Saturday, March 29, 2014

School Memories






My niece will be starting kindergarten in the fall and I want to capture some memories about her elementary years as a gift for my sister.  This is the first mini album that I have designed.  All my other albums have been made following instructions and plans created by others.  I did use some of what I learned in those other albums and incorporated them in this one.  It was really fun to use my imagination and create something new!  Very rewarding feeling to finish it!!

I had originally planned to use my Cinch to bind the album but it turned out to be way too thick - 4" total.  So I changed my plan and created a binding big enough using the Hidden Hinge Binding System created by Kathy Orta (you've got to check her out - she's a genius!).  I ended up having to make one strip of page flanges from an 8.5X11 sheet of card stock and then use about 1/2 of another sheet to make more and then glue them together.  I made my pages 1/8" apart and my flanges are all 3/8" tall.  You can get 9 pages from one 8.5X11 sheet but I have 14 pages altogether.  I wasn't sure it was going to work but in the end I'm happy with the result.  The book did turn out larger than I ever thought it would but I don't think it looks too horribly strange.

My covers and spine are made from heavy chipboard covered with Core'dinations card stock and then decorated with paper from the School Days collection from The Paper Studio (I used this same paper collection throughout the entire album).  I cut out Sydney's name with my Cricut using the font from Paper Lace.  I really like that font and it lends itself very well to using the weld feature.  The pencil is actually cut from the cover of the paper collection.  I don't think the pictures show it very well but the pencil is glittered as are several of the other papers from the collection.  I used some American Crafts washi tape in a really cool plaid (reminds me of school uniforms) on the spine to give the bendable parts more strength.  I also added some ribbon from my stash to keep it closed.


The album contains two pages (front and back) for each grade - kindergarten through sixth.  The first page of each grade is the same except for the grade I stamped in the corner so I didn't take pictures of all of the first pages.  All the stamps I used in this album are from a really neat 7 Gypsies set.  I picked it up at my local LSS on clearance several months ago but really had no idea what I was going to use it for.  I did alter the stamp a bit by cutting off a section where you filled in the name of the child.  I thought it was sort of silly to have that on there when the album itself has her name on it!  The grade page is a bit smaller than the second page. I wanted to create a little bit of interest and make it obvious that the two pages went together.

I made some tags and journaling cards for each grade that I slipped into pockets I created from coordinating paper.  The journaling cards were stamped from the 7 Gypsies set and I matted them all on black card stock.  On one side you can fill in the information and then the other side is available as a photo mat.

One of the papers in the collection was a collage of all sorts of school related sayings and pictures.  I cut one of each out and then backed them with black card stock to make them a little more stable.  I used many of those to create little slider pockets for tags or pictures.  You can see those on the back of the smaller grade page with a tag sticking out.  I used some Paper Studio twine to add a little decorative touch to the tags.  I figure the tags can be used for either pictures or journaling.

I also created two large photo/journaling tags for each grade and those slip into pockets I created at the top of each page.  I used my circle punches to create little tabs that stick out the top.  I used the same paper on the tags as I did on the main pocket for each section.







Here are all the pages so you can see the different paper combinations I used (kindergarten is shown above as the sample).  I didn't use any of the papers for more than one grade and I kept the same color mixes the same within each grade.  I really liked this paper collection because they all coordinated with black which made creating mats very easy!

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Sixth Grade
Inside Front Cover

Inside Back Cover

I plan to fill the album full of things Sydney tells me about school.  Unfortunately we live about 900 miles apart so I don't get to see her very much.  I'm hoping that as she gets older her shyness on Skype will lessen.  Although she does look really cute when she tucks her head and shrugs her shoulders when I ask her questions.  I sure hope she and my sister like the little album when it's all finished!

