Life Is Good

As a mom with children of (or nearing) preschool age, I'm always looking for new ways to package little treats to send with them to school. My kids LOVE Swedish Fish, so I thought I'd create a summery treat incorporating fish. The Beach Bum set was perfect for this project. I used the Matchbox Bigz die from Stampin' Up along with paper from the Beach Bum Key Ingredients to create my little treat. I stamped the palm tree on colored cardstock and cut it out, layering the top twice and adding some Parisian Mist glitter. I also added some Nut Brown Flower Soft to ground the palm tree and add more of a "beach" feel.

I could barely finish the project and take a picture before my daughter took the matchbox for her very own! :) Hopefully you've been inspired to create a treat that's different than your norm and makes your kids or grandkids eager to get their hands on it! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Beach Bum (Taylored Expressions); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine); Paper- Beach Bum Key Ingredients (Taylored Expressions), acetate; Accessories- Parisian Mist Glitter (Taylored Expressions), Nut Brown Flower Soft, 1 3/4" circle punch, Matchbox Bigz die (SU);

A Scrapbook Project for the Non-Scrapbooker

I've had this idea for a while now but when I saw the Beach Bum set I knew it was the set to use. You see, I started paper crafting as a scrapbooker (way back many years ago) but I haven't really scrapbooked much since I discovered rubber stamping and cardmaking 6 years ago. The only problem...I never stopped taking pictures. So I was looking for a quick and easy way to get my vacation photos into a "scrapbook" when I came up with the Rolodex Book. I'm calling it an "unscrapbooked" project for the non-scrapbooker! LOL! Because really, it's just like stamping little cards. 

I started with a plain Rolodex that I picked up an office supply store and I used the rolodex Sizzix die cut from Stampin' Up for the pages. I used the Beach Bum stamp set and the Beach Bum Key Ingredients, along with plenty of Stickles and a fun assortment of summer shaped brads. 

On the cover I used my JustRite lower case Times New Roman font and the rectangle stamper for the title. I created a little beach scene then penned in the dates of our vacation in the lower right corner. I added ribbon tabs to each of my divider pages so whomever is looking at it can easily flip to a different section.

Who goes to the beach and doesn't play in the sand? There are plenty of pictures of my niece and nephews in this section. The images on the divider pages are done with a combination of paper piecing and copic markers. 

The beach bum section is home to photos of mostly the adults...LOL!

And of course, a little swimming in the ocean and the pools was in order. We weren't swimming with sharks though (that I know if anyway) so I only inked up the little swimming Cuppie and stamped him three times so he'd be with his friends. 

We also had lots of fun using the resort sailboats and taking a boating excursion to Rick's Cafe, so this section holds all those photos. The cloud stamp is from the Branching Out Coordinates.

In just a few hours I was able to "unscrapbook" our Jamaica vacation and I have 107 photos to proudly display. It would also be super easy to go back and add journalling cards to each section too (yeah right...LOL!). Wouldn't this be a great gift idea? Hmm...my family's coming to visit in September, do I have enough time?

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Also, just a reminder that Taylor is smack dab in the middle of her big move from California to Iowa so the TE Store will not be shipping any orders until July 13th. The Store is open and taking orders though.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

A Quick Teacher Gift

It's the last day of school for my kids today. Sometimes I think it seems cruel that they make them go so late, but as a Mom, I'm glad because the summer can be crazy busy in it's own way. I wanted to make a quick gift for my youngest's teacher. Quick is of the essence these days with all that we have going on at the end of the school year. I am sure her teacher is looking forward to a summer of relaxing without 20 eight year olds to deal with every day, and I think that the Beach Bum stamp set is a set that says summer fun all over!

I started with one of the Party Favour boxes from Taylored Expressions. These little boxes make a simple gift just that much more fun! They come cut and scored, and a strip of high tack adhesive is all that's needed to put it together. I took a strip of designer paper from the Beach Bum Key Ingredients kit and two of the border stickers from the sticker sheet from the kit to adorn the front of the box. I stamped the tree and punched the image out with a 1 1/2" circle punch and framed it with a scalloped circle cut with a Nestability. I stamped the tree top on the green cardstock from the kit and popped it up, and added the beach ball on pop dots too. I had originally stamped the sentiment "Thank You" from the Beary Special Accessories set directly on the box, but wouldn't you know, I got it crooked. So I stamped it again and punched it out in a circle and adhered it over my first attempt.

I picked up the clips some time ago at the dollar store, but they also sell them at Staples. I stamped and coloured four different images (twice each) and layered them on scalloped circles cut from the cardstock included in the Beach Bum Key Ingredients kit. I positioned them back to back over the clip adhering them with a pop up glue dot, sealing them with dry adhesive.

These little clips make great bookmarks, but for a teacher these just might be the most fun a paper clip can be! I have yet to see a teacher's desk that didn't have 4 or 5 stacks of paper on their desk waiting for distribution to the class. I hope these will help keep her organized and smiling!

Quick, cute and functional...everything you wanted a stamping project to be! Have a wonderful day and keep smiling!

Laura

Recipe: Stamps: Beach Bum, Beary Special Accessories (Taylored Expressions) Paper: Choice Snow White, cardstock from the Beach Bum Key Ingredients kit Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Accessories: Copic markers, 1 1/2" circle punch, Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Favor Box (Taylored Expressions), jumbo paper clips (Dollarama), pop up glue dots, red line adhesive, stickers from Beach Bum Key Ingredients kit