Monthly Project Swap: ABAC 2

Well, my bottle etching didn’t go so hot, but I was ready to try another of the Anything But a Card kits from my monthly swap on SplitCoast Stampers.

Sonja sent a “long and skinny” kit, which was a very interesting theme and some very interesting projects!

At her suggestion, I made this bookmark holder tag. The tag was pre-stamped with the feather images and I used the distress crayons she sent to pretty them up. I have never used Distress Crayons and it was interesting! The control is not as good as my markers, but I did find that they leave a bold color behind.

And, the second project I did from her box is this long and skinny notepad. Sonja made the notepad to send. I used a variety of things from my craft room to finish the look. The background pieces came from my last Baker’s Dozen card swap partner, the feathers and border die from this kit, the vellum from a saleabration selection and the flowers from an old card kit!

I love notepads and I love to USE them, so I wanted this relatively flat so that I could flip the top open.

Thanks for an intriguing kit, Sonja! Thank you.

 

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Monthly Project Swap: ABAC

I’m pretty sure I posted WAAAAY back in January that I had joined a monthly project swap at SCS I joined two groups, Techniques and Anything But  A Card.

Sonja sent us a terrific January technique kit, using Brushos. And, Sue sent us a terrific ABAC kit using etching, which I was super stoked to try out.

Unfortunately….it didn’t work for me. I have no idea why!! Sue warned us it might be light, but there is NO evidence of any etching having occurred….and I did it twice!

Plus, the etching shape I initially chose I only had one of, and I started my matching tag. So, when it didn’t work, I was faced with altering my tag design or…..having it mismatched. I decided to go ahead and re-etch and THEN figure out the tag, just in case.

The etching didn’t work a second time, so I went back to my original theme, coffee! I used an extra background from Sonja’s brushos kit to cut the circle for the tag, then I embossed some coffee beans from the Coffee Cup stamp from Prickley Pear.

In the list of other things that didn’t go right this time, I wanted to fill my jar with coffee beans. But, I thought I had a bag of unused beans in the cupboard and when I went to dig it out, it was grounds….not as impressive, in my opinion, but it will do for the photo!

Thanks Sue, for the great idea! I can’t believe that jar shipped so well!

 

 

Riley New Release Day 5

Last Day of the Riley & Company New Release!!

Even if these gorgeous new release options don’t float your boat, you can still get free shipping on your order over $15, so get over there and find the stamps you’ve been eyeballing for awhile!

And, if you can’t resist those Dress Up Riley’s, then check out the bundle package with the three new Dress Up Riley sets, matching dies, a bonus t-shirt die and free shipping, for the low, low price of $90.00.

Today is the last day of release projects here on my blog and I’ve got a mini album project for you today.

Here is the top of my fantastic box. I’ve used the new Corner Goo Die and the I Am Halloween sentiment. I also grabbed the adorable spider from the Halloween Outfits set for some added fun.

The box opens flat and the bottom panels fall for easy access to the binder style mini album.

The idea I had for this book was to feature Halloween costumes “through the years”. But, I didn’t have enough personal pictures to fill it up and grabbing pictures of random children off the internet seemed weird, so I went with pets instead!

Each page has been decorated with different elements of the Dress Up Riley Halloween Outfits set, cut out with the matching dies. Oh man! This new set is so adorable!!

The lid has a strip glued in that allows me to pop two photo cards into it. Here, you can see the back of my “beast” bard.

And, the back has this little envelope to store whatever might need storing!

I hope you enjoyed my project today.

Check out all the great new stamps in the New Release section of the website. And, since there’s free shipping anyway, you might as well grab one extra for your basket.

Thanks for being here this week!

Vacation Mini Album with Riley & Company

Hello All!! The Riley & Company blog feature a regular Designer Highlight, rotating between the talented members of the Riley & Company Design Team.

Well, it’s my turn to share a Designer Highlight and I chose to make this adorable mini album.

 

I did a class in March at one of my local scrapbook stores for this album design. The pages flip out, creating extra vertical pop-up space. I thought the design was pretty cool, but I also loved the opportunity to pull out my favorite Rileys and decorate away! The front cover features Travel Trunk Riley.

When you open that front cover, you find this. The green pages are the left and right side of the “album”, while the orange and patterned pieces are the vertical pop-out. On this page, I also included a flip up, which features Balloons Riley.

The Riley stamp on the left page is Window Riley, while various stamps in the Travel Sticker Stamps set.

Page 2 features Hammock Riley (one of my very first purchases!) and more travel stickers.

The right side flips out this time and Floating Riley is hiding underneath.

To better envision how this album is put together, here it is expanded. You can see page 1 on the left and page 2 on the right…see that hinge hiding underneath? Turn the book around and you’ll find page 3.

Page 3 is the backside of the book and operates the same way. Here I’ve included BBQ Riley and Under the Tree Riley. No flip up or outs here, but I have left some un-adhered space under the images so that I can slide a card or insert underneath.

Hope you enjoyed my project today! Check out the Riley and Company blog for more fun and find all these adorable moose in the store.

Thanks for stopping by!

Riley & Company – May 2017 Release Day 5

It’s a bittersweet day. Friday…yay! It’s the end of the week and the weather around here has been fantastic! But, it’s also Day 5 of the Riley & Company New Release, so our week of celebration is coming to an end.

I have two final projects for your today, both using new Funny Bones sentiments.

This first one is called Bags and Shoes. I love the colors in this project! It’s been paired with Shopping Bag Sophie. I embossed the sentiment in white to give it some extra pop against that background.

The second sentiment is called Get Up, Get Coffee and I’ve done an easel desk calendar. This is the front side, which I’ve stamped in white ink on chalkboard paper and embellished with flags and stars.

Turn it around and here is the back side. I plan to put this on my desk at work, since I often start my day with a coffee.

Today is the last day to catch the free shipping special (domestic only) with any order over $20. Head on over to the Riley & Company store and check out your favorites.

My personal favorites this week? The Nesting Dies bundle for only $41 – you get the circles, ovals and squares! I also like the new No One is You sentiment that I used yesterday and the Zombie Apocalypse stamp that I used on Monday’s post.

I didn’t use them in my projects this week, but you’ll also want to check out the new accessories set for the Dress Up Rileys. Both Summer Fun Accessories and Sports Accessories are now available.

If you’re experiencing New Release withdrawal, then head on back to my blog starting Monday. Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps will have their May 2017 release next week, so swing by and join in the fun again!

See you again!

TCCCB – Recycle Something

Hello! 2017 marches onward and now we’re ready to commence the 2nd month of the year. That means, of course, that it’s time for a new challenge with The Crafter’s Cafe Challenge Blog!

Twice a month we roll out fantastic challenges for your to play along with and we work with great sponsors so you get to see art from a wide variety of talented artists.

Our challenge this fortnight is Recycle Something. Anything at all, so get on your thinking caps. If you need ideas, check out the challenge blog, because the Design Team has made some awesome projects for this challenge!

The sponsor I’m working with this time is Dr. Digi. This is a new sponsor for me, so I had fun checking out their inventory of great digital stamps. I settled on “Green Fingers and Thumbs”. Now, what to make with it?

I saw a project posted online a couple weeks ago where someone used an empty Valentine chocolate box to put seeds in. What a cool idea! So, Green Fingers and Thumbs and my empty chocolate box set to work making a unique valentine gift.

Isn’t this image adorable? Here is the inside of the box. I realized at the last minute that I didn’t have a stash of seeds on hand, so I occupied my kids for 10 minutes by making them sort bean soup. They had fun, I have a “model” for my box.

What do you think of my sentiment?

I hope you liked today’s project, because it was quite a bit of fun to make it for you. If you have time, come play along with us! You can link up your entry over at The Crafter’s Cafe Challenge Blog from now through the 15th of the month. Come and check us out!

Prickley Pear January New Release, Day 2

It’s New Release week over at Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps and they’ve got some fantastic new crafty options for you.

I had a blast playing with the new Valentine Cupcake and Love Banner set. Both are clear cling sets and are available as one of the New Release specials, along with the Spring/Easter Banner set. Check out Sales Special #5.

I wanted to come up with something unique to make with these sets and I was inspired by the “Save the Date” sentiment in the Love Banner set. I came up with the idea of throwing my two little Valentine’s a special tea.

First, the invites. I took a 6″ x  5″ piece of cardstock and backed it with some pretty Valentine paper. I used my computer to print out the “Mommy and Me” invite portion and cut it into a circle. The banner, love birds and Save the Date come from the Love Banner set.

No tea is complete without cupcakes, so I also included a cupcake from the new Valentine Cupcake set. The tea cup comes from the Coffee Cup Die set (one of my favorites) and I’ve added a little decoration from the Love Banner set.

The cupcakes make a repeat appearance on my placecards. Here, I didn’t want them all to look the same, so I added some variety. Claire’s a pink/purple girl, while Nathan would stick to the blue/green options. These were quick and easy and look FABULOUS!

Next up, treats for my little Valentine’s. I found this heart box in my silhouette library.  It was so easy to put together and makes a sturdy little gift box for a few chocolate treats. I stamped the heart banner from the Love Banner set onto pink patterned paper and colored it up. Then, added a second banner with the Be Mine sentiment.

Here’s a closer look at the windows and the banners on those cute boxes.

Here is the complete package! All I need is a tea pot and two little guests. Hope they accept my invite!

I hope you enjoyed today’s project. I sure had fun making it! Head on over to the Prickley Pear blog or the Facebook page to check out more great creations from the Design Team. Here are the release week specials, including free domestic US shipping.

I’ll be back on tomorrow with two of my favorite new red rubber releases from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. See you then!