My Paper Creations

Sharpie Markers are the Bomb

2011-10-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today's Creative Blog is featuring a Sharpie marker giveaway. Hit the link here for more information.

I love Sharpies. I loved Sharpies when there was nothing but black, red, or maybe blue Sharpies in one type of nib. And now, I love that Sharpies come in all kinds of varieties and colors. I love that a guy with a paper cup used a Sharpie to turn it into art, and that another guy did an awesome mural on his wall with a Sharpie.

Sharpies are the ultimate low brow/high brow cross over product. You can write your kids' names on their underwear then use the same marker to create art after they head off to school.

Pink & Green Wedding Wrap

2010-07-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned before that I love to wrap wedding gifts. This one was no different. The bride chose pink and green for her summer wedding colors and I couldn't wait to put them on a package.

The card was so much fun to make. I used the Ever After stamp set from Stampin' Up and added some fine clear glitter over the top for sparkle (which you can barely see here). The leaves were punched with a Quickutz mini leaf die from pale green vellum.

Cards for Sweet Nieces

2009-12-13T06:49:00.005-08:00

There were two special events recently. One little niece had her first birthday, and the other had her baptism.

For little AK, I was excited to use my new House Mouse birthday stamp. I'm not always fond of cute, but I do like these little mice.

For G's baptism I had to go with the stick kids from Stampin' Up's All in the Family set. I love the look of this set, and the versatility. The "I Am a Child of God" phrase came from SU's All God's Children set.

Flower Birthday Cards

2009-12-13T06:43:00.001-08:00

Had just a bit of time to put together some birthday cards the other day. I bought the Stampin' Up Pick a Petal set solely to make ironic sad faces, but I thought it was finally time to actually use them to make flowers, they're original purpose.

I went with bright, bold colors that contrasted with the cardstock. I'm so happy with them! I will definitely be making more. Although, I am not wild about the big, fat ribbon. I will do something else there.

Better Pics With My New Light Box

2009-10-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

The photos of my cards have been turning out so yellow! I decided to fix the problem and make a light box. It was free, it was a cinch, and it turned out great. Now all I have to do is remember to turn the date stamp off on the camera!

This is a photo the way I've been taking them. I did some photo editing, but the color is still just way off.

This is the first photo in the light box. Better, but still not quite right.

I adjusted the white balance on my camera, and this is what I got.

What a difference!

And now, a few more...

The rest of my naturalist cards. I had some plain kraft paper cards on hand, as well as this very fibrous, green, handmade paper. I put it together with the Stampin Up' set Swags, Sprays, and Stuff. The dragonfly is from the set Organic Grace.

These are just a couple of quick birthday cards. Texture courtesy of the Big Shot, stamps from an .89 cent little set from the Flower Factory.

This one I love. I made it to go with a baby boy gift. The stamp set is new from Stampin' Up, Teddy & Train. It's one of my favorites now.

I love House Mouse! This is for my niece's first birthday. The image is from a clear stamp set of House Mouse Halloween. They are all adorable. I left off the pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket to get just the mouse in butterfly wings. I suppose I could have left it on since her birthday is near Halloween.

And, finally, Jango Fett, because he was sitting right there and I wanted to put more stuff in my light box. You know how it is when you get something new!

Thank You! With A Big T

2009-10-02T10:41:00.001-07:00

I do really like this thank you card. I am still excited about my Big Shot, so I had to add the flower texture. The 't' came from the "Cause for Celebration" set from SU. Love this set.

Birthday Cards in Bad Lighting

2009-10-02T10:30:00.001-07:00

Here are several birthday cards from a little way back. The lighting is terrible on these photos, but you get the idea.

This one is my favorite. I like the colors, the slight texture, and that it's just tidy. I like tidy. I used Stampin' Up's Cause for Celebration set for the cupcake, and the Sweet Little Sentiments set for the text. The Big Shot gave it a nice checkerboard texture.

This one also has a little Big Shot texture. I used a clear stamp I picked up cheap at the Flower Factory for the "party chick", and a little ribbon from somewhere. This card is actually blue and pink, but here it looks a bit like mud. I used the Stampin' Up scallop circle punch. I love that thing.

My least favorite... I love the cake and the way I layered it with the textured square, but I don't like the ribbon on it much at all. I used a clear stamp I picked up for .75 cents somewhere. The embossed card is much better than this looks because the color is so off. I really need to cobble together a light box.

Summertime Birthday Card

2009-10-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

My son and I made this card to go with a birthday present for a friend. We used the Stampin' Up set, All Wrapped Up. Our "Happy Birthday" came out a bit sloppy, but I think it was a great card for a little boy.

Wanna Win This Dreamy Scrapbox?

2009-10-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

Of course you do! You would be crazy not to. The Original Scrapbox is giving one away! Just imagine what you could do with one of these babies. Any room could be your scrapbook/craft/art/whatever-floats-your-boat room.

Already have a room? Then check out this desk! Its' spectacular! All the storage, and the clear top to see where you put that little thing you knew you'd want to find later. If you just can't stand it and feel like you need to order, be sure to enter this code when you place your order to get $100 off your shipping: 100Writes.

Bathtub Baby Card

2009-08-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Using my favorite baby card stamp, Stampin' Up's Baby Time wheel, I put together this baby card for a friends shower. The dotted embossing was done with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and the Big Shot. Just another reason I love the Big Shot is that you can use just about every brand and style of embossing doo dads.

Alien Birthday Card

2009-08-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

I Found this picture of an alien, cut him out and attached him to the front of a boy birthday card. I used texture plates with the Big Shot for a tactile feel. I love aliens for boy's birthday greetings and I am can't wait to break into the alien stamp set I just got from Stampin' Up, Greetings Earthling!

Textured Dinosaur Birthday Card

2009-08-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have a very sweet son who loves his little brother so much that he spent an afternoon preparing a birthday card just for him. He picked out the right dinosaur, found a texture that looked the most like scaly skin, another that would give the card a tree bark texture. Lots of thought went into these details.

I love how it turned out. He used the Cricut Paper Dolls cartridge to cut the prehistoric shapes. A couple of texture plates in the Big Shot added some depth. I especially like that he wrote his message as lava coming out of the volcano.

I've Got To Get Some Of This!

2009-08-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

I came across a line of paper and scrapbooking products and I am deeply in love. I don't yet have any in my hand, but online, they are spectacular. I am hoping it won't be long until I can inspect them close up, in the real world. Check them out yourself. If you don't agree that they are great looking designs, well, then you are just plain mixed up in the head.

Girl's Baptism Invitation

2009-07-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun making this invitation with my dear friend for her daughter's baptism. We were inspired the the long-awaited arrival of my Big Shot. I was looking for anything to put in there to start embossing, so why not be productive?

We were delighted with the results. The photo does not do it justice. My camera battery is recharging right now, so I just stuck it in the scanner and scanned it. Doesn't do much for the color, or the ribbon, but you get the idea. Her name looked fantastic, but you will just have to take my word for it since I blurred it out.

The girl stamp is from an 89 cent clear stamp I bought at the Flower Factory. The embossing is all courtesy of the Big Shot.

Elegant Wedding Card & Gift

2009-07-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yay! Somebody's getting married! I love weddings. I love to hear someone is getting married and see their excitement. A good marriage is the best thing in this world. Besides, I get to wrap a gift and make a card!!

I thought the invitation was beautiful, elegant, and classic. I love the black and dark cream colors together. This was my inspiration for the card and the gift wrap.

I chose a paper to match the invitation as closely as I could. This photo is a bit yellow due to where I took the shot. I used the Baroque Motifs stamp set by Stampin' Up, stamping it twice on the front of the card. The "love" was cut from my Cricut cartridge Beyond Birthdays with black cardstock. I used some organza ribbon embellishment and tied a silver bead with "love" engraved on it to the end.

I found the perfect wrapping paper at Target (where else?) and tied it up with a black satin ribbon.

Kraft Paper Thank You

2009-07-09T11:25:00.001-07:00

I had a Thank You card to put together for a man at church who was brave enough and willing to come and teach our young women (12 - 18 years old) about indexing geneaology. They are a great group of girls, but the silence can be deafening when the topic isn't something they are super excited about. It all turned out well, but I really wanted for all of us to sign a big thank you and put it in the mail.

When making cards, it's can be really easy to make them pretty, cute, etc... but not necessarily so easy to make one that is fitting for people of the male persuasion. Kraft paper helps. It's natural, a little bit textured, no frills. I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out.

Giveaway!

2009-06-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

Interested in a great giveaway? Head over to Paper Craft Pleasures and get in on her fabulous Blog Candy Giveaway featuring a Bind-it All! While you are there, check out the other great posts featuring fantastic papercrafting ideas.

Dragonfly Pull Tab Thank You Card

2009-06-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

I wound up with an extra summer lunch invitation and it was perfect for creating a thank you card for a great friend of mine. I added "to wonderful you from thankful me" from Stampin' Up Sweet Little Sentiments stamp set and stamped it in Certainly Celery. I used some white cardstock for the pull out card and topped it off with a little green ribbon for pullin' on. I'd pull it out and show you, but I already wrote all over it and it's nunya business. :-)

Summer Lunch Invitation

2009-06-09T12:43:00.001-07:00

After f i n a l l y getting my workroom cleaned out of the school year clutter, I was so ready to sit down and put together some paper. I am delighted with this invitation to a summer lunch for some dear friends.

It's postcard style to save on paper and just make everything easier. On me. The yellow and green are from an 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock stack, the graphic print was in a stack of 8x8 paper I picked up at the Flower Factory last year. The invitation info was printed off my computer (and all the personal stuff blurred out, this is the internet after all!). My favorite part is the dragonfly tag. I used my Quickutz Squeeze and the dragonfly and tag die cut plates. I was so happy to still have some light green vellum for the wings. I used Stampin' Up Certainly Celery ink pad to scuff up the tags. I just plain love Certainly Celery.

I hope they can all make it to the lunch, and I really hope they will take off the invitation part and reuse these great postcards!

4 x 4 Thank You Cards

2009-01-30T10:42:00.001-08:00

I found a few minutes the other day to use my new Take Three set from SU to make these 4x4 inch Thank You cards. I love this stamp set and I really, really love the paper I used on these cards. Where in the world did I buy it? I hope I can remember or stumble across it again. I wish I'd bought two!

Frankenstein & Mummy Birthday Cards

2009-01-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

I usually buy cards when they are being given to a man. It is just too hard to make them. Men don't want flowers. They don't want something pretty. How do you make something that isn't pretty? Most stamp sets intended to be masculine are either of tools, antique keys, or broken down Model T's. I don't know any men that get all that excited about any of those things. Tools, maybe, but only the real kind that you can use.

Both John and I have brothers with birthdays coming up. I was determined to figure out a way to make them birthday cards that would be good looking, not pretty, and not involve any of the stupid motifs mentioned above. (If you like those motifs, sorry. I just do think they are stupid.)

I am happy to report that I did find the solution. I used my Tableau of Terror set from... altogether now... Stampin' Up. I inked only one of the hilarious little monsters, first Frankenstein, then Mummy. I stopped before getting to their trick-or-treat buckets and drew a sign in its place. I used the "happy birthday" phrase from the Lots of Thoughts SU set for the sign. I printed the phrases "You're so old it's scary" and "You are remarkably well preserved" from my computer.

Close-up of Frank & Mummy. These guys crack me up.

I am super delighted with the results. They look great, they aren't hokey, and you can totally get away with sending your brother a snarky card about his age.

Paper Doll - The Quilling Queen

2009-01-22T10:28:00.001-08:00

I have a good friend who loves to quill. Not only does she love it, she's really good at it. You can see some of her work at If Looks Could Quill.

So, back in November I made some look-a-likes of the young women in our church for an event. Brenda saw them and, well, I will just let her tell you via her comment on my post for them...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Young Women paper dolls! How totally awesome would it be to have a paper doll created in my image (although, please note - that comment is NOT a ploy to get you to make one for me

I couldn't resist making one of her. I won't point out all the flaws on it in hopes that you won't notice, but one thing I wish I hadn't done is forgotten to fold the fingers over her quilling tool and paper strips. Anyway, I hope she likes it. If you're reading this, Brenda, SURPRISE! And I will bring her along with me on Sunday.

Wedding Gift Wrap & Card

2009-01-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun wrapping this present. I love to wrap wedding gifts. You just can't overdo it. It's such a special day. A once in a lifetime thing. You should get your gifts in a special way, as well. The wedding is this weekend, so it's definitely a winter thing. I wanted to use that, so I wrapped it in a pretty foil paper. I used a silver and light blue ribbon that I picked up over Christmas. I originally wanted to use a bunch of little snowflakes on top, but the snowflake die cut I have looked more like sheriff badges. Not pretty. So I went to the stamp sets. I knew I wanted to use the Baroque Motifs set from Stampin' Up on the card, and I was so happy to discover a stamp in the set that spoke snowflake to me.

