Covered notepads with tutorial

Today I have 3 different notepads to show you. The last 2 are stepped up versions of this basic covered notepad.
For the first one, I used Soft Suede, More Mustard and Whisper White cardstocks. I used the Sanded Background stamp on the Soft Suede cardstock, and then used the It's Beautiful Jumbo Wheel in Soft Suede ink on the More Mustard cardstock. The acorn stamp is from The More The Merrier set. I watercolored the acorn with Soft Suede and More Mustard inks and blender pens. I used circle punches to cut out the images, popped the acorn on Dimensionals and mounted them on a Soft Suede Scalloped Circle Punch which I pierced at each scallop. I used a piece of Soft Suede Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon to embelish the front.

Open the cover and here is the notepad. I repeatedly stamped the acorn image in Soft Suede ink on a piece of Soft Suede cardstock to cover the top of the notepad. This is a very nice notepad that is still fairly quick to produce.

This one I made using Bermuda Bay cardstock. I'll be honest, I'm not thrilled with this one. I think the bright color just threw me off. Anyone that knows me personally, knows I am more of a "muted color" person. I had a real hard time with this one! I stamped the background with an image from Boho Backgrounds in Bermuda Bay ink. The flourishes are die cut with my Big Shot and the Swirls Scribbles Sizzlet die. I stamped It's All in the Details from the Favorite Things stamp set onto Kraft cardstock with Chocolate Chip ink and punched it out with the Oval Scallop punch. The image I stamped in each of the scallops is from Boho Backgrounds as well. I mounted that on a larger oval scallop cut out from the Punch Windows Movers and Shapers dies. I made a closure for this notepad with Hemp Twine and a 5/16th inch White Jumbo Brad and a button from the Button Latte collection.

Here is a close up of the closure. The Hemp Twine just wraps around the button and the brad.

Inside the notepad, there is a pocket on the inside cover. Handy to stash coupons. The Hemp Twine is secured under the notepad before sticking it down to the cardstock. When glueing down all the notepads to the cardstock, I always use Sticky Strip. You need something really strong to hold these together. "A Note" is a portion of A Note of Thanks stamp from the Thank You Kindly stamp set which I inked with my Chocolate Chip marker.

*Edited color of cardstock and ink.....sorry, I was on pain meds last night when I wrote this!! *

This last one is my favorite. I used Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss and Very Vanilla cardstock. I used alot of background stamping as well. Stamps include: Baroque Border Wheel on the Always Artichoke base. Then Pocket Silhouettes on the Mellow Moss layer. I pierced all around the perimeter of this layer as well. I used the small branch image from Always to stamp on the Very Vanilla layer. The monogram is from the Lovely Letters Alphabet. I embossed it with Always Artichoke and Clear Embossing Powder. I punched it out with the Designer Label Punch and framed it with a Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware Raised Dots Designer Holder. The closure on this one is a bit different from the last one. I adhered 1 piece of Mellow Moss Grosgrain Ribbon behind the notepad before I stuck it down and also behind a 5/16th inch Vanilla Jumbo Brad. Then I tied them closed to form the double bows.

You can see that detail close up here.

Inside there is another pocket. I stamped the Always Artichoke cardstock with the Baroque Border wheel as well.

I typically stamp the backside of the notepads as well. It adds a nice finish to the project.

Here are the dimensions for cutting your cardstock if you'd like to make one for yourself.

For the notepad base:

Start with your cardstock cut to 8 1/2" x 8 1/4"

Score at 2 3/4", 5 7/16" and 5 11/16"

Fold to the first score mark for your inside pocket. Use sticky strip on bottom and right edge only to form the pocket. Fold on 2 other score lines to form spine of notepad. Use sticky strip to adhere notepad to the right of all score lines.

For the notepad header piece:

Cut a piece of cardstock to 2 1/2" x 2"

Score at 5/8" and 7/8"

Fold on score lines and adhere to notepad with sticky strip

I hope you'll give these a try. I'd love to hear any comments you might have.

Pumpkins in a row

I've been busy putting the finishing touches on the stepped-up version of my note pads. I actually decided to also do a stepped up, stepped up version LOL So in the meantime while I finish working on those, I thought I would post a quick little Halloween card.
This card uses The More The Merrier hostess set. It's a pretty simple layout. It really needed some wider ribbon on it, but I didn't have anything appropriate for Halloween besides the Black Gingham ribbon. It's a narrow ribbon, so I decided to use two strands of it across the front of the card. I used the green Chunky Glitter to add a little "bling" to the pumpkins.The black mat under the Pumpkin Pie layer was an after thought. I'm glad it came to me before I snailed it all down, the black layer was really needed here. I used the Flourish texture plate on the Pumpkin Pie layer, though it doesn't show up real well. Click on the picture to enlarge and you should see it better. I thought the Flourish looked like the vines a pumpkin would grow on.

Next time I'll definitely have those note pads for you to see. They are different from the ones in the last post, so you'll want to come back to see for sure!
Caio!

Are you a list maker?

I am a big time list maker. I call my lists my paper brain. So when I went to a downline meeting recently and made this project I was very happy!! So super simple to make too. The first notepad uses Christmas Punch stamp set (hostess set). We used Old Olive and Whisper White cardstock. I'll give you a little tutorial on how to make these further down, so scroll on down.

This second note pad is a bit larger. I bought some junior legal pads at national office supply retailer and had them cut them in half. They charge you $2.00 per cut to do this. I got a bunch of them done for $4.00. I'll have plenty of note pads for awhile!

I cut my Creamy Caramel cardstock at 8 1/2" x 3". I stamped it all over with Circle Circus stamps in Creamy Caramel ink. I stamped both sides of the cardstock because I wanted it to look pretty on both sides. Cut another piece of Creamy Caramel at 2 1/2" x 2". Stamped that as well with Circle Circus stamps in Creamy Caramel ink. Score this piece at 5/8" and 7/8". Set this piece aside for now. I used the Big Shot and the Mover's and Shapers die with the Punch Windows Scallop punch and Whisper White cardstock to get the scallop oval. Then I stamped the image from Favorite Things stamp set in Creamy Caramel ink. I attached the stamped oval to the small stamped 2 1/2 x 2" piece with black brads. Attach this piece to the notepad to cover up the glued binding. I used sticky strip. Apply sticky strip to the whole back of the notepad and attach it to the large piece of Creamy Caramel cardstock. And that's it. Super quick and easy. Go on and make some. They make fabulous hostess and teacher gifts. You could make these for all different holidays too. I have another variation that's a little more involved to show you next time.

Caio!
Lynda

Come on in!

So, I thought I'd take you all on a tour of my stamp room. I did one a long time ago and a few things have changed since then. So I thought an update was in order.
This is the view from the doorway of my room. My room is small, measuring approx. 12x11. I use every square inch of the space I have. I've refined my storage and organization over the years to meet my needs. Let me take you through it.

This is a shot of my counter height work surface. I'm a standing up stamper. So this is my main work area. As you can see, I like all my tools close at hand. I keep my cardstock in 8 1/2x11" clear craft keepers. I also keep all my cardstock scraps in them as well. I have more cardstock on a shelf under my countertop that you can't see. It works very well for me. I keep my current favorite stamp sets right over my work surface too. My ink pads are on a little shelf unit that I re-purposed from a thrift store find years ago. My punches are on curtain rods I bought from Target. The drawers hold all my adhesives, miscellaneous tools, embellishments, business supplies, etc.

When I turn around from my counter top, this is my other work surface. I do my cutting, scoring and die cutting here. I also keep my stamp cleaner on this table. I have a rolling stool I can sit down on if I need to take a break from standing up. You can see it in the lower left corner of the picture. It was covered in red vinyl. And I re-covered it with the same fabric I made my ribbon board out of. Much prettier! And as an added bonus, I don't slide off of it LOL

A close up of my punch storage. I have alot of punches on each of those rods and they hold up very well!

On each side of the hanging wall unit, I have these magnetic strips from Ikea. They are supposed to be used for knife storage in the kitchen. I'm using them to store all my SU embellies. If I don't see them, I don't use them! Can't miss them now!

What stamp room would be complete without a pair of giant scissors? I got these at World Market and paid entirely way too much money for them. But it was a rare splurge for me, or maybe a moment of insanity....it's a fine line.

On the other side of the room I have more stamp storage. This is one of those cube units from Target. It's perfect for storing stamps. The little shelf unit on top is near and dear to my heart. My husband made is many years ago to hold baby food jars when my youngest was a baby......way too many years ago!! Who would have thought it would find a second life storing stamps?

The hutch holds mostly non-SU embellies. The jars are full of ribbons and buttons and other goodies left over from my scrapbooking days. They still make me happy when I look at them even though I rarely use them.

I hope you enjoyed touring my stamp room with me. This is the one room in the house that is all my own, and I have many hours of enjoyment here. I think I'll go create something!

They're just like pototo chips!

These Tri-Shutter cards are addicting I tell ya! You can't make just one. This one is a full front Tri-Shutter, and I think I like this one a bit better. On the outside it looks like your typical card.

But once you open it up.....wowzers! Definitely not your typical card! And I think it's easier for the non-card maker to fold back up LOL

I used NO DSP on this card......that's right. I stamped the flowery paper using the Bella Toile background stamp. So pretty!! It's also hard to tell unless you enlarge the picture, but the Pretty In Pink layer on the card front is embossed with the small dots texture plate.

Here's all the details:

Cardstock:

Certainly Celery (textured)

Rose Red

Pretty in Pink

Confetti White

Ink:

Certainly Celery

Rose Red

Pretty in Pink

Stamps:

Bella Toile Background Stamp

Great Friend

Hope Happens

Accessories:

Small Dots Texture Plate

Silver Elastic Cord

Dimensionals

Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon

Eyelet Border Punch

Silver Brads

Green Circle Ice Brads

Rose Red Floral Fusion Flowers

Thanks for looking. I'd love to hear your comments.

Lynda

Not your average baby card

Recently I needed a baby card for a friend whose daughter had her first baby. But I had a problem, no baby stamp set! I had a few baby elements, but nothing that would really stand alone on a card by itself. So out comes the trusty bear from Under the Stars. I purchased the Sock Monkey Accessories to use with him. I don't own the Sock Monkey set! I've had this bear doing all kinds of things. For my husband's birthday this year, I used the gifts in the Sock Monkey Accessories set with the bear holding them. On another card, I've had the bear holding a banner with a sentiment on it. The possibilities are endless. I've even seen a card on some one's blog with this little guy surfing!! I hope to re-create that one myself.
I've also used the very versatile Lovely as a Tree set for the background. I colored the trees with sponge daubers and ink. The bear is paper stamped on Chocolate Chip cardstock with Basic Brown ink and paper pieced with Confetti White cardstock, also stamped with Basic Brown ink. His Rattle is from the Sock Monkey Accessories set and is stamped on retired SAB paper. The Duck is from the retired set Goody Goody Gum Drops and is also paper pieced with the same SAB paper. I used a piece of Hemp thread to link the Duck to the Bear. The whole scene is stamped on Confetti White cardstock. The Main image panel is matted on Chocolate Chip cardstock and the card base is Bashful Blue.


I tried to get a shot showing that the bear, duck and rattle are all popped up on Dimensionals. I didn't quite get the right angle though.

Hope you liked my Under The Stars baby card. Not very traditional, but fun!

