Back to {Home} School Treats!

For all of us with kiddies, back to school is right around the corner.  Here in Avery County, NC, that means August 8th!  No kidding!  However, my boys will have sweet Mrs. Clark for a teacher.  Don't laugh - that's ME!  I'm homeschooling for the first time this year and I'm so excited about it!  

This week's challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments is Party Favors!  So I made a little party for two for my boys for them to enjoy the first day of homeschool in September.  

My favors include pencil holders and a mason jar full of chocolate Nuggets for when they get their work done promptly :)

There are just a couple of sneak peeks from the Holiday Catalog here...the Cherry Cobbler Sweater Trim is to die for!  And the 7/8" Cotton Ribbon will be a fave for everyone - you can tie it, tear it, stamp it, stitch it, dye it, whatever you like.

What's a party without chocolates?  Pennants?  Nothing, really.  

The Nuggets are wrapped in Storytime DSP - the ruled paper is the perfect fit, 1" wide x 3" gets you oodles of wraps from one sheet.  The little charms on the jar are hand cut from the DSP too.  The tiny pencil is punched from the Word Window punch.  

I love the "H is for Home" from the alphabet sheet, it suits my needs perfectly!

The pencil holders are a snap to make, and you can make FOUR from a single sheet of cardstock!  You could make these for a whole class, or for any occasion!  I got the template and directions from Sweet Miss Daisy here. So easy. 

Won't you join in the virtual party at Hand Stamped Sentiments this week?  I can't wait to see what you cook up!  

Just Ducky {Clean & Simple Summer}

Hey crafty friend!  I'm in the mood for something bright and cheerful today, how about you?

I have always had a fascination for vintage Mother Goose, and I am going to be using this set, Storybook Friends, a lot!  I Googled a bunch of vintage Mother Goose images to get a feel for the way illustrations were done, and I see a lot of these colorwashed brights, which is easy to duplicate with Stampin' Write Markers and an Aqua Painter.  I also added some graphic lines & dots on the ducky to make it look more like a comic strip character.  Add a little glitter, of course, to bump up the CAS a bit :)

I've been seeing these bows around, too...all paper but a really fabulous shape.  So of course, off we go to the craft room to figure it out.  You can make these with an oval punch, by first punching and then sliding the oval back in to repunch it narrower.  I'll do a tutorial on this on my next post.  

A little dahlia graces the paper bow!  They are just the best.  

This is going into my {Have Stash Will Travel} section, I'm away and using what I could fit in my one SU tote. So many things you can do with just a few supplies!  

I'm also playing along with Connie and Mary for this sketch...

SUPPLIES:

STAMPS:  Storybook Friends

PAPER:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Gumball Green

INK:  Pool Party, Island Indigo, Gumball Green, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight

DSP:  Polka Dot Parade

EMBELLISHMENTS:  In Color Dahlias, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

PUNCHES:  Scallop Border Punch, Large Oval, Sizzlits Lg Delicate Doilies

Hello, Lil' Bug!

Hey crafty friends!  How about a little “punch” buggy for this week’s Hand Stamped Sentiments theme challenge?

Decked out in Melon Mambo flowers and carrying a surfboard, she’s ready for the sun and fun of Pacific Coast Highway.  It’s a bright, sunshiny day, and she’s ready to see how many crafty chicks she can pack inside and haul off to Malibu.  Shotgun!

I hope you can find some time this week to play along!  We’re in the height of summer, perfect for a beachy card, scrapbook layout, or project.  

SUPPLIES:
CARDSTOCK:  Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, Basic Grey, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
DSP: Storytime surfboard & banner trim), Floral District (striped background), Summer Smooches (sun)
STAMPS: Storybook Friends
INK:  Staz On Black
PUNCHES:  Boho Blossom, Large Oval, Word Window, Modern Label, Owl Builder
EMBELLISHMENTS:  Dahlias, Basic Rhinestones, Daffodil Delight stitched grosgrain, Pool Party baker’s twine.

Big Top Party Hat!

I'm so excited about my latest project for Ustamp With Dawn and Friends.  I've seen some cute party hats around, so I set out to make my own, with a twist...this one is a standing gift card holder in disguise!

There's a full color, 7 page tutorial available for download.  My tutorial includes a party hat template, instructions for the hat, gift card holder, matching card and envelope!

 A closer view of the party hat when opened.  It even has elastic on the inside so the birthday person can wear it!

When complete, you have a closed "gift box", and you just pull the tab on the bottom to reveal the contents!  You can even put a small gift inside, confetti, etc. instead of a gift card.

If you'd like access to this project or more than 40 others, visit Ustamp With Dawn & Friends!! Keep Calm & Ustamp On!  A one time membership of $24.99 gets you forever access to all pdf projects from this event. Click the blinkie below to visit....

Below are three other versions of this hat I whipped up for friends while making this tutorial!  From start to finish you can make the hat project in less than an hour. I've had HUGE fun making these.

Here's the same project in So Saffron...

And Angry Birds!!!!

And, finally, a little non-SU stash, paired with Papillon Potpourri and Papaya Collage.  Some of that thick, luscious ribbon that SU shouldn't have retired makes it look so pretty!  This is actually my personal favorite, i guess because it's girly :)

Kindness Matters Garden Theme Thank You!

This card was inspired by a sample I saw in this month's Stampin' Success magazine, a publication dedicated to SU demonstrators and hobbyists.  It was a pretty card, but with the woodgrain background stamp, turned on its side, and featuring a rosette in the middle.  Not sure if you'd see much of a resemblance, but that's how I like my CASEs to turn out!

I like that the Blossom punch nestles right in the 2-1/2" Circle punch window.

I added a little Crystal Effects to the Mixed Bunch petals here and there.
Love those new Vintage Faceted buttons, they are now my go-to embellishment!
The ribbon is a little Stitched Satin Raspberry Ripple, cut lengthwise and frayed.

Playing with RetroSketches #20, love this sketch!

SUPPLIES:
STAMPS:  En Francais, Mixed Bunch, Kindness Matters
INK: Versamark, Bashful Blue, Midnight Muse
PAPER: Crumb Cake, Midnight Muse, Whisper White, First Edition, Raspberry Ripple, Bashful Blue
ACCESSORIES: Beautiful Wings embosslits, 2-1/2" circle punch, Blossom punch, 1-3/8" Circle punch, Vintage Faceted buttons, Raspberry Ripple Seam Binding ribbon, Crystal Effects, Basic Rhinestones

Can'ts Into Cans Hybrid {CAS Summer}

Hi crafty friends!  Today's card has several purposes.  It's a hybrid card, using a really pretty word art download from My Digital Studio.  Makes for a quick and simple card, but the fonts really give it style!

My reason for creating this particular card is to give a shout out and a hug to two of my fellow design team members on HSS, Mindy Backes and Erica Cerwin.  They are FINALISTS for the Stampin' Up! Artisan Award 2012, which is SO prestigious and sought after. I'm so blessed to work with such talent, and I pray that they both win!  We'll find out later this week, so fingers crossed for these lovely friends!!!

I wanted it to look like framed art, so I used the Tulip Embossing Folder.  This week's challenge at my favorite hangout, Hand Stamped Sentiments, is the Dazzling Diamond Dust technique. How easy is this technique, and it's so simple to incorporate it in a card to give it GLITTER POWER!  Woohoo!  The butterfly is adorned with the glittered embossing powder, and that was all it needed. The heat setting really brought out the colors, too.

I'm also joining in The Paper Players challenge this week, using words as the main element of my card.  Perfect!

Hope you have a lovely week, and make some time to do something pretty!

erika

Sweet Fruits of Summer - HSS126 {Digi Scrapping}

This week at Hand Stamped Sentiments, the challenge is all things fruity!  I decided, since I've been traveling, to try my hand at digi scrapping with Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio supplies.

I picked photos of my first attempt at canning fruit!

 I'm not new to digital scrapbooking, but I am new to using SU supplies to do it.  I love their papers, and - as always - everything is color coordinated. I don't have a lot of supplies yet, but I was determined to make do!  This layout was done with these supplies:
Spring Break II Kit
Day In The Life Kit
Taffetta Trimmings
Basic Buttons
Corners and Stitches
Lauren's Alphas

Click to Enlarge!

The above layout was my 2nd attempt, and below is my first try...Same photos, but with only one kit and (a lot!) less layering!

Click to Enlarge

This one was much simpler, with a basic blocked format.  The set here is Spring Break II, and Laura's Alpha for the title.
Both are done using templates that I have on hand.  Like a sketch and a traditional layout, it makes getting started much easier!

So do you have an idea for a sweet, juicy, fruity project?!  I hope you'll join in at Hand Stamped Sentiments this week, I promise to stop by and say Hey!

Summer Theme Swap Gallery

Here are most of the swaps my craft friends & I brought to our monthly card swap. Thought you might like some inspiration ;)

Hope my American friends are having a great Independence Day! I always feel blessed and grateful on this day, as I come from Irish immigrants (3rd generation) who came here for a better life, thus granting me the same.

This was mine, I made some in pink, too.  I posted this earlier. 

JoAnn's swap, I posted hers a few days ago too :) But here it is again. 

Awesome pinwheel card by Steph!


Jaime came dressed to coordinate with her card. What a doll!



Rose's Kindness Matters.



The fabulous Judy, who always rocks the swap.


Pam, the pro. I love how the Pink Flamingo makes this DSP look tropical and cool.


Rachel! She's my new downline! I love her beachy flip flop card.

Rose's Adirondack beach card is cute, and she used Shimmer Paint on the sand to give it a gorgeous sheen .

Are these international symbols for fun in a tent?!  Yes. they are.

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

Clean & Simple Summer {Part 1}

Hey crafty friends!  It's Tuesday, and time for our next challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments!

We're in the thick of Summer here in St. Michaels!  Everyone is busy, hot, at the pool, cookouts, staying out later, and generally stretching our days farther than they're supposed to go.  So, I'm starting a series of Clean & Simple posts.  Cards, layouts, and gifts you can make with limited time & supplies.

My first CAS Summer post is a color challenge at HSS, and a sketch challenge at Retro Sketches.


The color challenge is to use Baja Breeze, Daffodil Delight, and Calypso Coral in a project.  I cut strips of 1" x 3.5" DSP, rounded the edges, and adhered.  I added a few punched hearts from the leftover scraps, popped up portions of the card here and there, and glittered just the middle heart.


Lots of threes here...3 strips, 3 hearts, 3 wraps of baker's twine.  I scallop cut the bottom of the card for a little more pizzazz :)

Here are the challenges...  Click on the pictures to visit the sites!  I hope you'll join in!

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net