Papertrey Blog Hop!!!

Hi..I'm so excited to participate in the first Papertrey Blog Hop!! This is going to be so much fun and I'm really looking forward to seeing all the creations!! We are so lucky Nichole has given us this awesome opportunity to network with people who love what we love...Papertrey Ink!!! Have fun!!! If you like my project please vote at http://www.papertreyink.com/bloghop.html

My project::: Ribbon basket!! As soon as I read the challenge I immediately thought..a basket..I have made these in the past but with paper and thought it would be fun to try with ribbon!!! As I looked through my new stamp sets from PTI..I noticed the sentiment "love blooms" from the Favor it Weddings set...I thought it would be fun to create a small basket that could hold flowers for small centerpieces or favors for a bridal shower...

Materials needed:

*1 strip of cardstock 3 1/4 X 12

preferably a lighter color..you will not see this because it gets covered with patterned paper. This is what you glue your ribbon to in order to keep it sturdy..

*5 12 inch strips of Papertrey Ink ribbon Classic Grosgrain Berry Sorbet(5/8 inch)

*12 7 inch strips of Papertrey Ink Ribbon Classic Grosgrain Sweet Blush(5/8 inch)

*Glue Dots

*Scissors

*stamps and ink

*patterened paper/matching cardstock

The first step is to weave your ribbon into the "basket"..this is very simple and just requires a few steps...First take a 7 inch strip and place vertically..then take a glue dot and place right in the middle of this strip. Take a 12 inch strip and place it on the glue dot going vertically..see picture.

(2)The next step is to turn this piece over to the back side...here, place a glue dot on the vertical strip again this time right above the strip you just put on..one on top and one on bottom..see picture.

(3)Next, flip it over again to the side you started with and repeat the steps you just did in step 2. See picture..

(4)The next steps require the weaving..this is very simple, especially once you get the hang of it...I have numbered each of the horizontal strips..this will help you see where to start.

Before you start weaving go back to the vertical strip on the left side. From that strip move over 1/4 inch and place a glue dot on the number 1, 3 and 5 strip. See picture.

Then, lift up the number 2 and 4 strip and place the 7 inch strip underneath those strips and pull over towards your glue dots. Place the strip on top of the glue dots and make sure to align the strips so they are flush with one another.

You will then switch to the number 2 and 4 strips..move over to the left..place your glue dots over 1/4 inch from the strip you just put on, placing them on the 2 and 4 strip. Then take another 7 inch strip lift up the number 1, 3 and 5 strips, slide the ribbon under towards your glue dots and place the strip.

Now, you will switch back to placing your glue dots on the number 1, 3 and 5 strips. Take your 7 inch strip and lift up the number 2 and 4 strip, slide the 7 inch strip over and place on to the glue dots..

You will repeat these steps switching back and forth until you reach the end. Here is the end result...

Now, take the 3 1/4 inch strip of cardstock that we cut at the beginning. Place tacky tape around the edges and place your ribbon on top.

Flip over the whole piece and pick one side to glue down the ribbon onto the backside.

You will then take your patterned paper and glue a strip over the ribbon you just glued down. I used the flower pattern from the 6X6 Pink Patterned paper..I had to cut 2 strips to fit it on..there is a crease but this will eventually get covered up by the handle. If you have left over ribbon on the sides, just glue those over the side..they will not be seen once you form the basket.

Now it is time to create the basket itself. Place glue on one side of the ribbon and fold it into the basket. See picture.

Next we make the bottom of the basket..You will have the extra ribbon there..the ribbon strips help the bottom have something to hold onto when you glue them together. Cut those strips so they are about a 1/2 inch long..trace the bottom onto cardstock and cut out 2 circles..Glue one circle in the inside of your basket and glue the other circle on the bottom.

Now, we create the handle and the label that goes around the basket. Cut 2 1 1/2 inch strips out of cardstock (your choice of color). I stamped ribbon and placed it on the center of both of the cardstock strips and gave them scalloped edges. I took one strip and placed tacky tape on both ends and then placed inside the basket to form the handle. I also stamped the sentiment "Love blooms" and placed that on the center ribbon with dimensionals.

I filled up a small tupperware with water and it fit perfect in the bottom of my basket. I filled the basket with Gerber Daisies(my favorite) and there you have a fun, unique bridal shower centerpiece or favor that your guests can bring home with them!!

Little One...

I was so excited when my cousin and aunt asked me to make baby invitations for a shower they were giving for a friend of theirs. I love having a "job" to do..I love creating something from scratch and being able to share it with others!! It really is so much fun and I wish I could do it everyday!! The new mom is having a little boy and I immediately thought of the little sheep from the My Punny Valentine set from Papertrey...I just love that little sheep and think it is fitting for a little boy...I absolutely love the colors brown and blue together and decided to go with that color scheme..As a crafter, especially a card maker you are always looking around for inspiration and ideas..I happened to be buying some clothes from Gap and used one of my giftcards from Christmas..well, I looked down at the little holder my card was in and thought that would make a cute holder for my invite. It's so funny where you can get inspiration from... I decided to use Kraft paper for the sturdiness, as well as for a more natural look. I punched the bodies of my sheep with my small scallop punch using the blue paper. I stamped the head and legs of my sheep on Kraft paper and cut them out..making sure to leave a little brown around the stamped image. I then stamped out a larger scallop out of cream vellum and glued this behind the punched out blue paper..this was the body of my sheep. I wanted to keep the polka dot theme throughout the invite, so I also placed the polka dot paper behind the vellum. I glued the head and legs onto the blue paper. I then stamped the sentiment "little one" underneath the sheep and did a bit of distressing around the blue edges. I sewed both sides and the bottom of the card making sure to keep the top open for my invitation. I used the smaller polka dot stamp from the Polka Dot set from PTI and stamped the top of the card... To create the opening and closing of the card holder, I used my cuttlebug to punch out several small circles and used brads to hold them in place. It is a very simple way to fasten cards and I like the look of it... Instead of using hemp string(I found it to be too thick) I used a smaller version of yarn that I found at Michael's and it worked perfect.. As for the invitation itself, I just used the polka dot paper and printed the information on vellum and used ribbon to secure it to the paper. It is very simple but I think the ribbon gives it just the right amount of embellishing..I didn't want to over do it...Well, that's it!! I really hope they enjoy them..I sure had fun creating them!!

