhere on the Internet a while ago and don't know who originally made it. I did change a few things on it. I am REALLY fond of the plaid background. It's such a fun stamp to dress up the background on a masculine card. I used glossy white and made a rectangle mask. I sponged on some Creamy Carmel ink and then came in with a little Close to Cocoa to darken it a bit more. I wanted that look of an old photo. I stamped the truck with black Staz-on. The corners were made using square punches. It took a few times to get 4 that worked well together. Freehand you tend to get different sizes. This card looks like it should be the cover of a mini scrapbook! All in all it was a pretty quick card, with the exception of the corners. But once you figure out what you're doing it goes pretty fast.

Thank you for looking!

Milk Bath Frappuccino Bottle

WOW, this was a lot easier doing the milk bath in a frappuccino bottle than making and stamping on the cartons. The amount of time I saved was unreal! The milk bath goes well with the bottle theme and I just copied over the wrapper theme I was using on the milk cartons. When I run out of frappuccino bottles I'll go back to the card stock milk cartons but for now it's the bottles. I used black nail polish on the top of the bottle to cover the brown of the lid. You could use acrylic paints but it might not say. You really need to use something more permanent. If you don't have black nail polish just cut your circles larger. I took the easy way out and used the 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" Stampin' Up! punches. For the dots, instead of using the eraser end of a pencil I used the Itty Bitty Backgrounds set by Stampin' Up! I also used the Label Classic and Very Punny sets by Stampin' Up! I embossed the frame and then cut it out. Stamp your cow on before you cut the frame, in the event you don't get the cow where you want it you didn't spend all that time cutting only to toss it. I ran the black card stock through the paper crimper and just taped everything in place. I used the gingham ribbon around the cap, tied a bow and glued it on. Filled the bottle with milk bath and I now have a great gift for someone special. I still have more milk bath left so I'll be coming up with a few more projects using it!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Monogram "Welcome" Frame

More fun with the Headline Alphabet set. It seems that everyone is doing a name frame. I did one a while ago and thought I'd share it here with you. The frame was $3.00 from Wal-Mart. Nice frames for such a low price! These are great for Speciality Classes. If you click on the photo you'll be able to see background of each letter is different. It was a very fun project to do. A bit time consuming trying to decide what colors I wanted and where but then again I usually take a lot of time trying to arrange my colors before I finish a project! These make fabulous gifts too!

Thanks for looking!

Tips & Techniques: Staining Ribbons

I've had a few questions come up about staining the ribbons so I thought I would answer them here. When you ask questions on the comment section there is no way I can reply back to you. If you'd like personal answers please email me, I'd be more than happy to help you.

Ok, back to the ribbon. I cut my ribbon about 3 or 4 inches longer than I need it, for two reasons. One I like to trim the edges which may fray and two I, at the last minute, may want to tie a little bow on. You know how indecisive stampers can be when it comes to finishing off their projects!

Take your ribbon and set the middle of it on your ink pad. Using a sponge hold it in place applying some pressure to the pad. Pull the ink from under the sponge and as it's rubbing across the ink pad it's picking up the color. Turn over and repeat for the other side. You may have to do this several times to cover the surface of the ribbon, especially with grosgrains. Flip it over and repeat for the end you were hanging on to. You may want to grab a paper towel to hold the end if you don't want stained fingers. Once the ribbon is covered I take that paper towel and run the ribbon through it a few times to absorb any excess ink. I set it aside while I'm doing finalizing my card and when I'm ready to put it on the card it's usually dry. There are times that I don't feel it is dry enough and I will take it over to my embossing tool and let the warm air dry it. I said WARM air which means don't hold the ribbon to close to the heating element. You're just drying it, not burnishing it!

Doodle This Birthday Card

I made this card for my manager. I won't mention her name, ok Sue??? I had to use Ruby Red ink to stain the white grosgrain ribbon because I wanted it to match. Hey, notice I used the decorative paper again??? Pretty good huh? Not hording it this time! The flower was colored with markers (Ruby Red, Regal Rose, More Mustard and Garden Green). There is Crystal Effects in the center of the flower but it's very difficult to see it in the photo. I added a piece of hodgepodge hardware to the ribbon. When this card is closed the words and flower show.

Pretty fun card to make. And again there's that sponging I LOVE to do!!!

Thanks for looking!

Ladybug Bracelet & Very Punny Tag Card

I just LOVE this Very Punny set. I'm going to be sad to see it go at the end of the month. I am also a beader. I didn't say I was a good beader, I just said I was a beader!!! Usually my beaded items are more elaborate than this but for this one I wanted to keep it simple!! Last night I made the ladybug from polymer clay and this morning I strung it together. I want to sell them but needed a little gift card to go with them and what better stamp to use than the ladybug from Very Punny.

Now if you are thinking of using Stampin' Up! stamps to accompany your work for sale, PLEASE be sure to follow their guidelines. You may only sell them at craft fairs, boutiques and the like. You are not allowed to sell them in any permanent store, which also includes eBay and the Internet.

