Circus Clown Vase Inspiration

I wasn't planning on playing the Inspiration Challenge on SCS today, but when I looked at it, I found something that I thought I could do quickly. I'm a little stamped-out from all the Christmas stuff I did, but I was able to do this one in literally 15-20 minutes! The inspiration was from a company called MacKenzie-Childs and they have some really eclectic/offbeat designs in their store, and I came across a vase that I thought was interesting.

Here is the picture of the Circus Clown Vase I chose as my inspiration. Isn't this a cool vase? Well, I immediately thought DCWV All Dressed Up paper stack and PTI's Polka Dot Basics stamped in gold. I stamped the dots in Versamark on PTI's Vintage Cream and embossed it with gold ep. I mounted this piece and the dp on a piece of black, tied a red grosgrain bow around it and mounted that on a Vintage Cream base. It looked like a formal New Year's Eve invitation, so I went with the "cheers!" sentiment (from PTI's Take a Bough). I stamped it in Versafine black on Vintage Cream, then I Versamarked a piece of Vintage Cream and embossed it with gold ep to back the sentiment. This made a perfect match to the gold dots! I used the large and small oval punches for the sentiment and the gold piece. Well that's all folks! My stamping room looks like a tornado hit it and I don't have the ambition to clean it up! Maybe in a few days! I hope you enjoyed this post. Enjoy your weekend!
Recipe
Stamps: Polka Dot Basics and Take a Bough (PTI)
Paper: Vintage Cream, black, DCWV All Dressed Up
Ink: Versafine black, Versamark
Accessories: Gold ep, red grosgrain ribbon, large and small oval punches, dimensionals

Some Gifts to Share

I've had a four-day weekend because of two snow days, and thank goodness! I wanted to make some gifts this year for the secretaries at school, my aide, and teacher friends and those days gave me the time to do all these gifts. I did not get to photograph the teacher friend gifts...I was too rushed and forgot! I made fudge (if you want to call it that!) and poured it into various tins I had. The tins were decorated so nicely, but the fudge did not set and was "sloshy" for a lack of a better term. My friend, Pam, said I should have called it Chocolate Lava! LOL! Anyway, these are the gifts I did photograph.
Anne Marie Peterson left a comment on one of my posts, and I checked out her blog and saw these cute hot cocoa gifts that she made. I had been saving these boxes that come with PTI stamps because I knew they'd come in handy some day! Well, I took Anne Marie's idea and ran with it! I started by measuring the box. It's 6" square and 1" wide. I cut a piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock 4" x 6" and scored it at 1 1/2" and 2 1/2" and ran an SU wheel (I don't remember the name of this one...I think it's retired) over the three sections the score lines created in Kiwi Kiss ink. Next, I cut and embossed a piece of Frosty Day dp using the Labels One nestabilities. I chose this paper because of the wording on it and it also dictated my color scheme. It seemed fitting for a hot cocoa gift. This piece was scored as well and taped onto the top piece. I then placed two jumbo brads on top so I could run the Kiwi satin ribbon through it to create the handle. For the bottom inside piece, I had to cut and tape together two pieces of Kiwi cardstock measuring 8" x 1 1/2". I scored both at 1" from each end, creating a tab. These were taped together creating a rectangle that I placed inside the box. It was also stamped with the wheel. I then used PTI's Holiday Tag Collection set for the tag. It was stamped in chocolate chip on vintage cream and backed with a scalloped piece of kiwi kiss. Here's a picture of the top.

Now for the card. I didn't do a full card (I was lazy, I admit it!). Instead, I did a postcard-like card. Again, I used Kiwi and Frosty Day dp. the main image is PTI's Warm Happiness set. It was so perfect for this gift! I stamped the outline of the cup in chocolate chip and the inside polka dot in Kiwi. The shading on the bottom was done in Close to Cocoa (I masked the main image) as was the steam from the cup. Such a cool set. You can change the look of the cup with different stamps. The sentiment is so nice, too. The word "cocoa" is one of three words that fit in that spot. There's also tea and coffee. I used this sentiment with "coffee" in a pop-up gift card you'll see next.

The last gift I gave my Secret Angel was a Tim Horton's gift card. (For those of you who don't know what Tim Horton's is, it's a huge coffee and donut shop located in Canada and the Northeast. Tim Horton was a hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres in the 1970's. He was a very good defenseman. He was in a deadly car crash in Ontario, Canada, and this coffee shop/restaurant is his legacy. I don't drink coffee, but the lines of cars that wait for coffee at ALL hours of the day at the drive-thru prove that people love it!) Katie had said she loves Tim Horton's, so I got her a gift card. I decided to try one of these pop-up gift card holders I had seen on an SCS challenge here. You simply take a 4" x 12" piece of cardstock and score it at 4" and 8", per the instructions. I also scored it at 6". So you fold on the 4" and 8" score lines in the same direction, and the 6" in score line in the opposite direction. This is what it looks like when folded. I ran some tape along the inside edges to close it up and took my word window punch and punched the opening. I had to punch it 2 times to get a big enough opening. I used the same stamp set, but you can see I changed the look of the cup with a different inside stamp. The sentiment is from PTI's Holiday Treats. I backed the card with a 4.25" square of chocolate chip to make it a larger card.

Here is another pop-up gift card I made for my aide. I got her a Bath & Body Works gift card that had trees on it, so I decided to use this tree stamp from Holiday Tag Collection. I used kiwi kiss and riding hood red cardstock along with Holiday Treasures dp. I placed red dew drops on the brown part of the dp. I also backed it with a 4.25" square piece of riding hood red. The sentiments on the inside are from SU and PTI's Holiday Treats set.
These were a big hit with the recipients. I hope you enjoyed them and that I gave enough information for you to recreate them. If not, please email me or leave a comment and I'll get back to you. I still have to make thank you cards for all the gifts I received from students and friends. That will be in a few days because I'm tired and I still have to wrap my gifts and make a cheesecake! I'd like to wish all of you a wonderful holiday with your family and friends and I'd like to invite you to please stop by again. I love to read your comments and I wish more of you would comment. You can't imagine (or maybe you can) how nice it is to read them! I truly look forward to reading them. Thanks to all my frequent commenters (is that a word?) for making my day and thanks to all of you who subscribe! Merry Christmas!

One Sketch ~ Three Cards

I have three cards to share with you today that follow the same sketch from Our Creative Corner. All three images were colored over the summer while I was trying to get a head start on the Christmas cards. All three of them became cards this weekend...how's that for planning ahead!?

I love snowmen and when I saw this guy at a stamping show I went to over the summer, I had to have him. The only problem is I bought this stamp unmounted and don't know where he's from! He's an orphan, I guess, that I adopted! (ETA: I just found where he originated! He's from Rubber Cottage and here is the link.) Anyway, I colored him last summer with copic markers, added some glitter to the snowflakes, and he was ready to be dressed up and mounted on a card! I used Riding Hood Red as my main color and SU's Ski Slope dp mounted on Kiwi Kiss. The red snowflake was punched with a Martha Stewart punch and I put Diamond Dust chunky glitter on it. I've seen Cheryl Rowley use it on her cards (she said she saw Anna White using it), and I realized that I had some of that from another project I did a few years ago! It's a cool look! I ran the white paper through my cuttlebug using the snowflake folder. The ribbon is Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon and the sentiment on the inside is from PTI's Holiday Wishes.

On the other two cards, I used Gina K. Designs Got Snow set. They are both colored with copic markers and SU's Pacific Point cardstock and dp and Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon. I used SU's scallop border punch on the left one and a Martha Stewart scallop border punch on the right one. The snowflake is made the same way as in the one above. I put stickles on both images. I hope these are the last cards I have to do, but I think I need two more! I'll also be posting some gifts I've made for friends at work. And speaking of work...we have another snow day today! I can get more things done! Well, have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Angelic Silhouette

Every year I make a special card for my mom and my in-laws. It's always a bigger size (5.25 square) and sometimes it's difficult to fill up that space. But with this stamp (from Inkadinkadoo called Christmas Silhouettes), it wasn't difficult at all because it's so big! I bought this clear set with my MIL in mind because she loves angels. I started by stamping it in Versamark on PTI's vintage cream (the paper looks white in the picture, but it's a very creamy color) and embossing it with gold ep. I backed it with a layer of SU's brushed gold. I needed something on the left side of the card, so I used the cuttlebug swiss dots folder (this is the little narrow folder that comes with other folders in a pack). I also used my Scor-Pal to emboss a couple of lines between the image and the Swiss Dots. I first punched the snowflakes out of brushed gold, but they weren't as shiny as the image. So I took my Versamark and applied it to a piece of cream paper, then poured the gold ep over it and embossed it. Then I punched the snowflakes out of that with a Martha Stewart punch. Now they match the image and shine nicely! I also placed some yellow bling in the center of the snowflakes. For the tag, I used a cuttlebug die, stamped and embossed the sentiment and the edge of the tag with th e gold ep. I backed it with a piece of brushed gold punched with the wide oval punch. The ribbon is an RAK from Cheryl Rowley. I should mention that I went to Joan Fricker's blog, Joan's Gardens, for my inspiration for this card. She has a wonderful blog and sells some great products. In fact, I have to go there to purchase some things today! I hope you like this card...it's so much prettier in person than in this picture. I have another post after this, so please scroll down! Happy Holidays!

Recipe

Stamps: Christmas Silhouettes (Inkadinkadoo), Holiday Wishes (PTI)

Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, SU Brushed Gold

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and tag die, corner rounder, wide oval punch, ribbon, gold ep, bling, MS snowflake punch, dimensionals