Christmas Is In The Air

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I am already planning for Christmas. I have made a few cards and ornaments to try to get myself in the Christmas spirit. By the way it hasn't worked. I am still feeling a little humbug. So a day of shopping is planned for Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. If that doesn't work then the decorating will begin. I must shake the ho-hum feelings and find Christmas!

First a Christmas Card! This card is done with a tea bag folding technique and single sided printed paper cut into squares. Three sizes of squares are needed to make the graduated tree. I also used an embossing template for the back ground, a rectangle for the tree trunk, and a star die to make the topper. Simple thin ribbon is used to accent the bottom of the card.

The great thing about this is that even though you get a 3D effect with the tree because of the paper folding, it lays flat and will go into an envelope for mailing. When taken out of the envelope it fluffs itself back out to be 3D again.





That card is so easy to do and instructions can be found on the Internet.

I will post the ornament in a couple of days.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! ! !

Brenda

Halloween Candy Jar/Luminaries

It appears that I have really neglected my blog... and the truth is I have but not without good reason. There have been many changes in my life and all of them good ones but it keeps me from spending time doing the things that I love doing.

I have many projects to share with you.... most of them are Dies Direct Design Team things but those will have to wait a little while longer. Today I am sharing a project that I did for my CCD/PSR students.

Halloween is just around the corner so I am sharing the Jack-O-Lantern Candy Jars that I made for the kids. These jars are re-purposed glass pint jars that I buy Mayonnaise in. I don't throw them away because I am also a gardener and I reuse those jars to can my vegetables in but for this project I sacrificed a few of my jars to craft with (and I needed the round smooth jars not purchased canning jars.) If you don't have any of these pint jars any round glass jar will work as long as you have a lid to fit the jar.

Supplies that are needed to make this project are:

1) Clean round glass jars with lids (if you don't have lids for the pint or quart jars see #2)
2) Lids purchased from the canning section of your local department store
3) Dark brown or black spray paint for the lids
4) Orange tissue paper
5) Black cardstock or black vinyl
6) Modge Podge Glue from your local crafting or department store
7) Sponge applicator or paint brush
8) Cricut with the "Pumpkin Carving Cartridge" (or if you choose you may hand cut the faces)
9) Raffia or other Ribbon to finish off the piece.
10) OPTIONAL: and I didn't have them so I omitted this - Wine corks for a stem
11) Battery Operated Flameless Tea Light Candles

My finished jars have a brand new candle in the bottom and then are filled with candy for the kids. When the candy is gone which should take about a heartbeat to happen they have a Halloween decoration for their room or that they can give mom as a gift.





The possibilities for these are endless because they can be made into Frankenstein, a Mummy, Dracula, a Witch or countless other Halloween characters.

These don't have to be limited to giving to a child either, adults love them as well. I am going to make a few more and line my sidewalk with them for Halloween night to welcome my Trick Or Treaters.... I just hope they leave them so that I can use them for the years ahead and that they don't steal them. A chance I am willing to take.

Happy Scrappin' and Crafting!

Brenda

I Was Inspired!

Some times a die will lay on my scrap table begging me to use it. I have to be inspired and need the right project to use it on.

I love the Dies Direct "At The Beach" die but I did not have any pictures that were water or beach themed. I can't tell you the last time that I went to a beach.

A friend of mine is always using the term "Is it beer thirty yet?" Which always makes me laugh. She does that when she is tired of being at work and is ready for home. Well I am always telling her "it's five o'clock somewhere! One day we had the exchanged and a little light bulb went off and I could not get home fast enough to see if these dies would work for this idea and low and behold they did.

So I am sharing with you the "It's Five O''clock Somewhere" Clock!

I used the following dies: G42 Grunge Ovals, C143 At The Beach, FS109 Optimistic 3/4 Font, FS107 Optimistic 1/2 Font.



This was a fun and easy project to do and I had to laugh when I got it done because of the way the project came to be. (And how my daughter tried to take this and keep it for herself!)

Sometimes you just have to let loose and have a conversation with a friend in order to be inspired.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

More Little Gifts

My husband's office decided that it was time to show everyone in the office how much they are appreciated, because let's face it, without the office help the receivables, pay outs, pay checks, and tax forms would never get completed.

Each of the techs were asked to bring in one small gift for an office girl and they would put all of the gifts in a hat and let the girls blindly chose a gift. These gifts should not be expensive, just a little something to tell them "Thank You" for a job well done.

I was stumped at first but then told my husband that I would make an old stand by. He agreed and I made 5 of these (because Jr. Legal Pads come in packages of 5.) He took one to work and then I have extras for other little gifts.

These are nothing more than a folder made from cardstock with a Jr. Legal Pad adhered to the inside and on the opposite side of the fold a triangle to form a pocket for business cards or receipts.

To decorate the front of the folder and the inside pocket I used the Dies Direct Daisy Chain Border Die. This die can be used single (as on the pocket) or doubled as on the front of the folder.





These make wonderful teacher gifts as well.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Crossword Puzzle Time

Dies Direct out did themselves with the Lattice 1 Die!

I love this die and it just reminded me of the small blocks on a crossword puzzle or the spots on a Scrabble Game!

I decided while I was making Birthday Cards to see if their smallest font, the Micro Mini Font, would fit inside these blocks... and they do! That made the wheels turn a little bit and then I wanted to figure out which sentiment to use. It didn't take long to find out where to place the letters and then I needed some small hearts and their Mini Book provided the perfect sized hearts!

This was a lot of fun to make and could be made into any sentiment for any occasion.



You are only limited by the number of squares and what you want to say!

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Looking At Things A Little Differently

I can't leave things alone and when I get a new die I want it to be able to be used in many ways or for something other than what it was intended for. It makes the die more "valuable" to me.

When I looked at the Large Window Grid from Dies Direct I saw a Tic Tac Toe Board! I wanted to play! So I did...... with just a few snips of the scissors not only did I make a travel Tic Tac Toe Board for my nephew too play with in the car. I also made this card. X's and O's scream love and I don't need a reason to tell someone that I love them. So when I gave him the Tic Tac Toe Game I made a card to go with it.

I didn't take a picture of the game but it is all magnetic so that the pieces wont' get lost and small tin make not only a great back for the game but also a great storage container.

I used: Large Window Grid (FRM 113), Optimistic 3/4", and Optimistic 1/2" Fonts.

The front of the card:



And then the inside of the card:



Have a little fun with symbols and find a new use for some of those dies.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Happy Birthday Card

Seems like every time I turn around I need a Birthday Card so I am trying to make a few to have on hand. It seems like everyone looks forward to the handmade cards these days.

For today's card I used the Dies Direct Large Window Grid. This die is an A2 size and is perfect for a card front. I used a pair of scissors and with just a couple of snips had a place for my sentiment (and that sentiment could have been anything!) I completed the card with purchased flowers sprayed with Glimmer Mist and half pearls for the center of each. (Easy as pie and faster to make!)



Whip up a few cards in advance and use what you have on hand.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Summer Is Here - But My Mind Says Spring

I am longing for the weather that we had in April and May. I love that time of year when it is cooler outside and the Spring flowers are blooming. Since I am in that frame of mind I am also scrapping that way as well.

I am sharing a card today that once again uses some of the Dies Direct new dies. (I would use some QuicKutz but there aren't any new ones to use!)

For this card I used: Lattice2 (frm115,) 2x3 Pretty Petal (A166,) and Bird on a Branch (A168.) The die cut "Spring Has Sprung" is done with a computer program that I own called Make The Cut that works with my Cricut Machine and that is my own handwriting.



This card could be made with any sentiment on the front... from "Happy Birthday" to "Thinking Of You." I have a bunch of Boss Kut Dies and even a few of the QuicKutz Sentiments Dies that would would be perfect.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

A Little Late - But Better Late Than Never

I ended up making a second Father's Day Card (the day before Father's Day) because each of my kids needed a card and neither had the time to make them.

Previously I posted one of the cards and just to show you what I did. The die I used on the front of this card is a custom die from The Scrapping Cottage. All of their "Cottage Cutz" are manufactured by Dies Direct. That is what Dies Direct really excels at! (The owner of Dies Direct used to make all of the QuicKutz and Spellbinder dies before they took their business over seas.)

The die that I used is the Bait Shop Die. This is 2 - 4x4 dies and there are lots of little pieces to this but a with a little patience and time it makes a beautiful piece. I love this. I used an exclusive QuicKutz die (the scalloped A2 Rectangle - available at Archiver's) to back the shack. Of course I also used some ink to distress the piece.



For the inside of this card I used the Karen Foster "Giddy" Font. (These small dies work in not only the little Karen Foster Tool (which I do not own,) but also in the Big Shot, Epic 6, and Boss Kut machines.



While I was making the card I made a second Bait Shop to use later on the Father's Day Lay Out or on one of his fishing lay outs.

So while you are making a card for that special someone, think ahead and make two of a die (especially when there are lots of little bitty pieces) for future use.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

In "Baby Mode"

So many friends and family are announcing new arrivals so that puts me in "baby mode"

A little gift here and a little gift there. So I made several of these 3D baby frames to have on hand. The frame is a dollar store frame that I have emptied and painted with white and then sponged with shiny acrylic dry paint. I then used some of my Dies Direct dies to make a 3D picture that the parents can either hang on the wall or easel on a table or dresser. All of the items in the frame are pop dotted so that they stand out.

I used the following dies: Grunge Series (G42) Oval Frames, Rocking Horse (C108), and Grunge Frame Series (G40).

I also used a little bit of Tim Holtz distressing ink and a white gel pen.





Like I said I made several of these in various colors so that it could be used for either a boy or a girl. I am only showing you one example.

My challenge today is that you pull out some of those dies (or order some new ones) and make a few gifts ahead of time.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda