Constantly Stamping

This Card is for the Birds

I am the world's worst about sending cards to my friends...so much so, that one of my New Year's "resolutions" is to make more of an effort to give/send handcrafted cards. I am a perfectionist by nature, so most of the time I don't feel like my cards are "good enough" to give away. I can always find something that I could have done better. I know it's not a good thing to be this way because I miss many opportunities to make someone smile.

This first card that I am sharing with you today was sent to my downline Nancy Brown. Nancy is one of my best friends in the entire world and a fantastic downline. She has been the most dedicated of all my downline to working toward building her SU business...so this card (and a little goodie bag of surprises) was sent to her as a recognition of all those things. I am so proud of her!

This card is made using the new Tea Party DSP along with Almost Amethyst and Certainly Celery CS. I absolutely love the new On Board So Tweet chipboard collection. It images in this chipboard are absoultely adorable!!!!!!!

This second little note card was sent to my new friend Nancy Riley. Nancy always has something wonderful to say about everyone. I wish there were more people in the world like her! I used dsp from Bella Rose to make this "tweet" little card! I hope she likes it.

Top Note Valentine Pocket Card

Can you believe it? After making practically every 3-D project possible, I sat down and made a card. But this isn't an ordinary card...it's a pocket card made using my Bigz Top Note Die, Birds & Blooms Sizzlits, and the Sweet Nothings Simply Scrappin' Kit. (Now there's a surprise...lol!). I got this idea over on the SU website. That is one of the most wonderful things about SU...they are so great to supply tons of workshop ideas. You could literally never have to design a single card if you didn't want to. Of course, I love to create things and I always have to put my own twist on everything, but the ideas are there if you want them.

If you would like more information on how YOU can become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, you can contact me a [email protected]. If you would like to be part of a fun, creative, and caring team of demonstrators, we would love to have you join us! I live in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee (just outside of Nashville). But you don't have to live in Nashville to join my team. I have downline team members all over the country. Contact me today!

Top Note Ghirardelli Chocolate Covers

I ran across some cute little Ghirardelli Chocolate covers on Carrie Rhodes' blog. You can see her project here. I couldn't wait to give it a go. Since I already had my Sweet Nothings Simply Scrappin' kit handy, I decided to see what I could come up with. This is a fun and easy project. All you need is your Big Shot Top Note Die & Machine and the Curly Lable Punch. I added some Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, some adhesive and dimensionals and I was finished. The little red hearts were an afterthought. I punched six hearts with a punch that I already have and then glued them on. These would be a really cute teacher gift or for children to give as valentines.

Sweet Nothings Valentine Bag Topper

I have been playing with my new Sweet Nothings Simply Scrappin' Kit this morning and whipped up this precious candy bag topper using my Bigz Top Note Die and a few other accessories. I cut one top note from Pink Pirourette CS and another from the adorable dsp from the kit. I used my ticket corner punch for the self-adhesive die cut "love you" and layered it on Riding Hood Red CS. The flowers are punched with the Trio Flower Punch. The leaves are cut free-hand from Kiwi Kiss CS. The flower centers are half-back pearls from the Pretties Kit and everything was attached using several layers of mini glue dots. I made the bow from Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon and attached it with mini glue dots. I filled a small cello bag with Jelly Belly Valentine Mix candy and stapled the topper to the bag before adding the layers so that you can't see them on the finished project.

This kit is absolutely adorable, but it is more suited for someone with a romantic style of paper crafting. I don't think my 11 year-old son would like it very much. This is definitely a girly-girl kit. Order this Simply Scrappin' kit and other fabulous products from me by visiting my SU website.

My First Blog Awards

Special thanks to my new friend, Lori Boyd for bestowing upon me my very first blog awards.  Lori is a very talented paper crafter. Check out her website here. She is also one of the new design team members for the Cuttlebug Challenge. Way to go Lori!

New Bigz XL Box #2 Die

Ever since I received my new Stampin' Up! Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog I haven't been able to create a thing with my "old stuff". I have paced the floor endlessly trying to come up with something fun and new but with no success. Finally, today the man in the big brown truck left me a package on my doorstep. (Don't tell my DH, but I paid extra for 2nd Day Delivery.) I just couldn't wait another minute to rip open the box and start creating something...anything...with my wonderful new supplies.

 

The first thing I did was try out the new Bigz XL Box #2 Die. It is the perfect size for those fabulous Treasures chocolates. It snugly holds three layers of four chocolates for a total of twelve candies per box.

I cut a box from some Riding Hood Red Cardstock. Before assembling the box I stamped the front in White Craft Ink and embossed it with Winter White Embossing Powder. I used the sentiment from Together Forever (#115100) on page 60 of the new catty.

For the front flap of the box I cut a 1" strip of Pink Pirourette CS and used the Scallop Edge Punch. Then I opened my new package of Sweet Nothings Simply Scrappin' (#113925) and added a border strip to the scalloped cs. Then I added both to the front flap using Sticky Strip. Since I pulled the flap to the outside, I needed a way to keep the box closed, so I used a piece of Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. I added some of the beautiful crocheted Fleuretts (#114019) to the front with Craft Glue Dots. (There are actually two fleuretts here, not three. The top two layers are actually one fleurett.) I topped it off with a half-back pearl for a more finished look.

For the chocolates I cut 3/4" strips of DSP from Sweet Nothing Simply Scrappin' kit and wrapped each chocolate. This is fine for the two bottom layers of candy, but for the top layer I added a border strip from the kit. I topped it off with tiny flowers punched with the Trio Flower Punch and added pearls to each to mimic the look of the front of the box.

You can order these supplies from me any time (day or night) at my Stampin' Up! website!

Hugs & Kisses Gable Box

What a crazy week it has been for me. I haven't had nearly as much time as I would like to stamp, but I managed to pull this project together. As I have mentioned before, I have about every die cutting system available, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to find out that I have an Accucut Die Cut machine. I also have this wonderful gable box die that I purchased a few years ago. Every once in a while I pull it out and make something.

Here I used some Pink Piourette Card Stock for the basic box. Then, I added a strip of brown swiss dsp and red/pink gingham dsp from the Bella collection. I covered a chipboard heart with some Riding Hood Red CS and distressed the edges with Chocolate Chip ink. I am a big fan of Anna Wight's crystal snowflakes, so I coated the heart with some Diamond Dust Glitter and added a button for a little bit of a country feel. I pre-made the bow from brown grosgrain ribbon and attached it with glue dots. Now, all I need to do is fill it with some chocolate and it is ready to give to somebody special.

If you would like to purchase some of the basic die cut boxes (undecorated), they are available for .40 cents each (US) plus shipping. I can cut just about any SU basic cardstock for this price. Please send me an email at [email protected] with the number and color of boxes you would like to have cut. It will take anywhere from 1-3 weeks for delivery, depending on whether I have the card stock or need to order it. I accept PayPal. Be sure to include your name, address, phone number, and email address so that I can contact you with any questions.

Thanks, Connie

Hershey Kiss Box

I found these adorable "medium" size Hershey kisses at JoAnn's back before Christmas. They are bigger than the normal ones but they are smaller than those great big ones we have seen in recent years. The base of the kiss is about 2" wide. At first I thought I would just cover the cute little box that each kiss comes in, but soon found that it was just too much trouble...so I decided to make my own customized box from Real Red and Chocolate Chip CS.

I have been struggling since Christmas to find time to stamp or blog, so please forgive me for not giving more detail on this one. At least I have managed to disassemble the Christmas tree and pack everything up.