Crafty Secrets Bookmark.....Jenni Bowlin inspired

You know how I set up those Inspiration Stations in my craft room? Well, you should see it now...not so inspiring. My little basket is overflowing with junk because I just kept piling inspiring stuff in there. Not a good plan with me. I must put stuff away as I go or else it starts to look like Sanford and Son....does anybody get that phrase by the way? We used to watch that show all the time as kids!! They were junk collectors on the show. It cracks me up when my mom says that too.

Anyyyyyway, I've decided to now get out my inspiring products a little at a time...leave them out for a day or so and then back it all goes. I think I'll call it my Instant Inspiration. How bout that? So on this day, I was inspired by some new Jenni Bowlin goodies I got from Emma's Paperie. That online shop has soooooo many fun goodies. I can get into real trouble with the click of 1 or 2 or 20 buttons! Man I'm chatty today, must be the coffee kicking in already.

So these new Jenni Bowlin papers....4 x 4 size, how cute is that!? They're made for little albums she has too but I think they are the perfect size for cards. I'm always cutting a sheet of 12 x 12 paper into 4 x 4 squares so this works out just perfectly. Along with the pretty papers, I go out some new Making Memories ribbon and some Crafty Secrets stamp sets. I set out to make a bookmark. I've been using receipts as bookmarks and that is SO unattractive.

So on to my bookmark. The Crafty Secrets set I used is called Story of Me. Scroll down at the link and you can also see a set called Book Lovers, which has a lot of book themed images too. To create the bookmark, I used some of the new long Spellbinder's Rectangle and Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities. They're perfect for bookmarks! I love my finished bookmark, it just makes me happy to look at it!
For the main stamped image, I did some paper piecing for the book the child is holding, and added some shading with a Copic marker. The rest of the image is colored with Copics too.
For the top of the book mark, I used various papers from the Jenni Bowlin packet of paper, some Jenni Bowlin brown stickers(star and *read this*) and some ribbon (Making Memories) from Emma's Paperie.
For the bottom of my bookmark, I used some tiny little letter stickers from Making Memories, also available at Emma's Paperie. I got a bunch more at Archiver's too last week. They are FUN little niblets of letters, so cute! I stitched around my bookmark before adhering it to the scallop rectangle. I like my stitches to be concealed. So overall, my bookmark is pretty flat...which is hard for me to create flat stuff. The ribbon adds a little dimension but that portion sticks out of the book anyway, so that's okay. Hope you enjoy and are inspired to create your own bookmark.
So what's on your reading list lately? I'd love to hear about some good books so I can create a list. A bunch of my friends are reading the teenage vampire series with that dreamy Edward boy. I GUUUUUESS I will read them, after much coaxing. I typically enjoy historical fiction type books but the pressure is just too much..so I caved! My librarian friend at the high school is going to hook me up with them. Here we are, a couple of almost 40 year old ladies, scoping out the teenage vampire book section at the high school library!! Snort!
The Elm Creek novels by Jennifer Chiaverini are on my top reading list right now. Nichole suggested them to us when she unveiled my beloved Quilter's Sampler stamp set from Papertrey. I've 4-5 of the books already this summer. They are feel good stories about every day women who are brought together by the love of quilting. Some of the books refer back to the historical days and some are in today's setting. They're all good reads!! Ohhhhhh, I should make a quilting bookmark, why didn't I think of that before? Then when I get to the teenage vampire books, I'll have to make a vampire bookmark, right??? Maybe I'll start reading them about Halloween time and vampires will be in season. I'm done now..really...I must stop babbling. Have a great day everyone!!

Just Rite fun for the kids..of all ages!

When Kellie from JustRite Stampers sent me a box of goodies last week, I opened up the box and said out loud, "What the heck are these things?" LOL! Well this stamper thing below is called a 2X Stamper. It's a pre-inked stamp that has two images, one on each end of the stamper. You can see how this particular 2X Stamper has some sad faces and a miss you sentiment. To use these stampers, you just open the hinged lids and stamp away. No re-inking, you just stamp and stamp and stamp.

