A Sneak Peek at October's Workshop Projects

For my October 11 workshops, we'll be making these three adorable Halloween treat bags. If you prefer to not make treat bags, all three of these designs are easily adaptable to greeting cards.

If you're interested in attending one of these workshops, see the right side bar under Upcoming Stampin' Events for details.

Cath ;D

Note: These treat bags are based on a tutorial by Tammy Beaver.

Stamp West Cards 09/25/10

This is the card we made at my table at Stamp Camp West yesterday (see complete instructions below). Such fun we had! Good food, good company, lots of creativity and laughter.

These are the cards made by the other demonstrators (click on images for larger view).

Jane Fuller, Judy DiScipio, Sharon Madsen

Tami Wasson, Marie Glath, Launa Cable-Hick

Rochelle Hart (yes, she had two cards AND provided lunch!!!!)

Mary Carr

And check out this cute little pre-registration gift made by Lisa Gray (built around a Peppermint Patty).



Materials for Gratitude Card:

Stamp Sets: French Foliage (2010 Holiday Mini Catalog); Falling Leaves (Gratitude image)

Card Stock: Always Artichoke (11" x 4-1/4", scrap for tag); Early Espresso (two 4" x 2-3/4", two 4" x 2-1/2"); Cajun Craze (two 3-3/4" x 2-1/4"); Very Vanilla (two 3-3/4" x 2-1/2", scrap for punch)

Classic Stampin' Pads: Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze, River Rock, Early Espresso

Accessories: Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Lots of Tags Sizzlits Die, Word Window Punch, Metallics Brad, SNAIL Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals

Instructions:

1. Score Always Artichoke card stock at 5-1/2" and 2-3/4"; fold at 5-1/2" score line to create card; fold back toward the front at 2-3/4" score line to create front flap (turned sideways, card will look like a "Z").

2. Use SNAIL Adhesive to adhere one piece of 4" x 2-1/2" Early Espresso card stock to inside of card near right edge; adhere second piece to front flap. Use Big Shot and Embossing Folder to texture both pieces of Cajun Craze card stock; adhere to card over Early Espresso.

3. Stamp French Foliage designs on Very Vanilla card stock (see sample above - be sure to leave space for a written message on the piece you will use for the inside). I used the following colors: large leaf and round Paris postmark stamp - Always Artichoke; medium leaf - Cajun Craze; small leaf and words - River Rock; splatter - Early Espresso. Note: To create a faded look, "stamp off" once or twice (i.e., after applying ink to stamp, stamp image on scratch paper before stamping on card stock). DO NOT stamp off words image -- it will be too light and will disappear into the background. Adhere Very Vanilla card stock to remaining two pieces of Early Espresso card stock.

4. Center one piece of Very Vanilla/Early Espresso card stock on inside of card and adhere with SNAIL Adhesive. Apply Stampin' Dimensionals to back (left half only) of remaining piece, close card, position over inside design, and adhere to front flap.

5. Use Big Shot and Sizzlit to cut tag from Always Artichoke card stock. Use Early Espresso to stamp GRATEFUL on Very Vanilla card stock, punch out image with Word Window Punch, and adhere to tag. Attach brad through hole on tag and adhere to front of card with two Stampin' Dimensionals.

6. Optional: Stamp design on Very Vanilla envelope to match card.

This is a very generic fall card -- can be used for men or women; as a Thanksgiving card or just a thank you card; or change the greeting on the front and make it an all-occasion card. I hope you enjoy it!

Cath ;D

Buy? Sell? Trade?

I've added a new blog page where you can see what retired Stampin' Up! stamp sets I currently have for sale (I'll be adding other stuff as I work through cleaning and reorganizing my messy crafts house). You, too, are welcome to list any crafty stuff you would like to buy, sell, or trade -- visit the new site at cathsbst.blogspot.com or contact me for additional information.

Cath ;D

Free Tea Bag Folding Paper Site

Hi, stampers! One of the ladies who attended my September 11 workshop has found a wonderful site chock full of free tea bag folding paper designs.

Click on the following links (or copy and paste them into your web browser) to view and print some awesome papers!

* http://members.fortunecity.co.uk/msvicr/index.html
* http://members.fortunecity.co.uk/msvicr3/index.html

Thanks, Carol Ann!

