No Bulk Shaker Card VIDEO!

Hi friends,
No, your eyes are not deceiving you! I have a video tute for you today *Ü*
It has been ages since I made a video tute, but I've had a few people ask me about creating a "not so bulky" shaker card like I did on this card:

So, today I'll be showing you how.
Here's the card we'll be making:

I used baseball card sleeves I had purchased for making a pocket letter for my friend. Well since I had so many left over, I asked myself what I could do with these sleeves---and the no bulk shaker card was born!

DISCLAIMER: The camera I normally use broke, so I used my old iphone 4. Plus, I'm totally rusty at making videos & totally forgot how to do it!...ugh. :(  Sooo...please be kind and well, I hope you enjoy! Lol *Ü*

You can watch it on YouTube HERE or below.
Action:



Here's one more pic of the projects featured: both cards are A2: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Thanks so much for peeking!
Tootles,
 
The 411 
Stamps: Carnival Cupcakes-Mama Elephant. Baby Onesie stamp set-MFT
Ink: memento Gray Flannel, Desert Sand
Paper: Bundle of Joy-Echo Park. Close to Cocoa cs, Pretty in Pink cs-SU. Neenah Solar white cs
Tools: Carnival Cupcakes dies-Mama Elephant. Labels 8 dies-Spellbinders. Wonky Stitches dies-Avery Elle. Baby die- Lil Inkers. Fuse tool-We R Memory Keepers. Copics. Wink of Stella clear
Other: Confetti. chunky glitter-Recollections. Trading card 9 pocket pages-Cardguard. sticker- Martha Stewart

Organization: Washi Tape

Hi friends,
Organizational tips continue with today's tip on how I store my few washi tapes.
CONFESSIONAL: I never use washi tape decoratively. Never. I only use it as a temporary adhesive or to hold things down. A couple of my favorite ways to use it is to 1) hold down my dies when I'm die cutting and 2) I place a bit on the ends of ribbon to hold them down when they're on a spool. It is absolutely the BEST for that *Ü*. That is why I don't have hundreds...probably.
Well, now that I have that off my chest I can continue with today's post.

Here's my washi tape organizer and dispenser:

I made a quickie video that takes you through the process.

You can also watch it on You Tube---> HERE

 That's a wrap!
Tootles,
 

Bunny's Got Back II

Hi friends,
I'm back with another Easter card. I had so much fun making my last bunny card, I just had to make another :) This time Bunny returns... with a friend... ;)

I made these bunnies completely out of felt. Their tails are made from the Regal Rose & Rolled Rose Dienamics from MFT. I used the Picot Edge Circle Nesties to create a sun peeking from behind the tree & added wood texture embossing on the tree.

 Here's a closer peek at the bunny bottoms:

Look at those little bunny bottoms jumping into their tree trunk holes! The bunnies were made with circle & oval Nesties. They were so fun & easy to make :)

I used this week's MFT sketch:

 Just in case, here's the previous bunny card I made:

This bunny tail was made with the Loopy Flower Dienamics.
So is this the last you'll see of the bunnies??? That remains to be seen...

I almost forgot! The bunnies will be hopping along to the following challenges:
Crafty Cardmakers: Easter
Hooked on Craft: Easter
Make it Monday: Anything Goes
My Craft Spot: Easter
Paper Sundaes: Easter
Basic Grey Challenges: Easter
Craft Your Days Away: Easter
Mark's Finest Papers: Square card

Thanks so much for peeking today!
Gotta Go!

The 411

Stamps: One sweet chick- MFT

Paper: Aqua Mist, White, Kraft- PTI, Picadilly BasicGrey

Ink: Creamy Brown

Accessories: Rolled Rose, Regal Rose Dienamics-MFT, Picot Edge Circles- SB, Circle, Oval Nesties, felt, Viva Decor Pens, Piercer, White gel pen, Woodgrain Texture Plate- PTI

Pumpkin Fun

Hi friends,
It's that most wonderful time of year once again! Yes... PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE IS BACK AT STARBUCKS!!! Yaaaaay! (that's what you were thinking, right???) Ohhhh, I luv me some PSL- so yummy! Well, it's also Halloween time, which is another of my fav times of the year. It's fun, and best of all, there's loads of chocolate to be found :)
So for my first card of the season, I thought I'd start with a bang...er... make that a POP!

Here's the outside:

 (The binder clip is just to hold the card closed.) This cutie is a digi stamp called Pumpkin Marcy from La La Land Crafts. The pumpkins beside her are from the set Carved & Candlelit from SU.

Here's a closer peek:

Now for the innies:
POP!!!

 It's an XL pumpkin growing in front of that haunted house!

Here's a side peek:

A closer peek:

 You might have noticed it's made from one of my fav dies- the 3D ball. I have definitely gotten my money's worth with this die cuz I've made lots of different things with it :) I added flower soft for the soil & the leaves are a Spellbinders border die (that I picked up on clearance ;) The grass was made with the MS grass die.

