Here's A Challenge For Ya

Aloha everyone! How are those holiday tidings coming along? It is very close to Christmas but the holidays did not put a damper on scrappin challenges over at SCS. I was a guest hostess for this week's VARIETY CHALLENGE. My challenge for the ladies was TO FIND A CREATIVE WAY TO USE ENVELOPES ON OUR SCRAPBOOK PAGES. You can click the title there <---- to see all the details. Here is my sample for the challenge.

I played a lot with this sketch before finally finding a layout that I liked using these photographs. I really like this layout! The focal point is a chipboard letter "B" with the rest of the letters spelled out with stickers. I adhered those stickers to a neutral cardstock then punched them out with my circle punch. I used the SANDING TECHNIQUE BY MEREDITH on the photos before matting them. I used decorative scissors by Provo Craft to cut them out then doodled with a glitter pen around the mats. For the edge border, I used the EYELET DOODLING TECHNIQUE FROM PEGGY for some added jazz.

Next came the envies, the part of my challenge. I downloaded a template online for mini envelopes then followed the directions to make these cute additions. You can find a template for the envelopes HERE or HERE. I added min square brads to keep the envelopes closed on two of them and assembled some flowers for the bottom one. I think these are just awesome. They add a lot of character and texture to my page. The solid green is made with BAZZIL and the top two were made with MY MINDS EYE.

I hope you find some inspiration here. Give this a try and stop by SCS to check out other challenges! Mahalo for checking in!

Something new and fun!

Aloha everyone! I have something fun to share with you that I am totally in love with. Check out this background made with tissue paper. To make this is so simple.



First you find tissue paper that you like and crumple it to give it texture. Then you build your card sandwich. First a piece of wax paper, then your card or cardstock that you want covered, then plastic wrap, then the tissue paper, and lastly another piece of wax paper. After you have made your sandwich, you need to "warm" it. You do this using an iron. Simply run the iron over the sandwich for several seconds giving the plastic wrap time to melt. Let that cool and then peel you card from the wax paper. Wallah! Your card with a very cool background.

Sometimes you just can't find the tissue paper you are looking for. I have this problem. Solution: purchase solid color tissue paper and stamp your design that you like. Follow the same process as above.

But, what if you don't have tissue paper in your budget. I know some of us have no-buy policies going on for the holidays so I have a solution using only things that you will need for your home. Instead of tissue paper, use COFFEE FILTERS! Almost everyone drinks coffee these days so you should have filters laying around. Check out this card background using coffee filters.



So easy, fun, and cheap! Give it a try. Mahalo for stopping by!

Halloween Goodies Treat Bags

Aloha everyone! This is going to be my first tutorial so I hope you are able to follow. Feed back, as always, is appreciated. So, I needed cheap, easy, yet fun treat bags to give to co-workers as Halloween gifts. The catch...the budget :) I could only use things that I have in my home. This is what I came up with. My inspiration: tie-dyed coffee filters.

Supplies Needed:
coffee filters
stamps of your choice
ink of your choice
card stock (purple and green used here)
tag die cut (sizzlits tag dies, oval used here)
coloring utensils (colored pencils used here)
ribbon (orange used here)
scissors




First stamp your images randomly on the bottom side of 1 coffee filter.



Next color in the images that you want to have color. Tip- colored markers would work great here because the filters easily absorb the ink



Next, use your die-cut machine to cut the tags for your treat bag. Here I used the sizzlits tag die which gave me 2 oval of different colors. This way I was able to layer 2 different colors of tags for the treats.



I then took 6" or so of ribbon and threaded it through the tags. For the sentiment I inked my Trick or Treat stamp in black and stamped it directly on the top tag.



To ensure support for the candies I took another coffee filter and layered it on top of the stamped filter. For the candies, I bought the fun packs of M&M's and poured one pack each in the filters.



Last, I gathered the coffee filter and used the ribbon to tie it shut. Ta-Da. Your finished! Easy, quick and fun treat bags.

Need your Opinions!

Aloha everyone! I am finally feeling better and have been working on a calendar swap that I am a part of. Those little bugers are harder than I thought they would be!

I made this criss-cross card last week before I got sick. This may turn into wedding invitations for my little brother...that is, if the girlfriend likes them :) If you want to see my little bro, go here and scroll to the bottom. That is my not-so-little brother and Crystal (there are going to be too many Crystal's in the family). Anyway...I want to hear your opinions. What you like, love, could do without, etc. After all, I hope he only gets married once ;) The card stock is a mix of Paperbilities and Bazzil. Once I start mass producing, it will be all Bazzil. The stamps are Flourishes by Rhonna Ferrer inked in Versamark Black.

Congrats!!!

I saw the coolest card on SCS created by peleegirl and I just had to give it a try. My wonderful boyfriend asked me to make a card for his sister for her graduation and after seeing this card I just couldn't resist. She has a lot of great creations so check them out :)

This card was so simple. I started with a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" black card stock and folded in half. This will be your card. Next I took a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" white card stock and folded accordion style to create the inside of the card. I only folded 5 times to give myself 2 layers when the card opens. I used sticky tape to adhere the accordion to the inside of the card. And that's it...decorate from there.

I used "I love my school" designer paper from Around the Block to create the front and back of the card. On the inside I cut four pieces that measured 2" x 3" in blue and green and two pieces that measured 2" x 1 3/4" in orange that coordinated with the designer paper. I found a pack of Rub-ons by Deja Views that coordinated well and rubbed those on pieces of basic white and adhered those onto the colored card stock. I used sticky tape to adhere the panels on to the accordion.

On the left side I created a cute pocket card that will fit a gift card perfectly and still close without hanging out. To finish the card I used gel pens to doodle faux stitching around the panels and tied some blue ribbon to close the card.

Beate's Weekend Challenge

Aloha everyone! It is the weekend and I am so glad. I have some fun activities planned for tomorrow and my LSS is having a HUGE sale! They issued 50% off coupons for Sunday along with half off all their clearance! I am so excited!

Something very special happened that I know only stampin addicts can understand...my
BF asked me to create a card for his grandma for her birthday. How sweet is that? I decided to use Beate's weekend challenge and create a File Folder Card. This was so cute and very creative. I think she will love it.

Please refer to the tutorial by Beate for dimensions. My card base is Paperbilities dark blue and the designer paper is from American Traditions Beach Fun Paper Pack. I really love the paper packs from American Traditions. A good product for a good value. The strip of blue stripped designer paper is also from American Traditions and wraps around the entire card where it is attached together with double-sided tape. I then took a piece of ribbon, knotted the middle, and then wrapped around the stripped paper. I added two brads to the top corners, a cute little blue flower at the knot in the ribbon and the card is finished. You can leave it like this to open or you can create an insert for the pocket.

How cute is this! The insert sits perfectly hidden for a cute surprise. The base for my insert is 3" x 5" Paperbilities blue again and I cut a piece of the designer paper 1/4" smaller than the blue. I then printed out the sentiment and layered that on a piece of red card stock and then a layer of the stripped designer paper. I added a strip of basic white to the bottom and attached the sentiment. For the tag I attached it to the back of the card then used a brad to attach a cute pink flower. So easy and so cute!

Happy Halloween

Aloha! So busy! Work is definitely cutting into my stampin, scrappin, and bloggin time. I guess we all have to earn the cash don't we? The Try a New Technique Challenge at SCS was too much fun. We got to try gel cards and you can find that tutorial on SCS. Since it is so late but I really need my "fix" :) I am going to give you a quick recipe. As long as you follow the gel card technique you will find a creative easy card technique.

The card base is a 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" piece of Paperbilities in basic black followed by a 1/4" smaller piece of basic orange. The designer paper is also Paperbilities from the Vacation Paper Pack and is 1/4" smaller than the orange layer. The circles were made using the Jumbo punch. The cauldron was hand sketched and colored with Crayola colored pencils. Last I printed the sentiment which reads Double Double Toil and Trouble, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (How cute!) and layered that on a piece of basic black, also from Paperbilities and doodled smoke from the cauldron. I love how this card turned out. It is very simple and a lot of fun!

