This Week's Stampin'Up! Weekly Deals {Mar 3}

Hi all! Happy Tuesday.  Hope you all are having a great week! Are you ready for this week's weekly deals?  Well, St. Patrick's Day and Easter are right around the corner, and this week, there are some great deals for crafting something cute for these upcoming holidays! Take a look...

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Lots of packaging options are on sale! I'm especially eyeing the Filter Paper and the Sweet Treat cups, myself!  I saw the cutest little egg favors on Pinterest using the treat cups.  You can check them out here on Paper Ecstasy's blog. They are the cutest little eggs that I think you'll want to make them, too!

Thanks for coming by today. Have a great one! Bye for now.

Irresistable matchbook mints tutorial!

I'm back with the quick and easy tutorial for the Matchbook Mints.  Super simple! For the matchbook covers, I used one sheet of the Irresistably Yours DSP which I just LOVE! The pack comes all white, but by using the "resist" technique, you'll see that the prints resist the ink colors and create beautiful background papers.  Here's a look:

So first, let me start off by saying I cut the 12x12 sheet into two 4 1/2" x 12" pieces, and one 3" x 12" piece. The pic above shows 2 of the 3 pieces.  I sponged the DSP and really love how these 2 panels turned out!  Now here's a look at the 3 colors - Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, and Strawberry Slush -  cut into the 4 1/2" x 1 1/2" strips for the matchbox covers. Score each of these strips at 2", then you'll see there's a half inch that you fold over.  This is the flap that you'll staple with your mint in place.

Now for the 3 simple ingredients:

1) Mints, 2) cardstock, 3) stapler.

And finally, you need to put your mints in something right?  Here's my fave berry basket with the pom moms. Viola! Cute mints in a giftable or cute put-on-your-desk-at-work container, ready for displaying and giving.

For a quick summary of the steps, here's a little cheat sheet for you:

And, last but not least - here's a list of supplies for your quick reference!

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Thanks for popping by!  Hope you have fun making these. Would love for you to leave me a comment and share so I can visit your blogs!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

A basketful of Freshness

Hi blog peeps!  Hope you're having a happy Saturday so far. I have a quick share today - this cute basketful of mints! I totally cased this mint idea using the Jan Paper Pumpkin kit from Instagram friend @hofkissed. I thought it was a brilliant idea and an all occasion use of the cute kit! Just add the lifesavers and you're basically good to go.

I'm blogging on the go at the moment, but stay tuned for a full post from me later today with details and dimensions on making this project using an alternative spring theme!

In the meantime, have a great one!

Hey, Valentine!

Hello there! How are you, friends? Well, Valentine's Day is approaching fast, so I've got a couple of fun projects to share with you today.  The first project is the one above - it's an adorable triangle treat box that was shared with us at Leadership.  This was originally created by Sam Hammond Donald, aka Pootles, and the link to her awesome tutorial is here. I made 2 of these cute little boxes for my little man's teachers.  It makes for such a sweet Valentine with the Stacked with Love paper stack! Here's another look:

 

The next Valentine idea was a ton of fun to put together..primarily because I got to stamp with my son to create his Valentine's cards for his preschool class! I have to say it warmed my heart to see him stamp.  He was just too darn cute and he really did enjoy doing it!  

 

As you can see, he even got to use the Big Shot!  That was probably his favorite. He loved to turn the crank! Do you want to see the finished product? 

 

Aren't these cute?  I am such a big fan of the "Hey Valentine" stamp set! I used the fish image as well as the cute fox #1 Valentine image for the teacher tag. For the Valentine treats for his school friends, I filled them with these mini play packs that all come prepackaged with a small coloring book, 2 crayons, and a sticker.  I have to admit that I did color in the little fish on the cover, but I made it fuss free for the kiddos by stapling the Valentine to the front and just dropped in the play pack without  using any ribbon or string.

Well, my friends, hope you liked these! Would love to hear what you think!  I'll catch up with you all soon.  Have a great one!

Mini coffee cups decked out in Sale-a-bration!

Hey there, blog friends! I've got a fun share today. I've had these mini coffee cups for quite a while now and can you believe I had not gotten around to creating anything with them yet?  Well, I finally decided it was time to bring them out and decorate them in the finest of 2015 Sale-a-bration DSPs! And, I think they turned out pretty cute, don't you? ;)

So, I can't take credit for the mini coffee cup pattern - I actually got that from Jill Coleman's blog.  I also ordered these 4 oz coffee cups from the webstaurantstore.com. I used the pattern Jill created, though I did have to tweak a little and trim a teenie bit off the bottom after I adhered the DSP to the cups.  The pattern definitely makes it easy peasy to dress up the cute plain little cups. {Thanks, Jill!}

What I did create was the carrier, which is actually, just a reboot of the carrier I created for the milk cartons on this post, with the only difference being the measurements.  Are you ready?:

You'll need:

*2 pieces of 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" cardstock  for the carrier base

*1 piece of 5 1/2" x 2 3/8" cardstock for the center handle

1. Score the 2 pieces of cardstock at 1" all the way around.  Then cut to the 1" scoreline at the creases along the 3 3/4" edge.  

2. Assemble the base and glue together using the Tombow Multi-Purpose glue.  Set aside to dry.

3. For the 5 1/2" x 2 3/8" piece of cardstock, punch the handle using the hexagonl punch.

4.  Assemble the carrier by placing the handle in between the 2 base boxes and gluing together using the Tombow Glue.  

5.  Embellish the carrier with DSP or cardstock.  I used  2 pieces of 3/4" x 7 1/8" DSP to decorate the base.  Score the pieces at 4 3/8", and then 6 5/8".  for the handle, I cut out 2 pieces of 2 1/8" x 5 1/4" DSP and adhered one piece at a time and punched the handle after adhering each one to the base handle piece, otherwise it gets too hard to punch!

And here's another look at the whole Mini Coffee Cup and Carrier ensemble:

Ta da! I would love to hear what you think!  Not only is this project really fun to make, these little cuties would make great teacher gifts or co-worker gifts for Valentine's day! I definitely encourage you to give it a whirl.

Thanks for popping over to visit.  Enjoy your day!

Many Merry Stars!

Happy Friday, all!  With December just around the corner, I've been thinking a lot about holiday decor and what to make.  One of the things I'm really excited about is creating all these stars from the Many Merry Stars kit! Take a look at the video. You may be inspired to create these pretty stars yourself!

Here's a quick look at the products and supplies:

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You can also visit my online store to check out all the products! Thanks for coming by today and enjoy your Friday! Ciao for now :)

Cute paper packages tied up with string

Do you love packages as much as I do?  Then you will just LOVE these fun boxes made with the Gift Box Punch Board. They are perfect for little presents for the holidays, stocking stuffers, or cute decor for your tree and/or around the house! I had a lot of fun putting these together. I made 3 sizes - the smallest are 1.75" square boxes and the largest is a 4" square box.  What I also love about these boxes is that you don't need any adhesive to put them together as you see in these pictures.  The tops have a notch closure, so the box will stay together nice and securely. They do look adorable using the Under the Tree Specialty Designer Series Paper, don't they?  Not only are the prints super cute, but the paper is a nice and durable cardboard weight.  Here's a closer look at the boxes:

These small square boxes are perfect for tiny trinkets!

This medium sized box would make great packaging for a pair of socks or mittens.

This 4" square box is the largest that can be made with the Gift Box Punch Board and it's just the right size for a belt, candle, or even sweet treats! Whatever creativity you can fit, you can rest assured it will be cutely packaged! ;)  I decided to embellish this box with a bow that I die cut using the Gift Bow Bigz L die which I then embossed with the Polka Dot Embossing folder.  I'm a big fan of the polka dots, so I really love how this bow came out.

Thanks for popping by today!

Don't forget! I have a November Blog Candy Giveaway to celebrate my Stampin'Up! Anniversary!  Leave me a comment here to play!

The Dark Knight on parade

Hi all!  Happy Monday! Just wanted to pop in with a quick Halloween recap.  Our little guy dressed up as Batman and also had his very first Halloween parade at his pre-school.  He did great at school and had fun trick-or-treating, too!  He definitely made a tough-looking Batman, complete with the buff muscles and everything.  Costumes sure have come a long way since I was a kid! All in all, it was a fun-filled Halloween.

For his class, I made little jack-o-lantern favors with the Curvy Keepsake box.  Can I just say I love that box?!  Here's a look at the treats...

 

I had fun making different faces on these cute pumpkins.  As for the treat inside, I decided that I didn't want to add to the heaps of candy these little 3 year olds would be getting, so I filled these with a little jar of Play-Doh. It was a perfect fit!

Now I can't wait to make different things out of this Curvy keepsake box.  I was amazed to see all the adorable creations people have pinned on Pinterest! It's definitely worth checking out.

Thanks for coming by today.  Hope you all have a great week!

