Monday, July 30, 2012

sunny side card set…

I made this sweet little card set to share on the Pebbles blog last week:

card_set

I love making cards in sets of 2 or 3. Once you have the supplies pulled out to create one card, I figure you may as well do a few more … after all, all the coordinating items are already at your fingertips and if you use a similar design for the cards they really go together quickly!

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I made this set of cards with only a few supplies and I love how they turned out. The “From Me To You” paper has so many great options available for card-making, matched up with the 6x6 pad and a few simple embellishments, I know I could have made a dozen cards and still had plenty of supplies to make more!

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Here’s a peek (and a link) to the fun page with all of the great card sentiments:

from_me_to_you

Have a great Monday! :)

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Friday, July 27, 2012

a long weekend getaway…

We decided to take the kids and head down south for a little getaway.  It was so nice to just be somewhere other than home or work for a few days!  We didn’t do anything super exciting – a lot of this:

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A little of this:

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I read a great book (it seems these little getaways are my only chance to relax and read anymore).  I read this:

sweethaven_summer

On this:

kindle_fire

 

It’s Meagan’s Kindle Fire.  I kind of hijacked it from her – she was nice to let me use it.  I want one now – it was so nice to read on!

It was really a good book – all about friendship and family and a scrapbook!  Yep – a scrapbook!  And, guess what?  The author is an amazing scrapbooker too!  Courtney Walsh – a woman of many talents! 

If you don’t have a kindle fire, you can read it the old fashioned way too:

sweethaven_summer2

Here’s a quick summary of the book:  “Campbell Carter has come to Sweethaven in search of answers about her mother's history. Just before losing a battle with cancer, Suzanne Carter sent letters to childhood friends from her hometown of Sweethaven, Michigan. Suzanne's three friends -- Lila, Jane, and Meghan -- haven't spoken in years, yet each has pieces of a scrapbook they made together as girls. Suzanne's letters have lured them all back to the idyllic lakeside town, where they meet Campbell and begin to remember what was so special about their long Sweethaven summers. As the scrapbook reveals secrets from the past, old wounds are mended, lives are changed, and friendships are restored -- just as Suzanne intended.”

Seriously, if you’re looking for a nice easy read, you should check it out. 

We also went to a movie.  I should say we went to movieS.  Brad took the little boys to see this (again):

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While the big kids and I went to see this:

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We ate lots of movie popcorn and drank our fill of root beer.  We even ate frozen junior mints! ;)

Brad and I even snuck away one night for dinner – gasp! – a date!!  (we didn’t actually sneak anywhere – the kids were fully aware that we were leaving.)

We also spent an evening at Brad’s mom’s house.  The kids went on a hike, we visited with Grandma, and we came home with some things she didn’t want anymore – including an old globe on a cool stand…can’t wait to clean it up and put it somewhere in our home!

We were sad to leave, but when we did, we met up with my brother and his family for dinner (they made super yummy food for us), shakes from Dairy Keen, and then we headed to Charleston to watch these:

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I wish we could get away for these weekends more often – it was so nice to just relax and focus on our own little family with nothing else to worry about! 

Monday, July 23, 2012

snips & snails gift bag…

Good morning!  I have a fun little gift project up on the Doodlebug Blog today – a little gift bag.

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I’ve made this type of gift bag/box a LOT lately – I love how easy they are to put together.

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I’ve had a lot of people ask me about it – wondering if it’s a die-cut if I have a template…the answer is no…but they are really easy to make.  So, here’s a (very long) photo tutorial for making this little gift bag – followed by a photo tutorial for making the little star embellishments.

To make the bag:

1.  Trim the tab off of a full 12x12 piece of patterned paper.

bag1

2.  Score two lines, one at 3” and one at 9”

bag2

Now, fold on the score lines.  Be sure to make nice crisp folds.

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Now, go back to your score board and place your paper with the long edge at the top.  Score at 5” and 7”.

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Again, fold with nice crisp folds.

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Now you’ll have to make four folds without the score board.  It’s probably easier to look at the photo than to try to explain this fold.  Start with one of the intersections that you just folded - Fold the paper back toward you at an angle – the left side needs to fold down so it’s straight… check out the next 3 photos.

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Hopefully that makes sense.  Repeat for all four sides.

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I like to pinch the straight sides of the box so they will fold in a bit.  Now when you look at your box from the top you will see this:bag10

If you want to secure the edges, you can add a bit of adhesive, but it’s not necessary…it will hold it’s shape when the topper is attached.

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For the stars:

Punch 3 stars from patterned paper.  You could also use star die-cuts, or cut them by hand, but the sides need to be equal for this technique to work.

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I shared a tutorial for created HUGE stars (here) for a 4th of July star garland a few weeks ago.  This is the exact same technique, just on a much smaller scale.  Score from the tip of each point to the valley (so each star will have five score lines going across and intersecting the center).  Be sure to score the BACK of the stars.

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Now fold along the score lines using an “accordion” fold.  The points will have the “hill” folds and the valleys will have the “valley” folds.

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Repeat for all 3 stars:

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Now stack up some foam adhesive squares and attach them to the back/center of each star.

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Now we’re ready to create the topper:

You have two options for the topper – trim a 12x12 paper down to 6x6, or use a 6x6 from the mini paper pads.

topper1

I forgot to take a photo – but now you need to score the topper right down the middle – at 3".

Add a border sticker along the bottom.

topper2

Now place the 3 stars you made earlier.

topper3

Punch two holes in the top of the topper – topper4

I usually sit it on the gift bag and punch through all the layers at once.

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Now add brads through the holes to attach everything together. 

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Add a gift tag too!

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See how easy?  And once you’ve done it once, you’ll get the hang of it and you’ll be making these over and over and over.  They are perfect for little treats or even gift cards! 

Let me know if you have any questions! :)

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