Mini Envelope (for 3x3 Note Card) Tutorial

Today is a week of firsts, as it turns out.  It's my first-ever tutorial! :)

This is the mini-envelope that I used with my mini note cards. promised a tutorial on this many, many months ago, and I finally got around to doing one.  I'm sorry for the lateness, and I hope you like this tutorial.

1.  Cut a piece of cardstock 6-3/4 inches long by 4-1/4 inches wide.

2.  On the long side, score at 1-3/8 inches and 4-1/2 inches (I've marked with with purple ink on the photo).

3.  On the short side, score at 1/2 inch and at 3-3/4 inches, or 1/2 inch from each end (I've marked it in purple ink on the photo).

4.  Fold along the score lines using a bone folder.

5.  Cut along the tick marks up to the 1/2 inch fold (as shown in photo).  Cut off the corner pieces (as shown in photo).

6.  You should have something that looks like this.

7.  Round off all the corners (except the one in near the longer flap -- this won't show in the finished envelope) with a 3/16" corner rounder for a finished look.

8.  This is how it looks with the corners rounded.

9.  Apply adhesive along the two sides of the bottom flap.  Fold in the two side flaps.  Fold up the bottom flap (adhesive side down).  Here is your finished envelope.  This is a perfect size for a 3x3 mini note card.

I used these Stampin' Up products for my mini-envelope.

Whisper White card stock (100730)
Stampin' Trimmer (126889)
Simply Scored Scoring Tool (122334)
Paper Snips (103579
Bone Folder (102300)
3/16" Corner punch (119871)
Snail adhesive (104332)

These products are available on my Stampin' Up store.

I hope you like this tutorial.  Thanks for looking, and have a great day!

SCS CC410 Valentine's Card

This is my first Splitcoaststampers Color Combination challenge! :)

This week's challenge is to use the Stampin' Up colors Soft Suede, Calypso Coral, and Pool Party to make a Valentine's day card.

My card is below:

Before participating in the challenge, I didn't think these colors will work well together.  I was wrong -- the colors look beautiful together.  Especially the Pool Party and Calypso Coral.

I used these Stampin' Up products for my card:

Soft Suede card stock (115318)

Calypso Coral and Pool Party card stock from the 2011-2013 In Color card stock (124329)

Whisper White card stock (100730)

Easy Events stamp set (Wood:  116958; Clear:  123225)

Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (Wood:  115370; Clear:  127802)

Jet Black StazOn ink pad (101406)

Calypso Coral Classic stamp pad (126983)

Calypso Coral, Pool Party, and Lucky Limeade Stampin' Write markers from the 2011-2013 In Color marker sets (123002)

1 3/4 circle punch (119850)

2 3/8 scallop circle punch (118874)

Word Window punch (119857)

Adorning Accents Edgelits (125595)

Big Shot (113439)

Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Snail adhesive (104332)

All of these supplies are available at my Stampin' Up! store.

I didn't want to use the sentiment that came with the birds in the Easy Events stamp set, so I cut it off using my Craft and Rubber scissors (103179).  I was worried that it will ruin my stamp -- I took a long deep breath, and snipped (you can tell I was a little shaky with the "snipping"):

I shouldn't have worried!  The scissors cut through the stamp and the cling foam like butter!  I can't wait to "trim" my stamps to fit my needs -- this opens so much more possibilities with combining stamps and sentiments. :)

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!

Mojo Monday 277 Thank You Card

Wow -- two posts in one day!
I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I may not have time to link my card to the Mojo Monday site if I waited, so while I am still in front of my computer -- here you go.

This is my take on this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

This is a card I made for my friend, Courtney, who had helped me find a daycare center for my 7-month old son.  I will send it to her with a big chocolate bar.  I hope she likes it.

Earlier in the year, my mom planned to come back after a few weeks to help my husband and I with our baby.  However, because our baby is growing up and has gotten very active, we needed to find another arrangement for him.  Courtney had been very kind about giving me advice and insight on what to look for in a daycare, and even took the time to recommend some daycare centers to us.  We ended up enrolling him in one of the centers she recommended, and although we had a rough start, he loves his teachers and had made new friends there already!  We couldn't be happier.

This is why my blogging is few and far between -- because getting my son ready in the morning, and picking him up, and getting me ready for work is a full-time job!

I hope to be able to blog more, or at least create more, and share what I make with all of you.

I used these Stampin' Up! products for my card:
Basic Gray card stock (121044)
Whisper White card stock (100730)
Twitterpated designer series paper (125406)
Summer Solstice stamp set (Wood:  122024; Clear:  122037)
Blooming with Kindness stamp set (Wood:  126420; Clear:  126422)
Basic Gray Classic ink pad (126981)
Blushing Bride Classic ink pad (now retired)
3/16 Subtles brads in Pretty in Pink (119738)
Dazzling Details (124117)
Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)
Snail adhesive (104332)

All these products are available at my Stampin' Up store.

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!

Better Late Than Never

...or so they say.

I promised to share the card I gave to family and friends this year, and I'm just now getting around to posting it.  I'm so sorry.  With the start of the new year, my husband and I had to make alternate babysitting arrangements for our 7-month old son (more on that next post).

In any case, I have a few minutes today, so I thought I can finally make good on my promise to share my Christmas card.

Here are what I used to make my card:
Baja Breeze cardstock (111352)
Whisper White cardstock (100730)
Delightful Dozen stamp set (Wood:  122650; Clear:  122652) - I love, love, love this swirl stamp
Greetings of the Season stamp set (Wood:  128030; Clear:  128033) - now retired, from the 2012 holiday catalog
Everything Eleanor stamp set (Wood:  124162; Clear:  124164)
Ornament punch (119847)
Baja Breeze Classic ink pad (126960)
Island Indigo Classic ink pad (126986)
Basic Black Classic ink pad (126980)
Basic Black Stampin' Write marker (100082)
Rhinestones Basic Jewels (119246)
Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)
Snail adhesive (104332)

All these products are available at my Stampin' Up store.

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wow, where does time go?  It seems like it was only last week that I was shopping for Christmas presents.  And now we will be welcoming 2013 in a few days.

Despite the holiday craziness, coupled with the traveling that we were doing, I managed to make Christmas cards to give to family members, wrap my family's presents, give it to them, attend the family Christmas Eve dinner at my uncle's house, host a Christmas Eve dinner two hours later at our house, and watch my son open his presents on Christmas morning, and travel.  Whew.  Just thinking about it makes me exhausted!

I will post the Christmas card I made for family members tomorrow.  I had forgotten my camera at  home, so I was not able to snap a quick photo.

For now, just some interesting thoughts on gift-giving:
1.  I searched all over for a Discovery Farm cloth book for my son, and finally found it online.  I ordered it and it was delivered just in time for the holidays.  It was going to be one of his presents, in addition to an Octo-tune, and three other books.  In addition to that, he also received plenty of gifts from family and friends.  His Dad and I loved all the gifts.  He was more interested in the wrapping paper.

2.  My niece is also my husband's goddaughter, and because we were so busy with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, ended up buying her present at the last minute.  On the way to the store, I was anxiously praying that there will be something left to buy that she will like (many years ago, I learned the hard way that shopping on Christmas Eve leaves you with very slim pickings).  I finally decided on a Minnie Mouse dress-up toy and an AquaDoodle (can  you believe I almost typed Aqua Painter?  Wink, wink).  I was in and out of the store in 20 minutes flat (sooner if the line had not been that long), and she squealed with delight as soon as she opened her presents.  It looks like I hit the jackpot on that one.

Lessons learned over the holidays:
1.  To take joy in the simple things, like my son.
2.  Sometimes, you can get lucky, even at the last minute, like I did with my niece's presents.
3.  The best presents we can give to each other are the intangible ones, like time, love, and kindness.

Thanks everyone, for looking, and I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed holidays!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Yesterday was my Mom's 63rd birthday.

We celebrated her birthday last Saturday, with a catered dinner with family.  Preparing for the party was definitely hard work, but I'm glad Mom had a blast.

I baked her a cake.  Only a few people know this, but before I got into paper-crafting, I loved to bake.  I still love to bake, but I don't love the clean-up that comes with it.  With paper-crafting, I still get the creative satisfaction, with a lot less clean-up (although my husband will disagree, especially if I'm working on a big project).

I don't have a photo of the cake because I was hoping to snap a quick one during the party, and of course, we got so busy chatting with everyone and playing with the babies (my Mom's side of the family had been really blessed with little ones this year), that the cake was gone before I knew it.

I also made these for the guests:

I've been itching to use the It's a Wrap Occasions stamp set (Wood:  123590; Clear:  123592) since I got it several months ago.  It's going to be one of my favorite stamp sets -- I have a feeling you'll be seeing more of these wrapped nuggets in the future. ;)

I have to say, I really love how it stamps crisply and cleanly on Whisper White cardstock (100730) in Riding Hood Red ink (126968).  I used the Top Note Bigz die (113463) on my Big Shot (113439), and voila -- an instant topper!  I added a flower (from the Button Buddies stamp set -- Wood:  122735; Clear:  122737) stamped on Whisper White cardstock (still using the same Riding Hood Red ink) and punched out with the 1-3/4 scallop circle punch (119854).

The sentiment is from A Word For You stamp set (Wood:  117032; Clear:  120528).

I made 28 of these treat bags for our guests to take home.

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!

P. S.  All the products I listed above (aside from the candy and the treat bag) are available at my Stampin' Up! store.

Christmas Treats

Christmas is only two weeks away, and I wanted to show my co-workers how much I appreciate all the nice things they did for me all year with a little gift.

I made little treat tubes using 1x8 cellophane bags (124134) and filled them with candy.  I then sealed the tops of the bags using toppers made using the 25 and Counting stamp set (Wood:  123792; Clear:  123794).  I stamped the images using Cherry Cobbler (126966), Riding Hood Red (126968), Garden Green (126973), and Always Artichoke (126972) classic ink pads on scraps of Whisper White cardstock (100730).  I used my 1 inch square punch (124094) to punch out the images and then adhered them on a base of Cherry Cobbler (119685), Riding Hood Red (111348), Garden Green (102584), and Always Artichoke (105119) cardstock.

Here's a closer look at the treat tubes and their toppers:

I will put these treat tubes on tall clear vases and leave them at each co-worker's desk on Dec. 20th (I am off on Dec. 21st).  I think these treat tubes will make nice presents, and I hope my co-workers will like them!

All of the products I used for these treat tubes (except for the clear vases and the candy) are available at my Stampin' Up! store.

Thank you for looking, and have a great day! :)

P. S.  While I was making these tubes, I was thinking of my 2-1/2 year old niece, who is just learning to say what Santa says on Christmas.  When prompted, she will say, "Ho! Ho! Ho!  Merry Christmas!" and then giggle, and that puts a smile on my face. :)