PIxi Dust Designs - Holiday Cookie Caddy

I'm back to share another project created with dies from Pixi Dust Designs. This time it's a super fun and easy to make treat holder that I like to affectionately call a Holiday Cookie Caddy. 

Before I get into all the details, I want to direct your attention to the QR code below. When you scan it and shop in the Pixi Dust Designs online store, you will automatically get a 10% discount applied at checkout. Simply scan the code on any device with the camera app, and it will give you a direct link to click on and take you right to the Pixi Dust online shop.  Add any items you want to purchase to your cart, and the discount will automatically be applied. 

Now let's talk more about this cute cookie caddy. The main die set you will need to make it, is the Holiday Snack Treat Box. Then you'll need one of the bag topper handles (click here to see the bundle option). I think this will be such a fun way to delivery cookies or other little snacks to family and friends for the holidays ....and the best part is it's really very easy to assemble.

The dimensions of the box part are 4 inches wide by 2.75 inches tall with a depth of 1/2 inch. It's large enough to fit a full size chunky cookie. Since you can make this caddy double sided, put a packet of hot cocoa mix in one side and the cookie on the other.  Or this would be a unique way to give some other little treats with a gift card. Really there's so many different ways you could fill it for gifting. 

I used heavy weight white card stock (Neenah 110 lb) to build the base. It's very sturdy and as you can see, will stand on its own. The total height with handle is 7 inches. I think these would be so cute at each place setting for Christmas dinner! 

To decorate my cookie caddy, I used two other die sets from Pixi Dust - Mrs. Claus Kitchen and Gingerbread Bakery. The stamped sentiments are from an old Hello Bluebird set called Sweet Christmas. 

Even though I'm using mine for Christmas, the Holiday Snack Treat Box has unlimited possibilities. Simply change up the colors and decorations to suite the occasion. 

I will be posting a reel over on Instagram to show this off a little better. The photos really don't do it justice. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. If you have any questions, please drop them in the comments. Happy holiday crafting!

Pixi Dust Designs Holiday Release

 Hi everyone! Are you ready to get inspired to start your Christmas crafting? I'm sharing some very fun projects all made with the fabulous new release from Pixi Dust Designs. 

***I'll list and link all the dies I used right below each photo. Click on the text highlighted in blue to open each product's page*** 

These two cuties were created with the new Tumbler dies, Santa Tumbler Add-on, and Reindeer Tumbler Add-on. They are about 6 inches tall when fully assembled. 

I have turned the tumblers into 3-D ornaments by using a die from the Box Mechanisms set. Below is the side view. I doubled up the card stock layers on the front and back tumbler base panel to make them extra sturdy. I added an eyelet to reinforce where I punched a hole to tie some bakers twine. You can fill the little box with candy, money, or jewelry and give as a gift. 

***Scan the QR below to automatically receive a 10% discount on your entire purchase at Pixi Dust Designs***

Next up are some little tag boxes that I've decorated with the same Santa and Reindeer elements from the tumbler sets. 

To make the little box, I used the new Holiday Tag Box dies. The box measures 2.5 inches wide by 2.75 inches tall and just over 1/2 inch deep. These would be a great attached to a package with some candy or a note inside. 

Check out this video over on my Instagram account so you can see these much better. Photos really don't do them justice since they are 3-D. 

I will be posting more Pixi Dust Design projects soon. There's so many adorable new holiday die sets in the new release and I can't wait to share what I have made with them. Thanks for stopping by today! 

Hello Bluebird Birthday Mice Card

Hi everyone! I have birthday card to share today featuring images from the super cute Birthday Mice stamp set that was released in July with the Celebration Time collection. And just a heads up, Hello Bluebird also has a new fall and Halloween release that’s available now on their website for pre-order.

To create this card, I have used the Birthday Mice stamp set for all the mice images and the stamped sentiment on the front. To create the fun border around my scene, I have used the Ripple Frame dies. The die cut hooray and shadow layer is included in the Eat Cake Words die set.

