Filled With Love - Alternate Project - Love Ya!

Love to Love Ya Baby! - Valentines Day Cards

And HAPPY FRIDAY to you!!!
Its been a wild week for me! Not really physically - an at home kind of week - but emotionally and mentally. Lots of learning, planning, listening, dreaming, discussing. January is just that kind of month. I am so ready to veg out and enjoy this weekends Big Commercials!! LoL OK, ok. Commercials, and the great food and friends!! Hah - maybe even some football.

Today's projects are made with the awesome January Paper Pumpkin Kit, Filled With Love. Beautiful colors, gold accents, 24 great little treat bags, and an awesome stamp set - what's not to love about this months kit!! If you missed out on your creative escape, go HERE and JOIN TODAY! Don't wait - next months kit will be out before you know it!!

Today I used some pieces from the kit to make Valentine's Day cards. The kit this month had treat bags, but the stamp set works perfectly for some sweet Valentines, or general 'love' themes. I used 3 colors for my card bases, Blushing Bride and Real Red which match the color scheme, but also Strawberry Slush. I really appreciate the Cut and Ready Card Bases when I want to put together a quick card. I always find it helps to have one color already decided for me in the creation process! But really, having a nicely cut and scored base really makes starting easy. Linked to these at the bottom of the post, worth a click through!

For my first card, I cased a popular punch layout. Three columns of paper with a decorative punch - the Sweetheart Punch, in this case - offset at the bottom. This is a fun layout because it shows off your pretty paper so well. Its fairly easy, no tricky cuts or fiddly layers. The hardest part is lining up your punch, and honestly here's the tip:

Punch one, then insert that one AND the next back into the punch to see where to line up. It will punch through 'two' because one is already punched. Repeat with the last piece. Works for me every time.

How to use up all those long strips of rhinestones! Aha!!

The fold-over topper cardstock from the kit is perfect for this layout! Its already cut to the right width - 1.5" - and its really pretty paper!! I love the shimmer of the gold. For this card I also used my Blendabilities and painted up some pretty bling to coordinate. The "You have my Heart" stamp lends itself well to my heart card.

This card is pretty as is, or could be stepped up

The second card is really a sparkling, clean and simple card. Gold 1/8" ribbon, some of the pink and gold bakers twine from the kit, and a little gold embellished heart stamped in red. This is the poster card for a quick card. I know, very elementary, but a wide open space on a card holds a lot of love. :-D That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Trash To Treasure - upcycle those leftover bits!

The last card I have to share uses what many consider to be the 'trash' of the kit: the paper that held the die cut hearts. If you look through my Paper Pumpkin Pinterest Board, you'll see that tons of great alternate projects use those 'trash bits' to make some crazy cool cards and projects! Don't toss ANYTHING till you check out the alternate projects!! ((Tip #2, if you're counting!))

I trimmed the die cut cardstock to fit my card, and slid a piece of Glimmer Paper in gold behind it against the Strawberry Slush. I had a few cards made already using the gold with the heart punch, so I grabbed one of those outlines and trimmed it up to accent the sentiment. Which would have been more impressive if I'd stamped it in black or red, but I wanted to be all "GOLD" and used my Gold Encore ink pad. Totally forgot that the gold doesn't show up very well using delicate stamps. That gold ink pad is for big bold stamps, where the color just lays down all shimmery... On this card, Meh! Next one will be better! In person, you can read the sentiment just fine, but it just doesn't photograph very well or pop as much as it could have with a darker ink. ((ahnnnd, Tip #3! #yourewelcome))

Making more than the provided Paper Pumpkin project.
Just one more way to have fun with your kit!!

Paper Pumpkin kits will ship out after the 10th, 

JOIN TODAY and get in on these fun 

boxes o' crafts delivered right to your door!! 

Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy your weekend, and make time to make stuff!!
Happy Crafting!
-Angie

Click any image below to find out more, and to purchase, 

any of the products used in today's projects.

