Embossed Elements: GRADUATION + a Giveaway!

Greetings, friends! I'm here today with the April edition of my monthly Embossed Elements feature for the DeNami Design blog. Today I'm gearing up for graduation season with two different cards using fun embossing folders from the DeNami store.

My first project features the oh-so-festive Graduation Hat Embossing Folder.  I used it (along with Congratulations Circle and the diploma and mortarboard stamps from the cling Graduation Set) to make a congratulatory card for the new graduate.

I chose the colors of my daughter's high school (including some fabulous DeNami Leaf Green cardstock for the embossed panel and the paper-pieced mortarboard) for this creation and went with a design that really shows off that awesome embossed sea of graduation caps. Doesn't it look like a crowd of grads has just tossed their mortarboards into the air at the end of the commencement ceremony? That image always makes me smile :). Not only is this embossing folder super for graduation cards, but it would also be perfect for making graduation invitations or graduation thank you notes.

I don't find myself needing graduation cards all that often (although as my kids progress further through school, I imagine that will begin to change!), so I was reluctant at first to invest in purely graduation-themed products. Just in case you find yourself in a similar situation, I wanted to show you another option for a fun graduation card using non-graduation-specific products. This project features the Bunting Embossing Folder.

After embossing my white card base with the Bunting EF, I embossed several scraps of patterned paper (once again choosing a color scheme inspired by my daughter's high school) and then paper-pieced each of the pennants. I love how it turned out! I completed my clean and simple design with a loopy bow tied in baker's twine from the Spring Twine 3-pack and a stamped Small Congratulations sentiment.

I love the festive look that the embossed pennant banner gives this congratulations card. It's so easy to personalize the bunting with the recipient's school colors. But I can also think of all kinds of other occasions--not just graduations!--that this embossing folder would be perfect for: birthday, baby, weddings, anniversaries, Independence Day, New Year's, . . . the list could go on and on!!

Thanks for taking a peek at my embossed graduation projects today. I hope I was able to inspire you!

How would you like the chance to win this Graduation Hat Embossing Folder? I have one up for grabs in an Embossed Elements giveaway! Want to be in the running? Just leave me a comment on this post using the word "MORTARBOARD." There's no need to be a follower of my blog to enter, but if you are a follower (or become a new follower!), you can have a second entry in the drawing--just leave me a second comment telling me that you are a follower and how you follow. :)

I'll leave commenting open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 30, 2014, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, May 1, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

Thanks for joining me today!
Emily

Good Teaching

Yesterday was my kids's first day of school for the 2013-2014 academic year. The summer went by so fast! And that's not the only thing going fast--my first-born started high school yesterday. Eek!! I can't possibly be old enough to be the parent of a high school student, can I???? {apparently the answer to that is "yes," but it sure doesn't seem possible!}

I expect my children to write thank you notes to their teachers at the end of the year, and I figure it's never too early to start accumulating a stash. So, here's my first teacher thank-you note of the year (it's also being featured over on the DeNami blog today):

I printed that awesome quote by Josef Albers directly on the card base, and then added a sweet teacher-appropriate decoration made with the Small Apple stamp and "thanks" sentiment from the Everyday Greetings stamp set, both from DeNami Design.

I heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder and then watercolor painted it using dye inks.

Thanks so much for dropping by today. I hope you have a fabulous day! :D
Emily

My son has been busy . . .

So, our 14YO daughter is away this week on her 8th-grade class trip to Washington, D.C. She left early Monday morning and returns late Friday night. Our 10YO son has been kind of lost without her, so he's been asking to make cards with me. I'm tickled pink! It's keeping him busy (and taking his mind off his sister's absence) and giving us some fun stuff to do together.

We've been checking the daily challenge at SplitcoastStampers each morning and talking about what he'd like to make for it while we eat breakfast. And then if there's time, we'll start pulling out supplies before he heads off to school, and then he finishes up his project after school. He's doing a great job with everything! I have him cut and score his card bases (great math practice, as he needs to figure out where the halfway point is). And he's cut his panels and mats, too, figuring out the right sizes and margins along the way. He's a pro at stamping and punching, too!

I also showed him how to color with my Copic markers, which he loves! I'm not setting him loose on his own, mind you (they are just too expensive for that!), but sitting with him and giving him guidance on where to color light and dark, and showing him how to blend. The tendency of alcohol inks to bleed throws him off a bit, but he's doing a fabulous job.

