The Dog Ate My Rabbits!

That's right. That's really what happened! Here's the culprit--
I sat and punched out circles and ovals, little circles, more ovals, and had assembled several punch-art rabbits (see last post). I left them on the coffee table and when I returned the next morning they were ALL GONE! Every last shred of paper, glue, pop up dots....gone. Does he have a bone to chew on??? Yeeees, but he prefers paper! He's a dachsund for cryin' out loud, and he still managed to check out the top of the coffee table and pick up every last one of my rabbits and eat them. So that's why this post is late. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to give excuses, but the truth is, I was a little disheartened to lose all my work, and just didn't even feel like stamping or taking pictures of this basket for my club members who chose the 3-D project.

So finally, here it is: 1. the first picture shows what your envelope would look like if you folded it into an envelope. These were cut using the Big Shot and the Scallop Envelope die (catalog pg 198, $21.95). You need 4 envelopes for a 4-sided basket.















But since we are going to make a basket, fold the three flaps backwards, like in this photo.














2. Adhere the side flaps together with the other envelopes. I used snail adhesive, but if you want your box to be sturdier, you could use sticky strip.














Adhere all four together, then adhere the last flaps to make a square box.
3. Turn it over and fold in the bottom flaps and glue together to make the bottom.



























4. Punch a small hole in the side of the box, in the area covered by the decorative flap on the outside. Punch another hole on the opposite side. If you are confused, keep reading through step 5.
Make a handle, punch a hole in each end and adhere to the basket with a brad.














Notice that I put the "head" of the brad on the inside of the basket and the "feet" of the brad on the outside. The feet are going to be covered when you put a little bit of adhesive on the
underside of the flap and glue it to the side of the basket:














And then the fun part--decorate your basket any way you like and fill it with fun!

Desk Set, continued

I made this cute set of drawers and 2 magazine holders after seeing the neat set that Becky did over at Inking Idaho. You can purchase her directions, complete with photos, for a very reasonable price! All of her tutorials are down the right side of her blog. She is definitely more talented than I in using technology! Since I have the Big Shot, I decided to use the matchbox die to make my drawers, which made mine smaller than hers. This is my first attempt, and as you can see, I need to get my drawers a little more squared up before attaching them together. Again, I used the Washington Apple designer paper and accessories in the coordinating colors--pumpkin pie, bashful blue, so saffron and riding hood red. Although I did sneak a few real red items in there, too! I used the flower assortment brads (p 179, $6.95) for the drawer pulls. These magazine holders are so easy to make. I decorated them with the flower from Looks Like Spring that I "rock and rolled" in so saffron and pumpkin pie. Also added a few prima flowers and half pearl centers from the Pretties Kit. I also covered some large binder clips with paper and then made them into stands for inspirational quotes or Bible verses. Since the handles of the clips are not spring-loaded, I cheated and used a little poster putty on the back to hold the card in. So that's it for the new desk set! Hope you enjoy looking around Becky's blog, too. She is very talented in her 3-D creations!

Desk Set

My six-week "vacation" is over today and I head back to work! I've been working on several items for my desk, and wanted to share them all together. First, for all the projects I used Washington Apple designer paper from the last catalog, and the coordinating colors of riding hood red, pumpkin pie, bashful blue and so saffron.
So in the first picture, I turned a clear plastic picture frame over, slid in the decorated card stock, where the photo would go) and added some ribbon and the post it notes to the outside. The daisy is from Looks Like Spring, a set that retired "ages" ago!
The next photo shows my covered file folders. Notice I only have a label on one folder so far! I will use these (as opposed to all the ones in my drawers) for the topics that I deal with every week. This was really fun to make! The idea is in the catalog on page 113. Quite a few more sticks came with the bottle and I put flowers on them all. Then when I went to put them in the jar, they didn't fit, so I'll use the extras as decorative picks in my potted plants. I used the daisy die, little leaves and the cherry embosslits for the flowers, along with corduroy and designer buttons. Now I just hope the scent I picked out isn't too overwhelming for my office mate, who is a guy!
While you have your catalogs open, check out pages 116-117 for more office/desk ideas, using the Thoroughly Modern designer paper. I have more to show you, but I'll save it for another day! Hope you all have a great week~

Wow! Time flies....

These little Ghiradelli boxes are so easy to make! I followed Beate's tutorial HERE and used the textured Parisian Breeze cardstock. The scallop piece on the lids is baja breeze and the "love" image is from Dreams du Jour stamp set. I watercolored the flower with baja breeze ink and then put some close to cocoa on the leaves and creamy caramel around the edges. I just used my blender pens and inks. I made one of these boxes for the hostess of a workshop last weekend, and then made 2 more for some friends. Note: If you check out the tutorial, I did one thing differently. Since Beate covered her box with a strip of designer paper, it didn't matter how she put it together. But I used designer paper to start with, so I wanted the front of the box to be without a seam. To do this, change where you put the sticky strip in step 6. Put the tape on the 1x2 flaps on the opposite side of the box lid. Don't flip your cardstock over, lay it just like she has it in the picture. But put the tape on the OTHER 1x2 flaps, not on the ones she shows.
Check out these fruit centerpieces.....
My daughter and I put them together for my son's 18th birthday dinner last night. I borrowed a book from a friend of mine to get the idea, but then ad-libbed with what fruit I could buy. You just use wooden skewers for the fruit, and iceberg lettuce in the container, to hold the skewers. It was fun, and looked great when the table was set. I made 3 so that everyone up and down the table could eat from them. I'll try to be better at posting...!

Sale-a-brate starts today!

If you follow Stampin' Up! promotions, Feb 1st is the start of a 2 month-long promotion where you earn free stamp sets (or paper or ribbon) for every $50 you purchase. Its alot of fun! If you want more details, just leave a message with your email address included, and I'll get back to you. To see the free products that you can choose from, go HERE.

This is a candy cup/Valentine that I am making for the two administrative assistants that I work with. I used the stamps from Love You Much, and attached the stamped images to Wilton candy sticks with Tombow multipurpose adhesive. How simple! The large hearts have smaller punched out hearts on them, and a flower w/brad from the boho blossoms punch. I ordered these clear mugs from Stash Tea, but I'm sure you can find something similar "around". We have a neat little candy store here that sells m&m candies by the individual color, so I chose two pinks and then buried some raspberry truffles within. mmm!After I took these photos, I decided to add some ribbon and a tag (from the Happy Heart Day stamp set) to the handle. It just needed a little something more! I hope they like them~

Rub On Everything

Rub-ons are great! I've been experimenting a little with them and I wanted to share the project below. First, I bought the red pot at Walmart last weekend. They had these beautiful pots in bright red, blue, orange, yellow and green.
I cut out the long swirl from the Sell-a-bration rub ons, Love and Happiness. Since the pot is a cone, and not a straight cylinder, I cut the long swirl in half and put it on in 2 separate pieces in order to get it to lay flat. The slight stickiness of the rub on paper held it to the pot as I worked. I left the paper on it even as I worked on the 2nd piece, to help protect it while I was working. You can see where the paper is whiter than the other part--that is where I have already rubbed. (Just a note about the rub on packages: open them from the bottom! There is a self-adhesive flap at the back of the plastic bag and you just have to open it).And here is the finished project (albeit without the plant!). I am doing 2 of these for friends--a new neighbor and a friend who moved into a new house. I need some ideas of something else to go with the plant. Send me a comment with some suggestions, please! We've actually had a few "warm" days so I feel confident that I can deliver the plant soon without killing it as I walk across the street to my new neighbor!




Next I'll show you a card where I used rub ons on some ribbon....

Great Skiing in the Black Hills

We took our kids skiing for the first time last week, at Terry Peak, South Dakota. They caught on fast and the 2nd day my son and husband tried snowboarding. They liked it so well, my husband said he would choose it over skiing next time. We had beautiful weather and I surprised myself--after 20 years, I could still ski! Isn't this a cute jar? My sister decorated it and sent it to me for Christmas, filled with my favs--dove chocolates and Starbucks coffee! I'm not sure what paper she used, but I recognized the double stitched purely pomegranate ribbon and the scallop punch. What a sweet idea!

