Dannie's Designs

Stamping Survivor

For the past two seasons of the TV show "Survivor," I've been playing Stamping Survivor.  Each of us in the group is randomly assigned one of the people playing in Survivor and we "play" as that person.  When our person gets voted out, we make hand-stamped cards and send one to each of the remaining players who hasn't gotten voted out yet.  Kevin started this game for us and he has lots of twists, turns, contests and more.  It's so much fun!

For this past season of "Survivor," I was assigned Eddie.  If you watched the show, you know Eddie wasn't liked by many people playing the game.  Each week I'd get ready to make my cards and then he'd miraculously still be in the game.  Eddie came in fourth this season, so I only had to make three cards.  Here's what I made.

The inspiration for this card came from this Mojo Monday sketch.  This is such a great sketch that will work for many different occasions. 

If you don't recognize the DSP, it's the Gingham Garden DSP that will be in the next Stampin' Up! catalog.  I stamped the bird image from the "For the Birds" stamp set in Chocolate Chip ink and then colored the image with markers.  I punched it out with a circle punch and then layered it on Melon Mambo and Pear Pizzazz card stock.  Of course I had to add paper piercing in all of the scallops on the scalloped circle.

Whenever possible, I try keep the same layout on the inside of my card as there is on the front.  It's usually much simpler than the front of the card, but you can see the similarity. 

Now I just need to make two more of these cards and drop them in the mail.  I can't wait until "Survivor" starts up again in September so I can play again.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  For the Birds
Paper:  Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz, Gingham Garden DSP
Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories:  Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Paper-piercer
Punches:  2 3/8" Scallop Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, Scallop Edge Border
Big Shot: Circle Nestabilities

Quint-essential 3x3

As you've seen from my last couple of posts, I've been working on teacher appreciation gifts.  No gift would be complete without a card to go with it.  In sticking with the Quint-essential Flower stamp and the Sycamore Street DSP that I used to make the gifts, here's the 3x3 card I came up with to coordinate.

I was going to add a piece of DSP to the card, but the patterns were so busy that the flower got lost on the card.  So I went with a solid piece of card stock instead.  I used the Sycamore Street buttons and ribbon that were part of the Sale-a-bration goodies this year.  I think it's a great color combination.

Now I just need to have the kids sign the cards for their teachers, bag the gifts up in a cello bag, tie some ribbon around it, and have them deliver the gifts to their teachers.  I had a lot of fun making these gifts.  I hope they enjoy them.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Quint-essential Flower
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Island Indigo
Ink:  Pool Party, Island Indigo
Accessories:  Sycamore Street Buttons and Ribbon, Glue Dots
Punches:  2 3/8" Scalloped Circle, 1 3/4" Scalloped Circle

Post-it Notes Holder

I took a small piece of the Sycamore Street DSP into my local office supply store to try and find coordinating Post-it notes.  Have you seen how many different colored Post-it notes there are?  It was crazy.  It took me a while, but I finally came up with a shade of blue and a shade of red that coordinated well with the DSP.  I'm glad that Stampin' Up! coordinates all of their colors so I don't have to go through the color match game every time I want to make a project!

Anyway, I took the Post-it notes and made little holders for them.

I covered the surface of a blank coaster with Multipurpose Liquid Glue and adhered the DSP in place.  Once it dried (it only took a minute), I sanded the edges with a sanding block to smooth down the edges.

This Post-it note pulls out the blue in the DSP.

It's a little more difficult to see in this photo, but if you look closely at the DSP you can see small red dots at the base of the purple flowers.  I was trying to highlight that color with the red Post-it notes.

I added a binder clip at the top to add decoration and to act as a pen holder.  Of course I covered it in DSP too.  I looked through my stash of flowers and I was thrilled to find the perfect shade of red and blue flowers to coordinate with my project.  I put a large white brad through the center of the flowers and then bent the prongs around the handle of the binder clip like this.

The prongs of the brad hold it in place. 

I had a lot of fun making these and I hope my children's teachers enjoy using them.  Thanks for stopping by!

Paper:  Sycamore Street DSP, Coaster
Accessories:  Flowers, Large White Brad, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Sanding Block

Teacher Appreciation Note Card Set

This week is Teacher Appreciation week and I've been working on making gifts for my children's teachers.  I've also received a few orders for sets of cards for others to give to their children's teachers.  I wasn't sure what to make at first, but then I went back and looked through tutorials I've made in the past and this is what I came up with.

This is the cover of the Note Card set.

On the inside I have four note cards on the left and four coordinating envelopes on the right.

The note cards were made postcard style--they don't open up.  I put a 1" strip of DSP across the top and then finished them off with the floral image from the Quint-essential Flower stamp. 

I stamped the flower image several times in different colors.  I used the 2 3/8" Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Scalloped Circle Punch, and the 3/4" Circle Punch to punch out different parts of the flower.  I layered the different colors on top of each other to add some interest to the flowers.

For the envelopes I simply stamped the flower in the lower left corner in one color.  I wanted to have it be in different colors but I was being lazy and didn't take the time to color the stamp in with markers.

If you'd like to make a Note Card Holder, you can watch my video tutorial on YouTube.  You can also view this blog post to see a written list of all of the dimensions. Give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Quint-essential Flower
Paper:  Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Sycamore Street DSP
Ink:  Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party
Accessories:  Flower Eyelets, Island Indigo Ribbon
Punches:  2 3/8" Scalloped Circle, 1 3/4" Scalloped Circle, 3/4" Circle Punch

3x3 card set

Even though I'm a stamper, I rarely send out or give away cards.  Mostly it's because I'm lazy, but it's also because I'm a procrastinator.  I wait until the last minute to get birthday gifts or thank you gifts and then I don't have a card ready.  The more pressure I feel to quickly put together a card, the less I'm able to stamp.  So I wrap up the gift and give it away without a card.  Terrible, I know!

Well, I'm determined to stop that from happening again.  With the end of the school year quickly approaching (not quickly enough if you ask my kids), I need some thank you cards.  I like to bake some homemade goodies and give them as thank you gifts to each of their teachers as well as the people who helped me carpool my kids to and from school.  So I made this quick set of 3x3 cards so my stash is ready.  No more excuses!

Like I said, these were very easy to make.  I stuck with the color scheme in the Polka Dot Parade DSP and added Whisper White.

I stamped the sentiment in each of the colors, punched it out and layered it on top of a couple other punches.  I finished it off with some Whisper White Grosgrain ribbon. So simple. 

Are you ready with your stash of quick cards to give away?  If not, give these a try.  No more excuses!  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Essentials
Paper:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Real Red, Polka Dot Parade DSP
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Real Red
Accessories:  Dimensionals, Whisper White Grosgrain
Punches:  Decorative Label, Modern Label, Word Window

Secret Garden

Today I made some time to stamp with the Secret Garden stamp set and use the coordinating Secret Garden Framelits. 

I stamped the floral image in Pacific Point ink on Tangerine Tango card stock and then cut it out using the coordinating Framelit.  I stamped the image again on Pool Party card stock, cut out the center of the flower, added a Designer Printed Brad to the middle, and attached it to the Tangerine Tango flower with a dimensional. I finished the flower with some leaves, a butterfly and two pearls.

I cut out two frames using the Labels Collection Framelits--one in Whisper White and the other in Pacific Point.  I sponged Pacific Point ink around the edges of the Whisper White layer.  It's difficult to see in the photo, but I used the Festive Paper-piercing Pack to pierce holes all around the edge of the Pacific Point layer. 

For the inside of the card, I added the same piece of International Bazaar DSP that I used for the front.  I stamped another flower from the Secret Garden stamp set in Pacific Point ink on Whisper White card stock and then cut it out using the coordinating Framelit.  I finished it with a few leaves (from the Secret Garden Framelit set) and a piece of ribbon.  That's it! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Secret Garden
Paper:  Whisper White, Pacific Point, Pool Party, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, International Bazaar DSP
Ink: Pacific Point
Accessories:  Tangerine Tango Ribbon, Dimensionals, Designer Printed Brad, Festive Paper-piercing Pack, Pearls, Sponge
Big Shot:  Secret Garden Framelits, Labels Collection Framlits, Beautiful Wings Embosslit

Retiring Stamps and Accessories Lists

It's that time of year again!

  Stampin' Up! has just released their list of retiring stamp sets and accessories.

Retiring Stamp Set List
(Available April 24-June 3, 2013)

Retiring Accessories List
(Available April 24-June 3, 2013, or while supplies last)

A couple of things to note:

• Some of the Retiring Accessories are listed at 25%-60% off!
• If there's an "X" in the far right column on the Retiring Accessories list, that means supplies are gone.
• I will be updating the Retiring Accessories list often so it will be current with what has already sold out.

What do you need to do?

• Take a look at both lists (Stamps and Accessories)
• Hop over to my Stampin' Up! website and click on the "shop now" button in the top right corner
• Place your order today before these items are gone for good!  Remember, the retiring accessories are available only while supplies last!

 Have fun shopping!  Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Control Freak Blog Hop

I'm so happy to be participating in this month's Control Freak Blog Hop.

If you're following along the tour, you should have just come from Cindy Elam's blog.  If this is your first stop, be sure to click on the "next stop" button at the bottom of this post (only after you're checked out my projects of course!).  It will take you from blog to blog until you circle back around here again.

The theme for this month's hop is birthdays.  The main inspiration for my projects was this cute little sticky note pad that I bought the other day.

I thought it would make a cute gift to put in a birthday party goody bag.  For the base I took a piece of Twitterpated DSP and glued it to a blank coaster.  I sanded the edges to give it a nice finish and then adhered the sticky note pad in place.  The binder clip at the top serves two functions--it allows me to add more embellishments to the project and it's also a pen holder.  I covered the binder clip in another piece of Twitterpated DSP, a piece of ribbon, and a stamped image of a cupcake.  

For my second project I wanted to make a small bag that could be used to either wrap a small gift or it could be filled and given away as a goody bag.

Both the top and bottom of the bag are made from the Fancy Favor Bigz Die.  I cut the base out of Island Indigo card stock and assembled it together normally.  I cut the top out of a piece of Twitterpated DSP.  Before I assembled it, I cut off all four of the bottom flaps (that would fold in to make the base of the box).  I adhered the two sides together to form the box shape.  Next I slid the DSP down over the top of the Island Indigo base (notice the scalloped, wavy edge is on the bottom of the DSP).   I took a 1/4" circle punch and punched two holes in the top of the DSP, threaded some ribbon through it, and tied it in a bow.

The inspiration for the decorative piece that I put on the front of the bag came from page 51 of the current Idea Book & Catalog.  All of the layers are popped up on dimensionals for added depth.  I cut out the "Happy Birthday" banner by hand and then added a few pieces of bling to finish it. 

I was so happy with how it turned out, that I decided to use it as the central image for my birthday card too.  You can't celebrate a birthday without a birthday card, can you?

I've never had a card come together as quickly as this one did.  I already had the central image designed, so I just had to design the card base.  Maybe I should try that more often!  Again, I used the Twitterpated DSP for this project so that all of the projects would coordinate.

Of course I had to add a little bit of DSP and a few layers to the inside of my card as well.

Are you ready to see what the rest of the Control Freaks did with this theme?  Then hop on over to LeeAnn Greff's blog and continue along the tour.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cupcake Note Pad Holder
Stamps:  Create a Cupcake
Paper:  Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP, Coaster
Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Pretty in Pink
Accessories:  Whisper White Stitched Ribbon, Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Binder Clip
Punches:  1 3/4" Circle, Cupcake Builder

Birthday Bag
Stamps:  Create a Cupcake
Paper:  Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, Riding Hood Red, Twitterpated DSP
Ink:  Island Indigo, Riding Hood Red, Pretty in Pink
Accessories:  Island Indigo Ribbon, Rhinestones, Dimensionals
Punches:  Circle (1/4", 2 1/2", 1 3/4"), 2 3/8" Scalloped Circle, Cupcake Builder
Big Shot:  Fancy Favor Bigz Die, Floral Framelits

Birthday Card
Stamps:  Create a Cupcake
Paper:  Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Twitterpated DSP
Ink:  Island Indigo, Riding Hood Red, Pretty in Pink
Accessories:  Rhinestones, Dimensionals
Punches:  Circle (2 1/2", 1 3/4"), 2 3/8" Scalloped Circle, Cupcake Builder, Scalloped Edge
Big Shot:  Floral Framelits

Note Holder

Today I made a cute project that I think would work for Administrative Assistant's Day (next Wednesday) or for a teacher's gift.

It's a note holder that holds 3 1/2" pieces of paper.  The tutorial for this box came from Split Coast Stampers.  I made a clear acetate lid for the box (using the measurements in the tutorial), but it's too big.  You can barely see it in the photo, but it sticks out from the side of the box.  I'm going to try to make another one and cut it down 1/16"-1/8" so it fits better.

I used the single flower image from the Flowering Flourishes stamp set to stamp around the edges of the box as well as on the individual note papers.  I finished it with some ribbon, a button, and some hemp twine.  Very simple yet it turned out really cute.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Flowering Flourishes
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Copy Paper
Ink:  Pretty in Pink
Accessories:  Button, Hemp Twine, Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Acetate
Punches:  3/4" Circle

Thinking of You

Every time I sit down to stamp this week, my mind keeps coming up with simple designs.  Rather that fight it, I'm just going with it.

Even though this card is fairly simple, I still think it turned out pretty.  Although the card looks white, it's really Very Vanilla.   I just have horrible lighting in my stamp room. 

I stamped the floral image from the Flowering Flourishes stamp set in Calypso Coral ink several times on the Very Vanilla card stock.  I finished it off with some Calypso Coral ribbon and a Calypso Coral flower.

For the inside of my card, I reversed the stamping and only stamped below the ribbon so there's plenty of room to write in the card.  Like I said, very simple.  You can change the color used and it would be suitable for a variety of occasions.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Flowering Flourishes
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral
Ink:  Calypso Coral
Accessories:  Calypso Coral Ribbon, Pop-up Posies Designer Kit, Silver Brad