I Challenge You Wednesday: Chipboard Books

I chose the challenge this week, and I decided I needed to make some things with all these chipboard books I've been getting at Michaels. They're really cute shapes, but I'm not much of a mini-album person. I can't condense much of anything onto five pages, front and back .... although I really should try it sometime because mini albums are lovely little gifts.

These albums are so sturdy, though, the possibilities are almost endless. I only got the chance to create a few samples this week, thanks to a super-busy schedule and an unexpected bout of minor sickness that kept me out of the craft room on my most productive night. But now that I've started using them, I'm much more comfortable with them. I also had a few ideas swirling around in my head ever since I started the first of these projects, but I didn't get to try them all. I just might try them over the next few days and share what I come up with (if it's worth sharing).

So let's get to the samples.



Have you seen this scottie dog Mary Engelbreit book in the Michaels $1 bin? They were so cute that two of them jumped into my basket before I knew what was going on! ;)

I have a friend that I haven't gotten to visit with in awhile, and she loves scottie dogs. So I decided to make her a cute refrigerator magnet (yes, a BIG one!) to let her know I was thinking of her. I'll send it along with a short little note.

This scottie dog was a little hard to emboss. I had to "piece" the embossing through the embossing folder (CB D'vine Swirls), but I managed to do it in places that would be hidden by the collar and just the way your eye travels over the dog. (Can you see the "break" in the pattern at his tail?)

I gave him a red ribbon collar with a heart-shaped metal charm for his "nametag" and then completed him with one of my homemade glitter brads for an eye. Add a magnet to the back and you have a really cute refrigerator magnet!

Next up is a sample project for this year's Cousin Camp:



When they put these fish-shaped Crayola chipboard books on 50% clearance at Michaels, I noticed them for the first time. And then I could have kicked myself because I really wanted to have enough to make notebooks for Cousin Camp (as a craft), but usually the clearance is pretty picked over. Fortunately, they had an abundance of these fish books, so I was able to get enough for each of the kids to make a notebook and for me to make a sample craft to get their own ideas flowing.

This first picture is the front cover. I used patterned paper by My Mind's Eye and added iridescent Stickles glitter to the edge of the circles to make it nice and shimmery, like you would expect a fish to look. I used another homemade glitter brad for the eye.



This is the inside of the front cover. I covered it with a coordinating solid cardstock. I had to hide the prongs of that brad, so I cut out these little fish with my new CB die (from the scraps leftover after cutting out the covers) and added the larger ones with dimensionals so that the one in the upper right corner would fit over the brad prongs.

The back cover is pretty much the same, except I didn't put the little fish inside or the eye on the back. I thought it helped to draw attention to which was the front and which was the back.

I don't have this bound yet because the Stickles weren't dry yet, but I had to get the pictures taken and uploaded to make it in time. :) I'll be adding regular paper (cut to the same shape) between the covers to create a shaped notebook. By doing this, I'm able to get 2-1/2 notebooks out of each chipboard album pack.

Well, that's all for me today. You can check out what my friend made with her chipboard books here. I'd love to see any creative projects you've done with these chipboard shapes, too, since I have this little shopping addiction with them ... :)

A Remembrance Birdhouse

This project came together very quickly, and it's a good thing! I only had one day to put it together, from the concept to finishing it.

My Secret Sister at church just recently had her mother pass away suddenly. They knew she was dying, but they thought they would have at least a few days with her. As it turns out, they only had that one day. Needless to say, it has been traumatic for her.

I found out last Friday that her mother's birthday would have been last Sunday. Since it has been less than a month since her mother died, I wanted to give her something to acknowledge the date.

I had saved a white dove pick from her mother's funeral arrangements that were given to the church. (Actually, my son discovered it after the flowers had died and they were disposing of them. He knew Mommy could make something special with it, so he brought it to me.) I wanted to make something with it, and I wanted it to be along the lines of a keepsake.

