Howdy Ho Everyone!

We are almost thru another week, can you believe it?  As much as I don't want to admit it, it's getting closer to Christmas.  It's almost September ~ eek!!  I do enjoy Fall, it is my absolute favorite time of year.  The crispness in the air, the beautiful colors and the coming of sweater and sweatshirt weather.  When I was younger (and a lost smaller) I used to love summer - but now that I'm old (ugh...) I just don't enjoy the heat anymore.  Ok, enough of me babbling ~ you didn't come here for that.  Let's get to something crafty shall we?

These little notepads I made with some of that "special" paper that we all have.  You know the paper that you just love and just cant put it in the cutter and use it ~ this is that paper for me.  Danielle had purchased some paper a while back at a sale and she split it with me.  The paper is from K&Company called Berry Sweet and it's just adorable.

I took some thin chipboard and covered it with the paper and Mod Podge and let it sit overnight under some heavy books.  The next day I used my BIA and put it together and decorated it. 

I used ribbon, primas, buttons, chip board accents from American Crafts, felt flowers, jewels, stickers and accent cutouts from my Storybook cartridge.

What I did was let these dry overnight because I covered the front and backs of both the front and back covers.  Then the next day I added the word "notes" and used Mod Podge again to seal the stickers.  I waited about a half hour to dry well enough then decorated them. 

When I made things like this I like to Mod Podge over the top to help seal the letters and just to protect the journal in general.  Trust me, nothing can penetrate Mod Podge - I've found that out the hard way.

I hope that you liked my little books ~ Come back tomorrow for something else that's "berry" sweet too!

Have a super great day!

Did you figure it out?

I'm sure that you did...  Yesterday's sneak peek...  It was a pretty easy one.  I made some more post it note holders, however these are easel post it's.  I love to make the easel cards, and I thought the post it's were a perfect size for them.

How stinkin' cute are these?  They are so easy to make too!!  You know that I love to make the easel cards, well these are the same as that ~ instead of decorating the "card front" you add your post it notes.

The bases for these are made with Bazzill paper that I added DP to. 

The pink one is decorated with Rose Red and Pretty in Pink card stock and Petals and Paisley DP.  I used my designer label and small oval punches.  The word "notes" was a stamp from The Angel Company that I stamped with Rose Red ink.  The stamp set used was called Vintage Vogue that I stamped on the post it pad with Rose Red ink.  If you notice the prima in the lower right corner?  I stamped a flower from the Vintage Vogue set with Rose Red ink on to a piece of Rose Red paper, cut it out and added it to the center of the prima with a dew drop to the center of that.

The blue one is decorated with Soft Sky and Not Quite Navy card stock and Petal Patch DP.  I did the same with the punches and used Not Quite Navy ink on this one. 

The easel base of this is also Bazzill card stock.  I decorated it with Perfect Plum, Apricot Appeal and Lavender Lace card stock.  I used some old DP called Sweet from SU! I used my designer label and small oval punches and  I stamped the word "notes" from The Angel Company with Eggplant Envy ink.  also stamped the border from Vintage Vogue on the notepad.  The butterfly cut out with the Beautiful Butterflies die from SU! that I had cut out a while back.  I added some ribbon and rhinestones to jazz it up a bit.

This is the last one that I made.  I made all these before dinner the other night, they go so fast!!

The base of this is made with Bazzill card stock.  I used Chocolate Chip, Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink and Pink Pirouette card stock.  The DP is old from SU! called Rebecca.  I stamped the border from Vintage Vogue in Chocolate Chip ink, the same as the word "notes" from TAC.  I used my designer label and small oval punches on the sentiment.  The butterfly is cut out with the Beautiful Butterflies die in Pink Pirouette card stock.  This is also jazzed up a bit with some rhinestones and ribbon.

I hope that you like these and that they inspire you to make some.  You can get some really good deals on post it notes now.  I noticed them on sale at Walmart because of back-to-school.  Leave me a comment with a link to yours, I'd love to see them!!

Have a super great day ~ and make sure to come back tomorrow, you'll love to see what I'm going to post!!

Ready, set, Post it!!

I've been busy the past few days making post it note holders.  It's something that everyone already has done I'm sure.  But I just wanted to post these to maybe spark some inspiration ~ hope you enjoy...

The base of this holder is Green Galore that I layered with Real Red and Summer Picnic DP.  I used my curly label, designer label and 1 1/4" circle punches on the front.  The word "Notes" is a stamp I received from The Angel Company a long time ago that I stamped with Real Red ink.  I found the directions HERE for this holder, thanks Dawn Ü!!  I added a little ribbon to help keep it closed and I was complete.