He has been having soooooooooo much fun stamping with my DeNami stamps this week. I thought you might enjoy seeing what he's made so far:

A thank-you note for his band teacher (their last band practice will be tomorrow, so he'll hand-deliver his card with his hand-written message inside.) He made this for the SCS color challenge to use Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, and Daffodil Delight. The band stamp is an old one from Inkadinkadoo, and the rest are from DeNami Design: Just a Note from All Occasion Sentiments set and Mini Music Notes. We also used some Musical Notes Washi Tape from DeNami.
 

A Father's Day card for his daddy! He made this for this week's SCS sketch challenge.  He used Business Chickie, Computer Chickie, and Happy Father's Day cling stamp from DeNami.

This morning he made a thank-you card for one of his teachers (his regular 4th grade teacher is out on maternity leave right now, so this one is for his long-term substitute that his class is finishing out the year with.) He made this for this week's SCS ways to use it challenge, which is to make a one-layer card. My son LOVES using my Stamp-a-majig! The frame is from an old Stampin' Up set (Sweet Dreams). He also used Back to School Chickie and Brushed Thank You stamps from DeNami.

For my son, part of the fun of making these cards has been uploading them to his account on Splitcoast and seeing if anyone makes any comments. He's having a blast being part of the stamping community there!

Well, that's all for now--thanks so much for stopping by today and sharing a little bit of my proud-mama bliss!
Emily

DeNami Back-to-School Blog Hop

Good morning, friends! And welcome to the DeNami Design Back-to-School Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showcasing projects that are just perfect for this time of year: anything having to do with going back to school!

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Pattie Goldman's blog, Paper Silhouettes. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are some super-fun DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky commenters will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, September 10, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

So, for my back-to-school project I made packaging for a yummy back-to-school muffin! Perfect for surprising your favorite student or teacher with a good-luck breakfast send-off. :D

Isn't that DeNami Cupcake Boutique Box absolutely adorable? It's a 4.25" cube, the perfect size for packaging up decorated cupcakes or gourmet muffins. You can order them directly from the DeNami web store in packages of six. You can also purchase an awesome downloadable cupcake holder template from DeNami. It fits in the Cupcake Boutique Boxes perfectly! I printed my template directly on a sheet of white cardstock and trimmed it down. Then I used the DeNami Small Apple in red to stamp a background all over the cupcake holder.

My other back-to-school accent for this first-day-of-school muffin box was made by stamping the sweet Chickie School Bus on white cardstock and then coloring it in with my colored pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits and a paper blending stump.

All that was left then was to pop in a yummy muffin and tie it up with some red ribbon! Perfect for getting the new year off to a great start with a special breakfast treat!


That wraps it up for me! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes and then you can be on your way to the next stop on the hop, the blog of Virginia Larsen, GinnyLou Studio. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,

Emily

Thank-You Treat

Hey, there! I'm comin' atcha today with a fun and sweet little treat. I mean, really--who can resist DeNami chickies and M&Ms???

The focal point of my design is a brand-new stamp from DeNami, the Back-to-School Chickie, and we are featuring it this week as the DeNami Product Spotlight.

It's so perfect for back-to-school creations or for little thank-you gifts (or treats!) for teachers, tutors, librarians, and volunteers. And as this week's product spotlight, this adorable chickie stamp is on sale for the next week.

My little treat box came together so quickly and easily! I heat embossed the image and sentiment on watercolor paper, and then watercolor painted this cute little tableau with dye inks in less than five minutes. I punched it all out with a label punch and drew in a dotted black border with a Sakura Glaze pen. See that fun little clear treat box? That's one of DeNami's clear boutique boxes (the 2¼" x 2¼" x 1" size--perfect as favor, truffle, or treat boxes), and they are such a great deal. One 10-pack costs just $4. Amazing! After filling the box with peanut M&Ms, I tied it up with some red baker's twine from the Classic Twine 3-pack, and adhered my label to the box with some foam tape. Done!

Be sure to visit the DeNami blog today to see how the rest of the design team used this week's Spotlight product. I know you'll come away with a ton of ideas! 

Thanks for checking out my little slice of happy for today!

Emily

Stamps: Back To School Chickie,  Everyday Greetings stamp set by DeNami Design

Paper: Canson watercolor paper

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, various dye inks for watercolor painting

Accessories: DeNami Boutique Box, baker's twine, clear embossing powder, heat tool, label punch, Sakura Glaze pen

Techniques: heat embossing, watercolor painting

Bonjour

My kids' last day of school is June 15. I've known this for quite some time. So why is it always a shock when I get this close to the end of the school year and realize that we need thank you cards and gifts for teachers and scout leaders and such? Yikes! My daughter wants to give each of her 7th grade academic teachers a thank you note (and "maybe a little treat, too?" she asks with big puppy dog eyes). Fortunately I've created some teacher thanks cards throughout the year, and set them aside in my stash, so there shouldn't be too many more that we need. {The gifts may be another story! I'll have to take stock and report back.}

But we wanted a special card for my daughter's French teacher. You know, something kind of, well, . . . French! So today I worked on this card, which should fit the bill:

I was inspired by the Doilies & Lace Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. I just LOVE how the doily ties in with the lacy doily-like design filling the Eiffel Tower, a stamp from the fabulously French-themed Ooh La La kit from Unity. The patterned papers are from a new digital paper kit that I am totally in love with. It's called Love in Paris by Shery K. Designs. See? I totally ran with the French theme. :D

OK, I'm off to get this linked up before the MFW challenge closes tonight!

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Emily

PS I'm also entering this in Chick Challenges #33 and the Unity challenge to use stripes.

Stamps: Ooh La La kit by Unity Stamp Co.

Paper: Basic Gray cardstock by Stampin' Up!, white cardstock by Papertrey Ink, Love in Paris Mega Digital Paper Pack by Shery K. Designs

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black

Accessories: doily, sewing machine, foam tape, sheer white ribbon, pearls, SU border punch

Techniques: machine stitching, fussy cutting

Graduation Congratulations

Hey, everybody! It's so hard to believe that we are already {over} a week into MAY, right? And that means that the Congratulation Season is upon us--you know, the time of year for graduations, weddings, and anniversaries. It's the perfect time for focusing on ideas for congratulations cards, and this week's DeNami Product Spotlight is just that: we are spotlighting the beautifully scripted Small Congratulations sentiment, which I've featured on a fun graduation card.

I've also used the mortarboard and tassel from the DeNami cling-style Graduation Set. I used a black gel pen to add a dotted line to show the path taken by a mortarboard thrown into the air by a celebrating new grad! Some clouds digital patterned paper made the perfect backdrop for my happy scene.

Curious as to how the rest of the DT used this lovely sentiment stamp? Be sure to swing by the DeNami blog to see their fabulous creations! And don't forget that you can get this stamp on sale in the DeNami store for the next week.

Thanks so much for dropping by today!

Emily

A Christmas Tag for FWF

Today is my kids' last day of school before Christmas AND for all of 2011! I have lots to accomplish on this last day with the house to myself, so I'll keep this brief.
I made this tag for my son to tie onto his Christmas gift to his teacher. I used the Unity Itty Bitty Merry and Bright for the image and sentiment, and that fun dotted background comes from the {ippity} set Love in Return. I'm linking up this all-Unity creation to today's Friends with Flair hop and the Unity Gift Wrapping challenge, which includes gift tags.
My son had fun decorating the gift bag he gave his gift in. I gave him a plain green handled gift bag and he went to town with some foamie shape stickers. For once, I remembered to suggest that he lay out all of his design before sticking them down--which he did! And ended up with such a cute scene. He was so proud of his work. What a sweetie!

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Have fun!
Emily

Global View Teacher Thanks

I seem to be on a thank-you note kick here recently!
I was inspired by the Get Inspired by Home Decor Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, which has this photo as its inspiration piece.
The stamps are from TradeFish Designs (which, sadly, is closing its doors). I colored the globe using my Prismacolor pencils.

I'm also entering this in the Tangled Twine challenge over at Ribbon Carousel Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

Thank You, Teacher

Still having trouble getting in the groove after a {meh} week last week. So this is just a quick card today to re-insert and play along with two challenges (both new to me) that are ending today: Go Fish! Challenge #3, a color challenge to use orange, yellow, and white, and Skipping Stones Sketch Challenge #99 I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Challenge, which is an "Anything Goes" challenge.

All stamps are from TradeFish Designs' Back 2 School set, which I was lucky enough to win earlier this month.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

DeNami Product Spotlight: Small Apple

Today the DeNami Design Team is doing a Product Spotlight on an adorable DeNami stamp, so timely for fall projects. It's the Small Apple stamp!

There are so many awesome possibilities for this sweet image--and you can get a ton of apple inspiration from the design team on today's post on the DeNami blog. And, as September Guest Designer at DeNami Design, I get to play along with the rest of the Design Team! Here's the project that I came up with:

I pack lunches for my two kids to eat at school every day. As I was preparing my project for this Product Spotlight last week, my kids were getting ready for their first day back to school--which, of course, got me thinking. They both use durable, re-usable Lands End lunchboxes, so we don't use many paper lunch bags. However, whenever my kids go on school field trips, they need to take their lunches in a disposable bag. I thought it would be cool to make each of them a decorated lunch bag so they'll be all set for their first field trips of the year (whenever those may be!). A specially decorated bag should help them spot their lunches in the crush of all those brown bags thrown in the crate their teachers use for transporting everyone's lunches--or that's the theory, anyway. I colored in a row of apples on each bag--that will be for writing their names (one letter per apple, of course!) on their bags later when it's time to pack a field trip lunch.

When I finished decorating these lunch bags, I just couldn't stop! So I expanded this into a "lunch set" by stamping matching paper napkins to send along with lunch and making a pair of "lunchbox notes" to drop in, too, to let the kiddos know that I love them and am thinking of them! Let the onslaught of field trips begin!

Don't have lunches to pack for anyone at your house? Not to worry! You could use a similar idea to make a quick and easy gift bag or party goodie bag. Wouldn't it be fun to package a half dozen apple cinnamon muffins for a neighbor or friend in a sweet little apple-decorated bag like this??

Thanks so much for stopping by for my little slice of bliss today!! See you again soon. :)
Emily

Project Recipe:
Stamps: DeNami Small Apple stamp
Paper: DeNami Red cardstock, Mark's Finest Papers white cardstock
Ink: Versafine Red Satin
Accessories: SU scalloped trim border punch, colored pencils, brown paper lunch bag, white paper napkins, red gingham ribbon

Back to School with Friends with Flair

Today I'm sharing a project I made for Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop. Anyone with a project made with Unity stamps can join in! You can find details, prize information, and a full list of players on the Unity Stamp Company blog. It's great to be back with FWF again after a busy summer!

I made this card for the Unity Back-to-School Challenge and for the current {ippity} 1-2-3 Challenge, which is to use 1 stamped image or sentiment, 2 colors of cardstock, and 3 different patterned papers. This was a little trickier than I thought it would be! But I love the result.

My 1 stamped image is from the {ippity} set Books a'Flutter and was colored with my trusty colored pencils. For some reason, when I think "back to school," I think red, yellow, and green. Why is that?? I really couldn't envision this card any other way, so I just ran with it--straight to my trusty BasicGrey June Bug pad for some scraps of great DP for the 3 different patterned papers requirement. And, obviously, I went with red and golden yellow (it's actually Crushed Curry, a retired SU In Color from a few years ago) for my 2 cardstock colors.

I kept this nice, flat, and mailable--just adding some black zig-zag stitching for contrast and popping up my stack of books on foam tape for depth. Done!!

Thanks so much for stopping by for my little slice of bliss for today!
Emily

Stamps: Books a'Flutter from {ippity} by Unity Stamp Co.
Paper: Crushed Curry textured CS from Stampin' Up!, red CS from The Paper Company, white CS from Mark's Finest Papers
Ink: Versafine onyx, Ranger antique linen distress ink
Accessories: 1" circle punch, 1.25" circle punch, colored pencils, foam tape, sewing machine, sponge dauber
Techniques: machine stitching, sponging

Unity FWF~~Teacher Thanks

Today I'm playing along with Unity's
Friends with Flair!

You can find out all of the details over on the Unity Stamp Company blog. (You should check it out--there are prizes involved!)

First, you should know that I am a thank-you kind of gal. I thank people for holding the door, for bagging my groceries, for stopping to let us cross the street. I thank my kids for emptying the dishwasher, my husband for mowing the grass, my neighbor for taking my son to school. I say thank you, I write thank you, I sing thank you. I'm teaching my kids to do the same. I'm a big believer in "Thank You" and its power!!

That said, I think June is the "Thank You" season! My kids' last day of school (June 22) is fast approaching, and we have a long list of people to thank for their leadership and service this year: teachers, helpers, coaches, scout leaders, youth advisers. The list could go on and on! So I'm trying to kick the end-of-year thank-you-gift-and-card-making into high gear!! And today I'm sharing a thank-you project that I collaborated on with my 8YO son for his second-grade teacher.
I stamped the adorable books image from {ippity}'s Books a'Flutter kit on a piece of notebook paper, and my son colored it in with crayons. The sentiment is a digital one that I downloaded from Paper Crafts magazine (here). I sorted through my kids' crayon boxes to find four that were still in decent shape (quite the task, I tell ya!) and used them to frame our notebook panel. Glossy Accents was perfect for gluing on the crayons!!

The background paper is actually a page from the 1964 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary. I bought it at a used bookstore last year for $3, specifically to cut up in paper projects. A great investment! (And in the long run, so much cheaper than buying text patterned paper by the sheet.) Anyway, I used the "T" dictionary page that included "teacher" and cut up the page so that the "teacher" entry would peek out strategically at the bottom of the panel. Fortunately, that approach to cutting also ensured that the entry for "teat," just one line down from "teacher" in the next column, was eliminated from the layout. Whew! As wonderful and fun-loving as Mrs. Berry is, I doubt that she would have found that amusing.

So, there you have it!! My son will write a thank you note inside following his patented thank-you-note-writing formula (which is suspiciously similar to the paragraph-writing recipe he learned from Mrs. Berry this year. See? They do pay attention! And won't that make Mrs. Berry proud?): greeting, opening sentence, 2-3 details, wrap-up sentence, "love."

I know it makes me proud.

Thanks for joining me for my little slice of bliss for today!!
Emily

5.5" x 5.5" Card Recipe:
Stamps: Books a'Flutter from {ippity} by Unity Stamp Co.
Paper: Wild Wasabi CS from Stampin' Up!, red CS from The Paper Company, notebook paper, page from vintage dictionary
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: crayons, Glossy Accents, craft foam sheets, Martha Stewart loops punch-around-the-page set

Back to School

I was in a panic earlier this week when my DH mentioned that our August vacation was coming up very quickly and that we would only have one week of summer break left after that before the kids go back to school. How could that be??? There are so many more things that I want to do with the kids this summer--it can't be over yet!!

Of course, it's not (over yet, that is) and they don't go back to school until September 7, so there's time, but I've got to make sure it doesn't get away from us. Adding to my panic was the matter of back-to-school supplies. My DD starts middle school in the fall, and she received her class schedule and supplies list in the mail this week. With my new awareness that time is flying, I was afraid that if we didn't get a handle on school supplies now--before our vacation--that nothing would be left in the stores (or on sale) by the time we get back. SO, we hit the back-to-school sales yesterday and today, and I'm happy to report that DD is now completely provisioned with her middle school supplies! She was a huge help in surveying what could be re-used from last year and is tickled pink over all of her new stuff, including her 3-ring binders, highlighters, calculator, Wite-Out, and 4GB USB flash drive, all of which are making her feel so grown up. She can't stop looking at it all and has been carrying her loaded school backpack around the house today. It's so cute!! DS hasn't received a supply list from his new teacher yet, but second grade supplies aren't nearly as complicated, so we guessed. New crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, and an assignment folder are safe bets, so he got to pick out all of those. If he doesn't need them at school, we're sure to use them at home. When his list does arrive, we'll take a quick trip to buy anything that's missing at that point. Whew! I'm feeling a little less harried now!

With the fresh scent of school supplies still in my head, I had so much fun this afternoon kicking back to make this "Back to School" theme card for the Paper Sundaes #28 Challenge! I don't normally send back-to-school cards as such, but I thought it would make a great teacher thank you card later in the year, so I'll put it aside for that. This is also for:

• today's SCS challenge, WT281, to incorporate woodgrain in a card. I don't have anything woodgrain, so I tried making some faux woodgrain (by dragging my burnt umber ink pad across a scrap of kraft card stock). Here's a close up. Not too bad, I thought!
  
• this week's {ippity} challenge IHHC34, which is a your-choice 1-2-3 challenge. I chose 1 great sentiment, 2 punched butterflies, and 3 buttons.
• this week's Unity Addicts' Challenge UAC11, to make a card with no designer paper. No problem! I ripped a page from an old dictionary as my background paper, plus used {ippity}'s A Bit of Burlap background stamp in several places, and, of course, a panel of my faux woodgrain!
• Flutter By Wednesday #115
  
• Card Patterns Sketch #74 Challenge, which was a bit tough. There's a lot going on in this one!
  

I'm looking forward to meeting a friend for dinner tonight. I've hardly seen her this summer! So it will be great to relax and catch up. We're going to a local grille famous for its barbecue. My mouth is already watering for one of their pulled-pork sandwiches!! Can't wait :)

Thanks for dropping by to share my little slice of bliss today!!

SUPPLIES:
Stamps: {ippity} Books a'Flutter, {ippity} A Bit of Burlap
Paper: PTI kraft CS, various Paper Company CS, book page ripped from vintage dictionary
Ink: Palette burnt umber
Accessories: SU tag corner punch, MS royal butterfly punch, colored pencils, OMS, paper blending stump, buttons from my stash, brown burlap string, glue dots, dimensionals
Techniques: gamsol magic, faux woodgrain