Birthday card and notepad gift set

Okay, I promised a view of the gift I made for my aunt. Here it is ...

I covered a piece of thin card board (actually, a cut down cereal box) with some Cheerful Treat DSP  and then added a note pad and a pocket to contain some cards.  

Here are the cards I made. I had some fun with the products and techniques for each card.

These first two may seem occasion/gender specific but I truly believe they can be used for any number of occasions. Graduation, marriage/engagement, new job, baby, etc.

I embossed the background paper then inked the edges with Soft Suede. The sentiment was cut out using the new Framelits Label Collection and stamped with the Elementary Elegance stamp set (available soon - it's in the Sale-a-Bration catty!) Believe it or not, the two pieces of striped patterned paper are from the same sheet of paper! See how where you cut out your label shape changes the entire look of the paper? Makes Stampin' Up!'s DSPs so versatile.

For this card I embossed the Melon Mambo card stock and then used my 2 1/2" circle punch to punch out the circle and half circles. The background image was created using various stamps from the Circle Circus stamp set in Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride and Concord Crush. For a little bit of sparkle I added some rhinestones. (I see that one has gone wandering ... oh well, too late to fix it now!)

For this one I used my Scalloped Trim Border punch all around a piece of Lucky Limeade card stock which I then stamped in Lucky Limeade with an image from the Take It To Heart stamp set. A banner in Melon Mambo and a few pearls finished it off.

This one may be my favourite. The butterflies are cut and embossed using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit die. I added the little antenae with a Stampin' Write marker. The curvy sentiment is from the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set.

And last but not least, I embossed the Concord Crush card stock and then rubbed some Whisper White Craft ink over the embossed image. Love that effect! The middle cut out was inked (liberally) with Lucky Limeade and an image from the Posy Punch stamp set was stamped in the middle. The Happy Birthday is popped up with Dimensionals.

To help keep things closed, I added these buttons and used some Bakers Twine to join them together.

Some Lucky Limeade Ruffled edge ribbon along the spine finishes things off.

Hope she likes it! Clicking on any of the links above will take you to my on-line store in case you want to purchase any of the products or check out pricing information. To see the new Occasions Mini, please click here.

Supporting my Awesome Sister-in-law

My sister-in-law, Jonina Campbell, is running for School Board Trustee in New Westminster. Tomorrow she is having a campaign fundraiser (wine tasting - oh yeah!!) and she asked me to contribute a silent auction item as well as jazz up a couple of items she's putting in. I was honoured that she'd think of me - my Stampin' Up! career is still in its infancy to say the least! Here is what I came up with using an old stationary box I had kicking around.

I covered the box and lid with some Cheerful Treat DSP - making sure to have coordinating papers on the inside too (Lucky Limeade and Concord Crush DSP.) Since one of the items inside the box is the Hostess-only Posy Punch stamp set, I used mine to create embellishments for the lid. I pretty much went to town on this thing! I used my Big Shot to cut out a Top Note die and then embossed it with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. Then I put my new Simply Scored to good use and made the rosettes and the pleated ribbon effect on the Lucky Limeade DSP banding. 

The box was finished off with some Melon Mambo Scallop Dots ribbon around the rim and then it was ready to fill!

Inside I included the exclusive Posy Punch stamp set (in clear mount), a Clear Mount size C block and a Classic Stampin' Pad in Basic Black. But I thought it needed more so I created some greeting cards.

I loved the card in the catty (p. 11) and tried to make it but it looked like H-E-double hockey sticks so ... I turned to my fellow demonstrators for some help and Lisa Palmer came to my rescue. I redid it and this is the result! Wish I could keep it!!

Supplies used: Papers: Cheerful Treat DSP, Lucky Limeade, Concord Crush and Melon Mambo DSP, Lucky Limeade, Concord Crush, Melon Mambo and Whisper White card stock; Ribbons: Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, Melon Mambo 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon and Concord Crush 1/2" Stitched-poly Ribbon;  Stamps: Posy Punch and Family Reunion; Inks: Lucky Limeade and Concord Crush Classic Stampin' Pads; Punches: Fancy Flower, 3/4" circle, Itty Bitty Shapes - scallop circle and Scallop Trim Border Punch; Embellishments: Bitty Buttons, Basic Rhinestones and white Bakers Twine.

And quickly, here are the packets she had me "jazz up".

She gave me two stacks of books - one for boys and one for girls - so I tried to come up with something gender neutral (ish!) Since I currently have mostly Christmas product, I scratched my head for a few days wondering what the heck to do! Then I remembered my Pennant Parade stamp set and Petite Pennants Builder Punch and ... voila!

I used some Spice Cake and First Edition Specialty DSP which I ran through my Big Shot using the Top Note die. I then took the First Edition piece, trimmed it by basically ripping along the perforations around the edge, ripped it some more, curled it then inked it. What I was left with was a piece of distressed paper that looks like it could have come out of an ancient library book! 

For the Boy bundle I used Soft Suede and Pear Pizzazz card stock to create my banner then strung it with some linen thread and tied on two Bitty Buttons to finish it. I Googled "quotes on reading" and found this one ("If you can read this, thank a teacher." - Anonymous Teacher) which I just knew was perfect for my teacher cum politician Sister-in-law! I printed it out onto Pear Pizzazz cardstock, folded it into a banner and attached it using dimensionals. 

The Girl Bundle got very similar treatment only this time I used Pool Party and Soft Suede card stock. The Spice Cake DSP pattern is actually the back side of the one above!

To attach this tag to the Early Espresso 3/8" Quilted Satin Ribbon, I punch a hole with my Crop-A-Dile then made a loop with some Linen Thread and strung it onto the ribbon before tying the bow. 

Supplies used: Papers: Spice Cake DSP, first Edition Specialty DSP, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party and Soft Suede card stock; Stamp set: Pennant Parade: Ink: Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad; Punch: Petite Pennants Builder Punch; Ribbon: Early Espresso 3/8" Quilted Satin Ribbon; Embellishments: Linen Thread and Bitty Buttons.

Thanks for looking!

If you'd like to come and support Jonina Campbell, her Wine Tasting Fundraiser is happening tomorrow evening from 7 - 9PM at The Pacific Breeze Winery 6-320 Stewardson Way, New Westminister. Tickets are $35 and you can pay at the door.