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Filled With Love - Alternate Project - Love Notes

Alternate Project Idea - January 2015 Paper Pumpkin Kit

I'm really just smitten with this months Paper Pumpkin kit!!
If you aren't a member and haven't seen this months kit, check out this video that shows the Filled With Love kit! Darling!!

Today I'm sharing some alternate projects for the January kit. I think the stamps will be perfect for Valentines treats or for love notes to your sweethearts. I have 3 little sweethearts - I can just see tucking some notes in lunches or their back packs! You could also use these for gift cards for weddings or anniversaries, or just sweet nothings for your special someone... Can't go wrong with Love!

Economical idea: Cut the Note Cards in HALF and the envelopes too!

If you are a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I totally recommend ordering a pack of note cards to have on hand. They will work great with extra supplies, or just the stamps, in most kits! Once you've gotten a couple months worth, you'll be able to mix and match colors and stamp sets to make even more great cards! I've included them in the product links at the end of the post, check it out - you get 20 cards and envelopes in a pack!!

For sweet little gift enclosures, or lunch notes, or gift tags, I love that you can cut the note cards in half!! This doubles your fun, as it were! ;-) For the two cards above, I cut the note card in half, creating two top-fold notes, and I cut the envelope in half as well creating two pocket envelopes. You can just seal the edge with a piece of tape. I show the back side of the envelope above, but I did decorate both fronts. The cards are made with just the stamps from the kit!! Perfect for a little sweet treat, plate of cookies, or a seasonal thank you. You can really step these up by adding some bling, maybe ribbon or washi tape to the envelopes, or adding other elements from past Pumpkin kits. But for today, the basics are pretty beautiful! Sweet and simple. ((obviously too small to mail, but perfect for little love notes or gifts!))

Clean and Simple Love Note

So, you don't have time to make Valentines? BAM - this note card was done in UNDER 5 minutes!! It might even have been under 3 minutes, but the heart chain is a little tricky to line up. Its pretty sweet though, am I right? The envelope I stamped with the heart in the return address area, you enter your name here. Then next to the address I put the stamp that says "You have My Heart". See what I did there? 'You have my heart', then your name in the heart? ;-) I crack myself up. Ahem...

If you have extra supply pieces from the kit; or you order two kits to play around with (like I do); or you realize how cool the alternate projects are for a particular kit and order a Refill Kit ((Available exclusively to subscribers!!))... Then you can use them to make other projects!

Note Cards - small in size, but can still handle the big feelings! 

For these cards, I used the fold over bag toppers from the kit, cut lengthwise in half. On note cards this will give you a nice chunk of pretty paper!! And for every tag, you'll have a die-cut heart, so you can use those too! Or, when you run out, use the stamps! Don't forget to decorate your envelopes!

You can see the beautiful Decor Pennant / Gift Bag Tag I made HERE.
Friday, I will also be sharing some more alternate card ideas using additional products with the January Kit stamp set. Check back, or catch them on my Pinterest Board for Paper Pumpkin ideas from around the web!

Be sure to sign up for your own Paper Pumpkin subscription - the Prepaid 3 month subscription is on sale during Sale-A-Bration AND you'll get to pick a FREE Sale-A-Bration item too!! #winning 
Don't miss out! Take a look at the options here, and sign up today!

Happy Crafting!
 -Angie

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Filled With Love - Alternate Project - Love Pennant

I 'love' this months Paper Pumpkin Kit! It has everything you need (but for the candy or treats) to make 24 little sparkly treat bags!! A sweet gift for your kids class, neighbors, friends or coworkers. With little gold clips, and pretty pink and gold bakers twine, and... well - lots of great stuff!!

If you haven't joined Paper Pumpkin, now is a great time to try (or GIFT) a 3 month subscription! 

Its on sale, AND there are more holidays coming up -- you CAN make the projects in these kits!! 

Find out more HERE. #yourewelcome

Love Pennant to decorate your Love Nest 

Today's project is a little love pennant. It can hang on a door knob, on the edge of a frame, or from a hook by your door so you can see it sparkle every time you head out or come home. I added a paper heart to the back for a little love note for Mr Man, and I plan to add it to his Valentines Day gift. *awwwww*

Alternate Paper Pumpkin Project - Use the stamps and one set of treat toppers.

I used a pennant from the Simply Created Build a Banner set, they're canvas with grommets and already to decorate. I stamped two of the Daydream Medallions in the center, using Real Red and Blushing Bride. Around the edge of the pennant I stamped the heart outline in red, and very small heart in pink, using the stamps from the January Paper Pumpkin kit.

Love Note space created on the back of the pennant.

The note space I added to the back will have a little sweet note to Mr. Man, but you could use this as a gift tag on a pretty bag or add notes to your loved ones, maybe a memory of your favorite Valentine's Day. This note also gives a little strength to the canvas banner, and it will hang perfectly flat on its own. When you use them in banners, they hang fairly flat on the long cords, but as a singleton they tend to curl in or out depending on how your thread them. I cut hearts using the Hearts Collection Framelits, some Blushing Bride Cardstock, and the white is actually the cardboard backing from my Designer Series Paper sets. I save it because its easy to cut, but still sturdy, with framelits.

Glittery gold accents, and red sparkle, with pink and cream - classic Valentine colors!! 

For the front of the pennant I also cut out a heart from Gold and Blushing Bride to add color and oomph to the gold outline heart from the kit. I used one of the Paper Pumpkin stamps for the center, and then in the bottom right I added another stamp - Hugs, Kisses & Valentine Wishes. I used two of the kits banners, the hearts and the gold and pink diagonal prints. I cut both using my 1 3/4 Circle punch. I added to that a hand trimmed Blushing Bride Pink banner, and one of the little red banners from the kit. To make this stack of banners a little more stable, I used the handheld stapler to hold them all together - its hidden behind the heart! The Gold clip actually holds the top heart on, but I stuck the other hearts, string, and banner bunch on with the Jumbo Sticky Rounds - these work REALLY well with the canvas banner material and give more area to stick than just Sticky Tape.

Love is in the details.

For the ribbon hanger, I stamped some of the kit stamps onto our Natural Ribbon, and tied it with some pieces of the kit's pink twine and some gold ribbon. I used my Blendabilities to color a bunch of rhinestones to match the red theme and sprinkled them liberally over the front.

I think This will make an excellent decoration - once I steal it back from Mr. Man! LoL But really, very pretty in person ((If I do say so myself!!)), you should try it!!

Add a little Love to your Life

Sign Up for Paper Pumpkin today - February's kits will ship out after the 10th, 

and if you're not on the list you will MISS OUT!! 

Exclusive and Limited Quantities of these kits are available only to members. 

Find out more Here and Join today!

Happy Crafting!
-Angie
Projects used today are shown below.
Click on any image to view more information, or to purchase your own, in my online store:

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Hey, Typeset Valentine!

Typeset Specialty Designer Paper with Hey, Valentine Stamp Set

Example A and B, reasons why I should not be allowed to Color.
But, if you ignore that, I think you'll like the layout and the accents on these cards!!

The little pirate dude in the Hey, Valentine set (or in this case, the Amor Mio, translated stamp set) made me want to get out my pirate map, so I pulled some of the map print from the Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper. There are 4 sheets of this print in the Typeset pack, and cut to 4x4 instead of 4x5.25 like I did, you could get 32 pieces out of the pack. It would make an awesome invitation for a Pirate party or Halloween party! I'll have to give that a try...

So, you may be wondering why I have the translated stamp set. My older daughter is in a Spanish Immersion program, and she speaks Spanish. I love that Stampin' Up! offers stamp sets in Spanish, French, and German! These sets really open up a great opportunity to communicate with family and friends.

Back to the cards. Which no one apparently liked in my Instagram/Facebook poll... LOL
Fine. The coloring IS pretty bad. Have your laugh, and look at the good bones of the card:

Map, Map-ish roll, Distressed Edges. Good Start.
Coloring. All Bad.

