No Time To Stamp?

We attended a beautiful wedding this weekend for our niece and her new DH!!!  The weather was just gorgeous, so all was well!!!  We have company this week, so although I wanted to play today and get my *fix*, it needed to be quick, really quick.  I was so pleased to see the TLC at SCS today was to make a Mini Pizza Box — that’s surely quick — and to go with it I decided to use a few other sure-fired *quick fixes*!!!  And those are a pre-inked stamper by JustRite, some Cuttlebug die cuts, and scored lines for interest using my Scor-It Mini.  Here’s my project:

The Mini Pizza Box measures 4″ square and you can find the template and directions here.  I made the scores on my full sized Scor-It and was done in a jiffy — fun box!!!  To decorate the box top and make the cards, I just  stamped the *Just a Note* sentiment on the bottom using one of my 2 X Stampers by JustRite.  As you can see in the photo, I stamped the sentiment on the box top and the card front, while I used the musical notes on the other side of the 2 X Stamper for the inside of the card, which is opened and on the bottom of the photo.  I then used my Scor-It Mini to score 6 lines, spaced 1/4″ apart each, across the panel to mimic music (I know, I put one too many lines - LOL), and then I used my musical notes Cuttlebug dies to make my notes.  I ran them through my little Xyron X which made is so easy to adhere them.  I decorated around my box with 2 scraps of unknown ribbon and I was done!!! This box will easily hold at least 8 of these little notecards.  My cards are cut 3.75″ square for a perfect fit inside the box!!!  Fun project.

I’ll just add one thing about my 2 X stampers– I have many of them and when I got them, I thought I would be using them for my Sunday School class (how handy being pre-inked) and to make other little projects for our church/ladies group, etc.  In all honesty, I didn’t think beyond that to realize how QUICK and FUN they are to use for all my normal stamping projects.  I was extremely impressed with the perfect impression received every time I stamped, and I love that there is a little coordinating image to go along with each sentiment — how PERFECT for quick, little projects!!!  Since this is a busy week for me, I plan to be using more of my 2 X Stampers and other pre-inked stamps for projects this week — so if you are interested, please check back in.  (And when I went to the JustRite site to get my link, I was very surprised to see the great sale price they have these for right now — amazing!)

• Stamps:  Just a Note 2 X Stamper by JustRite    

• Paper:  PTI White, SU Black    

• Ink:  None — used a pre-inked stamper

• Accessories:  Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Note Dies, Unknown Ribbon

Got to run again.  Thanks so much for stopping in.  If you like quick little projects, check in again tomorrow!!!  I always do appreciate you stopping in — thank you so much!!!

Oh, it’s Monday — check out what is offered today at Joan’s Garden!  See you soon!

A boutique gift item?  Sure looks like it!!!  What fun to change a $4 Wal-mart bag of potpourri (but it does smell delicious!!!) into an item that looks like it came from an expensive boutique!!!   This  was super quick and easy with the use of 2 items to make this a standout gift — the personalization with a JustRite Monogram Stamper C30 Kit and all that luscious ribbon!!!  Take a look:

Isn’t this just so pretty!!! I love it just as much as I loved making it.  For this project I used the smaller of the self-inking monogram stampers by JustRite, the C-30.  In all my past projects using the self-inker I have used the C-45, which is the same size as all the original round wood stampers.  But today I wanted a monogram a bit smaller, so the C-30 was the perfect choice at 1 3/16″.    I have never used my C-30 before, and as it came with a double sided pad that was filled with black ink on one side and empty on the other, I decided to fill the empty side with SU Handsome Hunter ink.  I have had great success using the SU ink refills in all my pads for the self-inking stampers by JustRite.  Here’s a series of pictures to show you how easily it is done:

Photo 1 shows the ink pad with no ink on the side you are seeing. The other side has the black ink from the factory.  I took the pad out of the C-30 to ink it up.  Photo 2 shows you how I have begun to fill the pad with drops of ink.  It saturates in quite quickly, but if it beads up, just wait a few seconds and keep going until your pad appears to be evenly saturated with ink, as shown in photo 3.  Now, I’ve heard it said that you are supposed to wait a bit for the ink to evenly saturate and settle before using your stamper; however, I  haven’t really found that to be necessary when using the SU ink refills.  I usually stamp within a couple minutes.   The first 2 or 3 images may be splotchy, but they clear up immediately!!!  On this stamp today, my S was not accepting the ink evenly, so that told me that it needed to be conditioned, or roughed up a bit to give the rubber some tooth to better hold onto the ink.  I just went over it with a pencil eraser very quickly, and that did the trick.  However, on some of the larger stamps with more surface area to cover with ink, it may be necessary to condition with something a bit more rough.  Just realize if ink is beading up on your rubber, you need to condition your rubber to give it a bit more tooth.  And as far as actually using your C-30, it works just like the C-45.  Taylor over at Taylored Expressions has prepared a perfect video to show you how to do this if you aren’t familiar, and you can see Taylors video here.

Once my Monogram was stamped, I used all punches on this project, making it super quick and easy.  The monogram itself was punched with the SU 1 1/4″ punch, the matting was punched with the SU 1 3/8″ punch, and the scallop was punched with the SU round scallop punch.  After adhering all layers together, I pierced the scallops.  The small yellow punch is my Deco Corner punch by All Night Media. I can’t even tell you how old this punch is — I think it was one of the first I ever purchased when I began to stamp maybe 10 years ago.  I used it to punch the corners.  If you have any of those great new Spellbinders dies, those would work wonderfully for a project such as this!!!  Here’s a closeup of the monogram:

And all that great ribbon is my new favorite, 1.5″ wide grosgrain by May Arts.  Don’t you just love it!!!  Here’s a close up of the card, which is 3.5″ wide x 4 high.  Such a fun project!!!  See how the ribbon is wrapped around the card?

• Stamps:  Monogram Stamper C-30 Kit by JustRite

• Paper: SU Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy, Handsome Hunter, Crafty Secrets Earthy Pad

• Ink:  SU Handsome Hunter

• Accessories:  May Arts Ribbon, SU Taffeta, SU Brads, Mounting Tape, Piercer and Mat Pack, SU Punches:  1 1/4″, 1 3/8″, Scallop.  All Night Media Deco Corner Punch.

Thank you so much for stopping in to look!!!  I’ll be back tomorrow with all the Stamp Simply Designers with another fun challenge!!!  Hope to see you then!!!  Have a great day!!!

The folks at JustRite just don’t quit!!  I have still another of the original monogram stampers to share with you today, compliments of JustRite!  Thank you JustRite!!! Today we have a DIY Special Occasions Monogram Stamper, and here it is:

I love this Special Occasions font.  It seems a bit more formal, and I like that.  I’ve done wedding projects before using this set, but today I wanted to do something that would be really quick and fun, something you all might like to do for a girl’s birthday party, a bridal shower or ladies tea.  These are favor boxes in the shape of a dress.  I’ve done 3 today.

Now, this was a quick project and I cheated a little to make it so.  The box template is a die cut from AccuCut.  I don’t have access to an AccuCut here, but I had a few of these boxes left over from a project a while back, so it was perfect.  The boxes were white, so rather than stamp on them,  I traced just the box front (the dress portion you see) onto DP, cut it out and adhered it to the box front.  Using this pretty new DP from SU, Bella Rose, sure made these dresses come to life real quick!!  I sponged around the edges, tied a ribbon on each, made a single initial monogram for the party-goer’s first name, matted and framed it, added a punched flower with a brad, and DONE!!!

Don’t you think some young girls (or even us *older* ladies, LOL!) would LOVE to come to a table and find our place with these pretty monogrammed favor boxes!!!  I sure would!!! Fun!!!  And better yet, quick and easy to make!!!!

• Stamps:  DIY Special Occasions Monogram Stamper Kit by JustRite

• Paper:  White, SU Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red and Bela Rose DP

• Ink:  Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red

• Accessories:  Sheer Ribbon, SU Flower Punch and Brad, Petite Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Sponge, Dimensionals

To be eligible for this Blog Candy, all you have to do is leave a comment below.  Comments received prior to 6:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, Sept. 18 will be eligible.  The winner will be drawn by Random.org and announced by Friday morning. Good luck everyone!

Editing:  As I will not have computer access on Thursday or 1/2 day on Friday, I am extending this until 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Spet. 19 — the winner will be announced on Saturday morning.  Thanks!

Again, thank you so much for stopping in!  It’s been a fun, fun week, and there is still MORE blog candy coming tomorrow!!! Stay tuned –

The winner selected by Random.org is #209 Mary Campbell — Congrats! Mary!!!  Here’s what Mary had to say:

•  

  • Mary Campbell | I love your post. I think this is my favorite paper yet. Love the formal stamps. Sep 15, 6:11 AM

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

209

Timestamp: 2008-09-19 23:35:19 UTC

Thank you all so much for playing!!! Much appreciated!!!

