Easy Gift Card Holder

 
Hey everyone!  You getting ready for Christmas?  All your shopping done yet?  I have more shopping to do this week, and with the kids home, it will be crazy I'm sure.  It wouldn't be Christmas without a little crazy though... right?

This is a quick easy gift card holder.  I used mostly scraps to make the entire thing.  You all know I love the Colorful Christmas paper pack from MME... so I got busy and threw together a couple gift cards.  I HAD to use up every piece of that wonderful paper.  The band across the bottom holds it closed, so when you take that off, the card pops open and a gift card is in the center.

My friend Lana did a great tutorial, click here to see.  Another talented friend, Nancy Morgan made one card sized, which you can see here.  


Supplies Used:


Stamps: Reindeer Kisses, Tag, You're It (Our Craft Lounge)
Paper: Pink Passion, Colorful Christmas Paper Pack by MME, Kiwi Prism, Neenah White.
Ink: Ranger Soot Black, Copic Markers
Other: Chunky Sparkles, Glossy Accents, Blue Gingham, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, BG Rhinestones, atyou Spica Pens, circle Punches, Scallop Punch, Oval Punch, Zip Dry, Scor-pal.


Thanks for stopping by! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Holiday Recipe Blog Hop

Hello everyone! Today is the second day of the Creative Cuts & More Mega Recipe Blog Hop which features the Apron Holiday Treats Recipe Kit.

As part of the celebration CC&M will be having a great sale. For the next six days, They will offer 20% off the entire store. But act quickly, it is only for six days – this sale will end on Nov 14^th. Make sure you enter this code recipebloghop2009 during checkout.

As a continuing part of the celebration CC&M will of course give away great gifts. Each day we will give away one kit. Here is the twist – go through the blog hop, leave wonderful comments for the great designers. After you have finished the blog hop, return to www.diecutdiva.com and instead of leaving a comment, you need to share a recipe to have a chance at winning the kit. Share the recipe on your blog and link it back and get another chance to win the kit. Help us also make this a great recipe swap.

I was so excited to get my kit in the mail! I used two stamp sets from OCL, plus a few other accessories, but the rest all came from the kit... what a bargain! Those chipboard letters I got from eP, dabbed then with my Adirondack Paint Dabber, then sprinkled Sugar Crafty Sparkles all over each one, then let them dry.

I've been really sick, and just when I thought I was getting better, I'm worse again. I'm going to show you a couple of my favorite pages, and how I made my recipe cards, then post a full list of items used later this afternoon.

I'm leaving my cards blank for now, because I'm going to give this away as a gift. I did each from the Curved Rectangle Nestie die, then cut two pieces of white cardstock for the front and the back. One side for the ingredients, the backside for the directions.



I used the stamp sets Gingerbread Fun, and Lovin' From the Oven from OCL.

So, want to see my favorite cookie recipe? Click here! My husband (yes.. he's the cookie maker at my house), always makes these during the holidays! They are melt in your mouth awesome!

Check out the Holiday Treats Apron Kit!

Have fun with the rest of the blog hop! Thanks for stopping by to see me today!

Die Cut Diva
Pam Smerker
Nathalia Castelllon

Dawn Lusk

Stephany Zerbe
Jennifer Hansen

Lisa Somerville

Lila Holgate

Kazan Clark

Rachel Hope Baird
Ellen Sosnoski

Cecilia Stricklin

Cambria Turnbow
Angie Pearl

Laura Davis

Noelle Reese

Holly Brown

Rachel Sztonyk

Deb Felts

Jen Johnson

Amber Hillman

Carla Mayfield

Cindy Lawrence

Chris Dickinson

Die Cut Diva

iTunes Gift Card

Oh yah baby.... ROCK ON! Oh man.. last week, my son set his ipod Touch on the bathroom counter and it slid into the sink! And, thanks to his little sister, the sink was full of water! I seriously thought he's going to die without his iTouch! I think his life was in there! LOL. He spent some of his savings and bought another one... not the Touch, the plain black one with mega room. He's happy now. Thank goodness he has a job! Crisis over. Let's hope that is the biggest crisis of the summer!



So... what do you get the teenager these days? iTunes.. right? I'm late for a birthday gift, so I doubled up on cards. One goes up top and one on the bottom. These gift card holders are perfect for the iTune cards and SO easy. You can see a tutorial here.

I used double sided designer paper from American Crafts Teen line. The stars are embossed so it adds touch-ability to the holder. I used the stamp set Star Rocks, and added Kaisercraft Rhinestones everywhere I could.. I LOVE those things. I think I'm addicted to them! The holder is held closed with polka dotted ribbon, held in place with one of the scallops on the front.

Hope you are enjoying your summer! I cannot believe June is over. Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Easy Post-It Teacher Gift

Need a last minute teacher gift? Or... want to prepare to send a cute gift with your child before the summer zooms by? Well, it's me here, so of course it's last minute! I already showed you the little box of note cards, but I wanted a little something else to include. I remembered that I did these little Post It Note frames for the twin's teachers a few years back and they loved them. They are SO easy to make too.

You can get these little 4x6 acrylic frames at the Dollar Tree or Walmart. They are designed for photos, but if you lay them down, they make the perfect Post-it Note holders!

Everything is under the acrylic frame so your artwork won't get messy. The only thing on the top is the Post-it Notes and the ribbon. Take a scratch piece of the designer paper, and roll it up and add it inside the Pentel RSVP pen and you have a matching pen!

I'm using OCL's Spotlight of the week stamp set, called Bookworm. I'm also using more of the ADORABLE paper by Imaginisce called Teacher's Pet. LOVE this paper.. it's so nice and thick and double sided... and embossed! PERFECT for any project! I colored the image with Copic Markers and used the Square Nestabilities and the Long Rectangle Nestabilities. Easy peasy!

My kids are out of school next Wednesday. I cannot believe a whole school year went by again... SO FAST. Next week is filled with activities and more field trips, so it will be another busy one! Now, I just need to make a cute bag or box to put these in... hmmmmm. More later!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Hoppy Anna Mae

Well.. I guess it's a little late to wish you a Happy Easter! Sorry about that. I've been swamped getting the new release ready, making samples, and adding things to the OCL web site! Speaking of... all the Crafty Fluff, Sparkly Fluff, Crafty Sparkles and the new, AWESOME Crafty Clear Acrylic Blocks are all up on the site! I hope you had a great Easter. We had a very nice day. The rain waited until after the kids hunted for eggs, so it was perfect!

eP has these cool regtangular coasters that I ordered awhile back... and they were calling to me! I covered two of them, front and back with My Mind's Eye Designer paper. I used Zip Dry Glue to attach them (love that stuff!). Added some holes in the top with my Crop-a-dile, then used Stampin'Up! Large Eyelets in the holes. I then cut ribbon, and tied them in knots, shoved the left over end through the hole, then added these cool blossom button brads. The inside part is a simple box I cut and scored using Primatics Ice Pink cardstock. SUPER EASY. I covered with Zip Dry, then stuck on the fronts.

Of course the fun part about this project is the Sparkly Fluff I used on Anna Mae's ears, the bunny, and the Easter Grass in her basket. Of course there's a bunch of shine and and sparkle going on with help from my atyou Spica Pens too. All the coloring is done with Copic Markers, and her dress is paper pieced with the same cardstock from MME.

Supplies:

Stamps: Hoppy Anna Mae, Pea-nut Bunny (Our Craft Lounge).
Ink: Ranger Soot Black, Copic Markers.
Paper: Penny Lane My Mind's Eye, Iced Pink Prism, Neenah White, Bashful Blue.
Other: Striped Ribbon (SU!), Large Eyeletes (SU!), Slot Punch, Nestabilities, Scallop Punch, Circle Punches (SU!), Crafter's Tool Kit, Crop-a-dile, Zip Dry, Kaiser Jewels, Blossom Brads, Sparkly Fluff, Quickie Glue Pen, atyou Spica Pens, Sakura Glaze Pens, Scor-pal.

Psst...... I've got a little coupon code to share with you. It's only good through the weekend. Use the code SPARKLE for a 10% discount on any items at Our Craft Lounge. What are you waiting for.. go and get some Fluffy stuff! :)

Thanks for visiting, and I'll be back to full blogging mode soon... promise! See you tomorrow for the weekend sketch!

Kiss Me Basket

One more little St. Patrick's Day project. This is another easy one... didn't take long at all to put together so that you can mass produce if you want to. It holds six Hershey Nuggets.

The basket pattern I found here. VERY cool huh? Very clear, easy to follow instructions... thanks so much for sharing this awesome little basket Claire!

I used the stamp set called Kiss Me, I'm Irish, by Our Craft Lounge. I spayed the nugget labels with my Copic Airbrush system. I used a light green, then used the brush tip with a darker green to leave little splat marks all over. I stamped the same border stamp on the labels (using black ink), then colored some of them in with ink, and some with the atyou Spica Pens.. so they shine and shimmer!

I added a scallop punch with the sentiment to the top of the handle and cute little four leaf clover flowers to each end. LOVE the gold atyou Spica pen! It really brought it all together to coordinate with the brushed gold cardstock I used for the liner of the basket and as a layer on the sentiment.







Supplies:

Stamps: Kiss Me, I'm Irish (Our Craft Lounge)
Paper: Garden Green, Brushed Gold, Neenah White.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers, Craft Whisper White.
Other: Circle Punches (Stampin'Up!), Scallop Punch (SU!), Scallop Border Punch (SU!), Brads (SU!), Crafter's Tool Kit, Long Rectangle Nesties, atyou Spica Pens, Address Labels, Copic Airbrush System, Scor-Pal.

Averie is feeling much better today. One more day home to get her energy and color back and then she can head to school to get her homework. Thank you for the well wishes. :)

See you tomorrow for the weekend sketch! Thanks for stopping by!

St. Patrick's Nuggets For You!

This year, I really wanted to make up a few treats to leave for friends and family for St. Patrick's Day. Nothing big, just a little something to say, "I'm thinking about ya." After all, we can all use a little extra good luck right?

This is a little box that hold three Hershey's Nuggets. It's like a matchbox... you just shove on one side and it slides out.



The nuggets on the inside are gold (dark chocolate with almonds...yummy). I used standard address labels to cover them. I stamped the image first, then colored them in with the new atyou Spica glitter pens. They really do shine when you open the box. The top also has the same gold coins, plus on the hat is covered with Sparkly Fluff (hopefully it will be available next week!). It's soft and sparkly.


Kinda fun huh? I used the Long Rectangle Nestie for the layer piece on the top. It's brushed gold cardstock so IRL it matches the shine of the coins. The cardstock used to make the box is from Bazzill... LOVE that polka dotted cardstock!

My poor daughter got REALLY sick. We made a trip to the ER night before last when I couldn't get her fever to come down. Turns out she had Strep along with this nasty flu. So, I've spent the last few days getting anything she needs and watching movies on the couch with her. Today, no fever and only up one time last night! I think we are on our way to a bug free house!

Thanks for stopping by! I've got one more St. Patrick's project for tomorrow.... if I can get it done. Hope to see you then!

Valentine Treats

Okay.. so yesterday went by WAY too fast, but I got to have lunch with friends and I finally hit the grocery store.... man, I hate the grocery store, but I survived.

So, today I'm trying to get all the Valentines ready for Averie's classroom. She is SO excited about Valentine's Day at school. Almost as excited as I am for Friday and the new OCL releases!

These fun boxes are Nicole Heady's pattern. They are based on my friend Mishie's Criss Cross Cards. They are fun and SO easy to make... especially if you use a Scor-pal. :) I'm starting with a piece of 12x12 designer papre from American Crafts, which I cut down to 8.5x11. The tabs that I cut off the box pattern, I'm using to run through the Cuttlebug with a Scallop Nestie for the front. I still have a few pieces left, which I might use to wrap some of the candy with... if I have time! LOL. Why do I wait until the last minute?

Supplies:

Stamps: Pat The Dog
Paper: American Crafts Designer Paper
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers.
Other: Crafty Fluff, Quickie Glue Pen, Sakura Glaze Pen, Ribbon, Slot Punch, Circle and Scallop Nesties, Cuttlebug, Purple Cow Cutter with Wavy Blade, Scor-pal.

While you are here, make sure you check the previous post and leave a comment for a chance to win Granny's Support Team. And, I'll see you tomorrow... when we get the party started baby! :)

Have a great day... and thanks for stopping by!

Ghirardelli Love You Much Box

These little boxes are so much fun and easy! I first got the pattern on SUDSOL a few years ago, but it held only one Chirardelli Chocolate, then later, I *think* it was Chi Chi Allen who came up with this version that held three.

These are SO perfect for handing out to teachers, or coworkers. Who doesn't like Ghirardelli chocolate?

The scalloped image is from the Valentine Bundle from Stampin' Up. I stamped the image, then colored the heart and little dots using my blender pen and ink from the Red Hood Red Classic Ink pad. I then used the 1 inch Circle Punch to cut out the center. I glued the rest of the scallop onto a black circle (made with the 1 3/4 inch Circle Punch), then popped up the center portion with a Jody Circle Foam Dot! I added Sakura Black Glaze to the dots in the heart, so they look embossed.

This seriously took all of five minutes! I used the background stamp called Stitched, but you could also use roller wheels or stamps to make any background. This one is held closed by the ribbon, but you could use those cool magnetic snaps too! When you open the inside, I made a little notch in the front with the Designer Label Punch so that you can see the chocolate and grab them with ease.

I don't know what I did with the directions from Chi Chi, I took one apart that I had made up previously. So, I'll tell you how I made this, and write a tutorial later in the week if you need one.

• Cut your cardstock 4.5 x 8
• Score the short end in 1 inch on each side.
• Score the long side at 2inches, 3 inches, 5 inches and 6 inches.
• On the score lines that you made at five and six inches, cut on those lines until you reach the vertical score. That makes two tabs
• On the two and three inch score lines, cut in to the first score line, then flip it, and also cut down the vertical line. So, three inches on each side the flaps will be gone.
• Stamp and fold your box.
  

I hope that made sense. I will post a photo tomorrow or later today if I can. Thanks for stopping by! I will be back later today to draw a winner for the blog candy. Oh my.. you guys ROCK! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the recipes! Thank you SOOOOO much! My crock is gonna rock baby! LOL. You make my days with the sweet comments! I wish I had enough Copics to share with everyone.

See ya soon!

Folding Desktop Calendar

Hey stampers! At our last stampin meeting, my friend Nancy Littrell brought this cool calendar she made. You can see it here in her SCS gallery. I've wanted to make one,but other stuff got in the way. Then, my friend Nancy Morgan posted this awesome tutorial, so I decided to just do it! I adore the Nancys. :) Thanks girls... for sharing all your awesome ideas and creations.







I changed each page just a bit, but I always used Stampin'Up! designer paper. One side for the base 3 3/4 x 5 mounted on a piece of Chocolate Chip 4 x 5.25. The Top Note piece was always the opposite side of the designer paper.











The only stamp set I used was Season by Season. The rest was made using either SU! Sizzix Dies or Punches.











The whole calendar is on one piece of Kraft card stock cut 5.5x 8.5 and scored at 4 1/4. Just like you'd cut for a regular sized card.

I changed the closure a bit. Instead of using ribbon, when I attached the chocolate chip layer onto the Kraft base, I did not add adhesive to the bottom portion. This way, you can slip the base that holds it open and upright, right between the Kraft base and the chocolate chip. This holds it open nice and sturdy.



The base piece was a scrap on my desk. It measures 4 x 3 scored in one inch on each end of the four inch side.






















There ya have it! A fun quick gift for someone's desk. Please visit Nancy for the tutorial, she did a great job! I love her blog!! And, if you have a chance, please leave Nancy Littrell a comment on her calendar too..... You girls are DA bomb! :)

Have a wonderful Sunday! Thanks for stopping by!




PS... I added the additional photos so that you can see how the center piece works to keep the calendar from tipping over. Hope that makes more sense. :)

Tri Fold Dr. Peanut

Happy Saturday! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend so far. Did you get all your shopping done? As much as it freaks me out to be shopping in all the crowds, it must be nice to finish your shopping all in one day.

I made this cute little card for a very special little girl, who's having a really hard time right now. You can read about my friend Laurie and her daughter here. I sent the family a card a few weeks ago, but I want to send something just to Alison to hopefully bring a smile and let her know how many people are thinking of her and wishing her well.

This is a Tri fold card I designed back in October 2005 for Portland SU! Regionals. You can find a tutorial here that I wrote for Scor-pal . These cards are easy and fun to make.

My favorite part of the card is the little details in the image. You all know how much I love my Sakura Glaze pens... well, I added some sparkle under the clear glaze with my atyou Spica pens. So, the little disc on the nurses hat, and the toenails of Dr. Peanut are all sparkly and raised up. I also added some dimension to the peanuts on the side and under the image. (click on the image to see)




You can't really see in the photos, but it's really cool... you just HAVE to touch it! Love the sparkle that the Spica pens add.... and so easy to do in those little spaces.

I also used the yellow glaze pen on the stethoscope and more Spica on the flowers.





Supplies:

Stamps: Dr. Peanut (Our Craft Lounge)
Paper: Just Dreamy2 (My Mind's Eye), Neenah White, Prism Island Mist Light.
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers C1, C3, E21, R20, Y21, YG11,R05, W1,G000.
Other: Sakura Glaze Pens, atyou Spica Pens, Circle Nesties, Cuttlebug, Ric Rac (Walmart), Curly Label Punch (SU!), Small Oval Punch (SU!), American Crafts White Ribbon, Scor-pal.

Enjoy your Saturday... thanks for stopping by!

Quickie Gift Cards

Hello everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. Today I'm going to share the third project we did at my last workshop. This is a super easy, super fast, but cute little gift card holder. My friend Pinie shared this on her blog back in March. She received one in a Control Freak swap from Erin Blair. Thanks girls!

Okay, so I know it's not SUPER Christmas like, but I don't have any of the new Christmas paper yet. And, even though it's not "Christmas" paper, I'd totally send it as a gift for the holidays. Gift cards are THE BEST thing to give. Man, my kids love getting iTune cards. I love getting Starbucks or Human Bean Coffee cards, heck, doesn't everyone love gift cards?


You could totally dress this up if you wanted to make it really special. Add a main stamped image, run some ribbon under it that ties on the side. The possibilities are limitless. But, this one was super easy ... just think how many you could whip out and be done with your list of gifts to give? Oh yah baby.

Here's how easy they are:

Cut your cardstock 4 1/4 x 11
Score each end in 3 inches
Score in the center at 5.5
Make a W shape with the center (is that a mountain fold?)
Tape that inside portion on the sides only.
Fold the front and back flaps back and insert the center end into your Tabletop paper cutter. Slice off that center fold.
Take the Designer Label punch and insert half way to make a little slot to pull the card in and out.
Decorate.... you are done!


My front image was easy peasy. I took the stripped stamp from the Curly Label Bundle stamp set, stamped it with Riding Hood Red classic ink on Whisper White. Punched it out using the Curly Label punch. Then I grabbed the Merry Christmas stamp, stamped it with Basic Black, then used the Large Oval punch to punch out the center portion. Line them up and stick them together. Attach with brads. This time of the year, you have to appreciate easy. :)

Supplies:

Stamps: Curly Label Bundle, Snowflake Roller Wheel (the inside).
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose Designer Paper, Whisper White, Textured Kiwi Kiss.
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red.
Other: Curly Label Punch, Large Oval Punch, Vintage Brads, Crafter's Tool Kit, Designer Label Punch, Scor-Pal.

Have a great week everyone.... can you believe it's OCTOBER? Can we slow down a bit please? Dang....

Thanks for stopping by!!