Congratulations on your new baby girl gift set

Whew! That was alot of projects I hadn't posted in awhile...flashback from the past and now on to the present!

My younger sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in early February and named her Mikayla. I thought using Angel Landing's digital stamp sets called Alphabet Train and Toys on Wheels would be the perfect way to welcome the new baby.

The frame was bought at Walmart. I love using these frames - they are the perfect size! The frame came with its own matting, but I chose to create my own by using a cereal box (cut to size) and decorated it with patterned paper and used my square nesties to make the frames. One of the hardest part was to measure how far apart the frames should be and cut out the squares in the middle - it was hard to keep it in place!

The tedious part of this project was figuring out the size of the letters as well as cutting each and every one of them out. It was also difficult to attach the hemp twine underneath the wheels and figuring out spacing - as you can see, the letters came out a little crooked - oh well!!! I guess it kind of looks like it is being dragged so I guess it looks ok. The letters were colored with prismacolor pencils blended with baby oil and popped up. I also used a small piece of cotton ball for the bunny's tale on both the frame and the card.

Inspiration for the card was based on Card Patterns Sketch 106. I just used a scrap piece of scalloped square from the frame, cut out a circle in the middle and placed patterned paper in its place. I did some stitching on the patterned paper (although I still need practice sewing - LOL). I think the card turned out so adorable, don't ya think?

This project was inspired by this one that I created for the Angel's Landing DT.

Thank you for visiting!

Stamps: Digital Stamps from Angels Landing - Toys on Wheels, Alphabet Train
Paper: K&C Small Wonders Girl Pack, Kraft/Vanilla Cardstock
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Antique Linen
Accessories: White Satin Ribbon, Prima Flower, Button, Hemp Twine, Cotton Ball. Square/Circle Nesties, Sewing Machine, Prismacolor Pencils blended with Baby Oil

Angels Landing Gift Tile Coaster Gift Set

Whew! I forgot how tiring and cumbersome posting can be...I've got one more for yah!

I created a matching card for the tile coaster set I made way back when. Remember this? I created a gift set made up of 4 tile coasters using digital stamps. If you read through the post, you will find several links on just how to use digital stamps on tile coasters like the one I used. Good news is that the family finally moved in to their new house.

To make the card, I combined several sets from Angels Landing: flowers and leaves from Simply Flowers, cute bird from Aussie Animals and the background from Pierced Backgrounds. I love the look of scalloped edges so I used the biggest scalloped square Nestie to cut out the card. I topped it off with a sheer ribbon at the top and sponged Tim Holtz distressing inks around the edges (yes, I am still into vintage!). I printed 2 of the flowers and popped them up. I also added some glitter in the middle of the flowers to make them stand out a bit. I also popped up the little kookaburra bird (Judy - if you are reading this, please correct me if I wrong - teehee). I used prismacolored pencils blended with baby oil to color in the images. For the sentiment, I used the PTI set called Garden of Life.

Without further ado...tada!

My husband keeps telling me to wrap it up so he can give it to the family so I guess I better get a move on. Better late than never, right???

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a good one!

Angels Landing September Blog Hop

Welcome to Angels Landing September Blog Hop. If you are coming here from Jennifer Scull's blog, then you are on the right path. If you missed the beginning of the hop, head on over to Judi's blog and follow the links. I was so thrilled when Judi had asked me to join in the fun this month. Just in time...since I was already having Angels Landing withdrawal - LOL! Thanks Judi!

Today, the Design Team is introducing two new digital image sets for September, Autumn Tweetings and  Ho Ho Hollydays - just in time for the upcoming holidays!

I created two samples today...a gift card stocking and christmas tag. Both projects uses images from Ho Ho Hollydays.

The first project is a Christmas stocking gift card holder. I used a stocking template provided by Papercrafts Magazine Nov-Dec 2008 issue (you can find the link here - Argyle Gift Card Stocking - scroll all the way down the page).

In the PC Magazine sample, they used an argly patterned paper and I was lucky enough to find some in my stash. I printed all of the template pieces twice and traced them on patterned paper twice as well. The other side is decorated the same as well. The top piece of the stocking is cut out of felt for some texture. The doggy image was so cute that I decided to use him on the front as an embellishment. The heel and toe pieces have been sewn with crochet thread. I used very thin tacky tape to adhere the front and back together to make sure it doesn't come apart. Leave the top part open to be able to insert the gift card.

Wouldn't this be a cute way to present a gift card? All the recipient has to do is pull on the attached ribbon to access the gift card. I love making two-in-one gifts ... the recipient can also hang this as an ornament on their Christmas tree.

My second sample is a little birdy Christmas tag. I've been seeing all of these cute Christmas tags made with the Stampin Up labels die cut. I just purchased the Spellbinders Labels Eight nesties and thought it would be fun to create a Christmas tag. I printed off the "Ho Ho Ho" sentiment from Ho Ho Hollydays several times on cardstock. I used my prismacolor pencils blended with baby oil to color in all of the "Ho's" and hollies. The "To: and From:" sentiments are computer generated. I used the cute birdy as my main image - printed twice and popped up with dimensionals. I stamped a snowflake in the background.

I can't believe Autumn is soon upon us and Christmas is just around the corner. The funny thing is in my parts, we are suddenly feeling the wrath of summer weather when it was only down to 50 degrees the other week! I guess that is Minnesota weather for yah, eh?

I am your LAST stop on the blog hop. Head on back to the ** Angels Landing blog ** to make sure you didn't miss anyone's blog. Make sure to leave some lovin' cuz you might just win some sets for yourself to play with.

Before you go, the party continues ... make your way to the Angels Landing SNR Group release party to do some chatting with  Judi, the DT members and even more chances to win random prizes. See you there! More deets here...

Thanks for coming by the Angels Landing bloggity hop!

Angels Landing: Best Friends Fur-ever

This week at Angels Landing, the theme is Friendship. I chose to create a viewmaster card that I have always wanted to try out. You can find the tutorial here located in the Resources forum on SCS. I had this vision of cats getting stuck in a tree and that is what inspired me to create this card. LOL! In lieu of my inspiration, I chose to use images from the newly released sets: Cats and Kittens and Cat Paw Prints.

According to steps 3-5 on the tutorial, a 1/8 inch handheld punch was used to create notches on the final circle. For those of you who don't own that many handheld punches, like me you learn to improvise. I used my trusty ol' crop-a-dile to make the notches (I used both the big and small punch making sure you are only punching out a half of a circle - worked beautifully!).

After the circle was complete with notches, I lined it up behind the front panel to make sure it was placed perfectly behind it before poking a hole for the brad (the brad is covered by the top of tree). I don't own any circle punches, so I used my classic circle nestabilities to punch a hole through the top panel covered with patterned paper just a little above the brad. I used my circle coluzzle to create the partial hole on the side of the front panel as well as the base layer so you can access and spin the circle.

I followed the tutorial to a tee until I got to the part on stamping images through the punched hole. Because I was using digital images, it took a lot of time of toying around with the placement of the images through the punched area of the tree. I had to also play with the sizing of the images to fit the circle. It would have been very difficult to directly print onto the circle so after the images were printed and colored, I used the same size circle die cut I used for the front panel to cut out the images as you can see below.

For the tree trunk, I used one of Mel McCarthy's digital images, tree trunk, you can find here. I printed it on chocolate cardstock and cut it out. I used Elmer's glue to stick the tree trunk to the front panel. The top of the tree was cut with the blossom nestabilities die cut and embossed with the Cuttlebug leaves embossing folder for a 3D effect. I finished off the card with another image of a cat sitting at the bottom of the tree waiting for his friends to come down. For a more vintage look, I added a crochet ribbon adorned with buttons and string. I added a ground embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder distressed with Antique Linen ink and glitter glue (I drew in the curves for the ground and hand cut).

For the inside of the card, I used some scrap pieces of patterned paper to line the inside cardstock layers. I adjusted the circle sentiment that reads "Have a great birthday...Hope it's the cat's meow" from Cat Paw Prints in my PSE software program so that two kitty friends could sit nicely inside the circle. Again, the cardstock edges were inked with Antique Linen distress ink.

On a sad note, this is my very last project for Angels Landing...Waaaahhhhhh!!! I can't believe that 3 months had already gone by. It really gives the meaning to the age old saying "Time flies when you are having fun!"

Judi planned it perfectly for the theme this week: FRIENDSHIP. I am dedicating this last project to Judi. She was one of the first people to give me this wonderful opportunity to work in one of the best DT environments you could ever ask for - she is one SUPER organized gal and one SUPER talented artist - I've become a BIG fan of her artwork!! She is a SUPER friend and boss!

So for all of you who applied for the Fall DT and get a chance to work with Judi and her images, you won't regret it...She is fabulous to work for! Thanks so much from the bottom of my heart Judi for believing in me and my work! I won't ever forget your generosity! Love yah!

This might be my last project as an Angels Landing DT member, but you will still see me creating cards and projects with Judi's images...only I'll be the spectator this time! *wink*

Thanks for visiting and till next time...have a paws-itively purr-fect day!!!

Digital Images: Angels Landing (Cats and Kittens, Cat Paw Prints), Melstampz (Tree Trunk)

Paper: K&Company Classics

Cardstock: The Paper Company (Chocolate), Georgia Pacific (White)

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen)

Die Cut: Spellbinders (Classic Circle, Blossom Nestabilities)

Embossing: Cuttlebug (Swiss Dots, Leaves Embossing Folders)

Accessories: Crop-a-Dile, Scotch Mounting Tape, Glitter Glue, Crochet Ribbon, Vintage Buttons, String

Angels Landing: Back to School Gift Set

Hello All...it's Wednesday and you all know what that means! Yup, it's time for Angels Landing Wednesday Themed DT Projects. This week is all about Back to School.

Sigh! Summer is shortly coming to an end and the start of school is just around the corner...And as you all know, a couple months back, my son graduated from preschool and will be starting kindergarten in two weeks! He's grown up so fast and I am going to miss my little man! Boo Hoo!

To welcome my son's teacher to the new schoolyear, I created a back to school gift set. The gift set includes a journal (a composition notebook cut in half) with matching beaded pen, a bookmark and card. Doesn't this bring you back to the good ol' days of being in school?

There are so many cute Angels Landing images that I couldn't just one so I've incorporated 3 different adorable bear images on all 3 pieces from the Mini Bears and Birds digi-stamp set.

This bookmark uses Bearly Adequate bear - isn't he just adorable??? I used my classic rectangle nestabilities to frame the little guy and rounded the corners. The edges are inked with Antique Linen distress ink and Stampin' Up Rose Romance inks. The pink scallop border is actually a piece of felt. This is the first time I've cut felt using my nesties and cuttlebug. It was somewhat difficult to cut through one layer of felt but if you run through a couple of times, the felt will be cut enough that you can just cut away the rest with scissors. (Cuttlebug Recipe: Plate A + Plate B + Felt + Nestie + a piece of scrap paper folded in fourths + Plate C). The Big Shot might cut through the felt a little better.

I wanted to somehow incorporate a calendar that the teacher could quickly glance at during the schoolyear so I created an all in one bookmark inspired by a template that a fellow SCS'er is gracious enough to share every year. You can download the 2009 calendar here especially made for a bookmark (here's a link to the 2010 calendar template).

In lieu of the school theme, I used a fun cool font called LA El 2 that you can download from fontspace.com (click on name of the font for a direct link). It is in the category under "elementary" if you want to see more versions to use for school themed projects. Most of the fonts on this site are compressed files (zip files) so you will need to do the following in order to save it to your fonts folder:

- Click on Download button for desired font
- A new menu (File Download) will open up, click on Open

- A new window will open up with the font files, click on Extract Files

- Once the files have completely been extracted, another window of the extracted files will pop up

- Right click your mouse and copy the file with the symbol "TT" that stands for TrueType font (in this case the file was called LA_E_2)

- Go to the Start menu, open up My Computer

- Click on the C: drive, open up the Windows folder

- Scroll down to fonts folder, right click on mouse and paste

** Unfortunately, you have to take these extra steps just to save a font to be able to use it (unless you can find a shorter way, please let me know - LOL!)

I created a little tag that says "Read" at the top of the bookmark. Since we didn't know who my son's teacher is going to be yet, I wasn't able to customize the gift set so I created a little tag that says "This book belongs to _________" for her to put her name on it.

Next up is a mini journal that the teacher can use for notes. I bought a whole bunch of composition notebooks awhile back and went to OfficeMax to have them cut in half. It costs $1 per cut. The half composition notebooks are a lot of fun to decorate as much as the full version. Again, staying with the school theme, I added a border of the font underneath the main image. For the image, I used Chubby Cubby bear. I thought he was the perfect image to use on a notebook. I created the same technique on the main panel as I did with the bookmark. I topped it off with a wide grossgrain ribbon tied with srting on the side, crochet fleurette with button and crochet thread. I also made a matching beaded pen (you can find the tutorial here on SCS).

And, of course, you can't give a gift without a matching card. I used scraps of patterned paper from the notebook and created two panels behind the main image. This time, I used Cubby Cousins bear. Doesn't he look like he is lovingly looking at the teacher? I just love the expression on all of the bears it was hard to use just one main image. Since teachers are a special part of a child growing up, I added a sentiment that says "Inspire" on the card. I used the spiral punch on the background panel to make it look like it was torn out of a notebook. For added effect, I added some piercing on the top and bottom of the panels along with a wide grossgrain ribbon tied with string.

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to check out the other DTs creations for today at the Angels Landing blog!!!

Digital Stamps: Angels Landing (Mini Bears and Birds)
Paper: Me and My Big Ideas
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (White), Jo-Anns Value Pack (Brown), Unkown (Kraft)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen), Stampin Up (Rose Romance)
Die Cut: Spellbinders (Rectangle Nestabilities)
Punches: Stampin Up (Spiral)
Accessories: Pink Felt, String, RSVP Pen, Microbeads, Terrifically Tacky Tape, Scotch Foam Mounting Tape
Coloring: Prismacolor Pencils blended with baby oil

Angels Landing August Blog Hop: Have a Paws-itively Purr-fect Day

Welcome to Angels Landing August Blog Hop. If you missed the beginning of the hop, head over to Judi's blog and follow the links.

Today, the Design Team is introducing two new digital image sets for August, Cats and Kittens and Cat Paw Prints. And like all of the other AL sets, they are absolutely adorable!

For my sample, I created an acetate card. If you've never tried to make an acetate card, check out this tutorial on SCS. I went a little vintage on this (not a surprise since I always tend to go that way on most of my cards) and used the cracked glass technique (you can find the tutorial here) since the cats were calling for an antiqued look. I thought it would be fun to use the sketch layout from Sheetload of Cards August ezine.

As you can see, you have to be pretty creative with the placement of your cardstock and/or patterned paper when using acetate. In this case, I just used a good ol' transparency sheet (I bought a whole box from an office supply store). Transparency sheets are a bit flimsy but it becomes sturdier as you add your layers of cardstock and/or patterned paper. This card is a 5.5 inch square card. I thought it would be fun to print out the kitties from the Cats and Kittens digi set on an offset position in each square. Then I used the cracked glass technique on each square. Then I added the sentiment from Cat Paw Prints to finish off the card. I used my slit punch for the scalloped border and adorned each scallop with a dot of 3D Scribbles Iridescent White Mist paint to make it look like faux pearls. Then I used one of my favorite combo embellishments using wide grossgrain ribbon, a crochet fleurette (which I made myself), button and string.

The inside of the card is lined with layered cardstock and patterned paper with polka dots and pawprints which has unfortunately been covered with a square piece of vanilla cardstock for a place to write a message on. I guess I could have put the inside layers underneath the top layer on the front side of the card, but then it would have covered the whole front of the card and you wouldn't be able to tell it was an acetate card.

So there you have it...hope you enjoyed my sample!

I am currently enjoying my camping trip this week and was able to schedule this post ahead of time. With that said, I am your LAST stop on the blog hop.

Head on back to the ** Angels Landing blog ** to make sure you didn't miss anyone's blog. Make sure to leave some lovin' cuz you might just win some sets for yourself to play with.

Thanks for coming by the Angels Landing Kitty bloggity hop!

Have a Paws-itively Purr-fect Day!

Angels Landing: Baby Girl Frame and Card

The theme for this week at Angels Landing, is Scrapbook. One of my stamping friends just recently announced that she is a proud grandma of a little baby girl. So, of course, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to make a baby gift - just because they are so much fun to make! I chose to create a frame so that my friend can show off pictures of her new granddaughter.

I used a 7x14 frame that I bought from Wal-mart. These frames come with a 2 picture matting panel that I just took out. I custom made my own matting by doing the following:

1) Cut a piece of cereal box to size 4 7/8 x 12 inches. I use cereal boxes all of the time for faux chipboard because they are sturdy but thin enough to cut through.

2) Cut a piece of patterned paper the same size as the cereal box/back piece. Adhere to cereal box with double stick tape or red sticky tape. Double stick tape does the trick if you don't want to mess with sticky tape.

3) As a guide, I placed my patterned paper panel flat on the table and laid the frame over it (minus the glass) and traced the opening on the patterned paper. This will help as a guide for image and frame placement.

3) Begin to measure how far apart you want the image and 2 cutout frames to be. At this point, you should choose the the size Nestie you want to use - I chose to use the classic square and scallop square nesties. Place the scallop piece where you want it to go and lightly mark with a pencil. I just marked the top scalloped edges as guidelines.

4) Cut out your scallop square and adhere with tape on matted piece. The pencil guidelines will look slightly larger than your piece, but you can get a general idea where to adhere the scallop squares onto the patterned paper panel.

5) Take your patterned paper panel and place in your die cutting machine (I use a Cuttlebug). Carefully place the regular square die on top of the scalloped square (making sure that the square does not move), place the C plate over the panel and cut out square (I used the following sandwich recipe: Plate A + Plate B + Patterned Paper Panel + Paper folded in Fourths + Plate C). It was a little bit of a tight fit, but it wasn't too tight to break the C Plate. When I was done, the square already left an embossed look on the scalloped square. NOTE: The die won't cut through all of the layers so you will have to use a craft knife to cut out the square completely.

6) Repeat step 5 for scallop square #2.

There you have it...custom matted panel with 2 frames. I think this is so much prettier than what came with the frame originally.

The elephant image is from Toys on Wheels and printed to size 3.53 x 3.94 inches. I printed the elephant image twice: once on cardstock and a second time on patterned paper for paper piecing (sponged a little Antique Linen distress ink on the patterned paper). I customized the frames with the "Baby Girl" sentiment from Toys on Wheels so not to leave the frames looking empty. The cardstock was cut down to 3x3 square, distressed with Antique Linen ink, and taped behind the back panel. This way, my friend, can choose to keep the frame as is or put pictures of her new granddaughter in it.

The wheels were a little tricky. It took me a couple of tries to get the right size so that it matched the size of the wheels that the elephant was standing on. The printed size of the wheels is 1.08 x 3.33 inches and it fit the frames and layout perfectly. The wheels were printed out on textured vanilla cardstock which made it look like authentic wooden wheels when colored with a prismacolor pencil blended in baby oil.

I wasn't satisfied yet so to make it look a little more girlie, I added a little pink bow on the elephant as well as finished it off with a green satin ribbon, prima flowers, button and string (which seem to be one of my favorite embellishment combos lately).

And the gift wouldn't be a gift without a matching card. A simple card made with nesties labels one. The elephant is popped up on dimensionals and topped off with a pink satin ribbon.

Thanks for coming by! Go on and check out the other DT gals creations!!! Have a great day!

Digital Stamps: Angels Landing (Toys on Wheels)
Patterned Paper: K& Company (Brenda Walton)
Cardstock: Unkown (Textured Vanilla)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen)
Die Cut: Spellbinders (Square Classic Nestabilities, Labels One)
Accessories: Offray (Satin Green, Pink), Prima Flowers, Button, Crochet Thread, String, Scotch Mounting Tape, Frame from Wal-mart size 7 x 14

PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!

It's Wednesday today and guess what the theme is this week at Angels Landing. P-A-R-T-Y!!!

For my sample I chose to create a spinner card invitation and acetate favor box. I've always wanted to make a spinner card and, boy, it was sure fun to make! You can see below how interactive it is...

You can find the tutorial for the spinner card here (Angie Juda Kennedy aka ChicnScratch Live has a huge library of video tutorials - she ROCKS!). Because of the size of the card, I had to keep it simple on the outside. This was quite hard for me because I always have to add some kind of embellie to a card and I got away with adding a white grossgrain ribbon on the right corner. After watching Angie's video tut, I thought it was going to be hard to line up the punched middle where the sentiment goes, but it was quite easy. Now I have a template to use for any future cards I'll be making. Because I wasn't using an actual stamp for the sentiment, I had to figure out a way to line up the sentiment with the punched opening. I used Powerpoint to set my page and printer setting to to 2.5 x 5.5 inches. Then from Angie's directions, I created two guides exactly where I want the sentiment to be. I've posted a tutorial below for your reference.

For the inside of the card, I was able to simulate the same kind of font used for the sentiment and created an invitation. Isn't that bunny so cute? I am so glad that Judi included musical notes (she includes 3 sets of musical notes so that it is easier to piece them together like I did here without ruining the integrity of the image when resizing.

Wouldn't be cool to receive one of these in the mail??? So fun!

I created a matching acetate favor box filled with Hershey Kisses. I also used the thank you sentiment from Pierced Tags on the side. I was surprised to see how tiny this box came out to be when I finished putting it together - so cute! You can find the tutorial for the acetate box here. I might end up making these for my kids birthday parties.

Digital Images: Angels Landing (Marching Band 1, Pierced Tags)
Patterned Paper: DCWV (Nana’s Kids)
Cardstock: Unkown (Kraft, White)
Accessories: Offray (White Grossgrain Ribbon), Stampin’ Up (Word Window), Scotch Mounting Foam, 2 Pennies, Glitter, Transparency Sheet, Glue Dots, Tacky Tape

Spinner Card Tutorial Using a Digital Sentiment

Here's a quick tutorial on how I did lined up the sentiment for the spinner card - for those visual learners out there:

1) Open up Powerpoint. Click on blank presentation. Click on View > Grid and Guides (this will also aid in the placement of the sentiment)

2) Click on File > Page Setup > Drop down menu "Slides Sized for", select Custom > Enter 5.5 Width and 2.5 Height > Hit Ok

3) Click on Print > Printer Properties > Page Setup > Drop down menu "Page Size, select Custom > Enter 5.5 Width and 2.5 Height > Hit Cancel since you are not printing at this point, your settings should be saved even if you have clicked on Cancel. Since this matches your page setup in the document, it will be much easier to see the placement of the sentiment when you View the slide before printing.

4) Set the size of the sentiment to measure .25 Height x 2.42 Width. I just placed a ruler against the bottom of the punch to see what size the sentiment should be. The great thing about digi images is that you can resize to make sure if fits perfectly in the punched area of the card.

5) Begin by placing a rectangle shape measuring 1.25 x 4 inches over the slide and place so that there is at least 1 inch on each side (this is where you can use the grid lines to help you locate where the 1 inch marks are. You can see the rectangle below (of course you would remove the fill color so you can see where you are working).

6) Now all you have to do is cut your paper down to 2.5 x 5.5 inches. Make sure to print on a piece of scrap paper first so that you don't waste any cardstock in case you have to make adjustments on the placement of the sentiment.

There you have it...hope this made sense to ya'll. Thanks for stopping by!

Angels Landing Blog Candy: And the Winner Is...

This is the first time I've offered blog candy and used randorm.org to pick a winner so hope I did this right! Instead of putting in the number of comments and to make it easier, I just listed all of the names and let the random generator pick the lucky duck.

Drumroll please!!! And the WINNER is...

Anita Hovey

Timestamp: 2009-07-27 17:12:30 UTC

Anita Hovey said...
Super idea! Happy Birthday :)
July 24, 2009 10:10 PM

Anita: Please email me your choices you can find here: Angels Landing Digi-Stamps

Thanks to all of you who left wonderful comments (always makes my day when you leave me some lovin') and for all of the birthday wishes. I had the most fantastic birthday!!!

Here Comes the Marching Band Post-It Note Holder and Organizer, Tutorial and a Little Some Some...

It's Wednesday DT featured projects at Angels Landing today. The theme this week is cover-ups and I chose to create a matching post-it note holder and organizer along with the Special Dates Folio I created here.

The post-it note holder and organizer was inspired by a tutorial created by Angie Kennedy Juda aka ChicnScratch (you can find her post-it note holder video tutorial here). I basically just took the skeleton part of her post-it note holder and revamped it to my specifications (and I really liked that she added a pen holder as well). Because I wanted to create a matching piece to go along with the Special Dates Folio, I used a manila folder as my base so that I had the little tab sticking out on the side just like the folio I created.

Here is how you can make one of your own...

** Bare with me on my instructions...I had to retake some of the photos since they did not come out real good. I just have to find out a better way to taking pictures of my tutorials so they are easier to see and look more consistent. **

Click on pictures to see a larger version

MATERIALS USED:

- Manila Folder

- Cutter

- 3 Different Kinds of Coordinating Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye Magnolia dp used)

- Sanding Block

- Terrifically Tacky Tape

- Glue Stick

- Wide Grossgrain Ribbon

- Small Corner Rounder

- RSVP pen

- 3x3 post -it note

DIRECTIONS:

STEP 1: Take manila folder and cut off right side so that you end up with the side that has the smaller tab.

Step 2: Cut 2 of the sides down to 8" making sure to keep the smaller tab in tact. Refer to pic on how I cut the 2 sides.

Step 3: Score at 3 3/4 inches in on both sides. Refer to the picture on scoring. This will become your right and left panels. NOTE: When measuring 3 3/4 inches from the tabbed side, make sure to measure in from the edge and not from tabbed area.

Step 4: For the pockets, score at 2 1/2 inches.

Step 5: This is what your piece should look like. Your finished piece should have the measurements listed above when scoring has been completed on all 3 sides.

Step 6: Cut out the middle piece out as shown in pic above.

Step 7: Trace entire front panel on patterned paper and adhere it using a white glue stick.

Step 7B: Repeat same step for tracing patterned paper for the inside of the holder. For the orange flowers patterned paper, I placed my piece over the paper, folded the pockets up so that I could get a complete traced image on the paper since I wanted to go all the way down to the score line. For the pockets, flip the piece so that the pockets are laying top side and trace around pocket template.

QUICK TIP: I've learned to trace templates on the "right" side (decorated side) of the patterned paper so that you are sure to get the correct pattern when you are ready to adhere paper to your template. You can always erase the pencil marks after the paper has been glued down.

Step 8: Once you have completed gluing down the patterned paper, cut off extra pieces sticking out of the holder. I also chose to sand down the edges with a sanding block once the extra paper pieces were cut off for a more finished look. Use a small corner rounder to round off the tips of the pockets (optional).

Step 9: Instead of using a ribbon belly band like I did with the Special Dates folio, I adhered some ribbon on the inside which serves two purposes: (1) Hold the pen in place, and (2) Keeps the holder closed when not in use. Put the wide grossgrain ribbon where you want before adhering in place (mine is placed slightly below the pockets). At this point, you should place the pen in the middle (hook the pencap to the top part of the holder) so you can gauge how tight or loose you want the ribbon holding the pen.

QUICK NOTE: The perfectionist in me was kicking in so I went the extra step to fold the holder so that the ribbon ends were the same length before adhering it permanently to the holder (refer to pic above). I did this because I wanted to make sure I had enough to tie it in a small bow. Approximate length of ribbon is 30 inches long if you want to tie a full bow, but mine came out to only about 25-26 inches long since I only tied a single bow to keep the holder closed.

Step 10: To completely secure the ribbon in place, I added terrifically tacky tape (1/4 inches wide) to the inside edge of the right and left pocket panels. This will keep the ribbon from moving around and getting undone.

Step 11: For pen, cut a piece of patterned paper 3 1/4 x 1 1/4 inches, wind tightly and place in barrel of pen. Insert the very backing of a 3x3 post-it notepad on the right panel (or left whichever is your preference).

Step 12: I created a printable doc for the Shopping List and Notes ready for cutting - just cut on the gray lines - both lists measure 5 x 3 inches (click here to download). Close holder by tying the ribbon into a full bow or single bow like the one pictured.

Step 13: Decorate the front of the holder. I used the musical notes image from Marching Band 1 and the raccoon playing the cymbals image from Marching Band 2. The image is printed at size 2.5 x 2.15 inches and colored with prismacolor pencils blended with baby oil. I used nestabilities to cut a circle and scalloped circle to showcase the image distressed with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen. I topped it off with a pink prima flower, crochet fleurette and button strung with embroidery thread.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and let me know if you have any questions...

Thanks so much for feasting your eyes on my Angels Landing Wednesday project and tutorial. I couldn't let you go down this far into my post and not reward you for reading my long novel...

In celebration of my birthday today (Yay ME!), I am offering some Angels Landing yummy blog candy. All you have to do is leave me some lovin'. You have until 10pm CST on July 26 (Sunday) to enter. I will post the name of the winner on Monday morning. The winner will get to choose 2 digital stamp sets of their choice including the 2 new releases, Marching Band 1 and Marching Band 2.

Click here to see what you could win: Angels Landing digi-stamping store

Digital Stamps: Angels Landing (Marching Band 1, Marching Band 2)
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye (Maganolia)
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (White, Jo-Ann's Value Paper Pack (Teal)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen), Stampin' Up (Creamy Caramel)
Other: Prima Flower, Crochet Fleurette, Button, Embroidery Thread, Scotch Mounting tape, 3x3 Post-It Note, Terrifically Tacky Tape, Wide Grossgrain Ribbon
Coloring: Prismacolor Pencils blended with baby oil