Category Archives: 3-D, Gifts & Things

Stampin’ Up! Gift-Wrapping with Designer Fabric

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Box Covered

Fancy up your gift-wrapping with some designer series paper and fabric!  Instead of using ribbon, tear off or cut a piece of Stampin' Up! Designer Fabric and tie it around your package!

Fabric Flower Pin Package

Then add a fabric flower made by twisting and sticking a fabric strip onto our Jumbo Sticky Rounds for your bow or decoration. You can even hot glue a pin on the back and you have an extra little gift in the packaging.

Fabric Flower pin back

Don't forget to check the Clearance Rack for Stampin' Up! Designer Fabric…while supplies last!

Ghoulish Googlies Embossed Halloween Treat Bags

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Ghoulish Googlies Frankenstein Halloween Treat Bags

For a good time, make some Ghoulish Googlies Embossed Halloween Treat Bags!! You realize that August is flying by and fall will be upon us.  Maybe not temperature-wise here in Houston, but in our minds! As we start putting out our fall decor for our homes and start wearing fall-colored clothing, we will know Halloween is not far behind! Whether you are expecting trick-or-treaters at your door, or have a class party to plan or want some easy party favors, these Halloween treat bags will be fun to make. Now's the time to just start thinking about our fall and holiday projects before time gets too short.

For an extra touch and texture, run the bag through the Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine inside an embossing folder! Just stick the bag inside the folder! Nothing tricky about it. The Spider Web Folder #120889 is of course a great one for Halloween! But the new Chevron Folder #127749 or Argyle Folder #127750 or Houndstooth Folder #123134 are also interesting ones! For the Chevron one, I purposely put the bag in crooked to make it look a little creepier!

Ghoulish Googlies Spider and Bat Halloween Treat Bag

I've already blogged about what a deal the Ghoulish Googlies Bundle is if you want the Ghoulish Googlies Designer Kit and the Googly Ghouls stamp set (and you do!). And you won't be limited to just making treat bags either.  See my post HERE with another cute Halloween bag using a Googly Ghoul! I used these products in two stamp camps and the ladies loved them!

Shop Stampin' Up! Online at your convenience! Get your Googlie Ghouls HERE!

Halloween Fancy Favor Googly Ghouls Gift Bag

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Halloween Fancy Favor Gift Bag

It's time to start thinking about Halloween craft ideas so here is a Halloween Fancy Favor Googly Ghouls Gift Bag made with the Big Shot and the Fancy Favor Bigz Die. It's perfect for holding a little cello bag of Halloween candy or a little gift! Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a little stamping with the doctors and staff of West U Wellness during their inservice meeting and this was one of our projects! I love seeing new stampers add their own creative touches to their project and many of them did! I think the Googly Ghouls stamp set and the Googlies googly eyes make any Halloween stamping project fun!

Here's how to make this project:

  • Die cut the Fancy Favor Bag and assemble….you'll need a 12" x 5 1/2" piece of paper.
  • Punch a 1 3/4" Circle in the front of the bag.
  • Add a small strip of Howlstooth & Scaringbone Designer Series Paper at the bottom.
  • Stamp one of the Googly Ghouls (you've GOT to have this stamp set!!) with Stazon ink and color in if you want. Stamp and punch the "Boooo" greeting and oval scallop. 
  • Cut out your ghoul and adhere to the front of the bag, also adhering the googly eyes. 
  • Add a cello bag of Halloween candy or a gift.

If you like Halloween, you should really consider the Ghoulish Googlies Bundle in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog.  Save 15% by purchasing the Googly Ghouls Stamp Set and Ghoulish Googlies Designer Printed Kit Together!

You can shop online HERE for any Stampin' Up! stamping supplies!

Trendy Mason Jars!

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Yesterday Stampin' Up! did something they have never done before! They live streamed about thirty minutes of the last general session of the 2012 Convention to us demonstrators.  I think it was mainly to give us all a taste of what attending Convention is like, for those who haven't attended yet. Next year will be the 25th Anniversary of Stampin' Up! and you can imagine that they will do that convention up right!

During the live stream, Sara Douglass, Shelli Gardner's daughter, gave a demonstration of some decorating ideas for mason jars!  When you see the Holiday Catalog August 1st you will see why! Apparently mason jars are trendy items right now!

Here are some photos that I took of my computer screen during the live stream from the Stampin' Up! Convention!

Tie DyeTag for Mason Jar

Here's a tag she made look tie-dyed just by embossing and then coloring in (not neatly!) with various inks.  The bottom tag is embossed with the chevron design.

Doily Mason Jar

Very pretty!  I'll have to listen again to catch the instructions! I'm sure you recognize the doily die.

Mason Jar Cards

Here are matching cards you could give as a gift or have people write advice or good wishes at a wedding or shower or whatever occasion. Then they get put in the mason jar!

Mason Jar Idea

And here's another creative idea…this time the jar is filled with something (mints?) to hold skewers attached to decorations or flowers or whatever you would want to make…just like a vase.

Rosette in Wedding Mason Jar

All Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2012

And here's one item she made to stick in the jar for a wedding gift for a friend.  She also stuck a gift card holder on the back.

Even thirty minutes of live Stampin' Up! was great fun!

Top Note Tag

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Top Note Tag

This Top Note Bigz Die #113463 for the Big Shot has always been popular, but I hadn't used mine in a little while so it was time to dust it off. It's just good, that's all there is to it!  I was able to cut several sheets of paper and a thin piece of card board with it.  I used the card board to give a little sturdiness to this Top Note Tag in between the card stock and designer paper.

I used Soft Suede card stock on the back (which you can't see) and the new In Color Summer Starfruit for the front. I stamped the plant image from Papaya Collage with Summer Starfruit Ink. I even tried to emboss it with Clear Embossing Powder, but that didn't turn out well. The designer paper on the bottom of the tag is from Comfort Cafe #126898. The ribbon I tied around the middle is the Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon #124142 but I turned it over so the dots wouldn't show!  Two colors of ribbon in one!!  The greeting at the bottom is from the Perfect Punches stamp set…and of course you can punch those greetings out "perfectly" with various punches!

Making a creative tag like this for your next gift-giving occasion will certainly be appreciated by the recipient!  If you don't own the Big Shot or the Top Note Die, go right to my Online Store and order them!  If you do order those two items, add a little more to your order plus the $5 Reason to Smile stamp set and you'll have enough to receive Hostess Rewards!  At the $150 level you will have $25 to spend on another die for the Big Shot…or anything else!

Stampin’ Up! Exclusive Stamp Set for $5 with Purchase!

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  Reason to Smile Image

Would you like to purchase an exclusive Stampin' Up! stamp set for only $5?! You can get this cute stamp set with a $50 purchase! After you order $50 in Stampin' Up! products this month of July, you can add the Reason to Smile stamp set in either wood-mount or clear-mount. You will NOT be prompted to enter it so make a sticky-note right now by your computer so you will remember! (at least that is what I have to do!)

This stamp set will be great for either outline stamping to color in (or not!) or as two-step stamping where you stamp the color and then overstamp with the outline.

  • 131274 $5.00 (wood-mount)
  • 131275 $5.00 (clear-mount)
  Reason to Smile Promo Flyer
                                            Click Image to Enlarge Flyer

Customer Order Details:

  • Spend $50 on any current Stampin' Up! products to get the exclusive Reason to Smile Set for just $5.
  • There is a limit of one (1) set per customer.
  • You will not be automatically prompted to enter the $5 Item Number for a qualifying purchase. 
  • The Reason to Smile Set is exclusive to this promotion and will not be available after July 31, 2012.

Patriotic 4th of July Place Card Holder Hats

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Patriotic 4th of July Place Card Holder Hats

Wouldn't these patriotic 4th of July place card holder hats make a cute table decoration for your 4th of July party or picnic?! I saw the examples and instructions on the Country Living website and thought I would give them a try!  It's almost like making paper hats when you were a kid, just a little fancier.

I used a piece of designer paper 8 1/2" square.  You could make it larger or smaller. Mine turned out about 4 1/2" wide at the base and 3" high.  One is made with the First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper #121878 and the other with the new Polka Dot Parade Designer Series Paper #126902. I loved using the Red (#121790) and Silver Glimmer Paper (#124005) for the stars.  Unless you already have the Stampin' Up! retired star punches you'll have to cut out your own stars, but that is fine, too. Just decorate these little hats however you like.  For a place card, just attach a name to a toothpick or skewer or pipe cleaner and insert in the top of the hat.

Try it!  The instructions are pretty clear.  Use some scrap paper the first time. When you get to Steps 5, 6, 7 and 8 just keep folding that bottom portion up until you form the folded over brim of the hat…which forms the base.  That's the only part I found a little tricky following the directions.

Find the directions HERE.

And for all your stamping and papercrafting needs, please shop at my online store HERE. Stampin' Up! paper, ink and stamps plus accessories are the best!

Beat the Summer Heat in Houston with a Paper Fan!

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Summer Paper Fan

It's always hot, humid and miserable in the summer time in Houston, TX…and summer here goes from about May until….who knows….maybe October or November! But this is the third day of record-breaking heat here!  The temperature rarely gets to 100 degrees (although you might argue how much better is it at 95??).  But even Galveston, right on the coast, broke a long time record the other day at 100. Of course it all depends on where you live and where they read the temperature, but yesterday it was 102 here.  And the temperature didn't drop much late in the evening either.  The night before when I checked it was still 99 into the evening.

So with this awful, record-breaking summer heat in Houston, I thought I would make a paper fan! Even in a comfortable, air-conditioned house with the shades partially drawn to keep the heat out, one can still use a little breeze now and then….and heaven forbid if the power went off for whatever reason!  Yikes!

Simply Scored Scoring Tool

I started with a 12"x12" piece of designer paper (in this case I used a piece of the Sale-A-Bration paper Everyday Enchantment) which I cut in half (check your pattern to see which way it goes on both sides before you cut!). I found two popsicle sticks in my craft closet which were 3/8" wide so I scored every 3/8" inch across the paper using the Stampin' Up! Simply Scored Scoring Tool. Score both halves of the paper so you have two pieces.

Folded Paper Fan

There's a lot of folding to do, back and forth!  I glued the two halves of designer paper together using Tombow Multipurpose Glue. Sad to say the Crop-A-Dile is retired, but I got mine out and punched the holes in small groups across the bottom of the fan.  You could use a small hole punch. I also covered the front of my popsicle sticks with matching paper and even colored the edges with a Stampin' Write Marker and glued one to each end of the paper. This just adds a little sturdiness.

Tied Fan

I used Stampin' Up! Linen Thread to run through the holes and tie tightly underneath.  You could use ribbon or string or even dental floss!

And just to jazz it up I added a pretty paper flower with my Blossom Punch to the front!

I hope I can just LOOK at my pretty fan and NOT have to use it!!!

Designer Paper Fan

For any designer paper, card stock, stamps, punches or any other great Stampin' Up! products, please just click HERE to order online!

Use Your Eensy Weensy Paper Scraps to Decorate Wooden Clothespins!

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Decorated Clothespins

If you happen to be a scrap hoarder, even down to the smallest ones…because you never know when you might need that small piece….then get out your paper scraps along with some old-fashioned wooden clothespins (or maybe some craft clothespins) and play!  I don't really know if these are clothespins I bought at the craft store a long time ago or if they are real clothespins that my mom or grandmothers used way back in the day….but either way, instead of BUYING decorated clothespins like these, you can make them in three seconds. You can also purchase round magnets to stick on the back and then you can stick the clothespin to your refrigerator door to hold your shopping list.

Just measure the width of your clothespin (probably pretty small!) and cut a strip of designer paper.  You can also measure the length and cut, but after the first one I realized I could just glue on the paper and cut off the end with my Paper Snips.  I just used my Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere the paper.  Then tie some bows, use two kinds of paper, bling them out with Basic Rhinestones….or whatever you want to do!

Check your craft closet for those wooden clothespins….or should I say "vintage wooden clothespins"?

Decorated Clothespins Side

Christmas Milk Carton Gift Box

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Milk Carton Gift Box

Summer may be here but the other day I made this cute Christmas milk carton with the Big Shot and wanted to show you.  And it never hurts to start thinking about Christmas crafts way ahead of time!  Of course you can make this for any occasion, just change the colors and papers.

While you can make just the usual milk carton box, I punched a hole in the center of one side (figure it out before you glue!) and added a piece of window sheet behind the hole.  Now you can put some colorful candies or a sneak peek of the gift and it will show through!

For this project some of the supplies you will need:

Mini Milk Carton Bigz L Die #117310

Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine #113439

Chock-Full of Cheer Stamp Set (p. 10)

I used a mini Library Clip on the top, but you could perhaps use a Vintage Trinket #118764, just to add a little interest and then hang the candy cane with some Baker's Twine or even Linen Thread.

I'm sure you can imagine lots more ways to embellish this project!

