Durcan Designs

Valentine Treat Box

Hello!

This is a tutorial for a treat box using the new Valentine Paper Kit from Paper Garden Projects. I found the template on the Martha Stewart website and thought wow, these would be great for the kids to use as Valentine's gifts. They are pretty easy to make and very ADORABLE!!

This post is also a part of a Paper Garden Projects Blog Hop so make sure you read all the info below to learn how you can win a very cute Penny Black stamp set :)

Welcome to the Paper Garden Projects Romantic Garden Walk.

Take a stroll through the blogs of all the Paper Gardeners and enjoy some "heart-felt" inspiration.

While you visit, subscribe to each Gardener's blog and take note of each designer's name and their Romantic Word in their blog post. Once you finish your garden tour, send an E-mail to custserv@papergardenprojects.com with the list of designers and their Romantic Word.

Everyone who sends the correct list of designers and words will be entered in a random drawing to win a sweet Valentine prize. You need to send an e-mail to the address above; please don't leave your list as a comment. You have until midnight (EST) on January 26 to sent your list.

And the prize? The super cute Penny Black clear stamp set called Every Which Way.

So enjoy the garden tour (feel free to bring along some Valentine treats). Here is the garden tour guide list:

• Cathy
• Melissa (Mel)
• Tracy <----- You are here!
• Amber
• Lorelie
• Tangii
• Tricia

Now onto the tutorial (this is a long post!)

First, here is a picture of the kit I used for this project. You can find it at the Paper Garden Projects store here. It features some gorgeous new Pink Paislee patterned papers.

Second, download the template here. There is also a video clip of Martha making them on her tv show :)

Step 1: Print out the template and select some cardstock. I chose the light pink cardstock from the Paper Garden Projects Valentine kit.

Step 2: Place the template on top of the cardstock and adhere it with some adhesive (Martha Stewart uses staples but I couldn't find a stapler, lol). Next, cut the straight lines using a hobby blade, ruler and cutting mat. Remember there is cardstock underneath so make sure your cuts go all the way through.

Step 3: Score the dotted lines with a scoring tool and ruler.

Step 4: Cut out the heart curves with some scissors.

Step 5: Punch out the holes:

Step 6: Remove the template. This is what your cardstock will look like.

Step 7: Rescore the cardstock if you need to and proceed to fold.

Step 8: Cut the slits on the bottom so you can fold it up.

Step 9: Adhere one side with sticky strip.

Step 10: Add your treats and fold over the flaps. Also, if you'd like, punch out some fun paper hearts to add as a decoration :)

Step 11: Tie the ribbon (mine is from of the paper kit) and add the punched hearts with some thread or scrap floss.

And again, my completed project!

I hope you liked my project :) Here is my word for the Paper Garden Projects blog hop prize:

Tracy: Flowers

Thanks for stopping by!

Next stop on the blog hop is the talented Amber.

~Tracy

Paper Piecing "Shopping Girl" Part 2

I finished "shopping girl" today and I love how she came out!! :)

             

My next step was to choose some coordinating cardstock.  I decided to go with Pink Pirouette by SU!  I also trimmed up my bow and stamped the other shopping bags onto patterned paper.

 

Next, I do some sponging around the white cardstock and patterned paper. 

  

My last step was to finish up the paper piecing.  Here is a picture of the shopping bags after they are cut.  They are very small.  Most of it was done with scissors.  The straight line on top of the yellow bag was done with a craft knife.

For the sentiment, I made something in Microsoft Word and printed it out onto cardstock.

Okay, that's it for today.  I hope you liked the tutorial and if you are interested in the stamp image you can find it here ----> "Shopping Girl at Paper Garden Projects.

Thanks for stopping by and have a happy Easter!

~Tracy  

The Makings of a Card Part 1 - Paper Piecing and More

This post is the beginnings of my "retail therapy" card.  I have been in some desperate need of "retail therapy" lately.  I'm turning 36 in a couple of days, I've started getting grey hairs and I'm still feeling the baby clock ticking.  Unfortunately, my husband and I agreed after baby Matthew that he would be our last.  We even went so far as to make it official (on his side) and now I am full of regret and sadness.  

So anyways, I decided to go to AC Moore today and shop for some new crafting supplies.  It was really nice to browse through everything.  I took my time and picked out things I really needed and things I thought would be fun. 

