Girls Club Tic Tac Toe

I already showed you two of the projects we'll be making at Saturday's Girls Club Workshop... the wallet and the peanuts for the elephant. Well, here's the third project, and it's just for the girls!

I saw these cute game boards over on Splitcoast (here's the one I looked at first) and knew it would be a perfect project for the girls. The pieces are stamped with Big Pieces in Cameo Coral and Ballet Blue ink. The squares are Bashful Blue Designer Prints paper, and the whole thing is mounted onto Ballet Blue cardstock. The title was stamped with the Classic Alphabet and then punched out with a 3/4" Circle punch. Some Whisper White Taffeta ribbon gives it a nice finish. I then mounted the whole thing onto a piece of foam core board so it would be sturdy enough to move around.

I have plans to make another one of these using a piece of large On Board Book Basics Chipboard... I wanted to have it done before Saturday in case anyone wanted to take advantage of the On Board with Chipboard promotion that is coming to an end - but I may not have it ready. We'll see. If I had the time for every project I've got rolling around in my head, that would mean there were 100 hours in every day. And we all know that just ain't the case.

...back to the Girls Club Workshop. I still have a couple of spots open, so if you're interested in joining us, I'll need to know by noon on Friday (tomorrow) in order to have supplies prepared. Contact me right away!

Girls Club Project #2

Don't forget that my next Girls Club Workshop is this Saturday (May 31st) from 2-4pm! I already showed you the Wallet we will complete... here's another little gift for Dad that we'll be making:

It's quick and simple, and what Dad doesn't like peanuts?! In addition to the two projects I have already shown, we will be making one more thing... I'll share it here on my blog as soon as it's finished.

As a reminder, my Girls Club Workshops are open to girls ages 8-15 and they may attend alone or with their mom (or aunt, sister, grandmother... etc). The cost is $10 per child, or $15 for a mother/daughter pair. I provide all supplies with the exception of basic adhesive. I also recommend the girls bring a pair of straight scissors so they don't have to wait to share mine. If you haven't signed your daughter (and yourself!) up, time is running out! I do still have a few seats left, and I'd love to have you join us!

Girls Club Project!

Yesterday I showed you what the girls did for Mom... here is what we're going to do for Dad! ...but let me start out by saying that this BRILLIANT idea is NOT MINE! I got this pattern from Lorri Heiling over at Dream Big. I knew as soon as I saw this that I would have to CASE it!

Mine looks almost identical to Lorri's on the outside, but because I will be dealing with young girls, I had to simplify her design. Instead of doing the paper piercing and faux stitching, I just used a black marker to make dashed lines. Because of this, I also used Close to Cocoa cardstock instead of Chocolate Chip so you could see the "stitching" better.

The inside of my wallet is very different - again, I simplified it, but I actually prefer the look of this window - complete with transparency film and all! What Dad doesn't want to carry around a picture of his little girl in his wallet?! ...but since I don't have any little girls to use for an example, you'll have to imagine my little hockey player with pig-tails and bows. :o)

I only included one pocket in mine, and the girls can choose to either get Dad a gift card (Home Depot, Starbucks, a movie theatre, his favorite restaurant, a golf pro or tackle shop, etc.) or they can slip in a personal hand-written note. There is even room on the pocket to sign their name.

This is only one of the projects we'll be making this month... I am not finished with the rest. But who can resist coming JUST for this wallet?! The workshop is on Saturday, May 31st from 2-4pm. Girls ages 8-15 are welcome to attend either alone, or with Mom. The cost is $10 per child, or $15 for a Mother/Daughter pair if Mom wants to make the projects too. Contact me right away to save your seat!

EDITED TO ADD: I have completed an Instruction Sheet for this project! Visit my Instruction Sheet Archive to learn more... this project can be found with "My Other Cards".

Mother's Day Ensemble

I gave you a Sneak Peek on April 21st... but now that Mother's Day has passed, I can show you what we made at the last Girls Club workshop! I had a whopping 13 girls this time - and because we made gifts for Mom, I had no other adult supervision! Eeeeek! But it went well... here's what we made:

It's a card, a tin box with a window, and both of them fit inside the small matching canvas tote bag. Here are individual photos for a better look:

Using a Vellum cardstock overlay is one of my favorite techniques for a card - it's fast, easy to do, and it looks great! The vellum mutes the overall design, so you can go crazy with bright colors - here, we used Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, and Certainly Celery. The flowers come from Ginormous Flowers and are stamped onto Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment comes from All Holidays and is stamped on top of the vellum using Black StazOn ink. Attaching the vellum to the cardstock using matching Brads eliminates the dilemma of how to keep adhesive from showing through. I like to leave the bottom open so the recipient can lift the vellum and get the full effect. The base cardstock color here is Pretty in Pink, and it's finished off with some Regal Rose Wide Grosgrain ribbon (some of you moms got Certainly Celery ribbon because I ran out of the Regal Rose!).

These cute little heart-shaped tin boxes came from Oriental Trading. We covered them with some of the old Petals & Paisleys DSP and Tempting Turquoise cardstock.

The lid was tricky - I gave each of the girls a template so they could make the Tempting Turquoise hollow heart to go around the window. Then we wrapped the edge with some Pretty in Pink Grosgrain ribbon and embellished the top with some little Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose flowers made with the Three For You punch.

The Crop-a-Dile punches through these things like butter, so we added a little loop handle made with Tempting Turquoise Grosgrain ribbon. Inside the tin, we lined the bottom with Pretty in Pink cardstock and added a sentiment from Family Phrases which you can see through the window when it's closed.

Finally, the tote bag came from Hobby Lobby and we just stamped directly on it using Craft inks. Easy! They didn't take long to dry - and if this were something that would find it's way into the wash, then we would've sealed them one way or another. But these were only meant to hold the little goodies for Mom, so we didn't bother with sealing them.

This month, Girls Club will be on Saturday, May 31st, from 2-4pm. I haven't finished the project yet, but it will be a Father's Day gift! Moms, you are welcome to stay at this one. The cost is $10 per child (ages 8-15), or $15 for a Mother-Daughter pair. Drop me a line to hold your seat(s).

Girls Club Sneak Peek!

I can't show you the projects we're going to make this Saturday afternoon at Girls Club because they are Mother's Day gifts... but I'm going to give you a sneak peek at a couple of the projects...



Okay, so all you can get from that is a couple of colors... Hmmmm... and is that some sort of fabric? :o)

Anyway, if you haven't signed your daughter up to come, please do so quickly! The workshop is this Saturday, April 26th from 2-4pm. The cost is $10 per child. Please have the girls bring a sharp pair of snips and an adhesive runner (like our SNAIL).

Girls Club Card

In addition to the brag book in this post, we will also be making this card during Saturday's Girls Club workshop:

You know that bright colors are out of my normal comfort zone, but I really like these two colors paired up! This is Taken With Teal & Real Red along with some Basic Black for outlines and Whisper White. I knew I wanted to use this swirly paper from the Bali Breeze DSP pack, so I picked the ladybug from Garden Whimsy to give meaning to the "trail". I guess I could've also used a bee, but then I wouldn't have been able to use the beautiful Real Red wide grosgrain ribbon! I was going to use the narrow ribbon, but once I layed the wide on here, there was no turning back!

Speaking of wide grosgrain, that's going to be my next Ribbon Share! I haven't set the date yet of when I will place the order, but it will most likely be around the first week of March. So if you're interested, you can let me know now and I'll add you to the list. It will be approximately 3 yards each of 8 different colors for $16.50. I'll have a more "formal" announcement later, but thought you'd maybe like to get a jump on the offer. :) Edited to add: I mistakenly had the price listed at $16 and will honor that for those who have already contacted me. But the correct price is $16.50.

Anyway, back to this card... the sentiment also comes from Garden Whimsy and is stamped directly onto the base card with Basic Black ink. Then I randomly stamped the pair of bugs from the same set using Versamark ink. I used the Scallop Circle punch, along with the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle punches to frame the ladybug.

Simple to make... with a dynamite impression! If you haven't signed your daughter up for Girls Club (this Saturday at 2pm), there are still a few seats available - contact me now to reserve your spot! ...and stay tuned - I have one more Girls Club project that we'll make!

February Girls Club

Due to a very busy February, I thought I was going to have to skip Girls Club this month (OH, the HORROR!), but a conference I was to attend on the 23rd cancelled, so I'm free that day! So...

...this month, Girls Club will be held on Saturday, February 23rd from 2-4pm, and this is just one of the projects we will create:

Isn't it adorable?! It's a brag book, complete with sheet protector pages inside (made out of clear envelopes)to hold favorite photos. Not only will the girls enjoy filling this album with their own photos, but this would be a great gift for Grandma!

EDITED TO ADD: I decided the front of this brag book needed something else, so I have since added two Tempting Turquoise brads in the upper right-hand corner. I thought about taking another photo, but decided it was too much work with all the editing, etc. involved. So you'll just have to imagine that they're there! ...it does make it look even cuter though!

...I couldn't resist popping in a photo of my adorable boys - this is Mason, Maddox, and Morgan. Aren't they dolls? Anyway, this little project has been featured on Splitcoast lately, and I enjoyed trying my hand at it... it's really quite simple! The hardest part about this was coming up with the colors. Since I don't have daughters, I'm a bit out of touch with what the girls like these days. But I'm quite pleased with this combination of Pretty in Pink and Tempting Turquoise! I used the new Level I Hostess pack of Designer Series Prints Paper - the girls will get to choose from several different patterns to complete their book. The polka-dot petals came from the Pick a Petal stamp set, and the sentiment came from Warm Words, stamped with Rose Red ink. The center of the flower is one of the NEW Rose Red Flower Fusion felt flowers! What a great way to add another texture to your creations.

The cost for Girls Club is $10 per child, or $15 for a mother/daughter pair, where both get to create the projects. Girls ages 8-15 are welcome to attend! All supplies are provided, except adhesive. I also recommend bringing a pair of paper snips to avoid waiting to share mine. Contact me to reserve your spot!

Girls Club - January 26th

I'm so excited about this project!! Here is what we will be making during Girls Club this month:

It's a little purse made out of an Altoids tin! Some of the products used here are retired (the paisley DSP is Sarah from the 2006-2007 Idea Book & Catalog, and the grosgrain ribbon is the old Bluebird which matches Brocade Blue) but I used the new Time Well Spent stamp set that is SO adorable! Here is another view:

The ribbon is secured with the two Brocade brads, which keeps the inside nice and flat - better than tying knots. On the inside, I created a vellum pocket to hold little notes or name cards...

...while the other side has an accoridian pull out to hold photos and journaling, or even autographs from friends! I got the idea for the pull out from this post on Splitcoast. The photos I've used here are of my dearest friend Audrey's two precious little girls. They live in Scotland. ("Hi Audrey! xoxo")

So that is what the girls will make on Saturday, January 26th at 2pm. Girls ages 8-15 are welcome - sign up now to hold your spot! All supplies are included with the exception of adhesive. I recommend the girls also bring a pair of snips so they don't have to wait to use mine. The cost is $10 per child. Moms are always welcome (and encouraged for the younger girls) to stay and help! Normally I offer the same project to Moms, but I won't be doing that this month because of the complexity of this project.

HOWEVER... I've got more great ideas for these little tins, and I'm working on samples to show you. So stay tuned! I will be holding a Stamp Camp in the coming weeks where the big girls (ie. adults) can come and make one!

I hope to see you soon!

Let's Talk Turkey!

Now that Halloween is over and done with... well, except for this enormous pile of hip-expanding-sugar-coated-chocolate-bombs... we can start focusing on all the things we're thankful for! Here is what we will be making at the next Girls Club workshop:

What a terrific gift this would make... that is, if the girls will part with it! It can store pencils, candy, a bag of bath salts... get creative! I had a blast making this little guy, and I know the girls will too. This workshop will be held on Sunday, November 11th at 2pm. Girls ages 8 through 15 are welcome to attend, and yes, Mom can come too! Sign up now to reserve your spot! The class fee is $10 per child, or $15 for a mother/daughter pair. NEW: If you place a $15+ dollar order, you can take $5 off of your class fee! All supplies are included (even the wooden box!), but please bring your own adhesive and scissors.

Let me take this quick opportunity to tell you about Stampin' Up!'s November promotion... it's awesome!! When you buy 3 packs of double-sided Designer Series paper, the 4th on is FREE!! Take advantage of the sale and STOCK UP! There are no limits. I will be posting several projects this month that use these papers - like today's for example! The turkey box pictured above was covered with Certainly Celery monochromatic double-sided paper. Everything is dressed up when you cover it with DSP!

And finally, if you haven't checked my blog in the last few days (shame on you!), please be sure to read the previous post. I really want us to do all that we can to support the family of Dave Abbott. I ordered my All in the Family set yesterday and it has already shipped out... Yippee! As soon as it arrives, I'll be making some samples to show you. Remember that I am passing my demonstrator discount on to you by offering 20% off of this set during the month of November. Let's show Dave's family that we care!

Look What the Girls Made!

Well, they did it! The girls made those cute Witches Shoes - and they did a terrific job! Here are my six friends that came this month - along with 3 moms who couldn't resist making one too! I had the shoes cut out and pre-scored for them to save on time, but they chose their shoe lining, assembled, and decorated them all by themselves! Here's a closer look at how they turned out:

I think they did a fine job, don't you?! In addition, they also made a 3" x 3" wheel card as shown in the previous post (they made the black one). Next Girls Club is November 11th!

Stay tuned, as I'll be showing you a gorgeous diorama card soon - plus I still have to show you the three cards we made at the Stamp-a-Stack last week... oh, lots to share!

Girls Club Project!

Edited to add: I have received so many e-mails about these shoes and I failed to mention that these are NOT my original design! (as if I'm half that talented!) These shoes appeared in a past issue of Papercrafts magazine and were originally created by Ellen Hutson. I appreciate all of your kind words, but it is Ellen who deserves your praise.

Okay, here it is! This is what we will be doing this Sunday at 2pm for Girls Club:

Aren't they fun?! Since these adorable shoes are a little more involved, it would be helpful for Moms to stick around this time to help (you know you want to make one anyway!). Each participant will receive all supplies to make one shoe, and depending on how quickly it goes, I have a couple other Halloween projects we can choose from if time allows. Girls ages 8-15 are welcome... (and if you don't have a daughter/niece/granddaughter and you really want to make one, well, talk to me and we can work something out!) $10 per child, or $15 for mother/daughter pair. Please bring scissors and adhesive. Sign up now!

Girls Club Tote

Here's what the girls (and their moms) made at Girls Club today!

Isn't it adorable? This little tote bag holds these three matching cards that we also made:

The colors are Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, and Apricot Appeal with just a touch of Certainly Celery (sounds like a soup recipe). The flower is from the Doodle This set and we colored it with the Stampin' Pastels. The swirl on the background was stamped with Versamark. THEN... as an extra treat, everyone got to learn how to use the Crop-a-Dile to set the eyelets which hold the handles on. We also used the Crop-a-Dile to make the dry embossed "bumps" for the trim on the tote! They all did a fabulous job!

If you missed out on this fun workshop, no worries... I have one every month! Girls ages 8-15 are welcome to attend for $10. If Mom wants to stay and do the project too, the cost is $15. The dates for the next two months are September 9th and October 7th. Feel free to get your name on the list now before the spaces fill up!

Big Pieces is Back!

I am so glad that Stampin' Up! brought back the Big Pieces stamp set! I loved using it when it was in the mini catalog, and now I'm thrilled to pull it back out and be able to use it for at least six more months (and it's baby brother, Little Pieces, too). This is the card we made today during Girls Club:

I used the dynamic duo of Apricot Appeal and Pumpkin Pie together with Whisper White. For the complimenting colors, I referred to the Color Coach and it suggested Certainly Celery and Lavender Lace. Never would've picked them myself, but I gave it a whirl - and I like it! It's so crazy how you can look at that wheel and say to yourself, "there ain't no way those colors will look good together!" But then you try it and you have to stick your foot in your mouth because that little wheel knows what it's talkin' about! Or you could just ask my 8 year old son - he has a pretty good track record at selecting colors (see my June 12th post!).

I also want to remind you that I am having a Stamp-a-Stack this coming Thursday night from 7-9pm. There are still seats available, so if you'd like to come, drop me a line!

Girls Club THIS Sunday!

I only have a couple seats left for Girls Club this Sunday, July 8th at 2:00pm! We're going to make a fun card first, and then we'll make an altered letter! Here is another example of one I made today:

The cost is $10 for each girl (ages 8-15) or $15 for a mother/daughter pair. Contact me NOW to save your seat!

Gearing Up For Dad!

Well, the Girls Club was a hit - again! They loved their little books (pictured in the previous entry) and this is the Father's Day card they made (it says "Happy Father's Day" on the inside). What fun! They were full of energy and enthusiasm and did a fantastic job on their projects! The next one will be in early July (date TBA) and they've already given me their requests for what to do next... I'll keep you posted!

And for us big kids... don't you need a Father's Day card too? Well, never fear. We're making one this Tuesday evening (June 5th) at the Stamp-a-Stack along with two other designs for a total of 12 cards! If you haven't been to one, you really should come see what you're missing! Give me a holler to get signed up!

Supplies for this card:
"Artifacts" stamp set
"Genuine Article" stamp set
"Expressive Flexible Phrases" stamp set
"All Year Cheer II" stamp set
Buckaroo Blue cardstock and ink
So Saffron cardstock
Sentimental Journey Designer Series Paper
Chocolate Chip ink
Close to Cocoa ink
Chocolate grosgrain ribbon
Tag punch
Horizontal Slot punch
Stampin' Dimensionals