Graduation Gift Card/Money holders

I needed a few more graduation cards, so I thought I'd make some CAS (clean and simple) gift card holders. These are 2 3/8" x 3 3/4", with a 1" piece folded up on the inside to tuck the gift in. If you're going to put a gift card inside though, make sure the staples are really close to the edge...mine are in too far. Which isn't a big deal since I was going to include cash anyway. I made these the size they are because I have the cutest little envelopes that are 2 1/2" x 4 1/4". These cards fit nicely.

These went together really quickly too. I just stamped the lined paper image, from the Verve set Making a Statement, with Nautical Blue Memento Dye Ink and diecut it with the Rounded Rectangle Die by Verve. The sentiment is from the set Small Celebrations. Lastly, I added a mini-library clip (SU!) and a couple of diecut stars (Spellbinders), and woila. Finished. Wait...I did add a couple of score lines to the top and bottom of the base using my Score-Buddy, and stapled the inside piece.


I had only one girl Graduation card to make this year. Isn't that crazy? Out of 12 graduations, only one girl. WOW! So I decided to make hers different and girly. I used a tutorial that I found on pinterest, by Glenda Calkins, and the little sentiment flag was made using the Verve stamp set Purely Sentimental.


For the inside, I just cut a piece of dp, and punched a border using a Martha Stewart edger punch. I also added a Prima flower, and used some large Magnet discs (Basicgrey) for the top closer which was diecut using the Labels 20 die by Spellbinders.


That's it for today ya'll!! I hope those of you in the states are enjoying Memorial Weekend.
Happy Stamping!!

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Kraft Grad Card
Stamps: Small Celebrations, Making a Statement (Verve)
Paper: Kraft and Vintage Cream (PTI), Navy (Bazzill)
Ink: Nautical Blue (Memento), Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Rounded Rectangle Die (Verve), Star dies (Spellbinders), Library Clip (SU!), Score-Buddy, Staples

Purse Grad Card
Stamps: Purely Sentimental (Verve)
Paper: What's Up (Basicgrey), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Labels 20 die (Spellbinders), Flower (Prima), Ribbon (American Craft), Large Magnet discs (Basicgrey), Border punch (Martha Stewart), Staples, Tutorial Template (Glenda Calkins)

Life is eternal

It's always hard when a friend is suffering a loss. Especially when they live so far away, and there's very little you can do to help. Thankfully, there is a way to reach across the miles to let them know how much you care and are thinking of them.

I made this card for such a friend. Claire Brennan, owner of Waltzingmouse Stamps, and one of the sweetest ladies I know, recently lost her mother. I lost my mother over 17 years ago, so I understand a bit (even though everyone's loss is different), of the emptiness she must be going through right now.

Anyway, Waltzingmouse stamps has a sentiment for just about any thought you might want to convey, and I thought this sentiment from the Words of Wisdom set was beautiful and so fitting! "Life is eternal and love is immortal and death is only a horizon and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight." R W Raymond

I hope you are having a blessed day!!
Happy Stamping my friends!!

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Stamps: Words of Wisdom (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper: Down the Boardwalk (We R Memory Keepers), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Mix'd Media Elements and Labels Sixteen dies (Spellbinders), Flower Punches (PunchBunch), Weaved ribbon (May Arts), Wrinkled Ribbon (PrairieBirdBoutique), Wooden Heart Button (Prima), Fibers, Embossing Folder (Sizzix), Diamond Stickles, Pearls (Pizzaz Aplenty)

Wedded Bliss Viva la Verve

I've been playing with some more Verve images and decided to participate in this week's Viva la Verve sketch found HERE.

I need a wedding card in a couple of weeks, and thought the images from the Verve set Small Celebrations would look fabulous with the new Indie Chic paper by My Mind's eye. I love the blue/gold combination.

Short and sweet today. Graduations and parties to go to, and my college kids just got home, so lots to do ya'll!!

Have a fantastic weekend!!
Happy Stamping!

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Stamps: Small Celebrations (Verve)
Paper: Indie Chic (My Mind's Eye), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine), Pumice Stone (Ranger)
Accessories: Standard Circle, Standard Scallop Circle, Floral Ovals and Romantic Rectangles (Spellbinders), Dew Drops, Frosted Lace (Stickles), Wrinkled Ribbon (PrairieBirdBoutique), Twine (Pizzaz Aplenty), Lace, Distrezz~it~All (Zutter), Sewing Machine, Button (PTI)

Negative Space Card Trio

(Click on the photo to see the sentiments and details better.)

I've been seeing a lot of "negative" space being used on cards lately, with punches or dies, so I thought I'd try my hand at it with some punches and some of my favorite sentiments. Verve is known for having wonderful sentiments with fabulous fonts that always seem to be perfect for the style you're going for. I chose to use a set called Small Phrases. It has 22 phrases. Seriously...22 and they cover the gamut of topics from baby shower to anniversary and birthday, and a variety of "thoughtful" phrases. I used three of them on my "mini set" today.

I love mini cards. They're perfect for tucking in gift packages or lunch boxes, or just leaving on a desk for someone who needs a "pick-me-up". I used three sentiments: "I thought of you today", "you are loved", and "so proud of you". Fabulous little encouragements. These babies are only 2 1/2" x 3 3/4".

For my background, I took a Sizzix embossing folder and only covered half of the card with it. I love how it turned out.

That's it for today.
Sorry I've been MIA for so long. My son graduated from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington this weekend, so we've been getting ready for the trip, and then spent 3 days there this past weekend. I'm just now getting caught up. :)

Thanks for stopping by.
I hope you're having a fantastic week!!
Happy Stamping!!

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Stamps: Small Phrases (Verve)
Paper: Bazzill and White (PTI)
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine)
Accessories: Lacey Squares (Spellbinders), Flourishes, Dots and Ribbons embossing folder (Sizzix), Punches (Martha Stewart and Punch Bunch)

Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz ~ May Release

Wow! I can't believe it's already release day for the 3 new Waltzingmouse Stamps sets!! If you've arrived her via Anya's blog, you're on the right track. If not, be sure to start at Claire's blog so you don't miss a stop. Also, you have an opportunity to win a stamp set of your choice. All you have to do is leave comments on the blogs along the hop for your chance to win. You have until May 11. Check out Claire's blog for the deadlines.

Now, for my card...today we get to feature any set we'd like, so I chose the Compact Family set because I had a this special gift set in mind for a dear friend.


I love the sentiment " a hug from your..."! It's perfect because you can add whatever you want to the end of it; Friend, Mom, Auntie, Daughter...etc. Obviously I chose friend and framed them with various diecuts. I used Fancy Tags Two, Floral Ovals, Classic Ovals, Wonderful Wings Grand and Labels 9 dies (Spellbinders).


I wanted to add a tag to the bag I made, and thought the Labels 25 die shape (Spellbinders) would make a beautiful tag. And Claire designed the most beautiful image to fit inside it. It's included in the Paris Nouveau set. I included the sentiment "You make me smile with all my heart", from the new Compact Sentiments ~Part 2 set, to the center.

Here's a look at the bag. Now I'm not a sewer, but this was super easy to put together. And I'm happy with how it turned out. I filled it with a huge variety of wrinkled seam binding ribbon and lace. A perfect filler for a vintage inspired bag I thought. :)

That's it for me today. Next stop, the ever inspirational and super sweet Becca.

Thanks for visiting today!!
Happy Stamping!!

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Card
Stamps: Compact Family (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper: Vintage Timeless (Kaisercraft), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine), Antique Linen (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Fancy Tags Two, Floral Ovals, Classic Ovals, Wonderful Wings Grand and Labels 9 dies (Spellbinders), Gem clips (Tim Holtz), Wonderful Wings Bling (Want 2 Scrap), Flower (Prima), Lace, Velvet Ric-Rac (Stamp Simply), Wrinkled Ribbon (PrairieBirdBoutique), Pearls (Pizzaz Aplenty), Sewing Machine, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Bag
Stamps: Compact Sentiments ~Part 2 and Paris Nouveau (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper: None
Ink: Black (Stazon)
Accessories: Labels 25 die (Spellbinders), Key (Timepiece Trinkets ~ BoBunny), Fabric, Lace and cord (Hobby Lobby)

Waltzingmouse May 2012 Release ~ Day 3

I have a few cards to share with you today for Day 3 of May's Waltzingmouse Stamps release.
First up is a beehive card. I collect bee skeps, and have had a fascination with bees for quite some time. It's been said that it's a miracle that a bee can fly. Because aerodynamically it should be impossible for them to fly with the wings they were given in proportion to their body. But the bee doesn't know that. :)

Anyway, my heart just melted when I saw the sentiment "you're the bee's knees" in this new Compact Sentiments~Part 2 set. I wanted to put a bee skep on my card, so I drew one out and used different dp for each section. Of course there needed to be a bee on the card too, so I added a brad with a bee image on it to the sentiment flag.

