Hi, I had repaired the Marvy Mega punch using superglue, but it broke again. It's still usable by pushing down the lever by hand. I intend to fix it again using a metal strip to reinfoce the handle. Picture 1: All parts after opening it up (needs phillips screw driver, not too fat). Notice the broken handle (middle left). Picture 2 and 3: Close-up on springs that hold up top cutting piece. Picture 4: Close-up on broken handle. Picture 5: Handle after superglued repair. Picture 6: Handle reattached to the top of the punch unit. Picture 7: Reassembled and tested. The punch cut a perfect scallop circle 2.5" diameter.
Hi, I participated in a stamp camp with very talented ladies! Once a month, they meet to share ideas for demonstrating in a Stampin' Up! workshop. Since I only use Stampin' Up! as a hobby, I am happy they allow me to tag along with these more experienced ladies. Everyone brought wonderful food as well as fun projects to share.
Annette's card is simple and elegant. The blue box uses extra-long die from Stampin' Up! I also love Verenice's Quince Anos card & pillowbox. I may have to order the stampset on my next order! I am missing a few photos, which I will upload later.
Hi, I made a bunch of poker game night cards for my stamping group. I really like the design. It seems to have been a success with my stamping group. It uses the new in-color cardstock (bermuda bay and soft suede), and Card Games stamp set from Stampin' Up! I made a lot more for Bill and friends back in Virginia who play Texas Hold'em.
Direct supply costs = 90.4 cents:
- So Saffron card base (23 cents/2) = 11 cents
- Burmuda Bay (23 cents/8) = 3 cents
- Soft Suede (23 cents/8) = 3 cents
- Vanilla (17 cents/4) = 4 cents
- Silver and Real Red, leftover scraps = 0 cents
- Jackpot designer paper ($1 per sheet/12) = 8 cents
- Curry ribbon, 5" ($10/15 yds/36" X 5") = 9 cents
- Dimensionals, 15 used (1.33 cent x 15) = 20 cents
- Snail tape, 50 inches ($2.10/472"X50") = 22 cents
- Glue stick, about 3 cents
- Envelope from ClearBags.com = 7.4 cents
Break-even Analysis: (Made 28 cards so far)
- I will value this card at $2.50.
- Total cost is 90 cents direct supplies + 60 cents indirect = $1.50 per card.
- Cost recovered for 28 cards is ($2.50 - $1.50) x 28 = $28.
- Since I paid $33.60 for the main stamp & die, I missed breaking even by $5.60. ($20 Card Games + $22 Top Note die, minus 20% discount.)
Additional Tools: "Game Night" stamp, red and black inkpads, 1/2" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, 3/8" corner rounder punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, bone folder, pencil, ruler, and scissors. Also Sizzix BigKick die cutting machine I bought used for $50 from Annette, my favorite person and upline ;-) Amazon.com sold new BigShot and Cuttlebug for $65 with free shipping a few months back. All three machines can use 6" wide Sizzix and Stampin' Up! dies. Cuttlebug is the most portable, and is my favorite of the three.
I bought 100 white tags for $3.63 from an office supply store (3.63 cents per tag). At such a low price, it's hard to justify buying a $16 punch. I love all of my punches, but I should limit my purchase to shapes that are not readily available. The white tag can be colored using inks to match my cardstock and decorated with stamps.
To achieve an equivalent per unit cost, I need to make 623 tags from the $16 Key Tag punch! (Cost of cardstock for 2"x3" piece is 1.06 cents. Remaining 2.57 cents is allocated to the punch. $16/$0.0257= 623.)
(Pictured: Avery Marking Tags, 2-3/4"x1-11/16", 100 for $3.63. Stampin' Up! Key Tag punch, $16, retired).
I bought clear gift boxes to present handmade cards as gifts to friends and family this Christmas Season. They are medium weight for a box (16 mil). I would have preferred a thicker material, but it does feel like it's good quality. I decorated one with a Christmas ornament design. It turned out so cute!
Supplies: Stampin' Up! Wings of Friendship hostess stamp set, Crushed Curry and Melon Mombo cardstock, Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon (37 cents, 20", $10/15 yards), silver cord, Marvy Mega punch 2.5" scallop, 2.25" circle template and scissors, Stampin' Up! small oval punch and Short & Sweet sentiment stamp set, scotch gold tape, pop-up dimensionals, Fine Cosmos pink glitter, heat & stick powder, embossing inkpad, and heat tool.
Box: FB30 4-1/2"x1-1/4"x5-7/8" from ClearBags.com, cost 54 cents/box with tax & shipping ($11.25/25). Fits ten cards about 1/8" thick and envelopes.
I also broke down and purchased cheaper envelopes from ClearBags.com. The E120 Premium Couger 5-3/4" x 4-3/8" (A2) envelopes felt meaty and nice. I think their quality is similar to Stampin' Up! ones. They have a bit of texture and are not silky smooth.