Peek-A-Boo

Hehe...My card see's you! Beate posted a fabulous tutorial for her two-pocket card she created for a SCS challenge a while back. Well, I just had to try it because it looks amazing. Well, guess what? It is simple too! Please visit her blog to get the full set of instructions. Since it is late and I just got out of class I am going to make this a quick post and just give you the recipe. If you want more detail just comment me and I will get back to you :) Paper: American Traditions Beach Fun Paper Pack; Paperbilities Vacation Paper Pack; Basic Blue, Basic Red, Basic Green----Faux Stitching: Blue Gel

Never Forget and Kimmie's Challenge

I remember exactly what I was doing on that infamous day. I had just finished an exam in chemistry (not the most pleasant) when the announcement came across the PA system. "Everyone please turn the television to Channel 3." The images were horrifying. It looked as if NYC was burning to the ground. The bell rang and like zombies we all walked to our next class. The teachers didn't speak. The school was silent. We sat in awe as the second tower was hit and collapsed. At this point we couldn't figure out what was happening. It was like something out of a horror movie. The next thing we knew, the principal was over the PA again announcing that school was canceled for the rest of the day. We were instructed to go home and be with our families. I picked up my little brother and headed for the bus. He kept asking what was going on but I didn't know how to explain it. We should all remember this day. It should not be just one day out of the year where we only hang our flags in remembrance. I know those affected relive this day every morning when they awake. Those people should be in our thoughts always. Never forget.

So, back to the programming. If you haven't been to visit Kimmie's blog then you should head over there. She just started posting challenges and since her work is amazing I decided to give her first challenge a try. While it doesn't compare to Kimmie's work I really like this one. The card is 3 1/2" x 5 1/2". I started with a piece of designer paper from American Traditions Beach Paper Pack. I love this stripped paper. I then used Basic White card stock 2" wide and used a new technique with Metallic Green Acrylic Paint that I found on Colleen's blog. While letting that dry, I made two flowers using an awesome template I found on CRAFT TV WEEKLY in Lilac card stock. On the larger flower I sponged the edges with Color Box Pastel Pink ink. The smaller flower is doodled by yours truly with a blue gel pen.

After the paint dried I adhered the designer paper first, followed by the painted card stock. I then layered the two flowers and wrapped a white ribbon around the card to cover the seams of the papers. Next I punched a flower center out of basic black card stock with my Jumbo Circle Punch and distressed those edges. The bottom strip is made with the same Lilac card stock and the edges are sponged with Archival Teal ink. I used the blue gel pen to write you are my sunshine and added faux stitching. Lastly I added a white button on the black circle and a cute pink flower on the side.

Criss-Cross Card

Yesterday's Challenge was to create anything as long as it had a pocket. How fun does that sound. I had seen Beate's tutorial for the Criss-Cross card and thought I had to give it a try and it fit perfectly in the challenge.

Earlier in the week, Monday to be exact, I purchased Fiskars Texture Plates and I just had to try them out. One of the plates was the stone look so I decided to create a Christmas Chimney. I used the texture plate one a piece of red card stock cut out in the shape of the chimney. I added a few things to it and I had a Christmas chimney. Problem is, I didn't really want to put it on the front of a card. When I saw the tutorial I thought this would be great to make and put the chimney as the insert. Worked out great.

When I found out how easy and cute they were I decided to make another to give as a Christmas gift. I used basic card stock for most of it. I used Christmas paper as the patterned paper and a ribbon wrapped around instead of the sleeve. The Made From Scratch stamp was inked in Archival Teal and was used on the insert for the second card. I think they turned out great. It really gives you a great twist on the typical card. Be sure to check out the tutorial and give them a try.

Flowers Feed the Soul

For this week's Technique Lovers Challenge we were to try our hand at a surprise pop-up card. I love these cards. I completed one of these a while back for a Christmas card and of course I can't post it because I don't want the secret to get out :) So, I decided to make another one. To check out the tutorial for this wonderful card, go HERE. You can also view the gallery from this link as well. To see the creations for this specific challenge, go HERE.

This is the front of the card before it is opened up. The top card stock is a baby blue color although the photo shows it more whitish. I used the Delightful Doodles stamp set to create a small garden on the front. The stems were inked in teal and the flowers inked in pastel pink. I used tiny buttons to create the center of the flowers and another large yellow button to make the sun. I used a green colored pencil to color in the stems and write the first half of the message on the front.

The slider card is red card stock with a red ribbon attached to the top as a pulley. The back color is green card stock and once it is opened the rest of the message shows. This reads: Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed the soul. I thought this was such an inspirational quote from the Koran and decided to use it on this challenge.

This makes a super cute card that is different than your everyday average folded card. I'm sure everyone would love getting this. Now it's your turn :)

Accordion Scrapbook

Aloha! Happy Labor Day Weekend! I hope you are taking advantage of all those great sales that are going on :)

As I come across things that catch my attention my immediate thought is~well, how can I use that or who can I give it to. I'm sure this is the thought process that most of you follow. I came across an accordion-style scrapbook on the Exploring Womanhood Website that was just too cute and I just had to give it a try. We had been searching for such a tutorial on SCS and this was the one we came up with.

This is the cover of the accordion. I started out with 2 sheets of Cream Card stock from the AMERICAN TRADITIONS paper pack and 1 sheet of Blue Card stock from the same brand. Fold each of these sheets in half, unfold, then fold in half the other direction, unfold and then fold so that one corner meets the opposite corner (only do one corner) and unfold. You now have smaller squares within the larger sheet.

Next I took 2 pieces of chipboard and cut each to be 6" square. I adhered one sheet of Hearts designer paper to one piece of chipboard. I then attached a 1" square strip of tan card stock over the designer paper and used my Made from Scratch stamps to create a cute border. There were inked with Pink Pastel. With the 2ND piece of chipboard I covered with a piece of hibiscus paper locally made here in Hawaii. This first piece will be the front cover of the album and the second will be the back cover.

Next I folded up my album to create the 6" x 6" square. I adhered the chipboard to the appropriate sides to create the album. To embellish I took 2 pieces of green plaid paper, 2 sheets of pink plaid paper, 1 sheet of silver designer paper and 1 sheet of gold stars designer paper and cut them into triangles to fit the outside squares of unfolded album. I used a gel pen to write quotes about grandchildren around the edges of the designer papers.

I haven't added photos yet but you can adhere your photos in the four middle diamond/square shapes. These are the sqares that are not folded when you fold up your album. I am going to get photos of my cousin's and place them in the middle and give this to my Aunt as a Christmas gift. I think she will love it. For a more complete tutorial visit the Womanhood website link above.

Flip Flop Tote

Aloha everyone, Well I said I wasn't going to be working on anything because it is the First Day of College Football but I couldn't resist. I want to spotlight a very talented lady today. She was the inspiration for the tote I created. LESLIE'S BLOG is a great place for inspiration and her work is absolutely beautiful. It was on her blog site that I found the tutorial for the handmade tote. Please go check out her site and comment on her awesome work. I'm sure she would love it.

Now back to the tote. This is such a great idea and makes a fun gift for any occasion. You can find the detailed instructions on Leslie's blog but I am going to tell you guys what paper and products I used. I wanted my tote to have a local flavor to it:) All the paper I used came from AMERICAN TRADITIONS Beach Paper Pack. The tote is made from basic pink card stock. The outside panels were created using the Pink Flower paper. I added a 1 3/4" wide strip of baby blue card stock with a cute flip flop border. The ribbon is a lime-green with pink flowers.

Like I said, this project is too cute. The tote is made to fit between 4 and 6 cards. There are 2 awesome things about this project: 1) you have enough card stock left over to make coordinating cards to go in the tote and 2) it takes less time to make than creating the card itself. Definitely give this a try and let me know if you do. I would love to see your creations. If you want to see other great totes visit the SCS TOTE GALLERY.

Let's Shake Things Up a Bit

Aloha everyone!!! Like I said earlier I got my first set of Stampin Up stamps. So today I am going to share with you my first card ever made showcasing those cute SU stamps. In the SCS resources there is a tutorial for the cutest SHAKER CARDS. This is a great twist on your everyday average card. Be sure to check out the tutorial and of course, Beate's other work :)There is a link to her blog on the left side of my blog.

This is the Shaker Card that I made..."Thinking of you" is the title. Cute yea? I started out with the 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" card and covered the front with a designer hearts paper that was darling. The frame is a basic cream cardstock approxiamtely 4 1/2" tall x 3" wide and is broke apart so that the outside of the frame is on the card and the inside of the frame is elevated. There is a smaller frame that is pink cardstock as a border.

The stamp is the heart from the Made From Scratch stamp set stamped on the back part of the shaker card. There is a pink flower attached to the top right of the shaker frame and a white button as the flower center. The sentiment was written with a colored pencil and reads Thinking Of You below the stamp. The shaker material is silver glitter. For more specific directions please go to the tutorial above. It will make more sense after reading that :) This card was so much fun. If you want to see all the shaker cards made by the wonderful SCS talent, visit HERE

Small Gift Box

Aloha!!! Ever wanted to just stop buying gift boxes for all those tiny gifts that you send out? I know I have. It is often very difficult to find the right size or ones that are cute enough that you would actually put your name on :) Well, I gave it a try and created my first nugget box for the inpiration challenge provided by SCS. You can view that challenge HERE.

