Money/Gift Card Holder

I am such a bad aunt. *sigh* I have a couple of nieces/nephews that I need to send gifts to. I have been searching for a tutorial that I saw a couple of months ago and never did find it but I did find something very similar. Ryann of The Inked Spot has this tutorial on her blog and there is no reason to reinvent the wheel, so I have linked to her tutorial. :D

Since I am late with these I am keeping them simple. Here is the front of of the holder.

Here is the inside. The money is folded into thirds and fits nicely. The money is actually smaller than a gift card so I will change the dimensions of future holders to 4.25 x 11 so I can get two holders from a single sheet of cardstock. I used the window word punch and 1" circle punch to make the pocket inside. I stamps some miscellaneous stamps from that stamp set on the inside, leaving enough room for a short message. Oops! I just noticed I missed a dot on one of the scallops. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Holiday Tag Team; Ink: Basic Black, MARKERS: Rose Red, Basic Black; Paper: Rose Red; Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities, White gel pen, window word punch, 1" circle punch.

Another Mini-Book

As I mentioned in my last post I needed two of these little mini-albums. This one will go to my Grandmother. She allowed me to take her picture of my Dad in his sailor suit, taken when he was 18. She has never let anyone borrow this picture before, so huge on her part.

I used four clear envelops again so it holds eight pictures. I received my last order (as a demo) from Stampin' Up! so I felt I should use something!! Here I used the Dreams du Jour from the new catalog. I can see I'm going to love this set!

Stamps: Dreams du Jour (SU); Ink: Certainly Celery, Garden Green, Regal Rose, Onyx Black (VersaFine); Paper: Rose Red, Shimmery White; Accessories: CAD, jumbo eyelets; aqua pen, scallop edge punch (SU), scallop square punch (Marvy), clear envies, sponge/stiple brush.

Friendship Box with Insert Tutorial

I tried out the box at ISC for their ISCC4 and filled it and gave it to Troy's soccer coach last night. Big rush (no surprise there!) so no picture, but I only used designer paper and stamped some soccer stamps I have from SU. It was simple, but nice! I did have some problems with where to score so I had been pondering this box.

Then late last night I came up with an idea. What if you used acetate for the box, then you could stamp an insert. You could actually make up a couple of these boxes and have the inserts already trimmed to size then just stamp when you needed them! Okay, probably not a new idea, but hey, I was excited! So today I started work on my idea to see if it was feasible.

First I made the acetate Friendship Box. It is acetate, so it is a bit difficult to take a good photo of when it is empty. Also, I am using my new portable lighting studio that I bought a couple of weeks ago from Radio Shack; (it was on sale for $19.99!) I'm still learning how to best use it. :D

I did use mini glue dots (from SU) to adhere the acetate together. I just love those little dots! Now the obvious question is can you see the dots? Yes, but since they are only located on the sides of the box you don't really notice them.

The next thing I did was figure out my size and score lines for the insert. Now I had a bit of a problem with scoring my box and had to cut off 1/2" from the "bottom" (that becomes the front of the box without the lid) so my calculations may differ if your box uses that 1/2". :)

Insert size: 8.5" x 4.75"
Score: ETA: .5" along both long sides then score along short side .5", (move forward) 3.75", (move forward again) .5".
You will not have any insert for the front portion of the flap.

I actually messed this up when I scored this insert and did the last 1/2" at the end of the insert instead of after the front fold so I had to fix it when I figured it out. (So ignore the faint score line at the bottom of the insert here.) ;)

Then I cut the bottom half of the sides since I didn't need it to overlap. Here is my insert (upside down.) I hadn't realized that my last 1/2" score was in the wrong spot yet. The score lines are pretty obvious here. I also trimmed out the extra corners for the lid and cut slits for the bottom. (This was when I finally realized my mistake.)

Now comes the fun; you get to stamp your insert. I tried Michelle Zindorf's technique of embossing stamped images and then brayering over them. My colors came from SCS's SCSCC167 of Sky Blue, Certainly Celery and Night of Navy. TIP: When you are stamping this remember that part of your insert will be upside down so you need to figure this out BEFORE stamping! Fortunately, I realized this before I stamped.

After I finished stamping and embossing I then used my foam brayer (to have a softer Night of Navy) to brayer color on the insert. I gently wiped away the ink from the embossed images.

I folded on the scored lines and placed the insert into my Friendship box!

Oh, I did round the corners of the lid to allow it to insert into the box a bit easier. I think that because I used acetate it was a bit stiffer than cardstock.

Please let me know what you think of my "bright idea"! Thanks!

Stamps: Friendship & Summer Flair (ISC); Ink: VersaMark, Sky Blue, Certainly Celery, Night of Navy; Paper: Whisper White; Accessories: Clear Emboss Powder; heat gun, mini glue dots, brayer with foam attachment, acetate.

Teacher Thanks & TSSC 18

Today was "Fun Day" at my son's pre-school class. I didn't even have any thank you gift started until two days ago! I just couldn't 1st) believe that the school year was over and 2nd) think of what to give the best Pre-school Teacher and Assistant! Then it hit me to use up some of the coasters that I couldn't live without ahem, well over a year ago! I remembered the Coaster Boxes that were all the rage not too long ago on SCS and an idea was born.

I made two coaster boxes, just like the directions on SCS (Resources section) state. (I'm not usually one to change up the "ingredients" of a recipe!) The Island Blossom box is for Mrs. Sandy (the Assistant) and the Petals & Paisleys box is for Ms. Ross (the Teacher). Here is a picture of the finished boxes.

This picture is of the cards in the boxes. I coordinated the cards to the box. I'll talk more about the cards a little further down.

Here are the boxes filled with their gifts. Since Ms. Sandy is trying to stay away from the sweets I thought I'd give her a green plant instead. A little birdie told me that Ms. Ross likes Twix; at least I thought she said Twix and not something else!

I also wanted to show my DS's card he made (and designed) for his teacher. He also made one for Ms. Sandy, but I forgot to get a picture of him holding it. Ms. Sandy's card is the same color scheme, just different writing. The writing is SUPPOSED to read: "[from] Troy Dear To Ms Ross". We're still working on writing things out and English IS a bit difficult to write phonetically. And did I mention that he turns 5 next month? :) But I am so very proud of him!

Okay, here is the card for Ms. Ross. The idea of this (and Ms. Sandy's) card came from Techno Stamper's Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge #18.

I actually started working on these cards Thursday night, but Friday morning I had an epiphany and changed up things a little bit. The circles reminded me of a winning ribbon so I removed the flowers from the top circle layer and switched to "Best Teacher" and "Best Assistant" as well as adding the ribbons. I designed the scallop layer with a bar pin on the back of the "ribbon" so that it detaches from the card and can be worn. I hope that makes sense since the cards are now given to their owners and I can't take a picture!

I took this picture before I added the sentiment, but you can see it on the next picture. The sentiment keeps it in line with the sketch.


Here is the Best Assistant card. Ms. Sandy actually wore hers while we were enjoying Fun Day. I do want to point out that the "Best Teacher" and "Best Assistant" are computer generated.


I didn't realize it until after I finished, but all these projects are Stampin' Up! only.

Stamps: Define Your Life; Ink: Basic Black; Paper: Regal Rose, Shimmery White, Island Blossom Petals & Paisleys (both are retired); coasters, grosgrain ribbons, Lt. Pink organdy ribbon, Giga scallop circle punch (Marvy), stapler (ribbon to giga circle layer), pin backs, Crop-A-Dile, SU Stamper's Tool Kit.

Directions For The Zigzag Cut

I received an email on how to make the zigzag on the Blue Bayou layer. So I thought I'd post the answer here as well. It really is pretty simple, but it takes a little time. Still, it is worth the time and effort to help keep down the thickness if you are sending it through the USPS.

I took the Blue Bayou layer and laid it on my grid cutting mat. I made two pencil lines from top to bottom the width of the zigzag (I used an old CM grid mat that has lines every ¼ inch) so my lines were ½ inch apart. I started from the top and moved a ruler down ½ inch drawing a line from the top left line in a slant down to the ruler at the right line. I continued to zigzag to the bottom of the c/s. After I finished drawing my zigzag line I took my hobby knife and used my ruler (actually my Perfect Layers) and cut along the zigzag line only to the point that my top layer could slide underneath the blue bayou. Make sure to flip the cut layer over so no one can see the pencil marks.

I recreated with scratch paper how I did this so hopefully it will show you better than just my written instructions. I inserted the pictures at the bottom. It really is pretty simple, perhaps a little time consuming but not too much.

I hope this helps! Enjoy!

If you get this twice, I apologize. I was merely changing the bright blue letters to black. I think I gave myself some kind of retinal burn with that blue! LOL!

Happy Valentine's Day

I was thinking this morning about wrapping up Troy's gifts for his teacher and her assistant. I like to match the wrapping paper with the gift so I thought I'd show what I did for them. I used two layers of tissue paper, but only wheeled one. (If I only sued one layer of tissue it would be a little too thin and you can see through.)


I prefer to use wheels because they are so QUICK and EASY! If you aren't familiar with stamping wheels here is a picture of a handle, ink cartridge and the wheel itself.

All you do is place the cartridge into the handle ensuring that you push it down until it snaps into place. Next place the wheel into the top of the handle. Make sure you snap it all the way in so it will spin easily. Now push the cartridge up so that it just touches the wheel and inks the wheel while it turns. Then wheel away! I normally wheel on a diagonal because the eye is less likely to notice any mistakes like lines that aren't perfectly straight. Stampin' Up! does sell a wheel guide which really helps keep you rolling straight.

Now if I can brag a little and show a picture of Troy and his pre-school teacher. She is just a great teacher and handles the children (all 20 of them) superbly! Troy and I found a "Hoppy Valentines' Day" t-shirt at The Children's Store and of course he had to have it! Why they would make or market a t-shirt for Valentines day when it is cold outside is beyond me!


Here is a picture of my Valentine's card for DH. I love this stamp by Stampin' Up! and have used for numerous anniversary and Valentine's day cards! Yes, these are non-traditional colors for Valentine's Day but I chose them because they coordinated with the colors I used in the couple layer. The couple layer uses the Opalite Color Infusion technique in the current Technique Junkies Newsletter. This card looks so much better IRL where you can see the shimmer. I used the layout for this week's Technostamper's sketch. I used a retired background stamp On The Spot because I think if you use a little imagination it can look like fireworks going off! Isn't that what every couple needs is some fireworks! ;)


Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Give the ones you love an extra big hug!

Stamps: On The Spot, Weathered, Summer By The Sea; Ink: Staz-On Black, various Classic SU, Opalite: Artic Emerald & Winter Rust, White gel pen; Paper: More Mustard, Garden Green, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: sponges, Crafters' Tool kit (paper piercer & mat, template).

Upcoming Valentines Day

Here it is, two days before Valentine's Day and I still haven't made my DH's valentine! In my defense look at what I have done.


These are for the children in my DS's pre-school class. I found the idea (and directions) for these at Julie's blog. I put the smarties in two of them so you get the idea. I'll wait until Thursday morning to fill the rest. I don't want to risk them tearing or just getting lost. He has 11 girls and 8 other boys in his class. I started getting tired of making these and still had most of the boys' left so I got out one of my wheels and finished lickety-split! Why didn't I think to use a wheel earlier??? LOL!

I made two of these for his teacher and her assistant. I got the idea from Sarah's blog. I think her Sweetheart boxes aren't quite as bright as mine, so I struggled a bit on the belly band. It was interesting using the different layers and trying to incorporate SU and non-SU punches.

Now I need to figure out what to do for DH. :D

November Class Projects

I had my monthly class last night. My two customers and I had fun! :D We did two projects using SU double sided paper, (there is still a special going on!) and one card. The two projects don't even have any stamping! What was I thnking?? LOL!

I don't have a picture of the star project because I gave it to one of my gals that messed hers up. You can see the project here on Julie's blog. It is the six point star.

The second project was these cute ball ornaments. These are so stinkin' easy!! I have seen them several places on the web, but here is Emily's version. After you do the first one you can have these done in about 5 minutes, no joke! I used SU's scallop punch and some Apple Cider DS paper and some retired metalic thread.


For the last project, we did an acetate card. The directions for these can be found on SCS here. This is really an amazingly simple card to make. I purposefully didn't add any bulky embellishments so it wouldn't require extra postage. (No reason to hold up those Christmas cards by requiring you to stand in line to get the extra postage stamp or be returned because you didn't think to add the extra postage!)

Stamps: Holiday Tag Team, Ink: Staz-On White and Black, markers; Paper: Night of Navy, Ballet Blue, Glossy White; Accessories: Acetate, Scoring blade, Crafter's Tool Kit.

I'm up to three Christmas cards made now! I guess I'd better get those done pretty quick! ;)

Has It Really Been. . . . .

So long since I have posted???? Oh my! I was surprised when I saw the date on my last posting. I have a couple of excuses (who doesn't????). I did make teacher gifts for Troy's teacher and assistant, which I will post below. But first I want to show you one of the best reasons for my absence.

This is my nephew Curtis. He just graduated high school! Congrats Curtis! Troy and I drove two days to visit and see Curtis graduate.


This is another reason we went. My brother Wade (on the right) is leaving soon for a year in S. Korea and my other brother Calvin (on the left) will deploy this summer to Iraq. My little sister couldn't make it because she was already in S. Korea! She and Wade will be in the same area, which will be nice for them so they won't be so alone. That is the worst thing about deploying is being separated from family. At least they will have each other!


Okay, now on to my teacher gifts. Altered clipboards! Here is the one I did for his teacher. I used my CB to die cut the letters. The clipboards I bought at Wal-Mart for less than $1 each. The patterned paper I bought at my local Archivers along with the bling in the center of the flowers. The grosgrain ribbon is Stampin' Up! I bought some Making Memories paint (love those Archiver's coupons!) that I used on the top portion of the board. I used Modge Podge on the paper to adhere it to the board then added several layers on top to seal everything. Added the primas on top and moved on to the matching cards. I used leftover designer paper on the card and my giga and mega scalloped ovals. I stamped "giggle" on the oval, what could be better for a pre-K teacher than giggle? LOL! I used my slit punch for the scalloped edge on the black layer. Taa-daa!

For Mrs. Sandy, the classroom assistant, I did everything the same way just changed up the colors.

Now for a funny story about these clipboards. I had all the supplies, but hadn't started because I didn't know which color to give to whom. So I thought I'd ask Ms. Sandy which color Mrs. May would prefer, pink or purple. Well wouldn't you know what came out of my mouth? "Mrs. Sandy, which color would Mrs. Sandy prefer, pink or purple??" She looked at me and asked why. I still hadn't caught on to my slip-up. "Oh just for a little something," I responded. She modestly responded that it didn't matter, and I finally realized my faux paux. I just left it at that. I wonder if I turned three shades of red when I realized what I had said, but I just tried to play it off like I meant to ask that way! LOL! We gave them their gifts on Troy's last day, which was two days early since we were leaving town to attend Cutris' graduation. They were both so
excited when they saw their gifts. They especially loved having their names on their boards!

Thanks for reading through all this! Have a wonderful day!