Coasters Galore! (and Free Giveaway)

After making one coaster project this week into a Post-it note holder, I just had to make more!  They are so quick and easy, and just so cute!  It's like eating a Lay's potato chip, you can't make (eat) just one!  And in my stash, there are 100s of coasters waiting to be made into something!

The designer papers that I used, called Flashback, had smoky gray, real red, pool party and hello honey colors in it (Stampin Up's names for the colors).  So I made the card with the gray and added some red accents to it.  It's hard to tell in the photos, but I cut out a red heart to add as a raindrop.  The butterfly just seemed to tie it all in together.

Then I made MORE of the coasters!  I love the camera-themed paper on the one with the quirky looking bird. 

Here is a pic of a red one that I also made.  Check out the saying- Keep It Real!  Silly, but fun. You can make this easy project for any occasion- birthday parties, showers, gifts for your co-workers, etc.  I put a different colored paper on the back of them and they are reversible, too!

The idea for the coaster project is from Jen Sannes and the card layout is roughly from Narelle Farrugia. 

And, if you leave a comment (by Wed, Aug 6 at 9:00 am EST) letting me which coaster Post-it note holder that you like the best, I will send it to you!  (Debb R, you are the winner!)

You Make Me Happy!

I took out some new designer paper this week and matched it with the new stamp set, Hello Love.  The set has a couple of cute little birds in it along with a cheery sunshine stamp!  I love the sayings, You Make Me Happy and Oh Happy Day.  After stamping the card, I made a little matchbox from the envelope punch board and a coaster Post-it-note holder to coordinate with it.  

The drawer even opens on the matchbox!  You can put paper clips or other small items in there to keep on your desk.  Or give it as a gift card holder.  The gift cards fit perfectly!

I got the idea for the coaster Post-it note holder from Jen Sannes, the matchbox project from Kimberly Martin and the card idea from AmyK at StampwithAmyK.com. 

Wouldn't you like this bright and cheery set on your desk?

Note Card Set

For one of my stamping classes in July, I came up with set of eight note cards and matching envelopes all tucked in a sweet magazine holder box.  I got the idea from Deb Valder and Angie Leach.  Of course, I made my own modifications to make it my own.

The envelopes have a border emboss detail to the flap and stamping on the front to coordinate with the note cards. 

Using a masking technique, I made four of the cards with a diagonal mask and four with a horizontal mask.  I did this to add a little interest to the set.

Here is the card that I made to go with them.  I saw the idea on Pinterest by Jo Dumbleton.  I love how the pool party and tangerine tango colors go together! 

Wouldn't you just love this note card set on your desk?

She Had Bird Cage Decor

I guess I had a lot of thank you cards to make this week!  I made this card for someone that I just met and she was very kind to me.  She had bird cages in her home as part of her decor, so I made this card for her. 

I love the look of the antique bird cage on this card.  Kind of vintage-y looking- don't you think? 

Veggies in a Cup

Last weekend I went to a picnic BBQ at one of my friend's houses.  With all of the burgers and hot dogs that I have been eating lately, I wanted to bring something healthy! 

I cute up some veggies- carrots, celery, yellow and red peppers and green beans and sorted them into individual cups.  I tried to choose veggies that would stand up in a cup.  Then I added a plumb red cherry tomato to each cup. 

I used a muffin tin to transport the veggie cups so that they wouldn't tip over.  I had seen this idea on Pinterest, my favorite website!  I wanted to use glass cups, but didn't have enough of the right size.  Then I covered them with plastic wrap and decorated them with a stamped tag to match the colors of the veggies. 

Next I mixed up some dip from Greek yogurt and some seasonings that I had grown and dried from my new herb garden.  I added lots of dill to make it taste yummy!

I added some "picnic style" tags to the dip to decorate the lids on the cups.

People enjoyed the personal serving of veggies and loved my dip.  I would say that it was a great hit at the picnic! 

Have A Yappy Day!

For my birthday, my youngest niece, Cassie sent me a cute little pillow that she had made for me.  She loves to make pillows from felt and uses the Sizzix dies to cut out animals and shapes.  My birthday pillow has a little dog and a heart on it!  I think it's supposed to look like her dog, Rosie.  It's as cute as can be. 

While out at some neighborhood garage sales, I found some really nice girls' crafting books like American Girl, etc.  Then I found packages of embroidery floss, yarn and a some colored plastic-like jute rope to use for her crafting.  I also enclosed one of the little zippered heart purses that I had made. 

I made this cute little "doggy" thank you card to thank her for my gift.  I hope she likes her "craft box!"

Flower Card

I had some thank you cards to make this week to give to some of my friends who had remembered me on my birthday!  I love looking through my (vast) collection of rubber stamps and pulling out an older set to work with. 

I chose some bright colors and painted in the flowers for this cute stamp.  Because it has a curve on the bottom, I added the saying using a circle punch.  It's so summery and bright looking!  

How many of you remember this set?

There's Still More!

You can see that I have been having fun playing around with some whimsical fabrics and working up some new sewing items.  I even made a business card case to put in my purse with my business cards in it.  What do I do?  I teach sewing and rubber stamping, of course! 

I like to have a lot of project ideas for the ladies who come over to my home to sew.  Each person adds their own flair to the projects and by just changing the fabrics and sometimes the size of the items, they make some beautiful projects to call their own!  And I get to spend my time doing what I love. :)

Wouldn't you love to make these projects? 

Sunglasses Cases

Next on my list of things to make was a Sunglasses Case.  I wanted something that I could take out to the car and put my sunglasses in.  These are the three that I made using the Paris-themed fabrics! 

 I used another piece of a panel from the cute fabric to make the bottom of the case and added a black strip for the top of the case.  I lined it with flannel to protect my sunglasses from getting scratched.  There's a button and a loop closure at the top to keep the glasses in place.  This case also fits the cell phones that are thin and long.  And it matches the heart coin purse!

After making two cases pretty much the same way, I tried making the third case with a drawstring and casing.  Because the cases are pretty narrow, it was hard to get the top of the case under my sewing machine.  I ended up doing some of the sewing by hand.  But it wasn't too hard!  I added a pink yo-yo and button for decoration. 

I also made a key fob to match it!  Ha ha!

What a cute ensemble that I have now to take with me when I leave the house! 

Heart- Shaped Change Purse

A while back I saw a little change purse that someone had made in the shape of a circle and I thought that it was so cute.  So I decided to make one in the shape of a heart!  They are quick and easy to make- they just take a small amount of fabric.  I have a lot of small zippers that I need to use up, too. (Okay, confession time here - one time I bought 100 seven-inch white zippers from eBay!) Now I was glad to use three of them!

 I had made a quilt years ago for one of my nieces with this cute pink Paris-inspired fabric.  I took out the box of fabric that was left over from the quilt and had a lot of fun using it in my projects. 

You can use these little purses for change, lens caps for your camera, jump drive for your laptop, or for carrying extra keys.  I think they would make a cute party favor for a girl's birthday party.  What other uses can you think of for using them? 

Grab 'n' Go Purse

I wanted to try making some of my own patterns for everyday useful items.  I started with making this little clutch.  I wanted something that I could just grab and carry only a couple of items when I didn't need to bring my purse with me.  Hence the name, Grab 'n' Go Purse!

I started with the the black purse and added a piece of a really cute panel to it for the flap.  It's a picture of some girls in a French cafe.  So cute!  I didn't plan ahead as to where I would put the velcro, so I had to add a button and a tie closure on this one. 

For the second purse, I chose some trendy dark gray plaid and added some light gray birds to it.  Then I made a key fob to match it.  (No surprise there!  For more info on that, see my previous posts!)

Then I made a lighter gray purse with some cute owl fabric for the flap.  I love the colors of the owls- the grays, pink and yellow.  I make a coordinating change purse shaped like a heart to match it.  I am working on making tutorials for the patterns.  More to come on that later!

So which purse do you like best?