Then, after a while I looked down at my basket and saw how full it was.  Yikes!  I felt so guilty  about how much money I was spending that I put the basket down and ran out of the store!  Can you believe it?  I am such a goober sometimes.  The good part is that the experience seemed to do the trick!  I've been in paper crafting mode all evening :)  So that's the story of how my "retail therapy" card came to be, lol. 

    

I first inked the image with Memento Ink and stamped it onto Papertrey white cardstock.

The stamp is "Shopping Girl" by Stampavie.

 

I usually do a simple practice run coloring the image first.  I want to be sure the colors coordinate with the patterned papers.  You will also notice I use both Prismacolor and Copic markers. 

The papers I picked are from Bella Blvd.  They were part of a card kit from the Stamp New England event.  I wasn't able to complete one of the projects that day so Julie Masse was very kind and mailed it out to me :)

The ribbon is from Pink Hedgehog.

   

To paper piece the purses I  put a dab of Craft Bond glue on some paper and then use a kitchen skewer to apply it.  I also do the same with the Crystal Ice Stickles.  I applied it to the girl's scarf which you can see in the next picture. 

   

Here's what she looks like so far.  I still have to paper piece the other two purses, but so far I think she looks fabulous :)

I'll work on her some more and then do another post.  See you soon :)

~Tracy

Cosmo Cricket "Honey Pie" Kit Tutorial

Recently, I got a chance to work with a new "Paper Kit" from Paper Garden Projects  called "Honey Pie".  As I started making my cards I realized that this would be a nice project to share as a tutorial.  I also thought it would be fun to give you a little glance at my card making process.

Here is a picture of what I started with, the "Honey Pie Paper Kit".  It features Cosmo Cricket designer paper and Bazzill textured cardstock -

 

My next step was to decide what stamps I wanted to use.  I chose two Odd Bird Planet stamps, Bless Your Berry Pickin' Little Heart and Strawberry Row.  I thought they seemed to fit the look of the kit nicely. 

I also decide I wanted to make a set of 3x3 cards and started cutting my paper.  It's always hard for me to make the first cut into a sheet of paper.  It's as almost as if I'm afraid to wreck the prettiness of it.   

 

My next step was to stamp the sentiment on the back of one of the sheets of Cosmo Cricket designer paper.  It's a cream color like the one in my patterned squares and I like shades to coordinate as much as possible. 

I stamped the sentiment with Chocolate Chip ink by SU!  I like this ink for sentiments because it gives you a nice sharp image.   Also, there are browns in the dp and so I thought it would look better than a black ink.

 

After I decided that I liked the look of it, I went ahead and stamped a bunch of images on the paper.  I stamped them somewhat randomly because I was planning to cut them out and run them through the Cuttlebug with a rectangle Nestabilities.  I also did a practice run with the Nestabilities and some scrap paper to find a rectangle size that fit nicely. 

A couple notes - my Cuttlebug is totally jerry-rigged to work with the Nestablities so it's slightly embarrassing :)  Also, I don't tape them down or anything I just carefully set the B plate on top and run it through.

 

My next step was to make a mat for the sentiment using the scallop rectangle Nestabilities.  The scraps left from cutting your 3x3 card bases will work perfectly for this.

I also took a minute to coordinate the designer paper with the colored cardstock.  At this point in time I'm starting to really visualize what I'd like the cards to look like.

 

 

I then adhered the mats onto the sentiments.

 

Now I start working on the strawberries.  I decide to use my watercolor crayons with watercolor paper by SU!   I also change my ink to Palette brown because it's darker and the strawberries stand out nicely.  I don't want them to look washed out and that seemed to be the case when I tried the Chocolate Chip SU! ink.

When I watercolor with the crayons I apply the color directly to my brush and then color.

 

Now I need to cut it out.  I am a bit of an anal cutter.  I will cut as much as I can with scissors and then the hard parts with a craft knife.  I also might smooth the edges with a sanding block.  I like SU!'s sanding blocks the best. 

My last steps involve mixing and matching the matted sentiments with the card bases to find my favorite looks. 

I also decide on a final layout and add ribbon and embellishments from the kit.   

 

 

   

I hope you liked this little project and if you have any questions feel free to ask!  Hope you have a great day and happy stamping :)

Supplies:

Stamps -  Bless Your Berry Pickin' Little Heart, Strawberry Row by Odd Bird Planet

Cardstock and Designer Paper - "Honey Pie Paper Kit" from Paper Garden Projects

Ribbon and Embellishments - "Honey Pie Paper Kit" from Paper Garden Projects

Watercolor crayons, watercolor paper, Chocolate Chip ink, sanding block, dimensionals by SU!

Nestabilities

Palette Timber Brown ink

wrap tutorial for 3x3 acetate boxes

Happy Holidays all! 

This is a little tutorial using 3x3 acetate boxes from Paper Garden Projects.  They are really adorable.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

 

Supplies -

3x3 acetate boxes

12 x 12 patterned paper - mine is from SU!

red ribbon from Paper Garden Projects

button from Paper Garden Projects

Hero Arts stamps

Cuttlebug tag die

embroidery thread

glue dots

black palette ink, Close to Cocoa ink by SU!

Scor-Pal

 

Cut two strips of patterned paper

1 1/2" x 12"

1 7/8" x 12"

Score both strips at 3-6-9

Bend folds

Then adhere the strips together, matching one edge of the strips

*I found that if you adhere the strips and then score them together that the paper tends to tear at the creases  -  so score individually, fold individually, then adhere together

Wrap the paper around the box and adhere with two glue dots on each end

Wrap your ribbon around the box and tie knot

Add tag

That's it! Hope you like :)

Gnome Acetate Pillow Box Tutorial

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I was happy to have a little time to paper craft today.  Here's what I made -  
   

  

You may remember this acetate pillow box from a previous post.  Today I made an easy peasy belly band for it.  The gnome is from my Paper Garden Stamp Kit "Gnome for the Holdiays".  The green cardstock is 12 x 12 Textured Wild Wasabi by SU!  The patterned paper is by Flair Designs.

Stamp the gnome in brown Staz On and color him with Prismacolor pencils. The look of the pencils coordinates really well with the Flair Holly Jolly paper.  Cut the gnome out.  Punch a scallop circle.  I used SU!'s punch.

Cut the green cardstock 12 x 3.  Score on the 4" and 8"

Cut the patterned paper 4 x 2.75.

  

Adhere the patterned paper.

  

Wrap cardstock around acetate pillow box.  Adhere with a strip of red tape. 

 

Here's another look at the finished project.  Tape the scallop circle onto the pillow using a strip of red tape down the middle and adhere the gnome with dimensionals. 

Hope you liked my little project :) Here's a rundown of the supplies I used:

Acetate Pillow Box

Odd Bird Planet Kelly's Stitched Gnome stamp - available part of a stamp kit here or as a single here

Flair Designs patterned paper, Holly Jolly Collection

Wild Wasabi 12 x 12 cardstock, scallop punch, dimensionals by SU!

Prismacolor Pencils

Timber Brown Staz On ink

Craft knife and scissors

Red Sticky Tape

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great weekend.

Halloween Treat Bag Tutorial

My Paper Garden Project today uses patterned paper, ribbon and embellishments from the new Best Witches Stamp Kit as well as a fun "Witch Shoes" stamp available for purchase in the store ----> here.  

The "Witch Shoes" stamp is deeply etched unmounted red rubber designed by justjohanna's Odd Bird Planet.  Cathy adheres high quality cling foam to them, cuts them with a hot knife and then indexes the foam with the image so when they arrive at your doorstep they are ready to stamp.  She also provides you with a cd case for storage.

ETA - The Paper Garden Projects Halloween kit is sold out, however the individual stamps can be found at the Odd Bird Planet on-line store here --->

Witch Shoes

Best Witches

Thank you.

Triangle Treat Bag 

       

The dimensions of this treat bag are designed to fit 4 1/16" wide cello bags or smaller.  The ones I purchased are available at Target.

  

Cut cardstock 4.5 x 11.  Score at 4", 8" and 9 1/2".

Mark .5" in on both ends of the 4" crease and punch holes for the ribbon handle.

Thread ribbon and tie knot to secure.

Fold over cello bag and tape shut with a small piece of sticky strip(so that the tape does not show).  Then, attach the cello bag to your cardstock with a small piece of sticky strip in the top right and left corners.

Tape end, wrap cardstock around back of triangle and secure.  It's probably best to use sticky strip here, but I was in a hurry so just used mono-adhesive.

Lastly, a side view for you :)

I hope you liked my little project! :)  Below are some bullet point instructions for you to copy and share.  All I ask is that you link back to this post when possible.  Thanks so much!

Have a great day and happy stamping!

Triangle Treat Bag

Fits cello bags up to 4 1/16 in wide

1. Start with 8.5 x 11 sheet of cardstock.
2. Cut cardstock - 4.5 x 11
3. Score at 4”, 8”, and 9.5”
4. Punch holes on the 4” crease - apx. .5 inches in from both edges of cardstock
5. Thread ribbon and tie a knot at ends to secure handle.
6. Decorate front of treat bag
7. Adhere cello bag to inside with sticky strip
8. Fold cardstock into triangle shape, wrap 1.5” flap around back and adhere.

 

Edited to Add -

 

Miss Iowa had a really good question -

 

Cute container! But I'm confused (nothing new there). Do people actually "open" it somehow or just pull out the treat bag from the side?

Posted by: Miss Iowa | September 09, 2008 at 01:12 PM

I recommend using small pieces of sticky strip in the top right and left hand corners of the cello bag, so that it secures it to the cardstock, but not so much that recipients won't be able to pull it out from the side. 

May Freedom Ring

Today is the release day for eight new Kitchen Sink stamp sets!!  There is a lot going on in the Kitchen this month including a contest, so be sure to check out the new Contest Blog to find out how you can win free stamps!!

The cards I'm sharing today use the new stamp sets Playful Stars, Plaid Plus! and Ready 4 Any Holiday.  The first card is an atc I made for my swap groups and the second card is just a larger version :)

*************************************************************************************

I also took a few photos while I was making the cards so I will share those too :)

Step 1 - Use the plaid maker image and SU! white Craft ink to make your background. 

Step 2 - Add the stars with Brilliance "Rocket Red" ink.  This brand of ink works really well with SU! Kraft cardstock.

Step 3 - Stamp your stars with Brilliance "Moonlight White" ink and cut. 

The large blue star and the medium red star were cut with a craft knife and ruler.  The small stars were punched with a SU! star punch.

For the ATC, I used both the large and small SU! star punches to make them easy to reproduce :) 

If you have any other questions, please let me know :)

Here are some links of my fellow design team members who are also featuring new Kitchen Sink sets on their blogs today:

• Beth Silaika
• Dee Jackson
• Erika Martin
• Jan Tinklenberg
• Julie Masse
• Lori Tecler
• Nicole Cooke
• Rebecca Oehlers
• Tammy Hershberger

Recipe:

Stamps - Playful Plaid!, Playful Stars, Ready 4 Any Holiday by Kitchen Sink Stamps

SU! - Brocade Blue, Kraft and Real Red cardstock, Brocade Blue Classic ink, Craft White ink, Ticket Corner and Star punch, Brocade Blue and White ribbon, Silver Cord, brads, dimensionals

Moonlight White and Rocket Red Brilliance ink, Papertrey White cardstock

So Very Thoughtful

This card features two new releases by Flourishes :)  I've also included a picture of how I stamped the background image -

Place the stamp on a cuttlebug plate or large acrylic block and ink

Set your paper on top of the stamp and and then press and rub across the paper evenly using a paper towel.  (I used SU! Craft ink so the back got a little messy from pressing so close to the edges, but no matter because I was adhering it to a piece of cardstock.)

Carefully lift your paper off of the stamp.

edited to add -  I love Sharon Johnson's technique to place a sheet of typewriter paper down and run a brayer over it!

Recipe:

Stamps - Damask REVERSE and Many Sentiments by Flourishes

SU! - Sahara Sand and Whisper White cardstock, Pretty in Pink Craft ink, Ribbon, Scallop punch, dimensionals

Palette black ink, pin by Making Memories, brads by Treasured Memories

Let the good times roll...

I thought a Flourishes card was in order to celebrate them becoming a member company on SCS :)  This is a new release celebrating Mardi Gras!  I used the baby wipe technique for the  focal image.  It's super easy and always looks cool.  You need reinkers, glossy cardstock, Staz On ink and a couple of baby wipes.  I have a post from a while ago with some pictures you can look at and if you have any questions just let me know :)

Baby Wipe Technique       

Baby Wipe Card

   

Recipe:

Mardi Gras by Flourishes

SU! - Marigold Morning, Whisper White and Glossy Cardstock, Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery, Marigold Morning Reinkers, Black Staz On, dimensionals

Onyx Black Versafine ink (sentiment)