Clothespin Doll for Paper Sweeties

Okay, I've wanted to do it for a long time.  I've had all the materials.  So, FINALLY I did it.  I made a clothespin doll!  I was a little scared, but the funny thing is that the things I thought would be hard to do were actually easy and the things I thought would be easy were kind of hard!  And only hard, because I have NO IDEA what I'm doing.  She, let's call her Abbie, is definitely a guinea pig!

Paper Sweeties July theme is Summer and I thought a clothespin doll with a pinwheel would work.  Abbie's pinwheel (made from crepe paper) is sporting a darling bird from Happy Summer and the sentiment is from (you guessed it) the Summer Fun stamp set.

Her little head was way easier to do than I thought it would be.   I was stressing over her hair and face, but I'm pretty happy with it.  Her bow includes a sweet flower stamp from Home Tweet Home stamp set.    

Okay, I have to say oh, how Abbie's clothes gave me fits!  And I thought that would be easy!  I just wasn't sure how to fit them to her, but finally it all worked out.  The base is a stamp from the Happy Summer set.  It fit her wood stand perfectly.

Abbie was so much fun to make - I will definitely be making more clothespin dolls.  I'll try to do a tutorial from what I've learned.   

Check out the Paper Sweeties Blog for inspiration and the Paper Sweeties store for the new July release.   So glad you stopped by to see Abbie!

Linking up at Make It Monday.

Supplies

clothespin doll pieces

Matchbook Gift Card Holder with Paper Sweeties

My good friend (and my daughter's mother-in-law), Linda,  just moved to a new home.  Well, new to her - we tend to like old houses...ours is 104 years old and hers is only about 30 years younger.  Linda also happens to collect birdhouses, so when I saw the new Paper Sweeties release had a darling birdhouse stamp I decided it would be perfect to make her a gift card holder.   A little something to celebrate her new-to-her place.

I posted a Christmas matchbook gift card holder last week.  If you would like, you can get the dimensions and how-to from that post.  I just oriented the front of this one vertically instead of horizontally.

All the new Paper Sweeties images will be available tomorrow, July 15th.  You can get some more sneak peeks at the Paper Sweeties Blog.  And come back tomorrow, I'm going to post my first ever clothespin doll, which also sports a few of the new Paper Sweeties stamps.  'Til tomorrow...

Additional Supplies

paper from Jenny AllSorts    |    cloud die

Happy Summer with Paper Sweeties

This month Paper Sweeties is celebrating summer.  For me, summer means the return of flip flops (which also means painted toe nails)!

I figure that flip flop wearing deserves a treat, so that's where the idea for a flip flop treat holder was born...  

The tags for the front and back were stamped with new images from Summer Fun, Home Tweet Home, and Happy Summer.  All new releases for July at Paper Sweeties.

The flip flop cut file is from The Cutting Cafe.  Here's what I did for the front:

For the back:

Check out the Paper Sweeties Blog for inspiration and all the info on this month's new stamp release.  So glad ;you stopped by...Do you have your flip flops on?

Additional Supplies

cute paper from Jenny Allsorts    |    candy from Michaels

Matchbook Gift Card Holder

What a fun idea!  And easy, too...  A matchbook gift card holder - perfect for making a Christmas gift card special.  I actually really like giving (and getting) gift cards.  When I give them, I do like making sure they are in something pretty cute. 

This one certainly fits the bill with that CUTE kitty from Nicecrane Designs on the front.  The scalloped end is stamped with the edge of a frame stamp.  

Here's the details:

This cute kitty can be found in  the Kittens and Puppies Christmas Pack.

So glad you stopped by!

Supplies

christmas stamps    |    rustic cream cardstock

Vintage Images with Nicecrane Designs

Okay, I did tell you I would probably be using all the images from the Incredible Agnes Richardson set from Nicecrane Designs.  So here's the second one... I just LOVE them.  This one makes me want to cuddle up Kitty (even though he's a cat, not a puppy).

And do you see that cool embossing under the sweet girl?  I picked up a new Cuttlebug embossing folder at Michaels, not realizing that it included a really thin embossing folder as well.  It's perfect as a border and a little gesso with a dry brush really brings the pattern out.

Here's a look at all the darling images in the Incredible Agnes Richardson set:

You can find it at Nicecrane Designs.  That's not all you'll find - there is an amazing number of images in the store. And if you want to see the first card I created with this set, you can see it here.   Have a wonderful week!

I'll be linking this at Make It Monday tomorrow.

Happy 4th of July!

It's that time - family gatherings, barbeque and homemade ice cream.  Dennis got a White Mountain ice cream maker for his birthday a couple of years ago and I don't think we get it out enough!  Our favorite flavors are banana and cookies and cream.  YUMMY!

We're kind of in limbo this year for the 4th.  Lauren and Paul were just here, so we may be by ourselves.  Is it crazy to make homemade ice cream for yourself?  I bet I could talk my mom and dad into sharing some with us...

Wooden spools work really well for 4th of July lollipop treats.  The sticks fit right down inside the spools.  Really easy!

I happened upon a set of Kewpie 1976 Bicentennial postcards on etsy.  I  think they are darling and I just couldn't resist!  Of course, these were not done by Kewpie creator Rose O'Neil.  But, I really do think that the artist, Florence Jackson, did an awesome job.

These Kewpies just couldn't be cuter!  

I had to turn them into a banner.  I added some covered clothespins and  pinwheels for decoration.

What are you going to be doing July 4th (if you're in the USA, that is)?  Will you be making homemade ice cream?  Whatever you're doing - have a wonderful July 4th!

Supplies

4th of July girl    |    4th of July paper    |    airmail twine    |  die used for bottom of postcards

4th of July Treat Box for MTME

Today, for My Time Made Easy, we could use any template and create anything - no particular theme. So, I challenged myself to create a 4th of July treat box.  I looked through the store and finally settled on the Fresh Popped template. 

You can probably tell it's a popcorn box.  But I think it worked pretty well.  Especially with the addition of red and blue and don't forget the white stars cut with Magical Birthday Wishes cut file.  The pinwheels helped it look festive too.  The papers are from Darling Dots 2 and Dotted Stripes 2.

The ticket is from About to Pop - I just added the July 4th part.   

I'll be checking out these blogs to see what templates have been turned into really cute stuff:

Lauren Meader
Pattie Goldman

Kimberly Morrow

Lori Kalus

Karien van der Westhuizen

Jackie Randolph

Tracy Holmes

Romaine Rancier

Wendy McGaffey

Dawn Barwick

Mary Vogel
Farida Rone