Repurposing Paper Pumpkin Boxes

This past weekend, I spent some time with my daughter creating a couple of boxes to hold cards that she can keep in her dorm room this Fall. 

Well, I shared this photo on my Instagram account:

and it received such a great response, I shared the idea on a Paper Pumpkin Facebook Group I belong to. It received such a huge response there, that I decided to make another one - in MY style - and share it with YOU along with a quick tutorial. 

Sound good? 

Cool! Let's get started! 

Here's my finished box:

I just LOVE how it turned out! The bicycles on this Designer Paper just make me smile! 

How to create the decorated box:

(I'll put a supply list at the bottom of this post for you.) 

1) Turn your Paper Pumpkin Box inside out so the 'kraft' side is showing. Remove labels and tape if you wish. (I took the tape off of mine, but left the label on the lid because it gets covered.)

2) Choose your Designer Series Paper (I used Schoolhouse for this box) and cut according to this photo:

3) Adhere Designer Paper to Top and Sides of box. I used Fast Fuse to adhere mine, but Multi-Purpose Glue would work well too. 

4) Decorate as desired. I used the Sheltering Tree stamp set for my stamped images.

(**directions below)

**Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock and a piece of Designer Paper at 2" x 5 1/2". Punch into a tag with the Ornate Tag Punch. Adhere together with Fast Fuse as shown. 

**The greeting was done with a Stampin' Write Marker. I markered the part I wanted to stamp first, stamped, cleaned, then markered the second part, stamped. It's EASY to re-size a greeting that way!

**The tree was stamped on a piece of Whisper White card stock then trimmed out with Paper Snips. I used Garden Green ink and stamped the image three times - moving the image slightly between impressions.

Both the tree and bicycle were adhered to the two tags with Stampin' Dimensionals. 

**Cut a 8" length of White Jute Ribbon and cut down one side, exposing the threads. Pull out 5 or 6 long strings and bunch together, threading the two tags as shown. 

**Cut a 22" length of Tangelo Twist Striped Cotton Ribbon and adhered it in a 'z' fashion to the back of the tags. All of this was adhered to the top of the card box.

5) Decorate the inside lid as shown for envelopes and stamps:

**Cut a piece of Designer Paper at 6" x 9". Cover the inside of the lid. 

**Cut a piece of Designer Paper at 1 1/2" and 9". Cover the top flap.

**The Designer Paper that holds the envelopes should be cut at 4 1/2" x 6". Score across the 6" side at 1/4", 1/2", 5 1/2", 5 3/4". 

Fold on score lines and adhere to the inside of the lid.

**The Designer Paper that holds the stamps should be 3 1/4" x 4". Adhere to the lid as shown.

All that's left is to fill with cards, envelopes, stamps and a pen! 

Here's another look:

And here's your supply list:

As always, you can place your order for any of these products by clicking on the product photo. You'll go directly to my Online Store where you can shop 24/7!

www.trinitydesignstudio.stampinup.net

I hope this tutorial was fun and helpful for you - have fun repurposing your own Paper Pumpkin Boxes! 

Simple Songbird Tile

If you're anything like me, you have a lot of pieces for unfinished projects laying around. I have all the best intentions when I order something or make an 'amazing' find in a store. You know what I mean - you get a brilliant flash of inspiration that compels you to 'Add to Cart' the very thing you need to make that project in your head a reality.
Yeah, if you're crafty at all I know it's happened to you at least once.
And then reality hits.

Your perfect idea, your recently purchased 'finishing touch', your blank canvas just sits there staring at you because you either don't have the time or don't make the time to even get started on that brilliant idea that caused you to separate your money from your wallet.
Yeah, you know.

So recently, I discovered a small item - just a drop in the bucket really - and determined to just do something with it.
It's this Chocolate Songbird Decor Element that oh, by the way, retired in the last catalog.

I had a few tiles left over from this project HERE and decided that I could simply rub the decor element piece on to one of them. I added about a yard of the Marina Mist Striped Grosgrain ribbon in a big floppy bow and called it done.

Now, won't this cute little 6" x 6" tile look lovely sitting on my mantel this spring? Yep, I think so too.

You know, there's a bunch of smaller sized Decor Elements in our catalog this year. A lot of them will fit on a 6" x 6" tile or even a bit larger size. I encourage you to check them out. You can create a similar quick and easy project for your mantel or bookshelf or even as a gift, in just a few minutes.

Promise me something though?
Don't buy it and then stick it on a shelf or in a cabinet or closet.
Just do it.

And hey, if you're looking for a solution to the TIME excuse, map out 4 hours on your calendar this Saturday (2/18 from 10 am - 2 pm) and head on over to my studio for some Open Studio Stamp Time.
You bring your unfinished projects, ideas and your consumable supplies and you can have full access to my tools, stamps, inks and what's left of my pea brain to pick.
I'll have some snacks, drinks and chocolate to keep you going and it's all for just $5. Or Free with a $30 order.
RSVP to let me know you're coming and I'll make sure you have table space especially for you!

Happy stampin!
~~Robin

Place your order for Stampin' Up! Supplies AND Decor Elements at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner to get started!

Hey Valentine! Be Mine!

Call it what you will - "The sweetest day of the year."; "In love with love day"; "Chocolate Enthusiasts day", "National Singles Awareness day"; or my personal favorite - "Oh my gosh! It's Valentine's Day and I NEED a card! day".
Yep, how many of you have been there, done that?!

Well, I'm here to help!
Check out this card -

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you - it's not stamped! This card front is a Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio exclusive printable. How cool is that?!
Stampin' Up! had done all the work for us on this one - lots of "love" words, coordinating colors, cool fonts. All on one easy card.
This printable is called the Be Mine Frameable and can be downloaded from my Online Stampin' Store at this link HERE.
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner.
Then, go to Digital Designing in the left column.
Next, click on Designer Templates. It's on page 2 of that section.
It's $1.95 to download and comes in an 8 1/2" x 11" size. You can use this in any digital publishing software and resize it to whatever size you need.
There are also many other pre-designed Templates that you can download and print on cardstock right there at home.
While you're there - you can also download a FREE 30 Day Trial of our awesome My Digital Studio design program. Doesn't get much better than that!

For my card, I used Microsoft Publisher and chose to print four postcard size card fronts on one piece of 8 1/2" x 11" Whisper White cardstock. I simply saved the frameable download as a .jpg file and was able to drop it into the program as a photo.
I then cut them into 4 card fronts measuring 3 3/4" x 5" so I could layer them nicely on the Riding Hood Red and Basic Gray cardstock to make my card.

The only embellishing I did to this was to add some Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin Ribbon across the front; a Basic Rhinestone jewel to the dot between the 2 and 14 and adding a Silver Glimmer Large Heart Punch over the ribbon with Stampin' Dimensionals.
The Riding Hood Red cardstock layer is mounted to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Here's the inside:
I stamped the greeting from the Sweetly Said stamp set in Basic Gray ink and added the open heart image from the I Heart Hearts stamp set in Riding Hood Red ink.
So easy!
And since my husband really loved this card - it's gonna be his valentine this year! Shhh - don't tell!

Now, take a look at what I did with the actual 8 1/2" x 11" size:

I just printed it again at full size on a piece of Whisper White cardstock and set to work adding my embellishments.
The frame is a simple metal document frame that I found on clearance at a local store. I removed the glass so the embellishments would be able to pop out.

I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Basic Rhinestones, Silver Glimmer Paper, Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin Ribbon, an Antique Brad, a Candy Cane Lane button and some Baker's Twine. Such a fun and easy project!

So, there you go - a simple valentine card and gift that's STILL hand made! All you need is the Be Mine Frameable download to get started and you'll have Valentine's Day all wrapped up by the time your honey walks in the door tonight!

Now, I'm off to finish my special valentines for my special Valentines!
Have a great day and be sure to eat some Chocolate!
~~Robin

Leadership Secret Sister! Twitterpated Gift Ensemble

Note: I started this post last Wednesday morning (1/25), but Blogger was acting up and I lost most of my text that I'd spent a half-hour writing. So instead of throwing my computer out the window in frustration, I walked away intending to finish it when I returned, but well, my week kind of got away from me.
So just pretend it's last Wednesday, ok? haha!

Good morning stampers!!
It's appropriate to show you my Twitterpated Gift Set that I made for my Secret Sister at leadership today.
Wanna know why???
Because I'm a little Twitterpated this morning!
I woke up to discover that my Stampin' Fools put me over the top last night for earning the Hilton Head trip! Isn't that a great way to wake up??
Next stop - Fiji!! WooHoo!!

Now, let me show you the gift set, ok?
We had optional Secret Sisters at Leadership in my upline, Jan Wakeland's RemARKable Dreambuilders group. We had a list of things to create for our sister based on their likes. This bag and box are just part of what I made for her.

The bag is a simple kraft cubby bag that I decorated. I first attached a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock that I'd stamped all over with the floral spray from the Bordering on Romance stamp set.
Next, I adhered a piece of Twitterpated Designer Series Paper to it. I chose the stripes as a contrast to the florals and waffle paper ruffles.

The Whisper White Waffle paper was cut into 1" strips and adhered with SNAIL adhesive to the bag front. I simply hand pleated it along the adhesive. I cut a length of Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin Ribbon to cover the top edge and wrapped it around the Designer Paper, hiding the edges. It's attached with Mini Glue Dots.

The flowers were punched out using the new Blossom Punch from the Occasions Mini. I punched them out of different designs of the Twitterpated Designer Paper then sprayed them with a little Stampin' Mist to wet them. I scrunched them all up in a ball to dry, then smoothed them out a bit and added the Antique Brad to the center of the flower. It was attached over the ribbon with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Here's a close up of the Kraft Box.
I actually opened up the seam of the box and used my Vintage Wallpaper Textured Embossing Folder to emboss the sides of the box. I sponged it all over with Riding Hood Red ink to make the embossing stand out. Because of the size restrictions of the box in the machine, it left a blank corner, so I took a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock and embossed it to use in covering the blank corner. I punched the edges with my Eyelet Lace Border Punch before adhering it with Tombow Adhesive.

I added a piece of Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon around the belly of the box and added another paper flower to cover the seam.
The design on the top of the box was a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock, again embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper folder and sponged a bit with matching ink.
I cut a piece of DSP with one of the Framelits Labels Dies and stamped an image from the Apothecary Art stamp set in Pear Pizazz ink before using another Labels Die to cut it out. I cleaned the stamp and inked it again in Riding Hood Red, stamped on a scrap of Whisper White and punched it out with the 1" Circle Punch. All pieces were sponged with Crumb Cake ink and then popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

My secret sister was Kathy Hamrick - who gave me some super cute things AND chocolate too! I hope she liked her gift set. There were some project inside it as well, I'll show you those later this week.

As always, you can order all the supplies (except the bag) from my Online Stampin' Store. And remember, Sale-A-Bration is in full swing, so that means for each $50 in merchandise you purchase, you get a FREE product from the exclusive Sale-A-Bration Brochure! LOVE FREE stuff!

Happy Stampin' friends!
~~Robin

Place your order for your Stampin' Up! supplies at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner to get started!

Easy Gift Tiles!

Guess what I'm doing today?

Going Christmas shopping!!
Yes, I'm venturing out into the madness with my friend Lissa, buoyed only by the promise of Chick-fil-A Chick'n-minis for breakfast and the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Aiyiyi, are we crazy or what?!!

But, it has to be done.
We both have returns - yes, already! And I still have two, count em' TWO things on my list that must be bought AND I discovered last night that I desperately need shirt boxes. Why oh why, do we always throw away the boxes on Christmas morning when we KNOW we're gonna need them next year? Why not just store them in the Christmas Closet with all the other Christmas paraphernalia? They don't take up THAT much room. Sigh....

Anyway, I had a wonderful, quiet day here at home yesterday and I managed to get 7 Christmas gifts made! WooHoo!! I made two sets of boxed cards for two of Emma's coaches and 5 of these fancy, schmancy Decor Elements Tiles.
Here, take a look:

Yeah, I know you wanna say it - Oooh. Aaah! Fancy!!
Yep, and you can't really even see the glittery spray all over them. Oh yeah - glitter!!

Look, these were so super easy!
I used tiles that we had bought at the big blue home improvement store (not the orange one!). They are called Rialto tiles. Simply wash them off and dry them thoroughly.
The design is one section of the Holiday Damask Decor Elements from the Holiday Mini Catalog. I trimmed one out with my Paper Snips and applied it to the clean tile.

Next, I sprayed the whole thing with my own homemade shimmer spritz made with spray hand sanitizer and Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint. Let it dry and it stays put!

Here's a close up:

You can see the shimmer on the tile in the background pretty well here.
To decorate the tile, I wrapped about a yard or so of Old Olive Satin Ribbon around the left edge and tied it up in a pretty bow.
The tag was made with the Merry and Type stamp set. I stamped the greeting in Real Red on Naturals White cardstock and punched it out with the Decorative Label Punch. The edges were sponged with some Old Olive ink and I spritzed it with shimmer mist too.
I punched a small hole in the corner of the tag and threaded it with some Early Espresso Baker's Twine and added a Mini Jingle Bell before tying it off in a bow.

I didn't take a photo of the back, but to hang it, I attached a small sawtooth hanger with Hot Glue.

Super cute and SO easy!!
The best part? This whole project cost less than $3.00 total!
Shhhh! Don't tell on me, ok?

The Holiday Damask Decor Elements are still available in the Holiday Mini Catalog and you get 27 of them for just $29.99!
But, they are only around until January 3rd, so be sure to get them before they are gone.

Also, be sure to get the Stocking Builder Punch if you are still needing it. SU! told us yesterday that it WILL NOT carry over into the next big Idea Book and Catalog and is available now on a While Supplies Last basis! Guess that means that the Stitched Stockings stamp set won't carry over either - just a guess on my part, but it stands to reason, don't ya' think?

Ok, enough chatter - I'm headed out to the craziness that is the Mall. Wish me luck!
You on the other hand can stay home and shop from my Stampin' Up! Website! It won't get here by Christmas, but you're shopping for YOU anyway, right? Ha!
Don't forget, my rewards program applies to any orders of $40 in merchandise from my Online Store!
The punch and the decor elements would earn you more points towards Stampin' rewards!

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Place your order for Stampin' Up! supplies at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner!

Hey there, Cupcake!

I know I mention my Stampin' Fools here a lot! They are one of my party groups that meet each month to stamp, stamp, stamp - they love it! And I have to say that they are just a joy to be around. We always have the best evening together and they are so good for my ego - they love everything I make. This makes my heart so happy! I'm even lucky enough to see a few of them twice a month when they come to stamp with me at the Manassas Volunteer Firehouse. Stampin' fun all around!

So this last month, Pam was the "hostess" and I wanted to create something special for her. I'd just gotten my Create a Cupcake stamp set and coordinating punch and thought I'd pull them out and see what I could do with them. I ended up making this fun covered notepad just for her!

Since I've been cleaning out the studio and slowly rearranging everything, I've 'found' a LOT of alterable items that I'd bought because I just KNEW I could do a class with them! For Pam's gift, I started with a cute notepad that was printed all over with cupcakes! Perfect!
I removed the magnetic strip from the back carefully so I could re-use it. Next, I covered the notepad with a piece of Pretty in Pink cardstock that I'd run through my Big Shot with the Perfect Polka-Dots embossing folder. The cardstock wrapped around the back of the notepad, covering where I'd removed the magnet so it looked pretty. I then used my Tombow Multi-Adhesive to re-adhere the magnet. This way, she gets maximum hold when she puts it on her fridge to use!

Next, I focused on decorating the cover.

I kept it simple and used a piece of Early Espresso cardstock that was border punched top and bottom with the Scalloped Edge Border punch. I layered it with a piece of Whisper White that had two ribbons wrapped around it - Pretty in Pink 5/8" Grosgrain and 1/8" Early Espresso Taffeta.

The Pretty in Pink Scalloped Circle was punched out with the 2 3/8" Scalloped Circle Punch - I know, duh! And I layered it with a piece of Rose Red cardstock punched out with the 2 1/2" Circle Punch.
I stamped my cupcake pieces on Whisper White cardstock and punched them out with the Cupcake Punch. (I used long strips - it worked great!)
They were layered on the Rose Red circle and then I added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter for just a touch of bling. So cute! I was really happy with the finished one! And the best part is that Pam loved it too!

This stamp set and punch are in the Occasions Mini Catalog which goes until the end of April. But, remember, if you NEED them and are placing an order for them, do it by the end of March so you can earn FREE Sale-A-Bration product rewards! For each $50 you spend, you get FREE Stampin' Up! That's a pretty sweet deal! My online store is open 24/7 for you, so pay a visit and find what you need to make lots of pretty things!

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Very Valentine's Class Projects - Part 2

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by my blog to visit today! I have a few more projects from my Very Valentine's class in January to share with you. Simple ideas really, but definitely something that would make a cute gift or remembrance for your friends and loved ones.

The first project is a heart shaped pouch made with the new Petal Cone Die. I've heard so many people say that they didn't think they needed this die for the Big Shot, but after seeing the PLETHORA of projects that can be made with it, they changed their minds.
My pouch was made with Pretty in Pink Patterns DSP, Pretty in Pink cardstock and Shimmer White cardstock.

I love how sweet and delicate this one looks with the light colors combined. We used 1/8" Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon and 5/8" Pretty in Pink Grosgrain Ribbon and a little Linen Thread to tie on the punched heart element.

Our next project was a blast from the past - decorated Altoids tins! I found a large box of tins in my stash of "alterables" in my stamp room closet and thought it was time to bring them out again. We decorated the outside of the tins:

And decorated the chocolate inside too!

The best part of this project for my stampers that attended was learning to take the long piece of ribbon and wrap it around the mini-glue dot roll, following the dots with the ribbon. That way the glue dots are perfectly spaced out and aren't messy! They said that tip was worth the price of admission! :)

Our last project was again, so simple, just a small covered notebook for their "Love Notes"!

We used Tombow Multi Adhesive to cover the notebook and simply tied the Real Red Grosgrain ribbon around the cover and attached the embellishments. All the stamping on all the projects was done with the Filled with Love stamp set and we used Real Red and Pretty in Pink ink.

There is still time to get all your valentine's projects created, so I hope you've found some great ideas here to use. Have fun creating!

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

From Cute to Cuter! An Altered Gift......

My friend Debbie recently had a birthday and I found a terrific little journal for her. It was already super cute - the words printed on the cover were turquoise fuzzy flocking, so how cool is that? But it was still kinda plain and I wanted to do something to jazz it up a bit. Big Shot to the rescue!

I took out my Scalloped Circles Die, the Two Tags Die and my Daisies Die to create an embellishment for the cover and a fun magnetic bookmark for the inside.
Here's a look at the finished cover:

The scalloped circle is from the Island Oasis Designer Paper that was in the Summer Mini. I stacked it with a fabric flower from the retired Pretties Kit and added a fun Daffodil Delight button from the Brights collection. The Rhinestone Brad was perfect to add a little bling! I simply opened up the brad's wings and slipped them through the holes in the button, folding them closed in the back.

Here's a look at the bookmark:

I used Tempting Turquoise cardstock for the bookmark. It was folded in half and I placed the fold just under the cut line for the long tag on the die so it would create a double sided piece. It slips over a page to hold your place and is held firm by a magned adhered inside. If you have an avid reader on your Christmas lists, these would make a great little stocking stuffer!
To finish mine here, I cut paper daisies with Whisper White cardstock and a scrap of Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper from our last catalog. The daisies were topped with yet another button from the Brights collection - a Tempting Turquoise one - and I just threaded it with some Linen Thread.

Debbie loved her gift and I hope you've enjoyed the idea!
I know this time of year we tend towards projects that are more seasonally themed, but with gift giving, the recipient will be using it all year long. Don't limit yourself to just seasonal colors and images - pull out those bright, fun colors and enjoy the warmth they bring as you play and create while it's cold outside! You're sure to bring a smile to many faces, including yours!

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin