I CAN, however, create adorable Valentine’s Day treats for their teachers and a couple for them.  Just imagine this adorable heart shaped cup filled up with cookies or biscotti:

The great thing is that since I created a printable heart cup template, I can mass produce these babies (or, just make two, since I have two kids who each have one teacher).  For this adorable print and assemble set, I used the Young Love Mini Kit by Elise’s Pieces Designs.

Another option is to use YOUR favorite digital kit and the full set of templates (including psd, etc) to create your own hybrid masterpiece.  These files come in PSD, PNG, PDF, JPG, AI, DXF, SVG and .Studio.

Or, you could use your favorite cardstock, your digital die cut machine (loving my Silhouette!!), and my awesome cutting files to make the job super fast and easy!  These files come in JPG, PNG, AI, DXF, SVG and .Studio.

You want to know something else that is super cool?  The Digichick is having a huge storewide sale!! 

Head on over to Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs at The Digichick to pick up all of your favorite templates and create your own little Valentine’s Day masterpiece!

By the way, Happy Groundhog’s Day!!

PS – looking for another easy Valentine’s Day printable?  Check out the Mini Mailbox Template!

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Valentine’s Day Heart Cup Papercraft Template is a post from: Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs

As usual, I have a couple of options for you!  You can grab the whole meal deal, which includes ALL the files (psd, png, pdf, ai, jpg, svg, dxf and studio) OR, you can grab just the cutting files (ai, jpg, png, dxf, svg and studio).  I also have a little printable collaboration set that I put together with Elise Hansen’s new release , We Are In Love.  Such a cute kit!

Can you imagine tucking little notes inside for your sweet Valentine?  My boys are loving my adorable mailbox.  They keep putting little love notes inside!  Precious kids!  I’m a lucky girl!

You can cut your Mini Mailbox out of your own cardstock from  your stash, or use Photoshop to clip digital paper to the template files and create a hybrid work of art.  Alternatively, you could just purchase the printable I created with Elise’s papers and print and assemble!  Lots of options!

Go grab the full version of my template for 30% off for new release day, then share your creation in the gallery over at The Digichick or on my Facebook page!

A sincere thank you to my current sponsors!
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Mini Mailbox Template Update! is a post from: Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs

I’m super, incredibly excited about the awesome Facebook Page Hop the Digichick designers are having this year.  There are twenty-four designers participating, which means twenty-four FREEBIES!!  PLUS, we all used a common palette, so most of the freebies will match one another!  In the end, it will be like collecting a big collaboration (with a couple of random bits of goodness thrown in there for good measure!).

This is my Freebie!!  I’m going to be putting it in my shop at TDC next week, but I’m giving it away to my Facebook Fans this weekend!!

Not only did I figure out the code to fancy up my Facebook Page, but I also figured out how to link up a freebie for you all!  Wahooooo!  I feel so accomplished!

SO, please head on over to my Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs Facebook Page and start hopping!!

When you are done, click over to my shop at The Digichick!!  The entire store (not just my little corner) is on sale for 30% off, however, since I love my blog readers, you all get 40% off!  Aren’t I so sweet?!

And, if that wasn’t amazing enough, when you make a $15 purchase at The Digichick, you get a gorgeous boutique collaboration FREE!

Yum, yum!

Finally, be sure to participate in the fun DSD challenge going on in the forums over at The Digichick.  One participant will be randomly selected to win a ginormous prize of free templates, kits and more!  Basically, the designers (including myself!) donated gift certificates so you can grab anything you want from our stores!  How cool is that?

If you are curious about digital scrapbooking, THIS is the weekend to dig in and try it out! 

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!

A sincere thank you to my current sponsors!
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Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day! Grab your FREEBIE! is a post from: Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs

Go read my feature, pick up a coupon code for 30% off in my store, and leave a comment over there for a chance to win a gift card to my store!

The Daily Digi blog features tons of tutorials and inspiration related to all three subjects, PLUS they highlight awesome digital scrapbooking designers (including me!).  However, the BEST part of the site is that you can purchase a ginormous grab bag filled with full sized kits valued at over $35 for as little as $5.00.  You seriously can’t get better than that!  If you have any desire to try out digital scrapbooking or hybrid papercrafting THIS is the best deal in all of digi-land.  Trust me.

ONE of the many kits included in The Digi Files this month is my newest template, the Standing Pillow Box, which is exclusive at The Daily Digi this month and will come home to my store at The Digichick in September.

Template:  Standing Pillow Box and Paper Flower Pieces by Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs
Papers & Digi Elements:  Shutterbug Boutique Collab by The Digichick Designers
Bling by Prima

 Want to read a FABULOUS tutorial with lots of great pictures and step by step instructions?  Well, then, grab the Digi Game option, which includes the Playbook (a super cool online magazine for subscribers of The Digi Game).

Need a little more inspiration?

Check out what Julee did with this template:

Template:  Standing Pillow Box by Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs
Papers & Elements:  Thrifty Finds The Kit by Mari Koegelenberg
Stamps:  Words Cannot Express by Verve Stamps
Inks: Antique Linen Distress Stain, Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger, Pan Pastels
Accessories:  Primitive Heart Die by Sizzix, Glass Glitter Star, beaded pin, shabby wrinkled ribbon

And, by Elise:

Standing Pillow Box template by Kelleigh Ratzlaff
Zebra Paper from Wild Child Animal Prints and Flowers (recolored) from Blue Skies Ahead by Elise’s Pieces
Black Ribbon and Green eyelet from Stampin’ Up!

Just WAIT until you see what Joanna and Heather did!  I’m totally saving those images for the release of the template at MY store, though.  Hee, hee!

By the way, do you just LOVE that gorgeous paper flower on my sample?  Check out the tutorial!!

Did ya read the feature??  Let me know!

*Affiliate links whenever possible!

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I’ve been featured at The Daily Digi! is a post from: Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs

I called my freebie Paper Flower Pieces . . . because that is what they are!  Feel free to grab the template!  It comes in AI, SVG, DXF, JPG, PNG and PSD, plus I included a PDF for you non-digi types!  Covered all my bases!  Essentially, what I’m telling you is that you do NOT need to own a digital die cut machine to use any of my templates!!  You can cut them out by hand (which is actually what I do 75% of the time, anyway!).  AND, you do not even have to have Photoshop to use my templates.  If you open up the PDF “lines only” version, you can simply print it out on a piece of paper that you have in your stash.  Easy!

I’d like to lead you through the steps to creating a gorgeous paper flower that will rival anything that you might buy in a scrapbooking store.

Check it out!

I recommend using cardstock for these flowers because it is sturdy and can stand up to being very wet and handled quite a bit.  You could print digital paper onto matte photo paper, however you will have to handle your flowers very gently since you are dealing with a thin layer of ink over paper.  The ink might bleed and it will definitely crackle.  Be prepared for a grungy look if you go the hybrid route. It does look cool, though!

First, cut out the flowers.  In the template, I have provided 9 flowers in 3 graduating sizes, which is exactly what you will need to make a pretty flower.  Obviously, the easiest way to cut the flowers is by pushing the “cut” button on your machine, but you can always cut by hand or even use a flower shaped punch if you have one in 3 sizes!

Now, stack your flowers and poke a hole in the middle of each set.  I used a small nail and hammer, but you could always use a pin!

Poke a brad through the middle and fan the layers as shown.  You will want to use a little brad for this part.  You can always remove it later and switch it out with something more elegant!

Use a small spray bottle to spritz your flower with water.  You could always just run it under a faucet, though!  Spray both sides until they are very wet!

Now the scrunching begins!  Start in the middle with the smallest flower and scrunch it up close to the brad as shown.  Pinch, pinch, pinch!

You will need to keep spraying the flower with water to soften up the flowers as you scrunch!

Pinch it in the middle, nice and tight as you keep adding layers.

Squeeze, crinkle, wrinkle!!  Pinch it like a Hershey’s Kiss in your fingers! (Oh, but be gentle, because it could tear . . . which is actually okay!)

Now, begin working from the outside layer into the middle to separate and curl the petals.  I use a piercing tool or a pin to “grab” the layers as I go.

Repeat the pulling out and curling process throughout the remaining layers.

When you have messed with it and you like what you see, it’s time to let the flower dry.  You could let it air dry (which could take for.ev.er.) or hit it with your heat gun, like I did!  Be aware the the heat gun could “burn” the edges of your flower!  RUSTIC!!

Done! At this point, you can dress your flower up with some glimmer mist, glitter the edges of the petals, change out the brad or cover it with some bling!

I used this flower on my new Standing Pillow Box Template Set which is available as part of the August Digi Files @ The Daily Digi!

(Standing Pillow Box and FREE Paper Flower Pieces Template by Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs (The Digichick), digital paper by Karen Lewis from the Shutterbug Boutique Collaboration (The Digichick), Bling by Prima, flower by me!)

The Daily Digi is a super fun blog style website filled with tips, trick and tons of tutorial for digital scrapbooking, photography, journaling and all kinds of memory keeping.  The Digi Files is a ginormous grab bag filled with full sized kits and template sets created by some of digital scrapbooking’s top designers (like ME!!).  My template is ONLY available in The Digi Files until the end of August, so if you want a super amazing deal on a massive, quality filled grab bag, go grab it now!!  (The Standing Pillow Box Template Set will be available in my store at The Digichick in September!)

If you like what you see, please pin it! 

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Paper Flower Pieces Tutorial (and a FREEBIE!) is a post from: Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs

However, even though I am relishing this time at home with my kids, I know that very soon we will be in the throws of back-to-school preparation.  That’s why I am SO glad to have my gift for the teacher all made up and ready to present to Grant’s 3rd grade teacher.  THIRD Grade!!  Sheesh! I’m not ready for this.

Introducing the Apple Basket Template Set and Cutting Files:

For my little sample, I use the soon-to-be-released back to school collaboration by The Digichick Designers!  Consider this a sneak peek! You KNOW you wanna buy it! 

You like my handle?  I ripped paper out of a spiral notebook I had laying around!  Clever, eh?

My plan is to fill it with a few school supplies and some necessities like tea and chocolate.  You know. Teacher stuff.

You see that little metal bit holding the chalk board down?  That’s a digital element.  The brad is real, though!  The rest . . . digital!

I don’t know who Grant’s teacher will be, but I’m praying for him or her!  I’m praying that he will be assigned to a teacher that is the perfect fit for him: someone who loves teaching about animals and science experiments and weird things.  Someone who will push him to keep reading for pleasure and who loves creating with art supplies.  Someone who won’t let him get away with half-hearted attempts.  Someone who can look into my child’s eyes and see his joy at discovery or his fear in a new situation and be sensitive to his needs.  I’m putting it in God’s hands!

Are you praying for your child’s teacher, yet?  If not, now is a good time to start!

Oh, and be sure to brighten your child’s new teacher’s first day of school with a back-to-school gift! {wink!}

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The Apple Basket Template: Perfect for Back to School! is a post from: Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs

I’m happy to announce that NOT ONLY have I converted the template files to cutting files (including psd, pdf, ai, svg, dxf, jpg, png), but I also updated the template to make the top “fluffier” and I cleaned up the lines a bit.  It was a LOT of work, but the finished result is SO worth it!!  What do you think?

 Eeek!  I just love it!  Look at that fluffy “frosting!”

Let me show you how I put this together!

As always . . .

Before I get started, let me direct you to some pretty good tutorials (if I do say so myself!) found at The Hybrid Chick:

Where to Start – offers suggestions for basic materials to get you started with hybrid.

Using Templates – guides you through the process of using my templates from downloading to adding digital paper, and preparing to print.

Borderless Printing – shows you how to find your borderless printing option on your printer . . . or at least gets you headed in the right direction.

Now, print your project! Of course, you can use digital paper or simply print the lines only version on some of the patterned paper or cardstock in your stash.

I chose digital paper from the adorable collaboration called A Sweet Day by Sugarplum Paperie and Ellie Lash, available at The Digichick.

After adding the digital papers to the psd version of the template, I printed my project out onto polar matte photo paper by Red River.  (The blue is just for scraps and decorating!)

Next, I scored on the dashed lines using a bone folder and cut the entire template out by cutting on the solid lines using my craft knife.

I folded along the scored lines (notice that one of the hexagons is flipped back), and then unfolded the template again to decorate it before assembly.

To assemble the cupcake shaped box, I first I applied my favorite wet adhesive, Beacon’s 3 in 1, to the side flap as shown (with one of the hexagons flipped back) and then adhered the flap to the inside of the box.

Add some glue to the bottom of each of the 4 small triangular shaped tips and p

ress the inside hexagon to the tips.

Then, add some glue to the bottom hexagon and press it to the bottom.  At this point, I turned the box over and pressed the inside with the end of my craft knife to make sure it was nicely adhered!

To assemble the top, I first slightly curled the flaps, just to give them a bit of a bend.  Then, I folded the three rounded flaps in.

To close the box, hook two of the little circle pieces together.  Then, add the third, hooking it as shown. That’s it!

Finish it off with a pretty little button and admire your handy work!

This adorable Cupcake Shaped Box will hold something about the size of a ladies’ fist: a small cupcake, a bag of truffles, a new necklace and more!  Wouldn’t it make the most adorable wedding shower favor?  So cute!

Now, I just have to compare the old box and the new box, so you can see the difference:

Um, yeah. BIG difference, don’t you think?  It’s been “Refrosted”!!  Wahoo!

You can purchase the updated Cupcake Box Template – now called the Cupcake Shaped Box – as an entire set of files, or just the cutting files!  Oh, the options! 

So, what do you think?  Is it an improvement?  Are you as excited as I am??  YAY!!

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The Cupcake Shaped Box Template: Refrosted! is a post from: Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs

Obviously, I am all kinds of excited to share my new template with you – The Gathered Box Template Set and Cutting Files.

For my little sample, I used some papers from the new digital kit by Mari Koegelenberg called Thrifty Finds, which coordinates with her gorgeous new Grab Bag.  By the way, it’s Grab Bag time at The Digichick!!  A great opportunity to stock up on a lot of different digital products at hot prices and to discover new-to-you designers!!  AND, don’t forget to check out the gorgeous new collaboration kit we put together for The Digichick’s 6th birthday! Go shopping!

Ahem. Back to my new release!!

Here is my project!

Swoon!!  Aren’t those papers delectable!?!  I printed my project onto Red River Linen photo paper, then cut it out by hand  and assembled the box.

All other materials are by Close To My Heart – the ribbon, brad, flowers and cardstock.  I used a Martha Stewart punch on the edges of the rosette.  Isn’t it perty?

To close the box, you could tie a ribbon around it like I did, or punch two holes near the top and string the ribbon through for a different look!

I had so much fun with this little box (probably because I love the papers so much!!).  Go grab it at a discount this weekend in MY STORE at The Digichick!!

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The Gathered Box is a post from: Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs