To Die For

Ahhhhh....my last Friday alone until the new school year starts!

Today is also challenge day over at CSAYL and this week the challenge is "To Die For".  Use a die cut as your main image.  It can be from a Sizzix, a piece of chipboard, pre-printed ones....whatever makes you happy!  I recently picked up a scrapbook page kit that came with the most adorable holiday die cuts by My Minds Eye.

I love me some die cuts, especially cute matchy-matchy ones like these.  Add some jewels, a couple of glitter swirly things and 10 minutes later you've got a card.  The only thing I hate about pre-printed die cuts are those little paper nubby things that stay attached after you've punched it out. 

You know what I mean...

Seriously....they make me crazy, and I can never quite get them off with scissors.

When I put this card together yesterday, I decided to try a little something, and what  do you know?  It worked like a charm!

I have a sanding block that looks like a jumbo nail file.  It was one of those free gift thingys that got put in a drawer and never used.  I unwrapped it, and gently went around the edges a couple of times.

Bye-bye paper nubbys!

Ok kids, that's it for me today.  I can't let my last Friday of freedom go to waste!  Hop on over to the CSAYL challenge blog and give our "to die for" challenge a go!

Cool Cats from the Pink Cat!

After a mini-break, Pink Cat Studio is back today with a brand new digi release that is absolutely purrr-fect!

Check out this sophisticated little puss...

This image is purrr-fect for Father's Day!

Adorable, no?

Speaking of adorable...

It doesn't get much more adorable than a pile of kittens. 

This image is FREE today with any purchase from the digi store!

Check out this cool cat...

You can hop on over to the PCS blog to see more samples with the new images.  And when you're ready, pop on over to the digi store for some instant gratification and a FREEBIE!

Teacher Appreciation Gift

Today I wanted to share another project I made for school last week.  Each year I decorate something like a backpack and this year was no different. 

 I came across this photo album at JoAnn's for 99 cents and knew exactly what I wanted to do.

After a few quick measurements, I added cardstock to the front and back covers.

Then I added some pockets with dimensionals, a couple of snaps and drew on some white stitching.

I finished it off with some celery ribbon straps.  This was SO simple to do, but looks like it took a lot longer - 20 minutes tops!

Now for the inside....

There are 30 students in my sons class, so coming up with a gift that they can all be a part of can be tricky at times. 

This year, I printed out 30 pages with a sentence started on each one.  They measured 4" x 6", so I was able to get 2 out of each sheet of cardstock.  Then I had each student finish the sentence and sign their name.

I used scraps of school themed patterned paper, stickers and chipboard to embellish each page.  In the last sleeve of the album, I added a photo of the class.  The kids really enjoyed giving this to their teacher and had fun reading what everyone else wrote.  And the teacher LOVED it!

Can't beat a 99 cent investment!

Here are some other samples of adorable backpack projects that I found online:
Backpack gift boxes by Stampin Mommy of 4
Book bag made out of Uno cards by Room Mom 101
and this mini backpack album by Deena that inspired my project.

Thanks for poppin' by today! 

I'll be back tomorrow with a new release from Pink Cat Studio.

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

Poppin' in today to let you know about the new challenge I posted over at CSAYL.  This week the challenge is to be "Very Vintage".  When I think vintage, I think cream cardstock, inked edges, sentiments that look hand-written and muted images. 

Here's what I came up with...

The image is from an MFT set called "Candy Cane Kisses".  I decided to not color it in, which was hard for a Copic junkie like myself, but I love how it turned out.

I hope you'll play along with us this week. 
The winner will get to join the CSAYL team as a guest designer in June!

Pink Cat Rubber Release Day

Don't you love the smell of fresh rubbah?

Here are some uber-cute mini rubber sets that were digis in their former life.

Here are some of the projects that I made when these cuties were first released in digi format.

Thanks bunches for poppin' over today. 
Click here, for a worldwide list of PCS retailers!
I'll see you tomorrow with a brand new challenge from CSAYL.

Dinner Day

Teacher Appreciation week is in full swing and yesterday was "Lunch or Dinner Day".  Each class could either bring lunch to school or provide dinner for the teachers.  I decided to go the gift card route, so she could have a dinner date with her hubby.  This is how the gift card came...

It's no fun for a crafty girl to hand someone an envelope with a gift card in it, so I decided to make a quick and easy 4" box.

Here's how...

Cut cardstock to 6" x 11".

Score on the long side at 1", 5", 6" and 10".

Flip and score on the 6" side at 1" and 5".

Cut tabs as shown above, place adhesive on tabs and assemble.
Easy-Peasy!

I decided to decorate the front of the box exactly like the restaurant logo.  Then I cut some letters with my Cricut and spelled out her name.

Here's a pick of the two together. 

The box is on the top left and the gift card is on the bottom right.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll be back tomorrow with a new rubber release from Pink Cat Studio!

Fit for a Coke addict

Today is the first day of Teacher Appreciation week at our school.  Today is "Starbucks Day", which would make me giddy, but my sons teacher is NOT a fan.  She's a Diet Coke gal herself.  I've never seen someone drink so much diet soda.  Seriously.....she's a fiend!

While all of the other teachers are getting personalized drinks in cute green and white cups, I didn't have the heart to just hand her one of these...

I had to zoosh it up a bit!

I used a great image by My Favorite Things and a cute sentiment by Stampin Up.

This teacher image is from the a'la mode set called "You Rule".

I cut out the sentiment with a Nestability and added a couple of cute patterns from the "School Spirit" collection by Crate Paper.

Then I finished off the top with alphabet ribbon.  I really hope this makes her day.  As for my day....I'm off to teach 30 fourth graders how to weave.

Have you made anything for Teacher Appreciation Week? 

I'd LOVE to see it! 

Leave a link so we can all check it out!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

It's challenge day over at CSAYL and we have a brand new sponsor this week!

Sew Many Cards and Digital Stamps provided our cute images this week.  Hop on over to their shop and check it out when you have a chance.

Our challenge this week is....
You've got me in stitches!

Use stitching on your holiday card.  Faux or real, whatever floats your boat.

Here's what I came up with...

This image is called "Halen in Mitten" and only costs $1!

Pretty cute.

The great thing about SMC images is that most of them already have faux stitching on them!  I paper pieced the mitten with two different patterns by My Minds Eye and then stitched on two buttons.

I hope you'll play along with us this week.  Sew Many Cards has generously donated a choice of 5 digis to our winner!
Happy Stampin!