Paper Pumpkin Club on Trial

 

 

The Paper Pumpkin Club is  basically a Birchbox for stampers.  Each month you will receive a box of Stampin Up goodies to make a few cards.  It's personal card making time in a box.  Well, I love card making and Stampin Up products, so what the heck, let's give it a try.  I contacted Wendy and told her to sign me up.

 

Anyone who signed up with Wendy Cranford of Luvin Stampin Up, would receive an eXtra special treat from her just for signing up.  She sent me a case to house all my Paper Pumpkin stamps for the year.

 

 

 

Totally adorable.  This little case really got me hyped and super excited about the club.

 

 

Inside the case was another surprise- these cute samples from Stampin Up. (I love the punch dresses.)  I could hardly wait until the arrival of my first Paper Pumpkin.  I began counting the days.

 

 

 

Last week my first Paper Pumpkin finally arrived...

 



 

with this cute little welcome letter.

 

 

Now to the goodies.

 

 

After opening the crisp white tissue paper wrapping, this was what I discovered inside.

 

 

Hmmm.....my excitement started declining. 

 



 

These are stickers. Where's the real mini spool of ribbon, and where were the real starbursts cut from a Stampin Up punch?  I was expecting the quality that I got from Wendy from her samples.

 

I sorted through all the contents to make sure I had what I needed to make the four cards.  Yes, FOUR cards!  Everything was there.  So I got busy, and in less than 15 minutes, this was the end product.

 

I admit, I was not totally impressed with my first Paper Pumpkin box.  It just didn't appear to be quality paper.  The stamp was ok.  The ink pad was ok. The buttons were ok. But the rest was a total thumbs down.

 

 

Yes, I was totally disappointed (Have I said that already?) with my first Paper Pumpkin kit, but I am not one that gives up so easily.  So, I'll hang with them for three months.  Honestly, if quality doesn't improve, I will not be a repeat customer for the "Birchbox for Stampers."

 

 

On a happy note, one of the third grade teachers and his wife are expecting a baby boy in a few weeks. Yay for babies~ He loves baseball and Ohio State. So we (the second grade team)  combined the two ideas and presented the family with these little gifts.

 





 

The items are all handmade by Tonya of Sweet Mia Boutique (except the cards. I picked those up from the Dollar bin at Target.)  She has a space at The Meeting Corner where I as well have a booth. She's great! 

 

So support 

Handmade!

Shop Small!

Shop Local!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by~

Seuss-tacular Thank You Cards: A How To

We are celebrating "Read Across America" this  week at school.  Each year during this time, we also have a school wide book fair.  I don't know about you, but the thought of hundreds and hundreds of children's books in one place make me giddy with excitement.  Each time the book fair comes to school, the teachers are fortunate enough to create a wish list of some sort.  Just the thought of books being added to my class library makes me super excited.

Well, over the past few years, I've only had maybe two books per book fair donated to my class library. Don't get me wrong, I'm always thankful for each and every book donated. But I wasn't going to set myself up hoping for lots and lots of books and then be let down.  So I didn't get my hopes up too high when the Spring book fair rolled around this year.

Last week, I grabbed my basket labeled with my name and "shopped" around the book fair and carefully placed books into my wish basket.  I chose books that would really supplement the new Common Core Standards and would create interest for my students. After my selections,  I placed my book basket in its designated place amongst the letter "M's" on the teacher shelf and didn't look back.

Well low and behold, the next day one book came in, the following day two more books came in.  Oh my goodness~ books and more books and even more books. My heart smiled a ginormous smile.

In honor of Dr. Seuss and the generous book donations from my kiddos (and their mommies and daddies), I arrived at school super early this morning to make these thank you cards.  I really wanted them to know how much I appreciated their thoughtfulness and generosity.

Want to make your own?  Here's how~

• Gather your materials

 

 Dr. Seuss themed scrapbook paper. Jo Ann fabrics had it for 50 cents per sheet this week.

