MIA?

Naw…… Just a really BAD Blogger for a while. I know we’ve all been busy! I just wanted to pop in with a quick project made with the new Creative Memories Shopper and Fashion Diva additions kits along with the NEW CM paper flowers and paper ribbon!! I LOVE THESE! I am loving these black and pink papers too- I especially adore the black butterfly!

All products are Creative Memories and the cute paperclip photo/card holder comes from Michaels.

Thanks for Visiting!

Summer time is here!

Wow! I can’t believe how hot is it here and it’s still April! Just last weekend it was still a bit chilly

Speaking of last weekend… we had our Spring Retreat and as usual we had the best guests ever! (we always do!!)  I am always amazed that Sunday come so quickly and get a little depressed  as the weekend fades away.

I thought I would show you a quick photo of a couple goodie boxes I made for the retreat.

Box 1: One of my favorite Accucut box dies paired with Stampin Up! Chocolate chip cardstock and topped off with a tag (SU! punch) with a water colored frog -using markers (SU! Unfrogettable) Inside were my favorite Gummy Frogs Did you know that they are apple flavored with a passion fruit tummy?

The 2nd box is a Scalloped Box die made by Sizzix for Stampin Up! (I didn’t use the sides) but I did emboss  the front only using the cuttlebug and one of their embossing folders (I can’t remember the name) This box was made from Pacific Point SU! cardstock and the flowers is stamped, trimmed out, layered and popped up with a Kaiser Craft rhinestone in the center. The stamp set used is called Petal Pizazz from SU! Inspiration for this flower came from this card by Laurie F.  Unfortunately I never took a pic of the box standing alone- Inside were 2 Raffaello Almond Coconut treats. (one of my favorites but alas… I was a really good girl and never sampled any!

After dinner Friday night we always put out chocolates and for this retreat we chose L.A. Burdicks from Walpole NH- just a stones throw from Bellows Falls, VT where our class instructor Tammy Mellish resides. (Isn’t she lucky to visit their cafe’?) Note the adorable truffle filled mouse! YUM!

Thanks for stopping by and I’ll post some more goodies from the retreat this week

Top Note Box Instructions

As stated before I am not the inventor of this box- we just put our own twist on things.

Materials: The Box portion has been edited

2 Rectangle Coasters,Patterned Paper of choice, coordinating Ribbon, Cardstock, Embellishment, Adhesive, Stampin Up  Exclusive Top note die, Stampin UP! Exclusive Butterfly die, Cuttlebug or Big Shot.

1) Adhere adhesive to one side of your coaster- I run them through my Xyron 900, 2 coasters at a time OR I use my ATG.

2. Apply your patterned paper wrong side down on one of the coasters, trim and cut out your top note die.  Do the same to your second coaster- Optional:  I also like to adhere patterned paper to the back side as well which gives your project a nice finished look.

NOTE~ You don’t need to use these larger coasters – you may use chipboard if you choose or cannot find the larger coasters- I prefer them as they are thicker and more pliable plus the edge has a cleaner look.

3. Attach your ribbon if desired.

4. Box- With coordinating cardstock cut one piece 4 1/2 x 5 1/2 and the second piece cut between 4 7/16  and 4 1/4 and 5 7/16 and 5 1/4- you may want to play around at this point to assure a good fit.  Score in one inch on all 4 sides. With the long side facing you, cut up on the outer vertical score lines up till it meets the horizontal score line. Do this on both long sides. I like to make a half circle notch in the very middle of each long side (only on the top part of the box) as finger holes to help ease the box apart.These measurements allow for a nice tight fit.

5.  To put the box together, apply adhesive to the top and attach the top- top note piece and repeat with the bottom

6. Attach your embellishment- In this case I used the Stampin Up! Sizzix exclusive Butterfly die, ( I adore this die!) and added some rhinestones.

Any questions please feel free to ask.

