I wanted to create some die storage that would be easily accessible for dies I use often, which are mainly my sentiment dies.

Stampin’ Up Wood Stamp Empty Case- You need a specific kind of Stampin’ Up case, not the older ones that has the opening at the front of the case, the opening is in the middle. If you are looking for these, you can find them on ebay, here’s a link to one that has cases, https://tinyurl.com/8tsedxrd Here’s another single stamp and case: https://tinyurl.com/2jj8vft3

If you don’t want to buy a case like this, you can also use a zipped 3 ring binder. I buy mine at thrift stores and garage sales, but here’s some links to ones I found online. Amazon- https://tinyurl.com/yc5nzuuj and Ebay -https://tinyurl.com/mw7dm4pe

Magnetic vent covers: Amazon : https://tinyurl.com/ywde8b52 I checked Home Depot and their price is the same as Amazons.

Hole Punch- Most 3 ring binders require 1/4″ hole punches, but some can require a larger hole. I found a 10 mm hole punch that will work great. https://tinyurl.com/38cs6kdp You need a bigger hole punch when you are using the magnetic sheets, as you need to push a key ring through the magnetic sheets and they can be tricky if your holes are too small. You can try a smaller hole punch, but be prepared to go bigger for easier usage.

I liked the idea of using the Stampin’ Up case I had on hand because I could decorate the cover easily, by sliding papers under the plastic packaging. But even though I’ve seen people use Tim Holtz Idea-Ology ring binders, I couldn’t close my case once I put them inside. I’m not sure if it was because of the magnets I attached inside the case, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t close the case….until, I took the rings out from Tim Holtz, and instead used two individual rings that are 1″ or 1 1/4″ across…Dollar Tree sells them, link: https://www.dollartree.com/book-rings-in-assorted-sizes/188668

To cover the Stampin’ Up case, you’ll need three pieces of decorated papers, one for the end that’s 1 1/4″ by 7 1/8″ and two pieces for the front and back that are 5″ wide by 7 1/8″ tall. You’ll need to cut the magnetic sheets to 5″ wide by 7″ tall to fit in the case, and you’ll need a piece of heavy cardstock to layer between two magnetic sheets that is also 5 x 7″. I used tear tape to attach them to each other.

If you are using a 3 ring zipped binder, cut your magnetic sheets to 11″ long and leave them their normal width, which is 8″. You’ll cut your heavy weight cardstock to 8″ by 11″ to fit inside the zipped binder. Put tear tape on both sides of the cardstock to adhere the magnetic sheets to them and make the magnetic sheets more stable. The normal size of magnetic sheets are 8″ x 15″, so when you cut them to 11″ long, you’ll have 4″ of sheet leftover. Put these pieces together in a pile and then you can attach them to 8″ x 11″ cardstock and cut one of them from 4″ to 3″ so you can fit three pieces on one piece of cardstock butted up to each other like I did on the back of my case. You can find somewhere to use the 1″ leftovers as well.

When using a 2 or 3 ring binder, you’ll want to lay the magnetic sheet so it is centered top and bottom in the binder (after you’ve cut it to the length you need for your particular binder or stamp case) and make a mark with a pencil next to the rings, making sure the marks are long enough to push your punch in as far as it will go and still be able to see the marks through the hole of your punch. Punch the holes on one magnetic sheet, then use this as a template and lay it over the cardstock and draw a circle through the holes you punched and do the same for the rest of the magnetic sheets then adhere them with the white side of the sheet facing the cardstock and the black or dark gray side facing out.

If you’re using the Stampin’ Up cases, use the book rings you’d buy at Dollar Tree and decide where you want the holes. I suggest 2″ from the top and 2″ from the bottom and pushing your hole punch as far as you can so your holes aren’t close to the edge of the sheets. Once you’ve punched one magnetic sheet, use that as a template and laying it over the cardstock, mark where the holes are, and do the same with the other magnetic sheets. Once all of your papers and sheets are punched, put them together with the white sides of the magnets facing the cardstock and the dark gray side facing out. Open your rings and put the sheets in, close the rings, then lay your dies on the sheets. Whatever you use to hold your dies, make sure it has an enclosure for the entire surround, so you don’t lose any dies. It can be a zipper or a case, but it has to enclose the sheets entirely.

I wish my original plan had worked, but in the end, I was happy with using the rings from Dollar Tree and leaving the sheets loose in the case. I think I’d try the 1″ rings first, as they will stand up in the Stampin’ Up case vs the 1 1/4″ that I used that had to lay flat.

The punches I used were from EK Success: I don’t think any of these punches are still being made so I looked, and found them on Ebay.

Cupcake Ribbon Punch: https://tinyurl.com/4nrfdwnk

Open Scallop Punch: (I found this one that is similar, but I’m sure you can find this punch if you spend some time looking) https://tinyurl.com/3f4nxjn9

Lace Edger Punch: https://tinyurl.com/2acu9jxh (there are a lot of these on ebay and I found them under ek success scallop punch, and you’ll need to look at all of the images to find this. I gave you a link so you can see a good photo of one, not necessarily the lowest price.

When you are using a ribbon punch like the cupcake punch, you will have the best success if you use a longer piece of cardstock to cut your image, so you can lay it on your card and move the ribbon until the cupcakes you use cover the entire card front if you so choose. Unfortunately for me, I can’t punch a large image like the cupcake unless I put it on the floor and use my foot to punch it. I’ve never broken a punch doing this, and have done it for years. I don’t pound the punch, I just put enough pressure with my foot to make it punch.

I have only found that I can use EK Success/Stampin’ Up edge punches, as the other brands are too difficult for me to use.

I can normally punch the smaller edge punches with my wrists, but I guess today I’m not very strong. It could also have had something to do with punching on the silicone mat, that didn’t occur to me when I made the video.

The difference between an edge punch and a ribbon punch is this. Look on the underneath and you should see a gap between the bottom and top of the design and that will make a ribbon. A ribbon means the image will be free from the rest of your cardstock when you are finished punching it. If you only see a gap from the image to the top or bottom of the design (depending on if you have it upside down or right side up when you’re looking at it) then this will create an edge.

To make an border, you can turn your punch upside down and start your paper where your pattern begins, but that doesn’t ensure that your other end is a full image, so I believe the best way to ensure you have a complete pattern is to use a longer strip of card stock, maybe 7″ long if you want a 5 1/4 or 5 1/2″ image, and start either on the end, lining it up with the mark on your punch (if there is one), or start in the center and punch to one end, then punch to the other end. You always need to be sure that when you punch (after the first punch) that you line up the images you’ve punched on your cardstock with the images that are on the top of your punch to ensure you get a perfect cut.

Make sure you leave a portion of your design where you can’t see it so that you have a continuous punch, and don’t have parts that you accidentally skipped. If you do skip a section, put it back into the punch and line up the images as usual and you should be able to cut that piece without an issue.

When you are getting to the end of the cardstock, you’ll have a strip of paper that is loose at the top of the punch. Make sure when you are lining up your images to punch, that you keep that loose piece flat on the punch, otherwise your pattern will be wonky.

I hope this helped you to use your old punches. I know that a lot of us collected these and never used them, but they’re a great tool and easy to use once you practice a little bit.

Below you’ll find links to the products I bought. I am not affiliated with TEMU, just thought you might like to get an idea of the craft things available and the quality of the things I purchased. Thanks Janet, for all of the lovely gifts..I will make great use of them. I will show you in another video how to make the projects Janet shared with me.

TEMU Purchases:

Thanks Die: https://tinyurl.com/mu2rvct5

Happy Birthday (wonky letters) Die: https://tinyurl.com/5n998fdu

Happy Birthday (carhop 50’s looking design) https://tinyurl.com/4wtmyv2a

Big Happy Birthday die: https://tinyurl.com/yk7yd6hu

12 Needles: https://tinyurl.com/2yz573db

Knife pen: https://tinyurl.com/2ze75ub3

120 vintage stickers (I show three sets of stickers when actually I only bought two, the other is Halloween: https://tinyurl.com/su7zb8hm

50 Halloween Stickers: https://tinyurl.com/2s3s5kwz

Diamond Painting diamond holder: https://tinyurl.com/3y2a7spk

Silicone desk craft mat with water holder: https://tinyurl.com/5a73dvkb

I made this gift bag for our great nephew Finn, and wanted to have a pocket to hold his card.

I went online and googled “free monster black and white printable” and found this image. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/644999977866117737/ I enlarged the image when using my printer and once it got to the size I liked, I printed it on 110 lb cardstock….then colored it with alcohol markers and cut it out with my Scan N Cut.

Bottom of Bag: 12 x 6″ score on the 6″ length at 1″ and 5″. Fold the sides up and burnish. This paper is from American Crafts on Amazon link: https://tinyurl.com/ypazx39f

Front and back of bag: papers came from Joanns Park Lane Floral Spice. 2 pieces of 12 x 12″ for front and back …For the back, I turned the paper so the stripes are now facing up and down, score at 3″ so the bag can lay flat. If you don’t care if it folds flat, you don’t need to make this score.

Sides: 2 sheets of 10″ x 6″ on the 6″ length of both, score them at 1″ and 5″ then turn to the 10″ length and score at 1″ and 3″ (I scored at 1″ then folded it up and scored at 2″ which is ultimately the same as scoring at 1 and 3″ without the fold, then put it on the 6″ side again with your scores at the bottom and score at 3″ down to the first score that should be 3″ from the bottom. Then you’ll want to score on an angle using a ruler from the top of the rectangular box near the bottom on an angle from the top center to the bottom left corner, then from the top center to the bottom right of the box. Fold your 6″ scores toward the white back of the paper then fold in the center fold and your angle scores. Angle cut out the small bottom corner boxes on the 1 and 5″ scores.

Pocket: 9 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ score on the 9 1/2″ length at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4″ on both ends and on the 6 1/2″ length score at 1″…Fold the 3/4″ score toward the white back, then the 1/2″ score toward the front, then 1/4″ toward the back and use your bone folder to make sure the scores are really flat. On the 1″ score cut out the bottom boxes on both corners.

Lid for pocket: 3 1/2″ x 8″ score on the 3 1/2″ length at 1″. I round the two corners that are the furthest from the 1″ score.Cut a small angle cut from the 1″ score to the edges of the 1″ on an angle. Adhere the pocket to the front of the bag (the one without the 3″ score) before putting the bag together, otherwise it will be too tricky to attach it. Take the pocket and put tear tape on the patterned piece that is laying flat that’s up to the 1/2″ score. Add glue to the patterned bottom fold for the pocket and fold it up then holding the sides and bottom, place it where you want on the bag. Glue the monster to the pocket at this point. (I couldn’t get my card to fit in the pocket with the lid to the pocket, but if you want to have your lid to work, put glue on the patterned side up to the 1″ score and place the 1″ scored area inside the pocket and rub it to keep it in place. Use Velcro closures to hold it closed.

To put the bag together, take the bottom of the bag and the sides and put glue on the bottom flap of the sides on the patterned side and lay the side down so the 10″ length is laying face down with its score lines lining up with the scores on the bottom then glue them together..do the same with the other side. Put glue on the front scored area of the bottom of your bag and attach the front of your bag to it (the piece without a 3″ score). Then do the same with the back. Once you’ve got the front and back attached to the bottom of the bag, glue the sides to the front and back of the bag.

Handles: four strips of 3/4″ x 12″ strips of plain paper, adhere them together by putting glue or tear tape on 1/2″ of one strip and laying it on the other strip to make a 23″ handle…you’ll need two of these. Hold the ends of one piece so it forms a half circle and glue in place. I glued my handles 2″ from each edge of the bag and down about 2″ (I used a line on my bag to decide where I wanted the handles to lay) I added a zig zag die cut to the bottoms so they looked more decorative. Also added the zig zag strip to the top of the pocket.

I have made a lot of diamond paintings and have learned so many things along the way, and wanted to share the secrets that no one told me before I started this hobby.

Here’s a link to the diamond painting I show at the beginning of the video that I made for Finn. Astronaut diamond painting: https://tinyurl.com/mshw63db

1. You need to make sure you flatten your diamond paintings before starting. The best way to do this is to put the diamond painting face down on a towel, then put a damp (not wet) towel on top of it and iron it until the lines from folding it are gone. If you don’t do this, you might see the creases in the finished painting and you don’t want that.

