Some Catch Up

Whoa!  Two posts in 2 days!!!  Well, I'm procrastinating on some other jobs right now.  Seemed like a good time to post something I made last month. *wink*  Honestly, extended exposure to those 5,6, & 7 year old's I work with has given me their attention span (yeah sure that's where my distractibility cam from LOL)

 I made a few versions of "merry" banners this past season.  A couple had gingerbread people in place of the flag base.  One of those I sold to a coworker and another was a gift.  One used large mittens as the base and went all the way across The Pond to "Merry Old England".  Merry- get it?  Yup, I've had too much coffee this morning. :)

Most of the papers came from a Kit Club kit I am a part of at Ink About It.  The circles I mounted the lettering on I "made" from my stash.  I couldn't find anything that matched, but wasn't too busy to distract from the letters.  I pulled out a paper that had the right soft background, but it needed some umph.  A few snowflakes stamped in grey & red later...voila!

The paper looks like it came with the kit!  Even better I made room in my stash for new stuff. hee-hee!  The mitten is an Amuse die.  It was looking a little naked and needed some glitter to help it smile.

This banner went to live with our friends Jeff and Erin.  They were part of the 13 Man, Woman, and Child Crew that helped to decorate our house for Christmas this year.  It was funny to see it on their mantle!  I got so used to seeing it like it is in this pic.  They have the prettiest reindeer on their mantle, you'd have thought I knew that when I picked the reindeer paper that is on the banner (I mean OF COURSE I knew that *wink-wink*)

Huh, I finished the post.  Does that mean I have to go do my jobs????

Thanks for stopping by today!  Happy Sunday and stay warm out there!

Happy Birthday with Graphic 45!

Good Morning Everyone!  As you read this I am on my way to enjoy some gal pal time at The Cape.  Have no fear though because I have an easy 'n fun tutorial for you today! :)  It's a birthday themed set which seems appropriate since today is my FIL- Don's birthday and 2 teacher pals birthday's as well!

 Here's another peek at Graphic 45's French Country line that inspired this card set. :) 
 

 I started with cutting some yellow cardstock 4 1/16" X 3 5/16".  Then I cut the Sunflower paper 2 1/2" X 3 7/8", the Deja Vu paper  2 1/4" X 3 7/8", and the Rendezvous paper 1 1/2" X 3 7/8".

 I layered everything leaving a 1/8" yellow border.  In retrospect, I probably didn't need to make the middle layer quite as big because I covered a good chunk of it with the bottom clock paper.  Oh well. :)

Next I cut 4 pieces of burlap ribbon about 4 inches each.  I added score-tape to the back of each one 'cause I've had the best luck with score-tape and burlap ribbon. :)

After adhering the burlap ribbon to the card fronts I set about getting the sentiments ready.  I used a couple of dies to cut more of the yellow paper & some cream, layered them together, added a sentiment, blinged them up, and foam taped them on the cards.  I adhered each one to a cream card base with some score-tape.  Now everything is ready to sign 'n send!!


Goodies used to create this set:
Tim Holtz - Distress Card Stock- Straw
Graphic 45- French Country- Sunflower
Graphic 45- French Country- Deja Vu
Graphic 45- French Country- Rendezvous
My Minds Eye- Sweetest Thing- Enamel Dots
Mon Ami Gabby- Burlap Ribbon- Green


Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Hen's Den Freedom Hop TODAY!

 July 1st is finally here!  I can't believe that school just ended for us this past Friday and July 4th is THIS WEEK!  The Hen's Den Design Team has come great tutorials and tips for you.  Here are the deets:

Hop to all of these places and leave a comment at each one between July 1st and July 6th.  On July 7th we'll pick a lucky commenter from random to win a TON of crafty prizes.

Anita Mulcahey

Moriah Macdonald---that's me!

Carolyn Lontin

Janet Bagnall

Nicolle Kramer

Charlie LaBonte

Facebook Page for The Hens' Den

If you hit all of our blogs and leave a comment not only are you are in the running for some great prizes, but you also get to see all the wonderful things my teammies have created and learn some new tricks.  It's a real win-win!

Charlie sent us all some great papers from the Anthem line by Bo Bunny.  I thought I'd share a paper-piecing home decor project with y'all today.  Grab a glass of lemonade or iced tea (I myself will be hopping while drinking my Grandma Poppy's famous homemade sweet tea warm off the stovetop) and get ready to get excited for the 4th!!!

I have a love-hate relationship with paper-piecing.  I love the look, but I sometimes get frustrated with the fussy cutting.  Like a moth to the flame, I continue to play with this technique 'cause the finished project is always too cute!  This project will have us fussy cut a daisy "Americana" style.  The first thing I did was stamp the daisy on some white cardstock.  I quick-and-dirty colored the center with a couple shades of yellow Copics.

So my husband just looked over my should as I was typing and asked "Why are there red arrows on your picture?"  I bet y'all are asking the same thing!  Well, see the messiness?  They great part about the paper-piecing in this project is that all that will get covered up or cut off.  Love it!  No need to worry about those little uh-ohs. :)

Next I stamped the daisy again on all the Anthem papers that had patterns I wanted to see peeking out of the daisy.  This can be a hard step for some folks- myself included.  It might mean that the best part of the paper is in the middle, but it's worth it in the end.  The extra details that are in a smidgin of the paper can really pop in the final piece.  Let's face it folks, the paper was meant to be cut. ;)

Once you've stamped out the daisy on all the papers, you'll need to begin cutting.  I can't emphasize how important it is to have good light and sharp scissors (in that order!).  I started cutting as the sun was setting and really should have turned on a light sooner! ;)  Matching up the petals to the black and white image was a little tricky until then.  My eyes just aren't what they used to be.  LOL!

My husband just piped in again and asked "Why did you stamp the whole daisy if you were just going to use a small piece?"  Good question (don't tell him I said that!).  You don't have to do that.  I wanted the flexibility to play around with the patterns and switch things around if it didn't quite jell.  The other reason, I was pretty sure I could use the leftovers to make a bunch of cards or tags.  Waste not, want not. :)

For me it's the petals with the blue/star/red splotch that are my favorite & the ones that were the hardest to cut.  The design was like 1/4 of the way in and 1/3 of the way up.  But then again, now that I've made the first cut I will really want to use the paper more!  Saving myself from paper hoarding!!! :D

Okay, okay, I digress.  More about the daisy!  As I cut each part I puzzle pieced it to the daisy.  I would recommend removable tape.  I kept bumping everything and then having to start over matching it up (again lighting- if I had turned the lights on sooner...).  I didn't glue as I went because I wasn't sure I wouldn't switch some petals around in the end (and I did).  Once I had it the way I wanted I glued the base of the petals- NOT the top.  Why?  I didn't want to fussy cut all the tops of the petals again.  Instead I kinda peeled the petals up and cut about 1/4 of the way down of the white underneath so that essentially there is a white circle shape under this daisy.  (This pic is from BEFORE I cut the white)

A new Homegoods opened up nearby.  Dangerous I know!!!  I decided to check it out last week and there in the clearance aisle was this lovely frame- $3.50!  I knew exactly when I saw it (and then whe I saw the price) that I was going to use it with this project.  Ahhh, love it when everything comes together.

I mounted everything to a 4x6 piece of the "Country" paper from the Anthem line.  I added the stars in circles from the sticker paper and the sentiment from the chipboard.  I love the Americana feel of this and had a vision of having a bow so I added Mon Ami Gabby burlap ribbon to top it off.  I am seriously crushing on this creation!!!  I still have more to play with and may have to make a banner or wreath to add to the collection. :)


Now don't forget leave a comment here and then head over to Carolyn Lontin.  You'll love what she has in store for you, I know I always do!

