Welcome to day 3 of the RemARKable Stampers Special Occasions Blog Tour! Today I am focusing on Babies!

When I saw a baby carriage party favor on Niki Estes’ blog, I couldn’t wait to re-create it with my Stampin’ Up! supplies. (And be sure to keep scrolling down to see the matching card I created!) Here’s my take on her adorable party favor:

Baby Carriage Party Favor

Niki generously provides a template for this project on her blog – but I’m more of a “dimensions” type of gal. So I downloaded her template and measured out the approximate dimensions of each piece so I didn’t have to cut out the template pieces, trace them, and then cut out each piece from my papers. In case you’re like me and prefer to bypass using the template, I have included the dimensions that I used for each piece.

 
Baby Carriage Party Favor Instructions:

Cut out the following items from Regal Rose cardstock:

• (4) 1-inch circles (using the 1″ circle punch)
• (2) 3 3/8″ circles
• (1) 8 1/8″ x 2 3/8″ rectangle

Cut out the following pieces from Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper:

• (4) 3/4″ circles (using the 3/4″ circle punch)
• (2) 3″ circles

Cut out a piece from each of the large circles (think Pac-Man shape!).

Adhere your Pink Flamingo circles on top of your matching (larger) Regal Rose circles.

Score 1/4″ in on both of the long sides of your Regal Rose cardstock rectangle. Then cut triangular notches along both edges as shown:

Top Edge is scored with the notches already cut out. Bottom edge is scored with marks showing where my cuts should go.

Now comes the tricky part: adhere the rectangle to the 2 large circles. It was a little difficult to work with these pieces; but here’s how I finally got it to work. First, adhere the middle of the rectangle (the flaps) to the middle of the circle. Then work your way from the middle to the edges as shown:

Top view -- first circle is attached to the rectangle.

When adhering the second large circle, I found it easiest to start on one end and work my way adhering the rectangle around the circle to the other end.

Add a Filigree Designer Brad to each wheel and adhere to the carriage.

Punch a strip of Whisper White cardstock with the Scallop Edge Punch and adhere to the carriage. (You could adhere it to either the inside or the outside of the carriage.)

Stamp “welcome” stamp on a 4 1/8″ long strip of Whisper White cardstock and mat on Regal Rose cardstock. Adhere to the inside of the carriage.

Fill with candy or a small lightweight gift (maybe baby socks?).

Notes:

1. Use Sticky Strip for your adhesive; it really holds the pieces together nicely.
2. Even though I love the “Bliss” candy (and it matched so nicely!) — it was too heavy for these favors. I would suggest using a more lightweight candy – or not filling it quite as full as shown.

 
Baby Carriage Card: 

I wasn’t done working with these adorable baby carriages, so I created a matching card:

Dimensions of the baby carriage pieces:

• (1) 3 1/4″ circle of Regal Rose cardstock
• (1) 3″ circle of Pink Flamingo patterned paper
• (2) 1-inch circles (using the 1″ circle punch) of Regal Rose cardstock
• (2) 3/4″ circles (using the 3/4″ circle punch) of Pink Flamingo patterned paper
• 2″ long strip of Whisper White cardstock, punched with the Scallop Edge punch

 Scallop-edge punch the bottom front flap of a 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ Whisper White card. Line the bottom inside flap with a 5 1/2″ x 1″ strip of Regal Rose cardstock. 

Adhere a coordinating piece of Pink Flamingo patterned paper to the top. (I inked the edges with my Regal Rose ink pad first.)

Attach a Filigree Designer Brad to each baby carriage wheel. Adhere your baby carriage on top of the card, as shown. Then stamp your sentiment with Regal Rose ink.

 
Stampin’ Up! Stamping Supplies:

“Warm Words” stamp set
Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper
Regal Rose and Whisper White cardstock
Scallop Edge Punch
1″ and 3/4″ Circle Punches
Filigree Designer Brads
Regal Rose Classic Ink Pad
Sticky Strip

Warm Words stamp set

Stampin' Up Filigree Brads

Stampin' Up! Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper

I hope you enjoyed the Special Occasions Blog Tour! Check back next week for more scrapbook pages! After all, it IS National Scrapbooking Month!

