Fabulous Finds Friday — Hot Fix Gems

Hot fix gemstones have been around a long time, but they never intrigued me… until I got a battery-operated, easy-to-use hot fix tool from Imaginisce. Now I want to put hot fix bling on everything! (So much easier than dealing with glue and tiny pieces.)

Take a look:

The rhinestones and metallic pieces have glue on the back. You simply touch your hot fix tool to the top, count to about 10, and it melts the glue.

Here’s a close-up:

One more:

Here’s a detailed look at the butterflies, which were embellished with Ranger’s Liquid Pearl Gold.

The flowers, butterflies and sentiments (all Hero Arts) were stamped in another Fabulous Find from the beginning of the year — ColorBox’s Limited Edition colors Plumeria (purple) and Mint (green), both chalk inks. Aren’t they deep and luscious? (the green flower on the left of the “Smiles” card was hand cut; the others were cut using matching Hero Arts/Sizzix dies.) The striped paper is some scrap stock I saved from an old folder. I attached the front and back using washi tape. The scalloped border used a Stampin’ Up! punch.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fun Storage

I love storage. I love little bitty containers and big boxes. I love metal tins and cardboard drawers and canvas bins. And if it’s something I can decorate, even better!

Check out this fun cardboard container from Karen Foster, with the tiny drawers and the blank white surface that just screams “DECORATE ME!”

First, I stamped a bevy of butterflies on the outside using a variety of butterfly stamps and mostly Ancient Page ink and some ColorBox chalk inks:

(I may cover up the butterflies later with paper.)

Then I added paper to the little drawers (using stock from Close To My Heart)

(The rub-on numbers came with the set.)

Now to fill them…..

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Pokey Tool

Today’s Fabulous Find is this nifty tool from Lifestyle Crafts*:

Pokey-tool, of course, is not the real name, but’s so descriptive!
The QuickStik has several uses: There’s a sticky piece at one end that lets you grab tiny pieces of paper, rhinestones, etc. And the other end has two pokey sides — one has a sort of chisel tip and the other is pointy. It’s great for poking out tiny pieces stuck in your die!

Here’s the pokey part:

And the sticky end:

And a finished card:

By the way … the die cuts are also from Lifestyle Crafts.

Thanks for stopping by … and have a Fabulous Friday!
(*see disclaimer. Tool provided by Lifestyle Crafts.)

Leftover from My Book…

Yesterday I showed a hand-stitched book I made using a 12×12 piece of double sided cardstock.

I had a small piece of cardstock left…just enough to make a card and a tag:

The paper is from Close To My Heart’s For Always set; the stamps are all from CTMH’s Card Word Puzzle C1494, black embossed and colored with watercolor pencils. They are mounted on black foam tape from EK Success (I love the black foam for darker backgrounds!) Add a touch of Ranger’s Diamond Stickles to the center of the larger flower and a dash of pink around the sentiment (made from the Word Puzzle pieces and cut out using a Spellbinders’ die). Add that black ribbon and bam, we’re done.

And not a scrap of paper left from that piece! Yay!
Thanks for coming back!

A Stitch In Time … Creates A Book

I recently learned a new book binding technique, and it’s so easy and fun that I’ve been going crazy making books! You start with a 12 x 12 piece of cardstock (I used Close to My Heart’s For Always Paper), trim it and score it for the spine.

Take a look:

I haven’t decided what to do with the book … give it away? Use it as a journal? So I left the label (cut using Spellbinders’ die label 8) blank.

Here are closer looks at the spine:

And some of the inside pages:

(The details: Paper, embellishments from Close To My Heart. I used three small Zots dots to adhere the metal piece, which is from the Mini Medley Accents set, as is the paper clip on the inside. The rose is from the Love Blooms set C1511 embossed in Stampendous! PEARLustre Moonstone.)

After finishing the book, I had a few scraps leftover — just enough for a card and a tag, which I’ll post tomorrow.
Thanks for coming by!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Blingy Bling Bling

Oh, how I love these sheets of self-adhesive vinyl jewels from The Buckle Boutique! Check out this Fabulous Find:

Isn’t this a sparkly card? These bedazzling gems are actually vinyl sheets, so they are easy to cut and oh, so pretty and sparkly. It’s hard to believe they are not actual rhinestones.

(Background large canvas stripe S5433 by Hero Arts; Happy sentiment by Technique Tuesday; Spellbinders Fancy Tags 2 die edged in Brilliance Gold.

Take a gander at the multi-colored sheet:

(Delicate Flower background CG476 from BasicGrey/Hero Arts stamped in Marvy grey; cardstock from Stampin’ Up!; cloud die from My Favorite Things on Core’dinations cardstocks whitewash; Hello Sunshine CL600 by Hero Arts/BasicGrey)

Here’s another card, with the strips cut even narrower:

And a closer view:

(Radiant Banner CG446 by Hero Arts stamped in Stephanie Bernard ColorBox Banana ink; Sentiment by Hero Arts stamped in Wet Cement.)

Thanks for coming by. Hope you are having a Fabulous Friday!

Another from the Vault

Who knew cleaning could be such fun? Here are some more cards made years ago, when I first started stamping:

When shadow stamping first came into fashion, I thought it was the greatest technique because it was so quick and easy. I first learned the technique through Hero Arts when the company introduced solid stamps in various sizes and shapes, and also ink that was soft and mat and perfect as a base. (I’ll be blogging soon about the newest Hero Arts stamps that harken back to shadow stamping! Or check out the Hero Arts Web site and look at Shari Carroll’s video.)

The shadow stamps are definitely Hero Arts, as are the inks. The fish is from Maryse Carrier, who once designed for Magenta. I was thrilled to find out that her designs are now being carried at Stampotique! Do check them out. I had forgotten how fun and whimsical her designs are, so I’ll be digging out more of those oldies from my collection.

This one is all Judikins (except the sentiment, which I believe is Hero Arts.) The background is a fun retro block with four images on one block; the abstract was black embossed and colored with watercolors.