Last day of Carousel Notes...for now...

Alright, I have one last project to share with you (for now until I think of something else really cool). This project is one that a fellow demo came up with & I think it's absolutely ingenious! Janine Tinklenburg designed this purse...take a peek!

At first glance, it just looks like a decorative purse, but open it up, and...

It turns into a mini scrapbook! Look a little closer...

...and it even has pockets for more room to place photos & journaling! This is one cool "card" to give someone! I still have to dress mine up a bit, but you can see it's going to be quick & easy to fill!

Carousel Notes, take three!

Here's a nice change-up of the old tried-and-true bagalope. I used both the Carousel Note along with its envelope for this fun gift package.

To make the basic package, just seal the envelope and score three sides at 1/2". The cut off the remaining side. Fold the scored sides VERY well & when you open the envelope, it becomes a bag. You can, of course, modify how far in you score your envelope to make it a fatter, shorter bag or a taller, thinner bag.

My topper is the notecard. I scored it twice. I found the middle scallop & scored it on either side (from valley to valley, if that helps). When I stuck it on the top of the bagalope, I realized that the middle scallop hung off & looked like those humongous shoulder pads everyone wore in the 80's, so I cut off the ends. I Crop-a-diled a pair of jumbo eyelets into the top & tied some Chocolate Chip satin ribbon (Theater Originals ribbon assortment, if you're looking) through the holes, and voila! I was done! ...with a little simple stamping thrown in using my beloved Live Your Dreams set... :O)

Carousel Notes...another idea!

Here's another fun Carousel Note project for you:

I had to use two of the Carousel Notes to create this hinged card, but it was another super easy creation! I used the Afternoon Tea designer paper again along with the Live Your Dream set and the Chocolate Chip twill tape from the mini. This time, I added a punched image using my scallop circle punch to mirror the Carousel Note's design. To attach the front and back of the card together, I used some of my fabulous Mono Multi & wrapped the twill tape around where I'd made my score line so that I covered the line. Easy-peasy! Enjoy!

Less than one week left of the mini catalog!

In honor of the soon-to-be-expired mini catalog, I am going to be posting some fun projects using the Carousel notes from the mini catalog. It took me awhile to get them and then some more time to mess around with them...don't forget I was busy having a baby during this mini catalog, so I get a little leeway!

I have found that I REALLY like these! At first, I had no clue what to do with something so different from every other precut card I'd ever used, but once you start, the possibilities just keep presenting themselves! This card is something fairly simple without adding too much to the original card.

I used my Afternoon Tea designer paper along with the Live Your Dream set from the mini in addition to the Chocolate Chip twill tape...also from the mini...for the basic card. I really wanted to work in the "thanks" from the stamp set for my greeting, so I used my designer label punch through the Whisper White layer of cardstock, layered it over the Chocolate Chip cardstock, attached the silver hodgepodge frame (from the mini catalog!), and stamped "thanks" through the hole in white ink. I also decided to jazz up the scalloped edge by dry embossing using my Crop-a-dile. Then I sponged *everything* because after glitter and ribbon, a girl's best friend is an inky Chocolate Chip sponge! I swear that color goes with everything under the sun!

The final step? Address the lovely Chocolate Chip envelope & mail this puppy off to a friend! Yes, I actually sent this off already...I'm widely noted for taking forever to mail things out. I hate taking all the kids to the post office... :O( Plus, I'm just a procrastinator...I still have one last thank you card from Lucy's birthday *last* year to mail out. Yeah, her next birthday is in three weeks...oops!

Decor Elements

Decor Elements are coming soon!

More and more people are using Stampin’ Up!’s® rubber stamps and accessories to customize their home. Because of this demand, Stampin’ Up! is now offering additional coordinating home décor products for making customized personal space easy, cost effective and flexible.

Stampin’ Up! is adding a new product to the Definitely Decorative® product line by introducing wall graphics, expressions, and lettering. The new product, Décor Elements™, will be available July 2008.
Enjoy creating a complete space that reflects your style and expresses who you are.

I can't post the brochure on my site because of copyright issues, but if you want a copy, email me a request. I can send it to your email address!

Card Samples

Here's an oldie but goodie technique! I love my Pearl Ex powders and was so sad when Stampin' Up discontinued them...it's one product that I can't even begin to imagine getting rid of from my personal stash! So, anyway...I embossed this flower in black onto the black cardstock. Then I colored the flower image using my Aquapainter filled with Future floorwax. All you have to do is dip that (or a regular paintbrush dipped in floor wax) into the Pearl Ex jar & the wax will "melt" the powder to make it paintable...and *very* shiny!
Here's a card I did for a swap awhile back. I LOVE Groovy Guava! I really didn't think I liked Blush Blossom, but when it meets up with Groovy Guava, even Blush Blossom becomes beautiful! I stamped the peony from the Pretty Peony set in Blush Blossom and then the detail stamp in Groovy Guava onto Whisper White. I then used my Marvy mega oval punch and giga oval scalloped punch to cut and layer my focal point. The rest is just layering the same colors and stamping a greeting in guava to finish it. Super easy & a great layout for many other cards! For added effect, I stuck it to a small birthday present that I wrapped in the Groovy Guava 12X12 background paper...voila! Matching card & package!
Here's another easy & quick card with a layout that is so duplicatable! If you were in a hurry, you could omit the scalloped edges made with the corner rounder. Notice the Groovy Guava double-stitched grosgrain ribbon...I'm having a guava phase!
Here's a card that I made for my mom (I know I still haven't sent it, Mom! Call this a preview?). It uses some discontinued papers from the Porcelain Prints assortment & my fun stylized silver hodgepodge hardware! Oh how I love that stuff! I punched using the designer label punch on the background paper & then layered it onto the Certainly Celery. Stamp the greetings & use the brads to stick the frame onto the front!
Here's the inside of the card. It has two pockets so that I can fill them up with photos of my three adorable children!

Henry's Baptism

Henry was baptized on May 17 (yeah, I'm slow...) by Father Denis at St. Dominic's in Benicia. It was a sweltering day, so most of us were fairly informal in our dress so that we didn't melt before Henry could be baptized.



Here's Lucy! She spent most of the baptism making noise & trying to explore the church. I had to actually retrieve her once in the middle of it all...definitely it was too hot, in her mind, to be sitting still! Here we all are. Henry's godmother is my good friend and stamping buddy(!) Cheryl and his godfather is Gene's good buddy Augie (Thomas, really).
I'll try to post some more good photos later of some of the other fun things we've been up to lately!