Check out these cute projects! I made them recently at a Demonstrator Extravaganza in Framingham, MA. These projects were all created by Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and Artisan Award winner, Robin Desko. I love everything about this set for a summer party. The invitation is so easy to put together and it is so bright and cheery that everyone will HAVE to come to the party!

Here is a close up of the pinwheel. Let me just tell you that this was a lot easier to make than I originally thought. This is just a decorative pinwheel and doesn’t actually spin, but so cute to use in a centerpiece at your party… I’ll have to make up a tutorial for that one real soon!

Last but certainly not least…the cute little party favor made with the Big Shot. The bucket was created using the Baskets and Blooms die.

Here you will see a close up of the decorative strip that runs through the center of the basket/pail. I used Crystal Effects to accent the sunglasses that were stamped across the Pumpkin Pie strips.

Check out this cute little shovel which was created entirely with Stampin’ Up! punches…

The handle of the shovel is created with the Word Window punch and the Horizontal Slot punch. That piece is glued to a strip of paper, which is then glued to a piece punched using the Tag Punch. The shovel is tied onto the basket/pail with a cute bow. Finally the sun is accented with Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.

All of these projects were very quick and a lot of fun to make. Thanks Robin for my new summer party set up!!

If you would like to recreate these projects…here is the recipe:

Stamps: Life’s A Breeze, Hugs and Wishes
Paper:Barely Banana, Ballet Blue, Whisper White,
Ink: Barely Banana, Ballet Blue, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1/4″ Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Lazy Days Jumbo Wheel, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals, Paper Piercing Tool, Paper Trimmer, Silver Brad, 3/4″ Punch, Wooden Skewer/dowel, Big Shot, Baskets and Blooms Die, Small Tag Punch, Word Window Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch

Click Here to Order your Stampin’ Up! Products Online 24/7

Happy Stamping!

These ornaments are a great way to use up all those Designer Series Paper scraps this year.

Supplies Used:

• Holiday Treasures Designer Series Paper (#112469)
• Paper Cutter (#104152)
• Crop-A-Dile (#108362)
• Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon (#109070)

To Order Products for this Project Click Here

Step 1:

For this ornament we will use 1/4 sheet of 12 x 12 Designer Series Paper (DSP).

Cut 6 strips (1″x6″) from your DSP. In the picture every other piece is turned over to show you both sides.

Step 2:

Stack your 1″x6″ paper strips on top of one another as seen in the picture. Using the 1/8″ punch on the Crop-A-Dile, punch a hole in each end of the papers. ( Using the Crop-A-Dile to punch through all layers at the same time ensures that they will line up nicely when putting the ornament together)

Step 3:

Cut off a 16″ piece of Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon. Fold the ribbon in half, and thread the two ends through one end of the paper strips. Tie a knot in the ribbons, leaving a decorative tail as seen in the picture to the right.

Make sure to trim the ends of your ribbon to clean up any frayed edges.

Step 4:

Thread the other end of your ribbon through the other side of the paper strips as shown.

Step 5:

Pull ribbon through until the desired shape is achieved, then tie a knot in the ribbon to hold the paper in place.

Step 6:

Carefully fan out one strip of paper at a time to create this quick and beautiful ornament!

If you want a fuller looking ornament use 12 strips instead of 6.

Bonus project:

Using the same tutorial above, and the same pack of DSP I created this really cute gift basket!

I used nine strips of paper instead of 6. Instead of ribbon I used flowers and rhinestone brads from the Pretties Kit. The top strip of paper is turned over to show another pattern for the handle. I am sure you can figure out how to fan out the paper strips by looking at the picture above.

This project can be used for small gifts this year. Just add a little tissue paper or paper strips to the inside of the basket. If you are concerned about your gift falling through the paper strips, you can add a little adhesive to the areas where they overlap to reinforce the basket.

I hope you have fun with these projects this year! Feel free to send me some pictures of what you did, I would like to add them to my gallery.

Click Here to Order Materials for this Project

Although Christmas is just around the corner, this project can be used for all occasions throughout the year. So, pick out your DSP and take advantage of some of the great specials Stampin’ Up! has to offer you. Scroll down the right sidebar to view current promotions.

Happy Stamping!

I made this cute little Frankie Scrapbook with the girls in my afterschool program, and then again with my girls at home. Age ranges were K-2. They loved it, and so did I!

When working with young children, it is important to pre-cut and pre-punch all materials for them.

I have created a step-by-step tutorial for you, with the help of my daughters. You will notice the little fingers in the pictures Check it out Here:

Frankie Scrapbook Tutorial

Happy Stamping!

Believe it or not this shadow box is so easy. The hardest part was finding the shadow box itself. I found it at Michaels, and it was on sale for 40% off! The front opens which will make it easy for me to change out the leaves for the seasons if I decide to. The back of the frame is covered in fabric, so I arranged the leaves using a few pins and closed the front of the frame.

With the leaves in place I was able to apply the Season of Thanks Decor Elements (#114885 $14.95) to the front of the frame. That is it! Arrange the leaves and apply Decor Elements.

It took approximately 30 minutes from start to finish, including cleaning the frame!

The frame is 14″ x 18″ and here is a picture before I applied Decor Elements. I also found the leaf garland at Michaels.

Here is a close up!

Want to make one for yourself? I can’t help you with the shadowbox or the leaves, but I can tell you how to get your Decor Elements!

First, click on the Order Online Button at the top of this page. Next when you get to my SU! website click on the “Shop Now” button at the top right. Enter 114885 in the search button and there you are! Your Decor Elements will come with step by step instructions on how to apply the product, and of course if you have any questions you can contact me anytime. I almost forgot…you will also need the applicator tool (#114285 $1.95), so make sure you add that to your order.

I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about this project, and when you finish yours please send me a picture of what you did. I would love to see it!

Happy Stamping!

Although I didn’t play with my Big Shot last night, I did create a bookmark card for the “And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street!” Challenge (AUG08VSNC). I decided to create a bookmark with Flight of the Butterfly (pg. 99 in IBC*) but couldn’t decide on a layout or color combo. SO, where did I go for inspiration? My Fall-Winter IBC of course! When I am stuck for ideas I turn to the page that the stamp set is displayed and see what I can find. In this CASE I used the layout from the card and the scallop butterfly idea from the swizzle sticks. If you don’t have the most recent Idea Book and Catalog yet contact me and I would love to send one out to you!

The card base is Rose Red Card stock(4 1/4″ x 11″). The greeting is stamped on Whisper White card stock with Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink. The sample in the catalog had an Old Olive brad at the end of the greeting, and I don’t have any. So, I punched out a circle with Old Olive card stock and added Crystal Effects to the top! It looks just like a brad! I cut the Pumpkin Pie Card stock 3/4″ larger than the Whisper White Card stock, then used the Scallop Edge punch on the bottom. Whisper White is adhered to Pumpkin Pie and then Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon is tied around the top. Before attaching this layer to the card base create the bookmark first.

The bookmark is made with a Jumbo Paperclip I purchased from Staples. I punched out 4 Old Olive scallop circles with my Scallop Circle Punch. Tombo Multipurpose adhesive was used to adhere two scallops together, so now you have two thicker scallops (like chipboard)instead of four. The Rose Red center was punched with the 1 1/4″ circle punch.The butterfly was stamped with More Mustard classic ink on Whisper White card stock (stamping off on scrap paper first to make image lighter). The flowers were stamped with Rose Red Classic Ink. I adhered the center of the butterfly to the rose red circle with Tombo Multipurpose, and the wings with Dimensionals. Four Pop-UP Glue Dots were used to adhere the two scallops together at the top of the bookmark.

To put the entire card together I added sticky strip down both sides of the Pumpkin Pie Layer. Then placed the bookmark where I wanted it to be on that layer. I added Sticky Strip once more on the other side of the bookmark, to create a pocket. I removed the red liner and placed the layer onto the card base and added my bookmark to the card! All this while watching “Pearl Harbor” on my computer!

I had such a great time making this card. Try it yourself and attach a link to your card, I would love to see it!

Happy Stamping!

As the girls started to layer up their pieces, I realized that the two leaves make great candle flames! So we layered up the small orange leaf over the large yellow leaf. The girls layered up the flowers the way they wanted and then added everything to pieces of Pixie Pink with SNAIL adhesive. After they were done they decided the candles would make nice bookmarks.

Aren’t they so cute? The kids AND the bookmarks…LOL! If you have young kids and you are even thinking of getting the Big Shot…DEFINITELY GET IT! My kids LOVE it, and so  do I. I can set up and clean up from an activity so quickly (as long as we are using SNAIL or glue sticks).

If you have any questions about the Big Shot Contact Me any time.

Happy Stamping!

My husband took the kids out for the afternoon both Saturday and Sunday, so that I could have the run of the house. Although, I could have used him to man the grill on Saturday! (I made lunch for my 1st Annual Hostess Cookout) He does most of the grilling in the house, so needless to say my burgers were a little overcooked..LOL!

Besides overcooked Burgers, everything went very well, and I am very tired! : ) Everyone received FREE catalogs and a couple other gifts from me. I wanted everyone to have samples of the new In-Colors, so I made little sample packs tied together with ribbon and added a tag made with a 20th Anniversary Embosslit in the Big Shot. The basket in the back was also a “Big Shot” project. I used the Baskets and Blooms Die that I just had to have, and created little baskets with Stampin’ Up! Maine Blueberry Paper. Each little basket contained a little stamp and was given to everyone who placed an order that day.

My entire house was filled with swaps from convention. This was the display on my dinning room hutch. I had so much fun lining up all the swaps around the room. I wish I could decorate with my swaps all the time.  Maybe when the kids get a little older!

Of course there were Make-N-Takes! Sunday all of my wonderful customers made an In-Color Calendar Bookmark, to use with their new catalog.

On Saturday, my hostesses made the mini- scrapbook that I made at Convention. You can view the scrapbook in the post below (Convention Make-N-Takes). I willl be posting more about Convention real soon. I don’t have all my pictures yet. My wonderful friend Gwynne offered to take everyone’s pictures and put them on a CD for each person who went to Convention in our group. I realized after I came home that I didn’t have any pictures from Day 2 and 3! After I see her next week I will have a lot more pictures to show you. I promise!

Everyone loved the new catalog. It seems like each one gets better and better! If you would like you very own copy of this catalog, contact me at jenfoley@inkspiredcreations.com

Happy Stamping!

This “Note of Thanks Box” was fun to make. It is a basic box with scallop punched DSP added to the top. Very basic, no big deal. The fun part was making the rosette. It is made with our new Pink Pirouette 1 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon. Using linen thread I stitched along the edge of the Ribbon with stitches about 1/4″ apart. Then I pulled the thread and gathered the ribbon into a circle to make the rosette. I tied a knot at the end to hold it together. The glitter is added to the end of the ribbon with crystal effects!

This is project #3 which I didn’t get to finish putting together at the MNT session. I just barely stamped everything, LOL! This is the “For You Mini Album” made with Love Notes Cards and Envelopes! LOVE IT! This is going to be one of the projects at my open house this weekend. This picture does not show it clearly, but there are little orange beads attached to the front with crystal effects. I swear I don’t use that stuff enough! Lots of great ideas at Convention this year!

OK, so this project was not even made by me! My friend Kathy White completed the dry embossing for me because we really had to go. The image is created by lightly using the brayer on the debossed side and accenting with the white signo gel pen. Thank you Kathy for stamping this so I could put it together later!!

You may be asking yourself…why didn’t you get to finish your projects? Well, I played mother hen for a little while. I went to convention with a wonderful group of women that love to spend time with! Most of them live an hour away from me and we don’t get to stamp together very often. I was trying to get everyone together at the same table to stamp together. (Staying together is virtually impossible at Convention without a cell phone. Then if you have a cell phone it is almost that impossible to hear it ring over the 5-6,000 people that are there!) Anyway, I started stamping a little later than everyone else because I was trying to find everyone that was separated from the group. I really had a great time at Convention this year and hope we can do it all together again next year! You guys ROCK!!

Happy Stamping!