PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS: Purses and the Very Best of Pinterest Pins

I saw a wonderful purse tutorial on Pinterst using the Envelope Punch Board and knew I had to make one for my dear sister in her favorite color: Any shade of blue!

Original Pin HERE

My purse turned out like this:

...and I made a matching card

to go with it:

I finished everything and realize that the purse really needed the bow that was shown in the original pin and video tutorial. Those finishing touches can made a BIG difference!

It helped me quite a bit to mark all areas ahead of time for the sticky tape placement using a pencil and to fold the velcro flaps before the purse was assembled. For my own future reference, here are the areas with adhesive tape:

I also increased the handles length to 10 1/2".

This purse started with a 12" x 12" piece of DSP and resulted in a final purse size of 4 1/2" wide x 6 1/2" high without the handles. With the handles, it was 8 1/4" high. That resulted in a large purse for any gift-giving occasion!

Next, I made a small version from a 9" square of DSP punched at 1 7/8" to hold a candy treat:

Here are a few more purse pins that caught my eye:

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

...and finally...some handcrafted Thanksgiving cards

from friends who made me do a

happy dance:

PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS: Purses and the Very Best of Pinterest Pins

I'm happy to report that I'm back after a three-month break in blogging! I have been on quite the roller coaster ride during that time, but thankfully, my determined husband is successfully making his way back from having a stroke on April 29th. Life is so precious and I hold that thought in my heart and mind even more now. My family is immeasurably grateful for all the love received from friends and family that cheered us on and up during these past months!

My 93-year-old friend's birthday is this month and I wanted to make this purse for her that I saw on Pinterest, of course!

You can find the tutorial by clicking HERE.

The finished size is quite large and makes a stunning box to hold a little gift or some candy. Here's my version:

White leaf die used was:

FLOURISH THINLITS by Stampin' Up

My mind is spinning with all of the possibilities for purses year-round using holiday double-sided paper, and boy oh! boy, do I have stashes of that kind of paper squirreled away!

Here are a few more versions that I made while everything was pulled out and my craft room already looked like a bomb had gone off!

The scoring is a bit difficult because you can't put your paper on a score board to create the diagonal scoring. I used a straight edge and a ruler on top of some craft foam and that worked beautifully!...but then the light bulb in my head went off and I realized that you can fold up the bottom third of the paper after it's scored and then you can use your Fiskars scoring tool perfectly!

Use the metal wire to line up the score line:

Open the ruler to the right and locate the

score slot at the top of the scorer

to start the score line:

When the Velcro closure of the flap is lifted up, the purse opens like an explosion card and this is what the inside of my purse looks like:

Top Sentiment = My Computer

Lower Sentiment = SU Balloon Adventures

Visit Lizzie's blog HERE to see the step-by-step tutorial pics and view the explosion effect. I hope you make someone happy with your paper creations soon. It sure feels good to be able to do that again!

PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS: Valentines and the Very Best of Pinterest Pins

I needed a quick Valentine's Day card to make this year as February will be a busy month with a wedding in the family. This lovely card below from Pinterest uses the HEARTS ENTWINE die online at Simon Says and was the perfect inspiration for a HOM-made valentine this year:

Original Pin HERE

My 2017 Valentine's Day Card:

I love this metallic gold paper. I found it squirreled away in my paper drawer...and it was so old that it was starting to bubble in places. I did a happy when I could finally put it to good use!

My sister loves shades of blue. This one's for her:

I also had a chance to make a matching purse and birthday card set:

Stamp Sets by Stampin' Up:

Butterfly Basics

Watercolor Wishes

Oh, So Lovely

By Art Gone Wild:

Birthday 3-D Simple Circles

I found this card design and tutorial

from this Pinterest pin:

 Original Pin HERE

View Instructions HERE

I also made this get well version:

Stamp Set by Stampin' Up:

Thoughts and Prayers

This type of card is called a tri shutter card. A search in Pinterest yielded a bunch of examples and variations HERE and HERE with many helpful tutorials in a PDF format.

For more Valentine's Day PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS picks, check out my board containing pins of cards that would be suitable for Valentine's Day, Weddings and Anniversaries HERE. 

Happy Valentine's Day and send a handmade paper greeting to those who make your heart happy!

PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS: More Birthday Projects and the Very Best of Pinterest Pins

I needed more birthday cards for the month of January and here's a design that can be modified with various DSP and embossing folders for any occasion. I really need to have more versatile cards like this made ahead so I can send out a card without having to set a bomb go off in my craft room!

Recently, my co-worker cleaned out her craft room and bestowed upon me a plethora of paper crafting toys! To thank her for her generosity and for making me do a happy dance, I made a card and purse as a big thank you:

STAMPS:

Cute by the Inch, Stampin' Up

Teeny Tiny Wishes, Stampin' Up

A Big Thank You, Papertrey, Ink

PINTEREST INSPIRATION CARD:

Pinterest Pin HERE

(Includes Directions HERE)

My Matching Purse:

This purse was created by the blog poster

to hold a set of cards and includes

a wonderful video tutorial!