I used Taylored Expressions Buttercream card stock for the A2 size card base. The frame and background of this card is pattern paper from a Simple Stories 6x8 paper pad - Say Cheese Classic Pooh Baby.  I love the color palette and tried to match my Copic coloring to the paper colors the best I could.  The mice are colored with the warm grey Copics.  

I wanted to add a little something to the inside of this card so I included an another mice image and a sentiment from the Inside Birthday Greeting stamp set. This set is a great one to have with a variety of greetings perfect for the inside of birthday cards. 

Just as soon as I receive the new Fall collection from HB, I will be posting card inspiration here and on my Instagram. Thanks for stopping by today!

Waffle Flower Sweet Ghosts Halloween Card

I have a restock alert for you all today! The Sweet Ghosts die set has just been restocked over at Waffle Flower. This set includes some of my favorite ghost dies. I've have used them many times and I'm sharing the most recent card I've made featuring these cute little ghosts.  And just FYI.... the September Waffle Flower Release does include some brand new Halloween products.  Click here to see the Fall Favorites Release. 

There's a lot going with this card design, so I kept the color palette minimal. I've used shades of peach, black, and white only. The card base is A2 size to which I added black & grey postal stripes created with the Postage Collage Coloring Stencil set. 

To create the peach background, I started with a panel of Spellbinders Bellini card stock trimmed to fit inside the striped edges. I used Catherine Pooler Coral Cabana ink to stamp the text background. Sadly this Halloween text print is an old MFT background stamp and is no longer available. 

The die cut ghosts, bats, and jack-o-lantern are from the Sweet Ghosts die set. The Boo word is a stand alone die set which includes the shadow layer. 

I pulled out a stamp from Taylored Expressions for the "hey, ghoulfriend" sentiment. It's included in Halloween Simple Strips stamp set.  The little star die cuts are also from TE - Stars Little Bits die set. 

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope to be sharing lots more seasonal makes in the coming weeks including more halloween, fall, and Christmas. So keep an eye out for them!

Sunny Studio Sweet As Can Bee Cards

Hello Everyone! I'm sharing a couple of bee theme cards made using the absolutely adorable Sweet As Can Bee stamp set from Sunny Studio. I've also done a little creative fussy cutting to make a custom bee hive. I'll explain how to do this in detail below. 

This first card includes lots of images and a sentiment from the Sweet As Can Bee stamp set as well as my custom made bee hive. 

Making a your own card stock bee hive is very easy to do. Start with creating a template by folding a small sheet of copy paper in half. Next draw the bee hive shape on the folded paper like you see in the photo below. If you'd like to make the same size as mine, use the measurements in the photo. Next cut the shape out and unfold the paper. Now you have a template for a perfectly symmetrical hive which you can trace onto card stock and fussy cut out. I cut mine out of pale yellow card stock. I then added shading and splatters to give the hive some definition and interest. Lastly I used a 3/4" circle punch to create the opening and backed it with a dark brown card stock. 

After my bee hive was complete, I stamped the sentiment and then adhered it with foam tape to a panel vellum cut slightly smaller than A2 size. I embellished this panel with lots of Copic colored flowers and bees. Once I had the placement of everything just right, I adhered my little bee hive scene onto a pink A2 size card front. The pink card front was splattered beforehand with gold and pink watercolor to give it a speckled look. 

For the second card, I have created another playful scene with the bees and flowers, only this time I used the Frilly Frames Hexagon Dies to create a background that perfectly pairs with the Sweet As Can Bee stamp set. 

The Hexagon Frame has been die cut from light yellow card stock and then backed with a creamy ivory card stock. I then layered this frame over top a bright pink panel slightly smaller than my A2 size card base. 

