Note This

Just a quick post tonight with a sample of some note pads. The template and note pads came from Papertrey. They were quick and easy to make and best of all, a big seller at the bazaar. It's always nice when the effort you place into an item is snatched up quickly to be enjoyed by others.

I'm undecided at the moment if I'm going to create more this year. On one hand I have a number of note pads left in my stash and this year the ability to cut the covers with my Cricut, unlike last year when I cut each by hand. On the other hand I purchased a number of the little composition books when I found them on sale and they're even quicker to complete.

I've already made several as stocking stuffers for the teens in our family. My Basic Grey stash comes in perfect here since graphic and urban is definitely more in line with their sense of style.

I used rub-ons and some adhesive backed vellum for the wording. The vellum has been sitting in my stash since...ummm... late 90's?! Yikes. About time I put these sheets to use and I can count myself lucky to find the adhesive still very sticky.

just chillin'...

We had a little burst of summer this past weekend; sunshine and temps in the mid 70’s? Since then the temps have been dropping steadily and it feels like Fall with Winter close on its heels. That's okay. Perfect weather for getting my mind set back into holiday crafting. Good thing too. Despite my goal to wrap up my bazaar projects this month I can already tell it will run into next month.

I was browsing my photo library and came across these projects I created last year. Why I didn't take photos of the contents I have no idea but at least I have a couple completed shots to share. The first is a Cocoa box set. The box I found at Michaels. After I made these I found several blogs with various treatments. Most have a wrap around but I like covering the entire box. I start by staining the box with walnut ink and then cover the outside with decorative paper. Inside I tucked 2 packets of cocoa wrapped in the same paper, a small bag of marshmallows, a little treat bag of Hershey kisses and a couple candy canes.

A tag and bow for the handle and because I needed a bit of sparkle...I added a wooden snowflake enhanced with glitter. They were a big hit. I have a few of these boxes left so maybe I make some for this year too.

Another bazaar project; this one for all those special teachers. I used Papertrey's Teacher's Apple. This is one of my favorite sets. It's so versatile; I find myself pulling it out a lot and not just for teacher related projects.

The box housed 10 note cards and envelopes. The candle was purchased at Wal-Mart for just a dollar. I used Juicy Apple but Warm Apple Pie also smells heavenly. To save time I stamped the apples onto a solid adhesive backed label sheet, trimmed the strips and wrapped the jar. Love simple. In fact they were so easy and quick I made several extras to tuck into holiday baskets I gave to family and friends.

The Raven

 A quick post for this morning. I'd been searching for Raven cut for a while. There are a couple of stamps available that are really cool but I wasn't finding what I wanted in a cut. I finally located a shape I'd like on  the Cricut October 31st cartridge. Immm...maybe I should have started here first.

I really like the images on this particular cart. Totally cool. I'm thinking it's going to get a good workout. And it started with this particular card.

I needed one more card. Now I just need to remember to get them all into the mail on Monday. I think that may be more difficult than finding a Raven I liked.

Catch Up

Ummm...has it really been more than a month since my last update?! Seems so. It's been a busy, busy month; traveling, family functions and in between some crafting for our upcoming Church Bazaar. I always try to dedicate my free time in October towards crafting for the holiday bazaar, which means I've been in full holly and ivy mode. A bit strange considering we haven't even hit Halloween. I feel like a local department store with tinsel displayed long before Fall has even arrived. Ha! But I've learned if I don't start early I just add stress to already months packed with birthdays, holidays and events. The hard part is returning my mind set from snow and Santa to more appropriate Fall themed crafts...like Halloween treat bags. Yeah, those were still hanging over my head.

Remember those cute tags I made last month? Well I finally sat myself down and tackled putting together the bags. I think they turned out pretty cute and I count myself lucky a stray snowflake didn't find its way onto the bag. These weren't the only items on my Halloween to do list....

I also had these coffins to complete. I was struggling with embellishing the fronts until spotted some black raffia at Michaels. Some premade embellishments (on SALE!) and problem solved. The coffins are also from Michaels. I discovered a small $10 iTunes card, the ones that come in a 3 pack,  just fits inside; the perfect gift for the older kids in the family who no longer Trick or Treat but still appreciate a little treat.