Cath ;D

Crimped Diamond Card

Contraband version -- OOPS! (Flower Layers w/Leaf)

I said I would provide a third project for the 9/11/10 workshops if it was quick and easy, and one such project appeared in my inbox from Splitcoaststampers.com on Wednesday of this past week. So here is the final project.

And here is the tutorial site:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/crimpeddiamond/

Note: I inadvertently picked up a Sizzix Die that Stampin' Up! no longer sells for the kits we used on Saturday. Here are a couple of alternate designs using dies that Stampin' Up! DOES currently sell.

Flower, Daisies #2 Bigz Die

Blossom Party Originals Die; Little Leaves Sizzlits Die

Materials:

Paper:
* Always Artichoke card stock: 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"; diamond shape 2-3/4" each direction (see diagram below).
* More Mustard card stock: diamond shape 3" each direction (see diagram); about 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" for flower shapes
* Very Vanilla card stock: 5-1/4" x 4"; about 2" x 2" for flower shapes
* River Rock card stock: about 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" for flower shape
* Old Olive card stock: small amounts for leaves

Accessories:
* Fire Circle Rhinestone Brad
* Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack
* Stylus
* Paper Crimper
* SNAIL Adhesive
* Stampin' Dimensionals

Found Items:
* Pencil with eraser
* Straight edge or ruler


Instructions:

1. Follow instructions on tutorial (see website address above) to make crimped diamond from Very Vanilla card stock. (Note the instructions on this site show the measurements for the card stock as 5-1/8" x 4". This should really be 5-1/4" x 4".)

2. Once finished, adhere crimped diamond piece to front of card with SNAIL Adhesive.

3. Assemble flowers by layering the pieces as shown and adhering pieces together with Two-Way Glue Pen. Adhere assembled flower to Always Artichoke diamond shape with SNAIL Adhesive or Two-Way Glue Pen. Adhere Always Artichoke diamond shape to More Mustard diamond shape. Attach Fire Brad to center of flower through all thicknesses of card stock.

4. Adhere diamond shape to front of card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

That's it! Quick and easy card!

Cath ;D

Iris Folded Halloween Card

This was our iris folding project from the 9/11/10 Workshop. And here are some sites where you can find iris folding templates and patterns.

Iris folding patterns and instructions:
http://www.circleofcrafters.com/irisfolding/

Lots of images for iris folding templates -- click on the images to view them full size:
http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS254US255&q=iris+folding+templates&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=RhmFTPTtAYK0lQfqxKGADw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CD0QsAQwAw&biw=1259&bih=528

Triangle template used for our workshop project:
http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/pdf/triangleIris.pdf

You tube iris folding tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFv-KrwDqjo

Note that the tutorial and the pattern site listed above have tailored the generic templates (second and third sites listed above) to start numbering sequence at 1; when you're using a generic template, simply start with the lowest number shown within your design window and then move to the next higher number, etc., until your design is complete.

Materials:

Paper:
* Cajun Craze card stock: 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"; about 2-1/2" x 2" for pumpkin
* Daffodil Delight card stock: 5-1/4" x 4"
* Concord Crush card stock: 5" x 3-3/4"
* Basic Black card stock: scraps for bat punch & pumpkin face pieces
* Old Olive card stock: scrap for pumpkin stem
* Designer Series Paper: any paper in Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie cut into 1" strips
* Vellum card stock cut into 1" strips

Ink:
* Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad
* Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad

Accessories:
* Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutting Machine
* Pumpkin #4 Sizzlits Die
* Pumpkin Faces Sizzlits Die
* Spider Web Embossing Folder #
* Bitty Bat Punch
* 2-1/2" Punch or Circle Scissors Plus and Glass Cutting Matt
* Sponge Daubers
* White Signo Gel Pen
* Dotto repositionable adhesive dots
* SNAIL Adhesive
* Stampin' Dimensionals
* Sticky Strip
* Two-Way Glue Pen

# 2010 Holiday Mini Catalog

Instructions:

1. Cut 2-1/2" circle in Concord Crush card stock; run card stock through Big Shot with the Spider Web embossing folder. Apply Dotto to corners of front (raised) side of paper and position over triangle iris folding template (see website above). Follow instructions on tutorial above to create the iris folded moon. (Note for this design 1" strips were folded in half lengthwise to create 1/2" wide strips.)