I thought for a little bit and finally remembered this birdhouse I had picked up in the reduced bin at Michaels for $1.25 since the roof peak had fallen off and one of the doors' hinges had come off. Everything was packaged inside the birdhouse, so it was just a matter of reattaching the roof peak and taking the other door off.

Here it is before I began:



And here it is after I added decorative paper, the bird with a nest, and one of my favorite quotes, "When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure."



I did it in blues because her bedroom is decorated in blue and white. I was thrilled with how it turned out, and my husband was impressed, too. Here is a picture of it straight on:



And finally, a closeup of the bird and quote:



I made sure to tell her the significance of the bird in the card I included with it. Unless I miss my guess, she'll probably keep this forever. Mission accomplished!

Under His Wings

We just found out last week that one of the evangelists that both my husband and I grew up listening to has been diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer - for the second time. It doesn't sound good, so I wanted to send her a card to let her know how much we have appreciated her ministry through the years, as well as assuring her that we are praying for her strength during these difficult times.

These are perhaps the hardest cards for me to know how to handle. I know it's not always God's will to heal people, so when the prognosis is especially bleak, I don't necessarily want to send "get well" cards. That might make them feel even worse! Instead, I like to send a "praying for you" encouragement card.

Eagles are beautifully highlighted in Scripture, and some of my favorite verses refer to God protecting us as a mother bird protects her young. This verse (Psalm 91:4) was the first one that came to my mind when I thought about what to make, so I designed my own "word art". [I use that term quite loosely since all I did was change the font size in a few places.]

Then I tried to figure out how best to combine the two images that I wanted to use. They are both free clip art, and they are among my favorites! You can find the eagle here and the nest here. I ended up printing them separately (sized so they would fit together well), coloring and cutting them out, then gluing the eagle on top of the nest.



Supplies: stamps (free digital images); paper (Making Memories); ink (BIC Mark-Its, colored pencils blended with baby oil); Nestabilities Labels 8; Paper Glaze.

I added Paper Glaze to the eggs to make them stand out more. The white you see on the picture below is actually a reflection of the light. (I'm not good at adding white accents myself.)



This card was a little extra work, but it was worth it. This lady is very special, and I wanted her card to be special, too.

Old-Fashioned Lady Birthday Card

A fellow pastor's daughter is turning 50 within the next few days. She's shut up in a nursing home, so I wanted to participate in the card shower to make the day more special for her. Here is the card I made ...
Supplies: stamp (digital image from here); paper (Anna Griffin, Making Memories, unknown); ink (BIC Mark-Its); MS leaf punch and doily lace border punch; CM heart-shaped CCS; CB Swiss Dots embossing folder; 1/2" circle punch; thrifted silk flowers.

I used the decorative paper to inspire the color scheme of the card. This flower from my thrift store stash matched perfectly. I hope it brings some cheer to her birthday!

I Challenge You Wednesday: Spring/Easter

Yes, I know this is actually Thursday. :) There has been another death in my church family and a death in my friend's church family this week. We've been busy with funeral preparations and meals, so we had to push this off to Thursday this week.

My friend chose the challenge this week, and she chose an Easter/Spring challenge.

At first, I was stumped. I had just done a bunch of cross and flower cards, and I didn't need many more fillers for my kids' Easter baskets.

Inspiration finally struck when I finished a box of tissues and noticed the pretty box for the first time. So here is my challenge set that uses a recycled tissue box. This will be an Easter gift for my Secret Sister at church:




What is included? An Easter card for me to give her, a mini notepad holder, a checkbook cover, and a sticky note holder. In short, it's a purse organizing gift. :)

I made all of this out of the top, two long sides and one short side of a Scotties tissue box (the rectangular kind).



The Card: I used the top of the box for the card, since it had this natural oval in the middle where the tissues usually come out. I just trimmed it carefully to get rid of the jagged edges.

