Carrie Stamps

Stampadelicious Bunnies

Tuesday night was our group meeting. It is so much fun to get together with my demonstrator friends.   The theme this month was punch art.  We did 3 make and take projects and a card swap. I volunteered to plan one of the make and take projects. So, I wanted to show you my make and take project as well as my swap. 

This Milk Carton bunny basket was my make and take project. I have seen them all over "blog world" and this is my version. Isn't it so cute! 

Pretty simple.  Now for some Chocolate Mini Eggs to fill it!!!

Next, I saw a super cute bunny box that Kimberley Morris made and thought I might try to make it into a card.  So, here is my Punch Art Easter Bunny Card Swap:

OH, she is so sweet isn't she!  Now that i am looking at it here I think she might need a bow by her ear!  In this next photo you can see how the card opens: 

It was a lot of work making 13 of these, but it was worth it.  I watched Julie Julia while I sponged all the pieces, what a cute movie.  I especially loved it being a blogger and I love to cook.  Not sure if I want to tackle "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" though.    

I hope you are inspired to create with punches, with all the punches that Stampin' Up! has to offer the possibilities are only limited to your imagination. 

Happy Stampin' and Punchin'

Carrie

Cherish Page

I was playing with My Digital Studio this morning, wanting to make some samples for an upcoming workshop.  This is the page I made this morning.  It is an 8x8 scrapbook page on Whisper White background, which is why it might look like it is floating on the post here.  I wanted to do 6x6 and thought that I could create an 8x8 and just cut it down after printing it out.  I tried printing it out at home and do not love the quality, I am going to let the professionals handle it.  I have been very pleased with everything I have had Stampin' Up! print.   

Can you see in the picture Hannah is wearing a flower head band.  I made it for my Daughter Samantha for Christmas.  Hannah likes to wear it too.  I made it with the Flower Folds die and fabric.  They are so easy and so much fun to make.  I will definitely be making more flower head bands and MDS pages! 

If you do not have MDS yet you can still order it!  It is a very easy program to use.

My Digital Studio 
#118108  $79.95

Click HERE to order your own My Digital Studio today. 

Happy Stampin'

Carrie

Unicorn T-shirt

Happy Saturday! I hope to get some stamping in today.  I have 3 swaps to work on!  But I have to show you the project that Samantha and I did together!  I saved this to do with her on Valentines Day instead of making it for her and giving it to her.  I think she loves the shirt even more because we made it together!

 

Isn't it so cute!  The unicorn image is a decore elements vinyl piece from Stampin' Up! It only cost $4.95! Can you even imagine all the cool things you can make with decore elements, fabric and bleach?!  Let me show you how easy it was.  So easy a 5 year old can do it. 

You will want to protect your work surface and put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt protecting the back of the shirt from the bleach. Peal the backing off the vinyl piece and lay it where you want on your t-shirt.  Then you want to rub it on with the application tool.  It will take A LOT of rubbing since it is going on fabric and not a hard surface. 

Then you peal off the paper, at an angle, carefully, incase some of it did not stick.  In which case you just lay the paper back down and rub it some more. 

 

Now for the fun part. Using a empty and rinsed Stampin' Mist bottle, fill it with a water and bleach solution, 50/50.  (BUT, I used straight bleach, even though the directions Stampin' Up! gave was to use a mixture, so you decide what you want to do.)  Spritz that over the vinyl.  

Use a paper towel to mop up the bleach that has collected on top of the vinyl.  Now peal the vinyl off.  If you do it very carefully you could actually use it again.  Then you want to rinse the fabric in cold water to stop the bleaching process.  I then washed mine alone in cold water and let it air dry.  It was a fast and simple project, you have to try it. We have so many vinyl images, it will be easy to make a bleached fabric gift for everyone! Check out the Decore Elements catalog!  You will find an image for every letter of the alphabet on page 21.  

I hope this has inspired you to get out there and create something special with our Decore Elements. 

Order your decore elements products here! 

