Let's Encourage Each Other

This is a card that I will be giving to someone special (who will not be named, because she might read my blog and will see this before she gets it) who needs some encouragement.  When you have a lot going on in your life, it's nice to get a little note to bolster you up so that you can deal with it all.  People don't really do that anymore.  We all have so much going on that we don't take that time to send a little something to someone else.  If we all did, then we would all be getting something special here and there that would really help us deal with the stresses in our lives.  Let's share the love!  :)
 

Everything for this card came from Stampin' Up! except for the patterned paper, which came from a friend, who thinks she got it from Target.
 
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Melon Mambo (I think)
Ink:  Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Pretty in Pink 
Stamps:  Flower: True Friend; Inside Sentiment: Whimsical Words
Bling:  I can't remember what they are called officially, but I call them blingy brads.  :)

Something Simple to Dress Things up a Little

Just a quick post to show what I did with some inexpensive decor items I had bought awhile back.

I got the cans from Michael's.  They were 80% off and came to almost exactly what I had left on a gift card I had received for my birthday.  I got the little basket from Target in the $1.00 bin.  All I did was color some plain bling with an aqua Bic Mark-it and then stick them on.  It added that little something extra.  On the basket, I used E6000 to glue some ribbon and a bow that I had made onto it and then added a large bling.  I put marbles in it to weight it down and I use it as a pencil cup in my classroom now.

I'd Forgotten I Made This Card

 

This was one of the first cards I ever made about 4-5 years ago.  I was sorting through some pictures on Facebook and came across this one.  I love this card even though I made it when I was just an inexperienced, card-making baby.  The colors are so great together, though, aren't they.  How did I manage that?  Seriously, you should see some of the cards I was so proud of at the time.......and can't believe I actually took pictures of.  lol

Promise you won't tell where I got the paper........you'll never believe this.......Dollar Tree......shhhhh!  It'll be our little secret.  Can you believe how cute it turned out with a pack of $1.00 scrapbook paper?  The base paper came from Michael's, but the rest is from the Dollar Tree.  The stamp is from Stampin' Up! I think it was a hostess set, but I'm not sure.  I'm not at home where I can check just now, but I will later and add it in.  :)

Great Little Gift to Have on Hand

Sometimes you want to have a little something to give someone as a thank you or a pick-me-up.  A great gift idea is a mini composition notebook altered with some pretty paper, ribbon and bling.  Everyone needs paper to jot things down from time to time and these are the perfect size to fit into a purse or tote bag.  :)  You can write a special message on the first page so the recipient is always reminded of how important they are to you.  The gift that keeps on giving!

 Some of these little guys came from Walmart and some came from Staples.  I did the one that says "My Notes" a couple of years ago and then "lost" it among my craft supplies during a move one storage area to another.  I can't remember which Cricut font I used, but I think it might be from Lyrical Letters.  The others I made more recently.  I haven't decided if I want to do a stamped label on the ones that don't have anything but bling and ribbon or just leave them as is.  I think they're cute like they are, really.  What do you think?

By the way, the black and white paper is from a Walmart paper pack that I've used before in some of my other posts.  The brightly colored squares and stripes is from Michael's.  The other paper is from Stampin' Up!, but I can't remember the name of it.  I think it was part of a mini catalog collection.

I think I'll share this one at D. L. Art as well...... 

Totally Stole This Idea!

One of my favorite bloggers is Robyn over at My Pink Stamper.  She did this card awhile back that was just so simple and elegant that I had to do some for myself.  I left off the sentiment so that I could add them later as needed, but here is my version.  If you click on "My Pink Stamper" above, you will be taken to the video tutorial she did.

The paper is Whisper White from Stampin' Up!  I did a 5.5" x 8.5" folded in half card base.  Then I embossed about 3/4 of a 5.25" x 4" piece of Whisper White. I affixed the velvet ribbon (from Hobby Lobby) onto it, using the "cheater method" from My Pink Stamper.  I use my ATG Gun instead of Scotch tape, though.  The flowers are from The Paper Studio at Hobby Lobby.  I bought a package of the black and white and a package of the pretty aqua and then mixed and matched them.  The bling came with the flowers.  I used hot glue to adhere the flowers.  Aren't they pretty?  I just love the ideas she comes up with.  They are so simple and always cute.

I'm linking this to DLART's Thankful Thursday Linky Party.  Go and check out all of the cute projects when you get a minute!  You won't be disappointed.  :)