Washi Tape Tealights & Candle Holder - Sunday School Teacher Gifts

  A few weeks ago I did a "What to Washi" class with my customers.  We had a good time creating some cards and gift items using washi tape.  One of the projects was tea light candles with a matching glass candle holder.  This is such a quick project that you can keep the supplies on hand and make one up when you need a little something for a hostess gift, thank you or birthday present.

  I decided to make up a batch of these to give to the boys' Sunday School teachers to say thank you for "Shining Their Light" all year long.  The Gold Watercolor Wonder washi tape from the Occasion catalog was the perfect look for these.  And I'm happy to let you know that this item is carrying over into the new 2014-2015 catalog which is coming soon!

 The most narrow roll of washi tape fits perfectly around the base of these dollar store tea lights.  Just wrap it around the metal cup and snip for a clean finish.

  We packaged the lights in one of the 4"x6" cello bags with a piece of Brushed Gold cardstock.  I didn't take a picture of it but the underside of the cardstock is decorated with the washi tape as well.  To finish off the little package just roll the edge and tape it down with another piece of washi tape.

  For the glass candle holder I just alternated the 3 different tapes all the way around the 4 sides.  I used the paper snips to get clean cuts.  You could use all the same design or just 2....whatever you want...it's that simple!

  I couldn't get a good photo but when the tea light is lit the pattern of the washi tape stripes looks really cool.  These candle holders would be perfect to make if you had to host a dinner or wanted to change up your look for different seasons and holidays with investing in a ton of new items.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: none

Ink: none

Paper: Brushed Gold cardstock

Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Designer Washi Tape, 4x6 cello bags, Tea light candles (non-SU), glass candle holder (non-SU)

Girly Birthday - Fab Friday Re-Do

I'm trying to get back on track to posting more than just every other week for Fab Friday!  It seems lately I just don't have the time to stamp, take photos, edit photos and write a post!  Something has to give sometimes.  I hope the next few weeks will be less busy and I'll be able to share more.

I used the current Fab Friday sketch to make another card last weekend.  I needed a little girl birthday card and wanted to try the sketch on a happier card.  Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

  I thought this was a fun girly color combination.  I embossed the sentiment on Tempting Turquoise and cut it out with my oval framelits.  The flowers are punched out with the small scallop circle punch and crumpled up for some texture.

  I rounded opposite corners on the different layers for some extra interest.  And do you see the colored rhinestones?  How cool is it that the new Blendabilities markers color the rhinestones and pearls?  So cool!

  Hope you have a terrific weekend!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Geometrical

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Strawberry Slush, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Pink Pirouette, Quatrefancy DSP

Accessories: corner rounder, Decorative Dots embossing folder, rhinestones, Coastal Cabana Blendabilities, scallop circle punch, dimensionals, 1/8" taffeta ribbon

Sympathy Sketch - Fab Fri 41

Join us over at Fab Friday to see what you can do with this sketch!  I can't wait to play with it some more to make something a little more cheerful.  Unfortunately I needed a sympathy card this week and I used our sketch to get me started.

  Not going to chatter to much about this one other to say that the Daffodil Delight panel is a piece of the Watercolor Wonder DSP with the birds and branch stamped right on it with Smoky Slate ink. And for details on how to make this fork bow check out my tutorial.

Don't forget to look at the rest of the Design Team creations at Fab Friday....they are so talented aren't they??

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Thoughts & Prayers

Ink: Smoky Slate, Basic Gray

Paper: Smoky Slate, Watercolor Wonder DSP, Whisper White

Accessories: Basic Gray taffeta ribbon (retired), pearls, oval punch

Administrative Assistants Week - Fab Friday 40

 It's another Friday...time to celebrate with us at Fab Friday!!  We have a color challenge this time around.  Check it out:

Now don't do what I did...I used Basic Gray instead of Smoky Slate!  Call the challenge police!  Maybe that's why I had a hard time getting the Basic Gray to work in my design!??  Next time I'll be sure to double check my colors before adhering everything!

I made this card at the request of my husband.  He wanted to give his administrative assistant a special card along with a gift for Administrative Assistants Week.  I tried to make it special for her and hope she likes it.

 Since Betsy's Blossom's is on the retirement list I wanted to give it a little more love before it's gone for good.  The bird is heat embossing using Early Espresso embossing powder.  I did the bird twice, once on Whisper White and then again on Crisp Cantaloupe using just the Crisp Cantaloupe wings to layer on the other bird with dimensionals.

I prettied it up using a healthy sprinkling of rhinestones, ruffled stretch ribbon and a twine bow.

For my layout I used the current challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches as well.  So many things to do with that center panel!

 I hope you'll play along with us at Fab Friday.  Check out what the rest of the Design Team came up with and add your creation to the gallery!

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Betsy's Blossoms (retiring June1)

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Versamark

Paper:  Early Espresso, Basic Gray (should be Smokey Slate for the challenge!), Whisper White, Sweet Sorbet DSP (retired SAB)

Accessories: Early Espresso e.p., Circles Framelits, rhinestones, Summer Starfruit twine (retired SAB), ruffled stretch trim, dimensionals

Saying Goodbye! Stampin' Up! 2014 Retirement List

  Well it's finally upon us!  Stampin' Up! released the retirement list today.  It's a bittersweet time for us demonstrators.  On one hand we're excited to be getting a new catalog soon and see what new products they have in store for us but we're also kind of sad since some old favorites will be going away for good.

  Check your wish lists and put your orders in this week to have the best chance of getting what you want.  Stamps and Accessories are only while supplies last so you don't want to wait!  It's also FREE SHIPPING this week April 21-25 so that's an even better reason to get your order in!

  I've set up a hostess code to use when ordering online.  HOSTESS CODE: JWHGXNRX  If you place your order of at least $25 (before tax/shipping) you will have your class fee/order obligation waived for my May 27th class.  If you're not local to me but still place an order using the hostess code I will send you a special gift as a thank you!

  Check out my online store HERE to see the retirement list and place your orders!  Click "Show All" to make it super easy to scroll through all the products!

  If you would like to have the PDF files of the retirement lists just send me an email and I will get that out to you!

  Let me know if you have any questions about the hostess code or retirement list!

     And here is a card using one of the stamp sets that is retiring: Delightful Dozen.  This set is so useful...I used it on every other card!  So many great sentiments in a fun mix of fonts!  I will certainly miss this one!  It's also a great set for a new stamper since it covers so many occasions!

  

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today? 

  Stamps: Delightful Dozen - soon to be retired!

  Ink: Versamark

  Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Very Vanilla, Howlstooth & Scarringbone DSP (retired), Basic Gray

  Accessories: Island Indigo button, Island Indigo & Very Vanilla satin ribbon (retired), chalk marker, white embossing powder

Cantaloupe Poppy Birthday - FabFri39

  You know you want to start your Friday off with some stamping right?  Well Fab Friday is the place to go to.  We have a great sketch for this challenge!  So many ways to go with this one!

  I needed a card for my grandma's birthday next week and I thought some fresh spring colors would be a good start.   I was looking at a home magazine and saw a cool color combination so I matched it up with as close as I could get with Stampin' Up! colors.  I ended up with Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride, Crisp Cantaloupe and Early Espresso.

 
  The card base is Pear Pizzazz and then I stamped a piece of Very Vanilla Core'dinations with the Hardwood stamp in Pear Pizzazz ink.  Stamping right on the Core'dinations gives a really nice texture.  I also roughed up the edges with the distressing tool and sponged a bit of Early Espresso ink.

Next, I embossed a piece of Early Espresso Core'dinations with the Decorative Dots embossing folder.  I sanded the pattern as well as used the distressing tool.  Seriously, if you haven't gotten any of the Core'dinations cardstock yet put it on your next order.  You can thank me later (if you don't already have a demonstrator you can start shopping in my online store.  The link is over on the side bar ---->! ) I'm trying to be a good girl and use up some odds and ends so I grabbed a scrap of retired Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon  to use as the little skinny piece from the sketch.

