Birthday Basket

I thought I'd show you a little basket that I made for one of my hostesses.  I missed her birthday and didn't send a card, so she got this instead.  This cute little basket is made with the Mini Milk Carton Bigz Die.  Rather than cutting out one and assembling it as normal, I cut two, then after a bit of trimming, put them together to make this little six-sided basket.  I crimped a few strips of paper to stuff in, then added a little gift and a card.

I seem to be obsessed with tiny square cards lately, and really, with the size of this basket, I didn't have a choice...I had to use a tiny card!  A few squares of bright card stock layered together make this simple and adorable.

And one final look at the basket...since it was for a birthday, I used the little present stamp from the Every Little Bit stamp set.  That's one set that is great for any number of occasions, and yet I don't use it nearly enough. 

Stamps:  Every Little Bit (117096), Itty Bitty Banners (126255)
Ink:  Wild Wasabi (126959), Daffodil Delight (126944), Melon Mambo (126948) Classic Ink, Jet Black Staz-On Ink (101406)
Paper:  Whisper White (100730), Wild Wasabi (108641), Daffodil Delight (119683), Melon Mambo (115320), and Naturals White (102316) card stock
Accessories:  Mini Milk Carton Bigz Die (117310), Big Shot (113439), Aquapainters (103954), Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), Melon Mambo ribbon (retired), Chevron Embossing Folder (127749), Bitty Banners Framelits (129267)

Happy 4th of July!

I love July 4th.  I used to be a history teacher, so the historian in me loves the fact that it's our country's birthday.  But mostly I love the fireworks.  I always loved going to see fireworks as a kid...we always sat in the same place, across from my favorite bakery.  Now I live in another state, but we still go to see fireworks every year.  We park in a big field at the park where they set off the fireworks, so they are exploding right over our heads.  We sit on a blanket and play games until the fireworks start, and there is always a really bad cover band playing. 

But you want to see a card, not hear about all my July 4th traditions, right?  Here you go...This was another super easy card.  I used the star from Every Little Bit.  It's a fun set with lots of little images and there is something for every occassion.  For the stripes, I inked the stripes embossing folder with Real Red ink and ran it through my Big Shot.  Instant flag.  I did use a couple of retired items, like the red ribbon, and the sentiment.  It's the only thing I have that's 4th of July-related, so I went with it. 

Stamps:  Every Little Bit, July Fourth (retired)

Ink:  Real Red and Night of Navy Classic ink pads, Whisper White craft ink

Paper:  Naturals White, Real Red, and Night of Navy card stock

Accessories:  Real Red satin ribbon, Stripes embossing folder, Brights Buttons, White Baker's Twine, paper snips, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch

Goody, Goody...Gumballs

I know, it's supposed to be gumdrops, but there are so many gumballs on this card, that I couldn't resist.  The green, of course, is Gumball Green, my very favorite of the new In Colors.  Remember how I said that Brights make me happy?  This card has lots of them, but on the Crumb Cake background, they aren't overwhelming.  This was such a simple card to make...just punch out lots of circles, do a little water coloring, and that's pretty much it! Isn't the gumball machine from the Every Little Bit set so cute?  I don't make use of that set enough!

Stamps:  Every Little Bit, Pennant Parade 

Ink:  Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Pacific Point, and Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink Pads, Staz-On Black

Paper:  Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, and Crumb Cake card stock

Accessories:  Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, and 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Aquapainter