Idea - Decorated Cookie Sleeves

Here's a fun way to to dress up cookies for giving away!

Take a cookie sleeve and adhere festive decorated paper to the front. Slip your cookies in, put them in a cute little box and tie a nice ribbon around it. You've just got a nice homemade gift for that cookie lover! =)

You could do this for a variety of occasions, just use different paper! You could also fill these sleeves with other goodies.

We've got these fun cookie sleeves all ready for you in our Etsy shop if you don't have time to make them yourself. Visit us HERE!

Hope you're having a great December so far! For us, it's going by way too fast. =)

2 years on Etsy!

2 years ago we opened up our Etsy shop! That's right! Today is our 2-year Etsy-versary. =)

We've come a long way from when we first opened. Our pictures have definitely improved (how in the world did we sell anything with our beginning photos?!), we have a better idea of shipping prices, we've learned how to use Google Analytics, twitter, and facebook, we've learned how to take better photographs and edit them to look normal and not blah... lots of things! It's been quite a learning experience.

Here's the first item we sold:
Tea Bag Book

This photo is actually not too bad, but the black background is definitely not us. The bright and happy feeling in our shop definitely is a much better reflection for us. =)

Anyway, we are celebrating our Etsy-versary today by including a free handmade card with any purchase from our shop today! you can visit our shop HERE! =)

Hope you are all having a nice day. Thanks for visiting! =)

Playful Buttons

From Adriel:

The color scheme for this card along with the style of the DSP makes for a playful-looking Christmas card. The glittery red polka dots, a shimmery snowflake, a tiny little sentiment... so many fun details. The buttons just complete the card and add to the playful and whimsy look. I'm not a big "pink" person, but I love the pink on this card! This is definitely a departure from the more traditional holiday cards, but it's a ton of fun and I love it! I finished off the inside with white cardstock and more of that fun glittery red polka dot paper! Very merry, as the sentiment suggests.

You can find this card in our Etsy shop right now. We're slowly adding more holiday items, so come by again to see what's new!

Brand New Coupon Organizers

From Adriel:

Finally, the moment has arrived!

I finally got some coupon organizers done!

These have been sitting half-finished for quite awhile.

It feels so good to have completed them.

It's a nice feeling to get something done. =)

Look for them soon in our Etsy shop!

Have a wonderful day!

Newsy Tuesday: Classes and New Organizers

Catch up on all the latest

Two Happy Stampers news!

We're doing a card class today at Tumbleweed Rec. Center. We'll be teaching the Criss Cross card technique and doing some stamping also. Here's a couple of the cards we'll be making today.

We have two fresh new cute and stylish coupon organizers in our shop! My mom and I are in love with the black and white one! The paper is Stampin' Up's Nouveau Chic DSP and it looks fabulous!

Our fun flower brooch project class is this Thursday! We've still got a few spots open, so if you're interested in joining us, you can contact us HERE. Sorry, I don't have a picture to share! =(

Our special Stamp-a-Theme card class featuring girly cards is next week! Here's one of the cards we'll be making.

Our monthly Color Challenge is still open and you can get all the details HERE. The colors are a lot of fun! =)

That's all the news for today! Be sure to check back in with us tomorrow for our Wowzer! Wednesday feature... you don't want to miss it! =)

Mini Love Notes

From Adriel:

I love making 3x3 mini note cards... they're just so cute! Of course, you can't send them in the mail (unless you put them in an A2 envelope), but they're perfect for giving along with a small gift, or tucking somewhere to find later, or just for giving from hand to hand on their own! Anyway, they're cute... that's the important part! And they're also pretty easy to make a bunch of because of the size... cute and simple! I really like that! =D

I used small squares of the lovely new DSP from Stampin' Up! called Sending Love Specialty DSP. Each sheet of DSP has one side that has glitter on it... built in glam!! ;-)

Simple, yes. Quick... well, cutting those squares super small and then adhering them evenly on... not so quick. But CUTE... remember, that is what we're going for! =D

Look for these in our Etsy shop soon!

Shabby Valentine Flowers

From Adriel:

We've been having fun making some Valentine items for our shop and classes. The new Valentine paper in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini catalog (can't remember the name of the paper) is so much fun, with one side of the paper having glitter on it! So much fun! =)

I made these shabby flowers and thought they would be great on some Valentine gift tags. I made a tutorial for these shabby flowers awhile ago and you can find it HERE if you want to make some yourself! Have fun! =)

The Thank You's Begin!

From Adriel:

My mom and I have been working on some thank you cards to put in our Etsy shop for after the holidays. I worked on this set on Christmas... it really didn't seem like work, I was having a nice time. =) It was a relaxing and enjoyable thing to do while everyone else was doing things that were enjoyable to them (namely playing on the Wii).

I made a smaller sized card for this set, at 3-1/2"W x 5"H. They are basically note card size. I used the fabulous Medallion stamp from Stampin' Up! in white craft ink on Kraft CS. Had to let it dry (unless you emboss it, it takes quite a while to dry). Since I was making a set, I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the image in the same place on each card. Spritzed the whole card front using the Color Spritzer tool and a Chocolate Chip marker... very lightly spritzed... I did a couple at first that were too heavily done and it didn't look very good. Added an 1/8" Old Olive cardstock strip for a pop of color and interest and stamped the cute "thank you" from the All Occasions set in Chocolate Chip ink. Done!
These won't be going in our Etsy shop at the moment because they already sold, but I'm thinking about making another set... we'll see. ;-)

Hope you all had a nice Christmas! Enjoy your week and don't forget those thank you's! <------ reminder to myself more than anything! =) Thanks for stopping by!

New in our shop!

From Adriel:

We've had the panels done for this organizer for a couple of weeks now and finally got it all assembled! We used the beautiful Razzleberry Lemonade DSP from Stampin' Up! and it has a bright, rich, autumn look to it. My mom found that super fun button and it adds some fun to it! =) You can find this new coupon organizer in our Etsy shop HERE. Thanks for looking! =)

Sunbeam Note Cards

From Adriel:

Kristina Werner showed an awesome tutorial on her blog about a paper crafting technique that was so inspiring! When I saw it, I wanted to make it! The Razzleberry Lemonade DSP from Stampin' Up! worked beautifully for this technique and I love the cards!!!

I didn't follow her instructions completely, as I did not overlap any of the paper. I wanted to get as much as I could out of the paper I cut. What I ended up doing was cutting 4 different patterns the size of the card stock backing I intended to use. I made little marks on my card stock backing where I wanted the paper "beams" to go and I then put my DSP squares over the card stock backing and made pencil marks in the same places. I then used a ruler and a hobby blade to cut at each mark. I ended up with 4 "beams" out of each DSP square. I then arranged these on card stock backing, making sure I got my paper beams as close together as possible so there were no gaps. I thought this turned out great and I didn't end up wasting any paper and actually ended up with 4 cards instead of 1!! =D Anyway, had to share because I love them!! =D

These cards and a couple other items from our Etsy shop were featured on DutchTouchBeads blog today! A big thanks to Jenni!! You can find the feature about us on her blog HERE! Go visit them and get a peek at their jewelry! =)

Where was my brain?!

From Adriel:

We recently sold our Bargain Birthday Bundle of cards out of our Etsy shop. This has been in our shop for a month or two... at the price, I was actually surprised it took so long to sell. That is until I read back over the listing and realized my HUGE error in the description. Before I let you read it, I'll let you know that we sold this bundle of 8 birthday cards for $12, just to give you an accurate view of the price. Okay, here's the picture of the cards:

And here's the part of the description that made me wonder "Where was my brain?!" (I didn't actually think that, but it was something like "Ohhhhhh!"):

<<"Get a bundle and save a bunch! You pay $12.00 for each HANDMADE card! Unless it's pretty mediocre, you can't get a mass-produced card for that much. Buy handmade and give something special!">>

Did you catch my mistake? I made it big and bolded it so you would find it. ;-)

Oh boy, it's special alright! $12 for each card... wow, what a bargain! LOL! =P I'm sure glad I included so many pictures so the buyer understood that the listing was for 8 cards and the price for all of them was $12. I wonder how many people have clicked on that listing and read that and gotten out of there as fast as they could! Yikes!

Ha Ha!! I thought my blunder was funny and wanted to share (at my expense)! Want to share one of yours? Leave us a comment! We would love to laugh WITH you! =D

Special Delivery for Us!

From Adriel:

While I was on vacation, my mom put in an order through Flowery Bliss. You may remember my post about this cute Etsy shop awhile back... Well, our order got delivered a couple of days ago and just look at how cute these flower embellishments are!!

Can't wait to create something special to adorn with these cuties! =D The earthier tones will be pretty for some fall and autumn cards. =)

Anyway, just had to share!! =D

New Coupon Organizers

From Adriel:

We have been busy making some new coupon organizers for our shop. We made 4 new organizers and just finished up the last 2 yesterday. They are hot out of the studio and I'm loving these new organizers! We used the now-expired "Urban Oasis" from Stampin' Up! on these 2 organizers. So sad to see that paper go... it's so trendy!

I just love the look of these new organizers! So trendy and stylish! Aren't they awesome?! Every time we make a new one of these, I like them a lot! =)

The top organizer is currently available in our Etsy shop... You can find it HERE. The other organizers will be available shortly... we will be adding them over the next few days. =)

I'll be posting the other 2 coupon organizers another time. =)

Thanks so much for stopping by our blog today! =D

A Shout Out!

From Adriel:

I don't want to turn our blog into a place just to feature all kinds of other Etsy sellers, because let's be honest, our followers began following us because they like to see what we're up to! That being said, an occasional shout out about another Etsy seller can be justified given certain variables. How do we decide this, you ask? I'm not really sure that there's a formula, but here's a couple of reasons I thought of that would make a shout out justified:

1. The wares in the shop are so wonderful, that it would be selfish not to let someone else know about the shop! =D

2. The wares in the shop can be incorporated into our craft, and may possibly be of interest to other crafters/artists. (Again, shouldn't keep this to ourselves!) =D

Can you tell I really want to share another Etsy shop with you? I'm trying to find excuses to! LOL!

The Etsy shop I'd like to share with you is called Flowery Bliss. They have a cute little shop, but what I was most excited to find were their crochet flowers. If you're a card maker, you've seen people put these little crochet flowers on cards and use them for embellishing. You've probably also seen the price of these things through retail stores and such! "Yah... um, I think I can live without that..." That's why I was so excited to find this store with their large assortment of these darling little crochet flowers at a VERY reasonable price! I just had to share it... couldn't keep it to myself AND the wares incorporate with my craft and they just might with yours as well, so again, HAD to share... it would be selfish of me not to! heehee! I think it's safe to say that this shop meets ALL the requirements for a shout out!

Don't worry... I'm not being paid to tell you about them or anything, I just think they deserved a shout out! Very cute shop, very cute product... save some for us!!! ;-)

Another Set of Gift Tags

From Adriel:



I'm showing off these gift tags today. Cute, huh? =D

A couple of weeks ago, I found a YouTube video for making the shabby flowers with the scallop circle punch. I showed you that one already... if you missed the post, click HERE for my tutorial and a link to the video. Anyway, I found another video the same day (or the day after) on making handmade lollipop flowers. I'd love to share the video, but YouTube wasn't working when I wrote this post... I will have to add the link later. =)

UPDATE: YouTube started working but the video I watched is now private! WHAAAT? Anyway, found this video that is not nearly as good, but it will give you an idea of what to do along with my tips at the bottom! =) View video HERE.

Here's what I ended up doing to make my lollipop flowers: Instead of cutting circles out by hand, I just used 3 different sizes of circle punches. I did distress the edges of each circle with scissors... I don't have a distressing tool at the moment. I crumpled up each circle so it looks really distressed! Then, I applied ink to the edges of each circle. I used Chocolate Chip ink to distress the edges instead of the circles instead of white paint. I used Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive to attach the layers together. All I had available was a spray bottle with water, so I spritzed each flower lightly (very lightly) and then "molded" each layer how I wanted it. Once it dries, it's very stiff so the flower keeps its shape very well. I added half-pearls to the center of each flower and attached my flowers with pop-up glue dots to my gift tags. =)


Thanks for stopping by!

Yart Sale on Etsy!

We are participating in the Yart Sale on Etsy sponsored by Team ESST, June 10-14. We've got a special Yart Sale section with discounted items HERE. Be sure to check it out and also all the great deals that other Etsy shops are doing for the Yart Sale! You don't want to miss it!

Some other shops that are participating in the Yart Sale for you to check out:

Delight Designs

MBW Photography

Erika Price Designs

Blueberry Cream

KreatedbyKarina

AJ's Country Cottage

An Accidental Discovery

From Adriel:

I made a couple of these cards a couple of weeks ago. In the process, I accidentally dropped my stamp pad right on top of one of the cards!! EEEK! I was about to scrap it, but then I thought about "dropping" the stamp pad deliberately and controlled all around the edges. Hmm... what did I have to lose? The card was already "ruined". So, I deliberately laid the stamp pad right on top of the card at different angles and also used the stamp pad directly on the edges to distress them. Anyway, I love how this card turned out with a grunge flavor hand-in-hand with the victorian look. Sometimes accidents give birth to new and fresh ideas! I'll be listing this card soon in our Etsy shop! =)

We're in a Treasury

We just thought we'd quickly share the Etsy treasury we're in this weekend. Audrey from AudreysCountryCrafts included a set of our gift tags in her birthday treasury. Thanks, Audrey!!

Couldn't get a screen shot, so you'll just have to click HERE! =)

Spring 3x3 Cards

From Adriel:

Another day... wait a minute! It's Wednesday and that means it's the middle of the week! (I'm just being random and weird, so just act like this is normal!) LOL! =D

I'm making yummy French Dip Sandwiches for dinner tonight using my mom's famous recipe (at least it is in our family). "Why do I want to know this?" you ask... well, you probably don't care, but I'm looking forward to it and wanted to share! Hey, that rhymed!! Did you notice that?

Okay, okay, I'll stop! I really should stop. Let's get back to what we usually do here...

I used the retired set "Drawing on Nature" for these cute 3x3 note cards. I stamped them in chocolate chip ink and then used pastels to color in some of the image. The pastels really worked well on these cards, as they added a very soft touch of color that went well with the style of the cards.

I also distressed all the edges by using the sponging technique along with Sahara Sand ink... it's a great color for distressing. I think I mentioned that previously!! LOL! =) Well, it is... so that's why I'm saying it again!
The bunny cards are sold out in our Etsy shop, but the butterfly cards are still available. Do you like how I bolded and enlarged the key words there? I thought I would make it easy for you to find out the status of these cards!! =) heehee You can find the butterfly note cards HERE.


Well, I suppose it's time to end this rather unusual post. If I continue, it may result in more random weirdness... so, I will end by saying...

Thank you so much for coming by and checking out what we're up to. Also, thanks for your comments! It makes blogging so rewarding! Have a great day, everyone! =)

Spring Tea Bag Book

From Adriel:

My mom made this cute tea bag book the other day! I love the designing she did with it and the special touches that make it "her". Since I took the pictures of it, I'm posting it! =)

This is such a cute way to let a friend know that you're thinking about them! It's great for Easter or just a spring-time "hello".

My mom used a couple of our FREE sale-a-bration rewards that we recently received for this project. The floral stamped image is from the Botanical Blooms set and the patterned paper is the Delicate Dots DSP! Isn't it great?!

I think this kind of project would be great to do for our Stamp Club sometime! =)

BTW, Sale-a-Bration is continuing through the end of March, so there's still time to get these fun products for free! You can find out more about that HERE.