Baby Shower

Oh Happy Day

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

There is a certain someone getting close to having a baby girl and this just about sums it up. It is truly a happy day and I can’t wait.  And with the heat we have been having I am sure she is more than excited.

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The very fun and exciting playful palette designer series paper stack almost overwhelmed me. The colors and patterns are so busy, almost too busy for me.  I started out with the most subtle one in the stack.  I can’t imagine some of these patterns in a 12 x 12, good thing this is contained to a 6 x 6 stack.  There will be a lot of fun card and gift bag sets I think. Smaller than my regular by far, which makes it much more manageable.

I punched several balloons from plain card stock, but wanted a different look too.  With my aqua painter I covered a section of water color paper with wide light swipes of coordinating ink.  I did sponge all of them as well. The stamp set, Thoughtful Banners, has tons of sayings that fit inside the banner stamp.  There is a coordinating punch for the banners, so that makes me very happy.  I did my stamping, but trimmed it right to the stamp so I could punch another one from card stock and have a tiny border all the way around.

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The solid bakers twine really makes me happy.  I had longer strings attached to each balloon and trimmed them after they were squished into place with glue dots.  With the extra hanging off the card I tied one simple knot and used it as the embellishment for the gift card sized gift bag.  I do hate wasting product.  It turned out great!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello Baby!

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A good friend of mind is expecting her third child soon, a baby girl.  It was a huge surprise but it is finally getting exciting for everyone.  Thought it was about time I made a special card or two just for the occasion.  What is it about pink and sparkles anyhow?

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I haven’t purchased much in the department of this years designer series paper department, nor do I have any current baby themed stamp sets, so I had to get a bit creative.  It may be on the elegant side, but I do like how it turned out.

I made a couple of layers of blushing bride card stock to add to the card base, with the top most layer being embossed for a little texture.  Love it! I then decided to break out the flourish thinlits set and cut a few of the images in glimmer paper.  Again, it was totally working for me.  When it came time for a sentiment, I really had to look.  I found this treasure in the beautiful banner set and thought it to be perfect.  The sentiment was layered on more card stock and both layers were edged in the banner style.  A little wrapping with metallic thread and one huge metal rimmed pearl later and I called this one done.  Yes!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

My Happy Day

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Yesterday was my birthday, and it was most certainly my happy day.  I made this project with that in mind.  Using my favorite go to ideas and things that make me happy.  Water coloring is awesome, both intricate and simple cards, and a myriad of other projects all bring me joy.  However, there is nothing more satisfying than a beautiful crisp gift box or bag.  I love making and sharing these, they really do bring me joy.  So I indulged myself a little bit here.

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Using an entire piece of designer series paper goes against my “make it last” mentality, but it was my birthday after all.  So I pulled out a piece that I loved and created just what I wanted.  I like to maximize the height so it can hold more of whatever I have in mind.  This one did get a bit of switching around.  The top of the bag needed to have enough space to hold the large ribbon and bow I had in mind, so it ended up losing just a touch of volume, but it was well worth it.

This ribbon though…it is so very nice.  It looks great in a knot, a simple bow, and creates lovely larger bows just like this.  While I may hesitate using my paper, I do not hold back using ribbon.  I love large bows and could put them on everything.  Something I learned from my mother to be certain.  In a workshop situation I wouldn’t go this large, my ladies would just get frustrated trying to make it pretty.  Can’t have that, but since this was for me, I let it slide a bit.  Then of course a simple layered circle tag set, stamped off once and sponged around the edges.

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Again, my favorite types of things.  Second only to sharing them that is.  The bow of course can just slide off so the box can be filled easily and used again.  I always try to make my gift bags and boxes that way.  They are too lovely to be used just once.  So, I make sure the recipient knows how easy it is to re-gift them.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sea Street Pop-Up Party

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A super happy birthday would be coming your way with this adorable gift set.  I suppose it might be more inclined towards a child, but I have a great appreciation for cuteness, and this is definitely cute.

