Cardstock, Punches and Paper Crimper - and Glue Dots!

*This is a recent post of mine over at the Create for Less blog.

I wanted to show that you can make a card without a scrap of patterned paper. All I used were a few different colors of cardstock, some punches and a few small simple embellishments. I love texture on my projects, but I always forget about my paper crimper, so I decided to pull him out for this project. It’s fun to rediscover “old” tools that you loved, but may have forgotten about.

Supplies:
Bazzill Blue Dotted Swiss cardstock. You can also use a plain blue piece of cardstock and run it thru the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots Embossing folder.

Bazzill Cardstock - greens, brown, pink

Pebbles Thank You Rub-on

Making Memories Wedding Pearls

Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

Martha Stewart Edge Punch Arch Lattice

Marvy Uchida Paper Crimper

EK Paper Shapers Circle Punch 1 1/2″

Buttons - green

Glue Dots

All Night Media Pop Dots

Directions:

• After creating the card base, it is time to make the tree trunk. Draw a tree trunk on the brown cardstock, cut out and run thru the paper crimper. Adhere the trunk to your card.


• Next get out your 1 1/2″ circle punch and punch circles from two different shades of green cardstock. (If you do not have a punch, you can trace circles and cut or use a circle cutter).


• Run the light green circles thru the paper crimper to give them added dimension on the tree.


• Layer and adhere the dark green circles to the card – overlapping the trunk.


• Layer the light green circles on top of the dark green circles, adding pop dots behind a few for dimension. Use Glue Dots on the other dark and light green circles.


• Punch three butterflies from pink cardstock. Adhere two to the tree “leaves” and one to the trunk.


• Add pearls to the centers of the butterflies.


• Use your border punch on the dark green cardstock to make grass. Adhere to the bottom of the card.


• Apply sentiment rub-on.


• Adhere 3 buttons on each side of the sentiment using Glue Dots.

Creative Cuts and More April Blog Hop!

I was honored to be asked to join in on the fun for the April Blog Hop. If you started here first, be sure to start at the Die Cut Diva blog, so you don't miss anyone! If you have already been hopping along then the next stop on the hop is Lisa.

Here are all the supplies and instructions for the pink card above:

A2 Gate Fold Crescent Card with Band - Color for Card Strawberry Splash - Bazzill Smoothies & Color for Band Raspberry Splash - Bazzill Smoothies
Patterned Paper - Collage Press (2 sided)
Border Punch - Martha Stewart
Fabric Alphabet - American Crafts
Cream Button - Jenni Bowlin
Pearls - Kaisercraft
Oval Template - Coluzzle

I used an oval template to cut the pink patterned paper for the front of the card and adhered. I then cut a rectangular piece of cream patterned paper for the inside of the card (the other side of the patterned pink paper) and used a border punch on both ends. I adhered the paper to the inside of the card, added a few pearls to flower centers on the paper and added the alphabet stickers. To the band that goes around the card - I added more letters, a button and placed a pearl in the center of the button.

A2 Circle Window Card #01 Color Choice Pear Crush - Bazzill Smoothies
Paper: Collage Press (two sided)
Felt Flower: K and Company
ABC Stickers: K and Company
White Pearls: The Paper Studio
Teal Pearl: K and Company
Circle Template: Coluzzle

Cut two rectangles from patterned paper (one for inside of card, one for outside). Cut circle from blue patterned paper, slightly larger than hole in the window card. I used a Coluzzle, but you could use other templates or even a cup or bowl. Adhere rectangle (with hole) to the front of card, add pearls around the circle and alphabet stickers. Adhere rectangle of brown patterned paper to the inside of the card and add flower sticker so that it is in the center of the window. Add pearl to center of flower.

Here is a list of everyone joining in on the April CCM hop:

Die Cut Diva - http://die-cut-diva.blogspot.com/
Chris - http://www.chrissyd723.blogspot.com/
Kayla - http://dream-bielieve-imagine-mustangkayla.blogspot.com/
Jennifer -http://www.jenniferhansenscrapgallery.blogspot.com/ GUEST DESIGNER - that's me!
Lisa - http://www.lisasomerville.com/
Noelle http://noellescrapsalot.blogspot.com/
Steph - http://stephzerbedesign.blogspot.com/

Graphic 45 card with SRM sticker

Here is a quick and easy cards using Graphic 45 papers and a SRM sentiment sticker. Other extras are Martha Stewart punches and Creatively Green cardstock. Lots to do today, so this post is short and sweet!

Lily Bee Designs Die Cuts

On this card I used the French Coture collection. The die cut is actually a scalloped square, but I cut off the top part (saving for another day!), used some photo corner die cuts as butterfly wings and then punched out another butterfly from another paper. Extras include Martha Stewart punch, Bazzill cardstock, Basic Grey pearls and American Crafts rubon.

On this gift bag the strip is from French Coture and the scalloped square (I cut off the sides) is from the Three Little Birds collection. I love when I can combine collections from a company. The tree brad is from Around the Block.

I had the good fortune to win some Lily Bee die cuts last month. I love the size of the die cuts because they are the perfect size for cards and gift bags...two of my favorite things to make! Don't get me wrong, they work on layouts too :-)

Graphic 45 - Communique Collection

I love to alter wooden signs. I snatched this black sign up on clearance awhile ago and have been waiting for the right papers. I wanted to keep the sign simple, but classic looking. The colors of the Communique collection (Pen in Hand and Shutterspeed papers) were perfect. I added a few Queen and Co black jewels to each letter. Very quick and easy project!

I had some paper left, so I also created this quick Best Wishes card. In addition to the Shutterspeed paper, I used the Martha Stewart scalloped punch, Mark Richards pearls and Cosmo Cricket alpha stickers.

I Love Pink!

I've never considered myself a girly girl, but when it comes to papercrafts I love bright pink! I used to dress my daughter in this color a lot, but now that she is 7 she is starting to rebel! The Bazzill cardstock already had the embossed shiny pink dots. I used almost every scrap, although my daughter nabbed a bit for her school Valentine's box. I was nice and shared :-)

I also used Kaisercraft Allsorts paper and pearls, an EK Success felt butterfly and a sentiment sticker from SRM - Thinking of You collection.

This cute little monkey is from K and Company, ribbon is The Paper Studio and the sentiment stickers are from SRM - Thinking of You collection. I love that they are clear and easily blend right into your project!

Additionals on this project are Fancy Pants paper (Frosted Collection) and rubon, Kaisercraft pearls, Making Memories mini alpha stickers and a Martha Stewart border punch.

The rubon sentiment is from American Crafts and the green border is Little Yellow Bicycle. The pearls are Basic Grey.

I am sorry if I blinded anyone, but couldn't help myself the other day when I was crafting. And PS. I love the singer Pink too!

SEI - Black Orchid Collection

While cropping last weekend, I pulled out this package of SEI paper - Black Orchid Collection. It is very pretty and I'm not sure why I haven't used this earlier. All the papers on these cards (except the red polka dots which is October Afternoon Verry Merry) are from this line. Cardstock is Bazzill, large pearls are K and Company, medium teal pearls are Bazzill, ribbon is Bazzill and Paper Studio, small pearls are Mark Richards, red gems are Paper Studio, button is Making Memories, border punches are EK Success and Martha Stewart, sentiments stickers are American Crafts, friends rubon is Basic Grey and black foam letters are Queen and Company.

Giveaway Alert x 2 - Sarah is giving away some cute Kiki Art products over on her blog. There are two different posts, twice the chances to win. Check it out!

Krusty Klaus - Crate Paper's North Pole Collection

*This will be featured in the Nov/Dec 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes*

Here is a layout I made this weekend using Crate Paper's North Pole Collection. I have been wanting to make a layout about this goofy Christmas Eve tradition for a long time. On Christmas Eve Krusty Klaus visits my husband's family bringing gag gifts for all. He wears a moth eaten suit, dirty work boots, goggles and is generally just pretty crusty! This year he even brought reindeer poop (Cocoa Puffs). Last year Emma figured out Silly Santa was Grandpa, but had to explain to Parker how she figured it out - Grandpa is always missing, it looks and sounds like Grandpa etc...lol. You can find this cute collection from Crate Paper at That Scrappy Girl. Other goodies I used were some Bazzill ribbon, Making Memories mini abc stickers, Tombow permanent adhesive and a Martha Stewart border punch. And a lot of pop dots - I put behind the ornaments, the blue strips of paper and the main photo.

Sugar Canisters Can Be Moxie Fab!

