No Time To Stamp?

I love to make gift card holders and this is in a non-traditional size with a vintage feel.  In shades of soft yellows, ivory and a touch of blue I consider this to be gender-neutral, suitable for either a girl or boy.  And it is oversized, not made to fit into an envelope but meant to be given as is, either personally to the new Mom and Dad or at a baby shower, or how pretty it would be gently placed in a gift basket along with other beautiful goodies. It is made from one full 8 1/2 x 11″ sheet of cardstock and the finished measurements are 4 1/2 x 8 1/2. Instructions to follow later in the post.  But let’s take a look:

I loved the vintage feel of this DP by SU (Bella Birds), so I added a border with a Martha Stewart Lace Punch and my 100% Ivory Silk Bow.  This image from the Baby Stamp Ensemble by JustRite also has a vintage feel to it that I love!

The image is stamped in VersaFine Vintage Sepia (it was the perfect shade of brown) and Copic colored.  Be mindful, VersaFine is NOT the ink you would typically use to Copic color, I just cheated as I wanted that color today.  My image from the Baby Stamp Ensemble was cut and layered with my Petite Oval Nestabilities, and Kaiser Pearls in Champagne were added. 

Here you can better see the detail of the lace punched border and my bow using 100% Silk Ribbon, made on the Bow Easy.

Here is the gift card holder inside.  The large pocket can hold all kinds of goodies.  The top flap is held securely closed with a Velcro Dot closure. 

This is the Baby Stamp Ensemble by JustRite and the good news is — it’s currently on sale at the JustRite Stampers site!  It requires the 2 1/4 x 3 1/16″ Oval Stamper.  That’s the same oval stamper we’ve been using of late with Autumn Blessings and Thinking of You.  And as you can see in the photo, I always cut out my images to remove the excess rubber as it does have a tendency to pick up unwanted ink.  This solves the problem quickly and easily! 

If you care to look, here’s a baby girl gift card holder in the traditional size I did with this same set nearly a year ago.

And quickly, here’s the how-to on this gift card holder.

Using an 8.5 x 11″ sheet of cardstock, punch a lace border along one 8.5″ edge.  If you start exactly in the middle with your punch, then work both to the left and right, your scallop design will be perfectly centered.

Score 2.5″ from the opposite short edge, and again 4.5″ in from the first score line.

That’s your basic card holder, now just decorate away!

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SHOPPING:

Get the Baby Stamp Ensemble at SALE PRICES at JustRite Stampers, along with their full line of product.  You’ll also need the 2 1/4″ x 3 1/16″ Oval Stamper if you don’t have it already.

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The following items used to create this project can be purchased at the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:

2 1/4 x 3  1/16 Oval Stamper, Versa Fine Vintage Sepia Ink, Kaiser Pearls , Velcro Dot Closure

100% Silk Ribbon  by May Arts

Bow Easy, Petite Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Scor-It Score Board

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Please Note:  All Ribbon by the Spool in The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store is on sale for 15% off when purchased by the Spool.

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Thank you so much for stopping in today — I do truly appreciate all your visits here.  I’ve got a lot on my agenda this week, some of which includes stamping, so I hope to see you back real soon.  Have a wonderful week, everyone!!!  See you soon!!!

A clean and simple gift card holder that is masculine, seasonal (autumn) and personalized with the recipients initials.  I used a collection of varying stamps on this simple little project, but they all blended wonderfully.  Here it is:

Leaf image is from A Year of Leaves by Melanie Muenchinger for Gina K. Designs (copic colored).  A great set for year round use!  Initials done with 60 Pt Font contained in the 1 3/16″ Wood Stamper with Bonus 60 pt Font and Damask Borders by JustRite.  Paper (Autumn Traditions DP), hardware and inside sentiment are all by SU.  I used a strip of White 5/8″ Double Sided Suede. I love this suede on guy cards.  It adds the ribbon touch we love, but without the fru-fru that guys don’t particularly love — LOL!!  The touchy-feeliness of this suede is wonderful and is very suited to an autumn card!  I want to add that I don’t typically like to cut my ribbon at the edge of the card — I prefer to wrap it around; however, with this suede ribbon, it cuts beautifully with no fraying or ravelling, so I did adhere it to the card front only and cut the sides — works GREAT with this suede ribbon.  It is all held closed with a self-adhesive Velcro Dot.  Here’s the inside:

Can you see the closure?  It’s my favorite self-adhesive Velcro Dots, and I just added them in 3 colors to Page 3 of my store.  I usually try to make my cards so all the hardware backs are hidden between layers, but on a CAS card sometimes that harder to do, and it’s OK if they show - especially on guys cards — LOL — they don’t care!  This has a nice little pocket to tuck in some cash, a check or gift card!

