A Special Birthday Card

In a few weeks, my baby boy will be 21.

I know. I cannot believe it either. It seems like just yesterday I was meeting him for the first time.

I always thought I would be with my kids when they turned 21 and I looked forward to buying them their first drink. But, since my son is halfway around the world, serving his country at a Naval hospital in Guam, I won’t be able to share the special day with him. Instead, I thought I would send him a very special card …

This card was created by Kathy at Paper Phenomenon. You can follow her step-by-step directions, here …

It can be used as a mini-book, added to a scrapbook page or whatever. It’s super adorable and I’ve already made several. But this one I wanted to serve as a card for my favorite little boy!

It opens …

And opens …

and opens …

And opens …

And then it has three little tags that come out (I made mine with the Tiny Tabs & Tags Sizzix/Tim Holtz Die and the Cricut Gypsy & Old West cartridge).

I love it. It only takes one piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper to make the base. Then I used scraps from Bo Bunny, American Crafts and Webster’s Pages, along with some leftover rub ons, Jolee’s and a few metal pieces from Ideaology.

Soon, it will be off to Guam to welcome my baby boy into adult hood!

My Fairy House

When I found this little wooden bird house at Joann’s for only $1, I knew it would make a cute little project. I had planned to decorate it with birds, but somewhere along the way it turned into a house for fairies.

After a light sanding, I sprayed the house with Adirondack Color Wash in Butterscotch. My plan was to fill in the parts of the house that I knew wouldn’t be covered with paper and didn’t feel like trying to get a paintbrush into. But, I loved the effect so much, I ended up leaving the entire front of the house uncovered.

Next, I dry brushed a bit of silver and gold paint (Ranger’s Paint Dabbers) onto the front.

Then, I cut paper to fit (Graphic 45’s Once Upon a Springtime collection) inked the edges with Distress Ink and adhered it with Craft Glue Dots®.

The ribbon was too white for this project, so I inked it with Distress Ink and then used Mini Glue Dots® to attach it to the house.

I used Grungepaper and a QuicKutz tree die to cut the tree, inked it with Distress Ink and then adhered it with Craft Glue Dots® to the back of the house. I added a few Prima flowers with Mini Glue Dots® and then attached Robin’s Nest Dew Drops and some buttons I had in my craft room with Micro Glue Dots® to both the tree and the front of the house.

The butterfly and fairy peeking into the house were both cut from the Graphic 45 paper. I attached the fairy with a Pop Up Glue Dot® to add a little more dimension.

On each side of the house, I made little windows using an idea I got from a friend. I’m not sure how she made hers, but I used a Creative Memories’ square punch to cut first the inner portion and then the outer portion out of real wood paper by Creative Imaginations. I then attached small prints of fairies cut from the same Graphic 45 paper.  I added Prima flowers and some leaves by Jolee’s that I have had forever to create the look of a flower garden on each side.

To give you a better idea of size, the house is only about 4″ tall — perfect for little fairies!

 

I wrote this post while serving on the Glue Dots® Design Team.

Merry Christmas

I’ve always said, “It’s the thought that counts.”

And, I have always meant it, too.

One of my favorite gifts was when my daughter took a shoe box and covered it in scrapbook paper and gave it to me as a present. She was little and has never had the patience for paper crafting. So, while it will never win an award, I love it as if it was made by Tim Holtz, because she took the time to make something she thought I would like.

This year I thought of sending handmade Christmas cards to all of my friends and family. I have been planning it for months and spent hours coming up with “the” card. But, December seems to be flying by and I am afraid I am not going to get them all finished and in the mail before the holidays.

So, I decided to post this year’s still unfinished Christmas card so all of my friends can see it and know that I thought of them when I designed it.

In case you were wondering, the Penny Black stamp was colored with Copic markers (I have that part finished) and then placed on layers of cardstock and paper by American Crafts. I added Ranger’s new Liquid Pearls to the centers of the flowers and topped the chicken off with a Santa hat from Jolee’s. The Merry Christmas stamp is from Tim Holtz. Inside, the card will eventually say “from one chick to another.”

To all my chicky friends … if your card doesn’t quite get to your mailbox, please remember that I was thinking of you during the holidays. It really is the thought that counts!

It’s Christmas Time!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

I love the music, the ornaments, the lights, the food, and, of course, Santa. I can’t wait to put up my decorations each year and I hate to pack them back away.

So, when Glue Dots® asked me to create a bit of holiday decor, I jumped at the chance. I grabbed a gorgeous collection of paper from Graphic 45, dies by Cheery Lynn Designs, brand new Baubles by Tim Holtz Idea-ology and created this banner …

I had to hang it in order to photograph it and I am not taking it back down, so I can say this is the earliest I have ever had up holiday decorations!

