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

Take A Message Please

I have seen these little message centers all over the Internet and I love them. I have seen them done as calendars, with a Post-It Notepad, and also accented with pictures. I've always wanted to do one but never had the die that screamed "message" until Dies Direct came out with a new die called "Message In A Bottle."

That was all it took for me to get out that dollar store acrylic frame and get to work.

I cut a piece of cardstock the size of the frame, decided where the note pad should go, and then the die came to life. I also used the 3/4" Optimistic Font. A pen that can be taken apart so that a small cylinder of cardstock can be inserted so that the pen matches the scene pulls it all together. Now the secret to this is that the artwork goes in the frame and the note pad goes on top. I used a Crop-A-Dile to punch a hole in the back of the frame to attach the pen.








These are cute gifts to welcome new neighbors, for teachers, bosses, or secretaries OR you don't have to have a reason make it a "just because" gift. While you are making someone else one make yourself one as well and put it by the phone so the teens have no reason to say they forgot to take a message.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Father's Day and Fishermen

There are two things that my family loves, a celebration and my men love to go fishing. This next weekend they will have a little of both. It is Father's day on Sunday, June 20th. I can't believe that the year is half over already.

Father's Day, at my house, always means a BBQ and that the men will get up at the crack of dawn and go to their favorite fishing hole. When the men get home we will fire up the grill and country ribs will go down, they will drink a couple of cold ones and gifts will be given.

I have busy making the cards, which is what I want to share with you today.

I took a different approach to my cards this year and incorporated the fishing theme into them. Dies Direct had the perfect embossing plates for this. These are new plates and they work flawlessly. After embossing the image from the plate I grabbed a grunge plate and tore the edges and then inked the edges and the image for some distressing effects. I layered the embossed cardstock on a printed fish paper and then that onto a card blank. I left the inside blank so that the kids could write their dad a personal note. A gift card to Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop complete the gift!



Throw a themed Father's Day for the big daddy in your life.

Happy Scrappin ! ! !

Brenda