Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!

12:00 PM
Happy Halloween!  I have a few halloween boxes to share with you.  We always have a halloween party & this year I used my Crafters Companion to make some treat boxes.  They were super easy & rather fun to make.  I've ben trying to simplify some of my stamping while I use stamps & products I've been holding onto too long.  It goes along wiht my need to use up my scraps & conserve my full sheets of paper.  These projects feel into that category.  The coffin is made with a glosy patterned paper I've been holding onto for years.  I wanted to keep it for the perfect project.  That's just silly!  I realized that when I lost most of my papers when my stamp room flooded.  So, I got them out to make some spooky coffins.  I was going to decorate them, but the paper was the decoration.  I put skull & crossbones candy in them.  The other box is made with my Nestabilities Labels 1 that I had to have & haven't used much.  I also used a $1 clear stamp & scraps.  I put two peanut butter cups in each one.  I love how they turned out.   I think they'll be a big hit at the party. 



This coffin was made with my Crafters Companion Ultimate tool.  I used the magic ruler technique that is explained in the video that came with the tool.  I thought the glossy paper was perfect to make a coffin.  Don't you?

I cut two labels 1 pieces out of burgandy scrap paper.  I then made a small box with the box maker portion of my ultimate tool out of black linen paper.  The labels are attached to the top & bottom of the box. 

Stamps:  Happy Halloween-Inkadinkado, Scratched-Stampin' Up!
Inks:  Moonlight White Brilliance Pearlescent Ink Pad
Paper:  Black Linen, Burgandy Linen
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 1, Black Flat-Backed Pearls

Thursday, October 29, 2009

My Updated Stamp Room

12:00 PM
I'm going to show you the updated pictures of my stamp room.  Some things have changed in the last few months.  I've added in some Alex drawers from Ikea.  I just love them!   Each drawer holds two of the big clear trays I use to hold my stamps, only I put embelishments in them.  I got rid of my Iris carts.  The Alex drawers hold more in less space. The best part is that they were onlt $75 each at Ikea.  I've been able to keep next to nothing on my countertops.  Like before, my stamp room is just half of a room.  The main change is that the carpet is gone.  This wasn't by choice, my stamp room flooded while I was in the hospital over the summer.  We had a pipe burst in the wall and figure it was leaking for over a week.  We took out all of the carpet & my stamp room is all cement until we can decide how we want to do the floors.  We're leaning towards tile.  We've also painted the room with two shades of blue paint. My old stamp room is shown in my earlier posts.  It has some more detailed pictures.  This is just to show the changed layout.  I'll come back with some organization tips in another post. 

This is the top of my Alex drawers.  It's where my stamp room starts at the back of the wall.  I have two smaller stamp drawers with a mail center on top of it.  All of my ribbons sit on the drawers.

This is a view of both of the Alex drawers.  Right next to them is my stamp cabinets.  I have my Cuttlebug 7 toaster oven on top of this cabinet.


This is my other cabinet with the paper cutter on top.  The rainbow drawers hold all of my unmounted stamps.  They are all labeled so i can easily find them.  All of my mounts are in the top left hand drawer.  They're really easy to get to because they are right next to my stamp desk.


This is my stamp desk.  It is set into half of the closet.  It's not as messy as it looks.  The back is cork board.  I tack up many of my embelishments & a color wheel.  Plus I have some artwork on it.  I keep my favorite tools in the revolving caddy  & then my colored pencils are in cups.  I use a foam place mat covered in the Ranger non-stick surface to stamp onto. 


This is the top of my stamp desk.  I keep my pre-folded A2 cards in the cubby.  I also have my Tim Holtz reinkers & double stick tape in that cubby.  The two recipe boxes are actually my Cuttlebug embossing folders.  My husband made me ink pad holders out of foam core.  I found the instructions on Splitcoaststampers.  I have one other on the shelves next to my table.


I have two paper racks right next to my desk.  They fit perfectly on the piece of wall that seperates the two closets.  I got these from Impressions From the Heart when they went out of business.  I miss the store, but I really love having the paper racks. 

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Fall Cards

12:00 PM
I'm still enjoying making fall cards.  I've been busy making card samples for the Stamp-A-Mania design team.  They have their first convention in Arizona this Saturday.  I'll post those samples this week.  I have a House Mouse card & a pumpkin card to show you this week. 




