My Pink Stamper Design Team Day ~ April 2012

This month, our theme is Teacher's Gifts.  We could use any My Pink Stamper set that we wanted to and create any type of project.  I decided on a hollowed out book for my creation:

Material Used:

• Cricut cartridges Going Places and Fabulous Finds
• My Pink Stamper School Days stamp set
• Hardcover book
• Picture frame
• Stampin' Up! Cardstock in Night of Navy and Not Quite Navy
• DCWV The Travel Stack
• Stampin' Up! Pewter hodgepodge hardware
• Stampin' Up! Not Quite Navy classic ink
• My Mind's Eye title cards
• Compass embellishment from my stash
• Stampin' Up! Night of Navy 1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon

Start with a nice thick hardcover book.  Ensure it's not a classic!  ;)

Create a mixture of white school glue and water.  The ratio I used was  about 60/40, with the larger portion being the glue.  You won't use too much, so don't mix a lot.

Hollow out the book.  This is the tutorial I used:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Hollow-Book

I decided to add a picture frame to the front to make the gift even more useful.

And this is the completed project.  The globe was cut from the Cricut cartridge Going Places and the bookplate from Fabulous Finds.

The book cover itself was my color/them inspiration.  I thought it already had a nice masculine base, so I chose not to cover it up.

I also chose to just wrap the book in matching ribbon rather then cover the spine with paper.

The sentiment "World's Best Teacher!" was perfect for my theme!

And here it is opened.  You could choose to fill it up with things like paper clips, erasers, checking pens, etc.  Or, even add a gift card to the inside.

The decorative possibilities are endless.  Covering a book in primary colors and perhaps cutting a chalkboard out would be super cute for the elementary grade levels.  I also plan on covering a book with soft, vintage papers and creating a bunch of 3-D flowers to add to the front cover of a book I am planning to make my mom for Mother's Day.  Give it a try!

By the way, CustomCrops.com is having an AWESOME sale on Robyn's stamps!  Some as low as $7.30!!!  Click HERE!

I am also entering this book into the latest Cricut Circle Monthly Challenge since the hollowed out book would look perfect as the centerpeice on a coffee table on top of a stack of coffe table books! 

The Challenge: Create a centerpiece using your Cricut machines.

Nuts About You

Materials used:

• Cricut cartridges Letter Envy and Fabulous Finds
• Imagine cartridge Enjoy the Seasons
• My Pink Stamper Punny-licious stamp set
• Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake cardstock
• Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip classic ink
• Stampin' Up! gold brads
• Martha Stewart Wood Grain - 1 1/2" putty ribbon

Apple of my Eye ~ Pie Series

Hi Everyone!  I am so sorry if you came by earlier to see the next pie in the series.  The wee ones needed my attention.  Not to worry, I am back  on track!  Today/tonight's post is apple pie:

Materials Used:

• My Pink Stamper Fruit and Veggie Puns stamp set
• Cricut cartridges Tags, Bags, Boxes and More, George and Basic Shapes, Fabulous Finds, and Preserves.
• Stampin' Up Barely Banana, So Saffron, Naturals Ivory and Early Espresso
• Stampin' Up 1 1/4 grosgrain ribbon in Early Espresso
• Stampin' Up ink in Early Espresso and Crumb Cake
• Stampin' Up Rich Regals brads

The crust on this pie is pretty simple, but it's how they usually look in reality. I added a apple crust shape to the crust.  Some bakers do this and I think it looks super cute when they do.  I achieved the dimension on the crust by turning it backside up and rubbing it with the end of  a tool on a mat.  I also inked the top so the crevices would show better.

The apples are all inked differently to create variety.  I cut them approximately in half at different angles to again achieve variety.  I sponged the pie base and apple pieces in Crumb Cake ink to mimic cinnamon.  I then added them to the pie base in different positions and layers.  Lastly, I inked my sentiment and added it to the pie.  

Thank you for joining me.  Until the next pie...adieu.

My Gypsy file:

http://www.box.net/shared/vk0xnpnc3sojc5r9mekc

A Cherry Hello! ~ Pie Series

Here is my third installment to this week's pie series, a cherry pie slice:

Materials Used:

• My Pink Stamper Fruit and Veggie Puns stamp set
• Cricut cartridges Tags, Bags, Boxes and More, George and Basic Shapes, Fabulous Finds, Cherry Limeaide and Preserves.
• Stampin' Up Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Naturals Ivory, Early Espresso and Garden Green cardstock
• Stampin' Up 1 1/4 grosgrain ribbon in Real Red
• Stampin' Up ink in Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler
• Stampin' Up Brights brads

This one takes a few more steps to put together, but  I think the end result is worth it.  Don't forget that the base for the pie and crust can be found in the pumpkin pie file.

