Dannie's Designs

Afterthoughts

It's the last day of February so I decided to squeeze in the final Viva la Verve sketch challenge for this month.  Here's the sketch we had to work with.

Even though this Jolly Holiday DSP was made for the holidays, I think it can work for any occasion throughout the year.  I love this color combination.

I started with a piece of 4" x 4" Old Olive cardstock for the Scalloped Trim layer.  After punching out all four sides on the cardstock, it ended up being just shy of 3 3/4" square including the scallops. 

My sentiment came from the Afterthoughts hostess stamp set.  I stamped it in Cherry Cobbler ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and then cut it out using my oval Nestabilities.  Before I removed the Nestability, I sponged Cherry Cobbler ink around the sentiment.  I layered the sentiment on top of a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock that I cut out with my Nestabilities.  I finished it off with some paper piercing and a Prima.

I kept the layout for the inside of my card the same as the front of my card.  Now I have another Thank You card to add to my pile of cards that are ready to send out when I need them. 

I hope you have a wonderful day today.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Stamps:  Afterthoughts
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Jolly Holiday DSP
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler
Accessories:  Old Olive Ribbon, Dimensionals, Sponge, Silver Brad, Prima, Paper Piercer, Nestabilities
Punches:  Scallop Trim Corner, Scallop Trim Border

Create a Cupcake

I just realized that it's almost the end of February and I still haven't shown you the birthday cards I sent out for those people who had birthdays this month.

I decided to use my new Create a Cupcake stamp set along with the Build a Cupcake punch.  It's difficult to see in the photo, but I stamped some Real Red polka dots on top of the Real Red frosting.  Normally I would use dimensionals behind the frosting, but this time I glued them down flat so they would mail a little easier.

The large scalloped circle was made using the largest circle on the Scallop Circle #2 Big Shot die.  I took my paper piercer and punched holes in all of the scallops too.

I had six birthday cards to make for February.  After cutting out six pieces of DSP for the front of my cards, I was left with three scraps of 4" x 1 1/2" pieces of DSP.  I cut them in half (to make a total of 6 pieces) to 4" x 3/4" and used that little piece as an accent on the inside of my card.  So I used an entire sheet of 12" x 12" DSP for my cards.  I finished off the card with one of the birthday sentiments from the stamp set.

I mailed these cards out already so now it's time to work on a new design for my March birthdays.  I better get to work.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Create a Cupcake
Paper:  Pacific Point, Real Red, Pear Pizzazz, Celebrations DSP
Ink:  Pacific Point, Real Red
Accessories:  Pacific Point Ribbon, Paper Piercer
Punches:  Scallop Edge, Build a Cupcake, 2 1/2" Circle
Big Shot:  Scallop Circle #2

Organizing Stamp Sets

When I had my recent blog candy and asked you guys what tips you'd like to see posted on my blog, I think the most common question was how do I organize my stamp sets?  I have a very simple system that works for me.

You can click on the photo to see a larger version.  I have all of my stamp sets organized in these wire cubes.  Each cubes is about 13" x 13" x 13".  If you look closely at the cube in the top right of the picture, you can see the four round yellow circles that mark the four corners of the cube.  As you can see, I divided the cube by adding a shelf that runs across the middle.  The shelf is simply another one of the wire sides that makes up the cubes.  It's held in place by four cable ties--two on each side.

What you can't see in the photo is that I have all of my stamp sets organized alphabetically.  This is the system that works best for me.  I know some people organize them by theme, but some stamp sets fit in more than one theme.  Some people organize them by where they are in the catalog, but I don't want to have to memorize the catalog in order to find my stamps.  This system simply works the best for me.  The great thing about filing the stamp sets on their sides is that it doesn't matter whether it's a large stamp set in a huge box or a single stamp in its own case.  They can all lay on their sides next to each other regardless of size.

Now I know you're going to ask....what are all of those stickers on the stamp boxes?  Those simply indicate to me that the stamp set is retired.  I buy my stamps because I like them so I keep most of them after they retire.  I still use many of them too.  I keep my current stamp sets on the top and the retired stamp sets on the bottom.  I don't mix the current and retired stamp sets.  Each section is alphabatized.  Yes, there's one yellow sticker in the top row of that photo.  That stamp set was on the dormant list (so it has a "D" on the sticker) and now it's current.  I just need to pull the sticker off.

Now that Stampin' Up! sells unmounted stamps, I have a section for those too.  Again, they're stored alphabetically.  The top "shelf" in the wire cube is little bit narrower than the bottom shelf, so my unmounted stamp sets are stored on the bottom shelf because they need the extra height.

These wire cubes are inexpensive and are so easy to put together.  You can make them long and short or tall and narrow depending on how much space you have to work with.  I hope these pictures helped give you some organization ideas.  Click here if you'd like to see my other blog posts on organizing your stamping supplies.  Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Elegance

Lately I have been in need of cards that were quick and easy to make.  Like you, I don't always have time to sit in my stamp room for a few hours to come up with a card design.  I need something I can make in a matter of minutes, not hours.  As soon as I saw the Bliss Sale-a-bration stamp set (which you can get for FREE with a $50 order!) I knew exactly what to make.

I love how rich these colors are.  One of the requests I received from my blog readers was to show you how to make your own designer series paper (DSP).  These cards are a perfect example of how you would do that.  Here's a closer look at each of the cards individually.

I stamped this gorgeous design from the Bliss stamp set in Versamark ink and then embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder.  I did this on all four of the cards.

I started by stamping the full image in the top center of the card.  Next I stamped the other full image below it.  Last I filled in the spaces to the left and to the right with partial images going off the edges of the card.

All of the cards have a layer of Very Vanilla cardstock to add a little bit of contrast.  This card base is Night of Navy, followed by a layer of Very Vanilla, and then finished off with another layer of Night of Navy.

I didn't add any sentiments to the cards so I can use them for any occasion.  I also didn't add any embellishments so they wouldn't cost extra to mail.  As you can see, any cardstock color would work well for this design.  I think these rich darker tones work well for masculine cards too. 

Isn't that pretty simple?  It's really that easy to make your own DSP.  Give it a try!  You don't have to leave your cards plain like I did.  Feel free to add layers and dress it up.  If you decided to give it a try, please leave me a comment so I can visit your blog or online gallery and check out your creations.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Bliss
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Elegant Eggplant, Night of Navy, Always Artichoke
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  Clear Embossing Powder

Ink Pad and Reinker Storage

One of the biggest problems stampers have is how to organize their stamping supplies.  It's something I definitely struggle with.  So today I thought I'd share with you how I organize my stamp pads, reinkers, and punches.

Before my dad passed away, he made this ink pad and reinker storage system for me.  You can click on the photo to see a larger version.  Each of the columns holds 12 ink pads because Stampin Up! used to have 12 ink pads in each color family.  Now that there are only 10 colors in each color family, that leaves two empty slots for me to use for some of my punches.

I have my ink pads organized by the way Stampin' Up! lists them in the catalog.  Each color family is organized in its own column with the In Colors in the center.  One of the nice features about this storage system is that there's enough room next to each of the stamp pads to place the coordinating marker. 

I have all of my reinkers organized at the bottom of each column.  Here's a closer look at how they are stored.

Each bottle has its own hole so it won't tip over.  Here's a closer look at the block without the reinkers in it.

If you know anybody who has some woodworking skills, these are very easy to make.  This is made from a 2 x 4 cut to a length of 4 5/8" long.  Each of the holes is 1" in diameter and is about 3/4" deep.  Again, there are 12 holes in each block because there used to be 12 reinkers for each color family.

You can see in the photo above that I have two of these ink pad storage systems sitting side by side.  One is for my Classic stamp pads and the other one is for my Craft stamp pads.  Above my ink pad storage I have hung two small curtain rods on the wall to hold my punches.  Of course I have all of the older style punches and this wouldn't work for the newer punches.  If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see  that I have some of the new punches sitting on top of the ink pad storage unit as well.

As for my small punches...I have them sitting in a drawer.  I'm not sure how to organize them.  Like I said, this is an area that I struggle with too.  How do you store your small punches?  What works for you?  Please leave a comment and share your ideas so that we can all get some ideas on how to get better organized.

I've taken pictures of how I organize my stamp sets too and I'll share those in a separate post.  Click here to see my other blog posts on organization tip for your other stamping supplies.  Thanks for stopping by!

Flower Bookmark Tutorial

I don't think I say this often enough, but I have the most amazing group of ladies in my downline.  I love getting together with them for our meetings.  We take turns providing projects for the meetings and the projects they come up with are amazing.  Check out these darling bookmarks that Kelly taught us how to make. 

Kelly brought all of the supplies and showed us how to make the one on the left.  I know you're going to ask for a tutorial on how to make these, so I made the one on the right just for you.

Before I start the tutorial, I need to let you all know that my camera STINKS!  I desperately need a new one but it's not in the budget right now.  Please bear with the slightly blurry photos and glare from the flash.  I have bad lighting in my stamp room so I have no choice but to use the flash on my photos.  With that said, however, I still think you'll be able to understand and follow the directions.  Here we go!

Supplies Needed:

• Adhesive: Sticky Strip and Snail
• 10" of Blushing Bride 1/2" Stitched-poly Ribbon
• Cardstock:  Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler, So Saffron
• Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight
• Punches: 2 3/8" Scallop Circle, Fancy Flower, Blossom Petals, 1/2" Circle
• Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
• Scissors

Step 1:  Punch the Scalloped Circle out of Blushing Bride cardstock and then emboss it using the Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.

Step 2:  Stamp the center of the flower image in Daffodil Delight ink on So Saffron cardstock and punch it out using the 1/2" Circle Punch.

Step 3:  Punch the Fancy Flower out of Cherry Cobbler cardstock.

Step 4:  Stamp the petal image five times using Cherry Cobbler ink on Blushing Bride cardstock.  Punch out the petals using the Blossom Petals punch. 

Step 5:  Put a 1" piece of Sticky Strip on the back of the ribbon and adhere it to the Scalloped Circle as shown in the photo above.

Step 6:  Add a small piece of Sticky Strip to the back of the Fancy Flower right below the indent where two of the petals meet.  The Sticky Strip needs to be kept at the TOP.  That way the book page can slide between the Scalloped Circle and the Fancy Flower and stop at that line of Sticky Strip.

Step 7:  See the petal at the bottom? Line that up so it is centered over the ribbon.  Keeping the two petals with the Sticky Strip on them at the TOP (opposite the petal at the bottom), remove the backing off the Sticky Strip and adhere the Fancy Flower to the Scalloped Circle. 

Step 8:  Take the five petals and cut off the points at the base of the petals.  This will help remove some of the bulkiness at the center of the flower.

Step 9:  Add adhesive to the back of each petal and adhere them as shown in the photo above.

Step 10:  Add some adhesive to the back of the flower center and adhere it in place.

Your bookmark is now ready to be used.  Here it is marking a page in one of the Harry Potter books.  You can see that the page slides between the Fancy Flower and the Scalloped Circle and it stops right where that small line of Sticky Strip is.  The ribbon hangs down behind this page and sticks out the bottom of the book.

How's that for a darling project that doesn't take much time to make?  Thank you Kelly and thank you for stopping by!

Flowers of Tomorrow

At some point each of us has reflected on our lives and wondered if what we're doing today will really make a difference in the future.  We work so hard and sometimes have to wait so long to see any results.  I struggle with being patient and waiting for my hard work to pay off.   I made today's card with that feeling in mind. 

This sentiment is such a good reminder for me.  I need to have more faith that I'm not just spinning my wheels.  One day I'll be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor, but for now I need to be patient.

All three pieces of the "vanilla" colored layers are from the Botanical Gazette DSP.  The flower images on the layer that's  tilted to the side came printed on the DSP.  The only thing I stamped was the sentiment.  I also sponged all of the DSP with Soft Suede ink.

My layout for this card came from this week's Viva la Verve sketch challenge.

I didn't add too many extras to the card, so I kept the inside of my card simple as well.

Just another piece of DSP sponged around the edges with Soft Suede ink.  I have a lot to get done today so I'm off and running.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Flowers of Tomorrow (Verve)
Paper:  Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler, Botanical Gazette DSP
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede
Accessories:  Marina Mist Ribbon, Primas, Silver Brad, Dimensionals, Nestabilities, Sponge

Build a Blossom and Blossom Petals Punch

It's so fun having new stamping goodies to play with.  One of the stamp sets that I was most excited about getting was the Build a Blossom set with the coordinating Blossom Petals punch.  I used the stamp set, punch, and this great layout by Julee...

to make this card.

I love these bright and cheerful colors from the Ice Cream Parlor DSP (FREE with a $50 order).  The DSP came printed with that little scalloped design running down one side of it.  I thought it was the perfect accent for that side of the panel.

Do you want to see how I put the flower together?  I started by stamping and punching out 16 petals for my flower. 

I punched out a 1/2" circle of Pretty in Pink cardstock and covered the entire circle with adhesive.  I placed two of the petals at the 3:00 and 9:00 positions on the 1/2" circle.  It's much easier to make sure your petals are evenly spaced if you break the space in half.

Next I added a petal at the 12:00 position which, again, divided the space in half.  Then I added two more petals at the 10:00 and 2:00 positions.  For the bottom half I added the next petal at 9:00 and then the last two petals on either side of the 9:00 position.

Once I had 8 petals glued down, I added more adhesive to the middle and repeated the process again.  This time I made sure that I placed the top row of petals between the bottom petals as shown in the photo below.

I finished the flower off by stamping the flower center, punching it out with the 1/2" circle punch and then attaching it with a dimensional.  I also glued three leaves onto the back of my flower.

I kept the layout for the inside of my card pretty simple.  That's all I have for today.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Build a Blossom
Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Old Olive, Ice Cream Parlor DSP
Ink:  Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive
Accessories:  Brads, Nestabilities, Old Olive Ribbon, Dimensionals
Punches:  1/2" Circle, Blossom Petals
Big Shot:  Top Note Die

Sizzix Petal Cone

I want to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day/Happy Singles Awareness Day.  In honor of today I have one last Valentine's Day project to show you.

I finally ordered some stuff from the new Occasions Mini Catalog and this Petal Cone Big Shot die was the first item on my order.  I love being able to quickly make 3D projects that I can give as gifts.

I wheeled the Pretty in Pink cardstock with the Very Vintage wheel using Pretty in Pink ink.  I don't use wheels very often, but when I do pull one out it's usually this one.  The design is beautiful and it can be used for a variety of occasions. 

I also ordered the red Glimmer Paper from the mini catalog.  It's so pretty and none of the glitter comes off.  I love it!  I punched out two large hearts and attached them using dimensionals to the front and back petals.

I added the scalloped design (the Real Red cardstock) to all four of the petals and then realized that I couldn't glue them down because the scallops got in the way.  I wanted the petals with the hearts on them to be the main focus, so I solved my problem by cutting off the top two scallops on the petals that didn't have the hearts. 

I punched holes on the inside of the box, threaded some ribbon through it, and knotted the ends.  I used dimensionals to adhere the petals down to cover the knots.

Of course I had to finish off my project with some chocolate.  Valentine's Day and chocolate go hand-in-hand.  You can't separate the two. 

I hope you have a wonderful day today.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Very Vintage Wheel  
Paper:   Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Red Glimmer Paper
Ink:  Pretty in Pink
Accessories:  Dimensionals, Mistletoe Ribbon, Sticky Strip
Punches:  Large Heart, 1/4" Circle
Big Shot:  Petal Cone Die

Valentine's Day Dresser

A few weeks ago when I participated in the last Control Freak blog hop, I took the tour myself and saw this darling Valentine's Day Dresser by LeeAnn Greff.

Isn't that adorable?  I just had to make one.  You can click here to see LeeAnn's tutorial.  I had a scrap of shiny silver cardstock that I cut out using the Top Note Big Shot die and made it into the mirror.  I had to be careful taking the photo of this project because the flash would shine off the "mirror" and cause glare in the photo.

I stamped the sentiment in Real Red ink on Pretty in Pink cardstock and then punched it out using the large heart punch.  I adhered it to the back side (the non-bumpy side) of the scalloped heart that I cut out using the Heart of Hearts Embosslit die.  I attached the heart to the mirror using a dimensional.

All of the drawers are made from the Matchbox Big Shot die.  I used Sticky Strip to adhere all six of  them together.  I punched out a small Pretty in Pink heart and attached that to the front of the drawers.   The drawer handles are silver button brads that I had in my stash.

I used Glue Dots to adhere some flat marbles on the bottom of the dresser for feet.  It helped add some weight to the dresser to make it sturdier.

I finished off the dresser with some designer series paper, ribbon, and of course some chocolate.  All of the drawers hold three mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups.  This project was so fun to put together.

I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend as you finish getting ready for Valentine's Day.  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Three Little Words, Cheep Talk
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Silver, Bella Rose DSP
Ink:  Real Red
Accessories:  Rhinestones, Silver Button Brads, Flat Marbles, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Glue Dots, Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon
Punches:  Heart Small, Full Heart, Circle (1", 3/4")
Big Shot:  Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die, Matchbox Die, Top Note Die