For those of you interested in purchasing the mold, please email me. They will be available on Friday February 23, 2007

Monogram Birthday

I ran across this monogram Birthday card I had made for a swap. It was such a nice day here (40 degrees above zero!!!) and this card reminded me of spring with the green and purples.

It's a fairly simple card to make. Mostly layering. The flowers are from the Stampin' Up! punch, one is in Lavender Lace card stock and one is Whisper White and sponged with Lavender Lace. Punch your holes first and then line up the hole to the center of the back of the punch and punch it out! Perfectly centered holes every time!

I used the Mat Pack to line up the holes on the black piece to keep the brads straight. Such wonderful little inventions out there!! I used the Canvas Background stamp on the top large layer. A bright and cheery card. This would be great as a gift set for someone! Instead of doing the "B" for Birthday you could do "F" for friend our just use their initial and cut the white card stock and center their monogram! Make sure you stamp on the envelope. A friend of mine (we won't mention any names ok Ann?) stamps an envelope for every card she makes. It's all about the presentation!

Doodle That Again!

I like this one a lot better than the more polka dotted background of the last post. Except for that tiny teal dot to the left of the circle. Poor planning on my part of where the paper should have been punched!! But in real life it doesn't look so odd, on here it looks like a mistake. And you know I'd NEVER point those out to anyone!!!

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I will share with you a HUGE mistake I made when assembling these. I forgot that under the top two layers you use dimensionals so I ran around the whole perimeter with the tape. I was going to make sure this thing stuck too!!! Only to find out I had to get under it and let the tape loose. The dimensionals do serve a purpose after all! After I got the edges lifted up to where they should be I went under them with a paint brush and baby powder. The powder sticks to the tape and it's no longer sticky on that side anymore. Corn starch can be used too but it just so happens that I keep baby powder in my workroom, I use it when I'm working on my polymer clay. Hopefully sometime this week I'll be able to show you one of my items! If all goes well that is!

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SO tell me what you think. Which card do you think looks better? These larger dots or the one with the smaller dots?

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Thanks for stopping by!

Doodle That

I was playing with the designer papers this weekend. I have TONS of them and for some odd reason I think you should just collect them and not use them!!! Anyone else out there like that??? SO, believe it or not, this weekend I took out the newest package of papers I had and decided to make a card with them! I liked the bright pink and white polka dots on the back of one of the other larger multicolored polka dot papers and decide I was going to cut that part out and make a card with it. Well, I was going to make two. You might as well make two, right??? I punched out the holes of the first one and when I turned the paper over to punch the holes out for the second one I decided I liked that color a lot too and thought I should just make one of each! I was originally going to go with the one pictured in this post. But after seeing the colors of the other one (in the next post) I liked it better.

They were very simple to do and you can find the tutorial for making the holes centered at Kwernerdesign at http://kwernerdesign.com/blog/ She's got some fun tutorials there. I just love this layout and I'll probably be making a few more cards out of it before I move on to something else.

Thanks for stopping by!

Like Father, Like Son Hinged Art

I found a picture of my husband wearing his daddy's boots and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! When our son was about that same age he had is daddy's boots on and I just HAD to take a photo. I'm SO glad I did. Never did it dawn on me that years down the road I'd be doing something like this with it.

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These are not the chipboard coasters. I used Watercolor Board. You can find this in the painting section of your local craft stores. I had gotten mine at Michael's. It's very thick and sturdy. It did fit in the Fiskar's paper cutter but it took a bit of pressure and a few passes to cut all the way through. I took the Stampin' Up! snips and cut the corners round. The pieces would not fit in the corner rounder. None of the corners are exactly alike but that's ok. After all it is handmade!

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First I took out the hinges and set them in place. (I got them at Menards a couple of weeks ago when they had the 17% off all you can fit in the bag. Such a deal!) I actually used a nail from the hinges and hammered it into the watercolor board. I just wanted to make sure I had all of the holes ready for the hinges. Then I covered the watercolor board with decorative paper and set my pictures on where I wanted them to go. Added a bit of flair and let it all dry. I used my computer to do the dates on the tabs on the sides of the frame and the same for the "Like Father Like Son" words in the long strip on the left. It was very difficult to stay away from flowers and bows. Guy items are very hard to come by, so I made due with what I had. I like the way it turned out. Though hubby wasn't all that thrilled. When I ran across his photo he had told me to throw it out. Like I was ever going to do that. Now it's on the Internet for the WHOLE world to see! He's SO lucky to have me!

A VERY Happy Winner!

I received an email today from Shannon of Ontario Canada. She is the lucky winner of the 10,000+ Hits Candy Blog. She sounded thrilled to be getting one of those Target mail boxes. I guess they don't have those in Canada. The package will be mailed out to her on Tuesday since tomorrow is President's Day and there is no mail service!

Thank you to all of you who stopped in and left a comment on what your favorite technique is. That was very interesting to see what everyone likes to do!