I've got my flag and am singing my way here:
ColourQ- Challenge 196
Simon Says Stamp- Patriotic

 

Triple Scoop for The Hen's Den Blog Hop!

It's The Hen's Den Valentine Blog Hop today!  All of us are highlighting a technique, tool, cool idea and if you hop along to everyone and leave comments at ALL the blogs you'll be entered to win some awesome goodness! 

The Hen's Den Blog Hop Roll of Awesomeness:

Anita (start here)

Carolyn

Janet

Lori

Nicolle

Moriah (that's me!)

Stephanie

Charlie @ The Hens Den Blog

You have until Feb 17th to leave a comment on the posts for the hop to be entered to win!  Here is my part of the prize.  :) 

Leave a comment below to be entered to win (and you'd be my valentine if you became a follower!)

Now get ready to hop!  :)

So here's the skinny.  I've been trying to make as many cards as I can from the supplies Charlie sent (you can see the first trio here).  The DP is all from Simple Stories Fabulous collection.

Today I'm going to show you how I made this cupcake card (and 2 more versions too!).  The idea is not mine, I lifted it from Pinterest (via this gal).  There weren't directions, so here is what I did to make this tasty trio come to life. :)

I used my 2.5" circle punch, my 1.5" circle punch, and my 1" circle punch.  This kind of project is perfect for the Simple Stories Fabulous collection because having double sided paper gives you twice as many patterns to work with!

This shows you roughly what you need size-wise & number-wise & pattern-wise for circles.  I tried to used 1 "light in color", 1 "medium in color" and 1 "dark in color" pattern so there was enough contrast to see all the papers.

This is me playing around with the mats. I used 2 mats on top of every card base for each card, but the sizes were all different.  I went with whatever I had that I thought looked good.  Some had 1/8" borders and some were much fatter borders.  The cupcake holder/base is from the back of Flashcards paper free-hand cut.  I just eyeballed the shape.  This is an okay thing to do folks! ;)  IMPORTANT- Make sure when you glue down the cupcake holder/base you leave empty space at the bottom.  You'll find out why in a minute.  To help remind me to do this, I make sure the largest circle is pretty close to the top of card.

The next step is to add 3 of the 1.5" circles (each one should be a different pattern) along the top of the cupcake holder.  This is why it's okay to eyeball the cuppie holder.  Most of it will get covered by the time this card is finished. :)  Notice how the bottom right circle matches the largest circle?  You'll want to do this each time you make this card.  You'll see why a little further down. :)

Next add the remaining 1.5" circle.  See how the circle on the bottom left is the same as the one you just added?  This is also important for contrast.  Bottom left should always match upper right.

Now add the smallest circles.  The 1" circle you add to the bottom should match the 2.5" circle.  Now you have formed a triangle for your eyes.  Also if you had added the other circle to the bottom you'd never "see" it because it would blend too much with it's mate in the middle. :)

That empty space you left at the bottom left you with a place to add a ribbon and message.  See how it all works out?  And you were so worried. LOL! ;)  To add to the fun, and since it is Valentine's Day, I die cut a small heart for the "cherry" and one to go with the message.  Not a stamper?  No problem!  I used the sentiments from the page of stickers. Now that you know how to make these for yourself, I'll show you 2 more versions using this paper line!

One with more patterned background paper and...

One where I stamped the brown polka dots on the background.  No sentiment here just some distressing instead.  The pink "composition" pattern circles are from one of the flashcards on the Flashcard paper.

Don't forget to leave me a comment to be in the running to win the goodies from ALL the blogs in our Hen's Den Designers hop!


