Mother's Day cards and another mini book

Mother's day cards. I really like these. Maybe I'm finally getting the hang of card making.

This one will go with the keepsake box I made for my mom. I used the DCWV La Creme stack. All the papers are black and cream, some with flocking like this floral piece. Letters are QK Chicago alphabet.

This is my first attempt at ribbon flowers and I think it came out pretty good. This is the sewing kind where you use a running stitch on one side of the ribbon and pull the thread to gather. Pretty.
And this one is for Randy's mom. The lighting is awful, sorry. These papers are also DCWV, from the Latte stack. Letters are QK new English Rose alphabet, and butterflies are Cottage Cutz.

Sewing planner for my daughter. These papers are so cute for this project. It's the Material Girl collection by Cosmo Cricket. Super cute vintage look sewing-related prints. I used QK Holiday and Chicago alphas for the letters and the cover is reinforced with QK plastic sheets. These are really nice for making sturdy covers and divider pages. It's not at all thin or flimsy film, it's quite strong. Thimble charm, ribbons and buttons embellish the binding. This is the largest sketchbook die in the newest QK release which fits the 3/8" Bind it All o-wires exactly.

Back cover, also reinforced with the plastic.

Inside pockets for notes or coupons

Two sections have index card pages so she can jot down notes and measurements on the ruled side and sketch ideas on the back.

and the last section is notebook paper with all perforated pages so she can tear out a list or take notes with her when she shops.

Mini books all over the place!

These are so much fun--I can't stop making them!! I've had a ball using older paper and scraps to make a bunch of them for the kids. They love to draw, write, make lists....these will be perfect for them.

Emmy's peek-a-boo book was really fun to make too. I might have to make a bigger one now. LOL! There are ten "guess what is its" ending with the good night page. I think she will love the interactive pages.

So I've been asked about how to put together the Composition Book

Since I posted my books, I've received a lot of emails about how to attach the pages in the new CHA release composition book. It's too bad they didn't include some kind of instruction booklet, but I'm happy to share how I have figured out how to do this and hope this works for you too.

First tip is this: Do not cut the inner pages individually. I used computer paper folded in half then laid the paper over the die with the fold just inside the cutting edge. I cut three folded pieces at a time this way. (For the book pictured, I used 9 pieces of computer paper for the inside pages, cutting three at a time.) Now cut the spine.

It will look like this from the back side



And like this (die and paper side up) when you place it on the cutting mat

Now lay the cut pages, nested together, with the spine on the outside. To hold the spine in place, I used temporary adhesive, and to keep the papers from shifting I used binder clips so they would stay lined up evenly. Using a ruler I made a light pencil line down the center on the fold line so I could see it easier in the sewing machine.* Now sew the pages together using a medium to long stitch length.

*If you do not have a sewing machine, you can sew the pages together by hand. Use a paper piercer to puncture stitching holes all along the center fold.

At this point you're already ready to add the cover. If you don't want the stitching to show on the outside of the book, you can cover it by adhereing another spine over it.

Rub off the temp adhesive from the spine now that it is sewn in place. When you add the cover, lay it over the pages so it extends slightly beyond the pages, then adhere it to the underside of the spine. Repeat this for the back cover lining it up with the front cover before adhereing to the spine.

You can see the spine accomodates quite a few pages by doing it this way. I'm sure I could have added more and still been fine.

Now just add your label, embellish the cover if you like, and you're done! This paper is so cute I didn't want to cover it up so I put the label on the inside front cover. :)

I've been blog tagged

by Katie. Thanks, Katie for picking on me....I mean picking me! LOL


Ok, so 10 things I like -- here goes


1 PINK! I think that goes without saying given the pics of my scraproom in the slideshow....? If you didn't know this about me before you do now! ;)


2 Cheesecake. Yum. I have it only once very few years though. Weird huh. I guess cuz I'd have to eat the whole thing if I bought or made one so I just don't.


3 Flannel sheets in cold weather. Cozy, cozy, cozy! and ceiling fans in warm weather. Ahh, love the cool breeze on me while I sleep!


4 I've never had a massage, or a manicure or pedicure. Don't plan to either. Well, maybe a manicure someday, but never a massage or pedicure.


5 Wine cooler floats. OMG if you haven't tried this, you must. I wanted an ice cream float one night but had no pop. I did have a wine cooler, and since they are carbonated I thought, why not. It was DELICIOUS!!! I used a berry flavor cooler but can you imagine how scrumptious it would be with peach???


6 I'm a pretty good handy-girl when things (mostly small things) need to be repaired around the house. And decorating. I'm great at painting and that kind of thing.


7 Good hair days. Good hair days make me do everything a little better, I think.


8 The beach. I LOVE the beach and really really miss living on the water.


9 James Bond movies. And Clint Eastwood westerns.


10 Cooking. I don't do it nearly as much as I would like but if we ever get the kitchen remodeled so I have more room, I will definitely be doing much more of it like the old days. LOL

For Part Two, here are 5 random things about me.

1 I hate snakes. Even worms and tiny baby snakes. Hate, hate, hate snakes. And we live in the desert where there are huge rattlesnakes. I freak at that sound, let me tell you.

2 I have fibromyalgia. I feel blessed I have more good days than bad and that my bad days aren't as bad as they are for others.

3 When Randy and I built our house (not the one we live in now, but yes, just the two of us, from clearing the brush to putting up the house numbers) I ran all the phone lines, put in all the electrical boxes, light switches, outlets and light fixtures. I spent a lot of time in the library reading up but what a rewarding job!

4 I've never had any computer classes; completely self taught. I think I do pretty good considering that!

5 I am deathly afraid of heights. When I was little, I couldn't even cross a foot bridge over a creek without panicking that I would fall through the cracks. Even if it was only a couple feet above the water. :(

There you go. How many of these did you already know about me? Anyone care to confess. LOL

And for Part three, I tag the following five beautiful, crafty ladies! Instructions are simple. Post 10 things you like, 5 random things about you, and tag 5 other bloggers. :)

Darla

Jayma

Kip

Emily

Pam

FINALLY the CHA dies! LOVE :)

I love the large size dies from the CHA release. As you probably know by now, I LOVE mini books. Even though the composition book is a little bigger than most 'mini-books' it's still an awesome size and the uses for it are endless. Finished size is 5 1/2 x 7 inches. Here are just a couple of ideas - I had to stop, it's addicting. :) The chicks books is my favorite!

Besides the composition book, I used the scallop edge die with the spine, Cotton Candy and Khaki skinny mini alphas, eggs, cracked egg, and the chick and hen by Cottage Cutz.



Use this one for a garden journal or planting notes. Alpha here is Oatmeal, snail is Cottage Cutz.



and here's a more generic masculine-looking book for whatever. I love this pinstripe paper I've had in my stash forever. It seemed the perfect fit for the comp book.

Then there are the sketchbooks. So versatile! The largest is approximately 4 x 5 1/2 inches; the medium size is 2 1/2 x 4 1/4, and the bitty one (which I used for the Road Trip title) is 1 1/2 x 2 1/2. I love what I call the "bonus feature" on this set--the punched holes are an exact fit for the 3/8 inch o-wires for the Bind it All!!! I love that you can bind these with the BIA, but even if you don't have one you can easily use ribbons, or binder rings, or brads.....whatever you like! Lots of cute ways to go with this set.

Here's one in the largest size for Grace to track her "observe-tions" as she calls bug watching! ;) I'm sure she'll be all over this when she stays with us this summer. I used the label from the composition book and Cotton Candy alpha for the title. And the ants had to be there - it's a bug book! I cut the covers from QK adhesive chipboard then covered them with QK adhesive clear plastic. I love that stuff.

And the smaller one makes a great mini book to toss in the glove box for keeping track of regular auto maintenance. Again used the clear plastic for the cover.





......or to track mileage, expenses and sights while on vacation or weekend getaway.