It was really very simple to make …

SUPPLIES:

French Flair Stacker Nesting Dies by Cheery Lynn Designs

Christmas Past Deluxe Edition papers and tags by Graphic 45

Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye

Crop-a-Dile and eyelets by We R Memory Keepers

Eyelets by Eyelet Outlet

Vintage Floral Parcel Dimensional Border Stickers by Jolee’s

Baubles and jump rings by Tim Holtz Idea-ology

Beads by Melissa Frances and Maya Road

Craft Glue Dots® (the Dot N Go dispenser is the easiest to work with) to adhere the papers together

Pop Up Glue Dots®

Decorative Edge (Stamp) Scissors by Fiskars

Gems by Hero Arts

Detail scissors

Ribbon and gold star (from my stash)

First, I cut out the papers using the die and inked the edges with Distress Ink.

Then, turning each one slightly, so they resemble ornaments, I put in eyelets at the bottom and each side.

Then, you are ready to decorate … each one is different, so I am putting up close-up photos of each section, so you can see what I did.

I am putting up close-up photos of each section of the banner, so you can see what I did. The camera tends to flatten the images, but I am sure you get the idea.

For the first one, I cut out Santa from the paper and adhered with Pop Up Glue Dots®.

For the next one, I layered a smaller sheet of paper, along with a tag and images I cut out of other papers. I used Pop Up Glue Dots to adhere the stamp and tag to provide added dimension. For the others, I used Craft Dots. I added ribbon and a bead to the tag for extra fun.

For the third, I layered several sheets of paper cut with the dies and then used Pop Up Glue Dots to adhere the angel, which I cut out from the paper. I added a flower, cut from the Jolee’s border to the side.

 

For the first one in this group, I used two of the Stacker dies, held together with a Removable Glue Dot in order to run them through my die cutting machine, to make a frame.  I then added another one inside. I cut out the angels from paper and used Pop Up Glue Dots to make them stand out. Finally, I added a gold star from another pack of Jolee’s stickers that I had lying around. (You could use another of the flowers from the Jolee’s border sticker, instead.)

For the next one, I cut out the design from paper and used Pop Up Glue Dots to adhere. I then added a flower and some of the border from the Jolee’s sticker.

The final one in this group is my favorite … I layered several frames to provide dimension and then placed in a design I cut from the paper. I cut out another piece of paper with decorative scissors and inked the edges. Then, to attach it, I used a combination of Pop Up Glue Dots and Mini Glue Dots. This allowed me to bend the paper and twist the paper … I think it provides movement, making it look like a flag blowing in the breeze.

The Stackers dies that I used to make the banner can also be embossed. The first one in this group shows the embossing detail the best. For this one, I layered a few die cut images. The tag, taken from the die cut sheet, is adhered with Pop Up Glue Dots and accented with gems. I then ran the floral border (another part of the Jolee’s sticker) across the banner, trimming the ends to fit perfectly.

The next one features a collage of angels cut from the Graphic 45 paper and adhered with Pop Up Glue Dots onto a layered die cut. For additional movement, you could mix up your Glue Dots, like I did in the last group.

Finally, the last one is a few layers cut with the Stackers dies, accented with a few “stamps” I cut out of the paper with decorative edge scissors. Again, I used the Pop Up Glue Dots on some of the images. Then, I topped it off with one of the flowers from the Jolee’s border.

Once they are all decorated, tie them together with ribbon. For the two ends, I tied on long strips of ribbon in a loop for hanging.

Then, add the Baubles, beads and other danglies to the bottoms with jump rings.

Oh, one more tip … I hate the white edge you end up with when you cut images from paper, so I used Distress Ink to cover it up. It gives your project a finished, professional look.

I hope this inspires you to create an incredible banner, too!

Look beyond the obvious

Finding the right embellishment is not always easy — unless you look in less obvious places.

For this thank-you card for a member of the U.S. Navy, I wanted something special. I wasn’t able to find what I was looking for in the military section of my favorite scrapbook store.

But, in the travel section, I found this 3-D ship porthole. I love the finished card.

Paper: Karen Foster Designs

Porthole: Reminisce “Under the Sea”

Anchor: Jolee’s

Font: QuicKutz Olivia

When you are struggling for something, think outside the box a bit. Look for school embellishments in the fall section, candy and baking in the Christmas and Halloween department, romance in the wedding and Valentine’s Day sections, theater, dances and concerts in the school department, etc.

And then have fun creating!