Minecraft Custom Request

I wrote a post last week about a custom request and here's another one that challenged me! I was asked to create a Minecraft card for a customer and I really had no clue as to what this was, but that wasn't going to stop me from creating something. I turned to Pinterest, of course and was inspired by Stamping T in Australia. Here is a step-by-step on how I put this (tedious) card together.

I started out by raiding my scrap bin and pulling out different shades of green, plus black and then cut them into 1/4" strips and then 1/4" squares. My Stampin' Trimmer was my best friend for this project!

I happened to have some sticky note pages that looked like grid paper, so I trimmed that down so it would fit on my card front (4" x 5-1/4"). You could use any grid paper, but I found it convenient that my page stayed in place as I was gluing all the little pieces on.

Next I marked out where I wanted certain things to go. I knew I wanted the image to be square, but wasn't entirely sure what I was going to put at the bottom yet.

This AMAZING Fine Tip Glue Pen (in the Holiday Catalogue) made this project more manageable.

After gluing down the black areas, I just randomly started gluing the remaining green squares. I started with just one shade of green and then moved on to the next.

I really loved seeing all the different shades together and I might do another project like it, but with bigger squares! ;) This was VERY time consuming...

Towards the end, I wasn't as concerned about having the same shades close together. It still looked good. I think from start to finish, this card took me around 2-1/2 hours! It's really crazy when you think about it, but it was worth it when my customer was thrilled with the result. I think they also thought I was a little crazy!

Come back tomorrow to see the final result!

Until then, stay crafty!
Steph

Magazine Gift Bag - Tutorial!

A while back I posted my magazine gift bags and the post was quite popular... but I didn't include a tutorial. Well, I have one now!

As I was preparing my tutorial, I discovered that I never wrote down my measurements. haha. I spent hours and countless tries designing that bag and I never jotted down the details!! Argh. Well, perhaps this was good news because I came up with a much better design. I've always said "everything happens for a reason"...

Check out the full tutorial here. I've also entered it into a contest, so I would appreciate your vote and feedback. :)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

How To...

Have you ever been frustrated when gift wrapping? Annoyed that your presents don't sit flat because you've got a knot at the bottom in order to tie a bow on top? Well, here is my "how to" so you can avoid that!

Easy peasy. Hope this "how to" was helpful and the pictures were able to help you achieve a beautifully wrapped present!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Pinwheel Spinner Card with June Paper Pumpkin

Happy Monday! I'm winding down here with the last lot of my June Paper Pumpkin projects. Today's post will be short because I will just guide you to Dawn's awesome video tutorial!

I followed her tutorial exactly... but I must say that it was extremely hard for me to find some pennies!! (FYI, Canada removed the penny from its currency last year.)

To create a smaller pinwheel from those given in June's kit, I just cut a 2" square from the center and punched four more holes.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Flower Card with June Paper Pumpkin

Today I'm sharing another project I created with the June Paper Pumpkin kit. I didn't have use for 24 pinwheels, so I told my brain to think outside the box and see what else it could come up with. This card is similar to the one I created yesterday, but in order to create it, you would need some additional tools.

As in yesterday's post, I used my ink spot to "draw" on my flower stem and leaves. I stamped the stars to create "grass"... very abstract I suppose. For a step-by-step photo tutorial on the flower, see below.

For the next few posts I'm sharing with you, I used elements that I punched from the three different pinwheel papers you receive in the kit (that are double-sided). Here, you'll see the shapes I punched from each, in total, I was able to punch 12 flowers, 24 stars and 12 banners.

For the card above, I made the flower with 6 layers... but I only used 3 punched out pieces. Here how I did that!

Step 1: choose three designs.

Step 2: crumple up each flower so the paper becomes softer and the layers start peeling away.

Step 3: the crumpled flowers break up the paper fibers and you can gently pull them apart - 1 flower will now give you 2. :)

Step 4: layer the flowers in the order you want, pierce a hole through the center and use the brad that's included with the kit.

Hope you're liking my alternative Paper Pumpkin projects. I'd love to hear your comments!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Spiral Flowers with June Paper Pumpkin

So, I've been hyped coming up with alternative projects with June's Paper Pumpkin kit (the one with all the pinwheels). I love what I was able to do on this card, but I'm still getting used to the super simple look!

With this project, I wanted to showcase that you could make something else without any other tools or stamps. All I needed was a pair of scissors & some Whisper White Notecards & Envelopes. For the petals for my flowers, all I did was take my ink spot (you get one with every kit!), hold it on an angle and "paint" the flowers on. Just a few quick strokes.

And if you like what I did above, you'll love the picture tutorial I've included below! Hope you enjoy.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Gift Bow Tutorial!

Received June's Paper Pumpkin kit? Great! If not, you can still do this project by cutting yourself a square and cutting into the center (but not right to the middle) from each corner. Here is a step-by-step tutorial for creating a bow.

Step 1:
Cut off one of the top "triangle".

Step 2:
Fold the top portion down as shown here:

Step 3: Curl your paper points to make it easier to bring them into the center. Place a glue dot (or a couple) to hold the 4 points in the center of the bow.

Step 4: Flip the bow away from the soon-to-be tails and poke a hole so that you can place the brad through. While you've got the bow flipped, cut your tails as shown.

Step 5: Flip your bow back on top of your tails. Optional, adhere the back of the brad to your tails with a glue dot.

Now you have a bow that you can use to decorate a gift with and all you've used is 1 "pinwheel" square from the kit, a brad and a couple of glue dots. :)

Hope you've enjoyed this quickie tutorial. I'd love to hear your comments!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

12x12 Bag with Written Tutorial!