First, I laid down my paper lace (MS Paper Doily) at the edge of my card (which is a generous 5.5 x 8.5"). Then I added the top of the tissue box (cut to fit), popping it up on dimensionals. Then I stamped, cut and colored the cross image (Inkadinkado Spiritual Sketches) and adhered it with dimensionals as well. It still needed something, so I added the pearls at the corners with pink pearl dimensional paint. A little bit later I got the inspiration to add gold leafing around the oval. It was just what it needed!



The Notepad Cover: I created the base with a sturdy piece of pink cardstock, trimmed a long side of the tissue box to fit, and then glued it on. Easy!! (BONUS: No glued-on parts to catch on everything in your purse!)



The Checkbook Cover: This plastic cover originally housed one of those 2-year pocket planners. When the years were over, I discarded the calendar and kept the plastic holder.

First of all, I created the base with a sturdy piece of pink cardstock. I'll give you the dimensions I used, but if you want to make your own, measure yours first because it might be slightly different.

I cut my base cardstock to 6-1/2 x 6-1/8". I scored the 6-1/2" side at 3-1/8" and 3-3/8". I rounded the corners of the cover so they would fit into the rounded corners of the holder. Then I added the paper lace at the edge, cut the last long tissue box side to fit, and adhered that to the base. It was easy!



The Sticky Note Holder: I was inspired by this holder at Splitcoaststampers.

Since I was using the small side of the tissue box that I was able to salvage, I only made the decorative flap from the tissue box material. To do this, I cut as deeply as I could into the tissue box flap with my Nestabilities Labels 8. I cut a matching piece of pink cardstock with the same die (and to the same size).

To make the base, I cut a piece of cardstock to 4 x 8-1/4". I scored the 8-1/4" side at 3-1/2", 3-7/8", 7-3/8" and 7-3/4".

I attached the decorative part by sandwiching the 1/2" flap between the tissue box cut-out and its matching pink cut-out. Then I slightly tapered the sides of the "purse" to better match up with my shape.

All that was left was to attach a set of Velcro sticky dots, a decoration, and then the sticky notes inside.

Here's a picture of it opened up:



These projects were easy, fun, and cheap. I hope they have inspired you to look at your tissue boxes in a new light! :)

Now you can hop on over to my friend's blog to see what Easter or Spring projects she came up with this week.

Baby Girl Feet

The Wednesday challenge will be posted on Thursday this week, due to deaths in both my church family and my friend's church family. We're pretty busy with funeral preparations and meals, so the extra day helped us out. (We're both pastor's wives.)

I'm sure I'm not the only one that dearly loves baby footprints. I've had this footprint stamp for years now, and I think this is the first time I actually used it. It's from a clear set by Daisy Hill (do they even manufacture that name any more?) that I got at Big Lots for $1 -- not this time around, though. :)

A couple we are aquainted with had a baby girl, and I wanted to send them a congratulations card, so here it is ...



Supplies: stamps (Daisy Hill footprints, Hampton Art sentiment); ink (SU Rose Romance and Rose Red); paper (Making Memories); Nestabilities scallop circles large; MS doily lace border punch

I was inspired by this card from my Favorites at Splitcoaststampers.

I got to use a bunch of my new supplies for this one! I used the new ($1) Hampton Art baby girl stamp set for the sentiment. The doily lace is one I just repurchased (after I broke my first one two years ago). And the paper is from those 25-sheet packs I got at Tuesday Morning for $2. I was happy to "break in" these new supplies!

"Time" to Celebrate

My dad and brother (the firstborn of our family) were born on the same day, 20 years apart. My mother told everyone that would be the case, even though her due date was several weeks after Dad's birthday. As a result, she gave my brother the same name as my dad. So it's always easy to remember their birthdays. I showed you my brother's birthday card yesterday; this is Dad's birthday card. He'll be 59 this year.



Supplies: stamps (Kelly Panacci, Cloud 9 Designs); ink (Versamark); gold embossing powder; CB fleur de lis embossing folder.

I was inspired by this card on Splitcoaststampers. It's clean and simple but looks quite elegant in person.

Journey of Life: Masculine Birthday Card

My brother is turning 39 this year, and I wanted to make him a special card. I've also been wanting to try one of these stair step cards, so this was the perfect combination. I was inspired by this card that I saw on Splitcoaststampers.

Supplies: stamps (Tim Holtz); paper (Travel? by ATD); ribbon (Michaels $1 section).

I loved the paper! It was perfect for this type of card with this image. The "scenic vistas" with the mountains was part of a patterned paper that I cut out so it would pop up on that section of the card.

I was tempted to fill that upper lefthand corner, but I knew I wanted a space to handwrite a note to my brother, so I left it blank. I'm playing up the theme of this being his last year on this side of "the hill" (which is also why I put the truck heading toward the mountains). :)

I think he'll like it, and I had a lot of fun making it.

DIY "Scor-Mat" for the Martha Stewart scoring board

I'm not sure how "DIY" this is, but I couldn't think of a better term for what I wanted to share with you.

I got my Martha Stewart scoring board in December when they first came out at my Michaels. Boy, am I glad that I did! My friend has been looking for one ever since, and they haven't gotten them back in stock yet.

At any rate, I love my MS scoring board. Of course, there are plenty of people who are partial to their Scor-Pal, but I've never used one so I'm not spoiled for the "Cadillac" model. :) Nor do I want to be, since I saved around $30 buying this one with a coupon ...



The only thing the Scor-Pal has that I thought was neat is the Scor-Mat that can be laid over top of it so you can have a work surface on top of your space-hogging scoring board.

I actually store my scoring board vertically in a mail sorter, so it doesn't always take up all that space. But when I'm scoring a project, I like to be able to score, then fold right away without having to move my scoring board.

Enter my Creative Memories self-healing cutting mat. I don't use it a lot since I have a huge self-healing mat that someone gave me right on my worktable. So it's perfect for this use. Just pop it right on top the scoring board, and you have your very own Scor-Mat spin-off.



This is how I like to use mine, but you can also flip it the other way. Either way, it's just about the perfect size to fit on top of this scoring board!



The Creative Memories mat is about 1/4" thick, so it makes a sturdy work surface that won't damage your scoring board. If you have another brand that's about the same thickness and about the same size, it should work beautifully.

I hope that helps someone else as much as it's helped me!

Another house card

I've been having fun playing with my new MS Iron Gate border punch. I just had to make another house card since I can now make a very decorative front gate! :)



Supplies: stamp (digital image from Bird's Blog); ink (BIC Mark-Its); paper (mini D.T. file folder, Paper Reflections); doily (Farberware); MS PATP Iron Gate fence border and corner punches; Paper Glaze.

I used Paper Glaze on the windows to make them look more realistic.

This would make a cute "welcome to our home" card for overnight guests, or it could be a "new home" card.

I Challenge You Wednesday: File Folders

I chose the theme for this week's challenge. I've been collecting pretty file folders for awhile, and I finally decided I needed to make something with them. I've seen all these other really pretty things everyone else has been making with them, but I was scared to death to cut into these pretty folders that I knew I couldn't replace. (Dollar Tree sold out pretty quickly here.) I've bought decorative file folders from Dollar Tree, Michaels and Big Lots, but I'm only using Dollar Tree folders today.

Well, no more hoarding for me! That's part of what this Wednesday challenge is all about - getting us to use supplies we bought and just haven't taken the time to use yet.

There are a myriad of projects you can make with file folders, but they're especially good for projects that will benefit from the extra strength of the folders. Boxes and other 3D items are prime candidates. But for today, I chose a few organizers that I've been desperately needing. Maybe I'll do a few more projects later.

First up is a large notepad to go in my purse. I can't tell you how much I miss having a notepad in my purse! My kids love paper as much as I did growing up, so they tend to write all over my notepads during church. But these are obviously pretty and grown-up and Mommy's. :) I'm sure they'll understand ...



I goofed on this project, even though I made a "dummy" copy first with a plain file folder so I would get the placement of the main image just right. Unfortunately, my brain failed to process the idea of the flap covering the main image ... Oh well. It's still pretty when you open it (and the back has the same image, unobscured by the flap).

Here it is with the flap opened:



And here it is opened the whole way. (I would have preferred a white notepad, but all I have are yellow at the moment.)



You can find a tutorial for these notepad covers at Splitcoaststampers here.

Next, I made a thrift store shopping organizer for my purse. I've been thinking about this for awhile, and I need a way to organize exactly what I'm looking for when we go to thrift shops. So that means I need to write down specific sizes, colors, book titles, etc.

I started out with this file folder:



Basically, I cut the tabs off, scored and folded about 4" from the bottom (to create the pockets), then scored and folded the edges to the middle. Make sense? Well, check out the pictures and I think it will. Here is the front, when it's closed:



I used an adhesive Velcro dot to keep it closed. Here it is when you first open it. (Isn't that cool how the designs match up? It wasn't even planned!)



And then here it is when it's fully opened up. You can see the pockets to hold my lists. I've kept the pockets unlabeled so that I could more fully enjoy the design of the file folder. I plan to title my lists accordingly (clothing, shoes, books, etc.).



The inside of the folders are white, so I lined the top edge of each pocket with a coordinating solid paper. Basically, it's just a variation on this tutorial from Splitcoaststampers.

Lastly are two small mini list notebooks. I started with this folder:



And ended up with this (an entire file folder half unused!):



And here's a closer view of those little notepad covers:



You can find a tutorial for these little notepad covers at Splitcoaststampers here. They're really easy!

I realize you can make all of these projects with regular cardstock, but there are two main advantages that I see with using decorative file folders. First of all, they are sturdier. And secondly, since these are decorative and you don't have to attach any embellishments, there is nothing to catch on everything else that might be in your purse (car keys, cell phones, coin purse zippers, etc.).

Now that you've seen my file folder projects, why not hop on over to my friend's blog to see what she came up with this week?

As always, I'd love to see any file folder projects you come up with!

Blue Butterfly

This is another card that didn't quite make it for the challenge I started it for. This was for the butterfly challenge, but I just felt like it was missing something. I set it aside for awhile, pulled it back out, and still can't figure out what it's missing. So I'm just going to use it and get over it. :)



Supplies: stamps (Inkadinkado); paper (Making Memories, Paper Reflections); ink (BIC Mark-Its); white pearl dimensional paint.

Flowery "Celebrate"

When I was making cards for a previous Wednesday challenge, this was one that didn't get finished in time. I thought I'd share it today.



I used a bunch of flowers on this, something I rarely do. But I got to looking around my craft room and realized that I have lots of flowers and I can do this on occasion without feeling guilty. :)

I used my new MS leaf punch for the first time on this card, and I love what it adds to the arrangement. The "Celebrate" stamp came from a winter Inkadinkado set I have, but it wasn't particularly wintery so I used it on this. You can also see some of my inexpensive dew drops in the righthand corner.

I know I based the the design on a card I had seen somewhere else, but I can't find it at the moment. If I do, I'll post the link!

An Old-Fashioned Lady

I fell in love with this digital image the other day and knew I had to make something with it. I love these old-fashioned images! (I did crop out the earring, since I don't wear them.)



I colored the image with my BIC markers, cut it out with my Labels 1 Nestabilities, matted it with another Nesties shape, then matted both of those onto the small round doily. It was a perfect fit, and I was thrilled with the effect!

Then I found an appropriately-colored background paper and punched the edges with my MS Iron Gate corner punch. Once I mounted it to the card base and put the main image on, I added the finishing touches.