The base of this post it note holder is Bashful Blue that I layered with Certainly Celery and Maine Blueberry DP.  I used the scallop border punch to jazz up the paper on the flap, and tied a ribbon on and I was complete.  You know me, layer, layer, layer....

This last one was so simple...  I just took a piece of Bazzill card stock and ran the front thru my cuttlebug with the swirls folder.  I then took a scrap piece of Apricot Appeal card stock and a scrap of Georgia Peach DP on the front flap with a length of ribbon and I was complete.  Easy peasy!!

and now, a sneak peek for tomorrow....

Have a super great day!!

Good Morning

I hope that today finds you well.  This past weekend was so beautiful!  It seemed to me so much like the start of the Fall season ~ and you all know that I love Fall.  I want to start putting up Fall decorations, but I'll wait till the beginning of October... 

So you wanna see a few things?  Here we go...

This was an acrylic frame that Betty and I got from Dollar Tree, they are sturdy.  When I was working I would of loved to have something like this on my desk.

I opened the acrylic frame and inserted a piece of paper from the Delicate Dots collection.  I added a post it note pad and a mini calendar from skyblupink.com to the front of the frame.  I also added a pen that has matching DP.  Here are a few more of them.  I basically did the same to all of them.

This one has DP from the Melon Mambo collection.

This frame has paper from The Angel Company called Tuscany Spice.  I thought that it looks a little Fall like, don't you?

I'll be back later with more...

**EDITED 09/28/2009 to add how the pen is attached.

Some of you asked how the pen was attached to the post it note holder.  I simply took a 3/4" x 3" piece of cardstock and rolled it around the pen.  I kept the the end where the pen is over the top of the clear acrylic frame and attached the other ends to the back of the frame.  I then added a piece of DP to the back of the frame to cover up the cs piece and I was done.  I hope that this clarifies it for some of you.  If not just let me know and I can take a picture of it for you.

Post it's anyone?

Betty was over the other day and said that I needed to make some post it's with coasters.  At first I thought "huh?" then she explained it.  One of the ladies that we've been lucky to meet at a Splitcoast gathering made some of these ~ check out Beth's blog here, she's amazing.  I like playing with coasters and my bind it all so I went to work.

I just covered my coasters with paper, punched the holes with my Bind it All, added the binding then adhered the post it's inside with the red line tape and it's that easy.  Of course I had to add the ribbon to the binding.  For these I used all Angel Company papers.  Bella Flor, Hemingway, Juliette, Amelia and Sands of Time. 

On these I omitted the ribbon from the binding wires and placed a length around the center of the coaster.  I love this butterfly ribbon that Betty brought over!!

Well that's all for today.  I will be back tomorrow with more!  Have a great rest of your weekend.

Post it!

I've always been a fan of post it notes. Even when I worked I always had post it notes everywhere. Let me say that the person who came up with that idea was a genius! But now it is our job to find a way to make them pretty. Actually anything that I see I am always trying to find a way to alter it. I'm sure that we all are. We go to the store and we see packaging or items and we look at another way to make it pretty, don't we? You know I'm right... And yes, my hubby thinks I'm loony!

I made these little post it note holders. Are they not perfect for your purse or car? Even to leave them on your desk?

The base of these holders are Brilliant Blue, Yo Yo Yellow and Almost Amethyst. The other punched layers are Pixie Pink, So Saffron and Lovely Lilac. I stamped the images from my In Full Bloom set that I colored in with my watercolor crayons. I cut the image out with my coluzzle and layered it on to 2 alternating pieces that I punched with my Marvy punches. I paper pierced the outer scalloped layer. The bee was also cut out and pop dotted to the top for a 3D effect. I used a small piece of velcro to keep the holder closed.

Here's another holder that was made for the long post it notes. The base of the holder is Marigold Morning that I layered with some Rainbow Sherbet DP. I added a piece of ribbon and stamped the word "notes" from my TAC grab bag of stamps I had. These were quick and easy and make nice gifts. I do have to say that the idea was not entirely mine. I picked it up from Beth over at Blooming Where I'm Planted. She's got lots of ideas, go check her out!!

I think that's all I've got for you now. How this inspires you.

Good morning everyone! And some birthday candy

I hope that the long weekend kept everyone safe and rested. Now I'm a little excited for fall to be here. Labor day in my mind marks the end of summer - even though it seems to be getting hotter and hotter out.

I think I've said it before, my favorite time of year is fall. The leaves are changing, there begins a crispness in the air. But according to the forecast for this coming week, I don't think there will be any crispness in the air any time soon.

Enough of the sappy stuff ~ let's get to work!

This card is still not what I wanted. I have this image in my head and it just wont work out on paper! Has that ever happened to you?

I've got this image in my head but when I sit down to create the card it just won't come out the way I want to. The card still turned out cute I guess ~ but it's not what I wanted.

I used a stamp set from TAC that's been discontinued - but everyone has a set similar to this one I'm sure.

The base card is Pixie Pink and the DP is some I found in my scrap drawer already cut - I'm not sure who it's from. I stamped the little candle from a SU! set called Birthday Banter for each day of the month except for the actual birthday. I stamped the date for the day. I then punched out the circle using my 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches. The cupcakes are from a Stampendous set "Hey there Cupcake" set and the present is also from them. The hat is from Hero Arts. I stamped each and cut them out and positioned them at different places on the card. I used some stickles to jazz it up a bit and I was done.

I was in need of making a card to send to a new found friend on line. I want

ed to use some of my yummy paper from SU! I was so in love with the Berry Bliss paper that they had - and now that it's gone I had to fall in love with another, Bella Rose. To me it's almost as nice as the Berry Bliss ~ but then anything that has to do with card making and is brown is ok in my book!

Just a simple card to go with the post it note holder I made for her too. The card is nothing but DP and ribbon, with a small sentiment in the corner from my TAC set Enjoy Today. Sometimes simpler is better.

There is another lady that I've met on line thru one of the forums that I belong to. She's having a bit of a hard time right now and I wanted to make something that might cheer her up. And of course one of my favorite flowers is daises. Some more DP that I have in a drawer that I don't know who it's from. I do have lot's and lot's of paper like that.

The daisy is from TAC and it's called Gerbera Daisy. The base card is Ballet Blue. I stamped the image and colored it in with my pencils and gamsol then layered it on to a piece of Creamy Caramel and sponged some Creamy Caramel ink around the edge of the image panel. The card is layered with the DP and Creamy Caramel. I added a length of ribbon to it too.

Once the card was all put together I added some stickles to the flower to give it a little shine. I sure hope that it brightens her day.

Since my hits are getting up there, I want to offer up some candy - "birthday" candy that is. Next week is my birthday and I was thinking that I would offer up a present to you all.

Make me a birthday card and post it on your blog. Then link it back to me and post a message on this post. I will then draw thru random.org the winner of some blog candy that I will be giving to you. Think of it as my birthday present to YOU. Let's see how many people we can get to play this.....

I hope that you all have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Joani

I've been busy, can you tell?

Yesterday was a busy busy day for me. I had to finish up some post it note holders that a lady wanted for the people she works with. I also wanted to make a paint can for my hubby's niece. Her sister is going to be here and I thought that I'd make it and send it back with her so I did not have to ship it. She wanted one to keep candy in on the counter at work. So that one I made with cute candy paper. Of course I was a little nervous because it was my first gallon size one and I only had 1 piece of the candy paper. It came out fine. And of course she does not like pink too much, but I did make it mostly brown.... I so hope that she likes it.

What do you think? Not too girly you think?

Then she wanted a can for her pens and such for her desk. She wanted purple and turquoise. Well, I did not have any turquoise paper so I had to improvise and use sky blue. So I made these items for her. The can say's "Tonya" and I used my cricut machine to make the letters for both the cans, the Base Camp cartridge.

The letter's on this can look like they are buckling up but they are not. It's the ribbon on the center of the can that makes it look that way. I used mod podge on the cans to help seal them. The letter's are not going anyplace.

On the back of the post it note holder is dark purple paper. I took some rub on letter's and spelled her name out then mod podged it to protect the letters. Everything matches too, of course!

Do you remember the other day when I said that I received a call from a lady who buy's from me at the Peddler's Mall? Well, she had a friend who wanted 11 of these post it note holders for Tuesday. She wanted them to say "Thank you" instead of "notes". So I finished those up and packaged them so they are ready to go.

She wanted 11 of them ~ 9 for females and 2 for males. The one on the end was the "guy" one. There is no flowers on it :)

Then I wanted to make a little gift for her to thank her for getting the post it note holders, so I made this.

I took one of the cases that the Angel Company stamps come in and used rub on's to decorate it a little. I took a note pad and "covered" it with paper and decorated it a little with some primas and a sentiment that I punched out with my word window punch.

I added a length of ribbon on the side to "attach" a beaded pen. I also altered a black clip and I was done.

I really got a lot done yesterday. I was pretty proud of myself. I stopped once to take my DD and her BFF to the Humane Society. Well, no not take THEM, but take them to go volunteer. Silly...... And I stopped once and ate. But I was pretty much sitting in the craft room all day. I guess it shows, huh?

I do have to apologize for not listing any of the papers that I've used. To be honest, I don't think I could tell you anyway. I have lots and lots of drawers packed with paper. I do have 2 drawers listed with TAC and SU paper. But most of them are just papers that I've picked up from here and there. I can tell you that the plain card stock is from SU! They are the only ones that I buy cs from.

Well ~ today I am off to visit with family. We are going to my sister in law's to visit my hubby's niece and her little baby. Ricky's great niece. Boy, I bet he never thought he'd have one of those. Time goes by so fast!! I can't believe that my daughter is already a junior in high school.

So I'm off ~ and take the time today to call or visit the ones who are close to your heart!
Hugs,
Joani

Happy Friday

Woo-Hoo today is Friday. It seems like this week has taken forever to finish. It was hubby's 1st week back to work after shut down. They close down the plant every July for maintenance and such ~ and this was his first week back after 9 days of being home. Let me tell you after getting to sleep in for that long then going back to getting up at the crack of dawn to get him going was hard. I feel sorry for my daughter who's got to go back to school soon ;-)


Well, here's my first card to show you today. I made this card using my TAC set Kid's Praises.

I started off with the scor-pal and made some score line on the piece of cs. Then a nifty little trick that I learned from Mel over at Mel Stampz was to use a crayon to highlight over the score marks. My daughter, yes even still at 16 loves to color ~ so I "borrowed" her crayons to do this.

I colored the image with my pencils and gamsol, layered it on to the card with scrap pieces from the Mimi paper collection with a length of ribbon and I was done. Quick and easy.


Here is a card that I somewhat cased from Becca over at Amazing Paper Grace. I just love all of the layers on her cards. And everything is always so pretty.

The base card is Creamy Caramel. It is layered with Chocolate Chip, Really Rust and a piece of DP that I have no idea where it came from - but I like it.

I punched the scallop circles with my Mega and Giga punches. Then I punched a square with my 1 3/8" square punch out of the center of the rust panel. I punched another square with my 1 1/4" punch in Creamy Caramel and the acorn with the 1" square punch. I glued down the Chocolate Chip panel then the ribbon and tied a knot and then used pop dots to place the Really Rust panel down. Once I did that I doubled the layers of pop dots under the acorn and placed that down in the center. I used my word window punch to punch out the sentiment and I "made" another word window punch in Really Rust to go under that and glued that down in the corner.


I want to leave you today with a few of the things that I've been working on to sell at the Peddler's Mall. It seems that the notepads and post it notes are good items to sell. So here are a few that I've made to put there.

This batch I used my SU! paper Au Chocolat. I just love this paper, and if I knew where to get my hands on more I would.....

These are post it note holders with matching clips.





Here are some more post it note holders. I covered the coasters with some TAC paper from the Brighten my Day collection. I also made the little clips to hold them to the coaster and beaded pens.

These are along the same lines as the post it note holders ~ just note pads. I covered some chipboard with paper from TAC's Uptown Girl collection with the clips. I thought that the ribbon was perfect to go with the paper.

And last but not least more post it note holders. This one I used TAC's Rustic Chic paper. I just love how it looks all distressed and you don't have to do a thing to it! These are a little bit more "fancy" than the others :)

I wanted to say that there is a whole world out there of knowledge. I can say that since we've moved here I have not been able to attend any stamp shows or classes. I miss the stamp shows that we used to go to in California ~ but everything that I've learned since then has been off the Internet. So even if you make something and you thing "nah - I won't post that" please do. You never know who might be out there just wanting to re-create what you just made!

Now if I can stay off the computer long enough today, maybe I could create something!

Have a great day!
Hugs,
Joani

Busy busy busy!!

I just thought that I'd show you what I've been up to this past weekend.

I've been busy making things to sell if you remember at a local Peddler's Mall. Well, so far I've got cards, small notebooks, post it note holders, pens and paintcans. I feel that there is still something missing - something more that I want to make, but I just cant put my finger on it. Of course it will come to me after I take this stuff down and put it in the booth.

These are some if the post it note holders and the notepads that I did. They of course have matching pens with them. For the bag toppers I am going to try my first attempt at making my own rub-ons. I think that I might put something like "a little gift from me to you" on the top. Or something to that effect.


There is so many different papers that I have used it's not funny. So I'm sorry if I can't list everything. BUT, I can tell you that the little notebook right here with the word "notes" in white and the one on the top picture in the middle have the papers used from the Catelynne collection from TAC™. That's one of my favorite papers I think.

Another of my projects was to do some paint cans. I will let you know that the cheapest place I've found paint can's are at Sherman Williams. They are just up the street from me. They are only $1.60 per can for the quart cans. I know the last time I looked at Lowe's they were $3.00 each!!

