Congrats Grad!

Happy Wednesday!  Hope you week is rolling right along.  I have a graduation card to share with you today--seems this is the year for graduations in our little circle I have five graduations to go to.  So I thought I better get my butt moving to whip up a few cards.  Here is the first one.  It has a spot at the front inside to add a gift card then when you open the card it automatically lifts the gift card part so that is is prominent.  Pretty cool.  It was made with the envelope punch board.  We did this at last month's clubs. Here is the front of the card....

And then the inside--without a gift card it in.  I stamped the inside sentiment a little low on this one but you get the idea.  The gift card goes behind the part that says Dedication, Fortitude and Pure Gumption!  It would cover the back sentiment until the card was pulled out--then you would see that.  I believe they are also calling this a matchbook slider gift card holder.

Directions:  Card Stock Cut 4 ¼ x 11, Scored in landscape position at 1 ¾” on left end.  On right end use envelope punchboard to punch notch 1” from each side.  Fold over to latch and close into potions and crease with bone folder.  Inside Gift Card Slider:  CS cut 3 1/3” x 6 ¾” Score in landscape position at ½” and 5” - See more at: http://www.inkrubberart.com/matchbook-slider-gift-card-holder/#sthash.YlzckTG5.dpuf

I started with a piece of Lost Lagoon card stock that was 4 1/2 by 11 inches.  With the 4 1/2" side along the top of the envelope punch board punch at 1" then flip it so you are punching on the same end but different side again at 1".  So now you have one end that has to notches both 1" from the ends.  Now you will need to get your regular score board and score this paper.  You will want the 11" edge lined up with the top of the score board and the end without notches to the left against the other edge.  Sore at 2" and then at 7 1/4".  Fold inward on the scorlines so that it will connect together.  Use a strip of designer paper that is 1"  inch by 12" to wrap around the bottom part of this to hold it together--you do not want to glue it as the glue will not allow the inner part to move freely.  That is the basics of the outside part of the holder.  Next you will need a piece of whisper white card stock that is 6-½” x 3-¾”.  With the  6-½” edge along the top of your score board score at the 1-¾” and 6” marks.  Fold the big flap forwards and the little tab backwards.The larger tab is the pocket part--the small tab on the top is the part that will attach to the inside front flap of the card so that it will pull the pocket out when you open it.  You can stamp your sentiments and then insert the pocket part into the lower section of the outer holder you made previously as shown above.  I then added a piece of sticky strip to the front of the little folder area (the part that would be facing out with the pocket in) and then closed the outside part done--this made the little flap stick to the inside outer flap in a perfect position.  Hope that makes sense--I do not have pictures so it is hard to explain--if you have questions feel free to ask.  I can do a picture tutorial if people need it.

Anyway--hope you have a great day!  Mary Jo

  Here are the supplies used on this project:

Directions:  Card Stock Cut 4 ¼ x 11, Scored in landscape position at 1 ¾” on left end.  On right end use envelope punchboard to punch notch 1” from each side.  Fold over to latch and close into potions and crease with bone folder.  Inside Gift Card Slider:  CS cut 3 1/3” x 6 ¾” Score in landscape position at ½” and 5” - See more at: http://www.inkrubberart.com/matchbook-slider-gift-card-holder/#sthash.YlzckTG5.dpuf

Directions:  Card Stock Cut 4 ¼ x 11, Scored in landscape position at 1 ¾” on left end.  On right end use envelope punchboard to punch notch 1” from each side.  Fold over to latch and close into potions and crease with bone folder.  Inside Gift Card Slider:  CS cut 3 1/3” x 6 ¾” Score in landscape position at ½” and 5” - See more at: http://www.inkrubberart.com/matchbook-slider-gift-card-holder/#sthash.YlzckTG5.dpuf

Simply Scored

$29.95

Envelope Punch Board

$19.95

Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$6.95

Blue Ribbon Clear Stamp Set

$20.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Do you have a Grad to celebrate?

This week on Latenightstampers  (aactually the next two weeks since the challenges are running for two weeks over the summer.) the challenge is Party Time!  What better reason to PARTY than to celebrate someone's graduation?!  This fun origami type card has been around the internet for years but it is a fun one and much easier now that we have the diagonal score board!  Our school colors are Maroon and White as you can probably figure from the photos below...

I love that it holds a gift card or money!  So fun and easy too!

Here are some quick directions for making this fun card.
 Begin with a piece of card stock that is 9 3/4" by 4 1/4" .  With the regular score board (straight lines) place you card stock so that the 9 3/4" edge runs along the top of the score board.  Score from top to bottom at 5 1/2"   Now you will want to change you scoreboard to the diagonal board.  Again lay your  card stock so that the 9 3/4" edge runs along the top of the score board.  Score from the 2 1/8" mark straight down until you are off the paper--this line will cross over the straight line you did before.  Flip the card stock over so that the opposite 9 3/4" edge runs along the top of the score board and do the same score from the 2 1/8" mark.  Now you will change your card stock so that the 4 1/4" edge is at the top of the card and score from the 2 1/8" mark again.  This line be from the center of the top and come down to meet the first score line.  Flip the card stock to get the same score on the opposite side. You card stock should now look like the image below.  You will cut out the grey areas and then fold on all scorelines until it lays like shown in the above pictures.  Clear as mud???  Probably should do a picture or video tutorial but I am betting there are tons out there is you need to see them.  Just Google Grad Origami card. Click on image below to make it bigger. 

 

After your card is folded you will need a square piece of card stock for the hat layer that is 2 3/4" square--and the insert is 4" by 3"--be sure to only attach the insert on the two sides and the bottom so you can insert money or gift card.

Don't forget about your chance to win blog candy at Create with Connie and Mary today!

Lots of fabulous ideas to be found there. Click the logo below

Remember we are still celebrating

Preview Week

 

Happy today!

Mary Jo

Cards that make you giggle....

Before I get to the cards can I tell you something else that makes me "giggle"?  I have been asked to be one of the guest designers on the fabulous Create with Connie and Mary blog!  I am honored to say that both of these ladies have become on-line friends and they are both crazy talented.  But that is not the best part--they have a bunch of really talented designers besides themselves that all join forces to bring you at downloadable collection of step by step tutorials all for one low price!

And the excitement don't stop there--because if you join now you can get early bird pricing--that is a $5 savings.  You will get 24 full color, step by step tutorials for only $19.95!  Nice huh?!  

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled during the next week as we celebrate 

Preview Week

 

 Stay tuned for freebie tutorials, blog candy and of course the early bird pricing.

Click the image above to learn more and sign up now!

So in honor of this I thought I would make a mini tutorial for you showcasing the Giggle Greetings stamp set.  This is the stamp set that I will be featuring in the Summer Collection mentioned above.  

***this is just a mini tutorial and not the full step by step tutorials that will be included in the collection***

I made a cute little box set of 4 by 4 cards using each of the images from the set. 

All of the cards are basically the same except for the accent color and image.

And they all have matching envelopes too!

Here are the four cards in the box...

Each card has a base made from a 8" by 4" piece of Island Indigo card stock folded in half to create a 

4" by 4" card.  They all have a layer of DP from the Quarterfancy Specialty Designer Paper that is a 3 3/4" square.  The middle accent color strip is 1" by 3 3/4".  (Two strips are Daffodil Delight, one is Smoky Slate and the last one is Baked Brown Sugar.)  The next element on the card from bottom to top is a piece of Island Indigo card stock that is 2 1/2" by 3 inches.   Next is the accent color square this is 2 1/8" and finally the focal image square that is 2".  The sentiments are stamped on scraps of Whisper White card stock and added to the bottom of the Island Indigo piece . All of the images are colored in with markers or ink pads with a blender pen.  Three of the cards have the second half of the saying from the set on the inside.

(I cut my images and sentiments apart to make them easier to use separately) 

The box was very basic.  I have created this template for you to follow.  I added a strip of DP to the front of the box just to bring it all together.  Click on the image below to see the full size template and read the cutting/scoring directions.

And finally I made matching envelopes by trimming down our regular envelopes and adding a matching piece of Designer Series Paper to them.  I made a tutorial on how to do this a few years ago--see below

Envelope Tutorial Can Be Found HERE

you will love this simple way to make 4.25" envelopes

I hope you enjoyed the sample I shared today!

Now go enjoy your Father's Day--there must be some one in your lives that you can celebrate with--right?

Mary Jo 

 

By the Tide Masculine Card Set Tutorial

I know it has been a while but I have a brand new tutorial for you and it is only $2.50 as usual!  As I talked with a bunch of you who have been buying my tutorials many of you said you would love to just have card sets with a bunch of cards using one stamp set and a few papers and that you did not really care as much about the box or container to keep them in.  So that is what this one is!  (I will still be doing the other type too).  So I hope you will give it a try.

The tutorial contains step by step directions for six cards using the fabulous By the Tide stamp set!  They are all of a masculine nature but can be used for anyone!  You will get cutting sizes and step by step directions.

By the Tide Card Set Tutorial

8 pages full of pictures and step by step directions 

including cutting measurements!

Only $2.50

 

Tutorial will be automatically downloaded when you make your payment!

Thanks so much for visiting today-enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love you Beary Much!

What is up with me and the punch art lately??!  Seems I always want to do punch art around Valentines because you can make such cute little critters with hearts.  These cute bears are not made with hearts but they are on a heart shaped card and are holding a heart.  Aren't they cute.  I had fun coming up with the idea and I even have a mini tutorial at the end of the post.

All of the bear pieces are Crumb Cake CS and they are shaded around the edges with Crumb Cake ink.  The pink in the ears and on the cheeks is done with chalk.  (forgot I have that been so long since I used it.)
Want to know how to make these cuties???
 

Have fun creating!
Mary Jo

Hearts a Flutter Puppy- with a free mini tutorial.

The challenge on the Latenightstamper's blog this week is called Hearts a Flutter.  All of your samples for the week must have a heart on them.  I had lots of fun creating this darling dog card!  I will have to make an envelope for it but that is ok since he is just so dang cute it will be worth the little bit of extra effort.  Don't you think he is darling?

And I even have a little tutorial for you so you can make your own.  I made him using the Hearts Collection Framelits and a few other punches.  This is a real quick tutorial but should be enough. If you have questions feel free to post in the comments asking.  You need to be sure you leave your e-mail as blogger does not always show it.

 You will begin by cutting his head out of Crumb Cake card stock.  This is an 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch piece of card stock folded in half to form a card base.  Be sure to position your largest scallop heart on the paper as shown below.  The fold is at the top of the heart.  You will want to be sure you have the heart overlapping as shown below.

 Next cut his ears--they are just the next smaller size heart cut from  Early Espresso card stock (I know it don't look like Early Espresso in the picture). You will need to cut this heart in half from top to bottom as shown below. 

For the jowls you will move down a couple of sizes to the third smallest heart in the collection.  You will cut the jowls from Crumb Cake and add a bit of sponging around the edges of it with Crumb Cake ink.

Cut a nose from the smallest heart in the collection using Basic Black card stock.  The rest of the pieces are as follows.

Two White Extra Large Ovals for the whites of his eyes.  Two Small Ovals from Pool Party card stock for the blue in his eyes.  Two Basic Black circles punched from the Itty Bitty Shapes Circle Punch. I used a white gel pen for the dots of his eyes and the Early Espresso marker for the whisker spots.  And finally one Real Red oval for his tongue.  Here is a picture of the punches I used.

 Assemble as shown in the picture above. Have fun with him!  I know I did.  I added a large white heart inside and a Happy Valentine's sentiment.  Going to my young niece who loves dogs.

Want a sneak peek at my newest tutorial that will be posted later today???

Love You Tutorial

Coupon Booklet-with coupons--Matching Card--and mini Treat

All for only $2.50

Step by Step directions--lots of pictures--can be used again and again.

NOW ALL NEW TUTORIALS  ARE IMMEDIATELY DOWNLOADED

NO WAIT TIME THEY ARE E-MAILED TO YOU IMMEDIATELY AND AUTOMATICALLY AFTER PAYMENT IS MADE!

At this point the only tutorials that are automatically send are the two newest ones.  

One Sheet Wonder 2013 and this new one Love You --all others will be sent individually and by hand so may take a bit.  Thanks for your patience as I get them all on auto download.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Mary Jo

Yearly Valentine's for the birds!

My son loves birds--any animal actually-- so each year we make a different version of this adorable bird valentine for his class.  This year we are using the Cheap Talk stamp set.  They are just too cute!  Don't you agree.

Here is a pdf of the words only if you are interested in making them yourself.  I change the bird each year.    CLICK HERE TO GET THE PDF FILE    this file prints onto either regular card stock/paper or Avery Business cards 8371.  Hope you enjoy! 

Have a great day!

Sweet Treats Snowman Test tube and hot cocoa holder--tutorial.

Here is an adorable little gift that is so easy to make and cute too! Someone posted these adorable snowman test tubes they purchased last year at a specialty shop and I thought I would re-create them and turn them into a project for this month's clubs. It just so happens that I participated in a test tube bulk buy for a different project but I needed the tubes to be bigger so this is what I am doing with them now--some of them anyway!

The test tubes are filled with tiny mint candies from Wilton--found with wedding stuff. I then painted the face on the tube with acrylic paint. And the cute little hat is the finger of a toddler glove! Just cut the finger off and roll the edge. Too easy. Of course the scarf is made with ribbon. Here is the directions for the hot cocoa holder.

Start with a 10 by 8 inch piece of card stock. Score down both long sides at 3/4 inch and then across the short side at 6 and 6 3/4 . See the photo below. You will also need to cut the little score marks in the middle. Again check the photo. On my sample I rounded the top two corners too.
After you have painted your snowman tube and he is dry, lay him in position on the holder and use a scrap of matching card stock to make a strip that will hold the tube in place and keep it from falling over or turning around. See next two pictures.


