The December 2016 Paper Pumpkin arrived and I was super excited as always because I love the surprise and excitement. It is all wrapped up like a present. You can check out the unboxing of the kit here as well as see all of the contents. I was super excited about the Basic Black Marker because you always need one of those. They are perfect to journal with or use on your stamps or color in! The Rotary Stamp is super cute too and has lots of great greetings for memory keeping. I will be using that in my albums for sure! I thought the concept for the little mini album was adorable and all but when it came time to make it I just didn’t think I would use it. I could have made it and given it away but I thought I would do cards instead! So here is what I came up with…..
I created a total of 24 Cards using the supplies in the kit. I used Whisper White and Crushed Curry for my card bases and I used the Number of Years Stamp Set. I like how it had Birthday and Anniversary so I could use the numbers in the kit too! Also, I always need lots of those styles anyway! All of the patterned background came from the kit as well as the stickers and washi tape! The greeting pieces were cut from the leftover designer paper pieces. I just used the ones that had a white back and I cut off the design if there was a border.
I used the Window Sheet designs that were in the kit for all of these cards. Window Sheets can be tricky to use since the adhesive shows through them so I just used the Washi Tape provided to secure them down! Simple and fabulous!
I used lots of stickers on these since there were so many in the kit. I went through my Birthday list to see the ages of upcoming birthdays. After I had all of those done, I did a few saying Happy 21st Birthday (again). I can give those cards to anyone! 😉
I love that gray flower/twig pattern and thought it was super elegant for Anniversary cards. I added a little Silver Ribbon to give it some texture. And while 24 cards is A LOT…..look at all of the leftover pieces.
So most of those scraps on the far left, I’ll probably toss but that is what I used for the greetings. There are still some numbers left and 3 Window Sheets which I’ll save for my memory keeping! The entire sheet of lines to journal on are still there too which I’ll save for memory keeping as well. 24 cards and all of these goodies! I just love all of the stuff that comes in a small little Paper Pumpkin Box!
Start your year off right with Paper Pumpkin. You can sign up to get the January Kit by January 10th. Click here to get started! Don’t forget that you can save with you purchase the Pre-Paid Subscription! Check those out here! Can’t wait to open our boxes together later this month!!!
Happy Friday everyone! This is the last post of 2016 so I thought I would share some of the Best Posts and Videos of the Year!!! Are they some of your favorites too? Let me know in the comments below!!!
THE TOP 5 BEST BLOG POSTS (based on views in 2016)
I hope you enjoyed this little recap! Are these some of your favorites or do you have one of your own? Let me know in the comments below! I always loving hearing from you! I wish you all a wonderful weekend and close to 2016! I’m super excited about 2017 and all of the adventures and possibilities that await! Let’s make it amazing!!!!
I am so excited to share my new Stamp Room with all of you! I hope this gives you some ideas for your craft room and if you have ideas or suggestions for me, leave them in the comments below! I would love to hear them! You can see what my stamp room looked like before here! There are a few similarities but the BIG one is my new table. I use to have a small desk as my workspace but now I have this huge kitchen table. My husband and I came up with this idea late one evening and a few hours later we were picking up this table a few miles away. We had found it on a swap and sell site and it was just $30.00! Love it! It even has another leaf to put in for when I have a big project or have another stamper join me!! 🙂
It took some getting use to but I love it! I really enjoy all of the space! I have my Color Caddy within arms reach with all of my ink pads on it. Then I have a Shoe Box Container (found at Target here) with all of my Clear Blocks in it! I got this idea from another crafter when I was looking around for craft room ideas! These boxes are amazing, cheap, and super handy! They stack and since they aren’t a speciality item they aren’t retiring or changing! Behind the clear blocks is a large box (Stampin’ Up Large Die Box without the lid, in fact) that holds all of my small tools. I have 3 coffee mugs in the box and they hold pens, pencils, scissors, bone folders, and all of my adhesives. It’s a bit of a catch all box! On the end of the table, I have all of my punches. I found those wire racks at Aldi. There are 2 of them there and they stack and interlock. They are super strong and sturdy which is great for punches since they are so heavy.
The one thing that is a must in my craft room is to have all of the items I use the most within arms reach so I don’t have to get up and down and look for things. This cabinet is directly to my right when I am sitting to craft. This cabinet is one that I have had for a long time and I am looking for something to replace it but haven’t found the perfect one yet. The bottom drawer has seasonal stamps and cellophane bags with scraps in it. Each bag has a different category like Foil Paper, Designer Paper, Glimmer Papers, etc. The next drawer up has all of my stamps in it. Here’s the problem…..I really want all of my stamps in 1 drawer/spot and while most fit in the one drawer, I have to pull out the ones up front to get the others out. I really don’t think I prefer a drawer for my stamps and instead would like a shelf. Moving up from the drawers, I have all of my 8-1/2″ x 11″ cardstock. I got the paper trays from Ikea – Ikea Paper Tray! They are much sturdier than the plastic ones I had before and rather than a drawer for each color family, I have 3 shelves. I put labels on each of the shelves so I know which color family is where. The little pink polka dot box has cellophane bags in it with scraps for each of the colors. I try to use those as much as I can before reaching for a full sheet!
At the top, I have the plastic drawers which hold my Rhinestones, Pearls, Doilies, Washi Tape and a few other items. I have 2 more of those shoe boxes with all of my ribbons in them! I love those for the spools of ribbon but the other box is mostly little baggies of Baker’s Twine on the spools!! I have all of my Enamel Shapes in that little pink box. It’s called “Very Useful Box” and it’s the perfect size. You can see that better here!
So this is the shelf that is on the other side of the table. It is one of those super sturdy black metal shelves. I have a 3 drawer 12″ x 12″ container that holds all of my Designer Series Paper, Glimmer Paper and Foil Paper. My sets of markers are on top of the paper! Next to that I have 2 more of those Shoe Boxes that hold my “coloring tools.” This includes sponges, sponge daubers, sponge brayers and spritzers. The box on the bottom is miscellaneous items. The blue 12″ x 12″ tote on the far left holds all of my cellophane baggies in various sizes. I love love love those 12″ x 12″ totes to put projects in, upcoming class supplies, and so much more! They are stack-able and super durable! The next shelf down has those totes on it with various projects including some of my wedding stuff – samples, brides I’m working with, etc. That giant flower is sitting there just waiting for the perfect place to go! I also have my little label maker sitting there! It is a Brother P- Touch Label Maker! This is what I used to add labels to all of the drawers, containers and more!!!
On the bottom shelf, I have woven totes that I found at Aldi! These are what I use to carry my supplies to classes and use for all kind of different things. It is actually rather rare to have all of them on the shelf. I have 2 expandable file folders on the far right that hold all of my Wedding Stationary Samples that I have created. You can check out my wedding stationary here – Weddings.LaurasStampPad.com. I have some white board easels on the far left that I use at events, craft fairs, and bridal fairs!
So this is across the room! I just got the black shelf sitting up top. I painted it black and had planned on putting it on the table and adding all of those tools in the box to it. When it came to putting it in the room, I realized I needed more space over here on this shelf. It looks all clean and nice right now but that’s not how it normally looks. I have samples for upcoming classes and events in those little stack-able black baskets. I also have a few samples out on display to admire! 🙂 The bottom is clean in the photo but I use that for placing items I’m running through the Big Shot, stacks of catalogs, samples that need photoed and so much more!!
This is the cabinet that is under the black shelf pictured above. This cabinet has lots of my business supplies in it like catalogs, order forms, Hostess Gifts, and my card stash! One the bottom, I have my Silhouette machine and supplies!
This is my Big Shot Station which has my Big Shot, Framelits, Embossing Folder, and supplies all in one spot! It is super handy to have it all readily available! The 3 drawers below the Big Shot contain cutting plates and accessories up top. Heat embossing items, hot glue gun, ink refills, and more in the second drawer. The bottom drawer has more supplies for my wedding fairs and brides!
I have various other items in the closet like business supplies, additional items like adhesives, memory keeping items, and all the 12″ x 12″ totes with class supplies in there!
If you would like to see all of my room in action, check out my Video Tutorial below or click here! Don’t forget to give it a thumbs up if you liked it and be sure to subscribe if you are new! If you have any ideas to share, I would love to hear them! Let me know in the comments below!
I was asked about a Birthday Calendar from a friend of mine and was super excited to make one for her! I have one that Stampin’ Up sold many years ago. IT IS AMAZING!!! A Birthday Calendar has all the dates for each month listed on each page. You will just put the name of the person on the date of their month on the correct month – August 29th – Laura Borchert!!! 🙂 The awesome thing about this calendar is that you can use the same one each year unlike a traditional calendar that has the days of the week on it since those change!!!