For any stamping supplies, please visit my online store HERE. (Especially if you have a large order…$150 or more….be SURE to go to my direct link to my store…not through Stampin' Up! first…to be able to get your Hostess Rewards!) If you have any questions, just ask me first!


Handmade Father’s Day Gift Idea: Stamped Picture Frame

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Father's Day Picture Frame

It's getting down to the wire!  Do you have a Father's Day gift yet? Here's a very easy handmade Father's Day gift idea….just make a stamped picture frame! I bet you have a picture frame of some sort around the house or they are inexpensive to buy.  Either using the mat that comes with it or cutting your own from Whisper White card stock, so some stamping on the mat and insert your photo! On this one I used the My Friend stamp set.  The leafy image was easy to stamp and good for a Father's Day gift.

Just to fancy it up a bit, I first inked up the stamp a bit with the new In Color Summer Starfruit, then the Gumball Green and finally some tapping with Old Olive.  As long as you start with the lightest color first it won't affect your ink pads.  It just gave a little bit of a varigated look to the leaves.  If you had some leaf stamps, you could stamp those randomly around the mat.

Make a matching little gift card by stamping the leaves on a small card.

An easy gift for the kids to help with, and you probably have the supplies around the house!  And Dad will treasure it!

A Father’s Day Gift Idea for the Gardening/Yard Dad

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And what dad isn't involved in at least a little bit of gardening or yard work?  This is a Father's Day gift the children can make with some adult supervision by Mom.  Buy some roof flashing at a home improvement store, cut it out with your big shot and an appropriate die and then hang on a stake of some sort.

Metal Yard Art

 

This is one of my photos from the San Antonio Regional back in January where I learned to make these. As you can see, you can cut out most anything with your Big Shot and then punch a hole and hang it and stick it in the yard or in a pot of flowers or a plant.  Perhaps it will even scare off the squirrels from the garden….that's what we're trying to do in our garden!  But it is pretty and eye-catching no matter what!  The flashing has sharp edges until you run it through the Big Shot so you do need to be careful if children make this for Dad.  Use your imagination!  Once you make one I bet you'll have to make more!


Daffodil Delight Bitty Box

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Daffodil Delight Bitty Box

So sad to think that this cute little Bitty Box & Envelope Bigz XL Die #115967 will soon be retired.  This box in Daffodil Delight measures about 2 1/2" on each side so it is "bitty" but very cute!  You could put little notecards, tags or a small gift inside, and the other part of the die cuts a little envelope you can use for inside the box.

I stamped some images on the box, a little flower from the retiring stamp set Clearly for You (available in wood- or clear-mount).  For the little monogram on top I used the beautiful Lovely Letters Alphabet #115030 and the Scallop Circle Punch #119854. For some bling, I added the tiniest pearls to the scallops. The ribbon wrapped around the inside of the lid is actually the 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in Wild Wasabi #125059 (also retiring).

Be sure to check all the retired products right here in my Online Store!

Summer Smooches Petite Vellum Purse

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Summer Smooches Petite Purse

Today is the last day to purchase any of the Summer Smooches products, including this Petite Purse Die #125606,  It will be available in the new catalog in June…..IF you want to wait that long!!

I made this purse out of White Vellum card stock #101856 and then embossed just the flap with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder #117355.  A few little punched flowers, rhinestones and a bow make it a cute little gift or favor or decoration.  You could put a little gift inside or make small little notecards or tags!  Very cute and so easy!

To place an order today for any Summer Smooches items, just go to my online store HERE.

Petite Purse Die Scored Design

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Petite Purse Simply Scored Tool

Here is a fancy little purse made with the Petite Purse Die #125606 in the Summer Smooches Suite, available during April. I wanted to make it extra jazzy so I experimented with scoring it like some fabric you see and I used the Simply Scored Scoring Tool #122334 with the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate #125586.  Now my first try didn't come out perfect and it is a little tricky because you can't just lay the paper down flush with the sides….but if you place the card stock die cut down on the scoring tool, you can make it work.

Petite Purse Die Simply Scored
 

Next I will try scoring the paper first, although I think you would have to lay it in the same direction of the die to the score lines are going the way you like.  Anyway, this little purse turned out cute and has a little "bling" with the punched flowers accented with a Basic Rhinestone #119246 in the center and the little Rhinestone Brads #113144 attaching the handle to the sides of the purse.

There is so much you can do with this little purse!  Put one on your next order and have fun with it!

Shop Stampin' Up! Online 24/7 HERE or contact me any time.