clean and simple christmas

Greetings stamping friends!!  Less than two weeks until Christmas – I hope everything is well wherever you are.  Today I am sharing a clean and simple card for the wonderful lady that watches our Chihuahua’s whenever we travel.  She is a real sweetheart and we always know the dogs are in good hands when we are gone.

The dog stamp is from Amuse, the sentiment is from Waltzingmouse.  Simple paper piecing for the little bag and just a tad of color on the dog and I was done.  I kept the color scheme simple as well – just black, white and red. The checked ribbon and scallop border punch were just enough to add interest to the design while keeping things simple.

All the best to you and yours!!

let’s talk about that paper stash…….

Yes, I’m talking to you, lover of paper and cardstock.  How’s that “using your paper stash” resolution going?  Could be better?   Let’s talk….

I’m right there with you.  Never saw a Basic Grey pattern I didn’t like.  And if it is especially pretty I want two of them because I don’t want to run out in case I need it for that “special” project.   When Hobby Lobby or JoAnns has their 50% off scrapbook pads I feel the need to check them out.   I’ve got a rainbow of cardstock and designer patterns to match.  And let’s not forget that specialty paper – shimmery, glossy, embossed and textured, glittered and flocked – it’s all good.

So what are you waiting for?  An engraved invitation to be on the show “Hoarders”?  Open up that paper closet and start using!  Need ideas? -Here are just a few:

If you’re a little timid to get started, just take one sheet (that’s all!) of designer paper and use it as a ready made “one sheet wonder” piece and make a quick bunch of cards.  You’ll be amazed how fast you can whip out a bunch of cards this way.

Check out the resources section of SCS and try some boxes, envelopes, or  gift card holders.  The Scor Pal site has a wonderful selection as well.  Now ‘s the time to get working on those holiday items.

How about a calender?  The one below uses the calendar download from Amuse and a bunch of Basic Grey paper.

The front and back cover was created by covering matboard with Heidi Grace cardstock,  a label made from a Tim Holtz die on grungboard and numbers from Tim Holtz as well.  Why did I use matboard?  Because I had a large piece that was intended for another project that ended up not being done.  I had the 2″ O rings in my stash as well.

I  printedout  the A2 size  color text calendar from Amuse – I splurged by printing it out on glossy cardstock  – and cut the calendar part down to about 4″ x 3″.  Love the way the glossy paper stands out against the designer paper.

Next, based on the color of each month I quickly went through my Basic Grey stash and selected the patterned paper in a 6 x 6 size.  I then cut the BG paper down to a 5″ x 6″.  This used up 12 sheets of 6 x 6 BG paper. 

Each month was matted with coordinating cardstock – and my rule was I had to use scraps.  I could not cut a full sheet of paper.  This,  of course,  was not a problem.

For embellishments I took the same approach as with the paper.  Just dive into my stash and pick something!  Nothing was off limits as being too “nice” for a calender.  I figure I’m worth it!  I did not want to spend alot of time on this part because I was afraid if I thought too much about it I would start setting certain embellishments aside and the point was to use what I have.   Since I have alot of flowers it seemed the logical choice, but I went a step further using brads and rhinestones as well.

One thing I learned was that if your embellishments are thick (like most of the flowers here) then don’t put in the same place on each page – your calendar will end up lopsided.  I realized this late in the game and was able to place the embellishments in the lower right for July and December.  They are all in the upper left on all the other months. 

Once the embellishments were selected I had to decide the base for each page.  It  had to be cardstock and a neutral color.  I remembered that I had purchased a ream of heavy cardstock many years ago – it was  cream colored with blue fibers.  Sort of has a handmade look to it, without being handmade, if that makes any sense.  Anyway, I rarely use it and have a bunch left, so it ended up being the perfect base. 

Twill ribbon was threaded through a hole on the bottom of the front and back covers.  This allows you to flip through the calendar while it is sitting on the desk.

 

The final project ended up being 7.25″ x 5.5″ and fits perfectly on my computer desk in my craft room.    I hope you will take a look at the Amuse calendar download.  Proceeds go for a good cause and its a great way to create something for yourself or for gifts for friends and family.

Thanks for stopping by today!

perpetual calendar

If you’re planning on making calendars for gifts this holiday season, why not include a perpetual calendar along with a regular one?  Perpetual calendars are those that can be used year to year – there is no “day” or “week” designation, just the month and the day.   

The folks at A*Muse just released their downloadable calendar collection for the 2011 year, and included in the package I purchased was a perpetual calendar, along with several regular calendars in different sizes.  The proceeds from the calendar are going for a worthy cause – you can read about it {here}.  Here is the perpetual calendar I made – it came together very quickly!

The cover was made by covering chipboard with papers from the Basic Grey Sugar Rush collection – which I chose because it went well with the “perpetual calendar” text that was included with the download.   I intentionally kept this simple because if this is going to be used year after year I did not want a bunch of embellishments falling off! 

Also – you can’t see it from the photo but I covered the front and back with clear acrylic sheets. This was done to protect the front and back pages.  The calendar is small enough to fit on a desk top or in a drawer.

On the inside I printed out the calendar and cut the months down so there would be one to a page.  All the downloads at A*muse come in black and white or color.  I chose the color version here and matched each month’s color to a piece of scrap cardstock!  That’s right – all scraps were used for the inside pages!!! 

I used a Bind-it-All to put it together – overall  it measures about 5 x 4.75 with the inside pages slightly smaller.

I am looking forward to making some regular calendars as well!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.