Thin Cut Gift Boxes - On sale through 3/31/18

I'm so glad I decided to buy these Thin Cuts!  Look how cute these boxes turned out.  : )  I have two different ones because as I was working on the floral one, I thought about using cardstock and just stamping on it... I'm getting ahead of myself... Let me start my story.

This is the first one I started with.  I cut the paper 5.25" x 7" to not waste paper for the die.  Therefore I could make two boxes from one 12" x 12" paper, and have plenty of paper leftover.








I've wanted to use this stamp set for awhile.  My upline, Kay Pekin, sent me a card that I fell in love with that used this flower.  Before you ask, no, there is no thin cut for the flower or leaves.  I had to go the old fashion route and cut them out by hand.

I created my second box after thinking about stamping on cardstock (as I stated above).  However, when I started thinking about the stamp I would stamp my Juniper cardstock (X5979), I had an inspirational thought of running the box through the Rose Embossing Folder (Z3343).  And then I decided to sand the embossed image.  Ooh laa laa.











Everything other than the box is the same.

The flower and leaves come from the Chelea Gardens - Scrapbooking (D1760) stamp set.  The flower was inked in Glacier (Z2841), rolled in Crystal Blue (Z2817) and then stamped on scratch White Daisy.  The center of the flower was inked and stamped with Heather (Z2826).  The leaves were inked in Sweet Leaf (Z2853) and rolled in Fern (Z2850).  The saying was stamped on the Chelea Gardens Paper Packet (X7230B).  Don't recognize the stamp?!  It's a petite perk stamp (one of four small sayings) that isn't available for purchase.  Your consultant needs to give it to you, and it changes each quarter.  How do you get one from me?  If you order the Thin Cuts and Stamp Set from this project on my website before April 30th (although two of the Thin Cuts are on sale through March 31, 2018), I'll give the petite perks to you free!  Other ways to earn the the stamp set is to host a gathering and have someone book a gathering from yours.  Here is the stamp set: 

image slightly larger than actual

Back to my story...
The wider banners are from the Basic Banners Thin Cut (Z3345).  I used the 1.5" banner.  After I stamped the saying with Black ink (Z2805), I cut 0.25" from the flat part of the banner to make it shorter than the Heather cardstock (X5947) banner.  Remember that our cardstock is two toned now!  The narrow banner is the backside of the Heather cardstock, and is 5/8" wide by 1 5/8" long.  I would have used the 1" thin cut banner, but the banner needed to be longer than the 1.5" banners (and you can't add length to the banners).  I did use the 1" thin cut banner as a guide as to how high to cut to form the banner.  I finished the boxes off with Grey Enamel Gems (Z3089) - yes, the gems are white - they come in three different shades.  : )

The differences between the boxes (besides the base paper) are what I raised with Thin 3D Foam (Z2060).  I raised the banner on first box shown.  I raised the flower on the second box.  I couldn't decide which way I liked better.

Porcupine Fun

Today's sample is for this month's Cardaholic swap.  How I picked what to do was done with the creative blocks I made last year.  Stacy, our ring leader, rolled the dice that landed with:

reds/yellows

animal

ribbon/twine, and

coloring

This is my creation:

The hedgehog is from an old retired stamp set - Happy Forever (D1423).  He was colored in with our watercolor pencils (3505) after being stamped with Nutmeg Ink (Z2830).  The butterfly was stamped a second time, on  White Daisy scratch paper, with Black Memento Ink (Z899).  After coloring and cutting the butterfly out, I mounted it to the nose of the porcupine with both Bonding Memory Glue (Z553) and Thin 3D Foam Tape (Z2060).  The wings were raised, but the legs were glued directly to the butterfly image below it.

Mr. Hedge was glued directly to the White Daisy mat.  That mat was sponged with Toffee Ink (Z2828) and Sponge Daubers (Z726 or Z1938).  The mat is raised with the Thin 3D foam above the Pomegranate and Lemon paper.

Since we don't have spotted Pomegranate Cardstock (X5964), I stamped the dots using Line it Up stamp set (D1709 - from Flower Market Collection) and Pomegranate Ink (Z2854).  The Lemon paper came from the Adventure Fundamentals paper packet (Z3351).   The grid is unified by being on top of Toffee Cardstock (X5950).

I used retired ribbon (some dating wayyy back).  "Sending Smiles" is from Sending Smiles - D1708 (also from the Flower Market Collection), stamped in Nutmeg Ink.

Once the card was put together, I went back with my Clear Shimmer Brush (Z3293), and added some sparkle to the butterfly (you can't see it in this picture).

This card makes me very happy.  I hope the recipients enjoy it as much as I do.

Die-Namite Sale through March 31, 2018

When die cuts first came out, they were mostly shapes.  I passed.

When our Thin Cuts came out, I thought, "Well, that's nice, but I can cut the images out," and I passed.

When more Thin Cuts came out, corresponding to more intricate stamps, I thought, "I should try this and see." Especially when words came out such as "happy birthday", "celebrate", and "happy".

Since trying them, I LOVE them!  I didn't think it was a big deal to cut out images, but with the Thin Cuts, I can cut blanks out and stamp them later, with no cutting!  Wham Bam, thank you, Ma'am.

So, this is the month to fall in love with Thin Cuts.  Lots of them are on sale right now.  Even some current ones!

Here is the link for the current month's specials on my website.  Go check it out.  Buy something you can die for!

Mini Brag Book Updated Again!

Besides this being an easy project to create, it's easy to recreate!  If you'd like to learn how it's made, check out the Bashful/Pewter book I made last year.

This book was made using some product from our Seasonal Expressions 1 idea book.  The stamp set is Chelsea Gardens - Cardmaking (C1709),  Gimme Some Sugar Paper Packet (Z7228A), Peacock-stitched Ribbon (Z4144), White Daisy cardstock (1385), Peacock Cardstock (X5958), Pewter cardstock (X5954), Peacock Ink (Z2849), Black Ink (Z2805), Watercolor Pencils (3505), Hook and Loop Dots (Z1805), and the Clear Shimmer Brush (Z3293).

Oh yeah, I also used some hidden gems - like "Celebrate" (M1188) and Pen Pal Alphabet (B1539) for the saying.  I wanted a general saying, but you could easily substitute any of your own (including any of the 5 included on the stamp set).

With this book, I elected to stamp directly onto the Peacock cardstock.  When closed, the butterfly covers some of the front.  It's just fun!

And on this inside, I used B&T paper as my background paper.  The first page is light enough for me to add my journaling directly to the paper.  If you look carefully, you'll see my knife cuts from the craft knife around the flowers and butterfly.  I did mask the center flower before I stamped the outside two in my cluster.

The Front butterfly... that was colored with the watercolor pencils and then blended with the Shimmer brush.  The colors are mixed a little and there's a little shine to the butterfly!  I did hand-cut the butterfly (the thin cuts are sold out)