Frame your 3x4 Card!

I found this really great die set from We R Memory Keepers/Lifestyle Crafts called Albums Made Easy - Starter Dies. It's from the Albums Made Easy Dies line and I love it. Just had to have it because if anyone needs to have their crafting life made easy, it is me! It's really basic and anyone who does Project Life or scrapbooks should have it, one of those essentials.



I created a special little 3x4 card for my pretty bare PL album. Here's a pictorial.

The best part is the frame isn't adhered onto the photo. I can always swap the photo out (or not). I think I'm finicky, but I never really like gluing stuff directly onto my photos.

Oh the greeting is from Mama Elephant's newest release, Everyday Greetings. It features my handwriting and a gorgeous vintage typewriter font.

You can grab this on this die set on the Shop We R site for 20% off your entire purchase with discount code SUGAR. Thanks for looking!

Just Do It

Exciting new opportunities for Mama Elephant are on the horizon. While it scares me to death, we just have to grit our teeth and just do it. We all need that little reminder every now and then, don't we? Hope to share more good news soon.

Washi Feather Gift Bag

I love goodie bags. Favor bags. Treat bags. Gift bags. Whatever you wanna call them, I love them. As you can imagine, I'm constantly pressed for time and so usually end up not wrapping my gifts. Throw the whole thing in a pretty bag and call it a day!

We R Memory came out with this amazing gift bag punch board and I am in love.

You can create 3 different sizes, but my fave is the small for cute little knick knacks and trinkets sort of gifts that is usually the hardest to find boxes for. For today's post I'll show you how I made the washi tape feather embellishments for the small gift bag I created using the gift bag punch board that measures about 2.75" wide, it's the cutest little thing!!!

Click HERE for the youtube tutorial on creating the gift bag using the gift bag punch board.

Here are the supplies I used:

1. DR0376 Feathers shape die set

2. Assorted washi tape

3. Index weight cardstock

4. Evolution die cutting machine

5. Mama Elephant Big Words clear stamp set

Create a random pattern with your washi tape onto cardstock, don't use cover cardstock, go for something a little between cover and text, like index card weight 65lb. When choosing my washi tape assortment, I went for a gold/yellow with florals palette.

Now run that baby through your machine!

All cut out.

Now just adhere onto your pretty little gift bag that we just learned how to make from the helpful youtube video. :) Oh and stamp whatever you need to stamp before you assemble the gift bag, I learned the hard way.

You can get both the gift bag punch board and the feather shape die set at www.shopwer.com. And the Evolution too if you really feel like shopping! ;) Use code SUGAR to get 20% off your entire purchase! 

Hero Arts Hostess Hop 2014

This year I am even more excited to participate in our annual hop because I have gained even more respect and admiration for the people behind Hero Arts. Last week, I attended CHA in Anaheim, CA and was fortunate to meet some of my stamping idols. You know, without realizing it, when you blog, and you create, and you share, over the years, you just naturally form these connections and friendships. For me, the core of my "stamping career" has always always been Hero Arts. One of the highlight of the trip was meeting Aaron, the owner of Hero Arts, Lisa Spangler and Jennifer McGuire. Aaron was just wonderful! I really appreciated him taking so much time to give us advice and encouragement. He is truly an inspiration and have really changed the lives of many people. And what can I say about Lisa and Jenn? They are both amazing and have always been solid supporters of me and Mama Elephant. I love them to pieces. :)

Here's a picture our friend Lynn captured of us chatting with Aaron and Lisa, and you can see Jenn too! I'm in the polka dots. :P

Thank you Aaron, Lisa, and Jennifer for all your support and guidance.

And so it goes without saying that I am happy to reunite with all my beautiful Hero Hostesses today to show you some brand new stamps from the newest 2014 catalog! You should've found your way here from my cutie pie friend Kathy Racoosin's blog.

I made two cards for today's hop focusing on gold glitter. I think I've been on a gold rush for awhile now, I have found that glitter is the perfect companion to CAS cards. It makes everything so much better!

Here's my first card using stamps using CL736 For Your Kindness. I stamped the image then drew in shading myself with a thin Micron pen. I drew in diagonal lines and it seems to make the stamp pop. I also did some light shading with a grey Copic marker (C1), just for some added dimension.



The glitter circles were punched with a 5/8" circle punch from gold glitter cardstock. I just adhered the glitter circles onto my card base in a random diagonal-ish pattern. The stamped image was cut out and popped up with 3d foam.

Here's my second card using CL749 Looks Good. I love the fun, trendy camera images in this set. They're really cute with a whimsical hand drawn feel. I stamped the mini polaroid stamp 6 times and cut them out. I did some light shading again with a grey Copic marker and used a different color for the polaroid's "indicator light". 

To create the glitter diagonal border, I started off with a full size glitter 4x5.25 cardstock. I rotated it about 45 degrees and cut them into 1/2" increment strips using the ruler grids on my trimmer to guide me along and keep me straight and aligned.

Thanks for stopping by today, the next stop is Tiffany Ervin!

Clean and Simple Holiday Wreath

Hey... long time no see! I've been so swamped with Mama Elephant stuff for the last few months. While I love ME and all, it's nice to take a break every now and then and do something different. I enjoy the challenge of working with other products as it motivates me to get other things done. 

We recently did a clean sweep of our house and updated with new furniture and decor. All our stuff were looking terribly outdated and now with the girls getting a little older it was definitely time for a makeover! Goodbye kiddie, mismatched everything, hello sophistication! 

We brought in a lot of modern furniture in whites to accommodate our small space. One of my latest project was a simple table top decor for our long tv unit. I was able to complete it with this quick DIY wreath decor. All you need is 15 minutes to make this fabulously chic wreath!

You will need the following supplies:

1. White yarn. I used a thick yarn that's used for baby blankets.

2. Green foam circle wreath. Mine was about 6".

3. Knotty Gift Set dies from www.shopwer.com.

4. Die cutting machine. I used Lifestyle Evolution.

5. Glitter cardstock. Mine is from American Crafts.

6. Decorative Brad. Mine is from making Memories.

It's been awhile since I did a step by step tutorial so please bear with me!

First create a loop so you have something to hang with. Then proceed to wrap the yarn around the foam circle Go slowly and neatly. Choose a thick yawn to save time. :)

Using the bow dies from the Knotty Gift Set, run it through the Evolution with glitter cardstock.

Assemble the bow. Since there are little holes in the bow, it's easy to attach the brad. 

Snip off the protruding cardstock. You would normally wrap it around, but since we're using a brad to hold the bow together, we don't need it.

Now we attach the bow to the yarn wreath. Because I want to be able to swap the bow out, I didn't glue it down. You certainly can, but I wanted to be able to change my mind later. 

I used a white string to tie around the brad and then around the wreath. You can't see it once it's in there since you can tuck it in between the yawn.

I debated whether I should hang on the wall or not, and ultimately decided to loop it atop an easel. I think it looks great, white on white walls would've gotten lost but the easel brings it out nicely.

Here's a full shot of everything together. 

You can get the Knotty Gift Set die I used today as well as the Evolution from www.shopwer.com. Use code SUGAR for 20% off your entire purchase!

Side note: Lifestyle Crafts/We R Memory Keepers generously sent me a new Evolution. It was a much needed upgrade for me after struggling with my Cuttlebug and Calibur for years. The Cuttlebug has served me well, but I needed something sturdier. The Calibur was just too big, so I never bothered to use it at all. The Evolution has changed my die-cutting life! I really love the stability and I really love that the cutting plates do not bend or warp out of shape. It's a great die cutting machine if you are in the market or if you need to upgrade!

We R Memory Keepers + Lifestyle Crafts

Hey Friends. We have some exciting news to share. We R Memory Keepers, an industry leader in crafting tools and supplies, announced that it has purchased the Lifestyle Crafts brand. We R wanted to purchase a brand that complemented its high quality product and innovation standards, and Lifestyle Crafts was the perfect fit. The acquisition of Lifestyle Crafts will continue to result in the creation of awesome products for virtually every crafting need. It will make it easier for the scrapbook and craft community alike to bring creating into day-to-day life through home décor, scrapbooking, handmade cards, celebrations, sewing, and more. Together we are excited to be able to inspire you in new ways as we lead the market forward.  

Check out the full press release on We R’s website:

http://www.weronthenet.com/File/View/e6cbe684-6411-476b-910a-92f6d31da86f