Sweetheart… Sweet & Simple Valentine Flowers!

Love is in the air! Valentine's Day is Monday, February 14th, so I wanted to share this very simple, very sweet Valentine idea.

Sweetheart Flower Valentines
Using the stamp set Sweetheart (120780 C) I made these flowers on a stick!  Simply stamp the heart shape in ink that matches your cardstock, or with VersaMark (102283). For this project I used current "In Colors" Poppy Parade, Concord Crush, and Blushing Bride. Coordinating your ink or using VM will give you the tone-on-tone look in the picture.  Using my Paper Snips (103579) I cut around the outside of the heart shapes. Before cutting around the outside of my Concord Crush heart, I used my Full Heart Punch (119883) in the middle and inserted a Heart Treat Cup (120435). Then I stamped my leaves on the Pear Pizzazz card stock with Pear Pizzazz ink (or VersaMark) and cut them out. The sticks are regular popscicle sticks from a craft store.  I adhered the leaves to the sticks using Crystal Effects (101055) and the hearts are attached to the top using Stampin' Dimensionals (104430).

This project was easy and fun!  These flowers would be SO cute arranged in a small flower pot!

I would love to hear what crafty fun you are planning for Valentine's Day – share with me in the comments!

Celebrate Sale-A-Bration With Me!

As I hope most of you know already, Stampin' Up!'s annual super-duper Sale-A-Bration (SAB) promotion is going on NOW!  What does this mean?

***Any purchase of $50 in merchandise during this time means you get a FREE SAB item.  Purchase $100, get TWO items… and so on…

***As a HOSTESS during this promotion, have a workshop with $300 in sales and earn a FREE SAB item.  Host a $600 workshop, receive TWO items… and so on…

***Join Stampin' Up! during Sale-A-Bration and your starter kit will cost you less (15% off) AND you get a bonus bundle filled with $50 in FREE products.

Some of the special FREE items (stamps & accessories) are limited to ONLY Sale-A-Bration, so when this promotion ends you can no longer get them!  SALE-A-BRATION ends on March 31st!

My calendar is open for more workshops, so I have plenty of dates available for you to be a Sale-A-Bration hostess.  Can't pick a date?  Too busy to hostess a traditional workshop?  Contact me for details on having a Catalog Workshop.

Happy Crafting!

~Elisa

 

Plants You Grow In Your Garden Can Be Used As Embellishments!

I thought some of you, my faithful readers AND scrapbookers, would LOVE this interesting information! Let me know what you think in the comments section.

ARTICLE by John Yazo

Capturing and preserving the natural beauty of your garden can simply be done by creating a scrapbook and journal of your memories. Scrapbooking is a great way to preserve these memories and to share them with friends and family members for generations to come. There is no better feeling than to look back at these precious times and to be able enjoy their memorable moments.

Preserving flowers and plants from your garden can be done by drying or pressing them. They can be saved for years to come and can be used as embellishments in your scrapbooking and card making projects. It is a unique way to add your own personal touch and feelings to your crafts.

Small flowers and leaves can be pressed to make embellishments and larger flowers like sunflower pedals, or leaves can be dried and pressed to create a unique natural background for your scrapbook pages. Other plants like herbs can also be used to add accent when they are dried.

There are many other ways that your preserved plants can be used, such as dried flower arrangements, framed and hung on a wall as natural wall decor. The ideas are endless and the only limit is your imagination.

There are many ways you can create unique, natural scrapbooks that will keep the memories of your gardening experiences alive and able to be passed on to members of your family and friends for years to come.

Drying and pressing your flowers and plants is simple to do and can be done with common household supplies that are already available to you in your home.

Both environmentally friendly and healthy, Organic Gardening is a way of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo
http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

Big Shot Die Cutting Materials Information

I was just doing a little research for an upcoming class and I found this great information I wanted to share with you!  I am planning a class on March 11 using the Big Shot Die Cutting Machine by Sizzix, and found this extensive list of materials you can use with your machine.  This is directly from the Stampin' Up! website (http://www.stampinup.com/us/enu/11372.asp):

Big Shot Materials List for Bigz and Originals Dies

The following materials work well when creating die cuts with the Big Shot machine and Bigz and Originals dies. Please note the maximum thickness of several materials. As a rule of thumb, you can cut a material with your Big Shot machine and Bigz or Originals dies if you can cut it using your Craft & Paper Scissors.

  • Thick corkboard
  • Thick chipboard (59 mil)
  • Colored magnet
  • Ruffle board
  • Paper wood
  • Balsa wood (3/32")
  • Bass wood (1/16")
  • Metal mesh
  • Aluminum (.016)
  • Tin (.008)
  • Adhesive and non-adhesive mat board
  • Drawer liner
  • Shelf liner
  • Vinyl
  • Static cling vinyl
  • Shrink film
  • Fine sandpaper
  • Clear acetate (20 mil)
  • Vellum
  • Card stock
  • Patterned paper
  • Flocked paper
  • Contact paper
  • Textured paper
  • Metallic paper
  • Linen paper
  • Suede paper
  • Embossed metallic paper
  • Basketball embossed paper
  • Faux alligator textured paper
  • Self-adhesive glitter paper
  • Fabric
  • Canvas
  • Iron-on fabric
  • Soft plush fabric
  • Burlap
  • Velvet
  • Corduroy
  • Lace
  • Heavyweight denim
  • Terry cloth
  • Funky fur
  • Thin leather
  • Quilt batting
  • Warm & natural batting
  • Fusible fleece
  • Self-adhesive craft metal
  • Self-adhesive cork
  • Self-adhesive foam
  • Self-adhesive magnet
  • Self-adhesive felt
  • Adhesive and non-adhesive rubber
  • Pop up sponge
  • Poly foam
  • 100% pure beeswax (cut with parchment paper on top & bottom of beeswax.)

WOW! So, I really DID know that you can use a LOT of different materials in your Big Shot, but I had NO idea you could use this many!  Contact me if you have any questions.

If you are interested in coming to the class, visit my class page and register!  I hope to see you there!

Happy Crafting-

~Elisa