JUST 6 DAYS LEFT!  Earn a free Sale-A-Bration gift for EVERY $50 you spend on Stampin' Up! products.  Items from the on-line clearance rack can be included in your on-line order and count toward your total!  Spend $150 or more and you'll earn Sale-A-Bration gifts AND  Hostess Benefits, too!   Qualifying totals exclude shipping and tax.  Ends March 31.

To view the full sale-a-bration catalog, click the link on the right, or contact me directly to participate in a group order!

Upcycling at it's finest!

So this all started with a pinterest idea, and "lost paper guilt".  I've been trying to find a good system for the mountains of paper clutter that come into my home every day, and in the process, failed to fill out an important permission slip for my daughter.  Nothing like a little Bad Mommy shame to spark your creativity, huh?

My "To do"box started as an empty Cheerios box.  I cut off the top, and cut across the front right below the Cheerios logo. I made diagonal cuts from the back to the newly cut front edge.

Inklings Tips:

~ I covered the Cheerios box using 2 12x12 sheets of paper from Berry Blossoms DSP.  I used a shameless combination of adhesives: Elmer's glue, Scrapbooker's spray adhesive, Stampin' Up! snail adhesive & a few pieces of packing tape :) The key is to make sure that the front & at least one side have no seams.  Trial and error.

~ I used the Top Note die and some vanilla paper to make the "label."  I ran it through the Big Shot a second time and used the textured impressions embossing folder to give it dimension.  The letters were made with Wisteria Wonder cardstock and my Big Shot sizzix dies.

 

~ The smaller, flat flower & leaf embellishments are cut from another design sheet of the Berry Blossoms DSP, and adhered with snail adhesive. 

 

~ The Smaller 3D flower is made with using the 1 3/4 scallop circle punch, a cut image from the berry blossoms stamp set, and held together with a Lucky Limeade brad. 

 

 The tutorial for the flowers can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM8h3V952cQ

 

Here's a closer look at the embellishments:

 

 

 

 

~ For the large 3D Flower, I made an accordian fold flower with 2 1 1/2 inch strips of Berry Blossom DSP glued together. I finished the center with a stamped image from the Berry Blossoms set, and a button from the Neutrals collection. 

The accordian tutorial can be found Here: http://youtu.be/yaaMk4gWxug

Stamp Sets:

Fruit & Flowers (122607)

Paper:

~ Berry Blossoms DSP

~Early Espresso,  Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder & Very Vanilla (101650) cardstock

 

Ink:

~Early Espresso Stamp Pad

~2011-2013 Stampin' Write Markers pack 

Embellishments:

~ Printed In Color 1022 Designer Brads

 

~ Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine

 

~Designer Buttons, Neutrals collection

 

Extras:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (113439)

Top Note Sizzix Die

Timeless Tipe Alphabet Junior Sizzlets Dies

Textured Impressions Embossing folders ~ Elegant lines

 

 

 

 

And here's a final look at the project, complete with a permission slip that needs to be signed :)

A Little Birthday Love... From Elmo!

My Favorite nephew turned 1 last weekend!!! Here's a cute card that I made to send with his gift:

Inklings Tips:

~ Using Stampin' Up! punches to make an Elmo head is cute, but I can't take credit for it... this idea has been around for awhile! I cased it from several different websites/ blogs, so I'm not sure who the original artist is. However, THIS is how you do it:  The "head" is the 1 3/4 inch scallop circle punch.  The black "mouth" is the 1 inch circle punch cut in half.  The whites of the eyes are the 1/2 inch circle punch, and the centers are the circle punch from the Punch Pack set.  I used the word window punch to make the nose, and then my paper snips to cut the top off in a triangle, to fit in between the eyes.  Assemble it with some snail adhesive, and there you go! Your very own elmo head

~ I ran the Lucky Limeade background through the big shot using the vintage wallpaper embossing folder, and then ran the top note die through to form the 2nd layer.  I used real red ink ands the 1 from Calendar alphabet & numbers to stamp the background. The sentiment is from the "Look Who's Turning" stamp set.

 

~ Last, I used a piece of old, scrap designer paper and adhered it to a "1" from my Chipboard Timeless Type Alphabet. I cut the paper to fit, and then adhered the 1 to my card. 

Stamp Sets:

Calendar Alphabet & Numbers (111610)

Look Who's Turning...(114403)

Paper:

~Lucky Limeade (122926), Whisper White (100730), Basic Black (121045), Real Red (102482) & Tangerine Tango (111349) cardstock.

Ink:

~Real Red Stamp Pad (103133)

~Basic Black Stamp pad (102283)

Punches:

~ 1 3/4" Scallop Punch (119854)

~ 1" Circle Punch (119868)

~ 1/2" Circle Punch (119869)

~ Punch Pack (118309)

 ~ Word Window Punch (119857)



Extras:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (113439)

Timeless Type Chipboard Alphabet (112083)

Top Note Big Shot Bigz die (113463)

Textured Impressions Embossing folder ~ Vintage Wallpaper (120175)

 Happy Birthday, Lucas!! 

Love, Aunt Becca & Elmo.

A Little Love for my Little Boys ♥

So Honestly, at first sight I really thought that this Gnome stamp set from the Occasions Mini was pretty useless.  Enter stage left:  My boy's love & fascination with the movie "Gnomeo & Juliet". It got me thinking...this bearded little Gnome, with a little creativity, could look just like his "Favorite bad guy", Tybalt!  Bam! A perfect Valentine's card was born!

 

 

I'm a little bit proud of myself here... check out my creativity making that awesome garden fence out of the "Stripes" Embossing folder :)

 

 

 

Keeping in mind that most people have no need to create a gnome version of Tybalt, here's a similar card that I made using this set:

 

I made this Valentine for my cute, happy little God Son :)

 

Inklings Tips:

~ I adhered the So Saffron pattern DSP to the cardstock and ran the Early Espresso paper through the bigshot with the Stripes embossing folder.  I used a border sticker from  Nursery Suite quick cuts for a seamless transition. 

 

~ I used the heart stamp & a versamark pad to create a background on the Bashful Blue CS. I then stamped my image, cut it out and mounted it on early espresso.  I used Stampin' Write markers to color the baby Gnome.  

~ For the heart balloon, I stamped the sentiment and them used the Full Heart punch to cut it out.  I sponged around the edges of the heart, popped it up on stampin' dimensionals, and used some adhesive & hemp twine to attach it to the baby Gnome's hand.  The "sweetheart" sticker is from the Nursery Suite quick cuts as well. 

 

Stamp Sets:

~Gnome Sweet Gnome (126537)

~ The background heart is from Itty Bitty Bits (120060)

~The sentiment is from the "Valentine's Day set, which retired.

 

Paper:

~Early Espresso (119686), Bashful Blue (125120), & Whisper White (100730) cardstock

~ DSP Subtles Collection Patterns Stack (117152)

Ink:

~Early Espresso Stamp Pad (19670)

~Versamark Stamp pad (102283)
~Bashful Blue (105111) & So Saffron (105114) Stampin' Write Markers


Embellishments:

 

~ Linen Thread (104199)

~Nursery Suite Quick cut Accents. No longer available, but in case you want to search, here's what they look like:

Extras:

~Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (113439)

~Full Heart Punch (119883)
~Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)
~Textured Impressions Embossing folder ~ Stripes (123128)

 Gnomes aren't really my thing, but I'm glad I was able to make it work:).

Happy Birthday... with Elegance, my dear Watson.

Elementary Elegance is my Favorite FAVORITE stamp set in the Sale-a-Bration catalog this year... it's stunning!! This card (well, a variation of this card) was my swap card for our "Creative to the Core" Demo Camp last Tuesday.

Inklings Tips:

~ The hardest thing about this card was figuring out the right order!  First I ran the Limeade cardstock through the bigshot with the embossing folder, and then centered and adhered the white image from the top note die. 

~ I scallop punched the bottom edge of the pool party cardstock and then very carefully centered and stamped the brown image.  Next, I used the curly label punch to cut out the center. I centered the pool party sheet onto the white, and before adhering it, I stamped the happy birthday image in the center window.

~ Last, I used my versamark pad to add some subtle detail to the pool party, and then popped the sheet up on some stampin' Dimensionals.  

The variation I used for demo camp had some embossing as well...

Stamp Sets:

Elementary Elegance (125122) SAB

The bottom versamark image is from the "Bliss" set... last year's Sale-a-bration.

Paper:

~Lucky Limeade (122926), Pool Party (122924), & Whisper White (100730) cardstock

Ink:

Early Espresso Stamp Pad (19670)

Versamark Stamp pad (102283)

Extras:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (113439)

Curly Label Punch (119851)

Top Note Big Shot Bigz die (113463)

Textured Impressions Embossing folder ~ Vintage Wallpaper (120175)

 I LOVE this set!~  I keep making different variations of this card to save for my spring birthdays. It's very, uh, elegant.