Dannie's Designs

Ghirardelli Box

Several weeks ago I went and visited my friend Kathy.  We spent the whole weekend stamping.  It was so much fun!  I went through all the projects she had in her stamp room and I saw this adorable Ghirardelli Chocolate box.

I told her I wanted to learn how to make one so we did.  It was so cute that I copied the design exactly like hers.   I already know what you're going to ask....where can I find the pattern?  Click here to see a wonderful tutorial on Shelley's blog.

After seeing how easy these were to make, I decided to make this pink box for one of the projects I included in my holiday exchange box. 

Here's a look at the box open.

 

It can hold three of the ghirardelli squares. 

These are adorable and are such an inexpensive gift to give.  Give it a try!  Thanks for stopping by.  ~Dannie

Blue Box
Stamps:  For All You Do
Paper:  Whisper White, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay, Thoroughly Modern DSP
Ink:  Rose Red
Accessories:  Rhinestone Brad, Dimensionals, Crafters' Tool Kit
Punches:  Scalloped Circle, Circle (1 3/8", 1 1/4"), Ticket Corner

Pink Box
Stamps:  Love You Much
Paper:  Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
Ink:  Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories:  Dimensionals, Crafters' Tool Kit
Punches:  Scalloped Circle, Circle (1 3/8", 1 1/4"), Ticket Corner

Another Cone Ornament

Another one of the projects  that I made for the Holiday Exchange box is this cone ornament.

Those of you who have been following my blog for some time may recognize this project because I've made one of these before.  Click here to see my other ornament and to find the tutorial on how to make it.  I made that one about two years ago so I thought it was time to pull this idea out of the archives.  So often we think we have to come up with a brand new stamping idea each time we sit down to make something.  There's nothing wrong with copying something we've done before and simply changing the paper or the stamp set we used.  It can save a lot of time which is something I'm always short on during the holidays.

This cone ornament can be hung on the tree as is (with some ribbon attached to the back) or you can adhere two of these together back to back (with ribbon between the two) and hang them on the tree that way. 

If you decide to make a cone ornament of your own, be sure to leave a link to your creation so I can take a look.  Thanks for stopping by!  ~Dannie

Stamps:  Serene Snowflakes
Paper:  Whisper White, Soft Suede, Real Red, Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP
Ink:  Real Red
Accessories:  Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Crafters' Tool Kit, Whisper White Grosgrain, Rhinestone Brad
Punches:  Scallop Circle, Circle (1 3/8", 1 1/4")

Cottage Wall Card

Last month I signed up for a holiday exchange with some of my stamping friends.  We each filled out a survey about our stamping interests as well as a little bit about our personal lives so our exchange partner could get to know us better.  Then the fun began!  We had two stamping assignments per week and then at the end of the month we mailed off a box of stamped goodies to our exchange partner.  Now that my partner has received her box, I'll be posting all of the items I made for her.  Oh yeah, the tissue holder that I just posted was one of the items in her box too.

Our first assignment was to make a hand-stamped card and mail it to her.  Here's the card I made.

 

I made this card back in the beginning of October.  Now that I'm looking at the card, I honestly can't remember if this layout came from a sketch challenge or if I came up with this one on my own.  I'm a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due, so if this came from a sketch challenge I truly apologize.  I simply don't remember.

I used my Old Olive and Orchid Opulence markers to ink up this stamp from the Asian Artistry stamp set.  I stamped it on Whisper White cardstock and then cut it out using my rectangle Nestabilities.  With the cardstock still inside the Nestability, I sponged some Orchid Opulence ink around the edges.  If that didn't make sense, click here to read one of my previous posts where I show photos and explain it a little better.

I used two pieces of Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain across the front of the card.  I just flipped the ribbon over so you can't see the polka dots. 

I had some die-cut flowers that I had purchased at a local craft store and I offset two of them on top of each other to create the flowers at the bottom of the card.  I finished it off with a Rhinestone in the center.

The inside of my card looks much like the front.  I used the same layout, sewing, and sponging too. Thanks so much for stopping by!  ~Dannie

Stamps:  Asian Artistry
Paper:  Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Cottage Wall DSP
Ink:  Old Olive, Orchid Opulence
Accessories:  Rectangle and Scallop Rectangle Nestabities, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain, Sponge, Rhinestones, Die-cut Flowers, Janome Sew Mini

Tissue Holder

Now that fall is here, that means it's also cold and flu season.  With that in mind, I thought I'd made this cute tissue holder.

You can find the pattern to make this on Barbara's Blog.  I stamped the swirling image from the Baroque Motifs stamp set in Regal Rose ink on Pretty in Pink cardstock.  I stamped the two flowers in Rose Red on Whisper White cardstock, cut them out, added a Rhinestone Brad to the center, and attached them using Dimensionals. 

Here's what the back looks like.  Inside is one of the small travel size packs of tissues.  Once the tissues are gone, you can easily slide the empty pack out and put a full one back in.  Isn't that a darling project?  They're so easy to make too.  Thank you Barbara for sharing such a great tutorial.  Thanks for stopping by!  ~Dannie

Stamps:  Baroque Motifs, Sincere Salutations
Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink:  Rose Red, Regal Rose
Accessories:  Regal Rose Grosgrain, Rhinestone Brads, Dimensionals
Punches:  Scallop Oval

Simple Wedding Favor

Do you ever have the perfect stamping project planned out in your head and then you try it and it just doesn't work?  That recently happened to me.  A friend of mine was getting married and a few of us decided to celebrate and take her out to lunch.  I was going to stamp some boxes, fill them with a few wedding favors, and use them as the place settings at the table.  The original idea was to stamp them with some beautiful swirling images and emboss them in silver embossing powder and then decorate them....didn't happen!  It just wouldn't turn out right.  So I decided to go a much simpler route and I love the way they turned out.

 

I stamped the heart image in Versamark ink and embossed it with Silver Embossing Powder.  Next I took a Metal Edge Tag and pulled the cardstock out of the middle so I was left with an empty metal frame.  I wrapped a piece of ribbon around the box and threaded both of the ends through the center of the metal frame.  I folded the ribbon ends to the side and then used some Hemp Twine to tie the ribbon in place.   The ribbon is the only thing holding the metal frame in place.  They were very simple to make.

I know what you're going to ask...where did I get the boxes?  You can find these at just about any retail store in the wedding section.  I've had these in my stash for a while so I haven't checked recently to see if they're still available.

Thanks for stopping by!  ~Dannie

Stamps:  Mini Mates
Paper:  Pretty in Pink
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  Silver Embossing Powder, Ribbon, Hemp Twine, Metal Edge Tag

Asian Artistry

Usually when I sit down to make a card, I like to start with a sketch that I've found somewhere on the internet.  Not this time!  I sat down and started putting pieces together and came up with this layout.

 

I inked up the bird image with a Not Quite Navy Marker and colored the leaves and branches with a Mellow Moss Marker.  I stamped it on Very Vanilla cardstock and then cut it out using my Nestabilities.  I decided to add some dimension to the card by sewing around all of the edges of the rectangle layers.

I sewed the inside of the card too.  I stamped the sentiment in Not Quite Navy ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and then cut it out using my Oval Nestabilites.  I then ran it through the Big Shot again using the Nestability to create the dry embossed edge around the outside of the oval.

Before I took the cardstock out of the Nestability, I sponged Mellow Moss ink on the cardstock.  When I removed the Nestability it looked like this.

It left a Very Vanilla border and shows where the dry embossed edge is on the cardstock.  I used this same technique on the bird image on the front of the card.  Thanks for stopping by!  ~Dannie

Stamps:  Asian Artistry, Thank You Kindly
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Mellow Moss, Bella Birds DSP, Bella Bleu DSP
Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Mellow Moss
Accessories:  Oval and Scallop Oval Nestabilities, Sponge, Mellow Moss Satin Ribbon, Water Dew Drops, Janome Sew Mini

Birthday Cards

My birthday was at the end of August and I received several hand-stamped birthday cards in the mail.

My upline Blythe sent me this darling card.  I love the bright, cheerful colors.  This card measures 3" x 6".

Donna used her Big Shot to make just about everything on this card.  After she cut out the pink flowers, she ran them through the Big Shot again using the Polka Dot Texturz Plate.  I love the dimension that it adds.

Elaine also used the Polka Dot Texturz Plate on the light blue layer.  I love the simplicity of her layout.  Change the sentiment and colors and you can use this for any occasion.

Kathleen sent me this beautiful flower card.  Pull on the top two flowers and you can read the message.

I need to try making one of these.

Mary sent me this card.  Very simple, yet stunning.  She punched out the center of the image and attached it to the inside of the card.  When it lays flat it looks like this.

Thank you ladies for the gorgeous birthday cards.  It helped brighten my day!  ~Dannie

Tri-Fold Shutter Card

Recently I attended a weekend gathering at my upline Blythe's house.  She lives up in the mountains where it's absolutely gorgeous.  Her husband Russ cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner for us so that we could spend the whole weekend stamping.  He even did all of the dishes too.  He spoiled us--thank you Russ! 

One of the projects that Blythe had us make was a Tri-Fold Shutter Card (click here for the tutorial).  She gave all of us the pattern and then turned us loose in her stamp room to design our own card.  Here's the one I made.

I used the new Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  I stamped the ornament image in Versmark ink on Whisper White cardstock and then embossed it with Red Embossing Powder.  Then I punched it out with the Ornament Punch and attached it to the card with dimensionals.  I used some Silver Elastic Cording to make it look like the ornament is hanging on the card.

The snowflakes were made using the Jumbo Snowflake punch.  I punched out two of them, layered them on top of each other so they were off center and then attached them together using a Silver Brad.

Here's the sample card that Blythe made.  She used the Flower Daisies #2 die and layered the flowers on top of each other. 

This card was made by Christy.  She used the SU! Big Bold Cupcakes Sizzlets to make the cupcake. She covered the frosting with Crystal Effects and then added some glitter to it while it was still wet.

This card was made by Janet.  She used the SU! Flower Burst Embosslit Die to make the flower for her main focal piece.

Linda made a card too, but somehow I didn't get a picture of it.  Sorry Linda!  If I can get a picture of her card then I'll come back and update this post.  Thanks for stopping by!  ~Dannie

Supplies (for my card only)
Stamps:  Scenic Season, Delightful Decorations
Paper:  Real Red, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP
Ink:  Versmark, Soft Suede
Accessories:  Red Embossing Powder, Silver Elastic Cord, Silver Brads, Dimensionals
Punches:  Ornament, Jumbo Snowflake

Pumpkin Box

I can't believe it's October already.  This is my favorite time of year.  The kids are back in school, the weather is cooling off, and all of my favorite holidays are just around the corner.  The fall is my favorite time of year to bake and to stamp.  I enjoy blog surfing for fun holiday projects to try.  Look at this darling project I found on Becky Robert's blog (click on the link for patterns and directions).

 

Isn't that cute?

The box is much tinier than I thought it was.  It will hold a couple of miniature chocolate bars or a couple of Hershey's Nuggets.  It's a quick, easy project that you can make and give away to let people know you're thinking of them.  Thanks for stopping by!  ~Dannie

Stamps:  Autumn Days
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie (sponged on the edge of each oval), Old Olive
Accessories:  Silver Brads, Sticky Strip, Sponge
Punches:  Wide Oval

Just for You Bag

I have another great project from the shoebox swap to show you.

 

Donna provided this darling bag for us to make.  You can find a tutorial for how to make this on Becky's blog.

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I love designer series paper.  I use it on just about everything I make.  I have to say that this Cottage Wall DSP is my favorite new paper in the catalog.  The color combination and the designs are just gorgeous.  I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of this paper in my future projects.

The flower accent was made using the Flower Daises #2 Big Shot die.  It's two large flowers (one cut from DSP and the other from Rich Razzleberry cardstock) and one small Rich Razzleberry flower.  I finished off the flower with a Kiwi Kiss Corduroy button in the center.  I think everything else on the bag is pretty much self-explantory.

Thank you for stopping by!  ~Dannie

Stamps: Oval All
Paper: Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Cottage Wall DSP
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka-dot Grosgrain, Kiwi Kiss Corduroy Button, Velcro, Lunch Sack
Punches: Scallop Oval, 1/8" Circle (to make holes for the ribbon handle)
Big Shot: Flower Daises #2