 

 

 Coordinating card stock.  When I think of Dr. Seuss, these are the colors I think of.

 

 

5 1/2" x 4 blank note cards (I'm partial to Kraft) , black stamp pad, thank you stamp of your choice, dimensionals

 

Cutting board, ATG or some type of adhesive, corner rounder (optional), tag punch

 

 

  I cut the colored card stock into 5 1/4" x 3 3/4" pieces.

 

 

 

 I cut the patterned Dr. Seuss paper at 5" x 3 1/2".

 

 

 I rounded the edges on the solid card stock and patterned paper.  I decided against rounding the edges of the Kraft blank card. I liked the hard edge. 

 

 

All the paper is cut.  I cut a 5 1/4" x 3 3/4" white piece for the insert for each card.

 

 

 I used this stamp to create a sentiment on red paper.

 

 

  I then used my EK Success tag punch to punch out the sentiments.

 

 

I added small dimensionals to the back of each sentiment.

 

 

I layered the pre-cut pieces onto the blank notepad.

 

 

I am impressed with the way the cards turned out.  After writing the thank-yous during my planning, I eagerly gave the cards to my kiddos to take home.  I heard one kiddo saying to another, "Wow, I got a special treat from Mrs. M. I can hardly wait to show my mom."  Insert <happy teacher.>

 

 

I hope you have a Seuss-tacular week~

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!



Bunting Project

I have two small consignment corners in two different shops in a nearby town.  Yes- CORNERS! One is a simple 4 shelf bookcase in a new shop that opened about 3 months ago on main street and the other is an 8 x 8- give or take a foot-  corner in an established marketplace with more restrictions than one can imagine.

I am always trying to find unique, yet simple items for each space. Presentation is key in both establishments. I have to "draw" in the customers you know. My ultimate goal is to make rent each month and hopefully come out with a little extra to make and buy more items for the booths for the next month.

I usually make or buy things that I would like to have for myself in case they don't happen to sell in either space.  I just hope that means I have good taste.  So I thought I would try my hand at some bunting.

Bunting is all the rage now.  It's everywhere- hanging at the top of your blog pages, draped across a mantle for Valentine's Day, and even on a cute birthday card.  Here's a tutorial on a simple bunting I made to put on a bulletin board in one of my shops.

You will need:

• cute scrapbook paper
• bias tape
• sewing machine with thread of choice
• laminating machine (optional)

I used my Cricut and cut out about 10 pennants using the Locker Talk cartridge.

 

After cutting out the pennants, I used my paper cutter to cut off the wings at the end of each pennant.  This made it easier to tuck in the bias tape to sew.

 

Next, I laminated the pieces for durability and cut them out.

 

 

 

Then, I stitched a seam down the back.  I flipped the bunting over and sewed another zigzag line.

 

 

 

 

The finished product.

 

 

I added it to this bulletin board and placed it in my shop.  This board lasted only a few days in the shop.

 

 

 



Thanks for stopping by~

Paper Bag Valentines

Earlier in the week, the Capital City once again was forecasted to have yet another Winter Storm.  Read about last Friday's weather threat {here}. 

It was a crazy, CrAzY, CRAZY day at school.  To be proactive in anticipation of the storm,yesterday,  the school system I work for decided to release school 3 hours early today. Sounds great, right? Well after the start of the school day, we received yet another memo stating that school would now be released 4 hours earlier, no longer the 3 hours mentioned the previous day.  That meant our school would be released at 11:45 a.m.

So the mad dash was on-music, math, lunch, and dismissal. Once all the kiddos were on a bus, in a car, or headed to an afterschool program of some sort, I headed home.  The drive home that usually takes less than 10 minutes, took over 30 minutes due to a thin blanket of ice on the roads.

So now I'm perched on the bed in my comfy clothes, peering out the window, listening to Roseanne in the background, and sharing with you a fun, simple valentine treat.

