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Toward the end of May I was asked to facilitate a women's retreat drawn from the material in a book I have referenced before, 1,ooo Gifts: A Dare To Life Life Fully Right Where You Are. There were several activities, but of course there had to be stamping! And it needed to reinforce the theme of the book, which is the essential practice of giving thanks, of learning to see all the good gifts around us from a great God. These little notepads were perfect, requiring just some scraps of patterned paper and a button, but with several different options for assembly.
These little jewels are just right for slipping in your purse or pocket, and can be used for many types of lists. Make up a stash of them to have on hand for yourself or for giving friends. The notepads are available via internet from Papertrey Ink. -Kathy
Here's a peep at a card that my youngest daughter made for her very best friend's birthday. It's a pop-up, so the figures stand out from the background when the card is opened, but fall on their faces when it's closed. The bunnies crack me up! In case you wondered, the figures do look like the girls they represent, and it's all original art. Good job, Ginny! -Kathy
I've been cleaning out the bulging paper scrap packets in the studio lately - those of you who know me well know what a painful process this is for me. I had decided I was going to be really hard on myself, and throw away those fistfuls of half-inch strips that somehow accumulate... and of course immediately I needed a bunch of them and they weren't there!! So I decided instead that I would collect ideas that specifically use those half-inch scraps. And, I thought I'd share the results with you. I'll post something on this theme every couple of weeks for awhile, until I feel satisfied that I've accumulated the majority of good ideas in one place. From this point on, you can find them all together by clicking on "Stripz" in the sidebar.
I'm going to begin by revisiting a card I made using 1" strips of DSP as the background, because it also features the star punch which is retiring June 30th. I like the fact that this card can be used for Independence Day or simply as a nautical theme for a guy or kid birthday... or anyone who enjoys sailing or is a Veteran. I've made the sentiment general, too - on the small star beneath the word "celebrate" it's just possible to pick out the word "YOU".
Simply collect together a fistful of likely-looking strips. Sponge the leading edges (in this example I used Night of Navy to sponge red and white patterned papers). Cut a piece from a scrap of card stock slightly smaller than your card base. Glue all your strips onto this piece, overlapping slightly and allowing them to hang over the edges. When it's covered, flip it over and use the edges of the CS to trim against. Ta da! An interesting background that uses up loads of those little strips. -Kathy
Monique and I fell hard for this nautical paper in the SU! Summer Mini catalog, but she beat me to the draw in making it into a fabulous card! Note the baker's twine, which is all cotton so it easily ties and holds a knot or bow... and you could dye it if you wanted.
The summer mini is in effect through the end of August, and many delightful products will become unavailable when it expires, so take a look if you haven't yet (there's a handy-dandy link to the left).
See you on the high seas... Kathy (for Monique)
I wanted to share with you some wonderful swaps I received at a demonstrator meeting last week. The challenge was for each of us to make a luminary, and we could interpret the details from there. As usual, this creative group of ladies came up with loads of lovely ideas, as you can see above. Amazing what you can do with a little paper, vellum, and ink! I'm sure I don't need to say this, but I will: these are not designed for use with open flames! We had the little battery-operated LED tealights, and they even flicker.
Mine is the green one shaped like a rocket ship. It's made from three 4" squares of card stock, each scored once on the diagonal, then folded and glued. I got the idea from http://stephaniejomayne.blogspot.com/2009/05/pyramid-card-tutorial.html
Just be sure if you're overlapping two layers, that you punch your holes before you glue them together - punches don't like to go through two layers at once! I made a quick little template from scrap cardboard to ensure that I'd get the punch in the same spot every time. I ran some scraps of cardstock vellum through the big shot to emboss the poppies, then used a sponge dauber to give some quick color "inside the lines" from the back to add a bit of interest. I glued the vellum between my layers of CS as I was assembling the luminary, solving the difficulty of adhering vellum and making them neat and pretty. I eliminated the tucked slit on this project because they didn't need to be mailed, and simply glued everything.
Hope you'll take the time to sit outside some evening soon with twinkling luminaries and fireflies and stars in the summer sky. -Kathy
Did you miss out on the chance to whip up some of these quickie cards? Each year as Stampin' Up! retires some sets to make room for new ones, Lori and Monique and I create a selection of cards that you can assemble in about 10 minutes each - and at the bargain price of just $1 each! Most of them can be modified to fit several occasions (based on your needs) simply by altering the sentiment stamp,
We have a few sets of materials remaining, so if you missed out on Saturday's session, give me a holler and we'll see if we can set up a time for you to make your very own. -Kathy
