A simple thank you....

At the beginning of the month, I mentioned that Stampin' Up! is donating $2 from the sale of every "Strength & Hope" stamp set to Breast Cancer Research during our Summer Catalogue sales period.  Not only does this stamp set support a great cause (which really hits home for me as my SIL is currently going through chemo for breast cancer), but it's just so darn cute, how can you NOT order it! 

There are some adorable projects you can make with it.  I've got a few that I'll post over the next few days, but thought I'd show you a really quick card I stamped this afternoon.

I pretty much copied this from the back of the Summer Mini Catalogue with a few minor changes.  It didn't take me more than 10 minutes and I can't wait to stamp more of them.  (Click the pic for a closer peek).

The "flag" at the bottom is actually a leftover piece I had in my scrap bin when I cut out a project using my Petal Cone Bigz Die.  I just love that die.

This particular card has been tucked into a customers order as a thank you for ordering this stamp set.  With the purchase of this set, I will be including a stamped card that I have personally stamped as a thank you for your support in Breast Cancer Research.

Watch for upcoming details regarding a class I am putting together for next month using this stamp set.


Happy Stamping!

DIY Buttons

Here it is - FINALLY! I know I said I'd post a DIY Button tutorial last week, but I wanted to show my stampers 6 clubs first (one of the many perks of joining a club!) and my 2nd club didn't end up meeting until last night, so I decided to wait.

BUT, here it is! A quick and simple way to make your own buttons that will coordinate perfectly with any card, scrapbook page or other project you're creating!

The products you'll need are:

Scrap cardstock or Designer Series Paper
Paper Punches of your choice (I'm using 3/4" & 1/2" circle punches)
Crop-o-Dile
Sanding Block
Post-it Note
Anywhere Glue stick (or other liquid-type adhesive)
Crystal Effects
Tweezers
Paint brush
Parchment Paper



Punch out five 3/4" circles and one 3/4" "donut".

To punch out my donut shape, I first punched out one 1/2" circle.

Then, I lined up my 3/4" circle punch around the punched 1/2" circle and punched again.

 
This gave me a perfect donut shape.

Line up four of the full circles and the donut on a post-it note.

 Apply an even amount of glue to cover the circles.

Starting with the non-glue covered circle, start layering the punches ending with the donut. Wipe away any excess glue and make sure your circles are perfectly lined up on top of each other.

With the pencil, mark button hole placement (with a larger button, 4 holes looks cute as well).

Punch holes with the crop-o-dile.  Punching through this many layers with a regular hand punch would be next to impossible, but the crop-o-dile is engineered in a way that it'll punch through SO easily.

Using your sanding block, lightly round the top edge/side of your button.

Pick up button with tweezers.

With the paint brush, brush on a layer of Crystal Effects around the outside edge to seal the paper layers together.

Place the button on the parchment paper and apply a thick even coat of Crystal Effects to the top.

Once dry, peel off the parchment paper and adhere with mini glue dots to your project!

There are so many different punches available, so don't limit yourself to just circles!

I hope you'll try your hand at making your own buttons.  I'd love to see what you come up with.

Happy Stamping!