ConGRADulations!

Hi friends,
Today I have this money holder graduation card to share with you. I made it for my BFF's son who just graduated from high school (using his school colors- red & gold.) This card was quite easy to do. On to the deets:

Here's a closer look at the front:
I embossed the gold paper with the "congrats" Cuttlebug folder. I created the tassel by wrapping the floss around a fork several times, securing it near the top, & cutting off one end to form the fringe. For the cap, I cut a triangle that spanned the length of the card & a rectangle with 1" off each side. I took my giga circle punch & punched the circles on each end. I placed thick foam tape behind the top part so it looks 3D. That's it!

Here's a look at the inside:I used the High School Stack paper & let it do all the work for me. the only thing I did here was die cut the "09." I hope you can see the pannel where the money goes.

Here's the back:

Thanks for peeking at my card today! I'm off to put away my laundry that has been sitting on our bed for ...well, let's say it's felt a little more crowded than usual in our bed lately!- Gotta go!

Today's card was brought to you by:
Paper: Real Red (SU), High School Stack (DCWV), Gold Metallic, White, black
Ink: Real Red (SU)
Tools: hole punch
Other: Gold embroidery floss, brad, Congrats Cuttlebug Folder, Curlie Girlie sizzlits (Sizzix), mini words sticker (Stampendous)

Bella Birthday

Hi friends,
Today I have the birthday card I made for my pal June (who's born in June). I used the Bella Blossoms stamp set. I was eyeballin' this set for a while & when I saw it was to be retired I had to snatch it. I've seen many a beautiful card made with this set on SCS, so I went for it!

I stamped the flower three times so I could layer it with dimmensionals in between. The patterned paper comes from my beloved Mimosa pack (SEI). When I was at Michael's recently, I noticed this paper pack (& Bridgeport) were on clearance! I grabbed another stack because I luuuuuv this paper. I told myself I wouldn't buy anymore paper until I used up more of what I hoarded-- er... I mean HAD! But it's on clearance, right? Another thing I'll miss when it's gone is Kiwi Kiss. Let me tell you that was NOT a color I gravitated to when I first saw it, but now I luuuuv it. It goes with so much!

'nuff rambling. Here's the inside:
I thank you kindly for peekin' at my card today. I'm off to find a space where I can squeeze in another stack of paper- Gotta go!

This card was brought to you by:
Paper: Kiwi Kiss (SU), white, Mimosa (SEI)
Stamps: Bella Blossoms & Stem Sayings (SU)
Ink: Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss (SU)
Other: Gold leaf pen, ribbon, crimper tool, Mini words sticker (stampendous)

Organization: CD/DVD Cases

Hi friends (and Weekend Warriors!),
I wanted to share how I organize and store my Spellbinders Dies & Stamps. I love the way some companies store their stamps in CD cases. Unfortunately, they can be a little expensive if you want to purchase just the cases through them. I found these cases at Target for $3.99 for 10. (I'm sure they also carry them in all the "marts" too) So here's what I do: (click on any pic to enlarge)

open the case & remove the disk insert

I add a strip of stencil tape to hold the dies in place (plus it's cheap & it does the job!)

Because the stencil tape is not double sided, I add glue dots to the back. This way the stencil tape is strongly held to the case. (You could also use Scor-Tape or Sticky Strip)

Next, I place the dies on the stencil tape (it holds the stencils securely)

I use the packaging insert to create a cover for the other side. I secure 2 of the sides with invisible tape.

To complete it, I just print out a label with my label maker & add it to the spine.


Ta dah! All done!
You could double up & put 2 sets in one case if you wanted to.


I do the very same thing with the DVD cases that hold my oversized dies.
I keep my CC Designs, Pink Cat Studio, & Anya (The Greeting Farm) Stamps in the DVD cases as well.

Becca Feeken had a post for the DVD cases a while back. At the time I was looking for something to store my large dies & unmounted rubber stamps- so these clear DVD cases were perfect! They're not as cheap as the CD cases, but I didn't need as many of these as I did the CD cases. I'm on the prowl for cheaper ones, but the ones I've found do not have a removable tray (the tray is built into the back piece.) But if I do I'll be sure to post!