2. Remove card stock from template and rub off the Dotto dots. If necessary, trim paper strips on the back side to make sure that none of them extend beyond outside edges of Concord Crush card stock. On back side, apply Sticky Strip to outer edges of card stock; if some of the paper strips extend close to the edge, it's ok to apply the Sticky Strip over them. Adhere Concord Crush card stock to Daffodil Delight card stock. Use SNAIL Adhesive to adhere Daffodil Delight card stock to front of card.

3. Use Big Shot and Sizzlits Dies to cut Pumpkin from Cajun Craze card stock; also cut a stem from Old Olive; cut Pumpkin Face pieces from Basic Black card stock. Punch Bitty Bat from Basic Black card stock. Use Whisper White and Sponge Dauber to highlight the edges of the bat; also highlight the upper right side of pumpkin. Use Cajun Craze to create shadow on lower left portion of pumpkin. Adhere Basic Black face pieces and Old Olive stem to pumpkin with Two-Way Glue Pen. Attach bat and pumpkin to front of card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Additional notes re iris folding: For this card we built the iris behind a piece of card stock that we then attached to the front of the card. You also can cut the iris window out of the card front and build the iris on the inside of the card. In that case, you would then cover up the paper strips with another piece of card stock or designer series paper on the inside of the card.

I hope you enjoy this project. I think iris folding is a very relaxing and cool-looking paper craft!

Cath ;D

Tea Bag Folded Flower Bag

This fun bag was created using a round tea bag folding technique. Instructions for the fold are shown in this You Tube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yazh9fnMUNE

While you're there, be sure to check out the other videos listed in the right hand column -- the square tea bag folding and the tea bag fold butterfly videos are both very good.

Here's another site that will lead you to lots of online tea bag folding papers. Just read the descriptions below the heading and click on the links.
Some cute Christmas papers are among the free downloads.

http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/teabag-folding.html


Materials for this Project:

Paper:
* Sweet & Sour Designer Series Paper (about 6" x 9" for flower petals)
* Old Olive card stock (about 2-1/2" x 7-1/2" for stems)
* Pumpkin Pie card stock (about 2" x 2" for tag)
* Naturals Ivory card stock (about 2" x 2" for tag)
* Scrap card stock (about 3" x 3" for flower base)

Accessories:
* 2-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch
* Extra Large Tag Punch
* Large Tag Punch
* Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutting Machine
* Sweetest Stems Embosslits Die
* Linen Thread (about 6")
* Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (about 6")
* Pumpkin Pie 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (about 6")
* Crop-a-Dile
* Mini Glue Dots
* SNAIL Adhesive
* Two-Way Glue Pen

Found Item:
* Kraft bag with handle (about 6" x 9" plus handle)

Instructions:

1. Punch 8 scallop circles in designs of your choice; punch one more scallop circle from scrap card stock for the base. Use a straight edge and pen or pencil to draw a cross and then an "X" on the base (scrap) circle so it resembles a pie cut into 8 evenly-spaced pieces. Watch You Tube video to learn how to fold each of the 8 DSP circles and assemble the flower.

2. Cut three Sweetest Stem shapes from Old Olive card stock; set one aside for tag assembly. Draw a vertical line (about 6") down the center of bag to mark placement of leaves and ribbon stem. Use Two-Way Glue Pen to adhere two of the Sweetest Stems shapes on front of bag -- one on each side of line. Use SNAIL Adhesive to adhere Old Olive ribbon over vertical line, covering bottoms of Sweetest Stems.

3. Tie knot in Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon and use Mini Glue Dots to adhere to front of bag over ribbon stem.

4. Use SNAIL Adhesive or Two-Way Glue Pen to adhere flower assembly to front of bag over ribbon and above Sweetest Stems.

5. Punch Extra Large Tag from Pumpkin Pie card stock; punch Large Tag from Naturals Ivory card stock and adhere over Pumpkin Pie tag with SNAIL Adhesive. Cut part of third Sweetest Stem shape to adhere to front of tag with Two-Way Glue Pen. Use Crop-a-Dile to punch hole near top of tag; tie to handle of bag with Linen Thread.

Fill bag with goodies and show a good friend how much you care!

Cath ;D