There will be more Blog Candy as mile markers are hit here! So keep checking in or subscribe to get the latest updates sent right to your email box! It's free and no one bugs you ever!

The Winner of the 10,000+ Hits Blog Candy Is . . .

A name has been drawn and the winner is:

tyrymom29 said...
lets see my favorite technique as to be shaving cream .....I just cant seem to get enough ......Its diff and easy .....

I agree with many of you that it is very difficult to pick a favorite technique but there are a few we tend to gravitate back to.

tyrymom29 please email me with your snail mail address and I will get the mailbox and ribbons out to you.

I will be posting more Blog Candy in the near future! Keep checking back and keep posting those fabulous comments!

Friendship Lip Balm

I had some fun making lip balm holders. What a fabulous gift these things make!!!

For this project I used Bravo Burgundy Card Stock and ink. I used a scrap piece of the Recollections Decorative paper. Yes, I still have some left and I seem to be using every bit of it! The pieces are getting smaller and so are the projects!! The "F" is from the "Headline Alphabet" set by Stampin' Up! And the frame around the "F" is from the set "Label Classics." I just stamped the frame on Whisper White card stock and cut it close to the scallops. Then I stamped the "F". Behind the bow it's difficult to see but I stamped the work "friend" is from "Everyday Flexible Phrases" by Stampin' Up! I sponged the edges of both the decorative paper and the white card stock.

What you are looking at in the photo is the inside of the lip balm holder. There are actually two here, one closed and one open. They are not very hard to do at all and like I wrote before they make fabulous gifts!!!

I found the pattern for this fun project on the SplitCoast website at:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4465408#post4465408

Purse or Pouch

I know, Christmas stuff in February! I just wanted to show you what you can do with those small sheet protectors in the winter mini catalog. I made a small purse/pouch with one and tucked in some to & from tags using the set Holiday Woodcuts. Just cut off the side piece where the holes are that fit into the binder. I used double stick tape on the backs of them that had the tan protective layer you peel off. It's a great and useful little hostess gift to give. Hopefully Stampin' Up! will keep these new smaller size albums and page protectors! They're such fun to play with!!! You can also use these to hold small note cards or to display other items. If I were to use it for display I'd make sure I put a piece of card stock on the inside of the sleeve to hide the tape marks. The are visible in the photo and would look tacky if left like that. There's LOTS of things you can do with these sleeves. Just have some fun with it!

Happy Harmony

This is a beautiful card a new friend and fellow blogger Michelle sent me! Isn't it pretty! She even included a separate little piece of paper inside so I could reuse the card! How sweet was that?

I even loved the little note inside. I can't wait to use it on a card for my manager. Though I'm sure she will see it here on my blog but that's ok! It's a good test to see if she's one of those who just looks at the pictures or actually reads the postings! If I get an email from her on that I will know for sure she reads my blog!!!

Anyway, the fabulous poem goes:

I didn't sign this card
Before I sent it off to you
Instead it holds my warmest thoughts,
Invisible but true.
And if you find a time you need to
Brighten someone's day
Then take this card and sign it
And send it on it's way.

Now Michelle didn't know who wrote the poem and I had never seen it before, so if anyone knows who the author is please let me know so I can give credit to the person.

Check out Michelle's blog for more fabulous cards! She's over at Painted Desert Serenade . If this link doesn't work try the link on the right side of this screen. Just scroll down a bit to where it reads: Other Places I Enjoy Spending My Time at on the Internet. You'll find her there.

Thank you for looking and have a wonderful weekend. I will be posting a fun weekend project for you later today! Something to keep you busy!!!!

Magnetic Memo Holder

I thought I'd give one of those dollar magnetic holders a try. The price was right, that's for sure. These are from the dollar spot at Target! I don't know if they have any left but it doesn't hurt to go check. They make perfect hostess gifts and a great way to display another way you can use the new decorative papers!

I used the adorable decorative paper from the Stampin' Up! winter mini catalog and I adhered it to the metal with the Anywhere Glue Stick! I should have taken a side view of it but it wasn't very exciting to see!!! I punched out 2 circles from a magnetic sheet. I adhered colored card stock (cut out of the same size circles) and then punched out some flowers. I attached them together with a brad and glued them in place on top of the circles.

A quick and easy project that didn't cost a lot of money to make! And it's useful too!

The Countdown! 2 More Days!

Two more days to the drawing! It's so fun to see all the favorite techniques posted.

There's still time to enter the drawing. Enter your favorite technique on the "Blog Candy 10,000+ Hits" post and on Saturday the 17th, sometime in the afternoon I will be posting a lucky winner's name!!

Good luck to you all!

I have some fun projects coming up. If you would like to receive notice of these in your email please subscribe. You will receive an automated email telling you something new has been posted. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Valentine's Day "Gift Certificate"

What a fun way to give a card and a "gift" at the same time. The sets used here are from Inky Antics and Darcie. Pocket cards are a nice way to display a bit of sentiment too. They are quick, easy and fun. Now that I am looking at this card on the screen I see that I could have sponged (my favorite technique!!!) around the heart candies border. A bit of red on the edges would have made that stand out more. Ok, so the lesson here today is: A quick card is great but don't be too quick! Pay attention to details. Hmm, maybe I should put my cards up on the computer for viewing first before I assemble all of them! Anyway, it's a nice way to give a "personal" gift for your favorite Valentine!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last Minute Valentine's Day Gift

Quick run to the store and pick up a giant Hershey bar! I used the "Adoring Hearts" jumbo wheel and the "Sweet Shapes" set by Stampin' Up! to create this quick gift. Using a cartridge in the wheel handle made it go even quicker. Something I don't have very many of! I used Whisper White and Bravo Burgundy card stock. The hearts were stamped on the card stock first and then lined up with the punch after. The trick to getting them centered!!! Just layers from there! It's fun and it's EXTREMELY quick!

Have fun!

Valentine's Day Card & Gift in One!

Here is a great way to give a card and a little gift all at the same time. The stamp set used here is "Dream Come True" by Stampin' Up! The card is what is typically known as a "card front" measuring 5 1/2" by 4 1/4" on the Real Red layer. The corners were done with a corner rounded. The Whisper White card stock was one on a one sheet wonder. Taking a full sheet of card stock and stamping the entire sheet. Then cut the sheet to the sizes you need. Before it was taped on top of the red card stock two holes were punched in it to tie the ribbon which holds the sucker in place. Cut smaller pieces of scrap card stock to make the "to and from" piece and tape it in place. It's a very simple and fairly quick card to make. Some days simple is good!! Because of the size this will fit in the standard 6A Invitation envelopes! Don't forget to stamp on it too! It's all about presentation!!!

More Blog Candy, 10,000+ Hits!!!

Thanks to all of you who stop by to view my blog. I hope you're enjoying it. If there's something you'd like to see on here please let me know and I'll do my best to see if I can accommodate you.

Ok, the purpose of this post is to let you know there is another giveaway! Yup, because of all of you my blog went over the 10,000 hits mark this past weekend. So to commemorate the occasion I'm giving away this little red mail box (from Target) plus 8 bundles of ribbons! In your comment entry tell me what your favorite stamping technique is. Mine is very simple. I like sponging. It adds a lot to a card without taking a lot of time. And I don't just mean sponging the edges, this includes sponging on top of the card. Some cards need just a little something and that soft splash of color a sponge can add, in many cases does the trick! So, now it's your turn!

Please enter your comment to this post only. Names will be drawn from the list of comments. I will draw a name in the afternoon on Saturday the 17th!

Valentine's Day Quick Card

This is a quick, easy and yet elegant card!

To make this card you will need:

Whisper White Card Stock
Regal Rose Card Stock
Regal Rose Ink Pad
Sage Shadow In Pad
Roses in Winter Stamp Set
All-Year Cheer III
White Organza Ribbon

Cut your card stock. Stamp the rose beginning with the biggest rose stamp first, stamping off twice. The next size rose stamp is stamped off once and the final center part of the stamp is just inked and stamped directly onto the card stock. Tie the ribbon around the white before you tape it to the regal rose. Stamp the background with the small flower and leaves from the set. Tape the rose to the card and stamp your words on. This is a very versatile card. It can be used for many occasions, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, get well, thinking of you and of course Valentine's Day. The best part is it's quick and great for a Make n Take!

The Winner Has Come Forward!

Yvonne of MI has emailed me and the stamp set went out in the Monday morning's mail! I will be setting up another "Blog Candy" giveaway sometime this week. Over the weekend the counter on my blog hit the 10,000 mark thanks to all of you viewers!!! So to commemorate this milestone I'll be doing another giveaway. If my day goes as planned I will be posting the "Blog Candy" tomorrow evening! This is SO much fun!!!

And the Winner Is . . . . .

And the winner is . . . .

Nothing like making you wait longer!!! First I want to thank all of you for submitting your names. And yes, there will be another "Blog Candy" giveaway. I just notice that sometime this weekend my counter went over 10,000! How great is that? SO tomorrow I will be posting something (not quite sure what) to celebrate that milestone!!

Ok, here's what you've been waiting for!!!

The lucky winner is . . .

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.

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Yvonne in Michigan's U.P.

Yvonne, please email me with your mailing address and I'll get the set out in the mail to you. My email address is found in the "About Me" section on my blog.

Farm Fever from the Camera

WOW, what a difference it makes taking a picture from the camera compared to taking one off the scanner. The colors are much more vivid and REAL!!! In the scan the pillow looked dirty and you couldn't really see the difference between the blues and greens in the quilt. Looks like it's the camera for cards from now on!

Drawing Today!

I will be drawing the name of a lucky winner at 3:00 p.m. CST, so there's still time to get your entry in. Please add it on the "And The Winner isn't" posting.

Thanks for looking and good luck to you all!
Wanda

Farm Fever

I needed a get will card this weekend. I haven't had much time to play with this adorable set! I laugh every time I read the words on this one. "You Cured Yet?" Too funny!

For this card I used Apricot Appeal but it looks more peachy here. I also stamped the background with the linen stamp using Apricot Appeal ink. I had some fun with decorative paper as well. I have tons of it but rarely use it. I'm not sure why. Either I'm hording it or I'm afraid of it. It is a bit out of my comfort zone to use decorative papers on cards. Aren't they suppose to be used on altered projects??? But after making this card and a couple others last week I'm finding that the decorative paper is saving me some time stamping. And what does that mean? It means it will give me more time to stamp something else!!!

Ok, moving on here. I stamped the image on watercolor paper using Staz-on ink. When ever you are going to use a blender pen it's best to use Staz-on ink. I prefer to use watercolor paper when I use a blender pen too. The paper is designed to allow you to work an area a bit longer than regular card stock will. And there have been times that I was able to blot out an area of color I didn't like on the watercolor paper. That would NEVER happen with card stock! I also used markers here. When I use my blender pens I take a piece of plastic, actually it's a sheet of Shrinky Dinks (cut into quarters). I scribble the pen on the plastic and I pick up the color with the blender pen. When coloring like this make sure your plastic is on a piece of white paper so you get a clear view of the color and where you have picked up color off it. Any bits of color left behind on your plastic is now mixed with the blender pen solution and is diluted.

TIPS: When coloring any project it is important to know where your light source is coming from. For example, look at the bucket. Notice how the color is lighter on the left side of the bucket than the right? More light is hitting that area so you need to keep that area light. Where the bucket is closer to the ground there is a shadow under there so you need to make that area darker.

I also start out my freshly loaded blender pin in the darkest areas and work my way out. That is another reason why I prefer watercolor paper.

I hope these tips are useful to you.

Thanks for looking!

I'm not very fond of the way the colors came out in the scan to tomorrow I may take a photo of it and edit this post.

Ok, I just got a look at the final product here and I'm DEFINITELY taking a photo of it tomorrow. The scan is not doing it justice. Squint when you look at it for now, maybe that will help!!!!!

Fun With Inkers

Now for those of you who know me know I LOVE snowmen. And you also know that I'm a bit disappointed in the meager amount of snow we've received here in central Minnesota. The snows we've gotten have been the dry stuff that you can't, as far as I'm concerned, do a thing with. I am waiting patiently for the wet sticky snow to make my first snowman of the season! I have my spray bottle ready. I'll fill it with cool water and add some Real Red inker and mix it to get a nice shade of pink to spray on my snowman's cheeks. After all it is cold out there. Or do you think he's blushing because all he has on is a hat and a scarf???? *insert sheepish grin here!***

I just wanted to share with you another way to have some fun with your inkers. I found the inker better than food coloring because it stayed longer. The food color tends to absorb into the snow faster and appear to be faded! I saw on someones blog and I apologize for not remembering who's but this person made Sponge Bob out of snow and I wondered if an inker was used there???

The whole idea here is to just have fun. Isn't that what all aspects of the stamping products is all about?

How Great is This!

I was surfing around the web and ran across this fabulous Stampin' Up! Color Combos that I thought I would share with you all!

I like to hit the "surprise me" icon. Some of the color combos are super!!! And just because it presents you with 5 colors doesn't mean you have to use all 5!!! Have fun creating fabulous cards with this!! And it even includes the 6 new temporary colors. Don't you wish Stampin' Up! would keep a few of them? Especially Cranberry Crisp! Hmmm, maybe everyone should contact them and ask them to keep the colors. That's how they extended the matching stitched ribbons until the end of June! It's all about what the people want!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, here's the link to the fun color combo site! Have fun!

Lollipop Card

Once in a while I do make cards. And sometimes they are super simple! This one could use a little words on either side of the sucker stick at the bottom but I tend to leave many of my cards without wording so I can add it later for the occasion that arose!

This card was done with the Big Pieces and Little Pieces by Stampin' Up! I used Regal Rose ink pad to color the white grosgrain ribbon. I didn't even have any pink! Can you believe that?

The card stock is Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. I alternated the ticket punch on corners but the card still needs something.

And the Winner isn't!!

The subscriber I emailed did not get back to me so what we'll do is just have you enter your name in here and one of them will be chosen for the Hero Arts Floral Borders stamp set. Your name is not connected to an email address when you post. I have no way of knowing who you are. You can post a comment or you can just post your first name and the state you are from. On Sunday I will put the names in a hat and draw one! Do not include your email in your comment post, the whole world will have it (including spammers!).

Good luck to you!

Pamper Me Pink Bath Salts & Recipe!