Since the image had a bit of dead white space in the righthand corner, I added a few tiny Primas to fill in, adding silver Stickles glitter glue to the centers. Then I added a pearl (with my dimensional paint) to each of the decorative corners.

It was fast, easy, and I really liked it!

A Simple Quilt Card

Here is a card I made that I considered using for the "1 Stamp 5 Ways" challenge yesterday. I got so far as to color two of them (in different color schemes) before I realized there was no way I was going to feature that for my challenge cards. It seemed like cheating to only change the colors. :)

But I really do like this card, so I thought I'd share it with you today.



This was a simple card. I just colored in the quilt image with my BIC markers, added "stitching" details with a pencil (for a more realistic look than black marker), added a mat that I edged with MS PATP eyelet punches, and put it onto a coordinating solid-color card base.

Very easy, but I like how real the quilt looks. I've tried quilting before, and I love the finished product, but it's so time-consuming. This is much faster than piecing and quilting the real thing! My sister makes quilts, but I think I'll stick with these paper ones. They're a lot easier on my patience. :)

I Challenge You Wednesday: 1 Stamp, 5 Ways

It was my friend's turn to pick the challenge this week, and she really picked a challenge! We were supposed to take one stamp (and only one) and use it to make five different cards. I still didn't have anything done as of yesterday. I was hitting a brick wall in the inspiration department. I couldn't even decide which stamp to use! :)

After the tenth time through my entire stamp collection (including digital images), I finally decided on this cross stamp, since Easter is just around the corner. It's from a clear stamp set by Inkadinkado.

I'm still not sure that I'm 100% thrilled with all of these cards, but it was a stretching experience, and that's always good! This certainly got me out of my comfort zone. :)

So, without further blabbing, here are the cards, in the order that I made them ...



No, you're not seeing things. The brown smudges on the main image were an accident, but after I spent the time coloring the image, I decided to try to make it work by adding a few extra smudges here and there. Other than that very obvious goof, I like this card.

I embossed the image with gold embossing powder and colored it with my BIC markers. (By the way, does anyone know of a company that makes gold embossing powder in the finer "detail texture"? This is just a little too thick for my liking.) The main panel is one of my cheap graduation cards, then a layer of vellum punched with my MS Iron Gate border punch set, then two Labels 8 Nestabilities (on dimensionals). Tucked behind the Nestabilities die cuts are halves of the circle medallions made with the same MS Iron Gate corner punch. They looked a bit like a crown or rising sun to me, so I added the rhinestone to each.



For this card, I used another cheap graduation card base. I embossed the image with gold embossing powder again, but this time I didn't color it. I cut apart some old Easter sheet music and punched the corners with the MS Iron Gate corner punch. (Yes, I'm addicted!) I used my Nestabilities Labels 8 on the next two layers. Then I added another of those circle medallion halves to mimic a crown at the top of the die cuts and a big satin bow at the bottom. The final touches were the gold rhinestones at the corners and on the "crown".



This one was simple, but I like it. Again, I gold embossed the image, but this time I put it on black cardstock. The card base is another cheap graduation card, followed by two layers of Nestabilities Labels 8. The first layer is cut from the same Easter sheet music as the last card, and the last layer is popped up on dimensionals. The gold glittery dew drops were made with a glitter glue stick and my glue gun.



And here is where my migraine was kicking into high gear. (Can you tell?) This is a 5x7" card, and I used paper scraps for it. I stamped this image in brown ink and colored it with my new dye-based markers (courtesy of last week's 50% coupons). Then I added iridescent Stickles glitter glue to the white lilies to accent them.

I've had this brown CM paper for years. It looks like tree bark, but usually that's not a look I'm going for. I've always thought it was so ugly they probably couldn't give it away, but it actually worked for this card since the cross is wood. I punched the corners with my MS 3-Dot corner punch, added the raspberry panel, added the main image, and then applied the pearls with dimensional paint.

It's not the fanciest card I've ever made, but I do sort of like it. And for being in the middle of a migraine when I made it, I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. Hey, at least it matches, right? :)



This was the last card I made. I stamped the image with brown ink and highlighted the lilies with iridescent Stickles glitter glue.

This is an odd-sized card because the dimensions just weren't working for me. I started with a 5x7" card, but there was too much white space. I couldn't figure out what to use to fill in that white space (without pulling out any sentiment stamps), so I just cut the card off to a 5x6" card. I tend to make weird decisions like that when my head feels like it's about to explode. :)

Anyway, I used all scraps on this card, too. I basically nested the rectangles to be 1/2" greater all around with each layer, then punched the corners with the MS Iron Gate corner punch. I popped each layer up on dimensionals, and it gives it the elegant look I was after. All I did to finish it was add the pearls in the corners with dimensional paint.

Well, that's all for me today. You can stop by my friend's blog to see what she came up with for the challenge.

Another Sarah Kay easel card

You knew I was going to make another easel card, didn't you? It seems I can never make just one of something that I like. :)


Supplies: stamps (Sarah Kay, Stampin Up sentiment); paper (Serendipity by ATD, Paper Reflections); MS PATP Iron Gate border punch; ink (BIC Mark-Its, pink dye-based); iridescent Stickles; Provo Craft grass scissors; dimensionals

I chose this sweet Sarah Kay image for a get well card because we all know that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," right? So here's a whole basket of apples so the sick person can get better faster.

I again picked my decorative paper first and then chose markers to match it. (Incidentally, they are the same exact colors as the last card, even though the paper is different. I must really like these colors!)

Here is a side view where you can see the easel part:



Here is a closeup of the freehanded cloud with iridescent Stickles to make it glisten. It's the little details that make a card extra-special, after all ...



And here is a closeup of the fence:



I was especially pleased with this fence idea because I wasn't sure how to make the punch look like the fence it is. At first, I only punched the top of the fence. But it was missing something. So I punched the bottom of the fence, too. That was better, but still missing something. Then I got the idea of scoring lines on it for panels, just like the fence panels behind our house. That's what was missing

I love the idea of easel cards, and I hope I've convinced you to try one! :)

My First Easel Card

If you're at all familiar with the cardmaking world, you've probably heard of easel cards by now. If not, go to Splitcoaststampers and do a search for "easel". It seems everyone is doing them right now.

Well, I've not been one to just blindly follow everyone into the "latest and greatest". I looked at them and thought they seemed quite impractical. After all, how would the recipient know how to fold it right to get it to stand up?

Finally, after seeing dozens of beautiful easel cards, my curiousity was piqued. I broke down and looked at the tutorial on Splitcoastampers. I was surprised at how self-explanatory they will be for the recipient, and especially how very practical they are.

A lot of us cardmakers pour our time into making the perfect birthday card, but I've often wondered how many times it ends up filed away somewhere (hopefully not the trash can, but you can only save so many) when the recipient only got a few moments' enjoyment out of the design I labored over for hours just for them.

Well, this solves that dilemma. The recipient can display this little card on their countertop, or even their coffee table if they so choose. It can become a little display of its own. It's perfect for someone in the hospital, nursing home or even someone who is sick at home long-term and could use a little end table decoration to cheer them.

Do I have you convinced yet? :) Yes, I am in love with these cards!

So let me share my first-ever easel card with you ...



Supplies: stamps (Sarah Kay), Elegant Word Art by Bethany, Recollections ("Love"); ink (BIC Mark-Its, Versamark); paper (American Crafts, Paper Reflections); MS PATP Iron Gate Fence punch; Nestabilities Labels 8; ribbon (grosgrain and unknown fabric ribbon); clear embossing powder; dimensionals

I love this Sarah Kay image! It reminds me of my sister and I when we were kids. We were always best friends, even though we did fight on occasion. But fights were not the norm for us, and we are still the best of friends years later. We also happened to grow up in the Holly Hobbie generation, and these little girls remind me so much of her!

I chose the sentiment, "Family ties are bound with love" because the older sister is tying the younger sister's bonnet. Isn't it adorable?

I also finally discovered the best way to choose colors for an image -- pick the patterned paper first! Too many times I've colored an image and then couldn't find any paper to match it. But this time I grabbed the paper that I wanted to use with it and then found matching markers to color the image.

The image is cut out and popped up on dimensionals to give it a little "distance" from the ribbon that acts as the grass. (By the way, that ribbon is a perfect stand-in for a flower-strewn meadow. My friend got a bunch at a thrift store and shared a few yards with me. Thanks!)

Here is a side view so you can see the easel part:



It rests on the paper lace I've attached to the bottom card layer. I only added adhesive to the middle of this paper lace so that the card would have the points to "catch" on when you open it up.

I made my card a standard 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". At the end of the tutorial, there are instructions for adapting it to this measurement. Most of the other easel cards I've seen have been square, but I didn't want to pay extra postage since this one will most likely get mailed instead of hand-delivered.

I hope you enjoy this little card as much as I enjoyed making it!

Lace Borders with Iron Gate Fence border punch

I mentioned the other day that I had purchased the Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page Iron Gate Fence punch, right? I also mentioned that I LOVE it! This punch is worth every penny I paid for it because it is the embodiment of my style.

So, what can you do with it?

Obviously, you can do the usual "punch around the page" thing. You can also use them strictly as border or corner punches. Those are all fabulous, and I'll probably post a picture of those at some point, for reference. But let's kick it up a notch.

How about double-sided paper lace with a ribbon in the middle?

The smallest ribbon you can use for this is a 3/8" ribbon if you want it to look exactly like mine. You could try a 1/4" ribbon, but it might not tuck exactly right. Feel free to try it and report your results in the comments!

At any rate, let's talk about how to do this, and then I'll show you a bunch of examples and then a bunch of math figures.

For the 3/8" ribbon, you need to start with a 1" piece of paper in whatever length you need. Punch both long edges with the border punch, and it should look like the lefthand part of this picture:



For the 3/8" size, you could work with it as is, but you will have to trim for the other sizes. So let's just assume we have to. See the righthand part of the photo? That's what you want it to look like when you're done trimming. It might sound tedious, but it's actually very quick with a craft knife. Just be careful you don't tear the intricate design while you're trimming!

Then you're going to take your 3/8" ribbon and weave it through the remaining border. Check out the first two options with ribbon below (I inluded the first one just to show what it looks like beforehand):



You get two completely different looks, depending on which part of the design you thread the ribbon through.

But what if you just want to adhere a ribbon down the middle of a strip (like the very last example above) and not worry about weaving? Well, for a 3/8" ribbon, you'll start out with a 1-1/2" strip cut to your desired length. Again, you're going to punch both long sides with the border punch. Then simply attach your ribbon down the middle.

I know I mentioned before that I'm a "math geek," so you know I had to sit down and figure out what size the paper should be for each length of ribbon up to 1". So here it is ...

For threading through
start with 1" for a 3/8" ribbon
start with 1-3/8" for a 1/2" ribbon
start with 1-5/8" for a 5/8" ribbon
start with 2" for a 3/4" ribbon
start with 2-3/8" for a 7/8" ribbon
start with 2-5/8" for a 1" ribbon

No threading
start with 1-1/2" for a 3/8" ribbon
start with 2" for a 1/2" ribbon
start with 2-1/2" for a 5/8" ribbon
start with 3" for a 3/4" ribbon
start with 3-1/2" for a 7/8" ribbon
start with 4" for a 1" ribbon

I hope this has inspired you. Let me know if you try it and use it on anything. I'd love to see your projects, and I'll try to use these pretty laces on some cards in the near future to share them, too!