Smooch Holder Tutorial

Okay, I made another one of the Smooch holders and changed the dimensions a bit. The finished dimensions will be 3" wide, 5" long, and 3" tall. You will need two pieces of cardstock trimmed to 9x11. Score at 3" on all sides of both sheets. Cut each corner like you would to assemble a box without a top. Assemble and set aside.

Use a scrap 3x5 piece of paper to make a template for the holes. I used a 1/2" circle punch to punch a row of 5 circles down the long side, then three across the short side. Trace onto other prescored sheet. Use a craft knife to cut out circles or make a star pattern to create holes. 1/2" circles are the perfect size for the Smooch brand tubes to fit.

After holes are cut, you should have three rows of five for a total of 15 slots for your tubes. Assemble same as the base and slide into base. I used a little adhesive to keep from separating. Decorate as desired.

Sorry, I don't know how to utilize templates, or I would make you one for downloading. The example here is retired SU colors Handsome Hunter and Taken with Teal. The stamp is from Michael's dollar bin and the skittle has a little piece of Taken with Teal glued to it with liquid glass. I spritzed the box with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I will do my best to clarify. Thanks for looking! April

Lego Birthday cake

Here's my son's cake for his party today. The frosting was a pain the in bum, but it came out okay in the end. I used two boxes of cake mix to fill the 9x13, using the left overs for the circles. My daughter has the Easy-Bake oven, so I stole her round pans and baked them in the toaster oven for 12 minutes.

We used his Harry Potter legos and I made the banner using Harry P font from dafont.com and printed on Very Vanilla cardstock. I ripped the edges of the banner and used Chestnut Roan cat's eye chalk to make it look more like parchment. Next I pulled the paper between my fingers to make it curl like you do with ribbon, then attached it to toothpicks with Zots glue dots. Thanks for looking! April

3x3 cards and box

So, I saw this on Dannie's blog. I figured why not use them to help use up the scraps of this set? She has a link to the template on her blog, but there is also directions on Splitcoast stampers.

I used Pumpkin Pie for the base, then added pieces of Simply Scrappin' papers, as shown. I made a little closure for the box by cutting apart some velco squares and then added eyelets to the sides for the ribbon to thread through.

The cards are also using scraps. I used stamp sets Out of the Box and Smarty Pants. I think Smarty Pants is fun and quirky, just right for a little note card set. For the Be Yourself card, I only stamped half of the sentiment, then did the other half inside the card. Go check out the set for yourself...too cute! Thanks for looking! April

Another scrapped birthday card...

Here is another card made with the leftover retired SU scraps. I used the scalloped border punch on a scrap of Pumpkin Pie, then layered some of the printed paper. I used a border sticker from the kit along just above the scallop. I used the 1 3/4" circle punch for the hole in the corner. I then stitched around the edge of the card, then added a piece of scrap ribbon (it's close to Old Olive, just slightly darker). Next I attached it to card base, then used the already punched circle to line up and punch through the base. I used a circle sticker from the kit and stamped the sentiment from Whimsical Phrases in Jet Black Staz-On. I was going to add a brad in the circle for a little dimension, but then it seemed too big and bulky, so I used a spiral paperclip, then added a little leftover tag from the kit. Thanks for looking! April

Valentine's Bottled Water Treat - Part 2

Here is the one from Chic n Scratch. She has a blog and YouTube videos, so I thought I would check out the difference and see what I thought. Honestly, this one uses less paper, but takes just as much time cutting. This treat holder is more obscure measurements, so it takes a bit longer doing all the cuts, but Dawns eats three times the paper. I think it is just personal preference, as they are equally cute. You could fit three or four packets or other goodies in the box, but this one is a snug fit for just one, making it much more secure and less likely to lose one along the way.

Base paper is 2x7 3/4, then scored at 2 inches on each end. The inner piece of B&T is 3 1/4x1 7/8 and it does NOT go all the way down. Build the scalloped circle pieces like in the previous post and use brads to seal the sides. It allows a little wiggle room when you insert the packet.

Thanks for looking! April

Valentine Bottled Water Treats

I am finally getting to the teacher treats. I decided to do the bottled water treats I have seen on so many blogs. This one is based on the pattern used by Dawn. (If you have trouble seeing the video, she also has them on YouTube.) If you want to follow along with Dawn, start with a 4x11 piece of cardstock. You will need a scoring tool, scissors, a scallop circle punch, and a 1 1/4 inch circle punch.

I just adjusted mine to suit the theme. I am using the retired Pink Passion and Pixie Pink, then layered some pink heart B&T paper. Next punch out the scallop circle and layered with a circle with embossed devine swirls and the stamped image. Image is stamped in Pixie Pink for the heart from last year's level I set, and then stamped with a acryllic image from Michael's dollar section in Staz-On Jet Black. I used a paper piercing tool for the middle of each scallop, then mounted on a dimensional. Thanks for looking! April

birthday wishes

This is some scrap retired Simply Scrappin' birthday themed paper from SU. I love it and have been hoarding it. I was tired last night and went with the easy card. FYI, don't try to punch two layers of SU paper at the same time...you won't get anywhere. What a mess and swore I nearly broke my punch.

I took a piece of the striped paper and used the scallop border punch, then attached it to a Pumpkin Pie base...again, don't attach until you punch your scallop circle first, then attach and use the first circle as a guide to do the second! I then punched a 1 3/8" circle for inside the scalloped circle and used one of the coordinating stickers inside the circle. I used a dimensional on the back of the circle, then centered inside the scallop. It will show on the inside of the card when opened. Next, cut a slit in the crease of the card for the ribbon to slip through. Tie as desired. The sentiment is from Whimsical Words and is stamped in Jet Black Staz-On. Last, I attached three matching Glimmer brads from the Brights collection. (The center of the circle looks off center, but it is, it is the bend of the card. Sorry!)

Thanks for looking! April

Lego favor bags

One of my son's friends can't be at the party and was really bummed, so I thought I would put his goody in a special bag. Turned out so cute, Alex asked me to make them for all his friends. So here I sit with a square punch and little circle punch...you guessed it, hand-glueing little dots onto squares to make bricks. Geez, the things we do for our munchkins.

I had a few left over mini paper lunch bags and used scraps for the pieces. I used the 1 3/8 inch square from Stampin Up/EK Success and the EK Bubble border punch to get the right size circle. I mounted one lego brick at an angle, then put the second "brick" on dimensionals and tiltled it the opposite direction. I then layered two squares to make their tags and stapled to the bag with a bit of leftover ribbon from my stash. They will make cute placeholders on the table and will be our activity. Each boy has a mini lego kit to take home. Thanks for looking! April

My first tent card...

Yeah, I know, four posts in one day??? I told you, I am playing catch up and you gotta go when the mojo takes you.

So I was playing with my Karate Ian digi. Isn't he too cute?!?! He is colored with watercolor pencils and using the SU blender pen. I was fiddling with the scrap paper and cut it to fit inside a standard A2, so it was cut at 4x11, then scored at 5 1/2 and 8 1/4. It looks like a lopsided z when folded. Then I cut a regular 4x5 1/2 panel to attach to the front, then started on my layers. I used a textured white for the base and used my EK Success Bubble border punch. Then I used layers of Only Orange that was embossed in the Swiss Dots folder and Yo Yo Yellow. The sentiment is from Hobby Lobby and was clearanced. I finished it off with some Orange polka dot grosgrain and black mini brads. How cute is that for a karate teacher or student? Love it! Thanks for looking! April

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Oh the weather outside is frightful....so I am hiding at my scrap area. I am still catching up on more cards for my stash, so here you go. These use a birthday set from SU and I am pretty sure it is retired. Again, using the retired Bold Brights - Only Orange, Green Gable, Brilliant Blue, Pink Passion, Yo Yo Yellow and Tempting Turquoise.

The first card uses Brilliant Blue and the Swiss dots embossing folder, then I layered pieces of Tempting Turquoise and Only Orange and Whisper White cardstock. The tab is punched from Pink Passion and the sentiment was stamped in two parts. Some polka dot matching ribbon from Michael's finishes it off.

The second card uses Only Orange run through the Cuttlebug with the Sizzix stars folder. Next I used the masking technique to stamp the balloons, drew the string, and attached a pink grosgrain bow. After that, I added layers of Tempting Turquoise and Yo Yo Yellow, stamped with the sentiment and added a couple of sterling brads.

The last card, is Pink Passion embossed with the Cuttlebug circle folder. I layered Green Gable and some scrap purple. I then punched the tab in Tempting Turquoise, then layered that with a Yo Yo Yellow circle, an Only Orange scallop and the image stamped and cut out in Tempting Turquoise. I cut the bow off the image and replaced it with a white satin bow. Thanks for looking! April

Season of Friendship card

I have been itching to try out the Season of Friendship stamp set. It is still current and I know I want to use it on a LO here shortly, but wanted to play a bit. The base is cloud B&T paper I had in stash. The grass is cut with the drippy goo punch and layered to look a bit more dimensional. Tree is stamped in Timber Staz-On, the the leaves in Cactus and Forest greens Staz-On. I used the stamp-off technique, where you keep stamping without reloading more ink. I then used the heart from Things I Love stamp set and inked in Blazing Red Staz-On. The bird is stamped in Azure Staz-On and mounted on a piece of dimensional. Then the sentiment is stamped in the corner of the grass in Jet Black Staz-On.

I love the flexibility of this set! You can use it for all seasons and has cute accessory stamps to customize it. Thanks for looking! April

Card Catch-Up

This is a big month of birthdays for our family, so I am going back to one of my favorite sets...Older and Wiser. I am also trying to work through some of my scrap retired things, so I picked my Bold Brights. The images are inked in Jet Black Staz-On and colored with watercolor pencils. All the bases are embossed with Cuttlebug folders.

I will be posting more as I finish them. Thanks for looking! April