Glimmer Glam Envelopes with Ruffled Notecards

Our swap group, affectionately called Art & Soul, made a beautiful mess last night and ended up with these beautiful note cards. It was so much fun!

The scrunched paper flower is 4 layers of Spellbinders Circle Scallop Die cuts, glimmer misted, and embellished with fun stuff in the center. Making these flowers can become addicting - so fun!

Each flower was tied onto the gate fold envelope with scrunched seam binding, that had been glimmer misted as well. When I say we made a beautiful mess - believe me - it's true!

The scrunched paper flowers can be as thick/thin as you want, depending on how much you pull the layers apart. They dry kinda stiff after glimmer misting, so they hold their shape beautifully. Oh -- by the way, the envelopes and cards were first embossed with clear embossing powder, then glimmer misted. Which means, the embossed areas acted as a resist for the glimmer mist. Very pretty!

The note card itself pulls out from the bottom of the gate fold envelope. You pull on the little crepe paper (or scrunched up sheet music ruffle) and out comes the matching note card! Obviously, this card requires a bigger mailing envelope but it's a perfect card for including in a gift bag or with a wrapped present or with home-baked goodies, etc.

The crepe paper ruffle treatment at the bottom of the card is done by running a bead line of clear drying glue across the bottom of your note card, then lay down the top piece of your crepe paper and "push it into a ruffle" as you continue to lay it down. It gathers as you go, making it an easy way to ruffle (without sewing!). This particular ruffle was glued down, and then folded over to make a double ruffle.

The note cards were then stamped with a nice border above the crepe paper ruffles, and various designs and sentiments can be added at the top of the note card.

It was fun to mixxy and matchy colors, stamps, and glimmer mists. Did I mention we made a big beautiful mess?

I should have warned you that this was a long post with lots of pictures!

Are you getting a feel for the colorful fun? The great borders? The ruffled goodness on each and every one?

I hope you get a chance to get messy with glimmer mists. It's an instant gratification technique that makes the inner-artist in you feel free! When mixed with a little embossing, its extra special. And when you add stamping ... well ... be still my glimmer misty heart!

Grunge Paper Tags

I went grunge! Not exactly my style, but after playing around a bit, I think it could be my style - hah! Grunge paper is best described as a "discovery" ... so soft and felty and bendy. First, I set up my Distress Ink Pads in a row and went to town with sponge applicators as I inked up the background colors for the tags. Then I stamped various backgrounds and borders. The tag itself is NOT a true shipping tag (it's grunge paper)!! The reinforced hole at the top is a small circle punch of brown cardstock.

This blue and brown number uses original Sizzix Decorative Accent #2 die and Flower Layers #4. The background of the Decorative Accent was stamped with Queen Wendy Vecchi's background from Artfully Said. The gorgeous stamped lace at the bottom is from Queen Wendy Vecchi's set In Love With Art.

This background stamp is Unity Distressed Dots which is very cool look! The flower was made using Papertrey's Delightful Dahlia Die which I cut in half, then cut slits in toward the flower center, so that I could curl the petals upward. That's the bendy fun part of grunge paper! Saying is from Queen Wendy Vecchi's set Art By the Number.

This purple & green number is my fav! Background lines are from Queen Wendy Vecchi Dreams of Art. Leaves are a Sizzix die, as are the tulips. Both of these Sizzix dies are eon's old - which means they are Originals and these two particular dies are the yellow half size ones. Now aren't those purple flower centers to die for? Prima -- they KNOW flower centers! Get thee to Archivers and grab 'em up!

This yellow number has a YOUnique stamp and flower stem ... the saying is a Limited Edition wooden stamp by Stampendous and the leaves are from My Cute Stamps Nature set (stamped and cut out with scissors). Once again, I cut a flower in half so I could show off the bendy petals better!

This blue tag sports a Sizzix Original Bird, Sparrow Die. Background is Unity Aged Sheet Music stamp ... with a Unity saying from an old Kit of the Month. It's fun to cut up any stamped sentiment, and apply it "collage" style! So ... all in all ... I'm hooked on grunge ... I'm in Love With Art ... and I'm still trying to clean the ink off my fingers! :)

Susan G. Komen Walk For the Cure

My bank teller was telling me how excited she was that this year, her and her mom were going to participate in the Susan G. Koman Walk For the Cure. Her mom is a breast cancer survivor and it means a lot to them to be able to do this!

So I thought it would be nice to let her know how special she is! The gemstone word CURE is from Michaels, and inside the notebook cover is a nice pretty pink note pad. I'm proud of my first ever Wendy Vecchi stamp set called "In Love With Art" (it's that fabulous lace stamp at the bottom, and the saying). The Take Note sentiment is from Papertrey's set "Take Note".

I slipped the notebook it into a large Papertrey Glassine bag and clipped a pretty silver pen to finish it off. I hope she likes it! Thoughts and prayers to all those who have been touched in some way by breast cancer.

Thankful For You

Papertrey's new stamp set, Wreath For All Seasons, is one I think I'll reach for again and again. It fit perfectly in the center of these small lace paper dolies (and inexpensive too!), which I clipped to bags of candy corn with embellished mini clothespins. I took these to a meeting at church, and everyone seemed to enjoy them! They were sure fun and easy to make.

All packed up, pretty in a Longaberger Pie Basket. I really am thankful for YOU!