"Wish Big" Birthday Ensemble

My baby sister just turned 21, and I'm so excited to show you the card and present I made for her.  I think this is my favorite card I've made to date!  I actually finished it a few weeks ago and I've just been enjoying looking at it on my shelf ever since...  I love the colors and the happy energy of it -- it totally matches my sister's personality.

 

I used kraft paper (surprise, surprise) as the base and embossed it with my Cuttlebug.  I cut a 4 1/2" wide scalloped circle and layered it with a plain circle and the "happy birthday" paper strip along the bottom.  The cake is made by cutting rectangles in various sizes with scallop borders cut to size (I set all that up in my Gypsy), then rounding the top corners and stacking, using foam adhesive to make it 3d.  I added a paper medallion -- don't you think the stripey paper makes it SO fun?!  The "wish BIG" stamp is from Stampin Up, and I added a touch of color with watercolor pencils.

For the banner at the top, I just used my hot glue gun to attach this mini-pompom trim.  I had a tiny strip of this yellow-with-black-dots paper leftover (it was the back side to one of the other papers), so I turned that into an extra layer for the banner just by snipping pieces off and then snipping tiny triangles out of each one.

I took an extra minute to add some of the same trim to the gift bag, plus I found a strip of a very similar paper (from a totally different paper line and manufacturer) in my scrap drawer, so I turned that into a little fringe.  So cute!

Materials: Patterned Paper -- Scribble Scrabble; Stamp -- Stampin' Up; Embossing -- Provo Craft Cuttlebug "Happy Birthday" folder; Die Cuts -- Cricut "George" (rectangles), "Plantin Schoolbook" (scalloped border on cake), and Mini-Monograms (scalloped circle, plain circle) cartridges.

Now on to the present. I saw a tutorial on how to make an infinity scarf out of an old t-shirt on our local lifestyle show Studio 5 and knew that was just Ange's style. It was very easy and quick to make. It actually took longer to make that flower clip than it did to make the scarf! I put the flower on a clip instead of sewing it on to make both pieces more versatile. It was also very inexpensive, since I just used t-shirts from my "I like these colors but not these shirts" stash. Isn't my sister gorgeous?!

Happy birthday, frister!

A different take... (Two mini-albums!)

I have two fun projects to share with today using the Cricut Spring Cards cartridge, courtesy of ScrapbookPal.com!  I had a lot of fun making Valentine's cards and goodies with the cartridge, but I couldn't wait to use it for the great frame and envelope shapes!  I had two ideas for projects, so I decided I'd better just do them both.  :)

My first project was a mini-album made with envelopes.  I have a growing stack of little notes from my wonderful hubby and I've never been sure what to do with them.  An envelope album is the perfect solution!  I cut 6 envelopes, using my Gypsy to make them as large as possible on a 12x12 page.  Each envelope is about 5 1/2" wide and 7" long, which makes it perfect for small notes, cards, and 4x6 pictures.

I used my glue gun to put the envelopes together so they'd be nice and sturdy.  I used Basic Grey magnetic snaps to create closures for each envelope.  I added my favorite picture of the two of us to the front envelope along with some rolled roses and a label from the Home Decor cartridge.  For "love notes," I used my white GellyRoll pen -- I'm really impressed with how this is holding up over time!  I punched holes in the corners of the envelopes and used binder rings to bind them together.

The pleated border along the left-hand edge is my favorite touch.  I simply cut a 1" wide strip of paper, then punched a scalloped border.  I pleated it all higgledy-piggedly, then inked all the edges to make them stand out.  A strip of velvet ribbon was a perfect finishing touch.

This kind of thing is a great project for that collection of paper that you've been hanging on to for years because you're not willing to part with it.  I've had these papers in my stash forever but I loved it too much to turn it into cards to give away.  Random readers may think I'm crazy, but I know you papercrafters know exactly what I mean and could immediately point to the same thing in your own stash!