This is my favorite quick and easy Gift Card Holder template and I’ve used it dozens of times.  I originally got the measurements from an SCS challenge years ago.  Start with a 1/2 sheet of paper - 8.5 x 5.5 - and using my Scor-It I scored in 2″ from one short edge and 2.5″ in from the other short short edge.  When folded, the 2.5″ flap is the top while the 2″ flap is the pocket (adhere on the sides with red sticky tape).  Then just decorate away.  This is a GREAT little template that comes in so handy time and time again.

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The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store carries the following items used on this project:

1 3/16″ Wood Stamper with Bonus 60 pt Font and Damask Borders by JustRite

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink (image) and VersaFine Onyx Black Ink (sentiment)

5/8″ Double Sided Suede Ribbon by May Arts

Self-Adhesive Velcro Dots

Scor-It

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Thanks much for stopping in today.  I have one more masculine gift card holder to make in the next day or two and it will be for Pastor Appreciation Month.   I really should make a few masculine birthday cards as well - this just may be a masculine week here on my blog — time will tell!!!  We have some gorgeous sunshine and pleasant temps today — hope you are enjoying pleasant days as well!!!  See you soon!

I have a couple of super quick Halloween treat ideas today.  The first is a little basket that could be used for school treats, table favors, or a teacher gift as it’s cute for a desk decoration.  The second is a small money holder for a dollar or two for your favorite little ghost or goblin!  Here they are:

I used last year’s Halloween DP by K & Company that I got from Michaels.  It’s very glittery and festive. Not sure if it’s still available.  The only other paper used is Pumpkin Pie cardstock by SU for the scallop.  The stamp set used is this year’s Limited Edition Halloween Set by JustRite, called Witch Way to the Treats.  It fits on the 1 3/16″ Wooden Stamper, a fun size.  I do have a limited number of sets left, but won’t be able to get any more once they are gone.  I’ll tell you quickly how I made these and give you some closeup shots.

This little basket is so quick and simple.  It’s basically a cube that has not been pushed all the way in to form the cube.  The side flaps are only partially pushed in and adhered, if that makes sense?  I’m thinking there is an official name for one of these, but I can’t put a finger on it.  Anyone know?  To make this, start with a square of paper, 6 x 6″.  I then used my Scor-It to score 2″ in from all 4 sides.  You end up with 9 equal squares.  Cut the 2 score lines on 2 opposing sides.  Now you can fold it up, just don’t fold it all the way in, and adhere into position.  (I don’t have time to make a template and photo now to show you, but if anyone doesn’t understand and would like a template photo, just let me know and I’ll come back this evening and edit this post to include one.)

Here’s a view of the back.  I think you can see how it folds easier on this side.  My handle is made of 10″ of 1.5″ Striped Ribbon. It is just adhered to the inside of the basket with a heavy duty double sided tape, folded on the bottom where taped to create the little gather.  It is then stuffed with shredded paper and some wrapped taffy.  Finished it measures about 5″ at the widest point and about 5″ high.

This is a little holder for a dollar bill or don’t some places like McDonald’s make coupons for Halloween?  A fun way to present a little treat.  Finished it is 4″ square. Cut your paper 4 x 9″.  Again using my Scor-It, I scored 2″ from the bottom for the pocket and used double sided red tape on the sides to adhere it up.  I then scored 3″ down from the top to create the top flap, and I rounded the corners with my SU Corner Rounder.  Now it’s done, except for decoration.

Again, I used Witch Way to the Treats and the same Grape 1.5″ Striped Ribbon.  And I really like this ribbon treatment — so quick to do and fun!  The ribbon is tacked to the flap with double sided tape so it doesn’t slip and the ends are just tied with a coordinating color of 100% Jute String.  Can’t get much easier.  And in this case I love how that ribbon flying off the end of the card mimics the motion of the witches broom in the image.

Here’s the inside — fun with the double sided paper!  And just enough room for some little treat!

Nothing fancy about either of these projects.  They were kept super simple with mass producing in mind for school or other events. 

