Mar 11 2014

Technique Tuesday – Card in a Box!!!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday!!!! This is sooooo amazing! Don’t you love flowers? Don’t you love having flowers on your desk, workspace, or table? Wouldn’t you love to keep it around longer than a week and no watering needed? This card in a box is PERFECT for you then!!!!

This card went to my Best Friend to brighten her day after taking her Nursing Boards Exam!!!! I do kind of think it is a LOT of Strawberry Slush but it is amazing!!!! AND it still fits into a regular sized Medium Envelope!!!! I love that part!

Here is how to make this fabulous Card In A Box!!!!

1. Start with a piece of cardstock measuring 9″ x 5-1/2″ and you will score on the short side at 2-3/4″ and on long side score at 2-1/8″, 4-1/4″, 6-3/8″, and 8-1/2″!

2. You will then cut all of the score line on the top side to make your flaps for the box. Cut all the way down to the 2-3/4” score line. When you get to the end with the little strip you will cut that off!

3. Using sticky strip, apply it to the little flap that you have on the bottom portion and fold over the opposite end to adhere to your sticky strip.

4. For your inserts to hold all of pieces in your box, you will need two 3-1/8” by ¾” piece of cardstock and then you will score at ¾” from either end. Fold the scores lines opposite to create a Z pattern and then attach those inside your box, close to the top.

5. Now it is time to decorate. For the panels of your box, you will need 2” x 2-5/8” rectangles. For the back piece you will need 2” x 5-3/8” rectangle.

You can decorate with so many different items – balloons and birthday cake, other flowers, butterflies, and flowers….all I can think of is flowers. HELP ME! Put in the comments below what you would decorate your Card In A Box. I need ideas!!!! Check back tomorrow for more ideas that were made by my fellow stampers….but they are all flowers!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Mar 10 2014

Kaleidoscope Kraziness!

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Monday! I am going a little krazy today because it will be 70 degrees and sunny today and I couldn’t be happier (well I could if I knew we weren’t getting snow in 2 days, welcome to IL)!! But today I am showing you this fabulous card I made with the Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper!!!

I love this paper for the colors – Strawberry Slush, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Basic Gray, and Basic Black! Love me some pink!!! This card was ripped and layered and tagged and stamped! I think I hit quite a few techniques in this one! I also used the Perfect Pennants Stamp Set which I love because the greetings are different and super fun and the images are amazing. There is this striped banner image, a polka dot banner image, heart, and star! LOVE! For the top of the tag, I used my Scallop Tag Topper Punch and then added a little Strawberry Slush Ruffled Ribbon. Instead of tying the ruffed ribbon, I just looped it through and then tied a little bit of Baker’s Twine around the ends to hold it in place! I really like the look of it and then you don’t have a bulky knot on your card! Win Win! I hope you enjoyed this card and it doesn’t make your eyes go krazy! 😉

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Mar 7 2014

Fabulous Friday!!!!

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Friday!!! The weekend is almost here!!! In celebration, I wanted to share with you these amazing Weekly Deals!!!

By far my favorite item this week is the RUFFLED RIBBON!!!! It is amazing, cute, ruffly, stretchy (yeah stretchy) and so much fun to use on projects!!!! AND it’s in Strawberry Slush (PINK) and Coastal Cabana!!!! There is a TON of ribbon on this spool (10 yards to be exact) and it is stretchy so you can use less and pull tight! Here and here and here are a few samples I have created with this ribbon!!!! There are a million other samples here on my blog so you can type in Ruffled Ribbon on the search bar and see more!

Large Rhinestones…..need I say more. BLING! Nothing better than a little bling on every project! Also, I love the Adorning Accents Texture Impressions Embossing Folders! Three folders in this set and each one offers a whole new look! Check out this amazing card which will be posted in more detail next week so consider this a sneak peak! 😉

I hope you enjoyed these samples and take advantage of these awesome deals! Be sure to order by Monday Night when these deals are over!!! Have a fabulous weekend and Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Mar 6 2014

Perfect Pennants!!!!

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I love the greetings in the the Perfect Pennants Stamp Set AND there is a heart and star which makes it even better! Here are a few samples I created using the Perfect Pennants Stamp Set and matching Banner Framelits (Bundle it and save 15%!!!) I used Marina Mist, Wisteria Wonder, and Pistachio Pudding – perfect pastel color combination!!! Of course, I used my Sponge Daubers to add a little color to the edge of my whisper white cardstock!!! LOVE IT! I couldn’t decide which stamps to use for this card so that is why I made two – one with hearts and one with stars. And then came the greeting tag….add ribbon, add some polka dots, keep it simple. So many options!!! That is what I love about stamping and paper crafting!!! For more samples using this stamp set, click here! Post in the comments below which one you like best!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Mar 5 2014

Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper!!!

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

The Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper is my FAVORITE paper right now! I have been using it on millions of cards (okay maybe not millions but close…see check out this one and more are coming!)

I think the 2 patterns that I love the most are this one with the coral and yellow flowers and the other one in the same pattern but in indigo and green! LOVE!!! And this card was super simple, I cut a piece of the Designer Series Paper to 4″ x 5-1/4″ to layer onto my card base and then I punched out my butterflies with the Elegant Butterfly Punch and Bitty Butterfly Punch! Of course I attached those to my card with Stampin’ Dimensionals (LOVE)!!! I then added a little Calypso Coral Baker’s Twine and my greeting! I stamped the greeting from the Perfect Pennants Stamp Set onto Whisper White and then used the matching Banner Framelits to cut it out! The cool thing is you can get these two items as a bundle and save 15%! Woot Woot! I hope you liked this card and be on the lookout for more cards using the Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Mar 4 2014

Technique Tuesday – Flip Flap Fold Card

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday!!! That means I have a fabulous technique for you and this one is super easy but has a BIG WOW factor!!!

This card fits in a regular Medium Envelope which is awesome! And the top flap flips open for you to write your greeting on the inside!!! Here is how it was made:

Supplies Needed: Cardstock, 2-1/2″ Circle Punch, 1-3/4″ Circle Punch, 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch, Embossing Folder, Scallop Border Punch, and Stampin’ Dimensional

Your card base is 4-1/4” x 10-7/8” (by cutting the end off a little bit your card won’t bow) and you will score at 2-1/2” and 6-3/4”. Then on the small flap end, you will use any border punch to add a little decorative edge. Then you will take your 2-1/2” Circle Punch and push it all the way in with the 2-1/2” score line centered in the punch. This creates the peek-a-boo part of your card. For your decoration part, you will use your 1-3/4″ Circle Punch and 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch. Be sure to only put adhesive on the bottom half of your layered decoration so you don’t have any sticky showing. I used the Bring On The Cake Stamp Set and Birthday Basics Designer Series Paper! You will then want to add a little decoration on the bottom portion of the card front. I created little balloons (click here to learn how to make the balloons) and attached them with Stampin’ Dimensionals, so that your flap will have something to slide under and hold closed.

I hope you enjoyed this technique and try it out yourself!!! Leave me a comment on what you think!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Mar 3 2014

Lovely Layers!!!

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Oh how I love this card and how amazing the layers look! Have you always wondered how people were achieving this look and how the flower/images line up so perfectly? Well I’m going to share a little tip with you and it’s really easy! You need the following pieces of cardstock:

~Card Base (5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″)
~Whisper White layer (this can be any size from 5-1/4″ x 4″ or smaller like mine above)
~Another rectangle in your Card Base color, smaller than your prior Whisper White piece (mine above is 3″ x 2″)
~Whisper White layer (1/4″ smaller than the rectangle above, mine is 2-3/4″ x 1-3/4″)

Now you will lay your small white piece onto the center or your larger white piece and stamp over both of them! Don’t worry if you don’t get a perfect image stamped around the area where the 2 layers match up because it will be covered when you layer in all of your pieces. Now layer your white stamped pieces onto your card base and matching rectangle. You could even do this with 3 layers of stamped images. There are so many possibilities! The Stamp Set I used here was Mixed Bunch!

I hope you try out this fabulous little trick! Send me your photos or comment below! I love hearing from you!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 28 2014

Finally Friday!!!

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Friday everyone!!! All week I have been thinking it is Friday! Well it is finally here! Not really sure why I am so excited for Friday to be here except for the fact that my husband and I will be attending a WEDDING (you know how I love weddings) on Saturday and Sunday we get to stay in and relax (and watch the winter storm come 🙁 ) But at least we will be all cozy at home! Anyway since Friday is finally here I thought I would share the amazing Weekly Deals with you and I have a special deal for you as well!

And now for my Special Deal….when you place an online order with me using the Hostess Code: D7PQMKWZ at checkout from now till March 3rd, you will get an instruction sheet on 5 Fabulous Folds for Cards and 2 hand-stamped cards made by ME!

What? You have never ordered online before? No worries, it is super simple! Click here to go to my online store! You will see all of the categories on the left hand side to help you find just what you are looking for! When it is time for you to check out, you will create a username and password (this is so you can sign in next time and you don’t have to input all of your information again). After signing in you will see your “cart” and on the bottom left hand side you will input the Hostess Code that I shared above (D7PQMKWZ) and then precede to check out! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me by clicking here!

Happy Shoppin’ and have a Wonderful Weekend!

~Laura

Feb 27 2014

Feeling Like an Artist!!!

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

This card makes me feel like an artist and painter and let me tell you I am far from that. I don’t have the patience! But my Grandpa was a true artist with oil painting, watercolor, chalks, pencils, you name it! I feel like this is a little bit of him coming out in me and that makes me smile! 🙂 This card was created with the Peaceful Petals Stamp Set from the Occasions Mini Catalog! Oh how I can’t resist a flower stamp set! I used Elegant Eggplant for my card base and embossed the background with my favorite folder – Perfect Polka Dot! For the flower image, I used watercolor paper and my Stazon Ink so the image wouldn’t bleed when I started coloring it in. For coloring in the flower, I used an Aqua Painter and then re-inker ink for the Ink Pads. Aqua Painters are not my favorite because I tend to squeeze too much and have one big watery mess. But every once in awhile patience comes to me and I create a masterpiece like this one! LOVE IT! I love it so much I don’t want to send it out….do you ever have that problem? Or is that just me? I hope you try it out and see what amazing artwork you can create with just a little ink and water! For more ways to watercolor, check out this post and this post!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 26 2014

How To Make The Perfect Balloon!

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I know it isn’t Technique Tuesday but I wanted to share this fabulous tip with you! How to make the perfect balloon!!!!

How simple was that? All you need is some Baker’s Twine, Owl Builder Punch, 3/4″ x 15/16″ Oval Punch (aka: Small Oval Punch), scrap of cardstock and a Stampin’ Dimensional! You can also add a little white curve/dash/mark (whatever you want to call it) to the make the balloon look rounded and shiny with your Chalk Marker! I forgot to do that on this one!

Here is a better photo of the completed card! To create that adorable greeting tag, I used my Scalloped Tag Topper Punch! It is perfect for sliding ribbon through and then you don’t need to make a bow or knot (less ribbon and for those who can’t tie bows, less stress)! I am here to make your life better! You are welcome! 🙂 Balloon are perfect for anyone’s birthday – young or old so this is a great one to make multiples of and have one hand! Also, those little balloon use up random scraps you have laying around! Couldn’t get much better! Here is a quick video tutorial on this amazing technique!

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make balloons! Let me know in the comments if you want more little tutorials like this one!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura