tea-drinking stamper

I try to provide gifts for class attendees and this is one of the easier one because it went together so quickly and so easily. These gifts also provide the opportunity to use up some discontinued products. In this case, I used Blackberry Bliss designer series paper (a color that returned to our collections) and Highland Heather. The dsp and the ribbon are retired products. I colored the snowman with my Stampin' Blends. Oh, how I've come to love those blends! Anyway, I had to fussy cut the snowman, but I actually enjoy fussy cutting. The snowman is from the "Spirited Snowmen" stamp set (8 rubber stamps, W 148075, $27; C 148072, $19.00).  This package is simply folded over candy and sealed at each end. The ribbon is wrapped around it with the stamped piece adhered over that.

I recently inventoried my teas and discovered I have 31 different flavors of loose tea in my cupboard, most of which are black teas with a few rooibus infusions. I always prepare a specialty tea for the customers who attend my classes. Since they seem to look forward to it, I decided to make the gifts for my August class tea bag holders. My tea is loose, so I needed to make my own tea bags to hold the loose tea. Every item in these gifts is retired.  Gifts are a great way to use up discontinued items.  I used 12" x 12" textured card stock in Pink Pirouette cut into 4"x 12" strips after scoring the opposite direction every four inches. You can see how I cut the final flap at an angle so I could insert the tea bag in the resulting pocket. The stamp set I used is current (Jar of Love) and the contrasting ink is Berry Burst. What a fun way to share one of my passions with those who share my passion for stamping!

I try to give a little something to my class attendees and I made these sweet jars that hold Dove chocolates for the July group. I saw them somewhere on-line when looking for projects to make with my Stamparatus. They were also an opportunity to use some of my old ribbon. After making them, I had a template for a card we made at class. The technique was designed for making a quick job of multiple cards.  I cut each of the jars from a piece of card stock. I then laid the template on my stamparatus. After cutting all the jars and lids from Whisper White card stock, without stamping and therefore without having to line up each jar with its coordinating framelit. This also enabled me to squeeze more on a sheet of Whisper White. I then laid the stamps inside the template and picked them up with the Stamparatus plate. Don't forget to hold the template in place with the magnets provided. Products used: Stamparatus, 146276, $49.00 Jar of Love photopolymer stamp set (37), 141587...

I try to include little thank you gifts in bags with my customers' orders. I used retired products for this gift. The Treat Tubes were in our holiday catalog and the lavender stamp was from Sale-a-Bration. As you can probably guess by the jelly beans in the treat tubes, these gifts were added to their orders from my March class. The Scalloped Tag Topper punch is still available (133324, $23.).

Thought I would share a picture of the bookmarks I made for the ladies in my core group, Community Bible Study. I strongly encourage my group to memorize the verses we are given and to practice them so they do not lose them. So I decided to add the reference Psalm 119:11 to the solid portion of the bookmarks and passed them out the morning of our Valentine brunch. So simple! Just some old Daffodil Delight Designer Series Paper cut with one of the So Detailed Thinlits dies and adhered to Melon Mambo card stock. You can't see it very well in this photo, but I hand wrote the reference with Melon Mambo Stampin' Write Marker.

Taking a watercolor class from Erica Cerwin of Pink Buckaroo Designs, I made the following bookmarks, or adornment for a gift bag. I enclosed one in my sister's birthday gift, a new cookbook. The bowl is stamped on Shimmery White cardstock and then colored with Bermuda Bay, Early Espresso and Basic Gray watercolor pencils and then blended with an Aqua Painter. My shading still needs a little work, but I'm still pleased with the results. I couldn't make up my mind whether I preferred the smaller scallop circle frame or the larger one, so I made one in each. Products Used: Perfect Mix stamp set (9), W 142930, $27.00; C 142933, $19.00 Whisper White 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock (40), 100730, $9.00 Bermuda Bay 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock (24), 131197, $8.00 Shimmery White 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock (10), 101910, $8.00 Brights 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper Stack (40), 138434, $22.00 Basic Black Archival Stampin' Pad, 140931, $7.00 Waterco...

