Stamp with Annette

Another Birthday Candle Project

My last round of Stamps in the Mail used the Big Birthday Candle set. I have stamped with that set so much over the last three months that I thought I would leave it on my shelf for quite awhile. And then I did a little surfing. I found the cutest box by Diane S. that was perfect for this set! I did alter the pattern, though. Her box has a flap-type closure, and I wanted a lid that could be removed. And mine is a little taller to accommodate the lid. Wanna see?

For the lid:

Cut a piece of card stock 3 5/16 X 3 5/16. Score at 1" on each side. On two opposite sides, snip along the score lines until you reach the first perpendicular score line. Fold on all score lines.

I trimmed a little triangle off of each corner to help it fold up better. Next, simply fold the flaps in, and adhere them with a strong adhesive. I used Sticky Strip. Tombo Multi would also work.

For the box, I cut my card stock 7 X 5 3/8. On the 7" side, score at 1 1/4. On the 5 3/8" side, score at 1 1/4, 2 1/2, 3 3/4, and 5.

Snip along the score lines to create the bottom flaps of your box. (If you click on the picture, it should be large enough for you to see the measurements and the lines.) The 3/8" section/flap will be where you put your adhesive to hold your box together. For less bulk, you can snip of that little corner as shown.

Fold on all of the score lines.

We will use the Word Window punch to create a window in one side of the box. To get mine centered, I measured 5/8" from the long edge (not the one with the adhesive flap) and drew a line. From the score line by the flaps that will create the box bottom, I measured 3/4". From the opposite edge (which will be the top of the box) I measured 1 3/4".

Center the Word Window punch along the line and punch.

Move the punch down and punch again. I punched three times (1 whole, 2 partial) to get my window the length I wanted it.

Cut a piece of acetate big enough to cover the window, and adhere it with Tombo Multi.

Use Sticky Strip along the 3/8" flap and on the bottom flaps to hold your box together.

Decorate and fill your box. Here's mine:

 

What a fun little box for candy, money , jewelry, stampin' & scrappin' embellishments...

Have fun stampin'!

Cutter Kit - Distressing Tool

Do you have Stampin' Up!'s Cutter Kit? This is such a handy-dandy little addition to your stampin' stash! My Stamps in the Mail participants received the Cutter Kit this month, so I decided to share a few hints about this great tool with everyone. As you can see in this picture, there are four different tools in the Cutter Kit - a scoring blade, a cutting blade, a perforating blade, and a distressing tool.

This is the distressing tool. There are seven notches on this tool that are all the same. The black in the middle is a nice, non-slip rubber that makes the tool easy to grip while you are using it.

Why would you use the distressing tool? Well, it roughs up the edges of your card stock, which adds dimension, texture, and interest to your project. It will also help to give an aged look to those vintage projects.

To use the distressing tool, pick a notch - any notch - slip the edge of your card stock in, and scrape. Experiment with the amount of pressure you apply. Run the tool up and down the edge of your card stock until you have roughed it up the desired amount.

I suggest using mini glue dots to adhere this piece of card stock to your project, as the rough edges add just enough dimension that the Snail might not hold very well.

The 3X3 card and 6X6 scrapbook page from my last post both have layers that I distressed. This is such a quick and easy addition to any project! Go ahead. Try it. You know you want to!

Come back soon for more Cutter Kit ideas!

Inspired Workshop Projects

Where do you go for inspiration? Some websites and blogs have sketch challenges, and those can be fun. In my May newsletter, I showed you how some wrapping paper inspired Will's birthday card. Sometimes when I need something in a hurry, I will copy an idea I saw somewhere. When I was preparing for Jennifer's workshop earlier this week, I needed some ideas in a hurry. So I turned to my Stampin' Success (the wonderful magazine Stampin' Up! sends its demonstrators each month) and my Spring-Summer Collection (i.e. my catalog!).

This idea came from Stampin' Success. I love the simplicity of this card! I changed a couple of things from the picture in my magazine to fit the supplies that I had on hand. I used the Warm Words stamp set, Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, and Green Galore card stocks, Chocolate Chip Classic ink, the 1" circle and Three for You punches, a silver brad, and Dimensionals.

This 3X3 card came straight from the catalog, page 123. And the same template made a wonderful 6X6 scrapbook page! The picture shows two of my great-nephews. I think Jake likes his new baby brother, Weston! These two projects used the Seeing Spots and Warm Words sets, Spot On jumbo wheel, VersaMark, Groovy Guava, and Always Artichoke ink, Always Artichoke, Kraft, and Whisper White card stocks, caramel gingham and Chocolate Chip twill ribbons.

It's fun sometimes to sit down and create, coming up with completely original ideas. If you're like me, though, this is a very time consuming process. So don't feel like you always have to come up with your own ideas! Stampin' Up! provides wonderful project ideas on their website and in the catalogs. And you can always come here for ideas. Hope you were inspired today.

Happy stamping!

Where do stamp sets go when they retire?

What a fun way to introduce our list of retiring stamp sets! It's hard to believe that it's time for another retirement list, but here it is. The sets on this list will be available through August 10, and then no more. So look it over, and contact me with your list of must have stamps!

A Little Handmade Touch

Today is the last day of school for William. His teacher loves dark chocolate, so I picked up a package for her the other day. But, of course, I couldn't send her a plain package!

I needed to keep it fairly simple, so I just made a belly band with Cameo Coral and Chocolate Chip card stock. I tied it up with some Chocolate Chip satin ribbon and then needed to embellish a little. Hmmm, she likes gardening, so the five petal flower punch seemed appropriate. I layered two punched flowers (sponged the edges) and then put a small flower made with the Three for You punch in the middle. The three layers are held together with a rhinestone brad. The bling added just the right touch! The leaves are made from the five petal flower punch. I just punched one out of Certainly Celery card stock, cut the petals apart, and glued them to the back of my flowers.

Two of the flowers are attached to the belly band with mini glue dots. I used Dimensionals for the third to, well, add some dimension!

Summer, here we come!

Simply Precious

This simply designed card is precious to me. Yesterday was our anniversary - our 25th anniversary - and Jeff made this card for me. He waited until I was asleep and then snuck to my stamp room and found what he wanted. And on the inside is a little poem he wrote just for me. He does know how to make me feel special.

The supplies he used are: She's All That stamp set (Occasions Mini Collection), Lavender Lace and Naturals Ivory card stocks, Lavender Lace Classic ink, and silver cord (retired).

He had the card waiting for me when I woke up yesterday, along with an anniversary ring. After twenty-five years he still adds sparkle to my life. :-)

Added note: Emily has informed me that she helped. Must give credit where credit is due! :-)

Big Birthday Candles

My Stamps in the Mail club is currently using the Big Birthday Candle set. When creating projects this month, I had a card that I just couldn't get right, so I set it aside. Then when William was headed to a birthday party on Saturday, I decided to see if I could make it work. After all, it was at least 50% done and just sitting there! When I was finally satisfied, this is it looked like:


I used the Big Birthday Candle set and the Happy Happy Birthday jumbo wheel, Old Olive and VersaMark inks, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, and Soft Sky card stocks, Jersey Shore Designer Series paper, Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain, gold brads, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and the Crafter's Tool Kit for the paper piercing.

How is this different from what I started with? Well, I added a second candle, the brads and the ribbon. Why I couldn't come up with that two weeks ago, we will never know! But I was glad to have it Saturday. :-)











Instead of just putting the card in an envelope and sticking it inside a gift bag, I decided to use the card to decorate a plain bag.

 
I cut the flap off of a Clear Translucent envelope and used the Coluzzle to create a small half-circle notch at the top. If you look closely, you can see it in the photo. This makes it easier to get the card out. I then used Sticky Strip to attach the envelope to a plain gift bag (purchased I don't remember where a long time ago!). Slip the card in the envelope and Voila! Cute card and bag all in one! Less prep time, fewer supplies, personalized... I like it!

Stamp Club Fun

Stamp Club is one of the highlights of my month! With Emily all grown up and gone most of the time, I don't get much girl time, so I always look forward to getting together with the girls, visiting and, of course, stamping! This last time we made this card:
We used Pale Plum and Perfect Plum card stocks and inks. For the background, we used the Canvas stamp. The flowers and rhinestone brad are from the Pretties Kit. I love that you can make our Pretties flowers match your project! We simply colored the white flowers with the brush tip of the Plum markers. An elongated Designer Label punch helps create the focal point in the center of the card. Add a little sponging around the edges of your card stock pieces, and you have a "Pretty" card! :-)





Our second project was this fun little bag. Can you tell what we made it out of? It was an envelope! We brayered the white envelope with Soft Sky ink, scored three sides at 5/8", cut off about 3/8" from the fourth side, and then  folded on the score lines to make the bag. The handle was made with the Word Window punch. Other supplies included Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky card stock, Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper, Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky ink, Chocolate Chip taffeta, Defining Alphabet and Define Your Life stamp sets, Ticket Corner punch, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals, and Medium Whisper White Envelopes. This little bag is the perfect size for a gift of cash, jewelry, gift cards, candy...

Happy stamping, everyone!

A Big Stampin Project

In my last newsletter I promised to share my experience with stamping on walls. I'm a little later than I had hoped, but here we go.

The family we bought our house from has a son Will's age who is a big hockey fan. He had a really cool room that was devoted to the Dallas Stars. His room is now my spare bedroom, and the Stars' colors just weren't working for me (hunter green, black and gold), so I painted. The strip around the middle of the wall was already there - white with gold trim - and was just hollering, "stamp me!" The fixtures in the room are black, and I since I didn't want to buy all new, I needed to work black in somewhere. The retired Oriental Gardens set gave me the fairly gender neutral look that I was going for in this room. This set is fairly detailed line art, so some of the stamped images have a kind of distressed look to them.

Stampin' Up! recommends larger, bolder images for this kind of project. In our catalog, look for the symbol shaped like a house that has a "D" ( for Definitely Decorative) in it to find images specifically designed for home decor (of course, they will also work great on paper projects!).

Supplies you will need:
stamps
acrylic paint
foam brush
palette (I used an empty brad container)
tape measure or ruler
pencil
damp rag
wet Stamp 'n Scrub
poster board or some other surface to practice on
old toothbrush

1. You don't want to let the paint dry on your stamps, so get your your Stamp 'n Scrub wet. You want to have water actually sitting in the bottom of it.
2. Squeeze some paint onto your palette. Use a foam brush to apply paint to your stamp. Stamp on the poster board to determine what you want your pattern to look like. When using multiple stamps, place the stamps you are not using on your Stamp 'n Scrub to keep the paint from drying out. Since I was using line art and alternating four images, I cleaned mine with the Stamp 'n Scrub and wet rag after each use.
3. Practice, practice, practice! I did not practice enough. I was half way around my room before I really had a good idea about how much paint needed to go on the stamp.
4. Use your tape measure or ruler to determine where you want to stamp, and lightly mark the spot with a pencil. I stamped my images approximately six inches apart. You may want to look for uneven spots on your wall, so you can plan around them.
5. When you know your design and have it marked on the wall, you are ready to stamp! If your image doesn't come out right, just wipe it off right away with your rag. The paint dries fairly  quickly, but you have a couple of minutes. Even using the black acrylic paint on white walls, I was able to wipe them off when I needed to.
6. When you are finished, you may need to use an old toothbrush to scrub your stamps. I actually held mine under the faucet and scrubbed them.
7. If you need to remove your pencil marks, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will do the trick.

Stamping this space added so much to my spare bedroom! And the black paint ties everything together. I'm not finished decorating this room yet. Among other things, I want to stamp and frame each of the four images and hang them above the bed. Now, if I can just get over to Ikea to get those frames...

A New Favorite

I think May has just become my favorite month. I love the flowers that are in bloom. Jeff sometimes gets me a manicure and pedicure for Mother's Day, and who wouldn't love that? It's also our anniversary month (25 this year!). And now, added to all of that, I found out that May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Day! I love cookies of all kinds, and chocolate chip cookies rank right up there at the top of the list. So there really was no debating about which fun holiday I would stamp for this month. What a shame I actually had to make cookies for this project...

Cookies are always wonderful to receive, but this packaging would make a little gift seem big! Actually, this isn't a little cookie. I used a 1/4 c. measuring cup to scoop the dough. It turned out just the right size to fit in this CD envelope! I used the brayer and Soft Sky ink to turn the white envelope blue. The color isn't totally consistent, but that just gives the project a little more character. The belly band is Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip (of course) card stock and Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (from the Occasions Mini Collection). I used the Defining Alphabet and Define Your Life sets with Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip ink, chocolate taffeta, gold brads, and the Ticket Corner punch.

This is a wonderful chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I thought I should probably share it with you. It comes from my friend Judy. Enjoy!

1 1/2 c. Crisco
1 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 T. vanilla
3 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 pkg. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together in large bowl: Crisco, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in flour, salt and soda. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 10 minute.

Note: I usually use a small cookie scoop and bake them for 8-9 minutes. The 1/4 c. cookies took about 12-13 minutes.