I first learned of Leslie’s beautiful blog, A Creative Mint , from the amazing Melissa Phillips , and I often find myself going back to soak up the beautiful colors and photos. Leslie has graciously allowed me to share her photo here.

Isn’t this just gorgeous?

I was inspired to create a vintage card using some of the colors, designs, and elements from the photo. Kellie Mize’s kit Calm and Content is perfectly suited for this challenge. I printed off some of the papers and elements to use. With a few stamped images added, a ribbon tied, some flowers from the kit cut out and popped up, and some swipes of distress ink, my card came together easily.

My second card is a very different style, clean and simple, but still reflects the mood of the photo. For this card, I cut a strip of the flower paper, adhered it to my cardstock and used a paper punch to cut out some butterflies.

So here is your challenge: use this inspiration photo to create something: hybrid, digital, altered or traditional, anything goes! You could use the colors, the flowers, or the layout of the objects to inspire you. Come back here and post a link to your creation in the comments. The challenge will run for two weeks and then I will draw a winner. The winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s store! She has some amazing templates and goodies!!

I can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with!

“Thank you so very much”
Digital kit: Calm and Content by Kellie Mize (The Digichick)
Cardstock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Stamps: Delightful Dahlia and Damask Designs(Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Chestnut Roan (Colorbox), Walnut Stain (Ranger), Versamark
Other: Lavender Moon satin ribbon(Papertrey Ink), Pearls, foam tape, White Detail Embossing powder (Filigree), heat tool

“Spread your wings”
Digital Kit: Calm and Content by Kellie Mize (The Digichick)
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate and Lavender Moon (Papertrey Ink)
Stamps: Birds of a Feather (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Chestnut Roan (Colorbox)
Other: Butterfly paper punch (Martha Stewart), gems

Let’s dive right in with some examples of Hybrid recycling. I love to make projects with things I find laying around. Who wants to spend money, right? I want to save all mine for Digi Kits!

I did a tutorial on candle wraps a bit ago..they look awesome and make a great gift. Instead of going out and buying Chipboard, I just used a cereal box!

Here is another candle wrap I made with more cereal boxes. I gave this away as a gift for BUNKO. The girls loved it.

I made these Photo Blocks with a piece of wood that was laying around in the garage.

Look at this project, by Jessica, using an empty Hot Cocoa tin.

And how about these flowers made from yogurt containers!

Oh and look at these cute containers made from recycled ribbon spools!

Look at this one using a mint tin! Mint tins make the cutest little mini albums too.

There is so much you can do when you get creative with your recyclables!

So, your challenge is just that, make a hybrid project with an item you would normally throw away!

What will you win? The wonderful and talented designer Mel Wilson has a super cute prize for you.

You all know those lunchable containers? Well, Mel has come up with a way to recycle it into an adorable gift!

Isn’t that cute! There are so many possibilities!

Complete the challenge and you will get the template to make these cuties in any style you want! Deadline to enter is 11:59pm EST March 19, 2010

Submission Instructions:
Upload your creation to an online photo gallery (e.g. The DigiChick, SplitCoastStampers, Flicker) or your blog. Copy the direct URL to your image/blog entry and then and post a link to your project in the comments section below this post.

Have fun, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Today I’m going to show you how to create a beautiful treat bag using Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s templates and one of the many wonderful digi kits in our shop

I will also show you an easy technique called ‘faux stitching‘ that gives your cards or other hybrid projects a nice texture and finishing touch.

Here’s the supply list for the Holiday Treat Bag:

• Treat Bag: Scalloped template by Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs
• Snow Much Fun digital kit by Mari Koegelenberg Creations
• light blue cardstock
• paper piecing tool
• old mousepad
• white gel pen (‘Inkssentials’ by Ranger)

optional:

• neutral cardstock (instead of colored)
• Distress inks ‘Broken China’ (Ranger)
• cosmetic sponge
• ornament stamp (Inkadinkado)
  
• Nestabilities die cut ‘classic circles large’ (Spellbinders)
• Paper Flowers
• Mini Brads
• Spacers
• Metal charm ‘Snowflake’
• Red satin ribbon
• Glitter glue (Stickles ‘Platinum’ by Ranger)
• pop dots

Let’s get started….

