Celebrate Today!

Who doesn't love balloons?

Um....me. 

Ok, I love the idea of balloons. They are so cheerful, cute, and whimsical. But honestly, they creep me out. They float around on their own, they are at every store check stand so my kids would always beg for them, and they EXPLODE! Nope, I will take a clown over a ballon any day. 

But the Celebrate Today stamp set has me rethinking my distaste. These little balloons do none of the things I dislike about their full size, 3D counterparts. So that just makes them cheerful, cute and whimsical!

And when you swap out the string for a basket, a whole new image of adventure comes to mind. That makes this set so versatile. It goes way beyond birthday and kids to more grown up celebrations like weddings and travel. Here are a few items I came up with using this set. 

These next two used the Irresistably Yours paper from the 2015 Sale-A-Bration catalog. I just stamped the balloon on the resist paper, wiped off the excess ink, and used the Ballons framelits to cut out multiple (4 to 6 depending on a full or half circle balloon) balloons to glue together to make the 3D effect. 

Now these are balloons for everyone to love!

Is it Spring Yet?

With two late snow storms in Virginia, we are so over winter. The only upside to bad weather, is that it is an excellent excuse to stay inside and create something beautiful. So as the last storm waned and the forcast promised warmer days ahead, I have decided winter is officially over!

Maybe that's why I've got spring on my mind as I'm stamping. I found this darling little card on Pinterest, designed by Cindy Schuster,   one of the amazing artists on the 2014-2015 Stampin' Up! Artisan design Team. 

Two reasons stamping is such a great creative option for everyone, is first that the stamps do all of the hard work for you. Yes, you just ink it up, press it down and voila, you have a work of art. The second reason is that the community of crafters encourage what we call "CASEing". This stands for Copy And Share Everything, but means you don't have to stare at a stamp for long periods of time for inspiration to decide what to do with it. Nope, just Google it, check out some blogs, or search on Pinterest, and BOOM, dozens of beautiful ideas to copy and share. 

I will admit that some of the fun and challenge is trying to recreate from just a photo, because there are not always detailed instructions, but once in awhile there are. This is one of those times. I am adding some instructions to help you recreate this beauty. 

Start with a 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" whisper white card base. Score and fold it in half at 4 1/4". Then add a 5 1/4" by 4" piece of patterned paper. Stamp and use framelits to cut your garden picks. Use the Berry Basket Bigz L die to cut a basket. Trim it 3" from one edge, nudge it over a bit and score at 2 3/4". This will give your basket a "lip" to adhere it to the card front. Trim the scalloped edge trim to 3 3/4" and adhere to the basket front. Adhere the bottom of the basket to the card front, as shown in this photo. 

 

Snip a Stampin' dimensional in half and place each piece as close to the two outside edges of the scalloped basket trim as possible. This will be important as you are trying to slide in the seed packet. Wrap a doily around your seed packet and tie with twine. Slide the seed packet in the basket and there it is. A great little card to share with someone longing for a little taste of Spring.

Of course, you are going to need some baskets for Easter, or for some sweet summer treats. Keep that Berry Basket Bigz die nearby for quick and easy projects. 

February Paper Pumpkin

Oh, the February Paper Pumpkin is so sunny and bright! Just the thing to help get me out of the winter doldrums.

These little background stamps are great. I love the geometric designs. It's great to have a stash of backgrounds to use on other projects. These monthly kits sure do help build up your collection of stamps and ink spots, so you can make a card in a snap of the need arises. 

So the pre-designed card is a great accordion card that comes in a box. This is almost a gift in itself. And it is so pretty and cheerful. I can just imagine it sitting on the desk of a colleague that has gone above and beyond on a project at work. I love that the Paper Pumpkin designs are so pretty, but also so very easy to recreate. 

As I was assembling this little beauty, it hit me...I had an idea! Ok, so first I have to point out that this almost never happens. I am not a "creative" person. I know, that sounds silly, but it is true. I have always admired people who can gain design inspiration from everyday things. My daughter is like that. I am not. 

What I can do is re-create things. I can see something, and copy it like nobody's business. And I follow directions like a champ. So Paper Pumpkin is great, because I can see the picture, read the directions, assemble the parts, and before I know it, I have made something awesome. 

So you can imagine my excitement when inspiration hit! My own creative thought! It's a big deal. Here's how it went down. As I was folding the accordion paper, I thought, "what if I cut this apart into little note cards?" Ok, so maybe that doesn't sound like the revolutionary idea I have built it up to be, but I was excited. 

What a happy coincidence that the acordian card has eight sections. That is perfect for four little cards...and there are four backgrounds...hmm, maybe the designer of the kit had the same idea. That's ok, I'm still calling it my creative moment. I cut and stamped the cards, which then needed envelopes. I grabbed some DSP, and the envelope punch board. 

To make the envelope I cut a 5 1/2" square. Then using the envelope punch board, I lined up the first side at 2 3/8", punched and scored. Turned the paper and punched and scored the next side at 3 1/8". Then the next side at 2 3/8" and the last side at 3 1/8". Then I assembled each envelope.

I assembled the box and voila, a little gift for someone who needs to have some small thank you notes on hand. Maybe a new Mom, or a someone recovering from an illness whose friends and family helped out.  

Want to get in on the Paper Pumpkin fun and have your own creative escape delivered to your door every month? You can sign up online here: https://mypaperpumpkin.com/?demoid=2128639. It's only $19.99 per month. That's it, no extra fees, even the shipping is included. You can even buy three, six, or twelve months in advance and save a little more. Pre-paid subscriptions also make a great gift. Subscribers can join my exclusive Paper Pumpkin Facebook group, where we will share our own creations and inspire others with our designs. Can't wait to see (and copy) all those great ideas.