New Thank You, and a Tutorial

It's been a very long time since I posted a tutorial... and I have "trick" I've been using to make my Stampin' life SO much easier!!

First, the Thank You card.
I'm still on my rainbow colors kick - So bright and cheery!
I used the Work of Art, Papillion Potpourri, and Watercolor Thank You stamp sets...
Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi, Pacific Point, and Lovely Lilac (ret.) as my colors, with Smoky Slate for the Thank you.

Now for the tutorial section of this post!

Do you LOVE your clear stamps, but have a hard time keeping them stuck to the blocks?  It didn't really bother me too much, but it really was horribly annoying when we would do events, and the stamps just wouldn't stay on the acrylic blocks!

I love clear stamps because:  1. they take up much less space  2.  I seem to stamp straighter with them 3.  They take up MUCH less space  4.  Have I mentioned they take up much less space!  I can store them so easily.

This is the solution to this very frustrating problem.  It works GREAT, and takes only a few seconds to do.

 Anytime I get a new stamp set, I place the stickers of the images on the stamp, and then take my Zig pen (pictured below) {the small one} and run some of the adhesive over the top of the stamp.  You can see the lines in the picture above.

Zig pens are wonderful things!!!  They say 2 way glue, and they really do work!  The larger one I use to restick my Cricut mats (see the 'Articles for Everything Cricut'  section) and the smaller ones for gluing small pieces, and paper piecing when I'm working with my Cricut.

Run some of the glue over your stamps (the part with the picture that sticks to the block).  You don't need that much!  Just apply a thin film, and set it aside.  I usually let them sit a few hours or overnight to dry.  Now you have a stamp that won't fall off the block when you're using it, and will peel off when you're finished cleaning it!

I'd love to know how this works for you!

Anniversary Card

Our 12th Anniversary was just a few days ago.

I used a card front I'd created a few months ago... and added the Apothecary Art piece after coloring it with watercolor pens and ink in the same colors of the base card; Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, and Melon Mambo.

After coloring it, I die cut the piece and inked the edges so they'd stand out against the white background.  The right panel was just enough for some statistics.... years, days, vacations, etc.

Happy Anniversary!

Wishing my oldest nephew a very Happy Anniversary!

I saw a version of this card, and did some changing up...
The glittered base is a light blue, and everything else is a baby blue color.
Lots of punches, die cuts, and embossing as well as some ribbon.

Adhesive didn't want to stick on the glitter paper very well, so I went back and used dimensionals to keep the inchies where they belong.

Crayon Wreath

I ALWAYS wanted one of these!!!  So, I made a Special Order for Me!

Actually, making it was much easier than I expected.  I used a little less than 88 crayons (a 64 box, and most of a 24 box...  some lettering I found online, and the chalkboard (with Cricut-cut lettering) and ribbon.

You need:
12 inch embroidery hoop
8 inch embroidery hoop
64 and 24 box of crayons
decorations (anything school related!)

You can find the letters HERE.  I copied to a word document, resized, and colored them with markers, and added black Glaze pen accents.

Niece's Birthday!

My nephew's wife is having her Birthday today!

Happy Birthday, Alex!

For her card, I used all of our new In-Colors.  I CASE'D this card from one I saw - and made just a few changes.  I didn't notice it at first, but the flower stamps - Petite Petals have one that looks like it could be leaves!  I stamped that first on the background and adhered the flowers on top.

Colors?  With Gorgeous Grunge stamps, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, and Hello Honey.
The flowers are stamped in Blackberry Bliss, and Hello Honey.
Note:  The Blackberry is so dark I stamped off for the Happy Birthday, and used a water pen to color in the petals on the flowers and butterfly.
The other flowers are Tangelo Twist, and Hello Honey.
Rhinestones all around, of course!

Wedding Card

I'm recycling this wedding card *again*.. just because I love it so much!  It has lots of details, and makes such a pretty card!

My very dear friend from high school was married at the end of May, so I sent this out to her.  She's in the middle of her honeymoon, so I do hope she received it before they left!

 The Groom heart is a 3 piece process - just like the suit!  Cut the black heart down just past center, and fold the edges out.  Glue them down with a little Zig pen adhesive.  Use a black glaze pen to color the lapels, and a small bow tie cut from a scrap of black.  Allow these to dry.

Adhere the black groom piece on a second white heart, add the bow tie, and then add 3 buttons with your black glaze pen.

Emboss the white heart with a frilly design, and add Diamond Stickles.  When that dries, add pearl accents along the top.

The outside and inside white panels are stamped with a heart from the I{Heart}Hearts stamp set (ret.) in Platinum Brilliance Ink.
Add a frilly Congratulations stamp, some photo corners to each white corner as frame pieces, and your card is finished!

I really love this as a wedding card.

Brother-In-Law's Birthday

After sending a text to my sister (3 states away) to find out what were Jack's favorite colors - she sent me a picture of him in his camo just after a hunt.  SO, camouflage it is!  Actually, more of a faux camo. :)

I don't think I've made a camouflage card before, but then I do forget things I've made... :)  As much as I've used Gorgeous Grunge lately, it really seemed to lend itself to a camo card!

I used the new In-Color, Mossy Meadow along with Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, and Soft Suede.  I also used a label layering technique I've been playing with, and will use more often in the future.  I really like the effect.

Happy Birthday, Jack!!

Christmas Cards 2014 - June

As always, I made 6 cards, completed the inside as you'll see below, stamped the envelopes - have them signed and sealed - just waiting for right after Thanksgiving!

We've even set up our printer (again) that allows me to print address labels in color - so they won't be so boring any longer! :)

This card took just a little bit of time, even though there are lots of steps.

I stamped the background with a music stamp I had, added a tree in Garden Green,  the Joy stamp, and a seam binding bow accented with a brass brad.

The inside is the verse that belongs with the Joy stamp on the outside of the card stamped in Crumb Cake, and accented with a Merry Christmas over the top.

Mom's Birthday

I saw a version of this card on Pinterest, and since Mom's had so many different versions of cards, I thought she'd really like this one.

Use the scalloped circle punch and 2 shades of blue ink to sponge in the clouds.

Use Wasabi green for the grass, and stamping the scrolled pieces at the end.
I really love that Happy Birthday stamp, and even though it's retired, I'll use it for a long time!  It's so pretty!