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Shopping: 

Most items to make these projects, with the exception of the paper, can be found in the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:

Witch Way to the Treats Set and 1 3/16″ Wood Stamper by JustRite

Petite Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders

1.5″ Striped Ribbon and 100% Jute String by May Arts

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Thanks so much for stopping in today!  Hope you are enjoying this Autumn Season!  We are still having higher than normal temps and we are waiting for the leaves to change.  It’s always so beautiful here in the fall.  And speaking of fall, that reminds me of this week’s Stamp Simply Challenge — stay tuned!  It’ll be up on Thursday evening, as usual.  Have a great week, everyone!

New stamps and lots of great designers — love doing these posts!!! The JustRite Team is soon ready to ship so many new and fun sets and I can’t wait to check out all the projects created with them. I used a new set called A Little Caffeine Set, and it’s fun, fun, fun!!! Today I did a gift card holder with a somewhat masculine feel, but a couple weeks back I used this same set tocreate a most definitely feminine card. LOVE that a set is so versatile! Here’s my gift card holder for today:

A simple, but tried and true, fold I’ve used often. Start with a 1/2 sheet (5.5 x 8.5), and score at 2 and 6. That givesyou a 2″ fold on the bottom to form your pocket and a 2.5″ top flap. Quick and simple, just what I like! I used Granola by Basic Grey for my DP — liked these colors for a guyish coffee gift card holder! And I used 3 stamps from A Little Caffeine Set. Check out the background stamping on the photo below:

Can you see how I’ve used the coffee bean stamp to do an overall background stamping on the top flap? I thought it looked really cool on the Granola DP sheet. To get my Jute String so perfectly, I attached a strip of red sticky tape across the card front, then wrapped my string around numerous times, ending with a little bow. The tape holds it perfectly, yet is totally hidden!!! My focal image is cut and matted with Circle Nesties and placed on top of the Label 3 Nesties by Spellbinders — I like the look!

Here’s a shot of the inside. You can see how I’ve cut another of the Labels 3 shape and adhered to the inside to cover up the prongs of the brads — really cleaned up the looks a lot!!! And I used a Velcro sticky dot for my closure — self-adhesive — works great! I know there are also little magnets for this purpose, I just don’t have any.

Here’s a quick look at all the fun images and sentiments in A Little Caffeine Set. And you can see I’ve used two images and one border sentiment. You’ll need the 2″ Wood Stamper for use with this set.

Here I wanted to show you how I’ve cut out my images. I do not like when ink collects on the edges of the rubber, and by cutting off the excess rubber we can easily avoid that issue all together!

Thank you so much for stopping in here today, now be sure you hop on over to all the other JustRite design blogs for some GREAT inspiration using these fun new sets. And for an added element of fun (you know I love a good game), I will tell you thatTWO of the girls have BLOG CANDY OFFERINGS! So, go and check them all out andfind that added bonus, too! Here are all the links:

JustRite Stampers
Barb Schram
Becca Feeken
Debbie Olson
Heidi Blankenship
Kellie Fortin
Lauren Meader
Lisa Somerville
Michele Kovack
Michelle Wooderson

Sharon Harnist

Taylor VanBruggen

Stamps: A Little Caffeine used with the 2 Wood Stamper by JustRite

Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Granola DP by Basic Grey

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown, Copics to color

Accessories: Labels 3 and Petite Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders; May Arts Jute String and Gingham Ribbon, SU Corner Rounder, Brass Brads, Dimensionals, Red Sticky Tape; Velcro, Glue Glider, Zip Dry, Scor-It.

I’m two baby gifts behind. Today I made a gift card holder for a soon-to-be-born little girl — how exciting!!! This particular style of gift card holder is tried and true, a style I’ve done dozens of times, and I love it because it is so quick and simple and can then be decorated to suit any person or situation. All you have to do is remember to score at 2″ and 6″ — that’s it. Start with a 1/2 sheet of paper (8.5 x 5.5), and score at 2″ and 6″. I can not take credit for this template, but I sure have made a lot of good use ofit. I found it playing a challenge a couple years back at SCS. Here’s my Baby Girl Gift Card Holder:

All pink and lacy today. The papers are Eva by Basic Grey. And aren’t those just the most darling little shoes you have ever seen? I love them. They are from theJustRite Baby Stamp Ensemble and are Copic coloredand then cut, embossed and matted with my Petite Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders. I pierced the scalloped layer. The border lace is punched with a Martha Stewart border punch.

Those tiny little buttons are from Wal-Mart and they are sewn on using embroidery floss. And I love using satin ribbon on baby cards — it always make me think of the binding on a baby blanket. And see the Welcome Baby in the upper corner? I did that with my JustRite Rectangle Stamper and Times New Roman Font, 25 pt., both Uppercase and Lowercase. It was JUST the perfect size for what I wanted! Take a look at the product I used today:

As I said above, those darling shoes came from the JustRite Baby Stamp Ensemble which is made to use with the Harmony Classic Oval Stamper II. And can you see how I’ve cut out my shoes? As I’ve said many times, I often like to use my JustRite centers in ways other than they were originally intended (omitting the border or punching into a different shape), and by cutting out my image and getting rid of the excess rubber, I’m able to get a cleaner image when stamping without the border. Don’t be afraid to cut away your excess rubber! My tiny sentiment was made using Times New Roman Uppercase Font for the capital letters and Times New Roman Lowercase Font for the remaining letters, both in 25 pt. A perfect size for what I needed here. I snapped my letters into the smaller of blocks in the Harmony RectangleStamper Set.The Lowercase Font is a new product and should be available real, real soon. You can preorder now! All else I used is currently available. And please remember, once you start purchasing and using the various JustRite products, they are made to be interchangeable and work with many other of the JustRite products as well. That’s fun and gives you a ton of options!!!

Here’s the inside of my gift card holder. You can see the pocket on the bottom to hold the gift card (secure the sides with sticky tape, I used my Glue Glider). You can see how my main image oval hangs beneath the top flap and how I’ve attached a Velcro sticky dot to hold the gift card holder closed. It works GREAT! I know there are little magnets available to do the same thing, I’ve just never had any to try.

If you’ve never tried one of these super simple gift card holders, I urge you to give one a try. Super quick, simple and FUN!!! And SO easy to personalize!!!

Stamps: All by JustRite: Baby Stamp Ensemble with the Harmony Classic Oval Stamper II, Times New Roman Font Uppercase, Times New Roman Font Lowercase, with the Harmony Rectangle Stamper.

Paper: PTI White, Eva by Basic Grey.

Ink: Versa Fine Onyx Black for sentiment. Memento Tuxedo Black for image. Copic RV11, C1, O for shoes.

Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Petite Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Martha Stewart Lace Border Punch, Wal-Mart Buttons and Velcro, Needle and Embroidery Floss, SU Piercer and Mat Pack, Glue Glider.

Thanks so much for stopping in here again today!!! I can not tell you often enough how much I do appreciate all your visits and comments!!! Hoping you are all having a wonderful weekend, and hope you are warmer than we are (-21 this morning, and that’s cold!)!!! I now have an altered project in mind for a baby boy, so that should be up real soon!!!

Please note that I have 2 posts today, thisDay 12Stamp Simply Celebrates! post and above this I have the regular Friday Stamp Simply Challenge post. Thank you!!!

Welcome to Day12 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!!You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

Barb Schram - Explore. Dream. Discover. - Today for Barbs Featured Project she has created auseful Holiday Home Decor item forYOU if you please,or it makes afabulous gift item that will knock the socks off your friends! It comes completely packaged! How fun!!! I KNOW you wont want to miss out, so be sure to visit today over at Barbs place and lap up the inspiration!!!

Sharon Johnson -No Time To Stamp? - Me again. Its my regular Stamp Simply Challenge today, and it promises to result in some great layout options for you to use for quick projects. Hope you can play! All you have to do is scroll up as it is the post uploaded just above this one.

Some great samples for the Stamp Simply Challenge today can be seen on these blogs: Julie, Janine, Jennifer, Tammy, Dee, Becky, AJ, Jerri Darleneand LeAnne.

Leslie Miller - Running with Scissors - Leslie has some BLOG CANDY for you today!

Sharon Johnson -No Time To Stamp? - Me again with moreBLOG CANDY, and it’s right here, so just scroll down.

Today’s Blog Candy is again compliments of JustRite!!! JustRite has been so very kind and gracious to us throughout this celebration — THANK YOU, JUSTRITE!!! Today we are offering the Brayton Font along with the Harmony Rectangle Stampers. There are 2 stampers in the kit, one large and one small, as shown, and there are 3 sizes of Brayton Font– you’ll love it!!! There is still a sale going on at JustRite until the 19th, so be sure to check it out here!!!

To be entered for this Blog Candy drawing, all you need to do is comment belowand answer the following questions:

1. Would you be interested in seeing a celebration like this again?

2. What did you like BEST about this celebration?

3. Is there something you would wish to have seen/done, that we did not include?

This post will be closed for Blog Candy entries at 6:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. Shortly thereafter a random winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will be posted both on this thread and at Party Central. OK, now on to my project:

Today I made a gift card holder for a young man. It’s the standard template I like to use. Justcuta sheet 8 1/2 x 5 1/2, and using your Scor-It, score at 2 and 6. The 2″ flap is the bottom and the 2 1/2″ flap is the top. I have a velcro dot under the image panel to hold the flap closed. This easily holds a gift card, cash or check — something every young (or old) man can use!!! LOL!!!

The paper used is from the Wonderland 8 x 8 pack by Cosmo Cricket. The sentiment panel was part of one of their cut-out sheets and I thought it would work perfectly on the flap for this gift card holder. I dressed it up with brass brads. Eli’s name is done with the Brayton Font on a Harmony Classic Circle Stamper I and a border from 10 Designer Borders and Centers. I thought this border went well with the pincone theme to Wonderland paper. I used dressmaker twill from the sewing section for my ribbon and popped my monogram up with dimensionals. A fun gift card!!! And SO easy to do!!!

Papers used were SU Very Vanilla and Bravo Burgundy. Inks used were Versa Fine Vintage Sepia, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, and SU Markers in Baroque Burgundy and Chocolate Chip. I also used my Petite Circle Nestabilities and a corner rounder.

And this concludes our last day of Stamp Simply Celebrates! It has been so much fun for all of us involved and we THANK YOU so much for coming to visit and play along with us!!! There are still many open Blog Candy posts — you can find those by checking in at Party Central. I’m trying to keep that updated. And you are certainly welcome to go back and browse through any and all uploads, challenges and featured projects to get those creative juices flowing!!! Just because the party is over, doesn’t mean we’re going anywhere — we are all still here, along with our projects, and we hope you continue to visit regularly!!!!

I’m going to take aday or twobreak from stamping to clean up my stamp room and get some things ready for Christmas, but in that time I have a few things I’d like to share with you that I’ve made over the years — things that I love andcontinue to use year after year– a gorgeous (but simple, of course!) tree skirt and some snowball window and/or tree ornaments — fun!!! Even the kids would love to help you make those. Then, of course, I still need tons of Christmas cards and I tell you, the closer we get to Christmas, the easier those cards get — LOL!!! So there is still plenty more to come — hope to see you real soon!!!

THANK YOU, EVERYONE!!! IT’S BEEN SO FUN!!!

And the winner selected by random.org is #227, Cynthia — CONGRATS!!! Here’s what she had to say:

cynthia

Yes I would do it again. I enjoyed the daily inspirations and challanges. Even if I didnt get them done it got me working in my studio. Which is difficult during the holidays. Thanks so much Cynthia

Dec 14, 9:21 PM

Thanks to everyone playing along!!! So much appreciated!!!

Keyword ssnotime55 -There is no time limit. You can play this challenge and upload yourproject at Splitcoastand/or your Blog, anytime at all! You (and that means anyone and everyone, blogger or not!)can play as many times as you like!!! The point is to keep it simple, quick and have fun!!! Please link back here.

For todays challenge let’s Sing n’ Stamp with Becky!!! Today’s featured stamper to inspire us is Becky Oehlers, a/k/a Sing n’ Stamp at SCS and by her blog title of Hemidemisemiquaver. Becky is quite the interesting woman and she has always intrigued me — perhaps because her life seems to be so different than mine. Becky’s card designs are very clean, crisp and classy — ALWAYS. And I love how she uses ribbon to add that final touch to most of her work. And she is also very clever and creative as is evidenced by the large number of projects she does with and for her girls and their home. So Becky is apaper crafterand a Mom, that’s not so different — LOL!!! But where the difference and interest lies is in her professional life as a classical singer. Becky’s love for what she does just oozes out of her, and I LOVE that, so I could not possibly let this challenge go by without adding some element of music. So, if you want to earn some bonus points today, add some element of music to your project — anything, anyway, anyhow — as long as the viewers get the idea of music or song. How fun!!!

Please check out Becky’s Blog here to be inspired by her creations. And while you are there, take the time to read — there’s a lot of interest to be read, videos to be seen and check out her free downloadable paper designs in her sidebar — fun stuff!!!

So, to summarize today’s challenge based on Becky’s style — here’s what we’re after:

Overall style: Clean, Crisp, Classy
Embellishments: Beautiful Ribbon
Creative License: Make any type of 3D or Home decor item, if you so choose
Bonus Points: Incorporate some element of music or song into your project.
Required Element: SING while you are stamping!!! LOL!!

Heres what our DT did, but if you are viewing this late Thursday night or early Friday morning, please bear with us as everyone is uploading their projects thank you!!!

And we do have a Guest Designer for the entire month of October — how lucky are we!!! I’d like to introduce you to Darlene Pavlick, known as akronstamperdpk at SCS and by her blogwhich isDar’s Crafty Creations. Darlene was the winnerof the OctoberGuest Designer spot during our Blog Anniversary Celebration a few weeks back, and I just couldn’t be more pleased!!! Stop in at Dar’s Crafty Creations to view her beautiful workmanship, check out her kitchen creations, see a gift from her loving DH,read her bio and check out her DT gigs on her sidebar. Very impressive, Darlene, and we are all so happy to have you with us for this month!!!

Check out Darlene’s sample here.

Check out Julie Koerberssample here.

Check out Dee Jacksons samplehere.

Check out Jennifer Bucks sample here.

Check out Janine Orchards sample here.

Check out Tammy Hershbergerssample here.

Check out Becky Oehlerssample here.

You can see all Gallery Submissions here.

Arent these girls justFABULOUS!!! Thank you girls!!! Much appreciated!!!

Heres myproject for todays challenge:

It’s a gift card holder in a style a bit different than I usually do, but it was super quick and fun. A tutorial will follow. There are many sides to Becky, and I decided to go with the ultra classy side, as would be fitting a classical singer. Wouldn’t it be fun to present concert tickets in this holder? Well, no concert tickets here, so I’ll use it for something other. The pocket can hold whatever you like — even cash!!! I used a gorgeously scriptedscripture quotefrom the retired SU set called Elegant Inspirations, swirls from Baroque Motifs and the notes were from a Cuttlebug die I just got — fun!!! The sentiment says:

“By day the Lord directs His love, at night his song is with me.” Psalms 42:8

A very beautifuland reassuring scripture quote that I thought fitting for Becky’s challenge. In fact, I will also upload this card at SCS to this weeks WT where Julia called for *quotes* and to the Divine Design 2008 Bible Verse Challenge that I have missed again for so many months!!! Check it out — it’s a wonderful challenge that *challenges* us to memorize scripture!!!

The first photo shows the actual holder in the envlope and the next photo shows the back side of the envelope.

The envelope makes up in just a mintue using the Scor-It Mini (the full size Scor-It would work as well).

Cut your paper 8.5 x 5.5″.

Score 3 15/16″ from one short edge.

Score 1/2″ from the other short edge.

Score 1/2″ from the bottom edge.

Cut the two bottom sections out as shown, leaving a flap on the back only, angling as shown.

Stamp design on both front and back as desired.

After your design is stamped and your envelope is adhered together, find the center point at the top (opening) of your envelope and punch a hole as shown, going through both layers (front and back) at once.

To make the actual gift card holder, cut your paper 3.5 x 7″. Score 2″ from one short end. Round all 4 corners. Punch acircle out of a scrap of black, adhere about 3/4″ of it to the center top, then cut off theremainder left sticking out on your paper cutter. Tape the bottom flap up to form a pocket and punch a hole in the center of the black circle to run ribbon through for the pull.

That pretty well sums it up!! Hope you get a chance to play today or anytime this week, or anytime, really!!! There is never a time limit — play when you can!!! We have a wedding to go to on Saturday, so we are hoping for a beautiful day up here. Hope you all have pleasant plans for your weekend as well!!! Thanks so much for stopping in — I surely do appreciate it!!! Many thanks!

OK, this is the LAST of the cherries, I promise!!! This project just got away from me and took on a life of it’s own, but I’m done now — out of cherry paper — LOL!!!

This never started as a gift set, but just kind of evolved asI couldn’t quit playing with the cherry paper (Summer Picnic by SU). The stamp used is from Tart and Tangy by SU.

The card, which has a pocket inside to hold a recipe, was made about a month ago for a swap and details, with template, can be seen here.

The recipe box was uploaded a few days ago and can be seen, with template, here.

The gift bag is an 8 x 10 handled bag from Wal-Mart, just decorated to match the above.

