Pansy Punch

Affectionately Yours

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

One sheet of awesome designer series paper can really do so much.  These bakers boxes are made showing similar embellishments, cut from the same die cue, but just different sides of the paper.  That is one thing I really do like about Stampin’ Up! designer paper.  They are two sided, so even if you might not favor one pattern, odds are you will like the other side. I have not been disappointed over the years, so let’s keep that one going!

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The bakers box thinlits die is so fun.  It also comes with a lot of other dies to add some fun, but I opted to not use them this time around.  I stuck with a floral theme throughout.  It has been a while since I pulled out my lovely little petite petals punch, such pretty little flowers. I like to give them a little texture by ‘coloring’ on them with a large rounded stylus on both sides.  Love that technique so much.

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This one got two little pansy punch windows put in to show the treats inside.  I added small pieces of window sheet to keep the treats inside, but decided to add a flower to the middle as well.  Cascading flowers down a gift box really make me smile.  I guess that is why I have been doing them for so many years.  Flowers never go out of style.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Awesomely Artistic with Watermelon Wonder

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The weekends seem to get busier all of the time.  I guess that is what happens when you have a child getting married soon.  Errands and then some.  I wouldn’t have it any other way though.  I enjoyed some relaxing time yesterday afternoon finishing this gift set I actually started Friday night.  Talk about being busy.

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With my love of water color, you would have thought the card came first.  Not this time.  I started with this awesome designer series paper and made an adorable gift bag.  You would think I had tons of gifts to give all of the time with the amount of bags I make, not true though.  I just love to make them.  I do share them with others though, usually as a gift to use for others.  They all find happy homes, I promise.

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I did try something new with the card though.  The dragonflies were stamped in versamark on the water color paper, not new there.  I used iridescent ice on them, also not new. However, using them together as a resist for water coloring is new.  As color was applied the resist was pretty neat, not as clean as embossing powder, but still holding up.  I decided to add silver ink as well and then it changed even more.  The silver ink clung to the images more than the watermelon wonder ink did.  The look is fantastic, don’t you think? I added a little bit of silver metallic thread and five clear sequins to finish off the look.  Just divine.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Joy, Plain and Simple

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As we have been showered with much needed rain here in Northern California, all I feel is joy and gratitude.  We have a long way to go, but every little bit helps.  I thought I would put my feelings into a card.

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The Color Me Irresistible  Specialty DSP is so much fun to work with.  It was actually my inspiration.  I knew it had a raindrop pattern and the project just went from there.  I sponged with a dauber in silver encore ink all over in tiny swirls to give a cloudy gray look.  Turned out fantastic I must say.

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The flowers were punched with the pansy punch hovering over the large dots in the silver fancy foil designer velum, using the dots as the flower center.  Nice idea, right?  I used a bone folder to curl the petals of the velum and decided I needed more flowers.  Basic gray became the flower background color and I punched another six of those.  I distressed those with a large stylus to give them dimension and lift.  Layered with dimensionals and glue dots, the side border came together.

A single stamp from the Your Presents set put the focus just right.  It was framed with a smokey slate oval and both were sponged with more silver ink.  The “i” was dotted with a metal rimmed pearl and a tiny ribbon was wrapped around.  Add one more awesome card to the mix.  A very rewarding project to make and enjoy.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

English Garden with Flower Patch

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Can we just not jump right into the next holiday?  That is my theme for today.  I know everyone will be all into Christmas, blowing right by Thanksgiving, but I am going to take a break in between.  So, how about a lovely birthday card?

English Garden with Flower Patch

This paper is so absolutely wonderful.  I would love it in fabric so I could have it all around.  However, I wanted to partner a technique I recently learned with flowers, so I knew the pretty paper wouldn’t be the focus.  Is that even possible?

English Garden with Flower Patch

After stamping and punching out these pansies, I tried the technique out.  I used a very large stylus to just roll around the petals, slowly breaking down the fibers and creating curl.  Oh, you do this on a foam pad so you can squish a lot. It was so fun.  I did the same thing with the little leaves I made.  For those I punched a circle and then used the same punch to punch a section out of both sides giving the leaf shape.  It leaves kind of an apple core looking center behind.  Hope that makes sense.  One day I will get brave and try videos, not there yet though.  Lots of sponging for everything involved and tons of dimensionals.  This is one thick card, extra postage for sure.

English Garden with Flower Patch

Have a creative day!

Moana

Birthday Jar Wishes That Last

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

It isn’t my usual project to share, but I do make these particularly often.  The idea is lovely and I get to put a lot of retired product to good use.  I do hate to ignore it, so I thought I would share  a way to use it differently.

Birthday Jar Wishes That Last

I bought some of those washi sheets having no idea what I would do with them.  Until this fun series of projects came about.  I work with the young ladies in my church, along with several other ladies, and we come together as a team in a large variety of events from large to small and everything in between.  Of course we celebrate birthdays!  And that is what this is.

Birthday Jar Wishes That Last

I decorate jars and vases with washi paper punches to the mood I am in.  Sometimes I use framelits, or punches, or both.  I have a large collection of last springs sale-a-bration ribbon, so it always goes together.  You know how I love to coordinate as much as possible.  So these jars are created for each young lady or woman in our group.  We all then write inspirational wishes, birthday wishes, and just kind words in general to fill the jar.  Then, the recipient can read them all at once, or read them one at a time, or open them over time when a bad day happens and they need a pick me up.  Something sweet for whenever you want them.  So, try something different with the awesome product you have, either current or retired, it is all wonderful!

Birthday Jar Wishes That Last

Have a creative day!

Moana

Floral Gift Bag

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

The seasons are all backwards, so why not create a spring themed gift bag!  Seems kind of silly to really feel like fall might have arrived, then summer heat, then what.  Who knows, so I will craft what I like, and I like this.

Floral Gift Bag

One whole sheet of 12 x 12 dsp went into this bag.  The dots are too much cuteness, so they had to be out front.  I wasn’t feeling a particular stamp, so I curled a couple of flaps over to show the writing side.  This paper pack is so adorable.  A bunch of bright and happy paper going on.

Floral Gift Bag

The diagonal scoring plate is what helped this box happen.  I scored on the 3″ marker, on the diagonal, on each corner.  It worked out pretty darn good.  I don’t always feel confident my scoring is accurate when using the diagonal plate, but when putting the bag together, my sides and corners matched up.  Go me!

Floral Gift Bag

A few punches from the heavy whisper white cardstock and regal buttons for centers made the embellishments I wanted.  The bag was sealed, but not sealed, with a stretch of dotted lace trim.  It is stretched around the top, under the front and back flaps, and then tied in a bow.  Just untie it and the bag will flop open.  Easy to use and re-use.  My kind of bag.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Floral Frenzy

~ moanaj ~ 4 Comments

After a huge workshop I usually just take a break from my desk, but yesterday was different.  I got back home and found myself drawn into a project that was clean and full of floral punches.  No stamping at all.

Floral Frenzy

I think I just needed to make something in a calm setting away from the frenzy.  It can get a bit wild with too many people, especially with new stampers.  I think it is time to split the group.  We will have to see. 

Floral Frenzy

There isn’t even any ink here at all.  No sponging or a sentiment either.  Very clean and simple, with a ton of flowers, my favorite.  Kind of like my comfort craft.  All this card is about is punches, punches and more punches.  Five different flowers all layered about with basic pearls to finish them off.  I used the striped cotton ribbon because I wanted it to physically stand out as much as the flowers would.  Bows and flowers and now I feel better.

Floral Frenzy

Have a creative day!

Moana

Floral Gift Box

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

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

Cucumber Crush Party

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Getting back into the groove can be a bit slow at first.  I also gave myself a challenge this morning by making cucumber crush my main color.  We haven’t become friends just yet, so I thought we needed some together time.  I helped it find a friend in blushing bride, and I like how it worked out.

Cucumber Crush Party

I used a full sheet to make this pretty gift bag.  I stamped the background paper with the fun leaf from the Kinda Eclectic set.  Loved it.  I used it full strength some, but mostly stamped it off once first.  I like how different this color looks at different strengths.

Cucumber Crush Party

I sometimes stop myself from using flowers, because I feel like I really get them everywhere.  I just love flowers!  So, I didn’t hold back at all here.  I usually stamp off blushing bride, but it needed to be strong to work with this fun green.  The combo is full of life.  I think a yellow would have paired nicely, but I had to stop somewhere.

Cucumber Crush Party

These pretty clear faceted buttons are so fun to use.  It helped me finish up this gift bag nicely.  Sometimes I go overboard on bling, but not today.  I wasn’t sure when I started this project, but I love how it ended up.

Have a creative day!

Moana

So Much Joy

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

There is so much joy in every day life, why not in our cards and paper projects too?

So Much Joy

When I saw this weeks specials on the Stampin’Up! site I knew I had to break out some tools and make something special with them together.  Both framelits shown here plus the large pansy punch are all on sale.  Plus a few other goodies that I don’t have, yet.  I love a good sale!

So Much Joy

I grabbed a piece of paper from the birthday bash set to set the color stage and gave it some friends with crushed curry and tangelo twist.  Good friends.  I knew I wanted to make a gate fold card and decided to anchor the fold with a flower.  Since it was going to be layered, I knew it needed some strength.

So Much Joy

Enter the awesome huge designer vintage faceted buttons.  They are so fabulous!  Just when you think you couldn’t possibly use a button that large, bam!  The perfect choice!

So Much Joy

Lots of sponging, some glue dots, and a few dimensionals and here is another great set!  I love it when everything comes together to create beauty like this.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Part 2 with Gift Cards as Promised

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These little cards are just so cute.  And yes, all eight of them do fit nicely in yesterdays box project.  It was hard not to share them together, but I managed.

Part 2 with Gift Cards

I thought the cards were perfectly sized to write a tiny note and put in a gift card.  This would be a great stash to have on hand.  The cards were made simply with 1/4 of a page of card stock and then scored in half.  That way I was able to make all of the card fronts from one sheet of whisper white.

Part 2 with Gift Cards

I stamped the whole page and then chopped it into eight pieces.  How easy is that?  It was super easy,no questions.

Part 2 with Gift Cards

Now, you need to go try something fun like this.  Have a creative day!

Moana

Sheer Perfection

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I had taken a break from blackberry bliss, since I couldn’t leave it alone.  I went through a pack of that paper pretty darn quick.  Just had to order another.  I absolutely love, love, love that color.  I am glad we get it for another year.

Sheer Perfection

Isn’t this velum paper just beautiful?  It is yet another free gift with a qualifying purchase during Sale-a-bration!  Those folks at Stampin’Up! did a really clever thing during this sale.  By the time we hit March, things have slowed a bit, so they introduced four new gift items!  Wheeeeeee!

Sheer Perfection

I picked my favorites right away of course.  This pack has several patterns and they are all wonderful.  You should really get some of it, really.

Sheer Perfection

The gift bag I made to go with is pretty darn simple.  I probably should have done more, but I was wasn’t feeling it.  My daughter thought it would be perfect with a couple of candy bars inside.  What bag wouldn’t, right?

Either way, I finally got these together.  Some Saturday’s are busier than others, and today was chuck full of very wonderful distractions.  Life can be so good.

Hope you had a creative day!

Moana

Back to Black Throw Back Thursday

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

I let myself get so caught up in the fun of the spring and sale-a-bration catalogs that I neglected one of my favorites.  Digging into old product and paying homage.

Back to Black

It might be hard to tell just what is retired here, because it looks familiar.  Well, the pool party paper used here is the retired version.  If you look closely, you can see some of the texture.  Remember that?  Just a subtle thing, but nice.  Also, how about all of that bling?  I was quite generous with the rhinestones, even the retired ones.  Yup, the large rhinestones.  When they hit the clearance rack, I bought a bunch.  It will be sad when that stash is gone, but that won’t be any time soon.

Back to Black

I might have used all of the floral punches, but one.  Have to love a good floral card and matching box right?  Now it just needs something fabulous to go inside.  How about some jewelry or truffles?  I like it.

Back to Black

If you want to re-create any of these, just get out your back to black dsp, all of your floral punches, pool party paper and matching ribbon, and a healthy stash of basic rhinestones.  I took the guesswork out of the box and used my box punch board.  You might notice all the lift.  Of course there is a serious dimensional party going on here too.  So, join in!

Have a creative day!

Moana

B.Y.O.P. Trio

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

How about waking up to this bundle of sunshine!  I’ve noticed that I have migrated to yellows quite a bit.  It must be a bit of spring fever in the air.  I know it is only February, but with how warm it has been, everything is bright and in bloom.  Just like this bundle.

B.Y.O.P.

This awesome stamp set B.Y.O.P. has the best sayings ever.  If you are a gift card giver, this is the set for you.  It has sentiments for everything and they range from funny to nice to just right.  I’m telling you, just awesome!

B.Y.O.P.

The products are pretty basic here today.  I think it is obvious that I love flowers.  There are four different floral punches and even a floral die cut.  Yup, I love flowers.

B.Y.O.P.

The color scheme is all about crushed curry.  That is one of the colors used in the free designer series paper pack.  The ribbon and buttons are also from a coordinating set.  Also free.  Don’t you love that?

B.Y.O.P.

So, no matter what kind of gift giver you are, this totally works.  But really, giving a gift card can look kind of tiny, even though it can be just right.  Why not give it a beautiful wrapping?

Have a creative day!

Moana

Throw Back Thursday with Petite Petal and Pansy Punch Gift Set

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Today’s project isn’t about a stamp set, but retired paper and ribbon.  I used paper from last years neutral pack collection.  It sadly got nearly completely ignored.

Pansy and Petite Petal Punch

Yup, ignored.  Having projects to make using retired product makes me happy.  I bought it for a reason, even if I got distracted for a while.  The ribbon has been retired for a bit, but I loved it so much I bought several spools from the clearance rack.  I also snatched many packets of the large rhinestones.  I just love all the sparkle they give.

Pansy and Petite Petal Punch

I have the opportunity to go to a baby shower this weekend and couldn’t help but to make some cards to go with her registry gifts.  I used the colors from the nursery decor.  That led perfectly into strawberry slush, basic gray, and smokey slate.  Just perfectly.  It is hard to tell from my early morning photo, but I also used the current polka dot embossing folder on the background paper.

Pansy and Petite Petal Punch

As you can tell, there are lots of flowers all ready to go.  The set will include a dozen of these pretty cards.  I originally thought them to be thank you cards, but decided to leave off the sentiment as I saw they could be used for a number of things.

They are so simple yet lovely.  You should give them a try!

Have a creative day!

Moana