Whoops I Almost Forgot!

You know you have done it.....that last minute gift that you forgot to purchase. That happened to me today. In my defense two of my three kiddos are in high school and we don't do gifts for teachers. I do have a 6th grader and his teacher has a heart of gold. I can't believe that I forgot about a gift for her. Luckily, it dawned on me that I needed to do something special for her. Check out what I did here:

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Make A Bow!

I am over on the Rinea blog today with how to make gorgeous bows using supplies from your craft room. If you have a 12 b 12 piece of paper this is for you! One sheet can make 6 bows. Oh, and did I mention they are fast? Easy? Yep! They sure are! Here is the short video on how to make them: 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting! 

Snowman Charm

Make sweet little charms for your tree or gift bags using your favorite Brutus Monroe Stamp set and shrink paper.

To make this charm I first started with the Stars Foundation Die set and a piece of festive pattern paper. I punched a hole in the top and set aside. Next, I stamped a snow man from the Snow Friends stamp set and colored it in with Stylefile markers on a piece of shrink paper. I carefully cut the snowman out making sure to leave room for a hole on the top. I punched a hole and shrunk it with my heat gun.Once it was cool enough to touch I threaded it on a string of hemp and topped it off with a glass bead from my stash. 

To find most of the supplies to make a charm please visit the shop here 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Tips, Tricks and ideas for Using Digital Download Kits!

I am part of a Christmas swap with a crafty group. I have a few fun craft goodies for my partner, but I also wanted to include something handmade. So, I put together the pieces for a Christmas mini album that she can bind and finish off with her special holiday stories and pictures. My very favorite Christmas kit is Joyful Christmas ! I decided to make the pieces from that :-)

I get a lot of questions about the printer I use. For a long time I thought the paper had more to do with the quality of the image, but after a fight with my printer I learned it really does come down to the printer. I ended up having to print this kit on three different types of paper and I show them in the following video with further explanation. I also get asked about how to make pockets and I show one type you can make in it too! Lastly, I make a card from the cover sheet that is fast and gorgeous. I hope you watch the video and get a lot of ideas! 

Here are the links to the things I covered in the video:

Calico Collage

Brutus Monroe

Cutter Pillar use code BETZ20 for 20% off your entire order! 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Christmas Planner Shaker Pocket

As featured on the Brutus Monroe blog yesterday! I made a cute Christmas Planner Shaker Pocket for my Happy Planner with the November Inspiration box from Brutus Monroe

The bags in the kit are a perfect base for a shaker. I used one of the printed card bases in the box and colored it with Stylefile markers found in the shop too! I slipped the card base into a fuse-able sleeve, added the snowflake confetti from the kit and some confetti from my stash. Using my fuse tool I sealed the edge and attached it to a piece of cardstock. I added the snowflakes made from the dies in the kit along with the bling and placed them over the banners. I made the tag with the largest foundation tag die and stamped the small snowflakes all over it. Once it was complete I put it in my planner to hold special pictures or notes for the month of September.

Don't forget to sign up for the box and check out the store for lots of other fun stuff in the store!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!  

Christmas Cards for a Swap

I signed up to partcipate in a Christmas Card Swap! I created a total of 20 cards to exchange with other artist around the country. I showed the first set at the end of October and wanted to feature the last 8! This set coordinates with one another because it is from the November 2016 Spellbinder Card Kit! I found their booth at the Pinner's Conference in October. They had a special in which you could buy two past kits for $30 -- that is only $15 a kit! When I saw how fun and whimsical this kit was I knew I wanted to play with it. There was so much packed into this kit that I had a ton left over. Here are the nine cards I created:

Not only did the cards turn out darling they came together super fast! 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Purple and Silver Christmas Cards and Purse

I ran across the beautiful Christmas line by Kaiser Craft in July at the Mixed Media Convention in Utah. They gave me a few pieces (stamps, dies, wood pieces and die cuts) to play with at the end of the show and once the paper became available in stores I had to have a few sheets. I created these five cards and purse (that will house a gift card perfectly!) with two sheets of the pattern paper. The Festive Deer Stamp and Sterling Embossing powder by Brutus Monroe had to take center stage!

I tend to get bored and uninspired when I made all the cards the same. I like to mix it up! I could easily give the cards as a set to a family member with a big silver bow or mail them out. This project took me about three hours and I love the elegant nontraditional vibe!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting! 

2017 Christmas Planner Tutorial

Christmas is a special time of year and getting everything done to create a fun memory can be a challenge with a family of five. I need all the help I can get, so I created this planner. This is a two part post. First, I show you how to make the cover for the planner. Then, I show how to make a pocket folder for it in a video. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

To create the cover you are going to need two pieces of foam found in the kids' section of most craft stores. One needs to be adhesive and it if sparkles even better! 

Measure two lines with a ruler on the backside of your adhesive foam with a pencil.

 Take a circle, fold it in half and use a ruler to trace the line.

 line up the line on the circle with the one on the adhesive backing and trace half the circle.

 Repeat that process and cut out the scallop border. Set aside.

 Measure your cover to your preferred size. Find the center and score 1/4 inch line on the right and left of the center (leaving a 1/2 inch space).

 Mark where to place your holes for the bands.

 Punch holes. I like the Crop-O-Dile because it cuts any thickness.

 Adhere your scallops to the cover lining up the edges.

Thread your elastic thread through the two holes according to how many inserts you are going to use.

Here is a video on how to make the multi pocket file: 

Here are a few pictures of the inside of the complete planner:

This was a ton of fun to make and I can't wait to use it this season!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Handmade Christmas Cards

I joined a swap to exchange 10 handmade cards for Christmas. I used Christmas lines I am currently obsessed with to create this cards:

The Dies are from Brutus Monroe

The Foiled Paper is from Rinea

The Digital Downloads are from Calico Collage

Here is a great tutorial on how to put a handmade card together: 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting! 

Christmas Cards

Working on more Christmas cards to get ready to go in the mail after Thanksgiving. I decided to go with something different....

 I used the new Kiaser Craft and Brutus Monroe to create the card. I wanted something sophisticated, but different. Purple and gray was a nice alternative. Mixed in with the silver it turned out perfect.

 

I really wanted something off the wall and girly! For this card I stamped a background stamp on pink cardstock and mated it with blue. I used a mandala small die to back the sentiment. I added washi tape and sequins and called it good! 

Check out Brutus Monroe for the stamps and supplies!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Jazz Up a Christmas Card!

I know, I know....it is only September. Why am I posting about Christmas? Well, it takes me several months to actually make my cards. I like to have them out right after Thanksgiving. Otherwise I forget, so I start early. I received some really great Christmas themed products from Brutus Monroe . When I saw the stencil I new I wanted to make a card out of it. It is important that my cards are flat so they can go through the mail with one stamp. This is what I created:

 

One of my current obsessions is embossing the edges. It gives a beautiful frame to the card without creating a ton of bulk. Here is a video I made as I created this card. I hope you enjoy! 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!