Stamps: Fall Wreath-House Mouse. Background-Stampa Rosa, Dots & Flowers-Hero Arts
Inks: Tuxedo Black Mementos Ink Pad, Versamark Watermark Ink Pad, Brilliance Coffee Brown
Papers: Tan, Dark Green, Cougar White
Accessories:  Prismacolor Colored Pencils, Gamsal, Blending Stumps, Powder Keg Embossing Powders-Timber/ Butterscotch, Pilot Gold Paint Pen, PSX Diamond Sparkles

This card is done with all Art Impressions stamps.  Just color the stamp with Brushart Markers and stamp them onto watercolor paper.  Then take your watercolor brush & lightly wet the image. I just love the look. 


Stamps:  Art Impressions
Inks:
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Dark Green Linen, Copper Sparkle Paper, Sage Green
Accessories: Marvy Brush Tip Markers, Waterbrush, Cuttlebug embossing folders Distressed Stripes/Swiss Dots, Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch, Pilot Gold Paint Pen

Sunday, October 25, 2009

What I've done with my Crafters Companion Ultimate Tool

12:00 PM
I got hte Ulitmate tool from Char for Christmas last year and have really been enjoying it.  I've made a few cards fromt he long video that came with it.  I have also made a quite a few boxes & a bunch of envelopes.  Here are two of the cards that I made with it.  I'll post some of the boxes as I decorate them.

The K-Card is my favorite card I've made with the tool so far.  I used the amaller butterfly shape on the board to emboss the image & then cut it out.  I then followed the video to make the card. 



Stamps: Stampin' Up- Soft Summer & Baroque Motifs, Posh Impressions-Splatter It Up!
Inks: Brilliance Pearlescent Ink Pads Crimson & Orchid & Galaxy Gold
Paper: Light Pink, Plum, Sage
Accessories: Flat backed Pearls, Pilot Silver Paint Pen

I used the Ultimate tool on two parts of this card.  i obviously used it to make the folds in the card.  It's kind of like a gate fold card with both of the folds on one side.  I also used the tool to score the edge of the card with the large scallops.  I like how it turned out.




Stamps: Flowers-Magenta, Splatter It Up!-Posh Impressions
Inks: Black Staz-On, Brilliance Pearlescent Ink Pads- Crimson & Evergreen
Paper: Sage, Plum, Light Pink, Old World Stack, Transparency
Accessories: Art Institute Glitter & Clear Glitter Glue, Cuttlebug Fleur-de-Lis Folder, Pilot Gold Paint Pen



Friday, October 23, 2009

Some of my Christmas Cards

12:00 PM
I've finished my Christmas cards & have a few ready to post.  I made several different designs.  Some are simply & some are complex.  I send the more complex cards to people I know keep my cards.  Here are two of the simpler cards this year.

This card is watercolored with Twinkling H20's and a water brush.  I bought this image a few years ago & finally used it this year. 


Stamps: Bird-Impression Obsession, Wishing you...-Penny Black, Background-Hero Arts
Inks: Onyx Black Versafine Ink Pad, Brilliance Pearlescent Galaxy Gold
Paper: Canson Watercolor Paper, Green & Red
Accessories:Spellbinders Nestabilities Large Rectangles & Large Scalloped Rectangles, Pilot Gold Paint Pen

This is a simple card that was fun to design.  Just ink the whole stamp with Rocket Red & then tap the Crimson pad onto the edges.


Stamps: Inkadinkado
Inks: Brilliance Pearlescent Inkpads in Rocket Red & Crimson, StazOn Cotton White Opaque Ink Pad
Papers: Light Pink, Burgandy Linen
Accessories: Deckle Edge Scissors

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Club Posh Challenge Cards & SAM Announcement

12:00 PM
Stamp A Mania (SAM) is going to start selling unmounted Posh Impressions stamps.  I don't know about you all, but that makes me happy!  I love to buy my stamps unmounted because I don't keep the wood from any of my stamps.  They will be at two conventions this year.  Be sure to check them out if you are int he area.

2009 Rubber Stamp Conventions


Albuquerque, NM
October 31-November 1
New Mexico State Fairgrounds
Promoted by Rubber Stamp Events

Mesa, AZ
November 7 & 8
Mesa Centennial Center
Promoted by Rubber Stamp Events

Club Posh is a great stamping community.  I think it is composed of some of the friendliest stampers on the net.  Be sure to check it out.  They have Challenges that always have a twist.  They're really fun to participate in & open to all members with no deadline.  These two cards are for the challenges.

The first challenge was to make a Scrapling with a travel theme.  I chose to do Oriental.  I ended up attaching the Scrapling to a card.  I just wasn't sure I'd ever send out such a small card.  The images were all colored with a black & red Marvy Brush Art marker direct to rubber.



Stamps: Oriental Gardens & Joy Luck Set- Posh Impressions
Inks:
Paper: Red Linen, White Glossy, Black Glossy
Accessories: Marvy Brush Art Markers, Swarovski Crystals, Stampin' Up! Tab Punch, Pilot Gold Paint Pen

The next card was for the fall challenge.  The twist, we couldn't use orange.  Lucky for us, there are tons of fall colors with no orange.  All of the images are simply colored with Powder Keg embossing powders. 


Stamps: Wheat-Posh Impressions
Inks: Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
Paper:  Various shades of tans
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4, Powder Keg Embossing powders-Buttered Rum, Fall Splendor & Timber

Monday, October 19, 2009

Kitchen Sink Stamps Challenge

12:00 PM
There is a fun challenge over at Kitchen Sink Stamps.  It is a really cool idea.  123 stamping.  Use 1 pop dot, 2 embelishments & 3 stamped images.   I had a great time coming up with a card for this challenge.  I really like the way their stamps work.  The backgrounds are very hard to see, but they were done with the Spellbinder Flower Impressabilities. 





























Stamps: Pansies-Kitchen Sink Stamps
Inks: Stampin' Up! Ink Spots
Papers: Light Pink, Plum Linen
Accessories: Spellbinders Impressabilities Flowers, Spellbinders Nestability Large Ovals & Large Scalloped Ovals & Large Rectangles & Large Scalloped Rectangles, Pearls colored with Copic markers, Martha Stewart Silk Ribbon

Saturday, October 17, 2009

How about some Thanksgiving cards?

1:41 PM
I did my Thanksgiving cards a few days ago & thought I'd share them.   I only made a few of each one because I'm not sending out that many.  Fall colors are my favorite pallet to work with. 
This is a Riley image.  I think this silly little moose is cute.  I stamped out a bunch of Riley images during Copic certification & ended up getting a few stamps as a result.  I find him really easy to color with my Copics. 


Stamps: Pilgram Riley-Hanna Stamps, Leaves-Inkadinkado, Tiny Leaves-Sandee's
Inks: Tuxedo Black Mementos Ink Pad, StazOn Opaque Buttercream Ink Pad, Pearlescent Brilliance Ink Pad in Rust, Thyme, Chocolate
Paper:Brown Linen, Red Pepper Linen, Neena, Canson Gold, Cream
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Large Circles & Large Rectangles & Large Deckled Rectangles, Rust Flat Back Pearls

This card is inspired by Michelle Zindorf.  She has the best projects on her blog.  She stamps & colors an image, then uses the Versamark Watermark pen to add clear embossing to the image (that's what I did to the leaves) so they resist the background.  She them brayers and drags her ink across the backkground.  As you can tell, I've simplified her process.  Be sure to check out her blog at http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/


Stamps: Text Leaves-Hampton Arts, So Blessed-Hero Arts, Leaves-Inkadinkado
Inks:  Tuxedo Black Mamantos Ink Pad, Tim Holtz Distress Inkpads
Paper: Cougar White, Dark Brown Linen, Tan
Accessories: Versamark Watermark Pen, Copics, Clear Embossing Powder

Friday, October 16, 2009

Christmas project & some more cards

9:50 AM
Hello,
I've been busy stamping again this week. I have dozens of cards ready to add to my blog. I just have to take the time to add them. I'm going to change up the format a bit so I can get more cards up with less chat. Below each card I will list the supplies I used. I will add in directions on anything that I feel may need it. There are quite a few pictures today. I'll start with my Christmas gift project that is still in progress. I still need to refine it a bit by adding things like a velcro closure & the cards & envelopes. The cards will be a few all occasion cards.

This is a gift box that I am making for a few people on my Christmas list. It is designed to hold up to 10 cards & envelopes. I saw the design for this box at a stamping site and it was just $5 to download it. When I asked my hubby for the credit card he asked me to try making it first. If I couldn't figure it out, he's let me download it. We went into the stamp room and designed it. The base, which is the navy blue paper, is made from 4 sheets of paper. The insert pieces were cut with the Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 1. I really love how it's turning out.

Stamps: Snowflake-Unknown
Paper: Navy Blue Linen, Light Blue Linen
Ink: Mediterranean Blue Brilliance Ink Pad
Accessories: Spellbinders Build A Flake 1, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 1, Pilot Silver Paint Pen, Swarovski Crystals

I got the Spellbinders Create A Flake 1 Dies to make ornaments for my Christmas tree. My tree has all handmade ornaments. I have several tags that I've made over the years in shades of blues with touches of white & silver. I've been enjoying adding to it every year. This year I'm adding the snowflakes. They are doubled so you can see the snowflake from the front or back. They are simply cut out of scraps. I added a bit of Sparkles Diamonds from PSX, it's the same as clear Stickles. I've made 16 so far. I am thinking about getting the Create A Flake 2 set to make some more.


This Card was made for a stamper over at Club Posh- Sandollar. She sent me some of her awesome scrap papers. Last week, I went through all of my stamps determined to start using the one's I haven't used before. I came up with less than I expected. However, this horse & foal were among the pile. I bought it over 10 years ago! I watercolored it using Tombo markers.

Stamps: Mare & Foal-Stampendous, Friends 24/7-Stampin' Up!, Sanded-Stampin' Up!
Paper: Canson Watercolor Paper,
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine Ink Pad, Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance Ink Pad
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4 & Large Circles & Large Classic Scallop Circles, Tombo Markers, Water Brush, Clear Embossing Powder, Bronze flat backed Pearls, Pilot Gold Paint Pen

I made this card for Char. No reason. I found the View Finder card directions in the resource section of Splitcoast stampers. I've been making a lot of cards that do something lately & loved this idea. I came together really easily. The designer used the colluzel circles for her card. I just used my circle Nestabilities.

Stamps: Clear stamps from Inkadinkado, Friends 24/7-Stampin' Up!
Papers: Dark Green Linen, Light green speckled Linen
Ink: Pearlescent Brilliance Inkpads in Rocket Red/Chocolate/Olive/Thyme/Rust. Olive Green Colorbox Chalk Inkpad
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Large Classic Scallop Circles & Large Circles & Labels 4, 1" Circle Punch, Stampin' Up! Tab Punch, Pilot Gold Paint Pen
My last card for today is another Halloween card. I am done with my Halloween cards. I made more designs than I have to send to people. LOL! I just have fun with halloween. This card is from Stampin with Dawn over at you tube. If you haven't looked her up before, you should. She has some great videos. This card is called a plastic shopping bag double slider card. It was really easy to make & I love how it came out.


Stamps: Sanded-Stampin' Up!, Clear stamps from Inkadinkado
Paper: Olive green and Light Olive Green Bazil Papers
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 1, Martha Stewart Spiderweb Border & Corner Punches, Stampin' Up! Tab Punch, Corner Punch, Bronze Flat Backed Pearls, Pilot Silver Paint Pen

Friday, October 9, 2009

House Mouse Monday Challenge Design Team Call

1:24 AM
There is a Design Team (DT) call over at the House Mouse Monday Challenge blog (http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/) & I've decided to give it a try. I haven't been on a DT since I left Club Posh & Impressions From the Heart (my favorite stamp store) closed. I figure it's time to give it a try. I am on a DT right now, but it hasn't been announced yet. Believe me, you'll hear about it once we're up & running.

The DT call asks for a new card using my beloved House Mouse images. I decided to create a few cards & pick from them. Then I decided that I may as well post them all & show everyone what I've been working on. I just love those silly little mice & have soooo many images that I've collected over the years. Most of my mice are from Stampa Rosa, but I do have a few of the new images. There are several cards.

This mouse was colored using my Copic Markers. I stamped the image onto smooth white paper (it's labeled Maco's paper) with my Tuxedo Black Memento inkpad. The background stamp is from Impression Obsession and the greeting is from Inkadinkado. The image on the labels is from Hero Arts. I used Spellbinders Labels 4 & the ribbin tags.

This is the front of my wiper card. There is a how-to video over at Splitcoast stampers. It's a really fun card. The pumpkin is from Inkadinkado. The Splatter stamp is from Posh Impressions & the greeting is from Stampa Rosa (House Mouse.) The inside image that you'll see in a minute is House Mouse. Below are two pictures of the opened card. The mouse is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils.

This is another Halloween card. I just couldn't stop with one cute mouse in a costume! The mouse is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. The image is stamped on a square cut out wiht the Spellbinders Square Nestabilities. The spiderwebs were done with Marth Stewart punches. The silver piece was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. The corners were punched using the Stampin' Up ticket corner punch. The background was stamped with a spiderweb stamp from Inkadinkado.

This is one of my favorite House mouse images. It was part of Char's collection until she so kinly gifted me with it. The image was stamped onto Marco's paper with the Tuxedo Black Memento ink pad. It was then colored with Copic Markers. The embosing folder if Bird Call from Cuttlebug. The background was stamped with a Stampin' Up stamp. I went a little crazy with the crystals, but I think they added a really nice touch.

This is another image from Char's collection. I just love this playful image, but it was a nit time consuming to color! It is stamped on Marco's paper and stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. The images were colored with Copic markers. The background stamp is from Hero Arts. The Fleur de Lis punch is from EK Success.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

9:43 PM
I'm putting up another post today. To me, the last post was part of yesterday, but whatever! I am entering my first challenge over at House Mouse Monday Challenge blog. The challenge was to make a House Mouse card with buttons. I don't really like to use buttons, so I don't have any buttons. Whoops! No problem, I made a button. I'm really happy with how it came out. Now I can just make buttons if I decide I need to use them. I got the button making directions at Splitcoaststampers. It really simple. Just punch five pieces of cardstock. I used a 3/4" punch. Attach all the layers with crystal lacquer. Use the Cropadile to punch two holes in the center. Apply a thick coat of Crystal Lacquer to the button top & let dry.


This card was done on purple shimmer paper. I stamped the baroque image from Stampin' Up's Friends 24/7 set with purple brilliance ink. The button is made with a spare piece of the background. The House Mouse image is colored with Copic markers. It is matted onto Spellbinders oval & scalloped oval Nestabilities.

This is just a closer view of the cute little mouse. I really like the way they look when done with Copics.

I think I'm in a cute mood. This owl sure is a cutie! It is from the Hero Arts Christmas owl clear set. It's stamped with Onyx Versafine ink & colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. His hat is colored with an Orange Copic marker. The background is another Splitcoaststampers idea. It is Aluminum foil (from the kitchen) attached to cardstock and then embossed with a Spellbinders Impressability folder (flowers-I think.) I then cut it with one of the label Nestabilities. The orange is a copic marker. The bat is from Stamps by Judith & the Happy Halloween image is from Inkadinkado. The pearls are from Hero Arts.

World Card Making Day

4:21 AM
Today was World Card Making Day. So, what did I do today you ask? How many cards did I make? None! I didn't make one single card today. I've been making several cards a day for the last few weeks & I choose World Card Making Day to make no cards. Of course, this doesn't mean I was in my stamp room for hours today. I was working on holiday goodies. I made little coffin boxes for the yearly Halloween party we have with the boys. I used my Ultimate Crafters Companion tool to make coffin shaped boxes that have yet to be decorated. I also started working on some Christmas decorations. My long awaited Stowlake One Shapabilities arrived today. They are as awesome as I thought they would be! I'll have to get the Snowflakes 2 set. I can see making several ornaments with these. I don't have any samples yet. The glitter is drying on the first two ornaments.
The Snowflakes dies were really easy to use. I just put them with some scraps of paper and ran all 5 shapes through my Cuttlebug at one time. Then I embossed them & made another set(for the back.) I stuck them all together with foam tape & then glittered them with some stickles. They would be dry, but I had to re-glitter them after my cat sat on them. You should have seen me folowing him to get one of the snowflakes off of his back! I'll post them soon.



This is a card I made a few years ago. It's one of my favorite Christmas cards. It's from a Make & Take I did at Impressions From the Heart when they were still open. We made a simpler card with the flower image. It was just a basic technique showing them how to blend Tombo markers with a waterbrush. It;s a really simple technique with stunning results. Each flower used just two colors.

This is the card open from two different views. The greetings are from Penny Black. The birds are from Hero Arts. The holly leaves are from Magents. I'm not sure about the large flower. It was a store stamp & I don't have it.