Happy New Year!!

Getting Ready for a New Year

Year of the Dragon

2012 is the year of the Dragon...here's a fun way to mark this special year:



I'm using the larger dragon from the MC-13 (Year of the Dragon) cling set and a 1-5/8" x 2-3/8" mini calendar. Click here to get a pattern to make this calendar. Cut the two pattern pieces along the solid lines and score along the dotted lines:


In the photo above, the calendar back is the top piece and the front is the bottom piece.



Start with the front piece (backside facing up). Fold up along the first 2 scored lines on each side.



Fan fold along the rest of the scored lines...then apply double stick tape to the two end tabs.



Attach the back piece to the 2 tabs (above).



I used a couple of glue dots to keep the "screen" part from popping out too much.



To make the stand, I cut a piece of card stock to 1-1/2" x 7-1/2"...score at 1/2", 3-1/2" and 4-1/2"...use double stick tape to form the triangular stand, as shown above.



Attach the stand to the back of the calendar with double stick tape, making sure the bottom edges match up. Use foam dots on the back of the actual calendar and fit into the opening of the "screen". Then attach your dragon to the front and you're done!!!

Enjoy the rest of your week!!!

A Keiko Christmas

Hi...Just wanted to share with you today how you can use Keiko's "extra hand" to hold a Christmas item...then turn it into a Christmas card:



Stamps used: Keiko (CL-11 Keiko Set)
Wreath (MC-8 Christmas Flowers)
"Happy Holidays" (MC-11 Happy Holidays)

It's officially December...let the fun begin!!!

Ringing In The New Year

Thought it would be fun to turn some of our new New Year's designs into little standing displays...for your home or your co-workers' desks, maybe?





Click here to get a pattern to make the projects in this post. To make the display table...cut along solid lines and fold along dotted lines. Apply double stick tape to the 4 tabs and adhere:



There's also a little strip pattern...cut out and fold along dotted lines to form a cube (above, left). Use a glue dot to attach to table (above, right).



I stamped, colored and cut out the kadomatsu arrangement (cutting out duplicate pieces and mounting on foam dots for a 3-D effect). Then simply adhere the arrangement to the cube on the table top. Next, I used the same idea but made another pattern a little bit longer to accommodate a calendar:



Follow the same directions for the smaller table...but this time cut out a piece of card stock (pattern included) to mount the calendar on. Score 1/4" from bottom edge and apply double stick tape to this tab...mount kadomatsu with a foam dot, below:



Attach to table:



Thanks for stopping by!!!

Arigato

You can never have too many thank you cards...all stamps are from our new Keiko set.

New Stamps!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Please forgive my loooong absence...I've been struggling to recover from a particularly bad case of blog burnout!! But, hopefully, some new stamps will make up for that. First up is Keiko...she comes with an "extra hand" to allow her to hold a variety of items:



This set also comes with a branch stamp and a bunch of cherry blossoms to decorate the branch. Helpful hint: the flowers are really tiny, so I tried to line them up in a way that you can cut a couple of them together like this:



That way it will be a little easier to handle. (Sorry, I should have taken a photo of the rubber before I did a ton of stamping with it.) And here is a sample of the project that comes with each set:



As you open the card, the scenery starts to pop up:



Once the card is fully open, you see Keiko standing on a bridge surrounded by cherry blossom branches!!!



Also new for 2012...Year of the Dragon stamps:



and New Year stamps:



Mochi and "kadomatsu" are local traditions used to bring in the new year...bamboo signifies growth and strength...fresh pine represents long life and endurance.

Mini Pointsettias

Hi...I'm back...I know I promised a gift card holder last time, but I got sidetracked making some mini pointsettias (look closely, they're really lollipops!!):



Here's what you need...2 images of the large pointsettia from the MC-8 cling set (Christmas Flowers). Cut one complete pointsettia and one of just the inner part of the pointsettia (see photo, below). Put a foam dot on the larger flower and mount the smaller flower on top. Use a glue dot to adhere the pointsettia to the lollipop and tie a ribbon. I used a small bathroom cup for the "flower pot"...plus a piece of styrofoam, cut to fit the cup:




Glue the styrofoam to the inside bottom of the cup. Stick your pointsettia lollipops into the styrofoam...then put a strip of double stick tape close to the top of the cup (this tape will keep the foil wrap in place):



Cut a square of foil tissue and wrap around the cup...put another strip of double stick tape around the foil wrap and use that tape to hold the ribbon in place (I also added some crinkled shred to cover the styrofoam base):



Or...they're pretty cute to give away individually too:





I'll get crackin' on finishing up that gift card project...be back soon!!!

Peeking Pals

Hi!!! Wanted to share with you today how you can use your "extra hand" stamp to make your characters peek over the top of something:



You just need the top half of your character...glue them down behind the "wall"...then cut out 1 or 2 extra hands and glue those on top of the "wall". They can peek out over anything...the top of a gift bag...a pocket on the inside of a card (I'll show you a sample of one of these in the next day or two).

Also, I've been meaning to share the work of a very talented lady from San Francisco...I'm sure a lot of you are already familiar with her gorgeous work...Patti, from Creations by Patti!!! Check out her blog, she has such wonderful ideas...but, I wanted to especially share with you her version of the fan box (free pattern and instructions included in CL-1 Happy Wishes cling set) and her shoji screen card (free pattern and instructions included in CL-8 Friends cling set).

Thanks for visiting...stop by again soon!!!

Christmas Love

Just popping in to share a quick gift tag:



Stamps Used: Max (MC-2 So Glad We're Friends)
Buddy (MC-5 So Sweet)
Candy Canes (MC-10 Sweet Wishes)
Tiny To, From (#6023)

Little Monster

Hey there...back to share some more cards!! Today's cards feature one of my faves, Little Monster. For this first card, I stamped 2 images (cutting off one arm from each monster...ouch!!!) along with 2 extra hands...and made 2 little monster pals:




Word stamp is #A118 (Pals). For the next card, I made a Thanksgiving card:







To make this card, I cut my card stock to 4-1/2" high x 5" wide. Score at 1-1/4" from each side. Stamp your sentiment on the inside of the card (paper-piecing the heart)...stamp 1 Little Monster and 2 hand stamps (each hand holding 1 leaf)...punch out a heart (and cut in half) ... cut 2 more leaves:



Glue both halves of your heart as shown below:



Next, glue your monster to the inside of the card...then glue the stem half of your first leaf to the left card flap, as shown below:



Match up the two leaves so that they're interlocked...then glue down the stem half of your second leaf to the right card flap:



Tie a ribbon around your card to hold everything together. I know this is an unusual sized card...I liked the long and skinny look of it...click here to get an envelope pattern for this card.



I decorated the front by masking one leaf over the other:



Hope you're all having a great weekend so far!!!

More Mixin' and Matchin'...

Happy Aloha Friday!!! I was playing at mixing and matching more of my new cling stamps today and was reminded of paper dolls...remember those? Maybe I'm dating myself. Anyway, today's projects involve making some simple goodie bags. The first uses Elliot in a Halloween theme. I colored the flags black and orange and glued them down only by the 2 end flags...that makes it look more like it's really hanging in the corner there. I used the "extra hand" stamp to let him hold the pumpkin:




Then I switched things up...I stamped 2 hand stamps and now Elliot is holding the banner. I hand-lettered the "hello" on the banner. Maybe you could use it to label the bags with names (only up to 6 letters though).




Thanks for stopping by!!!

One Stamp Card

For those of you who like quick and easy projects...here's a card that requires no cutting, no coloring, just one stamp and can be completed in under 5 minutes. I used a double sided paper with the darker color on the inside...stamped my design (from CL-10 Flowers cling stamp set) on the front and added rhinestones and a line using a ruler and black pen.




I used the same design on the inside, but this time I used white ink. You can use a white or metallic pen to write your note:




Simple!!