Christmas Card

I used another one of my new Stampin' Up! stamp sets, Holiday Home.  I also tried out a few new techniques.  I've always been inspired by Kristina of KWernerdesign.com.  I used my distress markers to create the background on the Ranger watercolor paper.  I also tried my hand at some Copic coloring.

I also pulled out the Liquid Applique that I've been hoarding for a couple of years now.  This card took me way too long, and it is not one that I would do multiples of, but it was fun to create.

I attempted a night sky with this card.  I also sprayed it with some Perfect Pearl mist and dotted some "snowflakes" on the background with Liquid Applique.

Thanks for looking.

Fall Card

I got some new Stampin' Up! goodies and I had some time this week to play, so I thought I'd share what I created.

I used the Stampin' Up! sets For All Things and Gorgeous Grunge.  Gorgeous Grunge is quickly becoming one of my favorite stamp sets.  It's very versatile for adding texture or creating a background.

I used Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, and More Mustard inks on the leaves, and I also sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip. I used Crumb Cake for the dots on the leaves.  I love the new gold baker's twine too!  

I hope you have a wonderful fall!  Thanks for looking.

Last Monday Made It 2014

Well, its back to school time here so this will be my last Monday Made It for the year.  For more great ideas, visit Tara at 4th Grade Frolics.  On with the creations.......

I wanted a new, stylish clipboard for all of my important teacher stuff (and mainly to be able to clip things to a place that I won't loose them the first week!)  So, off to Walmart I went and picked up this clipboard for just under $4.

Well, you know I can't leave well enough alone, so, I added my touch!  I pulled out some trusty vinyl from my stash, got my cameo all set up, and went to work.  I got the inspiration from this fabulous teacher blogger HERE.  She was even so kind to tell me what font she used (because it was perfect) so that I could copy her.

I did place the vinyl on the back of the clipboard so that when I write on the clipboard I don't have lumps and bumps.  I forgot and cut my name out in pink regularly, but I went back and flipped the text horizontally so that the sticky part would be on the front and I could place it on the back. (not pictured correctly)  

I also use drywall tape to transfer my vinyl.  Its not as sticky as the transfer tape and I can see through it better.  I don't do a ton of vinyl work, but this roll has lasted several years so far.

And here is the finished product.  I did also add some black vinyl circles.  I used Cricut brand (black and white) and Silhouette brand (pink).  Both cut great on the machine, but the Cricut vinyl is thicker and more opaque than the Silhouette brand.

Since the machine was out, I decided to add my name to this caddy to use at my group table.  

Thanks for looking.  If you have any questions, please let me know!  Thanks!

Monday Made It #4

 Wow, I have been busy getting ready for my new classroom this week!  I have another Monday Made It for you.  I'm linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics.  This is my last "official" week of summer, but I will be heading into my new classroom to start getting it ready!  I tried to finish up the last little bit of projects I had before this week.  I still have a couple more to go, but that's ok!  Here's what I finished up last week.

I went to one of those painting events with a friend about a year and a half ago.  I painted the owl on this canvas then.  When I was finishing it up, I thought it was too plain and I'd add something to it when I got home.  Well, I got busy and never added anything to it.

Several years ago I saw this quote on Jennifer McGuire's blog.  I loved it and thought it was appropriate for a classroom.  I decided to paint it onto the canvas.  Out came the cameo (I'm loving this more and more!).  I used the cameo to make a template out of contact paper.  I used the font Things We Said for the white letters and I used a bold font for the rest.  I painted the white letters with a paint pen and they came out very neat.  I painted the bold letters with acrylic paint.  They seeped a little under the edges so I used a black sharpie marker to line the edges and give it a finished look!  I LOVE how it turned out!  I can't wait to hang it in my new classroom!

This was inspired by all the Monday Made It's I've seen this summer.  Here is my version of the 'No Name' board.

