Pamper Yourself Gift Box

I belong to a lovely group of Stampin Up demonstrators and we get together once a month to share swaps, make projects and share ideas.  This weekend the ladies will be coming over to my house.  I wanted to share this cute little project that I made as a "swap." 

It's a little box using the Lots to Love framelit.  I wanted to showcase the lady in the tub who is definitely "pampering" herself!  She has a glass of wine and some candles lit while relaxing in her bubble bath tub. 

I used Tip Top Taupe for the card base and some Real Red designer paper to give it some contrast.  The background card stock and ribbon are Early Expresso.  Everything is stamped in Basic Brown to keep the lines from smearing when you color. 

It's hard to tell in the photos (why are they all so blurry?) but it has Wink of Stella on the wine glass, bubbles in the tub, rubber ducky and on the candle flames to make them stand out.

While it did take most of the day to assemble the boxes and paint and cut out the bathroom accessories, I think they came out very well.  And get this, I designed it myself!

You can put a gift card, chocolates, bubble bath, epsom salts, a facial mask or any other "pampering" item in the box.  Cute for a Girls Night Out party favor!

Note Card Set featuring Varied Vases

I saw the idea for this cute little note card holder online from Michaela Titheridge of The Crafty Oink Pen.  It features the new stamp set, Varied Vases that has a punch to cut out the vases. 

The blank notecards are a set in the catalog that sell for only $6.50 and give you card bases and envelopes to make 20 notecards.  Once you've made one, it's hard to stop!  They can be mailed using regular postage.  What a fun and easy project to make! 

To make the notecard holder, visit here for instructions.  It can hold up to 3 cards on each side along with the envelopes.  I chose to make a four-card set for mine and everything fits very well in the holder. 

Here is a pic of the whole set that I made- holder and 4 matching notecards.  You could easily use any stamp set and make a sweet little gift for someone.  :)

Enjoying a Day at Lily Pad Lake

 One of the new stamp sets from Stampin Up that first caught my eye when I was looking through the new catalog was Lily Pad Lake.  The set has lovely boat and a heron with some lily pad images in it- just perfect for creating those lazy-day summer projects.

I decided to do a class using the set, starting at what the lake might look like in the morning when the sun first comes up.  Here you can see the ships sailing on the lake early in the morning when the sun first comes up.  Welcome to the Lake!  Can you just feel the cool breeze blowing the sailboats in its gentle wind? 

There's a hint of Wink of Stella on the waves that actually looks the glimmer of the sun's rays on the water!

Now that the sun has risen in the sky and lunch time approaches, you can see a heron hiding in the sea grasses.  Boats are still out on the lake and the sea is now calm.

Really, it's turning out to be a beautiful day on the lake today.  :)

As the day wanes, you can see the sun starting to go down.  The herons are still out on the lake, now wading through the lily pads.  I like the black diorama that especially highlights the white bird as he looks out onto the lake.

I added a back panel to the diorama so that you can put a saying on the inside of your card.

Here is what the inside of the card looks like attached to the back of the diorama.

And finally, as the sun is setting low in the sky, a lovely orange glow appears in the sky, this time making our heron look like a silhouette against its warm glow. 

Our day at Lily Pad Lake is almost done.  Did you enjoy your day crafting with me using Lily Pad Lake? 

Thanks to Patty Bennett, Joanne Hewins, Eimear Carvill and stampinsmilesbyJackie for their ideas for crafting a perfect day at the Lake. 

Spools of Thread Quilt

About 4 1/2 years ago I started working on a Spools of Thread Quilt.  I saw a photo in a magazine and got the idea that I wanted to make one.  While out at a local quilt shop, I picked up some "country" colors of fabric (not my usual color scheme) and decided to make the quilt using the country colors.

I drew up a pattern and started working on the "spools."  They are about 8" finished when put together.  I used scrappy cream colors for the background of each spool.

Once I started to put it together, I decided to complete it for a friend of mine who loves to quilt- these are the colors that she has in her home and likes to use in her quilts.  

Well, that was 4 years ago.  LOL

I've been dragging this unfinished quilt around to quilt retreats for the past 3 years.  But now that I got a new sewing desk and I'm all set up in my sewing room, I have been working on a lot of projects and actually finishing some of them!  

Originally the quilt was supposed to have more spools of thread in it, but somewhere along the way I decided that it had enough.  I added some smaller spools along the sides to make the quilt wider.  Now I think that it's just the right size.  :)

Today I finally finished the Spool of Thread quilt for my friend.  I'm giving it to her for her birthday, 4 years late.  But somehow I know that she will love it.  :)