Congrats Grad with Blue Ribbon

Graduation Season is upon us.  Before you know it, you’re going to need a little gift for your favorite neighbors granddaughter or for your not-so-favorite nephew, Billy (why is he always getting into so much trouble?!?).  Don’t you think it’s time you sat down to churn out a couple of Graduation Cards so that you aren’t biting the bullet the night before their graduation get-togethers?  I don’t want you to be stressed out – I’m just trying to help.  🙂

When Angie came over a couple of weekends ago to make graudation invitations for her daughter’s high school graduation party, she brought her Blue Ribbon stamp set.  I did not purchase this set because I have no use for it.  Until I started playing around with it.  Now, it’s on my list!  I made this cute, little gift box – I imagine a pretty piece of jewelry or a grown-up(ish) wristwatch could fit nicely inside this kraft box for any graduate.  Alternatively, you could fill the box with cash (if you really want it to be their favorite gift).

So, I liked what I did with the ribbon (it didn’t take a lot of creativity to build this ribbon), but it didn’t really stand out on the box.  It left me underwhelmed.  So, guess what I did…you’re right.  I just trimmed it right off the box and turned it into a delightful greeting card:

Because the ribbon was placed so far to the lower right of the central white piece of card stock (my bad!), I was left with a big void in the top, left corner.  I didn’t want to add a sentiment (there’s already one there), and I didn’t want to add ribbon (there’s already two there), and I didn’t want to add an image from Greeting Card Kits (that would just be ridiculous), so I added three sweet brads in the corner.  I used my piercing pack to line up the brads and clasped them through layers and layers of cardstock.  I mounted my masterpiece of a 4″x4″ card front (4″x8″, scored at 4″) to complete the project.

Stamp Sets:  Blue Ribbon Inks:  Jet Black Stazon, Real Red Papers:  Basic Black, Brights Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White  Accessories: 1-3/8″ Circle punch, 1-1/4″ Circle punch, 2-3/8″ Scallop punch,  3/16″ Brads (neutrals), Stampin’ Dimensionals, Kraft Gift Boxes

A couple of quick tips:  When you get this stamp set (and you will get it because you need it), know that the scalloped portion of the ribbon does not perfectly line up with the 2-3/8″ Scallop punch.  I punched it here but then had to snip around edges for a clean look on the edges.  The banners underneath come in pieces (one is the outlined outside, and the other is the inside portion with the words “Congratulations”).  They are easily snipped by hand.  This set is very stackable – you can easily change sentiments and layers.

The Shares are Coming!  I’m announcing my 2013-2014 Catalog product shares this weekend.  Be on the lookout!  I’d love for you (and all your friends) to participate in my shares.  The sooner you sign up, the sooner you are likely to receive your products when they are available at the very end of May.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian