Song of My Heart Stampers

Photo Tutorial: Fabric Stationery Box & Card Set

Think fabric belongs in the sewing room, not the stamp room? Think again! This is the perfect project for those of you who are thinking of jumping on the textiles trend in papercrafting! I created this stationery box and card set with the new Stampin' Up Summer Smooches product suite, the With All My Heart stamp set, the Bolds family of cardstock, inks, and embellishments, and the Blossom Party die for the Big Shot.That stamp set is retiring on May 31st, but you can order the Summer Smooches line beginning June 1st, 2012.

I'll walk you through making the box, and then talk about each of the fabric-embellished cards individually in another post. The box was originally the brainchild of my talented demo friend Jackie Topa--thanks for the inspiration, girlfriend!

To begin, you'll need the Simply Scored board with the new Diagonal Attachment, one sheet of 12x12 cardstock, Sticky Strip, scissors, and a button or brad and small loop of ribbon for a fastener (or a Velcro dot works, too). All of these items can be ordered on my shopping website: www.lyssa.stampinup.net

Start by trimming your 12x12 down to 11x11. With the Diagonal Attachment in place on your Simply Scored, score at 4.5 and 6.5 inches on the top sidebar, and 4.5 and 6.5 inches on the left hand sidebar.

Turn the cardstock 90 degrees (doesn't matter which direction) and score at 3.5 and 5.5 on the top bar and 3.5 and 5.5 on the left hand side bar.

Then just snip up the folds to the scored lines, creating notches and leaving flaps as shown above. Fold three sides in to form the box, and use Sticky Strip (highly reccomended) or other strong adhesive to secure. Add your button/brad and loop closure, and embellish as desired!

For my box, I created a second, false lid from scrap cardstock exactly the same size as the one on the box, and covered it with Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet. I laid torn strips of Summer Smooches fabric side by side until the lid was covered. I wrapped the ends around and under so that the edges had a nice finished look.

I can hear your gears turning--no, that's not a new embellishment--it's just rick rack I had leftover from making Natalie's Summer Smooches outfit. I did use Island Indigo ruffled ribbon, Old Olive polka-dotted scallop grosgrain, and Daffodil Delight seam binding, though. Unfortunately, the cute fabric covered brads that went with the Summer Smooches line are all sold out, but of course you can just use a button or even make your own fabric-covered one, if you don't mind a little sewing.

Now, don't forget to go look at the post with the matching cards!

If you enjoyed this FREE photo tutorial, please leave a comment below! An amazing amount of time and effort that goes into a good online tutorial, not to mention the time spent designing and creating. Take a moment to leave some love! Thanks for visiting.

Photo Tutorial: Punch Window Double Door Card

Happy Leap Day! Promised you a quick photo tutorial of this punch-windowed double-door card we made at my last demonstrator meeting and I finally got around to snapping the pics today, after a delightful breakfast with my handsome hubby, who had an unexpected day off.

I encourage you to try this quick and fun card--the recipients will be delighted when they get it, and it's super easy to make. I have made a bunch to trade as swaps at the Stampin' Up conference in Milwaukee on the 10th--so excited!

Here's a photo of it open. We're also going to see a gift card holder version, too.

To begin, you'll need TWO pieces of cardstock that measure 4.25x8.5. This means you can get one card from a sheet of cardstock. I trim my 8.5xll to 8.5 square, then in half at 4.25. You'll also need your Simply Scored board, a large punch (I used the Full Heart punch, but any punch with a definite mid-point will do), and for the gift card version, a Word Window punch; plus stamps, ink and embellishments.

I used Basic Gray ink and the Outlined Occasions set you can get for free right now during Sale A Bration! And likewise the free Everyday Enchantment brads, along with Calypso Coral cardstock, marker and ruffled ribbon.

Score your cardstock on the long side at 2 and 1/8 inches, and 4.25 inches. Repeat with the second piece. Then, fold on the score lines as shown below:

We're going to work on the left hand side door, and then you can just repeat the simple steps for the right hand side. Center your punch over the first score mark (2 and 1/8 inch), pushing your punch ALL the way in as far as it will go. NOTE: If you don't push the punch in all the way, both times, your punched windows may not meet in the middle. That's not cool! So push it in all the way, center it on the scored line, and punch.

After you've done the right hand side as well, you can put the two halves together with SNAIL adhesive. If you were careful to push the punch in all the way, and centered the punch, you should have a perfect heart window (or whatever punch you're using). If your scoring was a dab off, you may find you need to trim one back piece or the other two allow the two halves of the window to butt up against each other perfectly. It was hard to get the card to lay flat and fully closed for photographing, but you'll see what I mean when you make it.

VARIATION: If you want to make yours a gift card holder, punch the Word Window through the back of ONE of the two halves. Again, push the punch in as far as it will go, to ensure that it is straight and deep enough. Slide the punch over and punch again to lengthen the opening so it is long enough for your gift card. Then, attach the two halves together using Sticky Strip instead of regular SNAIL adhesive, since the gift card will put tension on the layers.

Easy-peasy! Hope you'll leave me a note below if you plan to try this card, and feel free to send in special requests. No super-involved, mega-time-consuming ones, please. The over-the-top things are pretty to look at, but I try to post mostly truly practical projects that ordinary people would actually make! Spread the word to your stampin and scrappin' buddies that there are over 50 different photo tutorials to be found at Song of My Heart Stampers, and they are always free for your inspiration.

Photo Tutorial: Free Sale A Bration Ginormous Fabric Flower

It's my birthday today and since I'm stuck home with a sick kid and can't go out shopping or to redeem my free massage (thanks, Michelle!) I decided to sew this morning. And because I'm a total workaholic and can't ever seem to totally unplug, I was listening to a Stampin' Up webinar at the same time : ) But after I got this tote made, I decided to try an awesome new flower I saw in this month's issue of Stampin' Success. Never heard of it? It's a demonstrator-only monthly magazine from Stampin' Up, and it rocks! Ask me today for a FREE SAMPLE ISSUE!

The flower is SOOOO easy you probably don't even need a tutorial, but some of us learn better with pictures, right? So here we go. To start with, I cut long strips of Flirtatious Designer Series Fabric (one of the free choices right now during Sale A Bration 2012!!) and backed them with iron-on light interfacing. This will give your flower some sturdiness, but it also prevents it from ravelling too much, which you will be VERY glad you did over time when you don't have to pick off a bazillion and eight threads that shed all over!

My strips were about two inches wide. I sewed the strips end to end, so I had one long piece that was about 70 inches. The length you will need (and the width, too) will depend on how big across you want the finished flower to be, but if you're just trying it out, those are good measurements to start with.

Run a simple gathering stitch down the entire thing... not too tight, and don't tie off the thread until you start winding it in the circle shape, so you can adjust the gathers where you have too many or not enough. The photo below shows it kind of laid out how it will eventually be glued down.

For my base, I cut a Scallop Circle die on the Big Shot, out of the cardboard that comes in a package of Designer Series Papers. I covered one side of it with Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet and Flirtatious fabric, so the flower is actually as pretty on the back side as it is on the front! Not really important, but I wanted the flower to be able to come off the tote so I can wash it when it gets dirty.

Then you just hot glue the gathered strip around and around on the circle, recreating the flower you made above. Start in the center and work your way out to the edge. The 70-ish inch strip will work out just about right to finish off by the time you reach the outer edge of the scallop circle die-cut.As you can see below on this photo of the back side of the flower, the final ruffled row will just have enough space to be glued down along the edge.

Tuck the end in underneath a ruffle to finish it off. That's it! Isn't that easy? You may want to go back and add in a few dabs more hot glue anywhere where it feels loose or doesn't lay perfectly.I added three fabric-covered brads from the Sew Suite collection, which are still available on the Clearance Rack right now if you hurry!

TIP: use the Crop A Dile to punch two holes through your cardboard backing circle, to allow you to easily insert two safety pins to secure your flower safely to the tote bag. Otherwise you're trying to force the pins through the cardboard and it ain't pretty :)

Here's the finished tote bag with the big flower pinned to the middle, and two other Big Shot circle flowers with melted edges (done with the Heat Tool, but that's another tutorial!). If you hot glue brooch pins to the backs of these flowers, that works, too, for easy removal when you need to launder it.

Hope you've enjoyed another FREE tutorial from Song of My Heart Stampers. I love sharing what I do, because I do what I love! Thanks for visiting my blog, and be sure to let your friends know that not only are my projects all free, you can also find EVERYTHING I use on them in one location, my Stampin' Up website. Click here to spend some fun time browsing, and don't forget you can get this fabric for free right now, during Sale A Bration! www.lyssa.stampinup.net

Photo Tutorial: Frisbee card and Spirelli Technique

Hi everyone! Today I have a cute & easy card style that's a little variation on my telescoping card tutorial here. It's round and it's big and it's fun and I decided to call it a Frisbee card! You make it the same way as the telescoping circles card, but all the circles are the same size except the back one, which can be any size. I made mine with my handy-dandy Circle Scissors Plus tool. Here's a photo of the Frisbee card closed:

Ok, let's work on this fun Spirelli Technique! It's SOOOO easy! Once you start wrapping the twine, you turn into a twine-wrapping maniac. I now have considerably less scraps on hand, because everything that was large enough to punch a scallop circle out of got punched and made into one of these medallions!

To begin, you need any size scallop circle punch or die cut from the Big Shot, and Baker's Twine (which now comes in eight different colors!!). You'll need quite a lot of Baker's Twine, so good thing it's dirt cheap at just $2.95 per color. Click here to view them online: Baker's Twine

PS: Please 'scuze my inky fingernails and "winter" hands... my mother DID try her level best to teach me to take care of my hands, but it just didn't stick!

Leave the twine attached to the main package, because it will vary how much you need. Start by wrapping the twine around four scallops, leaving the end hanging towards the back. Then wrap it around again, starting with the next scallop over and wrapping around four scallops, as shown below.

You'll be able to do this a lot more easily than I did, with one hand holding the camera!

Then proceed all the way around the circle, moving over one scallop at a time, and wrapping around four each time.You can see below how it starts to create a really cool woven look. See how I'm skipping four scallops every time?

After you've gone all the way around, cut off your twine, leaving enough to wrap towards the back and secure with a dimensional.

Now, you can get a couple of different variations on this look by altering the number of scallops you skip. You can do three or five, as well as four, and get the looks below:

Different circle punches fit in the centers of these and make for a lot of fun embellishments! I hope you enjoyed this quick technique and the Frisbee variation on the telescoping circles card. I never charge for my tutorials, so it means a lot to me to know you are benefitting from all my hard work, because that's the only gratification a blogger gets! Please leave a comment on my blog today and introduce yourself!

Photo Tutorial: Double-Pocket Stationery Book

I love hand-made cardstock stationery sets, but sometimes I wish they held more cards. Here is a FREE (as always) photo tutorial on a great book-style stationery set that has two nice deep pockets. I found a couple variations online and adapted mine to use cardstock more responsibly. Don't you hate it when there's a bunch wasted? I sure do!

Let's get straight to the tutorial! I'm going to show you the basic box and then a purse variation. You'll need a 12x12 sheet of cardstock, cut to 11.5 by 9 inches. Save the discarded 3x12 strip, as we will be using it later. You'll also need the Simply Scored board, Sticky Strip, and then ribbon, Designer Series Paper, and embellishments as desired.

Score the cardstock at .5, 5.25, 6.25 and 11 inches on the long side, and 1, 1.5, 7.5 and 8 on the short side.

Snip to the score lines as shown above, notching out all four corners and the interior "spine" flaps as well.

Use your scissors to cut off the corners of the insides of the side flaps, as shown below. They'll get bent up anyway, so we might as well trim them off, right? You could also use a deep corner rounder.

Take the 12x3 strip you cut off the original 12x12 sheet and trim off 1 inch from one long side, leaving you with a two inch by 12 inch strip, which you will cut in half at six inches. Score both of those 2x6 pieces at .5 inches down their length.

Then attach those two pieces to either end, on the little half-inch flaps, using Sticky Strip. This makes the flaps just enough longer that the cards remain more securely inside the book--especially important if you are doing the purse variation.

Fold that flap you just added up and fold the two side flaps over it, securing with Sticky Strip. or under it, as I just noticed is what I actually did in the photo below. Oopsie.

There's one pocket. Now repeat with the other side, and you have the second one. Fold the center scores to close the "book."

I secured mine shut with a belly band. You could also use a French closure or simply attach ribbons to tie it shut. The belly band basic measurements are 2x12, scored at 4.75, 5.75, 10.5 and 11.75.

That's it! Super easy, huh? I'd show you the finished, embellished outside of mine, but it is a gift for someone who might see it here, so no such luck!

Purse Variation: use the leftover 1x12 strip and score at half inch from either end, attaching to the "spine" of the book with Sticky Strip.

The lid is for ornament only, as the book opens from the bottom. Don't worry, the cards stay put in their nice deep pockets! If you're worried about it, though, you can add some ribbon ties to hold them in place with a cute little bow. To make the lid, die-cut the largest Labels Collection Framelit with your Big Shot, and score at 1.25 and 2.25 inches down the length, as shown below with those super useful Place Markers for the Simply Scored. Attach with Sticky Strip.

Don't have a Simply Scored YET??? What are you WAITING for?? Order yours today by emailing me or shopping online at www.lyssa.stampinup.net  And because it's Sale A Bration, getting yourself a new tool makes a lot of sense, because you get free reward choices for every $50 spent. EVERYTHING you see on my blog is available through Stampin' Up. Sounds like it's time to have yourself a little book party! Call me!

Thanks for visiting Song of My Heart Stampers! Be sure to check out my Photo Tutorial section for tons more great ideas on all sorts of techniques, projects, and random cool stuff I've been enamored with lately. Unlike many places you visit these days, ALL Song of My Heart tutorials are 100% free. No bait and switch, no hidden fees, no subscription charges! I feel very strongly about that! If you appreciate that, please leave a comment, as that's what keeps me encouraged and posting.

And, if you ask pretty please with sugar on top, I even take requests from time to time. : )

Photo Tutorial: secret sliding lid box

Ok, apparently I can't get away with posting a cute box with a fun lid and not sharing the how-to! SOOOOO-RRRRYYYY!!!! : ) So enjoy today's FREE (as always) photo tutorial on making any size box with a secret sliding lid... and don't let the take-away lesson here be that whining gets you what you want. LOL!

First, make your rectangular box. This can be ANY size, so no, I am not including measurements. The only special part of your box needs to be a half-inch flap on all four sides of the top. I did this on the handy-dandy Simply Scored tool (just $29.95 and a must-have!). Snip down to the score lines and fold towards the insides, as shown above.

Rectangular does seem to work better than a square. Something about the drag on the lid, I guess.

Then, cut two lids, exactly the same size, for the top surface of your box. Neither one of them needs any flaps.

Punch a circle out of the RIGHT hand side of one of the lids, and out of the LEFT hand size of the other kid, as close to centered as possible. If they are off a little, no worries--as long as you can still get the candy out!

Next, you're going to attach your RIGHT hand punched lid to JUST the two end flaps--leave the long side flaps waving in the breeze for now. And don't mess around--use Sticky Strip. Better to do it right the first time than regret being chintzy with the adhesive later!

You can kind of see how we are making a channel or track for the upper LEFT hand punched lid to slide in.

Now we need to make the long flaps lay down and secure the ends so the upper lid is in there nice and snug.I did that with two half-inch wide strips of cardstock, attached with Sticky Strip, as shown below.

With the cardstock strips wrapped around nice and snug, you can slide the LEFT hand punched lid in between that framework and the lid you attached previously. If there is a lot of resistance, you can shave off just a dab from one of the long sides to make it slide more easily, but leave it kind of tight so that the lid doesn't fall open by itself all the time.

I always attach an obvious ribbon pull or tab to the correct end you want the recipient to grab, for their own sakes. Wouldn't want anyone to freak out and wind up ripping it open to get at the M&M's!

"A Simply Scored Christmas" Cookies for Santa Doorknob Hanger

Whew! We made it! Today is the last day of my December 2011 blog series featuring the Simply Scored board. I hope you all come away with a lot of ideas for using your brand new toy, or at least found some fun sneak peeks and inspiration for embellishing along the way.

I had an entirely different project planned for today, but I have not been feeling well at all lately and definitely am not mentally up to a multi-step, highly involved photo tutorial today. So, I prepped this little guy and I know you'll get a lot of good out of it this Christmas--probably more than the big detailed project I was planning, anyway, right? We'll save the big project for another day when I am feeling more capable!

It does hold a dozen cookies, so this is a nice big pouch, unlike other door hangers you may have seen out there. To begin, you'll need a 5x12 piece of textured or smooth cardstock, and a 7x9 piece; your Simply Scored, Sticky Strip, and punches and the Big Shot as described below, if you want to make my punch art Santa Claus.

You can get one door hanger from a sheet of 12x12. TIP: use good quality cardstock, not the cheapo stuff, because once you fill that pouch, you don't want the hanger to rip and destroy all your hard work!

The 5x12 piece gets no scores... just die-cut a circle out of one end. This is for the doorknob, and I used the 3-inch circle die (item #122125) and my Big Shot. If you don't have that die, you can use your Coluzzle or Circle Scissors Plus to get a large enough hole. I tried the 2.5 inch circle punch but it wasn't quite big enough for more doorknobs.

Score the 7x9 inch piece at 1,2,7 and 8 inches on the long side (pictured above), and 1 and 2 on the short side (not shown). Snip out the corners, leaving tabs, as shown below.

That pocket just gets Sticky Stripped at the bottom first, and then along the sides, and stuck to the long 5x12 piece. Decorate as you wish. Mine is made from Lucky Limeade textured cardstock and decorated with the Tasteful Trims die for the Big Shot, with the addition of the handy-dandy Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets to the back, to make adhering it ridiculously easy and SO not messy!

That's really all there is to the door hanger itself. The Santa is easily made by cutting a Scallop Circle die in a little less than half and attaching it to a rectangle of Pink Pirouette. His hat is free-handed (sorry) and decorated with Mica Flakes (Holiday Mini Catalog, Item #124115). The nose is the small oval punch, and the mustache is the FIVE PETAL FLOWER PUNCH WHICH IS ON SALE FOR DIRT CHEAP WHILE SUPPLIES LAST ON THE CLEARANCE RACK!! Seriously, they just threw all the old-style whale-tail punches on the Clearance Rack at a steep discount, and you can get all the punches I used on Mr. Santa here for really cheap if you hurry--www.lyssa.stampinup.net

Other punches used--and yes, all currently still available on the Clearance Rack and on sale in the old style--are the 3/4 inch circle punch (eyes), the Boho Blossoms punch (pom-pom on hat), and the Scallop Border punch (hat brim). If you are a punch art fan, or a scrapbooker, go check it out! Ask for your Christmas or birthday money early if you have to--this sale is worth it!

Ok! All good things must come to an end. Thank you for joining me for "A Simply Scored Christmas." You can find the 15 photo tutorials in this series and many more through the link on my sidebar, or look for a specific one by keyword using the search feature. All of my tutorials are free, so do the papercrafting world a favor and pay it forward by sharing what YOU love, too, ok?