Original Pin HERE

with Video HERE

This has been one of my most favorite projects to create. Give it a try and create a set of 4 cards with the same papers used to create the purse for a lovely color coordinated gift set just like this:

Original Pin HERE

Here are the pieces needed to make this purse:

For box base:

5" x 8" card stock

Score at 1" on all four sides

For handles:

1" x 11"

Score @ 1/2" along

the 1" side - Start and stop

at 1 1/2" from top and bottom

For sides:

4 1/2" x 12"

4 1/2" x 7"

Top border pieces:

2 each of

3/4" x 11"

3/4" x 8 1/2"

For an Easter basket version,

check out this video from

scrapbookingwithme:

...and last, but not least...I made this birthday card for my husband's assistant and BIG Tim Burton fan - especially the Nightmare before Christmas:

I would have never thought of this card on my own had it not been for this version on Pinterest:

Original Pin HERE

PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS: Beach Totes and the Very Best of Pinterest Pins

I saw these cute mini beach totes on Pinterest last week and I had to stop and make one up right away! There is a large version that can hold A2 cards with envelopes and a small version to hold some Ghiradelli chocolate squares or any other small items. The large version uses one entire 12" x 12" DSP sheet for the tote - including the handles - and there is a very helpful video tutorial as well! Thank you, Lyssa, for sharing this terrific project!

Original Pin HERE

Here are my versions:

ONE SHEET TOTAL TOTE BAG 

by Song of My Heart Stampers

Video Tutorial: http://tinyurl.com/beachtote

I made some written instructions below for the large and small sizes to go along with the video:

LARGE TOTE

Handles:

Two 1” x 12” strips scored at ½” down entire 12” length, add snail adhesive along right side of 12” length, fold in half to adhere, use bone folder to break down paper fibers then trim any overlapping excess along the 12” length if needed.

Tote:

10” x 12”, score at 5”, 6”, 7” along 12” side, cut along 5” and 7” score line – a little more than halfway to center from each side, apply adhesive to flaps and adhere to center, apply sticky side to remaining left and right flaps, apply glue dots to opposite flaps on right side of paper (leave on clear backing), adhere flaps to back on each side, pinch sides to form tote, remove clear backing on glue dots and adhere, trim excess paper where needed, attach handles with sticky tape, adhere buttons with glue dots.

SMALL TOTE

Handles:

Two 1” x 8.5” strips scored at ½” down entire 8” length, add snail adhesive along right side of 8 “ length, fold in half to adhere, use bone folder to break down paper fibers then trim any overlapping excess along the 8” length if needed.

Tote:

6” x 6”, score at 2 ½”, 3” and 3 ½”, cut along 2 ½” and   3 ½” score lines – a little more than halfway to center from each side then follow directions above.

CARD CHICKS: Fall Meeting

We had another fantastic night of paper crafting with the Card Chicks last Friday night and here are the pics from our fun meeting:

Stampin' Up's Four Feathers and For All Things

Sentiment Inside: Papertrey Ink's Autumn Hills

Ghirardelli Purse Treats

See the Directions at the End of this Post

Envelope Punch Board Mini Treats

For directions, click HERE...and these were the

the sunburst cards we made:

 Inside View

The bats were made using a butterfly punch as shown below:

Original Pin HERE

Here's a slight variation of this technique that I think is easier: Punch out a butterfly in black paper then use the space directly above the negative to punch again to create a bat. 

 Sunburst Variation using Photos

(Bat punch on this card by Martha Stewart)

Variation Three

Sunburst cards are quite simple to make once you learn the secret of using a line down the center of a 5" x 2 3/4" piece of medium weight DSP! Start your own sunburst card using four different pieces of 1 1/2" x 4" pieces of DSP cut on the diagonal then click HERE for the post with the rest of the instructions...and I also shared with my Card Chicks some of the PF Chang's gift card bags that my BIL had received through the years:

...and here's the "after" once they were decorated and recycled for another use:

Tiffany brought each of us some adhesive gems, a spool of sparkling black ribbon and a Ghirardelli chocolate square!...and here's the flashlight I found in the dollar bin at Target. I added a tag and some batteries and voilà!

Now...for the goodies we feasted upon!

...and these YUMMY table snacks that Mel also brought:

...and the decorations:

 Lights On

Lights Off

We ended the evening playing this addicting game:

This is the Pinterest pin below that led me to modifying this paper craft for our Fall Card Chicks Party - I love how they can be modified for any occasion or party!

Click HERE for the original pin. Click HERE to go directly to Qbee's Quest blog post for the instructions. Here is the set of purse instructions I made for the Card Chicks:

·        On medium weight 11 ½ x 3” DSP, score at 3”,  5 ¾” and 8 ½”

·        If making 4 purses at a time, start with 11 ½” x 12” scored as stated above along the 11 ½” length, then rotate 90 degrees and cut at every 3”

·        Cut in 5/8” from each side at the 5 ¾” score line

·        ON THE PRINT SIDE OF THE PAPER, place 2 medium/large glue dots or ½” sticky tape above and below on each 5/8” cut line

·        Add a piece of 5 ½” ribbon for the purse handle adhering each end at 2 opposite glue dots – angling the ribbon slightly towards the center

·        Fold RIGHT/PRINTED sides together at the 5 ¾” score line and pinch to secure that glue dots stick

·        At the edges furthest away from the fold, add 1/8” sticky tape along each side

·        In the center of each square closest to the center fold, add a glue dot or some sticky tape to hold the chocolate square

·        Adhere a chocolate approx. 1/8” above the score line

·        Lift up each flap to the top and adhere slightly above the 5 ¾” fold

·        Embellish as desired