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I started out with the idea of this octopus holding eight balloons.  I suppose I should have used the bitty balloon punch, but I stayed with it.  Perhaps I will make it again to see how it would look.  I thought the small balloons would get lost in the fun background paper.

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The inside framelit action really makes a statement.  Even though it is in the middle, there is still plenty of room to write a personal message.  I do love the motion of the popup.  I had a large piece of paper left from the card background and went with a matching gift bag. If you are giving a birthday card, odds are you are giving a gift too.  Making a set is always my favorite thing.  It also helps me be brave and use up my designer series paper.  You can’t hang onto that too long you know.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Woodland Baby Shower Gift Set

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I admit it, I love giving gifts of thank you cards.  Especially when everything goes together so nicely.  This sweet friend was given a woodland themed baby shower and I knew I had just the right paper to fit the bill.  The invitations even had turtles and foxes on them.  Fun work time for me!

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The gift box and gift bag were even fun to make.  I honestly haven’t purchased a gift bag in the longest time.  I love it.  Gifts usually aren’t that large, for the most part.  I just set the gift on my score board, measure some and go for it.  I am usually right on target, the box for the card set was a bit long, but it still worked out.  How about the foil cloud bag though, so adorable right?  I hadn’t paired the silver satin ribbon with it yet, and it looks perfect together.

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The cards were very assembly line, both sets the same.  The background paper was cut with 1/4″ borders and a contrasting, but still coordinating, strip of designer paper from the same set was placed near the bottom.  A card stock 2″ circle layered with a stamped 1 3/4″ circle on top.  I stapled matching ribbon along the side of the circles for one more tiny layer and a bit of interest.  I do think they turned out adorable.

Inside this most adorable bag are two very silly baby books.  One is called “Toot”.  And yes, it is all about passing gas.  Just too funny to not share.  Both books were 7″ wide and 1″ thick, so that was easy enough to measure.  I scored at 2″ along each side and made the bottom scoring at 5″ and 7″.  This gave me a bag that measured 7 x 5 x 2 and worked out great!

All in all the set came together really fast.  From basic design concept, product choice and complete assembly it took about three hours.  Two gift bags and 24 cards, not too bad if I do say so myself.  I couldn’t attend the shower myself since I was teaching my card workshop, but one of my club ladies was also going and she took it with her.  It worked out great.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Peek-a-boo to Someone New!

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Adorable and adorable.  With a sentiment like this, any project is bound to look adorable. However, the dandelion puffs do help tremendously.  This is the third in a gift series focusing on one set of paper from Sale-a-bration and just one stamp set.  With a few punches and some ribbon I was able to create a dozen cards and a container to hold them. Enjoy them like I have.

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One piece of paper for the card front, one tag layered with a scalloped background, and a simple bow.  I do think of a new baby with this card, but it could work for other situations I suppose.  There are several ladies in my life who are expecting little ones, so this just might get made a few times over.  Easy and fun to do.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Dear Heart, Sweet Boy

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This project was all about giving myself a challenge.  I grabbed a piece of dsp, decided on three colors, picked a stamp set I hadn’t used a long time and went for it.  This was definitely not my usual style, but it felt good.

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The card itself wasn’t too complicated, just one layer for the background.  I stamped my little boys on water color paper with black stazon and opened the ink pads.  Their faces were done with a very diluted wash of pink pirouette with the hair in tip top taupe.  I wanted them to look like the same boy just doing different things.

Each boy face was accented with one color only.  For the darker areas I kept the ink fairly strong.  When I accented I diluted it a bit more and even more for the outlined areas in the background.  I left it simple because I wasn’t really going for perfection, just soft coloring. I punched their faces out with the 1 3/4″ circle punch and a background of black with the 2″ circle punch.  They were arranged on the front and layered with a bit of dimensionals.

The banner was stamped from the same set and a light wash of each color was put on its own section.  Then each end was punched with the bitty banner punch.  I also put that up on dimensionals.  I repeated the pattern of paper inside with more dsp and a smaller piece of very vanilla to write my message on.  Such a sweet card, for a very sweet boy indeed.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Flowering Fields with Botanicals for You

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I did start out with a St. Patrick’s Day card set in mind.  Hence the green and gold. However, it quickly changed into something more elegant and much more useful.  I do know several people that truly do love to celebrate this holiday and this would work wonderfully for them as well.  What fun, right?

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This Flowering Fields stamp set will be gone soon.  I do love the fun free products available during Sale-a-bration, but always are sad to see them go.  I do know that there are always new things on the horizon that I will love equally well, but I do have my favorites that stick around year after year.

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I ended up using a full sheet of very vanilla, part for the card front and inside, and used the rest to make a gift bag.  I prefer to have paper used up with as little waste as possible.  I even used the snipping left from cutting the front and inside to be my sentiment tag.  Very little waste today indeed.

This glitter tape is so much fun.  I admit I have stashed it a bit too long, I thought I had learned my lesson.  Guess not.  So, I broke it out and put it to work.  Just a little bit does so much.  And it is so tidy, no glitter messes to be found.  A win for everyone for sure. I do think I will use some tape to close the bag when it gets filled with a treat or two.  Yeah!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello and Bonjour!

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Can  Sale-a-bration be any more fun?  How about getting another free stamp set just so you can have it in french?  I saw another awesome demonstrator, Mary Fish, use this set with the bonjour stamp and I knew I wanted it as well.  Isn’t that just how we work?  Well, it was worth it.  I love it!

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The dsp I am using here is also from a free Sale-a-bration set.  Most of the patterns are floral, hence the wildflower fields title, but not all of them.  These simple stripes are adorable.  I thought I would create two color choices and a gift bag that could go with either one.  It worked out great.

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I thought for sure the bonjour card would be my favorite, but the birthday boy is also very adorable.  I think the party hat stamp really made it.  You can never have enough birthday cards, especially when I get to share most of them with my mother-in-law.  She is so good about remembering literally everyone’s birthdays.  And she loves sending out special ones much more than a store bought card.  Who wouldn’t?

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Have a creative day!

Moana

It’s My Party Gift Box

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Instead of a large bag, which is what I had planned, I went with a gift box.  I had cut a strip of the dsp for two card fronts and thought to use the remainder of the sheet for the bag now turned box.  I love using a whole sheet up for several projects, especially when I get to make a coordinating set.  Two more cards for this little grouping.

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I think my scoring tool has to be one of my most used tools.  I do enjoy making gift bags and boxes though, so it is a great fit.  This one is two inches deep and plenty large enough to hold plenty of treats, small gifts, or even some home made soaps.  Sometimes I make a box for a specific gift, but I often go shopping through my stash for one just the right size. When you blog as much as I do, there are always plenty of choices.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Hip Hip Hooray for Today!

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

What kind of fun events do you get excited for?  There are so many special days to celebrate it is hard to choose just one.  For me?  Well, today is all about celebrating the special meeting of my future daughter-in-law.  I have to admit, there is a bit of nervous energy going on there, more than I am aware of I am sure.  But still, what a wonderful day to celebrate.

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I am in love with this tiny little balloon punch.  It has two friends, a tiny cupcake and a tiny candle, but I can’t get past the balloon.  I have a thing with tiny things and this fits the bill perfectly.  They are just big enough to fit a dimensional behind so they get to look like they really are floating.  And if you use your bone folder across the linen thread it will curl just a bit.  It makes me smile.