The jar is cookie mix decorated with my last few inches of red ribbon and the last of my cherry DP. Typically when I do a jar, I like to wrap the paper entirely around the jar. Well, even though my paper was 12″, it wouldn’t quite make it around this jar — bummer — short by about 1/4″. So it doesn’t wrap all the way around — I just made it to go around 1/2 the jar and taped it on well with my ever so trusty Carpet Tape, seen here.

That’s it for now — no more cherries!!!! I hope to do and upload another project later today. Thank you so much for stopping in!

This is a card I did for Jami’s Swap for the Occasions Mini. I had to use Tart and Tangy and I chose to use the Summer Picnic Designer Paper that coordinates with it — fun!!! I made a card that has an inside pocket that will hold a recipe. Here it is:

I used the fun paper with the cherries on it and the cherry stamp since I was enlcosing a recipe for Cherry Cheesecake. I also put a tab on the top to sort of look like an index tab in arecipe box. I made the card shorter so that the top of the tab is at 4 1/4″, so it still fits into an envelope. I colored my cherry stamp with markers. Here’s a picture of the inside:

Isn’t it cute? A fun way to enclose a little something extra with the card. This would also serve well as a gift card holder. This is a really good and really simple Cherry Cheesecake recipe. If you’d like it, here it is:

CHEESECAKE

Make, or buy prepared, standard graham cracker crust — use a larger pie pan or else it will overflow.

For filling:

• Mix 1 envelope Knox gelatin in bowl with1/2 cup sugar.
• Add 1 cup boiling water and stir until dissolved well, about 5 minutes.
• In mixer, beat together 2 8-oz. packages of softened cream cheese and 1 tsp vanilla, beating well until smooth. Slowly beat in gelatin/water mixture. Pour into prepared/cooled crust.
• Refrigerate until firm — about 3 hours. Top with cherry pie filling.

OK, now back to the project at hand — I have prepared a template for this card. Using the Scor-Itmade this super quick and easy. Here it is:

• Cut your cardstock 5 1/4 x 11
• Score in half at 5 1/2
• Using a paper cutter, cut off 1 1/2″ from the right edge, as shown in photo, ONLY up to the score mark
• Now comes the fun part, and it is so super easy using the Scor-It. Just push your template up against the raised metal rail, as shown in photo. This gives you the perfect line to score on without any thought or measuring — just run the tool straight on down to score the paper. Done — Perfect!!!
• Round your corners, fold the flap up, securing sides with red sticky tape to form pocket. Decorate as desired.

All the entries for this swap will start being uploaded at SCS today, 3/03, so if you’d like to check them out, click here. The keyword is jswap208.

And here’s a complete Supply List:

• Stamps: Tart and Tangy, It’s Your Birthday
• Paper: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Whisper White, Summer Picnic Designer Paper
• Ink: Black Stazon, Markers in Real Red and Old Olive
• Accessories: 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Stapler, Brad, Dimensionals, Scor-It, Crafter’s Tool Kit. Punches used: 1 1/4″, 1 3/8″, Scallop, Corner Rounder, Round Tab

Hope all the swappers who got this enjoyed it — it was fun to make!!! Thanks so much, everyone, for stopping in — truly appreciate it!!! I have a full agenda this week and should have regular uploads. See you later!

This is my first attempt using the new SU graduation set called Great Grads! I can not even begin to count the number of graduation cards I have made in the last many years, and can you believe I have never had a graduation set, just odds and ends from here and there!!! So, I’m very pleased to have this set!!!

I made 2 cards — one is more masculine and is a check holder and the other is definitely feminine and is a gift card holder. I did them both in black and white, which I think is a classic and always works. Personally, I’m not real nuts about doing grad cards in school colors. School colors may look great in uniforms, but they typically just don’t do it for me when I’m making a card, and I want to enjoy the process as much as the end result, so I often use colors that I prefer — though I do sometimes cave and go with the school colors — LOL!!! So much for team spirit — huh! I also used the Cuttlebug with some new embossing folders on these cards. Here’s the 1st:

This is the check holder. The Grad flap is held secure with Velcro dots and inside is a pocket for a check. The tassel is a bookmark tassel. I used 2 new embossing folders — the Swiss Dots and Stripes. This card is 7.5″ wide, and at the end of this post, I’ll show you how to get a strip of dots or stripes that long. To make this card, cut your paper 7.5″ wide and 7″ high. Score at 2 1/4 and 5 1/2, making sure you are scoring along the 7.5″ width. This will leave you with a 2 1/4″ flap for the top and a 1 1/2″ flap which folds up for the pocket. Use red sticky strip on the ends to adhere the flap up for the pocket. For the embossed panels, cut 2 white strips 7.5″ x 4 (this gives you left overs for another card — once you are running it through, might as well get enough for extras). Refer to bottom of this post for the Cuttlebug photos.

