Paper Crafts Special Issues

I am so delighted to have projects in the two recent Paper Crafts Special issues--

First-- Card Creations is one of my favorite Paper Crafts issues every year and Card Creations, Vol. 11 did not disappoint. Here is one of the cards that I am fortunate to have in this issue:

 You can find the issue HERE.

Next, the Handmade Home Decor issue is fantastic--the projects in it are so inspiring! 

There are so many super creative ideas in this issue and I am still pouring over them all.  Here is my Tree Ornament (page 82):

You can find this issue HERE.
Thanks for stopping by!

Joy Ornament

Hello! Whew!  I took a long break---and it was so nice:)  The kids go back to school today.  My youngest already told me twice yesterday that she is going to miss me a lot today because she will be away from me all day again :(  Guess we had too much fun! 

Anyway, I am slowing getting back into my craft room as I have had little time to fit much in between putting up the Christmas decorations and visiting with family.  I do have an easy ornament project to share today, however.

Remember the advent calendar I made a few weeks ago?  I had several tins left over from it and thought they would made cute ornaments.  Here is the first one I made:

 

I used Echo Park- This & That: Christmas chipboard on the inside and paper to frame the outside edge using Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies.  I used an SRM sticker (Fancy Sticker Sentiments: Christmas) to layer over the outside of the tin.  I punched a hole in the top of the tin using a Cropadile and then threaded the hemp through to create a hanger.  A little bit of Marashino baker's twine and a heart stick pin (Little Yellow Bicycle) finish off this easy project.

Speaking of baker's twine---Did you see the two new colors that The Twinery just released---Platinum Shimmer and  Gold Shimmer? Heavenly!  Might have to give some of that away soon ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Taylored Expressions Studio Challenge

It's time for the Baker's Dozen Studio Challenge.  This is a monthly opportunity for us to share what makes our stamping studios hum.  Each month we will have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.

 Once again, I am joining in with the Baker's Dozen team for this challenge.  My guest term is up at the end of this month and I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank Taylor and Jami and the whole team for the honor of playing along with you all these past two months.  You are all so sweet and INSPIRING and I have enjoyed every minute.  Thank you so much!

 

The question for October is:

Good things come in small packages!  The holiday season is upon us and between Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas there are a ton of opportunities to create and give little treats, gifts, and party favors.  Please show us something you'll be giving this year.

Here are two easy projects that I designed for holiday gift giving.  First, I made an ornament using a circular wooden shape (found at my local craft store).  I painted it with gray paint.  I used the Taylored Expressions Nativity Border die as the focal point of the ornament, cutting it from black vinyl and embellishing it with a rub-on, some gems, a punched glittered felt star and some baker's twine:

 

This would make a great gift in itself or as a fun addition to a gift bag or tied to a package.

Next, I designed a simple gift card holder.  I have a huge family and often get gift cards for the teenagers who love to shop.  This is an easy way to dress up those gifts.

How fun would it be to have a small tree decorated with gift cards that are decorated in little envelopes? 

I used Very Merry stamp set and the Very Merry Outlines die for this project: 

  

Simple. Easy to mass produce.  

Here are the Taylored Expressions products I used on my projects today:

 

Head on over to the Baker's dozen to see their wonderful gift ideas.  I cannot wait to see what these creative ladies came up with!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Jen Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melody Rupple
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Holiday Cards & More

Paper Crafts Holiday Cards & More, Vol. 7 is now on sale.  Woop! This is one of my favorite issues from Paper Crafts because of the "& More" part.  I love seeing all the fabulous ornaments, packaging, decorations and tags in this issue.

Here is my favorite project in the issue (pg. 160):

Of course, it is photographed much better in the issue :)   You can find Holiday Cards & More, Vol. 7 HERE!  Have a great weekend! (Don't forget to celebrate World Cardmaking Day TOMORROW!)
:)

More Ornament Ideas

Hello there! By now you might be getting sick of all the ornaments I keep posting....but I have two more :)
I really enjoy making ornaments and love to make all different types. They make great gifts!

The first one is another felt design. I used Lori Whitlock's bird studio file (Silhouette) and cut out the bird/heart shapes on cardstock. Then, I used the cardstock as a template to cut my felt. I stitched the bird together with red thread, added the SRM sentiment sticker (Fancy sticker sentiment- Love) on a piece of vellum and attached it to the hanger, tied with Twinery ribbon and a bell. I used Helmar Premium Craft Glue to attach the heart wing to the bird.

Next, I have a glass ornament. This was easy. I filled a glass ornament (you can find them at most craft stores) with silver paint and swirled it around. Actually, I swirled it around and shook it all over myself because I forgot to put the top on before doing that. Doh!

After cleaning up that mess....I got back to work. I printed out the beautiful nativity scene (by Lori Whitlock) using my Silhouette onto black vinyl. In order, to make it work for the circle glass ornament, I did have to trim the original a tiny bit (removed the two support bars on either side of the manger.)

I peeled the backing off and stuck it right on the ornament. I finished it off with a tiny crystal over the star and some red tulle.

Hope you are inspired to make some of your own. Apparently, I have to make one with a bunny on it because we recently got a dwarf rabbit :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Music Inspired Project

Hello!! Today I am super excited to be joining my fabulous friend Kimberly Crawford on her 12 Trendy Days of Christmas: Day 9. Today's theme is music and here is the project I created:

I used a fun ornament from Darcie's for this project. I covered it with some music paper (Merry Christmas: Christmas Carol by Echo Park) to relate to the theme. I sanded the edges and sponged the edges with tea dye ink (Ranger).

I cut the holly from some patterned paper (Merry Christmas: Holly Berry by Echo Park) and attached it to the top. The sentiment is from Light of the Season (Gina K Designs).

Be sure to check out Kimberly's blog to catch all her fabulous posts in this series!

Have a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by!

JustRite Photo Ornament

Look what is new from JustRite Stampers. The November release from JustRite is fabulous and Stamper's Dream Store will be shipping the new stamps by mid-November.

Here is a peek at something I made with the 2" Square Decorative Frames:Do you see the beautiful square frame bordering the picture of my handsome son? That is from the new Decorative Square frames set. I embossed the frame and then matted the cropped picture of my son on some gold cardstock.

I used Brayton Font and the Harmony Rectangular Stamper to emboss the year and punched it with an oval punch. The base of the ornament is the Fleur de Lis Pendant die (Spellbinders). I added a bow made with Antique Sheer Gold ribbon (May Arts) to the top and threaded a piece of gold metallic string (May Arts)through the top of the ornament so you can hang it on a tree. This would also be beautiful on a card front or as a gift tag.

I am in love with the square stamps. They are so elegant---and look fabulous embossed! You can use these squares to frame a monogram note...a small sentiment...or even a picture (like I did for this ornament). You can even use your small letters to customize the border.

Here is what's new from JustRite at Stamper's Dream----Shipping mid-November:

and new Decorative 2" Round Borders too:

****Note: You can buy the borders and mounts separately....but these are also available in kits which include the border set, a mount and three sizes of fonts so you can customize your project. This is a great way to buy them if you are just starting out with JustRite...you will have everything you need to get started....

Decorative 2" Square Monogram Kit

Decorative 2" Round Monogram Kit

Michelle is always adding new stamps, embellishments and paper to her store, so be sure to check out Stamper's Dream today!

Thanks for stopping by!