This is the last item that was made at the Pamper Me Pink Stamp Camp. It was one of my favorites! I LOVE making bath products! For this project the following items were used:


Glass Clip Jar (or any glass jar that seals)
Regal Rose Card Stock
Whisper White Card Stock
Regal Rose Ink Pad
Tagger's Dozen Stamp Set
Silver Cording
Anywhere Glue Stick
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Bath Scoop
Bath Salts

Measure your Regal Rose card stock to fit around your jar. A 9" long strip by 1 1/2" strip was used here. The Whisper White strip was cut 9" long by 1" wide. Stamp your image onto the white card stock. A stamp-a-ma-jig was used here to keep the butterflies in a flowing line. When you have finished stamping, take the glue stick and cover the back of the white piece of card stock and center it onto the rose piece. Cover the back of the rose piece with the glue stick and adhere it to the glass. The piece should overlap a little. You need this overlapping to help it stay stuck. The one in the photo overlaps by 3/4".

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Your scoop will need a hole in the handle to put the silver cord though. You can do this by taking a large sewing needle and holding the tip of it under a candle to get it hot. Once it's hot poke a hole in the handle and it will melt through. You can take an x-acto knife and carve around the hole a little to clean it up. Tie your silver cord onto the handle and tie it in a pretty bow! The handle will fit into the hinge of the clip. The side ring doesn't meet all the way in the back and you can wiggle the handle in there so it stands straight. If the ends are too close together you can pull them out a bit with a pliers.

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Fill your jar with bath salts and you're done!

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This is a very simple bath salt recipe. There are many other recipes on the Internet. I like simple ingredients and I like quick things. This one is both!!

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Bath Salts Recipe

1 c. coarse salt. (canning or Kosher works just fine)

1 c. Epsom salts

1/4 t. fragrance or essential oil

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Pour the above ingredients into a glass bowl and mix together with a metal spoon. You can also pour them into a quart size jar, put the lid on it and shake it. If you choose to do this method put the fragrance in second and the epsom salts on top. That way when you shake it the fragrance won't stick to the top.

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TIPS:

Remember when working with fragrance oils, plastic is your enemy. Fragrance oils will eat away at plastic, so it's not good to mix them or store them in plastic.

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When making these to sell you will need to include ingredients plus you need to use the Stampin' Up! copyright stamp on it. If using Stampin' Up! stamps to make this for sale you must remember that you are not permitted to sell these in any place that is permanent. You can sell at craft fairs and boutiques. Check with your demonstrator or with Stampin' Up! for the guidelines. Penalties and fees are not worth the money and time you spend making items to sell.

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Make sure you remove any bath salts from the rim of the jar before you close the lid.

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The jar is from Michael's and the adorable bath scoops are from the Southern Goose http://www.southerngoose.com/

*These make fabulous gifts for your hostess, friends, family and teachers! Have fun!

Pamper Me Pink Votive

WOW! I can't believe there's only one project left to post after this one! This one was a lot of fun. You get to play with micro beads!!

You will need the following:
Votive candle cup
Tissue paper
Micro no hole beads - clear glass
Markers of your choice
Stamp of your choice
(stamp here is from the Stampin' Up! set Happy Harmony)
Paint Brush
Crystal Effects

Ok, ready to play? Cut your tissue paper to fit around the votive. Stamp your design on by coloring with markers directly on the rubber. You will need to "huff" on the image before you stamp it onto the tissue paper. Repeat until you have the amount of flowers you desire. Once your tissue paper is done to your satisfaction set it aside. Take your Crystal Effects and pour some on the glass to cover. Don't make it too thin that it dries too quickly and don't make it too thick either or the ink will run and smear. Now that your votive is covered pick up your tissue paper and set it in place. Start with the middle of the tissue and just drape it on, slowly going around each side to adhere it. If it overlaps you may want to put a little Crystal Effects on it to make it stick. Now you will repeat the Crystal Effects application you just did. Make sure your beads are poured into a container that will allow you to have room to roll the votive in it. Roll your votive in the beads, dump out any beads on the inside before you remove it from the container. If there are bare spots you can touch them up by adding a little Crystal Effects and more beads. If it appears lumpy you can take the metal part of the paint brush and push them down so it's flatter. Set it aside to dry. This should take about 20 minutes or so. When it's dry you are going to add one more layer of Crystal Effects to it to adhere the beads to the tissue. Once it's dry the beads will no longer flake off in your hands. Insert a candle and it will make a fabulous gift!

TIPS:

If you are not happy with the way it turned out you can soak the tissue paper off. Leave it immersed in water for about a half hour. It will peel off. You can dry the votive and start over. Crystal Effects is AMAZING stuff!!!

It's ok if your tissue paper doesn't lay down smooth on the candle. This won't show once the beads are on. REALLY!!!

It's better to use darker colored markers. The lighter ones don't show up as well. The design will be visible but will be SO subtle you will hardly see them. And if you light the candle the image will totally disappear. Stampin' Up! has a plethora of sets that will work with this technique! Have fun!

We Have A Winner!

We have a winner in the subscribers giveaway! Check your email box. I sent the lucky winner an email. They will send me their mailing address and the stamp set will be mailed. I will post the winner when they reveal themselves!!! Thanks to all the subscribers and viewers! The counter keeps climbing too. Hmmm, I smell yet another giveaway coming up soon!