The E160 5.5" square enveloeps were a bit less nice than Stampin' Up ones, but still usable. The A2 size was 7.4 cents after tax & ship ($3.10/50 plus 19%) instead of 16 cents I pay for Stampin' Up! ones ($6.50/40). The 5.5" square was 12.4 cents versus 35 cents. Both types were much cheaper from ClearBags.com. They sell lots of clear bags for protecting your handmade cards. I like the premium protective closure bags, 2 mil. The PR54 A2 size bag is $6.00/100 bags. When ordering less than $40, goto ClearEnvelopes.com.
Left: Stampin' Up! Wings of Friendship hostess stamp card I used for a swap. Inked directly on the stamp in lovely lilac, old olive, and pumpkin pie. Three inch circles are cut from white and summer sun cardstock. Card base is lovely lilac and elegant eggplant. Ribbon is elegant eggplant.
Hi, I made some poker game cards for Bill, who likes to plays Texas Hold'em at Poker Stars.
Materials: Stampin' Up! Jackpot designer paper ($10/12 sheets), Kiwi Kiss designer paper ($10/12 sheets, retired), Very Vanilla cardstock, black gingham ribbon ($7.50/15 yards), Stampin' Up! Game Night stamp set ($21), Rose Red marker, silver leafing pen, black stamp pad, Dimensionals foam dots, and punches -- small oval, large oval, and corner rounder.
Each poker card is 2"x1-3/8" and cut from vanilla cardstock. One poker card is faced down. I glued a red pattern paper from Jackpot set onto a vanilla cardstock before cutting to size. Cards are edged with silver pen to define its edges when stacked together. In Texas Hold'em, a game begins with 2 private cards dealt face down to each player. After the initial betting round, 3 community cards are dealt face up. Next the 4th community card, then the 5th community card is dealt face up. Ooops, I noticed there are four Aces of Hearts in both cards, which is not possible unless playing with four decks!
Hi, here is a card that combines both of my hobbies for sewing and handmade cards. I used Stampin' Up! company's Tulipe die ($22). Fabric has bright orange cherry blossoms with rich red background and gold outlines -- from Michael Miller fabrics pattern # CM-1713 Maui Bliss ($10 per yard, 44"x36"). Finished card is 5.5" square and uses light yellow textured cards I bought on sale. The rich red matting and light yellow card base bring out these colors from the fabric and seem to make the card shine.
I just glued this one down, but if you are making multiples, I suggest ironing Pellon Wonder Under medium or heavy weight ($2.75/yard, 18" wide) double-sided adhesive to the fabric before cutting. Position the pieces on white cardstocdk using a template, cover with ironing fabric, then bring the iron straight down. Do not drag the iron or you will move the pieces. You can use a spot of glue to keep the smaller pieces in place before ironing. Directions usually call for 15 seconds at wool to cotton setting. Additional cost per card is $2.75/yard/18 cuts = 15 cents.
Supply cost per card: $1.05
- Die Cuts with View, yellow-1 textured cards & evelopes, 30 cents on sale (originally $6.00/10 pack).
- Fabric, about 6" squre, 24 cents ($10/yard/42 cuts).
- Stampin' Up!, Ridinghood Red cardstock for matting, 5-1/8" square, 9 cents ($5.50/24 sheets/2 - 20% discount).
- Whisper White cardstock, 4-7/8" square, 7.5 cents ($7.50/40 sheets/2 - 20% discount).
- Tape, about 40 inches, 18 cents (Snail tape purchased at bulk $2.10/472" x 40"), and glue 1 cent.
- Pellon Wonder Under, 6" square, 15 cents.
- Hello stamp in orange, free.
I generally allocate a cost recovery of $1 per card for stamp sets or dies. So the $20 I paid (after 20% discount) for the Tulipe die will be recovered (break-even point) after I use it to make 20 cards. My cards generally cost 75-85 cents per card on direct consumables and $12/month on indirect overhead, such as inkpads, embossing powders, cutters, storage boxes, and plastic bags. If I make 20 cards/month, then the indirect overhead cost is 60 cents per card. I allocate a market value of $2.50 to $3.00 per card.
Break-even Analysis for the Tulipe Die Card:
- I will value this card at $3.00 since it uses a bit more expensive supplies.
- Total cost is $1.05 direct supplies + 60 cents indirect = $1.65 per card.
- Cost recovered for 20 cards is ($3.00 - $1.65) x 20 = $27.
- Since I paid $20 for the die, I recovered $7 beyond my break-even point.
I made two different sizes of pillow boxes without any template. The important point is to use a dinner plate about 11" in diameter to shape the petal edges. Scoring on the outside of the box makes folding much easier (fold away from score lines).
The rose red box uses 9.5"x12" cardstock (12"x12" cardstock cut on oneside). Finished size is 5.5"x8"x1.5" and holds about six A2 sized cards and envelopes. The pink box uses a letter-sized cardstock. Finished size is 5.2" x 7.25"x1.25" and holds three A2 sized cards and envelopes. You can also load them up with candy. They are quite sturdy because the center band reinforces its structure. Use pink extra sticky tape to hold the box seam.
For the rose red pillowbox, score 1" from one end and 5.5" from the opposite end. When you fold the card, it will meet at the 1" seam. Score two petal shapes on the sides as in photos below using a dinner plate. Remember to score on the outside of the box and fold away from the score lines. Cut the outside of each petal shape. You can click on the photos above to see a larger image. Use extra sticky tape to adhere the 1" center seam. For the pink pillowbox, start with a letter-size cardstock. Score at 0.5" from one end and 5.25" from opposite end. When you fold the card it will meet with a 1/2" seam. Use a dinner plate to score two petal shapes on each side. Cut the outside of each petal.
Hi, I am a budget minded crafter.
I will share with you ideas on how to save money while making handmade cards and sewing/quilting. **********
If you have been creating handmade cards for a while, you may have lots of scrap pieces of cardstock leftover from other projects. Here is a design you can use to employ all of those pieces.
This card uses strips of cardstock cut from scraps that are 1/4" to 1/2" wide and 3" long. They are taped down on 3"x3" piece of white cardstock (or any cheap scrap of cardstock). This is then matted onto 3.25"x3.25" piece of black cardstock, and then onto 3.5"x3.5" piece of color coordinated cardstock (teal in this case). Note the color-matched cardstock can be taped together from smaller pieces to form a 3.5"x3.5" piece.
Optional colorways are shown to help you get more ideas. Reds/pinks/browns, purples, yellows, and any other complementary colors can be used. If you keep the card base and accent in neutral colors, you can swap out the colorways without having to change a thing! That's the beauty of this design. I hope you will enjoy it and use it with your cardstock and decorative paper scraps.
Each card uses up about 1/3 letter sheet of cardstock scraps. Cost per card including envelope is about 65 cents for the Summer card to 95 cents for the blue Thank You card with ribbon. Ribbon that wraps completely around adds about 15 cents per card, and the large flower with pearl is about 35 cents per card when purchased in bulk. Each Stampin' Up dimensional foam dot costs 1 & 1/3 penny. I usually use 2-5 to attach sentiment label depending on size. Envelopes from Stampin' Up is 16 cents. I know I can get much cheaper ones from office supply stores, but I like the silky smoothness of Stampin' Up! envelopes.
Tape can get quite expensive and I don't mind saving money there. About 20" to 50" of tape is used on an average card. Snail adhesive purchased in bulk cost $2.10 per 472 inches, and $4-$6 retail. Shipping cost is high unless you can purchase in large quantities and get free shipping. Scotch Gold double-sided tape costs $5.70 before tax for two 400" rolls (800" total) from a local store. Tape can cost anywhere from 12 to 35 cents per card (and potentially a lot more if you pay full retail). Glue is much cheaper.
Actual Supplies Used (please feel free to substitute with what you have):
Cardstock: Stampin' Up So Saffron 1/2 letter sized sheet, Taken with Teal 3.5"x3.5", black 3.25"x3.25", white 3"x3", various shades of blue scraps 3" long and 1/4" to 1/2" wide (Stampin' Up Bashful Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, white, and The Paper Company Citrus Teal.)
Stamps: "Summer" from Stampin' Up Season by Season set (retired), and small flower from Stampin' Up Eastern Blooms set.
Accents: Large white flower and medium half-back pearl from Stampin' Up Pretties Kit bulk sale.
Supplies and Tools: scissors, tape, small glue dots (for attaching large flower and pearl), black inkpad, embossing heat gun, embossing inkpad, white embossing powder, gridded mat, ruler, and pencil. (You can substitute a white sticker or rub-on for the small white embossed flowers.) I also used a 6" guillotine style cutter purchased from an office supply store to cut up the strips.
Instructions:
- This works best in batch mode. Make about 10 card bases from your neutral colored cardstock. (Cut a letter-sized sheet in half, then fold in half).
- Cut up a bunch of blue strips 1/4" to 1/2" wide and 3" to 3.5" long. You can add designer paper along with colored cardstock. Add 1-2 strips of white per card. Make sure to use 2-3 teal strips per card (or whatever color you are using for the final mat).
- Cut up 10 of each white, black, and teal square matting pieces. Remember that if your teal pieces are smaller than 3.5"x3.5", you can tape together smaller pieces to get to this size.
- Tape or glue various strips onto the white 3"x3" cardstock. Keep them flush with each other. It's OK if the strips turn out slanted. Cut off any pieces that extend beyond the 3"x3". Mount this onto the black 3.25"x3.25" cardstock, then onto the teal (or other color coordinated) 3.5"x3.5" cardstock. Mount all onto card base. Attach flower and pearl with small glue dots. I used 2-3 glue dots on the flower center and 1 glue dot for the pearl. Stamp your sentiment in black ink. Emboss white flowers around the sentiment. After your 1st or 2nd card, it's faster if you do all embossing at once for the rest of your cards.
I hope you will enjoy this design and use it with your scrap pieces of cardstock and decorative paper. Each card uses up about 1/3 letter sheet of cardstock scraps.
Card used at Stamp-n-Chat demo. All supplies current Stampin' Up! I forgot to add the final teal 3.5"x3.5" square here, but I had intended to. Sentiment is colored using bashful blue and turquoise marker (or blender pens).
