Non-Traditional Card Fold, Love Different

Hello Stamping Friends,

Welcome to another fabulous Friday with the Sisters in Stamping. This week we are sharing with you some non-traditional card folds. We all know we can take a piece of paper and fold it in half to make a card, but we all love something that is a little different and makes crafting and giving so much more fun and exciting. A little change of the fold can make all the difference and add a whole lot more fun.

A z-fold card is the easiest non-traditional card I can think of. You just take a half sheet of cardstock and fold it in half (like you usually would to make a card) and then just fold the front flap back to the fold. That's it!  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.  I stepped it up a little bit for this card because it's a double z-fold card. In order to get that you just cut a strip of cardstock that is 11" x 1" and fold that in half and then fold the front part back to the crease. Then to put it on the card you just flip it around so that the long piece is attached to the short 2 2/3" piece of the card and the short part of the 1" strip is attached to the long side of the card.

These cards are so fun to make. You can do so much with them depending on the stamp set you use. You can even cut some extra little strips to fit into the center part to make it a bit more 3-D (SEE THIS POST) The possibilities are endless. Have fun with it.

There is a lot of cutting with this card but the finished project makes it so worth it. Any fish enthusiast would love to receive this work of art.

Don't forget to head over to Sisters in Stamping for more ideas using non-traditional folds.

Product List

Seaside Shore Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141625] $21.00	By The Shore Designer Series Paper [141640] $11.00	Dapper Denim 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [141414] $8.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.00	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad [141394] $6.50	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [126983] $6.50
Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad [126979] $6.50	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad [126959] $6.50	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [126944] $6.50
Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $7.00	2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers [138333] $15.00	Stampin' Trimmer [126889] $30.00
Tear & Tape Adhesive [138995] $7.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00	Paper Snips Scissors [103579] $10.00

Autism Speaks Blog Hop

Hello Stamping Friends,

Welcome to another great blog hop. This hop is special because we are trying to bring more awareness to Autism. April is Autism Awareness Month and I have teamed up with some great demonstrators to help bring more awareness.  Every project you will see as you hop will be using the colors red, blue and yellow. These are the colors for autism awareness.  Read the tidbits about autism on each blog to gain new knowledge in regards to autism and all it entails.

On a personal level, I have several friends whose children have some degree of autism. I have interacted with these great kids and hold them near and dear to my heart. Also, as a substitute teacher I have been in classrooms with children with autism, some mild and others not so mild. We as a society need to be more educated and that's what we are trying to do with this blog hop.

Stampin' Up! demonstrators all across the United States and Canada have decided to come together this month to make a difference. If you are able to, please help us as we are tying to help others. Below you will find an Autism fundraising link. If you can help, it will be greatly appreciated.

Remember this is a blog hop, so click on the names below to see more great creative ideas.

AUTISM FACT: DID YOU KNOW??????? 

Dogs have been shown to improve autistic children’s quality of life, independence, and safety. The presence of a trained dog can reduce aggressive behavior, calm the child, and serve as a link to the child’s community

CLICK BELOW TO DONATE. EVEN $1 WILL HELP

The link will say Lee Conrey. She is our team captain for this blog hop.

1- Kimberly Van Diepen
2- Kylie Bertucci
3- Lee Conrey
4- Rachel Bronson Yukanin (You are Here)
5- Heather Wright Porto
6- Susan Best
7- Louise Sharp
8- Candy Rattray
9- Maureen Rauchfuss
10- Tammy Fite
11- Billie Moan
12- Monika Davis

Let's Appreciate Our Kindergarten Teachers

Hello Stamping Friends,

It's Friday. It was a short week at school but why do these short weeks feel longer than the full weeks? Doesn't make sense to me. Then again, a lot of things baffle me, lol. Anyway, another Friday means another great post with the Sisters in Stamping. Today is Kindergarten teacher appreciation day and we are sharing some gift ideas for teachers with all of you. Let me tell you as a frequent substitute teacher in kindergarten classrooms, we need to show these teachers more appreciation than we do. They work hard to teach and mold these young little minds.

For my project, I decorated an empty clear mount stamp case that now holds a junior legal pad. Something every teacher can certainly use. Plus, most teachers are addicted to tablets, pens, or anything stationery.

What I do is cut one piece of designer paper the entire length and width of the stamp case. Then, I cut one that is half the width, and another one that is one and a half inch wide.  Then I made a small focal point with the basket and the greeting. These are great gifts for so many people. The nice thing about these is that they fit nicely in many purses and the case protects the tablet from getting all "smashed" up in your purse.

Here's the inside. I always take a piece of the designer paper that matches one from the outside of the case and use it to cover the top of the legal pad. It looks so finished and brings it all together nicely.

The junior legal pads are just a bit too long for the cases so I just take them to a local office supply store and have them cut a bunch of them at one time for a small fee. 

Don't forget to head over to the Sisters in Stamping blog for even more ideas.

Product List

Basket Of Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set [142200] $17.00	Affectionately Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper [141632] $13.00	SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332] $7.00
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $8.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.00	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [126975] $6.50
Blender Pens [102845] $10.00

Stamper's Dozen Blog Hop - Dragonfly Dreams

Hello Stamping Friends,

Welcome to another great blog hop with the Stamper's Dozen. By now, we all know the retiring list of stamps and products is out. I know a tough time to say goodbye to some awesome favorites but don't worry, not all of it is going. There are some fantastic stamps that are sticking around and Stampin' Up! gave us a heads up of some of these sets. They are listed below.

2017-2018 Catalog Carry Over Items:

• Dragonfly Dreams (item 142924)
• Jar of Love (item 141587)
• Banners for You (item 141710)
• Touches of Texture (item 141934 W/143251 C)
• Swirly Bird (item 141749)
• Beautiful You (item 143004 W/143637 C)

For my card this month, I narrowed it down to the dragonfly dreams stamp set. It wasn't easy because I really like some of the other ones quite a bit. It wasn't an easy decision.

I wanted a bright and fun card and I think I achieved that goal. To get the multiple colors on the strip of dragonflies, I die-cut them out of the four colors and then carefully hand-cut them to fit onto the strip of the daffodil delight dragonflies. The fine-tip glue pen is perfect to put these guys together. 

The spotted dots stamp makes an awesome multi-colored background very quickly. Change the greeting and I think you would definitely cheer up someone with this card too.

Don't forget to head over to Bonnie's blog for more inspiration on stamps that will be in the next catalog.

Product List

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Bundle [144728] $46.75	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $7.00
Melon Mambo 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115320] $8.00	Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119683] $8.00	Tempting Turquoise 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [102067] $8.00
Rich Razzleberry 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115316] $8.00	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [126944] $6.50	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad [126950] $6.50
Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad [126952] $6.50	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad [126948] $6.50	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [138309] $7.00	Big Shot [143263] $110.00