Top Note Gift Box

I’ve seen these around for a while and thought I would try my hand at them What fun! As you can see I adore the new exclusive Stampin Up! Butterfly die. I used some patterned paper, cardstock and ribbon  from Papertrey Ink.  Thanks for stopping by!

Another Clear Pillow Box

I couldn’t resist fooling around the other day and dug out my Making Memories Garden Party papers to decorate another lg clear pillow box. I wanted this one to look like an Easter Basket

Thanks for looking!

Butterfly Die & Border Punch: Stampin Up! Rhinestones: Kaiser Craft

Clear Pillow Boxes

I love clear pillow boxes…. They make just the neatest container for a little sweet treat or even a gift card. I like to decorate only a part of it so you can really see the goodies inside I made these when my gal pal Tammy was down for a weekend (what fun!)

The paper was from a collection from SEI and I can’t remember the name! (I love the little glittery butterflies that came with it too!)   Thanks for stopping by

Back in the swing of things..

I just wanted to share this tin and mini accordion book made with the retired Stampin Up! Maine Blueberry designer paper- I have hoarded this set for a long time and decided to pull it out and use it!! I haven’t finished off the mini book with photos or embellishments yet but hey…. I got the basics made

Dies used for the project are Accucut and for the flower embellishment, Sizzix.

I found these new to me stamps designed by Leanne Ellis… and could not resist ordering a few. This is what I made with the “choose” stamp and mailed off to my daughter.

You can check out her etsy shop here - I ordered  the Wandering Mind print and cannot wait for it to arrive!!

New die ~ New card :)

I just recently purchased the foldout card die and had to use it with the super Yummy Perfect Day paper pack from Close to my Heart.  I used a Anya nurse stamp from The Greeting Farm.  Here are two images~ closed and open.

Thanks for visiting

Ahhh, the days of youth!

My girlfriends and I used to make gazillions of these! This one I made  for the Creative Memories 45 days of Valentine Ideas Neat idea huh?? You can take a peek here : Fun huh?? (instructions are included too for all projects!)

Maybe it’s time to make one for your sweetie and don’t share what you put under those numbers!!!

Primary Valentine Power Palette Additions, Cardstock,  Swirly White Monogram Stickers, Sweet Heart Maker, Mini Heart Maker, Tape Runner and Precision Point Adhesive all by Creative Memories

Are you ready?

The holidays are fast approaching and I’m almost ready

I was walking towards the register at our local Walgreens and spied some red Andes Candies. I believe they are a white chocolate type based candy with some peppermint candy thrown in… the truth is, I saw the packaging and thought  “wow” this would look perfect in those clear pillow boxes and never even looked to learn more about the candy but I can tell you they smell awesome

I used a pillowbox for my favors as they fit 8 of the candies perfectly. The sad part is that since I had the perfect number of candies there were none left over to taste… well I guess I get to wait until Christmas too!

Thanks for stopping by

Pillow box: Clear bags, Patterned Paper: Basic Grey, Wassail, Ribbon: Papertrey Ink, Stamps and Ink: Stampin UP!, Punches: Stampin Up!

For the blue I used pebbles patterned paper and Hershey’s Truffle Kisses and generic ribbon from Michaels.

and in blue

Post Retreat…

Wow! The Autumn Papercraft Retreat was this past weekend and it was fantastic. It is so wonderful to see all of our returning guests and greet our new ones. What started out as being a challenge to create a high end  retreat has turned into something I never imagined…. the chance to develop friendships with wonderful women – all different and unique and so very talented. (and funny too) We feel truly blessed.

