I {heart} DSP

I LOVE our DSP.  Every package.  The bright and playful ones to the vintagy ones.  I'm kind of a DSP hoarder.  I try every year not to hoard it, and I think I've gotten better but every year when the new catalog comes out and I'm switching the old with the new, sure enough I've hoarded DSP!  I'm hoping our swap tonight will leave me inspired with ideas and so I can USE my DSP!  Our theme for our swap tonight is Designer Series Paper.  I had another card planned, but when I put it together I didn't like it....at all.....not even gonna post it here!  So it was back to the drawing board.  The hexagons are bigger but I think this card is still fun!!!  I love love LOVE it!!!!

It was a little time consuming.  Good think it's a fairly small swap.  Though this card is adorable I'm not sure I'd sit down to make a ton of them :)  I used the Playful Polka Dots DSP, it had all the right colors and fit perfectly!!!  I used 2 way glue for the little edge pieces.  It holds well and it's not messy, which is always a plus!  I'll have plenty of swaps to share later this week.

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

At Least It's Done!

I haven't scrapbooked in weeks.  WEEKS!  YIKES!!  How can that be???  Well let's see, there's Logan, his sports, activities, school, etc.  Then there's Megan.....oh Megan......I might have to write a book about her and the things she does and says.  Let's just say that by the time we get her into bed at night I'm ready for bed too.  This little girl of mine is going nonstop.  So you understand why my MDS time is, well, nonexistent.  I'm going to a scrapbooking weekend in November, I keep saying that I'll catch up on my scrapbooking that weekend."  At this point though I might need more than a weekend.  So I am trying to pull out my laptop a little more.  So hopefully you'll see some more MDS from me in the upcoming weeks.  Though this page almost killed me!  Not really, but it was so tedious, and nothing seemed to work.  Though I still ended up with the look I had in my head getting there was no easy task!  Luckily I'm happy with the final result :)    There's really no giant tip about this page.  The part that drove me crazy was lining up all the triangles in the background and finding an overlay that worked.  I have LOTS to share this week.  Tomorrow is our local Ladybug meeting, I'll have my swap, I'm in charge of the make and takes so I'll share that, I'll share my demo and the rest of the swaps.  Make sure you check back everyday this week.

 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Last Of The Rejects

I finally narrowed down my 4 cards that we'll do at my Christmas Card stamp a stack next month.  Can I say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE all four of the cards we're doing.  I'll share them all after the class.  This one was one that just didn't make it.  It's fun, but there's something about it that I'm just not sure about....not sure if it's the star or twine....but there's something....I just can't put my finger on it.  If you're signed up for my class in October you won't be disappointed.  If you're not signed up I still have a couple spaces available but hurry, they go fast!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

Final Scraps

Here's the final card made with my class scraps.  This has been a fun week.  I didn't even know that I had some of these scraps lying around. We did some reorganizing in my stamp room last week.  We gained a couple new bookcases so I did some shuffling and now my stamp room has a nice new roomy bookcase.  I'm able to be slightly more organized :)  But in the process I had found all the card scraps from the last few days.  This one is my favorite of the week though!  Don't you love it!!!

I love this little medallion.  It's so easy to make too!  I used a piece of DSP that's 12x1 score at every 1/4 inch.  Glue the ends together.  After the ends are glued gently squish it down, I used my glued gun to hold it all in place.  So cute! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Blossom Thanks

It's quick post today.  This one might be my favorite one of the week.....so far.  I love that the banner on the bottom is stapled on the card.  Use your office supplies.  They have a lot to add to your card.  I stamped a quick little flower on this card, then finished it off with some stitched ribbon. 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Quick and Cute

We're on day two of my big clean up.  I'm using all the leftover card kits to make quick fun cards.  Today's card is a perfect example of that!  Don't you just love Daffodil Delight and Cherry Cobbler together!  I do!!! 

I added a quick butterfly and some bling with a rhinestone to this card.  This took under 5 minutes.  I think it's important to remember that your cards don't have to be elaborate to be cute.  You can still be just a creative with a quick and simple card then with a card that takes a while.  Sometimes the simple ones take even more creativity :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Using Up Scraps

While cleaning my desk, I found some card kits leftover from some classes, I thought it would be fun this week to make up the cards again.  Since I didn't quite recall what the cards looked like I recreated them with some new stuff.  This one came out so cute!!!  I just love it!  I added a matching lined envelope with this one.  So cute!!!

I used the Bitty Butterfly Punch and the Papillon Potpourri set.  If you haven't gotten this set and punch this month hurry you still have a few days to get them both for 15% off!  I added a little sparkle with some silver paper and some rhinestones.  The rest of this week I'll keep sharing the cards I made with all the leftovers I found on my desk.  Stay tuned! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

The Easiest Box

I forgot to share one last thing from class last week.  At every class I always make a little gift for my guests.  This month, since the theme was Birthday's I thought I'd make them all this adorable gift bag.  I learned to make them from my downline Michelle.  It was a great way to use up all that retired DSP I had lying around.  I forgot to take a picture of all of them at the class :(  But here's what I had leftover.  In the boxes I packed all their supplies for the cards.  I have a quick tutorial for these boxes, I knew you'd ask ;)

You'll need 2 sheets of 12x12 cardstock or DSP.  Score the top at 2 inches, score both sides and the bottom at 3 inches on both sheets of DSP.  With one sheet of DSP you'll cut along the score lines and cut off the bottom corners.  This is sheet 1.

On the second sheet, cut along the bottom score line until you reach the score lines on the sides.  Your DSP should look like this will little tabs on the bottom.  This is sheet 2.   Decide which pattern you want on the inside and fold the top 2 inch score line over on both pieces.  Fold your side pieces in on the score lines of both pieces.  

Another tip from Michelle, to make the box sturdier add a piece of cardboard in the bottom.  For the cardboard I used the white pieces that come with the DSP-cut down to 3x6.   You can use sticky strip or the green tombow glue (that's what I used).  I stuck the cardboard piece between the two pieces of DSP, that way it was hidden.  Sheet 2 was laid flat, then the cardboard in the center of the two score lines on the bottom, sheet 1 goes right on top.  I hope all this is making sense :)

From this stage, the sides fold up and glue to each other creating your box.  It's that easy!  I told you it was easy, I'm sure my directions sound much more confusing than it actually is :) 

From this point you can add some ribbon for a handle.  I also added a little dot of glue on the corners of the top folded over piece.  Not necessary, just an optional step. 

Here's the finished bags/boxes one more time.  They're so cute I LOVE them!!!  If you're savvy at math you could redo this box in different sizes, that would be fun!!!  I might try that :)   

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

Really, Why???

I know that I'll get lots of questions about why this card didn't make the cut for my Christmas Card Stamp a Stack.  In the end it just ended up being too time consuming.  As much as I love the big shot, when 20 people are waiting in line to use it, it can take a while.  I like my customers to be able to attend my Christmas card stamp a stack and make 20 cards in about 2 hours.  So the cards need to be simple, beautiful and quick!  Cutting the 'merry' out simple would have taken too long.  But it's still a beautiful can and it just means I can share it with you here today!! 

 

There's so much glitter and bling on this card!  I just love it.  The shimmer from the silver and red paper are so sparkly!!!  While this card didn't make the cut for my Christmas card stamp a stack, there are 4 amazing cards that did!  The details for my class is below. I'd love for you to come! 

When: Saturday, October 12th at 9:30am

Where: St. John's Cathedral in downtown Albuquerque

You'll make 20 cards for only $20, envelopes included!! 

Let me know if you like to attend!

 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

You Can Never Have Enough Butterflies

Ever have one of those days where you just need to sit down, make a card with layers, dimesion and lots of color??  I did.  Here's what came of it.  I love the card I posted a while ago with the Gorgeous Grunge?  I wanted to do a card similar to that.  Why recreate a card that's already so amazing?  I did this one a little different.  I can't decide which I like better.  I love the butterflies on this card so much!  I used one of the splatter stamps from the Gorgeous Grunge set then punched it out with the Bitty Butterfly punch.  I also added some coordinating cardstock behind each butterfly.  It helps them 'pop' off the page.

Of course no butterfly is complete without a rhinestone :)  This card is so pretty and so much fun!!!  In person it sparkles, shines and to colors are so vibrant!  The colors are all from the Brights collection.  I used:  Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point and Rich Razzleberry.  I love this card, hope you do too! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

Birthday Bash...Part Two

Here's the final 3 cards from my class on Saturday.  I LOVE this first one.  I think it's of of my favorites from the class.  It's so pretty and elegant!!  The bow was made from our oval punch.  The black and Rose Red make such an elegant pair!  Love it!!!

