Frank Happy

It was a productive weekend and hopefully the start of a productive week at our house. I cleaned my Stampin' Room. The table was once again stacked high and I had about a 2" x 3" spot to stamp. It really wasn't working anymore. I lost many embellishments in the stacks. It was nice to recover them and put everything away. I can't wait to go down and make a mess again. LOL

This week there's a new sketch challenge over at Krista's Cards & Things Challenge Blog.
C'mon over and play along! It's a great week to turn over a new leaf--being it's the first full week of Fall. :)

While the sketch is new, I used all RETIRED stamps and DSP.

I had to mount the Hey, Ghoul Friend set just so I could use this cute little guy. Can you believe I never mounted him?? I think he's so cute--well as cute as Frankenstein can be.

Here he is close up......

awwwww! He's so happy.....
Card Recipe:

Stamps: Hey, Ghoul Friend, Halloween Backgrounds, Bitty Boos (all retired)

DSP: Halloween Night (retired)

Cardstock: Watercolor paper, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Vintage Violet (retired)

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Sahara Sand, More Mustard, Old Olive, Vintage Violet (retired)

Accessories: 1" & 1 1/4" circle punches, aqua painters and non SU frame die.

Greeting Card Kids Halloween Tin

Hostess Club is rapidly approaching again and it's time to think about what to give my hostess, Carol. Well Carol told me awhile back that she loves Halloween. I love it too---you doesn't love a holiday that is centered around candy---CHOCOLATE!

I just purchased some nugget tins and well her's a perfect use for one.
Oh and the black dsp on the belly band has spider webs on it. (too bad they don't show up in the picture!)

Recipe:

Stamps: Greeting Card Kids

Ink: Vintage Violet (retired), Pumpkin pie, More Mustard, Blush Blossom, Old Olive, Basic Black

CS: Old Olive, Vintage Violet (retired)

Paper: Watercolor Paper and Halloween Night DSP(retired)

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Circle Scissors, Scallop Circle #2 die, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain, dimensionals, aqua painters

Soft Little Monkey Rag Quilt

I finished the second quilt for my customer!!! I'm so SO happy with how it turned out.

Are you thinking about making a rag quilt? Do you have 24 hours? This crib size monkey quilt took me a day to complete start to finish.

Yes, it's really that easy.

What you need to make your own baby quilt:

Big Shot, Scallop Square Die (115950), about 1 1/4 yards of cotton batting, 3 yards material (cotton or flannel), sewing machine, coordinating thread, pins, sharp scissors for cutting scallops

Here's the steps to make your own rag quilt:

• Cut the cotton batting (108- 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" squares)


• Using the Scallop Square Die, run the fabric through the Big Shot (216 scallop squares) I used plain ol' cotton fabric for this quilt, but flannel is also used in rag quilts.


• Sandwich the batting between to fabric squares and pin them


• Then quilt an X through all the sandwiched squares


• Lay out the quilted squares on a table or the floor and arrange them for the quilt


• Stitch the rows together (9 quilted squares per row) I used a 3/8" seam for this quilt.


• Then stitch the completed rows (12 quilted rows) I pin where the corner of the squares should meet so that they line up pretty close.


• Make a seam around the outside of the quilt. I use 1/2" seam.


• Clip all the scallops


• Wash and dry (this makes the seams fray and the quilt SOFT)

This quilt is so soft. It's amazing what a difference a wash and dry make:

I love the edges. They frayed out beautifully. (The more times you run your quilt through the washer and dryer, the fluffier and softer it will be become.) This quilt was washed and dried once.
Here's the traditional backside to the quilt.

This is the close up of the material used. My customer choose little monkeys and material that has nursery rhymes printed on it.

Chelsea's Blue Daisy Rag Bag

I promised Riley Kate that I would make her best friend, Chelsea a rag bag for her birthday. I agreed to this months ago, well last night Riley Kate notified me that the time had come for me to keep that promise. :) So she rummaged through the material that I have had in a tote in the closet for YEARS.
Here's what she decided on. She found some navy solid material and some material that I had bought to make Dani a dress when she was just little. (Dani will be 18 years old next month) Needless to say, I told Riley Kate she could probably choose that material. LOL


Here's the traditional side of the bag. I think this is my favorite side. I like the clean look.


Here's the 'ragged' side of the bag. Riley Kate loves the frayed look.

Here's a close up of the material w/ the cute little daisy flowers.

It would have made a cute dress, huh?! :)

In every bag, I made a removeable "faux" bottom. I use a piece of chipboard and make a 'pillowcase' to cover it. I do this to help the bag keep it's form and not collapse when you put anything in it. I also do it so that if you spill anything in the bottom of the bag, it's easy to pull the bottom out and wash it and replace the chipboard.

Now the bag is ready to go.... I attached the birthday tag to the strap. :)

I think she's going to love it!

The Finished Quilt

Okay, I love my online stampin' and I guess quiltin' friends. So many people came to me with suggestions on how to bind this quilt. Thank you so much, Ladies! You are truly the best and saved me from spending a day Googling and panicking. :)

I received a couple emails that said just what I wanted to hear....NO BINDING! These ladies knew their rag quilts and said that most have a straight stitch seam around the outside of the quilt and then the edges are just frayed like the rest of the squares. I love it---so much easier than actually learning to bind it!

The edge of the quilt. I will probably have to wash it a couple times to get the desired affect.
I had no idea how many squares go into such a little quilt. I don't think I'm ready to tackle a Queen size for my bed yet! I think I'm more of a throw pillow kind of person. LOL

Gotta love the crazy pink camo squares. (Personally I love the gingham!)


Here it is ready to go to Kaitlyn. I hope this little one enjoys her pink camo quilt. ♥

Camo Quilt-A Work in Progress

A while back, I made a pink camo diaper bag for a friend's sister-in-law. This same friend asked if I would make a matching baby quilt. I don't sew. I have made a few quilted bags using our Scallop Square Die and the Big Shot, but sew a quilt....um no!

Well I decided to be brave. The worse thing that would happen is that I would be buying the material that my friend supplied from her and apologizing for my lack of sewing ability.
Last night, I finished sewing squares together (FINALLY). Omgosh, there's a lot of little squares in a quilt.

Here's the front of the quilt w/ the 'rag look':


Here's the back of the quilt (traditional look): What do you think?

Today, I will be using You Tube to find good instructions (and easy I hope) on how to bind a quilt.

Wish me luck!

Cupcake Tag

Krista has one of the neatest sketches on her challenge blog this week. I was so excited about giving this sketch a try. Other than Elmo and Cookie Monster, I don't think I have ever made a round card! :)

If you would like to play along w/ this sketch, click here.

I have had the cute little cupcake die for my Big Shot for a long time and never used it for a cupcake. Now there is an adorable heart and flower that comes w/ the cupcake that I have used when making little girl cards. BUT today, I made the cupcake! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! It is so easy to run through the Big Shot and voila instant goodie. :)

I decided that it is time to start thinking about all those friends of Riley Kate's that are having birthdays in the next month. Rather than a card, I made a cupcake gift tag.



Here it is opened up. We can clip it right to the gift bag.

Tag Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Party Hearty, All Holidays

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Whisper White, So Saffron, Blushing Bride

DSP: Pawsitively Prints II

Ink: Poppy Parade, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Circle Scissors Plus, Glass Mat, Hole Punch, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, sponge, Big Shot, Big Bold Cupcake Sizzlits, So Saffron 5/8" grosgrain (retired), O-ring

Stamp A Stack (October 23)

Stamp-A-Stack


Saturday October 23, 2010
10:30 AM-6:00 PM
Kennedy’s Building
N4166 County E, Brodhead WI


It’s time to stamp! Whew! It's been a long hot summer. I'm looking forward to cooler weather, back to school and the upcoming holidays. In celebration of the end of summer, I would like to hold another Stamp A Stack. I will do all the 'hard stuff' and you can just come and enjoy the day.

This stack will include a birthday card, a sympathy card, an all occasion card, an autumn card and a Christmas card.

The STACK includes 20 cards with envelopes—4 of 5 designs for $40 or
The SHORT STACK includes 10 cards with envelopes—2 of 5 designs for $20

***As always, I will provide glue sticks for adhering your cards, but I strongly encourage you to bring your favorite adhesive and scissors.***

Along with the cards, I will also provide you with a simple lunch, munchies and drinks.

I am requiring confirmation of attendance on or before October 7, due to the large amount of cardstock that needs to be cut and in case I need to do last minute ordering. You can confirm by calling (608)558-8715 or email at stampiepoo@gmail.com.

Specials deals:
-Bring a friend that has never been to one of my SAS and receive $5 off your cards.
-Place an order of $50 (before shipping and tax)and receive free shipping or you can pick a used stamp set from my stash.

***If you are unable to attend and would still like to receive the cards. There will be a $5.00 ($2.50 for Short Stack) additional charge for assembly plus shipping if necessary. Cards will be completed and delivered to you by November 6th.

Thank you, Sweet Friends

I am truly blessed w/ some wonderful friends. Today I had a chance to stamp and thought it was time to remember those that make my life so wonderful.

I have been very bad at making Thank You's and sending them. I had a birthday the first week of September and I received some nice gifts (some even stamp related! :)) And over the summer, a few sweet friends joined Evan and I for the Blanchardville Autism Walk and some others sent donations in Evan's name. I thought that was definitely worthy of a handmade card. I'm just sorry it took so long.

You guys are the best! ♥

Card Recipes:

Stamp Set: The Nicest Things

CS: Pear Pizzazz, Tempting Turquoise, Poppy Parade, Whisper White

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Tempting Turquoise, Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, More Mustard

DSP: Pawsitively Prints II

Accessories: Mat pack and paper piercer, so saffron brads, itty bitty shapes punch pack, pearls, sponge, scallop circle punch

Friends Never Fade

Hmmm.....where did that come from?

Okay, I will be honest w/ you. I don't know how I got this set. I don't remember ordering it. LOL I have ordering black-outs. I really must need a 12 step program. Anyway, there it was sitting on my shelf looking all lonely and forgotten. That happens when you don't remember getting it in the first place, right?! :)This week's challenge over at Krista's Cards & Things called for Daffodil Delight. Well I have a little cardstock, but I haven't purchased a lot of the new paper yet. I rummaged through my stash and found that I have the Greenhouse Gala DSP to match the Friends Never Fade set. (At least, I was coordinating during my ordering black-out. Yes, right now I'm both shaking my head and smiling at myself and my addiction!)

Here's Krista's Color Challenge this week:

I had a couple Crumb Cake scallop square bases cut from my tutorial I made last week and decided to build from there. You can't go wrong w/ Crumb Cake in my humble opinion. :)

Or for that matter taffeta ribbon, it makes perfect little knot bows which are my speciality. Kraft is retired, but there's about a dozen other colors on page 191 of the Idea Book & Catalog. Seriously good stuff! I colored the flower with SU! Stampin' Write Markers directly onto the stamp. I love doing that! It's so fast and easy!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Friends Never Fade

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rose Red, Crumb Cake

DSP: Old Olive (retired), GreenHouse Gala (matches the Friends Never Fade stamp set)

Stampin' Write Markers: Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Rose Red

Accessories: NON SU! circle and scallop punch, Daffodil Delight brads (brights assortment), Kraft taffeta ribbon (retired), Big Shot, Scallop Square Punch

Have a happy stampin' day!

Blog Candy Winner

The winner of the Vintage Labels set is Debby McGillivray!
Congratulations, Debby. :)


Debby said...
Congrats on the hits and Happy Birthday, my favorite right now is the bird punch.

angel hugs Debby

38K + 38th Birthday = Blog Candy

It's been awhile since I offered blog candy. I thought since my blog is at 38,000 hits and my 38th birthday both happened in this last week , it was a good excuse! :)
So in honor of 38, I'm offering a NEW Vintage Labels set.


To enter, leave me a comment and tell me what your FAVORITE SU! product is (a particular stamp set, color of cardstock cardstock, DSP or whatever it may be....). I know my favorites but I'd love to hear yours.

I will have Riley Kate draw on Friday and I will announce the winner on Saturday.

The Nicest Things

One of the nicest things is a 3 day weekend. We had a great Labor Day weekend here in Wisconsin. The weather was cool and pleasant. Although we didn't plan a lot for the weekend, it was nice to have the kids home for three days. :) I know...I know... They just started school on Wednesday and I was already for them to be home again. I'm such a softy when it comes to the kids.

Another nice thing is Krista's Cards & Things Challenge Blog. It's nicest thing to know that I will at least get to stamp one card a week thanks to Krista. :)

This week is a sketch challenge. Simple--that's nice thing too.

If you haven't noticed there's a theme to this post. :)

Look at this cute stamp set I just got from Stampin' Up! It's called The Nicest Things (pg 71 IB&C). It is so sweet- I love the little girls.

I loved the set so much that I decided not to give up on watercoloring w/ aqua painters and give it just one more shot. I think I finally got it! I added a sponge inside my aqua painter to act as a bladder so my paper wasn't so wet. It was the nicest thing to have some control over the flow AND I used watercolor paper. Omgosh, what a difference!

I'm going to go and clean my kitchen quick so I can go back downstairs and play! :)

Card Recipe:

Stamp Set: The Nicest Things

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade

Paper: Watercolor Paper and Build A Bear Workshop Pawsitively Prints II

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade, Staz On, So Saffron, Bashful Blue

Accessories: Lattice Square, Sewing Machine, Big Shot, Scalled Square, Aqua Painter, Pearls, dimensionals, Pear Pizzazz 1/2" stitched poly ribbon, Scallop Square Punch (cloud template)

Hope you have the nicest thing happen to you today!♥

Scallop Card Base Tutorial

I have had a couple Stampers ask me how I make the scallop base that I use for some of my cards. I thought I would give you a quick step-by-step today.


This is my scallop base. I love the way it dresses up the card. :)


Here's what you will need: Your Big Shot, standard cutting plates (2), Scallop Square Die, cardstock and bone folder.

Step 1: Cut your 8 1/2" x 11 cardstock in half horizontally so that it measures 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".

Fold in half using your bone folder to make a standard 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" (A2) base.

***This is what I do. You could make it a little less wide, but I would have a little extra than not enough. ***

Step 2: Position the fold of the card UNDER the scallops so that it doesn't cut into the fold.

Step 3: Sandwich the Scallop die and cardstock between your standard cutting plates.

Step 4: Crank it through your Big Shot.

Step 6: This is my favorite step....make a scallop base card! :)

That's it! Easy peasy....

Have fun making your cards! ♥

Would you like to win $400 with of Stampin Up! Products?

Late Night Stamper Founder Sherrill Graff is playing a great game today. Collect 20 clues found on various Late Night Stamper blogs and be entered in a drawing to win a $400 Stampin' Up! shopping spree. Don't delay...she'll be drawing a name soon.

My clue is...My Digital Studio on page 181 of the 2010-2011 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread! :)

Now, collect the other 19 clues, and get your chance to win that $400 shopping spree! Turn your answers in to Sherrill at sherrillgraffatistmpnv@aol.com

Here is a list of other blogs where you can find clues:
http://www.nwstamper.com/
http://latenightstamper1.blogspot.com/
http://latenitestampinwithsherill.blogspot.com/
http://latenightstamper-stampandscrap.blogspot.com/ http://parttimepapercraft.blogspot.com/
http://yourhiredscrapbooksupplies.blogspot.com/
http://inkabella.com/
http://myinkrediblespot.blogspot.com/
http://www.cynthiascreativecuts.blogspot.com/
http://scrappinalong.blogspot.com/
http://kraftingjems.blogspot.com/
http://www.elizabethloves2stamp.com/
http://www.lauriesrubberroom.blogspot.com/
http://guneauxdesignsbybeverlypolen.blogspot.com/
http://www.denisefoor.blogspot.com/
http://www.ilinacrouse.blogspot.com/
http://createnstamp.blogspot.com/

My Birthday Cards

Today is my birthday. I received two cards first thing this morning.
Riley Kate NEVER forgets a birthday. :) She is so sweet.

The little skunk card on the left is from Evan (but made by Riley Kate) and the flower card (made using a oval punch) is from Riley Kate.

Well they may not be the fanciest cards I receive on my birthday, they will be the ones I treasure most. ♥

Sweet Little One

My new great niece, Shannon . I think she is just the most gorgeous baby.

I have a request. My niece, Lindsey and baby Shannon had to say good-bye to Shannon's daddy last night. He will spend the next month at Fort McCoy and then will be deployed to Afghanistan for the next year. Ryan, Shannon's daddy, was allowed to be home for 48 hours for his daughter's birth.

Lindsey just turned 20 yesterday, has a brand new baby and a husband that will be gone for the next year.
If you could send her a card congratulating her on the new baby or a thinking of her while Ryan is away I would really appreciate it and so would she.

Please email me at stampiepoo@gmail.com and I will send you her address.

Introducing.....

♥♥♥Miss Shannon Rose Pishion♥♥♥

My niece, Lindsey had her baby yesterday afternoon. I couldn't wait to make a PINK scrapbook layout to introduce her to all of you....

Congratulations Ryan and Lindsey. She's beautiful!

****I edited this post to add another picture with a different font. I couldn't tell until after I posted how light the original writing was on the first scrapbook page.

I LOVE My Digital Studio. A couple keystrokes and new font and unlike traditional scrapbooking--no wasted cardstock! :)