Tutorials

Good morning and happy Friday! I am so glad the weekend is almost here. It's hard getting back into the swing of things after the holidays.

I have a super easy and [hopefully] helpful little tutorial to share with you today. If you're anything like me, then you have a collection of rubber stamps with cling foam backs and no place to store them! Well, I have got an easy and inexpensive solution for you.

All of my unmounted stamps right now are from Unity. So I took the little stamp information sheet that they come with and cut them down to include just the image and name of the stamp. Then I ran them through my brand-spanking-new Xyron 250. [Thank you Santa!]



The next thing you want to do is grab a clear card box. I'm actually recycling the clear boxes that my Papertrey Ink stamps comes in. But if you have to buy them, they average about thirty cents each. Cheap!!

Take your labels and stick them on the front of your clear box in any way you'd like. If you don't have labels for your stamps, you can take a piece of paper and stamp each stamp onto it in black ink, then cut the images out. That way you'll know exactly what's in each box.



The last thing you want to do is put your stamps in the box! The nice thing about this is that the cling foam will actually stick to the box. So you can arrange your stamps in a certain way in the box if you'd like, or just dump them in any order if you're not picky about it.

Now you can put all of your floral stamps in one box, sentiments in another, masculine in another, etc. This way, you can store all of the clear boxes on a shelf or in a basket, which will take up less room. And then just flip through the boxes to find what you need. And since the boxes are all labeled, it's easy and fast to find exactly what you're looking for!

I've been stumped as to how to store these great stamps for a couple months now and am so excited to have finally found something that works for me! I hope this comes in handy for some of you! Have a great weekend.

If you've been coming to my blog for a while, then you know how frugal I am. Given the current economy, I have to be frugal if I want to continue my hobbies!

One of my favorite things is finding different uses for products and tools already in my stash. Or ways to mimic current products on the market that I can't afford.

Today's tutorial will show you just that! One of the latest crazes in the stamping world is Pierceabilities from Spellbinders. If you'd like the look for a lot less, then here's a mini tutorial for you.

See that scalloped pierced border in the card above? I made that with just my paper piercer, a piece of cardstock, and a punch.

First, I used my SU slit punch to create a scalloped border for my card in orange. Most people will throw away the negative scallop created from the punch. But that's the piece you want to save. That will be our piercing template.



Take your negative scallop and line it up along the bottom of your card where you'd like your pierced border to be. Then using your paper piercer, pierce holes along the scalloped edge.

I find it easier to pierce the one hole at the top and bottom of each scallop along the entire length of my card first; then go back and fill in the rest of the holes. That way, you're sure to have an even border.



When you're finished, you'll be left with a gorgeous pierced scallop border! Just think of all of the possibilities!! I'm sure you have some decorative scissors in your stash. Use the scissors to create a template, then pierce along the negative (or positive) end of the cardstock you cut. You can layer two rows of pierced scallops or shapes to create a more elaborate effect. Or flip your template upside down to mimic the effect in the pinking template here.

Just a few tips before I go. Make sure you use heavy-duty quality cardstock. You don't want a flimsy template that will bend on you. I like using PTI cardstock because it's the heaviest around. Second, make sure the template you're using is straight! To ensure a straight cut with decorative scissors, use a ruler to draw a straight line on the back of your cardstock. Then cut along that line with your scissors.

I hope this comes in handy for some of you! I know I will be adding this technique to my cards in the future. Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

My husband asked me the other day to make a card for a friend of ours. He came over last week and helped Mike replace a few boards of wood on our garage. So to thank him, hubby bought a gift card for his favorite coffee spot in town. My job- to make the card of course!

I knew I wanted something the giftcard would slide in and out of. But also something that had a flap like a card. So I just decided to make my own holder!

I whipped up a little tutorial for you all, in case you'd like to try your hand at making one, too. These would be great for holidays and birthdays.



First, you need to start with a sheet of cardstock that is cut to 8" by 10". With the short side at the top, score your cardstock at 2.25" and 5.75". Then, turn your cardstock so the long side is at the top and score at 5".



Next, with the short side at the top, you'll want to remove the two top side pieces. I just used my scissors for this and cut along my score marks. See the photo above if you're unsure which pieces to remove.

The top piece will be our card flap. The bottom section will be our giftcard holder.



Are you with me? Ok, good. Now, following the score lines you made in the first step, fold your giftcard holder. First the giftcard flaps, then the card flap. Be sure to press with your bone folder for crisp edges.



Grab a pen or pencil and your giftcard for this next step. Lay your giftcard down sideways on top of your holder. Mark with your pencil where the giftcard ends. Then, take your adhesive of choice (I like mono multi or double-sided tape) and apply the adhesive on the center section up to the line you made. Then fold your flaps over and press to secure.



Lastly, you'll want to take a circle punch to punch a half-circle into the end of the giftcard side so the giftcard will slide out more easily. And you're finished! When you insert your giftcard into the slot, it will automatically stop where your adhesive is. Now, just decorate your holder.



Onto the deets about my giftcard holder. I knew I needed it to be masculine, so no frilly paper, ribbons, etc. I like the combination of brown and green, which seems manly to me. So I went with that.

I embossed a small strip of white cardstock with my Script embossing folder. Then layered a piece of brown cardstock over that. Followed by a white square I cut out and embossed with my square nestabilities which holds my sentiment.



I finished the card off with three self-adhesive silver dots. Nothing too girly, right? On the inside of my card I adhered a white piece of cardstock for my husband to write his note on. That also helps to cover up the edges of the flaps that were folded over to hold the giftcard.

This fits into a standard 4-bar envelope, which are so easy to find. Not to mention just the right size for a little note!

If you make one, I'd love to see how it turns out. Be sure to come and post a comment with a link so I can check it out!

Gracias Giftcard Holder Recipe:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Gecko, Bazzill Basics Root Beer, Paper Accents white
Stamps: Fiskars Thank You
Accessories: Cuttlebug Script embossing folder, square nestabilities, self-adhesive metallic dots

Isn't that stack of presents from Lockhart just the cutest?!?! I could not resist pairing it with this fun polka dot and striped paper that I found in my stash. I thought it went well with the stripes and polka dots on the packages.

This card is quite different from what I usually create. But I had so much fun with it!

See that little embossed edge around my colored image? Well, that's my mini-tutorial for you all today. I have been saving my pennies for six months now to purchase some nestabilities and I finally saved up enough for a set. However, I was holding off on purchasing a machine until the new Xcalibur came out. When I read on Ellen's blog that the release date was pushed back until 2009 at the earliest, I decided to go ahead and get the new Wizard instead.

In the meantime, I have a set of nestabilities and no machine! I started playing around and discovered I can still emboss with the dies even though my machine isn't here yet! So if you're anything like me and make your purchases completely backwards, or if your machine is broken or waiting to get shipped, then hopefully this will be of some help to you.



The first thing you want to do is take your image and cut it to size. Then select the die closest in size to your image or with the size frame you'd like to emboss onto your cardstock. [Please ignore the fact that my image is already embossed in this photo. I completely forgot to take a before photo!]



Then [And this is so easy you all are going to laugh at me!] flip your image over, center it over your die, and hold in place. Using your embossing stylus, trace lightly around the inside edge of the die. Once you have a basic impression done, go back and trace over the lines a little harder to make the embossing more pronounced. Be sure to go all the way to the ends to make your corners nice and crisp. Be careful not to move your cardstock though!

And that's it! Flip your image over and you're done.



See?? Easy peasy! I love how that simple detail really makes the card.

Now for the card details. The cardstock is PTI Vintage Cream. I can't recall where the decorative paper came from. The ribbon is from Verve when they were still selling ribbon. Isn't it fun how the ribbon matches the decorative paper perfectly?!?! What a happy coincidence.

My image was colored with prisma pencils and blended using baby oil. I took my color inspiration from the decorative paper. The embossed panel is popped up on dimensionals.

I hope some of you will find this useful! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. We have nothing special planned. I'm hoping to do some work in the garden and maybe even take my bike out for a ride.

Well, I either completely stumped you yesterday with my clue and photo, or no one wanted to guess! Either way, I'm back with the photos and tutorial I promised.

I'm going to show you how to make this beautiful, and super easy, earring box.

This is an inexpensive and easy project to make. And it's something you can customize to your room or personality. I think these would even be great as gifts!

Here's your supply list:

unfinished shadow box with hinged door
one piece of cardboard
fabric
ribbon
paint
hot glue gun
stamps & other accessories to embellish the box

Start with your unfinished box. I found mine at AC Moore near the picture frames. These were actually labeled as scrapbook page display boxes. I believe mine was $9.99 and I was able to use a 40% off coupon- so these are very reasonable.

I used acrylic paint to paint the front frame only. You can paint as much or as little of the box as you'd like. I would do this step first so the box has time to dry while you're working on the insert.



While your paint is drying, you need to measure the opening of your box. Mine was roughly 7" by 9". Cut a piece of cardboard (from a box that you're going to recycle because they're sturdier than cereal and other boxes) slightly smaller than your opening. You want it to fit snugly, but you also need to leave a tiny bit of space for your fabric. I cut my insert a quarter of an inch smaller all the way around to allow for this.

Cut your piece of fabric out, allowing an extra two inches to fold over the cardboard. Mine was cut to 9" by 11" since my cardboard was about 7" by 9". Lay the cardboard down on the piece of fabric you have just cut, making sure the right side of the fabric is facing down. Using your hot glue gun, fold the fabric over to the back of the cardboard and secure it with a dot/line of glue. I found it easier to secure the middle section on one side, and then work my way out towards the edges. Make sure to pull your fabric taut during this step.



Once your fabric is secured, you will need to tie the ribbon around the insert which will hold the earrings. I used ivory satin ribbon that was 1/4" thick. You can use wider ribbon if you'd like, but I wouldn't go narrower than that. Tie your ribbon securely around your insert, knotting on the back side. I spaced mine approximately 2" apart from each other to allow for longer earrings. You can customize this based on how long your earrings are.



Once you have finished tying your ribbon, flip the cardboard insert over and make sure your ribbon lines are straight. Secure them in place with a tiny dot of hot glue. I put one in the middle of each strand, and one to each side, centered. This will help keep the ribbon from sagging once your earrings are hung. Be sure to secure the ribbon on the back side of the insert with hot glue as well.



I wanted to jazz up my insert just a tiny bit. So using my Simple Alphabet set from PTI I stamped the word bling across the bottom in Palette noir ink. I like to do this step after the fabric and ribbon are attached to the cardboard, because it can shift during each step. This way, I knew my words would be straight.



Now, with any luck, the paint should be dry. This is the fun part! You get to embellish your box any way you'd like. I wanted the focus to be on the earrings inside the box, so I just did some simple stamping on the frame in some Palette Boudior Blush ink. You can stamp on your frame, cover it in paper, decorate with stickers/glitter/paper flowers. Get creative!



Once you're finished embellishing your box, you're ready to put the insert in. Slide it in, and if it's a little tight, gently push it in being careful not to bend the cardboard. Then, just add your earrings and you're finished!



I'd love to see photos if you make one. Be sure to link back to me so I can see them!

Have a wonderful weekend. We're hoping for warmer temperatures and sunshine. I have quite a bit of work to do in the garden, since I wasn't able to work outside at all this week. It's a good thing we have Monday off, I might actually be able to finish everything on my to-do list!

Welcome, to those of you surfing as part of the PTI Blog Hop.

Tonight, I'm going to show you how to make this monogrammed towel using ribbon. These are wonderful as gifts, especially for a new bride and groom.



The first thing you need to do is cut a length of ribbon one inch wider than your towel. Then, using Palette ink, stamp your monogram onto the center of the ribbon.

I used the Ambassador Monogram stamp set from PTI for mine. I also added some flourishes from the new set Boxes Bags & Tags.



After you've finished stamping on the ribbon, get out your trusty iron and heat set it. Be sure to iron the whole ribbon to get any wrinkles out, too.



Next, decide where you'd like the ribbon placed and pin your ribbon to the towel. I wanted mine near the bottom, so that's where it got pinned. Be careful to center the monogram on the towel. [Excuse these blurry photos. They were the best I could do with one hand.]



For the ends of the ribbon, you can either tuck them underneath on the front, or you can let the ribbon run to the backside of your towel. I like to tuck mine, so just tuck the ends underneath and pin them in place.



Once the ribbon is pinned securely, take it over to your sewing machine and begin sewing carefully around the edges. Go slow to ensure you sew in a straight line.

Trim your threads when you're done sewing. Then sit back, and admire your work!



You can also make custom his and hers towels this way- so cute for a newly wedded couple. Switch the ribbon up for a completely different look. I used silk, which is hard to photograph because of the shine. Twill would look wonderful as well.

Thanks for stopping by! If you liked my project, please cast your vote in the blog hop forum at PTI.