Calendar project - April

My monthly stamping group is putting together a calendar. We've divided up the months so that each of us is responsible for 2 months of the year. We need to create 12- 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" pages for each of the 2 months. When we meet in November we will use a bind-it-all to bind the pages so that each of us gets 2 full calendars.
Here is my page for the month of April; I've already completed my pages for the month of August.
I started with a light green heavy weight card stock. After cutting the pages to size I stamped the flower stems in meadow, the clouds in london fog, and the rain drops in stormy sky. Next I cut a strip of decorative scrapbook paper for the bottom, trimming the top edge with decorative scissors, and then attached that to the bottom of the page. I mounted the April calendar onto green card stock and attached to the upper right corner.
I took a little 'cocktail' umbrella, opened it up, flattened it somewhat, and then taped it down to the page.... after all, it is April showers.
I used gel pens to color buds onto the flower stems. I used glossy accents to add a little dimension and sparkle to the rain drops. And, I used diamond glaze under the umbrella to help adhere the stick to the page.
I like the result and I hope everyone else in our monthly stamp group will like the month of April also.

Monthly card keeper

This is a card keeper. A very crafty friend of mine brought this project for us to make when a small group of us got together recently. The booklet is created using 8 sheets of 12 x 12" double sided scrapbook paper. Six of the sheets are scored and folded into pocket pages representing the 12 months of the year, and the other 2 pages are cut and scored to create the front and back covers of the book. We did add a piece of cardboard to the inside fold of the covers to give them more substance. Once all the pages are folded and the covers created the book is bound together using a bind it all.
The selection of papers she brought for us to use were fabulous.
Here are the pages for February and March. Each page represents one of the 12 months and a sheet for that particular month is attached to the bottom of the pocket. Our friend typed and printed the months for us on white copy paper. All we had to do was cut them out and attach them to the pocket pages.
I plan to give this away as a gift... who will the lucky person be?


Here's a look at 2 other pages - June and July. You get the idea. Each page has a pocket to keep the cards that pertain to the special events for a particular month. The sheet for each month has the dates listed and a blank line so that you can identify which days correspond to a particular event and person that you would send a card.

Candy box

I recently spent some time with my 'crafty' friends and one of them brought this great little candy box idea.
The box and sleeve are pictured below, but what you are looking at here is what the recipient would first see. The sleeve is created to keep the box closed and is just a strip of white card stock that you fit around the box so that it can slide easily onto the box. The white sleeve is then decorated however you choose. We layered the sleeve with red and then a patterned paper. On top of that we attached an apple image that we stamped and cut from white card stock, and an apple core that we punched from red and white card stock using a tab punch.
Yummy!!!! When the box is opened there are 9 pieces of hershey's chocolate inside! Who wouldn't want that?
The box itself is made from one piece of double sided decorative paper cut to 5 1/2 x 8". It is scored, folded, cut at the corners, and taped together to create the cut little box.
When I created my box, I folded it so that the solid red was on the outside and the multi-colored scallops were on the inside. There was some of the decorative card stock left so I cut strips of the scallops and taped them to the sides of the outside of the box.
These will make great little gifts.

Accordion card holder and cards

I recently spent some time creating with friends. Each of us brought a project to share. This accordion card box and matching cards was the idea of one of my crafty friends. We started with 2 - 12 x 12" sheets of double sided scrapbook paper. I chose a blue paper that had diagonal stripes on one side and green dotted circles on the other. One side of the paper was used for the top and sides, while the other side was used for the front and back. Magnetic pieces are adhered to the inside of the flap and at the top of the front so that the flap stays closed. It is difficult to see, but there is a ribbon handle on the top; it is slipped through slits cut in the top and then the ribbon is taped to the inside and covered with some of the paper to hide the ends. Creating the card holder does not use one entire piece of the 12 x 12" paper so you use the remaining piece along with the second piece of 12 x 12 to create the cards that will go inside the holder.
Here are 3 of the cards I made with the same 2 sided decorative scrapbook paper and white card stock. Some of the layouts I copied from the cards my friend had made and some are original designs. We had a multitude of tools to work with: nestability dies, punches, ribbons, stamps, gel pens, inks, etc.
It was so much fun to see what each of us came up with and to learn and work off each other's creativity. It really is beneficial to be able to work along side each other.
Here are the last 2 of the 5 cards I made. I could make more... I still have some of the decorative scrapbook paper left! But, this will be a perfect birthday gift for a friend who is coming over on Saturday! It turned out so great it is difficult to part with it, but I'll be making more soon. These will be great to give to family members. I always give a packet of cards to them for their birthdays. Usually the cards are just tied together with ribbon and placed in a gift bag. They'll be surprised when their cards come in a coordinating accordion card box.

Gift box with card

I recently spent some time creating with friends. This wonderful gift box and matching card was a project shown to us by one of my crafting friends. Would you believe we used a box from health bars or instant breakfast drinks to make this box?? You break the box down, cut off the top flaps, and reassemble inside out. Then using one sheet of 12 x 12" decorative paper and some pieces of coordinating solid card stock cover the box and create a matching card. I also used a paper crimper and decorative edge punch on some of the solid pieces of card stock. The flowers on the box and card are fabric flowers and buttons.
You punch two holes on each side of the box at the top and string ribbon or twine through them to create handles for the gift box. Get some coordinating tissue and you have a great gift box that is reusable!! I'm definitely making more of these. Thanks to my friend for a great idea.

