Cute mini suitcase which hides travel tissues!

As soon as I looked at the new catalogue I fell in love with the Playful Pets Suite from Stampin' Up! The dogs and cats on the Playful Pets designer series paper are so cute! They remind me of Disney movie characters and I couldn't wait to create something with them.

Playful Pets Designer Series Paper -- Product #152489

I had the perfect opportunity to work with this gorgeous paper when I was asked to make table gifts for an upcoming event, so I designed mini suitcases to fit packets of travel tissues. I decided to decorate them with the cute Pampered Pet images.

There is a set of matching Pet dies which fit the four animal images in the stamp set so you can easily cut them out with a die cutting machine. However, I fussy cut 50 dogs and cats out of a few pieces of the designer series paper and still had plenty of paper left over for other crafts!

There is a fifth die in the set that cuts out three cute little paw prints and I used them to decorate the bottom of my mini suitcases. I discovered there were little hearts in the centre of each paw print which I used as decoration as well. I was pleasantly surprised to find I could use the paw print die to cut out some of the hearts on the DSP. I also cut some of the matching dog and cat images with two of the dies.

I cut two little rectangle pieces of the designer series paper to decorate each suitcase and since the paper is double-sided I just turned it over to use the other image on the back side of the suitcase. 

The sentiment was stamped on a 3/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock and then I used the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch to make the ends look pretty before adding a couple little hearts.

I popped each element up with some dimensionals. I also added a little suitcase handle on the top using the smallest Stitched Rectangles Dies and re-cut it into a small rectangular strip before adding a couple Metallic Pearls to make it look like rivets holding a stitched leather handle on to the suitcase.

I sized my mini suitcases to fit the little travel tissues I bought at Yoyoso, which can easily be slipped out the open side to use.

Here is a video I made to show you how easy it is to make these cute little suitcases.

I hope you enjoyed this project and can see how easy it is to create a decorative holder for everyday objects. If there is a special project you'd like to see me make, please let me know in the comments!

#KeepCalmAndCraft #ComputerAndCraftDesigns #StampinUp #CreativeTherapy #KeepStamping #RubberStamping #PlayfulPets 

Combining my two hobbies -- Stitching and Stamping!

Most people think of card making when you mention rubber stamps but there is so much more you can do with your stamps! A year ago I wrote a blog showing that you can stamp on coffee mugs and now I've been Stamping Outside the Paper again by using fabric.

I had a challenge from an embroidery group I am a member of (Counties Embroiderers' Guild) to stitch something on a square of fabric using three assigned colours. I was given red and two shade of purple threads as well as a small piece of even-weave fabric to work with. At first I had trouble trying to think of what to stitch as I usually work with embroidery kits or from instructions. Then I had an 'AHA!' moment when I realised I can stamp on fabric.

I had never done this before but I've seen pictures online of projects like bags, shirts, towels and coasters stamped with StazOn black ink so I decided to give it a try. The hardest part was choosing which stamp set to use for this project. I chose the large butterfly from the Beautiful Day stamp set, which is now retired.

I use StazOn black ink to stamp the image because it is a permanent ink which works well on non-porous surfaces. I liked the look of the large spaces on the butterfly image as they would be easy to fill in with the three colours I had to work with.

I first stitched the centre parts of each wing with solid red thread using a long and short stitch. Since I didn't want the same colour to be touching each area of the wings I combined a couple coloured threads to create a varigated looked on some parts of the wings. I used the dark purple thread to outline the wings and create a contrasting body for the butterfly.

I am very happy with how this project turned out. If you are like me and enjoy stitching as well as stamping then you should try using your stamps on some fabric. I'd love to see what you create!

#KeepCalmAndCraft #ComputerAndCraftDesigns #StampinUp #CreativeTherapy #KeepStamping #RubberStamping #Embroidery #Stitching