StampMonkeys

Handmade Wedding Programs

I had the opportunity to make some wedding programs for a gal named Jen. She found my website and gave me a call - I was thrilled to work with her and make something unique for her wedding.

Her bridesmaid dresses matched the Stampin' Up! Certainly Celery color with Rose Red sashes, so that's what we chose. Her programs were printed on both sides of Very Vanilla card stock and attached together with a no-tie bow using the Rose Red Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon.

 You may not be able to tell in the first picture, but I scored the Very Vanilla sheets at about 1 1/2" in so that the program opened like a book. They turned out so pretty - and she was very happy with the results!

She was married last Friday night on the Beach in Newport - I hope the rain held off for her ceremony! :)

"Heart" You :)

I've had these letters for a while and really didn't know what I wanted to do with them. Then I saw the Candy Lane Paper and couldn't wait to use it for these!

It's SO cute up on my mantle, don't you think? Really easy to do too!

I just traced the letters and the heart on the paper, cut them out inside the line, then used glue stick to glue them on.

To even them all out, I used my sanding block around all the edges. I didn't add too many embellishments, just a couple of buttons and punched hearts using my new favorite punch.

I wanted all three to stand upright, so I took out some picture framing hardware (similar to the hodgepodge we used to carry) and screwed the metal parts on to each letter, then tied them together with ribbon. Perfect!

(Products used for this project.)

Merry Christmas for my Neighbors!

I can't let anything out of the house without stamping and decorating it! This year, I made Banana Bread in small loaf pans for my neighbors.

To decorate it, I just cut a piece of Real Red card stock and taped it around the pan. Then I added the little scallop circle and curling ribbon on top! Simple, but cute! (Maybe I'll have to keep one of these for myself! Yum!)

Merry Christmas!

Snowflake Ornament

Don't you love this? I used the Snowflake #2 Die and my Cuttlebug (Don't have the Big Shot - yet! Maybe Santa will stuff one in my stocking! Until then...my Cuttlebug works just fine!)

I had some spare chip board that I used to cut the snowflakes. Then I smashed my Versamark Pad all over and doused it with White Embossing Powder - both sides of each snowflake! They turned out really pretty.

Finally, I glued them together down the middle with the Tombow Liquid Glue (LOVE that stuff!) and then bent up the other parts of the snowflake to give it a little more dimension!

This snowflake took less than FIVE minutes to make! I could crank out a BUNCH of them for my tree in no time! I think that they would go nicely with my Soda Can Ornaments, what do you think?

(Products used for this ornament.)

A Cute Little Bird House

I made this cute little bird house a while ago - and finally got around to posting it! It's a variation of the 2-5-7-10 box. I'll be posting the tutorial soon, until then, here are some closeups.

I love how the scallop edge punch makes the shingles of the house so sweet! The roof does open up so you can put some goodies (birdseed?) inside if you want to.

This would probably be really cute as a Christmas Gift holder of some kind.

(Products used for this project.)

Tutorial and measurements coming your way soon!

Don't forget to list your favorite technique in my Christmas card contest! You could win a free stamp set and other goodies!

Quick & Easy Favor Box

Are you having a holiday party this year? Why not make a QUICK and EASY favor box for all your guests?

Here are the details:

- Cut a piece of card stock to 8 1/4" x 8 1/4".
- Then score on all four sides at 2 3/4"
- Score diagonally in each corner square.
- Fold along all score lines.

To put the box together, make the diagonal folds meet on one side, punch a hole for your Jumbo Eyelet (or brad, or whatever) and fix it together! (See side picture.)

I used the Jumbo Eyelet so that I could thread the ribbon through for a handle.

Hopefully, this makes sense, if not, let me know and I can put a tutorial together for you!

(Products used for this project)

(Yes, that is leftover Halloween Candy - I just stuffed it into the box for the picture!)

Need to Sharpen Your Punches?

If you've been to a workshop of mine lately, you know that I've been frustrated with my Scallop Circle Punch - it's been sticking!

I happened to find some information with a fabulous video from Linda Heller, a fellow SU! Demo that actually uses an empty soda can to sharpen your punches! (There are PLENTY of those around here!) Make sure you check it out!

I actually used my Craft & Rubber Scissors to cut the top and bottom off the can. They worked really well AND sharpened those scissors at the same time! (Gotta find something to use them for since all of our stamp sets will be die cut in January!) Yes, punching the soda can did work!

Of course, I had to take it a step further...why not completely recycle the soda can - into a Christmas Ornament?

I punched 6 scallops from the can, then folded each in half. Then I used Sticky Strip to stick them together into a circle. Before I stuck the last pieces together, I inserted a hat pin from the Pretties Kit with some crystal beads at the bottom. Last, some Silver Cord at the top - and it's complete! What do you think?

Let's see...There are 12 cans in a case, I can make one ornament per can. Between now and Christmas I should have...WAY TOO MANY ornaments! hehe (Dare me to decorate my tree with them? I wonder what my husband would say...)

(Products used for this ornament.)

Tiny Note cards in a Box!

I had a mini class/workshop last night - we made these adorable 3x3 note cards and envelopes with a little box to match!

I found the tutorial on SplitCoast Stampers and altered it a little to work with my idea.

Once again, I'm using my new favorite colors, but of course, you could use anything you had!

What do you think? Would you be interested in a class to make these yourself? They are a GREAT idea for teacher gifts!

Let me know - I'm happy to bring the class to you!

(Products used for this project.)

More samples with the Big Shot!

Just a few more pictures of some of the things we made the other night at my StampMonkeys downline meeting.

I have to say...I LOVE THE BIG SHOT! It's going to be so much fun to add it to my arsenal of paper crafting goodies!

The 5 Point 3D Star is made with 5 different pieces (duh!) The score lines are actually scored as the piece is cut! Just fold and stick them together!.

The little ornament was a little more of a challenge to make, but I think I was a little tired! hehe (Yeah...that's it!) I think it would be fun to make a garland with stars and ornaments for the holidays, don't you?

My favorite is the little basket made with the Baskets & Blooms BigzXL Die. How cute would these be for party favors? All the pieces are on the same die, the tag, bottom and sides of the basket, the flowers, etc. Just run it through the Big Shot and stick it all together!

If you look at the closeup you can see one of the buttons from the Buttons #5 Sizzlits Die. Look at the detail - it's amazing how a machine can do that! LOVE IT!

I hope you are as excited as I am about this new product! I'm forming Big Shot Purchase Clubs right now - if you are interested, check out the details and let me know! You'll have it in time for Christmas if you join now!

A couple of matching Name Frames

I made these adorable (if I do say so myself!) name frames for two little girls who are the same ages as my two kids.

I LOVE the Pink Pirouette Polka Dots on the Bella Rose Designer Series Paper, so I had to use it somehow. Instead of covering the entire background, I decided to just take one row of the dots and use that with a scalloped border underneath of it. (Created with the Corner Rounder Punch.)

For the names, I used MS Word and a fun font. I changed the colors using my RGB Codes. Look how closely the printing match the paper! It's simple to do, and I've been given the great idea to create a tutorial on how to do it, so I'm working on that for you! (WOW - that will be a blast from my past days as a Technical Writer! Woo Hoo!)

The ribbon and flowers are fun too! I don't have any of the Robin Hood Red ribbon yet, so I used my White Grosgrain Ribbon and ran it over my ink pad a couple of times. Matches perfectly, don't you think? (I used the top of a pen to hold it down on the ink and pulled the ribbon through a few times until I liked the color. That way I didn't come out with Robin Hood Red fingers!)

The flowers are done with punches. A fun thing to do with your Scallop Circle Punch is to make petals. Cut in to the middle of the punch about a half inch between each scallop. Then, take a stylus and a mouse pad (I used the squishy foam pad from my Crafter's Tool Kit.) and move it in circles in the middle of the flower. That "stretches" the paper a little and makes the petals come up a little. (Hope that makes sense!) Then I just layered a bunch on top of each other. So Cute! (Plus, I like the fact that the center of the flowers match the polka dots on the top! I really didn't plan that specifically, but it just turned out that way.

These girls aren't old enough to appreciate all the detail, but I know their mom will LOVE them! :)

Enjoy! (Products used for this project.)