For the Birds!

Have you ever seen a craft project and been drawn to sit right down to make it yourself? That happened to me the last time I was browsing the 2013-2014 Annual Catalog and came across the birdhouse on page 85:

 

 

Here's my version:

It's made using the Milk Carton Die (with a Big Shot, of course) and the Bird Builder Punch.  Texture is added to the roof to give the look of shingles sending a piece of Early Espresso Core'dinations cardstock through the Big Shot in the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder. Embossing half of the roof at a time by sticking the cardstock only half way in the folder will make the shingles the same on both sides of the roof. Sanding the cardstock adds even more depth, bringing out the lighter core color.

 

By the way, I don't have the Polka-Dot Pieces stamp set that was used in the catalog. Instead, I simply punched the bird and branch shapes out of different pieces of paper from a pack of This and That Epic Day DSP.

It's funny, even though I've poured over the catalog many a times since it first came out, I still seem to discover something new almost every time I browse its pages! If you haven't had a chance to check it out, click HERE to see the PDF version. It's also available for FREE through Google Catalogs on your iPad. You can also order one from me by emailing me at bbstampin at yahoo dot com or through my shopping page HERE. 

 

Happy Stampin!

Brenda



Celebrating 5 Years of Happy Stampin!

Look what I've been up to:

Crafting some post-it note projects! 

If you look carefully at the photo, you'll also notice something else...

MY 5-YEAR PIN!!!! 

It arrived in the mail today!  How exciting!  Yesterday (March 21) was the 5th anniversary of me signing up to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!  I signed up during Sale-A-Bration way back when and have been happy stampin' ever since!  I love sharing my love of crafts with people and being a demo lets me do just that, earning money in the process! 

If you've ever thought about becoming a demonstrator, now would be a great time!  During Sale-A-Bration, the starter kit is on sale for $125!  That's $50 off the regular price!  AND, new demos will also receive their choice of a pack of designer series paper or a digital download every month for the rest of 2012!  Signing up is easy and can be done online through my website!  Click HERE to see all the details and then click on the JOIN NOW button on the left side of that page to sign up! 

If you're not quite ready to take the plunge but would like to take advantage of the Sale-A-Bration promotion and earn FREE products, you can contact me to place your order or shop online through my website shopping page HERE! 

To celebrate my anniversary, I'm holding a Mystery Hostess event and special drawing for online orders. Here are the details:

• Local orders (Pensacola, FL area): Local orders I receive between now and March 30 will be entered in a drawing to win the hostess benefits. The amount of benefits will depend on the number of combined sales. If sales reach the $400 mark, I will draw 2 names—one person will win the hostess dollars ($65) and the other person will win the SAB Fresh Vintage Hostess Bundle.  Call or email me with your order.
• Online Orders: Those who place an online order with me between now and March 31 will be entered in a separate drawing to win a free stamp set! I will let the winner choose between several new/un-mounted retired hostess sets. Click HERE to start shopping.
• Everyone who places an order will get a little something from me as a party favor of sorts to say thank you for your continued support of my business.

Sale-A-Bration ends March 31!

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

850.466.3585

bbstampin@yahoo.com

Simply Cute Sale-A-Bration Send Off!

Wow!  I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last posted!  It's not for the lack of projects to share... Since tomorrow (March 31) is the last day of Sale-A-Bration, I thought I'd share a couple super simple & cute (if I do say so myself) projects that use the Punch Bunch stamp set that you could get for FREE when placing an order of $50 (before shipping & tax). 

First is this magnetic bookmark:

The base of the bookmark was made using the Two Tags Bigz Die (with the Big Shot).  I folded a 2" x 8 1/2" piece of River Rock card stock in half and set it on the die so that the fold was just inside the cut/stitch lines on the top.  The stamp was inked using our Stampin' Write Markers and then punched out using the 1 3/8" circle punch, layered on a 1 3/4" Scallop Circle punch.  The magic of this bookmark is created with two strips of magnet attached on the inside of each flap.  This would be a great use for those promotional magnetic business cards you probably have cluttering your fridge or stuffed in the back of your junk drawer.  Just cut them into 3/4" strips and use a good strong glue (Sticky Strip or Multipurpose Adhesive) to attach them to the bookmark,.  If you don't have any scrap magnets laying around to recycle, Stampin' Up! does sell Magnet Sheets (Item 119816/Pkg of 3 sheets, 6" x 13") for $9.95.  That would make A LOT of bookmarks!

The other project I'm going to share with you may look vaguely familiar.  I've reused the mini post-it note cover idea that I blogged about last year--click HERE to see that post, which includes the directions. 

I found the size of this cute little post-it note cover is the perfect size for the 2-Step Owl Punch...

AND, the Punch Bunch stamp set has this cute little coordinating owl stamp!  The glittery heart was punched out using the little heart on the 2-Step Owl Punch and the Glimmer Paper (Item# 121790/2 sheets 12" x 12").  It gives you all the sparkle, but none of the mess of using glue and glitter! 

Wondering what the inside looks like?  Here you go:

If you'd like to get some FREE STAMPS OR ACCESSORIES during Sale-A-Bration, click HERE and start shopping!  For every $50 you spend, you get to choose one item!  There's no limit!

Tomorrow is also the last day you can take advantage of the awesome special on the Demonstrator Starter Kit--15% off the starter kit price and a special $50 bundle!  Click HERE for the details. There is also an additional incentive for the next person to sign up under me, you will also receive a stamp set from the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog before it goes live (May 1)!  You can sign up directly through my website.  Just click on the JOIN NOW link and fill out the paper-less paperwork. 

Feel free to call or email me if you have any questions or would like to chat about becoming a demo!  My contact information is on my website.

Happy Stampin!
Brenda Bromen

A Quick Gift Idea: Personalized Stationery Gift Set!

Happy New Year, my crafty friends!

I want to share a last minute gift I created last month. As the hours were winding down before we were to leave on our Christmas vacation to visit family, I needed to come up with a gift for my husband’s grandma. Knowing she’s one of the few people who still enjoy sending and receiving handwritten letters, I thought what better gift than to create a set of personalized stationery for her!

Having just received my preorder for new stampin’ goodies from the Occasions Mini catalog, I wanted to use the Framed Tulips Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (Pg 28/121809/$7.95). It would add the perfect touch to a set of monogrammed note cards.

I suppose I could have just wrapped the note cards in some pretty ribbon and left it at that. But I decided to make a little something to hold the cards, envelopes and coordinating pen instead.

The base of the notecard folder was created out of a single 8 ½ x 11 sheet of card stock.

• Score at 2” and 2 ¼” along one of the long edges, then turn 90 degrees and score at 5” and 5 ½”.

• Cut out the 2 ¼” x ½” scored section to create the flaps inside the folder. Cut at a slight diagonal along the inside edges of the flaps (see picture below).

• Secure the outer edges of the flaps with eyelets (brads or staples could also be used).

• Decorate as desired.

The monogram is stamped using the Lovely Letter Alphabet set and then punched out using the 1" circle punch.  That is then layered with a 1 1/4" circle and 1 3/4" scallop circle.  I snipped in between each scallop for the monogram on the cover of the folder to add a bit more texture.
 

 
I hope this inspires you to create a quick gift for someone special.  Before you do, be sure to tell me what you think!  Your comments are what motivates me to continue blogging!  Thanks!

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the NEW Occasions Mini Catalog!  Click HERE to start shopping!

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

Scrappin' Recipes

As I continue with the National Scrapbooking Month theme during May, I'll show you a fun way to organize your special family recipes. Unless you're a Bush (from the baked bean company), then you'll want to add a lock and key to this idea. :) Since my recipes are not secrets, I like the idea of creating a pretty book and scrapping mini recipe pages.

I started with a 6x6 ring bound scrapbook. This is one of Stampin' Up!'s albums and I'm predicting it will be soon retiring, since it's Mellow Moss--a retiring color. So, if you want this exact album for your own recipes, order it now (105391) through my website! I chose a ring bound album so that I can add and rearrange my recipes easily. A post bound album would make that more complicated.

The cover is decorated with Decor Elements. The flower is a Demo sample. If you were to host a workshop with me, I could start the process of decorating your recipe album with one of these. Give me a call! The title was cut out using the Timeless Type Junior Sizzlits Alphabet Dies (115951) and a roll of Chocolate Chip Decor Elements sheet (114337).

Now for the pages. I used the From the Kitchen of stamp set (114964) for the recipe cards. The rest of the pages are decorated with card stock, designer papers and stickers from a Simply Scrappin' Kit. There is really no wrong way to do this. Treat your recipe like a photo and SCRAP IT! Since they're small pages (6x6), they are fun and easy to create. It would also be a great way to use up scraps you have leftover from other projects.

I will say that this Recipe Book only contains my very special recipes. They may not be secret, but they are definitely tried and true recipes that my family loves. Who wants to spend all that time and energy scrappin' a crappy recipe?! NOT ME!

Happy Stampin & Scrappin!
Brenda

Happy Mother's Day!

This will be a relatively quick post because my family is making me breakfast this morning and I don't want to miss out on a nice hot meal... that I didn't have to make! :)


The boxes that come with the Simply Adorned charms & chains just scream to be decorated. They are like little chocolate chip colored blank canvases. Here are a couple that I decorated--one for Mother's Day and one for a birthday gift:

Supplies: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Flower Designer Brads, 1 1/4 & 1 1/2 Square Punches, Tag & Small Tag Punches, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon and Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper.


The belly bands were actually made to go around 2 boxes (one with the charm and one with the chain) side-by-side. The ribbon sort of hides that fact. Here's a peek at one of the charms:

The J is stamped with basic black craft ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I had to use tweezers to hold the small square while embossing it. I suppose it would have been a smarter idea to stamp and heat set it before cutting it into a 1" square. However, I did stamp & emboss a J on the opposite side which is a Tempting Turquoise pattern, so it's reversible.

Supplies: All Holidays, Simple Friendship, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die (from the Occasions Mini, which is still available to purchase), Big Shot, a retired designer paper that I had in my stash and the same punches as the other project.

I hope y'all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

Mini Post-It Note Journal Cover

As promised, I'm back with a project idea to share. This was a project we did at my Spring Fling class last month. Covering post-it notes is by no means my original idea, but I can say that I painstakingly figured out the measurements to this cute little journal-style post-it note cover:

I used half of a pad of mini post-it notes. The measurements can be adjusted depending on what size and the amount of post-it notes you use. Starting with a 5" x 2 1/4" piece of chocolate chip card stock, score the card stock at 1 1/2", 1 3/4", 3 5/16" and 3 9/16". Yes, the 16th's of an inch matters. I tried using more standard measurements, but the post-it note pad just didn't fit right. You really want it to fit snugly in the book.

So, once you've scored, then you fold it up like a book with the shorter of the 2 flaps on the outside. Like this:

If you'd like, punch the 2 outside corners with the Corner Rounder Punch. Add extra adhesive on the post-it note pad before attaching it inside the book so it won't go anywhere. To get the Velcro lined up just right, put the 2 sides together and attach the rough side to the flap. Then remove the backing for the other side and simply close the flap and press firmly to adhere in place.

I decorated the cover by cutting a piece of designer series paper to the size of the outside flap--about 1 3/8" x 2 1/4". BTW, I used the Sweet Pea paper from the Occasions Mini on this project, which is no longer available. The bunny is from the Forest Friends stamp set. He's punched out using the large oval punch and layered with a Scallop Oval.

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These make wonderful little gifts and are a great way to use up some of your scraps. Be aware, once you start making them, they will multiply like rabbits!

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Happy Stampin!

Brenda

Super Sweet Notecard Set

Need a super sweet gift idea? How about making one of these:

I've posted a similar type box in the past. It's made with two scallop envelope diecuts and two 2-1/4" x 1-1/2" strips of card stock for the sides. The notecards are 3" x 3" (3" x 6" card stock folded in half).

Stamps: Fox & Friends & Tiny Tags (both from the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog)

Accessories: Sweet Pea Designer Paper PAD, Corduroy button, Linen Thread, Jewelry Tag Punch, 1/16" Circle Punch, Big Shot, Scallop Envelope Die.

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If you live in the San Antonio area and would like to get a few of your friends together to make this super sweet gift set, give me a call to schedule your own private class (at your house or mine).

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Happy Stampin!