I think it goes well with my owl theme! All the supplies are from Walmart.  I loved that the wood piece was black chalkboard so I didn't even have to paint it black!  I used vinyl for the words, attached the painted owl and clothespins, and called it done!!

This last project is something that I wished I'd had done years ago.  I've never had a classroom set of clipboards and I thought that now was as good a time as any.

 I picked up the clipboards at Walmart.  They are $1.44 each there.  That was about $.44 more than I wanted to pay, but after finding cheaper ones online and paying shipping, it would have come out to be about the same price per board.  I also used this paper pad from Walmart and some Mod Podge.

I Mod Podged one paper to the back of each clipboard.  I did two of each pattern.  I figured that I could use this to group students also.  I'd have them all select a board and then tell them to find their partner by finding the person whose pattern paper matches theirs.  

I chose the flat clip clipboards so that they would nestle nicely into this container.  I bought this container two summers ago to use for my sister's baby shower.  I'm glad I have an official use for it now.  I used some black vinyl to label it up and called it finished also!



Thanks for looking.  I'm off to enjoy the last little bit of summer with my little guy!!!

Monday Made It #3

I am so glad that I've joined up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics to get so classroom projects completed this summer!  I am back with my third week.  I actually completed more projects that I'm showing you this week, but this is all I've had time to photograph.  I guess I save the rest of my goodies for next week's fun!!

I have had this chair floating around the house for years and I decided it was time for a makeover.  I spent less than $5 on this project.  I only had to purchase the fabric because everything else I had on hand.

Here is the Before---->

I found the really cute owl fabric at Hobby Lobby.  I did injure myself in the making of this project! :(  I know the owls on the bottom are facing the wrong way, but after all those staples, I was NOT about to pull them all out again!!!  Maybe next year!! LOL  It will still look great behind my group table!

Here is the After------> 

On to the next project.......

My mom found this owl chalkboard on one of our summer Michael adventures.  It was too plain so I decided to dress it up a bit!

Here is the Before----------->

I added some vinyl that I had on hand, took a couple of paint pens to the eyes, and added some ribbon!!  What do you think?

Here is the After------> 

Thanks for looking!! Let me know if you have any questions!!

Birthday Card Swaps

So school is going to start soon and before I know it, I'll be back to work with no time on my hands.  I decided now was a great time to build up my swap supply of cards for the next few months.  FYI swaps are cards that I make for a monthly stamp group that I attend.  We each make 12 of the same card and bring it to our meeting.  We then "swap" cards so we will all come home with 12 cards that are different.  I use these cards as ideas or to send out when needed.

                                                 
I was browsing Splitcoast Stampers the other day looking for a bit of inspiration.  I haven't pulled out my Crazy for Cupcakes Stampin' Up! set in quite some time, so I decided it would make a perfect swap card.  I found several cards that were lovely, but this one caught my eye.  I, however, did not want to hand cut all of the images so I decided to use this lovely invention to help me out!!

Well, I'm falling in LOVE with my Silhouette even more!!!  So the silhouette has this great Trace feature on it.  (Don't get me wrong!  I still love my Cricut too, but this is something that my Cricut cannot do!)  Here's what I did:
     * I stamped the images from this Crazy for Cupcakes Stampin' Up! set onto plain, white copy paper.
     * I then scanned the page into my computer and created a .jpeg file.
     *I then used the fabulous 'trace' feature in the silhouette software and traced the outer edges of each image.
     *I also used the 'offset' feature and created a little "border" around the stamp lines.
     *I went back and deleted the original traced image, copied the offset image about 12 times, lined up all 12 images onto my paper, then cut the images out.

I LOVED that I did not have to "fussy cut" around all of the cupcakes and balloons that I used on these cards.  I am NOT a very patient fussy cutter, nor am I very good at it, so this was AWESOME!!!!

