Make Mine Stamps

Creative Sketches: Anything Goes!

And I'll admit that I didn't check to see if we had a sketch.  In my mind, if anything goes, it is my liberty to take creative license and I did!  Here's a scrapbooking simple project that is super easy and something you could easily carry in your purse or briefcase.

Isn't it absolutely amazing?  What?  You can't see how cute this is????  Well, let's show you the opened up version.....

 

Wait for it......

 

 

Ta Dah!

Better?  It's a photo wallet scrapbook that will hold three to six pictures and journaling.  The envelopes protect the pictures and you can even decorate the outside of the envelopes if you choose, giving you at least three more photo or journaling options.  The top and bottom pictures show the cards inside the envelope.  The middle picture actually shows the insert pulled out and as we all know, every insert has two sides!

Super easy and super efficient.  I'm giving this one away to a new mom for a quick and easy brag book.  What do you think?  What could you use this for?

Tomorrow is Blogger's Challenge and I'm hopeful I'll get something stamped.  'Til then, have a fabulous Thursday!  And remember to check out the other designers at www.creative-sketches.com  Blessings to you and yours!

 

It's Really Easy....

Sometimes you see something and you think, "WOW!  That must really be difficult to make."  So instead of giving it a try, you pass it by.  Well, here's one of the items I'm including in my auction package this week and it really is super easy.  In fact, this one was created in less than two hours.  Wouldn't this make a nice gift for someone celebrating a memorable birthday?  And really...aren't they all memorable?

I'm going to share several pictures here and then I'll give you some simple instructions.

This is a paper bag album and if you can fold paper bags, you've got it made!  My personal hint to you would be to create base pages for every page you put in your book.  Then, when you have the entire page completed, adhere it to your page.  This will make it much easier and there will be no "mistakes."  Plus, paper bags are fairly flimsy and you don't want brads or whatever you use actually pushing through the pages.  Much, much easier to add these items to a base page and then adhere it as one page to your paper bag.  This is more like the "grouping feature" if you are working digitally. 

You can make this type of scrapbook in so many ways and with as many, or as few, pages as you wish.  Think of it this way:  When you fold a bag, you have four pages -- a cover, a back cover and two inside pages.  For each bag you add, you are creating four more pages.  So if you want an eight page book (including your cover and back page), you need only two bags.  Plus, I love using the inside of the bags for mementos, journaling or whatever floats YOUR boat.  Here are some more of the pages.

Here are pages 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6 (center pages showing binding).  Click on any of the pictures and they will enlarge.

These are pages 7 and 8, 9 and 10 and the back cover.  Again, if you click on any of these pages, they will enlarge.

Keep in mind that you can bind this type of scrapbook in any way you choose.  I've used the Crop-A-Dile and ribbon, but you could just as easily use jump rings, a Bind It All, or staples. If you choose staples, cover the staples with a piece of cardstock wrapped around your book and then put your Cover and Back Cover Base Pages over the piece of cardstock that covers your binding to ensure it doesn't come off.  I've done these many ways and no matter what -- they are all just as cute and just as much appreciated.

See how I've used the bag openings to hold journaling pieces?  These pieces are large enough to hold pictures, cards that people have given you, tickets or just whatever you desire to keep with the memento of this special event.  Because I've made this one a birthday scrapbook, it would be nice if you asked all of those people who attended the big event to sign one of these sheets and make a comment to the Birthday Person!  As I always say, you are only limited by your imagination.

When I put these books together myself, I alternate the bag openings, just to give the book visual interest, but you can have all the open ends on one side of the book as well if you choose.  And because the pages really aren't that big, you don't need a great volume of Designer Series Papers to make these books. 

If you have any questions about paper bag scrapbooks, ask away and I'll be happy to answer.  Just drop me an email and be sure to put "Paper Bag Scrapbooks" as the title so I can find your question right away.  This particular book was made with the Celebrations Designer Series Paper, along with the solids and ribbons that match. 

Hope your Easter was blessed and that you got to spend it with family and friends!  Praise God for our Risen Lord!  And thanks for stopping -- I appreciate you and your comments!

 

It's A...SCRAPBOOK!

I'm teaching a scrapbooking class at the local library on January 22 and I want to have several options to show the teens who will be in the class.  We are actually making a paperbag book, but I thought this would be a fun option to show them as an alternative for a special event or for a friend with whom they want to share some pictures.

