I went, I stamped….

Last week I talked about stamping on-the-go. I did all my stamping ahead of time, either on scrap cardstock or on tiny tags (which I had also cut and folded ahead of time). Some of the tags I ran through my Cuttlebug embossing folders or a border punch. While I was away, I had a nice stash of images to either color, cut or both. I also brought a small ziplock baggie so I could take my “pieces” everywhere and sit and cut while waiting for my husband. Very therapeutic!

When I got home, all I had to do was either stamp simple sayings on the tags or attach images to backgrounds. Take a look:

(flower: Magenta; bird: Inkadinkado; butterfly, bird: Hero Arts)

Here are some others:

(When I came home, I added Ranger Stickles to the flower and Lettuce Dimesnional Pearls to the frog. The cute bird is Inkadinkado and the funky flower is Kodomo. Sayings, birthday hat, frog: Hero Arts.) 

And here are two cards I made when I came home, using images I cut and colored on vacation:

(sundae: Stampin Up!; paper is from a Hot Off The Press booklet; the diamond punch is a new Martha Stewart border punch.)

(flower, saying: Hero Arts; background is from a Cuttlebug embossing folder.)

I love vacations!

Stamping on-the-go

Here I am in a beautiful resort just outside of Las Vegas. And what am I doing? Why, crafting, of course! While my husband is busy with meetings and workshops, I have several hours to myself with no ringing phones, no distractions.

 I did, of course, delude myself into thinking I might actually get some work done. (That’s the beauty of being a freelance writer – I can work almost anywhere.) The night before we left, I had my husband load two new programs on my laptop – a photo editing program and the program for a newsletter I am producing. Then I transferred the files I needed to an external hard drive. (It helped that we drove to Las Vegas because I didn’t have to worry about taking this stuff on the airplane.)

 So here I am … With deadlines looming and a few hours to kill. I moseyed down to the pool, opened up the computer bag and … darn! I left the hard drive with all my files at home!

 Luckily, I also brought some stamping stuff! The night before we left, I made a “stamping-on-the-go” kit. I dug into my scrap paper stash and cut and trimmed scraps into little tags and note cards. Some I ran through my Cuttlebug embossing folders, some I trimmed using border punches. Some I stamped, using a water resistant black dye ink. Then I stamped some random images on scrap cardstock, packed up my watercolor pencils and my water brush in a plastic baggie and tossed the lot into a plastic project case. I also included a role of double stick foam tape, my small, sharp Cutterbee scissors and I was good to go!

 

My traveling kit!

By preparing just a few simple images before I left, I had an easily transportable kit. It is  so relaxing to just sit and color and cut. And when I get home, I’ll have some extra tags and some pre-cut images.

 How do you craft on the go?

Bordering on Beautiful

I’ve fallen in love with borders! I love them in every shape and size, from pretty punches to stunning stamps to engagingly embossed edges. My addiction began with an assignment to write about borders for Crafts ‘n things magazine, for the June 2009 issue. (www.craftsnthings.com)

 The article shows lots of nifty tools, but no samples. So here are some cards I made to show off these bodacious borders!

Border punches, like this pretty eyelet punch from Martha Stewart, are such fun and come in great variety.

The butterfly is made using a Cuttlebug die and embossing folder. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado.

This next card also uses a punch (Fiskars) to create the white border. The stamped pink diamond border is a Judikins Bolio stamp. Stripes are by Rubber Stampede, the “enjoy” and dotted background from Hero Arts. Flowers by Imaginesce, brads from Hot Off The Press.

Cuttlebug has some nifty border embossing plates — here’s an example: (You’re Special by Hero Arts)

(The lines in the card above are made using a Scor-it, another nifty tool that is great for creating folds or scored patterns.)

I love black and white, and this Art Deco Bolio (below) from Judikins is fabulous when embossed in white on black card stock. (You’re Special & gemstones by Hero Arts; background butterfly Artistic Outpost. Prima flowers)

Basic Grey offers “just borders” —  another border alternative:

(Owl, branch, sequins from Hero Arts; gemstone from Kaiser Crafts)

Thanks for looking!