Pamper Me Pink Bracelet and Envelope Packaging

This is the third Stamp Camp project we did. It's a bracelet and an envelope display package. For the bracelet you need to find beads to your liking. You will also need some elastic beading thread, 1/2" strips of decorative paper and aquarium tubing. The paper used here is the "Loves Me" Designer Series Double-Sided Paper by Stampin' Up! Take about a half inch or so of the paper and wrap it around a tooth pick to make it cylinder. Slip it into the aquarium tube and trim the tube. You will want to do this for each tube bead you desire. Cutting the tube ahead of time makes it difficult to trim it should the paper be too short. 5 to 7 tube beads should do it, depending on the other beads you use to fill in. I like to work with a long piece of elastic, about 12 inches. Tie a toothpick to one end and begin designing your bracelet. You will want to check the fit along the way. Once you are done, remove the toothpick and tie the bracelet together. Set it aside or wear it as you make the packaging for it!

You will need a 3" x 3" square white envelope. The one pictured is by Stampin' Up! The "Spot On" jumbo wheel and Pretty in Pink ink was used to create the design on the envelope. Do both sides. Take the smaller tag punch and with the flap down, punch a hole in the middle of the envelope. Take the larger tag punch and punch out a border piece from a scrap of Pretty in Pink card stock. Now take the piece you punched out of the envelope and tape it to the top of the larger pink tag. Punch a small hole in it at the top and punch a hole in the envelope and secure it to the envelope with a silver brad. Slip the bracelet inside a 3" x 3" zip bag and place it inside the envelope. Seal the envelope shut and sign the little tag on the front! A quick and cute gift to give anyone. Better make an extra one for you! You can make necklaces, earrings, wine glass charms, phone tags and many other items with this technique!

We did an envelope like this at the "Inking of You" Stamp Share in December. It was a lot of fun! Terri is a fabulous leader and always SO many new and refreshing ideas to show us. The bracelets have been floating around Splitcoast and every now and then one pops up! I especially like the blue ones that were done before Christmas using the Four Season's Snowflake paper by Stampin' Up!

NOTE: When putting on or removing any elastic bracelets ALWAYS roll them. Stretching them wears out the elastic and could cause them to break.

Subscribers Milestone Giveaway!

WOW, I'm just thrilled about all of you who have subscribed to my blog! It's SO exciting!! The subscription numbers is reaching a milestone and I have decided to do a giveaway. This is a set of Hero Arts Floral Border Rubber Stamps. The plastic box reflected a bit in the light but the beautiful flowers are still visible. As soon as that subscriber milestone is met I'll post a notice and have a drawing. I'll be taking the subscribers list and drawing the name from there. SO if you're still thinking about subscribing now is the time to do it. If you're already a subscriber you don't need to do anything but cross your fingers and wait!!! One lucky subscriber will have this set!!!

Pamper Me Pink Nugget Box for Stamp Camp

Another project for the "Pamper Me Pink" Stamp Camp was the Nugget Box.

These boxes are very simple to make. I found the patterns for them on the Splitcoast website. Someone spent a lot of time and posted several of them that hold different amounts of candy. I have not gotten beyond the box that holds three!

For this project we used Pretty in Pink, Whisper White and Bravo Burgundy card stock from Stampin' Up! We also use the two oval punches, white organza ribbon, Bravo Burgundy ink pad, the white gel pen, French Flair background stamp, Fancy Flexible Phrases, three Hershey Nuggets and white address labels. These were regular size address labels, not return address labels.

The Pretty in Pink card stock was cut, scored and then stamped. After stamping with the Bravo Burgundy ink pad, you take the white gel pen and highlight a few of the flares coming from around the birds. When stamping the labels, leave them on the sheet. Make sure you get one or two of the birds on the labels. They add a nice touch to your nuggets. Remove the label and wrap it around the nugget. Assemble the box as shown in the instructions. The instructions I used for this one were done by Beth Warner (always give credit where credit is due) and I did get that pattern directly from the Splitcoast website. Email me if you have any problems getting it. It is in PDF format. Once your box is assembled add your nuggets. There really is no need to glue the box shut. Use your bone folder to make sharp creases and it will stay together. Slid the top onto the box and tie the ribbon around it. Stamp your wording on your card stock first then turn your smaller oval punch upside down and center the words before you punch. Perfectly centered every time!! Then punch out the Bravo Burgundy card stock with the larger punch. Layer them and attach them to the top of the nugget box! Simple as that! These are not only great for Valentine's Day but they are great as bridal shower favors (using the colors the bride has chosen), for Mother's Day, great for teacher's gifts and a fabulous little thank you gift! I'm sure you can think of a lot more things to do with these! I'd love to hear your ideas! Better yet, show them to me!!

