Pretty Postage thanks to middle school staffers for jobs well done

 

Everyone loves to be appreciated. This morning, I took in 83 goodies for the staff at my local middle school. That covers teachers to custodians to therapists and more. And I made a couple of extra treats so I can brighten the days of cashiers on my errands today. I love random acts of kindness!

 

 

I used my Print Poetry pad, the rest of my Festival of Prints pad (from the Holiday Catalog), and the rest of a pack of Sycamore Street dsp (from Sale-a-Bration last month). Then I used coordinating card stock with the old Stampin' Up! butterfly punch because it made more of a visual impact than our current Elegant Butterfly punch, trying to use retiring colors like Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red, and Neutrals brads. I started out making Sour Cream or Twist Containers, but folding the top perpendicular to the bottom would've squished the Kit Kat inside, so I used the brad and butterfly to hold the top closed, and Sticky Strip for the back and bottom. The sentiment is from the Pretty Postage stamp set, and punched with the Postage Stamp punch.

 

Today, I'm going to try a raved-about Angel Food cake recipe from scratch for the first time. My friend, Jennifer, and I are putting together a Strawberry Shortcake treat for the middle school employees next Friday. I'm hoping a few parents donate whipped cream and strawberries, and that one dad, in particular, will bake for us. He's made amazing cookies, lemon bars and more for staff appreciation events!

 

Happy Stampin'!

A simple valentine

There are no excuses for not making valentines when they're as easy as this one! I used the Postage Stamp Punch with the coordinating stamp set, Pretty Postage, a sentiment from P.S. I Love You, and the small heart punch. That's it! This is based on a card I saw SU! co-founder and CEO Shelli Gardner make.

24-7 with Pretty Postage notes

This looks like a Shelli card, doesn't it? She showed us this Pretty Postage note - along with many others - on the cruise to Alaska. I love the layering on this note, along with using the Postage Stamp Punch to make the dsp strip into a flag.

Pinwheel and another 24-7 Pretty Postage note

These are the last of the Pretty Postage notes shown to us on the cruise to Alaska by Shelli Gardner. The top note uses Newsprint and silver brads, while the bottom one uses a handmade pinwheel with Playdate dsp.

To make a pinwheel:

1. Cut a square out of patterned paper (you choose the size).
2. Pinpoint the center of the square and cut to within 1/8" of that from each corner of the square.
3. Add a dot of adhesive (mini glue dot works well) in the center and fold each corner to the center (this is where you decide which pattern you want showing).
4. Add a brad and adhere to a candy stick and add to your project.

Sweet thanks with more Pretty Postage notes

Here are more ideas using the Pretty Postage stamp set (in the Summer Mini Catalog) and the Postage Stamp Punch. Scraps of ribbon are plenty big for 3" x 3" notes. The berry stamp is my favorite! These cards were shown to us on the Alaskan cruise.

Pretty Postage notes with Postage Stamp Punch

You can make an entire set of notes as a gift for someone special using the Pretty Postage stamp set and the Postage Stamp Punch. What's great about the punch is that it makes good use of your scraps. These two 3" x 3" cards and envelopes were shown to us on the SU! cruise to Alaska.

Sneak Peek: Button Buddies cherries

Here's another photo of some cute 3" x 3" notes from the cruise to Alaska, provided by Shelli and Stampin' Up! staff. The top left note uses the new stamp set Button Buddies, along with "Enjoy" from You're a Gem. The other card and envelope use Beyond the Garden dsp with Pretty Postage. The dsp flower is made by punching two Postage Stamps and crumpling them and adding an antique brad in the center.

Postage Punch boat on a Poppy Parade sea...

I'm back to boats. This one was CASE'd from Mary Fish. I changed the colors and sentiment. Mine uses Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy, and Sahara Sand - a Sweet Set on the Color Coach. The boat was created from about half a 1-3/4" Circle Punch, and the Postage Stamp Punch. I hand-cut the little flag and cut a tiny piece of card stock to thread through the Bitty Button. The big Not Quite Navy scallops on the card are from the Tasteful Trim die (still available to order, even though it was in the Holiday Mini). I used the Big Shot to emboss the polka dots on the Sahara Sand card front, and for the 3-inch circle die behind the boat. The sentiment is from the Pretty Postage stamp set. I punched it out with the small tag punch.

Alaska Cruise update: We're spending 6 p.m. to almost midnight in Victoria, B.C. I'm not sure what we'll do, other than walk around. We've got no plans!

Faux Mother of Pearl Fun Flowers and New Postage Stamp Set & Punch

I've only taken photos of two swaps so far - Karen's above and mine below. Karen is in my downline. She used the Faux Mother of Pearl Technique on flowers from the Fun Flowers Die for her card. To do the technique, she started with Whisper White card stock and sponged on Shimmer Paint in Frost White. After that, she brayered on Classic Rose Red ink. The flowers look almost metallic!

My card is simple - the front was run through the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I added a strip of Real Red patterned paper (from the Brights pad), with a Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border-punched piece of Old Olive behind it. The stamp is a new image from the Pretty Postage set in the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog. I used markers to ink the stamp, then punched it out with the Postage Stamp Punch, another Summer Mini item.

I'm hoping to have time today to take photos of the rest of our American Ink team swaps, so look for those later!