FAVOR BOX

A friend of mine is hostessing a bridal shower in a couple of months and asked for some ideas for gifts for the guests. I suggested a few items and various packaging ideas but got this one stuck in my head and wanted to "see" it.


In my mind's eye, I envisioned an all white box/flower with a ribbon wrapped from bottom to top to seal the box closed. I also envisioned the box made from a shimmery white paper like STAMPIN'UP!'s SPECIALTY PAPER: BRIDE. But I don't own any shimmery white paper and was too anxious to put the box together to wait until I could order some. THIS then is my compromise and actually quite pretty.

I started by creating the box lid from WHISPER WHITE cardstock. I cut a 5" square, scored it at 1" on all sides then embossed it. Next I slit the right bottom corner along the vertical score line from paper edge to horizontal score line forming a tab. I rotated the cardstock and repeated that step on the other 3 corners. Once all the tabs were created, I fold along all the score lines and glued the tabs to the inside creating the lid. The bottom section of the box was created basically the same. The paper was reinforced with cardstock then cut at 7 7/8" square. Then scored at 2.5" on all sides.

My favorite part is the paper flower. I LOVE making these! They are so pretty - and soooooo easy to make. This one was made from white computer paper. I punched 8 layers with the STAMPIN'UP! SCALLOPED CIRCLE PUNCH, lightly sponged each layer with SU!BLUSH BLOSSOM ink, then folded, crinkled, wadded and unwrapped each one so that I could join them together in the center with a small brad. Once joined together I crinkled and wadded each layer again, pushed down the edges of the center layers and VOILA! a pretty little dahlia-type flower. There are variations too. If you want a "countrified" flower, leave the inner petals unfurled and add a button. VERY cute!

Until Next Time -

Happy Stamping!

Jill

FROM GARBAGE TO GOLD

Remember the other day I posted a masculine graduation card and made the comment that feminine cards were no problem for me - this is one of the reasons. I am the owner of a VERY cute stamp for girls. The stamp is manufactured by 'ART GONE WILD". You can order one of their catalogs HERE. I purchased this one several years ago though so I don't know if it is still available.



I wanted to keep this card very simple with just a couple of embellishments. The cardbase is WHISPER WHITE embossed with a CUTTLEBUG embossing folder. The image was stamped with MEMENTO TUXEDO BLACK ink onto NEENAH CLASSIC SOLAR WHITE cardstock, colored with COPIC markers then matted onto BRILLIANT BLUE cardstock.

My favorite part though is the tassel! I've had it tucked away for almost 16 years! It belonged to my mother and I inherited it among her sewing things when she died. The funny thing about this is I had just tossed this tassel into my studio garbage a few days before while I was doing some cleaning, figuring if I hadn't used it in all this time I never would. Then when I made this card I thought it needed a tassel and remembered the one I'd thrown away. It would be perfect but it was in the garbage! So, what else could I do but dig through the garbage to find it!!!! EWWWWWWW!!!!!!! Fortunately for me, there was only paper in there so it wasn't damaged and I wasn't totally grossed out!

To add the tassel, I used a CRAFT KNIFE and cut small slits across the top and bottom edges of the "DREAM BIG" sign and then weaved the tassel loop behind and up through the matted image. Using wire cutters, I cut the loop from the plastic star button and adhered it into place with a GLUE DOT.

It really is a quick and simple card - but one I think is very cheery.

Until Next Time -
Happy Stamping!

Jill

MAGNOLIA COMES TO PEORIA

One of the local scrapbook stores has started carrying Magnolia stamps. Granted, the selection is pretty limited at this point, but I was excited to see a few hanging with the other unmounted stamps.

I didn't have my glasses on when I chose this image. I could tell she was a fairy but couldn't make out what she was holding in her hands. I was assured by the sales clerk it was a chubby little bird. Imagine my surprise when I stamped it out and a frog magically appeared where there should have been a bird!!!

There is ALOT of bling on this card and I chose bright vibrant colors - because the intended recipient is a 9 year old girl. What little girl do you know who doesn't love sparkly, shiny stuff? Purple gemstones, Stardust STICKLES, glittered designer paper really give it that sparkle and shine. Other items I used to create this card were a CUTTLEBUG embossing folder, SU! EGGPLANT ENVY and CERTAINLY CELERY cardstocks, SU! SCALLOPED CORNER PUNCH, COPIC markers, SIGNO WHITE GEL PEN and a few PAPER FLOWERS.

Time to shower and get ready for the work week.

Until Next Time -

Happy Stamping!

Jill

MOTHER'S DAY, SURPRISES & LAUGHTER

Happy Mother's Day! For those of you who are blessed enough to still have your mother, I hope you will or have honored her in some special way today. For those of you whose mother is gone from you, I pray that you honor her today with your memories and that those memories bring a smile instead of tears.


The post I had intended for today has changed a bit due to an unexpected gift I found this morning. After I tell you about the gift, the originally intended project will follow.

My son is in the ranks of the unemployed at this time so I knew if there was a gift waiting for me when I woke this morning it would be from my hubby, probably flowers. Instead, I walked from the bedroom to the dining room and found this waiting on the dining room table.

Of course I hadn't put my contacts in so all I could see were colors and recognized it as M&Ms in a dish. THIS is not a hubby gift - this was an "I'm thinking of you, Mom" gift from a son who is almost penniless! What a sweet surprise!

Upon closer inspection, I noticed the card!!! Do you recognize it? It's one I made and posted last week. DS had "borrowed" it from my stash. Of course I laughed. I'm getting one of my own cards for Mother's Day! My next thought had to do with making another card for the person I made this one for but as I lifted it out of the candy bowl I realized how well my son knows me.

Out fell this little note (edited for personal reasons).

He had apparently given thought that this card MIGHT have been made for someone else so he didn't write IN the card but simply used it as a covering for his love note! I absolutely LOVE his sense of humor!!!! LOL!

NOW - for the intended Mother's Day post:

I made this card for my Mother-in-Law.

I used WHISPER WHITE and BRILLIANT BLUE cardsocks, the TEXTILE Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities LABELS FOUR, the Stampin'Up! stamp set LONG STEMMED, COPIC markers, a gold KRYLON pen, ribbon and a button (colored with COPICS) to create this card.

If you look closely you will notice that the gold line is not smooth on the right side of the cardbase. This occurs when you start outlining in gold and realize your pen nib is beginning to deteriorate! I've had my pen for a couple of years now - I'm thinking it's time for a replacement!

Thanks for visiting with me -
Have a wonderful day -
and until next time -
Happy Stamping!

Jill

MASCULINE GRADUATION CARD

My family has a few graduations this month - a great-nephew from high school, a nephew from high school and a great-niece from 8th grade. Feminine cards are no problem for me but cards for males over the age of 8 are difficult. I like embellishments - but sometimes they frill up a card too much and it comes out looking more girlish than manly - especially if I use ribbon. However, I did use ribbon on today's project and I think it still is suitably masculine.

Another thing I struggle with is gift buying for young men so I knew from the start I wanted to create a card that was a money holder. I used WHISPER WHITE cardstock and cut it to 6" x 9.5". Then I scored across the width at 3" and 6.25". The 3" flap was cut at an angle so that the cash peeks out from the top, right side of the flap.

I used 3 coordinating designer papers from REMINISCE. I chose more formal designs in white, black, and silver. I don't know if you can see it in the photos, but each of the papers have just the slightest shimmer. Very elegant. I also used SU! GOING GRAY as a mat for the front background.

Once I covered the cardbase with designer paper, I applied a very thin line of glue along the left edge of the inside of the flap to help secure the money. Only the top and right edges of the flap remain open.

The graduation greeting on the inside of the card was borrowed from a friend. It is manufactured in 1999 by PSX STAMPS. First I used the EMBOSSING BUDDY on a piece of WHISPER WHITE cardstock then stamped the image in VERSAMARK and heat embossed using BLACK DETAIL embossing powder. I used a SPELLBINDERS NESTABIILITIES CIRCLE to cutout the design then layered it on a larger circle of SU! GOING GRAY! I applied adhesive to the bottom 1/3 of the medallion and adhered it to the flap.

For the embellishments I added a length of silvery-gray and white striped ribbon to help hold the card closed. Normally I don't use ribbon on a masculine card, but this card was too elegant for twine or raffia but I wanted something to hold money secure on the right side so it wouldn't slip out as the card was removed from the envelope. I thought I was safe with a striped ribbon tied in a knot.

The card looked pretty good at this point but I felt it still needed a little "pop". I cut a strip of white computer paper, rolled it up, glued it close to the exposed edge then tied a very tiny length of 1/8" black satin ribbon. VOILA! A very quick and easy diploma. I attached it to the ribbon knot with SU! MINI GLUE DOTS.

Since my great-nephew and nephew are on opposite sides of the family I decided to make 2 of the same card. I liked the results of the first one and besides, it saved me from having to come up with yet another masculine design!

Hope you liked the project today - I certainly enjoyed creating it.

Until Next Time -

Happy Stamping!!!!

Jill

CAS: GENTLER TIMES

It's Friday!!!!! Yay!!!!! and I have the entire weekend FREE of comittments! THAT IS SO WONDERFUL!!!!! I haven't been very productive this week at home so I'm looking forward to some time in the morning working in the flower beds, doing some cleaning around the house mid-morning and then spending time in the early afternoon with my hubby before he heads off to work. Then what???? You guessed correctly! I'll be off to my studio to play! ALLLLLLL AFTERNOON AND EVENING!

This is the only card I've made all week. I only had a few minutes so it is a quick, clean and simple one. Sometimes that's all we have time for and if you can hit it just right they are beautiful in their simplicity. I think THIS is one of those cards.

The inspriation for this card came from a spool of satin ribbon I have had for evah! I pulled it out of the drawer and decided today was the day it was going to get used. It is a 5/8" wide satin ribbon with a design in PALE PLUM and OLD OLIVE. (I know you don't see the ribbon in the photo - I'll tell you where it is in a while).

In all my years as a SU! Stamper and Demonstrator, I don't think I've EVER used PALE PLUM. I have several sheets of cardstock, don't own the reinker, and have an almost dried up ink pad. But that's the ONLY color that worked with the ribbon so it's the one I used. Now it's retiring and I find that it makes a beautifully soft card and I LIKE it. That figures doesn't it????

Anyway - I stamped an image from SU! GENTLER TIMES onto WHIPSER WHITE cardstock and cut it out using one of the SPELLBINDERS NESTABILITIES. Then I cut a larger shape from the same Nesties set and sponged it with PALE PLUM ink before removing the cardstock from the NESTIE. I used DIMENSIONALS to pop the image up off the sponged piece.

The cardbase is WHISPER WHITE with a piece of PALE PLUM cardstock cut 1/4" smaller on all sides. I cut another piece of WHISPER WHITE cardstock 1/8" smaller than the PALE PLUM piece on all sides, then embossed it with the CUTTLEBUG TEXTILE EMBOSSING folder. The pattern to this embossing folder matches the inspiration ribbon perfectly!

A few more DIMENSIONALS to pop up the center piece and it's finished. Very simple, very elegant.

Where did I put the ribbon? Back in the drawer of course! LOL!

Have a great day and until next time -
Happy Stamping!

Jill

NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING MONTH

National Scrapbooking Month Promotion

Promotion Dates: May 1-31, 2010

Place your online order HERE.
Promotion Details:
May is National Scrapbooking Month and in celebration, Stampin'Up! is offering a special promotion: purchase a qualifying scrapbooking stamp set or the My Digital Studio software and receive a FREE package of Designer brads--choose from four designs!

Qualifying products and Designer brads are listed below:

Page Description Item # Wood-Mount Item # Clear-Mount
81 Extreme Elements 115181 $26.95 ---
119 Framed with Love** 114389 $27.95 ---
128 Certified** 113706 $27.95 ---
129 Circle Circus 115778 $28.95 ---
12* Elements of Style 118611 $27.95 120045 $19.95
13* Mementos 119910 $27.95 120105 $19.95
13* Elements de style 119900 $27.95 120099 $19.95
14* Rough Type 118659 $26.95 120072 $18.95
22* Sentimental Journey 118513 $23.95 120075 $17.95
25* First Day 118521 $23.95 120051 $17.95

32* My Digital Studio DVD - 118108 $79.95

*From Summer Mini Catalog
**Last Chance stamp set!