I wanted the sentiment to take center stage on the card with the bees and flowers surrounding it. I used a combination of word stamps from Sweet As Can Bee and the Sydney Alphabet Dies to create this fun sentiment.  I then added the flowers and bees to create a carefree style composition. 

I hope I have given you a bit of new inspiration for making whimsical bee theme cards. Thanks so much for joining me today! Copics used to color the images are listed below.

bright pink - RV10, RV13, RV14; medium pink - R83, R85; bright green - YG11, YG13, YG17; medium green - YG61, YG63; bright yellow- Y11, Y13, Y17; mustard yellow - YR32, Y2; black- N2, N4, N6; cool shading on white flowers -C1, C3; light blue shading on bee wings - B00

Anna Griffin 3D Hydrangeas - 2 ways to add gold detail

I think it's safe to say that Hydrangeas are quickly becoming my favorite flowers, both real and paper versions. I recently purchased the Hydrangea 3D dies from Anna Griffin. This die set will create lush, dimensional hydrangeas blooms. I have made three cards showcasing these pretty flowers to which I have added gold detail to accentuate the petals. 

There are two ways to apply the gold accents - hot foiling and inking up the dies with metallic gold ink before die cutting. The ink method is much like letter press. I have found that Delicata metallic gold pigment ink works very well for this technique.

For the pale pink hydrangeas on the card below, I have used the inking method. I lightly pounced the gold ink pad directly onto the dies before sending them through my Empress die cutting machine.  

The inking method is a bit more subtle but much quicker to do than hot foiling. It's a great way to make the details of the die cut hydrangea blooms stand out. When you're done, the pigment ink will wipe off the dies easily with a little rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. 

The next two cards have gold foil petal details. Since the Hydrangeas are 3D dies, you can run them through the Empress Gild with hot foil. This method creates a really stunning effect!

For this card, I have used the Luxury Hydrangea Blue Matte Foil card stock for the flower. I simply ran it through my Empress Gild to add the gold hot foil.

My last card shows how the gold foiling looks on plain pink card stock. It's equally as stunning.

I really can't decide if I like the pink or blue hydrangeas better. Both are so pretty! 

Either way, this Hydrangea die set will be getting lots of use this summer. 

Anna Griffin Summer House Cards

Hello everyone! I have something special to share today. I recently have become utterly obsessed with all things Anna Griffin... the gorgeous pattern paper, the detailed dies, and beautiful sticker embellishments. Today I had the wonderful opportunity to be a guest on her livestream, AGTV. Click here to check it out! (You'll see me hop on towards the end of the show) Anna sent me some of her newest Collection - Summer House. It's all beyond gorgeous and perfect for beach stories and summer celebrations. 

Here are some cards I made with the papers, embellishments, and dies. 

This first card was created with the star of the show... Summer House 3D Easel dies. This die set makes it so easy to create a fun house shaped easel card. I also used the Summer House Cardstock and Embellishments. If you watch the show, you'll see everything that's included in this collection along with how to assemble the house easel card. 

These next two cards were also made with the Summer House Card stock and Embellishments. I just love the Hydrangea die cuts in this collection. There are bunches of them included in the bundle so you can add several to a card without fear of running out.

To die cut the fancy frame, I used the Birthday Present Scroll 3D Concentric Frame dies for the gold one pictured above. The Harlequin Bow dies were used for the ivory one pictured below

We can't forget about the men in our lives so I've made cards for them too! Included in the Summer House Embellishments Collection are lots of sailboat die cuts along with sea shells, anchors, and even a gold foiled compass. There are some great sentiment stickers included as well. 

The Schooner Easel dies make a really fun sailboat shaped card. The assembly may look complicated but the die set makes it easy to create such a unique card for your favorite sailor or boating enthusiast. 

During the livestream I showed a little mini album I made with the Summer House dies. I will share photos and lots more details about that in a separated post. So stay tuned and thanks for stopping by today!  

Hello Bluebird Ruffle Heart Easel Cards

Hi everyone! This post is for my Hello Bluebird fans out there... there's a new release available and it's Valentine's Day themed. There is also a Spring Clearance sale going on too! Click here to go to the Hello Bluebird Shop.

Today I'm sharing a tutorial how to use the new Ruffle Heart dies and some of the new stamp sets to make heart shaped easel cards. 

These cards lay flat just like a typical folded card, however they display like an easel when you open them as shown in the photo below.

Here's how to make the easel card base....

Now with the card base and front panel adhered, you can embellish the outside and inside however you'd like. For the inside, be sure to pop up whatever you add just a bit so it will be tall enough to prop up the card front when displayed. 

For this card, I used Crafted with Love stamp set for the images. The "Happy Valentine's Day" sentiment comes from Kissing Booth. The "XO" die is included in the Heart Medley die set. The Word Bubbles die set is an oldie but goodie and I use this one often when I need something to stamp greeting onto. 

For this next card, I used the sweet images from Bee Mine. The patterned paper I used for both cards is from Carta Bella's Here Comes Easter collection. Even though it's mostly Easter prints, I found that the simple patterns and florals work well for anything. 

Again make sure your add something with height to the inside of your easel cards. The smaller heart dies in the Ruffled Heart set are the perfect addition on the inside of these. I used foam tape to adhere them which gives them a little dimension and height to prop the bottom edge of card front up. 

These will lay perfectly flat when closed and fit into an A2 size envelope for mailing. Fair warning...these are addictive to make and just a fun twist on a card design. I think you'll find yourself wanting to make all your cards into shaped easels now. I know I do!

Waffle Flower December Release

The Love You More Release from Waffle Flower is now available in their shop. This release is all about the basics with hearts and roses for Valentine’s Day, in addition to sentiments that help you send lots of love. Click here to see it!

I'm sharing a card created with some of my favorite products from the release. 

Here's a linked list of all the new products I've used to create this card:

• Rose Bouquet die-n-stencil set - for the large cluster of roses
• Shape of My Heart stamp set - for the stamped sentiments on the hearts
• Shape of My Heart die - for the die cut heart shapes **December freebie**
• With Love Word die 
• Dashed Lattice Texture die - for the texture on the background

The graphic below has info on how to get the gift with purchase this month. It's the Shape of My Heart die which creates a cute little 2D heart shape. 

PoppyStamps Challenge - Pockets Please!

Hi everyone! I'm guest designing with Poppystamps this month for their December Poppy challenge - PSC#133 Pockets Please! As the name suggests, this month's challenge is to incorporate a pocket of some kind on a project.  

Below are the instructions I've copy and pasted from the Poppystamps blog:

"Want to play? The rules are simple – just create a project following the theme, use at least one Poppystamps image or die, and link it up here. The design we love best will receive our winner badge to proudly display on their blog, and one lucky random winner will receive a prize. You don’t have to have a blog to play.  You can link to any online gallery. In fairness to other players, we reserve the right to remove entries that do not use at least one Poppystamps image. We ask that you link a maximum of  3 entries to each challenge. You are welcome to link your design to other challenges. Grab our badge to post on your blog post or sidebar!"

Here's the project I made....

I have made an A2 size card and the background is actually the pocket. This was so easy to do! I simply used a panel of pattern paper that I trimmed slightly smaller than my A2 card base. I applied adhesive to the sides and bottom of this panel leaving the top open. The notch at the top of the panel was created with a 2” circle punch. I made a tag that slides right behind the background panel. The tag is where you can add a gift card or money or even a secret message. 

Below is a list of all the Poppystamps dies used to create this card:

• Nordic Forest Gnome 
• Nordic Swirl Tree 
• Merry Christmas Cheerful Script
• Scallop Pinpoint Tags

Be sure to check out the Poppystamps blog where you'll find more pocket inspiration to help get you started with the challenge. 

Thanks for visiting today and happy crafting!