you need cake to make it a party.

Welcome back to another day of CSS inspiration!

I came across this quote by Julia Child and just had to create a whole card & gift box set inspired by it:

"a party without CAKE is just a meeting."

I'm obviously mourning the loss of party season in our home, and with no excuse for baking a cake, I turned my attentions to the paper kind.

The cake decorating and cake dome sets were perfect for highlighting the sentiment that I created and printed on the computer.  But a flat cake would have been so boring...

With just a few strips of patterned paper, I easily created a fun, 3-D cake image.

Here's a close look at the folded tabs that hold it all down.

And what's a birthday without a slice of cake box?  (a meeting, apparently.)  The birthday gift could easily be tucked inside for a very fun set.  I used leafy dies (in the same patterned paper as the 3-d card cake) and created a soft flower by following my own tutorial. (grin.)  I used build-a-flower dies and *this technique* to get 'er done.

yum! 

wrap it up! {CSS new color release}

CSS is releasing brand new colors of cardstock, ink, and even gift wrap!  (click *here* for a pdf of all the pretty colors!)

Here's the official blurb:

"Clear and Simple Stamps has made the choice to "go green" and revitalize the CSS current color line.  You will see a few new colors and some vintage colors no longer being offered, in an effort to provide product made from renewable contents.  All of the color coordinated products are made in the USA.  The paper comes from mills that practice responsible, sustainable forestry while manufacturing the highest quality paper products on the market.  These mills are powered by renewable energy sources, and our paper products are made of 100% recycled content with 30% PCW (post-consumer waste.)  We are very pleased to announce our commitment to incorporate environmental practices into our daily crafting."

And what better way to show it all off than to have a designer blog hop?  Each designer has a special gift for you...

I created a card, envelope (with a gorgeous liner!) and a wrapped gift... all using the fabulously new "i steel got it" color.  It's a beautiful light grey neutral that I know I'll be reaching for all the time.

My card features over-sized ornaments, masked to sit as a trio onto a beautiful cake stand.  The sentiment creates a frame around the ornaments, and the whole thing rests on glitter and a strip of stamped striped grey paper.

The envelope liner was stamped with the same wreath image as the ornaments, and each bow was colored with the same metallic mauve pencil, to tie it in with the card.

A silver glimmer die cut echoes the glittery strip on the card, and I created a little tag to announce what's inside my wrapped box...

An assortment of Christmas cookies, from me to you (or really, from me to me... I may have eaten a few already, hee hee.)

Keep on hopping!  On each designer's blog is a new gift ensemble in a brand new color, perfect for inspiring you if you like to DIY your holiday presentations...

Lori ♥ Jaclyn ♥ Denise ♥ Jennifer ♥ Amber ♥ Kim ♥ Dana ♥ Tracy ♥ Laurie ♥ Laura ♥ Stephany ♥ Debbie Hughes (guest designer) ♥ CSS

Supply list (all CSS unless noted)

stamps: sweet sentiments holiday, rag doll house, rag doll scenes 1, cake decorating, cookie bake

inks: i steel got it, crayola metallic colors pencil crayons

dies: wrappers

paper: a blanc check, i steel got it

hey sweet thing!

Sooo, I think my new favorite challenge is 1-layer cards.  If something doesn't look right, I have to start all over, instead of just figuring out what else I can slap on there (oops, did I just give away my best design secret? ha.)

This week's CSS style-watch was all about 1-layer cards.  Inspired by the cards that Amber created, I came up with this:

I started with a white card-base and layered the images as follows:

1.  I placed a strip of painter's tape all around the outside (so that my lined background would have a crisp edge.)  I pressed the tape onto my pants (ok, let's be honest since I crafted in the evening: hot pink joggers) to remove some of the tacky-ness... I wanted to make sure it didn't rip my card-stock when I pulled it up.

2.  I die-cut both the label (from the mini tri-fold 1 die) and the cake from masking paper and placed them on the front of the card.  The cake die sticks out past the tri-fold die on the sides and the bottom, so I had to have both of them on there at the same time.

3.  I stamped the lined background (from designer lines), and then, before removing the sticky-papered-die-cuts, created stitch lines all around.

4.  I then removed the sticky paper, and stamped the cake (from cake decorating).  I added the button detail to the front of the cake (love that image!) and gave the stand and the buttons a quick color with copic markers.

5. Lastly, I added the sentiment (from sweet sentiments) and glossy accents to the buttons.  I then let it dry overnight, remembering the last smear-incident that happened from handling glossed elements too quickly.

Hope you like my 1-layer card!

Until next time...

Let her eat cake!

Happy Friday, all!

I'm just popping in with a card I'd made for the recent Paper Crafts call... I love the vintage-poster feel of it, and how I have no idea what to do with it now, since no one I know is having a 16th birthday anytime soon :)

(sooo, on that note, if anyone needs a very girly 16th birthday card, let me know and I'll pop it in the mail for you.)

I used mostly CSS goodies on this card, save the hero arts "radiant banner" background.  I die-cut the cake die into my main panel and stamped the cake and stand into the opening, but then stamped the candles, and "sweet 16" (from "cake decorating too") onto the raised panel.  I love this cake image (from "cake decorating") - you can mix and match so many elements to change the look of it (here, I stamped the little rosette buds and the draped icing images to make it more girly, but the possibilities are almost endless.)  I colored it with 3 different shades of pink, and stamped the sunburst with a fourth pink color - because sometimes, too much of a good thing is a g-o-o-d thing.

The banner image is from the same "radiant banner" stamp - I stamped it again onto white card-stock and cut it out.  I adhered it slightly off to the side (in keeping with my vintage-poster feel... but maybe it just looks lopsided to you? hee.)

I have a few more "rejects" to share with you next week, and the one that got picked up?  You'll have to wait until next year to see it in print *wink*

Thanks for popping by!

pink and green party ensemble.

I don't usually share stuff I create for clients, but I figure if I don't, my blog will be all white noise :)  It seems like everybody and their uncle are throwing parties within the next month, and I'm very blessed to be craftily busy.

This week, I handed over 20 favor bags, 20 thank cards, and a few dessert labels for a pink and green damask little girl party.  I couldn't help but use the new CSS cake decorating set.  I am head over heels in love with it!

Thanks for peeking!

CSS release day 5 - sweet treats

Yesterday, I gave you a sneak peek of the cake decorating set - today, I get to show you a little more of how easy the new CSS sweet treats sets and dies make it to throw an impromptu party.

As soon as I saw the little banner and pinwheel cake toppers included in the cake decorating set, I decided to throw a little "how time flies" party - to celebrate the kids and the end of another school year.  A few facebook messages later, we had 4 moms, a grandma, and 12 kids show up for a very fun play-date.  

The dies make it beyond simple: there are multiple-sized flags (more on those tomorrow!) that are connected together.  With a few quick passes, I had more than enough treat flags.

Can we talk about the cute cupcake stands and wrappers?  swoon!  I cut the regular-sized stands out of kraft cardstock and they held up just fine - but if you wanted them to be longer lasting, I would try cutting them out of something heavier.  I just love that scallop edge - it's the perfect little touch, isn't it?  

The mini cupcakes fit snugly into their matching wrappers.  And no adhesive required: they cut out with a tab and slot that fit together.  Here's another look:

I created a little treat label for each dessert, using the cake decorating set and matching cake die.

I stamped the solid cake and stand onto the matching die-cut, and then re-inserted it onto the mini-card-front.  I then stamped the same pinwheel and banner topper over-top.  The double-ended banner is from the upcoming favor flags set.  I love the shape of it!

I tried to mimic the cake topper stamp images - I created some pinwheels and attached them to striped straws, and then die-cut and stamped the flag image three times.

I got a little carried away making pinwheels (mini ones for the cake, medium ones for the garland on the chalkboard wall, and larger ones for the kids to take home.)  Do you know how easy they are to create?  Each pinwheel starts out as a square (the large ones are 6x6 squares.)  Fold in half (so it looks like a triangle, not a rectangle), unfold and fold in half the other way.  Now that you have all of your scorelines, cut along each line, but not all the way to the middle.  Then, take every other corner and fold into the middle.  Secure with a button for a non-moving pinwheel, or a brad for something that will spin (I needed a longer brad for mine to be the blow-in-the-wind kind, but the kids still loved them.)

 (They loved the small ones too, but mostly because they came attached to sweet treats like these almond&lemon mini-cupcakes.)

I know it looks like a lot of work, but the dies and stamps in this collection made it all a b-r-e-e-z-e.  Seriously.  And, the moms pitched in for the desserts.  The grandma did the dishes (hee.)  The kids' eyes went large as saucers when they saw all the treats laid out for them.  I'd say it was a huge success.

If you made it all the way to the end of this post, here are the links to check out what the other girls have cooked up for you today (the pun was totally intended *grins*)

Denise

Laurie

Jennifer

Amber

Laura

Suzanne (guest)

CSS

CSS release day 4

Hi peeps!

Today, CSS is releasing all sorts of shapes and background sets and dies.  I'm so excited to get to show you what I've come up with.

Hands up if you know of Amy Atlas!  For those of you who don't, she is party-planner to the stars, and basically created the whole concept of a dessert table.  I love me some Amy Atlas :)  The beautifully decorated table, sweet treats in abundance, fully coordinating backdrop.... be still my party-lovin' heart.  My hubby recently gifted me with a copy of her book, and I must have had it on the brain when I created this:

I used the amazing new damask set (and a few soon-to-be released other sets!) to create a fun card and treat box birthday set.  Doesn't the damask look like a beautiful wallpapered background? It's so soft and pretty in just its outline-form.  (But there is a solid version in the set as well, and many different sizes too.)

These are clearly not your grandma's damasks.  I love that they have their own little flair, and are so much more modern than your average damask.

I stamped the two cookie platters onto a white cardstock mat, masked them, and stamped the damask pattern all over.  I then added the woodgrain cake (stamped onto its own die-cut) over-top.  The little flower on top of each cake is simply a few tiny cardstock flowers, sprayed with water, and crumpled into 3D flowers.

Along with my birthday card, I created a treat box (using the party favor 3 die) and filled it with homemade shortbread cookies... mmm.... so buttery...

I hope you've enjoyed what I've created with the new damask background set!  I know the rest of the designers have amazing things to show you as well:

Dana

Jaclyn

Kim

Laurie

Laura

Jennifer

Amber

Virginia (guest DT)

Suzanne (guest DT)

CSS