WOYWW205



It's Wednesday and that means it's time for sneaking a peek at what's happening on workdesks over at Julia's Stamping Ground for WOYWW205. 

 

I've got a couple of pages from Frontgate magazine that I pulled for inspiration.  Love the deep turquoise and orangy reds for summer.  A stack of wood paper I just ordered, an issue of Papercraft Magazine and....

 

you may have noticed the Ribbon Scrap Giveaway bag has grown considerably in size!  I found another bag of scraps while I was doing some organizing so added them to the bounty for some lucky ribbon hoarder, um, I mean collector!  You have to leave a comment and follow the directions on this post to get in on the fun.  The 13th is coming!

Be sure to visit Julia's desk as she's been shopping!

Deck cleaning for the next 3 days...ugh!

Happy WOYWW!

Clean & Simple Monday - Love

The CAS Challenge on SCS this week (CAS219) is a Featured Stamper challenge featuring the gallery of bon2stamp.

I chose this beauty to CASE.  I changed up the colors, I still used two ribbons but layered them and I left my embossed panel whole choosing to add a tag for my sentiment.

 

 

Bonnie has a FABULOUS gallery so be sure to pop in and look around.  

 

Supplies:
Cardstock - Neenah Cream; Papertrey Ink Kraft
Stamps - Papertrey Ink Wedding Day
Ink - Hero Arts Shadow inks Soft Sand, Cup 0' Joe
Ribbon - May Arts Silk, Jute
Other - Sizzix embossing folder, Flower/Leaf - Michaels

Happy Birthday Little Dude Giveaway

 

 

It's the Little Dude's Birthday and you know what that means?  The Ribbon Lady is giving away presents!  Head on over to the May Arts Blog to get in on the fun.

 

Happy Birthday, Little Dude!!!  Now you're 8.  :-)

Runway Inspired Baby Shower

Yay...found time to play in a challenge.  Just love the inspiration for the Runway Inspired Challenge this week.  Babies are my soft spot.



I just love the soft gold and white in the inspiration photo and that face...oh my!

 

 

 

 

Supplies:

Cardstock - Neenah; Papertrey Ink Gold

Stamps - Papertrey Ink Sweet Baby, Polka Dot Basics

Ink - Tsukineko Brilliance Gold

Dies - Papertrey Ink



Ribbon -May Arts Silk, Ivory Burlap String

Misc. - flat back pearls 

  

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Friday!!

WOYWW #204 & a Giveaway

I was asked by Nick Romer to review his cool product called the "Kreate-a-lope" envelope maker and I can honestly say that it's so fast and easy, it's quite addicting.  I've never made my own envelopes before because they seemed too time consuming but Nick's Kreate-a-lope lets you whip them out in just a few SECONDS!

It's what's on my desk tonight so I thought I'd share it with my WOYWW friends so you can see how easy it is. 

I picked my paper, laid the template over it, centering the open square over my design then I just pulled the paper along the edge of the Kreate-a-lope template. 

 

I was pleasantly surprised to see how easily it tore and how neat the torn the edges were.  Just ever so slightly shabby.  The instructions say you can trim them if you want to but I like them as is.

 



 

You just flip the paper over, place the template on the paper again, place the center template in place, then remove the large template and fold.  There's a nifty video here.

 

 

Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! Add a little Lick and Stick (this stuff is awesome too!) and you're done!

 

 

Nick is raising money to make even more sizes of Kreate-a-lopes.  He's got a page on Kickstarter so you can get in on the action.  AND if you make a donation, he'll send you some free templates.  The details are at the link.

 

I think this is a fantastic, well made and economical product!  Nick's got some great sample envelopes on the Kickstarter page as well.  You can even enlarge photographs and make them into envelopes.  Now your cards can have matching envelopes!  By the way, I spied some other neat templates on his site for bags and boxes.  Gotta go, I've got some shopping to do.

 

Be sure to pop over to Julia's Stamping Ground and see what else is happening on work desks all over the world for WOYWW#204. 

 

I've got little giveaway for you too.  Remember the scrap bag I told you about here?  Well, I'm giving it away.  There's everything from full yards to little pieces of lots and lots of May Arts goodness in there. 

 

 

Front side



Back side

All you have to do is leave a comment on THIS POST and tell me what YOU think of the Kreate-a-lope and follow my blog if you don't already.

