Stamp Simply Celebrate Day#6

It's Day 6 of the Stamp Simply Celebration and the fun continues!  This is a long post, but bear with me and hang in there!

AJ Otto - The Willow Garden - AJ has some BLOG CANDY to share!

Sharon Johnson - No Time To Stamp? - Sharon has more BLOG CANDY!

Heather Telford - bits and pieces - Heather is sharing a Featured Project with us today — how to Dress up Your Table!  Fun!!!  And Heather is also incorporating a Challenge in with her project, making it 1-2-3 easy for us to decorate our own tables!!!  Be sure to stop in at Heather’s place today for many great samplings of table decor!  And check out Heather's sample makers:  Jennifer, Darlene, Joan and Julie for more ideas!

And today is my turn for a challenge as well!! Doesn’t every Mother need a helper, especially during the holidays?   My Featured Project is a Mother’s Holiday Helper!  Even if you're NOT a mom, you can use this easy-to-make Holiday Helper to help keep all your holiday lists & receipts handy!  Below you will find my project,with templates and instructions so you can quickly and easily create your own!  Don't be put off by the length of the tutorial---it goes fast and is easy to do!  Plus you can check out what the other sample makers, Barb, Deb, Janine, Darlene and Sharon have made! 

So grab your stamps and let's see what you come up with!  Anyone may participate in these challenges and all the fun events, blogger or not!!!  If you upload to your Blog, provide a link to your entry in this or the other challenge post.    I also encourage you to upload your projects at any online gallery.   PLEASE use the KEYWORD SSC08 (Stamp Simply Celebrates! 2008) so we can find it, and be sure to link it back to the appropriate hostess.  Have fun!!!

Mother's Little Helper Tutorial:

Supplies:

• Stamp sets of your choice
• Standard Pocket Folder
• Cardstock in your choice of color
• Designer Paper in your choice of color
• Sticky Strip or other strong adhesive, Tape
• Calendar
• Sticky Note, Pen, Clips, Ribbon
• Any other embellishments of your choice
• Scoring tool of your choice

Begin with your basic pocket folder. I happened to find mine in Staples and it matched my Frosty Day DP perfectly!

Open folder and measure down from the top 5”. You can mark it lightly with a pencil. Do this on each side.

Score across the folder on the 5” line. I am using my ruler and bone folder, but you can use whatever scoring tool you prefer. Again, do this on each side. You need to score firmly as the folder is thick.

Fold top down and score fold well.

Open folder out again. At top, measure 1 1/4” over from each outside edge.

Draw a line from the 1 1/4” mark down to the fold. Cut off each triangle-shaped piece. (You can save these and use them as a template for your DP when you cut it to cover your flap.)

Do the same at the center fold (spine) of the folder. Cut out this triangle too.

This is what your folder will look like after the cuts are made.

Now the fun begins! You can start decorating your folder however you like. Before adding DP to the outside, I attached some ribbon to the back of the folder with adhesive tape, leaving enough so that a bow could be tied on the front.

Add some sticky strip to your DP so it sticks well. After you cover the outside, you can decorate it and the inside with stamps, stickers, ribbon, whatever!

Here I have covered the inside pockets & flaps with DP.

And here is my finished product! Let me show you the inside as well.

The stamp set I used is Punch Pals from Stampin’Up!©. I decorated both flaps with the star image and colored them in with ink and an aquapainter. I printed the headings on Whisper White cardstock on my computer and cut the pieces to fit my images.

The left side has a sticky note and pen; in this pocket I will put my Christmas lists, grocery lists, etc. I don’t like tall skinny lists as they don’t give me enough room to write, so I like wider pages and wider pockets. In addition, I’ve added a couple clips and a color-coordinated pen that one of my friends just happened to give me!

The right side has a calendar (attached with repositionable adhesive so I can change it next year) which was downloaded from Red Castle. I’ll give the link at the end of the post*. This is where I’ll put all my receipts. Again, this can be made as simple or elaborate as you like. I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

• Stamps: Punch Pals
• Paper: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Bella Rose DP, Frosty Day DP, Ski Slope DP
• Ink: Stazon Black, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa
• Acc: Blender Pens, Markers, Aquapainter, Eyelets, Sticky Strip, Grosgrain Ribbon, Folder

*To download a calendar from Red Castle, go to their website: Red Castle. From there, at the top, click on the “Software” link. Scroll down until you see “FreeWare”, and then “Printing Calendars”. From here you will load software that allows you to print a wide range of calendars. I chose these options:

• Dec 2008
• One month per page
• Width 4”, Height 2.75”
• Font – Bookman Bold, 16 pt
• Box – Heavy

You can choose whatever font & size that will make your calendar the size you want. You can also just photocopy a calendar that you have around the house!
I have found the FlyLady website a great source for streamlining Christmas shopping, baking, decorating and cleaning. If you have never heard of FlyLady, you’re in for a treat. But allow some time, as her site can be addictive! (We don’t know what that’s about, do we?) I download her lists and keep them in my planner for time management and shopping information. You can start by logging onto her website: FlyLady. Once you’re there, scroll down and look for “Cruising Through the Holidays”. Once there, click on the Holiday Control Journal. This is jam-packed full of helpful hints to get your home in ship-shape order, plus lists & charts for cooking, buying, wrapping, spending, traveling, cleaning and more. Don’t look at the size of it and freak; scroll through and I guarantee there will be SOMETHING there that will be useful to you. One of my favorite hints from her was to gather ALL the recipes I use at Christmas time, make copies of them and put them all together in one place, so when I was ready to bake, I wasn’t searching through my recipe file, old cookbooks, scraps of paper from my mother, etc., looking for the recipes I wanted. What a time-saver! Now I go to my Christmas recipe folder, and everything is right there, ready to go!  Thanks for hanging in here with me---have a great day!