Another Baby Gift!

 We've been having a lot of baby showers at work lately, and I have been trying to make a unique handmade gift for each of the new moms to be.  Well, I have to say, that right now in my life, time is really at a premium. (you may have noticed no posts from me this week...) I have hit that time at school when the rush to the end begins, and all  the testing is coming.  So, I fit in the crafting as I can - like this cute gift I made Monday night.

I saw the idea online one time and had wanted to try it out.  It really is simple.  You just take a tape measure and run it down the pages, so it hangs on the wall and is a growth measurer.

Pages can be used for photos or keeping notes as baby grows, or both.  I decided to reinforce the tape with big eyelets.  The pages are just cardboard that I covered front and back.

Since I did not remember if this was for a boy or girl, I went with the primary color scheme and these darling zoo animals.  Paper, embellishments and stamps are all from Close to My Heart.

 It was a lot of fun, and a cute, and fairly easy project.  I even used leftover paper to make a bow to embellish the package.  The new mom and dad to be loved it!

Recipe Card Box

 I wanted to share this gift I made for my mother-in-law.  I used the Close to My Heart recipe box, and they had coordinating papers and embellishments, along with the recipe cards, so all you have to do is put it together the way you want.  Once I finished the box, I used Mod Podge on the outside to make it a bit more durable, since I figured it could be out on the kitchen counter. It was a fun and easy project, and I think she will like it!

Friendship Card Tutorial

I thought I would share this card I made at the scrapbook crop. I used these stamps by Tim Holtz, and the "Key to my Heart" paper set from Close to my Heart.

I stamped the oval design first in the rust color ink, and then the friendship saying in the open space with a dark blue ink for contrast. I also stamped the "peacock" design in blue ink. I inked all the paper edges with dark brown ink. The card itself is 6"x 6".

I layered several of the paper patterns on the card, along with the solid paper. Then, I cut out the oval stamped saying, inked the edges and
popped it up. I then cut a slit in the folded edge, and tied 2 ribbons around the card and tied them off with a square knot.

My final step was to add a bit of "smooch" from Clearsnap to both stamped designs in contrasting inks. (I love Smooch! It is wonderful to use, looks like nail polish, and the applicator is similar, so you get just what you need. It adds a wonderful pearly accent to your designs.) I used a full patterned page to make an envelope for this beautiful card.

"California Dreaming" Crop at Captured Moments

As some of you may have figured out by now, Maura loves scrapbook crops, especially at our favorite scrapbook store! Saturday's theme was "California Dreaming" in honor of Tiffany's upcoming trip to San Diego with her daughters. Our gift at this crop was some paper from Bo Bunny - "Love Shack." The colors and designs are just awesome! Be sure to check out the link. I just love them - the two I show here are my favorites - bright, summery, a bit mystical and exotic!

The crop started at 9 a.m. and the fun starts right away. We cropped for 15 hours, well at least for some of those hours - we talk, eat yummy food, laugh until we cry, and then work some more. We are still trying to figure out why we don't get more done.... I always pack way more stuff than I ever get to.

Thought I would share one of the projects I worked on at the crop- cards for an exchange with my Stampin Up, group taught by my good
friend Michelle. The first photo shows the materials I used to make the cards, and then a close up of the card I created. To make this card yourself, you will need kraft cards and envelopes, adhesive, an awl the Stampin Up small and large oval and scalloped oval punches, white ink (I really like the Close to my Heart brand), brads, paper trimmer, and I used the new 'in color" paper to create these cards. The "just for you" stamp and the tree rollergraph stamp are also by Stampin Up. I love how the white ink looks on the kraft paper. As you can see by my work space, I am eclectic - I will use the best things I find from many companies and combine them together.

Another cropping adventure....

Gift Idea: Card Storage Box

Close to My Heart makes this great memory box - a really nice quality white cardboard with a magnetic closure on the flap. Choose a coordinating paper pack and embellishments and decorate the outside top and sides of the box. Make a selection of cards using the paper pack to fill the box. It's nice to use a variety of sentiments - perhaps some birthday, anniversary, get well, sympathy, thinking of you... so the person receiving this can use it for many occasions. The two pockets on the top flap inside are great to add some envelopes and stamps into. Reinforce the top edge of the pocket. You might even put a pretty pen in the box, and now you have a complete gift to give to someone special. The nice thing about this gift, is next time, you can just make up a card pack for the recipient as a gift, and they have this beautiful box to store them in! It's so easy to create a completely different feel to the box and cards by choosing a different set of coordinating papers.