Cupid's Arrow Valentine + Free Printable

I know I'm too late in posting this for anybody to get any use out of it this year, but feel free to pin it or file it away to use some other time. These are the Valentines my daughter is giving her class. She LOVES gum and wanted to include gum with her valentine, and I got the idea from this pin. I adapted my version to work better for me. First of all, I can't find packs of gum like that... maybe they don't make them anymore? We ended up just using two sticks of gum for the middle (cheaper anyway!) and wrapped them with custom wrappers (download for free below). I also didn't want to put unwrapped candy on then end because I wasn't going to put each arrow in its own bag. I had this awesome glitter paper by American Crafts in my stash that has been waiting to see the light of day, so we pulled it out and used it for the main part of our arrows. Here's my process:

1. Gather supplies
• Glitter paper (or whatever stiff paper you have on hand, it doesn't have to be glitter... normal card stock will work great)
• Skewers (I took the picture first, but I actually cut the points off using my garden shears... figured it'd be safer that way for 2nd graders)
• Gum sticks
• 1/8" hole punch
• Baker's twine or other small string
• Printable gum wrapper (download below).





2. Cut rectangles/arrows and hearts out of paper.
• My rectangles were 1-1/8" x 2-1/4". I used scissors to notch the bottom (nothing too precise... just eyeball it), then use that triangle piece as a pattern to angle the top. This gives you the arrow shape.
• I used my Sizzix to punch out the hearts, but you could just trace a cookie cutter your own heart shape and cut them out that way.





3. Punch two holes in each shape.





4. Thread the shapes onto each end of the stick. Once the shapes are on, cut fringe in the arrow (make sure not to cut all the way to where the hole is punched).





5. Wrap the wrappers around the sticks of gum and secure with a piece of tape. One of the wrappers says "from", so you can write the giver's name on it.





6. Put two pieces of gum back to back on the middle of the stick and tie the ends together with Baker's twine (to make it a little easier, you can dab a little glue to keep the gum on the sticks before tying the string... I used a low-temp glue gun). There you go. A super cute Valentine to give away! 

Click here or on the image below to download these free, printable gum wrappers.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Free Valentine Heart Printable Update + Pencil Instructions

I made these Valentine pencils about four years ago for my kids to give their teachers and the office staff at their school. They were a big hit with the receivers, and ever since I blogged about them, they have garnered a lot of interest. They are my most pinned photo on Pinterest, and my most visited blog posts are about the pencils. I wish I could claim credit for the original idea, but this was just my take on a similar idea I'd seen from someone else, who had also gotten the idea from someone else, and so on. Once I posted them, I started getting a lot of e-mails, comments, etc. asking for more details. I was also lucky enough to have a back-to-school version of the pencils I made featured in the September 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes and through CK on a local TV show, Studio 5. These are the ones that were published:

Back-to-School Rolo Pencils originally published in September 2010 in Creating Keepsakes Magazine.

After my original blog post about the Valentine pencils, I had so many people ask for instructions that I created a follow-up post with the instructions. After I posted the follow-up, I had several people ask about the heart I attached. The actual heart I used is no longer available, so I created my own that people could download and use. Having the original post, instructions, and free download spread across three different posts is confusing, so I decided to consolidate and put everything in one place.

Valentine Rolo Pencil Instructions

1. Cut a 3.5”x4.5” piece of yellow cardstock. Make score lines every 1/4 inch (the score lines should be parallel with the long side of the cardstock). Using pinking shears or decorative pinking scissors, cut a small strip off the short side of the cardstock. Wrap this piece around the Rolo’s, and use adhesive to hold together.

2. Cut a 3.5”x3/8” piece of pink cardstock. Wrap this around the top of the Rolo’s for the edge of the pink eraser. Trace the top of the Rolo’s on pink cardstock and cut out to get the top of your eraser. Stick this on top with adhesive.

3. Cut a 3.5”x3/8” piece of aluminum foil and adhere this around the seam where the yellow and pink cardstock meet. Use Glue Dots to adhere a Hershey’s Kiss to the bottom of the Rolo’s. This is the pencil point.

4. Tie a cute ribbon around the top and add a tag (free heart printable below). Give to someone you love!

Valentine Heart Printable

Click here or on the image below to download this printable sheet.

Other posts about these pencils can be found here, here, and here.

Feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment if you have any questions, and I'll try to answer them!