Materials needed:

• paper grocery bag

• Hershey kisses

• sewing machine

• sentiment stamp of choice

Directions:

First, I cut out two heart shapes using my Cricut from a leftover paperbag.  You can definitely cut these out by hand. Kraft paper works well, too.

Next, I stamped a sentiment on the nonprinted side of each heart shape. An alternative to the stamp would be to write a handwritten message or sentiment.  My handwriting is not the best, so if I can find a stamp, I go with it.

Then, I sewed about 3/4 around the heart with red thread using my sewing machine.  I stuffed 3 Hershey kisses inside and finished sewing around the remaining 1/4 of the shape.

Finally, Share with a special person. (Tear to open.)

Super Easy and takes less than 5 minutes.

Another alternative would be to use decorative paper bags or scrapbook paper. The possibilities are endless. I personally love the look of the paperbag.  Be creative and have fun~

Now off to make some hot chocolate, load another episode of Rosanne, and enjoy the remaining extra time at home with my family! They're all home.

Thanks for stopping by~

Don't Cry Because It's Over, Smile Because It Happened!

My track-out is over.  For the last month, I have enjoyed working and creating new items for my consignment shop.  I've become obsessed visiting surplus sales, yard sales,  antique shops, Goodwill stores, book stores, and ReCrEaTiNg in my craft room and garage.  I don't want it to end. I DoN't WaNt It To EnD. I DON"T WANT IT TO END.   And yes, I'm crying because it's over and smiling because it happened.  Did I mention I was crying because it's over? This has been my hardest track out - in terms of being ready to go back. I won't have this opportunity again for another 9 weeks.

My students come back to school on Tuesday.  I work in a year round school- 9 weeks on, 3 weeks off.  This year because we are double tracked on all tracks, we have to pack up our classroom twice during the school year onto roll carts.  We then roll them into a track out space where our classroom goodies hangout for about three weeks and celebrate. Then, on my last workday before tracking in, which by the way is usually optional or an Early Release, I have to reassemble my classroom in just a few hours and be ready for students as if it were the first day of school.

The problem came on Thursday night when we were forecasted to have SNOW. Oh, no! SNOW! Many people would jump for joy to have snow, but oh not me.  I needed to track into a classroom (even though the opportunity to stay home and create more goodies for my shop was very inviting) and the teacher I was following needed to finish tracking out of her room.  I was already destroyed by the fact that I will now have limited time- very limited time- to add to my shop. Now the  possibility of canceled school and setting up my classroom before the arrival of students added to my anxiety.  This would mean my students would show up on Tuesday morning with our classroom still on three carts outside our soon to be classroom.

On Friday, the school system posted a two hour delay- Hooray!  No cancellation. While school wouldn't start until 11:15 a.m., I hurried to school at 7:45 and assembled a classroom in just 3 1/2 hours. I unpacked these three carts without the other teacher's consent, but she was jiggy with it when she arrived around 10:30 a.m. Now my classroom is set up. I am going to make the best of my last extended weekend for a few months and CREATE!

I am now stepping off my soap box. 

Have a great week and follow my Facebook page~

Thanks for stopping by~

Clean and Simple Origami Cards

Today I want to share with you an easy origami valentine card.

These are the materials I used.

I cut paper into 5 x 5 squares. (I purchased the paper from the dollar bin at Target.)  Then I followed this tutorial.

It didn't take long to make these.

I put the finished valentine's  through my sticker maker.  Double sided tape will work just fine so don't worry.  I placed a valentine on the front of kraft cardstock.  I bought a large pack of blank kraft cardstock cards on Black Friday for next to nothing at Michael's.  I stamped a sentiment onto the front.  I grabbed this stamp from the dollar bin at Michael's as well.

 

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 I will be sending these cards to my gals in the Random Act of Kindness Card Club in which I belong. 

Thanks for stopping by~