Desk Calendar

Each year I've been creating some desk calendars and giving them to friends and family members. I ordered 50 small calendars so I have quite a few to create. I created 20 easel style calendars like the one pictured here. I did create 2 each with the same colored background, but the rest of the calendar is the same as the one shown.
I ran a piece of card stock through the cuttlebug with the 'numbers' embossing folder for the background. I edged the piece with a gold krylon pen before attaching to the easel.
I used a nestabilities clock die to cut out the clock and before removing the piece from the die I used a sponge with black ink to color the roman numerals on the face of the clock. I shaded the outer edge of the clock with distress ink and then attached clock hands with a brad. The wings were stamped on a gold card stock, cut out, and attached to the back of the clock. I used dimensional tape when attaching the clock to the background. Before attaching the calendar, I first cut a piece of black card stock a little larger so that the calendar would stand out from the background paper.

Calendar project - August

My monthly stamping group is putting together a calendar. We've divided up the months so that each of us is responsible for 2 months of the year. We need to create 12- 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" pages for each of the 2 months. When we meet in November we will use a bind-it-all to bind the pages so that each of us gets 2 full calendars.
Here is my page for the month of August.
I used a piece of specialty paper I purchased from The Paper Cut. It appears to have waves so it is perfect for coloring blue and pretending it is the ocean! I cut a strip of brown paper with decorative scissors for the sand and attached small shells with diamond glaze. The palm tree is stamped and then colored with markers. The duck in the inner tube was stamped on a separate piece of card stock, colored with markers, cut out, and run through a xyron sticker maker. Before attaching him to the page I applied diamond glaze on the inner tube for dimension. The fish jumping out of the ocean is a sticker and the little splash image is a stamp from the same 'Close to my Heart' set that the duck is from. I hope everyone likes their August page.

Card to celebrate braces being removed

My friend, Sharon, commissioned me to create a card that she could give to her 13 year old granddaughter who is having her braces removed. Well, I don't have any stamps with braces, but I have a great set of phrases that pertain to smiling and they came in very handy when I created this card.
Sharon liked the card so much I'm off to create another for her to give to someone else having their braces removed.
Isn't it simply amazing what types of images you can find when you search the internet???
These are hysterical! I don't know if any of these are real or if they are all 'photo shopped'.
What makes this so cool is that both the sender and the recipient of this card have a golden retriever as a pet. In fact, the picture looks just like my friends' dog, Augie... who happens to be sitting right next to me as I type this as we are 'dog-sitting' for a couple of days.
But a goat or a frog with braces???... Come on!!!

Happy 60th Nancy!!!

Nancy, the newest member of our crazy group, is turning 60 at the end of December this year. I needed to get a jump on creating this book for her 60th since I'll be gone for all of December and much of January. I don't know when our group will gather to celebrate Nancy's birthday, but many of the years in the past we've gotten together in November before the big Holiday season begins.
The picture of Nancy popping out the the limo's sun roof was taken last February when the group rented a limo to drive up to Green Bay to visit Laura.
Nancy may not be the type for wearing a dress very often, but I love the philosophy of the words used on this stamp. It so fits many of the ladies in our group of friends.
I didn't have many pictures of Nancy so when I first began organizing for this booklet I was a bit concerned. But everything fell into place and I like the result... I just hope Nancy likes it too.

Nancy is into various outdoor activities that the rest of our crazy group isn't. She fishes and hunts with other friends. The book wouldn't be complete without some pages dedicated to those activities. The internet is a wonderful tool for finding pictures when you don't have any personal pictures to use. And you can usually find scrapbook paper and stickers to go along with whatever theme you are trying to achieve.

Nancy hunts too.. and more than just deer! Since I didn't have any pics of her hunting I resorted to the internet and the sticker section of Michael's.
On the right is a picture of some of our group at Bert's condo when they first moved in. I don't know who is taking the picture???
We get together for no particular reason and for any reason we can think of.


We are a crazy group of ladies. Some of us have been together longer than others. Nancy has known Bert and Mary since early childhood, but she is really the "newest" member of our crazy group.
I love the picture on the right. I don't remember where or when it was taken, but I love how the snowflakes have melted on the camera lens. I'm pretty sure it is a pic of Nancy, Mary, Bert, and me.

Sometime in November or December we try to get together to celebrate the winter birthdays. On the left Nancy and I are celebrating our birthday and on the right we are capturing our group in front of Cara's christmas tree. We always have fun ... we talk, we laugh, we eat, we laugh, we have a couple of drinks, we laugh... you get the picture!






I was thrilled that I already had various scrapbook papers in my stash that worked so well for this book.
The picture on the left is of Nancy, Bert, and myself as we celebrated all 3 of our birthdays together at Cara's house. On the right is a picture of some of the gang that was able to travel up to Laura's in Green Bay last February. Would you believe they rented a limo... and had a blast! It was a surprise for Laura as her birthday is in February. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make that get together.

Here is the last page... well, almost the last. I still need to sign the back inside cover and write a little note to Nancy.. but I have until November to do that!
I've been able to use a bunch of things that I've had for some time. The embossed paper I used for the background I've had since there were 'Paper Adventures' warehouse sales in Milw. I don't know how long I've had that cute birthday ribbon with the yellow and green candles!
But the stamp I used with that wonderful verse is rather new. I hope Nancy enjoys her book.