Supplies from The Hen's Den used here:

Simple Stories- Fabulous- 100% Girl (all 3 cards)
Simple Stories- Fabulous- Fabulous Flashcards (used on 1 & 3)
Simple Stories- Fabulous- Brown Damask/Antique (used on 1 & 3 for mats)
Simple Stories- Fabulous- Orange Mini Dot/Doily (all 3 cards)
Simple Stories- Fabulous- Sassy (all 3 cards)
May Arts Ribbon- Orange Wrinkled (card 1)
May Arts Ribbon- Ivory/Green (card 2)
May Arts Ribbon- Light Green Check (card 3)
Also used- Bazzill cardstock in Truffle & Hot Pink

Your next stop is 

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! It was a wonderful day yesterday spent with family and not shopping. Now that it is Black Friday... well here is a quick peek at a tutorial I have over at The Hen's Den this weekend.  There are deets and links here.

Thanksgiving is a big holiday weekend in my husband’s family.  We have lots of birthdays that fall around now and I have a big Black Friday Tree Trimming Blowout at our house.  Needless to say, we have lots to be thankful for each year we are together.  Every year we write what we are thankful for, pose for pictures (silly and traditional), and everything is added to a thankful album my husband (yup he worked on it too!) and I made for his mom years ago.   

This Thanksgiving Day we saw family in Maine too.  There are a lot of food allergies in the family we visited, so rather than causing a potential disaster by cooking, here was my contribution.  Place cards! :)

All the place cards are made from envelopes that have paper tucked into them for each person to write what they are thankful for and then all the envies will be tied together with ribbon for a family keepsake.  Don’t stress if you like this idea but didn't have it in time for this Thanksgiving.  You could spin this idea in time for Christmas or any other celebration coming up.  Folks could write favorite memories of the year, wishes for the upcoming year, or even what they love about whatever holiday you may be celebrating at the time.  Well, I have babbled on long enough.  Pop over here for all the deets AND pop over here to add any creation of yours to the gallery.  You could win $10 to the store (which would get you a couple free albums to load with all sorts of memories!!!!)  Hurry cause you only have until Friday!!!!!!!!

Paper Flowers Wreath Tutorial

Materials:

5-6 different sheets 12X12 double-sided pattern cardstock  ( Used here- papers from Crate Paper Resoration Collection, Crate Paper Story Teller, and Creative Imaginations Creative Café)

1-2 different sheets 12x12 solid cardstock (Used here- 1 sheet of yellow textured cardstock)

Flower & circle punches, dies, or cutting files (Used here- 1 inch scallop circle punch, Cricut Plantin School Book and Cricut Walk through my garden)

Chipboard & cardstock stickers (Used here- Crate Paper Story Teller)

Hot glue gun

Zip Dry glue

Foam tape

Twig wreath (Used one with a 6 inch opening here)

1 yard each of 2 different ruffled ribbons

Step 1:

Hot glue the ribbons around the center edge of the wreath.  I didn’t have enough to cover the center, but it is fine because the flowers will cover the “empty” space.  (The leaves are there so you can see how much they fill the space.)

Step 2:

Cut flowers, leaves, and flower centers.  The sizes used here vary from 2.5 inches to 3.5 inches.  The two largest leaves are about 4.5 inches.  Using your fingers or a pen, curl the edges of the leaves and petals.

The centers of 5 flowers have word stickers for some added visual interest and some flowers have the centers popped with foam tape, the other centers are just Zip Dry glued.

Play with the layout of the flowers and leaves.  **Tip 1-When you have everything pretty, you may want to take a digital picture and refer to your camera as you glue. 

**Tip 2- Keep each flower type to an odd number for a more aesthetically pleasing bouquet.

Step 3:

Hot glue the leaves, then flowers,

and finally the chipboard shapes to wreath.

Step 4:

Hang up your beautiful wreath and enjoy!

Hope you were inspired today!  If you make your own wreath, please leave me a comment.  I'd love to see your take on this idea. :)

Paper Cones Tutorial

I got a quick 'n easy tutorial for making paper cones over with my pals at Top Tip Tuesday today.  Be sure to stop by and join the fun. :) 

So make sure to break out the paper and join the fun.  If you enter do let me know I want to make sure see your creation and give you blog love!!!

Mini Album Tut- A Revisit

So this is the tut I did this summer over at Craft Goodies and I thought with all the yucky weather we have had on the East Coast lately it was worth a revisit! :)  The pics are a wee bit tiny, so feel free to click on any picture to enlarge.

 The summer flies by so fast that this little gem is fast, easy, and a great memento of warm weather days.  Don't let the supply list scare you off though.  It looks like a lot when listed, but the photo below pretty much includes everything I used (and a few items I did not).

Supplies needed:

2- 4"x4" coasters 

(I bought mine, but I've also gotten them from TGIF's/Chili's/The 99)

4- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of pattern paper for the coaster covers inside and out

3- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of kraft cardstock

2- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of aqua cardstock

5- pre-cut 3 1/4"x3 1/4"squares of assorted pattern papers

1 yard ribbon for tie closure cut in half

1 large parcel tag

additional scraps of pattern paper and cardstock for page & cover embellishment

additional coordinating ribbons/twine in various lengths for page embellishment

assorted small beach/summer themed stamps

assorted stickers & rub-ons

coordinating dye ink pads/ chalk ink pads

1" circle punch

scallop border punch or die

acid free adhesives

scissors & paper cutter

corner rounder

Zutter or other binding machine

I'm so much like my 6 year-old students!  I was so excited to start this book that I for my first step (after deciding on which luscious papers to use), I adhered the 3 1/4" papers to the 4"X4" cardstock squares.  After assembling these I realized I had forgotten to assemble the covers!!!  Be patient, I'll get back to the covers. LOL!

This page lacked a little personality, so before I even adhered the water paper, a little lobster was stamped around the edges of the kraft paper.  Since the covers have wave pattern paper that is slightly different, the additional stamping gives this page a little more stand alone umph. ;)

My next step was to assemble the covers and the back of the pages I had just assembled.  My coasters have rounded corners, so I used my corner rounder to have the pages and cover papers echo the shape.  *Round the corners before adhering the cover papers.  If you don't have a corner rounder, then adhere on side of the cover and trim with your scissors before adhering the other side and repeating.  That way your corners will have a crisper rounded edge.

So back to the covers!  I like my scrapbooks to have a tie closure, so I attach a ribbon with double-stick tape to the inside cover and then adhere the pattern paper over the ribbon.  Then it's all about having fun with inking the edges, adding tabs/ribbon/rub-ons/stamps.

There isn't always much room for journaling in such small scrapbooks, so for this page I added labeled pocket with tag.  Easy to assemble, just edge the sides and bottom with liquid glue or extremely narrow double-stick tape.  The tag could be swapped out for a map or ticket stubs from a water park, but having the pocket labeled with the information rub-on is a great way to remind yourself to include those when/where details for future reminiscing. :)

This page has that fun stamped mini lobster page on the right.  It looks a little naked as layouts go right now, but keep in mind that on a 4"x4" page a picture can take up a great deal of space.  I had to remind myself not to get "too nuts" with embellishments because they may end up covered by pictures later.

In addition to my many addictions (Netflix, Kindle books, fuzzy slippers and tablescapes) I adore dies 'n die cutting tools.  The scalloped edge on the left side is one of my newest go-to dies (just wait to see how cute it looks on a page further down).

Scraps leftover from page one circle punched and some foam tape give these pages a little drama with only a little effort and the rub-on at the bottom anchors the page. :)

Here's that fun scalloped border again.  Isn't it cute as a faux awning for this final page?!?  A little foam tape to adhere this one and the picture can slide under the awning a wee bit to make an awesome ending to this pocket sized memento.

Hope you enjoyed this little tut and you are encouraged to give this idea a go!  Please let me know if you do- I'd love to see your creation!!!!