The So Saffron base was supposed to set off the saffron color used to accent the gold. I distressed the edges of the Very Vanilla piece, and ran the edges of it through my Crumb Cake stamp pad to give a little definition, then I added the roll to the corner for a old-map kind of feel. I added some gold and pearls to distract you from the coloring. Did it work? :-D

Tiny Pearls fit the necklace perfectly!
With some Gold Sequin Trim and a sliver of Gold Glimmer Paper,
its so cute!! If only I had stopped there...

I will definitely try this card again. I'm thinking just black or espresso ink, with alot more distressing, maybe some crumpling... Something BESIDES coloring, unless I can get into some kind of coloring rehabilitation class. Can you tell I am disappointed in my (lack of) coloring abilities?

Ok, here is the other card. A little different, less bling, slightly better coloring.

Less is more. 

The pennant looked good, I think! With more distressing it could have more impact. Not terrible, one I will be trying again.

Do you build off your cardmaking #fails? Or do they go straight to the 'Circular File'?
Happy Crafting!
-Angie

There is a whole section of Translated Stamps on the Stampin' Up! Store, 

you can see the category HERE. 

The Supplies I used today are shown below, to find out more info 

please just click on any image and you can view it in my online store.

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Countless Sayings Masculine Valentine

Masculine Valentine 

You & Me. Forever.
"Short, sweet, says it all." the man in your life comments! LOL

But really. This chevron pattern just makes me think 'manly'. Looks kind of like diamond-plate, which makes me think of my Love's toolbox, and the garage, aka "his space". I think you could give this to your Mr. Man and he'd be OK with displaying it proudly. In the garage.

I had an extra chevron embossed Brown Sugar card front, and I looked in my handy dandy Color Coach to find a color that would stand out nicely against it. Brown Sugar is one of those colors that really goes well with almost everything, but one of the suggestions was Cherry Cobbler! Perfect for a luvvvv card. So I got out my heart punch and made a nice heart. then I couldn't decide how to set it off on the card base. I had wanted to use Gorgeous Grunge and CASE a card I liked, but the chevron base really didn't work with that. Plan B. I stamped the Forever stamp from the Countless Sayings 2 polymer set, and while I was putting it back I saw the You & Me stamps, and woo-hoo!! Card layout decided. Gah, that's always the longest part for me. Color and layout.

I laid out the stamps on my D clear block and stamped them in Cherry Cobbler on Very Vanilla. I trimmed the vanilla out to roughly the same size as my block. I added the cut out heart scrap because it framed the You and added more emphasis there, balancing out the Forever heart by Me. ;-) Don't want it to be all about ME...

Happy Crafting!
-Angie
You can make this card with the supplies below, click on any image to see more info in my Stampin' Up! Online Store:

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Work of Art Confetti Heart Valentine

Viewers choice from Instagram and Pinterest was... This one!
I've seen the heart shape made with the {Stamp set of the Year, IMO} Work of Art set on Pinterest quite a bit, you can make ALL Kinds of shapes with this set!! This is definitely one stamp set you will want to have. So fun!!

Today I share the heart shape. ;-) The SUPER EASY heart shape. A super easy card, actually.

I used a Rose Red A2 card base, and Pink Pirouette layers. I punched a red piece with the Confetti Hearts Punch and layered it over a pink slice. On another pink piece I made the heart shape from 3 of the stamps in the set. The swoosh, the scribble, and the block-ish one. Yes. Those ones. You'll know what I mean when you look at the set:

See? The heart is stamped in Rose Red - but I stamped off before putting it on the pink! Its a really dark color stamped directly. You just angle two swooshes into a V, and then add the scribble twice to the top, and in the center I stamped the block-ish one in Blushing Bride. I added the heart and the You stamped in Rose Red, darker because I did NOT stamp off!

Voila! Easy and, I think, quite pretty!
Thanks for playing, tomorrow I'll do the runner up card! ;-)
Happy Crafting!
-Angie

You can get the supplies for this card below, just click on any image and you'll view it in my online store. 

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Masculine Valentines Stacked with Love

Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack - Masculine Card Ideas

The new paper stack, Stacked With Love, in the Occasions 2015 Catalog is perfect for Valentines Day! And the modern black and white patterns will carry you through the year too! Nice thing about Double-sided paper!

Today I used it to make some masculine Valentine's Day cards. I say masculine, because they are not all frilly and white and pink, but they could be used for the ladies as well! They are striking in the black and white with a pop of red. If the layout is familiar, I cased my Masculine birthday card HERE. Once you get the measurements, and remember to cut long strips in stead of individual tags, it goes pretty quick!! Still, a little bit involved, if you're just looking for a quick card this is not it! #justsayin

Varying the size of the pennants would work better on larger cards.
On this A2, they were a leeeetle large.

On the first card, I forgot to check my measurements and cut the pennants, all 10, into 0.75" wide by 1"-2" length. It made for a very large accent piece over the Woodgrain embossed Basic Grey panel. I used Teeny Tiny Greetings stamp, which certainly lives up to its name on this banner. Ummmmm. Next!!

Back to the layout this time. Measure twice, Cut once, right?

Ok. This is more like it!! The pennants are only 0.5" wide, for a total width of 2.5" - much more manageable on an A2 card! I cut the STRIPS this time, longest in the center is 3", then two at 2.75". and then the last two at 2.5". To assemble them, I used a scrap of card stock with a strip of snail adhesive, cut it to 0.5" x 2.5", and carefully lined up my strips over it. The banner is 0.75" x 3" and I added a button instead of a brad. The faux thread is a sliver of paper through the button holes. I used the Woodgrain Embossing folder again, and I think this card came out much better. What do you think?

I still had lots of paper to use from the pages from the Stacked with Love pack, so I decided to try two more cards.

The Chevron Embossing folder kind of
looks like that metal Diamond Plating, very manly! LoL

I used the Chevron Textured Embossing Folder on Basic Grey cardstock, I like the pattern against the Basic Black card base. I changed the order of the strips to give more of a black and white emphasis, with only small amounts of red in the pennants. The bolder sentiment - from You Plus Me stamp set - really stands out on this card.

Birthday Themed, the colors still work for more of a manly look.

For the last card I went with the Zig Zag Embossing Folder, over the Basic Black base again. I changed the layout to landscape, and added a Clothespin covered with a bit of the Stacked with Love paper. Using just the Non-Valentine themed paper (I do like the arrows though, and had them point down to the sentiment) I went with the black and white with red theme. I used the sentiments from Crazy About You stamp set - such a great size for the words!

I still love this layout. I'll have to try it with some softer papers, and see how a more feminine take on it comes out.

Happy Monday!! I hope you'll partake in the spirit of the Martin Luther King holiday, and volunteer in your community, or at the very least, do some small acts of kindness for others today. :-) Together we can make a difference, just as working together Dr. King and his followers made a difference. We may not change the world as they did, but even small acts have ripples into eternity.

Happy Crafting!
-Angie 

The products used today are shown below, 

click on any image for more information in my Online Stampin' Up! store. 

Secure shopping and direct shipping are available 24/7 from my site.

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My Digital Valentine - Click and Print Custom Sweetness

Digital Downloads For Valentines Day

Stampin' Up! has offered Digital Downloads for a few years now, and the sweetness gets better and better each year! These downloads were created to be used in our digital software program, My Digital Studio. With MDS you can get almost all of our papers, embellishments, Project Life collections, and stamp sets (plus quite a few Digital-exclusives) in digital format to make your own creations - we even offer professional printing services. This is a great option for creating multiple family gifts like Calendars and Memory Books of special occasions, but you can also create cards, gift tags, and party decor!

There is a whole My Digital Studio Blog / Community / Video & Class site that can help if you'd like to get into it. If you own an eCutter its really awesome to be able to get some of your favorite stamps in SVG format! Plus, they do have some Digital exclusives. Fun stuff! This is a link to how you can use your Silhouette to cut Stampin' Up! SVG files - Stampin' Up! Tutorial: How to Print and Cut...

If you'd like to explore more of the options, you can visit the Digital Download section of the store and see all the different downloads available!! **Please note, some of the older downloads are NOT in SVG format and will NOT work with your eCutter, so be sure to read the description to note if it is an SVG file.**

I'd love to share a few of my favorites - these are the super easy one, naturally! ;-) Most you can just print at home and run with!!

Count Down the Love digital download by Stampin' Up!

The first, to celebrate my Countdown week, is the Countdown the Love Template!!
This cute set has notes and activities you can put in the 14 envelope templates to share with your sweetlings. From "Draw a happy picture for someone", to "Reasons I Love You" cards, its a really fun set! It includes nine 8.5" 11" pages to print, fill out or fold, and use for your countdown. Then there is ALSO a 56-piece SVG stamp brush set, 5 Designer Papers, and 6 embellishments you can use to create party invitations, scrapbook pages, or whatever you can dream up! You can have alot of fun with this set, year after year.

Be Mine Frameable by Stampin' Up! 

Then there is this Be Mine Frameable Designer Template. Love!! You just Print, Frame, and Gift! "...for the quickest Valentine yet!" Sweet music to my ears!! 33 of the images in the 8.5 x 11" print are also included as stamp brushes, so you can customize colors and use the pieces in other creations. A great deal at only $1.95!! All Digital downloads are immediately available after purchasing, so this is perfect for last minute gifts or decor.

Valentine Love Ensemble by Stampin' UP!

 The last one I'll share is perfect for those class parties or to decorate your home. The Valentine Love Ensemble has six easily printable 8.5 x 11" decor pieces, and a bunch of other element pieces to create your own mini-banner, treat toppers, name cards, valentines, and more! A good versatile set to get!

These products are shown below, just click on the image to view it in my Online Stampin' Up! Store.

To view the entire Digital Download section of my online store, CLICK HERE. 

Purchase any of these digital sets and you can download them immediately. They will work with most digital image software, but we also offer a FREE 30 Day Trial of My Digital Studio if you'd like to see how easy and capable this program is!

I hope you find these Digital pieces useful, sometimes its nice to be able to customize and print your own personalized and custom stuff, made beautiful with these Stampin' Up! elements.
Happy Crafting!
-Angie

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Twitterpated - Yes, its a real word!

My owls aren't nearly as grumpy as the owl in Bambi! 

Bambi. That's where you know it from. Disney's movie Bambi. The Owl, telling the young Bambi and Thumper why everyone is acting all lovey-dovey. Don't try and say you haven't seen Bambi... its from 1942 and still as cute as ever!
But the word is actually older than that, I won't bore you with my love of historical romance novels, but I can tell you its circa the late 1600's from the words "Twitter" meaning tremulous excitement, and "Flutterpated" frivolously excited... Ahem. Lots of excitement packed into that word. Today though, nobody uses such an old-timey word commonly. t its still cute! :-) Twitterpated. Defined as: "Excited or overcome by romantic feelings; Smitten. "

Anyhow, now that the vocabulary lesson is over, and I'm hoping you'll forget the mention of my reading habits, here are the cards that I was inspired to make. Ever since I saw this set, I pictured that old owl in Bambi! LoL

I'm not about to try making Bambi Punch art, but the Owl comes together quickly with the Owl Builder Punch! The card base is Soft Suede, the front embossed with the Hardwood Embossing Folder. I layered Crisp Cantaloupe on the suede, and a piece of the Gold Soiree Designer Series Paper over that. For the Owl body I punched Soft Suede, the vest is Pistachio Pudding, the eyes are So Saffron and Black. The heart is actually from the Confetti Heart Punch, I have a ton of that confetti! I die cut the Twitterpated, stamped in Garden Green, out with the Word Bubbles Framelits. I added some hearts, die cut in Calypso Coral and Craisp Cantaloupe, using the Hearts A-flutter and Hearts Collection framelits, and some little embossed hearts from the Fashionable Hearts Embosslit. The Big Shot is getting a work-out and earning its keep, this Valentine's season!

Going dotty! 

The second card has the same base, Soft Suede, but I didn't emboss it. I layered Pistachio Pudding, some Garden Green background DSP, and a piece of the Gold Soiree Specialty Designer Paper. I "taped" down the coral dotted piece with some of the Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape, and I used a piece of that for the "perch" the owl is sitting on. The owl is unched from the Brushed Gold Cardstock, though I really did not get a better photo of it. Its soft and pretty in person, trust me! I went with a dotted green vest, and pistachio green eyes, and to finish the card off I added some of the Fashionable Hearts Embosslits.

I have had this card on my mind, and I think it came out well. I might look up some Bambi punch art, but then again... might be too fussy for me! :-)

Linking up to the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge #114!

The supplies used in these projects are shown below, 

if you click on any image you will see more info in my Stampin' Up! Online Store. 

Happy Crafting!
-Angie

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Valentine Countdown - Muslin Bags with Tags

Mini Muslin Bags offer more room for special treats!

Yes, another one! There are just so many cute ideas for countdowns!
Today I want to share these Mini Muslin Bags - They're 4" x 5.5" and would be big enough for a small gift or for gift cards or (a generous helping of) treats!

For the tags I used the Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack, Stacked with Love Washi Tape, and the Project Life by Stampin' Up! Day to Day stamp set.

The days are marked with a little sequin.

This first bag I used one of the extra hearts I had die cut for the Hershey Kiss Countdown, And I added some scrap paper with tiny hearts, a button from the Sale-A-Bration Best Year Ever Accessory Pack, some Silver Glimmer Paper, Washi Tape, and attached it to the bag with a Mini Wooden Clothespin. Sweetly simple, I think.

Confetti Heart Punch is so fun! 

 This bag, I made Pennants from some scraps and attached them to the strip of Coral punched with the Confetti Hearts Punch. I love the bright colors of this Paper Stack: not your traditional red and pink, but with elements of those, and striking accents of black.

Rolled Paper Roses, a great accent for Valentines Day! 

For this bag, I used the papers to create a really oversize tag. This might be better on a gift bag, with a sentiment instead of a count down, but I like it none-the-less. Its the rolled roses. I love making them. Great accent for 3D items, and appropriate for Valentines. To make these its super simple ( you can use the Stampin' Up! Die :-) - you just need a square of paper, and you cut out a circle. Cut a spiral into the circle (perfection SO not necessary) all the way to the center of the circle. Then you start rolling from the outside of the circle in to the center. When you've rolled it - do it tight, it will loosen up - then fuss it into shape and glue it at the center or pop it onto a punched circle, directly onto your item, or onto the Sticky Circle Rounds (listed below).

I added at rhinestone to the center of each, and punched a heart through the top of the tag to attach it with the bag strings.

Mash Up! Its a scrap fest of Stacked With Love Papers! 

On this last bag I'll share, it really uses up my scraps. Seriously, small stuff is perfect to use up those leftover bits and still come out with something interesting! This mash up of scraps is a little different than my usual style, but I am please with how it came out! The color coordination of a Paper Stack makes random coordination easy! On this one I used another button, and some of the ribbon from the Sale-A-Bration Best Day Ever Accessory Pack.

Hope you're enjoying these countdowns, I had fun making them, and I know my kids will enjoy opening them!!
Happy Crafting!
-Angie

The items used in today's project are shown below. 

To view more information, or to purchase them in my online store, please click on any image.

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HOW TO : Valentine's Day Treat Boxes / Countdown

Celebrate the Love by using these little treat boxes to Count Down to Valentine's Day!

Another Countdown idea for you! Today its using these darling little treat boxes!! The boxes come premade, you just fold them and they're ready decorate - you'll love them! ;-)

Stampin' Up! Supplies for Valentines Countdown Boxes

I'm using these Stampin' Up! products today:
For more details or to purchase these, please see the links at the bottom of this post.

• Tiny Treat Boxes
• You Plus Me Stamp Set
• Project Life by Stampin' Up! Day to Day stamp set
• Stacked with Love Paper Stack
• Stacked with Love Washi Tape
• Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Calypso Coral Cardstock
• Heart Punch from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack
• Stampin' Dimensionals and Glue Dots

Tiny Treat Boxes make great Party Favors too!! 

For these boxes I'm CASE'ing the samples in the Occasions Catalog. (Copy And Share Everything - a great way to get really cute stuff by copying a design you like, or take the inspiration and add your own twist).

To Shop the Occasions Catalog Click HERE 

I started by decorating the boxes. These boxes are about 2" square and come in a pack of 25!! Great for Class Treats because you can make 50 or more with just one pack of the Stacked With Love paper stack and Washi Tape set! Fill them with candy or what-not. They are the perfect size for Party Favors, gifts for neighbors or coworker. They're pretty enough to decorate with too, fill up a mantle or shelf, or use as a centerpiece.

The You Plus Me stamp set is great for decorating for Valentines Day.
TIP: When Using Clear Stamps I like to line a straight edge up through my clear block when I adhere the stamp. I have a much better chance of stamping it straight if its at least squared up to the edges of my block!! I like to line up the block on my Stampin' Grid Paper, then add my stamp, lining it up with one of the lines I can see through my block.

TIP - Line up stamp on grid through the clear block

To get just the Be Mine part of this stamp, I'm going to ink it up with my Stampin' Write Marker in Real Red. TIP: when you are inking up a stamp with the marker, and you've got a larger area to cover, be sure you're using the sides of your brush tip so you don't damage the pen, and so you can speed through the coloring! For smaller areas or details, carefully use the tip.

Inking part of the stamp with my Stampin' Write Marker

Clear stamps make lining up images easier than traditional wood block stamps.

While I do love the ease of clear stamps - storage space, lining up images for stamping, etc. - I was frustrated with their 'clinginess' to the blocks. TIP: What I've found works best for me, is to warm the block up in my hand, and warm the stamp up in my other hand, for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. When they are both warm they seem to have better attraction. For larger stamps I like to also breathe onto the clear block, causing a little fogging of the block and providing a little moisture to aid the stickability. For smaller stamps, or stamps I will need to use for a while, maybe cleaning and changing colors, I add a little glue dot and stick the stamp to that on the block. Definite stickiness, but requires a little more cleaning, and care in removing your stamp. Not a big sacrifice for clear, sure stamping.

Decorated Treat Box - easy peasy!!

I added the washi tape and ended up adding some punched hearts instead of the stamped and fussy cut ones like the catalog used. If you have the old small heart punch, it works OK with the stamps in this set, but the current heart from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack has a little swoosh to it that doesn't match. If I want to do these for favors or class treats, I'm not going to stamp and hand-cut umpteen hearts. I'll punch and stick and be done with it! #lazystamper For comparison - see the image below:

Punched Cardstock - Stamped and Punched - Stamped and Fussy Cut

Once you have your boxes decorated, you can start filling them for gifting!
If you'd like to use them for a Countdown to Valentines Day, here is an easy way to number them for the countdown:

Using the Project Life by Stampin' Up! Day to Day stamp set, I added a February tag, and then tags for each day. Stapled to a strip of cardstock, a few punched hearts, and Voila!! A Special Countdown! Simple! This set is pretty darn useful outside of Project Life! ;-) Use it to make anniversary / shower / wedding / party favors with a special date, save the date cards for a wedding or other special event, use it in your planner or Filofax... Useful! #JustSayin ;-)

The Stampin' Up! items used for this project are shown below, 

Click on any image to view more info 

 or to purchase them in my online store. 

February will be here before you know it - start your countdowns now!!
Happy Crafting!
-Angie

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