Bowled Over

Today is the final day of Sale-a-Bration 2014!!!  In honor of that, I thought I'd share something a little different -- some paper bowls I made using the Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper from Sale-a-Bration as well as some other designer papers.  The idea for these came from this pin for a paper mache confetti bowl, spotted on Pinterest.  The pin links to a blog, where I found the instructions and recipe for constructing these.

I decided to try creating bowls from some different punch shapes.  For the first two bowls, I used the Sweet Sorbet paper along with the 1-1/4" Scallop Circle, Bitty Butterfly, and Elegant Butterfly punches:

 

For the next two bowls, I used Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper.  The top bowl uses just the Full Heart Punch.  The bottom bowl uses a combination of the 1-1/4" Scallop Circle and Full Heart Punches.

 

For the final bowl, I used the Pansy Punch and the Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper:

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Sale-a-Bration Petal Parade Easel for Mom

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  It's cloudy and cool here, and feels like great weather for an afternoon nap!!!  The only one who is pulling that off today, though, is Isabella the cat (and she does that everyday anyway!)

I can't believe Sale-a-Bration ends tomorrow!!!  So, figured it was about time to share this easel card I created as a sample for one of my Sale-a-Bration workshops!

Supplies used:
Stamps:  Petal Parade (Sale-a-Bration), Amazing Family
Ink:  Summer Starfruit, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Soft Suede
Paper:  Pool Party, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White, and Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper (Sale-a-Bration)
Accessories: Banners Framelits, Petite Petal Punch, Pistachio Pudding Ruffle Stretch Trim, Subtles Candy Dots, and Aqua Painter.

Thanks for stopping by!
- Michelle

A Little March Madness

Thinking of basketball today not only because of March Madness but also because my oldest could have been playing in his second game.  He loves baseball and has played that since he was in kindergarten, but finally decided to give basketball a try with his friends on the school team this year.  Here he is after his first game:

Unfortunately, at a baseball game almost two weeks back, he broke a finger catching a ball.  So, he's on the sidelines in both games for a little bit longer, until that heals, and the doctor gives him the okay to get back to the games!  We'll definitely be there cheering on his teammates today, and weather permitting, for baseball tomorrow!!!  

I also do have a basketball related card to share.  I actually made this basketball flip card in the fall for one of his basketball buddies:

Supplies used:

• Stamps:  Blue Ribbon, Great Sport
• Ink:  Early Espresso
• Paper:  Sahara Sand, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, and Very Vanilla Card Stock, and Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper (still available as a digital download)
• Accessories:  Circle Card Thinlits Die, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle

The Circle Card and Label Card Thinlits are just so much fun for creating interactive, flip cards!  And, I love all the pieces that come in the sets -- you can see I used quite a few of them here!!!

Thanks for visiting,

- Michelle

Marlene's Card in a Box

Yesterday, I showed you my card in a box from my most recent swap with my dear friend Marlene Caravello.  Well, I have a treat for you today!  Turns out great minds really do think alike! :)   And, Marlene also created a card in a box for our swap!  So, here's her beautiful creation:

My "reverse engineering" best guess on her supplies used:

Stamps:  Flower Shop, Petite Petals, Papillon Potpourri, Gorgeous Grunge and Occasions Alphabet

Ink:  Basic Black, Summer Starfruit

Paper:  Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe, Summer Starfruit, Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper (Sale-a-Bration), and Gold Foil Sheets

Accessories:  Gold Sequin Trim, Fringe Scissors, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Pansy Punch, Petite Petals Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Gold Baker's Twine, Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffle Stretch Trim, and Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (sale-a-bration)

Isn't this a gorgeous spring birthday card?!!

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Spring Garden Card in a Box

I just love spring!  And, I especially love spring flowers!  The weather has been pretty nice here, and I was inspired to do some gardening.  However, it must be said I don't have a particularly green thumb!  For instance, I saw these ranunculus at the store and brought them home: 

Then, I got distracted and didn't plant them right away.  Oops!  So, by the time I planted them (ahem, more than a week later . . . ), they were pretty wilty and droopy:

They are perking up a bit now that they are in the ground, so I have hope they may recover!  We'll see!! Here are the rest of the new flowers I've planted:

And, a close up of some of my favorite new daisies:

Spring in California also means rainbows -- both from the sprinkler . . .

. . . and a real one spotted yesterday when we were getting some light rain:

Anyway, enough about my adventures in gardening!  On to a card for today!!!

But, in keeping with the gardening theme, I thought I'd share my flowery card in a box!  I've been seeing a lot of this style of card on Pinterest, and decided to try my hand at making one for my most recent swap with my good friend Marlene. This card was created to fit our Mother's Day and "card that moves" categories for our swap.

These cards are so much fun!!  I love how they fold flat to slip into an envelope for someone special:

 And, a special card deserves a special envelope, so I used my Envelope Punch Board to create this  envelope out of the Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper, which I also used on the card:

In case you are interested, the rest of the supplies used:

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Petite Petals, Flower Shop
Ink:  Island Indigo, Perfect Plum, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight
Paper:  Calypso Coral, Whisper White, So Saffron, Pool Party, Perfect Plum, Gumball Green Card Stock and Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Envelope Punch Board, Secret Gardens Framelits Dies, Petite Petal Punch, Pansy Punch, Scallops Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Extra-Large Oval Punch, Candy Dots, and Gumball Green Stitched Ribbon