Free Printable | Lollipop Valentines

One month until Valentine's Day! Want to get started a little early? Here's a quick, easy Valentine you can put together with your kids this year. Just download and print out the free template below. Cut each lollipop cover out, use a small hole punch to punch a hole where indicated, and score/fold along the dotted lines. Stick a small lollipop through the hole (I used the flat kind of sucker that has the flat cellophane wrapper… sorry forgot to get a pic), and fold the front flap over and into the little tab. Staple each side to hold closed. There's a space on the back for your child to sign their name.

Click here or on the image below to download this free printable:

free teacher printable

I created these tags to attach to treats for my kids' teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. You can download them free by clicking on the image below. They come 2 on a page and ready-to-print. Just print, cut, fold, and staple onto a bag of treats!

Also, the items from my iNSD grab bag are now available individually in my shop:

What have you done to celebrate the teachers in your life this week? I'd love some ideas as I like to do something more for them on the last day of school.

DigiScrap Parade

Welcome to the DigiScrap Parade! Here is my portion (open the zip this weekend for a coupon to my store):

Edited to add: Clicking the image below will take you to my store for the free download. Other download options are listed below.


 You can download using any of the following links:

• Store link (it's free, but you'll have to add it to your cart and check out) 
• Dropbox (direct download by clicking here)
• MediaFire

the little things

I know... it has been many, many weeks since I posted. We have had a lot of life changes lately, and 24 hours in a day has just not been enough for me. Something had to give, and unfortunately it was my design time, which is already pretty limited. BUT... I carved out a little time this month and teamed up with the amazing Wendy of WM[squared] designs to create this fun collab:



You can get it for 20% right now at ScrapMatters!

Here are a few pages of CT inspiration:

Ophelia (navaja77)

Tinci

Lisa (kelsey11)

For all my blog readers... here's an add-on that coordinates with The Little Things. Just click on the preview to download the add-on for free.



Thanks for stopping by!

new hybrid template + freebie

Gift Card Envelope Template v.1

I have a new hybrid template out today in my guest shop at The Lilypad.  It's a gift card envelope just in time for you to customize and use for Mother's Day this weekend or to thank the teachers in your life at the end of another school year! Plus, you can get it for 20% off right now.





If you've never used one of my hybrid templates before, this is a great one to try. It's a fairly simple one to put together.

If you have a digital die-cutter, just open one of the cutting files, pull out a favorite scrapbook paper from your stash (or print a digital one!) and set it to cut. A couple of tips... if you are using the .dxf or .svg file, I find that cutting programs often resize these as they are opened. If this happens you will need to resize it to fit a gift card. You can use the .jpg or .pdf file as a guide on what size to make it. If you are using Silhouette software, the .studio file should open in the correct size. I also included small slits on the score lines, so when it cuts, you can easily tell where to score and fold. If you don't want these to cut, you can ungroup the template in your cutting software and get rid of these small lines.

Don't have a digital die-cutter? No worries... my templates are user-friendly and easy to use even if you don't! I include .psd, .png, and .pdf files for use without digital cutting machines. The .psd and .png files allow you to customize the envelope with whatever digital products and elements you want before you print. Once you design your envelope, just print, cut out and assemble (assembly instructions are included). You will probably want to use an x-acto blade or small detail scissors to cut out the notches. If you have a stash of cardstock or scrapbook papers just waiting to be used, the .pdf file is perfect. It includes just the guides, so you can print it on the wrong side of the paper (so you don't see the lines), cut out, and assemble.


Facebook Freebie

Did you know I've started offering freebies to those who "like" my Facebook page?  I have a brand new one up today just in time for Mother's Day. My Simply Cut series is a product that both hybrid and purely digital scrapbookers can both use. This particular one has pieces of word art that are sized perfectly for use with my new gift card envelope template above.

For those who prefer strictly digital projects, use the .png files as clipping masks. You can change the color of them or clip your favorite papers to them, and you're good to go!

For the hybrid group, you can use the .png files to customize, then print out and just cut around the edge If you don't have a digital die-cutter, don't worry about making all the detailed cuts. The files are on a transparent background, so you can fill the background with whatever color/paper you want. If you have a die-cutting machine, I've included cutting files... makes cutting them out a breeze!





Go to my Facebook page and "like" it if you don't already to download Simply Cut: Mom.


Have a great weekend!



P.S. Sign up for my newsletter (over on the right) to receive additional savings on my new products!

free moving label

Our family is in the process of moving, and I created this label to help organize our boxes. I thought I would post it here in case anyone else can use it. Click on the image to take you to 4shared where you can download it.