2. Diamond paintings are not made to fit the frames that are made in the USA, so I recommend you find a frame that is big enough to hold the frame either top to bottom with a little extra room (2″ extra border is best) for a matt or from side to side…the frame won’t be big enough normally, on both top to bottom and side to side. In my case, the frame is longer top to bottom than the diamond painting (2″ longer) but too narrow side to side, so what I did, was measured the excess top to bottom which is about an inch from the top and an inch from the bottom. You need to measure from side to side, the diamond painting and figure out how wide the frame is side to side (in the opening of the frame) and then subtract 2″ for the border. Then using a ruler on your diamond painting, and the measurement you just came up with, figure out how much you need to eliminate from the painting so it will fit in the frame. If you have a centering ruler, it’s a lot easier to do this, but what I do, is start by laying a piece of washi tape on your plastic covering near the right side of your focal image and then using your ruler, put another piece of washi tape on the left side and if you don’t like what you’ve eliminated, move the washi tape pieces using the same measurement until you do like where it lands. Then I would put washi tape over the plastic covering from top to bottom so you know where to stop laying diamonds..Don’t cut off the excess diamond painting until you are finished, and then you’ll want to leave about a 1 1/2″ border to wrap under the painting. Here’s a video I made showing you how to frame them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZYDnykxUZA

3. The bigger the diamond painting, the better the image. If you get a smaller diamond painting it will be more distorted and you have to stand back to get it in focus. I was sent a 50 x 50 cm diamond painting from a photo of Finn from Coodeals.com and it’s a great size for only his face. If I had gotten a smaller painting, his face would be a little distorted and you’d lose a lot of the colors.

4. I only use round diamonds as I have found square diamonds can sometimes be smaller or bigger and they will make your project wonky since you’re making straight rows and the diamonds butt up against each other. I haven’t had that problem with round diamonds.

5. People all have their way of doing diamond paintings….I always start in a corner and work my way in as if you start in the center and work your way out, you have a better chance of getting your arm or sweater/shirt stuck to the unfinished areas of the diamond painting. With my system, you only take the plastic covering off the corner area where you are working so you are always protecting the unfinished portion of the painting.

6. Framing—find your frames at thrift stores and find the largest frames that will work…measure your diamond painting in inches before you start and find a frame that is at least 1″ larger than top to bottom or side to side, and then re-read my #2 note above as it will help you. Once your painting is finished, cut off the excess (in my case it’s the sides) leaving about 1 1/2″ to roll under on all sides. You’ll angle cut the corners so you can get a clean fold on them and use tear tape under the edges and fold right to the edge of the last row of diamonds making sure you don’t see any of the unfinished canvas. You can also use hot glue to glue the sides down. I always use poster board for my matt and simply cut it to the size of the board that is the back of the frame but you could also trace the glass and cut the poster board to the size of the glass. Glue the poster board to the back of the frame then lay the diamond painting on it and use a very small amount of tear tape or hot glue, lay the painting where you want it then put it into the glass part of the frame, making sure it is centered. Don’t glue it down until you’re sure it’s centered properly.

I volunteered to make 10 birthday and 20 encouragement cards for Cards for Cubs and in the end, made 15 birthday cards and 20 encouragement cards, so I was happy with my outcome. If you would like more information about Cards for Cubs, where we make handmade encouraging and birthday cards for kids in foster care, here’s the link to their organization. https://cardsforcubs.org/

Unfortunately most of the papers and ribbons I used on these cards have been retired, but it was a great way to use up many of them.

I used scraps of paper that I cut to 2″ tall by 5 1/4″ wide. This allowed for 1/4″ between the two papers for ribbon, die cuts, or more paper scraps in a width up to 1/2″ by 5 1/4″ to fill the gap and overlap both the top and bottom papers.

I started with old Michaels card bases that are A2 size, 5 1/2″ wide by 4 1/4″ tall, and inked the edges of them, as most of the bases had a weird mountain on the bottom of the card front…So in order to use them, if the mountain was green and I had green scraps, I inked the edge with a green that would match the scrap paper about 1/2″ all the way around the front of the card.