To begin, open the treat bag template pdf file and print the outlines onto cardstock. Next you will need to create two rectangles in PS or PSP or whatever photo editing software you are using and flood fill these two rectangles with patterned papers you like – I used papers from Snow Much Fun. These will be the front and back sides of your treat bag.

The printouts must fit the front and back side of the bag (in this case it’s 3 x 4 1/4 inches each).

Print and cut everything out.

If you used an already colored cardstock for your treat bag print out, you can skip the next step if you want to. But if you used a neutral cardstock, you will now need your ink to color the neutral cardstock to match the patterned papers.

As I’ve chosen a ‘wintery’ patterned paper in this case, I used a Distress inkpad byRanger in the color ‘Broken China’ .  I took a cosmetic sponge, wiped over the ink pad and then went over the cardstock in circular motions – from the outside to the inside (see picture above). This will not give you an even coloring, but a wonderful dreamy, cloudy look. I also love to color the edges of the printed patterned papers for a softer look with the same ink (this is optional … it’s just that I am addicted to coloring the edges of my patterned papers this way )

Now glue your patterned papers to the front and back sides of the (still NOT assembled) bag.

Now onto the ‘faux stitching’ technique:

You need a paper piecing tool (a needle stuck into a cork or into an eraser will work also). Place your cardstock over an old mouse pad or a piece of foamed plastic.

Poke holes (you may want to use a metal ruler as a guideline) with your piecing tool around all edges of your patterned papers (see picture left)

When you are done, take your white gel pen and draw the ‘thread’ between the stitchings.

You can now add some stamping like I did (I just stamped an ornament to the sides of the bag), add some embellishments (I used paper flowers, spacers, brads) or add an additional image or sentiment. You can add whatever you like onto your bag. And as I’m a glamour lover I also put some glitter glue on the flaps to add a little extra pizzazz.

My tip: embellish the bag completely, before you assemble it!

When you are ready, just glue the bag together (I like to use double-sided adhesive tape, but I’m sure any type of strong glue will work well).

Now cut out a small strip of cardstock (I made mine 1/2 inch wide) and glue it to the inside of the bag sides to create the handle. I threaded an additional ribbon with snowflake charm around the handle, but it’s totally up to you how much or less you want to embellish your bag!

And here’s the result once again:

I hope you will give these cute little treat bags a try and show us your results! If you have any problems, questions, hints… please don’t hesitate to post a comment or just pm me in the forums. Create the bag to your liking!

I hope you had fun and hope that I taught you something new

Sylvia

But now to the important part of today’s post…the WINNERS!  Each hostess has randomly chosen their winner from the comments posted.  Each hostess will be contacting their winner via email to get their address.  Here we go…

Sat June 20: baby shoe favors …#10 Judy Stocker

Mon June 22: $5 gift card to Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s store…# 4 Char-D

Tues June 23: baby announcement book…#8 Angie Britt

Wed June 24: Baby Albums…
# 9 : Baby Girl Album: Dawn
# 16 : Baby Boy Album: Cristina

Thurs June 25: altered picture frame…Michelle A

Fri June 26: $5 gift card to Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s store…#2 – Karen

Sat June 27: Uh-Oh Box…#5 Teri

Congratulations to all of our winners.  And a big thanks to everyone who came to look, comment, and be inspired!  If you are a winner, your hostess will be contacting you soon to get your address so your prize can be mailed! 