I wanted to show you an up close look at this can. I "colored" in the image with stickles. I thought that it gave it a cute little touch. The bee on the lid also has stickles on his wings ~ but the picture does not show it. I think I need a new camera.







Here's a look at the front's of the paint cans. I love the brads with the crystals in them ~ I don't use them too much on my cards because they stick out so much and I'm afraid of sending them thru the post office. I know to mark "hand cancel" on them but sometimes they still get damaged.

Well, I hope that you like what you see and I hope that it inspires you to create something nice today. I'm off to create!
More tomorrow.

I just had to share a few little things with you today.


I wanted to post some pictures of my craft room. Now, it's not the greatest ~ but at least I have one. When we were house hunting I wanted to make sure that there was a place for all my "stuff". This place had a sun room built on, how cool is that? Well COLD not cool! The room is right off the house as you can see - and with all the windows it gets cold in the winter, and actually not too bad in the summer. But it is my little space that I can create in and have my "little" fur baby at my feet.

And no, I normally keep the blind down so the ribbon does not get faded. I learned that with my paper the first year that I was here...

This is my space where I sit to create. I get lots of light from the windows which is nice. The one good thing about not having too much room is you keep your stuff more organized than you would if you have a larger space.

In California we had converted the garage into a room - that was our craft room. I can say that this little space is more organized than the other was. I had stuff spread out everyplace. Here, it goes back after I use it.

This is Mom's area. Yes, she's going to kill me for posting this. "Joani, my hair looks awful ~ it's not curled". Yes Mom, I know. You just washed it and can't do a thing with it. If she was a little bit more technologically savvy she'd get me back, but I don't have to worry about that :)

Notice the punch rack? Hubby just put that up for me not too long ago. That was another couple of drawers that I got to clean out. I love having them hanging up. The Mega & Giga punches are a little awkward on there but they fit.

This bookshelf is where most of my stamps are kept. The 7 boxes hold all of my SU! sets. Before I UM them they were on the 3 shelves stacked 2 deep. If you wanted to find something you had to move them around, stack on the floor and look. Now they are in the boxes by category and alphabetized. It's the OCD talking, sorry ;)

Now on to some creative stuff!

You can't imagine the look on my face when I got some mail the other day and opened the package. My dear friend Gabby sent this to me. Isn't i beautiful!! I could not believe my eyes. She is one amazing and awesome crafter. One of the most talented I've seen! And this was for me! Of course when I opened it I mentioned to hubby that she made this out of coasters and that a trip to Ruby Tuesday's was in order. Last year we went there for lunch and our waitress gave me a stack of coasters, I seriously scored big with those. So, when we went for lunch I asked the waitress for some coasters & she brought them to me with our drinks ~ they were round!!! Ok, that's fine. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth right? But now I'm going to have to make a few changes if I want to try this.

If you want to try this take a peek over at Gabby's blog and her wonderful tutorial! She makes everything look so easy.

Well of course my DD had to get her mitts on it and check it out. I told her that it was "mine, mine MINE" so she had to go make one. The kid can sit down and create a card in just a few minutes ~ it takes me all day. Well, that's the OCD again. If it's anyplace near crooked or if it has a little mark - or if it's just not right I start over.... But little missy sat down and made 4 of these! She has that ability. Me, I print of directions and read over them a couple times before I start on something.

Well, she made these and asked if I would take a picture like I do with my stuff. Of course I will. So, I had to show her creation off too...

Enough said for today ~ I will (hopefully) be back tomorrow with more. Have a great day!

Post it Note Holder

I'm sure that many of you have made these already, but they are quick and easy and I thought that I'd post a tut on how I made mine.

First you want to cut the base at 7 3/4" by 3 1/7".

This is what will hold the post it notes.

Then score the paper at 3 1/8", 3 1/2", 6 3/4" and 7 1/8".

At this time you will cut a square of pattern paper (I used the *yummy* Dashing by SU! I'm gonna buy more before it goes away....) for the front cover. I also added a peice of ribbon before adhering the DP down.

I then cut a thin strip for the front flap.

Place adhesive on the back of the post it notes and place in the holder.

Add a peice of velcro to the flap and lid and TA-DA!!! All done.

These are super easy and FAST to make. They are the perfect stocking stuffers too. I think that I will make a few for my DD's teachers...

Hopefully I did not confuse anyone. I am very good at knowing what to say in my head, but when I want to explain it ~ it does not come out right.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Otherwise, leave me a note and tell me if you like it!!! TTFN! Hugs~Joani