I made this for Cath's Around the House Challenge over at the Paper Crafts Moxie Fab blog. You have until Monday, September 21st at midnight to enter. I reached for my Cosmo Cricket Early Bird papers and this cute little sugar canister. I used my Martha Stewart punch to make the fun edge on the right and my EK Success punch to make the edge on the left.

Bee Mine??

It's September so it makes perfect sense I'm sharing some Valentine's things with you right? These were made for some recent calls, but did not get the love. I did get some other things picked up though, so that's always fun. I have actually been creating quite a bit lately, but most I can't share. I've been asked to create a bunch of cards for a magazine and along with some DT stuff that I can't share yet, it's leaving my blog arsenal pretty slim right now. I guess it's a good problem to have :-)

The top two projects are using the We R Memory Keepers Heart Attack line. The chipboard heart is from Making Memories, pearls are Queen and Co, heart gems are Martha Stewart and tiny gems are Darice. As I look at this pictures, now I remember why I hadn't posted them on the blog yet. I took the photos inside at night...note to self... resnap outside and update the blog!

The other card is made with some Reminisce papers, K and Company sentiment, Hero Arts pearl hearts and Martha Stewart heart stickers.

Some other misc. to share:

• Don't forget about the giveaway over at The Scrappy Shack - how would you like to win 20 free die cuts? You can also get a free die cut with your order.
• There is also a giveaway going on this week of a fun project kit over at Creative Cuts and More. It's a super cute Halloween Haunted House kit!
• Creatively Green was featured over on Scrap Scene this week. There is a lot going on at CG this month including challenges and new product in the store, so be sure to check it out.
• And the biggest news...my little Emma turned 7 yesterday...wow!

Some Cosmo Cricket Early Bird

And some more of my creations from the girls scrapping weekend. Haven't had time this week to make anything, but hoping to get my scrap on this weekend. I had a number of items picked up for publication recently - yeah!! and so after the kids go to bed instead of scrappin' I've been typin' and packin'. Here are a couple simple little cards I made using mostly Cosmo Cricket Early Bird. I also got out one of my Martha Stewart punches to make a fun edge.

Not totally loving this layout, but I'll be brave and share anyway. And then of course immediately after I create the layout I find a 3rd picture that would have gone with it. Too late now :-) This is my daughter Emma and her cousin Sydney (my brother's daugther) from a couple Christmases ago. They are pretty close in age, but very different in size - one Amazon, one petite - both are divas so they have that in common anyway...lol. Now I'm not saying Amazon in a mean way...Emma has gotten used to being a head taller than most kids her age!

A Couple of Jillibean Soup Cards - Cream of Mushroom

Although I hate Cream of Mushroom soup (unfortunately it seems to be the hubby's fave ingredient to cook with - ick) , I will make an exception when it's scrappy related :-) This Cream of Mushroom Soup line from Jillibean Soup, has some super cute papers, perfect for my fussy cutting tendencies! (If you love these papers like I do, you can buy them here.) I think these were probably my 2 favorite cards I made all weekend while scrapping with the girls. To get the texture on the deer cards I used a Fiskars texture plate, although now that I have my Cuttlebug, eventually I won't need to be so labor intensive, once I get some embossing plates for it. The cute little deer is from the The Paper Company.

Supply Containers - Scrap Within Reach Emerson

My kids drink a lot of juice and awhile ago I realized that these are sturdy and great to use for all kinds of things. You can even run them thru the dishwasher to clean before decorating. I decorated these to use in my scraproom.

Papers: Scrap Within Reach Emerson
ABC Stickers: American Crafts Thickers
Scallop Punch: Martha Stewart
Chipboard pieces: Pebbles
Ribbons: Making Memories,Wright
Jewels: Darice
Brads: Stemma, Imaginescene
Size: 2 3/4 x 5
Plastic Juice Containers: Welch's

A Couple Core'dination Shares

Here are a couple projects made mostly with Core'dinations cardstock. Their cardstock is so fun to use - not only is it textured, but the core is colored and they have all kind of collections so you can always find something that works for your project. I just received some the Whitewash and Vintage collections the other day and can't wait to play with those! The card includes some Mocha Chica paper and I used my crimper on the blue cardstock to give it some texture. On the layout I used my Martha Stewart border punch and an EK Success heart punch and got crazy with my Clearsnap Chestnut Roan. Even inked the Heidi Swapp chipboard letters.