This is how the scrapbook, made of three envelopes adhered together, looks closed.  You can close this with ribbon, but I chose to use flat velcro instead because it is sturdy and much easier to work with!

The paper is retired Island Oasis and I chose it because I want to get rid of it and because I wanted bright and vibrant colors.  I've decided that some of this paper needs to move on...NOW!  Because I didn't choose to buy the stamp set that coordinated with this paper (I'm not really into Palm Trees and beaches!), I chose to use the dots and stripes, which I love.

Here are some other shots of the scrapbook.

This shows the scrapbook open and you can see the journaling inserts (these could also be used for photos) and there is room behind the inserts for memorabilia (ticket stubs, etc.).  Here's a smaller pictures of the inserts on top of the DSP.

There is plenty of room for journaling or for photos or a combination of both.  You're only limited by your imagination!

 

 

 

 

Here is a photo of the actual outside of the scrapbook.  Sorry these are so scattered, but you will get the picture!

Hopefully you can see the possibilities.  I've got a theory about scrapbooking classes that I always follow.  I never finish the book because when I do, people only see that as the possibility.  However, if I leave it as it is here, they start to see what they could use this for and how they could embellish THEIR book.  This is supposed to give them an idea...not a template they must follow.  I always learn something with every class I teach and I'm certain these teens will blow my mind!

See you tomorrow!  What will I find to create today?

 

More Scrap Tags and Christmas Packaging

Now isn't that a title that makes you want to run and read this post?  I had to get into the stamp room very early today because I needed to create something to post -- sad statement, but true.  However, the ironing is done and this is cause for great rejoicing in the entire land!  No more laundry will be done in this home until after the Christmas Holiday!  And for the most part, the packages are wrapped, decorated, hidden from the prying eyes of our incredible nephew who will be here on Christmas Eve.  We do not want to be the source of questions....

Here are a couple more tags I created this morning in about 10 minutes.  Easy and quick -- great for a busy holiday, but you can do these for any gift occasion.

Once again, since I had the Very Vanilla 6 x 3's on my stamp desk, I started with them.  And I still have four more cut that I can finish later today.  I used the Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper because I've got lots of scraps from all the scrapbook classes I did.  The ornament is from the retired set Holiday Trinkets and the other tag is stamped with the Merry Christmas sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Basic, Easy, Quick, Convenient -- it doesn't get much better than this!

And if you are doing gift cards or small items that you want to jazz up with a great package that can be re-used by your recipient, here's another quickie.  Do a 2-5-7-10 Box and use scraps to decorate the box.

These boxes are created quickly with a bunch of scoring and while it is laying flat, you can actually add your decorations before you adhere the box together.  Many people will close them with ribbons (see the Splitcoast Stampers tutorial under Resources and just search 2-5-7-10 Box) but I like to use velcro -- quicker, less fuss and much easier.  This box holds more than you think -- I made them for my Mom for some small items from Bath and Body Works that she wanted to gift at work and here's what I've put into this one.  These are nice to have in your purse at the ready for those people you just want to say thank you to at the end of the year.  People like your bank tellers, the cashier at the grocery store, your child's teachers, etc.  Here is a picture of mine open and mine is going to hang on the tree for some added decoration.  This also gets it off the floor underneath the tree and it won't get lost or crushed in the bigger boxes.

I buy the velcro pieces in the big box store and cut them in half -- they are large enough that each velcro piece can easily be used this way.

I still have lots to get accomplished but can you tell that this happy girl has her ironing done!  Whoo-Hoo!  Now we are on to the fun stuff.  Tomorrow is a Sketch Challenge for Creative Sketches and I've got several ideas.  Now to get them from my head, through my fingers and onto cardstock.  We'll see what I can come up with!

Enjoy your day!  Stay warm and safe!  God bless!

 

Another Quick Christmas Idea!

I had a gal email me regarding the dominos.  She wondered if she could soak glazed tiles in bleach to remove the gloss.  I didn't think it would work, but WOW! did my mind start spinning!

As soon as I got off work, I went to Lowe's and bought glazed wall tiles.  I spent a whopping $1.62 for three tiles -- the largest tile is 6 x 8 and cost $0.67 and I bought two 6 x 6 tiles at $0.42 each.  Big spender, eh?

Here is what I did with them and I'm so tickled that it worked and that I actually thought of it myself!  Admittedly, someone else has probably done this elsewhere, but I didn't see it anywhere else so it came from my own brain!

This is a 6 x 6 glazed White wall tile.  I pulled out some retired rub-ons and added them to the tile.  Time taken:  30 seconds!  And now I have a fabulous dry erase tile.  The only dry erase pens I have are wide so I'll want to buy some that have a fine tip and I'm going to do that this week.  However, package this tile with an inexpensive easel and a couple of dry erase pens and voila!  Instant gift!  This is even quicker and easier than the dominoes so if you were inspired to make them yesterday, toss that idea and go get some wall tiles!

Here's another tile that I created in even less time as it wasn't such an intricate rub-on.  Poor me, right?

So again I used a retired rub-on and put it across the top.  I'm thinking I need to get get some 12 x 12 tiles and make them full Dry Erase Message Boards.  They will still sit on an inexpensive easel or you could add felt pads to the back so it could lay flat and not hurt your counter top, end table, etc.  The felt pads I use already have adhesive backs so you pull them off the sheet and adhere them.  The felt pads come in different sizes and you can find them in the photo mounting section of any store.

Aren't these great?  Inexpensive, quick and hand-crafted -- has my name written all over it!

And if you haven't seen the fabulously colored rub-ons that Stampin' Up! currently offers, you're missing the boat.  I obviously am because although I've been tempted to order them, I haven't done it.  You can bet they will be on my next order...

And if you have never seen the Decor Elements catalog, you need to check it out.  These would make great decorations for the tile, they would be easy for you to create during a workshop to show how easy Decor Elements are to use -- fabulous ideas for demos!

Now, for those of you who conduct classes or stamp a great deal, and your stamps look icky, here's the fix.  Use some Staz-On Stamp Cleaner and a toothbrush to gently scrub your stamp.  Here is a stamp I have used a bunch, used in workshops and classes and it has been abused by newbie stampers.  They don't intend to do it, but it happens.  So, over the Christmas break, I'll be cleaning my stamps and checking them all out to make sure they are in good stamping order.  Look at the right side of this stamp and you'll see how much cleaner it can be.

See how all the grime is off the right side of the stamp?  I didn't have to scrub it hard either -- very gently but Staz On cleans it easily, the rubber is A-okay to stamp again another day and then I cleaned it with my regular stamp cleaner.  Take heart -- there is hope for dirty stamps!

Have an awesome day!  Thanks for stopping!

 

Do You Know How to Play With Dominos?

Well, I don't...so here is what a stamper does with dominoes that are just "sitting around taking up valuable space."

I stamp on them and turn them into magnets (pictured here) or pins.  I'll show you some samples below of pins I've created.

First, soak your dominos overnight in bleach.  I put mine in a food saver container that I use for this purpose only and put the lid on once the dominoes are covered in bleach.  This takes the gloss off the dominoes (these are plastic) and allows them to take the ink.  This particular domino was stamped with Craft Not Quite Navy and I used the Serene Snowflake set.  Once I stamped the domino, I allowed it to dry (actually, if you know me, you know I used the heat gun because my middle name is "Impatient!") and then I sprayed it with a matte clear sealer.  I allowed it to dry again (this time I REALLY DID allow it to dry) and then I sprayed it with a second coat of sealer.  Once it was dry, I used a glue gun (low temp in my case) to hot glue two magnets to the back. 

You may not be aware (as I wasn't!) that when you buy magnets, you need to check the strength level on the bottom of your package.  These magnets are a strength level of 6 and with two of them on there, they hold whatever I want to put on the front of my fridge or filing cabinets in the stamp room.  I love this!

Here are some pins I created:

       

 

Now here is the great part!  I stamped these with regular ink -- I actually colored the stamps with markers and then stamped on the domino.  Can you say AWESOME?  Not everyone has craft inks and this works just as well with the regular inks! 

Once again, I stamped and then heated with the heat gun, sprayed with two coats of sealer and added a pin back with the hot glue gun.  You can  see the sample of what my pin back looks like.  I attached the pin back with hot glue, and then covered the glue with a small piece of felt.  It just looks more finished.  I also wanted to find out if I could use dominos both horizontally and vertically -- AND YOU CAN!   The holly is from the Leaf Lines set and the bird on a branch is from Serene Silhouettes, a hostess only set.       

