Tag Archives: Mixed Media

Nov19

A Special Treat!

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Hello!!  I have a special treat to share with you today.  Sandra Villoria is one of our vendors at the Maui Stampers’ Craft Fair.  She does FABULOUS bead work.  And, she shared some samples:

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Look at those amazing pie servers.  Can you imagine serving your pumpkin pie with one of those??  It definitely adds to the festivity of the gathering.  And, a confession:  I bought one of these as a gift for someone…. and kept it.  (Don’t tell, ok???)  And, the key hooks are another amazing little doo-dad that makes life just so much easier:  It hangs on the side of your purse/bag so you always, ALWAYS can find your keys.  This would have saved my life a million times.  Well, perhaps not my life, but time.  Lots and lots of time…

And, she has some beautiful pens:

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I just LOVE the snowmen!!!

So, come on down Saturday!!  9:00-1:00!!

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Nov17

JOY

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It’s still Tuesday in Hawaii so I am not late  in my daily post…  I wanted to share what I think was my most favorite project this crafting season…

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This was so much fun. I think because I got to use chalk paint. And wax. And aging wax. And a buffer that attaches to a drill.   I have it in red also:

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I can’t decide which one I like better… 

They are on very sturdy round pieces of wood and have a picture hanger on back, if needed.  And, I only made 4… So… Hurry!!

And here is another fun little sewing project… Now,  there is something to understand about my sewing… I look for simple things with straight seams. And this qualifies. And it is super useful:

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CORD KEEPERS!  And they are reversible! And wonderful to have around… For all the device cords. And they even work to bind several cords together-like behind the computer table…

Stop by Saturday to pick up these and other fabulous gifts!

May12

Dabbling in Mixed Media

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So…  I needed a little pick me up for some one.  My sister has been dealing with a health issue that docs say isn’t a big deal, but to her and those of us around her, seems to be quite scary.  And, getting through all of it is a process.  So, I wanted to do something or make something that I could send her… and that is difficult, being 5,000 miles away…

BUT.  I kept hearing this song on the radio that I truly believe God gave to me to be a prayer for her.  And, the radio seemed to play it ALL the time, so it was a good reminder for me to pray for her and her family.

I decided to make a picture frame, with some of the words of the song in the frame.  I had these frames lying around (I bought them for another project, which is only about a 1/10 of the way started…that will be for another post.)

Anyway, I love these frames.  They are made from MDF (and I have no idea what that means, but it’s the same stuff our baseboards are made of… it’s wood-like, but not real wood) and MDF is super smooth so it’s easy to paint.

I apologize for the pics, that they are sideways, but it’s just the painting process so I decided to not figure out how to change it… 🙂

So, the MDF is a wood-like color…

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And, I slopped some brown paint on it cause I wanted brown to show through some white paint…

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And, then I coated it with a cream colored chalk paint.  I love chalk paint.  Cause it’s super easy.  I used a wet rag to rub the edges off so you see some of the brown through…

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And here you go… I decided instead of spraying it with a clear coat, I wanted to use some of the waxing cream.  I am a fan of the CeCe Caldwell waxing cream…image

This is the finished product!!  I made the insert using My Digital Studio… and just had a picture printed at walgreens cause I was too impatient to wait for for MDS to arrive…image

I made a few paper flowers in the decor to match her house to add as embellishment.  These are the colors that are in her house.image

imageHere it is in her house…

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And final, a finished product…

imageAnd, sis… we are all still praying for you… that God will provide continual healing and that He will show you beyond your depth of your understanding that HE IS holding on to you…

Jan26

Happy Valentine’s Decorating!

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Hello!!

Today’s post is very special… I was invited to be part of a ‘Creative Blog Hop’.  The rules are, post and then link to 2 people who post a week later….  And use Stampin UP! products.  Then, after the bulk of my post, you will find my answers to questions about my ‘creative process’.  I was invited my my friend and downline, Anne Matasci.  You can go see what she posted HERE.