P.S. Giveaway alert! Who wouldn't love some super cute die cuts? Check out The Scrappy Shack!

Just My Sketches April 15th Reveal - Jillibean Soup

Here is my card for Just My Sketches April 15th sketch. I was really happy with the way this card turned out. It actually came together fairly quickly. Sometimes I can move elements around for an hour until I'm happy. I was trying to figure out what item to put in the rectangle and looked over and saw the raw chipboard Bazzill keys I had bought recently. I then came up with the sentiment, dug in the keys some more and even found one that had a heart on it...perfect! The heart gems are by Martha Stewart and the papers are from Jillibean Soup and the Minestrone line. I have been wanting some of their papers since they came out and hadn't ordered any online yet. No one local has it yet...boo hoo... Lo and behold, I won some goodies and from Creating Keepsake's blog and among other things it included some Jillibean! I distressed all of the edges with my Heidi Swapp sander (love that thing) and inked up the key with my all time fave ink Clearsnap Chestnut Roan.

2 Awesome Kids Layout - Creatively Yours Sketch

This layout is simple and quick. It's also 6x12, my first time trying that size. I'm planning to hang this in my new scrap room (if it ever gets done?) I used Scenic Route and Fancy Pants paper, American Crafts vinyl Thickers and Martha Stewart flower stickers. You can find the sketch here.

Hope everyone is keeping warm...here in Iowa it is FREEZING!!!

Making Memories Passport Collection Cards

I made these at another crop last weekend. I'm just getting around to posting them...bad blogger!

Paper on all the cards is from Making Memories Passport Collection. Flower is Martha Stewart, Brad is Making Memories, Happy Bday sticker is EK Success Inspirables and ribbon is ????. I inked everything up with Clearsnap Chesnut Roan. Card is 4 1/4 x 6 1/4.

This card looks pinker in the pic that IRL. In addition to the paper, I used more Martha Stewart flowers, EK Success Inspirable sentiment and Paper Studio bling. Size is 3 1/2 x 6.

*Card removed for publication in April 2009 CARDS Magazine.
Also used Making Memories brads, Paper Studio bling and EK Success Inspirable sentiment. This is a mini at 3 x 3 1/2.

Baby Card with some Sass!

This ended up not being your typical baby card, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. We'll say this is for a well-to-do baby...since it's got bling on it! I used Bazzill cardstock, Daisy D's Spring Blossoms paper, Fancy Pants playing card, Prima bling and I used my Martha Stewart punch on some Basic Grey paper. Size is 4 1/2 x 6.

Use Your Stash August Patterned Paper Challenge Cards

This card was made with some of my Tinkering Ink goodies that I won on their blog. This is the Retro Metro line. Very bright and I tend to use brighter colors...so totally fun stuff to work with! I used a sqaure punch and a One Heart One Mind sentiment. And I always have to have a little bling. This is from Darice. Size is 5x7.

The Becoming Green line from Tinkering Ink also included some of my current faves...butterflies! I was on a huge flower kick for awhile and now I seem to have moved onto butteflies. I used the Martha Stewart classic butterfly punch (it accidentally fell in my cart at WM the other day) to punch some of the butterflies from the paper. I added some Prima bling and Doodlebug ABC's. This card is actually more of a mini card at 3x3.

Last but not least I dug into more of my Reminisce papers. It is from the Girly Girl line. I used my EK Success photo corner punch along with some white Pioneer photo corners, once again Doodlebug ABC rubons and Darice bling and pop dotted behind the middle flower for dimension. Size is 4x4.

These were my patterned paper challenge items for August and you can check out what the rest of the design team made at Use Your Stash. Don't forget there is a very cool prize from Cosmo Cricket up for grabs so be sure to get out that paper and enter!

Sketches By Tamara - Card Sketch #54

*Removed for publication in Cards January 2009 issue.


Here is another fun sketch site. I decided to tackle her latest sketch. I went with a circle on the card, but didn't do as a circle card mainly because I couldn't find my circle cutter! I also turned the sketch sideways. I got to use my Martha Stewart butterfly punch again (I love that thing, need to go and get the classic butterfly shape too), also used Making Memories Noteworthy paper, Paper Studio bling and Doodlebug rubons. Size is 4x8.