Woodland Baby Shower Gift Set

April 25, 2016 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

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!

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.

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.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sweet Li’l Things

February 24, 2016 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I haven’t visited my little chickie for a while now and loved saying hello again. This stamp just says adorable like crazy. I normally wouldn’t get a stamp set for just one image, but this one was just too perfect to pass up. Of course it helped that it was a free gift with purchase, so there you go!

I used the Sweet Li’l Things DSP for the background. That is how I created the pallet for my water coloring today. I was a bit distracted chatting on the phone with my daughter while painting, so I didn’t dry as often as I should have, but I decided I could live with the little edge goofs here and there. Besides, I wasn’t going for a blue ribbon, just a smile or two.

The strawberry patterned paper underneath the card is the other side of the designer paper I used for the background. I think I will turn that into a matching gift bag when I decide to use the card. Might not be too soon because I want my lil’ chickie to be on my desk for a while. I made a tiny triple banner set for the greeting and used the bitty banner punch for the edges. So easy to make the edges just right. The paper strips are 1/2″, so they fit right inside the punch. I twisted them the way I wanted them and gave them a quick staple. Then I used my bone folder to give them a bit of a curl then added a ribbon knot to finish it off.

Everyone is layered in 1/8″ borders and set up on dimensionals. This one would definitely require extra postage going through the mail. But since I plan on using this as a gift set, I didn’t worry one bit about how thick it got.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Treats for My Boys

October 30, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

More little thank you treats for my wonderful TA’s. They put up with a lot, even getting bored when I make them just sit and do homework when things are caught up. Who doesn’t like a little treat now and again, right?

I absolutely love this embossing folder with the retired coordinations paper. I think they missed their calling together. I have a ton of the early espresso coordinations paper from when it was retired and put into the clearance rack. I think I will just make lots of fun things with these two products.

Funny little floating heads, or moons, or pumpkins or whatever you want to call them. They are adorable and they look great. I really think these bags are great. They came together really quick with scoring, folding, and sponging. Just my kind of fun.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Workshop Fun

October 25, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Workshop was yesterday and this is the first chance I have had to share it with you. Two of the projects you have already seen, but this cute little pumpkin is new.

I had the opportunity to attend one day of a scrapbooking convention with all kinds of lovely things to see, touch, and of course buy. One of the many make and takes available was this cute little pumpkin. When my friend and I would go by this particular area, there was always someone using the stations, but I knew I wanted to try one out. I took a few photos of the samples and did my best.

There are a few other pumpkins on my counter, but this is the one I ended up making for my workshop ladies to play with. I used a piece of dsp cut at 6 x 12 and cut strips measuring 3/4″. You get 15 strips from the sheet exactly, no waste at all. They were stacked, clipped together, and punched with the ever handy crop-o-dile at both ends. A hearty brad was used to keep the strips together, then you just fan them out. Promise, they fan out nicely and curl into this pumpkin. Then stamping and die cutting the fun leaves and place them where you like. Some of the samples had ribbon, you could top it how you like.

Have a creative evening, since the day is pretty much done.

Moana

Balloon Bash with a Twist

October 14, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

A tangelo twist that is. I went to my color buddy yet again this morning and she said orange. What a great team. I don’t need much, just a nudge sometimes.

I had made a version of this card some time ago for a workshop. I was asked for a birthday card and the design just popped right into my head. So I guess I cased myself, again. Well, I do tend to like my designs most of the time, so why not!

It is a pretty direct layout today. Everything is done in 1/4″ increments, nothing too tricky. Dimensionals are definitely put to work, and I gave myself permission to sponge everything. So liberating. There is a lot going on, but it is also simple and easy to mail. Gotta love that!

Have a creative day!

Moana

One Big Meaning Tiny Treats

October 7, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Welcome back and thank you too! Going back to work yesterday, after taking a long weekend off, left me thinking I should give a little thank you to my student TA’s. They are a great bunch and were honestly quite happy with these treats.

I kept things very simple, because I knew they would really just want the candy. So, I used some adorable retired ribbon, with an effort to keep it neutral. I have young men and knew they wouldn’t appreciate anything too girlie. However, I did give them color choices and they picked the ones they liked best. Three of five kept the little tag in their things. How cute is that!

What do we gain from this? First of all, saying thank you is so important. Secondly, it doesn’t have to be huge and elaborate to be appreciated. Honestly, these took me maybe ten minutes from start to end, including a quick set of photos. Having great tools to work with makes all the difference. Give something like this a try. This punch combo is fantastic! The 1 3/4″ circle punch is large enough that lots of sentiments fit inside quite easily. Add the 2″ circle for a tiny border and it looks so great!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Planning Ahead for Christmas

September 13, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

These cards feel like such a cozy Christmas, don’t you think? We are making plans for a sunny holiday this year, but peeking out a window to a snowy scene is more than inviting.

This window framelit set is sure to be one of my favorites. Peeking through the window, could this snowman be any cuter? I don’t think so.

I love inside stamping. It makes the card feel so much more complete. Sometimes we need a place to write a nice long note, but other times it is just wishing someone a happy day, or a happy holiday.

Most people enjoy displaying their holiday cards as part of their seasonal decorations. These two swaps would definitely be a welcome addition to anyone’s Christmas decorations.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Thankful Swaps

September 9, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

I have been out of town this last weekend and it is nice to be home for lots of reasons. I did love my trip, seeing my daughter and son at university is just fantastic! Something about your own space though, just feels cozy.

I also discovered that I am not the best blogger on my iPad. They were pretty basic, but I managed. I was honestly just too tired yesterday and had tons more standing in line waiting to be tended. Day survived.

There were several fall themed swaps I wanted to share as well. I had recently ordered this stamp and framelit set but haven’t gotten to play with it just yet. So it was nice to play at the demonstrator workshop event. Working through someone else’s vision is different, but entertaining.

While it is fun to share these swaps, I am getting anxious to dig back into my supplies and create. Especially with some of the new treasures.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Boho Chic Gift Bag

July 31, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

The UPS man brought this lovely little box yesterday that had some really fun things inside. One of which was the new striped cotton ribbon. I held off for a bit, but went for it when they went on sale.

I wasn’t disappointed, let me tell you. So, I wanted to make something that really put the ribbon out front. No stamping today, how odd. Some embossing though, had to have something. The boho chic embossing folder is really too cool.

That was also a new product I wasn’t very sure about. As you can see, the pattern is great and will be tons of fun. I haven’t gotten the designer series paper it coordinates with, but I will soon enough. Can’t have it all, at once that is.

This is one whole sheet of tangelo twist and two pieces of very vanilla. With my trusty score board by my side, I can make all kinds of fun boxes and bags. Such a great go to tool. Highly recommended.

Have a creative day!

Moana

You’re So Vintage

July 2, 2015July 2, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I have been doing so many floral projects I thought I should bring out something different. I have been waiting to use this stamp set, it is so different and funny to me. The sentiment reminds me of something out of my elementary school wardrobe. I might have had matching jeans, how exciting.

I am more happy with the sentiment layer than the rest, but I am happy enough with it to make up for the other. It seems like the star boarder punch was a bit much, but I kept it there. The colors though, they are spot on. They were cool then and have made it around to be cool again. How fun is that?

I knew I wanted to use markers to make the words different colors, but I wasn’t sure how it would react on the photopolymer. By the time I did the last word the others had beaded up quite a bit. I went over them, huffed a lot, and used my foam mat. It still came up all splotchy. However, it was perfect for the phrase! I am so happy with it! It looks extra cool for sure. I almost created a lava lamp to go along, but relaxed on that front.

I can’t wait to try this out on other stamps and see which ones still look awesome. Floral stamps could look water colored even. One adventure at a time.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Celebrate Today – Happy Graduation!

June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Yup, today is the big day! Our Denali is graduating! How exciting! Glitter, or shall I say glimmer paper, is definitely in order. I don’t use this very much, but this more than called for it! I even managed to make these without her seeing. She might have been distracted, since it is the last day of school, and all they do this morning is practice the ceremony. To be honest, she is so ready to be done.

Even so, celebration time is here. We have family in town, a dinner planned, and a special gift or two. Now, if the planets can only align, it might all come together. This card is a perfect start though.

My card base is tangelo twist, with a full layer of silver glimmer paper, and a card front in whisper white. I kept it very clean, just about the sentiment here. You know how hard that is for me, but I did it!

I used the confetti star boarder to give the inside a bit of bling. I love how that looks. Still plenty of room to write, a fun look, and maintains the clean style.

I know the ribbon is retired, but it matches and I had to match. I am glad that there are other colors of this satin stitched ribbon in the new catalog. It is so lovely to work with. Off to get many other things done. I took the last day of school off, how selfish right? Not really, family first.

Have a creative day!

Moana

B.Y.O.P. Grad Card

May 15, 2015May 15, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

It is that time of year again. Graduation. Not just high school, but university and the like. It seems like I need a fleet of these this year. How exciting is that?

These particular ones are done in my local high school theme. We are the Marysville Indians, and yes, our colors are orange and black. Do you like how I tied all of that together? Me too!

You can’t read the inside sentiment as well, but it says ‘Congratulations GRAD’. Just right. The stamp set this came from is all about making fun and pretty cards when the gift will be a gift card. It is always nice to have a wonderful card to wrap your gift card in.

I know a couple of special Marysville Indians heading off to university this fall that could use a gift card or two. Now to pick the right ones.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sweet Taffy Gift Bag

May 13, 2015May 13, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

How about a huge bag made from awesome paper? Sounds like the perfect thing to me. It wasn’t hard to decide which paper to use, but which stamp would go best on the tag.

I knew it had to be bold and long. But I didn’t want the reader to turn sideways to read it. So I had to dig into my sale-a-bration stash and use this beauty. I have used this one like crazy.

I used the dotted hexagon stamp from the six-sided sampler set to coordinate with the paper. I thought it paired wonderfully. The bow does make it a bit more feminine, but if had put it in a knot it would be great for a guy as well. Good stuff there.

Just how big is the bag? I used a whole 12 x 12 sheet to make this one. I measures nearly 3 x 3 at the base and goes up to 9″ to the top. Plenty of space to put in a light gift or two, maybe even a stash of taffy?

Have a creative day!

Moana

Ray of Sunshine CASE

May 4, 2015May 4, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

What happened to yesterday? Well, it was absolutely all over the place! It started out with finishing up this batch of handouts for a church youth lesson, 32 of them to be exact. I had to enlist some family help to get them done in time. They really looked beautiful all splayed out on the dining table.

We were off to church and it was so lovely. My lesson went really well, because I have a great group of young ladies that I get to work with. I made sure to share the extras before I came home, no need to add to the large stack of blog projects. We went up the hill to have dinner with my husbands parents, spending much needed time there. Only to return home to remember a church girls camp meeting that I had indeed completely forgot. What a busy day.

I did CASE myself on this one. But I needed a sunrise background to match the phrase which went perfectly with the theme of my lesson. Inking up all of those backgrounds can give your hand a bit of a cramp. But since I was all over the place I didn’t have a chance to share them with you.

So, I missed a day, sorry about that. It should be a bit more calm today, I hope. Let’s hope work is reasonable. Oh, and I get to pre-order today in the new Stampin’Up! catalog! It doesn’t go live for another month, but that is a perk of being a demonstrator!

Have a creative day!

Moana

So Much Joy

April 16, 2015April 16, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

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

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!

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.

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

Celebrate This!

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I always call it a celebration when you get to use product that has been sitting quietly waiting its turn. It seems I have been doing that a lot lately. That would be the difference between preparing for workshop projects and blogging daily. I think the daily thing is a lot more interesting, even if a bit tiring.

I have to admit I struggled with this one a bit. I tend to lean to the softer look and this one was pretty darn edgy. But, I absolutely adore orange, so I persevered.

Late night and early morning work tend to make for a lot of shadows in my photos. But when you have a family that comes first, those tend to be the available hours of my day. I can cope well enough with the shadows, most of the time.

This gift bag had a different plan to start with. I had a math problem while using my scoreboard and I had to improvise. It is actually a pretty nice size. It used a whole sheet of cardstock with only a little bit snipped away.

On a side note, it was extremely satisfying to use hexagon shaped dimensionals on a hexagon shaped punch. For those of us who like things just so, it is definitely just so.

Have a creative day!

Moana

studio824

Creativity for all seasons and reasons.

Tangelo Twist

Woodland Baby Shower Gift Set

Sweet Li’l Things

Treats for My Boys

Workshop Fun

Balloon Bash with a Twist

One Big Meaning Tiny Treats

Planning Ahead for Christmas

Thankful Swaps

Boho Chic Gift Bag

You’re So Vintage

Celebrate Today – Happy Graduation!

B.Y.O.P. Grad Card

Sweet Taffy Gift Bag

Ray of Sunshine CASE

So Much Joy

Celebrate This!