I praised myself for buying the Baja Blue stamp pad, because it was the perfect color, and got to work. I stamped blue on white and punched it out using the scallop punch (love this tool!), then I reversed it by using a white ink on blue and heat embossing with white embossing powder. A clear sparkle glaze on the white ones finished it off (can't really see it in the photo). With it all assembled on top it looks wintery, snowy and pretty. Love it.

The card.... I am so crazy about the flourish stamp from the Baroque Motifs set. I stamped on the blue card with white ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I stamped the word "cherish" (also in the set) and heat embossed it on a vellum tag with silver edge. All tied up with an organza ribbon up the side and it's my favorite wedding card ever.

I had so much fun doing this! Somebody needs to propose, I want to do another one.

The Best Get Well Card I Have Ever Gotten

2009-01-03T11:22:00.001-08:00

Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, I did not make this card. Oh, that I had. I love it!

It is so cheerful and bright. I love the sad face, I love the polka dot schnoz, and I really love the ironic frown that says 'smile'.

This card was made by the talented hands of Megan. You can get a peek at her stuff at Megan is Stampin. She is one of those people you love the minute you meet her. I pulled out the Stampin' Up catalog to find out which stamp set she used for this little guy. Oh yes, it has been added to my spreadsheet of 'want to buy'. Yes, I have a spreadsheet. But if you aren't organized you run the risk of buying something you already bought. Think it can't happen? Well, it can. I know that because... well, I just know that. Anyway, I am adding the Pick a Petal set to my list pronto because I want to make my own ironic little sad-that-you-are-sick guys. Just goes to show, you should never dismiss the flower sets too quickly.

Teacher Gift Card, AGAIN

2008-12-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

This was for Will's teacher. I love the wreath and have been anxious to use it. The wreath is from the Window on the World set by SU. I really like this set. A little bit of ribbon and some plaid paper. Done.

Teacher Gift Card Holder

2008-12-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

This was for one of Jack's teachers. The reindeer are also from Holiday Lineup by Stampin' Up. These reindeer crack me up. Check the earlier posts to see which set the pine cones are from. Swags and something or other. I didn't really use dirty paper. I blotted out the writing on these. Forgot to take a picture first.

Gift Card Holders for Teachers

2008-12-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

More gift card holders! And no, it's not the end of them. These were a couple of the teacher gifts. The stamps are Stampin' Up Deer Friends. At least I think that's the name of the set. Anyhoo, these are not as pretty as the one I made at Megan's Extravaganza, but that's because I failed to measure anything at all. I am pleased with the envelopes that I made from 12x12 paper. You can see a bit of one in the middle photo. Please excuse the blurry photos.

First Birthday Card for Madeline

2008-12-24T12:56:00.000-08:00

Blogger must be busy today, because I can't get it to load a large picture. Medium will have to do.

This card was for my little niece, Madeline's, first birthday. I found the birthday banner and balloon stickers on an end cap somewhere. The cute little girl stamp is from Stampin' Up All in the Family set. This was a fun card to make.

Christmas Card for Karen

2008-12-16T14:01:00.000-08:00

This was for my dear friend Karen. The snowmen are from the Holiday Lineup stamp set by Stampin Up. Adding color to them was quite fun. The 'holly jolly christmas' was from a clear stamp set I picked up at the Flower Factory for like .89 cents. The mitten charms I have had for ages an I couldn't tell you where I found them.

Karen lives in Massachusetts, so I felt like a snow theme would be appropriate for her.

Christmas Gift Card Holder

2008-12-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

This was for a gift card that went off in the mail yesterday. Phewww! I have been dying to use my Holiday Lineup stamps from Stampin Up. I am very happy with how the elves turned out, but wish the photos weren't so blurry. The rest is just card stock and paper from the Christmas Mat Stack. The pine cones and boughs are also Stampin Up stamps from the Swags, Sprays & Stuff set (thank you, Tina! I am so glad you gave up on stamping!)

Young Women Paper Dolls

2008-11-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

I had such a great time making these paper dolls for our Young Women in Excellence night. I used the Cricut Paper Dolls cartridge. It is almost limitless what you can do with this cartridge. I did my best to make each one look like the real deal and I was pleasantly surprised that the girls were able to quickly pick out which one was theirs. I added the sashes and hand wrote the seven Young Women Values on them.