Decorative Tins

I picked these tins up earlier this fall--these big ones and a couple smaller, cone-shaped ones too. Then, our SU! demo magazine featured a tin container decorated with designer paper and a garland, and I had to copy the idea and try my own.
I used layers of the wrapping paper from the holiday mini catalog to cover the sides of the tin. This was a little tricky, since a straight strip of paper will not wrap around a round surface, and stay flat. To make a pattern, I started with a straight strip and attached it to the tin with temporary adhesive, down at the bottom, where I could use the metal ridge. I then took a pencil and carefully pushed the paper against that metal ridge. Since the paper was straight, it hung over the bottom; I was then marking on the paper where the ridge turned. When I removed the paper, I cut along the ridge line that I had marked. Then I made sure that my pattern was equal width all the way across. I made a smaller pattern for the stripe, and a larger pattern for the dots. Here are my patterns (see how the paper has an arc to it?)Since these were my patterns, I didn't worry about the stripe going the wrong way (it is vertical on the tins). I attached the paper and grosgrain ribbon band with sticky strip, lining up the edges with the metal seams on the tin. Then I created the garland with the retired snowflake punch. I punched the snowflake shape over the top of the dots on the wrapping paper, punched that out with the 1 1/4" circle punch, then mounted it on alternating colors of cardstock, punched with the 1 3/8" punch. I ran the silver cord through a small hole punched at the top of each snowflake, alternating with beads from the Pretties Kit. To get the beads to stay there, I dabbed on a little clear adhesive: crystal effects. Once it dried, the beads were stuck where I wanted them!
I filled these tins with shredded paper, and then all sorts of goodies from our kitchen--chokecherry syrup, cranberry~pistachio bark, strawberry & rhubarb jam, and antelope jerky (both my kids got antelope this year). I punched out matching tags for all the little packages, and tied them with matching grosgrain ribbon--real red, and old olive. It really made for a stunning presentation with all the matching colors--which is one of the things that I love about SU! products. Hope all of our family members enjoy them!

Wrapping up those gifts

Hi! Just wanted to finish by giving you a close up of the bag and pringles can. Yes, I just covered a pringles can with desginer paper, added the little "charm" on the side (hide where you attach the ribbon hangar behind the paper). The bow is just a piece of designer paper accordian-folded and tied with a piece of ribbon. I attached it to the covered lid with a piece of sticky strip. Then I used my paper cutter to cut the slivers of real red cardstock and ran them through the crimper. Since they are so thin, you can just curl them with your fingers.















For the gift bag, I covered the front with real red cardstock; the top is designer paper. To continue the polka dot theme, I punched out old olive spots with the 1/2 in punch. I designed the little gift card, attached a clear cello bag to the side of the gift bag, and dropped the card in. Some red tissue paper would finish it off!

For all these projects, I used real red, old olive and river rock card stock, dashing and cerise designer papers and real red grosgrain ribbon.

It's St. Nicholas Day

Happy St Nick's Day! Saint Nicholas was a secret gift-giver, way back in history. Now children in countries all over Europe put out a shoe on Dec 5th, and on the morning of the 6th, they find small gifts and candy, left there by St. Nicholas.


Are you wondering what to do with all that beautiful designer paper that you purchased last month? Here are some ideas.....

The stars in the foreground are the same ones on pg 171 of the Fall~Winter catalog. If you want the pattern, just leave a message to this post and I will send it to you! The small one would be perfect to hang on the tree.

It's a Paper Party!

Since there is a special promotion on Stampin' Up! designer papers (click here) I wanted to start this month out with some projects using paper.

It's a good thing that I stamp better than I photograph! I know the big picture of this photo frame is just awful, but I'd already given the gift away before I realized how bad the picture looked. This is a gift for a friend who has her first grandson!

I picked up this frame at Walmart. The mat used to be bright green! After taking the frame apart, it was so easy to cover the mat with paper. The way that the glass fits in this particular one allowed me to tie ribbons and a tag on it, and they don't get smooshed behind the glass. I kept this frame very simple so that the embellishments would not detract from the future photo of the darling baby boy.

I used this light blue paper from a pack that we sold last spring then added the grosgrain, gingham and taffeta ribbon. The word "wonder" came from the Warm Words stamp set--I didn't ink up the end of "wonderful"; then I added a pearl from the Pretties Kit and tied it on with undied bella fibers. (all products (c) Stampin' Up! 1995-2007).





Even though the photo is terrible, at least you get the idea!
















Have a great day!

A Birthday gift for my daughter

We have arrived home from Minneapolis--several days prior to the bridge collapsing! It is hard to believe we were just there, and crossing the Mississippi river numerous times on a different bridge. My prayers are with all those affected--what a traumatic experience.

My daughter's birthday was this past week--13! I wanted to cover one of our new clipboards for her, so I started with the petals and paisley designer paper, and ribbon.
First I sanded the edges just to smooth it out a bit. Next, I applied pretty in pink craft ink around the top clip fixtures. I used a stampin' spot and a Q-tip. I think I will purchase some bottles of craft re-inkers for chipboard purposes. It would be easy to squirt a little out and use a sponge or Q-tip to apply it to the chipboard. Then I cut paper and attached it with snail adhesive. I added ribbon from last year's ribbon originals, plus some grosgrain and some rose red ribbon from Michael's. I painted one of the chipboard flowers with rose red ink, (and added a rich regals button) and covered the other one with papers. This one is not attached (I tucked under one of the clips) so she can move it around. I bought some prima flowers while at Mall of America in Minneapolis, and I couldn't resist using one on the "m" tag. I did not use any modge podge products, but attached everything with snail. My daughter will use it in her bedroom for photos. I really like the way it turned out, and it only took me a few hours one evening to put it all together! I am thinking some of the smaller clipboards would be nice to have on hand, for my daughter to decorate and give away to her friends for birthdays, etc...

And the winner of the drawing is.....

Congratulations to the lucky winner of the survey drawing: Michelle Washburn! Thanks to everyone who filled it out and sent it back to me. Michelle is receiving some ribbon, buttons, a stamp, and a set of notecards in the cute purse "box".


I needed some graduation cards, so I used the Tassel Time, which is retiring. I embossed the greeting in silver, and used silver, black and cranberry crisp cardstock (one of the retiring In Colors) and the coordinating ribbon.

This was such a simple layout that I copied it and made a few more cards....







I used Seeing Spots and the hostess set Riveting, with green galore, tempting turquoise and pumpkin pie cardstock, inks, and grosgrain ribbon. So easy to make this layout "your own" with just a few changes here and there!

Teacher Gift Idea

Wow, its been almost 10 days since I last posted. My daughter was confirmed yesterday (first communion) and with the yard work, I've been too busy! I gave this 3 piece "purse set" to my mom for Mother's Day. She really likes red and black so those are the colors I used, along with Looks Like Spring stamp set. I covered a 2 year calendar and a notepad that I picked up, and then put the accordion photos in an altoid mints box. It was fun to make, and I hope she liked it! Top picture: calendar Below: the notebook lying on its side. It opens like a matchbook.Below is the inside of the altoid tin, before the accordian pages are pulled out with the little red gingham ribbon tab. And the bottom picture then has the pages coming out. I put photos on both sides.

Journals & Heart Portraits

These 5x5 art journals are so easy to personalize! I covered this with various patterns of Polka Dots and Paisley designer papers. The spiral punch allowed me to easily get the paper around the holes and to the very edge of the chipboard.

I am going to give this one to my daughter, Madeline, for us to pass back and forth with notes to each other. I got this idea from some book on mothering, I'm sure, but can't remember which one. The idea is to have an outlet for "safe" communication--writing back and forth to each other. When I have a message for her, I will write in it and leave it on her pillow, and vice versa. Then we can respond to each other and give the book back. Do you think it will work? It's worth a try!


You can also add pages if you have the spiral punch. Here I've added a page of the yellow patterned paper, which will be light enough to write on, if we want. Maybe it will end up holding a quote or special Bible verse. I punched out tabs from the designer papers also--I love how the whole project comes together with the coordinating colors! (All materials Stampin' Up! (C) 1995-2007).





Heart Portraits.....Here is another idea for these little journals. A friend's mom used to write daily notes about their family life and then they were printed in the newspaper. They ran from 1958 through 1963 and were about farm life in Eastern Montana. In 1983 the mom, Emeline Henderson, compiled all the columns into a book called Little Lifts in Living. It has been relaxing and amusing to read a weeks worth of comments and observations before I go to bed each night! Especially as I read about my friend as a 5 year old, and her older siblings, some of whom I know.

She has "heart portraits" interspersed throughout~little scenes that occur in the day-to-day, that make her mother's heart smile. Here are a couple of examples: from July 1958, "Arlene and Billie standing in the doorway between our kitchen and dining room, holding Joyce (the 5 year old) and loving her for all they are worth. It looks like an octopus, there is such a tangle of arms. Joyce is enjoying it very much, but, ah, I am enjoying it more!"

Here's another: "Cleaning our car on a bright Sunday morning--Willie is rubbing on the polish, Elaine and Arlene are rubbing it off, Billie is doing the wheels, and I am washing the windows. Dear little Joyce has her tricycle parked beside the car. She dips her little rag in my pan of suds, and scrubs diligently on the spokes of her trike. It's a family portrait I'd like to frame."

Some of these moments pass before we can "run to get the camera", so keeping a little book handy just to jot down the scene--what a treasure a book of "Heart Portraits" would be!