Thursday Ramblings and Cards

Hey all! Eloquent with the naming of a blog entry I am not. So bear with me there ;)

A few things- 1. Sale a Bration is almost over THE HORROR! One pic that I saw recently was awesome:

LOL! Don't let this be you- you can click on the image at the side bar and it'll take you to my website and you can order that way. Remember- all orders of $60 get a FREE item from the SAB catalogue AND it's still only $150 to sign up- but only until Saturday folks!

2. I am hosting my first crop! EEKS! I am really excited and anxious at the same time. To be honest, I don't know what I am doing, but I got a lot of positive feed back and ideas. The school is sending out info in their newsletter so I'll be able to network with my community. It was hard to cut back, I originally had it for $140 for the day- but was told that was too much, even IF they were getting a bunch of stuff. So learning that it doesn't have to be all or nothing is helping too.

3. CARDS! I haven't actually been crafting for a bit, but I have some oldies but goodies stock piled up here to share with you:

Here are some tent fold cards. I was so inspired by the colours and the back ground stamping from the Crimped Envelope Card, I carried it over to some greeting cards. It's Pear Pizzazz, Bravo Burgundy and Blushing Bride. Other than A Word For You (117032 w, 120528 c) stamp set, the sets are retired. I just made this for the Tradeshow I was at last month. Everyone commented on how cute they were- no one bought any (sigh). At least I can hoard and use them myself ;) lol

Here's a few monochromatic gatefold cards. I had made using the flower techniques I showed a few weeks ago. I LOVE placing the buttons in the middle and I thought they were so sweet that they deserved all the emphasis instead of a sentiment. I made wide panels from Whisper White and then dry embossed them and highlighted them with ink, then used some Vanilla Shimmer Smooch to make them all sparkley. I used a Scalloped Square to mount the flowers on and these sweet, simple cards were complete!

That's about it for me- thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

Easter Workshop

Evening all! Off topic really quick, I just saw the ad for the Hunger Games and I can NOT tell you how stoked I am. I desperately wanting to not only see the movie, but also read the trilogy. Anyways, lol, back on topic.

I am hosting an Easter workshop tomorrow and for the past 2 weeks I have had other things going on and then creative block hit like a brick. I started making a few Easter things, but I fell in hate with what I created. I didn't like them at ALL. Then I ran out of glue :/ Go figure. So after racking my brain, google, splitcoast and pintrest, I got these things all set up :) The belly band was something I came up with just today. It's not what I wanted to do, but it's cute and it works.

This one here is the mega Matchbook that I made large enough to hold 6 mini hershey chocolate bars. I used my Subtle paper collection to wrap each of the bars, cut 1.5x3 inches (wraps them perfectly). I used Pretty In Pink, and cut it to 4.25 x 11 and scored at 1, 1.5, 5.5, 6, 6.5. I trimmed the bottom edge (that folds over, under the bow) with Scalloped Edge punch, and then added layers of scallopes in different colours. I also used the 3rd sized Label from the Labels Collection in the Occassions Mini 125598. I used the 2nd label to create the image, which was stamped using the Everybunny Stamp Set (122707 c, 122705 w). I finished it off with Whisper White Satin Ribbon, 114616. I then tucked the scalloped border up and over the top, after adhereing the ribbon to the underside of the top of the Matchbook (right under the die cut image) so I can wrap it around and tie it up :)

This here uses the 1x8 Cellophane bags, 124134 and I filled it with Cadbury mini eggs. I folded one Label (the 3rd one) in half to seal the top, then added layers using the 2nd and 1st layer, finishing it off with a stamped image. I also used the Boho Blossom Punch 119858 to create some cute, tiny blooms with the Subtle Designer Series paper collection, topping those off with some Dazzling Detail (124117). Here's the last little packaging I am showcasing tomorrow. I used Stampin' Up's Medium Flat Cello Bags (4x6), 102757 and cut a bit off, folding it in half. I wasn't sure what I was going to do so I just started playing a bit. I knew I wanted to do a belly band, but I didn't want to make a box as the workshop is only 3 hours and we were doing a couple of things already. So I made the Belly Band and highlighted the So Saffron with the Every Egg standard wheel 124089 and So Saffron ink. Then I used a piece of scrap that was cut from creating labels for the other 2 projects. I put it sideways, the stamped the image and finished it off with more Boho Blossoms. Finishing off all projects I just inked the edges to add dimension, and viola! Done :) Was pretty happy with how everything turned out, especially after having creative block for the past little while.