For this project I didn’t stop to plan everything out and just grabbed things as I went along (I even cleaned up my work space a bit first so I could find everything!) so even though only the box itself is pictured, I ended up using the following supplies:

What I Used:

• Photo storage box (from Michael’s)
• Little Sugar Mini Kit by Elise’s Pieces at  The DigiChick
• 65 lb. white paper
• Making Memories acrylic paint
• Paper Mod Podge
• Colorbox Chalk ink
• Offray white ribbons
• Prima flowers (green)
• Making Memories flower (white)
• Clear button
• Glue Dots
• Memory Stor tape runner

The first thing I did was measure out the dimensions of the box so that I would know how big to create my Photoshop documents. The lid was 11.25 inches long so even if I did have a borderless printer, I knew that I would be able to print a document big enough to cover the whole thing. Instead of piecing something together out of multiple print-outs, I decided that I would simply leave a white border around the edge of the box.

So I pulled out some of the acrylic paint and got to work painting around the edges.  The box soaked up the paint a bit, and it took about three coats to completely cover the bright pink of the lid. I think next time I’d give the lid a quick once-over with ModPodge to seal if first.

In between coats, I began creating my Photoshop documents and deciding which papers and elements I wanted to use. After getting it all set, I began to print. Apparently I didn’t measure quite as accurately as I thought that I had however, and some of the sizes had to be adjusted and reprinted. Whenever that happens though, I just set aside those first pages so that I can go back later and cut out the printed pieces to make cards or other projects out of. Since measuring is not really my strong point, I have quite the stack of rejects waiting to be recycled!

After I printed the papers for the lid, I discovered that the green in them was a perfect match for the bottom of the box. I was originally planning to cover the whole thing, but this happy accident saved me quite a bit of work. I started by covering the sides in the strips that I had printed, matching up the pattern as I went along.

I started at a short end and wrapped the paper the whole length and then folded onto each of the long sides. I figured that the edges would stay neater if the ends didn’t meet there. I used Mod Podge for my adhesive and just smoothed it onto the box as I went. After I got all the sides covered I let it dry for a few minutes, then turned it upside down, cut the corners and started folding it over, again using Mod Podge to glue it. My reverse tweezers came in handy here to help hold the paper down while it was drying. As you can see, even after I remeasured, I still didn’t print off big enough strips of paper to cover all of the pink that was originally there.

To make it look neater inside, after my fold had dried, I grabbed the original printout that I had set aside and used those strips to finish the covering job. Then I added a spot on the inside of the lid for jotting down important phone numbers, like the pediatrician, as well as a spot for a baby photo and a little embellishment from the kit. I used my tape runner to glue down the journaling spot so that a photo could be slipped underneath the top of it, like a photo pocket.

After the sides had dried, I inked the edges with a creamy brown color, and set to work on the top. I inked around the edges of the cover and then, using the Mod Podge again, glued it down. I didn’t think that the polka dot letters stood out enough against the polka dot background paper, so I added a second piece of solid, neutral paper to the top with the title on that instead.

Then I started digging around for some matching embellishments and found some flowers, a bit of white ribbon, and a clear button. I stacked up my flowers, threaded my button and stuck them all together with glue dots. Then I slipped a piece of paper behind the label and added some folded ribbons to the front. Voila! All finished…

But wait… I’m giving this project away! Plus, I’ll even throw in a couple of diapers and two coordinated onesies, so all you’ll have to do for the perfect baby gift is add your own creative items to the box! Just leave a comment to this post for your chance to win it. If you want to double your chances of winning then make your own blog, Twitter or Facebook post telling everyone about the Baby Shower we’re having here at The Hybrid Chick and post a link!

Take it along to your next Baby Shower and watch how all the girls have a good giggle at it. Or perhaps as a gag gift for the new daddy when you visit at the hospital.

Just think how excited Dad will be to get a gift that is targeted at him and not just that sweet little baby or the new mum.

It is a Daddy Diaper kit and comes with all the essentials needed for that first precious diaper change attempted by “Daddy”!  You can add anything you like to it but read on further to see what I have done.

There is even a little something for the new Mummy too.

I had so much fun getting it all together and making it. I know you will too. Now let’s get started.

You will need:

• Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s Gable box Templates
  
• Premade Diaper Card - Kelleigh’s Baby Themed Card Templates
• Double Sided Tape
• Scissors or Craft Knife
• Ruler and Scoring Tool
• Baby Themed Kit to Make up Templates
• Embellishments

Make up the small gable box as per the instructions. I have used the cutest Baby Days kit from Mira Designs at The Digi Chick.

Knowing that I needed a larger box, to fit everything in, I cut Kelleigh’s larger template “in half” in my digital program. Then dragged and dropped both of the sides onto an A4 size layout. This is the size my printer prints. Then I dragged it out to fit as much as possible avoiding the edges so not to chop them off when printing. Then pretty up the template with your favourite baby kit.

While I had the template open I pulled the diaper template into the same layout and resized it to make sure the card would fit on the front of the box. That’s the pink bit you can see in the image below. You’ll see why in a bit. Make up the diaper card at this stage. Mine is a double sided card with the two sides stuck back to back as I wanted some design on the inside.

After printing them out I have used my ScorBug to give the cardstock some cute little bumps, then scored with the Scor Pal tool. You can use an embossing tool and a ruler instead.

Now before you use tape or glue to assemble the box you can stitch the diaper card to one main side of the gable box. I used my sewing machine for this part. I wanted to give it a bit more of a realistic look and felt the stitching helped. You could hand stitch it on – or glue it if you don’t feel like stitching.

Then stick the whole box together. Add some ribbon ready to tie the top together. Then embellish a little more. For instance I stuck a label on the little box to make a Mummy Stress Relief kit out of that one. To give it some dimension to the label I embossed the edges of the small digital tag.

I couldn’t resist the Rattle card that comes with Kelleigh’s Baby Themed cards and made one of them up for my “to/ from” card and tucked it into the diaper. Inked the edges for a nice finish.

Now comes the fun part. Putting in everything you need for that diapering job. I found a cute little poem on the internet which I have used inside the diaper. You can find it here at Craftysayings.

I have included in the Daddy Diaper kit…

• Some Newborn diapers.
• Baby Wipes
• Tongs – wouldn’t want Dad to touch anything nasty.
• Gloves – to keep those hand soft and supple…LOL
• Peg – for the nose.
• Baby Powder – so everyone smells sweet.

For the new Mummy the little box is full of chocolates. You could include anything else you want in the Daddy diaper kit – even some chocolates too.

Here are a couple more views.

Rattle Card Tucked into the Diaper. You can just see the stitching on the diaper.

Here is a view of the diaper card open with the funny little poem telling Daddy how to change the diaper.

Fill the box up with all the goodies, tie the ribbon closed and give it away!

That’s the best part of all – giving it away. I love to give things away and today is no exception. You could win one $5 coupon card from the very generous Kelleigh of Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs at The DigiChick which I will randomly draw at the end of our Baby Shower week.

Just leave a comment here for one chance to win. If you would like to give yourself more of a chance then leave us a link to your twitter, blog post, or facebook comment linking up to this post telling everyone about the Daddy Diaper kit.

This first baby shower favor I created used a free baby diaper invitation template that I found online simply by typing baby diaper invitation into my search box. DigiChick Designer Kelleigh Ratzlaff created a fabulous Baby Themed Shaped Cards Template Set that would work perfectly for this also!

This was an easy favor to make. Open the template in your photo-editing program and choose a paper for your diaper. I used papers from Dawn Inskip’s Welcome to the World kit.

Clip your paper to the template and then print using your printer’s best print option. I printed mine on matte presentation paper. Cut around the edges and score your fold lines.

Glue small sized eyelet around the leg opening and then a small piece on the inside of the waist of the diaper. Fold the sides of the diaper in and pin in place with, what else? A diaper pin!

This next baby shower favor I have for you was also relatively simple to make. For these favors, I used papers from Mira Designs’ Baby Days kit, baby elements from Dawn Inskip’s Welcome to the World kit, and Precious Sentiments Baby Word Art by Danielle Engebretson.