Now, if you have children, wouldn't they love creating these for friends and family?  And here is another thought:  If you are a demo and trying to find a way to introduce stamping to those you meet, wear a pin that you've created!  I love using the Charming set and using the word Create inside the frame.  Women notice jewelry and pins and when you are standing in the grocery line, don't tell me you don't notice what the gals behind and in front of your are wearing -- I sure do!  I would absolutelycomment on these pins.  And can I tell you how inexpensive these are to make?  What a great and simple idea for Christmas gifts for the people you want to give something small.  Nothing says love like a handmade gift (well...maybe Chocolate!).

I'll be back tomorrow -- didn't get to stamp much at the end of last week so I was missing in action.  But my intentions are good this week and I am thinking I'll be able to post each day.  Have a terrific Monday!

 

It's a CASE - Copy and Share Everything

One of the things I love most about being a Stampin' Up! Demo is that stampers, especially Stampin' Up! Demos, share so willingly!  We post on different demo boards, as well as on the Stampin' Up! demo site, and if you have a question, all you need to do is to ask the original poster and, more often than not, you will get the details FREE!  There are some demos who sell their work and if you want to pay their price, you can get those details as well.  However, for me, there are so many who share so freely and so willingly that I rarely buy directions -- there is no need because so many demos share so much with other demos.

Because of the current Starter Kit special, I'm encouraging those who "want it all and want it now" to take advantage of this special -- what's not to love?  $310 in products (YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE WHAT YOU GET) for only $87.50 and no shipping charges?  Ummmm...HELLLLLLLOOOOO!  There is no way to lose here -- get what you want, get access to demo boards and all those free ideas and ladies -- you can WOW your friends!  You'll even get the beautiful and fabulous Stampin' Success publication that gives you gorgeous samples and ideas, as well as access to the Stampin' Up! Demo site. 

Today, I'm sharing a CASE of one of the stampers whose blog I read daily -- I subscribe to her blog as you can subscribe to mine to make certain I don't miss any of her posts.  Patty Bennett is someone who shares so willingly and she does FABULOUS work.  If I lived in her area, I'd go to all of her classes!  For my recent Stamp-A-Stack, I made the decision that I needed a card that was outside of my style.  My stampers made 20 cards -- four each of five designs and I wanted something different than I normally design.  Patty posted a card on her website that I thought would be fabulous...and my gals LOVED IT!  Here is my take on her card -- I did change it up a bit, but it would have been a hit as she originally posted it too.

I started with an Always Artichoke card base.  We embossed a Very Vanilla piece through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.  We inked a brayer in Always Artichoke and lightly ran across the embossed portion of the Very Vanilla cardstock.  Very pretty, isn't it?  We placed a large pearl in the center of the image and I gave them two medium or two small (they got to choose and I used the small, knowing full well they would choose medium) pearls they could place where they wanted.  I also told them that they could emboss the envelope if they chose and many of them did.

I supplied Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso inkpads and sponge daubers so they could distress their cards if they chose...and once again, many of them did.  I don't do vintage well so I have to look to others to help me out.  Thanks Patty, because this was one of their favorite cards at the SAS!  I appreciate your willingness to share and your inspiration!

If you want to take advantage of the Starter Kit Special, click the "Join My Team" link and it will walk you through the process.  My recruiter password is "teamwork".  If you have questions, give me a call -- I have answers!

I'm hoping to have time to stamp today and am working on new designs.  On December 1, the new Occasions Mini goes live for Demos and I'm excited to say there are some fabulous new things I'm going to have to have......

Have a Blessed Day! 

What to do with those hard to use papers?

I don't do Halloween cards at all.  EVER!  So what to do with the Wicked Fun Specialty Paper left over from my paper share?  Well, I used the stripe for a gift bag and I love the way it turned out!  How about you?

I used a base in Rich Razzleberry and resurrected the sketch from Mojo Monday.  I really loved this sketch and below, you'll see just how much!

I cut a piece of Old Olive to use as the base for the two panels.  After cutting the stripe to the size I wanted, I layered them on Rich Razzleberry and then added the ribbon (cheater!).  I added the knot and then stamped the image from Friends 24-7 in Black Staz On Ink onto Whisper White.  I colored this using my Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive markers, along with blender pens and ink pads.  I stamped the sentiment from Great Friends at the bottom of the Old Olive panel and then added the bling just for grins and giggles.

Final step was to layer the Old Olive panel onto Rich Razzleberry panel and then layer the entire piece onto the front of the bag.

Now, call it overkill, but I loved that sketch so much and they offered us the option of squared or round.  Had to try that round.

I cut a circle with my Big Shot Clear Circle in Rich Razzleberry and basically repeated the same steps to layer the pieces.  For this one, I just stamped the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes (so versatile!) and punched it out with my oval punch.  I'll add this to the bag with a string before I use it.

Tons to do and need to get rollling!  Have an awesome day and God Bless!

Blogger's Challenge: Re-Use or Recyle

Today, we've been challenged to Re-Use and/or Recycle.  I've done both!  And no, it isn't a fabulous project, but it came in handy when I needed it so I'm counting it as both -- after all, I'm my own judge and jury here!

This was a bag that Thom brought home with a purchase.  I can't even remember what was in the bag, but it is a nice bag with gold embossing.  However, I knew that eventually a Re-Use/Recycle was coming up and I wanted to be prepared versus the last minute frantic attempts to recycle something.

I've been working with my Big Shot in preparation for a class I would like to offer toward the end of October and had this fabric flower cut out.  And I happened to have a button that matched these colors (it belonged to something else that I trashed and I recycled the buttons!  Score 2 for Tami!) and I decided to see how this looked on the bag.

I cut a stem in Garden Green Textured Cardstock and cut a couple of leaves from the same cardstock.  I folded the leaves in half and played with them a bit to give them some dimension.  As I told you previously, Gift Bags are just large card opportunities to me so I ran a ribbon across the bottom to separate the top from the bottom and stamped Thank You (retired sentiment) on the bag.  So it looked a bit anemic but you know what?  Glitter just makes everything better and I sprayed some Gold Smooch Spray on the bag which you can see a bit just looking at it. 

I didn't photo the back of the bag but I cut a So Saffron piece of cardstock to fit and adhered it to the bag.  Finished!  So it probably isn't the prettiest, but for the 10 minutes it took me to put this together, I couldn't have been happier.  At least it looks as if someone gave it some effort, you know? 

And best of all, I had it ready to go for this challenge!  Have a blessed weekend -- touch someone's life with some love this weekend and make a difference!

 

Gift Bags -- Extra Large Cards!

It's that time of year when I start thinking about gift packaging and how I can do a better, more interesting job of packaging presents.  Naturally, I think about cards because cards are what I do, but when I look at gift bags, I've learned to start thinking of them as extra large cards.  I found a strip of DSP the other day, knew that I needed a gift bag for an upcoming workshop and voila!  Here is the result.

This is a large gift bag and I've used retired colors because the strip of DSP was Brilliant Blue with Crushed Curry polka dots.  First step was to measure the front of the bag and cut a piece of Brilliant Blue cardstock to cover.  Next, I had to decide what to do with the strip of DSP.  So I made a large card for the front of the bag.  If you look closely and have followed my blog, you'll see that this is one of my favorite sketches.

I scalloped a piece of Whisper White on both sides and placed my strip of DSP in the center of the scallops.  Next, I cut a piece of Whisper Whtie cardstock and then adhered a piece of Crushed Curry cardstock to the front of this piece, using the Whisper White as a mat.  I stamped the flowers and grass from the Live with Passion stamp set in Brilliant Blue, Crushed Curry and Old Olive and matted this image on Brilliant Blue.  In retrospect, I wish I had stamped this image larger, but I managed to save it anyway by putting this all together and adding three rhinestones at the bottom right of the image pane. 

Add a bit of ribbon and a sentiment to the bottom:  PRESTO!  A gift bag that is pretty and functional, but I designed it as I design cards so I didn't really step out of my comfort zone at all.  When I think of things as cards, for me, it just seems much easier to get the end result I'm seeking.  Try it next time you need a gift bag and see if it helps you.

Big day -- Embossing class at the library and I have 1 hour and 45 minutes.  My agenda is fairly aggressive and I'll need to work fast to get it all in.  Love those library classes though -- first class facility and the staff at the library couldn't be easier to work with!

Have a blessed day!  See you tomorrow!