That's it for me for today- have a great evening!

~Brandie~

Note Card Boxes

Morning and Happy Wednesday all!

Sorry it's been a bit, I have been so busy with other things that I haven't been able to craft or blog much. I do have a second Stampers 10 group going, so that's pretty awesome. The cool thing was in my first Stampers 10 group- it was 3 ladies I already knew, and they each brought a new person in that I did NOT know, and one person from an internet ad. Then the 2nd Stampers 10 group I got underway was only ONE person I already knew, 4 from internet ads and 2 of those people brought in other new people. It's neat to see my business networking and reaching out to people I didn't know already. I can see why relationships are so important to the Stampin' Up! family as it's given me the opportunity to meet some really amazing people and overcome a wee bit of anxiety :)

Now on to the goodies!

I have been addicted to making crimped envelope cards for a while now. I love how you can make a cute insert and the decorating possibilies. It's more of a mini gift than a card, I think. They'd be perfect for holding gift cards or certificates (in fact, I make these for my own personal Stampin' Up! gift certificates), photos or recipes. OH RECIPE CARDS! Okay- I think I know what my next project is going to be ;) lol

So here is what I came up with over the past few days:

Here are a set of 12 Crimped Envelope note cards all boxed up. I tied a ribbon to keep them together as it was a bit too many cards for the box and they kept falling forward. I brought the design of my cards out into the box. I think that if you only had maybe 10 cards, or not so much bulk in the front of your cards, they wouldn't fall forward like mine did. I will have a quick tutorial on how to make these boxes soon- I was going to do it now, but I am not great at explaining so I'll wait til I have photos to show what I mean :)

This card is a remake of the same card I made with different colours. I just used Sahara Sand instead of Very Vanilla and Wild Wasabi cardstock instead of Certainly Celery. I created the same overlaping animals with my Fox and Friends Stamp set. I created the same background with the retired Circle jumbo wheel and Hostess stamp set. I really adore this design so I really wanted a chance to use it again. And being as the note cards are blank, they can be used as birthday invitations, or birthday cards, or thank you notes. The possibilities could be endless :)

Here's a set using Rich Razzleberry, Bravo Burgundy, and Pretty in Pink/Blushing Bride (I used BB to roll out my background). The current set is Flight of the Butterfly, and I loved making the 3D butterflies pop off the page with my XL butterfly punch. Again, I have to gush about how much I LOVED the thin Lucky Limeade ribbon from the Sale-A-Bration flyer. I will be sad to see it go, and hoping SU brings it back, with more colours, in the new Idea Book and Catalogue!

So with this card I just created my own background and brought the design into the notecard itself and the box as well. Again, very versatile. You could even make a stationary set using these cards and some other goodies if you were so inclined.

Anyways, that is it for me- have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

On Your Birthday

These cards have so many of my favourite things I love doing.

Thing 1. finding unique ways to fold cards to veer away from the traditional. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I find unique foldings really help to make a card pop!

Thing 2: embossing with glitter!

Thing 3: using a template that works and making a variety of cards that are just a bit different, but easy enough to assemble.

I used the On Your Birthday 111664 stamp set for each of these. The cool thing with this stamp set, is that it has a variety of birthday sentiments that can mix and match for the outside and inside of the cards. I also used For All You Do 115360, to create the side panel. I cut a 2x5.5 inch panel and dry embossed them with embossing folders. You can't see the embossing on the pink panel- but I used the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder 115964 and inked the raised edge.

So this card features Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink and Baja Breeze. Instead of using a coloured embossing powder, I mixed some of the Aqua in the Fine Supernova Stampin' Glitter pack 114287, with clear embossing powder.

This card features Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla and Pink Pirouette. I used a different sentiment from the stamp set.

This one is exactly like the one above, only I mixed it up at a customer's request and used Whisper White and Basic Black with the Rich Razzleberry.

So once you get your bases done, it's really easy to get into the swing of making a bunch of cards, even if you're using different colour palettes, especially if you're using the same techniques and stamp sets.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

I Dig You!

Hey guys!

Here's a few cards I whipped up:

As you can tell by a lot of my other posts, I tend to gear more towards girly-girl. Flowers, glitter, swirls- yanno. Girly ;) Being as I have 2 amazing sons, I really need to veer into a more masculine direction sometimes. It's hard because it's not my forte and not very natural for me to do. I had a lot of fun making these cards though. I have been complimented on my card folding by a few people, and for me it's just steering away from traditional to make it more unique. This is a z fold card- and then I layered a few squares that were layered too. I love the effect of multi layering too, so I was able to do that. I had these cards pre-cut from my Christmas workshop in December, and I didn't use them so I figured they'd work for these cards. I used Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, and Crumb Cake. I love how the colours all work together. I have a bit of Chocolate Chip in there too. Plus I used my Many Marvelous Markers (thanks to hubby for last years Mother's day gift!) to colour in the I Dig You (122720 w 122722 c) stamp set.

I also created a neat effect over the Crumb Cake panel by colouring a wheel from one of the stamps with Sahara Sand and stamping randomly. Then I stamped the "I Dig You" phrase over and over again.

Well that's it for me for today!
Take care ;)

~Brandie~

Chipboard Fun

Hey guys!

A few quick projects showcasing chipboard. I love personalized gifts and have been wanting to make this little baby for a while now!

It's a basic table top type of flip calendar. Very easy to put together. I think using double stick adhesive would work a lot better than white glue- the glue dried too quickly and made a mess. You could even use a book binding tool to bind it more professionally, but I don't own one so I just used some simple binder clips.You can see how it's put together on the side. A sheet of 12x12 designer series paper was just too short as the pieces were cut to 4.5x5, 4.5x6, 1.5x6 and 1.5x6- so you can see a piece at 9x6 DSP holding the bottom together and overlapping a piece of 6x6 DSP on either side. Here I used the DSP Paper Stack in Subtle (117152) and then a sheet from the Tea Time Simply Scrappin' Kit (122374). I used some stickers form The Tea Time kit and Whisper White Grossgrain Ribbon (109025)

Then you can make tabs and dividers using Whisper White card stock and decorating it, and adding a tab using the Round Tab punch (119864)

I am more of a dessert maker as opposed to cook- so I have a lot of candy, cupcake and treat recipes (including my own coffee mixes! WOO HOO!) I used double stick tape to stick each tab to each page instead of stapling it. I am out of Whisper White CS (the horror! lol) and when my order comes in, then I will make actual recipe cards, and then cover them in laminate to keep them from getting icky when I bake. If I replace my printer then I can even print the recipes out instead of handwritting- tho handwritting gives a more personal touch. I can't wait to get the recipes in here and start using it! I have wanted to make one for myself for a long time now.

One of the things I have struggled with is my weight (after posting about desserts- IRONIC! lol) and one way I found to help my eating habits is to write them down. So using some scrap chipboard from packaging I made my own journal.

I loved the 'notebook' feel of the Tea Time Simply Scrappin' Kit so I used it to decorate my book (which measures 9x6). I just covered a front and back cover, decorated the front and then added binder rings. I had more holes as I planned to lace some ribbon for a closure- that didn't work. Trust me on that one! Then I used the Labels Collection (125598) to create my title. I love the super thin ribbon from the Sale A Bration catalogue- I find it so versatile to wrap around things or to hang notions from. I just cut a bunch of computer paper to size and filled my book with it. You could even take a plan lined legal pad and make a journal from that too.