Pamper Me Pink Bar Soap for Stamp Camp

This is the first of the five Stamp Camp items. For this project you will need a bar of soap. We purchased Ivory soap. It seems to be the best choice for all skin types. It's best to be safe than sorry there! Remove the soap from the wrapper and wrap it in cling wrap. We used Bravo Burgundy, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White card stock by Stampin' Up! The image is "Love Matters" from the Stampin' Up! Winter Mini Catalog. You'll also need the Basic Black ink pad to stamp the image and Mellow Moss and Pretty in Pink markers to color in the flowers and leaves. And you'll need a paper crimper and Snail Tape.

On this sample the sides are stamped with "all things grow with love" from the same set. It's best to wrap your cut card stock around the bar of soap to find the sides. Stamp the sides and then crimp the card stock.

The size of your card stock will depend on your bar of soap. Wrap your card stock around the bar of soap to see how much you will need. Add an inch more in length to the Pretty in Pink piece and take 1/2" off in the width. You need an extra inch because the crimper causes you to lose a little bit of length. Now it's just a matter of stamping, cutting, coloring and assembling! Simple as that but very fun! This is a nice gift for teachers too.

TIP: If you are going to make these to sell you need to be sure to copy the ingredients off the bar of soap. I like to use clear return address labels for that. I actually type them up and run them in my address label program! And be sure to give credit to the stamping companies you use. To sell these © Stampin’ Up! needs to appear on the product.

Pamper Me Pink February Stamp Camp

Today was Stamp Camp and theme was Pamper Me Pink. All items were more on a personal level yet all can be made to be given as gifts. In the next few days I'll be posting instructions to each of these.

Subscribe to get the latest updates!

Blender Pen Fun!

This is one of the very first blender pen pictures I made. I had to make one so I knew what I was doing because the next night I was teaching a class on it! It was a lot of fun and a VERY quick way to color your images in.

The image was embossed and then the colors were blended it. I took my finished one and I framed it! This is such a pretty stamp.

In all mediums you want to start with the lightest colors first and work your way to the darkest ones. You can always go darker on your image but you can never go lighter once the color is down. This was done on regular white card stock. Watercolor paper would be a better paper to use for something like this since there is a LOT of area to cover. Regular card stock will pill if you work an area too long. Watercolor paper is designed tougher to allow you to work on areas longer.

HELPFUL HINT: When coloring in images that have been embossed, using any type of medium it's best to have a paper towel handy to blot the top of the image now and then. Most of the mediums you are working with will bead up on top of the embossed area. You could lean the side of your hand in it and smear the colors into areas you don't want.

The Perfect Size Milk Carton!

After some redesigning I have come up with the perfect size milk carton. It's not wide like the small 8 ounce one nor is it as tall as the first one I posted last week. This one is the best of both worlds! It measures 4 inches high and 2 inches across on all sides. PERFECT!!!

To make this project I used the following:

The "For You" frame stamp is by Impression Obsession and the "Cow" is by Penny Black. And I used the eraser of a new #2 pencil for the dots.

You will also need:
Black Ink Pad

Milk Bath (6 oz)

White Card Stock

Black Card Stock

Black Marker

Regal Rose Marker (by Stampin' Up!)

Blender Pen

Glue

Clip

For those of you who don't like to mix up milk bath I'm sure you can find some already made and use that instead. The recipe for this is on the second milk carton I posted. I use a clip at the top to hold it together while the glue dries. It's much easier than holding it. I will tie this one shut with ribbon and a bow like I did for the second one I posted. This way the one who opens it will be able to reclose it and the bow adds a nice touch!

Selling Tips:

When you are making these to sell be sure to make sure that the stamp company allows you to use their images on things you make to sell. Most companies do but some have limitations too. It's best to personally check with the companies to be positive on if, where you can sell the items. Plus some stamp companies will limit the number of items you can make to sell too. You must ALWAYS give credit where credit is due. Obey the copyright laws. Include an ingredients list on your bath products. In some states it's a law. I tend to stay away from coloring my bath items. Not everyone can tolerate the dyes on their skins so it's best to just leave it natural. Include instructions too, such as "Add 2 tablespoonfuls to your bath water." You want to stay away from words like hot or warm water. "Your Bath Water" fits the individuals preference. Lots of little tricky things you need to know and use before you sell products that come in contact with people's skin! Keeping these tips in mind, have fun making and selling your products! I'm having trouble attaching A PDF file for the new "Perfect Size Milk Carton." If you don't see it here please email me and I will send it to you.

Ok, I was able to upload the PDF file at Splitcoast. My most favorite place to get inspired! Here's the link to the PDF file! I hope this works!

Thanks for checking in!

Valentine's Day Fun!

Just having some fun with the decorative papers and Valentine's Day candies! A simple little gift to give to your friends or for your children to take to school with them for their friends and/or teachers!

For the wrap all you do is take your choice of colored card stock and measure it to fit around the box with a little extra to overlap so you can tape or glue it in place. Decorate the front as you like. It's just a sleeve so you don't have to do anything special. Pretty simple and yet SO cute!