Cool Gift Ideas

Sometimes you just want to give an inexpensive gift from the heart to a family member, friend or coworker. Sure, you could buy them a cup of coffee or a candy bar but why not put a little extra effort in to show how much they mean to you or to say thank you?

Once again I found myself in the Pinterest rabbit hole and wanted to share these ideas with you! I would love to see your project if you decide to try one!

Sour Cream Treat Holder (this one is super cute)

Explosion Box Purse

Bakers Box

Bow Builder Tiny Treat Box

Bee Treat Box

Pretty Wallet

Nesting Drawer Box

Curvy Keepsake Retro Trailer

Explosion Box Idea

Tutorial Sale! 50% Off

To kick off the summer and get back into the swing of things, I am offering a 50% off sale on all my tutorials. The sale lasts until midnight June 10th so don't delay! To get 50% off, use the coupon code SUMMER50 when you check out.

PLEASE NOTE: Most of my tutorials use some punches that have since retired at Stampin' Up! If you have all of the older punches from Stampin' Up!, you shouldn't have a problem. You may also be able to substitute if needed.

Punches I used (depending on the tutorial you buy) that are retired include:

Scalloped Circles (several sizes)
Build a Blossom
Word Window
Modern Label
Ornament
Designer Label
Butterfly
Wide Oval
Medium Oval
Small Oval
Large Oval
Scalloped Oval
Heart to Heart
Boho Blossoms
Scallop Square
Tag
1 3/8" circle
5 Petal Flower
Curly Label
Trio Flower
Squares (in various sizes which you can hand or paper cut as an alternative)
Star
Round Tab
Full Heart
Punch pack
Blossom Petals Builder
Owl Builder
Jewelry Tag
Small Heart
Decorative Label
Horizontal slot
Scallop Edge
Build a Bear sizzix die (for build a bear class)

I'm so sad to see most of these wonderful punches leave Stampin' Up! It's my hope that many of you kept (and still use) all of your Stampin' Up! punches. In the future, I will design classes that use current punches, though the selection is very small in comparison to what Stampin' Up! used to sell!

My Technique Wish List

I have REALLY been out of the loop the past three years with cool techniques being shared online.  Of course, many of them I discovered on Pinterest.  Once you enter that rabbit hole, you will never leave! So I have been feverishly saving away the many cool techniques I see.  Most recently, I made a couple of the Twist & Pop up cards.  Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures!  I will have to make another and share with you all.  As I go through my list of techniques, I will post my results and the place you can go for the directions.  I am contemplating some more videos.  My daughter has been sharing my Youtube channel with friends like I'm a celebrity and INSISTS I have to make some more videos!

NOTE: the list below are clickable links which take you to the technique.

Twist & Pop-Up Card 

Impossible Card

Bridge Fold Card

Concertina Card

Pass Through Window Card (this card doesn't have step by step instructions but I want to tackle it and will share my version when I get the chance)

Z Box Pop Up Card

Z Fold Card

Fan Fold Card

Pop Out Swing Card

Pop Up Book Card

Envelope Fold Card

Four Fold Card (I love Dawn's videos)

Double Flap Fun Card

Flap Over Fun Fold Card

Building Block Cards

I had a moment of panic today....I realized that my domain expired two weeks ago and my links weren't working. It has since been fixed but thinking my years of blogging was gone forever made me realize that I NEED to get back to blogging. I loved sharing with all of you and knowing my work gave people so much joy really gave me the drive and inspiration I needed to get back into it. Life has a way of getting in the way of your fun sometimes. I have had so many changes in my life over the past 5 years, some very positive and some not so great. I finally took the time to clear out a space on my desk and create. These were cards I actually made for people vs just creating to share on the site. There is so much more personal satisfaction in giving your creations to someone. I encourage you all to do it more often (just take pics of your work for posterity!)

Anyway, I wanted to share some projects I created using a tutorial from Splitcoast stampers called the Building Block Card. This technique can be found here:

https://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/buildingblockcard/

I can't promise I will be posting daily like I used to, but I WILL be posting more often than once or twice a year! LOL