I'll draw a winner on the 13th of May....it's a special day.  ;-)

Gourmet Gifts May Arts Style

Summer is coming and that means summer fruits will soon be begging to be picked and eaten.  I've got a yummy treat and a way to share the goodies May Arts style on the May Arts Blog.

Here's a sneak peek:

Grab your fork and join us!

The Kindness Club

This week's Teapot Tuesday Challenge on SplitcoastStampers is honoring a very special teacher named Barb Bratvold.  Mrs. Bratvold started a special club in 1995 called "The Kindness Club".  The boys and girls in the club learn about the "Golden Rule" and being kind to others.  Part of that learning is making and sending cards to people who are ill or need cheering up.

The Teapotters are going to surprise Mrs. Bratvold with some cards of her own.  We were challenged to bring thank yous, apples, school bells or other school themed cards.

Here's my card for Mrs. Bratvold:

If you'd like to send Mrs. Bratvold a card, you can find the challenge information HERE.

Supplies:
Cut file - The Cutting Café
Stamps - Stampin'Up Bugs & Kisses (retired); Papertrey Ink Teacher's Apple
Cardstock - Stampin'Up; Papertrey; Neenah
Ink - Top Boss; Versafine
Other - White embossing powder; Papertrey Banner die; scalloped circle punch
Ribbon - May Arts Large leaves

May Arts Earth Day Blog Hop & Giveaway

 

Happy Earth Day!  The May Arts Ribbon Lady has challenged a few of the  Ribbonistas to get creative and find ways to use ribbon in re-cycle and re-use projects. 

Of course, you know the Ribbon Lady loves to give away ribbon, so there's a prize for hopping along with us as we share some crafty re-use/re-cycle ideas with you. 

If you arrived here from DeeDee's blog, you're in the right place.

I went through my laundry room closet and came up with a variety of olive, pickle and I think what may be a salsa jar.  The lids are long gone.

 

Then I hit the bathroom and scavenged a toilet paper roll.  I cut the cardboard tube in half and got to work...

 

 I challenged myself to use only the ribbons in my scrap bag plus one natural neutral and only the scraps in my drawer left over from other projects.  No new materials.

I added a bunch of flowers from the local grocery store and here's what I came up with.....

 

Pretty cute, huh?  I think these will be our table setting for all the patriotic holidays this summer.  Of course, we'll need to use some more toilet paper first.  ;-)  I bought a stash of red and blue bandanas to use as napkins about 12 years ago.  They're still perfect.  Just wash, press and re-use. 

 Ok....want to know what's up for grabs for commenting and hopping?  Check this out!

 

Make that 4 ROLLS of some of May Arts Ribbon most popular naturals.  Now it's time to check out the rest of team creations.  I know I can't wait!

 

Next up is Leah Farrar-White.



Lalo IK  Jenifer Cowles  Emily Lanham  DeeDee Catron  Charlene Driggs -that's me  Leah Farrar-White  Gini Williams Cagle

May Arts Ribbon Organization Blog Hop & Giveaway Day 3

Today is Day 3 of the May Arts Design Team Ribbon Organization Blog Hop!  If you missed Days 1 & 2,  it's not too late to get in.  Scroll down to find a complete list, then click away to comment and win some ribbon so you can organize your own awesome May Arts ribbon!

As you might have imagined, the May Arts Design Team acquires a lot of ribbon.  Since everyone's storage situations are different, we thought you might like to see the different ways we store our ribbons.

You may have heard me lament that I have only one full wall in my studio.  One wall!  I keep my paper, storage unit and cutting/embossing area there.

The second wall is broken by a walk in closet and hallway door, the third wall has a bathroom door and the fourth wall isn't a wall at all.  It's all glass...a set of sliding glass doors that open up the entire wall. 

That means there's no where to put a ribbon rack so we had to get creative.  We went to IKEA and got this free standing kitchen island.  The drawers are very deep and it gives me a work surface as well.  I have two other pieces from this collection in my work room as well.  We opted for these for the storage potential and so we can take them with us if and when we move.
 

                       

It's finished on all 4 sides so it sits in the center of my studio.  Here's what my ribbon looks like:

 

 



I organize my ribbons mostly by color since I don't have the room to store by style.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule!  ;-)

The bottom drawer is similarly organized and also holds my ribbon scraps.  The drawers also keep my ribbon dust free and safe from sunlight.

Now it's time to take a look at how some of the other Ribbonistas store their ribbons.  We've got an every other day hop planned for you so be sure to check back in and hop along.