I created a Template in Microsoft Word but just adding numbers and lines, 2 columns per page. You can check it out here – Birthday Calendar Template! You will need to print 6 of these! You will then cut the Whisper White cardstock in half at 4-1/4″ and punch a hole in the upper left corner with the 1/8″ Handheld Punch! To get them all in the same spot, I punched 3 or so all together, then I took one of those and laid it on 3 others to use as a template of where to punch the next set. To put them all together, I just used a metal ring but first we have to decorate!!!
I used Emerald Envy for April, Wisteria Wonder for May, and Crushed Curry for June! Each of the images can be mixed and match to whatever you wish to use for that month!
For July I did the banner in Real Red and the stars in Night of Navy Ink. Of course I had to do Melon Mambo flowers for August because that’s my birthday month!!! September was done in Mint Macaron.
It’s so much fun to just randomly stamp all over in different patterns! So colorful and cheerful for all year long! Now all you need to do is add in the names of all of your loved ones!!!
You should totally try this out or even make them for your friends and family. They are a great gift!! Let me know if you have a Birthday Calendar in the comments below!
Happy Tuesday!!!! I hope you are having a wonderful week and if you are like me, you have no clue what day it really is….the holidays always do this! Before long it will be the weekend again and another holiday!!! Today I’m sharing a favorite – One Sheet Wonders!!!
So technically only 9 of these cards came from 1 sheet of 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper but I couldn’t stop at just 1 sheet so I made TONS!!!
For the card on the left, I added some Washi Tape to the greeting piece and layered it all together. For the card on the right, I cut an inch off the top of 4″ Square giving me a 1″ piece for the top and 3″ for the bottom!
You can swap the Designer Paper to be on the top or bottom. I added a little bit of the Washi Tape on the overlap of the Designer Paper and greeting piece!
I will say for the diagonal one, you will need a longer piece of Whisper White but that depends on your angle. Just take a strip that is 1-1/4″ and then trim down once you have cut your Designer Paper. The 4″ square was cut diagonal at any angle you wish! For the card on the right, I cut the 4″ square in half and put it on the top and bottom!
I used the Washi Tape on both of these. You can add some more design to the greeting piece with stamps, enamel shapes, or punched pieces!
So many fun prints but they all look amazing! You could cut up the entire package of Floral Boutique Designer Paper and make 108 cards in no time at all!!!
If you would like to see these cards in action, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here! Don’t forget to give it a thumbs up if you liked it and be sure to subscribe if you are new!!!
Have you tried a One Sheet Wonder? Do you love them too? Let me know in the comments below and check out others here, here, and here!
I know that Christmas was yesterday but I realized I never shared this fabulous card!!! It was a bit time consuming with all of the stitching but it is super amazing and as always made with love!!! Many of the items used in this card are on SALE right now too!
I started with a Garden Green card base. I stamped the ornaments from the Festive Season Stamp Set in Real Red and Delightful Dijon Ink. Then using the coordinating Festive Stitching Framelits (Bundle & Save 10%) to add all of the little holes which make it super simple to stitch. Then I spent the next 10+ minutes…..okay probably more like 15 minutes…..stitching the ornaments with the Baker’s Twine Trio Pack!
I added Stampin’ Dimensionals to the ends of the thread to secure them and double as adhesive to add to my card! I used the same Framelit set to die cut the ornament tops in Gold Foil Paper! I added the gold Baker’s Twine through the ornament top and secured it on the back. Then I tied little bows with the twine and added them with the Fine Tip Glue Pen. The greeting is actually from the Star of Light Stamp Set! I stamped it in Delightful Dijon Ink. That is so not my favorite color but I really like how it looks golden and that’s fabulous for this time of year. Love it. This is one that you will only make a few of…..or you can get started now and will have tons completed by next Christmas! 🙂
Check out all of the items on the Year End Closeout here! Many items are up to 60% off. The Holiday Mini Catalog ends on January 3rd so get these items before they are gone!!
I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!! I will be spending the day with family and that is what is so important to me!! I hope you all have an amazing day filled with love and happiness!!
On the 12th Day of Stamps-Mas, my true love gave to me……..A Big Shot, Framelits, and Thinlits!!!! My Big Shot is one tool that I have had for years and would buy another one instantly if something ever happened to it!! Love this tool for die cutting, embossing, and so much more!!!
This picture if my little Big Shot Station in my craft room. I have all of my Embossing Folders, Dies and Big Shot all in one place! I love that it is all super handy and easy to use! I have had this Big Shot for about 7 years I think! It’s been forever it seems! It still works amazing and that is what I call a great product!!
Embossing Folders are super easy to use and add texture to your project. I love this look because it adds so much to your project with extra product or embellishments. Just crank your cardstock through the Big Shot and you already have a WOW on your project.
Framelits & Thinlits are the metal dies that cut out images that coordinate with stamp sets so that you don’t have to fussy cut. They create detailed images that you can layer on your cards or build together to create an amazing project! I can’t believe how detailed some of these are. They are fabulous and no one likes to fussy cut! Also, where there is a Stamp Set and coordinating Framelit Set, you can always Bundle & Save 10%! That’s super fabulous because it’s a deal every day, you don’t need to wait for a special!
Big Shot Die Brush is a lifesaver when it comes to the intricate detailed dies. You can place the die and cardstock onto the foam provided and run the brush over the top and it will pop out all of the pieces. You can see all of the details about this on the Video Tutorial here!
What are some of your favorite embossing folders or dies? Let me know in the comments below!!! My favorite Embossing Folder is probably Festive Texture….as of recently. It changes often! 🙂 My favorite dies right now have to be the Layering Circles Framelits!!
If you have missed out on the past days of Stamps-Mas, you can check them out here –Day 1,Day 2,Day 3,Day 4,Day 5, Day 6,Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10 and Day 11. I hope you enjoyed the 12 Days of Stamps-Mas!!! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!! May you have an amazing holiday season filled with joy and love!!!
On the 11th Day of Stamps-Mas, my true love gave to me…..Ribbon!!! This is one of my favorite embellishments. I just love the texture and elegant or rustic look! Super fun!!!
There are so many different styles of Ribbon like Satin, Taffeta, Striped, Stitched, Ruched, and Organza. I love how each one gives a different look – elegant, rustic, playful and more. I mostly use ribbon by wrapping it around the cardstock and tying it into a bow or knot. A few other ways to use it are just a strip behind your focal point, folded in half peaking out of the edge, or in loops behind your focal point. Ribbon is great on gift packaging and other 3D items too! I just love how versatile it is!!
How do you like to use ribbon? Do you love ribbon as much as me? Let me know your favorites in the comments below!
If you have missed out on the past days of Stamps-Mas, you can check them out here –Day 1,Day 2,Day 3,Day 4,Day 5, Day 6,Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, and Day 10. Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss the last one tomorrow! You can do that by adding your email address in the subscribe box on the right hand side (on a computer) or at the bottom of the page (on a phone).
On the 10th Day of Stamps-Mas, my true love gave to me…..Heat Embossing!!! This technique is super fun and always adds so much bling, flare, and elegance to any project!!! You can check out a few samples here, here, and here!
The Heat Tool is like a super strong hair dryer that blows the hot air on the embossing powder and melts it to set it. There are 2 settings on the tool – 1 for drying your cardstock when watercoloring, etc and 2 for melting embossing powder. Make sure when you use it to focus on one area of your project until it starts to melt and then slowly move it around the project. If you wave it around, you are just dispersing the air and it will take longer. The first time you use it it takes a bit to warm up but after the first one it goes really quickly.
The Embossing Buddy is one of those tools you could technically do without but will love once you use it! This little guy is a bag of powder that reduces static on your cardstock before embossing. It’s like the same stuff gymnasts use on their hands. You will want to tap this over your cardstock before stamping the image. It will leave a bit of a white chalky look on your cardstock but you can wipe that off later.
VersaMark Ink is the sticky, clear ink used in Heat Embossing. You will ink up your stamp in this ink and then stamp it onto your cardstock. This ink is sticky to hold onto the powder when you pour it over.
Embossing Powder comes in Clear, White, Silver, Gold, and Copper! Once you have stamped your image, you can pour the powder of the top and it will stick to the VersaMark Ink. Tap off the excess and you are ready to melt it with the Heat Tool. One tip that I have seen stampers do is pour their powder into a container and place a plastic spoon in there. This way they can spoon on the powder and tap off the excess into the larger container rather than trying to get it into the little container it comes in.
What is your favorite color to Heat Embossing with? Do you enjoy heat embossing? Let me know in the comments below! If you would like to check out a complete tutorial on Heat Embossing check out this video!
If you have missed out on the past days of Stamps-Mas, you can check them out here –Day 1,Day 2,Day 3,Day 4,Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, and Day 9. Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss the next 2! You can do that by adding your email address in the subscribe box on the right hand side (on a computer) or at the bottom of the page (on a phone).