Happy Stampin' 
Carrie
  

 

Valentines for my loves!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!  I feel like it was Valentines Day yesterday.  When I woke up my husband told me that I needed to be ready to leave the house by 9:45am.  Then he took me a dropped me off at the Spa, where I was treated to a pedicure and manicure! It was fabulous!  Then we went to lunch with my DEAR friend Emily and her husband Jake, we had a great time. Thanks to Patty and her nieces for playing with my girls, she is a SWEETHEART!  Then we stopped by the mall to pick out a new cologne for Bill, I could never do that for him on my own!   Then after a few hour break at home we went and saw the movie, The Blind Side.  It was a very good movie and a fun day!  But the reason for this post is to show you the Valentines that I gave my family! 

First of all here is the card for my husband.  I have to tell you I CASED this card, but am not sure who made it.  My friend Britiney emailed me a picture of it and it did not have a watermark on it.  So, if you made this card and you are reading this, please leave a comment and let us know who you are, or maybe Britiney can let us know, if she is reading this, hehe. 

 I did make a few minor changes to my card, the original was a small square card, maybe 4x4.  She also used Pumpkin Pie as a fourth color.  The LOVE image is from the " I {love} love jumbo wheel.  I just inked it with my markers and then wheeled it.  It maybe hard to tell here, but I used mostly all textured cardstock, I think it works great for a masculine card. 

I really love this card and love the finishing touch the pinking heart punch makes!  

I also made this cello bag of chocolate a for him: 

The topper is made with the scallop square die, I die cut the designer paper and folded it in half.  Perfect for a medium cello bag.  

Lastly, here is the card I made for Hannah:

It was so cute to give this card to her, she does baby sign and she signed "bear". OH!  This will go in her treasure box.  I have a box for each girl that I save special things for them and plan to give it to them at some point when they are all grown up, like collage graduation.  

I really enjoy making Build-a-Bear cards, I remember the joys of being a little girl playing with paper dolls as I dress and accessorize her!  

I also made a Build-a-Bear Valentine card for Samantha, I already posted it.  I just added glitter to the shoes and Samantha LOVED that, so I saved it for her and she was thrilled with it.  Just as she was with this luminary:

 My downline and friend, Patty, who yes also helps me with my kids as mentioned above, showed me how to die cut the heart from the movers and shapers out of the Fancy Favor box. (I know, she is awesome!) It involved folding the box around the heart.  So, I added a battery operated candle for her to light in her room at nigh, when the kisses are gone that I put on top! 

Later Samantha and I are going to do a Valentines project together.  We are using the Unicorn Decore Elements piece on a t-shirt and spraying it with BLEACH!  I will post that later! 

Again, Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Stampin'

Carrie
 

     

 

February Ladies Night Out

It's time for another night out of fun and stamping!

Your Invited to Ladies Night Out!

Thursday, February 18th at my house

6:30pm to 8:30pm

Registration is just $5

We will be making a shabby chic birthday card, of all the cards I have ever made, this is definitely one of my favorites! Next, we will be creating a Bird House out of the all new Milk Carton die,that will hold a YUMMY treat!  As an added BONUS you can make the very popular EASEL CARD!  In addition I will be showing you how to make a Scrunchie Flower fridge magnet. You don't want to miss it! Check out these great projects I have planned for us!

Wow, I really do love this card!  I can not wait to give it to someone!

How cute is the little bird house, that would brighten anyones day! 

And, the Easel card, butterflies flying in the blue sky, I feel spring coming!  

The Easel card allows the recipient to prop it up and enjoy the stamped art for as long as they like. 

I can not wait to see you there and stamp with you, it is my favorite night of the month!  

Register now to secure your spot:

Remember to bring your own adhesive.  Email me if you have any questions: carrierhoades@msn.com

Happy Stampin' 
Carrie

Big Shot Bean Bags

Yesterday we celebrated my baby's half birthday, she is one and a half.  It is a long story, but my other daughter's birthday is very near Christmas so we have a birthday party with her friends on her half birthday and have a "Special Day" for her on her real birthday.  Having a second child, I felt the need to follow suit.  So, Hannah's half birthday will be her "Special Day" and since her birthday is in August that is when we will do parties with her friends.  Very complicated I know, but I really wanted to show you what I made for Hannah's gift!