This is the card that is definitely feminine. We don’t usually make graduation cards too frilly, but I think it is totally appropriate to make a card like this for a girly-girl type, don’t you? This one is done in a similar fashion, only this is a gift card holder. Start with a 1/2 sheet of paper. 8.5 x 5.5. Score at 2 and 6, which gives you flaps of 2″ (the pocket) and 2.5″ (the top flap). This card uses the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I also used the Rectangle Scallop Nestability by Spellbinders to frame the sentiment. However, none of the scallop dies was quite the right size, so I took the one that was the closest to what I needed — it was just 1 scallop too long — so I cut it in half right across the middle and then re-taped it together with a one scallop overlap. I have done this many times before, and it is just amazing at how nearly invisible this is. I used a Ticket Corner punch on the sentiment before mounting it to the scallop. I used a flower and brad from the SU Pretties Kit and retired SU black organdy ribbon. The sentiment is adhered to the card top and there is a Velcro dot underneath so it will stay closed.

Now, I’m going to try to do the following pictures in thumbnails, so just click on them to enlarge them if you’re interested. The first is a picture of how to insert the paper into the folder to get a long run of pattern. My sheets of paper are 7.5″ x 4″.

Insert the paper as shown in the photo above. Once it runs through, take it out and put it back into the folder as shown below:

Now, we run into a problem when using the Swiss Dots pattern, so I’ll try to explain it here. This does not happen with the Stripes — they work out just fine.When wetake out the Swiss Dots sheet and put it back in the folder for the second run through, make sure you align up the dots so the pattern stays consistent. Now, I’ve done this many times, and I can’t figure another way to do this to avoid the problem — but what happens is when you align up the pattern, the last row of dots gets squished flat when you run it through. It’ll look like this:

Can you see that line in the center of squished dots? Well, there MUST be a way to run it through so that doesn’t happen, I just haven’t had the time to play any more to figure it out — so I just did a quick fix, as shown below:

I turned the pattern over so it is upside down, on a soft piercing mat, and VERY GENTLY (because it pokes through so easily) pressed on each squished dot with an old wooden stylus tip — with hardly any pressure at all, the squished dot was back up and good as new. In just a second you can do the entire row and it is impossible to tell what had happened — so that was my quick fix to the problem.

You’ll also notice I told you to cut the sheets going into the Cuttlebug 7.5″ wide, which is the same width as the card. But when we mount it onto the card we need it to be 7 1/4. Just cut it to the 7 1/4″ you need. I have found that if I put it in the Cuttlebug at exactly the right size, it often comes out smaller because of how the embossing can change the size a bit, so when size is crucial, I like to start a bit larger and then cut after embossing.

OK, now once I had this set out, I thought I’d show you how you can use the Key Tag Punch on the long sentiment with the rounded ends. I haven’t used it in a card, but here’s a sample of how to punch it . First stamp the image on a strip of paper, then cut the strip to 1″ wide. I just find it easier to stamp first, then cut to size. If I start with a 1″ strip and try to perfectly place and center a long stamp, I often mess up — course if you are one to use a Stamp-a-ma-jig always, that would solve that problem. Anyway, once your stamped strip is 1″ wide, then we need to run it through the Key Tag Punch. Now, since it is the right width, we are only clipping the ends in the punch. Put the strip in the punch, but then pull out (up and and through the hole) one end of the strip, then position and punch the other end that is still in the punch. Then repeat for the other side. This is what it looks like in the punch:

Hope that helps! Here’s my list of supplies, and this list covers both cards.

• Stamps: Great Grads
• Paper: Basic Black and Whisper White
• Ink: Black Stazon
• Accessories: Tassel, Pretties Kit, Spellbinders Rectangle Dies, Ticket Corner Punch, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders (Swiss Dots and Stripes), Mini Glue Dots, Mounting Tape, Red Sticky Strip, Velcro

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!! Thanks much for stopping in. My next couple projects will be more SU samples.