Brenda Bromen

210.451.8731

A Friendly Birthday Gift

Last weekend, my kids and I had made plans to go out to eat with another deployed family. Our date had been set for a couple weeks. Through the magic of Facebook, I discovered that it would be my friend's birthday the day before our dinner date. Knowing how she must feel without her hubby on her birthday, I decided to make her a special gift. Here it is!

I took a simple junior legal pad and an RSVP pen and decorated them!


If these stamped images look new to you, YOU'RE RIGHT! THEY ARE NEW! The set is called Vintage Vogue and it is a sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions Mini! This set happens to be clear-mount... a new option coming in January! The stamps are still made of our high quality, deeply etched rubber & foam... the additional option of the clear-mount sets just come with a repositionable backing that can be used with clear blocks (instead of wood), making it easier to see where you're stamping! It also cuts down on the space it takes to store the stamps. These sets come in a DVD style case. Oh, and another key advantage... they cost less! I can't wait for you to see them up close and personal, once the new mini catalog goes live on January 5!

Here's a close up of the card:

The 5/8" satin ribbon is new too! It comes in 9 colors!

Of course, you can't give a pretty gift without pretty packaging...

The bag was repeatedly stamped with a single 1" x 2" (approx) flower & vine image to create a climbing vine. I rotated the stamp to give it a meandering "vine-y" feel.

I hope y'all are finding time to relax and enjoy yourself during the holiday season. Sorry I've been lax in posting lately. Now that my Christmas cards are signed, sealed & delivered and most of my crafting projects are done or I've sent an IOU and am very close to completing them... I promise I'll be back to post some more projects before Christmas.

Happy Stampin!

Snazz Up Those School Photos!

I'm guessing many of you get those silly school photos of your kids and wonder if there's a way to actually make them look good. Well, I had some of those silly pictures of my sons to send to my hubby in Kuwait and had to do something to snazz them up. So I made this:

This is the front and I just stamped directly onto the blank coasters, as I would a card. The saying is from the Service & Sacrifice stamp set (115992), it's punched out with the Wide Oval Punch (112082) and layered with a curly label cut out from the Movers & Shapers Curly Label Die. The background is stamped with the Medallion Background Stamp(115223) and swirl from Baroque Motif (113490).

There are 3 coasters tied together with ribbon. The holes were punched out with the Crop-A-Dile (108362). To get them all lined up, I punched 2 holes on one coaster to start--using the movable edge guide to make them the same distance from the edge. Then I laid that over the other 2 coasters (one at a time) and punched. For the middle coaster I flipped the coaster over, lined it up with one of the other pre-punched coasters and punched again. The grosgrain ribbon is simply tied into knots to hold them together. I used the Tailor Made Simply Scrappin' Kit (114326) to decorate the inside.

The pictures are attached with clear corner photo tabs (from my stash) so that my hubby can remove them and put them in his wallet if he'd like.

This would make a great gift idea for grandparents. If you don't have a stack of blank coasters sitting around, you could use the On Board Book Basics Small (110712) or scrap cardboard cut to size with a craft knife. Don't forget! Christmas is coming and this would be a quick and easy gift! Go to my website or contact me directly to place an order for the supplies you need to get started!

Happy Stampin!

Convention Continued: Turtle Montage

Having a son who has LOVED turtles for over 7 years (he's 12 now), I am always on the lookout for turtles wherever I go. My trip to Utah was no different. How excited do you think I was to see that the "demo flight" (yes, the plane was filled with mostly demos on their way to convention) from Denver to Salt Lake City on Wednesday (Aug 5) had Sheldon the sea turtle on the tail?! This was the first picture I took on my trip... and I HAD to call home to tell my son about it. His reaction... cool.


Later that same day, during our tour of Demo Support at the Riverton campus, I saw this:

I forgot to note which DS agent's cubical this was... whoever she is, she's cool in my book! BTW, isn't that butterfly basket of flowers cool too?! That entire thing was made using our awesome Big Shot with Beautiful Butterflies ($21.95, 114507) & Daisies #2 ($19.95, 114520)!

Then, on the last day, someone asked if I had seen the pop-up ball turtle on display... um, NO! Why had she not mentioned that earlier... I do not know! So, as soon as I was done with my lunch, I was off in search of the turtle! Here it is!

And a side view:

I don't have this Pop-Up 3D Ball die ($39.95, 116759), so I don't exactly understand the engineering behind how it works, but isn't this turtle COOL!

AND, then I walked around the displays some more and found this:

It's our Decor Elements T is for Turtle in Old Olive ($4.95, 117908) and "Is For" in black ($1.95, 117529).

Happy Stampin!

Jet-Lagged and Checking In

I'm home! Did ya miss me?

Boy, was our trip fun! If you didn't read my last post, my family and I went on an Alaskan cruise! We could not have been luckier with the weather--13 days of no rain, warm temps and lots of sunshine! It was almost like my hubby paid Mother Nature to make Alaska the most perfect place in the world so that I will want to move there some day! Whale-watching, zip-lining, climbing (not me), hiking, tram-riding, SHOPPING, dancing, and EATING are just a few of the things we had a blast doing. I did get a bit of knitting in--some on the ship, but mostly during our travels to and from the cruise. Of course, I managed to find almost all the yarn shops at every port we docked at! LOL Thanks for being so patient, family!

After being away for 2 weeks, I'm climbing a mountain of laundry and catching up with stuff around the house. But I wanted to check in and let you know I'm still alive! I haven't done any stampin' in the last couple weeks, so I don't have anything "new" to show you. However, I do have a project from about a month ago that I hadn't posted yet. It's an end-of-the-year teacher gift (an altered notebook, pen & gift card set).

Close-up of the Designer Hardware:

Even though our big summer vacation is over, my busy-ness is not! Here's what I've got coming up:

One week from today, we will be moving to a new house about 4 blocks away. It will be a week-long ordeal--with the packers & movers doing most of the heavy lifting--thank goodness. But once everything is moved, my "job" of cleaning, unpacking and getting everything in order will begin. I will have about 4 days to do all that and then I'll be heading to the....

STAMPIN' UP! CONVENTION in Salt Lake City, Utah!!!!! I am so excited! I can't wait to come back and share all the exciting new ideas with you! Just so you know, I'll be in Utah August 5-9.

A couple weeks after I return home my kids' summer vacation will come to an end and my hubby will be deploying to the middle east. Soooooo, I will do my best to post regularly... but just understand why, if it's not as regular as you'd like. Feel free to post a comment once in awhile to keep me motivated... ;)

One more thing, in case you hadn't already seen it on my website. Here's this week's "deal of the week":

If you've ever thought about getting the Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware kit, now is definitely the time to get it! You can't beat $18.99! With 200 pieces in the kit, that's less than 10 cents a piece! This sale is only good through July 26, so don't wait! Hurry over to my website and SHOP NOW!

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

Mission "Emboss"ible Projects

Here are a couple of projects we made at the Mission "Emboss"ible classes I held last week.

The chipboard heart was embossed several times. First it was inked with Rose Red craft ink, sprinkled with Iridescent Ice embossing powder and heat set. Then Versamark Ink was applied and it was embossed with clear embossing powder (at least twice), to create a smooth look. A tip for heat embossing small items, attach it temporarily to a scrap piece of cardboard to use as a handle to keep your hands at a safe distance from the heat tool.

Here's a closer look:

The rose from the Fifth Avenue Floral set was stamped onto Shimmery White card stock using Basic Black craft ink and embossed with clear powder. The technique for adding the color is called Reinker Spread and was demoed at a Stampin' Up! regional seminar by Connie Ingram. It involves 3 colors of reinkers, an aqua painter, and spray bottle of water. You really need to see this one in person to appreciate how shimmery and gorgeous the colors are!

You may have also noticed that I used the Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die on the Kiwi Kiss background.

MY SCRAPBOOKING GOAL UPDATE: I don't want to make excuses for not having a layout to share with you from this last week... but... things came up. My sweet hubby's birthday is today and I spent several days making him a hat (while he wasn't looking). After seeing this hat and recalling that we live in Texas, you may wonder "What the...?"

Well, he's been watching Out of the Wild: Alaska on The Discovery Channel and he was inspired! LOL! Actually, we are also going on a trip to Alaska this summer and he felt he just HAD to have a flap hat! So I dug through my yarn stash and knit him one! I certainly hope the temps aren't cold enough for him to really need it while we're there. Although, I think it brings out the blue in his eyes. Love ya, Hon! :)

Back to my excuses... err, I mean non-excuses for not having a layout to share with you... I was also busy making 4 dry erase message boards for my son's Sunday School teachers:

AND, my calendar was also full of social events, a vet appointment and classes. I did "scrapbook" in the technical sense of the word when I prepped for a class that I have coming up on Monday--making a paper sack mini album. Unfortunately, I can't share a picture of that project since it will be a gift (in the near future) for a special someone who reads my blog. :)

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I promise, I will be Happy Scrappin' in the coming week... I hope you will be too!

Viva Fiesta!

Today marks the beginning of a 2-week long celebration here in San Antonio, Texas called Fiesta! Being an implant here, I really don't know the history behind this celebration. All I know is that the next 2 weeks are filled with lots of parties, parades and a carnival. I am going to a spouses' luncheon today where we'll be celebrating Fiesta. We were asked to make and bring a "Fiesta" wreath. What is a Fiesta wreath, you may ask? The most I can tell you is that they are brightly colored (the brighter the better) and have flowing ribbons hanging down from them. Here's what I came up with:

I think my favorite part of this wreath are the butterflies. They are attached to wires that make them look like they are flying around the flowers.

Viva Fiesta!

"Create" on canvas!

As Randy on Idol would say, Check this out!

Because we live in military housing and know we won't be here forever, I wanted to attach the Decor Elements Create Definition to a movable surface. So I applied it to a pre-made stretched canvas that I found at a big box store.
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Prior to applying the DE to the canvas, I first painted it with a mixture of white acrylic paint and Baja Breeze ink refill. My first attempt at this step was not exactly successful. Since I have dabbled in many different crafts over the years, I thought, Hey! I have white acrylic paint in my stash! *Note that this paint has probably been in my paint stash box for half of the 17+ years I've been married AND has been moved half a dozen times. So, it wasn't a surprise that it was a "bit" clumpy and didn't create that nice smooth surface I was hoping for--but not because of a lack of me trying. :) After a few hours of trying to pick off the little clumps and wondering if the little marks from where the clumps used to be on the canvas added "texture & interest" to the look, I ended up ditching the clumpy paint--both huge bottles of it--and going out and splurging another $1 to buy a brand new bottle. And, boy, did that make all the difference in the world!
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In all its' glory, this inspirational canvas is hanging above my creative crafting space. It would be a perfect addition to the decor in anyone's creative space--whether it's on the wall or on another surface.

Be Creative, while you're
Happy Stampin!

A Pretty Card and Altered Journal... and final farewell to SAB!

Today is the last day of Stampin' Up!'s biggest promotion of the year: Sale-A-Bration! Here's one last card I made using a stamp set I received FREE: Polka Dot Punches.

I made this card for my niece, Carrie's birthday. The flower is from the Pretties kit and was colored using Baja Breeze ink and a dauber.

It doesn't coordinate at all with the card, but I also made Carrie an altered journal:

As you can see, I used another flower on the cover--I left this one white. You may recognize the patterned paper from another project I recently posted. It's from a retired scrappin' kit and I thought the sage shadow and brown combination would be perfect for my niece.

Here's the inside cover:

I used a Top Note die to frame a gift card on the inside front cover. Several layers of scallop circles from the Birds & Blooms Sizzlit dies are attached (with a jumbo brad and adhesive) to the bottom of the ribbon bookmark.

Happy Stampin!

Easter Sampler Projects

Here are the projects we did at my Easter Sampler class last night:

I have to admit, none of these projects were my original idea. In my exhaustive search for the perfect projects, while spending quality time with one of my best friends (the computer), I found them. As most creative demos do, I then in turn, made them "my own" and shared them with my customers.

The basic idea of the paper-pieced sheep came from a fellow demo on SCS. Unfortunately, I don't recall her name. I can't wait to share this cute little guy... or girl with my knitting friends! Making the carrot out of the pennant die was something Lyssa posted on her blog earlier this month--what a clever and oh so easy idea!

Here's a closer look:

Occasions Mini Sneak Peek Stamp Set: Forest Friends

Other Supplies: Frames with a Flourish, All Holidays, Eyelet Border punch, Brads, SAB Ribbon Bundle & DSP, Dimensionals and Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (a real crowd pleaser!)

Supplies: Scallop Circle Die, Big Shot, Wide Oval Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Rhinestone Brad, Gingham Ribbon, and SAB Ribbon Bundle.

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Supplies: Pennant Die, Big Shot, Sanded BG, Sponge, Grosgrain Ribbon, Eyelets and Crop-A-Dile.

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If you'd like to come to one of my classes, check out the calendar of events on my Stampin' Up! website and give me a call! Do you have a special class request, let me know!

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Don't forget, Sale-A-Bration will be ending in less than a week! Be sure to take advantage of this awesome promotion before it's too late! Either place your order online through my website or give me a call and you'll be...

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Happy Stampin!

Altered Bitty Book Gift

I have been hoarding this chipboard bitty book kit for quite some time now... well before it was put on the retiring accessories list. When my crafty friend's crafty daughter invited me to her tween birthday party, I thought it would be the perfect time to break it out from hoarding hiding and decorate it for someone who will truly appreciate it!

You may have guessed... her name is Kerri. Well, Kerri's favorite color combination is blue and brown, so when I dug through some of my other hoarded stash (of retired scrappin' kits) and found this paper, I knew it would be perfect for Kerri's gift. The K is cut out of a Sticky Sheet, using a Serif Essentials Alphabet die and the Big Shot. I combined some green and blue cosmo fine glitter to create the perfect shade of "greeny blue" to coordinate with the paper, which I believe is Sage Shadow. I left the inside pages (alternating sage shadow & chocolate chip card stock) blank and gave her some stickers from the kit and some coordinating gel pens to decorate them as she'd like.

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An early sign that I had picked the perfect color combination was the fact that Kerri was wearing these exact colors at the party! By the way, it was so fun seeing the reaction from Kerri and all the other girls (including my crafty friend, Genean) when she opened it... sort of a GASP! and jaws dropping. You could say I was doing a happy dance inside. :) Living so far from family (who I normally craft gifts for) I don't usually get to see the reaction when my handcrafted gifts are opened. Definitely makes it worth the time and effort that goes into making them.

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I have to say, since I only have boys (12 & almost 15 years old), it was quite an experience going to a crafty "girl" party. Their final activity of the night was altering Stampin' Up!'s skinny clipboards and they had a blast! They couldn't wait to bring them to school to display in their lockers. As I was helping them with their craft, one of the girls even said "Hey, Ms. Brenda, I need to have you come to my party!"

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I am Happy Stampin! Hope you are too!

Getting Creative with Envelopes!

By special request from a customer, I held an envelope technique class--where we got creative with envelopes. First off, we went over the basic construction of an envelope while taking a large envelope apart and using it as a template to make an envelope out of good quality wrapping paper (we used some of the wrapping paper that Stampin' Up! carried in a Holiday Mini awhile back). Sorry, I didn't take a picture of that envelope.

Then we made this:

The box is made out of 2 card stock envelopes (cut out using the Scallop Envelope Bigz Die with the Big Shot) and 2 small pieces of card stock for the sides (1-1/2" x 2"). I found the simple box idea on Laura's blog. You may have noticed the crochet flower (Fleurette) and clear rhinestone brad... don't they coordinate perfectly with the papers?! These are new in the Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog!

Of course, we couldn't make a box and not have something to put inside. So we also made a 3" x 3" card with matching envelope. The envelope is made with the same principle as the large envelope, by taking apart a small square envelope and using it as a template to make an envelope--this time it was out of designer series paper (Bella Rose).

Stamp: A Little Somethin' (level 2 hostess set)

Tips:

• Create heavy duty envelope templates using cardboard from various packaging.
• The large envelope is quite long, so either tape two pieces of cardboard together or use a flatten cereal box when making a template.
• When assembling an envelope, don't use too much adhesive on the flaps--you don't want to glue the inside of the envelope together or have your card get stuck inside.
• Consider using other non-conventional materials to make envelopes: wallpaper, crumpled up tissue paper or napkins ironed onto freezer paper, vellum, acetate, newspaper, old calendars, magazines...
• Check with your post office to see if your handmade envelopes (if they're made out of anything but paper) will cost extra to mail.

Happy Stampin!