I made a project today that I am totally  happy with — quick, simple, clean, fresh and something I can use for a gift!!!  I was cruising Tammy’s blog  earlier today, saw an adorable box/bag type thing, clicked the link and found a fabulous site I had never been at before — the 3-D Design Challenge Blog.  How fun!!!  A challenge was issued to create a One Sheet Box and a printable template was provided.  This was one of those times when I just had to drop everything else and do it!!! I LOVE this little box — SO quick and easy — and just adorable!!!  I know I’ll be making a lot more of these.  I added a rounded top to my box, but it’s the same template, and then I made an ornament to coordinate with and put in the box.  Here they are:

The box is made using a full 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.  I followed the instructions exactly, except I did NOT score those diagonal lines for the corner folds.  It was much easier to just fold it in my hand, easily lining it up, then crease that inside fold with my fingers.  I then used tape to secure all those folds on the inside of the box (between the layers of paper).  Adorable box!!!  (Editing:  I used a thinner DP that was 1 sided with a white back.  The thinner DP allowed for crisp folds in the corners.)  To  decorate the box  I decided I would make a large snowflake for the top to round it off and give it some extra height and stability.  Once the snowflake was made, I thought it looked like an ornament so, there you go — a box AND a gift!!!  Here’s how I made the snowflakes:

• Using the Cuttlebug Ice Crystal die on about a 4″ square of white c/s, run it through and cut.  Press out the snowflake and save for another project.  We are going to use the negative part for this project. (Editing:  I ordered this die from Jacksonbelle Embellisments, and to my surpise when it came there is ALSO a folder, same design, in the pacakge!!)

• Using a Circle Nestability, center it over the negative snowflake, cut and emboss.

• Using SU Bashful Blue c/s, apply double sided tape to one side, and using the same Circle Nestie as above to cut the snowflake, cut out the circle.  It will have tape on one side.  Those of you with Xyron’s large enough, could just run these through the Xyron instead.  I just don’t have one.

• Now take your circle negative snowflake and adhere it to the Bashful Blue circle above, on the sticky side.  The sticky tape will be exposed in the snowflake opening.  Sprinkle with fine glitter.  This technique is called a Glitter Window, and instructions can be seen on this SCS tutorial.

• Using Prism Iced Cobalt, cut a Circle with the Nestability Die just a bit larger.  This Iced Cobalt circle serves to frame the snowflake.  When adhering to the box, the snowflake is on the front of the box front, while the Iced Colbalt frame is on the back of the box front, so the box appears finished both inside and out.  Make 2 of these — one for both the front and back of the box.  Here’s a good look at the box:

I just added a little tag with ribbon trim. The tag was cut and embossed on the Spellbinders die called Tag 5.  It cuts 5 tags at a time — I like it a lot.  These tags are a bit bigger than the other sets of Spellbinders tags I have, so it allows for sentiments a bit larger.

To make the ornament I made 2 more of the snowflakes and sandwiched the Iced Cobalt Circle in between them, punched a hole with the Cropadile punch (gosh that thing works great for going through so many layers!), then ran my ribbon through the hole.  Done!!!

• Stamps:  Star Studded Season by SU

• Paper:  PTI White, SU Bashful Blue, Prism Iced Cobalt, very old DCWV Spring Stack DP

• Ink:   Versa Fine Onyx Black

• Accessories:  Cuttlebug and Ice Crystal Die, Petite Circle Nesabilities and Tag 5 by Spellbinders, Double Sided Tape or Xyron, SU Dazzling Diamonds, Cropadile, SU Ribbon, Dimensionals

That’s it for this project!  I’m sure you’d LOVE this box, too — give it a try.  Once you do it once and figure out the corner thing, it’ll go together in just a minute or two — truly that simple!!!

See 2 posts above with a Contest to Enter and more Blog Candy links!

Thanks for stopping in!!!  Are you getting tired of the party yet — LOL!!!   We’re about 1/2 way through!!!

This evening I went down to my stamp room to create a card for the Sketch Challenge at SCS, and before I knew what  happened I had this little gift set about done.  Here it is:

The card I did for the Sketch Challenge is on the upper right.  This set was so quick, easy and cheap to make — it truly was amazing — LOL!!!  All items are from the $ Bin at Michaels.  The black and white cards were in a pack of 8, with envelopes, for $1, and the journal was also $1.  I made the little pouch that the gift set of cards is in, and I’ll show you how below.