Finally I added a background piece of DP and then attached the side with sticky strip.

Decorate the front as desired. Here is another sample--my first sample so the top corners are a bit different and the face on the snowman is done with sharpie markers. No quite as bold. I like the paint better.


I'd love to see your version of this. I thing it would be cute to have a whole row of the snowmen with different things in them such as flavored creamers, sprinkles for cookies etc.....

Have a great weekend.
Mary Jo

How to make the pencil box previously posted.

You can click on the picture to enlarge. I made this mini tutorial with the MDS. Only a few minutes. Not sure how it will work, lol.




You can click on the picture to enlarge. I made this mini tutorial with the MDS. Only a few minutes. Not sure how it will work, lol. Here is the picture of the finished project which was also partially done with the MDS.




Let me know how this works for you if it is too hard to figure out or if it is ok. Thanks.

Mary Jo

Winner of the Royal Blog Candy and a mini Tutorial too.

I know a bunch of you were wondering why I was giving away two of the same wheel to one person, well I am going to show you what I do with my wheels. Since Stampin Up has come up with these wheels that have so many different sayings on them I always order two of them. I keep one as is and take the rubber off the second one add it to cling foam and cut it apart to create a bunch of individual stamps. This truly makes it much easier to work with, and I love so many of the saying on these so it is fun to use them alone on other items. Here is a mini tutorial on how I do it--remember I said mini, lol.

First find the seal on the wheel and gently pull the rubber from the wheel. It is really easy to do. See the picture below.

Continue to pull the rubber off the wheel

This is what your rubber will look like when you have it completely off the wheel.

Next I added some cling foam mounting to the entire piece of rubber. This is optional you can use the rubber alone or even mount permanently on wood if you want.

Finally use a craft knife to carefully cut around each individual sentiment. And there you will have a whole bunch of individual stamps for just $8.50 talk about a bargain!



And now I bet you are wondering who the lucky winner of the two wheels is..............


It took a bit to find out who said they had subscribed and who did not. But after all that I then had to go back and check for double posts. To make it easier I printed the whole list of comments out then highlighted the ones that said that they subscribed and re-printed them. Added them all to one bucket and had my son pull a name. So the winner is.....

Kathy W said... 101

I became a follower, your stuff rocks- so creative and thinking beyond a card- love it!
kraftinkathy(at) verizon(dot) net

I can not say for sure if you won for commenting or subscribing but you won none the less! Congratulations Kathy, send me your address at yourrep@roadrunner.com and I will get these in the mail for you.

Thanks to everyone for all the wonderfully sweet comments. You all made me smile.

Mary Jo

Mini card with matching mini envelope and a mini tutorial!

This week's challenge on Latenight Stampers was to make a card that is NOT 5.5 by 4.25. So this card is 4.25 by 4.25. These are some of my favorite cards, so fun, cute and quick. And you can also make your mini envelope to match in just a few steps. Tutorial at end of post. (not my best, lol)

So this card is using my favorite new color and my favorite new embossing folder from Stampin Up! Isn't the design beautiful. And it is so crisp and clear. Love it. I have been using it on EVERYTHING! This is a fast and simple card.

Stamps: True Friend and Bright Blessing Jumbo Wheel.
Paper: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo
Other: Stampin Up whisper white envelope, embossing folder, circle punches, black brad, Melon Mambo poka dot ribbon!

Here is a quick tutorial on how to make the matching envelope.

You will need to start with a medium stampin up envelope or one without the v on the back. You need to have a straight edge on the flap with the adhesive. Glue your envelope closed. Now mesure the envelope on the short side to get your measurement for the long side--you want a square. The measurement will be 4 3/8 on the Stampin Up envelopes. You will need to cut the sealed envelope to make it square. See photo below.

This is a bad picture of what it will look like at this point. Your side will be cut off.


Next you need a piece of matching card stock or dp 2.5 inches by 4 3/8. To match my embossed card I embossed two inches of the the card stock with the matching folder. See below.


Then I used my scoring tool to score a line at the two inch mark. The two inch part will be your new flap. The 1/2 inch part will attach to the front of your new envelope.


I used the tag corner (not the ticket corner as stated on the photo) punch to angle the bottom corners of my flap. See below.

Add a generous amount of adhesive to the 1/2 inch side of your flap. See below. You will then attach this to the front of the envelope. The side that has no flaps showing.


Now as a finishing touch use your 1 inch circle punch to punch half a circle from the back side of your envelope to make it easier to get the card in and out. See below.


Here is what your new finished matching envelope will look like.



Hope this made sense. And sorry about the typos on the pictures. My hands were not working correctly when I edited them (stinkin arthritis) and I did not have time to re-do them this morning. Sorry!

Have a great Sunday.
Mary Jo