That's all I have for you today- thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

Paper Cakes!

Hey fans- happy Tuesday!

I've postponed making one of these long enough. I have made a bunch of pieces for fun and samples, and that led to 2 orders for 1 layer cakes- but I have never made a multi layer cake. Using SU! products, both old and new, I whipped this puppy up!

I do have to admit, I am pretty proud of it. It's one of those things that everything just came together after 2 days of hard work. I am selling this, and taking custom orders, through my Facebook Group: The Paper Gift Boutique.

Also- I can teach others how to make their own cake creation through Stampin' Up! ESPECIALLY with SU's! NEW diagonal score board that coordinates with their Simply Scored tool- coming soon! (I so can't wait for the new catalogue!)

So here's a pic of the top:

That was a lot of flower work ;) I inked each Paper Daisy individually (staining my finger tips in the process for the night), using the Basic Pearl Jewels (119247) and Basic Rhinestones (119246) for centres. The colours here are: Bravo Burgundy, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry and then Saharah Sand for the base (I think it would have worked even better with Whisper White or Very Vanilla- but I didn't have enough CS to finish that). Made the 'centre' on top and wrapped with a silk ribbon that matches the Bravo Burgundy.

Here's an individual cake piece. I used So Swirly Jumbo Wheel (retired) and the flowers from the For all You Do stamp set 115360. I enjoyed adding the 'layer' look like on an actual cake.

The template was printed off a while ago and I kept a 'rough' draft that I trace and then score. I can't remember where I found it.

So that's it for me! Stay tuned- I have more to show you using chipboard in the next couple of days- take care!
~Brandie~

Easel Boxes

Happy Saturday All!

First and foremost, this is the LAST month for Sale-A-Bration. It's been fun and full of amazing products and I'll be sad to see it go, but good things all must come to an end (well, at least temporarily).

If you've always wanted to join and become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Sale-A-Bration is the BEST time. The regular $215 starter kit is only $150

Not only is it ONLY $150 to join, but for every month in your first year, you get a FREE digital download or package of Designer Series paper. That's a pretty sweet gift!

Plus you have a choice. You can choose the Standard Starter kit, full of stamp sets, inks, craft and business supplies, or if digital is more your style, you can have the Digital Starter kit with My Digital Studio software, embellishments for hybrid projects and business supplies. Each kit is retailed at no less than $400.

You add onto this the ability to set your own hours, work from your own home and control the amount you earn, topped with instant income and commission bonuses, a team of experts mentoring you and you have nothing to lose! Inspiring others and unlocking their creative potential is the best 'job' I could have ever asked for and signing up LAST Sale-A-Bration was the best desicion I have ever made, not to mention super fun!

Speaking of fun! I had a blast making easel card boxes. The card can be a bit hard trying to figure out using different shapes instead of the traditional easel card. I used some different shapes from another die cutting system, but I also used the Labels Collections from the Framelits Dies from Stampin' Ups! Occasions Mini #125598. I wanted to make boxes bigger so I used those instead of the Top Note Die. I made these for my cousin who I was babysitting for, but she decided to quit to stay home with her kids. She always commented on my work and had mentioned wanting keepsake boxes for their baby things- like the baby bracelet when the baby is born and card on their bassinet ect. So these measured in at 5x4. It's just a basic nugget box, widthwise instead of lengthwise.

Not all supplies are from Stampin' Up as I made these as gifts as opposed to SU! samples, but Stampin' Up DOES have Scalloped Square Dies and a variety of Alphabet Stamps in different fonts- very well worth it as you can personalize anything from gifts like these boxes, to baby onesies, to scrapbook pages. I've also a tutorial on how to embellish Stampin' Up!'s Paper Daisies so you can create them to match any colour or design you have going on.

Here's each box close up:

These were a lot of fun to make, and the Pretty in Pink and Wisteria Wonder Box fit that child's personality perfectly - and I was able to highlight the Labels Collection. I love how they layer together. Check out Stampin' Up!'s Apothecary Stamp Set that coordinates with the dies, item #125525 w 125527 c. It's beautiful and very versatile.

That's it for me for today- thanks so much for swinging by!

~Brandie~

Creating Backgrounds

Hi guys!

One of my favourite things to do when I am crafting is creating my own background. There are some Designer Series Papers out there that I adore, but more often than not I like using my own stamp sets and colours and creating something unique that blends in with a particular project.

I made a few envelope pockets cards, and the tutorial can be found here on Splitcoast Stampers: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/crimpedenvelope/

They are pretty addictive I tell ya! I made a couple for the tradeshow last weekend as I wanted to donate a few Gift Certificates, but alas I had run out of the Stampin' Up! ones. I figured, being as they can't be used online, why not just make my own?

I made a crimped envelope card and gift box (tutorial found on Splitcoast Stampers as well, under Maria's Treat Box). I added some goodies from the Sale-A-Bration Flyer (on until March 31st), some pre-cut cardstock to make mini note cards out of, and some demonstrator incentive stamps with an ink spot. I love the colour combo, as it's out of my element. I am definetly a girly girl and enjoy using a lot of pinks and purples. For this I used Poppy Parade, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Pumpkin Pie. I thoroughly enjoyed the new ribbon from SAB by the way! It's thin and sheer and I am hoping SU! comes out with more of them in the new catalogue!

Anyways, custom backgrounds are so simple. I tend to use a trio of colours that compliment each other, you can also go monochromatic in your colour scheme, or even use as many colours as you want!

A few different ways to have a base (and I'd use a lighter colour for the base so it's not very over powering), is to use a Stampin' Around wheel, a background stamp, or a large image. I stamp on neutral backgrounds- like Very Vanilla or Whisper White. You could use a different colour, but keep in mind that it may alter different colours of inks if you are using different colour families.

Then I add a medium sized image in a bold colour. In the above image I used one of my older hostess stamp sets, from when I was a hostess years ago (before becoming a Stampin' Up! demo). Then I find a smaller image to stamp in a complimentary colour that will fill in larger holes and bring unity to the design.

You can do so much more with it, like adding more colours like I stated above, adding 3D elements, sparatically add bling with Rhinestones or dots of Dazzling Details etc. Make it your own!

So like I said, I got pretty addicted to making backgrounds, so I went out of my element a few times and tried different colour concepts with these other designs:

YAY Monkeys :) lol, I love me some monkeys- espeically trying to get away from all the darned girly flowers! Here's the Fox and Friend's Stamp Set from the 2011/2012 Idea Book and Catalogue. Item #117020 w 118565 c. Colours: Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue (retired Stamp sets: Hostess Stamp set from 2009, Seeing Spots Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel)

Of course a birthday card was in order :) I liked the colours more in my hand than I did on the card, I am on the fence about this one, but I DID enjoy adding and dangley element. This was Rich Razzleberry, Blushing Bride and Bashful Blue, using yet another retired Hostess Stamp Set (I'm getting more stamps that are current- no worries!) But it was fun using my Stampin' Write markers to colour n some different images, and then creating a tag for a sentiment instead of your basic way of doing it.

Then finally I had some fun doing this one. I used Flight of the Butterfly (a personal favourite set) 111564 in the Idea Book and Catalogue. And the sentiments are: Hello- Pennant Parade 122740 w 122742 c and "baby welcome to the world" from A Word for You 117032 w 120528 c. I used Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight for my colour scheme here. Dot Dot Dot made the base of my background,115332 in the Idea Book and Catalogue. I especially loved using very thin ribbon and dangling some buttons for dimennsion. A lot of fun making these cards.

Well that's it for me- I hope I inspired you!

~Brandie~