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Paper Pumpkin Love Notes

The January Paper Pumpkin kit, called "Love Notes," was perfectly timed and wonderfully designed for creating some awesome Valentine's (and so sweet that it included the bonus Boutique Details buttons!!!)  In fact, I even received this beautiful Valentine's card made with the kit from one of my dear friends:

However, I didn't get my cards finished in time for Valentine's -- I've been having too much fun, taking my time and playing around with the materials to see what else I can create!  I have cut up some of the cards from the kit into smaller pieces, and mixed in materials and stamps from other kits.  And, while I haven't completely finished creating cards with the supplies from the kit, I do have quite a few to show you!  Here goes:

And, my March kit arrived last week, and I can't wait to start creating with it!  Here's a peek at the wonderful supplies that it included:

So much fun to receive a surprise kit in the mail each month!!!  If you'd like to join the fun and subscribe to Paper Pumpkin, you can find out more about it here (and new subscribers who sign up before March 31, 2014, will receive a FREE set of In Color Stampin' Write Markers -a $14.95  value-with their Welcome Kit!)  

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

It's a Sale-a-Bration Birthday!

Only about a week left of Sale-a-Bration!!!  Yikes!  That went quickly!!!  What were the must-have items on your list from Sale-a-Bration?  I hope you've gotten them, or if not, will get them soon!

Sale-a-Bration is a sort of a birthday for me as far as my Stampin' Up! business -- I joined during Sale-a-Bration 9 years ago now!!! A few weeks back, I received this gorgeous card in the mail from my dear friend Marlene Caravello (we swap regularly, and if you read my blog regularly, you've probably seen her amazing work here before!!!):

If you know Marlene's work, you know that the insides of her cards are as amazing as the outside!  And, this card is no exception to that -- here's the fun surprise inside:

Lots of Sale-a-Bration goodies used on this card!  Marlene used the Petal Parade stamp set to make the beautiful pattern on the front of the card, and even heat embossed some of the petals as well as the greeting with gold embossing powder.  Marlene also used the Decorative Dots embossing folder (another Sale-a-Bration item) to add texture to the Pistachio Pudding tag, which is cut with the Chalk Talk framelits, and peeking out behind the greeting.  The greeting is from the Just Sayin' stamp set, and die cut with the Word Bubbles Framelits (these are available together in this bundle).  The butterflies are die cut and punched from either Sweet Sorbet paper or Pistachio Pudding card stock.  The greeting inside is from the See Ya Later stamp set (also from Sale-a-Bration).

While I must admit being crazy about all the free choices, if I was forced to choose a favorite, I think perhaps it would be the Sweet Sorbet paper!  It's so soft and beautiful!!!  I actually even had fun using it to wrap a friend's birthday presents:

And, of course, had to use some of the Crisp Cantaloupe Twine from the coordinating Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack to try to tie it all up neatly(?) with a bow!

Hope you enjoyed these ideas!  Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

SUper Friends in 3D!

Yesterday, I posted the leprechaun hat I created for last month's SUper Friends gathering.  Today, I have the rest of the projects to share with you!  

Agnes created this adorable egg treat holder, using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch:

The tulip is from the Backyard Basics stamp set, stamped in black and watercolored.  The treat holder is made from Pistachio Pudding card stock and is tied at the top with Rose Red Seam Binding (don't miss the great deal on this in the Clearance Rack right now!) and Gold Baker's Twine.

We met at Agnes' house, and she had this beautiful banner on display:

She created it using the Celebrations Basics Kit and Calypso Coral Celebration Kit Add On.

Cheryl created this fun card with a pop up inside, using one of my absolute favorite Easter stamp sets, Everybunny (now retired but there is a Digital Ensemble for My Digital Studio that coordinates and has some of the images from it, called Everything Easter)

 

Last, but definitely not least, Jana created this fun and stylish, 2-4-6-8, handled birthday box!   Don't you love how she used the Decorative Label Punch to create the handle?

Stamps are from Big Wish (isn't it cool how Jana created the streamers along the top of the box using that!) and the Just Sayin' Bundle.

Always fun to swap with my SUper Friends!!!  Looking forward to our next gathering, which is coming up next week!!

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Happy St. Patrick's Day . . . a wee Bit Late!

Hope the luck o' the Irish has been with you this week!  We had a bit of a rough start, finding out on Sunday that my older son had managed to break the tip of his finger during a baseball game on Saturday.  He's been very brave about the whole thing and seems to be healing well, so definitely thankful for that!

Anyway, it's a wee bit late for this year, but thought I'd show you a fun St. Patrick's Day project I created for a 3D item swap with my SUper Friends when we last got together (almost a month ago now -- where has March gone?!)   I used the Luck 'O the Irish Ensemble to create my project, simply printing out the patterns from the download to create these cute leprechaun hat favors:

The "Lucky" tag is also printed from the Luck 'O the Irish Ensemble.  It can be used to create an adorable banner, but I thought it would also work as an adorable tag/ mini-notecard with my hat favors.  I attached it to the hat with some of the new Gold Baker's Twine.

My printer was not cooperating very well with me as I was trying to print these out (print heads needed cleaning and some other technical difficulties), but I took a photo of this to give you the basic idea what the print out looked like (you can also see one of the truffles I placed in the assembled hats, along with one of the assembled hats):

Here's a view of the candy inserted in the hat.  Afterwards, I covered it and finished the hat by attaching a solid green printed circle, which I had punched out using the 2-1/2" Circle Punch (gotta love how the downloads are designed to coordinate with existing Stampin' Up! punches and framelits!!!!), on to cover the bottom.

Here are a few together (the little clovers on the hats were created using the Small Heart punch):

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle