Do any of you remember making these little folded pouches when you were in school? I confess that I spent a lot of time day dreaming while a teacher droned on about something in which I was totally uninterested. I’d take paper from my notebook and make different folds, and this was one of them. It’s called the "Diaper Fold" and now I find that it works great for adult-type craft projects!
I made this pouch using the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper, Green Tea (112040). The cut out flowers on the front of the pouch are also from one of the designs that come in the Green Tea set of papers.
The 3" x 3" Love Note size card fits perfectly into the pouch, and the whole thing fits perfectly into a standard sized "Medium" envelope. Stampin’ Up! sells 6 colors of the Medium Envelope, which you can find on page 167 of the 2008 Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog.
Thanks to Beate and the Split Coast Stampers forum for the great instructions for this design. I also have a one-page set of instructions here if you’d like to print it out for your files!
And if you need any of the supplies for this great little project, remember that you can order online 24/7, 365 days of the year!! Or, as always, you can call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and I can place the order for you.
After posting yesterday’s tidbits from Robin’s Craft Room, I started making LOTS of Diagonal Double Pocket cards, which will form the basis for most of our Christmas cards this year.
Since I was doing so many cards, I started feeling like I really knew how to make these wonderful little cards. So, having created the Robin’s Craft Room video monster, I dug out the camcorder and made a video tutorial. So, herewith, I share the video!
As I reviewed it prior to publishing it on YouTube, I found one area that I felt needed a bit more explanation. I realized as I was making that second diagonal fold that I didn’t explain well enough why I made the fold in the steps that I did. If you fold the left side piece under the right side piece and THEN make the diagonal fold towards the center fold, it just doesn’t come out as crisp as if you make the diagonal fold, then fold the left side behind it, then complete the diagonal fold by folding that last piece up to cover the second diagonal fold. The temptation if you try to fold both pieces on a diagonal at the same time is to try to keep the edges aligned, and that can result in a not-so-crisp edge on the diagonal.
Is that clear as mud?? If so, I’ll be glad to give you a one-on-one demonstration in Robin’s Craft Room (if you’re in East Hawaii), or even make a video of that fold just for you if you’re not! As always, I’ve available by phone (808.854.6145) or e-mail!
So far, I’ve made 20 of the DDP cards, and hope to have another 20 done tomorrow morning. Then I have to get started on our Christmas letter!
My stamp club and I just didn’t have enough time last week to get into all the projects that we wanted to. For one thing, all the club members are really new at this, and there is just SOOOO much to learn and so LITTLE TIME to learn it!!
So I invited them over for a second session this afternoon. And what a blast we had! We worked on two projects that had piqued their interest–a Bag in a Box and Stamping on Candles. Here are photos of two of today’s projects.
The stamp set that we used for the candles today was Snow Swirled. I had held off on buying this stamp set, thinking (wrongly) that, "I had enough Christmas stamps!" But I have been taken with all the samples of this stamp set I’ve seen online that I couldn’t hold off any more buying my own copy. It arrived yesterday just in time for today’s activities. To complement the tree, I inserted some gold brads into the candle as tree decorations. A little bit of Real Red card stock on the bottom of the candle, accented with Gold Elastic Cord, just finished off this Christmas candle to perfection!
To make the images on the candle, we stamped with Classic Stamp Pads on plain tissue paper. After we cut our images out (very close to the stamping), we laid them on the candle, wrapped the candle in waxed paper, and set the tissue stamped images into the candle using our heat tool. You can find all the instructions on Split Coast Stampers. They definitely say it better than I do!
I did some candle "stamping" last year, and was able to get right into it again this year with barely any learning curve. It’s easy and I’ll bet you can do it, too! If you’re in East Hawaii, just call and let me know that you’d like a demonstration and I’ll be happy toi arrange a time! Call me (808.965.1391) or e-mail me to set up a time!
And don’t forget that we’re still in the midst of a FREE SHIPPING PERIOD at Stampin’ Up! This is really the best time to order some of those stamp sets that you’d just love to put on a candle–or a Holiday gift of any kind!
Tomorrow I’ll talk about the Bag in a Box projects!
Happy Stamping! AND DON’T FORGET FREE SHIPPING THROUGH DECEMBER 23!!!
We had a totally busy day in paradise today–starting with a visit from an electrician who fixed that smoke alarm that has been going off at 4 in the morning more than I’d care to have it go off (um, actually, one time would be more than I’d care; but I’ve been patient). I’m truly looking forward to a full night’s sleep tonight!
After a few other social engagements, I finally had a chance to play in the Craft Room, and finished the second of the two ornaments that I wanted to make this year for the wreath being built by my son (Gus) and grandson (Quin). Yesterday I featured the "Q" ornament. Today the "G." Actually, Gus is not the name that I gave him at birth. His given name is Andrew. How he ended up a "Gus" is a story for another time.
But Gus he is, so a "G" is called for. I wanted the two ornaments to be similar but not the same colors. So today I reverted to one of my favorite of the Stampin’ Up! 2008 embellishments, the "Little Felt Flurries" (113697). No, I have not used them up!!! In fact, I can’t imagine you could use all those wonderful embellishments up unless you were mass-producing cards and ornaments. I rarely mass produce as I like to think about each and every card and ornament I make, so I tend to be slower than many of my fellow Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. In fact, I’m thinking of saving some of the red snowflakes for Valentine’s cards. Hey, it still snows in February somewhere in our wonderful country! Maybe even in Hawaii (I’ll let you know when I first see snow this season).
The "G" is from the same Serif Essentials Sizzix alphabet set (113464) as the "Q" of yesterday’s blog entry. For the "G" I used white self-adhesive felt, added some Little Felt Flurries, and mounted it all on Glorious Green card stock. This was cut using the Scallop Circle #2 Sizzix Die (113469) (as was yesterday’s gold scallop circle).
I’ll be punching a small hole in both ornaments (to make them easy to attach to the wreath) and mailing them off to Oregon tomorrow.
My favorite toy this weekend is the Sizzix Big Shot with the wonderful Serif Essentials alphabet (113464).
The first project was to make 2008 decorations for the wreath that my son, Gus, and grandson, Quin, started decorating last year. For Quin’s decoration, I used the large Q (I’m probably one of the very few people who may actually wear out the Q in the alphabet set!). I used some self-adhesive red felt and attached it to a piece of the cardboard that somes with Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper (never throw that stuff away–it’s free gold!). I hand cut two pieces of Glorious Green card stock into the shape of holly leaves, and added a Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad (109110). To finish it off, I mounted the decoration on Brushed Gold card stock, using Stampin’ Dimensionals to make it "pop" out a bit.
My Stamp Club had a great time last night with lots of Christmas projects. We had so many we wanted to do that we’re going to have a follow-on meeting next week. I have just so many great ideas that I’ve picked up around my Stampin’ Up! community, and I want to share them ALL!! Unfortunately, some will have to wait for another time. Sigh.
Here is one project that I had for the group, and I’m including the punching instructions for it also. Once you get everything punched, it’s easy to see which punched paper goes where. There are no secrets behind the scenes, as there are in some punch art. On the other hand, if you’d like some one-on-one instructions, I’ll be happy to provide them. Just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me, and I’ll be glad to help!
And a special thanks to Sandy Hancock for originally posting this design idea on her blog!
Here is a quick list of the punches that I used for the Santa face. I also used one of the pictures on the Old Saint Nick rub on package (112844) to finish off the bookmark itself, which is made with Glorious Green card stock and topped with Real Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (109034).
Here is another version of the Diagonal Double Pocket Card.
Most of my dearest friends and I are at the point where we don’t feel that we have to shop for each other for holiday gifts, whether they be for Christmas or Hannukah. But we do like to exchange gifts of things that we have made to commerate at this joyous time that we do, indeed, treasure and are thankful for our friendships. My friend, Janet, for example, has bene making us a Christmas tree ornament for as long as I can remember. She celebrates Hannukah, so I don’t reciprocate with a handmade ornament. However, I do like to make her something special.
As I mentioned yesterday, this year, I have been having lots of fun making diagonal double pocket cards with bookmarks for my friends. Janet is definitely a book lover, even volunteering at her local library.
Today’s card is made with card stock (Taken with Teal). You’ll see on the instructions for the card, there is a variation from the design I used yesterday. With card stock, that last fold creates just two too many layers of card stock for my taste. So this card is actually more like a traditional greeting card, with an inside for a greeting. There are still two diagonal pockets on the front, though!
I created some difference between the front and the back of the card stock by embossing small snowflakes (from the Level 3 Hostess set, Holiday Happenings Bundle, using VersaMark (102283) and White Stampin’ Emboss Powder (109132). I made the two bookmarks with Whisper White and Taken With Teal card stock, and finally affixed two small snowflakes, also made out of Whisper White and cut with the Sizzix Big Shot and two Sizzlits from the Snowflakes Set #2 (113449).
The stamped greeting is from the Heritage Holiday Stamp Set (111646).
Ready to make some of these cards! Just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me, and I can help you pick out papers and stamp sets to get you started!
I’m back on the Big Island of Hawaii after having spent a day in the Big City of Honolulu yesterday. I am truly amazed by all the shopping opportunities that abound in a large city, compared with what we have here near Hilo, Hawaii. But then my dear husband, Harry, reminded me that I don’t even like to shop! That brought me back down to earth, and back to thinking about how I’m going to spend my week making gifts for this holiday season.
As I’m having a Stamp Club meeting this week, I decided to show them how to make a card that can also be a gift. It’s a Diagonal Double Pocket Card, and you can insert many different kinds of gifts (flat, of course). I made two bookmarks to put in this card. They feel colorful and Christmas-y to me!
The Designer Series Paper is from the Frosty Day set (113057), with coordinating Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss card stock (two of this year’s In Colors–111347 for a sampler of all six colors) to form the back of the bookmarks. For the front of the bookmarks, I stamped two images from the stamp set, Punch Pals, (109489) on the Whisper White Card Stock (100730).
I finished off the front of the card with a felt snowflake cut with the Sizzix Big Shot and the Snowflake #2 Die (113460).
I like to make a one-page set of instructions for my Stamp Club projects, and have made one for the basic Double Diagonal Pocket Card. Try using it with some of Stampin’ Up!’s great Designer Series Paper! I have samples of all the papers in the Fall/Winter 2008 Idea Book and Catalog. I’ll be happy to help you select the perfect paper to make your OWN Double Diagonal Pocket Card!
Yesterday I showed you a picture of the ornament that grandson, Quin, made while he was visiting for Thanksgiving. He and his dad were here for only two days, but we packed a lot into them.
Included in all the activity was not only making Quin’s ornament, but taping it as an instructional video. I never knew my grandson was such a showman! As you can imagine, there were lots of "takes" involved in making this video. I’ll be posting the mostly unedited version on YouTube for the family.
Here, though, is an edited version that shows just how easy it is for kids to use the Sizzix Big Shot! Quin is only 8, but I’d bet he’d be in the Craft Room making stuff every day after school if he could! Well, there would have to be time for his video GAMES, and, oh, homework and such. But Grandma would definitely spoil him if he were here!
While my 8-year-old grandson, Quin, was visiting from the mainland for Thanksgiving, he learned how to use the Sizzix Big Shot from Stampin’ Up! We started with the ornament that I featured in yesterday’s blog post. After that, he could hardly wait to get his hands on the Big Shot again! I had some snowflakes lying on my display table, and those intrigued him the most.
Quin definitely wanted to make a Snowflake ornament (using the Sizzix Originals Die Snowflake #2-113461). He was quite certain that he wanted one big snowflake with little ones at the ends of each of the spikes of the large snowflake. After a bit of coaxing, he agreed that three little snowflakes (made with the Sizzlits Snowflakes Set #2-113449) were sufficient. He went through all my Stampin’ Up! cardstock, and picked Brilliant Blue as the color for his large snowflake and Whisper White for the smaller flakes. We also decided to make the blue snowflake a big sturdier by using some of that wonderful light cardboard packed with Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper. Finally, we picked Friday afternoon as the time for the ornament crafting project!
Earlier in the day on Friday, Grandpa Harry took Quin out into our back garden to cut down a couple of Norfolk Pines for this year’s Christmas trees. Grandma Robin couldn’t resist making a video out of part of the tree-cutting event. Once Quin saw that video, he decided that we were going to make a video so he could demonstrate how to make HIS ornament.
Tomorrow I’ll share the video with you. He just loves that Sizzix! I do, too, of course, and would love to have you try one out! If you have kids or grandkids, I highly recommend it for hours of crafting fun!
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Do any of you remember making these little folded pouches when you were in school? I confess that I spent a lot of time day dreaming while a teacher droned on about something in which I was totally uninterested. I’d take paper from my notebook and make different folds, and this was one of them. It’s called the "Diaper Fold" and now I find that it works great for adult-type craft projects!
The stamp set that we used for the candles today was Snow Swirled. I had held off on buying this stamp set, thinking (wrongly) that, "I had enough Christmas stamps!" But I have been taken with all the samples of this stamp set I’ve seen online that I couldn’t hold off any more buying my own copy. It arrived yesterday just in time for today’s activities. To complement the tree, I inserted some gold brads into the candle as tree decorations. A little bit of Real Red card stock on the bottom of the candle, accented with Gold Elastic Cord, just finished off this Christmas candle to perfection!
But Gus he is, so a "G" is called for. I wanted the two ornaments to be similar but not the same colors. So today I reverted to one of my favorite of the Stampin’ Up! 2008 embellishments, the "Little Felt Flurries" (113697). No, I have not used them up!!! In fact, I can’t imagine you could use all those wonderful embellishments up unless you were mass-producing cards and ornaments. I rarely mass produce as I like to think about each and every card and ornament I make, so I tend to be slower than many of my fellow Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. In fact, I’m thinking of saving some of the red snowflakes for Valentine’s cards. Hey, it still snows in February somewhere in our wonderful country! Maybe even in Hawaii (I’ll let you know when I first see snow this season).
The first project was to make 2008 decorations for the wreath that my son, Gus, and grandson, Quin, started decorating last year. For Quin’s decoration, I used the large Q (I’m probably one of the very few people who may actually wear out the Q in the alphabet set!). I used some self-adhesive red felt and attached it to a piece of the cardboard that somes with Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper (never throw that stuff away–it’s free gold!). I hand cut two pieces of Glorious Green card stock into the shape of holly leaves, and added a Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad (109110). To finish it off, I mounted the decoration on Brushed Gold card stock, using Stampin’ Dimensionals to make it "pop" out a bit.
Here is one project that I had for the group, and I’m including the punching 
While my 8-year-old grandson, Quin, was visiting from the mainland for Thanksgiving, he learned how to use the Sizzix Big Shot from Stampin’ Up! We started with the ornament that I featured in yesterday’s blog post. After that, he could hardly wait to get his hands on the Big Shot again! I had some snowflakes lying on my display table, and those intrigued him the most. 
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