Dimensions:

Overall album size - 7" tall x 5.75" across x 4.25" wide
Pages - 6"x4" and 6"x5.5"
Large tags - 3.25"x5.5"
Small tags - cut from Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More Cricut cartridge at 3"
Journaling cards - 3.5"x 3.75" and 3" x 3.5"

Constructed with Scor-tape (lots and lots of Scor-tape), ATG, Aleene's Quick Dry Glue, and Zig Two-Way adhesive.  This thing was an adhesive monster!  I probably used about $10 worth of adhesive on it!!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Take Time To Laugh


For these cards I used MojoMonday Sketch #326.  Of course, I tweaked it a bit - I really can't leave anything alone.  I used some old Paper Studio paper I had in my stash along with some kraft card stock.  I inked all the edges in Tim Holtz Vintage Photo and stamped the sentiment in Momento Tuxedo Black.  The sentiment is from the Fiskars Laugh With Me set.  The ribbon is from American Crafts and I adhered it with Scor-tape to be sure it doesn't move.

I was actually able to make six cards but only had four sentiments stamped out.  I saw an idea recently to leave the sentiments off until you know what you are going to need.  I really like that idea and want to start building up a supply of these "almost done" sort of cards.  It would be so easy just to pick one out and then grab whatever sentiment you needed at the time.

I also think this design would be great to make a collection pack of cards or even monogram notecard sets.  I think I see some ideas for my Etsy shop!  Someday maybe I'll really have enough stuff built up to actually open that shop I've put together!!  I just keep sending them all off to OWH or giving them to friends and family.  Anyone else have that problem?

Monday, March 24, 2014

More Masculine Birthday Cards



I used an old One Sheet Wonder sketch from Susan Roberts for these cards.  I changed it up just a little bit by trimming the corner diagonal pieces about 1/8" so they would standout a little bit from the corresponding paper layered underneath.


I made four cards from one 6X6 piece of paper from the Authentique Essentials Collection.  My solid papers were all Core'dinations card stock and I used a Darice Stripes embossing folder on the base layer (rubbed with ink to give it more dimension).  I used my Cricut Craft Room Essentials to cut out the scallop circle (2.25") in brown and the sentiment circle (2") in cream.  The sentiment stamp is from the My Favorite Things Howdy set and the squiggles along the left edge were stamped directly on the card base using the Fiskar's Happy Birthday set.  I used Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink for all the inking.

Three cards are going to Operation Write Home.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Happy Birthday Box Card

My nephew's birthday is coming up and I made him a box card.    I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog so I'm safe in posting this before his birthday.  I was inspired by Jessica Wilson at CraftinandStampin to make this card and used the measurements provided by French Martin to make my own base since I am using an Expression 2 and can't use the SVG that Jessica had.  I had already decided to use balloons in mine after seeing Jessica's video so I was really surprised that Frenchie's video was made with balloons!  She saved me a lot of time in figuring out how to make the balloons look like they were floating.

It was lots of fun to make and I hope he likes it!  Being a young boy I think the gift card will probably make a bigger splash with him but I'm sure my sister will think the card is awesome.  I had lots of fun making it.

You can check out Jessica and French's videos linked above for detailed instructions on putting the box together but here are my basic measurements and materials used.

Box card stock - basic white card stock cut at 9" x 5 1/2" - score on long side at 2 1/8", 4 1/4", 6 3/8", and 8 1/2".  Then you turn the card to the short side and score at 2 3/4".  You will want to refer to one of the videos above for the cutting instructions - it's not hard but I think it's easier to understand by seeing it.

All my solid card stock is Core'dinations and the patterned paper all comes from an American Crafts Hip Hip Hooray pad I picked up at Tuesday Morning.  The stamps were all from the Fiskars Happy Birthday set.  All the die cuts (except for the circle punches) were from my Create-a-Critter Cricut cartridge.  I cut the party hat and pinwheel at 2.5" and the balloons at 1".  I used some scrap plastic that came off one of my stamp sets to adhere the balloons to the box.  The circle punches are some basic Fiskars punches.  The celebrate banner was hand cut.

I used a lot of different inks to get the look I was going for.  The base of the box is actually white card stock that I inked all over with some Stampabilities Yellow Pigment Ink.  I really wanted a light yellow for the box but I just didn't have the right color in my stash.  For the other stamping I used Momento Dew Drop in Bamboo Leaves, Danube Blue, Grape Jelly, and Tangelo.  The red ink is Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Barn Door.  I added some Diamond Stickles to the center of the pinwheel, the top of the party hat, and in the center of the birthday medallion.  It was still wet when I was taking pictures so I couldn't show you that it folds up all nice and flat so it will fit perfectly in an A2 sized envelope.

I used glue dots to hold my balloons together, pop dots on all the die cut elements, Aleene's Quick Dry for the box construction, and ATG to adhere all the pattern papers.  I'm a little concerned that I might have added so much dimension that it will cost a little extra postage.  I'm mailing it tomorrow so I'll make sure and check it out with the mail clerk.

Springy One Sheet Wonder Cards

I just did a whole bunch of spring themed OSW cards based on an idea from Jessica at Craftin' and Stampin' which she based on a tutorial from Inkin' It Up With Jessica - two Jessicas, isn't that confusing! *smile*  I took the basic cuts and modified them a little to fit on A2 cards instead of the larger cards they were originally designed for.

I cut my double sided 12 X 12 paper from a We R Memory Keepers Simply Spring Kit according to the layout but when I started laying it down I trimmed where necessary to make it fit the A2 cards.  I also added a few more layers to give the cards some extra personality.

I ended up with enough pieces to make 16 cards but if I shared all of them with you I think you'd get really bored.  So...here are some of my favorites:


For this card I took one of the solid card stock cuts from Jessica's tutorial and used my Fiskars Daisy edge punch and then backed it with some of the same gray card stock I used for the mat on the sentiment.  The sentiment is a clear stamp from Stampabilities that I picked up at Hobby Lobby just a couple months ago and I stamped it with Momento Dew Drop London Fog ink.  I've been itching to use this stamp and I think it works great with this springy paper!  I did have to cut the sentiment base larger than called for in Jessica's tutorial to fit this particular sentiment.


For this one I added some of the sticker embellishments that came in the Simply Spring kit at the top and the bottom.  The sentiment is from the Fiskars Sweetheart Set.  I inked it also in London Fog and added some Diamond Stickles to the hearts for a little extra dimension.


I think this one turned out so cute.  I love that little dog.  I was tempted to add some Copic coloring to him but in the end I'm glad I left him alone.  This was also inked with London Fog and I added a little drop of Diamond Stickles to the heart above the hello sentiment.  The sentiment is from the Fiskars Sweetheart Set and the dog is from the We R Memory Keepers Furever Friends set.


I think this one turned out cute.  I toyed with fussy cutting out the tag (from the Fiskars Terrific Tags set) and then layering it on the card stock base but in the end I think it works just leaving it stamped directly on the base.  I colored the little daisies with a touch of Copic YG00 and then put a small dot of Diamond Stickles in the middle of each flower.  The brad is one I had in my stash from an unknown makers but it's really small and flat so mailing shouldn't be an issue with this card.


The sentiment on this one is from the Fiskars Laugh With Me set.  I stamped this one with London Fog and added Diamond Stickles to the music notes.  It's really sparkly but unfortunately I just couldn't capture that with the camera.


This card is using the same Laugh With Me set and I also added a sticker from the Simply Spring kit. My husband pushed me outside my comfort zone on this one and urged me to place the butterfly off center.  I'm still not 100% positive about it but I'm growing to like it more.

And finally, my absolute favorite of the bunch and one I am going to make more of:


I love, love, love how this one turned out!  It all started with the stamp set on this one.  I've had this Dimensions Clear on Clear Thoughts of Fancy set for probably over 10 years.  It was one of the first sets I bought when I started stamping.  I stamped it in London Fog and then colored the dress with Copic E01.  I really love how the Copic color is really close to the pattern paper color.  I don't have a lot of Copics so matching things is not the easiest for me.  Once I had the dress and sentiment done and layered on top of the pattern paper I realized it was missing something.  I didn't have any paper in my stash that looked quite right so I found this flower border stamp in my stash by Anna Griffin from her Modern Graphics set and stamped several rows of the flowers creating a background directly on the card base.  

Unfortunately her Angel Policy does not allow sales of items created with her products to be sold on the Internet so I will be shopping for a different stamp to create the background for future reproductions of this card.  I try not to use anything that I can't eventually sell on Etsy.  That's too bad because this set has quite a few really nice images in it.  I think it would also be nice if I took a gray white-core card stock and embossed it with a polka dot folder and then sanded it to expose the white core.  I think I'll go try that now!  Isn't it great when you come up with solutions using things you already have?!?



Saturday, March 22, 2014

Easter Baskets

My belly dance troupe does a lot of performances for nursing homes and we always take a little something to give to the residents.  We are dancing at a local home at the end of the month so we decided to give them a little Easter basket with candy in it.  I've made 52 of them!!  Here are a couple of my favorites.


They don't have their candy in them yet because I can't be trusted with Easter candy in the house.  Those little chocolate eggs call my name and I answer!  Anyone else have that problem?

I used my envelope punch board to make these and started off with the basic tutorial from Diane Dimich.  Check out her video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXn077wPKDw.  She does the best tutorials so I would suggest looking at some of her other videos as well.

I needed to produce a smaller basket so I cut my paper down to 6" x 6" (you can get four baskets out of one sheet of scrapbook paper or you can use paper from a 6X6 pad and you are all ready to go!).  I did all of my punching and scoring at 1 1/2".  That also means that when you flip the paper over to make the additional punches necessary that you don't have to score again.  That was a nice little surprise!

I used paper from an old DCWV Super Value Stack called Summer Dreams.  I have no idea if you can get it anymore but if you can, I would recommend picking up a stack.  There are 180 sheets and I've gotten tons of use out of it.  I have about 30 or so sheets left.  I cut my handles at 1" wide by 6" long and used some Aleene's Quick Dry Glue to put them all together.  I think they turned out really cute and were really easy to construct.  I don't think I've used my envelope punch board to actually make envelopes yet!  I'm very impressed at all the things you can do with it besides make envelopes.  I picked mine up at Hobby Lobby with a coupon so it was probably less than $10.  I think I got my money's worth on this tool!

Friday, March 21, 2014

Belly Dance Batik Practice Skirt

I made this practice skirt for belly dancing recently and it's working out quite well!  I do Egyptian Style so we usually wear chiffon costumes which sound very light and airy but really are quite hot and uncomfortable - polyester...ick!  So...I try to wear cotton for practice but I also like to have the feel the fabric wrapping around my legs so I can adjust my dancing - definitely don't want to get caught up in my own skirts and then face plant it!! *smile*

I used Simplicity 2941 for this skirt using view B.  I really like the pattern and want to make the other views as well.  I love the way the batik fabrics worked up and it drapes really well.  I used a rolled hem on my serger for a little extra detail and I might add some nice metallic trim just above the first batik ruffle.  It's really full so I'll definitely have to find some trim on sale and make sure they have enough of it.  I left off the trim at the waist shown in the pattern because we wear layers of coin belts so it wouldn't be seen anyway.












I had a photography helper today - Peanut says HI!  Man...that dog needs a haircut!  And someone needs to sweep the foyer!  Peanut you need to grow some thumbs so you can take care of that chore!!


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Birthday and Hello Cards


I made some feminine cards with that same OSW recipe I used the other day when I made the masculine birthday cards.  I made this card especially for my husband's cousin - we love her bunches!!  She has a birthday today and we wanted to let her know we were thinking about her more than just posting a happy birthday message on her FaceBook page.
 
Outside



Inside





















The sentiments are from the Fiskars Happy Birthday set.  The flowers and the tag border came from the Fiskars Terrific Tags set.  I used Momento Dew Drop inks in Tangelo and Bamboo Leaves for the stamping and some Diamond Stickles in the centers of the flowers to give them some sparkle.