The framelit is from a set two piece set that makes pop up card centers.  I trimmed the sides to give me this huge tag.  It was very difficult to throw out the inside cut pieces.  They were perfect!  I played with them, told myself to throw them in the bin, I did, then I got them back out, played again and tossed them again.  Seriously, get a grip.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

 

Hooray! for Perfect Pairings

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I could probably keep making samples for these bridal shower invitation choices.  Where do you draw the line?  Is three enough?  How about five?  Perhaps four is just right…

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Even though this is still floral, it is has a much stronger navy blue influence.  With the soft seam binding ribbon, the navy doesn’t seem too overpowering.  Not too complicated a card here.  There are 1/8″ simple borders layered with a decorated front.  I started with the navy flower background stamping and then included the pink centers.  How fun is it to have just the colors you want.  The beauty of stamping.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello Little Sunshine

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It is so wonderful to have stamp sets that speak to you.  I literally would say this phrase over and over to my children when they were little.  Now that they are much older, it still manages to sneak in for a tender moment or two.

Hello Little Sunshine

When I started making the background for the card by just stamping off as I went along, I knew I needed to make a coordinating gift bag.  That little sunshine stamp is so adorable.  I could see myself sneaking it in lots of places.  And to top it off, the Hello stamp set is a free one during Sale-a-bration!  Free is nice, but free and adorable is not a common thing.

Hello Little Sunshine

A tall slender gift bag was in order today.  I was feeling like a different gift option, but of course I could totally see a big yummy candy bar going inside.  How about a fat quarter of fabric instead?  Yes, my quilting friends would totally agree with that one.  Maybe I could find some sunshine paper too?  Or stamp some to match?  A project and a gift, sounds great!

Hello Little Sunshine

Have a creative day!

Moana

Oh, Hello 2016

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It would appear I have taken a few days off, and I guess I did.  I worked ahead to be out of town and still blog, but didn’t have quite the time to get back to it when I got home.  Sometimes life just has to happen, and it was so much fun!

Oh, Hello 2016

This card is just cuteness overload!  I am absolutely in love with this little chick, aren’t you?  It comes from a free set that is only available during Sale-a-bration.  It is a free gift option when you buy $50 of product.  No problems here, I love free!

Oh, Hello 2016

I snatched a tiny stamp from December’s Paper Pumpkin kit that says 2016.  It works with the calendar kit, but is just what I needed for this card.  Kind of like the year 2016 was there before I realized it.  I do think this chick will find its way on everything I can think of.  I have tons of other new product to play with, but nothing this cute.  Oh how I do love cute!

Oh, Hello 2016

Have a creative day, what’s left of it.

Moana

Grateful

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It isn’t very often you get to design a special card like this one.  Tomorrow will be me and my husbands 25th wedding anniversary and I feel truly grateful for every day we have loved together.

Grateful

I didn’t want to use a traditional ‘anniversary’ stamp or theme.  That isn’t how I feel.  I feel gratitude.  Having a lasting marriage isn’t the norm these days and I feel very fortunate to be among those who get to celebrate like this.  Hence the grateful sentiment.

Grateful

This card was made with the ever so lovely heavy weight whisper white cardstock.  I love that stuff like crazy.  Especially when embossed.  It handles the embossing folders so much better.  Look at that texture!  The flowers are my favorite, like always.  They were attached with glue dots and given a basic rhinestone center.  Just right.  Now, about the grateful phrase.  That thinlit will be available for order on September 1st, but since I am a demonstrator I got to get in on the pre-order during August.  Such a fun perk.  So, you can get to it too, soon.

Grateful

I wanted it to be dimensional a bit, so I used glue dots on it too.  I rolled a glue dot up a bit and stuck it on thicker parts of the word.  I ended up using four dots all together and it turned out great.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Floral Gift Box

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When my daughter came home this week for her university break she brought this little birdhouse box with her.  My mother had given it to her to deliver to me to try and create a version of it.

Floral Gift Box

I don’t have a diecut that would do this, so I had to think it out a little bit.  Although I had several frustrations, I ended up with something cute.

Floral Gift Box

I started out with a piece of paper 7″ x 8.5″.  I scored along the 8.5″ side at 2, 4, 6, and 8″ leaving an edge of a half inch.  I turned it one quarter around and scored it at 2″.  This became the bottom.  Along the top, with the long scores going up, I proceeded to cut with my trimmer, not scissors.  I cut along the score lines down to 2.5″ on all score lines.  This gave the top flaps.  Two of them were punched with the scallop tag topper and the other two were trimmed down a bit.  My design became a bit flawed and I had to improvise a bit.