Designer brads (one selection for each qualifying product purchase)
Page Description Item # Price
179 Flower Designer brads 112579 FREE
179 Filigree Designer brads 112577 FREE
179 Circle Designer brads 112571 FREE
179 Star Designer brads 112572 FREE

Things to Remember:
•There are no limits and is no minimum purchase to qualify for this promotion.
•Framed with Love and Certified stamp sets will be part of the 2010 Last Chance list.
•For each qualifying product purchased (see above for details), you will receive one free package of Designer brads.
•A warning will pop up reminding you to redeem your free item(s) if you attempt to close your order without adding them.
•Order deadlines: Monday, May 31, 2010; 12:50 PM (CST)

You can place your online order at my SU!Website: www.jillhaddad.stampinup.net or email me at jhaddad59@yahoo.com.

Thanks so much - Jill

DAISIES OR ASTERS?

What a question? Who can't tell the difference between a daisy and an aster? Right? But when you look at my card today - you might be a little confused yourself.

My inspiration for this design came from this card . I knew I had that same Cuttlebug Embossing Border but had only used it once. To me, the flower on the embossing border is obviously a daisy. I embossed three strips on whisper white then lightly sponged them in Close to Cocoa, Real Rust and More Mustard (I am going to MISS those ink colors!) I adhered those to a lovely piece of designer paper and put the entire piece on a cardbase of More Mustard. Then I added a lovely length of brown ribbon that has a light shimmer and is trimmed with just a hint of a metallic mustard color.

Now comes the confusing part. The card begged for autumn colors so I chose two autumn colored daisies in coordinating colors and sizes. Punched some mustard branches and created, not a daisy, but an ASTER. Guess I won't be sending this out for a summer birthday!

Oh well, I like the result anyway. The amber color gemstones finish it nicely.

Until Next Time -

Happy Stamping!

Jill

A TOUCH OF CUTWORK

I got up at 7:30 this morning to a quiet house. The men were still in bed so I decided that it probably wan't a good time to vacuum or start clanging around in the kitchen putting away the dishes and cleaning up from the night before. In fact, maybe I shouldn't try to clean house at all until AFTER they woke up. One in particular is not a happy camper if he doesn't get ALL his beauty sleep - and I wasn't in the mood for unhappiness on my Saturday morning!

So, I decided to engage in a quiet task: brusing out our Chow/Malamute/Collie mix, Samson. He's blowing coat horribly and I've needed to do it for quite some time but it's always such an undertaking so I keep putting it off. I knew I would have bribe him with treats to get him to sit still. I managed to keep him quiet for about 15 minutes. Then he thought we were playing a game so he started running around the living room and barking at the top of his lungs!!!! No, Samson, do not wake the men!!!! Half a kitchen garbage bag full of fur and I've only finished his head, back and shoulders! Obviously I couldn't do that 'quiet' chore so the only option left to me: STAMP!

I started by embossing a MARIANNE DESIGN stencil onto STAMPIN'UP! WHHISPER WHITE cardstock. Once I finished embossing I cut-out portions of the embossed design. Next I used my STAMPIN'UP! EMBOSSING BUDDY over the cardstock before stamping an image from STAMPIN'UP! WINGS OF FRIENDSHIP in VERSAMARK and heat embossing with a fine detail gold powder.

I used another image from the same stamp set to stamp and emboss the flowers. I colored them using STAMPIN'UP! PRETTY IN PINK ink and an AQUA PAINTER, then cut them out and attached them to the stenciled image.

The pink background was created using STAMPIN'UP! PINK PIROUETTE. I cut the cardstock then used the STAMPIN'UP! SCALLPERD CORNER PUNCH. After punching the corners, I used a CUTTLEBUG embossing folder: TEXTILE to emboss the background. The white mat was also given the same corner treatment.

Each piece was edged in gold using a METALLIC GOLD KRYLON pen before layering the pieces together.

TIP: Make sure to let the pieces completely dry before layering as some gold ink
will pick up on the back of the pieces. (Ask me how I know this!!!!!)

The finishing touches were the little gold beads for the flower centers and the STAMPIN'UP! PRETTY IN PINK satin ribbon (newly released in the current mini catalog).

I'm happy with the way this turned out and will probably use the technique to make more - but you can bet my Christmas Cards won't use this technique. This card took me 3 hours from start to finish. Of course I doubt it would take that long to make another just like it. I couldn't decide for a while on the layout so I played with several papers before coming up with this design. All in all though, it IS very labor intensive so if you don't like detail work - this technique is probably NOT for you.

Thanks for visiting -

Until Next Time -
Happy Stamping!

Jill