CAS-ual Fridays: Bubble Box Fri-Dies

Carrying over from yesterday's CAS-ual Fridays Fri-Die release, here are the CAS-ual Fridays Flurries which are attached to ...

... a treat topper! This topper is from a new die set called the Bubble Box Fri-Dies. When folded they make the perfectly sized treat topper. Some of the other marque dies I have that I've tried to use in this manner end up looking too skinny or too tall for a treat topper, but these dimensions are just tall enough to comfortably add embellishments (like the snowflakes).

Here's another version using the two largest dies layered and folded over the treat bag. The sentiment is from Must Love Snowflakes.

Here's the December Daily page you might have noticed opposite the one I featured in yesterday's post. The glitter paper has been folded into an envelope with the We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board, and the Bubble Box Fri-Die has been adhered to the top flap to fancy it up a bit. It's a safe holder for the boys' Christmas wish lists, addressed "to North Pole" as indicated by the tag. The Santa Claus sentiment is from Naughty or Nice.

The velvet material got cut by the die in the first pass. I like all the different textures on this page ... the velvet, the lace, the glitter, the metallic thread, the shiny brad.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another die being released at CAS-ual Fridays. These dies are 15% off this weekend, so check them out if you're interested. 

More inspiration waits for you with the rest of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Design Team:

Virginia

Jingle

 Angie

Deepti
Zoey
Marcie

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

CAS-ual Fridays: Flurry Fri-Dies

Happy Black Friday to all my American friends! I hope you either got some amazing deals already, or enjoyed a relaxing evening at home on the couch. I am in the later group; my husband is the crazy one who shops all night!

We've got a fun couple days with new CAS-ual Fridays dies. Not wanting to be left out of all the sales this weekend, Michele has put these brand new dies 15% off right NOW! How fun is that?

Totally in love with these new snowflake dies! They're a great mix of having lots of details, but not too many so that they're a pain to remove from the die. 

 I like taking advantage of the fact that dies cut more than just paper (unlike punches) so I cut the snowflake from cork.

  
Using cork for the snowflake gives a lot of texture, but also makes it look less Christmas-y so you can use it after the holidays.



I'm still working on December Daily, and know full well that I will be making the pages IN December instead of BEFORE December like I planned. After browsing Pinterest and blogs for December Daily examples, I narrowed down what really makes me happy:

1) pages without page protectors;
2) different sized pages; and
3) interactive elements.

The first element (no page protectors) meant that I have to change gears and ditch the previous DD pages I made for the 8x8 album I had. Nothing like doing this at the last minute! But now that I have a clear direction, and am using a 6x8 Snap album, I'm happier with my pages. This one is a clear piece of acetate packaging that I've glued glittered snowflakes to.

  

I like seeing some of the next page through the falling snowflakes, and then turning the page to reveal the whole photo.

 The bits and pieces of chunky glitter look like more snow falling! I actually glittered the backs of the snowflakes too since they are on a see-through page. To adhere them to the acetate I used small dots of Glossy Accents. Love that stuff! After putting a heavy book on top of the page to dry for 30 minutes, the snowflakes were all securely on. The small dots of glossy accents blend well with the dots of glitter everywhere.

More inspiration waits for you with the rest of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Design Team:

Virginia

Jingle

 Angie

Deepti
Zoey
Marcie

Check back over the next two days for two additional Fri-Die sets to be released!

Thanks for looking!

-Kelly

Top Dog Dies: Three More Takes on the Snowman Globe Die Set

Hope you get a chance to check out the Top Dog Dies blog today ... I'm showing three more takes on this Snowman Globe Die Set:

Here's a cute little tag you can make with just the head of the snowman. It also uses the mini tags die set.



Add this tag, along with some ribbon and mini pinecones and you've got a pretty topper for a tube of m&m's. I love these tubes, since they're small enough to make the m&m's stand very neat and orderly without putting forth any effort to stack them. These would make great presents for teachers, mailmen, neighbors, etc.

Here's another tag, but this one uses the full snow globe die. Cutting the snow globe out of white glitter paper makes it easier to leave it unadorned, except for a black hat.

I've used the base of the globe here as the perfect place to address the tag. The tiny "to" is from the mini tags die set and is a quicker alternative to heat embossing on a dark background.

The snowman is so detailed you can definitely use him as a focal point on a card. For this card I kept all the snow OUTSIDE the circle so the snowman is quite comfortable, protected and peaceful, like the sentiment says. To do this I left the negative piece of the die cut inside the circle, put a Winnie & Walter stencil on top, and sprayed with white glimmer mist. When I removed the negative piece, the inside of the globe was free from snow. The Winnie & Walter sentiment from Happy Christmas fits just perfectly on the snow drifts. I added a few layers behind the main panel to finish the card off.

Thanks so much for looking!!

 Top Dog Dies is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer-thin and steel-rule dies, along with dies from brands you already know and trust, including Little B, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Designs. Top Dog Dies is also the leading U.S. retailer for Tattered Lace, a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

-Kelly

Top Dog Dies Guest Post: A Typical and Not-So-Typical Use for Tags

Today I've got two projects using the Top Dog Dies Gift Tag Set.



Love how the smaller tag has a dotted mat around the edge, and that the set comes with a tiny "to" and "from".  The other neat thing about this set is that both ends are different. Did you notice? I think it's a small detail that adds a lot.

The first project is what you might expect from a tag die ... a tag! To mix it up a bit, I die cut the larger tag shape from an old pair of my son's jeans. I was quite impressed that the die handled that strong material very easily. Two different patterned papers are used for the smaller tag (I saved the other half of the floral tag for another use). Instead of punching a hole for the gold thread, I used a little pink button and sewed the thread through that. I also didn't match the edge of the inside tag with the outside tag ... subtle, but I think it looks more eclectic that way. Finally, I'm really happy with the tiny "to" on the tag. So cute!