(Click on the photo to see the detail in the backgrounds)

I also made some graduation gift cards using an easy tutorial by Laurie Schmidlin. Click HERE for the tutorial. I needed 9 graduation cards this year. Only one of them being for a girl. I'm not finished with that one yet, so I'll have to share it at a later date.

I loved the sweet little "you rock" sentiment from Compact Sentiments~Part 2 set, so I thought it'd be easy and fun to mass produce similar cards with different bg images stamped with the Off Beat Backgrounds and Heirloom Patterns sets. I just diecut a star using a Star die (Spellbinders), and punched out the sentiment using the Word Window punch (SU!).


For the inside I added some sentiments from the Halfpint Heroines set. I thought they'd be perfect for these little gift card holders.


That's it for today's projects. I have saved my favorite for the hop tomorrow. So be sure to stop by again!!

Here's a list of the WMS dt's links in case you missed one along the way. :)

Anya Schrier
Beeca Feeken
Belinda Chang Langner
Clare Buswell
Julia Aston
Jennifer Holmes
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Sandie Dunne
Claire Brennan - Owner
Tosha Leyendekker


Thanks for dropping by!!
Happy Stamping!! :)

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Beehive card
Stamps: Compact Sentiments~Part 2 (Waltzingmouse)
Paper: Be Amazing (Follow Your Heart MME), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine), Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Brad (MME), Sewing Machine, Distrezz-it-All (Zutter)

Gift Card Holders
Stamps: Compact Sentiments~Part 2 , Halfpint Heroines, Heirloom Patterns, Off Beat Backgrounds (Waltzingmouse)
Paper: White (PTI)
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Apricot, Latte, Lichen, French Roast, Sage, Sky (a muse)
Accessories: Star die (Spellbinders), Word Window Punch (SU!), Corner Rounder Punch, Quickie Glue Pen, Crystal Glitter

Waltzingmouse May 2012 Release ~ Day 2

It's day 2 of the Waltzingmouse Release peek, and we're showcasing a sentiment set called Compact Family, and it has oodles of fabulous combinations!! I thought "writing out" "bestest husband on the planet" was super fun!! And of course I had to use my "tried and true" Teeny Trees set for the background. (LOVE that set) The grid was made using the set Off Beat Backgrounds.

A pretty straight forward card. My husband is a "no nonsense" kinda guy. So even if I did add a ton of details, he probably wouldn't even notice. lol Straight and to the point...clean and simple. :)

That's it for me. Be sure to check out what the rest of the dt has come up with today. You won't be disappointed!!

Anya Schrier
Becca Feeken
Belinda Chang Langner
Clare Buswell
Julia Aston
Jennifer Holmes
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Sandie Dunne
Claire Brennan - Owner
Tosha Leyendekker


Thanks so much for stopping by today.
Happy Stamping!!

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Stamps: Compact Family, Teeny Trees, Off Beat Backgrounds (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper: White and Black (PTI)
Ink: Sage (a muse), Smokey Gray and Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Petite Oval and Long Rectangle dies (Spellbinders), Nested Sentiment dies (Justrite Stamps Custom dies by Spellbinders), Corner Rounder Punch

Waltzingmouse May 2012 Release

Waltzingmouse is releasing 3 darling sets May 8, and you won't want to miss seeing them. I know I say this practically every WMS release, but Claire has such an eye for detail, and knows just what we need in terms of stamps! And these sets will not disappoint!! Awhile back Claire designed a "Half Pint Heroes" set filled with charming little boy images and sentiments. Well, she's now designed a sweet set for little girls Called Half Pint Heroines. I used a few images from this set: balloon, clouds, bird, face, and sentiments. It also has a fun elephant, and the sweetest story telling sentiments. It is such a clever and fun set which has so many possibilities. You're only limit is your own imagination.



I paper pieced all the images with Prima's Romantique Collection, and made some layers using Romantic Rectangles dies by Spellbinders.


I also finished off the inside with one of the little girl images, and left room for either a photo or a sentiment. I haven't decided what I'm going to add yet.

That's it for my project today. Be sure to check the blogs of the other designers, because, believe me, these girls are clever, creative and oh so inspirational!!

Anya Schrier
Beeca Feeken
Belinda Chang Langner
Clare Buswell
Julia Aston
Jennifer Holmes
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Sandie Dunne
Claire Brennan - Owner
Tosha Leyendekker


Thank you so much for stopping by!!
Happy Stamping!!

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Stamps: Half Pint Heroines (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper: Romantique (Prima), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Antique Linen (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Romantic Rectangles and Labels 22 dies (Spellbinders), Copics, Sewing Machine, Black Burlap String, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)