A Pocket Book or Money Holder for Graduation

Hello Everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful week. Today's post and project is called a Pocket Book, but I have adapted it to be a Money Holder for a gentleman's Graduation gift. I'm not sure who the original creator of this mini pocket book is, but it has been around for awhile and I have seen different versions of it in Mini Book magazines and books.  All I know is, it is fun and easy to make, and only uses one sheet of double sided 12 X 12 scrapbook paper.

I started out with pictures showing a smaller version, because I use my computer's scanner to scan my images. (I couldn't fit the 12 X 12 page on the scanner bed.)

1.  Fold sheet in quarters;  first fold in half, then fold each side to the middle.(you don't need to mark with white, I just did so on the dark side to show where to fold.)



 2.  Fold in 1/4" from left and right edges of the page. (I'm sorry you can't see the fold here, it is lost in the design of the paper.)

 3.  Fold each corner to the first fold line. DO NOT place over the fold! Up to the fold line ONLY! (do this on all four corners)

4.  When your 1/4" edges and all corners are folded, fold each side into the center of the paper.
(on the next step I will be showing the full size 12 X 12 sheet.)

 5.  Flip the entire unit over and fold 1/2" down towards you from the top of the unit. You will notice that you have created two tiny corner pockets at the top of the fold. (in my picture they are black)

 6.  Bring the bottom of the unit to the top, folding the paper in half, and then tuck the bottom corners into those two little pockets at the top of the card. (in this picture you will see two diagonal pockets, one on the left and one on the right) If you have a bone folder or creasing tool, use it now to set all of the folds in the card.

7.  Fold the unit in half and crease again with your bone folder or creasing tool. Now you have a pocket book with four pockets; one on the front, two inside, and one on the back.( I have placed a sheet of paper in the front pocket just to show you how big the pocket is.)

Now you can decorate the front with a graduation theme, as I did, or you can decorate it with any theme you wish. You can even leave it blank if you want to. I decorated mine with the Marcel stamp from Paper Wings Productions, stamping him on a sheet of Art Angel Element Deck Tags with Tuxedo black Memento ink and coloring him with my Copic Markers. I wanted to dress him in a black graduation gown, so I took my copic and drew the gown outline and then filled it in over the clothing of the stamp. I used the mortarboard hat from the Lawn Fawn "Hats Off to You" set and the sentiment "hat's off to you" from the Marcel set from Paper Wings. The hat was a little large, so I had to alter it a bit to fit his head. The sentiments inside on the various elements, are from the set "About New Beginnings" from My Favorite Things, and "Happiness Messages" from Hero Arts.

You can also decorate the pockets inside, and they can hold pictures of the graduate, a nice size check to get them started out in the work-a-day world, a gift card to their favorite coffee house, a list of things that they have done to make you proud of them. . . . . . . and on and on! Of course, depending on how much decorating you do, depends on if you can mail it or not. It will fit inside a letter size envelope, but since it is such a special gift that will be treasured a lifetime, you may just want to hand it to them in person at their graduation ceremony.  Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you will be thrilled with the way it turned out, and know that it is a special gift that was made with LOVE;  From you to Someone Special!

Thanks for stopping by today. I would appreciate any comments you would like to leave on this post. Have a great day, and I will see you again soon.

Mindy

Happy Graduation 2013

Happy Graduation 2013!  School is out, and many students are graduating. Now is the time to complete a few of those graduation cards, so they can be sent out in a timely fashion.

I need to send out several cards this year, so I have been trying out a few designs, both for male and female.  Here I am using the little Pure Inocence clear stamp  from My Favorite Things, titled "Freckles." Since I decided to put her in a black graduation robe, I stamped her out on Neneh white card stock in Tuexdo black Memento ink, and drew a robe shape around her and colored over her stamped clothes with the black Copic marker. For her mortarboard, I stamped it from the Lawn Fawn clear stamp set, "Hats Off to You" and also used the sentiment from that set also.

The card itself, is a black A2 size card base and I used a black and cream damask printed paper from the Teresa Collins 6X6 paper pad- "Noel" for the background. I rolled a strip of the cream card stock into a diploma like shape and  tied a tiny black grosgrain ribbon around it, before adhering it to the background.  For the sentiment tag, I cut a circular scalloped die from a piece of the damask background. It was double sided paper, and the other side was red, with a small design on it. I stamped "happy graduation" on a scrap of the cream stock and cut it from a smaller scalloped die. I added three small adhesive pearls below the wording, and then used foam tape between both layers to pop it up to the level of the rolled diploma.

I will be entering this card in the following challenge:
DL Art- Thankful Thursday-May Linky Party Challenge


I hope you are all having a wonderful week. My schedule is all messed up because of the holiday on Monday. My work week is one day shorter, and I always have to stop and think, "Is today Tuesday or Wednesday?   See you again soon, and keep on stampin!

Mindy

A Special THANK YOU!



 A special "Thank You" goes out to all our servicemen and women who have fought and who are still actively fighting for the freedom of our country, on this Memorial Day 2013.

Of course, this Thank You card isn't very patriotic, it is a special thank you for a good friend who participated and won my First Annual Blog-aversary Give-Away, Joan Cornell. I enclosed this special card in her package that I sent out.  I had just received this new stamp set from Lawn Fawn, "Critters at the Dog Park", and I fell in love with all the little critters! I wanted to make sure she got the card before I shared it on my blog. So, today is a good time to share it with you all.

I started out by stamping the little "Weiner dog" on white card stock, and coloring in with my Copic Markers. I also stamped the tiny dog bone, that comes with the set.  The green striped scrapbook paper was already decorated with the stamped chair and bird, orange lace strip and No. 05 tag. I mounted the paper on a sheet of white card stock and tied a white satin ribbon into a bow and stretched it across the printed paper and white matting. I attached the ribbon edges securely to the back before attaching the whole unit to the orange card stock base card.
I then stamped the greeting, "thank you" on a scrap of  yellow polka dot paper, and punched a 1" circle out around the words. I then tied it to the bow with a piece of hemp twine.  To finish off the card, I attached the little pup with foam tape to the bottom of the card to give it more dimension, and glued the little dog bone in his mouth.  Can't you just imagine him running around the house with his new bone, saying "thank you, thank you"?

I hope you enjoy this card, and also your Memorial Day holiday. I hope you have a great day getting together with your family and friends, celebrating the memory of what makes this day so special!  See you soon.

Mindy

USA Memorial Day 2013

Happy Memorial Day 2013!  This is Memorial Day weekend, a good time to honor those who fought for our country, and those that still do so.  It's time to remember the Red, White, & Blue, and celebrate the flag we hold so dear.

Today's card is my take on celebrating the Red, White, and Blue with Stars and Flourishes from the Liberty Clear Stamp from Bo Bunny Stamps. I took a white pearlized card base and tried several ink types to stamp on the pearlized side of the card.  First I stamped the star design with the Love Letters Red Memento dye ink. The stamp slid on the slick surface of the card, and smeared. Next I tried inking the stamp with  Majestic Blue Versacolor pigment ink. I knew the pigment ink would take longer to dry on the slick surface of the card, so I was very careful when stamping not to smear the image.  It worked well, but before I got the heat gun to it to dry the ink, I laid my hand in it and smeared the design anyway!  We all have problems now and again.

Luckily, I had another piece of the pearlized stock from the 12 X 12 sheet, so after trimming it down to A2 card size, I folded it inside out, which put the pearlized side inside the card. I then used my two inks mentioned above, to stamp the star and flourishes on the card.  After the ink dried, I took my die cut Star Stax from My Favorite Things, and matched the star size die that matched the star on my stamp. Next, I ran the front of the card through my Cuttlebug machine with my all over Star embossing folder.  I then cut out the inside of the stamped star with the die, and adhered a printed paper with writing behind each opening.  I took the piece I cut out with the die, and cut the next smaller size star from it and switching the colors, put the red cut-out inside the blue star opening, and the blue cut-out inside the red star opening. This gave a little more dimension to the stamped stars on the card front. Using the flourish stamp that accompanied the star with flourish stamp, I stamped it along the lengthwise sides of the card, and then die cut tiny blue stars with the smallest die in the set, and poped them up with foam tape bits to give still more dimension to the front of the card..

After I got all my stamps, dies, and pop-ups positioned on the front of the card like I wanted them, I covered the inside of the card front with a rectangle of red card stock. From the photo you can barely see the print and pearlized finish on the inside of the card. I'm not sure whether I will be able to find some type of permanent marker to write inside the card with or if I will have to write on the red side with a white pen or marker for my greeting.

To finish off the card, I wrapped some peppermint twine from Lawn Fawn, twice around the fold of the card and knotted it on the outside.
I had two white star die cuts left in my scrap pile, so I wrote the letters "USA" on one, and glued it back-to-back around one end of the twine for a dangle embellishment.  I would have loved to add some bling to the card, but there was so much going on with the front of this card, I dared not add more bling.

I am entering this card in the Little Scrap Pieces-Fun Friday Challenge:" Let's hear it for the Red, White & Blue"

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, stay safe, and cherish this time with your family. If you have a little extra time, create something crafty!  See you soon.

Mindy

Charming Daisy Filigree

Happy Monday to one and all!

Today's card is a charming Daisy Filigree stamped card, that is also a die cut wonder. Here is how it was done.

1.  Stamped large daisy stamp from Fresh Cut stamp set from Hot Off the Press on Neenah white card stock.

2.  Colored in the daisy with my Copic Markers, shading lightly, then fussy cut around outside petals and set aside to dry.

3. Using my Cuttlebug Die Cutting Machine, I cut a circle of printed paper with the Paper Artist Circle die from Hot Off the Press from their Rosemary and Thyme 6X6 paper pad.

4.  I then cut a little larger scalloped edge circle with the same die set from Hot Off the Press, using Limeade card stock from My Favorite Things.

5.  Then using a sheet of light green stock from Martha Stewart Crafts, I cut the large Filigree Delight background from Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator.

6.  The sentiment block was cut from the Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator set: Distressed Edges. I cut a thin strip from the light green stock and a word block from a sheet of Club Scrap's designer stock in royal blue.

7. From this same blue stock, I cut a square card base 51/2"X 11" and scored it in half, for a top fold card.

8.  To assemble the card I took the card base and adhered the filigree background directly to the base using Tombo Mono Adhesive.

9.  While the base was drying, I assembled the daisy unit. I adhered the daisy to the printed paper with foam adhesive dots, and then used double sided adhesive to adhere the printed paper to the scalloped circle. The entire unit was then anchored to the background with foam tape squares to give it depth and dimension. The sentiment block was attached below the daisy with double sided tape directly to the card stock base.

10.  To add the final touches, a little bling, to the card I added several clear acrylic stones to the center of the daisy, and the four corners of the background. Another gem stone was placed on the sentiment block and three thin lines of Dazzles were added to the sentiment block and card base. The two lower corners of both the background and the card were rounded with the 1/4" Corner Chomper tool.

This card was entered in the Little Scrap Pieces, Fun Friday Challenge- Shape Up.

I hope you enjoyed today's post, and that you will create something that makes you Happy today. Until next time, Have a Great Day!

Mindy

Relax, Take It Easy, Let Yourself Go!

Happy Friday Everyone!  I posted on Wednesday that today's post was going to be special, something that has been a long time in the making, and I wasn't kidding!

Several months ago I broke down and purchased one of the Art Journals that Ranger makes, just like the one Dyan Reaveley uses with her Dylusions Ink. I thought this would help me in journaling my thoughts, and help me try out products to see what they can do.  I stared at the blank book for weeks and weeks, before finally jumping right in and smearing some ink on a page.  I worked on one double page layout for weeks, letting the various layers of paint, gesso, and glue dry well.

Then it finally hit me!  You don't have to concentrate on one single page until it is done!  Now I have 6 or 7 pages started with backgrounds, and each day I have time to work in it, I add a little something to the pages I have started.  Wednesday I finally completed one page, and here it is in all it's glory!  Taa Daa!

I know it may not be exactly what I had in mind when I began, but I have to remember that " I am still a work in progress!"  I learn something new everyday, and that is really all that life is about.  AND, that is what this journal is all about! 

Learning new things, trying out new products, and creating something that speaks to me.

Sharing it on my blog will also give me the opportunity to receive constructive criticism from my bloggie friends and help me produce pages that I know will speak to others, too.  So feel free to share your comments with me, but just remember I am NOT a professional artist, I do this for fun and my own personal enjoyment. I hope everyone has a wonderful and productive weekend.  Stay safe, and if you get the chance, "Create a  little something that makes you HAPPY!"

Mindy

Tea Time Birthday Greetings

Greetings fellow stampers! I hope you are all having a wonderful day. The card for today is celebrating two of my favorite vices, tea time & flowers. Here's how it came together.


I started with a kraft colored card base and added a vintage background paper print. As I was collecting all my components for this card, I found a small piece of embroidered rick-rack whose colors matched my components. I adhered a scrap band of pink and yellow polka dot printed paper to the bottom of the background paper, and then adhered the rick-rack on top of where it came together. I then adhered the entire background to the card front with double sided tape.  I usually forget to pre-plan this last step, and end up just gluing the ribbon on top of the card.  It looks better if you adhere the ribbon or lace first, because that way the ends are adhered underneath and there is no way for them to come loose or ravel out.

I then went about constructing the image embellishment. I had the tea cup with daisies from Inky Antics Stamps, stamped on white card stock with tuxedo black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers. I fussy cut around the stamped image and adhered it to an oval cut from kraft colored stock, and matted with a bright pink stock.(Razzleberry pink from My Favorite Things) The oval unit was cut with my Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator Set titled A2 Filigree Delight. I adhered the tea cup to it with foam mounting tape to give it dimension.

To give the card a little bling, I attached beautiful hot pink pearls below the rick-rack  trim, and mini hot pink acrylic stones to the centers of the daisies. The pearls and stones were from an embellishment pack from Prima.  To finish off the card, I stamped the Happy Birthday greeting on the polka dotted paper strip with black Archival Ink. This ink is a heavier ink, and always stamps dark on printed paper.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday, and that you will join me again on Friday with a special post, that has been a long time in the making.  Take care, and see you again soon.

Mindy

Blog-aversary Give Away Winner

A giant Thank You! goes out to all my bloggie friends out there who stopped by and posted a comment on my blog during my One Year Blog-aversary Celebration this past week. The winning entry was randomly selected by the generator at Random.org and that winning entry is: 
#16 Joanie, with your comment on "Good Things come in Small Packages".

Please email me at mindykSA@aol.com with your mailing address, so I can get your package out to you.

I also hope everyone out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. I spent the afternoon watching "My San Antonio Spurs" play basketball on T.V. while working in my art journal.  Unfortunatly the team came up a little short today, but there is always the next game. They will be back in San Antonio for that one! Go Spurs Go!

OK, now on to the card of the day! 

I started with a kraft colored card base and added a Crackle Core-card stock background from Tim Holtz and Co-ordinations papers.  I then cut a printed card base from Prima  printed stock and used my Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator, A2 size with Distressed Edges. On top of the printed stock I attached two die cuts from the Die-namics Well Worn Greetings die from My Favorite Things. The woman's picture was then cut from printed card stock and adhered to the oval die cut.

Below the dies, I tied a single loop bow from gingham brown ribbon and attached a small tag with the phrase "Surprise!" stamped on it and attached it to the bow with a piece of hemp twine and a knot.  This card had so many layers, I decided it didn't need more dimension, other than the bow and tag.  A very simple card, that turned out to have a very vintage feel.

Thanks again for stopping by, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! 

Your Kindness IS Appreciated!

Happy 1 year Blog-aversary to ME! 

Happy Thursday to one and all! Today is my 1 year blog-aversary, and it has been a fun year that has just flown by. It doesn't seem like it has been a whole year since I started my blog, back on May 9. 2012.

I hope the next year will bring New projects, New ideas, and New friends together sharing the Paper Arts that we all love so much.

Today's card is to thank you all that have visited my blog and commented on it over the past year. Your kind words ARE very much appreciated, and I hope you will continue to visit in the years ahead.
I started with a white stock card base, and added a bright pink background. On this background I sewed a strip of polka dot paper across the top, and a cute striped pocket below it.  I also stamped the Pure Innocence Hula Girl from My Favorite Things on white stock and colored her with my Copic Markers.  After fussy cutting her out, I used foam tape to pop her up next to the stripey pocket.  Onto the pocket I added a circle punched from printed paper with a tiny pink brad, and stamped the word "Thanks" on it. To complete the card, I printed the phrase on white stock, cut it to fit in the pocket, and then rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper and placed it in the pocket.

A very simple, and nice card to remind those you love they are appreciated. Before I close for today, I want to remind you that there are still a few more days left for you to leave a comment on my blog and be registered to win the prize package- blogaversary give away mentioned in the right margin of this blog. I have collected a lot of fun products I want to share with you, and all you have to do is leave a little bloggie love to be eligible for the drawing on Sunday, May 12.  I will announce the winner on my post next week, so get busy typing, and let me know what is on your mind and if you have any questions on any technique you have seen on my blog.

