Babies Galore!

It seems like all of my friends are either pregnant, just had babies, or have young babies...lots of baby stuff going on.

Recently, I went to a friends baby shower--well technically it was called a Sip and See (I'm learning so much these days) since Baby A had already arrived. I decided to try my hand at the Big Shot Fabric Adhesive Roll and some fabric that I had left over from the Holiday Mini Catalog. I had a lot of scraps left from the Candy Cane fabric that I thought would be perfect for placing the Beautiful Butterflies dies on a little onesie.

Here's a little tip if you are planning to use the Fabric Adhesive Roll: Use a full square or rectangle to adhere to the roll instead of little scraps. Any adhesive that is not covered in fabric WILL adhere to your ironing board if it isn't. :) Yep, I know that from personal experience. :D Good thing ironing board covers are cheap. ha ha

I thought the onesies turned out really cute and I made coordinating "thank you" cards to tuck in with the gift.

Occasions Mini Sneak Peak Pt. 3

I'm turning 30 in January and I am really excited...not that I'm turning 30 (although I don't mind that part) but excited for my birthday. I love celebrating and it's always a great time to get friends and family together. Since it is a milestone Birthday, I'm planning something a little nicer for my celebration and will have an evening of dinner and dancing with friends. I am making my own center pieces (which I will show you closer to time and when they are complete)...When I saw the new Petal Cone bigz die to run through the Big Shot in the Occasions Mini Catalog, I thought it would make great party favors to lay on the tables at my birthday celebration. Here's one that I created to play around with. It's pretty simple--just Basic Black card stock with a small Real Red flag. I filled it with red candies to bring out the red color.

I will probably tweak them a little before the actual celebration, but wanted to share this one with you anyway.

Milk Carton Treat Box

Did you just hear that? It was me, squealing with delight at this super cute tiny little baby milk carton! Its total height is only about 3-4", but it's perfect for tucking away a few pieces of candy, some jewelry, or even some cash for a gift box.

I used some of our Elegant Soiree DSP, ran it through the Big Shot using the Mini Milk Carton Bigz Die and had myself a simple treat box in mere seconds! A simple sentiment adds a personal touch to the front and just a couple of embellishments to take a quick, easy project into something that will wow your friends!

August workshops continued

This is the last batch of my August workshop projects. It's ironic--I've had these projects finished for weeks and yesterday morning I walked into church and the praise and worship team/choir's outfit color palette were these EXACT colors: Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White! I couldn't believe it--it made me smile...and then I thought how obsessed I must be that the first thing I associate when I see colors are the names of our color palette. ;) I know I'm not the only out there who does this, am I right? :D

The first image was my first Demo-clean and simple, to show guests how easy stamping is so that anyone can do it! Then I Demo'd the coordinating 3D Matchbox treat box, made using the Big Shot.

Finally, I showed finished projects: a stepped up card and coordinating scrapbook layout, for those who aren't as interested in card making.

Coming up with the color palette for these layouts was a cinch using our marvelously re-designed color coach.

Book your own specialty class or workshop with me today!

Just Believe Workshop Projects

Yesterday I showed you the simple Make-n-Take card and the stepped up version for the "Just Believe" projects that I've used at my August workshops. Today I will feature the 3D Fancy Favor treat box and scrapbook layout that I created to coordinate with the cards.

The Fancy Favor box was so simple to create in mere minutes using my favorite friend, the Big Shot. It's the perfect little goody box to hold treats, money, jewelry, gift cards, etc.

The scrapbook layout uses pictures of me and my friends from Convention last year: Nikki Bond, (me), Amy LaSpisa, Deidre Mooney (my upline), Marci Horn, and Claudia Perry.

To take the layout up a notch, I used the Color Spritzer Tool to add some interest in the background. Now, I'll be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with my Color Spritzer Tool--the first few weeks that I had it, I couldn't get the silly thing to work! I was so frustrated because I'd seen so many other Demos using it and the effect was so darn cool! So low-and-behold one of the Make-n-Takes at convention required the use of the silly Color Spritzer Tool. Thankfully, my new friends showed me that I just have to squeeze the tool a little harder to get the ink to spray! Of course, it was user error and now I just love it! :) Such a cool effect...

Sweet Scoops Demo

It's not too late to get this darling "Sweet Scoops" stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog--just a couple of weeks remaining before this perfect-for-summer stamp set goes away for good.

These projects, featured at one of my workshops demonstrates a simplified card (the mini), a stepped up card and a 3D project, all using the same color scheme and stamp set. I love the versatility that you have as the creator to make many different types of projects using the same supplies. The Box #2 Die is another perfect example of creating gift boxes in only a couple of minutes!

Contact me now to schedule your own specialty class or workshop!

Workshop Projects

Convention was so exciting this year, and I came back with a lot of great suggestions to help with my business. The biggest is the importance of workshops. For the next few posts, I will be featuring projects that I have either demonstrated, or that guests have created at my workshops.

Contact me today if you would like to schedule your own specialty class or workshop!

Using the Sunny Garden Designer Series Paper made creating a stunning card so simple! Just add an embellishment (ribbon, for example) to step it up a notch. A coordinating treat box filled with ribbon, candy, money, etc would make the perfect gift for a friend. Using the Big Shot does the work for you to create these sweet little matchboxes in just a few quick minutes!

Sneak Peek

This card demonstrates a delicious display of sample squares from the new Greenhouse Gala DSP and 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon from the new Idea Book & Catalog available July 1. This DSP makes me very happy in brightness and fresh colors. The card also gives you a preview of the new upcoming stamp set "Perfect Punches" that features a different coordinating punch with each stamp!

The Clear Circle die layers perfectly over the Scallop Circle die, both used very simply with the Big Shot Machine.

Waving Good-bye Wednesday

I wasn't completely happy with this card when I first started it. This apricot color is just hideous when trying to match it with anything fresh and exciting....eek. But I just couldn't bring myself to make a card completely out of that color, I had to mix it with something. After about 30 minutes and 4 color combos later, this is what I came up with. :) I'm glad I went with something simple and let the ever-classic Black be the star of the show! Just proves that you can take an un-popular card, mix it with something classic and still have a great end result.

I added a thread of Apricot CS through the buttons to pop the color a little more. Since I don't have the Apricot Appeal marker, I used my Blender Pens and the Apricot Appeal ink to color in the stamped image and highlight the word "fabulous." To add some texture to the card, I ran the Bermuda Bay CS strip through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice Texture Embossing Folder.

Waving good-bye to Apricot Appeal and Bermuda Bay. So long, farewell!