October 10, 2012: Stampin' Up! Rings

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These are so much fun! All I did was glue an embellishment (one of the new In-Color Dahlias in Gumball Green on the left, and a retired Adornment in Very Vanilla on the right) to a ring base I got at my local craft store.  Instant ring!

Although I have heard that Stampin ' Up!'s Crystal Effects works great for this, I ended up using E6000 and it worked great.  My rings tend to take a beating and they haven't chipped or come loose at all.

Easy, quick and fab - I've been making them for all my outfits!

July 27, 2012: Shrink Plastic Keychain

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I always make favors for each person in my classes - just a cute little item to show my appreciation for them attending my class.  I love making different items, and I think my ladies always like seeing what I'll do next!

I was tidying up a shelf when I found some shrink plastic.  I've never used it, so I thought no time like the present.  :)

Using Jet Black Staz-On Ink, I stamped my favorite image from Apothecary Art directly on the plastic, then I die cut my images using the coordinating Labels Collection Framelits and my Big Shot.  I also stamped Kindness Matters from the stamp set Kindness Matters in the middle.

Although I read somewhere that you can buy frosted shrink plastic that allows you to color in your images using Stampin' Up!'s dye based Stampin Write Markers, I discovered that my plastic was NOT that type so I added some colors with Sharpies.  :)

Finally, I punched a small hole using my Crop-a-Dile (always want to make sure you remember to do this prior to shrinking - if you do it afterwards your plastic may break).

I baked my keychains in a 325 oven for 10 minutes on parchment paper until they had shrunk down to about 25% of their original size.  SOOOOO cute!  I managed to find 1/2" keychain rings at a local store and accented them with a simple bow of Rich Razzleberry Ribbon (which I believe is retired - if you recreate this project you can try Regal Rose 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon).

I was thrilled at how these came out!  TIP - I learned that you should stamp all your images the same direction on the plastic - it shrinks more one way than the other.  About half my keychains were like the one above, and about half came out taller so the sentiment was really squished!

Give it a try! So much fun.  And let me know if you need any supplies.  :)

May 18, 2011: Cool Photo :)

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Isn't this a cool photo? I took this at the stamping session with Sharon Skelton. The samples on the table are mine, and I'm not sure who made the cards on the display board. But I just thought it was such a cool photo that I wanted to share. :)

March 23. 2011: It's the Little Things

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You may find this hard to believe, but I just got the Top Note Die from Stampin' Up. I know, I know...it's like the most popular die in the history of mankind. But I finally got one! I cannot wait to start cutting everything in sight (actually, this feeling is why I will never buy my husband a chainsaw).

Speaking of chainsaws (never thought I'd get a chance to say that on this blog...), we finally got a shed! Oh...sheds aren't the same thing as chainsaws? But it's wood, and...never mind. Anyway, we needed a shed and now we got one! It looks more like a crate then a shed, but Jeff assures me that the cubular object on the driveway is, in fact, a shed. I'm terribly excited. :)

Yes, indeedy...it's the little things in life. :)

March 4, 2011: TGIF!

Pin It Now! What a week! Bayley is still struggling, although the antibiotics are easier to give her than I thought. She will eat anything in small balls of cheese! She has a little swelling on each side of her face still, which makes her look a little puffy but otherwise I think she is on the mend. I continue to dampen her kibbles (the vet did not recommend canned food; just slightly moistened dry food), and she is eating well.

I have had a LOT of homework this weekend, but I think I may play a little hooky this weekend and enjoy some time off. I can't believe how much homework I have - and it isn't even midterms yet!

Also on my desk is my One Sheet Wonder class. As I was doing up my samples, I realized that all my templates are completely or partially CASEd from someone else; and I want my very own! I'm terribly picky about OSWs - some don't use every single little scrap, which I don't like as much. I like to use every millimeter. :) Also, I have my heart set on using Stampin Up's First Edition Designer Series Paper, which is lovely - just like the pages of old books. But...it has a direction to it. Usually, I make my OSWs out of papers that can go any direction, like florals. Now, I want all my words to be right side up, so I am making a brand new OSW template from scratch! It's turning out really cool, but it's a lot of work. :)

I'm so glad it's Friday. :)

February 1, 2011: My Idea Board

Pin It Now! Today I wanted to share my Stampin' Up! Idea Board.I learned a lot with assembling this board...namely, don't use Dotto! I wanted the cards to be removable so I could change them out as I go. But, Dotto isn't strong enough...right after I took this picture they all fell off. :S

I discovered that adhesive backed Velcro works beautifully, though!

Today is the first day of my new monthly newsletter - let me know if you would like to be on my mailing list!!

January 2, 2011: Small Christmas Gifts

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For some people, I like to give a small Christmas gift. It's a little more than a card, but still a special way of saying that I care and that I thought of them. I usually make these small gifts for the girls at work as well as a few other people.

This year, I chose to make the jazzed up peppermint patty trios. I can't remember where exactly I saw the idea, but I thought it would be perfect. I used a Spellbinders die for the toppers, six different punches (four Martha Stewart and two Fiskars) and my handy dandy little Fastenator staples to keep them closed. The bags themselves are Wilton, designed for pretzels.

I used random scraps of cardstock that I had on hand, but the green is retired SU and the cream is Very Vanilla. :)