Menagerie of Crafts

It has been WAY TOO long since I last posted!
So much has changed in this past year.  December 7th, 2018 I retired from my position as a Project Manager with my company.  It was time...…

Looking forward to increasing my Stampin' Up! business as well as getting back to some other crafts I did years ago;  Quilting and Counted Cross Stitch are two that I started working on already.

Plans to update this blog to include a "Menagerie of Crafts" in the Very new future.  Just need to make a few decisions about the blog and how to manage it with the help of my very talented niece, Emily!

Love & Coffee!

Today I am sharing the 3rd card we will be making this Saturday at my January card class. I always debate on whether to include a Valentine's Day card in my January classes.  This year I included this card and will give the ladies attending the option of changing out the band around the cup to meet their needs. Everyone seems to send at least a few birthday cards.  When preparing samples for classes I try all the time to have at least two of the three cards able to be converted to another type of greeting card.  Hence this card could be for "Valentine's Day" or even a "Thinking of You" card.  I encourage all attendees to make the type of card they NEED and not necessarily copy my sample.

Here are the supplies needed to make the above card.

131201   Cardstock Pear Pizzazz 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"

115318   Cardstock Soft Suede 3-3/4" x 5"

144155   Designer Series Paper Coffee Break Top piece 1-1/8" x 3-1/2"

                                                                  Bottom Piece 3-1/2" x 3-1/2"

120953   Cardstock Crumb Cake 2-1/4" x 4-1/4"  (for coffee cup)

100730   Cardstock Whisper White 2-3/4" x 4-1/2" (for white on cup and lid)

104199   Linen Thread

126974   Stamp Pad - Early Expresso

126949   Stamp Pad - Real Red

143745   Framelits Coffee Cups

143677   Stamp Set Coffee Café

144965   Stamp Set Merry Café

ENJOY!

Bird Banter & SEND THOSE CARDS!

Still not perfect with trying to post an idea each week, but I am TRYING and getting better!

This is the second card we will be making at our January 20th class.  LOVE this set, but before I get wrapped up in this card, I need to explain the second half of my post title:  SEND THOSE CARDS!

When I first became a Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator 8 years ago, the first classes I held were a learning experience for me.  I can always remember making cards and even held classes using the scraps from pages I scrapbooked to make simple cards.  You know, we papercrafters NEVER throw paper out! Anyway......at one of my classes I remember one of my customers telling me they NEVER sent the cards out that they made in my classes!  At the time I didn't think too much about it, but realized that some people can't part with certain cards.

In this age of smart phones and technology, you can take pictures of the cards you make "just in case" you want to make another one just like the first one!  So SEND THOSE CARDS!  I challenge all of you to send a home made card once a week in 2018.  OK, I won't be that rigid, but try and send 52 cards this year. Please note that I am taking on this challenge and my first one went to a friend of my mothers who sent me a Christmas Card.  She was telling me what she has been up to and how she missed my mom SO much.  She now lives in the same retirement community my mom lived in and is in a unit right across from where my mom lived before she passed away almost five years ago.  It brought back so many good memories and I just had to find a special card from my stash to send her.

So here is one of my favorite stamp sets from the 2018 Occasions Catalog - Bird Banter.  There are so many cute ideas out on Pinterest for this stamp set and I see it being very versatile for all occasions.  ENJOY!

Supplies needed to complete the above card:

121044 Cardstock Basic Gray 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"

145559 Picture Perfect Party Designer Series Paper 3"x4-3/4" cut in half   

            diagonally

100730 Cardstock Whisper White use scraps to punch out 2-1/2" and 1-3/4" circles as well as to   

              stamp balloon

131197 Cardstock Bermuda Bay 1" x 2-1/4" for greeting

143720 Punch 2-1/4" Round

119850 Punch 1-3/4 Round

Embossing folder of your choice, the one I used is retired

132708 Memento Pad Black

141709 Watercolor Markers

104430 Stampin' Up! Dimensionals

I stamped the birds  and balloon using the Black Memento Stamp pad.  Wait until completely dried before you color with markers, blends or my choice the watercolor markers.  You will need to fussy cut the balloon and use appropriate sized punches or framelits to cut out the birds. Circles and greeting are raised with Dimensionals.

Watch for card #3 for the class January 20th class to show up any day!

True Gentleman Suite

Happy New Year!

Well once again it has been several weeks since I posted.  I was so far behind in holiday shopping that I had to prioritize the last few weeks differently than I expected.  Now there are no excuses!

So here is a one of the cards I made for the January 2018 stamp class (date to be posted shortly).

I love this series of Designer Paper, Stamp set and punch that is in the new 2018 Occasions Catalog.  It is a challenge to design cards for the men in our life, so when I turned the page of the catalog and saw these items, I ordered almost all of them as soon as I was able.  Today the new Occasions Catalog is LIVE for everyone!  There are also quite a few cards on Pinterest already using this stamp set.  If you would like to purchase any of the items, please feel free to order from the button on this site.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  Also if you are interested in being on my mailing list for an invite to my card classes, let me know!    

Here are the "ingredients" and measurements of the papers for the items used in this card.

120953 Cardstock - Crumb Cake 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"

145593 DSP - True Gentleman - Top piece 2-1/2" x 4 "

                                                   Bottom piece 3" x 4"

144246 Cardstock - Tranquil Tide 1/4" x 4"

145735 Clear Stamp Set Truly Tailored

145667 Punch Tailored Tag

145596 Buttons True Gentleman

104199 Linen Thread

126975 Stamp Pad Crumb Cake

126970 Stamp Pad Night of Navy

144085 Stamp Pad Tranquil Tide

104430 Stamp Dimensionals

103683 Mini Glue Dots

Have fun crafting!

Donna

                                                                

Happy Monday!

Just signed off from my full time job as an Account Manager and now I get to have one hour of FUN papercrafting until I need to start dinner.  Wish I could keep up this pace all five days during the week!

Here is another card I made over the weekend for a very special friend who is celebrating a birthday this week.  I LOVED Whole Lot of Lovely Designer Paper and the Bundle Oh So Eclectic Stamp Set and Thinlit dies will get a ton of use in my morning room (aka where I craft).

Here are the products that I used for this sample:

Card base Cardstock Pear Pizzazz - 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"

Cardstock Crushed Curry 4" X 5-1/4"

Cardstock Whisper White 3-3/4" x 5"

DSP Whole Lot of Lovely 3" x 4"

Stamp Set:  Oh So Eclectic

Thinlit Die: Eclectic Layers

The mini label was made with punches that are no longer available, however it is very easy to stamp your saying on Whisper White cardstock and hand cut if you do not have any punches.  Promise I will NOT use these punches on my next sample!  I just wanted to make sure to complete the card this weekend so I could mail it today.  This time I didn't go crazy making a bunch of them.....only six!

Tip # 1

Once you use the thinlet to cut out the design in the Whisper White Cardstock, put your adhesive on the outside edges of the DSP and then line it up underneath the White Whisper piece of cardstock.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

If you need to place any of these items on order, please select the order button on the right side of my home page or you can also access my page at www.donnabolsar.stampinup.net.

Hope you had a great day!

Off to finish up the last 25 of my 50 Christmas Cards!

Once again it has been TOO long since I have posted.  Once again a visit with my sister motivated me to take my Stampin'  Up! business more seriously.  My husband and I traveled from Pennsylvania to Chesapeake, VA for the Thanksgiving holiday last week.  We were fortunate to spend time not only with my sister and her husband, but my niece Emily and nephew Ben who were home for the holiday.  It had been 2-1/2 years since we saw my brother in law and niece and nephew!  WAY too LONG!

Anyway, my sister scheduled a meeting for her down lines on Friday night and four of us were able to attend.  One of the ladies mothers also came along for the fun. We each went around the table and discussed where we were with our business - both the good and the not so good, as well as what we were planning for 2018.  We made two projects that were fun and cute as well.

So back to reality and one of the commitments I made this week was to create a card and update my blog at least twice a week.  Well I never start small and cut out the ingredients for 10 cards!  So here is my first sample for you.  Please feel free to case this idea to use up some of your Designer Paper scraps, and pull out those thinlets that might be "dusty" for lack of use.

Here are the products I used for this card and a few "tips" I found useful while creating this card.

Cardstock for base:  Fresh Fig   (5-1/2" x 8-1/2")
Naturally Eclectic DSP:  4" x 5-1/4"
Whisper White Cardstock for Heart Thinlet and Happy Anniversary Label
Scrap of Fresh Fig Cardstock for small butterfly thinlet and Happy Anniversary border
Scrap of Lemon Lime Twist Cardstock for butterfly thinlet background

Framelits & Thinlets:
Bold Butterfly Framelit
Butterflies Thinlits
Bloomin' Heart Thinlits

Unfortunately the punches I used for the title were discontinues by Stampin' Up. 

Tip # 1.  You can easily cut a strip of Whisper White Cardstock and use a corner rounder punch to create the oval.  For the Fresh Fig background,  you could use the "Classic Label Punch" in the current catalog.  At this time I do not have that punch, but it would work well for this label.

Tip # 2.  Use your paper trimmer to cut a 1-1/2" slit on the long side of your DSP at about 2-5/8".  You can use the scoring blade and bone folder to create the area that is bent back.

Tip # 3.  Before running the Bloomin' Heart Thinlit through my Big Shot, I put a piece of was paper on top of the Whisper White Cardstock.  This made it easier to remove the cardstock from the die.  The die brush and foam pad is also helpful to remove all the little pieces as well.

The 2017 Holiday Catalog is winding down and the new 2018 Occasions Catalog is on its way with Sale a Bration on its heel!  Demonstrators can pre-order this Friday December 1st.  If there is anything you need, please go to my website to place an order.   www.donnabolsar.stampinup.net.
Feel free to comment here or email me if you have any questions.

Till later this week when I showcase another easy card.........
Happy Stamping!😊

Donna

Got Scraps?

Catchy title, right?

You are probably shaking your head, since if you have been involved in papercrafts for any period of time you probably have a stash  of scraps "somewhere" in or close by your work area.  

I remember the first time Deb (the "other" D in D & D Papercrafts) came over to scrapbook in my finished basement of our previous home.  She asked if I had any "scraps".  I asked her what color she needed and proceeded to go over to an area on my shelves where there was a line of photo boxes, filled with scraps sorted by color. I thought her eyes were going to pop out!  She had been keeping all of her scraps in a drawer and it took forever to locate what she needed.  If I remember correctly, she went home that day and decided to organize hers in a similar way. 

I still have those boxes filled with scraps and have added a "portable" scrap bag that I am known for when we go to any type of day crop or weekends.  AKA "Donna"s Scrap Bag".  All of us chuckle when I tell anyone that takes a scrap out...."Do NOT return any bit that is left over".  Why cut in to a fresh piece of cardstock when you have access to Donna's "scraps"?

So today I am sharing a few of the 35 cards I worked on at a weekend event I went to the end of April.  I finally finished the last of them last night.  It was easy to pull "bases" which are pieces left over from scrapbooking that I cut to 5-1/2" x 8-1/2".  PLEASE don't even ask how many of these I have!  Added to my bag some white cardstock, my washi tape container, my "scrap Bag" and finally a few stamp sets, black ink and a block.

Here are two of the cards I created.

The squares were created with two sizes of punches.  Hint...punch the smaller one first and then the larger one.  I used a small flower punch from Stampin' Up! that is unfortunately retired, however you could use any small flower punch or embellishments you have laying around.  I put a small pearl in the center of each flower.  Pearl Basic Jewels are still available from Stampin' Up! along with their Rhinestone Basic Jewels.  There is an assortment of sizes in each package and I find these a staple for everyday cardmaking and scrapbooking.

So I close todays post with a confession.......

It is time to part with some of my scraps.  Since we moved, my space for my papercrafting hobby has been reduced and I am fine with that, so it is time to reduce my scraps.  I will be disposing of the teeny ones by trashing them.  Yes I have kept small ones thinking "you never know when you need to stamp a small word or two on a card".  Then I will sort the rest as I found a friend who can use them in her job.  She works with special needs adults that make cards!  They will use anything over 3" x 3" both cardstock and printed papers.  All I am going to keep is anything that is larger than 4" x 6" for matting.  If I find out I have too many of them, I will give HALF of them to my friend as well.  

Every day I create scraps........and every day I can share with others that can use them, whether it is at a crop with my "portable" bag or by providing my friend a box or two every now and then to a group that can use them to create cards.