Criss Cross Box

I came across this link, and I loved the idea of creating a little box to put a thank you gift for my hostess in. It is the perfect size for approximately 10-15 4.25"by 5.5" cards. It was 10pm tonight before I got to sit down so I gave it a go with some scrap pieces. I think tomorrow I'll plan the cards for the box and then decorate the box according to the cards. It is an absolute breeze to do, but some fancy ribbon would make a huge difference. I am kicking myself for not having any of the Ribbon Originals. I would stick to the sticky tape on it as well. Great gift for a friend or teacher:). Who wouldn't appreciate homemade cards? Anyone interested in a Stamp a Stack Class on Friday June 13th from 7- 9:30pm? Let me know if you want in! ( $25 for the Criss Cross box and 10 various occasion cards)

http://cashcrafters.com/forum/smf_1-1-3_install/index.php?page=79

Gift Card Cracker

1. Cut 12 x 12 paper to 11.25 x 12.



2. Score along 11.25" side every 2.25" so that you put in four score lines



3. Using the wheel guide and roller, roll you paper with the desired pattern



4. Accordian fold the paper


5. Looking at 2.25 x 12 rectangle, measure and put a mark at 1.5", 3' and 4.5' starting from all four corners



6. At 3" mark measure in 3/4" and put a mark from each of the 3" markings



7. Cut out a triangle starting from the 1/5" mark to the 3/4" in from the 3" mark and then back out to the 4.5" mark



8. Using sticky tape, adhere one of the edges over the other to create a rectangular tube



9. Pushing middle of ends of tubes in with pointer fingers squeeze ends of tube together



10. Secure ends with ribbons



11. Stamp and punch greeting and secure hodgepodge hardware to the outside of box

How can four years have passed?

Well, today was the big day, my big guy's 4th Birthday! Somehow, we pulled it all off. I spent Wednesday night in emergency with my youngest and lastnight was no better as he spiked a fever. Sean and I managed to get everything ready though and hosted 13 four year olds in my school gymnasium after school. We had one slight problem with the party theme when Joe decided that he no longer wanted a pirate party and that he would rather have a bird party. When you look at the cake you'll see how mommy pulled it all together:) The pirate and hooks were actually made on my Cricut Expressions. He is about 16" tall if you were to see him in real life. I had him posted on the wall in the gym and the kids played "pin the hook on the pirate". The final photo is of some Christmas cracker styled goody bags that I made. Each one is 12" in length. I don't know if can see it in the photo but the are rolled with the Matey's Map jumbo wheel. I had the two pink done to distinguish the bags I'd done fo 2 of Joe's female buddies and the baby blue was for his one year old cousin, Jack! I will post the instructions for these crackers this weekend. They are fabulous if you like to give a gift card as a present and not in an envelope. I use them with the hodgepodge hardware on the outside to finish up.

Crazy Time of Year!

If you didn't already know, I am a full time Grade Seven teacher in North Van; therefore, not only do I have two amazing little boys at home, I have twenty-five other phenomenal young adults at school. This time of year is absolutely nuts. It doesn't seem to matter the age; the end of the school year brings chaos. In North Van, we have no middle school so my students are making the huge switch from Elementary to highschool this year. There are a ton of year end events to celebrate this "end of an era". I am also in the midst of getting ready for my son's fourth birthday party this Friday. The Flea Market came at a crazy time (great to finally meet Dianne and Jenn!), and to top that off I hosted my first workshop the night before! (thanks for being my guinea pig Heather!)

Now that I've whined and complained about how crazy life is I must admit that I am thankful everyday for the opportunity to live this life and I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING! On that note; I was feeling a little guilty for not having posted in a few nights and I started to scroll back through my blog and came across the Carousel Notes Purse that I had posted. I promised to add my second purse once it was completed and then never did. I finally took my photos, so tonight, in an attempt to get to bed early, I am not allowing for any "playtime" and I am simply going to show off my new photos! ENJOY!

She's definitely not all that!

I was determined to use my She's All That stamp set tonight no matter what! That was the first mistake. I seem to do much better when I let the set choose me instead of me choosing the set! Anyway, on top of that, I decided that I also needed to make use of some patterned paper. Do you see where this is going...

Well, this is what I came up with. I had no idea where or how to place the patterned paper so it got stuck somewhere in the middle. So, here's your job, make some suggestions so that I can try this card over again and make it work. Either that, or tell me to get over it and move on:)

Embracing Life

I had purchased the Embrace Life stamp set a couple of weeks ago and hadn't gotten around to using it until tonight.