I made her a set of 8 bean bags using the Scallop Square and Circle dies!  It was super simple, besides all the beans I spilled on the floor and the fact that I can not sew in a circle.  I found four cute patterns of flannel fabric that I liked, as I wanted them to be soft, and cut two square and two circle of each fabric.  I sewed them together, right sides out, leaving an opening to insert the beans and then sewed them shut.  

  

I found the bean bag games here and just printed them off, mounted them on card stock, punched a hole, added a key ring and ribbon, super cute!  There are 16 different games to play with bean bags!  We had fun playing with them last night.  

FOR DESSERT.... Chocolate Cupcakes!

Not just any cupcakes, CREAM FILLED CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES!

They are so good you might just DIVE in!

You might want to remove your shirt and just worry about a napkin later!

But seriously, they were SUPER YUMMY!  My husband and older daughter LOVED them and they are not cake eaters!  Bill said it was the BEST cupcake he had EVER eaten!  That made my day!  

ONE MORE THING,

Here is the bag I put the present in, which I first made for my daughter to take her Valentines to school in (two birds, one stone).

It was just a white lunch sack, but not any more!!! Cute, huh!

The opening of the present went well, with big sisters help of course! 

 

What a fun filled family night, enhanced by a home made gift and dessert from scratch!  Aaahhh! 

Happy Stampin'

Carrie        

Make your own bean bags, order your scallop square and circle dies here. 

Preschool Valentines

I wanted to share with you the totally cute 3x3 valentines that I made with my daughter for her Preschool class tomorrow.  I really wanted to use Sock Monkey for them, I think they turned out cute and it was fun making them with Samantha. 

It was a lot of coloring for her and me, making 22 cards, but we did it. 

Here is a close up of the prototype, which means I did all the coloring, glueing and such. 

You can also see the mini envelope all stamped up. And, I added white gel pen dots to the scallop circle, cut from the Pennant Die, it fits the 1-3/4" circle perfect. Not sure if I will get to adding gel pen dots to the remaining 21 cards.  

And here is the cutest part... Isn't that sweet, she is still mastering writing lower case letters, she got the "t".  Anyway, that was lots of fun making Valentines with my girl.   

Stamp with someone you love!

(that should be a bumper sticker)

Happy Stampin'

Carrie

Milk does a body good

Or at least creating a milk carton does this girl good!  I had so much fun making this milk carton from the new Milk Carton die in the Occasions Mini Catalog!  It came yesterday, so I die cut one last night and decorated it this morning.  I LOVE how it came out and just had to share it with you! 

 

 
Isn't it completely fabulous!  I am going to HAVE to fill it with Mini Eggs, my FAVORITE Easter goody!  

Here are close up pics of each side: 

This is the front.  I did not start out to make this a vintage  box, it just evolved that way.  What do you think about the crimped taffeta ribbon around the bottom?!  I wrapped sticky strip around the bottom and created the crimping by folding the sticky the ribbon down all the way around.   The sentiment is from the Well Scripted Set in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  

 

I made the tag using the new Tiny Tags set from the Occasions Mini Catalog as well as the coordinating Medium Jewelry Tag Punch.

  

I added distressed flowers to every side of the carton.  I just punched the flowers out of card stock, wadded them up and opened them, repeating that several times to get the look I wanted.  I then glued all the layers together with Tombow liquid glue (my favorite adhesive)

Last side.  Now, my daughter and I are going to make one for Valentines Day!  I can see these decorated for EVERY holiday, I can not wait to use it for Halloween!  

RECIPE:

Stamps: Well Scripted and Tiny Tags from Occasions Mini Catalog

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Certainly Celery Classic Ink pads

Paper: Certainly Celery Card Stock for carton, Chocolate Chip CS, Whisper White CS, Certainly Celery CS, Old Olive CS, Sweet Pea Designer Paper

Accessories: Chocolate Taffeta ribbon, mini library clips, white embroidery floss, dimensionals

Tools: Stampin' Up Mini Milk Carton Bigz L Die, Big Shot, Cutting Plates, Crease Pad, Boho Flower Punch, Three for you Flower Punch, 1/4" circle punch, Pinking Heart Border Punch, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch,Medium Jewelry Tag Punch, Sponge, Sticky Strip, Tombow Liquid Glue

Happy Stampin' 

Carrie

Order you Stampin' Up! Goodies Here! 