  I had some fun embossing the the poppy from Happy Watercolor on watercolor paper and then coloring them in layering first the Blushing Bride and then Crisp Cantaloupe.  The Aquapainter was the perfect tool to lightly layer on the colors.  The centers are colored with Early Espresso for a bit of contrast.  It was fun just sitting and coloring and seeing how each flower turned out just a bit different.  I stacked dimensionals 2 deep for one poppy, then another I used just one layer, the third one is just adhered with SNAIL so I could layer them all at different heights.

  The sentiment from Petite Pairs is embossed in Early Espresso to finish off this card.  I hope my grandma likes it!  She used to do some stamping and card making before her eye sight got poor so I'm pretty sure that she'll appreciate the effort at least!

  Check out what the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team came up with and then get yourself to your stamping supplies and play along!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Watercolor, Petite Pairs

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride, Crisp Cantaloupe, Early Espresso, Versamark

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Very Vanilla & Early Espresso Core'dinations, watercolor paper

Accessories: white embossing powder, Early Espresso embossing powder, Decorative Dots e.f., dimensionals, distressing tool, Aquapainter, seam binding ribbon

 
 

 

 

Burlap & Blooms Wreath Kit

  Now that the spring weather has finally arrived it's time to put up some fresh new spring decorations to celebrate!

  I bought the Burlap & Blooms wreath kit way back in December when demonstrators got to preorder from the Occasions Spring catalog...super nice perk right?  Anyway since it was cold and Christmas time I didn't even look at it until about February.  And then it was really just to open to the package and see what all was in it.  We were still in the midst of crazy snow days and single digit temps so I put everything from the kit back in the package and there it sat until about 2 weeks ago.  I wanted to have the wreath complete so I could show it at stamp club to see if anyone would be interested in it for a class.

  It was so easy to put together and all together probably didn't take more than and hour or 2 once I got rolling and just started putting it together instead of just looking at it!

  It looks wonderful hanging in my front hall and adds such a nice pop of spring colors!

  Here are a few close ups...

 

 For my local ladies I've gotten my act together for April and have scheduled a few classes!  Check your email (or spam folder!) for details!  One of the classes is to make the Burlap & Blooms wreath!  

  If you are local to Glen Allen, VA and would like to join in the fun please send me an email at mandysurovy (at) yahoo (dot) com for all the details.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp (or create!) today?

Supplies: Burlap & Blooms wreath kit, glue gun, paper piercer

Retro Hexagon Hive

  Good morning!  It's so nice to see the sun shining this morning!  We've had a few days in a row of yucky, wet, cold weather here in Richmond.   The boys first soccer games of the season were cancelled on Saturday and they were so disappointed.  With all the extra time at home and not being able to go outside you'd think I would have gotten a lot accomplished right?  Nope.  I was totally lazy all weekend.  I think the most that I did was a few loads of laundry.  Really.  Not even stamping.  Now I'm probably going to spend all day kicking myself thinking of all the things I should have done!

  But first things first, here is another one of the cards we made at stamp club last week.  This one is so easy it's not even funny!  The Hexagon Hive thinlet die does all the work!

  The card base is So Saffron and then we layered a piece of the Retro Fresh DSP on top.  The Hexagon Hive thinlet was used with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.  The trick to getting all the cuts to go through is to use a piece of waxed paper on top of the cardstock when making your sandwich for the Big Shot.  I also think running it through twice worked well for my machine.  That way you know all your hexagons are cut and will fall right out....no poking!

  We layered the die cut on top of the DSP with dimensionals.  To embellish the the die cut we took some other Retro Fresh DSP and cut out the hexagons with the thinlet die and adhered them randomly.

  Using the Baked Brown Sugar and Tangerine Tango we inked up the sentiment from the Just Sayin' set and then cut it out with the matching framelit.  A little mini brad was added for some easy detail and then the word bubble was also popped up with dimensionals.

  Off to start on my "should have done it over the weekend" list!  =)

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Just Sayin'

Ink: markers- Baked Brown Sugar, Tangerine Tango

Paper: So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Retro Fresh DSP

Accessories: silver mini brad, Word Bubble framelits, Hexagon Hive thinlet