The Ribbon Lady will be giving away 3 full rolls of May Arts Ribbon (winners choice) so be sure to leave plenty of comments on each Ribbonistas blog for your chance to win.

Monday
Candy Rosenberg
Charlene Driggs (that's me!)
DeeDee Catron
Emily Lanham
Erika Taylor
Wednesday
Erin Thiem
Gini Williams Cagle
Jen Shears
Jenifer Cowles
Karen Baker
Friday
Lalo IK
Leah Farrar-White
Sandy Allnock
Virginia Fynes

Thanks for joining us.  We'd love to know how you store your ribbon too. 

Clean and Simple Pinterest Interest

If you missed the May Arts Organization Blog Hop, you can catch up by scrolling down or clicking the link.  It's an every other day hop that lasts all week, so you have time to get in on the ribbon giveaway.  ;-)

In the meantime, here's a card I created for the CAS216 Pinterest Challenge on SplitcoastStampers.

You can find the challenge photo at the link.  Denise chose a fun party theme.  Be sure to check it out and play along.  I was inspired by the happy colors.

First card I've made in awhile so it felt good to get creative.  Be sure to play along..the challenges run all week!

Supplies:
Cardstock - Neenah
Stamps - Papertrey Ink Funky Florals, Healing Touch Sentiments
Ink - Fresh Ink, Versafine Black
Other - ruler, fine tip pen

Baby Onsie Dress and Headband Tutorial

Be sure to pop over to the May Arts Blog today.  I've got a sweet little tutorial for a baby onsie dress and headband you won't want to miss. 

There's a surprise underneath the dress too.  Great way to get those spring and summer baby gifts made for just a few dollars.  If you can sew a straight line, you can do this!!

Be sure to leave your comments on the May Arts blog!  We love to know what you think.

May Arts Light It Up Blue Blog Hop - Autism Awareness Day

The May Arts Design Team has a very special reason to Light It Up Blue for autism research today.  

   
Research and education have erased many of the misconceptions about autism but it's important to keep the research going and to learn the signs of autism.  For more information, I encourage you to visit  The Autism Research Foundation and Austim Speaks.

The puzzle piece is often used as a symbol for Autism.  I wondered why, so I did a little searching and found this explanation:

"The puzzle represents the ambiguity and mystery around the causes and understanding of Autism. The puzzle piece is often used in graphics for Autism and Autism Treatment.

Many early Autism Awareness campaigns used the slogan

“Help Solve the Puzzle (of Autism)”

You also now see the puzzle pieces on the autism ribbons, as a multi-colored puzzle."
 

I have a couple of projects that I hope will inspire you to bless the life of someone you may know or the parents of someone you may know who is living with autism.

I found a puzzle cookie cutter and some gel paste food coloring at Sweet Baking Supply. (Excellent prices and fair shipping!) so I dug out my favorite Lemon Sugar Cookie recipe and created a "sweet" gift.   I found the free printable labels here. 

After mixing the sugar cookie dough, I divided it into 4 equal pieces, added food color to each piece, then rolled and stacked the colored logs.  Chill the dough, press any open areas together ;-) 

Cut with the puzzle cutter and bake.

If baking isn't your thing, I created this quick and easy flower seed envelope.  I chose Forget Me Not Seeds because I thought the name was most appropriate and they're a beautiful blue.

I hand dyed some beautiful May Arts eyelet ribbon blue then stitched and gathered it into a spiral flower.  Some beautiful sparkly blue embossing powder highlights the sentiment.  I attached all my elements to a pretty paper doily then just clipped them to the bag with a hand dyed mini clothespin.  

If you'd like the Lemon Sugar cookie recipe let me know.  It's a delicious recipe I've used for years.  

Be sure to visit the rest of the team on the hop for more Light It Up Blue inspiration and comment to win these beautiful blue ribbons of your very own.



Charlene Driggs (that's me!)

DeeDee Catron

Emily Lanham

Erin Thiem

Gini Williams Cagle

Jen Shears

Jenifer Cowles

Lalo Ik

Leah Farrar-White

Sandy Allnock

Virginia Fynes

May Arts Ribbons used:
Cookie gift - Mesh - AH04 (paper basket - Papertrey Ink)
Seed packet - Eyelet Ribbon - 447-1-01, Solid/diagonal Stripes 424-18-34, Paper Cord - 420-94 (stamps and label die - Papertrey Ink); Embossing powder - Sparkle n Sprinkle Blueberry