Thanks Friend

The Ribbon Carousel Crewmates are teaming up with the talented designers from Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker to bring you a blog hop jam packed with crafty eye candy and some prizes to sweeten the pot at the end of the rainbow....or ummm, hop.

I was generously gifted Nikki Sivils' 12x12 Messages Collection Kit to work with for today's hop.  I used a few of the cardstock punch outs that are included in the kit as my sentiment behind a MFT Rolled Rose die.   I machine stitched the designer paper and layered it onto a Bazzill's Peanut Cluster cardstock base.  I used Redesa Seam Binding which I then threaded through some Natural Spidey Crocheted Lace.  The image, Mo Manning's - Adele was fussy cut and popped up with foam tape for dimension.

Copics Used:

Skin: E13, E21, E00, E50, R02

Hair: E49, E47, E44, E43, E42, E41

Dress: E42, E42, E41

Hat: BG13, BG23, BG11

Now, lets talk prizes! 

The Ribbon Carousel will be giving away a $25 gift certificate to the Ribbon Carousel Store and Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker will be giving away a scrapbooking kit (winner's choice!)  Enjoy the hop andbe sure to leave some blog love along your way to be eligible for the prizes!  Winners will be announced Saturday night at 8:00 PM EST.

First Day of School

I'm the hostess with the mostess this week at the Ribbon Carousel and I want to see all those school themed cards and projects.  

I've created a card to give to my son on his first day of Kindergarten and knew that Mo Manning's, To School would be perfect image to use.  I started with a card base of Bazzill's Peanut Cluster cardstock and accented with a layer of Candy Bar.  I added lots of textures with the scrap of corrugated paper, large button, Alphabet Twill and Brown grosgrain ribbon.  The sentiment is a chipboard sticker from my stash and the designer paper is from My Mind's Eye Six by Six (Away We Go) collection.

  

As I mentioned, Nathan started Kindergarten last week.  

I've known this day was coming.  For months I've been dreading and preparing for this day and yet - this day took me by complete surprise.  Without a doubt, the tears I shed and sadness I felt over my "baby" starting a new chapter in his life were totally expected.  But what was so surprising was how much he looked like a big kid, how deeply I missed him during the day and the sobering realization at just how quickly 5 years has gone by.  But I have to say that his confidence and contagious excitement about going to school for the very first time was the nicest surprise.  

I hope my creation has inspired to you play along with us this week at the Ribbon Carousel Challenge Blog,  Remember, your creation can be anything you'd like, just be sure you use ribbon, bakers twine, lace, thread...(anything that comes on a spool) using a Back to School theme.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Do Great Things

WOW!!  I can hardly believe that it's been two weeks since my last blog post.

My husband surprised the kids and I with a little impromptu vacation the week before school started.  We all had such a great time and it was just what I needed...a blogging/crafting break for some much needed family time. 

My "baby", Nathan started Kindergarten last week and he's been so excited about taking his lunch each day.  I've made a goal for myself to tuck a little lunch box note card in his lunchbox every Monday.  My plan is to have each 3" x 3 1/2" card to maintain a simple and yet similar design.  I can't go getting too elaborate knowing the little notes will most likely end up in the trashcan.  ;)  

 This week, I used our There She Goes challenge sketch along with the newly released TSG stamp set, Enjoy Life - By the Sea.  I think the sentiment is so uplifting and makes the perfect note of encouragement!  I started with a base of Bazzill's Rock Candy cardstock and then accented with Jawbreaker and Robin's Egg cardstock.  The notebook page was created using stamps and a die from Papertrey Ink.  Some Gray Mist vintage seam binding was tied into a knot and the sentiment panel was popped up with foam tape.

Need more inspiration to help you get started?  Then stop by the TSG Blog to see the amazing samples that the other Trendsetters have created this week and then play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Celebrating Summer

This week our wild and crazy Ribbon Carousel Crewmate Jenny Peterson is serving us up with a dose of crafty inspiration.  She is challenging us to make a card with a SUMMER theme! 

Ahhh Summer!  It's the time to enjoying long days of warm sunshine, no school, family vacations, toes in the sand and dips in the pool.  Here in the Ramlakhan household, those carefree days are quickly coming to an end...only one more week before school starts!!   

With Summer as inspiration for this weeks challenge it was the perfect excuse for me to use Saturated Canary's, Cali Girl image.  I kept the card design simple, with a card base of Bazzill's Marshmallow cardstock and Fancy Pants (Beach Babe) designer paper.  I embellished with a little loop of Parrot Green grosgrain ribbon along with some Prima paper flowers from my stash and added a K&Company road sign metal brad in the center.  The (real) starfish was attached with a dot of hot glue and I used the  Perfect Layers tool to achieve the perfectly straight and spaced layers on my card. 

Copics Used:

Skin: E15, E13, E11, E00, E50, R02

Hair: C9, C7, C5, C3, C1

Lips: R24, R22, R11

Eyes/Bikini: BG18, BG13, BG11

Towel: RV17, RV34, RV10

Shadowing: C1, BG11, BG70

Hopefully my creation has inspired to you play along with us this week at the Ribbon Carousel Challenge Blog,  Remember, your creation can be anything you'd like, just be sure you use ribbon, bakers twine, lace, thread...(anything that comes on a spool) using a SUMMER theme.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!  :)

Die Organization & Storage Ideas

Last month when I shared my paper storage ideas I had many requests asking to see how I store my die's.  So today I'm going to show you how I do it.  To make things easier for you, I have provided links within this post and along my sidebar on the right, to all of the products I use.

Like many of you, I have quite the little die collection....my love for dies is only second to my love of paper pads.  :)   A few years back I was keeping my Spellbinders dies in a zippered CD binder.  I never liked it, it was big and UGLY.  So, I went on a mission to find something that would not only look nice but would be functional as well.  

I found these...

These are American Covers faux leather bound CD binders.  I LOVE everything about it them!! 

First, they look like books, so that won me over right there.  ;)  The size is perfect (8 1/4" x 11"), it is a 3-ring binder system so it's expandable, and they hold a LOT!!  I currently have three and only one is completely full.  Each binder is designed to hold 288 CD....that equals a lot of die storage!!!  :)  The CD insert pages are included with the binders.  I have seen the binders sold at Staples for around $17 each or you can get them at Amazon where they are sold in a set of 3 for $45.

Here's a look at the inside and how things are organized.

This binder holds all of my MFT Die-namics.  On the left you can see one of the empty plastic pouch that I use for storing smaller dies and border dies.  (Click photo to enlarge).  These Binder Pouches are available at Amazon.  I cannot even begin to tell you just how much I LOVE these pouches!!  They are strong, durable and very affordable at only $1.49 each.  Each pouch as four (4) interior compartments.  There are 3 pockets that I use for sorting/storing my smaller dies and the larger front pocket holds my longer border dies.  The entire pouch zips locks close so I don't have to worry about anything falling out.  I label each compartment with the name of the die inside so I always know where to put things back.  

I store all of my larger die sets such as Spellbinders and MFT Dia-namic Stax on magnetic sheets cut to size (4 1/2" x 4 1/2") to fit into the CD pockets.  I always buy my magnet sheets at Home Depot (or other home improvement/hardware stores) which are actually just magnetic vent covers that come in packs of 3 for $3.00.   

Here you can see the way I store the MFT Oval Stax Die-namics on the right and the much larger dies such as the Fishtail Banners on the left.  The binder pouch shown previously, would also easily hold those larger sized dies in the larger front pocket/compartment of the pouch.  (Which I've since moved my Fishtail dies there....I was afraid that smallest size banner was going to fall out and get lost.)

Since my die storage solution  look just like leather bound books, it's not so bad if they don't make it back into the crafty closet...I can leave them sitting out and nobody knows that my crafty goodies are actually inside!!  :)     Now, if I could only use the drawers in the chest for some crafty storage too, but that is where the kids keep all of their video games and controllers.  LOL :)

Well, I hope you've enjoyed taking a peek at my die storage and maybe saw something that could work for you too.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Seeing Stars

This week our There She Goes challenge is brought to us by our Trendsetter of the week, Sandra!

 She is challenging YOU to make a card or project using a sentiment as the main focus of your card!!

Recently I have been embracing the Clean & Simple style and LOVING it!!  :)

Although it seems to actually take me longer to create with this style, I'm convinced the more I do it and become comfortable with it, the faster I will be at it.  That being said, I thought this challenge would be the perfect opportunity to go CAS and let the sentiment be the focus.  I started with a base of Bazzill's Marshmallow cardstock and heat embossed my sentiment onto some gorgeous Jawbreaker cardstock.  The sentiment and starfish are both from the newly released Beach Bum stamp set.  The designer paper is from Echo Park's Paradise Beach.  The starfish were colored with Copics and popped up with foam dots for dimension.

Need more inspiration to help you get started? Then stop by the TSG Blog to see the amazing samples that the other Trendsetters have created this week and then play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

You Are My Anchor

This week at the Ribbon Carousel we are challenging you to do a little stitching on your creations.  You guys know how much I LOVE my Janome Sew Mini Sewing Machine so this was a super fun challenge for me.  Don't have a sewing machine?  Then faux stitching it is!  :)   

For my card, I started with a Marshmallow cardstock base and accented with layers of Peanut Cluster cardstock.  I chose designer papers from Authentique (Glory) and then machine stitched all of the paper panels.  For my image, I've used My Favorite Things newest a'la Mode - You Anchor Me.  The little anchor is a die from MFT's coordinating Sea Charm Die-namics and is tied with some beautiful Graphite Vintage Seam Binding and accented with a bit of Cherry Divine Twine.  I distressed and frayed the edges to the seam binding for character and to matching the distressed look of the papers.

Copics Used:

Skin: E11, E00, E50, R02

Hair: E41, E42, E43, E44

Shirt: R39, R37, R35

Shorts: B99, B97, B95, B91

Anchor: C7, C5, C3, C1, C00

Hopefully my creation has inspired to you play along with us this week at the Ribbon Carousel Challenge Blog,  Remember, your creation can be anything you'd like, just be sure you use ribbon, bakers twine, lace, thread...(anything that comes on a spool) with a little stitching.


Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

Fin-tastic Friend

Welcome to a VERY special Blog Hop celebrating

  Your Next Stamp's 3rd Birthday!!! 

We are so excited about this milestone, we have some fun & ADORABLE projects to share with you!

We are making this hop even more fun, because we have put together a scavenger hunt! Each DT member and guest has a bold, colored letter on her blog. Collect all the letters and unscramble them to find the special saying. Once you do that, e-mail Karen at karen@yournextstamp.com and you will qualify for the $25 YNS shopping spree GRAND PRIZE!!!

I ADORE this sweet Snorkel Fun Fishy and sentiment!!  :)   I started with a card base of Bazzill Jawbreaker cardstock and accented with a layer of Marshmallow cardstock.  I used a scrap piece of designer paper from Echo Park's (Paradise Beach) paper pad along with a scrap of Parrot Green Grosgrain ribbon.  The orange button is from Papertrey Ink.  The entire image panel is popped up with foam dots for dimension.

  

There are 3 special new release prize packs hidden along the hop. Just leave comments along the way to win!  You have until August 9th at 12 midnight EST to play along and the winners will be announced August 10th on the YNS Blog !

As always we have some awesome specials at the YNS Store!   Everyone will receive a FREE scratch card with every purchase all month long or while supplies last! Every card is a WINNER!

Also receive 25% off your order August 6th-August 10th! Online code is HAPPY

Karen has just improved the YNS Store website,  so make sure you check it out! We now have larger thumbnails so you can see these adorable images even better!

 My letter is Y