This is too cute and makes a great gift box for chocolates **hint hint** I am not going to go into a lot of detail about how to create the box. Instead I am going to point you in the direction of Lori's great tutorial. She does a fabulous job explaining.



So here is the nugget box I made. I apologize for the photo. It was dark and the camera was not cooperating :) I bet none of you have ever had that problem ;) The paper to make the slip is a pink marble and the paper to create the box is a think brown with the same texture as cardboard. Very strange paper. I got it in a pack and finally found something to use it with! The tag is made with the Sizzlits Small Tag Set and it says Friends. The yellow strip of paper has one of my favorite quotes: "Remember the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance." That was said by a brilliant man (at least I think so) by the name of John Ruskin.

I plan on putting a small keepsake in the box to send to a dear friend back in Kentucky. I would love to put chocolates but I think by the time the package moves from Hawaii to Kentucky, there wouldn't be anything left but a mess :) Anyway, the point is you can put anything in here. It would make a great handmade box for jewelry (although I don't know if your Husband would want to take the time to learn).

Definitely visit Lori's tutorial and give this a try. I am sure you will be surprised at how easy it is!

Time for a Lil Christmas Cheer

Good evening everyone. Before I head out to see the lunar eclipse that is happening in about an hour, I though I would leave you guys a little holiday inspiration. I decided to create my own Christmas cards this year since I am into this card making business. I wanted to create very cheerful, happy-go-lucky cards because this is going to be the second Christmas without family around. I think it would better to send cheerful happy cards than sentimental ones saying how much I am missing them. So, with that said, on to the card :)

This card was too much fun to create! It is known as a waterfall card and I got the instructions from a talented artist at SCS. The waterfall card tutorial is given by Miss Kathy Logan and you can view her creations HERE and you can view the other waterfall cards HERE.

Isn't this a cute card.The card size is 4 1/2' x 5 1/2' and I wanted to keep the happy Christmas theme so I chose bright block paper in Christmas colors. I cut the Christmas paper so that it covered the left side of the card in a diagonal direction. There is no secret technique to this :) Just go with your gut and cut your paper :) The horizontal strip is a 1/2" red piece attached with brads. **BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS HERE VERY CAREFULLY**

The tiles are covered with snowflake paper and each tile has a cute Christmas themed sticker so when you flip through the card there is a neat surprise waiting for you :) I then attached a red ribbon to the bottom of the card with a wreath-shaped brad that will act as the pulley for the card. You should most definitely give this card a try. You will love it!!! Be sure to let me know if you try...I would love to see your work :)

**For complete dimensions and instructions, please visit the tutorial listed above**

Embossing

Aloha everyone and Good Morning, at least in Hawaii! As I was browsing through cards in the SCS gallery I took notice of raised backgrounds on the various cards. I knew the technique but had no way of actually doing it. It added such a great pop to the card that I decided to ask a fellow SCS-er. MonicaA created the cutest Mr. Turtle card that had the embossing technique so I sent her a friendly email as her to share her skills. She is a great stamper by the way...take a look at her GALLERY
but remember those images are © MonicaA. She shared some great tips for me so I wanted to pass them along.

First she discussed the use of the Cuttlebug machine by Provo Craft. This machine is similar to any die-cut machine so I am assuming you can emboss using any of these die-cut machines that sell embossing plates. As I told you before, I own a Sidekick and I just found out you can purchase embossing plates for the Sidekick that will do the same job at the Cuttlebug. At this point, it is your preference about which machine you purchase.

The second technique she told me seemed more my style as it seemed a little cheaper. However, she cautioned that I needed a lot of patience which I think I can handle. A lightbox and template is needed to achieve the same results. Thanks to MonicaA I have a link to share with everyone that will lead you through the embossing technique. You can find it HERE at the Lasting Impressions Website. I also found a great tutorial at SCS. You can see it HERE

I hope you found this useful. Unfortunately I don't have an example to show you. However, take a look at the GALLERY I showed you above and I am sure you will get great ideas. Remember those images are © also so NO duplicating!