TP Tube Mini Album

Happy Friday Everyone!

Just a quick post before I go plant myself to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics.

I've been seeing these toilet paper roll mini albums everywhere and decided to tackle one myself.  My mini albums are never as ornate as those I see on the internet, but sometimes I think there's so much "stuff" in those albums as to detract from the photos, journaling or memorabilia that is supposed to be showcased in the album!

Anyone, here's my first little attempt at a Christmas themed TP mini.

And to think it all started with a humble pile of flattened toilet paper rolls!

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

Throwback Thursday

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Today I have a cute and easy project for you.  I originally saw this from a video by Linda Kaiser at The Paper Boutique.  She makes some amazing things.  I can't always replicate them, however, because I don't have an electronic cutter (she's a Cricut expert).  But this little notebook was a breeze.

I made two versions, using the SU retired Designer Series Paper, Beyond the Garden.  Such bright happy colors!!

The sentiment on the front was done on my computer and printed out on white card stock.

And those colorful banded closures???  You guessed it ... hair bands!

I used 40 index cards for each of these books and a 1" ring binder.  That combination seemed to work well, and the best thing about these little books is that you can refill them with more blank index cards whenever you need!  And since I used cardboard from boxes I've saved for the covers (i.e., cereal boxes and such), this is also a very economical project to make.

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

WOYWW 164

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I've been under the weather for a couple of days and just starting to feel "normal" today.  Of course, I then thought I felt up to running some errands, which wasn't too smart on my part!  I'm pooped!  But since it's Wednesday, I wanted to link up with the other creative desks around the Blogosphere courtesy of Julia at Stamping Ground.

I haven't been crafting much.  Here's my desk from my last crafting escapade.

I had started working on my first toilet tissue roll mini album.  I have the pages covered, a couple of extra pockets attached, and tags made.  Now I just need to do a bit of embellishing and decide whether I need larger book rings or split this up and make two albums.

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

Pencil Holders / Back To School Gift

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Hubby and I had a relaxing weekend and an AWESOME morning at church Sunday.  So excited about some things coming up at our church!

This past week I've been trying to think of different items to make for my craft booth and upcoming fall craft shows.  So far in July, nothing has sold at the space at the craft mall that I am renting.  It's very frustrating.  I've yet to make the full amount back in any given month that the space is costing me.  It's not overly expensive, but still, the point is to break even or make money!!  I know it's summer and things are slow.  I have a six month commitment there (through September) and I am hopeful that as a new school year approaches, business might pick up.  I'm just not sure if I'm at the right venue, if I'm offering the right products, or if it's just not "meant to be."  On a side note, I also have an Etsy shop in which I've sold nothing.  This paper crafting thing is really a passion of mine and I would love to somehow make it even just an eensie weensie bit profitable or at least pay for my supplies.  Any suggestions from out there in Blog Land???

So that was probably "TMI" for you, as they say!!

I did craft some cute pencil holders this past week.  I picked up packs of fun pencils in the Target dollar bins for this project.  These boxes are made from a piece of card stock cut to 3 5/8 X 6.  Score at 3/8, 1 5/8, 2 and 3 1/4.  The score the "bottom" at 3/8.  the original instructions I followed had the piece of card stock cut at 3 5/8 X 6 3/8.  I liked it a bit shorter to show off the pencils more.

I got this idea from Kerry's Paper Crafts.  She makes such cute things and seems to have great success selling both at craft shows and on Etsy.

I found another one with different dimensions that allows just the erasers to peek out.  I'll be darned if I can find it now to give you the link!!  I do have the dimensions written down if anyone is interested in that taller style of holder:  cut card stock to 7 5/8 X 3 5/8.  Score at 5/8, 1, 2 1/4, and 2 5/8.  Turn and score at 3/8.  Apply a piece of patterned paper ( 7 1/8 X 1 1/8 ) to front.  Punch a half circle from the top front edge to make it easer to remove the pencils.

Let me know if you have questions on either of these pencil holders.  And thanks for making it through this entire post!



Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

Throwback Thursday

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Today's card features some new and old.  This is one of my One Sheet Wonder cards I worked on a bit ago and donated to my church office for their use.  The "old" is the tree image, which is from a retired SU set called Forest Friends.  The sentiment is from the current Thoughts & Prayers set.  The patterned paper is from the Comfort Cafe pack.

I tried to give this card a more masculine and/or gender neutral card.  I have a tendency to make girlie cards, so this is sometimes a struggle for me!  If it's pink or floral...no problem!

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

One Sheet Wonder

Happy Monday Everyone!

I've been teasing you with cards I've made using the One Sheet Wonder concept.  Well, today, I'm going to show you just how far a single sheet of 12 X 12 designer series paper can go!

Now, I can't take credit for this clever idea, and there are certainly a lot of versions of this all over the internet.  For this particular project, I used the diagram provided by Sandra at Paper, Pansies and Pachyderms.

Here is her cutting diagram.

Because of the way layers are doubled up on a couple cards, this cut produces ten cards.  Naturally, if you wanted to forego the layering, you could make twelve cards.  I also did additional matting/layering which can be omitted if you want these to be super simple and quick.

Here's an overview of my ten cards:

Since I was making these cards primarily for my church office to use, I tried to make a mix of masculine and feminine styles.  As you can clearly see, masculine cards are not my forte!!!  That floral pattern on the sheet from the Comfort Cafe pack was just too pretty to not want to use for every single card!!

If you have any questions about the One Sheet Wonder concept, let me know.  I'll help you as much as I can!!

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

Praying For You

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Today I have another peek for you at one of the cards I made using the One Sheet Wonder concept.

Be sure you check back on Monday 7/16 for all the details about that!

I am so happy this stamp set (Gently Falling) carried over into the new Stampin' Up catalog.  I love this style of stamp, and leaf images can be so incredibly versatile.

Don't forget to come back for a visit on Monday to see how I made ten cards using one 12 X 12 sheet of DSP as both accents and focal points!

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

Throwback Thursday

Happy Thursday Everyone!

While I'm enjoying the company of visiting family, I have pre-scheduled a few posts to keep you entertained!

Today's Throwback card features one of last year's SU hostess sets, Faith & Nature.  I love this set, and it can adapt to many different styles and looks.  This is a get well card that I've stamped to donate to my church office.  While the stamping of the image is simple, that simplicity helps to showcase the background panels that were done with the shaving cream technique.

If you're not familiar with the shaving cream technique, it's very easy and gives you fantastic results.  Simply take some good old fashioned shaving cream and dispense it onto a paper plate.  Then take two or three colors of your re-inkers and make randoms drops of color on the shaving cream.  To create the patterns, simply take a plastic knife or toothpick and swirl the ink around.  Be careful not to get carried away with your swirling or the colors will over mix and you'll have a plate of shaving cream mud!  Place your pieces of card stock onto your swirly creation, patting gently to make sure you have contact with the cream.  Remove the card stock and scrape off the cream with some type of straight edge.  Let dry.  Voila!  Awesome patterned card stock!  And you can get quite a number of pieces colored from one plate of cream.  Give it a try....I think you'll enjoy the results!

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

Retro Sketches 19

Happy Monday Everyone!

Today's card is for the weekly sketch challenge at Retro Sketches.  They really have some great sketches that can be dressed up or down.

Here's the sketch:

And here is my rendition.  I feel like there's something missing from this card to make it complete, but I just can't put my finger on what.  What do you think?

In lieu of the string and buttons indicated on the sketch, I added three pearls along the edge of my dsp strip.  Isn't this pretty paper?  It's part of the new SU designer series papers called Comfort Cafe.

This card is also part of my One Sheet Wonder group I worked on over the weekend.  I'll be sharing more about that, as well as a link to the cutting diagram I used, in the days to come.  How's that for a teaser??

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

Freshly Made Sketches 42

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Just a quick post to share with you a card I made for the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  I've been making some "one sheet wonder" cards to donate to my church office, and decided to take one and make it fit this sketch.

I did rotate the sketch 90 degrees.  I tried to keep the card as "clean" as I could.  This is sometimes a struggle for me, since I love to sponge and distress edges!!

I'll be sharing more of my One Sheet Wonder cards later in the week.  Since I have company coming Wednesday evening, I'm trying to schedule ahead some posts for the week!

Now, off to bed so I can get up early and hit the grocery store before everyone else in Greater Houston does!  Wish me luck!

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

Throwback Thursday

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Hope you had a safe Fourth of July.  My poor, scared dogs survived another one!

Today's card is one that I've made to donate to my church office.  I've been working on cards to give them so they have a stash to send when needed.  Having worked in church offices for over five years, I know how important it can be to have just the right card to send!

The image comes from Nice & Easy Notes, an oldie but goodie Stampin' Up set that I love.  I did some simple coloring of the image with my SU markers.  The sun was so bright when I snapped this photos yesterday evening that it looks a bit more washed out than it really is.  I also used retired card stock and paper in the color Blue Bayou, accented with a strip of Apricot Appeal.

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!

WOYWW 161

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

It's time for our weekly trek around the globe to peek at the desks of other creative minds.  This journey is brought to us by the lovely Julia at Stamping Ground.  And guess what?  I've been cleaning this morning!!  Woo hoo!  Of course, this was necessitated by an all-day card extravaganza yesterday.  I'm making cards to donate to the office at my church, so I've been working on sympathy, get well, praying/thinking of you, etc.  But for today, I shall bask in the glory of a clean work space!

 Have a safe day!  I'll be glad when the neighbors have run out of fireworks this week!

Thanks for looking at my blog. I appreciate all the wonderful comments everyone leaves. Happy Stamping!