Clearly iStamp

Its a blue kind of valentine

Hi friends, its Katie here today to welcome you to another Tuesday.  Today, I've got one final Valentine's Day project for you.  I hope you aren't sick of them.  I promise today is the last one :)  Today's project is one that you can make as cutesy as you want, but as you know, I have 3 boys so I'm always trying to create more "boyish" things, so I opted to use boy colors.

I was inspired by a gift item that I ran across online and my first thought is to always translate into paper and I think it translated very well.

The key to this heart bag are the Plain and Scallop Heart Nestabilities made by Spellbinders and then the rest of it is really up to you.  I chose a cute stamp set called Bitty Bots because I thought my boys would like him.  And because hearts are usually red and pink I opted to change it up to all blues.  Here is a picture of most of the ingredients used for this tutorial.

The ribbon I used is 1/4" blue silk, but you can use anything that weaves well.  Thicker ribbon such as grosgrain and even wider satin might be more difficult.  And of course anything thinner like twine, floss, etc would work great too.  You could also opt to used a smaller hole punch too.

 

So the first thing you will need is to die cut 2 scallop hearts.

2 strips of cardstock measuring 1 1/2" x 12".  I ended up cutting mine down after the fact to just 9".

 

Next, I used an 1/8" hole punch to punch along the scallops of the heart from the bottom tip upward on both sides.  The key is to make sure that your punched hole isn't too close to the edge.

 

To get your holes to match up to the handles, line up one side of your punched heart to the edge of your cardstock strip (handle)

I used a paper piercer to create a guide that I will use to punch my holes on my handles.  You aren't piercing all the way through, you are just making a mark.

Just line up the last two holes to make your marks.  You will have to adjust the heart to make it work.

Use the opposite side of the heart to match up with the opposite side of your handle.  You want marks on both sides of the handles.

And using your marks as guides use the punch hole to create the holes on your handles.  Again, make sure you don't get to close to the edge and punch through both handles at the same time on both sides.

Now its time to do some "sewing".  Actually its more like weaving and I believe this stitch is called a whip stitch.  Let me know if I'm wrong.

I used needle with a larger eye to it and it really doesn't matter as long as the eye will fit through whatever size hole you make.  I cut a piece measuring about 1 yard because I wanted to use one piece for the entire piece.

 

I began by taping the end to the inside of one of the hearts.

 

Even though the ribbon starts on the inside, I wove the needle from the bottom up so it essentially wraps around the first scallop.  Also note that I started at the top... whichever side is your preference.

 

I then grabbed one of the handles and again threaded from the bottom up, lining up the what will be the top hole. 

Continue threading from the bottom up.

 

Next thing is the add the second handle.

 

Its not a perfect threading and you will have to go through a hole twice to get on the right track, but its hardly noticeable in the end.

Here is a photo of half of the bag put together.

At the top, you will then transfer the ribbon to the opposite side of holes.

 

The great thing about this project is that its very easy going.  You can keep the pieces flat for most of the sewing.

 

And at the top, just tape your edge and snip.

At this point, you can put the handles together like the picture below.  You will have to trip up the handles though so you don't have a lot of excess when you glue.

 

I opted to put the handle together a different way.  I trimmed 3" off the handles first.

 

Then kept them together and used  a punch which I will put a ribbon through.  You could use a circle one just as easily as this Stampin Up! one.

 

Then to add some stamping and extra layering.  I used other heart nestabilities to create mats and copics to color my image.

 

 

So there you go.  I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and make sure to come back this Friday for our next Clearly Inspired Challenge.

Thanks for visiting and this is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Clearly Inspired Challenge Winner (CIC6) and Top 5

Hey friends!  I hope you are having a fabulous Friday.  I've heard through the grapevine (actually the weather channel) that many of you are brrr... cold and I've also gotten the gist that many of you are sick of the snow (lol).  What can I say except keep the snow, I'll stick to the drizzle we have here in Washington state (hehe).

But, the business here for today is to announce our randomly drawn winner of a stamp set of their choice - yahoo!  So here it is....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

9

Timestamp: 2010-02-05 16:56:32 UTC

Who happens to be Shanna from The Stamping Banana

Shanna, please e-mail me (Katie) your mailing address at [email protected]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for our top 5 Inspirations

Laurie/Virgo 5 - On The Bright Side

Barb - Barb's Best Creations

Vicki Dutcher - All I do is Stamp

Christi Bryant - Christi's Blog

Kelly Jo - Kelly Jo's Stamp Pad

Thanks again for another great week of lovely creations and lots of Inspiration.  Make sure to come visit us next Friday for our next Challenge!

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

This Dove's for you...

