Teacher Appreciation Week is coming~

 A box of mini $100,000 bars.

 A can of mixed nuts.

 A coffee gift card with loose coffee beans in a cello inside a paper mug.

 Movie tickets and popcorn in a slider wrapper.

Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up around here for our school.  Generally the classes ask each child to bring things in each day, well, that is a challenge in itself with junior high kids.  Cooperation is very hard and kids get left out or feel bad that they forgot it at home.  So instead of trying to ask each kid, we opted for a different idea for the home room teacher.

I recruited one of my best friends, who is also a lunch duty (brave, brave woman!) to get the signatures of all the home room kids onto a half sheet of white cardstock.  After she did that, I ran cut to size patterned paper through my printer and copied the signature page directly onto the patterned paper.  This way, the gifts are from all the kids, even though just 3 of us "got the goods" for each day.

 

There is still the final day's gift and the card to make that will have the signature sheet inside, but that will have to be on another day.  I am exhausted after making all of these this morning as well as going on a 7 mile hike with Jay, Brett and our pooch, Riley.

 

 

V.~

 

Supplies vary:

 New and retired stamps.  

Paper is Basic Grey from last season.

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black

Ribbons, Eyelets, Nestabilities dies, Punches, Baker's Twine, Scor Pal, Scor-Tape

 

 

Hippo Hooray, a second post today~

A second post for another quick project for the daughter of a family friend who will also celebrate tomorrow night with our family.

It's not a card, it's not a tag, it's a gift card cover that hangs off the handle of the gift bag.

All I did was measure the gift card and its hanging card; the same width and double the length, score at the middle and fold in half.  Lay the gift card on top and punch a hole through retail hanging slot through all the layers; when you insert the gift card and tie it to the bag, it stays put.

Normally I am not sure I would pair aqua and purple together but taking a color cue from the iTunes card that is exactly what I did - papers are from that same box of papers that need to be used up - My Mind's Eye and BoBunny.  And a purple polka dotted paper pieced hippo sure is cute!

V.~

Stamps: Zoo Crew and Sentiment Sampler by Paper Smooches

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black

Paper: Gina K Designs White, Black Onyx, Lovely Lavender, Ocean Mist

Other: Circle punch, detail scissors, Baker's Twine, ribbon, mini brads.

Creative Tangent~

This morning I set about to make 2 boxes to house the money that we are giving the kids for their respective birthdays.  Normally we are not a fan of money for them but in this case they both want things that are more personal in nature and easier to buy themselves.

All I had in mind when I got up this morning was to make simple boxes to slide the moolah into, well, obviously a creative tangent happened and pretty soon it was a whirlwind of paper, ink and supplies all over the place.

 A double-sided accordion booklet slides into Morgan's box.  When closed, the "celebrate" panel in on the front. 

The enjoy panel is the first "page" when you open up the booklet.

 

I found this BoBunny paper in my stash from a couple years ago and its theme is perfect for item that she is saving for - a surfboard and wetsuit.

Kyle's box and pocket tag are a bit simpler in nature.

I found some old October Afternoon paper in a box of papers waiting to be used that were perfect for his box.  The numbers were punched for the tag from one of the scraps and represent his age.  His feet will be outfitted in a special pair of running shoes that he has had his eye on.

We're having a family party tomorrow night - bbq brisket sandwiches, homemade macaroni salad and coleslaw, and homemade ice cream sandwiches made from cake batter mix, a recipe I found on Pinterest.

Well, my tangent has left quite the mess to clean up.....

V.~

Stamps are by Paper Smooches, Papertrey Ink, and out of business Kim Hughes for CHF stamps.

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Rhubarb Stalk, SU! Not Quite Navy

Paper: Gina K Designs

Other: Punches, Baker's Twine, Mini brads, clips, ribbons, Linen thread, dimensional foam, Scor-Pal

Now time for the RSVP cards~

 

My son's wedding invites kept me busy this week - stamping 200 monograms and die cutting left me Grand Calibured out for sure!

Assembly done in batches of 10 kept it going smoothly and efficiently.

Now it's time to design and execute the RSVP cards.

V.~

Zoo Crew Hi~

It's been a long time since I stamped at 8am on a Sunday morning!

I have been eying that zebra from Paper Smooches Zoo Crew since it came out and finally decided resisting was futile, so I ordered it and the new script set, Simply Said, the other day.  They arrived in the mailbox yesterday; I was occupied with other things and couldn't open the package until this morning.

So with a cup of coffee to fuel me, I set about to make this card that had been in my head since I ordered.  The flag banners were made using the chevron image from Geo Graphic.  It was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black onto green and blue cardstock, cut down to size and punched with a square punch for the flag ends.  A tiny single staple is at the end of each strip.

That hard to resist zebra was stamped in black ink onto white cardstock and trimmed with detail scissors before adhering above the strips with dimensional foam.

A greeting stamped and twine button adorned sun was the last component of the image panel.

The image panel was corner rounded on one corner before adhering to the green base with dimensional foam.

Today we are off to the Avocado Festival up in Fallbrook, so I'd best be getting ready.  Avocado trivia: I have read that California produces 90% of the avocados in the US and San Diego county produces 60% of California's avocados.  I love avocados. :)

V.~

Supplies not listed above

Paper: GKD Pure Luxury White, Jelly Bean Green and Ocean Mist

Other: Circle punch, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, The Twinery Buttercream Baker's Twine

Hey Carole.

In its entirety. 

Rolling file folder that houses cardstock is at the far end of the counter covered with a fabric dustcover.

Wall ribbon holder is right above.

Top drawers of the built-ins store inks, markers and misc.

Bottom cupboards houses most used items and is organized with labeled boxes, bins and drawers.

12 x 12 patterned paper in the covered plastic rolling drawer holder, small die binder sits on top. 

Bookshelf has current stamp boxes and button and ribbon jars.

A few projects in shadow boxes on the wall and on a shelf in the bookcase.

Kangaroo artwork at the very end done by Morgan when she was younger, funny little clown done by me when I was about 10.....he has followed me everywhere for 40 years!

So there you go.

V.~

Organize.

Spring Cleaning starts with just one project and then gets a life of its own. I spent the last couple days reorganizing my craft supplies and tidying up.
  I love to organize and love looking at how other people organize.  In that vein, I thought I would share a few pics of how I corral and organize some of the tools of this craft.

I do not have a dedicated room, instead I share the family room off of the kitchen.  One wall has 10 feet of built-ins that are cabinet height with a Corian counter, this is where I play.   Of course it also means that I can't close the door to the mess and it forces clean up.  Cabinets and drawers store many items that are used most frequently.  The other items are relegated to the hallway closet.

 I recently purged a boat load of paper and reorganized my paper file.  The top tier houses GKD paper in file folders with name and color tabs.  The lower tier, which you can't see, houses current SU! and is labeled in the same manner.  Reams of Neenah are stored in one of the under the counter cabinets next to to the rolling file.

The loads I purged are being donated to a friend's military group.  A fabric dust cover protects the rolling file holder when not in use.

Copic markers sit on the counter in divided metal cutlery tins I found at a local drugstore a couple years ago.  A color chart hangs on the wall for easy color reference.

Most used tools are in a spinning tool holder on the counter top.

Do you like my craft knife protectors? ;)

Stamps that are current in nature are stored by manufacturer in labeled black boxes in an open bookcase that sits at the end of the counter.

Buttons are stored by color in small canning jars in the same bookcase.

Ribbons are color sorted into 3 styles: canning jars with wrapped clothespins in the open bookcase, full rolls on a wall system, and finally, smaller amounts are wrapped around floss holders, labeled and stored in a divided box.

Inks are stored in the drawers that sit directly beneath the cabinet counter, a drawer with current SU!, another with Adirondack, one with Miscellaneous, and 2 additional drawers with retired SU! colors.  

 

And finally the hallway cupboard stores lesser used items and retired stamps.

What little left I own of SU! remain in their labeled clamshell boxes.

Other out of production stamps are in labeled black boxes and assorted supplies in kraft boxes.

The bottom shelf has organizers that hold reinkers, BIA supplies, my old fiskars trimmer, other odds and ends and plastic storage boxes with various alterable items.

 I hope you have enjoyed this brief organization tour!

V.~

Easter Tags 2012~

Using a combination of new Paper Smooches stamps, old Kim Hughes CHF stamps, and supplies I had on hand, I created this year's tags for the baskets we set out for the kids.  Today, off to get a few goodies to put into the baskets, nothing extravagant now that they are older, just a favorite candy or 2 and a small gift card for a favorite place.

V.~

Supplies:

Stamps: "Hey there", "Happy" and Chevron from Paper Smooches; lamb and "Easter" from a CHF rubber set no longer available, Alphabet letters from a Michaels $1 set purchased last year.

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Bamboo, and Desert Sand; Vivid!  Pool and Raspberry 

Paper: GKD Green Grass, Ocean Mist; SU! Melon Mambo

Other: Blank tags, Memento Bamboo marker and Spritzer tool, Copic Markers, Linen thread, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Baker's Twine, Circle punch,  Dauber, Dimensional foam

Floral Sympathy~

A wonderful man and math teacher who taught 2 of my 3 kids passed away last week after battling a long illness.  I made this card to send to the family to express our family's sympathy.

Finished card is 4.25 x 6.25

Supplies:

Stamps: Flower from Gina K Designs Springtime Silhouettes, Sentiment from Unity Stamp Co

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Desert Sand

Paper: Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Ivory

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey

Other: Memento Markers, Misting bottle, Tim Holtz clip, May Arts ribbon, Antique mini brads, Dauber, Spritzing tool

V.~