Stippled Roses Cards

For this week's Stamp Class, I decided to use the Stippled Roses stamp set.  I made three cards using the set and the coordinating designer papers, Softly Stipples.  I have to say this set is not normally something that I would use (honestly, I don't even know why I bought it!).  

However, I loved working with it and how beautiful the cards came out. :)

I called this stamp class as "special occasion card" class because this set and these cards are so pretty that they can be used for wedding, sympathy, congratulations or special day cards.  

For the first card, I made a double back fold where you can fold back the front layer of the card.  I added some designer papers to decorate the panels and a pretty coral piece to the front.  I stamped and cut out the coral roses and added them to the circle focal piece.  A few sprigs, some flowers and gems and it turns out to be a beautiful card.  

For my next card I stamped the saying onto the front of the card first, then added the designer papers at the top and a little splash of dots for color on the white piece.  I added the roses using dimensionals and then some sprigs and flowers.  

On the inside I added a gift card holder.  I mean, what Mom wouldn't want a gift card for Mother's Day?

Card #3 is made using Smoky Slate for the card base and then some designer paper added to the front.  I used a leaf embossing folder for the white focal piece and then mounted it onto a piece of Lost Lagoon for a frame.  Then added the roses and sprigs.  I thought that the card needed a little something more, so I added a strip of the designer paper as a little banner to place under the saying.

I love the cohesive look of the three cards.  For the most part, I used the same embellishments on each card to tie them all together.  They're so pretty, I hate to give them away.  LOL

 

Get Well Soon

One of my friends recently had eye surgery and I wanted to make her a card that had something to do with eyes.  Looking through my stamp sets, I was stumped at which set to use.  When I saw the snails, I noticed that their eyes were sticking out so I used them. 

I paired it with the Garden Walk papers and love the color scheme.  I added some Wink of Stella to the snail's eyes on the right to make them shine.  The first snail is saying, "I brought you a little Get Well card and came to see how you are doing since your surgery.  Oh, wow- your eyes are just sparkling!"  

Then the snail on the right said, "My, I can see you so clearly!  Thank you so much!"  And so she was comforted.  :)
 

Happy Spring!

Yes, it is finally spring here in upstate NY.  How can I tell?  The backyard is flooded because it's been raining for 2 solid days.  Next week the grass will be green and we'll see flowers and buds on the trees.  :)

This week I sent a card to my g-daughter for Spring.  I used the older stamp set Fabled Friends.  I chose the little ducks with their mother for the front of the card.  I'm not sure which pack of designer papers that I got the yellow flowered print from, but it said Spring to me.  I paired it with Highland Heather purple and then colored in the ducks.  I cut them out and they are happy to bring Spring on this card.  :)
 

Notes of Nature

Last November at OnStage at home, Notes of Nature was one of the stamp sets that was shown by Shelli and her daughter.  I fell in love with the papers and stamp set.  This week I finally got a chance to take them out and make some cards with the!  

For this first card, I used some of the papers from Nature's Sweetness designer papers for the background.  I stamped a portion of one of the stamps onto the designer papers in the corner to make it look like a collage card.  

Then I cut the holes at the top from the Notes of Nature dies and embossed the Pretty Peacock paper using the Timeworn Type folder.   I threaded some Faux Leather Trim and knotted it at the top of the card.  I love the look of it.  

For the circle cut-out, I used Everyday Details die cuts.  I just love the look of the Pecan Pie color on this card.  I stamped the leaf image and colored it in with Petal Pink and cut out some flowers in the same color to coordinate.  

The tab at the top is part of a label punch.  It's supposed to look similar to a tab at the top of the card.  

My second card is made using Misty Moonlight for the cardstock and a piece from Inked Botanicals paper pack.  I stamped the background in Pecan Pie and added some embellishment to coordinate with the first card.  I used the little cork rounds on each of the cards.

The third card features a book fold opening.  I stamped onto the white background and added some leaves, sprigs, twine and flowers to complete the card.  I attempted to branch out with my colors this week- sometimes I use the same colors over and over.  I am proud of myself for using Pretty Peacock, Misty Moonlight, Coastal Cabana and Petal Pink together.  I love how they look.

Although I did look at some sample cards on Pinterest, the 3 cards are my own designs.  Now I just want to make more.  

What do you think of the collage look with this stamp set?

 

Handmade Tote/Grocery Bags

 About a year ago, I picked up some indoor-outdoor fabrics from Joann's.  I had this great idea that I was going to make my own bags to take to the grocery store.  So I bought a lot of various fabrics for both the outside and the linings of the bags, yards of fusible fleece and interfacing for the inside lining, and many yards of handle webbing for the handles.  When I added up the total, I think each bag would cost about $50 to make!

But being a crafter, why buy bags from the store that cost $1-$2 when you can make them for $50, right?

So this week I drew up a pattern and began working on my bags.  I didn't want to make them too big or too small, and I fussed with the dimensions.  All in all, I like the size that they turned out.  

On this first bag, which is sort of a prototype, I didn't quilt either the bag or the lining.  Although I like the overall look of it, it seems a bit flimsy to me, or I call it too loosey-goosey for a tote.  

So I went back to the sewing table and made another one, this time with a quilted top and inside.

This bag turned out much stiffer and held its shape better, so I think I like this one with the quilting on it more than the first one.

I wanted to add some buttons to the bag, so I picked out some old Stampin Up buttons.  Luckily I have a few packs of those lying around and ready to be used on a project.  

For my next bag, I may add some pockets either to the outside or the inside to give it even more shape.  I'm still working on the perfect pattern.  :)

While out on my travels I found some plastic canvas that I thought would be great for the bottom of the bag to keep it square.  Now if I can just find where I put it, I'll add that to the inside, covered with the leftover fabric scraps.

I'll keep you posted on the bag making project!

Everyday Details

This past week I made some cards using the stamp set, Everyday Details in the mini catalog.  I loved the set right away when I saw it in the catalog and decided to make some cards using the set.

I love the little tea cup stamp and put it on my card with some papers from the Softly Stippled designer papers, one of the offerings during Sale-a-bration.  The background for all of my cards this week is Pebbled Path.  The gray matched some of the papers in the designer pack and for the first card, I chose the flowered teal background.  

Here is the same card made only using a soft coral color.  I didn't color in the tea cup for this card and love the look of it.  I also used Everyday Details dies for the focal point and accent piece.  I added a little doily cut out from the designer papers, too, to add some interest.  

For the nest card, I used the stippled flower paper as the background and added a gray strip across the front of the card, cut out with one of the dies.  I stamped the speckled dots on the eggs but didn't really like how it came out.  I think just using a blend or marker dots would look better, for the next time I use the little nest image.

The vase image with the flowers is so sweet and I love how it looks with the outer border raised just a bit.  I let the ladies who come to my stamp class pick which designer papers that they wanted for their cards.  I tend to use a lot of the same colors in my projects so it was nice to have some variety for them.  I got the idea for this card from Ange McKay on Youtube.  

I would definitely use this set again.  I'd like to try some brighter designer papers to pair it with.  What colors have you used with it?  Maybe I'll find a little bird to put with the nest.  

 

More Flight and Airy Birds

After making three cards using the Flight and Airy designer papers from Sale-a-Bration, I decided that I just needed to make some cards using the cut out birds!  Originally I had wanted to use Everyday Details Dies for the first few cards that I had made, but somehow I misplaced that new die set.

Here is a card made using the rectangular cut out from that die set.  This card has such a bright spring look to it.  I think it can be used for pretty much anything.  The Hello stamp is from the Garden Meadow set.  This card is loosely based on a sample card from Jolanda Johnstone.  

My final card (at least for today) is made using a portion of one of the designer papers.  To highlight the saying, I made a small banner in Boho Blue and added the saying and a couple of the small flowers from Just My Type.  There is also little doily behind the saying cut out from Fresh fresia cardstock.  I finished it off with a double bow made with two different twines.  

Definitely spring looking, I love these two cards.  :)

 

Loving the Birds!

This week I had a chance to use some of the Sale-a-Bration papers called Flight and Airy.  I cut out several of the water colored birds and then had fun putting them onto cards.  

Misty Moonlight is the background cardstock.  From there I added some soft gray designer paper from the Winter Meadow papers.  I then found a piece of old hydrangea paper with some blue and purples on it that matched the colors in the bird perfectly.  :)

I added some Fresh Fresia sprigs and a focal circle.  The saying is from a new online set called Garden Meadow.  

For my next watercolor bird card, I copied the idea of the birds sitting on a wire from Julie Gilson.  I loved choosing which birds would look suitable on each card.  I just love the simplicity and whimsical look of this card.  :)

Here is the same basic card only with some Calypso Coral matting and birds that have a bit of coral color in them.  The flower is from Just My Type stamp set.  

I ended up making a lot of these little birdie cards using different colors.  Once I made the first, I just couldn't stop.  

For my third card, I used the Pecan Pie colored paper that comes in the Flight and Airy designer series pack.  It brings a different look from the first two cards, more of a soft, subtle look.  

I fussy cut the bird from the papers and added him to a smaller circle focal point.  I like the sayings that are in the Notes of Nature stamp set.  

I got the idea for this card from Donna Ross.  

The ladies all loved making these bird cards.  And so did I.  

 

Table Runner Made with Strips

After I put the Christmas decorations away, I thought that the house looked so bare.  The tables needed a new look so I took out some strips and whipped up this runner!  

For this runner, I started with the background and batting, both cut to the length and width that I wanted.  Then I added two strips in the center and sewed them to the batting and background fabric. 

So this table runner is made with a quilt-as-you-go method.  After you add the first few strips, you can then add fabric strips to both sides which takes less time to complete the project.

I decided that I wanted to make it look more like patchwork than just adding strips, so I sewed some of the strips together and strategically placed them the way I wanted them to look.

I've made this quilt-as-you-go method before, and the last time I sewed additional quilting lines on the finished piece, but this time didn't.  If you turn the runner over, you will see the quilting lines on the back, so there's no need to quilt it more unless that is the look that you're going for.

The idea came from Sharon Holland and if you want to read her blog and see the colorful runner that she made, just click here.  I used 2" strips for my runner but you could also use a jelly roll with 2 1/2" strips.  It took a couple of hours to make.  

I'm happy with how it turned out.  The table in the dining room now looks "dressed" properly.  :)

There's a pile of 2" strips left over from this runner, and now I'm thinking that I might make something else out of them.   After all, they're all cut and ready to go :)

 

Making Journals

For the new year, I decided to put together some Journal kits and have the ladies in my Bible study over to make them.  They can be used to write down prayers, Bible verses, thankful times, etc.  Here is one that I made as a sample to show the ladies what to do.  I love how it turned out and will keep this one for myself!

I created a variety of kids and I included the cut papers, some stamped items, a Bible verse and some embellishments for them to assemble their journals.  It took several days to make all of the kits.  I put all of the pieces together in a plastic bag so that they wouldn't get lost or mixed up.  

Here is a pic showing the different journal kits that the ladies could choose from.  I made a total of 20 of them!  I used a lot of retired Stampin Up designer papers and some various die cuts.  I got the composition notebooks at Walmart. 

Then I invited the ladies over to my house for a Tea Party get-together night and we made our journals after the food portion of the evening.  

Because not all of the ladies could come on the same night, I offered two different dates for them.  Here are some of the ladies enjoying dessert.  (I forgot to take a photo of them with their journals.)  

We had a lot of fun eating, chatting and working on our journals.  The ladies were excited to make the craft and were surprised at how easy it was to put them together.  

I supplied glue sticks and glue dots along with some scissors to cut out the stamped images.  There was so much creativity going on!  :)

What a fun night that we had!  Now what can I plan for our next ladies' get-together?  

 

Painted Lavender Cards

This week I was playing around with the Painted Lavender Bundle of products in the Stampin Up mini catalog.  I'm not really much of a "purple" girl, but I love lavender and the soft papers that come with this set.  

For my first card, I cut out an arch using the dies from the Garden Meadow suite.  I love how it almost looks like you're peeking into a garden.  I used Lost Lagoon cardstock, added a piece of the designer papers and put the arch on my card using dimensionals to give it a lift.

I stamped some butterflies and cut out some springs using the Painted Lavender dies.  Then I added a saying and a piece of the linen thread to complete my card.  

It has a soft flowery look to it and that's just what I was going for.  :)

For my next card, I used the negative space that the arch die cuts for the front of my card.  I put a piece of the desinger paper behind it and added the arch portion to the card with dimensionals.  Before I added it to the card, I ran it through the Cut & Emboss machine using an embossing folder to make it resemble a stone wall.

There are sprigs and butterflies on this card, too.  The saying is from Notes of Nature stamp set.  I saw this idea on Pinterest from Robin Daus.

My third card has some of the lavender images stamped and cut out on it.  I used the Scallop Contour rectangle die to add the flowers onto.  I stamped the green leaf stamp on the scalloped white piece before I added some sprigs and flowers.

This is pretty much the same card, only I used a different piece of the designer papers for the front of the card.  Instead of 3 stamped lavender flowers, I only put one on it.  What a beautiful set this is.  I would love to make some more things with it.  

 

Doggie Apron

For Christmas this year my sister said that she wanted handmade doggie items (actually she said bracelets, but we'll get to that later).  While I was over a Joann's, I spotted this cute Christmas fabric with dogs on it.

Here is a close-up of the sweet little dogs on the fabric.  I knew that I needed to make her something with it.  So when I got home, I stitched up this reversible apron for her to wear while making the Christmas cooking and baking dishes.

While looking around my craft room for some more "dog fabric," I spotted these little pups.  They are leftover pieces from a doggie quilt that I made her a few years ago.  I quilted them into a couple of microwave fabric bowls for her kitchen.  

I had to make them patchwork because I only had small pieces of fabric left over.  But I think they came out cute.  What do you think - do you like the patchwork look?