Paper Source?! And graduation-card making?! AND Studio 5?! *pinch me*

If you know me, you know I'm a Paper Source fanatic. Before we were finally lucky enough to get a store here in Utah, I made a point of visiting the Bellevue, WA and Chicago, IL shops on a semi-regular basis. So when my awesome Studio5 producer, Stephanie, suggested I contact them to see if they wanted to be involved with my Graduation-card segment, I was delighted.

And scared!

This would be like being asked to give Oprah a call for the normal person. *gulp*

But I put on my brave shirt and reached out. To my complete delight, they were not only on board to provide cards from their store for my segment, but they also offered to send me additional products to work with when creating my handmade projects. Whaaaa?!

Livin' the dream, my friends. Livin' the dream!

So, it is with happiness that I share that collaboration with you today on Studio 5 at 1:00 PM mst. You can either tune in to channel five if you're in UT, or you can watch it stream on their website at the same time (1:00 PM mst). I'm immediately following the first commercial break. :)

The results of that segment? Well, I have five handmade cards to share, as well as links to some pretty awesome store-bought options. Let's do it to it!

Feeling Zen
I'm in love with zentangling! Have been ever since i was first introduced to it around four years ago. So when I spotted this smiling card at Paper Source, I decided to carpe my own diem and do a little doodling of my own!

This is the result. A 2014 money holder with a little zentangle flava.

To create this card, I simply traced the awesome number stencils from The Crafter's Workshop onto vellum using a Vellum Writer by Zig. I then added my doodles using the same pen. They're not perfect. Nor should they be. That's part of the Zen-charm.

If you look closely, I sprinkled grad-related words throughout—Shine on, celebrate, innovate, You've got this, soar, dream big, etc.

Once my doodling was complete, I stitched 3/4 of it to white cardstock. I then paused the stitching to load up my $$ and confetti, and then stitched the fourth side shut. Shake, shake, shake señora!

As promised on my Studio 5 segment, here are a few links to different zentangle tutorials:

* Pattern A
* Pattern B
* Pattern C

Time to Fly
Inspired by this Dr. Seuss classic, available at Paper Source...

I created my own up, up & away version, using a circle punch and the Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm pack of patterned paper.

For the balloon, I simply punched three circles of the same size.

And stitched them together down the center, which also adhered them to the card front (a paper from the Lucky Charm pack).

For the balloon's basket, I simply snipped a bitty muslin bag in half and stitched the top half to the card. It works perfectly for holding a small iTunes gift card. Sweet!

Cap-tastic
Inspired by the traditional graduation getup, I turned a 6x6 card on its side to create a paper cap.

2014 = Your Time to Shine
It's your year, grads! All of that reading, writing and arithmetic has paid off. So you can finally put those old flashcards to new use—make a grad tag, complete with a gift card holder!

BTW, I did a quick Etsy.com search and found some flashcards like mine here. You're welcome. ;)

To create the taped numbers, I simply pleated my gold washi (from Paper Source) and then added some stitching for reinforcement.

I wanted the flashcard to act as a tag, so I added a hole and little reinforcer sticker.

I then added a second tag (also from Paper Source) to both hide the backside of my stitching (gotta hide that messy backside) ;) and also provide a place to write a note to the grad.

2-0-1-4
Back to those fab The Crafter's Workshop number stencils. This time, I used my VersaMark pen to trace the numbers on patterned paper. I then sprinkled them with embossing powder and set to heat embossing. A bitty tassel and Stickle-adorned cap completed this little number.

Okay, you can officially turn those tassels...on your hats. ;) The card-making class of '14 is complete. Thanks for attending! I hope you were inspired by my ideas. If you find you need to purchase your cards this year, you'll find a brilliant Paper Source assortment here.

Congrats, 2014! This is your time to shine. Live it up!

Cheers!