{Easy as pie!} - Unboxing the October My Paper Pumpkin Kit

Hi there blog friends! How are you all?  I  hope you had a fabulous Halloween!  I know we had a great time here - stay tuned for a Halloween recap soon.  For today's post,  I'm excited to share the My Paper Pumpkin October kit!  I had a few hours this afternoon where I got the chance to craft, so I had some quality "me" time and got some much needed crafting therapy on.  How do you like that sneak peek?  Don't those pom poms look so fun?  Well, here's what the package looks like...

Seriously.  As soon as I opened up the box, I was really excited to put this project together.  These My Paper Pumpkin kits make crafting so easy! Here's a closer look at all the supplies you get to make this adorable Thanksgiving pie...

Now for a look at the big picture below...

You know what was the best part of this project? Making the POM POMS!  Not only are they fun to make (I mean, it makes me feel so crafty!), they really make the pie look that much more scrumptious!  

Here's a perfect slice, just for you!  Now, if you love this project, I definitely encourage you to sign up for a My Paper Pumpkin subscription!  You'll get a new craft project each month delivered to your door.  Plus, you can check out the My Paper Pumpkin Pinterest boards to get your creative juices flowing and get inspired with more projects you can create from each month's kit. :)

For those of you that are already My Paper Pumpkin subscribers, you also have the opportunity to get extra kits from past projects while supplies last.  I love this option because there will be months where you just fall in love with the project and need or want to make more, so you can order more.  The caveat here is that it is while supplies last.  So it's definitely something you want to take advantage of right away.  I'm certainly going to order another October project because I think this will be a great little treat for my co-workers!

Hope you liked this project. Thanks so much for popping by today! I know I've been posting sporadically, so I do appreciate your visit :)

Ciao for now!

Cute curvy keepsake box

Hi all!  Pardon my silence...I've been off the grid and enjoying some great family time :)  I did however manage to create this cute little Curvy Keepsake box while getting some R&R.  I LOVE this new frame lit!  It's an adorable little box, and I placed the plumeria next to it so you have a sense of the size.  It's great to hold some sweet treats or fun trinkets.  The packaging alone will bring a smile to someone's face.  Here's another look:

This sweet purse box is from the Stampin'Up! Holiday Catalog.  Here's more info for you:

Hope you liked this little project!  Let me leave you with a pic of one of the sunsets we saw the other day.  So beautiful! 

Aloha for now!

Valentine Mini Cupcakes!

Hi there, blog friends!  Happy Friday! This past weekend, I was feeling festive and inspired to make some Valentine mini cupcakes for my workshop.  I couldn't resist the cute sprinkles that were calling my name at the grocery store and so I thought, why not? Well, I'm pleased to say I had fun making them.  I think that since it involves "creating", it was a very therapeutic, yet fun task for me. :)  So, the picture above is a subset of my finished baking project.  Of course, I had to embellish with some flags made out of Polka Dot Parade DSP.

Well, wouldn't you know it - the batch made 30 cupcakes, so I definitely had a bunch left over.  Way too many for my little guy, hubby and I to eat up.  So, I decided to share with my neighbors.  This is where packaging at the ready comes in handy!

This cute Decorative Window Gift Box was a perfect size for 4 mini cupcakes!  The height and width really were just perfect!  Here's what my little neighbor goodie looked like after packaging them all up!

I got to use the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch yet again!  I love having this punch.  It turns out, it's been pretty handy to have!  My heart tags were super easy and quick to put together, too! I used the Full Heart punch and then embellished the bottom of the tag with a little fringe border, which I whipped up in a snap with the Fringe Scissors.  All in all, my overstock of mini cupcakes turned into a fun little neighbor gift-giving moment. Not only that, but back at the home front, I got to cherish my little guy's enjoyment of savoring his cupcakes.  Or, as he says "cut cakes." :)

Hope you have a fantastic Friday!

{Tech Tip Tuesday}: #3 - Stamping on Muslin bags

Hi there blog friends!  Welcome to another week of {Tech Tip Tuesday}!  This week, I'm gonna share how easy it is to stamp on Muslin using Stampin'Up!'s Photopolymer stamps.  Aren't the bags above so cute?  I have to admit that I had to get over my own fears of stamping on Muslin - i.e. "Will the image come out ok?" or "Are the inks going to look dark enough?"  among other musings of mine that were preventing me from experimenting on these fun little bags sooner.  I'm pleased to share that it's really super easy to stamp on the bags and get a nice image.  Are you ready to get started?  I've got 4 easy steps for you.

1. To get started, here are the items I used: Muslin bag, Stampin'Up! Classic Ink pads in Smokey Slate and Daffodil Delight, Eye-catching Ikat Photopolymer Stamp Set, Acrylic Block.

2. For this Ikat pattern, I used 2 stamps from the Eye-Catching Ikat stamp set - the 2 diamond shaped stamps.  Place the 2 stamps on your acrylic block to create your repeating pattern.  Stamp the first row in Smokey Slate.  The beauty of the photopolymer stamp sets are that you can see the exact placement on the acrylic block and the actual stamped image on your Muslin bag.  Tip - be sure you evenly ink the stamps to ensure your full image stamps onto the Muslin.  Press the acrylic block firmly onto the bag and be sure not to rock the block back and forth for a clear and crisp image. 

3. Continue making your pattern and clean your stamps between colors. For the second row, I used Daffodil Delight.  You can stamp as many rows as you'd like to continue and repeat your pattern on the bag. For this sample, I create 3 rows.

4.  The finished bag!  As you can see, creating a pattern is a snap with the photopolymer stamps!

Here's a closer look at the trio of bags I stamped {notice the use of my rosette embellishments? - SOO fun!}:

For the rosette embellishment, I doubled up and used 2 flower dies rolled together to create a bigger bloom.

I just love this Ikat pattern and color palette! This pretty polka dot rosette was created using the Polka Dot Parade DSP.

For this stamped patter, I did a two-step stamp technique to create the yellow sunflowers.  Then, I topped it off with a happy orange felt rosette.  These Muslin bags are perfectly sized for cute little goodies or trinkets.  Hope you're inspired to create your own little gift bags. :)

Here are the supplies I used:

{Muslin Bag Trio}
Stamps: Eye-catching Ikat Photopolymer stamps
Inks: Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Pumplin Pie, Smokey Slate Classic Stampin'Up! Ink Pads
Accessories: Spiral Flower Originals Die, Mini Metallic Clothespins, Smokey Slate Chevron Ribbon, Secret Garden Framelits, Muslin Bags, Polka Dot Parade DSP 

Product recommendations for this project:

You can check these products out on my online store here.  And, don't forget - Sale-a-bration starts today!  So, what that means is, for every $50 you spend, you can choose Free product from the Sale-a-bration catalog.  Woot woot :)

Happy stamping and thanks for visiting!

Teacher's {PET}!

Hi Friends!  Happy Labor day weekend {for those in the US}.  If you've followed along my last handful of posts, you'll know that I'm sharing this month's Craft Project Central projects.  Since today is the last day of the month, this also happens to be the last project as well as the Bonus project!

Back to school is great and all, but imagine being teacher's pet! :)  heehee.  Now, I will say that this project will probably get you well on your way there, if you {or, ahem, your child} isn't already.  This super cute Craft Central Project was created by Heidi King:

Want to make a great impression?  Here is the perfect gift for the teacher you love!  This ensemble has a can perfect for you to fill with cookies or candy.  A cute box to load up with goodies and a card to top it off!

I mean, how cool is the pencil, school bus AND the cute little chalkboard card with an APPLE on it?  Too stinkin' cute, if you ask me! :)  If you'd like the deets to create this fabulous project, feel free to hop on over to Craft Project Central!

Hope you guys have a fantastic Labor Day weekend!  Chat with you soon!

Back to school chic!

It's back to school time and for my neighborhood, that literally started this past Tuesday.  Are you all set?  Well, if you need more organization ideas, don't you fret!  Here's an awesome project at Craft Project Central designed by Jen Arkfeld:

It’s Back-to-School season and it’s time to show those teachers that we really appreciate them.  This decorated clipboard includes a corkboard to pin up important notes, along with an attached clothespin to clip up additional messages.  It’s an all in one message center! Also included are some note cards for the teacher to send home some cute messages on!

If you don't have a teacher to give to, how about a co-worker...or even better - YOURSELF? ;)  Get the details over at Craft Project Central!

Fluttery cards and gift box

Hello there!  Are you ready for another project from Craft Project Central?  This fun project is from the amazing Monika Davis:

Make this beautiful greeting card set with a matching box to hold them. It is the perfect present for anyone. It’s easy to make and can be mass produced without any difficulties. The box can be re-used and filled with note cards or other stationery. Great for a stamp camp, or as a class project.

This is a great go-to present to have at the ready.  You never know when you'll need a quick gift...and better yet - a hand crafted one!  If you'd like to get all the details for this project, please visit Craft Project Central and subscribe to August!