Simple-minded

As I made this card, I kept trying to add elements, thinking that it needed something extra or it would be too plain. I found that the more things I tried, the less I liked the card. In the end, I gave in to simplicity and ended up liking the card as it is. I guess sometimes less really is more…

A closeup of the main image. The  main image and the punched circle in the middle of the “b” are attached with foam tape.

_{All supplies by Stampin’ Up:
Basic Gray and Baja Breeze cardstock and ink
“b is for birthday” – from “Party Hearty” stamp set
Patterned paper – from “Walk in the Park” designer series paper
Small corner rounder and 3/4″ circle punch}

“40 is the new 30″

Yes, that is what a few friends told my husband when he turned 40 last month. Let’s hope those friends are right, because I will be reaching that milestone in a few years…yikes!

When I started planning a surprise family dinner party for my husband, I began by creating a simple logo in Illustrator:

This logo was placed on the invitations, envelopes, favors, and correspondence.

I went with a ticket stub theme for the invitation. Here is the front of the invite:

This is what the invitation looks like when it is opened up:

The ticket stub can be removed; it is held in place by the two slit punches in the dark gray cardstock.

_{White cardstock – Fox River Select Cover, 80# Protocol White
Basic Gray cardstock – Stampin’ Up
Slit punch – Stampin’ Up}

The adults received this favor to take home as a memento of the evening:

_{Favor tins – Michaels
Cellophane bags – www.clearbags.com
Candy – My Color m&m’s (purchased at Michaels) & Hershey Kisses
Labels – Avery
Circle punch – Stampin’ Up
Light blue organdy ribbon – Michaels}

One for the guys

I was going to make cards for Father’s Day when I came across this cute, simple Top Note mini album on a blog called Stamp With Belinda. The words “quick” and “easy” caught my eye, and I was sold! I simplified Belinda’s version of the album even more by using only photos and not adding any vellum quotes.

_{Top Note die – Stampin’ Up
Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip cardstock and ink – Stampin’ Up
To the Nines specialty designer series paper – Stampin’ Up
“Just for You” stamp – from Oval All set – Stampin’ Up
Scalloped oval, oval, small rounded corner punches – Stampin’ Up
Buttons – Petals and Paisley collection by SEI
Hemp twine}

Fold and hold

Whew, it’s been an extremely busy and exciting last couple of months, but I survived (though barely, at times!). One of my last goals for the end of the school year was to make thank you cards for my children’s teachers. I wanted to incorporate a gift card holder into the cards, so I searched the web and found a bunch of innovative examples of gift card holders. I selected this tutorial by Gina Rallo (The Art of Inking).

Here is my version of her card (yup, there goes that Stampin’ Up scalloped circle punch again!):

 

Closeup of the belly band (I used two scalloped circles to sandwich and hide the ribbon ends):

 
A view of the card opened up:

 
Closeup of the gift card slot:

 

_{Round “thanks so much” stamp (on belly band) – Riveting set by Stampin’ Up
Flower silhouette & “thanks so much” stamps – Pocket Silhouettes set by Stampin’ Up
Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Pixie Pink and Whisper White cardstock – Stampin’ Up
Basic Gray and Baja Breeze ink – Stampin’ Up
Floral designer series paper – Walk in the Park by Stampin’ Up
Baja Breeze ribbon (belly band) – Stampin’ Up
Scalloped circle, circle, rounded corner and slot punches – Stampin’ Up}

A stitch in time

It’s been so long since I posted a sewing project. I was starting to wonder whether I should remove the words “…and the occasional sewing project” from my header. And then the month of May came…I sewed more than I ever have in my entire life! Here are the three projects I completed in May…

 

1 | vests

Every year our elementary school celebrates Multicultural Day in the spring. Each classroom selects a country to study in depth, then presents a dance and food from that country on Multicultural Day. My daughter’s kindergarten class studied Poland, as a family in our class had immigrated from there. I was quite nervous when the parent in charge of the event asked me to make vests for the girls in our class. I overcame my initial fears and went on to make a vest pattern and sew 11 black felt vests with red rickrack detail. Five moms in our class then decorated the vests with sequins, fabric glue, and a whole lot of patience. Each vest was beautiful and uniquely decorated.

 

2 | burp rags

I made a set of four burp rags for a friend expecting a baby girl in the summer. This is the first time I tried decorating burp rags with flannel and matching ribbon. Click here to see the tutorial I used.

 

3 | a skirt for my daughter

This is something I have wanted to try for a long time. A friend of mine sent me this link to a tutorial for a ribbon-edged skirt (the link for the instructions is towards the bottom of the post). These are so easy to make; I might try to make a few more for my daughters, maybe even one for myself!

An apple a day

Our school celebrated Teacher’s Appreciation Week last week. I made pocket cards with an apple theme, and my kids wrote brief messages and drew pictures on the notecards. Here is the result of our collaboration:

 

…and here are a couple more closeup shots:

_{Real Red, Old Olive, and Whisper White cardstock and ink: Stampin’ Up
Apple and flower patterned paper: Summer Picnic by Stampin’ Up
Scalloped circle, circle and round tab punches: Stampin’ Up}

Mom’s the word

For Mother’s Day, I made two mini albums — one for my mom and one for my mother-in-law. I used three 4-3/4″ square envelopes glued and connected together via the flaps to make the base of the album. Pieces of cardstock and patterned paper were then cut to cover the fronts and backs of each envelope panel. The pictures follow the sequence of how the mini album looks as you open it.

 

The envelope pockets held a Mother’s Day message and picture from each child:

 

…and the final touch on the back panel of the mini album:

 

_{Designer paper and cardstock: Groovy Blossoms by Close to My Heart
“Enjoy every moment” stamp: Hero Arts
Label and scalloped circle dies: Nestabilities
“With love” stamp: from the “Yummy” set by Stampin’ Up
Scalloped oval and oval punches: Stampin’ Up}

Space invaders

No, I’m not talking about clutter…I’m talking about robots and spaceships! Designing a birthday card for a boy was a challenge for me…the style is completely out of my comfort zone. I recently bought a few acrylic stamp sets from My Cute Stamps. I figured I should make some cards with them, rather than simply hoarding them (which seems to be a bad habit of mine!).

Orange glitter was added on the space ship’s flames, but it doesn’t show up on the photo too well. The robot and the space ship are mounted on foam tape for a little more dimension.

_{Robot, space ship, asteroid, “far out”, space symbol, mini star stamps: My Cute Stamps
Open circle stamps (“craters” on the orange planet): Endless Creations
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White by Stampin’ Up
Polka Dot paper: Jersey Shore Designer Series Paper by Stampin’ Up
Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Going Gray, Brilliant Blue by Stampin’ Up}

Something looks a little different here…

Hope you like the new look of this blog! I had been wanting to add a nice header to my blog for a long time. I liked the look of my previous blog template, but it did not allow me to add a custom header. Inspired on a whim for no particular reason this evening/early morning, I spent a few hours designing a new header in Illustrator. It’s almost 3:30am…my kids will probably wake me up in a few hours, but it was one of those things where I couldn’t stop once I got started. Now it’s done and I can cross it off my endless “(would like) to do” list…hooray!

Flower power

I got a great deal on the scrapbook paper I used for my daughter’s birthday invitation; it was in the clearance section, 6 sheets for $1. When I started cutting it up to make the invitations, I noticed that the paper is actually for Christmas! No wonder I got such a great deal on them in the summer…oh, well…I don’t think it’s too obvious that it’s a holiday paper.

Here is the outside of the invitation:

I cut the curve of the flap with a pair of scissors. I made a template in Illustrator, and I used that template to trace the shape onto the red cardstock with a pencil. After trying out other low tech methods (e.g., using the edge of a dinner plate!), I found that making a template on the computer was the fastest, easiest, most accurate way to make a curved flap.

 

I closed the flap with small velcro “buttons” that are usually used for sewing projects. I was happy with the fact that the flaps were secure and easy to open and close, but I wasn’t happy with how thick the velcro pieces made the flap. I know there are small, thin magnetic discs available as an alternative, but I don’t think they would have been strong enough to keep this invitation closed. If anyone has any better ideas, please let me know in the comments section! Following are some different views as the invitation is opened.

 

Here are the matching tags I made to tie onto the favor bags (the tag and flower are made from Sizzix Originals die cuts, and the green leaves were cut by hand):