Lisa Storms

submarine lunch

It's been a very crazy start to the school year in the Storms household, and I have been making super simple lunches that I haven't bothered photographing.  But then I decided that everyone goes through busy times and might be looking for inspiration for quick lunches that still have a little personality.  

We had some leftover whole wheat hot dog buns, and I figured I'd use them up to make sub sandwiches.  Which reminded me of a card I made a few years back for Fiskars (paper-pieced by creatively cropping a speech bubble combined with a flower punch chopped of all but two petals).

So the sub sandwich turned quite literally into a sub sandwich with a simple cut straw.  I originally planned on having it sitting upright, but wasn't thinking how thick it would be once filled.  So it ended up on its side.  Of course I had to add a few Goldfish crackers.  And one in the blueberry "water".  

Super simple.  But kinda cute =).  And the kids got a kick out of it.

After doing lunchbox research this summer, I decided to go with the Easy Lunchbox system again this year.  The price and function fit well for our family.  I get a lot of emails asking about our lunchboxes so I wanted to add a link here ... easylunchboxes.com.  

back to "school" party

Summer has been super busy at the Storms household between vacations and camps and just plain enjoying the season!

But I wanted to hop on and share a fun twist on a back-to-school party theme I created for Fiskars.  

I went with a back to "school" ... as in fish ... theme to have fun with whimsical, colorful underwater decor.

And continued the theme with a too "cool" for school ice cream bar full of hand-crafted embellishments that could be created for any sea-themed project or party.

The theme carries through to the table...

...down to the smallest details, like easy fish lip straws.

Visit my article at Fiskars for full directions and step-by-step photos!

end of the school year party

I have a new party article up over at Fiskars to celebrate the end of the school year.  I wasn't really feeling a school or summer theme so went to work brainstorming a clever twist on a theme.  Twist?  Get it?  I didn't even do that on purpose :P

The term "that's a wrap" inspired a wrapped candy theme, which is versatile for all kinds of parties.  

I had fun coming up with different ways to craft up candy embellishments...

... which made a candy buffet a must ... with all wrapped candy, of course.  Even the main course kept with the wrap theme. 

Head over to Fiskars to see all pics and directions.  And now let summer break begin!

(My teacher gift ideas can be found here.)

paper airplane graduation card (with printable)

The graduation announcements have been pouring in, and my go-to grad gift has always been money.  So I decided I wanted to come up with a creative way to present a check to make it fun!

I am obsessed with paper airplanes.  They have such a happy, playful feel ... and they are just easy to make.  This was inspired by a graduation card I have in the most recent Scrapbooks etc. magazine with a miniature paper airplane on the front.  

I figured I would share a printable for it here on the blog.  Here is the pdf:  Download Planegraduationcard.  Just make sure you click "no scaling" when printing so it's the right size.  It's designed to fit into a regular business-sized (#10) envelope.

Print out the pdf onto non-textured white cardstock.  Cut out just inside the outside line so the edges remain white.  Fold in half with the text inside.  Fold each flap down as shown using the printed slanted mark as a guide for both placement and angle.

I cut a little notch in the back to keep it closed.  Just cut two small slits and fold both to one side.

For the check, fold down both top corners to meet the bottom as shown.  Then just fold in half.  Insert into fold of plane to serve as the top wing-thingy (am I impressing you with my aerospace knowledge??).

I added blue paper to the front of my envelope and hand-cut a couple of clouds for adding the addresses (make sure these are all well-adhered).  Fold down the flaps to place in envelope (obviously lol).  The inside says ... Reach for the stars! Congratulations!

Congrats to all of the graduates! =)

craft it forward blog hop

Scrapbooks etc. magazine has a monthly challenge called Craft it Forward designed to use your love of crafting for something good.  Create a craft project to donate to a charity or good cause, and post a photo in the Craft it Forward Gallery for the chance to win $500 cash and a $500 donation to the charity of your choice!

Each month there are suggested projects, and for June I designed patriotic cards to send to servicemen and women serving overseas or closer to home at a local veterans' hospital.  Visit Craft it Forward to find out all of the details including step-by-step directions for creating these dimensional stars from regular punched cardstock.

There is a Craft it Forward blog hop going on today on the Scrapbooks etc. blog ...

so "hop" over to the talented Stephanie Howell's blog to see the next spin on this month's project!

While on the patriotic theme, I figured I would share a simple snack we had in honor of Memorial Day.  Now that my youngest is home from school for the summer, I am going to be having lots of fun creating lunches and snacks that do not have the limitations of a lunchbox!  Simply line up strips cut from slices of watermelon on a white plate as shown adding a grouping of blueberries for stars.  It doesn't get much easier than that and is a great starting point for any kind of patriotic discussion =).

teacher appreciation week

The past few weeks have been insane around here, but I wanted to pop by to share a few card ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week since it's coming up next week.  I should have some gift ideas to share Monday, too, as I plan on having time this weekend to do a few more things I have rattling around in my head.

You can find all of the directions with full photos here at the Fiskars site.  From adding a super simple leaf to an apple for creative presentation ...

... to crafting up an award ribbon that doubles as a card ...

... or getting extra creative with an apple core card.

spring cards

Spring has sprung!!  I'm ignoring the fact that I had to scrape a thick layer of ice from my windshield this morning and instead focusing on the beginnings of tulip leaves popping up in my yard...

Spring is a great time to pop a little cheer in the mail!  Cards with surprises inside...

And dimensional spring daffodils made from paper ...

And shiny rain boots with tulips creatively cropped from hearts...

Step-by-step directions with full photos and demos can be found here at Fiskars.

photo valentines

We knocked out the other two kids' Valentines today. 

I ended up going with Candi Gershon's genius "peeps" valentines I mentioned in my last post after finding the Peeps 50% off.  I also scored on Pop Rocks at the Dollar Store of all places while there for something completely different.  They were in assorted 3-packs.  I was originally going to do them as I did for the Fiskars' site, but Kaylen was bummed that only Logan would have photos on his.  This girl loves to be in front of a camera.  So I modified the design to include a photo for her, too.

I took photos of both kids composed flush left with a white sheet behind them.  For the Pop Rocks, I measured the width of the candy and as tall as I could go without covering up the logo to size the photo.  I added a text block to the left the same size.  Then when printed, fold in half and staple once in the right seam of the candy.

For the Peeps, I measured the front of the package down to the top of the word Peeps.  I added a little to the width of the package.  This was my photo size.  Then I added a text box the same size to the top and added my text upside down.  This way once printed and cut, I can fold the card over the top of the candy and staple once in the top seam.  It takes a while to get everything set up in the beginning, but then the assembly is a snap.  I printed out their sentiments onto cardstock and punched out with a Fiskars speech bubble punch.  In hindsight I'd probably make the speech bubbles a different color instead of using a foam dot to make them "pop". 

Since I printed the cards out on photo paper, the kids used a red permanent marker to add the names so we didn't need to worry about smearing.  It is also easiest to fill in the names before stapling onto candy. 

robot valentines

My youngest son and I made robot Valentines today for his kindergarten class.  He did most of the punching and I did most of the assembling.  He also enjoyed picking out papers from my scrap bin for each of his friends.  This is a wonderful project for using up scraps!

These are based on my robot Valentine featured in the February issue of Scrapbooks Etc. magazine.  I have had lots of inquiries on specific directions, so I figured I would tell how I made these.  The fun thing about robots is that you can make them any way you'd like with what you have on hand.  I think the sillier and more random the better! =)

Begin by wrapping a miniature candy bar with patterned paper to cover the logo and adhere.  Trim a ¼" strip of gray cardstock, run through a paper crimper and trim into arms and legs.  Cut a gray punched circle (Fiskars pop-up circle punch) in half to form the feet.  For the hands, punch a ¼" hole punch into gray cardstock and punch the negative piece with the circle punch used for the feet to form a washer shape.  Cut in half for each hand.  Mini Glue Dots really speed up this project!

I used Fiskars' limited edition Bistro Brew squeeze punch for the head, but any square or rectangle shape would work.  I adhered the head with foam adhesive so it wouldn't be so much shallower than the body.  I added a heart punch on the chest and a strip of cardstock behind the head for bolts, a hand-cut smile (using self-adhesive foam), and googly eyes.  Robots are all different, so have fun decorating him as you wish!

To view all of my Valentine blog posts for more project ideas, check here.

handmade valentines

I have lots of handmade Valentine ideas to share this week ... but yikes, it's already Wednesday.  Unbelievable!  Life just keeps going at warp speed.

So let's start with some Valentines I made for Fiskars.  I have to say I'm completely in love with this monkey.  Completely.  And he is so easy to make by combining a few punches. 

You can find photos and directions here.  More to come soon!