Yes, it does fold down flat & all the parts lie flat too :) as the beautiful hand model is showing you...

I'll be adding a sign/sentiment later once I figure out who it's going to! My son's teacher? My grammy??  IDK (as my son will text). Hehehe.

I used Carly's sketch for my card:

I'll also be playing along with the following challenges:

Anything Goes: Die cuts or punches or both
City Crafter: We are going 3D
Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
Crafty Cardmakers: Anything Goes
The Shabby Tea Room: Inspiration Pic- Shabby Autumn
The Pink Elephant: Trick or Treat

That's all for today. Thanks so much for peeking!

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop- May

Hello friends,
Today I'm participating in this month's 

Our challenge this month was to show our fav take on flowers. I've got one of my fav ways to incorporate flowers on my card today!

Here's my card:

 I used my fav PTI flower set (In Bloom) in place of the "O" in the word LOVE cuz I love this stamp :)

Here's a closer peek at that:

Here you can see how I stamped it 3 times & layered different parts of it for dimension. 

I cut out the word on my Cricut using the Mother's Day cart. I added some highlights with my white gel pen & popped it up with foam adhesive.

The fun thing about this is that you can add flowers to replace O's in words like in "YOU" or "SORRY" or "MOM"---> you get the picture! It's such a simple thing to do that adds a touch of whimsy to your card!

Thanks so much for peeking & hopping by!
I'm off to get some fab ideas for flowers, flowers, FLOWERS!!!

The 411

Stamps: In Bloom- PTI
Ink: Fresh Snow- PTI
Paper: Pure Poppy cs, Bitty Dot Basics, white cs
Tools: Heart Lace punches- MS, Cricut & Mother's Day cartridge
Other: Pearls- Kaiser, Viva Decor Pearl Pen, Signo white gel pen

Blog Hop PTI

Hi friends,

Today, I'm participating in PTI's Blog Hop!
The theme: Embroidery floss.
Here's my card:

This card is very CAS for me. I used the floss to create a border around the card front & to create the look of blooms on the leaves. The main image is from the set Turning a New Leaf on Rustic white cs stamped on Simply Chartreuse ink. The edges are distressed with my Tonic distressing tool.
Thanks for peeking today!
Gotta Go!

Lucky Cake

Hi Ya Crafty friends,
What's this...???

Oh that could only mean one thing...

PROJECT TIME!!!

Yes, I thought I would share the gift I made & will be giving my son's teacher for St. Patrick's Day. It's been a while since I had a project for ya, & I wanted to get it out to ya so if you wanted to make one for yourself, you'd have time to do it. This idea has been swirling in my brain since last year, but I have more ideas than I do time, so it had to wait :( sigh...

When you open the box, here's what's inside:

Side view

Aerial shot:

It's a pot of gold that holds 5 yummy Ferrero Rocher chocolates :) mmmmm...

How did I make this pot of gold chocolatey goodness, you ask??? Well, it's actually made using the Sizzix pop-up cake die! Before I show you how I did it, let me give you a few more deets about the finished project.

The box is wrapped with this beautiful ribbon that was in stores in December- yes, that's Christmas ribbon! but it fit perfectly with my project, right? The bottom edge of the lid is punched with the hydrangea punch, but it looks like little 4-leaf clovers when punched in green :)

This was actually quite easy to create because the papers were so beautifully imprinted with glitter. They are from the St. Patrick's Collection from Best Creations & I let them do the heavy lifting of embellishing the box.

I wrapped a sheer ribbon around the pot & made two bows so that it looked like the four leaves of a 4-leaf clover.
Here's a closer peek at that:

Then I simply added a gold button with gold floss to the center. I punched out some shamrocks & tucked them in with the chocolates. Simple, right!?

So here's how I did it:
1) Using the Sizzix cake die (pop-up), assemble the cake as you normally would, except don't adhere the base to anything. Use black cardstock or green if you'd like.
Here's the cake assembled:

2) Now fold over & adhere that little top piece (half-circle) and turn your cake into an upside-down cake. Yes, flip it over!
Voilá! You have a pot!

3) Add Scor-tape to the inside tab (or trim it) & adhere it to what will be the pot bottom.

Now your pot is ready to be filled!

Be sure to use strong adhesive to adhere the pot bottom to your box base before filling it.

Here's the finished project again :)

The ideas have been swirling in my head since making this project! You can turn this into a witch's cauldron for Halloween! I have a couple more ideas & projects that I've made with this die using this concept I can't wait to share with ya. So if this die has been collecting dust, shake off the cobwebs & get ready to play!

What do you think? Hope you liked this simple little project & you give it a go!
You can find the directions for making the box in a previous tutorial---> Here.
Sizzix & Stampin' Up both have video tuts on assembling the cake so I didn't feel I needed to reinvent the wheel, kwim???

Thanks so much for peeking today!
Gotta Go!

The 411

Paper: St. Patrick's- Best Creation Inc, Bazzill cs
Tools: Sizzix Pop-Up Die: 3-tiered cake, Hydrangea border punch- MS, Shamrock punch MS
Other: ribbon, gold button- American Crafts, Scor-tape, gold lame floss

PTI Make it Mondays Challenge

Hi friends,
Papertrey Ink is having lots of contests for their 4th anniversary. One of them is the "Make it Mondays Challenge." There will be a video posted focusing on a technique & a challenge to recreate it yourself.
The first challenge was to create a "Go-to Sentiment card"
Here's my card:

One of the things that draw me to PTI is how they KIS & CAS (Keep it Simple & create Clean and Simple cards). Those 2 are Kryptonite left & right hooks for me~ but I'm always inspired by what they come up with. So in keeping with the PTI tradition, I decided to follow suit for my "Thinking of You" card.
The Deets:
I used 7 stamp sets for my card! This was the first time YOF: Gladiolus saw some ink :) I stamped it with Versamark ink & embossed it with a mixture of clear embossing powder & ultra fine glitter so it's a bit sparkly IRL (I know you can't tell on this pic :(  I masked the portion I was going to leave for the sentiments when I stamped the Gladiolus. I framed the sentiments with a run on my Scor-Pal (another fab Nichole technique). Then I distressed all the edges & finished it up with a few pearls. I have to admit it was quite challenging to try to arrange all the stamps so they would fit around the main sentiment & some are a bit crooked :( grrr. But I liked the technique.

I look forward to more Make it Mondays Challenges! It's always fun to learn new techniques & different ways to use our goodies.
Thanks so much for peeking today!
Gotta Go!

The 411

all products used are PTI unless otherwise specified
Stamps: Year of Flowers: Gladiolus, Limitless Labels, Through the Trees, Holiday Treats, Blooming Button Bits, Tea for Two Additions, Scattered Shower Additions
Paper: Sweet Blush cs, Gray cs- Bazzil
Ink: Versamark, Fresh Snow, Gray
Other: Pearls, clear embossing powder, ultra fine glitter, tonic distressing tool

Paper Bag Cookie Exchange Recipe Book

Hola friends,
Today I wanted to share the paper bag recipe book my friends *might* make at our cookie exchange. I say *might* because they're not crafters ---> not one :( they would rather receive than make crafts. But I really wanted to do something different this year other than just exchange cookies & that's it. I tried to keep the book simple so they wouldn't be intimidated & rather take a crafty leap! Everything is pre-cut so all they have to do is embellish & slap it on the book!

So here it is:

 and the innies:

For this book, i used regular kraft lunch bags and papers from the DCWV Handmade Christmas stack. WOW!!! Do I luuuuv these papers!!! They're rustic but charming & definitely give you that handmade feel. There are a million & one ways to make these easy little books, but this way, you don't need adhesive- just ribbon to hold it together.

Let's start our tour at the beginning:

To get started:
You'll need as many paper bags as you would like in your book. Mine has 4. I used regular lunch bags (super inexpensive) but you can also purchase colored bags (not so inexpensive) at your local craft store. I bought mine at Target where they also have red, white, & blue ones.

Next, fold the bottom edge up towards the far edge so they meet. Do this to all of the bags & layer them on top of each other.

Then I add my paper along the edge where I will bind the book (front & back). I make a mark with my pencil where I will punch my holes. For this book, I will simply use a ribbon to bind my book together, but you can use your Bind-it-All, glue, sewing machine, whatever you'd like.

Then I use my Crop-a-dile to punch the holes through all the bags.

Now just thread your ribbon through & tie a preeeeety bow :)

Here's the back:

I punched my holes fairly close because I wanted as much of the wood paper to show. If you want more of the ribbon to show, punch your holes wider apart. I know the ribbon may seem a little over the top for this kind of book, but I am an over the top kinda girl right???

And you know what's next right????? YES! Stick a fork in it cuz it's done! See? So super easy. Now the rest is the fun stuff- DECORATING!!!

The cover:

 I cut out all the words with the "From my Kitchen" Cricut cart. The cookie tray, cookies, spatula, & oven mitt are all Sizzix dies. The cookies are inked on the edges for that look of a crispy cookie edge. The middles have Stickles (for sugar) and liquid pearls for the icing. I added a mini gingerbread cookie cutter to embellish. PS: the ribbon looks waaaaaaaaaaaay awesome IRL, not like in this pic :(

Here are the innies:

 next...

 Then...

 Those recipe cards are just place holders for the ones I will get from everyone else. The mats are ready for pics of the cookies for each recipe.

You might have noticed that along the edge of the books there are cookies sticking out. Well, those are functional as they are the pulls to get the inner panels out of the bag pocket. They remind me of nilla wafers :) mmmmm... I did have to take a nibble out of the last one ;)

 So my cookie crew will not only take home yummy cookies, but also a complete recipe book I cooked up for them! I'll make crafters out of them yet ;)

If you've never made these type of albums, I hope I have inspired you to try. They're super easy peasy & way fun to make. Perfect for those scrapbookers in training :)

Thanks so much for peeking today. I really appreciate you taking the time to pop in!
Gotta go!