Above is the card I did for the Sketch Challenge.  This is the card to present to the recipient of this gift along with all the items.  Can you see how the purchased card base is shorter in front and the scalloped circle main image is hanging over?  I like that feature!  These cards are a bit smaller than normal, at 5 x 3.75″.   The circle image is stamped using the Harmony Classic Circle III Stamp Ensemble.  This is the new 3.25″ round wooden stamper that will be available real soon — but it IS AVAILABLE to preoder now at the JustRite site.  I stamped it in black ink.  I then masked all but the center sentiment and then stamped the center sentiment in red on a scrap of paper, then cut and embossed it using the Double Ended Tag die by Spellbinders.  My image was cut, embossed, matted in black and then framed with a red scallop, all using the Petite Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders.  I wrapped the card with red ribbon before adhering the sentiment circle.

And here’s the journal to coordinate.  And this just couldn’t be any simpler!  The white Journal was already on it, so I wanted to use it as is.  I just added a monogram above it.  This monogram was made using the Damask Monogram Stamper Kit and the Times New Roman font that comes with the kit.  I used the same monogram on all of the gift cards in the pouch.  Now this is the original round wooden stamper that so many of you already have.   And what really pleases me is that this Damask border coordinates so well with the border I used on the 3.25″ stamper above, making it very easy to incorporate both stampers on the same project.  The red ribbon is actually a book mark.  It runs down the length of the inside back cover of the book, where is it adhered for the entire length with red sticky strip.  It can be placed anywhere in the Journal to mark your place!

I made the little pouch to hold the set of 4 monogrammed cards and 4 envelopes.  Now, granted, this is not the fanciest of pouches or card holders, but it’ll do the trick in a pinch for a quick little gift.  It is merely made from 2 of the cards that were in the set of 8.  I’ll try to show you:

Using 2 sided tape, I securely attached 2 card together to a length I thought would be adequate.  I then took red ribbon and ran it around the card covering the seam that was showing on the outside of the card.   There is red sticky strip holding the ribbon on in the card inside.  The seam you are seeing on the right is not on the outside, only on the inside, so it doesn’t matter.  Then I adhered more red sticky strip to the ends to hold it closed and together.

This is what the pouch looks like on the outside when complete.  This pouch easily holds 4  of the gift cards I made using the monogram  and 4 envelopes.  I forgot to photo the gift cards separately, but I think you can see them in the pouch and in the first photo.

And here we have all 4 gift cards plus the 4 envelopes in the pouch.  Easy peasy as they say!!!

• Stamps:  Harmony Classic Circle III Stamp Ensemble and Damask Monogram Stamper Kit, both by JustRite
• Paper:  Michaels $ Bin cards and journal, PTI White, SU Black and Real Red
• Ink:  VersaFine Onyx Black, SU markers in Real Red and Black
• Accessories:  SU Red Grosgrain Ribbon, SU Brads, Petite Circle Nestabilities and Double Ended Tags both by Spellbinders, Red Sticky Strip.

Thank you all so much for stopping in today!!!  I hope you can all come back tomorrow to join in the festivities of the week to come in celebration of my 1 yr Blog Anniversary.  A bit of detail is included in the post prior to this — just scroll down!!! Hope you are all having a wonderful week!!! Thanks so much — see you soon!!!!

I have been meaning to do a clear box out of acetate for ages, but it’s one of those things I just never got around to doing — so when the Technique Lover’s Challenge popped up today at SCS and it was to do a box out of acetate, well, I knew I HAD to!!!  I decided to make it to match the card I had done last night as all that paper was still out, and I’m pleased with how it came.  Here it is:

I believe the instructions found here called for the acetate to be 3″ or 3.5″ high.  I wanted a taller box so I cut mine 6″ high.  And by making a taller box, I wanted a longer box top, so I cut my cover piece 4″ rather than the 2.5″ suggested.  I then added my two rows of scallops, so my box top extends down almost 2.5″, rather than the 1/2″ as on the instructions.  Additionally, rather than scoring the acetate piece every 1 15/16″, I scored mine every 1 7/8″.  It doesn’t seem like much, but it did make a difference.  As you can see my base has 3 layers of cardstock, making it thicker than if I had only used the 1 piece called for, thereby making the acetate sidewalls way too tight.  By backing off my scoring that 1/16 of an inch it gave me the extra room I needed to easily put this together with no buckling.  Other than the above changes, I did follow the tutorial provided in the challenge.

My With Love sentiment circle was made using another of the soon to be available new stampers by JustRite (available to pre-order now from JustRite).  This one is 2 5/16″ and is called the Harmony Classic Circle Stamper II.  The ensemble I used today comes with the stamper, 6 borders and 6 rings.  Here’s a pic:

OK, I have all 3 sizes of the round Classic Stampers shown, just for size comparison.  The only one that comes in this ensemble is the center stamper which is 2 5/16.  The smaller one is the standard size that has been available in the past and the larger is the 3.25″ stamper I used for my card last night.  I’d like to also point out that the new stampers now have a deeper wooden base with nice finger grooves so they are much easier to hold onto while stamping. 

Once done with my box, I  wrapped it with ribbon, just like a package, with a bow on top.  I then ran another length of ribbon through the hardware piece I attached to my With Love tag, then ran that ribbon under my bow and just tied it up into another bow.  Here’s a look at that:

I’m so glad I took the time to make this today — I WILL be making more of these — so fun!!!  Here’s a picture of the card and box together — what a nice little gift and so fun to make!!!

Supplies for Box (Card supplies listed yesterday on post below):

• Stamps:  Harmony Classic Circle Stamper II by JustRite (shipping in September, but available for pre-order now at JustRite)
• Paper:  PTI White, SU Almost Amethyst, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Clear Cardstock or Acetate, Urban Couture DP by Basic Grey
• Ink:  Versa Fine Onyx Black
• Accessories:  May Arts Sheer Ribbon, Petite Circle Nestabilities by  Spellbinders, Martha Stewart Lace Punch,  SU Hodgepodge Hardware, Red Sticky Strip

Thanks so much for stopping in!!!!  Having so much fun with these new and larger JustRite Stampers!!!  I’ll have more projects coming to show you some more of the borders and centers included in these sets!!!  Hope you can check back in again — and hope your week is off to a good start!!!

One of the most often asked questions I get is, “How do you mail that?”  The card I posted yesterday prompted many more similar emails, so I thought I’d show you all how I handle mailing bulkier cards.  I love to make cards with dimension and I never hesitate to do so based on the issue of mailing, I just bite the bullet and pay the extra postage.  If that goes against your grain, then you can save those bulkier cards for occasions where you will be present to deliver the card, such as a wedding or party you may be attending.

Here is a close-up view of yesterday’s card so you can see the type of bulk I am referring to; however, many of you, and I on occasion, make cards much bulkier than this:

Merely putting this in an envelope and mailing would probably mean that it gets to the recipient in a somewhat damaged state, due to the lumps and bumps in the envelope.  To avoid those lumps and bumps, a trick I learned from Linda Bullard quite a while back, was to crimp a 1/4 sheet of cardstock and place it in front of the card in the envelope to act as a corrugated cushion, and it works amazingly well.  This is very suitable on cards with a low to average amount of dimension added.

The cost to mail the above card in this fashion would be $0.59.  I use my 2 small kitchen scales to weigh my envelopes and small packages.  The small scale goes up to 1 pound and the larger scale goes up to about 7 pounds, and they ARE amazingly accurate when compared to the scales at the Post Office, so I’m sticking with them — no high tech digital postal scales for me — LOL!!!

Another option if your card is a bit too bulky for the above crimped cushioning, is to go to a purchased bubble wrap envelope as shown below.

When inserting a card in this type of envelope, I like to wrap it in tissue for an extra layer of protection and also so that when the recipient pulls it out, it’s just a bit nicer to have to unwrap the tissue than to pull a card out of this unattractive envelope.  We put so much time and effort into our cards, let’s try to present them in an attractive fashion, even though that can be difficult when dealing with postal issues.  The cost to mail the above card in this bubble wrap envelope would be $0.59, plus the cost of the envelope.  I get my bubble wrap envelopes from Wal-Mart and this size runs about 45 cents. (Editing to add:  Please read the 6th comment down by Karen Witter for a source for white padded envelopes which would be more attractive than the one shown, and at a decent price — Thanks Karen!)

Another option which does a great job of protecting the card and which I really prefer to the above bubble wrap envelope, is to put the card into a clear box, and then wrap the clear box in brown postal wrap.

I love these clear boxes and I was turned on to them a year or so ago by Val Stangle.  They come in a variety of sizes and are great for enclosing gift sets or, as here, for protection while mailing.  Even though the outer wrapper is standard brown wrap, oh, what a pretty box/sight when the brown wrap is removed!!!!  These boxes make a lovely presentation.  I get these boxes from clearbags.com and I keep a good supply on hand in a variety of sizes.  This is the smallest size I purchase and it is 1/2″ thick, item FB6, at a cost of $0.32 per box before shipping, handling, etc.  This box will hold several cards, depending on how bulky they are.  The cost to mail the above card in this fashion is $1.34.

And last, but not least, is the most expensive option, which is reserved for extremely bulky cards, but I have been known to use this option — a USPS Priority Box, called a video mailer.

Now, of course, the card shown above would not require this type of mailing, but I have both sent and received some cards that do.  When using this type of box, again, I wrap my card in tissue paper, place it in the box and nicely fill all empty space in the box with gently crumpled tissue paper, again, making sure that this highly unattractive box at least has a pleasantly presented surprise inside!!!  As long as this box weighs less than 1 pound, the cost is $4.80.

So, that’s it — that’s how I mail my cards!!!  Hope this was helpful to someone!!!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to look, and I hope you are having a wonderful, summer week.  I have taken some much needed time off this week and have been enjoying the pleasant temps and warm breezes on my front porch with visitors!!!  Hope to visit with YOU again soon!!!

Oh, before I go — check this out!!!  My friend, Julie Koerber, is in theTop 10 in the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest.  She created a gorgeous card using a vintage Santa image.  Take a look, and if you like it, take a moment to cast a vote for Julie.  Instructions are posted along with her card here.  Voting runs until noon MST on Thursday, July 31.  Julie’s work is FABULOUS all the time and she is certainly a winner in my book!!!  Thanks!!!

… euphoria.  An utter and complete state of euphoria!!!  For your cards, that is!!!  I am just in love the the new Euphoria pad by Basic Grey and all the goodies that Flourishes has to go with them!!! I have SO MUCH to show you today, so let’s just get started.

Here’s my newest favorite pad by Basic  Grey.  It’s called Euphoria and these are 6 of the 18 designs in the pad.  There are 2 of each design for a total of 36 sheets per pad.  Aren’t those prints and colors just scrumptious!!!  I’ve paired them up with some of our fun and pretty May Arts ribbons.  Starting at the left we have Dotted Sheer Apple Green, 1″ Sheers in Apple Green and Pink, Dotted Lavender, 1″ Lavender Sheer, 3/8″ Lavender, Lavender/Purple Reversible Satin, Green Edged Purple, 3/8″ Bright Pink Satin, and 1″ Sheers in Steel Blue, Seafoam, and Dark Red.

Here we have 6 more of the prints in the Euphoria pad along with some more of our May Arts Ribbons.  And I’d like you all to see the pretty buttons and brads we have in stock, made by Basic Grey to coordinate perfectly with their paper.  It just doesn’t get any easier!  From the left our ribbons are Dark Red 1″ Sheer, 3/8″ Bright Pink Satin, 1″ Blue Satin, Blue Dotted Sheer, 1″ Apple Green Satin, 1″ Pink Sheer, Dotted Apple Green Sheer, 1″ Apple Green Sheer, and lastly a double sided Pink/Blue Satin.

And here we have the last 6 sheets in the Euphoria pad — love these rich reds!!!  And did you notice all the Glazed Brads in the back — so fun!!!  They coordinate with the Basic Grey papers, and we have brads to match Two Scoops, Sugared, Euphoria, Sultry and Boxer.  From left the ribbons are 1″ Sheers in Pink and Apple Green, Dotted Apple Green Sheer, 1″ Dark Red Sheer,  3/8″ Bright Pink Satin, Blue Dotted Sheer, 1″ Sheer in Steel Blue  and 1″ Satins in Blue, Apple Green and Burgundy.

And I also wanted to show you all these pretty new sticky back Pearls we have in the store — oh my — aren’t they lovely in all these colors!!!  OH, how these will dress up our cards!!!

And I wanted to also mention our H20’s by LuminArte.  They are amazing little pots of watercolors with lots of sparkle built right in.  Leslie Miller did a totally awesome tutorial earlier this week on watercoloring with these H20’s.  She makes it look SO easy and her results are totally spectacular!!! Check it out here, you won’t be sorry!!!

And for my project today, I’m going to show you what I call a *Cheater Box* — LOL!!! I love to make gift sets and boxes to present them in, but you know, we don’t always have time to make a box, as much as we might like to, so here’s a really quick idea for a gift box for cards.

OK, on the back right — I have my set of 3 cards and envelopes in a purchased plastic box — gotta love these.  I get mine from ClearBags.  Their site is not very user friendly, so I’ll tell you this box is item no. FB 17 and it is sized for A-2 cards and envelopes.  My cards usually have some thickness to them and I don’t like to squeeze them too tight, so I have 3 cards and envelopes in here, but it’ll hold quite a bit more if they are flatter cards.

OK, then I have a sheet of Textured Soft Sky (same as my cards are made of) cut to fit perfectly inside the box.  When my cards and envelopes are in my box, then I slip this cardstock sheet in front of them.  Then comes the fun part — I make a band to slip around the box, and once on, with the cardstock sheet inside the box - it actually looks like a box I made — thus, my *Cheater Box* - LOL!!!  Here’ a picture of it all put together.

How’s that for a quickie box?  I made the band pretty much the same as the card described in this post (using the sewing machine) or also in this post (using tape),  if you’d like more detailed instructions.  The only difference here is that  I added the *Friend* tag and button. The tiny button is from the Basic Grey button box shown above, and the Friend sentiment is from Flourished Words — a great sentiment set of 27 gorgeous, scripted words you can combine to form your own phrases.  It was cut and embossed with the Tag Trios by Spellbinders.  Just love these for making quick little tags to hang on a card — fun!!!

Here’s a side view of the box and a close up of the detail work.  Again, you can refer here for more instructions.  To make the band, cut a piece of paper 12 x 2.5 (or however wide you want it, and score it at 2.5, 3.5, 8 and 9.  It’ll then fold to fit this box perfectly with about an inch in the back for overlap where you can adhere it together.

And I think that about wraps it up for tonight — but to recap — what DID I suggest:

• Euphoria Designer Paper by Basic Grey
• Basic Grey Buttons,  Brads and fancy Glazed Brads
• Sticky back Pearls
• Luscious May Arts Ribbons
• Watercoloring with H20’s (see Leslie’s tutorial linked here)
• Making *Cheater Boxes* as above described
• Flourished Words for beautifully scripted small Sentiments
• Tag Trios for creating the perfect little hang tags for your cards
• And, of course, the JustRite Monogram Stampers to create these gorgeous Monograms

But before you leave, I’d like to recommend stopping in at these fun Blogs to see more creations using the fun products I’ve suggested for you today:

Julie Koerber - check out this absolutely darling little bird card — too cute for words!!!

Faith Hofrichter - check out her use of Pearls and her tutorial on how to change the color of your DP - yes, she did!!!!  Amazing!!!

Leslie Miller  - watercoloring with H20’s tutorial - she makes it so easy!!! A MUST READ!!!

Susan Roberts - check out this AMAZING 4th of July card made with Euphoria paper!!!!

Thanks so much for stopping in - I truly do appreciate it!!!  Hope you are all having a wonderful week!!!

…some simple and effective storage solutions.  We all know the problems that are inherent with this hobby — so much *stuff* — such a big *mess* — well, that’s how it is for me, anyway!  And I am making headway in my never-ending quest for organization, one baby step at a time.  I’ll share just a bit here today, and I’ll start with stamp storage.

When clear stamps are purchased, they typically come on acetate type sheets in a plastic sleeve.  We really do need a better way to store them on a permanent basis.  The buyers at Flourishes have found a wonderful solution — Clear Boxes that easily house two small (4 x 6) sets, or one large (8 x 6) set.  The boxes measure 4 x 6 and are a full 1/2″ thick.  The hinge opens in the middle, they lay flat when opened, giving you two sides for storage.  Here’s what they look like:

As you can see, the two standing have stamp sets in them.  You do have to trim the acetate that the stamp sets come on just a bit to fit in the box, but not much and that just takes a minute.  I like to just lay my acetate sheet with stamps on it in the box, the acetate (pictured) side out (stamps facing in), so I can easily see on the outside all that is contained in the set.  I cut a sheet of white cardstock to 4 x 6 and keep it between the sets so when the box is closed, I have a white background and can easily see each set, rather than seeing through one set to the other.  Makes for a cleaner display of my sets.  Here’s a pic of the box opened, with two sets in it:

This makes it very easy to take off the stamp you want and return it when you are finished.  I have found I spend a LOT less time *looking* for those tiny clear stamps since I have put all my stamps into these clear boxes.  Since there is a place to put them, I do put them back, rather than setting them on the table, loosing them, and then spending precious time frantically looking for them (have you been there? — LOL!!!).  These boxes come in sets of 6 (enough for 12 small sets or 6 large sets) and are very reasonably priced.  They can be seen here.

Also, I did some shopping and just got some new Spellbinder dies in the mail today, so thought I’d show them to you.  These are the Tag Trios on the left and the Double Ended Tags on the right:

I love adding tags to cards — a great way to get a sentiment on your project while adding interest and fun — and I love dangling tags from a string — the Tag Trios on the left are PERFECT for that!!! Can’t wait to use them.  And the Double Ended Tags on the right will look great attached with brads for a more permanent look and feel!!!