The card I made on video started with one of the Michaels card base that I covered with tear tape and removed the backing so the whole front was sticky. I had scraps leftover that were 1 1/4″ wide by 4 1/4″ tall (after I ran out of the 2″ wide scraps I used for most of the cards I made.) Then I started on the right side and laid the first scrap from top to bottom against the right side of the card base, then butted the next scrap up to it, and then did the same until all scraps covered the front of the card. I used some old Martha Stewart wet glue (I bought at Tuesday Morning a long time ago) when I needed additional glue for these cards. Since the last piece hung over the edge, I took my Fiskars Guillotine trimmer and cut from the back to remove the excess, and then to make the right side strip match the left side end strip, I cut about 3/4″ off the right side of the card to make both ends look the same. I took three pieces of 2″ square black pieces of scrap card stock and glued them on top of each other, then took a piece of cream scrap and cut it to 1 3/4″ square and stamped Brutus Monroe black ink with an old Happy Birthday stamp from Hero Arts in the center, then glued the cream scrap to the black scraps. I glued the sentiment to the left side near the top and then added some enamel dots to it.

I used Stampin’ Up Pleated satin ribbon on a few of the cards in different colors…here are some links to it on ebay, as it’s retired. https://tinyurl.com/3wfff47v

I made cards with black and white smaller scraps and attached a video showing you how to make these types of cards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrAcOpQcc2k&t=42s

I was happy with the cards I made as I wanted them to all be a little bit different from each other even though I used the same concept of using two scraps that were each 2″ tall and 5 1/4″ wide and laid one above the other, then adding something to the center to make it more interesting. If you can’t tell, I spend a lot more time and energy on the encouragement cards than on the birthday cards, as I truly believe these kids deserve really special encouragement.

You’ll need a piece of 12 x 12 paper to make this card as it ends up being a 6 x 6″ card. I used American Crafts 12 x 12″ paper I bought on Amazon, here’s the link https://tinyurl.com/ypazx39f. As you know I’m not affiliated with Amazon, but want to make sure you can see exactly what products I use in case you want to find them.

Cut the paper in half, so you have a piece that is 6 x 12″ and score on the 12″ length at 6″. Fold and burnish the paper. I used a circle die that 2″ across from a die set and cut a circle in the center of the card front. The die came from a set that had circles and scallop circles, and used the next size up scallop circle die, then taped the circle die inside the scallop circle and taped them so they are centered and used a piece of green mirror cardstock to make a frame for around the circle I cut in the center of my card front, and ran it through my die cutting machine (Tim Holtz Vagabond II machine).

I used a 2 1/2″ circle punch with white card stock and punched out one circle. I stamped a rabbit from a Mama Elephant stamp set called Honey Bunny in Gina K black ink then put clear embossing powder over it and heat set it. I used alcohol markers to color the rabbit. The rabbit wears an outfit, so I picked some patterned cardstock and stamped the rabbit again, then took my scissors and fussy cut the outfit the bunny is wearing so I could make him look really cute. Once I cut it out, I cut off too much of the black outline of his outfit so used a black marker and drew the edges back in. I glued it to the bunny and then used a sky blue marker to color around the bunny and then glued the circle behind the hole in the front of the card. Then I glued the scallop frame I cut out to the circle on the front of the card.

I bought a couple packages of foam carrots at Dollar Tree but can’t find them now on their online site, and cut them in half with a very thin craft knife. You need to do this slowly and make sure you hold the bottom of the carrot to ensure you don’t break that off when you cut it. I scraped the back of each half carrot to get rid of excess styrofoam so they lay flat. I used hot glue and first glued a carrot to every other scallop, then decided to hot glue to the remaining scallops, and chose to glue those in closer to the inside edge of the scallop frame so my carrots (every other one) is offset.

I cut white cardstock to 5 1/2 x 5 1/2″, stamped the back of two rabbits from the same Mama Elephant set on the bottom left corner of this paper and stamped “Some bunny loves you” at the top of the paper. I colored the rabbits with two different gray markers and left the tails plain as I planned to glue small pompoms to them. I stamped “Hoppy Easter” from the same stamp set on white cardstock with Black Gina K ink and added clear embossing powder over it and heat set it, then cut it in a banner shape and glued it to the top left of the front of the card, then added some pastel enamel dots to this banner and to the bottom right corner of the front of the card and some smaller dots inside the circle with the rabbit. I got my enamel dots in a monthly card kit, but you can find them almost anywhere, just type in a search “pastel enamel dots.”