Floral Gift Box

I stamped the paper with versamark ink and applied white embossing powder to give me the cute little flowers you see.  They turned out so pretty.  The rest of the box assembly was pretty basic.  I know I don’t give a lot of detail, I get impatient.  I am working on it.

Have a creative day.

Moana

For the New Two

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Does this conjure images of a wedding couple or what?  I do have another idea though.  Honestly, I went with brighter colors for that other idea.

For the New Two

We often associate two as a couple, as in a relationship couple.  Friends of mine are currently working as nannies for a set of twins.  So, how about congratulating a couple on the birth of their twins?  Get it?  For the new two?

For the New Two

Well,  I thought it was very clever indeed.  There are plenty of gift ideas for baby boys and girls, but how about those twins?  It will take longer for triplets and such, but I am sure there is a way.

 For the New Two

 

This is made from a whole sheet of english garden dsp and isn’t it glorious?  I paired it with the thick backers twine and went cherry cobbler all the way.  A handful of punched and sponged hearts were the perfect embellishment.  A small doily helped to close it off.  The stamp is of course from the wedding set, For the New Two.  I layered the tags using the scalloped tag topper punch, happens to be on sale this week oddly enough, and the hearts border punch as well.  Quite the gift bag if I do say so myself, and I do.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Lullaby Gift Carton

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

It has been a while since I have scattered flowers across a project like this.  But sometimes, you just really want to.  I like trying an unlikely pairing and seeing how it turns out.  Especially when it works!

Lullaby Gift Carton

I started with the paper, thought of the cute baby tag idea and decided it needed flowers.  Even though we traditionally put boys with blue and not flowers so much, doesn’t mean we have to stick to it.

Lullaby Gift Carton

It would be easy enough to swap out the tag for something else though.  I do like a versatile project, don’t you?

Lullaby Gift Carton

Each day brings me new opportunities to stretch my mind and try to challenge myself without too much frustration. Quite the interesting balance sometimes.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Yippee-Skippee in Love!

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There are times when how I feel just saturates what I create.  Today’s project set is a perfect example of that.

Yippee-Skippee in Love

Last night I finished a lovely book in a series I had previously enjoyed.  I am a middle school librarian, so I have the perfect excuse to revel in young adult literature.  Who am I kidding, I would read it regardless.  I have always enjoyed reading what my children do and visa versa.

Yippee-Skippee in Love

Love, true love, is an obvious theme here.  Even though the series continues and I have to wait for the next novel, I was left all emotional and girlie and super in love.  Hence, the color choices and such.

Yippee-Skippee in Love

I used a whole sheet of 12 x 12 silver foil velum here.  Two card fronts and a lovely bag.  I poured out the chevron ribbon, because I love it so, and added a few elegant embellishments.  I knew these cards could be for a variety of occasions, so I left the sentiment off the front.  I will stamp the inside with just the right thing when I put them to work.

Yippee-Skippee in Love

I might have to fill the bag with truffles or something lovely and give it to my husband.  That sounds just right.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Corner Garden Gift Bag

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Sometimes I design a bag around a gift or to match some cards I have made.  This time I wanted to work around a specific stamp.  I wanted to do a tone on tone with the Corner Garden stamp set.  The detail is fine and subtle, just the look I was going for.

Corner Garden Gift Bag

The bag is large enough to hold plenty.  It could hold a large set of cards and envelopes, or any number of things.  It is sturdy too.  A nice heavy cardstock bag with my favorite chevron ribbon.  Bring on the heavy gift, I am totally ready.

Corner Garden Gift Bag

At workshop Saturday my ladies teased me about my need to sponge the edges of everything.  I was able to say that I had controlled myself and we only sponged one of our three projects.  So I was feeling the need and definitely got busy on this bag. I just love the look it gives.

Have a creative day!

Moana