DIY Money Tree

Hello, hello!
I don't know about you, but when I give a gift of money to someone, I have a really hard time of just putting it in a card! I feel like I always have to come up with some creative presentation lol.
My niece graduated high school this year - woohoooo!! However, because of COVID and the quarantines and limited gatherings, my sister was just recently able to throw her a graduation party. I had seen this idea for a money tree/topiary awhile back and decided to try it myself.
Here's what I ended up with ...

I think it turned out pretty cute! I created a picture tutorial if you'd like to see it, just click HERE
But if you're more into written tutorials, this is how I made it ...
The supplies I used are ... 1 9-inch styrofoam ball, floral pins, floral tape, dowel (I didn't have any, so I used an American Flag yard decoration I had left over from the 4th of July lol), white glue (or you can use Mod Podge), floral foam, a Mason Jar (or any jar/vase/container), party streamers, & curly ribbon

I began by removing the flag from the dowel, wrapped it with floral tape and poked the dowel into the center of the styrofoam ball. Then I removed the dowel and filled the hole with white glue and poked the dowel back in ...

I set that aside to dry and grabbed the dollar bills & floral pins. Pinching the center of the bill, I positioned the floral pin over the center, careful not to poke the bill ...

I then began attaching the floral pins into the styrofoam ball ...

I ended up with some blank spaces that I didn't like. I used some $10 and $5 bills, but if you have more $1 bills, it might fill it ...

I decide to use punches and cardstock to make flowers ...

And I also used my Cricut die cutting machine to cut out leaves ...

Using the floral pins, I attached the flowers and leaves to the spaces ...

Once that was done, I cut 4-5 foot lengths of curly ribbon - I think about 6 of each color ...

 I gathered them together and tied them around the rim of the mason jar. Then using one edge of my scissors, I curled each strand ...

I forgot to take pictures of decorating the mason jar, but all I did was rip strips of a roll of purple party streamer and covered the jar using diluted white glue. I ended up making 3 layers to cover it all.
Once it was completely dry, I stuffed the jar with floral foam, and poked the end of the dowel into the center. I took a sheet of green tissue paper and stuffed it into the jar with the corners poking out ...

All finished ...

I was so happy that my niece was so thrilled to receive it!

I don't know why, but I always worry that my craft projects are dumb or ugly or the recipient thinks it's lame. So I'm really ecstatic when they love it!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo
Dawn

Card using Joseph's Coat technique

Hello, hello!!
Oh boy, do I have a card for you! I absolutely LOVE using this technique to make cards, but I haven't used it in quite awhile. It's called "The Joseph's Coat" technique and it is stunning when finished! It uses one of my favorite Stampin' Up! products - Embossing Powder!!
You can click this link to watch my video tutorial ... TUTORIAL
Okay, so here is the card ...

Yup, it's absolutely gorgeous, if I do say so myself lol. I know, I know - it's not absolutely perfect. But if you know my work, you know that my motto has always been ... Made with love, not perfection. I love what I do. I love crafting. And if things don't turn out perfect, that's okay! That's what makes it hand made and one of a kind!
Here are all of the supplies that I used ...

I started off with a piece of Whisper White cardstock, cut at 5" x 3 3/4". Using Sponge daubers, I randomly added ink to cover it all. Then using stamps from the stamp set Timeless Tropical and VersaMark ink, I randomly stamped all over.
Next, I covered it with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it. I used Momento Tuxedo Black ink to cover everything, then wiped off the excess ink on the images. After letting it dry for a few moments, I put the card together!
And again - I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out!! I have a link to the video HERE if you'd like to see the tutorial I made.
And here's another card I made, using the same colors and technique, but a different stamp set (Whale Done) ...

So cute, right?! Let me know if you try this technique. Or if you already have, I'd love to see your projects!
As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me ...

Card Using SU's Nothing Better Than Stamp Set

Hello!!
So, in the last post I talked about an all day stamping event my Stampin' Up! team leader put together (you can check it out here https://www.bowmanitaville.com/2020/07/a-new-card.html ...  )
Another of her 'Color Challenge' used these colors ...

And ohhh myyy goshhh!! I love them!! It took me awhile to decide on what to make, even though I kinda picked out the stamp set almost immediately lol. Here's the card I ended up with ...

I am loving this stamp set!! You can also get matching dies (which I have), but I didn't use them for this card. I did use my Stamparatus for the glasses. I used a really easy technique ... You position the stamp where you want the first one, then after stamping you leave the paper and stamp and just move the Stamparatus panel one notch to stamp again. You just repeat until you have your row complete! So super duper easy and everything lines up perfectly!!
If you'd like to try making this card, here are the supplies that I used. You can purchase any/all of them on my shopping website https://dawnbowman.stampinup.net/ ...

As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me!
Thanks for stopping by!!
xoxo
Dawn

My updated kitchen DIY

Hello, hello!
I recently painted and redecorated my kitchen. So, I thought I’d share some of the DIY’s I did.
I have a very small, galley style kitchen, with a small dining area. Quite a few years ago, I painted and decorated in a wine theme. I’ve been wanting to redecorate for quite awhile, but really loved the wine theme and couldn’t decide on something better. Sooo, I decided to stick with the wine theme, but just update it lol. I knew I wanted to use wine quotes/phrases and wine corks, plus some of the decor I already had.
My walls were a dark tannish color. I had used my Cricut machine to cut out wines on white vinyl to create a border. Here’s what my old kitchen looked like ...

I decided to stick with the tan color, but went a lighter shade. And for the wall with the table, I decided to paint red. I know, I was so scared to use red! But the hubs and I always say ‘It’s just paint. We can always paint over it if we don’t like it’. And here’s my kitchen now ...

I am sooo happy with the way it turned out! Now for the DIY’s ...
I knew that I wanted to use wine quotes/phrases, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to include them. I came across a tutorial for some framed box signs, so I sent the hubs to our local Home Depot for wood and we created around 16 or so boxes! I used the same red paint from the wall and painted them all. Then using my Cricut and white vinyl, I added all of the phrases and used them as a border around the whole kitchen ...

I had a ton of wine corks left over from a previous project that I knew I wanted to incorporate into the new kitchen. After a quick Google search, I knew that I wanted to create a back splash with them! I really didn't want to glue them directly to the wall, so the hubs went back to Home Depot for a sheet of paneling. We measured and cut the area for the back splash, then hot glued the corks to them, and used a few nails to attach them to the wall. It'll make it so much easier when I want to redecorate in the future!

After more research (& a lot of trial and error!) I found the easiest way to cut all of the wine corks in half! I put them in a steamer basket (in batches) and let them steam over boiling water for about 15-20 minutes. Then I took a long razor blade and cut them lengthwise. They cut so easy!! Just make sure you have a sharp razor. I used hot glue to attach them to the paneling, then attached it to the wall.

For the last DIY, I had an old bulletin/dry erase board that I had hanging on my pantry door. It was so convenient to have, but after years of use the dry erase wasn't working any more. I painted the trim with the same red wall paint. Then painted over the dry erase board with chalkboard paint! And the cork on the bulletin was pretty worn, so using the same cork method I covered the bulletin board.

So that's my new kitchen! I hope you enjoyed my little tour. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo
Dawn

New T-Shirt using my Cricut

Hello, hello!!
Ever since I got a Cricut Heat Press, I’ve been collecting phrases and ideas for some shirts to make. Well, I finally sat down to design one! I was inspired by Luke Bryan’s new song ‘One Margarita’. Ummm hello! Another song about Margaritas? Of course I love the song! 🤣
So I pulled out my Cricut and Heat press and made this shirt ...

And of course I had to add Lime Life to the back because well, I love Livin’ the Lime Life!!
Soooo, what do you think? Would you wear this shirt? (I’ve already worn it several times lol)

As always if you have any questions about this or any of my other posts, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo
Dawn

A new card!

Hello, hello!!
Recently, my Stampin' Up! team leader created an all day stamping event for our team. It was so fun! It was all virtual/online. Throughout the day, she posted several 'challenges' that we all participated in, then she randomly chose a winner and gave out prizes. It was soooo cool to be able to gather together with my team since all of the 'in person' events have been cancelled.
So for the first challenge, she chose a color challenge. She posted these colors and told everyone to make something using at least 3 of these colors ...

Soooo I gathered the colors and put my thinking cap on lol. After a few attempts, I came up with this card ...

I think it turned out pretty cute! What do you think?
If you'd like to give it a try, here's a list of the supplies that I used (you can purchase any/all items on my shopping website https://dawnbowman.stampinup.net/ ) ...

If you have any questions about the sizes or the products used, please don't hesitate to ask :)
Leave a comment, email or message me anytime!
Thanks for stopping by!!
xoxo
Dawn

New cards with Best Dressed DSP

Ohhh myyyy gosh!! I just received a package of the ‘Best Dressed’ Designer Series Paper and I am in LOVE with it!!! It’s absolutely gorgeous. The colors! The patterns! I could not wait to rip open the package and start creating.
Since this paper is so darn pretty, I decided to use it as the focal point as the background. And I used the stamp set ‘Sending You Thoughts’ to add a simple sentiment. This is a great stamp set if you’re looking for sentiments!

Here are all of the supplies that I used for this card. You can purchase any/all of them on my Stampin’ Up! shopping website (link below) ...

I’m including a video tutorial so you can see exactly how I made this card. Here are all of the measurements...

Highland Heather Cardstock ... cut 8 1/2”x5 1/2”, scored at 4 1/4”
Highland Heather Cardstock ... cut 1 1/4”x2 3/4”
Highland Heather Cardstock ... cut 3/4”x4”

Whisper White Cardstock ... cut 1”x2 1/2”
Whisper White Cardstock ... cut 5 1/4”x4”

DSP Best Dressed ... cut 5 1/4”x4

If you’d like to make this card, get your supplies and watch this video ...
https://youtu.be/RLO_hsXdoiw

As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Thank you so much for stopping by
xoxo
Dawn

Shop my website ...
http://dawnbowman.stampinup.net/