Shimmer Twine + Snowflakes = Winter Banner

Hi everyone!! Today I am going to share a new product with you that I adore!

So...have you seen the beautiful new twine that The Twinery has released recently?  SHIMMER twine!?  Swoon!! It is gorgeous!  It is fabulous!  It is so pretty & so sparkly! I love it!

I put together a winter themed project for one of the shelves in my dining room.  It needed a little sprucing up!

I used my twine to make a banner of sparkling snowflakes!  I LOVE how the shimmer in the twine works so well with the shimmer in the glitter paper that the snowflakes are cut from!  It adds just the right touch to my family themed shelf!

Here are a few closeups of the snowflake twine banner:

It was so easy to create this!  I just die cut several snowflakes with Lil' Inker Designs Snowflake Dies and then used glue dots to attach them to the Platinum Silver Shimmer Twine.  

Have you taken a look at this twine?  It is so much fun to use and adds such an quick & easy pop to craft projects!  There are two new colors available: 

Be sure to grab yours today in the Twinery Store!  Thanks for stopping by today!

And, if you love those snowflakes, you can snag those dies (set of 4) at Lil' Inker Designs!  They are wonderful!!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Papertrey December Blog Hop Challenge

Welcome to December's PTI blog hop!  The challenge theme this month is white on white.  We were challenged to make a card using mostly white and were allowed to add just a pop of color.

I kept it Clean & Simple.  I impressed the background with the PTI Simple Stripes impression plate and used a doily as the focal point mat.   I popped the Stitched Mats Frame: Squares from Lil' Inker Designs up on pop dots to frame the entire card (love those squares so much!!) and then used the PTI Hearts Frame die to make the glittered hearts.

I love how the little pink pop of color rounds everything out!  

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed a very Merry Christmas!  To see others who are participating in this hop or to play along yourself, visit Nichole's blog.

Lil' Inker Designs Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 (the final day) for the Lil' Inker December Release!  If you are following the blog hop you should have come from Amy's blog!  To start at the beginning, visit Laura's blog.

I have two cards to share with you today.
 

First up today, is a little cream card.  I used the 4x4 Stitched Mats Squares die.  These dies are wonderful!! You get a set of 7 nesting square dies!  If you enjoy making square cards, these dies are PERFECT!! If you like to layer using squares, these are perfect for that too!  Lots of fun uses!  The sentiment is from the new Winter Greetings stamp set. I stamped it onto the LID Double Ended Banner die.

I cut one of the snowflake images out of the square and then popped up the smaller of the snowflake images on top of the die cut.  I also die cut two more of the same snowflakes with the same vintage cream cardstock and glued them onto the cardstock.  I love the way the snowflake images look like that!

This second card is an exact replica of the card above, just in a totally different color scheme.

I used the other set of snowflakes shaped dies for this card and layered them onto the square met.  I just a glittery rhinestone in the center of the snowflake for extra pop.

These snowflake dies are so amazing! The stitched detail is AWESOME!! You'll LOVE it!!

Thanks for joining me today!  To continue on in the hop, visit Karen's blog!  Be sure to leave comments along the way because there are two $10 gift certificates up for grabs to one secret commenter along the way!

Lil' Inker Release Day 2

Hello!! Welcome to another FABULOUS release from Lil' Inker Designs!  I can't wait to share with you the new products that are releasing this month!  Hold onto your seats, you're going to love them!

If you are following the hop, you should have come from my good friend Amy's blog!  If you would like to start at the beginning, visit Laura's blog!

Ok...so remember those wonderful, wonderful rectangle stitched mats from a release a few months back?  Well, now we have Stitched Mats: Squares!!  Yep!!  They are equally as fabulous and fun and versatile!

For today's project I made a window card.  This is the front of the card with the window closed.  I used two sizes of the stitched mats squares dies.  One to make the "frame" on the front of the card and one to cut the window and make the inside layer.  

This is how the card looks with the card partially open.  I LOVE how the square mats have such a finished look to them with the stitching around the outside edge!!  And, don't you just love that sentiment?  That is from the new Winter Greetings sentiment set!  The little tiny snowflakes are separate images from the same set.  And, I have to take the time to mention how well the new Platinum Shimmer Twine from The Twinery goes with the sentiment...it is perfect!! :)

Here is the inside of the card.  Ahhhh....how gorgeous are the new snowflake dies?  FABULOUS!! There are four in the set of dies, 2 of each shape, one small and one large.  LOVE!!  They are so beautiful and delicate and I LOVE how they look die cut from glitter paper!

Here is a closeup of the square mat and the beautiful snowflakes.  I put a piece of the ever-popular flair in the center of the snowflake for a little more pop.  Have you seen that flair popping up everywhere?  Even at JcPenney's!  They make great card accents!