The next card was a big hit!  We used the new Envelope Punch Board but we didn't make envelopes!  We used it for the base of our card.  The card is held closed with a fun, bright and cheerful belly band.  We did a little embossing on two of the four flaps of our card.  It adds such fun dimension and texture to the card! 

When you remove the belly band the card opens up. SO SO SO SO fun!!!!  And what a fun way to use the envelope punch board.  You can do so much with it!!!  These colors are so much fun together Raspberry Ripple, Crisp Cantaloupe and Gumball Green!! 

Finally our last card.  We use the Bright Blossoms set.  This was a set that I hadn't pulled out of my stash in a really loooonnnng time!  But I'm so glad I did.  The flowers make this card so sweet and so fun!!!  We added a little ribbon and twine to complete the card. 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

My Birthday Bash

Happy Monday!  Last week I kind of dropped the ball with my blog :( I'm going to blame it on all the rain we got last week.  I think Mother Nature dropped an entire years worth of rain in just a few days.  Sure we need the rain, but next time maybe it could just be spread out a little more, and not dropped in the span of 24 hours.  Please...  So I think I was thrown off my game will all the rain.  But this week I have tons of great projects to share, so I'll make up for my lack of posts last week.  On Saturday I had a huge class.  It was my birthday bash class!  We made 6 cards, all birthday of course. I'll share half today and half tomorrow.  Most of my cards were pulled straight from Pintrest.  Or at least the basic idea was, I modified them to suit my class.  This first card is simple, fun and quick to make!  Love it!!!

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this card.  It's defiantly one of my favorites.  I love the colors, I love the rhinestones, I just love it all!!!  This is another quick card.  Stampin' Up! punches make it so easy!!!  We used the Soho Subway DSP on this card, love the grundgy look and feel of it!

This card is another one of my favorites.  Guess what set we used on this card????  Yep you guessed it, Gorgeous Grunge.  I don't think I can even have a class and NOT use this set!  Of course this is one of those cards that you could make in ANY color and it would look fantastic!  We used the notecards for this card.  I LOVE the notecards!!! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Blog Hop-Holiday Catalog

Today is our blog hop, you may have just arrived from Michelle's blog if so welcome!  If this is your first stop make sure you hop all the way through until you end up back here.  Today we're featuring products from the Holiday Catalog.  I decided to use a product (products) that I hadn't even opened yet even though I've had it since July!  I opened up the Thankful Tablescape Simple Created Kit.  This years catalog is FULL of kits.  This is just one of the amazing kits.  There's a ton of stuff in this kit!!!  There's materials for 10 place settings.  There's table tents, centerpiece wraps, chalk board labels twine, die cut leaves.  Seriously it's a ton of stuff!  I wasn't quite sure what I'd do with it all, goodness knows I wouldn't be decorating my Thanksgiving table.  I'm lucky just to get edible food on it :)  So I thought I'd save it until I was inspired enough to use it.  My inspiration came this week here. 

 

She had made kind of a prayer notebook.  A place where you can keep track of who needs prayers, perhaps what specifically they need prayers for.  You can even use it as more of a prayer journal too.  I loved her idea and made my own version.  I used the 'napkin holders' for the pouch to hold my notebook.  I decorated that with some of the other embellishments in the kit. 

 

The element that most impressed me with this kit was the chalkboard tags.  I just assumed they would be black cardstock, they're not!  They actually feel like a chalkboard.  They're really smooth and I'm not quite sure how to describe them, but they're so much more than just black cardstock.  They're pretty amazing!  If Stampin' Up! decided to sell it in sheets, I would buy it....especially if it came in other colors!
 

Here's a closer look at the notepad.  I used all 10 of the journeling cards to make it.  The kits are so nicely packed and everything is individually wrapped.  To make my notepad a little more sturdy I used the cardboard that the journaling cards were packaged with.  Works great!

I used some of the DSP that came in the kit to cover the cardboard.  I thought leaving it just 'brown' was not pretty at all :)  The DSP wasn't quite long enough to cover the entire board, so I used 2 pieces and one of the 'band' pieces of DSP to hid the middle.   

Here's one more quick project I did with the elements from this kit.  I made little pouches and I filled them with some stamping goodies.  These will be my door prizes for my class tomorrow.  I think they're adorable and they were so simple to make.  Let's continue on with the hop!  Next up is Amber's blog!

Ruth Norton YOU ARE HERE!!!

Amber Wilson
Nichole Gonzales Jaramillo
Kay Jantz
Liz Kay
Carmelita Wasson
Cassie Rogers

Michelle Carrion

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!