To cover the back of the rabbit that will bleed through his paper on the front of the card, if I had the same green cardstock, I would have used it, but somehow lost the other half of that piece of paper, so I used a green paper with leaves on it cut to 5 7/8″ x 6″, the 6″ should be the height of the paper and 5 7/8″ is the width..I glued it in place with Tonic double ended glue pen. I made a matching envelope with my 1-2-3 board by We R Memory Keepers and needed 9 3/4″ square piece of cardstock, so you’ll need to use a piece of 12 x 12″ and cut it down. You’ll put your cardstock in the envelope board at 4 7/8″ and then use the center punch and put the tool that comes with the punch board and score down the right side, then turn the paper one turn lining up the score you made with the left marks, punch the center punch again and score down the right side, do the same to the other two sides, then round the top of your envelope. I use my corner rounder from Kadomaru Pro on Amazon. I love this tool, and hate the one that comes on the punch board as it hurts my wrist. You add glue under the bottom flaps and make your envelope.

When you make a 6 x 6″ card on the scoreboard, it makes a larger size card and I could easily fit the carrots in the envelope.

As most of you know, I’ve been making cards for Cards for Cubs each March. These cards go to kids in foster care and need to be inspirational or birthday, and must be handmade. Here is the link to Cards for Cubs if you’d like to register to create some cards before the end of the month. This link will give you all of the information you need to participate.

https://cardsforcubs.org/pages/about-cards-for-cubs

I committed to making 20 inspirational cards and 10 birthday cards. I like to make cards for the older kids in foster care as I believe most people tend to make cards for younger kids. I also try to diversify the skin color on their faces, as I want to make sure all skin tones are well represented in the cards I send. I have just finished the 20 inspirational cards and here are my tips to making a lot of cards that are each unique and special, but with a streamlined approach. Here is my list of the ways I create these cards as quickly as possible.

1. I choose sentiments and young women’s faces on the stamps I use. Unity Stamps have the best of both and their red rubber stamps are amazing. (I am not sponsored or affiliated with them, but love their stamps and like to share the products I like best. Links for these stamp sets are below.) I keep all of my “Cards for Cubs” stamps together so each year I know where to pull them from and that saves time. One thing you might want to consider…since each card goes to a different child, you could recreate the same card for as many cards as you’ve committed to making, so would only need one image and one sentiment…or, if you use the Cards for Cubs free sentiments link: https://cardsforcubs.org/collections/freebies, you could use their colored sentiments and put them on a background of colorful scraps to create fun and easy cards.

2. I use my MISTI (or similar stamp positioner link: https://tinyurl.com/7swebcta) to stamp a lot of images at once and then cover with clear embossing powder and heat set to ensure the ink doesn’t run when coloring.) I use Gina K Amalgam black ink that shouldn’t smear, but I don’t want to take a chance when coloring so many images.

3. Once I’ve colored the images with alcohol markers, currently I really like Sanjoki brush tip markers…inexpensive and color beautifully https://tinyurl.com/52kzk45y. I photocopy the entire page, so next year I can photocopy them again and simply cut them out and they’re ready to go.

4. I used a Scan N Cut this year to cut out the intricate women’s heads. Still learning how to use it, but will do a video once I’ve got it down pat. This should save considerable time, but you can also use a die cut machine and oval dies to cut the heads just as easily, or fussy cut them with scissors if you don’t have a tool that will do the cutting for you.

5. Do the same approach with the sentiments you’ve stamped, cut them with paper punches or a die cutting machine or your paper trimmer and create a pile of them to choose from. You can check free printables on google for images and sentiments and print them from your computer. Some paper pads have good sentiments that you can cut out and layer onto matching paper from the same pad.

6. Take your pile of images (mine are mainly women’s heads) and choosing one at a time, go through your decorated cardstock cut to 4 x 5 1/4″ until you find papers that look good with your image and create a pile. I have a lot of older Michaels boxed premade card bases that I don’t like to use as they are textured, so use those for this project. Add a card base that matches (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″) to the image and patterned paper and put a sentiment I like with it. Then I start with the top grouping and use Avery Glue Sticks and glue my cards together. If I can’t find a card base I like, I’ll use one that I can alcohol ink 1/4″ around the edge of the card. If it bleeds through to the back, I add another half of one of the cardbases cut 4 1/4″ x 5 3/8″ and line the back to cover the ink. If you don’t have markers, you can add another layer of cardstock to the front that is 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ and glue it over the top of the card base, and trim off any that overhangs the original card base.

I like Unity Stamps for this project and here are the stamp sets I’ve used.

Jane Girl: https://tinyurl.com/ypbj2az9

Indie Girl: https://tinyurl.com/3uw2r3wk

Mouse Wonderful Gift link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8cxsuc

Don’t be Perfect link: https://tinyurl.com/bdfbazu5

Wear confidence link: https://tinyurl.com/693bvhbw

Whatever comes next, link: https://tinyurl.com/nhduap5j

My great nephew Finn’s, first birthday is coming up with his party theme being Monsters Inc., so I made his card to match the theme.

This ladder card has been on a lot of channels, but I like Sam Calcott’s version and followed it for the most part…Here’s a link if you want to follow hers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC5ax1HpdU4

You’ll need a piece of cardstock for the base of the card that is 9 1/2″ x 6″ scored on the 9 1/2″ length at 1 3/4″ and 7 3/4″. On the 6″ length, make a mark at 2″ with a pencil on both sides then take your paper trimmer and line up the pencil mark and the score on the 9 1/2″ length to cut an angle. Do the same to the other side, making the mark at 2″ and cutting from that mark to the score on the 9 1/2″ length.

I used white Recollections Heavyweight cardstock from Michaels for my ladder pieces, but recommend you use cardstock that isn’t as heavy, as it’s hard to fold the 1/4″ scores if you use heavy cardstock.You’ll need steps for your ladder that are:

5″ x 6 1/2″

4 x 6 1/2″

3″ x 6 1/2″

2 x 6 1/2… this is the front of the card that I decorated with a bunch of ones in different colors.

All of your steps, you’ll need to score on the 6 1/2″ length at 1/4″ and 6 1/4″

Fold and burnish all of your scores. Put tear tape on the ladder pieces from the 1/4″ score to the edge of the paper..I used 1/4″ wide tear tape, but you can use wet glue. If you do use wet glue, only put the glue on the left score as we’ll put glue on the right side on all ladder pieces at once later. If you have stamped something on any of the ladder pieces, you’ll want your tear tape or glue on the side that has the design on it.

Take your 9 1/2″ x 6″ piece and the first ladder piece which will be the largest one that is 5″ x 6 1/2″. Make sure the angle cuts you made on the sides of the card base are at the top of the card base. Line up the left side of the ladder piece so it butts up against the left score line of the card base making sure the bottom of the ladder piece is lined up with the bottom of the card base, then shut the left side of the card base and rub it to adhere it. Do the same to each of the ladder pieces making sure the left side of the ladder piece is butted up against the left score of the card base and the bottom of both the ladder piece and the card base are lined up. Once you’ve done glued all of the left sides of the ladder pieces in, fold them so they are flat against the left side of the card base and then put glue or tear tape on the area between the right hand score and the edge of the ladder pieces and remove the tear tape backing, then fold the right side of the card base onto them and rub to adhere. This should make a perfect ladder card.

I used decorative paper from Park Lane from Joann’s in a 12 x 12″ pack called Floral Spice and cut four pieces to 1 3/8″ x 5 3/4″ wide to insert on each ladder step. If you do it this way, you save a ton of decorative paper, because otherwise, you’d line the whole 5″, 4″, and 3″ pieces when it’s not necessary to do so. I glued the first one on the top of the card, centering it so there’s a border of green on three sides, then glued the next one in front of the first ladder piece, then did the same to the next two ladder pieces and rubbed all of them to made sure they were well adhered.