Would you like to see all the new product photos?  Each of these items are available in the store now!

Now to continue on in the hop, you can jump on over to Karen's blog!

Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think!  That gives you a chance to win one of two $10 gift certificates to the Lil' Inker Designs store!  

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful day!

{Twinery} Handmade Holidays Blog Hop

Welcome to the 2^nd Annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop!!!

 

We’ve gathered designers from some of our favorite manufacturers to show you ways to create something from the heart this holiday season. This 3 day Hop includes over 60 stops with inspiration brimming from every corner. Explore all of the thoughtful and beautiful handmade gifts you could create for the holidays, all in one place, during our second annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop!  You should have come from Natasha Naranjo Aguirre's blog!   If you would like to start at the beginning, visit The Twinery's blog for a full list of participants!

This was such a fun project!  I had the privilege of working with products from The Twinery, Fiskars & Tombow!  Let me tell you that was a great combination!

For my handmade holiday gift idea, I created a set of four Christmas tree ornaments that also double as gift tags.  I'll share how I did this in a tutorial below, but first off here is what they look like.

Here's three of the four tags hanging on the tree.

For this tag, I used the beautiful Seaweed Twine for the branches, Cappuccino Twine for the tree stump & Buttercream Twine for the little star on top of the tree (which I made by tying a French Knot). I used Maraschino Twine to hang the ornament tag.  I'll show you an easy way to create a similar tag below.

I took a little different approach for the next two tags.  I stamped on the canvas, attached the snowflakes, that were punched with fabulous Fiskars punches, with Tombow adhesive. (For the two tags that I stamped on, I purchased pre-cut & pre-sewn canvas tags at Hobby Lobby.

On both tags I added a glittered border that was punched with Fiskars Lacy Doubles border punch.  It is such a pretty punch design! 

Now I want to show you an easy way to stitch designs for your tags/ornaments!

For this design, I took a piece of canvas that I cut to approximately 2 3/4 x 3 1/2.  I put a die that I wanted to use as a template in my sandwich like I was going to emboss with it and then ran it through my die cutting machine.  So for the Big Shot my sandwich was: 

Multipurpose Platform 

Tab 1 

cutting plate 

embossing mat

canvas material

die

cutting plate

After it went through the machine, it left an impression of the star on my canvas.  I like doing this as opposed to using a pencil to draw lines because you won't be able to see these lines when I'm done, but it is hard to erase pencil lines on canvas.

I then threaded my twine through a large eyed needle and began to sew the star following the pattern I had created.

Then, I stamped a sentiment on the bottom.

Next, I took another piece of canvas that I had cut to the same size and sewed the pieces together.  This is to hide the stitches on the backside of the tag.

I then punched a few of the Fiskars snowflakes out of yellow glitter paper to add to the tag with the Tombow adhesive.

The next step was to distress the edges of the tag using ink.

I then added an eyelet with my Crop-a-dile and tied the Maraschino Twine through the hole.

This is what the finished tag looks like on the tree.

And, since you've sewn the two pieces of canvas together, this is what the back side looks like...nice and clean!

I hope you enjoyed this project & tutorial!  It truly is an easy gift to make & give!

Now, to sweeten the Hop, we’re offering a prize! For every comment you leave on the blogs in the hop, you’ll be entered to win a prize pack from one of the participating manufacturer sponsors! And, you can use the Rafflecopter widget on the Clearsnap blog to gain extra entries each day: http://clearsnap.blogspot.com/

The Twinery is offering 3 spools of the winners choice $48 value!

 

Visit The Twinery for a complete list of blogs and leave a comment on each by Nov 27, 2012  at 11:59 PM PST. Each day we will be sharing a brand new list of blogs with brand new projects for you to explore, be inspired by and create from!

 

Your next stop on the hop is to  Laura Denison's blog!

Cheers to creating gifts from the heart this holiday season!

 

Happy Hopping!

Wrapping it Up!

Hi!! Welcome to the wrap-up post for Lil' Inker Designs November release!  Hasn't this been a fun-filled week?  If you are following the blog hop, you should have come from the Lil' Inker Designs blog!

Be sure to comment on the blogs along the hop, because there are FOUR gift certificates to the Lil' Inker store to be given away and to be eligible to win all you have to do is comment!

I have one more project to share with you today using the new products released this week! As always, it also has a twist!

 

This card uses the new Instant Camera Christmas die & sentiment.  I cut the frame out of white glittery paper.  I love how that turned out!  Then, the picture is from a piece of patterned paper that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.  It was so simple to create this!  I stamped the sentiment that uses such a beautiful font, on the paper.

 

And what about that tiny little glittery bow?  I love how this bow looks made out of glittery paper.  What a super cute and easy way to decorate up a card front!

 

 

Now here is where the twist comes in.  I attached the little Polaroid to the card with a tiny paperclip so it was easily removable.  On the back of the instant camera frame, I attached a magnetic strip, so....

 

...it can easily attach to a refrigerator or a metal pail, file cabinet, etc to make a cute little accent!  This would be a GREAT way to send a family photo!  I always enjoy hanging pictures of friends and their family on my fridge when I get them in the mail and if you send it with a magnet already attached, you've made it that much easier to do!  And you almost ensure that it won't get thrown away!

 

Here's another look at all the Lil' Inker products released this week (not including those from the coloring line):

 

Now, I get to send you on to one very special gal's blog, Amy Kolling!

 

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!

Blessings Countdown Calendar with Lil' Inker Designs

Welcome to release day 3 of the Lil' Inker Designs release!  If you are following along in the hop, you should have come from Lil' Inker Designs blog, it is the first stop on the hop today!

Today I am featuring the Instant Camera Christmas trio of products and I am so excited to share my projects with you today!  I wanted to create a special countdown to Christmas type of project that I could use with my family this holiday season.  What I ended up with is a Blessings Countdown Calendar!   These dies were perfect for making this, and there are a couple of surprise twists to this calendar as well!  (This is a long post, so please bear with me! I hope it'll be worth it for you to make it clear to the end!)

 

First off, I die cut 25 of the instant photos using various types of pattern paper which I mixed and matched.  Then, I applied the numbers (you could use dies or stickers, etc) for each day in December leading up to Christmas.  After decorating each instant die, I clipped them onto a cord that I had stapled onto the back of the wood frame (from Hobby Lobby).   The clips I used are hair clips that I found in the jewelry section. They worked perfectly!

I used various LID dies to decorate the instant photos, including the new mini bow die (day #8)!   I also used the Of the Heart die (day #3) previously released.

 For this section I used the Of the Heart die (#12), the Jingle Joy bell die (#17), the Holly Jolly holly dies (#21) & the new mini bow die (#24).

Ready for twist #1?

 

Here it is...this is what the back of each day looks like (I just turned the calendar around so you could see all of the pictures).  I've attached a favorite photo from the year onto the back of each card.  Each day that the kids take a number off of the calendar, we will talk about the blessing on the back and reminisce about the special times we had throughout our year.  I tried to pick a variety of activities and special photos to highlight and also things that would get the kids thinking about how those times were blessings and gifts from God during the year.

 

 Some of the photos I chose were...being a ball boy for a high school football game, time with extended family, getting to take tumbling lessons, playing football, fun on vacation, etc...

Ready for twist #2?

I didn't want these little instant photos to go to waste.  It did take some work to put this all together and it is quite special to me.  I want to be able to have a way to look back on this in the years to come.  Leaving it in the frame isn't really an option so...

 

I got out my much neglected Project Life scrapbook and found that the Instant Photo dies fit perfectly in the smallest pockets.  Now, please don't judge my page too much.  This is just a sample, I didn't have time to pretty this part up yet, so I will redo this soon.  But, this gives you a good idea of what the front of the page would look like.  And the back...

 

...the back looks like this.  You can still see the fun countdown that was created.  And on this page, you could write fun facts about the year, or things you love about your kids.  You could create different categories and list your families "favorites".  There are so many possibilities for what you could do back here and then your hard work is not used and enjoyed only once, but for years to come!

I have one more way to use this idea.

 

Laura designed the dies so that they can be ornaments and hung with twine/ribbon.  I made a few examples similar to the calendar above, only this time I put the photos on the front of the frames and attached the Gift Bow Topper die to it so it can easily hang from the Christmas tree.

 

Here is one of the pictures.  You might recognize this from the calendar above.  I LOVE this picture.  It is a picture of my son's shoes (from May 2012, the date is stamped on the bottom right-hand corner with the Instant Camera: Christmas stamp set) and my daughter's shoes INSIDE his!  I loved how it showed their size difference!  I also stamped a "1" in the left hand corner to continue on with the countdown theme.

 

One more example.  Date on the right-hand side and the countdown number stamped on the left-hand side. 

 

Here are the new products that I used for these projects:

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this project! Thank you for staying with me through the end of the post!  If you decide to make a blessings calendar, I'd LOVE to know about it (and see pictures too if you take them!). 

 

Be sure to leave a comment!  Just by leaving  your comment, you'll be eligible to win one of two $10 store credits! The more blogs in the hop you comment on, the better your chances are of winning!

To continue on in the hop, please go say hi to Alyssa! She will be feauturing some other new Lil' Inker products today!  Don't forget, these products are available now, so hop on over to the Lil' Inker Designs store to check them all out!

Thanks for stopping by! Come back tomorrow for another release post...pssst...I can't wait to share this one with you!