To use them as a centerpiece, I taped them to wooden skewers and added them to a low arrangement of fresh carnations.

Card for Ava Katherine

2008-11-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

This is a baby card for our new niece, Ava Katherine. I used watercolor pencil and my new handy Aqua Painter from Stampin Up to color the little dress stamp. The scallop circle punch is also Stampin Up and is probably my favorite little tool right now. I was excited to use my new Cricut Opposites Attract cartridge to make the letters.

Wedding Gift

2008-11-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well, this isn't the gift, just the wrapping. I love wrapping wedding gifts. Technically, this isn't done in paper, but I think it's cool, so I am putting it up anyway.

Dots Thank You Card

2008-10-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Boy is that a blurry picture. And yellow! I really need to use better light. I was totally making this one up as I went along. I would have had the THANKS laid out a little more purposefully, but other than that I'm okay with it. The big circles are adhesive backed border strips punched with the circle punch. The letters are from a cheap set of tiny alphabet letters. Circle punches are quite possibly the handiest things ever created.

Daisy Thank You Card

2008-10-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

I can't remember who I made this card for. It was right after I got my Quickutz Squeeze. I used it to make the daisy and the lettering. A little ribbon and the deckle edge blade on the paper cutter finished it up. Pretty plain, but I still like it.

Green Eggs & Ham Hat

2008-09-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Every year my son's elementary school makes a big fuss about one chosen book, this includes a costume to wear on the last day of the festivities. The year he was in kindergarten they did Dr. Suess. Each grade was assigned a different book to focus on. Kindergartners got Green Eggs and Ham. I decided to make him Sam I Am with a plate of paper green eggs and ham on his hat. He loved it and it was easy for him to be comfortable in his costume.

Card for a Baby Boy

2008-09-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

This card was made for the birth of my friend and neighbor's baby, Mark. The babies are from one of my favorites, a Stampin Up wheel called Baby Time. The tag is a metal rimmed vellum, and the text was stamped and heat embossed. I love baby cards!

Karen's Welcome Home Card

2008-09-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

My friend Karen was returning from her annual migration to Mexico, so I put this card together to be waiting for her when she arrived home. The house stamp is a portion of Stampin Up's Neighborhood wheel. The letters are from their Tag Alphabet set. And I am so crazy about the adhesive backed floral border strip. Easy!

Mouse Birthday Card for Girl

2008-09-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

I think this was one I made for one of the YW. I love the mouse blowing out the candle. It's a House Mouse designs rubber stamp. The mouse is pop-dotted above the birthday words block. The plaid stripe is my new favorite thing. It's a 12x2 border strip that is self-adhesive. Love them! The cake stamp on the envelope is a clear stamp I picked up at the Flower Factory. Cheap.

Mary Claire's 4th Birthday Card

2008-09-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

This was for my niece's fourth birthday. Mary Claire is such a sweet little girl and can always be found in a pretty dress with a bow in her hair. I am delighted that we share the same birthday. The little girl stamp is from great Stampin Up set called All in the Family. The rest are clear stamps that I picked up along the way.

Baby Card for Madeline

2008-09-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

This card was made for the birth of my niece, Madeline. She is adorable. I wanted to make it as girly as possible and still remain in the bounds of good taste. The stamp is from the Stampin Up Feathered Friends set.

Girl's Baptism Card

2008-09-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

I made this card for my niece's baptism. The stamp is part of a Stampin Up stamp set called All God's Children and I love it! The flower is Cricut cut.

Rosebuds Pull Tab Mother's Day Card

2008-09-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

This was a Mother's Day card for my mom. The rosebuds were cut with Quickutz Squeeze. Here's a big surprise -- pull the ribbon tab, find the message. I am not terribly wild about this one. Sorry mom.

Daisy Pull Tab Mother's Day Card

2008-09-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

This was a Mother's Day card for my mother-in-law. I used Quikutz Squeeze to die cut the daisies and the pull tab. The message comes out with the pull tab -- like you didn't know!

Birthday Blessings Card

2008-09-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

This was the first card I made using my Cricut. I was dying to try out the shapes (flowers) and the text. I think I sent it to my mother-in-law. Two years later, I am still pretty pleased with how it turned out. This was the one and only time I have made an envelope to match the card, but I only did because I didn't pay any attention to the size of the card while I was making it. It was kind of a pain.