The Observation Car

It seems early in the season to be thinking of Christmas, but if you are crafting your gifts and cards, you better get a move on.  It is nice to have everything under control before the last minute.  Here are some ideas for cards and a mini book using some of the Just Rite  holiday stamps.  The book is made from a CD holder and can be used for photos, a CD, money, gift card, or a combination of all.  The best thing is that every time the recipient looks at these works of art, they will be thinking of you.  All are colored with Copic markers and cut out with Nestabilities.  Ribbons are from BoBunny and embossing plates from Cuttlebug.  The CD holders are available at both the on-line store and our brick and mortar place in Lemoyne, PA.

Holiday Cheer Card

Let It Snow Card

Snowman CD Book (cover image)

Snowman CD Book (inside page image)

Here it is, my sample of the Ghirardelli chocolate holder for the Sweet little Gifts class.  The new Christmas stamps from Just Rite came in.  They are so darn cute that I couldn’t resist using one to decorate my holder.  This is a wallet type case with 2 pockets inside for candy.  Originally it was for teabags, but I adapted it.  You could still use it for tea if desired.  The image is colored with Copic markers, and the pieces are cut out with Nestabilities.  What a yummy gift!

Ghirardelli Candy Holder

Ghirardelli Candy Holder - open

I’m getting the samples made for my sweet gifts class on November 20th.  They are soooo cute, I thought you’d like to see the ones I made so far.  The snowman covers a Jr. Hershey bar.  The mouse bears a candy cane.  I’m still working on a Ghirardelli chocolate holder and a Nuggets wrap.  Then I thought a gum container would finish off the selection.. These would be fantastic fun stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, or small remembrances for co-workers, Sunday school class members, and club members.  Oh!  Don’t forget mail carriers, and neighbors.  And, they don’t cost you a fortune to make.  Ideal!

Candy Snowman

Candy Cane Mouse

Core’dinations cardstock with various colored cores makes unique paper projects.  When you sand it, tear it, or emboss and sand it, the second color shows through.  Here are some examples using the embossed and sanded paper technique  on some cards.  Later I will put the directions for the construction of the cards on a tutorial page.  All these color combinations are now available at our on line store.  We have them in packs of 12 with 4 of each color in the same color family.  Cool hues consist of greens and blue, warm hues are pink, orange and yellow, while the earthy hues are shades of brown.  Of course, if you don’t let the core show through, they make great scrapbook pages and mats all on their own since they are textured.

Triangle Tri-fold Card

Triangle Tri-fold Card open

Autumn Blintz Card

Double Gate Card

Double Gate Card open

8x8 Bound Blank Calendar closed

Since I have a class scheduled in September for a wall calendar, I started to make my sample.  Lo and behold!  Karen Foster doesn’t have the 12″x12″ calendars anymore!  Another company has 9″x9″, but that isn’t a good size to use in your scrapbook at year’s end.  So, Ken developed a terrific 8″x8″ wall calendar that i think you will love.  It’s blank, so you can start with any month you’d like.  When the year is over, just cut the pages off and insert them into an 8″x8″ scrapbook.  You will have a record of everything that happened during the year.  And, I was thinking what a great baby gift this would make with baby’s first year!

Now is the time to start making gifts for the holidays.  What a terrific gift this would make for family and friends.  They can add their own photos and journaling, but you will have all the pages ready for them.  Below are some samples I’ve been working on.  And you can get your blank calendars from our on-line store.  Order on line and we will include a list of birthstones, holidays for 2011, and

Sample Page for April 2011

a list of flowers of the month as a FREE extra.  Then we can ship your order, or if you are local, just stop by and pick it up to save the postage.  Enjoy!

Sample Page for November 2011

These are examples of pages that could be done using this calendar.  Calendar is provided in blank form so you can embellish and decorate to make it a personal calendar with your family’s important dates or happenings included.  It is designed so at the end of the year the bound strip can be trimmed off and the pages fitted into a page protector for an 8″x8″ scrapbook album.

About a month ago, we gave out bags of our ugliest, most non-descript. awful buttons.  The participants were to use at least 2 on a card or tag and then submit them to be judged.  Our judges were owners and employees of other artsy type stores at our market.  Below are their 3 favorites.  Each of these winners will receive a prize consisting of a bag of buttons!  And, the top prize winner, MaryAnn Mawhinney, will also get a pack of Glue Dots to use for attaching buttons!  Please enjoy the creativity that went into these projects.

Grand Prize Winner - Are We There Yet?

Paper piecing done with Mary Ann’s own design.

Good Dog

2nd Place winner - Nancy Low

Rudolf

3rd Place winner - Brenda Trimmer

Amanda is the House Mouse of the month for June.  Everyone in the Mouseketeer class loved these samples of cards using a varity of techniques.  First we used the Cuttlebug embossing folder to make a music background on ColorCore cardstock which was sanded to show the design.  The vintage music layer was sprayed with GlimmerMist and the colored mouse image was placed on top with foam tape for dimension.  The blue card features pleated twill and a button for embellishment.  And, the lavender sample has Nesties with the design cut beyond the border.  All these images were colored with Copic markers, but look good done in watercolor pencil and blender pen also.  Have a micey nice day!

Musical Amanda

Stamp: Stampabilities
Color Core Cardstock: Core’dinations
Vintage Music: Stamp Express
Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels
Markers: Copic
Other Cardstock: Paper Cut

Amanda's Band

Cardstock: Paper Cut
Designer Paper: Karen Foster
Stamp: Stampabilities
Twill: Creative Impressions
Markers: Copic
Button: Stamp Express Stash

One Man Band

Cardstock: Paper Cut
Swirl Stamp: Hero Arts
Mouse Stamp: Stampabilities
Markers: Copic
Nestabilities: Spellbinder

Stamp Express has a good selection of real lace to use on cards and pages, but when you can’t find the real thing you can make faux lace from paper with a border punch or two.  I made this card for a customer who is having a knee replacement.  I hope it works to cheer her up.  The little bluebird just sings of spring and happiness.  The paper lace strips were added where you might have used ribbon or paper strips.  The texture of lace gives a feminine look.

Life is a Song

Stamp: All Night Media
Border Punch: Martha Stewart
Cardstock: The Paper Cut
Designer Paper: Bo Bunny
Scalloped Circle Punch: EK Success
Markers: Copic
Words: Computer generated (Lydian Cursive font)

Spring is here, the world is “new”, and I’m feeling fine .  It’s good to be back.  When I saw these too cute bunnies from Stampavie, I couldn’t get to my Copic markers fast enough.  Everyone said that when I started coloring again, they knew I was better.  These cards would be good for Easter, thinking of you, and springtime birthdays.  I gave them texture with blender solution sprayed on a piece of terry cloth.  Just blot the colors with the sprayed cloth after you’re done coloring. The solution removes the color in a mottled fashion.  Some other new stamps from Stampavie will be posted later.  Along with them we have the new Just-Rite stamps being released on the first day of spring.  You’ll love them!

Bunny With Rose

Stamp: StampAvie
Markers: Copic
Die Cut: Spellbinders Nestabilitie
Chipboard Button: Bo Bunny
Paper: Scraps from my stash

Two Bunnies

Bunny Stamp: StampAvie
Word Stamp: Impression Obsession
Punch: Martha Stewart
Markers: Copic
Flower: Prima
Paper: Scraps from my stash