Hey, Valentine ~ Glad You're in my School

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Real Red, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana

Ink ~ Coastal Cabana Blendabilities, Black StazOn, Real Red

Stamp Set ~ Hey, Valentine, You Plus Me

Tools/Embellishments ~ Fry Box Bigz L, Label Card Thinlits, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (heart), paper snips, adhesive, staples, cellophane bags, filler, glitter heart want, googly eyes, ribbon

Paper Crafters Sampler ~ A look back

I can't believe it's been a whole year that I have been a design team member with Paper Crafters Sampler. It has absolutely flown by. I have been so inspired by the fabulously talented ladies that I get to create and share with.

Feel like you've missed out? You can still join, create, and be inspired. Each month we introduce new projects. Each month you get to be blown away. We share step by step tutorials. You even get several 3D projects!

Purchase montly for $12.99, or save and get the entire year for only $99. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Here is just a look at what I created for January 2014, which by the way you can still purchase!

January 2014 Venetian Valentine

Paper Crafters Sampler

2015 Year Subscription

I ♥ U

I have recently fallen in love with gold. I'm not entirely sure where I've been all this time, but I'm finally in the "here and now"... For now.

With Valentine's Day on the horizon, I decided to play around with this fabulous color combo and create a not-so-girly card. I really REALLY love how classy this looks!

Supplies

cardstock ~ basic black

designer series paper ~ typset

stamp sets ~ four feathers

ink ~ basic black

tools and accessories ~ paper trimmer, paper snips, liquid adhesive, glue dots, bigshot, circle card thinlit, label card thinlit, feathers framelits, sponges, perfect polka dots embossing folder, 

embellishments ~ gold basic metal buttons, venetian crochet trim

♥ Lovable You ♥

Its here! The very first issue of the Paper Crafters Sampler for 2015! It is going to be a rockin' year. There are a few new design team members, so you will see a lot of brand new talent and diversity in the upcoming issues.

This month's theme is centered on ♥ Love ♥

Go to the Paper Crafters Sampler and pick up your issue ASAP! Valentine's Day will be here before you know it!!!

In this issue, you will find an array of beautiful cards in several different styles. PLUS there are a few (really cute) 3D projects as well. All supplies are exclusively Stampin' Up!

Sneak Peek 

Just a little something to look forward to...

↓ Click Here ↓

www.papercrafterssampler.blogspot.com

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! I hope you all are feeling loved today. I am very excited for tonight. We are having a quiet dinner at home with the kids. I've made a special treat just for them. Strawberry Cheesecake! Not only is it their favorite, but it's wrapped up in this ADORABLE little jar with a sweet little Valentine note for each of them. I hope they like them!

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Pool Party, Whisper White

DSP ~ Fresh Prints

Ink ~ Real Red

Stamp Set ~ Hearts a Flutter

Tools ~ Paper Trimmer, 3/16" corner round punch, Itty Bitty Banner framelits, Hearts a Flutter framelits, Dimensionals, hole punch

Embellishments ~ Red yarn

Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe:

4 - 5 mini Mason jars

8oz. Cream Cheese

8oz. Cool Whip

1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whip until smooth and fluffy. I used my whisk attachment on medium – high speed for a minute or two.

Crust:

9 Honey Graham Crackers (crushed)

1/3 cup Butter (melted)

Crush the graham crackers into crumbs and drizzle melted butter into the bowl. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of your jar. 

Layer crust, cheesecake to assemble your pie. Then, I topped it with a can of strawberry pie filling.

Enjoy!!!

Valentine Treats ~ A Class Act

I love Valentine's Day. The kids get so excited, especially since their classes have parties! Who doesn't love a party? I am lucky enough to get to help out at school for various things, and parties are my favorite too! So, I've been working very hard on treats for them to give to their friends. My daughter {Kylie} is in the 2nd grade and my son {Preston} is in preschool. I had a lot of treats to make, to say the least.

Preston only has 8 kids in his class. They are all boys! Can you imagine the craziness? I absolutely LOVE this class. It's always highly entertaining! I wanted something simple for them. They're going to rip into it anyway so I didn't want to put TOO much time into them. Here is what I came up with. I totally {dig} them!

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Real Red, Soft Sky, Whisper White

DSP ~ Fresh Prints

Ink ~ Real Red

Stamp Set ~ I Dig You (retired)

Tools ~ 3/16" corner punch, treat cups, hearts a flutter framelits, itty bitty banner framelits, dimensionals, glue, hole punch

Embellishments ~ red yarn from my stash. I think I got it at Wal-Mart and it matched PERFECTLY!

Kylie's class treats were a little more complicated. She wanted to give the boys an assortment of candy. For the girls, she wanted to give little mani/pedi kits. Because this was last minute and I couldn't order any little kits, I put a few things together for a fairly reasonable price. Little mini nail polishes, mini nail files, candy necklaces and a chocolate heart. I think I spent about $20 for the whole class! Here is what we came up with. They went together pretty easily. WHEW!

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White

DSP ~ Fresh Prints

Ink ~ Real Red

Stamp Set ~ Happy Valentine's Day (single stamp retired)

Tools ~ Hearts a Flutter framelits, Itty Bitty Banner Framelits, dimensionals, small oval punch, glue dots, glue

Bokeh Burst

Bokeh just happens to be my current favorite effect for photos. SO CUTE! So, I decided to create my own Bokeh patterned card. Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, it's perfect!

Supplies

Cardstock ~ basic black, very vanilla, strawberry slush

DSP ~ first edition (sadly retired)

Ink ~ strawberry slush, pumpkin pie, basic black

Stamp Sets ~ hearts a flutter, banner blast, lovely little labels

Tools ~ paper trimmer, paper snips, dimensionals, glue, SU markers, chalk talk framelits, hearts a flutter framelits, small heart punch, chalk marker, sponges

Valentine Candy Box

Who doesn't love to receive chocolate on Valentine's Day? I'm still scrambling for gifts to give on Valentine's Day. Yes, I know it's still 2 weeks away, but if I don't get it all done soon, it'll never happen. I'm not doing too bad, I have the kids' classes and teachers taken care of. Woo Hoo! But, I still have a few people left. You know, like my husband, the kids... only the most important people. Sigh...

So, today I got the idea to make up my own little candy box. This is such a cute little package. Three different types of candy and little mini gift tags. 

Mini gift tags inside

Cardstock cut to size. The DSP was used on the inside of the box.

My little trick to making the box "square"

Stamped window sheet 

Apply window sheet to the inside of the lid using glue dots.

Stuff with candy!

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Real Red, Coastal Cabana

DSP ~ Fresh Prints (Occasions Catalog)

Ink ~ Real Red, Coastal Cabana, StazOn (white)

Stamp Sets ~ Hearts a Flutter, Beautifully Baroque

Tools ~ Window Sheet, paper trimmer, paper snips, glue dots, snail runner, Deco Labels Framelits

Embellishments ~ Red string (not stampin' up)

Finished size: 4 1/2" x 6" x 1 1/4"

Dimensions

Base: 6 1/2" x 8" Score @ 1 1/4" on all four sides

Lid: 6 5/8" x 8 1/8" Score @ 1 1/4" on all four sides

Inner boxes: 3 7/8" x 3 7/8" Score @ 1" on all four sides

The Garden Gate ~ Carved with Love

I absolutely LOVE the new "Hardwood" stamp from Stampin' Up! It's so earthy and warm and manly. Perfect for a Valentine's Day card for my hubby! He is the most rugged, manly man I've ever met so a pink cutesy frilly card just wouldn't do it for him. I immediately thought of cutting this stamped image up and adding depth to it by shading the edges with a sponge and adding a darker piece of paper as the base. It worked! Once I did that, I added mini brads to each end to make it look like a gate. I added a few of the new embellishments from the Occasions catalog and a quick sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and it was done! 

I wanted the heart to look like it had been carved with a pocket knife. How sweet is that? So, I pre-stamped the heart in Soft Suede and traced around it with Soft Suede and Early Espresso markers. I used a masking technique to stamp the arrow from the Geometrical stamp set (I'm slightly addicted to those arrows!). 

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler

Stamp Sets ~ Hardwood, Hearts a Flutter, Geometrical, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Tools ~ Stampin' paper trimmer, 3/16" Corner punch, Word Window punch, Dimensionals, Paper Piercing tool

Embellishments ~ Mini Brads, Natural 5/8" Chevron Ribbon, Basic Metal Buttons, Linen Thread

Hello There... Love

Oh I love this card. Believe it or not, it was actually a pretty quick one to put together...and so FUN! I have had this Flower Trim for a long time and have never used it. Sad, I know. Especially since it is retired. Retired or not, it's still GORGEOUS and I couldn't let it go to waste. I entered this card in Try Stampin' on Tuesday's challenge #155. A Hearts and Flowers theme.

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Pool Party, Whisper White, Pool Party (Core'dinations), Crisp Cantaloupe (Core'dinations)

DSP ~ Sweet Sorbet

Ink ~ Summer Starfruit, Basic Black, Pink Pirouette

Stamp Sets ~ Oh Hello, Perfect Pennants

Tools ~ Decorative Dots embossing folder, Oval framelits, paper snips, Small Heart punch

Embellishments ~ Flower Trim, Hardware Clips Essentials, 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim in Crisp Cantaloupe

Misc ~ Ribbon

Measurement

4" x 5 1/2"

Sweet Success #153: Valentine's Treats for Teachers!

Can it be? Really? I'm ready for a Holiday before it's here? Today I decided to make treat bags for the kids' teachers. These are SO cute! They each hold a little chocolate. Who doesn't love to get chocolate for Valentine's Day? I had so much fun creating these. I still have some retired embellishments, so this was a great way to use them up. I still am in {love} with the Soda Pop Tops and the Designer Builder Brads. I'm crossing my fingers that Stampin' Up! will bring them back.

Supplies

Cardstock ~ Real Red, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana

DSP ~ Fresh Prints

Ink ~ Coastal Cabana, Real Red

Stamp Sets ~ That's the Ticket, Hearts a Flutter, Banner Blast

Tools ~ Deco Labels Collection Framelits, Circles Collection Framelits, Ticket Duo Builder punch, Banner punch, 1" circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, 

Embellishments ~ Designer Builder Brads, Soda Pop Tops, Pool Party ribbon

PCS - Venetian Valentine

It is time to release the 5th year of the Paper Crafters Sampler.  We start the first issue by preparing for upcoming Valentine's Day.  We've made a few changes this time around by avoiding the most common color associated with Valentine's Day, red.

Inside the January issue, Venetian Valentine, you'll find soft and subtle colors, fancy flourishes, embossed surfaces and splashes of gold.  Tres le femme! The template of the month is the Fliptop Heart Trinket Box.

Click {here} to visit Paper Crafters Sampler

Sneek Peek!

Please stop by the Paper Crafters Sampler website to purchase your January subscription. I'm so excited to be part of this group. There are so many wonderful things to see!!

Hearts a Flutter #145: I want More Amore'

I decided now was a good time to use up all of last year's Valentine's Day supplies. I still am totally in {love} with More Amore'. I really REALLY wish they would have continued it. What beautiful colors! Anyway, I still had a bunch of other retired embellishments that have been begging to be used. I'm a hoarder, so I save these things because I don't want to use them up, then they become retired and I'm stuck with them and can't really use them. Oh well, ya'll should know by now that I don't follow the rules!

Supplies:

Cardstock ~ Crumbcake, Pool Party core'dinations, Primrose Petals core'dinations

Designer Paper Series ~ More Amore'

Ink ~ Pool Party, Primrose Petals, Basic Black, Crumb Cake

Stamp Sets ~ Postage Collection, That's the Ticket, Affection Collection, Ciao Baby, Hearts a Flutter, Postage Due, Lovely Little Labels

Embellishments ~ Designer Builder Brads, Soda Pop Tops, Rhinestones, Frosted Finish Embellishments

Sweet Treats #144: A Gift of Love

I'm not normally a Valentine's Day kinda girl. It's usually all too mushy for me. I'm such a tomboy. Ugh! Anyway, I got a wild hair and decided to make something cute and Valentinesy. Yes, I know that's not a real word. I saw a cute little gift box on Pinterest this morning and just HAD to come up with my own spin on it. Besides, I have a LOT of retired Valentine's supplies that I need to use up! I really like how this turned out. I can't wait to stuff it with goodies and send it on it's way!

Supplies:

Cardstock ~ Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Pool Party core'dinations

DSP ~ More Amore (retired)

Misc ~ Window Sheets

Ink ~ Basic Black, Primrose Petals, Pool Party

Stamp Sets ~ Hearts a Flutter, Affection Collection

Embellishments ~ Pirouette Pink Chevron ribbon

Smooch #142: A Sweet Change of Pace

After the Christmas rush, it was nice to get a little time to do something new. Valentine's Day is coming and it will be here before we know it, so I decided to {try} to get a head start. I don't have many {any} specific Valentine's Day stamp sets (I'll have to work on that), so I improvised.

I am in LOVE with Beautifully Baroque. I wasn't sure if I really would use it much, but so far I've used it QUITE a bit. I'm pretty happy with that purchase! This is a simple card, it was quick to put together and everything turned out right the first time!

The sketch is from Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration. 

*I had to add a little "oomph" so I put in a cute little window. It was so simple, but it added so much.

Supplies:

Cardstock ~ Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla

Ink ~ Cherry Cobbler, silver emboss powder

Stamp Sets ~ Beautifully Baroque, Off the Grid, Ciao Baby, Itty Bitty Banners

Embellishments ~ Cherry Cobbler Chevron Ribbon

Sweet Treats

Valentine's Day treat cards for the kids' teachers with individually wrapped Hersey's chocolate bars. Yum!