I purchased the empty baby bottles at our local party store. First, I measured the surface of one sides of the baby bottle so that I could create your own label. My measurements were 2.5” x 2.25”. I decided to go with an oval shaped label so that the bath salts in the baby bottle would show.

I used my photo editing program to create my label. I was able to print about 25 oval shaped labels on Avery white full sheet label paper. I used Fiskars Scallop scissors to cut around the outside of my labels. Peel and stick one to each of your baby bottles.

For the bath salts, I purchased a bag of Epsom salts. Pour into a large bowl and add a few drops of food coloring to tint the salts. Once mixed well, add a few drops of scented essential oils and mix well.

Fill your bottles and cap tightly. Aren’t they adorable?

The last baby shower favor I have to share with you is a little more time consuming than the other favors. These are definitely favors you don’t want to wait until last minute to create!

This is a baby shower favor I made out of a styrofoam cup. I found the instructions online and tweaked it for a better looking shoe!

I wanted my baby shoe to be a lace up version. Here’s where I tweaked the instructions. When bringing the sides in to create the flaps over the tongue, I cut those flaps vertically and parallel to each other to form the part for the holes for my lacings. I punched 2 holes in each flap. I then rounded and reshaped the top part of the shoe for a nicer, more realistic looking shoe. Here’s what it looked like before it’s laced up.

I did not use clear nail polish around the punched holes. None of the punched holes ripped or tore. Cut 15” pieces of ribbon and lace up your baby shoe. I tied a knot in my ribbon before finishing the laces with a pretty bow.

I created a 1 ½” round tag and then used my scallop scissors to cut out the tag. I used my Crop-o-dile to punch a small hole in the top of the tag and hung the tag from the laces using a small piece of ball chain.

The tag also uses Mira Designs’ Baby Days kit, baby elements from Dawn Inskip’s Welcome to the World kit, and Precious Sentiments Baby Word Art by Danielle Engebretson.

Kind of resembles a Cabbage Patch doll shoe, doesn’t it???

Fill with candy, peanuts, butter candies, or whatever you want! And these are just as adorable without the hanging tag – and my recommendation if you are creating these favors for a large sized baby shower!!!

My giveaway is this: I will create for you up to 100 of these baby shoe favors:

You chose the color of the ribbon for the laces. They will arrive all laced up and ready to fill with goodies of your choice.

* please note – there will be no hanging tags on the ones you receive! *

All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment here on this post! If you’d like to double your chances, you can receive an additional entry by mentioning this post on your blog, Twitter or Facebook. Come back and comment again with the link to your posting. All winners will be announced on June 28th!

Good Luck!

A super sweet digi kit like The Ultimate Baby Girl Collection by MKC Creations at The Digi Chick. Of course you can find a cute baby boy kit too. But my baby girl is 16 and this kit was just so cute!

• Your Photo Editing Program
• Matte Photo Paper
• Printer
• Chip Board
• Glue Stick/Glue
• Scissors
• Distress Ink
• Pop Dot Tape
• Ribbons/Embellishments

So the first thing you will want to do is open your digi papers and embellishments in your Photo Editing Program, I use PSE6.

Then you want to open a new file that is 8.5×11. I do this so I can resize everything to the right size for printing.

I drag my first paper into the 8.5×11 file and since I want mine to be a heart I use my cookie cutter tool and cut it into a heart.

Then I just design it all on top of the heart how I want it. And of course add your letters.
Then you arrange it all for printing. Like this…

Now it’s all printed out and ready to put together!

You will cut out all your pieces and I like to sand and ink the edges.

Trace around your bigger heart on the chipboard and cut and glue it to the heart.

I added some trim around the edges of my smaller heart by gluing it on the back of the heart, I added some tape too, just to be sure it would hold. Then put your Pop Dot tape on and stick it on top of the big heart! Easy!

Now you just need to add your ribbon for hanging which I just attached to the back with some good strong tape. This is what the back looked like.

I didn’t want to leave the back unfinished so I covered it with some scrapbook paper I had in my stash.

I also added some cute little bits of ribbon an the front I glued them on and clamped them for a bit so they could dry nice and strong.

That’s it! A Very simple and super cute gift!

So…I am giving away this Shhh BabyGirl Sleeping Hanging Sign! All you have to do to win is leave a comment here on this post!

You can receive additional entries by mentioning this post on your blog or Twitter or Facebook! Just link them up here too. the winners will be announced on June 28th!

I’m an accessory loving girl and the idea of a bracelet with darling charms that I could put my own photos in was a dream come true. Not only was the bracelet beautiful but it came with instructions and all of the supplies I would need to complete it. The best part? It was made to be EASY to put together!! Who doesn’t love a quick, easy, beautiful craft?

I started by looking at what was included in the package – the bracelet has 5 charms that are double-sided so you can capture 10 images. Also included is a sheet of Storyville art images from letters to greetings to pictures that you can use to complete your bracelet (I chose to use all of my own images). Finally, the clear bubble stickers that go over the images to magnify and protect them as well as the adhesive squares that attach your images to the bracelet are also included.

They’ve even made it easy to get your photos to be the right size for the charms! Choose your photos and head to www.luckyfeather.com to use their Easy Shrinker! From there you create a free account, enter the barcode from your product, and get ready to upload!

I created several images using Our Story from Kelley Mickus and Stamp the Date – Vol. 2 from Mira Designs – both available at The Digichick. I started by making my images 6×6 inches so I could use them for a mini album later … gotta love multi-tasking The only thing to be aware of when creating your own images is that you need to leave everything larger than you normally would on a scrapbook page. These will be shrunk down to about 1/2 inch so small typeface may not show up. I found I was most happy with the ones where I used large photos, larger, more simple type, and few embellishments. I also decided to use a few photos without “dressing them up.”

Once I had my images complete I headed online to upload my photos to the Easy Shrinker. Click to upload your photos, resize using the -/+ buttons, rotate, change color (b&w or sepia), preview, and save images. I found that I reduced my 6×6 pages to about 7% scale. The little “guideline” square that they give you is just a touch larger than the clear bubble stickers so I made my images just smaller than the guideline. Resizing your photos will depend on how you want them cropped. I think I reduced mine to about 50% scale. After you have resized all of your images and saved them it is time to print!

You can print on your home printer or request a free print sent to your home (U.S. residents only). Once you print you will have a sheet with all of your images shrunk to the perfect size for your bracelet … COOL (and so easy)!! The rest of it is the fun stuff Take your bubble stickers and place them right on top of each of your images. Not only do the bubble stickers protect your images but they also magnify them! I love this concept. I made a keychain once using a liquid medium to achieve the same protection and look that the bubble stickers gives and it was much messier (and got air bubbles in it) … so glad to see the bubble stickers used – easy and mess-free! *bubble stickers will protect from splashes and everyday wear but should not be submerged.

After you have covered your images with the bubble stickers it is time to trim. Putting the bubble stickers on first makes this incredibly easy because now all you have to do is trim around the bubble! Trim each image to size and set aside.

Next place a sticky square inside each charm. Peel the backing and place your images onto the adhesive. It’s that easy!! I love how simple Lucky Feather has made this jewelry making process!!! I can’t wait to give my girlfriend this bracelet for her birthday next week – it contains photos from the day her baby was born last year and more current photos. I know she will just love it and I love that I could make such a unique and personal gift in a snap

Want to make one for yourself or someone you love? Lucky Feather has generously donated 8 bracelets for us to give away to our loyal readers!!! All you have to do is leave us a comment and we will draw our random winners on Saturday, May 16th!

Want an extra chance to win? Mention it on your blog, Facebook or Twitter with a link to this post and you can be entered again. Just leave us another comment for each thing you do with a link to your post or Tweet.