Keeping a promise

Back on my Tri-Shutter card post I promised to show you pictures of the aftermath of creating that card. Warning to the faint of heart: it's NOT pretty!! When I was working on this card, it kind of mushroomed on me and I put more effort into it than I originally planned on putting into it. Which of course means a bigger mess! I'm really bad about not completely cleaning up one mess before I more on to another project. The result of that is I usually only have about 12 square inches of space to work in. I've seen the err of my ways however, and I have resolved to clean up after every project. So far, so good! The first 2 pictures are of both my work surfaces immediately after finishing my Tri-Shutter card.


The next 2 pictures are after I cleaned up! LOL I actually have lots more pictures to show you. I did some re-arranging and reorganizing and it warrants a whole 'nother blog post. So stay tuned to see that in the near future. I have lots of stuff to show you in the not so distant future.

Pumpkins Everywhere!

These ADORABLE pumpkin baskets are created from the Sizzix Pillow Box Die....can you believe it? They are taped together long end, to long end. I first saw them on another demo's blog. I made a significant change to the design of the bottom of the basket however.

This picture shows the original design. It was functional, but it didn't seem very sturdy to me, and not very "clean" looking. It's the OCD in me *wink*. Basically it uses a 4" circle for the bottom and then 3 1"x4" strips to hold the circle in. It was quite cumbersome to assemble.

So here is my re-design. I used the Sizzix Scallop die to make the bottom of the basket. Then I scored between every 5 scallops and folded it up. And don't you know, it matched the sides of the basket perfectly!! This was my moment of brilliance all week! LOL The basket is much sturdier and now I know when I put the goodies in it they will be safe and not fall out the bottom. And I think it looks a whole lot neater. I think the original design was brilliant! I never would have seen a pumpkin out of those pillow boxes, so I thank Lynn Put for her design. I like to think I just improved on it.

This is the inside of the basket. Nice and neat.

I'm keeping one of my little pumpkins for myself. The other 2 are going to 2 of my special SU demo friends and mentors. I hope they like them!

I am humbled

Yesterday I was contacted by the list mom from Late Night Stampers. That is a yahoo group that is open up to everyone that loves Stampin'Up!. Sherrill has a few blogs and she asked if she could feature my blog in her Artist Spotlight. I was speechless!! Of course I said Yes!
So go on and check it out here: http://latenightstamper-stampandscrap.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-09-02T07%3A13%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

I am truly humbled and grateful to Sherrill for spotlighting me on her blog. Thanks Sherrill!!

Time flies........

About 3 weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. Back when we first got married of course we thought and planned on being married for the rest of our lives. But at the tender age I was (let's just say I was still in my teen years) can you really fathom what that means? Back then I remember thinking "old' people were married for 25 years. My mind certainly doesn't feel old, my body, yes . Twenty eight years doesn't seem that long to me having lived through it. Alot has transpired over those years, but it seems to have all gone by in the blink of an eye! Well, enough sentimentality! On to the card!
I made this card for Don using a retired set I bought specifically for this purpose. Of course. I loved the set, so that made it easy. It's called Summer by the Sea. We live here on the Southeast coast of North Carolina, and it's very common to see couples in this exact pose. After creating the scene using various inks and sponges, I wanted to keep the front of the card simple, let the image tell the story. Inside the card I stamped a sentiment as well as the tall grasses from the Inspired by Nature set that I used on the front. My husband's comment when I gave him this card was two fold. First he said he loved the card, his favorite I've ever made for him. Then he commented that the male in the scene had too much hair to be him! LOL There was nothing I could do about that!


I'm still working on getting updated pictures of my stamp room. I have the "after" pictures of the carnage created from creating my Tri-Shutter card. I promised to show that to you. But I also want to get some nice pictures since I've made a few changes since the last pictures I posted. Our weather has been a bit gloomy the past few days and the light has been horrible for picture taking. Maybe tomorrow!

Tri-Shutter Card

I needed to make a thank you card for my SIL. She tackled a tedious sewing project for me several weeks ago. She did a beautiful job and I wanted to show her my appreciation for taking it on. She is a fantastic seamstress and quilter.
This is my first Tri-Shutter card. I actually expected to mess it up, so I grabbed some retired Riding Hood Red Textured cardstock as my card base. Well, I didn't mess it up, so then I needed some DSP. All the DSP I have is retired, so I went with the Riding Hood Red prints pack. I have to use this stuff up anyway! So the cardstock, dsp, ink and ribbon are all retired Riding Hood Red, except the Whisper White cardstock. The stamps are all current and include: Three Little Words and Framed With Love. I also used the Boho Blossoms punch, a red fire rhinestone brad and dimensionals.

Card opened up:

View from the top:

Card pulled all the way flat:

This card fits in a standard A2 sized envelope. It is quite bulky though, so I will have to take it to the post office to mail it with extra postage and hand cancelling. It took me 3 days to make this card! Of course, I wasn't working on it constantly, but there is ALOT of cutting if you take the time to mat all the DSP panels. I'm glad I finally made one of these cards. Wait till you see my next post.......I took pictures of the aftermath of making this card, and I'm gong to be brave and show them to you! LOL Just trying to keep it real after all.

Had to do another one!

So by now you all know my favorite stamp from the new catalog is the Medallion background stamp. And by chance, it's also the TOP selling stamp from the catalog! So, I guess I'm in good company!

This card is a total and complete CASE from a card that I saw on the Late Night Stampers Pre-Convevntion Shoe Box Swap. When I first saw it, I loved it. I printed out a picture of the card and immediately went to work in my stamp room. I have to tell you, I have never made a card so quickly from one I've seen online before! I only wish I knew who the originator of this card was, so I could give her credit. It was fun for me to figure out which inks and colors of cardstock were used since no supply list was given. I did change up the orientation of the image panel, as well as the sentiment. I am pretty confident I matched the colors correctly. Along with the Medallion stamp, this card also used the Sanded Background stamp, another one of my favorites. And this is the first time I've used my Friends 24-7 stamp set, which I love almost as much as the Medallion......well ok, just as much! My favorite image in that set is the Damask....it's so pretty. It's stamped in the 2nd generation to the left of the bird image. Another first for me on this card is, I used my Aqua Painter to add a color wash to the bird. I have always preferred using the Blender Pen for watercoloring, but I am quickly becoming a fan of the Aqua Painter!! I don't own the Color Spritzer tool, so I used some very thinned out ink and dipped an old toothbrush in it and flicked it onto the cardstock. It was fun to do, but boy talk about inky fingers after! The sentiment comes from the Short and Sweet set.

I had so much fun creating this card......now the question is, do I keep it, or part with it? Decisions, decisions!

Medallion for a Friend

I have a dear friend that means the world to me. Her name is Johanna, and I couldn't love her more if we shared the same blood. Sometimes, I think it is true, that you do pick your family. Johanna is certainly family to me. We have been friends for almost 20 years! She's been so great to me during my recovery from the back surgery. She calls me just to say hello, she brings me food......stuff she knows I love that no one else thinks to bring :) She is always there to lend an ear and give a hug. So I wanted to make her a little something, just to let her know how much she means to me. I think she is one of the last few people on this planet that actually hand writes letters. She doesn't email, or tweet, or blog. I would consider a handwritten note from her to be a precious gift. So with that in mind, I made up the box of note cards for her. There are 4 note cards, matching envelopes and envelope seals. I tied them all up with a pretty black gingham ribbon. I used Crushed Curry for the bottom of the box, and Rose Red for the top. I stamped the En Francais background stamp on the Rose Red layer, then a mat of Basic Black and then the Medallion stamped with Versamark ink on Confetti White cardstock. Then I used my Stampin Pastels and a sponge dauber and added the color to the medallion. This is called the Popping Pastels technique. It was really fun to do! I added a clear rhinestone brad from the Pretties kit to all the Medallion centers. A little discovery I found while doing the pastels technique, is that More Mustard chalk looks exactly like Crushed Curry ink.

This is the outside of the box. It's really soft and feminine looking.

Here is one of the note cards I did in Crushed Curry



And this is the inside of the card.

This is one of the Rose Red note cards.

And the inside again.


These are the envelope seals I made. I stamped the Medallion stamp and punched out the center part with my Scallop Circle Punch. Then I used the letter "J" from the Lovely Letters alphabet set. I typically don't buy alphabet sets, but this one was a must have for me, I love it!

I ran them through my Zyron to add adhesive to the back. All Johanna needs to do is peel off the paper covering and stick them on the envelopes.

This is the whole set in the box, tied with the ribbon. I easily could have put at least 2 more cards and envelopes in there.

And last, but not least, these are the envelopes. I just stamped a corner of the Medallion on them with Rose Red and Crushed Curry inks.


I hope Johanna loves the cards, I know she will. She is the Mom to 4 grown boys. So I also want to make her some more masculine type cards. Her boys would certainly have a giggle or two if they got these in the mail!

I'll have another Medallion card soon. I cased one I saw from the Late Night Stampers shoe box swap at Convention the other day. It's a rare thing for me to see a card online and then go immediately and make it myself. I just thought it was so pretty! That will be coming up soon, I promise! I'd love to hear what you think about my Medallion Note Card set.

Cards and Canvas

These are the first few things I've been working on. The first 2 cards are very similar. I was playing with my new Curly Label Movers and Shapers Bigz die from Stampin'Up! I really had no design in mind (that's pretty obvious!). I also used the 2 new Textured Impressions folders exclusive to SU...Elegant Bouquet and Finial Press. I did use the retired Curly Label stamp to stamp the image inside the die cut. Rose Red and Barely Banana are the colors. I also used the Eyelet Border punch on the card on the bottom.



I also used the Movers and Shapers die for this card. However, I used the new oval magnetic punch windows that coordinate with the original Curly Label die. There are also a heart, a star and the Modern Label die in this set. The stamp set is A Flower for all Seasons. I really love that little frog next to the watering can! The sentiment comes from the Three Little Words stamp set. The card base is retired Kiwi Kiss.....gotta use it up!



I made this piece from a 5"x5" canvas I got in the dollar bin at Michael's. It had a design printed on it for a child to paint. So I painted over it with an off white acrylic paint, it needed about 3 coats to completely cover the printed image. Then I stamped the background with Chocolate Chip ink and the En Francais background stamp. I really love that background and it will live with me forever! Then I die cut the butterflies with the Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die, which is also exclusive to SU. I didn't really think I would ever get this one, but I'm so glad I did.....it's gorgeous! As you can see, I first embossed the cardstock with the Finial Press Textured Impressions folder, then I die cut the butterflies. I layered a small butterfly over a larger one for dimension down on the left side. I used clear beads from the Pretties Kit for the body of the butterflies and Hemp Twine for the antennae. Then I sponged Chocolate Chip ink around the edges. This was a quick and easy project.....it took longer to base coat the canvas than to do anything else!



I have another project to show you, but I'll save that for another time. I can't show ALL my stuff in one day now can I?

Rumors

Wow........it's been awhile!
Recovering from my surgery has been a VERY long and painful road, much longer than anticipated. But, the good news (for me!), is, I'm finally starting to feel human again!!
I still have a long road ahead of me before I'm even close to being 100%......sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be there again. I want to think positive and believe that will happen.

The rumor is there has been a bit of activity in the stamp room. And it's true! My stamping sessions are short, as that is all my body can handle at this point, but at least it's something. I do have some new things to show. However, when I took my camera outside this morning to photograph them, my camera fogged up! Do you think it's a tad bit humid outside? LOL

So I'm waiting for good light inside by the windows. Hopefully I'll have those pictures real soon.

Ciao for now!