Once again I participated in the Holiday Bazaar at LeTourneau Christian Camp. Below are pictures of my table (I included lots of stamp sets for sale). Here are some close-ups of some of my products: Taking over my dining room table Angel Ornaments These contain York peppermint patties Magnets Acorn favors holding Hershey kisses Gift tags that open into ornaments

I designed these bags to hold everything my class attendees needed to make our class projects—with a few extras. More enamel shapes than needed. Bobbins of Thick Twine. Larger pieces of scraps for cutting than required. And envelopes for their cards. The bags were perfect for carrying home their completed cards as well. This project provided an opportunity for me to use up some retired Hello Honey designer series paper. I used one half sheet for each bag (6" x 12"), scoring ½ inch inside one 6-inch edge and one 12-inch side for the Tear & Tape adhesive. I then folded the paper in half (up to the scored line). I made sure the corner cuts were made at a slight angle so there would be no edges hanging over the completed bag. I also knew I needed to put the bottom fold over the bags so nothing small would fall out. Finally, I used two images from the "Basket of Wishes" photopolymer stamp set, available September 1st from the Holiday Catalog. After stamping the i...

For my class this month, we made this super easy pouch, perfect for candy, tea bags, party favors, pad of Post-its, etc. Just a whole 6" x 6" sheet of paper from a designer series pack folded in half diagonally, then with corners brought in as in a diaper (remember those - they took diaper pins and were washed after use), with a flap folded down over that. Only adhesive is on the embellishment. No stamping. So quick and easy that my 6-year-old granddaughter has been making them from every sheet of paper she picks up. I don't think my daughter is thrilled with the abundance of paper pouches! The ones we made at class used sheets from the Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack. I used the Fun Flower punch, which is retiring, and a leftover embellishment for the flower to decorate the front of the card. So many options for these pouches. The one I made this morning is for a gift of loose tea. I have a tea-loving friend with whom I share some of my specialty teas, maki...

If you missed my class this week, you missed out on making these special magnets! The roses are made using the Spiral Flower Originals Die, leaving with our current annual catalog May 31st. A scrap of Old Olive card stock allowed me to cut just the large leaf with the Rose Garden Thinlits Dies. The magnetic sheets I used are designed for cold air return vent covers and purchased from Lowe's. I cut them to fit in the envelopes containing my framelits and thinlits for easy flat storage. Scrap pieces were perfect for this project. I merely used my 1¾" Circle Punch for the Pear Pizzazz and Magnetic circles which, of course, I glued together before adding the leaf and rose and verbage and tiny bow. I also adhered the Perfectly Artistic dsp from the Sale-a-Bration catalog to Melon Mambo card stock before stamping and cutting. I then glued a small piece of the magnetic sheet on the back of the "tag" portion. So fun. So easy. I plan to make enough for everyone in my core g...

I made these several years ago for another bazaar and they were good sellers. So I decided to make more for the Christmas bazaar at LeTourneau Christian Center the first weekend of December.

Preparing for a craft bazaar is a great time to use up a lot of those retired products still in my craft room! Here are ornaments I made using the old milk carton Bigz die and some retired Christmas paper as well as the old snowflake punch.

I so enjoy making favors for our Easter table.Today is the last day of Sale-a-Bration and therefore the last day to order the Best Year Ever Accessory Pack, which contains the Calypso Coral ribbon I used on these favors. The window sheets I used here are leftover from a pack of Specialty Designer Paper that is now retired, but you can stamp on our clear window sheets with Staz-on ink, or leave them clear.  The one below is for the men in the family - two sons-in-law, one brother-in-law and two grandsons.  The favor for the ladies is the same as the one we made in my last stamp class. The triangular piece is simply a 4¼" x 5" piece of card stock (you can get four out of one sheet of card stock) scored at 1¼", 2½" and 3¾" from one 5" side to the other. Do any stamping you wish to do and then punch an opening and insert a window sheet. Run a strip of snail adhesive along inside of back fold and attach candy Kisses. After completing your triangle, add ri...

We also made an ornament at my November stamping class using our Simply Pressed Clay (2.4 oz. 130685, $6.95), some re-inkers and a cookie stamp (see page 199 in the core catalog). After working the ink into the clay, we rolled it into a ball and pressed it into a circle using a cookie stamp. The one I used is from the original set but I think the mitten on the current set of cookie stamps would be just as adorable. You could even color the mitten with a Stampin' Write Marker. When we had the ornament we wanted, we threaded a large-eye needle with silver ribbon (10 yards, 132137, $4.95) and pushed it through the soft clay. It takes 24 hours to dry completely. My clay is colored with Marina Mist ink refill, although I offered the ladies a choice of Night of Navy or Daffodil Delight ink as well.

Part of my November stamp class included Christmas gift tags. They were so much fun to make and not hard at all!  The tag below uses the Scalloped Tag Topper punch (133324, $22.95), Wondrous Wreath stamp set (9 Photopolymer stamps, 135047, $25.95) and the To & From stamp (1wood-mount stamp,13191, $6.95). I used the Cherry Cobbler Classic Stamp Pad (126966, $5.95) and Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine (25 yards, 123125, $2.95) to complete the tag.  For the star tag, I used a Baked Brown Sugar Stampin' Write Marker (5 in-color markers, 131260, $14.95) to color the points of the largest stamp in the Bright & Beautiful set (8 stamps, W 135026, $32.95; C 135029, $24.95), which I then stamped on Very Vanilla card stock (40 sheets, 101650, $8.50) and cut with one of the framelits in the set of Stars (5 layering dies, 133723, $26.95). The Baked Brown Sugar card stock (24 sheets, 131296, $6.95) was then cut with a framelit the next size up.  The Baker's Twine is Metallic ...

This is one of the projects we are making at my July camp class. Have been thinking of ways to double the size, as in using two 12"x12" sheets overlapping the bottoms. So fun! And a great way to have my customers help me use up some of my retired paper and card stock. This purse is made with the old Not Quite Navy 12" x 12" card stock, which goes perfectly with the retired paper stack that included Midnight Muse. Who would have thought they would complement each other so well?

In case you hadn't guessed from my blog name, I'm a tea drinker. And I'm teaching my granddaughters to at least pretend they like tea. Consequently, we had to make some play tea bags. They turned out perfect. The only problem is that they are a little too big for their toy mugs. I might try cutting them narrower, perhaps removing one scallop on each side. These are made from 2" x 6" strips of Naturals Ivory card stock scored at 2-7/8" and 3-1/8" then punched with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch. The little tags are stamped with an image and words from the retired Tea Shoppe stamp set and punched with Postage Stamp punch.

I found these cute Easter baskets that hold Hershey Kisses on another blog (qbeesquest.blogspot.com) and decided I just had to teach them to the attendees of my March stamp class! I made mine in Primrose Petals, Wild Wasabi and Marina Mist because they seem to be the closest colors to the pastel wrappers of the kisses. They're not really that difficult, either. And as I was putting mine together, I thought how easy it would be to make them into teacups for favors at a tea party. Just extend the tab and curl it around for a cup handle. Anyway, these require no stamping, although you could add an Easter greeting to the top of the basket. I did add a strip of coordinating ribbon to the center of each handle and fastened the ends with brads through the side of the basket. The only tricky part is properly folding the inserts that hold the candy kisses. The basket itself is made from a 2" x 9" strip of card stock folded in half and scored at 5/8", 1-3/4". 3-3/4...

Having ordered the Spiral Flower Originals Die from the mini catalog, I wasn't exactly sure how to use it. Then I found this adorable chocolate holder on Kay Kalthoff's blog (www.stampingtoshare.com)! I copied it for use at my February stamp class. So fun! Products Used: Basic Black 8½" x 11" card stock (24), 121045, $6.95 Garden Green 8½" x 11" card stock (24), 102584, $6.95 Cherry Cobbler 8½" x 11" card stock (24), 119685, $6.95 2012-2014 In Color Core'dinations card stock (20), 129957, $11.95 Spiral Flower Originals Die, 129379, $17.95 Secret Garden Framelits (6), 129372, $24.95 Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, 133324, $22.95 Primrose Petals 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon (10 yds.), 126844, $8.95 Simply Scored Scoring Tool, 122334, $29.95

As I played with the Envelope Punch Board, I wanted to see what an envelope made from card stock would be like. In the process, I made a card to go with it. I doubt I would make more envelopes from card stock simply because of the extra weight if sending through the mail instead of hand delivering. Then again, they would be great for those times when a card is thick with layers or bling, especially some of the bling that tends to poke through regular envelopes. Although the word "thanks" is from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set, the other images are from the retired Scentsational Season stamp set. I don't think I'll ever part with that set, especially since I also have the coordinating framelits for cutting things out. The striped dsp is from the Season of Style 4½" x 6½" Designer Series Paper Stack (48 sheets for $6.95; 132181), although you will also find it in the 12" x 12" Season of Style Designer Series paper (12 sheets for $10.95; 132340)...