More Snow...blah..

It was somewhat of a depressing day today..I woke up to it snowing outside..I'm sooo sick of the snow..I thought I wouldn't have to see it until next year but I should have known...it does this every year to us Midwesterners..just when we think it is going to get warm, it goes and snows on us. Please Spring, I know you are out there somewhere!!! And, I didn't make honorable mention again this month..I was really hoping to but not a big deal..there were some really neat entries and I'm sure it is impossible for Nichole to pick only 10...I'll just keep trying and who knows..maybe win gueststar stamper!!! That would be crazy... I'm looking forward to my new stamp sets arriving.. I broke down today and ordered a bit more..Brian is going to kill me.. I had to get the new colored cardstock in Sweet Blush and Berry Sorbet..Love those names.. I created a few cards today while the kids were napping. I used the Women of Life set..I really enjoy this set and think Melissa did a great job on designing it. I just love the flower pattern and the versatility of changing up the centers. The first card is a thank you for my mother-in-law. I love cutting out the stamped flowers and stacking them on top of one another. I think it really adds an uniqueness to the card. I also clear embossed the flower image to the background. I love how it picks up light at different angles. I also included the sentiment, "To the world you may just be one person, but to one person you may be the world" inside the card. I just love that saying and thought it was fitting for this thank you card. The second card I created was a birthday card for my sister-in-law. This time around I used the large flower set and placed jewels as my centers. I had to try out my new crop-a-dile and put in the purple eyelets...(it was a bit confusing at first and it seemed to take some of the paint off my eyelets..has this ever happened to anyone else??? any suggestions would be great!!!) As I'm looking at both my cards I noticed I was in a purple mood..it has to be the weather and the fact that I'm drawn to purple and green!! Thanks for looking!!

Pink and Brown

I love the color combo pink and brown..I seem to use it quite a bit in my projects. I had created this babydoll dress once before as a shower invitation using vellum paper..once I saw the new Polka Dot set from PTI, I knew I wanted to use it on the dress. This time around I made it into a card rather than just two-sided so I was able to put a sentiment inside as well. I also created the buttons on the dress by stamping them and then using my piercer to put two tiny holes. This turned out pretty cute because when the card is closed you can see enough pink through the holes to make them look like real buttons from afar. I also created a smaller version of the dress and used it as a gift tag. I just love baby girl dresses and every time I see this card I want to go and put Nora in a dress..(with cute tights!!:)...

Grammy Portrait Boxes

My children are soooo lucky..they have 2 wonderful, caring and high-spirited Grammys that spoil( I mean take REALLY good care) of them!! They love their grandchildren so much and also help me out a ton! I don't know what we would do without them. I'm always giving them lots and lots of pictures of Sam and Nora..and they only have so much room on the refrigerator..Well, I had purchased a few of the egg boxes from PTI..they are just adorable!! As I was brainstorming for my gueststar stamper creations I came up with the idea of a portrait box!! These little boxes work great because they hold a 4X6 picture perfectly and a lot of them. So, I decided to create a "brag" portrait box for the Grandmas..that way they can store ALL the pictures I give them and show them off whenever they want to. I used the new set Women of Life(such a beautiful and fun set to work with) to decorate my box. I stamped the large flower, cut it out and then punched out the centers. I then found pictures of Sam and Nora's faces that would fit inside the centers. I just punched their faces out as well and glued the flower to the picture. I ended up creating a bouquet of flowers for the top of my box.. For my sentiment I printed out "We love you bunches" on my computer and stamped "Grandma" from the stamp Grandmother by altering it a bit. I then stamped the flower design around the sides of the box..this was a bit hard because I did not have a solid surface behind it.. I just used my other hand and pushed back as hard as I could.. it ended up turning out better than I thought. I also stamped this same design on a piece of cardstock that I placed at the bottom of my box.. so, once all the pictures are removed you get a bit of a surprise!! I am planning on filling these up with new pictures of the kids and giving them to the Grammy's for Mother's Day..what an easy, affordable and straight from the heart kinda gift!! I know they will love it!!

Busy..busy..busy

I have not been a very good blogger here the last few weeks..I just wish I had more time..life goes by soo fast, especially with two little ones to take care of! But I wouldn't change it for the world. I have been able to do some stamping and creating lately but not nearly as much as I would like. We are so close to the 15th here.. I have been trying to get some projects into Nichole for gueststar stamper over at Papertrey Ink...Her company is really taking off and it seems that each month the competition gets harder and harder..I definitely do not fit into the caliber of creations she has been receiving lately..but I do like the challenge and also have to give myself some credit..I just started this cardmaking stuff a few months ago..it will take practice, time, supplies, knowledge and I know I will get there someday..that is how passionate I am about this hobby.. I just know something good will come out of all of this!!! Anyway, as soon as the 15th rolls around and I finish googling all over the cool projects Nichole picks for honorable mentions I will post my projects.. Until then thanks for taking the time to read!!