Materials:  Die Cuts -- Cricut Spring Cards and Home Decor cartridges; Patterned Paper -- Crate Paper "Prudence" collection; Large rhinestone brad -- Karen Foster Designs; Small rhinestones -- Imaginisce iRock; Velvet Ribbon -- We R Memory Keepers

 My second project is a gift for my Dad's birthday!  I thought the card background shapes on the Spring Cards cartridge would also work great as photo frames, so I made a cute little flip album of my dad and all his grandkids to take to the office.  I started with this simple standing frame from IKEA, then sized the shapes on my Gypsy to the maximum width for the frame.  In retrospect, I wish I had stretched them a little taller as well.

I cut a few pages worth of frames (enough for the pictures I had and some blank ones to add more pictures in the future) and inked all the edges.  I trimmed the pictures to fit and then just slipped them into the slots already cut into the shape.  I also cut out and decorated a frame for the cover of the album, using my white UniBall Signo pen for the detail on the heart and the letters in "little."  I punched holes in all the pages and used binder rings to attach them to the frame.  I used hemp twine and a few other bits and bobs to decorate the frame to match the album.

Materials:  Die Cuts -- Cricut Spring Cards, Lyrical Letters ("bapa's buddies"), and George (heart) cartridges; Frame -- IKEA; Binder rings --  7 Gypsies; Patterned paper -- Chatterbox; Acrylic letter and chipboard heart -- Heidi Swapp; Ric-rac -- Fancy Pants

Quick and Easy (but fabulous!) Valentines -- ScrapbookPal.com

It's a new month and a new set of projects for ScrapbookPal.com!  This month they sent me the Cricut Spring Holiday Cards cartridge and the awesome white Signo Uni-Ball Impact Gel Pen. Now, I would never have given this little seasonal cartridge a second look -- I normally gravitate to the cartridges that have a little more "meat" to them -- but it has some adorable artwork!  Even more exciting to me, it has great frames, boxes, and envelopes.  Just look at these:

Pictures from www.cricut.com

Aren't those great?  I can't wait to make more fun things with them.  For this little Valentine's candy box, I just used my Gypsy and selected both the box and the front that I wanted.  I enlarged the box to as big as would fit on a 12x12 page.  Because I had them both selected, it automatically sized the little card for the front just right.  I also cut a plain white cardstock piece to go behind the "You are Foxy" card so that it would stand out a little better.

The whole thing took me about 5 minutes, tops.  The box came together in a snap (I used hot glue to keep it together) and then I just slipped the front card right into those pre-cut slits.  I'm envisioning super cute class valentines, just cut in a smaller size and then filled with some little treat.

But of course I couldn't just leave it so plain-Jane.  I mean, it was really cute, but the fabulous white pen from ScrapbookPal.com was feeling left out.  So I used it to doodle all over that front card, giving it more fun and personality.  I also outlined just a few of the hearts on the box, just to tie them in with the doodling on the card.  That added just a couple of minutes to the project, but I love the difference it makes!

Chances are you're already well acquainted with the Signo Uni-Ball Impact Gel Pen, but if you aren't, let me tell you -- it is quite possibly the best white pen on planet Earth. (I'm willing to allow that aliens with more advance technology may have come up with something better, but I also may or may not have a theory that that is where mine keep disappearing too...)  It writes so smoothly and has such a nice bright white color.  One word of warning with these, though -- you definitely want to store them laying sideways (rather than vertically) because the tips will get clogged if you don't.  And then you'll want to cry.  ScrapbookPal.com has a great price on these right now, too, so it's a good time to stock up!

So give this one a second look -- there is a lot more to it than just its seasonal use.  You'll be seeing a lot of projects using these labels, boxes and frames from me in the future!

Other materials -- patterned paper by Imaginisce

Thanks to you...

This is just a quick little post to let you know that I won the t-shirt design contest!  Many thanks to those who took the time to vote -- I really appreciate you!  Here's the design that won (and I was totally glad because this is my fave!):




Can't wait to see this on everyone's t-shirts at the Expo!

Thanks again!