Tonight I have a tin that coordinates with the shadowbox cards from the last post. I used the Creative Memories Jewel Christmas Power Palette Kit, Winter Wonderland Max Kit, Tag Maker and Brown Swirly ABC/123 Stickers (which are hidden in this photo)

Now it’s time to start designing some Christmas cards and holiday favor boxes I LOVE this time of year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Creative Memories Project Center

Have you seen This ?? 30 days chock full of holiday gift giving ideas Here are a couple of cards I contributed.  I just love this style card and it’s so easy to make using the Creative Memories Custom Cutting System with their Oval and Circle Patterns. I also used Brown and Cloud cardstock and some popped up stickers from the 8×8 Wonderland Max Kit and sentiment stickers from the 12×12 Jewel Christmas Power™ Palette Kit

Quick Thanksgiving Treat

Sometimes you need a little treat but don’t have any time on your hands.. right?? You know what it’s like! So, I found myself with 200 clear pillow boxes that were too big for what I was planning on using them for and though, hey- I can use this. So today I have a quick clear pillow box, with some mini treats all wrapped up in Creative Memories 12×12 Primary Autumn Power™ Palette Additions paper , tag maker and sticker- I just added a pop dot and some ribbon ad voila, done!

Some Instructions:

As promised here are the instructions for the handmade glass tile pendants. These are so easy to do. Here are some supplies you will need:

• Diamond Glaze
• Handmade Glass tiles: can be purchased here: Little Workshop
• Silver Bales: Can be purchased here: Raydichroic
• Japanese Washi Chiyogami Yuzen Paper: can be purchase here:  SupplyRiot

You may be able to find different suppliers- I have used these Etsy sellers and have had great service from them.

I always give myself the freedom to mess up a few times when trying out something new so keeping that in mind…

1. The first step is to pick out a small area of the paper pattern you find pleasing and trim out 2 small squares. Adhere with wrong sides facing each other. (this will allow your back side to show off the pretty paper as well as the front and gives it a nice finished look.

2. Wash and dry your glass tile. Apply Diamond Glaze directly to your glass on the rough side making sure to cover it completely and place it on top of the small square of paper – (not too much glaze but not too little~this is where the messing up might come in to play) and hold firmly until you can see it’s adhered and there’s no chance of the glaze bubbling or the paper pulling way from the glass.

Once dry you can always trim away any extra with a crafters knife. Take special care to keep the front and sides of glass free from glaze. I have also used scissors with success as well.

You can also brush the glaze onto the paper, lay it on waxed paper and position the glass tile in place again pressing until there are no bubbles. I use a tooth pick to help smooth the glaze over the paper and tile.

3) After your tile is completely dry you can apply the silver bail to the backside with your diamond glaze or E6000 adhesive. I prefer diamond glaze as it seems to do the job and I can avoid the fumes of the E6000 adhesive.

You can add any necklace you choose- ball chain is popular but your local craft store sells cord, chain and necklaces that you might like as well.

If anyone has any questions at all please feel free to email me

Quadrant Book, Centerpiece Book, Room Book

Some of you have emailed re: a template for this piece: Disney Centerpiece Book

and you can find that template here and all you  have to do is just be creative and add whatever you like.

Kodak Centerpiece Template

Back again……

OMG did I ever take a blogging break or what?? Between home improvements, fall cleaning (and I’m not done THAT yet..) doing a couple  assignments and getting ready for the upcoming crop late November I have been neglectful. Some of you have emailed about a tutorial on the glass pendants and I’ll post a new sample with instructions by Monday at the latest- Promise.

The only thing I can show you is a halloween test tube treat I made for a sweet friend in a “lets mingle” swap I was thrilled that this years M&M’s matched my K& Company Halloween paper from last year. Thanks for visiting!

Getting ready for the holidays!

I’ve seen so many holiday cards lately I had to jump on the bandwagon and think about stating mine. I decided to make this full apron card which allows you to tuck in a nice cookie recipe ~ it has been suggested to me that these would be great for a cookie exchange- what a great idea! Hope you enjoy!

All products (aside from the ribbon) used are offered through Creative Memories and I love the new Jewel Christmas Power Palette Kit!

So Comfy………

I had mentioned that we were doing a remodel of our living room and here is a peek at how it came out I love the taupe walls and how well it goes with the white woodwork. We purchased the dark brown leather couch and chair which recline (so nice for the back) and this weekend we’ll be shopping for a new coffee table It’s amazing how a simple re-do can lift your spirits!(well, not really so simple)