Swap with a friend

My friend Britiney and I decided to do a little card swapping this month.  We each made one card using a Occassions Mini set and one card using a Sale-a-Bration set.  Here are the cards I made for the swap. 

Okay, THAT... is cute, is that what you were thinking too?   Okay, so this set is not really in the Occassions Mini, but is a special stamp set this month that goes with the heart shaped treat cups.  If you look close you can see that I used the Heart of Hearts embosslit on top of the stamped heart in Pretty in Pink and then put a punched heart in Real Red on top of that, it all fits perfectly together!  I also used the I {love} love jumbo wheel, (which, yes, I do love) to create a background on the Pretty in Pink card.  I added some Sending Love Specialty DSP which I first punched with the new Pinking Heart punch.  I also used the Pinking Heart punch to make grass for my flower to live in AND I use the teeny tiny hearts that it punches out in Gable Green on top of my Green Galore strip, CUTE!  Okay, enough about that card, I have another to share: 

WOW, I can not stand how cute that is!  I adore the Flower Folds die, this is the first paper creation I have made with it.  Mostly, I have been making Brooches with it. You can tell another favorite of mine by looking at this card, the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, what a FABULOUS background it makes!  I used the Vintage Labels Sale-a-Bration stamp set, fun set! And, for the center of the flower I added a Kraft Corduroy Button, which I mistakenly told you yesterday was retired.  Well, I was wrong, they are in the Idea Book/Catalog, phew!  

Now... Do you want to see Britiney's cards?   She is a WONDERFUL stamper, a ROCK STAR stamper.  I love her style.  Her cards are always clean and crisp and very well put together!  Check these out: 

SEE... isn't it gorgeous!  I LOVE how she added the JEWELS to the frame!  Did you notice the perfect bow?  Yeah, I love it!  

Card number two, just as yummy...

Sweet Pea stitched Felt Flower and matching DSP, and check out the tiny tag! 

Now, that was fun.  Thanks for stopping by and checking out our cards!

Happy Stampin' 

Carrie

To order any of the goodies show here, CLICK HERE!    

Swinging Valentine

Hello!  I have a CUTE valentine card to share with you today!  I have seen this type of card done with the Top Note die and loved it.  So, it inspired me to make one with my Scalloped Square Die.  These will be valentine cards for Grandma's and Grandpa's.  

Here are two that I made.   I love KRAFT cardstock, it really goes with any thing, here it is with Rich Razzleberry - GORGEOUS!  I love the non-traditional colors used for these valentines, fun!

I added texture to them using two different embossing folders, Perfect Polka dots on the right and Final Press on the left.  I just can not get enough of those embossing folders, i† makes it so easy to add a WOW effect to your card.   You can not help but run your hand over the card.

I created some FAUX BUTTONS as an accent.  I wrote down who I got the idea from and the sticky note, GONE, so thanks to my button inspirer, whoever you are! Her is how I made them: I took 5 punched hearts, glued them together with tombow liquid glue, sanded the edges,  used my paper piercer to create the button holes and lastly, lacquered the top with Crystal Effects.  Once they are dry you might want to poke through your button holes again.  Then attach to your project, I used tombow glue to attach mine. 

Now for the fun part of this card, the SWINGING!

Attaching the three layers of your card (Scalloped Square card front, scalloped square photo and scalloped square card base) with a brad, allows this card to SWING open!  I used the retired Kraft corduroy buttons, I should have bought more of those! 

Here is where you write your personalized message!  Aren't those fun cards!  They really would be great Christmas cards!  

If you are a card maker out there, this is a great time to be stampin' and sending love in the form of a Valentines card to all your friends, family and loved ones out there!  

Happy Stampin'

Carrie

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