The paper is from the We R Memory Keepers Simply Spring 6 x 6 pad.  I love this pad and wish I would have bought all they had when I found them at Tuesday Morning.  I also got the larger 12 X 12 boxed set that I plan to use soon on a mini album.  If you see either of these sets at your Tuesday Morning I highly recommend them.  The paper is really high quality and coordinates well.  The background paper is some solid card stock from Core'dinations that I embossed with a Darice Large Petal embossing folder.  I used some American Crafts twine on the tag that I cut out with my Cricut using the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge.

*********************************************************************************

I also used the rest of the OSW cuts to make some additional Hello cards for OWH.  



For these cards I  used all the same paper lines but changed up the sentiment.  I got this sentiment as a free digi from TLC Creations.  She has the cutest sentiments!!  You can see this one at:  http://createwithtlc-createwithtlc.blogspot.com/2014/03/sunday-freebie_9.html

I cut the sentiment paper at 1.5" x 2" and then rounded two corners on the one design and all four corners on the other design.  I used Momento Dew Drop Ink in Tangelo to ink the edges.





I ended up being able to make seven Hello cards and the one birthday card for our special cousin out of just two sheets of patterned 6 X 6 paper!!  These OSW layouts are the best!!

Here's the link to the OSW layout I used for this set of cards:  http://poeticartistry.blogspot.com/2008/09/6-x-6-one-sheet-wonder-challenge.html

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Much Obliged

Here are some thank you cards I was able to get done for the Western theme at OWH.

The pattern paper is from the Glasses, Staches, and Ties paper pack by The Paper Studio and the solid card stock is all Core'dinations.  I cut the circles for the horse stamp on my Cricut using the Craft Room Essentials free program.  I cut the main circle at 2" and the scalloped circle at 2 1/4".  The sentiment is cut at 1 1/2" x 1" and is matted with a piece cut at 1 3/4" x 1 1/4".  I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo for all the edge inking and stamping.  The stamps are all from the My Favorite Things Howdy set.  I am loving this set and the stamps themselves are the clearest stamping ones I've ever used.  I will definitely be searching out more from My Favorite Things.



My box is now complete with 163 cards + 20 AnyHero cards!!  Woohoo!!  My husband asked me how long it took me to finish this box so I had to go back and look at my first blog entry where I talked about OWH.  It has taken me four months to build up this many cards.  I feel pretty good about it because I also had Christmas and the big order I do in January for the restaurant I sew for.  I also made cards for our friends and family during that time as well as cards for our Compassion International girls.  I've been busy but loving every minute of it!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Howdy!

I love my Cricut Create a Critter cartridges but they can look a little plain for all the work that goes into them so I was searching the internet for an idea to jazz up the horse from the original Create a Critter cartridge and I came across Candace at Scrappin 3 Little Princesses.  She did the coolest thing with the horse and what's really funny and quite coinkydinky is that when I cut out the horses I also cut out some horseshoes to use on other cards but she used one of them on her horse card and I think it's so cute so I scrap lifted the idea.  I hope she doesn't mind!

These cards are my standard A2 and are going to OWH for the call they put out for Western related cards.  I used Core'dinations solid card stock for the horse and a piece of patterned paper from DCWV Boyhood Stack for the bandana with some embellishing done with a Gelly Roll pen.

That coinkydinky horseshoe is cut out from some random paper I got in a grab bag of paper from my LSS years ago.  It has a linen type of texture to it and it's this strange light blue tinted color.  I rubbed some Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink on it and a little bit on the horse as well to give them both a little dimension.  I also took a cue from Candace and added some highlights to the horse with my Gelly Roll pen.  I really like the way the extra little time it takes to do that makes the Cricut cut so much better!  My husband even got in on the act and created the paint horse on the picture.  I think it's my favorite one and will be the one I keep for my collection.

I didn't have any paper in my stock that really worked for me so I tried to create a tooled leather look with some Core'dinations brown card stock that I embossed using a Darice Damaske Background embossing folder.  Then I worked on adding some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Barn Door rubbed over the image.  I first tried using a make-up sponge to put it on the paper but it wasn't working so I just started rubbing the actual ink pad on the paper lightly and it worked great!  I really like the look it gives.  Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture that really showed how nice it turned out.

It felt like it was missing something so I added three small square brads that I had in my stash (the special one my husband helped with got hearts) - not sure where they came from but they are really flat so they should pass the dimension rules for OWH.  The sentiment is stamped with the same Vintage Photo ink using my new My Favorite Things Howdy stamp set that I got from OWH's recent fundraising effort.  I was thrilled that I got it in time to make these cards for the Western card drive.  These cards are due by March 20th so my box will be going out this weekend.

Sentiment paper size - 1 3/4" X 7/8"
Horse Cut - 2.5"
Horseshoe Cut - 2.5" (set to real dial size on that one)
Background paper - 4" X 5 1/4"

Here's a link to Candace's card:  http://scrappin2littleprincesses.blogspot.com/2011/08/horsie-hello.html - you should really check out all her creations.  She is very talented!!

Monday, March 10, 2014

One (well...maybe two) Sheet Wonder Masculine Birthday Cards

I ran across something fun on Pinterest the other day and wanted to try it out.  I've seen one sheet wonder cards made with 12X12 sheets but when I saw the one for a 6X6 I had to try it!  I prefer making cards from the smaller pads because the prints tend to be scaled down and I think they just work better for the small A2 cards I tend to make.

I used the diagram and sketches that Julee Tillman has on her blog (http://poeticartistry.blogspot.com/2008/09/6-x-6-one-sheet-wonder-challenge.html) but I messed up my cutting somehow and ended up with something just a little different.  I love her design though so I'm going to try it again.

I used two coordinating sheets of 6X6 paper from the We R Memory Keepers For the Record pad but you could use a double sided paper and then it would truly be a one sheet wonder.  I picked this pad up at Tuesday Morning a few weeks ago for an astounding $1.99!!  If you haven't checked out the craft supplies at Tuesday Morning, it's definitely worth the trip!

I used Core'dinations solid card stock for the base papers and ran the mustard color through a woodgrain embossing folder made by Darice.  I used Crushed Olive and Vintage Photo inks by Tim Holtz to give everything a little bit of a vintagey  and more masculine feel.  I used a Fiskars Happy Birthday sentiment stamped onto a scalloped circle I punched with a Fiskars 2" punch.

I ended up making 8 cards with no waste from my pattern papers at all!  I have a hard time throwing away scraps so using this technique will definitely help me wrangle all those scraps.

These cards are going into my Operation Write Home box that is just about full!

King Cake

Last year I got the baby in our office King Cake so I had to bring one this year on Fat Tuesday.  Previous year's cakes have been dry and fairly tasteless so I vowed to bring one that was better - not too hard when your local grocery store was the place where the previous ones were procured.  I searched on Pinterest for information and saw people making them from all sorts of base ingredients. I toyed with using The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll recipe to make one but in the end decided on a very simple one that uses refrigerated crescent rolls as the dough.

Here's the basic recipe I used - pieced together from other recipes:

1 block cream cheese - softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla - I use a really potent Mexican Vanilla that we bought on vacation so you might want to use a little bit more if you are using domestic vanilla.
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls

Mix first four ingredients together completely - I added the nuts after the first three were mixed well so I didn't completely destroy the pecans.  Then take your crescent rolls and lay them out in a ring with the pointy ends facing out. (Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the process but here's a link to a picture on the web that I found so you know what it's supposed to look like:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRJAu7PmeTu1qQEUiIAkpATW9-xgx7bleYwNRsRXjK9o0L18ZoEHwiZOh7sIZXWiFsQUmEPpoOYwhg7uhEdqM26ZggsMX1S-hqDaCanBnBPUZH3ZplUIhDPqGwYlcUwwRuP1QZzw1xRaU/s1600-h/2009-10October+010.JPG)  Then place your filling in a circle inside the ring and fold the crescent rolls around the filling.  Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

Once the cake is completely cool you will want to glaze the cake and then sprinkle it with colored sugar.  I just used a simple glaze of powdered sugar with about 1/3 cup of milk - just add milk to your powdered sugar until you get a mixture that is the consistency you like.  I like my glaze to be a little thicker so it doesn't just fall off.  The traditional colors are green, yellow, and purple.  I used just plain ole granulated sugar since that's all I had on hand and added a little bit of food coloring.  The green and yellow were easy-peasy but the purple was really difficult and I never did get the color I was hoping for.  You can also purchase pre-made sugars that would probably look better but I didn't plan that far ahead - I know, I know I had a year's notice of needing to bring the cake but somehow that just wasn't enough time for me!

Everyone loved the cake but in the end I think PW's cinnamon roll recipe would have tasted loads better!  Here's that recipe in case you don't already have it:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/  If you've never made them, go make them now!  I'm convinced that this recipe is the reason all my neighbors stay home on Christmas so they don't miss my delivery!  I think this cake would have worked by cutting PW's recipe by 75% and then instead of cutting the cinnamon rolls just forming the tube into a circle, letting it rise, and then baking it on a pizza stone.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Masculine Birthday Cards

Operation Write Home is always in need of masculine cards so I took the design I used yesterday and created some masculine birthday cards to include in my box.


I used the same measurements as the card I made yesterday.  I used the DCWV Boyhood Stack for the pattern papers and the solid card stock came from Core'dinations.  I used a couple of Darice embossing folders - Steampunk and Stars - to give the backgrounds some interest.  The inks I used were Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Faded Jeans and Momento Dew Drop in Rhubarb Stalk.  The sentiment stamp is from the Fiskars Cheerful Greetings collection.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Country Birthday Card

One of my best friends is having a birthday next week and I wanted to make her a birthday card with a country feel.  I picked up a 6x6 pad called Farmhouse made by Crate Paper a few weeks ago - I think at Joann.  The papers in there were perfect!  I found inspiration for the design on Pinterest but unfortunately the link back to the original work is broken - don't you hate it when that happens?


Additional supplies:
Paper Studio Twine
Core'dinations Solid Cardstock
Darice Woodgrain Embossing Folder
Fiskars Sincere Salutations for the Butterfly and the Smile sentiment
eBarr Designs Sentiment for the inside
Inks used for distressing - Momento Dew Drop in London Fog and Tangelo
Stamping Ink - Momento Tuxedo Black
Copics used for coloring the butterfly - BG07, BG13, and YG06

I cut the simple tag using Cricut Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More - cut at 2" height.  I set my machine to fill an 8.5 X 11 piece of card stock and I got 30 tags with very little waste!

The card is a standard A2 size and I cut the orange layer at 5.25 x 4, the cream layer at 4.75 x 2.75, and each of the pennants was cut at 2.5 x 1 and I hand cut the chomps on the ends.

The inside papers were cut at 5.25 x 4 for the pattern paper and 5 x 3.75 for the cream layer.

I think I'll be using this design a few more times for some OWH cards soon.  I need to get my box finished up and sent out.  I think a few birthday cards will do it.  Unfortunately my hubby is not feeling well so I don't expect we will be going anywhere this weekend so I'll make good use of that time.

Our Daily Bread Designs Challenge for Operation Write Home

I've been reading about card challenges for quite a while now and decided I would finally enter one.  Our Daily Bread Designs sponsors a challenge for Operation Write Home on a monthly basis.  For every 25 entries they sponsor the postage for one box of cards.  I don't have any ODBD stamps but I have a few on my wish list!!  The theme this month is to make a Thank You card.  I just finished a bunch for my Anyhero cards so I took a close up picture of the card itself for this challenge.



For detailed information on how I made this card you can click here:  http://gabbysews.blogspot.com/2014/02/anyhero-and-thank-you-file-folder-cards.html

For information on joining in on the challenge you can click here:
http://operationwritehome.org/odbd-march-challenge/

To shop at Our Daily Bread Designs you can click here:
http://www.ourdailybreaddesigns.com