A Scrap-Lift-Lift

Hello everyone! Happy Thursday! Scrapstreet Features Writer Aymee Gandy here on this beautiful morning. I hope you all are having a wonderful day so far! Today, I have a fun little project and tutorial to share with you. But first, have you ever received a gift in the mail from one of your fellow scrappy gal pals and just fell in love?!!! You love it so much, you must figure out how to create one for yourself! For me, I received this little notecard set from my friend Sheila for my birthday. Isn't it adorable?! She even put the initial for my last name on it!

Check out Sheila's project:

So, of course, I emailed Sheila to ask her permission to scraplift her idea. It turns out, she scraplifted the idea from her friend Kristy. So in a manner of speaking, this project is a 'scrap-lift-lift.' LOL. I wanted to give credit where credit is due and link up each of their blogs for you to check out. Both of them are amazing artists!

Sheila at 'She's A Sassy Lady' and Kristy at 'Craftin' At My Door'

So, let's start with the tutorial. Now, this is the way I created the project. I may of done a few things different from the original, but I tried to stay as true to it as I could since I loved it so much. I first picked out one sheet of patterned paper from Jenni Bowlin and one sheet of matching cardstock. I knew I wanted my notecard set to be a gift for my Mom for the month of November. Of course, our favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, falls in November, so that is the theme I went with for my project. But you could do this for any holiday or occasion. It really is the perfect little gift for your loved ones.

1. Begin with a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock. Score as shown below at the 5 1/2" and 2 1/2" marks. If you have a 'Scor Pal,' now would be the perfect time to use it. But if you are like me and do not own one of these nifty gadgets, I find a bone folder and the groove in my Fiskars paper trimmer to do just the trick.

2. Fold the bottom up like this, smoothing out the crease with your bone folder:

3. Then fold the side over, like you are closing a book, and smooth with bone folder.

4. When you open it up, it should look like this:

5. Now, for me, I chose to decorate the outside of my notecard set first. For this, I used:

Cardstock: Core'dinations, The Paper Studio, Die Cuts With a View

Patterned Paper: Jenni Bowlin

Ribbon: Jillibean Soup, Ribbon FX

Glitter Glue: Ranger Industries

Punch: Martha Stewart Crafts

Adhesive: Helmar

Electronic Cutter, Cartridges: Cricut (Provo Craft)

Electronic Software: Cricut Gypsy (Provo Craft)

I just love the 'Thanksgiving' cartridge from Cricut! I used it for the cornucopia flourish accent on the front. The sentiment and initial of 'F' (for my Mom's last name) were cut from the Gypsy Font and Gypsy Wanderings cartridges.

6. Now, we can focus our attention to the inside of the notecard set. First, while the 'book' is closed, you will want to punch a hole for the ribbon to feed through. I chose to use my Crop-A-Dile for this. Once the hole is punched, feed your ribbon through as shown below. Now, you will want to add a dab of adhesive to the center of the 'book' to hold your ribbon in place.

7. Now, we can work on our little notecards to go inside the 'book.' To allow them to fit into a basic notecard sized envelope, they will need to be 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". Also, your leftover patterned paper scraps can be used to embellish the cards....this way they will match. I chose to put the initial on a scalloped circle that I punched using a Fiskars punch. Also, I chose to add another initial to the flap of the envelope for another personalized touch. My Mom loves personalized stuff and I know she will love all the initials. Once you have finished your notecards and envelopes, simply slide them down into the pockets we created inside the 'book.' Then tie it up and send it out to your friends/family.

Now, how easy was that?! I am just so grateful that Sheila and Kristy inspired me to do one of these. I had so much fun and I know I'll be doing more for my friends and family very soon! I hope you will give it a try as well!

Have a fabulous day! Happy Scrappin'!