I picked up the wooden container at a flea market to use as a gift box for my friend's birthday present. That was FIVE years ago. Somehow I keep forgetting to use it. Hopefully this will be the year! I have her tag all ready : )

The next project isn't a tag at all, but a ...

graveyard!!

Right? Do you see it!? I think each of the 10 ancient tombstones are a different shape, with only using the two tag dies. Remember how each edge is different? That's two different looks, then you have the two different sizes (up to 4 combinations now), then I chopped of the middle hump on some of them (another combination) and finally I made some of them really tall and really short depending on where I cut them in half.
 

Here's a closer look at the worn text on these old grave stones. This is from the CAS-ual Fridays Out Loud stamp set which is great because it has four different fonts. I just inked up different parts of the text, STILL ON THE PACKAGING, and used my finger to stamp it. Boy did that feel good to be so completely lazy and not even mount the stamp before stamping! And it totally gave me the I'm-so-old-the-words-have-worn-off look I was going for.

Hope you enjoyed these! Thanks for looking!

 Top Dog Dies is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer-thin and steel-rule dies, along with dies from brands you already know and trust, including Little B, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Designs. Top Dog Dies is also the leading U.S. retailer for Tattered Lace, a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

-Kelly

Fusion Challenge: Shaped December Daily Page

If you didn't get a chance to check out the last Fusion Challenge gallery, you should most definitely do so. SO many great entries, so difficult to chose just one. I expect that this challenge is going to be similarly popular, with all the silver-glittered goodies.



Using the photo and the sketch, I created another December Daily page. I haven't been the best at making the DD pages ahead of time, but I really feel after this weekend I'll be able to focus my efforts more on that project. For this page I used several silver glitter star dies from Papertrey Inc., and the Leafy Branch die from Top Dog Dies to give it more of a laurel wreath look. The clear Pretty Pink Posh sequins give another kind of sparkle.



I didn't completely adhere all the stars and I'm enjoying how much I'm drawn to touch them. The red star in the back is an extra barn star I had from this project last year.

One of the nice things about making your own shaped pages for December Daily, or any mini album, is that you get peeks of the pages coming up. That's a good reason to keep a consistent feel throughout the album (in terms of colors, style, fonts, etc.) To make this page I took a strip of mat board (will punch holes where needed for the album posts) and used double-sided patterned paper as an arm to hold the shape out. The photo is just temporary until I fill it with a December memory. If you will, imagine large script writing in ink on the bottom of the circle.

Here are some fabulous projects by our design team!

Amy Tsuruta

Betty J.

  Danielle Robeson

Deepti Malik

Julia Aston 

Katie Brooks

Lynn Mangan

Kimberly Wiener

Lyndal Higgins

Michelle Williams

Michelle Lupton

Stephanie Severin

Winners: Will be chosen by all of our teammates in two weeks. We each will choose one favorite. The winners will be announced at 4 am (PST) in two weeks!


Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

Top Dog Dies Guest Post: Nine Layer Ornament

Hi folks! If you get a chance, check out the Top Dog Dies blog today where I've got a step-by-step post on making this nine-layered snowman shaker ornament. Sure hope you like it! I had a blast making it : )

 Top Dog Dies is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer-thin and steel-rule dies, along with dies from brands you already know and trust, including Little B, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Designs. Top Dog Dies is also the leading U.S. retailer for Tattered Lace, a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

Thanks for looking!
-Kelly

Top Dog Dies Guest Designer - Tag Christmas Trees

Hi folks! I'm excited to share several projects using some of the new Top Dog Dies with you this week!

 Top Dog Dies is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer-thin and steel-rule dies, along with dies from brands you already know and trust, including Little B, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Designs. Top Dog Dies is also the leading U.S. retailer for Tattered Lace, a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

The two projects in this post both use the Top Dog Dies Mini Tag Die Set. 

  

 With six different mini tag styles all connected, it's easy to make a lot of tags without a ton of work. So that's what I did! Raiding my folder of green scraps, I cut about ten sets of tags from different papers to make a fun tag tree.


  
Here's how I did it. I started with adhering a few skinny tags on top of my 8.5 x 11 cardstock. Then I laid down the bottom row and worked my way up so the tops of most of the tags were covered. For the red ornaments I used the circle tag, and later slid them underneath one of the tree tags.

 

I bent up the bottom edges of some of the tags for some dimension.



 I cut a trunk out of some woodgrain paper and then embossed Winnie & Walter's "christmas" over it. The "merry" is embossed on one of the tags on the bottom layer. The art deco frame is a flea market find from a couple summers ago that I bargained down to $5. LOVE. IT.

As I was cleaning up the left over tags, I figured I would make something with them instead of putting them back in the die packaging. So I made a tag tree on a card.



Can you tell what's different with this tree, other than the size?

Yep, the tags are now upside down. I love the way it looks with the tag tops showing, especially since they are all a little different. It makes the tree look more eclectic, I think. I was tempted to go back and re-do the larger tree to have the tag tops showing, but crafting time is tight right before the holidays so I let it go. 

 

I have the tags on a panel, and then cut a trunk that extends beyond the panel to the edge of the card. The inside of the card is lined with some festive white polka-dotted red patterned paper.

I'm linking this up at the Treemendous Tree Challenge at Moxie Fab World

(not sure if Teri is still keeping this challenge open, but I'll link it up anyway!)

Thanks for looking, and I'll be back with a few other Top Dog Dies posts this week.
-Kelly