Broom Treat Bags

A couple of years ago I saw these for sale at Michael's.  They were Halloween treat bags in the shape of brooms.  So cute - but too much for my wallet.  So I looked around the blogsphere and I found a caouple of tutorials here is my simple version of the bag.

You will need:

Lunch bags (2 per treat bag)

Scissors

Sticks from your yard OR dowels that you can purchase at a crafts store

Pipe cleaners

Ribbon

Thats all - just fasten with a pipe cleaner and you are finished.  Well you must fill the bag of course - but the basic concept of the outer bag is complete.  The stick should stay in there pretty easily if you get long enough ones.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Fabric Pumpkins

These are so easy to make.  I have seen many tutorials like this online so this is not the only way but it is how I do it:)
First choose some fabric.  I actually decided at the last minute to use a towel that I bought at the 99 cent store.  I figured you couldn't go wrong with some soft fabric that is inexpensive right?

You will also need some felt fabric for the stem of the pumpkin.  I free hand cut 2 pieces of fabric (while folded) and had my stem.  Stitch and then turn right side out.

 YOu will need either sand or beans as I have used here to make your "weight" for the bottom of the pumpkin.

 

That's it - so quick and easy - these make great gifts too!:)

  
 

Making Your Layouts "Pop"

*This Tip is from a post I did on the Noel Mignon Blog on July 4, 2009

Ok so taking pictures of your layout is never easy -- I know I put it off until the last possible minute. But here is a couple tips I have for you. First, take your picture in indirect sunlight --- I use the kitchen, and sometimes even take it outside on my patio table. Some other ways I have taken photos are: *scanning it (although I had a 12x18 scanner so I don't know how to "stitch" the layout together) *I also used to place it right on the ground on top of a white towel and shoot directly above it. I did this outside in the evening. *If I am running real late on a deadline I will use my external flash inside and that usually gets a decent picture. I want to show you where I start with all my layouts. I upload into Picasa and usually crop it (for me it is easier there than in PSE. This one is not cropped but it shows you what my photo looks like straight out of camera. Not too hot - look at all that background noise --and just fyi - I have a cookie jar propping my layout up. Sometimes I will use a little display easel but that means everything has to be nice and neat and lately that ain't happening! LOL! Ok so this is what it looks like with the background noise cropped out. Note: This is in Picasa

Ok, now I need to brighten this layout so it looks true to life.

In photoshop elements (and this works in PS too), I go to.. ENHANCE>ADJUST LIGHTING>LEVELS

Now you should see this on your screen. When you do click on the WHITE eye dropper.

ok with that white eye dropper you will take it to your layout and click on anything that is white. When you click it you will see your layout "pop". I would suggest not settleing on the first pop -- some white parts are lighter than others and you have to find the right click to make it look true to life.

This is what my final take looked like

Big difference from the first one huh?

Punch Organization

**this post was taken from a post I did on the Noel Mignon Blog on August 9, 2009.

Hey there! I just happened to reorganize my punches this past week and I thought it would make a perfect tip for you!

First, I originally had all of my punches in a metal cart what had 3 baskets -- it worked perfectly in the last place we lived because it was wider and I could move it about. But since the move I have converted our closet that is narrow but is very long - into my scrap space. The cart thing was bugging me because it was always in the way when I wanted to get to one of my storage shelves. So I finally changed it up and I am happy with the result. It is nothing new - but I changed it so I would like it and like looking at it. Here it is

I have seen this done with the clear shoe organizers and was not really wanting one - but it made sense to me. And all I could find were mesh ones --- so I utilized this shabby chic one that is usually in my daughters room - but we have not used it here - so I gave it a shot. To help me tell which punch was where I punched the design out onto black cardstock and then glued that onto kraft paper. Then I simply used a safety pin to hold it in place.

I can fit about to or 3 punches in each depending on the size. And the top one with no tag has my new ek success ones. 

 So just an idea if you need to free up some space and/or are looking for an alternative to the clear shoe organizer.!

Michelle

Teacher thank you card

I made this card for my daughters teacher.  I sent it the first week of school.  It's real easy and super cute:)

You will need

Cardstock

Pattern paper

crayons

embellishments

Making a Flower with stamps!

I know we all have some type of circle stamp somewhere in our pile of goodies, so why not use it to make a unique flower?

 

First you will need: (see photo1)

*circle stamp

*pattern paper of your choice

*circle punch OR you can handcut

*glue dots

*a finishing embellishment of your choice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 2.

I simply stamped the image onto my pattern paper 6 times.  I only use 5 circles but usually do a test run of one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 3

Punch out the circles.  Or if you choose you can hand cut these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 4

Next you will take one side of the circle and pinch it together to make a slight fold.  Use a glue dot to hold it together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 5

Continue doing this until you have 5 flower petals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 6

Grab 2 of the petals and stick them together with a glue dot.  Continue this with the rest of the petals.  When you have all 5 together you will have to play with it a little to make an actual flower shape.  When you have achieved the look you like, simply add a glue dot to hold together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 7

Here you have your full flower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 8

Finish it off by adding a button!  And your one of a kind flower is complete!

Mini Stamp Storage

Well if you are anything like me, you love those dollar mini stamps that they have at Michael's and Joann's. Even companies like Scenic Route and Pink Paislee have come out with their "singles" stamps. Organizing them can somtimes be a little messy. I have put all my acrylic stamps in a binder and they look something like this.

 

This is a basic page protector and on the other side of this sheet is a transparency that the stamp sheets are glued to. I recently stamped all of the images onto a white piece of paper so I could clearly see what stamp is where. I also have them organized acording to journaling, flourishes, flowers, etc. Makes it a little easier for me to find things.

Now for those small little stamps I finally found something that keeps them all in one place...baseball card protectors! The last time I was at the dollar store I say them and didn't know what I would do with them - but KNEW they would be good for something - so I bought 2 packs.


Turns out those little singles stamps fit PERFECTLY in there.


Here is what I did:


For the stamps that I had previously attatched to a transparency, I took them off and stamped the image onto a piece of white cardstock that I could slide right in front of the stamp. This is what they look like:
 

 

You can see that the Secnic Route Stamps have the original packaging -- they fit perfectly! Just remember to keep them and not toss them like I did!

Here is another page:

 

I hope this helped a little bit and will help to keep you organized -- I know it does for me!