Stamping with the Stars

Christmas Calendar Card

I didn't invent the easel card, but I sure wish I had.  It looks so complicated, but it's super easy to make.  I guess the original concept was from Deborah March, but I found a great video tutorial at My Stampin' Dreams . I haven't seen anyone turn it into a calendar yet, so I guess that part is sort of my own.

Oh, and if you're wondering why it took me so long to post this article, it's because I made 40 of these puppies to send for Christmas cards this year. And no, I don't have too much time on my hands, I just can't stand the thought of going to all the trouble of making Christmas cards and then having them tossed or packed away after the holidays.  Maybe they'll keep it out for the calendar. (At least until spring, LOL)

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamp sets:  Holiday Lineup, Pg. 43 #111648; Many Merry Messages, Pg. 33 #116586; Punch Pals, Pg.40 #116588

Paper:  Merry Moments Designer Series Paper (DSP), Pg. 160 #102482; Real Red Cardstock (CS), Pg. 156 #103133; Old Olive CS, Pg. 156 #100702; Whisper White CS, Pg. 155 #100730

Ink:  Jet Black Staz-On, Pg. 190 #101406; Old Olive, Pg. 156 #102277; Stampin' Write Markers:  Real Red, Pg. 156 #100052; Old Olive, Pg. 156 #100079; More Mustard, Pg. 156 #100076; Ballet Blue, Pg. 157 #100066; Basic Black, Pg. 155 #100082; Optional:  Use Blender Pens, Pg. 192 #102845 with inkpads.  For instructions on using Blender Pens, go to my Snowman Cube tutorial.

Accessories:  Ticket Corner Punch, Pg. 186 #107214; 1/2" Circle Punch, Pg. 186 #104390; Dazzling Diamonds, Pg. 180 #102023; 2-Way Glue Pen, Pg. 192 #100425; Stampin' Dimensionals, Pg. 192 #104430; Sticky Strip, Pg. 192 #104294; Snail Adhesive, Pg. 192 #104332; Sponge Daubers, Pg. 192 #102892; Stamp-a-ma-jig, Pg. 191 #101049; Craft & rubber scissors, Pg. 191 #103179; Paper Piercing Tool, Pg. 191 #116631; Calendar Pads.  (I found mine at Stamp On This! LLC

Cut Real Red CS 4" x 8" and score at 2" and 4" on the 8" side as shown.  Apply Sticky Strip to the 2" x 4"  end panel.

Cut Whisper White CS 3" x 1-1/2".  Use the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position in image and stamp with Staz-On.

Color image with markers or Blender Pens.  Then dot the image with the 2-Way Glue Pen and apply the Dazzling Diamonds.  Ink around the edges with Old Olive. (Or your choice of color.) 

Cut Real Red CS 4" x 4".  Cut Designer Paper 3-3/4" x 3-3/4" and ink around the edges with Sponge Daubers and Old Olive ink.  Attach to the 4" square with Snail Adhesive.

Attach the image to 3-1/3" x 1-3/8" Real Red CS with Stampin' Dimensionals.  Attach to the card front with Snail as shown.

Attach the calendar with Sticky Strip.

Peel off the Sticky Strip on the card base and attach the card front as shown.  Only the bottom part of the card front will be attached to the base.

Now flip the card over and attach DSP to the 4" x 4" panel.  Measure in 2" from the front corner as shown and mark with a small dot.

Stamp a small snowflake image on Whisper White and punch out with the 1/2" Circle Punch.

Pierce the center of the image and insert a brad.  You'll have to cut the ends of the brad so they don't stick out of the circe when open.  You can use a wire snips, but I prefer my Craft & Rubber Scissors.  It cuts through wire and brads like string.

Attach the brad over the the mark in the center of the DSP with a dimensional.  You'll need the extra height to hold up the card front.

Stamp the sentiment on 3" x 1-1/4" Whisper White CS.  Punch out the corners with the Ticket Corner Punch and ink around the edges.  Cut Old Olive CS 3-1/4"x 1-1/2" and punch the corners.  Attach the sentiment with Stampin' Dimensionals.  Then attach to the card with Snail.

I'll be adding a piece of Whisper White to the top portion with a personal note and signature.

I ran a little experiment on this card yesterday:  I showed it to four different people to see if they would realize that the calendar would stand up.  Not one of them did.  They just read it and then closed it up like any other card.  I was afraid of that, so I'm going to add a little sticker behind the calendar saying that it should be tucked behind the button.

One other thing.  This card would fit into a 4-1/4" square envelope, but you'll have to pay an extra $.17 postage, so I'm send mine in standard A1 envelopes.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Be sure and check out My Stampin' Dreams to see the video I used to make the easel card.

Mickey 

Snowman Cube

SPOILER ALERT:  This is one of the projects we'll be making at our stamping club next week.

When I found these cute little note cubes, I knew I'd just have to use them in one of my workshop projects.  The really cool part is that I didn't know until I set the finished cube into the base that the short, chubby snowman in front would fit perfectly in the slot.

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamp set:  The More the Merrier, Hostess Level 3, Pg. 17

Paper:  Not Quite Navy cardstock (CS), Pg. 156 #101722

Ink: Basic Black, Pg. 155 #101179Real Red, Pg. 156 #101133; Garden Green, Pg. 156 #102272; Only Orange, Pg. 156 #102696; Ballet Blue, Pg. 157 #100907; Sahara Sand, Pg. 155 #105208

Accessories: Blender Pens, Pg. 192 #102845; Sticky Strip, Pg. 192 #104294; Red Gingham Ribbon, Pg. 183 #104827; Mini Glue Dots, Pg. 192 #103683; 3/4" Circle Punch, Pg. 186 #107217 White "Post-It" Note Cubes; Baby's Breath; Rubber Band

Wrap the rubber band around the cube to hold the sheets tightly together while you stamp the image.  If you want that short little snowman to fit into the base slot, try to center him as much as possible.  Also, be sure to stamp about 1/4" down from the top so you don't cut off your snowman's head.  Repeat on all four sides.

Squeeze a little ink onto the covers of the inkpads and use the Blender Pen to pick up a little of the ink.  Color in the image as desired.  Scribble on scrap paper in between each color to clean the pen.

After coloring the snowman images, I used Sahara Sand to give the snowmen and snowbank a little depth.  (My coloring doesn't look nearly as sloppy on the real thing as it does in this close-up!)

Measure the bottom of your note cube and add 1-1/16".  My cubes were 1-7/8 x 1-7/8", so I cut a 2-15/16" square. (Or, as I call it, 1/16" short of 3")

Score 1/2" on all four sides and snip the corners as shown.  Use the 3/4" Circle Punch to punch out the half-circle slot in front. Add Sticky Strip and assemble the base.  I should tell you that the Sticky Strip in this photo did not come from Stampin' Up!  I used some 1/8" Sticky Strip I had on hand.

Use a Mini Glue Dot to attach a few sprigs of baby's breath to top of the cube.

Tie a ribbon around the cube and base, covering the Mini Glue Dot and you're all done.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you'll be inspired to try one of these note cubes for yourself.  This would be a perfect little Secret Santa gift, don't you think?

Mickey

Halloween Candy Wrappers

Need a super-fast way to dress up your Halloween treats?  You can wrap literally hundreds of Hershey's Nuggets in no time at all.  And it's all done with My Digital Studio, a photo-editing program and Avery's online printing site, so there's no mess.  You don't even have to go into your craft room for this project! 

The only supplies you need are the My Digital Studio software, some type of photo-editing software and a package of Avery 8160 Address Labels, which you can find at any office supply store.  And, of course, some candy.

Oh, I just realized, this will also qualify for Pals Paper Arts PPA13 challenge.

Go into your My Digital Studio program and click on Multiple Output Options.  Choose 8-1/2" x 11" Portrait and Create Your Own.  Give your project a name and click on OK.  Then choose Blank Page.

Now choose one of the Background Papers.  I used the new Cast-A-Spell downloads.  Fill the page with your desired background.

Now choose a stamp.  I used the Eat, Drink and Be Scary stamp set.  You don't need to adust the size because you can take care of that when you create the label. 

Now click on Share Project at the top of the screen and choose Export to JPEG.  Check the page and click on Next.  Choose the Large image size and click on Next.  You can leave the image quality the way it is and click Next again.  Then save your project.  Notice that for a couple of my labels I just cropped out a portion of the "skull" patterned papers.  Just save a page of these background pages to import into your photo-editing program.

Now load your file into a photo-editing program. I used Photoshop Elements, but any program should work fine.  All you need to do is crop around the image to get rid of the excess background paper.  Export again to a JPEG file.

Now go to the Avery website and click on Design and Print Online.   Choose Address Labels and type 8160 in the Product Number box.  Click Next and choose Blank Designs.  Click on the label and then choose Enhanced Editing.  

Now you can customize the label by adding shapes and your image.  Just remember to create the label from the bottom up, just like you would with ink and paper.  This is important because it may look right on the editing page, but it won't print out the way you want it to if you don't layer it correctly.  The last thing you want to add is the image by choosing Add Image, then click on From File.  Now you can resize the image to fit your label.

When you're done, Click on Finish and print your labels.

Now start wrapping your candies!  It always looks way more complicated than it is when you start writing these projects down step-by-step, but this is super easy  Once you create the labels, your kids will have fun helping you wrap the candy.  They could make their own treats to take to class (Are they still allowed to do that?)  or to just hand out to their friends.

That's it for today.  Now I have to go make meatballs and paint my face for the Vikings party.  (Just kidding about the "paint my face" thing.)  Go Vikings!

Thanks for stopping by.

Mickey

Serene Snowflakes Ornament

This is my entry for Pals Paper Arts-Anything but a Card-PPA13.  It's also one of those projects that looks much prettier in person than in the photo.

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamp set:  Serene Snowflakes, Holiday Mini-Catalog, Pg. 26 #115438

Paper:  Brushed Gold Cardstock, Pg. 159 #102935

Accessories:  VersaMark Pad, Pg. 190 #102283; Gold Emboss Powder, Pg. 188 #109129; Embossing Buddy, Pg. 188 #103083; Heat Tool, Pg. 188 #100005; Hobby Blade, Pg. 191 #102449; Cutting Mat, Pg. 191 #101087; Paper Snips, Pg. 191 #103579; Mini Glue Dots, Pg. 192 #103683; Gold Elastic Cord, Holiday Mini-Catalog, Pg. 27 #109867; Pretties Kit, Pg. 178 #109114; Crystal Effects, Pg. 192 #101055; Ornament

Dust Brushed Gold cardstock with Embossing Buddy to remove static.  Stamp image from Serene Snowflakes with VersaMark and heat set.

Cut out image as shown.  I used the hobby blade to cut just outside the embossed circle in the center.  This may vary depending on the ornament you use.  The rest was cut with paper snips.  Curl each section downward.  I used the handle of my paper-piercing tool for this.

Flip the piece over and stick a mini-gule dot on four sections as shown.

Cut four pieces of gold cord about 4" long.  Tie a knot on one end and thread into a teardrop crystal from the Pretties Kit and place a tiny drop of Crystal Effects on the knot to hold it in place.  Cut the pieces even.

Remove the ornament hanger and attach the gold cords to the ornament with Mini Glue dots as shown.

Layer the Serene Snowflake over the gold cords and replace the ornament hanger. 

That's all there is to it!  I'm working on a little gift box for this ornament.  I'll let you know what I come up with.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mickey