Hi friends, its Katie here to welcome you to another Tuesday tutorial.  I'm still on a Valentine's Day kick so I've got a box for you that features those yummy Dove Candies.  But in all honesty you could make this box into any theme and fill with any treat.

In this first photo I've got 2 layers of chocolates, but you could easily just put in one layer as well.  The fit is a tad tighter when the box is full.

So here we go.  Of course, I missed a couple of items in my first photo, but you'll see when I add things along the way.  Get ready for LOTS of pictures...

Most important items are some sort of die cut machine, the Labels One Nestabilities from Spellbinders, Scoring tool, cardstock and designer paper of choice, adhesive, some sort of button or embellishment, scissors, and a hot glue gun.

 

You will need to start with a piece of cardstock measuring 5 1/2" x 5 1/2".  We will work on the bottom box first.  Score at 1" on all 4 sides.

 

Fold and cut.

 

Flip your piece over attach 4 pieces of designer paper...I used Bittersweet from Basic Grey.

NOTE:  You don't necessarily have to put the designer paper on the sides because we are working on the bottom, but I WASN'T thinking... if you haven't figured it out you'll see what I'm talking about in a bit.

 

Apply adhesive  on the 4 corner flaps and fold up --- Box Bottom

 

The next step is to create the candy dividers.  I just love how these look.

You will need a piece of cardstock measuring 6 3/8" x 3 3/8"

 

Next, you will need to do some scoring.  The measurements are not nice and easy numbers, but the scoring isn't really that bad. 

Here are incremental measurements starting from the left moving to the right:

Score in 1 1/8", score an additional 3/4", another 3/4", another 1 1/8", another 3/4", another 3/4"

Or, you can make these score marks with your Scor-pal.

Place the edge of your cardstock at the 1" mark and Score right under the number 2 (this is actually the        2 1/8" mark)

 

Then move your score mark that you just made to the 3 1/2" mark and score at the 4 1/4" mark.  Repeat this last step to get your last score mark.  Flip your cardstock to the other side and repeat.

 

Time to fold...

Flip over and apply the adhesive.

 

 

Just lay down into the box bottom.

 

Add candy to check the fit.

NOTE:  if the center is just a tad tight (mine was)... all you have to do is spread your folds apart just slightly.

 

Now to create the next set of dividers.  You will need 2 pieces of cardstock measuring 1 1/2" x 3 3/8"

Score at 3/4" (in half)

Apply adhesive and fold in half.

 

I placed my divider where I wanted it to be and just snipped slightly at the bottom

 

I used the middle snip as my center and then angled 2 outside cuts toward the center.  Don't go too far up, but this part is adjustable to the way it fits.

 

Now, just slide these two pieces into the dividers already in place.

 

 

Now its time for our decorative bottom and lid.

Unfortunately, the biggest die from the Labels one set wasn't quite large enough, so I opted to make it bigger my way.  I essentially created a guide and cut on the outside in order for a bigger piece.

 

 

 

Remember to do 2 - one for the top and one for the bottom.

 

To create the lid you will need a piece of cardstock slightly larger than your bottom.  I usually just increase my measurements by 1/8".

This piece measures 5 5/8" x 5 5/8" and is scored, cut, and put together the same way as the box bottom.

 

I grabbed the next to the largest die to create the decorative portion for my lid.

 

Attach the decorative piece to the top of the lid top.

Apply adhesive to both the box lid and bottom.  I used my Scor-tape for this part.

  

Center the box onto the die cuts.

I decided early on that I wanted a "handle" for my lid so I rummaged through my buttons and found this beauty.  I placed it on my top and then made a mark where I "thought" the center was.

 

I then decided to use my hot glue gun to attach my button.  I "oozed" my glue onto the lid and then placed my button into the pool of glue.  I held it there for a few seconds and then let it cool.

 

Then I created a cute little card using my scraps to go with my treat box.  Isn't that heart button the cutest...I stamped the "LOVE" sentiment with the Imperial Monogram set (the smaller letters)

Some more views...

 

Pheww... all done.  I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial.  I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!

Don't forget our color challenge... you've got loads of time to play!

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp!

Reminder... Clearly Inspired Challenge #6 - Color Challenge

Hey everyone, its Katie here popping in to remind you that CIC#6 is going strong right now.  You've got the rest of the week to play (loads of time).  Click ---> HERE <--- for all the details of our challenges.

And of course, I can't possibly post without something to look at so I created another quick card a) using the colors for the challenge and b) using a just released stamp.  Head on over to the store to grab yourself any number of new releases for February!

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.  Have a great day!

Recipe:

Cardstock: CTMH

Stamps: Peace for the Journey

Ink: CTMH

Other: Rhinestones, ticket punch, embossing folders, Spellbinders Nestabilities