NOTE: Be sure you get the STANDARD SIZE cases NOT the slim cases for the CDs.
For the DVDs you want the Super Jewel Box King (the 9th picture/item on the page) click here

Edited to Add: Thanks to a comment left by "J" ( ), the CD cases can be purchased here for 200 cases for $26! So if you have friends who can use them, divi them up & share the cost! Unfortunately, the DVD cases are not available with a removable tray. But I'll keep my eyes open!

What about magnetic sheets or strips? Well, I work with my Nesties near my computer & I was advised by a "tech" person, that having magnetic material near my computer was unwise. It could cause problems for my computer so I just stick with stencil tape. (no pun intended!) It works for me. But, there are many people who use magnetic sheets & that way works for them. So choose what works for you :)

Well, I hope this helps you think about simple solutions to organizing your toys. Why weekend warriors? Because some of you will be adding this to your list of to-do projects! Next weekend, I'll be sharing what I do with the Sizzix plastic cases- so don't toss them just yet!

Thanks so much peekin' today! I'm off to watch my son play at his basketball tournament- gotta go!

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop-June

Hi friends,
I'm back to participate in PTI's Blog Hop again! Thank you everyone who left such wonderful comments for my last project. I truly appreciate it . The theme for this month was "The Lazy Days of Summer." I don't know why they call it that because there are NO lazy days around here! It's crazy busy with my boys taking them to ALL of their activities!

Anyhoo, here's the inspiration for today's project:
We have a red bucket (but I don't know under which of my sons' beds it's at, tee hee!)
Here's my Project: I used My Timeless Templates- Pack a Picnic (Small). I punched the border with the wave punch & punched a circle, backed it with foam tape where the handle attaches to the bucket for added detail.


Living in Southern California, we make several beach trips. One of my favorite things to do at the beach is collect shells with my boys. We don't usually find any big ones but these are some of the ones we've collected.


My good friend will be visiting from out of state & I'm sure we'll be going to the beach. I'm probably going to be giving it to her little girl to take her shells home in.

Thanks for hopping by today & peeking at my project! If you'd like to see other projects I've created with My Timeless Templates click here & here -- gotta go!

Today's Project was brought to you by:
Paper: Pure Poppy, white -PTI
MTT: Pack a Picnic -small template used for this project

Wrangler Ethan & Ava: PCS for a Cause

Hi friends,
These super cute images are available through Pink Cat Studio to commemorate the sweet but short life of Ethan who passed away from Neuroblastoma. I just couldn't imagine what it must be like for his parents & my heart goes out to them. Pink Cat Studio is offering this as digi stamps for immediate download to purchase. All proceeds will go to the Make -A-Wish Foundation of Illinois. Please read their post here.

Upon seeing this on Lauren's blog here, I didn't hesitate to buy it. Yes, the images are so super cute, but more importantly- it's for a good cause that is close to my heart. A few years ago, I had a 1st grader with leukemia in my class. I was so humbled and in awe to see what he had to go through in his fight with his disease. He had to go once a month for painful bone marrow transplants & lots of doctor visits. Everyday before every recess I put sunscreen on his sweet little face & arms because the sun would make him sick (meds). Yet, this little boy was so happy, go-lucky-- a total rough n' tough boy! He was a foster student and after the year I had him, he was moved to another foster home so I don't know how he's doing anymore. So I'm here to ask you to PLEASE be part of the many people who have purchased this set and contribute to the wish of a child.

Here are the projects I made with the Ethan image.
One of the advantages to digi images is that you can size them to whatever you'd like. I wanted to showcase just that in my projects. You can see that, very easily, you can make the same image different sizes. Unlike clip art, when you stretch the corner to enlarge the image, it doesn't skew, pixilate, or warp the image. It stays the same crisp image at any size. Print it on to cardstock & color away.

Here is a closer look at the card:
I did several techniques that I normally don't do. I used my distressing tool around the edges of the denim & bandana paper so it looks like those frayed, comfy jeans you've had forever & love. I really luuuuuv that look! (I so must do that again!) I faux stitched around the sides of the papers & stars (I have a trick to do that quick & easy which I'll share later). Another thing I don't normally do is use Kraft cardstock, but it looked awesome on these two projects- another thing I need to dust off & use more often! A third thing I rarely do is use fun flock. I flocked the entire horse! It feels so fun to rub my finger across it. It reminds me of those "Touch & Feel" books I got for my boys when they were little wee ones- where the sheep feels wooly, and the dog feels hairy (KWIM?) I cut out the nose part out & put a dimmensional behind it- which looks cool! I punched out the balloon with my Martha Stewart balloon punch & backed it with a dimmensional as well. I paper pieced the little scarf around his neck & added a star brad for his belt buckle. I ran the big star through my swirly crimper tool & added that swirly paper clip that reminded me of a lasso. I really like the way it turned out.

Next is a closer look at the matching bag:
I did all the same things I did with the card- except bigger, of course. I chalked the background to look like a desert sunset. Can you believe I bought this ribbon spool for 1 cent! Yeah, I know! That's what it rang up for & I got it from the "clearance" bin. I've held on to it for so long, but knew one day it would be perfect for something. And I think today's the day!

I hope I have inspired you to visit Pink Cat Studio & get your own digi images. If not, maybe Lauren, Heather, & Vicki can convince you to as they're all offering some blog candy for participating.

Thank you so much for letting me share my personal story & my projects with you today. I'm hoping to participate in PTI's Blog Hop tomorrow, but we'll see if I make it! --Gotta Go!

Road Trip Gifts #2

Hi friends,
Here is the other suitcase I made. It had all the components as the other one I posted yesterday so I won't go into all the details of this one.

Here's the front
Detailed look at the flower accent

The back pocketI had pictures of the inside, custom ipod, and card but they're nowhere to be found. Just picture them like the other one, but with this paper sorry.

Well, thanks for peeking in today. So glad you stopped by. I'm off to clean up 'round these parts- uggh. Gotta go!

Today's Project was brought to you by:
Paper: Mimosa- SEI
Tools: Border Punch- EK Success
Accs: Pearl Brad-Michaels Wedding Line, Pearls-Kaiser Craft, Flowers-Prima, Ribbon

Road Trip Gifts

Hi friends,
Today I'm sharing the "suitcases" I made for my friend's girls. They're going on a road trip soon so I thought I'd help them with some of their packing .

Here's a look from the top to see the magnetic closure:


Here's the back with a pocket for the goods. I had initially wrapped the chocolate bar with this paper to coordinate, but I saw that it could hold two unwrapped. I think they'd rather have the chocolate than the wrapper- I know I would! Tee Hee!
Now here's what's on the inside:
a card game and a custom ipod case.


Custom ipod case, you say? Why yes! Here's the "before." I bought these cases after Easter on clearance for 33 cents.and turned it into this.
It holds an itunes gift card. So she can get some new tunes for the ride.


With a scrap piece, I made this simple, little card.
And guess what. I still have 1/3 sheet of paper left over! Yaaay scraps!
I used Becky's Tote-ally Awesome Tote tutorial (and it is totally awesome!) with some modifications. I luuuuv her tutorials so please check out her blog and prepare to be amazed at her creations. She is without a doubt one of my fav's!

Thanks for peeking at my project today. Tomorrow I'll show you the other one I made. I'm off to work on some unfinished projects from CKC Pasadena- gotta go!


Today's Project was brought to you by:
Paper: Bridgeport- SEI, Kiwi Kiss-SU, White, Metallic Silver- DCVW, Acetate
Tools: Magnetic Snaps- BasicGrey, Cricut Cartidge Home Accents (butterfly), Crop-a-dile, Martha Stewart Punches
Other: Ribbon-Michaels, Brad- K&Co, Flowers- Making Memories, Gift Card Tin