Until I see you again, "Happy Stampin', and journaling!"
Mindy

Chocolate for Mom!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I am in a chocolate mood today, the darker the chocolate the better!

This card is made with two of my favorite stamps from Deadbeat Designs, the Chocolate Background and the "forget love * fall in chocolate!" stamp. I stamped the background stamp twice, side by side with Versacolor Sepia Ink on natural kraft card stock.  The image stamp was then stamped with the same ink on white stock, edged with the sepia ink and matted on a piece of Pool Layering paper from Hero Arts, and then foam taped to the right hand side of the card.  I forgot to mention that I also tied a knot with the striped ribbon before I adhered the image. I also outlined the pool of chocolate on the image with a light blue gel metallic pen to give it a little bling!

Mother's Day is a great time to give chocolate to the one you love!  Better yet, give it to yourself, beings it is so good for you! Enjoy some everyday, and until I see you again, have a great day!

Mindy

Good Things Come in Little Packages

Happy Saturday, everyone! Today is such a beautiful day, that I just had to get outdoors and do a little spring planting.  I planted a few herbs to use in the kitchen, and a pot of flowers or two, to brighten up the yard.

After coming in to rest, I thought of this new stamp I just received from My Favorite Things, Pure Innocence Little Gardener.  She is so cute in her little overalls and holding her potted plant.  Looks a lot like me, (chuckle, chuckle) when I was younger. I used to help my Grandfather plant his garden, he had a small plot where he planted anything he could find seeds for. He grew beans, and squash, corn and okra, radishes and cucumbers, and lots of tomatoes. He loved tomatoes!

To start my card, I picked out a red base card and added a crackled green background of kraft core stock from Tim Holtz.  I also had a scrap of a printed paper that had pods and flowers on it. I stamped the Little Gardener on white card stock with tuxedo black Memento Ink and colored her in with my Copic Markers. I then fussy cut around her and used foam tape squares to pop her up on the right hand side of the card. I cut out a title strip die shape and then stamped the Memory Box sentiment, "good things come in tiny packages" on water color paper and shaded around the edges. I then used a twinkly pack of little critter bugs to rub on as accents to my card. Adding a brown checked ribbon and knot vertically completed my card.

I am entering this card in the Fun Friday "It's a Bug's Life Challenge".

This card could be used for celebrating Mother's Day, because everyone knows that little children and little packages always mean a lot to Mothers. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I will see you again next week. Take care!

Mindy

Sending Hugs on Mother's Day

I am sending you all hugs for this upcoming Mother's Day!  Today's post is another one of the julie Nutting big Tags from Prima, that can be made into a card that fits a #10 size long envelope.

This card was very easy and quick to complete. I just covered the tag with paper from the Lady Bird A4 paper pad from Prima. It already had the rust, grey, and lt. blue roses printed on the peach and orange background of the paper. I added a journaling block from the pad, and stamped "sending hugs" a stamp from Memory Box Stamps.  On white card stock, I stamped my julie Nutting Doll with pocket dress stamp with tuxedo black Memento ink and colored the image in with my Copic Markers. After adhering her to the journaling block, I smugged Dark Grey Pan Pastels around her image for shadowing and glued a small gold grosgrain ribbon bow in her hair and tucked the ends of the ribbon under the journaling block.  To complete the tag, I stamped several Hero Arts flower stamps in Sepia brown Archival ink on cream colored watercolor paper, cut them out and used foam tape to adhere them to the tag to fill in the empty spaces.

I had to hurry to get the rest of my cards done for Mother's Day, because I need to get them in the mail this weekend. Most of my cards go out to my "other Mother's" who have families of their own, but have supported and friended me throughout the years as only a Mother would do.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and that the weather wherever you are is back to normal after the "Big Freeze" of this week.

I also want to thank you all for stopping by my blog for a visit. I hope you will comment on my posts, to be eligible to win a chance at my 1 year Blog-aversary Give-Away that will be drawn on May 12, 2013. Details are available on a previous post or in the right hand margin, click on the picture of the prize package for more details. Thanks again for visiting, see you again soon.

Mindy