DIY Paper Creations

Happy Easter

Aren't they cute?  My Cardi~ology Clubs made these little cuties back in March of 2011, but I never posted them to my blog until now.  When Mary Fish told me that she was going to host an Easter Parade I knew exactly what cards I would share and I also knew that this was just want I needed to get me off my "rear" and back blogging again.  I've had a lot on my plate this past month - both physically and emotionally.  However, it's now time to get back on the horse and giddy-up.  Thank you all for your support and for sticking with me.  I wish I could express want your support means to me.

 

Okay, time to tell you some of the details about this duo!

• We stamped the chick image 3 times for each card using Jet Black StazOn; the first time was onto the Whisper White square, then onto a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock and the third time was onto a scrap piece of So Saffron card stock
• Using Paper Snips, "fussy" cut the chick from the Whisper White and So Saffron scraps.  Keep the part that has the head and the wings from the So Saffron chick and keep the "egg shell" from the Whisper White chick
• Cover the entire "egg shell" with 2-Way Glue and sprinkle Dazzling Diamonds Glitter onto it and shake off the excess; set it aside to dry
• Color the beck of the chick with a Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write marker
• Stamp a background image onto the Whisper White square - we used Pear Pizzazz ink and the Valentine Define stamp set
• Use a Big Shot and an Embossing Folder to add some texture to your card front
• Again, using the Big Shot, the Tasteful Trim Die and Beautiful Wings Embosslit create some embellishments
• The faux brads on the sentiment were made using the Owl Builder punch
• Last but not least, these are 4X4 cards!

Stamp Sets:  A Good Egg and Valentine Defined

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn and Pear Pizzazz

Card Stock:  Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, So Saffron and Perfect Plum

Tools:  Big Shot with Standard Cutting Plates, Extended Cutting Plates, Tasteful Trim die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Owl Builder Punch, Corner Rounding Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, 2-Way Glue Pen, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  So Saffron Brad, Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon and Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Beautiful Swallowtail Card

Imagine the possibilities that you have for making projects with this stamp!  I googled 'Swallowtail' and was amazed at the variety of colors for this species of butterfly.

This card really didn't take long to make and I almost labeled as a Quick DIY Card, but it would have been a stretch.  I hope you take the 20-25 minutes that it takes to make this card and give it a try - I think you'll be glad that you did!

How did I make this card?  Click on the link below to get the details.

http://www.diypapercreations.com/details-for-the-swallowtail-card.html

Stamp set:  Swallowtail

Ink:  VersaMark, Marina Mist, More Mustard and Marina Mist Stampin' Write Marker

Card Stock:  Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Whisper White and Vellum

Tools:  Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Black Embossing Powder, Sponge Daubers, Baby Wipes, Paper Piercing Tool, Piercing Mat and SNAIL

Bling:  Baja Breeze Seam Binding and Basic Black Brads (2)

Happy Stamping!

Best of Love Card

You will really enjoy this card!  It's something different and uses the piercing templates in a completely new way.  My fellow Pal, Brian King shared this idea on his blog and I loved it and had to add it to my bag of fun things to try!

So, you're probably thinking to yourself "Shoot me now.  I don't want to deal with all of those #@*! pearls!"...no worries. Grab your piercing tool and use it to help you move the pearls from their temporary home to their permanent home.  I think this card from start to finish took me 25 minutes.  You can do it and the results will make you giddy!  Trust me on this one...

And don't limit yourself to just pearls.  Think of the fun you can have with rhinestones.  Oh, baby!!

Are you ready to make this card?  For complete details check out the details page:

http://www.diypapercreations.com/details-for-the-best-of-love-card.html

Stamp sets:  Best of Love and Elements of Style

Ink:  Illuminate and Early Espresso

Card Stock:  Very Vanilla

Tools:  Heat Tool, Piercing Tool, Piercing Mat, Dimensionals

Bling:  Pearl Basic Jewels and Victoria 5/8" Corchet Trim

****For those of you that are in my Cardi~ology Clubs, this is one of the 4 cards that we will be making during the month of March.  See you soon!

Happy Stamping!

Recover Rapidly with Patterned Occasions Card

I've been wanting to play with this stamp set for about a month now, but haven't made the time...until now.  The images and sentiments are the perfect size for note cards!

Because it's a note card and it's going to be mailed, I kept it clean and simple.  The only thing that I wish I had to use on this card was the textured card stock that Stampin' Up! retired last year - I really miss that card stock.  It could "class up" any card or project in a flash!

Stamp Set:  Patterned Occasions

Ink:  Pink Pirouette and Jet Black StazOn

Card Stock:  Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White

Tools:  Big Shot, Standard Cutting Plates, Multipurpose Platform, Lots of Tags Sizzlits, Fashionable Hearts Embosslits, Decorative Label Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, tape, SNAIL, Glue Dots and Dimensionals

Bling:  Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon and Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon

Want to make this card?  Click on the link below for the full details!

http://www.diypapercreations.com/details-for-the-recover-rapidly-with-patterned-occasions-card.html

Happy Stampin'!

 

Hello...feeling sentimental?

After a week of having absolutely no stampin' mojo, it feels nice to be back in my studio and making a card!  Did you know that today (March 1, 2013), our cell phone numbers become public? That means that all of the wonderful solicitors that we'd like to bean over the head for calling us during dinner will now have our cell phone numbers too. Marvelous!  The minutes that they use will now be deducted from our available minutes.  To prevent this, call the National Do Not Call List at 888-382-1222.  It only takes a minute of your time and blocks your number for five (5) years.  You need to call from the cell phone that you want blocked (your home phone won't work)

Pass this information on to your friends and family!

Are you ready to make this card?  For complete details check out the details page:

http://www.diypapercreations.com/details-for-hellofeeling-sentimental-card.html

Happy Stamping!

Love & Sympathy ~ From the Archives

This is a quick post today and I apologize for that.  One of my very dear Cardi-ology Club member's husband passed away unexpectedly on Friday.  He left behind his beautiful wife Trish and two high school aged children.  The news on Friday hit me pretty hard.  I won't bore you with the details, but we've had what I thought was a crisis going on at our house for the past couple of weeks.  The events of Friday reminded me of the truly important things in life.  It's not jobs, money or material things, it's the people in our life.  Hug your kids and tell your spouse that you love them...heck, call up your friends and tell them that you love them!

I'll do a double post one day next week with the full scoop about this card.

With all of my heart, hugs to all of you.

Quick DIY Nature Walk Thank You

It's funny, you add a couple of layers to a card and suddenly it looks difficult, but this card isn't difficult at all.  You don't even have to tie a bow - just a simple knot. The Big Shot and a couple of punches will make you look (and feel) like a card making genius!

I'm playing beat the clock here with an ice storm, hoping to get this typed up and posted before we lose power.  Right now our street and sidewalks are a solid sheet of ice.  And my hubby has to drive to Columbus at 4:30 in the morning.  Oh goodie...

I'm getting pretty high tech.  Did you notice that I now have a Facebook "Like" button and a Pinterest "Pin it" button at the bottom of my posts?  Hint, hint...

Are you ready to get started on the card?  For complete details check out the details page:

http://www.diypapercreations.com/details-for-the-quick-diy-nature-walk-thank-you-card.html

Stamp Sets:  Nature Walk and Just Believe

Ink:  Early Espresso

Card Stock:  Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Basic Black and Very Vanilla

Tools:  Big Shot with Standard Cutting Plates, Multipurpose Platform, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Corner Rounding Punch, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon

Wish BIG! ~ From the Archives

This cheerful card was a Stamp-a-Stack card for the Kings Drumline Charity Event back in 2011. The stampers at the event thought this was the perfect birthday card for kids and I totally agree!

Some of the items used on this card are retired so you might not be able to find the exact ribbon for example or the star punches.  However, you could use the star that is part of the new Happy Whale Clearlits Die in the Spring 2013 catalog.  Have fun and change things up a bit!

 

Do you know the trick of stamping the image and than punching it out with the punch?  Flip the punch upside down so you can see your image in the "window" before you punch.  It makes lining up your punched image so easy!  It was a light bulb moment for me when I learned this trick!

How did I make this card?

http://www.diypapercreations.com/details-for-the-wish-big-card.html 

Happy Stamping!

Sent with Love

I've had this card in my head for almost 3 weeks - ever since the stamp set and Designer Series Paper were released by Stampin' Up!  As many of you may know, my husband is an airline pilot so I'm always on the lookout for cool pilot related stampin' stuff. What a fun way for Richard to acknowledge his peers when he feels that one of them has gone "above & beyond" in their duties!

As you can see, I had more fun with the chalkboard technique.  I'm like a little kid when I make cards using this technique.  I might need an intervention!

How did I make this card?

http://www.diypapercreations.com/details-for-the-sent-with-love-card.html

Are you diggin' having the detailed instructions?  Too much detail or too little? I'm doing the details for YOU so let me know what YOU need and I'll do my best to provide you with what you need!!!

Organize it Tuesday - Cutting a whole mess of ribbon

 

Have you ever needed to cut a lot of ribbon for Christmas, graduation or wedding cards?  Maybe even a Stamp-a-Stack or another type of card making event?  In today's video I'm going to share with you how I cut large quantities of ribbon quickly.  Because I do large events, I needed to find a way to streamline some of the prep work.  I can cut all of the ribbon for a 50 person Stamp-a-Stack (1,000 cards) in less than 15 minutes using this technique.

I hope you enjoyed the video today and I look forward to doing more of them in the future for you!  Some very exciting things are coming soon - like detailed instructions for every card posted and a video technique class every week.  I'm dedicated to providing you with the best content possible!  Please subscribe to my blog so you don't miss out on any of the fun!!

Happy Stamping!

Details for the Pursuit of Happiness Card

Here's the link to the detailed instructions for the Pursuit of Happiness Card - 

http://www.diypapercreations.com/details-for-the-pursuit-of-happiness-card.html

Please let me know what you think!  This is the format that I'm going to use for all of the cards that I post.  I'll still have my normal post but it will include a link to the detailed instructions page.  Do I need to add or change anything?

Pursuit of Happiness

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Mine was a mix of kicking back and relaxing on Saturday and going into warp drive on Sunday getting stuff done around the house and in my studio.  I always get more done when my husband isn't home...LOL!

This week you'll have two DIY videos!  It took me a while to do my first video - too long really.  However, now that I've done a couple of them I've discovered that I enjoy doing them.  I feel like I'm giving you more when I do a video and I like that!

Which do you prefer, a quick video that just highlights a technique or a video that's a little longer, but I do a card from start to finish?

Isn't today's card cheerful?  Who doesn't want to live in the sunshine!

Stamp Sets:  Mixed Bunch and Pursuit of Happiness

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn and Daffodil Delight

Card Stock:  Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight Textured (retired) and Very Vanilla

Tools:  Big Shot with Standard Cutting Plates, Extended Cutting Plates, Multipurpose Platform, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Tasteful Trim Die, Blossom Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Stamp-a-ma-jig, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Basic Black Brad and Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon

Mixed Bunch Emboss Resist Method

This technique never gets old!  There's something very magical about using an embossed image as the focal point and than sponging ink around it with no worries - the ink just wipes off of any embossed areas of the card.

For this card I used a post-it-note to mask off the top of the card while I stamped and embossed the flowers. Then I used Crumb Cake ink and sponged it over the entire bottom part of the card.  Next, I used a dauber and soft Suede ink to make the center of the flowers darker.  I wiped off the excess ink with a paper towel, removed the post-it-note, stamped the sentiment, add the ribbon and button and assembled the card.

Should I do a video?  Would you like that?  Let me know what you think!

Stamp Sets:  Mixed Bunch and A Word for You

Ink:  VersaMark, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede

Card Stock:  Very Vanilla and Soft Suede

Tools:  Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, sponge, dauber, paper towel, post-it-note, SNAIL and Glue Dots

Bling:  Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon, Medium Early Espresso Button and Linen Thread

Be Mine Hybrid Card

Did everyone have a wonderful Valentine's Day? I saw that one of you posted a photo of some yummy chocolate covered strawberries.  I like how you ate one before you remembered to take the photo.  My kind of gal!

Well, I did it!  I finally made a card using My Digital Studio.  Granted it's a hybrid card because I like to have real layers and real embellishments.  I'm old school I guess.  Whenever I use MDS I feel like I should go into the next room so my stampin' supplies don't see me cheating on them.

I made this card for my wonderful husband for Valentine's Day this year.  I used the Be Mine Frameable template along with some card stock and Red Glimmer Paper.  I think he'll like it!

Stamps Sets:  Confetti and Hearts a Flutter (used inside the card and on the envelope

Ink:  Blushing Bride, Basic Gray and Real Red

Card Stock:  Real Red, Whisper White and Basic Gray

Tools:  My Digital Studio, Color Inkjet Printer, Heart to Heart punch, 1" Square Punch, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Red Glimmer Paper

iLove - From the Archives

I love my hubby and to remind him of that I tucked this iLove box filled with candy into his flight bag for Valentine's Day last year. It wasn't my original idea - I saw it somewhere on the internet and made the box the size that I wanted it to be.  When I see something this stinkin' cute I don't mess with it...much!

Each of the songs on the "Playlist" has special meaning to us, but the last song is "ours".  It was written by a very dear friend who also sang it at our wedding.  Here are the lyrics -

My life, my love, my all - By Denise Biely

You came into my life so unexpectedly and you stirred feelings in me that I didn't know I had.  You gave me a reason to be; a love that spans eternity. And all that I'll ever need is you.

You're my summer in the winter; my springtime in the fall.  My strength when I feel that mine is gone.  You've brought about a change in me - a change that all my friends can see and I give to you my life, my love, my all.

Baby, you made me see how happy life could be and you touched my heart and made me feel whole again.  You gave your love to me, a love that came so tenderly and all that I will ever need is you.

You're my summer in the winter; my springtime in the fall.  My strength when I feel that mine is gone. You've brought about a change in me - a change that all my friends can see and I give to you my life, my love, my all.

Didn't know how sweet love could be.  Didn't know until you came to me. Never been lost in love before, but baby you've opened the door.

You're my summer in the winter; my springtime in the fall.  My strength when I feel that mine is gone. You've brought about a change in me - a change that all my friends can see and I give to you my life, my love, my all.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day everyone!  For those spending a quiet evening at home, I hope you enjoy your dinner and snuggle time with your sweetie.  As for the people who are going to brave the restaurants, I hope you have a fabulous dinner.  Sometimes Richard and I stay home, but this year we are going out to dinner. We're going to The Golden Lamb in Lebanon, Ohio ~ it's one of our favorites and it's also Ohio's oldest continuously operating business.  The place oozes history!

Quick DIY Bloomin' Marvelous

This stamp set is pure perfection!  The images are sweet and the sentiments are...bloomin' marvelous! It's only available for a limited time and you can't buy it.  It's one of the products that you can choose for free during Sale-a-bration (January 22 - March 22 2013) with an order of $50 or more.

Everything about this card makes me happy!  Being a Quick DIY card it goes together in less than 10 minutes, the colors are cheerful and the sentiment makes me want to do a happy dance!

Stamp Set:  Bloomin' Marvelous

Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Pool Party, So Saffron, Jet Black StazOn

Card Stock:  Pool Party, Not Quite Navy and Whisper White

Tools:  SNAIL

Bling:  Pool Party Ribbon (Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack FREE during Sale-a-bration)

Organize it Tuesday - Ribbon Storage

I'm in love!  Over the past couple of years I've tried several different systems to corral my much beloved ribbon - ribbon storage boxes, rods that the spools slid onto and must recently the Clip It Up Ribbon Organizer by Simply Renee. I do believe that my ribbon has found a permanent home!

What's so special about the Clip It Up Ribbon Organizer?  Everything! They are a paper crafters dream!!  The ribbon spools just drop into place and can easily be replaced when the spool is empty, there's a sliding ribbon holder to prevent the spools from falling over if by chance the organizer isn't full (yeah, right), each end has a built in scissor holder and although I don't use them, each organizer comes with 25 clips that can be used to store pieces of ribbon or packages of Baker's Twine.

The organizers can be found by googling Clip It Up Ribbon Organizers.  Happy organizing!

Secret Garden

I'm just starting to play around with the Secret Garden Bundle and I can already tell that it has unlimited possibilities!

Today's card is a simple all occasion card in neutral colors.  However, I'm looking forward to changing up the colors and making a Caribbean themed card soon...very soon.  Can you hear the gears in my brain turning?

Stamp Set:  Secret Garden

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn and Crumb Cake

Card Stock:  Crumb Cake, Basic Black and Whisper White

Tools:  Big Shot with Standard Cutting Plates, Multipurpose Platform, Secret Garden Framelits Dies, Black Sharpie, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon and Pearl Basic Jewels

Henry Says Chalkboard Technique

Today we're going to make a card using the very trendy chalkboard technique.  I almost feel like this technique needs to come with a warning - you'll fall in love with it and want to try it on all your cards. It's true!  I had a very difficult time deciding on which card to use to share this technique with you.

 

This ubber sweet baby card was made using White Embossing Powder, a heat tool and Whisper White Craft Ink.  Just add stamp sets, your creative ability and maybe some watercolor pencils.  One of the things that makes the Chalkboard Technique so much fun is there's no rules...you can add as much or as little to your card.  Play around with lines, swirls and other shapes to your heart's content!

Stamp sets:  Henry Says, A Word for You, Hearts a Flutter and Every Little Bit

Ink:  Whisper White Craft Ink, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery

Card Stock:  Certainly Celery, Basic Black and Whisper White

Tools:  Big Shot with Standard Cutting Plates, Multipurpose Platform, Hearts a Flutter Framelits Dies, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, White Embossing Powder, Dauber, Watercolor Pencils, Ruler, Stamp-a-ma-jig, SNAIL, Glue Dots and Dimensionals

Bling:  White Baker's Twine, Small White Button, Pearl Basic Jewels

 

Word Play Gift Card Holder

Are you always in need of masculine cards and gift card holders?  Seems like I never have enough of them on hand!

This cute little matchbook style card holds a gift card very nicely and you can easily change the colors and sentiment for any occasion.

The basic matchbook is  -  8 5/8 X 3 7/8 and it's scored at 3 3/8, 3 3/4 and 7 3/4.  It fits into a 4X4 envelope.

Stamp Set:  Word Play

Ink:  Island Indigo

Card Stock:  Basic Gray, Whisper White, Island Indigo and Twitterpated Designer Series Paper

Tools:  Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Star Punch (retired), 1 1/4" Circle Punch (used to round the corners), SNAIL and Dimensionals

Bling:  Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon

***On Saturday, February 9th I'll be posting a video about how to do the very trendy chalkboard technique!***