Life in the McKay family has definitely been a little difficult over the past few years, and if it has taught us anything, it is that we have to embrace every moment. I came across this card on Splitcoast done by Christine Creations. I loved the colours and actually found them quite soothing. I have soothed myself into a state of wanting nothing more than my pillow right now:)

Can't wait to see everyone at the Flea Market on Saturday!

Graduation

Not only do I have two cousins graduating this month, but I also have 25 Grade Sevens moving to highschool! We technically don't call it graduation at that level, but it is still a big deal! This is the card for my male cousin; now the real challenge will be to come up with a card not using the actual word "grad" for my sevens, and to make twenty-four of them prior to June 24th:) I have to keep reminding myself that the cards have to come after their report cards!

On an adorable note, my oldest son, who is four, arrived home from preschool the other day with a homemade envelope and a bunch of paper scraps that he had chosen. When I asked him what they were for he said, "They're for you to make cards with mommy!" I melted!

Hooked on Essence of Love

Yet another casing off of Splitcoast! This was under the techniques section, "Misting with Markers". It's a 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 card which I have never done before. So cute though:) The woman with the original posting was named Beate. She seems to be quite a guru of technique!

So there is somebody out there!

Diane, thanks for being the first person to leave a comment on my blog! It means a lot to know that people are having a look:) Anyway, please forward me via my email address your info as I would like to send you out a Stampin' Write Marker of your choice as a thanks. I really appreciate anyone's thoughts on the cards I post. I must admit the whole cardmaking thing has become a bit of an obsession. I am constantly looking for excuses to make new cards. I have had one lately as the Flea Market is rapidly approaching and my upline has encouraged her demos to have a display board up. (This is the excuse I am giving my husband anyway...tee hee).

Speaking of demos... if anyone is possibly contemplating this, right now it is a fabulous time! Stampin' Up is offering 20% off of the Starter Kit as well as your choice of a free Hodgepodge Hardware Set. Although I am quite new at this myself, I think it would be a blast to have a recruit to work through the ropes with. I started purely for the discount and now have begun to take it more seriously as I've realized I can do something I love and support my "scrapbooking habit" at the same time!

Practicing New Techniques

I came across the technique of "Brayered Skies" on Splitcoast and loved the way it looked. I had purchased a brayer a while back but had yet to open the package. This was well worth it and I can't wait to work on Christmas cards as the possiblities seem endless!

I was disappointed and then...

I had bought the Big Flowers set when I was first introduced to Stampin' Up and then later couldn't find use for it. I came across these cards, done by someone with a user name of Kanga, among many others on Splitcoast the other day and it gave life to a set that I was ready to retire. I realized how versatile it was in creating backgrounds for such a variety of cards and that the pattern allowed me to make some great colour combos as well. I particulary loved this lady's idea for a Father's Day card as it wasn't too feminine and her colour combo made use of River Rock which I've had a hard time breaking in.

Stealing from the best...

My upline, Kari Metzger, had done this card at a technique class. I made some minor changes as I am waiting for the actual stamp set to do the "kissing technique" that she was teaching. I used my Perfect Petals set as well as the Beads Duo with Crystal Effects. I loved the finished product and it was so easy:)

Father's Day Idea

I saw this card on the Splitcoast Stamper website done by Dianne Kersteter. I just made a minor adaptation to the front and then added the Happy Father's Day stamp from the All Holidays set to the inside. The trees are from the set Lovely as a Tree. I really shouldn't be stamping all the much right now with the end of the school year coming so quickly, but I really need the down time at night to go to my Scrapbooking room and "play". Therefore, expect many more cards in the next week :)

So not me!

I am so not a girlie girl and this card is so girlie girl, but I loved it when I saw it and had to give it a try. I cased this off of an amazing Stampin' Up demo named Dannie Graves. She does the most creative things and is always sweet enough to post exactly how she made them. For this card I used the Pretties Kit in the catty and Really Rust, Groovy Guava, and Apricot Appeal colours. I also used the Polka Dots background as well as the Baroque Motifs stamp set which is still one of my favourites. What do you think?

Girls' Night

I had two girlfriends over the other night for a little class on how to make the Carousel Notes purse! We knocked them off in under two hours. Sandra went home and made yet another adapting the idea to fit the arrival of a baby as a gift to her girlfriend! It turned out absolutely stunning. She forwarded me her pics and I got permission to share:)