After all of the stamping fun, I colored in the images with my Pink Pirouette, Cool Caribbean, Smoky Slate, So Saffron, and Only Orange SU! markers.  I also coated the sprinkles, the flame, and the balloon with SU! glitter glue.  I used an embossing folder to emboss the pink paper on the one side, stamped the greeting at the bottom of the other with smoky slate ink and called it done!!!

If you have any questions, please let me know!  Thanks for looking!!!

Friend Card

Well, my BFF is moving. :(  But luckily, she's only moving an hour and a half away.  While I'm still sad that she doesn't live 2 minutes from me, she is moving to a place that I can drive to and spend the weekend when I want!!

I decided to make her a card to go with a little "send off gift" I picked up for her.  I have a closet full of stamps and I couldn't decide what I wanted to use.  I remembered that this odie but goodie Loads of Love & Loads of Love Accessories Stampin' Up! stamp sets have a "moving" option and a cute phrase to go with it.

I purchased the Tim Holtz distress marker set a couple of months back thanks to an amazing Blitsy sale (link in the side bar).  I have been dying to play with them.  I also picked up some of the Tim Holtz watercolor paper that I've been seeing some fabulous bloggers use recently.  I pulled out all my supplies, inked up the stamp set, and got to coloring.

It's been so long since I've watercolored anything and I realized how much I missed it.  I need to jump on the watercolor bandwagon that has been going on and do more of it!  I added the image to some Stampin' Up! solid cardstock and then pulled out a MME paper pad from Hobby Lobby for the background paper.

In true AmyR fashion, I stamped the image that's in the back of the truck multiple times onto the bottom edge of the inside of the card.  Before watching her videos, I never decorated the inside of my cards.  I did, however, forget to take a picture of that part.  :(

So, I have a little *review* of the Tim Holtz distress watercolor paper.  I have seen many designers use this paper and several have wet it before using it. They did this mostly when they were adding a large amount of color to the background.  It might work to wet the paper first and then add the color, but I did not like this technique when using the markers to color in the images.  When I got the paper wet before coloring on the paper with the marker, I had a LOT of pilling.  The marker seemed to grab bits of the paper as I colored and then it would show up on my image.  So, in the future, I will color directly onto the paper with the marker and then add the water when using this paper.  I do love that it is a true white and not a vanilla/off-white color like most watercolor paper.



If you have any questions, please let me know.  Thanks!

Monday Made It #2

Hey!!  I'm back with another Monday Made It post!  I'm linking up with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics with a project for school.

For the last five years, I have used these bins from Lakeshore for my daily papers.  I would take time on Friday afternoon and get everything ready for the week and put them in the corresponding bin for each weekday.  That way, if I was out for whatever reason, everything was ready for the sub.  Well, fast forward to this upcoming school year.  I'm moving to another school and since the bins were part of the school's property, I couldn't take them with me. :(  I was going to just purchase them for my new classroom because they worked so well for me in the past, UNTIL I saw the price!!! Seriously!!!! $60 for bins-I think not!!!

That led me on a search for another solution.  I've seen examples of these drawers floating all over the internet and I decided that I would give them a try in place of the ones for $60.  I have an owl theme in my classroom so I went to TPT in search of an owl themed set.  I found this one and I fell in love!  I liked that she gave you a file that you could edit and make work for you however you needed it to!

I found these sterilite drawers at Walmart for just under $10 a piece.  I picked up three sets and I now have a drawer for each day as well as a set of file, copy, and grade for my desk.  The best part-they were HALF the price of the ones from Lakeshore.

I do, however, have a little tip for you.  I printed mine out on white card stock and laminated them with my Scotch thermal laminator that I purchased at Walmart a couple of years ago.  I do NOT recommend doing that.  My thinking was that I wanted them on the outside and I wanted them sturdy.  I did not think about the drawers being curved.  If I ever have to redo them, I will print them on regular paper and then laminate them.  I ended up having to hot glue them to the front of the drawer with quite a bit of hot glue.  I tried double sided tape and they ALL popped off overnight.