And I’ll be pefectly honest with you — I was planning to have a card or two here today to show you using these fun tags, but life just did not cooperate with me — I’m sure you know what I mean — interruptions galore coupled with a busy schedule just didn’t allow me to get cards made last night — and once I could see the writing on the wall, I figured that rather than fight to do a card, I would just settle for something less, something do-able under the circumstances.  So what I did is make up a few of the tags, ready to go for the next time I can sit and make some cards.  Having a few things pre-made and ready to go helps out a lot if you need to make a card quickly.  I often make things ahead and I’m always so glad to just be able to grab them when needed.  Here’s a few tags in the works:

See my roll of Scotch Removable Tape?  That has a permanent place right next to my Cuttlebug.  I use a ton of this tape.  I use it to tape my Spellbinder dies onto my paper, as shown above. If you’ve used these before, you know how they would move around if not taped.  One little piece of removable tape does the trick.  I also use the Scotch Removable Tape to temporarily hold my card pieces together as I am planning layouts.  When I make my cards, I figure things out as I go.  I may think a certain color matting will work, but in the end use another color.  I have learned to NEVER permanently adhere anything together until I have the entire card made up, laid out in front of me, and I’m happy with it.  And I use the Scotch Removable Tape a lot as I play around with my pieces, matting, framing, layouts, etc.  And you can use one piece of tape over and over again. 

Anyway, back to my tags.  Here they are all run through the Cuttlebug, cut and ready to be embossed:

It is a bit of a time saver when you make multiple tags rather than just one.  As you can see, I can now run these all through my Cuttlebug at one time to emboss them, rather than individually.  Anything to save time!!!  And here they are, done:

Sorry for all the flecks of dirt on this photo — I didn’t even see that IRL!!!  Oh well — Also, the embossing isn’t showing up the best either, but it is there, and it is the embossing on these tags that sets them apart from tags punched with a regular punch.  The embossing adds so much richness, I think!  The Coffee sentiments are from Coffee with Friends,  Just Because is from Siberian Iris, Peony is from Peony, Happy Birthday is from Many Sentiments.

And now it’s time to put our tag dies away — here’s a GREAT solution.  My idea — NOT!!! Wish it was — LOL!!!  I’ve seen this on many Blogs, the first being on Debbie Olson’s Blog, and I sure was quick to make use of this great idea!!!  All of my Nestabilities are stored in CD cases, and here’s the case for my tag dies:

You can purchase these sticky back magnet strips in the children’s craft section of Wal-Mart — they are so easy to use.  I just cut them to fit the CD case.  They are cut a bit differently for these tags than for the larger Nestabilities, but all the same idea.  There are four sets of tag dies in this one CD case — now how convenient is that!!!  The 2 sets I showed you today are on the left, and the Ribbon Slides and Label Trios are on the right.  But I would like to add, all of my Nesties would also work in the Clear Boxes shown above.  I just didn’t have my Clear Boxes when I started my storage for my Nesties.  Using the Clear Boxes would actually avoid the issue of the hump in the middle of the CD case!

(Editing:  OK, I’ve learned from several readers that you can pull that plastic center from the CD case — DUH!!!! Thank you so much — LOL!!! Glad I learned that — LOL!!!)

(Editing again:  Oh gosh, you people are so waaaayyyy ahead of me — LOL!!! I ‘m getting so many emails — you are all using these Clear Boxes for your Nesties and telling me how much better they work than the CD cases — you are all shaming me into changing them all over to Clear Boxes — LOL!!! — THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!)

And once you’re here to look, just wanted to share about this Stamp Cleaner specially formulated for clear stamps:

It does a wonderful job cleaning your clear stamps, makes them feel silky smooth, which is so nice, but this cleaner’s claim to fame in my book is its smell — it has the MOST declicious scent of citrus!!! It makes me WANT to clean my stamps!!!!  Gotta love it!!!  The pad and cleaner can be seen here.

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  My next post will contain a card, I promise!!! Hope you are all having a wonderful week!!!  OH, and if you like simple, you will LOVE this week’s Stamp Simply Challenge on Friday — be sure to come back and check it out — whether you plan to play or just check out everyone’s entries!!!

Is this a gorgeous bouquet, or what!!!  Our friend, Kellie, over at Polished to Perfection, has created the absolutely most gorgeous complete wedding ensemble using Flourishes Lace Heart, Damask and Damask Reverse, along with the JustRite Monogram Stamper.  And as a little tease, I wanted to show you this beautiful bouquet, which is a portion of Kellie’s project.

You can see the complete wedding ensemble at Polished to Perfection. Whether you are planning a wedding, or just want to make a pretty card, treat bag or decorate your table, you’ll see some wonderful projects that will be sure to inspire you!!!

Thank you so much, Kellie, for choosing to use our beautiful Flourishes images on this wonderful project!!!