And then I dug in the box some more and found these things. "What the heck are these things", I said again. Well these are called Word Stampers. They work in the same fashion at the 2X Stampers..you just stamp and stamp and stamp. Each little set comes with 8 different words and there's lots of sets to choose from. Just scroll down once you get to the link.
The unique thing about both of these stampers is that the words and images are embossed into the little ink pad inside. Zoom in on the photo below to see what I mean. The box says you can stamp hundreds and hundreds of images with these. They remind me of those pre-inked address stamps.
So anyway, I then thought "hmmm, what to do with these stampers?" Then an idea came to me. Of course, you can use these stampers for quick sentiments and images on cards but what could I do that was unique? I knew that my girls, especially crafty Jordan, would LOVE these little stampers!! So I went to work right away with my idea to show the girls when they got home from school. I dug some little Stampin' Up! notecards out of my stash and some scraps of other supplies I had out on my table. I stamped the insides of the little notecard with words, kind of like a ransom note. I grouped words together to create sentences, all I had to do was fill in a few words with a writing pen.
I also used the Curly DIY Monogram Stamper kit to make a quick monogram of the girls' initials and punched them out with a Stampin' Up! scallop circle punch.

Here's what the inside of the cards look like. It was fun to create little messages with the stampers. And here's the finished cards with the cute *J* monograms on the front. The *i love you* sentiment shows the size of the 2X Stamper words...about 1/2" high. The *adore* word below measures about 1/4" high or so. Cardstock is Papertrey Aqua Mist, ribbon from May Arts and patterned paper from Melissa Frances.
Now here's the fun part for the kiddos. I placed all of the stampers into a basket (Longaberger of course)..added some fun shaped notepads, sticky notes, etc......and some writing pens.
I placed the basket on their *school shelf* that sits in my pantry/laundry room just inside the garage door. So when the girls came home and put their school junk away, they saw this basket immediately. Boy, did Jordan want to know allllll about these stampers!! We sat and played with them for a long time.

I think it will be fun to get this basket out while maybe waiting for the school bus or a late night dinner to be ready.....or maybe when company comes and everyone can make their own little note........or how about creating ransom notes and hiding them in places around the house for that special someone to find....or magnets for the frig.....or for teachers to have a fun activity to keep the kiddos occupied....or daycare.....okay, you get the idea!! No cleaning up, no re inking, just use them over and over again. I think we'll have LOTS more fun with these *things*. LOL!

Corn Dip Recipe Card

Edit: Ladies, the cursive font is called Creating Keepsakes Becky (from Becky Higgins). I found it. Go to Becky's blog HERE and click on products. The free download is right there!! I love the recipe cards!! And be sure to post any new dip recipes and I'll do another edit to post them. Later chickies.

How 'bout a little recipe for today? We'll be going to a little end of summer family get together this weekend if the rain stays away...and dips are always good to bring. I always love to get recipes from family and friends, because then you always have that memory of the first time you tasted the recipe. This recipe came from my niece who made all the snacky stuff at my nephew's high school graduation party. Yummo!! The recipe card measures 4" x 6", all text is printed from my computer. I used the Lockhart Indian Corn stamp, Copic markers and a Spellbinders label die for the main image. The patterned paper strip is from Crate Paper. Hope you enjoy! Got any good dip recipes to share?

Here's the recipe so that you can copy and paste into a word document, or print from my blog:

Corn Dip
2 cans Mexicorn, drained
1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained
3 green onions, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Mix all ingredients together and chill. Serve with tortilla chips.

Baby Elephant Quilt Card and Box...PTI

Good morning fellow bloggers!! It's the third day of our new school year.....and I got a call bright and early at 6:11am this morning to sub! I'm NOT a morning person. I don't have a problem getting up early, I just like to eeeeease into my mornings, KWIM? So after a cup of coffee and a splash of water on my face, I'm better now! :-)

Today I have a baby project to share with you...a cute card and a matching gift box. I wanted to combine my baby theme with a quilt theme....you know how much I love Papertrey's Quilter's Sampler set! I stamped, color and cut out lots of little quilt squares to use on my card and Egg Box. I adhered quilt block squares all the way around the box lid and then tied it up with Sweet Blush ribbon and a soldered charm. The little elephant image is from the PTI Bitty Baby Blessings set and the word *BABY* is from PTI Mixed Messages. Patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket and Simply Swank soldering supplies can be purchased at Ellen Hutson's online store.
And here's my card below. I think it's so adorable....I need someone to have a baby girl so I can give this to them and fill the box up with goodies! For the main focal image, I created a mini quilt out of stamped quilt blocks and the bigger baby elephant image from Bitty Baby Blessings. I added buttons to make the little elephant look like a child's toy. I stitched around the white square and then added a pink scallop Spellbinder's cut layer under that.

More little baby elephants were stamped on the bottom of the card and colored with Copic markers. I finished off the card with a big loopy bow, more of the PTI Sweet Blush polka dot ribbon...and a little circle embellishment with *little one* stamped on it.
Hope you enjoy! We were looking at the girls' scrapbooks over the weekend. I can't believe that my babies are 5th and 6th graders this year! Where has the time gone? I look at their little pictures that are so sweet. It seems like forever ago that they were babies!! I need to see my little niece and get a baby fix! Have a great day everyone!!

Here's a fun thing to do today with your kids...talk about the funny things they used to say. Kids LOVE to talk about themselves, right? Josey used to say *I'm feezin* every time she was cold. And Jordy has always screwed up her words which makes us laugh so much. Our all time favorite with her is the word *fiberclostic*.....one time she said*ya know how when you sit in a closet and shut the door and you get all fiberclostic*....she meant claustrophobic! Oh how we laugh at that. What are your favorite sayings from your kids?

Watercolored Poppies

A fellow Papertrey Design Team member and good friend of mine, Lisa Johnson, released her beautiful poppy set this month, called Remember. It's so Lisa because she is fascinated with poppies. I think she has captured the essence of poppies so beautifully with her set. And you definitely get your money's worth here, there are a TON of images in this set. You can view the set HERE, and be sure to check the Papertrey Ink online gallery for more samples too!

With this beautiful set, Papertrey also released new card stock, ink and ribbon colors too. The color is called Pure Poppy. Just scroll down through THIS link to view them all. I tried out my new Twinkling H20's for the first time with this card. Twinkling H2O's are little jars of dry watercolor paint that has a beautiful shimmer to it. My friend Pine turned me onto them because of all of her beautiful creations. To use them, all you have to do is wet the little watercolor cakes with a wet paintbrush. I think painted them onto my solid poppy image stamp and stamped it onto my card stock. The result is a beautiful image that looks water colored. I purchased my Twinkling H2O's from Cornish Heritage Farms.

I cut out my image and sentiment piece with a Spellbinder's Rectangle Die and layered it onto a Spellbinder's Scallop Rectangle Die. To finish off my card, I used a background made from Papertrey's Polka Dot Basics and some Pure Poppy satin ribbon.

Congratulations to Lisa on another beautiful set! I can't wait to see what she creates next!!

JustRite Wedding Gift

Contest going on: Read all about the Stamper's Championship Stamping Contest going on at JustRite Stampers. You have a chance to win some fabulous prizes!! Check out the rules HERE.

My young niece is getting married this month and I wanted to make her a special gift. Along with some items I've chosen from her registries, I thought some pretty monogrammed cards would be nice too. I can remember those days that counted down to the big day.....and how special it was to take on your husband's last name. Do you remember writing your full married name...practicing it over and over again? That's a special time and I think the monogram stamps by JustRite Stampers are going to be perfect for all those wedding occasions. What bride wouldn't want a set of monogrammed cards that has her NEW initials on them?? I made two sets of cards for Katie. It just so happens that her new last name will also begin with a *K*....so I thought some simple, one initial monogram would be nice. I kept these cards simple and formal so that perhaps her new husband could use these cards too (ya right, what husband writes on a card except to sign his name?). For the cards below, take note how the initial is stamped onto a label shaped die, not a circle. You don't have to use a circle shape for your monograms.

Supplies: Patterned paper by Daisy D's, More Mustard SU! solid cardstock, JustRite Brayton font, Spellbinder's Labels Die Templates, Papertrey Ink egg and dart stamp from First Fruits set, Papertrey Ink stitched Dark Chocolate ribbon.
And these cards, I made especially for Katie. When creating a monogram with three initials, the first name initial comes first in a smaller font, the last name initial is in the center and larger, and the middle initial comes last and is again a smaller font. The JustRite girls did a GREAT job of explaining how to set your monogram letters up. Visit the blog HERE and scroll down for several days worth of good information.

For the design of these cards below, I fancied them up a bit. I used two patterns of the Daisy D's patterned paper and layered some rectangle and scallop cut rectangle Spellbinder's dies. Notice how the monogram circle die is used as an embellishment for these cards. Experiment with your monograms, they don't always have to be front and center and formal like. Also notice how I placed the monogram circle on the left portion of the rectangle. Instead of the card being so symmetrical, I mixed it up a bit to create an asymmetrical look. This makes the eye go straight to the circle monogram because I've created a point of interest.

Supplies: Same as above cards, plus *from the desk of* borders and centers, May Arts polka dot brown ribbon, rectangle Spellbinder's Die Templates, Cranberry Crisp SU! card stock. And here the packaging for the cards. I used a clear stationery box from Papertrey Ink and some wide ribbon from May Arts. I also added a simple *K* circle embellishment from the Brayton alphabet, tied on with some copper cording.
I'll tuck this little box right into the top of Katie's other packages. I know she will LOVE them!

Rustic Branches....Thankful For You

Whew, what a party that was last night at the Papertrey Forum. Those girls can CHAT!! I hope you all had a chance to see the new Papertrey release. If not, you can visit Nichole's blog HERE and the official Papertrey Ink website HERE for ordering.

One of my dearest friends, Heather Nichols......I call her PINE........has her very first stamp set being released this month at Papertrey. It's called Rustic Branches and it's a pine-a-riffic set, a must have for your stamp collection!

Here's a card I made using Pine's new set, using various words to create the *thankful for you* sentiment. I love how simple Pine's designs are, yet they make for some beautiful finished projects.
Of course, when I think of Pine, I think of buttons. That girl can stitch on buttons with the best of them. Never an undressed button! I had to use some of my special, vintage buttons for this project.
I also used a Cuttlebug folder and some white ink.
I cut my image with a Spellbinder's rectangle die, airbrushed it with some green Copics and then used my Copic Colorless Blender to make some splotchy dots. I love that look! And I love placing a button in the center of the wreath, so cute! So Piney!
Well, I'm off to Archiver's today with a friend so I better run. Congratulations to you, Pine, on a great set!! I'm so happy to have you as a friend!

Little Girl's Apron/1st day of school

Today my *not so little * girls go back to school. As they were primping and getting ready, I thought about all of our first days of school. And how little they were on their first day of kindergarten, barely able to make that big step onto the school bus. My, how they've come a long way over all those years. I'm so proud of my reds and I'm hoping for a great school year!! And I even miss all the noise they made all summer, it's SO quiet here today. I thought I would share a card, just perfect for a little girl. I used Karen Lockhart's Apron stamp and a Papertrey sentiment, along with paper from Imaginesce and ribbon from Making Memories. If you click on the link to the apron stamp HERE, you will notice that I cut off the bottom pockets of the larger apron image. That shortens the apron and makes a perfect sized apron for a little girl. I'll have to take a photo of the little apron my mom made for me when I was a little girl....she found it the other day and I was SOOO happy! It's tiny though, I'm not sure it EVER fit around my chubby little body.

I hope you have a GREAT day! I know many of you will be sending your *little* ones off to school soon. Enjoy each and every day with your loved ones.

Be sure to stop by Nichole's blog today for some new product finds that are in store now at the Papertrey website...view the new First Fruits 8 x 8 paper collection... and see some more sneak peeks from the awesome PT Design Team. Tonight's the big night, the new August releases will be available at midnight. Woohoo, there's a party goin' on 2-Nite at the Papertrey Forum! Don't miss it!