I inked the edges of all the strips for more of a baked look.  Then, using the pie crust top base as a template, weave the strips onto it and adhere.

Once adhered, turn it around to the back side.  It should look like this.

Cut the sides following the template.

Glue the cherry pieces haphazardly onto the two sides of the pie.  Run your ribbon through the holes and adhere the box together.  I tied my ribbon next and then added the top layer of the crust to the box.  I then stamped my sentiment to the already cut tag, added the brads and adhered it to the top crust.  Lastly, I pieced together my cherry stem, rubbed the backside with the bottom of a pen on a mat for dimension, flipped it back to the top and adhered it to the top crust. 

My Gypsy File:
http://www.box.net/shared/om1bc44nbfa3stbjkceq

In my Gypsy file, the first tab says "with CLA".  This is for crafters that have the cartridge Cherry Limeaide.  I made my cherries for the inside of the pie with this cartridge.  If you don't have Cherry Limeaide, I also added a tab that says "with GBS".  You would use this tab to make the cherries using George and Basic Shapes.  The cherries don't have as much detail, but it gets the job done.  =)

The tag is made using Fabulous Finds and the cherry stem using Preserves.  If you don't have these cartridges, I included a stem cut from Gypsy Wanderings and you can cut your pick for a tag. 

Thank you for joining me again.  I look forward to seeing yo back tomorrow for the next pie in the series.

Celebrating PIE Week!

I don't know about you, but one thing I love about holiday food are the PIE's!  To share this love with you, I decided I would make this week "Celebrate PIE Week" on my blog.  I actually kicked off the celebration with a pumpkin pie slice on Friday night's Pinkalicious Blog Hop.  The Gypsy file base for all the pies shared this week can be found on that post HERE.  You also have the rest of today to enter to win a free regular blog makeover by CHATTERSCENE  just by leaving a comment on that post!  She is super reasonable and does a fantastic job!

The next pie in the series is a pecan pie slice!

Now, I know some people don't eat pumpkin pie with whip cream, so you can always leave it off.

Materials Used:

• My Pink Stamper Punny-licious stamp set
• Cricut cartridges Tags, Bags, Boxes and More, George and Basic Shapes, and Fabulous Finds
• Stampin' Up Creamy Caramel, Naturals Ivory, Early Espresso and Chocolate Chip cardstock
• Stampin' Up 1 1/4 grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip
• Stampin' Up ink in Early Espresso, Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake
• Stampin' Up gold brads
• Stampin' Up Vanilla hodgepodge hardware
• Stampin' Up Smooch Spritz in Vanilla Shimmer

A helpful hint when putting your treat box together is to run the ribbon through the holes before you adhere the box.

I used two different base colors for my pecans to mimic the variety you actually get in real pecans.  I added them AFTER I put the box together, but you could also do it before.  The only pecan I needed to trim was the at the point (what would be the center of an actual pie).  I placed my pecans haphazardly because that's how I make mine, but I know that some people like to line theirs up.  The great thing about this file, is that they are individual pieces, so you can make it personal by arranging them how you like them to be.

I used the same tag cuts found in the pumpkin pie file for the whip cream but used a different technique to achieve a different look:

I sprayed all the cuts with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz.

I then crumpled all the pieces into tight balls.

I uncrumpled the balls.

I layered them together from largest to smallest with a brad.

And there you have it, pecan pie!  Please join me again tomorrow for the next pie slice in the series.

Gypsy File:

http://www.box.net/shared/n0e2j5bdy365lv3eratt

Entered at:
Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge: Feeling Gifty
Really Reasonble Ribbon Fun 4 Fall Challenge
Picture Perfect Creations

Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge #20: Love Notes

Weekly Challenge #20: Love Notes Challenge!
Valentine’s Day is just a few days away and we thought it would be fun to challenge you to put your scrappy skills to use by creating an extra special note for someone you adore. It can be a friend, your mom, a lover, your child, a neighbor . . . anyone! Your project must include a heart and embossing (we want to see you incorporate those Cuttlebug embossing folders). Project must also contain atleast 2 Cricut cuts to qualify.

This is the valentine I created for my hubby. The label, label frame and card hearts are cut from Fabulous Finds. The heart eyelet holders are cut from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More. I used the argyle and Queen of Hearts embossing folders to embellish the card along with some gold cord and black eyelets. The cardstock, designer paper and stamp are from SU.