The internet is a lovely place, isn't it? A while ago, I searched out how to make a 12x12 bag from DSP.  I found many lovely examples, but nothing like what I was looking for. I wanted to use only one sheet of DSP and I wanted it to be big enough to fit my standard-sized cards in it.

I am a paper hoarder and thought creating bags from my retired DSP to sell and give away would be perfect for all the shows I was doing in the fall. I could use them for a promotional tool, and people could buy them and use them to give my cards as gifts.

They were a hit! They were also a hit with my fellow Demos when I brought one originally for show and share and then taught them how to make their very own. Now I will teach you too…

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Stampin' Up! 12x12 DSP (If not SU!, must be double-sided) 
• Simply Scored 
• Paper Snips 
• Sticky Strip 

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Choose your preferred side of your paper. Make sure you score properly so that the area you want showcased works. For my sample above, I had to make sure I scored it properly to accommodate the pattern (that was only on part of the DSP). You also want to make sure that a pattern won't be upside-down when you flip over the top flap.
2. Score your 12x12 paper at: 3/8", 5-3/8", 6-1/4" and 11-1/4".
3. Turn your paper a quarter turn and score at 2" (top) and 11-1/4" to make a 3/4" bottom. Again, make sure you score the right sides that you want to be the top and bottom of your bag, if your paper isn't a consistent pattern throughout.
4. Cut your tabs. Cut along each vertical line, up to the 3/4" score line (bottom of the bag).
5. Optional: cut angles in your tabs at the bottom of your bag. I do this because I think it's a cleaner look.
6. Crease along all your score lines and fold over your top "handle".
7. Run a piece of Sticky Strip down the 3/8" side. It's important to run it as close to the edge as possible.
8. Peel and stick your two sides together. Do not overlap the two sides past the Sticky Strip, otherwise your bag will be wonky. (Note: This is the only way I could make my bag work properly to the dimensions I needed from one piece of DSP). :)
9. Add a piece of Sticky Strip to one of the bottom tabs and adhere together.
10. Pinch & crease the sides slightly at the top to give the bag a little more dimension.
11. Punch your handles using the XL Oval Punch from Stampin' Up!. Punch one side at a time.
12. Optional: create tags from the punched-out ovals. You know me, I like to use every last bit of paper! ha.
13. Your bag is complete! Use it how you like. I've used mine for cards (fits anywhere from one to eight 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" cards & envelopes depending on how many embellies you have on them). I've also used them for small gifts.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. I'd love to hear what you think! I also don't mind you sharing this, but please do not sell my tutorial because I have given it to you for free. I would also appreciate you credit me/my site if you share.

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

Punched Cross

Today I'm sharing with you an old project... you can tell it's old because of some of the products used. However, I still wanted to show it to you because I think it's really cool.

Paper: Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla, Beau Chateau DSP (retired)
Stamps: Crosses of Hope (inside)
Tools: Scallop Trim Border Punch & Corner Punch (retired), Little Leaves Sizzlit
Accessories: Pearls, Flower Trim

What happened is that (over a year ago!) I came across an awesome tutorial video from Frenchie on how to make a beautiful cross with punches. I was so excited that I made a few, but then never did anything with them. As you may have read, I had to do a major clean up of my craft loft as we're selling our house and during this clean up, I came across my crosses. :)

I hope you've enjoyed this share and if you've got these punches (or perhaps similar ones would work?), head on over to Frenchie's Blog linked above and show her some love!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Dress It Up, Part Deux!

To continue from yesterday's post, I want to take you through the final design process of the shower invitations I created. Specifically walking you through how to make the gorgeous dress! First, here's what the final invitation looked like:

If you'd like to know how to recreate the dress, keep reading...

Using the Dress Up Framelits, cut out only the top half of the dress.

To make the skirt, the Tea Lace Paper Doilies from the Spring Catalogue are the perfect size. A few simple folds turn the round doily into a triangular skirt.

Fold the top down approximately a quarter of the way.

Fold the right side inwards, lining the scalloped edge to the edge of the inner circle of the doily.

Fold the left side over, lining the edge flush with the right edge.

Fold the top point over to create a flat edge. This is the "waist".

Next, you'll need some of the gorgeous 5/8" Flower Trim, also from the Spring Catalogue. It comes in one long strip, so you'll need to cut apart the flowers and then trim away some of the mesh backing so that it doesn't peek out from the flower.

Aside from the pieces created above, you'll need two small pieces of ribbon. One needs to be long enough to wrap around the waist of dress and the other slightly smaller. You'll fold this one in half to create "tails" to the sash.

Glue the skirt to the top and wrap the longer ribbon around the waste and secure at the back. I used tape to hold it in place. For the sash and the flower, I used glue dots to hold them in place.

This is what the dress looks like completed:

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Star Ornament

I made a bunch of these last year and am in the process of making them again. They are so much fun and a "wow" when people take a look at them.  There are different tutorials out there on how to make these, but I love Dawn Olchefske's tutorial here.

Ornament is kept closed with the button.

Ornament opening up.

Paper: Jolly Holiday DSP, Old Olive
Accessories: 3/8" Very Vanilla Ribbon, Brights Button

These ornaments are so simple to make and can be addictive too! I make them every year for gifts (they work great as a present decoration too!), my Christmas Tree (it's decorated with all handmade ornaments I've made over the years) and this year, I'll make them for my Craft Fair at the end of November.

I like to use a variety of patterned paper, but you can also use all of the same pattern too. Go watch the tutorial and give 'em a try!

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph