Birthday Blog Candy Winner!

Drum roll, please!

Announcing the winner of my Blog Birthday Ice Cream Challenge! It is Suzanne from Orange County, NY!!! All the entries were really cute, but I really love the colors and playfulness of Suzanne's card. (You can see more details about Suzanne's creation on her "The Card Garden" blog.)

Congrats Suzanne! Please contact me with your info, so that I can send you your prize package!

And thanks to everyone who accepted my challenge!

A Very Merry Birthday! To Me! To You!

That's right, today is the first anniversary of my initial blog post! So I'm throwing my one-year-old a Birthday Party complete with sweet treats, games and prizes. I'm inviting all of YOU, my blog readers, to join in on the fun and festivities! And what better way to begin a birthday party, than with ICE CREAM!!! Ice cream for everyone!

Presenting the complete tutorial on how to create your very own Ice Cream Cone Card...

Supplies:

• Cardstock: brown from K&Company; blue-green, pink, dark pink, and red from Bazzill Basics Paper; black
• Patterned Paper: The Slab II from Provo Craft
• Accents: colored wire by Making Memories
• Tools: 1" circle punch
• Other: patterns (download here!)

Instructions:

1. Cut out shapes for ice cream scoops & cone following directions on patterns. Punch two 1" circles from red paper.
2. Glue patterned paper to front cone piece.
   Cut half moon shape from dark pink paper and adhere to front of "strawberry" scoop.
   Randomly cut "chocolate chips" from black cardstock and glue to front of "mint chip" scoop.
   Cut small half moon shape from pink paper and glue to one red circle to make a highlight.
3. Fold as follows:
   Back copy of "strawberry" scoop back one inch from top
   Front copy of "mint chip" scoop forward one inch from top
   Back copy of "cone" back one inch from bottom
4. Glue front pieces of scoops & cones to back pieces on the small folded areas only (top of scoops & bottom of cone).
5. Glue back of "mint chip" scoop to back of cone, and back of "strawberry scoop to back of "mint chip" scoop, overlapping pieces.
6. Cut approx. 3" piece of red wire. Curl one end into a small circle and adhere to back of red circle with highlight using glue dot. Glue bottom half of "cherry" to top of "strawberry" scoop. Glue other red circle to back of "strawberry" scoop, making a sandwich with the wire.

Optional: Here is the text that I added to the inside of my Ice Cream Cone Card:
The "strawberry scoop" flips up to say "You're like the CHERRY on top of my ice cream!"
The "mint chip scoop" flips up to say "Life without you would be like MINT CHIP without the chocolate!"
The "cone" flips down to say "Thanks for being my friend!"

Finished Size Approx. 5" x 3.75" (plus cherry "stem")
Additional photos in my online portfolio.

: : : : :

And what would a birthday party be
without games and prizes???

And now, on to the gifts! In honor of my blog's very first birthday, I am giving away a Blog Candy prize package. The package consists of one copy of Paper Crafts magazine's latest special issue "Cards, Gifts, & More: Paper Crafting 3 Ways" (featuring 3 projects by Yours Truly), four packages of Ice Cream themed dimensional stickers, two spools of coordinating ribbon, and one Ice Cream themed box. (Sorry -- due to the high cost of shipping, I can only send this package to residents of the continental United States.)

If you would like a chance at winning this package, simply make a paper craft creation (card, scrapbook, etc.) using Ice Cream as your theme. Then upload a photo of your project to your blog or online gallery. Leave a comment on this post with a link to the website (not the image itself!) by Friday, August 29th at 11pm EST. I will pick my fave and announce the winner here on my blog on Saturday, August 30th. If you already have an Ice Cream themed project online, feel free to enter it!

I can't wait to see your creations! And enjoy the Birthday Party!

Holiday Gift Card Tags (Part 3)

As promised in an earlier post, here is the complete tutorial on how to create two additional Holiday Gift Card Tags -- one for a Birthday and another for Easter. Enjoy!

Birthday Present

Supplies:

• Cardstock: blue from Celebrate series from American Traditional Designs
• Patterned Paper: pastel dots from Baby scrapbook kit by DCWV
• Fibers: green ribbon from Scrapbooking line from Target Stores
• Color Medium: Gel Xtreme - White gel pen by Y&C
• Tools: Serrated Tracing Wheel by Dritz; 5/8" circle punch by Uchida
• Font: Contemporary Brush Bold
• Other: pattern

Easter Egg

Supplies:

• Cardstock: green from Celebrate series from American Traditional Designs
• Patterned Paper: Easter Ribbons by Reminisce
• Fibers: yellow ribbon from American Crafts
  
• Color Medium: Gel Xtreme - White gel pen by Y&C
• Tools: Serrated Tracing Wheel by Dritz; 5/8" circle punch by Uchida; Paper Edgers Pinking decorative edge scissors by Fiskars
• Font: Blackjack from Font Bros
• Other: pattern; crepe paper
  

Instructions
Insert:

1. Cut 2.5" x 9" piece of patterned paper. Score & fold 3.75" from top and 1.5" from bottom. Adhere bottom flap up at sides to create a pocket.
2. Adhere ribbon at top of insert to form a loop and insert gift card into pocket.
   Note: For Present, extend ribbon down the middle of the front of the insert.
   

Holder:

1. Cut 3" x 8" piece of solid cardstock. Print name on front of CS. Cut out shape following pattern.
2. Faux stitch the sides using serrated tracing wheel and white gel pen.
3. Score and fold CS in half to form a 3" x 4" card, fold at the bottom. Adhere sides together to form a pouch.
4. Punch half circle at top of pouch.
   For Present, knot ribbon and attach at top of cut-out.
   For Egg, trim strip of crepe paper using decorative edge scissors; adhere to bottom of holder, making small pleats in the process.
   
5. Slide gift card insert into pouch.

Hint: Vary the paper colors, patterns and ribbon to create Present tags for other occasions, such as Christmas, Baby or Bridal Showers.

Finished Size 3" x 4" (exclusive of trim).
Additional photos in my online Portfolio.

Holiday Gift Card Tags (Part 2)

As promised in my previous post, here is the complete tutorial on how to create your very own Holiday Gift Card Tags for Valentine's Day and Christmas. Enjoy!

Valentine Heart

Supplies:

• Cardstock: pink from Celebrate series from American Traditional Designs
• Patterned Paper: from Foof-a-La Paper Pad by Autumn Leaves
• Accents: Fall#1 paper flower from Got Flowers? line by Prima; mini snaps by Making Memories
• Fibers: Dashes, Dots & Checks pink & brown ribbon from Michaels Stores
  
• Color Medium: Gel Xtreme - White gel pen by Y&C
• Tools: Serrated Tracing Wheel by Dritz; 5/8" circle punch by Uchida
• Font: Little Lord Fontleroy from dafont.com
• Other: pattern

Holly Leaves

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Celery from Savory Simple Sets Collection by sei
• Patterned Paper: Joyful All Mine by KI Memories
• Accents: Fall#1 paper flower from Got Flowers? line by Prima; red buttons from Winnie's Walls Collection by sei
• Fibers: red ribbon from Scrapbooking line from Target Stores
  
• Color Medium: Gel Xtreme - White gel pen by Y&C
• Tools: Serrated Tracing Wheel by Dritz; 5/8" circle punch by Uchida
• Font: Fontdinerdotcom Loungy from fontdiner.com
• Other: pattern

Instructions
Insert:

1. Cut 2.5" x 9" piece of patterned paper. Score & fold 3.75" from top and 1.5" from bottom. Adhere bottom flap up at sides to create a pocket.
2. Adhere ribbon at top of insert to form a loop and insert gift card into pocket.

Tip #1: When folding the patterned paper to form insert, hold the paper so that the patterned side is facing down and the pattern is upside down (if applicable)

Holder:

1. Cut 3" x 8" piece of solid cardstock. Print name on front of CS. Cut out shape following pattern.
2. Faux stitch the sides using serrated tracing wheel and white gel pen.
3. Score and fold CS in half to form a 3" x 4" card, fold at the bottom. Adhere sides together to form a pouch.
4. Punch half circle at top of pouch. For Heart, attach snap to flower and adhere to pouch. For Holly, attach buttons.
   
5. Slide gift card insert into pouch.

Tip #2: I used Therm O Web's 1/8" SuperTape (the red-lined stuff!) to adhere the sides of my inserts and holders. Its narrow width and straight edge made it the perfect choice for this project!

Finished Size 3" x 4" (exclusive of trim).
Additional photos in my online Portfolio.

Stay tuned for my Birthday Present and Easter Egg Gift Card Tags!

Holiday Gift Card Tags Go LIVE!!!

Here they are! My Holiday Gift Cards Tags as seen in Paper Crafts magazine's latest special issue, "Cards, Gifts, & More: Paper Crafting 3 Ways." The issue just hit the newsstands this month. The photos of my Tree, Onesie, and Chick tag trio appear on page 19, while the patterns are on page 89.

I designed these tags to adorn a present or Easter basket, but they can also be used as the gift itself. The outer layer is actually a pocket which holds a patterned insert. Once removed, the insert opens to reveal a gift card. Or you could replace the gift card with a wallet-sized photo.

In addition to the three designs shown here, I also created other versions -- a Birthday Present and an Easter egg -- which may be featured on Paper Crafts' website in the near future. If they do, I'll be sure to post the link here. Meanwhile, check back soon for additional tutorials and patterns to create your own Holly Leaves and Valentine Heart versions of my Gift Card Tags!



Finished Size 3" x 4" (exclusive of trim).
Additional photos in my online Portfolio.

Lions, Giraffes, Elephants ... and Butterflies! Oh My!

It's a zoo over here! My house is swarming with wild animals! Animal-themed cards, that is!

I recently designed a trio of safari animal themed cards for Paper Crafts magazine's article "Baby Animals for Baby." And guess what! They have ALL been accepted for PC's March/April 2009 issue! Woo hoo! I'm really proud of this project -- they turned out sooo cute! (If I do say so myself...)

And a first for me and Paper Crafts magazine... Not one, but TWO of my projects will appear in PC's March/April issue! They also accepted a super quick-and-easy Butterfly themed card that I designed using double-sided patterned cardstock and a piece of acetate.

I will post a sneak peek of the card(s) here in January, before the issue hits the newsstands. Perhaps, along with some related projects exclusively for you, my readers! Stay tuned!