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Welcome to Day #3 of the Going Green Blog Tour! I hope you have been inspired by all the creative projects along the tour. I know I have been! Please feel free to leave a comment letting me know how you are “Going Green” and stamping/crafting in your own life! I also invite you to subscribe to my blog updates (see “Subscribe to Updates” in the right column of this blog) and come visit again soon!

Today’s project involves something other than recycling: Going Green with your Cleaning!

For the past year I have been experimenting with making my own green cleaning products. I have one child with allergies and asthma and another child who is my own personal shadow. Both make me very hesitant to reach for many of the commercial chemical-laden, high-fume cleaning products available at the store. 

I researched many different cleaning recipes online and in books. And after trial and error, I have several recipes that I am very happy with… a few that I’m still tweaking… and a couple that I just gave up on. (Homemade dishwasher detergent was a major bust.)

Now that I have my own cleaning products, I needed to label each container. And just a plain ol’ Sharpie wasn’t going to cut it! So I created labels and recipe cards from the My Digital Studio downloads: The Write Stuff II. This digital kit comes with eight patterns of Designer Series paper and thirty-six individual “die-cut” images so you’ll have just what you need for journals, ledgers, frames, recipes, or whatever else you can think of… like cleaning supplies!

My Digital Studio Kit - The Write Stuff II

 I created my labels in my photo-editing program (I use Photoshop and/or Photoshop Elements.) and printed them out on glossy paper. With my handy dandy Paper Snips, I cut each label out. And then I adhered them to my containers with clear packing/mailing tape. (I wanted the entire label to be covered with the tape. That way, if/when I spilled cleaner on it, the label would be protected.)

Here are photos of my bottles and containers… labeled pretty! It almost makes me want to clean! Well, almost…

My Laundry Room

Laundry Soap

 
Labels for “The Nice Mommy”:

 
Labels for “The Sassy Mommy”:

I can be both nice and sassy… so I have both the Nice and the Sassy labels on my Kitchen Cleaner and Glass Cleaner bottles! 

 
Supplies:
Stampin’ Up! The Write Stuff II Digital Kit
Stampin’ Up! Paper Snips
Clear Packing (Mailing) Tape
Glossy Printer Paper
 

After I labeled my containers, I created recipe cards for my cleaning recipes. I put them in badge ID holders and tied them together with Stampin’ Up! Alpine Ribbon Originals (currently on sale in the Clearance Rack of my Stampin’ Up! website).

Supplies:
Stampin’ Up! The Write Stuff II Digital Kit
Stampin’ Up! Albine Ribbon Originals
Badge ID Holders
Glossy Printer Paper
 

More Info About Stampin’ Up!’s My Digital Studio:

Stampin’ Up!, long known for its exclusive rubber stamps and accessories for paper crafting, scrapbooking and home décor, is venturing into the digital age with the release of My Digital Studio.  My Digital Studio is an easy-to-use, software-based design studio featuring thousands of Stampin’ Up!’s award-winning images, colors, and accessories.

My Digital Studio has everything you like about Stampin’ Up!–in digital! Whether you’re creating cards, calendars, photo albums, or multimedia projects, this powerful and easy-to-use digital crafting software gives you the tools, along with thousands of exclusive Stampin’ Up! images you need to create in style!

My Digital Studio comes with thousands of digital images of exclusive Stampin’ Up! stamps, Designer Series papers, colors, and accessories. But what if you just want the images to use with another design application? Not a problem! All of the digital images are available for individual purchase and download from my online Stampin’ Up! store, and are compatible with most design packages. Stampin’ Up! also regularly adds to the collection of available images so you always have a something new, no matter what the season.

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Welcome to Day 2 of the Going Green Blog Tour! Today’s project is: Gift Card Holders:

Can you guess what I recycled to create these gift card holders?

They’re made from… empty toilet paper rolls! I also used up scraps from a couple of my recent projects: Love Notes Mini Mailboxes, Pretty Valentines, and Stamped Gift Bags and Recycled Crayons. Here’s how:
 

Gift Card Envelope #1:

1. Flatten the toilet paper roll as much as you can.

2. Cut a 5″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Pink Flamingo Designer Series paper and punch a scallop border on one of the 5″ sides.

3. Put glue all over one side of the flattened roll and adhere it to your patterned paper, leaving the scalloped edge sticking out past the roll.

4. After the glue dries, put glue all over the second side of the roll and fold the paper up to adhere it to the cardboard.

5. You will have a small flap of paper left. Wrap that around the roll and adhere it so your roll is completely wrapped.

6. Cut small slits into the paper edge on the bottom. Fold them inside the roll. (This will give your bottom edge a nice, finished look.)

7. Close the bottom of your pouch by adhering the bottom edges together with a strip of Sticky Strip.

8. For the inside tag: Cut another piece of pattererned paper to 2 3/8″ x 4 3/8″. Score the top at 3/8″. Fold it down along your score line and adhere it.

9. Punch a 1/8″ hole in the top folded edge and add a ribbon pull with 1/4″ Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. (You can find the instructions for making this knot on yesterday’s post: Stamped Gift Bags and Recycled Crayons.)

10. Adhere the gift card to the tag with removable adhesive and place in your pouch.

11. Now decorate the outside of your gift card holder. Stamp a greeting from the “Three Little Words” stamp set in Basic Black ink on a scrap piece of patterned paper.  Punch it out with the Modern Label Punch. 

12. Ink the edges with a Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker and adhere it to the pouch. 

Stampin’ Up! Supplies Used:
Stamp Set: Three Little Words
Basic Black Classic Ink Pad
Pink Flamingo Designer Series Patterned Paper
Scallop Edge Punch
Modern Label Punch
Crop-A-Dile (1/8″ punch)
1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon: Real Red
Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker
Sticky Strip

*Items from the Occasions Mini Catalog (available January 5 – April 30, 2010)
 

Gift Card Envelope #2:

1. Flatten the toilet paper roll as much as you can.

2. Using one of the fold lines as a guide, cut a straight line all the way through the roll.

3. Trifold the cardboard so you have a small flap on the top. Press hard on the creases.

4. Cut a 5″ x 6″ piece of Sending Love Specialty Designer Series paper.

5. Put glue all over the piece, especially along the edges. Adhere the roll to the center of the paper.

6. Fold in each side and adhere to the roll, folding in the corners.

7. Cut a 4″ x 5″ piece of coordinating patterned paper from the Sending Love Specialty Designer Series pack. Punch each corner with the Corner Rounder Punch. Adhere to the center of the roll.

8. After the glue has dried, re-fold the envelope and hold tightly together, pressing down on the creases. With a Crop-A-Dile, punch a hole through the top flap all the way through the layers to the back of the envelope.

9. Temporarily adhere the gift card to the inside of the envelope with removable adhesive.

10. Close the envelope, thread Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon through the holes and tie a bow.

11. Now decorate the outside of your gift card holder. Punch a piece of scrap patterned paper with the Modern Label Punch. Ink the edges with a Chocolate Chip marker and adhere it to the pouch.

12. Punch a piece of scrap Chocolate Chip cardstock with the Small Heart punch. And die-cut a ”U” from Chocolate Chip cardstock. Adhere both to the label punch.

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Designer Series Paper: Sending Love Specialty*
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip
Crop-A-Dile
Modern Label Punch
Small Heart Punch*
3/16″ Corner Rounder Punch
1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon: Chocolate Chip
Big Shot die-cut machine
Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die: Naturally Serif 

*Items from the Occasions Mini Catalog (available January 5 – April 30, 2010)
 

Check back again tomorrow for the last day of the Blog Tour. Tomorrow’s project won’t be a recycled item… but it will definitely be within the spirit of “Going Green”!

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Welcome to Day #1 of the RemARKable Stampers Going Green Blog Tour! When I think of “Going Green”, my first thought is to recycle. So today’s project recycles in two different ways:

1. create a “new” product by recycling something that would normally go into the trash and
2. create gift packaging made from the scraps from a recent Stampin’ Up! project, instead of throwing them away
    

The Project: Gift bags with “Recycled” Crayons:

With two young children at home, I have more than my fair share of broken crayons! You too? Don’t throw them out; use them to create new ones! Not only will you be wasting less… but your kids will love them too! Here’s how:

1. Remove the paper wrappers from crayons. (Note: From my online research I have learned that for best results you should use Crayola crayons — not a different brand and not the washable kind.) You can use an exacto knife to slice the wrapper open or soak the crayons in warm-hot water for a few minutes and the paper will come off easier. Or… if you’re trying to keep your children busy for awhile, have them work on removing the papers on their own. (I think my two-year-old loves to remove the crayon papers more than she likes to color!)

2. Heat your oven to 275 degrees F.

3. Break or cut the crayons into pieces 1/2″ – 1″ long.

4. Spray a silicone mold with non-stick spray (e.g. Pam). I used a heart-shaped Wilton mold.

5. Put the mold on a sheet pan to make it easier to transport to and from the oven — and also to catch any spills.

5. Put the crayon pieces in the silicone mold. Make sure to use at least enough crayon pieces so that the bottom is covered. For small hands (like my 2-year-old’s), the crayons are easier to hold on to if they’re not too thick; so I only filled the molds half-full. For larger hands (like my 7-year-old’s), I filled the molds so they were almost overflowing.

6. Place the mold and sheet pan in your preheated oven and bake until the crayons melt (about 10 minutes).

7. Set the mold on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then place in the freezer (or a garage in Wisconsin during winter!) for another 15-25 minutes or until the crayons have re-solidified.

8. When the crayons are cooled and solid, gently push them out of each cup in the silicone mold. 

Now your crayons are as good as (and possibly even better than) new! Your child will have the cutest crayons! These also make great gifts for children to give at Valentine’s Day or throughout the year. Here are some other ideas for  making your crayons:

• Use star-shaped molds for 4th of July
• Use pumpkin-shaped molds for Halloween or Thanksgiving
• Try mixing different shades of the same color
• Swirl greens and browns for a camoflouge crayon
• Add silver and gold crayon pieces to the other colors
• Halfway through baking, add glitter
   

 Now Let’s Work on the Packaging!

1. Cut a 3″ x 6 1/4″ piece of Pink Flamingo Designer Series paper. (Side note: One of the awesome things about Stampin’ Up!’s patterned paper is that it’s double-sided. So not only do you get to pick your favorite side to use… but in projects like this one, where you will see both the front and back side of the paper, you get to see a pattern on both sides of the project!)

2. Score the top of the paper at 1 1/4″ and punch the edge with the Scallop Edge Punch.

3. Place the paper in a small flat cello bag, with the scalloped edge sticking out at the top of the bag.

4. On a scrap piece of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the heart image (from the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set) with Tempting Turquoise ink. 

5. Cut out the heart image, leaving a white border along the image, and adhere to the top of the bag.

6. Put 2 crayon hearts in the bag. Fold over the top flap and punch a hole – making sure to punch low enough on the paper that the hole gets punched through the bag.

7. Cut a small piece of Whisper White grosgrain ribbon. Fold it in half and thread it ends-first through the back side of the bag.

8. Pull the ribbon ends through to the front side, leaving a loop of ribbon in the back.

9. Fold up the ribbon ends and thread them through the loop.

10. Pull up on the ribbon, forming a knot on the top edge of the bag topper.

11. Punch out 2 small hearts and adhere them to the left side of the bag topper.

12. Then outline the hearts with a black journaler and write each child’s name on the right side.

Stampin’ Up! Supplies Used:
Small Flat Cello Bags
“ I {Heart} Hearts” Stamp Set*
Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink Pad
Pink Flamingo Designer Series Patterned Paper
Cardstock: Whisper White and Tempting Turquoise
Scallop Edge Punch
Small Heart Punch*
1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon: Whisper White
Paper trimmer with scoring blade
Basic Black Stampin’ Write Journaler

*Items from the Occasions Mini Catalog (available January 5 – April 30, 2010)

Make sure to come back tomorrow for my next “Going Green” project! I think you’ll be suprised to see what I recycled next!

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My 7-year-old son loves to receive (and send!) mail. So I created these mini mailboxes for us to “mail” notes to each other.

(Click on each image to view a larger version of the photo.)

The mailboxes came as plain white boxes - and they were just begging for a make-over!

Because the flag wasn’t easily removable, I had to workaround the base of it. First, I adhered a piece of Sending Love Specialty Designer Series Paper* to the mailbox with Sticky Strip. My favorite paper from the pack has large glittery pink flowers on it. I used that one for my mailbox – and picked a paper without any pink in for my son. (Because according to him, boys don’t like pink.)

Next, I attached ribbon to the front of the mailbox and also to the flag (both with Sticky Strip). I added a piece of white cardstock to each side of the flags (again with Sticky Strip). Then I punched out several hearts from the new Small Heart punch* and adhered them to the papers on the mailbox and the flag.

Finally, I used my Big Shot to cut out ”Love Notes” and I adhered the letters to the mailbox opening.

I LOVE how they turned out — and more importantly, my son did too. We’ve been have a great time passing notes to each other. When the flag is up, it means we have mail! Now we can give and receive love notes throughout the year!

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Designer Series Paper: Sending Love Specialty*
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, and Chocolate Chip
1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon: Whisper White and Chocolate Chip
Punch: Small Heart *
Big Shot die-cut machine
Sizzlits Decorative Strip Dies: Stampin’ Up! Join in the Cheer and Naturally Serif 

*Items from the Occasions Mini Catalog (available January 5 – April 30, 2010)

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We made this cute Valentine’s Box at the RAD (Remarkable Achieving Demonstrators) Trip that my upline, Janet Wakeland, sponsored. For 4 days, select demonstrators from her team get to go to her amazing house in Pennsylvania for a stamping retreat. Four days of awesome food, all the stamping supplies you could ever need or imagine, and some of the kindest and most talented Stampin’ Up demonstrators around! She definitely knows how to spoil her team! Join my Stampin’ Up! team and you can try to earn the next trip! It’s just one of the many benefits of being on the RemARKable Stampers team!

Anyway — back to the box!

The box slides open and inside is a matching card (that you can also get a peak of at the top of the box).

The heart is punched out of the Designer Series Paper and then adhered to the card.

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Stamp set: Well Scripted*
Clear-Mount Block
Designer Series Paper: Sending Love Specialty*
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red and Pretty in Pink
5/8″ Satin Ribbon: Real Red
Punch: Full Heart
Classic Stampin’ Pad: Basic Black

*Items from the Occasions Mini Catalog (available January 5 – April 30, 2010)

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Here are some stamped items made with the new Vintage Labels stamp set. This set is only available for a limited time – and you can get it FREE with a $50 order or by hosting a $300 workshop! Contact me for more details!

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Stamp Set: Vintage Labels
Card Stock: Blush Blossom, Sage Shadow, and Very Vanilla
Nouveau Chic Designer Series paper
Basic Gray Classic Stampin’ Pad
Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon
Clear rhinestone brads
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Scallop Circle punch
1″ Circle punch
1-1/4″ Circle punch
1-3/8″ Circle punch
1-3/4″ Circle punch

Stampin’ Up! supplies used:
Stamp Set: Vintage Labels
Card stock: Basic Black, Brocade Blue, Kraft, and Whisper White
Mini Square envelopes
Basic Black Classic Stampin’ Pad
Brocade Blue Classic Stampin’ Pad
Sahara Sand Classic Stampin’ Pad
Whisper White taffeta ribbon
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Curly Label punch
Scallop Circle punch
Scallop Edge punch
Wide Oval punch

Stampin’ Up! Supplies Used:
Vintage Labels stamp set
Card stock: Kraft, Old Olive, and Whisper White 
Textured Card Stock: Soft Suede
Welcome Neighbor Designer Series paper pad
Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, and Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Pads
Soft Suede Stampin’ Write marker
Kraft 3/8″ taffeta ribbon
Pretties Kit
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Color Spritzer Tool
paper-piercing tool
Scallop Circle and 1″ Circle punches
Sizzix Big Shot
Fancy Favor Bigz XL die

Stampin’ Up! Supplies Used:
Vintage Labels stamp set
Card Stock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Kraft, and Whisper White
Welcome Neighbor Designer Series paper pad
On Board So Tweet
Close to Cocoa and Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin’ Pads
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Boho Blossoms, Curly Label, and My Way punches
hole punch
sewing machine and thread (non-Stampin’ Up! supplies)

All samples provided courtesy of Stampin’ Up!

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