And finally, for this card, I used the new Cotton Candy 2x2 alphabet, 2x2 Oatmeal alpha, cloud, raindrop and the scallop edge dies. I love the sizes of the scallops in the 3-piece edge set. I only wish I had a cutter that accomodates 12 inch paper! It would be awesome to make your own die cut edged 12x12 paper. But they are just as cute on cards, as you can see here.

inside message (cloud, cc flowers, picket fence border)

I admit it, I like these dies more than I thought I would and I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of these in future projects. Thanks for looking!

Just a taste

Finally my QK dies from the CHA release arrived. Yippee! I'm busy working on DT projects but did get this done over the weekend and wanted to share while I work on the rest. I love this ginormous pennant die!!! What a cute die for a party banner, baby shower or kid's room. Isn't this cute? The pennant is over 9 inches from tip to top and 5 1/2 inches wide at the top.

This is just another birthday project, not with the new release dies, but with the nesting balloons. Sewing them all together to make a "ribbon" for the box is an idea I borrowed from Mindy over on the ScrapMart blog. Thanks for the inspiration, Mindy! The jumbo "5" I cut with the Cricut. It's adhered to chipboard to make it a little more sturdy.

I'll have more projects with the new dies coming later this week so keep watching for those in case you may be on the fence about some of these. I love that the dies in this release are all jumbo sized!! If you don't have an Epic, BigShot or other machine that cuts big size dies, this might be the time to get one. Very few of these will work in the Revolution.

Thrift Store Book Box and key fob

From a 50 cent thrift store book I made this treasure box. The layered flower is made from QK flower and scallop circle dies. The lid stays shut with a Basic Grey magnetic closure hidden under the paper.



These goodies inside are actually just stickers and bling.

I also made this key ring to include inside the box. Not bad I guess for a first attempt.

Decorative Easter Egg Pictorial

I always try to find something different to do for Easter each year. Not for any real reason, since the kids are grown and gone, but just for fun I guess. I do miss doing projects with them like we did when they were growing up. We always decorated cookies, eggs, trees, hearts, what-have- you at any given holiday, so it's kind of something I feel compelled to do even though it's just me and gramps now. I really enjoy doing it, so why not. :)

Starting with plastic eggs from the dollar store, pattern paper, mod podge, foam brush and a few simple tools, I got down to business making a centerpiece for Easter. {TIP: The wire cutters are for removing the "hinge" on the eggs so they don't poke through your paper. Not necessary, but I did it on mine.} I used large eggs, but small would be as easy, if not easier, and would require smaller scraps of paper. The choice is up to you.



Using a foam brush, coat the back side of the paper with a generous slathering of mod podge. Doesn't have to be super thick, but plenty enought to slide the paper around on the egg, don't be stingey.




Wrap the paper around the egg

and make several slices in the paper at the ends of the egg so you can fold it around the ends of the egg as much as you can.

Paint the entire outside of the egg with a generous coat of mod podge and smooth out the paper all around, working the ends as much as you can, using your hands. {TIP: You can use latex gloves if you like, but mod podge is non-toxic so I didn't bother with them. I just washed my hands after each egg--otherwise it dries too fast and you're next egg with be very difficult to work with.}

Let the eggs dry. You can add another coat of mod podge after they dry if you want a more glossy finish, but it isn't necessary.

Now you're ready to decorate your beautiful eggs. Add stickles, stickers, glitter, jewels, ribbon or whatever you like. Or not. It's up to you!

PART DEUX:

Well, you know me....I didn't stop with just the eggs. I decided to also make the actual basket. The eggs are much too pretty to put in a cheapy store-bought basket! I've seen doily baskets before and always thought they were so pretty. So I looked for a "recipe". I found this video (linked above) and was so surprised how easy it is to do. I have a drawer full of doilies that mom and gram made; you must have some too. You still have time to make one if you need a last minute Easter dinner centerpiece!

But then I didn't stop with just the basket either. I thought, what if I used paper doilies to make mini baskets....?! So I came up with these adorable bitsy egg cups. Aren't they adorable!