Paper Pleasing Ideas

Stenciled Thanks

I had this on my computer from my last stampin' class, and I thought I'd better get it on here before  forgot about it!  I have not been able to get to my craft room this week, but it will come, of that I am sure.  This week was a sit on the couch, watch TV, look at pictures, cry and sleep kinda week, but it IS all good.  I just really needed that.

 

If I could make one of these bags for each of you, I would.  It is really understated, but awesome in it simplicity.  I just used the Vintage Frames stencils (#120910) and sponged on the soft suede ink. The Decorative Label punch (#120907) was used to make the sentiment panel - 2 orange glued together and then the vanilla on top.  The sentiment is from the Word Play set (#120651, clear - #120308, wood) and it was stamped in old olive.  The ribbon is pumpkin pie and the button is another reitred one that I colored with the olive marker.

I used my own lunch bags, punched with the scallop edge, but you can get them premade in the Holiday Mini Catalog (#121031). The one I used is a full size lunch bag, and the premade ones are mini sized, though.  I'm thinking with the right holiday sentiment, this would be a perfect way to package up the teacher gifts I will need this Christmas.  Tootles, have fun and happy stamping!!

 

Butterfly Banner

I saw some butterflies floating around the net, that had candy for the body.

This was made using the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die from Stampin' Up!, and this is the largest of the 4.  You make this one, by folding your CS or DSP in half before cutting.  So, I put some sticky strip on the fold line and added the rockets as the body.  I made a whole ton of these for the kids in Children's Church yesterday, as an Easter treat.  But, I didn't stop there, I wanted to make a deocration, as well.

I put some hole reinforcers on the back of the butterflies before punching out a 1/4 inch hole.  I didn't really mark where I wanted them, just put them at the top of each wing.  Then I tied a length of ribbon through each butterfly to join them all together.

I added some longer ribbons to the end, so I could hang it up in front of the window.  The DSP was from the Sweet Pea pack, and some other retired pieces, but they were the perfect colors for Easter.  The candies were a bit heavy, but can you see this as a banner for a little girls birthday, or a baby shower - ADORABLE !!  If you were going to make one any longer, I would use the felt wires as bodies, to keep the weight down.  Toodles, have fun and happy stamping!!

 
 
 

Loads of Love

That is a great stamp set, hey?  There are so many things you can do with that truck, but honestly, I found the COOLEST THING EVAH!!!

  I did a workshop on Tuesday night, and am not in a habit of taking my camera along.  Please accept my apologies for the picture, it was taken with my BlackBerry.  Click on the picture to see it a bit better.

Seriously, though.  Now talk about a creative use for stamps!!  I have no idea how she enlarged it to make it fit for the quilt, but I know she stamped it and then used it as her pattern.  She is making the quilt for her son's Christmas present!  It is all hand stitched on there, and it is a navy/black hounds-tooth pattern.  The rest of the quilt is in soft greens and yellows.  To give you an idea of the size - the silver rims in the tires are as big as my wide spread hand!

I was literally standing there with my mouth hanging open - AMAZING.  SOOOO, what can YOU do with your stamps that is out of the box ??  Have fun and happy stamping!!

Home Decor In The Kitchen!

Well, I have been busy in my kitchen, and decided to show you the results.

 

I put this above my pantry (we have 9 foot ceilings), and it is always noticed and talked about.  This is the LARGE one, but there are 3 sizes available through Stampin' Up! Decor Elements.  But there is something else I did.

 

This is the newest Hostess Gift - only available to someone who hosts a workshop starting this month!  I bought the canisters at Walmart, and stuck on them on.  You get the four words with the flourish underneath!  They look so nice sitting on my counter, rather than the old Tupperware ones.

So, since I have these, that means ...  MY $900 order came in and I am busy sorting and assembling stamps.  I can hardly wait to play with all my new stuff and show you what I've been making.  Don't forget to check out this exciting new product line from Stampin' Up!, it is worth it!

Vintage Rooster

I'm not sure I can do vintage.  I really enjoy the look of it, but it is not my thing.  The problem for me, is I kinda {heart} the vintage style stamps.  I don't buy them, because I feel I won't do them justice.  So, whenI reached a Level 2 hostess with Stampin' Up!, I chose the Rustic Rooster set to get my feet wet.

I have not yet decided if it is going to be a card, or wall decor.  It is 5 X 5, so it would nicely fit in a recessed 6 X 6 frame, but it really does not match my kitchen...LOL.  This took me about 1.5 hours to complete.  Not because it was hard, but because I really did not know how to go about it.  I did find THIS PICTURE on the internet to be inspired by and drew my color choices colors from it.  If I learned anything from creating this, it is to not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.  Have fun and happy stamping!!

Decorate With Monograms!

I absolutely LOVE the Stampin' Decor line from Stampin' Up!  I think it is a brilliant idea, and have bought 5 different ones to put up in out home.  Here is the newest addition to my growing collection.

 

I got a piece of MDF, and got it cut to 20 X 20.  I used the Together Forever Frame and the letter B(umm, duh).  It will not be staying above the fireplace, it will be on the wall above my couch, with black and white photos of us around it.  I will post a picture when it is all finished.  Have fun decorating!!

ETA : MDF is medium density fibreboard, and I painted the wood side black with acrylic paint.  I then sprayed on a sealer, to keep the paint from being scratched or chipped.

Guest Flowers

Remember how I said I was going to be buying some more of the Stampin' Up! Wall Decor?

 Well, I bought the Manhattan Flower package in both Kraft and Chocolate.   My guest bathroom was in need of a bit of sprucing up, so I added them above the door and down towards the light switch.  The brown flower on the bottom should have been closer to the door, but it still looks pretty good!

I am leaving a brochure in the bathroom.  That way, when people ask, they can look for themselves - gives them something to do while they are stuck there...hehehe.

Now, I decided, I need to buy some for my front entrance!

Stampin' Up! Home Decor

  I gotta say, when I first saw this on the Stampin' Up! website, I was not really sure about it.  Then as I started browsing through the flyer, I noticed most of the images were already stamp images.  Ones that I loved.  So, I decided, if SU sells, I am going to buy it...hehehe.

I ordered 2 of them first, to try and see how easy the were to put on.  I also wanted to see if I would actually like them.

I AM PLACING ANOTHER ORDER!!  I absolutely love them.  Here is what they look like on the wall of my craft room.

  Isn't it awesome?  I took the Create definitionin chocolate and paired it with the baroque flourishes in white.  I put the defintion on first, and then tried to make it look like the swirls were coming out from underneath.  This is the first thing you see when you walk into my craft room!  I am going to buy some more for the walls and then for my guest bathroom upstairs.  I am soooo excited for this new product, and am hoping they come out with even more designs!