Drawstring Gift Bags

Another SUPER simple sewing project. These are Drawstring Gift Bags. I found a great picture tutorial for how to make these on one of my new favorite blogs, Prudent Baby. Click here to see the tutorial. In their version they are making coloring books and these bags so just scroll to the bottom.

Once finished with mine, I thought they would make perfect Stampin Kit holders. They are a simple and nice gift to give to customers. But you could use them for just about anything. And once you know how they are made, you can play with the dimensions to make all kind of other fun shaped Drawstring bags.

I also though that mine could use a little bit of flare too so I finished mine with a fabric flower. I used the same technique as I did on the fabric flowers posted a few weeks ago.

But just in case my recipient doesn't want the flower on the bag or would like to put the flower elsewhere I made it broach style so it can be removed.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great Saturday!

Teacher Appreciation, Part 2 & Some Royal Wedding Fun!

First, here is part two of my Teacher Appreciation gifts. These cute little pencils have been around for a while and I decided to case them myself. They will fit perfectly with our little books shared yesterday. Inside mine are a pack of Rollos. Yummy!

Okay, now I have to say happy Royal Wedding day!! Isn't it exciting? Now how many of you got up at 4AM just to see it?? Anyone? I am sure I will be watching the coverage all day. Ava and Sammie are excited too. Anything with a Princess and a wedding and they are thrilled. I keep on telling them, "We are getting a new Princess!" And Brandon politely reminds me that "WE are not British."......bygones.

So, when I came across these adorable kids crafts on the Disney site I had to share. Click here to see all the Royal fun to be had with your little ones today. I especially love the Princess Kate paper dolls. You can dress her up in each of the Disney Princess Dresses. Cute, huh?

Now go watch at the excitement. I know I will!

For Teacher, Part 1

Okay, here is the start of my Teacher Appreciation gifts. These were as far as I got yesterday. I got inspiration for these from some cute little books made with our Matchbox Die. Very cute. But I wanted mine to be a little bigger so that I could match them with the second project I am going to make. So I had to come up with measurements of my own. Its easy to make a box of any size, really. Just figure the size you want the box to be and add two inches to the width and length (that will make your box bottom, then just add 1/8 to both sides to make the top) But I didn't actually make a top for my box, just a book spine to wrap around the bottom. Make sense?? I will give you my exact measurements at the bottom of this post.

So here is a close up of the book open. I stamped a thank you greeting on the inside of the lid. And no, I'm wont give them our left over Easter candy. I'll get some fresh stuff, but this was all I had on hand and I wanted you to get a visual. But the idea is to fill it with candy. Or if you are feeling really generous, which you should be for your teachers, maybe a gift card too.

So here they are all stacked up and ready to be filled. I know its hard to see in these pictures but I also used a soft colored pen (Crumb Cake) to free-hand some of the pages in on the box. Don't worry about making it perfect. It just adds to the look.

Okay, here are my measurements. But feel free to recreate your own to whatever size you need.

Whisper White- 6 3/4" X 5 1/2"

Score @ 1" on all four sides
Snip tabs and fold into a box using sticky strip

Real Red- 5" X 8 1/2"

Score @ 3 3/4" & 4 3/4

Wrap around box bottom and secure with Tombo

Finish by embellishing with stamps;)

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Stampin Dates to Think About

Next week could potentially be a very busy stampin week. We have a few fun dates to think about. Now is the time to do your shopping and Stampin Up can help with every occasion.
First, this is a big one. For any of you that have little ones in school, the first week of May is Teacher Appreciation week. Yes, a week, to spoil those super important teachers. So make them something special and home-made to let them know you care. That is my project today. I will show you what I am giving out in the next few days. Or consider giving them a stamp set of their own just like the perfect Teachers Pet Stamp Set. And don't forget just about any of our Alphabet stamp sets or these perfect digital sets as well: School Days and School Days II

Anyone having a Cinco de Mayo party? If so, can I come, please!!! Margaritas, chips and salsa?? Yes, please. Don't forget about our Celebrando Creatividad Catalog. There are some great sets that are exclusive to this catalog. Check out these fun sets: Cinco De Mayo set , Cumpleaños set , Estás Invitado and more.

And of course, we wont forget about Mom. But also don't forget about our great Mom sets. You know I love this Mother of Mine ala carte stamp but remember it is also available in Digital too as well as these other great Mom stamps sets: Handpicked for Mom, Messages for Mom, and more!


Now, time to get busy! Remember you can email your order directly to me or shop online anytime 24/7 by going to my SU store. Happy Stampin!

Another Somethin' for Mom

A couple more mom inspired creations coming your way. You better get ready. That really special day is just around the corner. May 8th is Mother's Day. This card I was really happy with how it came out. Its a different shape (fits into our Med Open Ended Envelope), fun bright colors and it uses my absolute favorite stamp: The Mother of Mine ala cart stamp.

This was one of the cards we made at our Mother's Day class a few weeks ago. I think the butterfly is the perfect accent on this card. You know I love butterflies so I think butterflies make everything perfect. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

Monogrammed Note Set & Tote

Join me for this weeks class:
Monogrammed Note Card Set with Tote
Thursday, April 28th
Anytime after 6:30PM (work at your own pace)
Cost $5, $10 minimum order


Come and make a simple set of personalized note cards that can be used for any occasion along with a tote to keep your cards organized and protected.

Thank you to Jenny Young for this sweet award.

Happy Day!!

To those of you out there that are Christians, He is Risen! Happy day, happy day! And to everyone Happy Easter. I hope you have a fun family filled day ahead of you. I know we do and we are super excited. But I thought I would share a couple of MDS pages with you too. The first one is us getting ready for today with some fun egg decorating. To tell you the truth, I was a bit terrified of this but the girls did great. I may be turning them into little clones of myself but they don't like mess either. But they had a blast and kept asking if we could do it again.

And here we are at the Mall with E.B. himself. Sam tried to act tough but was a little scared, thus the no smile. But Ava was full of love. I even heard her ask him if she could give him a kiss. I love it, so magical, this age.

Now go, grab all those eggs before the dog gets them or the sun turns them to mush. Happy Easter!!

Smooched Eggs

Letting the girls dye Easter eggs was fun enough and they came out bright and beautiful. But you know me, I just cant let anything be. I wanted to have fun too. So while browsing one of my favorite kid craft sites, I came across fun different ways to decorate your eggs. This one I really liked......'cause it was easy and I had the supplies on hand.

Well, they didn't really say to use Smooch Spritz. They said to use paint, but this works too. Or if you don't have the Spritz, try a re-inker too. Now my Smooch never had a very controlled spray nozzle so I was always a bit nervous to use it directly out of the bottle so here is what I do: Get one of your empty embellishment containers (we all have a ton of these) and an old tooth brush ( I just used Brandon's. He wont know. I rinsed it good an put it back. Same as I do when I'm cleaning bathrooms.....kidding. just kidding.)

Then just go to town. Its a mess but its really fun. And just look how they turn out...........

Pretty, right? Well, I think so. Looks like real Robbin eggs, huh? At least the blue ones.

Happy Earth Day!

Since it's Earth Day I wanted to share a little green tip with you. This tip is one that I shared at our Imprints meeting a few weeks ago. While looking for poems on Splitcoast I came across this great idea for when we, demonstrators, send out cards. Instead of signing the inside of the card, sign a post-it note instead. I found this great little poem to attach to the inside. Now, of course this may not be appropriate for every circumstance, maybe not for a sympathy card. But if it is a thank you or a birthday, why not.

All I did to get the poem printed on the post-it notes is print the poem repeatedly on a word document, print it out, lay post-it notes over the top of the poems then feed the paper back through the printer again.

Now this is why I like this idea:

1. It's green, of course! It gets your card one more use before the recipient sends it to the recycle bin.

2. It's kinda like giving a gift. You are not just saying "Happy Birthday" or "Thank You" but you are also giving them a card that they can use themselves. Just don't sign the envelope either.

3. And the best part is, if you stamp the back of the card with your name and blog info then that will get your info into one more person's hands that may not know that you are a Stampin Up demonstrator.

So what about if you aren't a demonstrator? Well, maybe you should be. Email me and lets chat: niki176@aol.com.

Or you could always consider selling your cards, right? Just to make a little fun money? Sure. Just remember the Angel Policy. If you don't know what that is then let me know.

Now go and do something nice for Mother Earth today!

What do you do with your Ribbon Scraps?

Okay, scraps. I keep them. But for what? Of course I always find ways to use my paper scraps and extra punches. But I have been collecting my ribbon scraps and for whatever reason I never find anything to do with them. Until now. Now that I am completely obsessed with fabric. What has happened to me!?! I am obsessed, completely obsessed with fabric. Help!!!!

It's true. I now stare at everything and ask myself. How is that made? Can I make it? Whats my next sewing project? Well here it is. I was starring at Sammie's baby lovey. It was a Taggie blanket she used to cuddle when she was a little one. Now she uses it with her baby dolls. It was so sweet how she loved this blanket. Awww, tear;( Sniff. (I miss those days.) Anyway, that's it! Ribbon Scraps make the perfect taggies. So I made one. An SU! taggie blanket.

Okay, its not perfect. But it was the first one. Super easy, quick and the girls love them for their babies. Then I got to thinking, maybe this could be my charity. My neighbor is a nurse for Labor and Delivery. Now the fabric is cheap and easy enough to get. I picked this fabric up in the remnants section of my fabric store and was able to make two blankies for $1.90. Not bad. right? But I am running out of ribbon scraps.

So back to my original question. What do you do with your ribbon scraps? Would you consider donating them??

Stay tuned and I will have a step by step picture tutorial on how to make one of these. Its a fun "first" sewing project incase you want to try to make one for a little one around you.

Basket Full-O-Bunnies

These are just too fun to make. Isn't any punch art? I love making those cute little expressions. These are the Easter goodies we will be handing out tomorrow at school. Hope the teachers like them. We also made one of these little guys as part of our Easter Class earlier this month.

Here's a close up shot of that little face. These were a case of an idea I saw a while ago and now I cant find the original. But here is how I made mine:

Start by cutting (7) 1" X 4" strips of Whisper White Card Stock

Using a Crop-A-Dile punch a hole, through all 7 layers, in the top and bottom of the strips

Slip the lollipop stick through the bottom holes and the wrapper through the top holes

(Blow Pops have the prefect wrapper for this)

You can secure the strips in place with a little bit of ribbon, but it may hold fine of its own too.

Then just open the strips up around the lollipop to create a bubble

Finish by decorating the face using punches and White Gel Pen

Ears: Large and Med Ovals

Nose: 3/4" Circle

Eyes: 3/4" X 15?16" Oval, 3/4 Circle and Bitty Punch (circle)

Then, just let me know how they turn out. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy I Do Day

This Elegant Lines Embossing Folder is one of my favorites. It makes such a beautiful card without having to add much to it at all. This card was one of our 8 for $8 cards but came in very hand for when I found out that Ava's teacher was getting married last weekend. Sometimes its great to have a few cards on hand for little occasions just like this.

I just love the little pop of bling too right on the ring. Works perfect. Okay, thanks for stopping by. Gotta run!

Just for Mom

Just for Mom

Thursday, April 21st

Anytime after 6:30PM (work at your own pace)

Cost $3, $10 minimum order

This weeks class gets us focused on Mom. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8th. This is just enough time to get our creative juices flowing, start something great and still have plenty of time to order more supplies. Join me this week in making three great Mom inspired creations. I will also have a few other beautiful ideas on display. The possibilities are endless. Mom's are the best to create for and there are so many moms out there that deserve something special. Are you a mom? Your sister? Your friends? You could say Happy Mother's Day to anyone you want and make their day even more special. Please be sure to RSVP so I can have your supplies ready for you.

Cute Kids

Have you seen this? I just had to share this adorable video. My mom sent this to me and it just melts my heart. It makes my eyes tear up a bit at how cute and sweet kids can be.

And speaking of cute kids, here is another MDS play day page. Here we were at the Children's Museum. The kids had a blast. I had so many pictures it was hard to squeeze them all in. I especially love the one of them acting as the News Anchors.

A Little Somethin'

Last week was my mother-in-law's birthday. We invited her out for a really nice lunch at our Country Club with Brandon's Grandma and Aunt too. It was really great. But of course we weren't going to go empty handed so the girls and I made a couple of little goodies for her. The girls drew some pictures for Grandma and I made her a little gift.

The best part of the day was after lunch when my Mom-in-law, Grandma and Aunt Jill came back to the house. I was showing them some of my newest sewing endeavors and they gave me some great tips. It was like a private sewing class just for me. Whoo Hoo! The funniest part is Brandon has always bragged about what a good sewer (or seamstress, is it??) that his mom is. At Halloween time he would always say," why would you spend all that money on a costume? Why do you just make one. That's what my mom always did." Hold it, buddy!! I ain't that kind of girl! You better watch it, seriously.

Okay, flash forward a few years and it looks like I might be that kind of girl. I am kinda diggin' the sewing thing after all. The even funnier part is now he rolls his eyes and says," do you really need another hobby!?!" Yes, yes I do.

Any hoo, back to my gift for Nina. I made her a simple little hanging photo frame with pictures of all her little grandbabies.

Oh, yes and by the way I do see that my watermark is upside down on this picture. I know, that's no way to start the day. Really. But I'm feeling a bit too lazy to fix it. There, I said it. It is what it is. Just ignore it.

CAS Birthday

Doesn't get much easier that this one. This patterns DSP is my go-to DSP. I love it down to the bits. Literally. I can use even the tiniest scraps of this DSP. Nothing goes to waste here. And that is all that is used for this card. The Brights scraps are used to make all those great, bright candle sticks and just a bit of So Saffron scraps for the flame. Keep this idea handy for those times when you need a quick card.

Just love the idea of using the two-step bird punch as the wing. It makes a perfect flame. If you have the Build a Blossom punch then that one works perfect too. I just added a tiny bit of sponging to the bottom of the flame and a bit of Dazzling Diamonds to the top for a little sparkle. Easy-peasy. Thanks for stoppin' by, have a great day!

Boo Hoo, Chicken Pox!

Okay, so the Chicken Pox are no fun, but this card was. My poor little nephew has come down with a mild case of the chicken pox. Poor little guy. So I decided to make him a quick little card to lift his itchy spirits. And figuring out how to make the little chick look like he had the chicken pox was a little funny.

I just ran him through my polka dot embossing folder and then used my daubers to make the bumps a little pink. I cased some tips for my chickity from a post I saw from Di Gibbs. I loved the simple touch of added the white gel pen to the shell and chick. Those pens can add so much life to punch art and other designs. If you don't have one then you NEED one. I'm just sayin'.

So back to my little nephew. Sorry your feelin' so itchy. We hope you are on the mend soon. We would give you a big hug but with Brandon never having had the chicken pox before I think we better not. But soon, very soon. Hope you feel better.

Nicole's Beautiful Creation

So, remember I told you that I would show you Nicole's winning Imprints exchange? Well here it is. I know Nicole will share credit for this idea with her friend Sia as well. But isn't it the cutest?? Simple and sweet and adorable and I love it! The funny part was, Nicole loved this idea but still gets nervous about her swaps so she showed it to me ahead of time (and told me she was going to add candy as a bribe;)) I told she didn't have to do that, that I was SURE everyone would love it. See. Told ya.

Not to mention she even made a matching card. So, there was this adorable tote (which can be folded flat and sent in the mail too), candy AND an adorable card. How could it not win, right!?!

Okay, so from now on you are not allowed to second guess yourself, Nicole. Okay? Or you are just plain cRaZy!!

Backyard S'mores

I haven't shown an MDS page in a while so I thought I would throw one in real quick. Here we are enjoying some backyard s'mores with our friends the Lenci's. Ava and Sam had never had them before and were begging to give them a try. Well it was just a bit easier to do them in the backyard than to plan a camping trip so that's what we did. Hannah was a pro. Ava was hooked. And Sam, she didn't really like them. But I found her mowing through the chocolate bars as fast as she could. Five minutes later, she was curled up on the sofa with a huge tummy ache.......karma.

Imprints Meeting

As promised here are some fun pictures from our meeting. It was a super fun day. Here are some of the girls working hard on their make and takes. There were so many of us that I wasn't able to sit will all my downline but at least I was still in ear shot of most of them.

And here are some of the girls coming into the meeting and attaching their cards to the display for the card contest/exchange. The cards we got were amazing. We actually had a tie for the best card, so two won. But one of the winners was one of my downline, I was so proud. I will show you her winning creation soon.

And check this out. We all know Bev can bake and this was so yummy! And beautiful. This was a lot of work, huh?

I was trying to get a picture of Bev running the meeting but just as I went to snap the picture she turned. Oh, well. You can get the idea of the full house we had there.

These little cuties are the favors Bev made for us. And don't let this picture fool you, those marshmallows are GINORMOUS! Seriously. And really, really cute too.

So here is the loot I came home with. The loot we all came home with. Great cards to have on hand, cards for inspiration and great samples. Thanks again Bev, I love these meetings!

If you would like to join all this fun we would love to have you! Email me and we can get you signed up. We already have more (demo only) events in the works that you don't want to miss!

Fabric Flowers

Yesterday I attended another fabulous Imprints meting. Thank you, Bev! I know those are a lot of work. But they are so much fun. Some of the highlights for me were getting to be with my demo friends, the make and takes and getting to sit with Kim and pick her brain the whole time (hope you didn't mind Kim, but your so fabulous!) I also got some great cards and 3-Ds in the exchange. The theme of the exchange was flowers so above you will see my exchange it was a fabrics flower. They were really fun to make and I left them open to whatever the ladies want to turn them into. They could sharpen the end of the branch to make them a Rhinestone picker-upper or attach a pen with some floral tape. Whatever, they want. I just think they are pretty in a bunch. No these are not my original idea. They once again came from my new favorite blog Snowy Biss. If you would like so see how these are made with a fabulous step by step photo tutorial then click here and let Anj know I sent you while you are there. Stay tuned and tomorrow I will have some more fun pictures from our meeting. What to come next time? Trust me these demo meeting are a blast! Email me and we can chat: niki176@aol.com