Flea Market Finds Inspiration

A few weeks ago I hit the local flea market with the gals. I love browsing the different stalls and usually end up with all kinds of odds and ends. Thankfully this time round we went late in the day so we had a limited amount of time before the vendors closed up shop. This kept me focused because I really just wanted to find some old sheet music and books for my crafting. I scored. Yay me! And since then all my goodies have been sitting neglected on my scrap table until this past weekend which started out grey and rainy; a perfect day to neglect chores in favor of spending some time crafting. I'd been thinking tags for some goody bags I want to put together and thought some of that old sheet music would make a good base. This is the result.

Recognize the ghost? Yeah, I had a few extras from my card making so it didn't take much effort to create my first tag. The spider and bat are ek punches. The bat I embossed using on of my cuttlebug folders and the spider I flocked. What a mess! Now I remember why I don't pull out the flocking very often but well worth the mess this time round. Up close this guy looks pretty creepy. 

I layered the bat and spider cuts several times to give them some extra stability since they extend off the tag. The pumpkin is a Quickutz die I modified slightly. A little inking around the edges for depth, a twisty vine and a bit of bling and ... done. I'm going to use black crinkle ribbon to tie them to my treat bags.

Apples

Another find during my recent clean up. Like the pumpkins these apples were tucked away in one of my many craft boxes. I stained the base with walnut ink and once dry covered them with some scraps I had saved from a recent layout. Since I mainly scrap 8.5" x 11" I have bins full of paper trimming and am always happy when I can put my bits and pieces to good use.

I embellished them with leaves punched from an ek success then added a homemade button and some ribbon trim. The apples have a hole to string ribbon or twine for hanging but have a base thick enough to stand on their own. And I think for the moment, that's how I'll leave them.

And since I was hitting my scrap bin I decided to continue with my apples theme and punched a bunch using my MS apple punch.

I layered the cuts to get the stem and leaf detail. So much easier than trying to work with tiny pieces that never seem to want to stay put. I also like the added thickness which gives them a little depth and makes them sturdy like a thin chipboard. Perfect for use on a card or embellishing a harvest layout.

The Yang

So I got side tracked. It started with a little straightening and ended up with a full cleaning and organization binge of my scrap room. It was long over due. I'm messy. Okay, understatement. I'm a very messy crafter & scrapper. Once I get into a project all kinds of things come out of the bins, boxes and cubby holes and take up residence on my scrap table. Before you know it I'm working in a 5"x5" space. And while I craft messy my creative motivation requires a clean, clutter free zone to fully function. The ying and the yang in constant battle. The yang is a hard task master but there are benefits...like these 2 wooden pumpkins.

I can't say for sure how long they've languished in one of my cupboards but it's safe to it's been awhile; definitely time to rescue them, dress 'em up and place them on display. I stained them brown using some old walnut ink then used my favorite Making Memories Halloween line from a couple years back to cover the base. A little inking around the edges, embossing to bring out the detail and some crinkle ribbon to complete the project. Perfect for a kitchen window or maybe hanging from a drawer pull.

Witch Hat

It's been a busy weekend. Between errands, parties and house cleaning I managed to find a bit of time to craft and even got a couple of layouts completed. Good thing because I'm always feeling behind in that area.

Today I'm sharing another Halloween card. This one is using Papertrey Gridlines, one of my all time favorite sets. Instead of using the gridline guide stamp I scored my paper at 3/4" intervals on a diagonal and used the score lines as my guide for stamping the background.

I stacked several layers for the witch hat then used my glue pen to create and glitter a polka dot pattern then mounted it on Spellbinder's Labels One die. I glittered the outside rim and added a few gems to gives some additional sparkle. And of course I had to use a border punch; I'm totally addicted to those and use them every chance I can. A bit of crinkle ribbon and viola...another card completed.

Boo!

Another card to share. This one is using an old Quickutz ghost die, Spellbinders Labels 4 die and some old MM and Jenni Bowlin scraps. The ghost shape just cried out for a little boo banner. It took some experimenting and a bit of patience but I love the results.

The ghost die and inner label are layered to give the card some dimensions but just a little which makes it totally suitable for mailing. Enjoy!

Creepy Crawlies

The spirit of All Hallows Eve has struck. Unusual to be sure since I rarely start crafting seasonal items until we're practically sitting on top of a holiday. I don't know if it's all the fun new Halloween papers hitting the shelves or the recent discovery of a bunch of creepy crawlies in my basement...eewww...but a spooky mojo has definitely taken up residence in my scrap room. Take a peek.

This little guy was cut using my cricut and MTC. I made several cuts, layered them to give me the sturdiness of a thin chipboard piece, then went to town with some black glitter. Let me tell you, he's a whole lot cuter than the ones I swept up in the basement.