So..

Here is my first project….  This pillow with the heart garland.  I happened to see his pillow on etsy and though, “HUH.  I could make that.”  So, I did.  I bought the fabric from a local fabric store.  I like it cause it is burlap like, but not as rough and smelly as burlap.  I LOVE decorating with burlap.  But, hate the feel and smell…  So… This is a close second.  It’s way softer and not at all stinky…  When I saw the pillow on etsy, I immediately wondered if the framelits could cut felt.  WELL.  They can!!  (fyi:  This is not a manufacturer suggested use for framelits).  However, I had no problem cutting mine.  And, the magnet platform for the big shot made it a breeze.  I used the silver baker’s twine to make the hanging string…  Was going to use black, but then thought the little thread of silver would be a nice pop…  (and, if I had it to do over, I’d probably  just buy a premade pillow case instead of making one…just cause the fabric was super stretchy which made it WAY hard to work with)

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Here is a close up….

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The next project I made was this Valentine’s Banner.  I decided to use the “Love Never Fails” phrase from I Cor. 13… Just cause I thought it would be something different to hang up, but still Valentiney…  I used the chalk board banner kit…WHICH I LOVE.  Everything is pre-made and ready to go…  I had the stencils left over from the canvas banner kit so I used those to make the letters….And, I made the letters with the white chalk marker rather than chalk.  That way, it was more vibrant.

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You can see, I cut LOTS of hearts out of felt.  And, I used the banner framelits to make the embellishments on the sides and between the words.  The magnet die makes it SUPER easy to cut the heart out of the center of the banner.  For the heart garland, I used TONS of felt hearts and got out the trusty glue gun and went to gluing… Here, I used the linen trim (retired), but any flat ribbon would work.  The flat ribbon was great cause it was wide enough to keep the hearts from twisting all over the place.  I originally wanted a silver button in the center of the hearts, but that made them fall forward.

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Full Confession:  I decided to do a little Valentine’s decor…becasue I never really got Christmas decorations up.  AND, at this moment, I have a spring banner over the entry way mirror, a days of gratitude banner (thanksgiving) up on the back wall, and a ‘JOY’ marquee sign that never got taken down from Christmas, ALL gracing my living room.  We like to celebrate all the holidays.  At the same time.  Or something.

And, I didn’t want to just leave you with Valentine’s decorations… so here are a couple paper crafts…

This one is a little treat holder I made with the gift card enclosures.  Super fun…  SUPER fast!!  You can make up a pile of these in no time and pass out to friends and co-workers for Valentine’s!!

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And, here is a card.  Notice the heart.  Again.  I think that poor little framelit got quite the work out….

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This is from the ‘Hello LIfe’ stamp set in the Occasions catalog…  and that paper, is the DSP called ‘Typset”.  It’s thinner than the usual DSP and makes crafting fun.  It has a different feel but is gorgeous.

Now, on to the questions…

1.  What are you working on?

Huh…  well, I have a pile of mason jar drink cosies that need to be finished.  But, the projects for this post consumed my weekend.  I don’t feel like I ever have enough time for all my projects… the littles take up LOTS of it (The Littles:  Zeke and Hannah, my 9 month old twins).  I have a LIST of things I want to do…which include the Baby’s first year album for said littles, and a project life album.  OH.  Christmas Thank Yous.  I need to get out the Christmas Thank you cards.  Which may be combined into Valentine’s Cards.  Valenmas Cards.  There.

2.  How does your work differ from other’s in your genre?

I like clean and simple.  Honestly, I think I don’t do as much of it as I would like, just because I think it is TOO simple for most of my stamp customers.  And, I’m constantly trying to explore how to use the tools I have in new ways (like the framelits for cutting felt to make some decor items…)  I am currently in LOVE with layering white on top of white (talk about clean and simple)  and deep mats on the layers (getting away from the traditional 1/4″ size difference between layers on cards and doing maybe a .5″ or .75″ mat…I know, pushing the boundaries, but still…)

3.  Why do you create what you do?

The simple answer to this is that I have a need to have it… for example, I made the above items intentionally for this blog hop.  It worked out well, cause I wanted some Valentine’s items to decorate with and that worked out perfectly. But, being honest again, it probably wouldn’t have been made if it weren’t for the deadline of this particular blog hop.  It would have ended up like the Christmas garland I started.  Which is still in a bag in the craft closet, half finished….  So, deadlines seem to necessitate my creations.  I LOVE working with people to make invitations or announcements.  It’s a puzzle, to figure out what someone wants, and to get it done!  And, I love the process, and making people happy with what they get.

4.  How does your creative process work?

Well, it usually starts with me seeing something and going, “HUH.  I CAN MAKE THAT”.  I inherited that from my mother.   She does that too.  And, so do all my sisters.  Sometimes it looks like what I thought, sometimes it doesn’t.  But, there have been LOTS of times when it doesn’t turn out how I originally saw it, but I love how it turned out anyway…  And, being that I live 5000 miles away from my mom and sisters, I’m VERY thankful for MMS so that I can send pics of the projects to ask them questions.  And, to brag when something actually works out…

 

Thanks for stopping by!!  Thanks to Anne for nominating me!!  Next week, Feb 2, be sure to check out Cindy Fodor  at Stampthelove.com  and Maria Pane at StampinandscrappinwithRiRi.com

And TODAY… go check out Cheryl Hamilton, createwithcheryl.wordpress.com and Andi Potler at absolutekreations.com

 

Mar13

BLOOM!!

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Welcome to the next installment of the Pin-worthy Blog Tour…  This month’s theme is Eggstra Creative!!  It’s supposed to be Easter, but I decided to take more of a Spring-y approach just because I wanted to make my decor to last longer than the Easter holiday…
So, I decided to use the banner kit from the SAB catalog as a starting point or this project (it’s FREE with a $50 purchase!!  Heartfelt Banner Kit, 133514)  I must confess, I’ve been bitten by the banner bug.  Had a WONDERFUL time with them at Christmas, loving them still now.  They are so fun to make and these kits make it SO easy…
Anyway. You should have seen me trying to get good pictures of this.  I’m not set up for many things much bigger than cards…

The SAB brochure shows using the paper clips to attach photos to the banner.  Which is an excellent idea.  But, I wanted to spring it up, so I cut out scallop circles (sorry, this particular die was retired, it is the large scallop on the 2 scallop die).  And, embossed them.  Then, I cut out the letters for bloom and put it them on.

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I was super inspired by the cover of the latest issue of Stampin’ Success (one of the many perks of being a demonstrator) and their creped filter paper flowers.  So, I had to make a few.  That’s where the ideas for the flowers came from.  I used the Fun Flowers Bigz die to make the flowers, as well as the 7/8 scallop circle punch, and the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  I died the flowers by dipping them into rubbing alcohol and reinker.  Then you smooch and scrunch, and ruffle and fluff.  They are fun to make while you are watching TV…

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Here it is hung up on the mirror in my entry way…  And, the bottom is the wreath kit from the Spring Occasions catalog… They go well together…  These would be fun to make and send to someone as a nice piece of decor for their home… Mine is gonna be boxed up and shipped out soon… just to send some spring to someone special!!
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Thanks for stopping by!! Next on the list you will go see what The Maui Stamper (my dear friend, Anne) has for you!  Click the button below.  Or, everyone is listed if you need…
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Crystal Kondo – http://wp.me/p2l6Qe-gu
Pam Staples – http://wp.me/p3p2VA-Il
Jeannette Swain   bit.ly/1iCY9NL  
Janet Wakeland  – http://wp.me/pHIQD-6l6
Mar1

March Madness

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March is HERE…  and that means at MOST… 9 weeks till the dynamic duo make their appearance.  So, madness is upon us in more ways than one.  (I used to refer to March Madness as the NCAA basketball tournament, but now it is that period of craziness right before twins are born and we decide to make major changes to the house…  so… madness…)

Anyway, you wanna see the March calendar!!  SO, HERE IT IS!!

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I LOVE THESE COLORS.  Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana, and Daffodil Delight.  And the Flower Shop stamp set makes it a perfect way to welcome spring!!  (though from what I understand, a majority of the country is still experiencing winter….  and to you, my condolences…come visit us in Hawaii… perpetual summer…)

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Here is a close up.  This was the fastest little calendar to make!!  And so much fun!!

Go check out what Maui Stamper and Create with Cheryl have for you…

Feb13

Change

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Change

I guess they say that the only constant is change.  And, CHANGE IS A COMIN’.  There is a lot of changing going on around here.  Namely that my craft room, right now, looks like this:  (this is super embarrassing)20140213_062519

And, this is where it is going, thanks to my wonderful, hardworking husband. But, it’s not quite finished.  So, I can’t move in  yet…

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And, this is the reason for the HUGE change:

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They are now much bigger than in this picture, but we can’t get one where they BOTH fit in the screen.  Coming Soon.  And, in order to get ready for them, we needed a nursery.  Which means craft room moves…  SOOOO….  today’s post is some Nursery Decor!!  And, you’re getting a sample of an MDS project cause I don’t think I could find a single stamp at this moment…  let alone embellishments and adhesive.  (refer to photo above)

I saw these beautiful, for lack of a better term, tiles, on pinterest.  (OH, pinterest…)  It was an idea for a baby room that had 18 individual blocks with different pictures and geometric prints (these happened to be prints of original artwork).  And, it was super cute.  And, I thought, hummmm… I can do that.  I don’t know if it is my Kansas upbringing, or desire to not spend money (that must not be it, cause I do like to shop) but when I see a craft project I always think:  HUMMMM.  I bet I could make that….  And the challenge was issued…  (Here’s my finished product)

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In order to make my own tiles, I decided to buy some 5×5 stretched artist canvases.  These happened to be the ‘deep ones’.  (I think they are 1.5″ deep–so they will stick off the wall some).  I painted them with brown acrylic paint.  The cheap stuff you buy for 1.29…

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I made 18- 4.5×4.5 images in My Digital Studio (I put 4 on a 12×12 layout).  I decided to have them printed through the Stampin’ Up Print services primarily because I don’t have a color printer.  Also, because I knew the colors would be exact and that I could get it on the ‘heavy’ paper.  I think it cost me a total of $15 to print it all…   I trimmed them out and then grabbed a bottle of the “hum…I think I can make that girl’s best friend”:  MODGE PODGE.  And stuck them down.  I put several layers over the top cause I wanted it to have that ‘depth’ and texture that brushing Modge Podge on has…

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And here are some close ups:

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I had to vary the images because this Dynamic Duo is made up of one boy and one girl.  And to simplify life, they have to share a space for a while.  (Heck, they are sharing a space now, so I figure they wouldn’t mind.  And, their new space will have much more room. And cute stuff on the walls).

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I love the tool in MDS that you can recolor embellishments and paper to match whatever you are doing.  I did that a lot with this project…

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Anyway, my plan is to have 3 rows of 6 tiles on the wall (kind of like the original photo).  I don’t have them up yet, cause there is some prep work to do in the new nursery first.  But, soon…

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this banners and pennant tour (albeit, not much of a banner or pennant here…. but home decor none the less.)

You are off to see what The Maui Stamper, Anne Matasci made.  Click the icon below:blog-tour-pinworthy-next

Tamra Davis    http://www.theCardLadies.com/loving-the-stampin-up-banners/
Connie Diebler http://www.conniestamps.com/2014/02/february-pinworthy-blog-tour.html

 

 

Anne Matasci http://wp.me/pCcBw-1xl
Audra Monk http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com/2014/02/garland-banners-and-decorations.html
Maria Pane
Andi Potler  http://www.absolutekreations.com/2014/02/13/remarkable-pinworthy-blog-tour-banners-garlands-pennants-galore

 

Jan9

Remarkably Pin-able Valentines!!

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Hello!!

Welcome to the first installment of the Remarkably Pin-able Blog Tour!!  The Stamp-of-the-Month Blog tour has morphed into this one.  And, I think you will enjoy it.  It has a bit of a different focus.  Instead of focusing on ONE stamp set, it will be thematic.  So, I think it will expand the creativity! I am excited.

This month, we are focusing on Valentines, love, or anything related to that avenue… (just in time, I might add…)

So, I have for you a Monster Maniac Valentines!  I love these cute, little monsters!!

wpid-20140107_205030.jpgThis month, I chose to make a waterfall card.  I’ve not done one of these in a LONG time, and my club members were asking to make one.  So, I thought this would be a good opportunity.  I have a quick little photo-tutorial to show you how to do it.

First, you need a strip of paper that is 1.75 by 9.75 inches (I started out at 10 inches but then took it apart and cut it down)  Score it at 2 1/4; 3; 3 3/4; 4 1/2.  For this strip, I’m suing Bermuda Bay.

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Then, add adhesive in the scored sections.  I tried to take a picture… hopefully you can see the adhesive…

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Next, you need 4 pieces of card stock that are 2×2.  I chose to use Whisper White so that I could stamp and color my little monsters.  Go ahead and stamp whatever you like with the understanding they will be displayed in order.  So you may want to know that you want seen first, second, third, etc…

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Then, you attach these little squares to your long strip that you just cut and scored.  Decide which square will be on bottom.  you will need to put adhesive on the back of this one (keep to the center of the back of the 2×2 square) to glue onto the (Bermuda Bay) strip.  This goes on the ‘shortest’ end of the strip.

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Then, you will ad the next cards on top… lining them each up with the score marks you made.  Remember, you’ve already added adhesive to the strip so that now you are just placing the cards on.  The bottom half of each card will be ‘unattached’.  This is important.

Next, you will glue the back of the ‘bottom’ of the Bermuda Bay strip (the same one in the photo above.) to a horizontal piece of paper… I am using Daffodil Delight and chose to make my paper 3/4″ x 4″.  This is what will anchor the waterfall card.

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Here are a couple of pictures from the side so that maybe you can see the layers.  It seems odd that we aren’t using adhesive here.  But, we cannot if we want the card to move.  I attach the Daffodil strip with brads.

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My black backing is 4×5.25″ and I am going to attach it to a white cardstock base.  You can’t really tell in the pictures, but I embossed it with the new Sale-A-Bration embossing folder!! (SNEAK PEEK…)  Attach the entire apparatus (the Daffodil c.s. and the Bermuda Bay c.s.) to the black with brads on the ends of the Daffodil c.s.

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Oh, the Bermuda Bay c.s. folds at the top and comes behind itself and sticks out below the daffodil.  It needs to be a little longer so you can attach a ‘pull’ (I used ribbon I tied in a punched out hole).  I also stamped “Happy Valentine’s Day” on this.  You can’t see it in the picture, but it is a ‘hidden message’ that is revealed when you pull the strings.

wpid-20140107_205030.jpgThen, I just glued the black c.s. onto the white card base.  Easy Peasy.  Here is a picture of where I have partially pulled the string to reveal the waterfall.

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And, because of all the cutting and scoring we did, the cards ‘flip’ through themselves–revealing all the precious monsters just WAITING to wish you a Happy Valentines…

I even made a little video, but apparently I don’t pay for the version of word-press that allows for videos.  Who knew…

I hope you enjoyed your little Monster Valentine!!  Now you are off to Anne Matasci!

Click on the button below to go to Anne’s site, or use the list provided at the end of the post.

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Below is a list of all the participants and the links to their direct post.

Nancy Amato:  http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com/2014/01/remarkable-stampers-pinworthy-blog-tour.html

Missy Bolinger
Tamra Davis
Connie Diebler http://www.conniestamps.com/2014/01/whatsnottolove.html 
Sherrie Eddleblute:   http://sweetestdesigns.blogspot.com/2014/01/lovey-dovey.html

Crystal Kondo:  http://wp.me/p2l6Qe-fb  (YOU ARE HERE)

Anne Matasci:  http://wp.me/pCcBw-1tG
Audra Monk:  http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com/2014/01/remarkables-lovey-dovey-blog-tour.html
Maria Pane
Andi Potler:   http://www.absolutekreations.com/2014/01/09/remarkable-pinworthy-blog-tour-lovey-dovey/
Michele Reynolds:  http://inspirationink.typepad.com/inspiration-ink/2014/01/lovey-dovey-pinworthy-blog-tour.html

Pam Staples

Jeannette Swain: http://www.StampsNWhatnot.com/my_weblog/2014/01/crazy-mixed-up-love.html

Janet Wakeland:  http://wp.me/pHIQD-5Y7

Dec7

Spread a Little More Joy….

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Welcome back to the LAST installment of the Best of Blog Tour….  In January, the tour will change to a PIN-Worthy tour…  It will be fun.

This month’s tour focuses of Spread the Joy and Monster Maniacs.  Both sets were drawn and submitted by demonstrators (well, Spread the Joy was an SU employee, but not a designer).  They are fun to see and I’ve had tons of fun playing with them.

So, if you’ve read my blog in the past, you will know that I have an infatuation with Spread the Love.  Did a whole series.  For this posts, I recycled an idea that I had made in cards… and formatted them for gifts!!  And, what perfect timing… you can whip up several of these and they are perfect for teachers… friends… and they come together as fast as a card does.

 

 

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These are just the 5×8 junior legal lpads and a postit that have been decorated with paper.  The post-it includes a velcro closure.  The cardstock just attaches to the back of the junior pad and folds around to the front.  I included a pen to make it a gift-set.

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My participation in craft shows has taught me that cellophane goes a long way in selling items.  So, I make it a point to try to package all my gifts.  Even though it is nothing big, having the items in cellophane is the icing on the cake when it comes to creating gifts…  People seem to really like it.

For my nod to the Monster Maniacs, I used it to create the “FEBRUARY” in my little easel calendar.  These are also very popular gifts for people…  And, they are FUN to make…

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I generally don’t like to buy line-art stamps cause it takes time and energy to get them colored.  And, the solid images are just so much faster when doing multiple cards.  However, coloring these monsters was a BLAST.  I do enjoy coloring…

So, for December, I thought it fun to show  you some little ‘gifties’ for your Christmas List.  And, receiving a thoughtful, hand-created gift is just a wonderful treat.

Now you are off to see what Deb has for you:

 

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Nancy Amato           http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com
Melissa Bolinger      http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191
Susan Carlson         http://stampinmomoffour.blogspot.com
Crystal Kondo           http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh               http://thestampinhut.typepad.com
Anne Matasci            http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com
Audra Monk              http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com
Maria Pane               http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler                http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds     http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Pam Staples             http://www.sunnygirlscraps.com
Janet Wakeland        http://www.remarkablycreated.com
Dec5

Christmas Goodies

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I wanted to share with you some goodies I made for my next craft fair… little M&M sleeves. With an ornament topper. I love those skinny cello bags.

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A couple of options to choose from. Makes it fun. These are perfect for the kid’s Christmas party. Cause why make only a few when you can make a ton?

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And, if you are bored on Sunday, swing by the Maui High School gym. Between 9-2.  Finish up your Christmas shopping.