Kids Craft Too!

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday and I wanted to incorporate a bit of my daughter into his card. She is almost 20 months old and has started to enjoy colouring. What better way to get her to help learn about creating for other people, or giving gifts, than to get her to colour for him. This is a bit beyond her understanding right now, but I think it's a good stepping stone.

We sat down at her new craft table she got for Christmas, and she coloured a picture for her 'Pampa'. We only got few scribbles but that's ok. I trimmed out the coloring on the yellow paper and used it on my card front. I also added on a few buttons from a bag I bought at Walmart (for only a few bucks!). Great deal.

This card is a mix match of many things - the ribbon is from a local scrapbook shop `Scrapbook Sally`, stamps are all Stampin`Up, the Designer Paper I can no longer remember - lol. It was a great card to use up a few random supplies I had kicking around. I even added my daughter`s name to the back..

I hope you all had a great Christmas and are still relaxing and enjoying your holidays!

Guest Blogger - Gail!

Gail was part of my Stampers 12 group last year. Her cards always have a great funky twist to them, and I miss her being part of our current group. Perhaps she'll come back? (wink wink, nudge nudge).


1. When did you start 'stamping'? 2007, a friend introduced me and I was hooked.


2. Which companies do you prefer/tend to stamp with and why? I have only used Stampin’ Up, I started attending a Stampin’ 10 club where Stampin’ Up was promoted so I just stuck with them.



3. What is your favorite technique? Melting wax, mixing it with peal-x and embedding your stamp, everyone else hates this technique, but I love it.



4. What is your favorite colour combination to work with? Earth tones with copper.



5. What is your favorite stamp set in your collection and why? Not sure that I have a favourite, I like them all, so much so that some days I will just sit on the floor pull out all my stamps and just look at them.



6. Is there a stamp you wished you owned? I wish I had a stamp of a mountain bike.



7. What project are you currently working on? My current project has nothing to do with stamping, it is a baby quilt that is 2 years over due. It is now becoming a twin- double size and I have mandated myself to have it done by the end of February.



8. What technique would you still like to learn more about? I would like to learn to do movable cards.



9. Is there a blog out there that inspires you to be more creative? I haven’t really looked, but I like reading about Erin’s knitting mishaps and what inspires others.



10. What other hobbies do you have outside of stamping? The short list consists of , knitting, sewing, and quilting.


Last but not least, a photo of your project please and a description of what and how you made it :)


*This is the pattern of Gail's quilt with her personal fabric selection shown below. I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like! Thanks Gail for being the Guest Blogger this week :)

Mr. Yapples

Have you met Yapples yet?

I wanted to make a 'Masculine' card for a gift box I'm creating. I think it worked. And, I think it's versatile enough it could be used for any occasion - birthday, Father's Day. Are there any other 'male' days in there I've forgotten? lol

I have started playing around with the Copic markers (not shown on the above card), and so far, I have not fallen in love. I plan to put a post up next week before Christmas, with my final thoughts. Stay tuned.

Quick & Easy Holiday Gift Tags

I like my gift tags to be nice, but simple. I spend so much time on making beautiful Christmas cards, that by the end of it, I want my tags to be easy.

First I found some double sided Designer Paper that I really love (sorry, can't remeber which company). I then picked one of my tag stamp sets. (I own two - Hero Arts LL885 Winter Whimsy (so cute!) and SU Holiday Woodcuts). In this case I chose to use the Woodcuts, simply because I think I may have used the other last year - lol.

I used the colours Night of Navy & Ruby Red. They were colored in with blender pens picking ink off the lid of the stamp. (With your SU stamp pads closed, press the lid against the ink pad. When you open it up ink residue will be left on the underside of the lid. Use your blender pen to pick up the residue and color! This is a great resource if you don't own a coordinating pen to colour with). Then I raised up the image with dimensionals, punched a heart in the corner and attached a ribbon. I wrote the names in with a Green Galore pen to add some extra colour.

And voila! Easy tags that are still nice and add a handcrafted touch to your gift. I made sixteen tags in an hour. Roughly 3 minutes per tag. Not too bad!

Introducing 'Mimo'

I made a card yesterday for my friend for her 30th birthday. I should have timed how long it took me. I went down to make something 'quick' and in the end was worried I was going to be late for the dinner party.

SU Colours used: Elegant Eggplant (Paper), Old Olive (Ribbon)
Buttons: SU Button Bouquet
Brads: SU Ice Square Rhinestone
Stamp: 'Mimo' Starving Artistamp

I realize he doesn't look very celebratory. I tried getting him to hold a balloon but it just looked silly. I justified using him because perhaps turning thirty is a scary prospect? (Anything to use one of my Starving Artistamp creatures!)

They arrived!

I was so excited last night to discover my shipment from 'Embellish-online' in my mailbox.

Look at all those goodies!


I went online to order the Copics (see them lurking amidst the papers and bling?) and couldn't resist buying the rest to stow away for my daughters 2nd birthday party invites (next May!).

I have yet to play with the Copics, but I am looking forward to testing them out and giving you some feedback on them.

Stay tuned!

*FYI Stampin' Up has released their Retired Stamp set list today. They are also offering free shipping for orders over $100 (from Dec. 9th until Dec. 23rd) as well as 10% off certain retired sets. Check it all out here.

Guest Blogger - Alicia!

This week's Guest Blogger is my good friend Alicia from 'Pieces of Me', and one of my Stampers 12 group.

1. When did you start 'stamping'?

Umm I think this March will be 3 years?

2. Which companies do you prefer/tend to stamp with and why?

The majority of my products are from Stampin Up, mostly because I belong to a Stampers 12 group. We meet monthly and have a minimum purchase of $25 for each class! I think it will be 3 years this March that I have been in this group, so you can imagine I have quite the inventory now!

3. What is your favorite technique?

Well I guess what you will see in most of my cards is a lot of paper layering! I like to use lots of different papers in each card.

4. What is your favorite colour combination to work with?

I don't think I have a favortie, I like the soft subtle colors best from Stampin Up. But after this project I am done with pink for a while!

5. What is your favorite stamp set in your collection and why?

This is tough! I really like Friendship Blooms from Stampin Up, becase the flowers are kinda modern and different, and can be used in a lot of ways!

6. Is there a stamp you wished you owned?

Haha, lots!

7. What project are you currently working on?

Just finished my 5 all occasion cards in pink for a contest I had on my blog! The readers that guested the sex of my baby got put into draw to win 5 all occasion cards in the winning sexes color! So yes I am having a girl! And the lovely Ann www.tragicoptimist.wordpress.com was the winner.

8. What technique would you still like to learn more about?

How to use my freakin scalloped edge punch! grrr that thing pisses me off.

9. Is there a blog out there that inspires you to be more creative?

ahhh I guess this one, it is the only card/stamp related blog I read!

10. What other hobbies do you have outside of stamping?

I like to draw, photography, read and write on my blog!

Last but not least, a photo of your project please and a description of what and how you made it :)

Well since I had to make 5 cards for this project, I basically laid out on my table all the inks, accessories, pens, buttons and paper that I had in pink. Then I would pick an occassion, grab 1 or 2 stamp sets that went with that occasion and then just let my imagination go! I rarely plan out a card, I just start cutting and stamping till volia! The master piece is complete. I won't go into all the details of the items I used in these cards, cause that would take all day! But if you see something you like, let me know and I will tell you what I used!

Thanks!
Alicia

Thanks Alicia for posting! Your cards are awesome!

Make a Scene - Card Challenge #?

My Mom called today and asked if I would like to give anything to an Aunt of mine who is ill, as my parents are making a special trip to see her tomorrow. My answer? For sure I would! Here is the card I came up with (using my new Starving Artistamps of course!):

Colours: SU Elegant Eggplant & More Mustard as well as stickers from the 'Simply Sent' Card Kit.

Punches: SU Scallop Edge Punch

Buttons: SU Button Bouquet

Starving Artistamp: Rupert (isn't he sweet)?

Want to see a close up of Rupert? I thought so...

So, your challenge is to make a card that has a scene! I have put up a new link on the sidebar so you can easily find this post and leave a comment with a link to your finished card. Have fun!

*Check this out! I was so flattered to find out they linked up my Tutorial post! Thanks Tracey :)

Applying Rubber Stamps to Acrylic Blocks

My very first tutorial for you all!

I was so excited last week when my Starving Artistamps Creatures arrived in the mail. But I quickly realized I was unsure what to do with them. They were a fantastic price (just over $3 each) because you only get the rubber - no cushion or wood block. I hadn't thought about the cushion part and thought I could hire my husband (a carpenter) to make blocks for me. Wrong. Ok, perhaps it could have been done with contact cement, but then you still have the cushion issue, and a water solubility issue. So I did some Googling.

That led me to needing to venture into the arena of Acrylic Blocks. I have always used wood based stamps so had no idea what to do. I quickly found out I needed a product called EZ-Mount. Unfortunately EZ-Mount googling for retailers in Calgary turned up nothing. And I didn't want to have to place an order online and wait even longer to use these fantastic sets. So I headed to Michaels today. They have plain acrylic blocks, but nothing for mounting (a word to the wise). So I went to a local Scrapbooking store. Not only did they have the EZ Mount, but they had the acrylic blocks at half the price of Michaels! Woohoo!

So, here we go:

Supplies needed - Acrylic block, rubber stamp & Thin EZ Mount (supposedly it is also sold in thick, there just wasn't that option at the store I was at).

The instructions were all written out on the EZ Mount which was great. First, you peel back the adhesive layer and stick on all of your rubber stamps.

Then cut them out using your rubber scissors (I used my SU Craft Rubber Scissors) as close to the stamps as possible.

Then peel back the static layer, and apply to the acrylic block! The nice thing is that once you are done stamping, the rubber stamp peels off ready to be replaced with the next one you wish to use. One block and a multitude of stamps. Excellent.

Here's the stamped image result:

I shouldn't really compare the wood versus acrylic given I have only stamped using an acrylic block once. But, I did find it to not be quite as comfortable in your hand which might be a tad uncomfortable if you were doing a multitude of cards. Thankfully there is also the option with Starving Artistamps to buy some of their sets wood mounted. You just pay a higher fee.

Now to use this monkey on a card.... off to do some work :)

Christmas Card Hiatus

I apologize for my lack of exciting posts these past few days, and for the next few to come. I am hunkered down and focused on getting my Christmas cards made. Alas it is December 1st and they are no where near ready to be mailed.

Wish me luck. I am going to be very glittered at the end of it all.

Oh, and those very awesome stamps up for grabs? Yep, they went to poster #2 who is also my Mom. Lucky lady. My answer to the riddle was rug. But railing was also very clever!