I took a piece of white cardstock 1 1/2″ x 5 3/4″ wide, and colored it with alcohol markers to a green that matched my designer paper and then used herb shears link: https://tinyurl.com/39y8wmsv and cut slits the whole way across the 5 3/4″ length cutting up about 1″ into the 1 1/2″ height. I didn’t like the look of this once I glued it behind the front 2″ high ladder piece, so cut the height down on angles and cut each strip (from the shears) in half so they are thinner.

I used monsters and bugs and a bear holding a sign stamps. The monsters came from a set from Katzelkraft Silly Monsters KTZ193, the bugs came from Tim Holtz Entomology and the bear is from Mama Elephant and the set is numbered SC0767 Bunny and Bear Holding Sentiment.

To write on the card, use a white piece of cardstock 5 3/4 x 5 3/4″ with a stamp from Simon Says Stamp set called so talkative, link: https://tinyurl.com/ye285yxf and glue it to the back of the card.

Just a reminder that Cards for Cubs where we make encouraging or birthday cards for kids in foster card is this month and you can submit cards until the end of April. To register your card donations, simply go to https://cardsforcubs.org/

I bought some stamp sets from Unity Stamps:

Mouse Wonderful Gift link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8cxsuc

Don’t be Perfect link: https://tinyurl.com/bdfbazu5

Wear confidence link: https://tinyurl.com/693bvhbw

Whatever comes next, link: https://tinyurl.com/nhduap5j

I hope you’ll join me in making cards this year..

I thought it would be fun to turn this little briefcase into a watercolor palette for this small mixing set of Daniel Smith watercolors. Since they provided a photo of the colors mixed into swatches, I thought I’d mix mine to see if I could come up with the same colors as they did.

Briefcase business card holder: https://tinyurl.com/yckswk3z or https://tinyurl.com/mr2fnfns

10 Full pan watercolors: https://tinyurl.com/bvwdu95e

Daniel Smith Mixing Watercolors: https://tinyurl.com/487ph2xn or https://tinyurl.com/rnjahpmn

Watercolor tube wringer: https://www.dickblick.com/categories/painting/tools/tube-wringers/

Arteza watercolor paper: https://tinyurl.com/5rmekf83

UHU Glue : https://tinyurl.com/2p94ambn

To make the briefcase palette, I tore the lining out and only left the small strip of black “velvet” in the center to make sure the palette wouldn’t fall apart. I removed as much of the glue and residue left inside the briefcase as I could. I took the plastic empty full pans and laid them in plastic packaging so if I made a mess, it would be easy to clean. I opened one tube of paint at a time and used the watercolor wringer to get all of the paint out, and into the pan. I had to use Rich for this, as getting the paint out from the top of the tube, wasn’t a simple task. Once all of the paint was in the pan, I would gently tap it down so the paint settled in the pan.

I wanted to put the pans into the briefcase with magnets, but the briefcase (that appeared to be metal) did not attach to magnets, so I had to use glue instead. I used UHU glue I had on hand, but you can use hot glue or Beacon 3 in 1 to adhere the pans to the briefcase. I accidentally deleted the video where I showed how to glue the pans into the briefcase…you just need to make sure that you leave enough room on the ends where there is a hinge inside the case, so when you close the case, the hinges don’t run into the plastic pans. I was able to glue five full pans across the front and four on the back row, even though I didn’t have paint for more than six pans.

I took the plastic packaging of the Daniel Smith paints and the “velvet” from the top section of the briefcase that I had removed, and laid the velvet on the clear part of the packaging and traced it with a black Sharpie. I cut out the plastic, then added tear tape to the back of white cardstock and attached the cardstock to the plastic making sure to cut the paper so it would fit inside the briefcase attached to the plastic packaging to make a mixing palette.

I let the paint sit open in the briefcase until the paint had dried. Then to mix the paints, I got my chicken (used for deviled eggs, but works great for mixing paints) and put some of each of the six colors into separate wells. I started with the Hansa Yellow Light (my first category on the top and on the left side)…I mixed it with the Gamboge with using more of the Hansa then put this mix into the second box from the top (in the first row at the top) and then added more of the New Gamboge to make the mix that goes in the second row on the top the first box down. If you use the names of the paints that go across the top of the page and use those as the primary color in the row beneath the name, and the colors that run down the left side of the page are the secondary colors in the mix.