Thanks for looking!  If you have any questions, please let me know!

My First Monday Made It

So if you aren't familiar with Monday Made It, you should visit Tara at 4th Grade Frolics. I've browsed other's Monday Made It projects for a couple of years, but this is my first tine to actually participate.

So a couple years ago burlap door hangings were the "rage."(They are still popular) I pinned a couple of similar projects then but never made anything. Well since I'm moving to another school/grade I thought now was as good a time as ever.

I started by finding an owl image on my Gypsy and cut out the layers of the owl with my Cricut. I found this owl on Noah's ABC's cartridge.  I then used the layers to create my template and I traced the layers with a sharpie onto the burlap.  I cut out two body layers-one for the front and one for the back.

Then came the paint!  I started by painting the entire front piece with brown paint that matched the color of the burlap.  I let this layer dry overnight, but the acrylic paint dries fairly quickly.  I found that it was easier to add other paint layers on top of a painted surface.  The burlap absorbs a ton of paint on the initial layer. It was easier to paint the base brown so that when I added the lighter colors on top, it didn't take as much paint.

I also used various cricut and svg files to create the chevron backdrop and the name.  I cut these out of plain paper and sprayed adhesive on them.  I let them "dry" so that they were tacky and had a temporary bond when using them as stencils.

When all the paint layers were dry, I used a fine paintbrush and black paint to draw the outline lines.  I also used a white paint pen to add the "highlight details."  I added the wire, bow, and a bunch of spray glitter!

If you have any questions, please let me know.  I'm entered into the #cricut #imadeit contest with this also! Thanks for looking!!!

Lego Birthday Card

Well, my nephew turned 7 this year!  I can't believe it.  As usual, I made a birthday card for him.  I must say this is not my best work.  I have been very busy this end of school year.  I have had to pack up my entire classroom.  I did not realize how much stuff I have collected in the last 5 years of teaching.

Anyway--my nephew is into Legos.  I have seen several of these cards floating around Pinterest so I decided to make my own version-a quick about to go out the door for the party version.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!  If you have any questions, please let me know!  Thanks for looking!!

Baby Thank You cards

Well, today will officially be my first day back to work after maternity leave.  I will miss my little man greatly today.  I wanted to share a thank you card that I put together for my baby shower gifts.  I made two versions of this card, a green and a blue, but I used up all the cards before I realized that I hadn't taken a picture for my blog!!  This is all I had left.

I started by using Stampin Up Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue card stock which are both now retired.  :(  I then embossed each with the Stampin Up Cloud embossing folder which you can currently get on the clearance rack on Stampin Up!'s website.

I then cut the baby on page 43 from the Cricut Baby Steps cartridge.  I did not cut out the face.  I used Peachy Keen Stamps baby faces for the face of the baby.  I also colored in the eyes with a white gel pen.  I added a little pink chalk to the cheeks too that you can't see in the photo because I took a picture with my iphone and I'm not realizing they aren't that great!  I embossed the baby's outfit with the swiss dots folder. The sentiment is a retired SU! set punched with the word window and modern label punches.

I made almost 50 of these and I used all but this one!  Hopefully my day will go well and I'll be home before I know it!  Thanks for looking!

Easter Peeps Cards

Happy Spring everyone!! This has been a busy 2014 for me so far. I finally got some inspiration for my Easter card swaps. I wanted to do a "peeps" theme.

I got onto the silhouette store and found some cuts that would work!! I cut out the bunny silhouettes in three colors to resemble the Easter peeps candy! I then ran them face down through my Xyron sticker maker and  made them sticky on the front side. I then applied Martha Stewart flocking powder to make them appear sugary. I added black enamel accents for the eyes and nose. This spread a little after it dried so if I did it again I would apply a smaller amount so it would look right when finished.

I found a Jillibean label in the silhouette online store for the sentiment and used the print and cut feature. That machine is awesome!!

Thanks for looking!!!